Fall 2021 New Names to Emerge

Prep Hoops Illinois dives into what we saw from a variety of events during the fall months. We saw tons of basketball over the last few months and now we recap that. Check out our Fall 2021 New Names to Emerge! [player_tooltip player_id="1049605" first="Johnny" last="Falduto"] (IC Catholic) Event: Breakaway Scrimmage This 5’11” point guard put himself on our radar in this scrimmage. Tough and fiery leader that brings competitiveness at the point guard position. Got a steal on an inbounds pass then finished it with a layup. Also hit a triple.   [player_tooltip player_id="1049578" first="Quinn" last="Cain"] (Hinsdale Central) Event: Breakaway Scrimmage Cain emerged with his play as the lead guard on the 3 on 3 team with Mielke. He is a crisp passer with size at 6’5”. Made sound decisions with the rock on the move.   [player_tooltip player_id="1049595" first="Dylan" last="Harkins"] (Mt. Vernon) Event: Pure Sweat Back 2 School Camp Harkins continues to knock down shots. The Mt. Vernon lead guard drilled mid-range jumpers and corner threes en route to a nice night. Also had an impressive open court bullet pass for a dime.   [player_tooltip player_id="1049601" first="Buzz" last="Ritzel"] (Nashville) Event: Pure Sweat Back 2 School Camp Expect big things from this Nashville 6’2” guard as a senior. Sound shooter mechanically that drilled several of them when we were watching. Also had a spinning layup in transition.   [player_tooltip player_id="1049592" first="Jaxon" last="Goforth"] (Nashville) Event: Pure Sweat Back 2 School Camp This 6’5” four man from Nashville was active on the defensive end recording several blocked shots. Also had a few tough layups including one drive, jump stop, and conversion.   [player_tooltip player_id="1049508" first="Matas" last="Deksnys"] (Lockport) Event: Stealth Runs Next Wave Session 1 This was the breakout star of the night in our eyes. The 6’6” long and thin left handed small forward has a feathery shot from beyond the arc. Drilled threes all night long. Quick and easy release shooting the ball. Also displayed some creativity off the bounce on several slick takes finishing with either hand. Defensively he has potential. Definitely needs to add strength, but has upside for sure!   [player_tooltip player_id="1049580" first="Aidan" last="Murphy"] (Glenbard West) Event: Stealth Runs Next Wave Session 1 Murphy had a strong performance. The 6’5” face up four man got off to a hot start from deep drilling an array of threes spotting up. Also had a clever take from the mid-post for a bucket. His floor spacing will intrigue small colleges.   AJ Wells (Homewood Flossmoor) Event: South Suburban Hoops Kings of the Court Wells is a 6’7” power forward for Homewood Flossmoor that has size and strength. Runs the floor hard in transition where he was rewarded several times with buckets. Rebounded well in his area and finished his touches in the paint. Even stepped out to hit a three.   Semaj Greer (Rich Township) Event: South Suburban Hoops Kings of the Court Greer was also on the team with the three players above and ran the show at the point. Quick and shifty 5’9” ball handling point guard that got in the lane for nifty layups and made solid decisions as a passer.   Kyle Engstler (Downers Grove North) Event: Stealth Runs Next Wave Session 2 Engstler turned it up several notches as the evening went along. Strong bodied forward did a little bit of everything. Crashed the glass on both ends. Ran the floor hard and could even handle it a little pushing off his defensive boards. Hit a mid-range shot and a three on the night. One to track.   Hakim Williams (Round Lake) Williams is a 6’3” big bodied shooting guard that does most of his damage on the interior. Strong frame allows him to bully smaller guards on the block. Sealed well and garnered deep post position. Very good rebounder for a guard. Showed a smooth handle on the perimeter and was effective as a drive/kick threat dishing. Ben Randall (Hersey) Randall impressed us with his plus size at 6’6” on the wing with a clean looking shooting stroke from three. Only hit one in the games we saw, but it is good mechanically. Has some bounce to his game throwing down a thunderous jam along with a sweet reverse layup. Artistic scorer off the bounce.   Garrett Burdin (Rochelle) This was the breakout player of the first week. The Rochelle 6’2” two guard is a plus shooter from beyond the arc knocking them down on both days. He was straight money off the catch with a quick stroke. Also was good pulling up on his own. Runs the floor very hard and was rewarded consistently by his guards with buckets. Gritty wing that flies in for rebounds and is an adept passer in the open floor.   JP Patterson (Belleville West) Event: Illinois Bears Jamboree Patterson is a 6’2” wing with nice length and plus athleticism. The long and rangy two guard was at his best using his long strides attacking off the bounce slashing for scores at the cup. Pushed it in transition going coast to coast. Hit one corner three when we saw, but was definitely most effective getting downhill.   Peyton Edwards (Carmi) Event: Cape Girardeau Scrimmage Edwards is a 6’8” post that put his name on our radar in this performance. The senior big man is a floor spacer that knocked down a pair of threes. Didn’t show a ton else, but with that size and touch from deep he is intriguing.