Spent the evening in Austin at the Hoop Zone Fall League. Overall, the quality of teams did not come near the level of those I observed last week in the Pflugerville League. There were only two public schools participating; Austin Lanier and Cedar Park. The rest of the league consisted of two small private schools; Brentwood Christian, & Summit Christian. There was an intermediate sized private in Hyde Park and then two of the historically better privates in the State in Austin St. Stephen's and Austin St. Michael's.
An intriguing younger prospect caught my eye with tiny Summit Christian though. 2012 Jamal Shabazz a 6'1" G competed hard against a much superior St. Michael's team and had more than his share of aggressive plays and displayed a decent jumper for a frosh playing against some seasoned varsity players. We'll keep a close eye on him. His mom said he is projected to be 6'7". If so, it's goodbye Summit Christian, and hello 5A public...lol
UPDATE 9/28/08
My sources tell me that Shabazz was a freshman last year at Pflugerville HS, and apparently has reclassified at Summit. This is not a negative, because he is extremely young. However, ideally the reclassification should have been handled prior to entering high school. In texas, the UIL restricts kids to a 4 year eligibility period in high school. So, under these conditions the player could not play varsity athletics as a senior. If Jamal continues to develop then his options to transfer in Texas are limited. I believe St. Stephen's is the only school in the Austin area that deals with 5th year players. We'll keep an eye on this situation.
UPDATE 9/30/08
Ms. Cheryl, just so it's clear I am on the same page with you regarding his advanced academics. I think that is a beautiful thing. I am fully supportive and respectful of that. I was just clarifying my previous positive comments and stating UIL rules in Texas. I would agree that Jamal will accomplish great things and wish him the best. With all due respect though, if it's athletics he wants to pursue in addition to education then he will be severely limited as a senior without that year on the playing field. God is great, and will guide you as I can see from your comments. All my respect and best of luck. Let me know if there is anything I can ever do to help..Coach Max
