The Tennessee Turkey Jam brought out some great talent once again this year. The event featured some of the top teams from six different states as well as some of the top players in those respective states.
NEB Media will give a brief recap of what was seen at the Turkey Jam.
Mays High School (Atlanta, GA)
Mays HS brought in a relatively young squad, but was led by an electric senior athlete at the point guard position. Kamiyah Street was very impressive for Mays in both games. Despite losing both games, Street went for 33 points against Memphis Houston and 36 points against Bolingbrook. The dynamic guard showcased high level ball handling skills as well as a natural ability to just score the ball. The word in the gym was that Street is a big time track athlete, but is wanting to run track and play basketball in college. There's no doubt that the uncommitted Street is at least a mid-major guard, and very easily could be a higher level in the right situation.
Houston High School (Memphis, TN)
Houston is a relatively young group as well. Despite the youth, Houston is loaded with Division 1 players. Jayla Hemingway led the way in scoring in both games for Houston, but is also surrounded with a host of D-1 guards in '17 unsigned senior Shaela Gardner as well as '19 Madison Griggs and '20 PG Destiny Wells. UT-Chatt. signee, Rochelle Lee, held her own in the post throughout both games. Houston is one of the top teams out of Memphis this year and could very easily represent the west part of the state at the state tournaments.
Homewood Flossmoor High School (Flossmoor, IL)
Homewood Flossmoor picked up the biggest win of the tournament as they knocked off St. Francis (GA) a night after losing a tough contest to Norcross. The Vikings are a very talented bunch that feature several high major players. Arizona State commit, Eva Rubin, was a huge factor in the big win over St. Francis despite getting in foul trouble the night before against Norcross (and in my opinion, was the difference in that game). Mizzou commit, Nadia Green, played consistently well for the Vikings over the course of two days as she displayed a consistent perimeter shot as well as an ability to score around the basket. I also thought uncommitted guard, Aireal Dickson, played consistently well for the Vikings over the two-day event although she did foul out late in the Norcross game. Memphis commit, Finess Dickson, also played very well.
Morgan Park High School (Chicago, IL)
Morgan Park was another team with a lot of young talent on its roster - only two seniors. Destiny Harden, a West Virginia commit, led the way for Morgan Park. She displayed an athletic ability to score from anywhere on the floor. Her athletic ability mixed in with her capability of shooting the three ball, to go along with her 6'1 stature, makes her very tough to defend at the high school level. Morgan Park also had solid play from '19 Teneil Robertson. Despite being undersized at the guard spot, she displayed an impressive skill set.
St. Francis (Alpharetta, GA)
St. Francis only played one game at the Turkey Jam, but it turned out to be a slug-fest against Homewood Flossmoor. I thought St. Francis got solid play from Western Kentucky commit, Nichel Tampa. Kasi Kushkituah, a Tennessee commit, played well in the paint on both ends of the floor. The battle between Kasi and Eva Rubin was the most intriguing of the tournament. Stanford signee, Maya Dodson, played well defensively, but found herself struggling to get the basketball to fall on the offensive side. Never the less, Dodson was a fun player to watch. '20 F, Amirah Abdur-Rahim, got quality playing time off the bench and did solid despite being the youngest on the floor.
White Station High School (Memphis, TN)
White Station found themselves in an uphill battle against a great Hamilton Heights team the first night, but bounced back the second day and gave Norcross all they wanted. Although White Station dropped both games, the big game experience they received could be beneficial in the long run. White Station had the most consistent play from UT-Martin signee, Zaire Hicks. Hicks was very competitive in both games and more than held her own. '18 Brittni Moore played very well against Norcross en route to an 18 point performance. She showcased her strength to score the ball around the bucket, and also knocking down the 3-ball. White Station also has '17's Taelor Manning, Kyla Harris, Kayla Bradley and Tamia Jones, who are uncommitted seniors that will all play college ball.