Holiday Evals: 2021 Prospects
PrepHoopsIllinois covered five different holiday tournaments across the state last week. This allowed us to evaluate tons of prospects at a variety of ages and college levels. Now it is time for the massive 160+ player scouting report on all the prospects. Here are the 2021 Prospects we evaluated!
G Max Christie (Rolling Meadows – 2021)
This was our first chance to the see the much hyped 6’4” freshman who has been putting up big numbers early in the season. Wow were we impressed! First of all he has a long and lanky frame that is very projectable. Already has excellent size for the guard position, but he should grow several more inches over the next four years before he gets to college. Ultra smooth with the rock in his hands. He plays with such poise for a young player. Gets wherever he wants with his smooth ball handling. Likes to finish in the lane with runners/floaters. Gets to the rim on a fairly consistent basis off the bounce. Looks good in the transition game always having his head up while weaving through the defense looking to make a play for himself or others. Clean looking jump shot as he has shown he is a three point threat. Rebounds well for a wing and is a crisp passer that has point-forward potential. He was checked much of the game by top 5 senior Zion Griffin who is bigger and much stronger and still went off for the best performance of the day. He had 23 points and 5 boards. Christie is a potential high-major prospect and in contention early on for the top spot in the 2021 class in Illinois.
C Chris Hodges (Schaumburg – 2021)
We had seen a little bit of Hodges on the travel team circuit with the Illinois Wolves, but this was our first eval of him on the high school level. The 6’7” center is a well-built post with a nice frame. He had two early fouls which limited his production. In the second half we saw some of the tools that make him intriguing. Got on the offensive glass for a pair of put backs. Drilled a mid-range jumper. Area rebounder. He had 7 points. D1 prospect for sure early on.
SG Blake Peters (Evanston – 2021)
Peters has impressed early in his first high school season. The 6’0” two guard is a great perimeter marksmen connecting at a high rate from beyond the arc. Jump shot is pure from three and has repeatable mechanics. Moves well without the ball to get open. Mixes in a drive every now and then. Peters is definitely one of the freshman to watch in this class. He had 18 points.
SG Jaylin Gibson (Evanston – 2021)
Gibson is a 6’3” shooting guard that started and plays a complimentary role for his squad, but has the most long term potential of anyone on the team. Big time athlete with wiry strength. Projectable prospect. He picked up two early fouls which limited his playing time against Carmel. Gibson’s best play was a steal followed by a coast to coast finish. He is an explosive athlete in transition. D1’s will be learning his name soon.
PG Kimahri Wilson (Carmel – 2021)
I had been hearing a lot of buzz about this point guard so I left Pontiac at 4:30 AM to make sure I saw him in the first game of the day at Centralia. Wilson is a 5’11” thin point guard. He is a quick and dynamic point guard that has the ability to break down defenders off the bounce and get to the rim. At times he can over dribble a bit too much and forced some turnovers with some flashy passes. Seems to settle in as the game goes on playing better in the second half making quality decisions with the ball and looking to be more aggressive as a scorer getting to the rack. Can hit a mid-range jumper. Didn’t shoot it much from three. Wilson didn’t have a dominant performance in either game we saw, but you can definitely see a lot of potential there. He had 9 points against Confluence and 12 points against Evanston.
SF Khailieo Terry (Champaign Central – 2021)
Terry is one of the freakiest athletes in the state. The only one that might be on his level is Anthony Fairlee from Springfield Southeast. This 6’4” small forward wowed the fans at Centralia with his play above the rim finishing multiple dunks with explosion on tip dunks and slams off dump offs. Best play was a steal, blowing past a defender, and dunking it in transition. As my friend John Fischer said, “He finally dribbled the ball!” Force on the defensive swatting shots. Long term projection will be determined by how his skill level evolves over the next three seasons. Right now just kills people with athleticism in the paint. He had 12 points against Marist.