It all started four years ago at the Houston Levee community center.
The goal was to restore the Memphis basketball pro-am scene to the prominence it had during the heights of the Bluff City Classic until that ended in 2015. Four years since the debut of the Shelby County pro-am, the Memphis summer league continues to trend up.
Now in its fourth year, the Shelby County Pro-Am League will be moving to Crosstown High School; last year’s was at Orange Mound Community Center.
“We partnered with Crosstown to put (the pro-am) in a nice central location,” co-founder Nick Tuggle said. “The pro-am is growing good. It’s right at where we want it to be. We’ve just been continuing to spread the word and make that it’s visible to everybody.”
The pro-am league will begin action June 18. The eight-team league will feature two games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 6:30 p.m., until Aug. 15.
Many of the city’s most prominent basketball players of the past two decades are expected to participate. Former University of Memphis standouts Dedric Lawson, Chris Crawford and Adonis Thomas headline the list. Former Melrose and Louisville guard Chris Jones is also expected to play.
“We want to make sure we have our heavy hitters out,” Tuggle said. “We want to give the fans a real good experience.”
Last summer saw an increase in NBA players participating, and that’s likely to continue. Lausanne Collegiate School star and current Philadelphia 76ers guard Cameron Payne played last summer. Former Grizzlies David Roddy and Kennedy Chandler made appearances.
Playing in the local pro-am is something more players on the Grizzlies have expressed interest in doing this summer. NBA veteran and Mitchell High grad Thaddeus Young is also expected to “drop by” this summer.
“With Memphis being underserved, a lot of these fans don’t get a chance to catch these Grizzlies games or see them in person,” Tuggle said. “It’s an opportunity (for Grizzlies players) to support the community and play some high-level basketball in a fun atmosphere.”
Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway has been no stranger to the pro-am. The summer runs have served as an opportunity for some of the Tigers to play together in a game-like environment during the offseason.
The Tigers have had a lot of turnover, with most of their roster from last season gone. It’s Tuggle’s hope that the pro-am can continue to be a bridge for those players to learn how to play with one another.
Even beyond Tigers players, Memphis natives Billy Richmond (signed with Arkansas) and Curtis Givens III (LSU) played last summer.
“We want to showcase the young talent and get them out there as well,” Tuggle said.
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What makes pro-am basketball stand out is not only the chance to see local talent all playing in one gym, but it puts the fans up close and personal. Whether it was the Houston Levee Community Center or Orange Mound location, fans and player interactions have been one of the highlights of the event.
The location may be changing, but the energy in the building isn’t expected to.
“It’s bigger but still small enough to give you that intimate basketball type of feeling,” Tuggle said. “You kind of get that Rucker Park type of feel.”
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.