Made Hoops East Mania: Saturday Frontcourt Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I made the trip down to Baltimore for the Made Hoops event that featured teams from as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Here are some of the wings and bigs that stood out:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elijah Espinosa | 6'8 F 2024 York Ballers MHC 17U</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The unsigned senior overwhelmed teams with his high-flying ability. Espinosa got active on defense as a rim protector then showed he can grab-and-go for transition buckets. With no shortage of energy, Espinosa hustled on fastbreaks even when he didn't have the ball, resulting in opportunities to catch bodies at the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1494076' first='Francis' last='Folefac'] | 6'5 W 2025 [program_tooltip program_id='2076999' first='Team' last='Melo'] EYBL 17U</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the win over Canada Elite UAA, the power wing made plays all over the place. Folefac had his hand in everything his team did defensively, creating several deflections, steals and blocks. Equally impactful on offense, he slashed to the basket and posted up smaller defenders, finishing through contact every time.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2353518' first='Babatunde' last='Oladotun'] | 6'8 W 2027 [program_tooltip program_id='2078457' first='Team' last='Durant'] EYBL 15U </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oladotun was as advertised. The big wing initiator created for himself off-the-bounce, getting into the lane for lay ups and dunks. He balanced the slashing by knocking down threes off-the-catch. And when smaller defenders tried to get underneath him and crowd his shot, Oladotun pulled over them with his step-back&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Efeosa Oliogu | 6'7 W/F 2025 Canada Elite UAA 17U </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Toggling between the 3 and the 4, Oliogu-Elabor showed agility and power on his drives. One way or another, he created pathways to the rim, no matter who was guarding him. And when he go there, he wreaked havoc on the rim with dunks or drew contact that sent him to the free throw line.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2352336' first='Jayden' last='Taylor'] | 6'8 F 2025 We-R1 UAA 17U</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although is team came up short in overtime against All Ball, Taylor kept flashing his physical tools and applied athleticism. He snatched rebounds out of the air over defenders, including a putback dunk. And he played above the rim as a lob threat, attacking the defense vertically.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->