Our summer scouting series is a deep dive top players on every major grassroots circuit. Synergy Sports’ stats and video allow us to supplement what we saw in person throughout the spring and summer and add one more building block toward updated national rankings.
We started last week with the top frontcourt, wing, and backcourt prospects Under Armour Association.
This week, we’re turning our attention to the 3SSB circuit. Yesterday focused on the top big men on the circuit, headlined by Kentucky commitment Malachi Moreno and John Clark, the No. 6 center in the class.
The forwards of 3SSB are up next, which is a particularly rich category that is led by two of the top ten players in the national class.
Koa Peat, PF, Compton Magic
Current 247Sports ranking: No. 5 overall, No. 2 power forward
15 games on the 2024 Adidas 3SSB circuit: 21.2 points, 51% FG, 33% 3pt, 70% FT, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.7 turnovers, 1.5 steals, 1.6 blocks
Peat has been one of the most consistently productive players in high school basketball over the course of his career. As a freshman, he put up big numbers right away, and has done the same on the 3SSB circuit. Peat, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward has continued to do be wildly productive in virtually every setting since, showing his maturity and competitive stamina. He’s broad, powerful, long, and has a body type that you might expect from a family of football players.
Peat is a constant double-double threat who has good hands, instincts, touch, and a very polished ability to get to his spots inside of 15-18 feet. He thrives in the mid-post, has a high release to get his shot off in the mid-range area, is a good ball-handler for his size, and can attack both sides. He rarely blows right by his defender, but he’s physical, uses his body effectively, has a terrific left hand, and knows how to get to the free-throw line. Additionally, Peat is an advanced processor of the game, who picks up concepts and schemes quickly, is showing increasing passing ability off the dribble, and has good poise with the ball in his hands. He’s capable of taking the ball off the defensive glass and leading the break himself. Peat should be very valuable in dribble hand-off or short-roll action at the next level.
The missing link in Peat’s skill-set right now is his three-point shooting. While he has soft natural touch, there is a glitch in his mechanics that gets more pronounced as he extends farther beyond that mid-range area. He connected on 29% of his threes in 3SSB play, making a total of nine threes in 15 games, and went a total of 1-for-5 from three in seven FIBA games earlier in the summer with the USA u17 national team.
Defensively, while Peat is not built like a prototypical rim protector and projects as more of a four, or maybe even undersized five at times. His playmaking metrics (3.1 stocks per game – steals + blocks) again illustrate his length, hands, and instincts. He’s also a very consistent presence on the glass.
The most common questions are about Peat’s long-term potential. He was an early bloomer. So Peat was being bigger and stronger than the competition at an early age. He has less untapped physical upside than other prospects. He also doesn’t stretch the floor consistently. But what’s undeniable is the long history of productivity and clear intangibles with his maturity, IQ, and leadership ability.
Nate Ament, PF, Team Loaded Virginia
Current 247Sports ranking: No. 7 overall, No. 4 power forward
13 games on the 2024 Adidas 3SSB circuit: 15.4 points, 47% FG, 42% 3pt, 90% FT, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.2 turnovers, 1.3 steals, 0.8 blocks
Ament is one of the best long-term prospects in the country. He’s an immense talent and still in the early stages of putting it all together. He has positional size for a face-up forward at over 6-foot-9 with an elastic body type, albeit a relatively modest 6-foot-11 wingspan. He’s a fluid mover, plus athlete, and has tremendous natural hands and touch, which are the foundation of his developing skill-set.
While not completely polished, Ament shows real potential as both a handler and a shooter. He posted 47/42/90 shooting splits in the 3SSB season. He has a high release and soft touch with a range that extends out to the three-point line. He is still learning to get consistently balanced in his lower body. The ball hits his hand incredibly softly when he puts it on the floor, and he’s starting to show more creativity off the bounce as well. There are even some very real flashes of floor vision and passing ability, with both hands.
The most glaring limitation in Ament’s game right now is a lack of strength and sheer force. His naturally wiry frame is only just beginning to fill out. He also tends to play a bit upright, raising his center of gravity, which makes it that much easier for him to get bumped or angled off the line of his drive. Right now, Ament struggles to try and finish through contact in a high-level game. Despite that, he shows a real ability to get his own shot off.
In addition to that physical maturation, we’re also just starting to see the first signs of an alpha mentality in Ament. He’s come up the ranks as someone who was content to blend in and rarely looked to really assert himself. Now, we’re gradually starting to see him get more assertive, and the expectation is that could come in correlation with the progression of his body. Even defensively, we’re seeing him fly around more and make more plays off the ball.
What’s glaring about Ament is just how much potential he has to get better. He needs to get stronger, keep getting more aggressive, and polish all aspects of his skill set, but all the tools are in place for him to evolve into a skilled and smooth 6-foot-9-plus perimeter forward who is a true three-range scoring threat. The bottom line on Ament is that there may be some five-star prospects who are more capable of dominating a game today, but he has as high a long-term upside as potentially anyone in the class.
