Grand Western Classic: Top Big Men

<p>The Grand Western Classic in American Fork, Utah was a great event with a ton of talent! There was great competition from the best of the west coast. It was great to get to see teams from Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, and Colorado all go at it!</p> <p>Here are some of our picks for the top big men from this past weekend!</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1041564" first="Daniel" last="Rouzan"]- Bishop Gorman 2021</strong></p> <p>The new transfer to Bishop Gorman had a good showing this weekend. Daniel is a player who has a D1 ready build, great height at 6’9, and a lot of muscle which allowed him to be a huge presence inside. He used this muscular build to be one of the best, if not the best, rebounders at the whole event, he has great footwork and sense to get in the right spot to pull down a bunch of boards. On the defensive end he is a brick wall you do not want to run into, plays very good straight up defense. Daniel can also get some buckets with a good back to the basket game, he also got a few putbacks and caught lobs for exhilarating dunks. Daniel is a player who only has one offer as of right now but I am sure many more will be coming in soon.</p> <p><strong>Jaxon Koehler- American Fork 2022</strong></p> <p>Jaxon Koehler is the reincarnation of the old school big man. Jaxon is dominant with his back to the basket, he has great footwork and a set of fakes that have defenders jumping in the wrong direction consistently; he has even gotten compliments for his back to basket game from Lebron James. From mid range he has a nice jumper which he can face up and hit in defenders faces; or pump fake to get to the rim. Once he is at the rim he uses his broad shoulders to create space and finish with tap out layups. Jaxon also over this offseason has expanded his range to three point land, the potential of him also being a stretch big is scary. He is also a willing passer out of the post, often looking for open teammates when defenders swarm him. Jaxon has been a straight competitor who always keeps his team in tough games, most definitely a player D1 coaches should be looking at.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="755613" first="Cameron" last="Brimhall"]- Lone Peak 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="755613" first="Cameron" last="Brimhall"] is a stretch big man who led Lone Peak to some big wins this past weekend. Cameron has a nice jumper from three point land and mid range he often goes to and this allows his team to play five out wide. He can also bang inside having a knack for getting good positioning to grab boards, he also got a few big putback dunks that changed the momentum for his team. Cameron is also a good rim protector who rotates well on help defense. Cameron has a few D1 offers as of right now, I can definitely see him being a solid contributor at the D1 level.</p> <p><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="1050066" first="Mo" last="Mbaye"]- Colorado Prep 2021</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1050066" first="Mo" last="Mbaye"] is a player who is an elite athlete with D1 size. Mo had a dominant weekend using his size to backdown defenders and attack the rim. He is very agile and has good footwork which allows him to make great post moves and euro steps when going downhill. On the defensive end he uses that footwork to get low on defense, which allows him to guard any position on the court, and also is a good rim protector. When Mo is not scoring from the post he is most likely drawing a foul, because bigger players cannot keep with him and wings/forwards are too small to guard him. Mo has a few D1 offers right now, could see him blowing up onto the national scene soon. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="989242" first="Osiris" last="Grady"]- Coronado 2023</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="989242" first="Osiris" last="Grady"] is a player with very high upside. At his young age he is a player who reminds me of Willie Cauley-Stein. He is an athletic big man who has a lot of raw talent. This athleticism allows to throw open dunks and even get some putback finishes, as he grows his game and gets more skilled will those surely be putback dunks. Osiris also uses this athleticism to protect the rim for his team. He also shown some capability of shooting from mid range, with very good form. Osiris with his size at 6’7 and athleticism is going to be a name to know in upcoming years. </p>