Midwest Throwdown: Saturday Standouts
On Saturday PrepHoopsIllinois checked out some local and regional teams at the Recruit Look Midwest Throwdown in St. Louis, MO! We will have additional coverage of this event, but here is a taste of the best of the best from Saturday.
SG Tyriel Nelson (Chicago Select 17U)
Nelson was one of the pleasant surprises of the day! The 6’0” shooting guard from Providence St. Mel put his team on his back in the first half creating a huge lead that they would carry to the end. He was aggressive from the jump pushing the tempo in transition and scoring in a variety of ways. Hit a three, mid-range jumper, and had several acrobatic finishes. Rebounds well for his size.
G Tyler Cochran (Hoopers 17U)
Cochran was one of the main priorities for the mid-major schools that were in the house on Saturday. This 6’2” power combo is a thick guard that might need to trim some of that off to reach his max ability as a player. You have to love the competitiveness and toughness that the Bolingbrook guard brings to the table. At times he settled for some forced jumpers, but in the second game he started off hot making them. He was solid scoring, but was more impressive showing his well-rounded game. Rebounded outstanding from his guard position and had crisp passes distributing throughout the day for Hoopers!
SG Yamani Shareef (Hoopers 17U)
This Plainfield East 2019 shooting guard’s game continues to grow on me every time I see the Hoopers play. He has nice size at 6’3” with the ability to knock down shots at a high rate. Shareef drilled triples throughout both the games we evaluated. Definitely most effective off the catch and shoot. This is a prospect we look forward to seeing how he develops in the upcoming months.
SF Marlon Ruffin (Playground Elite 17U)
Ruffin is a big and physical unsigned senior wing out of Wisconsin at 6’4” that is physical and aggressive with his play. The 2018 prospect took it right at the defense with an array of powerful finishes through defenders at the cup. He scored multiple and-1’s in the game that we evaluated. Burst on his first step. Did hit one three that he was fouled on to open the game, but you can tell his strength is going north and south to the hoop. Ruffin netted 18 points.
SF Clifford Talton (Jets-Ramey United 17U)
This Monroe City, MO 6’3” forward has a nice combination of strength and skill on the perimeter. He got to the foul line quite a bit on tough slashes to the rim. Hit some contested jumpers including a sick step back. Scoring pop out of this Missouri product as he finished with 14 points.
PF Nathan Soltis (Grassroots Indiana 17U)
Soltis is a 6’6” tough and rugged four man that plays incredibly physical against opposing forwards. He got to the foul line at a very high rate where he converted regularly. Soltis showed a little bit of a face up game too scoring on a runner and had one huge dunk in the game! He went for 16 points against the Jets.
SG Lashawn Johnson (Hoopville 16U)
Johnson was definitely a new name to add to our radar. The 2020 East St. Louis wing stands at about 6’3” with a good frame. Attacks downhill consistently getting skinny through traffic to get buckets in the paint. Connected on one triple in the game we saw. He is mostly a slasher that gets to the rim off the bounce and was effective in transition with several nice finishes.
PF Jacob Dust (Illinois Bears 16U)
Dust stands at 6’6” from Effingham St. Anthony. That program has produced some quality small college prospects over the last couple years and Dust looks to be the next in line in 2020. He is a tough and rugged kid that is an excellent area rebounder. Country strong kid that is powerful finishing through weaker big men. Efficient with his touches on the block and shows some skill down low. He had 16 points.
PG Ethyn Brown (Jets-Ramey United 15U)
It was a nice day on Saturday for this 6’0” point guard from Belleville Althoff. He showed flashes against older competition seeing minutes on varsity for his high school team this past season. He is a smooth lead guard that has athleticism that he likes to use in the paint. Sound perimeter shooter who can hit a three when left open. Like how he mixed up scoring and passing getting others involved with crisp passes in the half court.
SG Tobias Roland (Oklahoma PWP 15U)
Roland is a prospect that jumped off the page for us on PWP. The 15U UAA squad is playing up in the 16U division in this tournament, but it didn’t seem to faze them one bit winning the game we saw by 20+ points. A major reason was this guard. Roland stands at 6’3” and is built with great upper body strength. This shooting guard has deep range on his jumper and he showed that off in the contest we saw as he drilled five triples in the win going for 15 points. Clean and quick release on his shot.