Team NLP Gives Boo Williams All It Can Handle In 17-Under Nationals Sweet 16

July 31, 2008

9:00 A.M. CST

Well, the Illinois contingent is now completely eliminated from the championship bracket of this year's 17-under AAU nationals, but it was a terrific run for Dickie Simpkins' Team NLP, as they gave the nationally acclaimed Boo Williams program all it can handle in a 73-65 defeat last night at the Milk House at Disneyworld's Wide World of Sports Complex. If everyone does not know about 6'3 junior Lenzelle Smith now, they have been living in a cave, visiting Mars, or have not been reading our reports, as we touted him as a can't miss Top 3 prospect in the Class of 2010 as far back as two years ago, and he has done nothing to prove us wrong. He has played tremendous against the top guards in the nation on a consistent basis, and has proven that his combination of strength, tenacity, and versatility at both ends of the floor make him an elite recruiting prospect in the Class of 2010.

While Boo Williams' stellar All-American backcourt of 6'2 junior Kendall Marshall (a Class of 2010 North Carolina commit), 6'5 Andre Dawkins (a Class of 2010 Duke commit), Steve Pledger (a Classs of 2009 Oklahoma commit), and Johntel Evans (a Class of 2009 Virginia Tech commit) were extremely quick in transition and penetrating to the basket, Smith's muscle and ability to drive to the basket and hit pull up left-handed shots kept NLP in the game. Smith got numerous offensive rebounds and made some nice passes to 6'4 Illinois commit Brandon Paul cutting to he basket, as well as to 6'7 junior Markus Yarbrough from Zion (Zion-Benton) IL, who was otherwise completely outmatched by Boo Williams' future NBA front line which stood 6'9, 6'8, and 6'7.

Paul was hounded all night long by Boo Williams' superb depth and athleticism, but came away with some hard-earned points on cuts to the basket and floating mid-range shots in the lane. He used his size to post up smaller guards and back them into the basket, which is a dimension of his game we have not seen much of to date, but which he can continue to utilize at the next level. Finally, 6'2 Colin Nickerson from Waukegan (H.S.) IL capped off a great week and turned some heads at the low and mid-major levels by showing off improved point guard and playmaking skills, as well as athletic slashing ability. Loyola-Chicago, Valparaiso, and Illinois-Chicago are showing more interest, and we expect that Nickerson's stock will continue to rise the more he plays well.  

Altogether, it was a fantastic week for Team NLP, as their Team NLP-Montgomery team made the Round of 32 and did a tremendous job. With all of the talent in Chicago's northern suburbs and some promising prospects coming up through the underclass ranks, look for Coach Simpkin's program continue to climb up on its way to one of the premier AAU programs in Illinois. That is great news considering that Simpkins is a king of individual workouts, player development, has been through the recruiting process, and is just an all-around low-key and humble, quality person.

Additional Notes and Recruiting Tidbits

--- We have touched upon the new recruiting landscape in Chicago and Illinois, especially the new rivalries that are building, but we have so far neglected to talk about what could be the most rapidly heating up rivalry, which is the Pacific Ten Conference's recruitment of Chicago. We saw the University of Oregon land two Chicago area prospects last summer in Matt Humphrey and Josh Crittle, but it is their state rival the Oregon State Beavers that are on the doorsteps of many recruits in both the Class of 2009 and 2010. Head coach Craig Robinson was a former Assistant Coach at Northwestern and is well connected in Chicago, but it may be his hiring of Assistant Coach Nate Pomeday, a former Northwestern player and assistant coach at Lake Forest Academy, IL that could build the recruiting pipeline to Chicago. Pomeday is a hard worker and has connections to the Full Package Athletics AAU program and other programs in Illinois such as Team NLP. He has a great personality, as does Robinson, and the Beavers are endearing themselves to AAU and high school programs throughout the Chicagoland area. They have offered 6'4 Matt Vogrich from Lake Forest (H.S.) IL in the Class of 2009, and we have learned that 6'8 rising Australian sensation Angus Brandt has also been offered. Brandt will play high school ball in the U.S. this season at Lake Forest Academy. 5'8 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'10 Paul Bunch from Chicago (North Lawndale) and Lenzelle Smith  have all been offered in the Class of 2010, and we expect the Beavers to offer 6'2 2009 guard Darius Smith from Chicago (Marshall) IL soon. The Beavers are in the picture for 6'3 David Brown from Rockton (Hononegah) IL as well, but have not yet offered a scholarship.

--- The Rising Stars-Gold team advanced in the third round consolation tournament over Team NLP-Montgomery 84-74. It was nice to see two Illinois AAU teams go head-head, as this makes our evaluations easier. 6'9 Notre Dame commit Jack Cooley proved to be too much down low and on the boards, and is in our minds undoubtedly a Top 100 prospect and great recruit for Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish. 5'10 Ronald Steward from Zion (Zion-Benton) IL is a Division I point guard, and college coaches are really missing the boat if they do not think so. He is tough, super quick, defends consistently, and hits one clutch shot after another. He has great leadership and winning experience playing at Zion-Benton. He is one of the biggest point guard sleepers in the Class of 2009 in Illinois.

--- Rising Stars Gold will play a loaded Birmingham Ice team in the third round consolation bracket at 11:30 A.M. EST this morning, which is the same time that Team NLP-Simpkins will square off against the Alabama Challenge in a fourth round consolation bracket game.

 --- This caps off a very busy summer of accumulated frequent flier miles, cross-country trips, and numerous great conversations with coaches, parents, media, and fans. We enjoyed it all and appreciated the great hospitality we received everywhere, but it is now time to finally come home and get some rest! However, days off are few and far between, and look here for continuous recruiting updates in the upcoming days and weeks, as we expect the commitments to come rolling in as they always seem to the late Summer and Autumn before the November signing period!

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to high school basketball and recruiting in Illinois.