The Last Dance: Top 17U Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CHICAGO -- </strong>Breaking down some of the top prospect performances in the 17U Division at the Prep Hoops Last Dance...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62dfeb0e1206b","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["981201"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Having picked up a Division 1 offer from The Citadel earlier in the month, [player_tooltip player_id=’981201’ first=’Levi’ last=’Birkholz’] backed up his status as a Division 1 prospect in Chicago. Think the Lakeside Lutheran product has developed into a very well-rounded player. Given the roster makeup of the Crusaders, Birkholz plays point guard, which I don’t think is his most natural position. He gives up a lot of his scoring opportunities to run the offense and create for others. A high-flyer, Birkholz is one of the most explosive athletes in the state. While he’s exciting in the open floor, Birkholz can also score in the halfcourt. He’s developed a reliable jumper from all areas of the floor and learned to take defenders down to the block and use his strength to score through and over people. There are some other prospects pushing, but I just don’t see Birkholz falling out of the top 6-7 in the 2023 rankings.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1012675"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id=’1012675’ first=’Jamiir’ last=’Allen’] had a big weekend for the ABC Young Lions. The Wisconsin Lutheran guard scored it so well and was virtually unstoppable with the ball in his hands. One of the best isolation scorers in the state, Allen uses the basketball court as a dance floor. He’s going to work defenders left to right and keep them guessing. There’s a fine line between being fancy with the ball and over-dribbling. Think Allen walks that line very well. He needs the ball, but isn’t out there taking the air out of the rock. Thought Allen also showed some stuff defensively as well. He was getting into people, making them uncomfortable, and turning up the pressure without fouling.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1024443"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id=’1024443’ first=’A.J.’ last=’Lieuwen’] had a 30-point, three assist effort on Saturday and was outstanding the entire weekend. A prospect that plays with a supreme level of confidence and is all gas and no brakes on the floor, Lieuwen just keeps coming at you. Lieuwen is a very good pull-up shooter and sets up his game by mixing in hesitation, blow-by dribbles. He’s constantly looking and moving downhill, which puts defenders on their heels. Lieuwen is just not going to let a defender dictate the pace and how he’s defended, which is a very underrated quality in my opinion. Because of that, he gets the shots he wants, not the shots a defender is forcing him in to. Lieuwen is a more scoring-minded guard, but he does have playmaking ability on the ball. When he gets two feet in the paint, Lieuwen can force the help and drop off to his bigs. At worse, think Lieuwen is a very good WIAC recruit and should be highly prioritized by those schools. Lieuwen has cooked enough top guards in Wisconsin and the Midwest where he’ll likely get scholarship money thrown his way depending on how long he wants to wait it out.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1024438"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"A prospect that’s just gotten better and better over the last four years, [player_tooltip player_id=’1024438’ first=’Alex’ last=’Sherwood’] did a lot of good things in Chicago. He’s always been able to shoot the rock and was deadly from 3-point range, but the way he’s gotten his shots has changed. Sherwood understands how to get himself open and does it really well as a screener, laying the wood on a defender, forcing his man to help, and then flaring out to the perimeter. Sherwood also improved inside the arc. He’s clearly spent some more time in the weight room, which I think has given him confidence to play more on the rim. Saw the 6-foot-7 forward create some mismatch problems down low. Now that he’s an inside-out threat, Sherwood is a very strong Division 2 prospect. Given his ability to handle the ball a bit and play a little point forward, he could develop into a terrific player at that level.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1019163"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id=’1019163’ first=’Aidan’ last=’Chislom’] remains an intriguing prospect and potential steal for a Division 3/NAIA program. You’re not gonna get many multi-dimensional prospects with this type of size and length at that level. Wisconsin Academy often lets Chislom bring the ball up the floor and make decisions. They’ll put the 6-foot-5 wing in the pick n’ roll and let him work. Caught Chislom against The Collective out of Canada and thought he created a lot of good offense for his teammates. A very smooth ball handler, Chislom can also size up defenders and generate a jumper. Defensively, also saw Chislom defend lot of different types of players and his length was an asset to block shots and play the passing lanes.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["951467"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id=’951467’ first=’Prentice’ last=’Young’] was the best on-ball defender I saw in Chicago. If you play with the ball, expect to lose it against Young. The Wisconsin Lutheran guards has terrific anticipation and his long arms are always getting on the basketball. Young consistently had games of four or five steals, which also generated 8-10 extra points for his team. Young continues to show some flashes with his halfcourt scoring ability. Probably wasn’t as consistent as a jump shooter or finishing at the rim as he wanted to be, but gotta remember he’s just over a year since his torn ACL. Young did have some really nice spurts shooting the ball, able to score of multiple dribbles at times with a hand in his face.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["1043749"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Don’t know if anybody had a better weekend than [player_tooltip player_id=’1043749’ first=’Emmett’ last=’Lawton’]. The Notre Dame sniper had that flamethrower going in Chicago. It didn’t matter who the opposition threw at him, Lawton was getting buckets. Saw some flashes of his high octane offense in Las Vegas a year ago. Lawton has clearly put in a ton of time into his craft since as he’s one of the top shooters in the state. This kid is just completely unfazed by a hand in his face or by physical defense. No matter how he’s defended, the shot is the same every single time. Even with defenders hounding him all over the floor, just never feels like Lawton is under duress. Northern Michigan just offered Lawton and he’ll visit Hillsdale next week. Throughout the live period, Lawton has been torching some pretty good teams and scholarship players. He’s a sneaky good athlete, a two-way player that buys in on the other end of the floor, and few possess his level of shot making.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["1349129"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"This is a sneaky good D3 prospect in the 2023 class. [player_tooltip player_id=’1349129’ first=’Nic’ last=’Williams’] is a very intriguing all-around point guard prospect with good positional size (6-3) and length. Has kind of flown under the radar on a very good La Crosse Central squad and doesn’t play on a mainstream AAU program. Ask the Central program and I think they’ll tell you how integral he is. Just love how Williams was able to bring a group of players along with him. He doesn’t play with probably any other college prospects, but his team was right there in these games. He’s a true floor general that gets his team great shots, can step up and carry the load as a scorer, and does his job, and then some, defensively. Saw in the high school season as well that Williams has some stones. He’s not afraid of the big moment and did some great things while playing at the Kohl Center in an intense environment.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":8,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"edit"} /-->