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!
