By Roy & Harv Schmidt

While nothing that occurs in the Chicago Public League surprises us any more, the recent wave of activity surrounding the high school basketball scene in the Windy City during the past two weeks has been more than we can take. From the Troynell Adams saga to the rash of fights at games to Wayne Blackshear's recent decision to transfer from Curie to Morgan Park, the situation is out of control. There is no question that something needs to be done, and once again we believe that we have the answer--in fact it is the ONLY answer--when it comes to fixing the problem.

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

The seedings meetings are still about three weeks away, but with the sectional assignments for the class 3A and 4A state tournament for boy's basketball already drawn up, it is never too early to begin analyzing which sectionals shape up to be the strongest and which teams could be playing well into March. In this blog we do just that, as we break down what we consider to be the top three sectionals in both class 3A and 4A.

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

In our 25 years of being in the basketball scouting business, we have seen plenty of sleazy activity when it comes to recruiting. However, what the men's basketball staff at Carl Albert State College in Poteau, OK recently pulled in their attempt to lure Troynell Adams away from Farragut Career Academy absolutely takes the cake. It paints a sad picture when it comes to the public perception of junior college basketball and is yet another example of why we cover the JUCO ranks as little as possible.

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

We still believe that from an overall talent standpoint the class of 2011 in Illinois is absolutely loaded. However, after seeing more than our share of holiday tournaments throughout the state last month, we are not ready to say that the 2011 class deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with the two best basketball recruiting classes in recent memory--the class of 1979 and the class of 1998. The biggest reason for this is simple. A recruiting class can't be considered the best of all-time if it doesn't have a bona fide #1 player. And at the present time we believe that is the case when it comes to the 2011 class.

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

There may be no player in the state who has been more scrutinized from the time he was in eighth grade until now more than Schaumburg's Cully Payne. In fact, the debate will probably forever linger on regarding how good of a college player he will be at Alabama. However, after watching him turn in two clutch performances at the prestigious Pontiac Holiday Tournament, we wonder if anyone else is thinking what we are thinking.