Showdown Saturday at 1 and 4 #CampbellCenter

If I was a betting man, I would say Rudder and Cy Woods will win big today however I always go back to 2012 when Beaumont Ozen was the #1 ranked team in the state and were defeated byBarbers Hill. I figured that game would be a blowout, well Ozen lost by over 20 so you only have to be the best team that particular game

With that being said, it should be an interesting day

The irony of how it ends today

You would think that with all of the pictures that I take that I would have had at least one of my daughter in her Westside uniform wouldn't you? Now video, well FCC has banned me, nm, that's another story but as I play this all back in my head, Westside lost to Cy Fair in the regional finals my daughter's senior season and that team was led by Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike. Maddisen Turner's mom was my daughter's first high school coach and I've known Maddi since she was a baby and she's playing against the baby Ogwumike girl, Erica

Wait it gets even better, how ironic that the game prior to Westside vs Cy Woods is between a couple of teams from Bryan and College Station. I'll close with a song, well video

Westside and Cy Woods advance

This is the perfect picture because you better not turn your back on Maddisen Turner or her teammates but with Westside up 13 with 7 minutes remaining, Turner fouled out and without that dominance on the inside, I figured they were doomed but I was wrong

Nancy Mulkey was virtually unstoppable and Erica Ogwumike simply continues to be the glue but great efforts from Tatyana Perez and her teammates stopped a ferocious North Shore comeback fueled by Chastity Patterson and Adriiana Jackson

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Rudder upsets Barbers Hill to advance

Barbers Hill defeated Beaumont Ozen four years ago to advance to the state tournament and that shocked me completely however I'm even more shocked that they didn't this season after losing 72-57 but after truly thinking about I wonder if I really am shocked. Just so I wasn't seeing things last week at Coleman, the Suber twins continued to defy gravity and were led by Briana Suber and K'Asia James with 24 each

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A&M Consolidated defeats Lumberton

Beth Ashley dropped 6 threes on her way to 27 points to help A&M Consolidated advance to the 5A regional finals Ashley was GPR Player of the Game, more on Twitter

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Freshmen shine in E-8

Dymond Gladney (Clear Springs) and Ny'Asia Goldman ( Westside) are names you'll be hearing about over and over and what they've done to help their squads make it to Campbell Center has been nothing short of spectacular. How about Catherine Reece (Cy Woods) who I called a BCS lock after catching her in the preseason. She starts on the top team in the state and has played a major role in the Wildcats run but a couple of others I had a chance to catch multiple time, D'Asia Collind (Cy Ranch) and Brooke Biggott (Seven Lakes) will join the other three as threats

North Shore and Cy Woods first state trip is on line at 8pm

What we have here folks is the game I've been anticipating since November between the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the state Cy Woods and North Shore, the Wildcats vs the Mustangs, the D1 starting line-up vs the deepest team, I've said all of this before and since they've split, it ends tonight with the rubber game

Some didn't think North Shore would make it however the heat they bring not only on the floor but off the bench can at times be mind boggling as I've seen them spot teams almost 20 twice this season and comeback and win by 20

It's going to boil down to more than Cy Woods "Big Three" vs North Shore's "Dynamic Duo", the role players are going to decide this game and hopefully the officials just let each team play ball. I have no dog in the fight, I don't care who wins because with a quadruple-header at Campbell Center, I've definitely won and good luck to all

Westside vs Clear Springs 6:30 Campbell Center

The Wolves vs the Chargers will be the third game  the best quadruple-header at Campbell ever, well at least on the girl's side. Both teams are similar in many ways but the main similarity, love using words with SIM, is that they can apply heat on defense and score off of that pressure.

The Wolves actually defeated Cy Fair and Seven Lakes by doing just that but if they get behind by double digits against Clear Springs, I'm not sure they'll be able to pull off the trifecta, I'm saying make a comeback three games in a row

Sentreal Gregory, Maddisen Turner and Tanea Thomas have provided most of the offense even though Janae Smith and Kirby Celestine have been huge in the clutch both games hitting big shots as well. Key players off the bench have been Cori Seals and freshman Nyasia Goldman who has already impressed me enough to call her a D1 lock, both were huge in the Cy Fair win

Sierra Cheetham and Tasharian Robinson were D1 locks when I saw them in middle school but the Chargers just keep coming at you and have always been able to figure it out avenging losses to both Port Arthur Memorial and Hightower from earlier this season and defeating both in the playoffs.

