Joe Henricksen of City/Suburban Hoops Report has a recruiting update on 6-foot-5-inch Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans, who -- if everything breaks right -- could eventually join his friend Drew Crawford (Naperville Central) at Northwestern. Henricksen writes:

After a strong finish in the high school season and a solid start in the spring AAU season, Evans did not play his best basketball during the July evaluation period. Although he has been a highly productive player who finds ways to get things done, he still has the dreaded 'tweener label attached to him.

Hoops Report Analysis: While Northwestern is still heavily involved and the biggest player in the Evans recruiting, the mid-major level would be ideal for Evans. If Evans to Northwestern doesn't get done, keep an eye on these schools as we inch closer to November and the signing period: Loyola, Drake, Toledo, Western Michigan and Fairfield.

City/Suburban Hoops Report guru Joe Henricksen ranks 6-foot-5-inch Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans at No. 15 on his list of the state's top 50 players from the Class of 2010. The scouting report on Evans:

Still trying to shed the dreaded 'tweener label. Perimeter shot extends to the three-point line and has gained consistency, though he's more of a pull-up/spot-up shooter. He's not one to rise up and get his own and must improve his comfort with his handle. Just an old school player who plays with a warrior's demeanor, winner's mentality and high motor. Manages to get a lot done against bigger, more athletic players around the basket.

Not surprisingly, Waukegan's Jereme Richmond, an Illinois recruit, topped the list. A few other names you might recognize: No. 11 Jordan Threloff, DeKalb; No. 23 Tim Rusthoven, Wheaton Academy; No. 31 Antoine Cox, Bolingbrook; No. 38 Jay Harris, Oswego East; and No. 50 DeAndre McCamey, St. Joseph.

--Joe Henricksen has an interesting blog post up on the Illinois Warriors, an elite AAU program that helped Naperville Central's Drew Crawford gain national exposure. Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans currently plays for the Warriors.

--We didn't get a chance to link to this last week: Mike O'Toole, the former head coach at Joliet Catholic, will return to Neuqua as an assistant to Todd Sutton. A spot opened up on Sutton's staff with Bob Vozza's move to Metea Valley.

For some time now, Joe Henricksen has given Drew Crawford the benefit of the doubt. In a final installment for the City/Suburban Hoops Report, Henricksen ranks the state's top college prospects in the class of 2009, slotting the Naperville Central senior third.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody has said that he thinks Evanston will be a good place for a guard to be over the next few years - the Wildcats have already recruited the interior players. Assistant Tavaras Hardy, who was instrumental in signing Crawford, told us: "We want to recruit kids that have a chance to make an immediate impact."

The departure of senior guard Craig Moore will open up a spot in the starting five next season, and Henricksen wasn't subtle in his prediction:

3. Drew Crawford, 6-5, 2G, Naperville (Central) ... There weren't enough people who were able to see just how good Crawford was during his high school career. Look for Crawford to start from day one at Northwestern and truly blossom in college.

Warren senior guard Brandon Paul edged out fellow Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond of Waukegan to win the 2009 Mr. Basketball of Illinois award.

Naperville Central senior swingman Drew Crawford received 20 first-place votes in ballots submitted by the state's coaches and media members. The Northwestern signee finished third in the voting with 137 points, behind Paul (337) and Richmond (321).

How would you have voted?

Naperville Central senior swingman and Northwestern signee Drew Crawford is scheduled to be part of the Chicago High School Classic, an all-star game that will take place Friday night at Niles North.

Marshall's Darius Smith - Crawford's AAU teammate who just verbally committed to Connecticut - is also expected at the event. Other players to watch that night include Illinois recruits Joe Bertrand (Sterling) and Brandon Paul (Warren).

Danny Crawford's first NBA season was 1985-86, and he will turn 56 in November. Retirement is an open question, and the referee takes it a year at a time now, working about 75 games per season plus the playoffs. That's the standard union contract.

With his son Drew about to leave Naperville Central to play at Northwestern, Danny is trying to make arrangements that will fill his schedule and strike a balance.

"I'm hoping that the NBA's gonna work with me," Danny said. "I know I'm asking a lot but (looking) at the Big Ten schedule, if Northwestern's playing Michigan or Michigan State, give me a game in Detroit."

There's probably a good compromise somewhere in that plan, but Drew's uncle Gene, a Big Ten official, won't have that flexibility. Gene was told he can't work any Northwestern games until Drew leaves Evanston.

