2018 Katy Classic ready for action

The 2018 Katy Classic will be pretty darn exciting based on who I've seen that are in it and as well as who I haven't seen so far so let me start with Katy led by their senior backcourt of Savannah May and Cassidy Howard who have already captured one tournament, the SBISD, defeating R-3 contender Westside for the championship.  The Tigers are on a collision course to face defending R-3 champ Cy Creek in the quarterfinals, winner probably has a good chance to make it to the finals, haven't seen out of town squads Colleyville Heritage, Wagner or Cedar Ridge but the real challenge may come from Hastings or Cinco Ranch who play each other off the top

On the other side, I'm seeing improvement in Katy Taylor each time I've watched them play, my first look at Seven Lakes is coming up, Spring, featuring talented Haley Wesley, is ready for action starts it off with a squad Morton Ranch squad I'm hearing rave reviews about and I already know Bush has a young lady that can go off for 30 at the blink of an eye but this will probably boil down a Langham Creek vs Cy Ranch quarterfinal to represent that side of the bracket in the finals, but what do I know, the game is played where, on the court

SCHEDULE 

2022 Jade Miller added to freshman WATCH LIST

I've seen some talented freshmen over the years and I'm talking going back almost to the previous century so one thing I do when I evaluate talent is "could they have battled against the players of yesteryear" because the "then" and the "now" is totally different and if anyone tells you anything differently, they're clueless or brainless because it's just nit the same game. Dulles has three talented freshmen, Nya Threatt , Dai Dai Powell and Kaylie Johnson, Elkins has the amazing Peyton Overton, Saija Cleveland is already sending messages with Langham Creek and what can I say about Shadow Creek's R'Mani Taylor that I haven't said lus Sydney Ward just made the TRIFECTA TIP SHEET for Katy Taylor read more

I caught Jade Miller before her 7th grade season and was simply amazed at a number of things she showed me, ability to score, score under pressure and even more importantly handle the ball under pressure. Now she's a freshman at Lamar HS and the poise she shows is ahead of her years, I put a hashtag on #sizedontmatter with the disclaimer, when you can play and Miller can play as she scores in bunches quickly and is making the adjustment to HS ball nicely. Mid to long range or off the dribble, she always had that but she sees the floor even better and still has plenty of upside

Hightower holds off Ridgepoint in all Fort Bend #FBISDTournament

Shades of yesteryear almost as a couple teams from FBISD, Hightower and Ridgepoint, made it not only to the finals of their school districts annual tournament and both squads will be highlighted among the top squads I've seen so far this season but first things first. Hightower is showing early signs of having enough to make a deep run in R-3 5A race, 6'4 Winnie Kuimi is showing signs of her old self controlling the paint on both ends, while fellow seniors Sydni Johnson (MVP) and Aresa Gipson definitely played huge roles in their win. Johnson with the pull-up from almost every angle imaginable, Gipson hust "fire and desire" battling for everything and never taking a play off played dividends in their victory. Destini Lombard, long and athletic, created issues with her defense and scored multiple ways but she and fellow junior Taelor Purvis also played the passing lane to a tee. Purvis also explode for multiple scores, including several stop and pops or just attacking the rim at will but this squad has several others

Ridgepoint's unsigned senior Taylor Thomas is one of the top remaining UNSIGNED players in Texas, she's an explosive scorer that put up numbers and was a huge catalyst in the teams several runs. Fellow senior Mallory Gibson has been somewhat of a silent assassin throughout her career, she does plenty of things that don't show up in the box score but this team isn't the same team it will be come district, trust me, because senior Jaida Herndon isn't one hundred percent, she'll give a boost on both ends and sophomore Marchelle Willis adds more firepower from bta, she didn't suit up but she'll be back. The improvement from sophomore post Dala Allen tells me a lot, still has plenty of upside but is quite serviceable in their scheme but Aleighyah Fontentot, saw her drop 8 long balls as a freshman last season, can fill it up quickly and then you add one of the states top point guards, sophomore Raven Adams, who is threading the needle like a master seamstress, continues to ad even more to her arsenal which includes, you guessed it, the long ball

Katy holds off Westside for 2018 #SBISDInvitational Championship

HOUSTON, TEXAS- The Spring Branch ISD Tournament was the third tournament I had a chance to cover in three days, starting with the Conroe ISD and Peggy Whitley Classic squeezed in between so I had already seen a variety of talented players spread out over an abundance of teams, closing it out with the SBISD event was pretty cool. Dulles showed plenty of athleticism and explosiveness as well as youth and they took SBISD champion Katy down to the wire in the semifinals the night before but the Westside vs Katy championship was definitely a good one, side note the Wolves played without 6’3 #BCSLock Fatou Samb who had a slight sprain but watching those two teams, well Dulles as well, tells me they have a chance to make noise and possibly play spoilers during the playoffs. Katy with its back to back SBISD Tournament Championship and Allana Thompson wins her 2nd consecutive MVP award

Here is the 2018 All Tournament

MVP Allana Thomoson-Katy

All Tournament

Savannah May - Katy

Cassidy Howard - Katy

Jenna Caskey - Katy

Jessica Soders - Westside

Helena Johnson - Westside

Kayla Pilson - Westside

Aleah Pressly - Dulles

D'Anna West - Dulles

Katlyla Ngo - Klein Cain

Summer Creek at Cy Creek helps open up 2018/19 with a bang

Summer Creek avenged an R-3 final loss to Cy Creek in one of the best opening day games I've seen and by best I mean energy, intensity, playoff atmosphere and teams making runs at each other in a "down to the wire" battle, all this to start the season off and ironically both teams may run across each other in a couple of weeks at the Texas Invitational and even during the playoffs but first things first. Maliyah Johnson has elevated her status among the top 2020 players in the state and at 6'3 , she creates a lot of issues combined with her athleticism and extended range but the the Lady Bulldogs have a solid backcourt in Adoara Nwoekeji and Mailyn Wilkerson as both are athletic and shoot the long ball  and talk about athletic, Victoria Crawford brought plenty heat on defense while fellow senior guard Halle Jones was ice from the line down the stretch to help secure the victory. Big boost off the bench from Tyanna Sherman has me thinking this is another SC you can't count out, hopefully you caught that

