Here are all the names I could come up with for this weekend. I am sure I am missing a few Minnesota targets, as I obviously put this together from a UW perpective.
HP Black 17U - Pulley does not have as much talent as they had in past years (e.g. Jared Berggren, Jordan Taylor, Royce White, Rodney Williams), but that probably has more to do with Minnesota's 2010 and 2011 classes being down as a whole than anything else.
-2010 big Chad Calcaterra – Got an early offer from Tubby Smith, but it appears that the Gophers have backed off a bit. Sounds like a pretty nice prospect, but probably more of a mid-major guy.
-2010 guard/wing Jacob Thomas – He has reportedly played very well this spring. He is primarily a shooter at this point, but that’s not all he can do. I was very impressed the one time I saw him in December. A number of schools have supposedly shown interest, including UW, but he’s basically been begging for a Gopher offer.
-2011 wing/forward Marvin Singleton – UW has been mentioned with him, but it will be interesting to see how he develops. At this point, he is more PF than SF, but he’s only about 6’4”. Very well-built kid, if he develops his perimeter skills further, he could be a very nice prospect.
HP Black 16U
-2011 guard Marcus Alipate – PG from Bloomington Jefferson HS, who’s older brother Moses is a Gopher QB recruit. Has gotten some looks from UW and Minnesota , among others.
St. Louis Eagles 17U
-2011 guard Bradley Beal – Led his HS team to Missouri state title as a sophomore. Sounds as though he is a very capable scorer, primarily as a shooter. Already has some very impressive offers (i.e. Kansas , Illinois , Florida , Missouri )
Iowa Attack Black 17U - There are multiple teams from this program in each division, but I believe their better teams are the 17U Black and 16U Black teams.
-2010 wing/forward Harrison Barnes – Not much more can be said. Saw him for the first time at this event last spring, so I’m curious to see how much different he is.
-2010 wing/forward Zack McCabe – Active forward who can shoot the ball pretty well. I believe he has an offer from Iowa.
-2011 guard Donivine Stewart – Peoria PG who received an early offer from Illinois and interest from other schools (including UW and Iowa ). Not sure Weber would accept a verbal at this point, as it does not sound like he progressed much from his freshman to sophomore year.
Playground Elite 17U
-2010 guard Chim Kadima – Former Iowa St. commit who has re-opened his recruitment. Struggled with injuries (ACL and thumb) in the last year and made the switch from the Playground Warriors program, should be interesting to see where he ends up.
-2011 big Cinmeon Bowers – Presumably has received some interest from UW, but he’s only listed on the Elite roster at 6’4”. If that’s really true, he’ll need to grow some or diversify his game to end up as a high major prospect.
Playground Elite 16U
-2011 guard Darrel Longstreet – Combo guard from Kenosha Tremper who UW showed some interest in during this past HS season. I believe he visited for a football game last fall and at least one hoops game over the winter. Rumored to have academic issues.
-2011 forward Kevin Mays – Forward from same military school as Trevon Hughes, who is a bit undersized. Received interest from UW and Marquette.
Mac Irvin Fire 17U - The talent level in the Fire program is unreal. That said, they have done as well this spring as one would expect.
-2010 wing/forward Jereme Richmond – Committed to Illinois during his freshman season and has continued to develop to the point where he’s a top 10 prospect by some services, top 25 by most everyone. Sounds like a versatile forward who can score any way you want.
2010 wing Crandall Head – Reputation as a big time athlete, very physically gifted, but needs to refine his skills a bit. Committed to Illinois , following in footsteps of brother Luther.
-2010 big Meyers Leonard – Another 2010 Illinois commit who’s supposed to be a pretty good athlete for a 6’10” kid.
-2010 guard Reggie Smith – Don’t know much about Smith, other than that he apparently jumps through the roof.
-2011 forward Mike Shaw – Been ranked among the best 2011 kids nationally. Sounds like a combo forward, who is more perimeter oriented. Offers from some pretty good programs, with the Illini rumored to be in the lead. Playing with three commits certainly cannot hurt Illinois ’ chances, nor can the commitment of one of his close friends (2011 PG Tracy Abrams).
-2011 wing/forward Wayne Blackshear – Another very talented 2011 guy in this program. He also got an early offer from Bruce Weber, but the consensus among Illini posters seems to be that he is headed out of state.
Mac Irvin Fire 16U
-2011 forward Dre Henley – Another versatile forward in Illinois ’ 2011 class. Also a HS teammate of Shaw.
-2011 wing Sam Thompson – Part of Whitney Young’s state championship team this past winter. Sounds like a very good athlete who is more of a SG at this point.
Mac Irvin Fire 15U
-2013 big Thomas Hamilton Jr. – Son of former Chicago King giant Thomas Hamilton, who was a prep teammate of Rashard Griffith. The Bulls-Eye website said he was the second best prospect in the state of Illinois , behind only Richmond , even though Hamilton Jr. is just finishing up 8th grade
Illinois Warriors 17U - Despite not having as many highly regarded kids, the Warriors seem to be the Illinois team that does the best. They won a big event in Arkansas already and finished second last weekend in a large event in Fort Wayne. Vander Blue played with them last weekend, not sure if he will be playing with them again this weekend.
Illinois Warriors 16U
-2011 guard George Marshall – PG from Brooks Prep in Chicago . Don't know a great deal about him, but UW may have taken a look at him.
Schoolers 17U
-2010 forward Cody Larson – Versatile big forward from the same HS has Joe Krabbenhoft. I believe he got some early interest from UW, and later from Tubby Smith, but he ended committing to Iowa .
