Nixa knocked off Shawnee Mission Northwest in overtime, 75-73, to win the championship. So let’s talk about the teams that made it ‘rock’ through Sunday afternoon for another KA-MO event.

NIXA MO

This team played GREAT team basketball as head coach Brock Blansit gets his five guys to play with the ultimate motor, individually and collectively. The backcourt is really solid with KEIVON FLINT 2025 5’11”, BRYCE FOSTER 2025 6’1”, and JAISE COMBS 2025 6’3” looking very explosive and productive on both ends of the floor. Combs is left handed with an elite long range jumper. He could well be a D1 player if he blows up in July in front of college coaches. The up-and-comer on the screen is ADAM MCKNIGHT 2027 6’5” who is pushing 6’6” with a really wonderful big body for the game, has a nice combination of good hands-soft-touch-bounce around the rim to be a real factor. I like this team. May have been missing another decent post player.

SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST

The Cougars won’t lose very many games this 2024 Spring-Summer o season. But when ETHAN TAYLOR isn’t on the floor, there is an opening for the opposition. The lack of rim protection without E means defensively, then have to play a little bit di erently. Their four returning senior starters, KEATON WAGLER 2025 6’6”, VAN COLLINS 2025 6’3”, TYLER SALMON 2025 6’6” and AIVEN RILEY 2025 6’3” are really good. Riley hit lots of mid range and treys on Sunday, he was sharp. Keaton-Van-Tyler all very good players. Just not good enough vs. Nixa. They knocked o Oak Park MO on Saturday afternoon by 13. Special then, just not so much on Sunday.

SHAWNEE MISSION SOUTH

South is VERY talented heading into 2025. I don’t know that they have the right point guard to run the show and feed what I would expect to be the best o ensive frontcourt on the Kansas side of the KC metro area in 2025. DRAKE DEBAUN 2026 6’6” is strong and very skilled with good shooting skills deep and enough athlete to be dangerous. JADON SAUTTER 2025 6’8” is a coach’s son with nice upside, good post up skills and shoots it well deep on the floor. He’s their go-to guy down low when he’s on the floor. CONNOR KERRIGAN 2027 6’5” is long and tough mentally with excellent f inishing skills in the mid post. His motor is always on high throttle. I love his ability to score the basketball. Raiders could be a PG away from excellence!

OLATHE WEST

Lots of well coached teams in an event like this one, no one moreso than the Owls over at West. SHERRON WOODBERRY 2025 5’11”, COLTON NICHOLS 2027 6’3”, and BENNETT WARREN 2025 6’6” look tobethering leaders based on the KAMO experience. If Sherron gets his shoulders square o the pass, nobody will drain more left handed long range treys on the KC Metro Kansas-side. He’s sensational deep o the pass. Nichols is super solid in every facet of the game, strong-crafty-great motor-good mid range scorer. Warren is their post presence, he just needs to spend more time down low for the Owls.

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS

So this is their year, the Class of 2025 came in 3 years ago with lots of pomp & circumstance in the annals of KS high school boys basketball. Now we see what they’re made of their senior season of EKL basketball. LONDON BURTON 2025 6’0” point guard, welcome to the big time! He’s shooting the basketball spectacularly with great e ciency. If this is what to expect in December, the Saints will be marching to victories. ISAIAH FREEMAN2025 6’2” is ultra talented with good skills and athleticism. He just needs to make great decisions every time down the floor and finish. MICHAEL BERNHART 2025 6’5” has really grown up and developed. Much bigger and still a supreme shooter deep. But does he fill Will Goode’s position?? Who does? 

OAK PARK

The Northmen are always going to be a dangerous squad, as long as CORBIN ALLEN 2025 6’5” is on the floor, because Corbin CAN be special! The first half of the game against SM Northwest, he was unbelievably good. I have him ranked as a TOP 100 player Nationally … when he plays with his pants on fire. If not … CALEB ESTES 2025 6’3”, and ZEEK BROWN 2025 6'4” , AIDAN  FIELDS 2025 5'10” are all supreme offensive players who help carry Oak Park to victories. Fields makes big shots in big moments. Brown gets to the rim with reckless abandon. Estes has high D2 and low D1 schools already recruiting. No question the Northmen will be 20+ winners in 2025 in Missouri.

BLUE VALLEY NORTH

Aidan Shaw plays over at Missouri. Now his younger brother ALIJAH SHAW 2027 6’8” roams the paint for North, and he is HUGE. Will Davis, Sr. played at Oklahoma back 22 years ago. Now his son WILL DAVIS, JR. 2027 6’8” slashes through the paint dunking on would-be defenders and he’s an ELITE athlete. Both Shaw and Davis have a long ways to go to become impact players. But gene pool never graduates! There are shooters in the backcourt to open up things inside for Alijah and Will. I don’t know about 2025. But hard work and dedication and skill development will most definitely make the Mustangs a force to be reckoned with in 2026 and 2027.

ROLLA

When teams are playing deep in Missouri in the southeast, you don't know much about them until they come up to the big city. Then ETHAN BROWN 2026 6’3” point guard shows up for maroon team of Rolla. And he was FANTASTIC on Friday night, and with an injured groin muscle, pretty good on Saturday morning. Pretty decent athletically vertically. He jumped open center circle jump for his team. He threw a couple of decent dunks down. Not great horizontally with quickness and explosive movements. But boy oh boy, his skills shooting deep and his passing skills and getting to the rim to score the basketball were sensational Two more years. Very good