4 observations from the 4A District 16 Tourney semifinals round
Memphis Central defeated Memphis East, 71-56, while Whitehaven rolled past White Station, 64-39. The Warriors and Tigers will meet Wednesday night for the TSSAA Division I Class 4A District 16 Tournament Championship. This will be the third meeting between both…
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Continue ReadingMemphis Central defeated Memphis East, 71-56, while Whitehaven rolled past White Station, 64-39.
The Warriors and Tigers will meet Wednesday night for the TSSAA Division I Class 4A District 16 Tournament Championship. This will be the third meeting between both programs. Whitehaven swept Memphis Central in the regular season.
Here are 4 observations from the semifinals round:
Warriors’ defense
Memphis Central’s defense, for the most part, didn’t allow the Mustangs to get into any offensive rhythm. The Warriors were aggressive on the defensive end by getting deflections, recording steals, and altering shots at the rim. Memphis Central held Memphis East to 18 points in the first half. Under head coach Vernard Watkins, the Warriors pick up 94 feet and did so for most of the contest Monday night.
Hudson’s production
Senior forward Cameron Hudson’s production is very important to Memphis Central’s chances of making a deep postseason run. The 6-foot-6 forward got a lot of easy looks at the rim and had a handful of uncontested dunks. Hudson, who had 17 points, was one of four players to score in double figures. He will need to be huge again Wednesday night against the Tigers.
Cox’s comfort
Junior point guard Damion Cox Jr., this season’s TSSAA Division 1 Class 4A District 16 Player of the Year, is as comfortable as he’s been in his high school basketball career. He’s been focused this season on showing spectators that he’s capable of being a complete player. Against Memphis East, Cox had deflections and steals that resulted in fast break points.
The Mustangs got within 31-22 before getting outscored by the Warriors, 17-6, over the next four and a half minutes in third quarter. During the scoring run, Cox threw an alley pass to junior guard Jaylon Evans (10 points) before recording a steal and a score.
”I have learned that I can play both ends of the floor,” Cox said. “At St. Benedict, people were saying he can’t go left, he can’t play defense. This year, I have been showing people that I can.”
Cox led the team with 18.
Dedrick Miles was the other double figure scorer for Memphis Central. He finished with 13.
Just wants to win
Senior guard Kody Hickerson has come to Whitehaven to help the program win. It’s not about the individual stats for the prospect that spent most of the 2023 season in a Bartlett uniform before transferring to the Tigers during the second half of the season.
After a slow, ugly start against the Spartans, the Tigers built a 32-12 halftime lead. Whitehaven had balance as it had 11 players to score at least two points. Junior wing Cameron Brown led the team with 13 points. Hickerson pitched in 11, while sophomore forward Dorion Bowen added 10.
”We just want to win. We don’t care whose night it is,” Hickerson said. “If it’s someone’s night, we are going to give it to him. We are going to do whatever we can to win.”