John Hardin and the best forwards in Tennessee

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='3541255' first='John' last='Hardin']</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Late June we updated the<strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://prephoops.com/tennessee/rankings/2027-rankings/">2027 player rankings</a></strong>. The Class of 2027 players are ending their AAU careers soon and embarking on their final high school year. Read about the best forwards statewide.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/position-ranking-table {"name":"acf/position-ranking-table","data":{"class":"2027","_class":"field_65cfb7374abb9","position":"77245","_position":"field_65cfbfcb19ad6","national_rankings":"0","_national_rankings":"field_660c1d73c0e49","state":"","_state":"field_65cfb88a603fe"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a409ae3dce4c"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2674276"],"_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"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a409ae3de205"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ter's last twelve months have been really impressive, and the potential is closer to being fully realized. A springy 4-man, Thach now dunks almost everything around the rim. Very slender by nature. Thach will always be thin, so he needs to do his best to maintain a strong core. Using leverage to keep hold of his post position will be important throughout his career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three of the top forwards in the state are on the move.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2633420' first='Ivan' last='Moskalenko']</strong> transferred from Lakeway Christian Academy to Knoxville Catholic and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2882996' first='Austin' last='King']</strong> left James Lawson High for three-time Champions Chattanooga Prep. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2575799' first='Walker' last='Redding']</strong> lands at Upperman after establishing himself as a Cookeville High star.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3541255' first='John' last='Hardin']'s</strong> Unaka Rangers injected themselves in the State Tournament, stunning a couple of teams along the way. He tied a legendary scoring mark, according to the <a href="https://elizabethton.com/2025/12/23/hardin-joins-history-unaka-junior-ties-54-year-old-scoring-mark/">Elizabethton Star</a>. Hardin was tremendous in and around the lane, demonstrating range out to 12' and light feet for Class A. He helped Unaka defeat perennial power Hampton High in the District Tournament. He on District Tournament MVP though Unaka lost to Hampton in the Regional Tournament Championship. Unaka lost to Humboldt 64-53 in the state quarterfinal. Hardin finished his junior season with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2781134' first='Christian' last='Coleman'] </strong>hulked up in the last two years. Always agile at 6-foot-6 Coleman now weighs about 240 pounds making him virtually unstoppable for most high school players. With his strength he can overpower many at this age. With his footwork he can evade a decent chunk of dudes too. Coleman looks capable of playing college football and might choose that path over basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2194830' first='Gary' last='Beeson']</strong> (Tyner Academy) is not highly heralded, but the dual-sport athlete creates problems with size and strength. For Beeson he labels Tyner Academy's trip to the State Tournament as #1. He had five blocks in the sub-state victory. It was a special season for Tyner that Beeson impacted. He keeps a strong base and finishes assertively. Beeson's left-handed layups are a bit clunky and could use some practice. Like Coleman, Gary could wind up playing college football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3141763' first='Nick' last='Lunn IV']</strong> (Franklin) probably will wind up a Top 100 player thanks to his technically sound game. His development continues by leaps and bounds. He keeps working on the outside shooting. Within the confines of Franklin's offense, he will get plenty of open looks from the corners. Teammate [player_tooltip player_id='2417844' first='Collin' last='Robinson'] will attract a lot of attention, deservedly so. One area to keep an eye on is Lunn IV's lateral mobility. He is tantalizingly close to capably defending tall wings. If he can do that, even passably, then he becomes a legitimate college wing. Combo forward is possibly a realistic target.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The pinnacle </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brentwood star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2376260' first='Davis' last='Cochran']</strong> will conclude his high school career a year from now as the best frontcourt player in the state. He could earn Mr. Basketball, could win a State Championship, could overtake [player_tooltip player_id='2101889' first='Justin' last='Frison'] for #1 overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3476114,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/DavisCochran-crop-3834x2518-1770408708.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/DavisCochran-crop-3834x2518-1770408708.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-3476114" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='2376260' first='Davis' last='Cochran'] (#2 overall)</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->