Five locals named Mr. and Miss Show-Me Basketball finalists

Mr. & Miss Show-Me Basketball will be announced at the Academic All-State Banquet on April 23 in Springfield and the Ozarks will be well-represented.

A quintet of local hoop stars made the final cut.

The annual honor is reserved for seniors only.  Rogersville’s Drew Richards was he last Mr. Show-Me Basketball honoree from Southwest Missouri in 2004.  Kickapoo’s Heather Ezell was the last Miss Show-Me Basketball honoree from the area in 2005.

Cam Davis, Kickapoo
The Navy signee was Kickapoo’s on-the-court leader and brought tremendous mental toughness to the team. Never flustered, Davis was clutch during Kickapoo’s run to the Final Four.  He has a lethal mid-range game and ability to get what he wants, when he wants. Davis was also one of the area’s most efficient 3-point shooters. He always seemed to make – and want to take – the big shots.

2016-17 stats:  20 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, 5.2 assists per game, 1.4 steals per game, 53.8% field goal percentage, 51.1% 3-point percentage, 79.5% FT percentage. 1,227 career points (7th most all-time at Kickapoo).

Jared Ridder, Kickapoo
One of the most decorated players the Ozarks has ever produced, Ridder exits as Kickapoo’s all-time leading scorer and the top-ranked recruit in Missouri’s 2017 high school class, according to multiple outlets. The 6’7” forward is a matchup nightmare at the high school level – he’ll shoot over or post up quicker/shorter defenders, or take bigger/slower defenders out on the perimeter and go to work. He has great range and one of the smoothest releases you’ll ever see. In addition to being Kickapoo’s career scoring leader, Ridder also set Kickapoo’s single-season scoring mark this year with 745 points. The Kickapoo High School and MOKAN Elite product will play for Xavier next year.

2016-17 stats: MBCA Class 5 Player of the Year. 24.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.5 spg, 49.4% FG percentage, 40% 3-point percentage, 65.8% FT percentage. 1,628 career points. 

Full list of Mr. Show-Me Basketball finalists: Jacob Gilyard, Barstow; Wyatt Yess, Parkway West; Cameron Davis, Kickapoo; Levi Stockard, Vashon; Jared Ridder, Kickapoo; Brandon McKissic, SLUH;  Elijah Childs, Lee’s Summit West; Caleb Bennett, Lafayette (St. Joseph)

Amanda Kearney, Branson
The senior led the Lady Pirates to their best season in program history, winning 25 games and advancing all the way to the Class 5 quarterfinals.

Kearney received her second consecutive all-state selection following a season that saw her surpass the 2,000-career point mark (and finish with over 2,100) and average almost nine more points per game (23.0) than anyone else in the COC-Large, where she was unanimously named Player of the Year.  She will play for D-2 Harding next year.

Jordan Sanders, Kickapoo
Sanders finishes off her Kickapoo career nearly averaging a double-double in points (22.0) and rebounds (9.0) per game while playing in the state’s toughest Class (5). An offensive power and defensive standout who averaged four steals per game as a forward, Sanders was awarded Kickapoo’s Defensive Player of the Year award and led the Chiefs to a perfect Ozark Conference record.

Her points per game average (21.6) ranks as the highest in Kickapoo’s decorated history and her 1,686 career points places her third all-time at Kickapoo and sixth all-time on the Springfield Public Schools career scoring list.  Sanders will play for D-1 UC-Irvine next year.

Kelsey Winfrey, Lebanon
Lebanon says goodbye to the greatest girls basketball player in school history when Kelsey Winfrey graduates this spring and heads off to continue her career at Mizzou.

Winfrey led the Yellowjackets in points (21.6), rebounds (7.4), assists (3.6), steals (4.9), blocks (1.1) and 3-point percentage (42%) this season, leading Lebanon to a district championship and earning a Class 5 all-state selection. She finishes her career as the program’s all-time leading scorer, putting up 2,039 points to go with more than 780 rebounds, 450 steals and 300 assists.

Full list of Miss Show-Me Basketball finalists: Jordan Sanders, Kickapoo; Kelsey Winfrey, Lebanon; Madison Treece, Rock Bridge; Elle Brown, Rock Bridge; Lauryn Miller, Kirkwood; Nyjah White, Hickman; Devin Fuhring, St. James; Danni Nichols, Hickman; Amanda Kearney, Branson; Aaliyah Johnson, Lee’s Summit North

Mr. Show-Me Basketball Past Winners