2. Raleigh Egypt - May have the best guard play in the city due to Gentry Hines, Rashad Harris, Reggie Fondren (pictured right), Jeremy Holmes and Brandon Roberts. Hines had a so so year last year but he’s back for his senior campaign and he looked good. He’s one of the better scoring point guards in the city and his play will definitely account for his team’s success this year. Harris is one of my favorite players. He’s looking much more confident with that textbook jumper and he’s knocking it down. Fondren is one of the more slept on guards in the senior class but he could start for virtually any other team, anybody. He provides scoring off the bench with the 3, taking it to the basket and he’s not afraid to take the big shot as he did against Central driving off the glass giving Central a 5 point lead in the final seconds of their game Saturday. He should be one of the more recruited guards in the city by season’s end. Holmes will hold down the point position and give the Pharaohs what they need, leadership and someone to control the game and hit open jumpers if left often. If he can do that they are even more dangerous. Roberts played the point with Adams’s second unit but will likely play some 2 guard as well because of his shooting ability. Anthony Jones was one of the top 5 players there and he played like it. If your not recruiting Jones college coaches, you better start. The Pharaohs looked about as deeps as any team that I’ve seen early but Tank Brown must play big because they don’t have the biggest frontline. Their guards will drive them, possibly to Mufreesboro.
3. Oakhaven - As I said last week, Coach Milam’s squad will struggle to score points but I did get a chance to see Reshaun “Popeye” Brown (pictured left). He’s a very interesting 3 prospect, because he can knock down the 3 with consistency and is as athletic as any player that I’ve seen with a few dunks including one off the rim Saturday. One thing that he must improve on is his ball handling and hitting the midrange jumper off the dribble.If he improves in these areas, he could have a nice year. Guard Orin Brown is an aggressive player but if they are to score more than 35 points per game, he and Brown are going to have to average 20 plus. The Hawks guards are not afraid to jack it up but they have to hit some to make teams respect them. This could be a very long year for the Hawks.
4. Houston - Mayo, Mayo and more Mayo, is what Mustang fans should expect this year. Why not, Mayo can go where ever he wants to when he’s ready because he is so aggressive attacking. Play him for the drive and he will pull up for 3 which most don’t know he can do and do it well. They could win possibly 5 or more games that they would have not won last year due to him being there now but Anything over 12-15 wins would surprise me.
4. Houston - Mayo, Mayo and more Mayo, is what Mustang fans should expect this year. Why not, Mayo can go where ever he wants to when he’s ready because he is so aggressive attacking. Play him for the drive and he will pull up for 3 which most don’t know he can do and do it well. They could win possibly 5 or more games that they would have not won last year due to him being there now but Anything over 12-15 wins would surprise me.
Central Tips It’s Up In Scrimmage Action
Preseason expectations are high for Coach Andre Applewhite this season with a high profile transfer and the best freshmen class around. Saturday, Raleigh Egypt,Oakhaven and Houston all got their first looks at the new look Warriors and they provided a preview into what could be a special season for their fans. They played pretty well for the most part but displayed a youthfulness that will make their coach wish for a Tylenol some games. Jarnell Stokes, perhaps the most talked about freshmen in Memphis, showed signs of the player that people have been raving about. He rebounded okay but needs to become more aggressive as he sometimes just looked for Tyler Stone and Cameron Clear to clean up the boards. He scored a few times when he went straight up but had a tendency to bring the ball down making him 5’9 instead of 6’7. The surprise of the day was when he showed his nimble feet defending a guard from Oakhaven not letting him advance the ball past him. Darius Sorrell didn’t play much until the team played Oakhaven but proved that he could possibly start with his versatility. Andre Applewhite made Coach Applewhite very upset during their game with Raleigh Egypt but in the next game he looked like a different player. Applewhite showed a consistent jumper from the trey spot looking like the top 5 player in his class that he is.
Preseason expectations are high for Coach Andre Applewhite this season with a high profile transfer and the best freshmen class around. Saturday, Raleigh Egypt,Oakhaven and Houston all got their first looks at the new look Warriors and they provided a preview into what could be a special season for their fans. They played pretty well for the most part but displayed a youthfulness that will make their coach wish for a Tylenol some games. Jarnell Stokes, perhaps the most talked about freshmen in Memphis, showed signs of the player that people have been raving about. He rebounded okay but needs to become more aggressive as he sometimes just looked for Tyler Stone and Cameron Clear to clean up the boards. He scored a few times when he went straight up but had a tendency to bring the ball down making him 5’9 instead of 6’7. The surprise of the day was when he showed his nimble feet defending a guard from Oakhaven not letting him advance the ball past him. Darius Sorrell didn’t play much until the team played Oakhaven but proved that he could possibly start with his versatility. Andre Applewhite made Coach Applewhite very upset during their game with Raleigh Egypt but in the next game he looked like a different player. Applewhite showed a consistent jumper from the trey spot looking like the top 5 player in his class that he is.
He got to the basket and finished using ball fakes and driving baseline for easy layups. Blake Johnson got an opportunity in that game as well running the team and playing nice on the ball defense. If senior Chris Carr is a little shaky this year, Johnson could spell him at the point and get a lot more minutes because of his leadership qualities although only a freshman. Cameron Clear played okay but that definitely wasn’t the Clear of last year. Just getting off the football field may have had something to do with it so fans that were there should not expect that the entire year. Clear will be a big factor once he gets adjusted to Applewhite’s system. Tyler Stone showed his perimeter skills knocking down the 15 jumper and looking very comfortable on the perimeter. He still needs to go to the boards a little more because I think he could be a double double type player. Their leader Tim Peete, must be their leader. He just needs to become a little more aggressive offensively. Sophmore Rodnerius Lewis played as well as any Warrior player their last game getting steals finishing fast breaks and bringing high energy. He’s probably their best defender other than Maceo Harmom and could surprise some with double figure points some nights. If Saturday was a preview of their season, their matchups with Melrose could be epic. Here is a look at the other teams that participated on Saturday.