Memphis Roar

This week’s column is brought to you by Jonathan Craft, a junior finance major at the University of Memphis. Jonathan had a chance to watch two Memphis high schools, Sheffield and Ridgeway, battle it out on the hardwood. Sheffield, who is led by Tiger signee Chris Crawford, gave Ridgeway High School and Tarik Black, another Memphis signee, all they could handle.

 
Practically the entire city was stuck to their seats, eyes glued to their televisions watching a great Memphis vs. Kansas rematch. While current Tigers were performing in St. Louis, some future Tigers performed in what ended up a fantastic high school game right here in the city of Memphis. Tuesday night, the Ridgeway Roadrunners hosted the Sheffield Knights, and what a loaded game it was. Around seven o’clock, Ridgeway’s basketball gymnasium filled out to capacity as fans from Sheffield and Ridgeway prepared for a shootout. There were also some well known names who came out to see the some of the future stars of Memphis basketball, including Memphis Magic point guard and Tiger commit Joe Jackson, AAU Memphis Magic coach Eric Robinson, and Tiger great Penny Hardaway.

6′8″ big man Tarik Black, who signed a letter of intent to play for Memphis earlier this week, was expected to provide size, athleticism and defense against a hot-shooting Sheffield. He definitely kept the Roadrunners in action, playing every minute of the 44 minute overtime showdown. From the opening minutes, Black had high energy and was not only the biggest man on the court, but also one of the fastest.  One thing that really keeps me watching Black is that even though he struggled, shooting 0 for 3 from the line in the first half, as the game progressed, he got better and better. In the second half, he took better looks, made most of his free throws, and jumped higher and more frequently, showing little or no signs of fatigue. He got some pretty clutch offensive rebounds and “and-1″ opportunities that sent the game into overtime, and almost a second overtime.

Sheffield has a strong shooter in 6′5″ SG Chris Crawford, also a recent Tiger commit. Last night, strong wasn’t the word. More like star or hero. Crawford drained three pointers like it was a warmup. In the second quarter, he shot 3 of 4 from the arc. Back to back to back. Chris will be a huge asset to the Tigers’ perimeter game, something they have struggled with since the loss of key 3-man Jeremy Hunt. Ridgeway had no answers to shut down the top scorer, and whenever the Roadrunners would pull a lead, the Knights would dish it back out to Chris. In fact, I don’t remember ever seeing Sheffield at the free throw line and it NOT being #23. Chris drove to the basket aggresively, enjoying a little showdown with his Memphis Magic teammate, Tarik. It wasn’t always perfect though, as we saw in the fourth quarter when Black got a key block on Chris’ easy two pointer.

Ridgeway had a hard time using their key asset. Sheffield put Tarik out of business mostly with double- and triple- team defenses. Not to discredit, Black used his Joey-like size and athleticism to block a lot of shots, get in shooters’ faces, and grab plenty of rebounds. A key attribute about Black that amazed me was his speed and athleticism in transition. Time and time again, he slapped the glass and was still the first man down the court, awaiting the fast break play. He had great position in getting down the court for a pass, but the Roadrunners rarely got the ball down the court in time for any action. When Tarik did get the ball, he unleashed on the rim, even getting a technical foul on a great dunk in the first quarter.

Ridgeway is a well coached team, combining high athleticism with successful play-running. The point guard was great at drawing Tarik’s defender away from him long enough for Tarik to slam it in. Every player is a contributor on Ridgeway’s team, something I did not see as much of from Sheffield. They distributed the ball very well, scoring down low with PF Brandon Lewis and getting some mid-range points from SF Marterrace Brock. Expect to see Ridgeway’s team continue to get better and better, and to run deep in State. However, they were just not consistent enough to survive the overtime against Sheffield and Chris, who ended with 35 points while playing all 44 minutes.

Chris was extremely confident in the game against Ridgeway. Before warmups, he led his team around the school with his head held high, listening to music and smiling at friends. He seems to really enjoy competing against Black, which shows their bond as teammates.

After the game, I talked to Crawford briefly about what it was like to play against Black and others, and how playing on the same team over the summer helped him and his team prepare for the game. He responded, “Well, there’s really not much you can prepare for. (Tarik’s) a beast. He’s a competitor and I really wanted to play against him so I can show him who’s best.” When asked how he felt about the signings of teammates Jelan Kendrick and Black, he commented, “I feel good. We love them, and I know we got the team to do it. We’re gonna be good. Go Blue, and let’s go win a national championship.” During the preseason, there were comments made that even though Kentucky’s team was full of freshmen, they were something to fear because they had an obvious passion to come in hard, put in the extra work, and win. Clearly, by the recent comments made by Chris, Jelan, Joe and Tarik, our freshmen will be ready to win. Jelan also commented, “We all know what it takes. We have an understanding that we all have to leave our egos and just get better. We want to win. We want a national championship.”

The comfort level of the guys playing together relieves some of the doubts about having so many freshmen. They are a close-knit family who knows each others’ strengths and weaknesses and that should make up for many of the freshman errors than can occur early in the season. One thing is for sure, these high school stars from Memphis are very exciting to watch. They got “next”, and we’ll all be in the stands watching.

Notes on Tarik Black:

Tarik is extremely fast and athletic. He dominates the paint on the high school level, often being the biggest man on the court. He is confident and active, which are great assets in his position. He wasn’t afraid to get in someone’s face and go for the block, rebound, or layup in a clogged paint. As active and aggressive as he was, he did not foul excessively, even in a high-emotion game. He is smart, and thinks quickly, but maybe could dictate a little more control as a star on the team. He could improve on body control and keeping his composure in the post. Also, packing on a good 25 pounds wouldn’t hurt. He is very athletic, but not quite big enough to be the main big man after Will Coleman leaves.

Notes on Chris Crawford:

Chris was the main shooter on his team. He shot often and well, however he took a few rushed shots when he could have passed to an open man. This shouldnt be a problem next year with Memphis with all of the shooters and ball handlers we will have. The spread of talent should take pressure off any one shooter, and expect for the Tigers to have options on the perimeter. He was quick and aggressive, and got open to take good looks from the arc.

*** Not all statements made in this article are not the consensus opinion of Memphis Roar and its staff. This is a guest column, which is a feature done by reader submission. If you would like to submit an article, please see the Reader Submissions page. ***