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CLICK HERE www.texasinvitational.com to check out the schedule for the McDonald's Texas Invitational (Nov 19-21)!
Da Magazine! released Nov 16th
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Welcome to..... RCS SPORTS.com
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| Jim Hicks with da "Round Mound of Rebound"
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RCS SPORTS is absolutely without a doubt, the #1 info source of Greater Houston Boys Basketball (year round). Check out the VIP ROOM for today's latest news. Thanks for all your support and motivation!
Be sure to watch Jim Hicks (RCS Sports) weekly...
"THE BASKETBALL SHOW.com" (next webcast - NOV 18th, 9pm @ Double Dave's Pizza & Grill, Ella Blvd / Loop 610). Watch Jim Hicks on the nation's first (and only) live high school basketball internet tv talk show! New season premiere coming soon! If you are interested in having The Basketball Show filmed (on location) at your business or establishment, send an email to terry@houstonsports.com
Friday, October 30
NOVEMBER 16th: RCS SPORTS SEASON OPENER presented by the George McClellan Foundation
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| Admission: Only $5 (no passes accepted)
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Mark your calendars! The first day of the regular season is only a couple weeks away, and it's only fitting to announce the RCS Sports Season Opener presented by the George McClellan Foundation in conjunction with Helfman River Oaks Chrysler. The triple header featuring three private school powers going against public schools will take place Monday, November 16, 2009 @ St Thomas High School (4500 Memorial Drive). Tickets are only $5 (inlcudes all games).
5:30 St Pius Panthers vs Houston Lamar Redskins
7pm Second Baptist Eagles vs Alief Elsik Rams
8:20 St Thomas Eagles vs Houston Jones Falcons
Saturday, October 17
REVIEW: 9th GRADE SHOOT OUT
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| 1st Place: Washington HS w/ event coach Reginald Sheppard
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Despite starting center Marqez LeBlanc 6'5, 260lbs sidelined with an ankle sprain (suffered in the semis), Washington HS freshmen team rallied from double digit deficit to knock off Clear Lake (64-63) in the championship game of the 2nd Annual 9th Grade Fall Championships held Saturday (Oct 17th) @ St Pius X High School.
One thing I like about this year's event was the fact that there were no surprise teams in the finals. Any remote chance of a sleeper had long been awakened. These were the two best teams in the building, bar none. Washington floor general Bryce Mooring 5'8 pg did everything a point guard is supposed to do, while Jahmarcus Wortham 6'2 wf and Dominique Burns 6'1 wf were pretty much unstoppable in the finale.
Meanwhile, Clear Lake got big time productivity from Paris Clayton 5'11 pg (a kid so good that I wouldn't be surprised if he's starting varsity on opening day), Andrew Ladia 6'0 f, Louis Dunbar 6'0 wg, and sharp shooter Alden Miles 5'7 cg.
I was looking forward to providing detailed stats, but the scoresheets from 3 games including the championship came up missing from the table. Meanwhile, I do have the results from the games played below.
Rd 1
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Washington 61 St Pius 44
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Rd 1
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HCYA 51 Westfield 47
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Rd 1
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Clear Lake 55 Nederland 44 |
Rd 1
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Reagan 49 Northshore 41
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Semi
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Washington 57 HCYA 54
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Cons
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Westfield 41 St Pius 35 |
Semi
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Clear Lake 65 Reagan 55 |
Cons |
Nederland def Northshore |
3rd
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HCYA 65 Reagan 52
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7th
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St Pius 47 Northshore 40 |
| 1st |
Washington 64 Clear Lake 63
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5th
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Westfield 57 Nederland 48 |
*9th GRADE CHAMPIONSHIPS ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
t1. Justin Jackson 6'3 cg (HCYA) - He came into the event with the most accolades. Then, took care of his business for the most part, clocked out and went home. First game, he finished with 20pts vs Westfield, followed by 26pts in a 3pt loss vs Washington, before going for 21pts in the first half vs Reagan - finishing with 30pts total. Heck, I don't event think he sweated but once all day. He's the most recruitable pure shooter in the state. Go ahead, ask around the sneaker circles - Justin Jackson is no sleeper.
