Riverside Brookfield: Scotty B’s Friday Notebook

The Riverside Brookfield Summer Shootout kicked off on Friday. This historic event was also the host to the first day D1 college coaches could see prospects in person play in 15 months. What went down? Here are our thoughts in Riverside Brookfield: Scotty B's Friday Notebook!   Rolling Meadows More Than Just One Man…..But He Helps A LOT We liked what we saw to start out the day from Rolling Meadows. [player_tooltip player_id="529033" first="Max" last="Christie"] has moved on to Michigan State, but they might be an even deeper team this upcoming season. In the first half it was undersized 2023 four man [player_tooltip player_id="1048317" first="Foster" last="Ogbonna"] who started things off. Physical forward mauled on the offensive glass for second chance points and showed some shake off the bounce. Orlando Thomas is a rangy lefty point guard that has steadily raised his stock. Knocked down multiple threes and demonstrated creative handles. Rangy defender that moves his feet. D2s should monitor. [player_tooltip player_id="939055" first="Cameron" last="Christie"] lived up to his top 5 ranking in 2023 as he put on an absolute show in the second half with his feathery touch from all over the floor. Pull up threes and floaters en route to 22 points including 16 in the second half. A lot of high-majors were on hand to see Christie.   Hillcrest Young Talent Work in Progress It was a tough loss for Hillcrest in the opener, but after a bad first half they showed a ton of fight in the second half getting it to back within a couple possessions against Rolling Meadows. They have a scoring point guards in 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="939078" first="Bryce" last="Tillery"] and 2024 Isaiah Green who are tough and attacking lead guards to build around. Rangy 2023 forwards Quentin Heady and [player_tooltip player_id="1215285" first="Matthew" last="Moore"] each displayed flashes of long term potential that need to be refined.   Barron Leads St. Ignatius to 2-0 Record St. Ignatius had a really nice opening day picking up a pair of wins. Their 2023 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="989270" first="Richard" last="Barron"] led the way. Powerfully built wing played about as well as we have seen him shooting it with consistency off the catch and was aggressive putting it on the deck scoring with his strength inside. His wing running mate 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="863613" first="AJ" last="Redd"] is fighting through an injury and looked solid slithering through the defense hitting creases and scoring in the paint. The school that gets 2022 power forward [player_tooltip player_id="925217" first="Kolby" last="Gilles"] is going to like his combination of strength inside and stretch ability as a shooter. Their most intriguing long term prospect might be [player_tooltip player_id="939066" first="Jackson" last="Kotecki"]. The 6'9” 2023 four man hit a hook shot, contested shots on the perimeter, and nailed a three. Consistency is the key with him.   Meeks “Rejoins” Homewood Flossmoor? When it comes to summer transfers it is always a little tricky because technically prospects aren't going to their new school yet. A couple weeks ago [player_tooltip player_id="771544" first="Christian" last="Meeks"] announced he was going to Tinley Park. Well Friday the high-motor forward was with his Homewood Flossmoor team that he has been with for the past three seasons. Love the tenacity and high-motor he plays with dominating with his quickness on the offensive glass. Louis Acevedo had a strong outing as the 6'3” combo guard got buckets from all over the floor hitting threes and getting in the lane. Couple other names to watch here are Nashawn Holmes (2023) and Lee Marks (2024) in the backcourt.   DePaul Prep Wins….Battle of the 2022 Power Forwards Ends in Draw There were a lot of coaches in the side gym to check out DePaul Prep vs Oak Forest with two of the top power forwards in the class on hand. DePaul Prep looked extremely impressive led by their power forward [player_tooltip player_id="863618" first="Dylan" last="Arnett"] who shined in the first half especially. Well built forward that can stretch the floor with his shooting and pounded the offensive glass. Showed better as an athlete than we had previously seen. A pair of veteran guards in [player_tooltip player_id="1210419" first="Alex" last="Gutierrez"] and Trevon Thomas played key roles in the win. Gutierrez is a slick passer that gets others involved. Thomas lit up the nets with his perimeter shot making knocking in threes and playing scrappy defense. Their rising sophomore shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1157225" first="Payton" last="Kamin"] has size and is a sniper from deep in the 2024 class. Oak Forest's star [player_tooltip player_id="863583" first="Robbie" last="Avila"] was his typical self. The skilled forward sealed on the block, euro steps, and finished everything around the hoop with efficiency. Handles it and passes well for a big man. Such a fun player with his Kyle Anderson slo-mo type game at the four spot.   Inside/Outside Combos Show Flashes in De La Salle vs Evanston De La Salle and Evanston met on Friday afternoon. The Meteors have a veteran group led by five seniors that should have them competing in the upper end of the Chicago Catholic League. Their senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="996072" first="Jalen" last="Brown"] is a strong guard that makes others better with his passing and floor game. [player_tooltip player_id="925199" first="JaMil" last="Wilson"] exhibited promise converting in the paint on hook shots and running the floor. Also demonstrated some potential as a post defender. Evanston 2022 point guard [player_tooltip player_id="925208" first="Rashawn" last="Bost"] is going to find a nice home at the small college level with his shot making and floater game. [player_tooltip player_id="1215286" first="Prince" last="Adams"] is their most intriguing long term prospect. Combo forward started off slow, but got it going putting it on the deck and hitting a corner three. Has some projectability as a 2023 prospect.   