Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's best boys' basketball players of the 2022-23 season

The Springfield News-Leader is proud to announce its 2022-23 Dominant Dozen — honoring the 12 most impactful players of the high school basketball season.

The players were picked based on in-season production, News-Leader observations and consultations with high school basketball coaches from across the area. Statistics and other data were provided by coaches.

Springfield-area members of the Dominant Dozen are all finalists for the News-Leader's boys' high school basketball player of the year honor — which will be revealed Tuesday. The News-Leader will reintroduce its All-Ozarks teams on Wednesday which will also include large- and small-school coach of the year honors.

The girls' Dominant Dozen will be revealed on Tuesday with the player of the year announced on Wednesday. The All-Ozarks girls' teams and coaches of the year will be published Thursday.

2020-21 — Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best boys basketball players of the 2020-21 season

2021-22 — Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best boys basketball players of the 2021-22 season

As expected, there was quite a bit of movement from our preseason team to the one that counts at the end of the year. Six players from our preseason team made the final 12 with four coming from our annual "players who will make us regret not putting them in the Dominant Dozen" list.

Here are the 2022 Dominant Dozen, the Next Dozen and honorable mention selections — which are all in alphabetical order by last name.

Ahlante Askew, Republic

Askew finished off a great career in the Republic orange and black by earning his second Dominant Dozen recognition. He's been an elite player in the area for the last two seasons.

The guard led one of the best teams in the region from a 15-12 finish a year ago to a 24-4 finish this season. The season included a Blue and Gold title and a Liberator Tournament championship. Askew proved to be clutch with a memorable 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie a Blue and Gold semifinal game and send it to overtime before winning.

Askew finished his career with over 1,000 points and became the school's all-time leader in assists and steals. He averaged 15.5 points, 5.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game this past season.

Wil Carlton, Marionville

One of the great all-around athletes in Marionville High School's history is in the basketball Dominant Dozen for the first time after making the list in football this past fall and as an honorable mention selection in football in 2021.

Carlton is more than deserving of this recognition after making Marionville one of the best teams in the state throughout a 27-3 campaign that resulted in the school's first district championship victory since he'd been there. Carlton's numbers back him up with an average of 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 52.7% shooting percentage and a 45.2% average from beyond the arc.

There's no denying how great Carlton has been for the Marionville athletics program over his career. He's going to be one of those athletes who's remembered in that town for a long time.

Kael Combs, Nixa

Combs' high school career ended with a bang as a senior as he became the undisputed leader of the Eagles and had them as one of the elite teams in the area all season long.

Moving over to point guard, Combs was unstoppable at times whenever he got into the lane. He's been the best overall athlete in the Ozarks over the last two seasons which allowed him to attack the basket or kick the ball out to an open teammate. His jumper developed over the season which made him more dangerous than ever.

The two-time Dominant Dozen recipient, an honorable mention selection in 2020-21 and a football Dominant Dozen selection in 2021 averaged 23.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. His 679 total points were the second-most scored in a single season in Nixa's history.

Tom Emrick, Mansfield

There might not have been a player in the area who made quite the jump that Emerick made while establishing himself as one of the best players in southwest Missouri.

Emerick averaged 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game while leading a Lions team that ended 26.2 and was one of the top teams in the Ozarks for the entirety of the season.

The 6-foot-6, 200-pound power forward put on a show every night and particularly in the biggest moments. He was the MVP of the Mansfield Tournament, Cabool Holiday Tournament and Sparta Tournament which included a 39-point performance to come away with the title.

Cole Griesemer, Hillcrest

After sitting out for the majority of the first month of the season, the outlook for the Hillcrest program changed when Griesemer returned to the court and helped lead the Hornets to their first district championship since 2015.

The 6-foot-6 all-around athlete did a little bit of everything for the Hornets upon his return and showed why he belongs in the field despite the time missed. During a postseason run that ended in overtime of the Class 5 quarterfinals, Griesemer averaged a whopping 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists per game.

Griesemer attended Hillcrest with the dream of returning it to its glory days. He went out a champ while leaving the program better than how he found it.

Jacob Lafferty, Sparta

The junior first-time Dominant Dozen selection burst onto the scene this season as Sparta emerged as one of the best teams in southwest Missouri with Lafferty leading the way.

Lafferty made himself known as one of the best players at the Blue and Gold Tournament in which he led Sparta on a remarkable run to a championship runner-up finish. He also scored 33 points in a district championship win over Strafford for the program's first title since 2006.

Over his final eight games, Lafferty averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds per outing and he finished the year averaging 23.5 points and 12 boards per game. He is in a great position to be the most impactful player in the Ozarks heading into 2023-24.

