The 2nd Annual Rice Basketball Tournament had me glued to my seat for the most part as I had a chance to catch some up and coming players, many of which are on their way to the next level and their hard work and progression will determine how high they actually will be able to compete but as I always say, don't turn your backs on anyone, especially at this stage because I can tell you some stories that are not fables but even more importantly always remember talent is everywhere and Nicholls State incredible Southland Conference Tournament win sums up both sayings but here are a few of the standouts I saw extensively and even though I din't have a roster for Phoenix Revolution, they had some talent I'll catch later
Katy Rebels-King 2023
Emma Potts- right last name because she can cook on the court and she stayed hot throughout the event. Good size and showed a knack for getting to the basket whenever she wanted and rebounded well on both ends. She does so many little things that grabbed me but her work ethic definitely will take her places combined with everything else
Loghan Johnson- nice hesitation in the open floor mixed with great athletic ability is definitely a starting point but ability to blow by defenders with a deceptive first step and attack basket relentlessly are all pluses at her age but the exclamation point is that she finishes strong with contact. Huge upside
Fiyin Adeleye- she has good size, she's also strong and understands how to use her body on the inside but on top of that she's athletic, runs the floor, on both ends and can be overpowering at times. As good as she was in the paint, she also faces the basket and scores from 10-12 feet and when you add that she goes after everything on the boards.....
Lake Houston Angels 2023
Jade Williams- attacks basket from every angle imaginable and finishes strong, with contact, handles ball well in open court and showed she could stop on a dime and hit the pull-up. Good defender and guess what, she plays the passing lane
Kaia Henry-was worth the wait, trust me on that but her upside is unlimited yet right now she's doing HS things. She anticipates passes, she blows by defenders and she uses her athleticism to elevate over them as well. That phrase "she doesn't realize how good she is" applies but when it clicks, she will definitely be hard to handle
Jayda Woods- 6th grader playing up but I never would've known because she already gets it. The phrase I use a lot is "size don't matter when you can play" applies because she can definitely play. Range, mid to long, handles ball under pressure, gets to the basket for buckets and defends but on top of that, she knows how to run a squad and gets teammates involved
Cy Fair Elite 6th Grade
Zachara Perkins- mom and dad both played at the next level, mom actually played in WNBA as well so that definitely says something or does it. What I love about this young lady despite DNA is BB-IQ and when you STUDY the game like she does and apply what you've seen, that supersedes anything else. Gets to the basket, scores from midrange and I'm definitely going to enjoy her progression
Shreya Jateggonkar- players that can shoot the midrange at this stage are definitely up on it and she definitely was putting them up and in it. Don't get tit twisted, she attacks well off of the dribble and just keeps coming at you but she also understands how to create her own shot which opens things up for her
Jada Harvey- 5th Grader playing UP UP AND AWAY because her game definitely has that type of potential. She small yet powerful and already knows how to create issues for those guarding her and with her variety of offensive weapons, her defense also stood out and she rebounds but when I speak of upside, ain't no telling how high she flies
So much talent with the even younger squads, when I saw the little girl with the fro, I had to check that squad out and Summer Williams and her Lake Houston 2025/26 teammates were getting after it. Summer's older sister Jade made the Tip Sheet and she too will be maikng many but the Nemesis Crushers were super athletic, Jalina McGrough was one of many as well as DC Queens who had speed from everywhere, Kamora Carroll, Kalyn Toussaint and Braeon Arceneaux while HTX Watson had an array of bright young stars, the light was definitely bright on Skyrise-Ray with talent from everywhere including a couple of players I had just seen the week before, Asia Waddell and Andrea Sturdivant. Always remember, ROSTERS are a pet peeve of mine so please give me what I need, wait, with errors, with last names and even more importantly with jersey numbers and contact info