Two More Emerge From Class Of 2011

May 22, 2008

9:45 A.M. CST

The Reebok Headliner Camp, which was held this past weekend at A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics in Chicago featured a number of talented players from the midwest with several states having prospects represented, including Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Iowa.

While many players from both the class of 2009 and 2010 were in attendance, we were especially impressed with the crop that was on hand from the class of 2011.  Two class of 2011 prospects in particular who caught our eye were 6'1 Chasson Randle from Rock Island High School in Rock Island, IL and 6'5 Kourtney Darby from St. Patrick High School in Chicago. 

Randle is a quality point guard who has a great feel for the game.  He has great quickness and a superb handle which make him especially effective in up-tempo and open court situations.  Not only that, but Randle also gets out on the break extremely well and his decision-making is outstanding.  There is no question that he ranks among the best point guard prospects in Illinois from the 2011 class.

While Randle is already widely known throughout the state, we are willing to bet that very few people (if anybody) know who Darby is.  Darby is a great athlete with a strong upper body.  He is explosive to the basket and plays extremely hard, as he gets a number of put backs as a result of his work on the glass.  Darby may be a bit on the tweener side right now, but we believe he is undoubtedly a prospect worth keeping an eye on.

We have also mentioned in past reports how the talent level in Illinois continues to get better and better at an even earlier age and another prime example of this is 5'10 point guard Jordan Foster, who also put his talents on display at the Reebok Headliner camp.  Foster is an 8th grader from Plainfield, IL with tremendous playmaking and scoring capability.  As is the case with most youngsters his age, Foster has a tendency to play out of control sometimes, but it is still easy to see the enormous degree of talent and skill that he already possesses.

Additional Notes

... Illinois Wesleyan University head coach Ron Rose has done it again, as he has added another recruit to his banner 2008 class.  His latest addition is 5'10 point guard Eliud Gonzalez from Richards High School in Oak Lawn, IL.  Gonzalez was Richards' floor leader and spearheaded their class 4A state championship this past March.  In addition, Gonzalez is also an elite student.  Gonzalez becomes the Titan's eighth recruit from the class of 2008, a class which is now coming close to rivaling the outstanding one put together by coach Rose in 2007.    

... 6'5 Matthias Burns from Noble Street College Prep in Chicago will be attending Ashford University in Clinton, IA. Burns averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds at Noble Street, which is one of the top academic schools in Chicago.  His scoring and rebounding stats were tops in the Chicago Public League's Blue-Northwest conference.

... Burns' high school coach at Noble Street, Orlandus Thomas (who is also a class act), is also one of the coaches of the Chicago Rebels, one of the more unheralded AAU programs in the Chicago area.  Thomas coaches the 17-under Chicago Rebels Red squad, which is led by a couple of "hidden gems" in 5'11 Michael Black from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, IL and 6'7 Erik Dornfeld from Geneseo High School in Geneseo, IL.  The Rebels will be competing this coming weekend at the Chicago Classic at the Joy Of The Game Center in Deerfield, IL and then the following weekend at the AAU Super Regional at the same location.  Their itinerary over the summer will include the Hoosier Shootout, the Chicago Summer Classic, and the Best Of The Midwest tournament. 

... Simeon head coach Robert Smith informed us at the recent Windy City Classic that 6'0 guard Lazeric Jones, who was instrumental in helping lead Simeon to third place in the class 3A state tournament last March, will be visiting Alabama State and that they are most interested in his services.

... Lake Forest College, a D3 school located in Lake Forest, IL, has turned in a most solid 2008 recruiting class, as they have signed eight players.  The class includes 5'11 point guard David Campbell from St. Patrick High School in Chicago; 6'1 point guard Dave Pilalis from Wheaton North High School in Wheaton, IL; 6'4 forward Travis Clark from Evanston Township High School in Evanston, IL; 6'2 shooting guard Vernard Roberson from Whitney Young High School in Chicago; 6'3 forward Don Duncan from Seton Academy in South Holland, IL and 6'4 wing forward Drew Genzler from Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, IL.  Lake Forest's coaching staff, which consists of head coach Chris Conger and assistant coaches Ken Davis, Brent Mork and Lee Taylor, is one of the hardest working coaching staffs you will find at any level of college basketball in the state of Illinois.  In fact we see at least one of them at virtually every event that we are in attendance at.

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.