By Roy & Harv Schmidt

After watching most all of the top travel teams in Illinois in both the 17 and 16-under divisions this past weekend at the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron, OH, we are convinced that all of them can hold their own with any of the top programs in the nation. As a result, AAU ball in the state of Illinois is as strong as ever. However, the reasons for us saying that go far beyond just the talent level.

First of all, let's take a look at how some of the teams that competed in Akron fared. In the 17-under division, the Rising Stars Gold advanced to the championship game of the diamond bracket, which was the elite bracket featuring the premier teams in the tournament. Despite falling to BABC in the title game, there is no question that the Rising Stars Gold team enjoyed a most successful weekend.

Meanwhile, Mean Streets reached the quarterfinals in the 17-under diamond bracket, defeating the loaded Mac Irvin Fire squad in the process, and the Chicago Express reached the semifinals of the ruby bracket. The Illinois Warriors, Mac Irvin Fire and Team NLP also achieved impressive victories. In the 16-under division, the Illinois Warriors reached the semifinals of the gold bracket while the Rising Stars won the championship in the silver bracket. All in all, most all of the Illinois-based teams that were in Akron can hold their heads high.

There is no question that all of the top travel teams from Illinois that played at King James, including Rising Stars Gold, the Mac Irvin Fire, the Illinois Warriors, the Illinois Wolves, Team NLP, Mean Streets, Full Package, the Chicago Express, Illinois Elite and the Illinois Stars are stacked with talented players at the top. Obviously that is a huge factor when it comes to explaining why these programs have been so successful, but there is much more to it than that.

In addition, all of these programs have quality roll players, hidden gems if you will who have either fallen under the radar or have gone unnoticed by many others. On the Warriors, we knew virtually nothing about 6'6 Kyle Cain from Thornton Fractional North High School prior to the King James event. However, after watching him we agree completely with Warriors coach Larry Butler when he says that Cain will end up being better than former T.F. North product Demond Watt. The Fire, meanwhile, has a pair of unheralded guards in 6'5 Tony Nixon and 6'5 Zeke Upshaw, who can both shoot the ball with accuracy from deep range.

On Team NLP Lake Zurich's Connor Mooney immediately comes to mind. While Lake Forest Academy's Kyle Rowley grabs most of the headlines with Full Package, 6'4 shooting guard Matt Vogrich from Lake Forest and 6'4 swing man Matt Sullivan are just as valuable. On Mean Streets the athleticism and energy that 6'5 Jordan Walker from Hales Franciscan brings to the table goes underappreciated. While virtually every member of the starting five for Rising Stars Gold is a high major D1 prospect, Marcus Jordan from Whitney Young continues to get a bum wrap on the national level, despite the fact that at one time he was regarded by many locals (including us) as the #1 player in Illinois from the class of 2009. We could go on and on, but we think everyone gets our point.

Above everything else, every aforementioned program is also filled with quality kids. Not only are the majority of them talented basketball players, they are also good students and conduct themselves with the utmost class off the court. We can't stress enough how important that is to any travel team's success. The bottom line is that most travel team coaches do not want the headaches that accompany putting up with kids who have bad attitudes, lousy work ethics and simply prove to be uncoachable.

Which leads us to the coaches themselves. You name em--Larry Butler, Mac Irvin, Mike Weinstein, Mike Mullins, Dickey Simpkins, Tai Streets, Steve Pratt and Nate Pomeday. What do they all have in common besides coaching extremely talented teams? They all care just as much about their players' development away from the court as they do on it. That is why they have come to be coaches that parents have come to trust and are comfortable with having their kids play for. There really is something to be said for that.

With all of this having been said, not only is traveling team basketball in Illinois here to stay, but at the present time we firmly believe that it is headed in the right direction and has come a long way with respect to erasing the negative impressions that many had when it first began. In fact, if it continues to follow the paths that we have outlined in this blog, we see it only getting better and better in the future.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

Consider this blog to be a hodgepodge--a little bit of everything if you will. With that being said, we will try to tie together some loose ends, particularly with respect to recruiting and offer some thoughts on some other things of significance as well.

