Whitney Young coach Corry Carter wants to dispell some rumors about star guard Chanise Jenkins.
Fact: Jenkins hurt her knee in a game at Montini last week.
Fact: The nature of her injury is not known yet.
Apparently rumors are rampant about Jenkins' knee -- insert worse case scenario here. But until Jenkins sees a doctor, no one knows anything yet.
Jenkins is one of the best -- if not THE best -- guards in the Public League and one of the best in the state. She led the Dolphins in scoring last season with 16.3 points per game and recorded a team leading 131 assists. The 5-3 Jenkins helped Young to the Class 4A state title game in March where they finished second to Bolingbrook. She will be a junior in the fall.
If Jenkins does have a torn ACL, then she will be the second high profile player to go down this summer with the same injury. Last month Bolingbrook's Morgan Tuck tore her ACL at a USA basketball development camp in Colorado Springs.

Marian Catholic 6-0 forward Emily Kobel made an oral committment to UIC Tuesday.

Here's just a few of the top players from the Chicago area and where they are going to play in college. On Saturday, Wheeling's Janelle Cannon committed to Minnesota and Bogan's Brittany Cochran committed to Eastern Illinois.

Uniqua Hampton of Hillcrest to DePaul
Courtney Thomas of Montini to Marquette
Alicia Johnson of Von Steuben to Northern Illinois
Alison Seberger of Montini to Illinois State
Michala Johnson of Montini to Connecticut
La'Terria Taylor of Von Steuben to Northwestern
Dawn Luster of TF North to Loyola
Janelle Cannon of Wheeling to Minnesota
Brittany Cochran of Bogan to Eastern Illinois

This is my first blog entry since at least February. Honestly, I really can't remember if it was February or not. It seems like forever ago that I covered girls basketball.
The reason I've been gone so long is I gave birth to twin boys at the end of February. Each boy was a little over seven pounds, so I was carrying around 15 pounds worth of baby at the end. You can imagine how happy I was when the pregnancy was blissfully over.
So now that I'm back, here's a short look at some noteworthy girls basketball bits in no particular order:
* Montini sophomore point guard Whitney Holloway made an oral commitment to Notre Dame. The 5-4 Holloway, who averaged about 13 points last season, joins center Michala Johnson (Connecticut) and Courtney Thomas (Marquette) as the Broncos' other Division I recruits.
* Hinsdale Central point guard Toni Kokenis, one of the best guards in the nation, has not chosen a college yet. But Kokenis has already had an explosive spring. A striker on Hinsdale's soccer team, Kokenis scored 26 goals in 22 games and helped the Red Devils to the Class 4A state championship.
* Preseason No. 1 Whitney Young and No. 2 Bolingbrook met in the 4A state title game as many predicted. But Bolingbrook dethroned the defending champion Dolphins and captured its second state title in three years.
* Driscoll won the 2A crown in February and about two months later found out the school was closing.
* Former Buffalo Grove coach Tom Dineen came out of retirement to take the head coaching job at Stevenson. Dineen retired in 2008 and coached the Bison to the 2000 Class AA state title.
* And just last week, Bolingbrook phenom Morgan Tuck tore the ACL in her left knee during the U16 USA Basketball trials in Colorado Springs, Col. Initially, it was thought Tuck had just sprained the knee, but an MRI revealed that the best player in the class of 2012 had indeed suffered a tear. It will be interesting to see how quickly Tuck returns.
Of course, I've probably left some things out of this list. So forgive me as I get back in the swing of things.

T.F. North coach Tim Zasada reports that junior forward Karisma Chapman does have a torn ACL but will get another opinion Tuesday to see if she can resume playing this season. Chapman had an MRI done last weekend.

Riverside-Brookfield coach Larry Rocco pointed out an interesting bit of trivia the last time we spoke -- four of his five starters are three-sport athletes in the same three sports: volleyball, basketball and softball.
Center Fallon Ryan, the leam's leading rebounder with eight per game, power forward Regan Riley, small forward Jessie Hutchens and point guard Rachel Buccieri are the four three-sport stars. And guard Molly McCloskey is a two-sport athlete in basketball and volleyball. Rocco thought that in this day of specialization, that was quite the feat. I agree.

