Rumble In The South

I'm on the road again, in search of the South's top D-1 prospects. I'm on the beautiful campus of Mississippi College in suburban Jackson, MS for the Rumble in the South. (MS College plays in the same D-3 conference as Concordia in Austin, TX and Schreiner in Kerrville, TX). The Rumble in the South is a collection of marquee matchups of top prep programs from around the State of Mississippi as well as Louisiana's defending 3A State Champ, Monroe Richwood and Texas' own Dallas Lincoln. Lincoln features top 5 national stud LeBryan Nash in the Class of 2011.

Game 1. Pearl (MS) 83 Madison Central (MS) 49

Madison Central was outclassed in this one as Pearl's 2010 unsigned senior G 6'0" Daniel Malone (Below) lit Madison up for 35 points including going 8-12 from behind the arc. D-1's beware as per Pearl's HS Coach he's a qualifier and has no scholarship offers as of yet. Game 2. Jackson Murrah (MS) 72 Ridgeland (MS) 60

Apparently the recent defection of one of the nation's top 2011 players WG LaQuinton Ross to a prep school in New Jersey did not seem to bother Murrah. Perhaps it even caused the squad to bond closer together? In a gym packed with D-1 coaches (seemed like a summer league gym environment) none was more tickled than my old friend Owen Miller of Ole Miss who watched the Rebels signee, G Dundrecous Nelson (below) hang 38 on Ridgeland. The ultra explosive Nelson did it by getting to the rack, at the FT line (6-9) and from DEEP beyond the arc (6-8).

Ridgeland's 2011 WG 6'5" LeAntwan Luckett (below) had 14 points and 8 rebounds. The athletic slasher can get to the hole anytime he wants and finishes above the rim. His Rivals.com national rank of 60 is well deserved and I look forward to him representing the newest group of D-1 Ambassadors, the Mississippi D-1 Ambassadors who will be coached by Ted Hutchins.

2011 P 6'5" Donovan Ross of Ridgeland shows tremendous potential and once he gets on the circuit this coming spring and summer look for him to really make a name for himself. He finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds.

Game 3. Meridian (MS) 86 Monroe Richwood (LA) 71

Below, 2011 CG 6'8" Rodney Hood of Meridian shields his eyes against the mid day son shining onto the court. That might have been the best defense, blinding him as the ultra talented guard had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Plenty of the big boys were in attendance watching Rodney including old friend, Marquette Head Man Buzz Williams who zipped into Jackson on a private jet to show Hood some love.

Game 4. Jackson (MS) Provine 75 Dallas Lincoln (TX) 61

This, the marquee game was played in front of a near capacity crowd of abou 3000 people who got their money's worth. LeBryan Nash had the sickes dunk of the day as he spun away from a defender on the sideline, cut to the elbow and then thundered on the noggin of 6'8" Jalen Courtney who'll be playing for Louisiana State University next year. Courtney and company had the last laugh though as Provine started to whittle away at Lincoln's 12 point lead late in the 3rd quarter. Nash's tech opened the door, while 2011 G Jarren Mallory of the Mississippi D-1 Ambassadors kicked it in with 7 triples and 29 total points. Look for Mallory to blow up on the summer circuit with the powerhouse D-1 Ambassadors program.

Below, Dallas Lincoln's man-child, 2011 W 6'8" LeBryan Nash 15 points and 6 rebounds were not enough as they got over run in the 4th quarter by Provine.

Below, Jarren Mallory of Provine showed he was money in the late going as he buried Dallas Lincoln from behind the arc.

Game 5. Brandon (MS) 53 Jackson Callaway 46

Below, Callaway's 2011 G Marquavious "Coupe Deville" Smith left it all on the floor as he dropped 25 points, many of them the scintillating kind but it was not enough as 2011 P 6'9" Tyler Adams scored late and wiped the boards clean in the Brandon comeback. Adams had 16 points and 15 boards.