Centennial Grandstand’s Stifling Bigs – Day 1
The Centennial Grandstand opened up the live period portion with head-to-head games with some of the best talent in Colorado and various other states going at it in a showcase. With so many great individual matchups one of the biggest…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe Centennial Grandstand opened up the live period portion with head-to-head games with some of the best talent in Colorado and various other states going at it in a showcase. With so many great individual matchups one of the biggest things that stood out were the talented bigs on the day. Here are who stood out.
Lucas Moerman—Doherty
Moerman is without a doubt one of the best players that the state has to offer. Speaking of a 6’10 guy with long arms and is very skilled he gets it done and is elite on both ends of the floor. What Moerman displayed at the showcase was much of the same and I expect him to pick up a few more offers based on his showing alone. He has a great motor and refuses to allow his man to score, can switch onto the smaller defender and make things difficult for them for a few seconds and uses his length to take away any easy shot. On offense, he is just as dominant as he is starting to fill out his frame and get more comfortable on the block with the ball on his hands. He moves defenders with his body, has a few moves to go to but goes straight up with the ball and finished a few times through contact. Moerman is a rebounding machine that gave his team plenty of second chance opportunities, goes up and finishes and is becoming more and more of a player you can go to for easy baskets.
Aly Sakho— Denver Waldorf
Sahko was a new name coming into the gym and what first screams at you once you take a look at him is his massive size. Sakho not only was one of the biggest guys at the showcase in size but he played like it. He was very strong and aggressive rebounding the ball as he went straight up once he got the rebound but he was also a defender that could not be moved, although every single guy attempted to. He was one of the more aggressive big men on the day as he was very strong, he was a great on-ball screener that created plenty of space for his guys and he rebounded in bunches and kept the ball high once he got it. He was not finishing well on the day and appears very raw, but made sure to do all of the little things that made it difficult to not like his productive day.
Chancelor Parker—Scottsbluff High School
Parker did not back down on the day and made plenty of plays, more so on the defensive end of the floor. He is an active rebounder that secures the rebound and finds the smart outlet instead of forcing much. He is also able to put the ball on the floor which helped him as he was able to get the ball from the high lost and dribble to create room and get to the rim where he again did not shy away from contact. At the showcase he was able to provide plenty of second chance opportunities as he kept plenty of plays alive by boxing out, outjumping the opposition as well as tipping it to teammates. Parker was able to finish a few times as the rim as well and stood out as a big man on the day on a pretty loaded team.
Camden Easley—Orlando Christian Prep
Easley was one of the energy setters on the day as he is working extremely hard on both ends of the floor. He is an agile big man that is very quick and is an aggressive rebounder that was bringing them in in bunches. He is not to be outworked on the floor and used his 6’8 frame to block shots as well as alter shots that went up making it difficult to see over him. On offense he appears to be in inside scorer that uses his quickness to beat the defender and is springy with soft touch around the rim. He also showed that he does have a bit of range with knocking down two shots as well. He was going at it with other big men and showed that he is capable of guarding multiple positions with a good blend of strength and quickness.
Rashaude Ohiokpehai —Surrattsville High School
One of the most interesting players on the entire day was Ohiokpehai as he had very quick feet and was really agile for his size. He is a hefty 6’6 player that will be undersized as a big man at the next level but he is skilled in his approach. He uses his body and is under control and scored at ease for the entire day. In multiple games he was able to outwork the other big men and had a hunger to him of wanting to prove himself and left a few schools attending impressed. He shot the ball well, rebounded and ran the floor for easy baskets and started to become a part of the offense as his teammates knew where to go if they wanted a basket and he delivered. On defense, opposing big men were not able to move him so tried shooting over him and he stood his ground and made it tough while also securing the rebound and starting the break. He is a big man that can dribble and that pushed the tempo for his team for a few baskets in transition. I liked what I seen from Ohiokpehai.
Caleb McGill —Grandview High School
McGill started off a bit slow as he had a mediocre first game but once he got into his own rhythm, he looked like a top player in the showcase. McGill is different in the sense of he sees the floor well and possesses the ability to put the ball on the floor to start the offense and generates high IQ plays from the guard spot. Even threw a few oops to teammates. It was obvious that it took him a bit of time to adjust to playing with more athletic guys than he’s used to but once he did there were plenty of highlight plays. McGill is one of the state’s best two-way players as he is a terror on both ends of the floor. He can go down low and score with ease with either hand or extends the defense with his outside shooting which allows his guards to operate.