Pinckneyville Showcase: Scotty B's Notebook

PHI took in the Pinckneyville Showcase on Saturday! We recap it all here in our notebook! Don't have a subscription?  Try it out at a special discounted rate of 30% by using code “Scottburgess30”. 2026 Forward Continues to Impress in Waltonville OT Win We first saw Waltonville 2026 6'4” small forward [player_tooltip player_id='1552409' first='Gage' last='Peterson'] at a Pure Sweat camp where he shined against upperclassmen. Did the same in this one as he led his team to a 40-38 win over Chester in OT. Peterson posted 19 points and 12 rebounds. Skilled forward with projectability scored out of post, hit a three off movement, and crashed the glass hard. Good athlete with footwork around the hoop. Like what he showed as a passer and connector. Best freshman I've seen in the 618. Also got help from junior guard Makabe Devor getting to the rim and hitting game winning free throws for 11 points. Chester had a 2025 6'3” small forward in Devante Palacio who put his name on our radar. Strong bodied wing is an effective mid-range shooter who boards. He had 14 points. Senior guard Chance Mott caught fire in the second half. Good shooter with creativity in open floor for 11 points. Parker Goes 20/20 in Robinson win What a performance for Robinson 6'6” power forward Aidan Parker who transferred downstate from Chicago for senior season. He went for 21 points and 20 rebounds in a 76-58 win over Meridian. He was relentless on the glass high pointing them and snatching the ball with two hands. Granted Meridian didn't have anyone over 6'0”. Looked more comfortable offensively with the ball in his hands and making quick moves inside for buckets. Also was excellent throwing outlets on the money like Patrick Mahomes! Says no one is really recruiting him. Small colleges and JUCOs get on him. Skilled 6'5” forward [player_tooltip player_id='1476090' first='Cooper' last='Loll'] had a nice outing as well with 24 points and 6 rebounds. Solid shooter with size showed more to his game especially off the bounce. Big dunk, sweeping takes, and hit the glass. Upperclassmen guards Judson Pinkston and Nate Wernez provided stable play on the perimeter with 13 and 11 points respectively. Meridian got 30 points from one of the top small school scorers in the state [player_tooltip player_id='1744139' first='Roderic' last='Gatewood']. At 5'7” he is definitely on the smaller side but has a strong compact build. Shifty handle scoring in the lane, on 15 footers, and floaters. Does a nice job of drawing and finishing through contact. Hit a pair of threes. Worth consideration at the D3, NAIA, and JUCO levels. Another senior guard 5'10” Tristan Mackins showed fluid handles and could hit an open three for 13 points. Marion Senior Has Epic Shooting Performance What a shooting display Marion 6'4” senior shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1744068' first='Evan' last='Noelle'] put on in the first half scoring 26 of his 30 points in the opening two quarters. He had it flowing with jumper after jumper. Threes off the catch and movement. Crisp pull up jumpers getting to his spot and rising up over defenders. Clean release and nothing but net! Threw down a nasty alley oop to open fourth but overall was quiet in second half. Showed good passing feel for a wing and contributed on glass. Watch out for a pair of 2025s on Marion in 6-2 shooting guard Kaden Rogowski and lead guard Reece Anthony.  Rogowski netted 10 in the win.  Anthony is more of a pass first lead guard. Newton's top performer was 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2407948' first='Caden' last='Nichols']. Crafty scorer that did most of his damage of 18 points off the bounce. 2024 Posts Go At It As Mascoutah Defeats Eureka This game was all about the big men in the junior class as Mascoutah narrowly defeated Eureka 48-45. Mascoutah 6'5” five man Miles Ntekop looks physically more like a football lineman, but he balled out on the hardwood. Carved out space inside for deep post position and seals. Hit the offensive glass while scoring 19 points. Eureka 6'4” 2024 power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2318226' first='Tyler' last='Heffren'] has more stretch to his game connecting on a of pair of threes and 15 footer. Good footwork around hoop in 14 point performance. Cruz Helps Centralia Cruise to Comeback Win Centralia got down early against Triad but slowly cut into it. In the second half 2024 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1750716' first='Cruz' last='Harlan'] took over leading them to a 51-39 victory. The 5'9” lead guard is a dynamic ball handler with a flair for passing. In the first half the Orphans weren't converting his passes. In the second half they were! Range on his three point shot with clean mechanics off catch and bounce. Went for 22 points. Big men Titus Ashford and Dustyn Collins did the dirty work inside and finished dump off passes. Early on for Triad 2023 small forward [player_tooltip player_id='1055130' first='McGrady' last='Noyes'] had it rolling! Spin move in paint, cuts off the ball, and then he got in foul trouble finishing with 9 points. Jake Stewart was their leading scorer with 10 points. Couple threes along with an and-1. Pinckneyville and Teutopolis Tangle in Battle of Small School Blue Bloods   The last game of the night was host Pinckneyville vs Teutopolis which are two of the premier small school programs in southern Illinois. Pinckneyville took home the victory 51-40.  They got contributions across the board.  Junior 6'6” center Karsen Konkel had it working early with his physical game scoring on the block for 12 points.  Like what 6'5” power forward [player_tooltip player_id='1476144' first='Reid' last='Harriss'] can bring to a small college program.  Skilled forward with hook shots, good mid-range game, and uses his length defensively blocking and contesting as he had 7 points.  New name jumped on radar in 2025 shooting gaur [player_tooltip player_id='2321427' first='AJ' last='Keith'].  He had a big dunk off a steal and provided a huge spark for them in the second half.  Good athlete that slashes for scores at the cup and has solid size at 6'4”.   Teutopolis was led by 6'6” big man Caleb Siemer.  Thick bodied five man played with power around the hoop sealing and hitting the glass.  Showed touch on his jumper hitting a three from the top of the key as well as a pick/pop 18 footer en route to 11 points.  He was complimented by Brendan Niebrugge and James Niebrugge on the perimeter who each had 7 points.

