A quick update on the best San Antonio kids for the class of 2010. It has been a lot of debate about if the 2014 class is deeper than this class. These numbers and team success raises the expectation level for the 2014's.

Len'Nique Brown(NC State)

-Starting PG for #14 in country
Averages: 8.8 pts/4.5assts
Conference Rank
- Assists(3rd)
- 3Pt FG%(11th)
- Assist to Turnover(5th)

 

CeCe Harper(Kansas)

- Starting PG
Played in consecutive Sweet 16's
Averages: 10.1pts/5.79 assts /1.71 steals
Conference Rank
- Assists(1)
- Steals(7th)
-Assist to Turnover Ratio(7th)
-Scoring(22nd)
- Minutes Played(5th)

 

Meighan Simmons

Starting Shooting Guard for #10 team in
Played in 3 consecutive Elite 8's
Averages: 15.1 pts/2.5assts
Conference Rank
- Scoring(10th)
-FG%(9th)
- 3Pt FG%(5th)
- 3Pt FG Made(5th)

 

Jessica Kuster

Starting Forward
Averages: 20.9 pts/ 13.4 reb
Career leading scorer for Rice
Conference Rank
- Scoring(3rd)
-Rebounds(1st)
- FT %(5th)
- Blocks(8th)
-Minutes Played(3rd)

* Jackie Woods is 4th in the Heartland Conference for St Mary's (Div 2)

Insecurely Confident

This high school coach is recruiting. That club stole my players. Nike has a new circuit. She plays for an adidas team. Her dad is going to ruin her. Her mom talks too much. She, He, They, Them would tell you to start with ME! As in, worry about yourself and take care of your own business.

Girls basketball seems to be full of posers. People claiming that they are competent and capable but spend so much time worrying about what others are doing that it affects(infects) their abilities.

 It should be a great time to be a girls high school basketball coach. The competent ones are thriving. The HS leaders are seeing kids stepping onto their campuses and they are more skilled than ever. Save the argument that kids are less fundamental these days for someone else. I remember girls HS basketball in the early 90's. I remember having to sit for the HS  girls game before our games and today's game has easily gotten better in terms of skilled players. The problem is that old habits die hard. Girls basketball used to be a sport where a TYPICAL coach would not have to put as much effort in it as a boys coach would. I did say TYPICAL. Title 9 was a gift for female basketball players but a curse for the high school coach that is lazy. Now, kids are chasing the educational opportunities that Title 9 has helped give female ballers. HS coaches are under the lights. Those that give their all and are good at what they do will not have to worry about another coach recruiting their kids. In large part, good and capable HS coaches will not lose players to recruitment, instead, they will have young families wanting to attend their schools. In Texas, look how many kids MOVE TO Duncanville or Georgetown to have a chance to be lead by HS greatness. Surely greats like Kathy Self-Morgan and Rhonda Farney do not lose sleep because of another high school is talking to their kids. They will surely lose a few but gain many that will appreciate their expertise. They have learned that to keep their "significant others", they have to spend more time  

Some segments of Elite club basketball has evolved into something of a hybrid; part college program and part pro team. The clubs with the most national connections, understands best how to capitalize on the image of Lebron James or Derrick Rose and have the most money are the "best" program. The ability to teach and develop has taken a back seat to securing the best teenagers possible and claiming elitism. That said, Cool! Very few programs are on this level. Very few individuals have the resources to financially sponsor, keep and lead elite players. Kudos to them! Since most kids are not capable of playing at the level that these individuals thrive at, Move On! Club programs, not on this level, should concentrate on what they can control; teaching and development! Choose PARENTS wisely, since they are the ones who will eventually field the calls of the elite clubs recruiters once "your" players are worthy of "elite circuits". If the parents believe in what you are doing and the appropriate college attention is garnered, they will stick with you because you are a 'Day One'. If not, Keep It Movin!  Slang intended! This is not boys basketball where keeping a future NBA pick can set you up for life. This is girls basketball where setting up girls for life  is, or should be, the reason. Let the de facto amateur pro teams and their general managers assemble teams for trophies and prestige while you concentrate on learning and teaching your craft. Helping a kid earn a full ride to a good mid-major like Rice may be worth more in the long run than coaching a kid up to UCONN.

