Is the exodus of three assistants an ideal situation? No. The Ramblers would have preferred to have a little more stability with the coaching staff heading from the Horizon League to the Missouri Valley.

But this is the life of a mid-major coaching staff -- IF the head coach is hiring the right people and grooming them properly as coaches. That's exactly what Moser has done, which has led to the departure of Rick Malnati, Jason Gardner and Armon Gates.

These coaching moves can actually be viewed as a positive. The other alternative is having a staff working for you that no head coach wants or has their eye on. But coaches in high-major conferences see prepared, thorough, organized and well-rounded assistants under Moser.

It also says something about a mid-major program when assistant coaches are being courted by high majors, top 25 programs and the Big Ten Conference. It's a reflection of the job Moser has done in filling out his staff.

It shows Loyola basketball is heading in the right direction in the building process. Loyola improved from a 7-23 record two years ago to a 15-16 mark this past season, which included seven one-possession losses with some young talent on the floor.

Fortunately for Moser, his track record of hiring quality assistants is rock solid.

Talking with Moser earlier this week, following the moves of Gates to Northwestern and Gardner to Memphis, it was clearly evident how happy he was for all of his coaches. Moser will go to bat for and support his coaches if good, solid opportunities arise.

"They are all great coaches who all had great opportunities presented to them," says Moser. "I want all my coaches to succeed, to have good situations for them and their families."

College basketball programs are always in search of top players. But head coaches are also in search of quality assistants.

What should and will attract assistant coaches to Loyola is plentiful: new basketball facilities, a move to the Missouri Valley Conference, solid academics to sell to recruits, a Chicago address. But what should also stand out is the fact Moser has churned out his share of top-notch assistants over the years as a head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois State and Loyola.

After working with Moser at Illinois State, Chris Jans is a rising assistant and now the associate head coach at Wichita State, a program fresh off a Final Four.

Steve Shields was Moser's top assistant before becoming the head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, where he has spent the last 10 years. Shields is the all-time winningest coach in UALR history.

As the associate head coach for the late Rick Majerus at Saint Louis, Moser was largely responsible for the hiring of the assistants. While there, Moser had the vision and plucked Chris Harriman out of the Division II ranks and he's swiftly moved up the coaching ranks since, now as one of Tim Miles' top assistants at Nebraska.

Now Gates, an assistant who was on the fast-track and in the mix for several high-major jobs this spring, is heading to the Big Ten as an assistant for Chris Collins after being groomed under Moser for the past two years.

Moser took an inexperienced Gardner -- the former University of Arizona All-American was a high school basketball assistant coach before Moser added Gardner to his staff -- and prepped him for his next step as a coach. Now Gardner joins Josh Pastner's staff at Memphis, a program that has averaged 27 wins the past three years and made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

As any prepared head coach does, Moser has a plan going forward. It's expected that Daniyal Robinson, a polished, high-level assistant with experience, will join the Loyola staff officially very soon. Robinson worked with Moser at Illinois State, so there will be familiarity and a comfort level. The Rock Island native has been at Houston the past three years and was at Iowa State for two seasons.

Also, look for Moser to officially promote current Director of Basketball Operations Matt Gordon to assistant coach. Gordon is a Chicago native, a graduate of St. Rita and has spent nine years working under Moser in different capacities.

That will leave Moser with one of the three assistant coaching positions still to fill. With the track record Moser has had, it should be a coveted spot among college assistants.

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The big-named players and high-level college recruits are followed intently. Their development as players, from the day they enter high school, is monitored and charted closely by recruiting gurus, college coaches and avid prep basketball fans.

Then there are always those under-the-radar types, maybe a late bloomer or a player who patiently waited their turn as the individual development came a little later.

The CIty/Suburban Hoops Report has three of those for you: Stagg's Max Strus, Bolingbrook's Gage Davis and Timothy Christian's Connor VanderBrug.

These three are players who small college programs at the NAIA, Division II and high-end Division III level should be all over and who, selfishly, will hope their progress slows down just a tad and are never discovered.

➥ Max Strus, 6-3½, PG/2G, Stagg
The Hoops Report has stated in recent weeks that of all the "high-profile players" in the Chicago area, Morgan Park's Josh Cunningham has shown the most improvement over the past 12 months. Another player who has shown that type of tremendous growth, both physically and as a player, is Max Strus.

While Strus won't be courted by the likes of Oklahoma, Missouri, Northwestern, Florida State, DePaul and other high-major programs as Cunningham currently is, he's a player that should be coveted by small college scholarship programs (Division II and NAIA) and watched closely by lower-end Division I schools as his development is far from complete.

Strus put together a solid junior year, leading Stagg to a regional championship and 20 wins while averaging just over 13 points a game. But he did so as a 6-1 junior; now he's close to 6-4 and is a long, rangy, skilled, versatile weapon on the perimeter who can score in a multitude of ways.

And no disrespect to all the "Our doctor says my son's growth plates are still open" crowd of parents, the Hoops Report will take the body evidence. Marty Strus, Max's older brother, was 6-10 and had a stellar basketball career at Lewis University, while sister Maggie Strus is 5-11 and plays volleyball at UIC.

Max has grown three inches since the start of his junior basketball season and doesn't look to be anywhere near done growing. With his bloodlines and current body type, he looks as though he could easily reach 6-5, maybe even 6-6 or 6-7 with the skill package of a point guard.

He developed those skills the past two years as a player who can play with the ball or off the ball for coach John Daniels at Stagg. He can still handle it, pass it and shoot it like a guard as his body morphs more and more into a multifaceted 3-man who can slash to the basket, rebound and create. That's why the Hoops Report is so intrigued with Strus, who is also a standout baseball pitcher in the spring. He appears so far from reaching his ceiling as a player -- a player who will be able to play three different positions at the end of the day.

➥ Gage Davis, 6-2, 2G, Bolingbrook
Forget the dazzling athlete and the physical specimen, the Hoops Report has always had a thing for players who can shoot it and put the ball in the hole. And for the past two weekends, first at the Oswego East Shootout and then at the Stagg Shootout, the Hoops Report has watched the little-known Gage Davis do just that.

Last summer it was SMU recruit Ben Moore who broke out in grand fashion for Bolingbrook. This past winter, guard Prentiss Nixon broke out in a big way as the Raiders' leading scorer. Now Davis is about to have a little moment of his own.

The shooting guard has grown to 6-2 and added a world of confidence to his game, shooting mid-range, pull-up jumpers and knocking down shots from beyond the arc consistently. He's smooth, has a little length to him and has become a legit offensive weapon with a feathery touch, release and solid footwork. Right now he looks the part of a confident shooter with great shot efficiency.

Physically, Davis must develop and get stronger. He must continue to make strides with his overall floor game. But Davis has skyrocketed up the Hoops Report player rankings and, as he continues to mature physically and tighten up his floor game, look for his stock to continue to climb.

The Hoops Report views Davis as a scholarship player who picked up his first Division I offer this past weekend from Northern Colorado. He should be watched closely this July with NLP on the AAU circuit.

➥ Connor VanderBrug, 6-7, PF, Timothy Christian
It really doesn't take long to walk away impressed by Connor VanderBrug.

First, he looks the part as a big, basketball-playing bodied 4-man. Then he shows you his full arsenal offensively, dropping in a jump-hook, running the floor and dunking in transition, a turnaround jumper from 10 feet, a spin move on the block and then stepping out and knocking down a pair of three-pointers.

Where has THIS kid been?

Danny Leach was Timothy Christian's go-to player this past season as the recently graduated 1,000 career point scorer averaged 17 points a game. But VanderBrug was the rising, get-better-by-the-day talent who was poised for a breakout offseason and a big senior year.

That breakout season is coming as VanderBrug was terrific at the recent Hoop Mountain Shootout at West Aurora. He's still progressing, is still a bit of an undersized 4-man if projecting him too high, remains a little raw in his development and isn't exactly explosive, but he's 6-7, skilled with a terrific body and can really shoot the basketball.

He's another player in the Class of 2014 who should be drawing a whole lot more attention than he currently has from college coaches, especially from high-level Division III, Division II and NAIA programs.

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Collins has filled them nicely.

The Hoops Report has learned through sources that Loyola assistant coach Armon Gates will be named an assistant coach at Northwestern and will round out the staff, joining Pat Baldwin and recently named Brian James as assistants. Gates has spent the last two-plus years working under coach Porter Moser at Loyola.

Collins landed the ideal fit as he tries to raise the Northwestern program to a championship level.

