ISL Fall Classic: Top Performers

<p>This weekend Larry Butler held his annual <strong>Illinois Spotlite Fall Classic</strong> at Plainfield Central.  This is a late summer event that hosts a mixture of teams from the Chicagoland area. As PHI made a stop in the gym on Saturday these were the standouts from the event. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="939068" first="Sam" last="Lewis"] 2023 (OPRF) F</strong></p> <p>Lewis was spectacular in the two games I watched. He broke defenders down with one on one moves getting to the rim often with much improved handles. Sam made great plays in transition but also showed his skillset in the half court. Hitting several iso dribble pull up threes with defenders right in his face. His best play of the day was a body to body dunk on a fastbreak that had the whole gym buzzing. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="939065" first="Ethan" last="Kizer"] 2023 (Metamora)  F</strong></p> <p>I was very impressed with Kizer’s play on Saturday.  Ethan showed how versatile he is as a forward.  For starters he is very athletic and caught many lobs for dunks throughout the day.  Next he displayed his perimeter play making shots from different areas of the three point arc. And lastly Kizer was swatting shots at the rim proving he’s a solid rim protector who plays with the same energy on both sides of the ball. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="925221" first="Lonnel" last="Strickland"] 2022 (Fenger)  F </strong></p> <p>Lonnel was a one man scoring machine for the Titans. He pushed the ball at times getting to the rim off hard dribble drives when bigger defenders would guard him. At 6’5” Strickland takes advantage of mismatch opportunities. He made a handful of three pointers on the day as well. For many JUCO’s who haven’t seen this kid or heard of him he is a prospect to keep an eye on this upcoming season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1210374" first="Ty" last="Rogers"] 2022 (West Aurora)  F</strong></p> <p>Was very impressed with what I saw from Rogers in the two games he played. Ty was very active at the lead guard spot at 6’5” Rogers is crafty and keeps defenders off balance with different ways to attack or facilitate when getting in the lane. Ty has a really good mid range game that is effective because he can shoot over smaller guys when they contest. Rogers also surprised me with two bouncy dunks on the day rounding out his performance on Saturday. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="863594" first="Xavier" last="Lewis"] 2022 (TF South) F </strong></p> <p>Lewis made some strong plays on the defensive side of the ball that caught the eye of PHI. Xavier is a defensive four man that does a great job at protecting his basket. Lewis made several plays on D swatting shots often. One of his better blocks was a chase down block where he spiked it out of bounds. Another strong play of Xavier was off a missed shot where he snatched the rebound and went coast to coast with a left handed finish. Unsigned 2022 with a upside colleges should track.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="925214" first="Davontae" last="Hall"] 2022 (Hyde Park)  G </strong></p> <p>Hall was continued his upward trend since his summer with Team Rose. Another unsigned senior with tremendous upside.  Played well on Saturday. Davontae scored at all three levels and did a solid job distributing to teammates.  He always gets after it on defense and doesn’t take plays off. Hall most surprising play for me today was a help side block that he sent out of bounds proving he is constantly adding to his game. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="939051" first="Darrion" last="Baker"] 2023 (Hillcrest)  F </strong></p> <p>This was the first time I’ve seen Baker since he transferred. I walked away impressed with Darrion’s ability to handle the ball in the open court and make plays in the lane for his size. Baker scored off layups and even caught a dunk off the dribble near the baseline. With more playing time and ability to show his skillset Baker will be a south suburban gem the next two seasons. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>