Pumper

The Marshall kid who is one of the best in BMT for his age missed more than half the season this year due to grade issues.  Really unlike the kid, and it was just not taking care of business.  Doubt if it will continue to be a problem.  Plays AAU with a Lake Charles team, and played some last summer with a Nederland team.  Other than maybe Pearson at King, I don't know of any other 8th grader in the area who is better than him.  Maybe some equals, but not better. 

Bottom line is if you had one dominant basketball program in Beaumont ISD, sort of a "Yates Jr." if you will, there is a lot of talent coming up that could make things very interesting. My bet is that the talent will continue to be spread out among the 3 schools.  So you'll see good basketball, but not great.

Look, I know the kid and his family, and I know their concerns.  They are real.  You're talking about a kid with options, lots of them.  A stud in hoops, an absolute freak in track, and if he put his mind to it could excel in football and soccer if you can believe that.  He is also in a family situation with options, up to and including moving if need be. On this one, believe me I know.  They hope to stay put, but they might not.  And mid-county is on the table.. And by the way, my sons are absolutely not Nederland kids, so this ain't my concern.

And without naming names, I know of one of these Beaumont kids who may seriously consider Nederland if BISD stays as it is today as far as coaching.  The reason for that is Brian English.  Would rather stay put, but may not if there aren't changes...

There is a kid from Marshall who will be a factor around here for a while.  Nederland folks know him from tournament ball.  From what I've seen he is in the top 5 in Bmt for his age.  He had some eligibility issues this year, but won't in the future (or his dad might kill him!). If the current crop of 8th graders decided together where to go (King kids, plus the Marshall kid, etc), it could get interesting.  If there was an obvious choice, i.e. an exceptional coach in the bunch, it would likely happen.  As it is now, who knows.... But I do know that there has been some plotting and planning going on among the kids...

DV, it's simple math.  Yes, Nederland, HJ, or others who have good LD programs have an advantage, but the pool is pretty small to choose from.  It allows you to groom kids, but the talent pool is small.  In Houston, no you probably don't groom the kids from a young age, but the talent pool is huge.  If a kid can choose his school within HISD (and he can from what you have said), then the cream of the crop can and will choose Yates.  It is happening now, right?  The pool to choose from is absolutely huge compared to what is over here in this area.  This deal is "apples & oranges" to borrow one of your phrases.  Give Yates credit for doing what they are doing, and taking advantage of the system available to them.  Give Nederland and HJ credit for doing what they are doing here with what is available to them.  But to compare the two is a fallacy, plain and simple.  "Apples & oranges".........................................................................................

RSJ for Sealy was the truth!  I expected a big bruiser just bull-dozing his way to the basket.  Not at all.  He is strong around the basket, but he has a nice pull-up jump shot and can finish on the break too.  I was impressed.  He got in foul trouble, and it exposed the fact that Sealy was not that good around him.  I liked #25 the medium-sized shooter; he played well.  Other than those two, not much. HJ played just OK in my opinion, but it was well enough to beat a ranked team by double-digits. Silsbee/Brookshire Royal was a good game too.  Loved the double-header.

So it is fair to say that Yates has "access" to quite a large pool of athletes, and given the history of success and coaching there, they are able to attract the best of the best from Houston to play there.  Pretty much correct?  Sounds to me like it is legal.  If the kids are choosing to go there, then so be it. In BISD, which is clearly a much smaller pool to choose from, the rules also basically allow for this.  Currrently there is really no such "program" in place.  The last time there was such a program, we all know what the results were.  State title and multiple Austin appearances. Whether such arrangements are fair or not is a whole different discussion.  Legal yes. But it does explain how a Yates situation can happen.  Such an arrangement is effectively impossible if your school is not in a decent sized city, and if such transfer rules don't exist.  Yes, smaller schools can get an occasional transfer, but noting on the scale like we are talking about. Give them their due for being smart enough to take advantage of the situation.  They are a very good team. 

Let's turn the whole question around.  Someone with knowledge of Yates program (maybe BD or DV) please explain how Yates is able to do what they do? Obviously great players, but in more detail, how is Yates able to dominate the way they do?  Is there a rule in HISD that allows players freedom to choose their school?  I have no idea, just honestly asking how is Yates so dominant? 

Prudhomme had at least 5 dunks.  2 or 3 on alley oops.  Missed one break-away

Kountze, Nederland, Central, LCM, Jacksonville, Kingwood Park, Silsbee, WOS, HF Doubt any of the above would appreciate being compared to pastries...

Dove, since your kids play here in the "golden triangle", why such joy in the possibility that the path for local teams might be tougher in the future?  Is it because your kids are in 4A now and not 3A?  Do you resent HJ & Silsbee for some reason?  Some sort of loyalty to H-town since you grew up there?  What's the deal? I'm from the Houston area and played there, but I live here now.  I pull for all the local schools to go as far as possible in the playoffs.  I have no love for teams from the old stomping grounds, because I'm here now. Just curious?

