Your Help is Needed!

A tragic event has occurred to one of our own. A member of our basketball community has suffered a terrible loss this past weekend. The mother of a young girl who plays for the South Texas Hoyas was shot to death on Saturday in a domestic violence incident. I will not get into the details of the horrible incident but this young child and her sibling need our help. South Texas Hoyas coach, Theresa Nunn is spearheading a fundraising effort to help this young girl. She can be reached at theresa.nunn@southtexashoyas.com.


This tragedy puts the GAME of basketball in perspective. It is a GAME. Life happens and this horrible incident has happened to a beautiful young LIFE. Let us help her in a time when she needs us. We have cheered this young girl as she has grown into a wonderful basketball player. The evolution of her game has been a joy to watch. However, now is the time for our cheers to be truly heard. Now is the time for our encouragement and support to reflect our will.

Hector It Is!

Wagner standout, Len'Nique Brown has chosen to attend the University of Southern California on a full basketball scholarship. Brown made her final decision Sunday night. She is planning on signing today. Brown chose USC over Michigan State and San Diego State.

USC has commits from 3 out of the Hoopgurlz Top 100. Cassie Harberts(#11), Deisree Bradley(#35), and Thaddesia Southall(#99) all will join Brown in a great recruiting class that ushers in the Micheal Cooper era.

Congrats to the Brown Family, Wagner HS coaching staff, and TeamXpress!

Signings! and Commits!! and Offers!!!

The SA area is buzzing with excitement as signing week has ushered in a wave of emotions. Happiness abounds as girls basketball is celebrated throughout the city. Years of hard and deliberate work have culminated in the following kids having a day to remember:

Olivia Patterson (Steele HS)- Patterson signed her LOI to attend Southern Illinois University on Thursday. While ALL signings are special, this one is particularly so. Patterson caught the eye of her future college through the old way. While Patterson has played for two of the most prominent local clubs over the last two years and one of the most successful high schools in the SA area, she did not get her SIU offer through these environments. Her family used alternative means of letting the Salukis coaching know that she was worthy of a scholarship. Her story and her parents perspective will be posted here shorty. Her father is currently stationed in Korea( Thanks to all the service men and women for their sacrifices!!) and viewed the signing via a lap top.

Meighan Simmons (Steele HS)- Simmons accolades have been chronicled here frequently. She will leave the city as the all-time leading scorer but yesterday fulfilled her life long dream by signing with the University of Tennessee. Her mother followed up her signing with a mass email titled," Dreams Do Come True". Indeed!

CeCe Harper (Madison HS)- Harper will sign her letter of intent today in Madison High School's foyer at 2:30pm. Harper will ink her future with Kansas University Jayhawks and reunite with her high school teammate and friend, Monica Engleman. Harper turned down dozens of offers from others to answer the call of the Big 12 school.

Cheyenne Berry(Lytle HS-) Berry committed to Stephen F. Austin last night! Berry chose the Lumberjacks over Southeast Louisiana ,South Alabama, and Incarnate Word . Berry visited the school a couple of weeks ago and felt right at home. Berry will sign before the end of next weeks signing period. SFA is a member of the Southland Conference.

Jessica Kuster (Reagan HS)- Kuster signed with the Rice Owls yesterday. Kuster originally committed to UTA but later decided that Rice was a better fit for her. She can now concentrate on trying to earn her first district championship.

Kiante Ageous ( Sam Houston HS)- KiKi signed with the University of Arizona yesterday. Arizona is making waves in the Pac-10 with a young and aggressive coaching staff led by former Tennessee player Nia Butts. Ageous joins a long line of recent Sam Houston stand outs going on to play at the D1 level including, Tai Dillard(Texas), Sarah Miles(West Virginia) and Chanice Scott(Tulsa).

Chelsea Solis ( Wagner HS)- Solis will sign with Texas A & M Kingsville today at Wagner High School. Solis is an integral part of a team that has its eyes set on Austin.

Stephanie Wittman (Alamo Heights HS)- Wittman signed with Kansas State over SMU, Central Florida and UC Santa Barbara. Wittman's difficult journey was chronicled in a gripping piece by SA Express writer Chad Peters. Wittman's signing is truly a celebration and speaks to everything that is right about the power of girls basketball.

