5 Takeaways: Riverside Brookfield vs OPRF

Friday night Riverside Brookfield hosted Oak Park River Forest in a game with a ton of prospects on the floor.  It looked like early RB was going to run away as they had a huge lead at the half.  OPRF battled back in the second half, but it wasn’t quite enough as RB scored the victory by a final of 88-79.  Here are our 5 Takeaways: Riverside Brookfield vs OPRF.   Paul Zilinskas is D2 Stud Recruit One of the players that I have advocated for in the senior class for the last several years has been Paul Zilinskas.  First saw him as a sophomore a few years back at Richards along with his stellar play for ET21 Buckeyes on the travel team circuit.  He transferred to Riverside Brookfield for his senior campaign and is fitting in perfectly.  The 6’5” small forward is a high level shooter that had his range on full display in the first half hitting an array of threes off the catch.  One of the best spot up shooters in the class.  Every time it leaves his hand you think it is going in.  More than just a shooter the wing has really improved his handles over the last year which allows him to make nifty moves to the hoop including a killer euro step.  He finished with 23 points.  No doubt D2 prospect that would be a star at that level!   Riverside Brookfield Passing and Shooting Overall the most impressive aspect of RB was how well they shared the ball and shot it.  In the first half especially it seemed like they would either drive in the lane for a kick or get the ball inside for a pass back out to an open shooter.  It was a clinic in how to share and create open looks for others.  Nate Schoditsch was a big part of that.  So was Jack Stivers who was a big time shooter drilling shots.  Ryan Gaynor connected on several threes along with John Hanley.  It was definitely a group effort!   Joshua Smith Continues to Elevate Stock The bright spot in the first half for OPRF was their rangy junior wing Joshua Smith.  The silky smooth 2021 guard had his three point shot on point early hitting several pull ups from all over the floor.  Also got to the rim where he finishes with creativity.  Ultra smooth wing that continues to get better each time we see him play.  Went for 23 points.   Isaiah Barnes Huge 2nd Half In the first half top 10 2021 Isaiah Barnes was held to just 3 points.  He couldn’t get a jumper to fall and nothing at the rim would go.  All that changed after intermission as he would score 22 points in the second half finishing with 25 on the game.  It started by getting loose in transition for a finish.  Once he saw it go through the net it was on.  He hit several pull up threes and got to the rim with ease attacking downhill on the break and in the half court.  When he is locked in and assertive there aren’t many better in the 2021 class.   New Names Emerge A few new prospects made their mark in our eyes.  For RB it was Jamir Truman.  The 6’5” combo forward was a monster early as he finished inside with efficiency, ran the floor, and worked well in the pick/roll game.  Went for 12 points.  A 2022 point guard for OPRF Demetrius Dortch is a compact lead guard with a stocky build.  He won on straight line drives several times.  Eric Locke is a rangy forward in the 2022 class for OPRF that has some projectability.