Jamarion Batemon: Flamethrower

One of the first players on the Adidas 3 Stripe Select (3SSB) to catch my eye was 6’3 Combo Guard and 3 star recruit, Jamarion Batemon, playing for Power 5 out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Batemon, for my money, is one of the preeminent shooters in the 2025 High School class. Over the first two sessions Batemon shot a combined 42/84 from 3 for a scorching 50% and an equally impressive 10 attempts per game. And while watching games, the degree of difficulty and variety of play-types Batemon was being used in was perhaps the most striking aspect of his performance. Batemon’s team, Power 5, used him primarily as an off-ball player in movement sets. One of the most consistent features of their offense was running Batemon off movement using elevator screens and double staggers like the play below. Batemon draws a foul on the make because of the minimal shot prep he requires to get his shot off.

Batemon isn’t limited to shooting off the catch either, as what makes him such an impressive shooter for his age is he’ll seize any amount of cushion provided to get into a 3pt attempt no matter the variables presented by the game situation. Whether it be in ballscreen actions like the play below…

…or in transition…

…Jamarion Batemon is a threat to shoot from deep virtually any time he crosses half-court. This has allowed him to be a focal point of a Power 5 team which has exceeded expectations so far this season. His proficiency as a shooter was no more apparent than in their matchup with, in my opinion, one of the best teams on not only the Adidas Circuit but one of the best AAU teams in the country in Team Loaded Virginia. Batemon put on a masterful shooting display where he finished with 32 total points and went 9/19 from 3, almost unheard of volume for a high school player.

While Batemon’s potency as a shooter is not in doubt there are areas of his game he’ll need to develop to fully exploit this skill at the next level, namely his comfort as a ballhandler. Batemon didn’t see much PNR usage and due to the threat he presents as a shooter typically saw aggressive coverages in ballscreen action which dissuaded him from attempting to create. However, my favorite aspect of high school basketball is the rate some of these players are able to adapt, and Batemon was no exception. His timing and accuracy as a passer in the PNR improved from Session 1 to 2, and while it often didn’t translate in assists, Batemon’s decisiveness helped keep the offense on schedule.

As Batemon gained experience seeing these coverages he began to develop counters and even leveraged the respect he’d garnered as a scorer to get downhill.

Batemon’s passing growth wasn’t limited to on-ball usage, he was also able to parlay the respect his shooting was given to extend advantages for his teammates. Take the play below for instance, Batemon comes off an Exit screen in a SLOB play, and immediately hits the screener when he draws a second defender. The defense is immediately put into rotation and the initial screener finds an open shooter in the right slot. This doesn’t result in an assist, or even a basket, but Power 5 generates a good look and a potential hockey assist for Batemon, predicated on his shooting gravity.

Ultimately Batemon will need to make significant strides as a ballhandler and defender as he rises through the ranks, but the significant short term growth, in tandem with his strong foundation as a shooter, saw Jamarion Batemon as my biggest riser through the first few weeks of the season.

Josiah Sanders: Driving Offense

My second standout is slightly more off the beaten path compared to many of the other prospects who will be discussed, but 6’4 Point Guard Josiah Sanders was one of the most impressive lead guards and offensive engines I was able to watch during Under Armour’s first and only session to date. Sanders is an unheralded recruit hailing from Denver Colorado, and runs with the Utah Mountain Stars at the moment. Sanders was able to average 26.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 7.3 APG in a 4 game sample in session 1, and as the numbers would indicate his impact on the game was comprehensive, and notably unique.

What first caught my attention with Sanders was the poise and craft he displayed as a PNR operator. While Sanders is a left handed player he is functionally ambidextrous, capable of driving in either direction and making quick, accurate, passes with both hands. Compare the two clips below, Sanders is running similar side PNRs and the moment he senses the helpside defenders cheating over, he whips in skip passes to his teammate in the corner.

Sanders’ vision as a passer is definitely noteworthy, but what separates him from other capable ‘game manager’ type passers at his position is the consistent aggression and acumen he possesses attacking the basket. Despite being 16, relatively young for his class, Sanders’ contact balance and pace as a driver allowed him to place pressure on the defense and create windows to play-make for his teammates. Through the 4 games Sanders played he averaged 10 free-throws per game and a 0.49 free-throw-rate. Sanders effectively toggled through different speeds on drives and his unique cadence kept point-of-attack defenders off balance to where he was able to create contact with second level defenders.

Small details so rare in young guards are present in Sanders’ game, and made evident in the clip above. He isn’t able to create separation from his defender initially, retreats to allow the screener to twist the angle of the screen, and when Sanders drives he initiates contact with the defender to improve his driving angle and as a result draws a foul on his off-hand finish for an And-1 opportunity. Sanders’ penchant for accessing the middle of the floor paired with his patience make him a dynamic playmaker at this stage.

The most glaring flaw currently in Sanders’ game, from what I was able to see, was his versatility as a shooter. Essential for ball dominant guards is an ability to shoot off the dribble and from distance. Sanders finished Session 1 only 3/12 from 3, but there is plenty of reason for optimism. First of all, Sanders’ ball dominance allowed for significantly less opportunities to shoot off the catch, and while attempts weren’t going in he looked comfortable and fluid taking pull-up 3s.

And while some may take issue with this kind of qualitative assessment, Sanders was also an efficient 85.7% from the line (24/28). Watching Sanders I don’t believe there’s a greater discrepancy between ability and notoriety for a prospect in the 2025 class, and teams are starting to take notice, as Sanders received his first Power 6 offer from Tennessee almost immediately after the conclusion of Session 1.

Kai Rogers: Checking Boxes

The first frontcourt player in my ‘Starting 5’, Kai Rogers is also the first player on the list I would consider a national recruit. Already boasting numerous Power 6 offers, the 6’9 Center for Under Armour’s Wisconsin Playground Club was exceptional in the first Session, managing to make his presence felt on both ends. Rogers averaged 3.3 blocks and 1.3 steals over the course of 4 games. While he is an impressive athlete with plus length, Rogers isn’t the quickest leaper, instead winning with an advanced sense of timing and rare dexterity for a young big.

Take the play below for instance, Rogers was primarily deployed in as a drop coverage big in ballscreen actions and here he funnels the ballhandler towards the help when he rejects the screen. Once the ballhandler makes the pass to the roller at the free-throw line, the topside tagger is put in conflict when his initial assignment relocates to the top of the key. This conflict pries open a driving lane for the big to drive, but Kai Rogers immediately engulfs the drive and blocks the shot while its still in the big’s hands, and Rogers makes this play on the ball with his off-hand!

Rogers definitely isn’t perfect protecting the paint and his range as a rim protector is somewhat limited by his footspeed, however he is fully capable of making corrective rotations like the play above and deterring potential rim attempts with his ball tracking ability. Perhaps the greatest attribute Rogers possesses as a shot blocker is his ability to avoid foul trouble despite the rim protection burden placed on him as Wisconsin PlayGround’s only big man consistently featured in the rotation. Rogers never fouled out of a game and averaged a mere 3 fouls per game in Session 1.

For all the potential Rogers displayed on the defensive end, he was almost equally effective on the other end of the floor. Rogers’ fluidity in the low-post along with his physicality allowed him to impose his will on opposing big-men. Adept in scoring with both hands, Rogers’ only warts were possessions where he was over-ambitious, which is to be expected of a young post player trying to expand his game en-route to winning games. But while results were inconsistent, there were moments of self creation from Rogers which are incredibly rare to see from frontcourt players his size.

