Park Hill South has an all-state basketball player on both the boys and girls teams for what is believed to be the first time in school history.
Largely due to the thinking that Alecia Westbrook is believed to be the first ever player to earn all-state honors for the girls basketball team.
The Missouri Basketball Coaches Association released its all-state team with Lamel Robinson landing a spot back on the Class 5 team, while Westbrook, a junior, joined him in earning elite status.
Dating back to online records from 2003, Park Hill South hasn’t had a girl player earn all-state honors. The junior drew attention in the post and from college coaches throughout the Midwest for the Panthers.
Park Hill South was ranked in the MBCA poll throughout the season and ended the season with a 22-5 mark and a runner-up finish in districts — falling to North Kansas City.
Westbrook, 6-foot-1, became the third Panther to score 1,000 point in her career late in the season and will have a chance to move into the all-time leader spot by next year. Park Hill South shared the conference title this year with Truman and Westbrook was a first-team Suburban Red Conference pick.
Westbrook scored 15.8 points per game — fifth in the all of the Suburban Conference — while being the only player in the league with double-figures in rebounds with 11.7 per game and her 324 was way ahead of runner-up Callie Schwarzenbach, Kearney’s 6-foot-5 post that is headed to Nebraska for volleyball. Westbrook added 2 assists, 3.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game as well.
She is one of seven juniors to earn all-state honors this year, including DiRenna winner Chandler Prater from North Kansas City, now a two-time selection.
There were six Class 5 picks from the Kansas City area, but the big honors went to Kirkwood, which had the player of the year in Jayla Everett and Monica Tritz was the coach of the year.
Robinson joined a bit of Park Hill South history with his all-state selection.
It marked the fourth straight year the Panthers had an all-stater and he is the third player decade to earn this decade twice.
He joins former teammate and current Northwest Missouri State player Ryan Welty (2015-2016) and Ivo Baltic (2008-09), who played at Ohio before playing professionally in Croatia.
Robinson averaged 23.8 points per game — up from 21.3 per game as a sophomore — and led all voter getters among the Class 5 District 14 all-district team. The guard added 3.1 rebounds per game and 3.2 rebounds per game and hit nearly 50 percents of his shots from the field.
There were eight repeat selections on the Class 5 team, including player of the year Courtney Ramey from Webster Groves – the state champions. Locally, Liberty’s Jalen Lewis (Washburn) and Oak Park’s Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) were repeat selections.
The newcomers to the all-state team from the KC metro area were Lee’s Summit West’s Yor Anei, an Oklahoma State signee and Park Hill’s Ronnie Bell, who switched from a Division I basketball signee to a Division I football signee.
The now Michigan-bound wide receiver earned all-state honors on the hardwood for the first time.
Bell averaged 23 points per game, while adding seven rebounds and 1.8 steals per game for the Trojans, a Class 5 qualifier for the second straight year.
Bell’s play in big games helped the Trojans win three tournament championships in the regular season and then unseat top-seeded Oak Park in the Class 5 District 16 finals.
Bell hit 79 percent of his free throws – including four key ones in the final minute in the district semifinals against Staley – and shot 34 percent from the 3-point line. Bell’s 3-pointer at the buzzer beat Liberty in the C.W. Stessman Tournament in January, capping a 47-point game. He made 43 3-pointers this year, second in the Suburban Gold and 12th overall in the conference. He was also 12th in the suburban in free-throw percentage.
He becomes the first Trojan to earn all-state honors since NBA-bound Landry Shamet earned back-to-back all-state accolades in 2014-15 prior to going to Wichita State.
Bell, who once was a Missouri State basketball signee, finished third in the Suburban Conference in scoring, behind Agbaji’s 28.2 per game average and Robinson.
BASKETBALL POSTSEASON HONORS
BOYS
MISSOURI BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ALL-STATE
CLASS 5
Lamel Robinson, jr., Park Hill South; Ronnie Bell, sr., Park Hill
MBCA ALL-DISTRICT
All-Class 5 District 14
Lamel Robinson, jr., Park Hill South; Desi Williams, jr., Park Hill South
All-Class 5 District 16
Ronnie Bell, sr., Park Hill; Willy Majok, sr., Park Hill; Cecil Lee, sr., Park Hill
All-Class 4 District 15
First team
Deiondre Ragsdale, sr., Platte County; Lucas Stanley, sr., Platte County
All-Class 2 District 15
Truman Gillis, sr., West Platte; Hunter Hendricks, jr. North Platte
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE GOLD DIVISION
First team
Ronnie Bell, sr., Park Hill
Honorable mention
Cecil Lee, sr., Park Hill; Willy Majok, sr., Park Hill
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE RED DIVISION
First team
Lamel Robinson, jr., Park Hill South; Desi Williams, jr., Park Hill South; Saadique Perkins, sr., Park Hill South
Honorable mention
C.J. Lee, jr., Park Hill South
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE BLUE DIVISION
Second team
Deiondre Ragsdale, sr., Platte County; Lucas Stanley, sr., Platte County
ALL-KCI CONFERENCE
First team
Hunter Hendricks, jr., North Platte
Honorable mention
Grant Eagen, sr, West Platte
GIRLS
MISSOURI BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ALL-STATE
CLASS 5
Alecia Westbrook, jr., Park Hill South
MISSOURI BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ALL-DISTRICT
All-Class 5 District 14
Alecia Westbrook, jr, Park Hill South; DeQuaria Guillory, so., Park Hill South; De’Jaria Guillory, jr., Park Hill South
All-Class 5 District 16
Taiya Shelby, sr., Park Hill
All-Class 4 District 15
First team
Jaycie Stubbs, jr, Platte County; Hannah Valentine, jr., Platte County; Rockey Chambers, sr., Platte County
All-Class 2 District 15
Grace Rice, jr., North Platte; Alley Rickel, sr., North Platte
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE GOLD DIVISION
First team
Taiya Shelby, sr., Park Hill
Honorable mention
Hannah Graves, fr., Park Hill; Jayden Dorrell, fr., Park Hill
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE RED DIVISION
First team
Alecia Westbrook, jr., Park Hill South
Second team
De’Jaria Guillory, jr., Park Hill South; DeQuaria Guillory, so., Park Hill South
Honorable mention
Dymeria Guillory, sr., Park Hill South
ALL-SUBURBAN CONFERENCE BLUE DIVISION
First team
Hannah Valentine, jr., Platte County; Rockey Chambers, sr., Platte County
Second team
Jaycie Stubbs, jr., Platte County
Honorable mention
Lauren Walker, sr., Platte County
ALL-KCI CONFERENCE
First Team
Lea Moose, Sr., West Platte; Gracie Roach, sr., North Platte
Honorable mention
Grace Rice, jr., North Platte; Janell Manville, jr. North Platte