Gates is a fast-rising assistant coach who has been prominently mentioned for several jobs this spring and summer at the high-major level. He's well connected throughout Chicago as he was born and raised in the Chicago area. Gates began high school in the Chicago Public League before transferring to and graduating from Hillcrest.

From his days as an assistant coach at Kent State and Texas Christian, Gates also has ties throughout the Midwest and in Texas.

He's sharp, polished, well respected and will fit perfectly in Evanston and the Northwestern community. And he's exactly what Northwestern basketball needed to complete its staff -- a young, energetic coach with a strong recruiting acumen who is held in high regard by those in the profession and among high school and AAU coaches.

Collins and the entire Northwestern staff will continue to make several Illinois players high priorities between now and the November signing period, including Marian Catholic's Tyler Ulis, Whitney Young's Paul White, St. Rita's Vic Law, Decatur Eisenhower's Marcus Bartley and Morgan Park's Josh Cunningham.

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Hoop Mountain will play host to 48 teams this Friday and Saturday (as well as 28 sophomore teams) in the single largest high school shootout in the state.

Here is a quick rundown of a few of the large events this weekend in Illinois.

Hoop Mountain Shootout
Where: West Aurora High School, Aurora, Illinois
When: June 14-15 with games starting at 9 a.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday
Number of teams: 48
Teams: Aurora Central, Bartlett, Batavia, Bogan, Burlington Central, Crystal Lake South, Downers Grove North, East Aurora, Elgin Larkin, Evanston, Geneva, Glenbard West, Glenbrook North, Hampshire, Huntley, Kankakee, Lakes, Lincoln Park, Lyons Twp., Metea Valley, Montini, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Peoria Richwoods, Plano, Pleasant Valley (IA), Providence Catholic, Oswego East, Riverside-Brookfield, Robinson, Rock Island, Rockford Boylan, Rockford Jefferson, Schaumburg, South Elgin, St. Charles East, Sterling, Streamwood, Sycamore, Timothy Christian, West Aurora, West Chicago, Winnebago, Wheaton Academy, Yorkville

Stagg Summer Shootout
Where: Stagg High School, Palos Hills, Illinois
When: June 14-15
Number of teams: 32
Teams: Argo, Benet Academy, Bolingbrook, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Brother Rice, Downers Grove South, Evergreen Park, Hinsdale Central, Hillcrest, Homewood-Flossmoor, Immaculate Conception, Joliet Central, Lemont, Leyden, Lincoln-Way East, Lincoln-Way North, Lincoln-Way West, Lockport, Marist, Nazareth Academy, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Oak Park-River Forest, Plainfield North, Richards, Sandburg, Stagg, St. Joseph, St. Laurence, T.F. South, Willowbrook, York

Lincoln Shootout
Where: Lincoln High School; Lincoln, Illinois
When: June 15-16
Number of teams: 28
Teams: Alton, Bloomington, Canton, Champaign Centennial, Chillicothe IVC, Dubuque Sr. (IA), Dunlap, Chatham-Glenwood, East Peoria, Galesburg, Lincoln, Metamora, Moline, Monmouth-Rosewood, Morton, Mt. Zion, Normal West, Oakville (MO), Pekin, Peoria Notre Dame, Quincy, Springfield Sacred-Heart Griffin, Springfield, Springfield Lanphier, St. Joseph-Ogden, Warrensburg-Latham, Washington,

Loyola Academy Shootout
Where: Loyola Academy, Wilmette, Illinois
When: June 14-15
Number of teams: 16
Teams: Benet Academy, Conant, Glenbard East, Gordon Tech, Hoffman Estates, Jacobs, Niles North, Niles Notre Dame, Niles West, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Loyola Academy, St. Ignatius, St. Viator, Warren, Zion-Benton

Palatine Shootout
Where: Palatine High School, Palatine, Illinois
When: June 14-15
Number of teams: 16
Teams: Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Fremd, Glenbard North, Glenbrook South, Hersey, Highland Park, Lake Zurich, Maine South, Maine West, Palatine, St. Patrick, St. Francis, Thornton, Wheaton South, Wheeling

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When following recruiting at the earliest stages, including the rankings of freshmen in high school and the offers tossed around to freshmen and sophomores, there are way more misses than hits. It's inevitable with the different rates young players progress and develop.

That's why it's interesting to take a look back at a City/Suburban Hoops Report story that was published in this very blog four years ago to the week, which was titled: "And the survey says ..."

When you look back to four years ago, Waukegan's Jereme Richmond was the undisputed top college prospect in the state of Illinois. Meyers Leonard of Robinson had just bloomed. And the much-heralded trio in the Class of 2013 -- Jabari Parker, Tommy Hamilton and Alex Foster -- were enjoying their final summer before entering Simeon, Whitney Young and De La Salle, respectively.

Enjoy a story -- and the interesting findings from the research -- from the Hoops Report vault that shows how different recruiting can look four years later.

The following story was published in the City/Suburban Hoops Report blog on June 18, 2009.

And the survey says ...

Forget about talent evaluators, both locally and nationally. Forget about the message boards. Forget about the media hype. Forget about the AAU affiliations. When it comes to figuring out just who the best college basketball prospects are in the state of Illinois -- regardless of class -- lets ask the college coaches themselves.

The City/Suburban Hoops Report's unscientific, all-off-the-record conversations with nearly 20 college coaches, including head coaches but mostly assistant coaches, included the following question: Who are the three best college basketball prospects in the state, regardless of class, not named Jereme Richmond?

The final tally, which includes 18 coaches who have likely seen the most of Illinois high school players, showed what everyone has been talking about: the Class of 2013 is awfully special.

First-place votes received five points, second-place votes received three points and third-place votes received one point.

The player that received the most first-place votes overall with a total of six coaches putting him at the top was Class of 2013 star Tommy Hamilton, who will be attending Whitney Young this fall. The 6-8 freshman-to-be also had the most total points with 42. Simeon-bound Jabari Parker, another Class of 2013 star, was second with a total of 30 points. Meyers Leonard of Robinson had the second most first-place votes with four and finished third overall with 26 total points.

The following are the results from the Hoops Report survey which, again, did not include Jereme Richmond of Waukegan. The players are listed in order of the points they received, with first-place votes in parenthesis.

1. Tommy Hamilton, 6-8, PF, Fr., Chicago (Whitney Young) ----- 42 points (6)
2. Jabari Parker, 6-4, 2G/WF, Fr., Chicago (Simeon) ----- 30 points (3)
3. Meyers Leonard, 7-0, C, Sr., Robinson ----- 26 points (4)
4. Alex Foster, 6-7, WF/PF, Fr., Chicago (De La Salle) ----- 19 points (3)
5. Wayne Blackshear, 6-4, WF, Jr., Chicago (Morgan Park) ----- 13 points (1)
Tracy Abrams, 6-0, PG, Jr., Chicago (Mt. Carmel) ----- 13 points
7. Chasson Randle, 6-2, PG/2G, Rock Island ----- 8 points (1)
8. Sam Thompson, 6-5, WF, Chicago (Whitney Young) ----- 3 points
Mike Shaw, 6-8, PF/WF, Chicago (De La Salle) ----- 3 points
10. Crandall Head, 6-3, Chicago (Crane) ----- 2 points
11. Dre Henley, 6-5, WF, Chicago (De La Salle) ----- 1 point
Reggie Smith, 6-0, 2G, Harvey (Thornton) ----- 1 point
Nnana Egwu, 6-9, C, Chicago (St. Ignatius) ----- 1 point

Notes of interest from the survey
• Whitney Young's Tommy Hamilton was tabbed by the most coaches as 12 of the 18 coaches had them among their top three. Simeon's Jabari Parker was next with 9 of the 18 coaches including him on their list.

• How overwhelming were the numbers for the Class of 2013? Tommy Hamilton and Jabari Parker finished first and second, with Alex Foster finishing fourth, and those totals came even though there were three or four college coaches that admitted they had not seen all of the 2013 stars play as of yet. Thus, the coaches didn't even include those three on their list.

• Of the 18 coaches just one college coach had De La Salle's Mike Shaw among his top three as the junior-to-be gained one second-place vote.

• By contrast, Sam Thompson of Whitney Young received three third-place votes to get his three points.

• Chasson Randle was named by just two of the 18 coaches but received a first-place and a second-place vote for his 8 total points.

• There wasn't a single player from the Class of 2012 on any of the 18 coaches' list of the top three college prospects.

Comments from coaches ...
• "Outside of the top three or four players in the Class of 2010, I just don't see any no-doubt-about-it high-major players."

• "There is very little true high-major talent in the Class of 2010."

