By Roy & Harv Schmidt

It is possible that the top two prospects in Illinois from the class of 2011 just might end up hailing from the Chicago Catholic League. De LaSalle's Mike Shaw is clearly #1, while Mt. Carmel's Tracy Abrams is beginning to make a strong case for #2. However, while we believe Shaw's ranking is etched in stone, there is still work to be done on Abrams' part to help him claim the #2 spot and solidify it. We have a suggestion that we think might enable him to do that.

We have previously hinted that the class of 2011 in Illinois has a chance to be one of the state's best classes in recent memory. However, right now it might not be better than the class of 2010, which sports incredible depth and features three players that we believe are the best college prospects in the state regardless of class--Waukegan's Jereme Richmond, Rich South's Crandall Head and Zion-Benton's Lenzelle Smith. The 2011 class is outstanding at the top and is especially strong at the point guard and wing forward spots. In order to ultimately be called one of the greatest classes of all-time, more depth is needed, as right now there are no superstars as far as either post players or shooting guards go.

As of now, Shaw is hands down the best player in Illinois from the class of 2011 and as we have also stated previously, we believe that there is a considerable gap between him and whoever you want to call the second best player in the class. In our minds the #2 through #5 players in the 2011 class are Curie's Wayne Blackshear, Bartonville Limestone's Donivine Stewart, Abrams and Whitney Young's Sam Thompson. Any one of these players are capable of laying claim to the #2 spot. In fact, one could make an argument for any of them and we would have no problem with it.

The rest of this blog is going to focus on Abrams, who we think could very well end up as the second best player in the class when it is all said and done. This is because of the four players mentioned in the previous paragraph, Abrams has the best overall skill set. Unfortunately, at the present time few people outside of Chicago know who Abrams is and he has not come close to carving out the national reputation that the four other top players in the 2011 class have begun to develop. The question therefore becomes what can Abrams do to remedy that? We think that we might have the answer.

On the traveling team circuit, Abrams plays for the 15-under Chicago Express, a team that is loaded with young talent. Abrams was absolutely spectacular when we watched him this past weekend at the Windy City Classic at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He got to the basket with ease, did a superb job of playmaking and breaking down the defense, and consistently nailed shots from beyond the arc. But herein lies the problem--he is doing all of this against players his own age or even younger. We have hereby concluded that Abrams could benefit tremendously by playing up in age division.

Shaw, Blackshear, and Thompson all play for a traveling team (the Mac Irvin Fire) which has already played in several high-profile national events this spring and have thus received maximum exposure, as they have been seen by a considerable number of college coaches and national evaluators. And for the most part all of them have gotten it done against this level of competition. Stewart's traveling team (Peoria Carver) is not quite as high-profile. However, they have played up in age division at a couple of events this spring where Stewart has proven to be among the best players.

Thus far Abrams has not enjoyed the same advantage. Yes, his Express team competed at the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron, OH, but we get the feeling that most evaluators that were present in Akron (such as ourselves) were focused on watching the 16 and 17-under divisions. And yes, Abrams undoubtedly made a name for himself this past March with outstanding performances in the state tournament, helping Mt. Carmel reach the Class 4A supersectionals. But again, outside of a few locals no one was there to see it.

By playing up in age division, especially at national events, Abrams would have the opportunity to be seen by a wider scope of people, which is of primary importance during the July evaluation period. Furthermore, everyone would have the chance to see what Abrams can do against the highest level of competition. If this were to happen, we are willing to bet that Abrams could end up receiving a considerable number of scholarship offers this summer, despite the fact that he will only be going into his sophomore year of high school.

Right now we believe that Abrams and Stewart are the top two point guards in the state from the class of 2011. They could end up facing one another at the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament in Pekin, IL in late December, as both Mt. Carmel and Bartonville Limestone are among the participating teams. At this point we can only hope and pray that the matchup occurs.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

We can't believe we are doing this. In fact, it almost goes against our principles. However, when you have talent at the elementary school level that is as good as what we saw last week at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic, you have to at least talk about it. Therefore, that is exactly what we are going to do in this blog, hopefully keeping everything in perspective while doing so.

By now, most everyone should be aware of the plethora of talent that comprises the Mac Irvin Fire traveling team program at both the 17-under and 16-under levels. The 17-under team features the #1 player in the state from the class of 2011 in 6'8 Mike Shaw from De LaSalle, the #2 player from the class of 2010 in 6'3 Crandall Head from Rich South as well as a countless number of other D1 prospects. The 16-under team is led by 6'5 Wayne Blackshear from Curie and 6'4 Sam Thompson from Whitney Young, who both rank among the top five players in Illinois from the class of 2011.

