Spring Branch ISD Classic

Cy Falls and Klein Forest headline this years events which should prove to be entertaining. Falls is the returning champion, tournament has been moved to November 10th -12th. Here is a list of teams competing

Cy Falls
Cy Ranch
Cy Springs
Dawson
Klein
Klein Forest
Lamar Consolidated
Langham Creek
Mayde Creek
Memorial
Northbrook
Pasadena Memorial
Spring Woods
Stratford
Terry
Westside

Peggy Whitley Classic

Clear Springs, Elsik and North Shore made it to R3 Final Four last season and they are all potential candidates to do the same thing this season. The good news is you won't have to wait until February to see them as possible match-ups because they will be among the top teams doing battle in the Peggy Whitley Classic later on this year. More details to come and here is a list of teams participating.




Baytown Sterling
Clear Brook
Clear Creek
Clear Falls
Clear Lake
Clear Springs
Cy Fair
Cy Woods
Deer Park
Dulles
Elkins

Elsik

Klein Collins
LaPorte
North Shore
Waco Midway

Dobie Fall League

It seems like only yesterday Courtney Williams and Monique Bedford were 7th graders at Cunningham however that's only my "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" because at night I can't sleep. As reality sets in, they are seniors at North Shore which is looking to make another run at a state championship. Also looking to do the same thing will be Manvel featuring the youngstas Brianna Turner and Jordan Hosey

Both teams made it to the Region 3 Final 4 last season and both have good chances to repeat the feat. Here's tonight schedule

DOBIE

Top Area Teams To Appear At GHAGBA Shootout

The inaugural Greater Houston Area Girl's Basketball Association will feature some of the top area teams on September 17th. Hightower, Cy Falls and Manvel were among the top finishers in a recent GPR poll on teams considered to be among the Top 10.

Attendees also receiving votes were Bellaire, Cinco Ranch, Memorial, Cy Ranch and Klein Collins . Games will be played at Spillane and Smith Middle Schools. For a complete list of teams along with times, click on link below.

SCHEDULE

Spring Fall League Games Cancelled Tonight

Bellaire Fall League-Bush

Over the years, Fort Bend Bush always had players however they are relatively unknown on the GBB side primarily because they play in the toughest area district from the previous decade. They hold the distinct honor of having three D1 players over 6'0 at one time, Jasmine Blakemore, Ashley Ezeh and Carolyn Davis, who happens to be on the 2011 Preseason Wade Watch List. The problem is they never seemed to have the right pieces for every position at the same time and this season may be the same but that's okay. In keeping with traditions and sayings, well at least mine, "the game still starts at the one"! Victoria Papion, pictured above with sister Samanda, was one of the best point guards I ever saw play in middle school. Blessed with speed and handles, along with the ability to get to wherever she needed to on the court en route to scoring at will, I told her back then "by the time you get to high school, Victoria won't be a secret"

Freshman Cierra Palmer is blessed with size however her best years are ahead of her and at 6'1, she could wind up being one of the top posts in the area. Expect numbers from Danesha Richardson and Trachel Phillips who return from last seasons squad and even though they lost scoring machine Brittany Smith to Dillard, her younger almost identical sister Brooke is ready to put in the work. Speaking of putting in the work, Samanda Papion's growth between the first time I saw her and now shows she has been doing just that.

Bellaire Fall League-Kinkaid

You can always count on excitement and entertainment at the Bellaire Fall League and tonight was no different. Somebody said Kinkaid would have one of the toughest back courts in the area only yesterday, oh I know who said it, me! As usual I was on the money as Brecca Thomas and Lashann Higgs are ready to get this party started. Thomas dropped over 40 in a game last week, well Higgs probably came close to duplicating that feat in this weeks game as she razzled and dazzled her way to the hole almost at will. This is probably the most athletic Kinkaid team I've ever seen and to be honest with you I was rather impressed however once again, the game starts at the one and when you have a point with this type of ability, good things will usually happen. 

I've called Higgs a legitimate Top 100 player on the national level and the more I see her, the more I see her sliding even higher. Whether it's her speed, handles, acceleration, change of directions or seeing the floor, she has the package. What she adds to that list, and you won't hear me floating this around too much, is she sees plays before they happen, that's definitely a gift

Thomas was one of the best young shooters off the dribble I've ever seen in my life, not spot up wide open shooters, but actually taking you off  the dribble and pulling up with a jumper. She creates her shot as good  as anyone and can score from anywhere on the court. Keep an eye on Kinkaid, although they were without their full squad, this team was very scrappy and brought tons of energy

The Beast With The Tip Sheets-Bellaire and Spring Fall Leagues

I'll head over to Bellaire tonight and Spring tomorrow night to see specific games. St. Pius and their new "Big Three" will face one of the toughest back courts in the area tonight against Kincaid. 2015 Lashann Higgs has been mentioned by many on the national level as one of the top points in the country, they are correct! Brecca Thomas is a gifted scorer that I personally saw drop double digit threes in a game while she was in the 6th grade, btw, she was playing on a 8th grade team

That old saying about how time flies works twice in this instance because since the moment I saw Bernesha Peters in the 7th grade, I was totally impressed and she flies by opponents. Spring has it's on "Big Three" version as the two Brittany's, Scott and Peters go against one of the top area teams, Cy Falls. As an added bonus, in what may be a R2 final preview, The Woodlands take on Dekaney.

FALL LEAGUE SCHEDULES

Bellaire Rec Fall League-St Pius

One of the biggest questions floating around the area is who the top private school team will be. With the departure of Brianna Turner from Westbury Christian, it's wide open to say the least. A team that could possibly move into that slot is St. Pius, even though they lost two D1 players, Danielle Parks and Jasmine Hunt to graduation while another next level player, Alexis Chandler, transferred to Cy Fair. Those slots have been filled with more next level players such as Jewel Angelo, Micarah Malone and Daryon Fields. This trio of transfers, Angelo (Cy Lakes), Malone (Klein) and Fields (Klein Oak) will step right in and pay dividends off the top as they team up with returning veterans Rhea Levy and Brittany Stepanski in their quest for a State Championship run.

KNOW THE PLAYERS

Bellaire Rec Fall League-Memorial

Memorial had some big wins last season against heavy hitters like Barbers Hill and Katy Taylor in fact they were in the driving seat early as they appeared to be heading to a district championship. Problem is they play in one of the toughest districts in the area and injuries to key players throughout the season including three point specialist Kirby McDaniel left the Mustangs on sort of a see-saw ride where the you sometimes had to expect the unexpected. Even without Kelli Wilson and Elissa Kissner, Memorial looked pretty sharp on Saturday even before their offensive machine, Ellen Anderson , showed up. Madison Miller makes the team go from the point and remember one of my sayings, "the game starts at the one".

Laurel Carrell was instant offense off the bench in many games I witnessed last season and I expect more of the same this season. Olivia Podaras continues to get better as she and Kissner, along with Jenn Taylor, are the only juniors to go along with 9 seniors on the roster.