Team Preview: Mount St. Mary (4A)
In this article:
Mount St. Mary coach Brandon Jackson said the Rockets will rely on heavy utilization of the sophomore tandem of Diante Palmer Diante Palmer 6'0" | PG El Reno | 2023 State OK and CJ Johnson CJ Johnson 5'11" | PG…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingMount St. Mary coach Brandon Jackson said the Rockets will rely on heavy utilization of the sophomore tandem of Diante Palmer Diante Palmer 6'0" | PG El Reno | 2023 State OK and CJ Johnson CJ Johnson 5'11" | PG Edmond Santa Fe | 2023 State OK .
Jackson had high praise for both.
“Those two are going to be our two guys with the ball in their hands,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be their show.”
Palmer averaged 8 points-a-night as a freshman. Jackson said he wants to see Palmer double that count this year.
“Diante, he is a three-man, transferring in to like that point guard, combo-guard situation. All scrimmage season, we had him at the one,” Jackson said. “CJ played football, so we didn’t have him.”
Jackson said that Palmer’s offensive skill-set is coming together.
“Truthfully, I think [Palmer] in the 2023 class is the most athletic at 6-foot,” Jackson said. “He literally plays above the rim, blocking shots, literally guard one-through-five for us.
Offensively, he’s forming into a great player, really good at the mid-range, really great at finishing at the rim and very explosive,” Jackson said.
Johnson, meanwhile, is an offensive play-making machine.
“CJ is the key to our engine, he’s the engine to our car. . . he just physically makes plays for others,” Jackson said. “He literally makes the game easier for everybody else.
“He can be the most impactful player on the court for 32 minutes and not take a shot, or he can be the most impactful player taking 12 shots,” Jackson said.
Third-in-command is senior forward Luke Harstad, the Swiss army knife behind the Rockets’ game. The third-year starter is Mount St. Mary’s returning scorer from 2020.
“Luke averaged 15 last year,” Jackson said, “great player, strong, physical. . . can shoot the three, averaged eight rebounds.”
Jackson also raved about Harstad’s shooting skills.
Junior Robert Kalsu and senior Karsten Logan round out the Rockets’ five. Kalsu squeezed into double-digit scoring as a sophomore sixth-man in 2020.
“[Kalsu] literally puts pressure on the defense just attacking the rim,” Jackson said. “He’s gonna be a big impact this year.”
Logan, a third-year starter, will be the defensive anchor for Mount St. Mary, Jackson said.
“[Logan] is a point guard, but he sets the tone on defense,” Jackson said, “and he’s just a playmaker.”
Jackson said that though his team is small, it has a knack for defense, and defensive rebounding could be the Rockets’ ticket to the State Tournament.
“I think we’re a really good defensive team. . . if we can rebound the ball and get out in transition,” Jackson said, “we’ll put a lot of pressure on teams.”