North Houston's Standouts to Kick Off February - Ball Handlers

Prep Hoops was in attendance for three games in the North Houston area from February 4th to 8th and several players put on impressive performances. On Friday, February 4, the 21-7 Woodlands Christian Academy Warriors played host to the 17-14 Lutheran South Academy Pioneers, with the Warriors coming away with a convincing 67-46 victory. On Saturday, February 5, the 22-8 College Park Cavaliers visited the 11-18 Conroe Tigers, and while it was a close one in the first half, the Cavaliers pulled away in the 2nd for the win on their opponent's home court, 65-48. Lastly, on Tuesday, February 8, the 29-4 Cypress Falls Eagles traveled to the 18-12 Bridgeland Bears' home court and finished with a dominating 68-35 victory. Below we review the standout ball handlers. Also check out: <a href="https://prephoops.com/2022/02/north-houstons-standouts-to-kick-off-february-ball-handlers/">Standout Ball Handlers</a> | <a href="https://prephoops.com/2022/02/north-houstons-standouts-to-kick-off-february-wings/">Standout Wings</a> | <a href="https://prephoops.com/2022/02/north-houstons-standouts-to-kick-off-february-bigs/">Standout Bigs</a> #13 - [player_tooltip player_id="889590" first="Austin" last="Benigni"] - 5'11" - PG - Senior - The Woodlands Christian Academy vs. Lutheran South Academy [caption id="attachment_1115005" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/DSC_1313.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1115005" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/DSC_1313-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> Photo Credit: Noah Weber (Prep Hoops)[/caption] Benigni was in a shooting slump from the start in this game, but he didn't let that deter him from making an impact every other way possible. Even with his several misses from beyond the arc and the clear frustration he showed because of it, he was still the obvious choice for best player on the court with his all-around talent, ability and energy on both ends of the floor. He used his quick and shifty handles to get to anywhere he wanted, even with the tough zone defense the Pioneers deployed at times, and he found his teammates with smooth passes time and time again. He was spreading the ball to everyone, hitting Wyatt Boeker with a beautiful dish on a drive early in the 1st and then following that up with an alley oop to Boeker in the 2nd. He then delivered a clean behind-the-back pass to [player_tooltip player_id="1052161" first="Chanse" last="Perkins"] in the 3rd for the easy finish. Benigni's shot wasn't falling, but his drives were working to perfection, and he attacked the basket with speed and aggression to get several layups to fall, including a strong spin through traffic in the 2nd and a smooth up-and-under in the 3rd. It wasn't all offense for him either, he was just as aggressive on the defensive end too. He came away with several steals throughout the game that almost always went the other way for a fastbreak conversion. He interrupted passing lanes and was an absolute pest as an on-ball defender, and he was relentless in his pursuit of the ball, fighting for several 50/50's and diving on the floor for a steal in the 2nd quarter. #0 - Galen Waters - 6'1" - SG/PG - Senior - Lutheran South Academy vs. The Woodlands Christian Academy Waters was one of the few bright spots for Lutheran South, scoring at will at times and causing all sorts of issues for the Warriors' defense early on. His midrange shot was working from the start, hitting off the dribble and off the catch from all over the court and he even sprinkled in some 3-pointers, as well. TWCA's defense seemed to focus in on him in the 2nd half and Waters adjusted accordingly. He played more off-ball with his constant movement and strong cuts to the basket, and he looked to create for his teammates more often too. With not too many shots falling for the Pioneers, Waters tried to keep them in it even with the defense focused on him, attacking the paint himself more and hitting a couple tough floaters in the 2nd half. #2 - Jordan Darjean - 5'6" - PG/SG - Senior - College Park vs. Conroe Darjean had his team going early in this one. With everyone else around him getting off to somewhat of a sluggish start, he was attacking with speed and quickness and leading the Cavaliers to an early lead. He was using his quick handles to attack the paint and finished off several drives through traffic, with an and-1 layup coming early in the 1st quarter. Then when the defense started collapsing on him, he used his vision to find his open teammates and get them going too. With the paint starting to get clogged up, he extended his range a bit and started hitting beautiful and smooth floaters in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He stayed active on the defensive end, as well, disrupting passing lanes and coming away with at least one steal in the 3rd quarter. