Other 2018’s on the Radar

Other 2018’s on the Radar

• Drew Peterson    6-4    WG    Libertyville/Kessel Heat – “Impressive July landed him in the must view listing.  He finishes well in traffic and knows how to play.”

• Messiah Jones    6-4    F    Chicago Simeon/Mean Streets – “A high-jumping athlete who brings an electric element to the floor every-outing.  Anything within distance of the rim, he’s attempting to flush.  Right now he’s a fixture as a utility performer, he’s got to work on his skills, but he worthy of the price of admission.
   
• Bakari Simmons    6-4    WG    Chicago Simeon/Mac Irvin Fire – “Silk smooth lefty skilled with a nice stroke, makes good decisions, had a really solid July after a subpar school season.  Don’t be surprised if he was one of the top 5 players in the class when everything shakes out.”
   
• Joffari Brown    6-4    G/F    St. Joseph/Mac Irvin Fire – “Do it all type, has a knack for making clutch plays & shots.”
   
• Trevon Martin    6-7    SF    Chicago Curie/D’Rose – “Has a wealth of potential; starting to add strength to his frame.”
   
• Chase Adams    5-3    PG    Marian Catholic/Mac Irvin Fire – “Not a speedster which is surprising, but knows how to play.  We not into the hype right now!”
   
• Brandon Hurt    6-0    G    Marian Catholic/Example Sports – Strong body & very confident scorer & performer.”
   
• Marquan Williams    5-8    PG    Chicago Perspective-MSA/Mean Streets – “Tough minded scorer, needs polish.”
   
• Damarcus Gilmore    5-5    F    Chicago Harlan/Mac Irvin Fire – “Excellent length, has a nice feel & competes hard.”
   
• Andre White Jr.    5-8    PG    Loyola Academy/ ?  - “Very confident poised play-maker, one to watch.”
   
• Marquis Walker    5-9    PG    St. Joseph-? / ? – “Much made about his scoring feats; time will tell.”
   
• Tyree Martin    6-7    F    Chicago Curie/D’Rose – “Not much of a scorer yet, but competes.”
   
• Bailey Dee    5-10    G    Champaign Central/IL Irish – “Floor game stood-out at the DePaul Elite Camp.”
   
• Kani Acree    6-4    SF    Carbondale/St. Louis Eagles – “Undersized now, but he’s a spirited competitor who had a really good summer with the eagles 15-U team.”
   
• Ayo Dosunmu    5-11    PG    Westinghouse ?/Mac Irvin Fire – “Rumors swirling about a likely transfer to Simeon.  We saw him enough, we aren’t caught-up in the hype, has grown some; has plenty of work to do on the floor.
   
• Anthony Lynch    6-1    PG    South Elgin/IL Wolves – “Smooth floor general, perimeter shooting coming along.”
   
• Cameron Donatian    6-1    G    West Aurora/IL Rise – “Had some big moments for his school team season; quiet summer thus far.”
   
• Justin Boyd    6-2    G    Whitney Young/Mean Streets – “Poised player with long distance range; now he needs to keep confidence in tack.”
   
• Amir Brummet    5-11    G    Decatur MacArthur – “Highly touted in his area, but we have yet to see much production, besides launching outside shots.”

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.”

10 FOR 10

10 FOR 10

During the end of July as well as the month of August we will feature a short capsule of 10 prospects and their recent summer performances & happenings surrounding.

1. Jarrin Randle    SR    5-11    MM-LM+    G    Morgan Park/Mac Irvin Fire – Has improved his all-around play which was on full display during the NY 2 LA Summer Jam where he elevated his status.  Randle has always been a feared outside marksman, now you can clearly see he’s worked on his ball skills.  He can break-down a defender and get to the rim with either hand now.  Had a subpar showing though during the Big Foot event in Vegas.  Eastern Illinois seems to be in hot pursuit as is Northern Illinois, Northern Kentucky, Bethune Cookman while Loyola-Chicago recently showed soft interest.
   
2. Tarkus Ferguson    SR    6-4    MM    WG    Belleville Althoff S.W. Jets – The brother has game/talent, you can see his confidence soaring since the high-school campaign ended.  Marvelous athlete, has those long arms which enable him to guard multiple positions.  Tarkus use to glide often in his play, now he plays fairly hard all the time.  He’s a threat as a perimeter shooter – Indiana State, Illinois State, Western Kentucky, SIU, Tennessee St. have all offered, Bradley could be a major player as well.
   
3. Drew Evans    SR    6-5    LM+-LM    G/F    Thornwood/Chgo Lock-Down – Superb athlete, has the potential to become a dual threat as a scorer and a lockdown defender.  Evans played a small role in Thornwood’s successful run last season where they dropped a close game to St. Rita during the regionals.  We were impressed in his open-court prowess at the NY 2 LA demonstrating the ability to perform well in a half-court setting.  He consistently knocked-down mid-range jumpers and handled the rock effectively.  A late bloomer, OVC, MAC and Summit League should keep tabs on his development.
   
