Grit Region Finals: Scotty B’s Friday Notebook

The Grit Region Finals began on Friday night in the Indianapolis area at Fishers High School. I will be focusing on the 17U action the next two days. We begin with what we saw on opening night in Grit Region Finals: Scotty B's Friday Notebook!   Balanced Effort for RISE 17U in Opener RISE began the finals with a 63-56 victory over [program_tooltip program_id='2081813' first='Archangels' last=''] in their first game of the event. They were extremely balanced in the win led by De La Salle guard [player_tooltip player_id="996072" first="Jalen" last="Brown"] who got it rolling early with 16 points including four triples. [player_tooltip player_id="1152911" first="Chaz" last="Harvey"] is a prep school guard to watch with his creativity as a scorer. Their front line did major damage in the win. De La Salle five man [player_tooltip player_id="1049056" first="Caleb" last="Jenkins"] mauled on the offensive glass and finished through contact for 12 points. Another Meteors 2022 post [player_tooltip player_id="863597" first="Marcellius" last="Cohen"] also played well throwing down a few thunderous slams. Chicago U-High shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1049053" first="Ryan" last="Duncan"] drained a couple of smooth triples, attacked off the bounce with athleticism, and displayed passing flair.   [program_tooltip program_id='2081813' first='Archangels' last=''] Guard Continues to Shine The [program_tooltip program_id='2081813' first='Archangels' last=''] group fell in their first game of the final event, but it is their combo guard from Mercer County [player_tooltip player_id="1049062" first="Eli" last="Hofmann"] that continues to post big numbers. The scoring guard went for 18 points in this one including an array of threes and being pesky on the defensive end. Plus shooter with some grit too! I continue to be intrigued by Galesburg 6'7” combo forward [player_tooltip player_id="1048727" first="Koen" last="Derry"]. Skilled forward that can put it on the deck and score on difficult takes in the paint.   Hoops Intensity Training Duo Continues to Produce Another strong effort for a pair of HIT 17U prospects that have been regular names on top performers throughout the spring and summer on the PHC. Batavia's [player_tooltip player_id="863630" first="Ethan" last="Ivan"] recorded 21 points in the victory. The pick and pop four did most of his damage inside using his quickness and mobility finishing with efficiency. St. Charles North wing [player_tooltip player_id="1106928" first="Max" last="Love"] is a player that will do anything to win. He saved loose balls off opponents and swatted shots in transition. He can also put it in the hoop as the skilled wing dropped 17 points in the victory. Ivan is a no doubt D2+ target while NAIA and D3s should be prioritizing Love.   Full Package Edges Out Quad City High School Prep in Illinois Clash This was a fun game. Full Package edged out Quad City High School Prep on Friday night. For Full Package their unsigned senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id="652731" first="Ola" last="Ajiboye"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1105737" first="Nick" last="Pierre"] got it rolling early. Ajiboye will head to prep school after being a top 20 prospect for most of his career at Evanston. Long and angular post has added strength while being able to shoot from mid-range, finish dump offs, and crash the glass. Will be a D1 guy a year from now. Pierre is a prospect that would be a great late addition for a small college or JUCO. Power wing scorer that can shoot it. New Trier power forward [player_tooltip player_id="1169886" first="Noah" last="Shannon"] is a skilled and tough small college four man that had several excellent finishes inside 10 feet. He had 11 points in the game. For Quad City High School Prep they were led by Quincy 2022 small forward [player_tooltip player_id="996059" first="Jeremiah" last="Talton"]. Potential D1 prospect that has several schools tracking him because of his positional size and silky smooth perimeter shot. That was on display as he drained an array of nothing but net triples off the catch. His cousin Joshua Talton from across the boarder in Monroe City (MO) proved to be a crafty scoring guard that got in the lane for nifty finishes and was quick with his hands defensively.   Illinois Future Picks Up Come from Behind Win In their Friday night contest Illinois Future fell behind, but then rallied in a hurry to record an 85-73 victory. Gideon Adewale is a high energy and athletic shooting guard that made impactful plays on both ends in the contest. Evanston point guard [player_tooltip player_id="925208" first="Rashawn" last="Bost"] put on a show from the perimeter with his pull up jump shot and slick handles netting 23 points in the win. Also liked what long and rangy forward [player_tooltip player_id="1048723" first="Nickolas" last="Robinson"] brought to the table scoring 14 points. MBA Lakeshore had a pair of impressive performances of their own as Brady Bosma and Collin Shriver who shined with their skill and positional size.   Team Future Sprints Out on Illinois Bears and Holds On The Illinois Bears were knocked off in their opening round game Friday against Team Future out of Indianapolis. The hometown squad jumped out early behind the sharp shooting of [player_tooltip player_id="1173731" first="Davis" last="Olson"] who was money from three en route to 16 points. He was helped out by fellow perimeter running mates Charles Chanin and AJ Roseman. Chanin is a straight bucket getter that has nice size being able to get buckets from multiple levels as he had 23 points. Roseman chipped in 15 points in the win. For the Illinois Bears it was [player_tooltip player_id="1210406" first="Jack" last="Seibert"] (Mascoutah) and [player_tooltip player_id="863639" first="Brady" last="Moore"] (Breese Mater Dei) who made some tough scores inside for buckets trying to keep their team in the game. Seibert had 13 while Moore notched 10 points. Mascoutah standout guard [player_tooltip player_id="863605" first="Justin" last="King"] got it going in the second half taking it to the cup over and over again for four slick layups along with hitting a couple threes for 20 points.   Champaign Heat Looks Like Title Threat in Opening Game The Champaign Heat 17U squad is a program that would love to leave this weekend with the Grit Region title and they looked primed to make a run at the crown with a mercy rule win in their first round contest. It was a pretty balanced effort, but Bolingbrook point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1048730" first="Jaydin" last="Dunlap"] did the most damage recording 17 points in the victory. Such a scrappy guard that gets points in the paint and rebounds well for a guard. Like how Mattoon big man [player_tooltip player_id="863629" first="Sam" last="Bradbury"] played with intensity on both ends. He was physical carving out space, rebounding, and being a force defensively. Springfield Southeast guard [player_tooltip player_id="1049097" first="Edward" last="Alexander"] is a thick and compact guard that scored 10 points along with throwing a couple nice dimes.