TJ Madlock, Johnathan Lawson impress college basketball coaches at Hoop City

TJ Madlock threw down a one-handed slam dunk Wednesday.

Then, he did it again. This time with two hands. In traffic. A few minutes later, the 6-foot-3 combo guard from Houston High did it again. On Thursday, in the second and final intrasquad exhibition game at Hoop City Basketball Club’s pro week event at Freedom Assembly Christian School, Madlock was back at it.

Showing off a well-rounded skill set he’s honed further since the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the high school and grassroots basketball calendars, Madlock seized one of the few opportunities he’s likely to get this summer.

But COVID-19 has left Madlock and those like him scrambling for chances to impress college coaches. Finishing the three-day mini camp as one of just two players to score 29-plus points in each game, safe to say he seized the moment.

“I think I improved my (stock) a lot,” said Madlock, the son of Memphis Tigers basketball assistant coach Tony Madlock. “I showed people I can shoot. I can score. I can guard the ball. I can rebound. I can pass. I can do it all. You know, just an all-around player. (But) I’m way more explosive now. I try to go dunk everything instead of just laying the ball up. And I can shoot it much better than I did. I’ve just been working all summer.”

Already on a handful of radars, including Arkansas-Little Rock and Florida Atlantic, Madlock’s 32-point, 8-rebound showing Wednesday against JD Davison (the No. 2 point guard in the nation) caught the attention of at least a couple more schools. On Thursday, Hoop City BC president Ernie Kuyper said TCU and Iowa State inquired about Madlock, who added he personally heard from Valparaiso, New Orleans and FAU.

“With this being my last summer (before college), I was going to try to go out with a bang and get more offers and stuff,” he said. “But (with coronavirus), I can’t do that. So, you’ve got to take advantage of things like this where people are watching.”

Madlock wasn’t the only one anxious to show off the progress he’s made. Wooddale three-star small forward Johnathan Lawson (123rd in 247 Sports’ most recent Class of 2021 composite rankings) said he fielded calls from members of the Missouri and Arkansas coaching staffs after scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds Wednesday.

“They said they liked the way I played and that they would tune in (again Thursday),” said Lawson, who put up 20 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists Thursday. “I think I did OK. I could’ve done better. Could’ve made my open shots, but I think I did OK in both (games).”

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.