Run n’ Slam: Southern Ohio’s Standout Forward and Centers
There’s no way to properly recap or summarize the Bill Hensley Memorial Run n’ Slam event. You just have to be there, at least once in your life. The Spiece Fieldhouse hosts all of the top high school teams from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. Meanwhile, there’s several other pristine basketball venues with plenty quality college prospects.
We’ll do our best to capture the action, by spotlighting just over 65 Ohio prospects who exceeded expectation. We’ll call them “Standouts,” and segment them by state region throughout the early week.
Anton Webb (2019), 6’7” W/F, Dayton Metro / Dayton Christian
Webb is likely the best prospect that we saw for the first time in Fort Wayne. A long 6’7”, Webb is actually able to handle the rock a little bit and get into the lane for finishes. He’s a shot-maker in the painted area. Webb even hit an outside jumper on Friday night, which we’re told is a common sight. We also liked Webb’s potential as a versatile defender. He stays active on both side of the floor and caused a few deflections on defense.
Logan Duncomb (2021), 6’8” C, Mid Ohio Pumas Elite / Moeller
Duncomb, while already one of Ohio’s top 2021 bigs, is still not even scratching the surface on his ceiling. He’s the youngest player on his team, having turned 15 years-old last month. His body hasn’t filled out at all, and we all know Moeller will make sure he hits the weights appropriately when the time comes. His length also leads us to believe he has a chance of hitting the 7-foot mark.
Meanwhile, Duncomb already has a soft touch around the basket and finishes through contact. Speaking of contact, he draws plenty and gets to the line. He’s just starting to figure it out defensively, as he’s still not fully aware on that side of the floor yet. Duncomb has a nice shooting touch on short-range jumpers. He also lays out on the floor for loose balls.
Mo Njie (2020), 6’8” C, C2K Elite / Centerville
Njie contests shots with discipline, hardly ever fouling on his several deflections at the basket. He has great length and a promising frame. Njie also has footwork in the paint to go with a pretty soft touch. Once he’s able to put it on the floor, even just once, on post moves, Njie could be an unstoppable force. At the moment, he’s best as a scorer when he keeps the ball high.
Brenton Walker (2021), 6’4” F, Indy Heat E15 / Wayne
Walker has a D-I frame and build. He made most of his impact by sprinting the floor and finishing with physicality through contact. We like his upside as a versatile defensive player, possibly being able to defend 1-5 at the high school level and 2-4 in college.
Tanner Holden (2019), 6’6” W/F, All Ohio Red / Wheelersburg
Holden uses athleticism and power to punish mismatches in transition or the post-up. Red’s ridiculously tall lineups force two-guards to defend Holden, and he makes them pay by shooting converting high-percentage shots. His production was crucial in their championship run. His jumper is a little awkward, but Tanner is a versatile kid with a high ceiling.
Nekhi Smith (2020), 6’5” W/F, All Ohio Red / undecided (formerly Aiken)
Smith has a strong build and is a pretty good athlete in terms of verticality. He scored the rock inside on put-backs and power spin moves in the congested paint. He’s aggressive as a scorer in the post. The athletic combo forward has excellent touch on finishes, hardly ever missing when he’s near the rim.
Garrett Powell (2019), 6’6” F, Apex / Springboro
Powell is a strong-bodied post player with an exceptional motor. He rebounds the ball and stays active on defense. Very tough. Although we didn’t see him with the opportunity to score on offense very much, Powell would be a D-III steal.
Zach Huffman (2019), 6’5” F, Apex / Lebanon
Huffman straight up dominated in their Sunday afternoon game at Speice. Using his stocky fame, Huffman fought for position around the block and finished with foot work and a soft shooting touch. He really rebounds the ball at a high level by fighting in the paint and never being out-hustled. Furthermore, Huffman proved capable of shooting an outside jumper on a couple of occasions.