Four Illinois Teams Advance To Final 32 Of 17-Under  Nationals

July 30, 2008

10:00 P.M. CST

The Illinois contingent of 17-under AAU teams has been very successful so far in Orlando, and yesterday the solid play continued with some impressive victories. Rising Stars-Gold easily defeated the Oklahoma Rams 70-50, the Illinois Stars clobbered North Carolina Gaters East 62-36, Team NLP-Dickie Simpkins beat the North Carolina Disciples 67-58, and Team NLP-Montgomery looked great in defeating Connecticut Flames 81-68. Games tip off today with the Illinois Stars playing the Charlotte Royals at 10:00 A.M.  EST, Team NLP-Montgomery playing Connecticut Basketball Club at 11:30 A.M. EST, Rising Stars-Gold playing Philly Pride at 11:30 A.M. EST, and Team NLP-Simpkins playing South Florida Elite at 1:00 EST. An 8:30 A.M. EST matchup between SYF Players from Northwest Indiana and 6'0 Chicago (North Lawndale) IL guard John Taylor and Shining Star Sports-Price, OH is also a game we hope to catch part of.If these teams win, they will play Sweet 16 games from 5:30 P.M. EST to 8:30 EST tonight.  

The Rising Stars-Gold have not been tested yet in the 17-under nationals, and have received great balance and team play, which is essential given the fact that they do not have much depth. Leading the way yesterday once again was 6'3 Marcus Jordan, who continues to have a splendid summer. The Chicago (Whitney Young) prospect scored inside, hit a couple of threes, and attacked the boards. 6'6 Nik Garcia from Evanston (H.S.) IL continued to prove that he is one of the nation's best long range shooters. He spots up quickly, has a smooth and quick release, and really moves well without the ball. His strongest part of his game, though, is running the floor and spotting up in the deep corner for threes in transition. Alabama, Michigan, Miami, Akron, and Providence continue to show a high interest in Garcia.

6'1 Alabama commit Cully Payne from Schaumburg (H.S.) is having as strong a week as he's had all summer. He is once again taking advantage of matchups and the non-athletic, non-pressing style he has encountered. He is running the show, getting 7-8 assists per game, and has greatly decreased his turnovers to consistently sport turnover margins ranging from 2:1 to 4:1. Payne has also shot much better than we've seen this summer. 6'7 junior Illinois commit Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) is also playing as well as he's played all summer, and yesterday combined a couple of threes with numerous transition finishes and slashing drives from the wing. He has the skill set to play 4 different positions, and his ball handling is as solid for a 6'6 kid that we have seen this summer. Finally, what more can we say about 6'9 Notre Dame commit Jack Cooley? He takes NO prisoners, knocks your booty off on the boards, and scores or gets fouled when he gets the ball in the post. This kid will keep getting better and better and will be a terrific four year player for the Fighting Irish.

The Illinois Stars have been the most under the radar Illinois AAU success story of the summer and their hot play continued yesterday. 6'3 junior Ravonte Rice from Champaign (Centennial) IL continues to prove that he is one of the most underrated Class of 2010 prospects in Illinois. He is a warrior, scores inside and out, and plays much bigger than his height. Most importantly, he finishes everything in transition and on the boards. There are not too many more underrated winners in Illinois' Class of 2009 than 6'1 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay commit Seth Evans. He rarely turns the ball over, plays within himself, distributes the ball, and makes teammates better. He has also been one of the best long-range shooters in Orlando. He can be a future All-Horizon League performer for the Phoenix.

One other player who caught our eye was 6'0 Alexander Culver from Champaign (Central) IL, who played mostly off the ball, but showed us good leadership and penetrating skills when spelling Evans at the point. Because the Stars play only 8 guys, everyone plays multiple positions, and that is the strength of this team. Culver can shoot it off the dribble, but his shot selection still needs to improve. He has had several Division 2 and low majors watching his games this summer, including Chicago State, Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, SIU-Edwardsville, Lewis University, St. Joseph-Renselaer, Hillsdale College, and Valparaiso.

The two Team NLP's keep rolling along, and we must say that Team NLP-AM is one of the best AAU teams we have seen this summer that is considered a "B" team. They have more than held their own against "A" team caliber competition. Dickie Simpkins has built a very good program in a short period of time, which goes to show that the Northern suburban area of Chicagoland is becoming among the deepest and most underrated areas of talent in Chicagoland. Team NLP-AM got solid play yesterday once again from 5'10 Zion (Zion-Benton) point guard Ronald Steward. Forget the size, folks! This kid is a Division 1 player. He slices through traffic, finds ways to get his shot off, and is just a winner! Every game, he is good for at least 3-5 steals or other plays that lead to 10 or more easy points for himself or teammates. 

6'3 Quentrell Love from Zion (Zion-Benton) is very underrated, as he is athletic, runs the floor, scores consistently in mid range, and finishes everything. He will need to extend his range and ball skills to play at the Division 1 level, but he plays big. This team does not have much overall size, but they hold their own on the boards through grit and determination, and this has been seen in the efforts of 6'6 Brandon Kurz from Lake Zurich (H.S.) IL. He can step out and hit threes, but also can go to the basket from the wing. He plays post on his high school team, but it was good to see his wing forward skills here yesterday. Together with 5'10 Connor Mooney, who plays for team NLP-Simpkins, Lake Zurich will be heard from next season.    

Finally, turning to team NLP-Simpkins, 6'4 University of Illinois commit Brandon Paul from Gurnee (Warren) and 6'3 junior star Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton) were once again spectacular yesterday. Paul finished in the 20's and Smith must have been close to that. Without official statistics, it was hard to tell. Paul nailed threes, hit floating mid-lane falling shots, and attacked the basket. Other coaches were saying that comparisons to former University of Illinois great Frank Williams are not out of the question. Smith bought the ball down, attacked the basket from the wing, hit two threes, got numerous boards at both ends, and quite frankly left the gym without his ass, as he played it off! We reported yesterday that Smith picked up an offer from Florida, and that Kentucky could also be ready to offer at any time.  

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Additional Recruiting Notes     

--- Lenzelle Smith's list continues to expand into the double digits, as Indiana, Ohio State, Boston College, Notre Dame, Illinois and Iowa State all watched his game intensely yesterday.  

--- Wagner assistant coach John Pugliese is a hard working young coach with excellent ties in Chicago as he played high school ball at Naperville (Neuqua Valley) IL and college ball at Lake Forest College, IL. He watched every Illinois Stars game (the only D1 coach in Orlando who did so) and is making 6'3 junior Ravonte Rice from Champaign (Centennial) IL a high priority.   

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