NBA Comparison: Franz Wagner

Strengths: 6’10 wing … Although his length isn’t great relative to height, he has good size considering position with a 6’10.25 wingspan and 8’8 standing reach … Natural feel for the game and versatile skill set. Very skilled, crafty, and smooth with the ball for his size. Demonstrates ball skills in the half-court and leads well in transition. Sees the floor well, makes impressive one-handed passes with either hand off the dribble. Distributes well in pass and kick situations, especially when driving baseline. Good ball-handler, can break down the defense and get to the rim off the dribble, isn’t completely reliant on triple threat. Good change of speed, creativity, and wiggle with the ball. Can start the offense after grabbing a rebound … Can play on or off the ball, knows when to space the floor and when to cut/rotate … Impressive and fluid athlete. Jumps well off one or both feet. Has eye-opening dunks when getting to the rim and gets impressive pop after euro-steps. Isn’t afraid to attempt dunks in the crowded paint. Good body control when contorting himself in the air for finishes. Covers a lot of ground and uses euro-steps to react to the defense on drives. Drives well going to his left or right and good use of counters when needed. Good touch on floater and accurate with either hand at the rim … Patient offensively, doesn’t blindly attack the rim or force his impact. Reads and reacts well … Averaged 14.2 points per game on 52.1% FG% over the Nike EYBL in 2022 and finished 2nd in scoring with 15.4 points per game on a 4th best 49.6% FG% over the NIBC in 2022-23 … Good aggression. Despite lack of strength, he doesn’t shy away from contact and plays well against tight pressure … Good form on jump shot with comfortable 3PT shooting range. Capable shooting off the dribble, including step-backs, and hits shots when given little space from the defender. Improved 3PT shooting over his senior year, from 26.6% 3PT% on 3.4 3PT attempts per game over the Nike EYBL in 2022 to 42.2% 3PT% on 3.8 3PT attempts per game over the NIBC in 2022-23 … Shows a midrange fadeaway … Good free throw shooter. Shot 77.6% FT% over the Nike EYBL in 2022 and a 4th best 81% FT% over the NIBC in 2022-23 … Good size and anticipation on the defensive end. Good timing as a help a help defender when blocking shots. Averaged a 3rd best 1.9 blocks per game over the NIBC in 2022-23. Moves well laterally … Possesses desirable size and skills for a modern-day perimeter player …

Weaknesses: Has much room to improve upper and lower body strength, as well as being stronger with the ball. Can be too straight up when handling the ball, lacking the low center of gravity. Picks up his dribble early or loses the ball when enduring contact trying to work in tight spaces at times. Contact noticeably affects his balance, eliminating his wiggle and effectivity with the ball. Sometimes ends up on the floor when taking contact at the rim. Handling contact against full grown pros this season in the G-League will be quite an adjustment and contrast to what he was against in high school … Good shooter, but can speed up his release … Although he’s more of a perimeter player, he has room to improve as a rebounder. Sometimes after getting a hand on the board, he loses the rebound battle with his lack of strength, failing to corral the ball. Averaged 5.6 rebounds per game over the Nike EYBL in 2022 and 6.1 rebounds per game over the NIBC in 2022-23 … While he keeps turnovers fairly low considering his volume and role with the ball, he holds a negative assist to turnover ratio and can improve assist count, especially if he’s going to be at least a secondary initiator at the next levels. Averaged 2.2 assists to 2.3 turnovers per game over the Nike EYBL in 2022 and only 1.6 assists per game over the NIBC in 2022-23 …

Outlook: G-League Ignite rookie … Transferred to Sunrise Christian Academy for his senior year … Scored 16 points (6-7 FG, 4-4 FT) at the 2022 UA Next Elite 24 … 2023 McDonald’s All-American … Earned MVP of the 2023 Basketball Without Borders … 2022 New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year … 2023 Naismith High School Boys All-American 2nd Team … 2023 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year …

Evan Tomes 8/11/23

Strengths: 6’10.25 point forward … Although his length isn’t great relative to height, he has good size considering position with a 6’10 wingspan and 8’9.75 standing reach … Natural feel for the game and versatile skill set. Very skilled, crafty, and smooth with the ball for his size. Demonstrates ball skills in the half-court and leads well in transition. Sees the floor well, makes impressive one-handed passes with either hand off the dribble. Distributes well in pass and kick situations, especially when driving baseline. Good ball-handler, can break down the defense and get to the rim off the dribble, isn’t completely reliant on triple threat. Good change of speed with the ball. Can start the offense after grabbing a rebound … Can play on or off the ball, knows when to space the floor and when to cut/rotate … Impressive and fluid athlete. Jumps well off one or both feet. Has eye-opening dunks when getting to the rim and gets impressive pop after euro-steps. Isn’t afraid to attempt dunks in the crowded paint. Good body control when contorting himself in the air for finishes. Covers a lot of ground and uses euro-steps to react to the defense on drives. Drives well going to his left or right and good use of counters when needed. Good touch on floater and accurate with either hand at the rim … Patient offensively, doesn’t blindly attack the rim or force his impact. Reads and reacts well … Averaged 14.2 points per game on 52.1% FG% over the Nike EYBL in 2022 … Good aggression. Despite lack of strength, he doesn’t shy away from contact and plays well against tight pressure … Good form on jump shot with comfortable 3PT shooting range. Capable shooting off the dribble. Shot a solid 77.6% FT% over the Nike EYBL in 2022 … Good size and anticipation on the defensive end. Moves well laterally … Possesses desirable size and skills for a modern-day perimeter player …

Weaknesses: Has much room to improve upper and lower body strength. Loses the ball when enduring contact trying to work in tight spaces at times and ends up on the floor when taking contact at the rim at times. Handling contact against full grown pros a year from now when he goes to the G-League will be quite an adjustment and contrast to what he’s seeing now on a daily basis … While the foundation is present, he can improve 3PT shooting consistency and speed up his release. Shot 26.6% 3PT% on 3.4 3PT attempts per game over the Nike EYBL in 2022 … Although he’s more of a perimeter player, he has room to improve as a rebounder. Only averaged 5.6 rebounds per game over the Nike EYBL in 2022 … While he keeps turnovers fairly low considering his volume and role with the ball, he holds a negative assist to turnover ratio and can improve assist count, especially if he’s going to run the point at the next levels. Averaged 2.2 assists to 2.3 turnovers per game over the Nike EYBL in 2022 …

Outlook: G-League Ignite commit … Transferring to Sunrise Christian Academy for his senior year … Scored 16 points (6-7 FG, 4-4 FT) at the 2022 UA Next Elite 24 … 2022 New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year …

Measurements from BWB Global:

Height: 6’9 (no shoes) Wingspan: 6’10.25 Max Vert: 35.5″

Evan Tomes 9/9/22