Ridgewood Live: Teddy’s Friday Early Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's my notebook from the early action from Fridays high school live period in Ridgewood. I began my journey in covering high school sports in that exact same gym back in 2019. It felt really good to be back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Loyola Continues to Impress</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Loyola continues to look strong and put on a good showing vs Riverside-Brookfield. In the early stages [player_tooltip player_id='2442190' first='Nicholas' last='Konchan'] made his presence felt on the interior as he won almost every rebound in his area while creating a tough interior bucket. To keep them ahead, the physical attacking abilities of Sammy Fuller started to show as he converted a pair of and-ones. As well as Luke Wirtschorek finding his way on the inside. [player_tooltip player_id='2386611' first='Luke' last='Alvarez'] got going from deep midway through this matchup with some long-range shots. Later showcasing some muscle attacking the rim while converting an and-one. Pushing the lead to 20. Then hitting another tough contested 3-pointer. Loyola rolled to a 58-27 win</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2028's to Watch for Riverside-Brookfield</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was the second time I watched Riverside-Brookfield this summer and I got to analyze this group a lot better this time around. Juniors are at the core of this squad which include Noah VanTholen, a lengthy 6'4" combo-guard who makes an impact on both ends, as well as forward [player_tooltip player_id='2397715' first='Hunter' last='Twitty'] who's got tons of strength on the inside. From  a shooting perspective, one of the names to watch is 6'2" shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='2828549' first='Wally' last='Ottenhoff'], another 2028 prospect. The two that made the most impact were Twitty and VanTholen. All Twitty did was grind out rebounds and tough buckets to keep the Bulldogs in this matchup for as long as possible. While VanTholen's shooting was also highly effective as he knocked down multiple 3-pointers in the second half of this matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Three Freshman Brothers Start for Joliet West&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yes, you heard that right. Three brothers are starting for Joliet West as freshman. That's [player_tooltip player_id='3664728' first='Chad' last='Carter Jr'], [player_tooltip player_id='3649648' first='Carson' last='Carter'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2369892' first='Connor' last='Carter']. All three are unique with tons of upside. [player_tooltip player_id='3664728' first='Chad' last='Carter Jr'] is a quick, dynamic 6'3" point guard with incredibly underrated ball skills. Connor is a 6'2" shooting guard who has a really solid frame already for someone in his class who makes a strong impact defensively. Even showing he can be relied on from deep. While [player_tooltip player_id='3649648' first='Carson' last='Carter'] is a guy that can do a little bit of everything when you need. That includes a tough steal leading to a fastbreak score as part of a key 2nd half run. It wasn't the best look on my end, but these three will all be names to watch over the next several years down in Joliet.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Buffalo Grove can Surprise People</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WatchingBuffalo Grove play this afternoon was not boring at all. In fact, it was exciting to say the least. The first name to stand out is big man [player_tooltip player_id='2323618' first='Alex' last='Sirbu']. I'll write about him more in my evaluation sheet, but he was a key difference-maker from the tip with his physicality and interior presence. [player_tooltip player_id='2411146' first='Edwin' last='Karnauchovas'] was also excellent in this matchup as he found his way for several tough inside buckets with terrific perimeter and on-ball defense. Sliding his feet really well. Point Guard [player_tooltip player_id='2125622' first='Dylan' last='Ronczkowski'] showed he can score from all three levels in this matchup. Reading defenses really well in this matchup., too In the games later stages, I saw Sirbu become incredibly agressive off the dribble attacking the rim. Even adding a midrange jumper at one point. They made it an incredibly tight game against a historically strong Joliet West group that has plenty of promise. Taking care of business 40-33. They later beat Bolingbrook.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->