• "I am sure because of how young coaches are now looking, viewing and evaluating players, that those young kids [Parker, Hamilton, Foster] will get a lot of the votes. We are always looking for the young ones now because of their upside."

• "You will see some of those Class of 2011 kids who were highly ranked early in their career get jumped by others between now and their senior year."

• "The talent and potential of those three 8th graders is ridiculous, but we also haven't seen their weaknesses exposed or how hard they are going to work over the next four years."

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The team camp concept is such a valuable and underrated recruiting tool. Yes, it's an opportunity for a coaching staff to get a close look at prospects, but it's also a chance to put themselves in front of prospects. A program can showcase the facilities, the campus, the personalities of the coaching staff and build relationships with players, high school coaches and various basketball people who were on hand Saturday and Sunday.

There was a window of opportunity for UIC and its basketball program to shine this past weekend and it did just that, including two days of quality, organized basketball. There was a comfort level, a feel-good atmosphere and vibe for participating teams, players and their families.

After taking in two days of action, UIC extended offers to several prospects in the Class of 2015, including Bogan guard Luwane Pipkins. In addition, high-profile guard Hyron Edwards of East Chicago picked up a scholarship, along with the junior duo from Geneva, 6-5 guard K.J. Santos and 6-6 forward Nate Navigato.

Several other players on hand, including De La Salle junior Brandon Hutton, Homewood-Flossmoor junior Tai Odiase, Naperville North sophomore Jelani McClain and Willowbrook freshman Alonzo Verge, Jr., are planning on visiting the UIC campus later this month.

There is a lot of positive momentum with the UIC basketball program right now, including the fact the head coach is in place for the foreseeable future with a recent contract extension through the 2017-2018 season.

When Moore took over the program in August of 2010, the cupboard was bare and the Flames were coming off an 8-22 overall record and a 3-15 mark in the Horizon League. This past season, Moore's third as head coach, UIC improved to 18-16 overall and 7-9 in the Horizon League. The 2012-2013 season included a win over NCAA Tournament team Colorado State and a victory over Big Ten and local foe Northwestern.

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In Hardy, Northwestern basketball and Collins had a veteran presence on the staff with great versatility. Hardy brought a wealth of Big Ten experience and knowledge, he had ties to the current roster, made a major impact recruiting, had a pulse on recruiting the Chicago area and a reach nationally, and maybe most importantly, he completely understood the culture of Northwestern -- both the athletics and the university -- and was highly respected.

Now, instead of completely focusing on recruiting in the month of June in preparation for the July evaluation period, Collins must go back to the drawing board to solidify something he thought was already in place -- his coaching staff.

Collins has the tall task of making a very important hire. Although not completely necessary, NU could certainly benefit from having someone with true Chicago area ties and familiarity as the Wildcats are on a number of top prospects in the city and suburbs in the Class of 2014 and 2015.

Collins didn't go with any direct connection or link to Duke the first go-around when filling out his staff. Will he this time? Maybe that's an option for the coach who spent the last 13 years working under Mike Krzyzewski.

Just as the Hoops Report felt before he was hired at NU and felt after he was hired by NU athletic director Jim Phillips, Collins is the perfect fit for Northwestern at this time. That's another reason why a plethora of quality candidates will be available as the fortunes and perception of NU basketball have drastically changed.

The list of quality candidates is extensive for a job that is appealing to many. The Hoops Report certainly has two or three candidates who it thinks would be ideal fits for NU and stand out from the rest of the pack, but here is a list of 11 potential names (listed alphabetically) Northwestern may look at it to fill Hardy's spot if Collins does indeed want to bring someone in with recruiting ties to Illinois and the Chicago area.

■ Will Bailey, LaSalle
An underrated rising assistant and grinder in the coaching business who has helped coach Dr. John Giannini raise the profile of LaSalle basketball, which included a NCAA Tournament berth this past season. Plus, he's Chicago through and through as a Dunbar graduate and is respected throughout the city and suburbs. Prior to LaSalle, Bailey spent seven seasons at East Tennessee State, where he was a part of three NCAA Tournament teams and six conference championships.

■ Anthony Beane, Southern Illinois
A coaching candidate for a few other high-major jobs in recent months, Beane was a part of Tim Jankovich's staff at Illinois State that went to four NITs in five seasons. He also coached at Saint Louis for four years and was a part of two Billiken teams that made the NIT. He has dabbled in Illinois and has strong recruiting ties throughout the Midwest.

■ Ronald Coleman, Bradley
He's spent just three years in college coaching. First, Coleman was a part of a NCAA Tournament team at Colorado State and then headed to Nebraska with coach Tim Miles, where was the Director of Player of Development. He spent the past year as an assistant Bradley. Even with just three years of experience, Coleman, a graduate of South Shore in the Chicago Public League, is a fixture in the Chicago area with strong ties to the city. He coached at both Whitney Young as an assistant and with the Mac Irvin Fire club program. Northwestern is currently very involved with a pair of Fire players in Morgan Park's Josh Cunningham and Whitney Young's Paul White.

■ Chrys Cornelius, Wisconsin-Green Bay
An under-the-radar candidate with Chicago area roots -- he's from Joliet -- and experience recruiting the Midwest, especially the Chicago area. Cornelius recently has spent the last three seasons working for Brian Wardle at UW-Green Bay and was at Eastern Illinois for four seasons. He was also a part of two NCAA Tournament teams at Florida A&M, where he coached from 2003-2007.

■ Dana Ford, Illinois State
After coaching stints in the junior college ranks, Tennessee State and Wichita State, ISU head coach Dan Muller named Ford the associate head coach prior to last season. He has southern Illinois roots as a native of Tamms, Ill., plus strong recruiting ties in Illinois as he recruited the state heavily, landing players at Tennessee State (Proviso West's Robert Covington and Hales Franciscan's Pat Miller) and Wichita State (Rockford Auburn's Fred Van Vleet).

■ Armon Gates, Loyola
A young, sharp, rising star in the coaching business, Gates is beginning his third season under Porter Moser at Loyola after spending time as an assistant at TCU and Kent State. Born and raised in the Chicago area, Gates has valuable ties and relationships to the city and suburbs. In addition, he has experience recruiting the talent-filled state of Texas and working at a private, strong academic school in Chicago.

■ Donnie Kirksey, UIC
A longtime familiar name around Chicago area basketball who has many relationships among Chicago area basketball "people" and families. Kirksey knows the city and has continued to add to those relationships the past three years working under coach Howard Moore at UIC. He's gained experience recruiting outside Chicago during his three years at UIC. Prior to his UIC experience, Kirksey was head coach in the Chicago Public League, guiding Hyde Park to a 71-18 record in three years there.

■ Nate Pomeday, Oregon State
A natural name for this position as Pomeday is a Northwestern graduate who played four seasons for the Wildcats. The 1999 NU grad has spent the past six seasons in Corvallis working under Craig Robinson at Oregon State, where he has helped land two Chicago area players in Lake Forest Academy's Angus Brandt and Whitney Young's Ahmad Starks. His post-NU basketball work included a head coaching stint at Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) and coaching AAU basketball (Full Package Athletics) and at Lake Forest Academy.

■ Roger Powell, Valparaiso
Another young, rising coaching star in college basketball who has big name recognition locally from his all-state high school days at Joliet and starring at Illinois, where he helped lead the Fighting Illini to 37 wins and the NCAA national championship game in 2005. With a name, personality and work ethic, he's quickly built a reputation throughout the Chicago area and state. He's been instrumental in landing key recruits at Valpo in just two-plus years on the job.

■ Daniyal Robinson, Houston
A very polished veteran assistant coach who will have the ability to recruit the state of Illinois and branch out into other areas as a result of his past experience. He begins his fourth season at Houston under coach James Dickey. A native of Rock Island, Robinson has recruited the state of Illinois extensively as an assistant at Illinois State (2003-2007), where he landed ISU star Osiris Eldridge out of Phillips High School in Chicago, and Iowa State (2008-2010).

■ Todd Townsend, Drake
Drake coach Ray Giacoletti hired a good one in Townsend this past spring. His strong Chicago area background includes being a Chicago native who graduated from New Trier. He played at Marquette and worked under coach Tom Crean for two years as director of basketball operations. Townsend spent time as an assistant at Northeastern and Northern Illinois, where he recruited the Chicago area heavily and continues to do so at Drake.

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But the loss of assistant coach Tavaras Hardy is certainly a blow, albeit temporary, to Northwestern and first-year coach Chris Collins.

According to sources, the City/Suburban Hoops Report has learned that Hardy, a fixture at NU, will be headed to Georgetown to join the staff of coach John Thompson III.

