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Nobody knows Downstate basketball better than Bill "Flash" Flanagan, who has been observing and evaluating players from his base in Bloomington for more than 35 years. A former high school and college coach, he has a handle on the haves and have-nots, the contenders and the pretenders.
For example, Flanagan doesn't buy into the more popular theory that Warren's Illinois-bound Brandon Paul is the No. 1 prospect in the junior class.
"Paul is a two-guard in a point guard's body," Flanagan said. "He isn't big enough to be a shooting guard in college."
Flanagan insists the best player in the class of 2009 is either guard D.J. Richardson of Peoria Central, guard Joseph Bertrand of Sterling or point guard Dyricus Sims-Edwards of Washington, Ill.
But that's not all.
Flanagan also calims that 6-8, 230-pound junior Jordan Prosser of Eureka "can start at Illinois right now. He is better than any big man that Illinois has at the moment."
Curiously, Illinois hasn't offered Prosser a scholarship. He has nine offers, including Indiana, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Xavier, Bradley, Southern Illinois and Illinois State.
In a recent game, Prosser scored 27 points in a 50-42 victory over Mahomet-Seymour. Another promising junior, 6-8, 215-pound Nick Washburn, had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Mahomet-Seymour.
Looking for a point guard? Illinois coach Bruce Weber is. Or should be. Of all the talented underclassmen who are committed to Illinois, none is a pure point guard. So how about 6-0 freshman Donivine Stewart of Bartonville Limestone?
Stewart scored 45 points in a recent 85-75 loss to highly rated Washington, Ill. Indiana-bound Matt Roth scored 34 for Washington.
Another talented junior is 6-9, 220-pound Zeke Schneider of Metamora, who had 35 points and 14 rebounds in a recent victory over Pontiac. Schneider is being recruited by Illinois, Kansas, Bradley, Indiana State and Illinois State.
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Mr. Bell,
It's not too hard to understand why Prosser has no offer from Illinois. They have no scholarship to give him since Tyler Griffey took the last remaining scholarship Illinois has available until 2011. As a matter of fact, Illinois will be one scholarship over its limit in 2010 if Brian Carlwell receives a medical redshirt for this season.
What is wrong with a 6-2 or 6-3 long, athletic 2-guard who is a respectable shooter in college basketball? I can seem to recall plenty of 2-guards the same size or smaller than Brandon Paul (Shannon Brown? Jerel McNeal?) who are doing or did just fine at the college level. Boy, do we nitpick over talented underclass prospects today.
Looking for a point guard try Chris Colvin Whitney Young. The best sixth man in the state of Illinois. Is the most talented player on a loaded squad. Is a true point guard. Still has to learn to cut down on turnovers but great penetrator. Also passes the ball to his big men when he penetrates in the lane. Good three point shooter even though he doesn't shoot a lot of them. Good finisher when he gets into the lane. Check out the winning shot at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament this past Christmas.
Thanks for your blog. You quote Mr. Flanagan as saying that Brandon Paul is not big enough to play shooting guard in the Big Ten. What is Paul's height and weight? How much shorter is Paul than Shannon Brown or Dwayne Wade?
Change of Subject: It would be interesting if Taylor Bell or Mr. Travis wrote a blog about the incorrect historical facts in this editoreal http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0213edit3feb13,0,3801026.story.