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EDWARDSVILLE - Lucco-Jackson Gym and the adjacent gyms at Edwardsville High was filled with boys basketball talent from all over the St. Louis area, as well as outstate Missouri and Illinois, as the Tigers hosted an NCAA Live showcase event on Friday and Saturday.
The showcase event featured 70 schools from both sides of the Mississippi River, with Alton, Marquette Catholic, Collinsville, Father McGivney Catholic and the host Tigers playing games where the main audience was college coaches from around much of the country, including some Power Five conferences.
"It's been an awesome event and a great weekend," said Edwardsville coach Dustin Battas. "This is an NCAA Live event, where Missouri and Illinois high school teams in front of college coaches."
Coaches from Power Five conferences such as the Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences, along with coaches from the Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conferences, the Summit League and various Division-II and Division-III leagues, including the Great Lakes Valley Conference, were in attendance at the showcase. Although no team results were available at press time, the Tigers and other schools did well in the showcase and were able to get their players much-needed exposure to college recruiters and coaches.
"We've been competitive," Battas said. "We're 1-2, we lost two close games and we're 8-4 in the summer season so far."
The summer season has indeed been a successful one thus far for the Tigers and Battas has been very pleased with the results so far.
"It's been a productive summer," Battas said. "All the guys have gotten good experience and we've enjoyed coaching them."
Some of the players who have stood out during the summer season so far are juniors A.J. Tillman, Malik Allen and Kris Crosby, along with senior Isayah Kloster,
"A.J. Tillman has had a good summer at point guard," Battas said, "Isayah and Malik have played well and Kris Crosby has been a bright spot for us."
The summer season is a good time to evaluate the team's talent and see what kind of style will be suited for the team to play in the upcoming 2022-23 season.
"The summer is a good time to see what the team looks like," Battas said, and decide how you want to play in the winter."
The Tigers and their coaches have liked how the team has evolved so far, and are looking forward to getting the winter season underway when preseason practice starts this fall.
"There's been a lot of positives this summer," Battas said, "and we really like working with our guys. We're looking forward to the season."Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
