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Loren Tate has been covering Illinois sports and high school basketball in this state for nearly 50 years. He joined the Champaign News-Gazette in 1966. Born in nearby Monticello, hometown of former Illini basketball coach Harry Combes, he always has possessed a keen eye for basketball talent -- even though he once was one of the leading semipro baseball pitchers in the country.
Here are Loren's picks as the five best high school players he has observed:
Quentin Richardson: total player, his rebounding on offense in high school was superior. No one went to the boards harder than him.
Isiah Thomas: He was discovered as a junior when he led St. Joseph to second place in the state tournament. He had a flair that was special for his time. He captivated the audience.
Derrick Rose: the most athletic guard ever. Super athletic. He was way beyond his time. He was unstoppable going to the hoop. Physically superior to anyone else.
Cazzie Russell: big guard with a flair for passing. He dominated every game he played. He dominated the ball. He could play any position. He was so physical. He overpowered people.
George Wilson: He played over the top of everybody. He was so much bigger and more athletic than everyone else.
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It is really impossible to argue with any choices. What was interesting about the Marshall team of 60-61 (I believe) was that Jim Pitts and Don Jackson were on that team. Both ended up at Northwestern. If Bill Rohr could have convinced Wilson to go to NU, we wouldn't be talking about NU never going to the NCAA.
You have never mentioned Spin Salario. I always thought he did a good job.
HERE ARE THE FIVE ON MY RADAR!
RICKY GREEN FROM HIRSCH
TONY PARKER FROM LEO
MARCUS LIBERTY FROM KING
BEN WILSON FROM SIMEON
LEARTHUR SCOTT FROM GORDON TECH
ALL OF THESE GUYS COULD REALLY PLAY AND THEY WERE WINNERS AS WELL, I AM NOT TRYING TO COMPARE THEM TO THE FIVE GUYS FROM LOREN TATE'S COMMENTS, THEY JUST KINDA POPPED IN MY HEAD TO MENTION, AND I THANK GOD I GOT A CHANCE TO SEE THEM PLAY!
Your list is very impressive.Why not Mark Acguire from Westinghouse instead of Quentin Richardson?No Ben Wilson??Who was the first coach at John Marshall HS to win the state championship in 1958? Was it Spin Salario or Harvey H ?
I saw Learthur play when he was a freshman at St Philips HS before he transferred to Gordon Tech (St Philips closed after the 1970 school year). He could talk more stuff on the court than anyone I knew at the time. I remember the first day of practice as a junior, thinking I had a chance at some playing time. Then in comes a tremendous group of freshman that included Learthur Scott, Marshall Hill, Eddie Lowery, Donald Harris, the sensational Barney Allison, Herbert Collins, Oscar Porter, and a host of other tremendous athletes that included junior transfer Ralph Valot, an I didn't see the light of day for weeks. I was fortunate just to ba able to learn from the talent those guys displayed.
Basketball practices were a gift from heaven; we had fun every practice, but Learthur would just break everybody down while talkin about your momma, your girl, and your ugly haircut.
By the way, that freshman class:
Learthur Scott (starred at Gordon Tech and beyond)
Marshall Hill (starred at Gordon Tech)
Eddie Lowery (starred at Austin HS)
Donald Harris (starred at Holy Trinity HS)
Barney Allison (starred at Crane)
Herbert Collins (starred at Holy Trinity HS)
Oscar Porter (starred at UIC)
Junior transfer Ralph Valot (starred at Gordon Tech)
Every once in a while high school hoops still pops into my head the memories.
And by far the greatest hs player I ever saw was Learthur Scott at Gordon Tech. I mean this cat was a man among boys and to a scrawny kid point guard w/ no right hand ALL the guys on Gordon WERE hoop Gods - Franco Valot Mal Mahone Bill Lang ...
But as awe inspiring good as those dudes were Learthur Scott stood out. I've never figured out how/why that dude didn't just make the NBA but wasn't a perennial all-star to boot.
One particular play still stands out 30+ years on ...
Catholic League All-Star game at DePaul Alumni Hall,
North div vs South.
Our seats were half court 3/4ths the way up the bleachers.
A good birds eye view of things. Scott was on defense hanging in the paint. The ball was working its way around the perimeter and I kept my eye on Scott.
You could just see him measure what was taking place. Like a cat leaping from ambush he darted past the free throw line to the top of the key and intercepted the next pass. Right in stride w/o missing a beat he had a breakaway for an easy lay-up on the other end.
It was an all-star game and Scott made it seem like a weekend church gym pick up game. Man the guy was an artist on the court smooth quick and most of all graceful.
I'm sure all these other public league cats were every bit as good as I heard but I never saw 'em in action. Learthur Scott I did and to this day the dude's game still stands apart from all the other great "GT Rams" I idolized back then.