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THE BEST IN ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL RECRUITING!

An Early Look at the Class of 2011
by Pat Benninger
June 12, 2007

The class of 2011 has a chance to be a very good one.  From the forwards to the guards, it seems that they are very talented.

The most commonly known rising freshman throughout the state of Illinois happens to be a Chicagoland area player.  De La Salle HS bound Mike Shaw rates as Illinois' top incoming freshman.  At 6'7", Shaw has a very good combination of size and skill.  He rebounds well and is good around the basket but is also a solid perimeter player.  He competes on the AAU circuit with Illinois Fire's 17U team, where he has held his own.  If he continues to progress as quickly as he has been, he may end up as one of the state's best all time players.

Another 2011 player who has seemed to earn his respect early is 5'11" Ryan Boatright.  Many have said that Ryan is the best guard in his class during this early stage including DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright.  He's a solid athlete and very fast with the ball.  Some have compared him to the second coming of Derrick Rose.  Boatright should get a chance to show himself off on the varsity level immediately at Aurora West next season.  Plenty of high major programs have already started to show early interest.

5'10" Chicago Ferrari point guard, George Marshall, has had tabs kept on him since his sixth grade season.  He's got good quickness and a very good feel for the game.  His IQ is very high and he will only improve.  He seemed to be a Chicago Whitney Young HS lean but it now looks as if things have changed.

A couple Central Illinois area players have been making some noise as well.

5'11" Donivine Stewart has been highly touted since his seventh grade season.  As an eighth grader, Stewart participated on Peoria Notre Dame's freshman team.  He's a very quick and athletic guard with great scoring ability.

The city of Bloomington is usually good for producing at least one or two players per year.  It seems 6'0" guard T.J. Riggs may be the man for this class.  Riggs has improved tremendously throughout his middle school years.  He's very long and is just scratching the surface of his potential.  He has basketball in his bloodlines as his cousins, Dodie and Brandon Dunson are Division I basketball players and his brother, D'mitri Riggs, is a Division I talent.  It will be interesting to see how he develops.  Also, keep an eye on 6'0" Bloomington Central Catholic sharpshooter Hayden Hoerdemann, who has already seen early interest from the University of Illinois.

Other names to lookout for include 6'4" Sam Thompson, 6'0" Greg Travis, 5'10" Rashad Wahab, 6'2" Demetrius Tolliver, and 6'3" Wayne Blackshear.  Though it is very early in their careers, the class of 2011 is on their way to writing their legacy!