Report From Reebok All-American Camp:  Chris Colvin, Lenzelle Smith, Wayne Blackshear Among Early Standouts From Illinois 

July 10, 2008

11:00 A.M. CST

A most reliable source who has seen every prospect from Illinois at the Reebok All-American Camp play at least once, provides us with a report on what he has seen thus far.

According to our source, the most impressive player from Illinois has been 6'1 class of 2009 point guard Chris Colvin from Whitney Young High School in Chicago.  Colvin was a last minute invitee to the camp and ended up replacing 6'4 class of 2010 guard and University Of Illinois commit Crandall Head on the roster.

Our source tells us that Colvin has demonstrated the same outstanding playmaking skills that we have seen from him all spring and summer, that he is currently among the camp leaders in assists, and is also playing exceptional defense.  It is also worth noting that Illinois is still taking a strong interest in Colvin and both Illini head coach Bruce Weber and assistant coach Jay Price have been watching him most intently at the Reebok camp.

After Colvin, the top players from Illinois thus far have been 6'3 class of 2010 prospect Lenzelle Smith from Zion-Benton High School in Zion, IL; 6'5 class of 2011 prospect Wayne Blackshear from Curie High School in Chicago; 6'4 class of 2009 guard and University Of Illinois commit Joe Bertrand from Sterling High School in Sterling, IL and 6'5 class of 2011 prospect Dre Henley from De LaSalle Institute in Chicago.

Smith has spent time at both guard positions while at the camp, but our source tells us that what sets him apart from the rest is his burning desire to win and the way he constantly gets after it.  Recruiting-wise, the first three schools that Smith mentioned when asked to give his list were Illinois, Indiana and Marquette.  Others schools that Smith named were Kentucky, Florida, DePaul and Stanford. 

Our source describes Blackshear as an outstanding athlete who is extremely active on the glass and around the basket.  He especially likes the way that Blackshear utilizes his strength in order to score on putbacks and power to the hoop.

Another interesting tidbit is that contrary to opinions coming from other national analysts, our source refers to 6'10 class of 2010 center Meyers Leonard from Robinson High School in Robinson, IL as "a work in progress."  Our source says that while Leonard is quite athletic, he is still raw offensively, needs to get stronger and develop better hands.  Nevertheless, it did not stop either Bruce Weber, Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter or Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery from watching Leonard's every move.  We know that a considerable number of high majors are tracking him, which is why we look forward to seeing for ourselves in the near future.

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