16-Under Illinois Wolves Reach Championship Game At Hoop City Classic

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

July 27, 2010

11:30 A.M. CST

The Illinois Wolves 16-Under does not feature any individual superstars.  Yet they are successful because they have great team chemistry, with each player accepting his role and usually performing to his fullest capability.  All of this was evident at the Hoop City Classic in Kansas City, where the Wolves reached the championship game of the 16-Under gold division tournament bracket.   The Wolves defeated the Oklahoma Wizards, Team Texas Swoosh, Dorian's Pride and Prymetyme before falling in the championship game to Oklahoma Elite.

Peoria Manual Duo Impressive

6'5 class of 2012 forward Jacoby Roddy and 6'1 class of 2012 Jeff Stokes, both from Manual High School in Peoria, IL turned in impressive performances throughout the Hoop City Classic.  Roddy may have been the Wolves' steadiest player and carried the team during their first round win over the Wizards as well as in their final four contest versus Prymetyme.  While Roddy is a high-flying athlete, he showed us that he is much more than that, as he can put the ball on the floor and also demonstrated a nice mid-range faceup game.  He now needs to work on expanding his shooting range, but he plays hard and is very team-oriented.  Stokes is yet another of the many combo guards from the 2012 class in Illinois who is more of a scorer as opposed to being a pure point guard or shooting guard.  He attacks the basket hard, gets out on the break and has 3-point shooting range although he remains on the streaky side.

Big Fans Of Wilbut

With the exception of 6'8 class of 2012 forward and Purdue University commit Jay Simpson from Central High School in Champaign, IL, we believe that the best college prospect on the Wolves is 6'2 point guard Jerron Wilbut from Downers Grove South High School in Downers Grove, IL.  That is because Wilbut is capable of playing either guard spot.  He is long and athletic, has a strong handle, can shoot it from beyond the arc and has a great overall feel for the game.  There is no question that Wilbut is right there with all of the top guards in Illinois from the 2012 class.

What About Simpson? 

Jay Simpson appeared to have a difficult time getting into the groove at times and it may have been due in part to him seeing double duty, as he played for both the 16-Under and 17-Under Wolves squads during pool play.  Simpson undoubtedly passes the look test and has an overall skill set which could make him the #1 player in the state in the class of 2012, although we stand by our assessment that there is no clear-cut top player in that class at this time.  When he is on, Simpson runs the floor and finishes, is strong on the glass and also has the ability to face up and knock down shots along the baseline and from the top of the key.  What we would like to see now is more consistency and the desire to play hard at all times.

Van Vleet Moving Up

We were treated to an all-Illinois final four matchup in the 16-Under gold division tournament as the result of the Wolves doing battle versus Prymetyme, with the Wolves emerging with a 59-48 victory.  The game featured an outstanding matchup between two of the top point guards in Illinois from the 2012 class--5'10 Fred Van Vleet from Auburn High School in Rockford, IL and 5'10 Antonio "Bobo" Drummond from Central High School in Peoria.  While the Wolves won the game, Van Vleet was outstanding and he will definitely see his stock rise when we come out with the next issue of our scouting report.  Despite being undersized, we absolutely love Van Vleet's toughness.  He has a strong upper body which allows him to get into the lane at will and he is most adept at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line.  Van Vleet rarely turns the ball over and to top everything off, his teams win.  We believe that he may be the most pure point guard in Illinois as far as the 2012 class goes.  Northern Illinois University was the first school to offer Van Vleet a scholarship and continues to recruit him hard, with Northwestern also beginning to show strong interest.

Mean Streets White Also Solid 

While the Mean Streets 17-Under squad grabbed most of the headlines in Kansas City, the Mean Streets White 16-Under team also deserves kudos, as they advanced to the elite eight round in the 16-Under gold division tournament.  Although there were no real individual standouts, it was a solid team effort featuring a number of players with D1 ability, including 5'10 class of 2012 guard Malcolm Hill-Bey from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago, 6'6 class of 2012 forward A.J. Avery from St. Rita High School in Chicago and 6'3 class of 2012 forward/guard Juwan Starks from West Aurora High School in Aurora, IL.  Starks in particular looked impressive when we watched Mean Streets White in a pool play contest versus the Oklahoma Rams.  While he still falls a bit on the tweener side, Starks has improved his ball handling, has a good nose for the ball and is an effective mid-range scorer.  He now needs to extend his range and work on getting stronger.  Another player that we need to see more of but is certainly worth keeping an eye on is 6'6 forward Eddie Alcantera, who will be attending Hales Franciscan High School in Chicago next season after moving in from New York. 

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