Memphis BB

[warmachine7954]

56 minutes ago, SayWhat said:

There is no punch by a blk jersey in that video...thats y they vindicated them..they cleared the area...Melrose folks were still at it...I was there. 

At :12 of the video there is a punch or the kid smacked the ball back at him.  It wasn't even the kid that got hit in the back of the head it was another kid. From the video, it looks like the Lawson brothers. 

They were vindicated because it was determined that no Wooddale fans left the stands to participate. You can see the proof in the article below. 

https://wreg.com/2019/02/08/postseason-ban-lifted-for-one-memphis-high-school-basketball-team/

[coachzero]

21 hours ago, warmachine7954 said:

According to the definition? Yes. The people coming out of the stands and being violent would be considered thugs regardless.

Wooddale kid tosses the ball to the Melrose kid.

Melrose kid takes it as disrespect. 

Melrose kid hits Wooddale kid in the head with the ball. 

Wooddale kid reacts by throwing a punch. 

Melrose kid goes right back at him.

Wooddale kid runs away. 

Coaches get involved. 

Fans overreact and it's all a mess.

The ref should have secured the ball, The kids shouldn't have done anything but give the ref the basketball, and no one should have ever come out of the stands.

https://usatodayhss.com/2019/player-hospitalized-after-brawl-tennessee-high-school-basketball

Can't see what happened off camera. 

A fight breaks out after the game.

People try to break it up.

People get involved.

Coaches should have shaken hands and got the kids off the floor. 

Either way, you look at it. Thugs were involved everywhere. 

No Woodale kid threw a punch! See! This is what I am talking about! SMH

[warmachine7954]

7 minutes ago, coachzero said:

No Woodale kid threw a punch! See! This is what I am talking about! SMH

What happens at :12 of the video?

[coachzero]

A kid tossed the ball back at the kid that threw the ball. I WAS AT THIS GAME! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!

[warmachine7954]

52 minutes ago, coachzero said:

A kid tossed the ball back at the kid that threw the ball. I WAS AT THIS GAME! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!

So he tossed the ball back to him when he was less than a foot away? 

[SayWhat]

I was at that game too...no Wooddale players threw a PUNCH....You all know what the TSSAA does...this is unprecedented thing..for the TSSAA to do..there had to be clear evidence of them not doing anything wrong..for them to overturn that ban...and that's what happened...if anyone had left their bench from Wooddale or threw punches...the ban would have stuck...

Edited February 14, 2019 by SayWhat

[SayWhat]

I'm sure they wanted to get them too (Wooddale) they have banned what...4 schools from playing post season in the last 3 weeks? Wooddale not immune..they just proved their case...

[warmachine7954]

Why do ya'll act like the TSSAA is out to get Memphis schools? This is a growing problem. 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/02/14/high-school-sports-fights-tennessee-tssaa-playoff-ban/2838573002/

[SayWhat]

That's my whole point....ain't nobody immune... I said they banned 4 schools recently..."You all know what the TSSAA does" doesn't mention them only messing with Memphis teams...

[UCSportsFan]

2 hours ago, SayWhat said:

That's my whole point....ain't nobody immune... I said they banned 4 schools recently..."You all know what the TSSAA does" doesn't mention them only messing with Memphis teams...

Get out of Memphis bro. They banned two schools for 2 years in the Upper Cumberland because ONE punch was thrown from ONE bench! Maryville is the only place I know you can have a fight and not get suspended for even a game. 

Edited February 14, 2019 by UCSportsFan

[kwc]

It's that time of the year again. These next two rounds are critical. 

[kwc]

What it's like to be Jordan Wilmore, Tennessee's tallest high school basketball player in 36 years

 

Khari Thompson, Memphis Commercial AppealPublished 11:09 a.m. CT Feb. 26, 2019 | Updated 10:48 a.m. CT Feb. 27, 2019

 

It's lunchtime at Whitehaven High School, and a familiar face ducks under the doorway with a friendly smile.

Students look up from their lunches, eyes drawn to 7-foot-2, 275-pound Jordan Wilmore as he makes his way to the lunch line.

The way the 17-year-old senior handles the attention is nearly as remarkable as his size. Some kids yell, "Hey Big Jordan!" from afar. Others walk right up to him for a handshake or a hug. He acknowledges everyone, and he has a quick-witted comeback for every joke.

"I’m just friendly with people," Wilmore said. "I just like coming into school with a good attitude and good vibes every day. So if somebody cracks a joke I’ll just say something back and make everybody laugh. That’s basically like my job here, just like to make people laugh and have a good time." 

 

Wilmore is believed to be the tallest high school basketball player in the state since Mike Carpenter, a 1983 Farragut graduate who was 7-2 and played at Minnesota and Arkansas.

 

Wilmore is believed to be the tallest player in the Memphis area since Bartlett's Steve Turner played in the 1960s.

"I didn't get here until 1976 and I cannot think of anyone that tall that's come through," said former Commercial Appeal sports editor John Stamm. 

Turner played at Vanderbilt from 1969-73 where he was listed at 7-4. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 10th round of the 1973 NBA draft, when he was then listed at 7-2.

Wilmore is averaging 8.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks in his only season at Whitehaven. He has been listed as tall as 7-foot-4 by some media outlets. But the USA Today Network - Tennessee measured him at 7-foot-2 at practice last week. His wingspan is 7-foot-4.

 

 

 

Jordan Wilmore chats with classmates during his applied math concepts course at Whitehaven High School on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.  (Photo: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

 

The biggest kid in the room

Brenda Wilmore, Jordan's mother, couldn't help but laugh when she showed up to his kindergarten class to check out his surroundings. 

