Battle at the Lakes: GameChanging Frontcourt Prospects
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EDEN PRAIRIE– It is now time to lock and load into prospect evaluations from our weekend at Prep Hoops Next Battle at the Lakes, a tournament I have been scouting for now my fourth season with Prep Hoops. We gathered our notes (or chicken scratch in my case) to find which five prospects looked to be the best “as watched” frontcourt prospects from the weekend. We scaled our scouting map from Northern Minnesota all the way to the 414 area code in Milwaukee to break them all down. Take a look at who changed the game in the paint at Battle at the Lakes!
Raymond Brau | Hibbing, MN | Starks Elite 2027
The first word I wrote down to describe the long and lengthy forward prospect from Hibbing was smooth, as Raymond did a sound job with his instinctive movement down on the low block in the last game at Battle of the Lakes I witnessed. A lot of big men I get to watch struggle with working their angles inside, but that was never a problem for Raymond on Sunday afternoon. Raymond has already put together as a physical yet mobile frame that maintains great positioning on the block. The football scout in me would also love to see this kid on the gridiron as a tight end or offensive linemen in the near future as well if he hasn’t started playing already!
Hunter Miller | Monticello, MN | Minnesota Wolves 2027
Hunter showed off a frontcourt prospect that showed poise as a two-level scorer on Sunday afternoon. I liked watching his feel with his positioning when it was his turn to go for a mid-range shot in a very tight game with Minnesota Magic, which was one of the best ones I got to watch on the weekend. Hunter showed to be a passionate prospect that has a winner’s instinct in the mental side of his game from what I witnessed at Eden Prairie. A local prospect I hope to watch grow in my area.
Brody Cook | Maple Grove, MN | Minnesota Fury Blue 2028
Brody was one of my favorite frontcourt prospects in the 2028 class I watched on the weekend. This young man showed a quick reaction time when the ball came his way and it was his time to make a play under the rim. He showed off that instinctive gene I love watching out of younger prospects that have good basketball IQs, such as Brody Cook. He also showed off efficiency in his footwork on the low block which was great to see on Friday night at Eden Prairie. A coach’s son, I believe this young man has a bright future coming thru with the Maple Grove Crimson basketball program and I am excited to see how it plays out over the next several years.
Guch Moore | Milwaukee, WI | 12 Deep Wisconsin 2028
It wasn’t watch Guch did offensively that put him on our list of the top frontcourt prospects, it was his physicality during every minute I got to watch him on defense in a hard-fought win over Wisconsin Crusaders. Guch played with an aggressive tempo that just locked in to the ball-handler like glue on paper. When an opposing prospect would take him 1v1, that consistency continued, as Guch would get my Defensive MVP from the 2028 class from the two days I watched this weekend at Battle at the Lakes.
Jaylen Weatherspoon | Champlin, MN | Team FSA 2028
Jaylen was a long-armed forward for Team FSA 2028 that stood out on paper in my eyes, despite not having the point total some like to talk about the most. Jaylen was an efficient passer from what I watched in the first half of the game against a very tough 380 Academy team. For being just an incoming 7th grader, Jaylen showed a lot more length than you expect from a prospect at that age, and my gut is telling me there is more motor where that came from when we look at this young man in the coming years on the hardwood.