Riverside-Brookfield: Teddy’s Saturday Takeaways (Part 1)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Indrusaitis, Pickett Debut for St. Laurence</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was the much anticipated debut of [player_tooltip player_id='1157223' first='Nojus' last='Indrusaitis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1157226' first='Josh' last='Pickett'] wearing black and gold. But it was [player_tooltip player_id='1545122' first='Caleb' last='Lindsey'], a 2025 Wing, who had the hot start for the Vikings, as he buried two 3's in the opening minutes. After that, Nojus stole the show with a contested three and a breakaway slam. He had 9 points at halftime against Schaumburg with the Vikings holding a 27-18 advantage. Nojus stayed hot in the second half as he opened the frame up with a smooth euro step finish. With his physical body, [player_tooltip player_id='1550741' first='Jacob' last='Rice'] showed plenty of grit and toughness attacking the rim and drawing contact. He even hit two three's late in the contest to extend the lead to 18. St. Laurence held on to win 53-38 behind a big second half from [player_tooltip player_id='1550741' first='Jacob' last='Rice'] who scored 16 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1157223' first='Nojus' last='Indrusaitis'] scored 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Look East St. Louis vs Niles North</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Flyers have been one of the most consistent teams in Illinois over the past few years and have reloaded each season. 6'8” Wing [player_tooltip player_id='1750704' first='Davis' last='Bynum'] showed plenty of length at his position. He hit a contested three to begin their first game and showed the ability to score inside too with a hook shot shortly after. By the end of the first half, he was showing off some impressive athleticism with a chase-down block and a transition slam. 2025 PG [player_tooltip player_id='1766471' first='Arlandis' last='Brown'] had 16 first half points and hit a corner three at the buzzer. He's got a solid burst to the hoop with decent size at 6'3” and was able to finish with both hands. Lots of his points came in transition as he filled lanes well and showed a solid burst to the hoop. The Flyers went on a big run to open the second half and ultimately turned a close game into a 20-point contest. Edwin Duling jr came away with a bug turnover late to win the game for Kenwood. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2105191' first='Hunter' last='Gawron'] is a Stock Riser</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Niles North Product continued to be a force on the interior against East St. Louis. He converted both second-chance opportunities and executed well off the pick and roll. But he displayed a new range of skills that I didn't notice before. Gawron displayed a smooth shooting stroke and converted a midrange jumper in the first half while also adding a handful of assists to the stat sheet. He ended with 19 points in a loss to East St. Louis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Look out for 2027 Wing [player_tooltip player_id='2323647' first='Howard' last='Williams']&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw my first taste of the Whitney Young product Friday against Niles North. Incoming freshman hit back-to-back threes to give Whitney Young a 7-point lead in that contest and held on for the win. There's lots of upside with his length and versatility, and I watched him become more active defensively against Bolingbrook Saturday morning. By the second half of that contest, he showed more aggression. He drew a pair of fouls and battled extra hard on the glass. In the final five minutes, Williams had a pair of big blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bolingbrook Beats Young</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was an exciting matchup with guard play being the focal point to start. [player_tooltip player_id='1552475' first='Marquis' last='Clark'] has had an outstanding weekend already and continued to impress with his scoring abilities and athleticism. [player_tooltip player_id='1545124' first='Damajay' last='Richardson'] is a crafty point guard with tremendous ball-handling and defensive abilities. I saw him get on the floor for loose balls and break past defenders for buckets to start things off. On the other side Bolingbrook 2024 PG [player_tooltip player_id='1295497' first='Josh' last='Aniceto'] was everywhere on the floor. He grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds after his own misses while also finding several ways to score early. Aniceto opened the second half with a smooth reverse layup and a flashy assist. 2024 prospects [player_tooltip player_id='1598725' first='Jason' last='Lawani'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1541243' first='DJ' last='Strong'] also made big plays for Bolingbrook. Both have collegiate-level abilities with physicality and athleticism around the hoop. Lawani forced two big jump balls late in the game and converted on a second chance opportunity to extend the lead to 7. A Layup from [player_tooltip player_id='1541243' first='DJ' last='Strong'] made it a 9-point game in the final minute and Bolingbrook would hold on for the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->