Missouri Hoopers are SMOOTH! With relatively limited athleticism Missouri hoopers are known for their crafty play. Most aren’t physically dominant but are more than capable to get to their spot when they need to. The average Missouri hooper is pretty fundamentally sound. Armed with basketball IQs that range from benchwarmer to highly touted role players that understand the importance of jumping off the left foot and finishing with the right hand. Most are more interested in the long ball than mixing up in the middle. For those blessed with handles expect a beautiful pull up jumper. The area north of the Mason Dixon line is more known for creating their own offense off the dribble. This is where you get your Jayson Tatum and Bradley Beal’s from. South of the Mason Dixon line you’ll find your more tenacious defenders like Tyler Hansborough(retired) or your 3 & D guys like Otto Porter (we’ll talk more about these guys in another article). Hoopers who take the game serious understand the importance of defense but their pride and joy comes from getting buckets and making offensive highlights.

Allen Pettigrew Jr. @killingdreams_

Unfortunately, when it comes to the training and the training style of Kansas City Missouri basketball coaches, a ridiculous amount of lazy coaching, preparation and mentorship comes into play. I just want to make this clear, not all coaches and mentors but way too many. If you were to go to an AAU tournament and watch teams that comes from Kansas City Missouri, you would see a solid amount of decent to good athletes playing what they believe is to be structured, sound, intelligent basketball that is preparing them properly for the collegiate level and above. This is the problem though. They are playing the kind of structured basketball that they believe will only take them so far. No actual coaching is happening. Just kids spacing the floor and taking their man one on one off the dribble with no ball movement. Hardly anyone is even teaching these kids how to properly execute off the pick and roll, let alone actually learn to defend one. That is why you end up seeing kids for example move from schools like Raytown South High School in Raytown, Missouri to prep schools in Virginia (Ishmail Wainright top 100 prospect in 2013 turned professional football player). At some point, this decently structured basketball that they are playing built around their decent to good athleticism will only take them so far. Kansas City Missouri to a large degree tends to take their best basketball athletes to only step 3.5 out of 5 when it comes to the development of their basketball skill. Other states do much more to help develop the youth and that is why many leave for now. Kansas City Missouri has the potential and resources to change this perception but people in powerful positions and influence who have made it to the promise land, must come back and step up. Simple as that.

Phillip Dixon @PG_Anecdotes 

Best Pro Hoopers: Jayson Tatum, Otto Porter, Bradley Beal

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