Kevin Brown TOC: Wednesday Scouting Notebook
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On the third day of hoops in Illinois we were back at the Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions. We go in depth with what we saw on the second day of action from Washington in Kevin Brown TOC: Wednesday…
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Continue ReadingOn the third day of hoops in Illinois we were back at the Kevin Brown Memorial Tournament of Champions. We go in depth with what we saw on the second day of action from Washington in Kevin Brown TOC: Wednesday Scouting Notebook!
They Are Who We Thought They Were…..Yorkville Christian Rolls Again
2-0 start for the 1A favorite Yorkville Christian in Washington as they won over Kankakee 87-60. Once again they were led by Duke signee Jaden Schutt Jaden Schutt 6'5" | SG Yorkville Christian | 2022 State #42 Nation IL . The future Blue Devil did it all on the offensive end. Couple explosive dunks, mid-range jumpers, and multiple threes. Such an effortless way he plays and will impact at Duke early in his career. Finished with 28 points. Once again got a lot of help from his teammates on the perimeter. David Douglas David Douglas 6'5" | SG Yorkville Christian | 2023 State IL continues to be a 2023 to watch. Slender guard that is excellent in transition and has a clean shot. D2s need to be monitoring him. For KJ Vasser KJ Vasser 6'3" | SG Yorkville Christian | 2022 State IL it wasn’t quite the barrage from deep we saw on Tuesday, but still another strong performance from the unsinged senior netting 13 points in transition and playing off his defense. The upside of Jehvion Starwood Jehvion Starwood 6'3" | SG Oswego East | 2024 State #269 Nation IL flashed once again for Yorkville Christian. Long and rangy 2024 small forward with his best basketball ahead of him. Impacted the game on both ends swatting shots and hitting jumpers. Potential D1 recruit down the line.
Kankakee has 9 players out because of their run in the state football playoffs. Liked how hard they played. Jay’Mari Watson got it going early with quite a few acrobatic layups in the open floor. Ty Harrison is a rangy wing that got loose to the hoop several times for 13 points. Kamar Whittaker stepped up with his thick frame and perimeter shot making ability for 18 points.
Lanphier Guard Trio Shine to go 2-0 in Win over St. John Bosco
The Springfield Lanphier bus was a bit behind schedule so this game was delayed, but the Lions had a strong morning performance despite that in a win over St. John Bosco (CA) 55-50. Lanphier 2023 point guard Tevonta Jackson Tevonta Jackson 6'1" | PG Roosevelt | 2023 State IA controlled the game. Lengthy and slender built guard is a slick driver and is starting to shoot it at a much more consistent clip. Knocked in several threes and a mid-range shot. The mid-major prospect finished with 12 points. Tye Banks Tye Banks 6'3" | SG Springfield Laphier | 2022 State IL is among the best available 2022 wings on the board. He is a big and strong two guard that does most of his damage in the lane using his strength to overpower weaker guards and finish in the paint. Rebounds well. He had 12 points. Cam Kincaid is the heart of this team. The small senior guard is a good shooter that plays with toughness. Scored 12 points.
For St. John Bosco (CA) we liked what we saw out of their unsinged senior power forward Christian Estrada. The 6’8” post is a lefty that has strong hands and soft touch around the hoop. Finishes well in traffic and has some passing feel of the post as well. Went for 16 points. Should get looks at the low-major level. A pair of freshman were the top two prospects in this game long term. Class of 2025 guard Elzie Harrington has excellent size at 6’4” with a skilled and athletic game already. Opened the contest with a big dunk. Smooth with the rock in the open floor getting to the rim and played with a lot of confidence. He had 14 points. Their 6’7” five man Kade Bonam is a thick bodied five that had touch in the paint and great footwork. He finished put backs and caught passes in traffic for his 10 points. Young post to monitor on the west coast.
Youth Shows They Have Next in Joliet West vs Vashon But 2023s Make Difference
Vashon won a 61-59 contest over Joliet West in one of the more fun contests we have seen from Washington so far this week. For Vashon their junior combo forward tandem of Kennard Davis and Cameron Stovall carried them. Each scored 19 points in the win. They both have similar type games at about 6’6” with physical frames being able to handle it downhill and finish around the cup on passes along with put backs. Should definitely be on colleges radars. The STL program has three 2025s to track in Christian Williams, Trey Williams, and Dierre Hill. The last two are originally from Centralia in southern Illinois. This guard trio all played key minutes and have bright futures for the St. Louis powerhouse.