t1. Paris Clayton 5'11 pg (Clear Lake HS) - No longer does this kid have to wake up feeling that he's been ignored or unmentioned when the area's 2013 class is thought about. He virtually dominated every single person who got in from of him. Crossed a few of 'em over. Flipped dimes a centimeter out of their grasp. Pinned a couple layups on the glass. Most importantly, he was winning and having fun. Not many times have I been willing to put my reputation on a "sleeper". I watched him 3 times, and I'm convinced, this dude is not only good, he'll be one of the Top 12 players in the state before it's all said and done. D1 high majors, you are free to roam about the cabin...
3. Bryce Mooring 5'8 pg (Washington HS)
4. Donquince Burns 6'1 wf (Washington HS)
5. Kalil Potts 5'10 pg (Reagan HS)
6. Brandon Rooney 5'11 cg (HCYA)
7. Johnathan Motley 6'3 f (Northshore HS)
8. Wesley Iwondu 6'2 g (Westfield HS)
9. Zach English 5'11 g (Nederland HS)
10. Marquez LeBlanc 6'5 c (Washington HS)
11. Solomon Brown 6'0 pg (St Pius HS)
12. Kelci Grigsby 6'0 w (Reagan HS)
13. Luis Dunbar Jr 6'0 sg (Clear Lake HS)
14. Jahmarcus Worsham 6'2 (Washington HS)
15. Cherokee Taylor 6'3 f (St Pius HS)
16. James Harrison 5'9 sg (Westfield HS)
17. Alden Miles 5'7 cg (Clear Lake HS)
18. Kendall Rammal 6'5 pf (Reagan HS)
19. Aaron Smith 6'2 f (Northshore HS)
20. Jermese Rogers 5'10 (Nederland HS)
Monday, October 12
REVIEW: MILBY / JONES JUNIOR VARSITY SHOOTOUT!
By: Jim Hicks (RCS Sports)
The 3rd Annual Milby & Jones Junior Varsity ShootOut was the place to be this past Saturday. A total of 22 sub varsity teams took part in this annual fundraiser for the duel high school basketball departments. RCS Sports was on site to witness the first as well as the last game played. This event is where rather unknown talents get chance to earn their first dose of ink. At the same time, others learn whether they will even make the team.
The most impressive teams were Westfield (won all three games by an average of 22pts) who played at Milby HS. At the Jones HS Division, Seven Lakes I and Seven Lakes II (combined to go 6-0) while Madison made it look all too easy against Atascocita, Jones, and Washington.
(25) PLAYERS WHO CAUGHT MY ATTENTION!
1. Austin Lewis 6’5 f (Westfield HS 2012)
2. Myles Eglin 6’3 g (Madison HS 2012)
3. Justin Jackson 6’4 sg (HCYA 2013)
4. Destin Beal 6’2 w (Westfield HS 2011)
5. Broderick Harris 6’4 wf (Jones HS 2012)
6. Michael Wallace 6’0 sg (Seven Lakes HS 2011)
7. Ashton Richardson 6’3 f (Madison HS 2012)
8. Hunter Leary 6’5 f (Kingwood HS 2013)
9. Terriba Dembry 5’9 pg (Westfield HS 2011)
10. Adam Kraus 5’8 pg (College Park HS 2011)
11. Harold Chaney 6’1 w (North Forest HS 2012)
12. Brandon Rooney 5’11 cg (HCYA 2013)
13. Oscar Ruiz 5’10 cg (Chavez HS 2013)
14. Trevor Arrington 5’10 pg (Clear Lake HS 2011)
15. Matt Porter 6’8 c (Kingwood HS 2012)
16. Corey Lark 6’0 g (Jones HS 2012)
17. Walker Pennington 6’2 g (Memorial HS 2013)
18. Brandon Nelson 6’0 g (Kingwood HS 2012)
19. Justin Simmons 5’11 g (North Forest HS 2013)
20. Mitchell Meyer 6’8 c (College Park HS 2011)
21. Bridge Lavey 6’4 sg (Atascocita HS 2012)
22. Bryce Mooring 5’9 pg (Washington HS 2013)
23. Lamar Ard 5’11 g (HCYA II 2013)
24. Max Yanke 6’4 f (Memorial HS 2012)
25. Michael Davis 6’5 f (Kingwood HS 2012)
RESULTS!
