Barbers Hill "All In The Family"

 This picture Shannon Evans and Kendall Shaw tells a story after they lost to eventual state champion Mansfield Summit in the semifinals. I knew Shaw's dad was a stud player back in the day in high school and later at Rice but there's another story

 Mackenzie May 's mom, Lori along Evans mother, Michelle, both played on the 1983 state champion team while Michelle played on the 1982 state champion as well

In a story coming up in FCP, I asked Evans how special it was for her to make it to Austin and she said "Every senior dreams of going to state their senior year, especially for me, since my mom had won state her senior year. Let me also add Evans came back from tearing her ACL to help lead her team to Austin almost two years to day from her surgery

Check out the story from ABC 13

Duncanville Might Just Do It Again

Don't turn your back on Ariel Atkins or Duncanville next season. With a core group back that includes Atkins, Tasia Forman, Kiara Perry and Antonia Robinson, I wouldn't be surprised if they make another run

Robinson will play a big part next season as she will probably move into the starting line-up but for this season

Duncanville Doesn't Disappoint

DUNCANVILLE DOMINATES

To be honest with you, I didn't watch the game live due to other engagements however before the game I said this. "This game could go two ways, it could be close and either team wins it or the Lady Pantherettes could be clicking on all cylinders and win going away" and the latter proved to be an understatement. More coming from the tournament, including an article I did for Full Court Press

Dekaney Heads To Final Against Duncanville

Dekaney won the game and is playing for it's first state title and if they win, they will duplicate what their football team did, you already knew that because I've said it was possible even before the playoffs started. San Antonio Reagan hung around with Dekaney too long, same as Sasche did in the regional finals and trust me Duncanville is unlike either team as they have already beaten the two top teams in R3, Clear Springs and Cy Falls twice.

Duncanville hasn't won a state title since 2003 and like Dekaney has already accomplished, Duncanville will be trying to pick up win number 40. This game could go two ways, it could be close and either team wins it or  the Lady Pantherettes could be clicking on all cylinders and win going away

 Both squads have different weapons on their teams that can score, Empress Davenport has shown several times that although she is the best player on the team, she doesn't have to be the top scorer every game

 Brianna Taylor and Kayla Nevitt weren't the leading scorers against San Antonio Reagan however they made the Lady Rattlers aware of their presence as well as Jaleesa Chapel and Amber Driver. Seniors Alexis Durley and Shunta Nevitt led the charge however the Wildcats might have a different leader on any given night

DEKANEY PICKS UP #40

Lady Pantherettes Too Much For Eagles

MORGAN BOLTOIN

I love watching good basketball, especially when you have great teams playing along with talented and exciting players on both squads. Cy Falls vs Duncanville part 2 had the makings of a game we would be talking about for years but sometimes things just don't happen the way the script has it written. Morgan Bolton(Arkansas-Little Rock) is one of the most exciting guards from the 2012 class and every time I watch her play she shows me a little something different

EMPRESS DAVENPORT

Make no bones about this but Empress Davenport (Texas) is the leader of this team. You may read something else otherwise but you don't always have the lead the team in scoring to do some damage on the floor. Although she didn't put up great numbers, she has the ability to take the game over whenever she wants however with the weapons they have on Duncanville, that's really not necessary

LORYN GOODWIN

Loryn Goodwin (North Texas) was the only player that could really get going for Cy Falls last night and to beat a team like Duncanville, that just isn't enough. 

DUNCANVILLE DOES IT AGAIN

Dekaney's Role Players Have Starring Parts

JALEESA CHAPEL & AMBER DRIVER

You know the names Alexis Durley (Cincinnati) and Shunta Nevitt (Texas Tech) as both have been four year starters on Dekaney's varsity. You also should know Top 100 candidates Brianna Taylor and Kayla Nevitt who are high majors waiting to happen. Two players you may have not heard of prior to this season are Jaleesa Chapel and Amber Driver, two juniors who have contributed greatly to the success of the Wildcats this season and also two juniors that have bright futures in store for them at the next level

Despite Injuries Eagles Soar To Austin

This is not the way it was supposed to end for 6'1 senior Kayla Tarver. Yes she made it to state however knee injuries forced her along with fellow senior Joann Modeste and sophomore Katie Navjar to miss the entire season. Tarver backed up 6'1 Carol Willie last season and their numbers almost mirrored each other so losing her could have derailed this trip

6'2 Erin Caldwell moved up from junior varsity and although still raw in many aspects, she has shown progression and if her performance off the bench in the R-3 Final 4 is any indication on what to expect in the future, she could play a major role in another version of "Twin Towers" next season

Willie on the other hand is ready to step into the spotlight not only in Austin but in the summer as well as she is among the top posts in the area for next seasons class. In the regional final, she simply went off and played the best game I've seen her play all season and if she continues to do so she will move into that high major category

Summit Lives Up To Expectations

MAYA HAWKINS

I saw something in Summit back when they came to town for the Texas Invitational and it seems like in every big game, they have different players step up beside their two stars Ashley Eli and Maya Hawkins. Nothing seemed to go right when they played Cabot in the Mansfield Rotary Tournament

 That loss may have done more for them than they could have imagined at the time as they came back to not only avenge last seasons loss to Canyon but will finish no lower than 2nd in state. Let me quote myself again "Ranked #4 by TABC in 4A, Summit reached the Region 1 final last season where they lost to Canon (29-26) and I'm sure they feel they can make it to state this season and if they stay healthy, I kind of have that same feeling."


SUMMIT

Shaw And Eagles Come Up Short

It wasn't supposed to end this way for Barbers Hill. After all, they knocked up Beaumont Ozen in a convincing fashion and I know some will say that game took too much out of them but that's not what happened. These kids gave it their all and fought until the last possession. What they accomplished, just by getting hear over teams ranked ahead of them is nothing short of remarkable. Was I pulling for them? I had no interest one way or another, only wishing to see a good hard fought game and I got that. Do I sort of want the underdogs to win, yes so with that being said, I guess first statement could be misconstrued. All I know is Kendall Shaw and Shannon Evans started playing together when they were 7 or 8 and they finished their high school careers as one of the top four teams in the state and that's nothing to be ashamed of. Here's the story

HILL CAN'T GET TO SUMMIT

Exposure-Exposed-Explanations !!!!!!

Since this is the final weekend of high school basketball and club ball is right around the corner, it's important that you realize certain things about how the process works.  Although some players may be considered "5star", "the best" or "can't miss" the vast majority are not and you probably want to maximize the exposure you can get for that player and not have them exposed with things they can't really do or place them in bad situations.

If a player is fortunate enough to get a scholarship to play at the next level, that's wonderful and in the scope of things is all that really should matter, not the trivial nonsense that goes along with it. As many have found out the hard way, it's not that easy and to top things off, 75-80% of all players who receive scholarship offers have 3 or less offers at the end of the day

For more information, check out the CONSULTING info on my website and if you have any questions feel free to contact me