However, it just may be that the predominance of talent within the Fire program lies with the 15-under team. What makes this a heavy statement is that this team consists largely of players who have not yet played a single regular season high school game. In other words they are seventh and eighth graders, and good ones at that.

Three players in particular who stood out when we watched them last weekend at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic in Ft. Wayne, IN were 6'8 Thomas Hamilton Jr, 6'7 Steve Taylor and 6'8 Jermaine Morgan. Before we go any further, it is important for us to emphasize that we only watched Hamilton and Taylor for a little over a quarter and caught Morgan sparingly as he played up with the 16-under team. It was not our intent to come away with detailed evaluations on any of them, but rather to catch glimpses of them for the purpose of determining how well they stack up versus the big boys.

With that in mind, we think it is safe to say that all three players are indicative of two things: 1) how the talent level in the state of Illinois continues to get better and better at an even earlier age and 2) that the future of high school basketball in Chicago remains as bright as ever. On that note let's begin with some comments on Hamilton Jr.

Hamilton Jr. is a 6'8 seventh grader at Beasley Elementary School in Chicago. One only has to look at him for a second to see that he is the spitting image of his father, who starred on King High School's 1993 state championship team and had a cup of coffee in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. Simply put, it is unbelievable how skilled he is for just being a seventh grader. He is capable of handling the ball, posting up and hitting turnaround jumpers in the paint or drilling shots from behind the 3-point stripe. Seeing as though Thomas Hamilton Sr. was a classic example of what could have been when it came to getting to the next level, we can guarantee everyone that he is determined not to have the same thing happen to his son.

Taylor, meanwhile is a 6'7 eighth grader and teammate of Hamilton's at Beasley. He is ferocious around the basket, as he gets after it on the glass, can score consistently in the paint and has great hands. There is no question that together both Hamilton and Taylor will continue Beasley's rich basketball tradition. In fact, we are thinking that Beasley would probably be able to beat most Illinois high school teams in class 1A and probably even a few in class 2A. By the way, one of Beasley's most famous basketball alums is Derrick Rose, who stands a good chance of being the #1 pick in the NBA draft next month.

Morgan is a 6'8 eighth grader at Mayes Elementary School in Chicago and while he was playing up an age group at Spiece, showed that he is more than capable of holding his own with anybody. He is long and athletic, runs the floor well and finishes with consistency. Like Hamilton and Taylor, he plays with a high level of confidence and seems to fit in well with the abundance of talent that surrounds him.

While it is fun to talk about the skill levels of these players, what you have to worry about first and foremost are the intangibles. There is no question that in today's day and age a high school player's ego can undoubtedly get out of control. However, this becomes an even bigger issue and you have to safeguard against it even more at the elementary school level. While several of our competitors will actually attempt to rank seventh and eighth graders (which we think is ridiculous) and invite them to one exposure event after another, we prefer to wait until these players reach high school before assigning evaluations to them.

As we pointed out earlier, the biggest thing that Hamilton, Taylor and Morgan have going for them right now is that they have good people in their corner who are bound and determined to keep them on the right path. That right there is half the battle, as we have always said that talent speaks for itself. It will therefore be interesting to see what the future holds in store for all of these young men.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 07:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody filled a huge recruiting need today by receiving a commitment from a skilled in-state post player who had been one of their top priorities from the beginning. As it turns out, the impact of this commitment is going to come much sooner than most people realize

Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has confirmed through most reliable sources that Northwestern University has received a verbal commitment from 6'11 center Kyle Rowley from Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, IL. Rowley had also received scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Baylor, Davidson, DePaul and Indiana as well as heavy interest from several other programs.

There is no question that that Rowley was Wildcat head coach Bill Carmody's #1 recruiting priority from the get-go as far as post players go. With that being said, the impact of landing Rowley is absolutely huge in more ways than one.

First of all, we have learned that Rowley will reclassify as a 2008 recruit. What this means is that he could sign his letter of intent with Northwestern before the end of the Spring signing period and possibly as early as this week. Rowley is an outstanding student and has been on pace to graduate from Lake Forest Academy early.

Rowley provides the Wildcats with someone who can step in right away and be an immediate post presence. Besides being a strong and physical player, Rowley has great hands and instincts on the glass. As a result, he is a consistent finisher, an excellent rebounder and a solid scorer in the paint area. Rowley continues to compete on the traveling team circuit for Full Package Athletics and was impressive when we watched him recently at the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron, OH.

In addition, Rowley is also another testament to the outstanding job that Carmody and assistant coach Tavaras Hardy continue to do with respect to targeting players who are quality student-athletes and perfect fits for their system. Simply put, they work their tails off and are flat out getting it done on the recruiting trail.

Posted by Roy & Harv Schmidt at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)