Prospect Spotlight: Calvin Temple (2019)
The game clock is almost meaningless to Calvin Temple, and no matter what the scoreboard says, he will play hard until the final whistle blows.
That’s the type of point guard Temple has molded into, which is why he’s respected by the other coaches and teams he have to face each time he walks onto the hardwood floor. The senior out of Olive Branch, Mississippi has all of the important attributes he needs to be successful.
He’s a vocal leader on the court, very unselfish with the basketball, and his decision making on the offensive end is excellent. He knows when and when not to take a shot. When the lane is closed, Temple quickly shift gears, and looks for a wide open teammate.
But, before Temple gets to his solution, he checks in with his high school coach Newton Mealer, who gives Temple the green light to either be a scoring guard or a facilitator.
“I like to play for Coach Mealer. He’s like one of the best coaches I have ever had,” Temple said about the Center Hill High School’s basketball coach. “He knows how to run a team. He puts everything in place. I really love playing for him.”
If Temple is ever asked by Mealer to score, he can do so. If Mealer asks his guard to find the open man, Temple can do that as well. In the Jerry Peters Memphis Summer Classic, Temple finished second in scoring with 112 points and tied for fourth place in assists with 15. The 6-foot-1, 155-pound guard also finished fourth in free throw shooting (89 percent), and tied for seventh on 3-pointers (11).
Just recently, Temple started attacking the basket. Before now, he was just a jump shooter, and seemed to be an easy task for defenders. But, that can’t be said now since he’s added another dynamic to his game that makes him a difficult matchup.
“I was always known as a shooter, so everybody always thought I could just shoot,” Temple said. “People thought I couldn’t dribble the ball; I couldn’t drive. People used to say “I’m not a dog yet.” Since I couldn’t play last year, I had so much pain up inside of me. Now, I’m just letting it out.
“I’m trying to be a dog every time I hit the floor.”
Temple’s dog mentality has led to him receiving some Division 1 offers. Tulsa, Campbell, IUPUI, Arkansas Little-Rock, Stony Brook, and UT-Martin are the current offers Temple has in front of him. He recently took an unofficial visit to Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina this week.
Temple mentioned he plans to commit to a school between September and October. As of right now, the Camels, along with the Jaguars, and the Trojans are at the top of his list.
“At Campbell, I have a really good relationship with the coaching staff,” Temple said. “I feel like if I go there, I can probably, one day, get paid playing from there or come back and get a coaching job. It’s family-based, and I have been knowing the coach (assistant Kenneth White) since I was 10 years old.”
Temple is familiar with White from the six years he spent being the head coach at Lausanne Collegiate School, where he led the Lynx to the 2013 state championship, two regional championships, and a pair of district titles.