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Just for fun I thought I'd flash back a few years and see how the Top 10 players in Illinois have done since finishing high school.
In large part they should have more seriously considered staying in the midwest and going midmajor---just check out guys like Calvin Brock, Eric Vierneisel, and DeAaron Williams.
Class of 2004
Shaun Livingston - went to NBA, doing well
Shaun Pruitt - U of I, will be a starter this season and should be productive
Jamarcus Ellis - still hasn't done much, although is just entering soph year at Chipola juco, and should land at a D-I
DeAaron Williams - has yet to help anyone but has potential
Eric Vierneisel - who? In his 2 years at Cal (Pac 10) is a deep sub and gets 1ppg, should have gone midmajor
Calvin Brock - will be buried deep in the guard rotation at UIUC, should have gone midmajor
Justin Dentmon - jumped around a bit after renegging at ISU, but should have decent career at Washington.
Justin Cerasoli - still hasn't made any impact, will play this year at Ole Miss
Tommie Liddell - went to prep school then had nice frosh year at St. Louis, started all 29 games as a freshman, averaged 10.3ppg, 7rpg. Made the right decision going midmajor.
Jeremy Fears - made the right decision going midmajor but picked the wrong location, and still hasn't found a home. Hopefully will do well at BU. Wasted two years going to Ohio.
Other notables:
Matt Shaw made the right choice going midmajor
but 15 of the top 20 players in this class either didn't go to a 4-year school initially or transferred once they did.
Only Shaun Pruitt, Calvin Brock, Eric Vierneisel, Matt Shaw, and Jeremy Crouch among the top 20 went to a 4-year school and stayed where they went.
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Class of 2003
Shannon Brown - did well at MSU, now in NBA
Brian Randle - doing fine at UIUC, but had a redshirt year due to immaturity
Dameon Mason - not happy at Marquette, transferred to LSU
Richard McBride - doing OK at UIUC
Jimmie Miles - still a deep sub at Valparaiso, but he'd have made a terrible mistake had he NOT gone midmajor
Anthony Harris - will be a senior at Miami (FL) in ACC, a part time starter gets 9ppg.
Colin Falls - nice player at Notre Dame, but rumor swirling he's in trouble for an on campus assault.
Jerrah Young - went to West Virginia, didn't play, then transferred to Toledo and had to sit out. Played 16 min per game last year as a soph, but got only 3 ppg.
Shelby Jordan - went to Wabash Valley juco, never did much
Lorenzo Thompson - big guy who got a lot of offers, went to DePaul, and now he barely plays ONE MINUTE per game.
This guy would have been a star at the midmajor level.
Other notables:
Ben Rand, Othyus Jeffers, Nick Brooks, Michael Rembert, Rodney Edgerson, all were less than successful where they went.
Only Daniel Ruffin, of all the rest, has had a degree of success.
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Class of 2002
Top 3 guys (Iguodala, Dee Brown, Sean Dockery) all did fine,
but of the rest, only James Augustine, Alando Tucker, & David Moss had reasonably good careers where they went.
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Class of 2001
Top guy, Eddie Curry did OK, but of the entire rest of the Top 20 guys, only Marcellus Sommerville Luther Head, Roger Powell were really ever heard from again. (except of course Pierre Pierce)
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Class of 2000
Top guy, Darius Miles did OK.
#5 guy Dwayne Wade has done better than anyone in the past 6 years.
Nobody else on the list all the way down to the #32 guy, Phillip Gilbert, can be said to have had a fine college career.
My overwhelming impression is that the single biggest boneheaded mistake made by all the kids who are ranked below the #3 spot in their class, is that they aim too high, go to a school that's way too BIG for them to get any playing time, or they go out of the area only to transfer one or two more times.
I realize they don't give a hoot what I think, but
HEY GUYS!!!! Stay in the midwest and go to a midmajor!!
The facts prove that is DOES pay off!!!
Talk with Cellus or Phillip Gilbert or Daniel Ruffin or Tommie Liddell. Or talk with any of the guys who shot too high and watsed several years and possibly their entire ball playing career!
