Spiece Run N Slam Breakdown 

By: Scott Phillips
 

      The Spiece Run N Slam always features many of the top names in the Midwest.  This year was no exception as Top 50 players, emerging stars, and proven programs showed why the Spiece Fieldhouse was the place to spend the weekend.  This report recognizes the players making noise at Spiece. 
 

17U Players  

Luke Fabrizius (Illinois Warriors) – The 6’9 Fabrizius who is known for his shooting, showed an improved defensive presence this weekend.  Although his shot was off and on, Luke was reliable down low as he used his long arms to block shots and cause turnovers.  I’d like to see him drive a little more than rely so often on his 3 point shot, but with his height, and quick release any look is a good look for him. 

Nick Fruendt (Illinois Wolves) – Fruendt started out slowly this weekend as he and his Wolves teammates struggled a bit in pool play.  As the weekend progressed however, so did Nick’s play as he started to put together his game piece by piece.  His defense was solid, and I liked the way he was getting to the rim.  Fruendt has good instincts when he plays, but needs to continue to improve his game for the college level.  The good thing about Fruendt is that when he is not scoring, he still brings something to the table. 

Rob Belcore (Illinois Wolves) – The sharpshooter has improved a lot since the high school season ended.  Part of this is probably because he is healthy, but Belcore’s confidence took him to another level in some games.  In one game I saw he made plays on the offensive and defensive end that helped contribute to a big Wolves run.  Belcore’s passing has also improved.  He was able to make plays running the floor and even brought the ball up the floor at times.  Although Belcore had a nice weekend I would still like to see him work on his drive.  Belcore is known for his outside shooting and needs to become a more complete scorer to keep defenders honest.   

John Moran (Illinois Wolves) – Like teammate Nick Fruendt, Moran started out the weekend slowly but heated up in a big way.  Moran, who is one of the fastest rising prospects in Illinois after a great spring season showed improving point guard skills to go along with heart and determination that is second to none.  Although Moran has improved his point guard skills, he still needs to keep working to get to his teammates consistent good looks.  Primarily a scorer for his high school team, Moran showed his shooting stroke at times, but also had some shots that were way off as he was coming off of screens.  Some of this may have been due to fatigue (as the same can be said for many players who play multiple games in one day) but it is clear that Moran is going to give a big time effort to give his team a W. 

Josh Crittle (Meanstreets) – Josh Crittle is an interesting player.  He moves well for his size and gets good positioning, but after that, Crittle can be inconsistent.  Crittle will often put himself in good position to score by making a nice move, but then he will sometimes miss an easy shot if a defender looms nearby.  Crittle needs to become more physical and learn to finish when drawing contact.  I like his body for the college game as a power forward, but Crittle still needs to continue working hard to improve as much as he can. 

Tyler Storm (Martin Brothers Select) – Storm showed a nice inside-outside game this weekend as he has improved as well since the high school season.  Storm is noticeably bigger and stronger and he is not afraid of contact or getting hit hard.  Storm also showed his versatility by guarding quicker wings when he needed to.  Tyler also displayed an outside shot with he has never shown.  His shot had nice form as he held his hands high, and got good rotation on the ball, but he needs to work on knocking down outside shots on a consistent basis.  Although he showed his versatility by playing different places it also brings up a perplexing question.  What position does Tyler Storm exactly play?  Body wise he is a big 3 or undersized 4, but he needs to justify why he can play one or the other instead of floating in between. 

Jeremiah Kelly (Mac Irvin Fire) – Kelly is definitely a good player, and one that is not afraid to take big shots.  Kelly is a good shooter with range that extends beyond the 3 point range.  I would like to see him continue to work on his point guard skills.  Kelly is a good passer most of the time, but could use some improvement in his decision making and his pinpoint passing.  He also does a good job of staying in front of his man when on defense, but for a good athlete such as himself I would like to see him come up with more steals that lead to easy points.   

Brandon Paul (Team NLP) – Put up a big time effort with 33 points early in the weekend.  When I got a chance to see him he was using his athleticism to get to the basket, and shooting from distance.  It is obvious he is still learning the game though, as there were times he made some mistakes, but he will learn to correct those with more time on the court.  I would also like to see him take the ball to the basket a little more.  I know he has the range to bomb it from deep, but I would like to see him use his athleticism to get to the rim and draw fouls. 

Billy Hubly (Team NLP) – Shot the lights out when I saw him.  I saw this guy play during the high school season and liked his toughness and mid range game.  Now that he has added more consistency to his outside shot, he will be a very dangerous player in the MSL next year.  His coach compared his game to Eric Loos.   

