EJ Liddell says he doesn’t have a favorite, other top prospects set up visits

The state’s best player and prospect, Belleville West’s E.J. Liddell, is one of several top senior prospects in the state who are in the process of trimming the list of college suitors and setting up official visits.

Liddell, who led Belleville West to a state championship last March and is among the top 50 prospects in the country, says he doesn’t have a favorite.

But the coveted 6-7 forward did cut his list to five schools this week which include Illinois, Missouri, Kansas State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Liddell has one official visit set: Ohio State the first weekend in September.

“This is the only time in my life I will be going through this,” says Liddell of the recruiting process. “Most of the coaches know their limits and most have respected that. But I am really not close to making a decision.”

DePaul nabs Terrence Shannon

When late-blooming star Terrence Shannon announced he would be re-classifying and heading to a prep school following his graduation from Lincoln Park, the recruitment of the high-flying 6-7 forward took off this spring and summer.

This past weekend Shannon, who is now a top 100 prospect in the Class of 2019 headed to IMG Academy in Florida, narrowed his list to four schools, including DePaul and Illinois. Both Florida State and Maryland were also on Shannon’s short list.

But Shannon decided to stay close to home and committed to DePaul on Sunday.

Naperville North’s Tom Welch to Loyola

Loyola coach Porter Moser has started to capitalize on the magical Final Four run that captivated the country this past season.

Naperville North’s Tom Welch, a versatile 6-7 forward, committed to Loyola last Thursday. Welch had become a coveted recruiting target since the conclusion of his junior season. He sported double-digit mid-major offers and received a July offer from Ole Miss in the SEC.

I think their staff did an incredible job of recruiting me,” says Welch. “They were on me early. They were at every single one of my games in July. Actions speak louder than words.”

DaJuan Gordon figuring out offers, visits

The recruitment for the 6-4 Curie senior heated up after his play in July. The next step is to trim a growing list of suitors and set up official visits. The schools that seem to be firmly entrenched in this recruitment are DePaul, SMU, Xavier, Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado State and UAB.

Marquise Kennedy sets up official visits

Brother Rice guard Marquise Kennedy was the biggest stock riser in the state this summer.

The 6-1 senior guard didn’t have a single offer when the summer began. A little over a month later he’s received a dozen-plus offers, including one from Florida State out of the ACC, and has set up three official visits. Kennedy will visit Illinois State, Wichita State and Loyola. With two other visits remaining, Missouri State, Bradley, Northeastern and Florida State remain in the mix.

Brown will get visit from Perry Cowan

The high academic, highly-productive Perry Cowan of DePaul Prep plans to take an official visit to Brown. In addition to the Ivy League school, both Wofford and Canisius are actively involved with the 6-4 wing, who averaged 18.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, three assists and two steals a game as a junior.

Oswego East star buried in offers

The offer list for Oswego East senior RayJ Dennis is endless. With interest and offers from 20-plus schools, the process of trimming the list, which has included several late offers, has been daunting. Dennis is in the process of setting up several official visits before signing during the early period in November.

While the visits have yet to be determined, the list of suitors heavily involved include Boise State, Colorado State, Toledo, Vermont, Cleveland State, Bradley, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Holy Cross.

Follow Joe Henricksen and the City/Suburban Hoops Report on Twitter @joehoopsreport