WBB Insider - Top 100 Club Teams 2012 Travel Season

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WBB Insider - Top 100 Club Teams 2012 Travel Season

No one sees more club basketball then the eyes of the GBB Insider, through the summer based on results, pure opinion, and roster talent I have come up with the top club teams nationally.

                                                                                                                                  
1. Tennessee Flight (TN)
2. Boo Williams (VA)  
3. Cal Sparks Gold (CA)
4. Team Concept (OR)
5. Sports City U (OH)   <==========
6. Arizona Warriors (AZ)
7. Georgia Metros (GA)
8. Cy Fair Nike (TX)
9. Mac Irvin GodFather (IL)
10. Miami Suns Fowles (FL)
11. Tree of Hope (WA)
12. Kentucky Premier
13. North Tartan (MN) 
14. All Iowa Attack (IA)
15. New Jersey Sparks (NJ)
16. DFW T-Jack (TX)
17. All Ohio Black (OH) 
18. Cal Storm (CA)
19. Fairfax Stars Elite (VA)
20. Arkansas Mavericks (AR)
 

100% of JULY for Sports City U Tournaments EVERYWHERE

The USJN Las Vegas Tourney was great… lots of great teams! In the 11th Grade Elite Division we were undefeated!!! We beat EVERYBODY by over 30! The Nebraska team that beat us by 2 in Chicago in our first tournament… well we had sweet revenge and beat them by 30 in the championship!!!

Battle in the Boro Tourney in Tennessee was another great tournament. We should have won that… we played Tenn Flight and had them down 28 to 14 and allowed them to come back. We were up by 2 with 30 seconds left and we took a shot for WHATEVER reason and they got the rebound and scored to put us in overtime. We had them beat 3 times and did little dumb thing to let them back in… well it went quadruple overtime and they finally won. We would have easily taken the championship there… talk about hard to swallow!

USJN Nationals in Washington, DC. This is the top tourney in the country and a chance to prove who we are! We played really well and had no problem going undefeated and at taking the highest level U17 Diamond Championship. It is not only our final game together, but the final game forever for Sports City U… they have been a top 10 team from the first year they began! It was been an honor to play for Tom Jenkins and Sports City U!!! We ended the program being undefeated in Ohio and being raked in the top 5 in the nation!!!

June NO AAU… High School Team Stuff … Elite Camps ! CHCA Weights Workout & Scrimmages

Coach Tim Southerland & Coach Whitney Dubbs had us working out hard in the weight room, football field and the basketball courts! The girls are GREAT and have made me feel SO WELCOME!!! I had a HENNA Tattoo on my wrist that said it all “State Bound”! Everybody loved it including the coaches! I can’t wait to get to know my teammates better… I am going to love going to CHCA!!!!

I was invited to attend University of Louisville’s Elite Camp. It was a lot of fun and got to spend time with Coach Stephanie Norman and Coach Jeff Walz. Also got to work out and talk with one of my favorite players  Shoni Schimmel. Great half day camp!

I was invited to University of Maryland’s Elite 2- Day Camp. It was fun to visit Coach Brenda Frese, she is amazing! Also one of my favorite players, Shay Doron went there. Shay’s NCAA Championship Warmup hangs in our gym! Also 2 great friends of mine and former stars at my AAU team, Sports City U are incoming freshman there. It was an incredible experience and a first class facility! I loved Maryland!! Thanks for everything Coach Atkins… it was great to meet and talk!!

I was invited to attend Duke’s Elite Camp, but hadn’t planned to be one of the 50 to attend. Their coaches really wanted me to come for some reason and we finally did at the last minute. I am so glad I came!!! This camp was AMAZING, and with only 50 girls… the talent was the best of any camp I’ve ever attended. Also I made the All-Star team!!! Coach Joy Cheeks was so wonderful and Coach Joanne P. McCallie was a joy to be around… she really cares about her players! I found out that she played at Northwestern and her daughter will be playing right here at Miami of Ohio. I told her that I will be attending some Miami games to see her daughter play. Duke is the most beautiful campus I’ve ever seen… I would love to play at Duke!

