January 2008 Archives

Evanston Township High School has a long and proud tradition in football, from NFL Hall of Famer Paddy Driscoll to Heisman Trophy winner Clint Frank to coaches Murney Lazier and John Riehle.

But the Wildkits have fallen on hard times in recent years, producing only one winning team since 2000.

So athletic director Chris Livatino was understandably ecstatic when he called on Tuesday to announce that the school board had approved the hiring of Mike Burzawa as the new football coach.

Recruiting has changed dramatically in the last 30 years, not for the better. Remember when prospects didn't announce their college decisions until signing day in February? Today, it's all about negative recruiting, early commitments, de-commiting and transfers.

It isn't a coincidence that the three top-rated players in the nation--quarterback Terrelle Pryor of Jeannette, Pa., running back Darrell Scott of Ventura, Calif., and wide receiver Julio Jones of Foley, Ala.--still are uncommitted. They can afford to wait. Colleges will hold scholarships for them. They can't be pressured.

Talent is in the eye of the beholder. That's why, it seems to me, that it is always fascinating to examine how the major recruiting services establish their top 100 rankings in football and basketball.

Take the case of Mount Carmel linebacker Steve Filer.

I'm sitting here in front of my computer and looking at a small bottle that someone anonymously mailed to me several years ago, in the early 1980s.

The label says: Fluoxymesterone. Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription.

Inside are about 50 white and green tablets, about the size of an aspirin. At the time, they were referred to as "uppers" and "downers."

The bottle came from a well-known exercise and weight-training facility in the western suburbs. They were being distributed to young athletes who wanted to enhance their performance.

Every time I watch Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose play on television, I fantasize about what might have been. What if one or both of them had enrolled at Illinois? What if one or both of them were playing in coach Bruce Weber's backcourt this season?

I'll bet Weber has thought about the same thing more than a few times, while watching Brian Randle commit two fouls in the first two minutes and sit on the bench or Shaun Pruitt miss two more free throws or desperately hoping that somebody, anybody, will convert a shot from the perimeter.

If you were a Chicago basketball fan in the 1970s, you knew the name: Arthur Sivels. He was a playground legend, the best player who never played in high school and better, his peers insisted, than nearly everyone who did.

How good was Sivels?

While Illini Nation celebrates basketball coach Bruce Weber's notable successes on the recruiting trail--it is fun to contemplate the future rather than suffer through the present, isn't it?--a realist might caution that it is time to temper the euphoria.

History tells us that young players who are projected for future stardom sometimes don't achieve those lofty expectations. Why? Because they don't get bigger or better. Because they don't mature.

There are many examples. This isn't to say that Stan Simpson or Brandon Paul or D.J. Richardson or Joseph Bertrand or Jereme Richmond or Crandall Head won't become the next Dave Downey or Deron Williams or Deon Thomas or Nick Anderson or Kenny Battle in an Illini uniform.

After watching Simeon beat Farragut 47-45 Saturday night in the championship game of the Public League Holiday Tournament at Chicago State, I still believe Homewood-Flossmoor is the best team I've seen this season.

H-F has the best point guard in the state in Southern Illinois-bound Kevin Dillard--leadership can't be underestimated at any level in any sport--and two superb athletes in Supo Sanni and Russell Ellington, who will play football at Illinois. The 6-4 Sanni is rapidly emerging as one of the best players in the state.

Someone just called to inform me that Crandall Head, Rich South's sensational sophomore basketball player, will commit to Illinois on Sunday, after the Illini-Penn State game at Assembly Hall. It's a lock. Bet the mortgage. Take it to the bank. It'll be like a coronation. Illini Nation can start celebrating.

How good is Head? The 6-4 guard/forward is better than 6-6 Jereme Richmond of Waukegan, who already is committed to Illinois and has been rated as the No. 1 sophomore in the nation according to some recruiting services. So where does that put Head in the mix? It's a giddy thought.

After hearing someone I never heard of predict on national television that Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis will be bought out of his 10-year contract for $15 million after the Irish finish 6-6 in 2008, I figured I might as well make a fool out of myself by making some outrageous New Year predictions of my own.