Brycen Blaine 6’3 185 2022 LC Bird High School, Richmond VA
Brycen can flat out shoot the basketball and is efficient both from the mid-range and beyond the arc with catch and shoot jumpers. His stroke is concise and fluid his footwork is sound both loading into catch and shoot jumpers or on catch and go’s where he is really at his most dangerous. While he is a serious threat from beyond the arc what I like most in watching Brycen is how strong and quick he attacks the basket and how effective he is on the drive as both a scorer and a passer. His ability to change speeds and play slow to fast, his quick rip and long, powerful strides where he can get low and push the ball out in front and really cover ground getting to the rim on one of two dribbles from the three-point line. Brycen uses his strong frame and good quickness to get into the body of his defender and get an angle, beat his defender, and play through contact and finish. He can contort his body and maneuver through traffic and he’s so strong and has tremendous body control.
Brycen has very good finishing moves and can pound defenders with his strong frame and literally bully his way to the rim or rely on an impressive burst on his first step even from a standstill and beat many defenders. He can finish with either hand and has a great touch using the glass or using runners where he is equally effective off either foot allowing him to finish over length or when he doesn’t get all the way to the rim. Brycen also demonstrates solid playmaking skills and once he sheds his defender and turns the corner he’s so good at seeing the floor and exploiting defenses using his great vision and very good passing skills to find cutters, drive and kick to teammates for the open shot or employ his solid instincts and scoring arsenal attacking the rim.
Brycen’s combination of quick feet and physicality allows for defensive versatility. He’s solid on the ball, moves his feet skillfully, and uses his upper body strength nicely against dribble penetration. He rebounds the basketball at a good rate for his position and brings a degree of toughness on the defensive end of the floor, has plenty of dog in him, and competes at a high level.