It’s been a long summer for the Fort Bend Hightower boys basketball team. But at least they can take their aggression out on each other.

After falling short in the regional semifinals to Madison in late February, some of the Hurricanes are using the summertime to participate in tournaments to either improve or keep their edge. And that means the occasional time where teammate faces teammate in a game.

That happened at the Last Stand tournament Tuesday afternoon at Yates High School, where the Houston Hoops team – consisting of Hightower forwards Dayrell Taylor, Joshua Wesley and guard Ryan Holland among others – faced Houston Elite with fellow Hurricane center J.J. Richardson.

Taylor did well and scored 16 points, but the Elite came with the 61-55 win. Nonetheless, the Hightower kids enjoyed playing with each other, even if it is on different teams.

“It’s a good feeling because I see these guys every day. It’s almost like I live with them,” Taylor said. “Our chemistry works so well on the court, so if we put it together on one team, it’s going to be crazy.”

Hightower coach David Green came out to the tourney to see his kids play, and to field questions from college coaches from UTEP, TCU and Pittsburgh. Green feels that all four players have shown signs of improvement in the summer.

“As long as the kids can work in the summer and improve their game, that’s what’s most important,” Green said.

Hightower has a lot of motivation heading into next year. The Hurricanes will have their whole nucleus back this upcoming season, and will be one of the top teams in the area and in the state. But there are a good number of tough teams in the area that Hightower has to beat, including two teams in its own district in state finalist Dulles and Elkins.

“Our main goal is to win district and advance as far as we can in the playoffs,” Green said. “The only thing we need to focus on is defense. I feel like we can score, but we have to shut some people down. ”

The players feel that they can reach their goals, and even surpass them.

“Last year, we fell short of our goal, but I think this year, we’ll be ready,” Taylor said.

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