Coach Crawford has coached two of the best point guards that ever played in Texas, Kelli Griffin and Brooke McCarty and my first look at freshman Dymond Gladney has me thinking about another trifecta in the making

Semis set for 4A

Okay now I'm really getting out of my league because I don't know who the players are but I do know the major players and folks  Brazosport's Jasmyne Harris is a major player and before you question me by saying "I ain't heard of her" let me just throw this at you, she's 5'9 and can dunk and since I have your attention her range extends out to almost 30 feet so from throwin it down to launching it from downtown, that should be enough


Regions 2 and 4 schedule 

Maci Forsythe has been on a roll all season but the Under The Radar sharpshooter mixed up her game and got stronger and so has the team as they've made it in R1. Those Navasota Rattlers will have their hands full against defending state champion La Vega, not that old Chevy that competed with the Pinto. This La Vega has Juicy and The Great. Someone sent me something about Cleveland, I'll give an S/O since they were nice enough to tell me about them but unlike others, if I don't know, I don't guess, I'm not a journalist, I'm an evaluator, analyst and king of selfies in the over 50 division

Regions 1 and 3 semis set for 5A

I'm super excited about tomorrow, Lumberton vs A&M Consolidated and then Rudder vs Barbers Hill will definitely have Campbell Center on fire and this is the best group of exciting teams that will be at Campbell Center since they started the four team format. How about them twins, well you got a whole lot of talented players that I'll tweeting and taking pics of so be ready for R-3 with Simmie


Over in R1, I'm familiar with Trimble Tech, they put on a show at Sandra Meadows didn't they but I also know that over the years, Canyon has simply found ways to get to state and win

SCHEDULE

Regions 2 and 4 semis set for 5A

Don't know a whole lot about these teams so I'll just look at the records and guess. Naw, I can't do that because it makes absolutely no sense but what I do know is that I said McKinney North would make it to state last season with the help of freshmen and they actually almost won the whole thing. Well those freshmen are sophomores and one thing I know is that they won't quit period

Over in R4, I caught a glimpse of Vista Ridge via closed circuit television, well actually I streamed it using Chromecast from the internet and they are super explosive in fact

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SCHEDULE

'15 Tiffany Valentine commits

I had a chance to watch Tiffany Valentine over the years as she started playing in the 6th grade with the Houston Insiders and you could just see the desire was there. The Lutheran North star closed out her career the way she started and the progression was simply astounding

Valentine committed to Spring Hill College and in college, they let you play and I'm expecting even bigger things from the young lady I often tagged "It's Valentine's Day"

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Region 4 semis set for 6A

To be honest, with the exception of San Antonio Wagner, I haven't seen the other three teams play at all however Amber Ramirez and Kiana Williams, aka the BCS backcourt, are averaging 40 ppg between them, Ramirez torching the nets with 27. They battle Alexander featuring GPR Under The Radar Dania Gonzalez read more

I know absolutely nothing about United South but I do know O'Connor's Amber Vidal is a very talented player averaging close to 20 ppg

SCHEDULE


I can't take full credit for my Amber Ramirez middle school sighting, Ray Caldwell told me he had a kid in middle school I had to see, so he get's the assist and after seeing her,  I knew, I just knew, well you tell me  and wouldn't be ironic if these two teams meet for the state championship

Region 2 semis set for 6A

Skyline vs Bowie closes up the R-2 semis tomorrow however both games should be a dandy. Skyline has a team full of D1 players like Jordan Alexander along with Christalah Lyons and Raven Johnson who are pictured and like Empire, Christalah is another Lyons I liked off the top, stay with me folks. Bowie, well I haven't seen them but the high flying act of Kiana Ray has been embedded in my head since she was in middle school and they already have knocked off the team I thought would the region in Cedar Ridge

Speaking of middle school, #sizedontmatter Tana Driver just had "it" when I first saw her play and I only wish her Irving MacArthur vs Dekaney game was streaming so I could see the battle between her and who the Siminator considers the top true point in the 2016 Texas class Jaelyn Richard-Harris and if you know what I mean when I say true, you'll get the POINT

SCHEDULE

Region 1 semis set for 6A

When I caught Plano West at Flower Mound season before last, I caught five #AutoAwesome photos in the game that featured two of the top 2016 players in the country. Now Natalie Chou and Lauren Cox, yeah the same player this coach told me was just a volleyball player, are in the semis. Despite the ignorance the guy displayed, I knew young ladies were special from day one and both are in a position to play for a state championship but first things first

