Overlooked Funky Forwards of The 2023 Class
Jojo Tugler- 6’8 F
Houston Hoops EYBL
Offers: Houston, Kansas State, TCU, Lamar, & Georgia Southern
Jojo Tugler has caught the eyes of many much smarter than me and for good reason. Tugler is a fascinating forward prospect with off the charts movement skills and defensive feel. That combination is my favorite in all of basketball and that has made Tugler an absolute joy to watch. Tugler started the summer with only one high-major offer, via Kansas State, but TCU and Houston have since joined the fray thanks to the defensive warpath he finds himself on.
His EYBL stats profile looks as such- via Seasonticket.com; 12.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg (27 of 65 offensive), 1.1 apg, 1.5 TOs, 1.1 steals, and 3 blocks on 58.9/28.6/48.3 splits. There are some obvious worries with the jumper number, especially from the free throw line, but the overall efficiency is solid and he is an elite rebounder with some impressive stocks numbers. His ability to play all over the floor is the main contributor to those numbers. Many developing bigs can get good looking block numbers sticking in the paint, but Tugler’s ability to get up on the floor and make plays is his main selling point.
I think absurdly mobile is an accurate way to describe Tugler. He is a strong 6’8, but he moves like he is 6’4 and some of the lateral footwork is truly eye-popping. His movement is reminiscent of someone like Grant Williams, but with super charged calves. He plays slightly hunched over, but he is always moving quicker than it looks like he is and he swallows drives like few of his size.
(1038) Joseph Tugler Official | Jr. SZN - YouTube
His defense around the rim is also excellent. He is long and explosive with excellent intensity and feel. He sticks with plays for long stretches, rarely conceding open shots down low. His timing has developed over the course of the EYBL season and this has been great to see. Earlier in the first session, more athletic finishers could beat him on drives, but has learned to time up his blocks well. He also absorbs contact well, using his big chest and trusting his length to keep drivers from pushing him out of the way.
Tugler’s most impressive skill is how comfortable he is playing multiple different screen coverages. He has switched screens, hedge screened, iced screens, and dropped to the rim. He has executed all these different looks with ease. His ability to flip his hips opens up a lot of stuff for him on defense and he understands his movement in space well. There is so much upside with him on defense, whether it be as a big or a wing.
Tugler has a lot to work on offensively, but he is an effortless two-foot leaper and his ability to move in quick bursts gives me a lot of hope for upward momentum for him on offense. Extrapolating defensive feel to passing, cutting, and other pillars of offensive proprioception is a difficult thing to do, but combining that feel with Tugler’s specific movement patterns gives me hope. He has shifty, fluid hips on defense and there is a world where basic handle development would open up a lot for him because of the ability to change directions and get downhill.
He will almost certainly be an excellent play finisher at the collegiate level, with his quick and explosive leaping, he should be able to act as a roll-man with the right guards around him. Tugler flashes solid touch too, though it can be inconsistent and his off-hand could use real development. His strength is also a major contributing factor to his ability to finish inside, using it well to carve out space and make finishes much simpler. He is undersized if he is to play the five, but it is a good baseline for which he can look to build perimeter skills off of.
The jumper needs a lot of work, but Tugler does not need it to be a valuable player. Surviving on offense is plenty for Tugler because the defense has the upside to be that game breaking. However, there is some potential for Tugler offensively because movement skills, vertical pop, feel, and size is a pretty damn good start.
Overall, Tugler pops every time I see him. Houston Hoops has put together a fascinating and fun roster, full of guys who interest me, but Tugler strikes me as the most potentially valuable if he develops. He can be an absurdly versatile defender who, if he finds a true role on offense, is a solid bet to find his way into the league down the line.
Devin Williams- 6’10 F/C
TeamWhyNot EYBL
Offers: Cal, San Diego State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, & New Mexico State
TeamWhyNot is most noted by their guard trio of Jared McCain, Kylan Boswell, and Dusty Stromer, but Devin Williams has caught my eye every time I watched them. Williams has averaged only 6.8 ppg on 46.7/37.5/92.9 shooting splits, but his impact went far beyond the box score. He also chipped in a block and a half a game and flashed a lot of movement skills on the perimeter. His mix of shooting and funky movement is eye-catching and gives him a lot of intrigue as he projects to the next level.
