Illinois The Tune Up: 27' And 28' Point Guards That Built Stock

The Prep Hoops Circuit made a stop in Illinois to start the final month of summer ball. Chicago land hosted The Tune Up Illinois Edition which bought in a couple dozen teams from each age division to compete. There were plenty of top point guards from Illinois in the 27' and 28' classes who played at the event. Here PHI will take you through evaluations of their games.    Booker is a 2027 guard that can fill a 1 or 2 spot dependent upon program need. He compliments nicely with a trio of other BPH back court players. He showed some bounce in transition with elevating above the rim for a 1 handed slam and then another hang time finish above the rim in the ½ court setting. I was impressed with his body control in a couple acrobatic finishes on a reverse layup and another up and under in traffic. He also added some flair on a behind the back pass assist in transition. His jumper looked solid as well as he dribbled into a pullup 15-footer with a hand up and still knocked it down in rhythm. The versatility he presents as a 1 or 2 guard provides a constant threat.     Horton continues to impress as a 2 high way high energetic combo guard with handle and scoring abilities. This was the first time seeing him with the Mac Irvin 16s squad and he did a nice job of settling in from the onset. He continues to use his slashing ability to the paint to make defenses collapse and then make the necessary read out of that. His pace in the open floor during the transition phase continues to impress as his plus speed gives offenses an advantage from the git go. The Curie guard will be playing alongside a couple other quick teammates in the back court this upcoming scholastic season and it will be a good group to watch.     Young was playing up an age group through the weekend on his Blue Print Hoops squad for 17U. It didn't phase the young guard from Thornwood as he provided an exemplified pace throughout the game I watched on Friday. His consistent skill to get a step on his defender to get paint touches and then immediately pass it to an open man gives him a huge advantage. When a player shares the basketball like he can, it makes everyone around better and Young certainly does that on a consistent basis. He is super shifty off the bounce and then has excellent court vision to selflessly provide others options. Young also has the ability to score it from beyond the arc and at the cup which provides extra spark as well.     A scrappy floor general that plays with pace and confidence in rhythm. I caught H4H's middle afternoon game on Thursday and he provided a lot of energy in different phases of the game. There were two plays he hunted down offensive rebounds quickly and put them back up for scores. Cade provides a quick handle that he utilized for an in and out and then got to the rim for a conversion. He consistently hit gaps hard and provided a spark in the open floor. His toughness and grit helps team make winning plays on both sides of the ball.     Caught team's afternoon game on Thursday and Jones consistently got downhill with a solid first step quickness. He was able to hit defensive gaps then confidently finished at the rim for multiple buckets. He also proved to be a reliable perimeter threat by knocking down a couple spot up 3s. Jones shows pace and vision while making correct kick out passes after drawing extra help. The most impactful part of his game was getting a paint touch from the wing or via baseline and then spraying to an open man. His willingness to create for others and ability to be a playmaker allows him to be an efficient offensive threat.     Rome fits the mold as another top guard for BP Hoops 17U team. He plays with excellent pace alongside a few other talented back court players and consistently pushes the tempo. In the late morning game on Friday, Rome attacked the rim to draw falls and also dished off plenty of times for assists. On one primary scenario he made the defender commit then threw it up to his big for a lob. His attentiveness to read defenses is a vantage point. Defensively he also showed a good on ball presence to generate a couple back court steals which turned into scores. His speed and vision will provide scoring and play making.

The Prep Hoops Circuit made a stop in Illinois to start the final month of summer ball. Chicago land hosted The Tune Up Illinois Edition which bought in a couple dozen teams from each age division to compete. There were plenty of top point guards from Illinois in the 27' and 28' classes who played at the event. Here PHI will take you through evaluations of their games.