SOUTHERN
STARZ LATEST NEWZ!
Become a member of the Southern Starz
on
STARZ 15U play for 3rd place on Saturday in FILA Nationals!!
Our STARZ 15u will play on Saturday at 12:40pm against Indy
Finest 16u for 3rd place at the FILA Nationals in Atlanta,
GA.!!!
STARZ 14U, 15U, & 16U travel to Georgia to play in FILA Nationals!!
Our AL
Southern Starz 14u, 15u, & 16u teams will be
traveling to Georgia to play in their final event of 2010,
the
FILA Nationals
(by Michael T. White) on July 28-31 at Suwanee
Sports Academy in Suwanee, GA (Atlanta). More than 150
teams from California to New York and all over the
country will participate and perform in front of hundreds of
college coaches as the NCAA-allowed college viewing period
for July 2010 comes to a close. As evidenced during our
trip to Orlando in early July ... College Coaches are
following ALL of our Starz teams!! Starz 16U will play in
the top 64-team 17U-National Division (Bracket C),
Starz 15U will play UP in the
32-team 17U-Signature Division (Bracket B) and
Starz 14U will play UP in the
24-team 15U-National Division (Bracket B). Tournament
information (including Rules, Directions, Schedules,
etc.) can be found at the following link:
http://asgr.info/tournaments/filanationals/scores.php.
GO STARZ!!
STARZ 15U Finish #11 in the Nation & #5 in AAU Showcase for
2010! 
The early July College Exposure viewing period for our Starz 15U-Bush team
began with the AAU Sophomore (15U) Showcase on July 8-10 and
the AAU 15U National Championships on July 11-15 in Orlando,
FL at ESPN/Disney's Wide World of Sports in front of
hundreds of college coaches! Our Starz finished Pool Play
in the AAU Showcase as the #2 team after a tough loss to
the Orlando Comets 15U-Red team which went on to win BOTH
the AAU Sophomore Showcase & the AAU 15U National
Championship. One of our Starz key players (Hayden Hamby)
missed this game due to food poisoning. Starz 15U went on
to finish tied for 5th in the AAU Sophomore Showcase after a
tough loss in bracket play to the Georgia Elite 15U team
which went on to finish Runner-Up in the AAU Showcase and
4th overall at the AAU 15U National Championship.
In the AAU 15U National Championship Tournament, our Starz
15U opened Pool Play with a HUGE 63-62 win over the #2
Seeded Maryland Flames, a team which had finished in the Top
7 during the past 4 years! There were more than 40 college
coaches in attendance at this game! AAU then moved the
Starz 15U next pool game to Center Court at the Wide World
of Sports complex where our Starz faced Louisiana's Acadiana
Stars in a rematch of last summer's Classic Championship
Game. Our Starz did not play their best in a 56-46 defeat
to a team that would eventually finish 3rd overall. In
their final pool play, our Starz 15U team was hitting on all
cylinders to dominate the Tampa Bay Phoenix by a score of
85-44. Starz 15U finished 2nd in a very difficult Pool J.
Starz 15U then lost a very tough game in bracket play to
eventual #6 finisher Virginia TPLS after leading by 2 points
late in the game. Starz 15U then went on to 2 convincing
victories over Fencor 15U and the eventual #13 finisher
Arizona Rhythm 15U. Finally, our Starz lost another very
tough one to All Iowa Attach 15U by a score of 45-38 after
leading most of the entire game. Starz 15U finished tied for
11th in the Nation and will receive a Seed into the 16U
National Tournament in 2011. Congrats to Starz 15U!!
STARZ 14U Finish #3 in the Classic & #3 in AAU Showcase for
2010!
The early July College Exposure viewing period for our Starz 14U team began
with the
AAU 14U National Championships on July 5-10
and the AAU Freshman (14U) Showcase on July 11-13 in
Orlando, FL at ESPN/Disney's Wide World of Sports in front
of hundreds of college coaches! Our Starz 14U (#9
Seed) opened Pool Play with a tough 66-59 victory over
Kyniska Hoops 14U-McCartney and finished Pool Play in the
AAU Nationals as the #3 team after 2 tough losses ... a
64-57 defeat to the Saratoga (NY) Sparks 14U who went on to
finish #6 in the nation and a 64-53 defeat to the Norfolk
(VA) Xpress 14U who went on to finish #3 in the nation!
Starz 14U moved on to the Classic Bracket where it proceeded
to win 2 games in a row over the Lady Blue Devils 14U from
Louisiana (50-34) and Team SOL 14U of Virginia (54-45).
Starz 14U then had a tough loss by 42-32 to Wisconsin Hoops
Select 14U in the semi-finals. Starz 14U closed with a
thrilling 77-76 victory over the North Carolina Lady Royals
14U to finish in 3rd Place in the Classic Bracket of the AAU
14U National Championship! CONGRATS to STARZ 14U!!
Next up, our
Starz 14U team opened Pool Play in the
AAU Freshman Showcase (15 teams) on July 11
with a 67-45 victory over the North Carolina Flight 14U.
Starz 14U completed Pool Play with a dominating 71-41
victory over the Orlando Blazers 14U to become Pool B
Champs! Starz 14U began play in the Winner's Bracket with
a dominating 75-26 victory over the Lady Gophers 14U. In
the Quarterfinals, Starz 14U defeated Team Wisconsin
14U-Hover by a score of 52-40 to advance to the semi-finals
and a tough matchup against the Georgia Pearls Elite 14U.
Our Starz fell short in this contest by a score of 48-33 to
finish in a tie for 3rd Place in the AAU Freshman Showcase!
CONGRATS to STARZ 14U!!
STARZ 16U Finish #2 in the Classic Bracket of AAU D2
Nationals!
Due to various conflicts, our
Starz 16U team at the AAU events in Orlando
involved a combination of 6 of our own Starz 16U players, 6
players from Elite Basketball 16U from Birmingham, and 1
player from the N. AL Twisters 16U team. The early July
College Exposure viewing period for this Starz
16U team began with the
AAU Junior (16U) Showcase
on July 8-10 and the
AAU 16U (Division 2) National Championship
on July 11-15 in Orlando, FL at ESPN/Disney's Wide World of
Sports in front of hundreds of college coaches! In the AAU
Junior Showcase our Starz 16U team finished #3 in a tough
Pool before going on to finish 2nd in the Lower Bracket of
the Silver Division of the AAU Junior Showcase. CONGRATS to
STARZ 16U!
Next up, our
Starz 16U team opened Pool Play in the
AAU 16U (Division 2) Nationals (55 teams) on
July 11 with a tough 88-81 loss to the Buffalo Defenders
16U. Starz 16U finished Pool B in 3rd Place with a record
of 1-2 and moved on to the Classic Bracket. In the Classic
Bracket, Starz 16U went on to win 4 games in a row with
victories over CT Storm 16U, TN Lionetts 16U, Florida Lady
Wolves 16U, and the Georgia Crush 16U before falling to the
Maryland Sureshots 16U by a score of 80-71 in a thrilling
Championship Game of the Classic Bracket. Starz 16U
finished #2 in the Classic Bracket!! CONGRATS to STARZ
16U!!
STARZ help lead North to 58-42 victory over South
All-Stars!!
Starz 2011 (16U) players
Amara Mayers of 3A-Madison Academy HS,
Rikeyah McKinnon of state runner-up 6A-Bob
Jones HS, Alicia
Williams &
Conner Jordan of 5A-Athens High School, and
Ashley Southern of state runner-up
4A-Deshler HS combined to score 23 points, 15 rebounds, and
4 steals to help lead the North All-Stars to a
convincing 58-42 victory over the South in the annual game
held in Huntsville at UAH.
Natasha West of 5A-Russellville HS and our
Starz 16U team was selected but was unable to play due to
injury. Both
Rikeyah McKinnon and
Ashley Southern started for the North team
that improved its all-time record to 12-2 over the South!
Sharin Rivers of 6A-Sparkman High School was named MVP for
the North squad.
This marks the 3rd straight year that our Starz
organization has had 3 or more players on the North squad.
CONGRATS!!
Starz Players & Coach Bush at Auburn Elite Camp
2010!
