NY2LA: 2018 Scouting Pt 1
PrepHoopsIllinois attended the NY2LA Sports Invitational over the weekend in Milwaukee. It featured an array of teams throughout the state of Illinois. Here is part one of our scouting report on the class of 2018 prospects at the event.
PG Morgan Taylor (Illinois Fastbreak 17U)
The Marist 6’0” floor general impressed us with his play as he put his team on his back for big portions of the game. Taylor showed well in the pick and roll. Used screens to get himself open for runners in the lane. Also found teammates in the half court with sound decisions with the ball in his hands. Pushed it in transition and made plays for others. Streaky shooter, but he did hit one from the top of the key. Active defender at the point of attack. Worth consideration by D3/NAIA programs.
SF Jack Ellison (Illinois Fastbreak)
Ellison is a 6’6” combo forward that is angular. He is a lefty that that is an outstanding rebounder. The Chicago Christian 2018 forward crashes the glass with confidence and relentlessness. Crafty player that isn’t the most athletic, but just gets the job done.
SG Anthony Lynch (Kessel Heat 17U)
Lynch is a tough scoring two guard from Larkin. The 6’3” wing is best attacking his opponent downhill. He goes right at them with straight line drives and has a knack for making tough layups at the rim. Most of his scores come on attacks to the basket. Also gets after it on the defensive end of the floor. Lynch had a solid weekend. He is a low-major D1/high level D2 prospect.
SG Quinlan Bennett (Kessel Heat 17U)
The Proviso East 2018 6’3” shooting guard put it all together on Sunday to close out the event. He is a scoring guard that can get buckets in a variety of ways. Effective isolation scorer that works well in one on one situations. Slick ball handler that is a solid mid-range jump shooter. Really gets to the cup well off the bounce. Finishes at the rim around contact. Extremely smooth with the ball and works well around a ball screen. Low-major D1 target.
PG Branden Ellis (Kessel Heat 17U)
Ellis continues to impress us each time we see him. The 6’3” point guard went to work both scoring and distributing. Everything he did seemed to work. Very crisp lead guard with good size. He loves to get in the lane and work in the mid-range where he can hit a pull up jumper or floater over a big guy. Consistently got in the lane which put pressure on the defense to make decisions to either stop him or stay on their man. When the help defender came Ellis did an outstanding job of finding his teammates for dump off passes, lobs, or open jumpers. Ellis should be on D2 and low-major D1 radars! Excellent weekend out of the Warren 2018 guard.
C Jalen Shaw (Kessel Heat 17U)
Shaw had a very nice event. He went head to head with the challenger for his current #1 center ranking George Conditt and more than held his own. The Larkin post played aggressive and with the best motor we have seen out of him in a long time. He is still growing into his body, but the 6’10” post has become much more fluid with his movements over the last year. He is starting to get confident and play with a swagger. Rebounded well in the head to head matchup snatching several boards at their highest point, but more impressive was flying in from out of his area to fight on the glass. At times he can miss time his jump and get there a little too early, but in this particular game was solid on the glass. Had a couple monster dunks. Also displayed his face up game hitting a couple from mid-range and even stretched it out three. Defensively was more comfortable than he would have been a year ago chasing a perimeter oriented post on the arc and staying with them laterally. Shaw is a no doubt mid-major prospect that needs to be a guy that more schools are making a priority.
F Jordan Morris (Kessel Heat)
Quality weekend for the Proviso East 6’5” forward. He is built like a truck with tremendous strength and an NFL defensive lineman’s body. Morris consistently plays with an all-out motor. Goes hard every second he is out on the floor. He is best using is athleticism and toughness in transition finishing above the rim. Also plays strong on the glass. Not an overly skilled prospect he relies on his physical gifts and explosiveness. Did have some nice passes throughout the weekend. Low end D2 prospect or high end D3/NAIA.
PG Randy Tucker (Quad City Elite)
This Rock Island 6’2” lead guard is a thin point guard that pushes it in transition. More of a passer that finds others in the open floor. Not much of a scorer beyond an occasional pull up jumper. Small college player.
PF Jacob Schwerbrock (Quad City Elite)
Schwerbrock has nice size at 6’8”. The thick bodied four man from Weathersfield High School is crafty on the block. Not a big time athlete, but he plays hard and can hit a pick and pop shot. Small college prospect.