Hard Work Region Finals: Recruiting Notebook
This past weekend we were at the Hard Work Region Finals in Minnesota where we caught numerous Illinois teams. We caught up with quite a few 2020 prospects to get updates on their recruitment. Dive into that with us here…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend we were at the Hard Work Region Finals in Minnesota where we caught numerous Illinois teams. We caught up with quite a few 2020 prospects to get updates on their recruitment. Dive into that with us here in our Hard Work Region Finals: Recruiting Notebook!
Alec Millender (St. Rita – ET21 Buckeyes)
Millender is a slick handling point guard who runs the show for his team. He told us on his recruitment “There have been a bunch of D2’s hitting me up. I got an offer from Wayne State. Minnesota Duluth has been talking to me a lot. A bunch of D2 and D3s contacted me.” What does he like about Wayne State? “I like that when they saw me they automatically said you are one of my main targets. They really push the ball. My high school coach and I looked at their roster and a little bit of their film. They push the ball and work around screens. I can come off and make the right decision.” He is planning on taking an official visit there soon although no date is locked in yet.
Paul Zilinskas (Riverside Brookfield – ET21 Buckeyes)
Skilled small forward that can shoot it from deep as well as score with his improved handles. He told us, “Many D2s are contacting me like Purdue Northwest, Minot State, and other D3’s. I will be at the Quincy camp. I want to visit Purdue Northwest and Minot State if I can.”
Grant Niego (Lyons – Chicago Lockdown)
Niego is another high IQ point guard that knows how to get others involved. Had a big weekend in Minnesota shooting from deep and scoring on runners. On the recruiting front he said, “Recently I have been texting with Michigan Tech, Loras, Chicago State.”
Ryan Isaacson (Hinsdale Central – Chicago Lockdown)
Isaacson is one of the more under recruited four men in the state. Face up power forward that stretches the floor with his shooting. Several D2 schools have jumped in with offers. “Indianapolis, Lewis was from before, St. Cloud State, and Merrimack.” While in Minnesota for Hard Work Finals he took an unofficial visit to St. Cloud State. “I love the gym. They get good crowds in there and it is good basketball.” UIC, Youngstown State, and Colgate have reached out to him showing interest at the D1 level.
Christian Shumate (Plainfield East – Young & Reckless)
This freak show athlete at the forward spot had a nice weekend in Minnesota finishing above the rim and using his quickness inside. When it comes to his recruitment he noted, “Recently I got offered by Southern Utah. Other schools recruiting me are Valpo, Wisconsin Green Bay, Utah State, and Illinois State came to one of my workouts.” He holds offers from Grambling State, Southern Utah, Detroit, Chicago State, and Lewis.” Any visits he wants to go on for sure? “I will probably visit Utah State. I like them. I like their conference. They have a real competitive conference. I talk to the coach a lot and he is a cool person to talk too.”
Keshawn Williams (Bloom – Young & Reckless)
Williams is the state’s #3 overall prospect. New schools to jump in have been West Virginia and Kansas State. “I am about to start to cutting my list soon. Right now I am talking to my mom when we get back to the house.” Look for a list to come out in the next week or so for the talented guard!
Ray’Sean Taylor (Collinsville – Gateway Illinois)
Taylor is one of the better point guards in the state. The scoring lead guard told us, “I have 8 offers. Wright State was my latest. Before that Akron and Indiana State. SIU-Carbondale is recruiting me. South Dakota State is still on me.” He has a visit set up for August 1st for Southern Illinois. What other schools does he want to get out to for visits? “Wright State. I have already been there, but I want to get back out there again. I want to visit Indiana State, Akron, and SIU-Edwardsville.”
Armond Williams (East St. Louis – Southwest Jets)
This long and lanky five man showed flashes during the spring and continued to improve as the summer went along. He told us on his recruitment, “I got two D1 offers from OVC schools in SEMO and SIU-Edwardsville. I have interest from Louisiana Monroe and Tulsa.” What does he like about SIUE? “They are close to home. The coach is real cool with me and has been looking at me for a while so I like that offered me.” How about SEMO? “They know my whole family so there is a family connection. They are not too far, but not too close. They have a good team.” He has an official visit set for August 5 to SIUE.
Christian Czerniak (St. Charles North – All-In Athletics)
This creative point guard showed well throughout the weekend with his passing and scoring. For recruiting he said, “I have heard from a decent amount of D3 schools. A few D2 schools have called me specifically McKendree has called me three or four times. The D3’s are Grinnell, Milwaukee Lutheran, Earlham, Haverford.”
Dominic Martinelli (Glenbrook South – All-In Athletics)
It has been quite a rise for Martinelli over the last couple months with his stellar play. When it comes to his recruitment he told PHI, “I got an offer at the D2 level from Gannon. I have been talking to a lot of other D2 schools like Saginaw Valley State and Hillsdale. I am going to the Brown camp on August 4th. I am going to visit Columbia too. Looking at some Ivy’s.” What stands out about the Gannon offer? “Their coach really believes in me and what I can do. My game is a little different than others, but he thinks I can use that in college to my advantage. They have a great new staff coming in from last year which was their first year. All their coaches coached in the NBA. I thought it was a great school and had a really nice basketball culture. I think I will visit there in late August.” Saginaw Valley State is another visit he plans on taking.
RJ Holmes (Stevenson – All-In Athletics)
This bouncy power forward from the northern Chicago suburbs is a defensive presence and solid rebounder. He updated his college interest saying, “I have been getting some looks from D2s. A lot of contacts, but only offer is Lewis.” What does he like about Lewis? “I really like how they took a chance on me. They are really close and always stay in contact. I think I am going to visit them soon after this tournament.” He says other schools are showing interest including, “Michigan Tech, Augustana, Rochester, and MIT.”
Brandon Malone (St. Joseph’s – Hoops4Health)
Malone is an under the radar scoring combo guard that played well this spring and summer. He told us, “I just got an offer from Bryant and Stratton. I got a letter from Wayne State. Purdue Northwest and St. Cloud have shown interest through my coach along with Minot State.” What stands out about Bryant Stratton? “I like the way the coach was. He was young so he was connecting to us more. He wanted to get to know me as a person and what my grades are.”