Team Spotlight: St. Louis Raptors 17U Boys

The St. Louis Raptors boys 17U team is one of many area squads that will be competing in this weekend's Kansas City Prep Invitational. Coach Patrick Betley's crew has enjoyed a solid month of July as many of his players have started to attract the interest of college coaches around the country.

 The Raptors have a talented mix of players that come from St. Charles County, Lincoln County, the metro east and Mid-Missouri. The Raptors had their best showing in the month of July at the Hoosier Shootout in Indianapolis, where they finished in second place in the Silver Division. They also had solid showings at the Eddie Ford Kentucky Hoopfest and the Spiece Best of the Midwest Tournament.

 "We have a real good corps of players," Betley said. "We have several kids who are getting a lot of interest from colleges at the Division I and Division II levels. They play well together."

 One of those players who has seen his recruiting stock rise this summer is 6'3" guard Brendan Wheeler of Edwardsville. Wheeler is one of the top 3-point shooters in the St. Louis metro area, but he has really emerged as quite the scoring threat for the Raptors. Wheeler has excellent shooting range, but now he has developed some moves off the dribble to go with his perimeter touch. In a game against the Georgia Wolverines at the Kentucky Hoopfest, Wheeler opened up the game with his own personal 15-0 flurry to get the Raptors off and running.

  "He has been sensational for us this month," Betley said. "Brendan is averaging about 25 points a game for us in July. Everybody knows he can shoot, but now, he has been doing it all for us. He has done the bulk of the scoring for us."

 Betley has also been getting strong play from a couple of Mid-Missouri standouts in 6'6" forward Paul McMahon of Jefferson City and point guard Matt Kelly of Columbia Rock Bridge. McMahon is a solid inside player who has developed into a quite a perimeter shooter. McMahon recently participated in the Joy in the Game Academic All-American Camp in Waukegan, Ill. and was selected as one of the top five players in the camp.

 "Paul has developed into a quite a perimeter player," Betley said. "He can shoot it from NBA range now. He is a legitimate 6'6" small forward."

 The 6'0" Kelly has been a stalwart at Rock Bridge since his sophomore year when he was a starter on the Bruins' Class 5 third-place team in 2009. He should be one of the top guards in Mid-Missouri as a senior.

 "He is very strong and he is a great on-ball defender," Betley said. "He can really lock people down defensively."

 Guards Kendall Shell (Webster Groves) and Neil Branham (Troy) have also been solid players for the Raptors this summer. The 6'1" Shell is an all-purpose player who does a little bit of everything from rebounding, defense to scoring. He was a solid, tough, role player for Jay Blossom's 27-3 Webster Groves team as a junior. This summer, he has been able to expand his game to the point where some Division I schools out West are taking notice. The 6'1" Branham is a strong, physical point guard who loves contact, yet still makes big plays. He is strong on the dribble and gets where he needs to go at all times. He is also Troy's starting quarterback in football.

 Guards Alex Betley (St. Dominic) and Matt Clark (SLUH) provide more depth in the backcourt. Betley, the younger brother of the head coach, will be St. Dominic's point guard in the winter. He is an excellent defensive player. Clark is expected to be a key player for the Junior Billikens. Also providing depth in the backcourt is Derek Deters of Troy while providing up front support are the 6'5" duo of Karon Hayes (Columbia Rock Bridge) and Ivory Watts (Edwardsville).