More From The Youngstas

WHY IS SHE SMILING?

Maybe because she just won another championship or maybe because I told her I could see the improvement in her Beyonce game, going to the left, to the left!



Shock Coach Dave Rodstrom is one of the good guys from back in the day. He and I have been friends for over 10 years, in fact we had some epic battles back then. His assistant coach, Natasha Isom, was one of his star players from the original Shock team. Now the assistants sister is a kid you want to put on your watch list. Baby sister also has a big advantage because she has not one, but two sisters that played at the next level and I'm sure this is part of what drives her. This younger group is filled with future stars that will be entering the 7th grade.

The Cut The Nets 2015 team is filled with promising youngsters, having already beat some high schoolers.

Big Tee and Company. Bryan Elite brought a 6th and 7th grade mix that entertained many in a thriller against the Shock.

The Hybrid also has a group of talented players on teams ranging from the 4th grade through middle school. Keep an eye on #6 because you might miss something. The coach is over 6 feet, look at the kids, wow!

Stuck In The Middle-School That Is

I don't like going to middle school games because most of the time it's a blowout and it saddens me to hear parents cheering about beating a team 40-2. It's also hard to judge the talent level of some of the kids because I have this old saying " It's not what you do, it's who you do it against". I can't tell you how many times folks have bragged about a middle schooler scoring 30 plus in a game against kids who couldn't dribble. Watching these younger kids in club ball is a bit different, you have some with talent and those with a keen eye such as myself always tries to find the next "playa"

2015

Other than Tierra "Big Tee" Mc Gowen, most of these kids are not heading into the spotlight, yet that is. Being 13 and 6'6 Tierra has several college coaches buzzing away, remember the old saying" you can't teach height".




I love watching and teaching at the developmental stages, this is what it's all about in my book. Looking for the quick fix usually doesn't work and there's nothing greater than watching the young kids willing to learn how to play the game.

Dynasty has a thriving program with energetic coaches that the kids feed off. As I consistently watch them teach and develop, I see how the kids are improving. The G-Rays are from the east side of town and it's always great to see someone putting forth the effort to get the girl's playing at an early age.

Although only heading to the 7th grade, Jade Geron from the Blue Chips shows game beyond her years.

The Blue Chips and the Rebels both showed they have some heady players that are up and coming. Both teams are blessed with size and guards that know the game better than many already in high school. The posts are big, yet raw, but that old saying"you can't teach size" will play into the picyure down the road.

Two Blue Chippers that are heading to the 8th grade have big sisters playing at the next level. Karima Christams and Chelsea Johnson started playing together when over 10 years ago and their moms are at it again. This game has truly brought tons of people together that probably never would have crossed paths.

TKO 2015 also has an outstanding group of young talented players, including another young point guard that impressed me. Ironically, she too is a former Fastbreaker.

What appears to be a rivalry in the making, this is the sort of thing that youth basketball needs in the area.

The 2015 Fastbreakers are truly an energetic bunch that will wear you down. A truly impressive squad that feeds off of their PG's energy. Off the top of my head, if I looked for one word in the dictionary that should have her picture beside it, that word would be electrifying.

Baby D to the line. She also brought the house down with a steal, then going coast to coast for a lay-up.

This is Brittany Smith's first year playing basketball, which in itself is amazing. I saw the kid throwing touch passes over the weekend, reminding me of another young Brittany, Toran. Strong and under control, it will be nice to watch the progression.

I see you !!!!!!!!

Let's Throwdown

In the preliminary, the Fort Bend Stars showed how much they have improved since the start of the season. Coach Win & Co are guys that always seem to get the best out of what they have, their track record proves they know what they are doing. The Fastbreakers also showed they have more weapons than given credit for. Peanut, EJ and numerous players from other teams made my weekend because I love keeping that aresenal of knowledge loaded and seeing all of the young talent coming up is refreshing. It appears several next level point guards will be heading into high school next year, so how quickly they make the adjustment will tell the tale.

The young kids competing that will still be in middle school, including the younger sisters of Karima Christmas and Chelsea Johnson,was fun for me as well, with a lot of raw talent ready to breakout. Coming up tomorrow, I'll give you a glimpse of the future, including "V" in action.

THE MAIN EVENT

Fastbreaker-one who fast breaks combined with in your face offense and defense, aka-the total package
TKO- no matter what, who,when, where or how, look to be knocked completely out

What happens when those two tangle? Some very exciting basketball, both have knocked off numerous high school teams and both have several kids that will play at the next level.

Shi' Leah Scott, aka LeLe, and Ekiya Gray are two of the top incoming freshmen. These kids have many head to head battles coming up over the years and should give area fans something to cheer about.

TKO may be a bit undersized however when the PG happens to be the coaches daughter and truly knows the game, great things can and will happen. This turned out to be one of the best games I've seen all season. Game starts at the one!

