Swish N Dish: Scott’s Friday Standouts
Friday night opened the travel team season at NY2LA Sports Swish N Dish. It was an action packed night with tons of prospects from Illinois and the Midwest. Check out who were the stars. Here are Scott’s Standouts from Friday!
C Herb McMath (Illinois Irish Gus 17U)
This 6’5” center from Springfield Lanphier started off the night with a nice performance. He is a wide body in the paint that has a knack for carving out space on the interior. Soft touch around the hoop and is actually a sound passer finding cutters. McMath was consistently active on the glass. He had multiple offensive rebound put backs. Small college prospect that plays hard and gets the most out of what he has.
SG Jay’Dyn Brown (Hoops Avenue 17U)
Brown was relentless! The athletic wing has tremendous strength in his upper body and plays with an all-out motor on both ends of the floor. The Waukegan 2019 wing was impressive with his ability to rebound with a quick second jump and score on the glass. Offensively he was in attack mode scoring off the bounce and made regular trips to the charity stripe. Put pressure on opposing guards with his in your face defense.
PG Traevon Brown (Illinois Stars 17U)
For the Stars 17U it was a well-rounded win with everyone contributing across the board. Liked how this West Aurora guard played. The long and angular point guard used to be just a pure athlete that relied on that to be successful. Now the skill is starting to come along to match. His jump shot is quickly becoming a plus weapon from deep. Drilled a pair in the game we saw. Pushes it in the open floor and has the vision to find others. Also fed the post well in this contest. We currently have Brown underrated in the rankings and if he continues to play like this will see a bump in the next update.
SF Bryant Brown (Illinois Wolves 17U)
Brown is an intriguing 6’6” wing from Waukegan. He is coming off a productive high school season where he was the man on his team. Going back to the Wolves he took some of that mentality into Swish N Dish. Was impressed with how he shot the ball from the perimeter drilling multiple threes and was especially effective from the corners. Seemed a lot more confident shooting it. Off the dribble he struggled some finishing, but got multiple offensive rebounds with his second jump. Most impressive move of the night was a baseline take that he hammered home. Brown is currently a mid-major prospect.
SG Marquise Kennedy (Illinois Wolves 17U)
Kennedy is a player that didn’t have a great spring or summer last year and we saw some growth during the high school season. Friday night he looked like he is primed to make a big leap this spring with his new squad. He played both on and off the ball looking comfortable handling it against pressure. The 6’1” guard has long arms, an angular build, and bounce. He went up for a huge dunk and although he missed it showed a level of athleticism I hadn’t seen out of him before. Kennedy was tough taking it to the hoop on slick drives and also hit a wing three. Defensively he blocked a couple shots and showed some lateral quickness. Look forward to seeing how he continues to progress this spring.
SF Kahlil Whitney (Mac Irvin Fire 17U)
Whiney is originally from Illinois and now plays at Roselle Catholic in New Jersey. The 6’7” wing has improved a lot since we last saw him in July. Big time athlete that high points rebounds and is a major threat in the open floor. What I liked most about him was the growth in his jump shot. He has always been a consistent jumper away from being elite. He drilled an array from 15-18 feet in this contest. No brainer high-major.
PG Mario McKinney (Brad Beal Elite 17U)
BBE fell on the first night to Quad City Elite, but this Vashon 2019 point guard did everything he could to get his team back in the game. McKinney is a scoring point guard that is quick and shifty in tight spaces. Scores the majority of his points at the rim in transition. Love his competitiveness and fire that he brings to the table. Got after it on the defensive end for steals that he converted into points on the other end. High-major prospect.
PG DJ Carton (Quad City Elite 17U)
Carton had the play of the night. He absolutely posterized a defender going right down the lane for a left handed hammer! It had the entire gym buzzing for several minutes after. That might be what stood out to most, but I love the way this point guard plays the game. He is a crafty floor general and leader on the court. Makes excellent decisions with the ball in his hands. Works well in the pick and roll. Vision to find teammates in both the half court and transition. As a scorer he can get to the rack with a quick first step where he finishes at the cup. High-major prospect from Iowa.
PF CJ Wilbourn (Quad City Elite 17U)
Wilbourn who is from Normal Community took on the challenge of going against Normal West star Francis Okoro. He frustrated Okoro on the interior with his post defense. The 6’8” post blocked several shots and altered others against BBE’s twin towers. Rebounded well fighting for every contested rebound. Seemed engaged throughout the contest more than I saw last summer. Offensively he drilled a pair of deep baseline jumpers that made you think he could be a pick and pop four that brings rebounding and toughness to the table. Needs to be on mid-major and low-major radars in the Midwest!
SG Dante Maddox (Mac Irvin Fire 16U)
Maddox continued his strong play at Swish N Dish. It has been a steady climb for Maddox from last summer, to this high school season, to now on a shoe company team. He is a plus perimeter shooter especially off the catch. When he gets a clean look and is rhythm put it in the book! Played really hard scoring in transition and got on the glass well for a guard. D1 prospect.
PG Marcus Watson (Mac Irvin Fire 16U)
We were very impressed with how Watson played at state and after seeing him Friday night think he has bumped into the top tier of point guards in the 2020 class. He is an angular guard that plays bigger than his height especially defensively because of his length. Got into his man and would not let him move after he got a couple early buckets. Watson is so smooth with the rock weaving in and out of defenders and scoring at the cup with acrobatic layups. Lot of transition scores. D1 prospect that needs to get more looks at the mid-major level during the live periods.
SF Will Wolfe (Illinois Wolves 16U)
The Aurora Christian 2020 wing was impressive on the first night. He is listed at 6’6” and has long arms along with a nice frame to continue to add strength. Consistently got to the lane off the dribble. Excellent decision maker in traffic. Clean looking stroke from the perimeter. Hit one early, but then they didn’t fall as the game went on. Will be a plus shooter long term. He was the catalyst that made the Wolves offense work on Friday night.