WEBB CITY, Mo. — Boys high school basketball teams from around the area tipped off play Tuesday in the Webb City 4-States Summer League.
Games are played every Tuesday night in June with varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams utilizing five different gymnasiums simultaneously, including center stage at the Cardinal Dome.
The games are split into two 16-minute halves with basically a running clock throughout and only a brief intermission before the second half.
Webb City coach Jason Horn started this summer league when he was at Neosho and he took it with him to Webb City, where it has expanded in recent years.
“The summer league has been great for our area teams,” Horn said Tuesday between Webb City varsity games against Joplin and Carthage. “Our area teams and coaches do a great job of supporting it. It gives kids an outlet on Tuesday nights to play basketball. We’ve got great facilities at Webb City to host it with five gyms in walking distance of each other.
“This is the 11th year I’ve been running this league overall, seven years at Webb City running it, so it’s a great venue for it and it’s grown every year. We get to see some different teams come in and it’s a situation where you can play all four weeks, but we’re flexible and if you can only make it for a week, you can bring your team in for a week and get good competition.
“It gives our area officials a chance to train. It’s just good for basketball in the four-state area.”
Schools that play in the league include the larger Central Ozark Conference schools like Joplin, Carthage and Neosho, as well as smaller schools College Heights, Thomas Jefferson, Liberal, Diamond, Jasper and Sarcoxie.
Rogers (Ark.) and Pittsburg (Kan.) are slated to join the fun on the second Tuesday.
“You get the David vs. Goliath matchup sometimes,” Horn said. “The big schools and the small schools get to mix together. The best thing about it is that we try and make it competitive. We try and put you with the level you think you can compete at, and you get to see different teams doing that. We’ve seen some really good players and some good teams come through here.”
Not only do the varsity players have the opportunity to develop their skills in live-action competition against players from other schools, but so do the younger athletes.
“The JV and freshman divisions have been great,” Horn said. “Freshmen are able to come up and play against JV teams sometimes. We’ve got a situation where you can play a freshman-only schedule. Certain years, when we have the teams to do that, it’s great for our younger players to get experience and get on the court. Just all the way around, it’s helping to grow basketball in the area, and I think that’s the most important thing.
Between camps, leagues and shootouts, the summer can be hectic, especially for multi-sport athletes and their coaches and parents.
“It’s great here because it’s a local opportunity to bring teams in,” Horn said. “We’re fortunate at Webb City. Coach (John) Roderique, since my first year here, has set it up to where we have set days. Basketball is a Tuesday and Thursday situation, and football is Monday and Wednesday. We have that for all our sports, so that helps us keep off each other and gives our kids an opportunity to play multiple times and I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been successful here in all our sports. You have to give a lot of credit to (Roderique) for having the foresight to think about and understand that.”
The summer can also be a time for coaches, especially a new head coach, to bond with players and vice-versa.
For example, acting Joplin head coach Nick Pfeifer talked with the Eagle players after their back-to-back games Tuesday against Webb City and Seneca about it being Day One.
“We’ve got a different look, a different group, all those things,” Pfeifer said. “A lot of changes. Ultimately, we just know that summertime is the time to get better and that’s our goal here. It was our first day. We just had a little practice today before we came out here and competed. We know that we have to keep getting better, and that we have a long summer ahead of us.
“It’s a great opportunity. We appreciate (Webb City) putting it on. We know that we’re going to come over and get quality games and competition.
“Our freshmen and our JV are playing right now. Those guys are the ones that have to continue to develop to build a program, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Pfeifer coached the Joplin freshman squad last season.
“We’ve just got to get those guys in the gym and work on their game,” Pfeifer said. “I think it is an opportunity for the community and the school to have a high-quality basketball program.”
Before his one season coaching at Joplin, Pfeifer accumulated 10 seasons of head coaching experience at Erie, Kansas. The Red Devils won 127 games during Pfeifer’s tenure and their 2021 state tournament appearance marked their first since 1993.
Editor’s note: Joplin High School is searching for a new head varsity boys basketball coach, as Bronson Schaake recently stepped down.
