High School Basketball Forum: Which one of these outstanding players are "Player Of The Year(POTY)"?

Posted by Crank22 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 9:29 AM:

J.T. Jones(Sikeston)

Karson King(Jackson)

Lane Below(Advance)

Kevonte Mitchell(Kennett)

Willie Jimmerson(NMCC)

Cortez Dobbins(Malden)

Darrell Monroe(Caruthersville)

Quinn Poythress(Notre Dame)

Andre Statum(Cape Central)

Jeffery Porter(SCC)

Delfincko"The Closer"Bogan(Charleston)

Replies (118)

  • Mitchell

    -- Posted by yaeger on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 9:48 AM
  • *

    Lane Below

    -- Posted by goBIGblue on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 10:10 AM
  • I'd pick JT Jones. I love Mitchell and think is most talented player but JT does so much and I have to think of team success. I know some will say well, Jackson won SEMO conf and beat Sikes so shouldn't King get it? King is good but don't think he is best player on their team. IMO Reynolds is their best player. I will say, I have seen the Below kid play one time and he is really a nice player.

    -- Posted by bball79 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 10:22 AM
  • I would go........#1 Karson King, #2 Lane Below, and #3 JT Jones, but Bogan a very close 4th.

    I have seen all play, first two are pure shooters.I would put JT as a scorer and would move him up if he would play under the basket more.

    -- Posted by PManning_is$$$$$ on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:13 PM
  • Delfinko Bogan gets my vote, followed by Kevonte Mitchell.

    -- Posted by Preacher Man Fan on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:16 PM
  • *

    Coach Farmer said it all when he said, "we're 18-5, but without Delfinko, we're 5-18"

    I don't think that can be said for JT Jones or Karson King....perhaps, Kevonte Mitchell or Lane Below

    -- Posted by birdfan on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:26 PM
  • bogan

    -- Posted by Sports guy on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:33 PM
  • *

    I think NMCC would have a record like that without Jimerson. That's no offense to our other players, just is what it is.

    -- Posted by BuckMajor on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:33 PM
  • Bogan and Mitchell 2nd.

    -- Posted by Steve Frey on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:37 PM
  • I am a bit partial, but I say Mitchell. Only got to play 20 games before they sat him out with the broken hand, but here's what he did:

    Leads state class 4 in scoring average per game

    2nd in steals per game

    4th in rebounds per game

    -- Posted by DWinKenMO on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:39 PM
  • Mitchell is a complete player below can score a lot never seen Bogan only seen willie a few times and he's a stud

    -- Posted by yaeger on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 12:50 PM
  • *

    1 willie jimmerson

    2 lane below

    3 kevonte michell

    4 del bogan

    5 J.T jones

    -- Posted by B&RBasketball on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:01 PM
  • *

    What I am most impressed about is that there are more non-seniors on the list than seniors. The future of SEMO basketball looks bright! We are going to have some good basketball coming up.

    -- Posted by BuckMajor on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:05 PM
  • *

    I'm also going to throw Jack Lake from Saxony Lutheran's name in the mix. While I'll be honest I haven't seen him play in person, only on film, he is averaging 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks. I believe he has had 14 double-doubles and 4 triple-doubles this season. Those are pretty impressive numbers!

    -- Posted by BuckMajor on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:08 PM
  • I think it's a close run between Bogan and Mitchell because it's nothing these two kids can't do in games! Followed by Jones!

    -- Posted by Crank22 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:24 PM
  • @bball79 Reynolds might be the best next year, but this year he is constantly being fed the ball by Karson King or one of the guards. King makes him look good. IMO King has played against 5A schools for several years and has always done very well.

    -- Posted by deal on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:25 PM
  • *

    Bogan and Jimerson are #1 and #2 in scoring for guards in class 3. If you factor in all positions, Cortez Dobbins in #1, Bogan #3, Jack Lake #4, and Jimerson #5. Representing the SEMO area pretty good! And 3 of them are juniors!

    -- Posted by BuckMajor on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:35 PM
  • I say any of them you guys listed besides Below or Lake because of the level of competion they play against.

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 1:55 PM
  • Is Jeffrey Porter better than Larandis Banks? I don't go to their games but I thought Banks was their best player?

    -- Posted by TFA on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 2:28 PM
  • I hope you are right about Reynolds.....with King gone, maybe my Indians will have a shot against Jackson next year. Reynolds has impressed me though, good player.

    -- Posted by bball79 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 2:28 PM
  • *

    I would have to say Del Bogan. Is there a guy who means more to his team than him?

