MELROSE 2010-2011                      

      2010 Division AAA State Champions (37-4)

    One of the Hoopers Staff TOP 3 Teams from 2000-2010 returns a solid core from last years state championship squad. Coach Jermaine Johnson  has amassed in a four short years one of the best overall recruited classes to come to one school in state history. That hard work has paid off in ten fold with a 2010 Division AAA State Champions and his kids going to Division 1 schools with the mark. Chris Jones is headed to Tennessee via Oak Ridge Military Academy, Nate Rucker to Northern Illinois, Bobby Parks Jr. to the Philippines, and Jermaine Holliman to Southwest. The Wildcats are definitely preseason consensus number 1 in Memphis and ranked Number 1 by Rivals and Top 5 of numerous nationwide publications going into the 2010-2011 basketball season. Returnees of the solid core are senior and Memphis signee Adonis Thomas (6'6 - 200 lbs., rivals #15), SEMO signee Telvin Wilkerson (6'3 - 190 lbs., rivals # outstanding overall player), and Auburn bound Cedric McAfee (6'2 - 180 lbs., rivals #74 outstanding athletic player that can get to the rim as good as anyone in the country).  Manassas transfer Joe Northington (6'2 - 180 lbs., rivals # will log major playing minutes respectively with his deadly outside shooting. Before Johnson's arrival, basketball was mediocre, but the last three years the varsity play has invigorated the neighborhood. I know Melrose in the recent future has been known for football but it's heart line and star power is from basketball hands down. The gym will sell out many times this year and will portray spirit as the football team receives. His assistants will contribute tremendously with veteran assistant Nathan Ervin from Mitchell High School and local summer program MemphisHoopers.com summer squad. Assistant Danny Young is a major contributor and motivator respectively.

      Melrose will participate in several high profile tournaments and classics starting with the 40th Annual Martin Luther King Tournament at Melrose High School during Thanksgiving. They travel to Nashville and play perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in the Battle of the Best on the campus of Tennessee State University. December they will travel to Fort Myers, Florida for the 38th Annual State Farm City of Palms Classic and rated the Number 1 high school tournament of the year in front of the Beach Ball Classic. Their first opponent is Chicago powerhouse Whitney Young Magnet School where Michelle Obama is a graduate and led by 6'7 juniors Luke Hager and Sam Thompson. They will finish off with a January 17th contest at the Fed Ex Forum against Southwind in the Martin Luther King Classic. 

      Junior Darius Moore (6'7 - 200 lbs., rivals #) will garner major minutes in the middle trying to anchor a depleted line from last year. Sophomores K.C. Godwin (6'0 - 200 lbs., rivals #) and Markell Crawford (6'3 - 190 lbs., rivals #) will contribute heavily all season long and accordingly. Another sophomore William Atwood (6'7 - 200 lbs., rivals #) should help on the boards during the season.   

     New group of freshmen at Melrose and mostly from Airways Middle are 6'5 Thomas Williams  (6'5 - 200 lbs., diamond in the rough) and Jamario Jones  (6'2 - 170 lbs., diamond in the rough) will play here and there in some games due to situation at hand.

College Coaches: Diamond in the Rough Team with legitimate off the radar prospects, (college coaches click here).

Recap 11-30-2010

Players:

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