The epitome of an anchor, Mancho did the heavy lifting for a Mount Carmel group who is still forming its identity after repeating as MIAA A Conference champions. Mancho will be expected to make things happen with his touches at the rim and spark action with his punishing screens, but the combination of his play with Team Thrill in May and Mount Carmel in June landed him offers from the likes of St. Bonaventure and Tennessee Tech.

Mancho is the definition of a defensive anchor and this proved itself again at he held down the paint in Mt. Carmel’s run to the MIAA A Conference crown. A commanding, 6’9″ forward with no shortage of physical strength, he brings a punishing approach to the leverage game on the block, setting punishing screens to free up his guards and in the fight/pursuit for 50/50s. Furthermore, Mancho has been the leader for this Mt. Carmel group from a vocal standpoint on the floor as he acts as the quarterback calling out coverages or actions that he sees taking place standing on the backline. Offensively his development is still a work in progress, but he can finish around the rim on dump-offs, convert the occasional over-the-shoulder hook and is an efficient free-throw shooter in comparison to other bigs. Since late May, the Team Thrill product has compiled offers from Holy Cross, Iona, St. Bonaventure and Tennessee Tech.

Mancho is going to need to do the heavy lifting for Mt. Carmel this season if they plan on defending their MIAA A Conference title from the 2025-26 season, but when you see him on the floor, you know he’s built for it. The 6-foot-9 forward has been the Cougars’ anchor for three years now and has two MIAA and one BCL crown to show for it. He was punishing bigs in the post over the weekend and while he’s shown some improvement on his block touches operating with his back to the basket, he’s most effective waiting along the dunker’s spot where he can catch and finish through contact. As usual, his communication defensively was superb as he quarterbacked the defense from the back line. He rebounded in bulk, altered drives to the rim and set bruising screens.

Typical, workmanlike weekend out of Mancho who is the paint presence at both ends for a Thrill group that went 4-0 in S1. The bruising 6-foot-9 native of Cameroon was as efficient as they come on his looks around the cup. Whether his opportunities came off setting punishing ball screens followed by a hard roll to the rim, sitting in the dunker’s spot as guards established paint touches for dump-offs or with quick dives to the rim as the ball was driven baseline, Mancho was automatic with his tight window catches and below the rim hooks.

Loved the activity from Mancho from the jump on Saturday morning. Particularly in the first scrimmage for Thrill against KLow, Mancho was dominant for stretches in his typical, low maintenance manner as a punishing screen setter, active diver to the rim and establishing deep position on post touches. Mancho does such a nice job of commanding and anchoring the paint defensively with a wide base to take up more space and eliminate passing windows. He hedged aggressively and kept the opposing guard from turning the corner after communicating with his teammate on the coverage. Most importantly, Mancho looked spry on movements offensively and got off the ground quickly to finish dunks with authority.

-You always know what you’re getting from Mancho whether the scoring is there on that particular night or not. Mancho gives his team a vocal leader both on the court and from the bench (cannot stress the importance of the latter enough in today’s landscape), plays with energy at both ends of the floor, and has improved his touch from both the free throw line as well as around the basket. His timing in both the setting of the screen and the roll to the rim off of it have improved to cut down on offensive fouls in addition to more space for his guards to operate in the halfcourt. If he can become a more explosive leaper to capitalize on the positioning that he fights for around the rim, he could develop into a devastatingly-effective rebounder and play-finisher around the rim.

Despite not registering a shot attempt until the second half, Mancho made an unmistakable impact throughout the game for the Cougars as they cruised into the championship game. It’s hard not to appreciate Mancho’s old-school commitment to starring in his role, providing nonstop energy and communication as a physical, athletic presence up front. He imposed his will on the glass to the tune of 9 rebounds while getting going as a cleanup man in the second half for 7 points. Mancho also shows intriguing flashes of feel and ballhandling skill when placed on the perimeter offensively. He’s a tad undersized relative to high-major bigs in his mold but should be coveted by a wide variety of D1 programs over the next year.

14p 6r 2b vs St. Mary’s

-Mancho’s motor, communication skills on the back line, and sheer size in the paint make him such a valuable piece for this Cougars group. Mancho started things off when he raced back to pin a block on the glass, showed the footwork development on a post catch and step through between the double team to score it off the window, hit a 1-handed putback through the foul, scored off a reverse pivot in traffic, and showed hard on PnR coverages. The touch around the rim was off for most of the day with Mancho missing his first shot but getting his own rebound to stick the putback several times. His unselfish play has given his team a nice boost throughout the season and he will have to man the paint well the rest of the way against some of the best frontcourts in the league.

Mancho was on the receiving end of Wilson’s lob with 1 second remaining in overtime in the play that lifted the Cougars to their second-straight title. He anchored the middle defensively along with Howard, acts as the quarterback with his willingness to speak up through all actions. He hauled in rebounds, quickly found guard for outlets and put his head down to rim-run where he was rewarded on a couple of possessions. The high-energy big man has been vital in Mt. Carmel’s back-to-back run and will be key as they set their sight to the BCL Tournament on Sunday.

Mt. Carmel suffered a tough loss on the road to a Spalding team that is on a heater, but Mancho still caught my eye not only with his usual activity in the paint, but also his passing as opposing guards dug down whenever he put in on the floor. A lot of times, bigs will operate from the block and dribble one time too many or are slow at anticipating digs/doubles that lead to turnovers. Mancho was quick to attack on his block touches, but also scanned the floor before the catch to know who the open teammate would be on the weak side or anticipate another cutting to the rim as their defender turned their head. The Cameroon native finished with eight points, five rebounds and an impressive five assists.