By Brandon C. Williams
Editor, The Post Newspaper
The 2022-23 high school basketball season tips off in mid-November with four area boys’ and girls’ basketball teams opening the new campaign ranked in the Texas Basketball Coaches Association’s state polls.
Fresh off a trip to the state semifinals, Hitchcock’s boys’ team is ranked second in Class 3A. The Bulldogs finished 31-6 last season and return the bulk of their roster that fell short to San Antonio Cole in the state Final Four. Coach Christopher Jordan-Foster will have to wait for his entire roster to come together as a host of his players are currently key members of Hitchcock’s undefeated and state-ranked football team.
Continuing their run among the state’s premier programs, Dickinson comes into the season ranked 6th in the Class 6A polls. The Gators rolled to another District 24-6A championship on their way to an impressive 33-4 campaign that ended with a narrow loss to Shadow Creek in the Region III quarterfinals. Coach Jason Wilson will have a number of new faces on the roster but senior post Zion Little (once he returns from the football field) will anchor Dickinson’s bid for deeper run this winter.
Under the steady hand of coach Kevin Wilcox, La Marque finished 21-13 last season as the Cougars continued what has been more than a decade of being one of the top teams in Class 4A. They come into the season ranked 19th in TABC polls. The Coogs lost eight of their 14 players to graduation but are also expected to restock behind a number of sub varsity call-ups who will get their feet wet in one of the toughest non-district schedules in the area.
The area’s only ranked girls’ team, Clear Brook established themselves as one of the top teams in Region III, finishing with a 31-5 record while also winning the District 24-6A title. Coach Mileka Loydrake’s Wolverines were stopped by North Shore in the area round yet will have seven members of her team returning to help Brook remain atop what will be a challenging district that includes a potentially resurgent Clear Springs.
