Clear Lake Falconhoops

While boys basketball is prominent in Houston — in the high schools, the Amateur Athletic Union and select teams - the city is also known for the girls players it produces.

When it comes to talent, Houston has become a hotbed for girls basketball on the high school as well as the summer select scene.

"College coaches are going to follow the talent," Rice women's coach Greg Williams said. "Houston has always been a focal point and one of the hotbeds for girls basketball for a long time."

While there has long been a plethora of talent locally, the exposure for that talent has grown exponentially in recent years. With the success of individuals such as Cy-Fair's sister duo of Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, Nimitz center Brittney Griner and Dulles post Kelsey Bone -—all of whom were high school All-Americans and were either ranked as the top recruit nationally in their class or earned a national player of the year award — more attention is being paid to Houston's talent.

Combined with the robust scene in Dallas, Texas is becoming a focal point for grass-roots basketball.

"More events are going to start coming to the south area," former Bellaire High School assistant and Cy-Fair Shock coach Rob Amboree, who is now an assistant recruiting coordinator at Prairie View A&M. "A lot of the big (AAU) events are up on the East Coast, but Texas is really starting to change that and could possibly surpass the East Coast."

That doesn't mean there aren't some issues in the girls select scene. As is the case on the boys side, the relationships between high school coaches and AAU coaches aren't always positive. But some high school coaches said they have good working relationships with the people who coach their players in the summer.

"It's no different than any big business — you're going to have some people in it for the right reasons and some who aren't," Clear Creek coach Jana Williams said. "I've been fortunate in that the parents of my players have been selective of the programs they send their kids to, and I go out and support them in the summer so I have good relationships with the people who coach my players."

There also isn't the perception that the girls scene is as "seedy" or "cutthroat" as the boys because the earning potential for players is much less. While an elite boys basketball player might score a multimillion-dollar contract if he makes it to the NBA, the chances of girls earning that much playing basketball are considerably slimmer.

AAU basketball is considered a vehicle to help a player get a college scholarship, but for girls the education — rather than the possibility of a future playing career — is often the ultimate goal.

"There's no money in women's basketball," said Howard Randle, director of the Houston Elite program. "The opportunity to get to the WNBA is slim. You're playing to have an opportunity to go to college to get a free education. You have to commend those young ladies for that because they know going into it that 'I'm not going to get paid.' "

Shoe company sponsorships are also more rare on the girls scene. For example, Nike sponsors 42 select boys teams nationally in the 17-and-under division and many more in younger age groups. For girls, only 20 teams — regardless of age group — are sponsored by Nike.

Those circumstances make for fewer individuals getting into the scene for financial gain.

"In that sense, you have to think there are a lot of coaches that are doing it for the right reasons because they aren't getting rich," North Shore coach Allison Campbell said. "Any kid that I have that wants to play AAU, we can always find a place for them that's affordable."

That doesn't mean there aren't transgressions, though. Cy-Fair Shock director Al Coleman, who has been involved in the grass-roots scene since 1997, believes things can be done better.

"Everyone wants to win, but if you don't get kids to college then you really haven't achieved your primary goal," Coleman said. "Some people just don't know the game on the national level. They think going to a local tournament and winning the trophy is the end all and that's not it.

"There are a lot of coaches that recruit kids to win basketball games and at the end of the day they really don't care if that kid goes to college or not."

Still, the stigma carried with boys AAU basketball doesn't seem to apply to the girls scene.

"I feel like the majority of the guys in Houston are good guys," Campbell said. "For the most part, they have the kids' best interest at heart."