WELCOME TO THE ILLINOIS PREP BULLS-EYE WEB SITE!

Elmhurst College Gives CCIW Another Strong Recruiting Class
Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana are not the only schools to turn in banner 2008 recruiting classes in the CCIW. As it turns out, Elmhurst College has also put together a terrific recruiting class which is spearheaded by a high-scoring guard and all-stater who played on a team that reached the class 1A state finals. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has more in this report.

CCIW Continues To Recruit Well
The fact that both Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan have been able to stay at or near the top of the CCIW year after year can be directly attributed to each school's successful recruiting efforts. Sure enough this is the case yet again, as both schools have turned in banner 2008 recruiting classes. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye provides an in-depth look with this story.

Jones Goes The Other Way
Boy did we call this one wrong. As it turns out, Indiana head coach Tom Crean has worked his recruiting magic once again, as he has snatched away one of the top point guards who was still on the board up until today. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye offers some further insight in this story.

Northwestern Lands A Huge Commitment
Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody filled a huge recruiting need today by receiving a commitment from a skilled in-state post player who had been one of their top priorities from the beginning. As it turns out, the impact of this commitment is going to come much sooner than most people realize. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye explains why in this story.

Nik Garcia Receives Another Scholarship Offer
Rising Stars CEO Mike Weinstein checks in with some recruiting news concerning several of his players, with the biggie being the latest scholarship offer to come Nik Garcia's way. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the latest courtesy of Weinstein in this update.

Armani Williams To Sign With Texas-Arlington
At long last we have a reliable source concerning the recruitment of Armani Williams whose word is as good as gold. As it turns out, Williams will be signing a letter of intent on Wednesday with the school that he committed to not quite a month ago. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye fills everyone in with this update.

Ryan Hare Follows The Script And Commits
We told everyone that a commitment from Ryan Hare was imminent before the end of this weekend, and sure enough that is exactly what happened. Upon the completion of his campus visit, Hare announced for the Missouri Valley conference school that we knew he would inevitably attend. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has more on the commitment in this story.

Lance Irvin Hired As Assistant Coach At Southern Illinois
In recruiting, it is all about relationships.  While Southern Illinois University head coach Chris Lowery has strong connections with many of the top AAU programs in the Chicago area, it never hurts to build even more. Lowery took a huge step in that regard with his hiring of a new assistant coach. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye explains further in this update.

Kevin Dillard Wins Mr. Basketball
The postseason awards continue to roll in for Homewood-Flossmoor point guard Kevin Dillard, with his latest one being the most prestigious honor of all. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the skinny in this report.

Quincy University AddsTo 2008 Recruiting Class
Quincy University head coach Marty Bell has bolstered his 2008 recruiting class with the addition of three prospects. Two are extremely significant transfers, while the other is a local area point guard. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the latest on that, as well as some D3 recruiting news in this report.

Jeremy Montgomery Headed To Horizon League
Lincoln Park's Jeremy Montgomery has continued to get better and there is no question that it is primarily the result of his hard work. One Horizon League school was among the first to notice this, and as a result was able to lock up a commitment from the 6'2 guard this past weekend.  Illinois Prep Bulls-eye expounds further in this story, plus we have additional news on a scholarship offer that we believe will ultimately be coming Lenzelle Smith's way.

Illinois Wesleyan Gets Commitment From 2008 Recruit
Illinois Wesleyan head coach Ron Rose has proven that he can recruit, as last year he landed a recruiting class that was not only the best in the CCIW, but could have rivaled the classes of several low D1 programs. Rose is off to another good start with respect to the class of 2008, as he has received a commitment from a local area post prospect. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye provides the rest of the details in this story.

St. Louis Adds Another To Dynamite 2008 Recruiting Class
Rick Majerus and his assistants at St. Louis University have turned in a terrific 2008 recruiting class, and it became even deeper last night when they received a commitment from a high-scoring guard from the St. Louis area. Once again, there was never any doubt on this one. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the lowdown in this update.

