Top-ranked Mount Pleasant has floated through its first five boys basketball games, racking up a 32.8-point average margin of victory with the closest win of 22 points.
It would be fine with coach Lisa Sullivan if the easy times continued all season, but she knows they won’t. The Green Knights are expecting a major challenge when they play at No. 9 Cape Henlopen at 9 p.m. Tuesday to cap the opening day of the annual Slam Dunk to the Beach showcase.
“The opportunity hasn’t been there, so I don’t know how we’re going to do,” Sullivan said of playing a close game. “I think it will be a great experience. You want to see growth in every game, so this will be great for us. Cape is a good team, well coached.”
The Vikings (3-1) will be playing in front of a jazzed up home crowd, with juniors Randy Rickards (6-foot-5) and Ian Robertson (6-6) sure to provide an all-court challenge. Mount Pleasant counters with a pair of dynamic sophomores in KVonn Cramer (6-5) and point guard Fah’Mir Ali (5-11).
“We’re awfully young,” Sullivan said. “Not really young in age, but in playing experience at this level. Every game, we’re just trying to get better. We want to compete right now, but we want to peak come playoff time.”
Slam Dunk to the Beach will again feature some of the nation’s best boys high school teams and players. Three teams – No. 10 Patrick School (New Jersey), No. 15 Roselle Catholic (New Jersey) and No. 17 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) – are currently ranked in the USA Today Super 25.
The biggest attraction of all may be Westtown School of nearby West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Moose feature 6-7 forward Cameron Reddish, ranked fourth nationally among his class by ESPN; and Mohamed Bamba, a 6-11 senior center who has yet to select a college but is already being projected by many as a top-five pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Neumann-Goretti point guard Quade Green, ranked 21st overall in the ESPN 100, recently signed with Kentucky. His teammate, 6-9 forward Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, is headed to Villanova. Baltimore Poly forward De’Vondre Perry (6-6) has signed with Temple.
Gray Collegiate (South Carolina) guard Jalek Felton, ranked 23rd in the ESPN 100, has signed with North Carolina. Bishop Loughlin (New York) guard Keith Williams (6-4) has signed with Cincinnati.
Patrick School features 6-11 center Nick Richards (rated 12th by ESPN), a Kentucky signee. The Celtics have other seniors who have signed with Tulane, Minnesota and Monmouth.
Paul VI Catholic (Virginia) gets big plays from 6-2 guard Aaron Thompson, who has signed with Pittsburgh. Perennial power St. Benedict’s (New Jersey) is highlighted this season by Bourame Sidibe, a 6-11 center headed to Syracuse.
Smyrna (5-0), ranked second in Delaware, will get the showcase started at noon Tuesday against Bishop McNamara (Maryland). The Eagles will return at 12:30 Thursday to take on defending DIAA champion Sanford, which is off to an uncharacteristic 1-3 start.
Sanford will also meet Archbishop Wood (Pennsylvania) at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Mount Pleasant will return to play St. Michael’s (Ontario, Canada) at 11 a.m. Thursday, with host Cape Henlopen closing the 18-game event at 9 p.m. Thursday against Eleanor Roosevelt (Maryland).
Tickets are $55 for a three-day pass, $25 per day or $15 per three-game session. Tickets are available at the door, online at www.slamdunktothebeach.com or by phone at (800) 441-7223, ext. 2.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
SLAM DUNK TO THE BEACH SCHEDULE
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Noon – Smyrna vs. Bishop McNamara (Maryland)
1:30 – Patrick School (New Jersey) vs. St. Raymond (New York)
3 – Bishop Loughlin (New York) vs. Baltimore Poly (Maryland)
6 – Archbishop Wood (Pennsylvania) vs. Roselle Catholic (New Jersey)
7:30 – Neumann-Goretti (Pennsylvania) vs. Paul VI (Virginia)
9 – Cape Henlopen vs. Mount Pleasant
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Noon – Eleanor Roosevelt (Maryland) vs. St. Michael’s (Ontario)
1:30 – Our Savior New American (New York) vs. Bishop McNamara (Maryland)
3 – Bishop Loughlin (New York) vs. Paul VI (Virginia)
6 – Archbishop Wood (Pennsylvania) vs. Sanford
7:30 – Sagemont School (Florida) vs. St. Benedict’s Prep (New Jersey)
9 – Westtown School (Pennsylvania) vs. Gray Collegiate (South Carolina)
THURSDAY’S GAMES
11 a.m. – Mount Pleasant vs. St. Michael’s (Ontario)
12:30 p.m. – Sanford vs. Smyrna
2 – Sagemont School (Florida) vs. Baltimore Poly (Maryland)
6 – Our Savior New American (New York) vs. Westtown School (Pennsylvania)
7:30 – Gray Collegiate (South Carolina) vs. St. Benedict’s Prep (New Jersey)
9 – Cape Henlopen vs. Eleanor Roosevelt (Maryland)
Mount Pleasant guard Fah’Mir Ali (left), shown here against Glasgow, will lead the Green Knights against Cape Henlopen on Tuesday at Slam Dunk to the Beach.