Daddy and mommy should stop tripping. As I have written previously, basketball is a beautiful buffet. Who's the best? Candace, Taurasi, Augustus, EDD? Best college player is Chiney, Odyssey, Stewart, KML, Thomas? The answers are all opinions. The problem is when parents get caught up in making villains out of other players (teenage girls) in an attempt to bolster their own baby. I have gotten caught up in this madness in the past. The great thing about the game is that it does not lie. Eventually, the fake will fade and the authentic will last. If your child is that good, her game will persevere and her gifts will be rewarded. Worrying about this kid getting written about and that kid made some all-star team is self depreciating. I tweeted that parents should rebound a thousand shots a day instead of worrying about club, high school and trainers so much. If parents attacked the development of their own children as much as they spend time worry about or criticizing others, their child would super nice on the court!  Really, go rebound a thousand shots a day and see the opportunities of your child increase. Heard a saying that the affluent should not let money raise their child. Well, the parent of an aspiring elite basketball player should not let club, HS or trainers raise their child. Get more proactive with your own child and later for all that venom. Haters parents raise hater kids.

This unusually cold season has prompted me to buy wood for my fire place lately. I'm learning what is a good deal on wood and which ones burn best. I found a good guy and will travel to hook up with him.  He is priced right and gives good quantity. An interesting thing happened recently, the cops kicked him off of his spot. In the spirit of good ol'  American entrepreneurship, he set up shop at another spot, right next to a guy that had been there for awhile. This guy has inferior product but carried himself as if he is a better business man. He WAS the best wood seller at his spot because he was the ONLY seller at his spot. While I'm waiting in a line to buy wood from my guy, the established seller makes his way over and gives his sales pitch by bashing his competition. If sales are made in the first few sentences, he wasted them on speaking negatively about his competitor instead of selling me on the reasons that give him a competitive advantage. What was his competitive advantage?  Only the lack of true competition. Sounds like all the high school coaches that use regulations to force players to play for them. Sounds like all the club coaches spreading rumor and negativity about other programs. Also sounds like momma or papa, loud  in the crowd, mad at the world because her/his daughter is not getting the so-called respect she deserves. Shout out to my wood guy! He is like all of those competent club programs, HS coaches and parents that take care business and let the Insecurely Confident tell on themselves through their inferior actions and hateful talk! Keep it Movin!

End of Season Quick Hitters

Playoffs are here! The real season begins and here are some observations from the end of the regular season.

Anissa Hastings earns her first of what should be many district titles in her career. Stevens wrapped up the title over a surprisingly good O'Connor team. Jules Rendon had a huge district championship game, finishing with 27 points and 5 assists. Rendon is an unsigned senior and worthy of some college looks. Hastings has brought to Stevens a hard driving that style that helped her become a University of Texas basketball player. She refuses to baby players and is old school in her approach.

O'Connor's HS Carmen Wilson did a great job this season leading her vertically challenged team to 2nd in 27-5A. Wilson lead her squad to good wins over Brenham(#8 in 4-A) and SA Express News Top 10 teams Wagner and Churchill. Junior guard Amber Vidal averaged 13 and Kasey Saldana chipped in 11.5 for the balanced scoring attack. O'Connor finished the last TABC poll ranked #25 in state of 5-A. Coach Wilson lead a team with a free flowing offense that had two additional players average 9 points a game, Victoria Pena and Shelby Miller.

How good is Brennan? Better yet how sharp will they be after a cakewalk through district? Will we see the team that beat O'Connor 70-17 in November? Or will we see a team that has not been challenged much as of late. Word is that Brennan undertakes a college style practice where the frosh boys team keeps them sharp by giving them a taste of their own medicine. How do you beat the #1 ranked team in 4-A? Zoning them may not be the wisest strategy. Brennan has four players shooting at least 40% from 3, led in percentage by freshman Meagan Valdez hitting 43% of her attempts. A fifth player, Kalani Marquez is signed on to play at St Mary's and strokes it at 35% from the arc. And since numbers don't lie, how about post players shooting 51%(Eliza Martinez/6'1), 51%(Deja Mason/6'4) and 63%(Tia Mason/6'2). Anything but a state title from the Bears would be disappointing.

