Pontiac Tournament: Friday Standouts
Day four of the holiday tournament week was spent at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. While the snow was coming down outside all day we caught a great day of hoops! Check out who were the best players in the gym on Friday!
PG Branden Ellis (Warren – 2018)
Ellis started the day off strong for Warren. He is one of the better unsigned combo guards available in the state. The senior brings big time athleticism and quickness to the table. Versatile guard that can handle the basketball and has the ability to get hot shooting. He is especially effective pulling up from mid-range. Finds soft spots in the defense and rises up to shoot. Acrobatic finishing around the hoop. Solid defender that projects as a guy who can guard the one and two at next level. D2 prospect. He had 21 points and 5 rebounds.
PF Chris Payton (Bloomington – 2019)
Payton started off a big slow, but then got it cooking as the game went along. The Illinois State commit is proving to be an absolute steal for the MVC program. What separates him from other power forwards is he can face from the mid-post and just destroy defenders with a couple quick dribbles, spins, and finishing at the cup. So strong and athletic! He had a couple huge dunks to start the second half. Defensively he is a rim protector even blocking two shots on the same possession. Overall it wasn’t his best effort as he had some turnovers and shot it inconsistent, but still managed 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Pretty good for an “average” night!
PG Isaiah Fuller (OPRF – 2018)
Fuller is a prospect that we have been fans of for a while now. The combo guard plays with such a high motor and is great getting downhill to the cup. Makes a lot of plays in transition. Pushes the ball where he can finish himself or find teammates for dimes. Tough defender as well getting steals and turning them into touchdowns at the other end. He had 24 points in the win over Bloomington. Really good D2 prospect.
SG Chase Robinson (OPRF – 2019)
Robinson is a player that flies a bit under the radar for OPRF, but for the second time in the last month this glue guy has stepped up when his team needed him most. The 6’2” shooting guard is at his best attacking off the bounce taking angles to get to the rim. When he gets rolling he is tough to stop. Also makes a decent amount of trips to the charity stripe. He had 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Worth monitoring at the D2 level.
SG Dajuan Gordon (Curie – 2019)
Gordon had one of the best performances of the day. The Curie junior was a prospect we were pretty aggressive with his ranking after a strong spring and summer with Team Rose despite having not seen much varsity time. He more than lived up to his top 15 status! Gordon is extremely projectable with a 6’4” long frame with broad shoulders where he will definitely be able to add strength. Still fairly thin. His athleticism jumps off the floor. Explosive with the ball in his hands winning off the bounce and getting to the cup. He is learning how to finish in different ways including a euro step. Also is improving as a rebounder getting on the glass for offensive put backs. He is going to be a plus shooter long term with a clean release. Defensively if he wants to lock in he can be really good. Gordon went for 21 points and 8 boards. Mid-major prospect.
PF Traevon Martin (Curie – 2018)
Martin didn’t score a ton, but made a big impact on the game. The senior 6’8” post showed exactly what he can bring to the table at the college level in this one. He has great length and timing on the defensive end blocking shots. Was dominant on the glass especially early in their quarterfinal victory. Best offensive move of the day was when he stole the ball, did a euro step in the lane, and dunked it. Overall he isn’t a skilled offensive threat, but brings a lot on the glass and defensively. Low-majors in need of a defensive minded big this is your guy!
PG Marquise Walker (Curie – 2019)
The 6’0” scoring point guard from Curie had one of the better games we have seen out of him in a Curie uniform. He is a volume scoring lead guard. Walker drilled an array of mid-range pull up jumpers and mixed in some acrobatic drives to the cup. Also flipped defense to offense on a couple steals. He had 19 points (7-15 FG). Low-major at this stage.
PG Traevon Brown (West Aurora – 2019)
Brown is a 6’0” junior point guard that had a breakout July with the Illinois Stars. He didn’t play great when we saw him earlier in the season, but backed up his ranking in this one. Against a high level Curie squad Brown was scorching hot to start the game. He drilled multiple threes and pull up 15 foot jumpers. Slick ball handler that made some bad turnovers at times. He had 18 points. D1 prospect.
SG Rolondo “Pee Wee” Brown (Peoria Manual – 2020)
Brown is a rangy 6’2” shooting guard that handles it well showing this off on a quick baseline drive early. Potential to be a good jump shooter drilling several jumpers from mid-range and three. Length and lateral quickness project well long term defensively. One of the better young prospects in Peoria. He had 19 points (6-10 FG) and 4 rebounds. One to continue to track.
C Julian Pearl (Danville – 2018)
Pearl is an Illinois football commit, but continues to show out on the hardwood. The 6’6” post was a force on both ends of the floor. It started with what he did defensively completely taking away everything Benet wanted to do inside with his length and athleticism as a rim protector. Plus rebounder that snatches them and offensively can put them back in for points. He had 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks. For Danville to go deep in March Pearl will be a key!
PG Kendle Moore (Danville – 2018)
Moore didn’t shoot the best or do what we saw him do last year at Pontiac, but he still managed to have a productive game and get his team the win. The Drake commit has explosive speed off the bounce especially in transition. Struggled early getting to the rack, but as the game went on things started to loosen up. He converted an and-1. More so he made his living at the foul line drilling 9-10 from the stripe. Moore had 16 points.
SG Dante Maddox (Bloom – 2020)
Maddox had the best game we have seen out of him in his young career. The D1 sophomore prospect was absolutely on fire from three early in their contest against Pontiac. He couldn’t miss hitting five in the first half. Deep range on his shot out to well beyond the college three point arc. Clean stroke with repeatable mechanics. Later in the game he started to get downhill using his strength and athleticism to score at the cup. The 6’2” sophomore scoring guard had 30 points on 10-17 from the field and an insane 7-10 from three.
PG Carter Dawson (Pontiac – 2020)
We came away thinking that this Pontiac point guard might be one of the unsung prospects to watch in the sophomore class. First aspect that stands out is size for position at 6’4” for a lead guard. He plays with a high IQ and feel for the game especially in the half court. Works well in the pick and roll. Later in the game he started to score more drilling some threes and banking in a mid-range jumper. Dawson had 12 points. We look forward to watching his development!
SF Talen Horton-Tucker (Simeon – 2018)
THT as usual was the man for the Wolverines. The Mr. Basketball candidate hit some tough jumpers throughout their blowout win over St. Charles North. His most impressive might have been when he banked in a fadeaway from a difficult angle. Also got on the offensive glass with his length and strong hands. One time he grabbed a board and finished on the other side of the cup. His third standout moment was catching a half court lob for a slam. One thing I would say is he started to fall in love with the jumper and took some bad shots later in the game. Overall the Iowa State commit is a versatile offensive player that is going to be an impact player from day one in Ames! He had 28 points.