EYBL Las Vegas: 2029 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 7 standout forwards and centers from the 2029 class (rising sophomores). This will be the final article from EYBL Session 4. 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 Grant Duggins.   Grant Duggins (6'10 | PF) - Greensboro Day/Team CP3   Duggins is a skilled and agile forward/center that runs the floor well, is a handful in the paint on both ends, and can space the floor with the 3-ball. Duggins is one of the top rising sophomores in the country and led Team CP3 15s in scoring, rebounding, and steals averaging 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game for the EYBL season, and displayed his all around skill set in his team's opening game against NY Lightning. Duggins has good length, agility, and awareness to block/alter shots in the paint straight up or from the weak-side, can step out and contest on the perimeter, dominates the boards to get easy points off put-backs, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the handle to push the ball up the court or outlet the ball to get up the court, where he often gets ahead of the defense for the catch ahead and score in transition. Duggins seals his defender off nicely to get open on the dive out of the pick and roll action, has the handles to catch the ball on the curl at the top of the key to attack down the lane with touch at the basket or the power dunk, has good court vision to make reads to open teammates from the top of the key or from the low-block, and moves well off the ball to get open looks for the 3-ball off the catch, where he connects on the jumper with regularity to space the floor.    Roman Felix (6'8 | PF) - San Joaquin Memorial/Oakland Soldiers   Felix is a skilled and athletic power forward that controls the glass on both ends, can stretch the floor from beyond the arc, and makes plays to get others involved, playing within his skill set. Felix had a solid showing at Session 4, showcasing his ability to impact multiple aspects of the game, especially his post-presence, finishing with 7 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a win over Vegas Elite. Felix gets great positioning to seal off his opponent, goes after the ball, gets his team multiple possessions with the offensive board, as well as limiting opponents to single shot possessions on the defensive end, with enough handle to push the ball up the court or zip the ball up the court, and has great timing, second chance leaping ability, and the wingspan to block shots in the paint at a high clip, along with being able to close out and deter perimeter shots from the wing. Felix gets to his shot spots on the wing, is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, has the handles and moves off the pump-fake to attack off the baseline, or from the top of the key to score down the lane, and has great touch on shots around the basket. Felix has had a solid Spring and Summer of play and earned an offer from Fresno State.    Cayden Gaskins (6'7 | PF) - Columbus/JET Academy 16s   Gaskins is a physical, athletic, and bounce forward that can protect the basket, controls the glass, and looks to get up the court in transition for some big time finishes. Gaskins controls the boards with his size and quick leaping ability, gets easy points off the put-back tip-ins, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the wingspan and timing to block/alter shots in the paint, as well as on the close out on perimeter shots, with active hands to deflect passes or jump passing lanes to get out and push the pace of play. Gaskins finds openings in the dunker spot or the top of the restricted area for easy catches off the dump off passes, dives to the basket to get open off the pick and roll action, and is effective with the mid-range jumper.    Elon Henderson (6'9 | PF) - Leo/Bradley Beal Elite    Henderson is a lengthy and versatile forward/center that is active on the glass, can spread the floor from beyond the arc, and has tremendous upside as a rising sophomore big that can shoot it. Henderson had a solid showing during Session 4 showcasing his skill set as a possible high-level stretch-four prospect to track. Henderson seals his opponent off and goes after the rebound, has touch on the put-back off the miss, limits opposing teams to single shot possessions, outlets the ball quickly to get up the court and ahead of the defense, has the wingspan and timing to block shots in the paint straight up or from the weak-side, and deflects entry passes that his teammates snag for the steal. Henderson has good hands to catch passes to the post, has the physical build to absorb and score through contact, is effective with the baseline jumper, and gets to his shot spots for the 3-ball off the catch that he drills with consistency.   Jephte Ogbasa (6'8 | PF) - Our Savior Lutheran/NY Lightning   Ogbasa is a lengthy, physical, and athletic forward/center that controls the boards on both ends, protects the basket, and looks to throw it down anytime he is close to the basket. Ogbasa had a solid showing in a loss to Team CP3, going for 8 points and 7 rebounds, and showed signs of why he is an interior prospect to keep an eye on over the next few years. Ogbasa does a great job of corralling the boards on the defensive glass, outlets the ball quickly and has good on court speed to get ahead of the defense for catch and dunk opportunities in transition, gets points off the put-back, has the wingspan and timing to block shots in the paint, and deflect entry passes for his guards to get the steal and get out in the open court. Ogbasa has good court awareness to find openings around the basket to receive the slip pass or drop off pass for catch and score chances, and seals his defender off well to get open off the dive out of the pick and roll action.    [player_tooltip player_id='3139804' first='William' last='Phillips'] (6'8 | WF) - Sacramento/Oakland Soldiers    Phillips is a lengthy, athletic, and skilled slashing forward that can take flight with dazzling dunks, crashes the boards on both ends, and excels in the open court. Phillips is one of the nation's top rising sophomores and had a great freshman campaign for the Dragons, which he continued that level of play at Session 4 in Vegas, going for 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals against [program_tooltip program_id='2075324' first='Brad' last='Beal Elite'], followed by 13 points and 3 steals in a win over Vegas Elite. Phillips dominates the boards on both ends, gets points off the put-back tip-in or dunk off the miss, has the wingspan, timing, and lateral foot-speed to to block shots in the paint, from the weak-side, or on the wing off the closeout on perimeter shooters, jumps passing lanes or deflects passes to turn defense to offense, where he can get out and run in the open court, displaying his athleticism and body control. Phillips has solid handles, uses the crossover to get by his initial defender on the wing, the spin-move or fade-away to create space from his opponents with accuracy on the mid-range jumper, is effective with the 3-ball off the bounce, and has touch on shots around the basket, with the euro-step and up-and-under lay-ups to score among height.   [player_tooltip player_id='2918995' first='Jacob' last='Schlutow'] (6'6 | WF) - Blue Springs/Mokan Elite   Schlutow is a skilled, athletic, and lengthy forward/slasher that controls the glass, can score it from various spots on the floor, and is a double-double threat when he steps on the court. Schlutow had a great showing at Session 4, putting up 15 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Paul George Elite, which was followed up by winning the E15 Peach Jam championship a few days ago. Schlutow crashes the boards on both ends at a high-level, gets points off the put-back shot, limits opposing teams to single shot possessions, has the wingspan and timing to block shots in the paint, with the agility to close out and alter perimeter shots, and has the handles to push the ball up the court to go coast to coast, or the outlet pass to get up the court and be the recipient of passes up the court. Schlutow has the height to shoot over most defenders on the wing, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, and is efficient with the 3-ball off the catch or the dribble.

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 7 standout forwards and centers from the 2029 class (rising sophomores). This will be the final article from EYBL Session 4. 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 Grant Duggins.