2018 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi 11th Annual Rumble in the South
The ARC at St. Andrew’s HS
Ridgeland, MS
This years Rumble in the South was one of the best ever. Top teams and talent from MS inside a great facility. The atmosphere was electric and intense. I would like to thank Marc Rowe, Thandi Wade and Rumble staff for the hours and effort that was put into making this Rumble one of the best ever. Let’s look at the checklist to see how this event compares to being a slam dunk event.
- College Coaches seating area. Check. And the Coaches seats were full the entire day. That’s the most amount of D1 Coaches I’ve seen at an event, probably ever, in MS. Big plus for getting the Coaches in and taking care of them.
- Media working area. Check. A media/hospitality room was for provided plenty of space for media to make the deadlines. Media tables set up court side for media to have a great view of the action. They also provided stats for every game.
- Hospitality room. Check. Catering was provided at this event for Coaches and media/
- Program with rosters. Check. Perfect set up in the program.
- Access to players. Check. Players were easily attainable for Coaches and media.
- Game MVP’S. Check.
- Enjoyment factor for the fans. Check and not check. Depends on what you call enjoyable. I would’ve enjoyed being in the stands and the environment if I were not working. I’ve heard some grumbling over not enough room for all the fans. I guess it’s a personal enjoyment factor.
Monday January 15, 2018
#49 MS St. Joseph Catholic Bruins 14-6 (2A Madison, MS) 68
#79 MS Jackson Academy Raiders 8-8 (MAIS 4A Jackson, MS) 66
Two big performances to kick off the Rumble by 2 D1 players. Gabe Watson (6-2 ’18 PG Madison St. Joe 27 pts 2 3’s 5-7 ft 7 reb 5 ast 4 st) and Michael Barber (6-8 ’18 G/F Jackson Academy 25 pts 11-14 ft 14 reb 5 ast 5 blk 2 st) set the tone for the day and put on a show for the near capacity crowd.
St. Joe (traveled 4 miles)
’18’s
Nicholas Bouldin 6-1 SF 6 pts 5 reb 2 st
’19’s
Douglas Watson 5-9 G 13 pts 2 3’s 4 reb 4 ast
’20’s
Grayson Foley 6-6 PF 10 pts 4-4 ft 8 reb
Jackson Academy (traveled 6 miles)
’18’s
TJ Smith 6-0 G 14 pts 5-7 fg 3 3’s 5 reb
’20’s
TJ Montgomery 5-7 PG 4 pts 4 reb 8 ast 2 st
Wenton Walker 6-3 F 10 pts 4-6 fg 2 3’s 5 reb
Henry Lee 5-11 G 8 pts 2 3’s 2 reb
MVP
Gabe Watson
6-2 ’18 PG
Madison St. Joseph
27 pts 2 3’s 5-7 ft 7 reb 5 ast 4 st
#38 MS Murrah Mustangs 7-9 (6A Jackson, MS) 55
#23 MS Cleveland Central Wolves 13-5 (5A Cleveland, MS) 50
Damien “Diggy” Dear (6-2 ’18 G Murrah 27 pts 5-6 ft 7 reb 6 st) made the best of his playing time in front of several D1 and JUCO Coaches. His monster game helped his team get the victory.
Murrah (traveled 10 miles)
’18’s
Xavius Smith 6-3 G 10 pts 4-6 ft 6 reb 3 st
’21’s
Jamaal Esco 5-11 G 11 pts 5-6 fg 3 reb 4 ast 3 st
Cleveland Central (traveled 120 miles)
’18’s
Edward Duvall Jr 6-3 5 reb 5 ast
Peyton Taylor 6-4 PG 10 pts 3 reb
Quintiyus “Q” Causey 5-9 PG 20 pts 4 3’s 5 reb 2 ast
Kamarian “KayJay” Williams 6-8 F 12 pts 4-4 ft 8 reb 2 blk
MVP
Damien “Diggy” Dear
6-2 ’18 G
Murrah
27 pts 5-6 ft 7 reb 6 st
#21 MS Florence Eagles 15-3 (4A Florence, MS) 67
#18 MS Madison-Ridgeland Academy Patriots 18-4 (MAIS 4A Madison, MS) 48
Jaylen Forbes (6-4 ’19 G/F Florence 23 pts, 18 in 2nd half, 9-14 fg 2 3’s 17 reb 5 ast) displayed a very well-rounded game for all the Coaches to see on his way to earning MVP honors in the big win.
Florence (traveled 23 miles)
’19’s
Jaylon Johnson 6-3 F 11 reb 2 ast
Tevis Magee 6-4 F 8 pts 9 reb 4 blk
Wayne Lewis 5-11 10 pts 5-9 fg 5 ast 4 st
’20’s
JaQuon McDonald 6-0 G 19 pts 2 reb 3 ast
MRA (traveled 5 miles)
’18’s
Braxton Eubanks 6-4 F 13 pts 12 reb 2 ast 2 blk
Mario White 6-3 G/F 9 pts 4-6 fg 5 reb
Zach Jones 6-6 F/C 16 pts 5-9 fg 6-6 ft 8 reb 3 blk
MVP
Jaylen Forbes
6-4 ’19 G/F
Florence
23 pts, 18 in 2nd half, 9-14 fg 2 3’s 17 reb 5 ast
#2 MS Canton Tigers 18-2 (5A Canton, MS) 74
#3 MS Olive Branch Conquistadors 14-4 (5A Olive Branch, MS) 68
Damerius “Dee” Wash (6-4 ’18 G Canton 25 pts 2 3’s 13-17 ft 7 reb 6 ast 6 st), Brandon Weatherspoon (6-5 ’19 G Canton 22 pts 3 3’s 6 reb 2 ast 2 st) and Javian Fleming (6-9 ’18 F/C Canton 18 pts 8-14 fg 9 reb 2 blk 2 st) proved to be too much for Olive Branch as Canton won the first of two potential meetings this year. In front of 2,000 plus fans, DJ Jeffries (6-8 ’19 G Olive Branch 16 pts 20 reb 5 ast 7 blk 2 st) had an impressive showing.
