Basketball

Bootheel native Kurt Penn has made several memories at Senath-Hornersville High School in recent years. “I remember playing Senath-Hornersville in high school and they were always a team we circled on our calendar because they were always a tough team that was ready to play,” Penn said. ...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Country music singer Noll Billings was dribbling a basketball before he ever considered carrying a tune in Nashville. “The first love I ever had in life was basketball,” he said. “I was pounding a basketball as a little kid and watching Hoop Dreams and Hoosiers. My whole life I’ve always had a love for basketball and I was fortunate enough to have a lot of success playing it.”...

ORAN, Mo. — Becoming successful in athletics takes hard work and dedication, along with time and commitment. For multiple sports, it takes even more. Oran senior and three-sport athlete Kaylee Payne showed what all four characteristics lead to after a successful athletic year with the Lady Eagles, earning her the 2020 Standard-Democrat Girls Athlete of the Year...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Charleston guard Ashanti Jones found her future college program after a senior season that didn’t end quite as she wanted. Jones signed her National Letter of Intent to Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo. What attracted Jones the most to the school, was the love from her future teammates and coaching staff, along with where she fits in the system...

Each year the Semoball Awards recognizes outstanding high school athletes from around the region. That tradition continues this summer albeit in a different format because of lingering COVID-19 concerns and social distancing requirements.

The 2020 Semoball Awards will be conducted in a "virtual" fashion on Facebook Live on July 11 at 7 p.m. Here is a list of the 2019-20 Winter Sports Finalists for the 2020 Semoball Awards. 2019-20 Winter Semoball Nominees Taydrianna Barnett, Sikeston...

Kennett High School didn’t look far to find its next boys basketball coach. The Kennett Board of Education approved the hiring of Dunklin County native Corbin Clark as its new varsity boys basketball coach at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night...

The Kennett Indians will have a new varsity boys basketball coach next school year. The Kennett Board of Education accepted the resignation of varsity boys basketball coach Andrew Halford at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. “It was a very hard decision to make because the kids I had a chance to work with and be around at Kennett were great, hard-working kids,” Halford said. ...

Several assistant coaches at Kennett are shifting positions following Tuesday’s school board meeting. Noll Billings will be the new assistant varsity boys basketball coach at Kennett. Connor Gahr, who served as the assistant varsity boys basketball coach last season, is transitioning to the wrestling program and will be the new assistant varsity wrestling coach...

The term “new normal” has enveloped the entire world through the past months as the world adjusts to the coronavirus pandemic.

SIKESTON — Everyone deserves an opportunity to pave their path. That is what former Portageville boys basketball standout and co-director Roy Booker, along with his leadership team, are doing with the newly-installed Illinois Preparatory School. The Trojans' staff dedicates themselves in preparing athletes to advance to the next level, both athletically and academically, by developing a new way to get young men and women recognized and seen on a different level...

The athletic evolution of Notre Dame sophomore girl’s basketball player Lexi Rubel is unfolding exactly as it should. The 6-foot athlete had a solid freshman season in 2018-19 and built upon it – both as an individual and from a team perspective - this past year.

BENTON, Mo. — Softball is Kelly junior Alaney Moore’s first love. It’s the sport she wants to continue playing in college, and one that she has been successful at thus far in her career. Her junior year, Moore batted .446 with 22 RBIs, 11 doubles, and 28 runs scored, earning her all-district and second-team all-state honors in the process...

Connor Jackson is staying close to home to play college basketball. The Van Buren senior and Big Springs Conference Player of the Year recently committed to play for Williams Baptist University. “It seemed like the best fit for me, coming in as a freshman, getting to have experience on a JV team, so I don’t sit,” Jackson said. ...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Southwestern Illinois Community College (SWIC) assistant coach Steve Campo enjoys recruiting the Southeast Missouri area. “Most of the guys that we’ve recruited from down that way have been successful basketball players,” Campo said. “The kids down there, they know how to play; they’re tough kids. They can handle being coached, so that’s always a plus, and they’re kids, that when you bring them up, you can get them out, and they’re easy to market after a year or two."...

Longtime Cape Central boys basketball and golf coach Dick Wadlington died Wednesday at the age of 74.

The truth of the matter is, from an athletic standpoint, the 2019-20 school year at Cape Central will forever be remembered as the “year of the coronavirus.”

