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One of our most feared offensive players in the 2017 class Alonzo Verge Jr. reportedly departed Proviso West High School on Friday. The six foot three inch point guard considered by many scouting outlets too be one of the top 2 or 3 players in the class will work on his academics at a prep school in Florida. As of print there is no confirmation as to which school he will be attending. Verge Jr. had a magical season last year at Willowbrook leaving spectators breathless with his offensive output. We will miss him this upcoming season!

Jeremiah Tilmon’s departure from the East St. Louis program left a sobering effect on the Flyer’s fan base. Tilmon was our consensus No. 1 player in the 2017 class now he’s enrolled in La Lumiere Prep a situation geared towards improving his academic standing. We’d already lost a highly regarded 2017 post-man Joe St. Pierre 2 months ago to La Lumiere. East St. Louisfaithful’s will have to sit tight and embrace first year coach Phil Gilbert’s learning curve and hissteady hand in developing the foursome of point guard Marquise Chairs, versatile power guard Antonio Johnson, Kenny Roberson a dynamite athlete and bouncy 6-4 wing Patrick Baxter; while expectations are high for six foot five freshman Terrance Hargrove. “Therefore the Flyer’s roster isn’t bare, hopefully Tilmon can catch-up with his academic business and return to East St. Louis for his senior season.”

It seems the 2016 cast of prospects has paraded all over the place along the recruiting circles, in the midst big-timing various schools, things have surfaced that a lot of them still have quite a bit of academic work to complete. In essence many of them should have been subject summer school instead of on the summer circuit.

Valparaiso University seems to always have at least one Chicago public leaguer on its roster the last 4 or 5 seasons. They’ve added another intangible piece when Kenwood stellar two-way guard Zion Morgan gave them a verbal earlier in the week. Morgan has the ingredients to be a top notch defender, as well as a heady floor leader. He fits the Valpo profile, he’s a good student and high-character individual. Assistant Coach Matt Lottich really worked the process with Zion and his family. This was a kid Bryce Drew and his staff really wanted in their program. “Kudos to them.”

We knew my boys at UIC would make a splash soon and it happened when Belleville Althoff’s 6-3 guard Tarkus Ferguson gave them a verbal. “At the Spot-Liter we view him as a top 10-12 performer in the 2016 class with a ceiling that likely will soar higher than most in a subpar group.” Now he needs to do his part of the deal in the classroom. He is a gem for sure.

T.F. South athletic forward Brandon Johnson will join his good Buddy, Morgan Park’s JarrinRandle at Western Michigan. The Broncos got two quality prospects from the area, now Johnson has to focus on the academic end of the agreement.