Havoc In the Heartland- Sunday Surprises
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After a highly competitive slate of Saturday contests I moved across the street for a different perspective. I had a list of players I was expecting to see. However I came away more impressed with some players that were off…
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Continue ReadingAfter a highly competitive slate of Saturday contests I moved across the street for a different perspective. I had a list of players I was expecting to see. However I came away more impressed with some players that were off my radar both mentally and you might say geographically. Here are five that stood out
Jonah Hinton Jonah Hinton 6'1" | PG Naperville Central | 2022 State IL 6-1 2022 Naperville Central (IL) Playing for M14 Adidas Gold this point guard controlled the tempo in a commanding victory over the Illinois Bears and their highly ranked backcourt. Hinton balanced dynamic and aggressive with composure and control. Was able to penetrate throughout the game and stick a three when opponents sagged off him. Nothing flashy but the type of point guard that wins games. Showed with M14’s Sunday outcomes. After starting the weekend 0-2 finished by winning both games.
David Douglas Jr 6-2 2023 Yorkville Christian (IL) Played the point for well for— it’s a mouthful but here goes, Sport-Prep Nothing But Athletes Inc 2022. Played up a grade level with 2022’s. It should also be noted that his squad featured a handful of 2021 prospects making a him grade level or more younger than most of his teammates. I never would have guessed if I didn’t have the rosters. While he is quite skinny played with the maturity of an upperclassman. Has excellent size for the point and doesn’t look like he is done growing. His team took it on the chin from Team Outwork in the game I viewed. But I was impressed in what I saw in the small sample size. Playing time in the Yorkville Christian backcourt is going to be hard earned with Jaden Schutt Jaden Schutt 6'5" | SG Yorkville Christian | 2022 State #42 Nation IL and Brayden Long Brayden Long 6'4" | SF Yorkville Christian | 2023 State IL but it’s a nice challenge to face.
Xavier Zubric 6-8 2022 Atherton (KY) Extremely long and bouncy athlete who passes the eye test in a major way. Moves extremely well and is not shy defensively. Played well in pick and roll situations. This exemplified by a huge dunk coming out this action in a Sunday morning win against Overtime Performance. Active on the glass and posted good rebounding numbers all weekend. This is encouraging as board work is often a sign of effort level. He looks like he has a little ways to go. But if he wants to improve the physical skills are already there
Ryan Schwendeman
Ryan
Schwendeman
6'4" | SF
St. Dominic | 2022
State
MO
6-4 2022 St Dominic (MO) This young man was surprising for one simple reason. Unlike Zubric the two sport star (FB) does not pass the initial eye test. But once the ball tips you become well aware this guy can play. Stocky frame covers up deceptive athleticism. When he gets a step has excellent acceleration and explodes to the rim. Showed this off in big way with a thunderous dunk against Titans Elite (KY). But that wasn’t the highlight of the day. That would be posting 17 points and 11 rebounds against Indiana Game. Impressive as the Indiana Game squad sported a front court that had 3-5 inches on him at every front court position. These were not empty statistics either as his Gateway Knights needed every point in the dramatic buzzer beating 58-56 victory.
Tyran Thomas 6-3 2023 Grand Rapids Northview (MI) (pictured at top of article) Unlike the other players on this list I have seen Thomas play many times before. However I was surprised with the toughness and grit he showed playing with Indiana based 94 Elite. This is not to say that I thought Thomas was soft. I was just surprised with how well he played in the post out of necessity for his smaller squad. Had a difficult task against the huge frontline of Young&Reckless (IL) on Sunday. While the score did not reflect it he performed admirably. Rangy lanky athlete with a lot of bounce in his legs. Showed this off with an explosive dunk on Saturday. I hope he gets to play his more natural 2/3 position in the regular season. That is not a given with the Wildcats deep rotation.