The Battle Chicago/Donda Homecoming Recap

EVENT RECAP, IMAGES, STANDOUTS & BOX SCORES!

Game 1: Kenwood Academy (IL) vs. Hillcrest High School (IL)

Kenwood 78 - Hillcrest 61

Kenwood shot 54.7% from the field and 48.1% from beyond the arc and scored 22 points off of turnovers. They set the tone early with a 23-4 first quarter and never looked back. Pre-Game Coach Mike Irvin spoke about their familiarity with the opponent (They faced Hillcrest 3 times over the summer and came up victorious in all 3) and their key to victory would be playing tough and knocking down shots. The Kenwood Academy Broncos executed that game plan to near perfection.

Darius Robinson put on a shooting clinic. Every time he touched the ball you knew were going up points were going up on the board. Darius displayed an ability to move without the ball, a quick/confident release, and the capability to put the ball on the floor and score off the bounce. He finished with 25 Points (8-11 FG) (7-9 3PT) and none of his shots were forced.

Darrin "Dai-Dai" Ames was the primary impact player I spotlighted pre-game. In talking to Coach Mike Irvin he spoke about Darrin's ability to create off the dribbled and labeled him as a light out shooter. I've had the opportunity to evaluate him in the past and knew he was more than capable of taking over a game of this magnitude. I was extremely impressed by his pace, feel and awareness. Darius Robinson got going early and Darrin unselfishly fed the hot hand and continuously put him and other in positions to be successful. A lot of players who are known as the "star of the team" will try to shine in atmospheres such as this, but Darrin knew it was about winning and doing whatever it took to do that which made me even more a fan of his game. That was definitely a testament of the culture Coach Irvin has built at Kenwood. He had 14 Points (5-9 FG) (3-6 3PT) & 4 Assists.

Trey Pettigrew was electrifying and showed flashes of why he's considered one of the best guards in the Class of 2022. (Trey was recently named as a selection in The Iverson Classic 24k Game). He played great defensively, scored in transition and facilitated as well. A lot like Darrin Ames, Trey recognized early on that Darius was having a hot shooting night and unselfishly fed the hot hand. There's a basketball phrase "KYP" (Know Your Personnel) and it was clear this team knew once Darius' shots started to fall they needed to just get him the ball. He finished with 12 Points (5-8 FG) & 3 Assists. Trey will fit right in with Steve Alford's Nevada Wolfpack in the fall.

I've often talked about the depth of the 2025 class and Bryce Heard is one of those names to watch. The 6'5 Freshman Guard really impressed me. He has positional size, is an active and willing defender who demonstrated 3 level scoring capabilities. He had 9 Points on (3-5 FG) (1-2 3PT), 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal & 1 Blocked shot in 13 minutes of play.

Bryce Tillery was impressive for Hillcrest. Pre-Game his coaches raved about his leadership abilities and felt the team was in good hands with him running the point. He is a 3rd year varsity player with a high basketball I.Q. who showcased his competitiveness from start to finish. He tallied 16 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5 Assists & 2 Steals.

Isaiah Green had a stretch of big shots in the 3rd Quarter which nearly sparked a run for the Hawks but they weren't able to overcome the balanced offensive attack of Kenwood. He added 14 Points & 5 Assists. With him and Bryce Tillery both returning next year, Hillcrest has a solid nucleus to work with (47 of their points were scored by underclassmen).

Game 2: Coronado (NV) vs. Simeon (IL)

Coronado 64 - Simeon 60

Simeon had a game plan of taking Richard “Pop-Pop” Isaacs out of the game and they assigned that monumental task to Aviyon Morris. He face guarded and denied him the ball 94 for feet forcing someone else to step up for Coronado and that man was Isaac Peralta! He delivered in a major way and always appeared to be in the right place at the right time! Coronado led for 2:11 in the game and they were able to take the lead for good with 30 seconds remaining as they put together a 23-15 4^th quarter to pick up the well deserved road victory. It was a back and forth battle of great coaching between Simeon Head Coach Robert Smith and Coronado Head Coach Jeff Kaufman. A chess match of sorts with two poker faced veterans of the sideline. It was interesting seeing Coach Kaufman's reactions, or lack thereof, to some questionable calls. His team definitely fed off of his unflappable demeanor and even when they trailed late in the game you never got the sense that Coronado felt they weren't going to head back to Sin City with a win.