Rogers’ ability to either function as a lob threat or score on the interior with his back to the basket often forced defenses’ hands, leading to a stellar 0.67 free-throw-rate, but his consistent appearances at the line revealed his greatest offensive shortcoming at the moment as Rogers was only 47% from the line on 19 attempts. Poor free throw shooting doesn’t at all take away from Roger’s projection at the next level, in my opinion, and I am fully expecting Rogers to widely be considered one of 2025’s best big men by summer’s end.

Sebastian Williams-Adams: Point-Center

6’7 JL3 Forward Sebastian Williams-Adams was one of the most impactful players in EYBL play through the first two sessions and his play at these events can best be described as all-encompassing. Williams-Adams played one of the most unique roles I saw across all circuits in how amorphous his responsibilities seemed to be. Williams-Adams was typically used as JL3’s primary rim protector, and despite not being the tallest player in JL3’s frontcourt he was able to consistently utilize his exceptional strength and dynamic leaping to alter shots around the rim while simultaneously holding up against heftier post players. Whereas on offense, Williams-Adams had the second highest share of initiating responsibilities after their more traditional PG Christian Jones. Due to his explosive first step, Williams-Adams was able to consistently collapse the defense and find teammates. The sequence below exemplifies the two-way impact Williams-Adams presented. On the defensive end, JL3 has their first line of defense penetrated by the opposing PG when he sees the JL3 big man cheating up at the level and rejects the screen. The PG drives into the paint unencumbered, but Williams-Adams baits him into a layup attempt by slightly feigning a contest, and instead jumps after the guard and emphatically blocks the shot.

In the ensuing possession, Williams-Adams finds the ball in the corner after the initial PNR is stifled, drives the baseline and as he forces the defense into rotation finds Nigel Walls with an interior pass which leads to Walls being fouled on the shot attempt.

Williams-Adams was relentless in applying pressure on the front of the rim, as while EYBL was inconsistent with their statkeeping and free-throw stats aren’t readily available, Williams-Adams was a regular at the line over the course of the first two sessions. Even without a consistent jumper to attract hard closeouts, Williams-Adams was able to generate paint touches in stampede actions.

And when his primary defender sagged off to prevent clear driving opportunities out of stampedes, Williams-Adams had enough handle creativity and acceleration to manufacture space. Like in the play below, Williams-Adams uses a snatch dribble to draw Caleb Wilson out just to explode past him and draw the foul.

Williams-Adams has a ways to go as a shooter and will need to flesh out this part of his game as he’s forced to play more as a conventional wing, but the combination of physical dominance and two-way creation he’s currently able to exercise eases concerns of how he’ll translate to the next level.

Will Riley: Scalable Offensive Star

6’7 Canadian G/W Will Riley is the rare instance of a wing sized player deserving the moniker of ‘point-forward’. Riley’s ability to soak up usage both as a primary ballhandler and a complementary offensive piece was truly a joy to watch. Riley was equally proficient creating out of ballscreen actions as he was finishing plays as a shooter. His proficiency on-ball was a byproduct of his exceptional touch, advanced screen craft, and depth of off-the-dribble counters.

The interplay between some of these skills can be seen in the play below. Riley sees the POA defender cheating towards the screen and Riley uses double cross to get a step driving towards the basket and the use of the cross-body gather prior to throwing the baseline cutter hold the backline defenders attention just long enough to prevent them from making a play on the ball.

Riley saw almost an equal amount of his usage come in more typical off-ball actions for a wing. Such as the play below, UPlay runs a ‘Peja’ action for Riley, where he sets a RIP screen before receiving a handoff intended to get him an open 3 which he hits.

Riley’s sense of how to leverage this shooting ability when he’s used in UPlay’s 5-out concepts separates him from other shooting slanted wings his age however, he recognizes the threat his shooting presents and its ability to dictate terms with the defender. Despite Riley’s lack of physical strength he has extremely impressive stamina, and weaponizes it off-ball by using a series of feints and cuts like th play below. Riley adjusts to his defender overplaying the hand-off and retreats into open space, after the catch the second his defender relaxes Riley re-drives to the basket and hits a floater over the smaller defender. The fact Riley, at 6’7, has a floater thoroughly integrated into his scoring arsenal shows how high his skill level is for the age group.

And when teams have attempted to take away Riley’s windows to score in hand-off actions he has been more than willing to move off the ball.

These nuances in Riley’s game will make him an easy fit next to other talented players at the next level, and as the physical element of his game progresses and he’s able to more consistently draw fouls, Riley may find himself playing the primary role even when stationed next to other high-level offensive players.

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So much of NBA team building is predicated on teams’ ability to forecast changes in the league and adapt accordingly. Whether it be an evolving meta game, alterations in the CBA which change team’s cap structure, or an ever-expanding pool of talent, the league is in a perpetual state of flux. And with the new CBA being enacted this summer, NBA teams incapable of determining the requirements necessary to succeed in this new era could be doomed to residing in the basement of league standings.

We’ve seen this equivalent to basketball Darwinism play out time and time again, most recently in 2016 when teams naively commit a disproportionate amount of their salary cap to players due to a temporary spike in the cap brought on by additional TV revenue. A quick examination of teams salary caps over the past few years will find their books littered with contracts from 2016 still being paid due to these rash spending decisions.

In my mind the most consequential addition to the new CBA are the new luxury cap rules, specifically article 7 sections D and E, which detail the restrictions both financially and transaction-wise placed on teams who exceed the cap. Without getting into specifics, these rules drastically increase the financial burden of teams who exceed the cap, with the tax burden compounding with every increment a team passes the tax level. In addition to this, other roster building mechanisms such as trade and mid-level salary exceptions will be removed from teams surpassing these cap thresholds. Ultimately, this will place teams in the difficult position in the short run, having already signed players to sizeable contracts under the old CBA; and in the long run because in my opinion, the assumption that relatively competent younger players on rookie contracts will be extended is going to become less prevalent.

The value of vacant cap space around the league will only increase as more punitive salary cap rules make teams reluctant to commit to players who may not fit their roster’s needs. In my opinion teams will become more tentative in trading for or signing veteran players as the financial risk which comes with these more lucrative contracts, paired with the potential these players don’t properly congeal with the roster, outweighs the perceived benefit. However, a tool to combat this roster building quagmire, in my eyes, is readily available in the draft. The tool in question being Pre-Drafting.

Pre-drafting, simply put, is the idea of teams drafting players a year (or two) before they are seen as capable of regularly contributing to an NBA team. Conventional wisdom of the draft has often been reduced to, “there are only around 15-20 players worth taking every year.” And while there are definitely years more scant in talent than others, I believe this circular reasoning persisted because teams have improperly framed the question of what constitutes a NBA caliber prospect.

Typically teams will opt for players who have met certain markers of statistical production which have historically been considered acceptable. These production markers, relative to a player’s age, are used to whittle down the player pool into a group of what teams consider ‘draft-able prospects’. Generally this a respectable framework to apply to the draft and has yielded good results over the year. However, as earlier mentioned, its necessary to adapt to the changing NBA landscape, and the current drafting approach for teams with substantial contractual obligations leaves much to be desired.

