Chi-Town Showcase: New Names Emerging and Out of State Stars

During this Sunday's Chi-Town Showcase I came across a couple of players who made a good first impression in my first evaluations of them. We will also look at the out-of-state guys who brought their game to Chicago to make a name for themselves.     AJ Morgan 6'5 Vernon Hills 2025   The first kid who stood out to me was AJ. A 6'5” physically mature forward who made a great first impression. He started with some powerful dunks in the first run.  A one-handed tomahawk and later he took off down the lane with a two-handed dunk. As Morgan started to warm up he hit some shots from three showing his ability as a stretch four man. On defense he controls the glass and is an intimidating shot blocker. AJ is a huge sleeper in the class.  He plays with a continuous motor and is a dependable ball handler when teams apply pressure. He will be on my list for players to add to our next update.    [player_tooltip player_id='1766507' first='Mitchel' last='Edwards'] 6'7 Carmi White County 2025   Edwards is another player who fits the mold of a mobile stretch forward.  This is a player from the southern part of the state that Scott has seen, but he impressed me in my first look at him.  He's showed college-level shooting ability from the arc. He ran the floor well and had a few dunks to show his athleticism.  He understood spacing along with when and how to cut to the basket. Will be an outstanding player this season.   [player_tooltip player_id='2631981' first='Ammar' last='Ibrahim'] 6'6 MCC Academy 2025   Ammar is a long and lanky guard who uses his length well on the court. He's a thin 6'6” player who can score from the perimeter and is capable of scoring in the lane. He's smooth with the handle and plays with confidence. As a defender Ibrahim's strength is contesting shots that are just outside his area.  He must add strength to help out on the boards more but guarding bigger players wasn't an issue for him at all. Ammar had the skill and length to contribute to a college team next season.    [player_tooltip player_id='2369873' first='Jared' last='Van Donselaar'] 6'5 Grayslake North 2028   Jared is a thin but agile big man who runs the floor well and keeps things simple. He's has a long athletic build and shows some handle coordination early for a freshman. Van Donselaar is a rim-running post who contests hard on the glass and shows good touch around the rim. His fifteen-foot jumper is money when he gets clean looks. As Jared continues to grow watch for his name as a serious college prospect.     Hamza Shouman 6'2 Lombard College Prep 2025   Hamza is a stocky combo guard who was able to make plays attacking the rim. He was another guard who looked to control the pace of the games when he was on the court. What I liked about Shouman was his ability to handle pressure and still get players involved. He displayed a good-looking shot but overall he did a terrific job facilitating the ball.    Out of State Players    Khamai Orange 6'2 Delaware County Christian 2025   Orange was a guard who fits in with the style of play early in the event.  He's a quick guard who is shifty with his handles. This played a big factor early when guys tried to apply pressure on him. Khamai was able to get to the basket whenever he wanted using good upper body strength and touch on the release.  When guys started playing back off him in fear of getting embarrassed Orange drained deep threes to keep them honest.    Marcus Browder 6'2 Hammond Central 2025   Browder is another player who fits right into the basketball culture. He's a tough guard who seems to never take a play off. He's a three-level scorer who used hard attacks in the basket. What I like about Marcus is how well he took bumps, stayed in control of his body, and scored. He keeps guys off balance with his change of pace. On defense, he applied pressure on the ball which led to steals and points. Many media members raved about how well he competed at the event.    Rylan Kelly 6'3 Southeastern Prep Academy 2026   Rylan is an explosive wing from Florida who had some very impressive dunks from just outside the lane lines. It took a few plays for Kelly to understand he needed to be a bit more aggressive to get the ball. Once he started flowing the rest of his game flourished.  Rylan had deep range on his shot and was very physical when getting to the basket. It's a no wonder players started to part like the red sea after a couple of bumps from Kelly. As he works on his handle I can see him on a Division 1 roster in two years.

During this Sunday's Chi-Town Showcase I came across a couple of players who made a good first impression in my first evaluations of them. We will also look at the out-of-state guys who brought their game to Chicago to make a name for themselves.