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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.

Illinois’ recent hire of assistant Paris Parham is already paying off as the Illini have put themselves in the mix for Simeon’s next star, sophomore forward Dennis Williams, according to Simeon coach Robert Smith on Friday.

Williams, a 6-5 swingman, and his mother visited Illinois on Thursday and left with an offer from Illini coach John Groce, according to Smith.

“(The visit) wasn’t planned until Paris was hired (on Tuesday),” Smith said on Friday. “Paris had a lot to do with it even though he’s not (in Champaign) yet.

“(Williams) went down there and took to Groce and really liked him and (assistant) Jamall (Walker.) That’s what I’m talking about Paris helping them out right away.”

Illinois joins Cal Poly, DePaul and Nebraska as schools to offer Williams.

Williams saw some playing time on Simeon’s varsity team as a freshman. While Smith wasn’t willing to put Williams in the category of a Derrick Rose, a former Simeon player, and Jabari Parker, a current Simeon player, just yet, Smith said Williams was unlike any player he’s coached before.

“I never had a kid with his ability,” Smith said. “He can be the next one from Simeon. I think the sky’s the limit for him. He’s starting to understand what it takes. He can score. He can play inside and outside. He’s going to be able to play the 1, 2, 3. He has great vision and feel for the game”

Some of the Chicago area’s most prominent high school and clubs coaches reacted positively Tuesday to Illinois hiring assistant coach Paris Parham.

Parham replaces Isaac Chew on Illinois coach John Groce’s staff after Chew departed last month for a position at Marquette. Parham is expected to be the Illini’s lead Chicago recruiter. He is a Chicago native, played at Dunbar High School in Chicago, coached at Phillips High School and Morgan Park High School in Chicago’s Public League and has recruited the city and surrounding suburbs the last five years for Illinois State.

“It’s rare a person gets an opportunity to do a do-over,” said Whitney Young coach Tyrone Slaughter, whose roster includes nationally-ranked juniors Jahlil Okafor and Paul White. “I think coach Groce and the Illinois program got a do-over. We all liked the Chew hire, but I think the Paris Parham hire is one we love. It’s means nothing negative against Chew. It’s about the relationship we all have with Paris.

“I’m elated. This is one of the few times in Illinois basketball hire history that I can say I’m excited.”

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O’Fallon senior defensive back Darius Mosely committed to Illinois on Saturday.

Mosely, who is 5-11 and 185 pounds, is the No. 9-ranked prospect in Illinois and 41st-ranked defensive back in the country, according to ESPN Recruiting. He chose the Illini over Vanderbilt.

Mosely said Illinois coach Tim Beckman and his staff were creative in their recruitment of him.

“They were on me constantly,” Mosely told ESPN.com’s Max Olson on Saturday. “They sent a picture with my face on a billboard that said, ‘Welcome to Illinois: Coming soon.’ I was like, 'Wow.' They even sent one where they named a McDonald’s burger after me: the McMosely.”

The Illini now have 13 Class of 2013 commitments, including six from Illinois.

Plainfield Central senior defensive tackle Bryce Douglas committed to Illinois on Friday.

Douglas, who is 6-2 and 330 pounds, was offered by the Illini after participating in a linemen camp on Friday and committed within minutes. Both of his parents attended Illinois, and his father, Bruce Douglas, played basketball for the Illini.

“I’ve always loved Illinois,” Douglas said. “I’m really excited.”

Douglas was also receiving interest from Boston College, Central Michigan, Indiana and Nebraska, among others.

Illinois had been recruiting Douglas for some time, but he hadn’t received an offer. He said he was told by an Illinois assistant to attend Friday’s camp and show the staff how hard he’s been working.

“I just had to do my part,” Douglas said. “I was really focused, and I knew I was down there for one reason, and that was to try to get a scholarship offer. I did what had to be done. I had to step up and get my mind right. That’s what I did.

“I was excited [when I received the offer.] It took a minute to sink in. Words can’t describe it.”

Illinois now has 12 Class of 2013 commitments and five from in-state recruits.

Jabari Parker, the nation's top-ranked rising senior from Chicago's Simeon Career Academy, suffered a hairline fracture in his left big toe earlier this week, an X-ray revealed. But a subsequent X-ray did not show any signs of the injury, according to Parker's father, Sonny Parker, on Friday.

Jabari had his left foot stepped on during a Team USA 17-and-under practice on Tuesday, and an X-ray revealed a hairline fracture at the tip of his big left toe, according to Sonny. Parker's mother, Lola, asked for another X-ray to be taken on Wednesday, and that one showed no fracture.

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CHICAGO -- Andrew senior forward Jubril Adekoya committed to Valparaiso on Wednesday.

Adekoya, who is 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, chose the Crusaders over Akron, Loyola, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois, among others.

Adekoya was an ESPNChicago.com all-area selection last season and averaged 15.8 points and 11.1 rebounds. He set a single-season school record with 301 rebounds and a single-game record with 21 rebounds versus Tinley Park.

“Honestly, I wasn’t going to rush it,” Adekoya said of his commitment. “My plan was to wait after July and do it before the high school season. I was just so comfortable with Valparaiso coach (Bryce) Drew and coach (Roger) Powell.

“To an extent it was frustrating (I wasn’t getting higher looks.) I guess I’m undersized to these coaches who are making the decision. There’s nothing I can do about it. I think I have more talent and a better work ethic than the bigger players ahead of me. At Valparaiso, we can beat all those coaches and teams who overlooked me.”

