UI recruits fans of Abrams

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CHAMPAIGN – Brandon Paul, one of the high-flying wings set to join Illinois in the next few years, could find only one negative to Tracy Abrams' oral commitment.

"I almost wish he was a year older so we could get him earlier," Paul said with a laugh.

And the best evaluation of a player's talent might be his reputation among his peers. If that's the case, Illinois got a good one in Abrams.

Soon after the Chicago Mount Carmel sophomore committed to Bruce Weber's Illini on Thursday, word spread among the Illinois recruits expected to precede his arrival.

A 2009 recruit, Paul heard about it immediately. So did D.J. Richardson (2009) and Jereme Richmond (2010), they said.

Those are the types of players who might benefit the most from Abrams, a 6-foot point guard who ranks at or near the top of the state's celebrated Class of 2011. If there was a piece missing from Illinois' stockpile of recruits – and that's a big if – it was a game-dictating point guard.

Arguably the state's top point guard prospect, Abrams fits the bill.

"The best part is, all the talent that we've got coming in, almost all of it is in-state talent. It's all Illinois talent," Richardson said Thursday. "We're going to have an all-Illinois team. It's guys that love Illinois basketball. It's great to have that."

Eight prospects in the 2009, 2010 or 2011 classes have signed with or committed to the Illini. All but one, Wildwood (Mo.) Lafayette standout Tyler Griffey, comes from the state of Illinois.

"I just watched him (Abrams) on TV one time last season. I was just like, 'That kid's pretty good,' " Paul said. "He's definitely one of our missing pieces. It will be good to have him with us."

The scouting report on Abrams?

"He's a special talent," said Joe Henricksen, a veteran talent evaluator with Chicago's City/Suburban Hoops Report. "When you throw all the intangibles together – competitive, character, toughness, being a quality kid that other kids want to play with – that's why he's a little bit better than the guys below him."

Henricksen ranks Abrams as the state's No. 1 prospect in the 2011 class. The national recruiting services have yet to rank the Class of 2011 past the top 10 prospects. Scout.com recruiting analyst Evan Daniels said Abrams is "definitely a top-50 player" who is ranked as a four-star prospect.

"The most impressive thing that I've seen from Tracy Abrams is his toughness," Daniels said. "He's not afraid to mix it up inside. He gets to the basket and finishes really well."

And with his reputation in Chicago circles, Abrams' commitment figures to carry weight with his 2011 brethren, namely De La Salle sophomore and close friend Mike Shaw.

Abrams said he already has started recruiting for Illinois – "I'm working on it," he said – and he would like to see his peers join him at the Assembly Hall.

"I'm trying to get those guys to come down there and play with us," Abrams said.

"He's so well-connected, so influential, with those kids in Chicago, guys are going to want to play with him," Henricksen said. "There's no question he's going to be influential for Illinois recruiting the next couple years."

Abrams can sign a national letter of intent in November 2010. He's averaging about 12 points, five assists and two steals for Mount Carmel and plays his AAU ball with Mac Irvin Fire.

"I think he's at peace with the decision," said Mount Carmel coach Mike Flaherty, who has known UI coach Bruce Weber for some time. "He feels good about it."

When word of Abrams' plans leaked earlier this week, recruiters from schools like Memphis and Indiana tripped to Mount Carmel to attempt to sway his decision.

It didn't work. For the fourth time in the past two years, Illinois secured a commitment from a prospect before he began his junior season in high school.

"The situation that I'll be in down there, with a lot of good players, I felt good about that," Abrams said. "With Jereme (Richmond) and Crandall (Head), those guys, they have all the pieces. It will be good to play with those guys."

pklee@news-gazette.com

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