WIAA/WBCA June Jam: Saturday's Stars

Day two is in the books at the annual June Jam event in Appleton put on by the WIAA and WBCA. Once again the gym was packed out with coaches from every level watching elite high school players, programs, and coaches. I was able to take in a half dozen games on Saturday that featured some great matchups and players. Let's dive into the Saturday's stars as we enter the final day of June Jam.    Jones has already received offers from Toledo, Alabama A&M, Eastern Illinois, UWGB, Milwaukee, and Northern Iowa. Based on how he played in June Jam, it is reasonable to assume that Jones will continue to stack d1 offers. Max was incredible at all three levels in his game against Fort Atkinson in which he knocked down deep triples, scored efficiently from the mid range, and finished above the rim several times. Jones is a tremendous passer as well finding teammates on kickout 3s and in the dunker. Jones is running with Midwest Renegade in July.     Alland-Davis was very consistent in WAC's game against Fort Atkinson on Saturday in Appleton. Caiden is a relentless finisher in transition and in the halfcourt with his skillset, and athleticism around the rim. Davis anticipated passing lanes and picked Fort offensive players on the ball turning defense into the offense for the Bulldogs. In addition to his two way abilities, he was able to impact the game on the glass by generating extra chances for WAC. Caiden is a player to watch in the last evaluation period in July.     Evans continues to improve as he gets more reps with his high school team and AAU club. The six-foot-nine frontcourt player from Fort Atkinson, is mobile for someone his size and strength: sprinting to ball screens, defending quicker guards in space, and running the floor in transition. Evans does a great job of sealing defenders and mismatches on the block, where he converts at the rim shots at a high rate. Oliver is hearing mostly from WIAC schools, but is being monitored by D2 programs in the Midwest heading into July.     There might not be a more watched prospect than Hoel this weekend. In the game I viewed, Drake, Colorado State, Illinois, St. Thomas, Iowa State, South Dakota State, UWGB, UIC and Western Illinois were all on hand to watch the versatile and mobile frontcourt prospect. Charlie is able to gain great positioning due to his physicality and intelligence on the block, and finished very well in his game against Roncalli, converting a few and1 finishes. Hoel is capable of guarding in space, stepping out and hitting shots, and facilitating offense in transition and in the half court. Hoel competes with [program_tooltip program_id='2076033' first='Wisconsin' last='Playmakers'] and is bound to add to his UWGB offer he received this weekend, to his division one interest.     In a weekend full of high level prospect watching, Calhoon still stood out to me for his unselfishness, gritty defense, and quickness downhill. Calhoon is a bit undersized, but makes up for it with his extremely quick first step. Cal, even against a good Nicolet team, was able to read closeouts well to probe to the basket, find cutting or spaced teammates, and finish athletically at the rim. Calhoon is a tremendous passer out of pick and roll opportunities, and showcased this dishing out several assists. Calhoon competes with a strong 1848 team and could pick up some smaller division three interest as we get closer to the upcoming high school season.     Meyer has some recent buzz with his recruitment as several Midwest division two programs were in the house for JT's game against Holmen. The last time I watched Meyer play was during the high school season where he preferred to impact the game on the perimeter. JT can absolutely still hit shots, but has improved his physicality in the last few months as he looked extremely efficient near the rim on Saturday. When Meyer is not finishing, he is looking for his teammates on diagonal skip passes cross court when he draws double teams. I would be surprised if Meyer does not pick up a D2 offer by the end of July with his mobility, strength, and ability to hit outside shots with his 6'10 size.     Krueger arguably has raised his stock more than any prospect in the past few months with his strong showing in AAU, elite camps, and summer basketball. Krueger has picked up several d1 offers and has an unofficial visit with University of Illinois next Monday. At 6'10 Krueger has great touch around the basket and can step out and shoot it like a sharpshooting guard/wing. Around the hoop, Krueger is not afraid to rise up and dunk it on opponents and on the defensive end, swat shots out of bounds. Krueger is a mobile frontcourt player that had the sidelines packed out for in Appleton Saturday. With July left, I anticipate Krueger will continue to perform well with [program_tooltip program_id='2078835' first='Wisconsin' last='Swing'] in July.     [player_tooltip player_id='2423561' first='Max' last='Gogin'] is one of the purest perimeter shot makers in the 2027 class. Every time I am able to watch the five-foot-ten guard, he is canning deep triples that are highly contested. Gogin was incredible in this game being shot ready with his feet, and coming off actions knocking down several threes against McFarland. Max is a great shooter, but has improved other parts of his game to make him well rounded. He can handle it, lock up his matchup, and rebounds well for his size. Part of the strong trio of Bear Collins and [player_tooltip player_id='2288469' first='Jalen' last='Brown'], you cannot forget about [player_tooltip player_id='2423561' first='Max' last='Gogin'] when game planning for the Trojans.     In my winter trip to Milwuakee, Collins was out due to a minor injury, so I was excited to see him play this weekend in Appleton. Collins has one of the quickest first steps in the 2029 class and is extremely skilled when getting downhill. Bear had several acrobatic finishes where he went around and through defenders to either finish at the rim, or draw contact. Collins showcased his range as well, knocking down a few pull-up threes in transition in Saturday's matchup with McFarland. Collins competes with Power 5 and is a must see in the gym the next three seasons.     [player_tooltip player_id='2288469' first='Jalen' last='Brown'] was as good as advertised in his evening game I took in. Brown is essentially unguardable when he creates space off closeouts or ball screens. The Wisconsin commit can either get all the way to the paint to finish, or uses his deadly 1-2 pullup to consistently score from the mid range. Brown hit some deep triples in this game showcasing his ability to score at all three levels with ease. Brown is aware of the attention he garners, and spent the second half of this game finding and looking for his teammates to get involved on dumpoff layups or wide open kick out 3s. Brown is the real deal, and will be extremely fun to follow for his senior year and career post high school.     Toepel is a fun prospect to watch as he is very skilled with the basketball. The six-foot-four prospect from Arrowhead did a great job of separating from his defender off the bounce with bound dribbles, and hesitation moves that allowed to score at the rim and from the mid-range. Toepel is crafty as he uses his frame well, and can hit the midpost fadeaway consistently. Theo can knockdown triples in the flow of Arrowhead's dribble drive offense. Toepel was a driving factor to why Arrowhead was able to hang on against Fond Du Lac with his rebounding and scoring output in this matchup.     Basich is all heart, grit, and is a winner. Blake does about everything it takes to will his team to wins by leading, being a bulldog on his matchup, rebounding, diving on loose balls, and hitting big shots. I was really impressed with Blake's ability to get to the rim with his quickness and consistently knock down threes in transition. In addition to his scoring, Blake makes great reads to find cutters and kickouts, and when to drive in the slots in their dribble drive. If you are a fan of high school basketball, watching [player_tooltip player_id='2351196' first='Blake' last='Basich'] is recommended as he does things the right way, impacting winning.

Day two is in the books at the annual June Jam event in Appleton put on by the WIAA and WBCA. Once again the gym was packed out with coaches from every level watching elite high school players, programs, and coaches. I was able to take in a half dozen games on Saturday that featured some great matchups and players. Let's dive into the Saturday's stars as we enter the final day of June Jam.