Lethal Pursuit (2)

Lethal Pursuit

Morgan Park’s Top 100 senior guard Charlie Moore has the sweep-stakes emblem at a high-rate of speed these days. Josh Pastner’s departure to Georgia Tech triggered his de-committing from the Memphis program. Now with some twist and turns, the Moore Clan has 8 schools in lieu for his services.

LSU, SMU, UNLV, Cal, Memphis, Western Kentucky, DePaul, Illinois….. stay tuned.

Curie’s Landers Nolley sparkled in his sophomore campaign in Chicago, specializing as an outside marksman. The Atlanta area native high-tailed back to the south right after helping the condor’s capture the 4A state title in March. His sudden exit throws a wrench into our state’s 2018 class. Nolley was viewed as one of our most prized prospects in the group.

Six foot nine Nick Rakocevic has taken his act to Los Angeles to play at USC, which caught many locals by surprise. Rakocevic enjoyed a exhilarating February and March. Quieting critics while leading/directing a underclassman cast to a 3^rd place finish in the state 3A tournament. He may need a red shirt year to bulk up in the highly competitive Pac 12.

Top 5 States with the Most Talented Players in the 2017

Top 5 States with the Most Talented Players in the 2017

These areas will be branded by double digit prospects in the Top 100 national listings. Illinois slipped to 7^th-8^th.

1.       California (12)

2.       Georgia (11)

3.       Florida (10)

4.       D.C., Maryland, Virginia (10)

5.       Indiana (6 - 8)

St. Joseph out of the A10 Conference navigated their way into Chicago and plucked away two of our finer 2016 prospects. Most recently (Sunday 5/1) Lake Forest forward Lorenzo Edwards inked on with Phil Martelli’s program. Kenwood’s swingman Nick Robinson gave the program a verbal several weeks ago, he will provide versatility and big game experience to Philadelphia program which has rich tradition. The tandem should have illustrious career in the A 10.

Lethal Pursuit (1)

Lethal Pursuit (1)

I’m elated to be activated again after being side-lined for several weeks with a personal matter that demanded my un-divided attention; consequently, basketball and other work related endeavors came to a screeching half. After a little accelerated maneuvering I am back in fold.

Much has been said and written about the 2017 class, which was once considered a top notch marquee group. But after the April evaluation period, the group collectively has lost a bit of its luster. In December some studious observers in the Chicagoland circles witnessed a glaring drop off in star power, after Althoff’s mega winner Jordan Goodwin, who is regarded as No. 1 prospect in the class. College coaches and scouts sized-up the Top 10 players within the crop. In recent weeks, there wasn’t as many of our area standouts viewed as sure fire high-major recruits. Our state is projected to land 4 or 5 players in the Top 100 national listing.

Over the weekend, city suburban hoops report hosted an all Illinois Invitational comprised of 16/17u at Riverside-Brookfield High School. The event was well orchestrated, but our area club teams were haunted by lackluster play. Conant’s stellar point-guard Jimmy Sotos captivated the audience on hand with a superb showing versus Mac Irvin fire in a victory for his Young Legends squad. We will provide more information regarding the event at a later date.