Southern Starz Director & Coach of our 12u & 15u teams,
Doug Bush was invited to participate on the
Staff of the Auburn University Women's Basketball Elite Camp
over the weekend of June 26-27. Coach Bush joined 5 other
non-Alabama staff members in assisting with instruction at
this Invitation-only camp for top players from Alabama,
Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Mississippi. Coach
Bush was joined at this Elite Camp by 5 Starz Players ... Abby
Isom (2011),
Hayden Hamby (2012), Jackie
Thompson (2012),
Auburn-Commit Jacey Scott (2013), and
Shakayla Thomas (2014). 4 of our Starz
Players (Hayden Hamby, Jackie Thompson, Jacey Scott &
Shakayla Thomas) were all selected as All-Stars! Abby
Isom of our
Starz 16U team won the Hot Shot contest for
the Pt Guards & then defeated Auburn Senior Alli Smalley in
the Finals!
Hayden Hamby of our
Starz 15U-Bush team won the Hot Shot contest
for the Wing Players and lost a close one in the Finals to
Auburn Sophomore Blanche Alverson. Coach Bush commented
that he was very proud that all members of the Starz performed
at such high level at this camp! CONGRATS to our STARZ!!
Mookie Horton signs (Track) with Jacksonville
State! 
Starz Senior,
LeCresha ("Mookie") Horton (Class of 2010) a
5'9" Guard for 5A-Athens High School (Athens, AL), has
signed to run track and attend college at Division
1 Jacksonville State University (Jacksonville, AL) of the
Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Mookie is undecided about
whether to also play basketball at JSU. She is very excited
about the opportunity to continue her athletic career in
college! Good Luck to Mookie!!
STARZ 15U are #7 in AAU 15U D1 POWER RANKINGS!!
Our
Southern Starz 15U-Bush team has moved up to
#7 in the most recent
AAU 15U D1 Power Rankings!
See the Rankings at:
http://image.aausports.org/sports/girlsbasketball/pdfs/club-power-ranking/15UDI.pdf.
These Rankings are for AAU Member teams and based upon their
finishes at AAU Sanctioned National Championships, Super
Showcases, District Championships, and Super Regional
Events. Follow our Starz 15U-Bush team as it travels to
Orlando, FL in early July to participate in the
AAU Sophomore Showcase
on July 8-10 followed by the
AAU 15U D1 Nationals on July 11-15. GO
STARZ!
STARZ 10U PLAYERS SHINE AT AUBURN CAMP!
Southern Starz 10u players
Kate Hammond of Arab and
Emme Willoughby of Cold Springs stood out at
the recent Auburn University women's basketball camp! Kate
won both the All-Star and 'hot-shot" awards. Emme won both
the All-Star and the Free-Throw awards. Congrats to our 10U
Starz!!
Starz Players & Coach Bush at Alabama Elite Camp 2010!
Southern Starz Director & Coach of our 12u & 15u teams,
Doug Bush was invited
to participate on the Staff of The University of Alabama
Women's Basketball Elite Camp over the weekend of June 5-6.
Coach Bush joined 5 other non-Alabama staff members in
assisting with instruction at this Invitation-only camp for
top players from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and
Mississippi. Coach Bush was joined at this Elite Camp by 8 Starz
Players ... Amara
Mayers (2011),
Rikeyah McKinnon (2011), Jasmine
Jones (2012),
Tierra Jones (2012),
Hayden Hamby (2012),
Chelsea Mason (2012),
Nicole Lanzillo (2012) and
Joidon Jennings (2012). 5 of our Starz
Players (Amara Mayers, Jasmine Jones, Tierra Jones, Hayden
Hamby, and Nicole Lanzille) were selected to play in the
All-Star Crimson vs White Game at the end of camp! Coach
Bush commented that "once again, it is a tremendous honor to
be chosen to be on staff to assist members of the coaching
staff at Alabama."
CONGRATS to our STARZ!!
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T. PRITCHETT & A. MATTHEWS ARE ELITE TRACK STARZ!!
Starz Senior (Class of 2010) and Arkansas State Basketball
Signee
Tiarra Pritchett of
6A-Bob Jones High School was named the Girls' Most Valuable
Performer and selected to The Huntsville Times 2010 Elite
Track & Field Team. Tiarra placed FIRST in the 6A State
Track Meet in the 100 Meters (11.87) and THIRD in the Triple
Jump. Starz Senior (Class of 2010)
Alisia Matthews of 6A-Bob Jones HS was also
named to The Huntsville Times 2010 Elite Track & Field
Team. Alisia placed SECOND in the Javelin and THIRD in the
discus at the 6A State Track Meet. Both Tiarra & Alisia
were members of the 6A State Runner-Up Girls' Basketball
team at Bob Jones HS in 2009-10 and the 6A State Champs in
2008-09. CONGRATS to both Tiarra & Alisia!
JASMINE JONES is SPECIAL HONOREE by AAMU!
At the 9th Annual Leadership Awards Banquet on June 4,
2010 hosted by the Huntsville Progressive Alumni Chapter of
the AL A&M University Alumni Association, Inc., Starz rising
Junior
Jasmine Jones of Sparkman High School was
recognized as a Special Honoree for her accomplishments in
both the classroom and as
The Huntsville Times Elite Girls' Basketball
Player of the Year! In attendance were Jasmine's mother
LaTrish Jones along with invited guests including Starz
Director/Coach Doug Bush and his wife "K-K." Other award
winners at the Banquet included various community leaders,
corporations, and faith-based organizations. The Huntsville
Progressive Alumni Chapter provides scholarships to
deserving students throughout Huntsville and the Madison
County area. Chapter President, Dr. Isaiah Robertson
presented Jasmine with her award. CONGRATS to Jasmine!!
JASMINE JONES RANKS HIGHLY in CLASS of 2012! 
In the recently released national player rankings for the
Class of 2012, Starz rising Junior
Jasmine Jones of our
Starz 15U-Bush team has been moved up to #9
in the class by the
All-Star Girls' Report
(see
http://michaeltwhite.com/agr/). She is 1 of only 2
players from the Southeast in the ASGR Top 10. In the newly
released
ESPN/HoopGurlz "Terrific 25" player rankings
for the Class of 2012 (see HOOPGIRLZ
TERRIFIC 25, Jasmine is ranked as the #13
player in the nation. These are 2 of the most widely
regarded ranking services in girls' basketball, and their
evaluation of players occurs continuously at the College
Exposure events that our Starz program participates in each
year. CONGRATS to Jasmine!!
OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH COACH LOONEY & HIS FAMILY!
Recently, Starz Coach Kent Looney lost his father after a
long illness. Please pray for "Coach Kent" and his family
during this difficult time. A Memorial Service was held
on Tuesday, June 1 at Carr's Funeral Home in Guntersville.
Starz Director Doug Bush, his wife Catherine and daughter
Mary Ruth were in attendance. The Starz organization plans
to make a donation in memory of
Marvin K. Looney to the Guntersville Parks &
Recreation Department where Kent Looney serves as
Recreational Leader. Please contact Coach Bush at
jdbushman@aol.com if you are willing to contribute. Our
thoughts and prayers are with "Coach Kent."
STARZ 14U are AL AAU State Champs!!
At the AL AAU State Tournament held on May 28-30 on the
campus of Samford University in Birmingham, AL our
AL Southern Starz 14U team led by Coach Sam
Garth soundly defeated the North AL Twisters 14U team in the
Finals on Sunday to capture the AL AAU 14U Championship!
CONGRATS to STARZ 14U!!
In
other age groups, our
Starz 10U team finished 1st in Pool Play and
advanced to the 10U Championship Game where they suffered a
very close 2-point loss by a score of 24-22 to the Lady
Panthers 10U team. Starz 10U finish #2 in the State! Our
Starz 12U team also finished 1st in Pool
Play and then suffered a very disappointing 2-point loss by
a score of 56-54 to the Alabama Twisters 12U team. Starz
12U was never behind until the last 6 seconds of this game!
Starz 12U finish #2 in the State!
Starz 15U-Bush also finished 1st in Pool
Play with a convincing 68-38 victory on Saturday vs the
defending State Champion AL Twisters Elite 15U team. After
an easy semi-final victory, Starz 15U-Bush fell short in the
Finals by a score of 68-44 to the same AL Twisters Elite 15U
team. Starz 15U-Bush finish #2 in the State!
Starz 15U-Looney finished 3rd in the State
in the 15U Age Division with a thrilling Overtime victory
over the Cullman Storm 15U team. Finally, our
Starz 16U team also finished 1st in Pool
Play. After an easy semi-final victory, Starz 16U fell
short in the 16U Finals to the North AL Twisters 16U team.
Starz 16U finish #2 in the State! CONGRATS to ALL of our
Starz teams!
KeKe Fletcher commits to Samford! 
Starz Junior,
Kyera ("KeKe") Fletcher (Class of 2011) a
5'11" Forward for 2-time State Runner-Up 3A-Madison Academy
(Madison, AL), has verbally committed to attend and play her
college basketball at Division 1 Samford
University (Birmingham, AL) of the Southern Conference.
