Illinois Old School Sleepers Shine at Blue Chip/High Potential Camp

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

July 13, 2010

10:00 A.M. CST

Parents and high school coaches often ask us what are the best instructional/exposure camps to send their kids to whereby they can get hands down fundamental instruction, game competition against players with the same level of college potential, and recruiting exposure at such levels. Our answer is always the same--- Rick Bolus' Blue Chip/High Potential Camps held in Scott County, KY (near Lexington and the University of Kentucky) at Georgetown College are the best instructional/exposure camps in America. This year, the camp held June 27- July 2 was one of the best that Bolus has had in recent years from an Illinois standpoint, as the Illinois Old School AAU program had a player win Camp MVP award and two other prospects make the Top 30 all-Star game. 

6'3 Joseph Edwards from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL won camp MVP honors, and we are telling any low to mid major D1 program that they are missing the boat if they are not recruiting this kid! He has good size and plays the point, as demonstrated by his handle and ability to break down defenses and get the ball inside. He can also score and shoot the three, and will be the leader of a St. Joseph team that will surprise a lot of people this next season. He will team up with 6'2 shooting guard Robert Clark in an underrated backcourt. Clark made  the Top 30 game and impressed instructors with his shooting and scoring ability, as well as his defense.

The Illinois Old School program is a very underrated AAU program in Illinois that does things the right way and improves their players for college play. They looked good at the King James Summer Showcase this past weekend in Waukegan, and it is nice to see their players going to instructional summer camps. Kudos also go to Harvey (Thornton) IL coach Troy Jackson, who sent 6'7 post player Bernard Brame and 6'3 wing Brian Greene to the camp. Brame may have been the best big guy in the camp and he looked super at the King James event. He is long, has greatly improved his mid-range face-up game, and can put the ball on the floor in the post. He is undoubtedly a Division I player who needs to continue to get stronger and improve his defense. Greene is very athletic with good range and transitional scoring ability, but is also a tab of a tweener. But he can defend inside and outside, and is probably a low Division I player.

Also making the Top 30 game were 6'7 Ziggy Riauka from Downers Grove (South) IL; 5'10 Paul Beene and 6'5 junior Maurice Joiner from Chicago (Leo) IL; and 6'1 junior Robert Johnson from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL. Making the 2nd Top 30 game was 6'0 junior combo guard Joshua White from Edwardsville (H.S.) IL.  Chicago Leo coach Noah Cannon sends his kids to this camp often and understands the importance of camp instruction. A great guy, Noah also understands small college basketball and how good it is, being a graduate of Elmhurst College.

The junior division of the Blue Chip/High Potential camp also featured an MVP performance from an Illinois prospect, and a freshman at that! Rapidly rising freshman-to-be and 6'0 combo guard Erick Locke from Evanston (H.S.) IL continues to show why he may be a Top 3 incoming prospect in the Class of 2014. He is strong and physically mature for his age, attacks the hoop, and can shoot the heck out of it. He defends bigger players and crashes the boards. Being the son of Evanston coach Bobby Locke, you just know that the sky is the limit for this kid, especially if he grows 2-3 inches!

***********************************************************************************************

We welcome comments regarding this story or any other entry published by Illinois Prep Bulls-eye.  They can be made by e-mailing us at royandharv@ilprepbullseye.com. 

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to high school basketball and recruiting in Illinois.