These high achieving teams with large contracts usually do not have the luxury of choice when it comes to drafting, the players with the highest production relative to age are long gone. In turn, these teams opt for the players who hit the most of their preferred statistical markers over the past season. This predictable line of reasoning leads to the idea of draft results, on the whole, being predictable. This parochial view of players only being deemed draft-able if they meet a certain statistical threshold (statistics which were more than likely accumulated in a basketball environment that is impossible to replicate in the professional ranks) has led many teams to squander what are becoming increasingly crucial, cost-controlled assets, in draft picks. Instead, if teams view prospects through a continuum, and consider each age-eligible prospect as part of the draft pool when they matriculate into college or one of the various professional leagues, they could drastically increase the probability of attaining positive return-on-investment from their draft picks.  

With the concept of pre-drafting having been explained, the question arises of which prospects should be sought after under this philosophy? In the past, pre-draft prospects have been conflated with whoever the youngest, highest-ranked high school prospects may have been. I can not stress enough how far this is from the truth. The heuristic I have applied when seeking pre-draft candidates are prospects who possess an intersection of outlier physical traits, at least one foundational skill I am confident will translate to the next level, and an unobtrusive game. Unobtrusive game being one which doesn’t require a high volume of on-ball reps for the player’s early development, as this reduces the number of variables which need to be accounted for when projecting pre-draft candidates.

Condensing this logic into a word, the ideal pre-draft candidate is one which allows for strategic multiplicity. As earlier stated, league rosters are constantly in a state of flux, incorporating a young player whose skillset can be integrated into numerous contexts, without stunting their individual development, is a player worth investing in as soon as they are made available. With the new CBA adding more financial guarantees to 2^nd round players, the league has never had more ammunition to entice young players to entering the draft pool. Professional teams in any sport sustain high level rosters by consistently winning at the margins, using draft capital to cultivate talent internally at a low cost with the pre-drafting methodology in mind, presents an option to do just this.

What makes the 2024 draft class especially interesting, in my mind, is many of the most compelling long-term prospects fall under the pre-draft candidate umbrella. These players more than likely will not experience immediate success at the college level, and in fact what would be the most conducive to their long term development is receiving reps at the professional level as soon as possible.

There is not a player in the 2024 draft class who better illustrates this point than 6’7” incoming freshman big man Joseph ‘JoJo’ Tugler.

The Intro

Joseph Tugler is a 6’7” 4/5 man from Houston, Texas, who exploded onto the national scene after an AAU season spent with the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) team Houston Hoops. Tugler went into his final AAU season with only one college offer, from local low-major school Lamar University, and did not receive his first Power-5 offer (from Kansas State) until April of his junior year. Shortly after the Kansas State offer, Tugler received an offer from local school and national power Houston University, committing soon after. The reason for mentioning the timeline of Tugler’s recruitment is to clarify how a potential NBA prospect could exist in such anonymity. Such a condensed recruiting timeline is almost unheard of, much of the outside perception of an incoming freshman is decided by the intrigue which builds up over the course of their recruiting cycle. Tugler concluding his recruitment so decisively is an anomaly amongst high-major recruits.

As is the case with many recruits who rise from relative obscurity, Tugler experienced a substantial growth spurt over the course of his high school career, growing over 3 inches from his freshman season to the beginning of his senior season. However, what is abnormal about Tugler’s physical development however, is the WAY he grew. While Tugler sprouted to 6’7” (in shoes), modest size for a frontcourt player, he boasts a 7’6” wingspan with enormous hands. Both can be seen in the picture below, posted by Houston basketball’s Director of Sports Performance Alan Bishop. (Listed height is without shoes)

However, tools are only as effective as their application, and Tugler has a keen understanding of how to apply his outlier physical dimensions to create havoc whenever the opportunity presents itself.

The diversity in Tugler’s event creation is perhaps the most notable aspect of his defense. It is rare to find a big equally as capable of creating turnovers on the perimeter as he is altering and blocking shots at the rim. What separates Tugler from a more conventional under-sized big, besides his unique anthropometric stats, is his movement skills. Tugler’s flexibility in his lower body is truly remarkable, allowing him to mirror smaller players on the perimeter comfortably. What struck me about Tugler’s fluidity, specifically his lateral movement, and has me confident the flashes of perimeter defense weren’t largely due to weaker competition is his biomechanics.

To fully understand Tugler’s lateral movement I’ll need to explain ‘foot-ground interaction. First of all, the most important characteristic of the foot-ground interaction in a basketball context is lateral banking. Lateral banking is the idea that if the contact surface between the athlete and the ground is flat, then all lateral forces will produced by friction between the foot and the ground, thus creating the most power. Simply put, the more contact you are able to make with the surface, the more force you will be able to generate. And if you are able to ‘bank’ the surface, i.e alter the angle of your foot ground interaction with the surface, you are able to create more contact with the surface, and as a result, apply more force to change directions quicker. The concept of lateral banking is why we see Nascar tracks banked, so that vehicles can maintain highs speeds while turning! Below is a diagram depicting how lateral force is produced.

If an athlete has the requisite flexibility through their ankles to ‘bank’ their surface and create more of a substantial foot-ground interaction, they will be better lateral movers. And there are examples littered throughout Joseph Tugler’s tape where he exhibits this exact kind of flexibility.

While not the most clear, keep an eye on Tugler’s left foot, it maintaining almost 100% contact with the ground while changing direction and he’s simultaneously able to achieve full extension through his left lateral sling (lateral sling being the muscle grouping responsible for lateral movement).

This kind of biomechanical analysis can seem unnecessarily granular, however I find this information illuminating when it comes to assessing how certain movement skills may translate. And in Joseph Tugler’s case, understanding his unique movement patterns informs how he’s able to make plays like the one below, where he closes out on 5-star 2024 guard Tre Johnson on an attempted drive, is able to seamlessly funnel Johnson towards the help defenders, and force Johnson to travel when he tries to spin back.

Even when Tugler isn’t able to completely stonewall quicker perimeter players, he is able to resort to his gargantuan wingspan to stay attached and place offensive players in a position of discomfort. The clip below is an instance of this playing out, Tugler is switched onto Bronny James on the perimeter, and while Bronny manages to get a step, the presence Tugler presents as a shotblocker causes Bronny to drive directly into a dig.

The Defense

It is impossible to discuss Joseph Tugler’s defensive projection without first mentioning the responsibilities of the modern big on that side of the ball. Scheme versatile big men are at a premium in the NBA, as ideally teams want big men who are able to produce without precluding their team from using any one lineup. Multiplicity is the name of the game for power forwards on both ends of the court, and defensively Tugler not only has the potential to be deployed in multiple roles without needing to be catered to with other lineup adjustments, Tugler can actually provide you flexibility at other positions by masking other deficiencies in the lineup.

The majority of Tugler’s time in EYBL was spent playing center, where Houston Hoops tasked him with playing a variety of coverages to account for inconsistent player availability. Tugler was not only able to play these coverages competently, but often excelled, and was frequently able to end possessions as evidenced by his 1.6 steals and 4.1 blocks per-40 minutes (over the course of 27 games) as tracked by Cerebro.

Even in plays where Tugler isn’t able to create an event (block or steal) he is constantly disrupting offensive players’ rhythm, forcing them into points of conflicts where they have to make decisions earlier than they’d prefer. The possession below of Tugler playing drop coverage exemplifies this form of deterrence.

