Lebanon jamboree: Osage, Rolla, Webb City
LEBANON — Four teams from southwest Missouri got together Friday at Boswell Auditorium in Lebanon at a high school basketball jamboree. Two teams, Webb City and Rolla, are coming off 20-win season, but are replacing essentially all of its varsity…
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Continue ReadingLEBANON — Four teams from southwest Missouri got together Friday at Boswell Auditorium in Lebanon at a high school basketball jamboree. Two teams, Webb City and Rolla, are coming off 20-win season, but are replacing essentially all of its varsity line-up from last season, while Lebanon and Osage are teams on the way up.
We take a look at some of the top players and performances.
Scouting report
Lebanon Yellowjackets: Probably one of the most improved teams in the southwest Missouri region, Lebanon features several new players in its line-up, including freshman Quenton Shelton, and Jack Ehrhardt, a four-year returning starter. The team lost 20 games a year ago, but appears poised for a .500 or better season in 2016-17.
Osage Indians: This a scrappy, hard-nosed team that played at least 10 players who appeared interchangeable. The team is junior heavy with a host of players who will be back next year. Osage was 13-12 last season, but we look for them to be a little better this season.
Rolla Bulldogs: Few teams have undergone the kind of change over like the Rolla Bulldogs. Gone are Sam Marshall, Kobe Wands, Zach Brown and and in steps in a host of new players, many of whom were key members of the JV last season. Nick Janke is a strong, athletic interior player who was the fifth starter last season as a sophomore, and Josh Pritchett, an athletic, skilled guard who served as the sixth man last year.
Webb City: Strong group of guards that can all do a little bit of everything, handle, shoot and pass. They are very good off the bounce and attacking the basket. Unlike last year, Webb doesn’t have a lot of size inside, but all their guards are between 6-1 and 6-4.
MVP: Quenton Shelton, Lebanon. The freshman guard showed that he is poised for a big season, scoring 24 points over the three games. He nailed several contested 3-pointers and handled the ball and made several good passes.
Top performers
Josh Pritchett, 6-3, PG, 2018, Rolla
Nick Janke, 6-6, PF, 2018, Rolla
Jack Ehrhardt, 6-1, G, 2017, Lebanon
Quenton Shelton, 5-11, G, 2020, Lebanon
Zach Wheeler, 6-4, F, 2018, Osage
Trey Gibson, 6-1, SG, 2017, Webb City
Terrell Kabala, 6-1, G, 2020, Webb City
Play of the night: Take your pick, either the slam dunk by junior Josh Pritchett on the opening tip of game 1 between Rolla and Webb City, or a Josh Pritchett block of Lebanon’s Quenton Shelton two games later.
Best coaching decision: Lebanon calling time out to freeze a free throw shooter. Lebanon led 23-20 with six seconds remaining in regulation and Osage needed to go the length of the court and nail a 3 to tie the game. Osage junior Zach Wheeler was fouled attempting a desperation 30-foot 3-point attempt and went to the line with no time on the clock. After making the first two, Lebanon called a time out to try to ice Wheeler. The 6-4 forward made the third anyway and sent the game to OT.
Best guy off the bench: Terrell Kabala a freshman for Webb City came off the bench in the Cardinals’ first game and had a quick impact nailing a 3 and converting a three-point play.
Name you should know: Quenton Shelton, 5-11, G, 202, Lebanon
Best match-up of the night: Shelton and Kabala, arguably the top two players in the 2020 class in southwest Missouri.