The Stage: Friday Night Lights Illinois and Michigan

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Midwest swing of the Prep Hoops Circuit kicked off outside of Indianapolis on Friday night. The Stage provided plenty of high level play in the 2028 class. Following are five standouts from Michigan and Illinois. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2464624' first='Ashton' last='Callan'] 6-0 Jackson Lumen Christi (MI) (pictured) </strong>Coming off an outstanding freshman campaign. Callan looks to continue his momentum into the spring. Callan is composed and mature scoring wing. He also showed the ability to play the point when needed. Has bounce, making plays at the rim and on the boards. Showed the strength to finish through contact. Finished with 10 points in a lopsided game that was not finished.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1292737' first='Broden' last='Burgess'] 5-10 Jackson Lumen. Christi (MI) </strong>Callan won't be alone the next three years in the Titans backcourt. Burgess is smaller has more of a traditional point guard skill set. However that doesn't mean he can't score. Does that with extremely deep range on the perimeter. Makes up for the lack of size with a trigger quick release. Isn't shy, plays with moxie and a bit of a chip on his shoulders. Matched his teammate with 10 points in the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2539710' first='Becker' last='Samaha']</strong> <strong>6-7 Saline (MI) </strong>[program_tooltip program_id='2539820' first='The' last='Academy'] squad is loaded with good guards (see above) Samaha held it down and then some on the block. Looked markedly bigger and stronger than when I last saw him at the Prep Hoops Freshman Showcase. Beyond just the measurables. Played with more confidence and assertiveness. Didn't stray from the paint and appears to know his role. Is a good athlete and ran the court fluidly. Wasn't just doing this against smaller players (see below) The development curve is pointed way up for the Ann Arbor area post.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2393606' first='Cole' last='Jansons'] 6-10 Oswego (IL) </strong>Cliche alert— you can't teach size. Jansons appeared to be every bit of 6-10 on Friday evening. Usually a player at this height looks like a project athletically. While Jansons has way to go in terms of skill level. He appeears comfortable with his frame. Ran the court well and had good lateral speed. I'm an out of state scout, but I did see [player_tooltip player_id='2105376' first='Colin' last='Stack'] play at a similar age a few years ago. Could have a similar development if he puts the work in. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2465620' first='Brandon' last='Otten'] 6-3 Benet (IL) </strong>While M 14 Hoops had a rough go of it Friday night. Otten was a bright spot. Could have easily folded up shop after a poor first half. Otten came alive in the second half. Operated well in the mid range. Easily rose over defenders and had a smooth and easy release. Has slender frame but absorbed contact on drives. Showed the bounce to easily play above the rim on a nice tip in. Finished with 23 points in the opening loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->