Grassroots Roundup: 2027/2028 Bigs

Ingraham is what they call a load. The forward brought the fight to his opponents, playing like an interior beast. He showed a quick 1st jump, crashing the glass for rebounds and scoring off putbacks.

Mckinney is a player that had a Stockrising type of weekend. He seemed to be part of every interior conflict, rebounding the ball with a ferocious attitude and scoring off putbacks. He showed good R&J ability, not only when cleaning the glass, but also on the break. The incoming 8th grader had a thunderous dunk in the open court during one of the games this weekend.

Mihm was an intriguing prospect. His size is obvious, as he was the biggest player on the floor by far. The lefty showed some skill as well, knocking down some nice mid-range jumpers in the game I saw, Mihm is a player that oozes potential.

When you search the phrase, that’s what they look like, you’ll find Saunders. The 6’5 incoming 8th grader is all arms and legs, and he moves pretty well for a young player his size. He did a good job of keeping balls alive, and grabbing outright rebounds. The gangly big even managed to put in a few putbacks and a short jumper, to score the ball.

Parker grades out above average at everything except for shooting. He’s a bruising interior scorer, has the ability to faceup and slash, and is a better than average passer. He was huge helping Vegas Elite to a 14U crown.

I love how Rodgers does his post work early. The big man will fight for deep position, or skillfully seal to receive over the top catches. He has decent hands and doesn’t need long to catch gather and finish.

Cichecki is a player I kept turning around to watch. The big man was an interior wall, altering and blocking a ton of shots. Offensively, I like the way he fought for inside position, and he showed strong hands and good feet, catching several out of area passes.

I love young players with a signature skill and that’s exactly what Broxie has. He is a dominating rebounder, with the ability to grab both in traffic and out of area boards. He reminds me of current St Mary’s forward Joshua Jefferson, who himself is from Las Vegas.

You can tell a lot about a young player by how they perform during tough situations. Despite getting beat handily,  Willson never stopped competing. The forward sprinted the floor, getting a few easy buckets simply because of his hustle. He also battled against several long athletic opponents, pulling down a bunch of tough boards for his team.