Recruiting Analysis: It's Still Early In The Process For Both Schilling And Hamilton

By Roy & Harv Schmidt

October 20, 2011

11:00 A.M. CST

Another year of Midnight Madness festivities have come and gone and once again their was minimal activity with respect to Illinois-based high school basketball recruits.  Not a single commitment resulted from Midnight Madness, and only a handful of new scholarship offers were extended last weekend.  It further proves what we have long said--from a recruiting standpoint Midnight Madness is overrated and probably receives more media attention than it actually deserves.

But enough of that.  Right now we are more interested in what is transpiring recruiting-wise with a pair of power forwards who both rank near the top of the talented 2013 class in Illinois--6'9 Gavin Schilling from De LaSalle Institute in Chicago and 6'9 Tommy Hamilton Jr. from Whitney Young High School in Chicago. 

Other than the never-ending talk that surrounds the recruitment of the #1 player in the nation from 2013--that being Simeon's Jabari Parker--no other players in Illinois have been greater centers of attention.  And that is largely because of some things that DID NOT come about over Midnight Madness weekend.  With that in mind and after talking to several sources who are close to each player's recruitment--we attempt to sort out what is significant and what is being overblown.

We begin with Schilling.  Simply put, he has been perhaps the hottest recruiting commodity in the state since the start of the Fall recruiting period.  The buzz started when Schilling received his first scholarship offer from the University Of Illinois after taking an unofficial visit on September 24.  Shortly after that, he was also offered by DePaul.

Speculation surrounding Schilling's recruitment escalated even further last weekend when question marks surfaced regarding whether or not he would attend any school's Midnight Madness.  Schilling was invited to Midnight Madness at Marquette, but did not attend.  Illinois and DePaul were also hopeful of getting Schilling on campus over the weekend but neither materialized.  He did end up taking an unofficial visit to DePaul this past Monday.

Therefore, the question that abounds is: what does all of this mean with respect to Schilling's recruitment?  After speaking with several sources in the know, our answer is "not nearly as much as others are making it out to be."  That is because while Schilling remains a top priority in the 2013 class for every school that is currently recruiting him, don't expect an early commitment.  In fact, there is every reason to believe that Schilling's recruitment process may be just beginning.

Having already visited Illinois, DePaul and Northern Illinois, Schilling has also scheduled an unofficial visit to Notre Dame this coming weekend.  He also continues to add widespread interest from schools all over the country, with Arizona State being the latest to inquire. 

Here is the thing--with Schilling having missed the entire July evaluation period due to a broken wrist, college coaches are just beginning to get an opportunity to watch and evaluate Schilling now.  When one takes that into consideration, it would be foolish for Schilling to rush through the process.  That is why he will take his time sorting things out.

Now we move to Hamilton.  There is no question that the 6'9 behemoth and those around him have been extremely tight-lipped with all things pertaining to his recruitment.  However, Hamilton made some headlines this past weekend when he decided to attend Midnight Madness at Michigan State, a decision that was kept extremely close to the vest until the last second.

What caught several others off guard with respect to Hamilton's Midnight Madness decision was that it had been previously reported that he would be on campus at Illinois this past weekend.  As a result, a large segment of the Illini Nation is now wondering exactly where the Illini stand with Hamilton, as until now they have long believed that he is a virtual lock to become part of their 2013 recruiting class.

It is time to dispell the #1 myth surrounding Hamilton's recruitment right now.  At the present time, Hamilton is not a lock for anybody.  Illinois remains very much in the picture, but so do a number of other schools.  There are no leaders right now, and Hamilton is going to carefully weigh all of his options, as he should.

In addition to the Illini, there is no question that Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and assistant coaches Dwayne Stephens and Dane Fife have put in considerable time and effort when it comes to their recruitment of Hamilton and a pair of talented class of 2014 prospects at Whitney Young--6'10 center Jahlil Okafor and 6'8 forward Paul White.  The same can be said about the coaching staff at Arizona, as the Wildcats have also offered Hamilton in addition to watching him at open gyms at Whitney Young during the fall.

But here is one that we bet not too many people are aware of.  How many people are aware that Northwestern University is also among the schools that have extended a scholarship offer to Hamilton?  Not only that, but Hamilton was recently on the Evanston campus for an unofficial visit which included taking in Northwestern's football game versus Michigan.  In fact, Wildcats Associate Head Coach Tavaras Hardy has been working overtime in his pursuit of Hamilton as well as many other top underclass prospects in the state of Illinois.

The moral to the story is that it is still early in the recruiting process for both Schilling and Hamilton.  It is true that we live in a world of instant gratification and as a result people want immediate results.  This is especially true in the world of basketball recruiting, where fan bases of various college teams want a commitment from the moment that a recruit first gets on campus.  As for Schilling and Hamilton, it is looking very much as though they are going to take their time.  And you know what?  That is perfectly O.K! 

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