That Special Tennessee Brand
Early Saturday afternoon Bluff City Legends dismantled an athletic, slightly undersized W.A.C.G. 16u squad, 92-57.
A vociferous mother crafted a clever phrase late, “Nobody Can Go.”
While the hyperbolic phrase doesn’t tell the whole tale Bluff City Legends certainly obliterated the We All Can Go unit, inserting their deep bench with 9:20 remaining in the blowout.
The following players dominated:
Alvin Miles
The speedy point guard keeps proving me wrong. Size matters in basketball, but the 22nd best player in 2020 rankings stands just 5-foot-6. With his diminutive body he carves out creative and unnique pathways to the basket. Of course he thrives in the open floor.
Few guards in the 16u division have his court awareness. There are certainly guards as quick as he is at the top level, but Miles keeps his head high and continues making spatial calculations as the defense adapts to his penetration. He is a very good shooter too.
Miles played high school this year with Class AAA Runner-Up Whitehaven High School.
Matthew Murrell
AAU basketball does not lend itself to mid-range prowess, which is where Matthew Murrell lives. He has a Richard Hamilton-caliber pull-up. In the open floor and counterattacking style that AAU encourages Murrell is also fully capable.
Murrell (PrepHoopsTN #3) finished a wonderful alley-oop in the first half. It was worth more than the two points added to the scoreboard. Murrell’s dunk was a significant part of the early onslaught. Eventually the Bluff City Legends buried the prideful WACG team.
Murrell sat the latter stages of the second half. His presence was not needed. The team is very deep and in fact they pulled further away with the second and third unit on the deck.
Marcellus Brigham Jr. (BCL 16u)
More than any other Bluff City Legend 16u player Marcellus showed a different look than high school. Brigham Jr. (PrepHoopsTN #23 in 2020) operated as more of a 3/4 with Briarcrest Christian. With Bluff City Legends 16u Brigham is allowed to exclusively play the wing (2/3).
His feet are much quicker than they appeared just months ago. Brigham Jr. didn’t take any shots away from the tin, but he can handle ok and move his feet defensively well.
He looks the part of a budding Division I wing.
Mike Wallace (WACG 16u)
W.A.C.G. was dismantled. It was not pretty. The athleticism of Mike Wallace (PrepHoopsTN #12) still impressed. In multiple spots, Wallace exploded off the deck quicker than the peers. There was a moment late in the first half when Wallace legitimately blocked a 7-foot-2 center. Sure a whistle poked in to the loud gym, but it was obviously a block. Only one person disagreed, though he happened to be a whistle-carrier.
Keshawn Lawrence (WACG 16u)
In the last six months Ensworth sophomore Keshawn Lawrence has played against top 50 2018’s from Oak Hill Academy. In that January game he was completely comparable athletically. Now he fought some exceptionally athletic Memphis players and once again fit in and even bested players athletically.
Lawrence is a guy you always have to watch his football recruitment. It might just dictate how far he goes with basketball. But you should be able to tell by our @PrepHoopsTN #10 ranking that I believe he is a MM-HM basketball prospect too.