Wings and Post Players Emerge at Freshman Showcase in Early Evals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>***Use Code “ScottyB30” for 30% off your subscription***</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Freshman Showcase is consistently an event where we see players for the first time as a staff and get our initial impressions of them as a player.&nbsp; We get a baseline for who they are now as a player physically, skill wise, and what they could become.&nbsp; Here is a look at the wings and post prospects who emerged at the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wings</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2401918' first='Jeremiah' last='Perkins'] (Belleville Althoff)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perkins burst on the scene making a name for himself as the 6'0” shooting guard is strong and athletic.&nbsp; Creates off the dribble with ease, is a high level perimeter defender, and rebounded well from his guard spot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3596253' first='Lamont' last='Matthews Jr'] (Intrinsic Downtown)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matthews jumped off the floor to us as a 6'3” small forward with good shooting stroke.&nbsp; Long and lanky wing presents physical and athletic upside especially on the def3ensive end where he was flying all over the place including blocking shots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2966363' first='Grayson' last='Johnson'] (Benet)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Benet 6'0” shooting guard showcased his spot up shooting from the corners along with using his strong frame and bully ball putting pressure on the hoop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3730757' first='Kayden' last='Grier'] (West Aurora)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Really liked what we saw out of this West Aurora 6'2” shooting guard.&nbsp; The strong guard was explosive with baseline rips converting on his drives.&nbsp; Iso scorer that slashed it very well and shielded the ball away from defenders at the rim.&nbsp; Showed some instincts defensively with a few steals pushing coast to coast for buckets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2405421' first='Eissa' last='Khan'] (Hersey)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At 6'0” the shooting guard from Hersey brings long arms and some projection to the table.&nbsp; This program who has produced quality guards over the last few years might have another in Khan who had a sweet euro step along with a three off a baseline out of bounds play when we were watching.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2920998' first='Kellan' last='Jones'] (Pekin)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones exploded on the scene with his play at the event.&nbsp; Pekin is a tradition rich program looking for their next legit prospect and this 6'2” two guard could very well be it.&nbsp; Crafty wing that plays with nice pace and puts it on the deck with crispness.&nbsp; Slick euro steps in transition and would sneak in on the offensive glass on occasion.&nbsp; Quality passer as well being able to slide over and play on the ball if needed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3724538' first='Hank' last='Wright'] (Marmion Academy)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marmion Academy 6'2” shooting guard brings plus athleticism to the table.&nbsp; It really popped in transition along with knocking in pull up triples on a consistent basis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3722144' first='Mason' last='Nelson'] (Homewood Flossmoor)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The HF 6'2” two guard played with high energy and creative handles winning off the bounce.&nbsp; Also drained an array of threes including banking in a couple from the wing.&nbsp; Brings some flair to the game!&nbsp; Definitely a name we will be hearing more about in the future!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2405307' first='Frank' last='Natali'] (Maine South)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Natali caught our attention as a 6'1” two guard that as a lefty regularly was scoring on sweeping and reverse layups.&nbsp; Also flashed a solid shooting stroke making a three in the game we saw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3684743' first='Owen' last='Anderson'] (Danville)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Danville 6'0” shooting guard that was very active on both ends of the floor.&nbsp; He got after it on the glass with second chance points along with using his quick hands to swipe steals for points on the other end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2369920' first='Luke' last='Beran'] (Benet)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Beran was a fun player to watch especially playing with his future high school teammate Rydberg.&nbsp; Thick bodied lefty wing who was such a crafty finisher in the paint on his slashes and transition buckets.&nbsp; Solid passer as an off ball player.&nbsp; Going to be a big part of their core moving forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Posts</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3704807' first='Christian' last='Dulinsky'] (Joliet Catholic)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joliet Catholic 6'6” center has a nice frame and good strength.&nbsp; Quality area rebounder on both ends of the floor starting the break with nice outlets along with getting put backs on the offensive end.&nbsp; Runs the floor well for a post and cuts off the ball.&nbsp; Upside here!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>David Pauliukonis (Benet)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The younger brother of former Benet star and current SIU Saluki this 6'7” long and thin four man is bursting with upside and long term potential.&nbsp; Has the frame to add strength and moves with such ease for his size.&nbsp; Displayed touch on his face up jumper from mid-range and on the baseline.&nbsp; Defensively covers a lot of ground and is a legit rim protector.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2921088' first='Ahmed' last='Ibrahim'] (St. Patrick)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Patrick 6'3” power forward is a prospect with a thick body, but still has some projection to grow a couple more inches.&nbsp; Runs the floor very hard and plays with physicality in the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->