The San Antonio girls basketball community has lost one of the classiest, most respected leaders in the GBB community. Sam Houston coach Milyse Lampkin, has reportedly passed away.
Coach Lampkin helped guide hundreds of young women while coaching high school and club basketball over the years. Coach Lampkin, with grace and style, was a true role model, always offering an encouraging word to those in need of positive reinforcement.
Rest in Peace, Coach Lampkin.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
How "sponsorship" works!
McDonalds is in the business of what? The vast majority of
people will say the obvious, hamburgers. Fast food, happy meals, chicken
nuggets, etc. Wise investors realize that McDonalds sells franchises that sell
hamburgers in order to conduct its true business, real estate acquisitions. McDonalds
is a one of the world's richest real estate companies. While individuals can
"own" a McDonald's by being
approved for a franchise, the real estate under every McDonalds in the country
is owned by the McDonalds corporation. Owning commercial property on the corners
of pretty much every well populated city in the country is masterful! Not
burgers but land. This brilliant and misunderstood business concept repeats
itself in grassroots girls basketball.
The club I co-founded was "sponsored" by a shoe company last year. Here is how most "sponsorships" work
in girls basketball. A club becomes good enough to earn free shoe company
product ranging between $2000-$8000. In some cases, some well performing clubs
can get $10,000-$15,00 in product. Unlike the boys side of the game, where free
product and money can reach six figures, girls programs do not get actual
financial sponsorship from shoe companies. Being that girls basketball is not an
affluent sport, any free product given to girls to help celebrate the girls
game is a good thing. The negativity surrounding the "sponsorships"
comes through the misleading perceptions spewed by "sponsored" teams
and parents. Mind you, I was one and in
full disclosure, chose not to continue to be one PARTLY because...... I can count!
Sponsored teams are required to attend a particular number
of events. Let's do some math. Lets say Team Blue is "sponsored" by a shoe entity
for $6000 in product. With major discount in shoes, uniforms, bags etc., we
will assume they can outfit four teams of 10 players with the $6000 in product.
Hamburgers right? But further inspection shows that the "sponsored" team now must attend 2-3 required
events. Now, please take two of the four teams and buy plane tickets for the 20
players at a discounted price of $300 a ticket, a total of....$6000. Cool, a
break even right? No! The two teams still have not paid tournament registration
fees, hotels, car rental, food , and gas. Assuming that 20 girls will share 5
rooms at $100 a day for 6-9 days is an easy $3000-$4500, just for hotels. Add
tournament fees and the other expenses and Team Blue is easily $10,000 in the RED! As you can see,
"sponsored" does not mean free.
Are girls shoe sponsors selling hamburgers or are they in
the real estate game? The answer should be obvious. Team Blue outfits 4 teams
with "free" product. However, the club director sells his/her
additional 5 teams shoes and uniforms. A "sponsored" discount allows Team Blue to buy a
shoe and uniform combo for $120 instead of the $240 retail price. Team Blue goes
to the affiliated 5 teams, or 50 players, and sells them the combo of uniform
and shoes for a $150, a $30 markup, yet still a 33% discount from the retail costs. A win win. The kids needed
shoes and uniforms anyway, they received them cheaper than retail and are part of a "sponsored" club and all
the prestige that come with it. It's a win for Team Blue since now they have offset
the previously mentioned $10,000 debt by $1500, now only down $8,500. If they
can duplicate this to bring that down even further, great, if not, that's a pretty expensive trophy or title to
be chasing.
Shoe companies are doing a terrific thing by
"sponsoring" girls basketball clubs. Girls basketball is hardly a
lucrative market in terms of brand enhancement, unfortunately. I truly hope
this changes. Shoe brand enhancements to the bottom line comes with the Derrick
Rose's, Lebron James' and Steph Curry's. "Sponsored" teams are the
franchise owners selling real estate, in the form of product for shoe companies. That is what the business
is all about. Elite, Best, Circuits, National Championships etc, all are the
chicken nuggets and hamburgers of the true business, selling product. For this reason, a lot of "sponsored" franchise
owners sell elitist proclamations in order to enhance their personal club
brands. They know that they better keep slanging
those happy meals( acquiring the best players) because the land under their businesses ain't theirs!
Friday, August 1, 2014
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.......
Sunday, May 4, 2014
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.
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!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
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.
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)
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)
Len'Nique Brown(NC State)
-Starting PG for #14 in
countryAverages: 8.8 pts/4.5assts
Conference Rank
- Assists(3rd)
- 3Pt FG%(11th)
- Assist to Turnover(5th)
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)
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)
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
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.
I t 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
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.
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!
Monday, February 3, 2014
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.
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.
Playoffs Predictions coming.........
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