THE LATEST LINE: JHS TURNS IN ANOTHER GREAT YEAR

COLUMBIA -- The tears flowed heavily for Jackson High's girls basketball team here Saturday after another near-miss in the Lady Indians' quest for the Class 4A state basketball championship.

Such is the nature of sports. Just getting to the state's final four -- which the Lady Indians have done a remarkable three consecutive seasons -- is quite a feat.

But once there, anything short of a state title winds up being a disappointment -- at least for the moment. So it was for the Lady Indians after their 42-41 loss to Gateway Tech, marking Jackson's second straight 4A runnerup finish.

"It's tough. Tough for the girls and tough for the coaches," said Jackson coach Ron Cook just moments after the narrow defeat.

But while the sting of missing out on a state title will probably stay with the Lady Indians for a while, they'll eventually -- particularly the seniors -- be able to reflect on just how amazing their three-year run has been.

* During the final minutes of Saturday's Class 4A state championship boys game, some fans of eventual titlist CBC started chanting "first-round draft pick."

The object of their attention -- and affection -- very well could be just that some day.

Larry Hughes, CBC's brilliant 6-foot-6 senior guard, is generally regarded as one of the finest high school players the St. Louis area has ever produced.

Hughes certainly put on a show at the Hearnes Center, scoring 51 points in the two 4A Final Four games, including 26 during Saturday's 51-35 romp past Independence Truman.

And he was even better last Saturday when the unofficial state championship game was probably played at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Hughes poured in 40 points that day as the Cadets slipped past Riverview Gardens 77-71 in a tremendous quarterfinal contest.

Hughes, who has been selected to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American game, will take his considerable talents to St. Louis University next season. Another CBC senior, 6-7 Justin Tatum, has also signed with SLU.

Some coaches I've talked to who have followed Hughes' prep career say he's likely to spend only a couple of seasons in college before heading to the NBA.

That remains to be seen, but it was certainly a thrill for me to watch the last few games of the brilliant Hughes' high school career.

* While nobody is willing to say anything on the record right now, word is out that several fairly major changes could be in store for SEMO's basketball team next season.

Although Reggie Crisp was the only senior on this year's squad, sources have told me that coach Ron Shumate is considering not renewing the scholarships of several players -- including some key contributors -- who still have eligibility remaining.

If that does indeed turn out to be the case, then quite a few new recruits will be brought in for next season instead of only the one or two that there would have originally been room for.

Stay tuned to see how the situation unfolds.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian