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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.

As the IHSA playoffs kick off, Simeon and Proviso East remained the top teams in ESPNChicago.com's boys basketball rankings.

Read the full story.

The Class 3A and 4A boys basketball playoffs begin on Monday. Here’s a glance at the top games and players to see this week.

Five regional semifinals to see

1. St. Charles East vs. St. Charles North at St. Charles North on Wednesday

2. Marist vs. Brother Rice at Marist on Tuesday

3. Stevenson vs. Prospect at Stevenson on Wednesday

4. Benet vs. Bolingbrook at Metea Valley on Wednesday

5. Neuqua Valley vs. Naperville Central at Neuqua Valley on Wednesday

Five potential regional championships to see on Friday
1. St. Rita vs. Whitney Young at Whitney Young

2. Bogan vs. De La Salle at Mount Carmel

3. Farragut vs. St. Joseph at Nazareth

4. Crane vs. Riverside-Brookfield at Riverside-Brookfield

5. Minooka vs. Bloom at Joliet Central

6. Crete-Monee vs. Joliet West at Thornton

7. West Aurora vs. Naperville North at Oswego

8. Harlan vs. Morgan Park at Rich Central

9. Evanston vs. Notre Dame at Notre Dame

10. Schaumburg vs. Glenbard West at Glenbard West

Ten to players to see in regional play (alphabetical order)

There will likely be plenty of time to see Simeon’s Jabari Parker and some of the other stars in the area, but these players and teams may or may not be around come next week.

1. David Cohn, junior, York: It hasn’t been a great year for high-scoring numbers, but Cohn has been one of the exceptions. He can drop 30-plus points on any night. He had 47 points just recently. York is a No. 4 seed in the Lake Park regional.

2. Willie Conner, senior, Crane: Conner improved his game this season and made himself a mid-major college prospect. Crane has been up and down this season, but Conner has been consistent. Crane is a No. 5 seed in the Riverside-Brookfield regional.

3. Tony Hicks, senior, St. Rita: Hicks, a Penn recruit, has been as good as any senior in the state. He’s been averaging 25 points a game. St. Rita is a No. 4 seed in the Whitney Young regional.

4. Mike LaTulip, senior, Prospect: LaTulip is headed to Illinois next year as a preferred walk-on. He’s been one of the area’s top shooters and scorers this year. Prospect is a No. 9 seed in the Stevenson regional.

5. Jahlil Okafor, sophomore, Young: Okafor is the state’s top sophomore and among the nation’s top players in the Class of 2014. The state hasn’t seen a big man as skilled as Okafor since possibly Eddy Curry. Whitney Young is a No. 5 seed in the Whitney Young regional.

6. Sean O’Mara, sophomore, Benet: O’Mara, a 6-9 center, has emerged as one of the state’s top young prospects. He’s a skilled big man and is following in the footsteps of former Benet center Frank Kaminsky. Benet is a No. 6 seed in the Metea Valley regional.

7. Michael Orris, senior, Crete-Monee: Orris, a 6-3 point guard, is headed to Illinois next season. He’s expected to help backup Tracy Abrams there. Crete-Monee is a No. 4 seed in the Thornton regional.

8. Juwan Starks, senior, West Aurora: Starks is on the verge of West Aurora’s career-scoring record of 1,613 points, which is owned by Billy Taylor (1987-1991). Starks is 60 points shy of matching Taylor. West Aurora is a No. 4 seed in the Oswego regional.

9. Tyler Ulis, sophomore, Marian Catholic: Ulis, a 5-8 point guard, is a scoring machine. He put up 38 points in a loss to St. Viator last month. Marian Catholic is a No. 7 seed and could face Andrew in the Andrew regional championship.

10. Milik Yarbrough, sophomore, Zion-Benton: Yarbrough could eventually be one of the nation’s top players in the Class of 2014. He’s a multi-skilled 6-6 guard/forward. Zion-Benton is a No. 16 seed in the Zion-Benton regional.

