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SUMMER CIRCUIT BREAKDOWN

     The 2015 summer circuit basketball season is over with the volatile month of July just ending as hectic as ever. Memphis teams did not fare well on a national level accordingly to Memphis standards and past seasons Bottomline!!! Looking at MemphisHoopers.com Summer Circuit Poll the usual entries from the region fared below expectations and standards. Everyone asked why is MemphisHoopers.com at the No. 1 spot in Final Poll. Isn't that bias well the facts are stated below and everyone else will have their own opinion comapdres.

     MemphisHoopers.com claimed 2 championships nationally at Midwest Shootout n St. Louis April 19, 2015 & Big Foot Hoops n Houston April 26, 2015 Kingwood Classic Platinum bracket in championship game win over T.J. Ford Elite. The other local teams neither garnered a championship of any sort all season long other than Team Thad in Knoxville Vegas Event April 3, 2015. 1 championship locally with a win over the powerful Team Thad 16's in that championship game @ Lemoyne Owen College April  1, 2015 at the start of the summer circuit basketball season. Championship game loss in www.ontheradarhoops.com Session 1 in Atlanta, GA. April 10, 2015. Final Four appearance in Adidas Memorial Day Classic in New Orleans, LA. losing to Texas D1 Ambassadors 99-98, hell of a game compadres!!!!

     Your regular shoe company sponsored teams; Team Thad (Under Armour), Team Penny (Nike), & Memphis Magic (Adidas) all had different routes in front of them per say. M33M Let it Fly is associated with Reebok but Reebok is just there these days. Other teams of significance are MemphisHoopers.com that mostly deals with unsigned seniors, Memphis Bulls who have made a name for themselves the last couple of seasons.

    Iconic Team Thad n Team Penny had rough seasons this year. With both ball clubs needing help from players that were not going to be there all season from jump to just help them make it to their respected shoe company end of the year events the championships and finals of each accordingly. Memphis Magic didn't qualify for the Finals in Atlanta but got one of the 8 at large bids to participate.

    Team Thad made the biggest impact with LaGerald Vick coming from nowhere and almost signing with UT Martin and Western Kentucky to wining a gold medal with Kansas in Seoul, Korea. Nick Marshall at Memphis with plenty of playing time on the horizon due to transfer in mid stream. M33M Let it Fly plays a very soft schedule early in the season with no hype at all but will criss cross the country in July. A solid showing in the last week of July @ Big Foot Hoops before falling in Sweet 16 action in Platinum Elite Bracket losing to Norcal Black.

    Memphis Bulls had good performances all season long in great events and made a good run at AAU Nationals in Orlando amking it to the final four. With the final MemphisHoopers.com Summer Circuit Poll done another season in the Books!!!

    2015 Jack Peters MUS Summer Classic was another success with some of the best teams in the city and surrounding areas. Since it's inception since 2000 it has made national acclaim as one of the best high school summer events respectively with good team basketball all weekend long. Click here for stats. East (Number 1 Preseason Poll) came away with a 3-1 mark and it's only loss came to private school powerhouse Brentwood Academy in a close affair. A very young Mustangs team led by sophomores T.J. Moss & Alex Lomax will make noise all year long plus freshman sensation 6'8 Chandler Lawson. Brentwood Academy went 4-1 with impressive performances and double digit wins over top teams. Coach Hubie Smith has done a great job this summer after coming off an state championship and favorites to repeat accordingly.

      Players that stood out to the Hoopers staff over the 3 day event and the top player at the event was T.J. Moss, who has elevated his game to another level. His jump shot from all over the court is solid, basketball moves are full of basketball IQ and very fluid. Junior Jeremiah Oatsvall is a very solid overall hard nosed point guard, Bottomline! Oatsvall does it all in strong fashion from shooting the ball from any part of the court, drives are solid, and defense a plus from this young man. CBHS junior William Douglass also was very impressive with his overall play and this young man is going to be special compadres n will contend for one of the top players in the Memphis area. One of my favorite high school coaches of all time Bubba Luckett CBHS will make another run at the state after going 29-1 last year losing their only game in the championship game, Tough One! 