KeKe becomes the first member of our Starz 2011 Class to
make her college decision and will join former Starz 2009
graduates Kylie Black (Speake HS) and Jazmine Martin (Hoover
HS) at Samford. Samford finished their 2009-10 season with
a school record # of wins (23-11) and advanced to the 2nd
round of the WNIT postseason tourney which included a 1st
round win at home over Ole Miss of the SEC! Samford
finished 2nd in the Southern Conference. KeKe is very
excited about the combination of academic and athletics that
she will find at Samford! She plans to major in Exercise
Science and become a Physical Therapist. Samford Head Coach
Mike Morris is very excited about adding yet another Starz
player and a proven winner like KeKe to his program.
Congrats to KeKe!
Britney McCloud signs with Gulf
Coast CC! 
Starz Senior,
Britney McCloud (Class of 2010) a
5'10" Guard for 6A-Decatur High School, has signed a Letter
of Intent to attend and play her first 2 years of college
basketball at nationally ranked Gulf Coast Community
College (Panama City, FL). Gulf Coast CC is a member of the
FCCAA Panhandle Conference and recently won the school's 3rd
NJCAA Division 1 National Championship!! GCCC defeated
Jefferson JUCO by a score of 83-61 in the National
Championship Game held on March 22, 2010 in Salinas, KS.
Recently, GCCC announced that several of its players have
signed Division 1 scholarships at schools including Arizona
and NC-Charlotte. GCCC will provide Britney with a great
opportunity to move on to the next level. GCCC Head Coach
Roonie Scovel is excited about the addition of Britney to
her program. Congrats to Britney!
STARZ 15u-Bush
66
AL Elite 16u
43!!
Playing in front of a home-town crowd of families, friends, Starz
players, former players, and other supporters, our
Starz 15U-Bush
team defeated the
Alabama Elite 16U team by a score of 66-43
in a game played at Bob Jones High School on Thursday, May
20. Starz 15U started off slowly in the first half and led
by 23-16 at halftime. Our girls then came out and played
with great energy to move out to a 20+ point lead for
most of the 2nd half. Thanks for all who attended and
supported our STARZ!!!
STARZ SUCCESSFUL AT TENNESSEE MIRACLE CLASSIC!
All 6 of our
Southern Starz teams (10U, 12U, 14U,
15U-Bush, 15U-Looney & 16U) traveled to Jefferson City, TN
to participate with more than 100 teams in the highly
competitive TN Miracle Classic which was played at Carson
Newman University & surrounding sites on May 7-9 (Mother's
Day Weekend).
Starz 16U went 3-0 to win Pool A in
the 22-team 16U Division while
Starz 15U-Bush also started 3-0 to win Pool
C while playing UP in the same 16U Division. Starz 16U
went on to finish 4-1 and in a tie for 3rd Place while Starz
15U-Bush finished 3-1.
Starz 15U-Looney won their first game on
Friday night and went on to drop their next 2 games on
Saturday to finish 1-2 in 3 games.
Starz 14U started 1-1 in Pool Play to finish
2nd and move into Bracket Play where they also went 1-1 to
finish in a tie for 5th Place. Starz 12U started 3-0 to win
Pool B in the 12-team 12U Division.
Starz 12U finished in
a tie for 3rd Place after a close loss in the semi-finals by
a score of 46-41 to the eventual Champion (& defending
Champion) W. Virginia Panthers 12U team.
Starz 10U finished on Saturday with a record
of 0-3 in 3 tough games gainst very tough 10U competition.
College scouting services, including the highly regarded
All-Star Girls' Report (ASGR) were on hand to watch the
action and evaluate our Starz players! Congrats!
Southern Starz 14u win 1st Place in Kentucky Blast AAU SRT!
Southern Starz 14u led by Head
Coach Sam Garth played 3 great games and finished unbeaten
(3-0) on the weekend of April 30-May 2 in the AAU Super
Regional Tournament hosted by the Kentucky Blast and brought
home the 1st place trophy in the 14U age division (5
teams)! Starz 14u becomes only the 2nd Starz team to
win the Championship of an AAU SRT! CONGRATS to STARZ 14U!
STATE CHAMPION TRACK STARZ!!
Southern Starz Freshman,
Alex Gholston (Class of 2013) of 1A-R.A.
Hubbard brought home 3 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal at the
AL 1A High School state track meet this past weekend at
Birmingham Southern!! Alex shattered the state record in
winning the 400 meters with a time of 56.64 (which would
have won the 6A state title!). Alex also won the 200
meters, the Long Jump and finished 2nd in the 100 meters!
Click here to read
an article on Alex Gholston)
Starz Senior and Arkansas State Signee,
Tiarra Pritchett (Class of 2010) of 6A-Bob
Jones High School ran a very fast time of 11.87 secs in
winning the Gold Medal in the 6A 100 meters! Tiarra also
finished 3rd in the Triple Jump while teammate
Alisia Matthews (Class of 2010) placed 3rd
in the discus and won the Silver Medal in the javelin
throw! Starz Senior,
LeCresha (Mookie) Horton (Class of 2010),
finished 4th in the 5A 200 meters! Congrats to our Track
Starz!
JASMINE JONES Invited to USA U17 National Team Trials! 
Southern Starz Super Sophomore (Class of 2012)
Jasmine Jones of our 15U-Bush team has been
invited to participate in the USA Basketball Trials for the
USA Women's U17 FIBA World Championships National Team on
June 8-11 at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs, CO. From the 30 players invited to the Trials, a
12-member team will be selected to compete in the FIBA U17
World Championships which will be held in France in July
2010. This is a tremendous honor for Jasmine and reflects
the hard work she has put forth and the unlimited potential
that she still possesses! The Spring/Summer exposure that
Jasmine has experienced as a member of our Southern Starz
program over the past several years resulted in Top
College Coaches nominating her as 1 of only 30 players from
across the nation to be invited to this very exclusive
tryout. CONGRATS to JASMINE!!
JASMINE JONES Invited to Exclusive NIKE Skills Academy (May
1-2)
Southern Starz Super Sophomore (Class of 2012)
Jasmine Jones of our 15U-Bush team has been
invited to participate in the very exclusive
NIKE Skills Academy to be held on May 1-2 at
the Suwanee Sports Academy in Atlanta, GA. This is not an
Exposure event, but a camp where top players from across the
country work on skills training, post & perimeter groups,
and scrimmages under the watchful eyes of top experts in
women's basketball ... including former/retired college
coaches and WNBA coaches & players. We wish Jasmine the
very best as she represents our Starz organization and the
State of Alabama at this camp. CONGRATS to JASMINE!!
STARZ
12u visiting
Western KY Univ.
click on pictures
to enlarge
STARZ Shine at DEEP SOUTH CLASSIC in North Carolina!
4 of our high school level Starz teams participated at the
2010 Deep South Classic College Exposure
Event on the campuses of North Carolina (UNC) and North
Carolina State (NCSt) on the weekend of April 16-18, 2010.
The Deep South Classic, put on by Michael T. White/FILA, is
the Largest College Exposure Event in the nation held during
the NCAA allowed Spring Viewing period with more than 225
teams! Hundreds of college coaches were in attendance to
evaluate players. 3 of our Starz teams played UP at least 1
age level in this event. Our
Starz 16U
team of 2011 graduates (current Juniors) turned in an
outstanding performance with a 3rd
Place finish with a record of 4-1 in the
24-team 17U-National Division (the 2nd highest division).
Their only loss was by 2 pts in Sudden Death OT!! Our
Starz 15U-Bush team of 2012 graduates
(current Sophomores) finished in
9th Place with a record of 4-1 in the
24-team 17U-Signature Division (the 3rd highest division).
Their only loss was by 2 pts! Our
Starz 15U-Looney team of 2012 graduates
(current Sophomores) finished in
10th Place with a record of 3-2 in the
24-team 16U-Signature Division. Our Starz
14U team of 2013 graduates (current
Freshmen) finished in 10th Place with a record of 2-2 in the
16-team 14U-FILA Division. All 4 teams played against
very strong competition! For complete results see each
team's Results page or go to http://www.asgr.info/tournaments/dscg/scores.php.
CONGRATS to ALL the Players and their families!!
STARZ at Bob Jones HS Sign with D1-Arkansas State!!
