Michigan State Tournament: Friday Night Bigs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The opening of the Prep Hoops State Tournament was a competitive and Detroit centric affair. A disproportionate amount of big men stood out in the three game session. Following are five that caught my eye. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaquan Stennis 6-8 2026 PH Prep (AZ)</strong> It was nice to see the former Old Redford star back in the Detroit area after departing for Arizona and an Overtime Elite prep school this past year. As a 2026 prospect,&nbsp; he was physically dominant. Ran the court well and filled lanes with purpose. Has always had good ball skills for his size. Has been earning national accolades playing with Arizona Select on the Under Armour circuit. Despite that, he told he does not think he will be reclassifying and should be playing in college next yesr. Intrigued to see how he plays the rest of the weekend as the competition stiffens.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3573637' first='Everett' last='Wertz'] 6-6 2027 Birmingham Seaholm</strong> <strong>(pictured at top) </strong>I had been told how well Wertz was playing at an event in Grand Rapids by a small college earlier in the spring. I did not catch Moneyball East that weekend. That appears to have been a mistake on my part. Werz played very well in a buzzer beating win against a LOUD Academy squad (see below) that featured a deep and big frontline. Nothing too flashy but fundamentally sound. The carry skill appeared to feathery soft touch on his shot thar extend out to the perimeter. Walled up well defensively at the rim. Got off the ground quickly which helps him play bigger than his listed size. Also finishes above the rim with ease. Put up 16 points in the opening victory. A few years ago cross town Groves snuck up on people with a very good year. Seaholm could pull that trick this year as Wertz was not the only Maple playing well on Friday night. <strong>Zackary</strong> <strong>Kozouz</strong> (5-10) [player_tooltip player_id='3573263' first='Aiden' last='Pero'] (6-3) and 2029 <strong>Ben Ishbia</strong> (5-10) showed potential as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2870834' first='Gavin' last='Delaney'] 6-9 2027 Walled Lake Northern</strong> One of the breakout performers for me on the night. Delaney appeared to be every bit of 6-9, but was also mobile and light on his feet. Showed a soft touch on his shot that stretched out to the free throw line in my viewing. Competed hard on both ends of the court and did not seem to shy away from contact. Long arms and provided imposing rim protection. Not overly skinny and looks to have a projectable frame that could add more weight. Matched his post counterpart Wertz by putiing up 16 points in the nip and tuck opening loss. That was a high quality big man battle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2459058' first='Cedric' last='Hester'] 6–7 Toledo St Francis de Sales</strong> I have my son with me this weekend and the 1 of 1 Detroit team did not provide a roster. Those unrelated events will make sense in a minute. At about halftime of watching Hester. After a few more questions from my wingman this weekend. I exasperatedly said, “I don't know who #24 is out there but he's not from Michigan”. Reason being I would know a 2027 prospect with this size and skillset. Hester was that good with eye opening physical traits. Might have had one of the longer wingspans I have seen this spring. Ran the court fluidly and like a wing prospect. Maybe the length is fooling my eyes. But I'm wondering if they use different rulers (those are still a thing right?) He looks bigger than 6-7. Not a a guard but handed the ball and has decent ball skills. His opponent was overmatched on Friday night. Looking forward to catching more of the Toledo prospect this weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dylan Hodges 6-8 2029 Midland Dow</strong> I'll cheat a bit and provide a name to watch for in the future. I'm cheating a bit because I caught just a touch of this player in action on my way out the door. I don't normally write about something I do not see extensively in person. However I caught quite a bit of this player with [program_tooltip program_id='2075987' first='UTS' last='Elite'] early in the spring in Grand Rapids. He was good then but did not make the cut for coverage in that loaded event. While I did not see him play much on Friday. I did see… enough. What I mean is I saw what gives him so much upside. Simply put, this is a big kid with a legitimate mobile 6-8 frame. There are just not too many players that fall into that category in the 2029 class. Another change since early spring. Dow has added a very good 2029 transfer from Alpena who should be able to get him the ball in scoring situations. Seems simplistic, but In high school basketball. That is quite important in the development of big men.&nbsp; Hoping to catch a little more of the skillset this weekend.<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->