Hopkins to play in St. Louis Shootout

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This story was published in Sports on Friday, November 2, 2001.

Nation's top senior, more local flavor highlight this year's event

By Cameron Hollway
Of The Post-Dispatch

The Sept. 11 attacks slowed the process, but event organizer Keith Pickett has put together another strong lineup of high school basketball teams and players for the annual Shop 'N Save/KMOX Shootout.

"Of the long-distance teams, we had seven that were originally scheduled to fly in," Pickett said. "But after the tragedies, school boards, parent groups and administrators from all of those schools weren't sure that they wanted to put their kids on planes. It became a 'let's wait and see' thing that took most of October to get worked out."

Three of those programs finally decided to bus their teams in, and Pickett said that none of the teams that had committed before the attacks backed out. The other four will fly to St. Louis.

The 21st edition of the Shootout is scheduled for Dec. 6 at Savvis Center. While it includes the usual assortment of All-America players -- including the consensus No. 1 senior in the nation -- it has taken on more of a regional flavor. Seven of the 16 teams are from the immediate area, and Columbia Hickman and Springfield (Ill.) Lanphier have only short distances to travel.

Billed as the premier single-day high school basketball event in the nation, the Shootout has featured 57 players who became NBA draft picks, including four of the first eight picks last year, and 59 teams that have gone on to win their state championship. In the past 12 years, nine Shootout teams have been declared national champion or runner-up.

This year's lineup includes four players among Street & Smith's top 20, including preseason first-team All-Americans Amare Stoudemire of Cypress Creek in Orlando, Fla., and Shavlik Randolph of Broughton High in Raleigh, N.C.

Stoudemire (6 feet 10, 240 pounds) is regarded as the top senior in the nation despite sitting out his junior year after transfering from another Orlando-area high school. He upped his stock, Pickett said, with a strong summer season.

Randolph, a 6-9 power forward, averaged 28 points and 13 rebounds last season. He scored 50 points in a game last season, breaking the school record of 47 points that was held by Pete Maravich. Randolph is one of two Shootout players who has given an oral commitment to Duke, the other being Shelden Williams, a 6-9 forward from Midwest City, Okla., and a second-team Street & Smith's All-American.

Midwest City, which also features All-American DeAngelo Alexander (6-5, committed to Oklahoma), will play Dallas Lincoln in the highlight game at the Shootout. Lincoln's team, which went 30-3 last year, returns All-Americans Chris Bosh (6-10, Georgia Tech) and Bryan Hopkins (5-11, Southern Methodist).

A mid-afternoon game will feature two future Big Ten Conference rivals. Proviso East (Ill.) guard Dee Brown, who has committed to Illinois, will lead his team against Gary (Ind.) West Side and 6-10 center Chris Hunter, who has committed to Michigan.

The top area player in the field is Rockwood Marquette's Troy Slaten, a 6-5 guard who averaged 25.1 points per game last season en route to second-team All-Metro honors. Marquette's 4:15 p.m. matchup will be against Tulsa Victory Christian, which features 6-6 swingman Kelenna Azubuike, a fourth-team Street & Smith's All-American.

The Oklahoma player of the year last season, Azubuike (6-6) averaged 38 points and scored more than 50 points four times. He has committed to Oklahoma.

"This year, we don't have a big-time one-on-one matchup like we had in Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler last year," Pickett said. "But what we do have are All-American players at every position and a lot of guys who really get up and down the floor."

SHOP 'N SAVE/KMOX SHOOTOUT\\Reporter Cameron Hollway\\ E-mail: chollway@post-dispatch.com\\Phone: 314-340-8149


Published in Sports on Friday, November 2, 2001.

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[Charleston Pony]

It's great to have someone committed to playing at SMU that is mentioned among the best H.S. players in the country. I will feel better when the early signing day arrives and Hopkins confirms his commitment to the Mustangs. With Damon graduating, "Hop" can step right on and take over this team for the next 4 yrs. Ah...memories of Butch Moore & Kato Armstrong and top 25 caliber hoops on the hilltop!

[The Q]

Loved watching Kato play. One of the most entertaining players I've ever seen.

Anyone know what he's doing now?