PHI took in the Pinckneyville Showcase on Saturday! We recap it all here in our notebook! Don't have a subscription? Try it out at a special discounted rate of 30% by using code “Scottburgess30”.

2026 Forward Continues to Impress in Waltonville OT Win

We first saw Waltonville 2026 6'4” small forward Gage Peterson Gage Peterson 6'6" | SF Waltonville | 2026 State IL at a Pure Sweat camp where he shined against upperclassmen. Did the same in this one as he led his team to a 40-38 win over Chester in OT. Peterson posted 19 points and 12 rebounds. Skilled forward with projectability scored out of post, hit a three off movement, and crashed the glass hard. Good athlete with footwork around the hoop. Like what he showed as a passer and connector. Best freshman I've seen in the 618. Also got help from junior guard Makabe Devor getting to the rim and hitting game winning free throws for 11 points.

Chester had a 2025 6'3” small forward in Devante Palacio who put his name on our radar. Strong bodied wing is an effective mid-range shooter who boards. He had 14 points. Senior guard Chance Mott caught fire in the second half. Good shooter with creativity in open floor for 11 points.

Parker Goes 20/20 in Robinson win

What a performance for Robinson 6'6” power forward Aidan Parker who transferred downstate from Chicago for senior season. He went for 21 points and 20 rebounds in a 76-58 win over Meridian. He was relentless on the glass high pointing them and snatching the ball with two hands. Granted Meridian didn't have anyone over 6'0”. Looked more comfortable offensively with the ball in his hands and making quick moves inside for buckets. Also was excellent throwing outlets on the money like Patrick Mahomes! Says no one is really recruiting him. Small colleges and JUCOs get on him. Skilled 6'5” forward Cooper Loll Cooper Loll 6'6" | PF Robinson | 2023 State IL had a nice outing as well with 24 points and 6 rebounds. Solid shooter with size showed more to his game especially off the bounce. Big dunk, sweeping takes, and hit the glass. Upperclassmen guards Judson Pinkston and Nate Wernez provided stable play on the perimeter with 13 and 11 points respectively.

Meridian got 30 points from one of the top small school scorers in the state Roderic Gatewood Roderic Gatewood 5'9" | PG Meridian | 2023 State IL . At 5'7” he is definitely on the smaller side but has a strong compact build. Shifty handle scoring in the lane, on 15 footers, and floaters. Does a nice job of drawing and finishing through contact. Hit a pair of threes. Worth consideration at the D3, NAIA, and JUCO levels. Another senior guard 5'10” Tristan Mackins showed fluid handles and could hit an open three for 13 points.

Marion Senior Has Epic Shooting Performance

What a shooting display Marion 6'4” senior shooting guard Evan Noelle Evan Noelle 6'5" | SF Marion | 2023 State IL put on in the first half scoring 26 of his 30 points in the opening two quarters. He had it flowing with jumper after jumper. Threes off the catch and movement. Crisp pull up jumpers getting to his spot and rising up over defenders. Clean release and nothing but net! Threw down a nasty alley oop to open fourth but overall was quiet in second half. Showed good passing feel for a wing and contributed on glass. Watch out for a pair of 2025s on Marion in 6-2 shooting guard Kaden Rogowski and lead guard Reece Anthony. Rogowski netted 10 in the win. Anthony is more of a pass first lead guard.

Newton's top performer was 2024 guard Caden Nichols Caden Nichols 6'3" | SG Newton Community | 2024 IL . Crafty scorer that did most of his damage of 18 points off the bounce.

2024 Posts Go At It As Mascoutah Defeats Eureka

This game was all about the big men in the junior class as Mascoutah narrowly defeated Eureka 48-45. Mascoutah 6'5” five man Miles Ntekop looks physically more like a football lineman, but he balled out on the hardwood. Carved out space inside for deep post position and seals. Hit the offensive glass while scoring 19 points.

Eureka 6'4” 2024 power forward Tyler Heffren Tyler Heffren 6'4" | SG Eureka | 2024 State IL has more stretch to his game connecting on a of pair of threes and 15 footer. Good footwork around hoop in 14 point performance.

Cruz Helps Centralia Cruise to Comeback Win

Centralia got down early against Triad but slowly cut into it. In the second half 2024 point guard Cruz Harlan Cruz Harlan 5'9" | PG Centralia | 2024 State IL took over leading them to a 51-39 victory. The 5'9” lead guard is a dynamic ball handler with a flair for passing. In the first half the Orphans weren't converting his passes. In the second half they were! Range on his three point shot with clean mechanics off catch and bounce. Went for 22 points. Big men Titus Ashford and Dustyn Collins did the dirty work inside and finished dump off passes.

Early on for Triad 2023 small forward Mcgrady Noyes Mcgrady Noyes 6'4" | SF Triad | 2023 State IL had it rolling! Spin move in paint, cuts off the ball, and then he got in foul trouble finishing with 9 points. Jake Stewart was their leading scorer with 10 points. Couple threes along with an and-1.

Pinckneyville and Teutopolis Tangle in Battle of Small School Blue Bloods