5 Takeaways: Small School Thursday Scouting

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday night it was all about small school basketball for PHI as we took in a 1A contest between highly ranked squads Goreville and Webber followed by 1A Unity against 2A West Hancock.&nbsp; There were prospects in each one of these games that we had heard buzz about so we had to check them out!&nbsp; Here are our <strong>5 Takeaways: Small School Thursday Scouting!</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Goreville is Deep, Shares the Wealth, and Can Shoot</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first game we saw was Goreville who comes in at #4 in the 1A rankings by our friend Aaron Britton.&nbsp; They looked the part in a 73-51 victory against a top 20 ranked West Hancock team.&nbsp; The first thing that stands out is that they are extremely balanced with their top seven all being rock solid.&nbsp; The second is they all can bomb it in with five players hitting from deep.&nbsp; It was great to see 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='2815679' first='Cole' last='Tripp'] doing his thing as he had one of the scariest injuries we have seen this year over the holidays.&nbsp; In this game he was the catalyst for everything that went on.&nbsp; Nailed a couple of threes, spin moves, sweeping layups, and finished with either hand.&nbsp; Solid passer as well.&nbsp; He had 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 dimes.&nbsp; His running mate in the backcourt was [player_tooltip player_id='2631987' first='Connor' last='Craig'] who is super active always being around the ball.&nbsp; Coast to coast takes, put backs, and layups for 12 points and 8 rebounds.&nbsp; Zech Green was a solid third guard that can knock down shots from deep and is a crafty driver that had 12 points.&nbsp; Nick King was in foul trouble in the first half, but the 6'1” sophomore did manage to make an impact on the defensive end recording several steals and being a good passer.&nbsp; Inside their senior big man [player_tooltip player_id='2815641' first='Drake' last='Buffington'] is a load at 6'7” and plays really physical.&nbsp; Like too physical at times.&nbsp; He did have a nice hook shot and rebounded well in his area scoring 7 points.&nbsp; Off the bench it was the sharp shooting of Garrett Church and Peyton Holm with five threes combined.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marlow Scores 21 Despite Foul Trouble</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class of 2026 shooting guard Nathaniel Marlow was the reason for checking out this game as the 6'3” junior has been posting huge numbers this season.  It was kind of hard for him to get going as he was on the bench with three fouls before the game even started (more on that in a second).  He did come back in midway through the second quarter to play the rest of the contest.  Solid size for a two guard who was at his best attacking off the dribble using his creativity in the lane for scores.  Best move of the night was probably on a behind the back dribble finishing with his off hand.  Also had a spin move into a mid-range jumper.  Won on straight line takes and got to the foul line.  He went for 21 points in the loss.  Worth continuing to monitor for sure.  His younger brother [player_tooltip player_id='2826283' first='Jacob' last='Marlow'] is a 2028 with a long and lanky frame who had 6 points on an alley-oop and banked in a 15 footer.  Class of 2026 Kylan Moser caught our attention as a mobile small forward tht can play inside and out.  Finished out of the dunker spot, rim ran, scored on an alley-oop, got on the glass, and hit a three.  Did a bit of everything on his way to 16 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Worst Refed Game All Season</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Goreville vs Webber game was the worst performance by a ref crew all season.&nbsp; Which is ironic because according to the announcers the game was moved up to Thursday to get a good crew on the big game.&nbsp; They called a foul every time a player was touched.&nbsp; For the majority of the game there was no flow because it was foul after foul after foul.&nbsp; They got into it with coaches and then started kicking fans out.&nbsp; It was both ways too with horrible calls for both teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Knowles Lives Up to Buzz</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the second contest we had been hearing some buzz from our small school friends about a kid at West Hancock in Hamilton, Illinois.&nbsp; A couple days ago the 6'9” 2026 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='2426366' first='Cooper' last='Knowles'] scored his first offer from Western Illinois.&nbsp; There are going to be more to come after what we saw in their 72-43 win over Unity.&nbsp; Wow was he impressive.&nbsp; First he is a legit 6'9” with a long and lanky frame. &nbsp;Rail thin and will need to add strength, but has time on his side.&nbsp; The fluidity and athleticism he showed really stood out.&nbsp; He plays above the rim throwing down multiple alley-oops including one on the first play of the game.&nbsp; Really liked what he showed as a roll man and running the floor for an array of dunks on the night including a reverse on one sprint down the floor.&nbsp; Got on the offensive glass for several put backs.&nbsp; Best post move was when he would seal for slams.&nbsp; Also hit a top of the key three to end his night looking very comfortable letting it fly.&nbsp; For all he did on the offensive end it was his defense that was phenomenal.&nbsp; He swatted and altered shots all evening long.&nbsp; Anything that came in the lane that Unity had not cleared him out was either blocked or altered.&nbsp; Great timing and anticipation with how he utilized his long arms to block shots.&nbsp; Finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 blocks in 3 quarters of action.&nbsp; This is a mid-major big man with upside!&nbsp; He is going to make a big debut in our post season rankings update!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>More Standouts for West Hancock</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were several other players that put their name on the map Thursday night for West Hancock.&nbsp; Let's start with their senior backcourt of [player_tooltip player_id='2426379' first='Gavin' last='Grothaus'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2426349' first='Lewis' last='Siegfried'].&nbsp; Grothaus is a 6'2” lead guard that is a good passer hitting his big fella on the move that mixed in some crafty drives and a couple threes for 10 points.&nbsp; Siegfried is a plus shooter at 6'3” that nailed three triples.&nbsp; The senior two guard also has a good passing feel for an off guard netting 12 points.&nbsp; Their 2027 combo guard [player_tooltip player_id='2426365' first='Hunter' last='Froman'] also deserves some attention as he went for 12 points as well.&nbsp; Nice facilitator in the drive and kick.&nbsp; Got to the rim for several buckets including a euro step and strong baseline slam.&nbsp; Trio only played three quarters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->