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With word that shooting guard Allerik Freeman has asked for his release from UCLA, the nation’s No. 65 senior prospect may soon join Andrew Wiggins as the only uncommitted ESPN 100 prospects. Also, coaches begin to put in serious face time with the nation’s top junior recruits.

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CHICAGO -- Jabari Parker threw down a baseline dunk. He dished out a few assists. He grabbed a few rebounds. He made a few steals and blocked a few shots.

On the court Wednesday, Parker was being Parker as he displayed his all-around game and showed why he’s been considered one of the premier high school players in the country for much of his career.

But when Parker and most people think back of his McDonald’s All American Game experience, what they’ll remember isn’t Parker’s West team winning 110-99 or anything he did during the actual game. It’ll be the memory of his introduction before the game at the United Center.

With the lights out and the spotlight on and after every other player already on the floor, Parker was announced as being from Simeon Career Academy and Chicago. The welcoming decibels were well beyond those of anyone before him.

It was the perfect reception for the hometown Duke commit Parker, a four-time state champion and two-time Mr. Basketball who is No. 2 in the ESPN 100 ranking index.

“It was like homecoming,” Parker explained after the game. “It’s just a homecoming day for me, see everybody out there. You know we can celebrate. I know I represent all the high school players, so that’s all I wanted to do. Be there and represent the city of Chicago on the way.”

Whitney Young High School junior center and fellow Chicagoan Jahlil Okafor, the nation’s No. 1 junior, was just as moved by the fans’ love for Parker.

“Seeing the crowd embrace him as they did, he deserves it more than anybody,” Okafor said. “Seeing everybody cheer that loud, I was really happy and just put like chills down my body. It’s something I can work hard for and maybe I can experience that next year.”

It was nearly the same feeling for Ronnie Fields, a former McDonald’s All American from Chicago, who was attending his first McDonald’s game in nearly 20 years.

“I was so happy,” said Fields, who was a McDonald’s All American in 1996. “I was waiting for him to come out.”

“To see the city continue to breed these guys out, it just made me proud,” he said. “You go down the list. We got Jabari. We got Derrick Rose. We got Okafor coming. That goes back to Isiah Thomas. The list goes on and on.”

Parker was thought to be playing his final game in Chicago for the foreseeable future, but he hinted at another game, possibly meaning a Duke game in Chicago next season. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski did bring Jon Scheyer back to play before his hometown Chicago crowd, and that also could be the case for Parker, who is expected to spend just one season in college before bolting for the NBA.

Whether or not Parker will be back in Chicago next year, he left a bit of everything on the floor Wednesday. He had 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks; didn’t allow anything easy to No. 1-ranked Andrew Wiggins (uncommitted; from Canada by way Huntington Prep in West Virginia); and came out on the victorious side, just as he did throughout his career.
All in all, Parker realized his hometown experience was unique at this game.

“I know I’ve been spoiled a little bit more being in Chicago and playing at the United Center,” Parker said. “This was a great experience.”

Dave Telep’s Friday recruiting notebook includes an introduction to one of the nation’s most impressive freshmen, a look at Indiana’s big recruiting weekend, why John Calipari’s words resonated with the nation’s No. 2 junior, Illinois putting in work on the recruiting trail and more.

Read the entire story here.

No. 2 senior Jabari Parker and No. 2 junior Jahlil Okafor, whose teams met in a highly anticipated Chicago showdown over the weekend, have different games but share many of the same intangibles that make them successful.

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When national No. 4 Chicago Whitney Young and No. 11 Chicago Simeon meet on Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU, it may prove to be the most intense battle of the high school basketball season, featuring nationally ranked rivals with rosters full of future college stars like No. 2 senior Jabari Parker and No. 2 junior Jahlil Okafor.

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Dave Telep updates his impressions of top players and teams in the aftermath of the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Last week we paused to look back at the most memorable basketball recruiting stories of 2012. But recruiting is all about the future. So as the calendar turns to a new year, it's time to focus on the stories that will be making news in 2013.

And while there are still plenty of intriguing stories to watch in the 2013 class -- No. 1 prospect Andrew Wiggins and No. 7 Aaron Gordon among them -- much of the focus in 2013 will actually be on the 2014 class, especially top two recruits Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor.

So we asked our RecruitingNation basketball experts to get their crystal ball out and look into the future to identify what recruiting stories will be the most interesting to follow in the coming year.

Read the entire story here.

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 -- The pride of Simeon Career Academy surprised everyone last week with an early return to action.

No, no. Not that guy.

While Derrick Rose sprints, shoots and avoids speculation for his comeback date from knee surgery, Simeon senior forward Jabari Parker, the No. 2 recruit in the country, played in his team's season opener last week at the inaugural Chicago Elite Classic. Parker had missed nearly five months with a foot injury suffered in July while playing for Team USA's U17 team in in the FIBA championships in Lithuania.

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Illinois' best high school basketball teams have often had to travel outside of the state to face the nation's best.

On Saturday, the country's elite will come to Chicago as five of the nation's top squads will face five of Illinois' top ones in the Chicago Elite Classic at UIC. The schedule, team information and more can be found at chicagoeliteclassic.com.

Here are five reasons to be in attendance on Saturday:

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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.

It's been an eventful few days for the top players in the Class of 2014. Last Thursday, No. 1 prospect Andrew Wiggins (Thornhill, Ontario/Huntington Prep) reclassified from 2014 to 2013. On Friday, new ESPN 60 No. 1 Tyus Jones (Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley) talked about his new ranking and visiting both Duke and UNC.

And on Sunday night, elite junior big man Jahlil Okafor (Chicago/Whitney Young), the new No. 2 player in the ESPN 60, discussed how his recruiting was progressing and wanting to play in college with Jones.

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Simeon senior guard Kendrick Nunn may not be the savior of the Illinois basketball program, but he may just attract that player.

Nunn, who committed to the Illini on Saturday, certainly has basketball gifts. He can shoot. He can defend. He’ll play hard. He’ll do what is asked of him.

Whether he’s a future all-American or has the NBA in his future, that’s difficult to say now. He’s a 6-foot-2 shooting guard who is ranked No. 56 in the country and is the 17th best shooting guard by ESPN and is ranked as high as 36th and low as 60th by other national recruiting sites. Within Illinois, City/Suburban Hoops Report recruiting analyst Joe Henricksen ranks Nunn behind Simeon teammate Jabari Parker, the nation’s No. 1 player, and Belleville East’s Malcolm Hill, another Illinois recruit.

Nunn’s value to Illinois goes well beyond that, though.

For one, he’s the first Chicago recruit for Illinois first-year coach John Groce. It doesn’t hurt that Nunn is also from the state’s premier program. Secondly, Nunn is the type of player who seems to fit into any system and tends to be on winning teams. Simeon and the U17 USA national team can attest to that. Finally, others players appear to like him as a person and teammate.

All of those reasons add up to Nunn possibly being the most important Illini recruit in the past decade.

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