    -- Posted by SportsMediaInformant on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 3:43 PM
  • DW in KenMo, you may not be aware of the fact that Kennett is the ONLY Class 4 team in SEMO reporting stats to MaxPreps.

    My pick for POTY is JT Jones. Now for the stats:

    PPG Mitchell 24.4 Jones 17.5

    RPG Jones 10.7 Mitchell 9.2

    STL Jones 3.7 Mitchell 3.1 2nd on his team

    AST Jones 4.1 Mitchell 3.2 4th on his team.

    BLK Jones 19 Mitchell 12 2nd on his team

    TO Jones 55 Mitchell 73

    -- Posted by SHS59 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 3:47 PM
  • Lane Below

    -- Posted by butkus on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 3:51 PM
  • @bball79. He is a good player. I'm sure he will get even better next year.

    -- Posted by deal on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 5:20 PM
  • Wow. That was quite a beat down on Mitchell.

    -- Posted by newbie67 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 5:22 PM
  • newbie67, It was not a beat down on Mitchell but a clarification of the claims made by DW in KenMo, and others using MaxPreps stats as if every team in MO was reporting to them. I could add one other comment about the stats for JT he leads his team in every category that I quoted.

    -- Posted by SHS59 on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 5:47 PM
  • I would say whoever gets a fullride to the biggest d1 school, otherwise what does it matter.

    -- Posted by Hatershate on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 5:54 PM
  • That will be none of them

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 6:26 PM
  • *

    My picks the double double machine JT Bones Jones

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 6:54 PM
  • *

    I've gotta vote for Delfincko Bogan. That guy is unbelievable.

    -- Posted by Harry_Callahan on Mon, Feb 24, 2014, at 7:15 PM
  • A lot of people are sleep on Karson King he may not fill up the stat sheet, but he is second in the state in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a per-minute rating. That means he does everything needed to help the team win.

    Delfinko Bogan everyone sees what he does the numbers speak for it self. He's a gamer takes Defense as serious as offense. Will take the big shot.

    JT does work, for Sikeston, but that team is so deep that he can play bad and they still win. Playing Point - Forward is good and bad especially when it comes to giving an evaluation on if he POY. You have to compare him to the guards and then the forwards.

    Lane Below has carried Advance if he's not on the floor the chances of them are slim to none. He's arguably the best shooter in the area and the team Freds off him.

    Kevonte is a score and an athlete, but hasn't committed that same effort to the defensive end of the floor on a consistent basis. I believe his injury late that caused him to miss the game in the head to head vs King hurt his chances at winning this award.

    Willie numbers aren't were they were last year , but he's an improved players. He went from a young starting sophomore guard to now teams are scheming to defend him. He's making his teammates better this year and becoming a true PG.

    Cortez plays at Malden no major news press so he doesn't get much attention he's the number 2 scorer in the state silently. The schedule that Malden has isn't against bigger schools so he's a gem nobody knows about. He attacks the basket with the best of him and nightly he is guarding the other teams best player and being double teamed.

    The rest of the guys on the list are all quality players for sure.

    -- Posted by coachporterjp3 on Tue, Feb 25, 2014, at 10:20 PM
  • Don't really think you can break things down that way for POTY. First I could see naming a player by D1, D2, D3, and so forth. The above mentioned players are outstanding players and put up a lot of shots for their teams. A number of teams also play team offense. As in multiple players take the shots. I'm can name multiple players that could score 30 points a night if their teams fed them the ball and just let them shoot anytime they wanted to.

    -- Posted by Mike Cox on Tue, Feb 25, 2014, at 10:53 PM
  • *

    WWhere do you get your stats at?

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Tue, Feb 25, 2014, at 10:58 PM
  • -- Posted by coachporterjp3 on Tue, Feb 25, 2014, at 11:47 PM
  • You can't base anything off maxpreps over half the schools don't even report stats.

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 7:00 AM
  • As a matter fact, only Jackson players are listed in the Per32 category on MaxPreps.

    -- Posted by SHS59 on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 7:16 AM
  • (mppg) minutes played per game is not reported on maxpreps. If someone plays the entire game, of course their stats will be the best. maxpreps is useless...except maybe to find a final score for a game.

    -- Posted by deal on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 9:35 AM
  • 1) Bogan

    2) Mitchell

    3) Jones

    -- Posted by Hershisers and Old Fashioned's on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 12:15 PM
  • So, other than MaxPreps, where would you get stats?

    -- Posted by DWinKenMO on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 12:37 PM
  • DW in KenMO maxprepes is the best source it's a nationally recognized website. I believe it's owned by CBS. The high school coaches are responsible for entering accurate data on all players.