Hardy, who was a four-year letterwinner and three-time MVP as a player at Northwestern, just completed his seventh season on the NU staff -- all under coach Bill Carmody. Under Carmody he was given the associate head coach tag two years ago and has been recognized as a top-notch recruiter and rising coach in the business.

Hardy was pivotal in the recruitment of several of NU's key pieces over the years, including Northwestern's all-time leading scorer John Shurna, JerShon Cobb and current star Drew Crawford of Naperville Central. He also played a part in Crawford remaining in Evanston as opposed to the 6-5 senior transferring to another school as a fifth-year senior.

In addition to his past work, Hardy was instrumental in the recruitment of current prospects in high school, including Marian Catholic's Tyler Ulis, who recently included NU in his top seven schools, Morgan Park's Josh Cunningham and Decatur MacArthur's Marcus Bartley.

Even with the firing of Carmody and the hiring of Collins this past spring, Hardy was expected to be a part of the continued revival of Northwestern basketball. The Georgetown opportunity arose and Hardy is set to join a program that won 25 games this past season and has reached the NCAA Tournament each of the last four seasons.

The fresh approach and excitement surrounding Collins as the new head coach, however, should offset the sudden loss of Hardy.

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Whether they won four games, three or were winless, coaches came away from the event finding positives. Some saw improvement in their team from a year ago, while others saw last year's role players step up or returning starters already taking their game to another level.

Yes, many individual players stood out, but this event is about high school basketball and the chance for a coach to get his first true look at his 2013-2014 team

At R-B, you're going to see quality teams throughout the weekend and coaches are going to learn a whole lot about their team and players as they match up against the type of competition they see at this event.

THE R-B SURPRISE: When a team loses a player the caliber of David Cohn, a four-year varsity guard at York who is off to Colorado State, you expect some growing pains the following year. York, however, has a wealth of experience returning and was the surprise of the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout. The Dukes' run to the title was highlighted earlier this week in a previous Hoops Report blog.

YOUR SPOT AT THE HIGH-MAJOR TABLE IS READY: There isn't a player in the Class of 2014 -- at least not a high-profile player -- who has improved more over the past 12 months than Morgan Park's Josh Cunningham. The 6-6½ senior not only utilizes his length and athleticism to his advantage -- defensive disruptions, transition baskets, offensive putbacks, living up at the rim -- but he's made strides with his jumper and perimeter game. He's turned the promise and potential he displayed last summer and all winter into consistent productivity. It's no wonder he's added so much high-major interest this spring.

Speaking of high-major prospects, add St. Joseph point guard Glynn Watson to the list. The biggest attribute the 5-11 junior has going for him is he's a pure point guard. He has the feel, he handles it, gets in the lane, has some gitty-up in him and will stick that 14-16 foot jumper. Look around -- locally, regionally, nationally -- there just aren't a whole lot of run-your-team point guards in the Class of 2015.

No, he's not an Andrew Harrison (Kentucky) or Kasey Hill (Florida) in 2013 or a Tyus Jones or Emmanuel Mudlay in 2014 type point guard prospect. But it may be time for schools to start accepting Watson for who he is rather than what he's not.

AND YOUR 2013-2014 SLEEPER IS ... : You want your sleeper heading into the 2013-2014 season? Give Loyola Academy a look. The Ramblers fell to Niles North in the regional championship in March after capturing the Catholic League North title, but coach Tom Livatino has one ingredient that translates to success: quality senior guards.

Jack Morrissey, the 6-1 sharpshooter, has been a big offensive weapon since his freshman year and remains one of the elite three-point shooters in the state (he knocked down a whopping 112 from beyond the arc as a junior). While Morrissey is the familiar name, the combination of James Clarke and Kevin Kucera, a pair of tough, composed and experienced guards, were eye-opening this past weekend at R-B. Clarke was sensational in a win over Simeon, pumping in 32 points. And Kucera, a gritty, competitive point guard, is a very improved player.

MORE LOVE FOR BRUNSON: OK, the Hoops Report threw out superlatives regarding Stevenson's Jalen Brunson all winter long -- here in December, here again in April and will continue to do so. He captured the eye of fans across the state in March and of national evaluators and college coaches in April.

Watch a little of Brunson and you see a pure basketball sense and feel, terrific vision, a high-level shooter and scorer. But watch him a little more and you see something that's difficult to find these days: an absolute will to win and finding any avenue to do so. That's something you're born with.

CUPBOARD FAR FROM BARE AT PROVISO EAST: On paper Proviso East may not have as many talented pieces as it's had the past two years when the Pirates won 61 games and reached Peoria twice. But coach Donnie Boyce's cupboard is far from bare.

Jevon Carter, a coveted mid-major prospect who led the Pirates in scoring last year, returns. And junior guard Kalin Fisher is on the verge of breaking out after contributing last year as a sophomore. Fisher has a natural ability to score.

In addition, Boyce will welcome one of the better -- if not the best -- incoming freshmen groups in the Chicago area.

ADDITIONAL HOOPS REPORT THOUGHTS FROM R-B:
■ With Tyler Ulis out of the Marian Catholic lineup this past weekend with a shoulder injury, it was an opportunity for Ki-Jana Crawford to show a little more of what he could do with the ball in his hands. Crawford played well and should be a recruiting target among small college coaches.

■ What an impressive tandem Jalen Brunson and Connor Cashaw are going to be over the next two years for Stevenson. They are so poised, which was one big benefit of the run the Patriots went on this past March. They already have a terrific feel and sense for one another on the court and play off each other so well.

■ Cliff Alexander? Mercy! As the Hoops Report indicated in this blog last month, over the past six to eight months the 6-9 Curie star has gone from a no-brainer, must-have high-major recruit to one of those program-changing, alpha dog-type players. He's such an enormous presence and absolutely dominant -- and, now, consistently dominant.

■ West Aurora will battle Naperville Central for the top spot in the DuPage Valley Conference this winter, thanks to the return of Jontrell Walker. The four-year varsity guard put up some numbers at R-B for the Blackhawks, with games of 30, 27 and 26 points.

■ A young, inexperienced Glenbard East team is going to take a step back in the DuPage Valley Conference this season after going 13-1 this past year. But senior JaRon Hall is going to be a big-time scorer for the Rams. The high-scoring guard put up offensive numbers for the Rams as a junior, but this past weekend he went for 28, 22, 20 and 21 in four games at R-B.

■ Morgan Park's Lamont Walker remains undervalued. You can't just create or hope for that type of toughness.

■ The Hoops Report has said it before and will say it again: the key to Curie's hopes of taking the next step as a program is sophomore guard Devin Gage.

■ Forget the talk of best player and best prospect for a moment in the Class of 2014. When talking best, pure scorer it's impossible to leave Zion-Benton's Milik Yarbrough out of the conversation. Maybe the conversation should start with Yarbrough, who shoots with range, uses his big 6-5 frame well around the basket and has that knack for scoring -- Carmelo-style. He remains trigger-happy, but the kid -- just as he has since the day he entered high school as a freshman -- can score in bunches.

■ The defending state champions were missing their nucleus, but the weekend gave Simeon coach Robert Smith a chance to watch from the sideline a host of players who will be fighting for roles and minutes. One of those was transfer Isaiah Moss, a 6-5 junior-to-be who played this past year at Lincoln-Way East and who is officially enrolled at Simeon.

A bright spot for the Wolverines this past weekend at R-B? Jaycee Hillsman, a big-bodied 6-5 wing who played well after seeing limited action a year ago.

■ Another first-class summer event was put on by Riverside-Brookfield and the basketball staff. The event does receive a lot of hype, but it's also deserving when it comes to the big-named programs in the event and how well the event is run.

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Although there may be an asterisk next to the 2013 Riverside-Brookfield Shootout champion, York claimed the title of the 11th annual event behind Class of 2014 big man Frank Toohey leading the way.

After going 3-0 in pool play, York rolled through the first-place bracket in tournament action, knocking off Zion-Benton in overtime, edging Loyola Academy 43-41 and picking up a forfeit win over Morgan Park in the title game.

With York leading 18-12 with five minutes remaining in the first half, Morgan Park decided to leave the gym and did not return to play. Thus, York was granted the title.

Although York lost Colorado State-bound David Cohn to graduation, York looks to have the pieces -- six of the top eight players return from a 22-win team -- to be a contender, if not the favorite, in the West Suburban Silver this season.

Doran admitted his team has a long way to go -- as any team does at this point on the calendar -- but he couldn't help but take several positives out of his team's performance at R-B.

