Film Room: 2021 Chicago North Suburbs Prospects

With no spring and summer basketball going on we wanted to do a deep dive into the prospects across the state by reviewing their season long highlight tapes and giving our evaluation of their strengths as a prospect along with projected college level. Here is our Film Room: 2021 Chicago North Suburbs Prospects! [player_tooltip player_id="765192" first="Jake" last="Wolf"] (Lake Forest Academy) Wolf stands at 6’9” with quality size and has added strength over his career. Brings some face up skills to the five position. For him it starts with his footwork on the block and from 10 feet in. Touch with both hands around the basket. Right handed hook shot is his biggest weapon at this stage. Passes well out of doubles in the post to cross court shooters and cutters. Capable shooter from mid-range and can stretch out to three as a spot up shooter with nice shot prep. Average athlete that will have to improve in that area. Projects as a low-major prospect at this stage. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12116469/5def13c23863da1378f8a092">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12116469/5def13c23863da1378f8a092</a>   Walter Mattingly (Deerfield) Mattingly stands at 6’7” with a long and thin frame. Will need to add strength moving forward to max out his ability. We came away impressed with his skilled all-around game and were particularly surprised with how well he can pass the rock in the half court. Quick decisions to drive, pass, or shoot when the ball touches his hands. Finished well in transition above the rim. Smooth pull up game with easy elevation. Clean and easy shot mechanics allow him to shoot it well out to the college three point arc being most effective off the catch. Glides effortlessly with the ball in the open floor with his long strides. Showed some stuff with a runner game off his drives. Low-major prospect at this stage. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12064731/5e7b8f877bde010ae84311fe">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12064731/5e7b8f877bde010ae84311fe</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="821731" first="Jaylin" last="Gibson"] (Evanston) This is a long tape, but mid-major plus schools should watch every minute because they are going to love this player. Gibson is a strongly built two guard that plays with physicality and toughness. He is a good, not elite athlete. More than makes up for that with his skill set and the number of ways he can impact the game. He is relentless on both ends of the floor. Defensively he can check a number of perimeter spots with his active hands and body positioning. Gibson also uses that strength on the boards as one of the premier rebounding guards in the state. He has a knack for knowing where it is coming off and keeping the ball alive. One of the best passers in the state. More of a natural off guard that can slide over and play the point because of his off the charts vision and feel. As a scorer he is strong getting downhill and finishing through contact. Nifty finishes at the cup maneuvering the ball and using excellent footwork on his drives. Bursts through traffic with the rock in his hands. Average shooter that has the potential to get better. Quiet feet with not much lift. Top part looks pretty good. Like I said at the start, mid-major plus and even high-major minus schools should invest some time here! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7650457/5e7ae42a478cd501e07f72d2">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7650457/5e7ae42a478cd501e07f72d2</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="995972" first="Damian" last="Zivak"] (Barrington) Zivak is a combo guard that played both on and off the ball. Was comfortable as a distributor that can get others involved with his passing in the half court. He is just an average athlete, but brings toughness and the ability to finish through contact below the rim. Sound mid-range game that can stretch out to three spotting up at times. Potential D2 prospect. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivmJb3Upz2w&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivmJb3Upz2w&feature=youtu.be</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="821736" first="Blake" last="Peters"] (Evanston) Peters is an elite shooter! One of the best we have seen in Illinois is a while. What makes him so good at hitting shots is a combination of his shot prep, consistent mechanics, and how well he moves without the ball. Peters is constantly moving! He cuts hard to the hoop away from the ball for scores. His jab step and drives made major strides as a junior. Scores so much better in the paint than earlier in his career. Has become an all-around two guard. Peters is a no brainer at the mid-major level. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9456262/5e6bc22857982217a82d7fc7">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9456262/5e6bc22857982217a82d7fc7</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="821747" first="Jalen" last="Butler"] (Niles North) Butler has good size and length on the wing. Tough wing defender with length that brings plus rebounding to the table as a small forward. Improved shooter from three especially off the catch spotting up. Crisp one dribble pull up game as well. Uses his quickness inside to score. Low-major plus prospect. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10422191/5e868c71b3c89004742c5fc4">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10422191/5e868c71b3c89004742c5fc4</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="920947" first="Kimahri" last="Wilson"] (Carmel) Wilson is among the top 2021 point guards in the state. Quick and shifty ball handler that is slick getting through traffic. Has the ball on a string. Wins pretty consistently off the bounce where he finishes with athleticism at the rim. Passes it with flair and is good at finding guys in transition. Hit a few jumpers in this video, but you can see that is the area that he needs to continue to develop. Low-major player at this stage. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9947865/5e7141d0e9852419ac83781c">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/9947865/5e7141d0e9852419ac83781c</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="995971" first="Ethan" last="Roberts"] (Hersey) Roberts is a player we had heard some buzz about so we were looking forward to seeing what his tape looked like. Shooting guard with nice size at 6’4”. He can shoot it from the perimeter with a pretty clean shot mechanically. Has a good feel of flaring and how to find open spots to get his shot off. With the ball in his hands he is crafty in the lane using an effective slow spin that he creates space on his defender to finish. Average athlete. He flashed some creativity as a passer and being able to play on the ball at times. D2 programs need to look into this player. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB32Dnpc-OM&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB32Dnpc-OM&feature=youtu.be</a>   Kobe Kriese (Antioch) Kriese is a scrappy 6’1” point guard that is a plus threat shooting the ball off the catch. He is a crisp passer putting zip on his passes. Makes contested layups. Interesting small college player to track as a senior. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12148727/5e6ee6fabd758f11a8a25f52">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12148727/5e6ee6fabd758f11a8a25f52</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="921000" first="Evan" last="Ambrose"] (Stevenson) Ambrose is a 5’10” point guard that is reminiscent of another recent suburban point guard Cole Gentry who went on to play in college. Good quickness off the bounce getting to the hoop and is crafty as a finisher in the paint. Crisp ball handler that makes plays off the live dribble as a scorer and passer. Quality decision maker in the half court. Sound spot up shooter that stretches out to three. Pesky defender that will take a charge and get deflections. Elite small college player that could emerge as a D2 player before it’s all said and done. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR7k_xqTyfg&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR7k_xqTyfg&feature=youtu.be</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="765286" first="Ian" last="Burns"] (New Trier) Big time shooter at 6’6”. He opened up this video at the Chicago Elite Classic where we saw him light up the nets in a major way. Plus size with a smooth shooting stroke. Consistent knocking down shots from beyond the arc. Decent passer and cuts without the ball to get open for buckets. Defensively he surprised us with how often he got his hands on the ball with deflections, steals, and blocks. Worth looking at for D2s. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12051609/5e97c675b3c9c4175cf58132">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12051609/5e97c675b3c9c4175cf58132</a>   Aidan Harrington (St. Viator) Harrington has nice size for an off guard at 6’4”. Most effective as a spot up shooter knocking down threes with consistency. When he does attack he is good going on the baseline and can finish through traffic. Upside small college player. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12691673/5e83c1c3b018b00c80317bf2">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12691673/5e83c1c3b018b00c80317bf2</a>   [player_tooltip player_id="995990" first="Liam" last="Graham"] (Niles North) Graham is a smaller off guard at 5’8” that can really let it fly. Repeatable mechanics and an excellent shot from beyond the arc. Scrappy guard that plays with toughness. Passes well on the move. Small college player. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12135574/5e8a2d44a019c10b8c898bf9">https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12135574/5e8a2d44a019c10b8c898bf9</a>