Recruiting: July 2008 Archives

Drew Crawford continued to turn heads at the 17U AAU Super Showcase, helping his Illinois Wolves to a runner-up finish.

Drew Crawford (Naperville Central) continued his strong play during the July Evaluation Period with another hot shooting effort from the floor for the Warriors, but it was not enough against an equally loaded Athletes First team.

The reigning Naperville Sun Player of the Year made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points the 67-62 loss to Athletes First (Oklahoma City). In the semifinals, Crawford led the team with 20 points.

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.

Naperville North graduate Colleen Ward will begin her college volleyball career this fall at the University of Florida, and according to Prepvolleyball.com, she is part of the nation's top recruiting class.

The Web site released its Top College Recruiting Classes of 2008 list on Tuesday. Unless you are a registered user at the site, you will have to take our word for it.

In addition to The Sun's 2007 player of the year, Florida signed up Ward's Sports Performance teammate Kelly Murphy of Joliet Catholic, who was the Gatorade national player of the year.

Ward, a hard-working, powerful attacker ... could vie for a starting spot on the outside.

Strange fact that probably means nothing: None of the six players that signed with the Gators are from Florida. There are two players from Illinois, two from Colorado, one from Georgia and one from California.

Mackenzie Caquatto had to pull out of her first Olympic Trials because of a hamstring injury two weeks ago in Philly, but when it comes to college, the Naperville gymnast could be heading to Gainesville in a couple years.

Caquatto told The Heat Index on Thursday that she has received interest from 15 schools and emphasized that she is still listening to all of them, but at this point, she is favoring the University of Florida.

The opportunity to compete in the Southeastern Conference, along with the obvious benefits of living in the Sunshine State are appealing to Caquatto, who will be a junior this fall at Naperville Central.