2024 City Rankings: Austin (#10-#6)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out my analysis on some of the top 2024 prospects in the Greater Austin area! Some of these guys are division one prospects, with little to no offers. So coaches make sure you check them out when you can!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#10 <strong>Maddox Bloomgren </strong>2024 6'5 Dripping Springs High School, TX (ATX Force 2023)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maddox is a high level wing player who knows how to use his size to his advantage while he defends on the perimeter and attacks off the bounce. I loved watching him manipulate the defense and waiting for the right moment to attack downhill when he knew a second defender who would be stepping up did not have a chance of contesting him. He is a patient player on the offensive end, who does not force anything or cut off opportunities for his teammates. He is a consistent finisher down low, and can get two feet in the paint with ease off a live dribble. I loved his overall feel for the game, and how well and often he moved without the basketball. His constant motion forced the defense to key on him, and allowed glimmers of space for his teammates to attack with a live dribble. He gets his whenever he can within the flow of the offense, and loves getting downhill on the fast break. I was very impressed with how mature he was on the court and how well he attacked older competition. I would like to see continued development with his shot off the bounce out of the triple threat on the wings, as well as taking more midrange jumpers when the defense sags off of him to protect the paint.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#9 <strong>Kris White </strong>2024 6'5 Killeen Ellison High School (ProSkills ATX Raign)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kris is a complete shooting guard prospect with his ability to knock down shots on the perimeter, especially off the catch. He has a quick release and always stays ready to catch and shoot. He loves operating out of the corners, and is constantly in motion whenever he does not have the ball. He attacked hard closeouts and put pressure on the defense across all three levels of the court. Where he stood out to me was not his shot making ability, but his lankiness and willingness to rebound and defend. He is an active rebounder on both ends of the court, fighting for positoning and going up strong to collect defensive rebounds or go up for tip ins. I loved watching him scrap and defend on the ball, no matter who was on the other side of him. He was willing to defend any position, and with his frame showed an ability to defend small ball forwards and wings. I would like to see him work on initiating offense with a live dribble, and continuing to develop his ability to create space with a live dribble.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#8 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1203718' first='Wonder' last='Kahozi']</strong> 6'6 Austin Westlake High School (ASAK 16U Elite)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6321f95200acf","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1203718"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wonder is a high level forward who is great at protecting the rim and defending the pick and roll. He is incredibly agile and can move his feet to keep his defender in front of him and reject shots on the perimeter. He looks like he is not done growing, with long lanky arms that are great at swallowing up ball handlers and forcing his opponent's to adjust their shot angles. His athleticism and ability to run the floor allows him to be a real force on the fast break, finishing strong even off the bounce. Even within the half court, he is great at putting his head down and aggressively attacking the basket. His ability to explode vertically and throw down emphatic dunks in the half court was very impressive, and is a real testament to how quickly he gets from point A to point B, even in minimal dribbles with his 6'6-6'7 frame. Kahozi is a prospect you have to keep your eye on, I am expecting him to have a monster junior year this year...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#7 <strong>David Punch </strong>2024 6'7 Harker Heights High School (ASAK 16U Elite)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>David has been absolutely dominant every time he stepped on the court this weekend, using his frame to routinely finish over defenders and through contact down low. His opponents often times resorted to simply hacking him to prevent him from getting to the rim and allowing him to flush a dunk on their head. He is a consistent free throw shooter, allowing him to punish defenders for lazy defense every time down.The most head turning aspect to his game is the ease in which he can get his shot up over defenders. He has a smooth jumper, paired with a high release point allowing him to confidently shoot over anyone on any spot on the floor. He is a natural shooter who you can tell has had very good coaching to fine tune his mechanics. I was also very impressed with his attention to detail as he attacked the glass on both ends of the court. He willingly boxed out his opponents and naturally seemed to seal off his opponents any time he wanted to. His overall dominance down low allowed the rest of his teammates to defend the perimeter with even more intensity, knowing that Punch was back their to clean it up. He is a natural rim protector and routinely ends possessions with strong defensive rebounds. I would like to see him work on developing his soft bunny hook with his weak shoulder, you can tell he is working on it already, but if he becomes to be even more consistent with his post moves and quick one dribble pull ups from the corner the sky is the limit for him!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#6 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1160642' first='Amarie' last='Haywood'] </strong>6'3 Leander Rouse High School (ASAK)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_6321f96f00ad1","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1160642"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Amarie is a high level athlete with broad shoulders and a strong frame and explosive athleticism. I was very impressed by how well he was able to get to the rim with his handle, bullying his opponent's off their spots and getting to where he is comfortable in the paint. He puts his head down and bounces his opponent's out of his way and forcing a second defender to step up. Haywood made the right reads and made good dump off passes to his teammates under the rim. He also has the ability to play with his back to the basket, squaring up his opponents and making quick explosive moves towards the rim. He goes up strong on all of his releases, even when he is fading away, staying vertical to shoot over the top of his opponents. He is a consistent shooter off the catch, and does well at being a reliable floor spacing option when his teammates attempt to attack the rim. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->