Friday Night Gems
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Prep Hoops Illinois takes you all around the state for some of the top performances on Friday night! It includes highly ranked prospects along with under the radar sleepers from small schools. We know that you can’t see everything so…
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Continue ReadingPrep Hoops Illinois takes you all around the state for some of the top performances on Friday night! It includes highly ranked prospects along with under the radar sleepers from small schools. We know that you can’t see everything so PHI gathers up all the info you need in one convenient spot. These are our Friday Night Gems!
Brady Chambers Brady Chambers 6'7" | PF Lyons | 2024 State IL (Lyons)
Chambers is one of the more underappreciated low-post players in the senior class. The strong and skilled big man had 22 points against Hinsdale Central on Friday night.
Camden Cerese Camden Cerese 6'2" | PG Lake Park | 2024 State IL (Lake Park)
The state’s top senior point guard continues to roll along posting 22 points in their win against Batavia.
Nasir Rankin Nasir Rankin 6'2" | SG Whitney Young | 2026 State IL (Whitney Young)
Rankin led the Dolphins in their 92-45 win over North Lawndale with 22 points.
Rykan Woo Rykan Woo 6'1" | PG Whitney Young | 2026 State IL (Whitney Young)
Woo also had a good game for Whitney Young dropping 13 points and 5 dimes.
Kyrese Lukens (Herrin)
The Herrin star scored his 1,000 point of his career on Friday night as a junior!
Ian Miletic Ian Miletic 6'5" | SF Rolling Meadows | 2025 State IL (Rolling Meadows)
The Rolling Meadows star junior scored 16 points along with an offer from Marquette after the game!
Gavin Escobedo Gavin Escobedo 6'2" | SG Rolling Meadows | 2025 IL (Rolling Meadows)
Another junior with a good game for the Mustangs as he netted 16 points as well.
Chander Mueller (Trenton Wesclin)
Big night for the junior guard from the 618 scoring 15 points.
Cooper Koch Cooper Koch 6'8" | PF Metamora | 2024 State #81 Nation IL (Metamora)
The Iowa commit and Player of the Year candidate stepped up for 24 points and 10 rebounds vs Mt. Zion.
Lyncoln Koester Lyncoln Koester 6'3" | SG Mt. Zion | 2025 State IL (Mt. Zion)
Massive game for the junior despite the narrow loss to Metamora scoring 26 points.
JC Anderson JC Anderson 6'7" | C Mt. Zion | 2026 State IL (Mt. Zion)
The dual sport star in the 2026 class was a force down low in their game against Metamora with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Dalton Scantlebury Dalton Scantlebury 6'8" | PF Lane Tech | 2025 State IL (Lane Tech)
Scantlebury is making a major leap in next weeks 2025 rankings release. He continues to earn it with 16 points and 18 rebounds vs Orr.
Jason Jakstys Jason Jakstys 6'10" | C Yorkville | 2024 State #141 Nation IL (Yorkville)
The Illini commit played big in a win against Romeoville with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Jory Boley Jory Boley 6'3" | SG Yorkville | 2024 State IL and Bryce Salek Bryce Salek 6'5" | SF Yorkville | 2024 State IL (Yorkville)
These two wings also played a major role in 57-49 win over Romeoville scoring 11 each.
Brent Taylor Brent Taylor 6'3" | SG Lincoln Way East | 2025 State IL and BJ Powell (Lincoln Way East)
Nice win for LWE against Stagg 60-50. Rangy junior wing Brent Taylor Brent Taylor 6'3" | SG Lincoln Way East | 2025 State IL had 16 points while sophomore scoring guard BJ Powell had 17 points.
Morez Johnson Morez Johnson 6'9" | PF Thornton | 2024 State #33 Nation IL (Thornton)
Illini commit continues to show why he should be a McDonald’s All-American with a dominant 21 point and 19 rebound effort vs Crete Monee.
