Being the most experienced player returning, Park Hill South senior Cahmai Crosby has a large weight on his shoulders with him set to carry the Panthers’ basketball squad this winter.
Crosby – who has started each of the last two seasons – is coming off a junior campaign where he averaged 12.13 points, 4.26 rebounds and 1.17 steals. Park Hill South was 17-11 last year, including 1-1 in the postseason, and there are big shoes to fill after losing a talented senior class.
Park Hill South South senior Cahmai Crosby has been a starter in each of the last two years and brings back the most experience.
“Without that varsity experience returning, we need Cahmai (Crosby) to step up, in a leadership role, saying, ‘hey, I’ve done this before, I started 30 games in the last two years, so this is kind of what it’s like type-of-deal,’” Park Hill South head boys’ basketball coach Danny Parra said.
The Panthers have four other seniors alongside Crosby, which includes guard Brayden Parra who made 11 of his 20 shots from deep and nine of his 10 shots from the charity stripe off the bench in 11 games before an injury cut his junior campaign short. Park Hill South also gains a pair of transfer players who will be crucial this season.
“Mike Collins transferred from Shawnee Mission Northwest where he started as a junior, so he has some experience starting, just not at Park Hill South. Zahir Ragsdale is a sophomore transfer from North Kansas City, who’ll be in the mix to play,” Parra said.
Sophomore Jaylen Lockhart and junior Colby Kiedrowski played crucial minutes on JV last year and are going to be key contributors on the varsity court this season. Kiedrowski played in right under 20 varsity games in 2021 and was the Panthers’ leading scorer – with 14 points – in the 66-36 season opening win over Blue Springs South on Nov. 29.
“Jaylen Lockhart is very athletic and started our first game, and Colby Kiedrowski will likely be our starting point guard. He’s a good player and a lot of people know who he is by the end of the year,” Parra said.
Park Hill South has a tough schedule with the Kansas City Suburban Conference switching around and sending the Panthers to the Silver Division. They will also be in a highly competitive Class 6 District 8 Tournament at Staley High School when the postseason comes around.
“Conference is very good so that’s just a challenge in itself, so when you get ready for districts, which is even harder, it’s like a little juggernaut. We’ve just got to be able to compete at a high level and bring it when you play in that conference and when you play in that district,” Parra said.