Grit Region Final: Teddy’s Friday Notebook
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MAC Too Much For IL Attack I opened the weekend with MAC Basketball (Ohio)’s 2025 team in action against IL Attack – 3. MAC had the momentum for the vast majority of this contest. Josiah Bowen-Pride Josiah Bowen-Pride 6'3" |…
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Continue ReadingMAC Too Much For IL Attack
I opened the weekend with MAC Basketball (Ohio)’s 2025 team in action against IL Attack – 3. MAC had the momentum for the vast majority of this contest. Josiah Bowen-Pride Josiah Bowen-Pride 6'3" | SF Oberlin | 2025 State OH opened with a layup, and Ethan Jean hit a three in the corner right after. JBP followed it up immediately with a three and added two blocks defensively. Giving them a quick 11-2 advantage. After a quick run by IL attack, PG Taylor Blanton Taylor Blanton 5'11" | CG Elyria | 2025 State OH knocked down a pair of shots. Showering tremendous confidence driving baseline towards the hoop, and hit a contested pull-up three shortly after. Josiah Bowen-Pride Josiah Bowen-Pride 6'3" | SF Oberlin | 2025 State OH and 2026 standout Zymir Knox Zymir Knox 6'3" | SG St Edwards | 2026 OH continued to stand out as the game went on. JBP displayed excellent athletic abilities on both ends. He was a ferocious rebounder and continued to block shots. He even got up for a fast-break slam offensively in the first half. In the second half, he created a handful of scoring opportunities and flashed outstanding footwork for someone with his build. But I really liked 2026 Guard Zymir Knox Zymir Knox 6'3" | SG St Edwards | 2026 OH . Playing a year up, Knox flashed so much potential in this contest. Offensively, he displayed excellent footwork to get to the rim. Early in the contest, he faked out a defender with a turnaround jumper, and followed that up with a really impressive euro-step finish driving down the lane. Later in the game, he hit a big and-one over two taller defenders to keep MAC up comfortably. They held on to win 68-60. Bowen-Pride scored 16 and Knox scored 17 in the game.
Teague 2025 Felder Blows Out MBC
I missed the first portion of this game due to the previous contest running behind. Teague held a really early lead when I got there and were just so hard to keep pace with. Their players were so explosive in the open floor. Especially Mark Zackery Mark Zackery 6'0" | PG Ben Davis | 2025 State #398 Nation IN IV, Cedric Horton Cedric Horton 6'4" | SG Richmond | 2025 State #321 Nation IN , and Caden Loescher. Horton and Lescher were putting on quite the dunking clinic early on. They both showed some insane bounce and got up for a handful of flashy slams down the lane. Marc Zackery even had a fast break dunk too. But more importantly, he was an outstanding decision maker. No decision was a bad one for Zackery. As a defender, almost nobody could break past him in the opening half. Showing a good example of why he’s one of the top cornerbacks in the country for football. He moves his feet really well and has an excellent vertical to force difficult shots, which he did so well in this opening contest. He turned that defense into a variety of buckets on offense. Not only did he hit a pair of three’s, but he has an explosive first step down the lane with a nice layup package. As the game went on, Cedric Horton Cedric Horton 6'4" | SG Richmond | 2025 State #321 Nation IN extended his range and buried a contested three. You also saw Shane Sims hit a pair of three’s to reach 21 points in the game. Sims has an athletic build for a combo-guard with nice ball skills and three level-scoring abilities. Teague won big 81-51.
Full Package 2025 Gold Beats 1-Dream
This was the third time this July watching this Full Package team. But it was the first time I watched 1 Dream from Bradley, IL. Braylon Gray Braylon Gray 6'1" | PG Grant Community | 2025 IL had a strong start for Full Package . He opened with a three and used a quick first step for a smooth layup driving baseline. They held an early advantage but Willie Felton Willie Felton 6'1" | PG Bishop McNamara | 2025 IL kept 1 Dream in it. Displaying an excellent dribble package and a fake behind-the-back pass as part of a transition layup. Samuel Hirsch Samuel Hirsch 6'3" | SG Fremd | 2025 State IL , who’s been very productive for Full Package this month, hit a contested three to give them a double digit lead late in the opening half. To further extend the lead, Guard Aidan Bardic Aidan Bardic 6'3" | PG Stevenson | 2025 State IL made some great off-ball cuts to the rim in he first half. Also showed off a really strong touch and a quick release. Just seemed really comfortable with the ball and had so much confidence in himself. He was the leading scorer in the opening frame, and began the second half with a big burst down the lane for two more. He even added some no-look passes in transition, which something I didn’t expect from him. Package continued to extend the lead with 6’11” big man Colin Stack Colin Stack 6'9" | C Benet | 2026 State IL draining a three from the top of the key. They won by over 20 as Bardic scored 13 and Gray scored 15 in the contest.
