BBallExtreme

Good to see some balance on this topic. I am a teacher and the parent of a STUDENT-athlete. We have taught our daughter that academics ALWAYS comes first even though she has earned an athletic scholarship. Sure she's missed classes to participate in tournaments, but she has never asked for preferential treatment--if she is required to make-up assignments that's what she does. The district could have given those students participating an excused absence instead of canceling classes altogether. Too often we give lip service to academics, but the adulation goes to athletes and entertainers. This sends the absolute wrong message to our young people. I wonder would they give the same time off if their school were participating in the Knowledge Bowl? By the way, there is a large private school in Memphis that regularly sends teams to state tournaments. This school doesn't even give their own student-athletes an excused absence for representing their school! Now that's crazy too!

Much respect PT, but I'm surprised! I think senior Hasina Muhammad ranks better than an "also ran". AAU All-American, McDonald's All-American nominee, Auburn signee, offers from Kentucky, LSU, Texas A&M, and a long list of others. 2010 All District, All Region and All State. Averaging 19 points per game with a game high 31 points against a 5th ranked Potters House team. Hasina is a fantastic young lady and a perennial honor roll student as well, with a 4.0 gpa. ESPN Ranked top 100 player, 2nd in Tennessee in her class... come on!

I am a parent. I am not a coach. My daughter played AAU and exposure ball for Team Memphis Elite and signed this year.

I did specify "for those who don't play over the summer".

For players who aspire to play at the collegiate level and who don't play over the summer, I really hope they are getting on the road in high school. The only coaches just "dropping in" to see local games are local coaches. Well that's great if those schools need a player with your skill set AND that school meets your academic requirements and your style of play, but how likely is that to happen with only one school showing any interest? Any player who limits herself in this way does herself a great injustice in not affording herself every opportunity to be seen, and thus have the best chance of making the choice that is right for her, not simply hoping that someone or anyone will offer her a scholarship. It's simple really. When you see a college coach sitting in on a practice or coming to a game, just ask, "who are you here to see and when did you first see her play?" That coach will likely tell you they are there to see a specific player that they first saw her play at a specific "exposure" tournament. They didn't just happen to stumble in to check out the talent, they didn't check the local newspaper for the stats, they came because they have already seen that potential recruit. And the thing is, the Ballards and Whitesides actually don't need another exposure tournament, they have enough D1 offers already. It's the freshmen who need to be noticed and evaluated as early as possible to get on the radar and the role players on the team whose potential needs to be weighed by as many programs as possible for the best possible fit.

OMG! Before you get personal with specific girls at least know what school ther're playing for--Fussell is at TEXAS having a breakout freshman year, not Baylor...and know their NAME--Avant is coming off an injury at UT, if she's just a role player, why not play your role at one of the best programs in the country? What exactly do these specific players have to do with out of state tournaments anyway? Are you sober? I can't make heads or tails of half of the things you post, and what I can understand is absolutely incorrect!

ESPN Hoopgurlz has a great write-up and Tip Sheet as their headline NOW. Some very talented young ladies are receiving national recognition. Way to go! (Sorry, for some reason I couldn't insert the link.)

I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments. While my daughter is appreciative of all the coaches that helped her to get where she is, her AAU/exposure coach has been the most instrumental in developing her talent--bar none. She has been under his instruction since she was eleven, what high school coach can claim that? (At least not ethically ) Most girls practice with their AAU coach more throughout the year and for longer periods of time without the constraints of academic eligibility or TSSAA dead periods. AAU utilizes a shot clock which demands better coaching resulting in the teaching and learning of more sophisticated offensive sets and man-to-man defense. That's certainly not to say that there aren't some very good high school coaches out there, I'm simply stating that most players spend more quality time with their AAU/exposure coaches and it comes down to time-on-task.