Ciara McLee(Judson HS)- According to her club coach, McLee has received two D1 offers in the past two days. Southeast Louisiana offered her a scholarship on Wednesday night and Texas State followed suit last night. McLee has not determined which school will gain her services but a decision should be eminent. The early signing period ends next week. Both schools are in the Southland Conference.

Len'Nique Brown (Wagner HS)- Brown has officially narrowed her choices down to USC, Michigan State and San Diego State. She is apparently using this weekend to finalize her decision. She is expected to sign on Monday.


Congrats to all the young ladies and their families! You all deserve the success it.

Parting Shot!!- In light of a disturbing trend of coaches advising players to wait to sign, I must say this. If your club coach or high school coach is advising the parents of their players to wait until the late signing period to sign in an effort to get a "bigger school" to recruit your child, here is a thought. How about asking that coach to put up the tens of thousands of dollars that it takes to get a college education as a back up plan? If these coaches are so sure that your child can hold out on valid offers to get a so-called better offer, they should not have a problem putting their money where their mouth is. As we all know, free advice can be extremely expensive!

Victoria Willems Signs!

Victoria Willems can now concentrate on having her most productive year of basketball. Her big day came in a signing ceremony at MacArthur High School yesterday. Willems signed with William and Mary on the first day of the signing period.

Willems will have the opportunity to match up against one of the best players in the nation for the three years. The University of Delaware is in the same conference as William and Mary and features the consensus #1 ranked player in the nation for the year of 2008, Elena DelleDonne. EDD originally committed to UConn but chose to return home and attend Delaware. She reportedly had 50 points in a scrimmage last week while shooting 20 for 25. Willems plays the same position and has a great opportunity in the match up.

Willems is a 6'2 forward that can hit the 17 footer with consistency. MacArthur has a new 5-Out offense that encourages her to shoot the 3-ball and use her polished face up game to score. MacArthur is expected to be a major contender for their district championship. They return the majority of their play-off team from last year.

Congrats to the Willems Family, MacArthur HS Staff, and the SA Comets Elite!

Jay banged up? Other good matchups!

Going into tonight's opening season match up against Madison, John Jay is reportedly a little banged up. Ankles sprains and pulled hamstrings have supposedly bitten the Mustangs. The Mustangs lock up with the Mavericks at 7:30 at Littleton. Some other good match ups follow:

Incarnate Word vs Marshall @ Taylor (5pm)

Judson vs Reagan @ Littleton (6pm)

Roosevelt vs Sam Houston @ ACC (6:30pm)

Boerne Champion @ Stevens (6:30pm)

Alamo Heights @ Wagner (7pm)

Smithson Valley @ NB Canyon (7:30pm)

For a complete list of tonight's games, click here:

Len'Nique Brown:California Dreamin? or Queen Leonitis?

Heading into her senior year and ready to pursue another trip to Austin, Len'Nique Brown still has some pressing concerns on her mind. Brown has the great dilemma of choosing a school that will pay for her education and allow her to continue to play basketball beyond high school. The process has reportedly been trying. Some of the leading candidates are rumored to be:

USC- Brown spent this past weekend in beautiful Southern California at an official visit with USC, the new kid on the block. The campus is a city within a huge city and recently pulled out all stops and jumped on Brown. The daughter of California Governor and action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, attends the sprawling school which highlights the prominence of the school among the states elite. The school is in a BCS conference, a conference that has 3 teams in the Top 25 preseason polls. The new coach has never coached college basketball but has won NBA titles as a player and won a WNBA title as a coach. Michael Cooper reportedly followed up his two hour phone call to Niques' father on Thursday night with a Letter of Intent on Friday. The PAC-10, Michael Cooper and alumni base that rivals any is tough to turn down. Will she sign it?