    -- Posted by coachporterjp3 on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 1:59 PM
  • *

    I've always felt that way about maxpreps. It is a great website and great tool. If your player isn't getting stat recognition I suggest contacting your school and seeing why those stats arent' being put on there. It's really not that tough to add information on there. If you don't think college coaches don't check maxpreps you are fouling yourselfs. CBS does own and opperate it.

    -- Posted by BuckMajor on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 2:06 PM
  • *

    Don't disagree with that just don't think it's a useful tool in this particular argument, hard to compare stats or say someone leads state in something when there's not even close to 100% accuracy or cooperation. And not just coaches post but I've seen a few others say a particular individual was leading the state in something something and I just wondered how would you honestly know. And one of the downfalls about it is even on sikeston's schedule there are games that did not even happen and have a score that attributes to the schools overall record. Idk about every other sport but wrestling in the sport tate of missouri is moving to keeping track of everything electronically, I believe starting next year every coach has to submit complete scores and results as they happened to (I'm drawing a blank on the website name). Which I'm all for and would push for sports across the board

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 5:14 PM
  • *

    That would be nice for all sports for sure.

    -- Posted by BuckMajor on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 5:18 PM
  • *

    Seen in the paper today JT's stats are 17.5 ppg

    10.7 Rpg and 4.1 a/g

    Shooting 52% overall

    Leads the team with 73 steals and 19 blocks

    All - state numbers imo

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 5:19 PM
  • *

    It's trackwrestling.com I know it's more of an individual sport but for the sake of this statistic argument requiring every coach to post a tats on one website would make things a lot easier for the fans and probably ease up scouting reports. But I realize how much effort that would require

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 5:28 PM
  • SEMO area stats for Karson King

    17.4 ppg. 6.6 rpg. 4.1 apg

    2.2 steals. 1.1 Block per game.

    36 3pt%

    78 FT%

    51 overall

    Overall yearly stats - all teams

    15 ppg 6.5 rpg 5 apg

    31 3pt%

    78 FT%

    48 overall

    I didn't put these stats on here to spark a debate. For several years, I have watched Karson play on the same team as Willie, Del, Lane, Jack, Jamal, and JT (not Kevonte). They are all great players and fine young men.

    Karson isn't the highest jumper or the quickest person on the floor, but his stats against some of the best high school and AAU teams are the same as what is listed above. Karson gets everyone involved and makes the players around him and his team better...even an AAU team full of potential players of the year. Coaches and the players will agree with that.

    -- Posted by BKing24 on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 6:44 PM
  • *

    Jt has the same numbers with a tough schedule also and without a teammate being over 6' 2"

    But I agree with what your saying the semo area is one of the best basketball areas, we're blessed year in and year out with great teams and games

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 7:12 PM
  • I went to the trouble to contact Maxpreps about adding minutes played per game. They didnt care. They replied, "yeah we dont do that." I said its not a good comparison without that stat. After that I never thought it was a good site. About Karson, I have to agree BKing.

    -- Posted by deal on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 7:22 PM
  • Karson is as unselfish of a player as you could hope for. Im NOT saying any other player is selfish, on any team.

    Just that for a kid who has a great knack for scoring and could get 20 plus a game, he is more than willing to share to make his team better. True pleasure to watch!!

    -- Posted by IndianPride on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 8:38 PM
  • If I was to make my team around one of these guys I would choose Karson. He seems to have the highest basketball IQ and he knows his role on the team. He puts those numbers up with 3 other guys on the same team that score a lot as well on any given night. These are all great players.

    -- Posted by youarebad on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 8:43 PM
  • Nothing like a proud father bking24. Good luck at the next level if he gets the opportunity.

    -- Posted by crackerjack on Wed, Feb 26, 2014, at 8:49 PM
  • lets see who has the brightest future uh i would say Mitchell he will be making more money than all of us put together believe that.

    -- Posted by Sims,V on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 1:04 AM
  • Yeah but Mitchell will be making his money playing baseball which is great but we are talking about basketball here. You also realize that he won't be making that much playing minor league baseball right?

    -- Posted by Gary Pinkel on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 1:11 AM
  • Not exactly player of the year material, but athlete of the year possibly. Oran's Seth Ressel in his 4 years of playing varsity basketball and baseball has (so far): 6 district titles, 1 regional appearance, 1 quarterfinal appearance, 1 4th place finish, 2 3rd place finishes, and 1 state title. You'll be hard pressed to find another athlete that brings that type of resume to the table and it should only improve by the end of the school year.

    Not that anybody cares.

