Okafor vs. Alexander Is Entertaining But Guard Play Proves To Be The Difference At Whitney Young Shootout

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

January 23, 2011

2:45 P.M. CST

The marquee attraction at yesterday's Whitney Young Shootout was undoubtedly the head-to-head matchup in the event's final game of the day between the top two prospects in Illinois from the class of 2014--Whitney Young's 6'11 center Jahlil Okafor and Curie's 6'9 power forward Cliff Alexander.  That is what the majority of fans in attendance came to see and was the biggest reason why college coaches from conferences such as the Big Ten, ACC and Pac 12 were on hand.

In the end, the Okafor-Alexander battle certainly lived up to its billing.  Each player had some electrifying moments.  Overall, we would call the matchup a standstill, although Alexander had the move of the day when he made a dropstep move on Okafor along the baseline and then proceeded to finish with a resounding dunk and also draw a foul on Okafor in the process.  The play ended up drawing considerable buzz from the crowd.

What makes both Okafor and Alexander so special is that they can dominate a game in their own unique way.  Okafor does it primarily at the offensive end with his montrous hands and ability to overpower opponents physically.  Alexander, on the other hand controls games defensively with his rebounding and awesome shot blocking ability.  In fact, he is the most naturally gifted shot blocker we have seen in the Illinois high school ranks in quite some time.

While Okafor and Alexander provided for a great show, neither of them were the reason why Curie came away with a 59-47 win.  The main reason for Curie's victory was that they received outstanding guard play at both ends of the floor.  Not only did the team receive ample scoring production from 6'3 Devin Foster and 5'10 Malcolm Hill-Bey, but Foster, Hill-Bey and 5'8 jitterbug Jibreel Jackson all did a great job of providing help defense on Okafor and as a result often made it difficult for him to operate in the paint.  Okafor even ended up getting his shot blocked on multiple occasions.

Guard play was also the difference in Farragut's win over Hillcrest and Orr's 62-55 victory over Leo.  With all of this in mind, we now take a closer look at those individual back-court performers who we thought looked most impressive.

Foster Continues To Go Overlooked      

As good as Alexander, after watching Curie repeatedly throughout the season we firmly believe that Devin Foster has been the biggest reason for the team's success.  He has had some monster scoring outputs all season long and is simply doing everything necessary to help Curie win games.  Foster has greatly improved his decision-making and shot selection and as a result has greatly diversified his game.  He is a most solid mid-range scorer and also gets out well in transition and on the break.  Although he still needs some work with his overall handle and becoming a more consistent shooter from long-range, it is plain to see how hard he has worked.  And to top it all off he is a super young man.  At this point we have no doubt that he is a scholarship player.

McDowell Is The Glue For Orr 

After catching our attention in a big time way at the Bob Hambric Memorial Shootout a couple of weeks ago, 6'5 2014 wing Tyquone Greer from Orr High School in Chicago was much more quiet at the Whitney Young Shootout.  However, the reason why Orr may currently be the premier team in the Chicago Public League's rugged Red-West division (the toughest high school basketball conference in the state) and a definite threat to reach the Class 3A state finals in Peoria is because they never have to rely solely on one player.  And that is largely because of the playmaking ability of McDowell.  We believe that McDowell may be the most underrated point guard in the Windy City.  Simply put, McDowell is the energizer who makes his team go.  He plays under control, gets all of his teammates involved, provides scoring when needed and gets after it defensively.  Right now we see him as a solid mid-major point guard recruit.

Don't Forget About Boyd 

 6'7 2012 power forward Rashaun Stimage from Farragut Career Academy in Chicago posted a triple-double yesterday, finishing with 16 points, 13 blocks and 12 rebounds in Farragut's 59-53 win over Hillcrest.  In doing so he once again proved why he is one of the top two unsigned prospects in Illinois from the 2012 class along with Downers Grove South's Jerron Wilbut.  Not overlooking Stimage's performance, another player who is just as integral a part of what Farragut does is 5'9 2012 point guard Lavell Boyd, who is is your typical tough-minded floor leader from Chicago's west side.  Boyd plays his tail off from start to finish and is quite disruptive defensively, as he can defend both on or off the ball.  While he doesn't do anything in spectacular fashion, Boyd has also shown that he can run an offense and score points in transition.  He is not a big-timer by any stretch, but we are thinking that he could certainly make a good number of small colleges or JUCOs extremely proud.

And Some Final Thoughts

... As good a team as Curie is, just think what an even bigger powerhouse they would be if Alexander was consistently a focal point on offense.  In every game in which we have watched Curie this season (including at the Team Rose Classic, the Pontiac Holiday Tournament and the game versus Whitney Young) Alexander has ended up receiving a limited amount of touches.  And here is the thing--we have seen instances in which he can face up and knock down mid-range jumpers as well as exhibiting the type of drop-step move that we described earlier.  Curie is certainly capable of going a long way come state tournament time continuing to play the way they have.  But if they are to win the whole ball of wax, Alexander must ultimately become even more dominant offensively.

... How loaded is the class 4A sectional that will played at Argo High School in Summit, IL?  Well, it could end up being better than anything anybody will see the weekend of the 4A state finals.  That is because it currently sports seven teams ranked among the top 25 in the Chicago area and at least three others who can never be taken lightly.  Right now we think that three teams who figure to be in good position to reach the sectional are Simeon, Curie and Bogan.  After that, it will be a dogfight for the fourth and final spot from amongst the likes of De LaSalle, Whitney Young, St. Rita and Marist.  One thing is for certain--whatever night we choose to attend Argo we know that we are definitely getting there early.

College Programs In Attendance At Whitney Young Shootout

  • Arizona
  • Chicago (D3)
  • Colorado State
  • Florida State
  • Illinois
  • Illinois-Chicago
  • Illinois State
  • Indiana State
  • Iowa
  • Morton (JUCO)
  • North Carolina
  • North Central (D3)
  • Ohio State
  • Robert Morris (NAIA)
  • South Florida
  • St. Xavier (NAIA)
  • Wisconsin

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