I've had a few calls from parents, writers and reporters asking about who the top teams were for the upcoming season, what better person to ask than one who actually watches the players right, and let me add that also has a pretty good insight on what they're looking at. To be honest, I really don't know, due to transfers I've heard that may or may not have happened, so after the dust has settled, I should have a pretty good idea on the major players and sleepers. One transfer that actually did happen was Victoria Blankenship moving from Corpus Christi West Oso to Galena Park North Shore and if you don't know anything about the senior, then you probably don't pay attention to everything I write and a couple of seasons ago, this young lady simply blew me away
It's easy for someone to just start watching and be impressed with some of the things they see on the court however I've been watching a very long time and this young lady is a throwback player that simply won't let you outwork her. I spoke with a parent a few days ago about Blankenship and he compared her to a female Barkley type player, well that's a very good comparison because like the name on her jersey, she can create HAVOC on both ends. Pound for pound and inch for inch, she is definitely the most underrated player in the state and is a "legitimate" D1 prospect and when you add her to what the Mustangs have returning, this team could conceivably be heading to San Antonio to represent R3 in 6A
North Shore has a couple of "I told you so" players in Chastity Patterson, a highly nationally ranked guard from the 2017 class that I nicknamed "The Future" when she was in the sixth grade, well the future is now and this could be their year especially with a player that SHOULD be nationally ranked, North Carolina commit Alyssa Okoenne. This is a pretty impressive trio that could average 40 to 50 points between them so we'll just have to see how everything plays out with chemistry, depth and everything else that goes into the magical world of girl's basketball
