Stagg Shootout: Steve’s Standouts
This weekend I was able to catch a couple games from the Stagg Shootout. The shootout showcased most of the best teams from the suburbs. Here are my standouts! Julius Rollins (Hillcrest – 2021) In the matchup against Lockport,…
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Continue ReadingThis weekend I was able to catch a couple games from the Stagg Shootout. The shootout showcased most of the best teams from the suburbs. Here are my standouts!
Julius Rollins (Hillcrest – 2021)
In the matchup against Lockport, Rollins sort of went through the motions in the first half and he didn’t get it going until his team was down double digits. Julius became very aggressive starting with a blocked shot that turned into transition points. After that he started asserting himself on the backboard and snatching rebounds and pushing the ball up the court himself. On offense he took advantage of mismatches by taking defenders off the dribble for easy buckets. He finished his run when one of his teammates missed a shot and he grabbed it going straight back up for a slam. Rollins’ play propelled his teams to a victory.
Billy Durkin (Hinsdale South – 2020)
The wiry Durkin was a scoring machine in his matchup against Brother Rice. Billy started out with a couple of threes before the defense adjusted to him. When they began to play him close he would drive to the rim for layups. Billy has a solid handle and off the dribble game that fits him well. When on the ball he’s heady and played with good poise. What I noticed is that he dominates the right hand majority of the time, but didn’t show much weakness when pushed to his left hand. On the defensive side he did well playing in the passing lane discouraging teams and one particular play he stole the ball and drove it to the other end for a nice two hand slam.
Trent Howland (Joliet West – 2021)
Trent played well against St. Joes. He is a physical mismatch for opposing 4 men even if he’s only 6’3”. Howland has the body of a football player. He moves well and can take advantage of smaller and bigger players. He was terrific battling on the boards with a player twice his size. Trent picked and popped most of the time when his defender stayed back to protect the lane. They threw him the ball and he was superb at getting downhill and getting to the rim. He has good body control and focus to finish at the rim. On defense he showcased he could defend 6’9” Kyle Thomas (St. Joes) pretty easily by himself.
Jonathan Robinson (St. Joseph – 2020)
This was my first time seeing Mr. Robinson since earlier this spring with his travel team. Jon was calm and played at his own pace with tons of pressure from Joliet West defense swarming him. As a lead guard he impressed me the most showing his ability to score and still manage to keep his teammates engaged in the process. Robinson shot looks really good as he made a couple of shots from beyond the arc touching nothing but net. In transition he even made a beautiful stop and pop jumper from the elbow. There is no doubt that Jonathan will be a main contributor for this year St. Joe’s squad. Small schools should check him out.
Aaron Tims (Hinsdale South – 2020)
I walked away impressed with how well Tims played also against Brother Rice. The lefty big man is inching closer to 6’7”. He showed good footwork in the post using some really good ball fakes to sell his moves. Aaron is also a pretty good rim protector as he anticipates well around the basket. Best of the day for him was a touch in the post where he faked left then turned back the opposite way and finished with his right hand. He will be an intriguing prospect this summer to monitor.
Jamere Hill (Joliet West – 2020)
I like the way Hill competed in the matchup with Joe’s guards. He was a handful for them to keep up with on the offensive end. Jamere was able to lose defenders off screens and knock down a couple of shots in this game. When he pushed the ball in transition he did a really good job of jumping into defenders creating contact and scoring getting to the foul line. Hill has long arms and uses them to his advantage when scoring over bigger defenders. Small schools will like this kid’s energy.
St. Joe’s Future Frontcourt
I was completely intrigued by the young front court of St. Joes. They have some gems in 6’9” Kyle Thomas and 6’5” Sean Paige. Both of the players have a ways to go, but have serious upside worth noticing. Thomas is very long and raw in the post. He plays hard and tries to keep things as simple as possible. Paige is a bruiser around the rim who can finish on either side right now. Both will only be sophomores next season and will figure to be huge contributors to the St. Joes program.