While others will waste their time and try to look bigger than life at an event that has become relatively insignificant and meaningless (otherwise known as the Chicago Public League playoffs), we have decided to concentrate on more important matters--the Illinois state tournament to be exact. The regional and sectional pairings are out, and it is now time for us to make our predictions on those teams that we believe will advance to the state finals in Peoria in both the Class 3A and 4A ranks.

We are not saying that the CPL coaches who voted for this were wrong. In fact, we actually agree with their decision. Under the new format, all Public League teams that lose in the city playoffs are given new life once the state tournament begins. However, with that being said it now means that the Public League playoffs just aren't all that exciting. Gone are the days when the Public League championship game carried the "all or nothing" label to it, with the two best teams grinding it out, with the winner truly being able to claim city supremacy. Now we aren't even sure that the winner of the Public League championship is truly the best team in Chicago every year. Just some food for thought.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's move along and break down the sectional pairings for the Illinois state tournament in both class 3A and 4A. The regional matchups are now set and with that in mind, the time has come for Illinois Prep Bulls-eye to offer our predictions on those teams that we think will be playing in the state finals in Peoria.

Class 4A Predictions:

Hoffman Estates (Sears Centre) Supersectional

Zion-Benton over Glenbrook North

After a mild mid-season slump around Christmas time and after the New Year, Zion-Benton is now playing as well as any team in the state and has experience on its side, as most of Z-B's key players were members of last year's team which finished second in the state. No other team has as many offensive weapons amongst their starting five and now that 6'7 post Markus Yarbrough is back to along with the perimeter attack and athleticism provided by Ohio State class of 2010 recruit Lenzelle Smith, vastly unheralded point guard Ronald Steward and 6'3 wing Quintrell Love, we believe that Zion-Benton is the team to beat not only at Hoffman Estates, but should they make it to Peoria as well.

Glenbrook North is clearly the best team in the Niles North sectional complex. With a gifted offensive performer in 6'6 class of 2010 guard Alex Dragicevich and one of the best coaches in the state in Dave Weber they can undoubtedly play with anybody. However, should they run into Zion-Benton, we are afraid that they might meet their match.

De Kalb (Northern Illinois University) Supersectional

Neuqua Valley over Rockton Hononegah

As is always the case year after year, Neuqua Valley is one of the most explosive offensive teams in the state and is loaded with stellar athletes and quality shooters, including a pair of 6'5 bookend forwards from the 2010 class in Dewayne Evans and Kareem Amedu, 6'0 class of 2010 shooting guard Rahjan Muhammad and 6'6 class of 2009 wing Derek Raridon. However, that is now why we are taking this team to reach Peoria. We are doing so because this Neuqua Valley team is the best defensive team that we have ever seen at the school. We look for them to defeat either Naperville Central or Bolingbrook for the sectional title at Oswego and ultimately reach the state finals for the first time in school history.

Rockton-Hononegah is very well-coached, gets great floor leadership from 6'3 Western Michigan recruit David Brown and has team-oriented players who understand their roles. Should they make it through the Elgin sectional (which we believe they will), we look for them to provide a stiff challenge for Neuqua in the supersectional round.

Chicago State University Supersectional

De LaSalle over Hyde Park

Surprise! Yes, you are looking at it right. After taking nationally ranked Detroit Country Day to overtime at the Windy City Challenge at Loyola University last December, we said that De LaSalle could play with any team in the nation (let alone the state) and after defeating North Lawndale this past weekend at the City-Suburban Showdown at Northwestern University, we are more convinced of it than ever. We realize that De LaSalle's road to Peoria might be the toughest of any team in the state. They are in a loaded sectional at Morton which includes other powerhouses such as Whitney Young, Morton and Foreman and several other talented teams including Lincoln Park, Proviso West, and St. Ignatius. However, De LaSalle has what it takes to beat any and all of them. 5'11 point guard Derek Needham (a Fairfield recruit) and 6'5 class of 2011 wing Dre Henley have been fantastic. And while the team's most highly touted prospect, 6'7 Mike Shaw, who is one of the top prospects in Illinois from the class of 2011, hasn't been bad, just imagine how good De LaSalle can be if Shaw finally starts playing up to his billing and becomes a dominant force game in and game out. We think it is scary!

We look for De LaSalle's supersectional opponent at Chicago State University to be Hyde Park, a team that we had ranked higher than anybody in our preseason rankings of the top 45 teams in the state. As we indicated then and we will say again now, Hyde Park is clearly one of the top four programs in the Chicago Public League this season and features three D1 caliber players in 6'4 Anthony Dixon (San Jose State), 6'2 Malcolm Griffin and 6'5 Jerome Moore. We believe that Griffin is one of the top unsigned recruits in the state from the 2009 class, although Moore is the player who will be the key to Hyde Park's state tournament success.

Normal (Illinois State University) Supersectional

Thornton over Edwardsville

Thornton has clearly emerged as the best team in Chicago's south suburbs this season and might have the most favorable road to Peoria of any team in class 4A. 6'0 class of 2010 guard Reggie Smith has consistently gotten it done in the clutch all season long and is one of those players who simply wills his team to win. Translation: teams with players like Smith often stick around for a long time once the state tournament arrives. We look for Thornton's stiffest test to possibly come in a rematch vs. Bloom in the sectional semifinal at Lincoln-Way North. Thornton defeated Bloom 42-40 in a contest played at Bloom this past weekend. The wild card for Thornton is 6'5 Trevell Rivers, a vastly unheralded player who is an absolute warrior on the glass, a strong finisher and plays much bigger than his listed height.

Who Thornton will play in the supersectional at Illinois State University is a crapshoot, but we are going with Edwardsville to be the team left standing from the Pekin sectional, which does not sport a dominant team per se. While Edwardsville does not feature a superstar player, Mike Waldo is one of the top coaches in the state and always gets his teams to compete and play hard.

Class 4A State Final Predictions:

Final Four: Zion-Benton, Neuqua Valley, De LaSalle, Thornton

Predicted Champion: Zion-Benton

Class 3A Predictions:

Hoffman Estates (Sears Centre) Supersectional

North Lawndale over North Chicago

While we believe that there is a strong possibility that the Chicago Public League could be without a representative in the Class 4A state finals for the first time since the Public League gave up its automatic birth, we don't think that will be the case in Class 3A. In our minds there is no such thing as a "good" loss, but one needs to look at the circumstances under which two of North Lawndale's losses came about. They lost to St. Joseph at the High School Hoops Showdown in Hoffman Estates the night after they suffered an overtime loss to Public League conference rival Whitney Young. And then this past weekend they fell to De LaSalle on the eve of having to play a Public League playoff game the very next day vs. Brooks. In both instances it was a classic example of a Public League team playing too many games in too short of a time span. It will be a different story once the state tournament begins, as North Lawndale will be more than battle-tested and their starting five is as good as any in the state. North Lawndale started the season as our preseason #1 team and we still believe that is where they will end up once the season is over.

We look for North Lawndale's supersectional opponent to be North Chicago, a team that has a relatively easy regional and sectional route. While we like North Chicago's team and regard their backcourt tandem of Keith Ford and Deshawn Chambliss as one of the most unheralded that you will find anywhere, we are not sure that North Chicago has the horses overall to keep up with North Lawndale. The other big question mark is that as of now North Chicago does not have a signature win to their name, although getting one in the supersectional versus either North Lawndale, St. Joseph or Marshall would certainly put them on the map.

Springfield Convention Center Supersectional

Lincoln or Champaign Centennial over Centralia

We are going to have to defer on this prediction for now on account of not having seen Lincoln play as of yet. Everyone who has watched them tells us they are capable of playing with any team in the state. We hope to see for ourselves this coming weekend. Centennial has a strong inside-outside combination which includes 6'1 point guard James Kinney, who we believe is an absolute recruiting steal for Ohio University, 6'2 class of 2010 wing Rayvonte Rice, who has already received scholarship offers from Western Michigan, Wagner and Oregon State and 6'8 class of 2010 post Jeff Johnson.

De Kalb (Northern Illinois University) Supersectional

Rock Island over Sterling

Rock Island took some lumps earlier in the season, but the team is now starting to round into form and the bottom line is that there are few if any teams in their area that can match them in terms of overall offensive firepower, as class of 2010 guards Chasson Randle and Royce Muskeyvalley and class of 2009 forward Brandon Pullman are all capable of putting points on the board. Not only that, but Rock Island will be aided by the fact that most of the Peoria teams (including Peoria Central, Peoria Richwoods and Peoria Notre Dame) will have to grind it out in the same regional, with the winner there most likely having to face Washington in the first game of the sectional. And finally there is the advantage of Rock Island getting the sectional on their home floor. Therefore, we look for the Rocks to edge out Washington in the sectional final in what should be a thrilling contest.

