VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 http://stlamerican.com/articles/2007/04/13...ts/sports01.txt American’s all-stars, Fantastic season for boys basketball’s “Fab Five†By Earl Austin Jr. Of the St. Louis American Wednesday, April 11, 2007 8:49 PM CDT The five members of the St. Louis American "Fab Five" Boys All-Star Basketball represent a physical group of athletes who love to compete. Because of their stout physiques - aside from slender 6'8" Leon Powell of Vashon - the quartet of Torres Roundtree, Kavon Lacey, Kenny Leverette and Anthony Mitchell couldpass for football players. However, those physical attributes have yielded tremendous results on the basketball court. And their versatility and knowledge of has led to both individual and team success. Here is a capsule look at the members of the 2007 St. Louis American Fab Five Boys All-Star Basketball Team. Kavon Lacey (Alton): A member of the "All-American" Football team in the fall, the 6'0" senior guard now joins the First Team basketball quintet. Lacey closed out a stellar career at Alton by leading the Redbirds to a 27-5 record and a share of the championship in the powerful Southwestern Conference. A physical guard who plays with great poise and leadership, Lacey is the epitome of a winner. As a senior he averaged 16 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals. He hit 16 points in the fourth quarter of Alton's 46-43 victory over Vashon at the Shootout. Lacey also had 29 points in a road victory over East St. Louis, which put the Redbirds in position to grab a share of the conference crown. The Redbirds won 81 games in the three years with Lacey as the team’s starting point guard. Kenny Leverette (O'Fallon): A muscular 6'3" junior guard, Leverette was the main reason the Panthers made history in 2007 with their first ever appearance in the IHSA Class AA State Tournament where they advanced all the way to the state championship. Leverette averaged 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the 28-8 Panthers. While his strength and versatility enabled him to play against bigger players in the post, he spent much of the season playing point guard. The leader of a balanced team, Leverette really stepped up his game during the state playoffs with 21 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks to lead O'Fallon to its first ever sectional championship. In the supersectionals against Decatur Eisenhower, Leverette had 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in a 63-60 victory. Anthony Mitchell (East St. Louis): After missing most of his junior year with injuries, the 6'4" senior made his mark in 2007 with a huge season for the Flyers. An explosive athlete with an unquenchable will to compete, Mitchell led the Flyers to a 23-5 record and a share of the Southwestern Conference title. Included in that season was an 18-game winning streak and Mitchell averaged 14.5 points and 11.1 rebounds to lead the league. He enjoyed several explosive performances, including a 21 point, 20-rebounds, seven-block performance against McCluer in the first round of the Collinsville Tournament. Mitchell will continue his career at Saint Louis University where he will sign this week. Leon Powell (Vashon): A four-year starter for the perennial power Wolverines, the 6'8" Powell enjoyed his finest individual season. He averaged 20.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and four blocks to lead Vashon to the Public High League title. Powell was a dominant player in the low post on both ends of the floor, but his improved play from the perimeter made him a more dangerous player to guard. His mid-range 15-footer became just a valuable weapon in his offense as his low-post moves and big dunks. During Powell's career, Vashon won two state championships, played in three state-championship games and won four PHL and district titles. Torres Roundtree (McCluer North): The 2007 St. Louis American Player of the Year, the 6'3" junior was the shining star on a talented team that won the Missouri Class 5 state title. Roundtree is a versatile player with a great feel for the game. During the semifinals of the Final Four state tournament against Lindbergh, Roundtree scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. That merely set the stage for a memorable performance against Kansas City Rockhurst, when he had 38 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Stars to their first state title. For the season, Roundtree averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals to lead McCluer North to a 26-3 record. Roundtree has given a verbal commitment to Chris Lowery's Southern Illinois University Salukis. St. Louis American Fab Five Boys All-Star Basketball Teams First Team Kavon Lacey 6'0" (Sr.) Alton Kenny Leverette 6'3" (Jr.) O'Fallon Anthony Mitchell 6'4" (Sr.) East St. Louis Leon Powell 6'8" (Sr.) Vashon Torres Roundtree 6'3" (Jr.) McCluer North Second Team Anthony James 6’1†(Jr.) Normandy Josh McCoy 6'4" (Jr.) Fort Zumwalt South Sam Pearson 6'1" (Sr.) Hazelwood Central Chris Stokes 5'7" (Sr.) Career Academy Scott Suggs 6'7" (Jr.) Washington Third Team Rodney Ford 6’5†(Sr.) Affton DeAndre Gilmore 6'2" (Sr.) Cardinal Ritter Rudy Harper 6'3" (Sr.) St. Charles Femi John 6'4" (Jr.) McCluer North Jesse Perry 6'7" (Jr.) Gateway Tech Fourth Team Bryant Allen 6'0" (Soph.) Maplewood Richard Anderson 6'8" (Soph.) Beaumont Mike Baker 6'7" (Sr.) Whitfield Darian Sain 5'10" (Jr.) East St. Louis Robert Williams 5'10" (Sr.) Lindbergh Fifth Team Jesse Gilliam 6'1" (Sr.) Parkway South Edward Jamerson 6'2" (Jr.) Wellston Marvin McNutt 6'3" (Sr.) Hazelwood