BA Showcase – Five Best Big Men

We’ve written about Edmond Memorial’s Carter Hjelmstad Carter Hjelmstad 6’5″ | SF Edmond Memorial | 2023 State OK quite a bit in the last six months after he had a fantastic offseason while playing with ROGUE. While Hjelmstad doesn’t necessarily fit the “big man” cookie cutter, he is a bigger guard that has some serious skills around the basket as well. And one thing we’ve seen from Edmond Memorial over the course of the last decade plus is they know what they’re doing with players who might considered guards elsewhere but they have them playing near the basket as undersized big men. Hjelmstad just seems destined to have a breakout season and the Bulldogs will be looking for some serious production from him when you consider the talent that they lost to graduation. But as always, the Bulldogs are going to be in the mix again in 6A and Hjelmstad is a big reason why.

Victory Christian wasn’t at full strength during the showcase event in Broken Arrow on Saturday. Like most years, there’s a good amount of talent that they’ll be waiting for as the football season comes to an end. But one of the players that stood out is a new, but familiar face in junior forward Chris Mason Chris Mason 6’6″ | PF Victory Christian | 2024 State OK . The versatile big man had a strong showing during the Showcase as one of the more active big men on both sides of the floor. In addition to Hjelmstad, Mason has also really improved his game since the end of last season. And with that, we’ve seen an evolution in his ability to play outside of the paint. All of the skills down low are still there as he can absorb contact and finish, clean up the glass and much more. But it’s what he does outside of the paint that continues to intrigue us.

The first of two Union Redhawks on this breakdown is junior center Erik Madrid Erik Madrid 7’1″ | C Union | 2024 State OK . The Union big man is as close to 7’0 as you’re going to see in Oklahoma high school basketball and he just towers over opponents. He had a good offseason and is looking to have a new role with the Redhawks this season as a double double machine. On Saturday, Union was not shy about using their size against teams that simply had no answer for Madrid. When he gets set up in the block and holds his hand up, if one of his guards gets him the ball high, he has good balance and touch to turn to the basket with that ball still up and finishes it softly in the hoop. Madrid is also going to benefit from playing with a team that has some very athletic guards that can get to the basket. That’s going to leave easy dump offs to him as well as offensive put backs.

The only freshman on this breakdown is another Union big man in Miles Flemons Miles Flemons 6’7″ | PF Union | 2026 State OK . We mentioned in our team breakdown how amazing it is that Union still has a big lineup despite losing Trent Pierce and Chris Mason Chris Mason 6’6″ | PF Victory Christian | 2024 State OK in the offseason. But with Flemons, he has a much different game than Madrid. He’s more of an athlete who can move around the floor but when it comes to his position in the paint, he’s an absolute tank. He’s a physical player that also has a smooth turnaround shot with some touch. He also extended his game and showed off a mid-range jumper throughout the morning on Saturday. With Flemons and Madrid in the paint, Union is going to be able to open things up on offense and put a lot of stress on opposing defenses. There’s a reason they were a team to watch on Saturday.

Less than a month ago we were writing about some of the top standouts from our annual Top250 Expo in Edmond. Collinsville junior Zac Brown Zac Brown 6’8″ | C Collinsville | 2024 OK was on that list. He was one of the best big men we saw that day and he was that once again on Saturday in Broken Arrow. Brown is similar to Madrid at Union where he’s going to have a big size advantage in just about every game he plays. While he’s not as tall as Madrid, he does move around a little better and do a lot more than just post up on the block. Collinsville got creative with how they used him on the offensive end of the floor. One thing that really stood out about him on Saturday was when he would get the ball 15 feet away from the basket, he had good vision, finding cutting teammates for easy baskets. Plus he’s an absolute glass eater and rebound machine.