Recently in Boys basketball Category

Thanks to his strong showing at the Nike Peach Jam Tournament, Naperville Central senior Drew Crawford is getting more notice from Division I basketball programs.

Crawford came up big for the Warriors throughout the Peach Jam Tournament including a 22-point, 9-rebound effort in a quarterfinals loss to California Supreme.

For an account of how the final seconds of that loss went down, check here.

The reigning Sun Player of the Year now has Drake, Rice, Wagner and Loyola on his trail, according to Chicagohoops.com. According to Scout.com, UIC has also offered a scholarship to Crawford.

With this long list of schools in attendance at the Chicago Summer Classic, Neuqua Valley guard Rahjan Muhammad has played well in the 17U bracket, according to tournament sponsor Chicagohoops.com.

Wayne Simon (16-U Illinois Wolves) - Really quick! Really crafty! The 16-U Wolves played up in the 17-U bracket and Simon continues to boost his recruiting stock. Simon, and his Wolves backcourt mate Rahjan Muhammad (Neuqua Valley), are both very quietly enjoying super-strong runs on the travel team circuit with their fearless play against opposing guards.

Waubonsie Valley's Jelani Johnson helped his squad, the RBS All-Stars, win in double overtime on Friday, showing those rascally Iowa Barnstormers a thing or two.

Neuqua Valley small forward Dwayne Evans is No. 19 on the Chicagohoops.com Top Illinois Class of 2010 Prospects.

Evans is the only Naperville-area player on the list. Waukegan forward Jerome Richmond is the No. 1 prospect.

Dwayne Evans scored 21 points against Thornton and 21 points against Glenbard East on Saturday for Neuqua Valley at the Riverside-Brookfield High School Shootout.

Neuqua will play the De La Salle/Morton winner at 3:45 p.m. Sunday in the second-place bracket. With two wins today, the Wildcats can place seventh.

Neuqua Valley' s Dwayne Evans scored 13 points to help the 16U Illinois Warriors beat the St. Louis Eagles in the quarterfinals of the Nike Memorial Day Classic in Nashville, Tenn.

The 16-U Illinois Warriors have advanced to the Final Four of the prestigious Nike Memorial Day Classic in Nashville, Tennessee, and will play the New York Gauchos for the right to advance to the championship game.

UPDATE: Evans scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Illinois Warriors beat Alabama Challenge 76-70 to win the tournament championship.

Benet has hired Gene Heidkamp as its boys basketball coach, the school announced Monday.

The school looked within the East Suburban Catholic Conference to replace Marty Gaughan, who resigned from the position he held for 19 seasons in late March. Heidkamp has coached at St. Patrick and Nazareth for the past 15 years and is a graduate of St. Patrick and St. Norbert College.

Look for more details later at napersun.com.

Naperville Central guard Drew Crawford was named to Chicagohoops.com's Top Illinois Class of 2009 Basketball Prospects list on Thursday.

Crawford, who was The Sun's MVP this past season as a junior, is No. 29 on the 30-player list. He is the only player from the DuPage Valley Conference that was included in the rankings dominated by players from Chicago schools.

Warren Township guard Brandon Paul is No. 1 on the list.

Previously Crawford was named as one of "Six players who could break out this spring and summer" by Illinois Prep Bullseye and was ranked No. 20 on the City/Suburban Hoops Report's list of Top 50 College Prospects.

The National Federation of State High School Associations announced this week that instant replay will not be an option for high school basketball in state tournament games.

After much discussion, the committee voted against the use of instant replay to review specific situations during state tournaments. Three proposals were considered by the committee this year after three states had last-second shots in championship games.

"The committee discussed the issue extensively, but there was very little support for implementing video review at the high school level," Struckhoff said. "Some felt the use of video to review officials' decisions is against the philosophy of high school sports. Others said that video review doesn't always provide a conclusive decision, and the equipment would not be consistently available in facilities throughout the country. The committee also felt it would be difficult for officials to officiate without replay throughout the season and then be expected to use it at a state championship."

The NFHS did make two significant rule changes: the rebounding spots closest to the hoop will now be empty to reduce fouling per a pilot program in Georgia; the head coach, not the player, will now be given a technical foul for a player with an illegal uniform.

Rules changes for wrestling and swimming were also announced.

I've seen a lot of high school wrestling in my time, but I've never seen a backflip. Now I never will thanks to the killjoy association NFHS.

Three local guards have made Division III college basketball decisions. Naperville North's Jake Hasse and Austin Weiss will head to Wisconsin to play for Carthage College and Beloit College, respectively. Waubonsie Valley's Kevin VandenBerg has chosen Aurora University.

Neuqua Valley senior Dan Pawelski will play his college basketball at Loras College, Chicagohoops.com reported on Tuesday.

Head coach Greg Gorton and Loras College have scored a major recruiting coup, and have landed 6-8 Neuqua Valley star Dan Pawelski. Pawelski is coming off of a huge senior season which saw him tabbed as a 4th team All-State selection.

Loras College is a Catholic liberal arts school in Dubuque, Iowa. As a NCAA Division III program, it does not provide athletic scholarships.

The Chicago Tribune cited on Friday an April 18 report on Chicagohoops.com that said Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans now has a scholarship offer from Northern Illinois.

Evans, a 6-5 forward, is a long, athletic and highly mobile player on the basketball court. He is an outstanding rebounder and defender who is equally comfortable offensively both inside, and on the perimeter.

Evans is a prospect who is poised to see his recruiting stock soar this spring and summer on the heels of a strong sophomore season at Neuqua Valley High School.