Whether it be in drop coverage, or hard hedging ball screens…

Or switching onto smaller players on the perimeter…

…Tugler is a defensive force who needs to be accounted for at all times by the offense. However, in the professional ranks, I see Tugler’s best usage being as a roamer. This would see Tugler being deployed in a role where he can either utilize his length to create havoc in the gaps via deflections like in the clips below…

…or rotating over from the weakside to block shots…

….Tugler effectively serves as the bedrock of a defensive infrastructure, capable of impacting virtually any play type with his unique skillset. Notice how in all of the previous three clips Tugler blocks these shots with his left hand, despite being right hand dominant. This level of ambidexterity as a shotblocker is exceedingly rare and adds to Tugler’s potency as a defensive difference maker. Being able to block shots with his left hand also shows Tugler’s keen understanding of angles and how taking these angles closes distance between himself and the ball quicker, while also limiting the contact he makes with the offensive player.

What gives me a level of confidence in Tugler’s defensive skillset translating to higher levels is how frequently he was able to stifle some of the most highly touted members of his class. The question of whether these players warrant their current high school ranking could be debated, however they all serve as potential proxies for NBA bodies.

Whether it be Garwey Dual…

…Omaha Biliew…

…Matas Buzelis…

…Xavier Booker…

…or 7’1 2024 big man John Bol.

The list of elite high school players Tugler was able to either prevent from scoring, or deter from shooting in the first place, is considerable.

Key to Tugler’s projection as a scheme diverse big, one who is capable of detonating possessions as a help-side defender, is his ability to cover ground in a way that warps the geometry of the court. Tugler does a great job of balancing his responsibilities of covering his man while remaining cognizant of the conflicts the offense is placing his teammates in. Tugler is a player who is not only able to cover the ground necessary to compensate for breakdowns in the defense, but one who also possesses high-level pattern recognition, and can address these breakdowns before they cause a complete collapse in the defensive structure. These skills, in tandem, constitute the profile of a player who can potentially be a load-bearing structure of a defense.

Take the clip below for example, where as the opposing team runs a variation of UCLA, Tugler attempts to call out the screen and when he realizes his teammate is unable to get over it, he then switches onto and bumps the point guard (Jeremy Fears) off his path, giving his teammate enough time to recover back to his initial assignment. After this, Tugler immediately recognizes the need to switch onto the secondary side pick-and-roll action, where he’s able to flatten out the drive angle of the ballhandler, force the swing pass to Fears, stunt onto Fears’ drive, and recover back to his man in time to contest a 3-point attempt! This is an amazing example of Tugler’s defensive bandwidth and how it, in concert with his physical tools, can be weaponized to alter entire possessions.

Another instance of Tugler’s ground coverage ability, and specifically how it can allow for a team to play more aggressive defensive coverages (much like his current college team, Houston, prefers to play) can be found in the play below. His teammates are trapping the ball on the sideline and Tugler, anticipating the pass to the top of the key, sprints out towards the 3-point line while remaining focused on the ballhandler’s eyes. Tugler reads the ballhandler, manages to recover back to the dunker spot, steal the pass, and instantly parlay the turnover into an easy transition bucket with the outlet pass.

Tugler’s relentless motor makes his ground coverage even more apparent on tape, I have seldom seen players who can play as a primary rim protector creating plays in transition like in the clip below.

This level of ground coverage, combined with Tugler’s outlier length and accurate hands, make it so he has outstanding range as a defender. Plays like the clip below display this, where Tugler initially loses contain on the ballhandler and cedes a driving lane, but uses his length to stay attached to the ballhandler and block his shot at the rim.

These kind of plays are common in Tugler’s tape, as he is great at playing this kind of cat and mouse game, providing the offensive player with a false sense of security to where they feel comfortable attempting a shot at the rim which Tugler is able to alter or block. Below are a few instances of this situation playing out.

So often in the NBA context defensive ‘range’ is tantamount to how capable a defender is of altering and affecting the number of threes attempted by the opposing team. Tugler is in no way bound to solely impacting shots inside the arc and proved himself capable of making long, prudent rotations to cover for missed assignments outside the arc.

Take the play below, where the opposing team begins the action with an Iverson cut where the player opts to go under the screens to counter the defender top-locking. To account for this the cutter’s defender calls to switch. Tugler, seeing this transpire, anticipates his teammate getting beat off the dribble (which isn’t a bad assessment considering the angle #1 takes on the closeout). Tugler overhelps as a result, but is able to recover to the 3-point line when the ball is kicked out, and block the 3-point attempt.

So far we have explored Tugler’s intersection of athletic ability and defensive awareness, however he is not without his flaws on this end of the court, the most glaring of which being how foul prone Tugler is. Per Cerebro, Tugler averaged 5 fouls/40 minutes over the course of 26 tracked games.

While watching Tugler’s tape and trying to make sense of the underlying cause of his extremely high foul rate, I was brought back to times I have watched combat sports, and specifically mixed martial arts (MMA) in the past. In MMA the specific language regarding fouls, such as illegal eye pokes or strikes below the belt, is that the fighter “should always be aware and in control of their weapons”, weapons of course being the limbs they use to deliver strikes. I reference this because the majority of Tugler’s fouls aren’t a result of a lacking understanding of where he should be positioned, but a result of over-aggressiveness. Tugler’s penchant for causing turnovers comes at a cost of believing he can force turnovers from any angle no matter how much he may be positionally compromised. These gambles which result in steals like the play below:

Also frequently result in fouls like this ill-advised steal attempt:

Tugler’s over-aggression is often amplified by his greatest athletic deficiency at the moment, his deceleration, and these two paired together materialize in head-scratching fouls such as this out of control 3-point contest:

One of my favorite aspects of Tugler’s game is the physicality he plays with despite not having an overwhelming amount of mass. However, this element needs to be better trained as he’ll have inexplicable lapses in judgment which make up a non-insignificant portion of his fouls. The play below where he hip checks a baseline cutter is a perfect example of this:

Ultimately, I believe in Tugler’s defensive processing and how, in combination with his motor and physical tools, he fits the profile of a player who can be a bulwark for defenses at higher levels. Tugler certainly has to make significant improvements in technical areas of defense, such as his hand placement in drop coverage and footwork on closeouts, but I consider this low-hanging fruit in comparison to the skillset he already has. As certain defensive archetypes come in and out of favor, in my estimation a player like Tugler who can be deployed in numerous roles has the potential to retain value no matter the current defensive meta. Tugler’s not only able to make the long rotations created by subpar team defense, but by the same token, shortens rotations his teammates need to make by virtue of his physical tools and defensive workrate.

Tugler’s ability to end possessions places a strain on offensive players’ decision making process and this, even momentary, indecisiveness can throw off the timing of an entire play. So often we call offensive player’s ability to force hasty decisions ‘gravity’, and while there isn’t a universally repellant force to counteract gravity, Tugler’s defensive acumen can greatly help a defense retain its shape by limiting the scrambling situations that elite offensive players’ gravity causes.

The Offense

Joseph Tugler’s offensive projection is a much murkier conversation, and first requires a more abstract discussion of what is demanded from a modern power forward. What is so interesting to me about the modern 4-man is how there is no concrete expectations or necessary conditions for the position versus other positions on the team. Even though the game has moved further and further away from traditional positions, there is still an implicit understanding that a shooting-guard for example will bring some amount of shooting versatility to the table.