Here are five high school basketball thoughts for your Wednesday:

1. It’s undoubtedly hard to go undefeated for an entire regular season: Andrew fell from the unbeaten ranks Tuesday when it was upset by Thornton on a buzzer-beating shot. Proviso East remains as the area’s only unbeaten team. Proviso East’s greatest challenges will likely come on Feb. 17 and 18 when the Pirates faces Downers Grove South and Warren on back-to-back nights. It is impressive how many one-loss teams there are this season. That list includes Simeon, Curie, Plainfield East, Metea Valley and now Andrew.

2. Speaking of Andrew, it’ll likely fall a bit from the rankings after its only loss: The Thunderbolts had put together a nice run of 16 consecutive wins, but their schedule hasn’t exactly been demanding. They looked as if they might run the table after defeating Thornwood on Sunday, but Thornton had other ideas. Andrew’s overall profile took a hit with the loss.

3. Since the holidays, York has been one of the area’s hottest teams: The Dukes have won 10 straight game, and junior star guard David Cohn has been a big reason for that. Among his feats, he scored 47 points on 13-of-17 shooting in a 75-64 win over Hinsdale Central recently.

4: The Catholic League has taken its lumps the last few weeks: First, De La Salle and St. Rita were upset last week. On Tuesday, St. Ignatius was the next top-ranked Catholic League team to fall. The Wolfpack were upset by Leo on Tuesday. It’s hard to gauge the Catholic League right now.

5. The Red-West is still a mess at the top: Marshall, Orr and Farragut all have 7-2 records right now. Whitney Young could join them at the top if the Dolphins defeat Crane later this week. All four teams could make some noise come Public League and state playoff time.

Here’s a look back at this season’s holiday tournaments:

Best tournament:

The honor goes to Pontiac this season. Having Simeon helped, but Pontiac was about much more than Simeon this season. On the final day alone, fans were treated to three overtimes games, two of which went to double overtime, and nearly witnessed Simeon upset by Peoria Manual. It would be hard to find two better holiday tournament semifinal games than Curie-Warren and Simeon-Manual anywhere in the country.
Runner-up tournament

St. Ignatius is the reason for York finishing second here. While the tournament favorites won at Proviso West, the McDipper, Pontiac and plenty of others tournaments, St. Ignatius added an element of surprise at York. The Wolfpack first fought back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Downers Grove South in the semifinals and then defeated De La Salle in the championship.

Top games:

Curie 77, Warren 68, 2 OT at Pontiac: In the first Pontiac semifinal, Warren forced a first overtime when JoVaughn Gaines drained a 3-pointer from the corner in the final seconds of regulation and then sent the game into a second overtime when Jon Geske dropped in a late layup. Curie won in the end. Devin Foster had 27 points in the win.

Simeon 48, Peoria Manual 47 at Pontiac: Not to be outdone by the first semifinal, Simeon and Peoria Manual went down to the buzzer to determine their game. Manual had two shots at overtaking Simeon on its final possession, but missed a shot around the basket and had the ball stolen in the game’s final seconds. The game had 10 lead changes.

St. Ignatius 47, De La Salle 44, OT at York: In the championship game, St. Ignatius senior Brian Howard sent the game into overtime with an off-balance 3-pointer with four seconds left, and the Wolfpack prevailed in overtime again the tournament favorites.

St. Ignatius 52, Downers Grove South 50 at York: In the semifinals, St. Ignatius overcame a 12-point deficit to upset Downers Grove South. Abdoulie Contch scored the game-winner in the lane with 1.5 seconds left.

Elgin 57, Glenbard North 51 at Elgin: Before Elgin could win close semifinal and championship games, it had to win a tight quarterfinal matchup with Glenbard North. Former AAU teammates, Elgin’s Kory Brown and Glenbard North’s Josh Fleming, went head to head in the final minutes. Fleming had a game-high 21 points, but Brown, who had 19 points, came out with the victory.

