2011… Those Were the Days

(This Just In!Bradley Beal named to NBA’s All-Rookie Team!)

St. Louis, MO – “… back in my day we had some great basketball players …” We’ve all heard it before.  The farther we travel in time from when we were younger the better we were and our contemporaries.

Recently our friends at www.stlhighschoolsports.com put together a list of their all-time best players.  It was a great list and as usual, they did an outstanding job.  I love their site, their writers, stat packages and archived materials.

They are true friends to all of us that cover high school sports in the STL.

With all due respect to the other eras, we need to know that we are living IN the greatest period of high school basketball this area has ever seen. In particular, the class of 2011 may have been the greatest “CLASS” in the history of St. Louis prep basketball.

Their story got me thinking and comparing. I’ve been covering high school sports since 1999.  I played high school basketball against and knew some of those players on the lists from the 1970s and have broadcast games of those great players of this millennium and I’ve been privileged to announce college contests since 1999 too. I’m no expert, but I do have some perspective.

Typically there are a handful of players that have a great shot at playing basketball at the Division I level. Often there are several that even play at the so-called ‘power conference’ level. Ten years ago, if a Ryan Rosburg (Oakville) went to Mizzou and sat the bench, it was still a victory for the region. If a Tyler Griffey went to Illinois and actually contributed that was cause for celebration.

If David Lee went to the NBA and was an all-star, we would have thrown a parade!

Today, players heading to D I is normal.  Power Conferences?  How does Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, Big East stack up?

Bradley Beal is a Washington Wizard and prior to his injury, the rookie from Chaminade by way of Florida was having a great season. He was a Red Devil graduate in 2011. His rookie numbers of 14 points, four boards and two assists are impressive and will only get better.

Ben McLemore will be a first round NBA pick this spring. Even with recent allegations of some recruiting irregularities, his terrific freshman season at Kansas (16-5-2) followed a several stop tour his senior year after his St. Louis high school, Wellston, closed down. His graduating class 2011.

B. J. Young will likely be a high draft choice some day too.  All he’s done at Arkansas is be their most consistent offensive force for the past two years. Young averaged 15 points and and 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists for former Missouri Coach Mike Anderson. B.J. used to tear it up at  McCluer and yes, he graduated in 2011.

These three, by themselves could potentially make this the greatest CLASS of all-time, but if you throw in Roosevelt Jones (O’Fallon) at Butler with his clutch performances, double figure scoring, six rebounds and 3.5 assists for that Atlantic 10 club and we’re just piling on.

I know Georgetown’s Otto Porter played in Sikeston, but he too graduated in 2011. He will be and first round NBA pick too! Porter is a consensus all-american pick and McLemore a second teamer.

What a year of high school basketball we had in 2011.  McLemore was gone but super Cardinal Ritter junior Cameron Beidshied (Notre Dame) was sandwiched between Beal and Young in the scoring race. There were other future Division 1 players Christian Thomas (Loyola Chicago) and Dantiel Daniels (Holt/SIUC) and Will Childs-Klein (Ladue/Yale) also strutting their stuff around the St. Louis area.

Oh there are other eras that are really good true contenders to the 2011 crew, so let me hear from you.  Who is better?  Who can compare? When Young, McLemore and Porter get drafted this Spring we will have the greatest era of watching local players in ‘the Association’ of all time.

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