Since the tip off of the basketball season, the hardwood action has really heated up in both boys and girls.
BOYS HOOPS
Strake Jesuit may be holding strong atop the 5A rankings, but the real excitement has come out of boys 4A. With teams like Jones, Wheatley and Yates, all ranked amoungst the top teams in the state in the same districts and dukin' it out on a day to day basis, it really makes for some great basketball.
Yates was ranked No. 1 until they lost to Wheatley, who was No. 2, with that win; it gave Wheatley the boost they needed to take the top spot until the Wildcats lost to Jones, which shows that its anybodies race in 4A.
GURLZ HOOPS!
Girls basketball hasn't seen this kind of publicity in Houston since the Comets won their second title.
Brittney Griner, Kelsey Bone, Jessica Gonzales and Monique smalls come in all shapes and sizes but do one thing well and that's playing basketball.
These players are just four great examples of how the face of girls basketball has been changed.
Brittney Griner and Kelsey Bone are two players you don't wanna drive the lane against, with Griner standing 6'8 and Bone at 6'6 they are two of the most highly recruited females athletes in the nation.
Brittney Griner is the stand out player for Aldine Nimitz and the No. 1 recruited female in the world! But it's no surprise watching her play and hearing from her coaches, about how amazing she really is. She averages a double-double a game in points and blocks, and frequently makes it a triple-double, adding on rebounds. She can dunk, shoot, post up, box out, pass dribble and like her coach Debbie Jackson said, "There's no doubt in my mind she's going to change the face of the women's basketball game."
Kelsey Bone, or "Shaq" as her coach calls her, is the dominant force for the Dulles Vikings. Last year the Dulles boys team made it to the state finals, and this year Kelsey wants to make it happen for the Lady Vikes.
Bone, the big 6'5" center says she and her teammates have only one goal in mind this season. They've been to regionals before, but this year they want more.
Jessica Gonzales and Monique Smalls are. Well. SMALL compared to Bone and Griner in size, but huge in how they play for their teams.
Jessica Gonzales is a Maverick three point sharpshooter for Pasadena Memorial, makin' it rain from behind the arch. Gonzales is only 5'5, but she shoots the ball so quickly, even taller players can't reach it, and when it comes to shooting the ball, Jessica always has the "green light", leading the lady Mavericks in scoring. Gonzales averages almost 18 points a game, with most of those coming from long range.
Monique Smalls is a BIG time player for College Park, who started the season at No. 5 in the state. Smalls ranks 65th in the nation for girls basketball, and leads her district in steals and assists; averaging 12.3 points per game with seven assists per game and eight point three steals per game.
It just goes to show you that size isn't always a factor.
