Greater Houston Area-THE OTHERS

Jade Castille did all she could last season as she placed Manvel on her back and led them to their first Final 4 in school history. They now find themselves as not only the favorite to win the Region 3-4A, but to be one of the top teams in the area with the addition of  Brianna Turner and Jordan Hosey

Foster lost a thriller to Manvel  (36-35) in the Elite 8 last season. Much of their success came from the hands of one of  GPR's Top 2013 players, Lexi Featheree who can and did do it all. This season, the arrival of freshman Khayla Mitchell and how quickly she adjusts to the high school game could place Foster in a very good position

St. Pius lost two D1 players to graduation, Jasmine Hunt and Danielle Parks however they have a couple of players ready to fill the void in Micarah Malone, Daryon Fields and Jewel Angelo, all transfers and all from the Class of 2013. Parks was a scoring machine as she put up numbers while Hunt was the shot blocking, athletic post that set the defensive tone. Angelo may not be Parks but she can score, Fields may not be Hunt but her presence in the paint will be felt and Malone will definitely give St Pius a boost on both ends.

St Agnes caused a stir last season with 6'4 Amber Cooper and 6'2 Michelle Nwokedi, one of GPR's Top 2014 players. Coopers departure leaves the weight of the team on Nwokedi's shoulders however she is capable as she can score from anywhere on the court, not to mention one of the best shot blockers this city has ever seen

Word up as as Westbury Christian's State Champion sharpshooter Sylvana Okde fashions the "bling"! Does anyone still say word up? Here's the problem, well a few

• Amber Orrange-GONE
• Caitlyn Diaz-GONE
• Carissa Diaz-GONE
• Brianna Turner-GONE

No worries, Okde who will be heading to Louisiana Lafayette after her senior season, will team up with another D1 guard, Tiffany Davis and that alone should keep WC competitive

Barbers Hill is going as far as Shannon Evans and Kendall Shaw take them. A (47-43) loss to Region 3- 4A representative Beaumont Ozen in the Elite 8 tells them they were close, very close to getting out of here. This season, the challenge may be a little tougher as Manvel is the team to beat but one thing Evans and Vanderbilt commit have never run from is a challenge


THE BEST OF THE REST IS

5A Sleepers

Cinco Ranch took Atascocita to overtime in the Katy Tournament last season and much of their success last season had to do with Rice commit Megan Palmer and Shayne Ortiz, not to mention 6'2  post Ashley Nwanguma who has moved on to HBU. Will the void in the middle be devastating? Not really, Cinco is going to surprise some people

The biggest problem for Cy Ranch will be replacing Kiki  Devane. Enter the Sydney Coleman era as she  is probably one of the best players you may not have heard of however this 2014 GPR Watch List player will be known far and wide by the team she graduates. Playing JV last year due to transfer rules, she is ready for center stage at Cy Ranch where she will team up with a player you probably have heard of, Cienna Rivera, not to mention Kristen Kech and Ashlyn Wieman.

Brettney Branch and Taylor Longley have their backpacks loaded and are ready to go as the once fabulous freshmen duo enter their junior season at Clear Creek along with Amber Harris. Playing Hightower and Clear Springs down to the wire last season, this team could go deep in the playoffs.

As the country played catch-up to what I've been saying for three seasons, GPR's #1 2013 player, Christen Inman, is a legitimate player, well that's an understatement. I expected Seven Lakes to make a run last season however injuries hampered them along the way. Do they have enough to challenge Katy Taylor, Memorial and Cinco Ranch for the top spot in District 19? Inman, Jade Johnson and Sydney Buchel think they do!

District 19 was so entertaining last season as several teams exceeded expectations. Memorial started off with a bang a looked as if they might even when the District however they too had a rash of injuries that slowed them down. Ellen Anderson is a legitimate scorer, while teammates Madison Miller and Kelly Wilson provide a great supporting cast, not to mention instant offense off the bench in Laurel Carrell


NOTE:

Pre-season picks or rankings mean absolutely nothing, it's what you do on the court that counts. As you see with the stock market, things change and just imagine what the odds were on Elsik going to state last season. The best thing to do is prove me wrong on the court, other than that.......................

Updated Poll, Fall League Schedules & Max Preps

First of all, my apologies to Clear Springs and Klein Forest for not having them on the poll. I hit save without making sure everything took but what's an election without getting to vote twice?

• The Fall Leagues that I know about have been added to the links section

Also don't forget that you can upload your rosters free on Max Preps, this simplifies a lot of stuff, at least for me. It always good to know when and where the teams are playing along with who is playing on the team.

The Best Team In Houston is..............pt R2

Ashlyn Hargraves finished the summer strong and plans on helping The Woodlands advance to Austin

Regina Scott may hate me taking her picture but opponents hate battling this undersized sometimes post player as she hopes to help Klein Forest muscle their way to Austin

This could be a breakout year for Peanut, uh, Infiniti Harris and if it is, Veja Hamilton and Dominique "Double d" Dillingham will be mighty happy

Amber Driver will be one of the keys to the locks that stand between Dekaney and Austin

Curtyce Knox will have to heal before she can help the Taz. The big question is how her loss will hurt the chemistry of the team

R2-5A

YOU TELL ME WHO THE BEST TEAM IS!

I've started a poll to let the people speak on who they think the best team in the area is. Could I really believe it's Manvel? After all, they made to last seasons R4 semi-finals on the back of Jade Castille and without Brianna Turner and Jordan Hosey. Let me put this way, the only other duos that had more pub coming in were the Ogwumike's and Batman and Robin on reruns. Manvel is going to surprise many and don't count them out.

The Best Team In Houston is..............pt 8

Clear Springs was a good team before the arrival of Courtney Latham and Brooke McCarty but these two showed off the top that they were for real. Oh, I call Brooke "The Chosen One"

5A Early Look at Region 3 pt 2

The Best Team In Houston is..............pt 7

Camille Williams is smiling for a number of reasons however she knows tat her offensive spark was one of the keys that helped Cy Woods make their first ever Elite 8 last season. Do they have enough offense to replace Nash? They probably have more than enough


5A Early Look at Region 3 pt 2

The Best Team In Houston is..............pt 6

Cy Falls held down the number one spot in the state rankings longer than anyone else however a 54-48 loss to North Shore in the R3 semis shattered their dreams of winning state. Believe or not, they could be even stronger than last year

5A Early Look at Region 3 pt 2 

The Best Team In Houston is..............pt 5

Akunna Elonu was called an absolute "BEAST" on Twitter after my friend Dag saw her play in a volleyball game. During the summer, she was called the same thing on the basketball court however she represents #teamelonu and comes from a basketball family that played at Elsik and last season was like no other

5A Early Look at Region 3 pt 2

Area Fall Leagues

So far I have the dates for Doble, Bellaire and Alodia.

Dobie, September 26th Manvel vs North Shore

Thanks for the responses

GPR EVENTS