Quality summer for our kids hailing from the state labeled as Land of the Lincoln. I personally didn’t make the Peach Jam or the Las Vegas track, but I was able to put my work in stops such as the Adidas Invitational, the Chicago Summer Challenge at Riverside Brookfield, the NY 2 LA Summer Jam, the Chi-Town Invite and the newly rerouted AAU/Super Showcase in Louisville. The NY 2 LA event in Milwaukee is where the most work was put in tracking my Illinois kids. Tournament director Antonio Curl does an amazing job with his events.
- Mac Irvin Fire: Billed as Chicago’s Team and they are. Had another tough go at the Nike Peach Jam (2-3). Dazzled in Vegas winning the title game versus Houston Hoops becoming our only local club program to win a championship in July.
- Illinois Wolves: Lost a heartbreaker in Kansas City on Sunday; was consistent all summer finishing in the final 8 in most events. Roosevelt Smart wrapped-up the summer on a high note.
- Central Illinois Net Gain: Had a strong summer, probably dropped a total of 3 games in July. Fatigue kicked in Vegas for the Seibring/Reinhart/Block/Peacock crew. They finished the trip 3-1.
- Chicago Lock-down: Every stop they made on the circuit, the group displayed quality play (Indy-Milw-Ky). At the Super Showcase in Louisville they ran-up against a hot Oklahoma team. Notre Dame’s Joe Mooney played well in July.
- Illinois Irish: A program that grew on me as I viewed them more. Assembled by some nice system type players. Dylan Miller (Hillsboro) really helped himself the last few weeks. Rockridge’s Bryan Heath is a very underrated big-game performer. They ran out of gas in Kansas City. Dynamite summer.
- Illinois Stars: Had a respectable showing in Anaheim and Vegas. The team comprised of Aaron Jordan, Brandon Hutton, K.J. Santos, Karl Harris, Cole Gentry and Christian Romine kept their show on the road in July.
- Mean Streets: This always competitive club had a tough summer. A couple key players jumped ship namely D.J. Williams for whatever reasoning. Now they can move towards the future by holding on to some key younger players in the program.
- Team Rose: Lost in the quarters of an Adidas tourney in Vegas. Marlon Stewart didn’t suit up because of an injury. Devin Gage continued a sizzling summer and showed why he is considered as a top 5 prospect in the 2016 class. Josh Stamps is a budding star.
- Rockford Pryme Tyme: Late July they were tucked-away in obscurity, playing in Minneapolis & Merrillville where they seemed to be the main attraction. Antoine Pittman was devastating at times. He really increased his value during the evaluation period.
- Southwest Jets: A rapidly emerging program, they’ve cashed in on the abundance of upcoming talent in that area. They had a quality showing again in Kansas City led by Carlos Anderson (Alton), Emondre Rickman (Collinsville) a rapidly improving big man and Harrisburg shooter Bahari Amaya.
- NLP: A group that struggled all spring and most of July took a turn for better in Louisville licking their chops playing against the likes of Ma & Pa programs featuring small college types. Evan Boudreaux had been disappointing until that leg of the trip, Admiral Schofield finally showed he can be a beast playing against school age boys. The kid with the serious upside was Jachi Taylor a 6’6” athletic wing from Waukegan. NLP looked like they were a contender in Louisville.
- Full Package Elite: This squad was pretty steady all summer, held their own against some stiff opponents. I was impressed with the make-up of their squad Fred Sims (North-Lawndale), Adam Wolf (Lake Forest), Crishawn Orange (Jacobs), Nick Coleman (St. Pats), and Chris Lester (Barrington). “Fatigue kicked in late July.”
The next 13 to be continued . . . .
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