Crete-Monee 67, Seton 66, OT at Rich South: In the semifinals, Crete-Monee’s Marvie Keith sank two free throws with 35 seconds left to lift his team to the upset victory. Mark Conner scored 19 points off the bench for Crete-Monee. Crete-Monee squandered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter to allow overtime.

Metea Valley 69, Rolling Meadows, OT at Hinsdale South: Metea Valley nearly saw its unbeaten season ruined by Rolling Meadows, which led 39-30 heading into the fourth quarter. Spearheaded by Kenny Obendorf and his 20 points, Metea Valley rallied in regulation and won in overtime.

New Trier 61, Homewood-Flossmoor 58 at Proviso West: The second-round matchup was expected to be a good one, and it didn’t disappoint. The game went back and forth until New Trier got hot in the second half and connected on seven 3-pointers in the final quarters. Connor Boehm had 25 points in the win. Tyrone Sherman had 24 points for Homewood-Flossmoor.

All-tournament first team

New Trier senior forward Connor Boehm, Proviso West tournament: Boehm has been one of the most consistent players in the state this season. At Proviso West had 25 points and nine rebounds vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 14 points and 14 rebounds vs. Morgan Park, 16 points and six rebounds vs. Proviso East and 17 points and seven rebounds vs. Von Steuben.

Elgin senior guard Kory Brown, Elgin: Brown stepped up game after game in the Maroons’ run to their own holiday tournament championship. He had a 18 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in Elgin’s upset win over La Lumiere in the tournament championship.

Proviso East senior guard Keith Carter, Proviso West: Carter keyed the Pirates’ run to their first Proviso West title since 1991 and was awarded the tournament MVP. He had 18 points and five steals in a win over Benet in the quarterfinals.

Bloom senior guard Donald Moore, Rich South: Carter’s point guard play led the Blazing Trojans to their first McDipper title since 1995. He had 14 points and four assists in the title game. He was named the tournament MVP.

Simeon senior forward Steve Taylor, Pontiac: Jabari Parker may have won the MVP trophy at Pontiac, but many, including Parker, thought it should have gone to Taylor. Taylor had 11 points and seven rebounds to lead the top-ranked Wolverines over Curie in the championship game.

All-tournament second team

St. Ignatius senior guard Brian Howard, York: Howard and St. Ignatius surprised Downers Grove South and De La Salle on their way to the York title. Howard sent the championship game into overtime with a 3-pointer and finished with 20 points. He was named tournament MVP.

Metea Valley senior guard Kenny Obendorf, Hinsdale South: Obendorf continued to put up big numbers while helping Metea Valley to the Hinsdale South tournament championship. He had 24 points in the championship game and was named the tournament MVP.

Benet sophomore center Sean O’Mara, Proviso West: O’Mara isn’t as hyped as some of the state’s sophomores, but he’s been more productive than most of them. He was impressive throughout Proviso West. He had 20 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks against Proviso East in the semifinals.

Simeon junior forward Jabari Parker, Pontiac: Parker didn’t disappoint the sellout crowds at Pontiac. He hit difficult jumpers, swatted shots and threw down a few jaw-dropping dunks. In Simeon’s one-point win over Peoria Manual, he scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Warren senior forward Darius Paul, Pontiac: Paul averaged 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in four games at Pontiac. With fellow post player Nathan Boothe in foul trouble against Curie, Paul scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Honorable mention

Andrew junior forward Jubril Adekoya, Kankakee

Plainfield East senior forward Brian Bennett, Pekin; Crane senior guard Willie Conner, Romeoville; De La Salle junior forward Alvin Ellis, York; Stevenson senior guard Michael Fleming; Curie senior guard Devin Foster, Pontiac; Morgan Park junior guard Billy Garret Jr., Proviso West; North Chicago senior guard Aaron Simpson, Bloomington; Crete-Monee junior forward LaQuon Treadwell, Rich South; Downers Grove South senior guard Jerron Wilbut, York

The unbeatens

Andrew (9-0): Won the Kankakee’s holiday tournament, biggest upcoming test could be at Thornwood on Jan. 20.

Bloom (13-0): Won the McDipper, have plenty of tough games in the future, including at Homewood-Flossmoor on Jan. 24.

Immaculate Conception (12-0): Won its own holiday tournament, could still be undefeated heading into matchup at Elgin on Feb. 15.

Glenbard West (10-0): Won its own holiday tournament, could be challenged this week when playing at Bolingbrook and York.

Metea Valley (13-0): Won Hinsdale South’s holiday tournament, will host Lake Park, which is also undefeated in the Upstate Eight Valley, on Saturday.

Plainfield East (11-0): Won the Pekin holiday tournament, hosts Wheeling tournament winner Naperville Central on Jan. 17.

Simeon (12-0): Won the Pontiac holiday tournament, face nationally-ranked No. 36 Miller Grove in West Virginia on Saturday.

ELMHURST, Ill. – De La Salle’s Alex Foster had enough of Naperville North come the third quarter on Thursday.

The underdog Huskies had slowed the game down and kept with No. 6 De La Salle for the first half of Thursday’s semifinal game at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York.

When the third quarter arrived, Foster and De La Salle turned to their superior athleticism and quickly turned a tight game into a blowout. The Meteors outscored Naperville North 21-7 in the third quarter and went on to win 54-28.

De La Salle will meet St. Ignatius in the championship on Friday.

“We pretty much said, ‘Let’s go get them,’” said Foster, who had eight points in the third quarter. “We just had the attitude of let’s finish this game out. At least, that’s the attitude I had.”

De La Salle (10-1) was at its best Thursday when it created an up-tempo atmosphere. Throughout the third quarter, the Meteors hounded Naperville North’s ball handlers, forced turnovers and created fast breaks.

Sophomore Alvin Ellis, junior Gavin Schilling and Foster, De La Salle’s three high-major prospects, were often in the mix on the both ends of the floor. In one sequence, Ellis stole the ball, pushed it up court, passed it behind his back to Schilling, and Schilling dunked the ball while being fouled.

“That’s pretty much what we do as a team,” said Foster, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. “We get after it. When we don’t, it seems like we’re frustrated. When we get after it, you see smiles on our faces. We’re having fun.”

Ellis led De La Salle in scoring for the third consecutive game. He had a game-high 14 points and also contributed four steals.

“I try to be as fast as I can be up and down the court,” Ellis said. “I try to beat everyone up the court and get those layups.”

Schilling (nine points), Marcus White (five points, three steals) and Demarcus Richardson (six points) contributed for the Meteors.

David Sinickas scored a team-high nine points for Naperville North (8-3).

In the other semifinal, St. Ignatius (10-1) upset No. 12 Downers Grove South 52-50. St. Ignatius’ Abdoulie Contch scored the game-winner in the lane with 1.5 seconds remaining.

St. Ignatius trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half.

“The kids played with composure in an easy game we could have quit on,” St. Ignatius coach Rich Kehoe said. “Nothing seemed to be going their way. It’s the first time we had come from double-digit behind to win a game that includes our summer play as well.”

The holiday tournament season is upon us. Here’s a guideline to the week ahead.

Five tournaments to attend

1) Pontiac, Dec. 28-30: It helps that Pontiac has the country’s top team in Simeon and top player in Jabari Parker, but that’s just the start. Curie and Warren have both been ranked in the top 5 this season and could give Simeon a game. Peoria Manual is one of the top teams outside of the Chicago area this season and has a number of Division I players. The semifinals could include all four teams.

2) Proviso West, Dec. 27-30: This could be an interesting year at Proviso West because of the parity. Proviso East, which is ranked No. 2, is the favorite, but it’s wide open after that. Glenbrook North, Homewood-Flossmoor, Morgan Park, New Trier and St. Joseph have all been ranked at some point this season.

