High IQ Academy: Steve’s Standouts

<p><strong>High IQ</strong> has been hosting open runs for a couple of weeks. The founders Julius Hearns and Justin Brim have done a good job at locating talented players to workout. After a couple of trips in the gym here are some of the standouts from the runs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="821783" first="Phillip" last="Holmes"] (2021) 6’8 Simeon </strong></p> <p>In an age where most players Phil’s size are training to be wing players, he is doing what traditional big men do. He crashes the boards hard, keeps possessions alive with tip backs, and often plays with his back to the rim. Holmes is becoming better with his mobility on the defensive side. Rejecting several shots during the runs. Low D1s and small school should continue to monitor him.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Amarion Savage (2021) 5’11 East Aurora </strong></p> <p>Slick guard who played well off ball screens. Very quick in transition and in the half court. Made tough layups on defenders. Amarion made a couple 3’s in the games I saw as well but he did more distributing than anything else.  Finding players after he broke down the defense seemed to his mood that day. Savage is another guard who college coaches should get to know more. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="925224" first="Nick" last="Martinelli"] (2022) 6’5 Glenbrook South </strong></p> <p>Nick again was spectacular in his play. Scoring the ball from all three levels. He plays with a poise that gives him the advantage to make the right decision and take better shots.  Martinelli will be one of the bigger surprises in this class.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Keon Thompson (2021) 5’11 Merillville (Ind.)</strong></p> <p>Thompson was tough to guard during gameplay. Started off the session with a huge dunk and continued to punish defenders. Small stature with muscle Keon bounces off guys when attacking in traffic. His strength gives him the ability to make shots from NBA range and extended. Keon is a player who can take over when he wants and at the runs he definitely was the best player on the court that day. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="821751" first="Kai" last="Evans"] (2021) 6’3 Trinity International (NV) </strong></p> <p>Strong bodied guard who can get in the lane and make shots from the perimeter. Evans play was well rounded. Kai showed his explosiveness at the rim sneaky athleticism as he put down some rim rattlers in transition.  </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Joshua Thomas (2023) 6’4 Stevenson </strong></p> <p>Very intriguing player for age and size. Looking more of 6’5 then his rosters size. Joshua is long and thin looks similar to former Stevenson player Justin Smith. Thomas rebounded well and also showed he can push the ball in transition.  I was mostly surprised to see him compete and knock back down from the older players on the court with him. He made a few outside shots but did most of his work off teammates missed opportunities.  He made a good first impression with me.</p>