Phenom Queen City: Top Bigs/Forwards
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Welcome back to the Grassroots Season! My first stop of the summer was the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center for the Queen City Showcase, hosted by Phenom Hoops. Many of the Carolinas’ top independent programs were in attendance making…
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Continue ReadingWelcome back to the Grassroots Season! My first stop of the summer was the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center for the Queen City Showcase, hosted by Phenom Hoops. Many of the Carolinas’ top independent programs were in attendance making for a fun day of action. These five prospects are Interior Players or Big Forwards who stood out through the weekend. Check them out below:
Carter Bears Carter Bears 6’6″ | PF St Joseph’s | 2026 State SC of the Pasadena Stars 16U Group headlines our list of Top Big Men from Saturday at the Phenom Queen City Showcase. Carter is not the most athletic big, but he has great positioning and moves the floor well. He also does a good job of “walling up” near the basket on the defensive end. On offense, the Stars use him as a screener often – a role he plays well. Carter works hard on both ends of the floor and had a couple of solid performances throughout the weekend.
Rhett continues to impress as one of the more versatile players in the class. He was the vocal point of NLE’s five-out offense in an impressive win Saturday afternoon. Warga had an important 14 Points, 6 Rebounds, and 6 Assist performance in a win over Team Slay. One of the attributes that stood out the most to me was his passing. Warga had a couple of terrific plays where he grabbed a defensive rebound and instantly threw a cross-court outlet pass.
Highlights
TJ
TJ
TJ was a dominating force on the defensive end for Next Level Elite 16U this weekend. He is a good rebounder and an even better shot-blocker. His size and length allow him to impact shots from close-range even when not blocking them. Cartledge had a couple of very strong performances at the Phenom Queen City Showcase, 6 Points, 9 Rebounds, and 3 Blocks on Saturday and 12 Points and 2 Blocks on Sunday.
Kreger took over for a stretch in Next Level Elite 15U’s win over XLXB Saints. It began with him turning defense into offense early in the second half, causing havoc by jumping passing lanes leading to run-outs on the other end. Once he got in rhythm, the buckets started to come in the half-court offense as well. Colton does a great job of creating off the dribble – either for himself or for others. He scored or assisted on 10 straight points in that second half as NLE took control and went on to win comfortably.
Highlights
Beau Brannon Beau Brannon 6’6″ | PF Wren | 2027 State SC makes up the second part of a dynamic duo with Kreger on Next Level Elite 15U. He had to sit a little longer than usual in the first half against XLXB for a bit of an injury, but Beau was very good otherwise in that game. He was a tough guard for the Saints due to his size, length, and persistence around the rim. Brannon can also stretch the floor out and hit a perimeter shot, which adds a lot of balance to his game.