In contrast, the power forward responsibilities seem largely dictated by the center they are paired with. For instance, in certain contexts a 4 may have to stretch the floor for a paint-bound big man, while in other situations a team may need a more athletically dynamic 4 whose gravity rolling to the rim or cutting pairs well with a playmaking big. These lineup considerations are ubiquitous in high level basketball now. As front-court synergy becomes not only desired, but required, for any high performing team, the PF will be viewed as a binding agent for the rest of the lineup.

Tugler is a perfect distillation of how incongruous the demands are and, as a result, the development of big-men in youth basketball are compared to modern professional big men. In all the tape I have watched of Tugler his usage was almost exclusively that of a traditional, back to the basket, big man. This aligns with the background knowledge of Tugler’s developmental context, where he did not play on any major shoe circuit, and the public school league which he played with he was far and away the most physically dominant force. Tugler is 6’7” in shoes, a modest height for a PF, and he towers over the rest of the players in this interscholastic game for Cypress Falls High School.

When Tugler began to play high-level competition on the EYBL circuit, he saw the same kind of usage he’d been used to receiving in high school. Now, with size more representative of what Tugler would face at the next level, the results were ugly more often than not.

Tugler’s ineffectiveness in the low-post is a byproduct of his over-reliance on previously held physical advantages. Playing at lower levels Tugler was able to physically outmatch virtually any player he was matched against. However, I do not believe the low level competition is the only cause of Tugler’s lack of refinement in the low-post. Taking a more macro view of Tugler’s developmental trajectory, taking into account that he is a player who grew a substantial amount over a relatively short period of time, is key to understanding the main deficiency in Tugler’s low post footwork which is his balance. Tugler routinely loses his balance even in situations where his path is not being obstructed by other players.

I think this is an important aspect of Tugler’s athletic profile to mention because his novice footwork in the post and hapless shot attempts can be easily misconstrued for a lack of coordination, when in reality I believe Tugler has a good baseline of dexterity/fine motor skills. However, he rarely has had the chance to display them due to his usage and developmental context.

In lineups where Tugler was paired with another big man and he was provided the opportunity to faceup more frequently to the basket, or he was able to catch further away from the basket (like in transition for example), the results where fascinating.

Take the play below: Tugler makes the catch slightly above the 3-point line, is able to maintain his dribble when an opposing guard applies pressure and delivers an accurate no-look pass to the corner shooter (with his off-hand) as soon as Kwame Evans Jr. commits to help. For a player with extremely limited reps handling the ball in this capacity, Tugler routinely uses his massive hands to make unique, precise, passing deliveries. The variety of deliveries, along with how infrequently Tugler telegraphs his reads, is a rare combination for a young big.

The fact Tugler seems almost as comfortable making passes on the move, as he’s driving from the perimeter…

…as he is making reads from the middle of the floor…

…despite Tugler having drastically more experience making reads out of the latter position, is an encouraging indicator that his passing isn’t limited to a narrow application, and that his playmaking can adapt to the context.

For example in the play below, Tugler immediately gets downhill after the catch and is walled off by the defense. However, he has the court-mapping skills to recognize how imbalanced the court is, and makes the skip pass to the wing to create the longest rotation possible for the the weakside defender at the nail. While some coaches/evaluators may disapprove of Tugler making a riskier jump pass, his long levers allow him to put more velocity on the pass while maintaining accuracy.

The key to fully optimizing Tugler’s passing will be improving his ball security and expanding his repertoire as a ballhandler. While his passing is far ahead of what would typically be expected of a young big, Tugler’s comfort as a ballhandler is in its nascent stages. Any attempt to string together multiple moves usually ends in disaster for Tugler as shown in the clip below.

While I do not think it is necessary to Tugler’s viability as a PF to develop an expansive handling repertoire, it does need to get to a level where it is at least functional. And at the moment, Tugler’s lack of confidence in is handle reduces his effectiveness as a finisher because he so often has to resort to early pickup points, and doesn’t have the extreme level of vertical explosiveness to compensate. Below are instances where this limitation forces Tugler to turn ideal layup opportunities into awkward, low percentage, attempts.

While this may sound overly optimistic judging off how dismal the previous examples are, I believe players with unique physical tools such as Tugler are presented with unique solutions in skills such as ballhandling. Tugler’s hand size give him a larger margin for error when it comes to developing a functional handle where he can manipulate ball speeds. The threshold Tugler has to clear to be deemed a functional ballhandler is much lower than a smaller player; the fact he is able to win the leverage battle versus his defenders so consistently leads me to believe his handle does not need to be deceptive as much as it needs give him the time to react to different inputs from the defense on drives. Any improvements in this area will lead to his drive paths being less predetermined and Tugler’s efficiency driving to the basket, both as a playmaker and scorer, will greatly improve as a result.

Scattered throughout Tugler’s tape are plays where his impressive dexterity are on display. Tugler habitually uses his left hand to make passes and finish plays around the basket, and in my opinion, it is reasonable to expect a player whose exhibited this degree of coordination to progress to an acceptable level of ballhandling. Take the play below, Tugler catches the ball in the low post out of the pick-and-roll and quickly makes an accurate, underhand, left-handed pass to the wing. While a relatively mundane play which doesn’t result in an assist, this is far from a standard passing delivery.

The blend of tools and movement skills allow Tugler to generate deep paint touches when faced up, despite his unrefined footwork and suboptimal balance. Tugler consistently wins the leverage battle against his defender, consistently keeping his shoulder level below that of the defender, as evidenced in the clips below.

However, though I believe there to be optimism in Tugler’s growth as a driver, he is very much in the embryonic stages of development in this skill, and the record scratch moments when he does faceup and drive to the basket are prevalent.

The Shooting

Power forwards’ versatility is typically viewed through their ability to space the floor. The ‘stretch 4’ has become a relatively oversaturated archetype, in my opinion, to accommodate players who aren’t capable of scoring effectively in the paint but have at some point shown at least a cursory ability to shoot and possess shooting indicators which can be construed as revealing latent shooting potential. I say this to say I truly believe shooting ability in draft prospects, when it comes to big-men (being 4s and 5s), is too often graded on a different rubric than wing and backcourt players. And I believe the players who have seen the sharpest development trajectories in their shooting were able to grow this skill because of the value they added in other phases of the game. Granted this isn’t a quantifiable observation, however relating back to my belief in the increased churn in the league, if a frontcourt player isn’t able to quickly return value as a floor-spacer, and are deficient in other areas on top of this, the likelihood of the player being provided with developmental resources such as playing time are unlikely. This philosophy is pertinent to Joseph Tugler because his shooting outlook and potential at the moment are bleak, to say the least.

Per Cerebro Sports, Tugler shot 7.2 free-throws per/40 mins, and was an alarming 46.8% from the line. For as consistently as I’ve praised Tugler’s tools and how conducive they are to basketball performance, a +12 inch wingspan with what I’d estimate to be at least 11.5 inch width hands are major detractors from his shooting efficiency. When shooting, the shooter wants to ensure that their elbow, wrist, and fingers are on the same plane to ensure the ball rests on as stable a platform as possible to the most linear force can be put through the ball, limiting the superfluous lateral forces which can cause the shot to be misdirected. With Tugler his hands, and especially his fingers, are so long that when paired with his condor-esque wingspan they introduce many more points of failure. Point of failure being an engineering term referencing any non-redundant part of a system that, if dysfunctional, would cause the entire system to fail.