It was a slow start for heralded freshman Jeremiah Fears in the first half with just two points, but he got it going in the third quarter ripping off 11 of his 17 points in that stanza. Quick point guard that loves to get in the lane for pull ups and floaters. So shifty with the rock in his hands and maneuvering through the defense to either score or dish. Also hit a deep three. One of if not the best point guard we have seen in 2025 early on. Class of 2024 6’1” shooting guard Justus McNair had a breakout performance establishing himself as a legit prospect in this game. Rangy build with athleticism. Clean looking three point shot as he knocked in a trio of them along with a couple slick drives. Finished with 16 points. Definitely want to make note of 2023 combo guard Jayden Martin Jayden Martin 6'2" | SG Joliet West | 2023 State IL . Strong combo got off to a hot start with eight of his 14 points in the first quarter. Drained four triples in the game as he was most effective as a spot up threat off Fears passing.
St. Rita Flexes Muscles Against Out of State Opponent
It was another impressive showing from St. Rita on Wednesday as they dismantled Denmark Olar from South Carolina to win by a final of 88-46. The frontline gets all the headlines so let’s talk about the backcourt first! Top 2024 point guard Jaedin Reyna Jaedin Reyna 6'0" | PG Bishop Noll | 2024 State IN is one of my favorite players to watch regardless of class. He is always so poised and savvy with the rock in his hands. Shot it particularly well from three in this game both spotting up in transition along with pulling up on his own. Defensively he ignited everything for them getting deflections and steals over and over often taking them the other way for scores. His passing was on point as always just like his go to float game. He had 17 points. Big 10 programs need to jump in NOW! Melvin Bell is the elite freshman of this group. The shooting guard displayed his athleticism flying up and down the floor for dunks and and-1s. Length and anticipation plays well on the defensive end. Went for 10 points in the W. Kaiden Space Kaiden Space 6'2" | SG St.Rita | 2023 State IL is the “veteran” of the Fab 5 as a junior. Space is just rock solid as a strong bodied combo guard that is effective as a spot up shooter and shifty ball handler in the open floor. Finished with 7 points.
The twin towers did their part inside as well. Illini commit Morez Johnson Morez Johnson 6'9" | PF Thornton | 2024 State #33 Nation IL continues to display his quick twitched athleticism along with freakish physical tools on drop steps, seals, and dunks. Runs the floor, crashes the glass, and changes the game defensively. The potential 5-star prospect had 13 points. James Brown James Brown 6'9" | C Link Academy (from Chicago) | 2024 #66 Nation MO is so good. The top ranked sophomore splits double teams with ease and handles like a wing in the open floor taking it end to end for buckets. Dominant rebounder both in and out of his area. Went for 11 points. Note all of these stats were from three quarters of game play as they set the fourth.
St. John Bosco Frontline Too Much for Metamora
In St. John Bosco’s (CA) second game of the day they captured a 50-43 victory over Metamora in front of a big crowd. Early on it looked like freshman phenom Elzie Harrington was going have an epic game. The silky smooth combo drained a runner and got to the rim for a reverse layup. Smooth ball handler that gets to his spots to get his shot off. He had 11 points. I continue to be impressed with Kade Bonam. The 6’7” five man has a bright future in the class of 2025. Thick bodied post that was efficient on spin moves, cleaning up on the offensive glass, and all-around low post game. Went for 14 points. Christian Estrada is going to be a nice late pick up at the low-major plus level. Strong five that can stretch the floor with a sweet looking lefty jumper and rebounds well in traffic. Went for 12 points.
Metamora was once again led by 2023 shooting guard Tyson Swanson. The crafty junior drained an array of threes and had nifty finishes at the cup for 19 points. Their top prospect Ethan Kizer Ethan Kizer 6'6" | SF Metamora | 2023 State IL scored 7 points. Flashed off the athleticism in a major way on defense with several blocks and offensively had an alley oop off the backboard to himself in traffic. Did hit one three but didn’t shoot it great overall in the two games we saw. You have to love the athleticism, size, and potential.