Just got back from the UIL State Tournament

I could put this in the College, NBA Draft forum, and perhaps it belongs there, but I figured it was kindof borderline. . .

Anyhow, I just got back from the UIL State Tournament in Austin -- saw the 2A, 4A and 5A state championship games.

<b>2A Game - Brock vs. Hitchcock - Brock 81-52</b>
Brock ROLLED in its semifinal game, winning by almost 40 points, but you had to figure they couldn't duplicate that kind of performance - GOSH was I wrong. Brock came out gunning. They run something like the Princeton offense -- lots of back screens and backdoor plays, lots of passing, not a whole lot of one on one play. Really, very pure, "pretty" basketball. They were entertaining to watch just on that alone. Hitchcock was never really in this one. After the first quarter, Brock really came at Hitchcock well, and Hitchcock couldn't defend anything Brock was running. Hitchcock was a more athletic team, but they were much more one on one oriented, with players driving individually to the basket and trying to take it inside. In the first half, Brock didn't do the greatest job defending Hitchcock on that, but they really tightened it up in the second-half by playing the passing lanes and getting lots of steals. Brock had two players who I could see being potential D1 players. Their center couldn't have been more than 6'6, but he was very dominant inside. He had the kind of game that would translate well to a SF position. He got offensive rebounds well, followed his shots, and could step out on the floor and handle the ball and pass as well as anyone else on the team. They had another player who really sealed the game for Brock at the end of the first half. With the clock running down, he drives, spins around his defender and hits a leaning three-pointer at the buzzer to put Brock up by something like 14, and the whole team just ran right off the floor to the locker room. That play right there was just a complete backbreaker for Hitchcock. It was all they could do just to stay in the game, and for the other team to hit THAT shot, then, with such swagger, run off the court was just a mental killer. You could see it in Hitchcock's atitude. They just kindof stood there like "what just happened". In the second-half, Brock pulled away easily, and dominated the game offensively and defensively. I loved watching this game just to see Brock. If you are a basketball fan, you had to love watching them because they play such fluid, team-based, fundamental basketball. They ran the offense perfectly, very rarely turned the ball over or made mistakes, and every player could handle the ball and pass as well as every other player. This game was a blast to watch, despite the dull outcome.

<b>4A - Dunbar vs. Beaumont-Ozen - Dunbar 66-54</b>
This was the game to see right here. The gym was packed, Dunbar only had one loss on the season and Ozen was undefeated. Add Kendrick Perkin's final HS game to the mix, and you had the makings of a great game . . . and it was for 99% of the game.

Ozen came out very nicely, taking it to Kendrick Perkins a LOT. On Perkins -- this kid has an NBA body, and some phenomenal skills. He can handle the ball very well for a big man, he has nice strong moves around the basket, he is a good defender and rebounder, he's very agile and mobile, he runs the court well, and most of all, he's a very nice passer. But he has one drawback -- he seems lackadaisical and kindof lazy sometimes. Now, this is the ONLY game of his that I've seen, so I can hardly be any sort of a critic, but these are all the exact same things I've read in scouting reports of him. If this game is any indication, they reports are dead-on. At the very beginning of the game, Perkins came out like a beast. He was blocking everything, getting steals, dunks, hooks, even a turn-around. But then after the first quarter, he kind of disappeared from the offense. By the half he had 15 points. He only scored 3 more in the game. The problem was not entirely his though -- Ozen just didn't get him the ball often enough. They started putting him in the corner, out by the 3-point line to draw the opposing C away from the basket, but that neutralized Kendrick too. About what I said with regard to his hustle -- Kendrick reminds me of Kelvin Cato of last year and two years ago. Now, Kendrick has MUCH more skill, but if you remember how Kelvin would sometimes not run down the court if it looked like the offense would get an easy bucket, or for any number of other reasons. Sometimes Kelvin would have players get rebounds around him that he should've gotten easily, but he just didn't put forth the effort. Kendrick is just like that. The thing is, he still played pretty well, but he was outplayed by number 32 for Dunbar, who had 25+ points. Kendrick is a GREAT outlet passer, and he was able to create easy baskets at least 3 or 4 times with his outlet passing. Kendrick could be a VERY VERY VERY good player, but he should really go to college for a year or two, refine his skills, and put forth a bit more of a consistent effort, and he will be a VERY nice pro. The thing is, if he comes out this year right to the NBA, he won't make it, IMO. He just seems so lackidaisical and lethargic out there sometimes, that he could REALLY get eaten up.

For the first half, Ozen played a very nice game. They worked the ball inside to Perkins a lot, and he responded well, getting 15 in the first two. They did a good job playing defense and getting off good shots. Dunbar came out with a ton of swagger, trash-talking and showing off in warm-ups, but they really fell flat in the first 5 minutes. When the second-half started, Dunbar came out with a very tough defense, and took it right at Ozen. Ozen just couldn't handle it, and turned the ball over again and again and again. Ozen killed themselves in this game with turnovers. They had five or six posessions where they didn't get a single shot off because they turned the ball over every time. And they were really dumb turnovers too, throwing the ball out of bounds, passes slipping out of their hands, trying to get too fancy and losing the dribble, etc. All this time, Perkins was not getting the ball in the post, and number 32 for Dunbar was scoring at will. In the fourth-quarter, the play of the tournament happened, and it pretty much signalled that the game was over. After this, Ozen never recovered, and Dunbar was clearly ahead for good. One of Dunbar's players missed an outside jumper, and out of NOWHERE, number 32 flies in and slams in the putback, right over Kendrick Perkins. This guy is going to be a player to watch next year -- he's only a Junior right now, and he's got D1 talent written all over him. At the very end of the game, Ozen kept fouling Dunbar, and the last minute took 15, but the game was pretty well decided, and the free-throws showed that.

This game alone was worth the price of admission. It was the most hyped game of the tourney, and it didn't disappoint.

<b>5A - Corpus Christi Ray vs. DeSoto - De Soto 94-73</b>
My friend, with whom I watched the tournament, was telling me before the game about DeSoto. He'd seen them in San Antonio at a tournament, and they came within four points of beating a big-name school in California. His comment was "They've got these two guards who are BALLERS". DAMN, was he right. This game started out pretty well, and held like that for much of the first-half. DeSoto came out strong, and CCRay would come within two or tie, then DeSoto would pull away again. DeSoto had a guard, number 10, who was a Baron Davis, Steve Francis-type of combo-guard who really took charge. He had 20 in the first half, and played tough defense. In the second-half, he gave the ball to two other players (3 and 21) who carried the scoring load for the rest of the game. CCRay had some good players, but they never really could make it close after DeSoto pulled away by mid-third quarter.

Overall, a great day of basketball. Anyone else go?