Also a recruiting update on Jacobs star John Moran...

Washington guard DeAndre Liggins, considered the top prospect in the class of 2008, broke his foot Friday at the Bob Gibbons Tournament in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He's expected to miss six weeks, which means he could be ready sometime during the all-important month of July, which features the shoe company camps and the big shoe company tournament week in Las Vegas.

Oak Park guard Iman Shumpert spent his Memorial Day on an unofficial visit to Marquette. The fast rising guard is also being recruited by Illinois, Notre Dame, Bradley, Wisconsin, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Northwestern.

According to Scout.com, Jacobs guard John Moran will take an unofficial visit to Butler on Friday. Northern Iowa and Dayton are also in the mix. Word is that Moran will decide soon.

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For the first time in a number of seasons, the title is up for grabs. There's no Jon Scheyer or Derrick Rose...

The Contenders
(in no particular order)

DeAndre Liggins, Washington: Liggins is full of potential and promise, but plenty of questions linger. Will his shot improve? Can he step up and win the big game? Just how athletic is he?

Iman Shumpert, Oak Park: The toast of the spring, but he often disappeared on the high school court.

Michael Dunigan, Farragut: Sometimes dominant, but then he can drop a zero point effort and seem frustrated. He has the most upside, just due to his size.

Nick Fruendt, Batavia: The best scorer in the class, but hasn't faced a lot of top-tier competition yet.

Matt Humphrey, Hales: Seems to be two different players. In AAU ball he's a confident, sharp-shooting superstar. During the season, nothing seemed to fall for Humphrey. If he puts it together he could surpass Fruendt and and Shumpert.

Kevin Dillard, Homewood-Flossmoor: His sophomore season was exceptional, and now he's dominating on the spring circuit.

Ryan Hare, Marshall: Didn't have quite the season a lot of people expected last year, but now that Beverley and Stovall are gone, we should see what he can do.

Stan Simpson, Leo: Very underrated. Simpson is the best combination of size, polish and athleticisim in the class.

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Back-to-back city and state titles help Smith achieve the national honor...

"This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my career," Smith said. "The called two weeks ago and said I was one of the four finalists. It's such an honor to win."

In his three years as Simeon's varsity head coach, Smith has led the Wolverines two back-to-back city and state titles and a second place city finish in 2005.

"I've already exceed my goals for my first four years of coaching," Smith said. "This is so nice because it's a national, not just a local honor."

Expect Simeon to reload next season. Guard Keyon Smith, who is being recruited by Florida State and Texas A&M, returns, along with Brandon Orange, Josh Anderson and highly-regarded rising sophomore Rob Robinson.

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New coach Perry Clark hauls in three players...

Former University of Miami and Tulane basketball coach Perry Clark, now the new Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head coach, signed 6-7 all-state forward Demond Watt of TF North, former Simeon all-city guard Tim Green (a standout at Highland Community College), and honorable mention all-area and All-Catholic League guard Antonio Topps of Leo, who was the valedictorian of his class.
 
Former New Mexico, Iowa, and Seton Hall assistant coach Billy Garrett has joined Clark’s staff.

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But the Public League rumor mill has Oliver headed to Robeson...

According to Oliver, he's staying put at Curie.

"We've got a great class coming in and a bunch of young guys coming back from last year," Oliver said. "We are going to have a real good team."

There's plenty of other movement going on in the Public League.

Former Morgan Park coach Paris Parham has officially taken an assistant coach position at Illinois State.

Donnie Kirksey, a controversial figure who was involved with the recruitments of Juwan Howard and Eddy Curry, was hired as head coach at Hyde Park. Kirksey has been an assistant at Vocational, Chicago State and DePaul.

South Shore and Morgan Park are also looking for head coaches.

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A huge weekend for Northwestern, as Glenbard West's John Shurna commits on Friday, Batavia's Nick Fruendt on Saturday...

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody pulled off a Mike Krzyzewski-esque feat this weekend, grabbing commitments from two of the top players in the class of 2008 in two days.
Nick Fruendt, Batavia’s 6-6 forward, committed before heading to prom on Saturday and 6-7 Glenbard West forward John Shurna committed Friday.
“The fact that they have managed to get both on back to back days is an absolutely huge recruiting boost,” Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye Report said. “It sends a clear cut message that they are going to be force in local recruiting.”
Fruendt chose the Wildcats over DePaul, Bradley, Dayton, Xavier, St. Louis and Southern Illinois. Many felt he was waiting for an offer from Wisconsin that never arrived.
“I really have to give a a ton of credit to [Northwestern asisstant coach] Taveras Hardy,” Schmidt said. “He knows these players inside out. He has an outgoing personality and he works hard. The players and AAU coaches alike feel that they can really relate to him.”
Fruendt, the most prolific scorer in the class, is considered a front-runner for player of the year honors. Washington’s DeAndre Liggins, Farragut’s Michael Dunigan and Oak Park’s Iman Shumpert are higher-rated prospects, but Fruendt (21 points, eight rebounds per game) has been the more productive high school player.
“He’s very similar in my mind to the players they got in 2007 like Mike Capocci and Michael Thompson,” Schmidt said. “I think skill wise he would rank with them.”
Both Fruendt and Shurna play club basketball for Illinois Wolves coach Mike Mullins.

