THE MID-SOUTH IS LOADED IN EVERY CLASS
by Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP 

                    The bad news is that the rest of the state is down.  The good news is the city of Memphis is absolutely loaded in every class and there are three-to-five high major players in every class.  We're talking about 5'11 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN, 6'8 Austin Hollins from Germantown (H.S.) TN, 6'4 Todd Mayo from Germantown (H.S.) TN in the senior class; 6'5 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 5'9 Jr Chris Jones from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'2 Jr Andre Hollins from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'4 Jr Bobby Parks from Memphis (Melrose) TN, and 6'4 Jr Cedric McAfee from Memphis (Craigmont) TN in the junior class; 6'7 Soph Jarnell Stokes from Memphis (Central) TN, 5'9 Soph Cameron Golden from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, and 6'4 Soph Martavious Newby from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN in the sophomore class; and 6'7 Frosh Jonathan Williams from Memphis (Southwind) TN, 6'5 Frosh Nick King from Memphis (East) TN, and 6'1 Frosh Matt Butler from Memphis (East) TN in the freshmen class.  And there also are some excellent middle school players, like 6'5 8th Grader LeBron Black from Memphis, TN, 6'0 7th Grader Keelan Lawson from Memphis, TN, 6'3 7th Grader Terrence Birdsong from Memphis, TN, 5'10 6th Grader Dedric Lawson from Memphis, TN, and 5'4 6th Grader Kevin Cheatham from Memphis, TN, on the horizon.  The other important trend is that the University of Memphis suddenly appears to be murder to beat for the top players in their backyard.  Thus, explains why the Tigers have 5'11 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, and 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN in the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010 and why it may be tough to beat for schools like Tennessee, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida to beat Memphis when it is all said and done for 6'5 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN. 
                    Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead also makes note of the fact that the player he's enjoyed watching the most since he started covering high school basketball in the state in 2001 is 5'11 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN.  "It's been a joy to watch the progress he's made during the last four years," says Whitehead.  "Everything on his team revolves around him, as he controls the tempo of the game, has no wasted motion, absorbs contact when he takes it to the rack, plays excellent defense, and is a deadly 3-point shooter.  He's evolved into one of the best players in the nation and he's proven to be a winner on both his high school and AAU team.  He's already won one state championship and last summer led the Memphis Magic to the championship of the adidas tournament in Las Vegas.  He's also on track to be the fifth all-time leading scorer in the history of the state."  Are you starting to get the idea that Jackson is one of the best players to come down the pike in this state in a long time?  Well, after checking with our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman, it became clear that Jackson belongs on our First Team All-Time All-State Team, along with Anfernee Hardaway, Johnny Neumann, Derrick Hord, and Brandan Wright.  Those first two are obvious, but the last two are based on what they did in high school.  Did you know that Wright led his team to four straight state championships and was a top five-ranked player, along with Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington, in the Class of 2006?  And did you also know that Hord was ranked among the top 12 players, along with Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie, Steve Stipanovich, Sidney Green, James Worthy, Antoine Carr, Clark Kellogg, Dominique Wilkins, Darren Daye, Ricky Ross, and Isiah Thomas, in the Class of 1979, which was the best class in the history of the game.  And that's says a lot, because Jackson edges out some pretty fast company, as names like Bailey Howell, Clyde Lee, Bobby Smith, Larry Finch, Tony Delk, Ron Mercer, Corey Brewer, and Thaddeus Young were also under consideration for the first team. 
                    The state also has more than its share of players who have signed with Division I schools, as 5'11 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, and 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN have all decided to stay home and attend the University of Memphis; 6'5 Casey Prather from Jackson (Northside) TN is bound for the University of Florida; 6'8 Austin Hollins from Germantown (H.S.) TN is bound for the University of Minnesota, 6'2 Jalen Steele from Knoxville (Fulton) TN has signed with Auburn, 6'9 Michael Bradley from Chattanooga (Tyner Academy) TN will attend the University of Connecticut; 6'5 Kerry Hammonds from Murfreesboro (Siegel) TN will stay home and attend Middle Tennessee State; 6'3 Tim Peete from Memphis (Central) TN has picked the University of Tulsa; 5'11 Corey Stanton from Springfield (H.S.) TN is bound for Wright State; 6'6 Tyler Hood from Lenoir City (H.S.) TN will attend Samford; 6'8 Corey Henegar from Jasper (Marion County) TN has made it official for UNC-Greensboro; 6'3 Demarcus Smith from Clarksville (Kenwood) TN and 6'0 Robert Boyd from Knoxville (Fulton) TN will both attend Lipscomb; 6'5 Thomas Greer from Atwood (West Carroll) TN has picked Austin Peay; 6'4 Arthur McMillan from Nashville (Hillsboro) TN is bound for Morehead State; 6'5 Nathan Rucker from Memphis (Melrose) TN has signed with Northern Illinois, and 5'11 Mitchell Hill from Cookeville (H.S.) TN will stay home and attend Tennessee Tech.  That's 19 players who have already signed with Division I schools and, as things stand now, the best player in the senior class still available is 6'4 Todd Mayo from Germantown (H.S.) TN.  He's been putting up ridiculous numbers, which explains why schools like Tennessee, Missouri, Memphis, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma are all showing interest.