Cordova's Tyler Harris, Rodgerick Brown see recruiting interest soar

On a basketball court, the bond shared between Tyler Harris and Rodgerick Brown is often best seen on the fastbreak.

Harris, a 5-foot-9 point guard who can score from anywhere on the court, will get the ball after a missed shot and not need to look up. He already knows the 6-foot-6 Brown, known for filling up a stat sheet, will be sprinting down court preparing for another dunk.

“I love playing with Rod,” Harris said. “It makes me and him look good.”

After starring together at Cordova in recent years, Harris and Brown have taken their act national with Memphis-based Team Thad on the Under Armour Association grassroots basketball circuit. The duo just capped off college basketball’s live evaluation period by leading Team Thad to a 6-2 record facing some of the country’s top prospects in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Indianapolis the past two weeks.

Perhaps more importantly, they’re each systematically changing college coaches’ preconceived notions about them and cementing their status as two of the most intriguing prospects in Memphis.

Brown’s future, in particular, is turning into a popular topic after he announced five new offers in one day. He finished with double figures in scoring in all four games in Indianapolis and continued to be a versatile defender and ferocious rebounder.

Cordova coach Terrance Scales also confirmed Brown is "seriously considering" reclassifying to the class of 2017 to begin his college career this fall because he will not be able to play basketball at Cordova next year due to his age. Though Brown still must work on his ball-handling and outside shooting, his chiseled 200-pound physique and relentless style of play are college-ready right now.

“I don’t back down from anybody. I want to guard everybody,” said Brown. “I can do a little bit of everything.”

Harris is among the Under Armour Association’s top scorers averaging 15.1 points and nearly four assists. The rising senior is proving to be a capable play-maker in addition to being the dynamic shooter everyone in Memphis knew him to be. But when necessary, Harris can still score 29 points in 27 minutes like he did during Team Thad’s 69-67 win over New Jersey-based Team Rio on Sunday.

“My mindset out here is just making my teammates happy,” Harris said. "But if it comes to a point where I have to take over the game, I will.”

Harris picked up additional offers from TCU, SMU and Wichita State over the past two weeks and already had several high major offers, including one from Memphis. The Tigers are also very interested in Brown, who earned an offer from Arkansas previously and spoke again with Memphis coaches Monday night, according to Scales.

In explaining this sudden recruiting uptick, Scales noted that Harris and Brown did what was necessary to win as many games as possible in high school. Cordova needed Harris to score and attack the basket, while Scales asked Brown to play inside because he’s “a freak athlete” and the Wolves had few other interior options.

The platform provided by Team Thad, however, is allowing them to showcase how they’ll adapt at the next level.

“When they get into the AAU circuit, where they can play their natural position, then you can see Tyler is a true point guard and Rod can play on the wing,” Scales said. “They just have a really good chemistry and an understanding of what each other’s strengths are and how to play off each other’s strengths.”

Harris and Brown are savoring what could be their last go-around as teammates. Though each earned offers from Wichita State on Monday, Harris predicted the two would likely go their separate ways in college.

Which means Harris is coming to grips with the fact that there will be a time not so long from now when he won’t be able to look down court and just fling a pass to his streaking teammate. Not that Brown isn’t just as appreciative of what that connection has meant.  

“The guy is amazing,” Brown said of Harris. “I know he’s going to make the right play every time.”