Big Game Big Name Hunting!

Spring 2007 and the TV was on all night. ESPN would typically replay SportsCenter throughout the night and I would awaken with stats and game scores seemingly memorized. Sleeping with the TV on has been a longtime habit, albeit one that does not lend itself to peaceful sleep. This particular night, or better yet, early morning, I awoke to some interesting noises.  I initially heard them in that state between sleep and being awake. "Oh my GOD, Oh my GOD, Oh my.......GOD! ", exclaimed a woman, repeatedly! The exhilarating calls of a woman in the middle of the night awakened me and I immediately began to wonder what the heck was on TV. Did I mistakenly fall asleep with the TV on HBO or Cinemax or some channel that broadcasted steamy programming at night? This woman was excited, thoroughly interrupting my sleep! My eyes opened and adjusted to the screen to find what extreme pleasure engulfed this lady; she killed a dear. ESPN showed a hunting program in which the exhilarated woman killed her first Buck(I  quickly learned what a Buck is after moving to Texas). Confusion couldn't describe my thoughts as I listened to this woman go on about the "greatest feeling in the world" as she spoke about.....killing a dear (wordplay intended)! Really?! A dear or Buck or any animal being killed makes you act like this? This is ecstasy for you? I soon learned when watching hunting shows, the response of this woman was not an isolated one. Grown men speak of the same joy when taking down "Big Game". Sure enough, 10 years into girls club basketball, many club coaches and directors behave the same about winning the "Big Game" or in some cases ,"Big Name".

They are easy to spot, the Big Game hunters of girls basketball. They prominently display the trophies and or tournaments they have won on websites, t-shirts or better yet, in their homes. Rarely will you find personal trophies of their youth on display, trophies that indicated their athletic prowess, achievements or successes. Like the Big Game hunters using rifles to take down unsuspecting  animals, the Big Game hunters of girls basketball  are usually well off financially. They can "buy" the best players and claim to be great coaches and leaders while attaining victory in the process. Like the animal killers renting land leases to shoot animals for sport, their money and the connections that derive from their money,  are the weapons that allows them to claim be "experts". Interestingly, many of these Big Gamers celebrate their trophies more that they celebrate the young women who earned free educations in the pursuit of the famed hardware.

The Big Game hunters of girls basketball can also be called the Big Name hunters. Here is how it works. You train a kid from youth. She was awkward, unsure of herself and big for her age. You taught her the game. You showed her parents that an education can be paid for using the great game of basketball. You dug in your pocket to help cover the inevitable shortfalls in tournament fees, uniform costs, food and gas money, etc. Unlike the deep pockets of soccer and volley ball parents, "elite" basketball is typically not the place where the very affluent play. Then it happens. Once the kid becomes a potential asset, the Big Name club director comes in to the kid's parents to say they you are not sufficient anymore. You and your guidance is now "holding the kid back", if she truly wants to be the best. They promise her parents that she would be an All-American if she joined them. She would be able to attend any college, if she played for them. She would play against the best competition with them. Big Game, Big Name, Big Thangs! For sure! If the parents do not bite on the Big Bait, they will go to you, the club coach that raised something from nothing and offer you the same. Of course when you join the Big Name, you will eventually realize what you have done is "lose" the kid you worked so hard for, worked so hard to help. They will fold your club into their Big Name club and in the process, you lose your identity, developmental philosophy and eventually the young star(s) that you have groomed since the beginning of her playing career. 

Here is some insight into the mindset of some Big Game hunters. A few years ago, I spoke with a high school coach who had recently traveled to Africa to hunt Big Game. This coach was somewhat meek and coached with a new age parental style of rule by consensus. Knowing the timidness of the coach, I was surprised to learn that this coach traveled to a different continent to kill exotic animals as a hobby. When I inquired as to why Africa and what animal(s) met their end during the visit, the coach gave me an interesting reply. The coach went on to say that he/she was doing a service to the animals of Africa because if not for ORGANIZED HUNTERS, poachers would indiscriminately kill the animals of the land. Wow! That's sort of the same logic that some Big Game club hunters use when they are hunting for players in the their quest for fresh trophies to mount on their walls. Apparently the people of the land are nothing more than poachers, not qualified hunters, according to some the Big Game people. People of the land (true grassroots developers/coaches) and Young Bucks beware.......

Too Nice for Victory?

I can count on one hand, pun intended, the times I have been given the "Southern California Wave" while driving on San Antonio highways in the last 8 years. The finger is a salute given and received often on Southern California freeways everyday.  Congestion and the need to get somewhere adds a certain hostility to the culture of Cali drivers. The very disrespectful salute speaks of edge, chip on the shoulder mentality that I do not miss. Except, when it comes to basketball.

