Buzz and AAU circuit in "hotbed" Houston--interesting articles on AAU/recruiting

[HouWarrior]

Buzz was here at Htown hoops and Kingwood Classic---Houston Chronicle is running good series of articles on recruiting/AAU issues--good reads:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hso/7135054.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hso/7134237.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/hso/7136448.html

...I am pretty sure Houston program head Hal Pastner is kin to Memphis Josh Pastner...a pipeline connection for him...here is an excerpt:

...""Anybody involved in all of this does this because they love working with kids," said Hal Pastner, the founder of the Kingwood Classic and Houston Hoops, a program that has produced pro players such as Rashard Lewis, Emeka Okafor, T.J. Ford and Kendrick Perkins .

Regardless of the viewpoint, AAU provides exposure. College coaches used to be allowed to watch non-high school basketball in April, but the NCAA put a stop to that. July is the only month they can do so, and there are two viewing sessions - the first spanning from July 6-15 and the second from July 22 to today.

During that time, head coaches such as Marquette's Buzz Williams, SMU's Matt Doherty, Nebraska's Doc Sadler and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall as well as top assistants from every Big 12 school have passed through the city.

A hoops hotbed
On this afternoon, they've shifted from court to court to keep an eye on Cameron Ridley, a 6-11, 260-pound rising senior center from Fort Bend Bush who stars for the Houston Hoopstars.

"He has a chance to be the best big man in the country," said Evan Daniels, a national recruiting analyst for Scout.com. "He's a monster."

These days, the Bayou City is regarded as a hoops hotbed.

"Coming up, these are the best two years for talent in that city I've seen since I started covering recruiting," Daniels said.
...."
..."Second Baptist point guard L.J. Rose is another example. Ranked as the top junior point guard nationally by ESPNU, Rose has "too many offers to count," according to his father Lynden Rose. The younger Rose, who plays with Houston Hoops in the summer, led Second Baptist to a state championship game last season, was an all-state selection and competed abroad with USA Basketball's 16-and-under team in 2009.

Lynden Rose, a former University of Houston basketball player and a member of the school's board of regents, said his son got his first scholarship offer as a seventh-grader and an estimated dozen by the time he entered high school.
...."

Guys like these are why Buzz having Houston connections is good.

[Blackhat]

I believe Fort Bend Bush is Otule's former high school.

[HouWarrior]

I believe Fort Bend Bush is Otule's former high school.

Right--they went to Class 5a champ game last year--good program

[muhoops1]

...I am pretty sure Houston program head Hal Pastner is kin to Memphis Josh Pastner

It's his Dad.