Here is a theory on this topic.  In a city like Beaumont, and with BISD's transfer rules, a kid can be attending a school out if his attendance zone, and he may be at a different school than his neighbor.  There is less of an allegiance than there might be otherwise.  I attended a lot of BISD middle school basketball games, football games, and even track meets last year.  I saw a lot of kids at one school in 7th grade, then at a different school in 8th grade.  Don't know the reasons, but it happens a lot.  Vincent, Marshall, Odom, King - where are all these kids going to high school?  In other words, a kid may not grow up being a "Bruin", a "Panther", or a "Jaguar".  At these middle school games, the attendance was spotty, cheerleaders may or may not be there, definitely no band, etc. I attended a Henderson middle school (HJ) football game, and was amazed to see cheerleaders for both 7th & 8th grade games, a band in the stands, a drill team, decent attendance in the stands, etc.  All this at a middle school football game! Guess what, HJ is not a great football district, right? I pointed out the difference to some HJ people there, and the answer was "all of these kids are Hawks, and they always will be".  There was a lot of pride in the statement. Could it be that the smaller towns/areas are different altogether because of this?  Nederland kids are raised as Bulldogs, to dislike PNG, etc.  Beaumont kids are raised as what?  My point is, it's just different.  Not sure of the answer, but I think this may be the reason.

Dogs, I understand your point about playing more tough district games, because it does make a difference.  I'm an SEC football fan, and it's a meat grinder throughout the conference.  I still say that this year HJ and Silsbee are better than anything 20-4A has to offer and would have ended up 1 & 2, but we'll never know for sure. Also, HJ does have some "studs".  Prudhomme would be the MVP of the district, and Johnson and Bosha would start at most 20-4A teams.  Several others would play significant minutes at those schools too. Silsbee has Gaines, Elam, & Holmes that I think would start at most of those schools also. It's all just opinion, but it makes for interesting conversation...

Hold up there.  Nederland was not missing any starter, and I'm pretty sure they weren't missing any significant players in their rotation.  HJ just spanked them pure and simple.  Similarly, Nederland spanked HJ last year at about the same time in the season.  You can't assume that things will always be one way or the other, but this year HJ is the better team of the two.  And evidence is strongly in favor of HJ and Silsbee both being better than anyone in that district this year.  (Note that I said [b][u]this year[/u][/b].)

My two cents:  Coaches should teach players not to talk back to the refs, or to the opposing fans.  Nothing good comes from it.  Coach or team captain should be the only ones addressing the refs. A little back and forth between the players is almost unpreventable.  Though if I see my sons doing it, they will hear from me.  Never be the one to start something, but don't allow yourself to be intimidated either.  Sometimes you have to protect yourself and your team-mates, and you can do that without being dirty.  Physical is another story.  Taunting another player should result in a technical if the ref sees it.  At the HS level, the teams should shake hands after the game.  Though I am not personally a big fan of the players fist bumping the refs and/or opposing coach before the game as has become normal during the pregame introductions.  It's fine, but I find it unnecessary. Play as hard as you can between the lines, but act in a way that would make your momma proud.

There is definitely some talent coming up through the ranks in BISD.  If you put all of the talent in the 8th/9th grade classes together (which you could do with the BISD transfer rules; not saying it's right, but you could), you could have a state contender.  But if you are a parent of one of those kids sitting here today and looking at your options, where do you send them in the district? I won't answer that, but it's a good question...

Are you kidding?  He wouldn't start at Yates! (sarcasm)

Also, Brian is one of the true good guys around.  He is a good person, as well as being a good coach.  Definitely the kind of coach a parent would want their kids to play for.

Hope it's not the 3 College Station chapter officials that worked HJ/WOS in Orange.  Those guys called 28 total fouls in the first half.  I thought maybe they were getting paid by the whistle.  It was painful to watch for most of that game.

If these schools are dropping down due to actual attendance numbers being 3A now, and if they are not doing any funny business with transfers, then why should any current 3A powers (WOS, Silsbee, etc in football) (HJ, Silsbee, etc in basketball) be concerned?  Numbers are numbers; talent is talent; good coaching is good coaching right? Or is there something else I'm missing?

Refs were awful last night in this game.  I don't think that they favored either team, but they were inconsistent and blew way too many whistles.  28 total fouls in the first half, plus numerous other violations.  Lots of "discussions" among the refs after seemingly routine calls. It was very strange, and the game had no flow because of it until mid-2nd half when HJ started to stretch the lead out.

Wasn't there but obviously Silsbee played a great game.  Give them their due. Wanna bet HJ won't go 11/31 at the line again, or turn it over 14 times in one quarter?  Anybody wanna bet which team wins district or goes further in the playoffs? My money will be on HJ.

Hard to predict if you have not seen both teams play, and preferably several times each.  Given what I know about both teams talent levels and records so far, I would say H-J should win by low double figures.  But things happen - what if Prudhomme gets in foul trouble early; what if Silsbee shoots lights out from 3 point land; what if who knows what else. Rivalry games are funny.  Anything can happen.  On paper, HJ is better this year and their record so far is more impressive.  But games aren't played on paper. I say HJ by 13, but we'll see soon enough.

Some talent; no coaching