Five-Star Chicago Super Session Update
Top Midwest talent make their mark at the second of four Super Sessions
As the undisputed leader in basketball training and instruction, Five-Star's famed summer program wraps up with a quartet of August Super Sessions in Florida, Illinois, Texas and New York.
This weekend, 88 top players from the Midwest descended on the Joy of the Game Sports Center in Deerfield, Illinois, for focused training and games with top-level competition.
"We're excited about our second annual Five-Star Super Session in the Chicagoland area - great Midwest flavor, with Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania all represented, said camp director Tony Bergeron. "We're an instructional entity, it's a competitive environment, but our core will be and has always been teaching the fundamentals of the game."
Day One Standouts
Sherron Dorsey-Walker, 6-4, SG, 2012, Pershing (Detroit, MI): Arguably the top player in the camp, Dorsey-Walker put on a scoring show every time he took the court. One counselor at the camp compared him to a young Stephen Curry, while another spectator claimed to have watched him drain five straight three-pointers without a miss. He holds offers from dozens of Division One programs and plans to take visits to Boston College, Virginia Tech and Baylor in the near future, though he isn’t in a rush to make a commitment.
Tony Hicks, 6-1, G, 2012, St. Rita (Chicago, IL): Hicks is the latest phenom to lace up for Chicago St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare, a Five-Star coaching veteran who is legendary in New York City for his days coaching St. Raymond's in the Bronx. A high scoring combo guard, Hicks was practically unstoppable when he attacked the hoop and made it clear early on that he would be in contention for the camp’s historic Most Outstanding Player award. “(Hicks) is the type of player who will go to a Missouri Valley Conference-level college, then you turn on the NCAA tournament in a few years and see him with 30 points in the Sweet 16,” said camp director Tony Bergeron. Hicks holds seven scholarship offers: Penn, South Florida, Dayton, Loyola (Chicago), George Mason, Western Illinois, and Wright State.
Marquis Marshall, 6-5, SG/SF, 2012, Central Catholic (Reading, PA): The son of former NBA player, Donyell Marshall, Marquis Marshall might have raised his stock more than any other player in the camp. He's listed as 6-4, but looks closer to 6-6 and has extremely long arms to boot. He has a smooth stroke from outside, is a fluid athlete, and was a dominant force that made his presence known whenever he was on thefloor. He currently has a list of low to mid-major Division One schools recruiting him, and based on his play this weekend, his stock should be on the rise. There were moments when he looked like the best all-around player in the camp, which is saying a lot considering the 25-plus Division One players in attendance.
Erick Locke, 6-1, G, 2014, Brooks (Chicago, IL): A physical scoring guard, Locke had a lot to prove this weekend at Five-Star. He's dominated players in his age group throughout his career, and is going to be taking the reigns this year as a sophomore at Chicago powerhouse, Brooks. Brooks loses four Division One seniors from last year’s squad; George Marshall (Wisconsin), Mike Powell (Rhode Island), Keith and Kevin Gray (Northern Illinois), and Locke has been groomed to be their successor. He stepped up this weekend and showed that he's ready for the challenge by scoring from the perimeter with his unconventional, yet effective jumpshot, and by converting around the hoop. He also competed on defense, giving some of the better guards in the camp fits with his pesty on-ball pressure.
Miroslav Jaksic, 6-11, PF/C, 2014: This promising Serbian-born Canadian prospect is oozing with potential. He's Shawn Bradley-thin, but is just entering his sophomore year, so he has plenty of time to fill out his frame. Jaksic displayed an impressive arsenal of offensive moves for a big man his age, though he was never guarded by a player within four or five inches of him, and when he got the ball around the hoop, it was almost an automatic bucket. He showed off a nice hook shot and proved he can shoot effectively in the mid-range and even out to the three-point line. Jaksic was active in collecting offensive rebounds and scoring via tip-ins. Though he showed great coordination in blocking shots, his slender stature makes it hard for him to hold position in the post against stockier big men.
