Chick fil-A Classic: Illinois Scouting Report
PrepHoops was in the house for the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East High School featuring some of the best teams in the metro east and St. Louis. Here is our extensive scouting report on 19 prospects from Illinois in the…
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Continue ReadingPrepHoops was in the house for the Chick-fil-A Classic at Belleville East High School featuring some of the best teams in the metro east and St. Louis. Here is our extensive scouting report on 19 prospects from Illinois in the event.
SG Jordan Goodwin (Belleville Althoff – 2017 – SLU)
The state’s #2 senior still isn’t all the way back to 100% from his shoulder injury about a week and a half ago against East St. Louis, but as we saw against Centralia post injury Goodwin’s less than full strength is still about good as anyone in the state. The 6’3” power wing started off the game slow as he was settling for jump shots. They weren’t falling consistently. In the second quarter he began to attack the cup. When he is going downhill there aren’t a lot of people in the state that can stay in front of him. He has great body control at the rim to be able to finish through and around contact. Did have a couple jumpers including a sick step back three. He finished with 29 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 dimes.
SF Marvin Bateman (Belleville Althoff – 2017)
Bateman stands at 6’4” with a long and lanky frame. Fluid movements on the perimeter and has a knack for sliding to the right spot to get open to set up his shot. Drilled multiple threes in the first half off the catch. Deep range on his perimeter jumper. Also hit a mid-range shot in the pick and roll. Quiet second half. Doesn’t bring a ton of offensive versatility besides shooting, but he can really shoot it. D2 prospect. He had 13 points.
PG CJ Coldon (Belleville Althoff – 2017)
Coldon would be a high D2/low major PG prospect if he wasn’t headed the football route in college. On the hardwood he has the ability to get to the rack with speed in transition. Lots of open layups and runners in this one. He had 13 points. Committed to Wyoming football.
SG Edwyn Brown (Belleville Althoff – 2017)
Brown is a long and rangy wing that gets after it on the defensive end. Turns steals into points. Great body control at the rim. Slasher in transition. Passed it well in the paint. D3/NAIA kid that will probably play football in college. He had 12 points.
SF Dante Ray (Belleville Althoff – 2017)
Ray stands at 6’4” with broad shoulders and a strong body. Quality athlete that offensively is best as a spot up shooter. Can be streaky, but has good form. Rebounded well in this contest. Would like to see him be stronger with the ball. D3/NAIA prospect had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
PG Tyohn Trimble (Alton – 2017)
Trimble was outstanding for Alton keeping them in the game against Althoff. The 5’5” lead guard is a quick and shifty guard that uses his speed and ball handling in tight spaces to make up for his lack of size. Trimble plays with good pace and has an understanding of the game. Great first step off the bounce getting in the lane where he can finish with runners or dish it off to a teammate. The tough guard can also shoot it from the perimeter off the catch. Trimble had 21 points. Should be on the D3/NAIA radar.
SG Dereaun Clay (Alton – 2017)
Clay stands at 6’2” with solid athleticism and strength. Most of his points come in the paint. Couple strong baseline drives and got on the glass for put backs. Clay had 17 points. Small college prospect.
PF Tyler Dancy (Belleville West – 2017)
The 6’6” power forward from Belleville West is a thick bodied four man that isn’t a great vertical athlete although he did have a nice dunk in their contest. His game is using footwork and body positioning inside to create space and finish with a soft touch around the hoop. Seals off his defender. Gets to the line at a high rate. Space eater inside. Priority D3/NAIA prospect. He had 16 points.
SF Dalton Fox (Belleville West – 2017)
Fox was outstanding in the first quarter scoring all of his 13 points. The 6’5” small forward did work in transition slashing to the hoop and finishing at the rim. Hit a wing three as well. Quiet last three quarters. Fox is a small college prospect.
SF Javon Pickett (Belleville East – 2017 – Illinois)
Pickett has done it all this year. We have seen him with dominant scoring games, pass it at a high level as a setup man, and hit the glass. Against St. Mary’s in their first round game he did it on the defensive end. I have never seen the Illini commit be so dominant on the defensive end of the floor getting in passing lanes and taking them the other way for transition scores. He did it over and over finishing with euro steps multiple times. Early in the game his jumper was going, but when it really mattered late he took it to the cup. Pickett had 33 points and 7 steals.
PG Rico Sylvester (Belleville East – 2017)
Sylvester was looking to pass early. He is best as a distributor winning off the bounce, drawing defenders, and finding open shooters. As the game went on the senior point guard looked to score. Jumper was on as he drilled pull ups with regularity from 15-18 feet and stretched it to three a couple times. Sylvester should be a highly recruited D3/NAIA prospect. He had 19 points.
SG Malachi Smith (Belleville East – 2018)
Quiet game for Smith overall. He got off to a fast start with a nice steal and take where he went end to end. Was aggressive in the first quarter taking it to the rim. Over dribbled a bit later in the game. He had 6 points. Mid-major to low-major prospect.
SF Jordan Yates (Belleville East – 2018)
Special shout out to this 6’3” tough guy for Belleville East. He usually quietly goes about his job playing defense and rebounding, but in this one he had several huge buckets hitting the glass and finishing with put backs. Finished well inside. Yates had 14 points. Small college prospect.
PG Kevin Caldwell (Alton – 2018)
Caldwell is a 6’0” point guard that is shifty off the bounce with the rock in his hands. Quick first step attacking the hoop. Solid passer when in the paint. Has the ability to hit perimeter shots and is especially good from the wings beyond the three point arc. Athletic guard needs to be monitored by D2 programs. He had 21 points.
SG Jordan Holmes (Columbia – 2018)
Holmes is the leading scorer for Columbia, but he struggled against Chaminade’s length and elite athleticism on the perimeter. What we did like was he is a slick ball handler that handles it well through traffic. Can hit a jump shot as he has good form. Forced a lot of bad shots however. He had 8 points. Small college prospect.
PF EJ Liddell (Belleville West – 2019)
The top 2019 power forward in Illinois played like it in this event. He is a 6’7” four man that has a long and athletic build with a frame he should continue to add strength. Liddell displayed great explosion around the rim on a variety of jams including a couple alley-oops. Didn’t get a ton of traditional low post touches as for his high school team he plays a face up four role. Showed he could stretch the floor on a three and had a pair of slashes to the rim. Good free throw shooter. Liddell rebounded at a nice clip especially in the second half. Was impressed with what he did as a rim protector. The high-major prospect had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
SG Donovan Clay (Alton – 2019)
Clay is a 6’0” shooting guard with a long and projectable frame. Should continue to grow and will need to add strength over the next couple years. Flashed a shot from three drilling a couple from deep and hit a runner inside. Potential defensively once he gets stronger with his lateral quickness. He had 10 points.
PF Jon Peterson (Columbia – 2019)
Peterson is a 6’6” power forward that has good length and is a quality area rebounder. Soft touch around the hoop. Projectability especially if he grows to play college somewhere in a few years. Finished with 8 points.
PF Cole Khoury (Columbia – 2019)
Khoury is also a 6’6” four man that rebounds within his area. Had a couple put backs and a baseline take. Hands could improve as could his coordination. Can’t teach his size though. 6 points in this game.