Adekoya felt Valparaiso had a chance in the near future to be one of the nation’s premier mid-major teams. The Crusaders won the Horizon League regular season title and advanced to the NIT last season.

“Coach Drew in his first year made a name for himself,” said Adekoya, who plays for MeanStreets during the club season. “I think he can go only go up. After awhile we won’t be a Cinderella. If we take care of business, we’ll be a mid-major power and make a name for ourselves.”

Adekoya is Valparaiso’s fourth Class of 2013 recruit. He joins Marist’s Lexus Williams from Illinois in the recruiting class.

Simeon’s Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn and Whitney Young’s Jahlil Okafor were among the 12 players who made the final cut to play on USA’s 17-and-under team on Tuesday.

Illinois had the most players represented on the final roster. California had two players, and seven other states had one player.

Parker is ranked the No. 1 player in the Class of 2013 by ESPN. Nunn is ranked No. 55 in the Class of 2012. Okafor is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2014.

The team will defend USA’s FIBA U17 World Championship title in Lithuania from June 29-July 8. They will also play at the Spain U17 International Invitation in the Canary Islands from June 24-25.

“What we like about this team is our ability to play pressure defense," USA coach Don Showalter said in a statement. “That's really a strong point of this team. That's kind of why we kept some of the players who we felt could really add to that defensive pressure. That's one very positive aspect of this team. Rebounding is something else that's very much a plus for us, and then I really felt good about the progression we made offensively. Just after a couple of days we worked together and I think our offense has really come around, and I feel very comfortable about it. Part of that is due to the familiarity from last year and last October. Our timing is much better. We're reading plays a lot better. I'm real pleased with that as well.

“You spend so much time getting down to your working number, and now it's time to really work on developing a team aspect with these 12 players. You watch them, I know they're a lot more familiar with each other both off the court and on the court. That helps to develop the team attitude that we need to take over to Lithuania.”

The USA team went 8-0 in the FIBA U17 World Championship in 2010. The event is held every other year.

Simeon rising senior guard Kendrick Nunn has yet to trim his list of colleges, but a recent visit to Marquette left a strog impression on him and his family, Nunn’s father said on Thursday.

Nunn, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, is ranked the No. 55 player in the country and second in Illinois in the Class of 2013 by ESPN. He averaged 15 points for Simeon last season and was previously committed to Texas A&M.

Nunn made recent visits to DePaul and Marquette. His father, Melvin Nunn, said their visit to Marquette went especially well.

“Marquette is definitely in there,” Melvin said by phone on Thursday. “Everything Marquette has – their players, they succeed, you’re talking about players, you’re talking about a relationship already there. They’re already in a position to get to that Elite Eight, the Final Four. That recruiting class they got coming in already, it’s already up there for 2013. We’re really, really considering Marquette in that top three (schools.)”

Melvin said his son was considering about 8-10 schools right now and hoped to trim the list to 3-5 schools in July. Nunn is currently considering DePaul, Illinois, Marquette, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Providence, Texas A&M and UCLA.

Melvin thought where Marquette had an advantage over a lot of the schools was it had already proven itself as a winning program.

“You can say DePaul can become a Marquette,” Melvin said. “You talk about Marquette being in the top 15, top 20 in the last 3-4 years. I don’t see them moving out of that any time real soon with the players they already got and the players they already have committed from 2013.

“You really look they’re already in that position, and you’re not even there. It’s someone you should be considering if you want to be in that position when you’re a freshman in college. It’s the same thing when we chose Simeon. Do you want to go to a second-tier school or go to a school to help them continue to go on top? That’s what we’re looking at when picking a school.

“Do you want to have to be the person who has to turn it around? Do you want that pressure?”

That’s also why Illinois could be a difficult sell for Nunn. Melvin said he wasn’t sure new Illinois coach John Groce would have the pieces in place to succeed in a few years.

“It’s something you have to think hard about, especially when you have a choice,” Melvin said. “I think Groce can get it done. If we decided not to go to Illinois, it’s not because we don’t like Illinois, we don’t like Groce. I just don’t know when they can get it done and with who. It’s going to take some 2013 players, some 2014, some 2015.

“We’re talking about three years after he started there. He’s used to winning now.”
Melvin said he was a fan of Groce and Marquette coach Buzz Williams. He likes how both of them coach and develop players.

Nunn was invited to the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 this week, but he decided not to attend because he would have been able to go for two days. He will join the USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Friday in preparation for the FIBA U17 World Championships.

Melvin said they would discuss recruiting when Nunn returns from the world championships.

From three-time state champion to a Sports Illustrated cover to an appearance Thursday on Good Morning America, Jabari Parker's high school basketball career continues on its meteoric ascendency.

And he has yet to begin his senior year at Chicago's Simeon Career Academy.

Parker sat down with GMA's Katie Couric for an interview at a Latter-day Saints' meeting house in Manhattan last month. They spoke about Parker's Mormon faith, his basketball career and more. Parker had been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated that week.

The interview aired on ABC on Thursday.

"It was a great experience," Parker's father Sonny Parker said earlier this week. "He was just being in New York. There were so many people, so much going on. Katie Couric, she made everything really comfortable.

"Jabari wanted to stay home because he wanted to study for a test. But he got really comfortable and relaxed. Overall, it was a great experience."

Parker wasn't able to watch the interview with his family. He is participating in the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp and then will join the USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Friday in preparation for the FIBA U17 World Championships. Parker will likely be with the national team for much of the next month.

Sonny said he would DVR Thursday's Good Morning American show for his son.