We held our annual July camp with Agent Zero Masterclass out in Lake Forest last week with over 70 players from across the state split up into two groups. We are starting with releasing evaluations from the upperclassmen group of 2027 and 2028 players.

Yellow Team:

Rian Hahn-Clifton (5’10 PG, Woodstock 2028)

The hard-nosed point guard from Woodstock brought a lot of toughness on the ball defensively while playing the point guard role well for his team during the scrimmages. He found teammates on the move several times and did a nice job of keeping his dribble alive and scanning the whole floor for cutters. When he had room from the perimeter, he also knocked down several standstill threes with a set shot. Hahn-Clifton will have an elevated role this season after gaining good experience as a sophomore in the Kishwaukee.

Jimmy Czeslawski (6’2 SG, St. Patrick 2027)

Czeslawski is a deadeye perimeter shooter who showed the ability to make some plays off of the dribble for both himself and others. As the scrimmages progressed, he knocked down a few deep threes off the bounce and was able to use ball screens well to draw two and get the ball out to bigs and shooters for open looks. Also a physical kid with a good frame and a strong defensive mentality, Czeslawski jumped passing lanes for steals and was active on the glass and in the gaps. He is a quality guard prospect who can really shoot it in the Catholic League.

Matt Cowen (6’4 SG, Plainfield East 2028)

It was a very good all-around showing for Cowen, who continues to look like an off-ball scorer that is only going to get better with time. The first thing that stood out in the half-court station work was how competitive he was defensively, using his length to contest shots after making second efforts on the ball. Cowen also shot it very well, particularly during the back half of the day, burying jumpers off the catch and showing some lift and consistency on his pull-up. When Cowen got to his left hand, he was effective slashing and driving closeouts for long stretches of the day. Very good day for the Plainfield East guard who could have a breakout junior year.

Max Beard (6’5 SG, The Darrow School [NY] 2027)

There were a lot of promising flashes from Beard, who is heading to New York this year for his final season. The wiry, athletic guard started off on fire, hitting jumpers from all over the floor and looking comfortable making movement threes with defenders in his space. His length and ability to quickly get off the floor were noteworthy, both on offense and defense. He had several big blocks while coming over from the help side and got above the rim on his straight-line attacks. Beard continues to look like a scholarship-level 2/3 who still has a good physical runway to tap into over the next few years.

Landon Lethunya (6’9 PF, Lake Forest Academy 2027)

It didn’t take long for camp coaches to see the potential of the rangy 6-foot-9 forward. Lethunya threw down a number of eye-opening dunks off of lobs and putbacks and showed a level of fluidity and coordination that is a separator for a player his size. He was just as impactful as a rim protector who moved his feet well on the perimeter to stay in front of guys and recovered to affect shots. There was some added intrigue offensively with his touch from the perimeter, making a few threes and a mid-range shot when the hedge defenders overcommitted to the ball. The arrow is pointing up for Lethunya.

Liam Laidig (6’5 SF, Woodstock 2028)

Laidig, another Woodstock junior who is going to have a monster high school season, was effective off the ball as a cutter and roller. At 6-foot-5, he covers ground well and has good hands around the paint with the necessary touch to catch and finish in crowds. Laidig has good bounce in the paint, which allows him to go up for rebounds in traffic and finish with dunks on the open floor. He’s got some potential as a face-up option as well, using his long strides to beat defenders off the dribble. Defensively, Laidig flexed between all frontcourt spots for his team and made it tough to get quality looks inside the lane. Expect a big year from an underrated forward prospect in the area.

We held our annual July camp with Agent Zero Masterclass out in Lake Forest last week with over 70 players from across the state split up into two groups. We are starting with releasing evaluations from the upperclassmen group of 2027 and 2028 players.