Music City MLK Classic Top Players (Saturday)
In the tip-off, Montgomery Bell Academy snatched victory from a front-running Scott County (KY) outfit.
The second contest featured Mountain Mission (VA) against Nashville’s second best prep player in James Wiseman. Mountain Mission (VA) slowly tortured the scrappy Ensworth men. With patient, balanced offensive execution the mission men established a comfortable 24-12 halftime score.
Poor free throw shooting from Mountain Mission (14-25) created a faint opportunity for comeback. Though Ensworth found some energy from their defensive pressure the third and fourth quarters were draws. Unfortunately for the Nashvillians Mountain Mission equaled their output in the second half and the 12-point deficit remained.
Mountain Mission won 55-43.
2018 G Isaac Mushila (Mountain Mission)
Isaac Mushila is a wonderful defender that comfortably maneuvered through a scrappy, tenacious Ensworth backcourt. Mushila has wonderful size at 6-foot-5 to accompany typical guard agility. His calmness in traffic allowed him to carve up the defense repeatedly. In his first career start, Mushila finished with three steals, five turnovers, 10 rebounds, and 15 points.
2018 C Mohamed Sylla (Mountain Mission)
Sylla is a springy shot-blocker. He plays like Moses Kingsley (Arkansas) by situating his lengthy body between the attacker and the basket and simply elongating vertically. His strength is apparent when the lay-ups try to creep over his outstretched hands. He has good balance, but would be better served with improved speed in the open floor.
2019 F James Wiseman (Ensworth)
It was a quiet afternoon from James Wiseman. The sophomore finished with 13 points, 0 rebounds on 5-9 shooting.
His skills and soft touch are obvious. He hit a couple mid-range pops that hinted at a promising future. Still, Wiseman fades from the occasional game. His touches should be three times higher against elite opponents like Mountain Mission. He is very capable on the defensive end. His skill set will be more apparent when he plays with better outside shooters. Ensworth was unable to stretch the defense out, allowing Mountain Mission to defend Wiseman with a man and a half.
2019 WG Michael Moreno (Scott County)
A true physical specimen, Michael Moreno was hitting from deep. The sophomore buried three three-pointers. Still he was deeply frustrated with the loss.
“We have had our ups and downs this year, as you can see,” said Moreno. “We had a significant lead out there and we couldn’t play hard down the stretch and take care of the ball.”
Moreno scored 23 points, but clearly Moreno craves more than individual statistics.
2018 C Florent Thamba (Mountain Mission)
A relentless shotblocker, Florent Thamba destroyed anything in his region. In the fourth quarter, as Ensworth attempted to comeback, Thamba blocked consecutive shots. His stance when blocking out is appropriately wide. He clearly puts time in the weight room. Offensively, he is still developing go-to moves and trying to find better touch from the free throw line.