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Chicago City Suburban Showdown

The 2010 McDonald's City Suburban Showdown was another stellar event by The Integrity Group and Bob Rylko.  In the past several years I have been able to scout such outstanding prospects as Greg Oden, Derrick Rose, Evan Turner, and Demetri McCamey at this event.  This years lineup featured three games and included a who's who of the best players in the Chicago land area!  Lets take a look at the prospects!

Tracy Abrams PG/SG Mt. Carmel (IL) Class of 2011 (Illinois)

Tracy Abrams is a an extremely strong guard with a compact body.  Offensively Abrams strength is his scoring ability.  He uses the strength to make up for his lack of elite athleticism to get buckets.  In this game he got in the lane several times for points, but was most effective with mid range jumpers.  He attacks his man and then uses an impressive quick rise-up with good height to get the shot off.  Abrams can be a streaky shooter overall.  On the game Abrams only had 2 assists.  In some instances he will make nice crisp passes to put his teammates in position to score, but was looking to score on this night.  This aspect of his game has been a concern for a while.  I view him more as an undersized shooting guard than lead guard because I do not see the elite vision needed to be a top 10 point guard nationally.  He did rebound well on the night with five boards.  This can be a strength for him at the next level because of his strength he will not be afraid to mix it up down low for a rebound.  Defensively he can be a very good on ball defender at the next level.  Abrams finished with 21 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers in a Mt. Carmel win.  Abrams can be a very good scorer in the Big 10 for the Illini and is a top 100 prospect nationally.  

Jacob Williams SF St. Patrick's (IL) Class of 2011

Williams was one of the players I was most excited to see at this event.  His stock has been on the rise lately, but this was my first opportunity to see him play in person.  Overall it was a very disappointing showing for the junior.  He only played 16 minutes because of foul trouble which would cause him to leave with 6:24 left in the fourth quarter. Williams has a body similar to that of Ohio State's Evan Turner at the same stage.  He is wiry strong with a frame he can add more weight on.  Williams is decent at attacking with the ball off the dribble, but he likes shooting mid range jump shots.  For a player of Williams size and caliber it was disappointing to see him not record a single rebound on the night.  The St. Pat's forward projects as a three at the next level.  Williams final stat line was 5 points, 1 assist, 1 turnover, and 5 personal fouls in 16:28 of action.  He has potential, but was not on his game tonight.
 

Mike Shaw PF De La Salle (IL) Class of 2011

Mike Shaw has had his ups and downs throughout his three year career.  This game was the best game I have seen him play.  He played with heart and passion like I had never seen before.  Shaw's team was the underdog against a highly rated Simeon ball club, so Shaw had to bring his A game and that is exactly what he did.  Shaw has a very athletic body with good strength and flexibility.  I think if Mike puts his mind to being a PF he can be one of the best in the country.  He has a skilled post game where he uses good footwork and touch.  On the interior when going for buckets he tries to avoid contact instead of going up and through the man.  From the perimeter Shaw has a nice fluid ball fake which gets the defender off balance so he can attack.  Shaw can hit a perimeter shot, but at times he falls in love with it.  If this would be more of a compliment to his post game rather than equal to his post game I believe he would be more effective.  The big man made several errant passes that led to four turnovers for the Meteors.  The place that Shaw impressed me was on the boards.  He ended up with 10 rebounds, but it was the way he got them that was impressive.  He ripped them down strong and aggressively like I have rarely seen.  His final stat line on the night was 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers in a huge win for his ball club.  Shaw has elevated himself back up in my eyes in this game to a top 25 prospect nationally.  If I see this kind of play more consistently he could be even higher.

Alex Foster SF/PF De La Salle (IL) Class of 2013

Alex Foster is one of the three highly rated freshman that would be playing in this event.  He is an extremely long and athletic lefty that is still thin, but has a good frame to put weight on over the next four years of high school.  The first thing of notice on this night was that Foster had a mask on his face early, but took it off as the game went on.  He runs the floor like a deer and is such a fluid athlete for a player so young.  Foster has a quick first step and uses both hands well.  Late in the game he came up with an impressive rebound that was big for his team at the time.  Overall, the young man is still pretty raw as a basketball player.  I think he knows how good he is but at times he looks a little tentative which is only natural because of his age.  Foster contributed 4 points and 2 rebounds in limited minutes for the Meteors.  He could be a prospect that becomes a top 15 to 20 player nationally down the road.

