Story behind Tyrone Johnson & Jene Carter #TJShowcase

 Tyrone Johnson & his wife 

TYRONE JOHNSON

Tyrone Johnson was a former basketball player for the UT and as a product of East Austin schools and athletics, gave his all to help Central Texas student athletes make the most of their abilities and to make opportunities available to them. He spearheaded the first fall league for Austin Independent School District (AISD) athletics and was instrumental in helping form the first sophomore league in Austin. As a coach, he led the Anderson High School Trojans to three district championships and two state championship finals, the closest Austin had come to winning a state championship. His life was cut short by a heart attack at age 49 on a hunting trip in ‘01. Tyrone was inducted into Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame on May 17, 2014. Long time coming!

Coach Johnson was about so much more than winning. Coach Johnson instilled in his players the values of discipline, fair play, promptness, hard work, and always striving to do your best.  As a Coach in AISD, he was viewed by all a mentor, friend and as a leader in his field.  He was respected in Central Texas and across the state by his professional peers.  Austin Elite continues to honor his name by hosting this event. His legacy continues through his daughters (both are AE Alumnae) Alaina Johnson and Melva Johnson and grandson Christion Whitaker.

JENE' CARTER

From left to right top row:La’keisha Williams, Latoya Ellis, JENE’ CARTER, Coach, Edwina Brown.

 

Jene’ was a basketball; softball and track star (5A Shot Put State Champion 1995) and played with Austin Lady Knights Girls Basketball Club where she quickly became a favorite among anyone who watched her. At a young age, Jene’ was a giver and could often be found tutoring others or volunteering across the city.  She had choices but in the end selected a track scholarship at SFA in ‘95.  Jene’ suffered heart failure and passed away tragically while attending SFA in ‘97.  To illustrate her impact, she has a SFA Sport Award, Pflugerville SR  Scholarship Award and Pflugerville Softball field named in her honor.  We honor her name with our top HS girls division at the TJ Showcase.

2016 TJ Showcase recap

Although I couldn’t personally make it to the Tyrone Johnson Showcase, as I always tell people “talent is everywhere” and with the exposure events approaching, remember “there are eyes everywhere” so treat your July experience like a job interview and be on your best behavior on and off the court because you never know who’s watching or what they’re looking for. Girlz Prep Report correspondents were on hand for the event and here’s what they saw

The 14th Annual TJ Showcase moved to the new multiple court Round Rock Sports Center, but had same deep pool of talent…..dun da dun, dun da dun.  And I must say, the home cooked food in the hospitality room alone is worth the trip to Central Texas.  Coach Fonzell Martin & Tommy Gregg of Austin Elite continues to raise the bar on this event.  Here’s a tip – there’s talent everywhere.  Best game of the tournament may have been the double OT sudden death thriller between Fort Worth Lady Hornets and Austin Elite RFW.

2017 P Jhyrah Cobb (Fort Worth Lady Hornets) – Best player throughout the event. Dominant on the block with back to basket but also showed face up game.  Finesse moves but holds position. Went beast mode in championship game with a coast to coast finish that brought the crowd off their feet. #REALDEAL

2017 PG – Emily Daniel (Austin Elite RFW) – Pull up game on point.  Versatile, long point guard that consistently made plays to stop the other team’s runs.  Has a 3 pt shoot to compliment her automatic pull up.  At 5’8 she rebounds well for a guard.

2017 P Ireneshia Johnson (Houston Hoops) – Showed strength but quickness around the basket and at times was an absolute load to deal with.  Loves to attack the rim off the dribble after a turn and face move. Quick on the rebounds.

2017 G Chantel Govan (UBAVE) – Who has #23 was a constant phrase being heard.  Answer was it didn’t matter as she got to rim at will and should good poise running UBAVE spread offense. Another kid who is better now than in March and that’s a scary thought.

2018 W Kansas Watts (Team Ichiban) – Does a great job of rebounding because she attacks the ball in the air.  Was very active blocking shots, disruptive and with help defense.   Once she gets a lil more consistent scoring the ball…..look out.

