As the 2007 state football playoff moves into its second weekend, it is apparent that Mount Carmel, Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville North and Joliet Catholic have separated themselves from the rest of the field.
But how good are they?
Are they in a class with the best teams in playoff history? Or are they better?
Homewood-Flossmoor's Supo Sanni always imagined himself as a basketball player. But he kept his options open as football recruiting "was getting crazier and crazier." He never dreamed it would get as big as it did. Finally, he realized that football, not basketball, was his sport.
After weighing all of his options, comparing one school against another and adding up all of the pluses and minuses, the 6-4, 200-pound wide receiver/free safety decided it was time to make a decision. On Sunday, he made an oral commitment to Illinois.
ESPN, the sports entertainment network, is so big and greedy and arrogant that it is attempting to swallow the U.S. Army. But it may end up with a big stomach ache.
The U.S. Army has sponsored an all-star high school football game since 2001. The game, televised on NBC, has been played in San Antonio, Texas. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming picks the players who participate in the event.
A year ago, ESPN launched its own all-star game. It was televised on ESPNU and played in Orlando, Florida.
The state football playoffs begin this week, college basketball recruiting continues, awards are being distributed and Marshall's basketball team is playing in a different kind of court. Here's a look at what is impacting on high school sports:
IMAN SHUMPERT PICKS GEORGIA TECH: Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, who has been evaluating high school basketball players for 30 years, has a grip on the recruiting process like no one else. He has a good explanation why Iman Shumpert, Oak Park's 6-4 guard, chose Georgia Tech over Marquette and North Carolina.
According to Gibbons, Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt sold Shumpert, who wants to be a point guard in college, on the fact that he developed former stars Jarrett Jack and Javaris Crittendon into point guards and sent them to the NBA. And because Hewitt has a need for guards, Shumpert realized he has a better chance of playing earlier than at other schools.
Remember Darrell Imhoff?
Sure you do.
He was the star of the California team that upset Jerry West and favored West Virginia to win the NCAA basketball championship in 1959.
It proves you don't need a "franchise" player to reach the Final Four.
How good are the five players who have committed to Illinois coach Bruce Weber?
Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com has seen them all, some as many as five or six times against big-time competition. D.J. Richardson and Joe Bertrand rank among his top 70 in the junior class. Stan Simpson ranks No. 147 in the senior class. Jereme Richmond ranks among the top five sophomores in the country. And Brandon Paul is an unknown commodity.
Kedric Prince grew up in Rock Island and played high school basketball for the legendary Duncan Reid. He followed Bruce Douglas and his Quincy team to the 1981 state championship and became a big Illinois fan when Douglas went to Champaign. Later, he had a radio talk show in the Quad Cities and became a voice for the Illini in a region filled with Iowa fans.
"I had a reputation for saying what was on my mind," he said.
He didn't know what he was getting into.
I've been covering high school football in Illinois, from Champaign to East St. Louis to Chicago, for more than 40 years.
Along the way, I've met and admired many outstanding coaches, including Fred Cameron and Bob Shannon of East St. Louis, Champaign's Tommy Stewart, Richards' Gary Korhonen, East Leyden's Jack Leese, Deerfield's Paul Adams, Glenbard West's Bill Duchon, St. Rita's Pat Cronin, St. Laurence's Tom Kavanagh, Gordon Tech's Tom Winiecki, Brother Rice's Tom Mitchell, Joliet Catholic's Gordie Gillespie, Mount Carmel's Frank Lenti, Providence's Matt Senffner, Glenbrook North's Harold Samorian, Buffalo Grove's Grant Blaney, New Trier's Chick Cichowski, Vocational's Bernie O'Brien, Robeson's Roy Curry, Philllips' Carl Bonner and Julian's J.W. Smith.
I can't imagine why so many card-carrying members of Illini Nation are interested in what I think about Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber's ability to land oral commitments from guards D.J. Richardson of Peoria Central and Brandon Paul of Warren.
I would have replied to them directly but I discovered--why am I not surprised?--that most of them didn't provide correct e-mail addresses. They'd rather make silly remarks rather than indulge in an intelligent conversation.
Anyway, for what it's worth, here is what I think about Richardson/Paul:
Tom Lemming, the Barrington-based football recruiting analyst, has his share of critics, to be sure. He can't say anything positive about Notre Dame without incurring the wrath of fans from Illinois and Michigan. And if he says something positive about Illinois or Michigan, you can be sure that Notre Dame and Ohio State fans will roast him. Evaluating high school players is a no-win situation.
But every once in a while something happens that makes it all worthwhile. Lemming, who has been evaluating 18-year-olds for nearly 30 years, has been named one of the 10 most powerful people in college sports by The Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly newspaper covering the world of higher education.
Since the Chicago Public League began participating in the state football playoff in 1979, its representatives rarely have been considered serious contenders to win a championship.
In fact, only one Public League team--Robeson in 1982--has advanced to the state final. And only five others--Lane Tech in 1980, Tilden in 1983, Morgan Park in 2004 and Hubbard in 2000 and 2005--reached the semifinals.
But Morgan Park's 2007 squad is best of all. Coach Lexie Spurlock, like most coaches who know a good thing when they see it, prefers to dance around the subject and is reluctant to toss out bouquets with so much of the season still to be determined. But his Mustangs are the real deal.
There is a move afoot in Champaign-Urbana to retire the number of former Illinois basketball star Deron Williams, who led the Illini to second place in the 2005 NCAA tournament and has gone on to what is shaping up as an outstanding career with the Utah Jazz in the NBA.
But, whoa, Nellie. Not so fast.
Let's hope cooler heads will prevail.
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