Off-season Metro Nashville Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hume School opened in 1855, the first of Nashville's still-existing schools. Pearl opened in 1883. Both are now named slightly differently as Hume-Fogg and Pearl-Cohn respectively. Metro Nashville owns a proud tradition of athletics broadly and basketball specifically. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next winter that tradition continues.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Which players are certain to be vital to their team's success?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">2022-2023 Maplewood Roster</span> (Starters*)<br>#1 Monzo Sweeney* (2023)<br>#2 [player_tooltip player_id='1776234' first='Chris' last='Williams'] (2024)<br>#3 TJ Card (2023)<br>#5 Donte Burchette (2025)<br>#12 Cheese McClain (2024)<br>#20 James Davis (2026)<br>#23 Jason Wiseman (2023)<br>#33 Antonio Joyner (2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maplewood lost five of their top six scorers, including Monzo Sweeney (26.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1776234' first='Chris' last='Williams']</strong> is the leading returner after his 13.5 ppg season. After that it will be wide open to anyone in the program. <strong>Donte Burchette</strong>, <strong>James Davis</strong>, <strong>Cheese McClain</strong> all played sparingly last winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1776234' first='Chris' last='Williams'] </strong>plays with speed. When he finds a small opening it becomes a big problem for the defense. Williams hits the hole like a running back. Williams does incorporate some elite dribbling, like a behind-the-back while going full speed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">2022-2023 Hume-Fogg Roster</span> (Starters*)<br>#3 Grant McConnell* (2023)<br>#4 [player_tooltip player_id='2276554' first='Miles' last='Rucker'] (2025)<br>#5 Patrick Morgan (2024)<br>#12 [player_tooltip player_id='1259398' first='Michael' last='Nwoye']* (2025)<br>#23 Alonzo Rhodes* (2025)<br>#24 Bentley Polk* (2023)<br>#25 *<br>#32 RJ Dunlap (2025)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lean and lithe, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1259398' first='Michael' last='Nwoye']</strong> is clearly a college prospect on sight. Standing 6-foot-5+, Nwoye hovers under the bucket and operates smoothly enough. His velvety jumper will sneak up on you. Nwoye can improve a lot when finishing with his left hand though.<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline">2022-2023 MLK Roster</span> (Starters*)<br>#10 [player_tooltip player_id='1400924' first='Kquinn' last='Donald']* (2023)<br>#2 PG [player_tooltip player_id='1400906' first='Avery' last='Townsend']* (2025)<br>#4 SG Azariah Anderson (2024)<br>#1 PG [player_tooltip player_id='1400904' first='MJ' last='Floyd']* (2025)<br>#15 SF Logan Cole (2024)<br>#22 [player_tooltip player_id='1568588' first='Simeon' last='Williams']* (2023)<br>#23 SG/SF Kendall Soloman* (2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kendall is quick on his feet at 6-foot-3. Can cross you over. He plays with a little wiggle. Facing Fulton in the State Tournament Kendall dashed to the basket with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1381653' first='Denaj' last='Kimber'] </strong>on him. Soloman elevated with him on his shoulder, finished an and-1. He did miss the free throw though. And he missed another late in the second quarter, a front end, when MLK needed points desperately. He missed yet another less than a minute later. And then the follow-up to FT to that. Four straight misses when his team trailed by 7ish in the State Tournament! Soloman is a plus leaper on the wing. He draws plenty of fouls, which is encouraging. Improving those free throws is critical. The toughness helped his team re-enter the game though they did ultimately lose to the eventual champions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400904' first='MJ' last='Floyd']'s</strong> physicality is impressive. As a sophomore he typically helped as a rebounder with a strong chest and mental investment committed to the cause. Wonderful shooting form. He tucks his elbow in. Facing Fulton High in the state tournament, Floyd converted a challenging runner and-1. Floyd plays with a lot of patience and competence around the rim. He is a point guard by profession, but his instincts underneath play like a natural big. Good offensive awareness. He can defend effectively without fouling. Going to his right Floyd is turnover prone and needs to tighten that up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400906' first='Avery' last='Townsend']</strong> is a spotty outside shooter. His flat-footed form enables shorter guards to challenge him if he does not release before their arrival. Townsend's first-step quickness sets him apart. Adept rebounder for a guard. Avery is a nice on-ball defender. He moves his feet and gets his chest in the way. Does not gamble or get out of position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->