Nike Rise Elite Run: Monday Standouts

Nike Rise Camp Chicago had a pretty eventful first week. It started out with the free camp where some former Illinois high school stars stopped in to give back time and knowledge to the campers. Talen Horton-Tucker, Alphonzo McKinnie, and Anthony Davis all made appearances in the first week at camp. Week two kicked off on Monday where Rise Chicago hosted its second edition of the Elite Run for some top local high school stars looking to better themselves in open gym format.   Amar Augillard (Zion Benton – 2021) What more can be said about Augillard. The Zee Bees wing is the toughest person to guard in the state when he’s competing at all times. Amar is a physical beast on the inside. He eats up lots of space as well as invites defenders to bang with him. He absorbs contact and is very steady enough to score around or through you if you try to figure him out. Amar had it going at the rim making some really dazzling layups and dunks. He also put on a clinic from deep as he made a special shot from nearly half court. Augillard is and should be a HM prospect. He fits the mold of the current college guys from Z-B who getting attention. Amar is playing some of his best basketball as of late. Can’t wait to see where he lands next after next season.   Jaylin Griffith (Simeon – 2023) This kid had the gym buzzing with his confidence and court vision during the open run. Jaylin was really good in transition hitting teammates on the mark with passes. At 5’8 Griffith is a quick guard with a tough handle that gets to spots and creates for others better than he does for himself. Jaylin is able to score on all three levels. He has a really good shot off the dribble. Griffith is a guard who will push for minutes no matter who is in front of him.   Jeremiah Williams (St. Laurence – 2020) The smooth and elusive Williams played well in the first four games getting to the rim and taking off with the explosive dunks. Jeremiah has a good feel for the game and can become a player that plays on and off the ball at the next level. Williams showed his strength when he turned the corner on defenders and got in the lane to make plays. Strong showing in games tonight.   Phillip Berryhill (Curie – 2021) Berryhill is very long and lanky at 6'4”, but played at a good pace. He definitely is a guy who goes and gets the ball of the backboard, pushes it in the open court, and is very comfortable in making decisions with guys running at him. Phil's ball skills will be better as he adds core strength to his body. He was knocked off his path from time to time, but he stayed aggressive in the pursuit to score in traffic. Phil didn't make many shots, but has a pretty good looking jumper mechanically. A solid role guy for Curie next season with a huge upside at the college level.   Ahamad Bynum (Simeon – 2021) Again not sure what else can be said about Bynum. He plays hard and has a very aggressive scoring style. Ahamad gets to the three point line and takes some really risky shots that often go in. Most of the players opposite of him all tried to go at him on both ends with Bynum getting the upper hand in most of the matchups. Bynum flourishes in these types of games because he’s a gym rat and he only makes guys compete more when he is on the court.   Jaylin Gibson (Evanston – 2021) Gibson is another player that seemed to play well in this format. He uses his body so well when getting downhill on defenders and using strong finishes around the rim. Jaylin showed he was a competitor by immediately going at Bynum on the offensive side. Watching these two attack each other was worth the price of admission. Gibson did mostly everything on the court. What needs improvement is his outside shot. That seems minor because he can get to the bucket on anyone. As a play maker he made many connections to Amar Augillard that kept their team on the court for many games.   Trey Baker (Mundelein – 2021) Trey Baker showed that looks can be deceiving. Small guard who wears Googles looks more like a kid you would see at a science fair. Shocking most in attendance was when they saw him make deep shots at a high rate. Baker plays with a motor and shows really good IQ. At his size. I wouldn't say he point guard right now, but his ability to pass and set guys up is there. Several times Trey missed shots and went and got his own rebound in the process. Small schools would love his activity on the court.   Kennedy Brown (Bogan – 2020) The long and lanky Brown had some moments in the open run. He started out with a nice two handed slam and he altered a couple of shots the more he played. One thing that was alarming was his shot attempts he took outside of 15 feet and from the three point line. He didn't make any of those shots, but maybe the open run and flow of the games could have caused him to take those shots. Still Kennedy has an upside if he continues to battle on the boards and finish around the rim.   Reggie Strong (Orr – 2020) Strong looked a lot more polished then the week before on all three levels. He started out making shots off the bounce that touched nothing but net. He is so smooth at getting to his spots and he gets elevation on his shots that makes it hard for defenders to get a hand in his face. When attacking he is explosive and made some exciting moves around the rim. One point that stood out was how he and Jeremiah Williams played well off each other. They seemed to hit each other in stride in transition. Reggie is poised to have a breakout season and garnish some college attention again.   Roland McCoy (Kenwood – 2020) Roland played well again as he is a shot maker and sprints to the wings when his team gets possession. McCoy has started to gain respect from the guys around the city as he is still relatively unknown from not playing on a circuit. Small schools will start to involved.   Jarvin Graham (Perspectives -2020) Graham had a few bright spots in the game. Jarvin is tough on ball defender that has a knack for making ball handlers work and on offense he does a good job at getting in the lane making sound decisions. Graham is an under the radar prospect that will get coaches attention during the season.