The first (of many to come??) Lucas Holiday Xplosion wrapped up on Tuesday at the M.O. Campbell Center and there were some interesting sights on and off the court.
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For the second consecutive game, Atascocita was able to hang tough with a national opponent, Mt. Zion Academy, but came up just a little short, losing 53-50. Mt. Zion rebounded from their Monday loss to Christian Life to head back to Durham 1-1 for their two-day efforts.
Atascocita lost both their games (by a combined total of 8 points), which drops their season record to 6-12 as they now prepare for the District 19-5A schedule.
Like the Eagles, Strake Jesuit came up short for the second consecutive night. The Norcross Blue Devils used an 11-0 run late in the second quarter and an 11-2 run to end the third quarter to create a large enough cushion that propelled them to a 61-46 win over the Crusaders.
Rasheed Sulaimon again led Strake with 19 points, but the Crusaders couldn’t shut down the duo of Jeremy Lamb (G, 6’2” senior, 26 points) and Marty Johnson (G, 6’1” senior, 12 points).
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After watching the Crusaders for the second day in a row, my impression is that the difference between this year’s squad and last year’s state semifinalist is basically in the way the teams finish off their dribble penetration moves on offense.
Last year, with Joey Brooks and Tim Frazier able to slash and finish off drives to the bucket, the Crusaders were unstoppable; this year—or least over the last two days—Strake had trouble finishing off those drives. The opportunities to cut to the basket on the dribble were still there. The Crusaders just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.
Plus, with the ability to collapse the opponent’s defense on those types of drives, they had reliable outside shooters in Stevie Rogers and Frazier to kick the ball out to for wide open looks, many from outside the arc. I didn’t see that with this year’s team.
As I mentioned in Monday’s post, Coach Jones has an inexperienced crew on his hands. But Jones and his staff are good basketball technicians. That generally means that, as the experience comes, the team will respond to the good coaching and by the end of the season will look much different than the team that started in November.
Right now, going into the District 18-5A season, Strake is at 7-9. They will have a tough time in district against the Alief teams (Elsik almost beat Bellaire for the HISD tournament title), and Memorial and Stratford will be tough too, but don’t be shocked if the Crusaders wind up with a playoff berth in mid-February.
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By good fortune, I had the opportunity to meet Jamaal Greene, an assistant hoops coach at Midland College, during the tournament. The Chaparrals happened to be the top-ranked JuCo team in America right now and they just completed a successful tournament in Las Vegas before Christmas. With his team on the traditional JuCo holiday break, Greene was in town to see some of the individual talent on display the local holiday tournaments.
He mentioned the name of Jonathan Simmons from Smiley High School (who I believe played in the final edition of the Houston vs. The Nation tournament a couple of years ago, if memory serves me correctly). After graduating from Smiley, Simmons went to Paris Junior College in northeast Texas, but has since transferred to Midland. And, according to Greene, he is getting some NCAA D-1 looks from multiple schools.
(I would’ve put in a pitch for Andre Hollins, the impressive-looking junior from White Station, TN, but I doubt the schools closer to his home would let him get anywhere near Midland.)
Greene and I got to talk a little hoops sitting courtside during the evening and he was great to visit with. He and I seemed to have some similar opinions about some of the individual talent on the floor, as well as the way some of the in-game situations were managed. So, our discussion prompted me to try to learn a little more about the Midland College program. There’s some very interesting history associated with the program.
For Houston-area fans, I’d call Midland College the San Jac of west Texas. Through the years, there have been many NCAA players who played there first, as well as a handful of NBA players. Spud Webb and Mookie Blaylock both played at Midland. So did Harold ‘The Show’ Arceneaux (one of the all-time great names in hoops history). The Chaps are two-time NJCAA national champions (1982, 2007).
But, maybe the most interesting bit of trivia he told me involved their home court. Midland College plays in the 5,500-seat Al Langford Chaparral Center. As their website states, it is arguably the nicest JuCo arena in the nation. And the rest of their athletic facilities appear to be first-rate too. That has to make Midland an attractive destination for aspiring players. (That, and getting to go to Vegas!)
Now, all they need is for Legacy Sports Network to open a West Texas bureau and start broadcasting their games...and I'll volunteer for any Vegas trip...
By the way, according to Greene, the Chaps start 2010 right here in the Houston area, playing a pair of games over the weekend at San Jacinto College (which is definitely NOT a 5,500-seat facility). On Saturday, January 2, they play the Lone Star-Cy Fair Ducks and on January 3, they take on Lone Star-Tomball. It might be a good opportunity for folks in the area to see some good JuCo hoops.
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Prestonwood Christian, maybe the top TAPPS team in the state, got a dose of the top 5A team in the state—Bellaire—in the third game of the night. PCA got off to a good early start and was able to play toe-to-toe with the Cardinals for about a half. But Bellaire’s running game wore down the Lions in the second half and the Cardinals picked up their second win in as many days with a 49-35 victory.
Sebastian Douglas, Sheldon McClellan and Toby Oyedeji all scored in double-figures for Bruce Glover’s squad that moves its season record to 18-1.
The noticeable difference from Monday for Prestonwood was that Bellaire managed to shut down Jason Pospichal. Pospichal, who scored 17 points against Strake with five three-pointers, was held to seven points on Tuesday. He scored four of the Lions’ first six points and then was held scoreless until he hit his only three with 4:35 to go in the fourth quarter.
Still, there should be no doubt that Prestonwood should be considered the team to beat in the TAPPS classification this year. With a young, and large, presence in the low blocks, this team will only improve as the season wears on.
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White Station and Christian Life Academy (or is it Christian Life Center Academy?) finished up the evening, and the Xplosion ended with a bang. On the strength of a 16-2 run in the final three minutes of the game, White Station came from behind to defeat Christian Life, 87-86. The previously-mentioned Andre Hollins sunk a free throw with 1.2 seconds on the clock to deliver the victory over a shocked Cougar squad.
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Thanks to their entertaining comeback, the Spartans also earned their fans who came to Houston my unofficial title as Best Team Supporters at the two-day event. While none of the schools had a large contingency of followers, including all four Houston-area teams, the White Station boosters were without question the easiest to find during their team’s games.
To say they were vocal would be an understatement. To say they loved the Houston-area referees who officiated their games would be a lie. But to say that they were extremely pleased with the come-from-behind win would be completely true. I know, because I heard it with my own ears.
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I hope this event will become a successful holiday showcase, but crowds were sparse again on Tuesday and I believe it is probably because a lot of people in the Houston area just didn’t know about it. The promoters of LHX 2010 will need to ramp up the advance buzz to get some folks out to watch some quality hoops. Fortunately, looking at my calendar for next year, I’m available to help if they need it!
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