| JONES CT 1 |
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JONES CT 2 |
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MILBY HS |
| Jones 1 |
Seven Lakes 1 |
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Jones 2 |
College Park 2 |
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Milby |
Westfield |
| Chavez |
Seven Lakes 2 |
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Atascocita |
College Park 1 |
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Kingwood |
HCYA 1 |
| North Forest |
College Park 2 |
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Memorial |
Seven Lakes 1 |
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Westfield |
Clear Lake |
| Jones |
College Park 1 |
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Jones 2 |
Seven Lakes 2 |
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Kingwood |
Northshore |
| Madison |
Atascocita |
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Memorial |
Chavez |
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HCYA 1 |
Milby |
| Seven Lakes 1 |
Cy Falls |
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North Forest |
HCYA 2 |
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Westfield |
St Thomas |
| Seven Lakes 2 |
College Park 2 |
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Washington |
Atascocita |
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Clear Lake |
Kingwood |
| Memorial |
College Park 1 |
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Jones 3 |
HCYA 2 |
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Northshore |
St Thomas |
| Washington |
Cy Falls |
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Jones 1 |
Madison |
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Northshore |
Clear Lake |
| HCYA 2 |
Chavez |
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Jones 3 |
North Forest |
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HYCA 1 |
St Thomas |
| Madison |
Washington |
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Jones 2 |
Cy Falls |
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Wednesday, October 7
REVIEW: SUPER 16 EXTRAVAGANZA "FALL HS CHAMPIONSHIPS"
By: Jim Hicks (RCS Sports)
The Super 16 Extravaganza was once again a success! This event annually rounds up Greater Houston’s projected top varsity teams to compete in a grueling tournament with plenty of exposure and bragging rights at stake. Representatives from Nike Elite Youth Basketball division (Jeff Rogers and Ron Briscoe), ESPN (Reggie Rankin), and Boost Mobile (Maurice Elrod) were present from beginning to end of the event. According to my understanding, if indeed our local talent wasn’t meeting expectations, then all of those guys would have left the premises long before sundown. I was impressed with a number of teams and players.
Near the end of the event, Strake Jesuit, Klein Forest, Sam Houston, and Fort Bend Baptist played a single showcase game in an effort to introduce their team to our out of town guests. Sure enough, they got seen, and the cream rose to the top. Strake’s Elliot Franshaw continued to improve and impress while underclassmen core of Rasheed Sulaimon, Andrew and Aaron Harrison were superb in their crushing of Klein Forest. Meanwhile, Top 100 junior Anthony Norris sacrificed shot attempts for assists and had a very balanced game in the win for Sam Houston.
For the second straight year, the Super 16 champion was not crowned on the court, instead by means of forfeiture. Private school powerhouse, Humble Christian Life became the first non public school to not only advance into the final round, but to win this prestigious fall event, and man did they look awesome while doing so. It took Christian Life only four wins, and next thing you know, they found themselves in the championship game. On the same side of the bracket, Westbury Christian swept Kingwood and Dickinson in pool play, and proceeded to beat Lutheran North (48-17) and Elsik (37-29) in bracket play. In the latter win, the players were fatigued and were held to only one basket during the final 5:00. This convinced the coaching staff that the TAPPS defending state champs couldn’t go any further without increasing the chance of injuring a key component, especially against a deep Christian Life squad. On the other side of the bracket, Bellaire steam rolled past Wheatley and Lutheran North before receiving a bye into the quarters. Then, in an effort to preserve his starting five, they were not inserted against Dickinson. Bellaire’s backend of the bench was no match for the fearless Dickinson Gators (led by 16pts in 1st half, and held off a late rally to win, 54-47). A semi final rematch against Kingwood would yield the same results. Kingwood was more precise with executing on both ends of the floor, and picked up an impressive win to advance into their first ever Super 16 title game. However, in a very cordial and respectful manner, Kingwood coaches spoke with Christian Life staff and the forfeit was accepted.
