Havoc in the Heartland: Scotty B’s Saturday Notebook

What a day of basketball it was at Fishers High School for Day 2 of the Prep Hoops Havoc in the Heartland! Time to examine what we saw in our in-depth write ups. Here it is Havoc in the Heartland: Scotty B’s Saturday Notebook!   Mac Irvin Fire 16U Flexes Muscles to Close Out All Area Basketball We started the day off with the Mac Irvin Fire’s EYBL recording a 63-56 over All-Area Basketball’s talented 16U squad. The most consistent presence was once again Calvin Robins. The bouncy four man is an explosive finisher that threw down massive dunks and was a factor defensively while recording 18 points. His high school teammate at Kenwood point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1285533" first="Edwon" last="Duling"] had another strong showing building off his play in Minnesota. Crisp passing, pushed in the open floor, and got to the rim for 10 points. On the wings they got scoring production from [player_tooltip player_id="1157226" first="Josh" last="Pickett"], [player_tooltip player_id="1285483" first="Niko" last="Newsome"], and Chris Riddle at different times. Top 10 2024 in-state post [player_tooltip player_id="1157346" first="Jaden" last="Smith"] flashed on the glass and rim running. Braden Robertson is definitely a name to track for All Area Basketball out of Indiana. The wing is a plus shooter that let it fly with confidence consistently as we had him for 16 points. [player_tooltip player_id="1275827" first="Jayden" last="Furney"] also did the same with a plethora of bombs for 16 points.   Fire 15U Go 1-1 in Our Evals of Them Saturday Caught a couple games from the Mac Irvin Fire 15U squad on Saturday. They topped Gateway Knights 62-55 and then fell narrowly to D1 Indiana 65-61. Not surprisingly their top performer was [player_tooltip player_id="1385293" first="Bryce" last="Heard"]. The potential top 50 national talent is a gifted perimeter scorer that can really get to the rim with burst and silky smooth handles. Rockford Christian point guard Christian Cummings continues to see his stock rise each time we see him with his athleticism, playmaking, and consistent three point shooting. Their most impressive big man was [player_tooltip player_id="1285519" first="Stefan" last="Cicic"]. The 2025 reclass big man is a strong bodied five that anchors down low, plays physical, boards, and has touch in the paint. A new name to watch here is going to be Elijah Lovemore from St. Laurence. The athletic two guard showed two way potential with his scoring pop and how easy the game seemed to come to him.   Illinois Wildboyz 16U Intriguing Wings A new program we caught for the first time on Saturday was Illinois Wildboyz as they scored a 66-59 victory over Team GRIII Black at the 16U level. Jeffrey Flemming from Plainfield North proved to be a versatile scorer netting 19 points as he can score in bunches. Oswego shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1295535" first="Jordan" last="Brooks"] is an effortless scoring guard that had feathery touch on a jumper while also displaying playmaking as a distributor. Benet’s Ewola Moukoulou brought toughness and a ton of defense for the Wildboyz!   M14 Adidas 16U 1-2 Punch Liked what we saw out of a couple of prospects that first caught our attention back in the fall at the M14 workout. Playing for their Adidas 16U team [player_tooltip player_id="1295542" first="Bryce" last="Welch"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1295644" first="Treshawn" last="Blissett"] led the win in a 54-44 over Team Takeoff. Blissett is a long and lanky 6’5” small forward from Waubonsie Valley with elite athleticism and long strides that cover a lot of ground off the bounce as he had 14 points. Naperville North 5’10” floor general [player_tooltip player_id="1295542" first="Bryce" last="Welch"] has such an excellent feel for the game with his passing loves to operate in the mid-range as a pull up shooter or distributor.   Full Package Routs Two More in Their Spring of Dominance This squad from Illinois could make the claim as the best team on the PHC this year. The Full Package Black 17U train continued to roll along with wins over NEBC 67-47 and Chicago Lockdown 76-50. Also they might be without their top player and it was no problem at all. In the first win Lemont point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1279762" first="Matas" last="Castillo"] took over with his scoring especially with his creativity in the open floor. Such an acrobatic finisher as he had 18 points. Rolling Meadows five man [player_tooltip player_id="1215298" first="Mark" last="Nikolich-Wilson"] went to work in this one as well with 14 points on a pair of threes and crafty finishes around the hoop to go with his usual elite distributing as a passer! Aidyn Boone from Libertyville had one of his best games of the spring against NEBC stretching the floor and playing tough in the paint. Benet’s [player_tooltip player_id="1215311" first="Nikola" last="Abusara"] continued his monster spring with two really good games. Against Lockdown he hammered several dunks including a monster tip slam. His versatility as a defender and offensive skill as a passer to go with his athleticism make him an intriguing prospect. He had 17 points in their last game of the day.   