TALENT PACKED INTO 10 YEARS
Brunson, liddell, okafor, parker and ulis top list of illinois players who had most noteworthy high school careers
Jalen Brunson, Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor headline our Illinois high school All-Decade teams.
By Joe Henricksen
The individual high-level talent that highlighted the last 10 years can stack up against any decade in Illinois high school basketball history. There was a stretch during the first half of the decade where the state was churning out generational talent, many who left their mark on the sport forever. The decade highlights:
♦ Three players — Anthony Davis, Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor — at one time were considered the top-ranked prospect in the country.
♦ One year after graduating from high school, Davis went No. 1 in the NBA Draft, Parker went No. 2 and Okafor No. 3 in their respective draft classes.
♦ There were three players who went on to become college basketball’s National Player of the Year: Davis, Jalen Brunson and Frank Kaminsky.
Clearly picking an Illinois All-Decade Team wasn’t easy, though the criteria is simple.
The first thing to keep in mind is this: All-Decade is about the overall high school career. And while individual talent obviously matters, a winning pedigree and accomplishments do come into play.
In addition, another factor to consider is playing just one season. It’s a little more challenging for a potential player to be fully recognized and appreciated.
Here are the Illinois high school basketball All-Decade first and second teams:
FIRST TEAM
JALEN BRUNSON, Stevenson
There are few players in state history with as decorated a career as Brunson. The 6-2 guard’s record-breaking individual performance helped lead Stevenson to Peoria for three consecutive years, including winning a state championship as a senior.
He was selected as a McDonald’s All American and won a Mr. Basketball award.
Brunson also made an impact internationally. He was named the MVP of the 2015 U19 World Championship as he led Team USA to a gold medal.
There were some individual magical moments throughout Brunson’s career, highlighted by the record-setting 56 points he scored in the state semifinals loss to Young as a junior. With his 2,682 career points, Brunson is among the top 20 all-time scorers in state history.
Post-high school career: In three seasons at Villanova, Brunson won a pair of national championships. As a junior, he was named AP College Basketball Player of the Year, Naismith College Player of the Year and won the Wooden Award.
The Dallas Mavericks selected Brunson with the 33rd pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He averaged 9.3 points per game as a rookie last season.
EJ LIDDELL, Belleville West
Liddell produced in a big way and was the ultimate competitor.
A top-50 player nationally, Liddell was the top-ranked prospect in Illinois in the Class of 2019. He became just the second two-time Mr. Basketball winner in state history. As a senior, he averaged 20.2 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 63 percent from the field. Plus, he was a difference-maker defensively with 144 blocked shots.
He wrapped up his career with eye-popping numbers, including 2,508 points and 1,004 rebounds in his four seasons leading the Maroons to back-to-back state championships and 100 wins overall.
Post-high school career: Liddell is currently a freshman at Ohio State.
JAHLIL OKAFOR, Young
Okafor will go down as one of the most dominating big men in state history.
During his senior season, Okafor averaged 24.1 points and 11.3 rebounds while compiling a 28-5 record and capturing a Class 4A state championship. This came after a junior season in which he put up 24.8 points and 12.6 rebounds.
As a bonus, Okafor was huge in Young’s biggest games: 35 points and 13 rebounds in a sectional final win over St. Rita; 33 points and 14 rebounds in a state semifinal win over Stevenson.
Okafor was the consensus No. 1 prospect in the country in the Class of 2014. Named the Sun-Times Player of the Year as a junior, the 6-11 Okafor was the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and Mr. Basketball in Illinois as a senior.
Post-high school career: As a unanimous first-team All-American at Duke as a freshman, Okafor led the Blue Devils to the 2015 national championship. He became the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and has played four seasons in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and is currently with the New Orleans Pelicans.
JABARI PARKER, Simeon
Forget about the hype, including the Sports Illustrated cover, and being the most covered athlete maybe in Illinois prep sports history. And forget about the ranking as Parker was the No. 3 prospect in the country in the Class of 2013.
Parker won big, capturing four state championships and compiling 118 wins in his four years at Simeon. In his final two years at Simeon, he averaged a combined 19.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.7 blocks while going 63-4.
Parker, who scored 1,870 points in his career, became the first two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball winner in state history. In addition to being a McDonald’s All-American, Parker won the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year.
Post-high school career: In his only season at Duke, Parker was a consensus firstteam All-American as a freshman.
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Parker with the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He has spent time with the Bucks, Bulls and Washington Wizards and will play this season with the Atlanta Hawks. In five seasons, he has averaged 15.1 points.
TYLER ULIS, Marian Catholic
The pure-as-they-come point guard shined throughout his four seasons at Marian Catholic. As a junior and senior, he led the Spartans to a combined record of 57-7 and two sectional championships, the first two in program history.
Maybe more than anyone on this list, Ulis lifted an entire basketball program to state relevancy.
The McDonald’s All-American was a consensus top-25 player in the country in the Class of 2011. He scored a school-record 2,335 career points, including averaging 23 points and 6.8 assists as a senior.
