5 Takeaways: Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp
Last weekend PHI covered the Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp featuring 2023 and 2024 prospects from around the Midwest. Here are our 5 Takeaways from the event looking at the state of Illinois. St. Rita Loaded for the Future We…
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Continue ReadingLast weekend PHI covered the Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp featuring 2023 and 2024 prospects from around the Midwest. Here are our 5 Takeaways from the event looking at the state of Illinois.
St. Rita Loaded for the Future
We have heard quite a bit about the incoming freshman class at St. Rita. Many of them were at Pangos over the weekend and we got our first look at them. That included potential #1 overall 2024 James Brown. The 6’8” big man was a physically imposing presence that scored, rebounded, and was a force defensively. He is the center piece of their future, but there is much more! Morez Johnson is a 6’6” four man that was excellent defensively and brings projectability up front. Joshua Pickett is a scoring two guard that will be an impactful player in the 2024 class. Their 2023 group impressed as well. Darrion Baker is a four man that projects long term and is primed to breakout this year with his athleticism and mobility in the paint. Another sophomore to watch is Kaiden Space. Good sized combo guard that can shoot it and has some playmaking ability. Solomon Mosley and Evan Jackson are a pair of young post players at 6’6” and 6’7” that flashed intriguing skills.
Kenwood Primed for Run in CPS
While St. Rita might have next in the Chicago Catholic League it is Kenwood who definitely has that distinction in the Chicago Public League. Since taking over the head coaching job Mike Irvin has changed the future of the program with three elite prospects in the 2023 class all of which played at a high level during Pangos. Top ranked 2023 Javonte Taylor showed why we believe he is a five star prospect nationally. He can beat a defense in so many ways. Feathery jump shot from beyond the arc. Can also win off the dribble and use his quickness inside to score. Plus ball handler for a player his size. The other post prospect from Kenwood that was a standout was Davius Loury. The 6’7” four man has strength and skill. Rebounded well against other D1 big men. His shooting knocking down several threes really opened our eyes. At the point Darrin Ames was special. He is the next in line of the classic Mac Irvin Fire guards. Long, rangy, fast, and can flat out score it. Kenwood also has a 2024 guard to watch in Christopher Riddle. Strong scoring guard that rebounds.
Illinois 2023 Point Guard Group Remains Strength of Class
The point guard class is the best part of the Illinois 2023 class to this point. Seven of the top 10 ranked point guards were in attendance. For us Kenwood’s Darrin Ames was the best of the group. His dynamic scoring from all over the floor getting buckets at will was very impressive. Whitney Young’s Dalen Davis is a high IQ guard that drilled mid-range jumper for days. Simeon’s Jalen Griffith was most comfortable setting others up while mixing in some acrobatic layups. Marist’s Xavier Sulaiman Xavier Sulaiman 6'3" | SG Oak Lawn | 2023 State IL can really shoot it from deep and has upside. Springfield Lanphier’s Tevonta Jackson is a big time athlete that plays with speed and can score from all three levels. Ahmad Henderson out of Brother Rice is a smaller guard that continued his strong shooting from the summer. Kaiden Space Kaiden Space 6'2" | SG St.Rita | 2023 State IL from St. Rita was a sound shooter from mid-range. Brock Harding from central Illinois’ Moline is a rock solid decision maker. Maurice Thomas from DePaul Prep had a breakout event as a playmaker against some of the top guards in the class.
Quality Post Players in 2023
While the PGs are the strength you have to like how the post prospect group is coming along as well. It starts with the top player Javonte Taylor. The Kenwood star is so versatile handling, shooting, and driving. Also flashed improving passing. His high school teammate Davius Loury had a good weekend playing inside and out on both ends. The #3 prospect Donaven Younger had an up and down weekend, but when he was on he looked so intriguing with his length, athleticism, and skill. The prospect here that helped boost their stock the most was Bradley Bourbonnais big man Owen Freeman. We liked what we saw during the high school season and was looking forward to seeing how he would play against legit competition. In our first look at him since February he more that proved he is a legit D1 prospect with his bounce finishing, rebounding, and rim protecting. Picked up an offer from in-state Illinois after getting exposure at Pangos. St. Ignatius big man Jackson Kotecki had his moments mixing in skill and power. Miles Rubin from Homewood Flossmoor was outstanding each game we saw him with his quickness and rim protection. Wilfred Kamukama (Huntley), Solomon Mosley (St. Rita), and Kuba Senczyszyn (Dundee Crown) bring depth to the position.
First Look at 2024s
This was my first look at many of the 2024 prospects that will make up the top tier of the class. At this point it all starts with 6’8” St. Rita center James Brown. He more than lived up to the hype with the way he dominated on the interior. Power player that is light on his feet. The other two big men that caught our attention were Morez Johnson Jr. from St. Rita and Taevion Collier out of Curie. Both have legit size and upside to be potential D1 prospects down the line. The two shooting guards who made a name for themselves were Christopher Riddle (Kenwood) and Payton Kamin (DePaul Prep). We spoke about Riddle earlier with his physicality as a scorer. Kamin is a sharp shooter with size at 6’3” to go with some playmaking flair.