Earl Austin Jr: Team Spotlight: St. Louis Raptors 17U Boys

Team Spotlight: St. Louis Raptors 17U Boys
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Earl  Austin on 28/07/2010 16:24:00
 
The Raptors have a talented mix of players that come from St. Charles County,
Lincoln County, the metro east and Mid-Missouri. The Raptors had their best
showing in the month of July at the Hoosier Shootout in Indianapolis, where they
finished in second place in the Silver Division. They also had solid showings at
the Eddie Ford Kentucky Hoopfest and the Spiece Best of the Midwest Tournament.
"We have a real good corps of players," Betley said. "We have several kids who
are getting a lot of interest from colleges at the Division I and Division II
levels. They play well together."
One of those players who has seen his recruiting stock rise this summer is 6'3"
guard Brendan Wheeler of Edwardsville. Wheeler is one of the top 3-point
shooters in the St. Louis metro area, but he has really emerged as quite the
scoring threat for the Raptors. Wheeler has excellent shooting range, but now he
has developed some moves off the dribble to go with his perimeter touch. In a
game against the Georgia Wolverines at the Kentucky Hoopfest, Wheeler opened up
the game with his own personal 15-0 flurry to get the Raptors off and running.
"He has been sensational for us this month," Betley said. "Brendan is averaging
about 25 points a game for us in July. Everybody knows he can shoot, but now, he
has been doing it all for us. He has done the bulk of the scoring for us."
Betley has also been getting strong play from a couple of Mid-Missouri standouts
in 6'6" forward Paul McMahon of Jefferson City and point guard Matt Kelly of
Columbia Rock Bridge. McMahon is a solid inside player who has developed into a
quite a perimeter shooter. McMahon recently participated in the Joy in the Game
Academic All-American Camp in Waukegan, Ill. and was selected as one of the top
five players in the camp.
"Paul has developed into a quite a perimeter player," Betley said. "He can shoot
it from NBA range now. He is a legitimate 6'6" small forward."
The 6'0" Kelly has been a stalwart at Rock Bridge since his sophomore year when
he was a starter on the Bruins' Class 5 third-place team in 2009. He should be
one of the top guards in Mid-Missouri as a senior.
"He is very strong and he is a great on-ball defender," Betley said. "He can
really lock people down defensively."
Guards Kendall Shell (Webster Groves) and Neil Branham (Troy) have also been
solid players for the Raptors this summer. The 6'1" Shell is an all-purpose
player who does a little bit of everything from rebounding, defense to scoring.
He was a solid, tough, role player for Jay Blossom's 27-3 Webster Groves team as
a junior. This summer, he has been able to expand his game to the point where
some Division I schools out West are taking notice. The 6'1" Branham is a
strong, physical point guard who loves contact, yet still makes big plays. He is
strong on the dribble and gets where he needs to go at all times. He is also
Troy's starting quarterback in football.
Guards Alex Betley (St. Dominic) and Matt Clark (SLUH) provide more depth in the
backcourt. Betley, the younger brother of the head coach, will be St. Dominic's
point guard in the winter. He is an excellent defensive player. Clark is
expected to be a key player for the Junior Billikens. Also providing depth in
the backcourt is Derek Deters of Troy while providing up front support are the
6'5" duo of Karon Hayes (Columbia Rock Bridge) and Ivory Watts (Edwardsville).