Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt: The state’s next great shooter

There are unique traits all elite shooters share. Schutt possesses them all.

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Yorkvillie Christian’s Jaden Schutt (14) drives to the basket.

Yorkvillie Christian’s Jaden Schutt (14) drives to the basket.

Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times

In the 20-plus years of the City/Suburban Hoops Report recruiting service, I have watched a handful of elite shooters. Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt is as good as any of them when it comes to the fundamentals of the most important and most difficult skill to master in basketball. 

There are unique traits all elite shooters share, and Schutt possesses all of them — elevation and lift on his jumper, a quick release, feathery touch out of his hand and, most importantly, repeatable shooting mechanics. 

As a shooter, he compares to Matt Roth, the state’s all-time leading three-point shooter from Washington in central Illinois. Roth went on to play at Indiana, where he shot over 40 percent from three while playing a limited role for the Hoosiers. 

Schutt, a 6-5 sophomore who recently set a state record for most three-pointers in a game with 17, is putting together a monster season. He’s averaging 25.2 points and shooting 51 percent (51-for-99) from beyond the arc.

In a sport that has become more and more dominated by freakish athleticism, size and length, the great equalizer is the three-point shot. That’s why Schutt, the No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2022 in Illinois, will be a hot commodity on the recruiting trail moving forward. 

No. 2 

Joliet West heads to the Pontiac Holiday Tournament this week a far different team than the one that finished last season with five wins. 

Those changes include a new coach in Jeremy Kreiger and a breakout star in senior guard Jamere Hill. 

The roster is a talented bunch, led by Hill and junior Jaiden Lee, a 6-4 shooter on the wing. Hill has blossomed, averaging 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. 

Since the day he took over, Kreiger has continued to preach accountability and expectations — on and off the court. 

“The focus has been on the little things and holding each other accountable in everything we do,” Kreiger said. “If we can become better as people, everything else — the winning, the attention from the media, the rankings — will take care of itself.”

Kreiger said the main goal from Day 1 was building better relationships. 

“We wanted stronger player relationships, better relationships between players and coaches,” Kreiger said. “I am a firm believer that culture wins. We needed to build trust and a belief, earn the respect of one another and really like each other. If we could establish all those things, then we can let the talent take over.”

The Tigers are 9-1 and will face Bloomington in the opening round with a potential key matchup against Simeon in the second round. 

No. 3

Among the teams in major conferences, only six are unbeaten. How many will be left when everything shakes out over the holidays?

Here’s one crystal-ball look into the near future: Evanston comes home from Centralia with a title, Thornton cruises at the Big Dipper and Loyola returns from its trip to Florida on a high note. They’ll be the three teams with unblemished records entering January.

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