Marcus Jordan, Crandall Head, Illinois Mustangs All Impressive At Windy City Classic

May 19, 2008

5:15 P.M. CST

This year's Windy City Classic held at the University of Illinois-Chicago's Physical Education Center featured a bevy of talented teams in three divisions--17-under, 16-under and 15-under.  Most of our time was spent watching the 17-under division, and when the dust cleared the Rising Stars Gold defeated a shorthanded Mac Irvin Fire squad in the championship game.

We thought that the Rising Stars Gold's best player throughout the course of the tournament was 6'2 Marcus Jordan from Whitney Young High School in Chicago.  There is no question that Jordan continues to get a bum rap from several other evaluators, but on more than one occassion this spring Jordan has shown that he is clearly the Rising Stars Gold's leader.  This was evident yet again this past weekend, as Jordan simply overpowered opponents, got to the basket at will and did all the little things that often go unnoticed such as coming up with a big steal or dishing out a key assist.

While the Fire received high scoring performances from both 6'8 Mike Shaw from De LaSalle Institute in Chicago (the state's #1 prospect in the class of 2011) and 6'1 class of 2010 prospect Reggie Smith from Thornton Township High School in Harvey, IL, in our minds the glue to the Fire team on the second day was the #2 prospect in Illinois from the 2010 class--6'4 Crandall Head from Rich South High School in Richton Park, IL.  In the Fire's quarterfinal victory over the Chi-Town Rebels Head spent time at both guard spots and played each position flawlessly, pretty much being able to do whatever he wanted to do.  Head also displayed his usual brand of high-flying athleticism.

Other than the Rising Stars Gold and the Fire, the other big story in the 17-under division was the Illinois Mustangs, which reached the semifinals with an upset victory over Full Package Athletics.  The Mustangs squad is comprised of players from Morton High School in Cicero, IL and does a tremendous job of executing fundamental team basketball.  Against Full Package, the Mustangs received strong post play from both 6'7 Luke Scarlata and 6'5 Raul Guzman, solid floor leadership from 6'2 Joe Belcaster and excellent perimeter shooting from 6'1 Oscar Macias.

Additional Notes

... Although they lost to the Peoria Irish in the final, one of the most talented 15-under teams in the Windy City Classic field was the Chicago Express.  The Express is led by 6'0 guard Tracy Abrams from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago, who just might be the second best prospect in the state from the loaded class of 2011 (yes, critics, we are becoming convinced!).  Abrams was absolutely dominant in the Express' semifinal victory over the Illinois Hawks, as he got to the rack with ease, did an outstanding job of breaking down the defense and also drilled a number of shots from beyond the 3-point stripe.  

... The two biggest sleepers that we uncovered were 6'5 class of 2009 forward Jerome Moore from Hyde Park High School in Chicago and 6'3 class of 2009 forward Willie Howard from Foreman High School in Chicago.  Ironically enough, both were matched up against one another when we watched the Illinois Heat battle Old Gold in a 17-under tournament game.  Moore, who plays for Old Gold, is long and athletic and can drill shots with consistency from 3-point land, as evidenced by his trio of 3-pointers in the contest vs. the Heat.  He also handles the ball well and has good post-up skills despite needing to get stronger.  Moore also plays for one of the biggest class acts in the AAU ranks in Antonio Wiltz.  Howard, meanwhile, is an absolute warrior around the basket and plays his tail off.  It seemed as though he grabbed every rebound under the sun and came up with every loose ball vs. Old Gold  in leading his team to a come-from-behind victory.  While Howard may not have a true position at this time, there is no question that he can play at the college level and warrants close attention. 

... A definite kudos goes out to Windy City Challenge coordinator Chris Head, who did an outstanding job of bringing together top teams from the entire Chicago area as well as downstate Illinois.  Head has even bigger plans regarding the event's future, including the introduction of an all-star game, and we therefore think that the Windy City Challenge promises to only get better.