An example of this can be seen below, Tugler has what can best be described as a delayed follow-through. It is apparent he is aware of the traditional teaching point of shooting to flick your wrist completely through the shot to get adequate rotation on the ball, but is unable to execute this principle because he’s subconsciously afraid of putting too much force into the shot. This phenomenon is especially evident in the second shot in the clip.

This hitch causes Tugler’s shots to have a flat arc towards the basket. Ironing out these mechanical issues and improving Tugler’s free throw percentage to an even passable level could catalyze a significant improvement in his efficiency. Over the course of the 26 games tracked by Cerebro Sports, Tugler posted a stellar 0.58 free-throw rate (free throws per shot attempts), and his inability to capitalize on opportunities at the line resulted in a relatively underwhelming 57.5 true shooting percentage.

As oxymoronic as it sounds to be relatively optimistic about a 47% free-throw shooter’s ability to stretch the floor, Tugler’s confidence in taking threes, despite the free-throw line struggles, is encouraging to me. Tugler only shot 30.7% on 1.8 attempts/40 minutes; however the confidence I have in the rest of Tugler’s skillset translating to a higher level, paired with his willingness to take 3s when the defense gives them to him, leads me to believe shooting is an element which can eventually be incorporated into his game even if it is in a limited capacity.

Considering Tugler’s shooting profile, an obvious concern would be how could a negative spacer who doesn’t project to exclusively play center contribute to an offense? In a league where the majority of teams’ ideal lineup consists of personnel who can play 4-out 1-in, and 5-out for stretches, where does a player with limited shooting potential factor in? This is where I believe Tugler’s passing acumen and latent slashing ability come into play.

In addition to these skills, Tugler is a player who already has a good sense of timing and positioning as a play-finisher. The spatial awareness and Tugler’s minimal load-time as a leaper make him compatible with frontcourt players who are more perimeter based and/or possess more ball-skills. While this kind of frontcourt partner hasn’t been present at any level Tugler has played so far, the clips below display his potency as a play-finisher from the dunker-spot.

The Role

Harkening back to this past season’s NBA playoffs, while many were finally made aware of Nikola Jokic’s transcendent skill, and rightfully so, I believe the larger takeaway should have been how devastating the pairing of two big-men with high-level processing and finishing ability can be. The interplay between Aaron Gordon and Jokic, and the strain they placed on defenses’ decision making, was consistently made apparent. In no way am I attempting to make out Tugler to be a 1-to-1 comparison to Gordon, and of course the expectation of any player to be paired with as special a talent as Jokic is unrealistic. However, I believe Tugler’s skillset at the 4 can replicate the conflict Gordon has placed teams in during his Nuggets tenure.

Take the play below for example, Jamal Murray runs a side pick-and-roll with Jokic, and the gravity he has as a roller presents Kevin Durant with an impossible choice, either help off Gordon in the dunker spot or allow a clean look to one of the best finishers in the league. This split second of indecisiveness allows Jokic to throw an easy short roll lob.

This next play from the 2023 Finals exemplifies how a non-shooting threat (by NBA standards), can counter defenses sagging off them by sharpening their instincts as a cutter.

Tugler’s current offensive limitations will most likely see him being deployed as a small-ball center as he adapts his ball-skills to handle more power forward duties. Tugler’s already a remarkably consistent short-roll passer. Take the clip below, Tugler sees the low-man overcommit on the tag and zips in an accurate left handed pass to the corner.

While not very layered reads, Tugler executes these passes well consistently.

An often overlooked skill in frontcourt players is their ability to rebound. And while Tugler would give up size to his opponent either playing the 4 or 5, his superb second jump, length, and workrate prior to the shot being hoisted, make him a force on the boards. Tugler averaged 13.6 rebounds per 40 minutes (5.9 offensive, 7.6 defensive), and routinely beat bigger, stronger players for rebounds on the offensive glass.

The Conclusion

As we’ve dissected virtually every aspect of Joseph Tugler’s game one may be wondering how prudent it may be to project a player who is obviously far away from being the final article. Even compared to most frontcourt prospects Tugler will take a significant amount of time and require heavy developmental resources to be fully actualized as a productive NBA level player. However, I believe too often NBA teams assign prospects the ‘raw’ label as a pejorative, when in reality they should see a player from the kind of developmental context Tugler is coming from, and equate the lack of NBA relevant reps as an opportunity to paint on a blank canvas.

The draft is about making calculated risks, and a player like Tugler who has a portable skillset, with his defensive aptitude, passing feel, and relentless rebounding, should be malleable to virtually any roster. Teams would be best served realizing how conducive to long-term roster construction investing in a player before they are considered ‘ready’ is. The flexibility this allows a team moving forward, to have a player in their program who is a cost controlled, consistently appreciating asset, which can be molded with your specific team needs in mind, is invaluable. At the risk of sounding pollyannish, I am confident Tugler will only appreciate in value in the immediate future and will have a shorter learning curve not only because of his physical ability, but also the high basketball character he seemingly always displayed.

Plays like the one below, where Tugler’s team is down 16 points in the waning moments of the 4th quarter, and despite the game being out of reach, Tugler is hounding the ballhandler fullcourt. When Tugler loses attachment to the point guard, he peels off and blocks the big man’s layup attempt. These kind of effort-based plays are routine in Tugler’s film.

To briefly revisit the earlier exemplification of the Denver Nuggets, my failing to mention the space Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic were afforded by the lethal shooting from perimeter players like Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Michael Porter Jr probably was considered a gross omission by many readers. However, this ties back to a central tenant of my draft philosophy: I believe NBA evaluators are relatively consistent in assessing scoring talent, however as 3-point shooting has become a ubiquitous feature of the NBA-meta, these players have become more widely available and as with any skill/product that becomes less scarce, shooting/scoring is more fungible (outliers aside of course).

Paradoxically though, perimeter scoring has seemingly become the predominant skill considered in talent acquisition, with teams willing to overlook other glaring deficiencies in a player’s game. This line of reasoning, in my opinion, has lead to a drastic underestimation in the value of players who are lower usage, but are proficient in what are usually categorized as ancillary skills. Addressing this market inefficiency, and determining which players possess unobtrusive skillsets, skillsets which are capable of impacting the game no matter where they fall in the offensive pecking order, is commendable teambuilding process.

Joseph Tugler, in my mind, is a prime example of a player who could serve as this kind of connective tissue for an NBA team. NBA personnel acknowledging the disparity in responsibilities, especially offensively, between college and professional frontcourt players should realize how beneficial professional reps would be in Tugler’s case. Utilizing professional game and practice minutes to train Tugler’s decision-making framework, on both ends of the court, could yield the best version of Joseph Tugler over time. And while the best version will almost certainly never be a conventional NBA star, it may very well be the quintessential modern frontcourt player.

The post Jojo Tugler & the Case for Pre-Drafting the Modern PF appeared first on Swish Theory.

