Holiday Evals: 2019 Pt 2
PrepHoopsIllinois covered five different holiday tournaments across the state last week. This allowed us to evaluate tons of prospects at a variety of ages and college levels. Now it is time for the massive 160+ player scouting report on all the prospects. Here is Part 2: 2019 Prospects!
G Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook – 2019)
Cochran was the best of the “Big Three” Bolingbrook guards in their quarterfinal victory. The powerful combo guard used his strength to get in the lane where he scored at will. Great converting in traffic as he plays physical in the paint. Dominated in the lane with layups, runners, and mid-range jump shots. Also got on the offensive glass for a pair of put backs. The D1 prospect had 22 points and 7 rebounds.
PG Joseph Yesufu (Bolingbrook – 2019)
The top 10 prospect in the 2019 class was outstanding when we saw him at Thanksgiving. It wasn’t his night when we evaluated him in the quarterfinals against Rockford Auburn. He wasn’t very aggressive and just couldn’t find an offensive feel. Was 1-3 from the field with 0 assists and 5 turnovers. He just didn’t have it. We will chalk it up to just a bad night at the office. Yesufu still remains a low-major to mid-major prospect.
PG Chris Roberts (Lincoln Park – 2019)
We were pretty aggressive with Roberts ranking after seeing him in the spring and summer dominate getting to the rim whenever he wanted. We might have been too low on him at #23 currently. He has so much speed with the ball. Explosive burst getting to the rim where he finishes consistently with acrobatic layups. Over and over again he just takes it right at the defense, blows past them, and scores. Didn’t shoot a three, but he didn’t have to in this game. He went for 22 points (11-15 FG) and 4 assists. Mid-major programs should have him on their radar.
SF Isaac Stanback (Homewood Flossmoor – 2019)
Stanback is a freak athlete at the forward position. He is a raw athlete right now that lacks skill. Tough rebounder using his vertical explosion on both ends of the floor. He is a tough defender around the hoop blocking shots. Might be best long term as a small ball four man. He had 11 points and 3 steals. D2 upside.
SF Maurion Scott (Homewood Flossmoor – 2019)
Scott is a rangy 6’4” small forward that is a projectable prospect. He nailed some tough jump shots from 15-18 feet with a feathery touch. Scott had 9 points and 8 rebounds. D2 upside here.
SF Trevon Jones (Richards – 2019)
Jones is a physically build 6’4” small forward that has a thick upper body. He finished well inside throughout the game and hit a couple mid-range jumpers. Rebounded well for a wing. Not the most athletic prospect he gets it done mostly with power. Finished with 19 points. Small college prospect.
C Frank Siegen (Glenbrook North – 2019)
Siegen is an undersized center at 6’5”. He has a big body and plays physical around the hoop. Showed a nice touch with hook shots and high/low buckets. Siegen is a quality area rebounder. Small college player had 11 points.
C Sean Faulkner (Urban Prep-Englewood – 2019)
Faulkner is a thick bodied 6’4” center that carves out space on the interior. The wide bodied big man plays physical and has some mobility for his size. Area rebounder. Finished with 11 points. Small college kid.
SG Fillip Bulatovic (Maine South – 2019)
The Maine South junior shooting guard continues to impress us each time we evaluate him. Plus athlete that knows how to use that to his advantage. He had a couple dunks including a sweet alley-oop. Acrobatic finishes around the hoop which was shown on an up and under. Sound passer making crisp dishes and also was effective on the defensive end blocking several shots. He had 12 points (5-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Sleeper D2 prospect.
PF Chris Payton (Bloomington – 2019)
Payton started off a big slow, but then got it cooking as the game went along. The Illinois State commit is proving to be an absolute steal for the MVC program. What separates him from other power forwards is he can face from the mid-post and just destroy defenders with a couple quick dribbles, spins, and finishing at the cup. So strong and athletic! He had a couple huge dunks to start the second half. Defensively he is a rim protector even blocking two shots on the same possession. Overall it wasn’t his best effort as he had some turnovers and shot it inconsistent, but still managed 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Pretty good for an “average” night!
