10 Takeaways: Ridgewood Shootout

The Ridgewood Classic was held on Sunday at Ridgewood High School featuring a triple header of games! PrepHoopsIllinois was in the house for all of them. We dive into our 10 Takeaways: Ridgewood Classic!   St. Patrick Balance Way too Much for Waukegan The opener wasn’t close. Waukegan is in rebuilding mode and St. Patrick isn’t. St. Pat’s jumped out to a 25-0 lead to open the game and put it in cruise control after that. I think what you have to like most about this team is the overall depth. They don’t have a true star or go to player, but are a well-rounded group that shares the ball and can all chip in with a few buckets. Then they start to add up which leads to wins. Most of their core group are juniors. Nicholas Galati is a 2021 combo guard that has a pull up game. He is probably their best scorer at this stage. Caleb Corro is a high IQ guard that runs the show and scores around the rim with runners. Jackson Gitterle is a 6’2” junior two guard that can hit shots. Michael Hamilton brings size at 6’5” and was strong around the hoop and the boards. The entertaining part of the second half was watching 6’5” 225 pound Caden Connolly get up and down the floor playing with a lot of energy and threw down a big dunk. Dominic Galati was the top senior for this group drilling threes off the catch and getting out in transition from his defense. At the end of the day though the top prospect on this team is 2022 6’5” wing Timaris Brown. The sophomore has a nice frame and a strong body. Powerful getting to the rim throwing down a pair of big dunks including one he got an and-1 on.   Inside-Outside Ridgewood Duo Should Find Home at Small College Level Host Ridgewood had a pair of small college prospects in the 2020 class that both had their moments. Kevin Czyzewski stands at 6’6” with nice mobility in the paint. He was quick to the offensive glass for put backs and got to the free throw line. Showed a little stretch ability hitting a three. Went for 15 points. John Duszynski opened eyes as a role player and spot up shooter this summer. The crafty guard almost brought his team back from a huge deficit because of his perimeter marksmanship. Drilled an array of threes for 11 points.   Lincoln Way-Central Strong Perimeter Play Leads to Win It got shaky at the end, but Lincoln Way Central closed the deal winning over Ridgewood. Much like St. Patrick’s they don’t have one featured player rather a collection of solid players. Sam Curran is a 5’10” junior that ran the point. Crafty kid that is scrappy around the hoop and made some tough layups. Scored 10 points. Matt Maloney is another junior point guard that used nifty finishes in the paint along with a corner three for 12 points. Nick Tingley is another junior that shined with his perimeter shooting from both mid-range and three finishing with 8 points. Joe Barrett is a guard that scored on a floater and other bucket in the paint. The highest celling prospect James Ogrondnik stands at 6’6” didn’t get a ton of tick in this game. Had one score in limited minutes. Needs to add strength going forward. The best senior for this team is Sam Michalak who is a sharp shooting guard that netted 8 points.   Aquan Smart is Elite Point Guard The biggest story of the day was this Niles North point guard. The 2020 6’4” Aquan Smart currently checks in at #9 overall with a chance to definitely move up after his performance on Sunday afternoon. He has tremendous size for position and is one of the most explosive guards in the state. His burst to the hoop on straight line drives is insane. Consistently got to the rim over and over again especially in the fourth quarter where he scored 20 points alone carrying his team to a win. He has a knack for drawing fouls by using his speed to the rim. While he scored a career high 38 points in the game the most impressive part of his performance might have been his passing. He threw live dribble cross court passes on the money over and over again for wide open threes. The defense started focusing fully on him and he found shooters in the corner on the opposite side of the floor. Passing feel was very good. Smart is currently verbally committed to East Tennessee State, but did not sign with them during the early period. For those that haven’t seen Smart think of a Ja Morant type prospect.   Niles North Wings Get Job Done While Smart was the story there were a pair of wings for Niles North that shined as well. Class of 2021 6’6” small forward Jalen Butler has quality size and strength. Can play inside-out. He was a very good rebounder using his strength and quickness inside for second chance points. Got to the foul line at a nice clip and slashed for scores on his way to 13 points. Sophomore Yusef Oliff is a 5’11” guard that was the recipient on many of those passes from Smart for threes. He drilled multiple from the corners in his 14 point outing.   Jamere Hill has Breakout Game Joliet West senior combo guard Jamere Hill had the best game we had seen him play on Sunday. He has always been solid when we saw him on the circuit, but never had that defining game. This was it. He was a force especially in the first half with his ability to win off the dribble for scores in the paint or dumping it off for finishes to teammates inside. Sound decisions as a passer. Also shot it very well from three with feathery shots going down from deep. He had 26 points. Intriguing at the D2 level.   Jaiden Lee Needs D1 Offers ASAP Joliet West’s Jaiden Lee is a 6’6” shooting guard with a long and projectable frame. He has been in the top 20 of the 2021 Illinois Rankings for a long time. Still he hasn’t picked up the interest on the college level that we feel he deserves. Has a little bit of Dajuan Gordon to his game. Free and easy three point stroke, but showed more versatility to his game. He had multiple finishes in the paint and was outstanding in spurts defensively using his length blocking shots and getting in passing lanes. Went for 21 points.   Burbridge and Howland Bring Toughness for Joliet West Joliet West brings toughness to the table at the forward spots. Ashawn Burbridge didn’t score a ton, but the undersized four man brings energy on the glass and can defend. Trent Howland is another 2021 prospect that is a physical presence. His future at the next level is probably on the gridiron, but on the high school level he is a physical beast inside on the glass mauling opponents on the glass and using his strength to finish inside. He had 14 points.   Jeremy Fears Wise Beyond Years Joliet West 2023 point guard Jeremy Fears ran the show for his squad playing with a high basketball IQ and didn’t seemed to be rattled playing against players multiple years older than him. Made sound decisions passing when winning off penetration and was pesky on the defensive end. Visited the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday.   Ridgewood Classic Great Event Every year we attend this event ran by Ridgewood and Coach Chris Mroz. It is always held the day after Chicago Elite Classic for basketball junkies who can’t get enough. Also it is fun to see games on Sunday when there aren’t many events run on that day of the week.