RIDGEWAY 2012-2013

     After a 28-2 campaign last year and being ranked for majority of the year in the top 40 nationally. The Roadrunners fell short in regional action in a disappointing loss to state runner up Memphis Central. The Roadrunners have another strong senior group and Ridgeway Head Coach Wes Henning states, "this group is guard heavy", with one of the best guard combos in Greg Pryor and Jonathan Burroughs who both possess a solid scoring and defensive punch. Coach Henning had 7 seniors graduate with Adam Weary (High Point University) , Cameron Golden (UAB), and Koderio Fleming (Jacksonville State University), and Marvin Smith (Cloud County College) respectively. Ridgeway still has a very good chance to still win District 15-AAA with Southwind the favorites in early season predictions. Another team to watch in District 15-AAA will be Houston High which is on the rise with their basketball program.

     Senior Greg Pryor (6'2 - 175 lbs., rivals #) had a great summer circuit with MemphisHoopers.com in the early part of the season and finishing off with Team Thad 17's accordingly. Pryor possess awesome ball handling skills, very good outside shooting and all his moves are in strong fashion. The other guard spot is one of the most explosive guards in the city in Jonathan Burroughs (6'1 - 175 lbs., rivals #) who can play both the 1 and 2 spot respectively. Burroughs strong slashes to the goal, good outside shooting with a very high vertical leap on his jump shot makes him a very hard player to defend. Another senior that will contribute tremendously is DeSean Dockery (6'3 - 185 lbs., rivals #) who can also nail down the jump shot in strong fashion and good overall play at the 1,2, and 3 positions is a plus.

      A senior transfer from New Orleans, Louisiana McKenzie Sowell (6'4 - 190 lbs., rivals #) brings his athleticism and toughness. Sowell will garner valuable minutes as being one of the taller players ready to notch number as the younger post players are not quit ready for that type of level of play yet. Junior Keon Peoples (6'0 - 170 lbs., rivals #) is another solid guard the roadrunners will feature and will notch major minutes all season long.

    Ridgeway will host the Ridgeway Classic which runs Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. Schools in attendance this year are Fayette Ware, Hamilton, Raleigh Egypt, White Station and a couple of schools from the Nashville area.  Ridgeway will attend the St. Louis Classic December 26-29, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri with great talent on board. They will also face an opponent to be named at later date in the Penny Hardaway Classic in January 2012. Penny Hardaway is a sponsor of the school with some of the nicest uniforms in the country.

    Junior Kelvin Shields (6'4 - 185 lbs. rivals #) will step up in many crucial games during the season with his nice build and will help in the middle accordingly. Sophomore Jalen Molden (6'7 - 205 lbs. rivals #) will get plenty of opportunities in the middle and his time on the court will depend on how he responds in different situations.

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

Updated 9-10-2012

By Staff Writer Harold Rivera

2012 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