We were surprised that Sterling did not even receive a #1 seed in their sectional, but the bottom line is that they are a veteran team that has been there before, having reached the supersectional at De Kalb a year ago. As a result, we think that Joseph Bertrand and company may have a few more games left in their tank once March arrives.

Chicago State University Supersectional

Rich East over Leo

This one was our toughest prediction, but we really like Rich East's balance, as they feature a pair of quality bookend forwards in 6'5 Stephen O'Neal and 6'6 Shea Sumpter as well as a solid backcourt duo in 6'0 Jamere Dismukes, who has committed to Wisconsin-Parkside and 6'3 class of 2010 prospect Kashaune McKinney. The key is whether or not Sumpter plays up to his level of capability. If he does and the rest of the team performs consistently, we think that Rich East is quite capable of making it through to Peoria.

Leo, led by 5'10 point guard James Pointer and super-athletic and highly underrated 6'2 guard Darrin Johnson, should go untested en route to the supersectional.

Final Four: North Lawndale, Lincoln or Champaign Centennial, Rock Island, Rich East

Predicted Champion: North Lawndale

There you have it. Now that all of our predictions are in, if things go as they have in the past, we will probably end up being wrong on most everything in this blog. But then again, isn't that what March Madness is all about?

Over the past several years, Illinois high school basketball coaches have lost a tremendous amount of influence over the recruitment of their top players. While we are not going to debate the merits of those who do have influence, this blog is going to offer an in-depth analysis of what this declining influence means to college coaches, parents, and the prospects themselves within the recruiting environment.

What does it mean when Illinois high school basketball coaches have lost influence over the recruitment of their top players? Well, to explore possible answers to this question, we must first understand WHY the influence has been lost to begin with.

First of all, the time of year when high school coaches earn their living has itself lost a tremendous amount of influence on the exposure and recruitment of Illinois high school basketball prospects. In other words, the regular IHSA season hardly means anything anymore from a recruiting standpoint. Prospects usually sign letters of intent by the November signing period of their senior seasons. However, the recruiting process starts much earlier than that. The pressure to win among college programs is so high that commitments are secured at earlier and earlier ages. These commitments are often secured during the spring and summer when high school coaches are not even working. Yes, there are a few high school coaches who demand that the recruiting process goes through them. If their players do play spring and summer AAU or travel ball, they always accompany them wherever they play. However, many more coaches need to do this or else all control is lost.

Second, high profile spring and summer exposure camps and events are where ALL of the top 100 and beyond national player rankings lists are made. How a prospect performs in the regular season rarely means anything anymore. We have seen enough Mc Donald's All-Americans with subpar senior seasons to know that this is true. Consequently, it is essential that all top players attend these events. It is even more essential that all college programs which desire to get the best possible players attend these events as well. Naturally, this expands the recruiting horizons for all of the prospects.

Back in the old days, when high school coaches had more control and there were less events going on in the spring and summer, college coaches went out more during the regular seasons to scout, evaluate, and recruit high school prospects. Because this would often conflict with their own program's game, practice, and travel schedules, college programs often did not travel all over. This meant that top prospects were primarily recruited at the local and regional levels. Sure, the Top 30-50 prospects would draw coaches from all over, but most recruiting lists were stacked with the local and regional favorites who had more time to recruit prospects and to evaluate them.

Third, when AAU and travel ball became prevalent and the "off season" began to replace the regular season in its recruiting significance, the players involved with influencing a prospects' recruitment changed. This is significant, because for better or for worse, these people have different mindsets. Unlike most high school coaches, they are NOT certified teachers or educators. They do not look at those things the same way that a certified educator may look at them. Consequently, they will not favor all of the financial and career advantages associated with attending the local or state university. Parents who have taken control from high school coaches are often overzealous and think their kids are better than they are. They are more inclined to want to send their kids away in order to maximize on an opportunity, especially if the kid can get a full scholarship. As a result, parents today are much less inclined to show loyalty to state, local, and regional colleges and universities.

AAU and traveling coaches also have different mindsets by nature. Just read their marketing literature, and you know that these coaches and their success is judged by how many Division I players they produce, and the number of D1 programs they send them to. This is especially true if the program (as is almost always the case) receives huge funding from a shoe company. These companies have contracts with college programs across the country, so what is the incentive to send a program's top prospects to the same two or three local or regional college programs? Simply put, there is no incentive whatsoever.

Expanding the avenues of recruitment to as many colleges and universities across the country as you can is the best way to maximize the recruiting opportunities for every prospect in the program. We are not saying this is wrong or right. However, we ARE emphatically saying that this means that many colleges and universities have to work that much harder to recruit the top local and regional prospects.

During the old days when the high school coach was the primary and maybe only recruiting contact, colleges would invite high school coaches to speak at camps or participate in developmental clinics. The relationships between colleges and high school coaches was much more "tight" then. Sure, these relationships still exist and they must. However, they are no longer guarantees of recruiting success. For example, the days are long gone when Lou Henson could walk down the streets on the south side of Chicago with Simeon coach Bob Hambric and go to a fishery like two long-lost buddies, knowing that Simeon's top prospect would go to Illinois.

Yes, Illinois is still THE king in Illinois high school basketball recruiting. Yes, they keep a lot of top talent at home. And yes, they have great relationships with most high school coaches, and have worked hard at developing much stronger relationships with Chicago Public League coaches. However, if they leave it at this, they could lose out on many recruits. Instead, the hiring of assistant coach Jerrance Howard was indicative of head coach Bruce Weber's realization that it is primarily the AAU coaches, parents, and others that will ultimately determine the Illini's recruiting success. Howard has cultivated all of these relationships, and has made Weber's relationships in this area that much stronger as well.

Finally, look at the recruiting lists, scholarship offers, and actual commitments and signings of top Illinois prospects from the leading AAU and travel club programs in Illinois over the years,(such as the Illinois Warriors, Illinois Wolves, Rising Stars, Mac Irvin Fire, Mean Streets, and Full Package, among others). Kids from Illinois are going all over, for all of the reasons outlined above. Yes, most if not all of these programs value and emphasize strong relationships with the local and regional programs, but some place even more emphasis on a national recruiting profile. This has not affected Illinois as much because of their Top 20 national profile. It used to affect Northwestern, but the new direction which Bill Carmody went with the hiring of assistant coach Tavaras Hardy was similar to the approach taken by Weber with the hiring of Howard. Thus, Northwestern's recruiting has taken off and Hardy has deserved every bit of praise for being one of the top up and coming recruiters in all of college basketball, not just the region.

It will be interesting to see if local, state, and regional college programs come to grips with the recruiting realities mentioned in this blog. Many of them already have. However, those who have not may not be in a situation to control much. In today's age of overhyped prospects and when most parents and AAU coaches have a tendency to oversell prospects, this almost "kills" the local and regional low and mid-major college programs, not to mention the efforts of many small colleges. Those programs that overcome these obstacles to continue to land top prospects are truly the best recruiters that you will find anywhere!

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.

Sure enough, what we noted in November has already come to fruition, as Wayne Blackshear, one of the top high school basketball prospects in Illinois from the class of 2011, has decided to leave Curie and transfer to Morgan Park. In all due respect, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see this coming. With that being said and without mentioning any names, anyone who is in the know when it comes to high school basketball and the Public League knows the people who are behind Blackshear's decision.

Before we go any further, it is important to sort out fact from fiction in the Blackshear case. First of all, we knew that we would hear some type of excuse from someone in the Blackshear camp as to what prompted the transfer, and the first one came yesterday from Kevin Thomas (Blackshear's stepfather) when he said that he was worried about his son's daily commute to Curie on account of the recent violence that has occurred. Sorry, but that is baloney and an easy way to skirt the real issue. We have been to Curie numerous times to see games and the bottom line is that the area around Curie is probably less violent than the one at Morgan Park. Anyone who questions this only needs to be reminded of an instance last season in which some of the players on Simeon's team were jumped by other students as they were walking to the team bus after a game at Morgan Park.

There really is only one factor that drove Blackshear's decision to transfer and it is a simple one at that. Others won't tell you this, but we have it from two reliable sources that the people who wanted Blackshear at Morgan Park told Blackshear's mother that if he didn't make the move he would not land another high major D1 scholarship. This is funny considering that Blackshear is rated as one of the top three prospects in Illinois from the class of 2011 by just about every recruiting service out there and already sports scholarship offers from two quality high major programs in Illinois and Texas. It is therefore no wonder that Carolyn Blackshear (Blackshear's mother) was brainwashed into thinking that her son has no choice but to transfer to Morgan Park and as a result is taking steps to establish residency within the Morgan Park school district. As we think everyone can see, there is no question that the transfer is being made solely for basketball reasons.