"It's a confidence builder for the kids, especially when you lose a kid like David Cohn," Doran pointed out. "You can preach to them what they are capable of, but you still want to see results."

The Dukes have a centerpiece to build around in Toohey, a 6-7 three-year varsity veteran who was named MVP of the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout.

It was Toohey who scored a game-high 22 points to help lead York to a regional title game victory over Bartlett this past March. Look for Toohey to significantly improve on his junior year numbers of 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.

With Toohey, however, it's more than the numbers. He's a versatile, blue-collar big. Toohey has a rugged side to him, will rebound, step out and knock a three-pointer down, make a nifty pass from the high post and do the dirty work. As a junior he took 13 charges.

"He's a bruiser who likes to play physical and has skill," says Doran of Toohey, who put together a solid spring with the Illinois Wolves on the club circuit. "He leads by example, competes and doesn't back down from anyone."

And that includes Curie's Cliff Alexander. While it was a valiant team effort in trying to contain one of the nation's elite in a Saturday matchup, Toohey was physical and went after it in his head-to-head battle with the impressive Alexander.

Throw in a 31 ACT score and Toohey should be on the radar of every Ivy League and Patriot League school.

In addition to Toohey, York returns Charlie Rose, a 6-3 senior guard who played a big role a year ago for the Dukes. Rose is a sharpshooter from the perimeter who impressed this past weekend at R-B.
But an added ingredient for Doran and York is Emmett McCoy, a 6-5 senior who sat out last season to concentrate solely on football. McCoy, a Division I football prospect, played his freshman and sophomore years and has returned to the basketball program for his senior year.

"He plays with such aggressiveness," says Doran. "I love coaching football players. He makes a big difference for us and will be a big asset."

The Hoops Report will have more from the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout throughout the week.

Follow Joe Henricksen and the Hoops Report on Twitter @joehoopsreport

Now we take a look at five more offseason storylines to follow.

Where will the Big Man Sweepstakes take us?
Hopefully the Jabari Parker recruiting sweepstakes prepared all you recruiting aficionados for what's to come in the next five to six months.

Jahlil Okafor of Whitney Young is the No. 1 ranked player in the country. Cliff Alexander of Curie is right behind him, among the top five players in the country and closing fast. These are the type of players that help shift the balance of power in college basketball, so it's easy to see why over the past several years the recruitment of the top handful of high school players has bordered between a show and a circus.

Okafor and Alexander will both likely be committing and signing between now and November. So every tweet, quote, story written, school mention, college visit, cereal eaten and the type of shoe they put on will be analyzed, scrutinized and judged.

Okafor has shortened his list to eight, which includes Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State. Alexander, meanwhile, has yet to signify a leader, though the foursome of Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan State and Kansas are prominently mentioned.

The state of Illinois has never had two players of this magnitude in the same class, ranked this high, being recruited together at the same time by the créme de la creme of college basketball.

This should be fun and appealing recruitments to watch unfold.

What can the East Suburban Catholic Conference do for an encore?
There were six different ESCC teams in and out of the Top 25 rankings throughout last season. All six teams won 18-plus games, including four -- Benet Academy, Marian Catholic, St. Viator and Notre Dame -- who won at least 21 games on the year.

Marian Catholic won the McDipper and a sectional championship. Benet and St. Viator both reached sectional title games. Even Carmel, which went 3-5 in ESCC play, reached a Class 3A sectional championship game.

So back to the question at hand: What can the East Suburban Catholic Conference do for an encore?

With the likes of Tyler Ulis returning for Marian Catholic, Sean O'Mara for Benet Academy and Ore Arogundade for St. Viator, there's no reason to think the ESCC can't at least duplicate the fanfare and headlines it garnered last winter.

There wasn't a more exciting, competitive league to watch last winter than the ESCC. This summer we will find out if the league as a whole will be able to come close to matching that 2012-2013 magic this winter.

How much better can Marian Catholic and Stevenson be?
Crazy to think about this now, but neither Marian Catholic or Stevenson were ranked in anyone's preseason rankings a year ago. By March they had both won a school record 29 games, captured sectional championships and finished among the top teams in the state. Stevenson's surprising run ended in the state championship game, where it fell to Simeon.

When November rolls around, don't be surprised to find both Marian Catholic and Stevenson among the preseason top five teams. On paper, both teams should be better and favored to win their respective conference with the return of the top two point guards in the state -- Marian Catholic's Tyler Ulis and Stevenson's Jalen Brunson.

But it's a whole lot more than just Ulis and Brunson.

Marian Catholic returns a wealth of experience and will be a senior-dominated team with the likes of Ulis, Joshua Cohn, John Oliver, Ki-Jana Crawford and T.J. Parham. Stevenson, meanwhile, returns five players who combined for 55 points of offense and played significant minutes in Peoria this past March.

Last offseason both of these coaches, Marian Catholic's Mike Taylor and Stevenson's Pat Ambrose, were figuring out just what pieces they had, how they would fit and how good they could be. This offseason? A lot of fine tuning, along with some pushing and prodding to avoid complacency after such stellar seasons and to capitalize on the talent that is in place.

How big of an impact will Rick Malnati have at Fenwick?
No, he's not Coach K, Phil Jackson or a miracle worker. But most everyone who has followed high school basketball over the past two decades will tell you Rick Malnati is one of the better basketball minds and prep coaches in the business.

Malnati, fresh off a short college coaching stint at Loyola after a highly successful run as head coach at New Trier, comes back to the prep game invigorated -- and a better coach as a result of his college experience. Plus, Malnati inherits a team that won 17 games and a regional championship last year.

With a return to Class 3A again this season and some talented pieces in place, including athletic wing Scott Lindsey, up-and-coming point guard Michael Smith and 6-8 Dan Dwyer, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Friars make a run at their first sectional championship since Corey Maggette led them to Peoria in 1998.

There aren't many coaches or programs in the Chicago area that have a more important and pivotal offseason than Malnati and Fenwick.

Will there be any significant player movement?
Boy, has it been quiet on the transfer front. You just know they're coming.

The transfer in high school basketball has become a part of the landscape and culture in the Chicago area -- and around Illinois. People can say all they want about player movement in the city and suburbs, but Limestone, last year's third-place finisher in Class 3A, had multiple transfers significantly contributing to their state run.

Of the eight schools playing in Peoria this past March in Class 4A and 3A, five had impact players who had transferred in at some point.

Player movement today just seems inevitable, whether you're in the city, suburbs or downstate. But aside from Orr adding Crane transfer Isaiah Hayes, a talented guard, there hasn't been any significant moves -- yet.

When the other transfer shoe does finally drop, will the balance of power be shifted in any way?

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The 5-9 point guard is a hot commodity, with double-digit high-major offers. But he has narrowed his list of schools to seven: DePaul, Florida State, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue and USC.

Ulis insists there is no current favorite and, after a busy summer of playing, will visit schools in August before making a decision.

In addition to playing a heavy schedule with his Marian Catholic team in June, he will be participating in the NBA Top 100 Camp in a couple of weeks and in Nike's Deron Williams Point Guard Skills Academy in New Jersey June 24-26, where 15-20 of the top point guards in the country will be competing.

Ulis put together a terrific spring with Meanstreets on the AAU circuit, leading the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg in Nike EYBL play. In EYBL competition, Ulis finished third overall in assists per game (5.5 apg) and was second in steals (2.2 spg) while shooting 47 percent from the three-point line and 87 percent from the free-throw line.

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A little over nine months later Glenbard East won regional and sectional titles and was in Peoria playing in the state semifinals, where it lost to Simeon, 56-53. But the R-B Shootout jump-started a dream season for the Rams that ended with a third-place finish in Class 4A.

"It was definitely a springboard for us and always is," says Miller of his team's annual trip to the R-B Shootout. "It's the start of the summer, a new team. It's still summer, but you're seeing the best teams and seeing where you are as a team very early. When you do well it definitely gives you a little confidence."

Proviso East won the event in 2011 and then went 32-0 before falling in the 2012 state championship game to Simeon. Last year Proviso East and Simeon met in the R-B final and both reached Peoria again this past March, with Simeon winning its fourth straight state championship.

The 11th annual Riverside-Brookfield Shootout tips off this Saturday. There won't be student sections or a band playing during warm-ups this weekend. There isn't a sectional title or a state trophy on the line. It isn't during a "live" recruiting period, so Division I college coaches won't be in attendance. It's not even the "unofficial" offseason state tournament, though some might call it that.