"Imagine a regular kindergartner. He could not sit in the desk. They had to go and get a sixth-grade desk for him because when he went to sit, his knees were lifting the desk up," said Brenda, who is 6-1. Jordan's father is 6-10. "And he goes, ‘Mom, guess where I’m sitting at’ and I just start laughing because I knew. I knew he was going to be a big young man, but I just had no idea how big." 

By eighth grade, Jordan had surpassed 6 feet. It happened so fast that Brenda didn't realize it until he asked her to comb his hair one day and she had to stand on her toes to reach

By his sophomore year he hit 7 feet and and kept growing. He might not be done yet. 

"According to his doctor, they said his growth plate is still open. But I'm hoping that he’s stopped," said Brenda. "Because health-wise, for bone structure, I just want to make sure he’s healthy. I don’t want him to get any taller. He’s young right now, but I’m looking down the road."

Jordan said he loves being tall and that the best part is being able to dunk a basketball consistently. He also mentioned that he can see over the top of crowds. 

People typically ask him how tall he is, if he can reach items in stores, and if he plays basketball. He likes to have fun with the last question. 

"Sometimes I just mess around and say, ‘No, I play table tennis' or 'I play pro hockey’ and they believe me," said Jordan. 

Jordan Wilmore, who at 7'2" towers above his fellow classmates, walks the halls to class at Whitehaven High School on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

 

What's not made for someone 7-foot-2 — just about everything

Other than basketball, Jordan's biggest passion is cars. He daydreams about having the world's biggest car collection one day. 

But first, he has to get his driver's license, which he hopes to obtain by the end of the summer. Just entering a vehicle requires special technique. 

"Yeah it's a long process," he said. "Wait until the seat moves back. Wait until the top part moves back. There’s kind of like a little technique. You kind of have to like put your right leg in there and then kind of just let it slide over and let your body just sit down in it." 

 

Jordan sleeps in a queen-size bed, which has a standard length of 6 feet, 8 inches. He says that he mostly sleeps "crunched-up" so his feet don't hang off the end of the bed. When he feels the need to stretch out, he sleeps diagonally. 

"Yeah, I curl up into a little ball especially when it’s cold," said Jordan. "I don’t ever sleep straight because I don’t like my feet to get cold and the sheet don’t reach that far."

Most of his clothes are bought online, which means that walking into a store, picking something out and trying it on is almost never an option. 

"It can be pretty challenging because he wants to dress and do things like normal kids do, but some things he can’t," said Brenda. "Like if he goes to the mall, and goes, ‘Oh I like these pants,’ he can’t buy them because they won't fit him." 

He has a 42-inch inseam and wears a size 17 or 18 shoe depending on the way the shoe is cut.

Whitehaven's Jordan Wilmore, who at 7'2" stands more than a foot taller than most of his teammates, is guarded by fellow seven-footer James Wiseman at Memphis Central High School Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. (Photo: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

 

The chance to play for Penny Hardaway

Jordan grew up in Maryland. He spent freshman and sophomore year at prep basketball powerhouse DeMatha Catholic. He sat out most of his sophomore season with a broken ankle and transferred to Mt. Zion Prep for his junior season. 

His journey to Memphis began when his mother asked him if he knew who Penny Hardaway was and if he'd like to play for his AAU team, Team Penny (now known as the Bluff City Legends after Hardaway became the Memphis Tigers coach). She had a friend who noticed Jordan's height and pitched the program on finding a spot for the towering teen who was about to enter the 10th grade. 

Jordan played for the program for the past two summers. He and Brenda enjoyed the experience so much that they decided to move to Memphis. 

"It was the relationships that we developed with Penny and Bluff City and the people in general," Brenda said. "The way that they play ball here is just totally different and Jordan and I just love the city. It was something about the city. He just really meshed with everyone and he was like, 'I like it here' and I was like, ‘Yeah, me too.'" 

Jordan said he has offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss and Southern Utah, among others. He is unranked in the 247Sports Composite.

He hasn't received an offer from Memphis, but he wants one. 

Whitehaven's Jordan Wilmore dunks the ball over Oakhaven's Quintell Blackmon during their game at Oakhaven High School on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.  (Photo: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal)

"Memphis is a very good school," said Jordan. "Memphis is on my list of schools that I want to get an offer from. I wouldn’t mind going there."

His plan is to gain more exposure playing on the AAU summer circuit, which means he might not sign with a college during the spring signing period, which starts in April. 

"First I have to play AAU, and then go to college or go to prep school and get better college offers," said Wilmore.

But, having spent the first three years of his high school career at prep schools, he said he doesn't want to go back for a fourth. 

"I don’t really like prep school. I’ve already been to prep school two times, so I’m ready for college right now," said Wilmore. 

Some schools are telling Whitehaven coach Faragi Phillips that they plan to play Wilmore as a true freshman. Others envision him as a first-year redshirt. 

Whitehaven (23-6) advanced to the Region 8-AAA championship game with a 51-50 win over Southwind on Tuesday on four-star junior guard Matthew Murrell's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

That sets up a matchup with three-time defending state champion East and James Wiseman, a 7-foot Memphis signee who is the No. 1 player in the country for the Class of 2019, according to the 247Sports Composite. 

Whitehaven is 1-2 vs. East this season, winning last week's district tournament championship. The region title game is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Collierville. Both teams will advance to Monday's sectionals with a trip to the boys state tournament on the line.

"He’s very raw, but he’s going to be good in the future," Wiseman said of Wilmore. "He just has to keep working. He’s going to be a good player."