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Senior guard Alvin Ellis, of Chicago's De La Salle High School, committed and signed his letter of intent to the Michigan State Spartans on Wednesday.

Ellis, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, was previously signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He averaged 20 points, six rebounds and four rebounds for De La Salle in the Chicago Catholic League this past season.

MeanStreets AAU coach Tai Streets, Ellis’ club coach, thought Ellis would excel at Michigan State under Spartans coach Tom Izzo.

“I love Izzo though I’m a Michigan alum,” said Streets, who played football at Michigan. “That’s my guy. I know I’m going to get into trouble for that, but it’s true. If it’s not Michigan, you can’t go wrong with Izzo.

“I think it’s a great fit for Alvin. First of all, he’s a hard worker. He’s in the gym every day. His shot has improved. His ball handling has improved. Everything has improved. He’s going to be great at Michigan State. I think it’s a steal.”

Izzo, who missed out on fellow Chicago recruit Jabari Parker earlier this year, also spoke highly of Ellis in a statement.

“Alvin will be a great addition to our backcourt,” Izzo said. “We like his offensive skill set, especially his shooting touch, hitting 40 percent from three each of the last two seasons. He has good length and versatility, with the ability to defend a couple different positions on the perimeter. Combine his great work ethic, his great family background and his commitment to academics, and I expect him to be the type of player that really develops during his time as a Spartan, enjoying the complete student-athlete experience.”

Ellis joins his former high school teammate Gavin Schilling in Michigan State’s 2013 recruiting class. Ellis and Schilling were teammates at De La Salle during their junior seasons. Schilling spent his senior season at Findlay Prep in Nevada.

Rick Malnati has resigned as an assistant coach at Loyola University to become Fenwick High School’s boys varsity basketball coach.

Malnati spent two years on Loyola coach Porter Moser’s staff.

“I am extremely happy for Rick to be able to once again be a head coach,” Moser said in a statement. “Not only was he a valuable member of the staff, but he was also a good friend. Rick has the rare ability to impact people’s lives and I know he will do just that at Fenwick.”

Malnati previously was New Trier’s boys varsity basketball coach from 1996-2008. He coached the Trevians to two state tournament appearances.

Simeon Career Academy coach Robert Smith said Monday he has decided to bypass college coaching opportunities to make a run at a fifth consecutive Illinois state title with the Wolverines next season.

Smith has accumulated a 260-40 record, won six state titles and had one runner-up finish in nine seasons with Simeon. He said after the high school season he would consider leaving Simeon for a college assistant position.

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CHICAGO -- Simeon Career Academy senior forward and Duke recruit Jabari Parker was named the Morgan Wootten Male Player of the Year during a news conference Monday at the Ronald McDonald House.

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Crete-Monee (Ill.) senior Laquon Treadwell, the nation's top wide receiver recruit, will announce his college decision at his school Thursday.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Treadwell will choose between Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Mississippi. He's already made official visits to Oklahoma and Ole Miss and is visiting Oklahoma State this weekend.

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CHICAGO -- Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 2 senior, committed to Duke during a press conference at his school on Thursday.

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Chicago Simeon Career Academy forward Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 2 senior, has yet to decide on a college just days before a press conference that was scheduled to announce his decision, his father said Tuesday.

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Simeon Career Academy senior forward Jabari Parker's college announcement will be shown live on ESPNU at 3 p.m. CST on Thursday.

Parker, the nation's No. 2 senior, has a final list of BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford. He's made official visits to all the schools except Stanford. He did visit Stanford on an unofficial visit previously.

Simeon coach Robert Smith said Parker is keeping everyone in suspense. Parker's father, Sonny Parker, told USA Today he believes his son is down to Duke and Michigan State, but he isn't sure.

"To be honest, he hasn't told anyone," Smith said. "He just said Thursday. This is what he wants. I think he's 90 percent sure if he's not 100 percent sure on where he wants to go."

As a junior, Parker was named the ESPNChicago.com Player of the Year, Illinois' Mr. Basketball and the national Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.

