On the Sidelines

Steve Parham January 10, 2021 @ 06:00 AM

In this series On the Sidelines Prep Hoops Illinois analysts Scott Burgess and Steve Parham breakdown the latest happenings in the world of high school basketball and recruiting. Check out this week’s On the Sidelines below! There has been a good number of players who have left the state to play basketball this season. Who do you feel will benefit the most from leaving the state?   Steve I think so far we have seen AJ Storr breakout from leaving the state early. Of the recent players I think Matas Buzelis has the best chance of becoming a national talent as he left to attend Brewster Academy. If Buzelis stays has the talent to be considered as one of the top prospects in the state. He can score in many ways. He rebounds the ball on both sides of the ball and can block shots at high rate.   Scott Steve took the young guys. I will look at the seniors here. In my opinion there isn’t going to be a high school basketball season no matter how many times the IHSA tries to tell us there will be. So some of the seniors that have left are taking advantage playing with their new squads. Isaiah Stafford was a top 25 player in Illinois and is lighting up the nets in Indiana. Should land a low-major offer before it is all said and done. Noah Reynolds at Merrillville (IN) and Landon Moore at Brownsburg (IN) are two other quality lead guards that we believe should gain more college interest because of getting on the court. The biggest benefit in theory should be Jaylin Gibson who is at Legacy School of Sport and Sciences (TX). He is the ultimate stat sheet stuffer in the mold of Jordan Goodwin and Roosevelt Jones over the years. Should be on the mid-major radar! Recently played in a game against top national 2022 Emoni Bates.   If you had one game to attend this season which player would be must see? Steve This is tough because there are so many players to choose from, but my pick would be class 2022 guard Tavari Johnson. He is just exciting to watch in my opinion. Johnson can play well off the ball screen and is able to get a bucket for himself and others. Tavari’s biggest draw is that if you don’t suspect anything the kid will try and dunk on you. He is a superb athlete that can wow a crowd at any moment. Johnson will become a must see player whenever the state opens back up for high school sports.   Scott Let’s switch it up and I will take the younger prospects this time. I always enjoy seeing the top freshman in the state play during their first year. Still remember checking out Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, Ayo Dosunmu etc as freshman. This year the 2024 show would have been at St. Rita. James Brown is probably the leading contender for top freshman with his size and skill inside. Morez Johnson is a skilled forward who compliments Brown and isn’t very far behind him when it comes to the race for top 2024 prospect early on. Jaedin Renya is a high IQ floor general that has the makings of the next great Chicago guard.   With the seeing early success from PHI class of 2020 players DJ Stewart and [player_tooltip player_id="817665" first="Adam" last="Miller"]. What prospect from class of 2021 can be effective right away in college next season? Steve If I had to choose one player that will have an immediate impact next season it would be Troy D’Amico. The Niles Notre Dame forward plays like a college player in my opinion already. He can affect things on both sides of the ball. D’Amico can play with his back to the basket and as a face up forward. His attention to details in sets they run at Niles Notre Dame translate well to the college level. Troy has a huge swagger about his game where he does not back down from competition or adversity. I’ve seen many games where Troy didn’t have the size or strength advantage and he still out rebounded the opposition. These strong points can find you solid minutes at many college programs. D’Amico has the chance to be an immediate impact at Southern Illinois.   Scott [player_tooltip player_id="765148" first="Ahamad" last="Bynum"] from Simeon is a born bucket getter. He can wake up at 9 AM roll out of bed and drop 20 points. He has done it his entire career and will continue to do that in college from day one. Bynum is committed to the local Big East program DePaul where he should step in instantly and provide perimeter scoring whether it is in the starting lineup or coming off the bench as a spark plug.