Eagle Ridge eyes state crown

After finishing third in the Class 2A Missouri Christian School Activities Association state tournament last year, Eagle Ridge coach Tony Hammack is confident his team will make it at least that far this time around.

Hammack, in his seventh year as the boys basketball coach, said that while he lost three of his top players from last year's squad to graduation, he has plenty of talent to go around this year for a run at the state title.

"I really feel like this team will probably be the best overall team Eagle Ridge has ever had," Hammack said. "We have several real good athletes, and to complement that, we have some solid role players."

The Eagles will look to get most of their scoring from Joel Price, a 6-foot junior forward who averaged more than 20 points per game last season. Price scored 30 points in a season-opening win against Twin Cities on Nov. 8.

"He's really developed a lot," Hammack said. "He loves basketball, and he's been in the weight room in the offseason and doing a lot of preparing that's going to really show up on the floor. He's really going to be dominant at this level of play."

Senior T.J. Crowden and sophomore Sandy Holmes are the other returning starters. Crowden, a 6-1 guard, also will play a significant role in the Eagles' offense.

Juniors Chris Simmons and Tom Clemens will add to the depth underneath for Eagle Ridge, and sophomore Ben Douglass should see time at the guard spot.

"We lost some pretty good kids last year, but picking up Tom and Chris has really helped us out under the basket," Hammack said. "This year we'll have our standouts, but we won't have such a drop-off from that level of play."