After the Game Shootout: Saturday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The After the Game Shootout at St. Ignatius featured five games of traditional powerhouse programs from the Chicagoland area.&nbsp; PHI dives into what we saw in the five games here in <strong>After the Game Shootout: Saturday Notebook</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mt. Carmel Big 3 Continues to Roll</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a brief blip at the Pekin Holiday Tournament the Caravan have not missed a beat rolling to win after win.&nbsp; On Friday night they beat St. Ignatius on the road at Iggy.&nbsp; Then they returned back there on Saturday for a 10:30 AM game against Plainfield East where they made it look effortless winning 81-40.&nbsp; This team goes with how their big three guards play and once again they brought it.&nbsp; Air Force commit [player_tooltip player_id='2105179' first='Grant' last='Best'] (21 points and 10 rebounds), unsigned senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1385307' first='Cameron' last='Thomas'] (11 points), and skilled junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1845357' first='Noah' last='Mister'] (16 points) are three backcourt players that mesh so well together highlighting each others strengths.&nbsp; One thing that has stood out about this group this season has been the consistency they have played with game in and game out rarely having an off night as a trio.&nbsp; Big test for Caravan at home next Friday vs DePaul Prep in a rematch of last year's state championship in 3A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Plainfield East has an intriguing sophomore guard in KJ Miller.&nbsp; Long and rangy 6'4” combo guard who can play on and off the ball.&nbsp; Showed solid feel as a shot maker from three and smooth handles.&nbsp; One to track.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Childs Has Massive Outing but Balance of Hyde Parks gets Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next up was a pair of CPS programs in Perspectives and Hyde Park matching up.&nbsp; This was a game that was a frantic game at times, but also a fun one.&nbsp; Hyde Park got a steal on the last possession to win 57-55.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2724415' first='CJ' last='Thomas'] is a guard that has really elevated his stock this season for Hyde Park.&nbsp; Three level scoring lead guard who is best in the mid-range, but can also hit a three on occasion and is a plus soft touch finisher.&nbsp; He had 13 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2105276' first='Kameron' last='King'] is a good sized senior wing with deep range on his jumper which he showed pouring in three of them in an 11 point outing.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2734383' first='Jacobi' last='Walls'] is a junior post to track as he was effective in this game especially early with his takes from mid-post, activity level on the defensive end, and getting on the glass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2217980' first='Phoenix' last='Childs'] was the story for Perspectives.&nbsp; The 2025 wing is primed for a big bump in our Monday rankings update and he backed that up with a 28 point performance.&nbsp; Big and physical wing with long arms that plays with strength through defenders who bounce off him in the lane.&nbsp; Also is a good shooter pulling up in the mid-range as well as knocking down threes.&nbsp; D2s and high level JUCO programs should be investing time here.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2105200' first='Derrick' last='Dowdell'] is his running mate at Perspectives.&nbsp; Well built wing that is a good secondary scorer as he netted 10 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fagbemi Shows Out in Benet Blowout Win over Romeoville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Benet looked the part of the state title contender they are in their 59-30 victory against Romeoville.&nbsp; Truman State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1598658' first='Blake' last='Fagbemi'] was fantastic in this one!&nbsp; He sliced up the defense getting whatever he wanted as the heady floor general was throwing on the money passes over and over again.&nbsp; Completely controlled the game with his distributing and ability to get in the teeth of the defense for soft touch finishes.&nbsp; Went for 16 points and a ton of dimes.&nbsp; His backcourt mate junior [player_tooltip player_id='2105390' first='Jayden' last='Wright'] did a nice job of mixing up the scoring and passing.&nbsp; Banged in a pair of threes while also finding his teammates netting 10 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1598682' first='Daniel' last='Pauliukonis'] is really coming into his own as a senior.&nbsp; The skilled SIU commit is a four who shoots it off the catch from three, finishes with touch, and runs the floor well as he had 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Romeoville got 7 points out of Tarleton State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1385302' first='Damion' last='Porter'].&nbsp; The Benet defense was in lockdown mode in this game and they keyed in on Porter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Whitney Young Wins a Game of Runs Behind Their Star Duo of Munoz and Clark</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next up was Whitney Young vs Fenwick.&nbsp; The Dolphins were looking for a marquee win and they got one here with a 58-52 victory against Fenwick.&nbsp; In the first half it was all [player_tooltip player_id='1385300' first='Antonio' last='Munoz'] for Whitney Young.&nbsp; The top 10 uncommitted senior was aggressive finishing out of the dunker spot, posting up smaller defenders for sweeping layups, hook shot and-1, and got to the free throw line.&nbsp; Even hit a three.&nbsp; Was also solid on the glass finishing the game with 19 points.&nbsp; When Fenwick made a massive 18-4 run to take the lead in the third quarter Whitney Young looked to their star junior [player_tooltip player_id='1552475' first='Marquis' last='Clark'] to take over which is exactly what he did banging in a pair of corner three spotting up along with another to give his team the margin they needed.&nbsp; Early in the game Clark was looking more to dish than score getting others open shots with his passing in the half court as he notched 13 points.&nbsp; Solid game out of the senior guards as [player_tooltip player_id='1545124' first='Damajay' last='Richardson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1552473' first='Alijah' last='Little'] each flashed scoring 8 points and 7 points respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fenwick really got going in this game once their standout senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2105305' first='Dominick' last='Ducree'] got rolling.&nbsp; Athletic guard who has such a knack for getting fouled on made three point shots as he did that twice in this game.&nbsp; Good pull up shooter that also has some burst on straight line takes went for 15 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1598778' first='Ty' last='Macariola'] is a tough and hard nosed two guard that just produces.&nbsp; The 2025 wing hit a three early, but most of his damage was done in the lane with tough conversions through or around contact as he also had 15 points.&nbsp; Worth noting that [player_tooltip player_id='2724288' first='Nathaniel' last='Marshall'] did not play in this game as he was at the football Navy All-American Game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Ignatius Makes Key Plays Down Stretch to Secure Win vs Lemont</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the finale of the event the host school St. Ignatius had a great game against Lemont where they edge by winning 63-60.  Northwestern commit [player_tooltip player_id='1385292' first='Phoenix' last='Gill'] made big plays throughout the game.  The #2 senior in Illinois showed off his slick handles on straight line takes, poured in mid-range jumpers, and scored with creativity in the paint.  Also had a massive offensive rebound flying in for an and-1 in the fourth quarter as he had 20 points.  His running mate is [player_tooltip player_id='2323283' first='Chris' last='Bolte'].  The 2026 power forward continues to shine as a post defender, scoring around the rim with touch, and can deck it from the high-post as he did on an important bucket late.  Very good rebounder especially in his area snatching them with consistency.  He had 14 points.  Senior combo guard [player_tooltip player_id='2734415' first='Napolean' last='Harris'] showed he could score from all three levels notching 9 points while Alex Anaya used the long ball for his 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big game for the #3 2026 prospect in the state in Lemont's [player_tooltip player_id='1552393' first='Gabriel' last='Sularski'].&nbsp; He was in his bag all game long dropping 29 points in the loss.&nbsp; Mixed in some threes, tough turnarounds, crisp pull ups in the mid-range, and was relentless attacking downhill.&nbsp; Shows burst getting around his man on straight line takes along with good body control at the cup.&nbsp; Also liked what he showed as a passer with good feel putting his teammates in position to succeed.&nbsp; Senior small forward [player_tooltip player_id='2321410' first='Alanas' last='Castillo'] is a big time shot maker from three that can really let it fly spotting up off the catch for 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->