Chi-Town Tip Off: Scotty B’s Saturday Notebook

<p>Saturday was a full day of basketball at the Prep Hoops Chi-Town Tip Off.  We recap it all here in <strong>Chi-Town Tip Off: Scotty B's Saturday Notebook</strong>!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>JJ Taylor Saves The Day in Mac Irvin Fire 17U Comeback vs M14</strong></p> <p>M14 looked like they were going to pull the shocker with a win against Mac Irvin Fire as they stormed out to a big lead.  Then the Fire settled in and slowly began to work their way back in the contest.  In the end Javonte Taylor was just too much!  The five-star 2023 All-American put his team on his back and carried them.  Slender built forward has a feathery jumper reminiscent of a KD/KG type shot.  Hit an array of those along with dunks and ultimately with the game tied the drained a pull up from the baseline off a designed play where he dribbled behind his back for the W.  We had him for 21 points.  Francis Parker 2023 point guard Payton Pitts contributed in the victory making some key plays in the second half on both ends of the floor scoring and defensively.</p> <p>M14 was led by [player_tooltip player_id="1431502" first="Ethan" last="Andre"] who was straight money in the first half.  The Belvidere North 5'10” point guard dropped 16 points in the contest including a plethora of threes.  Also liked what we saw from [player_tooltip player_id="1371088" first="Lawson" last="Walker"] with his physical slashing and [player_tooltip player_id="1266542" first="Jimmy" last="Rasmussen"] who hit some key threes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mac Irvin Fire 16U Has Major Bounce</strong></p> <p>The Mac Irvin Fire certainly play above the rim at the 16U level!  Kenwood power forward Calvin Robins leads the way there with his explosiveness off the floor.  A ridiculous athlete that threw down some hammer two handed jams.  Went for 20 points.  Jayden Miles is a bouncy four man that totally looks the part from Kentucky.  He also swatted shots and finished above the rim.  On the perimeter they got contributions from West Aurora's [player_tooltip player_id="1157226" first="Josh" last="Pickett"] who got them going early with his shooting.  Then wings Chris Riddle and [player_tooltip player_id="1285483" first="Niko" last="Newsome"] had their pull up games going in their win over Team Ten. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Chicago Legend Jabari Parker Helps Coach Team Ten</strong></p> <p>No denying that one of my favorite players I ever covered was Jabari Parker.  The Simeon, Duke, and NBA star was at the beginning of my career and we grew up together during his four years at Simeon.  It is so cool to see him have his own program and really coaching them.  They have some nice prospects.  Brother Rice point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1172894" first="Tre" last="Dowdell"] had it cooking in the game we saw.  Lead guard that can get in the lane for runners, to the charity stripe, and drain deep threes.  Went for 16 points against the Fire.  Simeon power forward [player_tooltip player_id="1285494" first="Ameer" last="Morrow"] has a lot of intriguing tools.  Just like his older brother Ed he is an undersized four that plays with a high-motor, rebounds in traffic, and is explosive around the hoop.  Went for 13 points.  Whitney Young shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1157220" first="Sean" last="Brown-Coley"] has an old school game where he is crafty scoring and using his frame to shield defenders.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mac Irvin Fire 15U Backcourt Has the Goods</strong></p> <p>We caught pieces of a couple games from the Fire 15s on Saturday.  Their backcourt is the real deal.  Kenwood's [player_tooltip player_id="1385293" first="Bryce" last="Heard"] is in serious contention for the top spot in Illinois' 2025 class.  Silky smooth bucket getter that can score from all three levels.  Christian Cummings from Rockford Christian is really coming on strong with his creativity as both a scorer and passer.  Their star from Kentucky Kaden Magwood is the real deal with an effortless offensive game shooting and knocking down shots from deep.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Meanstreets 15U Explosive Wing Trio</strong></p> <p>The Meanstreets 15U is led by three potential top 100 prospects in the 2025 class nationally.  Let's start with the out of state prospect.  Michigan native Trey McKenney we got to see for the first time and the powerfully built two guard was phenomenal!  He hit threes with ease and used his physicality to punish defenders in the paint for 23 points.  Whitney Young's [player_tooltip player_id="1385300" first="Antonio" last="Munoz"] has a great frame and the athleticism shined through greatly with his open floor game running and dunking.  In the first game we saw St. Rita superstar 2025 and contender for #1 in the state [player_tooltip player_id="1385285" first="Melvin" last="Bell"] had his moments using his springy bounce and quickness with the ball in his hands to score around the rim.  In their second game however he suffered a serious knee injury going up for a slam.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Melvin and his family as he recovers.  Such a great player and even better young man.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Inside Outside Duo Leads Team Rose 17U to Win Over Illinois Elite</strong></p> <p>Team Rose was in a close one with Illinois Elite where they scratched out a narrow victory.  Simeon point guard [player_tooltip player_id="939059" first="Jalen" last="Griffith"] continues to produce.  This kid has the “it” factor.  Can create threes for himself pulling up, floaters, makes regular trips to the line, and flat out makes others better.  Went for 19 points in the win closing it out at the line.  Inside his big man Hillcrest's [player_tooltip player_id="939051" first="Darrion" last="Baker"] continued his momentum over from last week.  Euro steps off the bounce, top of the key threes, and excellent footwork on post moves led him to 15 points.  Michigan guard [player_tooltip player_id="1277369" first="Malik" last="Olafioye"] is a born bucket getter.  So natural with the way he scores especially from the perimeter as he had 15 points.