Ohio United Rolls Past IL Storm
Heading into this contest, Illinois Storm 2025 Blue had won ten of their previous twelve games. They faced off against Ohio United McClure in their opening game. A team with plenty of size and athleticism. I was really impressed with United’s Kruz McClure Kruz McClure 6'6" | SG Westerville South | 2025 State #183 Nation OH early on. The 6’5” wing is super lengthy and opened the game with two three’s, a put-back finish, and an assist driving baseline. Helping give United a quick 16-5 lead. Dominic Theado Dominic Theado 6'5" | PF Bishop Watterson | 2025 State OH also started strong. Displaying excellent footwork down low and using a good amount of strength to power his way to the hoop. Scoring 11 in the first half. It took no time for United to go up 20. As a team, they were big on defense. Constantly communicating, cutting off lanes, and winning the rebound battle. They also showed plenty of speed in transition to force missed shots. This eventually gave them plenty of numbers on offense. Everyone was getting involved and feeding off one another in the second half. They eventually led by over 30 as this game became a runaway. Winning 72-34.
Ritzel, Marlow, Peterson Propel 15U IL Bears Keen
This was a very high-tempo game to start as each team reached double figures in less than three minutes. For the Bears, Nathaniel Marlow hit a pair of corner threes in the opening minutes, while Hudson Moyer carried Mid Mo with a driving dunk and a three to kick things off. But shortly after, it was the Bears who took control. Maddox Ritzel Maddox Ritzel 6'3" | SG Nashville | 2026 State IL made a handful of plays early on. Showing off some nice cuts down the lane and a smooth touch around the rim. He also showed some range with a corner three of his own late in the opening half, and added another in the second half. But Gage Peterson Gage Peterson 6'6" | SF Waltonville | 2026 State IL from the Bears impressed me the most. He’s a strong, elusive athlete at 6’5” who found so many ways to put his team over the hump. Attacking the rim, he showed off a really impressive spin-move driving down the lane and added a few off-ball runs to get open inside. He later added a mid-range jumper to the scoreline. On defense, he forced too many misses to count while being very active on the boards. He positions himself very well and found success guarding all five positions. Peterson even helped his teammates out by creating driving lanes off the pick and roll and adding a handful of assists to his stat sheet. IL Bears won 70-62. Ritzel and Peterson each scored 19 while Marlow scored 18.
EG10 ‘ last=”] 2026 Runs Past DNA
I ended the evening watching Eric Gordon’s EG10 ‘ last=”] squad face DNA Basketball Indy. It took no time for EG10 ‘ last=”] to go up 11 with a handful of contributors. Robert Reddick Robert Reddick 6'1" | SG Ben Davis | 2026 IN displayed some really nice midrange abilities early on. Hitting a pair of shots near the elbow, which included a mid-range fadeaway. Markeith Drane, a bigger-bodied guard, exploded down the lane for a big slam in the opening minutes too. Showing off something you wouldn’t expect from a player like him. James Craig also converted a four-point play to further extend the lead. Excellent interior post play from Munachimdianma Newman-Nwodika would soon make it a 20-point contest in the opening half. Throughout the contest, he excelled at finishing through contact, drawing fouls, and moving his feet down low. Brandon Addison Brandon Addison 5'9" | PG Brownsburg | 2026 State IN had a lot of scoring opportunities too. He was super explosive in transition with a quick burst down the lane. Accumulating a handful of buckets. Late in the game, 6’3” F Keylan Smith Keylan Smith 6'4" | SF Park Tudor | 2026 State IN came out of nowhere to block a shot off the backboard. They were up over 30 at this point and wouldn’t look back from there.