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York senior guard David Cohn committed to Colorado State on Tuesday, according to his club coach.

Cohn, a 6-2 shooting guard, had offers from nearly 20 schools. He visited Colorado State twice before making his decision.

“Coach (Larry) Eustachy and (assistant Niko) Medved did a great job,” Illinois Wolves club coach Mike Mullins said. “David’s an explosive scorer, athletic and gritty defender. His best days are ahead of him as he gains strength to match his skills and athletic ability.”

Cohn was an ESPNChicago.com all-area selection last season. He averaged 22 points, five rebounds and five assists for York and shot 51 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3-point range. He scored a school-record 47 points in a game last season.

Cohn is Colorado State’s second Class of 2013 commitment.

There was a time in Proviso East senior guard Sterling Brown’s childhood he would have accepted a scholarship offer from Michigan State in a heartbeat.

“It was definitely the school I liked growing up,” Brown said leading up to this week’s recruiting period. “Going to a lot of my brother’s (Shannon Brown) games, as a kid, I said I wanted to be a Spartan. I wanted to play for Tom Izzo.”

Brown, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, could still end up playing for Izzo, but the Spartans will have to recruit him like every program pursuing him as his stock continues to rise in July.

Brown’s list of suitors has grown in recent weeks, and he now names Colorado, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Memphis, Miami, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon State and USC as schools who are recruiting him.

“Everyone is in the picture right now,” Brown said. “Right now, I don’t have any set schools. Any school looking at me, I’m interested in also.

“Michigan State is still recruiting me, too. They’re talking to my dad and my brother. They attend all the games. We’ll see where that one goes. If they come with an offer, it’s not a done deal. There are other schools looking at me. If Michigan State comes with an offer, they’re going to be right in line with everyone else.”

Brown’s club coach Mike Irvin of the Mac Irvin Fire said he wouldn’t be surprised if they began hearing from even more high-major programs after July because the way Brown has performed.

“He’s been playing unbelievable,” Irvin said. “He’s playing like one of the top guards in the country. He’s doing it at both ends of the court. He’s definitely stepped up. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. His confidence is out of the building.”

Brown’s confidence began to build back in the high school season. In Illinois’ Class 4A state championship game, Brown matched up against Simeon’s Jabari Parker, the country’s No. 1 senior, and Brown was arguably the best player on the court that day.

Brown scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, hit two 3-pointers, grabbed five rebounds and had one steal and one assist. Parker had 15 points, though his team did defeat Proviso East.

“It just gave me confidence that any way I needed to help my team I was going to do regardless of who I was playing against,” Brown said.

Brown also recently went up against Julius Randle, the nation’s No. 2 senior, at Nike’s EYBL Peach Jam, and according to Irvin, Brown held more than his own despite giving up five inches. Randle had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Brown had 16 points and five rebounds.

ESPN senior recruiting coordinator Dave Telep has been impressed by Brown this summer.

“He's a solid high-major level player who is the type that could start 2-3 years at a big program and contribute all four,” Telep said. “He's a versatile kid, solid outside shooter who can get to the rim. Different player than his brother, but a guy who will wind up in a big conference."

Brown doesn’t mind being different than Shannon, who has been in the NBA since 2006. Brown’s been working all of his life to separate himself from his older brother.

“That’s what it’s all about being a younger brother or a son of someone who previously played,” Brown said. “You want to get out of their shadows. You want to make a name for yourself. That’s what I’m striving to do. Anytime in the paper, I read I’m Shannon Brown’s little brother. I try to get out there. I do feel I’m getting there.”

Crete-Monee senior wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was one of 64 high school skill players selected to play in the Champion Gridiron Kings.

The Champion Gridiron Kings will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. from Friday-Sunday. The event will include 7-on-7 games, skill challenges and performance trainings. It will air on ESPNU and ESPN3 on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Treadwell was the lone Illinois player selected for the competition. He is ranked No. 38 in the Class of 2013 ESPNU 150 and is being recruited by most of the nation’s top programs.

Treadwell was an ESPNChicago.com all-area selection as a junior and caught 75 passes for 1,391 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Northwestern wing commit Nate Taphorn put on a show at the Under Armour Summer Jam with his outstanding shooting and ballhandling skills.

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Kansas freshman guard Milton Doyle has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse and will be eligible to play next season for the Jayhawks, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Doyle, who played at Marshall High School in Chicago, has been enrolled in summer school at Kansas and was awaiting the NCAA Clearinghouse's approval. Doyle transferred to Marshall after his sophomore year at Tilden and the NCAA was investigating his credits.

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Gold medal? Check. Go-to move? Check. Best center in high school? That's yet to be determined, but Jahlil Okafor made a strong case on the first day of the Peach Jam.

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Tom Luginbill discusses Vernon Hargreaves' planned visit with Notre Dame this week.

BEAVERTON, Ore. -- The minute Ty Isaac arrives, the chatter begins.

Take The Opening, for example. Isaac missed the first two days of the four-day event, but he arrived in time for the 7-on-7 tournament July 7 and 8. Once Isaac arrived, defensive backs and linebackers were on the prowl, anticipating their opportunity to get a shot against the Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy four-star running back.

