2020 Illinois Top Wings
Who are the best wings in the 2020 class in the state of Illinois? We go in-depth on them here!
SF Lamontay Daughtery (Duquoin)
Current Rank: #3
Travel Team: Brad Beal Elite
The Duquoin 6’6” small forward has a great frame and tremendous athletic ability. The two biggest areas we have seen growth are his perimeter skill set and confidence. He shoots it from a low release point, but gets it off clean most of the time and consistently knocked them down pulling up from both mid-range and three when we saw him this fall. You combine that with his freakish athleticism in the open floor where he takes quality defenders off the bounce and that makes him a problem for defenders to stop. He is playing with a much higher motor than we have seen in the past. That is seen on the offensive glass where he regularly gets second chance points with his explosive quick twitched jumping. Defensively he has a chance to be effective with his physical tools, but he will have to play with a higher desire on that end. Daughtery will also need to get stronger as his career progresses. He solidified a high-major grade in my book with his play. Big 10 and Big 12 schools need to start monitoring him.
SF Isaiah Rivera (Geneseo)
Current Rank: #4
Travel Team: Quad City Elite
The 6’4” wing is a strong small forward that still has some room to grow vertically. He showed off his complete offensive repertoire at the PrepHoops Top 250 camp in September where he won MVP regardless of class. As a scorer he can beat you with a feathery jumper from the perimeter, but if you get up too tight he will take it to the rack. Plays a little stiff and upright at times. Smooth acceleration off the bounce and finishes through contact. Playmaker with the ball in the open floor as he can finish himself taking it all the way for a dunk or finding teammates. Rebounds well for his position. Impressed with the growth he has made on the defensive end of the floor. Rivera isn’t the quickest on the defensive end, but uses positioning and active hands to win time after time. Rivera is a player high-majors need to get on ASAP!
SF Jayden Johnson (Batavia)
Current Rank: #8
Travel Team: Fundamental U
This 6’4” wing opened our eyes when we saw him in July at the High Academic Showcase and continued that momentum at the PrepHoops Top 250 Expo this fall! The small forward has a strong body, but one to where he should be able to continue to grow and maintain strength as he gets taller and body matures. Johnson is mostly known as a perimeter shooter. Quick release and gets elevation off the floor. Going to be a big time shot maker the next three years at Batavia. He has displayed improvement in two key areas. His driving game has developed with tighter handles and is finishing well through contact at the rim. Defensively his lateral mobility and anticipation is much better than what we had seen in the past. Really looking forward to continuing to track this D1 prospect.
SF Demarius Splunge (Orr)
Current Rank: #9
Travel Team: Mac Irvin Fire
He is a jumbo 6’6” wing with size, strength, and athleticism. Tough cover when he is attacking on straight line drives to the hoop which he loves to do. Jumper is best from mid-range and streaky from three. Rebounds at a very high level and can take it off the glass and go the other way. When we first saw him we thought he was more of a ball dominant player that was just looking for his shots, but at the Pangos camp he displayed more passing feel than we had seen in the past. He already has multiple D1 offers on the table.
SG Keshawn Williams (Bloom)
Current Rank: #13
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Williams is only 6’1”, but can really flat out score! He is a thin and wiry two guard that has crisp handles and an explosive first step. Good straight line driver off the bounce. He also shoots the ball well from three. D1 prospect that if he grows could be a mid-major.
SG Ramean Hinton (Curie)
Current Rank: #21
Travel Team: All-In Athletics
Great size, strength, and athleticism combination for this 2020 two guard from public league power Curie. Hinton uses his strength to attack the rim with authority. He was relentless taking it to the cup and finished well in July. When he does miss he uses a nice second jump to get put backs. Best playing downhill and in transition. Flashes shooting ability and is a good free throw shooter. Snatches rebounds.
SF Nate Santos (Geneva)
Current Rank: #25
Travel Team: N/A
The 6’6” wing is the younger brother of Mizzou wing KJ Santos. Nate has some of the similar tools that his brother showed with his size for position and length. Can also shoot it from the perimeter. Smooth looking shot from beyond the arc. Santos shows he can handle it some as well using a shot fake and blowing by his man. Lots of upside here and should be monitored by D1 programs!
SG Dante Maddox (Bloom)
Current Rank: #29
Travel Team: All-In Athletics
Maddox is a 6’2” 2020 shooting guard from Bloom that is an athletic and can score the basketball. His athleticism shows through in the transition game where he gets out as a finisher with big dunks. He is a quality scorer in the half court as well with range on his shot out to beyond the three point arc. Clean looking stroke. At times he takes some forced shots from deep.
SG Josh Holmes (Jones)
Current Rank: #33
Travel Team: Young & Reckless
Holmes is an impressive young scoring guard. The 6’0” Jones 2020 prospect just has a knack for getting buckets. He is a sound perimeter shooter with a clean looking stroke from three. Also had a nice shot fake where he lets his man fly by and then drills a pull up jumper.
SF Christian Shumate (Plainfield East)
Current Rank: #37
Travel Team: Chicago Lockdown
Shumate is a super freak athlete! The 6’4” small forward is a human pogo stick! He is a high flier that finishes with emphatic slams. Shumate is aggressive and plays with an all-out motor all the time. Offensively he is a monster in transition as a finisher and can slash off the bounce from 18 feet in. Handles need to continue to improve as does his jump shot, but you absolutely cannot teach his athleticism and tenacity! Projects as a plus defender down the road.