Carlos Harris Carlos Harris 6'1" | SG Curie | 2024 State #283 Nation IL and Will Gonzalez Will Gonzalez 6'5" | SF Curie | 2024 State IL (Curie)
The 1-2 senior punch for Curie continues to roll as they won 79-74 at Quincy Shootout vs Millard North as Harris had 22 points and Gonzalez notched 21 points.
Docker Tedeschi Docker Tedeschi 6'8" | PF Benton | 2025 State IL (Benton)
The junior power forward from Benton had 33 points, 7 blocks, and 8 rebounds against Meridian.
Josh Fridman Josh Fridman 5'10" | PG Glenbrook North | 2024 State IL and Owen Ginnoulias (Glenbrook North)
Good win for GBN over Evanston as the new Illinois Wesleyan commit Fridman had 27 points and Ginnoulias dropped 18 points.
Bryce Heard Bryce Heard 6'6" | SG Homewood Flossmoor | 2025 State #86 Nation IL , Gianni Cobb Gianni Cobb 6'0" | PG Homewood Flossmoor | 2024 State IL , Carson Brownfield Carson Brownfield 6'5" | SF Homewood Flosmoor | 2024 State IL , and Jayden Tyler Jayden Tyler 6'0" | PG Homewood Flossmoor | 2025 State IL (Homewood Flossmoor)
The perimeter quartet for HF was at it again as Heard (17 points), Cobb (15 points), Brownfield (15 points), and Tyler (15 points) spread the wealth in a win over Lincoln Way Central.
OJ Powell OJ Powell 6'2" | PG Willowbrook | 2026 State IL (Willowbrook)
Willowbrook scored a victory on Friday night behind super athletic sophomore wing OJ Powell OJ Powell 6'2" | PG Willowbrook | 2026 State IL who had 22 points.
Ian Winkler and Connor Sullivan (Olney)
Winkler and Sullivan each came up big for Olney in a win against Casey-Westfield.
Hank Alvey Hank Alvey 6'9" | C Illini Bluffs | 2024 State IL and Toby Cooper (Illini Bluffs)
The Lehigh commit Alvey led the way for Illini Bluffs against Peoria Christian with 24 points while Toby Cooper notched 23 points.
Malachi Persinger and Gavin Walder (Peoria Christian)
Despite the loss to Illini Bluffs this duo had solid games with Persinger contributing 14 points and 7 dimes while Walder had 12 points.
Reggie Ray Reggie Ray 6'2" | PG St. Ignatius | 2024 State IL and Phoenix Gill Phoenix Gill 6'3" | SG St. Ignatius | 2025 State #72 Nation IL (St. Ignatius)
The 1-2 punch for Iggy made it look easy as Ray had 14 points and Gill notched 12 points in a blowout win against St. Rita.
Levi Goad Levi Goad 6'2" | PG Prairie Central | 2024 State IL (Prairie Central)
Keep an eye on this guard who can impact on both ends as he had 13 points in a loss to Pontiac.
Hudson Kirby Hudson Kirby 6'5" | SF Geneva | 2025 IL (Geneva)
Big performance on Friday from Kirby posting 25 points and 13 boards in a win against Wheaton Warrenville South.
Jack Dempsey and Donte Montgomery Donte Montgomery 6'2" | SG Oak Lawn | 2025 State IL (Oak Lawn)
Pair of smooth scoring wings put up buckets against Lemont despite the loss as Dempsey notched 18 points and Montgomery had 17 points.
Kelton McEwen Kelton McEwen 6'2" | PG Wheaton St. Francis | 2024 State IL (Wheaton St. Francis)
One of the top shooting lead guards in the state had a 20 point night against Providence Catholic in a W!
Zerrick Johnson Zerrick Johnson 6'2" | PG St. Laurence | 2025 State IL and Bradley Stratton Bradley Stratton 6'1" | SG St. Laurence | 2025 State IL (St. Laurence)
The wing duo had it working on Friday as each of them racked up 17 points.
Jaxson Davis Jaxson Davis 6'1" | PG Warren | 2027 IL and Javerion Banks Javerion Banks 6'1" | SG Warren Township | 2025 State IL (Warren)
Star freshman Davis led the way dropping 22 points while junior wing Banks had 17 in a 79-66 win against Libertyville.
