Grit Region Finals: Teddy’s Saturday Notebook (Part 2)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Catching IL Bears Barrington vs [program_tooltip program_id='2076935' first='Team' last='Teague']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With eight 15U championship matchups going on, I played close attention to the [program_tooltip program_id='2075532' first='Illinois' last='Bears'] Barrington squad face off against [program_tooltip program_id='2076935' first='Team' last='Teague']. It was the Bears who had the nice start. This Bears squad has really good size and athleticism that should not be overlooked. I was a big fan of [player_tooltip player_id='2105204' first='Aidan' last='Anderson'] early. The 6'9” F got it done both inside and stretching the floor early. He could have had eight points in the opening minutes if it wasn't for a missed goaltending call. [player_tooltip player_id='1545141' first='Kyrese' last='Lukens'] was so confident as a slashing point guard. He's an excellent athlete with a really strong physique and showed that with several explosive finishes at the basket. But [player_tooltip player_id='1296998' first='Cedric' last='Horton'] had another nice start for Teague. He's gained so much confidence with his shooting this weekend and opened the game with a pair of 3's and some free throws. He reached double figures in a matter of minutes. [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] continued to shine defensively and got bouncy for a two-handed slam too. Later in the game, Zackery got going off the midrange before IL Bears crawled back in it. With less than 5 mins to play, [player_tooltip player_id='1578468' first='Shane' last='Sims'] hit a bug baseline jumper to push Teague's lead to 8. In the final two minutes. [player_tooltip player_id='1296998' first='Cedric' last='Horton'] put the exclamation mark on the contest with a posterizing slam. Teague won 63-52.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Another Look at 2025 IL Bears (Waters)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The teamwork, ball movement, and consistency from IL Bears is what caught my attention the most against Memphis Knights. I really liked the defensive work early on from Griffen Becker. He blocked a couple of shots and positioned himself really well on the boards. They only allowed 10 points inside in the first ten minutes and much of that was thanks to him. The Bears also drew so many many fouls with a conversion rate of over 90%. The guard play of [player_tooltip player_id='1297043' first='Jack' last='Turner'] and Kaden Rackers was also impressive. Both were so fast in transition and were unfazed by trying to score over bigger defenders. 6'2” G Coryion Lewis-Keen also found his groove and made several confident drives to the hoop. He was the first Bears player in double figures, which didn't come until late in the second half. Around that time, 6'5 F Elliott Rakers stepped up and hit some bug shots. He worked well to create separation off the pick and roll and added a three at the top of the key. Giving the Bears a 6-point lead in the final three minutes. A steal off an inbound from Reckers and a three from Turner helped seal the deal. Winning 67-58.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16U [program_tooltip program_id='2228160' first='OPS' last=''] Gray Falls to BNB in OT</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Due to the Bears-Knights game running so late, this game was already at halftime by the time I showed up, with BNB holding a 9-pt lead. But it was a different story early on in the second half. 6'2” G [player_tooltip player_id='2053671' first='Sean' last='Davenport'] got bouncy and threw down a fast-break dunk. His fifth made field goal in as many attempts. A minute later, he made a powerful drive down the lane to score over two defenders. This made it a 2-point game just minutes into the second half. Ian Cooksky, a lengthy 6'4” Wing, made a really nice euro-step in transition to put [program_tooltip program_id='2228160' first='OPS' last=''] in front. This also put him in double-figures. 6'2” G [player_tooltip player_id='2415186' first='Elijah' last='Wright'] showed so much speed up the floor and was very confident in transition. With three minutes to go, he drew contact and knocked down two big free throws to cut the deficit back down to 2. On the next possession, he created space off a screen for an easy layup to tie the game. [program_tooltip program_id='2228160' first='OPS' last=''] forced a turnover on defense with 30 seconds left. Wright hit a corner three to take the lead. But BNB went back the other way and forced OT just seconds later. BNB won in OT with Mhkai Brooks scoring 21 to lead the way. [player_tooltip player_id='2053671' first='Sean' last='Davenport'] scored 18 and Ian Cooksky scored 17 for [program_tooltip program_id='2228160' first='OPS' last=''].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>IL Warriors Blows Out IL Orange in 16U</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched Illinois Orange and Illinois Warriors in my first 16U silver pool action of the tournament. For Warriors Elite, 2025 Point Guard Naz Leverson was the name to watch. Despite only being 5'8”, Leverson is super crafty with the ball. He nearly broke a kids ankles in the opening minutes for an open three and made new defenders collide shortly after that. I was also a big fan of his ball movement. He knew exactly how to command the offense and was big at getting his guys involved. One of those guys was 6'4” 2025 F Ryheem Tyus. He displayed excellent three-level scoring abilities early on and even made plays as a passer. He was the lengthiest guy on the floor and it paid off in the rebound category. This helped the Warriors get off to a double-digit lead before halftime. Later in the game, Gage Shafer got more involved. He put back a pair of misses and knocked down a couple free throws to help put the warriors up comfortably. Ryheem Tyus continued to shine on the low block and picked up many more buckets in the second half. He finished with 18 points in a blowout win while Leverson added 24 and 20 in the first half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->