The Park Hill Trojans had their footprints all over the Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches Association All-Star festivities, leading Team Missouri to a four-part sweep of Team Kansas across two nights of action.
The annual all-star series showcases top senior talent from both sides of the state line, giving players one final chance to suit up and represent their home state before moving on to their post-high school careers. The event gave a unique opportunity for stars from Park Hill and Park Hill South to team up with conference rivals, including Missouri Class 6 Player of the Year Corbin Allen from Oak Park.
Missouri won the girls game and the dunk contest on April 11 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas. A broken backboard forced the boys game to be postponed to April 16 at Mill Valley High School, which the Missouri boys won in addition to the 3-point contest.
Park Hill senior Leo Gayman’s 15-point performance earned him Missouri’s Most Valuable Player of the game, leading the Show-Me-State to a 118-98 victory against Kansas. Gayman brought down 8 rebounds and was also a 3-point contest participant, knocking down 10 of 20, but Staley’s Avian Webb won the contest.
Team Missouri MVP Leo Gayman (left) of Park Hill and Tem Kansas MVP Jaalan Watson (right) of Olathe North.
The Trojans were also represented on the coaching staff, led by head coach Chad Jones and his assistant Justin Leathers. Jones, who announced plans to depart on April 4, ends his decade-long tenure coaching his alma mater with a victory in the all-star game.
Jones’ farewell was made even more memorable as he coached his son, Cam Jones, one last time. The all-conference and all-district honoree sparked Missouri with 10 of the team’s first 12 points, including a pair of early 3-pointers that pushed the lead to 12–4. He finished with five rebounds, one block and a pair of steals.
Park Hill South senior Des Hinson also represented Team Missouri, scoring 6 points from a pair of triples.
While Missouri never trailed and led most of the night, working with a double-digit lead early in the contest, Kansas did come back to tie it 50-50 in the second quarter. Missouri reconstructed a five-point lead going into the fourth quarter and ran away with it in the final frame.