Westfield, Ind. - Jaden Schutt’s summer travel basketball career ended in the best way possible - atop a ladder, cutting down a net.

With Tom Izzo watching, Schutt scored 21 points in helping his Illinois Wolves team capture the Under Armour Finals championship in a 65-53 victory over the Riverside (New York) Hawks, Sunday at the Pacers Athletic Center, north of Indianapolis.

Izzo wasn’t the only coach watching Schutt, an athletic, 6-foot-5 guard whom some think might be the best pure shooter in the class of 2022. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard were also watching. And Duke became involved with a scholarship offer to Schutt last week.

Schutt has taken one official visit, that was to Michigan State during the weekend of June 18. He took unofficial visits to Illinois and Iowa in June.

What are his plans for the fall in terms of visits?

“I will wait to do that, basically after this week,” he said on Sunday. “I’ll go home, think about it.”

Does the Duke offer change his mindset in terms of which schools he will visit?

“I’ll think about that once the weekend is over,” he said.

The message was clear. He didn’t want to talk much about the next steps of his recruiting process while chasing a national championship.

“There are a lot of great schools and great programs and I feel like with my offers I can’t go wrong with any of the choices,” he said. “It will definitely be hard to say no to some of the schools that would have been good choices.”

Did he notice Izzo watching his games last weekend, from his usual perch, in the front row, along the baseline, under the basket? And did he notice the other coaches?

“Obviously you can tell they’re there but when you’re in the heat of the game it’s you vs. them (the opponent),” Schutt said. “It’s definitely cool after the game to talk with the coaches and joke with them.”

The coaches got an eyeful last weekend when Schutt helped his team win the annual national tournament of Under Armour sponsored teams.

Schutt (pronounced shoot) was 6-of-15 (40 percent) from 3-point range in the title game. He set the tone by drilling three 3-pointers in the opening minutes in helping his team take an 11-8 lead.

A few minutes later, while bringing the ball upcourt, he stopped with a quick-release, pull-up 3-pointer to give his team a 19-10 lead. At that juncture, just six minutes into the game, he had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.

Riverside Hawks defenders were well aware of Schutt. They got out on him with press man-to-man defense every time he touched the ball. They tried to play denial defense and limit his touches. But Schutt made a major impact in the opening minutes and Riverside never quite recovered.

“That’s my role on the team, to be aggressive and take shots,” Schutt said. “My teammates got me the ball and great looks. It always feel great to see the ball go in early.”

Against an athletic Hawks team, if Schutt wanted to shoot, he needed to be ready with a quick release. And he has one. He elevates high, quickly and correctly, and can get off a pretty shot in a tight, fast shot window.

Schutt cooled off a bit from long range, with those difficult, quick-release shots, as the game progressed, but his team protected a double-digit lead most of the way. (Meanwhile, Izzo and his staff evaluated Illinois Wolves center Braden Huff, a 6-foot-10 prospect with excellent face-up skills as a shooter, or even a driver and facilitator. Michigan State offered Huff a scholarship on Monday. Illinois, Xavier, Wisconsin and others are following Huff).

“It feels great to win and win with great teamamtes and great coaches who all care for each other,” Schutt said.

As a shooting threat, Schutt has become an expert at moving without the ball. The Wolves run a sophisticated system for the grassroots level, with multiple sets and actions and Schutt gets a chance to set up screens and use screens.

Where is Schutt trying to improve his game?

“Just continuing to develop my handle, watch film, and look for opportunities that I could have taken,” he said. “Just getting smarter and watching a lot of film to find where my spots are and then repping those. The shots I shoot out here and shots I have repped hundreds of times.”

His 3-point shot windows for the Wolves can come anywhere at any time, in an instant.

His first one was off a dribble handoff in weave action.

His second one was from the right wing, off a long offensive rebound.

His third one was in transition, via a handoff from Huff.

His fifth one was off the dribble, a step-back move, while he was bring the ball up the court as a lead guard. That gave his team a 30-18 lead. At that point, he was 5-of-10 from 3-point range, late in the first half.

For the Wolves, Schutt occasionally brings the ball up the court as a lead guard. Usually, he was a wing, finding space and looking to use screens.

He is combative and competitive when away from the ball, on offense or defense. Opponents put a lot of contact on him, and he doesn’t shy away from it. He will push back, he’ll fight through a crowd.

Where did he get his combative instincts?

“Always playing up and going against older competition, you just have to learn how to use your body and get in the weight room so you can bang a little bit with the big guys and stay healthy,” he said.

When a shot goes up, he finds his man quickly and executes a good box-out.

His on-ball defense is solid. He moves well laterally, and is a willing competitor on the defensive end - similar to former Spartan standout Matt McQuaid.

He is athletic like McQuaid, and probably jumps higher than McQuaid did at the same age.

McQuaid became an excellent, 40-percent 3-point shooter as a senior at Michigan State, developing from a streak shooter into a reliable shooter.

Schutt is further along as a shooter than McQuaid was at the same age.

McQuaid had excellent core strength by the time he was an upperclassman at Michigan State, which allowed him to be a plus defender. Schutt has a lot of work to do in order to improve his core strength, but he’s probably similar in that category to where McQuaid was as a high school senior.

McQuaid was a gritty battler, but a little bit stiff.

Schutt is a more fluid athlete than McQuaid was at the same stage.

All of that stuff appeals to Izzo. And other coaches as well, including Duke head coach in waiting, Jon Scheyer.

“Jon Scheyer called after the Atlanta session (of the UA summer circuit),” Schutt said. “I got home and there was a phone call with the offer. From my knowledge, I didn’t know if I was on their radar. It was a little bit of a surprise. I knew they were at the games but it is hard to tell who is watching who.”

The summer evaluation season has concluded. Next comes open gym opportunities in the fall, and more visits for Schutt. Michigan State has worked hard to get into a strong position with him, and will continue to work for one of the more prized targets on MSU’s wish list.

In the meantime, Schutt is savoring the experience of cutting down a net after winning a championship.

“For high school, they didn’t let us cut the nets for the Regional and Sectional Championships,” he said. “It was an incredible feeling.”