2009-2010 Neighborhood High School Roundup Review...

NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP
Youngsters power The Village School
By JEFF JENKINS CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT
Feb. 5, 2010, 2:08PM

Shaq has taken his high-flying act to Houston — well sort of.

Shaquille O'Neal, one of the best centers in NBA history, hasn't left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Houston Rockets. But his younger namesake is already wreaking havoc on basketball courts across the area. Shaquille Cleare, a 6-foot-9, 270-pound sophomore, reminds many of the 7-1 O'Neal. Cleare, a sophomore at The Village School, is averaging 21 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks per game for the Vikings, a rising second-year program. “Shaquille Is already, in my opinion, the best big man in Texas,” said Don Harvey, head boys basketball coach at The Village School, a private school in west Houston. “He's only a 10th-grader, but he's already being recruited by a bunch of colleges. He's a dominant force in the middle.” Among the colleges trying to lure Cleare, a native of The Bahamas, to their respective campuses are Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and Wake Forest. And, if Cleare continues to perform like he did in last week's 67-60 loss to highly touted Humble Christian Life (23 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks), the list is sure to grow. Cleare's play inside the paint is just one reason why The Village School, which plays an independent schedule but is headed to TAPPS next season, is becoming widely respected on the local hoops scene. The Vikings, 13-6 overall, have notched victories over more-established programs such as Beaumont Kelly, John Cooper, St. John's and St. Pius. “We've faced most of the top private schools in Houston and have been very competitive,” Harvey said. “We're a young team with all freshmen and sophomores. By the time these sophomores are seniors, we'll be a team to be reckoned with.” More on story @

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/memorial/sports/6853209.html

2009-10 Houston Junior Preparatory Conference Tournament Finals

2009-10 The Year in Review - The Village School has now entered another arena, after having a great junior high season, Coach Margo Graham and her Lady Vikings and what's left from last year’s team has greater task at hand. They have lost some key players, but also gained some new ones. Winning the Houston Junior Prep Conference and Tournament was nothing compared to high school varsity basketball where you will be playing with seasoned and experienced athletes that have played varsity for more than 2 years and for some maybe more. From Coach Graham views, she's not looking for a winning season yet, but to get the girls ready for the coming years. But of course she wants to win, but being realistic makes more sense. She believes that her team will be very competitive but will need a lot of maturity which comes from playing against the best competitions. The Village as a whole is full of excitement for the great progressions of its athletics and looking forward to its berth in the field of high school basketball.

Home Sweet Home... Westbury Christian School

Sylvana Okde - class of 2012 and former Dulles high school starting point guard made a bold move and transferred to Westbury Christian to wear the wildcats’ uniform for the upcoming 2010-2011 season. Okde plays for Cy Fair Nike Elite summer team under the direction of Al Coleman. This move solidifies the wildcats’ roster. It’s a guarantee that they will hit the road for another state title this year and by the time the basketball season starts, we may have more news about the wildcats’ transformation to a TAPPS 4A powerhouse in the state. So stay tuned and hold on to your seats. Houston basketball is getting a lot of recognition for both boys and girls nationwide and it’s just the beginning. H-TOWN WE GOT NEXT?

Westbury Christian Lands another GREAT Athlete

Briana Turner 6'4" Class of 2014 of Nolan Ryan middle school from Alvin Texas will attend Westbury Christian high school this year. ESPN hoopgurlz TOP recruit for 2014 will bring a lot to the wildcats roster that currently include one of the ESPN top rated point guard Amber Orrange committed to Stanford University. Both played summer basketball for Coach George Washington of the DFW Elite/Houston Heat basketball program. Lookout for the lady wildcats to dominate this coming 2010-2011 season. Come out and see the new WCS Wildcats!

He’s back and he’s stronger…

Village High School point guard Garry Smith (2012) is back after suffering from a hand injury and missing the last few games of 2009-2010 school season. Smith the scoring point guard who averages 15 points and 7 assists per game was truly missed by the Vikings who depended on a shooting guard Trevion Williams (2012) to take over the point guard spot to finish the season last year. Smith recently played and had a great summer AAU basketball season with the Houston Elite one of the few well known grassroots basketball programs in the city of Houston. He looks forward to having a great 2010-2011 basketball season for The Village High School. He will join one the best middle man and highly recruited big man in the nation Shaquille Cleare (2012) and another lengthy guard/forward Chris Mathews (2012) who has matured tremendously in his sophomore year. The Vikings is not a young team anymore and this year will be the year they will change the way everyone looks at the Village High School basketball program. More on Vikings basketball @ http://thevillagevikings1.shutterfly.com/

Houston scooping HOOPS

Cy Fair Nike Elite - Bianca Winslow (2012) of Bellaire High School is scooping her way to the hoops against team Michigan Crossover. Bianca was one of the original girls from the 2005 Team NCI Elite that I had followed closely and believed then that she will become one special basketball player as the rest of the girls in that NCI team. A lot have doubts about what I was saying at the time and said that it was too early to determine if any of the girls will even make it past middle school basketball. I was right all along, because all these girls are now in high school and all have played varsity basketball in their freshman year and are now making names for themselves. Bianca is the daughter of former U of H and NBA player Rickie Winslow. She will be fun to watch teaming up with one of the top point guard in the nation AJ Alix (2013) and the sharpshooter Raven Burns (2012) for the Lady Cardinals this coming school season. More on 2005 Team NCI Elite @ http://www.wizardsbasketball.us/nci_players.html