Prospect Spotlight: Khyrie Staten (2021)
There isn’t a hotter team in the area than St. Frances right now. The Panthers sit a perfect 11-0 as they get set to play in the City of Palms event against Sunrise Christian tomorrow afternoon. They’ve proven their dominance time and time again whether it was against local competition or teams from other states.
One player who has been a constant standout thus far has been 2021 guard Khyrie Staten. Staten was a rotational player on last year’s team that swept the MIAA and BCL. While he had moments, Staten’s production this year has skyrocketed to the point where he has been the leading scorer in a handful of games.
“Coach Nick was on me every day in the summer talking about how I needed to get better for this season,” Staten said after leading St. Frances with 16 points in a win over Spalding. “He said I needed to step up as a leader and be more consistent as a point guard or shooting guard and just be ready besides Ace [Baldwin] when he needs me.”
It’s hard to top a team that won both the MIAA and BCL championships, but in terms of talent, this year’s team is on a different level. You can tell with their mindset from tip-off that they want to put the game out of reach by the time the first quarter is winding down.
“We have way more guards that can do many different things,” Staten continued, “now we just have Jamal [West] and Julian [Reese] as our bigs. We’re more explosive and we don’t have to rely on one or two players to score. We can all score, so that makes it easier.”
Of the 11 games played, St. Frances has won 10 of those game by double-digits. Credit that towards their defensive mindset and ability to score in bunches. When they go to the bench rotation, the level of play doesn’t skip a beat. While teams will give them a good run in the first five or six minutes, the Panthers keep coming with more talent off the bench that eventual overwhelms their opponent.
In terms of Staten’s individual game, he still wants to improve on his shooting, ball handling and rebounding. Foreshadowing for next season when Baldwin is suiting up for VCU, St. Frances will be missing a guard who is an above average rebounder for the position. Eyes turn to Staten in that case.
For now, the Panthers are focused on their continued dominance and making a point around the area. As they face these nationally ranked teams here in the next few weeks, it’ll be an interesting measuring stick for just how good they are. Staten will be a key ingredient throughout that process.