Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals - Ramsey's Saturday Notebook

<p>A full day in the gym at the Prep Hoops Circuit Grit Region Finals is now complete. After getting our feet wet on Friday evening, Saturday offered an opportunity to dive head first into coverage as some of our best scouts had boots on the ground at the beautiful Farmers Bank Fieldhouse in Lebanon, Indiana. It really is true, nobody does content and event coverage like Prep Hoops. As proof, let's empty out the notebook from Saturday's action.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] and [program_tooltip program_id='2078374' first='Full' last='Package'] Black Dominate the Day</h2>   <p>Unfortunately, these two teams each were without an opponent at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Some quick-thinking ingenuity from event staff and the coaches for [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] and [program_tooltip program_id='2078374' first='Full' last='Package'] Black resulted in a fun exhibition game being played between the two in order to satisfy the college coaches who had gotten up early to be in attendance. Then, they were both back in action at 11:15 a.m. and advanced to the Prep Hoops Circuit Grit Region Finals Elite Eight with easy victories. [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] doubled up Gateway Knights Basketball Club 72-36 while [program_tooltip program_id='2078374' first='Full' last='Package'] Black defeated Utah Force Red 68-41.</p>   <p>As is usually the case, [player_tooltip player_id='1297034' first='Hudson' last='Horvath'] (Park Tudor 2025) was the star of the show for [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last='']. The talented 6'1" guard is such a talented scorer and highly skilled with the ball in his hands. Horvath is a more than capable outside shooting threat, but he was at his best on Saturday getting downhill to the basket and showing off a real burst when finishing at the rim. While Horvath starred on the perimeter, it was [player_tooltip player_id='1749499' first='Tavion' last='Williams'] (Ben Davis H.S. 2025) who dominated around the basket. The 6'7" center is one of the best rebounders in Indiana's rising senior class and certainly showcased that skill on Saturday. He also makes a living above the rim with ferocious dunks offensively and big time blocks defensively. [player_tooltip player_id='1749527' first='Luke' last='Lindeman'] (Bloomington H.S. North 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1578453' first='Patric' last='Matson'] (Bedford North Lawrence H.S. 2025), and [player_tooltip player_id='2252551' first='James' last='Kalala'] (Southport H.S. 2026) also played well for [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] on the day. Lindeman had to miss the second game due to an apparent ankle injury, but played well in the morning "exhibition" contest.</p>   <p>For [program_tooltip program_id='2078374' first='Full' last='Package'] Black, [player_tooltip player_id='2105287' first='Braylon' last='Gray'] (Grant Community H.S. 2025) led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points in their 68-41 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='2105376' first='Colin' last='Stack'] (Benet Academy 2026) and [player_tooltip player_id='2105166' first='Vincas' last='Buzelis'] (Hinsdale Central H.S. 2025) each added 14 points. Gray was impressive off of the dribble with great change of speed and explosiveness when getting downhill. He finished at the rim with both hands consistently at the end of his drives. At 6'10" with incredible length, it is easy to see why Stack is one of the top prospects in Illinois' rising junior class. He has really intriguing defensive upside and displayed great hands and finishing ability. Finally, Buzelis is a well-rounded offensive threat with an impressive combination of size, strength, athleticism, and skill.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jeremiah Fears Showcases His Star Power</h2>   <p>There is no shortage of talent on the Prep Hoops Circuit. It isn't uncommon to have Division I talent in the gym and there is always a real depth of small college prospects at our events. However, it simply looks a little different when there is a national Top 50 player taking part in the games. That has been the case at the Prep Hoops Circuit Grit Region Finals as a four-star point guard Jeremiah Fears has suited up with [program_tooltip program_id='2075515' first='Hoops' last='4 Health'] Thompson. Fears, who recently decommitted from Illinois and is considering a potential reclass to 2024, was absolutely excellent on Saturday morning going off for 34 points in a come from behind win over [program_tooltip program_id='2082760' first='Reps317' last='']. What he can do with the ball in his hands as a playmaker, shot-creator, and shot-maker is really special.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Best Game of the Day?</h2>   <p>While watching prospects like Jeremiah Fears is always fun and some of the top teams in the championship bracket capture the majority of eyeballs, sometimes it is the lesser publicized games that end up being the best. Our coverage of those such games is what sets Prep Hoops apart from the competition. There was no better example of that than the Saturday afternoon matchup between the Illinois Mavericks and Tennessee Edge. However, early on, it didn't always look like that would be the case.</p>   <p>Tennessee Edge jumped out to an early double-double digit lead at 15-3 and appeared to be on their way to a blowout. However, a couple of three-point shots from [player_tooltip player_id='2407868' first='Tyler' last='Oakley'] (Charleston H.S. 2026) started to turn the tides in the favor of the Illinois Mavericks. Oakley and [player_tooltip player_id='2438660' first='Jackson' last='Rigdon'] (Paris H.S. 2026) each continued to knock in shots from beyond the arc in the second half while [player_tooltip player_id='2408594' first='Hayden' last='Parcel'] (Casey-Westfield H.S. 2025) led all scorers with 20 points as the Mavericks came back to win 72-69.</p>   <p>Despite the losing effort, Wyatt Gilleland (Siegel H.S. 2025) was arguably the most impressive prospect in the game. The 6'7" big man was excellent around the basket finishing everything that came to him inside, making a few face-up jump shots, and rebounding his area at a high level. Gilleland is a very good student and looks like an excellent small college center for schools to recruit in the Class of 2025.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quarterfinals are Set</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BRamseyKSR/status/1809763956891811876 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BRamseyKSR/status/1809749245647274479 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BRamseyKSR/status/1809672841362874485 </div></figure>

A full day in the gym at the Prep Hoops Circuit Grit Region Finals is now complete. After getting our feet wet on Friday evening, Saturday offered an opportunity to dive head first into coverage as some of our best scouts had boots on the ground at the beautiful Farmers Bank Fieldhouse in Lebanon, Indiana. It really is true, nobody does content and event coverage like Prep Hoops. As proof, let's empty out the notebook from Saturday's action.