D.J. Richardson And Marcus Jordan Take Their Games To An Elite Level At NIKE Peach Jam

July 16, 2008

10:30 A.M. CST

Let us begin by saying that the 2008 NIKE Peach Jam was a "ridiculously loaded event", unlike other events where the top players only showed up for one day and where other analysts built the event up to make it sound ten times better than it really was simply because they were in attendance along with a large quantity of D1 college coaches.

With that being said, there is no question that plenty of talent from Illinois was on hand at this year's Peach Jam.  When it was all over, there were two players who clearly proved to be the state's top performers--6'3 class of 2009 guard and University of Illinois commit D.J. Richardson from Peoria Central High School in Peoria, IL and 6'3 class of 2009 guard Marcus Jordan  from Whitney Young High School in Chicago.  Simply put, both Richardson and Jordan both took their games to another level at Peach Jam and clearly stood out above all other prospects from Illinois.

Few players were more dominant throughout the course of the entire event than Richardson.  He finished as the Peach Jam's second leading scorer heading into tournament action and was undoubtedly the Illinois Warriors' catalyst.  Richardson helped lead the Warriors to a 5-0 record in pool play, which included wins over Team Jones, Rising Stars Gold, South Carolina Ravens, Houston Hoops and Team Final.  His best game was a 30 point effort in the win over the Ravens.  Unfortunately Richardson had to leave Peach Jam and come home prior to the Warriors' opening game of the 17-under tournament vs. California Supreme on account of having to attend summer school.

With Richardson's performance at Peach Jam, he has proven to us that he is now the #1 player in Illinois from the class of 2009, ahead of both 6'3 guard and University of Illinois commit Brandon Paul and 6'1 guard Chris Colvin in what should remain a three-horse race for the top spot throughout the course of the upcoming high school season.  We believe that what sets Richardson apart from the rest of the players in Illinois from his class is the enormous competitive fire that he brings with him every time he steps onto the court.  That and the fact that his overall skill set has improved immensely, to the point where there are now virtually no weaknesses in his game.

We have told everyone from the get-go that Jordan is not getting the respect that he deserves.  After an outstanding performance at Peach Jam that is sure to change, to the point where he will inevitably be receiving even more national attention.  While the Rising Stars Gold finished 3-2 in pool play, Jordan was a model of consistency throughout.  He got to the basket at will against every team that he faced, drilled short-range jumpers as well as three-pointers and finished among the top ten overall scorers, with his top game being a 30 point outburst vs. Team Jones. 

The question that was the most frequently asked of us by college coaches that were in attendance at Peach Jam was "who is recruiting Marcus Jordan?"  While that remains somewhat of a mystery, we can say the following without hesitation--Marcus Jordan is without question a high major D1 recruit and we can guarantee that by the end of the summer he will be receiving scholarship offers from schools at that level.  

We will have more thoughts on Richardson in our upcoming blog which can be found on the Chicago Sun-Times high school sports web site and can be accessed at http://www.blogs.suntimes.com/illinois.  Not only that, but in the next couple of days we will have all of the NIKE Peach Jam information that one can possibly handle concerning prospects from Illinois, including a look at the top stock raisers as well as recruiting news. 

We encourage everyone to stay tuned, as there was only one other internet recruiting service from Illinois in attendance at Peach Jam.  Just to give everyone a quick hint, it was not "the joker."

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to recruiting and high school basketball in Illinois.