Though Nickalai Could Not Miss, Team Mookie 17u Falls Friday

5/23/25: Kameron Bowers Kameron Bowers 6'0" | PG West Creek | 2026 State TN played extremely unselfishly in the game’s opening minutes. Also, Bowers trapped at the wing and his pressure forced an errant pass by the Stars. It ended in a turnover. Team Mookie led 18-16 at that early point. Highly efficient. Bowers and Bradford defended in unison and cleverly doubled the ball a few times in the first quarter.

5/23/25: Wild and dangerous in the open floor. Dorion is a wonderful athlete on the run. In the weekend’s first half Dorion took many shots in the halfcourt, some more promising than others. With both teams sizzling off of the blocks every miss was amplified. Bowen did make a nice fastbreak layup and converted his two free throws later. His three-pointers did not fall. Really poor shot selection.

5/23/25: Anderson plays with such confidence offensively. He truly looks like a double-figure scorer at the D1 level someday. Team recruit differently than they used to and they seemingly want 22-year olds over 19-year olds. Still, Nickalai might just be too skilled offensively for D1 programs to pass up. Beautiful footwork to create space in the mid-range. Helped as a defensive rebounder. Anderson was bullied once by a stronger opponent. He might see more of that at the college level if he does not continue to bulk up. Great spurt scoring when Team Mookie desperately needed anything to keep within shouting distance of the Stars. Defensively, Nickalai came a long, long way in the last six months. He can really guard the arc even when faced with quick guards. That enables him to play exclusively on the wing regardless of the opponent’s formation.

5/23/25: His first bucket was an example of him operating decisively along the baseline. Peyton scored smoothly on a baseline OB play. Applegate missed both of his first two free throws. A 3 seconds later by the Stars made that empty trip a little more painful. Applegate was helpful as a defensive rebounder. Peyton infused his game with toughness in the last year. Unafraid of contact.

5/23/25: BJ is a guy you might be unfamiliar with. He moved to Chattanooga from Nebraska before last season to train and compete with Hamilton Heights Christian Academy. This is Bradford’s first season with Team Mookie and by all accounts it is a great one. Bradford was yanked for an ill-advised dribble midway through the second quarter. He tried to carve up a dude on the run. Even if he did it was a 1-on-3 essentially, so the outcome was likely going to be poor. He did not get by the first man and the turnover quickly came back into Team Mookie’s face. The error was just one play. In the third quarter Bradford missed TWO layups. Considering the deficit Mookie faced at that time the misses really stung. Selfish, at times.

5/23/25: Missed a few layups in the opening quarter. Bolden started at the “5” like he did most of last year. Team Mookie 17u is a team with a lot of guards and wings, but Bolden projects as a 3/4 in college. He did stay away from the basket offensively until the team fed with an oop.

5/23/25: An adept ball-handler Kayin Mitchell Kayin Mitchell 6'3" | PG Whitehaven | 2026 State TN was a non-factor through the first 12 minutes. He forced one turnover defending the ball. Mitchell was blocked in tight. That was not rare in that the Stars blocked about 5-6 shots of Team Mookie’s in the first half alone. Kayin’s greatest play came midway through the third as he perfectly utilized a high screen, crossed between his legs fluidly slashing to the lane. Finished an and-1. Smooth! Committed defensively the entire game. Elite first-step quickness.

5/23/25: The game was a little fast for him. Needs to be more physical as a rebounder. Did not get off the floor as fast as the Star’s frontline. As a passer, Ali did fine. The experience this summer will help him acclimate to the faster speed of play.