ILLINOIS SPOT-LITE 2017 FALL CLASSIC

MEMORY OF COACH WAYNE MCCLAIN

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH & SUNDAY, SEPT. 17TH

PLAINFIELD CENTRAL HIGH-SCHOOL

NEXT LAYER
• Xavier Pinson 6-3 PG MM Chicago Simeon
“Had a strong summer, now Public League foe’s await; this slithery scoring threat will have to share playing time & the Spot-Lite in a crowded back-court. Top 12 – in the class, he has Kent St., George Mason, Cleveland St, Buffalo, Indiana St., W- Milw, Evansville.

• Tyronn Mosley 6-5 G MM Chicago Orr
“Excellent open-court threat, where his athleticism is on full throttle. He had a sizzling spring, summer was somewhat subpar. DePaul, Duquesne, Bradley, UIC, and Chicago St. all in the hunt for his services. Dayton still in the picture.”

• Drew Peterson 6-7 WF MM Libertyville
“Has that Pistol Pete Maravich floppy Hairdo. A versatile player with a good understanding of how to play. Rice, William & Mary, and Yale head his list.”

• Massiah Jones 6-5 SF MM Chicago Simeon
“This kid is a gifted athlete, exceptional quick leaper. Face-up game from 12-15 feet has started to evolve. Superb shot-blocker, a true fit for the Mac and Horizon League. NIU, W- Milw., Cleveland St., Chicago St., and Evansville head-line his list.”

• Maurice Commander 5-8 PG MM Chicago Curie
The lil lefty was nifty and effective all summer. His floor game certainly silenced his critics. He has a slew of mid-majors looking for him to pledge his allegiance. Eastern Ill, Wis- Milw., Evansville, Missouri St., Wofford, SIU-E, Cal-Davis, and Youngstown St.

• Cardell McGee 6-2 G MM Springfield Lanphier
Wrapped-up the summer on a strong note, after some adjustments with a new club team. Silver quick guard with a promising floor game, out-side shooting should be his focus of improvement before the season. Top 16 guy in the class. Offers from DePaul, Illinois St., Ut-Martin seem to be ancient.

• Quinlan Bennett 6-3 G MM Proviso East
“This kid was hampered by a leg injury all of July, but managed to play his way through the summer with-out sitting. Wiry athlete with a huge up-side, one of the true sleepers of the class. Deadly mid-range shooter. We view him as a top 15-20 prospect right now. Robert Morris, Lewis, Manhattan, and Albany. Watch him blowup during the season.”

• Eddie Creal 6-3 G/F MM Romeoville
“A impressive July opened some doors. Can flat-out play, great energy & good athlete. Thrives defensively, fun to watch; another sleeper in the group, unfortunately he plays for coaches who rarely return calls or messages. Southern U., Lewis.

• Jalen Shaw 6-10 C MM Elgin-Larkin
“Has enormous potential, we envision him being a player with impact at both ends of the floor one day. He’s demonstrated shot-blocking ability & rebounding. In fact he runs the floor exceptionally well for a big fella. SIU & UIC are in deep. A player to watch;”

• DeAndre Heckerd 6-1 G MM Romeoville
“I can see what the buzz has been about him; floor game is still in the refining stages. Still plays as if he’s un-sure of situations. Likely could blossom after high-school years. Coppin St, Southern, Bethune Cookman, while Drake Univ. may have vanished since Kendle Moore committed there.”

A SWIFT GLIMPSE AT THE 2017 CLASS

“Seemingly we all recognize who our State’s Top 10 players are. After a sobering summer, we will identify our next layer of Division One Prospects.”

