Top 25 Seniors (2008)

1. Iman Shumpert 6'4" PG Oak Park-River Forest/Full Package - Down to Marquette, Georgia Tech, and UNC.
   
2. Aziz N'Diaye 7'0" C Lake Forest Academy - Just moved to the states but after I got my first look, WOW! He could have easily been #1.
   
3. Verdell Jones III 6'4" PG Champaign Central/Ft. Sooy - Has tons of offers and is very "hush, hush" in terms of his recruitment.
   
4. Matt Humphrey 6'5" SG Hales Franciscan/MeanStreets (Oregon)
   
5. Mike Dunigan 6'10" C Farragut/MeanStreets (Oregon)
   
6. Lewis Jackson 5'9" PG Eisenhower/Indiana Elite (Purdue)
   
7. Kevin Dillard 5'11" PG H-F/MeanStreets (SIU)
   
8. Ryan Hare 6'4" SF Marshall/Illinois Fire (Oregon St.) - May transfer from Marshall due
   to firing of Lamont Bryant.
   
9. Dion Dixon 6'3" SG Crane/Chicago Express - Offers from TX A&M-CC and UNLV.
   
10. Brett Thompson 6'11" C Vienna/Illinois Warriors (St. Louis)
    
11. Donald Stewart 6'5" SG Champaign Central/Team Illinois - Most underrated guard in his class. Has offers from IPFW, I(nd)SU, Tenn. Tech, and UMKC.
    
12. Matt Roth 6'3" SG Washington/Indiana Elite (Indiana)
    
13. Nick Fruendt 6'5" SF Batavia/Illinois Wolves (Northwestern) - A proven winner that competes. Not the most talented but somehow always comes away with the "W".
    
14. Josh Crittle 6'8" PF Hales Franciscan/MeanStreets - Down to Oregon and Minnesota.
    
15. Stan Simpson 6'8" PF Simeon/Illinois Warriors (Illinois)
    
16. Jeremy Montgomery 6'1" SG Lincoln Park/Illinois Fire - Can really score the ball. Will be great at the mid major level.
    
17. Luke Fabrizius 6'9" PF Hersey/Illinois Warriors (Dayton)
    
18. Jeremy Robinson 6'7" PF Eisenhower/Team Illinois (ISU) - Has yet to identify a true position.
    
19. Tyler Storm 6'7" SF Geneseo/Martin Bros. (NIU)
    
20. Jawan Nelson 6'10" 265 lbs C Bloom Township/Illinois Bobcats - State's most underrated post player. Has great size, mobility, and post moves.
    
21. A.J. Rompza 5'7" PG Whitney Young/Chicago Ferrari
    
22. Isiah Williams 6'1" PG Farragut/Chicago Ferrari
    
23. Kenyon Smith 6'0" PG Simeon/Chicago Express (ISU)
    
24. John Moran 6'0" PG Jacobs/Illinois Wolves (Northern Iowa)
    
25. Jake Lindfors 6'9" PF Addison Driscoll/Rising Stars (Albany)

2008 Predictions

Iman Shumpert will choose Thursday. He's down to North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Marquette. I'm 90% confident that he will choose the Golden Eagles. I think Georgia Tech was his second choice but nowhere near Marquette. IMO, UNC was just in his final 3 because it is UNC and who wouldn't want to at least visit there?

This is a tricky one...If I had to guess, I'd say Verdell Jones is pretty much down to Kentucky, Minnesota, and South Florida. All three have offered and though his family has a strong relationship with Kentucky, I'd say their out of the picture as they have received commitments from two big time point guards in the 2008 and 2009 class. I'd say it's a 50/50 chance between Minnesota and South Florida but his recruitment is very hard to gauge. Who knows what's really going on?

Josh Crittle is down to Minnesota and Oregon. I'm pretty sure he'll end up at Minnesota partly because there is more of an opportunity there for him. Mike Dunigan will surely hold down the center position while Joevan Catron will still have two years at the PF. He's got a chance to get minutes early playing for Tubby.

If Shumpert takes Marquette, which I believe he will, I'd predict Dion Dixon to UNLV. He has a chance to be a great player in the Mountain West and will likely be much more successful than a lot of the highly regarded prospects in his class.