Republic Tournament Standout Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Missouri takes a look at at group of standout forwards and post players that we watched during our visit to the Republic Tournament. This list does not include any of the players that were part of my "Starting Five" feature for the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1425373' first='Cohen' last='George'] (Ozark): It was my first time seeing this 6'9" 2025 forward in person and I was very impressed with this talented young big. He has good skills and good fundamentals in the post. He was catching the ball and keeping it up high to finish around the basket. He had some impressive rim runs to establish early position in the low post. He also has a nice shooting touch from the perimeter. He's emerged as an excellent prospect who is only going to get better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1427987' first='Jace' last='Whatley'] (Ozark): A 6'5" 2024 forward who plays a strong, blue collar game around the basket. The big lefty is a physical presence who shapes up well in the low post and can finish with a drop step or a turnaround jumper. He does a good job of passing out of the post to open shooters on the perimeter. He also runs the court hard in transition. He has been a rock-solid player for the Tigers for the past three years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davin Parks (Republic): A 6'4" 2025 forward who plays a solid, yet very effective role the Tigers. He is a good worker who was doing a nice job of establishing good position for offensive rebounds and putbacks. He would seemingly go unnoticed out there, then all of the sudden he's grabbing a rebound and scoring at a key spot of the game. He is also a good screener and he did a good job of playing defense inside with good activity.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aiden Gazaway (Springdale, AR): A 6'7" 2025 forward who had a big impact on the game against Hillcrest coming off the bench. He has length and athleticism and he can cover a lot of ground when he's attacking off the dribble. He can also stretch the floor with his ability to knock down 3-pointers. He hit two triples in the victory over Hillcrest. He was very active and he was able to defend multiple positions on the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2346159' first='Carson' last='Bjorn'] (Park Hill South): A 6'5" 2026 forward who is a very capable Stretch 4 with his ability to shoot it from 3-point range. He was shooting it well from long distance, and especially from the corners. He's a rangy player who's very mobile on the perimeter and he also has the size and strength to battle bigger players in the low post.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aiden Chronister (Rogers, AR): A 6'6" 2026 forward from Arkansas who was impressive performance against host Republic in the first round. He's a very skilled player on the perimeter with his shooting and ball handling. He was making 3-pointers off the catch and he was also knocking down shots coming off screens with his mobility. He also handles the ball and can make good decisions. He also has good defensive instincts and can make plays with his height and length.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rex Krout (Rogers, AR): A 6'4" 2024 forward from Arkansas who was one of the most explosive players that I watched at the tournament. He displayed his athleticism on numerous occasions against Republic by throwing down three slam dunks. One was an impressive throw down off a baseline drive to the rim. He was also very good defensively, where he had at least three steals with one resulting in a transition dunk for himself. His motor was just as impressive as his athleticism.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->