Notes From York High School Summer Shootout
June 25, 2009
11:00 P.M. CST
The following is our analysis and highlights from our time spent at the York High School Summer Shootout, which was held last weekend at York Township High School in Elmhurst, IL.
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6'9 class of 2011 center Nnana Egwu from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago was absolutely dominant throughout the weekend at York and was the main reason why Ignatius ended up winning the shootout championship, defeating Waukegan in the title game. Egwu simply keeps getting better and better with each and every contest and in many ways reminds us of Stan Simpson at the same stage. Actually, we think that Egwu is more skilled and better coordinated than Simpson was when he was a junior in high school. Egwu is so fundamentally sound for a big man. He protects the ball well, has great hands, is a consistent finisher and continues to add new weapons to his offensive arsenal, which now includes a jump hook and the ability to hit the mid-range jumper when facing the basket. We look for Egwu to have a stellar month of July on the traveling team circuit while playing for the Illinois Wolves.
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We are now going on record as saying that 6'1 class of 2010 prospect Reggie Smith from Thornton Township High School in Harvey, IL projects as a high major caliber guard, and it doesn't have to be at the point guard position. That is because of his high energy level and how hard he plays from start to finish at both ends of the floor. He is simply a highlight film in transition and there are few if any guards in the state with his level of athleticism. He has also improved his perimeter shooting immensely and although he can still be erratic in that area, his accuracy and range on his jumpshot is much better than a lot of people give him credit for. We believe that Smith is one of two players in Illinois from the 2010 class where position does not matter--you simply put him on the floor and let him go to work. The other is Simeon's Brandon Spearman. There is no question that Smith and 5'9 class of 2011 point guard Jay Parker comprise one of the best back court combinations in the state at Thornton.
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Homewood-Flossmoor is once again going to be one of the top teams in Chicago's south suburbs next season. While they are young and somewhat inexperienced, they are extremely talented. The headliners are a pair of class of 2012 wing forwards--6'5 Delvon Rencher and 6'6 Tim Williams. Both are highly athletic, have outstanding ball skills as well as the ability to knock down open shots out to the 3-point arc. In fact, now that 6'6 T.J. Bell has transferred from Charleston High School in Charleston, IL to Bloomington South High School in Bloomington, IN, Rencher just might project as the top 3-man in Illinois from the 2012 class. Simply put, H-F head coach Jim McLaughlin does not get the credit that he deserves, as he consistently does an outstanding job year in and year out.
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Another Illinois Wolves player, 6'0 class of 2011 point guard David Sobielewski from Benet Academy in Lisle, IL, was absolutely spectacular when we watched him in Benet's opening round playoff contest for teams that finished first in their pool vs. Thornton. Even though Thornton won the game, Sobielewski took it right to Jay Parker and showed what a fierce competitor he really is, scoring 37 points. Sobielewski is a terrific ball handler, has great quickness in the open court and has an uncanny knack for being able to get to the basket and either finish, draw a foul or make the dish to an open teammate. It is therefore no surprise that Benet's offense runs through Sobielewski almost exclusively. The one area we are still not sure about is the consistency of his perimeter shooting, but after watching him at York we are thoroughly convinced that he is a D1 prospect.
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Even though they once again played without 6'7 class of 2010 University of Illinois commit Jereme Richmond, who was at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, VA, Waukegan looked like a totally different team than when we saw them at the Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout at the end of May. Waukegan head coach Ron Ashlaw told us that he believed that it was simply a case of his team getting the opportunity to jell and develop chemistry throughout the spring and summer. At York it certainly looked as though that has happened, which was the main reason why Waukegan advanced to the championship game in the first place pool bracket. Although no individual player stood out, it was a total team effort, which included solid performances from 6'2 class of 2010 guard Quan Connor, 5'10 class of 2011 guard Aaron Johnson, 5'7 class of 2010 point guard Mike Springs and 6'3 class of 2012 swing man Akeem Springs. Right now we still have Waukegan as our preseason #1 team in Illinois heading into next season.
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The York High School Summer Shootout might have been a coming out party for York's 6'2 class of 2011 shooting guard Will Sullivan. We have been touting Sullivan ever since watching him turn in an outstanding effort in the class 4A regional final at York this past season, but after seeing him last weekend we came away amazed at how much better Sullivan has gotten in such a short period of time. Sullivan has put in countless hours in the gym improving the mechanics of his jump shot, and it is obvious that it has paid off, as he now has better rotation, a quicker release and has developed tremendous lift and elevation. As a result, he has rapidly become a huge perimeter scoring threat. By the way, Sullivan also plays for the Illinois Wolves 16-under squad alongside Egwu and Sobielewski and we believe that the best is still yet to come.
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6'6 class of 2010 forward Anthony Shoemaker from Joliet Township High School in Joliet, IL remains one of the more under the radar players in the state. There is no question that Shoemaker has most solid wing skills, as he can put the ball on the floor as well as step back and bury shots out to 3-point land in addition to being highly athletic. We would now like to see him get stronger and play with greater passion at the defensive end. As of now, we see him projecting as a mid-major 3-man.
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Kudos to York head coach Al Biancalana on putting together an outstanding field of teams at this year's shootout. The bottom line is that Biancalana understands as well as anyone what the summer team shootout concept is all about, which is yet another reason why he is one of the best in the business as well as a class act.
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