Some say character is revealed in sport. In recent readings of revered teachers and leaders, it is NO surprise that the great John Wooden used to heckle opposing players during games. The often quoted Wizard of Westwood frequently verbally lashed officials and got into fist fights as a player as well according to the very telling biography  'Wooden, A Coach's Life', by Seth Davis'.  I recently saw a well respected lawyer and conservative high school coach tweet that he would have loved to play for Bob Knight, a man that you can see on YouTube choking one of his players. It an absolutely great book, "When Mexicans Could Play Ball", I read that the San Antonio legend Nemo Herrera would whoop his players with a paddle when they got out of hand. Appalling? Today maybe. Living in Compton California in the early 80's, our school instructors would swat us often. I hear child advocates screaming abuse but I saw my community get progressively worse when our teachers were banned from spanking our butts when when got unruly. Back on subject, I bring up the characteristics of our esteemed characters and hope that we can keep it real. Going HARD in basketball, sometimes in an uncouth way, is how success is achieved on the court and according to those we celebrate, is a characteristic of a champion.

A few weeks ago at the Cy-Fair Invitational, some of the best teams and players in Texas assembled to duke it out. One of the best clubs in the country featured a middle school team in the event with only six players. If that was not challenging enough, the six babies played up in completion with a style that is indicative of their entire club, full court man to man defense. During a crucial part of one game, the smallest and youngest player on the team stole a pass and racked it on the other end. In the process, the youngster was fouled hard by the competition. After the ref blew the whistle a voice screamed out, "You gotta finish that"! It was the little girl's mother, imploring her child to be what Dallas basketball players are known to be; TOUGH!

In a podcast, I said that if Brennan High School did not win the state title, it would be disappointing.  I am sure that the statement was subject to ridicule by some in Dallas and Houston. A girls basketball team from San Antonio being the favorite to win State? Yeah right! Well, I ate my words but still felt disappointed. Disappointed because a team full college basketball players, at least half a dozen D1, and an adept coach had a great chance to do what no girls team in recent SA history has done, win State. My disappointment went to the what I consider the real reason that Brennan and our local girls have yet to get to the "promise land"; lack of city wide toughness.

I did not attend the game, yet talking to almost everyone that was a Brennan fan or supporter, the refs got the blame for allowing extreme physicality. When I spoke with almost everyone else that did not have a dog in the fight, especially outside of San Antonio, they failed to mention anything about the refs as to why Brennan was defeated by a team full of mostly freshmen from Dallas.

I am not taking shots at Brennan girls team, many of them are kids whom I adore personally since many of them have been in my life since they were preteens. The Brennan administration and coaching staff is one that is helping our city close the gap between Dallas and Houston with their competence and dedication. What I am saying is that San Antonio as a collective whole must toughen up!

In a example of this and an ironic twist, Ducanville, the epitome of toughness and discipline was reportedly robbed in the championship game by....the refs! Most Dallas and Duncanville supporters blame the majority San Antonio referee crew that called the championship game for them losing. The San Antonio crew called the game tight, just like they do locally, and the result was that Duncanville's top four players were fouled out. I have heard some cry conspiracy but I disagree. Duncanville should have known San Antonio refs live and ply their trade in a city that is passively aggressive in many ways but overt confrontation is a no-no.

When local kids are dedicated to the game at an early age, whispers of eventual burnout and overrated comes from detractors. When a local high school coach is dedicated, stays after practice and shows support outside the 40 hour work week for her/his players, they are recruiting says the lazy high school leaders. In a city that the teen pregnancy rate is almost 4 times the national average, and 1 in 4 kids are overweight, involved parents are labeled as helicopter parents that live vicariously through their children.The passive aggressive take to message boards, send anonymous emails and sit in the stands and ridicule kids instead of celebrating the pursuit of true success.

If success is determined by college scholarships, San Antonio is more successful than it has ever been. If success is determined by winning, San Antonio teams now routinely beat teams from Dallas and Houston in club ball and high school, though not in the State Tournament (Steele defeated a central Texas team,Pflugerville, last season to reach state finals). The gap is continuing to close but the question remains if SA has the collective makeup to ever achieve "success" when compared Dallas and Houston. 

In a city that shuts down school so students can attend a parade during Fiesta, an eleven day party,  is it possible to be angry enough to refuse to be denied? Angry enough to refuse to continue to be an afterthought and an automatic win for Dallas and Houston teams at the State Tournament? How ever you analyze it, the same passion (anger) that led Wooden to fight as a player, Bob Knight to throw chairs (choking went to far:), Pat Summit to physically grab her players by the jersey (as seen on 30 for 30 special on Summit) is what it is going to take to raise players tough enough to have "success". No one is advocating physically hitting or abusing kids, far from it. I'm speaking of a collective chip on the shoulder, a collective edge. If our city continues to not confront the weak elements in our basketball community and challenge ourselves to toughen up, the results will remain the same; "defeat".

I enjoy not getting the finger in traffic. I have grown accustomed to speaking to all who make eye contact with me at the local HEB. My elderly neighbor bought my family a welcoming present when we moved into our home. San Antonio is a lovely city, full of genuinely nice and accommodating people. I love it here! However, college basketball is like the California freeways, congested with players that NEED to get somewhere and possess a competitive hostility to acheive their goals.  If toughness is an essential attribute needed to succeed at the next level, I am not certain that basketball is supposed to be so gentile. Corporate America ain't!

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!