Central Willis Smith 6'4" (Sr.) Beaumont Abel Tillman 6'7" (Jr.) McCluer South-Berkeley Austin Achievement Awards Player of the Year: Torres Roundtree (McCluer North) Coach of the Year: Randy Reed (McCluer North) Team of the Year: McCluer North Defensive Player of the Year: Abel Tillman (McCluer South-Berkeley) Breakthrough Team of the Year: Wellston Freshman of the Year: Julian Johnson (Whitfield) Sophomore of the Year: Bryant Allen (Maplewood) & Richard Anderson (Beaumont) Junior of the Year: Torres Roundtree (McCluer North) Senior of the Year: Kavon Lacey (Alton) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 I am surprised Earl puts Suggs on the second team. I guess he had the game of his life when I saw him against St. Charles. He sure looked like the best player in the Metro area that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Scott was awesome that night. I was there. Earl was there. Angres Thorpe and Jamall Walker were there. Mike Anderson was there. Gene Bartow was there. A lot of people were impressed with Suggs that night. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 Surprised to see Anthony James on 2nd team. I was there. Earl was there. He scored 35 pts and looked like the best player in the area that night in the SBE championship game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerang Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Where is Josh Harrellson, Tyler Griffey, Kramer Sodeberg, Drew Hanlon and a couple others? What am I missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 The St. Louis American is a black paper. Its a free paper that covers the African American community. A place where a kid like Anthony James can be second team instead of honorable mention and where guys like Richard Anderson can get their due. I'm glad he recognized Kenny Leverette, who led his team to the state title game in Illinois because I feel the Post shafted him on the post season award recognition, while Earl put him on 1st team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 It's necessary as you can see because Kenny Leverette led his team to state in Illinois and the Post shafted him on the award recognition, while Earl put him on 1st team. explain this to me a bit please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 I dont feel like I have to explain myself. Leverette was shafted and that's all there is to it. Only Derrick Rose and Tim Flowers stood between him and a championship in Illinois largest class. He's the kind of player, the post leaves off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 so you can't see things one way and others see them differently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 ofcourse and I'm going to edit that post. Its a good paper and Earl does sports. I dont want to damage Earl's credibility by posting anything that might cause a stir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Are you saying there are only black kids on the StL American team? Official Billikens.com sponsor of H Waldman Official Sponser of the Stemmler and Ahearn could and would have helped club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 i'm not sure but it looks that way not to open a huge can of worms and this can certainly depend on your school of thought, but brings to my mind the pending vote for MO schools on the public vs private deal to me, if i think i am the best, i want to prove it and the way to prove it is to play and beat the rest, public or private - so in what we are discussing here either you are all metro all inclusive from the post or fab 5 black from the american (where is the fab 5 white team??) the other school is let's award as many medals as we can, so let's increase the number of classes and then dilute it by saying i am the private champ or public champ, or in this case fab 5 black i guess recognition is good for the kids, but that and $1 will get them a soda from the machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerang Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Don't know. I'm not from St Louis and had never heard of the St Louis American. I don't know the color of quite a few of those kids, was just curious as to why some of the better players weren't on there. So, are they not mentioned by Earl Austin because they are white? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 Its a black paper. I think the only other black paper is the St. Louis Argus, but I'm not sure. I cant remember a year where there was a white player on the list. Would you have a problem with an All-Christian team, or All-Asian team etc. I wouldnt. I think there is a Christian All-Metro team in Missouri. Dane Brumagin who stars for UMKC was on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleacherBum593 Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 V- So in other words you wouldn't get the least bit upset if the Post had a "whites" only team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 I am going to defend Earl on this one. First, Earl is one of the most color blind guys I know. V is right on this, the American isn't the Post. Its readership is all black and they frequently have "black only" all-star teams, etc. The Post serves the broader community, and isn't going to have a white or black only team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 No, as long as its clear ahead of time. If they just put out a paper and didnt say anything, I would be like, where are the black kids, but if it was known, I dont have a problem with it. The post is the biggest paper, so yeah I would expect them to cover everybody, but