Breakdowns to F4 in R2 and R3 plus All Greater Houston thoughts

Here are the schedules for Region 2 & 3 5A, plus Region 3 4A

Georgetown vs Atascocita-Bryan HS, Tuesday 6pm
Pflugerville vs The Woodlands-A&M Consolidated HS, Tuesday 7pm


After you leave there, head over to Reed and catch the Aggies play Texas Tech who just knocked off #1 Baylor this weekend and will attempt to do the same to A&M.


I also broke the 5A games down on GPR just for fun along with 9 of the 11 that I thought would be playing at this time still are. The teams I have listed first are the ones I believe that will advance but to be honest with you, in the season of surprises, the teams listed second could easily be the winners as well.

The Chronicle will be coming up with their top 15 players and I've always said that that 5A should be seperated from 4A and Private Schools because of the level of competition and the number of schools in the area. I would have 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams along with HB in 5A and the top 10 or 15 under OTHERS. I see that Twitter is being used by them more effectively to get the scores out, an idea I wrote about before the season and implemented both on here and the GPR website, so I'll pat myself on the back for that one, it's hard to be humble. Getting more kids on the AGH teams is something they won't do, maybe because I thought of it first, but it is the right thing to do.

Yolanda Levine, sport editor of the Forward Times, compiled a list of talented kids to watch in the postseason and a case could be made for many of them to be on the All Greater Houston squads, here's the list, however when you look at other deserving players, like Katy Taylor's Amanda Jungwirth, Taylor Schippers at Concordia, McDonalds All American Amber Orrange at Westbury Christian and Briana Turner, also at WC and also a future MDAA, you have to wonder how this works.

Me whining on a blog and complaining means nothing to the higher ups, but again it’s logical and it’s the right thing to do. Parents and coaches, write the reporters and cc every editor if you want to see things change, because seriously some of it is a joke that isn't funny.

The Biggest Upset so far-Cy Woods over Bellaire

I would have lost big on this one, seriously and in the season of surprises, Camille Willaims has just that for Cy Woods and Coach Virginia Flores. The ironic part is that I have ties to both, well sort of. Camille plays on our club team and I always want to see our kids compete and do well. The next one is sort of tricky. Coach Flores husband's uncle and I started playing ball together eons ago

Chelsi Grimes is listed at 5', however I question that. Whatever her height is, pound for pound, inch for inch, no one has more heart than this kid and running the point for a team that has made it to the Elite 8 against some of the competitive teams they have gone against shows her value

 Jennifer Nash is a senior and is known as one of the top long range shooters in the area. Her mere presence on the court is major to the Wildcats success and this has got to be one of her biggest accomplishments to date. I wrote about this Nicholls State signeee a few months ago and if you missed it, check it out

                                                                  

Jourdan Hicks and Audrey Garcia have had ourstanding seasons as well, Hicks has been tough on the boards every time I've seen them while Garcia's offense has taken a lot of pressure off of Nash

What can I say about Olivia? Following superstar sisters is no easy task, however I have been watching this kids progression since she was around 10 and her name is not what will take her to the next level. Hard work and determination is something all players should strive for and Olivia has just that. Althoigh still in middle school, Erica is doing something her older sisters didn't and that's run the point. She also appears to have grown everytime I see her, so being a 6'2 point guard may be in the future. I love watching Bellaire, they're one of my favorite teams and I AJ is one of my top ranked players from the Class of 2013, but it just wasn't in the CARDS!

Thursday At Coleman

           

                                                               
There was some exciting action going on at Coleman even though the scores may not indicate it. Katy Taylor moves on to play Cy Falls and I worked so hard that I thought I was seeing double. read more

           

                                                                  



NEXT-5A Round 2

As action picks back up today, there have been no major upsets of yet. Sure, we had a #4 , Port Arthur Memorial, knock off a #1 Deer Park. Klein Forest added another first this week to go along with their first winning season and playoff appearance, they also won their first playoff game defeating College Park. At last, I finally found something about the schedule on chron.com, so here is the updated area schedule for Thursday, Friday and Saturday which includes the 5A Sweet 16

Thursday and Friday Coleman Center is the place to be, at least for me, because there will be doubleheaders played at that site and some pretty good ones at that. Today, Cy Falls vs Westside followed by Cy Fair vs Katy Tayllor. I already picked Falls and Taylor to move on to the Elite 8, however with an offensive machine like Cy Fair's Cassie Peoples, that game can go either way.

