University of Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond‘s presence at Waukegan High School basketball games is obvious.
He has led the 2008 Class 4A runner-ups this season with a series of slam-dunk performances, including a 23-point, 12-rebound night against Chicago Simeon for a victory in the championship game of the highly competitive Pontiac Holiday Tournament. Illinois fans from all over the state flock to Waukegan games. Long lines of kids -- and adults -- follow Richmond after games for autographs.
“He’s just as good with the little kids as he is with the adults. … He just handles it great,” Waukegan Coach Ron Ashlaw said.
Saturday night, Illini fans will be out in force as Waukegan meets Springfield Southeast in the seventh and final game of the AthletiCare Sports Radio 1450 Shootout at Springfield’s Prairie Capital Convention Center.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2 in Chicago behind unbeaten Whitney Young, have won 11 of their first 14 games and have emerged as a clear contender for the Class 4A championship again this year. As dominant as Richmond is (a contender for Chicago‘s player of the year), Ashlaw points to a proud program full of athletes who have worked three years in-season and off-season to bring Waukegan to such an elite level.
“Hard work,” Ashlaw said. “The work ethic permeates through the program.”
The Bulldogs were within a 3-point basket of their first-ever state title last year, losing to Whitney Young, 69-66. Despite a school-record 26 wins, Ashlaw was convinced the Bulldogs “didn‘t travel well“ last year, that is, they weren‘t used to the hotel rooms on the road, the bus rides, the different practice times associated with trips, so this year he arranged a schedule that had lots of bus trips so that they‘d be ready, come state tournament time in March. They‘ve played at Ames, Iowa, an ESPN game against a Top 10 team, and Champaign, Ill. They‘ve played Columbus, Ga., and defending Illinois Class 3A champ Champaign Centennial. In February, they’ll play Young in the City-Suburban Showcase at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
It’s all part of the preparation for state.
“Our seniors have taken the lead on that,” Ashlaw said.
And some of those games, Ashlaw fully realizes, are due to Richmond, the future Illini star.
“These are opportunities we couldn’t generate ourselves,” Ashlaw said.
In the midst of all this hoopla, building a two-year record that now stands at 37-8 and includes the school’s first Pontiac Tournament title in more than 40 years, the Bulldogs have developed some talented players around Richmond. And that is what makes this year’s team even more dangerous.
Junior guard Aaron Johnson, not Richmond and his 25 ppg, was named the Pontiac Tournament MVP. Senior guard Quan Conner leads the team in assists with 4.5 per game and is averaging 12 points a game, gaining some looks now from Div. I college recruiters, Ashlaw said. Mike Springs, also a senior, is running the Bulldogs’ offense at point guard.
“He (Springs) is a good passer, he is a good penetrator,” Ashlaw said.
Waukegan has not lost to any Chicago-area teams, but neither has 4A champ Whitney Young, whose starting lineup is dominated by Div. I recruits, including Purdue recruit Anthony Johnson and Oregon State recruit Ahmad Starks. They seem to be on a collision course not only for that Feb. 20 meeting at UIC, but possibly another battle in the state tournament.
The Bulldogs lost to Highland Park in a regional final two years ago, Ashlaw’s first year at Waukegan, then in the state final last year (Young’s Marcus Jordan, now at Central Florida, outscored Richmond, 19-17). It is clear what their goal is this year.
“A state championship is our goal and it would be a great way to wrap up my senior season,” Richmond told the Lake County News-Sun.
Waukegan may not get a walk-over opponent in Springfield Southeast in the AthletiCare Sports Radio 1450 Shootout on Saturday. The Spartans (5-7) knocked off Lincoln, 67-55, earlier this week. Lincoln had won 11 of its first 12 games. Southeast’s Mike Chandler scored 34 points, following up a strong performance in the Collinsville Holiday Classic, in which he scored 27 points one half of a game.
