Team Rose Classic: Friday Standouts

PrepHoopsIllinois covered the Team Rose Classic on Friday night at Whitney Young High School.  Who were the standouts from the first night of the event?  Take a look!   G Trey Boston (Young & Reckless Parham 17U) Boston is a scoring point guard that brought it in the opening game of the event for Y&R.  The Downers Grove North 2019 guard can really score it.  He drilled multiple threes showing a clean release from deep.  Also got on the offensive glass for several put backs.  Tough and athletic guard that can really score when he gets rolling.  Played with a higher motor than we saw a week ago.  Put pressure on the ball defensively.  Finished with 22 points   SG LJ Johnson (Young & Reckless Parham 17U) Johnson is returning to Chicago after spending his sophomore season out of state.  The strong and athletic wing is incredibly tough.  He plays with an all-out motor on both ends of the floor.  Offensively he is best getting downhill and attacking the hoop where he finishes with his strength through contact.  Finishes very well at the rim.  Hit one three.  Defensively he gets after it with his tenacity and anticipation.  One area that I saw growth since we last saw him was his passing making a couple sweet dishes.   PF Demetrius Schaffer (Grinders 17U) Schaffer played tough inside for the Grinders.  The 6’6” four man from Farragut has a physically built body.  He finishes well around the hoop by creating deep post position and making quick moves including his go to left handed hook shot.  Plus area rebounder.   PF Dachaun Anderson (Young & Reckless Denard 17U) Anderson is a high energy four man that is a beast on the glass.  Anderson rebounds at a very high rate with his ability to box out and maul opponents on the glass.  Quick off the ground.  A lot of his points come on offensive rebound put backs.  He also showed some more skill than we saw last weekend as he handled it in the open floor several times grabbing rebounds and starting the break on his own.  He had 13 points.   SF Jeremiah Hernandez (Young & Reckless Denard 17U) Hernandez is one of the top wing prospects in 2019 class.  He showed the versatility in his game against the Hoopers.  The 6’5” small forward had an array of takes off the bounce for scores including a sweet shot fake and blow by for a baseline layup.  Couple nice straight line takes changing paces.  Jumper wasn’t on in this game.  Made a few nice passes which his teammates didn’t convert.  He had 11 points.   PG Kaleb Thornton (Hoopers 17U) Thornton is an unsigned senior point guard that is one of the better lead guards remaining on the board in 2018 out of Bolingbrook.  The slick handling lead guard pushes the pace and gets others involved.  He also showed off his pull up jump shot hitting them from mid-range throughout their win over Y&R.  Uses his anticipation defensively with his quick hands.  Thornton had 14 points, 5 dimes, and 3 steals.   G Tyler Cochran (Hoopers 17U) Cochran didn’t have a wow moment in the game, but he just produces.  The Bolingbrook 2019 combo guard used his strong upper body to finish through defenders over and over again at the rim.  He recorded a handful of and-1s where he drew the contact and got the shot up and in.  Finishes well at the rim for a guard.  Also hit a three.  Plus rebounder.  Cochran had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 dimes.   SG Dajuan Gordon (Team Rose 17U) Gordon is a rangy 6’4” wing that was the best player for Team Rose.  He is a smooth athlete that plays well in the transition game.  Plus shooter off the catch that can let it fly from deep.  He is a very projectable prospect with a lot of upside.   SF Tujautae Williams (Team Rose 17U) Williams had a poster dunk taking it baseline and hammering it home.  The Orr 6’6” small forward has a lot of upside.  This spring we are starting to see what he is fully capable of after playing on a senior laden Orr squad.  Long strides and has a burst going to the hole.  Potential on the defensive end.   SF Evan Taylor (Illinois Heat 17U) Taylor is a high academic 6’6” wing from Glenbard West that has an extremely versatile game.  The junior can score at multiple levels, but is most effective in the mid-range where he can pull up or make a quick move with a couple dribbles to get to the rim.  Handles it well in the open floor.  I am a huge fan of his passing.  We saw it during the high school season and he showed that again here.  Rebounds well for his position.   PG Semaj Henderson (Illinois Heat 17U) Henderson is a combo guard from Downers Grove North High School.  He had a couple of nice moves handling the ball crossing over his man on one play.  Showed more burst and acceleration than we saw during the high school season.  He passed it exceptionally well.  Found his teammates consistently in the half court.  Connected on one wing three with a clean release.   G Tyrese Shines (Illinois Heat 17U) Shines is a long and rangy combo guard that got after it on both ends of the floor.  I thought his biggest impact came on the defensive end with the tenacity he played with.  Used that length for deflections and steals.  Shines offensively hit a couple mid-range jumpers with his lefty shot.   SG Josh Holmes (Young & Reckless 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.