High School basketball starts tomorrow(Wednesday October 31) and we put the word out about most of the boys teams, back on Monday and we need to make sure that we don’t forger that girls are rolling come Wednesday too….We did not mention the Southwest Guilford boys yesterday and I’m sure that they will be good again this year too, with KJ Langley and many other real good athletes over at SWG….
Not sure the SWG Cowgirls will line it up along the lanes, now that Zena Lovette and Jessica Pone have gone on to Campbell, but we do know that Page and Dudley will be real good again and last year’s surrpise team, the one that took the Metro 4-A Tournament by Storm, the Southern Alamance Patriots, they are back and they have the two main cogs, Burnett and Boggs both back and they also have the big girl in the middle(April Kelly), so this will be the team to beat early in the Metro 4-A Conference runs…Southern Alamance has everybody back off of last year’s team, there were no senior Patriots in 2011/2012….
Page has plenty with one of the state’s and the Southeast United States’ best players in Paris Kea….Kea, the Pirate PG, is one of the best around and she was getting offers from Wake Forest two years ago….She will joined by Chelsey Coleman and Debrisha Barnes and Page has a newcomer too, that everyone is looking forward to seeing….Plus Page returns super quick Hannah Pegram and solid leader Kayla Johnson and Tiana Sherman from last season…
It ought to be a real battle with Page, Dudley and Southern Alamance in the Metro 4-A and when you add in Kara Shutt and her Southeast Guilford Falcons, this league could be one of the tops in the state…That’s right, the Metro 4-A girls look to be loaded….Smith and Western Guilford figure to be right there in the hunt/mix too and the Grimsley Whirlies should be on their way back under the guidance of first-year head coach Tina Gunn, who was at Eastern Guilford prior to her arrival on the Grimsley campus….
Dudley will have one of the top centers in the entire state and she could end up being great before it is all over, if she will keep working and she could end up coming up big, even bigger that Sierra Little…Akela Maize(6’4) is on the radar of many major schools and she will be turning heads, no matter who turns up at her games and Dudley has Maze along with Makala Rouse and Essence Abraham too….Rouse is one of toughest players around, she does a lot of dirty work and she is everywhere in fast forward and Abraham is a fast moving floor-general and Mo Davis is a traffic directing floor general and along with Abraham, this gives Dudley two solid guards out front…Dudley can also bring 6’1 Kennedy Currie at you….Coach Frank McNeil will have them ready.
I’m telling you, this Metro 4-A league will be loaded…..
Last year Page was (21-6), Southern Alamance(20-8), Dudley went (19-7) and Southeast Guilford was (19-9)….Smith was not far behind at (15-11) and Western Guilford spotted it up at (13-13)….
We mentioned Burnett, Boggs and Kelly from Southern and they also feature forward Darienne Sykes, who was a big part of their Championship run last year…SA over Page in the semifinals and then the Patriots topped Southeast Guilford in the finals…
To go with Kara Shutt, SEG brings back Kenya Hailey, Molly Uffman, Kayla Upshaw and Kara Phifer and that is a very sound group….Smith has lost of load of seniors, just like Western Gullford that lost Brittany Clency and Carnique Marks, but Smith does return Brandi Johnson, who became their top scorer last season and they also bring back Akera McPhaul, Alea Powell, Evelyn Baker and Raven Johnson….
Early big game in the Metro shows Southern Alamance at Dudley December 21….
Again, last year it was:
Page(21-6)
Southern Alamance(20-8)
Dudley(19-7)
Southeast Guilford(19-9)
Smith(15-11)
Western Guilford13-13)….
This will be the local conference to watch….Burnett, Boggs, Kea, Maize, Shutt, Hailey, Rouse, Coleman, Kelly and Upshaw and that might be your early All-Conference team right there and you can pick your top five…The first five I listed may be it….
We will have other girls basketball in our area this year too and only one of the above Top Four Metro 4-A teams will be in the Pizza Hut Invitational Tournament and from Page, Dudley, SEG and Southern Alamance, we have Page to the Pizza Hut Tournament and if I remember correctly, Page won it all last year and Paris Kea was the MVP….
We could see MVP Kea and Page vs. Greensboro Day School in another Pizza Hut Championship game this season…..GDS is still the local team on the rise and they should contend for a shot at the NCISAA 3-A Title this season, with names like Ronata Rogers and Tamara Thorpe among the main mix…This GDS Bengals girls team is for real and you could see them coming into their own last season…..GDS was (18-6) going into post-season play last year and we will looking them up in more detail when they get their roster for this year ready, but I can tell you already, this team will be good, with Thorpe and Rogers leading the way…
Going to get you more on more teams as the practices heat up, but we know Coach Furlough will have her Northern Guilford Nighthawks ready to make a run, they are always ready and Amanda Coffer ought to be ready to make the most of her senior season….Northwest Guilford was in a bit of a rebuilding mode last year and I want to see what they have in 2011/2012 after losing Natalie Harper, Alyssa Munson and company to graduation….
High Point Central has a new coach in Ben Free and they still have the Grier and a few other key players back from 11/12, but we need to wait and see if HPC can dtir it up this time around…Ben has done it in the past with his boys teams and now he gets his shot as the head varsity coach of a girls squad….
I saw Coach Fuqa over at Ragsdale last Friday night and he aaid he was ready then to get the ball rolling and he has been at it a long time, but he and the boys coach, Coach Shoemaker, they still know their stuff and TJ Parker ought to really help the boys Tiger team, once he finishes up his football obligations….High Point Andrews was on the up last season and I feel that this year we will see more from the Red Raiders….
New coach at Eastern Guilford in Kris Britton and she will have he team in shape and theyy will be focused and if not, they will not play for Coach B this year….
Northeast Guilford had come a long way back by the end of last season and it will be interesting to see if NEG can continue their climb back in the Mid-Piedmont 3-A….One man that needs no introduction here is William Whitaker and the man that has been working magic down at Southern Guilford will need to be ready to do more of it in 12/13…This should be his year, a breakout season is on the way for Whit….It is his time and it is about time for the Storm to make their move up to the top of the Mid-Piedmont 3-A Standings and go ahead and contend for a spot in the State Tournament…Coach Whit knows this is it, no time to sit…Time to get to work down on Drake Road…..
Grier is no longer at HPC. She is now at Ledford.
Ledford returns all five starters and first three off the bench. Add in Grier, and they should be one of the top 3A teams in the state.
I knew we would have a few moves, did we have others…..The Grier family is strong into their basketball….
Again, any other moves among the girls and good job on our reports and it looks like our first ladies post has been a good one….
Imani Atkinson over at Greensboro Day School from Wesleyan Christian. Myra Henderson (not sure last name correct) from Southern Guilford at GDS also. Giving the Bengals two great additions to Thorpe and Rogers. Should contend for the title again.
Brianna Garris back in line up at Smith from ACL injury last year. Guess Brandi Robinson will be back as the big man in January from her AAU ACL tear.
Terrell Leach @ SW could be the “best public school” player in the county. If he stays healthy, he could have seveal offers by the end of the season. Looking forward to some great public and private school girls/boys basketball. Good luck to all teams and coaches!