By Michael Adams
michael@otssports.com 

ROUND ROCK – The Stony Point Tigers (32-2) had the best boys basketball season in school history just one year ago. For an encore, the Tigers are aiming to repeat as District 25-6A champions and reach the UIL Class 6A state tournament in March in San Antonio. 

It won’t be an easy task. 

Stony Point will have to get through a tough Region IV, which includes last year’s regional champion and the team that ended the Tigers season,  San Antonio Brennan. 

However, optimism is very high in Round Rock that this year is the Tigers’ year. 

Reason for that optimism is the return of 6-foot-6, 205-pound forward Josiah Mosely, who signed his letter of intent to play basketball for Villanova last week. 

Moseley is the 8th best basketball recruit in the state of Texas by 247Sports and the 33rd best power forward in the nation. He was the Tigers’ leading scorer in 2022-23, averaging 21.5 points per game to go with 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. 

However, he’s not the only player opponents will have to try and contain. Junior Uzziah Buntyn, a 6-foot, 155-pound point guard is the floor general and averaged 4.9 assists per game as a sophomore while adding 13.3 points per game. 

There were a few key departures for the Tigers. Tikki Morin (11.6 PPG), Johneric Mosley (8.3 PPG) and Jarrell Pordos (3.0 RPG) graduated but look for juniors Landon Short and Elijiah Clemons to step into those roles. 

Stony Point opened the 2023-24 campaign on Friday with a 45-43 win over Westlake and followed that up with a 64-47 win over San Antonio Reagan. The Tigers are back in action on Saturday with a big showdown with Duncanville at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. 

The Tigers begin their District 25-5A title defense on Dec. 15 against Vandegrift at home. 

• Read more: Class 5A & below boys basketball preview

Preseason 6A Power 5

1. Stony Point (32-2)

2. Buda Johnson (30-5) 

3. Westlake (31-5) 

4. San Marcos (38-4) 

5. Lake Travis (26-8)

Fab 5 Players to Watch

Here are five players to watch for Class 6A teams in the Austin area: 

Josiah Moseley, Stony Point, PF, senior: The 6-foot-6 Villanova signee averaged 21.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game for the Tigers as a junior.  He was the District 25-6A most valuable player and made the all-state team. 

Cameron Jackson, Weiss, C, senior: The 6-foot-9 Jackson led District 12-6A in scoring and rebounding as a junior, averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. 

Hudson Greer, Lake Travis, G/F, junior: Greer led the Austin area in scoring, averaging 23.9 points per game while also averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. Greer was the District 26-6A most valuable player. 

Sam McKinney, Buda Johnson, F, junior: McKinney helped the Jaguars reach the regional quarterfinals and win a share of the District 26-6A championship  last year, averaging 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. 

Gavin Paull, Westlake, G, senior: Paull is a versatile player and helped lead the Chaps to a share of the District 26-6A championship. As a junior, he averaged 12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. 

Predictions

District 12-6A: 1. Harker Heights, 2. Weiss, 3. Hutto, 4. Bryan, 5. Temple, 6. Midway, 7. Copperas Cove

District 25-6A: 1. Stony Point, 2. Round Rock, 3. Westwood, 4. Manor, 5. Vandegrift, 6. Cedar Ridge, 7. McNeil, 8. Vista Ridge

District 26-6A: 1. Westlake 2. Buda Johnson, 3. Dripping Springs, 4. Lake Travis, 5. Bowie, 6. Anderson, 7. Austin High, 8. Akins, 9. Del Valle

District 27-6A: 1. Cibolo Steele, 2. San Marcos, 3. New Braunfels, 4. Converse Judson, 5. Schertz Clemens, 6. East Central 

Last Year’s playoff results

• Hutto (24-11): 2nd in District 12-6A, lost to Cedar Hill in first round of the playoffs
• Weiss (15-19): 4th in District 12-6A, lost to DeSoto in first round of the playoffs
• Stony Point (32-2): District 25-6A champion, lost to San Antonio Brennan in the Region IV semifinals  
• Round Rock (24-11): 2nd in District 25-6A, lost to San Antonio Reagan in the area round of the playoffs 
• Westwood (22-13): 3rd in District 25-6A, Lost to Westlake in the first round of the playoffs
• Vandegrift 22-13): 4th in District 25-6A, lost to Buda Johnson in the first round of the playoffs
• Buda Johnson (30-5): Co-District 26-6A champions, lost to Stony Point in the Region IV quarterfinals 
• Westlake (31-5): Co-District 25-6A champions, lost to San Marcos in the area round of the playoffs
• Lake Travis (26-8):  3rd in District 25-6A, lost to Round Rock in the first round of the playoffs 
• Anderson (15-19): 4th in District 25-6A, lost to Stony Point in the first round of the playoffs 
• San Marcos (38-4):District 27-6A champions, lost to San Antonio Brennan in Region IV championship game