4. Charlie Moore    SR    6-0    HM-MM+    G    Morgan Park/Mac Irvin Fire – A maximum leader, this kid will end his Morgan Park career as one of the most decorated public leaguer’s in recent memory, especially at the point-guard position.  Jabari Parker of Simeon had a portfolio of 4 state titles.  Moore has already captured two 3A State Titles and one 3rd place finish.  A tough competitor, who flourished in the Nike EBYL league, then capped off his summer circuit with a reaffirming outing at the Nike Global Challenge held in Chicago.  He is now viewed as the top player based on performance in the 2016 class.  Iowa, Illinois, Loyola-Chicago, and now University of California seems to be in hot pursuit for his services.
   
5. Evan Gilyard    JR    5-9    MM+-MM    PG    Chicago Simeon/Mean Streets – The slick lil lefty sizzled in Vegas, carrying over some steam from the NY 2 LA bash in Milwaukee last week where Evan had a few ground-breaking performances which accelerated his status as one of the top 4 play-makers in the 2017 crop.  He had a hot summer.
   
6. Collin Stallworth    JR    6-5    MM+-MM    WF    Rochester/IL Jets – Impressive looking underclassman; he has a physical athletic frame equipped with the ability to score in a variety of ways.  Once he improves his perimeter shooting his recruiting value may soar.  Collin handles the ball fairly well and possess the penchant to be a top notch defender, also rebounds the ball well.  A10 & Missouri Valley have zeroed in.
   
7. Kaleb Thornton    SO    5-9    MM+-MM    PG    Nazareth/Mean Streets – “An innovator with mad game”; shrewd with tight ball handling skills; very capable of creating offense for others, he hits the open-man while making smart reads; has excellent game changing speed & quickness; his jumper could be tuned-up but we won’t overly-examine his game.  He’s a throw-back type to the traditional Chicago playmakers we use to unravel in 70’s & 80’s.
   
8. Brandon Suggs    SR    6-8    LM+-LM    F/C    Winnebago/D’Rose – This small town kid had a pretty good July, reaffirming his status as a legitimate division one recruit.  A poor spring showing had critics questioning what level he would be best suited for.  He was a valuable part to a D’Rose squad with his ability to run the floor, finishing at the rim and was a reliable rebounder and protected the rim nicely.  Now he has to get in the gym fine-tune his offensive skills, once he adds some strength his value may rise.  OVC & Summit league should pursue.
   
9. Ethan Meeker    SR    6-2    LM    PG    Galesburg/Quad City Elite – Arguably played for the No. 1 travel team in our state this summer obviously the Quad City group doesn’t play the schedule of the likes of what the Mac Irvin Fire venture into, but their success ratio at tournaments were enormously high.  Meeker provided a nice weapon coming off the bench, spreading the floor with his outside shooting and his surprisingly stout defense.  He held his own with his backup point-guard duties.  He may opt to walk-on at some Big 10 or Missouri Valley situation.
   
10.  Elyjah Goss    SR    6-7    MM-LM+    SF    Plainfield East/IL Celtics – This kid is an untapped talent, he’s a very good athlete with improving skills, there aren’t many players in the state with his physical stature. Learning the intricate basics of the game would help him tremendously, just figuring out how play, once that happens, his confidence would take a major leap, consequently he’s an ideal candidate to be a red-shirt.

2016 Early Verbals

2016 Early Verbals

Name	HT	POS	High-School	College
Rapolas Ivanaukas	6-9	F	Barrington	Northwestern University
Isaiah Roby	6-8	F	Dixon H.S.	University Nebraska
Barret Benson	6-10	C	Hinsdale South	Northwestern University
Devin Gage	6-2	PG	Chicago Curie	DePaul University
C.J. Duff	6-1	G	Carmel H.S.	Western Illinois University
Matty Smith	5-9	PG	South Elgin	Central Michigan University
Nate Kennell	6-5	WG	Metamora	Bradley University
Brendon Gooch	6-6	WF	Belleville Altholff	Southern Illinois

Simeon’s Zach Norvell poured in 53 points in a lopsided victory last weekend out in Vegas igniting the Mac Irvin Fire’s squad towards the championship game at the Big Foot event where they were hand-cuffed by the Georgia Stars.  Charlie Moore illustrated why he is one of the nation’s elite guards, Norvell and Kenwood’s Nick Robinson had a respectable showing throughout the tournament.

TRENDING SOURCES

TRENDING SOURCES

DePaul’s Elite Camp was a top-notch event held on their campus Saturday, August 1st.  Their complete coaching staff & support unit were visibly channeled in which validated what they are all about in building for long term success with the program.  Kudos to assistant Bryan Tibaldi who came from Missouri and previously spent some time in the Chicago Bull’s organization, he did a lot of heavy lifting organizing the event.  The Blue Demons had a surplus of dynamite talent from areas such as Cleveland, Michigan, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Iowa & Wisconsin, reaffirming they will be major suitors for talented prospects all over the country.  That was the blue print for the program during the glory years.  “Not accepting local shenanigans when it comes to recruiting! Any longer”

Chatham-Glenwood graduate Peyton Allen left Texas A&M, the six foot four shooter decided Wichita State would be his next stop.  This has the makings of another suspect decision.  Allen had considered Iowa, Drake & Butler as his final choices.  It must be tough for a shooter to find a right fit!

Niles Notre Dame 2017 forward Jeameril Wilson looks primed for a break-out season, the six foot six forward had an impressive showing at the DePaul’s Elite Camp.  He could end up catching-up with wing players Justin Smith & Javon Pickett before it’s all done.  He’s a versatile performer who has a penchant for making plays.  Also a very good athlete.