2017 Players Ready For Anything
CHASTITY PATTERSON
The most impressive thing, at least to me, is even though great players graduate every year, some more are coming to fill their shoes. I always get excited when I see middle school ballers that would help high school teams right now and the“GPR Certified” Houston Insiders Basketball Classic gave me everything I needed to see and then some about not only the stars of tomorrow but kids who legitimately have a shot to be household names. The Houston based DFW squads, HK Express and Triple D Hoops have some of the most exciting young players coming up however they are not alone and over the next couple of weeks I’ll be going over several teams with players who have a chance to be do some damage before it’s all said and done including my first look at the Houston Lady Phenoms who left more than a lasting impression. I’ll start this off with three 7th grade standouts and will keep the players coming
MARISSA BANFIELD
Chastity Patterson (DFW Black) Patterson has a shot at being not only a Top 100 player but a Top 20 player across the board. She is playing in the highest divisions against players sometimes five years older and handling her business which is reminiscent of what my own daughter did at the same age. Throw in the fact that Patterson shoots the ball better than my daughter did is a major plus and her court sense and awareness is remarkable.
Marissa Banfield (Triple D) Banfield may not be playing against kids as old as Patterson all the time but she’s playing with and against older players as well. I spoke about being sold after seeing her for two minutes a couple of weeks ago so I made it a point to watch her as much as possible. Like Patterson, her basketball IQ at this stage of the game is simply remarkable and what I like about these two young ladies is they make their teammates better which is what a point guard’s job is all about, not to mention her abilty to score on a variety of ways
JULIA SCHWAKE
Julia (Jules) Schwake (HK Express) Scwake is one of those kids you love watching because of not only her passion for the game but her poise as well. Like the two mentioned above, she knows the game however her fire alone will take her a long way not to mention the firepower she provides on the offensive end as she happens to have the ability to simply take over games almost at will. Like I said before, these three young ladies are only a few of the players you will be hearing about and even though they may not be playing under the bright lights in prime time next season during high school ball games, they are “Ready For Prime Time” play right now