As a bonus, Okafor was huge in Youngs biggest games: 35 points and 13 rebounds in a sectional final win over St. Rita; 33 points and 14 rebounds in a state semifinal win over Stevenson; 22 points and 23 rebounds against Providence (Fla.) in the City of Palms Classic; and he averaged 31 points and 12.5 rebounds in the loaded Les Schwab Invitational in Oregon. March 2, Scott Burgess A ranking of the 2004 Best NFL Basketball Players in Illinois. Davis was an absolute unknown until the spring of his junior year. Teams; CBS Sports; CBS SPORTS HQ; . From 2002 through 2006, Augustine was a member of the University of Illinois mens basketball team. Douglas had a stellar career with Illinois, where he was a statistical leader in numerous categories. Emerging from Gary Roosevelt High School as the 1955 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Wilson Eison was another multi-year player for Purdue. Bottom Line: Elliot Cadeau will be in a new state and at a new school for his junior season with Link Academy the five-star recruit and No. He also plays with a competitive edge and confidence. His time with the Illini includes playing both power forward and centre, setting numerous team records, making it to the national championship game, and winning numerous honours. Get original content and the most important sports news from trusted sources delivered to your inbox. Wessels averaged 13.4 points per game while playing in 60 games, grabbing 521 total rebounds, and scoring 803 points across his three years of varsity basketball. Austin Parks, St. Mary's Memorial, junior, 6'9" Averaged 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore and earned second-team all-league honors. Where Castillo really turned heads for the first time was in international play as he helped lead the Team USA U16 National Team to a gold medal at the FIBA Americas World Championships in 2021. Recently on Feb. 21, Davenport North squared off . His follow-up dunk at the buzzer to beat West Aurora in the semifinals capped off a game in which Alexander had 37 points, 26 rebounds, five blocks and 10 rim-rattling dunks. Also, with a career field goal percentage of 57.2 per cent (456-797), he is fifth in school history. What this all says is that picking an Illinois All-Decade Team wasnt easy, though the criteria is quite simple. Playoff results: W 70-64 vs. Rock Falls (state final), W 74-62 vs. West Aurora (state semifinal), W 72-59 vs. Herrin (state quarterfinal), W 63-43 vs. Elgin (supersectional), W 68-59 (OT) vs. Dunbar (city final). For 37 years, until the 2005-06 season, Weatherspoon's 1,431 points at Canton McKinley High School stood as the Bulldog scoring record. (Chicago Tribune). From 1963 to 1966, Freeman was a student at the University of Illinois. Douglas was selected for the Illinois All-Century Team in October 2004. HONORABLE MENTION (25): Katey Flynn, Mt. Buzelis averaged 11.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals for Brewster in 2021-22 and played for the World Team at the Nike Hoop Summit following his season. And forget about the ranking as Parker was the No. As a professional he played overseas and has had stints with the 76ers, Knicks and Wizards in the NBA. 10 min read. He began 30 of the 32 games he played as a freshman, finishing third in the Big Ten Conference in assists with 4.53 per contest. First trip to state since back-to-back . Log in Crestwood (North York ONT CAN) 5. WG. Avila is a coveted mid-major target. By Garen Vartanian and. In the early 1960s, Illinois had a physical presence in the middle thanks to Bill Burwell. Smith scored 1,635 points and had 161 steals throughout his college career. In 2004, Downey was named to the Illini Mens Basketball All-Century Team. March 2, Steve Parham Off-the-court issues plagued Richmond, including a short period of time in prison. February 24, Scott Burgess He has offers from multiple colleges, including Ohio State, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana and West Virginia. The high school basketball season is set to tip off, and once again, the state of Illinois features some of the top talent in the country. He is already committed to playing for new Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang, who has already made inroads with many of the top recruits in the midwest. 3 in their respective draft classes. Augustine scored 1,383 points and grabbed 1,023 rebounds throughout his college career. Here are the 50 best Illinois basketball players of all time. IHSA girls basketball state finals:Predicting the champions | WATCH: TV schedule, * Tied for the final spot on a five-player team; ** Unanimous. He now ranks 12th all-time in Illinois scoring after concluding his collegiate career as the most prolific scorer in school history. With a BVM Sports account, submitting content to appear on our website is easier to keep track of and share. As a senior he averaged 31.2 points and had seven games of 40-plus points. He flashes various scoring abilities. A top 50 player nationally, Liddell was the top-ranked prospect in Illinois in the Class of 2019. As a senior, he averaged 16.6 points per game from his cutting drives while also setting a school record with 89 steals for the year with his freakishly athletic body. The 195051 Fighting Illini varsity team, on which he played as a freshman, finished third in the NCAA tournament in addition to winning the Big Ten Championship. DePaul's very own Aneesah Morrow played for Carmel and has been incredible so far. After a somewhat-quiet offseason, the Fire are widely picked to finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and miss the playoffs again. He had a few signature moments, including a Pontiac Holiday Tournament semifinal performance for the ages. Averaged 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1 . It's not hard to imagine him and Biliew tearing up Big 12 competition at the forward spots for the Cyclones in the near future. CENTRALIA Centralia couldn't get any closer than seven points in the second half and fell to East St. Louis, 53-39, in the first semifinal of the IHSA Class 3A Centralia boys basketball . Cupps was named Mr. Ohio Basketball and Ohio MaxPreps Player of the Year as a junior and is committed to playing for Indiana. Darrion Baker Hillcrest (Country Club Hills, IL) The point guard, who was 6 feet 3 inches tall, averaged 14 points per game. By the time he was a senior, the 6-9, 245-pound Alexander was a consensus top five prospect in the country and a McDonalds All-American. He did not achieve much success in the NBA after being picked 