Brett Thompson (Illinois Warriors) – I finally got to see Vienna big man Brett Thompson play.  He is much thicker than the pictures I saw indicate, and he spent this weekend playing mainly in the post.  He is improving his post moves, and has a nice hook that just couldn’t seem to fall.  I didn’t get to see him shoot from 3 in games, but in warm ups he displayed the touch from the outside that everyone seems to be talking about.   

Mark Yelovich (Illinois Warriors) – The Mt. Zion wing really impressed me with how he played over the weekend.  He goes to the basket hard, and plays with tenacity.  He also showed he can shoot from the outside when needed.  For a 6-5 kid, he is also very strong.  He looks like a linebacker.   

Brian Desimone (Illinois Warriors) – Handled the ball well for the Warriors and didn’t make many mistakes.  He did a fine job of getting the ball to his bigger teammates, and often deferred in the scoring department even though he is more than capable.  I know this guy will have a big season next year in the MSL.   

Donovan Foster (Mac Irvin Fire) – This Curie guard is tough as heck, and not afraid to take big shots.  I have seen him play with passion the last two weekends that has really been matched by few players.  He’s not afraid to take the ball inside even though he is only 5-10, and he is also improving his skills at handling and distributing.   

Ryan Hare (Mac Irvin Fire) – Definitely played better when I saw him this weekend than he did at King James.  He’s really good at attacking the basket and drawing fouls.  If he can improve his outside shot, then there is no doubt it my mind that he would be a high major player for sure.   

Jelani Poston (Mac Irvin Fire) – Used his athleticism to get to the rim with ease.  He looked a lot better than last week, (as did most of the Fire team, as I saw them play at 8 AM at King James) as he past bigger players and used his vertical to score.  He’s an intriguing player for colleges to scout. 

Steve Goins (Mac Irvin Fire) – The big man from Leo that nobody has heard about, Goins proved he can play on his own this weekend as he used his solid frame to get in close and make good looks.  Goins was active and tough, and will definitely make a formidable front line with Stan Simpson at Leo next year. 

Mike Shaw (Mac Irvin Fire) – The 8^th grader playing up on 17U that everyone is talking about definitely proved he is the real deal.  He is still adjusting to the speed of the game, but he showed a wide array of offensive moves, and didn’t look intimidated to be playing against major competition one bit.  This 6’7 wing has range that extends deep as well and will only keep getting better. 

AJ Rompza (Ferrari) – AJ played the best I have ever seen him play over the weekend as he seemed to be everywhere.  His high energy play inspired a team of athletes to step it up and they cruised to some easy victories before losing on a heart breaking buzzer beater.  AJ made great passes, showed his always present range, and was everywhere in the passing lanes, and making steals on the ball. 

Matt Humphrey (Meanstreets) – It’s like night and day watching him play this spring compared to his last high school season.  Humphrey has improved a lot, but has also found the confidence that he was missing.  His shot is falling, and his defense has been tremendous.  In one game against Martin Brothers in the 2^nd half he came up with 6 or 7 steals including stealing consecutive inbound passes that led to lay ups. 

Mike Dunigan (Meanstreets) – Played extremely well against great competition.  Dunigan proved he is one of the elite centers in the Midwest as he was a game changer on both sides of the court.  His turnaround jumper has improved quite a bit as well. 

Kevin Dillard (Meanstreets) – Even though his college decision to go to SIU makes his life a lot easier, Dillard is still playing with as much heart as anyone out there.  Dillard’s MVP performance in this tournament showed that he is a winner.  He is lightening quick, a skilled passer, and he handles the ball well.  If his shot continues to improve than SIU will have a player more than capable of leading them for years to come.  In my opinion he is the best point guard in the state (DeAndre Liggins is a wing). 

Kamil Janton (Illinois Wolves) – Has improved a lot since the high school season.  He showed that he can knock down jumpers on Sunday during his battle with the Illinois Warriors.  I also like the way he plays defense.  He is improving in that department slowly, but he is making progress.   

Iman Shumpert (Full Package) – Iman played well again for Full Package.  Quite simply, he does it all and it’s hard to point out flaws in his game because he has improved so much and plays so hard.  He even made a shot beyond half court to end a quarter after bobbling the ball to begin with.   

Nate Bateman (Full Package) – Lake Forest Academy wing has lots of athleticism and shoots the ball well.  He is definitely a player I want to see more of after seeing brief glimpses of him the last two weekends. 

Paris Parramore (CAPS All Stars) – Paris played with the usual big game mentality he has had since March.  He made some big shots and worked hard on the defensive end.  He is also improving his point guard skills as well.   

Jarvis Smothers (CAPS All Stars) – Played alongside teammate Parramore and showed off a nice jumper to go with a very nice vertical that led to some nice dunks.  Jarvis, the younger brother of Keyon will definitely be a nice player for Washington next season. 
 

