R.J. Barrett backs up No. 2 in 2019 status at Chicago Elite Classic

CHICAGO -- Fans turned out the Chicago Elite Classic to see the nation's No. 2 ranked player and five-star wing R.J. Barrett didn't disappoint. The locals also got to see one of their own take a star turn as 2018 Rivals150 small forward Talen Horton-Tucker put himself on the map.

All eyes were focused on Montverde (Fla.) Academy and their five-star sophomore R.J. Barrett when they took the floor to play Evanston (Ill.) High.

The second ranked player in the class of 2019, Barrett is used to having lots of eyes on him. In fact he likes it and tries to think of himself in a way that might surprise given his status as a prospect.

"Even though I'm ranked high I like to think of myself as the underdog," Barrett told Rivals.com. "Nojel Eastern on Evanston is going to Purdue and I wanted to prove myself against him.."

Prove himself he did. The 6-foot-6 wing played a complete game. He had crowd pleasing dunks, hit some jumpers, cleaned the glass and showed hustle on the defensive end causing one deflection after another in a 23 point and nine rebound effort.

Barrett will be able to go to any school he wants to but at this point he's not publicly discussing interest or offers -- though the likes of Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and many others are involved -- and said he's leaving that up to his father. Instead, he's focused on leading Montverde and playing a free style.

"We have three of us who are returning so I feel like we are all the leaders. This year I think we are more free to play our game and everybody moves the ball

The next to last game of the night featured highly regarded Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga and their talented backcourt of four-star Miami bound senior Chris Lykes and four-star junior Prentiss Hubb taking on co-event host Chicago (Ill.) Simeon.

In the past, Simeon has featured superstar recruits like Derrick Rose and Jabari Parker. This year's team is different though with several solid pieces and no easily identifiable star. On Saturday night, though, Rivals150 junior Talen Horton-Tucker played like a star scoring 26 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Horton-Tucker isn't the biggest wing at around 6-foot-4 or so and he's not the most athletic. But, he is skilled, he is tough and he is a natural competitor and leader who his team looks to in crucial spots. Any time Gonzaga looked like they may make a late run, it was Horton-Tucker who came up with a drive or a trip to the free throw line.

All of this from a guy who wasn't even a full time varsity player this time last year.

"It's been opportunity plus work, both. I work hard every day on my game and coach Rob (Smith) has blessed me with a chance to come out here and do what I do."

So far, Horton-Tucker lists offers from Northwestern, Depaul, Missouri, Iowa State, Loyola and UIC with interest from Michigan State and others starting to pick up.

The game between Bel Aire (Kans.) Sunrise Academy and West Columbia (S.C.) Gray Collegiate was in desperate need of some juice. Sunrise junior shooting guard Khaleem Bennett was up to the task. The three-star turned up the energy and was all over the place. Dunks in transition, rebounds, smart passes and big time defense highlighted his 25 point, nine rebound and four assist effort in a win. Bennett listed offers from Wichita State, St. Bonaventure, Binghamton and Central Arkansas. We also liked the control junior teammate Isaiah Bujdoso has at the point guard position. Bujdoso could stand to look for his own offense a little more but he makes great decisions and has offers from Wichita State, St. Bonaventure and Niagara to go with interest from Oklahoma, Kansas State, Virginia and Tulsa among others.

Gray Collegiate's five-star tandem of North Carolina bound senior point guard Jalek Felton and Juwan Gary did not have a good day. The duo only shot a combined 6-24 from field with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists between the two of them.

St. Louis (Mo.) Chaminade looked like life post five-star wing Jayson Tatum and four-star big man Tyler Cook will be just fine. A big part of that is their star junior tandem of Rivals150 wing Karrington Davis and three-star combo forward Jericole Hellems. Despite foul trouble that limited him early, Davis showed off a big time shooting stroke going for 24 points, six rebounds while make 8-9 shots in just 20 minutes. Davis listed offers from Saint Louis, SIU Edwardsville, Middle Tennessee State and Illinois State to go with interest from Butler, Xavier, Missouri, Iowa State and Illinois. Hellems brought the energy all day and attacked the basket at every opporutnity to finish with 30 points and eight rebound in Chaminade's win over Chicago (Ill.) Uplift.

The Chaminade/Uplift game gave us a chance to see Uplift's 2019 Kansas commitment, point guard Markese Jacobs. At about 5-foot-10, Jacobs is an extreme athlete with bounce and lateral quickness that rivals any player in the country. On Saturday he spent a lot of time off the ball and struggled some with his shot in a 17 points and two rebound effort where he shot just 6-17 from the field and had no assists to four turnovers. Playing the best for Uplift in the game was Jacobs older brother Demarius Jacobs. Signed with Southern Illinois, he's an athletic and tough two guard who has some range on his jumper and is a bouncy finisher. The three-star prospect was good for 18 points and 10 rebounds.

We mentioned that Chicago (Ill.) Simeon's Talen Horton-Tucker had a terrific supporting cast and three-star prospects Kezo Brown 17, Evan Gilyard 13 and Messiah Jones all made valuable contributions. A junior combo guard, Brown only made 6-17 shots but he hit some very timely threes and his energy in a 17 point outing was a spark. Headed to UTEP, Gilyard is a senior point guard and looks like a good pickup for the Miners. He scored 13 and took good care of the ball while playing great defense on the talented Gonzaga guards. A junior wing, Jones has to play inside for Simeon but came up with several key rebounds and showed toughness and finishing ability while getting 13 points and seven rebounds.

When he gets to Purdue, utility guard Nojel Eastern is going to be ready to play Big Ten ball from a physical standpoint. He'll also be able to play multiple positions in the backcourt. He scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a loss but was just 5-17 from the field and missed all six of his three point attempts. His jumper is going to have to improve or defenders are going to back way off of him at the next level.

It feels like we've been here with four-star guard Rechon Black when it comes to spurts of high level play and lack of consistency. The North Carolina bound junior had a great stretch in the second quarter where he threw laser precise passes, got to the rim and was a force on the glass scoring six points, grabbing four boards and dishing out a pair of assists in just under five minutes. The rest of the game, he had little impact finishing with nine points, eight rebounds and two assists. If he can achieve some consistency, we can still see Black making his way back to five-star territory but he's got to be more productive to make that leap.

An assistant from Pittsburgh was on hand to see three-star commit Marcus Carr. The combo guard had a very nice all-around game scoring 11 points and handing out five assists. He should be able to help out early because of his ability to hit deep jumpers.

Finally, it looks like Drake has stolen one in three-star combo guard Teyvion Kirk. The Joliet (Ill.) West star looked terrific in a 27 point outing. He can attack the rim, he can shoot and he has a confidence about him that his teammates vibe and feed off of. He has the look of a potential four year starter in Des Moines.