DEPAUL TEAM CAMP

SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2018

Very good event streamed just in the middle of DePaul’s north-side campus. Some early morning match-ups captivated a spirited audience on-hand, Oak Park-Whitney Young match-up gave observers a look at Oak Parks talented group of Anthony Roberts, Chase Robinson, Charlie Hoehne, and promising youngsters Isiah Barnes & Justin Cross. Dashon Enoch didn’t play because of a hip injury suffered at the NIU camp on Saturday. Young countered with a cast of talented cagers of their own, Myles Baker, Tyler Beard, Grant Newell, and Keenan Jones. The state’s No. 1 junior D.J. Stewart rumored to be joining the Whitney Young Program soon, wasn’t on the premises. Orr’s Tujautae Williams looked like his game is ready to explode, this kid will likely propel his status in July. Don’t be baffled if Williams garners a few high-major offers.

Providence St. Mel zoomed in, played two early morning games and looked good before making the track back to Northern for a scheduled 1:00 tilt. Taeyon Neal, Jason Mason, Tim Ervin, Deion Jackson, and Tyriel Nelson all played well. Gary West-Side strolled in with six-foot eight in-coming freshman Jalen Washington. This kid is the best-looking prospect from Gary, Indiana since Glen “Big Dog” Robinson. Washington, can do everything right now, including play defense on the perimeter. He hoops with Darryl on Mean Streets 14-U squad. “This kid would stand-out in a 17-U game.” Thornton had 6-6 leaper Keeshawn Chambers on-hand currently squashing some thoughts he may be linked to Uplift soon. The Titans did perform well though, behind the maturing Markese Jacobs and steady guard Detalian Brown. Farragut had admirable performances from Aaron Strong & Reggie Strong. Neighboring school Lincoln Park showed off their newly arrived transfer Khaleb Rouse, a 6-2 guard with a rising floor game to go with his ability to score in a variety of ways. Chris Roberts, Romelle Howard, Michael Robinson, Tahir Thompson, Kyle Jackson, and sophomores Ismail Habib & Julio Montes were on-hand. Good times might be in store for the North-siders. Curie vs Leo mid-afternoon sparked some interest even though the condors ran away from Leo in the second half. DeJuan Gordon who arguably might be the best player in the Public League was his usual self. Juniors Ramean Hinton & Almond Williams looked good. Fenwick transfer Demari Nixon Top 50 in the 2019 Class was in the Curie line-up. Leo’s Fred Cleveland Jr. and Kendale Anderson shined; senior forward Dachawn Anderson played but wasn’t his usual self, he’s hampered by a leg injury. CVS and Carl Sandburg had several games where their players stood-out along with Prosser squad.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

JUNE 23rd, 2018

&

JUNE 24th, 2018

Monty & his staff put together an excellent camp. Ideal for coverage. The NIU Camp ran two days, the tournament play began Sunday evening and wrapped-up with Bogan edging red-south rival Simeon in the title game. Landing offers from the camp were Bogan’s six-foot seven Rashaun Agee and Simeon sharp-shooter Antonio Reeves. Several other seniors performed well enough for the NIU staff to follow closely during the July evaluation period, a few of them certainly elevated their status during this competitive event. Peoria Richwood’s Cortez Mosley a six-foot four wing stood-out along with Chance Love a 6-5 wing from Rich-Central and son of former Chicago Bull great Bob Love. He was terrific in the outings we viewed him, both players stock-elevated into the Spot-Liter’s Top 25-30 rankings. Streamwood’s 6-7 wing Keenon Cole flashed some signs of what his potential could look like in a year or two. Yamani Shareef, a 6-2 guard from Plainfield East opened some eyes with his scoring ability. North Chicago’s trio of Achan Clinton 6-7 Sr, Quincy Gilmore 6-4 Sr, and promising 6-7 junior Ricky Irby were a pleasant surprise with their performances. Bloom, Oak Park, Peoria Richwoods, St. Joe’s, Providence St. Mel, Peoria Notre Dame, Rich-Central, Zion-Benton, and Homewood-Flossmoor – all shined…

