- I stand corrected. Wagner showed all of us that they are top in the city with a big win over Churchill last weekend. Arielle Roberson is having a huge year by averaging over 22 a game so far. Coach Camacho's crew is adjusting to not having a true veteran point guard and are still getting it done. Freshman Corrina Mochado will be a star one day for the Thunderbird attack.
- Speaking of Wagner, Ebony Watkins has the nastiest cross over dribble in the city. She constantly yanked defenders during the Lonestar event. Ebony does a terrific job at moving the defender with her upper body lean. When the defender reacts to her lean, she pulls a violent crossover below the knee level of the defender. This lean and low cross leaves most defenders reaching and off balance.
- Roosevelt beat Jay Tuesday night in a close game. That very talented group lost a tough game to Jay in the Lonestar event last week. Niaga Mitchell-Cole took over the game with 11 huge points in the fourth quarter of that game before fouling out. Niaga walked off of the court and fought tears. It was a beautiful sight to see. Passion is gorgeous!
- Speaking of Passion, or lack there of, why are so many kids laughing on the court when down by double digits? I saw a game between two TOP 10 teams and one was getting drubbed. The losing team had a starter on the bench playing "Patty Cake" with a teammate! More on that later.
- SA Great and Tennessee leading scoring, Meighan Simmons, will visit Austin this weekend. The scoring machine will play at UT at 12pm on Sunday. I heard the perfect nickname for Simmons last week. Her former club coach named her "Speedy" for obvious reasons. However, I like the name that another former club coach called her last week; "Machine Gun Simmons"! I love it because it illustrates an important fact; the basket is always 10 feet. Meighan has shot the ball close to 3000 times in high school. She has MADE over a 1000 baskets. Her fast start should be a surprise to no one. The game is the game. The basket is 10 feet in Tennessee just like in Cibolo. "Machine Gun" Simmons gets buckets!!!
-Speaking of buckets, Shana Holmes is back! The Southwest scoring machine was cleared earlier this week from an ACL injury and had 19 points in her season debut. The city scoring leaders better step up or prepare to drop a slot in the rankings because Shana scores with the best of them. Teamed with Chatavia "Baby" Boone-Fudge, Southwest just became a real threat on the city's landscape.
- While Shana may be a natural scorer, her baby sister is showing that scoring is a family affair. Aaliyah Holmes dropped 40 in her season opener a couple of weeks ago for Scobee Middle School and is averaging 31! The 7th grader is definitely one of the brightest young stars in the city. Holmes "2.0" plays for her dad and his Lady Hoops club. The Lady Hoops team is one of the better 2016 teams in the state of Texas.
- In email correspondence with one of the better basketball young minds around, Brian McCormick mentioned that his players warm up by playing Tag. Apparently, Tag is no only a game for kids. It has great benefits from a dynamic warm up stand point. McCormick goes on to say that Tag "trains almost every basic movement skill:agility, quickness, evading, bending, faking etc." When you recall that the majority of ACL injuries for young women basketball players are non-contact and a good portion happens when abrupt stopping or cutting, it is no wonder how beneficial Tag can be to young players. I have longed used Dribble Tag for my young players in order to help teach ball handling skills but now understand that Tag may be more imporatnt for older players.
