With seven Class of 2012 Top 100 prospects and four different schools showing up in various national preseason rankings, Greater Houston may be the hottest high school basketball hotbed in the country.
Much of that talent was on display Monday night at the Merrell Center in Katy as part of the RCS Sports Season Opener, highlighted by a matchup between national No. 17
Yates (Houston) and
Fort Bend Travis (Richmond), ranked No. 7 in Class 5A preseason by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
Aaron (left) and Andrew Harrison combined for 41 points to help Fort Bend Travis knock off Yates.
Photo courtesy of adidas
The duo of twin juniors
Aaron (21 points) and
Andrew Harrison (20) combined for 41 points as Travis upended the 2010 national champions and top-ranked Class 4A Lions 77-69. The Harrisons are both Top 10 prospects in the Class of 2013 and helped the Tigers go 34-5 last season.
In the event's opener, future Duke Blue Devil
Rasheed Sulaimon poured in 36 points to lead
Strake Jesuit (Houston) past
Jones (Houston), 92-67. Sulaimon, a 6-3, 185-pound shooting guard, is rated No. 19 in the MaxPreps Class of 2012 Top 100.
Stanford signee
Christian Sanders led
St. Thomas Catholic (Houston) to a 57-47 victory over a
Lamar Consolidated (Rosenberg) team minus Top 100 recruit
Wannah Bail.
Valentine Izundu, a 6-10 senior who recently signed with the University of Houston, also missed the contest.
Sanders, a 6-3 combo guard, finished with 26 points.
Bail and Izundu were expected to make their debuts at Lamar Consolidated but watched from the bench due to an unspecified eligibility issue.
Other top 2012 talents in the Houston area this season include No. 7 overall prospect
Cameron Ridley (6-10, 250, C, Texas signee), No. 24
Shaquille Cleare (6-9, 280, C, Maryland), No. 36
Danuel House (6-6, 190, SF, Houston) and No. 78
Danrad Knowles (6-10, 190, F/C, Houston).
In Monday's finale, private school power
Westbury Christian (Houston) handled 5A contender
Seven Lakes (Katy) 59-38. St. Pius X transfer Devon Turk paced Westbury Christian with 16 points while Baylor signee
L.J. Rose – yet another Top 100 talent – added 13.