Cassity Makes His Decision
As it turned out, Pinckneyville's Kyle Cassity decided that he did not need to take any more campus visits after all, as he knew exactly where he wanted to go when it came to making his college choice. That explains why Cassity verbally committed last night to a school that had long been considered one of his frontrunners.  Illinois Prep Bulls-eye fills everyone in with this story

Transfer Rumors Already Abound
You always know when the high school basketball season in Illinois is over with because the very next day talk immediately turns to which top underclass prospects might be looking to transfer schools. Sure enough, that is the case once again, as we have already heard three elite players mentioned amongst this group. In this report, Illinois Prep Bulls-eye examines each rumor for the purpose of trying to sort out what has credence and what doesn't.

Lenzelle Smith Sensational In Leading Zion-Benton To Class 4A State Finals
Zion-Benton's Lenzelle Smith is rapidly climbing the ladder when it comes to being among the elite prospects from the class of 2010 in Illinois. It is therefore no surprise that Smith was instrumental in leading his team to victory in the Class 4A supersectional at Northern Illinois University last night. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has more on Smith, as well as additional thoughts from the action that we took in at DeKalb in this story.

Class Of 2011 Player Watch: Tracy Abrams
Let us cut through the chase and make one thing abundantly clear right now. Mt. Carmel freshman Tracy Abrams is as good as any other guard in the state of Illinois from the class of 2011. You name 'em--Donivine Stewart, Jay Parker, Ryan Boatright--after watching Abrams turn in a terrific performance in the Class 4A Sectional at Proviso East, there is no doubt in our mind that he can play with any of them. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has more on Abrams' game and why he has emerged as one of the elite underclassmen in Illinois in this story.

Donivine Stewart Receives Scholarship Offer
Having enjoyed an absolutely stellar freshman season at Bartonville Limestone, the scholarship offers have begun to come Donivine Stewart's way. There is no question that his first offer is absolutely huge, as it comes courtesy of a Big Ten school. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the particulars in this update.

Diamond Taylor Off The Board
Players from the Illinois Wolves AAU program have had a history of offering up early commitments. The latest to continue that trend is Diamond Taylor, who decided to end his recruitment last night by committing to a Big Ten school. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye provides further insight in this story.

Dion Dixon Commits To Big East School
We had heard rumblings that Dion Dixon was ready to pull the trigger with respect to offering a verbal commitment, and sure enough that is exactly what happened following Dixon's official visit this weekend. As a result, the top available prospect in Illinois from the class of 2008 is now off the board and will be playing his college basketball in the Big East. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has more on Dixon's commitment in this story.

Class Of 2011 Player Watch: Jay Parker
When it comes to top players in Illinois from the class of 2011, Thornton Township's Jay Parker might not be as nationally known as De LaSalle's Mike Shaw, Curie's Wayne Blackshear or even East Aurora's Ryan Boatright. However, anyone who has watched Parker since he was moved up to varsity earlier in the season knows that he can play. With that being said, we have no doubt that Parker is going to become even more popular on the national radar come this spring and summer.  Illinois Prep Bulls-eye breaks down Parker's game and offers further analysis in this story.

Cooley Commits To Notre Dame
Rumors had been spreading that 6'9 junior Jack Cooley from Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, IL was going to commit soon, and sure enough, those rumors came to fruition as Cooley gave the University of Notre Dame and Mike Brey a verbal commitment. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has all of the details behind Cooley's decision in this story.

Class Of 2009 Player Watch: John Taylor
Since playing his first game at North Lawndale a week and a half ago, John Taylor has had a huge impact on his team's success. While he is still relatively unknown outside of local circles, after watching him last weekend at the Martin Luther King Dream Classic we are confident in saying that Taylor can play with any of the top guards in the state from the class of 2009. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye breaks down Taylor's game in this story.

Crandall Head Makes It Official
Seeing as though for the past month virtually everyone who follows recruiting knew where Crandall Head would be attending college, today's formal announcement from the prized class of 2010 prospect came as absolutely no surprise. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that Head's commitment will have a huge impact in relation to the school that he chose. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye provides further analysis in this story.

