Nike Elite 100: Illinois Prospects Evals
PrepHoopsIllinois took in the entire Nike Elite 100 Camp over the weekend featuring the best underclassmen in the nation from coast to coast. How did the top three prospects in the state of Illinois fair against a high level of competition? See here!
PG Tyler Beard (Whitney Young – 2020)
Out of the three Illinois prospects at the event the most impressive performance came from this Whitney Young rising junior. Beard put his name on the radar of national scouts with his play and rightfully so. He was consistent throughout the week at the lead guard position. Beard embraced the opportunity and showed he could be a true point guard at the high major level with his play. Worked very well around ball screens exploding off them getting to the rack as well as winning in one on one situations off the bounce. Burst of speed with the ball in his hands. He was solid shooting it pulling up from three. Crisp passes in both the half court and in transition. Threw several outlets on the money and was outstanding finding his teammates for lobs in the half court. Rebounded well from his guard position. Overall we were impressed with how he competed against elite level competition throughout the week!
PG DJ Steward (2020)
Steward was solid throughout the week, but didn’t have a defining dominant game when we saw him. The #2 prospect in the 2020 class who will be transferring from Fenwick to a TBD high school was best using his handles getting in the lane where he scored several times at the rim with runners/floaters/layups in the game we evaluated. Hit a few jumpers, but it was streaky during the event. We think he will be a consistent shooter during his career with a sound shot mechanically. Got out in transition several times for some finishes. Was solid passing it. I thought where he made the biggest impact was defensively. Steward used his length, lateral quickness, and anticipation to give opposing guards trouble initiating the offense. On several occasions he pressured the ball all the way up the floor.
PG Adam Miller (Morgan Park – 2020)
The state’s top 2020 prospect showed flashes of his high-major ability during Elite 100 including with a nasty left handed dunk. He has tremendous size, athleticism, and confidence as a combo guard. Definitely has the “it” factor! He seemed to settle a bit too much for jump shots and for the most part they weren’t falling. Thought the thing that he did best was distributing especially in the drive and kick game drawing defenders and finding shooters for open looks.