Ozarks' boys basketball coaching performances we were most impressed by in 2023-24
There are many great high school basketball coaches in southwest Missouri and a few of them stood out throughout the 2023-24 season while leading their teams deep into the postseason or by rising above expectations.
Here were the ones we were most impressed by at the end of the season.
J.J. Adamson, Willard
Willard appears to be headed in the right direction after Adamson's second year as the boys' basketball coach saw it double its wins from a year ago. An 18-10 season was its best finish since having the same record in 2017. Better days appear to be ahead for the Willard program as fellow coaches laud Adamson's positivity when directing his team. Willard is playing hard and shooting better, both of which should carry over into a tougher Central Ozark Conference with realignment taking full force next year.
Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's best boys' basketball players of 2023-24 season
Jordan Epps, Central
What Epps has done in four years as Central's head basketball coach has been remarkable. His hard work culminated in a Class 6 third-place game victory, the program's best finish since 1945. Expectations were high for Central entering the season with a talented roster that showed flashes in recent years. Epps helped the team meet those expectations and go a step further by dominating the higher levels of basketball across the region. This program won five combined games in the three seasons before he took over. It won 25 this year, captured a Blue and Gold title, a district championship and wins against the typical-area powers. None of it would have been possible without Epps installing a culture that had the Bulldogs believing they were capable of anything.
More: Despite state semifinal defeat, Central basketball made it known that it's here to stay
Shawn Guerin, Chadwick
Guerin continued the difficult task of coaching the Chadwick boys' and girls' basketball teams. He was successful with both squads and led the boys' basketball team to its first state championship. The boys' team ended with a 29-3 record and a dominant 67-38 win over Braymer in the Class 1 state championship. A younger roster, led by junior star Clayton Garrison, rose above expectations and did something only two other athletics teams in Chadwick history had done before. On the girls' side, Guerin helped the Lady Cardinals win a district championship for the fourth straight year. Not many have done as much winning as Guerin has recently and he was rewarded with a title to end the season.
More: These Springfield area girls' high school basketball underclassmen showed they're next
Mitch McHenry, Kickapoo
It can go without saying at this point that McHenry will usually find himself on these types of lists. He's turned into one of southwest Missouri's elite coaches in recent years and this season was no different. McHenry's 2023-24 season featured a co-Ozark Conference championship after Kickapoo lost a handful of standouts from a Class 6 state runner-up team. He won this year with a sophomore guard starting to shoulder a lot of responsibility for one of the area's best programs. McHenry's team won through a loaded schedule with its only in-state losses coming to Central (twice) and Battle. It almost feels safe to say that if McHenry is on the Chiefs' sideline, they will be a contender at the end of the season. McHenry embraces that, knowing expectations at Kickapoo are higher than they are everywhere else.
More: These Springfield area boys' high school basketball underclassmen showed they're next
Brett Reed, Hartville
Reed is now a four-time state-championship-winning head coach after leading the Eagles to their latest Class 2 title. That's four championships since 2016 with three of those victories coming with almost entirely different groups. A 29-2 season saw its only two defeats come in the Blue and Gold Tournament against bigger programs when Reed wasn't on the sideline due to personal reasons. Hartville had arguably its best defense in its recent stretch of seasons when that's what the Eagles program preaches. Hartville won by an average of just over 21 points per game. Three different groups winning four state championships in five years is quite an accomplishment considering the buy-in required to be a Hartville basketball player. Reed gets them there time and time again. Hartville isn't slowing down.
More: Hartville boys, Skyline girls win high school basketball state championships
John Schaefer, Logan-Rogersville
Schaefer did it again. He blew away expectations by taking a newer and younger group to a state semifinal appearance when it seemed like the Wildcats were a year or two away. Schaefer gets the Wildcats playing at an elite level every season and it doesn't matter who's leading the way on the floor. Last year, Schaefer won with a group mostly committed to playing other sports in college. This year, he won with a freshman point guard who emerged from the season as one of the best overall players in the area. Others helped, including senior Scott Metz and Missouri State football kicker commit Stewart McDonald. They were the highlights on a Class 4 third-place team that knocked off Father Tolton in the quarterfinals when it featured a five-star guard and another Division I prospect. It's ridiculous the production that comes out of this program and it will continue to contend as long as Schaefer's roaming the Wildcats sideline.
Jack Simpson, Parkview
Simpson's made it known that he's one of the best young coaches in the area after one season at Catholic and after these last two at Parkview. He was a few made free throws away from having Parkview in its first semifinal since 1981 but that doesn't take away from what Parkview did this season. The Vikings never played a game on their home floor due to water damage until their quarterfinal appearance. That turned into many road trips and having to pretend that Hillcrest's locker room was its own for half the year. He kept his team together and motivated it to be stronger throughout a challenging year in which the Vikings didn't make excuses. Parkview was among the area's best this season and Simpson already appears to be in for one heck of a coaching career.
More: Why Parkview basketball still feels like winners despite Class 5 quarterfinal heartbreak
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 top high school boys basketball coaches of 2023-24