Canton (traveled 20 miles)
’18’s
Sebron “SeBreezy” Carter 6-4 F 4 pts 8 reb 2 ast 2 blk
Olive Branch (traveled 193 miles)
’18’s
Kelvin Allen 6-2 G 23 pts, 20 in 2nd half, 3 3’s 4 reb 2 ast 2 st
’19’s
Joee Cooper 6-0 PG 5 pts 3 reb 2 ast 2 st
Shamar Brown 6-5 G/F 7 pts 4 reb
’20’s
Cameron “Mook” Matthews 6-6 F 7 pts 5 reb
Wes Taylor 6-0 PG 8 pts 5 reb 3 ast
MVP
Damerius “Dee” Wash
6-4 ’18 G
Canton
25 pts 2 3’s 13-17 ft 7 reb 6 ast 6 st
#67 MS St. Andrew’s Episcopal Saints 13-5 (3A Ridgeland, MS) 58
#132 MS Riverside Bulldogs 9-8 (2A Avon, MS) 42
Garrison Wade (6-6 ’18 G/F St. Andrew’s 23 pts 9-13 fg 15 reb 2 ast 2 blk) played on arguably the biggest stage of his life and he shined brightly in the limelight. He propelled his team to victory earning MVP honors.
St. Andrew’s (home team)
’19’s
William Harkless 6-2 G 4 pts 7 reb
’20’s
Arness Georgetown 6-4 C 5 pts 7 reb
’21’s
Rashad Bolden 5-10 G 23 pts 10-11 ft 6 reb 6 ast 2 st
Riverside (traveled 106 miles)
’18’s
Dewayne “DJ” Stewart 6-6 G 18 pts, 16 in 2nd half, 5-6 ft 10 reb
Christopher Tyler 5-8 G 10 pts 2 3’s 4 reb 4 ast
MVP
Garrison Wade
6-6 ’18 G/F
St. Andrew’s
23 pts 9-13 fg 15 reb 2 ast 2 blk
#4 MS Columbus Falcons 13-6 (6A Columbus, MS) 49
#9 MS Forest Hill Patriots 15-6 (5A Jackson, MS) 42
Robert Woodard (6-7 ’18 G/F Columbus 22 pts 9-12 fg 13 reb 2 ast) earned MVP honors in the win over Forest Hill.
Columbus (traveled 151 miles)
’18’s
Casey “CJ” Smith 5-8 PG 3 pts 3 reb 4 ast
RJ Deloach 6-2 PG 8 pts 4-4 fg 5 reb 2 ast
Denijay Harris 6-7 G/F 6 pts 4 reb 2 ast
Aaron Johnson 6-3 G 8 pts 2 3’s 5 reb
Forest Hill (traveled 17 miles)
’18’s
Ladarius “Krunchy” Marshall 6-7 F 20 pts 9-13 fg 8 reb 2 st
’19’s
Ken “Marc” Evans 6-4 PG 8 pts 2 3’s 3 reb 2 ast 2 st
’20’s
Keondre Montgomery 6-7 G 6 pts 3 reb 2 st
MVP
Robert Woodard
6-7 ’18 G/F
Columbus
22 pts 9-12 fg 13 reb 2 ast
#12 MS Raymond Rangers 13-6 (4A Raymond, MS) 79
#10 MS Callaway Chargers 13-4 (5A Jackson, MS) 73
Shardarrion “Phat” Allen (6-2 ’18 G Raymond 25 pts 9-13 fg 7-10 ft 13 reb 4 ast 2 st) powered Raymond to the victory over Callaway.
Raymond (traveled 26 miles)
’18’s
Cameron Woodall 6-6 F 9 pts 3-3 fg 4 reb
Jiris Killingsworth 5-9 G 4 pts 4 reb 2 st
Jared Keyes 5-11 G 7 pts 2 reb 4 ast
’19’s
Tradavis Thompson 6-0 9 pts 3-5 fg 6 reb 5 ast
Jakorie Smith 6-5 F 20 pts 8-11 fg 3 3’s 7 reb 2 st
Callaway (traveled 6 miles)
’18’s
James Williams 6-5 F/C 8 pts 5 reb
Deonte Spencer 6-7 F 12 pts 2 3’s 2 reb 2 blk
’20’s
Kendarius Buckley 6-2 G 14 pts 4 3’s 4 reb 3 ast 2 st
Cuwandric Samuel 6-3 G 18 pts 7-8 fg 9 reb 8 ast 3 st
’21’s
Daeshun Ruffin 5-9 PG 19 pts 7-9 ft 4 reb 2 ast 3 st
MVP
Shardarrion “Phat” Allen
6-2 ’18 G
Raymond
25 pts 9-13 fg 7-10 ft 13 reb 4 ast 2 st
Magnolia Hoops 