Bryce Heard Returns to State

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big news in Illinois high school basketball went down on Monday as high-major prospect Bryce Heard announced he will be making his return to the state!&nbsp; We dive into it here!<br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bryce Heard Returns</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First the backstory.&nbsp; Heard came into high school as one of the more hyped prospects in the 2025 class along with Jeremiah Fears, Melvin Bell, [player_tooltip player_id='1385300' first='Antonio' last='Munoz'], and others.&nbsp; He made an impact early on in our first evaluations of him with the Mac Irvin Fire 14U with his advanced scoring game and physical upside.&nbsp; He saw minutes as a freshman on an always talented Kenwood squad and was looked at to be one of their cornerstone pieces moving forward.&nbsp; Heard then did what so many other top players do including Bell and Fears leaving the state for a national prep school.&nbsp; Heard spent his sophomore season at Montverde in Florida.&nbsp; This powerhouse might be the premier high school program in the country producing high-majors and NBA players year after year.&nbsp; He didn't see much tick on the main team last season.&nbsp; Despite that he remained a nationally ranked prospect with his play during the summer for the Florida Rebels 16U.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HF Becomes State Title Contender</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We asked Heard why he decided to return and why Homewood Flossmoor was the choice?&nbsp; “I came home because I felt like that was the best decision for me and my family.&nbsp; I picked HF because that's my hometown with a good team around me and a good coach.&nbsp; I feel like we can do something special this year.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was already going to be a good squad at HF this season, but with Heard it takes them into a state title caliber level.&nbsp; It starts with senior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] who is one of the more athletic lead guards in the senior class who can impact the games in so many ways.&nbsp; Class of 2025 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1774274' first='Jayden' last='Tyler'] took a big jump this summer emerging as a potential D1 prospect.&nbsp; I am a huge fan of 2026 power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2105369' first='Jacob' last='Thompson'] who broke out with Vikings United and will break into the top 15 overall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From a senior standpoint they have a quartet of prospects including Cobb.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1488791' first='Carson' last='Brownfield'] is a power scoring lefty that is a flat out bucket.&nbsp; Three and D wing [player_tooltip player_id='2104827' first='Dominic' last='Pagallo'] put his name on the map during June.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1598706' first='Gakobie' last='McNeal'] is a rangy combo forward.&nbsp; Lewis commit [player_tooltip player_id='1750706' first='Donald' last='Hagemaster'] provides a presence inside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Boost to 2025 Class</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The addition of Heard also gives a major boost to the class of 2025 as a whole.&nbsp; With Fears and Bell leaving it opened the race up for #1.&nbsp; It really came down to a three player battle between [player_tooltip player_id='1385292' first='Phoenix' last='Gill'] (St. Ignatius), [player_tooltip player_id='1385283' first='Aleks' last='Alston'] (Kenwood), and [player_tooltip player_id='1385300' first='Antonio' last='Munoz'] (Whitney Young).&nbsp; These rankings were just released with those three in the order above being at the top of the board last week. Heard will definitely be in the conversation for the top spot in our next update after we get to see him play with HF during the first half of the season and our scouts will be watching him during the fall as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Most Recent Eval</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We didn't get to evaluate Heard during his sophomore season, but were able to check him out at the prestigious Nike Elite 100 Camp.&nbsp; Here is what we saw from the new Homewood Flossmoor shooting guard!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Heard had his best showing on the final day.&nbsp; The Chicago native was aggressive taking it to the cup finishing with scoop shots and acrobatic finishes through and around shot blockers.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fall League Debut</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heard made his debut on Monday night in HF's fall league.  Our friend Scott Comeau from BallisLife has the highlights!<br><br><a href="https://twitter.com/BallisLifeCHI/status/1696490354072027312?s=20">https://twitter.com/BallisLifeCHI/status/1696490354072027312?s=20</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->