St. Louis Flavor in the OVC

(St. Louis, MO) – Ohio Valley Conference teams have found out there is talent to be found in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Two players from the Gateway City have landed on the preseason all-OVC team and several more will be significant contributors this season.

Austin Peay – Josh Robinson

Three programs in particular are scouring through the St. Louis talent base, and the reasons are obvious. The head coaches have history in the area.

Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos was a high school coach in South St. Louis county and still has many ties to the town. Three players on this year’s Governor’s squad hail from our town. Most notable of that group is preseason all-OVC guard Josh Robinson.

The former St. Mary’s Dragon was one of the most prolific scorers in the St. Louis area (35.9 ppg), but played for a small private Catholic school. Perhaps that kept larger programs from recruiting Robinson, Loos saw something he liked.

Robinson enjoyed a solid freshman season where he played a little over 20 minutes per game and averaged just under ten points per game. The 6’2 guard showed he could shoot from long distance connecting 44 times from deep at a .370 percentage.

Last season was a coming out party.

Playing 34 minutes per game and leading the Governors in scoring (16.9 ppg), he exapanded his role as a ballhandler. By the end of the season, Loos slid him into the point guard spot. That move helped the Govs find their rhythm, brought Jared Savage into the starting rotation and APSU all the way to the Music City Madness title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Robinson’s post-season run was spectacular. He scored 25 points in their semifinal win over top seeded Belmont. He scored 20 in the championship game win and 24 in the Governor’s Big Dance loss to Kansas.

Loos says he wasn’t totally sure how well Robinson’s game would translate to Division 1 basketball, but is pleased with how it has turned out.

 

 

Robinson drained 72 triples last season, and even his twitter handle (@JOSH4THREE) tells you he’s an offensive minded guy.

Steven Harris (Webster Groves) and Zach Glotta (Fort Zumwalt North) figure to gain more playing time in their sophomore seasons. Loos says Harris is ready to contribute, particularly on the defensive end.

Coach Loos is working hard on the St. Louis area as we speak. I’m told there could be as many as three more St. Louis area players heading to Clarksville next year.

Eastern Illinois – Cornell Johnston

The Spoonhour name still has stroke in St. Louis and Eastern Illinois head coach Jay Spoonhour is filling his roster with players from this area.

Most notably, preseason all-OVC guard Cornell Johnston has been nothing short of sensational. Johnston, all 5’7 of him, logged 34.7 minutes a game as a freshman and 37.7 minutes a night as a sophomore.

As the Panthers’ point guard, Johnston looks to distribute more than shoot, but averaged 9.1 points per game his freshman campaign and 11.0 last year. Finding his teammates is his passion. He has handed out 327 ‘dimes’ in two seasons. He was second in the OVC in handing out helpers last year.

He too, came from a smaller St. Louis area high school (Ladue) where he was nothing short of dazzling. Johnston’s senior season for the Rams was about as good as you can have. He averaged 17 points and OVER NINE ASSISTS PER GAME!

At EIU he has connected for 119 three-pointers which is actually three more than Robinson’s 116 over the same time period. The flashy lefty is the type of player that makes others better, when they get used to his speed and his passing ability. There were times during his freshman season that unsuspecting teammates would catch a ball with their ear, because they couldn’t believe the ball could be sent to them.

Coach Spoonhour says not everyone knew if the diminutive Johnston could be a Division 1 player.

 

 

Three other St. Louis guys are on the Panther roster. Two of them were high school rivals with APSU’s Glotta. Casey Teson (7.5 ppg) is a sophomore from St. Charles High and buried 64 shots from long distance last season. Spoonhour tells us he’s stronger and quicker than last season.

Marshawn Blackmon’s Fort Zumwalt South team edged out Glotta’s FZN team for the league crown, while Blackmon led the league in scoring with anaverage of 21.9 points, and Glotta was third at 18.6.

Blackmon is a 6’5 forward who played under 12 minutes per game last year but still grabbed almost three rebounds per game. EIU watchers are expecting great things from Blackmon this year.

Newcomer Ray Crossland (Hazelwood Central) came to Charleston from John A. Logan College. Spoonhour says his athleticism and defensive ability of will make the Panthers better equipped for the rigors of OVC play.

Southern Illinois Edwardsville –

Second year head coach Jon Harris played his high school basketball at nearby Edwardsville High and has invested time and passion into the Metro East. He has come up with some significant reinforcements to the Cougar program.

Last year’s big addition was Alton High’s Carlos Anderson. The former Redbird averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the 6-22 Cougars. His long distance shooting needs some improvement (.308), but Anderson is a slasher that can get to the rim.

Harris says Anderson is an all-conference type of player.

 

 

Harris’ nephew and fellow Edwardsville grad, Tre Harris, joins the team after sitting out as a transfer from Kansas State. The younger Harris averaged 10 minutes per game for Wildcat head coach Bruce Weber and averaged 3.8 points per game. His three-point shooting was electric as he converted 20 of 44 attempts (.455) from deep. His 6’5 frame gives Coach Harris some better size on the perimeter.

Also joining the Cougars is East St. Louis native Brandon Jackson. The 6’7 forward played for St. Louis based Cardinal Ritter and averaged 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds for the 23-9 conference champion Lions.

Another Edwardsville graduate is senior guard Josh White, who predates Harris into the SIUE program and plays a valuable leadership role.

Tennessee State’s Darreon Reddick begins his junior year with over 400 career points on his Tiger resume. The 6’4 guard played his prep ball at Belleville East, from that same powerful Southwestern Conference as Edwardsville, Alton and East St. Louis.

The St. Louis area talent is strong in the OVC, but centered mostly on three programs. Valley Hoops Insider will be paying close attention to our hometown products.

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Editor: Cover photo courtesy of letsgopeay.com