|
|
|
Hey Good People in the Corner,
I won't keep you very long...Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. Mine was excellent, thank you for asking.
I'm hanging out at the NHC (The Neosho Holiday Classic) right now but I wanted to stop for a second a drop you a few lines
I'll have a complete write-up on the tournament in next week's column, but for now...
I just wanted to let you know I was thinking bout cha!!
The Memorable Moments in The Corner for 2011 (calendar year, not school year)
10. Carthage Lady Tigers end the 3 year reign of the Lady Cardinals!
Just a few weeks back, Carthage defeated WC (at the buzzer no less) and took the #1 Corner ranking for WC for the first time in three years.
9. Neosho boys find a way to get a signature win.
In his tenure at Neosho, Ben Ponce has been the king of the signature win. Well in a season filled with injuries and setbacks, Ponce worked his magic and produced a win over Willard to end the 2010-2011 regular season.
8. Jaeger goes for 32!
Webb played Heights (Wichita, KS) in the Hy-Vee Tournament in KC. In a game with like 7 Division I recruits, Webb's Kaitlin Jaeger led all scorers with 32 points.
7. Joplin boys beat #5 ranked team in the state of Oklahoma.
The young Eagles invited Memorial High (Tulsa) to their tournament and proceeded to be a very rude host! Joplin beat the fifth-ranked Memorial squad 38-36.
6. Gore goes off on Clever.
Ellie Gore scored 22 of her 27 points in the second half to lead East Newton to a come from behind victory over Clever in the first round of district. East Newton was down 18-0 to start the game.
5. Lucky 13!
The boys from Diamond won 13 straight games last basketball season, a two month winning streak!!!
4. Mac County girls win districts.
Behind the strong play of Ryan Parsons and Kenzie Dill, Mac County beat the 20-6 Monett squad for the district title!!!
3. Andrea Westhoff scores an emotional final two points of her career.
A few weeks earlier Andrea, my favorite player ever, had her senior season cut short with a ACL tear. The Stage: Final home game of last Season. Coach Moore got together with the coach at Ozark and agreed to have Westhoff score the last two points of the game (and her career) on her home floor.
2. The Boys Big 8 (De facto) championship game. Carl Junction vs. East Newton.
The game was played at East Newton. Perhaps the best crowd of the year!!! Carl came away from the amazing battle with the win and the Big 8 conference title!!!
1. Class 5 No. 4 Webb City Lady Cardinals knock off No. 1 Incarnate Word 61-57!!!
Yeah it was a huge moment. Webb won a ton of huge games last year, but beating Incarnate Word was proof WC was going to be ok at the Class 5 level. They took the #1 ranking in the state in the process. Webb ended up taking 3rd place at state!!!
Short Corner:
I got some new golf clubs for Christmas. Awesome but...
I think I asked Santa for the wrong thing last week: High school basketball needs a shot clock...yesterday! Please, please, please...bring us a shot clock!!!
The NHC is awesome as always!!!
We got a signature win on Day 1 as Webb City boys avenged an earlier loss this season in defeating Bentonville (AR). Webb's defense looked scary. It looked even better tonight with another nice win over Morrilton (AR). Webb is looking pretty awesome.
Respect for the Mac County girls! They've only played a handful of games this year. But on Day 1 they beat Waynesville. Nice win!
I talk with Coach McClain afterwards. "We mixed defenses up all game. We played a little bit of everything...more than anything it keeps us on our toes". They showed Waynesville a 2-3, 3-2, 1-3-1, man to man...it was fun to watch.
She also told me that because Mac County is not in a conference, the girls struggle to get games to fill their schedule. She looks forward to the NHC so the girls can get some rhythm and experience.
Go Crowder College Lady Riders basketball team. They were in attendance at the NHC on Day 1 showing their support! Go check them out, they can really play. And they play fast, it's fun to watch!!!
Desmond Buerge (Carthage) looks good. He got a dunk tonight...nice!!!
Speaking of that, if you haven't made it over to the NHC yet, Dunk contest is tonight (Thursday)!!! Don't miss it. Trust me, you don't want to miss it!!!
Very good win for Seneca girls over Cassville on Day 2. Seriously, you will not want to play the Seneca girls for next year or the next 5 to 6 years after that. Mollie Cooper, Bailey Skelton, Mirana Heath...all young, all dangerous. And they have some talented 8th graders coming up also. Had a great visit with Coach Coffey. We'll talk more about that interview and the Lady Indians next column.
But he did say something to one of his girls I overheard today. He said, "Great Effort. Now let's match that effort with proper technique". What a great quote!!!
The twins from Fort Bend Travis. Yeah I can see why they're highly ranked. It's not about flash, but they have the size (6'5"), physical skill set, good jump shots, very good IQ's. Bottom line, they make things look easy.
Man sitting on these bleachers all day long is killing my back...and my bottom (How's that for a quote)
The point guard for Sunrise Academy (Wichita, KS) is one the fastest kids you'll see pushing the ball. And he's just a sophomore...wow.
Sunrise's Buddy Hield (commited to OU) can score from every angle you can imagine and some you can't. Beautiful touch in the lane on floaters, lay-ups...and he can get hot from deep.
That's just a handful of thoughts I'll give you a complete recap next week.
Hey Good People in the Corner,
I won't keep you very long...Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. Mine was excellent, thank you for asking.
I'm hanging out at the NHC (The Neosho Holiday Classic) right now but I wanted to stop for a second a drop you a few lines
I'll have a complete write-up on the tournament in next week's column, but for now...
