Jump to content

The 2016 Bluff City Live Event


kwc
 Share

Recommended Posts

http://www.commercialappeal.com/sports/tigers/basketball/tigers-basketball-coaching-staff-others-eye-prospects-at-first-year-bluff-city-live-exposure-event-3-386227201.html

 

Tigers basketball coaching staff, others eye prospects at first-year Bluff City Live exposure event

 

Posted: Yesterday 9:07 p.m.

By Jason Smith of The Commercial Appeal

 

Team Penny wasn't the only local youth basketball program the University of Memphis' new coaching staff studied closely during the first week of the July evaluation period.

 

Tigers assistant Alvin "Pooh" Williamson wrapped up the week at Memphis University School, where Team Thad (which competes on the Under Armour circuit), M33M (Adidas) and Team Magic (Adidas) were among several programs that participated this weekend in the Bluff City Live.

 

The first-year NCAA-certified exposure event drew 50-60 college coaches and featured several high-level prospects, including five-star 2017 center Austin Wiley of Birmingham (Team Thad; Auburn commitment); four-star 2018 Cordova High point guard Tyler Harris (Team Thad); four-star 2018 East High guard T.J. Moss (Team Magic); four-star 2018 Commerce, Georgia, point guard Drue Drinnon (Team Thad); five-star 2019 Olive Branch High wing D.J. Jeffries (Team Thad); 2017 Christian Brothers High guard William Douglas (M33M); and 2017 Ridgeway High guard Jalen Crutcher (Team Magic).

 

"What'd we have? Fifty to 60 coaches there? Kansas. Ole Miss. Memphis. TCU. Florida State. It did surprise me. I was like, 'Wow. This is cool,'" said M33M president Ernie Kuyper. "This is just a start, and not one program can do this either. We need Memphis Magic, we need Team Thad, we need M33M, we need Team Penny (Nike) all to come together. And at the end of the day, it helps every kid in the city."

 

Said Team Thad co-founder and program director Norton Hurd IV: "We have the type of players that are in high-demand, and July is the period where coaches are going to see the kids they really want to see no matter where they're at. I just appreciate the city for supporting it. It's for the kids and the city of Memphis."

 

TCU coach Jamie Dixon, Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy and Arkansas coach Mike Anderson were among those who attended, as well as coaches from Florida, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Mississippi State.

 

Memphis has offered Harris, a 5-10 point guard who's ranked the No. 44 overall prospect in 2018 by 247Sports, and is monitoring CBHS' Douglas, a versatile 6-5 guard who has offers from TCU, Ole Miss, Florida State and Oregon.

 

Harris was the first prospect that Memphis assistant Joe Esposito called last month when college coaches were permitted to begin contacting 2018 recruits. He's one of two 2018 point guards from Memphis that the U of M has offered. The Tigers offered Team Penny and East High standout Alex Lomax over the weekend after he stood out in last week's Elite Youth Basketball League Finals at the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina.

 

"We got the call at midnight (on June 15) from Coach E," said Harris, who now has offers from Memphis, Auburn, UMass, Iowa State, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech. "First thing, he was like, 'Are we the first to call you?' I was like, 'Yes,' and he was like, 'Whoa! Good. Hit it on the nose.'

 

"As soon as 12 o'clock hit, my phone started ringing. I was expecting calls, but not that fast."

Edited by kwc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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...