From A to Z: Deep dive reveals incredible talent coming to Quincy Shootout once again

QUINCY — The Quincy Shootout returns Friday with four games being played at both Blue Devil Gym and The Pit on Friday night and nine games taking place Saturday at Blue Devil Gym.

Here’s an A-to-Z look at what to expect and what to be on the lookout for this weekend:

A is for attendance, which continues to grow and grow for the 17-game showcase. Quincy fans have turned the Shootout into a destination event with groups using Saturday’s nine-game schedule as a reunion and Blue Devil Gym as a meeting place. Quincy fans have shown their appreciation for the teams coming to the Gem City by asking for autographs, engaging players in conversation and filling the gym from morning until night.

B is Brewster Academy. The team from Wolfeboro, N.H., climbed from No. 6 to No. 2 in this week’s SC Next Top 25 — ESPN’s high school boys basketball weekly rankings. Brewster Academy enjoys a diverse roster with Ebuka Okorie, a senior guard who is committed to Stanford, being the only player from New Hampshire. Dwayne Aristode, a guard from the Netherlands, is a top-50 recruit nationally and has signed with Arizona, while Killyan Toure of France has signed with Iowa State.

C for Central Illinois Sports, which will livestream every game of the Shootout on its YouTube channel with no cost to watch. Charlie Hull, his dad, Jack Hull, and their crew will provide video, play-by-play and replays for all 17 games being played at Blue Devil Gym and The Pit. Click here for the link to their channel.

D is for the Devil. Quincy’s pregame ceremony is nationally known for its uniqueness, which includes a senior student dressing as the Blue Devil mascot and running around the gym with the lights out while carrying a flaming pitchfork. This year’s Blue Devil is Titus Petty.

E is for Easter. No, not the holiday. This one is Jerry Easter, the 6-foot-3 senior guard starring for Link Academy. Ranked among the top 50 high school prospects in the Class of 2025 and the No. 2 player in Missouri according to 247Sports.com, Easter signed with USC in November and brings an electric skill set that saw him average 32 points per game at Toledo (Ohio) Emmanuel earlier in his career.

F is for Father Tolton. The team out of Columbia, Mo., has been a Shootout mainstay since the start with Quincy High School graduate and former point guard Jeremy Osborne as the head coach. Trevor Meny, who starred at Palmyra and played at Quincy University, is an assistant coach with the Trailblazers, who feature University of Missouri signee Aaron Rowe at point guard and Division I recruit Exavier Wilson at shooting guard.

G is for Gavin and Gallagher. They would be the Placide twins, who are mainstays in the Sunrise Christian Academy lineup. Originally from the Denver, Colo., suburbs, the Placides are 6-foot-10 and drawing considerable interest from NCAA Division I programs, including California and Iowa. Sunrise Christian, which is located in Wichita, Kan., participated in the inaugural Shootout in 2018 and boasts having Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield as one of its alums.

H is for Houston, which has signed the top two ranked players in the Shootout. Link Academy senior center Chirs Cenak, ranked seventh nationally by 247Sports.com, and Wasatch Academy senior guard Isaiah Harwell, ranked 16th nationally, are the backbone of the 2025 recruiting class for the Cougars, who lost in the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament last season and are ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Cenak’s 6-foot-10 frame makes him a tough matchup, while Harwell overcame a torn ACL to return to the Tigers’ lineup.

I is for intimate, a term not normally reserved to describe Blue Devil Gym. The venerable facility that seats 3,950 fans will get increasingly loud and provides a great atmosphere for high school hoops. But it also allows fans to get close to the players and teams and interact. The gym opened in 1957 and has been the home to nine state tournament teams.

J is for Jahadi and Jamison. The twin sons of former NBA player Jahadi White, who starred at St. Louis Cardinal Ritter and Georgetown, the Whites have been mainstays in the Red Devils’ lineup since their freshman year. Now juniors, the White twins are averaging a combined 27.7 points and 15.6 rebounds for the No. 2 team in Missouri Class 6.

K is for Knights, the mascot of Bishop O’Connell. The Knights have averaged 23 victories since the start of the 1999-2000 season and head coach Joe Wootten had won 535 career games prior to the start of this season. His teams have won five Virginia state championships. NBA players Matt Lewis, Kendall Marshall, Marcus Ginyard and Melo Trimble all played for Wootten at Bishop O’Connell.

L is for Longcor, as in Bradley Longcor III. The Quincy High School senior all-state guard is closing in becoming the No. 2 scorer in Blue Devil history, needing less than 100 points to move past Jack Kramer. Longcor heads into this weekend with 1,687 career points. The Santa Clara signee also is closing in on the all-time 3-point record, currently having made 225 while chasing Jeremiah Talton’s record of 229. 

M is Millard North, which is bringing both its boys and girls teams from Omaha, Neb., to the fray this season. Mustangs swingman Derek Rollins recently surpassed 1,000 career points and has been featured in “Epic Dunks,” a Nebraska boys basketball highlight reel. Millard North finished as the Class A state runner-up last season and opened this year as the No. 1-ranked team in the state. On the girls side, senior forward Avril Smith and junior guard Izzie Galligan both played on club teams that have won national championships.

