The Texas Invitational featured two of the top teams in San Antonio and they met each other in a game that we all wanted to see. The preseason top ranked John Jay Mustangs locked up with the second ranked Wagner Thunderbirds. The double overtime game finished with the Thunderbirds coming out on top with a 60-55 victory. No disrespect to Steele but Wagner has to be the #1 ranked team in the city. Many felt they should have been the preseason #1 team. As for now the score is 1-0, Wagner.
The game featured a game within the game. Some of the most vocal objections to my city rankings this past summer involved Arielle Roberson. Many readers felt that Arielle Roberson was a Top 5 player in the city and arguably better than her TeamXpress club teammate, Erica Donovan. I love Donovan's game and the passion that she plays with. She is one of the strongest kids in the city. However, Roberson may have just laid claim to the #1 spot for the class of 2011 in San Antonio. The numerous reports that I received from the game all confirmed that Roberson was dominant in the win. She scored 28 points to Donovan's 20 points in the head to head match up. Roberson got just a little help(22 points) from USC bound Len'Nique Brown in the victory. This discussion will not be concluded until next year but as for now the score is 1-0, Roberson.
- Madison lost in the Division 2 championship game of the Texas Invitational. CeCe Harper made the all-tournament team behind scoring outbursts of 26 and 30 points. I have stated that CeCe Harper will challenge Meighan Simmons for the scoring title this year. Monica Engleman, Ashlin Jordan and Alisha Crump have moved on to the collegiate level and left CeCe surrounded by a young and inexperienced group of teammates. Being the competitor that Harper is known to be she must score a lot more this year in the past. She is certainly capable.
-Speaking of scoring, Shana Holmes is going to make her presence felt this year. The high scoring guard has transferred from Stacey and is putting up crazy numbers for Southwest this season. She has already hit the 30 point mark this season in a couple of games and I will be very surprised if she does not average 20 plus for the year.
-Raven Reyes will lead the city in rebounding. The Fox Tech big registered her second 20 rebound game this past weekend. She also is a much improved scorer and had a 21 point 20 rebound game against Memorial.
-Beorne Champion is underrated! Champion lost by 5 points to previously #1 ranked Jay, when Jay's Kiara Tayler hit a three with the game tied and less than a minutes on the clock. The intentional fouls made it 5 points. They also beat the preseason #8 team in Stevens in their first game of the year.
- Meighan Simmons is worth the price of admission. During a game against Reagan last week, three young guys came and sat near me. These three young men would have made those that watch too much TV uncomfortable. Their attire was not typical for a girls basketball game at Reagan. These guys were men, I would guess in the early twenties. One of the guys went on constantly telling his other two buddies how "nice" Simmons was. While Simmons struggled early, his boys wondered aloud if she was overrated. Then it happened. Reagan standout Jessica Kuster was dribbling up the court when Simmons darted in front of her to steal the ball. The ultra-athletic Kuster ran to the rim for a show down with Simmons. Simmons then pulled a Jamal Crawford and the crowd went wild. The other two guys did not need any further evidence to persuade of how "nice" she was. They were convinced.
