| 9-18-2001
Recruiting News & Rumors From Illinois
Roy and Harv Schmidt
 We always pick up a lot of excellent recruiting news and rumors when we are out covering events, and this past weekend was no exception at the Adidas/Mac Irvin Back to School Jam in Chicago. Players discussed include Jim Maley, Stanley Gaines, Tony Young, Charles Bass, and Marcus Arnold (pictured right).
Among the very best unsigned seniors in Illinois and in attendance at Mac Irvin's shootout was 6-6 WF Jim Maley from La Grange (Lyons Township). Maley has already had a home visit with Penn State and has also visited their campus. Lyons' head coach Conte Stamas tells us the Nittany Lions are in very strong. Maley will take an official visit to Xavier (where Stamas used to be an Assistant Coach) this weekend (September 22), and is scheduled to visit Rice on October 6.
Maley was scheduled to visit Stanford Sept. 30, but that visit has been cancelled and Stanford is now out of the picture totally according to Coach Stamas. Northwestern has also offered Maley a scholarship and Maley is wavering about an official visit to the Evanston campus.
Maley, who played very well at the Nike Camp in Indianapolis, has posted an ACT score of 25. He played AAU ball for the Illinois Show this past summer.
6-7 forward Stanley Gaines from Chicago (Providence St. Mel) will have an in-home visit with Dan Monson and the University of Minnesota sometime next week. Gaines lists the Gophers as being very much in the picture, and there is a chance that he may visit the Minnesota campus this weekend.
Either way we still think the leader is Seton Hall, where Gaines will visit for Midnight Madness, and where former St. Mel coach Billy Garrett is now an assistant to Louis Orr. Notre Dame is very much involved and we have also heard that Gaines is supposed to visit Southern Methodist along with 6-1 PG Marceattus McGee from Chicago (Farragut), who also lists UTEP, Loyola-Chicago, and Southern Illinois.
From the commitment trail, we heard that Northern Illinois Coach Rob Judson just secured the Huskies' first in-state commitment for the Class of 2002 from 6-7 PF Rome Sanders who attends Curie H.S. in Chicago.
Sanders played AAU ball this past summer for Mac Irvin's Illinois Fire team, and he is a player who keeps improving. This is exactly the kind of commitment NIU needs to rebuild their program.
We have also heard from very reliable sources that Indiana State coach Royce Waltman is about to secure the Sycamores' third early commitment for 2002, this one from 6-7 PF Tristan Parham of Dolton (Thornridge). In fact it may happen this week.
Parham is one of the most underrated seniors in Illinois, and a player who had a terrific summer, raising his national stock for Darryl Royster's AAU team. Tristan played very well in Orlando at the 17-under national AAU's.
Parham would join 6-5 Russell Trudeau from Lafayette (Catholic) IN and 6-9 Ted Morris from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO in an outstanding recruiting class.
We have also confirmed that 6-3 2G David Moss from South Holland (Thornwood) made a visit to the Terre Haute, IN campus this past weekend, and that the Sycamores could lead for him as well. However, Moss also is trying to schedule upcoming visits soon to both Illinois State and Southern Illinois.
The Missouri Valley Conference has done an excellent job of recruiting so far in this early commitment period, and it does not look to stop soon. No program better exemplifies the success of the MVC and of mid-major college basketball better than Indiana State. Coach Waltman is one of the very best, and his assistant coaches Rick Ray, Dick Bender, and Kareem Richardson are in our opinion the best recruiting staff of any mid-major program in the Midwest.
Congratulations go out to Evansville coach Jim Crews upon the recent commitment of 5-11 PG Nathan Koster from Lewistown (H.S.) IL. Crews and Assistant Kirk Sarff do an excellent job at recruiting downstate Illinois, and almost every "sleeper" they uncover ends up being a diamond in the rough.
Koster is very quick to the basket, can drill the pull-up three, and is a coach on the floor.
Congratulations also go out to Western Illinois upon the recent commitment they received from 6-1 Joe Brownfield from Pekin (H.S.) IL. We saw Brownfield back in July at the Morris Shootout, and he was instrumental to carrying a talented Pekin team into the championship game.
Brownfield can get the ball down the court, is tough and combative, and can drill the trifecta off the dribble. This is an excellent commitment for Western Illinois.
6-1 Tony Young from Schaumburg (H.S.) IL has a list which includes Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, Loyola, and possibly Northwestern if they extend a scholarship offer. Young has a 21 ACT and played this past spring and summer for the Central Hoyas AAU team.
Young could quite possibly be the best defensive guard in Illinois.
6-8 PF Marcus Arnold from Chicago (Morgan Park) was absolutely terrific this past weekend at Mac Irvin's Shootout, and is one of the best unsigned big kids out of Illinois' Class of 2002.
Arnold told us that he is looking for the school with the "best fit" both athletically and academically. He takes his ACT test for the first time this weekend, and he will definitely wait until the spring to sign. Marcus is in no hurry, but he lists Illinois State, Indiana State, and UIC as three schools high on his early list.
Of course, if the Sycamores get both Parham and Moss, that could change things for Arnold.
6-9 Reo Logan, who was a national Top 100 prospect from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL two years ago, committed to Miami, and then left and enrolled at Loyola-Chicago, told us over the weekend that he is now enrolled at national JC power Indian Hills in Iowa.
6-8 PF Charles Bass from Crete (Crete-Monee) IL has already visited both George Washington and Minnesota, and is scheduled to visit Ohio State this weekend. West Virginia is also in the picture.
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