Peoria kid ranked #4 in Class of 2011

[collegehoopjunkie]

http://www.jrchicagohoops.com/2011rankings.html

[OrangeandBlack74]

These kids are just in grade school/junior high school. How can they possibly know how good they will be as they mature into high school players?

Give me a break.....

[mexicobufan]

What class year is Jims kid and is he any good?

[Grassman]

I hesitate to enter this as certain "members" do not like hear-say, but since I do not have the time nor inclination to visit every basketball web site in the world look ing for "factual" info,
here is my hear-say.
Donivine Stewart will be a 16 year old 8th grader. In fact he is so old he will not get his full 4 full years of High school basketball, as the age limit will retire him.
Therfore, he is not really even, basketball wise in the class of 2011, unless of course he goes to Oak hill or Boys to Men his "senior" year.
Even I would have matched up well with 7th graders when I was 15.
I have seen Tyler Les play. He stood out at his level of competition, 8th grade mainly mid-illini feeder schools.
I would believe he could become a very good High School basketball player.
After that who knows?

[patrick_o'brian]

I hesitate to enter this as certain "members" do not like hear-say, but since I do not have the time nor inclination to visit every basketball web site in the world look ing for "factual" info,
here is my hear-say.
Donivine Stewart will be a 16 year old 8th grader. In fact he is so old he will not get his full 4 full years of High school basketball, as the age limit will retire him.
Therfore, he is not really even, basketball wise in the class of 2011, unless of course he goes to Oak hill or Boys to Men his "senior" year.
Even I would have matched up well with 7th graders when I was 15.
I have seen Tyler Les play. He stood out at his level of competition, 8th grade mainly mid-illini feeder schools.
I would believe he could become a very good High School basketball player.
After that who knows?

Really??? 16 year old eigth grader. LOL Thats funny. Only district 150 could produce that.

[Braves4Life]

Check Your Facts?

I hesitate to enter this as certain "members" do not like hear-say, but since I do not have the time nor inclination to visit every basketball web site in the world look ing for "factual" info,
here is my hear-say.
Donivine Stewart will be a 16 year old 8th grader. In fact he is so old he will not get his full 4 full years of High school basketball, as the age limit will retire him.
Therfore, he is not really even, basketball wise in the class of 2011, unless of course he goes to Oak hill or Boys to Men his "senior" year.
Even I would have matched up well with 7th graders when I was 15.
I have seen Tyler Les play. He stood out at his level of competition, 8th grade mainly mid-illini feeder schools.
I would believe he could become a very good High School basketball player.
After that who knows?

Might want to double check your facts Grassman. According to this site http://www.core1training.com/050106_article.html
Stewart is playing up a level with 14-yr olds.

Congrats to the 14-U Peoria Irish who advanced to the Final Four at King James. The Irish feature Class of 2011 stud Donovine Stewart, who plays up an age level with the 14's. I will have more on the Irish a little later on Jr ChicagoHoops.com.

[Grassman]

Dear Brave 4 Life.
Never said it was "fact" I said it was hear-say, from some one who should know and upon questioning was very vehement about it.
Personally, I would be interested in knowing the true age. However, I guess we will never see his birth certificate!
Oh well, bigger fish to fry!

[tornado]

I have seen Donovine Stewart play several times all the way back to when he was in 6th grade and playing on his school's 8th grade team. He may be a year older than his classmates, but certainly not TWO years older.
He is good but not bigger than the other kids in his class.
Unless I saw credible evidence that he will be 16 before he finishes 8th grade, I would have to say I don't believe it.
IESA rules state that if an athlete turns 16 at any time during the season in which he is playing, then he is ineligible.
Basketball season runs all the way to March, so if he turns 16 any time before mid-March he would not be able to play in 8th grade.

[Grassman]

I have seen Donovine Stewart play several times all the way back to when he was in 6th grade and playing on his school's 8th grade team. He may be a year older than his classmates, but certainly not TWO years older.
He is good but not bigger than the other kids in his class.
Unless I saw credible evidence that he will be 16 before he finishes 8th grade, I would have to say I don't believe it.
IESA rules state that if an athlete turns 16 at any time during the season in which he is playing, then he is ineligible.
Basketball season runs all the way to March, so if he turns 16 any time before mid-March he would not be able to play in 8th grade.

Thanks Tornado! As I said it was hear say. I would not have posted, but my source seemed credible and positive!

[Braves4Life]

Grassman

Nothin' personal G-Man "Facts" was a poor choice of words on my part

Thanks for bringing this kid's story to the boards attention.

[tornado]

Another relatively local young player is profiled by Rivals today:

Verdell Jones:

http://illinois.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=573038

"High Majors Following Jones"



(article by Nathan Wollack from DePaul Rivals/BlueDemonsNation.com)

Here are a few short clips:

"Comparisons to Rivals.com second rated prospect for 2004, Shaun Livingston, have been a common occurrence for 2008 prospect Verdell Jones....

Jones does possess good court vision, and is a creator, both for himself, but more importantly for his teammates.....

"For the most part, when people think about Illinois basketball, they think about Chicago and Peoria. Lewis (Jackson) and I wanted to show that there is more to Illinois than those two cities......

Some of the programs that are in constant contact with Jones include Tennessee, Florida, Louisville, Kansas, DePaul, Illinois, and Georgia Tech........"



In case you can't tell, I hold the guys who run the DePaul site in very high regard. They know more than anyone else I have run across when it comes to the talent and recruiting going on in the midwest. Visit their site frequently, or register in order to stay on top of stuff.

https://www.BlueDemonsNation.com

Michael Ciepierski and Nathan Wollack are the moderators of the message boards as well.
At the very minimum, bookmark their site, and check it out:

http://depaul.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=1143&fid=2125&style=2