Top 2018 Prospects

Top 2018 Prospects

This class I’ve become more familiar with, coming out of July, I have a fairly good grasp on who the prime-timers could be as the group struts into their sophomore settings.

1. Tim Finke    6-5    G/F    Champaign Centennial/IL Irish – “There’s no arguing, he’s the No. 1 player in the class.”  Skilled & polished, knows how to play, has the all-around offensive package to be a high-scoring threat before his high-school career ends.  “One aspect I really like about him is he competes in big game settings.
   
2. Raekwon Drake    6-5    F    Chicago Orr/Mean Streets – This chiseled-cut young lad plays extremely hard, he already impacts games on both ends, just a tremendous athlete who will need to continue developing other areas of his game.  Gained major experience as a freshman on the varsity last season.  A modern day Johns Selvie (formerly of King).



3. Kendall Moore    6-0    PG    Danville/George Hill All-Stars – Very few observers north of I-74 knew he put together a stellar freshman campaign.  Kendall possess strong leadership qualities, statistically very few in the class could match his numbers, he averaged in the high 20’s for his club-team this summer, he’s a good finisher and dangerous perimeter threat.  A10 & Missouri Valley have started to take notice.
   
4. Landers “Sanchez” Nolley    6-4    WG     Chicago Curie/ ?  - A transplant from the Atlanta, GA area.  Bouncy athlete has already demonstrated enough arsenal in June to show he is certainly one of the elite players in the rising 2018 class.
   
5. Darius Beane    6-3    WG    Carbondale/St. Louis Eagles – Wiry scorer, knows how to play, fearless competitor, was one of the Eagle’s top 15-U players until he moved-up to the 16’s late in the summer and then showed why he is considered one of our state’s top young players.
   
6. Marquis “Kezo” Brown    6-1    G    Chicago Simeon/Mac Irvin Fire – “Not a big-time prospect yet as some have labeled him!”  Limited skills has hampered his success during these early stages.  He has to learn situations at both ends of the floor something he didn’t display at the 15-U level!
   
7. Kevin Caldwell    5-10    PG    Alton/SW Jets – Exciting player to watch lil fella, got mad squabbles, he’s a clever play-maker who can score & dish, he’s actually a pretty good outside shooter.  Plays with more maturity and experience than some of the other point-guards in the class.
   
8. Kaleb Thornton    5-9    PG    Nazareth/Mean Streets – One of the top 2 or 3 point-guards in the class, very innovative performer, unselfish & attacks the lanes well.  He will be well coached at his school setting, Nazareth hasn’t had a guard of his caliber in years.
   
9. Talen Horton-Tucker    6-2    G/F    Chicago Simeon/Mac Irvin Fire – Burly & gritty performer, plays with a purpose, the left hander knows how to get buckets.  At times he tries to do too much, but we like his aggressiveness.  Obviously, he’s got some work to do physically, but he’s a player to keep an eye on.
   
10. Cardell McGee    6-3    WF    Springfield Lanphier/S. Louis Eagles – “A slasher who can score efficiently at the rim, impressed at DePaul’s elite camp (8-1-15); shoots it better than we thought.”