Battle of the Borders: Big Men

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These big men made their presence felt at WCE's Battle of the Borders. The majority of their work came inside but a number of these players showed some versatility with their size, either defending the perimeter, scoring from 3, or working with some skill off the dribble. Check out some of the standout big men from the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1878396' first='Josiah' last='Edwards'] | NW Drip Select 16U | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edwards has been a big piece for his team this spring, playing with great defensive intensity and letting the work show offensively. He's a tough rebounder, can defend the rim, and has improved on the perimeter now defending multiple positions. Offensively, he's gotten a better grip on his handle in tight spaces and has become a threat from the corner to step out and drill 3s. He's an underrated kid to keep an eye on who continues to put in the work to get better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1685506' first='Will' last='Nasinec'] | Seattle Select 16U HA | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nasinec was highly effective in and around the paint, combining the strength to back guys down with the skilled post moves to leverage defenders and get to the hoop. He was highly effective with spins back to the middle and showed great touch on shots from various angles. He's a pretty fluid big who impacted the game from the blocks and has a good scoring arsenal in close.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1601813' first='Michael' last='Masini'] | [program_tooltip program_id='2076260' first='FOH' last=''] EYCL 16U | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Masini is a promising forward who can pound away inside and relentlessly work the glass, but he has also shown some exceptional skill for a kid his size. He scored in multiple ways off the dribble, getting downhill at times from outside, using good footwork off the blocks, and showing some good touch with pull-up jumpers and catch-and-shoot opportunities in the midrange. He played through a lot of contact and congestion in the paint but just kept plugging away.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1787372' first='Ryder' last='Zanon'] | Seattle Select UA 16U | 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zanon is a big strong kid who showed he can score through and around some skilled big guys on the blocks. He went to a nice drop step for a few baseline buckets, feeling out his defender and setting him up with an enticing dribble middle before dropping that foot and cutting off his man. He's a pretty physical kid but also showed good touch with the left hand for a baby hook, and popped out to display a nice stroke with the midrange baseline jumper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1883819' first='Liam' last='Slattum'] | More than Hoops 17U | 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Slattum was quite impressive in their win over [program_tooltip program_id='2076260' first='FOH' last=''] EYCL 17U, playing physical and strong at the rim and providing a good presence to balance out some of their outside shooting. He has good touch in close, played through contact, and has the size to go toe to toe with some other skilled bigs. His work on the glass was critical to closing out possessions and cleaning up on the offensive end, and the forward even stepped out to hit a couple of corner 3s later in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2375333' first='Zach' last='Albright'] | Seattle Select UA 15U | 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albright was a rock inside for Glacier Peak's run in the 4A tournament and he continued to be a physical force while playing with Seattle Select at Battle of the Borders. He got a lot of his looks inside by outworking defenders on the glass, running to fill lanes on the break, and staying ready for dump-offs when teammates drove to the hoop. He drew a lot of contact on shots at the rim, working his way to the foul line, but also showed good patience and timing to get defenders in the air and earn clean looks at the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->