CHICAGO: Friday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CHICAGO -- </strong>News and notes from the Under Armour Finals and Prep Hoops The Last Dance...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Wisconsin PGC 15U Reaches the Quarterfinals</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wisconsin Playground Club won a hard fought 73-71 decision over Texas Impact Friday morning to advance to the quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Center [player_tooltip player_id=’1240335’ first=’Kai’ last=’Rogers’] (Wauwatosa West) led the way with 26 points, including the game-winning steal and free throw. Shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id=’1240337’ first=’Jake’ last=’Hansen’] (Wauwatosa West) pitched in with 18 points, including five triples over the last three quarters. Catching fire in the third, Hansen put PGC in the driver’s seat pretty much the rest of the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62dab8b1667df","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1418518"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guard/wing [player_tooltip player_id=’1418518’ first=’Jeremiah’ last=’Johnson’] (Marquette) made some key plays on both ends. Trailing 14-0 to open the game, it was Rogers who carried things initially, scoring 11 of the first 13. However, Johnson had a three-point play the hard way followed up by a corner triple to tighten things up before the first quarter expired. A stopper defensively, Johnson also set a tone on that end of the floor by generating some stops and turnovers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the quarterfinals, PGC dropped a heartbreaker to WE R 1 out of Delaware.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Wisconsin PGC 16U Wakes Up</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a complete turnaround from Thursday, PGC blasted a very good Martin Bros. team 74-58 in a game that even tightened up quite a bit in the final five minutes or so.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Point guard [player_tooltip player_id=’1142142’ first=’Jaquan’ last=’Johnson’] (Pius XI) came out with a purpose. The strong, electrifying lead guard completely controlled the game. Didn’t matter if it was a make or a miss from the opposition, Johnson came back down the floor hot and heavy. Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points and five assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id=’1089681’ first=’Cole’ last=’Hansen’] (Wauwatosa West) had another solid game. Thought Hansen shot the ball really well, even with a hand in his face. Hansen moves without the ball and feeds off dribble penetration. The mid-range game was working as well. He got defenders to fly ball and hit the defense with a smooth one-dribble jumper en route to an efficient 12 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Opening Night Statement From Team 1848</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I hope this isn’t a hyperbolic statement and it will probably raise some eyebrows, but there’s a case to be made that Team 1848 is the best 17U AAU team in the state. They’ve beaten most of the top teams in Wisconsin decisively and haven’t always been 100 percent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Down [player_tooltip player_id=’1139642’ first=’Vincent’ last=’Vandervest’] (Bay Port), Team 1848 still defeated a very good Chicago Lockdown squad 73-64 on Friday. On paper, 1848 doesn’t have the most stacked roster, but they’ve got some serious offensive firepower and a group of players that aren’t scared of anybody.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id=’1043749’ first=’Emmett’ last=’Lawton’] (Notre Dame) was sensational. He scored 19 points, despite being harassed by the defense. When Lawton decided to go off, it didn’t matter how he was being covered. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1848 also got a breakout performance from small forward [player_tooltip player_id=’1200576’ first=’Mikail’ last=’Harmison’] (Appleton West). A late bloomer that’s finding himself this summer, Harmison dropped 15 points in the first half alone. Harmison has a college ready body, excellent positional size (6-5), and can really shoot the rock from the outside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Guard A.J. Liewuwen (Bay Port) did what he does, chipping in with 15 points. [player_tooltip player_id=’1043748’ first=’Ethan’ last=’Wall-Atim’] (Notre Dame) also made some terrific defensive plays and controlled the glass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Keep Tabs on Przybilla</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A sleeper to watch in 2024 is small forward [player_tooltip player_id=’1258490’ first=’Anthony’ last=’Przybilla’]. He’s nowhere near a finished product, but this could be a potential late bloomer that schools should track.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62dbec1368ada","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1258490"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The long, lanky, smooth wing averaged in double figures last season for Brookfield Academy. He’s got a good burst on his catch-and-rip. The lefty is comfortable going either way off the bounce and uses both hands at the rim. Good feel for the game here as well. Przybilla is unselfish, sees the floor, uses the pass, not the dribble, to jumpstart the fast break, and keeps his head up. Przybilla has some intriguing positional versatility as well, especially defensively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still growing into his body, have to think Przybilla could take off physically in the next year or so. His father, Joel, is a former NBA player that stands at 7-foot-1.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->