Blackshear's transfer is quite similar to the situation that occurred eight years ago involving Najeeb Echols, who transferred in mid-season from Whitney Young, then spent a week at Leo and after learning that he would never be eligible there, transferred to Morgan Park. Ironically, Echols ultimately ended up being declared ineligible to compete at Morgan Park as well, and was on Morgan Park's bench in street clothes throughout the 2001 Class AA state finals, in which Morgan Park ended up with a third place trophy. The one notable difference between the two cases is that Echols, unlike Blackshear, was nothing close to being a student, which makes the Blackshear situation even more bizarre.

In light of all of this, we have come to the conclusion that there is only one solution to ending all of the garbage that exists in the Chicago Public League when it comes to transfers and recruiting involving high school basketball players. Calvin Davis, the Director of Athletics for Chicago Public Schools, needs to implement a new rule which permanently outlaws all athletic transfers within the Chicago Public League. If any athlete transfers schools for any reason whatsoever (it doesn't matter what the circumstance), he automatically forfeits his right to compete in high school athletics. Yes, we know it sounds harsh, but we are convinced that it is the ONLY way to eliminate the sleaze and the unsavory influence of handlers and others who simply think that they rule the roost when it comes to basketball in the Public League. Hopefully, it would send a loud and clear message that going to high school is about getting an education, not solely about playing basketball or any other sport.

Davis is saying that he will make a ruling regarding Blackshear's eligibility at Morgan Park in ten days and with it being a high-profile case there are several factors that he needs to take into consideration. However, with the way the rules are currently set up governing transfers in the Public League, we see no way that Davis could prevent Blackshear's transfer from taking place, nor would he be able to declare Blackshear permanently ineligible.

In all likelihood, under the current Public League by-laws Blackshear would probably have to sit out a year at Morgan Park and would be eligible beginning the second semester of his junior year (right around this time next season). Which leads to our next point: does Blackshear even realize how much time he will end up losing as the result of this decision and how it could end up affecting his recruitment as well as his future development? Obviously those people who influenced the transfer move don't care, as they are already building for next season at Morgan Park.

With that in mind, and as we have hinted at in the past, anybody with any ounce of integrity also has to be worried about the dangerous precedent that could be set as the result of Blackshear's transfer. Again, without pointing fingers at any individual in particular, remember the AAU team that Blackshear plays for. That is why we believe that unless someone in a position of authority prevents it, that there is a good bet that more players (most all of them high-profile) could attempt to transfer to Morgan Park as well, in fact we are almost willing to guarantee it. One player who has already been rumored to be among the candidates is Mike Shaw from De LaSalle, who along with Blackshear is one of the top prospects in the state from the class of 2011.

And then there are the possible ramifications that Blackshear's transfer could end up having with respect to his recruiting. There is no question that with Blackshear now at Morgan Park instead of Curie, it very much changes the recruiting landscape with respect to the college programs that are contenders for Blackshear's services. In fact we know two schools who have been recruiting Blackshear from the beginning whose chances are now probably diminished greatly.

The individual that we feel badly for and who did absolutely nothing whatsoever to deserve the fate that befell him was Curie head coach Mike Oliver, a good person who does things the right way. Oliver has handled Blackshear's decision with class, saying that he and the rest of his players have accepted it and that it is time to move on. That being said, did he really have a choice?

All of which cries out for an appeal to Calvin Davis. Again, for anyone who thinks that our proposal to outlaw all transfers is extreme, simply remember that Davis already acted in a most extreme fashion when it came to dealing with the increased violence that has been taking place in gyms throughout the Public League, as he decided to ban all visiting fans from attending Public League basketball games. We would argue that this decision is an even more controversial one because 1) it is difficult to enforce and 2) it runs the risk of infringing on the rights of innocent fans. However, if it results in providing a permanent solution to the problem, then so be it.

It is the same thing when it comes to putting an end to the transfer problem. Simply put, it is time for some law and order. By disallowing any athletic transfers whatsoever, it sends a loud and clear message that priorities are going to be put in order and that basketball (or any other sport) is not the end-all when it comes to a student's success at a Chicago Public League school. The one person who is capable of implementing this and making it a reality is Davis. Therefore, we are making one last request. Mr. Davis, you are the one who can clean up this mess once and for all. Let's make it happen!

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.

To take matters a step further, the sectional round is where the men get separated from the boys. Coaches and players know what is at stake and as a result the level of play usually gets turned up a notch. Yes, some of the classic geographical rivalries of the past are gone due to the implementation of the four class system, but overall the sectionals are where it is at when it comes to Illinois high school basketball in March. And then by the time you reach the supersectionals and even the state finals, a good portion of the talent has been diluted and the games end up being watered down. We saw it last year in both the class 3A and 4A ranks and we are willing to bet that we will see it again this coming March.

While we do not yet know who the top seeds will be and cannot project the matchups in any given sectional, we can rank the strength of the sectionals based on where the teams have been assigned. Therefore, the following are what we consider to be the top three sectionals in class 3A and 4A.

Class 4A

1) Waukegan-- Right now it is a total crapshoot as to who might be the top seed in this sectional. Warren appears to have the inside track, but Lake Forest or Waukegan could have something to say before things are finalized. Zion-Benton and Schaumburg figure to be either #4 or #5 seeds at this point but are both capable of beating any team in the state on any given night. Get our drift? This sectional is absolutely loaded, with the winner standing a good chance of emerging as the favorite for the class 4A state title.

2) Cicero Morton-- No other sectional may have more depth from top to bottom, with as many as nine teams having a reasonable chance of winning it. Like Waukegan, there is no definite #1 seed as of now. On paper, it probably has to be Whitney Young, but it is not clear-cut. And what about Morton, who beat Whitney Young en route to winning the Proviso West Holiday Tournament? And then there is De LaSalle, St. Ignatius, Proviso West, St. Patrick, Fenwick, Lincoln Park and Foreman. What it means is that this sectional will be a seedings nightmare and you are also going to see some unbelievable games at the regional sites which feed into this sectional complex.

3) Hinsdale Central-- This sectional will have a different look to it in comparison with most others and offers a perfect example as to how geography is affected by the four class system, as it should feature several talented teams from Chicago's south side. As many as five teams could contend, including Curie, Hyde Park, Mt. Carmel, Simeon and Chicago Vocational, who has already beaten Simeon and might be the most unheralded team in the Chicago area.

Class 3A

1) Riverside-Brookfield-- It doesn't get much better than a sectional that could feature Marshall and North Lawndale (two of the top teams in the Chicago Public League), St. Joseph (who defeated North Lawndale at the High School Hoops Showdown in Hoffman Estates this past weekend) and Crane. However, Crane might not get a top four seed, as instead that honor could end up going to Riverside-Brookfield, meaning that Crane would probably have to face either Marshall or North Lawndale in a regional. Glenbard South and Wheaton St. Francis are also a couple of teams that could pull surprises.

2) Illiana Christian-- The name of the game in Chicago's south suburbs this season is balance, and that is certainly personified when looking at the top teams that feed into this sectional. Currently Rich East is the favorite, but we certainly would not count out Hillcrest, Tinley Park, Crete-Monee or Brooks. We give the slight nod to Rich East based on experience.

3) Rock Island-- This sectional would be even stronger if not for the fact that one of the regionals which feeds into it is loaded with several of the top Peoria area teams while another (Streator) is relatively weak. Nevertheless, you should see at least three quality teams in this sectional. Rock Island, Washington, and any of the following teams from amongst Peoria Richwoods, Bartonville Limestone or Peoria Central are among the possibilities.

Possible Locks To Reach Peoria:

Class 4A-- We may be going out on the limb slightly with this one and it is not our intent to jinx anybody, but we are going to take Neuqua Valley. Not only is this team talented, but they play together and don't get easily rattled. They also have a most favorable road to Peoria, with their toughest competition most likely coming in the sectional from either Bolingbrook, Naperville Central, East Aurora or West Aurora. Neuqua Valley's three most impressive wins of the season have been against Morton at the York Thanksgiving Tournament, Bolingbrook (at Bolingbrook) and Zion-Benton at the Martin Luther King Tournament at Rockton Hononegah. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye was the only scouting service in the state of Illinois that was in the gym for all three of those games. Therefore, we feel most comfortable with this pick.

Class 3A-- We don't believe that there is a lock for the state finals in Peoria from amongst the class 3A ranks, but we would bet a mint on Leo at least reaching the supersectional round at Chicago State University. This is because they feed into an extremely weak sectional at King High School which is filled mostly with lesser-known teams from the Chicago Public League. As of now, Payton is the only team in that sectional that we believe could possibly challenge Leo.

We hope that this whets everyone's appetite for what is undoubtedly the most exciting team of the year for any high school sports fan in Illinois--the original March Madness!

