Aaron Whitmore Prospect Report (2018)
Too often college scouts obsess over positions. Sure the 90’s featured a clear distinction of 1,2,3,4,5. Yeah, there was usually a point guard, a shooting guard, two forwards (one of them smaller), and a center. But times have changed. After Michael Jordan retired a few years featured hard-nosed, gritty, occasionally-dubbed “thuggish” players.
Remember Ben Wallace? Chris Porter earned National Player of the Year at Auburn. Corliss Williamson won the 1994 NCAA title games, capturing the Most Outstanding Player along the way. None of them fit nicely into a position.
Is there still a place for rebound-first, undersized forwards?
Even in the modern era, in a world where everybody shoots from the arc, there is still a sizable place for a sizable rebounder with unrelenting energy.
Enter Aaron Whitmore.
“Strong as hell,” said Tennessee Prep Academy President Harold Rayford Jr. “He played football in high school. He played football and basketball in high school and was one of the better players in Memphis.”
Tennessee Prep Academy Post-Grad Gold Team runs out two elite prep wings in GeAni Bannerman and Jordan Graham. When you have two scoring wings on the squad it only takes a rebounder and a facilitator to stack the team.
Aaron Whitmore.
“He is muscular,” said Coach Rayford Jr. “He definitely has a college-ready body.”
Standing 6-foot-5+Whitmore was instrumental in Whitehaven’s 22-win season in 2016-2017. He also wreaked havoc on the football field.
“The kid is super strong,” said Coach Rayford Jr. “He dunks it like he is trying to rip the bolts out of the backboard.”
Ferocious, but not immobile. The undersized power forwards of the high school world usually have the power, but not the grace to play beyond high school. Because they are stronger than high school hoopers, the hulking 6-foot-4 football/basketball studs generally dominate…until everybody gets taller at the next level.
There is one glaring reason why Whitmore will not be outclassed at this elite prep level or beyond. He has great balance and shocking verticality to his game.
Hand | Vertical Jump | Wingspan | Bench Press (Max) |
---|---|---|---|
L | 36″ | 78 | 185 |
Whitmore will thrive all season and astute coaches will take a second look after probably dismissing him as an undersized forward upon first sight.
Strength, hustle, power, and rebounding have a place in the 3-and-D era.
“I don’t know why this kid is under-recruited,” said Coach Rayford Jr. “It surprises me he is still available.”