During the high school basketball season, there will be times when there won’t be much movement in the rankings. There will be times when all the teams win their respective games for weeks at a time. Right now, this isn’t one of those times and when that happens, some teams rise and shine others may move out of the top 5.
- Rankings should always be justified. it doesn’t require a novel on why, but just a few reasons are required for placing these teams from 1 to 5.
Alright, enough fluff, let’s get to it.
There Is a New Number 1, Here Is Why
After speaking with a few knowledgeable people, some didn’t agree initially with this update. They eventually understood the logic behind this early season madness. The new number 1 team in Memphis is Bartlett High School. Now, before shouting, “Mane, you crazy! Hey mane, you don’t know this, you don’t know that” Keep reading…
I went back and forth on this update for a few reasons. I’m extremely high on Whitehaven. anyone who knows me knows this, but I think with my head and not with my heart in most cases.
There was an event a few weeks ago that featured several of the best teams in the state including the #2 team in the state at the time and the #4 team in the state. One of those teams won the state title last year in 4A. Bartlett beat both teams, not on back-to-back days, they beat them both in the same day. If you need to read that again, go ahead. I can hear it now, “Now Chuck, those teams may not be that good.”
Maybe they aren’t, but again, #2 and #4 in the state. I get it. Maybe it’s hard to believe that Bartlett is better right? “Chuck, I’ve seen Whitehaven, no Chuck, no way Chuck, the Tigers are better.”
Okay, let’s take this to Texas this past weekend, in Duncanville; a really nice tournament held every year. Bartlett went 1-1, Whitehaven went 1-1. Someone is saying, “See there, they both had the same record, how are they better?” There is a catch. Bartlett lost to Stony Point and beat Waxahachie (Texas) 67-47.
“What does that mean Chuck, so what?”
Let’s dig a little deeper. Atascocita (Texas) beat Whitehaven and then lost to Waxahachie by 8, 67-59. See where I’m going? Bartlett beat Waxahachie by 20 points and then they (Waxahachie) beat Atascocita. Both Bartlett and Whitehaven played common opponents in the same tournament, but Bartlett blew out the same team that beat Whitehaven. Bartlett is the new number 1.
2. Whitehaven High School (6-1) No, the sky isn’t falling for Whitehaven, and it shouldn’t be. It’s way too early for that. There aren’t any alarms going off about their loss in Texas and they are still arguably the best team in Memphis. To some, that won’t change. I’ve said before and I will say it again, I think they just need time to play more games together as a group although their core pretty much returned intact. They added 2 starters so it will be important for them to just keep gelling. Taquez Butler seems to be adjusting just fine with 2 games of 30 already. I’m not sure if Bob Dickson is back yet but if not, they have to be looking forward to that. Their best wins so far are on the season are Ridgeway and MBA with some key games coming up this month including Fayette Ware and Houston (particularly that Houston game). I’m sure Houston hasn’t forgotten the huge loss to end their season last year, but Whitehaven is stronger and more talented.
3. Houston High School (4-0) They have definitely started better than last year in the young season. By this time last season, they had lost 3 games. I said in a preview of them a few weeks ago, it was important to get off to a nice start. They just beat a good Olive Branch (Mississippi) team on Saturday and Christian Brothers on the 21st of November. They have a tough one coming up with Whitehaven so that measuring stick game is coming up. Can they beat Whitehaven?
I don’t know but I think their core 3-4 is very capable of keeping them in the game. Those 4 have to come up huge for the Mustangs to have a shot especially Caleb Jeffries who can have a night where he hits 5 to 6 from deep. If there were a time to do drop big threes, it would be in this upcoming game. I think Keiron Jackson has top 5 skill level in Memphis in his class. He’s really talented but he needs to show it consistently especially when you play a team as good talent wise on paper as a Whitehaven.
4. Southwind High School (3-2) The Jags are coming off 2 straight losses, both by just 1 point. They took a 48-47 loss in a tournament out of town. They will look to redeem themselves against Trezevant on tomorrow. The game between the Jaguars and Ridgeway could be good. That battle comes after they get Nashville Hillsboro. Taking on 2 pretty good teams this week and not to mention Kirby next Tuesday coming off an appearance in the MLK championship game, makes Southwind battle tested early with one of the toughest schedules in the city. Kirby won’t be an easy game for them to win but I think they get back to winning this week. Ron Towns leads them in scoring right now at almost 15 per game.
5. Briarcrest High School (5-0) Fred Smith Jr is off to a good junior year campaign along with Greg Spight Jr. They beat Nashville Hillsboro a team with one of the state’s best players in Cortez Graham. They dropped Hillsboro by 10, 61-51. Collierville is up next for the Saints on 12/6. That is a game which could be pretty competitive. The BCS tandem has to be good all season. Another part of their team could pay dividends. If they continue to get good play from Landon Rodgers and Parker Pounds, particularly shooting it from the perimeter, the Saints will remain a team to beat in the private school division. They could theoretically go 9 or 10-0 to start the season.
Note: It’s a big weekend for hoops in the city. If you’re a college coach you should definitely work on coming through. Reach out to me if you’d like to connect and visit the gyms with me.
