After winning the district championship last year for the first time in six years, St. Louis U. High basketball looks to build on their momentum. However, things are different now.

 Last year's roster heavily relied on the seven seniors, most notably Jaden McClain ’22, who is playing Division III ball at Millikin University and Nick Kramer ’22, who is redshirting this season at Saint Louis University. Kramer was one of the best SLUH basketball players this decade, scoring a career 1,262 points. However, there is still plenty of returning talent left on the roster. 

SLUH will be led this season by four year varsity point guard AJ Walker, a three-year starter who has averaged a career high 10.5 points per game last season. He is the fastest guy on the court and uses his speed and shiftiness to create plays for his teammates. He has always had the speed and the handle to succeed, but his development as a shooter will add another element to his game. He has already shown improvement during his time at SLUH, raising his three-point shooting percentage 16.3 percent from sophomore to junior year.

“I’ve been shooting the ball well recently,” said Walker. “I am looking forward to a really good season this year and trying to get back to back districts.”

Senior Zach Ortwerth is also looking to continue his impact on the court. The Iowa football commit will be returning for his senior season after discussions of not playing and instead focusing on football fizzled. The big man averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game last season. However, Ortwerth broke his hand late in the football season, and it’s yet to be determined how that will impact him this season. 

The rest of the projected starters and rotational guys did not get much opportunity last season and they are hungry. Junior Charlie Isom-McCall, son of assistant coach Spencer McCall, can flat out score. In his sophomore season he accumulated 70 points in the limited action he saw over the course of the season. Isom-McCall is poised for a breakout season on the offensive end and will be the perfect backcourt mate for Walker.

 Senior Cal Kreuter rounds out the guards. He only played in five games, but did not miss a three last season. He will add pure sharpshooting to the U. High roster. 

Seniors Cayman Butler and Trey Phillips will also play big roles. Butler is 6-foot-9, which makes him invaluable as he is the only player who can come close to the heights of the 7-foot-3 Symon Dhak of Vianney and other big men around the area. He has guard skills in a tall body so don’t be surprised if Butler is spotting up at the three point line at times this year or taking it coast to coast. 

Phillips, on the other hand, is a defensive stopper. He can lock up the opponent’s best player. He stays calm and composed; being left handed also gives him an advantage on the offensive end.  

Junior Jalen Jones and sophomore Landon Pace both will try to cement their role this year. Both got pulled up from JV last season and only played one game each. 

Rounding out the roster are juniors Zion Spencer, Patrick Martin, Dylan Freeman, and Kaleb Logan as well as sophomore Dylan Humphry. They all played JV last season and look forward to carving out their roles on this year's squad. 

“I’m excited to compete every day,” said Martin.  

SLUH played in a Jamboree over the weekend and found success in many aspects, but especially scoring the ball. 

“We are showing signs of being a strong offensive team,” said Butler. “Our chemistry on the court will be much higher with this group of guys.” 

The Jr. Bills went 3-0, beating Pattonville, U. City, and Granite City. The highlight of the afternoon was against Granite City when Logan hit a go-ahead three as time expired to give SLUH the win. Kreuter and Butler were standouts. They are both players that will need to come in and fill the shoes of Kramer and McClain on the offensive end. They combined for 9 threes in just the two games. 

“I was feeling it behind the arc,” said Kreuter. “Cayman was too.”

SLUH plays the same district as last year, and winning the district championship is not out of the question for this team. They avoid any MCC competition and have the talent to make another run. But, the players know that’s a long way away.

“We won districts last year, so I am hoping we can come together and win districts again,” said Walker. “But that is a long way away. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, we can’t lose focus.”

Time will tell if this squad can succeed. They don’t have as much talent as last season, and consensus rankings do not seed them as high. But this team has heart, they are a gritty group of guys. The St. Louis area sees this team as just Walker and Ortwerth. This group is unknown, and they are ready to prove people wrong. 

The Jr. Bills play in their first game of the regular season against Jennings High School in the Alton Tournament on Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. at Alton High School.