FROM MY BIRDS EYE VIEWING
OUR TOP 10 PLAYERS

1. Talen Horton-Tucker – Simeon

2. Ayo Dosunmu – Morgan Park

3. Zion Griffin – Hinsdale South

4. Javon Freeman – Whitney Young

5. Xavier Castenada – Whitney Young

6. Darius Beane – Carbondale

7. George Conditt – Corliss

8. Tamell Pearson – Morgan Park

9. Tim Finke – Champaign Central

10. Kezo Brown – Simeon

2017 EARLY COMMITTMENTS

NAME / HT / POS / HIGH-SCHOOL / COLLEGE

• Kezo Brown 6-2 G Chicago Simeon Chicago State

• Darius Beane 6-3 G Carbondale Southern Illinois Univ.

• Sam Schafer 6-4 WG Lincoln-Way East Southern Illinois

• Tamell Pearson 6-8 SF Morgan Park U.A.B

• Javon Freeman 6-3 G Whitney Young Valparaiso Univ.

• Kendle Moore 6-0 PG Danville Drake Univ.

• Zion Griffin 6-6 F Hinsdale South Iowa State

Well, Mr. Tyger Campbell, DePaul’s most recent heralded recruit has elected to re-open his recruitment. Campbell, a nifty 6 foot general from LaLumiere Prep in LaPorte, Ind. has a current list of schools in pursuit, such as: Illinois, Iowa, and Purdue. Tyger, seems to be looking for more affection, like so many young dudes these days who think they are destined for stardom. A few months back Campbell reclassified to the 2018 Class, he was once profiled as Top 25 prospect in the 2019 casting. “So much for indecisiveness…”

More DePaul news; Chicago Native Tim Anderson returns to the College Coaching Ranks, landing a spot on Dave Leitao’s staff. Anderson, will be thrust into action immediately.

University Illinois at Chicago gave former Illinois stand-out Dee Brown another opportunity to build his profile in the College Coaching carousel. Kudos to UIC head Coach Steve McClain. Brown, replaces Assistant Brendan Mullins, who departed for (Red-Bird Country) Illinois State recently. Brendan will be missed in the Chicagoland Area.

Former Penn-State guard and St. Joe’s stand-out Brandon Watkins returned to Mark Montgomery’s staff at Northern Illinois. Montgomery, being the stand-up character that he is, rewarded Watkins who was a director of operation for several seasons with the Huskies.

JUST A VIBE

We could’ve have been more thrilled to see Northwestern’s Chris Collins hire former Peoria Central & Indiana University stand-out A.J. Guyton. The former Chicago Bull will be an instant splash with the Wildcat Program. Guyton, has always been one of my favorite Illinois Warrior Alum’s.

The 2017 Basketball Hall of Fame Ceremony over this past week-end in Springfield,Mass was highly impactful. Head-lining the star power occasion were inductees Rebecca Lobo, Bill Self, Mannie Jackson, the late Jerry Krause, George McGinnis, Muffet McGraw, and Tracy McGrady. I thought the speeches that were presented captivated the audience leaving an empowering message. This Ceremony was one to remember.

Kudos to Chicago Phillips football Coach Troy McAllister for having the wisdom as well as the confidence to push his program for excellence, instead of opting for small school titles. McAllister has elected to petition the IHSA to move his Program up to Class 5A, his Phillips squad currently competes in 3A. Which leads me to several basketball programs in the area performing in the State 2A and 3A format, while clearly having far more superior talent than their opponents and happy to amass multiple titles. Hopefully McAllister’s vision will set a trend of goal-standard for our hoop Coaches.

It’s un-fortunate that the once customary scouting service bureau has lost its value in recent years, much to the wave of social media outlets & analytic tools which allegedly provides a rapid source for data. Today, scouting services are viewed as a misty-eyed venture especially for minorities/Afro-Americans, simply because most of the Blacks in the College Coaching don’t look to lift/support or empower their own. Mannie Jackson’s Hall of Fame speech was enlightening, it stroke a cord in some of us, that fellow Hall Fame Coach George Raveling resonated in my head years ago. We have so many guys in the business today zoned out; their mission is landing the next gig! Afro-Americans take out each other so often; just look at the general service industry communicating with the population they serve can be emotionally draining. “I’m not instigating trail blazer either.”

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