Private Schools: Coaches feel they can compete with public schools

After ECS lost a close one to FACS in overtime last Tuesday night, I asked Eagles head coach Will Jenkins what was one word to describe the TSSAA Division II Class A and Class AA leagues. “Underappreciated”, Jenkins uttered with a smirk. Was Jenkins right to say that? Yes Was his comment a slap in the face to the public school leagues? No, he just wants to see the private school leagues get some respect. Coach Jenkins followed up his one word introduction with a concept he would like to see happen in the near future. “You do have more teams in a public league than in a private league, because of the way it’s arranged, but that don’t mean private can’t beat public,” Jenkins said. “If you took the top teams in the public and you took the top teams in private and you say let’s go get it, I believe the private would win more. “You take Lausanne, Briarcrest, us, FACS, Tipton-Rosemark Academy and Christian Brothers, then you take the top teams in the public school league, let’s see what happens. I would love to see it. I think it would be great for Memphis, because Memphis has so much talent.” Fayette Academy first-year head coach Brandon Bradford is all on board with the best private schools playing the best public schools. “I really think if you put up the top in each, I think the private schools are going to win every time,” Bradford said. “There might be more raw talent overall in public schools. If you look at Whitehaven, you’re going to have 10 guys that are all really talented. “But, if you go to Lausanne or Tipton-Rosemark Academy, they’re going to have three or four guys that are just incredible, and the rest of the guys aren’t going to be that great, but those guys just seem to play better together to me. “If you look at the ECS-Cordova game, Cordova is loaded with talent, but ECS just stuck with them, and I think Kam (Jones) is one of the best players in our city. I think we should have an event, public vs. private schools, just to see.” Jenkins and Bradford were right about one thing: The city of Memphis does have a lot of talent, and both coaches aren’t afraid to play tough competition. The Eagles lost a close one at home to the Wolfpack, thanks to a game-winning shot by senior point guard Justin Borders. ECS also played Southwind and Booker T. Washington, losing both contests. The Vikings defeated a good Freedom Prep team at home on Dec. 28 and currently sits at 9-7 on the season, a major improvement from last season, with Bradford at the helm. FACS has played White Station this season, with the Spartans taking that one, 63-49. The Tipton-Rosemark Academy Rebels beat Arlington early in the season by the final score of 64-57, but suffered losses to Hamilton, Overton and Whitehaven. TRA lost 71-47 to the Tigers, but the Rebels hung around for three quarters before Whitehaven outscored them 25-10 in the fourth quarter. Christian Brothers took the Tigers down to the wire, losing just by two (64-62). Lausanne has nice wins over Holly Springs, Lake Cormorant, St. Louis Vashon and Wooddale. Briarcrest defeated Callaway and Center Hill early in the season. Montgomery Bell Academy is another solid private school. The Big Red defeated Fayette Ware in a non-league matchup on Jan. 4. So, there’s proof that teams from the private school leagues can compete with solid teams in the public school leagues. “If you line us up with some of the better teams in the city, we beat them or play them to the wire every time,” Purple Wave head coach Bubba Luckett said after Friday night’s loss to Briarcrest in a Division II Class AA league game. “We just played Whitehaven last week to a two-point game, with a chance to win it at the buzzer. “We can play with anybody, certainly in the state of Tennessee. I think anybody that underestimates the private schools is making a mistake.” Plenty of talent coming out of private schools Lynx head coach Marvis Davis can see why people tend to overlook the private school leagues due some of the schools at the bottom not being so competitive, but feels people shouldn’t count out both leagues as a whole, especially from an individual talent standpoint. “If you look at all the kids, besides James Wiseman, that went high, high major in the last 10 years, it would be more private school kids,” Davis said. “So, evidently, there’s something going on right in the private school leagues.” Let’s flashback to 2008 for a minute. St. George’s Independent School had 6-foot-4 shooting guard Elliot Williams, who ended up committing to Duke to play for one season before transferring to Memphis. Leslie McDonald, a product of the Briarcrest Saints, joined North Carolina’s 2009 class. McDonald won Mr. Basketball in Division II Class AA two years in a row (2008 and 2009). Forward Johnny Williams, another product of Briarcrest and teammate of McDonald, committed to George Mason in 2009. Fast forward three years and the Saints had another budding star in Austin Nichols, Mr. Basketball award winner in 2012 and 2013, who committed to Memphis in 2013. Lausanne has had its share of putting players at some of the top college basketball programs in the country. Power forward Marc Gasol, Mr. Basketball award winner in 2003, didn't attend college, but he has had a solid pro career overseas and in the NBA (with the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors), making the NBA All-Rookie Team in 2009, the NBA All-Defensive Team in 2013, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2013, making the All-NBA Team in 2015 and winning an NBA Championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors. Gasol has also won two Olympic silver medals, an Olympic bronze medal, a FIBA World Cup title, and three EuroBasket titles with the Spanish national basketball team. Point guard Cameron Payne was the next Mr. Basketball award winner for the Lynx in 2013. He ended up playing at Murray State for one season and got drafted 14th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Power forward Skal Labissiere is another product of Lausanne as he joined Kentucky’s 2015 class. Brentwood Academy's Darius Garland, who led the program to four consecutive Division II Class AA state titles, joined Vanderbilt’s 2018 class. Last season, forward Luke Howard, a product of Harding Academy, committed to Lipscomb. FACS head coach Dee Wilkes had a polished point guard in Koby Jeffries, who committed to UAB after attending The Skill Factory. Last season, Knoxville Webb had point guard Emory Lanier, who committed to Davidson, and is currently spending his senior season at Woodward Academy. Fast forward to right now and both private school leagues have talent that a lot of coaches are recruiting. Webb School has senior point guard Keon Johnson, who committed to Tennessee. The Lynx have junior power forward Moussa Cisse, who holds offers from USC, Ole Miss, Memphis, UConn, Georgia and many others. Lausanne also have senior forward Johnathan DeJurnett and senior combo guard Jalen Bo Montgomery. DeJurnett has already committed to Evansville, and Montgomery, who holds offers from Howard, Campbell and Holy Cross, is still on the market, but is being watched by a lot of Division I programs. Briarcrest has junior point guard Kennedy Chandler, who’s narrowed his top 10 schools down to Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee and USC. Chandler’s teammate, senior forward Marcellus Brigham Jr., has committed to Jacksonville State. Tipton-Rosemark Academy has junior wing Alex Anderson, who has committed to South Alabama, which could setup a reunion on the court with his brother Andrew Anderson, who was part of the Rebels’ run to the Division II Class A state championship game last season. Christian Brothers have sophomore point guard Chandler Jackson and junior guard Reese McMullen. Jackson currently has offers from Alabama, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and TCU. McMullen holds offers from Lipscomb and Dartmouth. The ECS Eagles have junior point guard Kameron Jones, who currently holds offers from Evansville, Troy, South Alabama and Tennessee Tech. So, Davis was right about one thing: The private schools are doing something right if all of this talent is heading off to play college basketball at the Division 1 level. “You have a lot of players from top to bottom in our region that are playing college basketball and will play college basketball,” Rebels head coach Cedric Anderson said. “From top to bottom, down to the sixth team in our region, kids are going Division I.”