Coaches Confidential: Which area basketball player did we not talk about enough in 2024?
At the end of the 2023-24 high school basketball season, the News-Leader reached out to many coaches in the area with several questions to answer with anonymity. We will run a few of these stories throughout the week.
Today's question: Which player in southwest Missouri is flying under the radar?
Here are the responses by head basketball coaches throughout the area.
Boys' high school basketball
Tegen Curley from Marshfield. When he wants to play he is impressive.
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Ethan Weaver and Kyrese Simpson are two kids from Hillcrest who I think are going to make a big jump next year.
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Spensar Seiger (Fair Grove). He is special on both sides of the floor. He always showed up and had his best games in the biggest games and carried his teammates when they struggled. He is a coach on the floor and does a great job at communicating what he sees and he always guards the other team's best players. For example, he was matched up on Jacob Lafferty of Sparta, he guarded (Greenwood's) Collin Clark in our district championship. He improved his outside shooting this season and knows how to score from inside around the rim. He is just a complete player and a great competitor.
More: Meet the News-Leader's 2023-24 All-Ozarks high school boys' basketball teams
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Reese Kimrey (Kickapoo). Doesn't score a lot but is capable if necessary. Doesn't turn the ball over very much.
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Taner Hicks is in the loaded junior class with Keion Epps, Eli Govan, etc. Taner was great this year. He is so crafty, smart, and unbelievably tough when he plays.
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Holton Keith (Webb City). Playing alongside Barron Duda people didn't always notice the numbers he was able to put up. Already receiving interest from multiple Division II programs.
More: These Springfield area boys' high school basketball underclassmen showed they're next
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I guess because he is out of the area a little bit, I would say the Ethan Brown kid from Rolla. Hard to say that for a kid who is player of the year in the Ozark Conference but man I think that guy is really stinking good.
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Not sure if you can say Collin Clark is "flying under the radar" but the guy is an ELITE player who doesn't seem to get the mentions of some of SWMO's other star players. His size and perimeter abilities make him a matchup problem and he is content to make the guys around him better than simply look for his own.
More: Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's best boys' basketball players of 2023-24 season
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Clayton Garrison (Chadwick). He may play for a Class 1 school but he is a Class 6 athlete who can shoot the ball extremely well, rebounds at a high level, defends extremely well and puts a ton of pressure on the rim!
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Chase Branham at Rogersville isn’t really flying under the radar but will definitely be one of the best players in our area for the next three years.
Girls' high school basketball
Abbey Green and Cam Hart (Fair Grove). Both were a little undervalued in conference and district but our conference is really good so I get that. They are both difference-makers for us and would be a star on almost everyone else's team. I really like Quinn Aldridge from Marshfield. She doesn't get the acclaim as the other guys over there but they don't go to the final four without her.
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Josie Salazar (Kickapoo), in my humble opinion. She didn't get near the recognition she deserved this season. She is going to explode next season and I can't wait to see it.
More: Ozarks girls' basketball coaching performances we were most impressed by in 2023-24
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Hailey Buckman from Rogersville. Has all the tools to be really good. The team came forward this year but I think she was overshadowed by other good players in the area.
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Mattie Zingg from Glendale is really good.
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Ashlen Garrett (Skyline). She is an impressive scorer and I think she can score like she does in any classification.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield area high school basketball coaches confidential under the radar
