Brawl for the Ball: 17U Forward Standouts

<p>July 2nd-3rd I attended the <b>Brawl for the Ball </b>Prep Hoops Circuit located at Inspire Courts in Gilbert, AZ. This is one of the last stops before the <i>Hustle Region Finals</i> on the July 15th-17th weekend in Seal Beach/CA. </p> <p>I focused on 16U but watched some 17U as well. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Here were some 17U forward standouts that I viewed: </p> <p><b>Will Heimbrodt PF 6’7 SoCal Academy/CA (Team Ramage 2023)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The best player in the 17U division I viewed was Will. He has surprising bounce way above the rim but also comes with skill. He can shoot it easily to three plus is a phenomenal passer. Anytime he gets double teamed he finds the open teammate. He is creating shots better off the dribble then ever before and has put on 10 lbs of muscle.   </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1500488" first="Damien" last="Perez"] Carlsbad/NM (New Mexico D1 2023-1)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the bigger surprises of the 17U division was Perez. He does a little bit of everything and knows how to play. He has skill but also does a lot of the dirty work. He is sneaky athletic to throw it down and was a consistent perimeter shooter. He always seemed to be in right spot on defense and he will grab out of area rebounds, collect steals and keep balls alive.  </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="992830" first="Maper" last="Maker"] Fairmont Prep/CA (AZ Unity 16 EYBL)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A long top-tier shot blocker moves well in space. He mainly scores on dunks and mini hook shots, but is starting to take his game outside. He can catch and shoot from the 3pt line, which has become a new revelation. He is elite snatching the ball out of the air and grabbing it. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1284853" first="Travis" last="Torain"] Dream City Christian/AZ (AZ Unity 16 EYBL)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A long scoring forward was one of the top shooters of 17U. He has a pure stroke from mid to the three point line. He uses his length to plays the passing lanes and collects many steals per game. He rebounds the ball well and takes high percentage shots within the offense. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1420187" first="Max" last="Zenk"] Platte Valley/CO (Welco Wild 2023)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A physical forward who plays with toughness and almost a chip on his shoulder. He can shoot to the stripe and in. He works best inside scoring on put backs and rebounds at a good rate. He boxes out and rebounds the ball with two hands. He will block shots and is a sneaky good passer.  </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1183310" first="Corey" last="Wood"] ALA-Ironwood/AZ (Team RHJ 2023) (Pictured)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A long and lean shooter had a good showing this past weekend. He rattled off triples over and over and came with range. He is a sneaky good driver after a ball fake and has that picture perfect stroke. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="937183" first="Dalton" last="Graham"] Sunrise Mountain/AZ (AZ Firestorm)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A top notch passing forward had some good games. He has real court vision and will take the ball off the glass and push the break. He will consistently thread the needle on the break and score on layups, dunk it or shoot it from the perimeter.   </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1445839" first="Brian" last="Kalb"] St. Pius/NM (New Mexico D1 2023-1)</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A highly skilled forward can shoot it to the three and smartly moves without the ball. He can play inside and score, he handles it fairly well and makes good reads with the ball. </span></p>