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Chicago Curie senior forward Cliff Alexander, ESPN's No. 2-ranked prospect, tweeted Monday his top-6 schools are Arizona, DePaul, Illinois, Kansas, Memphis and Michigan State.

Alexander told ESPNChicago.com on Sunday he had cut Kentucky from his original top-10 list and was also considering Connecticut and Oregon because they were recruiting Huntington Prep senior point guard JaQuan Lyle. Alexander and Lyle have discussed attending the same school. Connecticut and Oregon didn't make Alexander's list on Monday.

Baylor, Indiana and Louisville also did not make the cut after being on Alexander's top-10 list.

Alexander has made official visits to Arizona and DePaul. He will also make official visits to Kansas on Oct. 4, Memphis on Oct. 18 and Illinois on Oct. 26. He said he might also take an unofficial visit to Michigan State.

Alexander said he expects to commit in mid-December and sign his letter of intent in the spring.

Alexander said Sunday that DePaul and Illinois were among his finalists because he's interested in playing in state and is intrigued by the direction the programs are headed.

DePaul's recent recruiting efforts in Chicago have helped their standing with Alexander. He said he'd like to play with former Chicago Public League players Billy Garrett, Tommy Hamilton, Rashaun Stimage and Myke Henry.

"I love [DePaul] coach Oliver Purnell," Alexander said. "He's a great guy. He's built a great relationship with my mom. We had a fun time. I'm really considering them. It helps a lot playing with Tommy, Myke, Billy and Rashaun. I know those guys."

Alexander said he also feels comfortable with the Illini's coaching staff and players.

"Coach [John] Groce since he got the job, he's been communicating with me well," Alexander said. "My mom loves him, that whole coaching staff. I've been down there a few times and just hanging with the guys."

NORRIDGE, Ill. -- Chicago Curie senior power forward Cliff Alexander, ESPN’s No. 2-ranked prospect, said Sunday he has eliminated Kentucky from his list of schools.

“They just stopped communicating with me,” said Alexander during the Mac Irvin Back to School Jam at Ridgewood High School on Sunday. “It’s surprising. I haven’t talked to [Kentucky coach John Calipari] in I don’t know how long. I’m somewhat [disappointed,] but hey it’s a business. You do what you have to do.”

Alexander, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound power forward, said all the other schools he named in a top-10 list in June are still in play. His list included Arizona, Baylor, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Memphis and Michigan State.

Alexander said he’s considering Connecticut and Oregon because they are also recruiting Huntington Prep senior point guard JaQuan Lyle, who is ranked No. 22 by ESPN. Alexander and Lyle have recently discussed attending the same school. Lyle recently decommitted from Louisville.

Alexander has made official visits to Arizona and DePaul. He will also make official visits to Kansas on Oct. 4, Memphis on Oct. 18 and Illinois on Oct. 26. He said he might take an unofficial visit to Michigan State.

Alexander said he expects to commit in mid-December and sign his letter of intent in the spring.

Alexander said DePaul and Illinois are among his finalists because he’s interested in playing in state and in the direction the programs are headed.

DePaul’s recent recruiting efforts in Chicago have helped their standing with Alexander. He said he’d like to play with former Chicago Public League players Billy Garrett, Tommy Hamilton, Rashaun Stimage and Myke Henry.

“I love [DePaul] coach Oliver Purnell,” Alexander said. “He’s a great guy. He’s built a great relationship with my mom. We had a fun time. I’m really considering them. It helps a lot playing with Tommy, Myke, Billy and Rashaun. I know those guys.”

Alexander said he also feel comfortable with the Illini’s coaching staff and players.

“Coach [John] Groce since he got the job, he’s been communicating with me well,” Alexander said. “My mom loves him, that whole coaching staff. I’ve been down there a few times and just hanging with the guy.

Marian Catholic senior point guard Tyler Ulis named Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan State and USC as his four finalists on Thursday, according to his father.

Ulis, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Matteson, Ill., is ranked No. 38 overall and the No. 8 point guard in the Class of 2014 by ESPN. He eliminated DePaul, Florida State, Northwestern and Purdue from the schools he was considering.

“It’s been a long time coming for him,” Ulis’ father, James Ulis, said in a phone interview on Thursday night. “He always felt like he could play at this level. It’s nice for him to be rewarded and people can see it.”

Ulis holds offers from Iowa, Michigan State and USC, but not from Kentucky. James said Kentucky coach John Calipari has expressed interest in Ulis and believes an offer could be coming.

