I saw the potential in Dannia Gonzalez a few seasons ago and as I always tell people when you find players that comprehend the game and play within their game, everything will fall into place and fall is the key word as in baskets as the Alexander star was named Laredo Morning Times "Offensive Player Of The Year" this past season
Every year, I've seen this young lady work on something different and the progression she continues to make shows her hard is paying off and after a solid showing in April for Sophia Young Elite Black, colleges are taking notice. Here's a video from last season, a new video is coming on this talented Under The Radar guard
There are so many diamonds in the rough that I've simply watched from a young age and I knew Alexia Torres was going to amaze me years ago. Although I never caught her putting on a show for her Incarnate Word HS squad, I caught her numerous times doing some pretty unbelievable things with her San Antonio Islanders club squad
Some said she was too small, I said whatever, she simply got the job done and when you have certain things you can't teach, like comprehending the game and breaking it down, you're in the mix but what sealed it for me as far as evaluating her was watching her shoot the ball and she will go to St. Mary's University as one of the state's best long ball shooters.
She played the one when needed, she showed she could defend and her ability to play the passing lanes ranks among the best I've seen in her class but when you have players that always have a knack for being around the ball, players that are willing to take the shot under pressure and players that can DELIVER better than my mailman, you've definitely got something
I asked Torres on why she decided on St Mary's and she said " I really liked how close it was to my home, my family and friends can still watch me and I think I can help the program" Torres also said " the atmosphere just felt right, it's a small close knit group"
I'm going to close this out like she does, at the buzzer for THREEEEEEEEE
One of the oldest sayings out there is "numbers don't lie" however that actually is a lie depending on what numbers you're looking at and how they were compiled and who is doing the compiling. This also ties into one of my favorite sayings "it's not what you do, it's who you do it against" so when you have players putting up numbers against D1 caliber competition over and over, one of the names that pops into my head is Aerial Starks
As a sophomore, Starks helped lead her A&M Consolidated team to one game away from heading to state however in the regional semifinals, she put on one of the most memorable shooting exhibitions I've seen this century in the playoffs. This season, her school team fell just short of making it back to the regional semis however her averaging close to 20 ppg created even more buzz for the talented guard
Big 12, SEC and IVY League schools have taken notice and the young ladies options are endless and after a super closing during the high school season, Starks is ready to parlay that magic over to AD Elite this club season and of course, more will be coming
Anyone who knows me knows there is nothing I enjoy more than saying I told you so when it comes to spotting "can't miss" players at a young age and when you're batting a "hunnid" for over a decade, well that says it all. I think my first sighting of Marissa Banfield came when she was 9 or 10 playing against 12 and 13 year old players and just watching her mannerisms and ability to handle the heat running the one told me plenty
Fast forward to her junior season at Westbury Christian where she helped lead the Wildcats to the TAPPS 4A Championship game , they lost by two, but her efforts didn't go unnoticed. She led the state in made 3 pointers as well as being one of the leaders in assists as well as assist to turnover ration. With all of that being said, lights should be flashing among recruiters on this young lady being one of the top point guards in Texas
The game has and always will start at the one, no if ands or buts and Banfield is coming off a very entertaining start to the club season with her GTE squad. More coming as this talented young lady continues to send messages
St. Agnes star Beth Hawkins has done some impressive things,
both on and off the court and closing out her career making TABC All District
in both basketball and academics sort of sheds the light on what I’m saying.
Hawkins made St. Agnes Academy High Honors every semester and will have over a
4.0 grade point average plus she is a member of the National Honor Society, the
Spanish National Honor Society, and the National Science Society.
Beth signed with Millsaps College, in Jackson, MS. It is a
Division III school and plays in the SAA (Southern Athletic Conference). There will be a combination of tough
academics and she will do two practices a day when season starts in October and
I asked her what finalized her decision
“It’s a Division III school but in a hard conference
(Southern Atlantic Conference) with Birmingham Southern, Sewanee and Rhodes to
name a few. The coach flew to watch me play in person which showed he was
definitely interested in me but the academics, size of the school, and very
friendly all played a role”
There's no doubt in my mind that she will continue to excel both on and off the court
I can't remember the first time I actually saw Lauren Taylor
play however during a fall league game at Yates three years ago, I had to find
out who she was brought heat on defense, she was unconscious from long range
and after that caught my eye, I've never stopped watching
Since then, she’s helped Manvel to several wins and picked
up numerous accolades along the way including being a big part of their state
championship so as talented as she is on the court, she’s also an outstanding
student so I asked her on why she chose Dillard University
I chose Dillard
University for a variety of reasons; the coaches, who believed in me and gave
me great advice, the family environment which is an important value to me, the
staff & players who welcomed me with open arms, and the history and
academic excellence of the university. I
feel by choosing Dillard University it will help me excel academically as well
as athletically. I'm looking forward to
becoming a student athlete at Dillard University! Go DU!"
I love this picture almost as much as I truly enjoyed watching Mailee Jones operate on the court. I constantly stated she was one of the top guards in the state, I saw that a couple of years ago after seeing her in action and I'm truly happy for her and her family and the next chapter is about to unfold
So many times I get a chance to watch players at a young age
and you know they have something big in their future. Taylor Alexander is one
of those players that caught my eye young, initially because of her size,scoring well inside, tenacity on the boards and the effort she showed defensively but over the past three seasons, she’s
learned how to score multiple ways and at a shade or two under the magic number
of six feet, she can consistently face the basket and hit the midrange
She’s still a force in the paint offensively and what caught
my eye at first, rebounding and defense earned the Channelview senior Defensive
Player of the Year in her district. After a sensational summer, there was no
doubt in my mind that she was going to have multiple options as far as college
and after weighing all of her options she decided University of Science and
Arts of Oklahoma would be the best fit for her
I asked Alexander what narrowed the field down and she said
“I chose USAO because not only do I feel comfortable with the environment but
also with the coaching staff. I know I can come in to the program and use my
skills to bring the developing team to many accomplishments” and one thing I
know about this young lady is that if she says she’s going to do it, it’s going
to happen
Speaking of playoff ready, the Southland Conference Tournament starts Thursday, well for the women, it actually begins on Wednesday on the men's side, and HBU will crank it up at the Merrell Center against Lamar at 11am followed by Sam Houston vs Nicholls State at 1:30
So for Meghan Shank, Ekemeni Essien and Monet Neal, it's definitely been a joy watching you all and the years I've watched local stars Anna Strickland and Rachel Arthur, even before they played at HBU, Anna in middle school and Rachel as a freshman in high school have been nothing but a joy
