Team Mookie 16u and 17u Make Statements in K.C.

Andrew Force May 27, 2024 @ 11:37 AM

PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2449228' first='Kevin' last='Die'']   Monday morning Team Mookie 17u Assistant Coach Will Harris shared some time elaborating on the individual weekend performances.   "We went 3-1 this weekend," said Coach Harris. Our loss to Alabama Fusion was 68-64. They also finished 11-1 in our pool, so we are tied for first place."   The two teams are merely split by a tie-breaker determiner.   "They will be ahead of us (head-to-head tiebreak)."   Did Team Mookie 17u run out the same starting 5 each game?   "We rotated our starters a little bit," said Coach Harris. "We probably had three different starting lineups in the four games. [player_tooltip player_id='1578683' first='Clay' last='Payne'] started for us all four games. He probably averaged 16-17 ppg this weekend and 8-9 rebounds. He had a game with 13 rebounds and a game with 10 rebounds."   Former <a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/05/introducing-the-prephoopstn-combine-2/">PrepHoopsTN Combine</a> Defensive MVP Payne is one of the climbers in the forthcoming 2025 rankings.   "He is very efficient from the field, probably shot 70% from the field. Today he was 7-9 from the floor. He is probably a Top 20 guy in the state, if I had to guess."   "With us he is probably a four, sometimes we play him out of position at the "5". At the next level he is probably a "3" or a "4."   Coach Harris continued.   "[player_tooltip player_id='1259398' first='Michael' last='Nwoye'] started two of our games. He goes to Hume-Fogg. He is an energy guy for us. He probably averaged 5-6 points and 5-6 rebounds per game. He is really a glue guy for us on both ends and he plays the "4" or the "5"."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1549166' first='Collin' last='O'Neal'], he started all four games for us this weekend. His biggest game was against Alabama Fusion. He had 20 points. Probably the highest ceiling of anyone on our team. Played well in transition. Dunked the ball in traffic. Has received a lot of mid-major interest in the last week, or so. He is probably a Top 10 guy in the state right now."   "His high school teammate, [player_tooltip player_id='2449228' first='Kevin' last='Die''] started two games for us this weekend. He was previously a 6th man for us, but we moved him into the starting lineup because he was playing so well for us the last 4-5 games. Steady ball-handler. Makes good decisions with the rock. High basketball I.Q."   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/05/introducing-the-prephoopstn-combine-2/">Introducing the @PrepHoopsTN Combine</a>   "[player_tooltip player_id='1318557' first='Tylan' last='Lewis'], I think he started all four games for us this weekend. He probably averaged around 10 ppg, 4-5 rpg. He puts a lot of pressure on the rim. Good, strong athlete. He is also usually a pretty good decision-maker with the ball."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1259392' first='Jeremy' last='Jackson Jr.'] started a couple of games for us and Jaiden Claybrooks. I think Jeremy started three games for us. He normally defends the other team's best guard or wing player. Good rebounder in traffic for a guard. Good finishing around the rim. Above average mid-range. Jaiden is kind of our Swiss-army knife. Sometimes we play him on the wing. Sometimes we play him as more of a power forward."   Lewis is such a strong perimeter defender, arguably the best in the entire state, so why does Jackson Jr. get the assignment?   "He is a little bit bigger, at times more physical than Tylan. He is a little more versatile defender. Both are elite."   Defense is a staple for Team Mookie 17u. AAU basketball is not traditionally known for defense.   "Our whole roster, top to bottom, is bought in to playing good team defense. Everyone guards their yard, and we have multiple guys that can guard multiple positions."

PICTURED: Kevin Die’ Kevin Die’ 5'10" | PG M.B.A. | 2025 State TN