2021 class: 5 seniors who have to play well for their teams

<p>This is a continuation on the 2021 class on players who have to play well for their teams in 2020, taking a look at five important players in private schools.</p> <p><strong>Reese</strong> <strong>McMullen</strong>, <strong>Christian</strong> <strong>Brothers</strong>: The Purple Wave were one game away from the Division II-AA state title game last season. Heading into 2020, Christian Brothers will have one of the best backcourts in the league. McMullen works great alongside junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="996878" first="Chandler" last="Jackson"] because of his ability to score, which will take pressure off of Jackson to carry the offensive load. McMullen is known for his 3-point shooting. The shots will need to fall on most nights if the Purple Wave are hopeful to get back to Nashville.</p> <p><strong>Harrison</strong> <strong>Kelly</strong>, <strong>Christian</strong> <strong>Brothers</strong>: Kelly is another offensive weapon the Purple Wave will have in 2020. The 6-1 shooting guard gives the team the ability to stretch the floor and forces opponents to think twice about sending double teams to Jackson. Kelly or McMullen will be open whenever Jackson has to come off the basketball. Kelly is a reliable option for Christian Brothers. He’s coming off a good season, averaging 10 points per game.</p> <p><strong>Alex</strong> <strong>Anderson</strong>, <strong>Tipton</strong>-<strong>Rosemark</strong> <strong>Academy</strong>: Anderson saw a lot of double teams last season and still managed to average 24 points, 15 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. In his final season at the high school level, the Rebels will need him to duplicate his junior season. If Anderson has developed a consistent jump shot, then he will even more difficult to guard and TRA will be one of the top three teams in a Division II-A league that’s not expected to be loaded with a lot of quality teams.</p> <p><strong>Josh</strong> <strong>Ward</strong>, <strong>FACS</strong>: The Crusaders losing [player_tooltip player_id="954851" first="Jayden" last="Williams"] will hurt, meaning Ward will need to step his game up even more. The 6-1 guard doesn’t have the broad shoulders like Williams. He’s not expected to play in the front court and crash the boards like Williams, but Ward should use his offensive skills to make up for his physical frame. He needs to improve on his free throw shooting - made only 78 percent of his attempts. Ward needs to make over 50 percent of his shots from the field.</p> <p>He came close with 48 percent shooting from the field. Ward’s scoring average of 10.2 points per game from last season will be needed in 2020 if FACS wants another shot at a Division II-A state title.</p> <p><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Patrick</strong> <strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Smith</strong> <strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Jr</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">., </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Goodpasture</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">: Smith’s production will be very important in 2020 just as it was last season. He will slightly need to increase his scoring production from last season (18 points, 4.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds) to 23 points per game. Smith will be playing alongside [player_tooltip player_id="992516" first="Isaiah" last="West"], who should be one of the most exciting players to watch in DII-A, but Smith’s play will dictate how well the program performs and how far the team goes.</span></p>