TOP PERFORMANCES AT NIU

• Rashaun Agee 6-7 PF SR Bogan
• Jeremiah Washington 5-8 PG SR Bogan
• Antoine Bloxton 6-3 WG JR Bogan
• Antonio Reeves 6-4 WG SR Simeon
• Bryce Hall 6-3 WG JR Simeon
• Keenon Cole 6-7 WF SR Streamwood
• Chance Love 6-5 G/F SR Rich-Central
• Anthony Roberts 6-5 F SR Oak Park
• Taeyon Neal 6-10 C SR Providence St. Mel
• Cortez Mosley 6-4 WG SR Peoria Richwoods
• Martice Mitchell 6-10 F/C JR Bloom
• Keshawn Williams 6-2 G JR Bloom
• Collin Wood 6-4 WG JR Hamphire
• Frank Jakubicek 6-7 F JR Cary Grove
• Robert Hobbs 6-4 F JR Chicago Crane
• Jimarius Sneed 6-5 G/F JR Chicago Crane
• Quincy Gilmore 6-4 G SR North-Chicago
• Damontae Taylor 6-5 WF JR Zion-Benton
• Josh Redric 6-3 G SR Mount-Carmel
• Dashon Enoch 6-1 G SR Oak Park
• Maliq Anderson 6-5 G SR St. Joseph
• Jules Williamson 6-5 WG SR East Aurora
• Yamani Shareef 6-2 WG SR Plainfield East
• Achan Clinton 6-7 F SR North-Chicago
• Bryonte Washington 6-3 G SR Rich-Central

TOP UNDER-CLASSMEN AT NIU

• Ahmad Bynum 6-0 G SO Simeon
• Amar Aguillar 6-5 G SO Zion-Benton
• Isaiah Donnell 6-3 PG SO Peoria Richwoods
• A.J. Casey 6-8 WF FR Simeon
• Kendrick Wiley Jr. 5-11 PG FR Rich-Central
• Isiah Barnes 6-4 WG SO Oak-Park
• Noah Reynolds 6-1 G SO Peoria Notre Dame
• Chad Readey 6-5 PF SO Homewood-Flossmoor
• Jalen Drane 6-2 PG FR Simeon

TOP 100 PROSPECTS IN 2019 CLASS

After combing the area for several weeks now, while also relying on credible sources, I’m thinking I just may have the necessary cues now to have some accuracy with identifying the top prospects in this group. Off the availability board is the consensus No. 2 player Francis Okoro who committed to Oregon a few months ago. No. 5 prospect Markese Jacobs pledged to Kansas more than a year ago, and KU has not backed-out amid to reports. Under-the-radar post-man Alex Timmerman from Crystal Lake Central gave a verbal to Bucknell recently. We are going to go slow with judging this group collectively, we saw some kids recently that I feel may eventually blossom in the right setting, we’re hopeful…

NOTE: Personally, I have 3 or 4 favorites in this class, but they aren’t rated as a true indicator of that. Fred Cleveland & Jaheim Holden, both should use Eastern Illinois Cornell Johnston as a measuring reference to approach any Division One aspirations. Both youngsters are special players.

