Summer Challenge: Parham’s Hidden Gems

Summer Challenge: Parham&#8217;s Hidden Gems

Steve Parham July 10, 2019 @ 09:00 PM

Sroka played about as well as he could in the matchup against Fundamental U. He did a lot to keep his team in the game. On offense Ryan scored on all three levels doing most of his damage from deep. He worked well coming off staggered screens and had really good footwork going into his shot. Sroka showed his ability to drive when the defense chased him off the line. He scored on two really nice floaters in the lane. Ryan is a legit 6’4” and he has a high intellect for the game. Will be an intriguing college prospect that low D1 and D2’s should check out.

Donovan Taylor (Chicago Grinders 17U)

Taylor was smooth and very impressive in the game against Young and Reckless. At 6’3 Taylor (Fenger HS) is a long guard with a tight handle who is able to break defenders down with his dribble. In his matchup he was able to get to the rim at will finishing with good body control and an array of layup moves that had the crowd wondering where this kid came from. Defensively Donavan has long arms and is pesky on ball defender, but will also disrupt a lot of passes when teams are careless with the ball. Taylor really impressed in a close loss.

Jabari Chiphe Jabari Chiphe 6'3" | SG Walter Payton Prep | 2020 State IL (Young & Reckless 17U)

Jabari continued to impress after a really good weekend at Ridgewood the weekend before. Chiphe plays hard and keeps his team in most games with his effort and continuous motor. In his game versus Illinois Stars he attacked and got to the rim at will. He out muscled guys when they pressed up on and tried to keep him out of the lane. With good body control Chiphe also was able to use his explosiveness and his ability to anticipate passes on defense to his advantage. He came up with several steals that led to easy dunks. Jabari biggest play in the game was when a pass was tipped to him and he dribbled coast to coast dropping one defender into a split and then he proceeded to take off to throw down a monstrous dunk. Chiphe will definitely be a highly coveted college prospect. He has the grades and he’s showing he has the game.

Louis Bleechmore (Chicago Grinders 17U)

Bleechmore was terrific this weekend using size and strength against opponents. Luis who is from Australia has been getting good time in with the Chicago Grinders. At 6’7 he has the size of a good wing at the next level. Luis is hard working player that gets out in transition and runs his lanes hard usually getting out to the corners and ready to make a shot whenever teammates drive to the basket. Bleechmore has an ok handle on the perimeter. He lowers his shoulders and defenders just move out of his way. Luis has received interest from several schools and after seeing him this weekend I can see why. His best play came in a game against Y&R Boateng where he jumped a pass then took the ball the length of the court or rim ringing dunk. D1 prospect for sure in this kid.

Darius Hannah (ALL IN Gauntlet 17U)

Hannah was by far the best prospect in the gym I saw on Saturday afternoon. He just couldn’t do wrong. In a matchup against Martice Mitchell Martice Mitchell 6'9" | C Bloom | 2020 State #153 Nation IL he gave him fits. Hannah took him inside and outside. With a nice spin back lefty shot he was in a zone. At the top of the key if Mitchell sat back Darius raised up and knocked a three down. I have never seen this kid play so focused before. But it didn’t stop there. Hannah caught some pretty good tip dunks during the game as he reads the ball well coming off the rim. A long and lanky 6’9” forward Hannah can put the ball on the ground with ease and he’s not afraid to handle around guards as he’s quick enough to make decisions without having the ball stolen from him. His stock jumped up even higher this weekend after a really strong performance at Summer Challenge.