    -- Posted by Uncle Charlie on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 6:04 AM
  • POTY, I havent seen all of these above play, so i have no opinion that matters. But I have seen some of them play , all good players. So I will keep my opinion on SCAA players. I know everyone will give it to BELOW from Advance. But I think Noah Vandiver is the best all around player in the SCAA. Points, Rebounds and assist. Not sure on his exact numbers, but I know hes averaged a double / double for the season,and not sure about assist. He plays with target on his back everynight, and Ive never seen him have a bad game. Below is definetly a scorer, very good player. But Vandiver scores around 20 a game, around 12-15 rebounds a game, and Very good passer. Again my opinion, and im sure not a popular one. I have talked to a few oaches in the area, and to my surprise, 3 of the 4 agreed with me . And A mention for Reynolds from Woodland, one coach told me he would take him 2Nd behind Vandiver. my question to them was, if you were starting a team from SCAA players, who would you take first?

    -- Posted by Hightops on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 6:33 AM
  • ^I have so much to say in regards to your post hightops but I'll reframe and let the next guy take the honors but please for their personal and possible job protection, don't tell us which coaches said that.

    -- Posted by Uncle Charlie on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:26 AM
  • Refrain*

    -- Posted by Uncle Charlie on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:30 AM
  • Hey UNC dont worry , HA HA . As I said its not a popular opinion. Dont take it too seriously !!!

    -- Posted by Hightops on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:31 AM
  • All is good.

    -- Posted by Uncle Charlie on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:36 AM
  • Duely noted*

    -- Posted by Hightops on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:38 AM
  • No disrespect to Vandiver. He's a solid player and will be tough to handle the next two years. However, there is only one player who can be considered the best in the SCAA. It's Lane Below. Case closed.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:58 AM
  • Karson King by far IMO.. Jackson won the Conference Tournament, The Xmas tournament and the Conference this year with the help of Karson King. Jackson is one of the best teams in Class 5A and the best team in SEMO thanks to this young man..

    -- Posted by footballfan29 on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 8:03 AM
  • JW, I 100% respect your opinion, heck id say 99 people out of 100 agree with you. We always have these discussions after church, and I just thought it was fodder for discussion. I just sometimes hesitate to put these things on here, i dont want it to turn into someone talking bad about a young man . All the players mentioned in this topic are very good players .

    -- Posted by Hightops on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 8:27 AM
  • I want to first make a disclaimer. I am not JT Jones dad, or his AAU coach, but I have seen him play almost every game in his high school career.

    I now want to make a comparison of stats

    PPG Jones 18.0 King 14.7

    RPG Jones 10.5 King 6.5

    APG King 4.8 Jones 4.3

    SPG Jones 3.6 King 1.5

    BPG Jones 1.1 King 0.8

    3PT% King 31% Jones 23%

    FT% King 78% Jones 65%

    Overall 53% King 48%

    TO Jones 60 King 90

    Now each person can make up his own mind. I have made my choice known, but I don't get a vote.

    -- Posted by SHS59 on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 8:51 AM
  • There's nothing bad to say about Vandiver. He's the best sophomore in the SCAA and it's really not even a discussion. Dexter has a deeper talent pool or sophs, but no one individual is better than Vandiver at this moment.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 8:56 AM
  • DWKenMo. Not to be picking but MaxPreps is definitely wrong as far as Mitchell leading class 4 in scoring state wide. Josh Robinson of St. Marys HS here in stl leads the state in scoring at 36.4ppg. He is the son of former Charleston BlueJay Danny Robinson. He shoots a lot due to the type of team he has. But the kid is a stud and has signed to play for Austin Peay next season.

    http://stats.stlhighschoolsports.com/sports/basketballboys/stats/default.php

    -- Posted by CHS2MRH on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:40 AM
  • They are lucky to get him. I'm sure he will improve their record.

    -- Posted by deal on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 11:01 AM
  • SHS59,would like to see jones/bogan comparison.

    -- Posted by uncommon_sense on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 11:07 AM
  • *

    Thank you for that shs, I think it put it into a pretty good perspective of comparison. And I'm glad the jackson fans realize that king has a good amount of tools along side him, and some have said their big man is their mvp. Which is a problem most teams wish they had, and I figured whichever has the more impressive post season will probably win this. Can king top his shot from the chaminade game? And will they have to play them and cbc again to make it state or did it rotate l?

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 12:18 PM
  • *

    Like coach porter said it's a lot harder to compare pgs to Forwards, a Jones king debate works out a lot better for the sake of arguing

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 12:19 PM
  • When determining POTY i think it depends on your take on whether this is an MVP award or Best Player Award....If we are talking about a MVP then ask yourself this question for each of these players "Would their team still be good if they were not on it?"