if you had a small paper covering specific groups of people that would not bother me. In a lot of cases, minorities are likely to miss out and thats just one of the reasons the American exists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerang Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 So, Earl Austin assumes that the black readers want to know who the best players are as long as they are black, and don't care to know anything about the white players? I thought basketball fans were appreciative of all good players? I didn't see any mention in the article about it being a blacks only list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleacherBum593 Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 V - I can see how you arrived at your viewpoint. But, I don't agree with it. To exclude one class or classes of people is not right. For years and years now, the black community in St Louis has argued for equal rights, equal treatment, etc. To get to that point is going to require compromise to some degree by all the citizens of the Metro St Louis area. Do you agree on that? I guarantee you that if the Post had produced a "whites" only team, the black community would have staged protests about it. And IMHO they would be justified. But, its got to work both ways. You can't have your cake and eat it too as the late Greg Freeman told me. Since Earl is considered an "expert" in the St Louis community on high school basketball, Earl does a big disservice to every kid that plays the game of high school basketball in the Metro St Louis area by producing a list that only includes blacks and excludes players who are white, hispanic, asian, Bosinian, Greek, etc, etc, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerang Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 I don't know if that is the same. The All-Christian team is made up of players from schools that are religious (Christian at least) in nature, regardless of the skin color of the player. Austin's list includes all schools, but only the black players. There is a kid from Lindbergh on the list, so why aren't all players from Lindbergh considered? I think it is a little insulting to assume that the black readers only want to know about the good black players, and not all good players period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOSLU68 Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 EA is writing to the paper's audience; I pick it up and read it thoroughly because it gives me another view but I don't take offence because there is no mention of whites in this paper-no Asians, no Mexicans 0 no international news-it talks about what is happening in the local black community; I like EA and when he makes it big on TV or when MB makes it big on TV it will be a better day than this Rene' fellow-he doesn't get out into the community much-Hey Rene go to a game-practice saying the names of the players along with Guy Phillips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerang Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 What about a kid that is 1/2 white and 1/2 black? Would he be eligible to be included by Earl Austin for this team? There was an article today linked on drudgreport about interracial marriages being at an all-time high. Will these kids in the future be noted by Earl Austin or will they not be black enough for the black readers to be interested in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 With all due respect, I think you guys are making this more than it is. Earl isn't a racist; quite the contrary. In other forums he gives lots of PR to players like Harrelson, Giffey, etc. The American is a traditional black paper that started in the days of segregation when blacks couldn't attend MU, or other white institutions, couldn't play pro baseball, and rarely got any play in the Post, the Globe or anywhere else. Papers like the American existed all over the country and offered the only PR that black athletes got. I don't see stories on non-Jews in the Jewish Lite or non-Hispanics in Hispanic newspapers and I don't expect to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Majerus Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 D1 hoops - the greatest show on earth. I'm with AJ and VTime on this - the American is what it is and I don't have a problem with it. Of course the SLPD can't have an all white team - it serves the entire community. I don't see the selection as racist; just serving a constituency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerang Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Not saying he is racist. Just wondering why there is no mention of the team being an All-black only team. If Jewish Lite (I assume that is a Jewish newspaper) had an all-metro area basketball team I would think it would mention something like All-Jewish team, or the text would include something about this being the best Jewish players in the area, etc. There is no mention in Austin's article about race being the determining factor for his team, it's just labeled 'Fab Five' - nothing noting tan all-black version, nor in the text is there any metnion of it being a 'blacks only' team. I honestly did not know the only players on the list were black when I read it initally. Again, I'm not from St Louis and had no idea on some of those players like Kenny Leverette, Josh McCoy, etc. Never seen them play, never seen pictures of them, etc. Just seems odd in the 21st century to label basketball teams as black only. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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