“There’s mutual interest,” James said. “We’ve had the opportunity to talk to Coach Calipari, and they basically said Tyler is a great point guard, great leader and they would love to give him an opportunity to run their program. Coach Cal wants to get to know Tyler and us to get to know him.”

Kentucky made the list because of its recent successes, James Ulis said.

“John Calipari has produced the most point guards in recent years and has taken them right to the NBA,” he said. “He obviously knows how to coach point guards. He knows how to put them in positions to lead the team. He’s a tough coach. There’s accountability from Day 1 to win and win at a high level.”

While Kentucky is the newest suitor of Ulis, Iowa has been on him the longest.

“What I love about [Iowa coach Fran McCaffery] is from the beginning he clearly stated Tyler was the point guard to lead his team,” James said. “What is being said about Ty now is what Fran said about him last year. We also like the offense that Fran runs, and Fran is just a great guy. Tyler will get an opportunity to play the style he wants to play.”

Style also factored in Ulis’ decision to keep USC on his list. Ulis was attracted by the fast-paced game USC coach Andy Enfield used while previously at Florida Gulf Coast.

“Tyler really loves his offense, that open style of game -- pass, run-and-gun and open space,” James said. “They get up and down the court. They get after it. He’s coached in the NBA and obviously has some shooting videos out. He’s a great shooting coach. I think for Ty to go to the next level he has to knock down the 3 consistently.”

Michigan State also made the cut for a variety of reasons.

“Michigan State, obviously the tradition at point guard; I’m a big Magic Johnson fan,” James said. “They’ve won. They’re had success. You want your kid to play for Coach [Tom] Izzo. They always get some really good players. Obviously the family tie, [Tyler’s cousin] Travis Walton played there.”

James said no in-state schools made his son’s final list because the other schools were better fits. DePaul and Northwestern had been recruiting Ulis, and his family created relationships with DePaul coach Oliver Purnell and Northwestern coach Chris Collins. The family also recently heard from Illinois, but James said it was too late in the process to consider Illinois.

“Illinois recently reached out to us concerning Tyler,” James said. “It would be tough to go that direction because they were going another direction before. We respect that. I didn’t know the reason they hadn’t approached Tyler [previously]. We were told they weren’t going to recruit another point guard in 2014. Once Tyler did what he did [on the club travel scene], Coach [John] Groce reached out.”

James said his son plans to set up official visits in September and decide on a school before the early signing period in November.

Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Julius Randle remain on top of the final ESPN 100 for the Class of 2013.

See the final rankings here.

Morgan Park High School senior guard Billy Garrett Jr., a DePaul recruit, will have his No. 5 jersey retired by the school prior to Thursday's Chicago Public League playoff game against Lane Tech.

Garrett Jr., a 6-foot-4 point guard, owns the school-record for career points with 2,063. He's averaging 22.5 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Mustangs this season.

"Billy has been with me four years strong," said Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin, who had his number at Carver High School in Chicago in 1997. "I just want to show my appreciation and say a job well done and I'm proud of you.
"He's meant a lot to this program. He was the one who helped jumpstart this program along with (now Louisville guard) Wayne Blackshear. He's helped our program tremendously. Without him, my career wouldn't be as good."

(Read full post)

Whitney Young (Chicago) center Jahlil Okafor, the nation’s No. 2-ranked junior, said
Wednesday his recruitment was open and would still consider in-state schools DePaul and Illinois.

Okafor, a 7-foot, 270-pound center, had made a number of unofficial visits, including to Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State and UCLA, but he doesn’t plan on cutting his list or committing anytime soon.

“I haven’t done a list,” Okafor said. “Illinois and DePaul have as much of a chance as anybody.”

Okafor’s father, Chukwudi, also confirmed that.

“Illinois has a shot,” Chukwudi said. “DePaul has a shot. (DePaul coach Oliver Purnell) is a good guy. Everybody has a shot. I wouldn’t cut any of them out. Illinois is going to have to work. We’re going to pay attention to them. It’s the home team. They’re doing good things.”

Two factors in Okafor’s recruitment will probably be playing with his friend and point guard Tyus Jones, the nation’s top-ranked junior, and being able to immediately compete for a national title.

Jones and Okafor have been talking about playing with each other in college for the past few years, and they keep in touch several times a week.

“First of all, it’s just our friendship, our brotherhood, we’re just close,” Okafor said of Jones. “It’s fun to go to battle with someone you’re so close with. He’s a floor general.”

Winning is also vital to Okafor.

“The ultimate goal for him is to put himself in the position to win a national championship,” Chukwudi said.

Okafor and his team begin their season against DeMatha (Maryland) and North Carolina State recruit BeeJay Anya, a 6-foot-9, 275-pound center, in the Chicago Elite Classic at UIC on Saturday.

