The 1st Annual Canton Tournament was a success on the court despite the lower than expected attendance. I witnessed 4 great games with 2 outcomes determined in the last minute of play.
First, Jim Hill Tigers came in with a 4-7 record against the Falcons of Velma Jackson (8-12). Record wise this wouldn't seem like much of a game, but both teams came out competing at a high level. Jim Hill eked out a narrow victory after trailing for most of the game. Rashid Bickham, 6'5 soph, was the player of the game, contributing 12 points, including a monster two hand dunk that gave Jim Hill the lead. This young man has a load of potential.
Next, the Raymond (18-0) Rangerettes played the Golden Waves of Tupelo (10-6). Raymond has two Dandy Dozen players in 5'4 Valencia McFarland and 6'1 Kayla Robinson. They combined for 33 points as Raymond defeated Tupelo 56-52. Valencia was the price of admission by herself! She has a lot of poise for a sophomore, and she WANTED the ball during crunch time. On top of her obvious offensive skills, she plays d like a hawk! She is already being touted as one of the best female players to grace the courts of MS, and she has two more years! Amber Jackson led Tupelo with 19 points.
The game of the night was between the Murrah Mustangs (9-8) versus the Raymond Rangers (18-5). This was a show that I personally recorded for this site. Murrah's Gary Love and sophomore sensation Dundrecous Nelson combined for ALL of Murrah's first half points (33). Gary was bombing away from the 3 pt area, finishing with 33 points and showing no effects from that nasty spill he took two weeks ago. Dundrecous scored 26 points, and had a block that has to be seen to be believed. I had him listed as #2 in the class of 2010, but now he is listed as #1A. Coaches, jot down January 15th, when D Nelson goes up against the #1 ranked player of 2010, Andre Stringer of Forest Hill at Murrah. Guaranteed sellout because the Murrah girls are undefeated and planted the only loss to the Forest Hill girl's record. Raymond has a monster squad! They have 4 juniors who play significant roles for the successful Willie Neal. Coach Neal has these boys playing straight up defense. They are fundamentally sound, take good shots, SEVERAL within the 12-18 foot range, and play team ball! He is constantly digging into them and they respond like any coach would love, they take it out on the opponents. I saw NO attitudes from his players, and that is a plus in this day and age. He has a beast in 6'3 junior forward Joe McCoy. He can play the two or three, is ferocious on the boards, and scores without being selfish. You heard of a quiet 20 points, well, he scored a LOUD 19 while being named player of the game! Korey Sanders, a 6'6 junior, scored 15 points including 4 jams, and 5'11 junior guard Jeremy Williams kept the house together with 10 pts, 9 assists, 7 boards and a hellacious block that bought the place down! This is definitely a top 10 team in 2008. His eighth man, Tradarius McPherson, a 5-6 sophomore, can start for most JPS schools right now. Seriously.
Canton High Lady Tigers (6-8) played the Starkville Yellowjackets played a barnburner that was won by Starkville on a last second three pointer from Kierra Jones (Player of the game) who led the team with 17 points. Tamara Sims led Canton with 18 points. Not too much to write about as I stepped out during this game. The action was back and forth with two evenly matched teams.
The final game of the night pitted the young men from Canton High Tigers (9-8) against the top ranked Starkville Yellowjackets (16-0). This had the potential to top the Murrah-Raymond game, but the game was marred by unnecessary taunting from both teams, sloppy play, and an inconsistent flow from the players. Starkville won the game 58-46, and let's get one thing straight, Starkville DESERVES their top ranking, they are huge! Their frontline was 6-8 senior Latavious Williams, ranked #2 in the state, 6'9 senior Chris Brand, and 6-6 sophomore Rashard Perkins, with 6'3 top ten class of 08 Jonathon Harris as the two guard. Canton's tallest player is 6'4 sophomore DeMarcus Lewis. Canton is very athletic and they play hard. They gave Starkville fits with a full court press, and if they were more successful on their free throws, this would have been a very tight game. But Starkville prevailed because Canton had no answer for Dandy Dozen L Williams, who finished with 26 points, including 6 dunks worthy of highlight reels. J'Varia Blackmon led Canton with 12 points, followed by 9 points from DeMarcus Lewis, ranked 9th in my class of 2010. The player of the game was obvious, Latavious Williams.
Please read my news and notes section regarding this game.
Overall, this was a very good tournament for the teams to gear up for the second half of the season.
NEWS AND NOTES:
First off, I have to give the good with the bad. On a previous write up, I stated that I was not a fan of Dundrecous' attitude. On Saturday, I saw quite the opposite. He was a polite young man who respected his elders, and has no air about himself at all. He is an extremely competitive person who hates to lose, and he's going to use that attitude to his advantage.
Props go out to Coach Melvin Gillum of the Canton High Tigers. I may not always have been on the same page with Coach Gillum in the past, but I have to respect the fact that he goes out and find the toughest competition for his team. That has been a trademark of his and his predecessors for years. He could have easily scheduled his team against a less competitive team than the number one team in state! He is not scared to play the best in order for his boys to be ready for what is arguably the toughest district in 4A.
