Illinois HS Basketball News: Issue 44
June 14, 2021
It’s been a couple of weeks, but the newsletter is back. It’s summer, but things are busier than ever with the contact periods now open for 2023s.
Coaching positions continue to open up and get filled as the school year ends. The high school transfer portal is picking up steam. 2021 boys make college decisions, and 2022 girls are beginning to do the same. And college offers were plentiful to start the month.
Reminder: To send me stories or recruiting news, find me on Twitter or email rudnik.jakub@gmail.com. And if you like the newsletter, please share with others who would like it!
Let’s get to basketball!
Reminder: You can receive this newsletter in your inbox every week for free by subscribing below.
Coaching Changes
We’ve tracked 69 coaching changes thus far this offseason, with 45 positions confirmed filled. Send any additional positions my way.
Joe Piekarz left Indian Creek for the Marmion boys job. He led IC to a 292-147 record over nine seasons. (Story: Rick Armstrong/Aurora Beacon-News and Eddie Carifio/Daily Chronicle)
Lindblom hires Narvel Newsom as its new boys head coach.
St. Theresa hired Mike Noonan as its new boys head coach.
Oak Park-River forest hired Carlton Rosemond, previously an Evanston JV coach, as its new girls head coach. (Story: Melvin Tate/Wednesday Journal)
Zach Keene resigned as Macomb girls head coach. (Video: KHQA)
Boys Recruiting News
The Riverside-Brookfield Shootout is Friday-Sunday. More than 140 college coaches are registered. Games can be streamed via BallerTV.
Kyle Williams (@K_Williamsmedia) will cover the event for Illinois-Basketball. PrepHoops Illinois has a primer for the event. So does Chicagoland Prep Hoops.
Boys 2023 contact period began Tuesday. Highlights include Duke and Kentucky offers for Kenwood’s JJ Taylor. Kenwood’s 2023 trio of Taylor, Darrin Ames and Davius Loury picked up 18 offers on the day.
Boys 2023 recruiting: 99 offers for 23 players.
Boys 2022 recruiting is steady, with at least 15 offers since June 1. The D-II and D-III recruiting is much slower than it is on the girls side, which is typical. I’ve tracked 186 total offers for 45 players thus far.
Metro East-Lutheran 2021 forward AJ Smith has picked up late D-I interest, with recent offers from and Bethune-Cookman, Southeast Missouri State.
Joe Henricksen wrote about the June and July evaluation period for the Sun-Times. He answered eight questions on the period and the talent around the state.
Girls Recruiting News
We’re up to 300 offers for 80 players in the 2022 class. 19 new offers in June already.
The 2023 class continues to rake in D-I offers. 18 players have already accumulated 149 offers, 148 of them D-I. Jordan Wood (Carmel Catholic) and Janae Kent (Oak Forest) highlight June’s recruiting with three offers each.
There are now at least 10 girls from the 2024 class with at least one D-I offer. The group has 27 as a whole.
Transfer News
At least 18 players, boys and girls, have transferred schools. At least two players have come back from an out-of-state transfer, and one other has left Illinois. We’ll track Illinois high school basketball transfers all summer.
Former Fenwick 2022 PG Trey Pettigrew has transferred from Eduprize (AZ) to Kenwood. He holds 10-plus D-I offers.
Former St. Joseph 2022 C Kyle Thomas will attend Fenwick for his senior season. He holds offers from Arizona, Illinois and others.
Hillcrest 2022 SF Kam Thomas has transferred to Dream City Christian (AZ). He holds three D-I offers.
Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 PFs Miles and Wesley Rubin transferred to Simeon.
Boys Commitments
We’re now up to 207 boys 2021 commitments. There has yet to be a 2022 commitment.
Mount Vernon 2021 SF Quani Rudd committed to D-I SIU-Edwardsville.
Danville 2021 SF Tevin Smith committed to D-I Denver. He’d previously committed to Cal State Fullerton. (Story: Colin Likas/News-Gazette)
Downers Grove North 2021 F Kyle Engstler committed to D-I Saint Louis as a preferred walk on.
Larkin 2021 SG Trace Boley committed to NAIA Judson.
Solorio 2021 PG Amarion Fields committed to NAIA Lincoln.
Curie 2021 G Kendall Brasfield committed to D-III Monmouth.
Hersey 2021 G Brent Wolff committed to D-III Elmhurst.
Rockford Lutheran 2021 PG Zach Derus committed to D-III Benedictine.
Solorio 2021 PG Jordan Hill committed to D-III Ripon.
South Elgin 2021 SG Aaron Wofford committed to D-III Carroll.
Teutopolis 2021 PG Evan Wermert committed to juco Lakeland Community College.
Eisenhower 2021 SF Taijon Barry committed to juco Rock Valley.
St. Rita 2021 SF Christian will take a prep year at The Skills Factory in Atlanta.
List of 2021 girls college commitments and 2021 boys college commitments.
Girls Commitments
We’ve now tracked 165 2021 girls commitments and 11 2022 girls commitments.
Sycamore 2022 SG Faith Feuerbach committed to D-I St. Thomas.
Lyons 2022 PG Hailey Markworth committed to D-II Winona State.
Liberty 2021 G Jayden Schette committed to juco Black Hawk.
Illinois Players in the Pros
Fremd graduate Haley Gorecki signed with the Phoenix Mercury. (Dion Martorano/Journal & Topics)
Illinois Players in College
Glenbrook North graduate Jon Scheyer will take over as Duke head coach after the 2021-22 season. Joe Henricksen wrote about his journey for the Sun-Times.
Other Stories and News
The IBCA released its 2020-21 coach of the year winners.
For the Sun-Times, Joe Henricksen wrote about eight teams from the Chicago area that could be among the state’s best next season.
Henricksen also looked back at the 2021 class to wrap up the weirdest season in history.
Rolling Meadows’ Max Christie won the boys Gatorade Player of the Year. He has won four of the five statewide player of the year awards announced thus far. Here are all the Gatorade winners in state history.
Naperville North’s Greta Kampschroeder won the girls Gatorade Player of the year. She has swept the statewide player of the year awards thus far. Here are all of the Gatorade winners in state history.
You can receive this newsletter from free in your inbox weekly by subscribing below. Follow @jakubrudnik and @Ill_ HS_Hoops on Twitter for regular Illinois basketball updates.
