Donavan Parker was as good as buried.
So were Sofora Rasas, Noah Hamilton, Wunya Brown and the rest of the St. Mary's basketball team. A year after the Dragons made the longest playoff run in school history with a loaded senior class, their replacements were afterthoughts. The sky-high expectations the class of 2018 carried died with them.
The St. Mary's gym rocked throughout last winter with a jam-packed grandstand. When it beat two-time defending Class 4 champion Vashon in a sectional, St. Mary's was crowned next.
Four days later it all fell apart in a 76-50 loss to Sikeston in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs went on to the state semifinals. The Dragons were left to wonder just how talented a team it would take to break through to the school's first state appearance. It certainly wouldn't be this year, not after graduating nearly all of its scoring, rebounding and experience. The new-look Dragons had none of the pedigree of their former teammates. Any hope of carrying the torch for the program that went 27-4 and made the school's first quarterfinal dissipated with a 3-5 start as the newcomers learned the varsity ropes.
“We were playing with first-year players,” St. Mary's coach Bryan Turner said. “It was, in essence, a JV team.”
Yet through the haze of inexperience and defeat, Turner saw something. He saw it in the locker room. He saw it at practice. He saw it early and he and his coaching staff nurtured it.
“When we picked this team, I needed guys that would be locker room guys that could fight through losses,” Turner said. “We knew it was going to be hard, can you withstand that adversity early? I think it developed character in these guys. They feel like they've been through everything.”
And now they're headed where no St. Mary's team has been before in the school's 87 years. A year after they were supposed to arrive, the Dragons will make their state semifinal debut against Ladue at noon Friday at JQH Arena on the campus of Missouri State University. The winner will play either Grandview or Logan-Rogersville for the state championship at 2:40 p.m. Saturday.
St. Mary's (17-12) made its historical run in a season that could have been defined by adversity but instead rewarded its faith. The Dragons had an ace up their sleeve as the losses mounted early. They had one of the best players in the state resting, recovering and preparing to show what he was capable of when fully healthy.
Yuri Collins is that dude.
A senior point guard and St. Louis U. recruit, Collins had surgery in July to address a balky left shoulder that would dislocate when pushed too far. The 5-foot-10 Collins played his entire junior season with a large brace to protect it but had to adjust what he could and could not do.
“Last year with the dislocated shoulder it limited me to do certain things. Going to the hole, I couldn't finish with the left as much. If I extended too far it'd pop out,” Collins said. “Now that I got the surgery I can extend as far as I want to. I don't have 100 percent full motion, but I have enough of it to do I want to do.”
What Collins has done is everything Turner hoped he would and then some. A dynamic ball handler, passer, defender and scorer, Collins was indispensable with one good shoulder. With the full arsenal of his abilities, he's turned the Dragons from afterthoughts into contenders.
“He's a true point guard. A lot of kids at this level love to score, but he's a true point guard. He can dominate a game without even scoring,” Turner said. “If you're going to double team him he's going to find somebody and that's when he's at his best. If you're not, he's at an ability right now where he's scoring the ball and shooting at a high level. He commands so much attention out there.”
Collins didn't draw much attention when he made his debut Dec. 21 against North Catholic out of Pittsburgh at the Marianist Basketball Classic at St. Vincent-St. Mary's in Akron, Ohio. North Catholic had film from the Dragons' first eight games with no Collins and figured it knew what it was in for.
It did not. Collins finished with 33 points and seven assists. He hit a halfcourt buzzer-beater to send the game into overtime and then dominated the extra time as St. Mary's won 83-78.
Since Collins returned, the Dragons are 14-7. They won the consolation bracket at the Carbondale Holiday Tournament, stunned Chaminade at home 68-62 and are currently riding a seven-game win streak.
With its point guard in place, all of St. Mary's pieces fit.
“His leadership and talent holds us all accountable,” Parker said. “Without him there was a missing piece that was visible. Since his return he was a jolt of energy.”
Even with Collins the Dragons were still counted out. They had to beat a good Hillsboro team in the sectional round, and that was not going to be easy. At least it wasn't supposed to be, but the Dragons rolled to a 95-46 win anyway.
Cape Central would be their undoing. Among the top two teams in Class 4 all season, Cape Central would be the team to end the Dragons' dream season — until it wasn't. Behind Collins' heady play and some outstanding defensive work by Parker who put his 7-foot wingspan to use for nine blocks, St. Mary's won that quarterfinal showdown 68-62.
“My talk going into the season was to motivate these guys to make an attempt to get back to the same game. I seemed a little crazy at the start,” Turner said. “I looked at the landscape, with the schedule we put together by the time we get to the districts we'd be battle tested to make a run.”
At every turn St. Mary's has been counted out only to rise again and remain in the championship hunt. The players heard the chatter in the winter. They could see it in the gym when the grandstand wasn't filled like last year. All of it was turned into fuel.
“That's kind of a chip on our shoulder we've had all year. Coach has been harping on how people have thrown dirt on our name all year,” Parker said. “There was less pressure on us to do well. We went out there, played our game and it got us here.”
A place no one outside their own locker room thought they'd reach.