XposureRuns: Chitown Showcase – Talent Speaking For Itself

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today I had the opportunity to attend the Second Annual XposureRuns: Chitown Showcase. This Showcase was an invite only event, held in the middle of the city featuring players from across four different states. (IL, IN, IA, PA) Out of the 39 athletes that were in attendance, 8 of them are committed to compete at the Division-1 level already while 11 others currently hold Division-1 offers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This event had a little bit of everything. It had high-level players, great people, a welcoming environment, and an atmosphere that you would need to see to believe. This Showcase is rapidly becoming one of the best throughout the city of Chicago and it's only going to become more popular as time goes on. With that being said, over the next few days I will be highlighting multiple players from this event that stood out to me.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The four players below are all competitors that displayed their talent at a high level in this Showcase on Saturday. Each player held their own and demonstrated to college recruiters that their talent can fit into whatever system needed. I believe each of these players have collegiate ability on the court but they will need to go out this winter and prove me right. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"JaQuan Ratliff","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Hillcrest ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"At this event there were all types of players out there competing on the floor. One that played u0022under the radaru0022 a bit little more than others was JayQuan Ratliff. Ratliff is a 6'0 Ft Point Guard that understands his own value and abilities. Throughout the day on Saturday, Ratliff was setting up his teammates for success on and off of the ball. On several occasions, he brought the ball down the floor, passed it off to the wing, cut through the middle, and received a pass on the other end for an easy bucket. Defensively he displayed a quick first step with good knowledge as to when he should go for a steal, compared to when he should sit back and wait for the opponent to bring the ball to him. Overall, I'm a fan of Ratliff's game. He is the type of player you can plug into any system and I think he could make it work successfully. He isn't going to hurt you with bad turnovers or major mistakes and in the end, you can trust him to make the selfless play for his teammates. Those are some things you can't necessarily teach from a coaching perspective and they should be noted moving forward.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1288916"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"There were four different states being represented in this Showcase and the man representing the state of Iowa at the SF position was [player_tooltip player_id='1288916' first='Cailen' last='Shadrick'] of Bettendorf High School. Shadrick had a slow start to the day but picked it up when it turned in tournament play. He did a little bit of everything for his squad which was exactly what was needed. Shadrick was drafted onto a team that had multiple Division-1 commits and he still did a consistent job of standing out in his own ways. If he wasn't scoring the ball, he was finding teammates in the open court. If he wasn't going up for a rebound, he was beating his opponent down the floor for an easy look, working smarter instead of harder. All in all, Shadrick did a good job of showing his game-style throughout the day. He demonstrated that he was skilled in most facets of the game and at the same time, if he wasn't scoring, he was the biggest supporter of the teammates that were. I think that speaks volumes about not just who he is as a player, but more-so who he is as a person in general.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["2104984"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"I have briefly spoken about [player_tooltip player_id='2104984' first='Samar' last='Bures'] before this because of his athletic ability but he is much more than just an athlete. Bures is a competitor. Someone who wants to win and he is going to give 100% of his efforts to help his team accomplish that. On Saturday, Bures started the day with some impressive dunks in warmups. This is something that I would not usually mention but when someone who is 5'9, is throwing down windmill dunks consistently, it should be noted. After warmups is when Bures really got it going. He displayed a tight handle when attacking his opponents hips off the dribble with the ability to go either direction incase his defender were to cut him off.  Defensively, he is a menace. Someone who wants to take away the air you have slowly throughout a contest. He has active hands that help him create a lot of tips/deflections and that was on full display Saturday. I'm not sure what type of college interest Bures may have currently but I'd be surprised if he doesn't see a collegiate floor one day. He is skilled in a few ways out there.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1437017"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Want to talk about a kid with a high ceiling and some raw talent? Look no further than [player_tooltip player_id='1437017' first='Ehi' last='Ogbomo']. From the small sample size I have seen, Ogbomo displays a lot of potential in his game. He is a Point Guard standing around 6'0 FT but he is extremely athletic and talented with the ball in his hands. Not only does Ogbomo display all the intangibles you'd want him to as your point guard, he also can fly above the rim for monstrous dunks and he isn't afraid to mix it up with bigger players at the rim. On more then one occasion at this event, Ogbomo was stripping the ball on defense and taking it the other way for a big time jam. There were several college committed players in attendance and Ogbomo did a good job standing out above most of them at the PG position. Hopefully he can ride this moment into the high school season at Plainfield East but we will just have to wait and see.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-653fd6900c822"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":2258825,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-28-at-8.53.23-PM-1.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-28-at-8.53.23-PM-1.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2258825" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->