Starz Seniors
Mekena Randle and
Tiarra Pritchett from our Southern Starz
Senior Class of 2010 signed their National Letters of Intent
with Division 1 Arkansas State of the Sun Belt
Conference on Wednesday, April 14 in a ceremony held at Bob
Jones High School that was well attended by Coaches,
Friends, Family and Teammates, including Starz 2010 Coach
Doug Bush. Each of the players said a few words, including
a Thanks to their Starz coaches and organization. Specific
mention was made of the opportunity each received as a
result of playing in College Exposure events with the Starz! CONGRATS
to both Mekena & Tiarra on this tremendous accomplishment!
click on picture
to enlarge
STARZ 15U Win 2nd Consecutive AAU Super Regional in
Huntsville!!
Our
Starz 15U-Bush team dominated the 15U
competition at our 9th Annual AAU SRT held in Huntsville on
April 9-11, 2010 and qualified for the Division 1 AAU 15U
National Tournament to be held in Orlando, Florida in July
2010!! Our Starz 15U-Bush team went 5-0 and defeated each
team by 25pts or more in becoming one of the first teams in
the nation to qualify for the 15U AAU Nationals. This was
this team's 2nd consecutive championship in this event and
3rd straight year with an AAU Super Regional title. Our
Starz 15U defeated the Cullman (AL) Storm 15U team by a
score of 65-39 in the Semi-finals and then the Kentucky
Blast 15U by a score of 70-45 in the finals on Sunday! 3
other Starz teams also qualified for the AAU Nationals
during a very successful weekend, including
Starz 16U which finished 3rd in its
age division with a 20 pt win over the N. AL Twisters 16U on
Sunday,
Starz 14U which finished 2nd in its age
division with a tough 55-48 loss to the Kentucky Blast 14U
on Sunday, and
Starz 12U which
finished 3rd in its age division with a tough OT loss to the
Tennessee Elite 12U by a score of 56-47 in the semi-finals.
See complete game results on our Starz AAU SRT
Schedule/Results page. Congrats to all of our players,
families and coaches for a very successful weekend!!
Haley Stewart commits to Freed-Hardeman! 
Starz Senior,
Haley Stewart (Class of 2010) a 5'8"
shooting Guard for 2-time State Runner-Up 3A-Madison Academy
(Madison, AL), has verbally committed to attend and play her
college basketball at nationally ranked NAIA Freed-Hardeman
University (Henderson, TN). Freed-Hardeman recently
finished with a 23-6 record and ranked 13th in the nation in
the Final NAIA Division 1 Coaches Poll. Haley is very
excited about the challenges of college and the next stage
in her basketball career! Freed-Hardeman Head Coach Dale
Neal feels Haley will fit well within their system and is
extremely excited about the addition of another "winner"
like Haley to the program. Congrats to Haley!
Huntsville Times
"ELITE STARZ" for 2009-10!
The Huntsville "Times' Elite" girls' basketball team for
2009-10, consisting of players from many counties across
North Alabama was announced on Sunday, March 28, 2010 with
ALL 5 First Team players from our Southern Starz
organization, including Player of the Year Jasmine Jones
(Soph) of Sparkman HS, Hayden Hamby (Soph) of West
Morgan HS, Britney McCloud (SR) of Decatur HS,
Mekena Randle (SR) of Bob Jones HS, and Haley Stewart
(SR) of Madison Academy. Named to the 2nd Team were
Chelsea Mason (Soph) of Huntsville HS and Tiarra
Pritchett (SR) of Bob Jones HS. Named as Honorable
Mention were Nicole Lanzillo (Soph) of Buckhorn HS,
Jacey Scott (FR) of Douglas HS, Whitney Putman
(JR) of Huntsville HS, Kyera (KeKe) Fletcher (JR),
Amara Mayers (JR) & Lydia McGee (Soph) of Madison
Academy, Sierra Sales (JR) of Tanner HS, and twin
sisters Dina & Josi Saunders (Sophs) of Westminster
HS. CONGRATS!!
JOHNSON & JOHNSON & ALL (LAWRENCE )COUNTY STARZ!
Congrats to the following
Southern Starz players who were recently named to
the All-County Team (Lawrence County) for the 2009-10
season: Jordan Johnson (10th Grade) of
Hatton HS, Jazlyn Fossett (10th Grade) of
Lawrence County HS, and Alex Gholston (9th
Grade) of R.A. Hubbard HS. In addition, Jordan Johnson was
named Player of the Year and her mother, Lisa
Johnson, was named Coach of the Year! See more
details at:
http://www.moultonadvertiser.com/articles/2010/03/18/sports/doc4ba2447646dee137191705.txt
CONGRATS to Jazlyn, Alex, Jordan and Lisa!!
Starz 12U win 2010 Spring Fling 13U Championship!
After winning their first 4 games in the 2010 Spring Fling at
Monrovia Community Center in Huntsville, the Southern Starz
12U team faced an undefeated and very tough Huntsville Heat
13U in the 13U Championship Game on Sunday, March 14. The
HSV Heat led by 5 points (31-26) at halftime and extended
their lead to 10 points (41-31) midway through the 2nd
half. However, a determined Starz 12U team mounted a
comeback, outscoring the Heat by 29-15 to take their first
lead with 2 minutes left in the game and held on to win by a
score of 60-56. Starz 12U finished with a record of 5-0
playing UP in the 9-team 13U age division. Congrats to the
Starz 12U! -
click on picture to see larger view
Starz 10U win 2010 Spring Fling 10U Championship!
The 10u Southern Starz played in the Spring Fling at Monrovia
Community Center on March 12 & 13 and captured the
Championship on Saturday with a 42 - 21 win over the Madison
County Lady Eagles 10U team! Congrats to Starz 10U! -
click on picture to see larger view
ASWA ALL-STATE ALL-STARZ 2009-10!!
For the 2nd Year in a row, 14 Starz
players earned
ASWA All-State honors for the recently
completed (2009-10) high school season ... (7 Starz are 1st
Team All-State!):
6A ... Jasmine Jones (Soph)
of Sparkman,
Britney McCloud (SR) of Decatur, & Alexsis
Brown (SR) of Homewood
(1st Team);
Mekena Randle (SR) of Bob Jones
(2nd Team);
Tiarra Pritchett (SR) of Bob Jones
(Honorable Mention)
5A ... Alicia Williams (JR)
of Ft. Payne &
Natasha West (JR) of Russellville
(2nd Team)
4A ... Jacey Scott
(Freshman) of Douglas
(1st Team)
3A ... Hayden Hamby (Soph) of
West Morgan
(1st Team & Player of the Year!);
Haley Stewart (SR) of
Madison Academy
(2nd Team);
Lydia McGee (Soph) of Madison Academy
(Honorable Mention)
2A ... Georgia Myrex (JR) of
Cold Springs
(1st Team & finalist for 2A Player of the Year)
Jordan Johnson
(Soph) of Hatton
(1st Team)
1A ... Alex Gholston
(Freshman) of R.A. Hubbard
(2nd Team)
NORTH vs SOUTH ALL-STARZ 2010!!
The following
Southern Starz Juniors (11th Grade) have
been selected to play for the North team in the annual North
vs South Alabama All-Star game which will take place at UAH
in Huntsville on Thursday, July 15 during All-Star Week:
Amara Mayers (Madison
Academy),
Alicia Williams (Ft. Payne HS),
Rikeyah McKinnon (Bob Jones),
Conner Jordan (Ft. Payne) and
Natasha West (Russellville HS). This
represents a great honor for these players and is the third
consecutive year where at least 3 or more Starz players will
participate for the North squad in this game. The North has
an all-time record of 11-2 vs the South in this game.
CONGRATS to our ALL-STARZ!!
MEKENA RANDLE to play for ALABAMA ALL-STARZ vs MISSISSIPPI!!
Starz Senior & Arkansas State (D1) commit Mekena
Randle (Class of 2010) of 6A-Bob Jones
HS will play for the 12 member Alabama All-Star squad (all
Seniors) in the 20th Annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star
Classic on Friday, March 19 in the Pelham (AL) Civic
Center. Last year, 5 members of the Starz Class of 2009 led
Alabama to a 81-73 victory to improve Alabama's all-time
record to 11-8 in the series. CONGRATS to Mekena!!!
STARZ lead UAB to Upset Win over Houston!!