Chou's Plano West team has to battle Amarillo featuring shoot the lights out guard Lexy Hightower. Hightower blew me away a couple of seasons ago, this young lady has a stroke and range. Cox and her Flower Mound squad battle Eldorado, don't know much about Eldorado except I wanted one when I was little boy but anyway here are the brackets

SCHEDULE

Been there done that group are ready for Campbell

Cy Woods #AutoAwesome photo is simply priceless and one I have probably used an abundance of times but since they are the team to beat, why not. Woods is making back to back trips to Campbell Center, last season they were knocked out by eventual state champion Manvel

I made mention that Westside would be making their fourth trip to Campbell Center in 10 years, the first two were back to back 2nd place finishes with my daughter running the one,  well Clear Springs is making their fourth trip in 5 years, the first three with the great Brooke McCarty, a young lady I tagged "The Chosen One" when she was NINE years old, can I get a #HookEm

North Shore is making their third trip in five years, the first two led by Courtney Williams who is now doing big things at Texas A&M, btw my daughter went on to win a National Championship there so can I get a #GigEm

Barbers Hill and Lumberton have also made it to Campbell and Clear Springs joins them as team that have actually made it to state so this should be an #AutoAwesome quadruple header coming up tomorrow closing with the North Shore vs Cy Woods game

Dekaney has also made it, they actually went to state in 2012

Plano West advances past Cedar Hill

I love this #AutoAwesome battle between Natalie Chou and Lauren Cox, a couple of 2016 stars that I caught at Prime Time Nationals when they were in the 8th grade. If you recall, I called both BCS players and I said Cox would make a run at the number one spot, this after seeing each once, where, Prime Time Nationals

Either you know or you're guessing and I only guess when I play the LOTTO but Plano West defeated Cedar Hill last night with another young lady I called a " can't miss" when she too was in the 8th grade, Joyner Holmes. Ironically all three made the USA team, hmmmm

Last but not least, why in the world can't Houston have box scores like this

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Okay for real, last but not least, these are the rescheduled games from last night in te Metroplex

RESCHEDULED 

#TXEEVAL video courtesy of @passthaball

From the stars of the future like Kyndall Hunter and R'Mani Taylor to legitimate nationally ranked players like Alexis Morris, there was plenty of talent to go around at what I called "The Camp"




If you have Twitter, use hashtag #TXEEVAL or if you know how to use the search bar on here, plug it in as well and magical things will happen, well pictures and stories

Starks helps lead A&M Consolidated to Campbell Center

Ariel Starks just keeps amazing me and as her game continues to shine, her talents on off the court are pretty impressive. With Ivy League caliber numbers in the classroom, it's no surprise that number on the court continue to grow and she'll be heading to town on Friday

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Dasia Johnson goes out with a bang as Hutto loses to Rudder

Hutto's Dasia Johnson is one of the best catch and shoot artists I've seen come through Texas, keep in mind I'm talking about with accuracy and the former Under The Radar star caught the eye of several colleges before deciding on Eastern New Mexico  read more

Last night, Johnson closed her high school career out with 13 points in Hutto's 80-74 loss to Rudder, I can only imagine how great of a game that was  however Johnson is ready to explode at the next level

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Quadruple-header at Campbell Center

Rudder has been one of the most exciting teams I've seen and those Suber twins are a highlight waiting to happen. When I see girls that can hang in the air and finish double pumping, I get excited so I tweeted how do you think I felt when I saw one of them triple pump and  score from a 180 degree angle, if you don't what I'm saying, nm

 If that didn't excite me, the no look backwards pass certainly did, if there is video pleeeez share it but the squad just simply gets after it. A&M Consolidated opens up Campbell at 3:30, then Rudder vs Barbers Hill at 5 followed by Westside vs Clear Springs at 6:30 and closing with North Sore vs Cy Woods

5A Region  3

6A Region  3

Dekaney advances to regional semi's with win over Stony Point

I talked briefly with Jasmine Smith this past weekend and she told me not to count Dekaney out and even though I had my doubts, the sophomore sensation was on the money as they came away with a  58-47 victory over Stony Point. Without help of an article or even stats, I would be willing to bet that Lauren Grigsby and Smith didsome highlight stuff on both ends while Jaelyn Richard-Harris, probably the best TRUE point guard in 2016 ran her team perfectly

Anyway, they play the Rockwall MacArthur winner on Friday because that game was cancelled last night due to to weather conditions in the Metrolpex area

BRACKETS

Bowie defeats Cedar Ridge in R2 Elite 8

I guess this could be considered a mild upset but Bowie defeated Cedar Ridge 55-47 and will play winner of Richardson vs Skyline game which was postponed yesterday due to weather

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Elite 8 losers will be among contenders next season

The many faces I have captured of Deauzya Richards  and Arianna Whitfield could have me writing stories for months however this one sort of ties in to what I'm getting at. Cy Ranch, decimated by injuries over the past two seasons is probably going to be the team to beat next season, if you want to copy what I'm saying for a story now, you already have my permission whether I gave it to you before or not because believe I know I'm being copied.