Parker in my eyes is the most impressive of the three Chicago freshman.  The first aspect that jumps out about Parker is his size.  He is a legit 6-6 at 14 years old with a strong body that he can continue to build on.  He has a good looking jump shot with solid mechanics and good height off of the floor.  Most of the time Parker will make the smart play and good decisions.  There were times in this game where he forced a pass or two in a spot that he probably should not which led to his 3 turnovers.  Overall he has above average vision.  The best thing about Parker is he knows he is good and has confidence in himself, but is not cocky.  He wants the ball in his hands in situations where many freshman would run away from it.  I did not like his footwork at the free throw line.  One foot is considerably far behind the other which makes him look unbalanced.  Defensively Parker could be a monster because of his size, length, and athleticism he can guard multiple positions effectively.  His final stat line on the night was 8 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 turnovers in a loss.  I stand by my statement on Parker from over the summer.  If he continues to improve and grow he could be the best player in the nation in 2013!

Spearman is one of my favorite players to watch in the state of Illinois because he always plays hard and aggressive.  Spearman is a strong shooting guard that has a good perimeter shot and is usually not afraid to take it in on the interior.  Early on Spearman looked good as he was his usual aggressive self by getting 5 points early, but something changed and for the first time ever he was not attacking the defense hard.  The remaining three quarters the Wolverines guard would only manage 1 more point.  In 24 minutes he recorded 6 points and 5 rebounds.  I still like Spearman because this was the first time he has played poorly in the multiple times I have scouted him.  He is still a top 100 prospect.

The best prospect in the state and newly named McDonald's All-American came to play in the featured match up against Whitney Young.  Richmond is a highly skilled small forward that is still a bit thin, but has added bulk throughout his high school career.  Jereme loves to shoot jump shots and at times he can be streaky.  He will have a stretch where it is on, but other times he will miss several in a row.  When he settles his feet and stays in rhythm the shot will go down most of the time.  The most spectacular moment of the game was a windmill dunk by Richmond midway through the first quarter.  It was a tone setter for the rest of the game.  As I have stated many times before, the best part of Jereme's game is his passing.  He sees the floor like a point forward with above average vision.  The future Illini likes to make the flashy pass which either makes a spectacular play or becomes a turnover when he gets a little to aggressive with his passing.  Both were seen on this night.  Richmond played most of the night on the interior where he dominated the glass by collecting 11 boards.  Defensively, Richmond played stellar against Thomas Hamilton on the interior holding him to limited points.  His length and timing helped him record 8 blocks against the Dolphins.  Even when he didn't get a block he altered shots.  Jereme had a determined look on his face all game and played hard straight from the tip.  You could tell he wanted this one bad as Whitney Young beat Waukegan for the state title last year.  In the team huddle before the start of the final period Jereme looked his teammates in the eye and said "We are the best team in this state!"  The Waukegan leader would not let his team lose at UIC in his final showcase event in Chicago.  Leadership is the area where he will be a major factor for the future of Illinois basketball.  His commitment and love for Illinois basketball spurred multiple commitments after the whole Eric Gordon saga and his leadership on the court will be a key in leading those teammates while in Champaign.  Richmond finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks, 3 assists, and 4 turnovers in a huge win.  Richmond on potential is a top 10 player nationally in the class of 2010.

Thomas Hamilton Jr. is the highly skilled freshman big man for Whitney Young.  He is a legit 6-9 and has a big body.  Hamilton has nimble feet and a soft touch around the paint.  He tends to get to far out on the perimeter where he can hit shots, but had several ugly looking jumpers tonight.   Hamilton finished with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 turnovers in 22 minutes of action.  I have seen the potential several times in the last 9 months.    He is potentially a top 10-15 prospect nationally.

Ahmad Starks is a small point guard that has a bowling ball type body with good strength.  He is not afraid to go in among the trees slicing through the lane.  Starks leads his team well in transition and has a good mid range game.  The future Oregon St. floor general works well in space.  He did not have the ammunition around him to do what he does best on this night as Sam Thompson and Derrick Randolph were out.  In a disappointing showing for Starks he still stuffed the stat line with 8 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 turnovers in 29 minutes.  Starks is a lower four star prospect.

AJ did what he does best which is score and shoot!  With Thompson out Johnson had the green light.  Physically Johnson has not added substantial weight since he was a sophomore.  His free flowing and smooth jump shot is a thing of beauty.  In this game Johnson showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket with a good first step.  He rebounded well for a guard.  Johnson finished with 17 points and 4 rebounds.  He is a solid four star prospect.

Coaches in the house that I spotted included: Illinois coach Bruce Weber, Illini assistant Jerrance Howard, DePaul head coach Tracy Webster, and Wisconsin assistant Howard Moore.

Jereme Richmond rocked the Orange Illini Nikes in front of future coach Bruce Weber and Jerence Howard.

Wayne Blackshear and Mike Shaw were seen setting behind Weber and Howard for the Whitney Young/Waukegan game.  Shaw said hello to the two Illini coaches as he walked over after his game.

Four star prospects Sam Thompson and Derrick Randolph did not play for Whitney Young.

Three star guard Mike Springs did not play for Waukegan.