Team Rose Classic: 2020 Evals Pt 1
PrepHoopsIllinois covered the Team Rose Classic over the weekend at Whitney Young High School. A lot of quality prospects in the house. We dive into the evaluations here with Part 1 of our 2020 Evaluations!
PG Reggie Strong (Young & Reckless Stan 16U)
Strong is a 6’1” long and angular point guard that is looking to be more of a setup man this spring when we have seen him in the past. The Farragut lead guard did a nice job of that getting others involved with crisp passes and moving the ball throughout the offense. As a scorer his strength is with his mid-range pull up jumper. Didn’t score a ton. Pressure on ball defender. Strong is a mid-major prospect and currently sets at #6 in the PHI rankings. He had 6 points and 4 assists.
SG Keshawn Williams (Young & Reckless Stan 16U)
Williams is a thin and wiry 6’1” bouncy athlete at the shooting guard position. Scores in transition as a finisher and isn’t afraid to go right through his man for finishes at the cup. Quick and explosive jumper around the rim. He had a nice alley-oop slam. Understated game on Friday night. Williams had 6 points in a win. Low-major prospect that if he grows or develops PG skills can elevate to mid-major status.
PF Seryee Lewis (Young & Reckless Stan 16U)
Lewis continues to play more aggressive this spring. The Kenwood 6’7” power forward used his length on the defensive end blocking shots and high pointing contested rebounds. Seems to be playing much harder than earlier in his career. Lewis is developing a go to right handed hook shot which he displayed here again. He had 5 points and 7 boards. Lewis should be on the low-major radar during the live periods.
SG Josh Holmes (Young & Reckless Stan 16U)
Holmes continues to prove he can flat out score it! He is one of those guys that can heat up in a hurry and put a scoring barrage together. Holmes is a plus mid-range shooter can also stretch it out to three with ease. The Jones sophomore gets elevation on his shot and is very balanced on his jumper. Did a nice job on the boards and made several nice passes that led to buckets. He had 14 points on Friday night. Holmes has low-major potential.
SG Johnny Close (Young & Reckless Stan 16U)
Close can really shoot it from three. That is what he brings to the table and the Rockford Boylan wing consistently brings a perimeter shooting threat. Close has nice size and decent athleticism. He drilled a trio of triples in the game we evaluated. Quick and precise release with elevation off the floor. Best off the catch from three. Also connected on a runner. Struggled some defensively guarding on the perimeter in the game we saw. He had 13 points. Could emerge as a low-major player as a shooting specialist.
PF Kendale Anderson (Young & Reckless Stan 16U)
Anderson is a physical and undersized post that just mauls on the glass. He is a high energy junk yard dog type rebounder that snatches them up in volume. Tough low post defender that is a limited offensively. He had 5 points and 10 rebounds.
F Kee Hargrow (Young & Reckless Brown 16U)
Hargrow is one of the higher upside forwards in the state’s 2020 class. He is a thin and wiry athlete with a lot of bounce. He definitely needs to add strength on as he struggled at times finishing around the hoop. Shows flashes offensively. His perimeter game has greatly improved as we saw him more as a power forward before. Hargrow can get in the lane for a floater on occasion, plays above the rim catching an alley-oop, and his jump shot is starting to go down with some consistency. Shot looks like he is leaning in instead of being balanced. Reaches some on the defensive end. Mid-major upside.
PG Alex Wood (Young & Reckless Brown 16U)
Wood was phenomenal in their morning game on Saturday! The Normal U-High 5’10” point guard runs the show, but in this game it was his scoring ability that was on full display. Wood is one of the top 2020 prospects in central Illinois and he showed why. The lead guard excels with his pull up jumper. He can stop and pop for jumpers from all over the floor. He hit a ton of them from both mid-range and three. Crafty guard that plays with smarts and knows how to maneuver to get his defender where he wants him. Had a couple acrobatic finishes at the cup. Wood is a crisp passer that gets others involved in the half court. Finished with 24 points. Didn’t quite duplicate that in the second game we saw as he struggled to get things going. Wood could find a home at the low-major level.
SF Elijah Watson (Young & Reckless Brown 16U)
Watson is a 6’6” wing from Bloom that is a projectable athlete on the perimeter. Right now he is pretty raw skill wise, but he has a quick first and second jump getting on the glass for offensive rebound put backs. High points rebounds.
G Mario Brown (Young & Reckless Brown 16U)
Brown made his debut with Y&R at this event. The 5’10” point guard athletic guard attacks. He gets to the rim for most of his scores. Hit a game winning three on a lucky shot in one of the games.
SF Jayden Johnson (Fundamental U 16U)
Johnson had a good tournament overall helping leading his team to the championship at the 16U level. We were only able to see Fundamental U’s 16 group once and Johnson struggled in that game. Shot was not falling from deep like it usually does. We remain big fans of this top 10 wing from Batavia.
PG Luke Scheffers (Fundamental U 16U)
Scheffers is a point guard that plays with flair. He is a sound passer that can handle the ball some. Scores on floaters in the lane and can hit a pull up jumper. Small college stud.
SG Matt Ambrose (Fundamental U 16U)
Ambrose is a coach’s son that plays with a high basketball IQ. He is best as a perimeter shooter. Ambrose let it fly from three for a big game on Saturday connecting on an array of triples on his way to 15 points. The Stevenson shooting guard moves well without the ball and has a knack for sliding to the right spot to have an opening to get his shot off. Right now probably his ceiling is a D2 player unless he can improve his game in other areas.
SF Connor Kochera (Fundamental U 16U)
Kochera is an intriguing prospect on the wing with his size, broad shoulders, and potential skill set. Handles it well at his size and can shoot it some off the catch. Kochera is a high level small college prospect that is worth tracking for D2s.
PG Keedan Foster (Hoopers 16U)
Foster is a 5’10” point guard that can shoot it from the perimeter. Free and easy release as he drilled multiple threes. The Romeoville 5’10” point guard is worth tracking at the small college level.