OTR Christmas Crossover: Under the Radar Prospects

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend, I took a trip to the OTR Christmas Crossover on Saturday afternoon at the Woodlands Christian Academy. Elite basketball was on display all day as teams battled back and forth for momentum in the showcase and some prospects decided to make their names known as they put on a show for the crowd..</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2112011' first='Payton' last='Jones']-Good Vision Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Payton was all over the floor in his teams dominant win on Saturday afternoon over the John Cooper school. Jones showed himself to be a lethal shooter, only missing one or two shots in the second half and turned up the heat when his team needed him to ensure a blowout victory. Payton ended the contest with 20 points on 8/13 shooting and also added 9 rebounds and 7 assists, coming up just short of a triple double. He was a great facilitator of the offense and was adept at always finding his teammates in the right spot for an easy bucket. Payton's hustle and unselfish nature earned him the cover image of the weekend for this article. Payton has a bright future ahead of him if he continues to show this level of play and coachability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jakobe Dykes- Shaun Dumas Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jakobe was an unstoppable force in SDA's blowout 86-43 victory over JL Swish Academy on Saturday morning at the Crossover. Dykes shot an incredibly efficient percent from all three levels of the court, scoring 29 points going 11-18 and also pulling down 10 rebounds for a high impact double -double. Jakobe was a driving force for the Dumas squad as they kept feeding him the rock on the offensive end and allowed him to isolate his matchup for an easy bucket. He will continue to be a high impact player the squad relies on as they progress through a tough schedule this season and will only continue to improve both on and off the court as Coach Dumas is great at connecting with his players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1354707' first='Devon' last='Pryor']- PSAT Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Devon was an all star in all facets of the game on Saturday afternoon helping PSAT pull out a close victory over ISchool of Lewisville. Pryor ended up scoring 17 points, going 6/9 from the field and was very efficient on the defensive end as well, notching several steals and blocks for his Panthers squad. This was my second or third time getting to watch PSAT play this season and Devon is clearly one of the more vocal and mental leaders on this team, always motivating his teammates to stay focused and letting his play on the floor do the talking. Devon will continue to make a big impact as PSAT faces a tough road schedule the rest of this year, but they can definitely make a strong case for being one of the clear best teams in Houston.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1359642' first='Howie' last='Keene']- Concordia Lutheran</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Howie played the role of sharpshooter this weekend for his Crusaders squad as they cruised to a win over Asheville Christian out of North Carolina. Keene always found the open spot on the floor and would spot up from behind the three point line until his teammates always managed to find him for an open knockdown jumper. Howie is definitely one of the more reliable shooters I have seen play this season and has only improved since the summer. He always possesses a can-do attitude and is a very positive teammate. Keene also has great footwork on defense, showing off impressive lateral quickness and ability to stay in front of his matchup. Howie ended up scoring 16 points in the victory on 5/10 shooting with most of his points coming from behind the arc.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->