SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — DeMatha Coach Mike Jones stood in front of his team's bench with his hands clasped behind his back, his face betraying no sign of the thoughts running through his head. Surrounded by the buzz of an ever-growing crowd, Jones kept his eyes trained on the warmups of California powerhouse Rancho Christian.

He watched as Eagles star big man Evan Mobley drifted outside the arc and started shooting. The senior, ranked the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2020, is the type of player who can entertain a gym and worry an opponent. Mobley, 6-foot-11 with impossibly long arms, can punish a team inside, drive to the rim with aggression and occasionally get hot from deep.

"Please, not today," Jones thought to himself Monday as Mobley knocked down one three-pointer after another.

The longtime DeMatha coach had been thinking about how his team would handle Mobley since the day he learned it would face Rancho Christian at the Hoophall Classic. Months later, with a mass of fans, media and college scouts eager to watch the Southern California commit, Jones and his team had a chance to play spoiler.

It was a welcome challenge rather than an impossible assignment for DeMatha. The Stags boast two major prospects in the Class of 2020, as ranked by 247Sports.com — wing Earl Timberlake (No. 31) and center Hunter Dickinson (No. 37) — and they have never been afraid to match up against elite talent.

"Yeah, we've had our rumbles with the top guys," Jones recalled.

At Hoophall alone, the coach has had to plan for high school phenoms such as Shabazz Muhammad, Samardo Samuels and Lance Stephenson. His Stags beat Karl-Anthony Towns in 2014 and took down Jayson Tatum in 2016. DeMatha is, and long has been, a program that knows how to match greatness.