The most impressive shot of the Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Invitational didn’t count.
With time winding down in the Velma Jackson High School boys basketball team’s 62-46 victory against Horn Lake on Saturday night, Mississippi State signee Quinndary Weatherspoon, a 6-foot-4 guard, saw his opportunity. Two minutes earlier, he had watched his younger brother, Nicholas, throw down a tomahawk dunk to punctuate a fast break.
Quinndary had plans to upstage his younger brother.
“I told him to throw it to me on the last possession and I was going to windmill it,” said Quinndary, a three-star prospect who signed with MSU in November. “He didn’t believe me, so I did it.”
The highlight-worthy windmill dunk didn’t count — it happened a tick after the buzzer — but Weatherspoon’s throwdown was an exclamation point on a business-like 16-point performance that helped the state’s No. 1-ranked team cruise to a victory.
Contrary to his late-game air show, Weatherspoon’s performance was understated, as he picked his spots and preferred to get his teammates involved. He also had seven assists.
“He doesn’t force things,” Velma Jackson coach Anthony Carlyle said. “He knows he has extra attention on him, and he uses that to get his teammates involved. He makes us a better team when he plays that way, which is all the time.”
One of MSU’s top signees for the 2015 class, Weatherspoon scored 10 points in the second half. Still, he took a backseat to his younger brother, who had a game-high 19.
For the older Weatherspoon, playing as a facilitator rather than a scorer is intentional because it is preparing him for his future in Starkville.
“I’m going to play point guard at Mississippi State,” Weatherspoon said, “so I want to get used to getting my teammates easy buckets. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Weatherspoon averages 18.7 points per game. Velma Jackson has lost only to Memphis Southwind and Class 5A power Jackson Callaway. On Saturday, the team looked like a well-oiled machine behind its star.
“I felt like there might be more eyes on me tonight because we are so close to Mississippi State,” said Weatherspoon, who said he talks to MSU coach Rick Ray weekly. “I just tried to play my game and let the rest take care of itself.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker @BWonStateBeat
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