Team Texas 2012

            Team Texas is National ranked AAU travel team and is consider one of the premier AAU programs in the nation.  Team Texas participates in major tournaments through-out the United States.  From 2003 thru 2006 Team Texas 2012 has finished in AAU nationals any from 3rd to 13th place finish.  Team Texas 2012 has captured the Kansas City Keys Best Invitational two years in row 2005 and 2006. In 2007 Team Texas 7th grade played up in the 8th grade division.  The team earn a lot of respect has they gave former AAU national champs 8th grade Indy Spieces all they could handle by leading early in the first half and was only down 4 points at the half.  Indy Spieces Heat ended up winning by 13 points. But word spread quickly around the AAU basketball circuit how well the Team Texas 7th grade team competed against the 8th grade Indy Species Champions.  Team Texas currently has 8 players ranked in Clark Francis’s Hoop Scoop Rankings for the class of 2012

The 2008 version of Team Texas 2012 has changed from its former years.  Here is a breakdown of the teams player profile.

John Crowder, 6'7, Grand Prairie, TX, Pos. C Transfer from Baltimore, MD currently attends Gods Acadamy. Plays varsity as an 8th grader. Hoop Scoop Rank #5, # 13 at U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University.
Note:  John will arrive Saturday evening after playing in school tourney in Waco, TX Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning

Ricky Roberts, 5'10, Mansfield, TX, Pos. PG. will be attending Mansfield Legacy H.S. Hoop Scoop Rank #28. #17 at recent U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University.Ricky is Team Texas floor general and leader. A longtime veteran of the AAU circuit. Playing since age 6. Scoring PG that can create off dribble, shoot midrange and three. Good at making teammates better. Consistantly ranked in Hoop Scoop's top 30 last three years.  Been with Team Texas since 2003.

Note: Both Ricky Roberts and 6'10 Isaiah Austin attend same middle school together and easily won their district regular season and district tourney with an undefeated record.  Roberts and Austin will be attending the same high school together at Mansfield Legacy 2008-09 year. Both constantly workout together to improve skills, strengh and conditioning. Talk is already buzzing about both possibly the next Greg Odom and Mike Conley duo for the future in high school.

Isaiah Austin, 6'10, Mansfield, TX Pos C will be attending Mansfield Legacy H.S. Hoop Scoop Rank #62. #10 at recent U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University. Stock should rise after this summer. Very gifted player for his age. Can shoot the three, dribble very well and has a high IQ for his size and talent. Loves to block shots. Note:  Austin just had an eye surgery for a detached retina and won''t be back in action until the middle of March.

Marcus Smart, 6'0, Lancaster, TX Pos. Swingman will be attending Red Oak H.S. Hoop Scoop Rank #217. #27 at recent U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University.  Marcus is a very athletic player. A Dennis Rodman, Ron Artest type player that does all the little things that coaches appreciate. Team Texas since 2003.

Ryan Bowie, 5'11, Lewisville, TX Pos. 2G will be attending Lewisville H.S. Hoop Scoop Rank #157, #34 at recent U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University. Very explosive scorer who can drive it and shoot the three. Gives Team Texas more scoring punch.

Phil Forte, 5'9, Flower Mound, TX Pos. 2G. Hoop Scoop Rank #461. Is recognize as one of the best pure shooters in the Dallas Area.  A very heady and hard nose player.  Team Texas since 2003.

Brendon Wagner, 6'4, Ft. Worth, TX Pos. Wing, Hoop Scoop Rank #481. #7 at recent U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University. Solid all-around player that made a splash at recent U.S. Elite Camp. Very agressive to the basket and shoot very well. Will move up the ladder at next Hoop Scoop Rankings.

Jordan Washington, 5’10, Irving, TX, Pos. Combo Guard, Hoop Scoop Rank #41. 18 at recent U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University. Strong aggressive guard, transfer from Baltimore, Maryland and currently plays for God’s Acadamy. Note: Will not be able to play in tourney due to commitment with school team.

Team Eclipse

This years Kansas City Keys tournament features one of the top 8th grade teams in the country the Eclipse. The Eclipse currently ranked 2nd in the country as a team and 9th overall as an organization, features three great guards from last years team lead by 5'9 Brittany Atkins who averaged 10pts - 10 rebs., 5'9 Emiah Bingley 10pts - 6 rebs. and 5'3 Sameia Kendall 8pts - 4 asst. per game in last years National Tournament. With the new AAU rule change the team has reloaded with three new players 5"11 Azia Washington who played on the 2006 Air Oklahoma Stars National Championship Team, 5'7 Alisa Palmer and 5'7 Briana Washington who played on the 2006 Eclipse 93' team who placed 3rd in the country.These additions will had more depth for the Eclipse group this year as they make another run at the title.

Two years ago the Eclipse finished No.# 1 in the country 11 under.

6th Grade All Tournament Team
#14 – Springfield Predators -
#24 – Texas Select – Alex Robinson
#34 - Texas Select – Micah Seaborn

6th Grade – 2nd Place
Springfield Predators

Guess who’s Coming to the Kansas City Keys – 15th Annual Best Basketball Tournament?
The D1 Stars featuring AllStar LaBrent Walker (Top 25 Ranked) from New York City will be here for the Kansas City Keys Best Basketball Tournament, February 22nd-24th, 2008. The event will be held at UMKC.

New York Youngster Turning Heads
Ron Bailey, Publisher
January 15, 2008 – Normally, the pages of i95Ballerz.com only contains features on players high school age and above, extending through college and occasionally into the professional ranks: We shun covering middle school aged young people, as too much attention, too early, is known to sidetrack.
But despite being previously adhered to rather robustly, that rule is not unbreakable, as sometimes kids are encountered that can take the attention with no ill-effects. LaBrent Walker is that type of young guy.

LaBrent Walker has a hunger for the game rare in 8th graders. i95Ballerz.com is the first to feature him.
Hailing from Queens, NY, the 6’1”, 165 pound Walker, capable of playing guard or swingman has already received a boatload of attention, as he’s not only made an impact nationally at youth basketball events, but given his status as an M.S. 226 8th grader, is the focus of an intense high school recruiting battle. To date, such standout Metro Area programs as Christ the King, St. Benedicts, Wings Academy, St. Raymonds, Holy Cross, Lincoln, and Cardozo, amongst other schools, are being considered for enrollment.
Being a humble 14 year older, LaBrent shared of the attention he receives, “It’s been hard…When it first started I didn’t get a lot of attention and didn’t know how it felt. Now I do, and it’s kind of different. Everybody has something to say”.
Helping shield the precocious Walker is J.R. Rembert, an established AAU/youth basketball coach who, given LaBrent’s tumultuous early home life, is functioning as the young guy’s guardian. Rembert’s work with Walker extends past basketball; he’s a mentor, family member and friend, who is also trying to help repair LaBrent’s previous family life.
(Contd - New York Youngster Turning Heads)
“His mother and him are making strides in rebuilding there relationship after her release from prison just before Christmas” shared Rembert of a process he deems necessary.
“J.R.’s helped me out with a lot of things” said Walker of Rembert, including “school and understanding basketball”.
A player that established his favorite position as “probably forward or shooting guard” though “I can play point guard when needed”, Walker is starting to value the mental side of hoops, a facet of the game Rembert has stressed.
“Right now, in the open floor, he’s a phenom in the fact he’s left handed and very athletic” opined Rembert of LaBrent. “Right now, his biggest challenge is making the mental transition”, while maintaining his high level of competitiveness.
To that end, LaBrent, a kid who previously loved to play hoops but didn’t necessarily study it, is starting to embrace the later, witnessed by his statement “I’m watching college ball lately”, in an effort to learn. Players such as Mike Beasley (Kansas State), Kevin Love (UCLA), and O.J. Mayo (USC) are targets of his study, as is Afam Muojeke, a player at Wyoming who is currently redshirting. “They don’t come on T.V., but I talk to him a lot” said Walker of Muojeke, another player Rembert mentored and is also functioning as a resource and brother to Walker.
With all the talk of mental understanding, don’t think for a second Walker has slacked on his skill development, for he revealed when not “doing my homework” or resting, “I go to the park to work on my handle, jump shot and conditioning”.
That work ethic is impressive for such a young guy, who, given the attention he’s receiving, could rest on his laurels and not grind. But LaBrent Walker, with the help of his mentor Rembert will not let that happen.
Resultantly, he could become another great one out of the Big Apple. A great and humble one.