To subscribe to Illinois Prep Bulls-eye's written reports, write us at:
Illinois Prep Bulls-eye
P.O. Box 488
Downers Grove, IL 60515
e-mail us at roy1harv@aol.com or call us at (630) 910-1829.

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.

Adams was actually at Carl Albert for two weeks. However, the National Junior College Association then received word of the shady doings of the Carl Albert coaching staff and after also being besieged by phone calls from newspapers as well as the Chicago Public League Athletics Office, the coaches then agreed to send Adams home and he returned to Chicago this past weekend.

Simply put, the actions of the men's basketball coaches at Carl Albert border on criminal and they should be ashamed of themselves. Unfortunately, we can guarantee that they are not. Instead, they are simply embarrassed over the fact that they weren't able to pull a fast one. Therefore there are a couple of questions that continue to loom. The biggest of which is "what the heck were these guys thinking?" And who in their right mind would convince any high school athlete to drop out of high school and for what purpose?

While it is impossible to answer the first question, having been around the block a time or two when it comes to the recruiting business, we are willing to bet that we can accurately answer the second question. The bottom line is that when it comes to men's basketball at the junior college level, there are too many coaches who care about nothing more than winning games, to the point where they give no regard to a player's education whatsoever. Needless to say, the coaching staff at Carl Albert fits this description to a tee.

To compound the problem, junior colleges already suffer from a negative perception with respect to the quality of education (or lack thereof) that they provide to their student athletes. Before we go any further, we must emphasize that not all JUCOs are guilty of this educational negligence, as there are some that place academics ahead of athletics. The problem is that those schools are the exception rather than the rule.

In order to explain further, it is necessary to break down the demographics as they relate to junior college basketball. Schools that are members of the National Junior College Association fall into three classifications with respect to men's basketball--division 1, division 2 and division 3. Most of the JUCOs that are considered to be your annual basketball powerhouses are division 1 schools and generally speaking they are able to assemble a greater degree of talent than schools at the D2 or D3 level.

What is sad is that the division 1 JUCOs also attract a higher percentage of "problem" kids--players who have off-the court issues or severe academic shortcomings. Having been in the basketball scouting business for 25 years, we have seen far too many instances, especially at the D1 JUCO level, in which it is quite clear that basketball players are there solely to play basketball and therefore no penalties are given when they fail to attend class. The argument can even be made that for all practical purposes many JUCOs serve solely as minor league facilities for players with professional aspirations.

With all of this being said we believe that a junior college becomes a viable option for a basketball player once he has exhausted all of his educational possibilities. With Adams, however, that was not the case. In fact, prior to dropping out he was on pace to graduate from Farragut in June. Instead, he is now a full semester behind and will not be allowed to go back to Farragut. All of which once again leads us to ask why the men's basketball coaches at Carl Albert convinced Adams that his high school education at Farragut didn't matter and persuaded him to leave. Was it solely because they thought they would be able to win a few more games? If so, then that is truly pathetic.

You also wonder where Adams' parents were throughout this mess and why they didn't have a say in the matter. Which makes it quite apparent to us that the parents weren't in the picture and that the coaching staff at Carl Albert was well aware of this, which is why their actions are even more despicable. Kudos to Farragut head coach William Nelson, who says that he is not finished when it comes to dealing with this situation and to Chicago Public League boy's basketball coordinator Cyrus McGinnis, who was instrumental in bringing the matter to the attention of the National Junior College Association.

The biggest part of the problem is that because the National Junior College Association is its own governing body it is not bound to the same set of recruiting regulations that pertain to NCAA schools. The rules are much more lax when it comes to JUCOs. What this means is that junior college coaches can contact recruits virtually any time they want to and there are no "dead" periods in which recruits are off-limits, which in our opinion increases the temptation and likelihood for sleazy activity such as what we saw with Adams to occur at the JUCO level. Therefore, why not bind junior college coaches to the same rules and regulations pertaining to recruiting that govern NCAA coaches? What is really scary is that had it not been for Nelson and McGinnis, the coaches at Carl Albert may very well have gotten away with their antics.

There is no doubt that the only person who truly ended up getting hurt in this ordeal was Adams himself. At the present time, nobody really knows what the future holds in store for him with respect to his education. Will he attend another Chicago public high school? Or will he simply head to another junior college and get his GED? We do know what the future should hold in store for the men's basketball coaches at Carl Albert--they should be stripped of their jobs and never be allowed to coach again collegiately. Then again, there may be coaching positions available for them in a prison league somewhere.

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.

We truly believe that in order for any recruiting class to be considered a great class, it needs to be defined by a signature player--a player whose skills clearly stand out above the rest and has a certain aura or presence about him that separates himself from the rest of the pack. Both the classes of 1979 and 1998 had those players. The 2006 class had a player of that caliber in Jon Scheyer. In 2007 it was unquestionably Derrick Rose. At the present time, we are not sure we can say that about any of the top players in the class of 2011.

Therefore, we are in agreement with those that are now saying that perhaps the 2011 class in Illinois has been overhyped. However, most others are saying this without telling you why this is the case, either because they are afraid to take a stand, or because they simply don't have the insight with respect to the players in this class to be able to offer an explanation. Not only are we willing to take a stand, but after seeing virtually all of the top players in Illinois from the class of 2011 at various holiday tournaments last month, we are going to analyze each player's game and tell you why we don't believe any of them can be considered as the #1 player in the class at this time.

But before we do that, allow us to first offer some general thoughts as to why we believe the class of 2011 has been overhyped. First of all, there is the local phenomenon known as the "Chicago hype machine", of which some of our competitors who run other internet recruiting sites are charter members. To them everyone is a can't miss prospect, has superstar status written all over them and is headed to the NBA. And the worst part is that being young and vulnerable, the players buy into this hype to the point that they listen to these people even more than their high school coach or their parents.

And then there are the self-proclaimed national gurus. We are not talking about established national analysts such as Bob Gibbons and Van Coleman, who are well-respected talent evaluators who we consider to be the best in the business. Instead we are referring to the mopes who run internet recruiting sites and think that their credibility as well as their career depends on discovering the next Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson or any other name you care to throw in. They build recruits up to the point where the only place they can go is down. Never mind the fact that most of them have no idea how to run a scouting service and can't evaluate talent any better than the guy next door.

Now it is time to examine several of the state's top players in the 2011 class and offer our analysis as to why we don't believe they are #1. We begin with 6'7 Mike Shaw from De LaSalle. As most everyone knows, until now Shaw has been our #1 ranked player in the class and we have been extremely patient with him despite numerous inconsistencies. However, upon the conclusion of holiday tournament play we can no longer justify Shaw's #1 ranking. Simply put, he does not play agressively all of the time and does not fully utilize all of the talent that he has. Rather than post up and go to war inside, he would rather shoot the fade away jump shot from the baseline and the wings to the point where he has fallen in love with it. When Shaw was in eighth grade a long-time follower of high school basketball in Chicago told us that Shaw was the next Lebron James, a comparison which is just ludicrous. Instead, we see Shaw actually being more comparable to Antoine Walker at the same stage.

The two players considered by most analysts to be among the top three prospects in the class along with Shaw--Curie's 6'5 Wayne Blackshear and Mt. Carmel's 6'0 Tracy Abrams, also did nothing in our minds during the holidays to lay claim to the #1 ranking. Simply put, neither showed the leadership that we had hoped to see from them. While Blackshear shows flashes of brilliance and his overall skill set has improved tremendously from a year ago, there are still too many times where he tends to disappear. Abrams is without a doubt a prolific scorer, but his decision-making in the game in which we watched him at the Pekin Holiday Tournament left a lot to be desired and Mt. Carmel head coach Mike Flaherty has also been critical of his defense.

Whitney Young's 6'5 Sam Thompson and Rock Island's 6'2 Chasson Randle are also interesting cases. We believe that when it is said and done Thompson may prove to be the best college prospect of the bunch out of the 2011 class. However, due to the incredible array of talent that exists at Whitney Young, Thompson has trouble even cracking the rotation. How can you rank a player #1 in his class when he can only get on the floor for 10 minutes, which was the case in Whitney Young's opening round victory over Proviso East at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament? The answer is you can't. We actually thought that Randle played well in a loser's bracket contest vs. Kankakee Bishop Mc Namara when we watched him at the State Farm Holiday Classic and from a performance standpoint could be closer to the top spot in the class than most people realize. The problem is that in this contest Randle played almost exclusively off the ball and therefore we were unable to witness all facets of his game. Thus the evaluation is incomplete and we are unable to rank him #1.

Another player who we thought might step up and earn the #1 ranking in the 2011 class after an outstanding performance at the Windy City Showdown at Loyola University last month was De LaSalle's 6'5 Dre Henley. Unfortunately, Henley did not follow up on that effort at the State Farm Holiday Classic and in reality was a disappointment. In fact, for reasons which we do not totally understand, Henley often found himself on the bench during key stretches of a couple of his team's games in Bloomington-Normal. Needless to say, no #1 ranking.