2017 PG Brooke Elliott (Fury Haney – Orange) – Showed great vision in open court and was able to get where ever she wanted to on the court. Complete SSP player, was smart, can shoot it and can pass with the best of them.

2018 PG Diamond Morrison (Austin Elite RFW) – Been keeping an eye on this one.  Nice quicks with college body.  Pull up game is probably he strength at the moment although she showed she could hit a three, attack the rim and play solid on defense.

2018 G Jessica Ray (DFW Elite Cannon) – Attacks very well, good handles with vision and played relentless on defense game in and game out.  More comfortable getting to the rim vs jumpers but her talent jumps off the court almost as high as she does.

2018 F – Sydney Brock (Austin Elite Black) – Had a great weekend showing ability to score inside and out.  Very patience on post moves.  Another up and coming player that has grown in confidence.  At 5’10,  if she gets her handles a little tighter, skies the limit.

2021 F Anaya Freeman (Rising Stars) – Long, slender athlete that can play 2-5.  Tremendous upside if she continues to hone her game.  Great instincts for the ball as it seems to always find her hands.

2021 5’11 Trinity Valentine (DFW Elite Houston Young Guns) – Very active on defense and ran the court very well.  Player  to watch.

2022 W Carleigh Wenzel (South Texas Hoyas Gray) – This playa is as aggressive as they come. Competes on both ends and plays with an edge. Further along offensively than defensively but has the chops to be all-state caliber in high school.

In memory of long time Austin Elite Coach Louis Monroe, the Monroe Division featured top varsity boys and saw Team Gregg crowned champs in a 3 pt win over  Centex Attack.  Monroe daughters Raven, Kayrin, Kaylin and Reann all suited up for Austin Lady Knights and Austin Elite over the many years.  Louis had a great smile that would light up the room and his presence and gifts will be missed but never forgotten.

Tompkins first trip to semi's more than memorable

Many schools were all over Brittany Panetti prior to her ACL injury but at 6'3, you know there would still be some after. New Mexico landed a prize as the Tompkins senior's best basketball is ahead of her but she's definitely been a very important part of the Knights run. With Allison and Sarah Goss proving #sizedontmatter and Panetti showing #sizedoesmatter, the bottom line is if you're a player, nothing else really matters and they've all come up huge. Kendall Rollins continues to be the glue, she's going to put up numbers some kind of way and this core group that have played club ball together over the past few years are trying to send a message.

They've knocked off the best team record wise in the toughest district, Cy Woods, and they've knocked the best team on paper in that same district, Cy Ranch to get here so now they're going against the best team in the area, North Shore who came from behind to defeat Manvel behind the clutch shooting down the stretch of the young lady I called "The Future" when she was in the SIXTH grade, Chasity Patterson so at 8pm, I think Ice Cube said it best, "Once again it's on" as we're firing it up all day Straight Outta Campbell !!!!!!!

Clutch City Tip Sheet #PrimeTime

Isabella Rathgeb 

Last weekends Prime Time tournament gave me a glimpse of even more talented young players that will be entering high school if not next year, within the next couple so it's always good to see the talent continuing to flow. I don't if everyone realizes that I really don't watch scores, I write that almost weekly and at some point it should register but my primary goal is to find players that can play at the next level. Lady Chaos brought a couple of teams down to the event from Louisiana, I didn't know everyone's name when they were here last month but they definitely have some talent as they won 6/7 and 9/10 grades. Here are some of the players that caught my eye over the weekend

2017

Ogechi Nwodo (Knights) college ready body and an abundance of potential. She's around six feet, athletic and goes after everything in the paint, runs floor well and can defend . Just started playing a year ago huge upside

Isabella Rathgeb (Insiders) long and athletic, can get to the rim easily and finish strong with either hand. Good IQ, can also step out and hit midrange and can defend under basket or from the perimeter.

