By Robert Wilson

       Mississippi State junior guard and Madison-Ridgeland Academy alumnus Josh Hubbard leads the SEC with a 4.4 assist to turnover ratio this season.

       Hartfield Academy’s Wiggy Ball might have the best assists to turnover ratio among Mississippi high school players or possibly in the South with his 4.15 ratio.

       And the 6-foot-3 senior guard was even better last week as he averaged 13 points, 7.5 assists, and 7 rebounds, and had only one turnover and led Hartfield to two MAIS Class 6A victories over Jackson Prep and Madison-Ridgeland Academy.

       For his outstanding performance, Ball has been named the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Boys Basketball Player of the Week.

       Ball had 10 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists (1 turnover) and 3 steals in a 50-48 win over Prep last Tuesday and had 16 points, 7 assists (no turnovers) and 3 rebounds in a 51-39 win over MRA Friday. 

       Ball – a member of the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team – is averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and only 1.6 turnovers per game and shooting 39 percent from 3-point range this season going into this week. Ball scored a season high 20 points against Olive Branch. He had a triple double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists against Pillow this season. Ball has career highs of 31 points against MRA as a sophomore, 12 rebounds against Pillow this season, and 13 assists against Jackson Academy as a sophomore.

       “Wiggy has been outstanding for us all season,” second-year Hartfield coach Chris Goodman said. “He is a great leader for our team and program as a whole with the way that he carries himself both on and off the court. Wiggy has worked his tail off to get to where he is now – from offseason training, putting on good weight in the weight room, to becoming a more vocal and confident leader for us. He always steps up and does what is asked of him, which is sometimes tough to do in this league as a point guard. Wiggy runs our team like a quarterback would in football. We feel confident in the ways that he can score but he is also great about setting up other guys for success, even if that means he doesn’t score as many points. Not too many players these days do that, but Wiggy is special. He is the most selfless player that I have coached and leads our team in assists, assist to turnover ratio, and double doubles.”

         Ball averaged 14 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds per game with a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio and led Hartfield to a 18-12 record and reached the first round of the MAIS Class 6A state tournament and was on the fourth team of the Mississippi Scoreboard All Metro Jackson team last season as a junior. He also led the team with 135 assists, 45 deflections and 42 steals and was second with 120 rebounds. 

       Ball signed with Meridian Community College to play baseball. A left-handed pitcher, he had a 1-1 record with a 3.36 earned run average and had 32 strikeouts in 25 innings in 11 appearances and helped Hartfield to a 28-11 record and the MAIS Class 6A semifinals last season. 

       He is also being recruited by several school in basketball.

“Wiggy has had interest from Southern Miss, Louisiana Lafayette, and James Madison,” Goodman said. “His jump shot has greatly improved and is our best on ball defender. Wiggy put on about 15 pounds of muscle this past summer to help get his body ready for this basketball season. He is the first player in school history to have 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 500 rebounds in his career.”

       Ball is the son of Bill and Kameron Ball. Bill played football, basketball and baseball at Starkville Academy and was a kicker at Mississippi State for one year. Bill has 599 wins, two Overall titles and four state championships in 22 seasons of coaching boys basketball at Jackson Academy (18 seasons), Starkville Academy (two seasons) and Hartfield (two seasons). He also was a head coach at Arkansas Monticello and an assistant coach at Mississippi State and Itawamba CC. Bill is currently the junior high and high school assistant girls coach at Hartfield. Kameron played basketball and ran track at New Hope High in Columbus. Ball’s sister, Conner Beth, played golf at Jackson Academy and Ole Miss and helped Ole Miss win an SEC championship. 

Mississippi Scoreboard selects a boys basketball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276. 

WEEK ONE: Phil Nelson, Ridgeland

WEEK TWO: Jamarion Fleming, Canton

WEEK THREE: Mike Williams, Germantown

WEEK FOUR: Ben Segrest, Jackson Prep 

WEEK FIVE: Caleb Gaitor, Jackson Academy

WEEK SIX: Kevin Roberts, Jackson Prep