PrepHoopsIllinois Player of the Week 11/21 – 11/7
The season is off to a fast start with a great week of opening games at Thanksgiving Tournaments. The PrepHoopsIllinois Player of the Week has six great nominees! Make sure you vote for your favorite throughout the week.
Taylor Bruninga (Illini Bluffs – 2017)
One of the top uncommitted posts in Illinois had just an incredible week! One for the record books. He opened up with 42 points and 22 rebounds. He then went on to score 37, 43, 38, and 33 in his next three games. For the week he averaged 38.4 points and 16.8 rebounds.
Marvin Bateman (Belleville Althoff – 2017)
Bateman is one of the premier shooters in the state of Illinois. He started off with a monster 29 point performance in which he dropped in 9 three pointers. Followed that up with 22 points and 6 rebounds on Friday.
Mark Smith (Edwardsville – 2017)
Smith rolled the dice by not signing during the early period after taking three official visits. Looks like it is going to pay off after a huge opening week including games of 21 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds followed by 31 points and 10 assists. He then had 37 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assist in a huge win over Althoff.
Justin Fox (Dwight Township – 2017)
The underrated senior wing impressed us in the spring with his scoring ability. He is at it again to start the year. Fox had games of 34 points, 31 points, and 39 points to open their season. He averaged 35.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 2 blocks per game during Thanksgiving week at the Route 66 Tournament.
Noah Frederking (Okawville – 2017)
Frederking is an Evansville recruit that is among the top prospects in the southern part of the state. He can flat out score it! That was clear by him passing the 2,000 point mark in the very first week of his senior campaign. He did it in a 34 point outing.
Justin Hardy (St. Charles East – 2018)
The versatile and workhorse forward for St. Charles East has always been productive, but the MVP of their Thanksgiving Tournament took it to another level in the opening week. He averaged 23.5 points shooting 55% from the field. He also contributed 8.5 points per game. Hardy scored 27 points in their championship win and hit the game winner from well beyond the three point arc.