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"This is the perfect recruit for Illinois..."

On his game:

"You have to go back a ways if you're a college basketball fan, but he reminds me of former Georgetown great David Wingate on those great Hoyas teams in the 1980s..... I love his size and length for a two-guard, he's such a well-rounded scorer in that he has a capable mid-range game, uses his size, length and athleticism to get to the basket and finish and can stretch defenses with his three-point shooting.... He's constantly in the passing lanes, creating havoc on the defensive end. He uses his strengths (size, length) to such an advantage defensively.... And the thing about Shumpert is how much he's improved and elevated his game in the last 12 months. He's done so more than any other kid in this class and shows me has more upside and more improvement to come. I love his potential. I don't think it's far-fetched to say that Shumpert will have a better four-year college career than DeAndre Liggins just because of his scoring potential alone."

On Scout ranking Shumpert #15:

"I'm not surprised by Scout's ranking as it goes to show sometimes how crazy national rankings are and why I've been so critical of them in the past. These people don't see players play as much because they are national. So when a kid has a monster weekend (as Shumpert did in the King James event), they skyrocket. Shumpert wasn't nearly as impressive in Fort Wayne as he was in Akron, but he's still the same prospect in my eyes."

On Illinois:

"It will be interesting but you have to say this: Illinois was really the first high-major school that was on him early and and has stuck with him throughout. You keep hearing of Shumpert's loyalty to those schools that were first in line. This is the perfect recruit for Illinois, another "must" recruit for the Illini as they've not put themselves in position to land a player that has blossomed late on the national stage."

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Coach Bill Carmody picks up the fast-rising forward...

According to Illinois Wolves club basketball coach Mike Mullins, Shurna gave an oral commitment to Northwestern on Friday. Shurna, a 6-8 junior, led the Hilltoppers to the supersectionals this season.

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He is according to Scout.com's Dave Telep, but two local recruiting analysts disagree...

I'll be the first to admit that I was shocked on Thursday afternoon when I first saw Scout's list. Shumpert, the Huskies' 6-4 combo guard, had catapulted into the national elite. He's now listed as the #15 player in the country, a five-star prospect. Just a week ago he didn't rank in the top 100 and was considered a three-star player.

Roy and Harv Schmidt of Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye Report disagree with Scout:

"Shumpert is a top 50-100 player in the country. This national class has not panned out yet, but we do not think that makes Shumpert a Top 15 kid yet. He has improved immensely and we love his game. Terrific length and versatility. He could be the #2 prospect in Illinois' Class of 2008, behind Liggins. But he is NOT a top 15 player."

So, how did he get the lofty ranking?

"These national people who rank kids solely based upon how they play at national exposure events they attend are insane. They totally ignore the rest of the year. Scout and Rivals people change their rankings strictly to match the lists of schools recruiting the kid."

The Schmidt's don't think Shumpert's higher profile will hurt Illinois' chances.

"It is all about getting in early and staying in there, which Illinois is doing. To suggest that any school is hurt by "big timers" getting in on a kid is to suggest that the school is not big time. We don't believe anyone can say that about Illinois, a perennial NCAA tourney team from the Big Ten. So no, the higher ranking and recruiting list does not hurt Illinois' chances one bit in our opinion."

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Oak Park guard Iman Shumpert and Farragut center Michael Dunigan both make the top twenty. Washington guard DeAndre Liggins checks in surprisingly low...

Shumpert is ranked #15, Dunigan is #20 and Liggins is #31.

Liggins was #18 on Rivals list, released earlier this week.

Hales forward Matt Humphrey checks in at #78.

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Kelly will join prep teammates Mac Koshwal and Thijin Moses on the Blue Demons...

According to Loren Jackson, Kelly, a 6-1 point guard, has given an oral commitment to DePaul and coach Jerry Wainwright.

Kelly, who has earned rave reviews on the club circuit this spring, will play for American Christian Prep School in Philadelphia or Stoneridge Prep in California next season.

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