Swish N Dish: 2019 Scouting Pt 2
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PrepHoopsIllinois was at the NY2LA Sports Swish N Dish in Mequon, Wisconsin this past weekend for the premier grassroots kickoff event featuring all of the best Illinois teams. Now it is time for our extensive scouting report on the event. Check out part two of our report on the 2019 Illinois Prospects in attendance.
C Francis Okoro (St. Louis Eagles 17U)
Okoro is the #1 prospect in 2019 and it isn’t close! The 6’9” center has elite physical tools. He is built like a grown man with broad shoulders and incredible strength. He is without question the best rebounder in the state of Illinois. Okoro snatches them in traffic with his strong hands. He high points them consistently. Gets on the offensive glass. He gets a lot of his points off rebounds. Physical force finishing. He powers slams home. Flashes skill on occasion with a hook shot or a short jumper, but is mostly power. Defensively Okoro protects the rim with his length and explosion off the floor. Can also defend in a ball screen with his mobility. Okoro is without question a high-major prospect.
PF EJ Liddell (Bradley Beal Elite 16U)
Liddell is a 6’7” four man that is a great athlete. He started off slow in the first half of their game we saw, but man did he bring it in the last stanza. Right handed hook shot on a quick post move started it. He got on the offensive glass for a nice put back. Liddell caught a pair of lobs from across the court. Finished a dump off pass with a slam. Could have had a couple more buckets, but he was almost too forceful with his slams as they went out. Liddell even showed some handles attacking from the top of the key and going right around his man for a score. High-major and top 5 2019 prospect.
PF Chris Payton (Bradley Beal Elite 16U)
Payton stands at 6’6” with a strong body. He is a powerful athlete on the interior that plays with a motor and aggression. Very physical player around the hoop. Got on the glass on both ends of the floor. This is an area that despite being slightly undersized he has proven he can rebound at a high enough rate to play the four at the next level. Payton had a couple tip dunks and other slams at the rim. Skill set isn’t all the way there yet, but you can’t deny the raw athleticism and strength he brings to the table. Mid-major prospect at this stage.
SF Kahlil Whitney (Mac Irvin Fire 16U)
Whitney was an absolute monster for the Fire! Flying into town to play with his home team from Roselle Catholic (NJ) the 6’7” small forward showed off his versatile hybrid game. He dunked literally everything around the rim. Probably had close to double digit slams in this game. Got on the offensive glass for tip ins and dunks. Showing more skill than we saw last summer. Hit a couple threes and a mid-range jumper. Looked more confident shooting it. Monster potential on the defensive end. High-major 2019 prospect.
C Ciaran Brayboy (Mac Irvin Fire 16U)
Brayboy stands at 6’9” with broad shoulders and a strong upper body. He is a physical low post prospect that when he gets involved plays with a lot of energy. Seems to play much better with his Fire team than when we saw him during the high school season. Displayed skill with hook shots over both shoulders. Had a high/low finish. Also got on the offensive glass consistently. Converts dump off passes. Rim protector on the defensive end. Impressed with the motor he brought. Mid-major and low-majors need to start looking into one of the better 2019 post in the state.
PG Markese Jacobs (Mac Irvin Fire 16U – Kansas)
It was an inconsistent weekend for the state’s #2 prospect. Jacobs will be transferring to Hillcrest Prep in Arizona where he will play his junior year with his brother. He struggled with some injuries throughout the event, but flashed the ability that makes him intriguing with his speed in the open floor and explosion off the bounce. Just wasn’t extremely consistent. Jacobs has committed to Kansas.
SG LJ Johnson (Mac Irvin Fire 16U)
Johnson is a power wing at 6’2” that uses his strength and athleticism to make an impact on the game. He loves to slash off the bounce and is at his best in transition where he can get out in the open floor and use his big time athleticism. In one game he and Kahlil Whitney were having a contest of who would get the most dunks. Average three point shooter that can hit them on occasion, but not knock down. Upside as a defender and is a solid rebounder. How much his skill level develops will ultimately tell how high level he goes. Low-major prospect.
PG Kejuan Clements (Mac Irvin Fire 16U)
Clements was in more of a pass first mode at Swish N Dish. The Simeon guard has good size and speed with the ball in his hands. Made several slick passes in the transition game. Slippery with his hands through traffic and has a knack for getting to the rim. Mid-major player.
PF TJ Wicks (Example Sports 17U)
Wicks is a relatively unknown prospect at 6’9” from Kankakee. The long and rangy wing has great length and an ideal frame to add strength onto for the college level. At this point he is still fairly thin, but the 2019 prospect has time to add that on as time goes. Bouncy around the hoop with explosion off the floor and runs the court with ease. Potential, but he is still extremely raw as he didn’t even play much varsity last year.
PG Donavan Moore (Illinois Irish 16U)
Moore is one of my favorite players in the 2019 class. We already have him in the top 15 and he should make a run at the top 10 in the next update. Moore has an angular body with super long arms. Slippery through traffic getting skinny on his drives to the hoop. Got in the lane at will! Pull up jump shooter from mid-range that shoots it balanced and with quality form. Showed the point guard skill we thought he had the potential to develop. Still makes some mental mistakes now and then, but has definitely improved. Moore got the game winning tip in at the buzzer. Mid-major to low-major prospect.
SG Sean Houpt (Illinois Irish 16U)
Big fan of this 6’3” Danville guard. Has versatility to play both guard spots. Good feel for the game and passes it well making crisp and smart dishes. Houpt can hit a spot up jumper at a nice clip with sound lefty form. Game off the bounce will need improvement. Competes on the defensive end. Could become a point forward if he continues to grow.
SG Malcolm Miller (Illinois Irish 16U)
Miller is a 6’4” shooting guard from Shelbyville that has great size for the position and a frame that projects well long term. The strength of his game is his perimeter shooting. Miller moves well without the ball relocating to open spots in the defense to let it fly! Sound mechanics and gets elevation on his shot. Wanted to see a more diversified game out of the 2019 prospect. He displayed some of that with improve ball handling as he got in the lane on several occasions for runner/floaters.
SF Collin Dietz (Illinois Irish 16U)
Dietz is one of those all-around team first guys that every squad needs. Multi positional defender. Sound passer. Gets on the glass for put backs. Plays with a lot of toughness.
C JJ Guedet (Illinois Irish 16U)
This is an intriguing 6’9” center from Lincoln. He has a big body and moves well for his size. Showed he could stretch the floor hitting both a mid-range jumper and three. One we will monitor especially to see how his post-game develops.
SF Deng Reng (ET21 Buckeyes 16U)
Reng is a 6’6” small forward from Wheaton North. Has a lot of physical tools you look for with length, athleticism, and projectability. Really flashed potential last summer when we saw him. Was hoping he would take that next step. Still not all the way there yet. Showed an explosive baseline take and another agile finish, but overall wasn’t as productive as we were hoping. Competes on the defensive end with lateral quickness.
PG Matas Masys (ET21 Buckeyes 16U)
The Willowbrook 6’2” 2019 point guard excels shooting from the perimeter. Has a bit of a long release that he will have to speed up as time goes on. Also got in the lane for a couple runners. Projects long term as a small college prospect.
PG Christian Davis (ET21 Buckeyes 16U)
Davis is a quick and shifty 6’1” point guard that made plays with the ball in his hands against Illinois Irish. Was a playmaker pushing it in the open floor where he used his speed to get buckets and set others up. Sound pull up mid-range jump shot that he shoots with confidence. Davis had 12 points. 2019 to monitor.