But the R-B Shootout has grown in size, popularity and has earned its praise as the best offseason event in Illinois since it began in 2003. There isn't a spring, summer or fall event in Illinois that brings together more high-profile teams and players than the R-B Shootout will this weekend.

The Hoops Report gives you a half dozen reasons why the 36-team Riverside-Brookfield Shootout is so darn good.

1. The official turning of the page
The 2012-2013 season ended in March, much like the previous three seasons before, with Simeon winning a fourth straight state championship. Well, Simeon is no longer a prohibitive favorite as the Wolverines head into the 2013-2014 season and every top team and contender in Class 4A can dream of winning a state championship.

The R-B Shootout is like a breath of fresh air in what has become nearly a 12-month basketball calendar. No, the season doesn't officially begin until November, but the R-B Shootout is about putting the previous season in the rearview mirror and ...

2. Getting a sneak peek at 2013-2014
If the Hoops Report put out its preseason rankings for the 2013-2014 season in June, nine of the Top 10 would be playing at Riverside-Brookfield this weekend. Of the six Class 4A Chicago area teams that won sectional titles last year, each one will be at Riverside-Brookfield. So expect more of the same in the coming year.

3. Great geographical representation
Whether it's powers from the Chicago Public League (Simeon, Young, Morgan Park and Curie), the Chicago Catholic League (St. Rita, De La Salle and St. Joseph), the south suburbs (Marian Catholic, H-F, Hillcrest and Bloom), the western suburbs (Proviso East and West Aurora) or the north suburbs (Stevenson, New Trier, St. Viator and Zion-Benton), this event brings together the best throughout the Chicago area.

4. The state's top players
While the state's top prospect, Whitney Young's Jahlil Okafor, won't be playing at Riverside-Brookfield -- the nation's No. 1 ranked player in the Class of 2014 will be busy with U.S.A. Basketball -- virtually every top player in Illinois will be.

Maybe at the conclusion of the event we could have an all-star game, a great five-on-five battle that would look like this:

The Riverside All-Stars: Marian Catholic's Tyler Ulis, Normal U-High's Keita Bates-Diop, Young's Paul White, St. Rita's Charles Matthews and Zion-Benton's Milik Yarbrough.

The Brookfield All-Stars: Stevenson's Jalen Brunson, Curie's Cliff Alexander, Sandburg's Malek Harris, St. Viator's Ore Arogundade and Morgan Park's Josh Cunningham.

5. $5 admission and $1 programs
All you parents who have been carting around your sons and daughters, maybe a grandparent or two, to your son's AAU events all spring long, deserve a break. And your wallet deserves a break.

The drive to Riverside-Brookfield is short and the admission is just $5 per person, which is a far cry from the outrageous $15 AAU events charge per day.

The $1 program would seem like a very trivial item on a list like this, but it's not for all the small college coaches from the likes of Lake Forest, Augustana, Benedictine, Illinois Wesleyan, Elmhurst, Olivet Nazarene, St. Francis, Millikin or any of the countless number of coaches that will be in attendance at R-B.

You see, many coaches from small college basketball programs have been driven away from AAU events, particularly those that are run during the April evaluation period. These coaches are required by event organizers to pay anywhere from $150 to $250 to attend an AAU event during the April "live" period. That gets them in the gym with a program and, if they're lucky, a meal at the event. That doesn't fit in a lot of small college basketball budgets, so paying for a $1 program is a breath of fresh air for many.

6. An organized, first-class event
When it comes to out-of-season events, whether it be run by high schools or the AAU world, sometimes organization can be, well ... a bit inconsistent. Aside from the top-level teams and the star-quality individual talent on display over the two days, the R-B Shootout is always exceptionally well run. The schedule doesn't change, games are on time, teams show up, high school officials are working each game and those that are playing seem to respect the event as well.

Shootout director Mike Reingruber and the Riverside-Brookfield basketball coaching staff have made this the premier offseason event in Illinois.

For more information on the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout, including schedules and results, go to the R-B basketball website here.

Riverside-Brookfield Shootout
What: Riverside-Brookfield Shootout
Where: Riverside-Brookfield High School
When: June 1-2 (games begin Saturday at 9 a.m.)

Recent R-B Shootout Results
2012 Championship: Proviso East 72, Simeon 69
Co-MVP: Sterling Brown and Paris Lee, Proviso East

2011 Championship: Proviso East 62, St. Joseph 52
MVP: Keith Carter, Proviso East

2010 Championship: Glenbard East 67, Downers South 66
MVP: Johnny Hill, Glenbard East

2009 Championship: Riverside-Brookfield 74, Glenbard East 70
MVP: Sean McGonagill, Riverside-Brookfield

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This is a time for high school coaches to see how much improvement their players have made since March. It's a chance to build some team chemistry, work in a few new parts, for youngsters to get some seasoning and for a coach and team to turn the page.

It's time to start looking ahead to next season. Here is Part I of the Hoops Report's pressing offseason storylines (Public League edition) as we are six months away from the start of the 2013-2014 season.

Is this the Curie team that takes the big step?
Curie has been a consistent winner and constant threat for well over a decade. Coach Mike Oliver has led the Condors to countless Red-Central titles and been in the hunt for Pontiac Holiday Tournament titles, city championships and sectional runs.

But Curie is also the best program in the state not to have reached Peoria. There was a time when Brother Rice held that label, before coach Pat Richardson's Crusaders broke through in 2005 behind star Bobby Frasor. After winning regional and sectional titles and averaging 23 wins a season over an 11-year stretch, Brother Rice finally got over the hump and made the trip to Peoria.

Today, Curie and Neuqua Valley hold that distinction.

On paper, this will be the best Curie team in the Mike Oliver era, with the return of 6-9 Cliff Alexander and a rising talent in junior Joshua Stamps. Alexander turned into a force last season. But what fans and opponents saw this past season from Alexander is nothing like what they will see from "Big Cliff" this winter. That's how dominating the coveted prospect has been this spring on the AAU circuit. He's made tremendous strides, particularly in the area of realizing how good and impactful he can be every trip down the floor.

This Curie team can be as good as anyone in the city and the state. The key just might be the development of freshman point guard Devin Gage, an emerging dynamic talent. Gage gained some valuable varsity experience last season. Oliver will be more than comfortable putting the ball in his sophomore-to-be hands as Curie embarks on what could be a watershed moment for Oliver and the Curie program he's built.

How will this Simeon team handle a bulls-eye on its chest?
The four-time defending state champs are talented enough to win another title. But it's young, inexperienced talent. And every team knows it and believes this is the year to get the Wolverines. Think Chicago Bulls, circa 1993-94.

Everyone in the NBA was both shocked and drooling over Michael Jordan's retirement. The three-time defending world champs were toast. But behind one of the most underrated individual seasons in NBA history from Scottie Pippen (22 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 5.6 apg, 2.9 spg), the Bulls went 55-27. The Bulls lost to the Knicks in a seven-game playoff series but showed they were more than just competitive.

Now Simeon is poised to contend without a Derrick Rose or a Jabari Parker. How this new crop of talent handles the spotlight will go a long way in determining if Peoria is within reach.

After talking with Simeon coach Robert Smith this week, the month of June, where high school teams are back playing together, is as critical of an offseason month as the program will have had in years. There are minutes to be earned, roles to be learned, player improvement to be made and chemistry to be developed.

Who will be the difference-makers for Morgan Park?
It's not as if coach Nick Irvin doesn't have any horses in the stable; talent is still oozing for the defending 3A state champs. Morgan Park's hopes for a repeat, however, depend heavily on finding a way to replace true difference-makers in Billy Garrett, Jr. and Kyle Davis. As backcourt mates, the ball was constantly in their hands and both were huge all season long in making big plays in crucial moments.

Josh Cunningham, a 6-6 junior who has seen his recruiting stock soar the past two months, is a safe bet to be a difference-maker. But again, in Morgan Park's system it's really about game-changing guards. That means the job of the other difference-maker(s) will fall to a veteran role player from a year ago (Lamont Walker or Torry Johnson) or a youngster (sophomore Kain Harris or freshman Charlie Moore), guards who have the potential to impact games.

No, the backcourt combination will not match the Garrett-Davis duo, but there is enough talent at Morgan Park to win another state championship in what will be a wide open Class 3A field, especially if a difference-maker or two develops in the backcourt this offseason.

How will Orr replace its heart and soul?
A returning junior group of 6-8 Marlon Jones, 6-6 Tyquone Greer and 6-3 Louis Adams, Jr. is dynamite and capable of getting Orr back to Peoria. Those are three Division I talents to build around with size, length and athleticism. But trying to replace its unheralded leader, point guard Jamal McDowell, will be daunting.

