Basketball On The Bayou-Dream Team Creating Nightmares

Vance Hughes has pulled a trifecta out of his hat. His oldest daughter Niqui, played ball at Texas and North Texas State while middle daughter Destiny enters her senior season at LSU. His baby daughter was, Jamaika, was actually a baby when I first met him and she appears to be a cross between his two older daughters with a little more speed

6'4 post Lilley VanderZee showed off some nice moves on the inside while guard Maya Hawkins showed she could handle the ball extremely well under pressure while nailing midrange jumpers with ease

 

Basketball On The Bayou-Semi Final Sunday

Two of the more impressive 2013 squads I have seen happened to wind up playing each other for the Ponchatrain Championship. SME Black and Georgia Pearls have a little bit of everything on their squads and they both headed to the finals in dramatic fashion. SME's  Bretta Hart (2013) is long, lean and athletic and at 6'2 , she also alters plenty of shots. They also have a quintet of 2014 players that show a lot of promise and the backcourt of Johanna Hughes and Nicole Chatman lead the attack as they appear to be everywhere on the court on defense while also being able to score from just about anywhere

Christa Reed is a shade under 6'0 but she fits the next level big guard profile because she too can score from anywhere on the floor and when you can defend plus have speed, that forms a recipe for success

Kayla Gordon was just a dominant force that did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted . Guard moves in a 6'1 college body not to mention one of the best finishers I saw in the whole tournament, she elevated herself to "BEAST" status after I saw her touch the ball the first two times down the floor.

College coaches love height and the wall was packed to see  6'3 Aundrea Pipkins from the Fort Bend Stars do battle against  the Georgia Pearls 6'4 Safiya Martin however they left seeing other talented players from both teams

The Pearls are loaded with a group of athletic players that kept bringing the heat no matter how cold the gym was. If you want to see a shooting exhibition, watch Brianna Benson and Kayla Potts light em up with ease

Even more impressive is the fact that Potts is from the Class of 2014

Don't take your eye off of Keyondra Jenkins, whether you're a fan,opposing player or teammate. She does a great job of seeing the floor and setting you up and loves throwing no looks that are on the money. Throw in her midrange game and handles and you've got someone to deal with every play

Basketball On The Bayou-DFW Melts Ice

The DFW team from Houston went up against star studded Georgia Ice and in a nip and tuck game came out on top. In case you missed it, the Ice has several former professional athletes with daughters on the team.

Kaela Davis is the #1 player in the Class of 2013 is the daughter of former NBA star Antonio, while Taryn Griffey another highly regarded 2014 guard is the daughter of former baseball great Ken.

Despite losing the #1 player in the Class of 2014, Brianna Turner to their top team, DFW has several stars capable of getting the job done. One of those players is Tiffany Davis who continues to light em up from all over the court.



DFW had a late addition, Lexi Featherlee, that paid huge dividends for them today. Featherlee's key rebound and put back late in the game helped seal the victory

I have to give a gold star to 2015 Lashann Higgs, simply because she has star written all over her. With mad handles and great court vision, this kid will be a Top 100 for sure.

Bracket play starts tonight for Kelsey Lang and DFW as they take on Essence Purple

Basketball On The Bayou-Raven Burns Up The Nets

Wall to wall coaches were lined up to see MDAA candidates Courtney Williams and Brianna Butler teams go against each other in a Mardi Gras game featuring Houston Elite and NY Exodus.Williams and Butler are both Top 100 players, both on most Top 20 lists and both on GPR's Top 10.

It's always good for players to seize the opportunity of being in the right place at the right time and no one has seized it better over the last few games than Raven Burns who scored 10 of Houston Elite's 17 first half points. I saw Burns play against Tiffany Davis when both were still in middle school and each had close to 30, so I sort of had a jump on knowing they would be two of the "players" in the area before it was over and of course I was correct. Burns has always been known as a three point specialist however she's added things missing to her game and is a legitimate college prospect.

I saw Bianca Cuevas of the Exodus in the Big State Flava Jam drop a floater from the free throw line as I walked into the gym. As I watched her handle the ball with such confidence and flair, I liked her a lot as a 2012 prospect. After finding out she's a 2014, I love her game because she has several things you just can't teach.



Basketball On The Bayou Hot Off The Top

Alexis Jones lit it up last year at Basketball On The Bayou and although she's playing for the USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team, there was no shortage of talent on Friday. Whether it was other stars taking charge you have heard about or up and comers you'll be hearing about in the future, not even the steady flow of rain outside cooled the Alario action off.

Although Alexis wasn't there, another Jones gave college coaches something to smile about as Nekai Jones continues to amaze people with her ball handling ability and showtime moves. After becoming a crowd favorite last season, Jones has shown people she's legit by helping her high school team, Beaumont Ozen, reach the Texas State Final 4.

