James Wiseman, the top player in Class of 2019, caps rough season with coveted title for East

MURFREESBORO — Saturday at the Murphy Center was Round 5 of the year-long heavyweight battle between East and Whitehaven. And James Wiseman delivered all the big blows early.

Wiseman — the 6-11 junior who is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2019 according to ESPN — scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter to get the Mustangs off to a fast start. It got a little dicey early in the third quarter, but when it was all said and done East had a 72-50 win, its third Class AAA title in a row and the ninth in school history, more than any other program in the state.

For Wiseman though, it was his first. He made two trips to the Division II-AA state tournament at Ensworth before moving to Memphis with his family and enrolling at East prior to this season.

"I just wanted a state championship so bad," he said. "Just basically trying to go out and end it right there."

Working against a smaller Whitehaven frontcourt, he got off the mark quickly. Wiseman had a putback and two dunks on his first three trips down the court and ended with six slams in total.

It all went according to plan according to Mustangs coach Penny Hardaway.

"If I have to say a lot to him, or Alex (Lomax) or Chandler (Lawson), then I would be doing too much," he said. "They already know what to expect. (James) was ready for this; he's seen all the guys around the country posting (on social media) that they had won state championships, all these guys that are elite level players.

"And I'm sure he wanted one, too."

Despite missing a big chunk of the second half after picking up his fourth foul, Wiseman also had six rebounds as East (29-3) dominated the Tigers on the glass 49-33. Lawson led the way with 16, including eight on the offensive end.

Whitehaven — which lost to East for the fifth time this season and finished 24-7 — pulled to within one at 31-30 on a Jesse Payne bucket. But the Mustangs took off once again and led 50-37 after the third period.

Lomax — who won tournament MVP honors for the second time in his decorated career — scored all 14 of his points after halftime to help spark his team.

"We're not making any excuses," said Tigers coach Faragi Phillips. "They are Memphis East for a reason. You've got to give them a lot of credit for what they do."

Give credit to Wiseman as well. He and teammate Ryan Boyce were forced to miss six games early in the season after the TSSAA ruled them ineligible after an apparent violation of the prior-link coaching rule.

Over the summer both played for Team Penny, an AAU team that Hardaway founded and is involved with. They were allowed to resume their season in December as lawyers for East and the TSSAA continue to work through the legal process. Hardaway said the scrutiny took its toll.

"Absolutely," he said. "For a kid to have to go through all that and endure all that ... having the entire city not like you because they're kind of confused about what happened. 

"But he persevered and played basketball on a high level. And that's tough."

Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas