Meramec Reflections

(St. Louis, MO) – There were a lot of winners at the Meramec Holiday Festival. Hazelwood Central won the title for the fourth time. Webster Groves made it to their 13th championship game.  Jennings forward Brandon Hollins proved he’s one of the best players in the area and point guard Logan Gonce (St. Charles West) established himself as a rising star.

HOW GOOD IS HAZELWOOD CENTRAL?

The Hawks won the title and they did not have an easy road. After putting away a much smaller Lindbergh squad they went into overtime to edge Jennings  and had to fight off a deep Kirkwood team to earn the chance to battle perennial power Webster for the title.

Central was clearly the best team in the tournament.  They have depth. They are long and athletic.  Josh Martin is as good a head coach as there is in St. Louis and perhaps their best player, Ranell Crossland still hasn’t played a game yet!  They are scary good.

Martin sends waves of athletic and sure-handed guards on to the floor around two big strong pivot men in Marcus George and Dominique Dobbs.  Wing man Xavier Sneed can shoot the three, drive to the rim and is a true energy guy.  Their leading scorer is Demarco Buchanan who is so solid that you almost miss him while he’s scoring 16 points a night.

Crossland was one of the best players on Martin’s team TWO years ago and has had trouble getting back on the court. He becomes eligible after the turn of the year and almost immediately becomes their ‘go to’ guy.

WHY ISN’T EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT BRANDON HOLLINS?

Jennings swing man Brandon Hollins is the best player that no one is talking about. The 6’6″ senior has all the tools to be a truly special mid-major college basketball star. He can bury the three, he defends well, is a warrior in the paint and a great kid!  While broadcasting the game for www.prepsportsshowcase.com I kept noticing him encouraging his teammates and opponents. While speaking to one of the referees after the Warriors’ loss the official made it a point to tell me what a nice player Hollins had been.

Some Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley school should pursue Brandon Hollins right now!

WHO IS LOGAN GONCE?

Who is Logan Gonce you ask? He is a pesky little junior guard for St. Charles West who handles the ball about 29 of the 32 minutes of the game.  He never turns it over.  He never misses a free throw and he’s the kind of guy that gets under your skin because he’s pretty dramatic in the way responds to physical contact.

Gonce is averaging 18 points and five assists per game and Webster Head Coach Jay Blossom told me he may be the best point guard the Statesmen have played in years. Gonce went 29 for 30 from the charity stripe in the quarter and semi-final games.

His head coach Patrick Steinhoff told me that their floor general is in the gym at 6:00 a.m. four days a week hitting the weights and getting up shots. Logan Gonce is special.

DOES ANYONE DO IT BETTER THAN MERAMEC?

NO! We have been at a lot of venues and covered many tournaments and I can tell you the Meramec guys run a great tournament. Former baseball coach Tony Dattoli and media coordinator Bob Frishman put together a great field, hired a very solid officiating crew, and treated us like kings.

The 36th Annual Meramec Holiday Festival was a huge success and the Meramec Community College and administration deserves a lot of credit for running a top flight tournament!

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