2016 McDonald's Texas Invitational

          The annual McDonald’s Texas Invitational was held in the south Houston area at several high schools over the weekend of November 17-19, 2016. 32 girls teams were divided into two divisions. The weekend also marks as a large boys tournament to kick of their season as well. The tournament uses the phrase “The Road to State Starts Here” and that is hard to argue considering past results.
 
            There was no shortage of talent in any class on the rosters of the headlining teams. Several of the heavy hitters in the 2017 class represented their schools well:
 
Chassity Patterson (North Shore) – 41 point game in pool play; Followed that up by scoring 49 and breaking the single game scoring record for the tournament. Texas signee
 
DiDi Richards (Cy-Ranch) – Versatile all around game. Very good in the post, mid-post, and from the elbow; disruptive on D in traps. Baylor signee
 
Tasharian Robinson (Clear Springs) – J is looking better. Plays hard and is a great athlete. UTSA signee
 
Sierra Cheatham (Clear Springs) – “Swiss Army Knife” for her team. Uses her physical tools to impact the game greatly. Tulane signee
 
The focus will be on the younger players and the unsigned seniors mostly, but that group in particular obviously really stood out.
 
UNSIGNED SENIORS:
 
Kamille Cooper (SA Brennan) – Great frame and nice rise on her J. Good power forward.
 
Amber Dixon (Mansfield Summit) – Great size and strength at the guard spot. She is a leader and a competitor as a PG.
 
KC Nwadie (Seven Lakes) – Eats the boards and is an athlete!
 
Annalise Brisco (Clear Falls) – Great strong frame and is an active athlete.
 
Ravae Payne (Pearland) – PG who has a nice feel and leads a good Pearland team.
 
 
OUTSTANDING PROSPECTS:
 
Charli Collier – Keeps the game simple, efficient, and fundamental in the post. Game is NICE!! (Barber’s Hill 2018)
 
Cate Reese – Major motor - still has a high ceiling to refine her game. An absolute competitor at the forward spot. (Cy-Woods 2018)
 
DeYona Gaston – Going to be MAJOR. Tools, skills, size, mobility. No glaring weaknesses in the foundation of her game. (Pearland 2020)
 
Joanne Allen-Taylor – She can flat out SCORE THE BALL. She always has that “next gear”. (Cy-Falls 2018)
 
Zay Green – I am a HUGE fan of her game. Doesn’t just rely on outstanding athleticism to make an impact; Very good basketball player. She was named tournament MVP. (Duncanville 2018)
 
Tommisha Lampkin – Major potential here. Solid forward skills and gets better every time I see her. (Mansfield Summit 2020)
 
 
NOTICEABLES INCLUDED:
 
2020
Priscilla Williams (Seven Lakes)
Alani Fluker (SA Brennan)
 
2019
Kayla Konarik (Barber’s Hill)
McKenzie Green (Manvel)
Taryn Wills (Cedar Ridge)
 
2018
Jayla Buster (Cy Ranch)
D’Asia Collins (Cy Ranch)
Aniya Thomas (Duncanville)
Brooke Bigott (Seven Lakes)
Jada Lake (Seven Lakes)
Marylin Nzoiwu (Cedar Ridge)
Starr Jacobs (Duncanville)
Dymond Gladney (Clear Springs)
 
 
GOLD BRACKET RESULTS:
 
Clear Springs defeated Summit and Duncanville defeated Cy-Ranch in their respective semi-finals to set up the highly awaited final matchup of the two teams from Texas that started in the USA TODAY top 25.
 
Duncanville won the tournament with a 61-48 victory over Clear Springs.
 
DUNCANVILLE – USA TODAY has them #17 to start the year (A little low in my opinion). Duncanville is a machine – they put so much pressure on you defensively and it is worth major dividends on the scoreboard. It wears teams down and they go on 10+ - 0 runs and before their opponent knows it, they are down 20. The buy in from the players on such a deep team never ceases to amaze me as well as the enthusiasm of the bench. Cathy Self-Morgan is a Hall Of Famer.
 
BARBER’S HILL – They do a great job of knowing where the foundation of their team is in Charli Collier. I have seen too many times a high school squad that does not know how or refuses to use a quality post player. They move the ball well, and truly play inside-out. The perimeter players are playing very good defense and know they have an anchor inside. Coach Greg Poole’s squad will have a good year.  
 
CLEAR SPRINGS – USA TODAY had them in the preseason Top 25 at #15. This is an experienced team that really causes trouble in their half court trapping zone. They play hard and have some nice pieces. The Houston region will be interesting this year with several candidates to come out on top. Clear Springs should be in that mix for sure as coach Pam Crawford has been there before.
 
PEARLAND – They had a tough draw for pool play, but this team competes in every game. Coach Lauren Martens gets a lot out of her players and has one of the best freshman in the country in DeYona Gaston, whom she described as very coachable and having the mentality of improvement and hard work.
 
MANSFIELD SUMMIT – This is a very well coached team by Dawn Mailloux-Smith. Senior Christina Baker was a critical part of why they beat Barber’s Hill in pool play. Coach Mailloux-Smith credited her physical play and complete game focus in having the assignment of guarding Charli Collier. Amber Dixon is a D1 PG who will sign late that is a major difference maker.
 
CEDAR RIDGE – Kevin Lewis has his squad running smoothly. They have athletes in every position and they run some really good stuff. They see a lot of different looks and they are prepared for each. Austin Bowie’s Vicki Benson gave me the head’s up on this squad being the early favorite in the Austin area and she sure seems right.
 
SEVEN LAKES – They have some really good pieces. I was really impressed with how unselfish this team plays. They all pass the ball well, which is rare. They are well lead by experienced coach Angela Spurlock and have a nice combo of athleticism and skill at each spot. They won the SILVER bracket by beating North Shore by 10.

This is an amazingly organized tournament and the staff is so accomodating and helpful. The hospitality room was run like a small restaurant. The Deer Park Chamber of Commerce does a wonderful job.