Over the holidays I made a stop by a favorite St. Louis holiday hoops tradition. The 2019 MICDS Holiday Tournament began with 16 Boys Teams and 8 Girls Teams battling their way to the title over the next week while raising funds for Special Olympics of Missouri. I was on hand to enjoy action from the four Championship quarterfinals games. Here is a list of the top performers from the Quarterfinal action I was able to catch...

2020 6-4 Matt Schark Francis Howell (19PTS) – The senior forward used his strength and skill to power his team to victory over a scrappy upset minded O’Fallon Christian team. Schark came through in critical moments when his team needed a bucket. He was particularly effective using his size and strength advantage near the basket. With a combination of strength, size and footwork, Schark was a sure thing in the lane. 

2020 6-6 Evan Schneider Ladue (21PTS) – Schneider is built like a linebacker and played like a man who knows how to throw his weight around. The muscular forward was too much to handle in the low post. Evan moved with purpose to free himself for shot opportunities in the lane including cuts or flashes on the pass. After scoring six first quarter points, he was scoreless in the second quarter before erupting for 12 of his 15 second half points in the third quarter. 

2021 6-7 Jack Pronger MICDS (14PTS) – Pronger used his skills as an inside outside threat to help his team to a definitive victory over Parkway Central. He is a skilled forward that used his ball handling, passing and shooting to spread the Colts defense thin. Pronger was nailing midrange shots, creating his own shots off the dribble, crashing boards. Pronger knows his way around the post but was equally effective firing up jump shots and attacking from the perimeter. 

2020 6-7 Devion Harris Parkway Central (24PTS) – The senior forward’s 24 points equaled more than half of his team’s 38 total points for the game. Devion spent most of the first half getting his teammates involved. After an 8-28 start, it was clear that Harris would have to carry more of the offensive load if his team was going to have a chance to win. Harris responded by putting up 18 second half points. It was no easy task, but Harris assisted with ball handling duties, nailed open jumpers, crashed boards, and took several trips to the charity stripe. 

2020 6-0 Rashad Weekly (22PTS) – The shrewd lead guard nailed 3-3FT in the second quarter to beat back the hard charging Kirkwood Pioneers. Weekly ended the game with 22 points. From nailing 3’s to handing out assists, Weekly seemed unfazed by threat posed by the determined pioneers. Weekly doesn’t rattle easy, and he did a good job of keeping his team on task. 

2020 7-0 Ryan Kalkbrenner (17PTS) – The big fella tallied a whopping 15 blocks, 17 points and a host of dunks to help his team defeat the Pioneers. Despite the effort of the seven-foot rim protector, Kirkwood seemed undaunted by the task at hand and continued to attack the basket. Of course, Kalkbrenner was more than happy to oblige them by sending shot after shot into the bleachers.