Illinois HS Basketball News: Issue 19
Week of October 24, 2020
We are 23 days from the — currently theoretical — start of the Illinois high school basketball season (as you can see from the Illinois-Basketball countdown clock).
There were three D1 commitments on the girls side this week. Pangos was last weekend for the boys, and a number of 2023s came away with D1 offers as a result. There were two out-of-state transfers. And the will-we-won’t-we of a season continues to dominate the news.
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!
The Latest Updates on a Potential 2020-21 Season
Today is October 24. We still do not know if there will be a high school basketball season in Illinois. If there is a basketball season in Illinois, we do not know what it will look like.
This is frustrating enough to me as a journalist. I can only imagine how those facts are sitting with athletic directors, coaches, parents and, most importantly, players.
Here’s the latest news and opinions on where things stand:
The IHSA has a special meeting set for Wednesday, October 28, to announce winter sports details. Winter sports were not granted exemptions for athletes to simultaneously play on high school and club teams.
After not allowing teams to use contact days this fall, CPS Sports Administration Director David Rosengard said it is planning for a November 16 start date for winter sports, O’Brien reported for the Sun-Times. Then CPS Communications sent a follow-up communication the next day that said it had not made any decisions yet. CPS departments don’t seem to be on the page or are struggling with communication.
The IHSA and Governor JB Pritzker are having their own communications gaps, writes O’Brien. The state’s COVID-19 cases are spiking — Saturday was the single-day high by more than 1,200 from the previous record set Thursday — and it couldn’t come at a worse time for basketball fans.
Indiana managed to play 95 percent of its football games. Fans will be able to attend its state finals in person. The basketball season will almost certainly start on time, writes Mike Hutton for the Post Tribune. Meanwhile, Mike Clark compared Munster and TF South high schools for the Northwest Indiana Times. Though they are 10 minutes apart, “It's hard for [TF South] kids to understand the ‘why’ here, when they know just down the street, their Indiana neighbors are blocking and tackling and serving and hitting and everything else.”
Chicago-area coaches told the Daily Southtown’s Pat Disabato that they’ll do what it takes to play safely, even if the players don’t like masks. Those anecdotes reflect the results of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association survey from last week, as Tim O’Brien details for the Beverly Review.
The pandemic is taking serious financial tolls on two Illinois sports governing bodies. The Illinois Elementary Sports Association may have to suspend operations for the first time in its 91-year history, reports Dave Eminian for the Peoria Journal Star. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson also told Eminian that the organization couldn’t make it financially beyond this school year without fans.
For the Sun-Times, Rick Telander writes that students deserve a seat at the table for decisions on sports and in-person learning. Everyone has an opinion about how we should move forward. That’s one that should be easy to agree with.
Transfer Continue as COVID Leaves Uncertainty
The state continues to hemorrhage top talent as the state’s uncertainty for winter sports has forced players and their families to make tough decisions. The latest loss is Joliet West 2023 guard Jeremy Fears Jr., a top 25 player nationally in his class. He leaves for La Lumiere, a prep school in Indiana.
“Jeremy did not want to go for so long,” his father Jeremy Fears told Michael O’Brien at the Sun-Times. “He wanted to stay and win a state championship for Joliet. But the more he read and the more he saw he thought there wasn’t going to be much here. He already missed his freshman year playoff run. These are years he can’t get back. He just wants to play. That’s it.”
O’Brien tweeted that he expects “a flood of transfers over the next several weeks.”
2022 guard Brady Ruggles transferred from Wheaton-Warrenville South to Danville High School in Indiana following a family move. His father, Dave Ruggles, was the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit that sought a temporary restraining order against the state’s postponement of several fall sports.
According to Aaron Britton (@nestohoops on Twitter), 30 percent of the state’s transfers have left the state this year. Between 6 percent and 7 percent left the state in each of the past three years.
Commitments
Aneesah Morrow, a 2021 forward from Simeon, announced her verbal commitment to hometown DePaul on Saturday. She’s the No. 2 player in the class, according to Prep Girls Hoops Illinois. Committing with Aneesah is her sister Nazlah, a 2019 graduate who averaged nearly 15 points and 10 rebounds last season for Miami Dade Community College.
De La Salle 2021 PG TaKiya Howard announced her verbal commitment to Murray State. According to Max Preps, Howard averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals per game as a junior.
Last month, Decatur Eisenhower 2021 guard R.J. Walker committed to Idaho. He’s following in his father’s footsteps, writes Cody Kluge for BVM Sports.