Trae Oetting, Kickapoo

There wasn't a more calming presence on the court this year than Oetting starting at the point guard position for the Class 6 state runner-up Chiefs. He makes the jump into the Dominant Dozen and is the second different point guard in the last three years to make the list.

Oetting was the leader the Chiefs needed while playing one of the most difficult schedules in the Ozarks. He was fearless when getting into the lane, he was great defensively and could create for others. Entering the state semifinals, he averaged 15.4 points and was a 48.6% shooter from beyond the arc.

Without Oetting, there is no great run through the Class 6 postseason, which included a thrilling win over Nixa in the district championship and a quarterfinal win over Lee's Summit West. He made the most of his two seasons as the Chiefs' starting point guard and he certainly left his mark on a state runner-up team.

Kyle Pock, Bolivar

Going out as one of the best players, if not the best player, to come through Bolivar, Pock ended his great career with his third-straight Dominant Dozen season — the only player to receive the recognition in all three years of its young existence.

Guiding a young Liberators team, Pock finished his senior year by averaging 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and three assists per game. He was a 51.3% shooter and was 37.5% from beyond the arc. His career ended with him as the No. 1 scorer and rebounder in school history while also being top three in blocks, steals and total field goals made.

Pock ended his career as a player who will be remembered for a long time in the Bolivar community and southwest Missouri. He should be in for a great career at the next level at Northern Iowa.

Brayden Shorter, Kickapoo

A Next Dozen selection from a year ago, the two-time all-state win went out as Kickapoo's best player on a team that finished with a Class 6 state runner-up finish this season.

Shorter could do a little bit of everything on the court as a 6-foot-5 wing who had handles, could shoot from anywhere and was capable of being an inside presence. He averaged 17.8 points per game and was a 42.7% shooter from beyond the arc. He also averaged 6.3 boards per game in addition to his 49.5% overall field goal percentage.

Shorter was the player that everyone had to circle on their scouting reports entering each game they took on Kickapoo. He's been among the best players in the area for the last two seasons and he will depart the proud program as one of the great players who has led Kickapoo on a deep postseason run.

Curry Sutherland, Logan-Rogersville

After missing the 2021-22 season following Tommy John surgery, Sutherland came back and was the heart of the Wildcats' offense for the entirety of a season that ended in the Class 4 state quarterfinals.

Sutherland put up monster numbers all season while averaging 24.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He had five games in which he scored more than 30 points including a 31-point performance in a district championship win over Hollister.

Sutherland is one of the best all-around athletes in the Ozarks and he continued to show why with a great basketball season. The Missouri State baseball commit should have a great senior year coming up on the diamond, as well.

Sterling Vinson, Central

Leading Central's best season since 2009, which is also the last time the Bulldogs finished the year with a winning record, Vinson was at the head of it as the Bulldogs' best player.

The 6-foot-3 shooting guard has been one who can put up big numbers each time he takes the floor. He averaged 14.7 points and 104 total rebounds when more than half of his boards came on the offensive glass. He had one of the better motors in the Ozarks which led to a lot of the Bulldogs' success.

Central has a lot of young talent to build on going forward and it's back to the respected program it once was. Vinson's work over the years helped Central get back to this place.

All Wright, Joplin

Wright continued to make himself known as one of the most talented athletes in the Ozarks this season while standing out for Joplin and earning all-state recognition.

Wright, a 6-foot-2 guard, put up ridiculous numbers by averaging 26 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season. He was a 34% shooter from deep and made the Eagles a threat to win every game in which he stepped onto the court.

There's a reason why Wright is considered one of the top 2024 prospects in the state. A lot more attention is heading his way and he should be in for an outstanding senior campaign next year.

Next Dozen

• Jay Baxter, Stockton

• Ryder Blevins, Forsyth

• Nick Burri, Greenwood

• Amarre Clark, Hillcrest

• Jalon Cryer, Hartville

• Isaiah Green, Neosho

• Jaxon Rowden, Fair Grove

• Garrett Snyder, Hollister

• Max Templeman, Carthage

• Aiden Vaught, Crane

• Cody Voysey, Strafford

• Amare Witham, Glendale

Honorable Mention

• Tanner Baird, Forsyth

• Ethan Brown, Rolla

• Luke Bushey, Dadeville

• Collin Clark, Greenwood

• Harrison Doennig, Kickapoo

• Clayton Garrison, Chadwick

• Eli Govan, Parkview

• Cooper Long, Seneca

• Brady Nicholson, Ash Grove

• Aaron Poage, Camdenton

• Hudson Roberts, Ozark

• Josh Shockley, Cabool

• JD Tate, Spokane

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Dominant Dozen: Springfield area top boys' basketabll players of 2023