7 Prospects We Need to See Early in Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Illinois sees more high school basketball than anyone with our staff.&nbsp; There are still players that slip through the cracks however.&nbsp; Nobody is perfect and can see everyone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a look at some of the prospects that we need to evaluate the most early in the high school basketball season because we have not seen them in person, had a chance to evaluate them on the circuit/camp setting, or maybe the game we saw them they didn't have their best outing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2318123' first='Hank' last='Alvey'] (Illini Bluffs – 2024)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alvey is a prospect that has signed with Lehigh that to be quite frank we have not seen play.&nbsp; The 6'9” post plays at a small school in Illini Bluffs and was not seen by anyone that doesn't attend a certain circuit as that is only events their grassroots team plays in.&nbsp; From the highlights we have seen he moves well for his size, has long arms, and a good frame.&nbsp; Rebounds in his area and is an adept finisher around the cup with some skill potential as a face up five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2318163' first='Wandy' last='Munoz'] (Wheaton Academy – 2024)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Got a tip this fall that this could be a potential sleeper point guard in the 2024 class late in the process.&nbsp; From his hudl film from last year it is obvious that this lead guard can go in the open floor.&nbsp; His speed and transition scoring are his strength along with his quickness in tight spaces.&nbsp; Scrappy defender that impacts at the point of attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1576114' first='Dietrich' last='Richardson'] (Peoria Manual – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Richardson made a huge leap over the summer since we last saw him in their regional loss to Richwoods where he scored six points.&nbsp; We noted at that time he was “a long and wiry wing that showed some slashing pop” in that game, but there wasn't anything that screamed high-major.&nbsp; He has landed a Vanderbilt offer this fall and our central Illinois scout Tyler McAllister recently saw him at an open gym saying, “At 6'6, Richardson has the physical tools to give him a very high ceiling as a lead guard. He has a smooth all around game with good vision and poise as a ball handler.”&nbsp; He will be very highly ranked in our next update after we see him in the first half of the season I have a feeling.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1766506' first='Leshawn' last='Stowers'] (Peoria – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stowers is another central Illinois 2025 we are looking to get a better look at in the season.&nbsp; We saw a small sample of what he could do for Peoria last year and he just missed the cut in our rankings.&nbsp; In the eval against PND he provided a spark as we said, “Keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id='1766506' first='Leshawn' last='Stowers'].&nbsp; The 2025 small forward has a good frame and rebounds well.&nbsp; Good activity level and hit the key three late to tie it as part of his 8 points.”&nbsp; With Brown now at Simeon look for his role to expand.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1874696' first='Cooper' last='Hoffman'] (Pecatonica – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was another good tip we got on a prospect to check out early in the season.&nbsp; The junior point guard is a tough as nails guard that can score in the lane on cuts and putting it on the deck.&nbsp; Also has good form on his shot especially off the catch.&nbsp; Competitiveness jumps off the hudl film from his junior year.&nbsp; Can't wait to see him!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1766463' first='Alex' last='Stell'] (Waterloo – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stell is a five man that caught our attention at a Pure Sweat Camp one year ago, but we didn't see him at all during the summer on the circuit.&nbsp; He is a wide bodied center that is a good shot blocker, moves his feet well in the paint, has touch around the basket, can stretch to three on occasion, and is a good area rebounder.&nbsp; Really want to see how his frame has come along and if he has improved athletically.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1552478' first='Jadin' last='Schilb'] (Champaign Centennial – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a prospect that a couple of our scouts have seen and will definitely be in our next update.&nbsp; Recently Tyler McAllister said of Schilb he is, “A knockdown shooter both off the catch and dribble, Schilb can fill up the stat sheet in a hurry. He has a great feel and a high floor as a prospect with his shooting ability.”&nbsp; Plays with the Fire and was not with them in the in person event I saw them in July.&nbsp; After an early season eval he should make a splash debut in the rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->