In summary, the main point to be made is that there is currently not one player in the class of 2011 out of Illinois who has a skill, an attribute or an intangible that clearly sets himself apart from the rest or makes him a true "marquee" player. Which is why while we still believe that the 2011 class has the makings of being a great one, most of the talk in that regard is strictly in regard to potential as opposed to actual performance. Therefore, for any time in the past that we have compared the class of 2011 in Illinois to either the class of 1979 or the class of 1998, all we can say for the time being is that we apologize.

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.

Before anyone comes out and disagrees with us, it is important to remember that the winner of Mr. Basketball does not necessarily go to the player who is the best college prospect. A far more important criteria is what that player has done for his high school team, meaning that performance means much more than college potential when it comes to voting for the award. That is exactly why we believe that Payne has emerged as a most legitimate candidate.

Just as Dillard put H-F on his back last season and took an undefeated team into the state tournament, Payne has almost accomplished the same thing at Schaumburg this season, with Schaumburg's only loss coming to Warren in the championship game at Pontiac. However, it was Payne's two games at Pontiac prior to the matchup versus Warren that have us saying what we are now.

In a second round contest versus Peoria Manual, we thought that Payne was ordinary through the first three quarters. But then in the fourth quarter he came to life. From that point on all one had to do was look at the fire in his eyes to come away realizing that he simply wasn't going to allow his team to lose. Payne finished the game with 21 points, shot 6-15 from the field and had 8 assists in leading Schaumburg to a hard-fought 78-75 victory.

While we were impressed with how Payne responded down the stretch in the Peoria Manual game, that paled in comparison with his signature performance at Pontiac, which came against Plainfield North in the semifinals. In that game, Payne finished with 27 points including five three-point field goals in carrying Schaumburg to a 50-48 win. But forget the stats--it was the final play of the game that defines what Payne is all about.

With Schaumburg trailing by a point with 6.8 seconds left, head coach Bob Williams tried to design an inbounds play to get Payne the ball. Once Williams saw that Payne was bottled up, he did a masterful job of calling a timeout almost immediately and going back to the drawing board. There are now 6.3 seconds remaining. Payne received the ball on the inbounds pass and actually stepped back, rose up from NBA range (at least 25 feet) and drilled a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Game over, and Schaumburg is on to the championship.

In a nutshell, Payne's game winner against Plainfield North personifies what he is all about. He is a fierce competitor who wills his team to win, makes all of his teammates better and consistently gets it done in crunch time situations. Not only that, but Payne plays with a level of confidence that is mind-boggling. He has no fear and is as mentally tough as they come. It is therefore no surprise that Payne played all 32 minutes in both the Peoria Manual and Plainfield North games.

As we indicated earlier, Payne's game has been scrutinized from day one, beginning with when he offered a verbal commitment to Jerry Wainwright and DePaul University before ever playing a high school game. From that point on, the level of expectations have become so high that many of them may be too lofty and unrealistic. Ironically, it is nowhere near the degree of pressure that Payne places upon himself, which again is illustrative of his huge competitive fire. Payne would ultimately end up changing his mind and as a result signed a letter of intent with Alabama this past fall. At the present time, the jury is still out in the minds of many people regarding whether or not Payne is a good fit for the SEC.

We are not going to specifically address Payne's level of ability as it pertains to college in this blog. There are some things we would still like to see him work on such as cutting down on his turnovers (he had five versus Manual and six versus Plainfield North). However, that is a mute point when one considers how he consistently responds when the game is on the line.

Simply put, Naperville Central's Drew Crawford, Loyola Academy's Matt Sullivan and Washington's Dyricus Simms-Edwards not withstanding, there is no player in the state who means more to the success of his team than Cully Payne, which we also thought was the case with Dillard and H-F last season. With that being said, we think that with Payne leading the way, there is a very good chance that Schaumburg could be playing in the Class 4A state finals in Peoria come March. We don't yet know how good of a college player Payne will be, but we do know that he is a very good high school player. Which is why when Mr. Basketball comes calling in the spring, Payne is a player who should receive the utmost consideration for the award.

To subscribe to Illinois Prep Bulls-eye's written reports, write us at:
Illinois Prep Bulls-eye
P.O. Box 488
Downers Grove, IL 60515
e-mail us at: roy1harv@aol.com or call us at (630) 910-1829.

The basketball recruiting world today is largely controlled by handlers and people who often times have nothing but their own self-serving interests at heart. As a result, they overhype recruits primarily for the purpose of feeding their own egos and trying to put additional money in their pocket. That is why it is so refreshing to see players who don't buy into the hoopla, recognize their true level of ability and turn out to be successful without the outside influences. Such is the case with Michael Black and Xavier Humphrey, who are both class of 2009 recruits from Fenwick. As a result, we believe that they made outstanding college choices.

Not only has Black become a good shooter with range that extends beyond the 3-point line, but his ball handling and playmaking capability is much more advanced than it was a year ago. He excels in transition and when he stays focused, has also proven that he is a quality defender.

One person who deserves a vast amount of credit for aiding in Black's improvement is Orlandus Thomas, his AAU coach with the Windy City Spartans. Thomas was one of the first to recognize Black's level of ability and thus gave him the opportunity to compete on the traveling team circuit. In addition, Thomas is a coach who places emphasis on reaching out to low D1 and small college programs and is thus one of the most respected AAU coaches in Illinois among college coaches at those levels.

There is no question that Black has taken advantage of his opportunity and then some, which culminated in him signing with North Florida University, a D1 school that competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference. While Black was also recruited by a number of schools at the D2 level, he ultimately decided that North Florida was a place that met his needs academically and where he could come in an make an immediate contribution. Black is also excited about being part of a program that he believes will continue to grow and get better, as North Florida has only been a D1 school for three years. With all of this being said, we believe that he is an absolutely perfect fit.

Xavier Humphrey's story in many ways is quite different from Black's. Whereas Black very much came out of nowhere during this past spring and summer, Humphrey at one time had been touted as one of the top five players in the state from the class of 2009 before ever playing a high school game. He had attracted early recruiting interest from Big Ten and Pac Ten schools.

Unfortunately, Humphrey did not end up progressing at the rate that many people thought he would. As a result, he ended up being labeled with the "tweener" tag that so many D1 programs consider to be a red flag when it comes to recruiting. While many other players would have hung their heads and perhaps even started copping an attitude, Humphrey never once got down on himself and instead has used everything as motivation. Which explains why he is having a most productive senior year at Fenwick, including a 16 point and 9 rebound effort against Foreman at Proviso West.

Humphrey signed in the fall with Winona State, an annual D2 power which won the national championship two years ago. As is the case with North Florida and Black, we believe that Winona State is the perfect level for Humphrey and that he will prove to be a valuable contributor there from the moment he arrives.

While Fenwick's record is currently 5-3, we believe that it is a bit deceiving, as the team has faced a tough early-season schedule. Nevertheless, they have proven that they can play with any of the top teams in the Chicago area, and there is no question that Black and Humphrey are the main reasons why. Knowing how hard both Black and Humphrey have worked and the level of success that they are already enjoying, we believe that any further accomplishments that come their way are simply gravy.

The persona of De LaSalle's Dre Henley began to rise this past summer when he earned an invitation to the prestigious Reebok All-American Camp on the basis of an outstanding performance at Reebok's underclassman camp in June. But even then, there were still people who were questioning whether or not he was worthy of the invite. However, make no mistake about it--after watching Henley last night at the Windy City Showdown, there is no doubt that he has hit the big time.

Henley scored 20 points and pulled down 8 rebounds versus Detroit Country Day and was the main reason why De LaSalle had their opponent on the ropes and was able to battle them to the end before suffering a 75-72 setback in overtime. Above everything else, Henley showed outstanding offensive versatility and floor leadership. As a result, we now believe that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with all of the elite players in the loaded 2011 class--Shaw, Mt. Carmel's Tracy Abrams, Curie's Wayne Blackshear, Whitney Young's Sam Thompson, Rock Island's Chasson Randle, Bartonville Limestone's Donovine Stewart and anyone else that anybody cares to throw in. There is absolutely no doubt in our mind that Henley is a high major prospect.

The bottom line is that Henley has proven that there is very little that he can't do offensively. At 6'5, he has tremendous upper body strength which allows him to be a consistent scorer in the post, as he pounds the glass and despite sometimes being at a height disadvantage he is capable of punishing opponents more often than not when he gets the ball down low.

However, there is no question that Henley's perimeter skills are every bit as refined as his post skills. He has an above-average handle, can put the ball on the floor and consistently beat opponents to the basket in one-on-one situations. And to top everything off, he is a smooth-shooting lefty with range that extends beyond the 3-point line.