USJN MEMORIAL DAY CHALLENGE TOLEDO

The USJN Toledo Tourney was amazing… lots of great teams! In the 11th Grade Elite Division we were undefeated!!! We beat the Ohio Jayhawks , Indiana Lady Legit, Ohio Capital City Comets, Michigan Mystics, and Dayton Lady Hoopstars (Coffee).  It was another great weekend and we won by an average of over 30!!! Blue Star Media’s Mark Lewis had a nice write-up on the teamhttp://bluestarmedia.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=256:usjn-memorial-day-challenge

I have been working hard trying to earn more floor time but this team is stacked!!! I was shocked to discover I made the All Star Team along with Ashley Morrissette and Alexis Peterson.http://usjn.com/xtm_post_event_allstar.php?which=150

I PICKED A HIGH SCHOOL.... CHCA - CINCINNATI HILLS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

It’s official… I’m enrolled in CHCA as a freshman student (I will miss full-time homeschool, but still take some homeschool classes). My family and I decided that for many reasons that CHCA is where I’ll spend my high school years. Why CHCA…everyone we spoke with couldn’t say enough great things about the school, quality of education and teachers... their commitment to athletics, developing leadership skills and of course their strong Christian Value System! I am so excited to have an opportunity to play for their returning coach… Coach Tim Southerland! Trust me; our girls are going to be “ALL IN” and State Bound!

CINCINNATI FINEST TOURNAMENT

We had the SCU girls spend the night at my house Friday & Saturday night. The Cincinnati Finest Tourney was great… lots of great teams! In the 11th Grade Elite Division we were undefeated!!! We beat All Ohio Black (with the Mitchell twins) , Cincinnati Finest Black (my old team), Ohio Glory, Dayton Lady Hoopstars (Coffee), and WV Thunder.  It was a great weekend!!! At one point during a game it was me and my teammates were four DI 2012/2013 players (one of those was a McDonalds All American). Life doesn’t get much better than that!!! I had a lot of people say some really nice things about me & our team!

WINDY CITY CLASSIC & BLUE STAR INDIVIDUAL SHOWCASE

The Blue Star Individual Showcase was so much fun. I was the only 8th grader invited to the event. I played 4 games instead of the 3 that I was scheduled for because a number of girls didn’t play their 3rd game. I played with & against some amazing players and held my own all night! It was a really cool event!

In the Windy City Classic we had some good games and some bad ones. At times we played really well and others we played like 5 girls and not as a team. I know it’s all a “learning and growing experience” but I still really hate to lose! We played against some Team USA and nationally top ranked players. So for me it was truly an eye opening experience! I don’t ever want to lose another championship game!

SPORTS CITY U FIRST PRACTICE WITH ME AS A REAL MEMBER OF THE TEAM

Our practice was in Hurricane, WV… At Jimmy Clayton’s SCU gym. I love Jim Clayton; he was Michael Jordan’s shooting coach. Talk about high intensity!!! I’ve never seen him walk around at “normal human speed”… he is always in super high gear! He wants to see energy from everybody, so his training is intense from 8am to 8pm. At the end of the day he is still wired… like a puppy on REDBULL!!!! ENERGY… ENERGY… ENERGY!

To start day one, we had to run from the hotel to the gym… IT WAS 4.87 MILES! I lead the pack with Bianca Quisenberry the entire run (I wanted to show everybody that I belonged on this team… that I’m not some little 8th grade kid). Practice was great, EXCEPT for the drill where 3 girls have to rebound and score on the other 2 girls… with 6 girls that or 6’1” or taller, IT’S A NIGHTMARE!!!

It was another great practice. We had our shooting test, which I missed my first 4 shots but didn’t miss a single shot after that. I finished it with a minute to spare. My dad said I was the quickest girl to finish, which made me feel great! The team has made me feel welcome and actually passes me to ball in critical game situations to knock down 3’s. It’s pretty cool, because I just watched many of these girls playing in the Ohio state championship tourney!

WOW... I JUST GOT OFFERED TO PLAY FOR SPORTS CITY U RIGHT NOW NOT NEXT YEAR!!!!

I am so excited to be offered to play for Sports City U… I was voted onto the team unanimously!!!!

Did I say this team is STACKED… half the girls are over 6 foot and all are amazing!

Paige Cashin, Jenny Degraaf, Ashley Morrissette, Alexis Peterson, Bianca Quisenberry, Alexis Gassion, Martha Thompson, Alyssa Rice, Kathryn Westbeld, Makayla Waterman, Tierra Floyd, Marissa Howard, and now… drum roll please… Celina King.