That decision has already prompted a huge change in next year’s event. By popular demand, we will abandon the single day format in favor of a two day finish which will conclude on Sunday mid day. See ya next year!
ALL SUPER 16 TEAM! (Minimum 3 games played)
1. Leslee Smith 6’7 pf (Humble Christian Life 2010)
2. Deviedas Pukis 6’4 wg (Humble Christian Life 2011)
3. Tevin Svihovec 6’0 cg (Kingwood 2010)
4. Anthony Collins 5’11 pg (Westbury Christian 2011)
5. Dedrick Archie 6’1 cg (Dickinson 2011)
6. Amos Olatayo 6’4 w (Alief Elsik 2010)
7. Jordan Clark 6’4 wg (Bush 2010)
8. JuJu Stokes 6’5 f (Wheatley 2010)
9. Mykail McClain 6’6 wf (Second Baptist 2010)
10. Randy Collins 6’5 pf (LaPorte 2010)
11. Jon Caleb Sanders 6’0 cg (HCYA 2010)
12. Jaylon Jones 6’4 f (Seven Lakes 2012)
13. Christian Sanders 6’3 cg (St Thomas 2012)
14. DeMarcus Johnson 6’5 f (Jones 2011)
15. Darius Graves 6’1 g (DeKaney 2010)
16. Jacoby Harrison 6’6 pf (Northshore 2011)
THESE GUYS LIVED UP TO THE HYPE! (minimum 3 games played)
1. L J Rose 6’2 pg (Second Baptist 2012)
2. Nick Sheppard 6’9 c (Westbury Christian 2010)
3. Drew Parker 6’2 pg (LaPorte 2010)
4. Darius Richardson 6’4 sg (Bush 2010)
5. Trey Pickney 5’9 pg (Seven Lakes 2012)
BOOST MOBILE’s TOP 5 STOCK BOOSTers! (minimum 3 games played)
1. Lante Phillips 5’11 sg (Westbury Christian 2010)
2. Cameron Ridley 6’10 c (Bush 2012)
3. Josh Cleveland 6’5 pf (Elsik 2010)
4. PJ Hardwick 5’9 pg (Humble Christian Life 2012)
5. Danrad Knowles 6’10 c (Lutheran North 2012)
RESULTS: BRACKET PLAY
* Christian Life was declared the champion after Westbury Christian (semis) and Kingwood (finals) were too banged up to continue*
SEMI: KINGWOOD 41 DICKINSON 35
K: Tevin Svihovec 12, Kyle Schleigh 11
D: Mark Ivery 11
Note: Dickinson led 21-10 at the half. Tevin and Kyle combined for 21pts in 2H for Kingwood.
QRTR FINAL: WESTBURY CHRISTIAN 37 ALIEF ELSIK 29
W: Lante Phillips 11
E: Amos Olatayo 10
CHRISTIAN LIFE 48 WHEATLEY 30
C: Leslee Smith 17
W: George Jackson 11
QRTR FINAL: KINGWOOD 45 BUSH 41
K: Tevin Svihovec 18, Tim Roach 10
B: Darius Richardson 11, Jordan Clark 10
QRTR FINAL: DICKINSON 54 BELLAIRE 47
D: Joshua Rosales 13, Dennis Henderson 10, Kenny Harris 9
B: Jeremy Hines 17, Malcolm Glover 14
Note: Bellaire entire starting five DNP-CD
CHRISTIAN LIFE 49 LAPORTE 44
C: Leslee Smith 19, Isiah Jones 13, Jason Carter 8
L: Randy Collins 16, Cedric Jones 10, Drew Parker 8
WESTBURY CHRISTIAN 48 LUTHERAN NORTH 17
W: Anthony Brancato 13, Lante Phillips 9, Justin Foreman 8
L: Wannah Bail 5, Kendall Deveaux 5
Note: Lutheran North pg Michael Carey was held scoreless in the loss.
