Top 2019 PGs
Who are the best point guards in the 2019 class from the state of Illinois? We take a look at them here heading into July!
Markese Jacobs (Uplift)
Current Ranking: #2
Travel Team: Mac Irvin Fire
Jacobs is a scoring point guard who is headed to Kansas. He has played well elevating his game heading into his senior year. Explosive scorer that has speed with the ball. Solid passer as well when he is looking to do so. Sometimes he makes some high risk dishes though. Best point guard in the state.
Marquise Kennedy (Brother Rice)
Current Ranking: #13
Travel Team: Illinois Wolves
The 6’1” guard has long arms, an angular build, and bounce. Kennedy is tough taking it to the hoop on slick drives and also can hit an occasional three. Defensively he blocks shots and shows some lateral quickness. Mid-major minus/low-major plus player.
Kejuan Clements (Simeon)
Current Ranking: #15
Travel Team: Team Rose
Clements can hit pull up jump shots with consistency from mid-range. Clements also gets to the rack using his strength to finish in traffic. Passes it with crisp dishes particularly in the half court finding his teammates for quality shots. He is a beast defensively with his anticipation creating turnovers that his team capitalizes on at the other end. Mid-major minus/low-major plus.
Joseph Yesufu (Bolingbrook)
Current Ranking: #16
Travel Team: Meanstreets
The quick and shifty guard has good strength in his upper body. He pushes the ball in the open floor with great speed. Burst with the ball getting to the cup where he converts acrobatic layups. Three point shot is a bit streaky, but he can hit it. Tough and aggressive on ball defender. Mid-major minus/low-major plus.
Chris Roberts (Lincoln Park)
Current Ranking: #17
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Roberts attacks downhill with a tremendous burst. Goes coast to coast on a regular basis. Roberts is a bit wild with the ball at times, but you can live with that with what he brings to the table. He gets to the rim at will scoring on an array of and-1s and spin moves in the paint. Jumper needs to become more of a weapon to take his game to the next level. Solid passer when he wants to be. Roberts has mid-major upside and is a solid low-major player.
Ray J Dennis (Oswego East)
Current Ranking: #20
Travel Team: Kevon Looney Rebels
This 6’2” combo guard is ultra-smooth with the rock in his hands. He is an excellent passer that reads defenders and finds teammates for clean looks. Works well in ball screens. Very effective in the drive and kick. Slick getting to the rim. Can hit threes especially off the catch. Low-major stud!
Marquise Walker (West Aurora)
Current Ranking: #23
Travel Team: Meanstreets
Walker is a 2019 point guard that recently transferred to West Aurora from Curie. Walker made some key plays during the spring for Meanstreets and came up big in their win over the Fire in EYBL. He drilled a couple threes in their comeback along with an and-1 that put the pressure on in the second half. He had some turnovers, but also made several outstanding dishes. Could find a home at a low-major school.
Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook)
Current Ranking: #24
Travel Team: Hoopers
Cochran is 6’2” thick guard that is super productive. You have to love the competitiveness and toughness that the guard brings to the table. At times he settles for some forced jumpers, but can get hot making them. He is solid scoring, but was more impressive showing his well-rounded game this spring. Rebounded outstanding from his guard position and had crisp passes distributing for Hoopers! Needs to trim down some to max out his ability. Cochran is a low-major prospect with mid-major upside.
Bryce Bultman (Nashville)
Current Ranking: #28
Travel Team: Illinois Bears
Bultman is a 6’5” point guard that has great size which allows him to see over the defense. His vision especially in the half court is off the charts. He has a high basketball IQ and the feel for finding teammates with crisp passes on the money every single time! Love how this kid passes the rock. He makes others around him better. He is not an overly explosive athlete, but glides into the lane where he can score or get to the line. Clean stroke from three and can also stop and pop from mid-range. Excellent job rebounding out of this jumbo point guard. Gets on the offensive glass for second chances. Low-major prospect.
Jeremiah Washington (Bogan)
Current Ranking: #29
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Washington is a quick and shifty point guard with speed to burn. Consistently gets in the lane. He also has shown to be a plus jump shooter off the bounce stopping and popping on a dime and pulling up for buckets. Can get others involved with quick passes in the paint. Low-major D1 player at the college level.
Trey Boston (Downers Grove North)
Current Ranking: #34
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Boston put his team on his back leading Y&R to the championship at the Show Me Showdown late in the spring. The 2019 Downers Grove North combo guard hit huge threes in the second half. When he gets rolling Boston is one of the better scoring guards in the class. He drilled an array of threes and pushed it in transition for athletic scores as well. He is a low-major player.
Artese Stapleton (Kenwood)
Current Ranking: #38
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Stapleton is a slick handling lead guard that is shifty with the ball in his hands. Gets in the lane when he wants driving to the cup for layups and finishes through contact despite his thin build. Solid passer in the open floor pushing it up the court. Just an average perimeter shooter. At times can be too passive. When engaged in the game he is a dynamic playmaker. Low-majors should monitor him in the live periods.
Traevon Brown (West Aurora)
Current Ranking: #40
Travel Team: Illinois Stars
The long and angular point guard used to be just a pure athlete that relied on that to be successful. Now the skill is starting to come along to match. His jump shot is quickly becoming a plus weapon from deep. Pushes it in the open floor and has the vision to find others. Low-majors should watch.
Treyvon Calvin (St. Viator)
Current Ranking: #41
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Calvin is a point guard that can handle it in space and is a solid shooter. Sound jump shoot from mid-range and can hit from three off the catch as well. Decent defender that can get a steal and take it the other way. Low-major/D2 plus prospect. He is coming off a strong close to the spring with Young & Reckless.
Semaj Henderson (Downers Grove North)
Current Ranking: #42
Travel Team: Illinois Heat
Henderson is a 6’1” point guard that has good strength. The junior is more of a scoring point guard at this stage. Henderson is at his best scoring in transition where he can get a head of steam behind him and get to the rim. Also a powerful slasher getting to the basket. At times he can be a bit wild and take some unforced shots. Fits best probably at the D2 level.