I’ve been told it a thousand times… “In life, with the GOOD always comes the BAD”… Now I have to do probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do… Tell Carlton that I won’t be playing for him this season!!!

Well, Carlton wasn’t surprised that SCU asked me to start sooner, but I could tell he wasn’t thrilled with the idea!!! If that wasn’t bad enough, I had to do training with him for 2 hours after telling him…. Talk about an awkward 2 hours! I pray things get back to normal soon… it kills me to think I hurt him… I love Carlton; he is like a dad to me!!!

WORKOUT WITH GANON BAKER & SPORTS CITY U

Tom Jenkins (OGBR Ohio Girls Basketball Report and founder of Sports City U team) invited me to a private workout session with Ganon Baker and the Sports City U team. Ganon is the top trainer in the country (he trains Lebron, etc). Sports City U is a top ten team in the nation and I will be playing for them next year! We worked out 8 hours Saturday and another 8 hours Sunday. It was a great practice and I will admit I was tired! I was so thrilled to be able to hang with these girls… the whole team is a who’s who in Ohio… all STUDS!

What a great experience… I can’t wait to play for them next year!

CINCINNATI FINEST CONTINUE PRACTICE AND FUNDRAISING

Our team looks pretty good! I really enjoy practice… The fundraising has actually been pretty tiring but I’ve enjoyed it, my dad and I haven’t missed a minute of the fundraising… my fees have long been paid for… we spend the hours unloading skids of cartons filled with containers of roasted almonds and we place coupons on the container and reseal the boxes and load them back on skids. It’s pretty easy, but it kills your back bending over all day! It’s great they none of our parents will have to pay any AAU fees to play!!!

SEASONS OVER .... LOTS OF GAMES

It’s sad the season is over… But I’m so ready for AAU season!!!! It’s my last year to play with Cincinnati Finest 17U team… all my teammates are strong players and they will be seniors next year! So it’s the final AAU season for all of them. In 2013 I will start playing for Sports City U, they are the #1 team in Ohio and a top 10 team in the nation! I’m still training everyday but ready for team practice with Carlton Gray… he works us like dogs, but I honestly can’t wait for it to start!

PRAYING FOR MIRACLES.... CINCINNATI HILLS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

After Saturday’s game, I’m praying that the magic still exists! Of course… another 4 full quarters of BATTLE! I get really lucky and have another good game… we are down by 2 with 2 minutes left and I hit our final 8 points to win by 2! I had 25 points, went 5 for 5 on 2s and 4 of 10 on 3s and 3 for 4 on FT, plus 3 assists and 3 steals! Again I’m so happy to walk away with a victory! We hung around after the game because Ed Hackney was there and he is like a second dad to me! Ed introduced us to some of the CHCA parents and fans… they were all really nice people! It was a great experience playing here… players were nice, the parents were nice… the school was AMAZING!

FIRST GAME OF 2012 AGAINST UNDEFEATED LEXINGTON TEAM

We only had 6 girls show up to play our toughest opponent of the season… I’ll just say it; Commitment might be an issue on this team! Well, Blue Grass Baptist is undefeated this season and was runner up at KY State Championships last year and they were ready to pound us into the dirt! It was an absolute WAR… they are full court pressing me ALL GAME! They knew we had no bench, so why not!!!  I told myself that there is no way I’m going to lose this game! I had my best game of the season with 34 points and my friend Karri hit a wild 3 point shot at the buzzer! We won 57 to 56!!! Their fans were mad, but we got the win! It sure made the drive back to Ohio a lot more pleasant!!!

BRAGGIN RIGHTS CLASSIC & NEW YEARS EVE

What an amazing event… It’s always great to play in ANY of Coach DJ’s events… DJ is the best & I LOVE his mom! We had a battle against Glenville, back and forth… we were up by 2 with 5 seconds left and they called time-out. Coach made it clear “if the big girl gets the ball either foul her before she can shot or don’t touch her!!!” The worst we could do is go OT! Well of course their big girl gets the ball and we wait til she shoots and then foul her for no reason as she make a bunny!!! Of course she hits the layup and then makes the and-one FT and we lose! We did the exact opposite of what we were told 5 seconds earlier… I HATE LOSING! I thought my dad would go nuts, but he didn’t… he told us we played a great game. In the car on the drive home, he did say, “next time I’m putting you on the key player in that type of situation, I know you will do what I say & it doesn’t matter how big the girl is… we should have never lost that game!”

