Pre Live Bump: Imposing Frontcourt Studs

New readers: Use code Proia30     I drove up to Baltimore on Sunday to check out a high school AAU event to get several local groups some warmup bump before playing in front of college coaches later in the week. I got to see several games at the 15u, 16u, and 17u levels as a few teams worked new players into the rotation or welcomed back players that had been hurt the past few weeks. Let's dive into a few of the top frontcourt players that stood out to me!      15p 1r 1s 2b vs WeR1   -Really intriguing blend of skills in my first viewing of Duggan in a win over WeR1. The New Zealand native has nice touch around the rim but has the size and physicality to bump with opponents in the paint. Duggan scored off several baby hooks in the post, came up with a bad pass in transition to throw down a 2-handed dunk off vert, hit a spinning floater in the middle of the paint, knocked down a 3 at the top of the key, and took 1 step with the ball before throwing down a poster dunk with 1 hand in transition. Duggan is confident on the low block but isn't a black hole, thought he made good reads out of double teams on either side of the rim and made good decisions in DHOs on the perimeter.     5p 3r vs Warriors   -Barker made the most of his minutes by serving as a play-making forward from the high post who set great screens but also kept the ball moving on the perimeter. Barker knocked down a wing 3 off the catch, scored through contact at the rim, and has improved his footspeed at the defensive end of the floor to contain ballhandlers on an island. If Barker can improve his conditioning to run the floor for longer stretches of time I think we will be able to see a strong forward prospect that can be effective from the high post or low block in new threads with DeMatha.     16p 6r 2a 1b vs New World   -The skill development has come along nicely this summer as Pochkhua seems increasingly comfortable with making plays from the perimeter to supplement the value that he brings as a physical 3/4 tweener. Pochkhua started things off with a trail 3 off the catch, knocked down a wing 3, scored off a give n go short roll possession with a layup off the window, had a help side dig to block a cutter's shot out of bounds, hit a fade-away jumper off a spin move from the midpost, face cut to the rim for a catch and finger roll, snagged an O board and drove straight to the rim from the wing to throw down a 2-handed dunk. I liked his decisions in DHOs and he's doing a much better job of cutting off drivers' paths to the rim without picking up block fouls with his hands or lower body. Should be due for a nice jump in our next rankings update.     10p 10r 1s 2b vs Warriors HGSL   -My first viewing of the future SFA Panther in his new home gym as Hurt performed well with a good Melo group that executed their way to a big win. Hurt is a strong forward prospect that does the dirty work on the glass, sets physical screens, and plays well through contact around the basket. He showed off the footwork on a spin move lay off the window, threw down a big 2-handed dunk off a short roll, ripped away a rebound from a defender in traffic and laid the ball up before his teammates could react, and showed nice touch on hook shots with his right hand. Loved how he didn't just rely on his size to come up with rebounds and instead did his work early on the glass by fighting to get to the weak side short corner to collect misses. Should carve out a nice role for himself as a forward prospect that keeps the game simple and dominates some of the more "boring" aspects of the game that others ignore because of their effect on winning.     11p 5r vs [program_tooltip program_id='2078456' first='DC' last='Premier']   -Rhodes impressed with his motor as a young forward prospect that throws his body around in the paint to fight for rebounds at both ends of the floor. Rhodes ran the floor exceptionally well but timed his sprints to keep the middle of the floor open for the slashers on his team while other times out-hustling his matchup to come up with passes over the top that he converted into layups at the rim. He scored off of putbacks around the basket, hit an elbow jumper off the catch, knocked down a baseline turn-around j, used a jab step to throw his defender off balance before he started his drive to the rim, used a nice set of up fakes and pivots to score efficiently in the halfcourt (4/5 FG), and knocked down his FTs.

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