"I like that," Isaac said. "And, trust me, it's vice versa."

While the 7-on-7 game isn't what Isaac is known for, Isaac showed his ability to be a pass-catching option out of the backfield. But that's not his specialty. At 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds, Isaac is a bruising downhill runner who loves using his size to his advantage in the running game. Isaac's stats were ridiculous in 2011. In addition to rushing for 2,114 yards and 45 touchdowns, he also averaged nearly 12 yards per carry.

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Although he recruited Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis from Chicago, Kentucky coach John Calipari remarked in December that he didn’t have a whole lot experience recruiting players from the area.

That is quickly changing.

Calipari has been after Simeon forward Jabari Parker, the nation’s No. 1 senior, and Whitney Young center Jahlil Okafor, the nation’s No. 2 junior, over the past year. And now he has added Curie center Cliff Alexander, the No. 10 junior, to the mix. Alexander, who is 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, added an offer from Kentucky on Tuesday, according to Reggie Rose, who runs the D Rose All-Stars.

“I think Kentucky is one of his dream schools,” said Reggie, who handled his younger brother Derrick’s recruitment. “I’m pretty sure he’s excited. At the same time, when I talk to Cliff, I tell him when Derrick was in high school his dream school was North Carolina, and he went to Memphis. It’s about what is your best fit.”

Reggie Rose believes Alexander can be a good fit for Kentucky because of his mobility as a big man, and he can get up and down the court in Kentucky’s fast-paced offense. In comparison, Reggie Rose believes a big man like Okafor is a better fit for Michigan State because the Spartans can utilize him in their half-court offense.

“I think Okafor is a great talent,” Rose said. “Different programs fit different players. I think Okafor would be a better player at Michigan State than at Kentucky. I think Cliff would be a better player at Kentucky than at Michigan State.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo likely would disagree. Izzo has been recruiting Alexander throughout his high school career and has been in Chicago often to see him.

Illinois also has made its interests known, and Alexander recently made an unofficial visit to its campus. DePaul, Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin, among others, also are recruiting Alexander.

Despite all of the schools after Alexander, Rose said he hasn’t spoken with him about recruiting, and they wouldn’t get serious about it until after his junior season in high school.

“To be honest, I don’t really sit down and talk about the schools,” Rose said. “He took an unofficial to Illinois, but we haven’t gotten into a top 3, top 5 schools. I’ll let him play his high school junior season, and we’ll start seeing the possibility of where the best fit is and where his head is. I like the kids to make a decision before their senior years.”

Alexander is nursing an ankle injury and sat out the D Rose All-Stars’ first July tournament. Rose said he likely won’t play this week either.

Pekin senior forward Nathan Taphorn committed to Northwestern on Sunday.

The 6-8, 195-pound Taphorn chose the Wildcats over offers from Boston College, Bradley, Creighton, Illinois State and Southern Illinois, among others. ESPN ranks him as the 14th best player in Illinois and 36th best small forward in the country.

Taphorn plays for the Illinois Wolves club team, and Northwestern coach Bill Carmody was present at the Wolves' games throughout the first July recruiting period. Taphorn previously visited Northwestern.

"His upside is off the charts," Illinois Wolves coach Mike Mullins said. "He's an accomplished player both at the high school and travel circuit level. He's 6-8 and he's growing. He's continually getting stronger. He has toughness inside and outside as well. He has an ability to shoot the ball and make shots. His desire to win is at a high level.

"Those are the things Northwestern needs to have to be at the level they want to compete for Big Ten championships and get into the NCAA tournament."

Northwestern's all-time leading scorer John Shurna and sophomore starting point guard David Sobolewski also came from the Wolves' program.

Taphorn averaged 14 points and five rebounds as a junior at Pekin.

Taphorn is Northwestern's second Class of 2013 commitment. ESPNU 100 point guard Jaren Sina previously committed to Northwestern.

Simeon forward Jabari Parker, the nation’s top-ranked basketball recruit, will not be playing his college basketball at Illinois. The fact that the program has that information in early July – on the heels of Parker excluding the Illini from his list of 10 possible landing destinations on Wednesday – is some sort of silver lining.

The Illini’s chances of landing Parker have always been slim, and that was unlikely to change no matter how often first-year Illinois coach John Groce or his assistants sat courtside to watch Parker play in July. Now with Parker having excluded Illinois, the coaching staff can spend more meaningful time recruiting 2013 players they have a shot at securing. The coaches also can work on developing relationships with the elite 2014 and 2015 players and their families.

As Parker’s father, Sonny, said Thursday, the decision to leave Illinois out of the mix wasn’t anything personal. The Parker family has consistently emphasized that relationships are vital to Jabari’s recruitment. To no fault of Groce’s, he simply didn’t have enough time to establish a relationship with Parker.

“I guess at this stage it’s the relationship part,” Sonny said. “Coach Groce, I’ve been talking to him. My wife has been talking to coach Groce. He seemed nice. (Jabari) had to have a relationship with him, too. It had nothing to do with the school per se. He has to feel comfortable with who’s there and who’s going to be the coach.

