Landon’s Week 3 Player Evaluations: 2021 Forwards

This week was full of great games that had lots of great players in them. I saw some exciting prospects and look forward to giving you my evaluations each and every Sunday throughout the season. It is time to recap this week and look at what our exciting prospects did. Franklin Central vs. North Central - 12/12/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="963917" first="Sam" last="Mettert"] (Franklin Central) – 6’3" SF: Mettert was able to get to the rim the entire game, even against the bigger North Central team. Almost every time, he would face and take it to the rim. He had two hesitation drives that froze the defense and left him wide open. With his quickness and skill at the rim, he is going to be a tough matchup for anyone he will face this season. However, he was in foul trouble for the majority of the game in this one. He needs to stay on the floor to help out his team, but with his driving and finishing ability inside, he could be playing Division 3 basketball next season. [player_tooltip player_id="874198" first="Quinton" last="Boyd"] (North Central) – 6’2" SF: Boyd is a big body inside, and he is stronger than most people that he will match up against this season. He’s not the tallest player or the most skilled down low, but he simply out-physicals everyone. He is a strong rebounder on both ends of the floor, and he positions himself well for the offensive rebound and the putback. He tallied 13 points and 7 rebounds in this game. His physicality could position himself well to play at the Division 3 level. [player_tooltip player_id="874178" first="Mike" last="Elliott Jr."] (North Central) – 6’6" PF: Elliott is a big, bruising forward with some nice post moves inside. He had a good drop step for a bucket, and he also made a couple of inside-out passes to set up his teammates. He also has the ability to push the tempo after a rebound and run the floor. On the defensive end, he uses his big frame and his strength to be a menace down low. He played very good post defense, not giving up any easy looks, and he also had a couple of nice blocks protecting the rim. Elliott has no offers at the moment, but he has the ability, especially if he improves his jumper, to play at the NAIA level.   Gary West @ Southport - 12/12/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="874114" first="Chrishawn" last="Christmas"] (Gary West) – 6’4" SF: Christmas was relatively quiet in this one, but he did put his athleticism on display in this one. He got to the rim with ease early on with his size and quickness. His biggest impact came on the defensive end of the floor. He played great man to man D on the outside and used his length to read the passing lanes and come up with a couple of steals. Christmas currently holds 3 Division 1 offers, and since he missed last season due to injury, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him earn a couple more as the season continues. [player_tooltip player_id="874211" first="Parion" last="Roberson"] (Gary West) – 6’3" SF: Roberson is a big bruiser who can do basically a little bit of everything. He knocked down a triple, he hit a mid-range jumper, he posted up down low, and he drove to the rim for a lay-in. He’s not the best at any of these things, but he has the ability to keep the defense off guard with his variety of skills. He should be a good Division 3 player, and I would expect him to have quite a few offers as the year continues. [player_tooltip player_id="963905" first="Mason" last="Nicholson"] (Gary West) – 6’8" C: Nicholson is a very big body that takes up a lot of space in the paint. He isn’t the most mobile player, but he was able to go up and down with no problem. His footwork needs some work inside, but he did have a nice drop step move around the defender and a lay-in. At 6’8", he was able to rebound at a pretty good rate, and he got a couple of easy putbacks as a result. He has the potential to be a rebounding threat for a Division 3 school if one takes a chance on him.   Barr-Reeve vs. North Harrison - 12/12/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="783158" first="Curt" last="Hopf"] (Barr-Reeve) – 6’7" PF: Hopf is a very smart player, and he understands the game of basketball as good as anybody. He has great footwork inside, and he can play all over the court. On the offensive end, he knocked down all 8 of his shots for 20 points, with threes, mid-range, and layups. On the defensive end, he played very physical post defense on D1 commit, [player_tooltip player_id="647198" first="Langdon" last="Hatton"]. Hopf showed that even against a D1 post player, he was able to have an outstanding game and play with the best of them. Bellarmine is getting a very good player for the next four years, and Barr-Reeve is the undisputed