Isaac Peralta was the definition of a "Glue Guy" for Coronado. He played nearly 30 minutes and impacted the game in multiple ways. Most impressive was his knack for coming up with offensive rebounds and ability to turn them into points on the board for the Cougars. He contributed 20 Points (6-10 FG), 8 Rebounds (6 Offensive) & 4 Assists.

Simeon clearly read the scouting report and watched plenty of film on Richard "Pop Pop" Isaacs. From the opening tip he had a man assigned to follow him everywhere he went. I wouldn't be surprised if Aviyon Morris followed him into the locker-room at half time. But as with all great scorers; it's hard to stop Pop-Pop, you can only hope to contain him. In the Second half he was able to find his way and scored 12 points. The Texas Tech signee finished with 17 Points.

Jaylen Drane was a bright spot for Simeon, he had 8 Points in the 1st Half and was one of their scoring leaders. He got in the lane and finished through contact. The 6'3 senior guard finished with 14 Points & 3 Assists.

Miles Rubin was a force in the paint. Foul trouble limited his minutes but he had a great first half (4-4) with 8 Points and Simeon holding on to a 6 Point lead. In the 2nd half he remained perfect from the field finishing with 14 points (7-7 FG) and 3 Rebounds. In his absence his brother Wesley Rubin filled in nicely, he had 9 Points (3-5 FG), 5 Rebounds and 1 Assist. They will definitely be a front-court tandem to be reckoned with moving forward.

I cannot say enough great things about Aviyon Morris. He had a very tough assignment of slowing Isaacs down and not only was he up to the task, he also added a strong offensive output in the first half; 9 Points (3-3 3PT) and 3 Assists with only 1 Turnover, but it appeared as though shadowing "Pop-Pop" for 94 feet took a toll long term as he only attempted one shot in the second half and finished with 11 Points (4-4 FG) (3-3 3PT) & 4 Assists.

DONDA HOMECOMING: DONDA ACADEMY vs. CHICAGO PREP

Not enough credit has been given to what's been accomplished by Ye West and his entire staff in putting together this Donda Academy Experience. I say "experience" because this is much bigger than basketball. Coupling Elite gameplay with one of a kind events has created a world-wide buzz rarely seen in the high school/grassroots basketball landscape. Coach Frank Robinson has done a phenomenal job getting multiple High Major prospects to "buy-in" and play together as a unit while navigating through an atmosphere of judgement, media criticism and often unrealistic externally set expectations. You can tell the players respect him and trust his leadership. Watching this team play you can see they are genuinely happy (for themselves and each other) and having fun on the court. It seems as though the entire High School Basketball world wanted to see Donda Academy fail, so it's great to see the success of the players individually and the program as a whole.

Donda Academy won in dominant fashion 85-62 in front of a near completely sold out crowd. State association rules required the event to be split into two separate events due to Donda's being a non "State Affiliated" prep school. The entire building had to be cleared between games but as the teams began to warm-up fans started to pour into the arena and you could feel the excitement in the air. Some of the biggest stars in the world from Sports, Music, Art & Cinema began to make it to their court side seats and the electric atmosphere was ready for tip off. Head Coach Frank Robinson spoke pre-game about getting out in transition and running as well as using their size advantage and they executed the game-plan masterfully. 37-14 fast break points, 58-18 points in the paint. 63.6% FG vs. 31.1% FG from Chicago Prep.

Donda was led by "Hometown Hero" Javonte “JJ” Taylor who had 23 Points, 5 Rebounds, 3 Assists & 4 Steals. He had multiple highlight worthy plays and he showcased why he's one of the top players in the country in the Class of 2023.

Robert Dillingham contributed 11 Points & 6 Assists while consistently bringing the crowd to their feet with his playmaking abilities. At one point he went up for a contested 360 layup which he made look as easy as a pre-game layup line attempt.

Zion Cruz finished with 13 Points (6-7 FG) and had his explosiveness on display all night long. The Jersey City, NJ native showcased an ability to finish above the rim no matter who decides to contest and had fun while doing it.

Brandon White added 10 Points & 7 Rebounds. The 6'10 2023 big man has a college ready build and should see his recruitment pick up substantially into the spring and summer.

Julio Montes led Chi Prep with 25 Points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists & 4 Steals and Chinedum Okpuukpara-Hanson added 12 Points & 8 Rebounds.

*ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMANDA BRANTLEY FROM AMANDA NICOLE PHOTOS LLC MAKE SURE TO CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO CHECK OUT HER WORK AND FOLLOW HER PHOTO PAGE ON INSTAGRAM!*