Boys Recruiting News
Bradley-Bourbannais 2023 PF/C Owen Freeman received offers from Illinois and Western Illinois after a big Pangos showcase last weekend. After averaging more than 11 points and 7 rebounds as a freshman, Freeman has emerged as one of the state’s top sophomore prospects, writes Mason Schweizer for the Daily Journal.
Buffalo Grove 2022 SG Kam Craft received an offer from Xavier. He previously held offers from Nebraska, DePaul, Drake and UIC.
St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 SG Ty Pence received an offer from Western Illinois.
Glenbard West 2021 wing Aidan Murphy received an offer from D3 Carnegie Mellon.
Joliet West 2021 PG Terrance Moncrief received an offer from D3 Trine (Indiana).
Bloomington 2021 SG DeMarco Clayton received an offer from JUCO Milwaukee Tech.
After committing to Olivet Nazarene in the spring, 2020 home schooled 6-9 center (Monee) Niles Arrington has reopened his commitment.
The 2020 Pangos tournament was played in La Grange last weekend. Joe Henricksen wrote about 23 notable underclassmen from around the state for the Sun-Times.
Last week Hinsdale Central’s Matas Buzelis received an offer from Illinois. He saw the offer coming, even though he hasn’t played a varsity game yet, writes Bob Narang for the Pioneer Press.
Fenwick 2021 forward Bryce Hopkins, the top uncommitted 2021 in the state and a top-40 player nationally, will announce his college decision at 6:30 p.m. Monday. Kentucky has the slight edge to Illinois in the 100-plus votes on my Twitter poll. The recruiting boards say it’s a done deal that Hopkins goes to Kentucky, though people who believe you can read tea leaves in Instagram follows think he’s staying in state. Recruiting Twitter is a bit nuts, y’all.
Girls Recruiting News
Oak Forest 2023 guard Janae Kent received offers from Northwestern, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee.
Tinley Park 2021 guard Autumn Jones received offers from NAIA Governors State and JUCO Morton College.
Loyola Academy 2021 PG Arielle Dabu received an offer from D2 Florida Southern College.
Bradley-Bourbonnais 2021 SF Faith Davis received an offer from NAIA Trinity Christian.
Loyola Academy 2021 wing Nyah Moore received an offer from D3 Benedictine.
Loyola Academy 2021 guard Isabella Ogliore received an offer from D3 Illinois Wesleyan.
Maine West 2021 guard Brianna Hernandez received an offer from D3 North Park.
Huntley 2021 PF Kamsi Nwogu received an offer from D3 Occidental (Los Angeles).
Neuqua Valley 2021 PF Jada Devine received an offer from JUCO Morton College.
Neuqua Valley 2021 C Claudia Gallegos received an offer from JUCO Morton College.
Lincoln-Way East 2021 PG Samara Swire received an offer from JUCO Morton College.
Coaching Stories and News
TJ Hodges is the head coach of Yorkville Christian’s first-year program. Joshua Welge has the story for Kendall County Now.
Former Geneva athletic director Bob Schick died at age 90. He coached the boys basketball team from 1969 to 1980 and loved sharing stories about the program with current boys coach Scott Hennig. John Lemon has the story for the Daily Herald. Schick was inducted into the Geneva High School Hall of Fame in 2004.
Highland head coach Deryl Cunningham will still coach this season, the school’s Twitter account said, after a COVID-19 infection triggered kidney failure.
Illinois Players in the Pros
Who are the state’s best current NBA players? Henricksen lists his top nine for the Sun-Times. Spoilers: Simeon makes up one-third of the list.
Stagg and DePaul graduate Max Strus told The DePaulia’s Laurence Kreymer that he’s been fully cleared for contact. He suffered the injury nine months ago with the Windy City Bulls.
Other Stories and News
“Ready to go solo, junior Evan Pittman all about ‘taking that one extra step’ to keep Lincoln-Way West a state contender” Tony Baranek writes for the Daily Southtown.
The Jon and Joe Show podcast spoke to Mundelein 2021 guard Trey Baker about basketball, social-distanced learning, social activism and more.
The Rockford Register-Star and Matt Trowbridge continue to unveil the list of top girls basketball players in Rockford-area history. At No. 2 is Freeport graduate Jenny Crouse who led North Dakota to three straight D2 titles.
At No. 3 on the list is Amanda Levens, a Belvidere graduate who scored more than 1,000 points at Arizona State in just two seasons.
At No. 4 is Carrie Coffman, who graduated from Jefferson and is No. 8 all-time in scoring for Bradley.
