Henricksen: Opening “live” weekend winners

The Chicago Summer Challenge at Bolingbrook was an ideal spot locally, particularly packing a punch with so many of the solid local club programs and teams, mixed in with some solid Midwest programs like MoKan and Indy Heat.

Between the Summer Challenge in Bolingbrook and the Summer Jam in Romeoville, Illinois prospects were on full display.

Whether it was opening the eyes of college coaches or simply impressing the City/Suburban Hoops Report –– or a combination of both –– here are the biggest winners from this past weekend.

➤ Evan Gilyard, Simeon (Class of 2017)

A small point guard at 5-9, but this kid has the look of a must-have mid-major point guard at this point, with explosion with the ball in his hands and tenacity on the defensive end with his on-the-ball pressure. Look for Gilyard to continue to pick up admirers while playing with Meanstreets over the next two weeks.

➤ Nana Akenton, Bolingbrook (Class of 2017)

A player in the talented Class of 2017 who hasn’t received much attention to this point, but he’s poised for a breakout year. When you start to project Akenton two or three years down the road, it’s easy to get excited. He’s shown flashes with his high school team in June and impressed college coaches on the opening weekend of the July evaluation period with his size, length, pop off the floor and terrific, yet still untapped, potential on the wing. Illinois State and UIC just recently offered Akenton, who already sported offers from Northern Colorado and Western Michigan.

➤ Justin Pierce, Glenbard West (Class of 2016)

Back in April the Hoops Report listed Pierce as one of a handful of soon-to-be breakout performers in the Class of 2016 in this story. He’s done just that. The stock just continues to climb for the 6-5 junior, a player who has become a prime target for Division I academic schools, which is proven by the level of interest and offers he added. After this past weekend, the likes of William & Mary, Yale, Northeastern and Furman have joined the growing list of Brown, Bucknell, Belmont and Boston University.

➤ Evan Hines, Niles West (Class of 2016)

There weren’t many players at the Chicago Summer Challenge who shot the ball better this past weekend than the 6-3 Hines, a sneaky athlete on the perimeter with a feathery stroke –– both from mid-range and out to the three-point line. Hines was awfully impressive at times while playing with Fundamental U and has solidified himself as a bonafide scholarship player. While his overall handle is a work in progress, it’s not easy finding players who can shoot the basketball the way Hines does with his release, mechanics and ability to get his shot off comfortably. Hines is among the Hoops Report’s top 30 prospects in the senior class.

➤ Lorenzo Edwards, Lake Forest (Class of 2016)

As we head into the second “live” period of July, the biggest mystery may be in the fact this 6-7 forward hasn’t generated multiple offers up to this point. The Hoops Report is sold on Edwards as a Division I prospect, so he’s a winner in that regard. But his play has yet to generate the type of interest he deserves. He’s long and versatile with soft hands, is very skilled and has upside left in him. While several schools have been poking around, this is a Hoops Report top 20 prospect in the Class of 2016 without a concrete offer.

➤ Peter Blust, Hinsdale Central (Class of 2016)

The Hoops Report has repeatedly said this just might be the most improved player in the senior class over the past year. He was a valuable backup last year for the Red Devils, but the 6-7 senior is playing with so much more confidence and assertiveness. Blust was outstanding this past weekend for Fundamental U at the Chicago Summer Challenge, gaining a whole bunch of Division II interest and a couple of offers. He’s a capable finisher around the basket, can step out and knock a shot down while also effectively running the floor for a player his size. And he seems as if he’s in the process of taking another big step forward.

Odds, ends and random thoughts …

■ The Hoops Report has been scratching its head over the lack of attention 6-8½ Cameron Krutwig has received, even assuring the Jacobs big man in the recent 50 summer thoughts story that the recognition would come. It’s still too slow for a player with his size, skill and production, but Loyola did extend an offer to the junior big man following a solid weekend of play.