“I don’t think he had a chance to (know Groce) because of scheduling and timing. It’s hard for coaches to call Jabari because we don’t allow coaches to call or text him. It was nothing personal (with Groce.)

“(Jabari) likes the school. His dream is to play for his state school and win a national championship like all kids, but I think the timing, where they were and where we’re at.”

Of course, that still isn’t easy for Illinois fans to absorb. They’ve endured a recent history of the Chicago area’s premier players bypassing Illinois and succeeding elsewhere. Sherron Collins, Jon Scheyer, Julian Wright, Derrick Rose, Evan Turner, Wayne Blackshear and Anthony Davis have been among those who ended up elsewhere and won a lot of basketball games at their out-of-state destinations.

In all likelihood, Parker will elevate the college he attends into a national championship contender in the 2013-2014 season and will be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

Would Illinois like that type of prodigious talent? Certainly, and there’s actually another Chicago product following up right behind Parker capable of having that same impact on a program. Whitney Young junior Jahlil Okafor, a 6-11 center currently rated as the No.2 player in the Class of 2014, appears to be one of those rare big men.

“Jahlil is right there with Jabari,” said Mac Irvin Fire coach Mike Irvin, who coaches Parker and Okafor. “He’s definitely right there. Jahlil is probably going to be the best big man this state has ever seen. He’s grown a couple of inches. He’s 6-11, mobile, can run the floor. He’s a game-changer.

“He’s a possible No. 1 draft pick. When you look at the No. 1 pick and the big men who have come out, he fits right there with the No.1 picks. He’s special.”

Okafor’s father, Chukwudi Okafor, said Thursday that his son will not be impacted by Parker choosing to eliminate the Illini and that they are in their recruiting process was still in its infancy.

Irvin believed Illinois now must do anything it can to get Okafor.

“There aren’t Jabari’s and Jahlil Okafor’s that come around often, maybe every 20 years,” Irvin said. “Illinois’ focus has to be on Jahlil Okafor now. You lose a Jabari, man, that’s huge. That’s a blow. Now your thing, if I’m the coach at Illinois, I have to convince Jahlil Okafor.”

At the end of the day, it’s possible that Parker’s rejection of the Illini could lead to Okafor’s acceptance of them.

Simeon forward Jabari Parker, the Class of 2013 high school basketball star whom Sports Illustrated recently labled the top prep talent since LeBron James, released a list of 10 colleges he was considering over Twitter on Wednesday night, and somewhat surprisingly the list did not include the Illinois Fighting Illini.

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Whitney Young junior center Jahlil Okafor was named the MVP of the FIBA U17 World Championship after the United States defeated Australia 95-62 in the title game on Sunday.

Okafor had 17 points, including 11 in the first quarter, and eight rebounds in the championship victory. He averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while the United States went 8-0 in the tournament.

Simeon senior forward Jabari Parker and Simeon senior guard Kendrick Nunn also contributed to the United States’ success. Parker, who sat out the semifinal game due to an ankle injury, had 12 points in the championship.

Newly-named Illinois assistant coach Paris Parham can remember a time when most Chicago high school basketball players considered the Illini as a possible destination.

That’s changed over the years, but Parham said Friday he’s confident Illinois can return to having that standing in Chicago.

“Growing up in Chicago, playing ball, your whole dream was to play at the highest level,” said Parham, who was officially named to Illinois coach John Groce’s staff on Thursday. “During our time, Illinois has always been in the Big Ten and has always consistently been a place that guys dreamed about playing at.

“I think it can definitely be like that again. It hasn’t lost anything. The Big Ten was the best conference in the country last season. It’s in the top 3 in the country year in and year out. It’s a place with unbelievable fan support. Education-wise, the school is unbelievable across the board. People want to play for a winner. Whenever Illinois was winning, bright lights and shining stars kind of idea, kids wanted to come. We have to get back to that level.”

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A showdown between two top teams in Illinois will kick off the high school football season in style as the third annual ESPN High School Football Kickoff gets underway in August.

In all, 26 teams from 15 states will play on ESPN’s family of networks from Aug. 24-26, beginning with Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet, Ill.) playing at Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU. That game features one of the nation’s top recruits, rising senior Ty Isaac of Joliet Catholic. The USC commit is rated the nation’s No. 70 player in the ESPN 150.

Other Friday games include Minnetonka (Minn.) at Arrowhead (Hartland, Wis.) at 8 p.m. on ESPN3. Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) will play at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, and Mullen (Denver) will play at Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) at 10 p.m. on ESPN3.

Friday is the first of three days of coverage that also includes 18 teams appearing on ESPN for the first time as well as 11 athletes who are currently ranked in the ESPN 150. That list is headlined by Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, Va.) QB Christian Hackenberg, the nation’s No. 1 quarterback and No. 10 recruit in the ESPN 150. His team will play Hermitage (Henrico, Va.) at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Va. on Saturday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.

The slate of games includes 12 defending state champions, including two games which have dueling state champions – Good Counsel against Bishop Gorman as well as Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) taking on Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) at 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.