NAME HT POS RANK LEVEL HIGH-SCHOOL /CLUB TEAM

E.J. Liddle 6-7 F 1 HM Belleville West/Bradley Beal
Francis Okoro 6-10 C 2 HM Normal West/Bradley Beal
Chris Payton 6-7 PF 3 MM+ Bloomington/Mean Streets
Terrence Hargrove 6-7 WF 4 MM+ East St. Louis/Bradley Beal
Markese Jacobs 5-11 G 5 MM+ Chicago Uplift/Mac Irvin Fire
DaJuan Gordon 6-4 G 6 MM+-MM Chicago Curie/Team Rose
Tom Welch 6-7 F 7 MM+-MM Naperville North/Illinois Wolves
Raymond Dennis 6-2 PG 8 MM Oswego East/Team Rose
Lance Jones 6-2 G 9 MM Evanston/Mean Streets
Marquise Kennedy 6-1 G 10 MM Brother Rice/Illinois Wolves
KeJuan Clements 5-11 PG 11 MM Simeon/Team Rose?
Deonte Billups 6-3 WG 12 MM Moline/Quad Cities Elite
Trey Calvin 6-0 PG 13 MM St. Viator/Y&R
Tujautae Williams 6-6 G/F 14 MM Chicago Orr/Team Rose
Jeremiah Hernandez 6-4 WG 15 MM St. Viator/Y&R
Antonio Reeves 6-4 WG 16 MM Chicago Simeon/Get Buckets
Myles Baker 6-3 WG 17 MM Whitney Young/Team Rose
Cortez Mosley 6-4 WG 18 MM Peoria Richwoods/
Perry Cowan 6-4 WF 19 MM DePaul Prep/Illinois Wolves
Bryant Brown 6-5 WF 20 MM Waukegan/Illinois Wolves
Nate Ferguson 6-8 PF 21 MM Lemont/Lock-Down
Jermaine Hamlin 6-10 C 22 MM Lincoln IL/Quad Cities Elite
Terrion Murdix 5-11 PG 23 MM Springfield S.E./Mac Irvin Fire
C.J. Wilbourne 6-8 PF 24 MM Normal/Quad Cities Elite
Rashaun Agee 6-8 PF 25 MM Chicago Bogan/Mac Irvin Fire
Jeremiah Oden 6-7 F 26 MM St. Rita/RWA
Ciaran Braboy 6-9 C 27 MM New Trier/Illinois Wolves
Chance Love 6-5 G/F 28 MM Rich-Central/Next Level 24
Anthony Fairlee 6-5 F 29 MM Springfield S.E./Mac Irvin Fire
Anthony Roberts 6-5 F 30 MM Oak-Park/Made-Men
Taeyon Neal 6-10 C 31 MM            Providence St. Mel/Chicago Select
Jeremiah Washington 5-8 PG 32 MM-LM+ Chicago Bogan/Y&R
Marquise Walker 5-11 PG 33 MM-LM+ West Aurora/Mean Streets
Evan Taylor 6-6 G/F 34 MM-LM+ Glenbard West/Illinois Heat
Keenon Cole 6-7 WF 35 MM-LM+ Streamwood/Illinois Wolves
Alex Timmerman 6-7 F/C 36 MM-LM+   Crystal Lake Central/Fundamental U.
Joseph Yesfu 5-11 G 37 LM+-LM Bolingbrook/Mean Streets
Jaden Brown 6-2 G 38 LM+-LM Waukegan/
Keeshawn Chambers 6-6 PF 39 LM+-LM Thornton/Mean Streets
Lawrence Brazil 6-1 PG 40 LM+-LM Belleville West/Team Ramey
Chris White 6-6 F 41 LM+-LM Marion Catholic/
Yamani Shareef 6-2 WG 42 LM+-LM Plainfield East/Hoopers
Tyler Cochran 6-3 WG 43 LM+-LM Bolingbrook/Hoopers
Martin Macenis 6-4 G/F 44 LM+-LM Stagg/Buckeyes
Jaheim Holden 5-9 PG 45 LM Evanston/All In Athletics
Fred Cleveland Jr. 5-7 PG 46 LM Chicago Leo/RWA
Karl Wright 6-6 PF 47 LM Springfield Lanphier/Ill. Irish
Charlie Hoehne 6-6 WG 48 LM Oak-Park/Made Men
Chase Robinson 6-2 PG 49 LM Oak-Park/Made Men
Dachaun Anderson 6-6 PF 50 LM Chicago Leo/Y&R
Chris Roberts 5-10 G 51 LM Lincoln Park/Y&R
Artese Stapleton 6-1 PG 52 LM Chicago Kenwood/Y&R
Kevin Vance 6-6 F 53 LM Bloom/Team Rose
Aaron Strong 6-1 G 54 LM Chicago Farragut/Illinois Wolves
Detalian Brown 6-2 WG 55 LM Chicago Uplift/
Justin Eagins 6-1 G 56 LM Downers Grove S./Mercury Elite
Matas Masys 6-2 G 57 LM Willowbrook/
Dashon Enoch 6-1 G 58 LM Oak-Park/Made Men
Spencer Boehm 6-8 F 59 LM New Trier/Fundamental U.
Caleb Donaldson 6-5 PG 60 LM Bloomington/Illinois Stars
Deng Reng 6-7 F 61 LM Wheaton North/Buckeyes
Khaleb Rouse 6-1 G 62 LM Lincoln Park/All In Athletics
Latik Murphy 6-2 G 63 LM Morton/Morton Mustangs
Tyrese Shine 6-3 G/F 64 LM Lyon’s Twp./Illinois Heat
Alex Raiford 6-4 G/F 65 LM DeLaSalle/Y&R
Bryonte Washington 6-3 G 66 LM Rich-Central/
Jacquan Binion 5-8 PG 67 LM Kankakee/Old-Gold
Cameron Bartman 6-10 C 68 LM St. Rita/Buckeyes