On Wednesday, March 10, former Starz Class of 2009 players (all
Freshmen),
Jasmine Green (Bob Jones HS),
Amber Jones (Hazlewood HS) and C-USA
Freshman of the Year
Jala Harris (Bob Jones HS) helped lead #6
seeded UAB to a 70-65 upset win over #2 seeded Houston in
the semi-finals of the Conference USA Tournament in Tulsa,
OK. Jasmine hit 4 key free throws down the stretch, Amber
scored 13 pts & had 5 assists while Jala scored 12 pts along
with 6 assists to help move UAB into the Finals of the C-USA
Tournament for the first time since the year 2000! UAB
(17-14) will face #1 seeded Tulane (25-6) in the C-USA
Championship Game on Friday, March 12 at 12:30pm (CT). With
a victory, UAB would secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament!
Friday's game can be seen on the CBS College Sports
Channel! GO STARZ ... GO BLAZERS!!
JONES & HARRIS lead UAB to Upset WIn over SMU!!
On Tuesday, March 9, former Starz players,
Amber Jones (Hazlewood HS) scored 23 pts and
CUSA Freshman of the Year
Jala Harris (Bob Jones HS) scored 16 pts to
lead #6 seeded UAB to a 64-55 upset win over #3 seeded SMU
in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament in
Tulsa, OK. UAB opened the tournament with a 52-45 win over
tourney host Tulsa on Monday. UAB now moves on to the
semifinals where they will face #2 seeded Houston on
Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30pm. This game can be seen on CBS
College Sports TV! GO STARZ ... GO BLAZERS!!
JALA
HARRIS Scores Awards in Conference USA!!
On Sunday, March 7, former Starz player,
Jala Harris (Bob Jones HS) of UAB was named
the Conference USA
Freshman of the Year & the
6th Player of the Year for the 2009-10
season becoming the FIRST player in CUSA history to win both
awards in the same season! In addition, Jala was named to
the
All-Conference USA Second Team, becoming the
only Freshman among the 15 players (1st - 3rd Team) to
receive all-conference honors. Jala averaged 18.3 ppg in 16
CUSA games and 16.4 ppg in all (28) games along with 3.2
assists per game. Jala exploded for 40 points in a
double-overtime game vs Marshall in her biggest game of the
season. CONGRATS to Jala!!
COLLEGE ALL STARZ - SAMETRIA GIDEON!
Former Starz Class of 2009 player
Sametria Gideon (Bob Jones HS) of Division 1
Kennesaw State University (KSU) was named to the
All-Freshman Team in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Sametria
was the Conferences #1 Freshman rebounder with 8.1 rebs per
game. She was 4th among all rebounders and led the A-Sun
Conference in Offensive Rebounds per game! See further
detail at:
www.ksuowls.com/news/2010/3/2/WBB_0302104524.aspx.
CONGRATS to Sametria!
KELLIE COOK named to All-Newcomer
Team in OVC!!
On Thursday, March 6, former Starz player,
Kellie Cook (Bob Jones
HS) of Tennessee Tech was named to the All-Newcomer Team in
the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Kellie averaged 12.6 ppg
and grabbed 4.7 rpg. She began her college
career by scoring 22 pts in a 5-pt loss to the University of
Alabama and achieved her career high with 26 pts on Feb. 11
vs Murray State. CONGRATS to Kellie!!
AMBER JONES is C-USA Freshman of the Week!!
On Friday, March 5, former Starz player,
Amber Jones (Hazlewood HS) of UAB was named
Conference USA Freshman of the Week after scoring 16 points
and helping lead UAB to a 64-53 victory over former Starz
teammate
Chatia Kelsey and the University of
Memphis. Starz Director/Coach Doug Bush along with several
former Starz teammates & current Starz were in attendance.
This is Amber's 2nd time to win this award and the 7th time
for a UAB player and former Starz players to win this award
(Amber &
Jala Harris) in the 16 times it has been
awarded this season. Jala added 12 points in the victory.
UAB opens the CUSA Tournament on Monday, March 8 vs Tulsa in
Tulsa, OK. CONGRATS to Amber!!
ALL-STATE TOURNEY STARZ!
While both 6A-Bob Jones & 3A-Madison Academy both finished
Runner-Ups in their quest for State Championships in Girls'
Basketball this past week in Birmingham, the following Starz
players were selected to the All-State Tournament teams: Mekena
Randle (Senior) &
Tiarra Pritchett (Senior) of 6A-Bob Jones
HS and
Haley Stewart (Senior) &
Lydia McGee (Sophomore) of 3A-Madison
Academy. Congrats to our ALL-STATE TOURNEY STARZ!!
SHOOTING STARZ!
Starz Seniors,
Georgia Myrex (2A-Cold Springs) &
Haley Stewart
(3A-Madison Academy) competed in the high school girls'
3-point shooting contest which took place during the Final
48 State Playoffs in Birmingham, AL last week. Both Georgia
and Haley advanced to the Finals where a Starz Shootout took
place! Georgia narrowly defeated Haley in a close
competition during halftime of the 6A Girls' State
Championship Game! Both Georgia & Haley were teammates on
our Starz Junior (16U) team in 2009. It was a great honor
for these young ladies to be selected to compete! Congrats
to our SHOOTING STARZ!!
ALL REGION & MVP (T. Pritchett) ALL STARZ!!!
Starz Senior,
Tiarra Pritchett (6A-Bob Jones High School)
was named MVP of the 6A NW Regional Tournament held at
Wallace State CC as Bob Jones HS defeated rival Sparkman HS
by a score of 26-25 in a hard fought contest to advance on
to Birmingham and the State Final 4. During last week's
high school regional tournaments, the following
17 Southern Starz players were named to the
All-Region Teams:
This is a great honor for each of these young
ladies! Congrats our ALL STARZ!!
|
Northwest Region (Wallace State CC) |
Northeast Region (Jacksonville Univ) |
Tiarra Pritchett (MVP & Senior)
of 6A-Bob Jones HS
Mekena Randle (Senior) of
6A-Bob Jones HS
Rikeyah McKinnon (Junior) of
6A-Bob Jones HS
Jasmine Jones (Sophomore) of
6A-Sparkman HS
Amber Elliott (Sophomore) of
5A-Russellville HS
Amara Mayers (Junior) of
3A-Madison Academy
Haley Stewart (Senior) of
3A-Madison Academy
Hayden Hamby (Sophomore) of
3A-West Morgan HS
Georgia Myrex (Senior) of
2A-Cold Springs HS
Abby Myrex (Sophomore) of
2A-Cold Springs HS
Jordan Johnson (Sophomore) of
2A-Hatton HS
Alex Gholston (Freshman) of
1A-R.A. Hubbard HS
Anna Claire Noblitt (8th GR) of
1A-Covenant Christian HS |
Alexsis Brown
(Senior) of
6A-Homewood HS
Alicia Williams (Junior) of
5A-Ft. Payne HS
Conner Jordan (Junior) of
5A-Bob Jones HS
|
ALL CITY ALL STARZ!
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, Starz 7th Graders
Chloe Long of Ed White Middle School,
Shaquera Wade &
T'yNasha Hill of Hampton Cove MS &
Jarnae Dobson of Mt. Gap MS were named to
the All-City Team (8th Graders) for the 10 middle schools
in the City of Huntsville! This is a great honor for these
7th Graders! Congrats our STARZ!!
JALA HARRIS is C-USA Freshman of the Week ... 4th Time in a
Row!!
Former Starz player,
Jala Harris of the UAB Blazers was named
Conference USA Freshman of the Week for a CUSA record 4th
week in a row and for the 5th time overall on Monday, Feb. 1
after her 40-point explosion in a tough Double-Overtime loss
at Marshall. Jala became only the 3rd player in CUSA
history to score 40 or more points in a CUSA game!
This is the FIRST time in the history of CUSA that this
award has been won 4 weeks in a row! Jala leads
CUSA in conference-only scoring at over 20 ppg! UAB looks
to rebound from this tough loss with a challenging road game
vs former Starz teammate
Chatia Kelsey and the University of
Memphis. CONGRATS to Jala!!
HAYDEN HAMBY Scores 2,000th Point!!
Starz Sophomore,
Hayden Hamby (Class of 2012) of #3 ranked
3A-West Morgan High School reached a major scoring
milestone when she scored her 2,000th
point on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010 in a victory
over 3A-Sheffield HSl! Hayden scored 26 points in the
victory. CONGRATS to Hayden!!
STARZ Fill up ASWA High School Rankings in Alabama!!
In the most recent High School Basketball State Rankings
published by the ASWA on
January 6, 2010
teams led by
30 of our Southern
Starz players are highly ranked, including:
6A ...
#2 Ranked
Bob Jones HS (SRs Mekena Randle, Tiara
Pritchett & Alisia Matthews; JR Rikeyah McKinnon; SOPHs
Joidon Jennings & DeAsha Campbell)
6A ...