There was no shortage of magnificent accomplishments performed by the athletic teams at Notre Dame throughout this school year. And there was not a dearth of individual achievements by the Bulldog student-athletes either.

SIKESTON — Scott County Central senior Rita Meeker signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and athletic career at Central Methodist University on Tuesday. Meeker neared a double-double for the Bravettes on the court this season, as she finished with 8.7 points per game and eight rebounds. ...

Matthew Ball didn’t pass up a chance to coach at his alma mater when the opportunity presented itself. Ball, who is a 2004 graduate of North Pemiscot High School near Wardell, Missouri, signed a contract to be the new varsity boys basketball coach in his hometown earlier this month...

When you have made a career out of having a positive influence on young people, even in the relaxation of retirement one can miss the interaction and having fun with kids.

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Kennett senior Jackson Henfling wasn’t thinking about breaking the state record for most charges in a high school career when he began his sophomore season. “It wasn’t really something I was planning on doing when I started high school,” said Henfling, who played three years on varsity. “But after my sophomore year I was already halfway to the record. I knew I was within striking distance and it was a mark I had a good shot at reaching if I continued on the same pace.”...

Kennett varsity boys basketball coach Andrew Halford has been around the game of basketball since he was in elementary. “Basketball was something that was fun to play as a young kid,” Halford said. “As I got older I started putting more time into it and got a chance to be around some really good basketball people.”...

When any basketball fan throughout Southeast Missouri thinks of Oak Ridge High School, the thought of senior guard David Layton comes to mind. However, the truth is, the Bluejays would never have won 53 games over the past three seasons without the effort and talent of senior guard, er, forward, er center, Zach LeGrand.

Five boys and three girls from the semoball.com coverage area were selected to the 2020 Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Academic All-State Team. Saxony Lutheran’s Luke Bartens, Notre Dame’s John Essner, Notre Dame’s Jack Floyd, Saxony Lutheran’s Ethan Koenig, and Sikeston’s Clark Steward were among the 100 boys selected academic all-state...

The All-Conference selections for the Ozark Foothills Conference were released Monday with the East Carter boys and Neelyville girls earning the most selections after both teams won the OFC Tournament. The Redbirds upset top-seeded Neelyville to win their first OFC Tournament in 23 years while the Tigers continued their dominance with their 12th straight OFC Tournament title...

SIKESTON — Anyone who knows Sikeston senior Taydrianna Barnett understands that she is an attacker. Whenever Barnett gets the opportunity, she will more than likely attack the rim as opposed to settling for a jump shot. That is what intrigued Rend Lake head coach Dave Brown the most when the Lady Warriors reached out to Barnett and offered her a scholarship on the team. Barnett accepted and signed her National Letter of Intent last Wednesday, outside of the Sikeston Field House...

Tyler Landewee doesn’t have the most height on Notre Dame’s boys basketball team, but according to his coach, no one stands taller. Landewee, a 5-foot-9 senior point guard for the Bulldogs, leads the 2020 All-Southeast Missourian Boys Basketball Team as the player of the year...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — On Monday afternoon, Charleston senior forward Blessin Kimble signed his National Letter of Intent to Kirkwood Community College. Kimble is a two-time Class 3 All-State selection, earning the honor in back-to-back seasons. He averaged 14.7 points per game and 8.7 rebounds, shot 57 percent from the floor and finished with 11 double-doubles for the Bluejays this year...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Chaffee senior Braelyn Pobst is continuing her basketball career in college. On Saturday morning, Pobst signed with Webster University in St. Louis. Pobst finished her senior season with Lady Devils averaging 11 points per game on 62 percent shooting. She had 106 assists, good for nearly four assists per game, 64 steals, which was good for nearly two steals per contest, and nearly three rebounds per game...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Nearly one month removed from long-time Charleston head boys basketball coach Danny Farmer’s announcement to retire, the Bluejays found their replacement. Former Bluejay player and assistant coach Jamarcus Williams will take over for the storied Missouri program, after being officially announced at a meeting on Thursday evening...

Notre Dame’s Justice Thoma is surrounded by coaches all the time. “I think I have one grandma who isn't a coach, but everyone else coached,” he said. “They've helped me a lot.” The 6-foot, 4-inch senior will bring that knowledge base with to Three Rivers next year after recently committing to play for the Raiders...