16U 

D.J. Richardson (Illinois Stars) – Played very well and stepped up big time on Saturday night to get the Stars to the next day of play.  His clutch play in the final minutes and overtime showed that he is the next big thing in Illinois.  His driving ability and his shot are both good, and he is also good on the defensive end. 

Seth Evans (Illinois Stars) – The Seneca sharpshooter was called the teams MVP by coach Troy Johnson, and it was easy to see why.  Even though he came off the bench, he handled the ball, made some great passes, and shot the ball extremely well.  He was always in the game at crunch time and seemed to make plays when they mattered. 

Xavier Humphrey (Illinois Stars) – This kid just keeps getting better.  He attacked the basket with both hands, and did a little of everything (as most of this Stars team does).  No doubt that he is also a premier player in the class of 09. 

James Kinney (Illinois Stars) – Very talented player who played almost too fast for the rest of the team at times this weekend.  As he continues to learn the game and improve his skills he will definitely be a player that is tough to stop. 

Eriq Harris (Illinois Stars) – Long, athletic player who also showed his toughness by playing through an arm injury after he fell on his elbow.  I really like his game a lot.   

Markus Yarbrough (Illinois Stars) – If he continues to lose weight and train hard, he could easily be an above average big man.  The skills are present, and if he matches the skills with athleticism than he could go places. 

Lenzelle Smith (Illinois Stars) – Nothing seems to faze this kid as he is always calm and collected on the court.  He makes things looks so smooth sometimes.  His shot wasn’t falling, but he always follows his shots hard on the offensive glass to attempt lay ups.   

Diamond Taylor (Illinois Wolves) – Easily one of the best players in the state for 09.  He can score in a variety of ways including his outside shot which is very good.  He also drew the assignment of guarding some of the opposing team’s best players on the defensive end.  One of his coaches compared him to Evan Turner at the same age.   

Anthony Ahlers (Illinois Wolves) – Has some solid moves in the post, and isn’t afraid to back down from anybody.  It’s clear that he isn’t scared of playing anybody after having to play against Carlton Fay in practice during the high school season.  

DeAndre McCamey (Illinois Wolves) – He’s really learning how to play the point guard position.  It is also nice that he gets the chance to play with high school teammates Diamond Taylor, and Nate Rogers.  Nothing fazes McCamey, and he will only get better at playing point. 

Jereme Richmond (Rising Stars Gold) – Showed how good of a player he can be, but is still learning the game.  He is about half a second late on defense from making some major blocks.  His game is polished and he will continue to improve.   

Marcus Jordan (Rising Stars Gold) – Very strong, but that strength is only going to get him so far until he needs other tools.  He is a floor leader as well, and I was impressed by his defense.  If he can improve his jumper, offensively the sky is the limit.  

Chris Colvin (Rising Stars Gold) – Knocked down a lot of shots in the early going and ran point.  He played a complete game, but you can tell that isn’t your ideal point guard.  His shot looks much more consistent though, and if that it the case, then watch out. 

Jack Cooley (Rising Stars Gold) – I like how Cooley takes the ball up strong when he gets the ball in the post.  That’s tough to teach a young player, but Cooley seems to be fine with contact. 

Delino Dear (Illinois Warriors) – Mount Carmel big man has a lot of length, upside and runs the floor well.  He could emerge to be a solid player for the future. 

Matt Vogrich (Full Package) – Shoots well, seems to be everywhere and hustles his butt off; just another day on the court for the Lake Forest guard.  He seems to have improved as has Andy Timson. 

Kyle Rowley (Full Package) – Lake Forest Academy big man has a lot of potential as well and has the body to really make a lot of head way inside.  His offensive skills are improving and he is a player I want to see more of.   
 

15U 
 

Mike Dixon (Illinois Wolves) – I’ve always said I really like the way this Johnsburg point guard plays, and when I saw him play I still felt the same way.  He has a great feel for the game, and seems to understand how to run the point guard position more than many high school players do.   

Derek Babb (Illinois Wolves) – Solid player who can finish once he gets to the basket.  This kid has a lot of potential and will no doubt get better. 

Reggie Smith (Mac Irvin Fire) – Quick first step was on display again this weekend.  This guy is not afraid of contact and seems to know how to get to the line.  He is also improving his outside shot a lot.   

Andre Henley (Mac Irvin Fire) – An 8^th grader you will hear a lot about in the future, Henley showed off his talents in helping get the Fire to the Final Four.  He can handle and shot well for a 6-4 player, and will only get better. 

Greg Travis (Mac Irvin Fire) – Another 8^th grader who handles the ball well and finds the open guy.  This Mac Irvin 15 team has a lot of 8^th graders, and Travis has one of the highest basketball IQ’s of the bunch.