Illinoishsbasketball.com Owner, Publisher, Editor, and Head Scout Daniel Poneman answers questions about Illinois State, Illinois, Paris Carter, and the top underclassmen in the state, in this edition of "Ask Dan."






May 20th, 2008
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Hey Dan, I’m an Illinois State Redbird fan. I was wondering what our chances are with landing class of 09 stars Dmitri Riggs and Dyricus Simms-Edwards. I know we have offered Riggs and have been on him for a while and I think Sims-Edwards could be a great Missouri Valley player. Have we offered him? Also who else are we going after for the class of 09?

Thanks,
Tyler

Tyler,

Illinois state is certainly on the rise, and if the new staff’s first recruiting class is any indicator of the future, then they will be a perennial NCAA tourney team in no time. With Coach Jank’s all-star staff of Anthony Beane, Rob Judson, and Paris Parham, they should be able to continue to land prime time in-state players. I have gotten to know Coach Parham well over the past year, because it seems like every time I’m at a Chicago Public League game, he is there to watch prospective Redbird recruits! He is truly one of the hardest workers in college basketball.

As for landing Simms-Edwards and Riggs, well let’s just say the forecast look sunny. Illinois State was the first school to offer both, and both have visited. Both have been quoted a number of times saying that they like the Redbirds, and it is safe to say that Illinois State is right at the forefront of these prospects’ recruitment. Illinois State is the only school to offer Riggs, and after they offered Simms-Edwards on March 24th he said- “I really like the style of play on defense and they get up and down. I really look at style of play. Their coaching staff, I like them a lot as well, but I really pay attention to style of play and academics. I saw them play three games this year.”

Illinois State has also offered Darius Smith of Chicago Marshall, and Coach Parham is heavily recruiting both Smith and his teammate Eriq Harris. James Kinney of Champaign Centennial and Nik Garcia of Niles West/Rising Stars are also being heavily recruited by ISU.

Why did Illinois have no apparent interest in Verdell Jones III, especially since he's from Champaign?

-Bill

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Bill,

I am not on the staff at Illinois, so I cannot tell you exactly why, but I can make a good guess. Verdell is regarded as the fifth best guard in the class of 08 in Illinois. Iman Shumpert, Dion Dixon, Matt Humphrey, and Lewis Jackson are all ranked ahead of him. Verdell sits behind these other players in the rankings mostly due to the fact that he doesnt have the size to contribute right away on the high major level. He is very long and talented, but very thin. Illinois never went after Dixon, presumably because grades were an issue. Illinois went for Shumpert, went for Humphrey, and went for Jackson. All three reported offers, but ended up committing to other schools. Throughout the whole process the lightly recruited Verdell as a backup plan, but never anything serious. By the time these three 08 guards committed, it was clear that Illinois was on the verge of landing some top guards in the 09 class, and possibly Simeon center Stan Simpson in the 08 class, eliminating the need for a guard in 08. Soon after, three of the top guards in the state for the class of 09 committed to the Illini. The transfer of Alex Leigon from Kentucky also helped a lot in the backcourt.

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Dan,

 I run a little AAU program called the Illinois Celtics and Illinois Storm and I just would like you to categorize some of these topics. Who are the top three point guards, centers, and shooters in the class of 2010 and 2011?
-Steve Price

Steve,

The classes of 2010 and 2011 are two of the best classes we have had in Illinois in recent history. From top to bottom, they are very good classes.

The top three point guards in 2010 would have to be Lavonte Dority, Deandre McCamey, and Ahmad Starks. There are a number of great combo guards in that class such as Anthony Johnson, Reggie Smith, Mike McCall, and Ryan Frazier-Chambers, but Dority, McCamey and Starks are the three top pure points. Dority is 6-1, attends Foreman High School, and plays AAU for Chicago Elite. He has offers from a host of D1 schools including Baylor, New Mexico, and Iowa State. McCamey is 6-1, attends St. Joseph High School, and plays AAU for the Illinois Wolves. He has an offer from Southern Illinois. Starks is 5-8, attends Whitney Young High School, and plays AAU for the Illinois Warriors. He has an offer from Valpo and heavy interest from Northwestern.



The class of 2011 is loaded with great point guards, even more so than 2010. The three top combo guards in the class are Donivine Stewart of Limestone, Ryan Boatright of East Aurora, and Tracey Abrams of Mt. Carmel. Three of the top 4 point guards are Jay Parker of Thornton, Garret Jones of Evanston, and George Marshall of Brooks. The #1 point guard in Illinois for the class of 2011 is Chasson Randle of Rock Island, who plays for the Illinois Wolves. He could emerge as a top 3 player overall with a strong summer. Also, don’t sleep on Kentrell King of Crete-Monee, Greg Travis of Curie, Tywon Pickney of Simeon, Alphonse Mathews of Farragut and Julius Brown of Hillcrest who are all terrific point guards.

You will be hard pressed to find a great center in Illinois for the class of 2011, but three kids to watch are 6-6 Codey Funk of El-Paso, 6-7 Nana Egwu of St. Ignatius, and 6-8 Tyler Terrance of Midland.





As far as top shooters go, it is very hard to say who the very best are. There is a very good chance that there are a number of top notch shooters out there who don’t have the all around game to get statewide exposure, but with that being said there are still a number of prolific outside shooters in the rankings. Anthony Johnson (Young), Alex Rossi (New Trier) and Lenzelle Smith Jr. (Zion-Benton) are all top 10 players in the state who have very good, but inconsistent strokes from long range. Mike McCall (Foreman) and Ahmad Starks (Young) are probably the best mid-range shooters in the class. Alex Dragicevich (GBN) and Ben Brust (Mundelein) are probably the two best outside shooters near the top of the ranks. 6-8 Brian Fabrizius (Hersey) can really stroke it for a big guy. Duje Dukan (Deerfield) hasn’t gotten a ton of exposure yet, but the 6-4 guard has a really nice long range shot and should make a splash with Full Package this summer.


George Marshall (Brooks), Greg Travis (Curie), Hayden Hoerdemann (Bloomington Central Catholic), Jordan Nelson (Lincoln), Mike Dombrowski (Johnsburg), Jack Ryan (Glenbrook South), Garrett Jones (Evanston), Ramsan Younatham (Niles West), and Ryan Jackson (Riverside-Brookfield) are a few of the great shooters in the class of 2011.

Is Paris Carter of Thornton Fractional South close to making a decision?  What school is he leaning towards?

Thanks.

Andy

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