McDowell was a physical guard who set the tone at both ends of the floor. Although he didn't put up big numbers, there was a whole lot of toughness, heart and leadership lost with the graduation of McDowell. Plus, he wasn't afraid when the game was on the line. Just ask Whitney Young, which lost to Orr in the regular season when McDowell drained a three-pointer at the buzzer.

However, the addition of guard Isaiah Hayes, a talented transfer from Crane, lessens the blow. Orr needed a playmaker in the backcourt and got one in Hayes, one of the top 30 prospects in the Class of 2014.

What does the loss of L.J. Peak mean for Whitney Young?
For all the talk of Jahlil Okafor's stardom and the versatile play of Paul White, it was L.J. Peak that bailed the Dolphins out a time or three last season in big games. In both matchups with Simeon last season, it was Peak who was the best player on the floor for the Dolphins in those two monster showdowns.

Peak has transferred back to South Carolina and leaves a gaping hole for what will likely be the preseason No. 1 team in the state. Peak was a big, tough, physical perimeter player who was one of the top five players in the state in the Class of 2014 and a top 50 player nationally. You don't just wake up, roll out and replace a player of that caliber.

The loss of Peak is huge for coach Tyrone Slaughter and the Dolphins, especially with the schedule Whitney Young will be playing in 2013-2014. No one in Illinois will come close to playing the type of schedule the Dolphins will face next winter.

But don't feel too sorry for Whitney Young; Okafor, the nation's top-ranked player, is back and better than ever. And both White and guard Miles Reynolds, a pair of three-year starters, have both put together very good springs on the AAU circuit.

But instead of being an overwhelming favorite as the preseason No. 1 team in Illinois, the loss of Peak has brought the Dolphins back to the rest of the pack a bit. Nonetheless, Whitney Young will sit atop the polls when they're rolled out in November.

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#2: Illinois prep hoops needs a downstate power
Illinois high school basketball is better when there is a powerful, big-named program outside the Chicago area.

We're not talking a great team here and there. O'Fallon made two trips to Peoria, won a couple of trophies and has been a strong program in southern Illinois, finishing second in 2007 and fourth in 2010. Champaign Centennial had a terrific two-year run, winning a state championship in 2009 and finishing fourth in 2010. Rock Island, though west rather than "downstate," won a 3A title in 2011, while Peoria Central won a 3A championship in 2012.

There have been a few others here and there who've made a dent. But it's not the same as having that thoroughbred program with staying power, producing elite players on a regular basis and possessing a certain aura about them.

One of the appetizing parts of Illinois prep basketball that's missing right now is a dominant Quincy-type team, an East St. Louis Lincoln power from the 1980s or a Peoria Manual dynasty in the 1990s.

And while Dick Van Scyoc's powerful Manual teams from 1982-1991 didn't win a state championship, it was a State Finals regular (five trips to Champaign) with three state trophies and a long lineup of familiar players and talent being pumped through the program.

When there is a dynamic program with staying power from outside the Chicago area, it just makes Illinois high school basketball that much more appealing, exciting and intriguing.

People were so charged up in the 1980s to get to Champaign and get an up-close look at those great, athletic teams out of East St. Louis. Coach Bennie Lewis' teams were so far out of the scope of the Chicago area during the winter months, the anticipation of getting a glimpse of those juggernaut teams started to build when state tournament play began. It started with the Todd Porter-led teams in the early 1980s and just got better later in the decade with LaPhonso Ellis and Cuonzo Martin.

The Manual teams in the 1990s were must-see for high school basketball fans as the Rams began their march towards four straight state championships. Even the Peoria Central teams from 10 years ago, fueled by NBA Lottery Pick Shaun Livingston, supercharged the prep hoops scene as it went 62-3 and won back-to-back state championships.

Now, with Peoria basketball in a tailspin when it comes to high-level, individual talent, you wonder just where our next downstate power will come from and when it will be.

#3: The Class of 2016 has a long way to go
There's no sin in letting young kids develop at their own pace. Less hype early on in a high school player's career is always better.

But when it comes to the Class of 2016 in Illinois, it's been awhile since there was this little of an impact at the varsity level by a freshmen group as a whole. Once an absolute rarity back in the 1970s, 1980s and even into the early 1990s, freshmen contributing at the varsity level has now become the norm. This past year the impact was minuscule.

Current high school players like Jabari Parker at Simeon, Jahlil Okafor at Whitney Young, Cliff Alexander at Curie, Jalen Brunson at Stevenson, Tyler Ulis at Marian Catholic, Billy Garrett, Jr. at Morgan Park, Morris Dunnigan at Joliet West, Roosevelt Smart at Palatine, Evan Boudreaux at Lake Forest, Robert Knar at Mundelein, Jaylon Tate at De La Salle, Charles and Dominique Matthews at St. Rita, Milik Yarbrough at Zion-Benton, St. Charles East's Kendall Stephens and many others all made significant impacts at the varsity level as freshmen.

This season? There were a few freshmen here and there that contributed and made various impacts around the state this past winter, but it's been nothing to the degree we've grown accustomed to over the past decade.

Times have changed. Today, many parents are starting to expect their son to play varsity basketball as a freshman, even sometimes choosing a high school to attend based on that opportunity.

Even high school coaches are now looking for freshmen who might be able to contribute. There just wasn't a lot of that happening this past season.

#4: Cliff Alexander has turned the corner and become an alpha dog
There are legit high-major prospects. Then among those legit high-major prospects there are the alpha dogs. Those players that combine the promise, potential, production, the must-have qualities college coaches covet and the alpha dog instincts where they know who and what they are as a player.

A year ago, as a sophomore, Whitney Young's Jahlil Okafor joined Simeon's Jabari Parker on that alpha dog level. This year Cliff Alexander did the same -- and continues to in the early going of the 2013 club basketball circuit.

The Curie big man went from a promising, high-major big-man "prospect" to an absolutely dominating force. His confidence grew, his production became more consistent and what he did on the floor left you saying, "There just aren't many of THOSE type of guys around."

A big, strong, powerful, athletic post who blocks shots, rebounds, runs the floor and dunks everything, Alexander will be scary as he continues to develop offensively. In this era of hard-to-find talented big men, Alexander moved into the minuscule percentage of absolutely must-have, program-changing recruits for the small percentage of college programs that even have a legitimate shot at him.

#5: Illinois high school basketball is becoming a two-class society
We've heard how the middle class has been lost in America, how the rich get richer. We might be on the verge of that happening in Illinois prep basketball. Some will say it's already happened.

There is the Chicago Public League, most notably Simeon, Whitney Young and Morgan Park, and then everyone else.

With Simeon leading the way, these three city powers have stockpiled championships in recent years and long-lasting talent.

Prep hoops in Illinois is starting to resemble women's college basketball, where the same teams dominate year after year. When the women's Final Four takes place, you come to just expect at least two or three of the same teams among Connecticut, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Stanford to be playing in it.

Over the past eight seasons in the state's largest class of basketball, Simeon and Whitney Young have won seven of the eight championships. (Richards won the 4A title in 2008--but Simeon dipped down to 3A that season and played Marshall in the 3A state title game.) In addition, Simeon and Whitney Young both have a state runner-up trophy in the last six years.

This year Simeon won its fourth straight title and sixth championship in the past eight years. If Simeon had lost, odds are Whitney Young would have been your Class 4A champion. Simeon knocked off Whitney Young in the sectional championship.

In Class 3A, Morgan Park simply wasn't going to lose to anyone. The Mustangs proved that by the mockery they made of the other 3A teams throughout March.

The jump Morgan Park has made from respectable program to power since coach Nick Irvin took over has ramped up the city's stranglehold on prep hoops in this state. Since Irvin took over in 2008, Morgan Park has averaged 26 wins a season and now has a state championship.

And next year? Each one of these three powers will be back with more firepower. Whitney Young, with the return of the nation's top-ranked player, Jahlil Okafor, will be favored to win 4A. Simeon boasts a bundle of young talent and will remain a major threat over the next three seasons. And Morgan Park, even with heavy graduation losses, will likely be one of the favorites to repeat in Class 3A when the season begins.

#6: Jalen Brunson is who I thought he was
A year ago in this very space, in this exact blog idea--10 things I learned this season (the 2011-2012 season version)--Jalen Brunson was declared the best freshman in the state.

There were some critics, many who questioned that assertion, scoffed at the idea a kid from the suburbs, in Lincolnshire, of all places, could be the best player in the freshman class in Illinois. Understandable. Hoop fanatics just want players to go out and earn their respect.

