Recruiting Notebook
PrepHoopsIllinois dives into the latest on the recruiting trail. Official visits have begun and there is a big weekend of trips lined up! Here is our latest Recruiting Notebook!
Top 20 Prospects Hit the Road
Four prospects ranked inside the top 20 overall will hit the road this weekend for official visits. Bolingbrook’s Joseph Yesufu will continue his officials this weekend to Drake. The lighting fast point guard is coming off one to Winthrop. Reports are that visit went very well. Per his head coach Robert Brost he is still looking into finalizing dates with Southern Illinois and Wisconsin Green Bay. Drake will also host the #6 overall recruit in the state in Lemont power forward Nate Ferguson. He is a skilled and athletic face up four man that can really score in a variety of ways. Drake would be ecstatic to come out of this weekend with one or both of these talented prospects! The state’s #5 overall recruit Bloomington power forward Chris Payton will begin his official visits with one to Valparaiso this upcoming weekend. The athletic four man closed strong in July and Valpo will get the first shot at the talented forward before he heads off to Southern Illinois on September 14. Brother Rice point guard Marquise Kennedy starts his visits this weekend as well heading off to Illinois State. Kennedy is a key recruit for the Redbirds and one they would love to lock down before he visits a pair of other schools in the upcoming weeks.
EJ Liddell Tour
The EJ Liddell Fall Tour is set! This Belleville West power forward who is the state’s top prospect has locked in his five official visits. They are Ohio State (August 31), Missouri (September 8), Kansas State (September 28), Wisconsin (October 6), and Illinois (October 12). Liddell is the top target on the board for many of these programs so there will be a lot riding on these trips. We have said all along that his decision will come down to the official visits. Gear up because here we go!
More Visits Set Up
The state’s #3 prospect Curie’s Dajuan Gordon has lined up his first official visit to SMU for the weekend of September 6-8. Gordon is a long and lean scoring wing that scores it with ease! Evanston combo guard Lance Jones has flown a bit under the radar due to some injuries in July, but the talented scoring guard is still a prospect that is garnering attention on the recruiting trail. PHI has learned that he will visit Southern Illinois for an official visit September 6-8. Bolingbrook physical combo guard Tyler Cochran is a tough and hard-nosed guard that many coaches love! Two programs have secured visit dates with him as he will be at Western Michigan August 31 and Northern Illinois September 7. Moline guard Deonte Billups had a nice July for Quad City Elite showing off his athleticism and scoring on the perimeter. He has lined up an official visit to Northern Illinois on September 14. He is working on dates with Winona State and Quincy. Quad City Elite teammate CJ Wilbourn has already locked in an official to Quincy for October 19. Another coveted D2 post Sterling’s Aidan Shore will take a trip to Lewis on September 7 for an official.
Isaiah Rivera Taking Visits and Landing Offers
The state’s #4 2020 prospect Geneseo wing Isaiah Rivera has been busy on the road over the last week going on a pair of visits to Valparaiso and Northern Iowa. Guess what? He secured offers from both of them! The skilled and strong wing tells PHI that he also will attend Purdue’s elite camp on August 25 and Nebraska’s elite camp September 1. He is also in communication with Butler and potentially Northwestern about trips to see their schools.
Terrence Shannon Opens It Up Again
It seems like just last week we were talking about this IMG (FL) and former Lincoln Park wing pulling the trigger on a commitment to DePaul. Oh yea because it was last week. Things change quickly in recruiting and Shannon opened things back up on Sunday by decommitting from DePaul. He told PHI “Just reopening my recruitment to see what other schools have to offer.” His previous final four included DePaul, Illinois, Florida State, and Maryland. He is going to listen to all schools beyond just those four.
Malik Hall Cuts List
Another Illinois native that is playing prep basketball has narrowed his list. Top 50 national recruit Malik Hall who started off at Metea Valley and is now at Sunrise Christian (KS) has a final five of Texas, Oregon, Purdue, Michigan State, and Oklahoma. Hall told PHI that as of now he does not have any visits scheduled as of now. He is coming off a recent unofficial to Michigan State where the Spartans offered him a scholarship.