‘Mamba Mentality’ pushes Carmel Christian’s Jaeden Mustaf, team, to No. 1 in state poll

Last Saturday, in the biggest boys’ high school basketball game of the year in North Carolina, Myers Park appeared to have solved the Jaeden Mustaf problem.

Mustaf had burned the nationally-ranked Mustangs’ defense with driving layups and short jump shots several times in the first half of Saturday’s high school basketball showdown between the No. 1 public 4A (Myers Park) and the No. 1 private school team (Carmel Christian) in North Carolina.

So the Mustangs concentrated on taking away Mustaf’s inside shots, and Myers Park eventually built a 46-38 lead.

But it’s not that easy to solve a Jaden Mustaf problem.

“If I have the shot, coach has told me to take it,” Mustaf said.

So on back-to-back possessions, Mustaf found himself unguarded outside the 3-point arc. He made both shots, his team narrowed the gap to 46-44, and Carmel Christian eventually won 52-51.

Mustaf finished with 21 points and six rebounds in a performance that certainly enhanced his stature as one of the top three or four recruits in North Carolina’s high school junior class.

At 6-6, Mustaf — ranked No. 35 nationally by 247 Sports — has both the size and speed to work effectively on the inside, the accuracy to score from the outside, and the tenacity to play lock-down defense on opponents.

Carmel Christian coach Joe Badgett said Mustaf “continues to get better.”

Big year, big change

A lot has changed in 12 months.

A year ago, Mustaf was a sophomore, seeing plenty of playing time for iconic DeMatha High in suburban Washington, D.C. His dad, Jerrod, was a DeMatha standout before going on to the University of Maryland and being drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks.

Jaeden Mustaf averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists at DeMatha, but he was looking for a change.

He and his family eventually got in touch with Badgett, and early last April, Mustaf announced he was moving to North Carolina and playing at Carmel Christian.

“I really clicked with him,” Mustaf said of Badgett. “He is a coach who really cares about me. It just seemed like the right move to make.”

Badgett coached Carmel Christian to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A championship last year, and while some people focused on the number of seniors on that team, Badgett said last spring that he was optimistic about this season.

In addition to Mustaf, standouts like Bryce Cash (Charlotte Christian) and Khamani Wertz (Providence Day) also transferred to Carmel Christian. Those three are now the team’s leading scorers.

Mustaf added to his reputation last summer, earning Most Valuable Player honors with his New World team on the Adidas Under-17 circuit playing against older players. He fine-tuned one of his key weapons, the left-to-right drive to the basket; and worked on his defense and play anticipation.

Recruiting building

College coaches noticed.

Mustaf now has offers or is getting serious interest from more than two dozen major schools.

Want some names? How about Kansas, Virginia, N.C. State, Miami, Maryland, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Rutgers and Wake Forest.

Yes, the Charlotte 49ers are interested.

And Mustaf is a student-athlete. He said faith, family and school work were stressed at DeMatha and now at Carmel Christian. He carries a 3.5 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) and loves American literature.

Harvard is among the schools that has come calling.

Most recruiting and scouting services rank Mustaf among the top 30 or 40 players nationally in the Class of 2024.

Carmel Christian is 21-3, ranked No. 1 among North Carolina’s private schools, and Mustaf is averaging 15.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

He leads the team in each of those categories.

‘He’s Tough’

What some people might not realize about Mustaf, Badgett said, is his toughness.

“Jaeden has a tough playing style,” Badgett said. “He isn’t afraid to go inside and mix it up, and he plays tough defense.”

“Boston (Smith, son of former Carolina Panther Steve Smith) and Bryce (Cash) also are tough players, and that’s a difference between this year’s team and last year’s,” Badgett added. “It’s contagious. The rest of the players feed off that.”

Mustaf makes no bones about it. He wants to become a stellar college basketball player and then play in the NBA. He models his game after the late Kobe Bryant and talks about Bryant’s infamous “Mamba Mentality,” the unrelenting approach to practice and playing that made Bryant great. Mustaf said he has a similar desire to work hard and improve every day.

He said Badgett has helped him improve.

“He’s a coach who is willing to arrange it so I can be at school, working out, at 5:30 or 6 in the morning,” Mustaf said. “He’s a coach who really trusts me.”

Mustaf said he feels as if he has found a home at Carmel Christian.

“The whole family environment is important to me,” he said. “And you can feel that environment here.”

Mustaf said he enjoys his teammates and feels they are tight.

“We are resilient,” he said. “Myers Park got that 8-point lead on us, but we fought back. It’s fun to play on a team like this.”

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle