Big Problems Created by Rugged Forwards

<p>Much attention is rightfully focused on player 6-foot-8 and taller, but most high school teams lack a player taller than 6-foot-4.  Still, they manage to rebound the basketball and some teams even defend the rim despite lacking that insanely tall big man.  How?  Well, there are quite a few tough, brutish bigs who while standing shorter than the dream big make a big difference.</p> <p>Read about these "short" big men that dominate the paint and leave bruises to remember them by.</p> <p><strong>Ch’mar Butler - Gallatin<br /> </strong>Gallatin Head Coach Bobby Luna likes the power of Butler.  "Big, strong, physical, thick," said Coach Luna.  "Plays mostly in the paint.  Can play a little bit on the perimeter, but not really going to shoot out there."</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1012003" first="Jackson" last="Long"] - Beech<br /> </strong>Football players can play basketball too.  Often, they are wonderful and rebounding and defense and not so great with the shooting touch.  Jackson is that dude.  Burly, powerful. Hungry on the glass.  Strong.  He does not need to score for Beech. They have that covered with [player_tooltip player_id="1008433" first="Eli" last="Rice"], [player_tooltip player_id="1012001" first="Andrew" last="Paige"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1011998" first="Kristian" last="Shaw"].</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1125607" first="Xavier" last="Shegog"] - Goodpasture<br /> </strong>Xavier is nearly an outlier for this story, already standing 6-foot-5, but he deserves mention with his raw power and unmatched physicality.  Last winter Goodpasture won the State Championship and Xavier certainly helped. In time he will mature into either a Ja’Sean Tate (Houston Rockets) combo forward or perhaps a more modern wing.  Either way, his contributions are great right now.</p> <p><strong>Josh Roberts - M.B.A.<br /> </strong>The layoff for Joshua Roberts was lengthy, though the comeback will be entertaining.  Roberts was among the best freshmen defenders in the state two years ago.  He ran track and developed amazing foot-speed and tenacity.  The next stage will be unique though after he returned from injury.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1317054" first="Windle" last="Oakley"] - Cookeville<br /> </strong>Oakley is a fun player, in that he runs the floor well and possesses uncommon agility at 6-foot-5.  Cookeville will need heavy minutes from the lacrosse player.</p> <p><strong>Amarius Dunn - Gallatin<br /> </strong>A junior, Amarius is a downhill player with excellent strength.  "Kind of a 6'3" post player," observed Gallatin Head Coach Bobby Luna.  "Big, strong, athletic kid.  Again, a kid that can shoot the ball a little bit from the perimeter.  Good him around the basket.  I will give him credit. He is playing towards the rim.  He is going to the rim. He might run over you, but he is going to the rim."</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1019304" first="Rodney" last="Broadnax"] - Cleveland</strong><br /> Cleveland was great last year, but there depth and rebounding could have been helped tremendously by a healthy [player_tooltip player_id="1019304" first="Rodney" last="Broadnax"].  Now fully recovered, Broadnax will get all the playing time he can handle as the CHS post player.</p> <p><strong>Grady Parsons - Station Camp</strong><br /> Perhaps the most versatile of these starters, Grady will be able to play 1-5 for a rebuilding Station Camp High School team.  </p>