... First of all, we were somewhat amused when we saw Jerrance Howard surface as a candidate for one of the assistant coaching openings at Marquette. It's not that Howard isn't a hot commodity (because he is) or that he wouldn't make an outstanding assistant for the Golden Eagles. It is simply that we could never see Howard leaving the University of Illinois. Howard has already been instrumental in helping Illinois achieve commitments from three of the top in-state prospects in the class of 2009 in Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson and Joe Bertrand as well as commitments from the state's top two prospects in the 2010 class in Jereme Richmond and Crandall Head. His loyalty to Illinois is unparalleled and we would not be surprised to see him ultimately become a head coach one day.

... A player who is undoubtedly shooting up the charts at a rapid pace is 6'5 Mikel Brigham from Danville High School in Danville, IL. Brigham was sensational when we watched him at Flash's Spring Hoops Review in Bloomington a couple of weeks ago and has also been playing extremely well on the AAU circuit with both the Illinois Stars and Illinois Elite. Brigham is also a highly recruited football prospect, although there is a possibility that he may have to attend either junior college or prep school. He will continue to run with the Stars and Illinois Elite throughout the spring, and then play for Team Illinois during July.

... Look for this weekend's King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron, OH to perhaps be the premier event of the spring, as it is absolutely loaded with talent. All of the top 17-under programs in Illinois will be in attendance, including the Illinois Warriors, Illinois Wolves, Mac Irvin Fire, Rising Stars Gold, Full Package Athletics, Team NLP, Mean Streets, Illinois Elite, Illinois Stars, and Chicago Express. There are also age groups ranging all the way down to 10-under.

... Turning to the scholarship front, here are the latest players to recently receive new offers:
David Brown 6'3 Jr. PG Rockton Hononegah-- Illinois State
James Kinney 6'1 Jr. PG Champaign Central-- Murray State
Phillip Jackson 6'8 So. PF Providence-St. Mel-- Southern Illinois
Anthony Johnson 6'2 So. 2G Whitney Young-- Purdue, Iowa

... We would not be at all surprised to see Kinney, as well as Niles West's Nik Garcia, Hales Franciscan's D.J. Cooper, Washington's Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Marshall's Darius Smith and St. Rita's Terrance Johnson be among the players who receive additional scholarship offers after college coaches get an opportunity to watch them in Akron.

... Does anyone think that it is a coincidence that Southern Illinois University is now more involved with prospects from the Mac Irvin Fire traveling team program than ever before now that Chris Lowery hired Lance Irvin as an assistant coach? We don't. The Salukis already have class of 2008 prospect Ryan Hare (who played for the Fire) in the fold, and will be in the running for plenty of other targets from the Fire before it is all over.

... Loyola-Chicago is heavily recruiting many of the top guards in Illinois from the class of 2009. They have already offered both Terrance Johnson and David Brown and are close to extending offers to D.J. Cooper and Darius Smith.

There you have it. Hope that is enough to whet everyone's appetite for now!

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

High school basketball talent in various geographical areas tends to go in cycles. A perfect example is Peoria, which has always been a hotbed but has experienced some lean years recently. Now it looks as if the talent level around the River City is shooting back up again, thanks in large part to three can't miss prospects in the class of 2011.

The overall talent level in Peoria may have been at an all-time high during the period in which Peoria Manual won four consecutive class AA state championships (1994-1997) behind the likes of Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin and Frank Williams. During that time several notable high school basketball authorities said that Peoria may have had as much talent per capita as any city in the country.

Since that time the Peoria area has still produced quality players such as Shaun Livingston, Bill Cole and Dan Ruffin, but yet most people agree that the depth of talent has not been the same. However, a sudden resurgence could be taking place thanks in large part to three talented players from the 2011 class in Illinois. The three players that we are talking about are 5'10 point guard Donivine Stewart from Limestone High School in Bartonville, 6'5 Andrew Jordan from Peoria Woodruff High School and 6'5 Brandon Watson from Peoria Manual. All of them put their skills on display yesterday at Flash's Spring Hoops Review at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center.

Stewart has undoubtedly been the most publicized of these three and caught everyone's attention when University of Illinois head coach Bruce Weber offered him a scholarship not long ago. Simply put, Stewart is a magician with the basketball, as he has a superb handle and explosive quickness to the basket. Not only that, but he has terrific court vision, is an outstanding passer and plays with a high degree of poise and confidence.

Put all of these things together and it is easy to see why Stewart has all the makings of being a dynamite point guard at the college level. The only knock with respect to Stewart's game is that he lacks a consistent jump shot, but remember that he is still young and shooting is always an area in which a player can improve over the course of time.

