Next Up: Daqavis Greene (6’8″ 2027, Southern Nash Middle)

If you often watch basketball, you’ve probably heard the phrase “He’s next up” more than once. It’s used so often that it doesn’t hold much meaning anymore. Make no mistake about it, Daqavis Greene is indeed one of the next up from ENC. He plays for Southern Nash Middle School in Spring Hope, NC and plays travel basketball for Team Trezz.

For a little over a year now, I’ve been tracking the progress of Daqavis and his overall maturation as a prospect has been astounding. Consistently, his body and game has changed. 

A year ago today, he was a stout 6’4” post player that couldn’t provide much outside of catching the ball inside for layups over shorter players. Many people would have labeled him a “project”, meaning he was a big kid that needed a lot of work and repetition. He’s been training at Competitive Edge in Rocky Mount, NC under the leadership of the coaches for Team Trezz.

Fast forward to now, he is a 6’8” presence with a 7’2” wingspan. In addition to his growth physically, he’s grown as a player that can dominate the post, run the floor, catch the ball and throw it down with ferocity. Does he still need work? Sure, but at the middle school level you’re probably not going to find anyone else like him.

What makes me so sure? I’ll give 4 reasons why.

1. Discipline – It’s incredibly difficult to change your body. A little over a year ago, you couldn’t have guessed that his body and athleticism would have changed so much. Judging from the amount of time and dedication that he’s put into his body as a 7th and 8th grader, I have a feeling that he’s going to remain disciplined enough to maintain his body and continue improving his athleticism as the years pass.
2. Finishing – There have been players in the past that have similar size to Daqavis as 8th graders, but his ability to finish with either hand is impressive for his age. In addition to the ability to convert layups around the basket on both sides, he’s becoming an explosive two-footed leaper that can dunk everything around the basket. As his footwork continues to improve, expect to see exceptionally high field goal percentages in his box scores.
3. Rebounding – He does a good job battling for position and naturally has a nose for the ball. He excels at the moment as an offensive rebounder and goes back up strong to try and dunk it with two hands. As his lateral movement continues to improve, he’ll become just as good rebounding the ball on the defensive side of the ball.
4. Length – It’s already been mentioned that he’s currently around 6’8”, but even for his height he has very long arms and big hands. His length and activity alone helps him to be impactful on the defensive side of the ball. The swarming presence he creates bothers the opposition when they attack the paint. As long as he’s in the paint, any shot near the basket is at risk of being blocked or changed.

There have been a handful of post players with his size and athleticism to come through eastern North Carolina over the last decade or so. If he maintains the same work ethic that he’s shown over the last year, I have a feeling that we’ll be hearing his name a lot more within the next year. Check out his most recent highlights from 252 Mixtapes below.