You don’t have to look very far back to find examples of ill-fated pre-draft college seasons resulting in incomplete evaluations come draft day. How many teams regret passing on Jalen Duren and AJ Griffin just one year later? My guess would be quite a few. College basketball is great, but it’s limited. A season really only offers one context, from role to health or surrounding talent. Every cycle we talk about how context matters in projecting forward future NBA roles, so it would make sense that seeing prospects in additional pre-draft contexts gives a clearer picture. 

The only issue with that is, where do you even start? Pretty much every prospect plays high school basketball, but only some of those games come on TV, and some of those games are in the Overtime Elite league, which is like high school, but also not, but also has some actual high school teams playing in the league. 

Then we get to grassroots basketball, more commonly (and I think incorrectly?) referred to as AAU. There are three major shoe circuits, with each having their own events throughout the summer and a few inter-circuit events sprinkled in along the way. On top of the enormous amount of teams scattered across multiple leagues, team rosters and jersey numbers can be more difficult to find than you expect.

All in all, those hurdles make the prospect of scouting pre-college basketball feel a little unapproachable. As I began my yearly summer catch up this year, I figured it was time to finally, truly, dive straight into the wilderness. The result has been a newfound love for youth basketball, though that did come with a few hurdles along the way.

The goal of this piece is to help people who are looking to understand youth hoops find it all a little less overwhelming, while hopefully helping you skip a little legwork. We’ll go through a few of the things I think are foundationally important to understanding the general landscape, and a few helpful resources for when the process becomes confounding.

High School Basketball

At its most basic level, high school basketball is pretty straightforward to understand. The vast majority of schools look a lot like the schools the general public grew up in, large student bodies and a competitive sporting environment. The difference between public and private school in basketball terms is about the same as it is in the real world: they are very similar, with private schools having a few more (financially driven) opportunities.  

The biggest private schools play their own national circuit, NIBC, as a way of garnering greater national exposure. The highest end private schools are littered with NBA talent, but teams like Duncanville, Camden and Wheeler are public schools with three of the best prospects in the class. Top flight private schools or academies have a competitive advantage in their depth and national presence, but the high end talent is relatively spread out over both public and private schools.

Full games are generally easier to find for high school vs grassroots, though the bigger academies like Link or IMG have an embarrassment of riches in that department. For public schools, almost every district has a team that records every game to put on YouTube. If you are lucky, that team has prospects, and now you’ve lost an entire evening to the doldrums of AAAA North Texas high school basketball.

GEICO High School Basketball Nationals

The GEICO Nationals tournament is the best of the best, consisting mostly of private basketball academies like Sunrise Christian and Montverde. Public schools are able to receive an invite, but laws differ from state to state regarding public schools playing national competition or against private academies. 

As a general rule, this is the high school basketball holy grail. At no other event will you find such a dense collection of NBA talent, and the games are aired on National TV (and later uploaded to YouTube via helpful third parties). It’s a great event, one that showcases future lottery picks every season.

State Champions Invitational

The State Champions Invitational is a newer event that was created to showcase state-champion public school programs on a larger scale. Inclusion is still dependent on the aforementioned state laws on national competition, but the event is always stacked with high-end talent. These games are aired on ESPN and their family of networks, but are more difficult to find in the Youtube ether. Hopefully, as the event gains more attention and a larger public audience, that changes.

Overtime Elite

The reputation of Overtime Elite precedes itself with a billing as the next great basketball developmental program. While there are continued questions as to OTE’s future viability as a pre-draft destination (especially when compared to more established, pro-oriented programs like the G League Ignite and the NBL Next Stars), their viability as a pre-college developmental environment should not be questioned. 

Their site is clean, they have basic and legible stats, and their games are often available on Youtube or Amazon Prime, with a direct from the game box score. That kind of accessibility is unfounded in this space, and something that gives OTE a leg up in the high school basketball world.

Grassroots Basketball

Oh, the unknown. Grassroots basketball is a bit of a black hole at times, but with each passing year a new resource pops up to make things a little bit brighter. The scene is dominated by three major circuits, where teams play against each other in circuit events throughout the summer. 

There are leagues for nearly all ages with 17U meant to consist of players entering their senior year of high school, though some players choose to play up a year (and in the case of AJ Dybantsa, dominate while doing so). Sometimes the only tape you are able to find on Youtube is two years old from when they played 16U, but film is film, I will not discriminate. 

There are quite a few independent teams that are not a part of either shoe circuit, but will commonly play events like Who Wants The Smoke where they match up against shoe circuit clubs. Which circuit is which matters really only in what teams will play at which event, trying to find worthwhile value in comparing competition or talent level feels unproductive. Each league has their fair share of talent, though one may get more attention than the rest. 

Really, what matters most is what teams play on which circuit. Each circuit has their own nuances in structure but when you boil it down, film is still film. Thankfully selectbasketballusa.com made a helpful list of the teams in each league shown below.

Nike EYBL

The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League has long been seen as the cream of the crop, and for good reason. Their track record of producing NBA talent is unparalleled in the space, and while it has become more competitive that track record of dominance is noteworthy. This year, eight of the top ten RSCI recruits played on the EYBL circuit, with top pick contenders Ron Holland, Matas Buzelis, Isaiah Collier, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Omaha Biliew and many others. The roster is deep.

Adidas 3SSB

The Adidas 3 Stripe Select Basketball circuit is well established with a lineage of NBA talent. While not as publicly discussed as EYBL, 3SSB has a deep roster of high major talent led by T10 recruit Ja’Kobe Walter, with Dink Pate, Baye Fall, Reed Sheppard, TJ Power and (personal favorite) KJ Lewis. Overall, a solid league with decent tape accessibility, though their official site does leave much to be desired. 

Under Armour UAA

The Boys Under Armour Association is the final leg of the well known circuits, with 3ssb being its closest comparison. Led by potential lottery pick Stephon Castle, UAA boasts yet another deep roster of potentially impactful freshmen like Caleb Foster, Elmarko Jackson, Blue Cain and more. Unfortunately, compared to the other leagues team/roster info can be incredibly difficult to find. On the plus side, the Middlesex Magic youtube page is a treasure trove of tape, like finding an oasis in the desert. 

New Balance Pro16

The New Balance Pro16 league is the newest of the four circuits, and while they may not have as much established, highly ranked prospects, the competition remains strong. Gehrig Normand and Dylan James are the two RSCI T100 prospects on the circuit with a growing collection of future prospects. Internet resources remain limited but are comparable with the bigger leagues.

Resources

Now we have established the general framework of the leagues we are working with, it’s time to dig a little deeper. Youth basketball is a mess of individual leagues and conferences, finding places with consolidated information is a must. Knowing who to watch, what teams they are on, the numbers they wear and the teammates they have is a more complicated task than it seems.

RSCI Rankings

This is a fairly obvious place to start. This may not be breaking news, nearly every top draft pick is a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school. The rankings are by no means a be-all-end-all, Keegan Murray wasn’t ranked and ended up the fourth overall pick (!), but it is a great starting point. If you look at late risers like Jeremy Sochan and Patrick Williams or sophomore studs like Jaden Ivey and Bennedict Mathurin you will find them ranked in the Top 100 entering college. It’s a long list, but it is chalk full of NBA players throughout it. If you are beginning to create your watch list, the RSCI Top 100 is the place to start. 

