2017 SENIORS ON THE BORDER

2017 SENIORS ON THE BORDER

Right on the cuff is where some of these’s prospects likely are viewed. “A few these’s Guys would be wise enough to aim at a good division two setting or low division one where faring well for Success would be far greater than sitting on someone’s pine!”

NAME                          HT       POS              SCHOOL                        COMMENTS

Alton Thompson         6-4       F                   St. Patrick              “Excellent leaper, looked ok at York”

Manny Patterson    6-6           SF                 Kenwood               “Rebounder/defender, support guy”     

Jeameril Wilson          6-5       WF               Notre Dame        “Change of scenery might do wonders

Denis Albegovic      6-4           WG               Downers Grove S.”Had seven threes in a game at York”

Marcus Garrett           5-10     G                  Hillcrest                  “Good motor, needs to manage his                                                                                club”

Trevyon Williams        5-11     PG                Springfield S.E.     “Tight handles-makes plays”

Oliver Stevens             6-4       WG               Edwardsville        “ Lights out shooter”

Coreyoun Rushin         6-6       SF                 Westinghouse      “Good athlete, needs the right                                                                                                            setting”

Frankie Mack              6-2       G/F               Prospect                   “Brings winning intangibles”

Isaiah Walton             6-3       G/F               Springfield S.E.      “Would be a terrific D2 gem”

Alante Pickens            5-8       G                  Curie                          “Makes plays, but small College fine”

Lenell Henry                6-7       F                   Morgan Park          “Didn’t do enough at Proviso”

Rashad Johnson          6-0       G                  Oak-Lawn                  “Torn-up defender’s down-state”

Zak Couper                  6-4       WG               Rockford Boylan    “Needs a strong statement”

Rafael Cruz                 6-2       G                  Von Steuben          “This kid can play, nice floor game”

Yaakema Rose            5-8       G                  Springfield Lanphier   “MVP at Pekin”

THE STATE’S TOP UN-SIGNED SENIORS

THE STATE’S TOP UN-SIGNED SENIORS

THE STATE’S TOP UN-SIGNED SENIORS

    NAME                    HT    POS  LEVEL  SCHOOL                COMMENTS

1. Mark Smith          6-4     G     MM+       Edwardsville       “Assassin; MVP at Collinsville”

2. Alonzo Verge       6-2    PG    MM         Thornton             “MVP Big Dipper”

3. Lucas Williamson 6-4   F       MM          Chicago Young  “MVP Proviso West”

4. Rod Henry-Hayes 6-4   G      MM           Zion-Benton     “Played well against Waukegan”

5. Kawansie Wilkins 6-4 WG    MM           Farragut            “Was superb in Missouri”

6. Joseph St. Pierre 6-9    C       MM           Richmond-Burton “Played well over Holiday”

7. Teyvion Kirk      6-3   PG      MM           Joliet West         “Drake fiasco has him open again”

8. Jacob Keller        6-2   G       LM+           Fenwick            “May opt for football”

9. Elyjah Williams 6-5   SF       LM+          Evanston            “A hidden gem; always solid”

10. Taylor Bruninga 6-8 F         LM+          Illini Bluff         “This year’s version of Matt Chastain”

11. Brandon Tremble 6-3 G      LM+          Ogden-St. Joe’s  “Averaging over 30”

12. Kamron Reaves  6-1  PG     LM+         Champaign Centennial “He was phenomenal vs Central.   

                                                                                                            He had 24 an a win.”

TOP HOLIDAY/XMAS EVENTS

TOP HOLIDAY/XMAS EVENTS

1. Collinsville – sold-out crowds, Final 4 – Edwardsville*Althoff*Springfield S.E.*East St. Louis.
2. Pontiac – Simeon won-it; Tourney suffered from all the ‘so –called’ upsets-then took a fiscal windfall at the gate. 
3. Proviso West – the final of Young & Morgan Park ignited some energy. 
4. Hinsdale Central – rapidly improving venue; Bolingbrook barely escaped H.F. 
5. Bloomington-State Farm – Larry Thompson had his Joliet Central squad playing cohesive brand of hoops. 

THE AFTERMATH

Edwardsville six foot four senior assassin Mark Smith has enjoyed a phenomenal season, capturing MVP Honors at the Collinsville Holiday Tournament where he guided his team to the title, capped that off with a 26-point performance versus conference rival East St. Louis on Tuesday night. The high-scoring guard has obtained recent offers from DePaul, Northwestern, Illinois, Kansas State, Missouri, while Oregon has shown some interest, particularly during a recent visit to Collinsville. Stay tuned on his decision…He might want to play baseball also.

We missed the arsenal display down in Bloomington at the State Farm Holiday Event, in the small school venue featured two of the state’s top scorers, while both remain un-signed seniors, Olympia’s six foot seven forward Charles Payton and Ogden-St. Joseph guard Brandon Tremble had the gymnasium buzzing. Tremble racked up 40 against Olympia while Payton who is regarded as the No. 1 Junior College prospect in the state recorded 38. Two weeks prior, Tremble had 43 and Payton went for 40.

In the aftermath of all the Holiday venues, it’s become crystal clear we have a decline in individual talent across the state. Interesting though, right now our top elite prospects reside in the middle of our state or the Southern boundaries. Fascinating how things tend to shift! For an example: look at both of the Joliet schools right now, West and Central, Bolingbrook, and Romeoville are all having some success partly because the talent has re-emerged in that area.

Our star-crossed prospects in 2017 & 18 class should seek some dialogue from 2016 Graduates: Zion Morgan, Zac Norvell, Nick Robinson, James Jones, Devin Gage, Micah Bradford, Barret Bensen, and Matt Chastain in what should be the areas to focus on improving to enhance their chances of obtaining immediately floor time at that level! (Just a thought..)