3) Rich South, Dec. 26-27, 29-30: The McDipper could include a top-10 championship game between No. 5 Seton and No. 7 Bloom. Both enter the tournament undefeated. Crete-Monee, Evanston, Hales, Leo, Marian Catholic and Rich South give the tournament depth.

4) York, Dec. 27-30: The Jack Tosh Tournament added De La Salle this season. The Meteors should be the favorites, and they could see Downers Grove South in the championship. Maine South, Naperville North, Riverside-Brookfield and St. Ignatius should be competitive, too.

5) Wheeling, Dec. 27-30: Wheeling has become a whole lot more interesting with the rise of Notre Dame, St. Viator and Stevenson this season. Notre Dame and Stevenson are ranked, and St. Viator is 10-0 heading into the tournament.

Five players to see

1) Jabari Parker, Simeon at Pontiac: If you haven’t already seen Parker, the No. 1 junior in the country, see him. If you’ve already seen him, see him again. Friday is the best day to be at Pontiac. Simeon is likely to play at 2:30 p.m. in the semis and 9 p.m. in the championship.

2) Billy Garrett Jr., Morgan Park at Proviso West: Garrett Jr. is the future of DePaul. His game has continued to develop, and he has a chance to be one of the nation’s top guards when he arrives to Lincoln Park.

3) Gavin Schilling, De La Salle, York: There are actually a number of De La Salle players to see, but Schilling has been the hot name as of late.

4) Tyler Ulis, Marian Catholic, Rich South: Ulis, a sophomore guard, has been receiving rave reviews. This could be a good chance to witness him against other top players.

5) Jewell Loyd, Niles West at Stevenson and Loyola: If you’re to see one girls basketball player all season or even possibly all decade, Loyd is the one to watch. She puts up 40 points and 20 rebounds on a regular basis. Niles West plays at Stevenson on Tuesday and Loyola on Wednesday.

Recommend itinerary

Monday: Rich South is the only tournament running. If you’re looking to go to just one or two game, the late afternoon (4 p.m.) is a good place to start.

Tuesday: The first day of Proviso West is always interesting. The Rich South quarterfinals start at 4p.m. York vs. Riverside-Brookfield at York at 7:15 p.m. could be a fun first-round matchup.

Wednesday: It’s the first day of Pontiac if you want to be there the entire time. New Trier and Homewood-Flossmoor could meet in Proviso West’s second round at 5:15 p.m. Neighborhood rivals Proviso East and St. Joe’s could also meet at 8:30 p.m. at Proviso West.

Thursday: Warren and Waukegan is a potential second-round game at Pontiac at 11 a.m. St. Ignatius vs. Downers Grove South could be a York semifinal at 7:15 p.m. Stevenson and Notre Dame are aligned to meet in a Wheeling semifinal at 7:15 p.m.

Friday: Pontiac is the place to be, but you can double-dip by going there for the semifinals at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. and head back toward the city for another championship game. Rich South’s championship is at 7 p.m. York’s championship is at 7:15 p.m. Proviso West’s championship is at 8 p.m. Wheeling’s championship is at 8:45 p.m.

Five storylines

1) Morgan coach Nick Irvin’s father, Mac Irvin, passed away on Saturday. Mac was a legendary figure in Chicago basketball. Morgan Park opens the Proviso West tournament at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

2) Simeon’s road to another Pontiac title won’t be easy. The Wolverines could see a talented Peoria Manual team in the semis and either Curie or Warren in the championship game. Warren lost to Simeon in the Pontiac and state title games last year. If Simeon survives, it will remain the No. 1 team in the country.

3) Proviso East hasn’t won a Proviso West championship since it won it in back-to-back years in 1990 and 1991. First-year Proviso East coach Donnie Boyce was a senior on the 1990 team. It would be fitting for him to coach the Pirates to a title this year.

