OTR’s The Opening – Frontcourt Studs

ATLANTA, GA – Travel season came on like a hurricane this past weekend with 5 sites and scouts galore covering as much of the ground as possible for OTR’s The Opening, always one of the circuit’s most exciting events.

With a large portion of our staff zeroing in on the bevy of 17U talent on hand, I took to the streets and spent time at the outer sites looking in on younger up-and-comers.

By: Keith Agran

Will Dopfer | F | 2026 | Redline Elite (Lambert, pictured at top)

Wasted precisely zero time in re-establishing his place among the better young big men in the state, has a physical edge in his willingness to use his body to displace you but also has a great young mind for positioning and reading of angles as a rebounder and that clearly separates, offensively he is quick off the catch with an array of moves that are just in the early stages which will get scarier, the timing on the shot-blocking is superb and that’s a testament to what kind of natural athlete the 6- 5 sophomore-to be is.

O’Davion Thompson | F | 2026 | Promise Elite (Discovery)

Promise is known for unveiling interesting names each and every year and Thompson is surely one, great hustle and activity level affected the game in transition and just as much as a shot-blocker, moves really well so posting him up is difficult as he can recover for the rejection if you slip past him, showed us a little face-up game to augment the interior finishing and as the shooting moves further from the basket it becomes a much more dangerous package.

Noah Givens | F | 2026 | Georgia State Warriors (Sequoyah)

Right around 6-5 or so Givens caught eyes in warmups and then showed off a game that’s just scratching the young big-man surface, some work off the bounce emerged after he showed off a springiness that was attention-grabbing as a finisher and rebounder, another heady young shot-blocker who used solid timing to erase, already has a good frame for the age group and as his body matures more could see this as a future 4-man with creativity off the dribble and whole lot of potential slam-jam closer to the basket.

MJ Madison| F | 2026 | Georgia Stars (Pace Academy)

In rolled the Stars to Kennesaw Rec Saturday with a frontline fit for the Big South Conference it seemed, heading the lengthy group was Madison who pops right off the tip with a combination of really fluid movement up and down the court and an advanced scoring package that sets him up as the next great Knights player under Sharm White, the length and lateral movement defensively means he can guard the backcourt but at the same time be a force as frontcourt scorer, a ton of varietal offensive game that is just getting rolling.

Charlie Gersmehl | F | 2026 | Redline Elite (South Forsyth)

How good is Redline this year? A player as promising as Gersmehl may have to play second fiddle some days to compadre Will Dopfer (above) yet the roles can be reversed as we saw at times Saturday at Kennesaw Rec, a little more size for Gersmhel at 6-6 and perhaps a little more classic post play in his repertoire as compared to Dopfer’s physical brand, either way when both are on the floor it’s brutal for 15U opponents as Gersmehl has made a ton of strides in his footwork and the confidence in his burgeoning abilities clearly has taken a step as well.

Brent Williams | F | 2026 | Team Huncho (Loganville)

Speaking of strides very similar to the aforementioned Gersmehl we find Red Devil Williams of out Walton County, latching on with Huncho should pay huge dividends with all the talented guard play around him, but he has to do something with it when they find him and the combination of his natural maturity from 8th grade to freshman year and what looks like a lot of work in the lab on footwork has brought him to the next level, with his size at 6-6 and a good frame to add more power this is as I said when I saw him last summer a player with a lot of potential to draw future attention.

Keith Agran has lived in Georgia since 2011 and joined OTR as a National Evaluator in 2021. He previously scouted for Prep Hoops dating back to 2019, and also spent 3 years as a sports writer at two newspapers in New Jersey. After a championship-coaching background on the HS-level also in NJ, he accepted the Girl’s Basketball Head Coaching position in May 2022 at Mt Bethel Christian Academy and now balances scouting and coaching still with a keen eye on talent around the region. You can reach him at keithagran1@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @BracketSage.