Jimmy McKinney III helps Vashon beat KC Central in Missouri Class 4 boys basketball semifinals

Freshman guard Jimmy McKinney III scores team-high 16 points

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – Jimmy McKinney III has certainly heard stories about his father's playing career at the University of Missouri in the early 2000's. 

The younger McKinney is following in his father's footsteps as a freshman on the Vashon boys basketball team and on Friday he created his own memories playing in the same building his father did from 2002-06 with the Tigers. 

McKinney scored a season-high 16 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers, to help three-time reigning champion Vashon defeat KC Central 69-52 in the Missouri Class 4 boys basketball semifinals at Mizzou Arena. 

"I don't think he realizes what he just did," Vashon coach Tony Irons said of his freshman guard. "He's a special player. He works incredibly hard. So the moment isn't too big for him. We've been preaching the same thing all year. When you get to this time you're going to have different people step up in moments. I think this is going to be a moment that he's going to remember. Our team is happy for him as well because he gave us a huge spark in some situations where we were a little stagnant."

McKinney, who picked up a scholarship offer from the Missouri Tigers back in early August, acknowledged being able to play on the same court as his father but didn't want to focus on it too much. 

"It's very cool to play where he played at," said McKinney, a 6-foot-1 guard. "I just kind of like blocked it out though so I didn't have any more pressure than I already have."

Missouri (MSHSAA) basketball state championships live updates: Day 3 scores, news, stories (3/15/2024)

The elder McKinney, who scored 1,146 points during his four-year career in Columbia, had a front-row seat for his son's big performance. Jimmy McKinney Jr. is an assistant coach with the Wolverines after leaving his position as the head coach at Kirkwood two years ago.

"I can't really dwell in the moment right now," the elder McKinney said. "Probably after we leave. I just told him he did a good job and we have one more game to go. But this is something that I see every day and something that he's really really comfortable with. So he's just got to continue to work." 

The Wolverines (25-6) still have work to do. 

Vashon will go for its fourth straight Missouri Class 4 championship on Saturday when it plays John Burroughs (27-4) in the title game at 4 p.m.

It will likely take another strong all-around effort to win their fourth championship in four seasons and seventh since 2016 under Irons.

Senior guard Nassir Binion scored 15 points for Vashon on Friday, while junior guard Trey Williams Jr. scored 12 and junior forward Nicholas Randall added 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Senior guard Brandon Moore scored a game-high 23 points to lead Central (23-7), while senior guard Timothy Wooden Jr. added 17 points.

McKinney scored eight points in the first half to lead the Wolverines to a 37-23 advantage at halftime. 

"The game tonight was rough," Central coach Michael Gholston Jr. said. "This was probably one of the bigger, more athletic teams we've probably played. At times we could have done a little bit better defensively, sprinting back in transition and just continuing to communicate and understand that it was going to take a 32-minute effort for us to be as successful as we wanted to be tonight. I think at times we showed some desire and ability to go do what we needed to do, but we just didn't put it together in its entirety." 

Missouri Class 4 boys basketball semifinal: Vashon - KC Central

Photos by Nate Latsch

Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports

Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports

Download the SBLive Sports app

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz