DePaul Recruiting, Doug Ferguson, Marquette Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Providence Recruiting

ILLINOIS WOLVES 16-U TEAM HAS BIG EAST TARGETS

Young talent finishes summer strong and Big East schools taking notice

The Illinois Wolves 16-U squad made quite a statement in during the last week of the July open evaluation period as the Chicago-area based AAU program took the title at the Hoop City Classic in Kansas City and following that up with a championship while playing up in the 17-U classification at the inaugural ChicagoHoops.com End of Season Showdown in Merrillville (IN). It was in Merrilville where NBE’s Doug Ferguson got a look at the Wolves and picked up some recruiting information from their talented prospects in the class of 2011.

- When college coaches come calling on the Illinois Wolves 16-U team, the first player that grabs their attention is almost certainly Nnanna Egwu of St. Ignatius. The native of Nigeria is a relative newcomer to the game, but he has continued to make strides each and every time NBE has laid eyes on him from the Reebok Headliner Tryout Camp in June, to the Chicago Classic earlier this month and finishing up at the End of Summer Classic where Egwu was co-MVP while helping the young Wolves squad to the title.

Big 10 schools such as Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue and Northwestern are widely regarded as being at the forefront of his recruitment already, but Doug Ferguson also learned that the long, lean and athletic 6-foot-10 post prospect is considering DePaul, Marquette and Notre Dame from the Big East.

A big time defensive presence inside, Egwu has started to develop an offensive game which could make him very dangerous, as viewed in the short video below. It is easy to see why college coaches would love to welcome Egwu into their program for the 2011-2012 season.

- Another player with the Wolves that began impressing NBE back in June is Chicago St. Patrick’s Jacob Williams, a 6-foot-5 wing who Illinois Wolves Director Mike Mullins referred to as a “young Evan Turner” during the Reebok Headliner Tryout Camp.

Williams missed last year’s high school season and has been making up for it on the AAU and camp circuit around the Windy City. Another of the fast risers in 2011, Williams provides scoring and length from the wing and his versatility allows him to get the job done inside and out.

As far as his recruiting goes, Williams told NBE at the End of Summer Showdown that DePaul and Providence are both moving on him quite a bit. Expect to see his recruitment continue to pick up steam as more and more schools get a chance to see him this season.

- Chasson Randle, a 6-foot-1 point guard out of Rock Island (IL) High School shared the event’s MVP award with Egwu at the End of Summer Showdown. Again, Randle first caught our eye at the Reebok Headliner Tryout camp in June and showed again to be one of the top players in a loaded Illinois class of 2011. Randle has good size, length and strength with the ability to score from anywhere on the court, as he shows in the video below, especially from beyond the three-point arc.

DePaul, Marquette and Notre Dame from the Big East are showing considerable interest as well as the entire Big 10, according to Randle.

- Not to be overlooked, 2012 Peoria (IL) point guard ‘BoBo’ Drummond showed quite well playing in the 17-U classification with the Wolves. The 5-foot-10 point guard has a high level of basketball savvy at a young age. He told NBE that Illinois and Wisconsin were very involved in his recruitment, expect that list to grow tremendously over the next few years.

- Another player that caught the attention of NBE at the End of Summer Showdown was Devin Williams of the Naptown Ballers. Williams is a native of Indianapolis where he attended Ben Davis HS and he was at NC Tech this past year. The aggressive G/F did a little of everything on the court. He told NBE he has offers from Indiana, Marquette, Oregon State, IUPUI, Indiana State and Southern Miss.