In large part they should have more seriously considered staying in the midwest and going midmajor---just check out guys like Calvin Brock, Eric Vierneisel, and DeAaron Williams.
Class of 2004
Shaun Livingston - went to NBA, doing well
Shaun Pruitt - U of I, will be a starter this season and should be productive
Jamarcus Ellis - still hasn't done much, although is just entering soph year at Chipola juco, and should land at a D-I
DeAaron Williams - has yet to help anyone but has potential
Eric Vierneisel - who? In his 2 years at Cal (Pac 10) is a deep sub and gets 1ppg, should have gone midmajor
Calvin Brock - will be buried deep in the guard rotation at UIUC, should have gone midmajor
Justin Dentmon - jumped around a bit after renegging at ISU, but should have decent career at Washington.
Justin Cerasoli - still hasn't made any impact, will play this year at Ole Miss
Tommie Liddell - went to prep school then had nice frosh year at St. Louis, started all 29 games as a freshman, averaged 10.3ppg, 7rpg. Made the right decision going midmajor.
Jeremy Fears - made the right decision going midmajor but picked the wrong location, and still hasn't found a home. Hopefully will do well at BU. Wasted two years going to Ohio.
Other notables:
Matt Shaw made the right choice going midmajor
but 15 of the top 20 players in this class either didn't go to a 4-year school initially or transferred once they did.
Only Shaun Pruitt, Calvin Brock, Eric Vierneisel, Matt Shaw, and Jeremy Crouch among the top 20 went to a 4-year school and stayed where they went.
************************************************
Class of 2003
Shannon Brown - did well at MSU, now in NBA
Brian Randle - doing fine at UIUC, but had a redshirt year due to immaturity
Dameon Mason - not happy at Marquette, transferred to LSU
Richard McBride - doing OK at UIUC
Jimmie Miles - still a deep sub at Valparaiso, but he'd have made a terrible mistake had he NOT gone midmajor
Anthony Harris - will be a senior at Miami (FL) in ACC, a part time starter gets 9ppg.
Colin Falls - nice player at Notre Dame, but rumor swirling he's in trouble for an on campus assault.
Jerrah Young - went to West Virginia, didn't play, then transferred to Toledo and had to sit out. Played 16 min per game last year as a soph, but got only 3 ppg.
Shelby Jordan - went to Wabash Valley juco, never did much
Lorenzo Thompson - big guy who got a lot of offers, went to DePaul, and now he barely plays ONE MINUTE per game.
This guy would have been a star at the midmajor level.
Other notables:
Ben Rand, Othyus Jeffers, Nick Brooks, Michael Rembert, Rodney Edgerson, all were less than successful where they went.
Only Daniel Ruffin, of all the rest, has had a degree of success.
************************************************
Class of 2002
Top 3 guys (Iguodala, Dee Brown, Sean Dockery) all did fine,
but of the rest, only James Augustine, Alando Tucker, & David Moss had reasonably good careers where they went.
************************************************
Class of 2001
Top guy, Eddie Curry did OK, but of the entire rest of the Top 20 guys, only Marcellus Sommerville Luther Head, Roger Powell were really ever heard from again. (except of course Pierre Pierce)
************************************************
Class of 2000
Top guy, Darius Miles did OK.
#5 guy Dwayne Wade has done better than anyone in the past 6 years.
Nobody else on the list all the way down to the #32 guy, Phillip Gilbert, can be said to have had a fine college career.
My overwhelming impression is that the single biggest boneheaded mistake made by all the kids who are ranked below the #3 spot in their class, is that they aim too high, go to a school that's way too BIG for them to get any playing time, or they go out of the area only to transfer one or two more times.
I realize they don't give a hoot what I think, but
HEY GUYS!!!! Stay in the midwest and go to a midmajor!!
The facts prove that is DOES pay off!!!
Talk with Cellus or Phillip Gilbert or Daniel Ruffin or Tommie Liddell. Or talk with any of the guys who shot too high and watsed several years and possibly their entire ball playing career!
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