High School Basketball
Holiday tournament slate gives peek into postseason; plus rankings
Matt Malatesta
Nov 28, 2017, 5:59 am
Klein Forest is climbing the rankings. Vype
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday break, there were some premier high school hoops tourneys including the VYPE Tourney, the annual RCS Sports “Hoopsgiving” and Nelson Brand Sports held its annual Texas Jamboree.
THE HOOPSGIVING
Cy Falls vs San Antonio Wagner
A rematch of the 2017 state championship game. Cy Falls came out looking to prove once again that they are still the team that they were a year ago. The Golden Eagles pulled off an impressive 72-60 victory and there were moments in the game were they simply dominated.
…
Katy Tompkins vs Austin Westlake
Very few times are will there be so much talent on the floor in a single public high school game. Westlake featured Brock Cunningham (UT), Keonte Kennedy (Xavier), Matthew Mayer (Baylor) and Will Baker (2019 ESPN #15), which brought the Tompkins five-game win string to a haltering stop. Tompkins once again struggled to find a rhythm and ability to put the ball in the whole.
…
Concordia Lutheran vs Silsbee
This match was one of the most anticipated games of the day — your typical public/private school rivalry. Concordia (17-0) at the time, while Silsbee was yet to play their first game. The talented Lutheran squad made big shot after big shot, but the defending 5A state champs weren’t going away as easily as some had predicted. In the end, the Crusaders walked away with an 87-79 win.
…
TEXAS JAMBOREE
Morton Ranch vs Dallas Lancaster
A match between a couple of tough 2020 guards LJ Cryer from Morton Ranch and Mike Myles of Lancaster. Lancaster pulled out a 72-60 win because of a strong defensive game plan for Cryer. Big-man Eddie Lampkin played strong finishing with 13 pts and 9 rebs.
…
Episcopal vs Lamar
The Episcopal Knights pulled off a great win against a talented Lamer squad. DJ Edgar along with Adam Kanafani led the young and talented Knights against a well-seasoned Lamar team. Episcopal has started its season 5-1, while Lamar has suffered back-to-back losses.
…
Dekaney vs FB Bush
Bush had no answer for Dekaney’s Malcolm Epps, who has been playing at an extremely high level for the Wildcats. Epp’s production helped lead his team to a 53-47 victory. Dekaney is on a mission to prove that they are the area’s top team and will look to win the KISD Conoco Phillips Classic later this week.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON RANKINGS
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 27TH
Rank | Team (Record) | Comment |
| 1 | Cy Falls | Rolling Opponents Early On |
| 2 | Dekaney | Epps brings Toughness |
| 3 | Sam Houston | Davis Runs the Show |
| 4 | Eisenhower | Twin Power Activate |
| 5 | Yates | Still Power Program in HTown |
| 6 | Tompkins | Still Finding Rotation |
| 7 | Klein Forest | Short Bench; Fun Style of Play |
| 8 | Bush | Will Come Together |
| 9 | Clear Lake | Could be Surprise come Playoffs |
| 10 | Dickinson | Taking Lumps Early |
| 11 | Hightower | Could They be Kings of Fort Bend |
| 12 | Shadow Creek | Great Balance; Great Shooters |
| 13 | Lamar | Tough Preseason Sked |
| 14 | Ridge Point | Athletic and Playing Well |
| 15 | College Park | Played well in Illinois |
| 16 | Cy Creek | Eagles Could be Tough Down South |
| 17 | Morton Ranch | Young Guns Starting to Roll |
| 18 | Katy | Not Just a Football School |
| 19 | Cy Ranch | Solid Squad in CFISD |
| 20 | Travis | Looked Good at VYPE Tourney |
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When the Texans decided to part ways with OC Bobby Slowik last week, some were surprised DeMeco Ryans would pull the cord so quickly.
But others have been calling for Slowik's removal for most of the season with CJ Stroud and the offense showing significant regression, and Stroud getting repeatedly beat up behind an offensive line constantly baffled by stunts and twists.
To Stroud's credit, he took his fair share of blame for the struggles on offense this season, never throwing the coaches or scheme under the bus.
Which led many people to believe Stroud wanted Slowik to return. CJ even spoke about the challenges of learning a new system and how he didn't know how quarterbacks were able to pick up a new system every couple of years, hoping he wouldn't have to do that.
However, ESPN Houston's Lance Zierlein on Monday spoke about Stroud's relationship with Slowik and if it was really as tight as it appeared to be in press conferences.
Which makes sense on many levels. Stroud had to be losing faith in the offense based on results, and Coach Ryans did not give Slowik much of an endorsement when meeting with the press last week.
There have also been rumors that ownership was frustrated with the state of the offense, after giving Slowik and members of his staff a raise after a terrific 2023 season.
Who could blame them? The offense was the main reason Houston kept getting blown off the field in almost all of their primetime games. The cherry on top had to be the offense getting shutout on Christmas against the Ravens with all the world watching on Netflix.
While we believe Stroud had to give his blessing to move on from Slowik, at the end of the day the decision was DeMeco's. As a defensive coach, watching his offense fail to correct the same mistakes all season long had to drive him nuts.
Who will be the next OC?
KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reported some possible candidates which includeRams passing game coordinator/ tight ends coach Nick Caley, Ohio State OC Chip Kelly, Vikings QB coach Josh McCown, and the Texans current QB coach Jerrod Johnson. Houston also interviewed Syracuse OC Jeff Nixon on Monday.
Personally, I'd rather the team bring in a coordinator with experience. But we'll see which way DeMeco leans soon enough. Hopefully he already had someone in mind before letting Slowik go.
Be sure to watch the video above as we examine what ultimately got Slowik fired, the top OC candidates, and how players and coaches view the opportunities and challenges in Houston.
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