Hoops: Douglass wins one, loses one in Texas

Well, the Douglass Trojans can put the pressure of an unbeaten season behind them.

Douglass defeated Richardson-Berkner on Friday and lost to Flower Mound-Marcus by four points Saturday night at the DFW Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Duncanville, Texas.

Some of you might be wondering if this means the Troajns won’t be as good, or if this is a sign of weakness in this team. Wrong on both counts.

Marcus might not have the depth of D-I talent the Trojans do, but they’ve got more top-line talent. They’ve got two of the top players in the 2012 recruiting class, and a junior point guard who could work his way into the recruiting rankings.

Douglass was No. 7 in the Rivals.com preseason national rankings and Marcus was No. 28. But in the ESPN RISE Fab 50, Douglass was No. 26 and Marcus was No. 16. So it’s fair to say this game should’ve been a toss-up.

There’s still no question that Douglass is the best team in the state. This out-of-state competition is good for them on two levels.

For one, when you’ve got the kind of talent they have, it’s good to push your team, put them against some of the best teams in the country. And it’s a good way to help your kids get noticed by recruiters. There were a ton of top prospects at the Hoopfest, and there are still five or six guys looking for scholarships, so these out-of-state trips are good.

Not to mention the fact that a lot of high school kids don’t get the chance to travel out of the state, especially to places like Myrtle Beach, S.C., where the Trojans will go later this season.