Post-high school career: As a sophomore at Kentucky, Ulis was the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. He decided to forgo his final two years at Kentucky and was a second-round pick (No. 34 overall) of the Phoenix Suns. Ulis, who has played in 133 NBA games but has battled some injury issues, recently signed with the Sacramento Kings.
Second Team
CLIFF ALEXANDER, Curie
Alexander became a force over the final two years of his career. By the time he was a senior, the 6-9, 245-pound Alexander was a consensus top-five prospect in the country and a McDonald’s All-American.
Alexander averaged 25 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks as a senior and was named the Sun-Times Player of the Year.
He had a few signature moments, including a Pontiac Holiday Tournament semifinal performance for the ages. His follow-up dunk at the buzzer to beat West Aurora in the semifinals capped off a game in which Alexander had 37 points, 26 rebounds, five blocks and 10 rim-rattling dunks.
Post-high school career: He played just one season at Kansas, averaging just 17 minutes, 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds while also being suspended due to eligibility issues.
A very short NBA career consisted of a total of 10 points in eight games for the Portland Trail Blazers. He has spent time playing in France, Germany and the NBA’s developmental league.
RYAN BOATRIGHT, East Aurora
There certainly wasn’t a player who was as electric or more entertaining during the past decade than the dynamic Boatright.
An explosive guard with blazing end-toend speed with the basketball, Boatright scored 63 points in one game and went for 55 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals in another.
As a senior, he averaged 31.2 points and had seven games of 40-plus points. He scored 29 points in East Aurora’s huge upset of unbeaten and No. 1 Benet in the sectional.
Boatright shared the 2011 Mr. Basketball Award with Rock Island’s Chasson Randle.
Post-high school career: As a junior at Connecticut, Boatright was a key defensive player and averaged 12.1 points in helping the Huskies to a national championship. He averaged 17.4 points as a senior and finished his career with 1,786 points, 446 rebounds and 491 assists.
Following his stellar career at UConn, Boatright has played overseas and in the NBA’s G League.
ANTHONY DAVIS, Perspectives-MSA
The prep career of Davis is an odd one. He was an absolute unknown until the spring of his junior year. Months later he was the No. 1 player in the country and a coveted high-major prospect.
Davis put up monster numbers during his senior year, though Perspectives didn’t play the type of schedule that showcased his talents to the masses. Even while playing inferior competition, Perspectives finished 6-19 as Davis averaged 32 points, 22 rebounds and seven blocks.
Though Davis was a McDonald’s AllAmerican, he didn’t win Sun-Times Player of the Year and finished fourth in Mr. Basketball voting. But his pure talent puts him on the second team.
Post-high school career: No player has made a bigger splash out of Illinois. Davis was the consensus college National Player of the Year while leading Kentucky to a national championship as a freshman.
Since being the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Davis has been a six-time All-Star and averaged 23.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in his career.
CHASSON RANDLE, Rock Island
Randle has one heck of a résumé, including a Class 3A state championship as a senior and sharing the state’s Mr. Basketball Award that year with Boatright.
During his state-title run in his senior year, the first in Rock Island history, Randle averaged 21.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. The 6-3 guard was ranked among the top 75 prospects in the country and won a gold medal with USA Basketball’s U17 team. He finished his career as Rock Island’s all-time leading scorer (2,159) and rebounder (773).
Post-high school career: Randle was a star at Stanford, where he became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,375 points.
As a professional, he played overseas and has had stints with the 76ers, Knicks and Wizards in the NBA. Last season, he played in 49 games for the Wizards, averaging 15 minutes and 5.5 points.
JEREME RICHMOND, Waukegan
There was certainly a case for Richmond to be on the first team. He was a talented and dynamic player. However, he played just one year.
Richmond’s career, albeit a bit mercurial, was outstanding. As a senior, he led Waukegan to a third-place finish in Class 4A while averaging 20.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and nearly three assists and three blocks. He also helped the USA Basketball 18U team win a gold medal.
He had a treasure chest of accolades, including being a McDonald’s All-American, Illinois Mr. Basketball winner and a two-time Sun-Times Player of the Year. He finished as the 24th ranked prospect in the country in the Class of 2010.
Post-high school career: Richmond spent just one season playing for the Fighting Illini. He averaged 7.6 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes in his one season.
Richmond has played professionally in the Dominican Republic and Argentina.
OTHERS WHO JUST MISSED:
• Wayne Blackshear, Morgan Park
• Ayo Dosunmu, Morgan Park
• Billy Garrett, Morgan Park
• Jordan Goodwin, Belleville Althoff
• Malcolm Hill, Belleville East
• Talen Horton-Tucker, Simeon
• Charlie Moore, Morgan Park
• Alonzo Verge, Thornton
• Keita Bates-Diop, Normal U-High
• Charles Matthews, St. Rita
• Zach Norvell, Simeon
• Kendrick Nunn, Simeon
• Fred VanVleet, Rockford Auburn
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