Simeon Career Academy (Chicago) forward Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 1-ranked senior, cut his list to five schools on Friday, and it includes BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford.

Read the entire story.

The decision by Chicago teachers to strike affects a bevy of recruits because college coaches won’t be in the Windy City watching open gyms during the strike.

“You have to adjust,” DePaul assistant coach Billy Garrett said. “We had a strike plan and a non-strike plan. Oliver Purnell is thorough. It’s really hard for the kids but we planned for both. It’s those mid-major kids that it affects the most; a kid that you’re trying to make decisions on in terms of whether or not he’s good enough.”

If the strike lingers, it doesn’t mean much for Jabari Parker (Chicago/Simeon), the No. 1 overall player in the 2013 class. However, for senior Jaylon Tate (Chicago/Simeon), the timing is not good.

Read the entire story.

St. Rita freshman guard Charles Matthews awoke to a phone call from his high school coach notifying he had been offered by DePaul and Illinois on Tuesday.

Matthews stayed home from school Tuesday because he wasn’t feeling well and had already missed one call from St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare before he was finally reached with the news.

“It was such a blessing,” said Matthews, a 6-foot-4 guard. “It’s truly an honor and a blessing to be offered these opportunities. I’m just a freshman, and I have three scholarship offers. I’m grateful.”

Matthews previously was offered by Arizona in April. DePaul and Illinois watched Matthews while he played with MeanStreets, a club team, during the April recruiting period.

“You always want to have an in-state school on your list,” Matthews said of the two offers. “My doors are going to be open to both of those schools in the long run.”

Matthews didn’t anticipate jumping on any of the offers soon. He said he has seen too many players make mistakes with early commitments.

“I’m going to take my time to look it over,” Matthews said. “I’m not going to rush into it. I notice a lot of people de-committing after they commit early. I don’t want to be one of those people to go back and forth with my college decision. I want to make a firm decision that I’m comfortable with.”

DeCesare, who was previously a Division I assistant coach, has mixed feelings about Matthews’ offers.

“I don’t think I believe in the system offering kids so early,” DeCesare said. “Who knows who’s going to be there three years from now? But I guess it’s a necessary evil because they look at who’s being offered.”

Matthews started for St. Rita’s varsity team as a freshman and averaged nine points and six rebounds.

“I think he’s got great versatility,” DeCesare said. “He could play in high school at all five positions. I think he could be an off-guard in college. I think he could be a point guard. He’s got great size to him. His size for a freshman to be a 6-4, 6-5 and handle the ball is obviously a huge plus for anybody.”

Let the Simeon-to-DePaul pipeline begin.

Simeon coach Robert Smith believed he and DePaul coach Oliver Purnell had repaired their programs' relationship after the two Chicago coaches met last week and again on Tuesday. Smith had previously felt the programs were on different wavelengths.

"It was great," Smith said of last week's meeting with Purnell. "DePaul was the first one in [Tuesday.] Coach Purnell, we had a brief conversation again. It went well. We were able to talk and communicate on things we weren't able to communicate on before. We have a great fresh start."

Smith is hopeful the new beginning will lead to DePaul attracting his players.

"Hopefully, they can get into Simeon and recruit our guys and maybe someone will commit to go there," Smith said.

Purnell attended Simeon's open gym on Tuesday and has been actively recruiting Simeon junior forward Jabari Parker and junior point guard Jaylon Tate. Both hold offers from the Blue Demons.

DePaul has previously missed on Simeon's top players. Senior forward Steve Taylor chose to commit to rival Marquette last month. Simeon junior guard Kendrick Nunn also held a DePaul offer before recently committing to Texas A&M.

Bobby Simmons, a Class of 1998 recruit, is the last Simeon star to play for DePaul.

Like nearly every college basketball program in the country, DePaul would love to create a pipeline to Simeon on Chicago's South Side.

In just the past six years, Simeon has won four state championships, including two with Derrick Rose, produced Division I players in the double digits and is expected to be a top-5 team in the country this upcoming season with nearly an entire starting lineup of high-major players, including the nation's top junior Jabari Parker.

Who wouldn't want to be connected to that program?

Right now, DePaul isn't, and Simeon coach Robert Smith has made that publicly known. But when the recruiting period reopens on Friday, Smith hopes he and DePaul coach Oliver Purnell can repair the relationship . The two coaches are scheduled to meet at Simeon.

Just as DePaul wants to partner with Simeon, Smith wants his program to partner with DePaul.

