NASHVILLE, TN — The Music City Classic is underway and the schedule has a number of intriguing games and players on the docket. Here are the players and teams that stood out on Saturday evening. 

St. John’s (DC): It is hard to nail down just one player and that’s probably how the team from the nation’s capitol likes it. The team’s defense was outstanding and one of the best we’ve seen from a club this high school season. They controlled Devon Dotson, a super scorer from the class of 2018, and didn’t allow him to hit a shot in the second half. It was an impressive feat. Senior Reese Mona lead the way with 14 points. Junior Qwanzi Samuels, Jr. is an intriguing forward at 6-foot-7. Emanuel Hylton, also a junior, made plays all over the floor. Junior forward Richard Njoku was great on the glass. Overall, it was a quality team win for St. John’s. 

Flo Thamba, C, Mountain Mission (VA), 2018: Easily the biggest revelation of the day. The 6-foo-10 big man protected the rim on the defensive end and completely neutralized 5-star big man James Wiseman on the glass. Thamba is a load on the low blocks and should project to be a 260-pound college five man. 

Isaac Mushila, SF, Mountain Mission (VA), 2018: The 6-foot-6 wing used every inch of his long frame to rack up 15 points and 10 rebounds in the easy win over Ensworth. He worked the passing lanes well and collected three steals and sparked several transition buckets for Mountain Mission. He’s a bit wild but sometimes that works. In this game, it worked very well. He was the hardest player to guard because of the mixture of size, length and athleticism. 

Michael Moreno, PF, Scott County (KY), 2019: Just a sophomore, Moreno played older than his grade. The 6-foot-7 forward is a great pick and pop four man and drilled three of four shots from behind the three-point line. He finished with a game-high 23 points (10-17 FG) and six rebounds. According to Scott County coaches, Oklahoma State has offered and is being recruited by Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati and Xavier. 

James Wiseman, PF/C, Ensworth (TN), 2019: A lack of touches limited his effectiveness on the offensive end. So did playing against the massive Thamba. Wiseman was great on the defensive end as a shot-blocker. Most glaring stat from this game? Zero rebounds. His length is his best physical trait. Few guys are longer than him in the 2019 class nationally. Wiseman is every bit the prospect and the production will come in time.

Thomas Carr, SG, Montgomery Bell (TN), 2018: The 6-foot-5 guard held spark an amazing fourth quarter comeback for MBA. Down by 11 with less than three minutes to play, Carr helped his team hit four three-pointers and five of their last six shots to claim a 64-63 win over Scott County. Carr shot very well from the perimeter (4-8 from 3) and finished with 20 points. He also ripped down five rebounds. A quality student and capable scorer, Carr was a nice revelation for us here. He’s a prospect worth the attention from the academic schools. 

Bryce Long, CG, Scott County (KY), 2019: A pretty productive day for the youngster. Long finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a couple of steals in a tough one-point loss. Long plays with swagger and purpose. He’s a good shooter off the bounce and catch. He’s more of a scorer than a passer at this point. There is a good understanding of how to play for a sophomore. He has the tools that have served players like him well at our HoopSeen travel team events over the years. 

Cooper Robb, CG, Scott County (KY), 2018: We saw glimpses of good things to come from Robb dating back to his time with the Tennessee Bobcats at the Best of the South. Robb scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists. He’s a good mid-range jump shooter. Don’t be surprised to see Robb become a priority prospect for teams in the Ohio Valley and Atlantic Sun Conferences come April and July. 

Devon Dotson, CG, Providence Day (NC), 2018: It was the tale of two halves for the highly touted junior from Charlotte. The first half against St. John’s, Dotson was the best player on the floor. He scored with power and his pull-up jumper was dialed in. He scored 15 of his points in the first 16 minutes. Then the second half came and so did the cold streak. Dotson didn’t hit a shot the entire second half and never found his rhythm.