It was another incredible season in the Ozarks, with four teams bringing home state championships and several players receiving all-state honors. We cap the 2015-16 with the announcement of the 2016 All-Ozarks Sports Zone Team, a collection of the area’s 15 best high school basketball players with individual impact on a game, team success and stats all being taken into consideration. Nominations by coaches for their own or opposing players were both accepted and required for a player to be evaluated for any postseasons honors from our staff.
Player of the Year: Jared Ridder, Kickapoo
Offensive MVP: Monty Johal, Glendale
Defensive MVP: Dune Piper, Hartville
6th Man of the Year: Quinn Nelson, Ozark
Freshman of the Year: Andrew Mitchell, Blue Eye
Coach of the Year: Duane Hiler, Mountain Grove
First Team
Junior F Jared Ridder, Kickapoo – 19.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Jared Ridder will go down as one of the best Kickapoo Chiefs ever. His junior year was spectacular, with his 618 points this season being the fourth highest single-season total in Kickapoo history. The 6-foot-7 junior has several D-1 offers with more than a half dozen Power 5 programs still recruiting him. He was the Ozark Conference Player of the Year, a Class 5 All-State selection and he averaged 20.6 PPG at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, earning all-tournament team honors.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Jared is one of the most talented players to come through SWMO. He is a match up nightmare at 6'7”, he can score in the post, score on offensive rebounds, and maybe one of the purest 3-point strokes in the state. But what makes him special is how hard he plays and how he competes. It's rare for a player as talented as he is to play with the edge that he does.”
Senior G Kobe Wands, Rolla – 19.7 PPG, 6 APG, 2.8 SPG
Rolla is 50-6 over the last two seasons and this guy is the main reason why. He is the program’s all-time leader in assists and third all-time in scoring. An all-state and All-Ozark Conference selection, Wands also knocked down 55 3s, shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc for the best shooting team in the Ozarks.
Opposing Coach Comment: “He’s a special playmaker. Very good with his 3-point shot but absolutely GREAT at penetrating and kicking to open shooters. We tried to stick to shooters and not help off on his penetration. We tried to keep in front of him to make him shoot over us on penetration. Great competitor. Sees the floor as well as any guard we have seen all season.”
Sophomore G Monty Johal, Glendale – 25.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.4 APG
Johal is the most gifted scorer in the Ozarks. The sophomore guard took just 55 games to score 1,000 career points, which is the third fewest in program history. He had seven 30-point games this year, including a 41-point outburst against Lebanon, the second most in Glendale history. He finished the season with 724 points, which is also the second most in program history.
Opposing Coach Comment: “He’s a great scorer. Left-handed but can also go right but likes to finish with spin back to left or shot fake and step through back left. Can shoot the 3 but seems to drive it to score more often. Loves to curl off screens. He’s a relentless scorer who you can never relax against.”
Junior F Brandon Emmert, Bolivar – 17.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 1 SPG
Emmert continues to put together one of the best careers in the history of Bolivar Basketball and he was big in marquee games with 25-12 against Kickapoo and 17-14 against Nixa. The COC Small Player of the Year nearly averaged a double-double this season, while becoming Bolivar’s third all-time leading scorer, second all-time leading rebounder and third all-time shot blocker. Barring injury, he will break school-records in all three categories next year.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Best big man in the area in my opinion. His size and skill made him so tough to guard. He uses his body so well with getting the low post position that he wants. He finishes well at the basket and if he doesn't, he usually would grab the rebound and put it right back. He also has great court vision and is a GREAT passer for a big. When the double team came, his cross court passes were precise and would hit their guards almost exactly where they wanted to catch and shoot.”
Senior G D.J. McNew, Mountain Grove – 21 PPG, 6 RPG
Few expected Mountain Grove to make a Final Four run this spring and it happened behind the play of McNew. The two-time SCA Player of the Year was a scoring machine again for the Panthers, including a 16-point first quarter against defending state champion Barstow. McNew was a Class 3 all-state selection.
Opposing Coach Comment: “DJ has a motor that goes from the start of the game to the end of the game. He competes on every possession on both ends of the floor and rebounds the ball extremely well. He often is asked to guard players that are bigger than him on the defensive end. Offensively he is very talented; he can drive it, score it in the post and play with his back to the basket and is also a good perimeter shooter. The kid is a winner and played like a senior on a mission this season.”
Second Team
Senior G Kyle Cavanaugh, Fair Grove – 21.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.3 SPG
Notable: Scored 25 or more points 11 times this year, shooting 53 percent from the field.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Kyle Cavanaugh is everything you look for in a leader. Can shoot and attack the rim. Tough-nosed, great defender who is a winner. Most importantly a great kid who represents what high school sports is all about.”
