In the wake of the 2012 Class AA finals, Proviso East's Sterling Brown has made a significant leap up the ladder in pursuit of top-rated Jabari Parker of Simeon. According to veteran recruiting analysts Roy and Harv Schmidt of Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye, Brown ranks No. 3, behind Parker and Simeon teammate Kendrick Nunn.
"While others will disagree, we still believe that Nunn is No. 2 in the class of 2013 in Illinois," the Schmidts argued. "We still love Nunn's all-around game. He just needs to show more intensity during certain stretches.
"Brown was the best player on the floor in the state championship game. He took it right to Jabari Parker and the argument can be made that he outplayed him. Brown has tremendous versatility as well as toughness and plays with confidence. He has also made significant improvement with respect to his perimeter shooting. As a result, we now have absolutely no doubt that he will be a high major wing."
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Illinois-bound Malcolm Hill of Belleville East and DePaul-bound Billy Garrett Jr. of Morgan Park still rank among the top five in the class. Other than Brown, the player whose stock has risen the most is De La Salle's Alvin Ellis, who until late in the season played in the shadow of more highly celebrated teammates Gavin Schilling and Alex Foster. Despite being injured, Ellis scored 42 points against Bogan in a regional championship game.
Recruiting analyst Van Coleman of Hot100Hoops.com ranked Brown as the No. 122 player in the nation in his most recent evaluation. But Coleman, aware of Brown's state tournament performance and anxious to see him in upcoming AAU competition, assures that he will make a significant move up the chart in the next top 100 rankings.
According to longtime recruiting analysts Roy and Harv Schmidt, these are the top 20 players in the class of 2013 in Illinois:
1. Jabari Parker, Simeon, 6-8, SF
2. Kendrick Nunn, Simeon, 6-2, 2G
3. Sterling Brown, Proviso East, 6-4, 2GSF
4. Malcolm Hill, Belleville East, 6-5, 2G, committed to Illinois
5. Billy Garrett Jr., Morgan Park, 6-4, PG, committed to DePaul
6. Alvin Ellis, De La Salle, 6-4, 2GSF
7. Gavin Schilling, De La Salle, 6-9, PF
8. Alex Foster, De La Salle, 6-8, WFPF
9. Tommy Hamilton, Whitney Young, 6-9, PF
10. Kendall Stephens, St. Charles East, 6-5, 2G, committed to Purdue
11. Jaylon Tate, Simeon, 6-2, PG
12. Kyle Davis, Morgan Park, 6-1, 2GPG
13. Jubril Adekoya, Andrew, 6-6, PF
14. Nathan Taphorn, Pekin, 6-6, SF
15. A.J. Riley, Peoria Manual, 6-3, 2GPG
16. Deshawn Munson, East St. Louis, 6-4, SF
17. David Cohn, York, 6-2, 2G
18. Quenten Payne, St. Charles North, 6-4, PG, committed to Loyola
19. Robert Knar, Mundelein, 6-1, PG
20. Russell Woods, Leo, 6-7, PF