SIKESTON — Below is a list compiled of the Standard-Democrat area’s 12 best boys’ basketball players — outside of the player of the year. Eight schools make up the Standard-Democrat coverage area: Sikeston, Scott County Central, Oran, Portageville, East Prairie, Charleston, New Madrid County Central, and Kelly...

SIKESTON — After a season which saw four all-conference players graduate, a lot of questions surrounded the Sikeston boys’ basketball program on how senior guard Payton Howard was going to perform after a nagging injury toward the end of his junior year that lingered into the offseason...

Kennett native Fred Garmon is a lifelong student of the game of basketball. “Basketball has always been my sport,” said Garmon, who is a 2011 graduate of Kennett High School. “I call people at random times just to hear me out on things like a new practice drill I’ve come up with. I continue to learn more about the game and want to share my knowledge with people who are interested in listening to me.”...

SIKESTON — Below is a list compiled of the Standard-Democrat area’s 12 best girls’ basketball players: Height: 5’10” Coach: Alisha Wills ABOUT HER: An all-around player for the Lady Bulldogs this season, Allen did nearly everything that Sikeston asked her to do. ...

SIKESTON — In three years playing varsity basketball, Sikeston senior Taydrianna Barnett racked up over 1,500 points. One thousand seven hundred sixty-seven to be exact. That mark earned Barnett Class 4, District 1 All-District, and SEMO Conference All-Conference honors. She is also the 2020 Girls’ Standard-Democrat Player of the Year...

The 2019-20 SEMO Conference all-conference girls basketball awards have been released. Poplar Bluff senior Kiley Bess is the SEMO Conference Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Bess, who has signed to play basketball at St. Louis University, led the conference in scoring with 166 points in regular-season conference action. She averaged a team-high 24 points per conference game...

The 2019-2020 SEMO Conference all-conference boys basketball awards have been released. Sikeston senior Payton Howard is the SEMO Conference Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Howard, who has signed to play baseball at St. Louis University, led the conference in scoring with 175 points in regular-season conference action. He averaged 22 points per conference game...

By BRIAN ROSENER Staff Writer Kiley Bess knocked down a shot in the closing seconds of the state quarterfinal two weeks ago. It ended up being one of the very last baskets of a shortened postseason. Poplar Bluff’s season ended with a 44-33 loss to Kirkwood in the MSHSAA Class 5 playoffs, that were later canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic...

BENTON, Mo. — Finishing his third season as head coach at Kelly, Darrin Pruitt earned Coach of the Year honors from the Scott-Mississippi County Conference. After an 8-15 season in his first year, Pruitt has led the Lady Hawks to back-to-back winning seasons, culminating in a 16-11 mark in 2019-20...

Good Sports is a column appearing weekly in the Southeast Missourian and Semoball.com. The purpose is to get to know the people who impact the sporting life of our region in a more complete way. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Area players were honored Wednesday with the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association's All-State team. In Class 1, David Layton of Oak Ridge and Delta's Eric Berry were honored. In Class 2, Oran's Tyson Goodale, Jack Below of Advance, Campbell's Blake Fowler and Neelyville's Curtis Fowler were honored along with Oran's Kaylee Payne and Katie Webb, and Neelyville's Lexi Liau...

SIKESTON — Danny Farmer’s announcement to retire after the state championship game of the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown was one that he told his team at the beginning of the season. For nearly five months, his decision was a secret. On the sidelines with one team for over 20 years, Farmer now heads into a different direction — one without game plans and practices — while the Bluejays do the same...

In a world that is utterly on hold due to a global pandemic, with a future that is anybody’s guess, we mine the settled past for stories reminding us when people used to play sports. Few, in his era or any era, did it much better than Joe Aden. Aden is the four-decade mayor of East Cape Girardeau, the village of approximately 300 people encountered as soon as motorists cross over the Bill Emerson bridge...

No Summer Olympics. No NBA, no NHL. No March Madness. It’s surprising to discover how wearying it is to key the word “no” over and over into a Word document. Good heavens, even the national pastime, major league baseball, is indefinitely delayed. With apologies to Shakespeare, his words slightly altered here due to the exigencies of the moment: “Now is the spring of our discontent.”...

Six years ago, Deanay Watson wasn't playing basketball. Now she's committed to play for Southeast Missouri State University. The 5-foot, 10-inch, third-year sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., led Three Rivers this season with 13.6 points to go with 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 assists per game...