GPR On The Run Monday

What do Bellaire and Memorial have in common? Other than red and white, they both lost to Cinco Ranch last week so here's the deal. Monday, Memorial's @ Bellaire , game time 11:30 while Cinco hosts Hightower at 1pm. GPR will be there, hopefully!!!!!!

The Woodlands Send A Message

I've called Anna Strickland the glue on The Woodlands squad since last season. She can put up numbers which is how so many people judge talented players however what she brings to the table doesn't always show up in the box-score. Harding University has got themselves a steal because Strickland was a definite D1 player and last night she led the Highalnders to a 71-52 victory over Atascocita.

The Taz has another shot at the Highlanders but to be honest, they don't have enough weapons to offset what The Woodlands bring to the table even though they had 4 players in double figures. Curtyce Knox is back from an ACL injury but it's going to take her a while. That, along with losing a couple of D1 players from last season will make it hard to challenge the Highlanders however stranger things have happened. Keley Lang added 17 for The Woodlands while Rachel Arthur led "Taz: with 12 followed by Knox, Lauren Price and Shatiria Brown with 11 each

In my RCS pre-season poll, I had The Woodlands picked number 6 in the city however injuries to both North Shore and Hightower have reshaped the GPR Top 5, in my honest yet unbiased opinion here you go

1.Dekaney
2.Cy Falls
3.The Woodlands
4.Clear Springs
5.Manvel

Texas State Comeback Falls Short Against Rice

I try to catch college games as much as possible, especially when a former player that I coached is playing. I've known Diamond Ford since she was in the 6th grade at Lanier Middle School, which has been the starting point for many next level players including my daughter, Sydney Colson (Texas A&M), Bianca Smith (Colorado), and three young ladies on floor last night, Zoe Rogers (Rice), Ford and Taylor McGilbra (Texas State) along with Bellaire seniors Raven Burns (Texas State) and Bianca Winslow (Houston).

I coached Ford in club ball while she starred for Hightower, helping lead them to the R-3 Final 4 her senior year, and the thing that Diamond always could do was shoot and get to the rack as well as anyone from this area. Nothing has changed at the next level as she scored from any possible way either slithering to the hole or dropping long range bombs on her way to 28 points

Demi Clinch,left, was also known for dropping the long ball with the best of them and during 2008, she helped lead Cinco Ranch to their only R-3 Final 4, losing 69-61 to eventual champion Cy Fair in the Regional Final. Clinch still showed she can hit the long ones and she finished with 3 three pointers and 11 points on the evening. Verinus Kalu,right,is one of the most energetic players I have ever seen and although she's listed as 5'8, she plays as if she's 6'2 and can jump straight out of the gym. Sandwiched in between is Jessica Kuster who finished with 20 points in 22 minutes for the Owls. Still hampered by nagging injuries, she came ready to play in beast mode

Ashley Ezeh was a former star at Fort Bend Bush who was a little ahead of their time when they started three D1 post players, Jasmine Blakemore and All American candidate Carolyn Davis (Kansas) were lined up along with Ezeh, however she still proves to be a force reckoned with in the paint

There were 24 players combined on both teams from Texas including Kaylan Martin who starred at Pflugerville, which is again in the running to make a run for state. Martin, who helped lead them to their last appearance in state, transferred back home from the University of Evansville and she comes from a D1 family of players.

It's always good seeing the kids grow up right before your eyes and this turned out to be a great game, Texas State was down by double digits early but managed to cut it to 5 a couple of times down the stretch in the their 73-66 loss but it appears they aren't ready to concede the Southland Conference title over to McNeese State just yet. Former Dickinson star Brionna Hypolite and Christal Porter added 18 each for the Owls.

14-5A Super Match-up Woodlands @ Atascocita

Rachel Arthur and Lauren Price have done an admirable job in keeping Atascocita competitive while Curtyce Knox rehabilitated from ACL surgery a little over 5 months ago. Knox is back and so is "The Taz" as they host The Woodlands tonight. The question is does Atascocita have enough to handle the Highlanders? These were your district co-champions last season and if you were looking online for a game tonight, this won't be there.


Also note the Manvel @ Elsik game was cancelled. Thank you TWITTER!


chron

Texas State and New Mexico Come To Town

Friday night, Texas State comes to town to play Rice. The Bobcats have 5 young ladies from the Houston area who made their presence felt in high school. On Sunday, New Mexico plays at HBU. The Lobos have several players from Texas on their roster along with a coach, Erin Grant, who won four 5A State Championships while she was in high school.

All of the area college schedule are on the GPR website under EVENTS

Middle School Ballers

I was headed out to Cinco Ranch to watch Bellaire take on the Cougars, game was moved up because the Cardinals don't have a freshmen team which got me to thinking what's going on with the younger kids. I have talked with several coaches from across the state who have told me several 5A schools didn't have enough kids to field the 9th grade teams and this will be a problem in the future

It occurred to me that a couple of kids on my middle school watch-list were going head to head so instead of the long drive through traffic, I aborted that mission to see the younger kids.

Janvier Branch is a gifted young player who has plenty of upside, she more than likely will play on someones varsity in high school

Kiora McElroy is one of the best young long range shooters, not as athletic as Branch, but also has plenty of upside. Both players led their teams in scoring on this day with 21 each and like Branch, McElroy has a good chance to be on someones varsity

I noticed other players on both teams who were raw and probably won't be ready for varsity or even JV  and I'm wondering what will happen to them if they attend a school that doesn't have a freshmen squad. I assume most will more than likely hang it up which is sad because there are several diamonds in the rough who don't shine until 10th and 11th grade.

McNeese State @ Texas Southern TODAY @ 6pm

Action and energy from two exciting teams today. Check it out!!!!!!!

TODAY-Bellaire @ Cinco Ranch 6pm

Sydney Thomas has come into her own during her sophomore season and tonight, she, Megan Palmer and the rest of the Cougars host the Bellaire Cardinals at 6pm, not 7pm as listed in the paper.

Mo on Peggy Whitley

Bedford that is  GPR

The two Courtney's, Williams and Latham are two of the best players in the city. They also are two of the most unselfish however a little more killer instinct offensively from both may be needed for their teams to get out

Peggy Whitley Classic-North Shore Wins It One MO Time

Tis the season for Christmas parties but I wanted to give a s/o to North Shore for winning the Peggy Whitley Classic in back to back seasons before heading out. Monique Bedford ,who scored 16 points in the championship game, was named MVP while freshman Adriiana Jackson won the tournament Outstanding Defensive Player Award. This tournament showed me one thing, well I'm lying, it showed me several things. In Region 3, Cy Falls and Clear Springs are the top two teams but we "ain't" counting nobody out as far as winning this team. The heart Elsik showed without big sister Ocanas and having baby sister Ocanas stepping up under pressure will go a long way in helping replace what was lost from last season, Raven Hill and Lyndsey Cypher sitting on bench, sorry I'm a GURU in basketball and a few other things but not photography.

Da Shore won without Brooke McCarty playing for Springs, so if you want, put an asterisk by the championship win but also place one by the names of North Shore players Jaylan Robinson, two big threes, a drive down the lane for two and a behind the back pass on the money in transition for a bucket, along with Brashae Adams who added 11 points today and was solid all weekend by not only finishing on the offensive end but banging on the boards. More to come, got to run!!!!!!