Proviso West wide receiver Kyle Prater is making school history. On Thursday, representatives from Stanford's football team went to the Hillside school and offered Prater a scholarship. The Stanford offer marked the 17th scholarship offer for the Sun-Times All-Area player.
The 6-4, 204-pound junior has received offers from every Big Ten school, Stanford, Notre Dame (coach Charlie Weis has visited Proviso West four times), Cincinnati and Arizona to name a few.
"When I was offered [by Stanford], it was overwhelming," said Prater, who opted not to play basketball for the Panthers this winter and instead concentrate on working out for football. "I never knew they'd come here and offer."
Prater has been working out this winter with teammates Darryl Johnson, a cornerback/wide receiver and 6-5 receiver Julius Shelby.
According to athletic director Mark Schneider, he does not recall if a Proviso West athlete has ever been offered by the Cardinal in recent memory. Proviso West students have gone to Stanford in the past, but not for athletics.
Prater said he will begin campus visits in September, but will take his time in making a decision.
"I was always working hard and I was always putting my time in, but I never thought it would bring all this attention," Prater said. "There are a couple schools where I already feel [comfortable], but I want to base my decision on my visits and what the environment of the school is like."

Montini junior guard Alison Seberger gave Illinois State a belated Christmas gift this weekend: an oral commitment to play for the Red Birds.

Loyola junior forward/guard Meghan McKeown is still recovering from a concussion she suffered a week ago during the Ramblers win over Regina. But after a visit to her doctor on Monday McKeown found out she also has an ear infection, Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker said. So McKeown will have to sit out until Jan. 3, which is the Ramblers next game at home against Hersey. Schoenecker said McKeown was able to do some running with the team during practice. Sophomore Katie Faught has been filling in for McKeown.
"It's different without her, but Katie has filled the spot well," senior forward Meghan Holy said.

Ok, so I wish I was in Phoenix, but Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith and his No. 3 Raiders are in Phoenix for the Nike Tournament of Champions.
And Smith couldn't be happier.
Smith called me Friday afternoon after Bolingbrook beat Chaminade Julienne of Dayton, Ohio 48-39. Julienne features UConn recruit Samarie Walker, but she was held to only 13 points because of Satavia Taylor's defense.
The game also featured an 18-point, nine-rebound performance by Morgan Tuck, who had injured her knee earlier this season. Tuck seems to be progressing nicely. And Taylor contributed 11 points and four rebounds.
Closer to home, on a night where many games were cancelled or postponed because of the weather, Geneva got its game in and kept its winning streak alive with a 62-48 win over Benet in the second game of the Naperville North/Benet tournament at Benet. The No. 8 Vikings improved to 11-0, despite leading scorer Taylor Whitley being held to only 12 points. Whitley's average is about 20 and Hinchman's is 12.
So guard Emily Hinchman and center Lauren Wickinski stepped up. Hinchman scored 20 and Wickinski 17.
Hinchman's point total was a career best.
"We needed someone else to step up alongside of Taylor and Emily has been bringing it on lately with a complete game, offensively and defensively," Geneva coach Gina Nolan said. "I feel like we have a lot of weapons and I thought Benet was playing great defense on Taylor. I thought Lauren stepped up inside but Emily was that silent one that they weren't expecting."

Trinity senior and Loyola recruit Monica Albano scored her 1,600th career point Tuesday night against Von Steuben. Albano, who is also a stellar softball player, entered this season with 1,382 points and ended Tuesday's game with a total of 1,607. She scored 21 points in the 69-52 Trinity loss.

Jim O'Boye has announced the pairings for the annual McDonald's Classic, held during Martin Luther King Day weekend at Willowbrook.
Perhaps one of the more interesting matchups occurs on the last day, Monday, between Young and Wheeling at 7 p.m. if Young and Wheeling remain 1-2 in the rankings.
Washington South Bend returns to the Classic and with them guard Skylar Diggins, who is considered one of the best guards in the country and will play at Notre Dame next year.
Here are the pairings for the 19th annual Classic:

January 16, 2009 - Friday
Regina vs. Willowbrook, 5:30
Lincoln-Way East vs. Warren, 7
Washington, South Bend, IN. vs. Lake Zurich, 8:30

January 17, 2009 - Saturday
Sandburg vs. Buffalo Grove, 11 a.m.
New Trier vs. Lake Park, 1
Loyola vs. North Central (Indianapolis), 2:30
Oregon-Davis (Hamlet, IN.) vs. St. Ignatius, 4
Bolingbrook vs. Washington South Bend, 5:30
Fenwick vs. Carmel, Ind., 7

January 19, 2009 - Monday
Kokomo, IN. vs. Driscoll, 10 a.m.
N. Central Indianapolis, IN. vs. Maine West, 11:30
Carmel, IN. vs. Hillcrest, 1
St. Charles North vs. Marist, 2:30
Hinsdale Central vs. Marian Catholic, 4
Montini vs. Fenwick, 5:30
Wheeling vs. Young, 7