But beyond his actual skill level, the thing that stood out to us the most about Henley was the leadership traits that he displayed. Last night on a national stage, it was Henley, along with Needham, who directed De LaSalle's offense the majority of the time. With that being said, Henley showed amazing poise and maturity, particularly in the most pressure-packed situations. It is therefore no wonder that at this time we tab De LaSalle as one of the two best high school teams that we have seen in Illinois so far this season, with the other being Waukegan (we have not yet seen Thornton, and no, we are not forgetting about North Lawndale, Whitney Young or Zion-Benton). Forget the final score of last night's game--it doesn't matter.

At the present time Henley's recruitment is not nearly as high-profile as that of most of the other top prospects in Illinois from the class of 2011. In fact, his only known scholarship offer to date is from Southern Illinois University. However, University of Kentucky assistant coach Tracy Webster was also in the house last night and was watching Henley closely. Not only is Kentucky highly interested, but we can virtually guarantee that they will be turning up the heat. And as word spreads regarding Henley (and it will spread quickly) we can assure everyone that between now and next spring his recruitment will reach new proportions.

To sum it all up, if there were still any doubters when it came to Henley prior to last night, those doubts should now be completely erased. And the best part about it is that Henley won't rest on his laurels. He has an outstanding work ethic and wants to continue to get better. As far as we are concerned, he already has. That is why any further accomplishments and success that comes Henley's way won't surprise us whatsoever.

We told everyone in a previous blog back in October that Jerrance Howard and the University of Illinois had completely turned the tables in the recruitment of Tracy Abrams. Right then and there we knew that the Illini were the leader for Abrams' services. What we did not know was that the Illini coaching staff would be able to close the deal so quickly. With that in mind, we firmly believe that the dominos are just beginning to fall into place regarding Bruce Weber's recruitment of the 2011 class. Quite frankly, while we don't know what the time frame will be, we would be surprised at this point if other prized 2011 recruits don't ultimately pledge their commitments to the Illini.

However, things changed when Illini assistant coach Jerrance Howard learned that Reggie Rose, who is Abrams' AAU coach, was not the one in control of the Abrams recruitment. At that point, Howard went full-speed ahead in his effort to close the deal on Abrams and worked non-stop to get it done. Howard was absolutely relentless in his follow-up, as he watched Abrams play at both the Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament and the CPS Boy's Basketball Shootout once the high school season started. To say that this made a huge impression on Abrams is a gross understatement. Just another example of why Howard has rapidly become one of the premier recruiters in all of college basketball.

There is also something to be said about the fact that the Illini were the only school to offer Abrams a scholarship, which they did immediately upon him making his first visit to Champaign. This is a factor that has undoubtedly become of prime importance with respect to getting elite-level prospects to commit early, and such was the case with Abrams. While Abrams also visited Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, none of those schools came forward with scholarship offers. Our colleague Michael O'Brien asked us why no one else stepped up to the plate to offer Abrams after Illinois did so, and while we don't have a definite answer, our response was that perhaps the other schools recruiting Abrams already knew what the rest of us didn't know at the time, in other words that it was a done deal.

But now on to the question that everyone wants answered. With Abrams now in the fold, what everyone wants to know is how his commitment will impact future Illini recruiting in the class of 2011. As we have indicated before, the answer is that when it comes to 2011, the Illini's future is limitless. In fact it has probably never been brighter. We have always said that when one great player pulls the trigger and offers up an early commitment, it often prompts others to follow suit. With that being said, we think that could very well end up being the case for Weber and the Illini.

At the present time, we have every reason to believe that Illinois is in great shape with Mike Shaw, the 6'7 forward from De LaSalle and our #1 ranked player in the state from the 2011 class. Abrams and Shaw are very good friends and have already expressed a strong desire to possibly play on the same college team. While it has been stated that many of the top players in the class of 2011 would love to have Abrams as a teammate, we know for a fact that there are plenty who would be overjoyed to join forces with Shaw as well.

Another player who could be heavily impacted is Randle. While other schools recruiting Randle will undoubtedly try to up the ante now that Abrams has pledged to Illinois, we are telling everyone that the Illini coaching staff is still recruiting Randle and will now try to sell him on the idea of playing in the same back court with Abrams. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how this one develops.

And then there are the AAU implications. While Abrams' current traveling team is the Chicago Express, he has also played sparingly for the Mac Irvin Fire and there has been some talk that Abrams could possibly join forces with the Fire on a permanent basis come next spring. All of which is important, because there is no question that the Illini coaching staff has made huge in-roads with Mac Irvin, the CEO of the Fire and one of the most influential high school basketball figures in Chicago. In case anyone hasn't noticed, other members of the Fire include 6'4 class of 2010 guard Crandall Head from Crane, who is also an Illini commit, as well as Shaw, 6'5 forward Wayne Blackshear from Curie and 6'5 wing Sam Thompson from Whitney Young, all of whom are among the Illini's top recruiting priorities in 2011. And then there are the rumors surrounding the possibility of yet another Illini commit, 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (who is our #1 ranked player in Illinois from the class of 2010) joining the Fire as well. Does everyone get our drift?

As we have also previously indicated, ideally speaking the Illini coaching staff would like to be able to land at least two 2011 prospects from amongst Shaw, Blackshear and Thompson and then pair Abrams with either Randle or possibly 5'10 point guard Donovine Stewart from Bartonville Limestone. While all of this may have been nothing more than a mere afterthought a year ago, we now believe that it is something that is clearly within the realm of possibility.

While we never base an overall scouting evaluation of a player on one game, there are some things that you can immediately conclude after watching a prospect for the first time. Such is the case with 6'10 class of 2010 center and University of Illinois commit Meyers Leonard. After taking in Leonard's performance yesterday at the Shootout At The Hall in Champaign, we believe that it is a no-brainer when we say that he is the best big man in Illinois right now regardless of class. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye offers further commentary on Leonard as well as other impressions from yesterday's event at the Assembly Hall in this blog.

The bottom line is that our current evaluation of Leonard probably lies somewhere in-between these two extremes. With that being said, we undoubtedly believe that Leonard has skills that far exceed any other post prospect in the state. Other than Glenbrook South's Jack Cooley, the class of 2009 in Illinois is extremely lacking when it comes to high major front court prospects. While the 2010 class does have some quality depth in this area, Leonard is far more advanced right now than almost all of the others. Therefore, we tab Leonard as the best big man in the state, a shade ahead of Cooley and Providence-St. Mel's Phillip Jackson.

To begin with, we are on record right now as saying that Leonard is certainly NOT an offensive project. In fact, his greatest attribute is that he appears to be fundamentally sound and has a great understanding of post play and half-court sets. He has great hands, is extremely mobile and has a nice shooting touch, all of which explain why he is a consistent scorer in the paint area. Defensively, Leonard controls the glass and is a very good shot-blocker (he had 5 blocks at yesterday's shootout). He also has great stamina, as he played all 32 minutes of yesterday's contest.

As is the case with a lot of big men, we would like to see Leonard add strength. However, Leonard plays strong, which is why we don't see this as being a major obstacle. With that being said, one can only imagine how much more dominating Leonard could become should he add additional beef.

The other thing about Leonard that we find most impressive is that he puts up numbers despite the fact that he sees constant double-teams and zones every time he takes the floor. Yesterday versus St. Thomas More, Leonard put up 15 points on 5-8 shooting. Needless to say, we believe that he needs to be getting far more than eight shots in a game.

Overall, we would rate Leonard as the second best player of the day at the Shootout At The Hall behind Waukegan's Jereme Richmond. As far as state rankings go in the class of 2010, Leonard is our #4 ranked player, and is probably much closer to #3 than #5. One thing is definitely for certain--after watching Leonard yesterday, University Of Illinois head coach Bruce Weber has to be elated at the player that he is getting when it comes to assessing his 2010 recruiting class.

Additional Thoughts

... As we mentioned above, Illini commit and our #1 ranked player in Illinois from the class of 2010, Waukegan's 6'7 Jereme Richmond, was clearly the player of the day. Richmond totalled 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists in a 65-55 win over Rock Island. The bottom line is that if we were voting for the player of the year today, we believe that Richmond would have it won.

... While he may not be the best guard in Illinois (at least right now) from the loaded class of 2011, we believe that Rock Island's 6'2 Chasson Randle is the most versatile. Randle ended up with 22 points in his team's loss to Waukegan and we would rank his performance at the Assembly Hall as the third best overall behind Richmond and Leonard. At the present time Randle is the only back court prospect from the 2011 class who has shown us that he can be equally adept at either guard spot, a very important factor to consider when it comes to evaluating that class. And by the way, we have every reason to believe that the Illini coaching staff would be more than happy to take both Randle and Mt. Carmel's Tracy Abrams when it comes to assessing their recruiting priorities in 2011.