19th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1987 NBA draft. His intimidating stature allowed McClain to perform explosively on the court, assisting the team in official matches. While still vitally important, at this later stage of their high school careers, its not simply about projection. Clearly, Illinois knows how to produce exceptional girls basketball players and the programs that have landed recruits from the state are keenly aware of this fact. He had the most assists per game in the Big Ten during his junior season. how interested you are in the Fire, whose season begins Saturday against New York City FC at Soldier Field. Rnk: Athlete: POS: Rookie Yr: School: Overall Rank: 1: George Mikan: C: 1947: Archbishop Quigley (Chicago) 12: 2 . He was that talented of a player and that dynamic of a high school basketball figure. State Series Information & Results; Records & History; Basketball Advisory Committee; 3-Year Season Calendar; IHSA Administrator. WNBA standouts Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings and Yolanda Griffith once took the hardwood at the high school level in the state. a staff of more than 50 full time recruiting reporters and evaluators that rank and compile data on the nation's elite high school recruits.More Info About; Contact Us; Advertisers . Star: George Wilson (86 points in last four state games). He was chosen for the 20102011 Big Ten seasons third team AlAllBigen as a senior. 1. Moments after Jereme Richmond stunned the crowd with a game-winner from half court in the 2009 Class 4A sectionals. The Fighting Illinis second-highest single-season point total in history was scored by him that season when he scored 660 points. But with his continued improvement and the upside that still remains, Benson has climbed into the top 10 as we head into July. Polling Place: Is Patrick Kane the greatest Blackhawk ever? Bill Self sought out Williams to join the University of Illinois basketball team for the NCAA 20022003 season. A ranking of the 2001 Best NFL Basketball Players in Illinois. Guyton, is one of the most sought-after guards in the Class of 2024, with a dozen or more Division I offers. Career highlights: 3x NBA all-star, 2x NBA champion Aguirre was voted both the AP and Naismith Player of the Year his final season at DePaul (1979-80) and was the first overall selection in the 1980 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. However, as a senior, he had fewer assists but higher shooting percentages. In his debut game, he scored 22 points. The fan base, historical events, and players from Illinois are legendary. Chasson Randle of Rock Island moves quickly down the court, defended by Terrance Walker of Brooks. 2022 highschool Pos Rankings State Rankings. Bradfords most notable claim to fame was his 88-game streak, which set an NCAA record for the most consecutive games with a three-point field goal, before it was surpassed on February 13, 2001. With 853 rebounds at Illinois (since surpassed and now in third place), Winters concluded his collegiate career as the schools all-time rebounding leader and third-best scorer. A very short NBA career consisted of a total of 10 points in eight games for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Illini were unbeaten during the season up until their one-point loss to Ohio State in the last regular-season game. March 1, 5 Takeaways: Downers Grove North vs Whitney Young, Scott Burgess 9. February 23. Simmenthal Milano Ignis Varese 1965-1966 championship, Skip Thoren with the ball, Flaborea and Riminucci recognize each other photo sourced from Wikimedia commons. girls basketball players and the programs that have landed recruits from the state are keenly aware of this fact. Peyton Kemp Michigan . Belleville Wests EJ Liddell (32) holds up three fingers after dropping one against Evanston in the Class 4A state championship. Hes also a better athlete than hes often given credit for being while also creating more off the dribble that will help him make another offensive leap. Lincoln High's 7-foot-1 center, JT Rock (another great name) still has two years to develop before he gets to the next level. The Illinois AP all-state girls basketball team was released on Wednesday, with just one Rockford-area player on the first- or second-team list: Byron star senior forward Ava Kultgen. With 177 blocks, Thomas blocked more shots than any Illini player ever. Home : Updates : Sports : Upcoming/Recent Events : Polls . 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After graduating from high school, Winters was accepted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he played varsity basketball from 1982 to 1986. Here are the 50 best Illinois basketball players of all time. Weatherspoon, who was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1974, played in the NBA for a total of seven seasons with the San Diego Clippers, the Chicago Bulls, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Washington Bullets. The latest recruiting news sent to your inbox weekly. And being a good shooter these days is about the quickest path for a young player to get on the floor in college. Williams was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Chicago Regional in the NCAA Tournament and was a nominee for the Wooden Award. He also holds the record for the most minutes played (4,698) and the most games started (136) of any player in school history. Throughout his four years at Illinois, he participated in 129 of 130 games, missing just one game during his first year. He attended Illinois between 1993 and 1998. Subscribe Already a subscriber? This week we're looking at the midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Happy travels! Robert Archibald photo by Elemaki Wikimedia commons. 2 Indiana. Ranking the Class of 2022: How the seniors stack up heading into July. Players received five points for a first-team vote and three points for a second-team vote. Here is a look at the 10 best Illinois High School Athletic Association (IHSA) boys basketball players in the Class of 2023. Recap Men's Basketball vs Ohio State January 24, 2023 6 pm CT. Boxscore Men's Basketball Ohio State January 24, 2023 6 pm CT. Jan 28. Based on the armys selection of Mathisen, Menke, and Smiley, Phillip and his teammates would decide not to take part in either the NCAA or NIT tournament. Tisdale concluded with 176 career blocks to place second in school history and 1,243 points to rank No. He graduated from Illinois as the schools seventh-highest scorer ever. With 114 victories, Brown is tied with James Augustine for the most victories in Illinois history.