4) How many undefeated teams will remain after this week? Bloom and Seton are undefeated at Rich South. Curie and Simeon are undefeated at Pontiac. St. Viator takes it undefeated record into Wheeling. Bogan travels to Centralia with an unbeaten mark. Andrew (at Kankakee) Plainfield East (Pekin) and Metea Valley (Hinsdale South) are also undefeated.

5) Some players will make stars out of themselves after this week. Who will we be talking about next week?

Fresh off a close win over Whitney Young, Simeon remains No. 1 in the ESPNChicago.com prep hoops rankings. Who else is moving up and down in advance of this week's holliday tournaments.

Full story.

CHICAGO -- St. Rita had its excuse if it lost to De La Salle in the Catholic League opener on Friday.

The seventh-ranked Mustangs were without starters senior forward A.J. Avery, a Western Michigan recruit, and sophomore guard Dominique Matthews. Both had suffered hand injuries just before the season began and are out until at least January.

With St. Rita’s injuries and being at home before a standing-room-only crowd, No. 6 De La Salle was expected to roll and appeared headed that way when the Meteors opened up a 14-point lead in the second quarter on Friday.

St. Rita’s Tony Hicks, however, wasn’t going down without a fight, and in the end, Hicks’ fight was too much for the Meteors.

Hicks put the finishing touches on a 31-point performance with a game-winning layup with 1:56 left in double overtime to lift St. Rita to a 66-64 win over De La Salle.

“This is a big game,” said Hicks, a Penn recruit. “A lot of people felt I couldn’t prove myself, and we couldn’t play with good teams like this and we’re for real.”

Hicks proved otherwise Friday.

< p>After St. Rita (2-0) trailed 33-24 at halftime, Hicks put the Mustangs on his back. He scored 10 points in the third quarter, scored eight more points in the fourth quarter and added four points in the two overtimes.

“This is my third year coaching him, and Tony’s gotten better every year,” St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare said. “He’s a gamer. He kept battling, battling, battling.”

St. Rita chipped at De La Salle’s lead in the fourth quarter, and DeAires Blackwell tied the game at 59 when he scored, was fouled and sank the free throw with 28.9 seconds remaining.

De La Salle (4-1) had its chances to close out St. Rita, but struggled at the free-throw line down the stretch. The Meteors were 2-of-6 from the line in the fourth quarter and 0-for-3 in the overtimes.

De La Salle’s Alex Foster and Alvin Ellis were behind the Meteors’ rise through the first three quarters. Foster scored eight of his 14 points in the first half. Ellis scored a team-high 24 points, including 12 in the third quarter, but was shut out the rest of the game. Ellis also had 12 rebounds.

St. Rita freshman Charles Matthews came through in only his second varsity game. He had eight points and seven rebounds.

“He’s a big-time player,” Hicks said. “He’s going to be really good. He’s going to be like Mr. Basketball good.”

De La Salle’s Gavin Schilling had nine points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Last season’s City-Suburban Showdown matchup between Benet and Simeon in February was the most anticipated boys high school basketball game on the schedule.

Next year, the event’s organizers look to duplicate that excitement by pitting De La Salle and Simeon in the headliner of the 2012 City-Suburban Showdown. The field for next year’s event, which was announced this week, includes New Trier vs. St. Rita, Warren vs. Proviso East and De La Salle vs. Simeon at the UIC Pavilion on Feb. 18, 2012.

De La Salle and Simeon are expected to be among the state’s best teams next season. Simeon has won back-to-back Class 4A state championships and returns nationally-ranked sophomore forward Jabari Parker. De La Salle won the Catholic League last season and will bring back highly-recruited sophomores Alex Foster and Jaylon Tate.

Last year’s game between Benet and Simeon drew 8,184 fans at UIC. Benet won, 58-54.

De La Salle senior forward Andre Henley has committed to Northern Illinois, giving newly-named coach Mark Montgomery his third Chicago recruit since being hired.

Henley, a 6-6 small forward, averaged 14 points, six rebounds and four assists while helping De La Salle win the Catholic League and finish 22-3 overall last season.

