By Steve Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
1. Football Still?: The calendar year might be approaching its end, but in Texas, state football playoffs are still going on. Katy head coach Gary Joseph is hoping for an early present, a 5A Division II state title. Pflugerville tries to play the role of spoiler. In the Division I final, EulessTrinity looks to hold off underdog Converse Judson. HAKA!
2. Sir Lance's Legion: Lincoln's Lance Stephenson dropped 30 points against Boys and Girls, but his teammates sealed the deal in a
double overtime victory against Boys & Girls. Stephenson fouled out toward the end of the first over time. He watched from the bench as his teammates, including Darwin Ellis and Vincent Council, made big plays down the stretch. It was the first meeting between the two teams since an ugly incident last March after a game at Madison Square Garden. A few technical fouls aside, everyone was on their best behavior this time around.
3. In the `Palm' of Their Hand: The St. Benedict's (N.J.) Gray Bees, fresh off a convincing victory over Oak Hill Academy, has feasted on the competition thus far at the City of Palms Classic in Florida. In their first game,
they smashed Bishop Verot, 87-32. In the team's second contest, Danny Hurley's squad blew out Kinston (N.C.), 72-44. The team continues its rigorous schedule with challenging games against Lincoln (N.Y.), St. Patrick (N.J.), and Montrose Christian (Mary.) later in the season.
4. Ronnie Legend: In his
national notebook this week, Dave Krider writes about the budding legend of Ronnie Daniels, a freshman at La Cueva (N.M.) who has been playing like a varsity veteran. He still has a way to go before he gets compared to another legendary high school basketball Ronnie - Ronnie Fields. Fields, a former teammate of Kevin Garnett, is one of the most famous high flyers in recent memory.
See for yourself.
5. Fab Frosh: College isn't the only place freshman are making a big splash across the country. Some ninth graders are having a big impact on varsity this season. In addition to the aforementioned Ronnie Daniels, several other freshmen have already established themselves as high school diaper dandies. Tony Wroten is lighting up the Washington high school basketball scene at Seattle's Garfield High. Chane Behanan, a 6-6 freshman at Aiken (Ohio), is one of the top freshmen in the Midwest. Matt Carlino, a freshman at Gilbert (Ariz.) is playing for his father, and averages over 13 points per game to go along with nearly six steals per game.
