EYBL Las Vegas: 2027 Standout Forwards/Centers

Las Vegas - Last week/weekend, Nike EYBL held its 4th Session at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which featured 20 hardwood courts and was the final stop before the illustrious Peach Jam this week in South Carolina. The event started on Wednesday, July 7th and ended Sunday, July 12th. I was in attendance from the 7th through the 9th to catch 3 days of action, and did my best to cover the 17u, 16u, and 15u divisions, so I may have not caught every player that stood out over the event. This article takes a look at 6 standout forwards and centers from the 2027 class (rising seniors). This will be followed by a look at standout players by position per class.In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, club team, stats from the event, and a breakdown of their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Ahmad Hudson.   Ahmad Hudson (6'8 | PF) - Ruston/JL3   Hudson is a physical and athletic forward that dominates the paint on the both ends, imposes his will on defenders around the basket, and is a walking highlight reel on the court, as was evident in his performance against NY Rens, where he looked to dunk everything near the basket and finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the win, as well as two monster double-doubles at Session 4. Hudson has great timing, elite bounce, and agile movement to be a top tier rim protector/shot blocker in the paint, the strides and quickness to close out and alter/deflect shots on the perimeter, controls the boards for put back points and second chance scoring opportunities, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has enough handle to push the ball up the court, but is much better at out-letting the ball and getting up the floor for transition dunks. Hudson finds the open spot opposite his guards attacking the paint to make himself available for the drop-off pass or the lob, seals his man off and times his dive to the basket for catches out of the pick and roll action, and has the handle and the use of the hesitation move to attack from the top of the key, with an authoritative two-handed power dunk that defenders are not looking to contest. Elite multi-sport athlete that has the potential to play D1 in more than one sport.   [player_tooltip player_id='1580233' first='Paul' last='Osaruyi'] (6'10 | PF) - CIA Bella Vista Prep/AZ Unity    Osaruyi is a physical, agile, and athletic center that impacts the game in countless ways, is an elite rim protector, and has become a better facilitator when the defense collapses on him in the post. Osaruyi displayed his all around skill-set in a loss to Utah Prospects on Day 3 of Session 4, as he would finish with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, with an average of 15 points and 8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game for the week/weekend. Osaruyi uses his frame and size to dominate the boards, with the box out or simply reaching over smaller players and taking the ball, has the strength to score through contact on the put-back off the miss, as well as some monster dunks off the rim, outlets the ball quickly to get up the court ahead of the defense, and is an elite rim protector with the timing, wingspan, and lateral foot-speed to patrol the paint and get straight up blocks or weak-side blocks and deflections. Osaruyi seals his defender off well in the pick and roll action with soft tough on shots around the basket on the dive, or the two-handed flush, uses the spin-move, drop-step, and up-and-under moves to score at the rim, and is able to connect on the mid-post face-up jumper to pull his defender away from the basket. What I was most impressed with was his court vision and play-making with the ball in his hands, finding open teammates with pin-point cross-court passes when the defense over-rotates, from the high-post to players cutting off the ball, and up the court off the defensive rebound. After winning the Chipolte National Championship with Bella Vista Prep, he continues to be one of the most desirable bigs in the 2027 class.   Caleb Ourigou (6'11 | FC) - Overtime Elite/NY Rens   Ourigou is an athletic, bouncy, and physical center that patrols the paint on defense, is a force around the basket, and is a premier rim protector in the post. Ourigou was the mainstay in the paint for the Rens and had a productive showing in Session 4, averaging a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. Ourigou has solid post moves, using the spin-move and drop-step to get space from his defender to score at the basket, with the lay-up or the power-dunk, crashes the boards on both ends, gets points off the put-back, runs the floor well to get ahead of the defense in transition, and has the wingspan and timing to block/alter shots near the cup.    