    Jones- Yes Sikeston would still be good

    King- Yes Jackson would still be good

    Below- NO advance would be probably under .500

    and so forth....

    So MVP awards...

    Below- Advance

    Mitchel-Kennett

    Jimmerson- NMCC

    Below- Oak Ridge

    Reynolds- Woodland

    My choice- Below Advance

    Best Player Awards (actual skill set)

    Jones- Sikeston

    King- Jackson

    Mitchell- Kennett

    Poythress- ND

    Cox- Cape

    Statham- Cape

    Below- Advance

    Jimmerson- NMCC

    Porter- SCC

    My choice- Mitchell - Kennett

    -- Posted by bigriver333 on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 12:43 PM
  • By this last criteria, I would agree. Mitchell. Have you seen Kennett play since he went down? He is crazy valuable. Kennett plays Charleston to within 4 at their homecoming with him and beats Clarkton in OT without him. If JT wasn't on Sikeston, they still win a ton of games. One way to look. There are others.

    -- Posted by bball79 on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 1:37 PM
  • But you can say the same thing about Jimerson, Del Bogan, L. Below, R. Below, Tipler, Lake, Dobbins, and Pavy. Take any of those players off their respective teams and they will all struggle mightily.

    -- Posted by Preacher Man Fan on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 1:43 PM
  • That was my point preach, if your take on POTY and MVP are the same then i dont think Jones, King, Poythress, etc..are very good options because their respective teams would still reach a high level of success. But if you take off Below, Mitchell, Tipler, Bogan, etcc their teams would stuggle mightily (however i would argue Charleston would still win a decent # of games without Del, but i do see your point)

    If your take on POTY is just who is the best actual basketball player no matter who they play against, what team they are on, just basically who is the best then Jones, King, and so on are on the top of the list.

    -- Posted by bigriver333 on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 2:43 PM
  • I guess my point is that you still have a lot of candidates to consider even if that is your criteria, not just Mitchell. Nor am I convinced great players like Jones, King, or Poythress should be penalized because they have stronger supporting casts than other players.

    -- Posted by Preacher Man Fan on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 2:48 PM
  • I'm not a small school basketball fan and IMO Below may be good for small school but he wouldn't average what he does if he played the competition night in and night out those other guys do.

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 3:03 PM
  • BIG have you seen Below play on multiple occasions? Not everyone lives and dies by the high caliber of large school basketball that is played in this area(sarcasm). Lane would easily start for almost all of the so called "big" schools in SEMO.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 3:09 PM
  • Lane would do just fine playing on a team like Jackson. The kid can score whenever he wants and plays hard every possession.

    -- Posted by Gary Pinkel on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 4:24 PM
  • I think it's humorous that some take it so personally and go on the offensive when someone picks a player that they don't agree with.

    -- Posted by newbie67 on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 7:50 PM
  • Would lane below even start for Jackson? HIGHLY doubt it.

    -- Posted by youarebad on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 8:38 PM
  • *

    If you don't think below would start for them you might want to rethink your basketball knowledge, he'd definitely start over their SG. He'd start the 2 for sikeston too, charelston nmcc

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:06 PM
  • *

    Or take those blinders off

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:07 PM
  • Yea he can score anytime he wants playing against those weak teams they play against. I'm not saying he isn't a good player but not even close to being in the POY/MVP discussion.

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:15 PM
  • *

    He's a solid solid player and I doubt he wants to have to drop 30 a game just to win, imagine playing with a class 4 or 5 school since he wouldn't be the opposing teams scouting report. And it's not a secret either, even though he plays for a class 2 school doesn't mean he isn't double and triple teamed a lot, and he just led his team to a DT over 3 time defending champs with ressel and cast. I'm not by any means saying he is the MVP or anything but to act like he couldn't play for Jackson is a little much

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:21 PM
  • *

    I have to say that school size doesn't really matter in basketball. All these teams mix and match at Holiday Tournaments and Conference Tournaments. Just because a kid is at a Class 1,2,or 3 school doesn't mean he's not as good or better than a class 4 or 5 school. It's not like NAIA,DIII,DII,DI it's high school.

    Larandis Banks, Class 1

    Lane Below, Class 2

    Delfinkco Bogan, Class 3

    Any of these 3 kids would start on Sikeston, or Jackson. If anything those classes are weaker than the others. 4 and 6 team District titles with bye game, no challenges. Jackson and Sikeston should win the district every year and they typically due, while teams like Charleston, NMCC, Caurthersville, Malden all are in one tournament in dog fights to even get out. Class 3 is the toughest class in MSHSAA. Charleston beats all the "BIG" schools and so does SCC when they usually play.

