Desmond Roberts 6’5 205 2023 Virginia Episcopal School, Lynchburg VA
Desmond is an elite athlete with an incredibly strong and athletic body. He has the ability to guard every position exceptionally well at the high school level. He impacts in a variety of ways defensively as he is a disruptive on-ball defender using his quick feet, strength, and long arms to harass the ball handler. He takes charges at a high rate, is a double-figure rebounder, and a serious shot-blocking presence. He plays with great energy and toughness and also has fun competing. He is a game-changing defender who combines his strength and quickness with solid defensive instincts and skills and impacts the game both on the perimeter and in the paint.
Offensively he is not only a blur as he attacks with the dribble but he is a punishing playmaker. Desmond has an explosive first step and attacks space emphatically. He can blow by most defenders with ease but can also bully many defenders and get wherever he wants with the dribble. He uses a quick rip and attacks the rim with a vengeance where he is a fantastic finisher both with dunks and on nondunk finishes. Desmond has great bounce and seemingly explodes off the ground to the rim and easily has his elbow above the rim as he throws down thunderous dunks whether a defender is in his way or not. When not throwing it down with rim rocking finishes he shows his creativity and great touch from various angles and uses the glass skillfully. Desmond has great body control and shows some creativity finishing with either hand. He plays through contact and finishes at an exceptional rate but can also punish defenders pounding his quick and powerful 205-pound muscular frame into defenders and summoning his soft touch to finish off the glass. He has a reliable handle and shows plenty of playmaking potential as he sees the floor nicely and is a very good passer. He’s unselfish and uses his dribble effectively to help create scoring opportunities for teammates.
Desmond runs the floor hard and has great speed and agility. He can rip a rebound off the glass and get coast to coast in a hurry or pass ahead finding teammates in transition. He is extremely quick off the dribble and given his size and strength he makes for a formidable matchup concern. Desmond does a great job attacking space and is so explosive in doing so but also has the ability to stop on a dime and elevate effortlessly and under control into the pull-up jumper. He demonstrates solid shot mechanics, has a fluid stroke and gets excellent elevation. He’s so effective in traffic and in the mid-range areas because of his physical and athletic attributes and very good fundamentals. Desmond is an impressive young player who oozes with potential. He’s going to garner a lot of attention from college coaches as his high school career progresses and it’s going to be exciting to watch his development. He’s a fantastic young man who loves to compete and doesn’t get outworked. His ceiling is limitless! A must see for sure!