Sports Academy Top Forwards/Centers

Hunter Hudson; Chaminade 2023

David Yapkowitz

April 16, 2023 @ 05:51 PM

This past weekend, Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, CA played host to the Spring Swish, a tune up event for next weekend's live period. The event was held Saturday and Sunday and featured some of the top talent in Southern California. I was able to attend the event on Saturday and here's a look at some of the top forwards and centers that I saw. 1. [player_tooltip player_id='631555' first='Hunter' last='Hudson'] - Chaminade 2023 Hudson is a versatile forward who probably projects as a guard/forward hybrid at the next level. She has good size and uses it to do damage on the glass. Very good rebounder who fights for every possession if she can. She has good vision in the halfcourt and does a good job finding teammates and making the extra pass. Defensively she closeouts out well and contests jumpers with her length. Active in the paint. 2. [player_tooltip player_id='267595' first='Lindsay' last='Gould'] - Oak Park 2024 Gould is kind of a stretch big who can space the floor with consistent three-point shooting. Likes to shoot the corner three, good shooter off the catch with a quick release. Squares her feet up with the basket well. Does a good job moving off ball and getting herself free for jumpers. Able to score in the paint too with a nice touch around the basket. Defensively she is strong on ball and cutting off baseline drives. 3. Alijah Stewart - Long Beach Poly 2025 Stewart has good size and some solid upside as a big. She can establish good position in the post, just has to be able to seal and hold it. She can step out and shoot the midrange jumper consistently. Able to score in the paint when in close enough. She also can hit the turnaround jumper in the paint. Defensively she's solid on ball and slides her feet well to keep up with the ball-handler. 4. Jaelah Brown - Oak Park 2026 Brown was one of the more active players in the paint that I saw. A very good rebounder on both ends of the court. Does a lot of the dirty work; dives on the floor for loose balls and sets some solid screens. Able to finish around the basket. Her points come off ball from simply being active and moving. She has good size for a forward.

This past weekend, Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, CA played host to the Spring Swish, a tune up event for next weekend's live period. The event was held Saturday and Sunday and featured some of the top talent in Southern California. I was able to attend the event on Saturday and here's a look at some of the top forwards and centers that I saw.

1. Hunter Hudson Hunter Hudson 6'0" | PF Chaminade | 2023 State CA - Chaminade 2023

Hudson is a versatile forward who probably projects as a guard/forward hybrid at the next level. She has good size and uses it to do damage on the glass. Very good rebounder who fights for every possession if she can. She has good vision in the halfcourt and does a good job finding teammates and making the extra pass. Defensively she closeouts out well and contests jumpers with her length. Active in the paint.

2. Lindsay Gould Lindsay Gould 5'9" | CG Oak Park | 2024 State CA - Oak Park 2024

Gould is kind of a stretch big who can space the floor with consistent three-point shooting. Likes to shoot the corner three, good shooter off the catch with a quick release. Squares her feet up with the basket well. Does a good job moving off ball and getting herself free for jumpers. Able to score in the paint too with a nice touch around the basket. Defensively she is strong on ball and cutting off baseline drives.

3. Alijah Stewart - Long Beach Poly 2025

Stewart has good size and some solid upside as a big. She can establish good position in the post, just has to be able to seal and hold it. She can step out and shoot the midrange jumper consistently. Able to score in the paint when in close enough. She also can hit the turnaround jumper in the paint. Defensively she's solid on ball and slides her feet well to keep up with the ball-handler.

4. Jaelah Brown - Oak Park 2026

Brown was one of the more active players in the paint that I saw. A very good rebounder on both ends of the court. Does a lot of the dirty work; dives on the floor for loose balls and sets some solid screens. Able to finish around the basket. Her points come off ball from simply being active and moving. She has good size for a forward.