#4 Ranked
Sparkman HS (JR Deasia
Henley & SOPH Jasmine Jones)
6A ... #9 Ranked Buckhorn
HS (SOPHs Jackie
Thompson & Nicole Lanzillo)
6A ...
#10 Ranked Decatur
HS (SR Britney McCloud)
5A ...
#4 Ranked
Ft. Payne (SR Tori Edwards; JRs Alicia
Williams, Conner Jordan & Taylor Dean; SOPH Nique Edwards)
5A ...
#5 Ranked
Russellville HS (SOPH Amber Elliott & Ayanna McCullough)
5A ...
#10 Ranked
Athens HS (SR Mookie
Horton & SOPH Destiny McClin)
3A ...
#1 Ranked
Madison Academy HS (SR
Haley Stewart; JRs Kyera "KeKe" Fletcher & Amara Mayers;
SOPH Lydia McGee)
3A ...
#3 Ranked
West Morgan HS (SR
Christy Roewe & SOPH Hayden Hamby)
3A ...
#4 Ranked
Lauderdale County HS (SOPH Lacey Hampton)
2A ...
#1 Ranked
Cold Springs HS (SR
Georgia Myrex & SOPH Abby Myrex)
2A ...
#5 Ranked
Ider HS (SOPH Hope Benefield)
Georgia Myrex is #12 on Super Seniors (by B'ham News)!
Yet another accolade has been bestowed upon Starz Senior,
Georgia Myrex of 2A-Cold Springs High School
as she was recently named to the exclusive list of the 2010
Super Seniors as published by
The Birmingham News!
Myrex, who recently signed to play her
college basketball at U of North Alabama was placed at #12
on this exclusive listing of Alabama Seniors which
includes nationally ranked players such as Keneshia Horn
(Alabama), Tyrese Tanner (Auburn), and Shanece McKinney (LSU)
along with Alabama's all-time leading scorer, Courtney
Strain (Auburn). Congrats again to Georgia!!
Georgia Myrex signs with U
of North Alabama!
In her school library in front of a large gathering
of friends, family, teammates, teachers, coaches,
administrators, and Starz Director /Coach Doug Bush, Starz
Senior,
Georgia Myrex (Class of 2010) a 5'8"
All-State Guard for 2-time defending State Champion 2A-Cold
Springs High School (Bremen, AL), signed her National Letter
of Intent (NLI) to attend and play her college basketball at
Division 2 University of North Alabama (Florence, AL) of the
Gulf South Conference. UNA Head Coach Terry Fowler is
extremely excited about the addition of Georgia to
the program at UNA. Congrats to Georgia!
STARZ at 2009 BlueStar College Showcase!
On Satuday & Sunday, Oct. 3 & 4, many of our Southern Starz
high school players will participate in the Battle of the
Programs and the BlueStar College Showcase in Murfreesboro,
TN on the campus of MTSU. Starz players will be divided
into 4 teams and play in the Team Event on Saturday & Sunday
morning against some of the top travel teams in the
Southeast. Starz 2010, 2011, and 2012 (2 teams) will
participate. Many of the Starz players will then
participate in the Blue Star Showcase event on Sunday with
many college coaches in attendance. For more than 25 years
BlueStar has been one of the most influential organizations
in selecting and advising such publications rankings and
listings as found in The Sporting News, USA Today, Gatorade
Circle of Champions, and McDonalds All American Team just to
name a few. These rankings and evaluations are part of the
national BlueStar Report available to media & colleges
across the country. Please contact Coach Doug Bush at
jdbushman@aol.com at if you have any questions about
this event!
An interview with Starz Senior Georgia Myrex
Click on the following link to read about a Starz senior,
Georgia Myrex
in an article in the News-Herald called
"The
Total Package"
STARZ 14U are Classic Champs at AAU Nationals in Salem, VA!
Our Southern
Starz 14U-Bush team finished strong at the
AAU 14U
Nationals held on July 21-26 in Salem, VA as they
won a hard fought 70-69 victory over the Acadiana
(Louisiana) Stars in Sunday's Championship Game of the
Classic Bracket!! Starz 14U-Bush becomes the first Starz
team to finish First in the Classic Bracket (after their own
4th Place finish in 2007 and a 3rd Place finish by an 11U
Starz team in 2003). With a goal of improving upon their
9th Place finish of 1 year ago, Starz 14U completed Pool
Play in a with a disappointing record of 2-1 and in a 3-way
tie for 1st Place, losing only to the eventual 7th Place
finisher Indiana Outlaws. Due to the AAU tiebreaker system,
our Starz fell to 3rd Place and moved on to play in the
Classic (Consolation) Bracket. After putting the
disappointment behind them, Starz 14U went on to win 4 games
in the Classic to capture the
Championship and finish in
20th Place in the Nation with a record of 6-1 for
the
week. CONGRATS to STARZ 14U!!
STARZ 14U
results at AAU Nationals in Salem, VA!
http://www.aauresults.org/girlsb/re_nationals.php?lkid=&s=128&y=2009.
STARZ 15U results at AAU Nationals in Little Rock,
AR!
http://www.aauresults.org/girlsb/re_nationals.php?lkid=&s=126&y=2009
STARZ lead North to 50-44 victory over South!! 
Starz 2010 (16U) players LeCresha ("Mookie") Horton
of 5A-Athens High School, Georgia Myrex of
the two-time defending state champions 2A-Cold Springs High
School, & Britney McCloud of 6A-Decatur
High School combined to score 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3
steals to help lead the North All-Stars to a 50-44 victory
over the South in the annual game held in Huntsville at UAH.
Both Mookie Horton and Georgia
Myrex started for the North team that improved its
all-time record to 11-2 over the South! Tyrese Tanner of
6A-Hoover High School was named MVP for the North squad.
This marks the 2nd straight year that our Starz organization
has had 3 or more players on the North squad. CONGRATS!!
STARZ "Shine" at Showtime Championships College Exposure!
Our Southern
Starz 16U, 15U, 14U-Bush and 14U-Looney teams
began the month of July by participating in one of the
mostly highly regarded College Exposure events in the
country ... the Showtime National Championships
by Michael T. White (see
http://www.asgr.info/tournaments/sncg/) which
was held on July 10-12 in Suwanee,
GA. There were 146 teams from across the
country (NY to CA) ... there were Hundreds of college
coaches in attendance. Each of our Starz teams played UP at
least 1 age division. Our Starz 16U (3-2
record) competed in the 17U-Signature division (32 teams),
Starz 15U (2-3 record) and 14U-Bush
(3-2 record) competed in the 16U-Signature division (16
teams), and Starz 14U-Looney (2-3
record) competed in the 15U-National division (24
teams). The nationally known All-Star Girls Report (ASGR)
scouting service was also on hand as they continue
to evaluate these young ladies for their all-important
national player rankings. Many college coaches have already
expressed interest in our 2010, 2011, and 2012 players!!!
GO STARZ!!!
STARZ 11U are AL SPORTS FESTIVAL CHAMPS in 12U! 
Our Southern
Starz 11U team defeated the MLKing 12U team
on Saturday, June 20 in Birmingham by the score of 27-11 to
capture the AL Sports Festival Championship in the 12U Age
Division. Starz 11U went 3-0 on Friday & Saturday and were
not challenged even though they played short-handed.
CONGRATS to our STARZ as they prepare to travel to the AAU
11U Nationals on next Thursday!!
AL AAU State Tournament Results
STARZ 11U - 2nd Place (Qualified for AAU Nationals)
STARZ 13U - 3rd Place
STARZ 14U (Looney) - 3rd Place in 14U (Qualified for AAU
Nationals)
STARZ
14U (Bush) - 2nd Place (already Qualified for AAU Nationals)
STARZ 15U - 1st
Place (Qualified for AAU Nationals)
STARZ 16U -
2nd Place
15u Alabama AAU State
Champs
click on picture to view
larger image |
Our Southern
Starz 15U
team captured the AL 15U AAU State Championship on Sunday,
May 31 with a dominating 66-47 victory over the North AL
Lady Hoopsters 15U team in a re-match of the 2008 finals!!
The Starz 15U team advanced to the finals after a thrilling
69-68 victory over the AL Twisters 15U-Nettles team that was
won on a last-second 2-point basket by Alicia Williams of
Ft. Payne HS. Our Starz 15U team qualified for the 15U AAU
Nationals to be held in Little Rock, AR on July 21-26. Our
Starz 11U team was perfect in Pool Play,
including a 53-35 victory over the #13 in the Nation AL
Twisters 11U team on Friday night! Our Starz 11U team
advanced to the Finals only to fall short to the AL Twisters
in the re-match. In the process, our Starz 11U team
qualified for the 11U AAU Nationals and captured the #13
Seed previously held by the Birmingham Bullets from 2008.
