EAST 2012-2013 

                 Defending 2011 TSSAA State Champions                      

      Fresh off a TSSAA Division AAA State Championship, second year coach Sam Bachelor and one of the rising young coaches in the city took over a program with a lot of history and prestige respectively and brought prominence back. Coach Bachelor inherited an awesome group of young men last year and for the first time since the 2005 were pegged favorites to win their respected district. At the same time in the Hoopers eyes is the toughest district in the state hands down and claimed district and regional honors accordingly. On the way to Murfreesboro and talk about a team that gelled and caught fire at the right time last year was definitely the Mustangs.

     East has always produced some of the best athletes from neighboring Binghampton community in basketball and football. East graduated Alex Anderson (Jacksonville State University in Alabama) and Ervin Morris (Kent State) and lose one of the top sophomores in the country in Keelon Lawson jr. (6'6- 180 lbs. rivals #10) transfer to Hamilton.  They return one of the top players in the country in senior Nick King (6'7- 215 lbs. rivals #23) who committed to Memphis on 8-27-2012. His strong overall play in and outside will give other teams major matchup problems with his very good ball handling skills. To go along with his good rebounding defensively and offensively with an much improved jump shot.

     One of the best shooters from anywhere on the court is senior Matthew Butler (6'2 - 175 lbs., rivals #) who will stretch defenses to the max ascertainly. Butler plays aggressive on both sides of the ball and will be one of the top two scorers on the ball club for that reason. Senior Jalen Thompson (6'0 - 160 lbs., rivals #) is the best defender on the ball club and he will be the main facilitator with some great targets in Butler and King  where assists will be a top category for this young man.

     Another senior and transfer from Douglass is Tyler Lee (6'2 - 180 lbs., rivals #) who is a very solid defender, good shooter and will notch valuable minutes all season long. Junior Sebastian Burner (6'3 - 180 lbs., rivals #) who shoots the mid range very good, slashes to the goal in very strong fashion and can play the 2 guard spot extremely well. Another junior is Eric Stevens (6'0 - 160 lbs., rivals #) who does a little bit of everything and will definitely be in the rotation to garner minutes during the season.

    The Mustangs will take part in the Martin Luther King Tournament right before Thanksgiving at Hamilton High School where it will be held this year accordingly. One of the top tournaments in December that showcases the top teams from all over the country is the Marshall Hoop Fest November 30 to December 1, 2012. Memphis East will participate in the annual Memphis-Atlanta Classic (December 7 and 8, 2012) which was held in Atlanta for the first three years of it's existence and the last two years in Memphis. It will be played at MUS. The Mustangs will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for the St. Louis Classic December 15, 2012 for another marquee event. They will host Mississippi large division state basketball champions Amanda Elzey on January 12, 2013 on a Saturday clash of two very good teams.

Recap 8-25-2005

BY : ANDRE WHITEHEAD OF TENNESSEE PREP HOOPS

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I think there is a book that starts off that way, but I digress.

The anticipation of the upcoming AAU or summer campaign was alive and kicking all over the country in May of 2005, especially in Memphis.

The expectations seemed enormous, having finished second in the 17 and under nationals last season as 16's the Memphis YOMCA seemed primed for the ultimate run.

Something happened on the way to the gym.

It was apparent the Bluff City faithful were not the only parties interested in getting a piece of the star studded squad.

Adidas wanted to get a foothold in the ever burgeoning Memphis hoop scene and this seemed to be the initial move to start this particular ball
rolling.

So the YOMCA was no longer in the loop and the Memphis Pump-N-Run were officially born.

Taking a peek at the roster one could not blame Adidas for their bold move. Thaddeus Young, Willie Kemp, Wayne Chism, Pierre Niles and Brandon Powell made up a nucleus that would surely lead Team Memphis to the promised land.

The summer campaign started with a most interesting scenario as the "PNR" lost a game to the Mid-State Ballerz, who ironically had Willie Kemp running the show. This was an illusion that would soon change, as Kemp
shortly thereafter joined the PNR.

With all their ducks in a row, the PNR set out to establish themselves and put a benchmark on the national attention that would follow.

The Real Deal on the Hill, the first major tournament of the summer that coaches could attend. The pundits pined for the impending matchup between Team Memphis and the defending mythical goliath The Indy Spiece Heat. The Heat were led by the consensus top player in the class Greg Oden and numerous other high level prospects who could actually match the
PNR with name recognition.

The reputation was established and the aura of the PNR was created as the boys from Memphis soundly defeated the Heat and made a huge cry across the land as the best summer squad in existence.

Another funny thing happened on the way to their future endeavors, nothing.

For some inexplicable reason the PNR did not suit up for any of the Memorial Day festivities and was sparsely seen until the Adidas Super 64 in Atlanta, following the shoe camps.

The aforementioned players participated in various high level exposure camps and the three major shoe camps and kept their names on the tongues of coaches nationwide.

After achieving individual success at these various camps, the boys got back together with the purpose of putting the finishing touches on a grand and final run through the top programs the country had to offer. They added Ridgeway jumping jack Ernest Fields and ECS powerhouse Tim Johnson to the fold and things looked bright.

Once again a funny thing happened on the way to the gym.

The time off and the lack of continuity played havoc on the chemistry of the PNR and they bowed out early in Atlanta.

Heading to Las Vegas for the final big time event of the summer, the PNR seemed poised and ready to achieve. After dominating pool play the lack of chemistry once again reared it's ugly head and some resentment among the players seemed to end this summer campaign on a sour note.

This team had the potential to be one of the best of all time. It is truly unclear what precipitated these events that grounded this team for much of the latter portion of May and June, but it truly had it's effect on their success.

None the less these kids are part of the best class of seniors to dot the Tennessee landscape in many years.

The decision to completely disassociate themselves with the
organization that they grew up playing for in retrospect now seems like a mistake. The YOMCA will continue on with quality younger teams and what to make of the Adidas affiliation with the Bluff City at this juncture is
unclear.
 

BY : ANDRE WHITEHEAD OF TENNESSEE PREP HOOPS