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Coaches Confidential: Who will be the area high school basketball team to beat in 2025?

wyatt d. wheeler, springfield news-leader
·4 min read

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: Who will be the best team in the area in 2024-25?

Here are the responses by head basketball coaches throughout the area.

Boys' high school basketball

Strafford returns almost all of their rotation next season and will be led by all-district players in Cody Voysey and Brady Ripp. They performed really well throughout the season and it took overtime to eliminate them in districts. I expect that team to come out ready to take the next step next season.

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Nixa just always has so many guys that can play. I think they will do addition by subtraction and get things figured out at a higher level.

More: Meet the News-Leader's 2023-24 All-Ozarks high school boys' basketball teams

The Central Bulldogs took on the Kickapoo Chiefs in the Class 6 District 5 Championship game at Glendale High School on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
The Central Bulldogs took on the Kickapoo Chiefs in the Class 6 District 5 Championship game at Glendale High School on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

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Rogersville, Nixa and Kickapoo are always in the top tier.

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Rogersville and Chadwick both return most if not all of their starting lineup. I would not say I am circling them on our schedule or anything, but they both should be very good again.

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Nixa will be really good next year. The junior and sophomore classes are really strong, Aurora returns everyone from this year. Rogersville will be really good for the next few years with strong sophomore and freshman classes and they have a good mix of bigs, guards and shooters.

More: These Springfield area boys' high school basketball underclassmen showed they're next

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The Greenwood Blue Jays' Collin Clark seen here against the Sparta Spartans in the second round of the Blue Divsion during the Blue and Gold Tournament at Great Southern Bank Arena on December 27th, 2023.
The Greenwood Blue Jays' Collin Clark seen here against the Sparta Spartans in the second round of the Blue Divsion during the Blue and Gold Tournament at Great Southern Bank Arena on December 27th, 2023.

Greenwood from Classes 1-3, Kickapoo from Classes 4-6. Greenwood's Collin Clark will be a dominant senior next year. Kickapoo has some youth and they are only getting better and Mitch is one of the best coaches in the area, right up there with Brett Reed in my opinion.

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Parkview.  They return several good players and could very well win a Class 5 state title.

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I think that basketball in SWMO, especially in Springfield, is the most level/even it has ever been. Any team can beat any team on any given night.

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I think you have to look at Nixa and Kickapoo again but a lot could change with players moving etc. There will be a number of teams competing for the top spot.

More: Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's best boys' basketball players of 2023-24 season

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Kickapoo is always going to be at the top of the list for us. Rogersville is going to be a load, they have an 8th grader who is huge and skilled. He is going to fit great with the freshmen they already have. And both of those programs have really good coaching.

Central and Cardinal Ritter players jump up to catch tip off during the MSHSAA Class 6 semifinal at Mizzou Arena on Mar. 15, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.
Central and Cardinal Ritter players jump up to catch tip off during the MSHSAA Class 6 semifinal at Mizzou Arena on Mar. 15, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.

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Central has to be at the top of this list. While they graduate an elite player, they return an extremely talented group and will look to be top dogs again in SWMO.

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Rogersville returns the best point guard in the area who will only be a sophomore. Central brings everyone but one back and are just a transfer away again. Nixa will always be good! Kickapoo will be great with Reese Kimrey and Jackson Shorter. Strafford brings everyone back. Fair Grove brings everyone back. Greenwood brings everyone back and will add a freshman who is going to be elite. Basketball in SWMO is tough!! Forsyth will be really good especially if the 7-footer comes back from Link Academy.

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Rogersville returns a lot to their final four team and so does Central.

Girls' high school basketball

Skyline will be very good next year!

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Fair Grove. It returns everybody from a state championship team

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Skyline and Fair Grove. Both were top teams in the area this year and they return the majority of their roster.

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More: Ozarks girls' basketball coaching performances we were most impressed by in 2023-24

I think Kickapoo, Skyline and Fair Grove will be some of the best in the area. They all have a lot coming back. Kickapoo will miss Kya Johnson's leadership for sure, but they have great tradition. Skyline will have all their main pieces returning. If they stay Class 2 they are poised to win it again. If FG and Skyline are both Class 3 it will be a fun postseason match-up. Fair Grove will have many returners and should battle for a third state title.

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Nixa. they have a core group of juniors who have the potential to make a big splash next season along with sophomore Taylor Wood. They will be the most athletic team in the area by far.

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 best team