Hard Work Region Kick Off: Saturday PM Standouts
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After a fun morning in Iowa, top prospects were ready to impress in the afternoon. And impress they did. Here are seven of the best prospects I saw Saturday afternoon/evening at the Hard Work Region Kick Off: Demond Laongoen —…
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Continue ReadingAfter a fun morning in Iowa, top prospects were ready to impress in the afternoon. And impress they did. Here are seven of the best prospects I saw Saturday afternoon/evening at the Hard Work Region Kick Off:
Demond Laongoen — 5-foot-9 — PG — Wisconsin Premier 2024
Laongoen is a true point guard who I thought did a really nice job of keeping his team on track. When things got chaotic, the PG was able to slow down the game and get his team into the right offensive sets. Lightning quick as a slasher, Laongoen did a nice job of isolating his defender and getting to the rim. Also showed off a really nice pull up jumper. He tried to get too fancy with his passes on a couple of occasions, but it is still very clear that he is a talented passer. Scored 21 points in the win.
Jackson Niego Jackson Niego 6'0" | PG Lyons Township | 2023 State IL — 6-foot — PG — Chicago Lockdown 2023
Niego is a true floor general who I was super impressed with on Saturday afternoon. The point guard is capable of scoring, but he prefers to take the back seat and distribute the ball to teammates. Surrounded by phenomenal shooters, Niego does a really nice job of driving into the paint and the kicking it back out to the perimeter. Lockdown’s offense doesn’t work nearly as well when Niego isn’t on the court.
JP Schilling — 6-foot — PG — Quad City Shockers 2023
Schilling was one of my favorite players to watch on Saturday. The point guard is a smooth operator that is very dangerous when he has the ball in his hands. He can do it all. Schilling is capable of breaking down the defense, getting to the rim and finishing a layup. Or he can penetrate the lane and use his tremendous court vision to kick it out to an open teammate. The 6-foot PG is really the full package on the offensive end. Was able to tally 23 points in a win for Quad City Shockers.
Dylan Schmidt Dylan Schmidt 6'4" | SG Johnsburg | 2023 State IL — 6-foot-3 — SG — Chicago Lockdown 2023
Schmidt was rolling on all cylinders for Chicago Lockdown in their second win of the day. The 2023 shooting guard tallied 23 points and displayed all of his skills. He has a smooth stroke from the perimeter, and also showed an ability to finish in the paint. A shooting guard with good size, Schmidt has a lot of potential. He should begin to get some college interest.
Leirre Collier — 6-foot-2 — SG — Chicago Lockdown 2023
I really like the pace that Collier plays at. He is never too fast, never too slow. Just always playing at his pace. The shooting guard did a really good job of getting to his spots and converting on tough shots. To close the first game of the day, he hit a difficult step back three to give his team the win in triple overtime. In his second game, Collier scored an efficient ten points and led his team to another victory.
Matthew Watters Matthew Watters 6'2" | SF Central DeWitt | 2023 State IA — 6-foot-1 — SF — Iowa Mavs 2023
In a tough loss to a really good Chicago Lockdown team, I thought that Watters did a good job of competing and trying to keep his team in the game. The small forward tallied 17 points on eight made shots. I really liked how Watters continued to attack the rim even though his squad was facing a significant deficit for most of the game.
Gregory Smith — 6-foot-5 — PF — Wisconsin Priemer 2024
The potential on Smith is off the charts. Standing at 6-foot-5 with long arms, Smith was really good in the paint on Saturday afternoon. In a win, the power forward was able to tally 12 points on five made field goals, really imposing his will in the paint. If he wants to play at the next level, his outside shot will need to improve, though.