|
|
|
| ||
Illini Recruit Jereme Richmond Named McDonald's All-Americanby Ricky O'Donnell on February 11, 2010 at 2:45PM
In the same vein that older people in this city will always cherish coaches that yell, non-ironic mustaches, and general blue collar-ness, people around my age who grew up in this area and didn't attend U of I absolutely hate U of I. It's a truth, and an understandable philosophy. For the record, I've got no beef with that stand. So here's a warning: this is an Illinois basketball post. Feel free to X out this page immediately.  For those that don't know, I've worked for YourSeason.com - the Sun-Times' high school sports site - for three years. This year, I started covering high school hoops in the city. As such, I feel like I have a decent grasp on the top high school ballers in the area. And, for my entire time at YourSeason, Waukegan forward Jereme Richmond has been the most highly touted player in the state. Yesterday, he was named a McDonald's All-American. I've been telling my U of I friends - because no one else would care, duh - that Richmond is the truth for a long time. Rivals has him ranked as a four-star prospect and the 36th best player in the country. The general consensus is that ranking is a bit of a low ball. Last year, Richmond became the first junior ever to be named Sun-Times Player of the Year. Even Derrick Rose didn't earn the honor until his senior year. That's not to say that Richmond is a superior prospect to Rose - he's not - but it's a testament to how dominant he is. Richmond has to be Illinois' best recruit since Dee Brown. Here's the scouting report on Richmond: he's a 6'6 wing with a reputation for being a trouble maker. It's no slam dunk that he's going to turn into a great college or pro player. There are plenty of red flags here. Richmond committed to Illinois as a freshman at North Shore. He transferred to Waukegan as a sophomore, and clashed with the coach. He nearly got kicked off the team after they lost in the playoffs. As a junior, Richmond led Waukegan to the state title game, where they lost to Marcus Jordan and Whitney Young. Waukegan will be ranked the No. 1 team in the area next week, and are the favorites to win state. Richmond has had them ranked in the top two nearly the entire season. There probably isn't another D-1 player on the team. There have been some valleys, though: Waukegan got decimated by Harrison Barnes (North Carolina recruit and ESPN's No. 1 player in the country) and Ames, Iowa on ESPN in December. Two weeks ago, Richmond was suspended for taking part in an after school fight. So yeah: there are red flags. Richmond isn't perfect, but he's 17 years old. He could get his head on straight, he could mature, he could turn into a great player. Or he could turn into Tyrus Thomas. It's hard to tell with players so young. Regardless, Illinois fans have to pumped about next season. Assuming Demetri McCamey comes back, Illinois will have three senior starters, two really good sophomore guards (Brandon Paul and DJ Richardson), and a stud freshman in Richmond. Illinois is also bringing in Crandall Head (Luther's little bro) and Myers Leonard, a highly-touted 7-footer from downstate. The Illini should make the tournament this season, but I feel like they could be really good next year. I wouldn't be surprised if they're a legitimate top 15 team or better. Finally, here's the half-court shot Richmond hit last year in the playoffs against Brandon Paul and Warren. Paul's quote after the game was great, too. My totally reckless prediction: Illinois is an Elite Eight team next season, Richmond bolts after his freshman year and is a lottery pick. |
SearchFollow Me
Blogs In The Network
Network Partners
I recommend you take a look at this sports betting site for quality NFL picks and top NCAA Football selections. They offer premium and free sports picks along with the best sportsbook bonus codes at books like Oddsmaker Sportsbook & BetUS. Play video poker online at the webs leading casinos as reviewed by Video Poker Royalty. Recent Comments
Latest Posts
Chicago Bears Jersey From The Network
Tickets to all your favorite teams and events. Denver Broncos Tickets, Rockies Tickets, Seattle Seahawks Tickets,San Francisco 49ers Tickets and UFC Tickets Las Vegas. Check Out the ChiCitySports Forum Monthly Archives
 Chicago Colleges Colleges in Chicago Dish Network Packages Over 295 channels available in a variety of packages. Buy Chicago Bears Tickets and Chicago Bulls Tickets at TicketCity, your source for Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks Tickets! Let's see a Sox game or trudge through the snow to see the Bulls play. OnlineSeats has great deals on everything, from Jersey Boys seats to hated Cubs tickets. So catch the next Bears game with us. Casino Slots Download NSAwins.com is the #1 Football Picks site in Las Vegas for expert college football picks, college bowl predictions and daily college football vegas odds. Test Your PotentialDo you know everything about our Windy City sports teams? I bet you do. So bet yourself at this online sports betting site.Have you tried online bingo? Maybe try using a bingo bonus code and benefit from a no deposit bingo bonus at recommended online bingo sites and online bingo operators. Alternatively why not try online casinos as a change from the norm? Ovie Mughelli |
I've covered Waukegan a couple of times this year and three things about Richmond stand out:
1) How athletic he is for somebody that size. Maybe it's because usually high school big men are so stiff, it's rare to see a 6-7 guy actually be able to jump. But Richmond is as athletic as any player in the state.
2) How laid back and calm he appears while still playing aggressively. Against New Trier he was called for his fourth foul mid-way through the third quarter and the guy looked like he was waiting in line at Subway.
3) He has by far the biggest hands of any 18-year old I've ever met. I shook his hand after the game and his fingers stretched to my forearm.
Clearly the most talented player Bruce has brought to U of I.
Is U of I really that universally hated?
That highlight is fantastic every time you see it.
H8 them.
Paul's quote was probably the preps quote of the year, outside of Matt Suhey's daughter talking about how much she hates New Trier.
But seriously, U of I being an Elite 8 team should not that sound too outlandish. The guys you mentioned are the most athletically gifted group that Weber has had since 04-05. Weber is a guy who's always been known as a poor recruiter and a great game coach. Anything less than a top 3 finish, a semifinal run in the Big Ten Tourney and a Sweet 16 should be considered a disappointment to fans, pending JR and Crandall Head don't wreak havoc on helpless Champaign.
A Tribune link for a story we broke? I think I just lost someone's paysheet....
Boo. I checked our site first but didn't see the story.
Odd. When I worked there, you just lost our paysheets for doing our job.
I was also unaware that Illinois is hated. I guess I need to stop hanging out with so many U of I grads.
Red flags, sure, but they don't do anything to scare me off. A kid that commits as young as he did, shows no serious signs of wavering on his commitment, save for some cute wording from a reporter in an interview a few years back, and becomes a key factor in the subsequent recruiting upswing U of I has experienced seems level-headed enough to me. Without Richmond's early commit, it's likely we don't have at least some of Paul, Richardson, Bertrand, Leonard, or Head.
Also, he could go after his first year, but I see him as a two-year guy. There's going to be plenty of competition for the 1-3 spots between McCamey, Richardson, Paul, Bertrand, Richmond, Head, and probably Griffey. That said, if he is one and done, I'm alright with it, because odds are that means both Richmond and Illinois had a pretty special season.
Also, I know the comparison was made based on attitude, but I don't like the Tyrus comparison. Richmond's game is way more polished than Tyrus's was at this stage.
Perhaps this is one of the most interesting blogs that I have ever seen. Interesting article, Funny comment. Keep it up!