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.
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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.
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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.
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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 |
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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