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Illinois Elite 2023 small forward [player_tooltip player_id="1215293" first="Mekhi" last="Doby"] from Rockford Guilford had his feathery shot working as well.  Did a great job getting to the spots he wanted and rising up over defenders for shots.  18 points for him.  Xavier Harris of Colorado also impressed.  The point guard has slick handles and was a force scoring in the paint throwing up crazy difficult shots that he made in the 22 point outing.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Team Rose 16U Trio to Track</strong></p> <p>Caught the Team Rose 16U in a couple games and three prospects really stood out.  First and foremost, top 10 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="1157224" first="Mike" last="Jones"] lived up to every bit of that.  Against [player_tooltip player_id="1157230" first="Morez" last="Johnson"] he took it right at him not backing down.  Used a nice face up game winning off the bounce for scores in the paint.  His footwork and quickness in the paint are breath taking.  Defensively he is a high level shot blocker, mobile defender, and quality rebounder in traffic.  He had 16 points in that game.  It was [player_tooltip player_id="1285486" first="Tristan" last="Ford"] for from Rockford Boylan that in the first game had it going.  Slick handling lefty guard who loves the James Harden step back was bombing in triples along with pushing the pace in transition.  Curie power forward [player_tooltip player_id="1157229" first="Taevion" last="Collier"] is a strong bodied post that continues to improve and round out his post-game.  Tenacious rebounder that now has a nice combination of power and finesse moves to go to</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Meanstreets 16U Dominant with Top 3 2024s in Illinois</strong></p> <p>Saw the two games of the day for the stacked Meanstreets 16U squad.  The boast the top three players in the state's 2024 class and they did not disappoint!  Lemont's [player_tooltip player_id="1157223" first="Nojus" last="Indrusaitis"] ripped off 11 in a row to start Meanstreets off in their first win.  High level shot maker that has the burst to get to the cup whenever he wants.  Advanced moves and feel for the game.  He had 19 against Team Rose.  Illini commit [player_tooltip player_id="1157230" first="Morez" last="Johnson"] almost brought the rim down on a couple of dunks.  Explosive four that is so quick and powerful in the paint finishing.  Also mixed in some rim running, put backs, and a mid-range jumper.  Top ranked [player_tooltip player_id="1157228" first="James" last="Brown"] had his moments as well in the two games.  Such a nimble athlete for how big he is as he loves the euro step and can handle it in the open floor.  We will go in depth on everyone else throughout the week, but also wanted to mention Hillcrest's [player_tooltip player_id="1285479" first="Isaiah" last="Green"].  Tough as nails and is a big time defender.  Pushes the pace at the lead guard spot and can hit open shots.  He had 11 points against Team Rose.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Full Package 17U Tops Mac Irvin Fire in Front of Electric Atmosphere</strong></p> <p>Last game of the night we caught the second half of this thriller between Full Package and Mac Irvin Fire at the 17U level.  After what Full Package did last weekend in Indy you knew they were ready for this one.  The pulled out the win behind a well rounded effort.  New Trier shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1215287" first="Jake" last="Fiegen"] hit big threes one after another in a 14 point outing.  Rolling Meadows big man [player_tooltip player_id="1215298" first="Mark" last="Nikolich-Wilson"] had everything run through him with his passing and he also scored 11 points.  The toughness, athleticism, and two way play of [player_tooltip player_id="1215311" first="Nikola" last="Abusara"] made the difference as the Benet wing scored 10 points.</p> <p>Javonte Taylor put on a clinic when we were watching him hitting such difficult and contested shots along with getting to the rim for 25 points.  Nobody else was in double digits.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>15s That Caught Our Attention</strong></p> <p>Wanted to quickly hit on a trio of 2025s that caught our attention starting with Makai Kwamme (Full Package 15U) who had 15 points against Meanstreets consistently getting to the rim for difficult buckets. Nevah Hawkins (Chicago Hoops 15U) jumped off the floor with his positional size and the way he skied above the rim.  Then Justin Bowen (Team Rose 15U) is a scoring guard from Lincoln Park that has some natural gifts you can't teach as a bucket getter.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sleeper 2023s</strong></p> <p>Schurz point guard Cortez Harris had some magic with the ball for Clippers Nation.  Dynamic ball handler that made acrobatic layups.  On the other side for Kessel Heat Caden Suchy and Mark Braun from Fremd stood out as a nice 1-2 punch for next high school season.  The Illinois Hoopstars got production from Loyola combo forward [player_tooltip player_id="1215305" first="Jason" last="Asante"] who was a versatile weapon on both ends.  Von Steuben big man [player_tooltip player_id="1113520" first="Kevin" last="Anthony"] is an athletic big that is primed to breakout next season.  Don't want to leave out Andrew High School 2023 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1295570" first="Austin" last="Kulig"].  The 6'6” wing showed some athletic pop and a clean stroke to work with.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What about the 2024s?</strong></p> <p>A couple 2024s that caught our attention included Brook Town Force power forward Henry Martinez.  The Oak Lawn power forward was efficient with his touches scoring in the paint on cuts and rim runs as he played up on 17s.  M14 16U had a couple nice players in Waubonsie Valley small forward [player_tooltip player_id="1295644" first="Treshawn" last="Blissett"] and Batavia guard CJ Valente.  Blissett is an athletic three man that has the potential to be a three and D guy.  Valnte made three after three to keep his team in the game.</p>