Jordan is a great athlete and in fact may be the most athletic player we have seen in Illinois from the 2011 class this side of Curie's Wayne Blackshear. He runs the floor and finishes with consistency, moves well without the ball and has the power and speed to repeatedly beat his opponent to the basket in one-on-one situations. What is especially scary is that in many respects Jordan is still learning the game, but when you take your first look at him it is easy to see the vast potential. College coaches certainly agree, as Jordan has already begun to attract recruiting attention from several D1 programs.

Finally, not to be outdone is Watson, who is probably the least heralded of these three players, but from what we saw at Flash's event is not that far behind either Stewart or Jordan. Watson has solid post-up skills and showed us that he is a consistent scorer in the paint area. He also gets after it on the glass, is a strong finisher and a good interior defender. We look for him to continue to make noise over the course of the spring and summer.

Stewart, Jordan and Watson all played on the same team at Flash's Hoops Review and despite their youth, from what we saw we believe they can hold their own against virtually any other AAU team in Illinois. Someone else who was in the gym yesterday at Illinois Wesleyan must have agreed, as initially the team with the three young studs from Peoria was supposed to face the Illinois Wolves in what would have been the marquee game of the day. However, for whatever reason that matchup ended up getting switched.

With all of this being said, there is no question that the future of high school basketball in the Peoria area looks bright indeed. Not that basketball fans in that area ever have a reason to be bored, but with players like Stewart, Jordan and Watson around for another three years of high school, there is a good chance that high school hoops in central Illinois could reach a level of excitement rivaling the years of the Peoria Manual dynasties.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

We told everyone that a commitment from Ryan Hare was imminent before the end of this weekend, and sure enough that is exactly what happened. Upon the completion of his campus visit, Hare announced for the Missouri Valley conference school that we knew he would inevitably attend.

Just as Illinois Prep Bulls-eye predicted earlier this week, Ryan Hare, the 6'4 forward from Marshall High School in Chicago, verbally committed to Southern Illinois University tonight. Hare reached his decision after visiting the Carbondale campus over the weekend. He chose the Salukis over Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, Baylor, and Hawaii.

The Salukis had emerged as the favorite to land Hare ever since Marshall won the class 3A state championship last month. What may have put the rubber stamp on Hare's commitment was when Saluki head coach Chris Lowery recently hired Lance Irvin as an assistant coach. Irvin's father is Mac Irvin, who is the founder of the traveling team that Hare competed on (the Illinois Fire, which is now called the Mac Irvin Fire).

In addition, Hare's commitment was greatly aided by the strong push that came from another Saluki recruit, that being 6'0 point guard Kevin Dillard, who was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois. Dillard was quite vocal about how much he wanted Hare to be a part of the 2008 recruiting class at Southern Illinois. In fact, both he and Torres Roundtree (another Saluki recruit from the class of 2008) made it a point to be on campus in Carbondale for the point of scrimmaging with Hare while he was on his visit.

Hare is a jack-of-all-trades type of player and undoubtedly personifies the kind of recruit who thrives in Chris Lowery's system. He is a warrior who plays hard at both ends of the floor and never takes a play off. Throughout his senior season Hare emerged as Marshall's team leader and was especially at the top of his game during the state tournament. To top everything off, he is a strong rebounder, rugged defender and a solid mid-range scorer who thrives in transition.

With his commitment now in the fold, Hare will now await the results of his ACT, which he took yesterday. Word has it that he is very close to achieving a qualifying score.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

Whether you like it or whether you don't, the bottom line is that in today's world of college basketball recruiting, a player's reputation is either made or destroyed on the basis of how well he plays during the critical April and July evaluation periods. With that in mind, in this blog we are going to take a look at six players who we think stand a good chance of putting themselves on the map based on how they perform on the travel team circuit over the course of the next four months.

Before we begin, let us offer a couple of classic examples which personify how a prospect can go from rags to riches on the basis of one outstanding performance during the spring or summer. The first one involves Bobby Frasor, who was competing with the Illinois Wolves at the Kingwood Classic in Houston. In one of the Wolves' early round contests, Frasor was on fire, as he put on a three-point shooting clinic. It just so happened that one of the coaches who caught Frasor's performance was North Carolina's Roy Williams, who up until that point had never seen Frasor play. As they say, the rest is history, as ultimately Frasor would end up accepting a scholarship to North Carolina. It was a classic case of a coach being in the right place at the right time.

