De LaSalle vs. St. Ignatius Contest Draws College Coaches

January 22, 2010

10:45 P.M. CST

Tonight's Chicago Catholic League contest between De LaSalle Institute and St. Ignatius College Prep brought out a number of D1 college coaches who were on hand primarily for the purpose of checking out the outstanding underclass talent on the floor.  Among the coaches in the gym were University Of Illinois head coach Bruce Weber, Purdue University assistant coach Rick Ray and University Of Wisconsin assistant coach Howard Moore.

In addition to being at De LaSalle to check out 6'9 class of 2011 commit Nnanna Egwu from St. Ignatius, Weber was also there to get yet another look at De LaSalle's talented underclass duo of 6'8 class of 2011 forward Mike Shaw and 6'7 class of 2013 forward Alex Foster.  Ray's main focus was on Foster, who has already received a scholarship offer from Purdue (as well as Illinois), while Moore was also taking a close look at both Shaw and Foster.

Shaw was extremely aggressive early in the game, scoring 10 points in the first half before quieting down in the second half due to foul trouble.  He finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals in helping lead De LaSalle to a 45-41 victory. 

Egwu, meanwhile, totalled only two points in the contest and once again had a difficult time getting the ball.  He did, however, come away with 7 blocks and 4 rebounds.  Another talented freshman, 6'1 guard Jaylon Tate, helped seal the victory for De LaSalle by making four clutch free throws down the stretch.

A pair of D3 schools--Benedictine University in Lisle, IL and Loras College in Dubuque, IA--had coaches on hand as well.

Additional Recruiting Notes

... Earlier in the day University Of Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard was in the gym at Simeon to witness their Chicago Public League Red-South battle versus Bogan in which Bogan emerged with a 52-48 victory in overtime.  Howard was there to watch yet another prized class of 2013 prospect--6'5 guard Jabari Parker from Simeon--as well as 5'9 class of 2010 point guard Rico Richardson from Bogan, who has rapidly become the talk of the town in the Windy City after transferring to Bogan from Highland Park high school in Topeka, KS.  Upon the conclusion of the Simeon-Bogan game, Howard treked to the north side of Chicago to take in the East Suburban Catholic Conference rivalry between St. Patrick High School and St. Joseph High School in Westchester, IL at St. Patrick.

... Last night's Horizon League contest between Butler and Loyola-Chicago at Loyola University's Gentile Center attracted several notable recruits, including 6'5 class of 2011 forward Mycheal Henry from Orr High School in Chicago, 6'0 class of 2011 guard Garrett Jones from Evanston Township High School in Evanston, IL and 6'8 class of 2010 forward Jon Gac from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago.  Both Henry and Jones compete on the traveling team circuit with the Rising Stars, while Gac ran with the Derrick Rose All-Stars this past spring and summer.

... Speaking of the Rising Stars, head coach and CEO Mike Weinstein has confirmed that Loras College has received a commitment from 6'7 forward Josh Bruns from Lake Forest High School in Lake Forest, IL.

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.