OBSERVATION I: We have a serious problem these days with kids feeling like they are OWED playing time because they wear a uniform. And people, we are not talking about seniors with only a few games remaining in their careers, we're talking about SOPHOMORES! Repeat it like Iverson's PRACTICE. I saw a young man who I will not disclose his name or school, act very immaturely on the bench, on the way to the locker room and after the game. He's not the only one as I have witnessed this at several games, and it's mostly underclassmen acting this way. This is crazy!! What happened to waiting your turn, practicing hard and MAKING the coach play you? First of all, this is high school varsity basketball. The coach has the right to play whoever he/she wants. This is not rec league where you have to play little Johnny half the game so you can videotape for the family. As a player, you may feel that you're better than the ones playing (in my opinion, that's rarely true) but there are ways you can handle your disappointment, like talking to the coach, working extra hours on your game, etc.,. However, all is not lost, because there was another young player who is also a soph, and has considerable talent. He did not make a peep as he sat the entire game, even cheering when his team was mounting a comeback. The above mentioned Tradarrius McPherson only played 3 minutes in the game and he is a TRUE player! No attitude shown on the bench because he know his time is coming, a helluva lot sooner than the one with attitude problems.
OBSERVATION II: In regards to the Canton-Starkville boys game, I witnessed something that I have never seen in my years as a player or coach. After the game, there was more trash talking going on between the two teams during handshakes, and the asst coach from Canton tried to intervene by pulling a player away. Instead of going to the locker room, things got heated between the coach and player ending with a altercation between the two. This is tragic in more ways than one. I was a personal witness to the whole thing, and because of legal ramifications, I will not disclose the entire incident. But what is going on is, players today are less disciplined then even 10 years ago. During this tournament, I witnessed a top player for his school use profanity when a call did not go his way, another player complaining to his teammates using profanity when his coach pulled him for a mistake, and the worst, a player taunting another player who was on the bench with an injury. I had this particular young man in my top ten but I'm pulling him off immediately because his boorish behavior far outweighs his physical talent. I have seen on more than one occasion his rants and immature behavior, but like most I was caught up in this boy's athletic ability. I don't understand why his behavior is irrational as I have seen this young man to be extremely likable off the court. But Saturday's action caused me to say "enough is enough". Fellas, it is not macho to talk smack on the court, nor is it admirable. In fact, yesterday's incident stemmed from the heated exchanges during the game. My fear is something tragic is going to happen if we don't take control of the situation. Kids nowadays do not have a high regard for one's life, and all it takes is a immature kid with no direction to take someone out, permanently. I hope someone gets this message before it's too late.
Peace,
Coach Ted
First, Jim Hill Tigers came in with a 4-7 record against the Falcons of Velma Jackson (8-12). Record wise this wouldn't seem like much of a game, but both teams came out competing at a high level. Jim Hill eked out a narrow victory after trailing for most of the game. Rashid Bickham, 6'5 soph, was the player of the game, contributing 12 points, including a monster two hand dunk that gave Jim Hill the lead. This young man has a load of potential.
Next, the Raymond (18-0) Rangerettes played the Golden Waves of Tupelo (10-6). Raymond has two Dandy Dozen players in 5'4 Valencia McFarland and 6'1 Kayla Robinson. They combined for 33 points as Raymond defeated Tupelo 56-52. Valencia was the price of admission by herself! She has a lot of poise for a sophomore, and she WANTED the ball during crunch time. On top of her obvious offensive skills, she plays d like a hawk! She is already being touted as one of the best female players to grace the courts of MS, and she has two more years! Amber Jackson led Tupelo with 19 points.
The game of the night was between the Murrah Mustangs (9-8) versus the Raymond Rangers (18-5). This was a show that I personally recorded for this site. Murrah's Gary Love and sophomore sensation Dundrecous Nelson combined for ALL of Murrah's first half points (33). Gary was bombing away from the 3 pt area, finishing with 33 points and showing no effects from that nasty spill he took two weeks ago. Dundrecous scored 26 points, and had a block that has to be seen to be believed. I had him listed as #2 in the class of 2010, but now he is listed as #1A. Coaches, jot down January 15th, when D Nelson goes up against the #1 ranked player of 2010, Andre Stringer of Forest Hill at Murrah. Guaranteed sellout because the Murrah girls are undefeated and planted the only loss to the Forest Hill girl's record. Raymond has a monster squad! They have 4 juniors who play significant roles for the successful Willie Neal. Coach Neal has these boys playing straight up defense. They are fundamentally sound, take good shots, SEVERAL within the 12-18 foot range, and play team ball! He is constantly digging into them and they respond like any coach would love, they take it out on the opponents. I saw NO attitudes from his players, and that is a plus in this day and age. He has a beast in 6'3 junior forward Joe McCoy. He can play the two or three, is ferocious on the boards, and scores without being selfish. You heard of a quiet 20 points, well, he scored a LOUD 19 while being named player of the game! Korey Sanders, a 6'6 junior, scored 15 points including 4 jams, and 5'11 junior guard Jeremy Williams kept the house together with 10 pts, 9 assists, 7 boards and a hellacious block that bought the place down! This is definitely a top 10 team in 2008. His eighth man, Tradarius McPherson, a 5-6 sophomore, can start for most JPS schools right now. Seriously.