Speaking of Brennan, state titles and the last name Marquez, the Bears principal Gerardo Marquez is the kind of leader athletes hope for. Principal Marquez was Coach Marquez when he led Fox Tech boys to a state championship in the mid 90's. He was principal at John Jay HS when the Mustangs won the boys title in the early 2000's. When he became principal at Brennan, Randy Evans wanted the boys job but had to settle for the girls position instead after Wagner coach Tina Camacho stayed put. Marquez had a young coach he mentored in mind for the boys position in Tommy Hines. Coach Hines had just finished coaching the greatest statistical scorer in city history at Lee HS, Paul Garnica(Northern Colorado/UTPA). It is no wonder that John Azzinaro (Bucknell), George King (Colorado), Jordan Murphy (offers from Maryland,Baylor,etc) have thrived under Coach Hines, who understands how to coach HS stars. Back to the girls, after Randy Evans rode the talented Brennan girls to an undefeated record and his first coach of the year award in 20 plus years of coaching and transferred, to Johnson HS, Marquez had the foresight to do what many lack the courage to do; get parents involved! Marquez set up a hiring committee of parents to help him choose the next basketball coach. The parents were uniquely positioned to know what their girls did not want and chose Koty Cowgill. If Brennan wins the title, Marquez would have been involved in the last 3 champions the city has produced in basketball. Sounds like an elite leader to me!

Realignment is out and Brennan will join the big girls of what is now 27-6A. The new changes will see that Clemens and Steele join up in 25-6A with Judson and Wagner to form one of the 3 power district  in the city. 26-6A will stay in tact and is the other "power district" in the city.  

 In what is now 26-5A, Reagan has wrapped up a 4th consecutive title. This gives Rice bound guard Wendy Knight her 4th title in her playing career. In a conference that has sent over a dozen kids to the D1 level since her debut as a freshman, what Knight and her Rattlers have done is remarkable. Though the two-time , soon to be three-time, Super Teamer is one of the most successful players in city history, Terry Barton is another leader that deserves so much of the credit. Coach Barton has allowed Knight to grow her college aspirations and win! The 5'9 sharp shooter has never played in the post. To outsiders reading this, this is a non-issue. However, in her own district currently, I can name two D1 bound guards that routinely play in the post for a coach that chases wins over development. Kudos to Terry Barton and congrats to the wonderful Wendy Knight!

New Comer of the Year should be interesting this year. The front runners seemingly are two of the brightest kids in the nation in the class of 2017. Kiana Williams and Gabby Connally both had outstanding campaigns .Connally lead third place Brandeis is scoring at 14.7 points a game. Williams averaged 9.5 points a game for a balanced scoring attack for the district champ, Wagner. Both prospects are rated in the Top 60 in the nation.

 Speaking of Williams, the freshman guard recently picked up another D1 offer, this one from the University of Washington. The Kansas Jayhawks, a school that offered the Willimas last July, will be in town tomorrow to sit on the PG. Williams benefitted greatly from the additional exposure of playing in the Sandra Meadow Classic in December and a match-up vs Top 100 guard Japreece Dean. The super quick Dean has jumped up recruiting boards across the country and has visited Texas Tech and Oklahoma State recently. The Wagner coach understands the importance of scheduling tough to prepare her kids and her team for high school games and beyond.

Playoffs Predictions coming.........

Burger Baby!!!

Congrats to Recee' Caldwell (FEAST/SA Finest)  for being named as a 2014 McDonald All-American. Pictures are said to be worth a thousand words so let me shut up........

 

 

 

Cee' with long time club teammates, Wendy Knight(Rice) and Tay Boclair(Utah)






Ballin for the Corona Lady Diamonds age 10. Teamed with  Chy Bultler(USC) Monique Billings (UCLA)
Cherice Harris(Arizona)

Age 9. Icing and replenishing between games.




Cee w/ cousin, Joe Burton, former Oregon State star and pro basketball player.



Age 9 with WNBA Temporary tattoo on arm!

Hoop Dreams at 13 years old.

