Havoc in the Heartland: 2027 Top Big Men

Averette is a tall, springy athlete with great length who moves extremely well. He likely will turn into more of a stretch 4 as he gets older but with his size now, he primarily played around the rim. Very much a quick twitch athlete with a quick second jump, he used his length to affect shots at the rim. He had an impressive blocked shot in transition where he pinned the ball on the backboard. Offensively, he is still trying to figure it out. Doesn’t have much of a post game, but his jumper looks pretty good. Has pretty good handle and is more than capable putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket, especially getting rebounds and leading the break.

Trummel is a fun player to watch. Super skilled, plays like a guard and is perfect to run an offense thru. I loved his ability to play on the perimeter and find open teammates. He was just as comfortable organizing the offense as he was in the post. Capable 3pt shooter off the catch which opens the floor up for his teammates. Has a little bit of an old school game as he plays at his own speed and doesn’t get sped up. Trummel can do just about anything, I really enjoyed watching him. High IQ.

Stokes is a strong big man that just flat out competes. He doesn’t have a ton of moves in the post but he was extremely affective finishing dump offs and putbacks. Because of his strength and athleticism, he was really good rebounding out of his area and bringing in tough rebounds. Stokes does a great job holding down the paint, which was something All Heart didn’t have to worry about at all.

It was hard for me to put Schwarz in the big men category because he plays so much like a guard, but at the moment he is more of a big man. He is extremely versatile offensively being able to step out and be a really good shooter from 3pt range, but also put the ball on the floor and take defenders off the bounce. He doesn’t really post up much, but he did get active in the paint tracking down rebounds and finishing dump offs. Schwarz is such a smart player and really was a match up nightmare all weekend.

Davis is still trying to figure it out, but he continued to get better and better throughout the weekend. He has big time size and length which gives him the potential to be elite defensively blocking shots in the paint and getting deflections. He was really good around the rim finishing as his post game is a work in progress. If he keeps growing and developing he could be a really good prospect.

Barnes was one of the more dominant players this weekend. Would have loved for him to be a bit more aggressive offensively but he was really good when he caught the ball on the block. He is very strong which he used to advantage to carve out space and get easy baskets. You can tell he understands angles which is impressive at such a young age. It looks like he is continuing to grow so I will be excited to see how his development progresses.

Beckler is a rim running big that plays with an extremely high motor. He got a bunch of easy baskets just sprinting the floor and beating his defender down the court. He was a consistent finisher around the rim, but what I walked away most impressed with was how quickly he looked up the floor when he got defensive rebounds. He was a big reason Mac Boys could play so quickly because he got it out of hands so quickly.

Payne is a big that plays all over the floor. Good passer that looks to give it up and cut hard to the basket. Very mobile and moves more like a guard. His length caused problems for opposing offenses as he got a ton of deflections and blocks. His post game will develop the more he gets stronger, but he impacts the game now mainly on the defensive end. Has a ton of potential.