Memphis basketball stars, including Ja Morant and Kennedy Chandler, headline competitive training sessions

Imagine your dream team of Memphis-area basketball players under 35 years old. Who would you pick for your starting five? Would you go with potential NBA rookie of the year Ja Morant? Former NBA players Ian Clark and Adonis Thomas? Prep five-stars Kennedy Chandler and Moussa Cisse?

Since Memphis entered phase two of its reopening plan, these players and more have been scrimmaging against each other in sessions organized by East coach Jevonte Holmes.

"Just trying to keep these guys mind positive and keep these pro guys ready," Holmes said. "They gotta be ready with the NBA season coming back around. Especially if they start doing replacements."

At first, Holmes was just training a few clients including Chandler, Houston guard Alden Applewhite and Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher. During the training, they wanted to add some competition by playing games. They started playing three-on-three and eventually, it grew into five-on-five. 

Some moments have gone viral, including a video of Morant dunking over Cisse. 

"My favorite part is the competitiveness," Applewhite said. "Everybody is going to try to come at you and when I get back to high school I'm going to be better. All the things that you need to make your runs good are here."

Saturday's session was filled with faced-paced action and high-flying alley-oops.  It was up-and-down, call your own fouls, say the score out loud so you remember it, five-on-five action with a 24-second shot clock. There was even a little trash talk. 

"Guys are just coming in here and having fun," Holmes said. "Like Lester said before we started, don’t take nothing personal. We’re just out here competing and we’re having fun. You notice after the game is over, they’re over there laughing and talking and giving each other high fives. It's the camaraderie of it all and the competitiveness of it all."

Holmes said that the older players have gravitated towards some of the younger players and are passing down their knowledge. 

"(Alex) Lomax looks at Kennedy like a little brother," Holmes said. "Kennedy looks up to Alex Lomax and they look up to Lester, Ian, Jonathan Starks, Ja and all those guys. So just to bring it all together is just great."

Chandler, who recently transferred from Briarcrest to Sunrise Christian in Kansas, said that he was initially scheduled to leave for Kansas on August 13th, but isn't sure whether that date will be pushed back or not. He said he enjoys getting the chance to test his skills against pros like Morant while he's still in town. 

"It’s been a great experience, me hooping against the pros and getting better, getting used to playing bigger and more physical people is helping my game,"  Chandler said.