GASO Memorial Day Weekend 2023 Forward Standouts

<p>Check out my scouting reports and analysis on some of the top prospects in attendance at the GASO (Great American Shoot Out) Dallas Fort Worth Memorial Day Weekend tournament! These guys really popped during their time on the court, expect them to begin to garner some real attention over the next few circuit months! </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1212698" first="Kordrick" last="Turner"] </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2023 6’7 Sulphur Springs High School (Dallas Showtyme 17U Elite Rise)</span></p> <p>Kordrick is a polished big man with impeccable footwork to manipulate his opponents down low time and time again. He is a hard working forward who loves seeling off his opponent and keeping them on his back and forcing them to foul or let him have the easy two down low. He routinely kept his opponent on his back out of the pick and roll, slowing up like a point guard to give his lead guard an extra second of separation or allowing his teammate to drift away from the screen and him to slip to the rim for an easy look with no help defender to contest him. He is a patient player with his back to the basket with a high level of post hooks and turnarounds that have allowed him to finish with ease. I would like to see him work on his consistency with his off hand down low, and continuing to improve his post move with that weak hand. Turner is beginning to garner real attention, it was reported that Air Force is already looking at him...</p> <p><strong>Ethan Crowley </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2023 6’8 Clark High School (SA Fire 17U)</span></p> <p>Ethan is a highly skilled forward with a great frame to back down his opponents and fight through contact down low.  I was very impressed with how well he fought for not only positioning but for his space as he backed his opponents down. He is patient with his back to the basket, and waits for his opponent to shift their weight or jump for a pump fake before he makes his move quickly to catch them off balance. I loved watching him manipulate their positioning and then as soon as he felt them sag off he quickly spun the other way for a quick post hook. Crowley has incredible size and has some real high level basketball IQ with his back to the basket, a bit of a lost art in today’s game! He is a strong player down low who is good at not only keeping the ball high but finishing through contact. He routinely made the defense pay for being lazy and swiping at the ball, showing great consistency with his free throw form as well.</p> <p><strong>Eddie McAfee III </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2023 6’8 Brennan High School (Elevate Elite SA)</span></p> <p>Eddie is a dominant force in the paint on both ends of the court with the way he anchors his team’s defense but also is their bail out option when they cannot get anything going on the perimeter. He showed incredible consistency down low, routinely finishing over smaller defenders who got switched onto him and punishing the defense for that mistake. He is good at keeping the ball out of the reach of his opponents and has great hands to catch and finish in one smooth motion. I was very impressed with how well he caught passes down low and was able to quickly do something productive with it. He has quick post moves to quickly attack an opponent with his back to the basket. On the defensive side of the court, he rejected shots and came over at the right time as a second defender to make life difficult for his opponents. His team went 5-0 on the weekend and McAfee was a big reason why. I expect him and Brennan High School to have a dominant year next year with the amount of production they get out of the one and two guard spots, they are missing a dominant big to pair with them! </p> <p><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Tim Okojie</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2023 7’0 Spring Creek Academy, TX (Athletic Elite 2023)</span></p> <div class="article-content"> <p>Tim is a massive force on the interior with his tremendous size and ability to protect the paint and clear the glass. He is great at turning away shots in the paint, from behind or as the defender is coming at him. He has good defensive instincts and knows how to high point the ball on his opponents release. He came up with multiple chase down blocks with his non stop motor. He moves very well for his size, and showed an ability to run the floor and finish, much like how Clint Capela does in the NBA. He is an aggressive player on the fast break who understands the importance of keeping the ball high and out of his defenders reach, He is a force as he is coming down the lane, even as the trailer option and can catch the defense off guard by flying down the lane. Okojie has grown tremendously as a player from the last time I saw him less than 2 months ago. If he continues to develop his overall feel for the game and his basketball IQ at this rate he is going to show rapid development. </p> <p><strong><span class="pn-player-link"><span class="name-pointer">[player_tooltip player_id="892145" first="Chase" last="Cain"]</span></span></strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">2023 6’6 Shadow Creek High School (JL3 Elite Moochie)</span></p> <p>Chase is continuing to develop at a fantastic rate, getting smarter and more aware with every game. He is adjusting to becoming the focal point of an offense and having the ball run through him at both the high post and on the block. He is garnering a double team almost every time he touches the ball, and is accurately passing out to his teammates on the back side. He is continuing to make the right reads and create looks for his teammates. He is an incredibly lanky and a long athlete whose size seemed to fill up the paint and affect opponents on both sides of the floor. He moves very well for his size and showed a real ability to stay in front of quicker guards on the perimeter and hold his own against larger forwards looking to bang down low. Where he really makes his mark on the game is his non stop energy in transition, on both ends of the floor. He is great at grabbing rebounds and making the right outlet pass and then sprinting down the court to be a threat to the rim as he dives in the open court. Where I have seen the most growth from him this morning was his natural leadership abilities, taking control of the huddle and inspiring his teammates. I would like to see continued development with his handle and working more out of the triple threat and facing up to pair with his ability to score with his back to the basket. </p> <p>https://twitter.com/gasoclips/status/1530993238022176769?s=21&amp;t=ZxwSqfOa3tPfCF9p6yMRXA</p> </div>