TEAM
THAD
(17's) 2013
Team Thad 17's
runner up in Biloxi April
26 - 28, 2013 at
Gulf Coast Hoop Fest
Team Thad - AAU National Runner-up
Team
Thad ranked No. 8 at
Five Star Basketball
One
of the top 17 Under programs in the country coached by
second year coach Norton
Hurd who compiled an 55-4 first year
record.
Team Thad
will be one of the top Under Armour teams under the
Under Armour
brand with all preseason national polls having them in
the Top 5 respectively. Coming off an very strong 55-4
(2012) campaign that included 6 championships in
national marquee tournaments from
Real Deal on the Rock
to Peach State
in South Carolina. The roster consist of 5 kids ranked
in Top 150 of all national polls and 1 kid named to the
USA Basketball
Team.
Leron Black @ White Station
Team Thad ranked No. 7 at Five
Star Basketball
Leron Black
(6'8 - 215 lbs.
White Station,
espn #11 &
Future 150 #1)
had an very impressive high school
season at
White Station High School
(22-6) plus
showings at all major national camps from
Adidas Nations and
coming away with top 5 ranking.
Black
is one of seven sophomores invited to
the Lebron James camp and one of ten sophomores invited
to the NBA camp. He has taken his game to another level
with his strong and savvy inside game to compliment his
mid range jump shot that can be consistent to his long ball
that is just as good, to go along with his
very good ball handling. Down low he can battle with
anyone in the country with nifty moves but at the same
time are just as strong as anyone else in the country
with his sturdy body frame. This kid is going to be very
special compadres and when his high school career ends
he will be an Top 10 kid in the rankings!!!! Junior
C.J. Anderson
(6'5 - 185 lbs.
Arlington,
rivals #)
is one of those players that can do a little bit of
everything and with his long reach and tall frame he
contributes in many ways and you will hear about this
kid all summer circuit season long. Junior Chris
Chiozza (5'11 - 170
lbs.,
Future 150 # 55)
who is one of the best guards Hoopers staff has seen in
years from the days of
Andre Allen,
Tony Harris
of
Memphis East,
and Youl Banks
of
Ridgeway.
This kid has a gift for handling the basketball and that
doesn't come very often in great form. Hoopers staff
calls him "hands of magic".
Junior
Riley Norris
Albertville, Alabama
Junior
Riley Norris
(6''7 - 195 lbs.
Albertville, Alabama
Future 150 #37)
joined Team Thad for this highly anticipated summer
circuit season.
Norris is
enormously fundamental and can nail the jump shot from
anywhere on the court plus he plays above the rim in
fast break motion.
Special From
Jason Pratt @
www.future150.com
When you think about the current AAU player of today,
you think athletes who can run, jump and like to play in
a fast pace game. The game of basketball today has
changed drastically over the past twenty years, and the
amount of skilled players in the game are dwindling.
With that being said, the #1 player in the state of
Alabama, small forward Riley Norris, is breaking that
mold. Norris is a 6-foot-7 inch, 190-pound combo forward
who is highly skilled, athletic, and plays with a high
basketball IQ. Some of his best attributes might be his
ability to put the ball on the floor, shoot the mid
range, finish at the rim through contact, and knock down
the three-point shot with regularity. A good player
comparison for him would be
Utah Jazz small forward
Gordon Hayward, who played in the national championship
game with Butler a couple of years ago. With offers from
Oklahoma,
Oklahoma St,
Florida State,
Tennessee,
Auburn,
Arkansas,
Georgia,
Alabama,
Murray State,
UAB and
Stanford, and high interest from
Baylor and
Florida, the
Alabama product is only getting better every time we see
him play.
Jason Pratt
Sr. Analyst
Future150
The big fellas that battled in the
middle all summer long together, showcased what they
have learned ten fold are
Marcanious Hymon
(6''7 - 205 lbs. Whitehaven,
Future 150 #50)
who jumped into the national rankings and this kid is
going to be very good.
K.J. Bates
(6' - 210 lbs., Raleigh Egypt -
rivals #)
from hte Hoopers staff to not mention earlier, Sorry
compadres!!! has been the most impressive new player to
Team Thad and was a travestyTo go along with junior
Fattod Lewis
(6'8 - 210 lbs., Raleigh Egypt -
rivals #)
whose left hand moves are very solid with an very
improved outside shot from long range.
Another teammate is
junior
Jerry Johnson
(6'3 - 195 lbs., Houston
- rivals #) who does it all
in great fashion and big guard frame is going to jump
shots on the ball club.
Team
Thad will have a strong schedule
participating on the
Under Armour
summer circuit schedule starting in Birmingham, Alabama
at the
Future 150 Main Event
Showcase. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
at
UA Pitt Jam Fest
April 19-21, 2013. They head to to Biloxi, Mississippi
for the Gulf Coast Hoop
Fest featuring some of the top teams in
the country. The month of May they travel back up north
to Fort Wayne, Indiana for the competitive
Indy Spiece Showdown
May 3rd - 5th, 2013. They stay home the following week
for the Memphis Classic
that runs May 10th - 12th, 2013. They finish the
month of May in Dallas, Texas from the 24th-27th for another
Under Armour
summer circuit event th
UA Invitational.
They finish
out the summer circuit season with trips to
Reebok Breakout Challenge
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 9th -13th, 2013. The
last prestigious event on the
Under Armour
summer circuit schedule is the
NY2LA
Summer Jam in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that runs July 17th -
21st, 2013. For the final showing for
Team Thad
will be a trip to the beautiful state of Florida
and the granddaddy of them all the
Super Showcase / AAU
Nationals in Orlando, Florida from July
25th - 29th, 2013.
C.J. Anderson
(Whitehaven
High
School)
Freshman
Jalen Fisher
(6'1 - 175 lbs.
Bolton
Future 150 #0)
who can play on the higher level will be another long
line of great guards to come out of Memphis. Senior
Jeremy Hemphill
(5'9 - 150 lbs.
rivals #
FACS)
will be one of the fastest guards on the circuit with
his cat quick ball handling moves. The only thing
I see that they may lack in is outside shooting at first
but they have addressed that issue and all the players
have step up in that department when their big men can't
get it done and their will be a time when they cross
that bridge. The supporting cast can step up and shoot
the ball in great form and will make notice all summer
long.
College
Coaches:
Diamond in the Rough Team with legitimate off the
radar prospects,
(college coaches click here).
ESPN Article (click here)
Recap 4-01-2013
By: Harold Rivera
Players:
NAME |
HT |
CLASS |
HIGH SCHOOL |
OFFERS |
Leron Black |
6'8 |
Junior |
White Station
|
multiple |
Chris Chiozza |
6'0 |
Junior |
White Station |
multiple |
Marcanious Hymon |
6'7 |
Junior |
Whitehaven
|
multiple |
C.J. Anderson |
6'5 |
Junior |
Whitehaven
|
multiple |
Fattod Lewis |
6'8 |
Junior |
Raleigh Egypt |
multiple |
Jerry Johnson |
6'3 |
Junior |
Houston |
multiple |
Riley Norris |
6'7 |
Junior |
Albertville, Alabama |
multiple |
Jaqueze Parnell |
6'7 |
Junior |
Raleigh Egypt |
|
K.J. Bates |
6'1 |
Junior |
Arlington |
|
Jalen Fisher |
6'1 |
Freshman |
Bolton |
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Recap 11-30-2010
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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
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