With several of the bigger names in Illinois high school basketball off to prep schools for their senior years, including James Brown (North Carolina commit), Nojus Indrusaitis (Iowa State commit) and Cole Certa (Notre Dame commit), there are only eight in-state Division I commitments in the senior class.
That’s an alarming number. And right now it’s a number that is far, far away from last year’s 35 players in the Class of 2023 that ultimately signed with Division I programs.
This year’s class hopes to at least reach the totals of the Class of 2021 and Class of 2022. Those weren’t exactly eye-popping numbers; both classes were in the mid-20s for Division I players.
The bottom line: There’s still work to be done among this year’s senior group.
An uncommitted player who has put in the work and has grabbed more attention from college coaches is Kenwood’s Jaden Smith. The 6-11 big man was on the radar early in his career, but he didn’t see the recruitment quite match the hype. That has started to change.
“I feel like it’s happening at the right time for me,” Smith said of the recruiting momentum. “Maybe it didn’t happen when everyone expected it or wanted it to happen. But the most important thing is it’s happening.”
Smith is part of a Kenwood trio, which also includes Chris Riddle and Calvin Robins, that heads the list of the top uncommitted seniors in Illinois.
“I’ve told our players and their families that it’s not how quickly it comes, it’s about making sure to choose the right school,” Kenwood coach Mike Irvin said. “Do your homework. We will have some very busy open gyms in the fall.”
Here are the five best uncommitted prospects in the area and where their recruitment stands with the early-signing period less than two months away.
Chris Riddle, Kenwood
The recruitment to land the power-packed 6-5 wing is heating up heading into the fall.
Riddle visited Akron a week ago, hit Illinois State this past weekend and says he will head to DePaul this coming week for a visit. There are a host of schools that he continues to hear from, including UNLV, Utah, Northern Illinois and others.
Jaden Smith, Kenwood
The enticing big man has a wide range of schools involved with more potentially coming this fall, including several high-major programs that remain in contact. Xavier, Utah and LSU have all poked around.
But Smith has a busy schedule ahead with several official visits, beginning this weekend with a trip to Loyola. The Ramblers recently offered Smith a scholarship and look to land their second big man out of the city in as many years with Simeon’s Miles Rubin now a freshman for coach Drew Valentine.
Smith then will visit Akron, Georgia Tech and Arizona State in coming weeks.
Calvin Robins, Kenwood
This one could take some time. As Robins returns to action after an injury that kept him out of action for a lengthy period, coaches will need to get their eyes on him again this fall.
An outstanding student, Robins does have a visit to Yale set up.
Jehvion Starwood, Oswego East
Starwood, who recently visited Wyoming and added an offer from San Jose State, has been part of a lot of winning. He helped Yorkville Christian to a state title as a sophomore and was part of Oswego East’s best season in school history as a junior.
Starwood, who already has visited Illinois State and Miami-Ohio, heads to Denver this week. James Madison and San Jose State are involved, with potential visits coming.
Je’shawn Stevenson, Lindblom
The big-bodied 6-3 guard put up significant numbers as a junior and played a key role for a successful Meanstreets team this past summer in Nike EYBL play.
He also brings outstanding academics to the table and has Ivy League programs in pursuit.
Stevenson’s first visits will be to Cleveland State and Yale in late September. He will follow that up with a likely visit to Brown in early October.