There is sometimes personal second-guessing when you develop the type of basketball crush the Hoops Report had on Brunson, as described in this blog from December.

That hoops crush happened quickly, as in the first time it took in the young star the summer before his freshman year of high school at the UIC Team Camp. That's when you know. As there is with all special talents, there was something different about this player at that young of an age -- and the very first time you watched him play.

Now, nearly two years later, no surprise with this: Brunson is still the best player in his class, the best sophomore in the state.

Both St. Rita's Charles Matthews and Simeon's D.J. Williams are ranked higher nationally and are terrific prospects at the same stage of their young careers. Matthews has made quite an impression as a freshman and sophomore, while Williams is just beginning to blossom into the player he can be. In fact, when projecting down the road with that magical word "upside," some would argue that Matthews and Williams may get an edge over Brunson.

But Brunson, the 6-2 Stevenson point guard, is just so complete at this age. It's remarkable, really, when you look at the production and impact he made over the course of the entire season. There is no denying that right now he's the most complete, consistent and productive sophomore in the class who impacts games in different ways every trip down the floor.

Then he went and dazzled national scouts and those who haven't had much of a chance to see him this past weekend at the Swish 'N Dish in Wisconsin. While playing with the Mac Irvin Fire, he played up an age group and still did his thing in impressive fashion.

There are many factors that went into Stevenson finishing second in the state, but the biggest reason is pretty clear--Brunson. And when it comes to the pleasure of watching someone play basketball the way it's supposed to be played, with an understanding, discipline and the talent he possesses, it's easy to appreciate the brand of basketball this kid brings to the floor.

#7: The Class of 2014 is worth the hype.
With massive attention thrown Jahlil Okafor's way as early as 8th grader--and the Whitney Young big fella living up to the expectations through his high school career--the Class of 2014 has received a heavy dose of hype and college interest from the get-go.

Soon, Curie's Cliff Alexander joined Okafor among the top 10 national talents in the Class of 2014, while Normal U-High's Keita Bates-Diop became a consensus top 25 prospect in the country. The class had its star power at the top, so the hype ensued.

But what materialized over the course of this past season is a group of juniors that solidified themselves as legitimate prospects. Yes, the eye-catching, high-level talent at the top is impressive, but the class also has tremendous Division I depth. Right now the Hoops Report envisions not just 30-plus Division I prospects, but 30-plus mid-major Division I prospects.

The most recent Rivals.com player rankings has 10 players from Illinois ranked among its top 100 players in the Class of 2014 and 14 among the top 150.

While the Hoops Report doesn't always agree with the national rankings when it comes to players it watches the most here in Illinois, the fact 10 percent of the top 100 players in the country are from Illinois is an eye-opener.

And although the Hoops Report may not truly believe there are more than two dozen legit high-major players in the junior class, as is being projected, it won't be a surprise if that number ends up signing with programs in high-major conferences next November.

The Class of 2011 in Illinois was loaded, the best this state has produced since 1998. The Class of 2014 is on track to be better and deeper than 2011.

#8: Malachi Nix was the most underappreciated senior
While it's true you could replace Malachi Nix's name here with a number of different "underappreciated" players from this 2012-2013 season--New Trier's Steven Cook, Oswego's Elliot McGaughey, Benet's Pat McInerney and Lemont's Juozas Balciunas to name a few--and I wouldn't argue with you, the 5-6 point guard gets the nod. He's just done so much as a player for a once-downtrodden Niles North basketball program.

In fact, he's been so influential that Niles North basketball may have to count years by using the abbreviation BN--"before Nix."

Prior to Nix entering the halls of Niles North, the basketball program won 34 games the previous eight seasons. This past year alone Nix and the Vikings won 27.

Before Nix, the Niles North basketball program had won one regional title and produced two 20-win seasons--in the previous 50 years. During Nix's sophomore, junior and senior years, Niles North averaged 24 wins a year, won three straight regional championships and won the school's first-ever sectional title. Yes, "BN" works for Niles North basketball.

"First and foremost, he is a competitor and a winner," says Niles North coach Glenn Olson of his star point guard. "People question his size, but I have watched him every day and realize how little of a factor his size is."

Even with all the team success (84 career wins, 3 straight regional titles, 1 sectional championship and two CSL North titles) and despite significant numbers Nix put up (Nix scored 44 in a win over Morton), he's been underappreciated, somewhat overlooked.

Nix didn't receive the headlines or attention other top guards in the senior class have received. He didn't land on the Chicago Sun-Times all-area team. The recruiting interest has been tepid.

Nix graduates with 1,532 career points after averaging 18 points a game as a senior. He's also the career leader in steals with 215.

Loyola Academy coach Tom Livatino watched Nix beat his Ramblers team twice during their 22-6 season, including a regional final loss to end the season as Nix poured in a whopping 39 points.

"He's a warrior with a toughness and a will to win," says Livatino, who says Nix reminds him of a former player he coached at Lincoln Park, Northwestern standout point guard Michael Thompson. "I would not be concerned about his size. You can't stay in front of him and has a knack for scoring. He's relentless on defense."

#9: Simeon's place nationally is solidified
Rob Smith really doesn't need any further validation that his goal of becoming a national program has been accomplished, but here is some anyway.

You know the notion of Simeon being recognized nationally is valid when you're at a swim up bar in a resort pool in Mexico and, without any provoking, Simeon basketball pops up in the conversation. When a man sipping a Bahama Mama finds out you're from Chicago, he brings up -- of all things -- Simeon.

The conversation with this Boston sports fan -- who I can't even put in the avid sports fan category since he forgot his very own Celtic Rajon Rondo was out with an injury (Although he was a wee bit inebriated) -- began casually. But within minutes of Boston/Chicago conversation, he brings up Jabari Parker, how he was aware of Parker and Simeon with all the media attention thrown their way, and "Isn't that where Derrick Rose went to high school as well?"

Simeon is arguably -- no, not arguably anymore -- Simeon basketball IS, nationally, this state's most recognizable high school athletic program in history. Prior to Simeon basketball, that distinction probably went to Frank Lenti and Mt. Carmel football when the Caravan played in 10 state championships from 1989-2003, winning nine, and were prominently mentioned nationally.

Now it's Simeon, thanks to Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, mass media exposure, national TV appearances and championships. The Wolverines reached the national level prior to this season, but the program reached new, greater heights during this 2012-2013 campaign.

#10: The IHSA needs set rules for state tournament dates and cancellations
Now that we have been reminded that snowstorms can occur in March, can the IHSA -- no, the IHSA must -- put something in place to properly handle the cancellation of regional and sectional games?

The fact teams had to play sectional semifinal games Thursday night, while the other sectional winner had the night off while waiting for its sectional final opponent, is ludicrous.

Every step of the way along the state tournament trail becomes more taxing and emotionally draining. There is no question there was a distinct disadvantage for any team that played and won the Thursday night sectional game this year.

While one sectional semifinal winner had the luxury of "coming back down" emotionally from its win, having a night off and preparing for the sectional final with an actual practice, the other winner had to come back and play less than 24 hours later the following night for a sectional championship.

You can say teams play back-to-back nights all season or they do it for the State Finals in Peoria the very next weekend. But EVERYONE is doing it then, not just one of the two teams, so it remains competitively fair.

These high school teams--the players and the coaches--put in so much time and energy, both out of season and during the season to prepare for this moment. The least we can do is when games mean the most and they are playing for what they've worked so hard for is give them all a balanced playing field and an equal, fair shot.
 
The IHSA can claim this was the only way due to scheduling conflicts and availability with sectional sites, facilities and workers. Maybe scheduling snafus were an issue at a sectional site or two--I know the Class 3A sectional at Nazareth was one (the sectional was moved to Riverside-Brookfield as a result).

I also know I called three sectional hosts and asked if moving the championship game to Saturday night would have been a problem. Each one said there would be no problem in moving the title game one day back.
 
But the bigger question is why isn't there something more concrete already in place for situations like this?

I guess that shouldn't be a surprise since the IHSA leaves regional scheduling to the discretion of the host school. Huh? This is a whole other story, but look at the various regional scheduling around the state. They're all different from regional to regional with the opportunity (power) to add competitive advantages when they see fit. Why wouldn't they all be uniform across the state?

When it comes to hosting a sectional, would it be that difficult to put in writing that sectional hosts must, in the rare event there is a cancellation, have their gym available all week, including Saturday night?

What took place this past year can't happen again. And I would think every high school coach would agree.

Follow Joe Henricksen and the City/Suburban Hoops Report on Twitter @joehoopsreport