Kansas City Northland-area teams looking to shift power toward west side of the state

Four ranked KC-area teams will battle for the District 8 crown but only one will earn a state tournament berth.

By Chris Geinosky I Photo by David Smith

For years, teams from the east side of the state – specifically from the St. Louis metropolitan area – have dominated large class boys basketball in Missouri.

Kansas City metro teams have captured only four state championships in the past 30 years: Liberty in 1998 and 2001, Rockhurst in 2013 and Blue Springs South in 2015. That’s it. 

“St. Louis has twice as many teams as Kansas City in the big class, so the east side has more opportunities to win state titles,” Staley head coach Chris Neff explained. “But that said, there’s no doubt they’ve had some really good players and phenomenal teams from that side of the state over the years. As a coach from Kansas City, I think we’re starting to see a shift of power.”

It certainly appears there has been a changing of the guard. In the past eight MSHSAA Show-Me Showdowns since 2013, five large-class Kansas City teams have appeared in the state title game, which includes Liberty last year.

That takes us to this season, where six KC squads can be found in the latest installment of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 6 state poll, headlined by No. 1 Staley, and have ambitions of bringing the state championship trophy back to the west side of the Show-Me State. However, four of those ranked teams have been placed in the District 8 Tournament, meaning only one will have the opportunity to advance to the playoffs.

“Everything goes in cycles, and as it turned out, boys basketball in the Kansas City Northland is unbelievably good this year,” said Liberty head coach Roger Stirtz, whose team was ranked No. 1 in the state for the first half of the season and currently stands at No. 7. “And it’s not just the quality of the of the teams, it’s the high number of quality teams. It’s apparent that Kansas City basketball is getting better and better every year.”

It sure does. Six of the eight teams in the Class 6 District 8 Tournament, which starts Saturday, Feb. 26, with the higher seeds hosting the first-round games, have won at least 15 games this season and only one team in the entire field owns a losing record.

Staley and Liberty have been seeded in the top two lines of the tournament bracket. North Kansas City and Oak Park, both of which are receiving votes in the state poll, have earned the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.

“Literally, this district is like a Final Four for the state tournament,” Park Hill head coach Chad Jones said. “Six teams could win this thing and make a playoff run and no one would be surprised. No one feels comfortable with their first-round game. We have some really good teams with amazing coaches in this district.”

Park Hill South, which defeated state-ranked Lee’s Summit by 21 points just last week, is the No. 5 seed. Park Hill, the host of the semifinal and championship rounds of the tourney on Tuesday, March 1 and Friday, March 4, received the No. 6 seed. Liberty North finished the regular season with a 12-12 mark but had to settle for the No. 7 seed, ahead of only St. Joseph Central.

“My first thought is this has to be the toughest district in the state,” Liberty North head coach Cy Musser said. “We potentially would have to play three state-ranked teams to win it, and that’s before we would even make the playoffs. It’s going to make for some fun and entertaining basketball.”

Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of this year’s Class 6 District 8 Tournament, which could be one of the deepest and most talented district fields in state history.

No. 1 seed Staley (22-4)

Despite playing one of the most challenging schedules in the state, Staley has turned in their third-consecutive 20-win season.

Winners of the Greater Kansas City Suburban Red Conference, the Falcons appear ready for deep postseason run, despite a one-point loss to state-ranked Lee’s Summit in the regular-season finale. Staley opens up district play against St. Joseph Central.

“Our schedule, especially our league, has really tested us this year, and I think that has prepared us for a tough district like this one,” Neff said. “There’s several Final Four contenders in there. You have to take it one game at a time because you’re going to have to put everything you have into advancing each round. There’s no point looking ahead because you’re going to have to survive the game at hand.”

Junior point guard Kyan Evans (16.5 points, 5.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game) is the straw that stirs the drink for the Falcons. A trio of talented big men control the paint – 6-foot-8 senior Emanuel Byrd, 6-8 Cameron Manyawu and 6-6 Kayden Fish – while senior sharp-shooter Asa Bridges is one of the top 3-point threats (44.6 percent) in the state.

No. 2 seed Liberty (23-2)

Fresh off a second straight Greater Kansas City Suburban Gold Conference Championship with a convincing 66-48 victory against state-ranked Blue Springs this week, the Blue Jays turn their attention to their ultimate goal: running it back to the State Final Four for the second year in a row.

Senior-laden Liberty started the season with 15 consecutive victories before falling to Staley in the C.W. Stessman Tournament championship game and now ride a seven-game win streak into the postseason. The Blue Jays have captured four district titles in the past five years.