 

 



Jordin Canada (UCLA), Chy Butler(USC) Cee' (UCLA)

Cee' after workout w/ Meighan Simmons (Tennesee/2010 McDAA MVP) and CeCe Harper (Kansas)

 

 

Started from the Bottom...... 

Congrats to Recee' Caldwell. All the hard work and sacrifice has been acknowledged! She joins SA great Meighan Simmons as the only other McDonald's All-Americans in San Antonio's history!

New Year Quick Hitters

The first addition of Quick Hitters for 2014 follows.

- Congrats to Tiffany Rodriguez for surpassing the 2,000 point mark last night versus Steele. Rodriguez has been a four year starter for Bill Avey and his Southwest program. Rodriguez is one of the better players in the city at drawing fouls and scoring in transition. In my immediate recollection, 4 players have reached the 2000 point mark in recent SA history; Meighan Simmons, McKenzie Calvert, Shana Holmes and now Tiffany Rodriguez. Is it a coincidence that the 4 players have played for two programs, Southwest(Holmes/Rodriguez) and Steele(Simmons/Calvert)?

- Speaking of Southwest, Bill Avey is one of the best coaches in the city. I totally whiffed on him when naming the Top 10 coaches in SA podcast. Avey has one of the best systems for players in the city. You will NEVER see his teams stall the basketball in the early part of the game in an attempt to conserve a win two quarters later! His up and down style of play is still disciplined but allows for the freedom for players to play.

- Rodriguez is just one many good college 2014 caliber kids that are still available and putting up numbers. SAEN named Antania Newton(Stevens) as the player of the week recently. She is one of the best combo guards available. Boerne guard Devon Branch is putting up solid numbers averaging 12pts. The Clemens backcourt of Sabrina Cantigal(15.4) and Talisha Pressley(14.5) are combining to give opponents close to 30 points a game. Another unsigned combo getting it done for their balanced offfense is the Wagner duo Kaelynn Wilson(13.1) and Ashley Ross(9.2).

- McDonald All-American nomination list was released and SA had 10 players featured: Cee' Caldwell, McKenzie Calvert, Tanaeya Boclair, Wendy Knight, Ashley Ross, Simone Fields, Avery Queen, Carlie Heineman, Elissa Garza and Gabbie Bowie.

- Carlie Heineman(UTSA) is trying to do something in recent SA history that has only been done by her club teammate and current university of New Mexico freshman, Brooke Allemand. Carlie is 34 three point baskets away from making 100 threes in a season. With approximately 13 games left(assuming a state run), Carlie must hit 2.7 threes a game to surpass the 101 3's that Allemand hit her junior year. Carlie is averaging 2.8 three point makes a game currently. She has hit 11 in the past 2 games!

- Big Sis Carlie may not even be the best shooter in her own house! Baby sis Kinzie Heineman is shooting 46.5% from 3 this year. Carlie is shooting 42.2%. What is truly impressive about the younger sniper is that she is playing some minutes at the point guard position as well. Imagine those backyard shooting contests at the Heineman home!

- While Carlie Heineman has 1494 career points, Boerne post Avery Queen recently surpassed the 1500 point and 1000 rebound marks. The Denver University bound senior is shooting 50% from the field and 42% from three? At 6"2!


- In 27-5A, Stevens is 8-0 in district and seems to be peaking at the right time. Anissa Hastings may be on the way to her first district championship. 26-5A is up for grab. Reagan is 4-1 but three teams are one game behind at 3-2, Johnson, Churchill and Roosevelt. Madison is 3-3 with a win over Johnson and MacArthur is 2-3 with a win over Churchill! 25-5A will be a dog fight again between Judson and Wagner. They split the title last season and have their first showdown this Friday. It will be very interesting to see if Wagner can generate enough points against the stingy Judson defense without Amber Ramirez.

- Been hearing talk about kids that are "outplaying" higher profiled kids. Cool! That is what this city needs more of; fierce competition! Love that these youngsters and "underrated" kids are out to make a name for themselves! But before we all anoint the next "great" ones after a performance or two, keep in mind that pit bulls toy with poodles. Parents have a tendency to pick battles that their kids have to fight. Stop barking unless your kid packs the appropriate bite!

