Jump to content

Memphis East


thegame523
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 23
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

If I am in a foxhole I want A-Lo with me. He is a warrior and makes the best basketball plays. TJ has the size but A-Lo has the heart

He's Maximus! (Gladiator) I can hear them calling his name in the Roman Coliseum as he runs out to face the barbarian hoard ....

 

Al-lex! Al-lex! Al-lex!

 

LOL.

 

I understand your sentiment Galilee.

Edited by kwc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/216444/alex-lomax 

I called it. he was a 3 star at first. he can only get better from here.

IMO he should be rated a 88 if Garland is a 91 and Moss is a 85.

So, you think he should be rated above TJ. I don't have a problem with that. I see that Garland is already in the ESPN Top 60 for the 2018 class. That's high cotton, as my mother would say. I agree ... I think that he should go up as well.

Edited by kwc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@kwc Taelyr Gatlin had a good match up vs Brentwood and Garland. He had 25 against them after we had a very poor 1st half offensively. We took a 41-35 lead with about 2 min to play and then we went brain dead against their press and forgot how to run our press break. We shot terribly that day as a team missing about 15 free throws and several layups. Made a ton of young mistakes as a team and loss 48-41. Brentwood is too good of a team to make those mistakes and think u will win. Well coached and seasoned talent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been saying it for going on 3 years. You dont beat brentwood with more than 10 turnovers, and shooting less than 70% from the line. They are such a battle tested group and its scary that they have 2 more years with the players except for oatsvall, Hubie does a great job with that group! I think for the most part they settle for one player scoring all the points (Douglas had 36 and they still lost due to turnovers and poor FT%), the lone game that I've saw them lose in person was in a fort walton classic against CBHS in which they had around 7 turnovers maybe missed 3 FTs and have 5 players in double digits. I wish I couldve saw the Tgat vs Garland matchup bc garland is finally scoring at will in a patient way, and Gatlin plays like a baby Drose with his quick first step. I dont see Garland ever dropping lower than top 3 PGs in that class. But heck YES LOMAX should be over moss, and i dont know how that debate could exist without considering the size.

Edited by TonyG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On Isaiah Stokes, Alex Lomax and more about Memphis basketball

Posted: July 13, 2016

 

By Jason Smith of The Commercial Appeal

 

Lots to get to in this week's Tigers Basketball Mailbag. So let's go.

 

It had been a couple of summers since I'd watched Isaiah Stokes, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the former Lausanne center who's turned himself into a top-70 2017 prospect, according to ESPN.

 

Stokes has put in a lot of work on his body since last fall, having lost 50-60 pounds, and there's a lot to like when you watch him. He's big (6-foot-9, 250), he's got great footwork (which he honed during his days as an offensive lineman) and he knows the game (having studied and grown up playing against his older brother, NBA forward Jarnell Stokes). He's not the rebounder his brother was at this stage in his career, but he's more skilled. He could be a dominant college player if he stays focused, and I think that probably happens, too, now that he's headed to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season.

 

That said, the Tigers target I was most impressed with was the youngest player on that Team Penny 17-and-under squad that advanced to the Final Four of last week's Peach Jam -- East High 2018 point guard Alex Lomax.

 

I knew going in Lomax could run a team. I knew he was a good decision-maker and a winner. But there's more to him than that. He's improved his jumper and can be an absolute pest at the top of a defense. When I watch him, I think Sam Craft (the Tigers football player who was a star point guard at Craigmont/Olive Branch), but with a jumper.

 

Lomax isn't a finished product. He needs to continue to improve his offensive game. But even on a Team Penny squad that featured four top-70 prospects in its starting lineup, there were times when Lomax was the best player on the floor. That was evident afterward by the number of scholarship offers that rolled in for him after the Peach Jam.

 

After University of Memphis coaches Alvin "Pooh" Williamson and Tubby Smith called Lomax to offer him a scholarship, he got offers from Ole Miss, Florida, UMass, Temple, LSU, Seton Hall and Tennessee-Martin. The 5-foot-10 2016 Class AAA Mr. Basketball and Gatorade state player of the year didn't have any offers entering the Peach Jam.

 

It's too early to say how good it will be -- Memphis doesn't have its first commitment yet for 2017 -- but what we know after last week's Peach Jam is that the staff is involved with several nationally ranked 2017 prospects, including Stokes; Little Rock Parkview High guard Khalil Garland (a former Tigers commit who has Memphis in his top five); Camden, Mississippi, guard Nick Weatherspoon; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, big man RaiQuan Gray; Canadian forward Oshae Brissett; and Clearmont, Florida, shooting guard/wing Chaundee Brown.