    -- Posted by PoliticalCorrect on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:43 PM
  • Since we are starting to deal in hypothetical situations and I'm a Jackson guy I will say this. I seriously doubt Below would get anywhere near his average if guarded by Jackson's 2 guard. He's their defensive specialist and when matched up in man rarely gives up many points to the other teams top scorer.

    Sure Below could play for Jackson. He just doesnt exactly fit what Jackson's style is. He is definitely a very good player though and I wish him the best in the future.

    -- Posted by IndianPride on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:46 PM
  • *

    Indian I would seriously hope him and advance wouldn't put up his norm but I get what your acting, but the style part I really didn't get.

    And PC, class 4 district one is one of the toughest districts in the state. Your talking about Sikeston which speaks for itself, ND which fields a solid team every year and almost upset sikeston their state championship year and the last time they won this district placed top 4 at state I believe, Cape which is the biggest class 4 school in the state and has had a solid team the past few years and with the addition of Kennett just makes it even tougher. Before Mitchell went down most people could pick one of the four and would have a legit argument for it. Before dexter went on a decline they had flannigan and we're contenders too. I do slightly agree with the class 5 district 1 but you talking about the area of the state with no major major town and the least amount of class 5 schools so that's to be expected (KC Springfield and stl)

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 9:59 PM
  • *

    And the class 5 state champion would beat the class 3 almost every time, it's simply size of school and talent pool. It's kind of hard to just say class 3 is the toughest in the state.

    The winner of class 4 district one has won it's quarterfinal game for as long as I can remember, so your description of your class 3 district is the exact same as mine for class 4 district 1. Except I'm not making the claim that class 4 is the toughest class in the state

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 10:03 PM
  • *

    I meant sectional game, and I agree those 3 would play for most teams in the semo area and most teams in the state. But that goes for a lot of teams top players Jones king Jacksons big guy cox stratham poynthress etc

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 10:11 PM
  • The thread is about POY and Below isn't even in the top 5 and Dexter wasn't a contender when Flannigan was there they weren't much better than they are now.

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 10:44 PM
  • BIGELW, upon what do you base your argument against Below? Do you have some facts or is it just your bias against small schools? I agree with the other posters that said Lane would start for any team in Semo.

    -- Posted by Preacher Man Fan on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 10:51 PM
  • Yeah I'm with Preacher. Lane could start for any team and make big contributions for every team. He would for sure start on Jackson's team over Daume and Wendel. If you don't think he is better than them you don't know much about basketball.

    -- Posted by Gary Pinkel on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 11:06 PM
  • Hypothetical thinking again by Gary and again I'll say in that respect if Daume or Wendel played for Advance with no other real scoring threat they would also average 25 per.

    -- Posted by IndianPride on Thu, Feb 27, 2014, at 11:25 PM
  • *

    If bigelw dislikes you there's no changing it

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 12:44 AM
  • littleelw seems to dislike everybody. He certainly comes across a bitter one.

    -- Posted by T-Roll on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 7:31 AM
  • Guys you have to understand that biggie is the authority on LARGE school basketball. SMALL school basketball is a joke and only the real ballers show up for the LARGE school games.

    Lane Below is good enough to start for most, if not all large schools in SEMO. Who cares if he would not average 30 a game or not? He's a player.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 7:51 AM
  • Im going to weigh in on this, against my better judgement. you dont have to score 30+ points to start on a good team. Scoring alone, isnt the best judge of a players talent. can you make your team better? players around you better?Can you play defense? Can you rebound? Block out ? help your team move the ball ? can you see the open man? There are alot of factors, for instance sometimes comparing a Guard to a Forward or post isnt easy to do , and be objective. Guards have the ball in their hands all the time. Some shoot alot, without reguard for looking inside. Post men, and forwards, have to rely on the guards getting them the ball. I have seen some guys work their tails off in the paint to get open, then still watch as a guard jacks up 3 after 3 . If you shoot 30 times a game and score 20 points, is that a good judge of a players ability? When a post player or a forward shoots 10 times a game and scores 20, plus double figures in rebounds . So big school / little school isnt the determining factor. Using one cryteria,as ( scoring ) to judge a players talent level, is like judging a church on a single member. theres alot more too it .....

    Ok take your shots at me EXPERTS !!!!

