I figured I'd make a one-stop-shop to provide updates on recruits and prospective recruits I see in this tournament.
Commit, Ty Pence Class of '23.: St. Joe dog walked Annawan on D1 of the tournament, as expected for the 1 v 16 match up. Ty did not start due to being late to a practice but came in after the first whistle and made his presence known. St. Joe was down 5-0 when he entered the game. The Spartans went on to 24-0 run to close the door quickly. Ty scored 36 points, unofficially going 13-21, including 5 made threes and a few athletic dunks. He missed a couple dunks due to starting his jump from a step too far away. He was the best player on the court and it wasn't close so I won't put too much stock in this game.
Prospective Recruit, Zack Hawkinson Class of '23- Kid is a baller for Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and D1 interest is picking up. Interesting about SSHG. Last year, they won the Small School Boys bracket of The Classic and went on to beat Metamora in the 3A State Title game. This year? They are the 1 seed in the Large School Boys bracket of The Classic. I'll probably see them in the semi finals on Thursday
Normal Community:
Recruit Braylon Roman, Class of '24
Recruit Jaheem Webber, Class of '24
NCHS lost to Bradley Bourbonnais. I was not at the game but got updates that the team had every chance to win but couldn't finish down the stretch. I'll be seeing them today at 2.
Recruit Cole Certa, Class of 24: Central Catholic won. I wasn't at the game but plan on checking them out tonight.
Recruit Zavier Fitch, Class of '24: Chicago Brother Rice is the 2 seed and handled Oswego. Hope to see them on Thursday.
Recruit Kobe Walker, Class of '25: NCHS, I'll see him play today.
Recruit Jonah Funk, Class of '25: I missed the first quarter of the game but El Paso-Gridley played a tight one with East Dubuque until they pulled away in the last few minutes. Jonah is a LONG 6'8 and plays like he just grew 8 inches over night. He's not comfortable in his body and would need to put on a lot of weight or some weight and develop and outside shot if he wants to be a legit D1 recruit. East Dub did not have a player over 6'2 and he could've had a field day. Only a sophomore, very high ceiling. He is a starter and will play a lot of ball over the next 2.5 years.
Prospective Recruit Micah Meiss, Class of '25. Pedon and Co need to take a good look at this kid out of El Paso-Gridley. If they are recruiting Funk, you better believe they'll have eyes on him as well. He's the coach's kid and started since he was a freshman. I was impressed with him last year at the classic when he and EPG took down Ty Pence's St. Joe squad. He's around 6'4 and a shifty, physical guard who the offense ran through. He's a guy that won't get a ton of looks early because of where he plays but he's going D1. Get in on him early.
EPG plays St. Joe at 4 this afternoon. EPG tripled Ty last year and tried to make the rest of St. Joe beat them. The strategy worked for the Titians as they went on to lose to SSHG in the Ship.
Commit, Ty Pence Class of '23.: St. Joe dog walked Annawan on D1 of the tournament, as expected for the 1 v 16 match up. Ty did not start due to being late to a practice but came in after the first whistle and made his presence known. St. Joe was down 5-0 when he entered the game. The Spartans went on to 24-0 run to close the door quickly. Ty scored 36 points, unofficially going 13-21, including 5 made threes and a few athletic dunks. He missed a couple dunks due to starting his jump from a step too far away. He was the best player on the court and it wasn't close so I won't put too much stock in this game.
Prospective Recruit, Zack Hawkinson Class of '23- Kid is a baller for Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and D1 interest is picking up. Interesting about SSHG. Last year, they won the Small School Boys bracket of The Classic and went on to beat Metamora in the 3A State Title game. This year? They are the 1 seed in the Large School Boys bracket of The Classic. I'll probably see them in the semi finals on Thursday
Normal Community:
Recruit Braylon Roman, Class of '24
Recruit Jaheem Webber, Class of '24
NCHS lost to Bradley Bourbonnais. I was not at the game but got updates that the team had every chance to win but couldn't finish down the stretch. I'll be seeing them today at 2.
Recruit Cole Certa, Class of 24: Central Catholic won. I wasn't at the game but plan on checking them out tonight.
Recruit Zavier Fitch, Class of '24: Chicago Brother Rice is the 2 seed and handled Oswego. Hope to see them on Thursday.
Recruit Kobe Walker, Class of '25: NCHS, I'll see him play today.
Recruit Jonah Funk, Class of '25: I missed the first quarter of the game but El Paso-Gridley played a tight one with East Dubuque until they pulled away in the last few minutes. Jonah is a LONG 6'8 and plays like he just grew 8 inches over night. He's not comfortable in his body and would need to put on a lot of weight or some weight and develop and outside shot if he wants to be a legit D1 recruit. East Dub did not have a player over 6'2 and he could've had a field day. Only a sophomore, very high ceiling. He is a starter and will play a lot of ball over the next 2.5 years.
Prospective Recruit Micah Meiss, Class of '25. Pedon and Co need to take a good look at this kid out of El Paso-Gridley. If they are recruiting Funk, you better believe they'll have eyes on him as well. He's the coach's kid and started since he was a freshman. I was impressed with him last year at the classic when he and EPG took down Ty Pence's St. Joe squad. He's around 6'4 and a shifty, physical guard who the offense ran through. He's a guy that won't get a ton of looks early because of where he plays but he's going D1. Get in on him early.
EPG plays St. Joe at 4 this afternoon. EPG tripled Ty last year and tried to make the rest of St. Joe beat them. The strategy worked for the Titians as they went on to lose to SSHG in the Ship.
