State’s ‘ big two’ weighing their options
Forget about projecting state champions, holiday- tournament chatter and conference races. Save that for November through March.
It’s October, and the focus turns to the individual players and their recruitments and rankings.
Ayo and THT watch
The state’s top two senior prospects, Morgan Park’s Ayo Dosunmu and Simeon’s Talen Horton-Tucker, are still on the board.
Dosunmu has been patient with the recruiting process. He has taken official visits to Wake Forest and USC. Illinois, perceived to be the favorite to land the 6- 5 point guard, will welcome Dosunmu the weekend of Oct. 13- 15 for an official visit.
Horton- Tucker, the City/ Suburban Hoops Report’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2018, recently trimmed his list down to seven schools.
The multifaceted 6- 5 wing has been to Xavier for an official visit and is expected to take an official visit to Georgia Tech this weekend and Iowa State the next weekend. Illinois, Georgetown, Ohio State and Saint Louis round out his top seven.
The committed
Zion Griffin, Hinsdale South ( Iowa State); George Conditt, Corliss ( Iowa State); Xavier Castaneda, Young ( South Florida); Javon Freeman, Young ( Valparaiso); Tamell Pearson, Morgan Park ( UAB); Maurice Commander, Curie ( Tennessee-Chattanooga); Messiah Jones, Simeon ( Drake); Sam Shafer, Lincoln- Way East ( Southern Illinois); Jake Wolfe, Aurora Christian ( Lipscomb).
The uncommitted
There are plenty of recruiting storylines materializing outside of the remaining “big two” of Dosunmu and Horton- Tucker.
Simeon’s Xavier Pinson recently took official visits to Drake and Kent State and was expected to decide between the two. But Georgetown and DePaul each have started poking around the 6- 3 point guard.
The Orr tandem of Ty Mosley and Raekwon Drake have upcoming visits lined up. The versatile 6- 5 Mosley visited Bradley this past weekend and will visit Milwaukee this weekend. Athletic 6- 5 Drake will visit Cleveland State this weekend.
Libertyville’s Drew Peterson will not sign in November and will play out his senior season, saving his remaining official visits for the spring.
Top 100 talent
Here is a look at where the state’s top in- state talent ranks nationally, according to Rivals. com, Scout. com and ESPN. com.
Class of 2018: Dosunmu ( No. 20 Rivals, No. 27 Scout, No. 29 ESPN); Horton- Tucker ( No. 54 Rivals); Griffin ( No. 96 Rivals); Tim Finke, Champaign Central ( No. 87 Scout).
Class of 2019: Francis Okoro, Normal ( No. 26 Rivals, No. 28 Scout, No. 31 ESPN); Markese Jacobs, Uplift ( No. 74 Rivals, No. 74 Scout); E. J. Liddell, Belleville West ( No. 96 Rivals).
Class of 2020: D. J. Steward, Fenwick ( No. 32 Rivals, No. 18 Scout); Adam Miller, Morgan Park ( No. 36 Rivals, No. 14 Scout, No. 23 ESPN).
Biggest ranking beef
The consensus among national rankings is that 6- 9 Francis Okoro of Normal is the top- ranked prospect in Illinois in the Class of 2019. But Belleville-West’s Liddell is vastly overlooked on the national scene.
Liddell, a physical 6- 7 forward, dominated as a sophomore. He averaged 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks a game and was at his best in big moments in March. But Liddell, who has offers from Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, Iowa State and Saint Louis, is ranked No. 96 by Rivals and No. 154 by Scout.
The City/ Suburban Hoops Report believes Liddell is the state’s best player and prospect in the junior class.