Do 8 threes in a game mean you're a shooter? Ask opponents because #15 can nail them from all over. She didn't have 8 this game, and I may be stretching it, but I saw her drop 7 for sure in a game.

In this sequence, LeLe hangs in the air for a bucket, folllowed by a game tying three from Kierra Fisher to a fabulous coast to coast finish from Regina Scott (Baby Barkley)
My apologies to Miss Parker for running my mouth instead of videoing her several change of direction moves that had the crowd going crazy.

Hopefully this makes up for it. Game starts at the one!







Gray was ice down stretch from the line, knocking down her free throws and helping her team come back from a double digit defecit to win. If I wore a hat, I would take it off for both teams because not only did they play great, they are like me and Bonecrusher "NEVER SCARED"

The remix goes something like this. So I'm inside the gym and you think I'm lettin you win, knock me down all ya want and I'm still comin at you again, awe forget it.

HERE THEY COME-Class of 2014

THE BIG THREE

Sometimes coaches get lucky and have one kid that can come in and help as a freshman, Seven Lakes showed having two played dividends last season. The odds on having three at one time are not quite as astronomical as say winning the Powerball, but it's pretty high, along the lines of winning the Pick 3. Regina Scott, Ekiya Gray and Ebony Parker should help turn KF into a playoff contender. I always tell folks the game starts at the 1 and Ebony is capable of running a high school team right now. Regina, although undersized, is a beast around the basket. I think Charles Barkley showed what effort and determination could do. Ekiya amazes me everytime I see her, always adding something to her game and once again, that bloodline doesn't hurt. National exposure isn't far behind.

Brianna Turner is high on every list around and it appears every rim as well. Most scouting services have her ranked either the number one or two prospect in the country, I'm talking USA folks. She's in line to become the next dominant big from Texas, with handles and range to go along with "the package". As you can see, she is very athletic and agile. Dad says she's working on her timing and I can only imagine what's next.

I've been raving over point guard Brooke McCarty, red shorts, since I first saw her in the 5Th grade. She was way ahead of her years back then giving some high school guards fits and has continued to improve. Right now, these kids are the two highest ranked 2014 players from Houston

Another PG people speak highly of is Cienna Rodriguez Rivera and even though I haven't seen much of her, evidently she is a really good player based on the spin and remember, the game starts at the one! I also haven't seen the two younger Ogwumike sisters play this year, one will be entering the 9th grade, nor LuLu McKinney, so those are names you may want to listen for after I see them all on the same team in Frisco at the SIX FOE.




Several other kids in the area that I have seen are showing"not so fast, I can play too" by actually doing it on the court. Here are a few others that will have people talking.

Woodlands based Cut The Nets won the 14u Qualifier, even though they are primarily an 8Th Grade team.

Having a very good point guard that's aggressive on both ends, plus the fact that she can see the floor well, setting her teammates up for easy buckets is a huge plus. The game starts at the one!






They have shooters that can light it up from anywhere. They have "bigs" that never give up and the team itself just seems find ways to out hustle opponents. They are an impressive group of young ladies that have gotten better throughout the year.


In route to winning the 14U Championship, Cut The Nets beat team a Texas Blazer team in the semi-finals that looks pretty darn good themselves. The Blazers are an 8Th and 9Th grade mix and both teams show that there is tons of younger talent in the area in and around Houston.

One Blazer, Kayla Nevitt, has an older sister, Shante, that starts for Dekaney. Kayla is athletic and fearless to go along with a wingspan of around 6'2 right now. Watch out, the sky is definitely the limit, which by the way it looks like she's trying to touch at times.

Brecca Thomas caught my eye as a 6Th grader. She's the kid I've bragged about already having a jumper, topping that off by dropping at least 6 bombs in a game, from NBA range at that, last season. Guess what? Her game has gone to a whole "nother" level, hey this is what slang is for. Poised and confident, she is giving high school players all they can handle right now, I can only imagine what's about to happen.




Michelle Nwokedi stands 6'2 and can shoot the three pretty darn good. She has excellent timing and is a shot blocking machine, those that aren't blocked are usually altered. She helped her Houston Insiders team make it to the finals of the qualifier in dominant fashion on both ends. It doesn't hurt that basketball is in her blood, older sister Jenny was a high school standout that now plays for Tulane. Once the kid realizes what she's working with, who knows?





The Class of 2012 is loaded, 2013 and 2014 appear to be following suit. I appreciate the kind words either in person or email from parents thanking me for passing on the information I have, which hopefully helps your daughters improve their game. It's also a plus when parents tell me they have their daughters read the articles, especially the ones on improving their skills away from practice.

This kid brought back some memories, in a fast and flashy way. Only heading to the 8th grade, Benisha Peters is one of those "yougstas" that make you say hmmmm and after watching her yesterday, 2015 and younger deserves to be noticed. This kid is amazing, she can play with some high school varsity guards right now and she's under 5 feet tall.