ALIEF ELSIK 33 SEVEN LAKES 30
AE: Amos Olatayo 13
S: Jaylon Jones 12, Princeton Onwas 11
KINGWOOD 56 JONES 36
K: Tevin Svihovec 11, Kenny Graves 11
J: Rodrick Harris 12, Joe Miles 11, DeMarcus Johnson 10
WHEATLEY 41 DEKANEY 39
W: JuJu Stokes 17, Kenneth Payne 9, George Jackson 8
D: Jalen Hughes 12, Reggie Butler 11, Darius Graves 9
SECOND BAPTIST 42 NORTHSHORE 38
S: Mikhael McCain 15, Henry Riasco 14
N: Jacoby Harrison 16, D’vonte Davis 13
Note: SB won the game, but did not advance. They had previously notified, would be leaving to attend homecoming. LJ Rose had 6pts for SB
BUSH 46 ST THOMAS 40
B: Camron Ridley 10
S: Christian Sanders 22
SEVEN LAKES 36 HCYA 32
S: Trey Pickney 8
H: Nathan Rooney 11, Jon Caleb Sanders 8
Note: Stephen Baird was limited to 4pts in the loss
RESULTS: POOL PLAY
POOL A
BELLAIRE 50 WHEATLEY 34
B: Kene Anyigbo 13, Sheldon McClendon 11, Tobi Oyedeji 11, Sebastian Douglass 8
W: JuJu Stokes 9, Kedron Ginn 8, George Jackson 8
Note: Point guard Shaquille Burrell was held scoreless in the loss.
BELLAIRE 41 LUTHERAN NORTH 21
B: Sebastian Douglass 11, Sheldon McClellan 10
L: Nevin Johnson 13
Note: Wannah Bail and Michael Carey combined 4pts in the loss
WHEATLEY 37 LUTHERAN NORTH 30
W: Shaquille Burrell 11, Kenneth Payne 8
LN: Danrad “Chicken” Knowles 11, Michael Carey 9
Note: Highly regarded Wannah Bail was held to 6pts in the loss.
POOL B
ALIEF ELSIK 38 ST THOMAS 30
AE: Josh Cleveland 12
ST: Ian Hurley 7
Note: St Thomas heralded pg Christian Sanders and c Aaron Durley was limited to 2pts each.
ALIEF ELSIK 49 CLEAR SPRINGS 41
AE: Amos Olatayo 19, Josh Cleveland 10
C: Ryan Garcia 9
CLEAR SPRINGS 37 ST THOMAS 30
C: Anthony Horton 13, Teris Bourgeois 10
S: Christian Sanders 12, Ian Hurley 8
Note: Carl Culberson was held scoreless in the loss.
POOL C
WESTBURY CHRISTIAN 38 KINGWOOD 30
W: Lante Phillips 11, Nick Sheppard 8
K: Tevin Svihovec 10
WESTBURY CHRISTIAN 41 DICKINSON 39
W: Anthony Brancato 12, Nick Sheppard 8
D: Dedrick Archie 11, Ivery Mark 9
KINGWOOD 47 DICKINSON 34
K: Logan Lowery 11, Tevin Svihovec 10, Kyle Schleigh 10
D: Dedrick Archie 10, Mark Ivery 8
Note: Kingwood trailed at the half 22-20. Svihovec scored all 10pts in second half.
POOL D
BUSH 42 NORTHSHORE 41 (3OTs)
B: Jordan Clark 16, Demarcus Gatlin 15
N: Jacoby Harrison 10
Note: Darius Richardson (2pts) was limited to a pair of free throws, yet got the win.
BUSH 59 DEKANEY 47
B: Camron Ridley 15, Jordan Clark 9, Demarcus Gatlin 8
D: Darius Graves 19, Randy Lewis 13
DEKANEY 39 NORTHSHORE 30
D: Darius Graves 10, Gerad Villareal 8
N: Jacoby Harrison 10, Taylor Brimmer 9
POOL E
HCYA 49 LAPORTE 44
H: Jon Caleb Sanders 13, J Michael Porter 9
L: Randy Collins 14, Drew Parker 13
LAPORTE 48 JONES 47
L: Drew Parker 15, Randy Collins 12, Cedric Jones 8
J: Joe Miles 11
JONES 65 HCYA 48
J: Broderick Harris 10, DeMarcus Johnson 10
H: Justin Jackson 17, Jon Caleb Sanders 11, Nathan Rooney 8
POOL F
CHRISTIAN LIFE 45 SEVEN LAKES 37
C: Isaiah Jones 11, Deviedas Pukis 10
S: Peter Erni 9
CHRISTIAN LIFE 51 SECOND BAPTIST 33
C: Deviedas Pukis 15, Leslee Smith 11, Chris Coleman 8
S: Mikhael McClain 11
Note: McClain picked up 4 fouls in 1st half.
