Mount Carmel vs St. Frances Standout Prospects

In a rare, pre-Thanksgiving BCL matchup between juggernaut programs, Mount Carmel (4-0) played host to St. Frances (3-1) on Tuesday evening. The two came into the contest with 3-0 records, but would use this game as an early litmus test for what each have to improve on before embarking on tough December schedules.   Mount Carmel would go on to win by a final score of 62-49, remaining undefeated heading into this weekend's Mayhem on Military event where they'll face two quality opponents in DeMatha and St. Andrew's.   Here are the prospects from last night's game that caught my eye.    It was a big night for the Holy Cross pledge last night for multiple reasons. The first being that the Cougars are still without the services of their starting point guard Samartine Hill, which means Wilson's looked upon to be the primary playmaker or initiator on the ball. While he's at his best playing alongside paint-touching guards such as Hill, Wilson has shown steady growth over the last month while scoring at an efficient clip, becoming more aware of his gravity on drives to open others around the floor. His anticipation, decision-making, and accuracy on deliveries off the live dribble has improved as has his leadership early this season as he steps in as the true alpha of this Mount Carmel team. He led his group with 18 points and a handful of key plays down the stretch to secure the win.     Jones and his backcourt mate, [player_tooltip player_id='2878470' first='Carter' last='Fisk'], nearly accounted for every point that the Panther scored. The 6-foot southpaw lead guard scored 23 points and consistently created his own opportunities getting downhill with his left hand. Jones has a quick trigger and good pre-catch footwork coming off pindowns and on multiple occasions, made his defender pay for being a second late on the closeout. Although he struggled from the charity stripe for a scorer of his standard, Jones did a nice job of slithering his way to the rim and jumping into the chest of opposing defenders to draw the referee's whistle.     It was Alexander's first taste of high-level BCL basketball and there were highs and lows from his performance. The impressive part of his showing was the fact that he seemed to come up huge in key moments to either further Mount Carmel's momentum or halt a St. Frances run. Alexander had a quick trigger off the catch whether it was from three or in the mid-range. He struggled to get his feet under him on jumpers after attacking aggressive closeouts, but that should round out as he adjusts to the speed and the pressure of the league. There were a few defensive possessions where he utilized active hands on drives as the stunt man to cause fumbles. He was decent at handling pressure, but struggled when traps came his way on ball screens. All in all, I walked away impressed with Alexander's ability to work through adversity in a game of that magnitude. He doesn't let his highs get to his head or allow the lows to impact his effort on ensuing possessions. He followed Wilson with 12 points.     Fisk got off to a hot start from the jump in this one to keep St. Frances close throughout the first half. He scored the team's first 10 points and would go on to finish with 21 for the game and he and Jones accounted for 44 of the team's 49. Fisk was effective working off the bounce in isolations where he tapped into his change-of-pace attack. He's shifty and plays with great balance in getting to his spots whether it be in the mid-range or at the rim absorbing contact. The threat of his three-ball demands his defender's attention beyond the arc, so you mix in his dynamic burst off the dribble and you have a potent scoring guard who should post some impressive numbers this season. Fisk plans on reclassing and doing a post-grad prep year, which should spike his recruitment and interest once he's officially in the 2027 class.     Mancho was the definition of an anchor as he owned the paint last night for the Cougars. St. Frances' frontline didn't have anyone who could matchup pound-for-pound with the bruising junior and he made that known on both ends. He dictated space and refused to be moved out of position. On high ball screens, Mancho was aggressively hedging with high hands and forcing the ball handler into traps, which resulted in turnovers on more than one occasion for himself to have a free runway for two-handed dunks. As usual, he was an effective communicator making all actions known from the back line, he ripped down rebounds at their peak, and did a nice job of finishing around the rim with some improved footwork. Mancho scored 10 points, but impacted the box score in many other ways in the winning effort.     I thought Williams played a critical role off the bench after he settled into the intense environment. Plenty of St. Frances players were trying to get into his head after he had a negative play here or there, but Williams stayed focused and played within himself, which resulted in an important fourth quarter stretch to create separation. When Williams is playing with confidence and making himself available in windows around the perimeter for driving guards like last night, he can knock down momentum-changing three's. Once he saw a couple drop, it fueled his effort defensively as the blossoming sophomore made a huge stop and stripped the ball free after moving his feet and taking on contact. Williams finished the showing with eight points.

In a rare, pre-Thanksgiving BCL matchup between juggernaut programs, Mount Carmel (4-0) played host to St. Frances (3-1) on Tuesday evening. The two came into the contest with 3-0 records, but would use this game as an early litmus test for what each have to improve on before embarking on tough December schedules.