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Tigers face tough path at Kaminsky hoops tournament
The Nevada Tigers received a rugged draw for the upcoming Kaminsky Tournament, slated for Thursday through Saturday at Joplin High School.
Seeds were not assigned for the eight-team tournament. The 9-1 Tigers, however, open Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. with a matchup against Class 5 Francis Howell (8-3), the 2015 Kaminsky Tournament champions. Francis Howell placed runner-up at the Kaminsky tourney in 2016, and third-last season.
If the Tigers get past Francis Howell — it will be Jefferson City or Webb City awaiting in the winners bracket semifinal contest, slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Tigers defeated Webb City (3-5) 61-53 in an overtime thriller last month at the 4-State Challenge. Jefferson City (7-2), another Class 5 school, opened the season on a seven game win streak, but dropped a pair of tournament contests last week, with losses coming to Sacred Heart, ranked No. 1 in Class 2, and Craigmont (Tenn.), ranked No. 7 in the largest class in Tennessee.
In addition, Jefferson City has notched quality victories over Hyde Park (Chicago, Ill), Willard, Battle, Timberland, Hickman, Transportation and Law (ranked No. 8 Class 3), as well as a 22-point drubbing of Smith-Cotton High School.
Looming on the other side of the bracket, host Joplin squares off Thursday in opening-round action against William Chrisman (2-3). Joplin enters a perfect 7-0, having handed Nevada its only loss of the season, a 62-58 Eagles victory in the Carthage Invitational championship game, Dec. 2. Rounding out opening-round play, Carl Junction (3-4) will have its hands full with tournament juggernaut — St. Louis Christian Academy. St. Louis Christian Academy has captured multiple Kaminsky championships, with its most recent coming in 2016. SLCA, however, fell to Glendale in the 2017 Kaminsky title game.
Vs. Francis Howell
The Francis Howell Vikings enter averaging a robust 68 points per game, while returning several top scorers from a season ago.
“They play a tough schedule and are in one of the tougher conferences in the St. Louis Area,” noted Nevada head coach, Shaun Gray. “They are a very athletic team with depth and talent. They like to play a fast style of basketball and can score points in bunches — and love to attack in transition.”
Francis Howell is led by high-level point guard Dalton Daylon — a 5-7 junior, averaging 14 points, 4 assists and 3 steals per game.
“He’s lightning quick,” Gray. “He’s going to be one of the fastest and quickest guards we see all year.”
In addition to Dalton, the Vikings backcourt features 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Matt Shark, averaging a team-leading 15 points per game to go along with 6 rebounds per contest.
“He can score the ball in a variety of ways with his shooting and physical attacks,” said Gray.
Other scoring options for Francis Howell, include 6-1 junior Matthew Simmons, averaging 11 points per game; and 6-4 junior, Patrick Shulte.
Simmons is a guard who crashes the offensive glass with authority, averaging three offensive boards a night, while Shulte is a big guard capable of “scoring at all levels,” according to Gray.
Also in Francis Howell’s rotation, are: 6-3 forward Mark Simmons, and 6-8 freshman Sam Thompson.
“(Mark Simmons) does a little bit of everything,” said Gray, as the senior averages 5 points and 4 rebounds per game, while Thompson comes off the bench with averages of 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks per contest.
Defensively, Gray said the Vikings will try to “pressure the basketball and will want to trap at different times to create turnovers. They mix full-court and half-court defenses.”
“It will be a challenging game against a very good opponent,” said Gray. “It’s a challenge we are excited for, and one that we think will be very good for our program.”
Continued Gray: “We are hoping to continue to improve each and every game, continue to build team chemistry and to keep working extremely hard to be the best version of ourselves as the season goes on. This tournament will be a big step in helping us do those things and an experience that we think will be very beneficial for our program. We are very happy to be a part of this fine tournament. Joplin High School boasts one of the finest basketball arenas in the state, and by all accounts run a fine tournament that should be a lot of fun for our team and fans to be a part of.”