Senior G Isaac Johnson, Kickapoo – 11.5 PPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG
College: Drury
Notable: Scored 85 points in Kickapoo’s four playoff games.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Isaac Johnson is one of the best point guards in the state. He is lethal in transition and lives in the paint and can get in there at will and create a shot for himself or one of his teammates. He expanded his game this year and was very good at creating space and hitting mid-range jump shots, he was also a consistent threat from the 3-point line. This year he took a more assertive role on the offensive especially in big moments and during crunch time, he made big plays in big games all year long, living up to the nickname “Ice”. He is going to look good in Drury Red and Black.”
Junior G Cam Davis, Kickapoo – 13.9 PPG, 5 RPG, 2.8 APG
Notable: Averaged 17 PPG and 10.5 RPG in the Final Four.
Opposing Coach Comment: “His emergence at the guard spot this season is what made the Chiefs so balanced and dangerous. Cam has a smooth game and a calm and cool approach to the game. He can hurt opponents in a variety of ways, getting to the rim, mid-range jumpers and perimeter jump shots.”
Senior F Ryan Ward, Hartville – 20 PPG, 6 RPG
Notable: Class 2 Player of the Year; recorded the third highest field goal percentage in Show-Me Showdown history by going 11-for-12 against No. 2 Wellington-Napoleon.
Opposing Coach Comment: “He is a pure scorer. He just has that mentality that he can go out and get 20 on any given night and he does most nights. He kind of has an unorthodox shot, but he made it quite consistently which tells me he has put a ton of time in to working on it. He has some range too. On a team which had four really good players, he was the toughest matchup and the kid you had to be most concerned with because he could shoot and drive and that's what made him the most dangerous.”
Senior F Chase Allen, Nixa – 12.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG
College: Iowa State (football)
Notable: The COC Large Player of the Year owns Nixa’s all-time field goal percentage record (71 percent), which is the second highest in state history.
Opposing Coach Comment: “As strong as anyone you will find, can jump quick, and an intelligent and relentless competitor. He can beat you on his ability to get to the glass alone. I have heard people who have guarded Shaq say that it hurt to foul him, Chase Allen for our area is the same way. He probably plays through more contact than anyone in the area, sometimes it is called sometimes it isn't, but he never seems to get rattled, he keeps coming at you.”
Third Team
Senior G Christian Brown, Rogersville – 19.3 PPG, 5 RPG, 1 SPG
Notable: Scored 1,247 in three seasons in Rogersville, the eighth highest total in program history.
Opposing Coach Comment: “He has a scorer’s mentality. He has a big body and is not afraid to use it. He comes at you and is aggressive all game long. If he gets going he can hit 20 percent shots or ‘Kobe’ level shots at a very high rate. If the game is close at the end and he needs to hit a basket, he comes through a high percentage of a time.”
Junior G Garrett Kesterson, Fair Grove – 19.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2 SPG
Notable: Knocked down 102 3-pointers (44 percent) as a junior. Kesterson enters his senior year 107 away from setting the Missouri record for career 3s.
Opposing Coach Comment: “He is a great pure shooter. If he has space to catch and shoot, he is going to knock it down on a consistent basis. To me, he reminds me a lot of Austin Ruder, which is high praise. He is athletic as well and can get to the basket, but his biggest strength and what makes him special is clearly his shot. In my opinion, he is one of the best in SWMO and possibly the state.”
Senior G Dallas Meinders, Walnut Grove – 17.6 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG, 4 SPG
College: Grand View
Notable: Averaged 26.8 PPG in Walnut Grove’s last five games, including 35 points in the Class 1 state championship. Scored 1,818 career points.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Meinders best skill is being left-handed. He has pretty good handles that can break down most defenders allowing him to get the basket really well, where his height allows him to finish inside.”
Junior F Jakob Partee, Clever – 19.8 PPG, 7 RPG
Notable: SWCL Player of the Year shot 55 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3 and 87 percent from the FT line.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Partee is very good shooter, who just happens to be 6'6" which doesn't allow many people to really contest his shot very well. He is agile enough that he can run off screens and is very good at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line, where he doesn't miss very often.”
Junior F Julius Walker, Greenwood – 25 PPG, 9 RPG, 1.5 SPG
Notable: Walker will enter his senior year with 1,436 points, 1,210 of which has been scored in the last two seasons.
Opposing Coach Comment: “Walker is a big strong kid that can handle the basketball very well. He has a very good touch around the basket and has post moves that allow him to get a shot off against most anybody.”