SECOND BAPTIST 33 SEVEN LAKES 25
SB: LJ Rose 12, Mikhael McClain 9, Kyle Voegele 8
SL: Jaylon Jones 12
Note: Seven Lakes soph pg Trey Pickney (2pts) was limited without a field goal.
SPECIAL BONUS GAMES:
SAM HOUSTON 45 FORT BEND BAPTIST 34
S: Anthony Norris 10, Denzell Booker 10, Dante Bachus 8
F: AJ Carron 12, Jarrod Woods 12
Note: FBB was 0/5ft in first half.
STRAKE JESUIT 46 KLEIN FOREST 30
S: Elliot Franshaw 11, Andrew Harrison 11, Aaron Harrison 10,
KF: Derail Green 12
| POOL |
COURT 1 |
POOL |
COURT 2 |
POOL |
COURT 3 |
| D |
DeKaney 39 Northshore 30 |
F |
Second Bapt 33 Seven Lakes 25 |
E |
Jones 65 HCYA 48 |
| C |
Wbury Chr 38 Kingwood 31 |
A |
Wheatley 37 Lutheran North 30 |
B |
Clear Springs 37 St Thomas 30 |
| F |
Chr Life 52 Second Bapt 33 |
E |
LaPorte 48 Jones 47 |
D |
Bush 42 Northshore 41 (3OT) |
| A |
Bellaire 48 Wheatley 34 |
B |
Elsik 38 St Thomas 20 |
C |
Wbury Chr 41 Dicksinson 39 (OT) |
| D |
Bush 59 DeKaney 47 |
E |
HCYA 49 LaPorte 44 |
F |
Christian Life 45 Seven Lakes 37 |
| B |
Elsik 49 Clear Springs 43 |
B |
Kingwood 47 Dickinson 34 |
A |
Bellaire 41 Lutheran North 21 |
| Brkt 3 |
Chr Life 49 LaPorte 44 |
Brkt 2 |
Second Bapt 42 Northshore 38 |
Brkt 1 |
Seven Lakes 35 HCYA 32 |
| Brkt 4 |
Wheatley 41 DeKaney 39 |
Brkt 5 |
Kingwood 55 Jones 36 |
Brkt 6 |
Bush 46 St Thomas 40 |
| Brkt 7 |
Bellaire FF Second Bapt |
Brkt 8 |
Elsik 33 Seven Lakes 30 |
Brkt 9 |
Westbury Chr 48 Lutheran North 17 |
| Brkt 10 |
Dickinson FF Clear Springs |
Brkt11 |
Christian Life 48 Wheatley 30 |
Brkt12 |
Kingwood 39 Bush 34 |
| Brkt13 |
Dickinson 56 Bellaire 47 |
Brkt14 |
Westbury Chr 37 Elsik 29 |
5:10 |
Sam Houston 45 Ft Bend Baptist 34 |
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SEMI
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Kingwood 42 Dickinson 35 |
SEMI
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Christian Life FF Westbury Chr |
6:15
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Strake Jesuit 46 Klein Forest 30 |
| FINAL |
Christian Life FF Kingwood |
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Monday, October 5
RCS SPORTS' "PCW" WAS IMPRESSIVE AND INFORMATIVE!
By: Jim Hicks (RCS Sports)
The 8th annual FREE Parent & Coaches Workshop was once again a very productive success. Parents, relatives, and coaches were treated to pages of note taking information to help throughout the vigorous recruiting process. This is the only FREE workshop of its kind in the entire United States. Several speakers took stage throughout the afternoon and there were absolutely no disappointments from those in attendance.
