TexLou Christmas Showcase Standout Studs

There were definitely more than just a few hoopers that showed out at the TexLou Sports Christmas Showcase. Many of these ballplayers made a strong case for a high ranking in front of the fans this week and were all pumped up for some high caliber matchups. Let's look at some of the scoring-heavy players….   Dillon Battie- Lancaster High School (2024)   Dillon was an unstoppable force driving to the basket in his teams' afternoon contest against Zachary High School. Battie would often isolate his defender and use speed and length to get to the rim with ease and finish off a rim rocking jam or an easy layup for two points. He also was very efficient at the free throw line, converting almost all of his and-one opportunities. Dillon has a big role on the team this year as a junior and figures to be one of the main scorers for his squad as they look to make a big statement in district play coming up around the corner. Dillon was fun to watch as he was quick with his footwork, had great defensive awareness, and was very vocal on both ends. Battie finished the winning 59-44 contest against Zachary with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists.   [player_tooltip player_id='2290122' first='Milton' last='Rice']- FB Hightower High School (2024)   Milton was the main scoring presence for his Hightower squad in a tough, physical matchup against Shaun Dumas Academy. Rice scored from all three levels of the game whether it was in the paint, midrange, or from deep range. Milton was also denying his matchup the ball the entire game, playing great defense and shifting the offense away from his side of the court. Rice will continue to improve his outside shot as well, hitting a couple from deep in this contest and showed some promise at the foul stripe also. He will continue to be a main threat for his team on the offensive end and will also create problems and turnovers for opposing teams on defense. Rice finished the 58-50 victory with 24 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.   Shavurdacour Nicholas- LB Landry High School (2023)   Nicholas came in the building on Wednesday night and lit up the defense, scoring in all different ways. He was a big time difference maker for Landry in a main event matchup against the host school St. Thomas on both ends of the floor. Nicholas scored 19 points in this game despite the loss, knocking down several shots in the face of defenders and making them pay for leaving him space on clean looks at the basket. Shavurdacour was also a premier defender, often taking on the challenge of guarding the opposing teams best player and he definitely makes them work for all their scoring opportunities. Nicholas shows a lot of promise as a senior leader for a deep LB Landry squad this year. Shavurdacour had an all around great stat line with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, as well as 5 steals.   Evan Levy- St. Thomas High School (2025)   Evan was the best shooter on display Wednesday evening, as he buried 6/7 three pointers from beyond the arc in a stunning display!!! Levy was money off the catch and shoot on the offensive end and buried opponents for leaving him open from long range. Evan also showed great capability as a ball-handling guard and was very unselfish, often setting off-ball screens for teammates to get open or cut to the basket. Evan's defense also kept his matchup in check, as his lateral quickness and on-court awareness was impressive on that end of the court. Evan will only continue to improve as he comes in a sophomore this year on an experienced St. Thomas squad that will fight for a first place finish in a tough private school district. Evan finished the contest with 24 points and 6 assists.   Demetric Kindle- Furr High School (2023)   Kindle had to make sure he was prepared to go full out on the offensive end as his team was first up to play on Wednesday against a young St. Augustine Louisiana squad. Demetric was efficient at driving to the basket and finishing over contact, often sinking the free throw to complete the and-one play. Kindle was also a shot blocking machine rising up to send opponents shots away under the basket, finishing the contest with at least 4 or 5 swats. Demetric never put his head down despite the deficit in the first half and led Furr's comeback to take control in the second half and win the game 63-57. Kindle was a great hustle player and fun to watch as he was always scrappy on loose balls and was never afraid to put his body on the line for his teammates. Kindle finished the contest with 20 points and 8 rebounds.

There were definitely more than just a few hoopers that showed out at the TexLou Sports Christmas Showcase. Many of these ballplayers made a strong case for a high ranking in front of the fans this week and were all pumped up for some high caliber matchups. Let's look at some of the scoring-heavy players….