Top Players of the Week
Christmas is almost here, but high school basketball must go on, and the elite talent in the state of Tennessee didn’t slack of this week, because, well, there are no breaks in this sport.
I was able to watch five games this week, and I was able to quickly put together another solid list of high school basketball players who had positive impacts on their team’s success.
I’m not going to waste a lot of time here, so I’m going to cut my small talk short. Usually, I make it to three paragraphs, but not this time around.
Here are the Top Players of the Week:
Chandler Lawson, Wooddale: The Oregon commit dominated in home wins over Whitehaven and Trezevant this week. Lawson had 20 points, 20 rebounds, and six blocks in the Cardinals’ 79-71 win over the Tigers. He followed up that performance with a 27-point, 17-rebound, four-block, and four-assist outing against the Bears.
Johnathan Lawson, Wooddale: Just like his brother, Johnathan Lawson can be tough to defend. He had 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals against Whitehaven. Lawson had another great performance against Trezevant, finishing with 24 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Jalen Brown, Trezevant: The rising sophomore led the Bears with 24 points in a losing effort against Wooddale. He’s one of the top sophomores in the state of Tennessee and will continue to progress as the season moves along.
Quintavious Bailey, Raleigh-Egypt: The junior forward had 22 points in the Pharaohs’ 78-54 win over Cordova Wednesday night.
Deovaunta Williams, Raleigh-Egypt: The senior guard finished with 15 points against the Wolfpack. He scored 10 points during a 17-0 run in the third quarter to put Cordova away.
Cory Griggs, Raleigh-Egypt: Griggs was another guard who made big shots for the Pharaohs. He finished with 13 points.
Matthew Murrell, Whitehaven: The junior guard had 19 points in the Tigers’ 76-57 win over Horn Lake Friday night. Whitehaven head coach Faragi Phillips used Murrell at point guard at times, which is a sign Murrell will see more time in the future as the team’s floor general.
Kennedy Chandler, Briarcrest: The sophomore point guard had 14 points in the Saints’ 52-39 win over Central. He had two breakaway scores in transition, with one being a one-handed dunk.
Clint Channell, Christian Brothers: The senior forward had 13 points in the Purple Wave’s 73-41 win over MHEA in their first game of the More Than Basketball Tournament. He was also named to the All-Tournament team, along with senior forward and Georgia football commit Bill Norton.
Reese McMullen, Christian Brothers: The sophomore guard had 15 points in the 57-51 overtime win over Houston.
Harrison Kelly, Christian Brothers: The sophomore guard added 15 points against the Mustangs.
Chandler Jackson, Christian Brothers: The freshman point guard was named MVP in the Purple Wave’s 65-53 win over FACS to clinch the More Than Basketball Tournament Championship after finishing with 30 points. This win marked the fourth year in a row Christian Brothers has won the tournament. As for Jackson, he will only get better from here.
Decorian Payton, Center Hill: The junior forward had 22 points and 15 rebounds in the Mustangs’ 100-44 win over Ingomar. This week, Payton picked up his first college offer from Coahoma Community College.
Kaeden Laws, Center Hill: The sophomore forward had 20 points and eight rebounds against the Falcons.
Calvin Temple, Center Hill: The senior point guard had 20 points and seven assists against Ingomar.
Kevin Henry, Center Hill: The senior guard had a double-double (13 points, 10 boards) against the Falcons. A day after the win, Henry was on campus at Lemoyne-Owen College to watch the Magicians plays Union. Henry recently picked up his first offer from Lemoyne-Owen College.