Our Starz 13U team finished in 3rd Place in
the AAU State Tournament with a close, tough loss in the
Semi-finals. Our Starz 14U-Bush team
advanced to the Finals to play their arch rival AL Twisters
14U-Black team for the 2nd time this season. Unfortunately,
our Starz 14U-Bush team fell short this time out by a score
of 65-43. Both teams had already qualified for the AAU
Nationals to be held on July 21-26 in Salem, Virginia. Our
Starz 14U-Looney team defeated the AL
Cardinals 14U team in the 3rd Place game to also qualify for
the AAU 14U Nationals to be held on July 21-26 in Salem,
VA. Our Starz 16U team was undefeated in
advancing to the 16U Finals to play the nationally ranked
(#9) AL Twisters 16U-Black team. Our Starz 16U fought hard
but fell short in the end by a score of 77-57 as the #24
player in the Nation, Tyrese Tanner of Hoover HS, made her
return from her knee injury. CONGRATS to ALL our STARZ
TEAMS!!!
NIKE Midwest Showdown in Cincinnati on May 23-25!
Our Southern
Starz 14U-Looney,
Starz 14U-Bush, and a combined team of
15U & 16U players participated in the highly
competitive NIKE Midwest Showdown in Cincinnati, Ohio on the
weekend of May 23-25 (Memorial Weekend). Representative of
all major college scouting services (including All
Star Girls' Report, Blue Star, HoopGurlz, Roundball
Basketball Journal, etc.) were on hand at this event!
Starz 14U-Looney went 2-2 to finish 3rd in
Pool D of the 28-team 14U Age Division. Starz 14U-Looney
lost its first Bracket Game to a very tough All-Ohio 14U
team. DFW 2012 defeated TN Team Pride 13U in the finals of
the 14U age division.
Starz 14U-Bush went 4-0 to finish FIRST in
Pool L playing UP in the 25-team 15U Age Division. In
Bracket Play, Starz 14U-Bush lost a heartbreaker by a score
of 48-45 to a large & talented Fairfax Stars 15U team in a
back-and-forth contest. Team Detroit 15U defeated the Ohio
Lady Attack 15U in the finals. Our combined
16U/15U team went 2-3 in Pool Play to finish
4th in Pool P of the 28-team 16U/17U Age Division. In the
end, 2 of the teams in our Pool (Fairfax Stars & Team
Detroit) played in the Championship Game of this Division
with Team Detroit finishing with a 55-48 victory! Our Starz
lost by only 2 pts (50-48) to the Fairfax Stars in Game 1 of
Pool Play. CONGRATS TO ALL OF OUR STARZ!!
YBOA State Tournament Results
STARZ 11U - 1st Place in 11U
STARZ 13U - 2nd Place in 13U
STARZ 14U (Looney) - 1st Place in 14U
STARZ 14U (Bush) - 2nd Place in 16U division
STARZ 15U - 1st Place in 16U division
Our Southern
Starz 11U team started off Championship
Sunday (May 17) as 1 of 5 Starz teams to play in the
Championship Game of the AL YBOA State Tournament held at
Hartselle High School.
Our Starz 11U team defeated the AL Cardinals
11U team by the score of 34-29 to capture the 11U YBOA State
Championship. This is their 2nd consecutive YBOA state
title. Our
Starz 13U team battled to the end and fell
just short in a narrow 5-point loss to HoopSouth in the 13U
Championship Game. Later, our
Starz 14U-Looney team wore down the Pelham
Pride to capture a convincing double-digit win in the 14U
Championship Game to win their 2nd consecutive YBOA state
title. Last but not least, two of our own Starz teams
battled in the 16U Championship Game with the
Starz 15U team prevailing over the
Starz 14U-Bush team by the score of 55-40.
This was a highly competitive and spirited game with great
fan support! The Starz 15U team won their 2nd consecutive
YBOA state title. Our
Starz 9U team went 1-2 playing UP against
very tough competition in the 10U age division. A great
weekend by ALL of our Starz teams!!
11u YBOA State
Champs
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larger image |
14u-Looney YBOA State
Champs
click on picture to view
larger image |
STARZ Display Talents at DEEP SOUTH CLASSIC in North
Carolina!
3 of our high school level Starz teams participated at the
2009
Deep South Classic College Exposure Event on the campuses
of North Carolina (UNC) and North Carolina State (NCSt) on the weekend of
April 17-19. The Deep South Classic, put on by Michael T. White/FILA, is
the Largest College Exposure Event in the nation held during the NCAA
allowed Spring Viewing period with more than 225 teams! Hundreds of
college coaches were in attendance to evaluate players. Our
Starz 16U
team of 2010 graduates (current Juniors) finished in
7th
Place with a record of 3-2 in the 24-team 17U-Select
Division. Our
Starz
15U team of 2011 graduates (current Sophomores) finished
in
13th
Place with a record of 3-2 in the 24-team 16U-Sponsored
Division. Our
Starz
14U team of 2012 graduates (current Freshmen) finished in
3rd
Place with a record of 4-1 in the 24-team 15U-Signature
Division as they narrowly missed making the Championship Game. All 3
teams won their final games on Sunday morning! For complete results see
each team's Results page or go to http://michaeltwhite.com/dscg/index.php?ct=scores.
CONGRATS to ALL the Players and their families!!
MISS BASKETBALL 2008-09 ... STARZ SENIOR ... JALA HARRIS!!
Starz Senior
Jala Harris
of the 2-time 6A State Champion Bob Jones Lady Patriots
became only the THIRD player in history from Madison County
and the FIRST member of the Southern Starz to be named
MISS BASKETBALL!! Jala averaged 16 ppg, 8 assists, and 4
rebs per game as she led Bob Jones to its 2nd consecutive
state title. Jala was previously named the Alabama Class 6A
Player of the Year and to the Super 5 All-State Team in
addition to 1st Team All-State in Class 6A as well as MVP of
the 6A State Tournament. Harris tallied 156 points in the
state-wide voting followed by Adrienne Webb of 6A-Sparkman
(112), Courtney Strain of 2A-Woodland (90), Jessica Merritt
of 5A-Talledega (66) and Starz Senior
Amber Jones of 1A State Champion Hazlewood
(64). Both Jala and Amber will team up at UAB in the Fall
as they continue their basketball at the collegiate level.
CONGRATS to both Jala & Amber!!
STARZ DUO NAMED "PLAYERS OF THE YEAR" & Super 5!!!
Starz Senior Jala Harris
was named 6A
Player of the Year while Starz Senior
Amber Jones
was named 1A
Player of the Year by the Alabama Sports
Writers Association (ASWA) for the recently completed
2008-09 high school season!! In addition, both Jala
& Amber were named to the very exclusive
ASWA Super 5
All-State team consisting of only 5 player
from all classes. Harris (a UAB
signee) led Bob Jones to their 2nd consecutive 6A State
Championship while Jones (soon to announce
her college choice) led Hazlewood to the 1A State
Championship. Both were also named MVP of the high school
State and Regional Tournaments. CONGRATS to both Jala &
Amber!!
ASWA ALL-STATE STARZ 2008-09!!
The following 13 Starz players earned ASWA All-State
honors for the recently completed 2008-09 high school
season:
6A ... Jala Harris &
Kellie Cook (SRs) of Bob Jones, Jazmine
Martin (SR) of Hoover, and former Starz player
Alexsis Brown (JR) of Homewood (1st Team);
Sametria Gideon (SR) of Bob Jones (2nd
Team); Britney McCloud (JR) of Decatur
(Honorable Mention)
5A ... Emily Dabbs
(JR) of Brewer and Alicia Williams (Soph)
of Ft. Payne (2nd Team)
3A ... Hayden Hamby
(Freshman) of West Morgan (1st Team & finalist for 3A Player
of the Year)
2A ... Georgia Myrex
(JR) of Cold Springs (1nd Team & finalist for 3A Player of
the Year)
1A ... Kylie Black
(SR) of Speake & Amber Jones (SR) of
Hazlewood (1st Team); Alex Gholston (8th GR)
of Hazlewood (Honorable Mention)
ALABAMA ALL-STARZ win 81-73 over MISSISSIPPI!!
5 of our Starz Seniors (class of 2009) led the 12 member Alabama
All-Star squad to a 81-73 victory in the 19th Annual Alabama-Mississippi
All-Star Classic on Friday, March 20 in the Pelham (AL) Civic Center.
