Best Class of 2028 Small Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mid-May, we updated the <a href="https://prephoops.com/tennessee/rankings/2028-rankings/">2028 player rankings</a>. In this feature the focus is on Class of 2028's best small forwards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/position-ranking-table {"name":"acf/position-ranking-table","data":{"class":"2028","_class":"field_65cfb7374abb9","position":"77247","_position":"field_65cfbfcb19ad6","national_rankings":"0","_national_rankings":"field_660c1d73c0e49","state":"","_state":"field_65cfb88a603fe"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-682fbaf9486ff"} /--> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Combo Forwards?</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top 3 small forward prospects in the Class of 2028, which are also the top 3 overall, shuffle between small forward and power forward right now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2194617' first='Jean' last='Okoth']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2784747' first='Rod' last='Lucas']<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2841543' first='Leyton' last='Plummer']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194617' first='Jean' last='Okoth']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2784747' first='Rod' last='Lucas']</strong> are all star scorers and rebounders. Though they are adept as high school power forwards they each play more like a traditional wing during AAU. Look for Huggins to ultimately be a college wing forward. Lucas is not as nimble as Huggins, but few are at his age and size. Okoth is very lithe and light on his feet, but his perimeter skills lag behind Huggins, making him just behind in the overall rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huggins, Okoth, and Lucas play in the Memphis area for high school. [player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2784747' first='Rod' last='Lucas'] start together for [program_tooltip program_id='2078772' first='Team' last='Thad'] 15u.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2841543' first='Leyton' last='Plummer'] </strong>is the one combo forward that will play under the basket mostly in college, judging by his current skillset and limitations. Lleyton can run the floor decently and guarded some guards and wings at Memphis Live, but his perimeter agility, on the defensive end, is not there yet. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All four players are hopeful that their outside shooting will develop to enable them to face-up from 18'. At this point Huggins is the most natural shooter from range, but all four need work as perimeter shooters at this early stage of their development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Winning Culture</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A sprinkling of the ranked small forwards play for strong high school programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2194617' first='Jean' last='Okoth'] - Bartlett<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2767566' first='Malik' last='Sanders'] - LaVergne<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins'] - Briarcrest Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Malik helped minimally as a freshman as LaVergne's Wolverines won 21 games, sweeping District 7-4A all ten games. Sophomore-to-be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2767566' first='Malik' last='Sanders']</strong> will grow into a bigger role and the program should remain strong though it was forced to replace a great coach in Tony Rutland. Coach Rutland now leads Oakland's Patriots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins']</strong> transferred to Briarcrest Christian for 2025-2026. Last year Briarcrest Christian finished 25-5 and lost in the State Title Game to Champions Knox Webb. He will make them even better. The Saints only graduated three players ([player_tooltip player_id='2635408' first='Landon' last='Rogers'], William Newby, Jordan Brown) and return Mr. Basketball <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1760996' first='Fred' last='Smith']</strong> along with a host of talented guards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Slashing Prowess</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2194620' first='Giancarlo' last='Martinez'] - Antioch<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2622555' first='Jermaine' last='Cobbins'] - Springfield<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins'] - Briarcrest Christian<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2479968' first='Daxton' last='Evans'] - Cleveland<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2844934' first='Jelani' last='Barr'] - Whites Creek</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Antioch Bear <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194620' first='Giancarlo' last='Martinez'] </strong>demonstrated unnatural agility for a tall freshman guard in 2024-2025. His exceptional play caught the attention of several AAU programs and he hopped on with BMaze, an UnderArmour squad out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Martinez can do anything offensively. He reminds of a young Melo. Mid-range is strong. Good first-step. Crafty. Obviously, Melo is a crazy high bar to measure up to, but stylistically Giancarlo shares some early attributes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The elegance of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2844934' first='Jelani' last='Barr'] </strong>earned him a ranking this cycle. With clean hips and better than average explosion Barr seemingly dances around the court. Both he and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2622555' first='Jermaine' last='Cobbins'] </strong>play football in addition to basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You will notice <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins'] </strong>appears multiple times in this article. That is no accident. The young player checks a lot of boxes. He is considered the best player in the state for 2028 by more than PrepHoops.com/Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Malik is listed as a small forward who spent a lot of time running the show at the lead guard spot. He showed his ball-handling skills as he was a reliable initiator of the offense. He is a multi-level scorer who balanced scoring and facilitating and showed that he can impact the game, whether playing on or off the ball. Malik is a young, budding prospect with potential, and I was impressed that he was quicker off the floor than expected, moved well in all directions, and had a nice, smooth shooting stroke from deep. He is a player to keep an eye on.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Handle it</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Point forward is not really a term used anymore, but a few of the ranked small forwards are able to make plays with their offensive awareness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2767566' first='Malik' last='Sanders'] - LaVergne<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2194603' first='Jordan' last='Hearing'] - Brentwood Academy<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2194485' first='Joshua' last='Huggins'] - Briarcrest Christian<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2401732' first='Joseph' last='Maynard'] - Upperman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:quote --> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Malik is listed as a small forward who spent a lot of time running the show at the lead guard spot. He showed his ball-handling skills as he was a reliable initiator of the offense. He is a multi-level scorer who balanced scoring and facilitating and showed that he can impact the game, whether playing on or off the ball. Malik is a young, budding prospect with potential, and I was impressed that he was quicker off the floor than expected, moved well in all directions, and had a nice, smooth shooting stroke from deep. He is a player to keep an eye on.&nbsp;&nbsp; - Terry Drake in Fall 2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --></blockquote> <!-- /wp:quote --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194603' first='Jordan' last='Hearing']</strong> (Brentwood Academy) showed off some nice shooting touch and dribbling skill warming up for the Prep Hoops Expo back in the fall of 2024. He continued favorably throughout the event though tweaked his ankle near the end. Hearing runs with Pro One (AL) now and looks set up to be a nice player in the Brentwood Academy program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->