First of all thanks to Chris Mroz and the staff at Ridgewood High School for putting together a first class Summer Shootout over the weekend. Also some high schools did not have the numbers with the names in the program and vice versa. This does not help the young men get noticed by college scouts. Everyone from the high school coaches, to whomever turns in the rosters needs to have the correct info in the program. College scouts do not want to use their time asking who the kid playing is. Some schools have to do a better job with submitting their rosters. The rosters being incorrect or incomplete is a disservice to the young men trying to earn scholarship offers. Moving on there will be multiple writeups because of the volume of teams(84) and players to cover. I'll do this by class and talk about the ones that impressed me. Then I'll talk about some of the teams in another post. I'll start with Class of 2022.
Best player: Braden Huff, Glenbard West(Glen Ellyn)- 6'10" forward did it all once again scoring from all over the court. He broke the press consistently against Simeon(Chicago) and Kenwood Academy(Chicago). He was a pest in the middle of the 1-2-2 zone the Hilltoppers apply to frustrate teams. He rebounded, passed the ball to shooters, and showed an all-around game that the college scouts love. Team ended up Co-Champs. He will be my #1 player in the class in Illinois when I do my rankings.
Sleeper #1: Max Love, North(St Charles)-6'5" wing who I had never seen play before this weekend. He's a division one player folks!!!!!! He would be great at a low mid major because he can shoot the three and can also attack the rim and finish. He was productive in every game I saw throughout the weekend. He got after it on the defensive end and was aggressive hitting the glass on both ends of the court. Productive player in all areas of the game.
Sleeper #2: Aa'Reyon Munir-Jones, Hillcrest(Country Club Hills)- 6'2" guard transfer from Tinley Park was productive all weekend. He showed he could hit the three pointer, slash to the basket and finish as well. Made clutch plays all weekend to win games for Hillcrest. Plays so hard every minute on the court. Very athletic guard. Defends at both guard positions. Low major division one prospect only because didn't see him play the point guard position. One to look out for as the Hawks reload for next season.
Most gritty player of the weekend: Mikqwon Jones, Michelle Clark(Chicago)- 6'4" wing took it to the bigs all weekend with no regard for human life. He played well through contact and finished at the rim consistently. Was not afraid of initiating contact and attacking the rim on a consistent basis. Would be a good division two prospect.
Best small college prospect: Ethan Ivan, Batavia- 6'7" forward was an excellent finisher at the basket and grabbed rebounds on both ends of the court. Has a football build and uses it to his advantage. Stepped out and hit some threes at a high rate. He did attack the basket off the bounce a few times over the weekend. Has a 3.9 GPA so a great academic prospect to boot. Division two schools would love to have this young man.
Back to back posterized dunks by same team(WATCH YOUR HEAD): In Whitney Young(Chicago)'s semifinal vs Curie(Chicago), Jordan Streeter drove to the basket and dunked on a Curie player. Seconds later a Whitney Young player steals the ball, passes to Matt Sommerville who precedes to dunk over a Curie player. Highlights of this are all over social media.
Other players who impressed:
Xavier Amos, Whitney Young(Chicago)- 6'7" forward Versatility all weekend for the co-champs. High Mid Major prospect.
AJ Casey, Whitney Young(Chicago)- 6'8" forward passed well out of the post and hit the boards. High Major prospect.
Dylan Arnett, DePaul Prep(Chicago)-6'9" forward owned the paint with post-ups and jump hooks. Mid Major prospect.
Justin Mullins, Oak Park River Forest- 6'5" guard athleticism was outstanding changing ends of the floor. Low Mid Major prospect.
JayQuan Adams, Simeon(Chicago)- 6'5" guard did it all, hit threes, slashed to the basket and finishes powerfully. Mid Major prospect.
Lance McVicar, DeKalb-6'5" guard hit threes and mid range pull-ups. Low Mid Major prospect.
Anthony McGhee, Notre Dame College Prep(Niles)- 6'2" guard is a three point sniper. Division Two prospect.
Ethan Marlowe, North(St Charles)- 6'9" forward is an outside/inside force. Low Mid Major prospect.
Bobby Durkin, Glenbard West(Glen Ellyn)- 6'6" guard Shot an ungodly percentage from three for co-champs. Mid Major prospect.
Caden Pierce, Glenbard West(Glen Ellyn)- 6'6" guard Showed all around game for co-champs. Mid Major prospect.
Michael Osei-Bonsu, Bolingbrook- 6'5" forward is a bowling ball around the basket. Tough rebounder. Division 3 prospect.
Emondrek Erkins-Ford, Bloom Township(Chicago Heights) 6'8" forward is only 16 years old. Could be high major with a year of prep school. Loads of potential.
Nick Martinelli, Glenbrook South(Glenview)- 6'7" forward is so productive on the offensive end with threes and post-ups on the block. Low Mid Major prospect.
Cooper Noard, Glenbrook South(Glenview)-6'1" point guard is not just a shooter he can run a team with high efficiency. Low Mid Major prospect. Should be getting more attention from college scouts.
Kyle Thomas, Fenwick(Oak Park)-6'9" forward can step out to shoot threes and well as score in the post. High major prospect.
Ben VanderWal, Timothy Christian(Elmhurst)- 6'7" wing is a scoring machine from three, mid range, and finishing at the basket. Mid Major prospect.
Isaiah Calvin, Glenbard East(Lombard)- 6'4" forward scored in a variety of ways this weekend. Small college prospect.
Rashawn Bost, Evanston Township- 6'1" point guard is a good scorer from all levels of the court. Low mid major prospect.
Timaris Brown, St Patrick(Chicago)- 6'5" forward scores from three and on drives to the basket. Low mid major prospect.
Jalen Quinn, Tuscola-6'3" point guard can score slashing to the basket and mid range pull-ups. Good passer and leader running the team with a college body. High mid major prospect.
Addendum: Forgot Jaden Schutt, Christian(Yorkville)- 6'5" guard showed improved athleticism this weekend with a posterized dunk and caught an alley-oops dunk. High major prospect.
Class of 2023 will be up next in part II.
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