First Person: Illinois Irish

In our “First Person Grassroots Recap” series we take a look at how the travel team season went for one our state’s programs.We spoke with Gavin Sullivan of the Illinois Irish to break down their 16U squad.   16U Record: 31-11 Accomplishments:  - According to IndiHoops.com our 16U finished the year ranked 23rd in the country - NY2LA Swish N Dish: Sweet 16 (Lost to All Ohio Red 68-62): AOR was Runner Up - Nike Spring Showdown: Final 4 (Lost to Stl Eagles 43-37): Eagles was Tourney Champs - NY2LA Spring Extravaganza: Elite 8 (Lost to Chicago Lockdown 68-64) - Adidas May Classic: Runner Up (Lost to Indiana Elite 2017 58-46): IE was Tourney Champs - NY2LA Invitational: Sweet 16 (Lost to WI Playmakers 51-50 in Triple OT) - Chicago Classic: Sweet 16 (Lost to WI Playground Warriors 57-42): WPGC was Runner Up  - Adidas Invitational: Sweet 16 (Lost To Shinning Stars 56-49) - NY2LA Summer Jam: Sweet 16 (Lost to Meanstreets  48-44): Meanstreets was Runner Up - Jayhawk Summer Finale:  Runner Up (Lost to KC Run GMC  68-52): KC Run GMC was Tourney Champs Key Wins:  St Louis Eagles 15U & 16U, Howard Pulley, Ohio Basketball Club, Indiana Elite Central, The City, Omaha Elite, UA Young Legends 16U, Indiana Elite George Hill Rising Stars.  Overall Thoughts on Season:  Our 16U team this year had a great season considering we had one player (Brady Hays 6'3 SG) only play in 2 games all year long due to multiple injuries, one player (Max Muller 6'5 SF) miss April because of a broken thumb suffered at tryouts, and had two other players leave for other teams during the year (Romon Douglas-Watkins 6'5 F & Jake Pfieffer 6'7 C).  At many of the tournaments this year our 16U team only had 7 or 8 guys total.  These guys bought in and played with a purpose at all times.  They share the ball extremely well, understand their roles, and put a priority of doing what it takes to win games.  They played with a chip on their shoulder all year long & tried to earn respect for how they played on the court.  They managed to win a lot of games and showed they were one of the toughest 16U teams around.  Standout Performers:  2018 SG 6'6 Tim Finke: Tim has a chance to be pretty darn special. He is our 16U team's go to guy. He has size, athleticism, and a skill set to do damage off the wing or in the post.  He can score at all 3 levels & by the end of the summer was finishing over people in traffic.  No doubt High Major Talent.  2017 WF 6'5 Doug Wallen: A tough, rugged forward who really improved his perimeter game this year.  Showed people that he can shoot out to the 3, put the ball on the floor, and finish above the rim.  Look for him to have a big year at St. Thomas More.  2017 PG's 5'9 Devin Whitelow & 5'11 Aundrae Williams: 2 true pg's that don't get the credit they deserve.  Both are extremely tough full court defenders & are pass first pg's on the offensive end.  These two guards are why this team & the players around them had a lot of success.  Biggest compliment I can give these two guys is that they win & other players want to play with them.