N is for national polls. There are four Shootout participants currently ranked in the top 15 in the ESPN SC Next Top 25, headlined by Brewster Academy at No. 2. One Shootout team — Oak Park — is in the MaxPreps national rankings.

O is for Oak Park, the No. 1-ranked team in the Missouri Class 6 state poll. The Northmen are led by senior point guard Corbin Allen, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, and triggerman Zeek Brown, who recently received a scholarship offer from Nebraska-Kearney. The Northmen are coached by Sherron Collins, a Chicago native who played for Chicago Crane, won a national championship with the University of Kansas and made it to the NBA with the Charlotte Bobcats.

P is for Phelps, as in The Phelps School from Malvern, Pa. The program features one of the more intimidating frontcourts with 7-foot left-hander Justin Houser, who has committed to Penn State, and 6-foot-8 Onyx Nnani, who has committed to Arkansas State. Houser led the team in blocked shots (2.7 per game) and 3-point shooting percentage (45 percent) as a junior. Nemo Niu, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, recently picked up his first NCAA Division I offer from Radford.

Q is for Quincy. The Mississippi River city with a population of 38,000 is known as a basketball hotbed. The Quincy High School boys basketball program is the third winningest program in Illinois and the fourth winningest in the nation with more than 2,000 victories. The Blue Devils have won 13 state trophies and two state championships. Across town, the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball program has won more than 1,500 games, while the QND girls basketball program owns six state championships and five other state trophies.

R is for Ragland. That would be 6-foot-10, 250-pound center Mehki Ragland, the Sunrise Christian product who has signed with Oklahoma State. Ragland, who is a top 150 recruit in the Class of 2025, teams with a pair of juniors — Aidan Chronister, who holds offers from Mizzou, Indiana, Iowa and Oklahoma, and Chidi Nwigwe, who is being courted by Big 10 and Pac-12 schools — who are top 50 recruits in the Class of 2026.

S is for Simeon. One of the most celebrated Chicago Public League programs, Chicago Simeon has won seven state championships with five other state trophies and has produced players such as Derrick Rose, Nick Anderson, Jabari Parker and Ben Wilson. Led by senior swingman Julien Doyle and guard Lorenzo Shields — both were all-tournament selections at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament — the Wolverines should find themselves in the state tournament mix again.

T is for Tulsa. That’s Tulsa, Okla., where Booker T. Washington High School is located. The Hornets have won five national championships and 13 state championships while producing five NBA players. Hornets guard Barron Harris recently surpassed 1,000 career points and is averaging 15.9 points per game for a team with four players scoring in double figures. The Hornets lost in the Class 5A state championship game a year ago. Harris is joined by Hornets swingman Jamarri Simpson as McDonald’s All-American nominees. 

U is for Utah, where Wasatch Academy is located and is one of 10 states represented by the Shootout field. Wasatch Academy, which is making its third Shootout appearance, is 3-1 playing in Blue Devil Gym after making the 1,300-mile trip to Quincy. Only Modesto (Calif.) Christian travels further to get to the Shootout.

V is for Vashon. Coached by former University of Missouri starting guard Jimmy McKinney Jr., the Wolverines are chasing a five-peat as state champions. They won the four previous Missouri Class 4 state titles and are the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4 in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association state poll. Vashon guard Trey Williams Jr. has signed with Missouri State and swingman Dehrio McCaskill has signed with SIU-Edwardsville, while sophomore Jimmy McKinney III is receiving NCAA Division I recruiting interest.

W is for Wagler. That would be Keaton Wagler, the 6-foot-6 swingman who leads Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Northwest. Wagler was a first-team Class 6A all-stater as a junior when he led Northwest to a 25-0 record and a Class 6A state championship. A four-star recruit ranked among the top 150 seniors by 247Sports.com, Wagler has signed with the University of Illinois.

X is for Xcitement. Ok, that’s stretching the use of the alphabet here, but there just aren’t many words that begin with X that apply to the game. And let’s face it, these games are entertaining and exciting. Last year, a pair of Saturday games were decided on the final possession and Wasatch Academy’s John Mobley Jr. nearly completed a triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Y is for youth. No team better epitomizes young talent than the Quincy High School girls program. With Kate Mettemeyer sidelined with a knee injury, the Blue Devils will not have a senior on the floor. Sophomore forward Jada Brown is one of the leading scorers in the Western Big 6 Conference, while sophomore guard Myley Longcor is one of the top 3-point shooters. Freshman point guard Khloe Nicholson holds several NCAA Division I offers and is a top-25 national recruit according to Hoopgurlz.

Z is for zebras. The referees who will work all 17 games being played in Quincy deserve applause for their commitment to the game but for getting prepared to see high-level competition that plays with a physicality and speed not often seen around here. Calling games involving EYBL and academy teams isn’t easy, and the area officials who work the Shootout work hard to make the games clean and crisp.