Swish N Dish: 2020 Evals
PrepHoopsIllinois has extensive coverage of this past weekend’s NY2LA Sports Swish N Dish. We continue our scouting of the event by examining the 2020 prospects in attendance.
PG DJ Steward (Meanstreets)
Steward is one of the premier 2020 prospects in the state of Illinois. The angular point guard is silky smooth with the rock getting to his spots for his go to pull up game. Steward can really shoot it from 15-18 feet with consistency. Stretched it out to three in Milwaukee making an array of triples. Clean shot mechanically. Mixed in a couple transition scores. He finished with 16 points. High-major guard.
PG Tyler Beard (Meanstreets)
Beard is the #5 prospect currently in the 2020 rankings and he more than lived up to that billing with his play. The Whitney Young sophomore is a freak show athlete with the way to uses his speed and leaping ability to make an impact on the game. Beard rebounds extremely well for a guard high pointing them over bigger post players. So fast in transition and is impossible to stop when he has opponents going backwards. Plays above the rim finishing alley-oops with ease. Defensively he also makes plays in the air swatting shots at an insane rate for a guard. He had 17 points. Mid-major plus prospect with high-major athleticism.
PG Ahron Ulis (Meanstreets)
Ulis really elevated his game as a sophomore this season at Marian Catholic. The lead guard has an amazing ability to be a playmaker in the open floor. He has the speed and vision to find others. One of the best pure passers in the state’s sophomore class. He has become a capable three point shooter. Projects as a mid-major prospect early in the process.
PF Sincere Callwood (Meanstreets)
Callwood is a player from Simeon that the casual basketball fan doesn’t know about, but will become familiar with over the next couple years. He is a 6’5” power undersized four man that plays a physical brand of basketball. Rebounds well in traffic and finishes through contact.
C Martice Mitchell (Mac Irvin Fire)
Mitchell is a big man with a lot of upside. One of the more compelling posts to follow in this class this spring. He has size, length, and athleticism. The motor and production doesn’t always match up to it. In the game we saw he struggled finishing inside for the most part. Did have one put back and is a rim protector on the other end. If he locks in he can really be a defensive presence.
PG Marcus Watson (Mac Irvin Fire)
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.
SG Dante Maddox (Mac Irvin Fire)
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 at the mid-major level.
SG Connor Dillon (Illinois Irish)
Dillon is a 6’1” shooting guard from Peoria Notre Dame that jumped off the floor with his ability to shoot the rock. Against Meanstreets the sophomore lefty was drilling threes off the catch from almost every spot on the floor. Mixed in a couple quick takes. Solid athlete that you can’t just close out and think he won’t put it on the deck. Dillon had 17 points. Right now probably a small college player, but could elevate to D2.
SF Lamontay Daughtery (Brad Beal Elite)
It was an odd weekend for the state’s #3 2020 recruit. He had a great close to his sophomore campaign as we saw him in person trending toward being a high-major recruit. He didn’t play a ton at Swish N Dish. When in the game he was quick to the glass especially on the offensive end. Other than that didn’t do a whole lot.
PG Donovan Newby (Illinois Wolves)
Newby missed part of the high school season with an injury, but he is back healthy and had a nice showing running the show for the Wolves 16U. The Bloom standout is more of a scoring point guard that is at his best attacking downhill where he scores with tough layups and runners over post players. Didn’t shoot it particularly well in the game we saw. D1 prospect.
SF Will Wolfe (Illinois Wolves)
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. Low-majors should take a look this spring.
PF RJ Ogom (KL5AIA)
Ogom is a tough and hard-nosed post. He rips rebounds down with his strong hands. Plays through contact on the offensive end. Shoots free throws pretty well. Not overly skilled at this stage. Relies on physicality and toughness.
PG Elliot Sieger (KL5AIA)
Sieger is with a new team this spring and the Whitney Young guard looked the best we have seen him in a while. He didn’t shoot it well from the perimeter however. His long release is still a bit of a concern. Sieger pushed it in transition with his speed and burst getting past opponents. Was consistently in attack mode throughout the contest scoring with layups, runners, and getting on the glass. D1 prospect. Level is TBD.
PF Sam Schultz (KL5AIA)
This was my first time seeing Shultz in person since last summer and I came away impressed with the growth in his game. The 6’7” four man has a soft touch around the hoop. Displayed excellent footwork when working with his back to the basket. The skilled four passed it out of the post well finding shooters and cutters. Runs the floor like a deer and is an above average athlete. Scored multiple times in transition. Very intriguing post that will see a bump in the next update.
C Colin Crothers (KL5AIA)
Can’t forget to mention this big man from KL5AIA at the Swish N Dish event. Crothers is a big man that had a productive high school season for Benet. In the game I evaluated he was solid on the boards early, but really struggled as the game went on. The 6’7” big man turned the ball over on a spin move and dropped a pass. My biggest concern with him is playing against lengthy posts and getting his shot off against guys he can’t just overpower. That showed again against EG10. Potential low-major player.