Havoc in the Heartland: Best 2025 Defenders

<p>Throughout the weekend in Indianapolis, many top prospects in the Midwest competed at a high-level on both offense and defense. </p> <p>Here, I break down the top defensive players of the weekend at the 15U level.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1385304" first="Javaughn" last="Robinson"] - 2025 - Danville (IL)</strong></p> <p>Robinson brought his defensive back skills to the hardwood over the weekend, intercepting countless passes at the top of the key and taking them the other way for easy transition buckets. He’s a long point guard with some bounce that locked down in the half court all weekend. Whether his team was in man or a zone, he was always getting right in the face of his man and scrapping the ball free with his hands. Really like his patience in transition and his finishing ability on the run.</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Matt Anders - 2025 - Edwardsburg (MI)</span></strong></p> <p>Anders is a big-bodied forward who held down the paint for Harbor Impact. The 6-foot-5 big boxed out well to grab countless defensive boards, and bull-dozed his way into the paint to make an impact on the offensive glass. He was tough to shoot over all weekend for opposing bigs, as his length and physicality didn’t allow for any space to be created. Blocked several shots down low, sometimes aggressively into the stands. Great defensive big.</p> <p><strong>Kam Hogan - 2025 - Fenwick (IL)</strong></p> <p>Hogan is a bouncy guard who is very patient on the offensive side, but very aggressive on defense. Hogan tipped many passes from the wings to the elbow, and always had his arms in the passing lane. He turned his steals and deflections into countless transition opportunities for his team.</p> <p><strong>Michael Addison - 2025 - Brownsburg (IN)</strong></p> <p>Addison was a straight-up pest on the defensive end, face guarding opposing point guards all weekend and poking the ball out mutliple times per game. He picked up his man early and guarded all 94-feet of the court, forcing many turnovers that his teammates would toss back up to him in transition for a bucket. Addison used his super-quick feet to slide with his man and could predict his man’s next move easily. Smart point guard.</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Wyatt Peterson - 2025 - Greenwood HS (IN) </span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Peterson was one of the standouts of the weekend on offense, but also played solid defense in both games that I watched him in. The 6-foot-2 wing swatted a few shots from behind and had active hands when guarding on-ball. Great length for a solid scorer on the outside, and was able to use his length and quickness to lock down his man all weekend. Never gave up on the opposition’s transition opportunities and hustled back.</span></p>