Kyndall Hunter and Rori Harmon are one of the best young backcourts in the state, both are capable of  going completely off and dropping points in bunches. Hunter's aggressiveness and explosiveness ignited many runs as she threw pinpoint passes through traffic countless times, well I didn't count them while Harmon continues to dazzle creating her shot and once either gets going, anything can happen. Fellow sophomore Taylor Jackson caught my eyes years ago and as she has gone above the magic number of 6'0, her inside presence coupled with 6'3 Morgan Hill gives the Lady Cougars a definite inside presence while Ally Harman's solid play helps make this squad one you don't want to count out. The game has changed, I know you hear this and that from people popping up from nowhere but trust me, it is not what it used to be so again, this was refreshing to see early

Monster 2020 Class continues to become scarier

I remember around six years ago I started ranting about the 2020 class in Texas being one of the best, top to bottom, I had seen since I started covering girls' basketball  before the turn of the century, and unlike many who fabricate what they've done and (or) do, I'm pretty much on the money. Deja Kelly, Sarah Andrews, Jordan Merrit and Deyanna Gaston were a few of the early kids I tagged not only D-1 locks but BCS as well and they hadn't even entered middle school, keep in mind whatever I say is documented and with a second grade level of "googling" you'd see that

Fast forward to the "new era" where elementary school players are being ranked by "experts" with 25 followers on Twitter, who  are self proclaimed as being "the best in the business" and it's sad because this whole thing has taken a dramatic turn for the worse so it's still refreshing to see players and parents that actually get it. I definitely saw an abundance of 2020 stars bursting on the scene or expanding their already impressive games at Austin Elite's Capital City Top Girls Invitational that I had a brainstorm

I'm dropping two Tip Sheets on the HS Division, the 2020 Monster group gets one by themselves, this includes De'Maya Young, pictured above, who has been on fire since I first saw her in the 7th grade, and that will be later this morning so in case you missed the middle school version, click the link below and remember two things, everyone is NOT an expert and I have NEVER been wrong about a player, well three things, it's plenty of BS to be absorbed so watch out

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San Antonio Lady Hoops invade #capcityinvitational

That old saying, "they came, they saw, they conquered" is one of the phrases that applies to the San Antonio Lady Hoops because going into the 2nd season, I have sen many of their players in numerous settings and trust me, they are not running, nor walking away fast from any competition as they strive to get better and the progression I continue to see has me beaming from ear to ear. On hand for the Capital City Top Girls Invitational Exposure Camp in the MS session were Emily Carranco, Madison McKinnon, Alyxa Martinez, Julissa Bolinger,  Natalie Dominguez, Ezra Tobias, Vivian Gonzalez, Miranda Garcia, Mya Guzman and Bailey Guzman, not pictured order

Three of their players, Layla Conley, Aysia Proctor and Skye Stephens also stayed for the HS session and to say that they held their own would be a mild understatement. Here's a recap of some the MS session, more coming on Twitter and The Gram

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2018 Capital City Top Girls Invitational Exposure Camp MS session

Plenty of talent across the board were on hand, here is a recap

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2018 Skilled Up Elite Fall Finish

Alexys King is back home in College Station to close out her impressive HS season and she was overly impressive at Skilled Up Elite's Fall Finish a couple of weeks ago. The UNDECIDED senior brings so much to the table and her College Station squad was definitely one of the top squads at the event, squad scored I believe 16 points in a couple of minutes but here's the recap

2018 Skilled Up Elite 

King's Highlight Video 

2018 Skilled Up Camp with many promising Pre HS players

One thing I love too see is younger players getting after it, especially against older players and when they show promise potential against " the big girls" that sort of sends a message to me and as you watch this new age of nonsense people continue to buy into, I'll always keep it real on the talented players coming up and here are some of the young MS ballers that stood out at the Skilled Up Elite Camp, HS Tip Sheet will be on my website  GIRLZ PREP REPORT 


2023

Keely Cummings-guard (Lomax MS) poised beyond her years, showed me that in the 3rd grade and I knew she was on the verge of something big because when you comprehend the game early, things usually fall into place like her mid to long range and running a squad

Lauren Cook-guard (SCCS) right last name because she's on the verge of being smokin hot on the court. Loves to get after it, already "gets it" and her upside and enthusiasm makes me now she's definitely on track

Madison Penn-guard (Humble Christian) athletic, battles in plays, showed she could create her shot and got after it on defense. Understands the little things and more importantly, plays within herself, good upside

Mikayla Evans-guard (Westbriar MS) explosive first step, plays passing lane, dives on floor, in stands, wherever and that throwback mentality will keep her in the mix because she's showing signs of just making things happen

Katelyn Evans-guard (Westbriar MS) bucket a minute mentality as she can fill it up in droves with the mid to long , she's home on the range and that quick release not to mention setting defenders up is something that will create problems

2025

Jada Harvey-guard (Hilderbrand MS) one of those kids that you think is older just by her demeanor and if you didn't know it you wouldn't believe she was the youngest camper. Playing defense in the paint against legitimate college players at this stage and not backing down told me something I already knew which was she's going to be a major factor before it's over