Richards, Whitfield and a healthy Rachel Tapps will be the nucleus and since the game starts at the one, a year older, a year wiser and a year stronger will make D'Asia Collins even more "hard to handle" and remember everyone needs a zonebuster, Alyssa Guerrero is ready

Seven Lakes, well Michelle Fokam and Cydney Varner ar good for 30 every night. I was impressed with the improvement of Bailey Brown and Anna Bowman plus a superb fill in performance last night from Hannah Benenoch. Like Collins, Brooke Biggott will also be a point that attracts attention

Hightower has an abundance of youth in Taylor Howard, Jasmine Harvey and Eneily Rodriguez plus fellow sophomore Lenecia Mitchell will be back. Throw in Panebi Shirey, Rachel Brown and one of the top 2016 points in Texas, Maddison Glass and they could actually win the region, well all three are  going to be in the mix

My picks on season

I'm checking out  my first 12 picks and with the exception of Atascocita , all made it to the Elite 8 in their respective regions or class or one of them knocked out each other to get there which is why I place so much emphasis on telling people I don't really read other peoples rankings of teams or players, I base things on what I see because I am actually out there looking at games and not basing my thoughts on team records or mascots

Cy Woods and North Shore have been the teams to beat all season, I've been writing that since November and I said if they stay healthy, this is what it's going to come down to. I also said that either could get upset at Campbell because anything can happen in a one game series

One more time, others people rankings, what team you play on, high school or club,  or even more importantly, who trains you mean absolutely nothing to me. The game is played on the court, show me on the court

RANKINGS

Area HS Top 10 plus

After week two, this is what I have but keep in mind the top three have beaten up on each other and are the teams to beat. The fight from everyone else tells me that anyone can get hot in February and get out of here

1. Cy Woods

2. North Shore

3. Dekaney

4. Manvel

5. Westside

6. Barbers Hill

7. Hightower

8. Atascocita

9.Cy Fair

10. Seven Lakes

11. Clear Springs

12. Port Arthur Memorial

Westside defeats Seven Lakes in thriller

You got to have a backup plan or in other words a Plan B and I rolled the dice and figured that Westside vs Seven Lakes would be the best game for me to watch but with Cydney Varner going completely off in the first half, at times it appeared like this would get ugly but Orleans was still up the street but so were the Wolves intensity. Surprisingly Westside press until the 2nd half while the Sparatans actually went up early applying pressure but the turning point had to be Sentreal Gregory not only hitting some long ones but playing the passing lanes for steals and if you follow what I write over and over, players who can anticipate come up with some easy baskets that can change the momentum, she did and it did

Another strong game for the supporting cast, Tanea Thomas, Janae Smith and Kirby Caldwell all did things you may not see in the box score but Gregory and Maddisen Turner had that down scoring 21 and 23 respectively. Turner's improvement over the years has a lot to do with her maturity as she knows she's a force and shows it on the floor but this game wasn't easy and the Wolves are fortunate that Michelle Fokam got into foul trouble. Fokam still manged double digits but without her offensive presence, this kid is an undersized nightmare in the paint, it was going to be uphill

What can I say about Varner other than she was a nightmare in the first half, well she's also turning into one of the best midrange shooters in not only 2016 but in the state period. Big ups to Julia Bannister for hitting some clutch shots as well as Brooke Biggot, that, along with the performance from Hadassah Benenoch filling in for Fokam

The Wolves play Clear Springs at 6:30 Friday in what will be a GPR QUADRUPLE header, that's one more than three. Tickets  are only at the door, no Ticketmaster or Craigslist this time folks, one more time FOUR GAMES

'18 Jessica Murcer update

Jessica Murcer was one of the top young guards I saw last July and last week her  Westmoore HS knocked off the #2 ranked Southmoore Sabercats 61-54, Jess had 14 points. Then they defeated crosstown rival Moore 73-28 and Murcer led all scorers with 22 points. With these 2 wins Westmoore won the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference. Three of the top 5 ranked teams are in this conference with a fourth team ranked tenth. This is Westmoore's first Conference title in 13 years.

