Illinois Kings 17-Under And Peoria Irish 16-Under Teams Dominate Pool Play At Windy City Classic

May 10, 2009

11:25 A.M. CST

There is no question that the two most impressive traveling teams in pool play yesterday at the Windy City Classic held at the University of Illinois-Chicago's Physical Education Center were the Illinois Kings in the 17-under division and the Peoria Irish in the 16-under division.  The Kings coasted to a relatively easy win over Showtime, while the Irish absolutely dominated the Illinois Chargers after winning a tight earlier morning contest vs. the Illinois Heat.

We said in an earlier report that the Kings might be more under the radar than any other traveling team in Illinois.  However, they continue to get the job done, mainly because everyone plays as a team and as a result there are no egos.  Kudos definitely must go out to Kings head coach Greg Ktistou on an outstanding job.  The team leader is clearly 6'1 class of 2010 point guard Sean McGonagill, who has made amazing progress over the course of the past year.  McGonagill has become a pure point guard in every sense of the word, as he has become adept at pushing the ball up the floor, getting everyone involved within the framework of the offense and breaking down defenses.  When he has to, he has also shown that he can put points on the board, whether it be by driving to the basket or burying the 3-pointer.  It is therefore no surprise that McGonagill has become a top recruiting priority for Brown and head coach Jesse Agel.

We were impressed by 6'5 class of 2010 forward Kareem Amedu from Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, IL.  Amedu does most of his team's dirtywork inside and is most effective around the basket.  He gets after it on the glass, is a consistent finisher and has shown that he can be a consistent scorer in the paint.  Although his wing skills are still limited, they do not hamper him as much as others may think.  All of this explains in part why Amedu has already received a scholarship offer from Wagner.

The sleeper on the Kings team could very well be 6'5 class of 2010 forward Justin Phipps from Lyons Township High School in Lagrange, IL.  Phipps is highly athletic, finishes with consistency on the break and is quite active around the basket.  He still needs to show perimeter skills, but he plays extremely hard and is therefore a player who definitely deserves to be monitored closely.

Turning to the Peoria Irish, we still believe that Peoria Notre Dame's 6'7 forward Max Bielfeldt can end up being just as good of a college prospect as Bloomington Central Catholic 6'2 guard Hayden Hoerdemann.  However, there is no question that Hoerdemann played much better at the Windy City Classic than he did at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic the previous weekend.  One thing that we actually realized about Hoerdemann is that he may be even better with the ball in his hands as opposed to coming off screens and playing on the wing.  We say this because at the Windy City Classic Hoerdemann was consistently able to break down defenders and score off the dribble and was even able to bring the ball up the floor, get all the way to the goal and finish on occassions.  Another reason we make this point is because having now watched Hoerdemann consistently for the past two weeks, he has not shown us that he is the tremendous spot up shooter that many others say he is.  This also tells us that it is very much about the level of competition when it comes to assessing Hoerdemann's game.  With that in mind, we currently see him as being an ideal mid-major prospect.

Another player on the Irsh 16-under team that we believe is being very much overlooked at the present time is 6'0 class of 2011 guard Jordan Nelson from Lincoln High School in Lincoln, IL.  Although Nelson is very much undersized as far as a 2-guard goes, he has unlimited shooting range, shows textbook form on his shot and does not need much room in order to get his shot off.  Yes, we would like to see him improve his point guard capabilities, but when you have any player who can shoot the ball the way he can there is a spot for him somewhere at the next level.

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Additional Notes From Windy City Classic

 ... We were told by other sources to keep a close eye on 6'5 class of 2010 forward Victor Davis from Galesburg High School in Galesburg, IL who plays on the Peoria Irish 17-under team and turned in some impressive performances at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic which we were not able to witness.  Davis undoubtedly passes the look test, as he has an incredible physique for a player his age and as a result looks like an absolute manchild.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason Davis did not get extensive minutes in his team's pool play contest vs. First Step.  The player from the Irish 17-under group that we ended up being the most impressed with was 6'8 class of 2010 forward Jeff Johnson from Centennial High School in Champaign, IL.  Johnson runs the floor well and is especially effective from the high post, as he can spot up and nail shots from beyond the 3-point arc with consistency in addition to  being able to put the ball on the floor.  He also plays with an aggressive nature which allows him to be strong on the glass as well.  There is no doubt in our minds that he is a D1 prospect.

... For 6'9 class of 2010 center Dave Dudzinski from Kaneland High School in Maple Park, IL it is all about potential.  Dudzinski, who competes on the traveling team circuit for Velocity Black, showed flashes yesterday in his team's pool play contest vs. the Chicago Rebels.  He has been well-schooled in the fundamentals of the game, as he protects the ball well and has very good instincts on the glass.  His greatest attribute is that he has great hands which allow him to catch most everything thrown to him in the post.  Not only that, but he has also developed good scoring capability in the low post as the result of a soft shooting touch and the fact that he has begun working on a jump hook and other assortments of post moves.  We believe that his productivity versus the highest levels of competition will ultimately be the key to his success, but there is enough of a skill set there for us to clearly see him ending up as a D1 recruit.

... Another team that featured a good array of talent was Orange Crush, a group which featured a predominance of players from Chicago's south suburbs.  One player from the Crush who definitely caught our eye was 6'4 class of 2010 guard Eric Gaines from Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, IL.  We see Gaines projecting as a solid lower level D1 point guard because he has the size and the feel for the game.  Gaines may not have great scoring capability, but he handles the ball well, knows how to run a team and has the combination of size and speed which allow him to consistently get to the goal.   

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