Week 4 of the Full Package exposure league brought to you by IllinoisHSbasketball.com and Depaul.Rivals.com “The Poneman Report” was headlined by 7-1 C Aziz Ndaye, new to America from Senegal and 6-4 G Iman Shumpert, one of the top guards in the nation, making their league debuts. Highlighted by close games and stellar individual performances, week 4 was the most competitive day of games to date.
Week 4 action kicked off with a bang, as arguably the three best players in the league went to work on three different courts in session one. Two of the three games came down to last second finishes, while the other game was much of a showcase for one particular special player.
Aziz N’daye of Lake Forest Academy has only been in the US for about a month, but there is already people talking about him from all over the country. One of the most hyped big men to come to the states in years; this was his first opportunity since he came to America to prove that it wasn’t all talk and that he was as good as advertised. Aziz lived up to his reputation as he thoroughly dominated the Spurs, leading his Heat to an 80-53 win. Aziz only played half of the game (about 20 minutes) but still managed to rake in 16 points 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Aziz was nothing short of dominant on both ends of the floor, as he had opposing players scared to take the ball into the paint in fear of getting their shot blocked into the stands, and was dunking with authority in the post and on fast breaks. The 7-1 center’s wingspan looks to be about 7-9 and his hands are very big, making him a shot-blocking presence. On offense he was grabbing every offensive board and put-back dunk in sight, and was good but unpolished in the post. Colleges from coast to coast are after this Senegalese phenom, but no official college list has been released by him or his coaches. Illinoishsbasketball.com and depul.rivals.com “The Poneman Report” will be the first to get his college info out. The Heat’s win over the Spurs may have been a little tougher had the Spurs been playing with their star center, Aziz’ school teammate 7-0 junior Kyle Rowley (Lake Forest Academy), however Rowley opted to rest as he had an early visit to the University of Wisconsin Monday morning. The Heat’s 6-1 junior G David Smith (Lake Forest Academy) added 23 points, despite also only seeing 20 minutes of playing time. David took a visit to Northwestern on Saturday and played very well with the team. 6-3 senior SG Nate Bateman (Lake Forest Academy), one of the top unsigned seniors in the state, led the Spurs with 19 points.
In the main gym 6-4 senior G Iman Shumpert (Oak Park River Forest) proved why he is considered the top guard in the state of Illinois and one of the top players in the nation. Shumpert decided to take less of a scorer’s role and get his teammates involved, hoping to lead his Kings to victory over the mighty Timberwolves. Shumpert finished the game with 13 points 12 assists and 3 blocks. Shumpert missed very few shots and showed his superb athletic ability on the defensive end by blocking and altering shots. Iman also showed everyone in attendance why he has improved so much over the last year, as he was visibly putting everything he had out on the floor. Shumpert is visiting Marquette this weekend for Midnight Madness, and has already taken official visits to Georgia Tech and North Carolina. Iman was joined by 6-6 junior PF Aaron Nelson (Bloom), who poured in 22 points and grabbed 10 boards. However these two players just couldn’t do it all themselves, as the Kings fell 72-69 to the Timberwolves balanced attack. 6-1 junior G John Taylor (North Lawndale) led the Wolves with 16, 6-2 sophomore G Charles McKinney (Maine East) had 14, and 6-10 sophomore C Paul Bunch (North Lawndale) chipped in 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots.
The third game of session one wasn’t as star studded, however it turned out to be the most exciting game of the three. The Bulls and the Magic duked it out for Eastern Conference supremacy in a double overtime duel. 6-8 senior PF Jawann Nelson (Bloom) of the Bulls, and 6-5 senior F Derryan Hunt (Evanston) of the Magic had a battle in the post from start to finish, as both got close to double digit rebounds. In the end the Magic won 79-77 after 2 OT’s, and Nelson scored 17 points as Hunt dropped 18. Nelson is one of the top 5 unsigned seniors in the state, and Hunt is one of the fastest rising prospects in the state. 5-7 sophomore G Joe Latulip (Prospect) added 12 points for the Bulls, and 6-3 G Marcus Acree added 17 for the Magic.
Session 2 kicked off with a defensive struggle in the main gym. The Rockets and the Suns were both coming off of week 3 losses and wanted the win bad, which was evident in both teams hard nosed play. 6-5 senior wing Jeremy McCray (Evanston), one of the top junior college prospects in the country, was the games leading scorer as he dropped 16 for the Suns, but it wasn’t enough as the Rockets balanced attack topped the Suns 51-49. 6-1 senior G Stephan Hoffman (GBN) led the Rockets with 15, and 6-4 senior F Travis Clark (Evanston) added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The other session 2 game was dominated from the start by the Pistons, as the Pacers just didn’t have an answer for their balanced attack. 6-6 senior F Paris Carter (TF South), also one of the top junior college prospects in the country, scored 18 points and grabbed 9 boards for the Pistons, and his teammate 6-3 junior wing Rasjaun “Rossi” Thompson (TF South) added 17 in the Pistons 77-48 win. 6-5 sophomore F Sharrod Wilson (Simeon) led the Pacers with 18.
Session 3 featured a one man show in the main gym, as 6-5 Indiana State commit Carl Richard (Richards) was the day’s high scorer with 36 points for the Lakers. Richard was scoring in all different ways, as he put up some spectacular dunks, connected from outside, and drove to the hole at will. Carl Richard looks like he will be a star in the Missouri Valley conference, and looked better then many “high major” players. However Richard’s 36 weren’t enough as his Lakers fell to the Mavericks 68-62. 6-3 senior G Brian Bradley (Lockport) led the Mavs with 26 points.
The other session 3 game saw one of the leagues rising stars prove that his recent stellar performances were not just a fluke. 6-3 junior SF Danhi Wilson (Maine East) has put up impressive scoring numbers the past three weeks, and continued his success this week as his 26 points led the Celtics to a 77-69 win over the Cavaliers. Danhi is definitely a prospect to watch this upcoming season, and should start collecting some division one scholarship offers soon. His Celtics teammate, 6-3 junior SG Matt Vogrich (Lake Forest) recently received a scholarship offer from St. Louis University, and was fresh off a visit to Dayton on Saturday. Vogrich had 13 points, and 5-11 junior G Shariq Khan (Maine East) added 14. 6-2 sophomore G Alex Dragecivich (GBN) led the Cavs with 18 points, 6-9 Eastern Michigan commit Kamil Janton (Bartlett) had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and 6-3 junior G David Bryant (Batavia) added 12 for the Cavs.