Friday “Dagger” Sheet: Frontcourt Superlatives Dec 6-12 Part 2

Keith Agran

December 18, 2020 @ 09:14 AM

And now Part 2 in a good-looking week for frontcourt studs in Georgia. [player_tooltip player_id="1049037" first="Josh" last="Hughes"], 6-5, Junior, PF, Etowah (pictured above) Hughes has had a really strong overall start to the season in what has been a brutally tough first 10 games for the Eagles, still Hughes has shown himself like [player_tooltip player_id="870203" first="Braden" last="Pierce"] at nearby River Ridge to be one of the real breakout frontcourt players in north Georgia, his notable improvement over the summer for the Deep South Blue Devils as the only real inside presence there was tremendous to watch, and he’s taken that confidence to this regular season with some serious weapons on the wing and in the backcourt in support for coach John Dasinger, stronger, more confident, more polished, he may not have had his best scoring outcome in an easy win in the Cherokee/Forsyth Classic over Forsyth Central, but his work often shines in the little things he does well - defending, rebounding, outletting to start the Eagles break which is so potent, it won’t be surprising to see even more steps forward taken by Hughes. Eli Chol, 6-10, PF, Forsyth Central <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/20201212_140600-rotated.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1103002 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/20201212_140600-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>Striking an obvious figure in the warmups, Chol had some nice moments in real-time against a well-schooled and explosive group from Etowah, my first close look at him revealed a player with a ton of intriguing upside, displaying a somewhat surprising yet very confident stroke from out past the arc and superb shot-blocking qualities and timing near the rim, his frame and arsenal nearer the basket is something which is being fine-tuned, but the size, confidence and movement are things which are innate and can be big-time augments to an all-around game with so much room to expand and contribute. [caption id="attachment_1103003" align="alignright" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/20201212_162541-rotated.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1103003 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/20201212_162541-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> Michael Fitzgerald (23)[/caption] Michael Fitzgerald, 6-6, SF, Roswell Last season I left the Tournament of Champions at Wheeler over Christmas break absolutely tantalized by Fitzgerald’s prospects as he dominated Langston Hughes at both ends, finding out later he was a top football prospect made me kind of sad to think he might not take his incredible athletic gifts to the hardwood somewhere in 2021, but he’s still a sight to watch even if a bit rusty in a win over New Manchester last week coming off a recently ended football season, rust was not present on his explosiveness or ability to change momentum with a highlight-reel play at either end, he got sharper as the game went on and when he wasn’t throwing down a monster jam he showed off an adept scoring touch from any spot he chooses inside the arc and will be fun to watch as things head into a busy holiday break schedule. [player_tooltip player_id="869642" first="Jordan" last="Wicker"], 6-7, Junior, PF, Roswell I was excited to get eyes on the Mount Vernon transfer and he didn’t disappoint, when on the floor together with Fitzgerald the two were dynamic and virtually impossible to counter for a game but undersized New Manchester group, equally explosive off the deck to Fitzgerlad he really showed off his chops as an elite-level rebounding force utilizing both size and superior movement to own that stat, as the Hornets took control in the 2nd half he too got above the rim for a big-time follow slam and showed a really smooth stroke from the mid-range leaving the Jaguars with their arms out wondering how to stop the big junior, all that I had heard about his skillset was there and should really get the attention of recruiters as a strong and well-rounded Roswell team moves forward into a challenging slate.