Spotlight on City Teams as They Chase Tournament Titles
Photos by Leon Algee
Vashon photos by Brian McDonald
The look of a team’s won-loss record can be deceiving. Take the St Mary’s boys basketball team of South St. Louis. Sporting a modest 15-9 record while hosting the defending Missouri Class 5 state champion DeSmet Spartans (23-2) last week, the odds had to favor the visitors. Record aside, St Mary’s looks tournament ready, just in time as the state tournaments get underway throughout the state of Missouri.
Thanks to his usual splendid offensive heroics as a shooter, and tough durability as a player, senior Zyree Collins poured in a game-high 36 points to lead the Dragons pass DeSmet 76-69 in his last home game of his career in the tune up for the Class 5 district playoffs at Vianney this week.
“We played a tough schedule and our record does not reflect the team we are,” said St Mary’s coach Bryan Turner, who went on to point out that his club’s schedule has included teams from various states and big cities, including Arkansas, Indiana and Louisiana, as well as Detroit and Milwaukee. The Dragons have also played perennial powers within the state, but beyond St. Louis like Father Tolton in Jefferson City and Sikeston.
But Collins, who will go into the playoffs this week averaging 31.3 points, about a point behind Luke Walsh of Vianney, which he could meet in the semifinal rounds later this week, earned his 36 points the hard way against DeSmet: He was customarily double-teamed often, but he also absorbed a lot of hits and licks. Small wonder, two DeSmet players eventually fouled out, while Collins went a perfect 17-of 17 from the free throw line.
“He took a licking and kept on ticking,” Freddie Collins, Zyree’s father, joked after the game.
St. Mary’s led 34-32 at the half before outscoring DeSmet 21-11 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 54-43 lead. Collins already had 26 points with more than three minutes left in the third quarter, but his defenders were getting more aggressive to stop the onslaught. Teammates Ethan Smith and Gary Johnson added 11 and 10 points, respectively, to take some of the load off Collins.
“It’s a matter of getting the right spots to be able to take the big shots,” said Zyree Collins. “It’s a matter of getting my teammates involved. We feed off each other. It definitely got physical, but I’m used to that.”
Zyree Collins is the third of Freddie Collins’ sons, who have left their legacy at St. Mary’s: Yuri Collins led the Dragons to a state runner-up finish and went onto star at St. Louis University, before finally reaching the NBA with the Golden State Warriors last month. Zamier Collins was a star defender on the Dragons’ football team, which won back-to-back state titles during his sophomore and junior seasons. Now there’s Zyree, who’s the school’s all-time leading scorer at 2,662 points and counting.
“This was his last home game and I really can’t tell what it feels like,” said Freddie Collins. “I’ve been coming here so long watching my three boys, Yuri, Zamier, now Zyree. He’s the last of the Mohicans. I don’t know what I’m going to do next.”
While St Mary’s will be at the Vianney district, the two other city powerhouses and defending state champions in their classifications, Cardinal Ritter and Vashon will be at city venues, aiming to advance: Cardinal Ritter will be in a Class 6 district at St. Louis University High this week, while Vashon will be in a Class 4 district at Career Academy High . The Vashon Wolverines closed out their regular season with a 21-2 record under Jimmy McKinney in his first season as the program’s head coach, even though he was a head coach at Kirkwood and a veteran Vashon assistant. The club’s only two losses came to Chicago-area schools on the road, otherwise it was the same old, dominant Vashon. This was reflected in the club’s regular season finale at Chaminade, the defending state-runner up to Cardinal Ritter in Class 6 last season. Behind 20 points from Dehrio McCaskill , 16 points from Terron Garrett and 13 from the coach’s son, Jimmy McKinney III, the Wolverines game Chaminade a sound home defeat 72-51.
Anyone seeking additional tournament information on the the state tournaments should contact the host tournament sites: Miller Career Academy at 314-371-0394, St. Louis University High at 314-531-0330 or Vianney at 314-965-4853.
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