By Robert Wilson
Samuel Prince wants the Leake Academy basketball fans not to leave after the highly successful girls basketball team plays.
The 6-foot-2 senior is giving the Rebel fans plenty of reasons to stay this season.
Prince is averaging 36.2 points per game and has scored a career-high 44 points twice, including Friday in a 61-54 victory over Starkville Academy.
He made 16 of 29 shots from the field, 3 of 8 from 3-point range, and 9 of 11 from the free throw line, and also had 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots against Starkville Academy.
Leake girls have won 22 state championships and six Overall Tournament titles and are considered one of the winningest programs in Mississippi.
“Leake Academy girls have always had a great basketball tradition,” Prince said. “One that I envy. My dream is for the boys basketball tradition to be just as iconic as the girls. Year after year, it hurts to see the majority of the fans leave after the girls game. I want to change that. Each year, this dream draws nearer to reality as younger Leake players are developing a love for the game and the skills required to play. I try to be the best basketball player for my little brother, Andrew (a sixth grader at Leake). Him and his buddies look up to me and I do not want to disappoint them at all. I try to play to the best of my ability because that’s what God calls me to do. Everything I put my hands to I want it to glorify God, including basketball. All the glory goes to Him because I am nothing without Him. He has blessed me with my basketball abilities, and I will do everything in my power to glorify Him.”
“Samuel is a rare find,” fourth-year Leake coach Jason Morgan said. “First and foremost, he is super serious about his faith in Christ. Samuel is a servant-minded kid who loves others and loves the Lord. He is also a fantastic student. As for basketball, that speaks for itself. Anytime Samuel walks into just about any gym in Mississippi, everybody probably knows who he is. Great player and great young man. Very humble too.
“The kid can score. Samuel is shooting close to 50 percent from 3 and close to 76 percent from the free throw line. He rebounds, He plays defense. He is averaging about eight deflections and five steals per game. At Pillow Academy on Nov. 11, he was ahead of Pillow’s entire team in points early in the fourth quarter (and finished with 44 points). Samuel also has a 32 on the ACT and a GPA above 4.0. He is a great student, the leader of Leake Academy FCA and even runs his own guys Bible study before school on Wednesday mornings.”
“Coach Morgan is one of the best coaches in our state, public or private, and does a good job of incorporating and utilizing Sam’s talent in the offense,” Starkville Academy coach Mark Alexander said. “You couple that with Sam’s skill set, and it’s a tough combination to stop. All those hours of hard work in the gym have paid off for him. Sam’s a fantastic player. He can score in so many different ways. And he’s got a high basketball IQ. And as good as basketball player as he is, Sam is an even better young man. A class act.”
Prince – who has offers from East Central Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College – has 2,488 career points, second behind Alex Shepard, who had 3,260 career points and averaged 25.7 points as a senior during the 2013-2014 season. Prince averaged 21.7 points last year as a junior.
Prince recently passed his father, Philip, who scored 2,371 points at Leake from 1990-1993. Philip holds the school record with 27.8 points as a senior during the 1992-1993 season.
Samuel still doesn’t have the family record for most points in a game. Philip hit 45 points against Marshall Academy as a senior. The school record is 49 points by Wesley Webb.
Leake is off to a 6-0 start and haven’t gotten their football players yet, who won the MAIS Class 3A state championship past this week.
Leake plays MHSAA Class 4A Choctaw Central, 3-4, Monday at 10:45 a.m. and plays MHSAA Class 7A Tupelo, 2-2, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Starkville Academy Thanksgiving Classic.
Prince is the son of Valeria and Philip Prince. Valeria is a graduate of Newton County Academy, East Central CC and Ole Miss. In addition to playing basketball at Leake, Philip played at East Central CC and Southern Miss. Prince’s oldest sister Miriam played at Leake and was the MAIS Class 5A Player of the Year as a junior, and won two state titles and one Overall Tournament title. She also played at East Central CC and Louisiana-Monroe and is now playing for Southern Miss. Prince’s youngest sister, Sarah, is a freshman on Leake’s basketball team. Prince’s brother, Andrew, is a sixth grader at Leake and plays basketball and football.
