Labor Day Crown Recap: Top Bigs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Labor Day Crown takes place Friday, Sept 2nd – thru Monday, Sept 5th. The event, hosted by Prep Hoops Circuit Premiere program, Chosen Few, will take place at the Las Vegas Basketball Center located at 7350 Prairie Falcon Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89128. The tournament format featured teams ranging from 8U to 17U. The event also featured some quality low-post play. In this article, we take a look at the top Big Men from the event. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1185179' first='Kyle' last='Lemke'] <em>6'8 PF Dixie 2024</em> <em>(#8PHU 2024) </em>- He's one of the best players at simply doing what he does well. Lemke consistently sprints the floor, does his work early when posting up, and delivers a soft jump hook with his right hand. Overall he displayed strong mitts catching the ball while battling to hold off his defender. The Utah Tech recruit, is a solid fundamentally sound big, that helped propel Dixie to the 17U title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1140627' first='Wyatt' last='Jaeck'] <em>6'8 PF TF Elite 2023</em> <em>(#45PHU 2023) </em>- Jaeck's explosiveness was impressive this weekend. The big man is a big-time R&amp;J athlete that was extremely effective at catching and finishing above the rim. Jaeck played hard and showed the ability to score around the rim, off putbacks and finishes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='986966' first='Rza' last='Whittle'] <em>6'8 C Hardwork Dedication 2024</em> <em>(featured image)</em> <em>(#22PHN 2024)</em> - Whittle is a throwback big that does damage down low. He uses his frame to carve out space, allowing him to get the ball up on the glass and finish. Whittle finishes with his right hand a lot, however, he showed the ability to turn over both shoulders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1020436' first='Graydon' last='Lemke'] <em>6'8 PF Leverage 2024 (#14PHN 2024)</em> - The list of stretch Bigs that shoot it better than Lemke is short. He proved that again this weekend, knocking down a quick three threes in the game I saw. Lemke has a quick and efficient release, which combined with his size, is nearly impossible to block. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1022287' first='Khaman' last='Maker'] <em>7'1 C Leverage 2024</em> <em>(#3PHN 2024) </em>- Maker only played one game, however it was enough to make an impact. Offensively he's still a work in progress, but he may be the most elite defender in the country. Maker affected a ton of shots, showing off his elite rim protection skills at the event. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1572800' first='Louis' last='Mandar'] <em>6'5 PF Leverage 2024</em> - Mandar played a lot on the wing, however, the more I got to see him the more I'm convinced that he's going to play inside during the high school season. That may end up being the most productive spot for him, as the junior forward has a powerful frame, which should allow him to effectively bang down low. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1488499' first='Takeo' last='Moore'] <em>6'8 PF Prominent Elite 2024</em> - Moore gets a little better every time I see him play. The long big is mobile and can score around the rim. He showed some explosion, both when challenging shots, as well as catching and finishing around the rim. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO8yszk9xKc","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO8yszk9xKc </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->