The City League's best (41-50)
This sure sounded like a good idea a few weeks back. With all of the hoopla surrounding City League basketball this season, thanks mainly to Perry Ellis and Conner Frankamp but also to a deep and talented crop of players, why not pick my own personal Top 50?
It was wonderful. Until I started looking back on all of the players who have come through the City League the past six decades.Javin Tindall was a star high school player at South who went on to play at New Mexico.But I was in too deep by then and just the notion of such a list has elicited a strong response from readers and listeners of “Sports Daily,” the sports-talk radio show I do with Bruce Heartl.
So, the list has been made. It’s been checked twice. It’s been scratched on and stewed over.
A couple of stipulations before we start: This is a personal list. I have not reached out for advice. I have attempted to remain as un-muddled (not a word, but it works here) as I possibly can. Also, the players on this list go back to the early-1960s, my earliest recollection of City League basketball, and not before. I have seen all the players on this list. I might have been 7 years old when I saw them, but I saw them. Finally, a player I saw when I was 7 is obviously different from a player I saw after I started my career at The Wichita Eagle in 1974.
OK, with that out of the way, it’s time. Today, I’m going with the players who rank Nos. 41 through 50 on my list. I’ll reveal 10 players per day through Friday, when my personal Top 10 comes out.
Why do I feel qualified to put together such a list? I’m glad you ask. In some ways, I don’t. But I figure I’ve seen as much City League basketball as most people have over the past 50 years. And I love CL hoops. That matters, right? Also, I covered high school sports for The Eagle for 13 years and have paid close attention for much longer than that.
Now, the list:
50) Bubba Sheafe, Southeast - A fantastic late 1980s player. He was a forward who could really run the floor and score from inside and out. Plus, his name is “Bubba.” Every list needs a “Bubba.”
49) Doc Holden, Heights - He was a part of that incredible Falcons’ team of 1976-77, the one that went 24-0 and annihilated most opponents. Holden was long and spindly and left-handed and he could score, but was most effective as a rebounder on the offensive boards.
48) Richard Holt, North - Athletic, big, strong, mean, tough. I could go on but I think you get the picture. Holt graduated from North in 1972.
47) Joe Mitchell, Southeast - Currently sitting out at Wichita State after transferring from Ohio, Mitchell was a standout guard for Carl Taylor at Southeast and helped the Buffaloes win a state championship in 2008.
46) Marcus Zeigler, South - The first significant player of the Steve Eck-era at South, Zeigler was a point guard for the Titans on Eck’s first team in 1986-87.
45) Rashad Washington, Southeast - Better known for football, Washington was also a standout in basketball and a big part of Southeast’s state championship team in 1999.
44) Dupree Lucas, Southeast - Lucas was a standout for the Buffaloes on their 2003 state championship team.
43) Javin Tindall, South - A great scoring guard for the Titans in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
42) Les Pace, West - Teamed with older brother Darryl to form a formidable front line at West durin the mid- to late-1970s.
41) Jamall Walker, South - Another point guard during the Eck-era, one who could score but was even better as a passer and defender.
Coming Tuesday: The players who rank from 31-40 on my personal list. Remember, these are my rankings, nobody else’s. Have fun with it. Debate it. But don’t give it more weight than it’s worth.
This story was originally published February 6, 2012 at 2:51 PM with the headline "The City League's best (41-50)."