PG Donzell Johnson (Bloomington – 2019)
Johnson stands at 6’2” and had his breakout game against OPRF. He was especially hot in the first half drilling an array of jumpers from all over the floor particularly being effective pulling up in the mid-range as well as connecting on both threes he took. Johnson had 11 points. Could emerge as a nice find for a D3 or NAIA program.
SG Chase Robinson (OPRF – 2019)
Robinson is a player that flies a bit under the radar for OPRF, but for the second time in the last month this glue guy has stepped up when his team needed him most. The 6’2” shooting guard is at his best attacking off the bounce taking angles to get to the rim. When he gets rolling he is tough to stop. Also makes a decent amount of trips to the charity stripe. He had 15 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Worth monitoring at the D2 level.
SG Anthony Roberts (OPRF – 2019)
Roberts is an athletic wing that can power his way to the hoop. Scored a lot in the lane. Tough player that could find a role at the small college level in a couple years. He scored 11 points.
PF Charlie Hoehne (OPRF – 2019)
Hohne is a face up four man that we have been fans of for a while now as he emerged late last season and continued to play strong in the summer. Didn’t have a great game against Bloomington. Foul trouble hurt him and he struggled guarding a more physical Chris Payton. Best move was a cross in transition that he finished with a layup. Hoehne had 2 points and 6 rebounds. Still a D2 recruit because of his shooting and mobility.
SG Dajuan Gordon (Curie – 2019)
Gordon had one of the best performances of the day. The Curie junior was a prospect we were pretty aggressive with his ranking after a strong spring and summer with Team Rose despite having not seen much varsity time. He more than lived up to his top 15 status! Gordon is extremely projectable with a 6’4” long frame with broad shoulders where he will definitely be able to add strength. Still fairly thin. His athleticism jumps off the floor. Explosive with the ball in his hands winning off the bounce and getting to the cup. He is learning how to finish in different ways including a euro step. Also is improving as a rebounder getting on the glass for offensive put backs. He is going to be a plus shooter long term with a clean release. Defensively if he wants to lock in he can be really good. Gordon went for 21 points and 8 boards. Mid-major prospect.
PG Marquise Walker (Curie – 2019)
The 6’0” scoring point guard from Curie had one of the better games we have seen out of him in a Curie uniform. He is a volume scoring lead guard. Walker drilled an array of mid-range pull up jumpers and mixed in some acrobatic drives to the cup. Also flipped defense to offense on a couple steals. He had 19 points (7-15 FG). Low-major at this stage.
SG Justin Harmon (Curie – 2019)
Harmon is a smooth shooting guard that has the potential to breakout this upcoming summer. The wing showed flashes of that at Pontiac. Drilled a three from the corner showing a clean stroke. Forced some tough shots inside the arc along the way. Potential to be a plus defender. He had 5 points (2-5 FG). One to monitor this spring for low-majors/D2.
PG Traevon Brown (West Aurora – 2019)
Brown is a 6’0” junior point guard that had a breakout July with the Illinois Stars. He didn’t play great when we saw him earlier in the season, but backed up his ranking in this one. Against a high level Curie squad Brown was scorching hot to start the game. He drilled multiple threes and pull up 15 foot jumpers. Slick ball handler that made some bad turnovers at times. He had 18 points. D1 prospect.
PG Kejuan Clements (Simeon – 2019)
The junior point guard was solid in his time against St. Charles North. The guard pushes it in the open floor getting to the rim for buckets. Scored on all his attempts inside the arc. Made a few nice passes as well. Plays within his role on this team. He had 8 points (4-5 FG). Low-major to mid-major prospect.
PF EJ Liddell (Belleville West – 2019)
Liddell was an absolute force on his way to leading Belleville West to the championship and earning MVP honors. The 6’7” power forward has gotten stronger especially in his upper body. He was aggressive from the jump in both games we saw. He got deep post position almost every time down the floor and finished with an array of post moves. Really liked the short turnaround jumper. Several spin moves in the lane. Ball handling has improved looking extremely smooth attacking from the mid-range and even beyond the arc on occasion. Finished multiple monster slams above the rim. Works well in the pick and roll in the few times he was put in those positions. Didn’t shoot it much from three in the first game, but connected from beyond the arc in the final. With all that said where he might have been best was on the glass gobbling up rebounds at an insane rate on both ends. Offensively he grabbed a lot of boards and then converted second chance opportunities. An area that we noticed significant improvement was his passing. He made quite a few quality dishes including cross court out of the post to shooters. Defensively he showed he is one of the better shot blocking prospects in the 2019 class projecting the rim well in both games. His stat line in the semi against Alton was 24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 blocks, and 5 assists. In the championship game he had 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Priority high-major prospect for Midwest schools.