"I would like to have a better relationship, so I can say, ‘The school up the street is just as good as they are. You should look at this place,'" said Smith, who has a 197-36 career record at Simeon. "Not having that relationship, how can I?

"They made [Friday's meeting] a priority. They made it a priority. I'm the first people they want to talk to. They want to get it resolved. I want to, too. We shouldn't have situations like that at home."

Smith's original point of contention with DePaul was Purnell did not bring on a Chicago-born assistant coach when he was hired. While Smith was pleased Billy Garrett, an assistant who has Chicago ties and has a history of recruiting the area, was retained by Purnell, Smith would have also liked DePaul to have another coach with Chicago origins.

Smith understands Purnell is unlikely to make any staff changes now, but he does still want to have that discussion.

"I thought there truly should be someone born and raised from Chicago on that staff," Smith said. "When we sit down and talk, we'll be able to get through why they couldn't hire anyone. If you go look at St. John's coaching staff, they got people from New York on their staff. UCLA, they have people from there. Not to have it here is a slap in the face."

Smith said previous talks between him and Purnell have only been somewhat productive, but he was optimistic Friday's meeting would finally end their issues.

"We just need a discussion on what my view is of certain things, and they can let me know what their view is on certain things," Smith said. "Maybe we can get on the same page. We need to sit down as men and make it work. There's no way we should be in town together and not have any communication. Simeon is a big part of basketball in Illinois.

"They missed out on some kids this year in the 2012 class. Hopefully, we can get it in order and bury any differences what they may be. Maybe they can get in line for kids in '13 from Simeon."

DePaul strongly recruited Simeon Class of 2012 forward Steve Taylor, but he opted for Big East rival Marquette. Smith said he didn't play any part in Taylor's decision.

"None whatsoever," Smith said. "I didn't tell Steve to not go to DePaul or to go to DePaul. His decision came solely from him."

The Blue Demons are now recruiting Parker and junior guard Jaylon Tate, who recently transferred from De La Salle to Simeon. Tate received an offer from DePaul while on an unofficial visit earlier this week.

"I like DePaul, Illinois, Illinois State, Loyola; I want them to be successful," Smith said. "This is where I'm from. When I go to coaching camps, I want to be able to talk about our state like they do theirs."

Purnell did not return an interview request for this story.

Simeon senior forward Steve Taylor committed to Marquette on Sunday.

Taylor, a 6-9 power forward, chose Marquette over DePaul and Missouri. He is Illinois' top-ranked player in the Class of 2012 and is No. 93 in the ESPNU 100.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO – Like everyone else following club basketball on Twitter last week, Billy Garrett Jr. began increasingly seeing his own name appear throughout Peach Jam.

“After the first couple games, I sort of knew I was creating a buzz because I have a Twitter [account] myself,” said Garrett Jr., a Morgan Park junior.
Although the 6-foot-3 point guard had already been a known commodity in Chicago and is ranked nationally (No. 46 in ESPN’s Super 60), Garrett Jr. helped himself and his future school of DePaul with a handful of eye-catching performances for the Mac Irvin Fire at Peach Jam last week.

ESPN’s scouts certainly took notice of Garrett. He was named a top performer by ESPN Recruiting on two of the tournament’s three days.
ESPN recruiting coordinator Michael LaPlante came away impressed with Garrett’s offensive skills and how his game impacted his team.

“Garrett is the typical coach’s son; he plays with a mature thought process and always seems to be looking to find a way to put his team in position to win,” LaPlante said. “Although he is the type of leader that looks to run the team as a pass-first point guard, he has shown the ability to score when needed.

“He needs to gain strength for a quicker transition to the high-major level, but his high basketball IQ more than allows him to make up for his deficiency in that area. Because of his ability to make others around him raise their level of play other good players will have a strong interest to join him at DePaul.”

Since committing in April to DePaul, where his father Billy Garrett is an assistant, Garrett has been working on getting some of the nation’s top players to join him there. Jabari Parker, the nation’s No. 2 junior, Steve Taylor, Sterling Brown and Johnnie Vassar have been among his targets.

“Most of the guys I’m trying to get to come to DePaul I’m close friends with,” Garrett Jr. said. “Every once in a while, I’ll say, ‘Come to DePaul, they have this at DePaul, come with me, play with me.’ I’m talking to Jabari, Sterling, anybody trying to get them to commit here, too.

“I think they take me pretty serious. I’ve actually had a few serious talks with a couple of the players, talking like, ‘Come here with me, stay, we can make something happen, and we can do it in the city of Chicago.’ That’s one thing I also say because all the guys I talk to are from Chicago. A pitch I use is, ‘We’re in Chicago. We can do it for the city.”

