Oklahoma State Tournament: Top Performing Big Men

This past weekend, the Oklahoma State Tournament showcased plenty of high-flyers, methodical fundamentals, elite rim protection, strong rebounding, and even some zone-busting big men in Edmond, OK, at the Solid Rock Basketball Complex. Here are the 10 Bigs who made their presence felt this weekend and who everyone should keep track of in the future, seeing that they all have plenty of high school still left in them.    Pushing about 6'7 or taller now. Most athletic Big at the OKState Tournament. Has all the right measurements combined with elite athleticism and speed. Skills are still pretty raw, but the giving max effort and listening to his coaches are certainly there. Can rebound and push the ball up the floor. He does tend to give up the rebounding position on occasion due to his supreme athleticism. Sean catches lobs with ease and can run like a gazelle. His rim protection and scoring in the paint are pretty good as well. He can improve shooting free throws and shooting in general, as well as his post game. He can be deadly in a pick-and-roll as a lob threat as well as out-of-bounds plays at the rim. He is extremely effective at getting second-chance points through pure hustle and effort. Plays currently for the Houston Hoops Oklahoma AAU Squad.       Super long athletic combo Point/Center with handles. Plays big when you need him to and can cover at point guard as well. Handles are still a bit raw, but it's still better than most small guards at the tournament. Can shoot well, and I can see him getting good at that part of his game. Miles is a strong rim protector also, and can potentially be dangerous in any zone on offense once he starts to recognize what the other team is running. Miles is one of the team leaders for the supremely talented Houston Hoops Oklahoma AAU Squad. He is gifted athletically, has some quickness to go with his speed and jumping ability.     Plays bigger than listed height. Plays and looks more like 6'4 due to his length and athleticism. This kid has the bunnies. Josiah completed the highlight reel of the tournament by catching an alley-oop and dunking over a guy bigger than him. It had the gym buzzing after that, when everyone was starting to get kind of weary on a Sunday afternoon. They were playing a much bigger team in [program_tooltip program_id='2385445' first='Legacy' last='Youth Basketball'] where they had 4 guys 6'5 or taller on the roster, and Josiah caught a body on 1 of them. His teammate who through the ball made a perfect pass to him on the fast break. I believe it was #0 [player_tooltip player_id='2817024' first='LJ' last='Harrison'] for Squad7 2027 Painter, his teammate, who threw him the perfect lob. The dunk was so nasty I forgot who threw the perfect pass, so forgive me if it was someone else @Squad7_2027. Josiah, more importantly, is a team leader and hates losing, so he had his ups and downs during the tournament, but the kid loves to compete and is usually in the team lead for scoring. I wouldn't mind seeing him continue to stretch his range out a bit; he can shoot, but he could also be better at it. His form could use a tweaking, but other than that, his defense and effort are solid. Btw, he will meet you at the rim if you try any layups on him.     Rim Runner. Rim Protector. Rebounder. Has Speed and a quick second jump. Plays with the right attitude, and he can shoot as well. Keldan has great form on his jump shot, can score with any big in any state, but still plays extremely unselfish, which is rare. The kid is Elite, and he was one of the key factors in his team (OK Runners 16U) winning the Oklahoma State Tournament Championship this weekend.     Has a methodical fundamental game. He is very Tim Duncan-like, very consistent and plays winning basketball and doesn't complain much. He uses the glass around the rim most times and never misses in there, and still has a soft touch when in front of the basket. Reed plays well in zone defense because he is mobile enough to switch out on small guards on the wing. He plays hard and has a huge gas tank for a big man, more like a CAT engine with diesel fuel. He is definitely the most fundamentally sound big man in the tournament.     Big and active! Micah swallows the lane really well. Guards and bigs have a hard time getting up quality shots around him. He is exceptionally good at keeping his hands in the air, even on pump fakes, when he lifts his feet off the ground. He is a big who sticks to the basics and is very consistent doing so. At his size, being consistent on cleaning the boards and defending the paint is what makes his team ([program_tooltip program_id='2385445' first='Legacy' last='Youth Basketball']) so good. Offensively, his just being present in the vicinity allows him to get several easy buckets and put-backs, at which he is also consistent at doing.     Skylen's game reminds me so much of Toni Kukoc. From his body type to his passing, to his shooting, and to the way he runs the floor. Skylen is really a big guard who can do it all, but he also doesn't mind playing in the paint on both ends. Solid team player and plays with a winning attitude. Most importantly, he is one of those unique players who somehow tends to always make timely buckets or plays for his team in clutch situations.     If I had to put one person's attitude and likeness to use as an example for every single professional athlete in the world, it would be [player_tooltip player_id='2852604' first='Kade' last='Ditmore']'s, and it is not even close. He has the presence of an army ranger but the class and gentleness of a teacher. He will close-line you like Randy 'Macho Man' Savage and then be the first person to help you up off the floor, which by the way is way scarier than the actual 'Macho Man' RIP. Besides that, he is clearly the fastest big in the tournament, probably in all of Oklahoma. He easily beats guards up the floor, and because of that, he gets plenty of easy buckets. His effort is unquestioned; he plays harder than everyone at his position, and he is in great overall shape. On both ends of the floor, he is a team leader and does a great job of uplifting teammates and communicating. Stands about 6'4 ish, plays even bigger though at Center, but there's no limit to this kid.     Athletic big who loves to play. IB got a few dunks during the tournament that made a few heads roll, and he wanted to rock the rim a few more times, but the refs called the game before he could tear the rim down on day 1. Day 2, more of the same. He does have a decent soft touch near the free-throw line in the lane that needs a little more work, but is promising. It would continue to help him bust the zone coverage and make his athleticism even more potent. Plays big, but is limited against bigger opponents. His mid-range in that paint area in the future will make him lethal.     Manny is one of those bigs who you think is not going to get to your shot on a floater until he sends it into the first row on you. He is deceptively long and agile. He has better hops than you think he does, which tells me that if commitment is involved, he could be even more dangerous around the rim on defense and in the paint in general. Wouldn't mind seeing more of him in the future to see his growth as a player. He's got some dog in him!

This past weekend, the Oklahoma State Tournament showcased plenty of high-flyers, methodical fundamentals, elite rim protection, strong rebounding, and even some zone-busting big men in Edmond, OK, at the Solid Rock Basketball Complex. Here are the 10 Bigs who made their presence felt this weekend and who everyone should keep track of in the future, seeing that they all have plenty of high school still left in them.