Kam Sweetnam (Tuscola)
Despite the loss to Clinton Tuscola’s Sweetnam scored 16 points.
Sam Donald Sam Donald 6'8" | PF Columbia | 2025 State IL (Columbia)
We will see Donald in person next week. In the Okawville Invitational semi he had 18 points to help his team advance.
Ross Robertson (South Beloit)
Robertson is a junior post that led his team to a 57-51 win against Christian Liberty with 18 points to move to 12-4 on the year.
Zack Johnson, Adyn McGinley Adyn McGinley 5'11" | CG Beecher | 2024 IL , and Ethan Rydberg (Beecher)
This trio kept Beecher undefeated moving to 20-0 with a win against Clifton. Johnson had 24 points. McGinley scored 18 points. Rydberg finished with 16 points.
Jonah Weathers Jonah Weathers 6'3" | SG Marian Catholic | 2024 State IL and Zack Sharkey Zack Sharkey 6'3" | SG Marian Catholic | 2025 State IL (Marian Catholic)
Big games from the wing duo as they each had big outings with Weathers scoring 28 points and Sharkey netting 22 points.
Cooper Hansen and Micah Brockhouse (Delavan)
Delavan won 52-36 on Friday night with Hansen leading the way with 20 points and Brockhouse backing him up with 14 points.
Ari Pierson, Michael Nee and Danny Snyder (Glenbard East)
Senior guard Pearson led the way with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 dimes. The 2026 duo for Glenbard East of Nee (17 points) and Snyder (7 points) are names to keep an eye on.
Drew Winslow Drew Winslow 6'5" | SF Triad | 2025 State IL and Ethan Stewart (Triad)
Triad rolls on to Litchfield title game with a 64-42 win against Mattoon. Oklahoma State baseball commit Winslow had 20 points and 10 boards while Steward made 8 triples on his way to 26 points.
Oliver Gray Oliver Gray 6'3" | SF Barrington | 2026 State IL (Barrington)
Gray quietly continues to put up massive numbers including 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 dimes on Friday against Hoffman Estates.
Jack Stanton Jack Stanton 6'2" | SG Downers Grove North | 2024 State #222 Nation IL (Downers Grove North)
The Princeton commit and top 10 senior scored his 1,000 career point on Friday night in a 49-25 win against York.
Brandon Harris, Ethan Kohl, and Nick Allen Nick Allen 6'9" | C Bradley Bourbonnais | 2025 State IL (Bradley Bourbonnais)
The Boilers moved to 13-4 win a 76-61 win against Lockport. Their star big man Nick Allen Nick Allen 6'9" | C Bradley Bourbonnais | 2025 State IL had 7 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Brandon Harris (20 points) and Ethan Kohl (17 points) helped carry the scoring load.
Jonathan Calmese Jonathan Calmese 6'2" | PG Manley | 2024 State IL and Jaali Love Jaali Love 6'7" | PF Manley | 2026 State IL (Manley)
This is one to watch for in the state tournament in small school ball! Calmese had 19 points and 11 dimes while star 2026 Love dropped 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Cameron Mercer Cameron Mercer 6'2" | SG Riverside Brookfield | 2026 State IL (Riverside Brookfield)
Mercer continues to have an excellent sophomore campaign and that showed again on Friday in a 15 point outing in a blowout win against Elmwood Park.
Davion Thompson Davion Thompson 6'2" | SG Bolingbrook | 2027 IL and JT Pettigrew JT Pettigrew 6'8" | C Bolingbrook | 2025 State IL (Bolingbrook)
Freshman phenom Thompson torched Andrew for 26 points while rising 2025 post Pettigrew went for a double double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Kaleb Simms (Andrew)
Despite the loss it was a solid outing from the wing as he had 26 points against Bolingbrook.
AJ Demirov (Crystal Lake South)
Demirov led Crystal Lake South on Friday night to a 59-38 win with 31 points and 7 dimes.