The rim protection is the easy sell with Williams. He is 6’10 with long arms and he has grown a lot in this area over the past couple seasons. His timing on blocks is great and he gets off the ground fairly quickly. He is skinny, but he is far from weak for that size, and he can absorb contact and stay vertical well for his age. His movement skills flash in the paint as well, maneuvering around down low to get to blocks many young bigs don’t get to.
Devin Williams' (Corona, CA) Video "2 Three Pointers vs Modesto Christian" | MaxPreps
The sell with Williams on defense goes beyond the rim protection though. He has been slow to grow into his frame, but his movement skills have developed from his high-school season to EYBL and he flashes a lot of interesting stuff on the perimeter. He has locked down a few highly guards and wings on the perimeter and his length and movement skills can swallow drives. Unlike many bigs who profile as switchable, he doesn’t give up the drives and then use his length to recover. Instead, Williams is mobile to keep guards out of the paint in the first place. He has also gotten good at contesting jumpers. He is not as technically sound on the perimeter as someone like Tugler, but he moves well and is continuing to develop there. It is easy to see him being mobile enough to play the 3, 4, or 5 in college if he continues to develop on this path.
Of course, to play as a wing or forward at the next level, you have to have some skills on offense. Luckily for Williams, he has started adding a lot of skill on that end. The obvious skill with Williams on that end is the jumper. He is very comfortable knocking down shots from outside, with a high release and good touch. The base is wide and he is still developing there, but the jumper is already solid and it is easy to project it continuing to grow going forward.
The vertical athleticism is also solid, and he should excel as a versatile roll-man. He is a comfortable two-foot leaper who can get up in tight spaces and with little load. He can get up for lobs and even sons people in the post with consistency. The one-foot bounce is not as elite, but his long arms help make up for that and he just an overall solid above-the-rim finisher. His touch around the rim is also solid, though he does struggle with physicality down low.
(1071) Bronny James vs Jared McCain!! Sierra Canyon vs Corona Centennial REGIONAL FINALS! - YouTube
The real upside with Williams on offense is the slowly developing handle and drive game. He has flashed a lot of change of pace, especially in transition, and the burst is solid overall. He can change stride length with ease and has flashed the occasional euro-step or spin that really pop. He can bend around defenders with a second and third step too, not relying entirely on burst to break the paint. The handle itself trails behind the movement skills, but the handle can develop, funk like Williams has rarely does.
Overall, Williams has been a standout for me, both for playing his role well and for flashing a lot of upside to outgrow that role. Movement skills with his size is a rare combination and the overall feel and creation flashes are the sprinkles and whip cream on the sundae. The cherry on top is the jumper, which helps give him a solid floor on offense when combined with his athleticism.
Tyler Bey- 6’8 W/F
Oakland Soldiers EYBL
Offers: Creighton, Nebraska, VCU, & East Carolina
The Oakland Soldiers are one of my favorite EYBL programs to watch each year. Partially because of the fond memory of losing to them by 57 at a local Tournament, and partially because they are a consistent factory for athletic players who want to dunk everything. Speaking of…
Tyler Bey caught my eye at first with a ferocious two-hand putback early in a game during EYBL session 1. The more I watched, the more intrigued I got. The sell for Bey is a mix of motor and athleticism in a prototypical wing/forward frame. Bey is a powerful two-foot athlete who explodes off the floor for dunks and rebounds, but he is not limited to two-foot explosion. He has his fair share of driving dunks of one-foot and his burst going right is solid. He uses this athleticism to great effect on offense, going for putbacks, rolling, cutting, and attacking closeouts with intensity. Bey has 10 credited offensive rebounds across 8 games and most of them end with him throwing it down.
(1088) Tyler Bey Catches A Body 😱☠️. Fairfax vs LACES - YouTube
The shot is promising with Bey. The number from 3 is shaky, but he is an 81% free throw shooter, and the form is projectable. He keeps his base compact and the energy transfer from his legs through the ball is solid. There are no obvious issues with the form aside from some lean and an inconsistent off-hand, but there are paths for Bey to be at least a solid shooter.