... While he wasn't dominating in Warren's 54-42 victory over Curie, 6'3 guard Brandon Paul was certainly good enough and remains our #1 ranked prospect in Illinois from the class of 2009. Yes, Paul can be streaky (as he was yesterday), but when he is on there may not be another player in the state from the 2009 class who can change the course of a game the way Paul can. That certainly proved to be the case yesterday at the Assembly Hall, as Paul still managed a double-double, as he wound up with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The one part of Paul's game that many people take for granted is his defense. Simply put, when Paul puts his mind to it he can defend as well as just about anybody. Look no further than the job Paul did guarding Curie's Wayne Blackshear, as he limited the prized class of 2011 prospect to 8 points on 4-13 shooting. As a result, Paul checks in as our #4 ranked player overall at this event.

... Our #5 ranked performer at the Shootout At The Hall goes to Peoria Manual's 5'11 class of 2009 guard Paris Gulley, who was absolutely spectacular in leading Manual to a 71-70 upset victory over North Lawndale, our preseason #1 ranked team in the state. Gulley finished with 22 points on 8-12 shooting, including 3-5 3-point field goals. There is no question that Gulley can score, as he is wiry strong and a good shooter with a quick release. He is also very good in transition and scrappy on defense. In our minds he has undoubtedly solidified his status as a D1 prospect.

To subscribe to Illinois Prep Bulls-eye's written reports, write us at the following address:
Illinois Prep Bulls-eye
P.O. Box 488
Downers Grove, IL 60515
e-mail us at roy1harv@aol.com or call us at (630) 910-1829.

The glut of high school basketball shootouts in the state of Illinois during December may be greater than the holiday shopping rush. There are three in particular that stand out--the Shootout At The Hall on December 13, the Loop Capital Markets Shootout on December 14 and the Windy City Showdown on December 20. They are all must-see events and should be among the highlights of the month.

The event will also feature a pair of talented prospects from the loaded class of 2011 who Weber has already offered scholarships to--6'5 forward Wayne Blackshear from Curie and 6'2 guard Chasson Randle from Rock Island. We would also be remiss if we didn't mention that our preseason #1 team in Illinois--North Lawndale--will also be among the participants. All in all, it should be a great day of basketball, especially if you are an Illini basketball fan.

Ticket prices for the Shootout At The Hall are $15 for an adult VIP, $10 for general admission and $5 for students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.uofiassemblyhall.com or (217) 333-5000.

The Loop Capital Markets Shootout will be held at St. Xavier University in Chicago and will have a strong local flavor to it, as it will feature many of the top high school basketball programs in the Chicago Public League as well as the Chicago Catholic League, including Whitney Young (our preseason #2 team in Illinois), Simeon, Seton Academy, Curie, Marshall, Hyde Park, Leo and St. Ignatius. The event will be divided into two sessions, with the first session beginning at 9:30 A.M. and the second session starting at 5:30 P.M.

Ticket prices per session are $10 in advance and $13 at the door.

The Windy City Showdown will take place at Loyola University's Gentile Center and is absolutely loaded with not only some of the top high school basketball teams in Chicago but throughout the midwest as well. In fact, we think that it is the best shootout including out of state teams to hit Chicago since Hoops In The Loop. Both Detroit Country Day and Indianapolis Lawrence North are nationally ranked, while Bishop Leurs High School in Ft. Wayne, IN has one of the top underclass prospects in the nation in 6'6 class of 2010 forward and Ohio State commit DeShaun Thomas. Racine Horlick, meanwhile, has one of the top uncommitted prospects from the 2009 class in 6'6 Jamil Wilson.

Top local talent will include De LaSalle's 6'7 Mike Shaw, our #1 ranked prospect in Illinois from the class of 2011, as well as a pair of talented teammates in 6'5 class of 2011 wing Dre Henley and 5'11 Fairfield recruit Derek Needham, Blackshear, 5'10 class of 2011 point guard George Marshall from Brooks, 6'2 class of 2009 shooting guard Jeremy Jones (whose stock is rapidly on the rise) and 6'3 class of 2010 swing man Brandon Spearman, both from Simeon and 6'0 class of 2010 guard Wayne Simon from St. Joseph.

Tickets for the Windy City Showdown are $8 per session or $12 for a pass to all five games and can be purchased in advance at NY2LASports.com.

Below are the matchups for all three shootouts.

Shootout At The Hall--December 13

10:30 A.M. Stanford (Olympia) vs. Mahomet (Mahomet-Seymour)
12:15 P.M. Robinson (H.S.) vs. Decatur (St. Thomas More)
2:00 P.M. Peoria (Central) vs. Chicago (Crane)
3:45 P.M. Rock Island (H.S.) vs. Waukegan (H.S.)
5:30 P.M. Chicago (North Lawndale) vs. Peoria (Manual)
7:15 P.M. Gurnee (Warren Township) vs. Chicago (Curie)
9:00 P.M. Sterling (H.S.) vs. Champaign (Centennial)

Loop Capital Markets Shootout--December 14

Session I
9:30 A.M. Chicago (Von Steuben) vs. Chicago (St. Rita)
11:00 A.M. Chicago (Morgan Park) vs. Niles (Notre Dame)
12:30 P.M. Chicago (Curie) vs. Chicago (Hales Franciscan)
2:00 P.M. Chicago (Marshall) vs. Chicago (St. Ignatius)

Session II

5:30 P.M. Chicago (Hyde Park) vs. South Holland (Seton Academy)
7:00 P.M. Chicago (Whitney Young) vs. Akron (St. Vincent St. Mary) OH
8:30 P.M. Chicago (Simeon) vs. Chicago (Leo)

Windy City Showdown--December 20

1:00 P.M. Milwaukee (Madison) WI vs. Westchester (St. Joseph) IL
2:45 P.M. Racine (Horlick) WI vs. Chicago (Brooks) IL
4:30 P.M. Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN vs. Chicago (Curie) IL
6:45 P.M. Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI vs. Chicago
(De LaSalle) IL
8:30 P.M. Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN vs. Chicago (Simeon) IL

To subscribe to Illinois Prep Bulls-eye's written reports, write us at:
Illinois Prep Bulls-eye
P.O. Box 488
Downers Grove, IL 60515
e-mail us at: roy1harv@aol.com or call us at: (630) 910-1829.

Don't get us wrong--every single player that University of Illinois head coach Bruce Weber has recruited in both the classes of 2009 and 2010 will be a vital piece to the puzzle when it comes to Illini basketball two or three years from now. However, we are thoroughly convinced that no player will be more influential in determining the Illini's future success than Jereme Richmond. We will even go as far as to say that it begins and ends with him. Anyone who saw Richmond play at the Waukegan Thanksgiving Tournament this past week should know exactly what we mean.

As we have said repeatedly, not only is Richmond the #1 player in Illinois from the class of 2010, but he is also the most naturally talented player in the state--period. While all of the Illini recruits from the 2009 and 2010 classes are talented, if we had to pick the one who is most likely to become a college All-American it would be Richmond hands down. None of the other recruits possess Richmond's degree of versatility. He is capable of scoring both with his back to the basket and facing up. In addition, Richmond rebounds extremely well, can handle the ball and has greatly improved his jumpshot, as he has proven to us that he can be just as dangerous (if not more so) on the wing as he is in the paint.

We could go on and on raving about Richmond's game, but everything we just said you already know. The biggest reason why Richmond is off to an even better start this season as opposed to last year can be summed up quite simply--it is his newfound mental approach. And as far as we are concerned, this above everything else is why he means so much to the future of Illini basketball.

To begin with, Richmond is no longer at odds with Waukegan head coach Ron Ashlaw. Last season the tension between the two became so great that it led to Richmond being dismissed from the Waukegan team just prior to the start of the state tournament. That was last year. At the Waukegan Thanksgiving Tournament, Richmond looked like a player who is ready and willing to accept his role as team leader and as a result his past attitude problems appear to be a thing of the past.

Not only has Richmond mended his relationship with his coach, but he is also getting along much better with his teammates and it shows in terms of his play on the court. Whereas Richmond would have forced shots and complained when he didn't get the ball last season, he now appears to be playing much more unselfishly--getting his teammates involved and simply letting the game come to him.

Perhaps a big factor with respect to this is that Richmond has come to learn that there is plenty of other talent on the Waukegan roster besides himself. 6'3 guard Colin Nickerson improved so much over the summer that his play earned him a D1 scholarship to Fairfield. In addition, 5'7 Mike Springs is an unheralded point guard, 6'2 class of 2010 wing Steve Connor is a blue collar/jack of all trades player and 6'4 class of 2012 forward Ahkeem Springs looks to be one of the most promising freshman prospects in Illinois. As a result, Richmond's level of confidence in his teammates has risen tremendously, as he now knows that he doesn't necessarily have to carry the team on his back.