2014-2015 Final High School Rankings

Dedric Lawson (Hamilton / Memphis - McDonald's All American)

TSSAA State Bracket

Haywood County Regional Champions @ Covington High School 2015

Division AAA: MemphisHoopers.com will say it again, the 800 lb. gorilla Hamilton Wildcats should roll thru early state action and did with a quarterfinal game thumping Hillsboro 55-34 and a Friday meeting with Blackman. A rematch against district rival Memphis East seems very realistic with The Mustangs beating Oak Ridge 68-57 and facing Brentwood Friday in semifinal action. You have a former McDonald's All American in Head Coach Todd Day coaching the only other Hamilton player to ever be named McDonald's All American in Dedric Lawson. This only happens in cycles that come far and few apart with 10-15 year interval at the least.

Dedric & K.J. Lawson 2015

The finishing to the newsletter story is below:

ECS since he came to this country in the 7th grade  from Haiti and played under a legendary coach Terry Tippet. MemphisHoopers.com interviewed coach Tippett after they won TSSAA State in 2010 championship with Walter Weaver (Hooper for Life),  & Steve Casper, he stated, "he wasn't going to retire until probably the best player he ever had graduated and sometime he evidently seen from a iconic coach". Well that would of been this year and MemphisHoopers.com isn't scared compadres. All the flim flam, wishy wash, mumbo jumbo and limited playing in controlled environments definitely raises red flags. Bottomline we will see in the near future and you can email me at any time to make notes.  COACHES, NATIONAL RANKINGS CAN &*^% YOU OFF BOTTOMLINE!!!!, w

       In a short three years, Coach Jermaine Johnson has Melrose in the record books with a astounding victory over the defending state champions White Station Spartans.  Melrose deeply talented team was too much for the Spartans who missed two of their top scorers from scoring in double digits and much needed if any chance of winning. Tournament MVP Chris Jones (35 points and 5 steals) proved why he is a Tennessee commitment with his savvy ball handling, outside shooting when needed, and strong drives to the goal when called upon. Jones shot 95% from the free throw line on 18-19 shooting and 57% from the field in another stellar performance. The game was a back and forth contest the entire game with 10 lead changes and 9 ties that started with the score being tied 16 all at the end of the first quarter.

     White Station led majority of the first half after Melrose being patient on offense scored first but the Spartans started the game with a 8-0 run after Melrose scored.  Adonis Thomas shot extremely well 47% from the field and snatched a game high 13 rebounds to go along with 19 points in a double double performance. Melrose finally took the lead in the second quarter with a 1 minute left using full court pressure that rattled the Spartans a little. Melrose went into the break up 35-33. White Station was killing Melrose on the boards (19-10 first half advantage) due to Melrose big man and Northern Illinois signee Nate Rucker breaking his ankle in the previous quarterfinal game against Bearden. Melrose caused 11 first half turnovers but controlled the ball to only commit 3 turnovers to nullify the rebounding disadvantage. Melrose had a 5-2 ratio on steals at the break also.

     White Station usually brings a nice crowd with them every year but Melrose's Orange Mound was definitely in the house as the Golden Wildcats were in force new and old. The Wildcats extended their lead as high as 8 points in the third quarter at the 2:01 mark of the third with Coach Jesus Patino of White Station trying to find a solution to his team poor offense with multiple substituting to gain momentum to no avail. Melrose closed the third quarter up 55-50 and in solid control for the time being.

     You know having Mr. Basketball, McDonald's All American and Memphis signee Joe Jackson (22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) was not going to let that happen just laying there. He is a warrior and showed why he received all the postseason accolades, Jackson sat out only 6 seconds of the entire game in the fourth quarter at the 5:00 minute mark after picking up his 4th foul. Another senior who has been their since the first day with Jackson is Missouri State football signee Julian Burton (12 points on 50% shooting and 3-3 from long range). White Station William Woodfork and Rodriguez Tucker notched important minutes and played strong coming off the bench in supporting roles. White Station tried to rally by getting the score down to 3 points (63-60) and the closest they would ever get with each time  Jones snubbing out the effort and with Thomas in the wing.

Key Points of The Game: White Station Andre Hollins and Nino Johnson scoring only 4 points each. At least Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds in the cause respectively. Chris Jones awesome free throw shooting down the stretch and the entire game.

By Staff Writer Harold Rivera                          Posted 3-13-10 7:02 p.m.