With the first high school basketball live period complete, here are a whole bunch of quick-hitting thoughts from the 84-team Riverside-Brookfield Shootout where over 125-plus college programs took in action.
■ There were two seniors that stood out from the rest as far as recruitable prospects, elevating their stock along the way: Benet’s Ed Stasys and Belleville West’s J’Dyn Lloyd. With so many departures to prep schools, the 6-8 Stasys and the 6-5 Lloyd are now two of the five best prospects in the Class of 2027.
Mid-major programs will keep their fingers crossed that Stasys stays at their level. He offers size, athleticism and the ability to really run and move while his defense and competitiveness puts him at an entirely distinct tier. That’s what will draw in college coaches from all levels.
Physically gifted and showing an improved face-up jumper, Lloyd visited Drake this past week and picked up an offer. The expectation is several more mid-major offers will be coming Lloyd’s way.
■ The two best prospects in the state, Bolingbrook’s Brady Pettigrew and Neuqua Valley’s Cole Kelly, are just juniors. But they remain the hottest commodities in the state and added more high-major offers following the weekend.
Pettigrew, who is now a consensus top 25 player in the Class of 2028, continues to polish his game and take it to an entirely different level.
■ There are few teams with as many pieces and quality depth as three teams in the expanded Catholic League: Benet, St. Laurence and St. Ignatius. All three went 4-0 on the weekend.
■ Speaking of St. Laurence, the red-hot spring of Markese Peoples extended into the June “live” period at Riverside-Brookfield. A physical terror offensively when he’s barreling downhill with the basketball, the 6-2 guard added offers from a pair of MAC schools, Toledo and Central Michigan.
■ Kendall Meyers is the lone returning starter for Class 4A state champ Marist. The versatile 6-5 wing is ready to shoulder a much bigger load as a senior. Meyers, along with a complement of young, up-and-coming players, led the RedHawks to a 4-0 record at R-B.
■ A new name to keep an eye on at Benet following a breakout weekend: Cormac Hanus. He’s a shooter with size on the perimeter. Hanus is a 6-5 senior and one of several unknown Benet players poised to contribute to what will again be one of the state’s top teams.
■ A freshman that really opened eyes and made a name for himself was Bloom’s Larry Ellis. The 6-2 guard dazzled at times and joins sophomores Kaden McClellan and Keiwon Gulley in a dynamite young backcourt.
■ East St. Louis, the defending Class 3A state champs, may have graduated one of the state’s top players in Saint Louis recruit Jamison White. But the Flyers, led by emerging seniors Phillip Jones and Terri’yon Webster, are loaded with talent and will be a state title contender again.
■ While it’s rare for Young not to have a big-named, highly-recruited player — Tennessee-bound Marquis Clark was the latest last season — the Dolphins look to be a team that will be better than people think. There is a nice blend of experience and youth. Coach Tyrone Slaughter’s team played hard and with a purpose in going 4-0 at R-B.
■ After a rock solid junior campaign this past season, Loyola’s Luke Alvarez is poised for a big senior year. In four games he averaged 22.8 points while shooting 46 percent from three with 21 made three-pointers. With high academics, the 6-1 guard should be a dream recruit for small college programs.
■ Oswego’s Ethan Vahl put up 31 points on Benet, something few players do. There are some efficiency questions to answer in some key areas, but there is no denying the talent he possesses in the backcourt.
■ He’s streaky, but when Crane’s Jamier Montgomery gets going on the offensive end, the 6-2 guard has shown to be a versatile and potent scorer. The creative and kinetic guard is lean and long, but he grabs your attention with his quick dribble-to-shoot motion.
■ Niles North guard Collin Tobin quietly put together a big junior year with little fanfare. A relative no-namer in the Class of 2027, the powerful guard opened eyes with his play at R-B and was one of the weekend’s big stock risers.
■ If this past weekend was any indication, Deerfield’s Tommy Donahue is set for a breakout season as a senior.
The 6-5 Donahue was a key player for a Deerfield team that reached the Class 3A state championship game last season, where it fell to East St. Louis. But he was a complementary player to Jake Pollack and Evan Nagler while averaging 6.7 points a game.
As clearly the go-to player for the Warriors this season, Donahue shined at R-B, making contested shots and drilling nine three-pointers in one game. He finished up the four games averaging more than 20 points a game.
