Five 5A junior forwards/bigs that stood out this season

<p>We are less than a week away from the end of the season. There have been some solid performers in the 5A class that has led their teams to victory and some that have come up just a bit short. Nonetheless, we acknowledge some of the class’s top forwards/bigs from a very entertaining regular season.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1139542" first="Joel" last="Speckman"] – Chaparral</strong></span></h2> <p>Speckman is arguably the most skilled big men we have in the state as he possesses the ability to not only dominate down low and on the block, but he can put the ball on the floor and attack off of the dribble, read where the defense is coming from and kick it out to an open teammate and grab the board and start the offense himself. Speckman uses all of his 6’7 frame to score, rebounds, and create advantages for his team. He has excellent hand-eye coordination, catches passes from difficult angles, and finishes. He’s one of the top competitors from the big man position, and he put up 14.3 points and 9.6 boards a game as Chaparral was named league champs for the second straight season.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1139526" first="Chase" last="Miller"] – Chatfield</strong></span></h2> <p>Chatfield was a fun team to watch this season as they have an entertaining bunch that plays for one another. The player that stood out most to me and proved himself was 6’6 forward, [player_tooltip player_id="1139526" first="Chase" last="Miller"]. Miller was a force on both ends of the floor and rebounded exceptionally well. He also upped his points this season and was able to get going offensively, which led the Chargers to a few more wins and gained some momentum heading into the playoffs. Miller averaged 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds a game and did everything that he could to protect the paint. He altered shots, was a force down low, and was one of the conference's top big men. He had a season that should not be overlooked.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="967542" first="Kaleb" last="Mitchell"] – Fountain Fort-Carson</strong></span></h2> <p>Mitchell is a rim protector and solid rebounder at 6’9 that turned plenty of heads in his junior season. He lives up to his size and is a physically demanding big man that soars for boards and does not let anything easy come his way. Mitchell has an excellent motor, runs the break, and finishes and when he gets it on the block with 1-on-1 coverage tries to score and create a mismatch. Mitchell played well alongside one of the top big men in the state and showed that he can share the floor and still produce. Fountain Fort-Carson was the only team in the state to have two players on the team that average a double-double, and they needed for Mitchell to put up 12 points and 10 rebounds a game. Mitchell gives the Trojans another option, and they’ll be a tough team to beat in the playoffs.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1053581" first="Aguir" last="Dawam"] – Denver East</strong></span></h2> <p>Dawam went into the season as a relatively unknown commodity in 5A, despite a solid summer, and put the state on notice in his junior campaign as he took over the Angels' big man role. Dawam gave East a player that they could dump it into for back-to-the-basket points, a large option that can play above the rim, and a strong inside presence that grabs every board that comes his way or protects the rim. Dawam scored with ease against smaller defenders and held his own against players as big as him. He had multiple games this year in which he had seven or more blocks as he blocks many and alters even more. He put up a balanced stat line of 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks a game. He’s a player to build upon and will be a player to watch for East for the next two seasons.</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1050926" first="Connor" last="Yslas"] – Cherokee Trail</strong></span></h2> <p>Cherokee Trail’s season finally came to an end on Saturday evening, and it was another underwhelming season for the Cougars. They could not pick up a conference win but did have a bright spot in 6’6 big man [player_tooltip player_id="1050926" first="Connor" last="Yslas"]. Yslas gave his all to Cherokee Trail no matter the score and had his team competing night in and out. He is a player full of contagious energy and a leader who is not afraid to challenge and push others around him. Yslas put up 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds a game which was a team-high in both, and was committed on the defensive end of the floor as well. Although Cherokee Trail did not have the season that they wanted, Yslas was able to plant a seed in the younger players on hard work as well as show that he’s willing to battle through adversity, and you often do not see that in players. Tip my hat to him.</p>