Top Performances We Saw This Season: #1 – #5
In our recap of the high school basketball season in Illinois we now move to the best individual performances that we saw this year. PHI scouted 152 games. In this series we dive into the 40 premier performances from the…
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Continue ReadingIn our recap of the high school basketball season in Illinois we now move to the best individual performances that we saw this year. PHI scouted 152 games. In this series we dive into the 40 premier performances from the year that we personally witnessed. Here is our Top Performances We Saw This Season: #1 – #5!
#1 DJ Steward DJ Steward 6'2" | PG Whitney Young | 2020 State #22 Nation IL (Whitney Young)
Special performance for the Duke commit in Steward’s battle with his future ACC rival Caleb Love. High level shot making from all around the floor throughout the night for Steward. Hit several deep feathery three point shots. Moves well without the ball to get open and transfers catch to shot easily. Then took it to the rack on slippery drives where he finished extremely well at the cup not missing a single shot inside the paint all night. That included the biggest one of the night to take the lead and tie the Highland Shootout scoring record. Steward had 40 points (14-20 FG) and 3 dimes in Whitney Young’s victory.
#2 Bryce Hopkins Bryce Hopkins 6'7" | PF Fenwick | 2021 State #32 Nation IL (Fenwick)
The Louisville commit had a performance for the ages in the third place game at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament against Zion Benton. Hopkins went for 44 points and 17 rebounds. Oh yea he also drilled the game winning pull up three as time expired. The big bodied playmaking forward did absolutely anything he wanted all night long. Was shifty in transition going downhill to the basket. Crafty in the lane with the ball knowing how to make difficult layups. Crashed the offensive glass for put backs. Sound perimeter shooter that can knock down threes at a higher clip now than at any point in his career. For as much scoring as he did he was also excellent passing the rock finding teammates cutting to the basket and in the open floor. No wonder why so many schools wanted to lock him down early!
#3 John Poulakidas John Poulakidas 6'6" | SF Nequa Valley | 2021 State #155 Nation IL (Neuqua Valley)
Poulakidas poured in 49 points including 41 of them through the first three quarters in their double overtime victory against Bolingbrook. It is even more impressive when you add in the fact that he was fighting through injury during the second half and overtimes which caused him to miss part of the game. He is an elite level shooter that can drill them in a variety of ways. Big time shooter off the catch with a quick release. In a lot of respects in this game though he created his own shots with deep pull up threes. Feathery touch and you think every time it leaves his hand it is going in. His mid-range and ability to shoot out of the post separates him from a lot of other elite shooters. Poulakidas has an excellent feel for creating space on his mid-range step back which he drills at an insanely high rate. It’s almost like an old school Larry Bird type step back except from the left side. Can also post up smaller defenders and hit fadeaways over them. Gets elevation off the floor on pull ups. Excellent mechanics on his shot. Much more than just a shooter. He mixed in runners on the move and spins in the paint. Moves well away from the ball to get open. Gets to the line at a high clip. Despite scoring so many points he didn’t really force too many bad shots.
#4 AJ Casey AJ Casey 6'8" | PF Whitney Young | 2022 State #55 Nation IL (Tinley Park)
When the best post prospect in the state is playing literally one mile from the event you are at most of the day we thought it was worth the long trip. It was well worth it! We made the journey over to the ICCP/Westmont championship game to see him play against Eisenhower. The 6’8” power forward was every bit of an elite prospect. Casey has the look of a five-star with his size, length, and strength. He is just so smooth with every single thing that he does. The area he has really improved is his ball handling. That has opened up so many more avenues for him to score. The sophomore made several moves to the bucket through the defense making it look easy. Flashed to the middle all night for mid-range pull ups. Even hit a three early on. His quickness and athleticism on the interior are what set him apart. He had spin moves along with up and unders for buckets. Crashed the glass for second chance points including a monster tip slam. He ran the floor hard and is playing with so much confidence. We had him for 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Elite high-major guy!
#5 Aquan Smart Aquan Smart 6'3" | PG Niles North | 2020 State #167 Nation IL (Niles North)
Smart was about to decommit from East Tennessee State and he showed out on a major stage against Joliet West at the Ridgewood Shootout. He has tremendous size for position and is one of the most explosive guards in the state. His burst to the hoop on straight line drives is insane. Consistently got to the rim over and over again especially in the fourth quarter where he scored 20 points alone carrying his team to a win. He has a knack for drawing fouls by using his speed to the rim. While he scored a career high 38 points in the game the most impressive part of his performance might have been his passing. He threw live dribble cross court passes on the money over and over again for wide open threes. The defense started focusing fully on him and he found shooters in the corner on the opposite side of the floor. Passing feel was very good. For those that haven’t seen Smart think of a Ja Morant type prospect.