Top Performances We Saw This Season: #11 – #15
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: #11 – #15!
#11 Dante Maddox Dante Maddox 6'2" | SG Bloom | 2020 State #254 Nation IL (Bloom)
A lot of memorable performances by Maddox, but the one against Pace (GA) at the Chicago Elite Classic might have been his best. The Cal State Fullerton commit has been on a tear to open his senior season and that continued at CEC. His three point shooting was tremendous drilling 6-7 from three including several from incredibly deep! He has always been an elite shooter off the catch, but now has become a high level shot maker creating his own shot whether it is from three or getting to the cup. Maddox had 30 points (10-12 FG).
#12 Blake Peters Blake Peters 6'1" | SG Evanston | 2021 State IL (Evanston)
Peters wanted their game against Niles Notre Dame bad! He made that very apparent in the post-game as his sniper teammate from last year Louis Lesmond Louis Lesmond 6'5" | SF Niles Notre Dame | 2021 State #163 Nation IL was now on the other side. Peters is an elite level shooter with one of the best strokes in the state. He hit 3-6 moving without the ball to set up his shot just like always. What impressed us most in his game was his toughness scoring in the lane. Got the ball on the move several times for finishes at the cup along with crashing the glass and getting out in transition. The more ways he can prove he can score it is only going to help his recruiting stock! Went for an efficient 21 points (8-12 FG).
#13 Chris Hodges Chris Hodges 6'7" | C Schaumburg | 2021 State #84 Nation IL (Schaumburg)
The future Wisconsin Badger went head to head with his Illinois Wolves teammate Max Christie Max Christie 6'4" | SG Rolling Meadows | 2021 State #12 Nation IL . Hodges was about as good as we have seen him. I think the biggest aspect of his game that he doesn’t get credit for is how mobile he is. When he was younger Hodges was more of a plodder and not overly athletic. That has changed! He is comfortable handling it facing up and can defend in ball screens. Most impressive move of the night for the 2021 post was when he stole the ball from Christie and went coast to coast for a finish. His bread and butter however is his low post game. Hodges is a power player that has an excellent combination of strength and skill on the block. Unlike when he was young he now uses quick and aggressive post moves to score. Garners deep post position. Seals in the high/low game. Had a strong drop step for a dunk. Passed out of the post to shooters. Finished well through contact. He was a beast on the glass snatching offensive rebounds for put backs and clearing the defensive glass. Hodges had 24 points and 13 rebounds.
#14 Tevin Smith Tevin Smith 6'4" | SF Danville | 2021 State IL (Danville)
Smith suffered a serious knee injury in the previous spring and missed all the travel team circuit. He had a heavy brace on his knee, but there was no doubt that he is getting close to full health already. He had a dominant first quarter against Rich East at the Team Rose Shootout scoring 15 of his game high 27 points. Smith was on fire from the jump drilling step backs, threes, crashing the glass, and scoring through contact for and-1s. One of his most impressive plays was grabbing a defensive rebound and taking it the full length of the floor for a bucket. It was great to see him back and playing like the D1 recruit that he has always been!
#15 Parker Wolfe Parker Wolfe 5'11" | PG Effingham | 2021 State IL (Effingham)
Effingham’s star junior guard had a quiet scoring first half by his standards, but he was still doing a nice job getting his teammates involved against Mt. Vernon in the first round of the Salem Invitational. The point guard went off in the second half leading his team to a comeback victory. Wolfe is a 6’0” lefty point guard that when he gets rolling can carry a team offensively. That is exactly what he did in the second half. Wolfe was on fire from three hitting them one after another some of them from well beyond the arc. Drilled four of them in a row in the second half. Also mixed in some floaters and layups off spin moves. Wolfe went for 24 points with 19 of them coming in the second half.