Ughh, did you have to mention refs so early in the morning Anyway, Central will have to prove itself just like every other team. Great players don't always equal a great team and at the end of the season it's all about matchups. Let's just chill DM, we'll get our chance...it's always better to be UNDERestimated in my experience

Yes, Ridgeway is now Optional for the International Baccalaureate diploma program.

Your post was well received DM. It's interesting that the major complaint I hear about "Optional" schools from an educator's standpoint is that they allow the best students to leave their neighborhood school. Some even believe that they were created so that "some" students would not have to attend school with an abundance of "other" students, I'm sure you know what I mean in the City of Memphis. It seems to me that the ability of athletes to, in effect, chose their schools is only a beneficial side effect for those student athletes who qualify for the program. Interestingly, this seems to affect the girls' side far more than the boys' side--female athletes tend to be better students than male athletes. I guess my thought is that if an athlete is also a good enough student to qualify for White Station, Central, or Ridgeway as an optional student they deserve to play for that school. Personally, I am a proponent of neighborhood schools for many reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with athletics. After all, it's really all about academics. But the system is what it is, and really Central is the only MCS that seems to be "stacked" because of that system. And oh yeah DM...Ridgeway has to actually play against Central to make it out of the Region! Last year we lost by two. Who knows what can happen this year, we can complain or we can train!

I can't even respond to a post when I can't figure out exactly what the poster is saying. I will say this, if anyone read my original response to Phargis you will note that I said that "one" coach contacted my child and that mmball said there were "many" who contacted hers--neither one or many mean "most". Secondly, I stated that coaches contacting families about recruitment is "unethical". Period. I did not in anyway try to justify that behavior. I only pointed out that this is a problem all over the state, not just Memphis. As for students taking trips for academic reasons--well of course. I don't know of any Memphis City High schools whose students don't have opportunities to travel for academic purposes, in fact my children have opportunities to do so every year. What does that have to do with Central taking an athletic trip to Hawaii? It sounds like a bit of jealousy to me. My posts on Coach T speak for me and my character. This isn't even my fight, as my daughter doesn't even attend Central. I should have taken another poster's advice and not even responded to someone many people on this board consider a joke anyway.

The previous poster stated that there were coaches that contacted her family regarding her daughter, she did not say that "most" did. Yeah, there was "A" coach who contacted my daughter directly...I know that as unethical as that is it happens all over the state, not just in Memphis! It seems that half the threads on Coach T every season are about some shady happenings and they are rarely in Memphis. My daughter does not play for Central, but I feel compelled to defend a coach and program against attacks based soley on ingnorance and innuendo. My daughter did play on the same AAU team as one girl from Central. She also played with two girls at White Station, another optional school. There are only two girls at Central who play on the same AAU team. I don't have an AAU team, I'm a parent. If a county student attends an optional school, of course it would be up to the parents to pay the tuition, just as they would at a private. Believe me, there are enough talented girls who live within the city, no Memphis City School coach has to scrape up tuition for county girls to play for their team! Now can we get to the original question, who can beat Central this year?

OMG, it's not rocket science! Memphis Central, White Station, Ridgeway, Overton, Whitehaven among other Memphis City Schools are optional schools (sometimes called magnet schools in other areas). These schools have special areas of focus, for example college prep, fine arts, international baccalaureate, performing arts, aviation, etc. Any student from any area in the city can apply to attend that school through the optional schools program. Criteria range from percentile scores from TCAP or other standardized tests to auditions in some cases, conduct, volunteer hours, grades, etc. In fact, students who do not live in the city of Memphis can attend an optional school if the student qualifies and the parent pays the tuition (like a private school). Therefore, optional schools have the ability to attract students (players) from anywhere in the city as long as the student (player) meets the criteria for the program at that school. Some of the very best basketball players are also very good students. If a player is an exceptional student, that player has her choice of attending practically any optional high school, so why not pick one that also has an awesome basketball program. I'm sure that there are many other districts in the state that have similar programs under other names. There is nothing peculiar about basketball in Memphis, except that we are gaining national attention as a hotbed for talented players.