Neuqua Valley graduate Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored all of her 15 points in the second half, but it wasn't enough as Purdue fell 67-66 to Ohio State in the Big Ten women's basketball tournament championship in Indianapolis, Ind.

Wisdom-Hylton, who was named to the all-tournament team, missed nearly 14 minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls. Purdue, which lost in the tournament final for the first time in three years, now awaits a possible at-large bid for the upcoming NCAA women's tournament.

In Thursday's notebook we highlighted the lift 6-foot-5-inch sophomore Matt LaCosse has given Naperville North in the two games since his promotion to the varsity. That's a familiar name you shouldn't forget, as he will likely be North's starting quarterback come Aug. 28 at Neuqua Valley.

LaCosse fits the profile of a big, athletic player who can potentially make an immediate impact in a postseason game. Last year Glenbard West's Tyler Warden couldn't be found in your sectional program, but there was the sophomore taking over the Drew Crawford assignment midway through the third quarter of a regional final. To that point, the Naperville Central star had scored 12 points, but with Warden's long arms suddenly in his airspace, he finished with just 17.

Of course being John Shurna's wingman has its benefits. Shurna scored half of Glenbard West's points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 40-36 comeback victory.

As it turns out, Shurna and Crawford are friends who will be teammates next season at Northwestern. In the meantime, Shurna will continue hitting big shots. On Wednesday night his baseline 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds to play was the difference in a 72-69 victory over Ohio State in Evanston.

"[This win] is a great feeling for the whole team," Shurna told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We've been neck-and-neck in all these Big Ten games, and it doesn't seem to fall our way. So it's nice to finally pull one out.''

Part of the challenge for Benet is trying to beat East Suburban Catholic Conference teams stocked with high-major Division I players. St. Joseph produces them on an annual basis, and that's why coach Gene Pingatore is at 820-plus career victories and counting.

Illinois travels to Northwestern Thursday night, and as Herb Gould explains in this Chicago Sun-Times feature, Bruce Weber is facing the same problem Pingatore did a few years ago. It's getting ex-Charger Demetri McCamey to play with maximum effort, as if he were a walk-on and not someone with NBA aspirations.

''When he was going to play against a name player or a top team, he was unbelievable,'' Pingatore told the Sun-Times. ''For run-of-the mill-type games, it was difficult. It's not just Demetri; it's human nature. And he is easygoing. He sometimes gets too casual. But when he turns it on, you'd like to bottle it.''

In his Chicago Sun-Times-affiliated blog, Joe Henricksen of the City/Suburban Hoops Report breaks down that question and the candidacy of Drew Crawford, the 6-foot-5-inch Naperville Central swingman committed to Northwestern. Henricksen writes:

"Player of the Year conversation should include....
In a recent radio interview I mentioned that Naperville Central's Drew Crawford should be in the Player of the Year conversation. By the reaction I received you would have thought I was talking about a player in Alaska. While Crawford is certainly a darkhorse and a Hoops Report favorite over the past two-plus years, he has no realistic chance for the Mr. Basketball award due to the fact hardly anyone knows much about him or has seen him play. He doesn't play in the Public League, he didn't play at Proviso West or Pontiac over the holidays, and he didn't sign with a big-time college basketball program. Crawford, though, should be a top five Mr. Basketball vote-getter."

We agree with Henricksen's logic, but the guess here is that it won't bother the well-adjusted senior all that much. Crawford felt somewhat slighted when his breakout junior season didn't warrant a single offer, but he proved that he was a Big Ten player over the summer on the AAU circuit.

"Big-time" depends on your definition - Northwestern may not fit it - but remember that it was essentially Crawford's dream school, and in deciding to stay close to home he turned down Wake Forest.

In an age of elite players moving and transferring here and there, Crawford is still a four-year program player (three years on varsity) who will likely end his career as the school's all-time leading scorer. Crawford gets his shots without being selfish, and his teammates never seem to resent all the attention he receives, patiently answering the same questions. Maybe that's because he helps them get open looks and pad their stats, but it also has to be a reflection of his personality and lack of ego.

If, as seems likely, Central (20-2, 10-0) wins another DuPage Valley Conference title and makes a long run in the Oswego East Sectional, those Mr. Basketball votes will be an afterthought.

What would your player of the year ballot look like?