Loaded Region 1 needs no crystal ball

Jada Terry

Another title I've come up that's an understatement however since R1 has produced the past two state champs and from what I've seen so far this summer, the front runner has to be, drum roll please, well maybe not. Since I started my playful predictions, I've received calls and emails on schools with move ins or transfer, thank you very much, keeping me in the loop is a good thing. Already loaded Manvel may have just elevated themselves over the hump but one thing I've found out over the years is that no matter what formula you have, that chemistry has got to work

Candace Adams

Cedar Hill is ready to step up to the plate and with two of their star studded players that came into high school among the top players in the country, it may be their time as you can see how focused Terry and Adams are in the above pics, read  more on the GPR website

Australian star answers Page

My daughter was talking about this young lady she met while doing workouts with Byron Smith, former U of H star and an assistant coach at Texas A&M where he was instrumental in recruiting DeAndre Jordan among others during his tenure at College Station. He's also one of a handful of trainers I would give a thumbs up to train my daughter in the area, it is what it is and I'm only keeping it real.

My daughter asked me had I seen Soraya Page play. I knew the name sounded familiar but when she said she was from Australia it clicked. Page stands 6'0 plays the three and can do multiple things on the floor, I saw this first hand during DFW Elite's event




Can the 2013 star play at the next level? There is no question about it, she's versatile and has the ability to play multiple positions so there you have it, Soraya Page!!!!!

Coming up later!!!!!

Recee Caldwell

I did R2 and R3 as far as the area teams that I believe will be in the hunt, I don't know much about R4 so I'll wait and steal some info from my good friend Ray Caldwell, since that seems to be the trend, check out his blog. I called his daughter a can't miss when she was in the 7th grade and like Recee, I haven't missed yet

I do know a little about R1 and this one will go on the GPR website but before any of that, HG posted it's final Top 100 and it looks pretty good to me although some kids Texas may have positioned themselves right out of it in spite of any circuit but stay tuned

Also as an added bonus, like one of my favorite groups from a day most of you nothing about. Men At Work, I'm "working" on a story about a young lady from the land down under

2012 Cydney Hicks has change of heart

Cydney Hicks had decided that maybe she just wanted to be a student instead of a student athlete so she turned down several offers so she could do just that. Here's the problem, one thing I can say for this 6'2 young lady is she's passionate about whatever she believes and she believed that maybe she jumped the gun. That turned out to be great news for Coach Scott Hyland at Hill College as well as for Hicks because two things come into play, she has a college ready body and her best basketball is ahead of her. With her size and work ethic, expect to here more about Ms Hicks.

Misconceptions on letters and being recruited

Over the years I've had a chance to observe and truly understand point blank how most of this stuff works. As you can see I'm still writing articles so that means I didn't hit the Powerball last night but I played even though the odds were against me. The same thing can be said about receiving a scholarship and since I've had my blog, I've posted statistics showing high school seniors that play girls basketball have a 2%-5% chance of receiving a SCHOLARSHIP to play at the next level.

The Houston area usually has a better success rate and if you play club ball, those numbers increase but it's not that easy unless you are one of the top players and even sometimes that isn't enough. I've been receiving several calls from parents asking advice on certain things and the question many ask is "If my daughter received a letter is she being recruited" and the answer I give is not necessarily. The reason I give that answer is simple, although you may have been seen at an event and impressed a scout, that still doesn't mean you are being recruited in fact I received a letter last season telling me how well I played in tournament

There are a lot of recruiting services out there that claim they can do this or that, I have no idea if they can or can't however Girlz Prep Report helped over a dozen kids last season alone get in school and I'm talking about kids who had nothing on the table. There were others who were helped by receiving more options but this is something I have been doing for years and not only do I have the statistics but the testimonials as well.

Here's a link to my CONSULTING page and feel free to contact me if you need help

It's almost that time to be predicting 2 as in Region

Davis and Preston

Dekaney was simply the best team in the area last season, after all they knocked off the top contenders and made it to the state championship final where they ran into a "can't be stopped" Duncanville team so the big question will be how are they going to replace Alexis Durley and Shunta Nevitt, both D1 signees but importantly Durley was the one and we all should know where the game starts by now

Several next level players remain for Dekaney such as Brianna Taylor, Jaleesa Chapel, Amber Driver and the younger Nevitt, Kayla and this is only the core group, they have several others on that squad.

Klein Forest might breakout this season, I expected them to make a legitimate run last season but this may be it and it might boil down to two of their lesser known players. Ekiyah Gray, Regina Scott and Ebony Parker all played major roles in turning the program around as freshmen but Desiree Davis and Jeliah Preston could be the wild cards as to how far this team will go

Peters

Bernesha Peters might be smiling because the two Brittanys, Perkins and Smith are eligible for varsity this season at Spring. Peters went through some growing pains last season as a freshman but with the added help, Spring might make the playoffs for the first time since to went to state back in 2006.

Nevertheless, three teams will be fighting for two spots and expect Kylah Jones and Diamond Ford to make every effort to go out in style at Westfield while Dominique Dillingham and Jasmine Nash will try to pick up the missing offense with the graduation of Veja Hamilton at Klein Collins

Sharde Collins crosses border

Sharde Collins played on the same high school team with one of the top players in the country and the same club team with several of the top players in the country. Even though that was the case, you would never know it as she fit right in both places, read more

After putting up numbers in high school and doing the same thing with DFW T-Jack, Collins has decided that the University of Arkansas-Little Rock will be her next stop after she graduates from Liberty Eylau. After visiting several schools, her dad Mike Collins said she chose UALR because it was close to home

Collins left a lasting impression and even made one of the tip sheets I did for Fullcourt.com

Moten shows status near height

Kevione Moten stands around 6'4 and she showed how valuable every inch was during the Prime Time National Championship held a few weeks ago. Moten suited up for the Monroe Lady Tarheels and put on an outstanding individual performance which helped her team make a run. I was told she played for a local team earlier in year so I guess I'm lucky she moved back to a team from her home state otherwise I wouldn't have seen her. Moten's performance left a pretty good impression as I also commented on her skills in my Prime Time Tip Sheet

It's almost that time to be predicting

Lira, Latham, McCarty

School will be starting shortly, then fall leagues, practices and the first part of the season, the preseason which will have just about everyone showing their cards by that time. The second part of the season, district play, will let teams position themselves for the all important, which is also the most important part, the playoffs.

Roher

Back to back R3 Final Fours have Clear Springs in the drivers seat once again with their star studded line-up of Jo Lira, Courtney Latham, Brooke McCarty and Kaylin Roher but the big question will be how do they replace on of the most athletic players to ever play in the area, Aaliyah Brown.

Turner

Another legitimate F4 candidate would have to be Manvel led by the dynamic duo of Brianna Turner and Jordan Hosey.After also making consecutive trips to the F4 in 4A, a coaching change and a move to 5A might test the young team early but when it's all said and done, I doubt seriously if they won't be a factor

Hosey

Woodlands Burke putting in the work

Once I see a player with potential, especially early in their careers I sort of have a tendency to follow their progression. Katie Burke is one of the 2015 players that caught my eye during the school season at The Woodlands and also during the summer. With The Woodlands looking to regroup after losing so many players last season, it would be safe to assume that Burke has a bright future her remaining three years. PassThaBall put together the video mix on this young lady you will be hearing a lot about