Led by juniors, Hillcrest basketball is motivated to succeed this season

Jordan Allen and Jerrod Mackey are two of the leaders on the Hillcrest boys basketball team. They’re also part of the junior class that helps this team go. The Vikings (7-3) have gotten out to a hot start, and that’s largely due to the play of Allen and Mackey.  

They were held to just 17 points combined in Monday night’s 901 Tournament of Champions game at Whitehaven (8-3) in their 67-50 loss. Despite the off night, Allen, Xavier Herron, Mackey and the rest of the Vikings remain optimistic and confident this season.  

"We know our potential now,” Mackey said. “Last year, we didn’t know our potential and we were still learning about each other.” 

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Most of that confidence comes from the chemistry they’ve built as a team this season. Allen, who was one of the top scorers in the city last season, came with an attitude ready to lead his team. He knows he can score and he knows he can facilitate, but he needed to play a bigger role for this year’s team.  

"If we have a bad practice, helping them, don’t put (their) head down,” said Allen. “'Keep your head, it’s one practice. On to the next.'” 

He’s helped give Hillcrest the belief that they can beat anybody. That’s the perfect attitude for playing in the Tournament of Champions.  

When Chan Douglas, the event organizer, brought the tournament to Memphis, he did it with one goal in mind: pit some of the best teams in Memphis against each other. The first two days are pool play games with teams getting seeded based off how they finish there. Bracket play begins Wednesday with the champion crowned Friday.  

"This one right here, we get a chance to showcase our own,” Douglas said. “You know how it is, everybody wants to have the bragging rights, so this is an opportunity for that.” 

Monday night proved to Hillcrest it belongs on a big stage.  

"We’ve been here last year,” Allen said. “We’ve been in some big moments. Now, we’re telling the guys we’re here, we got a name for ourselves. We got to execute every day.” 

The tournament was a way not only to identify the best team in Memphis but to let teams play opponents it might not otherwise in the regular season. Hillcrest is a 2A school, while Whitehaven is a 4A school in basketball.  

The Vikings weren’t supposed to win. Yet they kept it close in the first half. That’s why Hillcrest is confident this season will be a success.  

"We’re really built for this type of pressure,” Herron said. 

Allen, Herron or Mackey could have left Hillcrest for a bigger school in the area, but they wanted to represent the Vikings. Now, they choice is paying off. Win or lose, the Vikings know they aren’t far behind where they want to be.  

As region play begins in January, Hillcrest can learn from Monday’s game to prepare for the toughest part of the season. They are ready for the big stage.  

"We played a talented Whitehaven team and they played harder than we did,” Allen said. “If we just play harder, play together, we’re going to be great.” 

Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.