Houston Bi-District Round Standout Performers

This postseason has been off to a hot start with multiple high scoring games taking place in the bi-district round. I was able to watch 4 games over the course of the two days: Monday's slate featured Yates taking on Hamshire Fannett and Booker T Washington facing off against Hargrave to begin the 4A playoff bracket. Tuesday consisted of 6A games with Westfield/College Park and Grand Oaks/Dekaney. Grand Oaks, College Park, Washington, and Yates all punched their tickets to the next round on Monday and Tuesday. Let's examine the skillsets of some of these players who stood out to me.    Braylon Pete got the War Eagles off to a blazing fast start in their game against Hargrave. Pete scored the first 9 points for Booker T, lighting it up from behind the arc and making sure he had open space to let it fly from deep. Pete came away with a total of 24 points in this contest. This isn't the only way Braylon was able to impact the game; however, he was a good playmaker and came in clutch on defense during the full court press. His wingspan at the guard slot allows him to be a pest on defense and bother opposing players with physical perimeter defense causing turnovers. One of the best unsigned seniors left in Houston, Braylon will surely start attracting attention from multiple colleges/universities if he keeps playing at this level.     [player_tooltip player_id='2253095' first='Drake' last='Barrett'] had a game high 27 points in the Falcon's loss to Booker T in the bi-district round. Barrett showed he is not afraid to carry the scoring load on his back and scored from all three levels of the floor. Drake also helped handle the ball in the half court under constant pressure the entire contest and was a key contributor in the assists category. Coming off a great summer with Houston Apex, Drake will continue to be a leader for Hargrave in the long run going into his senior year. Barrett also contributed 6 rebounds in the game, helping crash the glass. A true three level scorer and shooter, Barrett impacts the game on offense in multiple ways.     La'Marr Henley had quite the impressive debut of his playoff career as he made it look easy, scoring a playoff high 43 points in Yates' rout of Hamshire Fannett. Henley launched shots from three-point land every time the defense left him the slightest bit of space and consistently converted plays at the free throw line. Helping to play both combo guard slots, La'Marr helped set the pace for the Lions as they sliced and diced the competition. As only a freshman, Henley shows tremendous upside and his ceiling is definitely sky high after this performance.     Pierce had a team high 16 points for the Cavs in their Tuesday win over Westfield at CE King. Pierce showed great floor spacing and tone-setting ability running the one slot a majority of the game and he was able to make his way to the basket and score against tough defense under the rim as well as bury shots from the perimeter and mid-range. Green uses quick moves and a good mix of size and speed to beat opposing players off the dribble. I was also impressed by his wishful decision making in this contest and vision to keep teammates involved.     Ebube Joseph was one of the main catalysts for Grand Oaks in their win over Dekaney on Tuesday night. The big man had 17 points and 13 rebounds, completely controlling the glass and helping his team get second chance opportunities. Even though he didn't take one this game, Joseph is also capable of shooting from distance if given ample space and he runs the floor well in transition for his size. A big man with a huge hustle motor, Ebube continues to make plays on both end and most certainly will receive attention with Grand Oaks moving further into the playoffs.     Dedric was a great mix of scoring and playmaking running the combo guard slot for the Dekaney Wildcats in their first-round loss to Grand Oaks. West was able to score shots from multiple areas of the court, displaying three level scoring and high IQ decision making. Dedric was a great playmaker off the P&R, always finding open teammates for good looks at the basket and creating shots for himself in the mid-range and three-point range. Often if he drove to the paint, he would get fouled and cash in at the charity stripe for free points. Dedric had a game high 18 points in this playoff contest.

This postseason has been off to a hot start with multiple high scoring games taking place in the bi-district round. I was able to watch 4 games over the course of the two days: Monday's slate featured Yates taking on Hamshire Fannett and Booker T Washington facing off against Hargrave to begin the 4A playoff bracket. Tuesday consisted of 6A games with Westfield/College Park and Grand Oaks/Dekaney. Grand Oaks, College Park, Washington, and Yates all punched their tickets to the next round on Monday and Tuesday. Let's examine the skillsets of some of these players who stood out to me.