- To expand further, The 'Jordan Rules' were a defensive philosophy used by the late great Chuck Daily against the GOAT, Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls of the late 80's could not get past the Bad Boy Pistons led by Dailey. I ABSOLUTELY love Isaiah Thomas' game. He and Joe Dumars. However, it is insane to claim that Thomas or Dumars were better players than Jordan because they consistently defeated him. A good HS coach in the state of Texas, a state with no shot clock, should be able to use effective strategy to keep elite players in check. I saw this first hand when Cal Wulfsberg introduced his Diamond & 1 trap to the city a few years ago. With the right personal and a halfway decent game plan, it is not difficult to "shut down" a player. Unlike some local coaches and parents, Chuck Daily was smart enough to realize that his system was better than the Bulls but Michael was the best player, thus, the reason for the 'Jordan Rules' to begin with!

Basketball Lessons from J-Lo!

In the early 2000's, Jennifer Lopez was It. Fresh off of her performance as the late great Selena, Lopez picked up the microphone and started a career as a "singer". Lopez had the foresight and luck to join a very hot producer named Irv Gotti during his incredible streak as a hit maker. Lopez became a disciple of Mary J. Blige and the genre she helped create which was Hip-Hop Soul. The difference between Mary J and J-Lo, as Lopez was increasingly known , was that Mary J could SING, while J-Lo could "sing".

Technology has touched all walks of life. The music industry is a major benefactor of technology and Lopez benefitted greatly from modern techniques. Her musical coach, producer, Irv Gotti knew the environment in which J-Lo thrived in. He kept things simple for her by writing simple verses that were heavy on the monotone requirements and stayed away from complicated voice arrangements. Lopez hits were hook heavy, catchy rhythms that even the untrained could sing along. Gotti used technology to add reverb to Lopez's voice in order to give it more substance. The result was a very successful album and designation as a pop star. Then J-Lo got in over her head.

One of the most difficult things for a grassroots basketball coach to ensure is that you are putting your players in a position to succeed. Our job is to teach supreme confidence in the face of competition. We help shape a positive vision for young players in a field that is full of rejection and failure. We preach that the odds can be beaten, that seemingly insurmountable numbers do not apply to our players.

While instilling self belief, coaches also have to keep in mind that like music, there are levels to success, ceilings in fact. And too like music, individual and collective ability determines a players success at conquering a certain level.  A grassroots coach will inevitably  face a time where their players are not capable of effectively achieving in a game, a time when they have hit their ceiling. VERY few players can play in ANY environment and still achieve. Those that do/can, eventually become the pros that we watch on TV.

The difficult part in realizing that your players are in over their heads is first admitting it. At times we can feel as though it is a personal indictment of our ability and resist  admitting that our kids are not ready. Then comes the hard part, benching or limiting the minutes of a player that you have taught to always believe. It is hard not to feel like a hypocrite. You have instilled an "I believe in you, so you believe in you" philosophy in your players, yet in those overwhelming situations, you obviously do not believe in them enough to play them. Being an integral part of their development, you feel you are positioned to know their strengths and weaknesses. You feel like, "who knows them better than you" and surely your positive intentions for their well being is beyond question.

 I am sure that is what Irv Gotti felt like after he and J-Lo created magic and enriched both of their careers. Gotti knew what J-Lo's ceiling was and he made sure to keep her on a successful level. J-Lo then chose to undertake a different form of music, singing ballads. The problem was that J-Lo failed to understand that she was not really like Mary J Blige. Unlike Blige, who was raised singing difficult gospel ballads in church, she could not go to that NEXT level and achieve the same results. J-Lo and her advisors, akin to some basketball parents, figured that since she may have outsold and received more praise on the Hip-Hop Soul level than Mary J at that time, she was as good as Mary J and ready for that NEXT level. Wrong! She should have listened to Gotti, the coach (producer) that KNEW her skill set best. Instead, her music career has been EXPOSED as a novelty. She "played in front of scouts" versus singers that were truly NEXT level performers and her career has never fully recovered. Basketball parents should take heed. Sometimes that Irv Gotti ,that has your child in the correct lane, is there for a reason. They know when to add reverb, a simple hook and a catchy rhythm. They also know that unlike J-Lo, basketball scholarships do not include royalties and you are paid(rewarded) on current production, not past performance on an inferior level.

