Scouting the State: Friday Notebook

Friday night PHI caught a trio of games from the Chicago Public League, Chicago Catholic League, and a rivalry in Springfield. We break it all down right here in our Scouting the State: Friday Notebook!   Whitney Young Shooting and Depth The Dolphins opened their season up with a 68-41 victory at Taft on Friday night. The aspect that impressed us most was their perimeter shooting. There has been a lot of talk about the size that they have this year and they are indeed big up front with [player_tooltip player_id="771516" first="AJ" last="Casey"], [player_tooltip player_id="863585" first="Xavier" last="Amos"], and [player_tooltip player_id="920942" first="Grant" last="Newell"]. Their perimeter shooting was outstanding in the first half as they had seven different guys connect on threes. [player_tooltip player_id="939057" first="Dalen" last="Davis"] went for three from deep (more on that in a moment). He was joined by his backcourt mate [player_tooltip player_id="920945" first="Jaehshon" last="Thomas"] hitting one along with several strong takes to the rim. [player_tooltip player_id="863585" first="Xavier" last="Amos"] and [player_tooltip player_id="920942" first="Grant" last="Newell"] each stretched the floor from their power forward spot. Then the bench got in the act early in the second quarter with threes from [player_tooltip player_id="939072" first="Marcus" last="Pigram"], [player_tooltip player_id="1048324" first="Daniel" last="Johnson"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1048715" first="Matt" last="Somerville"]. Johnson recorded 13 points in his debut with the Dolphins after the sophomore star transferred from Fenwick.   [player_tooltip player_id="939057" first="Dalen" last="Davis"] Opens Up Sophomore Campaign with Statement One of the top sophomores in the state opened with a flurry on Friday night. Whitney Young heady floor general [player_tooltip player_id="939057" first="Dalen" last="Davis"] is more known as an elite set up guy who makes others around him better. In the first game of the season he wanted to get his as he drilled three from deep in the first quarter. It looked effortless coming off his hands. Had a strong showing in the Rock N Ball League and seems to have carried that over to the high school season as it is his show to run this year.   TY Johnson is Impact Get for Loyola The second game we saw was DePaul Prep vs St. Ignatius. The best prospect on the floor was also the unquestioned best player on the floor. DePaul Prep senior combo guard TY Johnson did just about anything he wanted. Early on he hit a three along with a stop and pop 15 footer. Then it was on as he attacked the rim relentlessly with such acrobatics. One of the best body control finishers in the state with the way he maneuvers his body in traffic for scores. Slick handles being able to change direction on a dime. Speaking of dimes his passing was excellent as well including a couple of sick lob passes! Went for 26 points. Loyola is going to be a problem in the MVC with him for four years.   Two Way Guards for DePaul Prep Johnson was helped by his running mates in the backcourt of [player_tooltip player_id="1049577" first="Rasheed" last="Bello"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1049606" first="Jabari" last="Sawyer"]. The UW-Parkside commit Bello is a smaller left handed guard that gets after it defensively and plays with tremendous speed on the offensive end pushing in the open floor. Slick ball handler went for 13 points. [player_tooltip player_id="1049606" first="Jabari" last="Sawyer"] also contributed in the win especially early on getting to the cup early and often.   UMass Recruit [player_tooltip player_id="920949" first="Brian" last="Mathews"] Impacts in 2nd Half Nice to be able to bring a top 25 D1 recruit off the bench that is 6’9”. DePaul Prep senior and UMass signee [player_tooltip player_id="920949" first="Brian" last="Mathews"] pretty much ended things after a St. Ignatius run with his play during the third quarter. The physical old school five man swatted shots being a brick wall defensively and grabbed a ton of rebounds in a short amount of time. Scored on put backs, had a big alley-oop dunk, and hit his man on the fast break with his outlet passing. Went for 8 points in limited minutes.   