Grassroots First Person: Illinois Irish
In our “First Person Grassroots Recap” series we take a look at how the travel team season went for one our state’s programs.
Today Gavin Sullivan chats about his 17U Illinois Irish!
Record
32-9
Championships/Accomplishments
NY2LA Association Runner Up, NY2LA Next Level Gold Champs, NY2LA Summer Jam Platinum Champs, Jayhawk Finale Final 4
Key Wins
Mac Irvin Fire (NIKE), Meanstreets (NIKE), Team Thad (UA), EG10 (Adidas), Quad City Elite (NY2LA), Team Teague (NY2LA), Team Speights, MO Team Carroll, Milwaukee Spartans
Overall Thoughts on Season
I was really happy with how our season went. Coming into the season we lost 7 or our 9 guys from the season prior. 3 went to the EYBL, 1 concentrated on football, 1 concentrated on soccer, 2 decided to go to other programs. I liked the players we brought in, but I wasn’t sure how they would mesh together. We went 7-5 in the spring, but went 25-4 in July. Our 4 losses in July came to OSA Crusaders (Adidas), KC Run GMC (UA), Ray Allen Select (NY2LA), and Memphis Prep. This was by far one of our toughest classes that we have had and the best part was they did it all with a team first attitude. 6 out of the 9 currently hold D1/D2 offers. All our guys will have the opportunity to play basketball at the next level. And I expect this group to end up with 7 or 8 guys with scholarship offers. The highlight of the season was winning the NY2LA Summer Jam.
Standout Performers:
Luke Yoder – Went from unknown to one of the best PG’s in Illinois. Landing offers from several D2 schools and also D1 Eastern IL. He is a player that has bought into improving his body and skill over the years. This year he has had a lot of success because of it. He is a true leader that understands how to make everyone else around him better. The best thing about him is that you can coach him hard and he responds to it!
Ryland Holt – 1st year of playing travel ball at this level and boy did he perform. He is up to 10 D2 offers right now and has an abundance of D1 schools contacting him. I cannot believe he does not have a D1 scholarship right now, but they will come soon. Not only has he improved his perimeter skill during the year, but he has also grown from 6’4 to 6’6. College coaches joke with me every year that we always have one that sneaks onto the scene and this year there was no question about it being RYLAND HOLT!
Sean Houpt – 6’4 strong body lefty wing showed his ability to absolutely shoot the rock from 3 (Made 83 3’s on the year, including 59 in July alone). He also showed his ability to be a big-time defender as he guarded everyone’s best wing scorer. I have said it for multiple years now that he will be an ideal 3 & D guy at the scholarship level. He has got better and added stuff to his game every year. One of the toughest players I have coached in my 13 years of doing this. He is going to be an absolute steal for someone at the next level and on top of that he will brings wins to that program as well.
Karl Wright – continues to improve his skill by showing his ability to hit shots beyond the arc this year. While still young to game, he has made tremendous strides in his game. He is still one of the bounciest players in the Midwest. We had 77 dunks on the season as a team he had 57 of them. He will be a great energy guy at the next level that defends, blocks shots, and rim runs with the ability to pick and pop now. Best is yet to come.
Landon Wolfe – is a bonified scorer. He will not blow you away with his quickness or explosion but will still give you buckets. He can score at all 3 level very well. He has a big strong body for a wing and uses it extremely well to create space and separation to score. Production matters and he produced all year long. He will put up some huge scoring numbers this high school season, so don’t be surprised when it happens.
Payton Havens – is an absolute pitbull on the court. The 5’9 guard possesses a strong body with quickness on both ends of the floor. Not only did he show he could get into the lane at will, he showed to be an elite set up guy. All our guys got open looks because of his ability to get into spaces and kick for great shots. He also is an absolute pest on the defensive end on the floor. He crawls up in people and has the strength to not allow people to bump him off easily. He will be the head of the snake at Metamora HS this year, who should make a deep run in the state playoffs.
Thomas Hall – is a great mismatch against most teams. 6’8 forward has the ability to shoot the 3 and put the ball on the deck with ease. However, I think the most overlooked part of his game is his ability to pass the ball. He is the QB of his high school team and that vision is shown on the court as well. He fits the mold of the modern day 4 man who can space the floor and can make plays off the bounce. He also attends Metamora HS and should hear a lot about them this season.
Jirehl Brock – Iowa St. football commit also showed he is more than capable of being a scholarship level hooper during July. The 6’0 205lb guard showed his ability to make plays above the rim, defend elite players, and even showed ability to knock down open 3’s. He brings an unreal toughness to the team, however he may be one of the best leaders I have ever been around. His energy, passion, and personality are infectious. Our team fed off that for the past 3 years.
Patrick Torrey – The big body post (6’8 215lb) continues to add different things to his game. He is a tough kid that doesn’t mind being physical. He showed that he could score with his back to the basket and also step out to 15ft to knock down jumpers. He will make a D3 school very happy.