The Expo Illinois First Impressions: Scotty B’s Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Expo: Illinois began a weekend full of hoops in the western suburbs at Prep Hoops Camps.&nbsp; The Expo is for 2026 and 2027 prospects.&nbsp; The event had a stacked group of prospects with ranked prospects all over each of the four courts.&nbsp; We will have tons of coverage from this event over the next several weeks, but I wanted to start out by giving you might <strong>The EXPO Illinois First Impressions: Scotty B's Takeaways</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lockett's Dominant Performance Starts Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Right out the gate the newest DePaul Blue Demons commit [player_tooltip player_id='1552438' first='Mason' last='Lockett IV'] put on a show dropping 32 points in a running clock game.&nbsp; He was in his bag as he had everything working!&nbsp; The Oswego East shooting guard splashed in an array of pull up jumpers which he did a nice job of setting up with jab steps and his handles. Smooth transition takes and also impacted as a defender.&nbsp; Expect him to move into the top 5 in our next rankings update!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2026 Posts Battle Going to See Both Fly Up Board</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The prospect I was most looking forward to seeing at the camp was Intrinsic Downtown 6'8” 2026 center [player_tooltip player_id='2927775' first='Cedrick' last='Carter'] and boy did he live up to the hype.&nbsp; This was my first time seeing him, but I have heard plenty from our Steve Parham.&nbsp; He is without a doubt a top 30 talent in the 2026 class.&nbsp; First thing that stood out was how well he played defensively.&nbsp; Blocked shots inside along with three balls.&nbsp; Excellent strength and can board.&nbsp; Also showed pop at the rim along with some stretch potential.&nbsp; On the other side was [player_tooltip player_id='2876529' first='Aris' last='Morgan'] from Rock Island.&nbsp; When we saw him in June we evaluated him more as a junk yard dog post.&nbsp; The skill broke out at The Expo!&nbsp; He was effective putting it on the deck from the high post and then drained an array of threes one of which he pointed at me after I told him I hadn't seen that in his repertoire.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lundberg and Welch are Small College Wing Gems</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While there is a lot of focus on the D1 prospects we love talking about our favorite under the radar sleepers.&nbsp; Two of them shined in West Aurora's [player_tooltip player_id='2217958' first='Drew' last='Lundberg'] and Glenbard North's [player_tooltip player_id='2404186' first='Matt' last='Welch'].&nbsp; Both are going to be stellar D3 or NAIA prospects!&nbsp; What stands out about both is the toughness, skill, continued improvement, and production.&nbsp; They are winning players!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 Wings Showcase Versatile Games</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2027 class brought it from the wing position!&nbsp; Glenbard North's [player_tooltip player_id='2455373' first='Oturo' last='Redento'] had one of his stronger outings we have seen from him in the last few months.&nbsp; Long and rangy wing that is smooth off the bounce, can knock in an open three, and has some defensive upside.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2125659' first='Kristopher' last='Mporokoso'] out of Waubonsie Valley won throughout the day off the bounce with his handles and burst while also showcasing his ability to play on the ball with his passing.&nbsp; Saw similar connective passing from Normal Community wing [player_tooltip player_id='2125642' first='Jarrel' last='Brown'] who got his points with long strides and burst, but also made several great reads dishing it!&nbsp; Oswego East's [player_tooltip player_id='2125619' first='Dshaun' last='Bolden'] is a physically impressive wing that has major athletic pop at the rim and two way potential!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Highly Ranked 2027 Guards Go Back and Forth</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was a fun 2027 battle of guards [player_tooltip player_id='2712818' first='Deven' last='Marshall'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2125608' first='Dawson' last='Charles'].&nbsp; Rock Island's Marshall is a smooth ball handler that makes it look effortless at times.&nbsp; Gets to his spots where he can really knock in shots.&nbsp; Has a bursto to the rim and was active defensively with his hands.&nbsp; On the other side Charles poured in the three balls.&nbsp; Plus shooter that is a good athlete showcased both of those in an up and down setting!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Multi Skilled Bigs Shine</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bigs with versatility and skill are coveted.&nbsp; OPRF 2027 power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2125578' first='AJ' last='Enyia'] showed that when we saw him on Saturday. Long and lanky built with a feathery touch on the jumper, rim runs, finishes out of the dunker spot, and high points rebounds. &nbsp;Lincoln Park 2026 6'4” [player_tooltip player_id='2439327' first='Jalil' last='Amous'] is a wide bodied four that is light on his feet.&nbsp; He can handle it in the open floor and is nifty as a passer along with finishing in traffic.<br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2125687' first='Travis' last='Brown'] is THAT DUDE!</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While several highly touted 2027 guards have left the state we continue to love the consistency that West Aurora lead guard [player_tooltip player_id='2125687' first='Travis' last='Brown'] brings to the table.&nbsp; He was very good once again in the outing we saw him on Saturday.&nbsp; Plus jump shooter that knocks them down pulling up from two and three with rhythm.&nbsp; Such a smooth ball handler that gets to the rim for creative finishes and showed he can also get his teammates involved.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Physical Wing Duo to Track in 2027</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the more unique prospects in the 2027 class is St. Laurence guard/wing [player_tooltip player_id='2323617' first='Markese' last='Peoples'].&nbsp; He is interesting because he doesn't have the typical look of a prospect, but he just gets stuff done.&nbsp; Thick bodied with long arms and plays taller than his height.&nbsp; Plays bully ball, but also has skill to his game with crossover and passing.&nbsp; Another physical guard that shined was Whitney Young 2027 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='2532358' first='Zaire' last='Green'].&nbsp; Well built wing that can shoot it from deep as a spot up threat along with getting out making plays in transition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tons Put Name on Radar</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will have so much coverage of this event and one of my favorite parts of these camps is finding new names.  Here were a few of the ones that stood out and we will be talking about in depth soon!  [player_tooltip player_id='2948455' first='[player_tooltip player_id='2411624' first='Laterryon' last='']' last='Lee'] (Prosser), [player_tooltip player_id='2399236' first='Xavier' last='Porter'] (De La Salle), [player_tooltip player_id='2125616' first='Donavyn' last='Simmons'] (Joliet Catholic), [player_tooltip player_id='2415542' first='Nathan' last='Woods'] (Lyons), Jerremiah Jackson (Dyett), [player_tooltip player_id='2814861' first='Corey' last='Wellere Jr'] (King), [player_tooltip player_id='2925830' first='Elijah' last='Bell'] (Jacobs), and [player_tooltip player_id='2396322' first='Joesiah' last='Johnson'] (Crane).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->