The most underrated player in the city of Chicago is an award that’s difficult to hand out, as there are many deserving honorees.
Many are familiar with schools whose lesser known players are capable of being lead guys, which would make them worthy candidates. While we agree to that fact if those guys are talented but they don’t qualify for this award out of the mere fact that they are more undervalued by their current team than underrated throughout the city. This award is speaking of those who are either little known or may be overlooked.
This years winner(s) for the Most Underrated Player(s) in the city goes to Kier Jordan (2021) of Westinghouse College Prep and Nick Owens (2021) of Curie Metropolitan High School. Both of these guards are small in stature but big on impact. They are the leaders of their respective teams and a blur with the ball in their hands. They both will be leading top 25 teams and are potential Division 1 guards.
Let’s first dive into more about Kier Jordan. The 5’11” junior guard is a 1 year varsity starter who helped lead his team to an undefeated conference record last year, promoting them to the Red NorthWest Conference. He is one of the city’s best ball handlers and finishers around the basket. He uses both hands well and is what would be considered a “shot maker”.
While ChiScoops #7 player in the city (Devin Davis) grabs most of the headlines, Jordan has opened up some eyes with his excellent play, including his summer session playing at UIC and other locations. Sources have mentioned to ChiScoops of interest from the Flames 🔥 and a couple of Division 2 programs.
His perimeter game is an area that he needs to trust more, but he has improved tremendously in that area of his game as well, extending out the the 3 point line with regularity. It is said that he is an excellent student in the classroom and a qualifier. He is my dark horse candidate for a slot on the all-city team. He is one of the more exciting players and grades out as a Division 1 mid-major player.
Now shifting our attention to the co- Most Underrated Player in the city, Nick Owens. This 2 year varsity player and 2019 City Champion is the engine behind Curie’s fast paced attack. While his listed size (5’7” generously), may seem to be a liability, he uses it to dash by defenders and create space for his just shot. Defensively he hounds the ball and is among the better on-the-ball defenders at his position. While Curie has many contributors and Chi Scoops #3 rated player in the city (Ramean Hinton), without the contributions of Nick Owens, this team would not be as highly ranked as they will be.
Playing on the Adidas circuit with Team Rose boded well for Owens, as he will get maximum exposure throughout the spring and summer, which should parlay in multiple offers.
As we’ve seen in the past with guards such as Chase Adams and Fred Cleveland, size doesn’t stop the big time schools from pursuing good players. We project Nick to be a high Division 2 to Low major guard as he will put up numbers that will warrant plenty of interest. He has a great chance to finish as an all-city guard this year.
We are excited to monitor both these teams and players process this season.
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