Don't be surprised if sophomore scoring sensation
Nic Smith
(5'10 - 170 lbs.,
rivals #)
who actually leads the team in scoring with his super
knack for scoring with natural moves that makes scoring
easy for him. Smith
is a true scoring guard that can
score from all over the court with his solid outside
shot that can translate into nifty slashes to the goal
anytime he wants to accordingly.
Smith
has offers fromUCONN,
Auburn,
Ole Miss to name
a few. The best overall point guard in the state with
national recognition growing everyday is junior
Chris Chiozza
(6'0 - 175 lbs.,
rivals #).
Hoopers staff has not seen a kid like this with his
"hands of magic", in a long time.
Chiozza has a great
ability to know everybody's location at the present time
and seemingly future spots with laser passes in stride,
doubles, fast breaks, and all the other tangibles of
running a horse race team.
Chiozza and
Smith are one of the
best one and two duos in the state and nationally as
well thereof.
White Station
will participate in several high profile tournaments and
classics starting with the Ridgeway Classic at Ridgeway
High school Nov. 23 and 24, 2012. The tournament at
Lausanne School during
the Christmas break will consist of some major national
opponents (TBA) and ready them for their tough district
play. They participate in the
Penny Hardaway Classic
where the first two days Jan. 10-11, 2013 of the event
will be at
Dyer County
and the last day Jan. 12, 2013 at
White Station High School. December 7, 2012 they
stay home and play in one of the top high school events
in the Atlanta - Memphis Classic
at MUS. The
Spartans
nearing the end of their rugged schedule in the toughest
district in the state will fly out to sunny Las Vegas,
Nevada for the first annual
Vegas Hoop Fest.
and playFoothill High School,
Nevada in a one game affair event.
Junior
Derrick Dandridge
(6'5 - 200 lbs.,
rivals #)
will play a lot of minutes and help out in the middle
with his long reach and good defense altering and
blocking shots.
Dandridge shots
the ball well from mid range and patience on offense is
a virture.
Junior
Curtis Phillips(6'4
- 185 lbs.,
rivals #)
will be solid off the bench and will have plenty of
opportunities during the season to gain more playing
time. Another junior that will backup up at the guard
spot is Tony Becton(5'10
- 170 lbs.,
rivals #)
whose aggressive defensive style coming off the football
as the starting quarterback will be very beneficial.
College Coaches:Diamond in the
Rough Team with legitimate off the radar
prospects via Division 1 potential,(college coaches click here).
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.
TTaking 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.br>
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.
