Join our talented VYPE Live crew for the Girls Basketball match-up on Friday, January 17.
Cedar Park Timberwolves vs. Rouse
6:45 p.m. Pre-game, 7:00 Tipoff
Cedar Park GBB Crew: Mike Rose, QA – Randy Frye
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Join our talented VYPE Live crew for the Girls Basketball match-up on Friday, January 17.
Cedar Park Timberwolves vs. Rouse
6:45 p.m. Pre-game, 7:00 Tipoff
Cedar Park GBB Crew: Mike Rose, QA – Randy Frye
Ladies first. So says tradition and most of the etiquette books on the market. (And yes, there is an “Etiquette for Dummies” book, which is just about my speed.) But it’s also the case when it comes to Texas High School Girls Basketball, which always starts its season a week ahead of the guys.
As we’re still immersed in football, and volleyball has just wrapped up, we’re not quite ready to break out the Austin area Girls Basketball polls just yet – but they’re coming. In the meantime, quite a collection of teams are off to tremendous starts.
Vista Ridge (12-2) has virtually everyone back from last year’s young playoff team and figures to duel it out with Vandegrift (11-5) for the District 25-6A title. Bowie (11-4) and Westlake (8-2) seem to be the early cream of the 26-6A crop.
5A is where the serious action is. The top teams overall record-wise so far are Georgetown (10-1) from District 23-5A; Bastrop (12-1) and Crockett (10-2) in 24-5A -- and pick your team out of 25-5A.
Seriously.
Seven of the eight teams in that district are well over .500 in the early going, with traditional powers Liberty Hill (9-1), Rouse (8-2) and last year’s State semifinalist Cedar Park (8-2) leading the way.
It’s going to be fun watching these races all play out. And here’s a guarantee that just when we think we’ve got it all figured out and start cranking our Austin area Girls Basketball poll in the next week or two, the only experts who matter – the teams themselves – will cast the only votes that count from gyms across the CenTex area.
1 -- ST. FRANCIS EPISCOPAL WOLVES
The Wolves were one of the most dominant teams, not only in the private school sector, but in the entire state a year ago.
When scoping the immense length and stature of their roster, one can immediately understand why that happened to be the case.
Coach Harold Baber and company went 28-10 in 2023 and claimed the TAPPS-3A State Title with their 61-53 win over Lubbock Christian, marking the first championship banner for SFE since opening its doors in 2018.
With the majority of their last year’s stars returning, a repeat could be in store now that they move up to TAPPS-4A.
The group is led by 6-foot-10 power forward Nigel Walls, who is a four-star recruit that will recently committed to TCU.
Of course, he’s not alone on the court, as first-team, all-state recipients O’Marion Harvey (Sr. F), John Laboy (Sr. PG) and Christian Hodge (Sr. F) will also aid in the effort to go back-to-back this winter.
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2 -- ST. JOHN'S SCHOOL MAVERICKS
On the Southwest Preparatory Conference scene, it doesn’t get much better than St. John’s.
While they were denied a chance at a championship this past season, all signs are pointing towards a different result this time around.
After all, they have one of the most highly-recruited players in the nation – Sebastian Williams-Adams – in the lineup. Standing at 6-foot-8, the senior forward has finally narrowed down his future collegiate team to Auburn ahead of his last year with the Mavericks.
Sebastian Williams-Adams (St. John's School)Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
All-SPC honoree Malachi Booker (So. F) and Harvard-commit (football) Cole Allen combine for a scary-good trio on the floor, which will surely keep opposing defenses on their toes.
If all goes well for coach Taylor Green’s skilled rotation, SJS will hoist their first title since 2014 in the coming months.
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