
Re: Thoughts on the 2017-2018 Season
Inspired by Fred Morlan (and without any statistical analysis whatsoever...) my Preseason Missouri Top 25:
1. Ladue (young team, lots of talent)
2. MICDS (with Alex, a powerhouse)
3. St. Joseph Central (William just gets better)
4. Louisiana (Michael Powers: just gets better)
5. Hallsville (always a tough team)
6. Washington (Jonathan and Carrie are very good)
7. Hickman (always in the mix)
8. Helias (see above)
9. Moberly (very talented group that got better each time I saw them)
10. Fort Osage (A team is #1, #2, #4, and #6 scorers from last year)
For teams 11-25, there is no particular order (especially with KC-area schools that rarely come east)
11. Eureka (I have heard good things about this team, but haven't read for them yet)
12. Savannah (always has a good team, but doesn't travel much to Columbia or STL)
13. Lakeland (William Koch is a good player)
14. Kirksville (always competitive in tournaments I read at)
15. NKC (lost Ian, but always seems to be in the mix)
16. Rock Bridge (unsteady coaching situation, but has talent)
17. Tuscumbia (Dustin and Preston both get better every time I see them)
18. DeSoto (saw them at HSNCT and was impressed)
19. Park Hill South (always has talent, but never comes to Columbia)
20. St. Pius X (they graduated some talent, but they have more in the pipeline)
21. LS North (talented team, too bad they never go to Columbia or HSNCT)
22. Washington B (I know that there will be talent on this team)
23. Hannibal (Pranati keeps improving)
24. Park Hill (another KC-area team with some talent that never comes east
25. Pilot Grove (always has talent, and always a tough matchup)
Other teams: Centralia (Ryan had a down year, but this team will be back), Pleasant Hill (Steve Moore is a good coach that will make any team better), Palmyra (stats show improvement each year), Mexico (stats continue to show improvement), Sullivan (with Jason taking over, this team will get better!!)
Just my take, so don't be too harsh (sadly, I am not as up to date on STL, so I may have left off some good teams that way, like Eureka, (sorry guys!!)