Canton High Lady Tigers (6-8) played the Starkville Yellowjackets played a barnburner that was won by Starkville on a last second three pointer from Kierra Jones (Player of the game) who led the team with 17 points. Tamara Sims led Canton with 18 points. Not too much to write about as I stepped out during this game. The action was back and forth with two evenly matched teams.
The final game of the night pitted the young men from Canton High Tigers (9-8) against the top ranked Starkville Yellowjackets (16-0). This had the potential to top the Murrah-Raymond game, but the game was marred by unnecessary taunting from both teams, sloppy play, and an inconsistent flow from the players. Starkville won the game 58-46, and let's get one thing straight, Starkville DESERVES their top ranking, they are huge! Their frontline was 6-8 senior Latavious Williams, ranked #2 in the state, 6'9 senior Chris Brand, and 6-6 sophomore Rashard Perkins, with 6'3 top ten class of 08 Jonathon Harris as the two guard. Canton's tallest player is 6'4 sophomore DeMarcus Lewis. Canton is very athletic and they play hard. They gave Starkville fits with a full court press, and if they were more successful on their free throws, this would have been a very tight game. But Starkville prevailed because Canton had no answer for Dandy Dozen L Williams, who finished with 26 points, including 6 dunks worthy of highlight reels. J'Varia Blackmon led Canton with 12 points, followed by 9 points from DeMarcus Lewis, ranked 9th in my class of 2010. The player of the game was obvious, Latavious Williams.
Please read my news and notes section regarding this game.
Overall, this was a very good tournament for the teams to gear up for the second half of the season.
NEWS AND NOTES:
First off, I have to give the good with the bad. On a previous write up, I stated that I was not a fan of Dundrecous' attitude. On Saturday, I saw quite the opposite. He was a polite young man who respected his elders, and has no air about himself at all. He is an extremely competitive person who hates to lose, and he's going to use that attitude to his advantage.
Props go out to Coach Melvin Gillum of the Canton High Tigers. I may not always have been on the same page with Coach Gillum in the past, but I have to respect the fact that he goes out and find the toughest competition for his team. That has been a trademark of his and his predecessors for years. He could have easily scheduled his team against a less competitive team than the number one team in state! He is not scared to play the best in order for his boys to be ready for what is arguably the toughest district in 4A.
OBSERVATION I: We have a serious problem these days with kids feeling like they are OWED playing time because they wear a uniform. And people, we are not talking about seniors with only a few games remaining in their careers, we're talking about SOPHOMORES! Repeat it like Iverson's PRACTICE. I saw a young man who I will not disclose his name or school, act very immaturely on the bench, on the way to the locker room and after the game. He's not the only one as I have witnessed this at several games, and it's mostly underclassmen acting this way. This is crazy!! What happened to waiting your turn, practicing hard and MAKING the coach play you? First of all, this is high school varsity basketball. The coach has the right to play whoever he/she wants. This is not rec league where you have to play little Johnny half the game so you can videotape for the family. As a player, you may feel that you're better than the ones playing (in my opinion, that's rarely true) but there are ways you can handle your disappointment, like talking to the coach, working extra hours on your game, etc.,. However, all is not lost, because there was another young player who is also a soph, and has considerable talent. He did not make a peep as he sat the entire game, even cheering when his team was mounting a comeback. The above mentioned Tradarrius McPherson only played 3 minutes in the game and he is a TRUE player! No attitude shown on the bench because he know his time is coming, a helluva lot sooner than the one with attitude problems.
OBSERVATION II: In regards to the Canton-Starkville boys game, I witnessed something that I have never seen in my years as a player or coach. After the game, there was more trash talking going on between the two teams during handshakes, and the asst coach from Canton tried to intervene by pulling a player away. Instead of going to the locker room, things got heated between the coach and player ending with a altercation between the two. This is tragic in more ways than one. I was a personal witness to the whole thing, and because of legal ramifications, I will not disclose the entire incident. But what is going on is, players today are less disciplined then even 10 years ago. During this tournament, I witnessed a top player for his school use profanity when a call did not go his way, another player complaining to his teammates using profanity when his coach pulled him for a mistake, and the worst, a player taunting another player who was on the bench with an injury. I had this particular young man in my top ten but I'm pulling him off immediately because his boorish behavior far outweighs his physical talent. I have seen on more than one occasion his rants and immature behavior, but like most I was caught up in this boy's athletic ability. I don't understand why his behavior is irrational as I have seen this young man to be extremely likable off the court. But Saturday's action caused me to say "enough is enough". Fellas, it is not macho to talk smack on the court, nor is it admirable. In fact, yesterday's incident stemmed from the heated exchanges during the game. My fear is something tragic is going to happen if we don't take control of the situation. Kids nowadays do not have a high regard for one's life, and all it takes is a immature kid with no direction to take someone out, permanently. I hope someone gets this message before it's too late.
Peace,
Coach Ted
1st Annual Canton Tournament