Chi-Town Top Off: Teddy’s Sunday Standouts (Part 1)
Here’s some of my top standouts from the Chi-Town Tip Off at the Illinois Basketball academy in Naperville. F Jalen Johnson, DCBA – Dubuque (IA), 2025 I really liked what I saw today from Johnson. He displayed a variety of…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingHere’s some of my top standouts from the Chi-Town Tip Off at the Illinois Basketball academy in Naperville.
F Jalen Johnson, DCBA – Dubuque (IA), 2025
I really liked what I saw today from Johnson. He displayed a variety of skills throughout the day. Showed lots of physicality towards the beginning. He finished some tough baskets through contact down low and drew a couple fouls. Johnson scored 24 points against Glenn Robinson Elite (Team GRIII) in the first game and put in a similar performance later on. I saw him become more of a playmaker and rebounder in his second game. He found open teammates for 3-balls on numerous occasions as DBCA cruised to a 4-0 record this weekend.
F Zack Baszczuk, Michigan Goonies – Chippewa Valley (MI), 2025
Baszcuk is a smaller forward who made an impact all over the floor. The Michigan product had a monster performance on both ends against Illinois Rockets this afternoon. I saw him hit three’s and midrange jumpers from several spaces on the floor. did a great job of finding open spaces to make some easy shots. If he had to finish through contact, he would. On defense, he shined with at least 4-5 steals and a couple blocks. Baszczuk finished with 31 total points and 25 in the first half. IL Rockets had less than 25 points the entire game.
G Isaiah Pickens, DBallers – Curie (IL), 2025
Pickens continued to impress me this morning. He’s a very crafty floor general. I don’t think he committed a single turnover against Road 2 Greatness. What intrigues me most is his jump shot. He hardly gets his feet off the ground when he lets if fly. But his confidence is off the chart. Made almost all his 3-pointers in that game. His best play came at the end. Pickens dribbled out of a double team and attacked the basket with an impressive euro-step finish to seal the win.
F Ador Mawut, B3Athletics – Grand Rapids Christian (MI), 2025
Mawut is an intriguing prospect that stood out to me. He played an excellent game this morning against Iowa Mavs. His first half was sensational. He contributed heavily on both ends. Has a very long wingspan for his size and rejected three shots in the first half and another in the second. Was also able to force lots of turnovers. On offense, he knocked down two three’s with a hand in his face, hit a pull-up jumper, and finished well in transition. Mawut has a tremendous amount of upside.
G Nick Black, Hammond Hurricanes – Bowman Academy (IN), 2024
Black is a very underrated guard from Northwest Indiana. I saw him put on a clinic in Iowa two weeks ago, and he did the same again today. He played very unselfish basketball all day. Got lots of transition buckets early in the first game. Had a really nice play where he drove baseline and found an open teammate running down the paint for an easy layup. On defense, Black blocked back-to-back shots. He continued this effort in the second game against Kessel Heat as Black found open teammates on the fast break and knocked down shots from all over the field.