■ While the Mac Irvin Fire didn’t have the weekend it hoped at the high-level Peach Jam, Charlie Moore did. The Morgan Park point guard standout and Hoops Report’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2016 was productive and efficient. In five games, Moore averaged 17.2 points, 4 assists and 2 steals a game. He also shot 40 percent from the three-point line (10 of 25) and got to the free-throw line 31 times, while turning the ball over 2.4 times a game.

■ The Hoops Report likes the look of the All In Athletics/Y&R 16U team and, particularly, the rise of a pair of juniors: University of Chicago U-High’s 6-6 Jameel Alausa and Uplift’s 6-3 Demarius Jacobs. With his continued improvement, size and high academics, Alausa is a very intriguing prospect going forward and is an obvious Ivy League-type target. Jacobs, meanwhile, is also just starting to scratch the surface.

■ A team that really played well, together and competed extremely hard this past weekend was the Fundamental U 17U team. In its win over talented Indy Heat, led by Florida State recruit C.J. Walker and other Division I prospects, Fundamental U’s effort was as high as any the Hoops Report took in all weekend.

This group, led by the aforementioned Blust and Hines, is unselfish and balanced. Together with Blust and Hines, the trio of Deerfield’s Jordan Baum, a smart, heady, productive point guard with a 35 ACT, promising 6-7 Patrick Benka of Fremd and 2015 Highland Park graduate Hallvard Lundevall, is a fun group to watch. Lundevall is a late-blooming 6-4 wing headed to a year of prep school.

■ Thornwood’s 6-4 senior wing Drew Evans, who plays with Chicago Lockdown, continues to really make strides. Evans is arguably the best prospect on a Lockdown 17U team loaded with quality small college prospects, including 6-7 Anthony D’Avanzo of Niles Notre Dame, 6-7 Brice Robinson of Oswego, 6-7 Keaton Rombach of Ottawa and Loyola Academy shooter Brandon Danowski.

■ When you start talking that raw, untapped but exciting upside of a young player, you can start discussing Coreyon Rushin of Westinghouse, who plays with the Meanstreets 16U team. He’s still very much figuring it all out, but the 6-6 Rushin is rising in 2017.

■ A lot of people, most notably college coaches, will be paying close attention as to whether the light has turned on for the once highly-regarded –– and always promising –– Ben Coupet of Simeon. The 6-6 forward is starting to put together some moments. Now, can he do it on a consistent basis?

■ A pair of 2-guards/wings who opened eyes this past weekend at the Chicago Summer Jam were Plainfield North’s 6-4 Kevin Krieger, who is now playing with the Mac Irvin Fire, and 6-3 Dakota Bennington of Peoria Christian, who plays with the Peoria Heat and is electric athletically. Krieger, who is athletic off the floor and can score the basketball in a variety of ways, is a scholarship player.

■ Metamora’s high-scoring Nate Kennell, a 6-5 senior who plays on the circuit with the Illinois Wolves, pulled the trigger and committed to Bradley on Monday.

■ Out-of-state but not out of mind … While the Hoops Report’s focus is on the state of Illinois, one out-of-state prospect who continues to really impress is Isaiah Coleman-Lands, who attends La Lumiere Prep in Indiana. But the 5-10 point guard plays for the Illinois Wolves. He’s smooth, smart, can shoot it and is already a bonafide Missouri Valley Conference target.

■ The Hoops Report has been to a lot of “live” events around the Chicago area over the years, but this past weekend’s Chicago Summer Challenge at Bolingbrook High School may be the best venue of any of them. With the vast parking, size of the facility, seating and location Bolingbrook offers, it was a hit.

■ The super power grabs the super talent –– again. The rich keep getting richer in college basketball. The Hoops Report will admit it was sooooooo pulling for superstar 2016 talent Jayson Tatum to stay at home and choose Saint Louis over Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina. What a story that would have been. But once again, in this day and age of one-and-done basketball where they absolutely have to get the most out of their one year of college, those elite, top five talents in the country are rarely ever going to choose the local school over the super power of college basketball.

Follow Joe Henricksen and the Hoops Report on Twitter @joehoopsreport