Sleepers All Over Floor in Illinois Battle of First Step Redhawks vs Full Package White Another new team we saw for the first time was the First Step Redhawks 17U as they defeated Full Package White 71-67. North Lawndale’s Lavar Spann has a ton of potential. The long and bouncy shooting guard is a 2024 that is playing up. Nailed an array of threes with ease and showed upside as a two way player. He had 12 points. Another wing that caught our attention was Tyshawn Moore. The other North Lawndale prospect to track is a lanky two guard that has a nice pull up game and mixed in drives while playing solid defense as he had 18 points. Neveah Clickscales is a smaller scoring guard that brought energy with his quickness and downhill attacking for 12 points. Full Package White tried to comeback in this game. Ari Schencker was a lights out perimeter threat hitting seven triples in route to 27 points. The New Trier guard carried them for stretches. [player_tooltip player_id="1295469" first="Dillon" last="Schmidt"] from St. Viator is a scrappy guard that was active defensively and sneaky scoring off the bounce for 20 points. Another standout was Northside Prep wing Andrew Jarzyna who dropped 17 points.   Chicago Lockdown Goes 0-2 But Spring Stock Risers Still Show Promise In the two games we saw Chicago Lockdown 17U they fell to fellow in-state opponents, but there was definitely an array of positives to take from those games. Johnsburg 2023 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="1215299" first="Dylan" last="Schmidt"] continued his terror of three pointers as the quality sized wing knocked in threes in bunches with his concise shot while driving it when he was closed out on. [player_tooltip player_id="1215285" first="Matthew" last="Moore"] went for 16 points against the Fire including making some big time plays late knocking in spot up threes, finishing dump offs with his quickness, and boarded well.   Mac Irvin Fire National 17U Tops Texas Swish 86-76 This one started a little late, but was worth the wait! The Fire National team has everything from unsigned senior big man [player_tooltip player_id="1048717" first="Marcus" last="Overstreet"], to top 5 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="939069" first="Davius" last="Loury"], under the radar wing [player_tooltip player_id="1279761" first="Nashawn" last="Holmes"], to phenom 2026 incoming freshman Tim Winkler. Let’s go in order of age. Whitney Young center [player_tooltip player_id="1048717" first="Marcus" last="Overstreet"] was overshadowed by their two star interior players during the high school season, but we believe with a year of prep or JUCO he could go D1. Legit size with excellent touch around the hoop. He had 17 points. Kenwood forward [player_tooltip player_id="939069" first="Davius" last="Loury"] went to work in the first half as he scored 13 of his 14 points. Threw down several dunks in transition and on straight line takes. Mixed in floaters and hit a couple threes. Was mostly an iso scorer in this one. Homewood Flossmoor combo guard [player_tooltip player_id="1279761" first="Nashawn" last="Holmes"] really helped his stock with a strong game. He shot is excellent creating his own jumper along with using his burst and strength to finish in the paint for 29 points. Star 2026 power forward Tim Winkler is headed to IMG in Florida for his freshman year. In the game we saw he was not intimidated playing against guys way older. Blocked several shots, rebounded in traffic, and had a nice spin move. Later that night in their final game of the day he had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Super star written all over him! Texas Swish point guard Marhawn Vann is a blur with the ball in his hands. The smaller guard won with crisp ball handling and blow by speed for 10 points. Also liked what we saw from Terrance Warren who netted 18 points. Two guard with an explosive scoring ability from all three levels getting where he wanted with ease.   Team GRIII 17U Spring Excellent Continues over Indy Nets It was another outstanding outing for Team GRIII as they beat another in-state foe from Indiana on Saturday. The balance and wings continue to be the story. This time it was [player_tooltip player_id="868239" first="Cooper" last="Farrall"] who drained eight threes on his way to 30 points. [player_tooltip player_id="814532" first="Brandon" last="Trilli"] continues to impress with his combination of skill and athleticism going for 18 points. Purdue commit Myles Colvin mixed in some monster plays above the rim along with crisp jump shooting for 15 points on the INB side.   Mac Irvin Fire 17U EYBL Wins Behind Top 2023 in Illinois Big time players step up in big time games. That’s what top ranked Illinois 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="939050" first="Darrin" last="Ames"] did. The Fire are not at full strength this weekend, but when they needed him against Lockdown he put them on his back and carried them across the finish line. As usual it was his spin cycle driving, difficult layup making, transition play, and getting to the line that made the difference in their victory. His backcourt mate from this past season unsigned senior [player_tooltip player_id="1276139" first="Darius" last="Robinson"] had it rolling knocking in an array of pull up twos and threes for 19 points.   Quick Hitters [player_tooltip player_id="1285495" first="Malcolm" last="Morris"] from Urbana High School in Illinois stood out for EG10 at the 16U level. The center was efficient with his post scoring particularly with a hook shot and was a sound offensive rebounder. Drew Shivley and Ben Slagley were quite a duo for D1 Indiana 15U in their win on Saturday. Shivley is a projectable two guard that played well in the open floor including a give and go along with an effortless score in transition. Went for 11 points. Ben Slagley is a thick bodied 6’2” shooting guard that put them on his back and carried them to a win over the Fire. Tough scores inside and battled on the boards against taller opponents as he had 22 points. Despite the loss it was the single best performance we have seen from wide bodied five man 2023 Declan Ryan of NEBC 17U. He had it all working finishing dump offs, short jumpers, threes, and was efficient with his post moves going for 25 points. Devonte Reed is a 2024 that jumps off the floor with his athleticism and slashing ability. Loves to take it on the baseline to try to bring the hammer down. Went for 11 points.