December quick hitters!

Here is a quick look into some city happenings for December:

- The Wulf is showing why he is one of the premier coaches in the city. The Churchill leader, Cal Wulfsberg is arguably the best the city has to offer and his 19-1 record lends to that argument. True the Chargers have not played a very challenging schedule early but they will be heard when the fight for 26-5A is over.  The Chargers have quality wins over Top 10 Clark (twice). 2015 guard Mickey Flores is now the 'go get it done' piece that Wulf is riding this year. The tenacious and physically tough Flores is averaging close to 18 a game and is joined in double digit territory by Dori Villareal chipping in 12 a game.

Back to the Wulf, female basketball enthusiasts spotted the Churchill girls coach on the bench of a recent game as assistant coach for the Top 5 Churchill boys teams. This should be no surprise. The guy is a gym rat and I would be very surprised if he does not end up on the boys side soon enough.

- Speaking of girls coaches flirting with the boys side, NEISD head coaches, Terry Barton (Reagan), Randy Evans (Johnson) were both long time boys coaches. In fact, the story goes that Evans was turned down for the boys job at Brennan and took the girls job in consolation. It turned out to be probably the best move for him since the Brennan squad was loaded and led Evans to his most successful coaching season and his 1st and only SAEN Coach of the Year award after two decades on the boys bench. It also started a streak of Evans inheriting D1 players, another first for the long time boys coach.

- Staying on the subject of coaching, watching Triva Corrales zone offense vs Reagan was impressive. I had to scan my brain to realize that the zone offense she employed is one of the most common strategies that Michigan State men's coach Tom Izzo uses. Corrales is a student of the game and put her kids in position to get open shots. The problem is, Judson has a tough time making shots, from the from the perimeter or the paint. Simone Fields shot 75% for the game but had little help in the area of point production. That said, Triva's team is arguably the best in the city on the defensive end. They held #1 Brennan to 40 points and Top 10 Johnson to 34 points.

- Roosevelt's leader Rob Rheinberger has his team flying below the radar. The Roughriders are 11-2 with good wins over Southwest, Clemens and Brandies. In this down year for the city, Rheinberger's patient offensive philosophy coupled with his stingy defense will make a lot of teams uncomfortable.  They have decent size, aggressive athletes and a style of play that should prove difficult for some expected favorites come district.

- This city IS down! I championed the 2014 class as the most heralded in SA history so how can I say the city is down? No disrespect intended but it is the 2015 and 2016 classes that are thinning out the high school scene in the city. For instance, when the 2014 were freshman, the city had a strong 2011 class(Donovan, Govan, Roberson), a decent 2012 class(Mitchell- Cole,Berry,Gumbs) and a good 2013 class(Smith, Vorpahl, Allemand). This equated to close 50 plus D1 players going at it during that time. In contrast, I would be surprised if there are more than 35 D1 players playing in HS today. It also hurts that two Top 10 nationally ranked guards are not playing on the local scene.

- With the thin depth around the city, coaching is going to become even more important in 5-A. Coaching and toughness! When I sit back and think tough, I see Judson as a team that will cause problems come playoffs and a Steele team that has the most on-court "alley cats" equipped to battle. When I think coaching, Terry Barton's team will execute when needed and Tina Camacho always seems to find a way during crunch time.

Some players getting it in early!

Brackenridge Offense- Averaging over 60 pts a game in 17 outings. Miranda Acuna leads them with 14.8, Breean Rodriguez earning 14.2 and Skylar Reyna putting in 13.2.

Bailey Quisenberry- Devine HS- The savvy 2016 PG is averaging close to 18 points and over 5 assists.

Liz Cathcart- Smithson Valley- The 2015 SF is producing over 13 pts and close to 8 brds a game.

Gabby Connally- Brandeis- The freshman combo guard is leading 27-5A in scoring at over 14 a game.

Desiree Rodriguez- 2014 G for Southside is putting up 16 plus a game while shooting 36% from 3pt land.