Top teams and players from the 1990s -- Late 90s edition

The late 1990s had a tough act to follow after the outstanding teams and players in the early 1990s. While the quality of teams may have dropped a little, southeast Missouri still featured several state champions and final four teams. Here are my top five teams from 1995-1999 in chronological order.

Sikeston (1994-95)
The best team Sikeston produced in quite a while was a high-flying group of athletes that would excite crowds with their slam dunks. But the Bulldogs were more than just dunks as Sikeston could score from anywhere on the floor and were a good defensive team as well, coached by Fred Johnson. Led by all-staters Steven Geralds and Allen Hatchett, Sikeston won districts and then ran past DeSmet in the sectionals 73-60. In an exciting quarterfinal game, the Bulldogs missed their first 15 3-pointers and trailed Hazlewood Central 56-45 with two minutes to play. But Sikeston rallied, behind 23 points from Geralds and 19 from Hatchett to win the game 59-58. In the semifinals the Bulldogs raced out to a 36-23 halftime lead over Vashon but couldn't hold on despite 26 points from Geralds. Sikeston lost the third place game 68-66 to Kansas City Central to finish 24-5.

Charleston (1995-96)
In my mind, this team was clearly the best team of the late 1990s. With all-staters Rashad Oliver and Jeramy Biles leading the way, the Bluejays rolled through the regular season and districts with a 27-1 record, their only loss was to Paducah Tilghman in the finals of the Superman Classic. They opened the playoffs with a 62-51 win over Park Hills Central where Biles scored 21 points and dished out 11 assists. In the quarterfinals, Charleston downed Lutheran South 66-58 behind Biles' 26 points. Biles scored 25 points to help the Bluejays get past Chillicothe in the semifinals, after trailing for most of the game. In the championship game, Charleston got past the extremely talented Mexico Bulldogs that were led by Cookie Belcher. The future University of Nebraska star had several monster slam dunks but Charleston's defense took charge in the second half. Charleston won the game 61-54 with Oliver scoring 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Richland (1995-96)
While this team may not have been better than the 1996-97 Charleston team I left off the list, the Rebels were state champs and a formidable team in the mid-1990s and deserving of recognition. Richland was 26-2, losing only to Kennett and Doniphan in the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament. Standout Shaun Cole was helped by incoming transfers Shannon Woods and Ed Kellum and new coach Doyle Pitts. After winning districts, Richland slipped past Gideon 70-64 in regionals behind 36 points from Cole. The Rebels blew out Thayer before outscoring St. Elizabeth 89-81 in the quarterfinals with Cole scoring 38 points. In the semifinals, Richland held an eight-point lead with less than a minute to play, but Jefferson made a frantic comeback, tying the game. Cole hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to seal the win for Richland, finishing the game with 26 points. The Rebels rolled over Lockwood in the finals to secure the state title and a 31-2 record.

East Carter County (1996-97)
The Redbirds of East Carter County were a tough team in the late 1990s, led by Benji Stahl. Stahl helped lead Twin Rivers to the playoffs as a sophomore and then as a junior he and brother Matt got the Redbirds to the playoffs with an undefeated record, losing to Scott City in sectionals. After winning districts again, East Carter got revenge on Scott City, downing the Rams 63-56 behind Stahl's 26 points. East Carter then took down an athletic Berkeley squad in the quarterfinals 67-63 never trailing after the start of the second quarter. The Redbirds took down undefeated Hartville 62-59 in the semifinals despite trailing by 14 at halftime. Dominic Thompson, an underrated player for East Carter, finished the game with 16 points. In the championship, the Redbirds lost 76-58 to unbeaten Pembroke Hill that featured Kareem and JaRon Rush. The brothers combined for 54 points but the title was later taken away from Pembroke Hill by MSHSAA and given to East Carter County after it was revealed cash payments were made to the brothers.

Portageville (1998-99)
The Portageville Bulldogs made back-to-back final four appearances in 1998 and 1999, finishing fourth and third. The 1998-99 team was led by junior Will Durden with junior Quinton Sykes and senior Torry Saxton playing supporting roles. After winning districts, Portageville took down Kelly 67-57 in the sectionals, outscoring the Hawks 30-17 in the final period. Portageville reached the semifinals with a 69-64 win over Lutheran North in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Bulldogs took on Pembroke Hill, who still had Kareem Rush. The Bulldogs shot only 30 percent and were 7 of 22 from the free throw line but still hung tough, falling to the highly-touted Raiders 58-51. Portageville won the third place game 75-63 over North Callaway with Saxton scoring 20 and Sykes and Durden adding 13 and 11 respectively.

On the bubble teams:
Charleston (1994-95)
Twin Rivers (1994-95)
East Carter County (1995-96)
Charleston (1996-97)
Portageville (1997-98)

There were many talented players in the late 1990s, so much so that outstanding players like Corey Gipson and Steven Geralds just missed making my top five. Here is my list in alphabetical order, and again, I'm sure I am missing a few. In order to be included as a top player, the player has to have graduated between 1995-99.

John Beck (Scott City): Beck was a terrific shooter and helped lead the Rams to a 105-14 record in high school. He was a deadly outside shooter as demonstrated by a then-record 16 3-pointers in a game. He was on district championship teams in 1997 and 1998 and went to Arkansas State after graduation where he made 137 3-pointers in his career, including shooting over 43 percent from long range as a senior.

Jeramy Biles (Charleston): A two time all-stater, Biles was a terrific point guard that could score and was quick as lightning. He helped lead the Bluejays to a state championship as a senior and a district title as a junior. As a junior the Bluejays' state run ended in the quarterfinals when Borgia hit a shot at the buzzer to win 57-55, despite Biles' 16 points. Biles went on to play at Saint Louis University.

Cory Johnson (Clearwater): One of the deadliest long range shooters I have seen, Johnson was a two-time all-stater for the Tigers. Johnson could fill up the stat sheets with a great long range jump shot and the ability to take players off the dribble. Johnson went on to star at Three Rivers before playing his final two years at Southeast Missouri State where he is seventh all-time in 3-pointers made and still holds the best free throw percentage.

Rashad Oliver (Charleston): At just 6-2, Oliver was a tremendous inside presence for the Bluejays. A three-time all-stater, Oliver won three district titles at Charleston winning the state championship as a junior, where he scored 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Despite his smaller size for an inside player, Oliver was as tough as they come with outstanding athletic ability. He routinely dominated at the high school level for three seasons.

Antonio Sykes (Portageville): Sykes was a tremendous point guard and was a huge part of the Portageville dynasty in the early to mid 1990s. A three-time all-state performer, Sykes was part of three state championship teams as a freshman, sophomore and junior. As a junior, Sykes was an essential part of the Bulldogs that knocked off Cardinal Ritter that featured 6-10 Jahidi White who went to Georgetown, 7-1 Loren Woods who went to Wake Forest/Arizona and 6-6 Chris Carrawell who went to Duke. At 5-9, Sykes handled the opening tipoff duties for the Bulldogs against Woods. Sykes went on to play at Three Rivers and Central Methodist.

On the bubble players:
Shaun Cole (Richland)
Steven Geralds (Sikeston)
Cory Gipson (Richland)
Allen Hatchett (Sikeston)
Nathan Owen (Cape Central)
Jeremy Snider (Bloomfield)
Nic Wilson (Doniphan)