Class Of 2009 Hidden Gem: Matt Sullivan
Loyola Academy's Matt Sullivan has been putting up high-scoring numbers in virtually all of his team's games thus far. After watching Sullivan at this year's Wheeling Hardwood Classic one thing is for certain: not only can he play, he just might be the best kept secret in Illinois. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye breaks down everything that Sullivan brings to the table in this story.

Class Of 2009 Player Watch: Dyricus Simms-Edwards
Dyricus Simms-Edwards has been one of the most talked about players in the Peoria area so far this season. On that note, Illinois Prep Bulls-eye decided to check him out at this year's Pekin Holiday Tournament. We came away saying that he is certainly worthy of all the pub that he has been receiving. In this story, we offer our complete assessment of Simms-Edwards' game and ability.

Wisconsin-Green Bay Lands 2009 Guard Prospect From Illinois
Wisconsin-Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk and his assistants continue to do an outstanding job of recruiting the state of Illinois. Their latest efforts have resulted in a commitment from an unheralded class of 2009 point guard from central Illinois. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the skinny in this report.

Bulls-Eye Scouting Report: Brandon Paul
At long last Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye finally got an opportunity to watch Warren Township's Brandon Paul in action and let's just say that it was well worth the wait. Paul was nothing short of dominating in his team's second game at the Fremd Thanksgiving Tournament . As a result, we now have a new #1 player in Illinois from the class of 2009. We offer a complete scouting report on Paul and why he is a special player in this story.

Class Of 2010 Player Watch: Lenzelle Smith
We told everyone to watch out for Zion-Benton as one of the best high school basketball teams in Illinois this season, and a big reason why is 6'3 sophomore Lenzelle Smith, who was outstanding when we watched him recently at the Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament. In this story, Illinois Prep Bulls-eye describes Smith's game and tells everyone why he helps make Zion-Benton perhaps the premier team in Chicago's north suburbs.

Bertrand Becomes Illini's Third Class Of 2009 Commitment
We can't think of a coach in recent memory that has had one day be more successful recruiting-wise than the University Of Illinois' Bruce Weber. The Illini head coach secured his third in-state commitment from the class of 2009 tonight when Sterling's Joe Bertrand decided to pull the trigger. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has the latest in this story.

Illini Receive Two Huge Class Of 2009 Commitments
Once again, anyone out there still want to say that Bruce Weber can't recruit? Within the span of 24 hours, the head coach at the University Of Illinois has received verbal commitments from two of the top in-state prospects in the class of 2009 and in doing so has sent a loud and clear message to critics. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has all you need to know about both commitments in this story.

Class Of 2010 Player Watch: Lavonte Dority
The class of 2010 in Illinois continues to grow stronger at the top and another reason why is 6'1 point guard Lavonte Dority . Illinois Prep Bulls-eye got an extensive look at Dority's game at the Illinois Spot-lite Fall Shootout and we comment on everything that he brings to the table in this story.

Class Of 2010 Player Watch: Anthony Johnson
The more we watch 6'2 sophomore guard Anthony Johnson in action, the more we like him. It is therefore no surprise that based on his performance at the 17-Under National AAU Championship in Orlando this past week Johnson confirmed yet again that he is clearly one of the top prospects in Illinois from the class of 2010. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has more on Johnson's game and everything that he brings to the table in this story.

Class Of 2011 Player Watch: Ryan Boatright
Illinois Prep Bulls-eye kicked off its coverage of the July evaluation period at the Morris Shootout , which allowed us an opportunity to see much talked about freshman phenom Ryan Boatright . At Morris, Boatright proved that he has got serious game and is more than worthy of being called an elite player despite his youth. In this story, we analyze Boatright's skills based on what we saw at Morris.

Illinois Lands Commitment From Top Class Of 2010 Prospect
University of Illinois head coach Bruce Weber has decided to move quickly in order to try to erase the sting of losing out on top class of 2007 prospects Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose . The early result? This morning Weber was able to receive a verbal commitment from the top in-state prospect from the class of 2010, a move which could pay huge dividends down the road. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye fills everyone in with this story.

E-mail Us