EYBL Las Vegas: 2028 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 2028 class (rising juniors). 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 Benji Berrouet.   Benjamin Berrouet (6'8 | PF) - McKinney Boyd/AB Elite   Berrouet is a skilled and agile power forward that has a variety of moves to score the ball, can space the floor from beyond the arc, and dominates the boards on both ends. Berrouet was one of the names buzzing at Session 4 in the 16u division as a must see, and he did not disappoint in the close win over Drive Nation, where he finished with a monster double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds. Berrouet corrals the offensive boards to get easy points off the put-back, controls the defensive rebound the to limit opponents to single shot possessions, has enough handle to push the ball off the glass or make reads up the court to open players in transition, as the length and timing to block/alter shots around the basket, as well as the agility and foot-speed to close out and contest perimeter shots, and deflect entry passes for his guards to snag the ball to push the pace. Berrouet has great interior footwork, moves to score in the post, using the spin-move and drop-step to separate from his defender, with touch on shots around the basket with the reverse and up-and-under lay-ups, or using his physical frame, combined with bounce, to throw it down with authority, and moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, where he is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, especially the corner triple, makes great cuts to the basket to get open for the lob pass, is effective with the face-up mid-post jumper, and the handles to attack from the top of the key to attack the basket. Impressive showing for the stretch-four that has been buzzing   Carter Coleman (6'8 | PF) - Oklahoma Christian Academy/Mokan Elite   Coleman is a wiry and athletic forward that likes to play above the rim often, can space the floor from beyond the arc, and is a versatile defender. Coleman had a solid showing during Session 4 and is one of the rising juniors I saw with huge up-side given his skill-set and frame. Coleman has the length, quick leaping ability, and timing to block/alter shots in the paint, the agility to step out and contest shots from the wing, the lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players, with active hands and wingspan to deflect passes or jump passing lanes, as well as deflect entry passes to the post for his teammates to snag and push the ball in the open court. Offensively, Coleman has solid handles, moves to create off the dribble, using the crossover, the hesitation, and the step-back to generate space from his defender, is effective with the jumper off the bounce, in particular the 3-ball, has the moves in the paint to score around the basket, using the euro-step, reverse, and spin-moves to evade his defender and shot blockers, and has great off ball movement with the back-cut to get open for lobs to catch and throw down at a high-clip.    Erick Dampier Jr. (6'10 | PF) - Madison Ridgeland Academy/Alabama Fusion   Dampier is a physical and fundamentally gifted power forward that dominates the paint on both ends, is an elite rim protector in the post, and plays within his skill-set and strengths, which can be refreshing to see in the world of prep hoops. Dampier had a monster game at Session 4 in a win over Team Melo, as he would finish with 23 points, along with a big double-double against Team Durant, finishing with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Dampier has a more traditional big man's game, using his size, physical build, and court awareness to impose his will around the basket, dominating the boards to get points off the put-back, limit opponents to single shot possessions, outlets the ball quickly to get up the court ahead of the defense in transition, and is a high-level shot blocker and rim protector, with great timing and the wingspan to swat balls away that perimeter players attempt to make when attacking the basket, as well as straight up blocks on other bigs trying to score over him. Dampier has great interior footwork, keeps moving from block to block to find openings in the dunker spot or the top of the restricted circle for easy catch and score opportunities, as well as timing dives and sealing off his defender to get open out of the pick and roll action. Dampier uses the spin-move and drop-step to create space from his defender and score at the cup.    [player_tooltip player_id='2436947' first='Bentley' last='Lusakueno'] (6'10 | PF) - Woodard Academy/Team CP3   Lusakueno is a lengthy, skilled, and sharp shooter stretch-four that is an elite rim protector, has touch on shots in the paint, and can space the floor from beyond the arc at a high-clip to pull opposing shot blockers away from the basket. Lusakueno was the best rising junior forward I saw at Session 4, and one of the top long-term prospects regardless of class, and he had it going early and often in a win over JET Academy, scoring 16 points, connecting on a pair of threes, and pulling down 6 rebounds in the win. Lusakueno has good interior footwork, moves well off the ball to get open in the dunker spot or from the top of the restricted area, with good hands to catch and finish with touch around the basket, using the hook/floater, the up-and-under, reverse, or euro-step to evade his defender, and has the bounce to go up and get the ball of the lob or the slip pass for some big time dunks. What makes Lusakueno such an appealing prospect is his accuracy and off-ball movement on the perimeter to get to his shot spots, and the ability to catch fire from the 3-point line off the catch, where he makes use of the pump-fake or hesitation to get to the mid-range jumper, where he has the lift and length to shoot over most defenders. Defensively, Lusakueno uses his wingspan, timing, and agility to block shots straight up or from the weakside, in  the post, the lateral footspeed to close out and alter perimeter shots, and the timing and active hands to deflect entry passes or jump passing lanes, allowing him or his teammates to push the ball in the open court. The scary part for his opponents is that he still has room to grow as a player and is already a top 10 player in the 2028 class.    [player_tooltip player_id='2746603' first='Shalen' last='Sheppard'] (6'9 | PF) - Crossroads/Vegas Elite    Sheppard is a skillful, lengthy, and fundamentally sound forward that is active on the boards, has a variety of moves to score in the paint, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Sheppard had a strong showing at Session 4 in Las Vegas, in particular in a hard fought loss to Pro Skills, as he would finish with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists to show off his ability to make plays for others, as well as himself. Sheppard dominates the boards, gets plenty of scoring opportunities off the put-back shot, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the wingspan, timing, and agility to block/alter shots straight up or from the weak-side, the long strides to close out and contest perimeter shots, deflect entry passes, jump passing lanes, and turn defense to offense routinely. Offensively, Sheppard has great footwork, moves, and touch to score often around the basket, using the spin-move, up-and-under, and drop-step to separate from his defender, has enough handle to put the ball on the deck and attack from the top of the key, is accurate with the face-up jumper from the mid-post, and moves well of the ball to get open looks off the catch from the 3-point line. Sheppard has the handle to push up the court, has the potential to be an elite stretch-four with more in-game reps from beyond the arc, and for me personally, is a bit more agile and versatile than Dampier, but both play a more traditional power forward/center position at this stage of their development.   [player_tooltip player_id='2750239' first='Eli' last='Simmons'] (6'6 | PF) - Heritage Christian/Team Why Not   Simmons is an athletic, physical, and skilled power forward that plays much taller than his listed height, makes plays to get others involved, and impacts the game in a variety of ways. Simmons is the glue in the paint for Why Not that holds down the middle of the defense and offense, and fits perfectly with the players he's surrounded by being more agile, with quick movement to keep pace with his speedy perimeter players, and had a monster game against NW Rotary [program_tooltip program_id='2076878' first='Rebels' last=''] on opening day of Session 4, going for 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists in the close win. Simmons has solid handles and moves to create off the perimeter, using the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to get by his defender, is accurate with the mid-range jumper off the bounce, and has nice touch on shots around the basket, using the drop-step, spin-move, up-and-under, and reverse moves to score among height in the paint, as well as the strength to muscle through contact to score at the basket. Simmons controls the boards on both ends, gets easy points off put-backs, and has the frame to hold up against taller players, and the lateral quickness to stay in front of perimeter players on the switch-off. Simmons excels in the open court running the floor, and makes quality reads from the top of the key or from the low-blocks to teammates cutting off the ball.

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 2028 class (rising juniors). 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 Benji Berrouet.