NOTE: Our remaining listing we will un-ravel after the Morris shoot-out.

RANKING THE 2021 CLASS

NAME HT POS RANK HIGH-SCHOOL/CLUB TEAM

Brandon Weston 6-4 WG 1 Lake Forest Academy/PSA
Max Christie 6-4 G 2 Rolling Meadows/Ill. Wolves
Khaillieo Terry 6-5 F 3       Champaign Central/Speice Indy Heat

NOTE: CHICAGO ELITE CLUB TEAM FOLDED, SEVERAL WITH MAC IRVIN FIRE NOW

Kimarhi Wilson 6-0 PG 4 Carmel/Y&R
Anthony Sayles 6-0 PG 5 Niles Notre Dame/Ill. Wolves
Ahmad Bynum 6-0 G 6 Simeon/Mac Irvin Fire
Bennie Slater 6-4 WG 7      Springfield High Ill. Central/Predators
Chris Hodges 6-7 PF 8 Schaumburg/Illinois Wolves
Jaylin Gibson 6-3 PG 9 Evanston/Speice Indy Heat
Tevin Smith 6-3 G 10 Danville/Mean Streets
Scotty Ebube 6-8 F 11 Mundelein/Kessel Heat
Amar Aguillar 6-5 WG 12 Zion-Benton/Mean Streets
Jalen Butler 6-6 G/F 13 Niles North/Mac Irvin Fire
Trent Howland 6-2 G 14 Joliet West/Y&R
Blake Peters 6-2 WG 15 Evanston/Mean Streets
Ismail Habib 5-10 PG 16 Lincoln Park/Mac Irvin Fire
Isiah Barnes 6-4 G 17 Oak-Park/Ill. Wolves
Isaiah Donnell 6-1 PG 18 Peoria Richwoods/Bradley Beal
Marquis Irvin 5-9 PG 19 Hillcrest/Team Rose
Norvell Meadows 5-8 PG 20 Chicago Prosser/Chicago Grainers
Noah Reynolds 6-0 G 21 Peoria Norte Dame/Bradley Beal
Grant Newell 6-6 WF 22 Chicago Young/Mean Streets
Nathanael Hoskins 6-3 G 23 Danville/Mean Streets
Troy Pilon 6-5 PF 24 Niles Notre Dame/Mean Streets
Avery Davis 6-6 PF 25 Chicago Kenwood/Mean Streets
Isaiah Holden 5-7 PG 26 Evanston/Y&R
Elijah Bull 5-9 G 27 Niles North/Y&R
Brandon Hall 6-3 G 28 Thornton/Mean Streets
Darrion Jones 6-0 PG 29 Chicago Bogan/Chicago Huskies
Kevin Miller 5-8 PG 30 Morgan Park/Mac Irvin Fire
Bryce Hopkins 6-4 G/F 31 Fremd/Illinois Wolves
Kyonte Thomas 5-9 PG 32 Bolingbrook/Team Rose
Jolo Amoranto 5-9 PG 33 Andrews/Next Level 24
Chad Readey 6-5 PF 34 Homewood-Flossmoor/none
Julio Montes 5-9 PG 35 Lincoln Park/
Kenton Wright 5-9 PG 36 Hillcrest/Mean Streets
Kia Evans 6-1 WG 37 Montini Catholic/Team Rose
James Dent 6-2 WG 38 Springfield S.E./Mac Irvin Fire
Darius Duff 6-1 G 39 Lake Forest Academy/NLP
Connor Enright 5-11 PG 40 Mundelein/Kessel Heat
Derek Courtney 5-8 PG 41 Lincoln Park/Lock-Down
Jake Dimovski 5-9 PG 42 Downers Grove South/Buckeyes

