North Dakota Grassroots Forwards to Watch
The grassroots season has been delayed, If the summer months allow basketball to be played, here are some guys to watch: Will Obioha, ECI Obioha is arguably the top prospect in North Dakota’s 2021 class and a guy who is…
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Continue ReadingThe grassroots season has been delayed, If the summer months allow basketball to be played, here are some guys to watch:
Will Obioha, ECI
Obioha is arguably the top prospect in North Dakota’s 2021 class and a guy who is perhaps losing the most with the absence of a grassroots season to this point. The 6-foot-6 swingman is a high-end athlete who can impact the game in a big way on the defensive end of the floor. He’s an excellent slasher/cutter and a solid complementary playmaker who does his best work getting downhill. Obioha missed most of his junior season with an injury, so the opportunity to showcase his game for colleges is already behind the proverbial eight-ball. But he’s got huge potential with regards to the next level and a strong showing over the summer could be critical to his stock.
Alex Huber, ND Attack
Huber’s been a productive player each of the last two years for a very good EKM team and averaged nearly 20 points per game last year, leading the Rebels to the state tournament. At 6-foot-4, Huber has the size and athleticism to dominate against Class B competition. Can he produce consistently in a grassroots setting? Can he thrive in more of a faceup, big wing type of role? That’ll be a big factor for his future recruitment.
Owen Hektner, Pentagon Schoolers
Hektner played with the Pentagon Schoolers last summer and showed high-level shooting ability, which he did even more over the winter with Fargo Davies. If Hektner is playing with the same collection of players (for the most part) this summer, his role won’t be as expansive as it will be next winter. But it’s certainly closer to the type of role he’d play at the college level – so excelling in it would say a lot. Hektner can do a lot of things on both ends of the floor (shooting, out-of-area rebounding, team defense, passing) – the key is for him to do it with force consistently.
Justice Coleman, ND Phenom
Coleman is in a similar boat as Obioha in that he missed a huge chunk of his junior year (and wasn’t as productive as his talent level when he did play) and is hurt by the limited nature (at best) of the grassroots season. At 6-foot-4, Coleman has the athleticism and skill to be one of the top prospects in North Dakota. He’s a good shooter and a solid defender with a good floor game.
Gavin Keller, ECI
There aren’t many guys in North Dakota’s 2021 class with a bigger upside than Keller. The 6-foot-9 big man shoots it well, shows the willingness to muck it up inside, rebounds in and out of his area and has the range to defend both the paint and the perimeter. As is the case for most true bigs, the grassroots season is critical for development because it is an opportunity to go against similarly sized and gifted players regularly. Keller would benefit from that in a big way.
Noah Swenson, Pentagon Schoolers
Swenson played in the Schoolers program last summer and while he’s nowhere near as heavily featured on his grassroots team as he is for Oak Grove, but playing in a downsized role is actually good for his development because it forces him to impact the game in a different way. At 6-foot-5, Swenson isn’t quite ‘undersized’ but he’s certainly not oversized. But he plays big, and his motor and activity level allows him to consistently produce. More exposure against similarly sized and talented bigs would be good for him.