Bruce Guy, Jr. '19 Recruiting Profile

I am Bruce Guy, Jr. I was born in Cordova, Tennessee and my dad, Bruce Guy, taught me the game of basketball from a very young age. I have played basketball on a competitive basis since age 4 in church league through my first two years in college.  I have two years of eligibility left due to the pandemic and I am currently enrolled in The University of Memphis. I am not a five-star player, but I know how to guard and score on all players. My parents did not have the money as educators to take me to all the camps and elite events nor can they afford to send me to prestigious colleges or universities, yet I have played for some of the best middle and high schools, Amateur Athlete Union, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Alabama Community College Conference basketball teams. I have never questioned a coach's decision, but I have often answered their calls when a team needed a cleanup guy or role player. 

The funny thing is I feel like coaches are more focused on players who have the tweets, followers, rankings, edited highlights, and sponsors pushing their agenda's. I am just a basketball player who wants to be given another opportunity to play ball on the Division I level. I promised my parents I would go to college and graduate, yet I also set a goal for myself to be a Division I athlete. I prepared for college by earning a 23 on the ACT, graduating with a 3.0 GPA, and opening my recruitment to the colleges who were interested in me. I have discovered that not all coaches have had my best interest at heart, but I know that's life.  I want a coach to choose and believe in me, Bruce Guy.  I want a coach who can tell me what I need to work on, how I can be more effective to the team and speak knowledge into my life.  It's tough for me as an African American male and even harder as an unranked athlete. During the pandemic, my former college, The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, decided not to participate in college basketball because of Covid-19. So, my teammates and I just worked out, practiced on our craft, completed our online assignments, and mixed and mingled with friends. During this period, I really missed the game and several colleges and community colleges reached out to me to come play for them while my team was not playing. Once, I did, I was not prepared for the mental cultural shock of being in the deep south and living in a rural area. Cordova is near Memphis, Tennessee and I guess you can say I am a city guy. I have visited several states and even been to the Caribbean Islands on Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruises, but this was totally different. Basically, I was in an environment that I choose, and I was officially out of the transfer portal. Even though I have never been out worked and I am not afraid of the challenge, I am human, I have made some mistakes in my life, and I am maturing into a young man who is still a student athlete who wants to complete his dreams and goals in life. I desire to be given the chance to prove I can be an invaluable player. I want my 78-year-old grandfather to be honored to see his grandson play again since he's not into traveling anymore. I have struggled emotionally with my mother battling cancer and with the ups and downs of being a college student athlete as the game of basketball changed its focus more on who can shoot the three. I cannot give up on the game I love, so I will praise God for my family and the skills God has given me because without Him and my family I would not be who I am today. 

22 years' old Bruce Guy is an athletic young man who loves the game of basketball, wants to be given a platform to play basketball on and support his teammates. I worked fulltime all summer at Amazon and took six credit hours online in Financial Accounting and Elementary Calculus. Currently, I am enrolled in 12 online credit hours at The University of Memphis, and I am still working at Amazon until I can find a team to play with. I told you, I am not a quitter, I have goals, and I stick with the decisions I make. Three of my online credit hours in Probability and Statistics/NonCalculus will be complete on October 7, 2022, and the other 9 hours will end on December 8, 2022. The question is, will you be the coach who will believe in me now and give me an opportunity to display my skills, perfect my craft and develop new ones? If not, coach I understand your decision, but I must keep trying until I can find a coach who accepts me and gives me a chance to make buckets for his college or university.

When you love the game of basketball you can't quit,

Bruce Chuka Vidal Guy, Jr.

[email protected]

2005 Milbrey Street

Cordova, TN 38016

901-653-5179