Ron Mosley soars with the next wave in the 21st Century

Sophomore guard Ron Mosley is an important part of the next generation of the 21st Century.

Last season saw a mostly star-studded senior class. Ashton Williamson, DJ Moss And Quintin Floyd He led the Cougars to their second straight semistate appearance.

This season, the 6-foot-10 Mosley was at the forefront of the 21st Century as they won their eighth regional title in nine seasons.

“I kept my head down all summer,” he said. “I just kept working. I didn’t let anything discourage me. I continued to work out and stay in the gym.

“It was hard to get used to it because I didn’t play in college last year. He 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 capture their third straight sectional title Saturday against host North Judson (15-9) in Class 2A. Even with the youth (three sophomores and two juniors, three seniors playing limited time on the roster) and two coaching changes since the end of last season, the 21st Century has landed in a familiar place.

“We all just put the pieces together,” Mosley said. “We all took on our role on the team and helped each other. It’s like a brotherhood.”

Mosley is second on the team with an average of 14.7 points and has an average of 2.3 steals. He played mainly on the youth team last season and averaged 2.6 points in five varsity games.

Sophomore guard/forward Terrence Hayes Jr.Enjoying a breakout season as one of two veteran returning players of the 21st century alongside young forward Lemetrius Williams, Mosley never doubted he 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 think he’s extremely good. It has a name in the region. But he doesn’t let it surprise him. He just keeps working hard.

“He was always kind, I’m not going to lie. But he doesn’t let this excitement surprise him. He fights the biggest, the strongest, the tallest. It’s not important. He’s a dude.”

James Scott took over as 21st Century coach in December and has seen the progress Mosley has made in a relatively short time.

“Ron has come a long way in terms of attitude, work ethic and overall basketball knowledge,” Scott said. “Over the last few months, it has gone way beyond where I thought it would be.”

At this point, Scott didn’t think the 21st Century would happen. While in his third season as an assistant at Calumet College, veteran coach Gary Hayes, who replaced Larry Upshaw this season, unexpectedly resigned.

Enter Scott, who starred at Roosevelt before graduating in 1986 and later becoming Arkansas-Little Rock’s career scoring leader.

“The kids had to make a huge adjustment,” he said. “They had to adapt to something completely different. My style is different. My delivery is different. The games we play are different. “It’s really complicated and they understand that and they’re doing a great job.”

Before joining the staff at Calumet College, Scott worked as an assistant at 21st Century, part of his impressive resume. He was an assistant to 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 working as an assistant at Roosevelt for one season, he managed his alma mater for three seasons until the school closed in 2020.

“He pushes us to do our best,” Mosley said.

Terrence Hayes Jr. he also praised Scott, who led the Cougars to an 18-3 record as they won 13 straight games.

“He transformed the entire program with discipline and fundamentals,” Hayes said. “It improves us in basketball, academics and as people in general.

“We’re going to do everything we can to win. We want to turn this into state. We want to make history this year. We know the 21st Century has a winning program, but we’ve never won state. We want that to happen this year.”