Sophomore guard Ron Mosley is a prominent part of this next generation at 21st Century.
Last season, he mostly watched as a star-studded senior class that included Ashton Williamson, DJ Moss and Quintin Floyd led the Cougars to their second straight semistate appearance.
This season, the 5-foot-8 Mosley has been at the forefront for 21st Century, which has won its eighth sectional title in nine seasons.
“Over the summer, I didn’t put my head down,” he said. “I just kept working. I didn’t let anything discourage me. I just kept working and staying in the gym.
“It was hard to adjust, me not playing varsity last year. It was different. But I didn’t let that discourage me. I just kept my head up and stayed positive.”
Mosley and the Cougars (20-6) will seek their third consecutive regional championship when they play host North Judson (15-9) in Class 2A on Saturday. Even with youth — starting three sophomores and two juniors, with three seniors on the roster who play limited minutes — and two coaching changes since the end of last season, 21st Century has reached a familiar place.
“We all just put the pieces together,” Mosley said. “We all took our role on the team and helped each other out. It’s like a brotherhood.”
Mosley is averaging 14.7 points, which ranks second on the team, and 2.3 steals. He played primarily on the junior varsity team last season, averaging 2.6 points in five varsity games.
Sophomore guard/forward Terrence Hayes Jr., who is enjoying a breakout season as one of 21st Century’s two experienced returning players along with junior forward Lemetrius Williams, never doubted Mosley would make an impact.
“He’s a very humble kid,” Hayes said. “He doesn’t let all the hype get to his head because a lot of people do think he’s extremely good. He has a name around the area. But he doesn’t let that faze him. He just keeps working hard.
“He’s always been nice, I’m not going to lie. But his hype, he doesn’t let that faze him. He battles with the biggest, the strongest, the tallest. It doesn’t matter. He’s a dawg.”
James Scott took over as 21st Century’s coach in December and has seen Mosley’s progress in that relatively short amount of time.
“Ron has come a long way in terms of attitude and in terms of work ethic and in terms of his overall basketball knowledge,” Scott said. “In the last few months, he has far exceeded where I thought he would be.”
Scott didn’t think 21st Century is where he would be at this point. He was in his third season as an assistant at Calumet College when veteran coach Gary Hayes, who replaced Larry Upshaw this season, unexpectedly resigned.
Enter Scott, who starred at Roosevelt before graduating in 1986 and then became Arkansas-Little Rock’s career scoring leader.
“The kids have had to make such a big adjustment,” he said. “They had to adapt to something totally different. My style is different. My delivery is different. The plays we run are different. It’s really complex, and they’ve caught on, and they’re doing a fantastic job.”
Before joining the staff at Calumet College, Scott was an assistant at 21st Century, part of his impressive resume. He was an assistant under Marvin Rea at Bowman, where they won the 2010 Class 1A state title and the 2013 Class 2A state title and finished second twice. After a season as an assistant at Roosevelt, he led his alma mater for three seasons until the school closed in 2020.
“He pushes us to be our best,” Mosley said.
Terrence Hayes Jr. also praised Scott, who has posted an 18-3 record as the Cougars have won 13 games in a row.
“He changed the whole program with discipline and fundamentals,” Hayes said. “He’s bettering us as far as basketball, as far as academics and as people in general.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to win. We want to make this a state run. We want to make history this year. We know 21st Century has a winning program, but we never won state. We want that to happen this year.”