Niko Bundalo, PF, Wildcat Select
Current 247Sports ranking: No. 24 overall, No. 7 power forward
12 games on the 2024 Adidas 3SSB circuit: 14.5 points, 43% FG, 34% 3pt, 65% FT, 5.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.9 turnovers, 1.1 blocks, 0.2 steals
Bundalo is an inside-out lefty four-man with good positional size, athleticism, and deceptive strength. He has good bounce around the rim, a great right hand, and while his frame doesn’t boast a ton of visible muscle mass, he plays through contact fairly well. He’s legit low-post scoring threat who understands angles and is especially effective sealing off defenders prior to the catch for easy buckets.
Bundalo is equally capable of facing the basket and has a soft touch that extends to the arc with ease. He can play out of pick-and-pop action and is a reliable three-point shooter when he’s in rhythm. He gets much less efficient on offense when he tries to jab into threes or take opponents off the dribble. Bundalo has a bit of a high dribble and isn’t really a creator, although he’s capable of driving a close-out. He’s both versatile and comfortable playing various spots on the floor in different types of offensive actions, seemingly picking up concepts quickly, and yet he is not always an overly willing passer.
The most important variable for Bundalo is his overall intensity. He’s hyper-competitive, and when he can harness that while maintaining full control of his emotions, he’s extremely effective on both ends of the floor. When that fire burns too hot though, it can be detrimental, with implications on his shot selection, decision-making, and overall mentality.
Overall, Bundalo is a prospect who can experience some highs and lows, but has a terrific combination of size, deceptive strength and athleticism, and crafty inside-out skill.
Trent Sisley, Indiana Elite
Current 247Sports ranking: No. 73 overall, No. 18 power forward
17 games on the 2024 Adidas 3SSB circuit: 13.4 points, 59% FG, 43% 3pt, 70% FT, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 0.6 steals
Sisley is a versatile forward with a well-rounded two-way game. He’s a combo forward of sorts, capable of playing and defending multiple positions. He has adequate size to play the four, deceptively long arms, and a bit of underrated athleticism to give him some bounce at the rim. He’s physical and tough enough to battle bigger guys inside and on the glass. While Sisley doesn’t possess elite lateral quickness, he has good defensive instincts and really works to guard the perimeter.
Sisley’s shooting has long been considered one of his best attributes (43% 3pt in 3SSB). He doesn’t have a prototypically pure release – it’s a little low and short-armed on the follow-through. He is progressing from an efficient spot-up shooter in selective attempts, to someone who is now proving capable of making tough threes. Sisley may not be a prototypical creator, but he can push himself in the open floor, rock his man off the catch on the wing, and has good footwork to help him finish at the end of drives. He’s capable of taking mismatches into the post, has a sense for cutting off-ball, and is a willing ball-mover. He can get tunnel vision at times and does make some questionable passing reads.
Overall, Sisley may not have the glaring upside of some other top prospects, but he’s a versatile, competitive, and productive two-way contributor who impacts winning, and projects likely to do the same thing at the next level.
Tylis Jordan, PF Game Elite | Committed to Ole Miss
Current 247Sports ranking: No. 69 overall, No. 16 power forward
16 games on the 2024 Adidas 3SSB circuit: 15.8 points, 41% FG, 37% 3pt, 72% 3pt, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2 turnovers, 0.7 blocks, 0.6 steals
Jordan is a high-upside forward with glaring tools. He has positional size at 6-foot-9, good apparent length, and a solid frame that should really expand in a college weight room. Jordan is a very fluid mover, a solid athlete, and has excellent hands and touch. He’s a smooth ball-handler with some real playmaking potential for his size, especially when he has space to operate in the open floor. His touch extends out to the arc, where he is a consistent threat with a high release point that requires limited separation.
While Jordan possesses a versatile mismatch skill-set, his decision-making and efficiency can be inconsistent at times. He has a tendency to over dribble the ball, perhaps in an effort to prove what he can do, doesn’t always play through contact with a ton of sheer force, and can consequently struggle to finish. The numbers bare this out as well. Jordan finished the 3SSB season shooting just 40.5% from the floor and 42% on two-point field goals, which is a red flag for someone with his physical tools. He also posted a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. Additionally, Jordan is not a particularly impactful rebounder for someone his size.
The bottom line is that Jordan is an undeniable talent with very clear long-term potential, but will have to embrace a more physical and efficient style of play in order to maximize that potential and impact winning at the next level like he should be capable of doing.
Best of the Rest: Dillan Shaw, Compton Magic; Terrion Burgess, Arkansas Hawks; Devin Brown, Power 5; Chase Thompson, D1 Minnesota; EJ Walker, Midwest Basketball Club, Committed to South Carolina; DJ Wimbley, Austin Rivers SE Elite, Committed to Florida State.