I just wanted to let you know I was thinking bout cha!!
The Memorable Moments in The Corner for 2011 (calendar year, not school year)
10. Carthage Lady Tigers end the 3 year reign of the Lady Cardinals!
Just a few weeks back, Carthage defeated WC (at the buzzer no less) and took the #1 Corner ranking for WC for the first time in three years.
9. Neosho boys find a way to get a signature win.
In his tenure at Neosho, Ben Ponce has been the king of the signature win. Well in a season filled with injuries and setbacks, Ponce worked his magic and produced a win over Willard to end the 2010-2011 regular season.
8. Jaeger goes for 32!
Webb played Heights (Wichita, KS) in the Hy-Vee Tournament in KC. In a game with like 7 Division I recruits, Webb's Kaitlin Jaeger led all scorers with 32 points.
7. Joplin boys beat #5 ranked team in the state of Oklahoma.
The young Eagles invited Memorial High (Tulsa) to their tournament and proceeded to be a very rude host! Joplin beat the fifth-ranked Memorial squad 38-36.
6. Gore goes off on Clever.
Ellie Gore scored 22 of her 27 points in the second half to lead East Newton to a come from behind victory over Clever in the first round of district. East Newton was down 18-0 to start the game.
5. Lucky 13!
The boys from Diamond won 13 straight games last basketball season, a two month winning streak!!!
4. Mac County girls win districts.
Behind the strong play of Ryan Parsons and Kenzie Dill, Mac County beat the 20-6 Monett squad for the district title!!!
3. Andrea Westhoff scores an emotional final two points of her career.
A few weeks earlier Andrea, my favorite player ever, had her senior season cut short with a ACL tear. The Stage: Final home game of last Season. Coach Moore got together with the coach at Ozark and agreed to have Westhoff score the last two points of the game (and her career) on her home floor.
2. The Boys Big 8 (De facto) championship game. Carl Junction vs. East Newton.
The game was played at East Newton. Perhaps the best crowd of the year!!! Carl came away from the amazing battle with the win and the Big 8 conference title!!!
1. Class 5 No. 4 Webb City Lady Cardinals knock off No. 1 Incarnate Word 61-57!!!
Yeah it was a huge moment. Webb won a ton of huge games last year, but beating Incarnate Word was proof WC was going to be ok at the Class 5 level. They took the #1 ranking in the state in the process. Webb ended up taking 3rd place at state!!!
Short Corner:
I got some new golf clubs for Christmas. Awesome but...
I think I asked Santa for the wrong thing last week: High school basketball needs a shot clock...yesterday! Please, please, please...bring us a shot clock!!!
The NHC is awesome as always!!!
We got a signature win on Day 1 as Webb City boys avenged an earlier loss this season in defeating Bentonville (AR). Webb's defense looked scary. It looked even better tonight with another nice win over Morrilton (AR). Webb is looking pretty awesome.
Respect for the Mac County girls! They've only played a handful of games this year. But on Day 1 they beat Waynesville. Nice win!
I talk with Coach McClain afterwards. "We mixed defenses up all game. We played a little bit of everything...more than anything it keeps us on our toes". They showed Waynesville a 2-3, 3-2, 1-3-1, man to man...it was fun to watch.
She also told me that because Mac County is not in a conference, the girls struggle to get games to fill their schedule. She looks forward to the NHC so the girls can get some rhythm and experience.
Go Crowder College Lady Riders basketball team. They were in attendance at the NHC on Day 1 showing their support! Go check them out, they can really play. And they play fast, it's fun to watch!!!
Desmond Buerge (Carthage) looks good. He got a dunk tonight...nice!!!
Speaking of that, if you haven't made it over to the NHC yet, Dunk contest is tonight (Thursday)!!! Don't miss it. Trust me, you don't want to miss it!!!
Very good win for Seneca girls over Cassville on Day 2. Seriously, you will not want to play the Seneca girls for next year or the next 5 to 6 years after that. Mollie Cooper, Bailey Skelton, Mirana Heath...all young, all dangerous. And they have some talented 8th graders coming up also. Had a great visit with Coach Coffey. We'll talk more about that interview and the Lady Indians next column.
But he did say something to one of his girls I overheard today. He said, "Great Effort. Now let's match that effort with proper technique". What a great quote!!!
The twins from Fort Bend Travis. Yeah I can see why they're highly ranked. It's not about flash, but they have the size (6'5"), physical skill set, good jump shots, very good IQ's. Bottom line, they make things look easy.
Man sitting on these bleachers all day long is killing my back...and my bottom (How's that for a quote)
The point guard for Sunrise Academy (Wichita, KS) is one the fastest kids you'll see pushing the ball. And he's just a sophomore...wow.
Sunrise's Buddy Hield (commited to OU) can score from every angle you can imagine and some you can't. Beautiful touch in the lane on floaters, lay-ups...and he can get hot from deep.
That's just a handful of thoughts I'll give you a complete recap next week.
Buzzer Beater from The Corner:
Seriously,
The NHC has a special feel to it.
I go to quite a few big time tournaments, high school and colllege, every year...but the NHC has something very unique about it.
I think I can best put it like this: It's what happens when big time basketball meets small town charm.
It doesn't feel like a production...you feel like you're truly a part of it, not just watching from afar.
I know I may sound melodramatic, but the atmosphere for this tournament is electric!
I start getting excited weeks before...
And it never disappoints...