Henley chose the Huskies over interest from Bradley, Indiana State, Missouri State, Providence and Tennessee.

Montgomery also recently received commitments from Brooks twin forwards Keith and Kevin Gray, two of the Chicago Public League’s top seniors.

“If you look at Northern Illinois’ roster last year, they didn’t have many kids from Chicago,” De La Salle coach Tom White said. “Montgomery is going in there and signing three or four Chicago kids right off the bat.

“Northern Illinois is getting a scorer in Andre. I think every night he steps on the floor he can get 20 points. He’s an assist guy, too. He’s a setup man. He can dribble with either hand. He attacks the basket. On the defensive side, he’s a kid who can get 7-8 rebounds every game. He can defend a few different spot. He’s a big body. I think it’s a steal for them.”

Henley joins Northern Illinois’ 2011 recruiting class that includes Keith and Kevin Gray, Glenbard East (IL) point guard Zach Miller, Liberty Tech (TN) shooting guard DeAndre Barnette and Saginaw (MI) shooting guard Marquavis Ford.

Here’s what we learned on the boys high school basketball scene last week.

1. The season likely won’t end with an undefeated team. Neuqua Valley and Thornton recently left the ranks of the unbeatens, leaving just Benet and Simeon. Benet’s schedule still includes three highly-ranked teams in Glenbard East, Notre Dame and Simeon. Simeon still has to face Benet, Morgan Park and Whitney Young. It’s unlikely either of those teams will come out unscathed when it’s all said and done.

2. It’s hard to figure out how good the Public League is this season. Sure, Simeon, Morgan Park, Whitney Young and Brooks are all implanted into the rankings. But what about Crane, Curie, Farragut, Hyde Park, Marshall, North Lawndale and Orr? Where do they all fit in with the rest of the top 20 teams? In just the past few weeks, here are some of the confusing results -- Farragut and North Lawndale beat Hyde Park; Hyde Park defeated Orr; Farragut defeated Crane twice, but lost to Orr; Crane and Marshall beat Orr and Marshall defeated North Lawndale. And then on Sunday, North Lawndale knocked off No. 3 Thornton, a non-Public League team that had been unbeaten. The Public League could end up with a lot more ranked teams, but too many of them are beating up each other to figure it all out for now.

3. Mundelein is a team to keep an eye on. The Mustangs haven’t entered the rankings yet, but they’re getting close. With their 75-68 overtime win over Zion-Benton on Saturday, their winning streak reached 12 games and they improved to 18-2. Ryan Sawvell and Robert Knar make for a tough 1-2 combo. Against Zion-Benton, Sawvell had 26 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks, and Knarr finished with 25 points, four 3-pointers and nine rebounds. Mundelein’s biggest challenge ahead will be Warren on Jan. 29.

4. De La Salle’s loss to Fenwick on Friday makes it difficult to believe De La Salle is a state contender at the moment. Not that Fenwick is awful, but the Meteors shouldn’t have any trouble with a team like the Friars if they’re going to compete for a state championship. It didn’t help that Fenwick lost the following day to Ridgewood. De La Salle has talent, but it needs to be more consistent.

5. Everyone knows about Vernon Hills senior DaVaris Daniels’ football ability, but he’s got a basketball game, too. Despite still juggling football duties -- he recently played in the Under Armour All-American Game -- Daniels has been scoring 20-plus points on a consistent basis for the Cougars. He had 27 points in his latest game on Saturday. When Daniels’ father, Washington Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels, was asked Monday if his son could play basketball at Notre Dame as well, Phillip said he thought with Daniels’ shooting ability and hops it was a possibility.

6. St. Charles East sophomore guard Kendall Stephens is a hot recruiting commodity. Northwestern was the first to offer him a scholarship. Wisconsin followed in late December. Lately, even more schools are checking him out. Purdue coach Matt Painter was at his game last week. It isn’t surprising the Boilermakers are interested in the 6-4 Stephens. His father, Everette Stephens, starred for Purdue before playing in the NBA.

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.