Pflugerville vs Bowie

With several choices available I just could not keep away from this match up but maybe I should have.  This game had as many story lines as your best daily soap.  Bowie with two Division 1 prospects in the line up and a 20 year well respected coaching veteran. Pflugerville several players with dreams of playing at the college level and a coach in his first year at the varsity level. On paper there was no question who had the leg up on who. But that's why they play the game baby and it started with a bang. The panthers were not threatened by Bowie's D1 prospects and came out to show that they were a team to be recon with.  

At the end of the first quarter Pflugerville lead 17 to 8 and had proven that they were there to win and that Christmas was coming early for them. The panthers defense against Bowie's Paul Baxter was intense forcing Baxter to his left side and doubling him every chance they had in an attempt to get the ball out of his hands. They were not going to allow Baxter to beat them on this night and the strategy was successful. 

In the second quarter the Bulldogs were able to make a run out scoring the panthers 24 to 15 and tying up the game just before the break 32 to 32. What was most apparent to me on this night was Bowie's lack of effort on the defensive end allowing the panthers to score in double figures in both the first and second quarter.  Additionally, the panthers were out rebounding the bulldogs even though Bowie had the taller player on the court with 6'6" Isom who towered over most of the panthers line up. 

In the second half it was much of the same Bowie allowing the panthers guards to penetrate uncontested and scoring when the chance presented itself or passing the ball to the open man who scored from under the basket.  The panthers continued to pressure Baxter throughout the game and forcing him to put the ball in the hands of his teammates who were just not looking to score.  Isom the only other scoring threat on the bulldogs roster just could not get the defense off of him long enough to find the ball and when he did he was pressured and forced to give the ball up.

In the end the panthers team was just to much, while Baxter was able to put up more than half of the bulldogs points scoring 28.  The rest of the team just did not contribute enough to help the bulldogs pull out a win on this night.  Since this conference puts 4 teams into the playoffs the bulldogs may still get through as a third or fourth seed.  But if they want to contend for the district championship they will need to do two things rebound and commit to playing defense.  Allowing eight opposing players to put up scoring numbers and three of them scoring in double figures tells it all.  There are very few stat lines for good defensive play but as a recruiter or a college coach all you need to look at are the opposing teams stats to tell you what the loosing team did defensively. On this night the bulldogs did't do enough, they were outscored, out hustled and out rebounded on both ends of the court.  

Pflugerville 68, Bowie 50

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Bowie	8	24	8	10	—	50
Pflugerville	17	15	12	24	—	68

BHS: Huerta 5, Baxter 28, Isom 9, Mayes 2, Smith 2, Walton 4
PHS: Brooks 13, Onyeje 16, Williams 8, Bostic 10, Bierbower 7, Henderson 8, Moss 4, Ochsner 2
Records: P: 10-6, B: 11-4.

Hays High School Rebel Classic

I spent this week attending the Hays High School's Varsity Boys and Girls Rebel Classic and I have to say it was a great week.  The tournament was well organized and had an exciting group of teams participating in the event.  

In the Boys division schools like St. Michael's Academy which will be a strong contender in the TAPPS 5A division. From the UIL 4A division there was the host Hays, Crockett, Lanier, Hutto, Del Valle, Dripping Springs, and Vista Ridge.  The big schools present from the 5A division were McNeil, Leander, San Marcos, Harker Heights, and Steele High School all teams that will be contenders in their individual districts and you may be looking at a State Champion in this list of teams.  

In the Girls division small schools present were 2A Poth and Leon, 3A Lovejoy, Wimberley and Palestine High School. 4A Lehman, Hendrickson, Vista Ridge, and host Hays High School and from the big school category were 5A SA Churchill, New Braunfels, Steele, SA Madison, San Marcos, and the Highlands High Schools. 

With such a diverse group of schools participating in this tournament it made for some great competition and some surprising upsets.  I look forward to this tournament again next season and would recommend it to any coach looking to get out of their district and play some strong competition.

Great job Rebels and good luck this season.       

Hays vs St. Michael's (Hays Tournament)

As a fan of St. Michael's athletics its difficult to watch a team with so many offensive threats just not get down and dirty and play defense.  On several occasions there were players that just laid back after a missed shot and in no hurry to get back to defend. The only area on a basketball court that doesn't requires much skill but a lot of heart is defense and I just didn't see much of that from the Crusaders.  


In stead what I saw were players taking their time down court, standing straight up and letting the offensive players drive past them and get to the basket. Even after the coach pointed the mistake out they continued to play weak on the defensive end.  On the offensive end however, they were as different as day and night.  Once they got the ball in their hands they were a different player, driving the lane putting up shots and in one instance one shot almost from half court that didn't go end.  If there was as much effort on the defensive end as on offense this would be a different team, one that would be hard to recon with.  Crusader's remember offense wins games but defense wins championships and you will need to get that area taken care of before conference play if you want to contend in the TAPPS division. 


As for the Hays Rebels, they were a very different team than I am used to seeing. They have some height that they have been lacking in the past few years and a group of scoring guards that will posse a threat against many of their opponents this season. With Cagle (14), Kimbro (13), and Johnson (10) all scoring in double figures and seven other players adding some scoring of their own this was a great team win. The rebels moved the ball around well and were able to find open looks from all areas of the court.  They did a great job on the defensive end shutting down long range shooter Jack Kiser after he was able to put up three 3 pointers after coming in off the bench. After that the defense did a great job of getting out on Kiser and keeping him off the line forcing him to take longer shots most of which fell short.


In the end it was a good win for the Rebels pulling off a 30 point win after holding the Crusaders to only 6 points in the second and 7 points in the third.     


Hays 71, St. Michael's 41

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
St. Michael's	18	6	7	10	—	41
Hays	14	14	19	24	—	71

SM: Garza 2, Ginet 3, Reech 3, Carlton 4, Guerrero 8, Blauke 5, Vandrak 3, Alvarez 3, Kiser 10
HHS: Williams 8, McSpaddan 6, Johnson 10, Normand 6, Jass 4, Kimbro 13, Agnew 2, J. Rodriguez 4, Cagle 14, Miller 4.
Records: H: 7-4.