2012 Erin Peoples joined DFW Gold recently after almost leading New Life to a victory over T-Jack a couple of weeks ago. Standing close to 6'0, Peoples was impressive to say the least as she used her size and strength to make things happen

Speaking of making things happen, 2014 Victoria Vivians gives you all you can handle on the court with an arsenal of shots. Also around 6'0, she attacks the basket and finishes in acrobatic fashion time and time again.

The Battle Begins

Basketball On The Bayou has and will be one of my favorite tournaments, primarily because of the teams and our players success over the years. I have also watched several young area players come here and make a name for themselves on a national level and that's what a exposure events are supposed to be about. After arriving yesterday, I ran across several players from New Hope, a team from Arkansas that gave DFW T Jack all they could handle in the Big State Flava Jam. Taylor Lewis, above, hit some big threes down the stretch in that game and showed that she was another 2014 player not afraid to be under the bright lights.

.

From dynamic young guards to  raw but talented  young posts, this tournament always manages to to excel and several stars will be born over the weekend

Don't get blocked out, more coming over the next few days

Cy Fair Classic-San Antonio Rohawks vs HK Express

Texas A&M's get crunk pregame song was All I Do Is Win, which I made my ring tone for obvious reasons. Over the years, I have developed great relationships with many coaches including Vince Winn of the HK Express who has put together one of the top young teams in the area and he's done it the old fashion way, applying speed and pressure, not to mention having some of the best young talent out there. I mentioned Angela Harris a few weeks ago as being one of the top 2016 players. Her back court partner, Khayla Mitchell, heads to the 9th grade and clearly has plenty of upside remaining. Together, along with another 9th grader, Lili Quiroz, they form one of the best guard threesome  coming up

Brianna Millet has a way of separating herself from the crowd and when I heard about this kid with the San Antonio Rohawks being compared to Danielle Adams, I had to take a peek. She left a lasting impression but the second go round was even better. In some instances, she capable of playing all five positions however she can become a nightmare for opposing coaches trying to contain her. Inside or outside, she's a legitimate threat

Desiree Johnson is another bright young Rohawk from the Class of 2015 and if you need a speedy guard with handles and range, keep an eye on this one coming up



Moriah Criswell battled nagging injuries most of the summer however she showed signs of of brilliance

Both teams have several potential next level players throughout their organizations and I look forward to watching these young ladies progress over the next few years

Cy Fair Classic-Team Genesis

One of my favorite groups growing up was Genesis however everything went haywire when Phil Collins left the group.Team Genesis is one of those teams that applies the pressure and keeps going and going and going until they make their opponents go haywire. The make-up of the team spells Metroplex and it's amazing how many next level players come from the area. Even after the departure of Jordan Jones and Bryce Owens, DeSoto will continue to be in good shape as four players from the Class of 2014 are toning their skills with TG.

One of those four, Brianna Wise, caught my eye right off the top as she made some acrobatic moves that had the crowd on their feet

Mansfield Timberview also has some promising players on the squad like JaLea Bennett, above and Ather Cep, below. Bennett is another great athlete that can do some damage on the floor, while Cep, even though she's raw, at 6'1 alters shots over and over

GPR Rising Star Watch List

The Class of 2014 is solid and with so many kids from the area and across Texas, it will be interesting how everything comes together in a couple of years. The trio listed above, Cienna Rivera, Brianna Turner and Mckinzie Calvert, who verablled to Baylor as an 8th grader, all have bright futures ahead of them over the next three seasons

Brooke"The Chosen One" McCarty was tabbed by me as a can't miss when she was 9 years old and I haven't been disappointed, but even more importantly, I was correct as usual

Another young lady I knew was legit at an early age is Recee Caldwell, who along with Calvert, are two of San Antonio's top players, right now! All 5 players have a good chance to be on someones Top 100 team.

Olivia Ogwumike has to endure the comparisons made between her and her older sisters, Nneka and Chiney, which isn't fair because she isn't either one, but neither is anyone else. Olivia has continued to progress and the thing that stands out is she has Nneka's hands and if the progression continues, she has a legitimate shot at being a Top 100 player.

I've had my eye on this young lady for a while and at times she has looked brilliant. Sydney Coleman, the name itself has a certain ring to it and the game, well being athletic and tall is definitely something to work with

Cy Fair Classic-STX Valley Hoopsters

I hadn't seen Coach Arnold Martinez in a few years and one thing you can always count on is him being intense and coach the whole game through. His talented group of STX Hoopsters were a fresh out of middle school and now many are about to graduate



That talent includes Nelly Flores, Lisa Mancillas and Jessica Prieto from the Class of 2012, along with 2011 Nashae Owens who had to battle injuries her senior season