Proving Grounds: Saturday Frontcourt Studs Part 1

<p>In a guard’s world, we never want to forget about the "tall" guys, doing what they do so well, often in relative anonymity. Let’s highlight some from Saturday at Proving Grounds.</p> [caption id="attachment_1030354" align="alignleft" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/20200801_083606-rotated.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1030354 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/20200801_083606-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1022324" first="Brigham" last="Rogers"][/caption] <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1022324" first="Brigham" last="Rogers"] <strong>(Atlanta All-Stars 15U, PF, 6-7, Blessed Trinity)</strong> - Playing alongside the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="873083" first="Mason" last="Etter"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1020689" first="Tayden" last="Owens"] it’s easy to perhaps get overlooked, but Rogers makes that difficult with the way he affects the game at both ends, he hustles, plays smart, runs the floor, rebounds, and most impressively blocks shot as well as any in the 15U division I’ve seen this summer, posseses plenty of offensive game to unload on you as well, has range all the way out to the arc but can also find space on the low block for a turnaround or baby hook, setting up as a "power" forward at the moment but has the skills to become a very dangerous face-up 3-man as he matures.</p> [caption id="attachment_1030355" align="alignright" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/20200801_120226-rotated.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1030355 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/20200801_120226-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1020675" first="Jackson" last="Greene"] (23)[/caption] <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1020675" first="Jackson" last="Greene"] <strong>(Atlanta Wolfpack 17U, SF, 6-6, Lambert)</strong> - I remember Greene well as a frontcourt bench piece for the Longhorns this past winter, but with a senior-dominated group ahead of him he wasn’t able to necessarily showcase all his skills, my first look at the Wolfpack helped me see more of what he can do, long and athletic Greene poses all kinds of problems, he can sky over you or run past you with the ball, he has the moxie and confidence to take over the game from any of the three scoring levels, he’s a terrific defender particularly near the basket, and he’s as good a rebounder with terrific hands as there was at the tournament, love his upside and feel he’s in for a monster breakout senior year (alongside the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="869616" first="Mason" last="Barnes"] and Marcel Mauge in the backcourt) with the lane cleared for him.</p> [caption id="attachment_1030356" align="alignleft" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/20200801_120553-rotated.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1030356 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/20200801_120553-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> Tyler Lane[/caption] <p><strong>Tyler Lane (Atlanta Wolfpack 17U, SF, 6-3, West Forsyth)</strong> - Lane is just what the doctor ordered for any team looking for a guy to do all the things that don’t always dot the stat sheets with flair - hustle, defend, rebound, get loose balls, find the bottom of the net at a high efficiency, make few to no mistakes - Lane will sneakily hurt you by being that guy and having an impact in multiple ways, he is to be fair a very good shooter from long-range which will help him get looks at the next level in a backcourt role, but for West as well as the Wolfpack he plays a little more as a small forward and therefore finds himself an impact player in so many ways.</p> <p><strong>Max Tierney (Atlanta Wolfpack 17U, 6-6, PF, Dawson County)</strong> - The fourth of the DCHS "pests" as I jokingly referred to them, guys who make opposing coaches grey and opposing defenders wonder how they got beat, he didn’t get a ton of touches in the game I saw them against Skillset Worldwide but I liked his savvy on the floor, his understanding, he played big and very much up to his 6-6 frame, he makes for a fascinating complement to the backcourt pieces the Tigers will feature this winter and I’ll have to drop in on them to see Tierney unleash some of his skills.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>