Starz Director Doug Bush was proudly in attendance as Kylie
Black (Speake HS),
Sametria Gideon
(6A Champ Bob Jones HS),
Jala Harris
(6A Champ Bob Jones HS),
Amber Jones
(1A Champ Hazlewood HS), and
Jazmine Martin
(6A Runner-Up Hoover HS) helped the Alabama girls win their 2nd in a row
and improved to an 11-8 advantage in the series. CONGRATS to our
Alabama ALL-STARZ!!!
STARZ at BOB JONES are STATE CHAMPS ... AGAIN ... in 6A!!
Starz Senior Jala Harris scored 21 pts &
had 5 assists, Starz Senior Sametria Gideon scored
14 pts & had 7 rebounds, and Starz Senior Kylie Cook
scored 10 pts to lead the Bob Jones Lady Patriots to a 56-43
victory over the Hoover Lady Bucs and Starz Senior
Jazmine Martin (12 pts) to win their SECOND
consecutive Class 6A State Championship. Starz Seniors
Kellie Cook (7 pts) and Jasmine
Green (4 pts) completed the scoring for BJHS as our
Starz Seniors scored EVERY point in the victory. 6 of the
10 starters in this game are members of the Southern Starz
2009 team!! Starz Juniors Mekena Randle
and Tiarra Pritchett played key roles for
Bob Jones in this game. Starz Junior Alisia
Matthews & Freshman DeAsha Campbell
also saw action. The All-Tournament Team was full of Starz,
including Jala Harris, Sametria
Gideon, and Kellie Cook of Bob
Jones along with Jazmine Martin of Hoover.
Jala Harris was named MVP of the 6A State
Tournament!! CONGRATS to ALL our STARZ!!!
AMBER & ALEX of Hazlewood are STATE CHAMPS in 1A!!
Starz Senior Amber Jones scored 23 pts, had
10 rebs, 7 assists and made 9 of 10 FTs while her cousin
and Starz 8th grader Alex Gholston chipped
in 8 points in a 59-52 victory over previously undefeated
J.F. Shields to lead #3 ranked Hazlewood Lady Golden Bears
to the Class 1A State Championship on Friday, Feb. 27 in
Birmingham!!! Both Amber & Alex were named to the State
All-Tournament Team while Amber Jones was
named MVP of the 1A State Tournament!!
This was the final high school game of Amber's decorated
career in which she scored more than 3,600 points finishing
in the Top 8 scorers all-time in Alabama history (all
classes). CONGRATS to both Amber & Alex!!!
Click here to view article on Amber
G. MYREX of Cold Springs is STATE CHAMP Again in 2A!!
Starz Junior
Georgia Myrex scored 26 pts and made 17 of
19 FTs in a 75-60 comeback victory over #2 ranked Ider (and
Starz Freshman Hope
Benefield) to lead #1 ranked Cold Springs to
their Second Consecutive Class 2A State Championship on
Thursday, Feb. 26 in Birmingham!!! Cold Springs trailed by
as many as 14 points in the 1st half and by 35-26 at
halftime before outscoring Ider 49-25 in the second half.
Georgia was also named to the State All-Tournament Team.
CONGRATS to Georgia on her Back to Back State
Championships!!
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MVP & ALL-REGIONAL ... ALL-STARZ!!
Starz Seniors
Jala Harris
(6A-Bob Jones HS), Jazmine Martin
(6A-Hoover HS), &
Amber Jones (1A-Hazlewood HS) each were
named Regional MVP's as they lead their
high school teams to Regional Championships and to the State
Final 4 in Birmingham on Feb. 24-28!! Starz players earning
All-Regional Tournament awards included ... Seniors
Kellie Cook & Sametria Gideon of
6A-Bob Jones, Senior Chatia Kelsey of
6A-Sparkman, Freshman Hayden Hamby of
3A-West Morgan & Lydia McGee of Madison
Academy, Junior Georgia Myrex of 2A-Cold
Springs, and 8th grader Alex Gholston of
1A-Hazlewood. Congrats to our ALL-REGIONAL STARZ!!!
Starz are guests of Vanderbilt Lady
Commodores!
Click on pictures to view larger picture
A group of
Starz 2012
players (current Freshmen) attended the SEC game played on
Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 in Nashville, TN between the
Vanderbilt Lady Commodores and the Alabama
Crimson Tide. More than
4,500
fans
were in attendance as the Starz players and Coach Bush sat 9
rows behind the baseline during Vandy's 88-64 victory. Our
Starz were the guests of the Lady Commodore's coaching staff
before and after the game. An experience to remember!!
Starz 2012 players are guests of TN Lady Vols!
Click on pictures to view larger picture
A group of
Starz 2012 players (current Freshmen)
attended the SEC game played on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 in
Knoxville, TN between the
TN Lady Vols and the
South Carolina Gamecocks. More than
17,000
fans were in attendance as the Starz players
and Coach Bush sat 6 rows behind the Lady Vols bench during
Tennessee's hard fought 68-56 victory. Our Starz were the
guests of the Lady Vols coaching staff in the postgame
locker room where they were introduced to the players,
entire coaching staff, including legendary Coach Pat Summitt
who recorded her 997th coaching victory as she nears win No.
1000! The Starz group then received a tour of the entire
University of Tennessee basketball facilities. A day to
remember!!
AMBER JONES Scores 3,000th Point!!
Starz Senior,
Amber Jones (2009) of #3 ranked 1A-Hazlewood
High School reached a milestone achieved previously by only
10 female basketball players in the history of the State of
Alabama when she scored her
3,000th point on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 in
a victory over 2A-Hatton High School! Amber scored 40
points in the win as her 20th point of the game achieved
this historic milestone. As of Jan. 26, 2009, Amber has
scored
3,348 points moving her up into 8th place on
the all-time list. Due to injuries, Amber missed 1 1/2 full
seasons of her high school career. CONGRATS to Amber!!
FAB 5 STARZ at Bob Jones HS Sign with D1 Colleges!!
FIVE (5) players from our Southern Starz Senior Class of
2009 signed their National Letters of Intent on Friday,
November 14 in a ceremony at Bob Jones High School that was
well attended by Coaches, Friends, Family and Teammates,
including Starz 2009 Coaches Doug Bush & Willie Harris. The
5 Starz who signed were Kellie Cook (TN Tech), Kylie Cook
(TN Tech), Sametria Gideon (Kennesaw State), Jasmine Green (UAB),
and Jala Harris (UAB). Each of the players said a few
words, including a Thanks to their Starz coaches and
organization. CONGRATS to all these young ladies on this
tremendous accomplishment
(click on
images to view larger image)!
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Kylie Black of Speake Signs with Samford!!
Southern Starz Senior in the Class of 2009, Kylie
Black signed her National Letters of Intent to play her
college basketball with Division 1 Samford University of the
Southern Conference on Friday afternoon, November 14 in a
ceremony at Speake High School that was attended by Friends,
Family, Teammates, local media, and Starz Coach Doug
Bush. CONGRATS to Kylie on this tremendous accomplishment
(click on
images to view larger image)!
Photo by Daniel Stoler |
Photo by Daniel Stoler |
Coach Doug Bush on Staff at Alabama Elite Camp!
Southern Starz Director & Coach of our AL AAU State Champion 13u &
16u teams, Doug Bush was invited to participate on the Staff
of The University of Alabama Women's Basketball Elite Camp
over the weekend of June 7-8. Coach Bush joined 5 other
non-Alabama staff members in assisting with instruction at
this Invitation-only camp for top players from Arkansas,
Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. Coach Bush commented that
"it is a tremendous honor to be chosen to be on staff to
assist members of the new coaching staff at Alabama." Three
(3) Starz players participated in this Elite Camp including
Starz 16u players Kylie Black (2009) and Jala Harris (2009)
along with Starz 13u player Jasmine Jones (2012).
click on picture below to see full size |
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2008 Starz
13u team
prevails at Duke's famous Cameron Indoor
Stadium!
Click on pictures to view
larger picture
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Below the
Starz 14u take
a break in front of the
Dean E. Smith Center |
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Starz 13u-Bush
players pay visit to "Krzyzewskiville" just outside of
Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium where students set up in
tents days in advance of Duke home games in an effort to
get tickets and become a part of "Cameron's Crazies!" |
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Starz 13u-Bush
prior to Sunday's win over CyFair (Houston) Coast to
Coast 14u at Center Court of Duke's famous
Cameron Indoor Stadium ... "Coach K"
Court!! |