favorite to win the 1A state championship this season. [player_tooltip player_id="647198" first="Langdon" last="Hatton"] (North Harrison) – 6’9" C: In the first half of this game, Hatton showed why he is playing D1 basketball at William & Mary next season. With Hopf (mentioned above) guarding him, he was able to score 15 of the team’s 17 first-half points in several different ways. Hatton’s go-to shot was the baseline fader, and he hit that with a hand in his face multiple times in this one. Hatton’s soft hands and beautiful touch make him a dangerous offensive player, as we saw in this game. He didn’t crash the glass as much as I would’ve liked from a 6’9 player, but he still positioned himself well when he did crash. Hatton is going to be the key to North Harrison’s success this season, and he should be a solid player for Dane Fischer and the Tribe.   Fort Wayne Blackhawk vs. Silver Creek - 12/12/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="529561" first="Caleb" last="Furst"] (Fort Wayne Blackhawk) – 6’8" PF: Furst had one of the best games of his career in this one with just his third ever 20-20 game and his second-most assists in a game in his career. He ended with 23 points, 21 rebounds, and 7 assists. I hadn’t seen Furst play defense against a non-post player, but he excelled in this one guarding Silver Creek’s top scorer, [player_tooltip player_id="569321" first="Kooper" last="Jacobi"]. He used his length to affect everything in Jacobi’s game, and he made Jacobi uncomfortable with every single thing he did. On the offensive end, he scored from all over the court with a smooth jumper, great physical play down low, and he even knocked down a three. This game was basically a showcase for Furst to show off all of the skills he had, and he performed exceptionally in all aspects. Purdue has a plethora of top-level big men, but [player_tooltip player_id="529561" first="Caleb" last="Furst"] could make an immediate impact at Purdue next season. [player_tooltip player_id="569321" first="Kooper" last="Jacobi"] (Silver Creek) – 6’6" PF: Jacobi has stepped into a bigger role than he has had due to the injury to [player_tooltip player_id="529572" first="Trey" last="Kaufman"], and he has excelled as the number one option. Although he struggled with the length of Furst early on, he slowly learned what he needed to do to get his shots. He found the open spaces and knocked down a few early. Then, once Furst got into foul trouble, Jacobi took off with 33 points. His three-point shot wasn’t falling, going 1-7, but it is a shot he can hit. He is a natural scorer with his go-to move being a pull-up mid-range jumper. He also had a very good game on the glass. Even with Furst opposite of him, he was able to box him out and grab the defensive boards for the Dragons all game. He ended with a double-double of 33 and 12. Toledo is getting a good player in Jacobi, and this time without Kaufman is helping him develop his scoring even more. Once Kaufman comes back, Silver Creek will most definitely be the 3A favorites.   Lawrence North vs. Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller - 12/12/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="830575" first="DJ" last="Hughes"] (Lawrence North) – 6’8" PF: Hughes is a big body inside, and he uses his physicality to make space down low. On the offensive end of the floor, he struggled early on, but he was able to use his strength advantage over Duncomb to get low and finish inside. To go along with the physicality in the post, Hughes also knocked down a triple. This isn’t a big part of his game what-so-ever, but if he can put it on film, it will be something that opponents will have to respect. On the defensive end of the floor, he played very good post defense inside. He kept Duncomb out of the paint for the most part, and he also is a great rim protector and showed that with 3 blocks in this one. Hughes will be playing at Butler next season, and he will be a big part of LN’s success this season. [player_tooltip player_id="714474" first="Logan" last="Duncomb"] (Moeller) – 6’9" PF: Duncomb is a big guy inside, but he had a tough matchup with Hughes, a much stronger player. Nonetheless, Duncomb was dominating early on with some easy buckets and rebounds. He always seemed to be in the perfect position in the post, and he has the basketball IQ to be where he needs to be. On the defensive end, he played very well trying to wall up Hughes. He had a couple of blocks, and he was able to dig down low when someone else had the ball in the post. He is a much better player when he can play with his back to the basket, so as the game went on, Hughes was able to keep him out of the paint. If Duncomb can improve his face-up game, he is going to be a much tougher player to stop and a top-level player at Indiana.