Pelham Shows Prodigious Ability at TOC

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Torry Pellums at the Dean Dome, during the recent TOC

June 1, 2006 – Last weekend, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area was at the epicenter of eastern basketball, with teams from across the land traveling there to play in the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. One of the teams participating was the Smyrna Stars, coached by Gary Graham. Torye Pelham was on that team, and he put on a show.

Pelham, a 6’6” 200 lb forward originally from Nashville, TN, but attending high school at Central Park High School in Birmingham, AL showed why he is becoming one of the most highly regarded juniors in the Mid-South. In a 65-47 victory over the powerful Chicago Jaguar AAU team, Torye awed on-lookers by scoring 16 points, eight straight during the first half via dunks and filling lanes. Throughout the game, the young guy played above the rim, offensively and defensively.

Reached after the game, Pelham indicated “Louisville, Arizona, UNLV” and Alabama had all “come to our school to watch me play”, where he averaged “about 20 (points), and 10 rebounds” per game. Being a self-admitted “run and jump athlete”, Torye revealed his a necessary point of improvement to be “Probably my shooting”. He then went on to say “I can shoot, but in the game I just don’t shoot that much. I just play my role”.

For Smyrna, that role is to fill lanes, get up and down the floor, rebound, and attack the rim. Graham, the Stars coach for 11 years, has high praise for Torye. “He’s probably the highest jumping kid we’ve seen come out through Georgia (and Alabama, as several of the Stars hail from that state), Dominique Wilkens, and Josh Smith" said Graham. "He may even jump higher, but Josh was 6’9”, that was the difference, and Dominique was 6’7”. But he’s in that category in terms of leaping ability”.

Regarding Torye’s complete skill set, Graham opined “His total game, he’s coming. He’s just a big time athlete, and a great kid. A yes sir, no sir type. He’s a quiet kid, and is coachable. He’s just got unlimited potential".

Stars coach Gary Graham

Graham then shared that Pelham has dealt with several unfortunate personal losses, but has still pressed on. “Right now, we are telling him that he can get what God has for him, and he can be a classic success story, if he works hard” he said. “Right now he’s being shipped around a little bit, but he can overcome all of this”.

While Graham is a self-identified “firm believer in faith”, he and the Star’s as an organization don’t necessarily evangelize. “You have to be careful, because different people have different beliefs” he said. “Without stepping on anybody’s toes, regardless to whom your God is. Whether it’s Mohammed, or what it is, you can overcome whatever, if you work hard, and believe, and not let anybody get you down”.

He went on to say “You’ve got to fight back in life…I believe if they have faith, regardless of what their religion is. Even if they don’t have any, if you fight back, you can overcome these obstacles that you are going to face in life”. That’s sage advice for anybody, regardless of age group.

With a strong figure such as Graham in his life, and the work he is putting in, Pelham will undoubtedly succeed. He even has hoops in his blood, as he revealed “I’m some kin to Vince Carter”. Hey, those hops must be in the genes.

Check back with i95Ballerz.com for more on Torye. Even though he’s starting to garner many looks from colleges, Pellham was quick to suggest, “I’ve just been looking at schools. I’m wide open right now”. There will be many colleges that will want to do something about that.