News and Notes
Written by Pat Benninger
January 1, 2006

 

SENIORS
Iowa baseball recruit Tyson Blaser (Rockridge) has been doing his thing on the basketball court.  Recently, he put up a 36 point effort in a 49-47 victory against IVC in the State Farm Holiday Classic.  He has revealed his leadership ability and basketball skills.  He gets to the basket well, plays solid defense, and takes good shots.  He gets his teammates involved and plays the game with smarts.  If he had the desire, he could be a solid NAIA collegiate basketball player.

Jonathon Burnett (Rock Island) has played well enough to throw his name into the list of the top class of 2006 post players.  At 6’7” 215 lbs, Burnett possesses the size and skills to grow into a solid low to mid major player.  He rebounds well and is good at finishing around the basket.

Jordan Dalton (Warren Township) is one of the toughest guards in the class of 2006 you will meet.  He is unbelievably quick and drops astonishing dimes at the blink of the eye.  Because of his height (a very generous 5’8”), not many colleges have put much thought into picking up the super-point guard and they are making a huge mistake as he is a solid mid major point guard.  Not many players have shown the ability to guard him in a full court or half court setting as he possesses great speed when pushing the ball.

Though Simeon has a loaded junior class, 6’6” senior forward Josh Davis has been one of the instrumental keys to their success.  He has great athleticism and has proven he is able to hit the midrange shot or score inside as well as put up big numbers on the boards.  He would be a solid collegiate player at the low major or NAIA level.

Ryan Thornton (Illinois Valley Central) has proven himself to be one of the state’s most overlooked sharp shooters.  At 6’7”, his shot is a very hard one to block.  Combine that with the fact he is usually money from beyond the arch and you have a lethal three-point specialist.  Ryan seems that he has the skills to play at a great low major program if he continues to work on his ball handling and strength.

Andre Walker (Homewood-Floosmoor) recently put his skills on display, leading Homewood-Floosmoor in the highly touted Proviso West Holiday Tournament.  The 6’6” forward showed that he can score with the best of the best and had college coaches drooling over him in his latest tournament.

 

JUNIORS
6’3” junior guard Trey Blue (Thornwood) has shown that he is more than just a three-point shooter.  Though he is still excelling in that category, he has demonstrated his court vision and ability to get to the basket.  Look for Blue to improve his leadership skills this season as he heads a very different Thornwood team who is without a top five rated player unlike many of the teams they featured in previous years.

6’2” Ceola Clark (Warren Township) has proven himself as one of the state’s top junior guards.  During the AAU season, Clark showed us he knew how to get his teammates involved but lacked in the scoring column.  However, Clark is currently leading an extremely solid and talented Warren Township in the points category, as he is on a scoring frenzy.

6’2” junior guard Brandon Dunson (Bloomington Central Catholic) has been displaying his passing and defensive skills, showing that his game is not limited to scoring and athletic ability.  He heads a very solid Bloomington Central Catholic team who currently sport a record of 10-3.

Mid major schools look out because the city of Peoria could possibly be hiding one of the better guards in the 2007 class.  Josh Edmonds (Peoria Notre Dame) has been playing well on the varsity level since he was a freshman but has really stepped it up this season.  He was being seriously considered for this month’s ranking of the top 30 juniors, as it came down to what could be called a “coin-toss decision”.  The 6’5” 195 lbs shooting guard possesses both the size and ability to be an effective player on the collegiate level.  Edmonds shoots the ball well and knows how to finish when penetrating to the basket.  He is a solid fundamentalist and plays hard on defensive.  He is also a solid rebounder for his position.  Bradley, Illinois State, Indiana State, Northern Illinois, and Ball State have all been in contact with him this season.

6’7” junior post, Kevin Johnson (Simeon), recently showed that he could hang with the big dogs.  He is an athletic and agile forward with a lot of strength.  He finishes well around the basket and makes his presence felt on the defensive end.  He could be one of the better post projects out of the Chicagoland area in the 2007 class.

6’3” Derrick Rose (Simeon) is still stealing the spotlight from all other juniors, trying to make his way to being the number one player in the state, regardless of class, as he is easily the most God-gifted.  His poise, athleticism, and presence has been displayed and felt many of times throughout this season.

Travis Rosenkranz (Macon Merdian) has been starting varsity since he was a freshman and has proven that he was one of the more underrated guards in the 2007 class.  The well-conditioned 6’0” point has had a “pass-first” mentality in previous years but is now displaying a scoring knack as he is a proficient long range and midrange jumpshot.  Additionally, it seems he never loses stamina as he seems to end the game with the same disposition he started with.

6'10" junior post Mike Tisdale (Riverton) has verballed to play at the University of Illinois after his high school career.  Rumors about this have been circulating the state for quite sometime and it has finally happend.

There’s a new king in Westchester, IL.  Evan Turner (St. Joseph) has been putting up big numbers in the first half of the season is the St. Joseph Hawks currently possess a 11-1 record.  As a sophomore, Turner was not promoted to the varsity levels though it didn’t hurt his recruitment as scholarship offers came pouring in for the 6’6” junior this past summer.  He currently rates as the #2 junior in Illinois according to MSH.

 

SOPHOMORES
Greg Cannon (Rantoul) is a great player and knows how to put the ball in the basket.  The 6’4” sophomore as recently discovered by MSH and has proven himself to be a top ten class of 2008 player, though he could potential be the best in his class regarding the state of Illinois.  Cannon is challenged as a leader this season as his team is currently in the hole, sporting an 0-15 record.  Hopefully, this experience will help him to become a better player.

5’10” point guard Donovan Foster (Curie) has emerged as one of the top players in the 2008 class.  He is very quick with a heady handle on the ball.  He sees the floor well and knows how to push the ball.  Pressure is not an obstacle for Foster as he continues to stay poised in all situations as a first year varsity player. 

Deonte Lundeen (Von Steuben) has transferred to Von Steuben from Proviso East as it didn’t seem he would get the fair shake playing behind super guard, Jacob Pullen.  The 5’8” point guard will be backing up both Michael Horton and Trevor Dale in the guard slots.  He is amazingly quick with strong offensive court awareness.  Deonte gets after it on defense and can put the ball in the basket when needed.

 

FRESHMEN
6’2” freshman guard D’mitri Riggs (Bloomington) has shown that he can play with the best of them.  He is the second best guard on a Bloomington team with a decent amount of talent, though not as good as previous years.  His athleticism allows him to create his own shots on the floor.  He should be a treat to watch on the offensive end for the next three years.

Darius Smith (Chi-Marshall) is a big time guard with a big time game.  He has a knack for scoring as he has poured in a couple of twenty point games playing alongside super scorer-Pat Beverly and Northern Illinois recruit-Darius Gators.  Smith is a 6’1” freshman that has been under the radar since his eighth grade season.

Freshman point guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield Southeast) has been on a scoring spree in his first season of varsity basketball.  Currently, the 5’8” talent is averaging around 20 ppg with a high of 29.  “LT” has he is nicknamed, plays alongside junior-Paris Veal, who was once rated as the number one class of 2007 player in the state of Illinois.