15 u Meanstreets vs Fundmental U Takeaways

A good matchup between two of the few circuited teams in Illinois. The 2026 Nike Meanstreets (EYBL) faced off against Fundamental U (UA Rise). Both these teams had some good prospects to track for the upcoming years.

For Meanstreets coming into the game, I knew a lot about the Whitney Young trio: Marquis Clark, Nasir Rankin, and Rico D’Alessandro. These players have already been recognized as the top 3 players in the state of Illinois, and in this game they showed why!

Marquis Clark (6'2 G) - Clark really impressed in this game. He constantly took his defender off the dribble and fished at the basket. He showed off his tight handle, crafty finishing, and good on ball defense. Right now, there is no rankings for this class, but when they come out, I think he has a pretty good resume to be at the number 1 spot.

Rico D’Alessandro (6'4 F) - I'm mad at myself for putting out this kids writeup so soon during the game. As I stated earlier, he finished well around the rim in both the half court and transition, but right after I said that he hit a three. He's very versatile for his size and position, has the chance to be an elite 3 level scorer for years to come. Aggressive on the boards and blocks shots. All the right physical tools to be an elite prospect.

Nasir Rankin (6'1 G) - Most of everybody in the state has heard of this kid, and he's going to be a stud. Athleticism is off the charts, good defender, good shooter, just a good basketball player. He didn't have the high scoring game he usually has in this game, but he affects the game so much without scoring the ball.

Those 3 are obviously the top known on this meanstreets team, but there was a player I was really impressed with.

Gabe Sularski is a 6'5 wing out of Benet academy that can flat out shoot the ball from deep. He also mixes in a few drives and has a nice passing game as well. He's had a great start to the aau seaon with meanstreets, and has a great tournament so far this weekend.

For Fundamental U, they always have a bunch of under the radar prospects that compete at a high level. In this game they had those players! I was extremely impressed with these two players.

Kain Kretschmar (6'1 G) - Whenever his team needed a big basket Kain was there for them. The guard out of Lake Zurich can score the basketball at a high level. He made threes or the catch and off the dribble, and got to the basket for some layups. Definitely a player to track for these coming years.

Christopher Kirkpatrick (6'1 G) - The man of the hour, in the made hoops tournament, had an ankle breaker into a 3. In this game he knocked down 3s and dished to his teammates. He attends New Trier which is no surprise due to his game!

Once again thank you to RecruitLook Hoops for allowing me to cover their amazing tournament, and tomorrow more coverage and articles will be out!