The 2024 Middle School season is in GO mode and a staple of it, the Elite Middle School Classic, is back. Starting almost a decade ago, this has been a huge part of seeing who the future shooting stars will be. Fans want to know who we should be paying attention to. For areas outside of the city, middle school basketball can be kind of an afterthought. Not in Memphis though… let me tell you, there are some highly anticipated games folks are more excited about than high school games. The crowds at many middle school competitions are as big as high school games if not bigger which should tell you, middle school basketball means something here. Being a part of it for so long I can tell you, the atmosphere for certain games, you can feel if before you walk into the gyms.
This weekend shouldn’t be any different as teams get ready to tip off today on the campus of First Assembly Christian School or FACS as commonly known. All of the girls’ games are at the elementary gym starting at the same time as the high school gym (4:oo pm)
Let’s take a look at few games you should pay attention to this weekend.
The 5:00 pm will feature the Ridgeway Roadrunners Coached by Rodney Newsom, the former Memphis Tiger standout has moved from his role as one of the foremost figures in youth basketball in the city, to the head coach of the Roadrunners. Ridgeway should be in store for a nice year. They have length, size in their front court and guard play that should allow them to compete with anyone in the city. Their battle begins with Grace St.Luke. The program is normally really well coached so it will be interested to see what they can do against Ridgeway’s talent. I think Ridgeway’s size inside could be a bit too much though.
The last games of the evening at 6:15 and 7:30 are the games of the night. Colonial vs Houston followed by Elmore Park vs Millington. I’ve been told by several people that Elmore and Houston are the 2 best teams overall. Tonight, we find out and I think these 2 games could be 2 of the best from the weekend.
Colonial is a team that could be in the mix as always. Coach Cedric Franklin knows his way around the game. He’s won state sectionals and has had an undefeated season. Having a ton of talent or minimum talent, he always seems to have his teams ready to play. For them, their driving force is Aiden Harris, one of the best players I’ve seen so far in middle school. I think he’s on the short list of “best middle school players” this year. He plays with quickness, has the ability to get by you, finish through defenders with fouls and score. He can play off and, on the ball, rebound and I think he’s a really good passer in transition and in the half court. He can take over a game and will be a driving force this year. For tonight, he will have to play really well if they want to have a chance against a pretty good Houston Middle team. He can’t have phases during the game where he’s not engaged because I think for them to be really good, his motor has to be on 100 all game long. I think the ability to do that is there for him. He’s in that upper echelon conversation but it’s ultimately up to him.
The game of the night though is the last one, Millington vs Elmore Park. Elmore Park is on everyone’s list as the best team in the city. They are talented. They have size and length, scoring ability and depth. Jevonte Holmes will have them ready to play in a game where some say, not me but some say, they could lose. Millington will not be an easy task having already beaten a good Snowden team. One of their keys will be Blake Butler who Coach Marcus Townsel is high on. Their heart though is K’cyn Hughes, who leads them in scoring. The ability to shoot it is what makes him dangerous, so I’m sure Elmore Park will be keyed in on him. It could be a player like Butler who steps up tonight for them to have a chance to win. Elmore Park has a lot of scoring options though, another one in the mix as the best player in middle school is Jordan Crawford. He can score it in so many ways and the growth spurt has helped substantially. He can beat you off the dribble, handle into scoring bunches, he’s a problem for Millington tonight. Expect 6’2 Ryan Nelson to be a factor tonight along with Malik Williamson, Eli Turner and Chase Kee. This will be the biggest test of the young season for both teams. I think Elmore Park’s depth and guards maybe a lot but I can’t count out a determined and very confident Millington team led by Coach Townsel.
Saturday’s games start at Arlington Middle at 9:00 and at Arlington High School. All the games are on the schedule listed below. Colonial vs Collierville should be a good one at 3:15 followed by another really good one with Millington and Houston Middle. Bellevue is perennially good, and I don’t expect it to tail off this year. I think they win their side of the bracket but they might have some guard play concerns in big games. Their coaching staff will put them in position to win every game. I’ve heard some good things about Southaven so that 2:00 pm game could be sneaky good as well.
Let’s just say this, I think you could see 5-6 really entertaining games that ends with Elmore Park and Fayette West, who is normally good as well. I would say get there and stay there at Arlington High School if you want to see one of the best forecasts of what the future looks like… not just this year but for a few years to come in terms of high school basketball as well.