2018

Kalea Hartman (Northside Ballerz) athletic guard that brings plenty of energy on both ends, plays passing lanes well, showed she could handle ball under pressure and hit the midrange plus she gets to rim and finishes with both hands

Frances King (TWELVE) has made a huge jump from last year, more intensity and aggressiveness usually come with maturity but her ability to turn into a scorer, meaning she finds ways to put ball in basket, blew me away


2019

Pamela Igbokwey (3220 Elite) long and athletic, plenty of upside to go with her 74 inches. She understands the simple things and has good skills but what I like is that she can simply get after it and won't back down. Time is on her side and she has a bright future

Alona Gray (Lady Chaos)

2020

Alona Gray (Lady Chaos) lighting has nothing on her as she bolts from one end to another. Loves to D up and plays passing lanes extremely well but trying to guard her is somewhat of a problem with her deadly first step

Khyra Cooper (Madville Lady Ballers) her length, athleticism and age tells me she's a next level lock and once she fine tunes a few things, who knows how high she can go. It's there, I saw that after a couple of minutes and once she lets it completely out....

Priscilla Williams ( Shooting Starz) I saw this kid walking bouncing the ball and asked what grade she was in and just on that I went to catch her game. She's close to six feet, she's long and her range was worthy of ABC TV last night. She creates extremely well for her age and I'm thinking HUGE down the road

Precious Daily & Cornecia  "Sissy" Thompson

2021

Sissy Thompson (TWELVE) has an arsenal of weapons I've seen few with at her age, she certainly understands the most important things, how to score and how to stop whoever she's guarding from scoring. Huge upside for both her and her cousin Precious who has been out with a minor injury and I have both pegged as among the tops in their class in TX

Kailey Yokum (Lady Chaos) Physical player and doesn't mind giving or receiving it on either end but that tells only part of the story as she showed she could rebound, defend and finish and that along with her age spells trouble on the court

S/O to yet Another Level

I don't always do a good job at locking numbers in my phone, especially during an event so when I keep getting texts to go watch a team, I had to ask is your daughter on this team because I just wanted be prepared. Well his daughter wasn't on the team yet Coach Antoine Smith is someone that I've had a chance to enhanced watching Another Level go off, either at a DFW or SA Finest event like they did this season

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Micayla Haynes simply goes off at the drop of a dime but it's players galore on this team and well throughout the state of Oklahoma and parents always remember no matter how good your daughter may be, TALENT IS EVERYWHERE. Oh yeah, the team he wanted me to check out was the Oklahoma Lady Knights, a 5th grade squad led by Alyssa Parmer who is a triple double waiting to happen so thanks again bro because they helped light up Fieldhouse Friday for me

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Lady Knights vs NT United #FieldhouseFriday #PrimeTimeNationals

NT United definitely has some bright young stars coming through their pipeline which at the top has a young lady I tabbed Miss Triple Double a couple of seasons ago at Prime Time Nationals. I had a HS coach walk up to me and said it was sad people were wring about how good this kid and she was nothing more than a volleyball player because he had been a coach for over 30 years and he knew talent. A few years ago I used to respond in a different manner but times have changed and I said "coach, I know several guys that have been mechanics for over 30 years and their cars are always broke"

Needless to say I was right, no I don't get tired of saying that, as that young lady is ranked the top player in 2016. Am I a genius, well I think common sense sort of handled this one but the talent I caught between the Lady Knights and NT Unites showed me several stars will have their names in the sky, in fact

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#FieldhoseFriday with the Lady Knights at #PrimeTimeNationals

I was told that I needed to make sure and check out #32 on the Oklahoma Lady Knights after the 2021 had just went off for a triple double, points, rebounds and steals and after seeing Alyssa Parmer, I wasn't disappointed in her or her teammates

Parmer is legit and am I ready to label her "can't miss" in the 5th grade, I already have because when you comprehend what she does at a young age, can handle the ball going full speed and her speed is not average plus brings a little flair, well remember I definitely know where the bar was set and she's one with a bright future