Our next game we lose to a team we would have beaten by 25 a week earlier! WHY? Because we didn’t play as a TEAM! We played so selfish and argued between ourselves during the game. It was embarrassing!

The last game of 2011, I wasn’t going to lose! But God knows we sure tried to lose… Coach said before the game that if we play another selfish game “Starter will ride the bench!” Some of the girls didn’t follow the rules and 3 minutes into the game, we all got benched! He made us watch as we fell behind by over 20 points!!! He said “you can all thank yourselves for this, because it’s 100% YOUR fault!” He then said, “let me know when you’ve embarrassed yourselves enough and want to PLAY BASKETBALL as a TEAM”. It was torture watching us get pounded! Finally he let us back in the 2nd quarter. We immediately went on a 20 to 0 run… at one point, we were shooting a free throw and I heard their coach tell his assistant “I don’t know what else to do!”… it was kinda funny!  We went on to an easy win and were all benched half way through the 4thquarter, but this time it was for the “right reason”, to get everybody some good floor minutes… WHAT A LESSON!!!

CHRISTMAS & LANDMARK GAMES

I had a GREAT Christmas! MERRY CHRISTMAS to everybody!!!

We have already played 8 games and are at 7 wins and 1 loss. Our average win is by over 37 points but our competition hasn’t been that tough! We have 3 more games in 2011 and then it’s Happy New Year 2012! My dad has sat me early in almost every game to get everyone playing time when we get a nice lead. He said that way no one can complain the next couple months when we play tougher opponents and the starters need to stay on the court. I think one game he only played me about a quarter… he said, nobody can complain if he cheats his own daughter out of more minutes than anyone! I love having my dad coach but he always makes a point to be harder on me than anyone else… I totally get why he does!

THE MIGHTY MACS MOVIE PREMIERE - WALK THE “RED CARPET”

I was invited by Cathy Rush, the person the movie is about to attend “The Mighty Macs” movie premiere at the Kimmel Center in Philly. It was a really fancy “Black Tie” event and I got to walk the “Red Carpet” with Cathy Rush! It was so cool; all these photographers were stopping us and taking pictures… I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CATHY RUSH! All the movie stars were there and of course… I WORE MY PINK KAY YOW NIKES with my dress!!!

It is a movie EVERYBODY would enjoy, especially if you play or coach women’s basketball.  I had so much fun…. They gave us VIP bands so we could eat and hang out in a private area with everyone after the movie! How can I possibly thank Cathy Rush, Tara Basile and ALL the Immaculata University folks that made it possible for me to attend… and of course, my mom and dad!!! It was an evening I will remember the rest of my life! THANKS!!!

PLAYING FOR LANDMARK CHRISTIAN... MY DAD COACHING

We are hoping to bring in some new girls to strengthen our team. I just wish everybody took practice seriously! I want us to get better and have a good winning season. I know my dad has got us some really good teams to play. Landmark has never played this many good teams in a season.

KIND WORDS FROM TOP SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER

Vince Rush the Top Sports Photographer in Cincinnati posted these kind words on his facebook.

Check out his Amazing Work:

http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com 

Vince Rush

A letter to Celina King, the 12 year old basketball phenom that many of you have heard me talk about. Last year she was a starting Varsity Point Guard on a Dayton High school basketball team that lost 1 game. When I met her and her family, I also met an ESPN writer that told me, there may only be 5 like her in the whole country. More impressive than her basketball abilities, are her humbleness, spirit and intellect.

MORE COLLEGE INTEREST LETTERS

AMAZING DAY… More College Interest Letters & Questionnaires                                           

I was so excited to receive 2 more college interest letters with questionnaires today! One from St. Bonaventure in the A10 and my first Big Ten letter from The University of Michigan!!! 

My dad, Carlton Gray and Ed Hackney always said “what you do when nobody is watching is what shows on the floor when everybody is watching”! 

Thank you mom & dad, Coach Carlton Gray (Cincinnati’s Finest) and Coach Ortney Bryant (Ladies First) for an AMAZING & UNFORGETABLE JULY! 

We were gone all month except a couple days travelling all across the country and playing in front of so many big time college coaches! My parents are the greatest in the world and my sister encouraged me with phone calls from home everyday!  

If I counted correctly, I played in 74 games this Spring and Summer.... No wonder my parents and Carlton ordered me to take a couple days off.