PF Keith Randolph (Belleville West – 2019)
Good showing from Randolph in both games. The 6’5” post plays much bigger than his size with his strength and build. He was a load on the glass on both ends. Randolph boxes out and snatches the ball with his strong hands. Most of his points come on second chance opportunities he creates by getting offensive rebounds as well as getting dunks on dump off passes from his teammates. Randolph had 11 points and 8 rebounds in the semi. 12 points in the championship. D2’s should start monitoring him.
PG Lawrence Brazil (Belleville West – 2019)
Brazil transferred over to Belleville West from St. Louis. The point guard isn’t flashy and knows what his role is. Get the ball to the big fellas and don’t make mistakes. He did a good job of that. Role player at small college level.
SF Donovan Clay (Alton – 2019)
Consistent day for this Alton small forward. The 6’3” rangy wing has long arms and showed much improvement on his perimeter jump shots. In previous evals he was more of a slasher and transition player. Clay shot the ball well from beyond the arc spotting up in both of their games. He had 12 points in each game. One to monitor closely this summer.
SG Malik Smith (Alton – 2019)
Impressive performance from Malik Smith at the Centralia Holiday Tournament. Didn’t do much in the championship game, but in their semifinal game he played the best we have seen him. The 6’3” shooting guard has good size and athleticism at the two guard spot. He is a prospect that jumped on our radar in July with the Jets and peeked our interest more after his play in the semi. Drilled a trio of threes and also scored off the bounce on some slashes. Scoring potential. Smith is a player that could have a breakout spring.
PG Jahiem Holden (Evanston – 2019)
Holden is a junior point guard that has dynamic ability when he is clicking on all cylinders. The 5’10” lefty plays with a lot of speed in the open floor blowing past defenders. Quick off the bounce in the half court as well getting in the lane where he can score with runners, layups, or kick to shooters on the perimeter. Good feel for the game. Solid spot up shooter. Active defender. He had 22 points against Carmel. D2 prospect with chance to elevate.
SG Lance Jones (Evanston – 2019)
Jones was solid in their fifth place win over Carmel, but wasn’t his best by any means. When the game was on the line he came up big! The Evanston junior combo guard created his own shot at the end of the contest drilling a 15 foot game winning jumper. Outside of that he got to the rack early, but couldn’t convert. Started to do that better as the game went along with a few nice drives. He had 9 points. MM/LM prospect.
SG Evan Myers (Carmel – 2019)
Myers was one of the breakout players of the day at the Centralia Holiday Tournament. In their AM game in the annex Myers woke everybody up with his perimeter shooting. He drilled five triples in the first half off the catch. Continued that shooting into the second half and made some key free throws as well. Mixed in an and-1 late. Overall though he is mostly a spot up shooter that could be looked at by small colleges. He had 27 points in their win over Confluence.
SF Johnny Roeser (Carmel – 2019)
Roeser is a rangy 6’5” small forward that plays mostly on the interior for his high school team. He was impressive at the tournament getting on the glass and finishing around the cup with short jump shots. Also made threes off the catch. Skilled wing that showed more versatility to his game than we have seen on the travel team circuit. Roeser right now projects as a D2 prospect with the chance to elevate with a big spring on the Illinois Wolves. He had 12 points and 17 points in the two games we evaluated.
PF Damone Williams-Gray (Carmel – 2019)
Williams-Gray is a 6’5” junior undersized four man that plays with a great motor! He is an aggressive offensive rebounder using his quickness in the paint. Most of his points come in the paint off energy plays. He had 18 points against Evanston. Small college player.
PF Richard Robinson (Cahokia – 2019)
Robinson is intriguing with his 6’7” frame and length. Quickness and mobility on the interior scoring on dump off passes. Runs the floor well. He had 16 points.