    -- Posted by Hightops on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 8:20 AM
  • You're absolutely right hightops...Too many people look at individual statistics in a team sport. It happens in baseball and football as well. If you want "individual" recognition go play an individual sport. Each player has a different role on the team and that role can change from game to game depending on the opponent. The question is, do you make the players around you better. To me that's the question of who is the player of the year. hough I don't like individual awards in team sports. Never have and never will but I know that have always been and will always be.

    -- Posted by crackerjack on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 8:34 AM
  • First I think we all agree that the bigger schools overall have more talent and better athletes so what makes u think that he could start and contribute for the bigger schools when most of the time the guys he plays against wouldn't even see the floor at the bigger schools. There are some guys that play at the smaller schools that are really good players and Below is one of them but more times than not they put up the numbers they do because of who they play against. Example- Massey from Holcomb, Jackson Conaway from Viburnum both these guys scored over 2000 pts in high school and went on to college and never see any playing time. I know there are few exceptions and some guys are really good but most aren't.

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 10:42 AM
  • Regarding Lane Below. I'm not arguing that he should be the POY. I'm arguing that he could play at any school in the area, big or small. The very reason why Lane could and would play if he attended a bigger school is because of his skill level and size at the guard position. He doesn't make shots/free throws at a high volume because he's playing at Advance. He makes them because he's very skilled. He's also a good passer. He can stroke the 3 and hit the pull up jumper as well as get to the basket.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 11:24 AM
  • I've seen Lane Below and he could help out any large school in the area, right now. Today. And not just help them, but be a major contributor and the best player in the team in some cases. This kid can flat ball. I too wuld be curious to see how he could handle strong competition on a nightly basis (mostly ball handling issues), but I've seen enough to know that he would do fine. He could score on any level.

    -- Posted by semohoops on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 11:31 AM
  • I would have to second semohoops view on Lane's play. I believe he would score just fine (probably not 25, but rather around 15-18 ppg at the bigger schools). Now this is not because lack of talent, but rather having more scorers around him to share the ball with limiting his number of shots or possessions with the ball. I do think his ball handling would be the biggest suspect, but I think he could play the 2 guard and easily get shots off against any competition that these "big" schools have played.

    -- Posted by sm0723 on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 11:35 AM
  • How dare you goes go against littleelw! He knows everything there is to know about basketball. Just ask him!

    -- Posted by T-Roll on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 11:55 AM
  • *

    Everybody's just acting like he's some slouch, he played with the swarm as did ctowns best players, nmcc best player, Jacksons best players. I'm sure he can play defense and tbh Charleston could use someone else besides d Bogan would could score consistently night in and night out, I'd say he's a step up from a trey Watkins type player and look how successful he was for the blue jays Dean. Charelston is not too good for this young man to play with. And this is exactly what semoball is to discuss current events and hypothetical situations. And I'm not even an advance fan you just have to give credit where credit is due, he just dropped 40 points in the district championship against a solid Oran team

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 2:05 PM
  • Dean you're wrong bud. Lane Below can flat out play. Yes he played for the Swarm. Want to hear how he did against the type of competition. Ask him about his performance at the Disney Classic in Orlando this past summer. Dude put up 35 points in a must win game. That game won Swarm the pool and propelled them to a top 4 finish.

    Is he better than D Bogan? Defensively? No. Offensively just as good. I promise you, talking about "bigger" schools, on this CTown team this yr he'd be at least the 2nd best player on the team. Dude can flat out play no matter what the competition is. He's a great 2 guard. Why don't we ask who's been recruiting him at the next level...I know that answer. Trust me, it's not my place to air his business, but if the next level coach's eyes are on him hes got to be a special player

    Now, POTY? No. MVP for his team and district? Yes.

    POTY---Del Bogan. He's consistently put up big numbers in big games. He's carried his team, which he's the MVP of, all year. I honestly do not think they would have won half the games they have without him. They would've gotten beat by Sikeston and Jackson by 20-25+. Just my opinion.

    -- Posted by dog2167 on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 2:52 PM
  • This is a situation where we simply have some people who don't know what they are talking about.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 3:11 PM
  • Jw who are you referring to?

    -- Posted by dog2167 on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 3:38 PM
  • Those that believe Lane Below is not high enough a caliber of player to play and contribute for the big schools in a big way.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 4:11 PM
  • Are you seriously telling me that Lane would start over Braden Wendel. Lane would undoubtedly play.. but he would never shoot more than ten times a game.. he can't exactly play lockdown defense... all im saying is id rather see a 6'3 athlete that can shoot the ball farely well in my lineup rather than the shorter, less agile, lane below. 35 points in an AAU game? Not saying much. No defense played. Lane is a good player. But he's no starter for a team highly ranked in class 5..