TOP PROSPECTS IN 2021 CLASS

(OVER-ALL OBSERVATION & RANKING)

It’s early, but this is a highly anticipated crop of athletes we will be frequently zoomed in on over the next several months. Presently the crystal ball out-looker has the group projected to have a total of fifteen plus players that could be casted as high-major recruits. Now, most of us will lean back & allow the-process-to-take course. The player much-bally-hooed in the class, is slithery guard Max Christie, a wiry lad with quintessential floor game and a penchant for scoring. New York native Brandon Weston hoops at Lake Forest Academy, a ritzy North-Shore campus located in a wealthy North-Suburban sector of Chicago. Weston is regarded as the No. 1 player in the class if he stays in state. Simeon’s Ahmad Bynum has a pure jumper & a huge billing, most of us observers would enjoy seeing his all-around floor game develop & flourish like his uncle (former NBA guard & Crane H.S. stand-out Will Bynum). Champaign’s Khaillieo Terry at six-foot five is a human high-light-reel, explosive leaper whose skill-set should develop within framed expectancy. Anthony Sayles of Niles Notre Dame & Kimarhi Wilson at Carmel, both residing in the North Suburbs are already gifted ball-handlers & play-makers and possess early leadership qualities. Both should be pegged as high-major recruits. Another pair of touted North-Suburban prospects whom we’ve grown quite fond of, is Evanston’s Jaylin Gibson and Nile’s North versatile wing Jalen Butler. I have to pinch myself every-time I size-up these two youngsters, physically they both look so mature & both handle themselves much older than youngsters 15 years of age. Butler just turned fifteen last month. Mundelein’s Scotty Edube also looks like a stud physically, he projects to be a dynamite College player. Some “cats” from down-state measuring in as serious prospects on the brink of stardom is Bennie Slater (Springfield High) and Tevin Smith (Danville). Slater has been drilling defenders the whole month of June on the High-School camp circuit. His reputation is starting to evolve as a scorer. Smith is so talented, he and Zion’s Amar Aguillar could soar to the top of the group by 2020 with few climatic outings, the pair has good length & un-conscious ability to score in bunches. Smith has been rumored to transfer to LaLumiere Prep-School in Indiana (hope it’s just a rumor). The Peoria tandem of Isaiah Donnell (Richwoods) and Noah Reynolds (Peoria Notre Dame) have performed with poise, both should continue to blossom, they travel on the summer circuit with the Bradley Beal out-fit. Joliet West’s Trent Howland is a beast, some on-lookers swear he’s a P.J. Tucker clone, but a much better athlete. (I’m not riding-that-tide) but the kid has a wealth of talent & potential to rise as a Valley/A10/Conference type recruit. Schaumburg’s front-courter Chris Hodges has been quiet of late, never-the-less he is a promising lad with high-major potential. Knock-down shooter Blake Peters (Evanston) one of my favorites makes big shots & gathers every 50/50 ball in sight. He’s like an infielder. Ismail Habib (Lincoln Pk), Darrion Jones (Bogan), Isaiah Holden (Evanston), Elijah Bull (Niles North), Marquis Irvin (Hillcrest), Norvell Meadows (Prosser), Kenton Wright (Hillcrest), Kevin Miller (Morgan Pk) all play with a certain level of chippy and competitiveness, we are expecting them to steadfast in their growth & development under bright-light’s or even scrutiny. A couple of un-heralded players I’m eye-balling closely and keeping tabs on are, Danville’s Nathanael Hoskins & Andrew’s exciting general Jolo Amoranto, as well as Young’s potential swingman Grant Newell. There’s optimism here…

“We certainly have some traction”