Illinois Scouting: Stevenson vs Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich went on the road and beat the defending 4A state champions Stevenson on Wednesday night by a final of 47-41. Take a look at how the prospects in the game played. SF Justin Smith (Stevenson – 2017)…
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Continue ReadingLake Zurich went on the road and beat the defending 4A state champions Stevenson on Wednesday night by a final of 47-41. Take a look at how the prospects in the game played.
SF Justin Smith (Stevenson – 2017)
The top prospect in this game was this small forward who is considered among the top 10 juniors in the state. At 6’7” Smith has a long and lanky body with a lot of athleticism and smoothness to his game. He started to get going offensively in the second quarter with a one dribble pull up jumper followed by a catch and shoot three where he moved great away from the ball to get open coming around screens. Showed off his range on shot. It was tough for him to attack off the bounce as Lake Zurich played zone for much of the night. Did have one slippery drive through traffic, but that was it. Overall needs to be more assertive as an upperclassmen looking to score when his team was struggling offensively. Got lost a couple times defensively on back cuts. Solid game for the junior going for 12 points and 4 rebounds.
PG Willie Herenton (Stevenson – 2017)
The Whitney Young transfer struggled throughout the night with fouls, turnovers, and not converting inside. Late in the game he was the one that tried to get them back in it though with his aggressiveness. He hit a nice step back two from deep in the corner along with a couple other 15-18 foot jumpers. Finished with 10 points. D1 prospect.
PG Ryuji Aoki (Stevenson – 2016)
Aoki is a quick lead guard that accelerates with the ball in his hands and had a few acrobatic finishes in the lane. Gets penetration and can hit an occasional three. He had 13 points. D3/NAIA prospect.
SG Nick Meyer (Lake Zurich – 2016)
Meyer was the man for Lake Zurich on Wednesday night. The 6’3” senior shooting guard is a plus shooter from beyond the arc off the catch drilling one after another. Also showed some handles crossing his man and pulling up for a mid-range jumper behind a screener. Makes aggressive cuts away from the ball finishing two buckets on strong cuts. Quality free throw shooter. With his length, size, and ability to score in multiple ways he should find a nice home at the D3/NAIA level.
SG Nick Penny (Lake Zurich – 2016)
Meyer took the lead role from Penny on this night. At 6’1” Penny is a solid rebounder for his size hitting the glass on both ends. Lefty struggled to get his shot to fall from the field, but got to the line especially late connecting on 7-10 free throw attempts to close out the win. He had 7 points.