The Sensational 10

Class of 2013 Top 3 of the Sensational 10

1. EbonyHayes
2. Teresa Mayes
3. Nina Davis

Complete Sensational 10 Click Here

The Fantastic 15 Class of 2012

The Fantastic 15 Top 5


1. Danielle Ballard
2. Cornelia Fondren
3. Arielle Hearn
4. Aaliyah Whiteside
5. Cortrice Golden

View Complete List Click Here


Ready for your comments!!!!

Class of 2011 "The Terrific 20"

Here is Mid South Basketball Academy's
Terrific 20 for the Class of 2011

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Here's The Top 10



1. Hasina Muhammad

2. Cleo Lee

3. Symone Daniels

4. Shervontae Bright

5. Ky'Esha Vinson

6. Kenesha Jackson

7. Bre'Ana Ridgell

8. Ashley Small

9. Victoria White

10. Chantonia Dye

Class of 2010 Super 25

Here is Mid South Basketball Academy's Super 25 for the Class of 2010
Give me your feedback

View List Click Here

Here is the Top 10

1. Lauren Avant
2. Jasmine "Tooty" Robinson
3. Jasmine Newsome
4. Shae Nelson
5. Jasmine Gardner
6. Olivia Maddux
7. Karisma Tyson
8. Desiree Phillips
9. Breanna Williams
10. Orlandria "Pooh" Wiliams

Summer 2009 Girls Basketball Observations

This has not only been a very long summer for me but also a very enlightening one as I coached from tournament to tournament in the southeastern part of the country. As many of you may know I coach for the Memphis Select Organization. I head coach the class of 2014 team(12U) and i assist with 16U team which was composed of 9th and 10th graders. In this blog i just want to make my opinion on some of the observations i made in comparison with our own city.

First of all, and i think a lot of people will agree, that as a city we still havent compiled the best talent in one class on one team to go compete. I've been to millions of tournaments just watching teams play and its pretty obvious that Memphis is a rising power in girls basketball just off raw talent alone. I say this again if we ever come together in the summertime we will have enormous followings in the evaluation period and the high school season would be oozing with college coaches. With the younger ages we would have more national championships. This year, for example, Four 12U teams qualified for the D1 nationals, didnt either one of us place in the tournament, they stopped ranking at 10th place. That's with 3 really good 7th graders not playing on either one of those 4 teams. IF WE EVER GET TOGETHER IT WOULD BE LOVELY!!!!

Second thing our ladies in the city are talented but i've learned we need to stop selling them these High Major D1 dreams and keep it real with our players. Just be focused on getting in a school that wants you to play for them.

I coached in the Top 10 All America Camp in Atlanta(I volunteered no biggie anybody couldve coached) the players i coached were leaps and bounds in skill level probably over some of our best. Here are some observations I made:

Most of the players who were in the height range from 5'9 to 6'0 were the most versatile players at the camp. Meaning they simply get a lot of jobs done on the floor. They could shoot, pass, and dribble effectively(They were very skilled). They also could post their smaller defenders. These players could defend multiple positions on the floor, their IQ for playing basketball was very high, and they simply played with heart and passion.

On the other hand the smaller players were simply beasts on the floor and they used their quickness to their advantage and they were just hard, they effected the game as if they were taller than their actual size.

All of the post players their ranged from 6'2 to 6'8 and some of these girls skill levels were off the charts. They controlled the boards, got it to their guards and some of them led the break themselves at those heights.

So what did i pull from those observations

First to play at in a high level college you got to be able to defend. Understanding how to help, closing out, denying the passing lanes, taking charges, and just having the heart to do whatever is necessasry to keep your opponents from scoring, if you do that you can play on any level of college basketball.

Second Memphis players really need to focus on becoming better skilled players regardless of your height, like i said earlier, we have a lot of RAW talent but not a lot of skilled players. Focus on handling the basketball, making good one on one moves, finishing with both hands with out a lot of dribbling, consistently making open shots, and scoring the ball under the goal with your basic post moves.

Lastly our players need to understand the game better. First of all learn to make better decisions with the basketball i.e. taking care of the basketball especially in clutch situations. Learn how to execute different types of cuts(flex cut, basket cuts, ucla cuts, back door, curl, flare) and the same with screens(on ball screens, away screens, down screen, back screens,) on that same note you need to learn to defend those cuts and screens as well as execute them.

Knowing when to use your different types of passes, clock management, really understanding your coaches offense(if they run offensive sets), you should understand the job you need to do in order to get your teammate open to score, sharing the basketball and realizing this is a team game and not a ME game. How could i forget rebounding, always remember dont rely on one or two people to rebound, EVERYONE NEEDS TO REBOUND.

In our city the reality is some of our players are already at a disadvantage becuase our 5'9 to 6'0(At a high major school some of the Guard and Forwards are this height) have to solely play the post because of the lack of the 6'3 and above centers and power forwards. Remember if your are little one you better be the hardest one on the floor everytime you step between the lines.

Remember Work on your Game in your spare time, stay conditioned, and take advantage of your coaches in the off season, make them work you out and help you get your game to the next level.

Coach Maurice