By Hunt Palmer
Matt McMahon has produced a steady influx of Top 100 high school talent since he arrived at LSU. That continued Monday when four-star combo guard Mazi Mosely committed to McMahon and the Tigers.
Mosely is ranked the No. 12 shooting guard in America and the No. 60 overall player in the country by 247sports. Iowa and Michigan were his primary suitors outside of LSU, but he settled on the Tigers after visiting over the weekend.
So, what’s Mosely’s game like?
It starts with his build. He’s got great length and an ideal frame at 6-foot-5. McMahon loves those long, rangy guards. Tyrell Ward and Vyctorius Miller both check those boxes. Mosely’s issue is his weight. He tips the scales at just 165 lbs., and that’s very slender. He’ll need to add 15 to 20 lbs. as quickly as possible, because his attacking style won’t translate to the SEC south of 180 lbs.
Mosely is a scorer first and foremost. In high school, he uses all three levels of the floor to score. He didn’t shoot the ball for an excellent percentage last season at St. Francis, but he shot it a ton. His highlight tape features threes off the dribble, the catch and shoot game and drives with both hands to pull up or finish at the rim. He’s a multi-dimensional scorer with a highly aggressive offensive mindset.
LSU’s staff loves his shooting form and potential as a three-point shooter. At St. Francis he was the primary ball handler and scoring option. That’s a heavy workload. When he can play off the ball, he should get cleaner catch-and-shoot looks and shoot for a better percentage. That’s one reason the move to Montverde Academy should serve him well. He’ll be able to play off the ball more just as he should at LSU.
I love Mosely’s ball handling ability. He really looks under control while on the attack. It’s not frantic. He’s quick on the crossover and doesn’t favor his dominant hand like so many high schoolers do. That allows him to get into the paint often where he can pull up or finish at the rim. Not to belabor the point, but he will need to get stronger to use this part of his game, but that will come in time.
I wouldn’t label Mosely as an elite athlete. He’s certainly a good athlete. At 6-foot-5 he’s not playing above the rim much unless he’s in transaction. He’s a scorer that could develop into a really good shooter.
His court vision should become more pronounced this year at Montverde. That’s another aspect of his game that LSU really likes.
A year after Curtis Givens finished his prep career at Montverde en route to LSU, Mosely will do the same. Having a pipeline from that school to Baton Rouge is certainly not a bad thing.
Mosely pairs with another Top 100 player in Matt Gilhool who is a 6-foot-10 skilled big. With just two commitments, McMahon’s class ranks in the Top 15 in the country by 247sports and On3.
