It's highly unlikely that you have heard the name Mark Vital before. If early events are any indication, that won't be true for much longer, because Vital may already be among the better dunkers at the sub-college level even though he has yet to play a single high school game.
Vital is one of the emerging talents in the still developing Class of 2016. While his shooting touch may still lack refinement, his ability to create in the open floor is impressive, though even that skill can't overshadow Vital's biggest talent.
Put plainly, Mark Vital is a ridiculous dunker for a player who is still in the eighth grade. Standing 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, Vital has already cleared defenders in a game and delivered on a series of absolute thunder dunks.
In fact, the Southern Elite AAU player out of Lake Charles, La., has already connected on enough impressive slams to create a legitimate dunk-only highlight reel, a pretty incredible feat for a teen who has yet to show up for freshman orientation.
Perhaps some area onlookers should have seen this burst coming. Vital's mother has WNBA size — she stands 6-foot-5 — and he earned a top-5 wing forward honor from the prestigious John Lucas Camp.
Whether Vital can keep up his early dominance at Lake Charles (La.) Washington Marion High remains to be seen. Even if he doesn't, it seems fair to say that Vital has already left a certain mark on the Louisiana hoops scene with his explosiveness as a Lake Charles (La.) Molo Middle School star.
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