I consider it a blessing to have had others guide me through the process and give me valuable information over the years on a national scale. I also consider it a blessing not having to pay for college education, something I am sure most parents out there are looking for. Two of those people were close friends that have passed on , Greg Cook and Venon Starks. Both had Blue Chip daughters and sort of took me under their wings. I'm sure they considered me a bit out there at times, but they liked my kids and gave me the vault, which is what I call useful and valuable information. Much of what they shared has helped along the way and I have no problem giving information to others, in other words, I'm passing it forward.








As my scouting service goes into full effect, please send me any info you have on your daughter so I can get a look at her. We are holding an NCAA Certified National Exposure event on July 29th -31st,


http://www.houstoninsiders.com/ and I will get a chance to profile every player playing.





Good luck and tell your kids to keep working, cause someone else is.

2013-Up And Coming

BRIANNA TAYLOR

The AAU Qualifier was held this past weekend and although it continues to lose the luster it once had as far as quantity of teams, the quality remains at a very high level. I had a chance to see some of the best players in the area perform against some outstanding competition. The Cy Fair Shock, behind a very talented Kristin Inman, won the 15u or 10TH Grade division. That particular team, with the exception of a couple of players, is really a 9TH Grade team, so I decided to look back at some of the top 2013 players from last season.

Several freshmen made names for themselves this season, none greater than Bellaire's A.J. Alix who put on the most impressive post season offensive performance of any player I have seen in Region 3 history, dropping 32 against Elsik for a chance to go to the Final Four, then putting the Cardinals on her back and scoring 40 against Hightower in the championship game. Alix was named MVP of her district and made an All Greater Houston Post Season team.

Inman, along with Sydney Buchel have taken Seven Lakes from laughing stock to see who laughs last and will be a contender for the Region 3 Final Four for the next three years. Both kids were named first team all district.

Alex Lapeyrolerie from Kempner and Madison Wilson from Clements were named Newcomers of the Year along with being 1ST Team All District. Kiana Ingram, also from Kempner, was named 2ND Team All District and should compliment Lapeyrolerie to form a great dynamic duo.

The Clear Lake area also has some of the top up and coming talent including Brittney Branch, who made 1ST Team All District and was also named Chronicle Player of the Week once, while Taylor Owens, Taylor Longley and Jo Ann Lira all were named 2ND Team All District.

Never before have so many freshmen made their mark so early in Region 3 and this can be attributed to many things, such as everything was spread out, talent wise that is. By that I mean there are more schools and even more transfers. Those reasons, along with fact that the Classes of 2010 and 2011 are not as strong as previous years, plus high school coaches are putting the balls in the younger kids hands earlier,not worried about kids waiting for their turn, has truly changed things.

On the other hand, Region 2 was clearly the better region of the two in the area and here is an example why. Last place Klein beat at least three Region 3 playoff teams, and they probably would have made the playoffs in many districts in Region 3.

Top freshmen from Region 2 were Dekaney's Brianna Taylor, Newcomer of the Year in 13 5A while College Park's Alexia Sanders received the same award in 14 5A. Dominique Dillingham from Klein Collins was named 2ND Team All District in in 13 5A.

Taylor, Inman and Alix are three of the top players in the state in their class right now, all have the potential to be Top 100 in the country, so we will see how it all plays out.

There are several other talented 2013's floating around, I don't know if this class has as many next level players as 2012's guard heavy class does, but it should be a great one and one I will be watching very close.

BIG TEE

We have had several dominate bigs come through Texas over the past few years that have reached stardom and acclaim on a NATIONAL level. Griner, Bone, Green, Rolle, Reed, the Ogwumike's and Gilbert. Brianna Turner is about to enter high school, she's probably more suited at a 3 or a 4 and everyone knows about her, but now we have another on the watch list, Teaira McCowan,shown towering over everyone. The improvement this kid has made in just a month shows she has the desire to get better, along with the tools she was blessed with to leave her mark before it's all said and done.


Both of the Ogwumike's had it back then, no question about that. I didn't see Griner or Rolle until they were in high school, both were very raw even then, however if I had to do comparisons, I would say the kid is ahead of the game of many of the other talented posts that had solid careers in the area and state that I haven't mentioned. No, she isn't dunking tennis balls like Nicky Green was in the 7Th grade. No, she doesn't have the mindset Bone did in the 7Th grade. Reed was more polished at an early age, but I think this kid is as close to or maybe even a little ahead of Gilbert, who was named a Parade's 1st Team and Mc Donald's All American this year.

With hard work and determination, along with being 6'5 and heading to the 8Th grade, this kid will be on just about every college coach or recruiters short list. The sky is truly the limit for BIG TEE.