Chi-Town Tip-Off: Ramsey’s Friday Notebook

<p>And just like that we have the first night of the Prep Hoops Circuit Chi-Town Tip-Off in the books. With just three rounds of games on Friday evening the action went by fast. However, we still were able to breakdown a handful of games and fill the notebook up with some quick takeaways. Let’s empty it all out before getting back at it again on Saturday.</p> <h2>Mac Irvin Fire, Team GRIII Elite Earn Big Wins</h2> <p>Right from the moment the Chi-Town Tip-Off began two of the more talented teams at the event built big leads and cruised to 20 and 30-point wins respectively. Mac Irvin Fire 2023 had a little bit closer game for most of the way before pulling away late. However, their talent was undeniable with a couple of top national prospects suiting up for the weekend. [player_tooltip player_id="939077" first="Javonte" last="Taylor"], a Top 5 prospect in the country was playing alongside 4-star wing [player_tooltip player_id="868218" first="Jalen" last="Hooks"], and 4-star Top 50 guard [player_tooltip player_id="939050" first="Darrin" last="Ames"]. Taylor finished with 12 points, all in the second half, while Hooks added 15 points. However, it was the 6’3" left-handed guard Ames who led the way with 18 points in the victory.</p> <p>Over on Team GRIII’s court, they would build a 30-point lead by the half time break and eventually had the game called with a couple of minutes still remaining. After a big shooting performance at The Stage in Indianapolis, [player_tooltip player_id="868237" first="A.J." last="Lux"] stayed hot knocking in seven three-pointers for a game-high 21 points. [player_tooltip player_id="868239" first="Cooper" last="Farrall"] and [player_tooltip player_id="814532" first="Brandon" last="Trilli"] added 19 and 17 points respectively in the easy win in front of their namesake Glenn Robinson III who was in attendance.</p> <h2>Unsigned Seniors Shine for Full Package Select</h2> <p>A trio of unsigned senior prospects were the standouts for Full Package Select 2023 in a close win over Big 3 Athletics 2023. 6’10" center [player_tooltip player_id="1428902" first="Arnas" last="Sakenis"] finished above the rim, dominated the glass, and protected the rim. 6’8" forward Dick Rutatiak is an elite athlete with every physical tool you could possibly want. Out on the wing, 6’3" Bobby Gray should the ability to drive the basketball and finish around the basket. All three of these guys will find homes at various levels of college basketball and have a chance to make an impact.</p> <h2>Team Rose 2024 Impresses With Loads of Talent</h2> <p>Wow! This Team Rose 2024 3SSB group is loaded with talent. There are a lot of prospects to talk about here so we might as well just list them off.</p> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1282464" first="Malachi" last="Johnson"] is an excellent shooter that filled it up from mid-range and beyond the arc on Friday night. He flat out knows how to score.</li> <li>Also out on the wing, Graham Lathan showed off strong shooting prowess in his own right with a consistent jumper that found the bottom of the net. Both Johnson and Lathan have solid size on the perimeter as well.</li> <li>Arguably the most impressive prospect of the entire evening was 6’6" wing/forward [player_tooltip player_id="1157224" first="Mike" last="Jones"]. Jones is a supremely talented athlete ranked in the Top 10 of Illinois’ Class of 2024 according to Prep Hoops Illinois. Extremely high-upside.</li> <li>Randy Johnson was another wing that impressed. The 6’3" explosive athlete had some excellent drives against the closeout and finished in a variety of ways at the rim. Yet another athletic, talented player on this Team Rose squad.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1285486" first="Tristan" last="Ford"] is another name to watch from this team. He made multiple tough step back shots and showed the ability to create separation with ease off of the dribble. </li> </ul> <h2>Other Notes</h2> <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="870262" first="Cayden" last="Vasko"] continued his strong spring for Team GRIII Elite. The unsigned senior is a 6’4" guard that can really shoot it and has excellent passing ability. Scholarship level talent that still is available.</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="1049172" first="Dylan" last="Derda"] played well in a win for 5Star 2023-Windy. A 6’6" forward, Derda rebounded outside of his area, played good positional defense on the block, and scored 15-20 points in the game. High upside big man for small colleges to keep an eye on this spring.</li> <li>Though they took it on the chin against an uber-talented Team Rose squad, I really liked what I saw from [player_tooltip player_id="1295644" first="Treshawn" last="Blissett"] for M14 Hoops 2024 Adidas Gold. Blissett possesses good size and length on the wing at 6’4", handles the ball very well, and finished from intermediate range and in. Very versatile prospect.</li> </ul>