Show Me Showdown: Two Illinois Squads Impress with "Fab 5"

We can all admit that the grassroots season, as valuable as it is, is an absolute grind. Tons of travel, late nights, early mornings, and multiple games each day provide for grueling schedules that can take its toll on the bodies of even the most elite athletes. Coming into the weekend at the Show Me Showdown in St. Louis, many prospects have ran the gauntlet of a full high school season followed by a two month spring. With fatigue and some wear-and-tear setting in from the marathon schedule, there were two teams from the Illinois side who faced even greater obstacles over the weekend. Gateway IL (17u) and Capital City Teamwork (16u) both spent a majority of the weekend playing with only a five man lineup and zero depth on the bench. Not only did neither of these groups use their lack of bodies as an excuse, they turned it into motivation and put together some gritty and impressive runs throughout the weekend. Here, we highlight each groups "Fab 5" and salute them for their effort and toughness that was on display at the Show Me Showdown.   Gateway IL 17U We saw coach Deryl Cunningham and his Gateway IL squad perform admirably a week earlier at the Arch Elite Showcase where they hung tough with the likes of Max Christie and the Illinois Wolves. With a majority of his squad intact, they showed off talent and depth and were one of my dark-horse picks to make a run at the Show Me Showdown. However, due to some attrition via injury and schedule conflicts, Gateway dressed five for the entirety of the weekend. Despite being short-handed, they performed very admirably winning each of their first two games over United Basketball and Minnesota Heat-West by 20 a piece. With a spot in the Platinum Bracket quarterfinals on the line, they battled with a very good KC Pacers White group but ultimately fell as they finally ran out of gas down the stretch. 6'1 Ray'Sean Taylor was the catalyst for Gateway. The dynamic point guard did a nice job of managing tempo, knowing when to push in transition and when to slow down in the half-court to reserve energy for his group. He is a lethal driver with an improved jumper that plays a complete game with his ability to distribute and willingness to dig his heels in and defend. 5'11 Ethan Young was another spark-plug in the back-court. The Edwardsville product plays with high energy and emotion on both ends of the floor and knocked down some big three-pointers throughout the weekend. 6'4 Moory Woods of Alton is an impressive athlete on the wing that brings some positional versatility. He stays in attack mode in transition, is a capable slasher, quality rebounder, and can knock down the spot up three. 6'2 Malik Green is an unsigned senior from Mascoutah. He is a bouncy athlete with an impressive build. He moves well enough to defend the perimeter and is strong enough to bang inside. Very active on the glass and tough around the rim. He can put it on the floor and finish above the rim. 6'4 Donte Williams was the biggest body that Gateway had to throw at opponents, and he accepted the challenge and thrived. Big, physical forward that likes to bang, plays with high energy, and has some polish around the basket.   Capital City Teamwork 2021: I have been intrigued by this Capital City squad since early in the spring when I saw them in Paducah and was excited to see them in action again. We knew coming in to the weekend they would be a little short-handed and following an injury the, too, wound up rolling only five deep. Luckily for them, all five of these young men can really play and they made a very impressive run in the 16u division. They rolled to double-digit wins in their first two games over Missouri Flight-Blue and Victory Ministry Orange. They followed that up with a narrow 57-54 win over The Work Foundation that put them into quarterfinal play on championship Sunday. There, they were able to notch a 67-59 win over a very good HoopSmart squad. Unfortunately their run came to an end in the semi-finals where they lost in an absolute dog-fight to the St. Louis Blazers, but what an impressive performance by the undermanned squad! Shane Miller was given props by our own Scotty Burgess for his effort in the semi-final game where he was limping and out of gas by the end. He left it all on the floor. The combo-guard is a physical driver who forces his way into the lane and can finish or find. He also knocked down some clutch jumpers for Cap City. Michael Ousley is a lead guard who can really handle the rock and create in the lane. Whether it's dishing to a cutting teammate, kicking out to shooters, or finishing at the basket himself he is a solid decision maker and a key cog for his team. Despite getting no rest, I was impressed with his consistent aggressiveness and willingness to defend every possession. Tyvin Garrison caught my eye in Paducah and continued to impress in St. Louis this weekend. He plays with swag and flare and his length and athleticism allows him to play anywhere from the 1-4. He has a high arcing jumper and when he is feeling it, the threes drop in and barely even catch any net. He also did a great job this weekend of getting to the rim and attacking the offensive glass for easy baskets. TJ Price was probably the most consistent scorer for this bunch the entire weekend. Every time I looked up, it seemed that he was nearing 20 points. He shot it very well this weekend from three-point land and made his mark with some serious effort on the glass and winning 50/50 balls. Doshawn Meyers held it down in the paint admirably for Capital City this weekend. He was key on the glass pulling down rebounds at critical moments. He did a very nice job of capitalizing on drop-offs and cleaning up the offensive glass for put-backs.