MADE Hoops Power Rankings

This is a stupendous resource. The site has a paywall for future class rankings, but their 2023 rankings are public. The actual rankings themselves are nice, but the real draw is that the board lists not only the high school team for each prospect, but the grassroots team as well. That kills an enormous amount of leg work searching google for players and teams, and gives you a great starting point on what high school and grassroots teams should be at the top of your watch list. Great stuff. 

The Season Ticket

Now that you have the players you are looking to see and the teams they play on, The Season Ticket site, and more specifically The Circuit (a subheading on the site) is just about a one-stop -shop for rosters, team schedules and rankings for all age groups, both high school and grassroots (you can even sometimes find a box score!). You can dive into any league you want, though EYBL and 3SSB rosters are the most filled out. 

Finding actual team rosters with numbers and game dates is awesome. It can be incredibly hard to pin down what games players played in, the times they took place, and the teams they played against. Once you pick your team, there should be more than enough here to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. 

Cerebro Sports

Cerebro is a basketball site with Mark Cuban as a public investor and the infamous draft twitter stylings of the illustrious Prospect Development Web. There is an enormously steep paywall for individuals attempting to use the platform, but the free resources available are more than worth an initial email signup.

You are able to see the five most recent events for each player, which is incredibly helpful for international and OTE prospects (where an entire season is listed as one event). For US based high schoolers, the stats are a little more hit and miss, with some prospects showing stats for over 20 games and others less than 10. 

You are able to see the Top 10 performers for each event, but you can’t just search for an event, you have to select it through a player’s profile. This can be a little tricky at times, but is worth a few extra clicks in order to see the bigger picture of top performers for any given event. A very cool tool, but one that requires some corporate overhead to make the cost worthwhile. 

How Context Changes Stats

This is a more general bullet point to end off the section, but an important one to consider when looking at statistical output in high school and grassroots basketball. The first thing, and most consistent across levels, is that teenagers are not good three point shooters, and they often have a more difficult shot diet than they will in the league. 

Shooting in the low 30s on good volume in high school is a good thing, very few players (with the necessary athletic gifts) are able to score efficiently on jumpers as a 17-year-old. This is why AJ Griffin never should have fallen out of the top seven on draft night, but I digress. 

The difference between high school and grassroots is not a cut and dry one. Grassroots teams tend to play at a higher pace with a more free-flowing style of game with high school representing a more structured context. Statistically speaking, that added pace can affect numbers to a degree, but team context plays a much larger factor. 

Sean Stewart was the best player on the Florida Rebels, but at Montverde he was the sixth man the majority of his senior season. Omaha Biliew was the only high-profile recruit at Waukee his senior year, but played for Mokan Elite with fellow T100 prospects Cameron Carr, Trey Green and 2024 five-star John Bol. Playstyle differences matter, and each context tells you something unique in that regard, but you have to know the difference in on-court role and context to see it.

Searching for Tape

This is the single most stressful part of pre-college draft scouting. Finding quality tape, ideally for free, is a more difficult task than it may seem. Struggling to find full games for prospects was the largest barrier to entry for me: there is nothing I hate more than being in the mood to watch tape, only to waste precious time trying to find it. My philosophy when scouting is to maximize the time spent watching tape, and it is hard to do that when you’re searching for a needle in a haystack.

I decided to take a different approach this summer, getting ahead of my actual tape watching and accumulating film for as much of the RSCI Top 100 as possible. The process was a long and arduous one, but I have been able to find full games for every single prospect in the Top 100, with most prospects having a full game of high school and grassroots.

I have hyperlinked the games I could find in the below excel sheet, just click on the team name on the far right and dive straight in. A quick note: I tried not to link the same game twice for prospects on the same team and sprinkled in condensed videos when I ran out of full game tape. If you are itching for more of a certain prospect (or the link for the player is a shorter video), look for other prospects that played on the same team, you should find what you’re looking for.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aiQO8DqFD9zT47gdtQrj7oo8cbqsrZlJrkC3a5NeWeo/edit?usp=sharing

YouTube

YouTube, the one and only. There is no other place with free youth basketball tape, but you do need to know how to search. Finding actual game tape is not as easy as typing “Ron Holland Full Game” into your search bar (though with better video titles and captions, it could be!), you will need to be smart about your searches. I’ll go through a few helpful rules I try to follow when searching for games.

Know Your Date Ranges

Grassroots games take place over the summer before a prospect’s senior year, meaning all videos should be roughly a year old. Very rarely are games uploaded months after the fact, so it is pretty safe to assume the NJ Scholars video uploaded in April is not the tape you’re looking for.

High school basketball takes place during the year, so those games should all be less than a year old, and going back a year will take you into the previous season. That can be fine, for both grassroots or high school, if the prospect you are trying to watch was actually on the team the year prior. 

Know What Prospects Look Like

Jersey numbers are a figment of your imagination. They will be listed on the circuit or on other sites, but they are rarely consistent (particularly in grassroots). My personal best practice: google image search “[player name] [team name]”. 

I will look for jersey numbers they’ve worn, if they wear a t-shirt, if they have a recognizable hairstyle, general build, anything to help. If you’re in doubt, search a highlight video and compare movement styles. Sometimes good tape takes a little digging.

Start Specific

Youtube searches are a finicky business, and using too many keywords can be overly exclusionary. With that said, sometimes searching “Dennis Evans Hillcrest Basketball” takes you directly to the video you are looking for. Start specific, and eliminate keywords as you go, until you get down to “[team name] basketball”.

Know When to Keep Scrolling

This one is a little on the finicky side, but sometimes scrolling a little longer is all it takes. There are so many different age groups and years of competition to sift through, and it was very common for quality, full game videos to be buried 50 videos deep in a search. If you are still seeing videos with the team name you searched, keep going. 

Try Google

This one is kind of weird, and honestly I am not sure it “works” from a search engine perspective, but going into the Google videos search bar and looking for games helped me find a few that I just couldn’t seem to get on YouTube. There are at least no “recommended” videos you have to skip past when scrolling. 

BallerTV

The single best publicly available accumulation of high school basketball games, BallerTV is certainly worth a look in your search for tape. The pricing isn’t spectacular, but they do allow you to purchase individual events. You’ll get access to teams that are harder to find (like Dennis Evans on Team Inland) and inter-circuit matchups you won’t find elsewhere. The interface isn’t as smooth as your typical streaming service, but the juice is worth the squeeze if you purchase one of the more star-studded events. 

Twitch

Twitch is the single best place to find EYBL tape, you can find the entirety of Peach Jam on there now, but it is only for the 2023 year (next year’s class). Streams air live on the platform and are available to watch for an extended period of time after, but not an indefinite one. 

Sifting through the different streams and the games within them can be tedious, but that is a small price to pay for a literal metric ton of prospect tape. You just have to do it in a more timely manner than a midsummer cram session.

Parting Thoughts

High school and grassroots basketball is awesome and overwhelming simultaneously. There are more names than you could ever keep track of, yet people seem to do it all the time? Following the ins and outs of future high school classes is an enormous task, and that enormity can make the space feel unapproachable. 

You don’t have to live and breathe grassroots hoops to gain value from watching it, or even joy. Basketball is still basketball, and finding quality tape of players throughout their development journey and in differing contexts is invaluable. Hopefully with a little framing the greater picture of youth basketball is a little clearer. Sometimes to make a circuit work you just have to connect a few dots.

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