Western Reserve Academy Practice Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Wednesday I attended the Western Reserve Academy practice to see what their team is looking like this season. Alongside me were head and assistant coaches from regional Division I coaches, recruiting a handful of players from the team and in this article I'll spotlight some standout performers I caught from the practice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2867810"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aac719b8fed5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Fox is the tallest player on the Western Reserve Academy roster this season and his toughness will be challenged by how well he protects the rim and rebounds the basketball. An elite shooter and floor spacer from the forward position, Fox has a high and quick release and is one of the best shooters at his size in the Midwest. I also liked that Fox took advantage of the height edge he has at practice with more layups and dunks than I've previously seen from him. I'll be curious where Fox ends up because it's tough to find shooters at his size.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2844790"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aac719b8ff62"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Voca was one of the most impactful players on the court Wednesday evening as he just flat out made stuff happen. I liked Voca's driving style as he didn't mess around with a bunch of horizontal dribble moves and instead wanted to get to the basket and was physical on drives by creating contact and bumping the defender before the defender could throw off his driving angle. Voca got to the rim in the middle of the court consistently and good things usually happened when he was able to access that area of the court. On a team with a ton of wing talent, Voca's ball handling and perimeter defense could give him a nice rose as a guard piece this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["3772357"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aac719b8ffc9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ekufu physically stands out from everybody else on the roster and has a frame that wouldn't look out of place in a FBS linebacker or safety room. A tremendously gifted athlete, Ekufu received glowing praise about his defensive ability, having the frame, length and toughness to defend just about anybody on the floor. With that athletic ability, Ekufu not only can make a big defensive impact but he can also soar for monster dunks in transition as well. Offensively, Ekufu still has a long way to go in terms of his ability to take care of the basketball and use both hands when handling the ball against pressure. With so much natural ability, college coaches will want to continue to develop Ekufu when he arrives on a campus in the fall of 2027.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1560934"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aac719b90026"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Making his way to Ohio via Texas, Aluga stood out with his defensive impact and strong physical frame. A quick driver, Aluga can attack mismatches against slower footed defenders if he's able to beat his man to the spot in a straight line drive. Aluga will need to work on his left hand and 3-point shooting this winter but his aggressive slashing ability and defensive impact should allow him to see plenty of action for a Western Reserve Academy team that will look to pressure and turn over the opposition more often than in previous years thanks to guys like Gilbert joining the program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["3772359"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aac719b90083"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Coming over from Greece, Giantsidis had a nice evening for Western Reserve Academy as his positional size, ball handling and vision all stood out. I was a big fan of how Giantsdis scanned the court and hit cutters on time and wasn't afraid to try and thread the needle through traffic. It was impressive seeing Giantsdis get adjusted to the style of play and how his teammates want to catch the basketball to score and with two years before he enters a college program, he has plenty of time to fully adjust to the American style of play while also bringing his European vision and skill level to the table.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2694628"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aac719b900de"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">It's hard not to be a fan of Davie after watching him as his production is extremely high on both ends of the court and he just impacts winning at a high level. Despite not making shots till the end of practice, Davie was still one of the most impactful guys all day with his physicality, rebounding, ability to come up with loose balls and passing to hit cutters and shooters. With offensive rebounding and limiting turnovers being such key factors to winning basketball in 2026, Davie checks both of those boxes from the wing forward position and will likely be a favorite among college coaches when they spend more time focusing on prospects outside of the class of 2027.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->