Can Center Hill fix its offensive woes?
Around this time a year ago, Center Hill was 13-0, with key wins over Knoxville Bearden and Whitehaven. Both of those teams faced off in the TSSAA Class AAA Boys’ state tournament semifinal round, with the Bulldogs beating the Tigers…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingAround this time a year ago, Center Hill was 13-0, with key wins over Knoxville Bearden and Whitehaven.
Both of those teams faced off in the TSSAA Class AAA Boys’ state tournament semifinal round, with the Bulldogs beating the Tigers 76-60 before defeating then three-time defending Class AAA state champion Memphis East in the title game.
The two wins over Knoxville Bearden and Whitehaven put the Mustangs on the map as one of the best teams in Mississippi and in the Mid-South.
“We scheduled those teams last year to prove who we were and to show people what type of team we had and that we can compete for a state championship,” Mealer said. “
Putting those two teams on the schedule last year worked because Mealer’s group wasn’t intimidated by Olive Branch, a team Center Hill beat in the 1-5A District Championship game and in the MHSAA 5A Boys’ state title game.
Last season’s Mustangs team was led by guards Calvin Temple, Kenneth Lewis, Cameron Goodwin and KevinHenry. Those were players Mealer didn’t have to fuss at a lot. It hardly happened. Mealer didn’t have trouble out of a senior class that wanted to win and didn’t care who led the team in scoring.
Fast forward a season later, those four guards are gone, and the backcourt is filled with inexperienced guards who are learning on the fly about what it takes to win. While the new faces are learning, the losses are starting to pile up.
Center Hill has already lost four games, with zero signature wins before Christmas, compared to only three losses totaled a season ago.
The Mustangs lost to Tupelo to start the season. Last season, Center Hill outscored the Golden Wave 115-84 in their two meetings. The Mustangs lost to Webb School in the Lighthouse Classic. Center Hill then lost to Houston and Memphis East in back-to-back games at home, something that hasn’t happened in two years.
“I came back this year and I scheduled even harder than last year because you’re going to get everyone’s best shot because you’re a state champion,” Mealer said.
So far in the 2019 season, senior forward Decorian Payton and junior wing Kaeden Laws have carried the offensive load. It was more evident in Monday night’s 65-51 loss to the road Mustangs. Payton notched his 11th double-double in 13 games (24 points and 16 rebounds) and Laws finished the night with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
But it was Payton who kept the team afloat for the entire first half before Laws scored 14 points in the third quarter to help the Mustangs grab a 42-34 lead before squandering it away. Payton scored 14 of the team’s 20 first-half points, while his teammates couldn’t buy a basket in 32 minutes of action.
After the game, Payton had his head down as he was walking out of the locker room. He seemed drained after putting up another double-double, something that has become the norm for him this season. Payton seemed deflated with so many more tough games ahead. He was speechless as to why this team can’t get a signature win, whereas a year ago, that goal wasn’t far-fetched.
Laws and Payton were the only two players to score in double figures Monday night. Senior guards Jacquez Hardin (23 points against Southaven, 14 against the Houston Mustangs and 10 against Oxford) and Braxton Morris (14 points against the Feet) and junior guard Zandon Haralson (13 against Collierville and 12 against Houston) didn’t score a single point. Sophomore guard Jhamal Ross scored just one point. Guard DeShun Dunn had 11 against the Chargers, but managed just five points Monday night.
“The difference right now between last year’s guards and this year’s guards is two things. Number one, they’re mentally tougher,” Mealer said. “When our backs were against the wall, you got a guy like Calvin Temple, and Kenneth Lewis and Kevin Henry who said ‘Naw, we’re going to push back. You’re going to punch us, we are going to punch you back.’”
Mealer has gotten production out of his backcourt, but for the 13 games played so far, not on a consistent basis. With league play right around the corner, Mealer and his staff have to figure out what will it take to get this team on track.
“Our guards get punched and they don’t punch back,” Mealer said. “We are not where we need to be mentally early on in the season guard play wise. Secondly, last year’s guards could score the ball. I mean, they wanted the big shot. It seems like we pass up big shot after big shot to get somebody else to take the shot.
“It’s a growing process. It has to get better in the learning curve quickly. We can’t lick our wounds. We got Ridgeway this Friday night. We got Brentwood Academy after that. We potentially could play Briarcrest after that. Then, we come play White Station. It doesn’t get any easier. So, we got to grow up and we got to grow up quickly.”