Hoop Mountain: Saturday Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday I made my first ever trip to the <strong>Hoop Mountain Shootout</strong> at Batavia High School. Lots of Chicagoland area schools were showing their skills with the high school team. In this article I highlight the best performances of the day.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1552404' first='Jake' last='Pollack'] Deerfield 2026 6'8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dartmouth commit had a strong performance in the last game of the day. Pollack is a lefty who has good fundamentals around the rim. He likes to initiate contact and then makes a move to score. At his size, he proved that he is not just a back-to-the-basket player but he can score from the perimeter also. As a defender he guarded multiple positions on the court and controlled the defensive glass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2323275' first='Adam' last='Flowers'] Downers Grove South 2026 6'1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I haven't seen Flowers play since December and he's added much-needed strength to his frame. He shot the ball well from deep and didn't miss many open shots. With the rock in his hands he got to the basket a couple of times and made plays for himself and dropped some nice passes off as well. Adam played to the speed of the game and didn't force anything. He has a chance to open some eyes this month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2125687' first='Travis' last='Brown'] West Aurora 2027 6'0&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took a while but Travis was able to get into a groove in the afternoon game. He attacked a lot from the top of the key getting to the basket with slick moves and was fouled and few times on the drives. After he saw the ball go through the net he started to cook. Iso plays on the right wing where he mixed in some tough mid-range shots. Travis also disrupted on defense getting steals that led to fastbreak assists. He is primed for a big June with West Aurora and should move up in the rankings with recent departures.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2531981' first='Cole' last='Kelly'] Neuqua Valley 2028 6'6&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was my first time watching Cole play since his injury in the spring scrimmage. He looked good shooting from the perimeter and made several threes in the game I watched. He at times would attack off the dribble when guys closed out too strongly. Kelly isn't afraid to put the ball on the deck and finish through contact. As a defender he took the challenge of guarding the best player on the court even if he was 4 inches taller than him. Cole's best play was a steal near half-court that he dunked on the opposite end. At Hoop Mountain he proved why he is still one of the best prospects in the state.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2860144' first='Ryan' last=''] Morgan Crystal Lake South 6'5 2028</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morgan is the shorter twin brother of [player_tooltip player_id='2369943' first='John' last='Morgan']. Both of these two were good Saturday morning but [player_tooltip player_id='2860144' first='Ryan' last=''] was able to stand out with relentless effort on the offensive glass. He was very physical in the lane forcing contact to finish plays. [player_tooltip player_id='2860144' first='Ryan' last=''] got to the free-throw line a few times because he played aggressively.&nbsp; What I like the most about his game is he's able to handle the ball at the top of the key against bigger players and make plays for himself and others. The Morgan Brothers ([player_tooltip player_id='2860144' first='Ryan' last=''] and John) both have a high upside as players and they are starting to assert themselves on the varsity level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->