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/020522-College-Park-Darjean.mp4"][/video] Video credit to Brian Shaw, 8th Grade, Knox Junior High #4 - Darel Reece - 6'2" - PG/SG - Senior - College Park vs. Conroe Reece started off a little cold early in the game, but he made his impact several other ways, especially on the defensive side, and then his offense quickly caught up for him to have one of the more outstanding performances out of both teams on the court on Saturday afternoon. His speed and toughness were his most noticeable traits throughout the game with the amount of fastbreaks he initiated and the kind of hard-nosed defense he put on display. He had several steals as the on-ball defender and as the off-ball defender intercepting passing lanes, at least one in every quarter, and he almost always turned them the other way to immediately lead the fastbreak. He set up his teammate with an unselfish dish on the fastbreak in the 1st quarter and then took on the scoring role the rest of the way with several finishes through contact on the fastbreak, coming away with and-1's in the 2nd and 4th quarters. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/020522-College-Park-Reece.mp4"][/video] Video credit to Brian Shaw, 8th Grade, Knox Junior High #1 - Keddric Mays - 6'1" - PG/SG - Senior - Bridgeland vs. Cypress Falls Mays was the lone bright spot for Bridgeland in what was otherwise a difficult showing for the Bears against one of the top teams in Texas in Cypress Falls. While the rest of his team struggled to get a basket, Mays was putting in work with his quick handles and strong and aggressive demeanor. He was fearlessly attacking the basket and fighting through contact to get tough layups to fall every time down the court, highlighted by a strong layup through traffic in the 2nd quarter. He also pulled off a quick and aggressive spin layup in the 2nd, drawing the foul and sending him to the line for two. He managed to hit a 3-point shot in the 2nd, as well, but most of his work was done on his drives to the paint. On defense, he was doing all he could to stay with Cypress Falls' talented guards, getting a steal in the 3rd quarter and turning it the other way for a fast break, but for most of the game, Cy Falls' [player_tooltip player_id="1052155" first="Jesaiah" last="McWright"] and Xavier Scott were in complete control, and it would have been tough for any player to stop them. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/020822-Bridgeland-Kedric-Mays.mp4"][/video] Video credit to Brian Shaw, 8th Grade, Knox Junior High #3 - Xavier Scott - 6'0" - PG/SG - Senior - Cypress Falls vs. Bridgeland Scott was the lead guard for Cypress Falls, calmly and patiently maneuvering through the defense and setting up the Eagles offense. He was getting everyone involved, delivering beautiful passes time and time again to various players whenever they got open. He also willingly pushed the pace when the opportunities were there, delivering accurate and timely full court outlet passes. He worked well with the star of the team, [player_tooltip player_id="1052155" first="Jesaiah" last="McWright"], allowing him to handle the ball on several possessions, and playing extremely well off the ball, making sure to cut through open lanes and keep the defense moving. He stayed active on the defensive end, as well, keeping his hands up and disturbing passing lanes whenever the ball crossed his path, getting at least one steal in the 3rd quarter. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/020822-Cypress-Falls-Xavier-Scott.mp4"][/video] Video credit to Brian Shaw, 8th Grade, Knox Junior High #23 - [player_tooltip player_id="1052155" first="Jesaiah" last="McWright"] - 6'4" - SG/PG - Senior - Cypress Falls vs. Bridgeland McWright was the star of the show for Cypress Falls and showed everyone the type of talent Louisiana Tech is getting next year. He was calm and collected throughout the entire game, even with the Bridgeland student section chirping at him every chance they had. His midrange game was working to perfection, creating space with his smooth and quick handles, and then rising up for a clean shot over any defender Bridgeland threw his way. He hit one 3 in the 1st quarter, but then the rest of his shots were all from midrange throughout the first 3 quarters until Coach Flores sat the starters in the 4th. He was also attacking the basket with patience and composure, hitting a smooth spin layup through traffic in the 3rd quarter and finishing off a fast break in the 1st. It wasn't all scoring for McWright either. His passing was on full display, and he spread the wealth beautifully, taking full control of the offense at times and sharing the ball well with his fellow guard, Xavier Scott. On defense, he kept his hands active, knocking the ball loose several times, and made sure to stay vertical on several paint attacks by the opposing guards, limiting his fouls but still challenging every shot. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/020822-Cypress-Falls-Jesaiah-McWright.mp4"][/video] Video credit to Brian Shaw, 8th Grade, Knox Junior High