On Friday, Bellaire plays Cy Woods while Elsik tackles Cinco Ranch. Bellaire and Elsik are my picks for another Elite 8 showdown like the one they had last season in which saw Bellaire's AJ Alix went completely off. Woods and Ranch won't be pushovers, Woods has received a tremendous boost from Camille Williams who became eligible after transferring and moving up from JV and Ranch with Palmer and company competed well in a very tough Katy district and took the Taz to overtime



Back to Klein Forest, I believe this picture says it all. Their talented freshmen class has came in and exceeded expectations from many, however I called it early. I still think KF is a year away, but they have a solid foundation of talented young players.

Cougars Cruise To Victory

Coach Todd Buchanan has resurrected the University of Houston program as they move a step closer to the Conference USA Championship defeating East Carolina 77-60 and moving to 11-0, their best start ever in conference history. Brittney Scott scored 20 points for the Cougars while Porsche Landry added 16 points and 5 assists while Leslie Mason chipped in 12. High scorers for East Carolina were Ashley Clarke and Kim Gay, both with 11 points









Aggies Handle Jayhawks

Danielle Adams was simply unstoppable as she set an Aggie single game scoring record with 40 points.

Sydney Colson scored 16 points and dished out 9 or 10 assists read more on the Aggie WBB page

Playoff Brackets and Elite 8 Predictions

This time of year, I love going back to my preseason picks to see just how clear that crystal ball was. Christin Inman's seasons of nagging injuries doomed Seven Lakes in district. Cy Falls let the bombs fly all season, but they also showed that could win other ways as well and not rely primarily on the three ball. Breaux showed what a great player can do for a team. The "Taz" has been up and down at times, however this is the time that being up counts. What can I say about Brooke McCarty's presence? "The game starts at the one". She and move-in Courtney Latham have elevated a team that was going to win district to a team that may be headed to state

Preseason link

I also spoke about a surprise team that has a chance to make some noise in the playoffs, Klein Forest. Most high school teams would be happy to have one freshman come in and make a difference, KF had three freshmen provide quality work on the floor and take them to a land never before seen, well actually two lands. First, a winning season and second, the playoffs.

KF's BIG THREE

I guess the team that surprised me the most, in a positive way, was Katy Taylor. Not many teams can say they knocked off two #1 ranked teams in the same season, The Tower and The Taz and another Top Ten team, Elsik. By that same token, they've been surprised, a three point loss in district to Memorial, their lone blemish in district.

SURPRISES

BRACKETS

5A

4A

ALL

ELITE 8 PREDICTIONS

FIRST ROUND GAMES

I didn't find a list on where all of the games are being played, I sent an email and of course no response, but the games are listed in the above link. Monday and Tuesday @ Coleman will feature the HISD vs Katy districts.

Carter's Midcourt Shot Wins Game

Gevenia Carter was one of the top guards in the Class of 2009. A former Westfield star and a finalist for the McDonalds All American game, this HG Top 100 player is coming into her own at UCF. It's always good to see one of our former players doing well, so keep up the good work Nay!

Nay at the buzzer story



Truitt @ Dean -MS ACTION

There are always diamonds in the rough when you check out the "youngstas" and this game had several kids that showed flashes of future stardom

Two that are ahead of the game are Jaquaza Cleveland, above #23 and Brynae Thompson # 32 below

Cleveland is a beast around the board and if she grows, watch out. Thompson is smooth with a sweet jumper and being a lefty, she slithers to the bucket with easeThe main thing is that the kids need to keep working if they want to improve and parents shouldn't be fooled with pie in the sky tactics because that old saying "if it sounds to good to be true" fits

Aggies top Sooners

Former Elsik star Adoara Elonu's double double hel,ped lead Texas A&M to a 92-71 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. The game was never in doubt as the #5 Aggies win going away. Saturday, A&M hosts Kansas before meeting #1 Baylor on the road in a rematch on Valentines Day which is also the Big Monday game on ESPN2. A&M lost the first game 63-60 read more

Adoara's younger sister Akunna is one of the forces for Elsik now and Elsik is one of the early favorites to reach the Region 3 Final Four.