Bey also has some confidence putting the ball on the floor and getting downhill. He does not have an incredibly developed bag, but he can hit a cross or a spin in an effort to get to the basket with the best of them. Decision-making out of drives is the next major point of development with Bey. He is not a high-level court mapper, but learning some basic reads to capitalize on his gravity as a driver would be a major boost to his offensive game. His touch on these drives is solid and he can get downhill without having to overdribble. That is a good baseline to build an offensive package out of.
Defensively, Bey has some moments. He excels on the ball, and his length bothers drivers. He plays a bit upright and learning to sit lower in a stance would help him cover smaller guards better, but the movement skills allow him to switch on the perimeter even with that issue. He is comfortable guarding stronger players too, despite his relatively frail frame. He plays stronger than he looks and that will only improve as he puts on more and more muscle.
Off the ball, Bey leaves something to be desire defensively. He is somewhat hurt by always playing next to a couple bigs with the Soldiers, most of whom default to standing around the paint as the primary source of rim protection, but he could still be more active. He rarely plays passing lanes despite his physical tools and he doesn’t help around the rim much either. He is often too eager to leak out in transition and that allows for some easy buckets he could have affected.
In general, Bey feels like a high-major player with upside to me. He reminds me a lot of a more explosive version of DJ Rodman, who has carved out a solid career as a 3-and-D player at a high-major, but who could be more effective if given Bey’s physical tools. If Bey buys into being the ultimate energy guy on both ends and learns some basic reads, he could be a steal for a high-major in need of depth and defense at the wing.
Baye-Abdou Ndongo- 6’8 F/C
Utah Prospects 3SSB
Offers: Washington State, Colorado, Arizona State, Washington, Providence, & Penn State
Baye-Abdou Ndongo is someone who caught my eye while doing a scouting piece for my work at CougCenter and I have been enamored ever since. A big forward who hustles, has solid athleticism of one or two feet, and has a burgeoning perimeter skillset is plenty to sell me on. He has a lot to iron out, as was showcased in his two games with the Utah Prospects, but I still think he is a worthwhile prospect with a lot of room for improvement.
The sell with Ndongo is that he has a solid mix of fluidity and explosion within his frame. He has been reported at two different heights, 6’8 and 6’10, but at either height he profiles similarly. He is an athletic rim-runner who is exploring the studio space as a perimeter player. The athleticism and intensity pop, as he is almost always the hardest working player on the floor. He runs coast to coast like a mad-man in transition, he is chasing after every block and steal, and he has a knack for crashing the offensive glass. That intensity combines well with his fluidity to make him an imposing defensive prospect. He has incredible hips for someone his size, drop-stepping to contain drivers and shuffling along the perimeter as bell as anyone mentioned in this piece. His help instincts are a step behind where they could be, but he has great hands and he does well with what he has while primarily playing the four for the Prospects and for Denver Prep in high school.
His feel for shot-blocking and defensive playmaking is solidly high. Again, he is rarely playing as the lone man around the rim, so he is forced to make plays as more of a wing than a true big and it has been great for his development. He blocks shots out of a back-pedal like few can and he is surprisingly adept at stripping ball-handlers and jumping passes for a big his size. It needs some ironing out, but the ability to make those plays and the intensity to want to do so is a great early sign.
(1088) Baye Ndongo Continuing To Impress In The Grind Session For Colorado Prep. - YouTube
The offense is at an interesting point for Ndongo. In his two games during the 3SSB, he averaged 5 turnovers a game and was fairly inefficient, however, he still flashed some promise. The floor for Ndongo on offense is at least solid, with his ability to jump off either foot and intensity on the boards giving him a role as a roll-man and screen setter. However, the real development point for Ndongo has been in the face-up game. He works a lot out of a jab series, really liking to take that hard right step and trying to shake a defender out of that. He settles for a lot of mid-rangers out of these looks, and the touch in that area needs work, but when he is decisive about attacking it looks good.
The handle is still a bit loose and he pushes the ball a bit more out in front of him than is optimal, but it has gotten noticeably better over the last year and there is potential for him to be able to attack from the outside. He will have to get a lot better as a shooter to draw the attention from out there, and the shot needs some tweaks from its current state, but the flashes at least give hope that he could grow in the right college settings.
I think Ndongo is definitely deserving of the high major looks he is getting despite a rough start to his grassroots season. He has some work to do, but the mix of intensity and athleticism is an easy sell to provide value at the next level.