“We’ve had some ups and downs, but overall, I’ve been pleased with our consistency throughout the season,” Stirtz said. “Our best basketball has yet to be played, and I think that’s good because that means we still have more in us.”

Senior Bennett Stirtz, a 6-5 swingman and the coach’s son, has been one of the best players in the state this season. He’s averaging 18.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.4 steals per contest. Seniors Luke Stubbs (11.5) and Karson Milbrandt (10.6) average double figures in the scoring column, while senior Spencer Blaine has shot a sizzling 42.3 percent from 3-point range this season.

No. 3 seed North Kansas City (20-5)

No one has been hotter than the Hornets this month. After suffering a midseason hiccup that included three losses in four games, North Kansas City ripped off six consecutive victories. That includes a 62-55 upset victory on Feb. 8 against top-ranked Staley and a win against state-ranked Lee’s Summit last week.

Star freshman Avion Webb (14.7 points per game) has been the Hornets’ most consistent offensive threat, scoring double figures in all but four games of his first high school season. Webb exploded for a season-high 33 points in the win against Staley.

Senior Dallas Whitney (13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals) gives NKC a solid 1-2 punch. Whitney has been playing his best basketball at the right time of the season, averaging 17 points per game over the past two weeks. Seniors Iverson Neal and Jon Elful and junior Alex Gunnels have been solid role players.

No. 4 seed Oak Park (16-9)

Oak Park started the season by winning 12 of their first 14 games, one of the best starts by the program in recent years. However, the Northmen have come back to Earth in the second half half of the season, winning only four times in the last 11 games.

Two of those four wins have come against Park Hill South. And now Oak Park will have home-court advantage against the Panthers for their first-round district tilt.

Fantastic freshman Caleb Estes leads the Northmen, averaging 16.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Estes has scored 25 or more points in a single game four times this season, twice against Park Hill South.

Fellow freshman Corbin Allen averages 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and has recorded a dozen double-doubles this season. Junior Winston Allen has added 12.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest.

No. 5 seed Park Hill South (15-11)

A team that has made several deep postseason pushes in recent years, Park Hill South has enough talent to do it again. The Panthers feature one of the most balanced lineups in the district field, headlined by three double-digit scorers.

Junior Cahmai Crosby leads the way at 12.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Seniors Miles Fant (11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds) and JD Roberts (10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds) have been equally valuable to the team’s success. Senior Messias Dockery (7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds) has also been a key contributor.

Park Hill South has played Oak Park three times this season, and the games have been decided by a grand total of five points. The Panthers won 62-61 in overtime on Jan. 19, but lost 47-45 on Jan. 28 and 52-50 on Feb. 15.

No. 6 seed Park Hill (16-9)

The Trojans will open district play with a road game at North Kansas City, but if they can win that game, they could play on their home court for the next two rounds of the tournament.

“I really like our chances,” Jones said. “We lost a close one to North Kansas City earlier this season (54-49 on Dec. 29), but we were right there. If we can advance, I think we’ll have an advantage playing on our home court.”

Park Hill is led by junior twin bothers Marqueas and Kendrick Bell.

Marqueas has been one of the top players in Kansas City this season, averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Kendrick is averaging 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Junior Ty Schrek (9.8 points) is nearly scoring double figures. Senior Luke Renton and sophomore Gavin Schaag are key contributors as well.

No. 7 seed Liberty North (12-12)

It goes without saying Liberty North is not a typical seven seed. Not only have the Eagles played .500 ball for the season, they also handed Liberty one of its two losses this year: a 48-45 upset back in late January.

The Eagles have stumbled a bit down the stretch without sophomore guard Trey Snyder, who has been out with an ankle injury but finished the regular season with a win. Snyder not only has been the team’s top scorer at 12.9 points per contest, he ranks first on the team in assists (2.3) and second in rebounds (4.3).

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Musser said. “Trey’s been making progress, so hoping we’ll have him back. We’ve already proven that we can play with Liberty, but we’re going to need him if we’re going to get them again.”

Senior forward Justis Braden has had a solid year, averaging 12.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Melvin Laster has chipped in 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest.

No. 8 seed St. Joseph Central (3-22)

The only team in the field with a losing record, Central still could present problems for No. 1 Staley in the first round. Although the Indians were blown out in both of the regular-season matchups against the Falcons, they proved they can play with anyone as they dropped a tightly contested 48-41 against North Kansas City just last week.

Senior Trey Main has been Central’s top scorer this season, averaging 15.6 points per game. He has topped the 20-point mark five times this season.

Senior Stone Wetlaufer has chipped in 8.3 points per contest this season while also leading the team in rebounds (7.6), assists (1.9) and steals (1.6).