7th Ranked National Texas DFW Elite 2013 to Play in
Kansas City Keys 15th Annual Best Tournament

            Texas DFW Elite (formerly Urban DFW Elite) is National ranked AAU travel team. Elite participates in major tournaments through-out the United States. Texas DFW Elite is currently ranked 7th in the nation by AAU.

This ranking was achieved at the 2007 AAU National Tournament in Hampton, VA last summer for 12u boys. Texas DFW Elite won 1st place in pool play (Pool Z) by defeating Metro Sixers (Washington, D.C), Richmond Metro Gold (Richmond, VA) and Indiana Elite Jazz (IN).

            Texas DFW Elite advanced to the Championship Bracket. In the 1st round defeating North Carolina’s Gater Blue to advance to the 2nd round of play. In the 2nd round Elite faced the D.C. Assault (Washington, D.C), and in a hard fought game lost by 8 pts after being down double digits at halftime. This was the 1 and only loss Texas DFW Elite would have the entire tournament. Texas DFW Elite followed up by defeating YOMCA Tigers (Memphis, TN), Sky’s the Limit (Washington, DC), Indy Tempo (IN.), The Ville (Louisville, KY) to place 7th in the nation for 12u boys with an 8-1 record for the entire National tournament.

            Texas DFW Elite is also the Primetime Sports (primetimesportz.com) 2007 National Champions for 6th grade boys. Elite went 3-0 in pool play and was a #1 seed to advance to Championship Bracket with a 1st round bye. In the championship bracket Texas DFW Elite went on to defeat Livingston Ballers (Livingston, TX), Ray Jackson’s Rising Stars (Austin, TX), Opelousas Rockets (Opelousas, LA) to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals Texas DFW Elite defeated the Sports Academy (Baton Rouge, LA) to advance to the championship game. In the championship game Elite faced the Texas Ambassadors. Texas DFW Elite won the championship game to finish 8-0 for the national tournament. To keep up with the happenings on Texas DFW Elite visit our website: www.eteamz.com/texasdfwelite.

The Kansas City Keys 15th Annual Best Basketball tournament was held February 15th -17th, 2008. Once again for the 5th year straight the Wichita Pray and Play Players coached by Steve Young win in their age division.

The Kansas Pray and Play Players went undefeated in the Boys 5th grade division pool play and bracket play taking 1st place honors. They overcame a tough challenge from the Little Rock Triple Threat in the Championship game to win 40-38. Some of the players were Roman Young #23, Cameron Ellis #32, Semaj Atkins #3, Cervantes Lawson #5 and Papi Conley, all from Wichita and Anthony Bonner#4 and Weston Hack #11 from Lawrence. Coaches (L to R): Steve Young, Sebastian Bonner, and Jamar Reese. All tournament honors were given to Anthony Bonner and Roman Young.

The Wichita Players defeated other tough competition including the 4th ranked AAU National Arkansas Tigers in the Keys Classic CBE game 69-67. The game was held at the College Basketball Experience gym near the Sprint Arena. It was a game for the ages as both well coached teams made runs created by their pressure defenses in establishing lead swings and consecutive buckets. The Arkansas Tigers overcame double digit lead to pull ahead by 1 only to have a big steal and bucket by Anthony Bonner which sealed their fate.

MAYB Winter Kick-Off Left to Right, Front row: Ryan Wynne, Anthony Schmiedeler, Trevor Falcon, Josh Woodward, (Ryder Chaffee) Back row: Coach John Woodward, Mark Johnson, Collin Herron, Trayl Chaffee & Tyler Ward.

MAYB Summer Kick-Off Left to Right, Front row:Josh Woodward, Allan McFarland, Ryan Wynne, Anthony Schmiedeler, Marcus Fillyaw Back row: Assistant Coach Kevin McFarland, Tyler Ward, Trevor Falcon, Mark Johnson, Justin Voorhees, Jay Morris, Collin Weishaar, Coach John Woodward

MAYB Summer Nationals Left to Right, Front row:Anthony Schmiedeler, Joshua Woodward, Allan McFarland, Ryan Wynne Back row: Coach John Woodward, Jay Morris, Mark Johnson, Justin Voorhees, Trevor Falcon, Tyler Ward, and Assistant Jeremy Wynne