CJ Rosser (6'10 | PF) - Southeastern Prep/Team United   Rosser is a lengthy and athletic forward that can score from 3-levels, has a plethora of moves to create off the bounce, and roams the paint to alter or deflect shots and passes in the paint, or on the wing. In my opinion, Rosser was the best long term prospect I saw throughout my 3-days at Session 4, and he displayed his all around skill-set in a premier match-up with the Florida Rebels, where he would finish with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the loss. Defensively, Rosser dominates the glass limiting opponents to single shot possessions, the timing, wingspan, and agility to be an elite shot blocker/rim protector in the paint, with the lateral foot-speed and long strides to close out and alter perimeter shots, deflects entry passes, as well as jumps passing lanes, to get out in the open court, and has the handles to push the ball off the glass or create in the half-court setting. Rosser has solid handles, moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover, hesitation, spin-move, and euro step to get to his shot spots, is accurate with the mid-range jumper off the bounce with the body control to absorb contact in the air, and the height to square his shoulder and get up his shot. Rosser keeps the ball shoulder height in the paint, has the spin-move and drop-step moves to score in close proximity to the basket, as well as throw it down, and moves well off the ball to get open looks off the catch, and can space the floor with the 3-ball. Rosser had a great showing to lead Team USA U17 to the FIBA title and his ability to create and score from the perimeter, along with the ability to hold down the paint on both ends is League material and will be a name to remember for the draft in two years.    [player_tooltip player_id='2278688' first='Precious' last='Sam'] (7' | FC) - Veritas Prep/Paul George Elite   Sam is an agile and wiry center that moves well with his size and frame, asserts his dominance in the post, and makes some dazzling plays around the basket or in the open court. Sam had a strong showing in the first half of the game against NY Lightning, where he would record 10 points in a tough loss on Day 2 of Session 4. Sam has a muscular but agile frame that allows him to control the paint on defense, with the wingspan and timing to block shots/protect the basket at a high clip, gets easy points off the put-back off the miss, collects defensive rebounds to limit opponents to single shot possessions, runs the floor well in the open court, and deflects entry passes that his guards snag for steals. Sam has solid foot-work in the post, the moves to shake his defender in close quarters, touch on shots around the basket, seals his defender off nicely for catches on the dive out of the pick and roll action, and is a threat to throw down some power dunks whenever he is by the basket.    #32 Lewis Uvwo (6'11 | FC) - Prolific Prep/Nightridas    Uvwo is a lengthy, athletic, and agile forward that plays with relentless energy, is an elite rim protector, and makes highlight plays on a regular basis. Uvwo has been one of the emerging stars of the rising senior class this Spring and Summer, and he displayed why in the Nightrydas loss to Team Melo in a great match-up at Session 4. Uvwo finds holes in the defense around the basket opposite his guards attacking the basket with the slip pass or the lob, uses his longs strides to get the basket quickly out of the pick and roll action, has great hands to catch and finish at the cup, has good body control to score through contact in the paint, and had several power dunks off the offensive glass that got his teammates hyped. Uvwo controls the boards on both ends, looks to outlet the ball and run the floor, limits opponents to single shot possessions with the defensive rebound, and is an elite shot block in the paint, with great timing, length, and instincts to block shots straight up, from the weak-side, or pin it off the glass in transition or when opposing players attack the basket and get to deep in the paint to get up a good shot.

Las Vegas - Last week/weekend, Nike EYBL held its 4th Session at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which featured 20 hardwood courts and was the final stop before the illustrious Peach Jam this week in South Carolina. The event started on Wednesday, July 7th and ended Sunday, July 12th. I was in attendance from the 7th through the 9th to catch 3 days of action, and did my best to cover the 17u, 16u, and 15u divisions, so I may have not caught every player that stood out over the event. This article takes a look at 6 standout forwards and centers from the 2027 class (rising seniors). This will be followed by a look at standout players by position per class.In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, club team, stats from the event, and a breakdown of their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Ahmad Hudson.