Garrett understands how stacked the Chicago area is in the 2013 and 2014 classes. There are five Chicago-area Class of 2013 players in ESPN’s Super 60 and two in Class of 2014 prospects in the Terrific 25.

If Garrett Jr. can persuade a few of those players to come to DePaul, he thinks the Blue Demons can recreate a recruiting class like the one Pat Kennedy assembled in 1998, which included local products Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons and Lance Williams from Chicago.

“Honestly, I think in like the 2013 and 2014 class if they decided to stay in Chicago, not all of them, just a couple of them, DePaul could definitely be at top-25 team, potentially go far in the NCAA tournament,” Garrett Jr. said. “If you keep the top players in 13, 14 together, we’ll be pretty good.”

Other college coaches are thinking the same. While Garrett Jr. is firmly committed to DePaul and his dad is on the staff, it hasn’t stopped other coaches from still enquiring.

“Everybody wants him,” said Nick Irvin, who coaches Morgan Park and the Mac Irvin Fire. “I’m not saying any names, but a lot of people are very interested in him.

“He’s definitely a game-changer. That’s the right guy to get. He’s the type where he wants everything on his shoulders. He doesn’t care who’s there or who’s going to come. He wants everything on his shoulders. I think that’s a perfect fit for DePaul to get.”

Garrett isn’t surprised by other colleges’ interest. While he was watching his son at the Peach Jam, he noticed something strange.

“Even at the Peach Jam, there were people who were talking to me that normally don’t talk to me,” Garrett said. “I’m sure they’ve called Nick. I’m sure there’s more than one.”

The Garrett family isn’t worried about it, though. Their concentration now is improving Garrett Jr.’s game. He’s shown more confidence on the court and been more physical over the last few months, and the next step is his boosting athleticism.

“That’s what I told him he needs to be more athletic, more explosive,” Garrett said. “He has a quick first step, but I’d like to see him a little more explosive. He’s kind of crafty with it. He can get in crevices. He’s not afraid to be physical, and he’s not afraid to take hits. If he can be more explosive, it’ll make him a little better.”

Garrett Jr. is ready to hit the road again for another 10 days of basketball. His main goal is winning, but he’d also like to impress some of those scouts who vote on the McDonald’s All-American Game.

“Really one of my goals high school-wise is to make the McDonald’s game,” Garrett Jr. said. “That’ what I really want to do. Seeing those scouts and being able to play in front of them, hopefully I’ll be able to increase my stock and maybe one day to get to that game.”

A few more tournaments like Peach Jam, and he should be just fine.

DePaul assistant coach Billy Garrett can relax now.

His son Billy Garrett Jr., a Morgan Park sophomore guard, relieved his father’s worries and committed to DePaul on Tuesday night.
Garrett Jr. chose the Blue Demons over interest from Florida State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Stanford and UNLV.

“It probably wouldn’t have looked too good if I had gone off somewhere else,” Garrett Jr. said. “It probably takes a lot of pressure off him. He was happy when I told him. He was excited.”

Garrett Jr., a 6-foot-4 guard, is considered one of the state’s top Class of 2013 prospects. He averaged 15 points a game for Morgan Park as a sophomore.

When Garrett Jr. arrives to DePaul, it’ll be the first time his dad actually coaches him. Garrett has been a college assistant since 2000. He has been with DePaul for the past two seasons.

“It means a lot to be with my dad,” said Garrett Jr., who has a 4.7 GPA on a 4.0 scale. “Not a lot of people get that chance. It’s great to play for him and coach [Oliver] Purnell.

“But beside my dad, the other main reason to play for DePaul was being in the Big East. I want to play in the best conference in the country.”

Garrett Jr.’s mission now is to recruit his friends to DePaul. He’ll be looking to sway Simeon’s Jabari Parker, Whitney Young’s Tommy Hamilton Jr., Morgan Park’s Markee Williams, Simeon’s Steve Taylor, Leo’s Russell Woods and others to Lincoln Park.

“All of the scholarships we have, I’ll be trying to fill them,” Garrett Jr. said. “I think we can potentially win the whole thing with players out of the city. I’m definitely trying to get them to come with me.”

Garrett Jr. is DePaul’s first Class of 2013 recruit.

CHICAGO -- ESPNU Top 100 prospect Mike Shaw, of De La Salle, committed to Illinois at a news conference on Thursday.

The 6-foot-8 Shaw chose Illinois over DePaul and Marquette. He is ranked 69th overall in the Class of 2011 and the eighth best power forward by ESPN recruiting.

Read the entire story.