Ridgewood Live Event: Teddy’s Saturday Notebook (Part 2)
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There’s Something Nice Going on at West Aurora I’ve wanted to see West Aurora for a little while. They have lots of young promising pieces in their program. The headliner is Josh Pickett Josh Pickett 6'5" | SG St. Laurence |…
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Continue ReadingThere’s Something Nice Going on at West Aurora
I’ve wanted to see West Aurora for a little while. They have lots of young promising pieces in their program. The headliner is Josh Pickett Josh Pickett 6'5" | SG St. Laurence | 2024 State #277 Nation IL . The 6’5” junior guard has a great physique and can get it done on both ends. He displayed a ton of confidence with his shot and made some nice passes early on. Another name to watch is 2025 F Terrance Smith. Although only 6’4”. He’s got a ton of athleticism and upside. Just finished an alley oop and two other baskets through contact. 8 early points. Aurora was off to a blazing 22-10 start. They ended the first half with a 3pt free throw attempt by Pickett to give them a 32-13 lead. Pickett scores two more baskets inside and hits a 3 to open the 2nd half. He gets a couple more baskets in the paint and another three pointer later on to give them a 25 point lead. 2024 PG CJ Savage CJ Savage 5'10" | PG West Aurora | 2024 State IL with a nice burst to the basket for West Aurora. He’s found several buckets today from driving down the lane and finishing through contact. In their 2nd game, I saw Pickett and Smith connecting with one another more. On defense, Smith fought for every board and blocked a couple shots. Pickett fought for some tough baskets and found lots of scoring opportunities against Sacred-Heart Griffin despite the loss.
Sacred Heart Griffin Wings Dominate
I saw the defending 3A champions for the first time today. Their forward duo of Jake Hamilton Jake Hamilton 6'3" | SG Sacred Heart Griffin | 2023 State IL and Zack Hawkinson Zack Hawkinson 6'4" | PF Sacred Heart Griffin | 2023 State IL was their bread and butter against West Aurora. Hamilton was off to a tremendous start. He’s got lefty touch near the basket and let it fly from deep. He had 7 quick points from the start. Meanwhile, Hawkinson showed some solid footwork down on the low block. He made a nice fadeaway jumper and shifted by a defender for a layup. On defense, he killed it on the glass, And pushed the ball forward at a high rate for quick baskets on the other end. They were giving West Aurora lots of problems early on. Hamilton continued his strong play with a couple more 3-pointers and some strong finishes down low. He had 20 points by the start of the 2nd half. He then got hot with two straight threes. Every time West Aurora scored, the Cyclones had answers. Jveon Bardwell stepped up with some excellent ball skills and nice slashing moves to the bucket. I saw Hamilton become more active on the glass too. As he converted a few second chance points. Guard Keshon Singleton, who hit the game winner in the state championship, came through too with a block and two inside buckets late to help secure the victory. Jake Hamilton Jake Hamilton 6'3" | SG Sacred Heart Griffin | 2023 State IL had the best offensive game of the shootout so far, finishing with 30 points and the win vs West Aurora.
Brock Harding Brock Harding 6'0" | PG Moline | 2023 State #222 Nation IL and Owen Freeman Owen Freeman 6'10" | C Moline | 2023 State #179 Nation IL are the Real Deal at Moline
Moline might be the most hyped up program from the Quad Cities in a long time. They’re led by two Iowa commits in PG Brock Harding Brock Harding 6'0" | PG Moline | 2023 State #222 Nation IL and recently-transferred big man Owen Freeman Owen Freeman 6'10" | C Moline | 2023 State #179 Nation IL . I saw them put on a terrific show against Whitney Young. The two connected early when Harding found Freeman early in the game with a pick and roll dunk. Brock Harding Brock Harding 6'0" | PG Moline | 2023 State #222 Nation IL might be my new favorite point guard in Illinois. His ball-handling abilities and quickness are top-notch. But his ability to break off defenders and create space with the ball is extraordinary. He found lots of scoring chances throughout the game from all over the floor. Almost every scoring opportunity for Moline against Young started with something Harding did.
Transferring from Bourbonnais, Owen Freeman Owen Freeman 6'10" | C Moline | 2023 State #179 Nation IL brings tons of size and athleticism and fit really well with this group. One of the biggest takeaways from the game I watched was his ability to score over numerous defenders in the paint. His spacing, footwork, and off-ball movement looked to par against Whitney Young. His first bucket of the game came from beyond the arc. Freeman scored 19 points and Harding scored 16 to beat Young. Senior Grant Welch Grant Welch 6'3" | PG Moline | 2023 State IL came through big and hit several big shots late to help secure the victory. He scored 15 points.
St. Rita Comes Back Against New Trier
There was lots of good things to point out from players on both teams. New Trier’s Jake Fiegen Jake Fiegen 6'3" | SG New Trier | 2023 State IL off to a hot start against St. Rita. The 2023 sharp-shooter hit two three’s already and was fouled on one of them. He then grabbed an offensive rebound and passed it out to the corner for an open basket .Fiegen hit his 2nd and-one from behind the arc with a shot in the corner. But St. Rita had answers. James Brown James Brown 6'9" | C Link Academy (from Chicago) | 2024 #66 Nation MO did similar things he found success at yesterday. Sized up well, battled hard on the glass, and displayed excellent footwork. He scored some early buckets down low and hit another shot later in the opening frame. Jake Fiegen Jake Fiegen 6'3" | SG New Trier | 2023 State IL finished with 15 first half points to lead all scorers at the break. They led St. Rita 26-19 at the time Fiegen opened the 2nd half with a midrange pull up baseline Then, I got to see some of his inside scoring abilities. He Posted up a defender and cut to the basket baseline for an easy layup. He was controlling the game at this point. On defense, he placed his body on the line by taking two charges against Morez Johnson Morez Johnson 6'9" | PF Thornton | 2024 State #33 Nation IL .
But again, Rita Kept pushing. Morez Johnson Morez Johnson 6'9" | PF Thornton | 2024 State #33 Nation IL made some solid plays in the paint. He also has great length and excellent footwork when working down low. He’d back down multiple defenders at once for buckets. A euro-step finish by Nojus Indusaitis on the fast break make it a three point game. James Brown James Brown 6'9" | C Link Academy (from Chicago) | 2024 #66 Nation MO finally gave Rita the lead with a layup and forced turnover. Johnson continued his battle in the paint to help extend the lead even more. Rita would hang on to win 48-44 with a breakaway slam by Brown to seal things. Johnson and Brown each scored 12. Jake Fiegen Jake Fiegen 6'3" | SG New Trier | 2023 State IL scored a game-high 26 for New Trier. Tyler Van Gorp Tyler Van Gorp 6'10" | C New Trier | 2023 State IL scored 10.