This is a solid young team and to be honest with you I truly enjoyed watching all of them and with the work ethic they showed on the floor, I'm sure it didn't just happen overnight. The Gramling twins, Tamia and Talia were part of the show that the Lady Knights put on and I can't wait to catch this talented group of players again

District 24 battle highlights Friday 13th action

GPR-UTR Torrie Thompson has shown me she can do a variety of things in the short amount of time I've watched her play this season however I've seen enough to know the young lady can definitely play, not only in high school but beyond. She and her Clear Lake teammates have been gritty and went after it baseline to baseline for the whole game each time I've seen them and I'm sure tonight's game at Clear Falls won't be any different

With only one senior on the team, Clear Falls is one of my early favorites for next season however they way they played Cy Woods in the Peggy Whitley Classic, hey, you never know. One of the reasons, I say that is because of GPR--UTR Destiny Navarro taking the role of a silent assassin as she''s  come huge in several games for the Knights this season. The Knights have an arsenal of weapons including sharpshooter Lauren O'Connell and with the talent and youth this district has, the tide may be shifting

2016 Destiny's Navarro getting use to stage as well

 The late Bum Phillips said this about Earl Campbell years ago. "Earl isn't in a class by himself, but it doesn't take long to call roll" and by that same token, in doing what I do, identifying talent early that  many can't see with the naked eye along with my own mix of humor, I too, well you get it. Beyonce' was in town last night and if you know the background you'll understand the title.

Destiny Navarro is one of the top long ball shooters in the area but the 2016 Under The Radar player from Clear Falls continues to prove she can do even more and after observing her throughout the summer and at the Peggy Whitley Classic, attacking the rim from the wing along with her defense continue to be a huge asset t her deadly quick and accurate release. Last night, the Knights star scored 16 in a loss against Peggy Whitley runner-up Cy Woods, 59-52, Woods just beat them by over 20 last week. Navarro is a player and she hasn't even reached her potential. \\

The first time I saw Navarro I mistook her for another player and a lady told me, Child that's Destiny. Okay that didn't happen but it fits.

North Shore vs Clear Falls rematch will be different

The first time these two teams played, North Shore beat Clear Falls 58-43 however that was before Valencia Nelson was lost for the season however even though injuries have plagued the Mustangs, they managed to finish in a three way tie for first place in district.

Even more impressive they turned around and won two games to break the tie and win yet another district title and for that effort, they had a young lady , Adriiana Jackson, named  Chronicle POW

Seniors Erin Farmer, Madison Ruta and Maggy Mullohand account for over 60% of the Knights offense and Farmer is hard to handle on the inside, which was where Nelson played, but several players grew up this season for North Shore and this game should be a good one

GAMES

Shaw Simply Unstoppable

Shannon Evans and Kendall Show have been playing together since before middle school, you may have seen that on the blog once or twice so maybe the third time will be a charm as they run into the #1 team in the state Beaumont Ozen for a chance to represent Region 4 in Austin. To do that won't be an easy task and it is not supposed to happen, neither was Elsik representing Region 3 last season or them defeating Clear Springs last night however I've said this before, once you get to this point, anything is possible

 If Erin Farmer doesn't get in foul trouble, this may be another story with a different title however the good news is Clear Falls is young and returns everyone next season but last night they couldn't handle Barbers Hill, losing 43-36 behind 22 points from Kendall Shaw

When I say everyone is back, this includes Madison Ruta who led the Lady Knights with 15 points and when you look at how well they did this season along with the fact that Manvel is moving to 5A, Clear Falls may well be in the mix

Mansfield Rotary-Steele This!

#15 KYRA LAMBERT

Megan Simmons is doing her thing at Tennessee however before she went on center stage, she was doing it for Cibolo Steele. Not only is Simmons not the last great guard, the Lady Knights have one of the best young back-courts in the state with sophomore McKenzie Calvert, who committed to Baylor while she was in middle school, yes middle school and freshman phenom Kyra Lambert

McKENZIE CALVERT

This team is suffering to growing pains however don't be surprised if together a run in the playoffs, you just never know