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That is a top 50 in the country. SLU's Chicago recruits are very good, but they are not at the top of Illinois senior preps. Joe Hendrickson, who does the best state of Illinois rankings, has McCall at #7 and Evans at #14. That is very good since it is a very strong class. But it is hard to be top 50 nationally if you are not at least top 5 in your own state. Hendrickson's top 15: 1. Jereme Richmond (Illinois) 2. Meyers Leonard (Illinois) 3. Crandall Head (Illinois) 4. Lenzelle Smith (Ohio State) 5. Duje Dukan (Wisconsin) 6. Alex Dragicevich (Notre Dame) 7. Mike McCall (SLU) 8. Ben Brust (uncommitted, formerly committed to Iowa) 9. Jay Harris (Valpo) 10.Ravonte Rice (Drake, and the most underrated player on this list.imo) 11.Ahmad Starks (Oregon State) 12.Anthony Johnson (Purdue) 13.Phillip Jackson 14.Dwayne Evans (SLU) 15.Jordan Threloff (Illinois State)

The only disagreement I have with that article is that McCall is much closer to 6-0 than 6-2. He is not a point guard, so he is basically a 6-0 shooting guard. Nothing wrong with that if you can play, and he can play.

McCall is considered by many to be the second best player on his high school team after Lavonte Dority. However, in my viewings, McCall is the better player. jmo

Tony Cloniger of the Braves once hit two grand slams in one game while driving in 9 runs total. No pitcher has ever hit more than two in a career. Gibson is one who has hit two. Rick Wise of the Phillies once pitched a no-hitter while hitting two home runs in the same game. Now that is having a night.

Sorry, they are both 2012.

from Team NLP. Both are guards. I have seen both play, and both are talented kids. Aaron Simpson from North Chicago and Keith Carter from Proviso East. Quick, good ballhandlers. Both need to improve their outside shooting a bit. However, they are tough kids who can play.

I saw this kid play. Really good shooter. Nice court sense. Good passer. However, his athleticism is not real good. imo It will be interesting how he develops in college. Missouri is not recruiting to the level that I expected after their run. jmo

Just watched an interview with Beal on youtube done by Daniel Poneman. Beal says that his final five schools are Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Purdue. When asked why, he said that those schools had been with him since he was a freshman. He also said that he wants to go to a school that has a chance to win a national title.

Well, as much as I would like it to be down to KU, Illinois, and SLU, I have to at least consider the words that come directly from Beal's mouth in an article from just a couple of days ago. "You've got to say that Florida is my leader," Beal said, adding that sometime between now and the end of the summer he will go public with a commitment. Florida's position at the top of the leader board could be solidified on August 1 when Beal attends Billy Donavan's Elite Camp. "It looks good for Florida. They've got everything that I am looking for." http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?...910&style=2 Go down the page a bit to find the excerpts in celtic's post. As for why Beal would want to play in the Big Ten, how about 6 preseason top 25 teams this coming year? Big Ten was down a bit for a couple of years, even though it had multiple teams in the Final Four and the championship game, but the league will be loaded with talent over the next few years. Look at the recruits the league is bringing in.

I read an article today where Beal is quoted as saying that Florida is his leader. Sorry I don't have the link. I will find it and post it, if possible.

"Classiest?" Illinois State is a heck of a school and an outstanding basketball program. Actually, it is a better program than the one he just left, and that is not a slam. Jankovich is doing a heck of a job at ISU and they had the best recruiting class in the Valley this past year to add to an already loaded roster.

According to the rsci, Miles was #3 in the 2000 class behind Zach Randolph and Eddie Griffin.

David Lee was the #10 player in 2001 according to the RSCI, the compilation of recruiting services. Hoopscoop had him #8 as did Prep Stars. Telep had him #11. So, Lee was ranked pretty darn high.

I have never liked how Clark Francis ranks classes by quantity over quality. For example, Duke recruited two very good players, but schools with four or five lower recruits are ranked higher. And I really don't like his rankings when he forgets to include Illinois on his list. A very good 2009 class, too.

The Big Ten has a two-year rule for someone transferring from one Big Ten school to another if that person wants to be on scholarship. However, if the player is willing to walkon at another Big Ten school, then it is just the normal one year sitting out. Most players who have transferred within the Big Ten walk on and sit out only one year. Examples include Luke Recker from Indiana to Iowa, quarterback Jeff George from Purdue to Illinois, Brad Sellers from Wisconsin to Ohio State, Sam Okey from Wiscosin to Iowa and many more. I can't think of anyone who sat out two years because they also lose a year of eligibility when they do that under the five years to play four rule.

I read the board. Nothing unusual. imo. Blue must be very thinskinned. Typical fan stuff that is everywhere. Like the stuff on Cotto I have seen here, for instance. It will be interesting to see where he ends up and how the fans react to a stretch of bad play on his part. If there is a negative reaction, and there will no matter where he goes, how will he react? In my opinion, the message board was just an excuse for him to decommit.

I know it may be a little thing to a fan of another school, but Illinois is UI. IU is Indiana.

Here is the story on Jordan from his high school coach, a very successful coach named Clifton "Pop" Herring. The semantics of the word "cut" is what is being argued here. It makes a better story to have Jordan rise from the ashes of being cut from his high school team (implying that he was no longer a member of the team and the coach must have been an idiot) and the truth. Read this article if you are interested in facts. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com...mp;slug=2728054

Yes, Jordan was never cut from his high school team. That is a popular legend. Jordan, as a sophomore, did not make the varsity team. He played the year on the jv team as many sophomores do. The "cut" legend implies that he was no longer a part of the team and that the coach was a fool for cutting him. I have an article about the coach where the coach talks about Jordan. He knew Jordan was a great prospect, but he had 6 or 7 seniors returning who had formed a good team. He thought Jordan needed more seasoning on the jv team. But he was not "cut."

How can a player choose one school over another when the other school never offered a scholarship? For example, Purdue did not offer Jordan yet Purdue is listed as a school that Jordan chose SLU over. I guess it makes it sound better?

Sounds like George McGinnis to me.

Funny. Illinois looked at Powell a couple of years ago like teams look at tons of kids. He has not been on Illinois' radar for a long, long time. Illinois has no scholarships to give until the 2011 class. I guess that it is easy for a kid to list whatever schools he wants to, I guess.

No, not really. I never predict where players are going to go. However, I do think it is more than a two-school race.

KU and Florida, eh? I think you will be surprised where Beal ends up.

Anyone go to the all star game tonight in St. Louis? If so, any report would be appreciated. I know that Brandon Paul had 37 and was mvp of one team and that Tyler Griffey had 32 and was mvp of the other team. And that Joseph Bertrand had 15 and won the slam dunk competition. Looking for impressions of the game and players. Thanks.