The Last Dance: Scotty B’s Friday Notebook
PHI was at M14 on Friday for The Last Dance. This is the final event on the Prep Hoops Circuit slate and also a live period in which there were over 80 college coaches in the building on Friday. Here…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingPHI was at M14 on Friday for The Last Dance. This is the final event on the Prep Hoops Circuit slate and also a live period in which there were over 80 college coaches in the building on Friday. Here we look at what we saw in The Last Dance: Scotty B’s Friday Notebook!
High-Major Big Man Shows Out Late as LA Broncos 16U Tops Big 3 Hudson
In the first game of the day we saw a thriller as the LA Broncos won 78-75. Two of the better 16U squads we have seen on the PHC squared off and in the end the best player on the floor stepped up when it mattered most. Trey’Dez Green is a 6’8” power forward that used his athleticism and size to overwhelm his opponent. His quickness and explosiveness in the paint was absolutely insane as he snatched rebounds, threw down dunks, and ran the floor like a pro in a 26 point outing. His 2025 running mate Xavier Ferguson got them going early with a barrage of threes and drives off the bounce finishing with 19 points.
Big 3 was led by York point guard AJ Levine. The lead guard has such a crisp pull up game. Went coast to coast and overall just got to the rim where he made an array of crafty finishes or scoop shots. Lyons 6’6” Brady Chambers is a four man to track. Floor stretching shooter that rim runs and hits the offensive glass. Alec Schmidts put his name on our map in this one as the Barrington 6’4” small forward shot it well and has positional size.
Fundamental U 16U Has New Names Emerge in Win Against EG10
Next up was Fundamental U as they took on EG10 and got a 69-43 victory. Early on it was Nick Taylor who put them on his back. The 6’5” forward did most of his damage around the hoop including a nice dunk in transition along with hitting the glass going for 16 points. On the perimeter Braden Carlsen from Wauconda and Nate Kasher out of Glenbrook South did the job. Carlsen is a scrappy guard that isn’t afraid to stick his nose in to get a rebound and hit a pair of threes for 18 points. Kasher was a big time three point shooter hitting five of them in a win for 15 points.
Malcolm Morris from EG10 is an Illinois prospect out of Urbana. The power forward rebounded well, got to the line, and showed good hands on the interior catching passes in traffic. He had 15 points. Matthew King was their point guard who runs the show while also scoring particularly shooting it well hitting three triples for 15 points.
Sleeper Prospects with Positional Size Lead M14 Adidas Gold 17U to Win
M14 Adidas Gold looked good in a 60-50 W over Pac Elite. Marmion Academy small forward Anthony Haith at 6’4” is such a versatile prospect. He has a feathery jumper from both 2 and 3. Pushes in the open floor playing some on the ball and dished the rock well going for 15 points. Charlie Farrell is a great small college big man prospect at 6’9” that runs the floor and plays like a true big man recording 14 points.
For Pac Elite it was Allen Mujcinovic who caught our attention in the first half with how well the combo forward shot it. Unsigned senior from Lockport scored all of his 14 points in the first half including four triples.
Coleman Leads Illinois Stars 17U
The Illinois Stars captured a 61-53 victory against North Florida United on Friday afternoon. Class of 2023 small forward Bryce Coleman had an outstanding game. The strong and physical wing can really score it from all three levels as a straight line driver or jump shooter. He finishes very well using his strength at the cup going for 16 points in the victory. D1s need to be giving him more attention.
Team 1848 17U Looks Like Golden State Warriors Shooting in W vs Chicago Lockdown
This was one of the best games of the day! Chicago Lockdown jumped out early, but Team 1848 stormed back shooting about as well as humanly possible winning 73-64. The shooting performance that went down was flat out incredible particularly from a trio of the 1848 standouts. Mikal Harmison is a strong bodied 6’5” small forward that scored some at the rim with and-1s, but also hit five threes en route to 20 points. Emmett Lawton was also on point from distance draining five as well for 19 points. Anthony Lieuwen is another scoring guard for this squad that gets buckets notching 15 points. In total they hit 14 threes in the victory.
Joliet West 2023 power forward Matthew Moore looked the part of a D1 big man in a 24 point performance. Athletic big man with good strength that rebounds in and out of his area. Worked well in the pick/roll along with hitting multiple mid-range jumpers and a three. Marist combo guard Lierre Collier was effective in transition along with several straight line takes in the half court. He had 17 points.
In-State Battle Ends in Illinois Jaguars Buzzer Beater
Fun game here between two quality Illinois program that saw the Illinois Jaguars pick up a 90-88 W against Flee Club. For the Illinois Jaguars they got big contributions across the board. Former Orr standout Caleb Hannah is headed to Victory Rock Prep in Florida next season. He scored the game winner as the buzzer sounded. Versatile four man that plays inside and out finished with 16 points. Michelle Clark wing Katrell Weekly is a plus defender that pushes off steals in transition for 14 points. Whitney Young combo guard Marcus Pigram is the top prospect on this team. He is an excellent downhill scorer that posts up about as well as any guard in the state and plays bully ball on drives for 10 points.
Flee Club was led by Proviso East shooting guard Jaloni Johnson. Super athletic scoring guard that was in score at all cost mode in this game! He is a quality three point shooter pulling up with deep range. Also hit an array of pull ups for 27 points. Big time scoring threat that is primed for a monster senior season. He was helped on the perimeter with the electric play of Michelle Clark point guard Cordy Johnson. Quick and athletic guard got hot from deep finishing with 27 points.
Louisville Legends A2P 16U Showout!
The two prospects we were most looking forward to seeing in this game didn’t play, but one had a much larger impact on his team as Louisville Legends knocked off Basketball Paradise 79-58. Jacob Tucker for Louisville Legends had it working on the perimeter with his lefty shot, crafty finishing, and handles in the open floor.
High-Majors Watch Wilkins Dazzle While Breakaway Wins in 16U Border Clash
There were multiple Big 10 programs on the baseline for this one checking out Caden Wilkins from the Iowa Barnstormers. Despite Wilkins big outing Breakaway won 62-50. The biggest reason for that was the sharp shooting and all-around play of Palatine 6’6” forward Connor May. The rising junior has an effortless shooting stroke off the catch or creating on his own. Got on the offensive glass and mixed in some nifty finishes around the cup for an easy 28 points. Talen Pearson is a 6’5” small forward that is the young brother of Tagen who we covered several years back at Nazareth. The younger brother has an athletic frame and game to match. Smooth handle and a capable shooter as he had 10 points.
Wilkins came out aggressive for the Barnstormers and the 6’5” 2024 shooting guard looked every bit a top 100 prospect nationally with the way he performed. Strong frame with the ability to finish absorbing contact while also draining threes in bunches going for 19 points. Their big man Asher Wade sometimes goes under the radar, but we like what we see with this true five with his size, strength, and how he plays his roll. Rebound, play defense, run the floor, and finish dump offs as he did for 12 points.
Stars Basketball Club 16U Forwards Ones to Track
Saw the first half of this game where Stars Basketball Club jumped out early behind a pair of intriguing forwards. Brady Shoulders is a 6’5” small forward that can flat out shoot it from deep. Plus shooter with size that can also pass it in transition. Daniel Cochran is a 6’7” four man that is active on the defensive end and often got to the foul line.