CHICAGO -- UIC's home basketball court was occupied by some of the nation's best prep players from morning to night for the Chicago Elite Classic last week.

St. Vincent-St. Mary freshman Vincent King drew rave reviews. Illinois' future backcourt of Jaylon Tate and Kendrick Nunn played before their future coach John Groce. Recruits from BYU, Dayton, Minnesota, N.C. State, Ohio State, among other schools all showed off their skills.

Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 2 senior, even surprised everyone and played in his first game since fracturing his foot in July.

But when the day ended and the participants, high school and college coaches, media and fans departed the arena, there was only one player who nearly everyone was talking about -- Whitney Young junior 7-foot, 265-pound center Jahlil Okafor.

Even though Parker was nowhere near 100 percent and Andrew Wiggins (the nation's No. 1 senior) and Tyus Jones (the nation's No. 1 junior) weren't present, Okafor's performance against DeMatha (Md.) led many to believe he should be the No. 1 player not only in the state regardless of class, but also the country.

One high-major college coach who was in attendance left thinking there was no doubt Okafor is the best player in the nation after witnessing his 34-point, nine-rebound performance against N.C. State recruit BeeJay Anya, who had 11 points and five rebounds.

"I think he's the No. 1 player in the country no matter the grade," the coach said. "Just his offensive package, you don't see that from a center, especially a kid his age. Left hand, right hand, putting it on the floor, jab step, you name it, he's got it all, makes free throws. It's ridiculous."

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CHICAGO -- Simeon Career Academy forward Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 2-ranked senior, will attempt to play in his team's season-opener Saturday despite not having played since July because of a fractured right foot, his father said.

Parker suffered the injury while playing with Team USA at the FIBA under-17 World Championships in Lithuania in July. He was not expected to play as of Friday, and his dad said on Nov. 23 he was still wearing a boot and undergoing rehab. Sonny Parker said his son had not practiced since the injury and worked out in a gym earlier Saturday.

"He wants to play," Parker's father said Saturday night. "He called his mom and said, 'Bring my stuff. I'm ready.' "

Sonny Parker said he was not worried his son was risking further injury.

"He's done it before," Sonny said. "I trust him. He's a different breed of player."

Simeon opens its season against Milton (Ga.) in the Chicago Elite Classic at UIC on Saturday night.

As a junior, Parker was named the ESPNChicago.com Player of the Year, Illinois' Mr. Basketball and the national Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.4 steals a game.

Parker was ESPN's No. 1-ranked player until Andrew Wiggins reclassified recently from the Class of 2014 to the Class of 2013.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Simeon Career Academy forward Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 2 senior, said Friday he will attend college rather go on a mission next year and two local schools could have been options for next year if it wasn't for coaching changes.

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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.

Two diehard BYU basketball fans have printed 6,300 T-shirts to be handed out before the Cougars' game Saturday with a message for highly ranked Chicago Simeon Career Academy senior forward Jabari Parker, who is expected to be in attendance.

Greg Welch and Tony Brown created shirts that read, "Chicago to Provo" with images of Chicago's skyline and Provo's Mount Timpanogos. The T-shirts were purchased with more than 200 donations to the website CougarBoard.com.

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Simeon forward Jabari Parker, the nation’s No. 2-ranked senior, is considered doubtful for his team’s season opener on Dec. 1, his father said on Friday.

Parker, a 6-foot-8 forward, fractured his right foot while playing with Team USA at the FIBA under-17 World Championships in Lithuania in July. He is currently wearing a boot and undergoing rehab.

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CHICAGO -- If a college basketball coach is going to have one close relationship with any high school in Chicago, Simeon would be the desirable place.

The Wolverines have owned Illinois high school basketball for nearly a decade. Simeon has won five state championships and has had one runner-up finish in the past seven years. It has produced two players ranked in the nation's top 5 during that span and will have delivered at least 16 players since 2006 to Division I programs after the upcoming season.

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