San Diego St.- Another California school that Brown visited a month or so ago. The Aztecs just came off of a great season and the current coach has been there for years. The program is stable and nationally respected by the sports writers who gave them 78 votes in the preseason rankings. There uptempo style, near perfect weather, and coaching stability may be hard for Brown to turn down. The schools reputation as a party school will probably not deter Brown due to her focus on her basketball career. The Aztecs have also sent a letter of intent last Friday. A hint may have been what her last club coach was wearing in the gym during high school scrimmages this past weekend; a San Diego St. T-Shirt compliments of the Brown family.

Michigan St.- The Spartans are another team that is heavy in the mix for Brown. Nique and her father reportedly loved the trip to Michigan last month. Despite the freezing temperatures, the Big 1o may be the right climate for Nique. The Spartans reached the Sweet 16 last year despite a coaching staff that is relatively new. Rumor has it that Wagner Coach Christina Camacho has some friendly ties to Michigan State in some way. Michigan St. is another school that has already sent a letter of intent to be signed.

Long Shots:

UTSA- While the thought of Nique playing in a four guard offense with Judy Jones, Amber Gregg, and Whitney York is tantalizing, it probably will not happen. Though, the open offense featuring frequent pick and rolls and dribble drive actions would suit the lightning quick Brown to a T, it would be a major surprise if she stayed home to suit up for the Runners. Reportedly, the Runners have not been ruled out and an offer is on the table.

SMU- After showing out in a fall exposure event in Dallas in front of dozens of college suitors, the Browns took an unofficial to SMU before returning to SA. The campus, scenery and academic reputation of the school are pluses but they most likely will not get Brown. This school may take it the hardest if they are not chosen due to their constant pursuit of Brown for years. They apparently offered a long time before others and are asking Santa for an early Christmas gift in the form of a signed letter of intent. The problem is that Santa does not deliver in November. I think?

My prediction is... Hector! although Montezuma battles!

Win now or develop for later?

I included an article from Clay Kallam a few blogs back that expressed his opinion of a lack of personal development of a couple elite players. Kallum went on to suggest that Pat Summitt and Carl Buggs failed to develop Shyra Ely and Jasmine Dixon. I then went on to ask should development or winning be the goal in big time basketball?

First let us clarify big time basketball. Shara Ely's college coach, Pat Summitt is as big as it gets. No coach in female basketball has won more NCAA championships than Summitt(8), and only the Wizard of Westwood has won more titles than her, period. Jasmine Dixon's high school coach, Carl Buggs has owned California for the last decade. Since 2003, Buggs has lead his team to the state championship every year! I repeat, for last seven years, Buggs has lead his team to 4 state titles and 3 runner-up trophies(1 title while coaching at Lynwood). His Jack Rabbits have finished nationally ranked for the last 5 years and finished as high as #2 in 2006-2007( Jasmine Dixon years). In their respective arenas, both coaches are at the top.



This success speaks volumes of their abilities but what does it say about development? Can a lack of development in their players be blamed on them? Yes! No! And probably not!



Yes Argument:



When speaking of the importance of supporting environments for the development of elite kids, Geoff Colvin writes:



Employers, like parents and coaches, have to keep pushing them to develop, and the lesson for employers(coaches) is that the process requires sacrifices on their part as well-in the form of SUBOPTIMAL PERFORMANCE.... or periods of LITTLE or NO PRODUCTIVITY from an employee (player) while he or she is learning a new skills. But the lesson is that these sacrifices pay off."



In other words, Coach Buggs should have continued to put Dixon in positions that expanded her game. This would have ensured that she was more equipped to have success at the higher level of big time college basketball. Dixon transferred from Rutgers and landed at UCLA. The question is did her underdeveloped game contribute to her dissatisfaction at Rutgers? Probably so.



I watched a young Jasmine Dixon DOMINATE California youth basketball since her 8th grade year. She was 5'11 and built like a woman in the 8th grade. She bullied in the paint like it was her domain. She was fast enough to guard smaller players and quick enough to sprint past other post players on the way to her scores. Her dominance continued throughout her high school career as she became a McDonald's All-American. However, the highly touted Dixon began to slip in national rankings as the high school years went by. Bigger players like Nneka Ogumike and April Sykes began to get more attention. More skilled players like Elena DelleDonne and Tiffany Hayes come to the forefront. While Dixon still finished high school very acclaimed, some saw the clouds in the horizon. Dixon was a 6'0 (5'11ish) post player with an inconsistent jump shot and little ball handling skills. Her incredible strength and athletic ability still made her a force to be reckoned with but what was to happen when she faced girls with just as much strength and athletic ability? The results were predictable. Footage from her freshman year at Poly compared to her senior year footage would reveal very little progress in term of skill set development.