    -- Posted by youarebad on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 8:55 PM
  • Amen Dean!!!!

    -- Posted by BIGELW on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 10:22 PM
  • The Dean , Lane Below can play flat out he has an intangible that a lot of kids don't the will to win. Nightly he puts on his hard hat and goes to work taking no plays off. Playing at a small school he's not going to get many looks, but that doesn't mean he can't ball. He had a 40 point game vs. Dexter who's class 4 , but there down this year so I guess we not going to count it.

    Delfinko is the POTY, but he's a junior so if this award is judged like the Carr Trophy he want win it.

    Karson King plays for the best team. He does what he needs to do to win he scores when needed pass when needed Jackson team stats are so balance that teams don't know who to key on.

    JT Jones is a basketball player. After further evaluating hid game he's not fast can't jump high but he gets it done with the best of them.

    Some have Kevonte favored based on athletic ability seems like, but is Kennet schedule much better then Advance ? He played in Bloomfield Christmas tournament which is field with all 1-3 A schools with the exception of Dexter.

    This debate has took a few turns it's getting interesting. To me class size and basketball doesn't really go to far because a lot of these schools play each other still. it's not like football whenever you have 70 man roster 5 school vs 22 man Class 1 school where everyone playing iron man but the QB.

    The POTY I believe will go to a Senior The Dean we agree on who should win it , if not Who else have won it as a underclassmen ?

    -- Posted by coachporterjp3 on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 10:59 PM
  • *

    I never said he was as good offensively as del, I don't believe that. But to seriously act like out of 5 positions he couldn't play the 2 or 3 for ctown? Do you believe your other 2 players are that much superior to them? But yes charelston is a defensive minded team, and if he went to charelston I'm sure he'd be more defensive minded. But he can play and he was on the same caliber aau team as a lot of the top players in this area and he obviously played and succeeded, just proving his point he deserves to be on the same court as them, even though he shouldn't have to. That was just my point about the aau ball.

    He could play for pb too, and would help them out tremendously imo. I used to agree with bigelw more times then none but when we don't agree on something were just not going to agree so I have to respect his opinion.

    I agree with your assessment of the current top players coach, king probably has the best team around him and he uses that as he should, and plays to win, which just solidifies his basketball IQ and his character of playing team first.

    Mitchell can just raise up and dunk on anyone at anytime, I seen him almost get one on jackson during the smc tourney. He's just a talented bball player and top notch athlete all around

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 11:26 PM
  • *

    JT goes up against taller people every game, probably better athletes, even though he's by no means a slouch, but he finds a way to get it done and has impressed me with how well he's played offensively this year with how the offense thrives through him. And he's solid defensively and is a great rebounder, and that's just who I see the most, Reese deserves a shout out because he's played a solid this year he's stepped up

    The system at sikeston just works so well

    -- Posted by formerposterchild on Fri, Feb 28, 2014, at 11:32 PM
  • *

    Uncle Charlie- what exactly is a regional appearance? Isn't that a cheerleading event?

    If you go solely off how far a team goes wouldn't all the other teammates deserve (starters) the same recognition for an award? I know several kids that appeared in 4 state championship games. That's only one sport but 4 consecutive appearances in the trophy game have more significance than conf. Or district titles do. Baseball has some more accolades as well with these kids.

    But wait, were geographically not in the same "area" so they can't be compared at all. Sorry. Please continue.

    -- Posted by TheWarriorz on Sat, Mar 1, 2014, at 10:22 AM
  • Ok. Must say. Kennett schedule much harder than Advance. Being in SEMO Conf makes it much tougher alone. Yes , Bloomfield has smaller schools but Kennett has been in that tourney for many many years and will continue. The atmosphere there is great IMO also.

    -- Posted by bball79 on Sat, Mar 1, 2014, at 1:08 PM
  • It's funny now because of the fact that some say that Lane could play for bigger schools we now have people who will say things like "no way he's better than so and so". A little common sense can go a long way. Nobody has said that he's better than del bogan, the kid from Jackson, or anyone else. All that was said was he could play for those schools and contribute. If you don't get that you probably don't understand what's being discussed in the first place.

    -- Posted by jwhitlock on Sat, Mar 1, 2014, at 1:41 PM
  • Is. Which one of these players IS the player of the year? Sorry, I just noticed it.

    -- Posted by T-Roll on Sat, Mar 1, 2014, at 2:58 PM
  • Banks had 38 for SCC in the District championship game...and they needed them all !!!!

    -- Posted by DA#1OLDCAT on Sat, Mar 1, 2014, at 3:35 PM

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