Southland Conference Tournament March 12-15 at Merrell Center

It's going to be a battle, I'll be there live and in living color, men's start on 11th

SOUTHLAND

2015 Southland Conference Women's Tournament Schedule

Thursday, March 12

Game 1: No. 8 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 11 a.m.

Game 2: No. 7 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed, 1:30 p.m.

Friday, March 13

Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 4 Seed, 11 a.m.

Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 3 Seed, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 1 Seed, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)

Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 2 Seed, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Sunday, March 15

Championship Game, 12 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

E-8 group looking for "Road to Campbell" return

Cy Woods, Cy Ranch and Manvel made it to the regional finals last season, we all know, or should know Manvel won state. All nine of the area teams remaining in 6A have been to the regional finals at least once, did you know that? Well now you do and that's another siminism 

ARCHIVES

REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Class 6A

Region II

Round Rock Stony Point vs. Dekaney

7 p.m. Tuesday, A&M Consolidated

Region III

Westside vs. Seven Lakes

7 p.m. Tuesday, Merrell Center

Clear Springs vs. Hightower

6 p.m. Tuesday, Pearland

Cypress Ranch vs. Cypress Woods

Tuesday, Berry Center

Manvel vs. North Shore

7 p.m. Tuesday, Phillips

Who got JEFFERSONIZED #TXEEVAL

I've been dabbling with where I had both Shannon Jones and Taylor Alexander, yeah they're D1 one locks but the both possessed the key to be more than just that once they opened the door. They were spectacular at the camp, Jones is more aggressive and realizes she can take over while Alexander is living up to the "BEAST" status I labeled on her last summer

No camp I cover is ever complete without a selfie, it's just not logical but what does make sense is the work Marshell Hollins and KK Washington have put in. I see ya, is what I was thinking out loud as both have become complete players on both ends that simply don't quit on you. Oh yeah, if you don't follow me, shame on you but JEFFERSONIZED means if you ever watched The Jeffersons and listened to theme song, you'd get it , Movin On Up

Guards galore were in the store #TXEEVAL

It's always good to have one of the top guards in the country on hand and Alexis Morris is another young lady I told you would be a MDAA candidate when she was in middle school, simply because I know where the bar has been set. it's a science but not rocket science. Morris can play the two and go off for 40 or be a legitimate one and by that, make her teammates better something that has become somewhat of a lost art. The Cy Fair backcourt of Angela Harris and Kyler Wyatt had just come off a grueling game against Westside in the playoffs yet their energy level was still high, nothing like being young I guess.

This picture captures several stars I've mentioned including freshman Jala Buster who blew me away and will be a legitimate star. Worthing juniors Colandria Haynes and Andria Foreman also caught my eye, they just don't care who you are or what your rep is SUPPOSED to be, she comes at you and I love watching noting more than a throwback player

I liked Gabby Green when she was four inches shorter and wore goggles but the acronym OMG fits perfectly as her blazing speed made me remember who she was and I'm talking speed with the ball. Green is a defensive nightmare, outside shot and ball-handling were among the best at the camp. Speaking of among the best, Jasmine Smith is just that when you label 2018 Texas guards, she;s a silent assassin that just gets it done

Sophomore bigs shine #TXEEVAL

Kennedi Lofton turned a corner this season for Port Arthur Memorial and so did Natalya Chatman so as the list of 2017 posts from the area continue to make me smile, there were others. Olivia Noah is not really a post but the 5'11 star created some issues for defenders during the school season with Cy Fair. Noah can step out and hit the midrange as well as put it on the floor but good hands and footwork gave her easy baskets for the Bobcats. I've always liked Lofton and Chatman, both are physical and have a tremendous amount of upside, Chatman offensive game jumped through the roof this season

Amaya Martin definitely impressed me as she grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast for a layup passing several guards en route. She has an unlimited amount of potential and desire and by the end of summer I'm thinking big things will be in store. Martin and Ilya Babineaux are two of the states most poised posts on both ends, Babineaux is sometimes simply unstoppable with her array of moves and ability to finish with two or three players hanging on her

Big ups to the upside I saw in Sydney Cole a couple of years ago, she's grown even more, she's 6'2 and her confidence has also blossomed and when you're that size with that type of strength and work ethic, big things will be in store for this group of, well bigs