 

On your question on how local prospects have responded to Memphis' new staff, I'd say it's been favorable, at least in terms of the locals we know the Tigers are recruiting. Stokes, Lomax and Team Thad 2018 point guard Tyler Harris all spoke highly of Smith and the Tigers staff, noting that he's won a national championship. Clearly that's one of the bullet points in Memphis' pitch to recruits, as nearly every prospect I talked to about Memphis mentioned it.

 

I can't say this for sure, but I get the feeling we're going to see fewer local prospects on the roster going forward. While I think the staff has been highly impressed with the level of talent that's here, you have to remember it has strong recruiting ties in Texas, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma.

 

I think there will be years where the Tigers only go after one or two Memphis kids, like it appears is the case for 2017 (which should be noted is a down year locally in terms of elite prospects). There might be other years -- like 2018 perhaps -- when they're in on several locals (Memphis has offered both Lomax and Harris for 2018 and is monitoring others).

 

But I think overall we'll see Smith and his staff be very selective in terms of the number of Memphis kids they take, primarily because they'll be able to recruit nationally -- perhaps not at the elite level John Calipari was able to do in the second half of his tenure at Memphis, but maybe similarly in terms of ratio of locals vs. out-of-towners.

 

With just nine scholarship players on the roster for the upcoming season, yes, Memphis is still in the process of looking for bodies for this year's team -- specifically big bodies.

 

Assistant coach Saul Smith was looking for 2016 additions at exposure events in South Carolina during last week's evaluation period, and my guess is that work will continue this week.

 

On Sunday, I went over to Memphis University School to watch Team Thad's Mike Fofana (Whitehaven), a 6-7 2016 wing who's drawing interest from Memphis and TCU, according to Team Thad co-founder Norton Hurd IV.

 

Fofana has some skills, but I don't think he's the kind of player who can make an immediate impact at Memphis next season. The question then becomes whether he can help Memphis two or three years from now, and I'm not sure he does that either. We'll see.

 

As for the hunt for bigs, when I get a name I know Memphis is serious on, I'll pass it along. I still think the Tigers add a body or two.

 

Former Mississippi State forward Johnny Zuppardo (6-9, 235) appears to be one of the few available big men left on ESPN's graduate transfer list, but I haven't confirmed whether the Tigers are interested. Zuppardo didn't do much with the Bulldogs last year, averaging 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 31 appearances. But he's big and experienced and Memphis needs depth inside.

 

Great question, and one we'll definitely focus more on as we get closer to the 2016-17 season. If you check out most 2017 NBA mock drafts -- or at least the three or four I did -- Lawson is nowhere to be found.

 

Now, could he improve his stock with a stud season? Sure. Heck, I think he's got a great shot at being the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year this season if Memphis can win enough games.

 

But next year's draft is super deep, and I'm not sure even an AAC Player of the Year-caliber season can push Lawson far enough to the front of the pack that he's a lottery pick or even a guaranteed first-rounder in next year's draft.

 

Does that mean Lawson stays for a third season? It's just too early to predict.

 

Having not yet seen Memphis' three new additions this month -- Christian Kessee, Jimario Rivers and Keon Clergeot -- I'll refrain from saying whether I think the Tigers are an NCAA tournament or NIT team at this point. We'll make that prediction later.

 

But I will say this: If Memphis can get some experienced interior help beside Lawson and decent point guard play, I think it's got a good shot at the NCAA tournament.

 

Besides Lawson, I think Markel Crawford is in line for a breakout season under the new staff's tutelage. I think K.J. Lawson will be a significant contributor both offensively and on the glass. I think Nick Marshall can be a force in the AAC if he stays focused. I think Clergeot, the former Texas Tech signee, might be a steal.

 

Sure, you also have to question whether the Tigers have enough shooting. And finding interior help hasn't been easy so far, as the Tigers missed on Minnesota graduate transfer Charles Buggs, who chose Southern California over Memphis.

 

But Memphis has some pieces to be a sleeper team in the AAC in Smith's first season. If it gets one or two more, it could be more than that.

 

To those of you whose questions I didn't get to this week, no worries. I'll include them in another mailbag soon.

Edited by kwc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

Announcements


×
  • Create New...