Carl Buggs should have not allowed Dixon to lean on her overwhelming strength as a high school player. He should have demanded that Dixon play on the perimeter to further develop her guard skills. The Dixon years at Poly featured guards April Crook-Williams(ranked #20 in 2011), April Cook(Washington St.), Keli Thomspson (UNLV),Ashley Wilson(Colorado) and Brittney Wilson(Colorado). With no less than five D1 guards to play against everyday at practice, Buggs had more than ample opportunity to let Dixon improve her guard skills against these high level guards. Dixon should have been matched up against these guards daily with the goal of improving her handle. Dixon senior year also feature elite post players, Monique Oliver(Rutgers) and freshman Thadessia Southall(USC committ). These two young but effective post players should have allowed Buggs to get Dixon out of the post and on to the perimeter.



NO Argument:



How can you argue with success? Buggs job is to win high school basketball games and very few coaches in the country has done more winning than him over the past decade. You can not blame the lack of PERSONAL development on a coach who's roster includes no less than five D1 players every year. Southern California sends on an average 50-60 players D1 every year. Buggs is responsible for at least 10% of those kids. This highly competitive environment lends little time for individual agendas. Coaching eight D1 kids on one team is challenging. The individual needs of one player can not supersede the mission of the team.



Moving Dixon to the perimeter in games does not allow the younger D1 bound guards to see valuable minutes of floor time. These young guards have put hundreds of thousand of shots and dribbles into becoming elite guards and Dixon did not. Is it not unfair to displace them for the sake of developing Dixon? Should not the best guards play, despite class, status and rank? Dixon was not among the most effective guards on the team, not to mention the state. How could Poly face a Brea team, led by McDonald All-American Jeanette Polhen or a very good Marlborough team, led by McDonald All-American Nikki Speed, with Dixon at the guard and expect to win? Going back to the Colvin quote, "Suboptimal performance and little or no productivity" from Dixon equates to Poly not competing for the state championship. The standard of a successful coach has always been measured in championships. The Wizard of Westwood and his Pyramid of Success was not so profound when he was losing at UCLA. Eleven championships later and his wisdom still sells books today by the bundle.



No, Buggs job was to win and he did just that!



So which is the more compelling argument? Yes, Jasmine Dixon was underdeveloped by a narrow minded coach? Or no, her very successful high school coach afforded her the opportunity to win multiple state championships in a very successful program?



Both statements are probably a little true. So who is the blame? Probably both, Dixon and Coach Buggs probably could have done more to develop her. Who gained more from the relationship? The gains were mutual. Dixon finished her storied high school career among the most winning players at an elite level in history and Buggs has the hardware to prove it. Dixon played with and against some of the best players in the country (rare in a high school program) and had major universities vying for her services. Buggs has had elite players like Monique Oliver move from different states to play in his program that was spearheaded by a nationally known Dixon.



Elite basketball can be a difficult place to develop players. Playing an elite schedule does not allow for a great margin of error. Errors are instrumental in allowing players to grow. A guard can never be a great passer unless she has thrown enough passes to know what not to do. A great shooter is a primarily a failure. Shooting 49% from the perimeter is cause to celebrate. Developing shooters in an environment where every possession counts is near impossible. Carl Buggs or Pat Summitt hands are somewhat tied in terms of developing in their respective environments. This makes the need for a good off-season program and choice of a club team even that more important. Shara Ely and Jasmine Dixon should have improved over the summers of their careers. They should have been with coaches, trainers, clubs and environments where their weaknesses were strengthened. Shyra Ely was developed enough to leave Tennessee as an All-American and professional pick. Tennessee went to three final fours doing her playing days. It is hard to argue with success. But, would have a more developed Ely been more equipped to lead the Vols to a title? The argument continues....