Chicago Elite Classic: Friday Standouts
The Chicago Elite Classic is one of the premier events in the state of Illinois every year! It brings the best of the best from Chicago, other areas of the state, and nationally. Friday night action kicked off with four games. Here are the standouts from the first night of the event.
G Jordan Matthews (St. Rita – 2018)
Matthews is a 6’0” combo guard that continues to make strides as a point guard. He showed that on Friday night against Bloomington running the show with the ball in his hands. Matthews made some nice finds on the interior after getting dribble penetration. Crisp passes that are usually on the money for his teammates to do damage when they get the ball. Throughout the entire game he got in the lane over and over. He is a guard that takes great angles and has quick change of direction in the lane. Scored well at the cup with some acrobatic finishes. Surprisingly for as many times as he took it to the cup he didn’t attempt a single free throw. He was efficient on his shots at the rim hitting 8-9 from inside the arc. Jump shot needs some more consistency. Played good defense on Patrick Fisher from Bloomington holding him to only 3-13 shooting from the field. Matthews had 16 points and 6 dimes. Projects as a really high level D3/NAIA player that could slip into D2 consideration with a strong senior campaign.
F Landen Gladney (St. Rita – 2018)
Gladney was a prospect that was not on our radar coming into the Chicago Elite Classic. The 6’5” combo forward has a strong body and solid length. Got on the glass early and often on both ends of the floor. Fought extremely hard on the boards and despite Payton getting his he definitely made him work for it. Offensively he is physical in the paint grabbing offensive rebounds for put backs and can take it off the bounce on occasion. He had 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists. One to track going forward for sure!
PF Chris Payton (Bloomington – 2019)
The Illinois State commit put on show for the Chicago fans that have not seen him before. The 6’6” power forward has good strength in his upper body with big time athleticism. He finished multiple dunks including an alley-oop to open followed later by a 360 slam in transition. He was aggressive taking at the defense with quick and assertive moves. Payton was rewarded for that with 14 free throw attempts. Struggled only hitting half of them there. Plays powerful inside and you have to make sure you have a body on him at all times because he is a big time rebounder. The skill level is still a work in progress, but Illinois State is getting a good one. The top 10 2019 prospect had 19 points and 13 rebounds.
PG Chris Pugh (Bloomington – 2018)
Pugh is a lead guard that caught our eye late in July when he was playing with Team Illinois. The 6’3” point guard has good size and speed with the ball in his hands. Excels most in the transition game where he can play off his quickness and ability to get to the rim. Pugh showed off his explosion with one poster dunk. Finishes well around the rim and got to the charity stripe. Didn’t shoot it well from the perimeter as did the whole team. Forced quite a few turnovers on the defensive end with his active hands getting deflections and getting in passing lanes. He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. Projects as a really good D3/NAIA guard that will excel at that level. A couple years of JUCO could really elevate his stock if he chose to go that route.
G Tyrese Shines (Lyons Township – 2019)
Shines stands at 6’3” with long arms and a strong upper body. He has definitely added strength since we saw him last season. Another area that he has shown some growth is in his perimeter shot. Knocked down a couple pulling up off the bounce. Mechanics looked good. Sometimes he can lean forward on his release. Most of his scores came in the paint and by using his quick second jump in the paint. Solid rebounding combo guard. He had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 dimes. Right now projects as a high D3/NAIA with the ability to work his way into D2 consideration.
SG Ryan Cicenas (Riverside Brookfield – 2018)
Cicenas came up big a few years back at the CEC and he got hot again from three in the second half of their game this year. The 6’4” two guard is a plus perimeter shooter that moves well without the ball. He is most comfortable coming off movement to get open and let the shot fly from the perimeter. Cicenas was somewhat streaky only going 3-10 from deep, but hit some big ones in the second half. Mostly just a shooting specialist for the next level. Went for 15 points (5-14 FG). D3/NAIA prospect.
PG Isaiah Fuller (OPRF – 2018)
Fuller is an undervalued point guard on the recruiting trail. The 6’2” lead guard took his game up a notch in July with Mercury Elite and has carried that confidence over into the start of his senior season. He opened up with a pair of threes off the catch, but didn’t connect on his next four attempts. His biggest asset is getting to the rim and even more so to the line. He was 9-10 from the stripe. Fuller passed the ball well throughout getting others involved with crisp dishes. Also thought he was solid defensively holding one of the state’s premier scorers to only 13 points. Fuller finished with 19 points and 6 assists. He is one of the better point guards still available and should be on the D2 radar!
PG DJ Steward (Fenwick – 2020)
Steward is one of the best handful of prospects in the state regardless of class. He is a 6’2” long and rangy lead guard. Projectable game to be a big time player at the next level. He was just average at the Chicago Elite Classic. Steward had a lot of trouble finishing at the rim against the tough OPRF defenders. He did show a knack for getting his own rebounds with a quick and explosive second jump. Steward grabbed seven offensive rebounds that were mostly off his own misses. Hit a corner three, but the shot from deep was not something he looked for consistently. Steward had 13 points (5-16 FG) and 8 boards on the night. It wasn’t his best performance, but I would take him over any player that participated in the three high school games long term!
SG Damari Nixon (Fenwick – 2019)
Nixon is a 6’1” lefty shooting guard that is primed for a big season at Fenwick! He is so slick with his ball and slippery in traffic getting to the hoop. Finishes with floaters and acrobatic layups showing off his body control. Shifty handles and got where he wanted most of the night. Made regular trips to the foul line. Mostly a slashing scoring guard at this stage. He had 18 points (5-8 FG). Nixon is going to be a player we track closely this year!
PG Amari Bailey (Skinner Middle School – 2022)
Bailey is the premier middle school prospect in the state of Illinois. He has already made an early college commitment to DePaul. The uber smooth lefty has size for the point guard position and tremendous feel. Against a stacked Ariel team who just beat them the week before he put his team on his back and led them to the win to kick off the Chicago Elite Classic. Finishes well through and around contact! Advanced IQ for a player his age with vision to find others. Bailey is the next star of Chicago high school basketball.