Kids seek 4th straight trip to AAU finals

Drew Hanlen

The St. Louis Gateway 13-and-under boys basketball team will try this month to qualify for the AAU national finals. For some of the players, that would be their fourth consecutive trip to the nationals.

The Gateway team will be one of the favorites in the Missouri state tournament. That tournament is scheduled for April at Fort Zumwalt High School.

Thirteen-year-old Drew Hanlen is one players who's been the national finals three times. He was on the 10-and-under, 11-and-under and 12-and-under St. Louis Gateway teams.

He said he's confident this year's team can qualify again. "We're fast, we can shoot and we've got size," he said. Hanlen attends Hixson Middle School in Webster Groves.

Hanlen is a point guard on the team. He's part of the speed and shooting portion of the team. For size, the team has two 6'4" players and another who is 6'3".

Coach Henry Rosehill and his assistant have recruited players from across the St. Louis metro area. He has players from Illinois, St. Charles and St. Louis counties as well as the City of St. Louis.

The select team also has plenty of game experience. Gateway St. Louis has played more than 60 games so far this season.

John Simon

But, the players don't pay much attention to their won-lost record.

Thirteen-year-old John Simon said simply, "We win some and lose some. We don't pay attention to records. Stats are for losers," he said. John attends Chaminade College Prep.

A shooting guard, Simon is another of the Gateway players who have been to three consecutive national finals.

He's been playing basketball since he was in third grade. He said his best experience in basketball was with the Gateway 11-and-under team. That's the one that finished 17th among the 50 or more teams in the national tournament.

"We all shot well that year. It was our best year," he said.

The players and coach were disappointed in their 20th place finish last year.

Coach Rosehill attributes last year's finish to a lack of concentration. He said, "Too many players thought it was a vacation."

Drew Hanlen said he enjoyed last year's nationals. But, that experience had more to do with meeting one of his competitors. "We plays against a rapper, Lil Romeo," he said.

All three of the last national finals were played in cities with Atlantic Ocean beaches.

This year's national tournament won't be anywhere close to the ocean. It is scheduled for Memphis, Tenn. "The players will be a lot more focused," Coach Rosehill said.

One of the Gateway St. Louis players is the coach's son. Thirteen-year-old Chris Rosehill is also a shooting guard. He attends Crestview Middle School in the Rockwood district.

Chris Rosehill

He said the team likes to fastbreak and uses a 1-3-1 zone defense. Asked about defending against shots from the corner, Chris said, "The wing players drop down in coverage."

Chris also said the national tournament when he was a 5th grader was his best experience. His worst? That's when his team lost in the Missouri finals when he was in third grade.

That's the last time the St. Louis Gateway team missed advancing to the national finals.

For both Hanlen and Simon, low points in their basketball careers involve broken bones.

Hanlen said he broke an arm which kept him from playing in a state tournament.

Simon said, "I broke my arm just before the nationals when I was in 4th grade."

He's suffered a broken arm and a broken hand this season. But, he added both are healed and he's ready for this year's state tournament.

All three of the guards hope to play basketball in high school and also in college. All would like to play professional basketball. But, all have other career plans too.

Hanlen would like to be a lawyer "if pro ball doesn't work out." Simon said he'd consider a career as a U.S. marine while Rosehill has his eye on being a stockbroker.

But, this month, their common goal is qualifying for the fourth consecutive time to go to the AAU nationals basketball team.