Under-The-Radar 2023 Small Ball Forwards (1/2)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out my analysis on some prospects who need to be on your radar with how they produced during the live period. These guys really were turning heads every time they were in the gym! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Trevor Martz&nbsp;</strong>2023 6'5 Jordan High School (Katy Warriors 17U)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trevor is a dominant forward through his positioning and aggressiveness in the paint, and he gets results on both ends of the floor. He was very impressive down low, who uses his strength and size to finish through or above his opponent. He is a good finisher in the paint, who can use soft runners and floaters to create space to get his shot off over his opponents. He has great body control for his size, especially as he is getting downhill with a live dribble.&nbsp; At the recent GASO tournament he was very consistent with both his scoring down low, but also his rebounding on both ends. He is a very willing rebounder, who makes good decisions with his outlet passes to jump start the fast break.&nbsp;I would like to see him work on tightening up his handle and continuing to develop more moves out of the triple threat. He is a good big who can leap multiple times to either contest shots or attack rebounds.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Kaden Judie&nbsp;</strong>2023 6'4 Alpha Omega Academy (RL9 Honor Armor Lions)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaden is a high level wing with the ability to play the small ball forward role with his consistency in the paint on both ends of the floor. He showed an ability to routinely finish out of the pick and roll and on the fast break. He had a play where he caught a tight bounce pass and threw down a monstrous dunk that got everyone in the gym excited (Check it out below, thanks to TexasHoops TV and GASO for the highlight)! His athleticism was on full display, but not only to finish dunks. He made timely leaps to reject shots at the rim and snatch rebounds. I was very impressed with his ability to do all of the little things on the defensive end, anchoring his team's defense and snatching rebounds. He is a confident defender on the perimeter with his ability to move his feet but also use his active hands to poke the ball free. He made blocks and steals just as his opponent was about to make a move, perfectly timing up his hands. He made great decisions when he had the ball in his hands in the open court and showed an ability to go coast to coast and finish on the fast break. He moved without the ball and dove to the basket and sealed off his opponents for easy looks down low.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>KJ Holmes </strong>2023 6'6 Rudder High School (ADV4NCED Hoops 17U)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>KJ is an impressive athlete who is dominant on the football field as well as the basketball court. The lanky and athletic finisher showed a real ability to use his handle to get into the paint. I was very impressed with how well he attacked the glass, and used all of his length to his advantage, stretching around his defender to score in the paint. He is patient when he is underneath the basket, routinely using head fakes to manipulate his opponent, and open space for him to duck through to score an up and under. On the fast break, he made good decisions and showed to be unselfish even as he has a bit of daylight ahead of him, if a teammate had a better lane, he gave it up. Defensively, he is a natural rim protector, who smartly comes over as a help defender to reject shot opportunities in the paint. I would like to see him tighten up his ability to space the floor, as well as working on staying in control with a live dribble every time he is driving toward the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787364' first='Josh' last='Ugbaja']</strong> 2023 6'5 Klein Forest High School (Houston Superstars)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Josh is an athletic wing prospect who can play small ball four if necessary through his ability to defend and finish in the paint. He showed an ability to finish emphatic tip dunks and lived on the offensive glass and underneath the rim through is constant motion down low, and his willingness to seal off his opponent under the rim. He constantly moved without the ball and attempted to affect the game from all three levels of the floor. He showed an ability to handle the ball and get into the paint with a lived dribble with great consistency and attacked hard closeouts very well. On the defensive end is where he made his mark, constantly rejecting shots and anchoring his team's defense. He moved his feet well and showed an ability to defend guards on the perimeter as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Nicholas Buffalo</strong> 2023 6'5 Deer Park High School (C3 Basketball)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nicholas is an athletic lefty who use his frame well to finish down low, but also has a tight handle and an ability to score off the bounce in the midrange. He is a very confident player on the offensive end of the court, he is aggressive when he puts his head down to get into the paint and finishes through contact whenever necessary.&nbsp; The most intriguing aspect of his game is his ability to defend multiple positions and switch onto anyone he needs to. He showed an ability to take on skilled wings and shut down guards with his length and harassing on ball defense. He is an active player who is always moving around on both ends of the court. On defense I was blown away with his ability to slide over to cut off driving angles and still getting out to contest a shot in the corner. He tipped one jump shot in the corner after he had gotten two feet in the paint to defend a shot down low. Buffalo has all the tools to become an effective wing at the next level with his ability to defend whatever position is asked of him.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->