The second case is more recent and involves Oak Park's Iman Shumpert. While Shumpert had already established himself in the eyes of local scouts and media with a strong junior season at Oak Park, he had gone virtually undetected on the national radar until last spring. Then all of a sudden it happened. Playing for Full Package Athletics at the King James Classic in Akron, OH, Shumpert went off and totally dominated every game. From that point on, one national guru proceeded in touting (or do we dare say overtouting?) Shumpert to where high major programs were all over him. The end result? Shumpert was named a McDonald's All-American and ended up signing with Georgia Tech.

So there you have it. Players come out of the woodwork during the spring and summer, and we are willing to bet that there is a good chance that it could happen again this year. Therefore, we now take a look at six players who we think are on the verge of breaking out and could really enhance their reputations between now and the end of July. We ask that everyone keep an open mind about this, as this is only a preliminary list, meaning that more players could easily be added once we get an opportunity to see them.

Seth Evans 6'1 PG Seneca (H.S.) Illinois Stars
Evans was very much the glue to his team when we watched the Stars at the 17-under state AAU competition at East Aurora High School a week ago. He is a smart and heady point guard who when he plays under control can prove to be quite effective. Not only does Evans see the floor well and do a good job of pushing the ball up the court, but he can also keep defenses honest from 3-point land. Evans has already committed to Wisconsin-Green Bay, where we think he will prove to be a most serviceable point guard.

Connor Mooney 5'10 PG Lake Zurich (H.S.) Team NLP
While both NLP teams that competed at the 17-under state AAU competition were loaded, Mooney may have turned in the best performance of any player on either team when we watched him on the second day of action. Mooney plays with a high level of confidence and is much quicker than people give him credit for. He showed us that he can get to the basket vs. quality competition and is effective at either converting or drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. Not only that, but if you back off of him, he is capable of burning you from downtown. Mooney definitely warrants close monitoring, and some D1s have already begun to take notice.

John Taylor 5'11 PG Chicago (North Lawndale) Mac Irvin Fire
We will stand by the comments that we have made all along when it comes to Taylor's game--he has as much offensive versatility as any other guard in the 2009 class from Illinois and based on sheer talent alone ranks among the top five players in the class. The problem is that not too many others know it because Taylor missed a huge chunk of North Lawndale's contests down the stretch (he sat out the entire state tournament) because he was academically ineligible. However, he plays on a traveling team which might sport more talent from top to bottom than any other in the state, which is why we believe that it is now his time to shine.

Drew Crawford 6'4 2G Naperville (Central) Illinois Warriors
While others are much higher on Crawford than we are at this point, that does not mean that we think that Crawford isn't capable of being a terrific college player. He is long and athletic, plays with a high degree of energy, is an outstanding mid-range scorer and while he is streaky from beyond the arc, he undoubtedly has range. To top everything off, he plays for a traveling team that will fully maximize all of his strengths. Crawford is already drawing a wide range of recruiting interest from a number of D1 programs.

D.J. Cooper 5'9 PG Chicago (Hales Franciscan) Mean Streets
Although both Matt Humphrey and Josh Crittle were more highly publicized, we thought that Cooper was unquestionably Hales Franciscan's MVP this past season and proved so in a number of high-profile contests. It appears as if Cooper is picking right up where he left off, as reports are that he has performed extremely well at this weekend's Boo Williams Invitational in Hampton, VA. Cooper has tremendous court savvy and is capable of controlling the game despite being only 5'9. We continue to be amazed at how a player can be so quick and yet consistently play under control, but Cooper manages to do it repeatedly. We see him as an ideal mid-major prospect.

Ben Brust 6'2 2G Mundelein (H.S.) Rising Stars 16-Under
Forget about the fact that Brust is only a sophomore--he is one of the best shooters in the state regardless of class. Not only does Brust have textbook form, but he also has a quick release and is capable of getting his shot from virtually anywhere on the floor. He is also effective in the open court, as he is adept at getting out on the break and scoring in transition. We would still like to see him continue to improve his ball handling and diversify his game even more, but overall the skill set is definitely there. Programs such as Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Virginia and Illinois State have already been in contact.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)