4A State Finals: Friday Standouts
The Illinois 4A semifinals were held in Peoria on Friday night. Evanston opened up with a win over Rockford East 94-82 putting on an offensive clinic. The second game billed as the defending champs Belleville West vs top ranked Curie…
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Continue ReadingThe Illinois 4A semifinals were held in Peoria on Friday night. Evanston opened up with a win over Rockford East 94-82 putting on an offensive clinic. The second game billed as the defending champs Belleville West vs top ranked Curie was dominated by Belleville West from the jump as they won 70-48. Here we dive into the standout performers from the two contests.
SG Blake Peters (Evanston – 2021)
Lights out in Peoria! Last year as a freshman he had his coming out party at state in the semis with a monster performance. He did even better as a sophomore. The shooting guard is the best pure shooter in the state. Drilled seven triples on his way to 27 points (7-8 3 PT). Picture perfect form on his shot with a consistent and quick motion every single time. He is absolutely best off the catch. Does a tremendous job moving without the ball to get open and relocating to the vacant spot on the perimeter. Wow what a performance!
SG Lance Jones (Evanston – 2019)
Jones is the heart and soul of this team. The Southern Illinois commit is a physical 6’2” two guard that is like a running back pounding the rock down the lane. He was excellent at that in this game using his combination of strength and nimble footwork in the paint along with great body control to finish at the cup. Such a high-motor player that wills his team to wins. Lives at the foul line! An underrated part of his game is his passing. On a team that distributed the ball great Friday night he made sound decisions with the ball finding shooters and his teammates for scores. Went for 24 points (7-11 FG) (10-12 FT) and 8 dimes.
SF Sha’den Clanton (Rockford East – 2019)
Clanton is a 6’6” wing with a super long wingspan. The angular forward plays bigger than his height with his ability to get on the offensive glass. Quick player on the interior that has a feel for where the ball is coming off the rim. He showed a decent looking shot hitting one from beyond the arc. Most comfortable in transition and attacking off the bounce from the high or mid-post area. Slick handles on straight line drives. Went for 20 points and 7 rebounds (5 offensive).
SG Christopher Burnell.(Rockford East – 2019)
Burnell is one of the better unsigned senior wings in the class. At 6’3” he is a powerful two guard. Loves to use his physicality and square his shoulders getting to the rack. Early on he got two fouls which caused him to sit out a major chunk of the first quarter. He came back with a scoring barrage to try to get his team back in the game. Burnell attacked over and over where he used both euro steps to avoid defenders as well as converting and-1s going through opponents. Has an outstanding feel for reading defenses and where to hit the hole like a running back. Burnell had 26 points (9-14 FG) (8-9 FT).
PF EJ Liddell (Belleville West – 2019)
The state’s top player showed out in the marquee game of the day as he led the defending state champs to a win against top ranked Curie. Liddell owned the paint throughout. He had several monstrous dunks on dump offs and tip slams. Seemed like he was playing volleyball at times on the offensive glass as he would just go get it and put it right back in. The versatile face up four showed he could handle it in the open floor splitting a double team at half court, breaking down the rest of the D, and going euro step in the lane. He is an outstanding passer and doesn’t get enough credit for that. Dishes it out of doubles and in space. Elite rebounder with a quick jump off the floor which also helps his shot blocking. Excellent timing as a rim protector. He had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
PF Keith Randolph (Belleville West – 2019)
Randolph is one of my favorite players in the senior class. He is a top hoops recruit that if he chose that route would have been a no doubt D2 guy and even earn low-major interest. Instead he will be playing on the D line for Illinois. In the semis he was a beast down low. He is such a physically imposing presence on the interior with his sheer mass. That combined with how well he moves, as he is incredibly light on his feet, make him a force. Sealed off his man over and over. Such a great job positioning his body on the block. Plus rebounder and is a brick wall inside on D. Randolph had 19 points and 6 rebounds.
SG Ramean Hinton (Curie – 2020)
Hinton led Curie in scoring with 10 points. The #6 junior in the state had flashes including a sweet pick/roll play along with a couple of threes. He isn’t considered a great shooter and only went 2-7 from there in this game, but shows strides with his mechanics along with confidence in shooting it. Tough and physical Chicago guard.
PG Elijah Pickens (Curie – 2020)
This tiny Curie reserve point guard gave them a bit of a burst. Quick twitched floor general that pushes with his speed. Attacks despite his size throwing up difficult shots which he makes at times. Pesky on ball defender. Also hit a three en route to his 7 points, 2 assists, and 2 steaks.