Chicago Spring Tip Off

Chicago Spring Tip-Off

Chicago, IL

March 29-31, 2013

By Jarrell Strong (@indijarrell) & Ethan Kimball (@ekimballindi)

17U had one of the most competitive and entertaining games of the day between Devin Harris Superstars and Meanstreets. There was a plethora of talent on the court with a possibility of 10 Division I players between the teams. Both teams had great frontcourt presence. Devin Harris Superstars featured Travon Bunch and Ravon Posey with Meanstreets countering with Donte Thomas and Tai Odiase. The game was a competitive match and was capped by a huge Lewis Adams Jr (Meanstreets) break away dunk. Devin Harris Superstars came away with the win 68-63.

Another great team at the 17U level was Terry Potter Elite who won both of their pool games by an average of 33 points.

SW IL Jets – Orange and Old Gold went down to the last 10 seconds of the game with Deonte Ingram from Old Gold hitting a game winning lay up with 2.2 seconds left.

16U: There were some great teams in this age group with the top 4 that standing were: Devin Harris Superstars, Rising Stars, SW IL Jets and Terry Porter Elite. The Devin Harris Superstars beat Illinois Heat 71-54. The SW IL Jets beat Sherman Park Elite 68-38 and Illinois Crush 62-50. Rising Stars beat Chicago Demons 59-49 and Illinois Iceman 73-59. Terry Porter Elite beat Illinois Wolverines 71-62.

15U: The SW Illinois Jets were the premier team in this division, they had the most talent and they all played together very well. In pool play they beat rising stars 77-29 and Illinois crush 54-57, they also ended up winning the championship. This performance puts them them on ourRankings watchlist.

Champions

17U Gold – Devin Harris Supersstars defeat T.P. Elite
17U Silver – Meanstreets Ross defeat SW Illinois Jets Orange
17U Bronze – Champaign Heat defeats Xpress
16U Gold – Illionois Elite defeat Rising Stars
16U Silver – Devin Harris Superstars defeat Illionois Iceman
16U Bronze – Chicago Demons defeat Chi City
15U Gold – S.W. Illionis Orange Jets defeat Illinois Crush – Nana
15U Silver – Terry Porter Elite defeat Illionois Icemen
15U Bronze – Devin Harris Superstars defeat Chicago Demons
14U Gold – Meanstreets defeat Terry Porter Elite
14U Silver – Illinois Icemen defeat Illionois Crush
14U Bronze – Chicago Demons defeat Junior Varsity

Player Watch

Miguel Jackson (15U S.W. Jets, PG) – One of the more intriguing players of the day. Standing at only about 5’5″-5’6″ this kid is lightning in a bottle. There were multiple occasions I tried to snap an action photo of him on my phone and he was already running back on defense after a made lay up by the time I got the picture. Great passer seems to enjoy getting his teammates involved. Adept scorer as well and is a stronger finisher at the rim then his height would entail. Solid defender as well. Needs to develop some more consistency on the outside.

Alonzo Verge Jr. (14U Meanstreets, PG/SG)- Talk about eccentric. This kid will not only kill you on the court, but he’ll let you know he’s doing it while he’s doing it. You can tell players hate playing him because he simply takes kids out of games with his passion and his defensive effort. For such a talented kid he really surprised me with his overall effort, some kids just have that natural drive and Verge Jr. has it. After talking with parents in the crowd I found out his father Alonzo Verge Sr. was very talented as well and led his team to some big games as well around the Chicago area, it was almost like a Chicago legend of Alonzo Verge. Verge Jr. is a solid ball handler with both hands, and I noticed he can finish pretty well for his age with both hands. Watch out for this kid!

Emmanuel Okafor (16U ILL Wolverines, F)- First thing I noticed about Emmanuel Okafor is how easily he accelerates off the ground. Has a strong base and uses it very well getting position. Solid finisher around the rim. Solid defender and rebounder but still raw at this point.

Raequan Williams (16U Chi-City, F/C)- First and foremost this kid is a mammoth, in a very good way. Raequan was easily one of the more impressive players of the day. He is a huge kid but what stuck out to me were his quick feet. Looks like a soccer player out there, as he caught a pass at the 3 point line took one SPIN dribble into the lane around his defender and double clutched a layup between two more defenders. Mind you this is a very big kid.

However it didn’t stop there, Williams also uses his frame in the post very well and easily gets position every time for a rebound. I couldn’t believe how hard of a worker this kid was for his size. Keeps the val high on rebounds and cutbacks. Probably my MVP of the Day.

Brendon Gooch (16U S.W. Jets, SG/SF) Makes the game look easy. Gooch has all the tools, he’s a great scorer both at shooting outside and scoring at the rim. He is a smart kid as I learned that he is on the honor roll at Belleville Althoff High School. Looks like the game is slowed down for him as he simply glides through defenders. Gets in nice position and rebounds well for his position. Puts in great effort on defense.

Donte Thomas (Meanstreets, Thornwood HS, G/F)- A very impressive athlete. Has very long arms and stands roughly 6’6″-6’7″ and uses his body well. Gets up very easily and plays above the rim. Had multiple thunderous dunks in game. Game needs refinement but at this stage is a very intriguing player with a ton of upside.

Tarkus Ferguson (15U S.W. Jets, G)- Teamate of Brendon Gooch for many years and it shows on the court. The two play very well off of one another. Ferguson shows a nice ability to knock down outside shots. He is a capable ball handler, who could use improvement here but not at all a weakness at this point. Another very smooth player as he showed flashes of being able to use both hands at the rim. Shows adequate foot speed to be a pretty good defender as well. Main thing about Ferguson is that he doesn’t get deterred. He is never fazed and he just looks comfortable out there, no stage is to big for him.

Darrius Edwards (16U S.W. Jets, PG)- I watched two games of Edwards and overall cam away very impressed. He is very strong at taking the ball the rim. He is relentless and never backed down. Great free throw shooter as I watched him go a straight 8-8 at the line in his first game of the day. Moves well to his left and right and is a solid man defender. Told me he wanted to work on his handles and his jump shot over the summer.
Donte Thomas (Need to find out his AAU Squad, Thornwood HS, G/F)- A very impressive athlete. Has very long arms and stands roughly 6’6″-6’7″ and uses his body well. Gets up very easily and plays above the rim. Had multiple thunderous dunks in game. Game needs refinement but at this stage is a very intriguing player with a ton of upside.

Darreon Reddick (16U S.W. Jets, PG) A very highly talked about player as the #2 ranked PG in the state of Illinois. Some other people were much more taken away than I was however he does show tremendous ability. He has a very strong frame and stands probably 6’2″-6’3″. Strong finisher around the rim. Wants the ball in his hands at all times, shows good ability to score through contact. Knows he’s good and it shows. Overall I came away for impressed with teammate Darrius Edwards.

Louis Adams (Meanstreets-Ross, PG)- Very impressive player on Saturday. Loves to run the team and shows a knack for getting teammates involved. Numerous highlight passes, two let two alley-oop dunks one to Donte Thomas. Really can get up for his size and shows the ability to score in numerous ways.

Traevon Bunch – Big 6’10”-6’11” kid from Racine, very talented someone to keep an eye on.

– @ekimballindi & @indijarrell