MELROSE 2008-2009                                                     

        Quinton Lowe                Adonis Thomas                  Chris Mason

             The T-Shirts said picked 7th but Finished 1st

  Coach JJ has the deepest team in the City this year. The expectations are thru the roof at Melrose. Last season Melrose played one of the toughest schedules in the city. This team took some bumps along the way as most young teams do. One night I saw them dismantle a great Manassas squad for 3 quarters before Manassas turned it on in the 4th to win. Weeks later I watch them lose to the worst team in the city Northside. Weeks later I watch them beat the 3A City Champs Central to win there District. This season Melrose will be more consistent. Players such as Chris Mason, Tevin Burks, Quinton Lowe, Telvin Wilkerson, Nath Rucker and Nino Johnson have all improved. Then Melrose added Jermaine Hollimon my sleeper on this team and a good kid. Eric Watson is my wild card on this team. Last Adonis Thomas and Chris Jones have emerged as top players Nationally in the class of 2011. Blend all the into 1 team and you have something special. I wouldn't be surprised to see Melrose playing in the glass house this March.

Key Game for Melrose: The MLK TOURNAMENT @ Melrose November 24-28th

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

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