There is no question that Richmond's positive attitude adjustment has to cause Bruce Weber to breathe a huge sigh of relief in more ways than one. After all, it wasn't that long ago that rumors were running rampant that Richmond was going to transfer prior to the start of this season. Had he done so, it would have been Richmond's third high school in three years, and as we said before, that raises a red flag for any college coach. We think it is now pretty obvious that Richmond's family made the right decision by having him stay at Waukegan.

Furthermore, there is still a segment of the Illini Nation that will remain forever haunted by the day that Eric Gordon officially decommitted from Illinois and instead ended up signing with Indiana. It is therefore no wonder that a certain degree of paranoia still exists amongst this group when it comes to how solid they believe Richmond's commitment is. While there previously may have been cause for concern due to programs such as Kentucky still sniffing around, we have every reason to believe that this is now a thing of the past.

This is where the intangible element comes into play with respect to how much Richmond means to the future of the Illini basketball program. Simply put, outside of the coaching staff Richmond has been one of the biggest ambassadors for Illini basketball that there is. Anyone who is close to Richmond will tell you the exact same thing. In fact, no one else from either the 2009 or 2010 recruiting classes has been more vocal when it comes to trying to get other potential recruits to visit Champaign than Richmond. That certainly doesn't sound like anyone who is having second thoughts with regard to his commitment and could prove to have just as much influence on the Illini's future success as anything that Richmond does on the court.

This past Saturday night versus Warren in a game which included another Illini recruit in 6'3 class of 2009 guard Brandon Paul, Richmond was clearly the best player on the floor, as his 23 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists attest to. As long as Richmond doesn't revert to his previous patterns of behavior, we think that this will also hold true for many games in which he plays for the University of Illinois.

The Illinois high school basketball season is now in full swing, but it is still early and nothing has really stood out just yet. Therefore, in this blog we offer up small portions of everything, some Thanksgiving leftovers if you will. Included on the plate are our comments on what is happening off the court, observations on what we have seen in the way of Thanksgiving tournaments thus far, as well as a couple of recruiting notes.

... While it has been reported that the eligibility status of 6'5 class of 2011 prospect Jacob Williams at Bartlett is still up in the air, most reliable sources are telling us that it doesn't look good. In fact, not only did Williams not play in Bartlett's opening game at the Waukegan Thanksgiving Tournament, but at the present time he isn't even listed on their roster. Which brings us back to something we predicted not long ago--we still believe that there is a possibility that Williams will be back at St. Patrick next season. Not only is that where Williams really wants to be, but we have been told that St. Patrick would welcome him back next year provided he gets into no further trouble between now and then. And for those who believe that Williams did nothing wrong (we have heard that in some quarters) and that he can't be denied the opportunity to play basketball at Bartlett, we say this: while public education is a right, participation in athletics is a privilege. It is our opinion that Williams forfeited that privilege as a result of his incident at St. Patrick. Add in the fact that St. Patrick operates under a "zero tolerance policy" when it comes to disciplinary matters involving their students, and that explains why we believe they have justifiable reason to try to block his eligibility at Bartlett, thus allowing him to be able to come back to St. Patrick next year. And NO, it is not a case of being punished twice for the same thing--it is all part of the consequence of the poor decision that he chose to exercise. At the time of his expulsion Williams also discussed the possibility of sitting out this season and working privately with Chicago Bulls trainer Tim Grover, and in our opinion he would be even better off if he were to go that route.

... Assuming that Williams is ruled ineligible at Bartlett barring an appeal process (and we have to ask does Williams really want to waste additional time going through that?) and knowing that all of the boy's basketball players who attempted to transfer from Washington to Fenger have been declared ineligible by Chicago Public League Sports Director Calvin Davis (although the names haven't been disclosed), it looks like Illinois Prep Bulls-eye will end up batting 1.000 on the predictions we made regarding the eligibility status of all of these young men.

... Another trend that is rapidly developing in Illinois high school basketball is the increasing number of AAU coaches who have become high school coaches. While we have no problem with this and don't see anything immediately wrong with it, we do have to voice a potential concern. As any astute high school basketball fan should know, in today's day and age a player's recruiting process (especially a player with high major D1 ability) is largely controlled by his AAU coach. With that in mind, we can only hope that we don't see massive numbers of players attempting to transfer to the school where their former AAU coach is in charge. Even if a high school coach relinquishes all of his involvement with AAU, there is still a tremendous temptation for others connected with that particular AAU program to "funnel" players to that respective high school. That is something that both the IHSA and the Chicago Public League need to monitor closely and prevent.

And now to Thanksgiving Tournament action thus far:

... We have watched a number of intriguing post prospects this week, including Glenbrook South's 6'9 Jack Cooley, South Elgin's 6'9 Daniel Lopez and DeKalb's 6'10 Jordan Threloff, all of whom are different in terms of of their strengths and weaknesses. Cooley recorded a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds when we watched him at the Fenton Thanksgiving Tournament and there is no question that he sets the bar by which every post prospect in Illinois should be measured by. Simply put, Cooley goes to war every time he hits the floor and controls the paint like no other player in the state can. His only true weakness is that he is actually overly-aggressive at times, which explains why he gets in foul trouble. But make no mistake about it, Fighting Irish fans are going to love him from the moment the Notre Dame signee sets foot on campus in South Bend.

Lopez was not even his team's best player when we watched him, as that honor instead belonged to 5'8 junior sharpshooting guard Tommy Childs. Nevertheless, Lopez has a superb attitude and work ethic and at 6'9 and 275 pounds could eventually develop into a legitimate low post threat, which is why we believe that he will be a contributor at Sacramento State.

Threloff is a year behind Cooley and Lopez as he is a class of 2010 prospect, but has a huge up side. He has great hands, does a good job of establishing post position and finishes most everything. However, he gets frustrated when things aren't going his way, which may explain why he missed the entire second quarter when we watched him at the Hoops For Healing Tournament at Naperville North. Threloff already has several scholarship offers from schools in the Missouri Valley, MAC and Horizon League as well as interest from Big Ten and Atlantic Ten programs, so it will be interesting to see how his recruitment continues to unfold.

... We have said it all along, but we are even more emphatic about it now after watching Zion-Benton defeat Mt. Carmel at the Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament-- a lot of D1 programs are missing the boat on both 5'9 point guard Ronald Steward and 6'3 Quintrell Love. Forget about Steward's size. The bottom line is that he is as tough as nails, makes plays and consistently gets in done in crunch time. Love's perimeter game may still be suspect, but he is a terrific garbage player who crashes the glass, scores consistently around the basket and is his team's best defender, as he is capable of guarding an opponent in the post or on the wing. And to top everything off, he plays with a high level of energy.

... 5'8 class of 2012 guard Malcolm Hill-Bey from Mt. Carmel has already begun to receive considerable hype and while he has been inconsistent at Lane Tech, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see that he is going to be a good one. Hill-Bey already has legitimate 3-point shooting range and isn't bashful about putting it up. Like many young guards his age, Hill-Bey still needs to refine his point guard skills, but there is no question that he has the ability to be special.

And finally, a few recruiting notes:

... We don't know whether or not the University of Illinois will end up landing class of 2011 point guard Tracy Abrams from Mt. Carmel, but one thing is for certain--the Illini coaching staff will not get outworked. If one needs any additional evidence of this, look no further than the fact that head coach Bruce Weber and assistant coaches Jay Price and Jerrance Howard were all in attendance at Lane Tech this week to watch one of Abrams' games. Once again, we can't possibly overemphasize how instrumental this aggressive recruiting approach has been with respect to explaining the Illini's recent recruiting success.

... Class of 2009 point guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards from Washington High School watched Missouri State's victory over Arkansas, a game which marked the official opening of the Bears' new arena, otherwise known as JQH Arena. Edwards remains a 2009 recruiting target for Missouri State head coach Cuonzo Martin. Word has it that Edwards has grown and is now up to 6'3, which will make him an even more attractive recruiting option between now and the time the spring signing period comes around.

... Things have been really quiet on the Darius Smith recruiting front of late, but seeing as though Southern Illinois University has another scholarship to give with respect to their 2009 recruiting class, don't be surprised if Salukis head coach Chris Lowery gives Smith a long hard look between now and March. After all, Smith's former high school teammate Ryan Hare is already in the fold at SIU, plus Smith is the best defensive player in the state and employs the type of playing philosophy that Lowery absolutely loves.

That's it. Bon appetite!

To subscribe to Illinois Prep Bulls-eye's written reports, write us at the following address:
Illinois Prep Bulls-eye
P.O. Box 488
Downers Grove, IL 60515
e-mail us at: roy1harv@aol.com or call (630) 910-1829.