BRIGHTON 2011-2012

   This is like rivals.com policy. They don't put a kid in the database until he hits the rankings, correct. Well Brighton has hit the rankings and will be there for the next 2 years for sure due to upcoming players. With first year Coach Gerald Rogers from Germantown at the helm they are definitely on the right track. This the first year since Hoopers has done the rankings since 1999 that Brighton has had a bio created when I looked at the database of teams. Interesting

   Coming off a great 2011 campaign, the Cardinals of Brighton are definitely on the rise in Tipton County with a good football team that had a great 2011 school year. Brighton will be led by two the best juniors in the entire state with junior Demetrius Dyson (6'5 - 205 lbs., rivals #) who possesses a nice stroke from the outside with a big guard frame, good ball handling skills, court vision, and inside play that will better as the season goes on. At the guard position you have another top junior in Jonathan Starks (6'1 - 180 lbs., rivals #) who definitely is one of the best guards in the state and for surely in the city of Memphis. This young man can do it all from facilitating the team in great fashion to having to score when he has to. Starks has the ability to nail shots from all over the court with great confidence and form. His ball handing skills are extremely sound in comparison ratio to very little turnovers committed with all types of pressure applied during entire games that don't rattle him respectively. His court vision is some of the best court vision I have seen in a player this young from one end of the court to the other end at all times. Another top player is senior Rickey Foster (6'3 - 190 lbs., rivals #) who is a heck of an football player at the wide receiver position, an sound overall athlete that can do it all, including good outside shooting and hits the boards as well as anyone of his size, he really plays bigger than his size. Two other seniors that will contribute heavily all season long are Eddie Middlebrooks (6'2 - 190 lbs., rivals #) and Toney Brooks (6'0 - 190 lbs., rivals #), both of these players are versatile and will step up in certain situations as the season progresses. Senior Dedrick Muex (5'10 - 175 lbs., rivals #) solid guard play will be depended on very strongly with other teams focusing on Starks accordingly.

    Brighton will attend the Martin Westview Classic and play state powerhouse Bolivar Central. The Cardinals will travel to Dyersburg and play in the Dyersburg Christmas Tournament On December 25, 2012. District  Tournament will be held at Hardin County, with regional's at Arlington.

    Junior Maceo Harper (6'3 - 195 lbs., rivals #) will be a solid fit in the rotation. Freshman Lorenzo Hunt (6'2 - 180 lbs., rivals #) and Kendall Johnson (6'0 - 170 lbs., rivals #) are some young men to keep an eye on for future reference.

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

Updated 11-30-2011

By Staff Writer Harold Rivera

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