Arch Elite Showcase: 2020 Evaluations
PrepHoopsIllinois was at the Arch Elite Showcase in St. Louis over the weekend. Here are our 2020 evaluations from the event!
PG Ray’Sean Taylor (Gateway Illinois)
Taylor was the player I was most anticipating to see at this event and man did he live up to the hype. The Collinsville 6’0” point guard put on an absolute show in the two games that I evaluated him. The point guard pushes the tempo getting the ball up the floor in a hurry with his speed. Ability to win one on one off the dribble getting in the lane where he finishes well at the rim. Also has a nice looking jumper that he can hit both pulling up and from three. Crisp passer that has some creativity dishing to teammates. Needs to be monitored by low-major programs.
C Keydrian Jones (Gateway Illinois)
This 6’6” center from Collinsville center is a wide bodied post that has nimble footwork down low and is very mobile for his size. He gets deep post position and carves out space on the interior. Soft touch around the hoop. Shaky free throw shooter. Intriguing as a wide bodied center with some skill down low. D2 upside.
PG Cowahan Smith (Gateway Illinois)
Smith is another Collinsville product. This 5’8” point guard is tiny, but has great speed in the open floor. In both games we saw he was excellent pushing it up the floor where he most of the time found teammates for assists. Pesky on ball defender. Most likely a small college prospect unless he grows.
SG Ethan Young (Gateway Illinois)
Young is a two guard from Edwardsville that can really shoot the basketball from the perimeter. Was primarily used as a spot up shooter that hit them from the wings and corners. Small college kid.
C Aaron Molton (Gateway Illinois)
Molton is another big man that played for Gateway Illinois at the 16U level. Big bodied 6’5” kid that has some skill to him. The lefty hit a three showing a soft touch on his perimeter shot. Good athlete for his size.
SF Dante Williams (Gateway Illinois)
Williams is a big and physically built small forward with a powerful body. Scored best in the lane on drives. Hit one baseline jumper, but needs to continue to develop that part of his game. Raw wing with some potential.
SF Will Wolfe (Illinois Wolves)
Wolfe will be the highest rated 2020 Wolves prospect in the June rankings update. This Aurora Christian wing is tough and uber competitive! He is a plus shooter that can hit off the catch as well as being really good with his one or two dribble pull up. Wolfe is a crisp ball handler that can finish with toughness at the rim. Low-major prospect with helium heading into his junior campaign.
PG Jack Kahoun (Illinois Wolves)
Kahoun is a prospect that has had kind of a quiet spring overall, but he played very well when we saw him in St. Louis. The guard did hit a three off the catch later in the game which is his strength, but what he did best was push in the open floor and score in transition. Projects right now as a D2 player.
PF Bennett and Jordan Kwiecinski (Illinois Wolves)
The twins from Loyola played the best we have seen them this spring. They have size at 6’6” and both showed quite a bit of face up skill. Very similar players. They are crafty ball handlers that can shoot the ball over their opponents. Most of their jumpers were from inside the arc. Played pretty consistently and contributed on the glass. The twins are low-major prospects.
PG Donovan Newby (Illinois Wolves)
Newby is a lead guard from Bloom. He is a tough kid that plays best in the open floor. We saw him several times go coast to coast on drives for layups. Also was active defensively getting steals. Low-major’s should keep tabs on him.
SF Zach Gibson (Illinois Wolves)
Gibson is a physical wing that crashed the glass very hard. He grabbed quite a few 50/50 rebounds among the trees. Attacked on a couple nice slashes. Right now he is more of a D2 prospect. Like the physical tools here though.
SG Lance Mosley (Illinois Wolves)
Mosley had a solid day for the Wolves. He is an athletic scoring two guard. At his size it would be nice to see his point guard skills emerge, but he is definitely more comfortable playing off the ball at this stage. Wing finisher in transition. Can hit catch and shoot threes. Likes the floater in the half court. D2 player.
F Frank Jakubicek (Illinois Wolves)
This Cary Grove 2020 forward stands at 6’5” with good strength. Tough kid that rebounds well. Crashes the glass hard. He also showed more athleticism than we had seen before with a couple nice dunks. D2 prospect.
PG Adam Sommer (Gateway)
Sommer is a point guard from Parkway South. He is a strong kid that can take a bump as he got to the line at a high rate. Clean looking pull up jump shot from mid-range. D2 player.
SF Xavier Drummond (Arsenal Hoops)
This 6’4” Parkway North wing had some impressive flashes for Arsenal. He is a projectable wing that is a plus athlete. Showed his hops off with a big dunk. More than just an athlete he has a smooth looking stroke from the perimeter.
SG Chris Grubbs (EG10)
Grubbs is currently the #3 ranked prospect in the state of Indiana in the 2020 class. The 6’4” small forward is a physically built wing that can shoot it. He struggled in the game we saw. Him a few jumpers and got some points in junk time late. Still definitely a D1 prospect.
SG Tony Perkins (EG10)
This Lawrence North 6’4” two guard is #8 in the PrepHoopsIndiana rankings. He was probably the most impressive prospect from this EG10 group on the day. He is a two guard with size, strength, and smooth explosion when going to the hoop. Tough guard with size that gets to the rim a lot. Nice on ball defender that has a chance to be a plus defender down the line. Mid-majors should monitor his progress.
PF Kiyron Powell (EG10)
Powell is a 6’9” post from Evansville Bosse that has length and projectability. Mobile four man that is a plus shot blocker. Swatted quite a few around the rim especially early and changed others. Runs the floor well. Offensively he needs to continue to refine his game. D1 prospect.
SG Carson Parker (Illinois Bears)
Parker continues to see his stock rise! The Nashville 2020 guard is a scoring guard that is smooth with everything he does. Really good pull up jump shooter. Crisp ball handler. Solid passer. He is a kid that is a bit understated as a scorer, but he can flat out put it in the hoop. D2’s should start to track.
G Caleb Zurliene (Illinois Bears)
Zurliene is another wing from southern Illinois that should be on the D2 and small college radar early in the process. He had a few nice takes to the hoop on straight line drives where he either finished or got fouled. Solid shooter off the catch.
SF Daulton Burgner (Illinois Bears)
This Belleville Althoff wing stands at about 6’4” with long arms. Like his rangy build and should be able to grow a couple more inches. Sweet looking stroke from mid-range. Upside kid to monitor for D2 and small colleges.
PG Jacob Schadegg (Illinois Bears)
Schadegg is a tough and competitive point guard from southern Illinois. The Bears guard can hit an open shot and was effective being a pesky on ball defender. Small college player.