Oswin Erhunmwunse Shines at the National Prep Championship, but Western Reserves Academy Takes the Title Behind A Pair of Marquette Commits

Let’s start with the biggest positive of the National Prep Championship: Oswin Erhunmwunse played what was likely his best basketball of the season for Putnam Science Academy (PSA) in Worcester, MA this week. There had certainly been glimpses in the games I had seen since he returned to the lineup in January, but the semifinals against Combine Academy (NC) and the championship game versus Western Reserve Academy (OH) on Thursday were an emphatic reminder of what makes Erhunmwunse one of the most promising big men currently playing high school basketball.

Heading into Thursday, PSA was looking to win its two games in order to take their third straight National Prep Championship. They raced out to a 20-point lead against Combine in the semifinals before holding off a late surge, but fell in the finals to a Western Reserve Academy club led by a former Providence assistant in Matt Garvey, a pair of Marquette commits, and one of the most promising offensive big men in the class of 2025.

More on them in a moment.

While falling in the title game was certainly disappointing, Erhunmwunse was anything but on Thursday. Between the two games, he shot 15-16 from the field, grabbed 14 rebounds, scored 32 points, and had four blocks in 42 combined minutes. PSA essentially subs like a hockey team, going with full five-man line changes every five minutes, which means Erhunmwunse splits his time with the powerful Ben Ahmed (a top 50 player in the class of 2026) at center.

While the numbers were impressive, they don’t do justice to the impact Erhunmwunse had on Thursday. When he goes vertically defensively, Erhunmwunse’s arms are seemingly halfway up the backboard. Twice in the game against Combine he grabbed shots out of mid air, rather than swatting them away (he was called for goaltending on one of them) and at another point he sent a layup attempt to the sideline. Providence simply hasn’t had a presence at the rim like this in the longest time. Seemingly everything is challenged at the rim when Erhunmwunse is on the floor. His two handed blocks are a sight to behold.

Here are highlights from the game against Combine:

Western Reserve did give him some problems in the first half when Nico Bundalo (a 6’10, top 30 player in the class of 2025 with shooting range) started knocking down shots from beyond the arc and forcing Erhunmwunse to guard him so far from the bucket. Bundalo was scorching from deep and finished with 31 points and 10 boards in the title game.

Offensively, Erhunmwunse threw down five or six dunks versus Combine, including a loud finish on a lob. He also had a tip dunk off a missed 3-pointer early against Western Reserve:

He’s pretty adept at carving out space for himself and finishing at the rim with short hook shots, and he even flashed a spin move over his left shoulder that led to an and-1. The only shot he took outside of the paint came in the form of a banked-in 16 footer.

It was hard not to be enamored with Erhunmwunse’s athleticism and potential when watching him on Thursday. 

Western Reserve Takes the Title

Western Reserve came into this 16-team bracket as the 15 seed, but quickly proved that was a mistake. As noted here earlier this week, their head coach is Matt Garvey, a Providence graduate who was a manager and graduate assistant under Ed Cooley. Cooley later hired him in a video operations role.

Garvey’s team was making its first National Prep Championship appearance and took home the title behind a terrific trio: Bundalo, and Marquette commits Royce Parham and Damarius Owens. Parham scored 34 points in the opener to help WRA knock out Ryan Mela and the Newman School. Newman started that game up 13-0, but Western Reserve chipped away and took control in the second half. Mela, the 2024 Providence commit, ended his season with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, and five steals.

In the semifinals, Western Reserve won a thriller against New Hampton, 96-92, in a game in which both teams shot the lights out. In the finals, WRA got off to a fast start, and then countered every Putnam Science run. PSA was without an important piece in 6’8 wing Justin Johnson, who hurt his hand against Combine in the semis. 

Players That Stood Out

Niko Bundalo, Western Reserve: Bundalo was terrific in this tournament, which shouldn’t be a surprise given his national ranking. Not only did he finish with 31 and 10 in the title game, the left hander scored 16.3 points per game on the week, grabbed 5.8 rebounds, and shot a sizzling 46% from deep. He is a terrific shooter who has the makings of a versatile scorer.

Royce Parham, Western Reserve: The 6’8 class of 2024 Marquette commit was a force both inside and out all week. A top 80 player per 247 Sports, Parham was simply a matchup nightmare with his physicality and shooting ability. He won MVP of the tournament, finishing with averages of 22.5 points and 8.8 rebounds, while shooting 50% from three. He seemed to come up with a big rebound or clutch shot whenever WRA needed it.

Damarius Owens, Western Reserve: Another lengthy wing headed to Marquette, Owens has great athleticism paired with shooting ability. He shot 38% from three for the tournament and averaged 17 points and seven boards. Owens came up big in the semifinals against New Hampton, hitting some timely shots from beyond the arc after New Hampton had taken a double digit lead in the first half.

Naz Meyer, New Hampton: The 6’6 California native, and member of the class of 2025, completely caught fire against Western Reserve in the semis. He had 21 points in the first half, and finished the game with 35 points on seven made 3-pointers. Meyer’s stock should rise this summer.

Kayshuan Tillery, New Hampton: Tillery has had an outstanding season at New Hampton. The Albany native could emerge into one of the better point guards in the class of 2025 (Providence has monitored him and Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara was in attendance yesterday). The 6’1 guard gets into the paint consistently, and can both create and hit from beyond the arc. He averaged over 22 points per game this week, added six assists a game, and shot 46% from three.

Jamil Miller, Combine Academy: Miller earned himself an offer from Fairfield after going for 30+ earlier in the week, and was solid against Putnam Science with 26 points. He showed above average athleticism and the ability to hit from distance. Miller would be a find for a mid-major.