St. Ignatius Wings Emerging Ignatius struggled overall in their loss, but their wing duo continues to be their bright spot. St. Ignatius 2022 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="863613" first="AJ" last="Redd"] is a wiry two guard that is at his best attacking off the bounce slithering through the defense where he can finish at the cup or kick to shooters. He scored 10 points and was effective as a passer hitting [player_tooltip player_id="989270" first="Richard" last="Barron"] in the corner for three triples. Barron is a thick bodied 2023 wing that is becoming a more consistent threat from beyond the arc. He had 11 points. These two playing off each other was their best offense.   [player_tooltip player_id="765217" first="KJ" last="Debrick"] Posts Triple Double in Lanphier Win The transformation that Springfield Lanphier center [player_tooltip player_id="765217" first="KJ" last="Debrick"] made this past summer and into the winter is something that has been well chronicled on PHI. He is in the best shape of his career and the 6’10” five man is an absolute force down low. He took over when needed to in the second half swatting literally everything that came near the rim. Debrick has such a terrific knack for blocking shots while staying straight up. Volume rebounder that grabs them with two hands in traffic. Over and over again he snatched them out of the air. On the offensive end it was hook shots, running the floor for dunks, and even showed some passing feel on a give/go dish. His masterful performance resulted in a stat line of 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a victory over Springfield High. He recently announced his decision to reclassify to 2022 and attend prep school at BigTyme Prep in Texas. Will be a coveted D1 recruit after a year of prep.   Springfield Lanphier Has Guards and More Guards The depth of the guard play at Springfield Lanphier is nothing surprising. That has been what Blake Turner has built his program on year in and year out over the last decade. High level guards and lots of them. Class of 2022 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="863584" first="Tye" last="Banks"] played at a high level on Friday night. The 6’3” shooting guard was extremely efficient netting 27 points on 11-14 from the field. He displayed explosiveness off the bounce driving strong to the hoop for several layups and dunks. Was remarkably effective ripping the ball and attacking on the baseline. Went 2-3 from beyond the arc as well showing a crisp shooting stroke. Several nice passes in the paint also having 5 dimes. Top 15 2023 point guard [player_tooltip player_id="939063" first="Tevonta" last="Jackson"] has speed for days. One of the fastest guards end to end in the state. Pushes the tempo and throws crisp passes. Got into the lane for a floater along with hitting a pair of threes for 9 points. Recent Carl Sandburg College commit [player_tooltip player_id="921017" first="TJ" last="Price"] is an angular two guard that hits can hit an open shot and uses his quickness on the glass for second chance points as he recorded 14 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Solid game out of [player_tooltip player_id="921003" first="Michael" last="Ousley"]. The senior guard did a little bit of everything hitting a mid-range jumper, getting on the glass, and drained a pull up three for 11 points.   Recap of Night for Springfield High Big 3 Springfield High is led by a trio of upperclassmen wings. The best on this night was [player_tooltip player_id="920979" first="Shane" last="Miller"]. The Illinois Wesleyan commit was in attack mode from the jump and that resulted in a monster night for the scoring 2021 point guard. He puts it on the deck with speed and uses his powerful body to convert at the cup. Like we mentioned earlier in this recap about Johnson the Springfield guard has tremendous body control. Excellent at making difficult layups through and around traffic. Good in transition pushing with speed. He had 29 points (12-26 FG), 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. [player_tooltip player_id="995969" first="Bennie" last="Slater"] is a jumbo 2021 point-forward that has a lot of projection. Best basketball is still ahead of him. He fouled out during the third quarter. Displayed his athleticism on the defensive end with a couple of volleyball blocks. His vision and feel at his size are his most valuable asset as a prospect. Long outlet passes, wrap arounds in the paint, and making the correct dish. As a scorer he had a turnaround fadeaway and scored on drives. Went for 10 points and 9 rebounds. We continue to be intrigued with what we have seen out of 6’3” two guard [player_tooltip player_id="1049084" first="Mitchell" last="Logan"] in the 2022 class. It was a bit of an up and down game for him, but the flashes were there on a straight line take and dunk. Also had a spectacular reverse layup and-1. Went for 10 points.