* Other games: The Shootout begins at 11 a.m., with Rich South (llinois recruit Crandall Head is still out with a torn ACL) facing Bloomington. Iowa and Northwestern are among the schools interested in Bloomington’s Terry Riggs. Following that game, Carbondale Brehm Prep Academy meets Richmond (Ind.) at 12:30, Chicago Leo plays Peoria Notre Dame at 2, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin plays Bartonville Limestone at 3:30, defending Class 3A champ Champaign Centennial takes on Springfield Lanphier at 5, and Bolingbrook meets Peoria Central at 6:30.
The Centennial vs. Lanphier game will feature a pair of Drake recruits: Centennial’s Rayvonte Rice and Lanphier’s Karl Madison. Peoria Central’s lineup includes sophomore point guard Antonio Drummond, a hot recruit who has already been reportedly offered by Illinois and has strong interest from multiple Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC programs.
Around Chicagoland: Jackson out at Julian?
* Chicago Julian High School boys basketball coach Loren Jackson, who is legally blind due to Stargardt‘s disease, says he is taking a medical leave for an indefinite period of time. However, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Chicago Public League sources say Jackson has been fired following a reported altercation with one of his players and a 6-6 start. Jackson, 42, former dean of students at Fenger, another Chicago public school, will continue to teach at Vanderpoel Magnet School. “I have been informed by my doctor that I need to take time off. I have been under a lot of stress. It is a serious thing, but I don‘t want to talk about it,” Jackson told the Chicago Sun-Times. Stargardt‘s disease is a severe form of macular dystrophy, and it did not stop Jackson from competing in two sports in high school and earning a basketball scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
* Bolingbrook’s girls basketball team pushed its SouthWest Suburban Blue League win streak to 39 with a dominating 60-41 victory over Homewood-Flossmoor on Tuesday. The Raiders (11-1, 4-0), defending Class 4A state champs, were led by sophomore center Morgan Tuck’s 14 points and seven rebounds. Bolingbrook was to chase No. 40 in a row Thursday night at Lockport Township.
* Whitney Young’s girls basketball team won two games at the Braggin’ Rights Classic in Columbus, Ohio, then returned to Chicago and destroyed Homewood-Flossmoor, 64-36, in the City-Suburban Showcase and Orr, 80-13, on Tuesday. The Dolphins, Class 4A runner-ups last year, have won their first 11 games. In the Homewood-Flossmorr game, the Dolphins had a run of 25-0.
* The Andrews girls’ bowling team totaled 4,829 pins to win the Andrew Bowling Bash. The Thunderbolts topped runner-up Oswego by 117 pins. Sandburg placed third. Nicole Zopf, a freshman at Andrews, led the morning individual competition, totaling 589 pins over three games.
Notable performers
* On a night that a sellout crowd jammed Simeon’s gym to see Morgan Park’s Wayne Blackshear, a Louisville recruit, Simeon sophomore guard Jelani Neely scored nine points in the game’s final two minutes, leading the Wolverines (11-3) to a 54-48 victory. Blackshear scored 16 points and missed five free throws in the final quarter. The loss was just the second this season for Morgan Park.
* Evanston’s Ryan Frazier-Chambers, returning from an ankle injury that had kept him out of action this season, scored 15 points and had four steals in a 58-43 win over Highland Park in a Central Suburban League game.
* Geneva‘s Lauren Wicinski grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds in the Vikings‘ 15th consecutive win, 43-22 over Batavia.
On deck: Big games on tap for Saturday
* Glenbard East boys (11-1) at Naperville North (10-2): East is coming off a 15-point win over previously unbeaten Neuqua Valley in the Elgin Holiday Classic title game; Naperville North has won two tournament titles this season.
* Hinsdale Central girls (8-4) at St. Charles North (10-5), 2:30 p.m. Saturday: Stanford recruit Toni Kokenis is the starting point guard for Hinsdale Central and is the school‘s all-time leader in scoring.
Recruiting: Hillcrest player headed to Whitewater
Hillcrest’s Kristin Marshall, who has averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, verbaled to Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Paul Bowker, a sports journalist for 25 years who has worked at newspapers nationwide, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at