Shannon and Fiegen Shine for New Trier in Impressive Day New Trier was a squad we were looking forward to checking out at RB with several players who have made noise on different travel teams this spring. We liked the individual pieces, but wanted to see how they played together. Well the breakout player of the day was 6'4” 2022 forward [player_tooltip player_id="1169886" first="Noah" last="Shannon"]. We talked about him a couple weeks ago at a PHC event. He was about as on fire as you can possibly be draining an array of threes along with throwing down a pair of impressive dunks. Not to be out done 2023 combo guard [player_tooltip player_id="1215287" first="Jake" last="Fiegen"] was dynamic with his shooting like he has been all spring for Full Package draining three after three as one of the top snipers in the rising junior class. We saw flashes of the recent buzz from New Trier 2022 post [player_tooltip player_id="1210370" first="Jackson" last="Munro"]. Threw down a dunk on a back cut, fought on the glass, and played with toughness in the paint. Look forward to getting another eval of him on Sunday.   St. Rita's Youth Gets Another Lesson in Growth Process The top group of young prospects belongs to St. Rita. They went 0-2 falling to New Trier and Glenbard West, but this will be a huge learning lesson for them long term. The Catholic League squad went up against a pair veteran teams with size. The star of the day was 2024 power forward [player_tooltip player_id="1157230" first="Morez" last="Johnson"]. He literally has everything you could ask for in a young post. Wiry strong four is super athletic with quickness scoring in the paint and getting on the glass. Also put it on the deck and hit from mid-range. His running mate [player_tooltip player_id="1157228" first="James" last="Brown"] fought hard on the glass, walled up inside, and competed against some veteran posts. The third 2023 standout [player_tooltip player_id="1157213" first="Jaedin" last="Reyna"] weaved his way though the D. Love what 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="994687" first="Kaiden" last="Space"] brings to this squad. Rock solid as the combo guard hits shots and gets in the lane for runners. Solid passer. Their other 2023 star is [player_tooltip player_id="939056" first="Bryce" last="Coleman"]. The top 10 junior is a strong and big wing that can knock down shots from three and slashes with power.   Glenbard West Makes Strong Case for Preseason #1 with Statement Day It was a statement day for Glenbard West. They want to be the best in the state and looked the part on Friday. Glenbard West was led by five seniors with three of them being D1 recruits. The #2 overall prospect in 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="925183" first="Braden" last="Huff"] showed flashes of his skilled all-around game as a roller, passer, and scoring with pop on a backdoor dunk. Their perimeter duo of [player_tooltip player_id="996060" first="Caden" last="Pierce"] and [player_tooltip player_id="863598" first="Bobby" last="Durkin"] were flat out stellar. Pierce plays on and off the ball, but is at his best shooting it from deep and using his athleticism off the bounce. Durkin is fitting it nicely with his new squad draining an array of threes. Glue guys power forward [player_tooltip player_id="1106936" first="Ryan" last="Renfro"] and [player_tooltip player_id="996070" first="Paxton" last="Warden"] fit in perfect as high end small college prospects.   Whitney Young Says Don't Forget Us in Preseason #1 Discussion Right after we saw Glenbard West look unstoppable we saw Whitney Young do exactly the same with a pair of blowout wins against quality teams. Top senor [player_tooltip player_id="771516" first="AJ" last="Casey"] displayed athleticism on both ends scoring in the lane and snatching rebounds in traffic. Oozing with long term potential and there were plenty of high-majors in the house to see him. His frontcourt mates also played well. [player_tooltip player_id="863585" first="Xavier" last="Amos"] continues to be rock solid as a high energy four that gets second chance points and protects the rim. [player_tooltip player_id="1048717" first="Marcus" last="Overstreet"] is a lanky five that flashes with hook shots and his physical tools. Really liked the play of 2023 duo [player_tooltip player_id="939057" first="Dalen" last="Davis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1048324" first="Daniel" last="Johnson"]. Davis shot it about as well as we have seen him. Stop and pop mid-range jumpers over and over for the floor general. Shooting it that well will elevate his stock in the eyes of the coaches watching. Johnson moved into the top 10 in our update earlier this week and lived up to it as a sniper from deep along with playing above the rim.   Bolingbrook's Unheralded Senior Post Opens Eyes of Small Colleges [player_tooltip player_id="1210405" first="Michael" last="Osei-Bonsu"] is going to be a gem for a small college program. The Bolingbrook 6'5” power forward gets absolutely everything he can out of his ability. Wide bodied five that mauls on the glass and does a great job at getting position inside.   Freshman Emerging Three freshman put their name on our radars. St. Rita's Melvin Bell is a long and rangy wing that presents upside as a two way wing in the limited minutes he played. Joliet West 2025 Jeremiah Fears is a dynamic point guard that makes plays as a passer and scorer. The biggest eye opener was Whitney Young shooting guard Antonio Munoz. Athletic wing that threw down several impressive dunks.