In addition to Reggie Rankin (ESPN, Scouts Inc) college coaches from five universities abroad flew into Houston and spoke candidly about different recruiting topics. Rankin opened the session by defining his job duties and broke down the evaluation process. Within minutes, the answer seeking audience began asking a slew of questions. In impressive fashion, Rankin was right on top of his game while keeping things straight up honest. One parent asked, "What about those folk who solicit us parents to provide exposure for our kids?". One again, Rankin kept it real, "I hope non of them are present, but Ii wouldn't give them type of folk a single dime of my money. If you have to gather up all the info, make DVD's, send emails, then you can save money by sending that to the colleges yourself. No one knows your son better than you".
Texas Southern University head coach Tony Harvey delivered a great passage regarding campus and home visits. He also distinguished the differences between contact, evaluation, and dead periods. The dapper dressed Harvey also addressed past instances where mistakes or mistunderstandings could arise from miseducations. He encouraged the parents to ask questions of both the recruiters and their kids. "Let him initiate (college interest) to show you home much he really wants it."
With today's ever changing technogy advanced society. Coaches and recruits are provided countless innovative avenues to communicate, directly and indirectly. Popular sites like twitter, facebook, myspace, etc are frequented by both sides alike. The Citadel head coach Ed Conroy advised everyone to monitor what their kids are posting. "We do our homework. I use emails very much. We visit facebook sites and I can't tell you how many kids we've eliminated (from recruiting list) right there."
Utah head coach Jim Boylen had an unforseen scheduling conflict and his associate head coach Jeff Smith flew in to provide plenty of insight on what is annually the toughest and most important topic, Academics. "Smitty" distributed NCAA acadmic booklets / handouts to the audience. He made it easy to understand the sliding scale, Clearinghouse, as well as college entrance exams and the infamous topic of Learning Disabilities. Note taking was at a premium during this topic. The state of art 12 foot screen displayed the very info from the booklets, which made it easy for everyone to follow along as he recapped and broke down the info.
One of the main things that is asked of the speakers is to cut no corners and tell it like it is with the audience. Far too long have everyone been fed ear candy regarding their kids and recruitment. Liberty head coach Dale Layer caught everyone's attention from the beginning when he opted to use a microphone. Instead, he was able to get his message of "Finding the right college" across the old fashion way... loud and clear. "Every parent wants me to understand their kid's the best. He can shoot, pass, handle the rock, etcetera. But when he misses or have a bad game, it's somebody elses fault", drew laughter throughout the auditorium. Layer also pleaded with the parents to try to do more homework in effort to learn how good some of these rosters are on the non BCS conference programs. "If your son is a 6'3" power forward and you think he can play (that position) at Utah, ask yourself, Is he good as or better than (NBA #1 draft pick) Andrew Bogut"? The building was totally silent when Layer answered a very important question regarding who they can really trust. "If you're lucky, there may be three people outside of your immediate family that won't have an agenda (to some degree) in regards to helping your kid's recruitment".
Texas Tech head coach Pat Knight provided a collection of afterthoughts from some of the previous topics. He explained the process of how college coaches comprise their recruiting targets, and how / where they assemble their information. Knight also advised parents to learn as much as they can about recruitment. "There are scumbags on all sides of the fence. Just like there may be bad summer coaches, there are also some bad high school and college coaches. Do your homework".
So what happens if your son or daughter doesn't get that divison one offer as expected. This year, we decided to implement something new to the PCW - a testimony from a parent who once sat in the audience and took inches of notes, and implemented his learnings into action which eventually resulted into his son fulfilling his dream of playing college ball. Larry Shepard currently operates the Basketball Connection (www.TheBBConnection.com) which provides very self helping material geared directly towards parents of college hopeful student athletes. A few dozen parents hung around to see if they won any of the door prizes (including a $50 gift certificate to Academy Sports & Outdoors) which were granted to three lucky ticket holders.
Thanks to all who allotted time from their schedule to attend. Plus, a very special thanks is extended to the principal and basketball program of DeKaney HS for opening their arms to hold this very important event.
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