T-Wood’s Darrell Combs back on the market

By Joe Henricksen

Although he was part of an impressive fall recruiting class for Loyola last November, Thornwood senior guard Darrell Combs and the Ramblers have decided to mutually part ways.

Combs, who averaged 15 points a game this past season, will have options going forward after being released from his Loyola letter-of-intent. While prep school and re-classifying as a 2013 prospect is still an option, Combs is receiving heavy interest from several mid-major programs. The smooth scoring guard is headed to Western Kentucky for a visit this weekend and will visit Cleveland State the following weekend.

“I would like to get away,” said Combs in regard to leaving the Chicago area. “I also want a nice comfort level with the school, the players in the program and a relationship with the head coach. And I’m looking at the academics of each school.”

A top 15 player in the Hoops Report’s Class of 2012 player rankings, Combs blossomed last season as a junior and picked up considerable recruiting interest throughout last spring and summer. He signed with Loyola last fall, along with Peoria Manual guard Keke White and a pair of forwards out of Indiana, 6-7 Matt O’Leary and 6-8 Nick Osborne.

But late in the season, Combs sat down with the Loyola coaching staff and both agreed that, at this time, parting ways would be the best path to take going forward.

Combs helped lead Thornwood to a Southwest Suburban Red title this season and a 21-7 record. The 6-1 guard had a monster game in the late-season showdown with Andrew, which the Thunderbirds won behind Combs’ 24 points.

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