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Saturday, April 30, 2011

But If You Really Cared For Her...


Seems like every year there are nationally ranked high school basketball recruits in Chicago. And it seems like every year these recruits go out of state to put in work at the college level, the most famous of which most recently was Derrick Rose, who balled for a year at Memphis.

Wayne Blackshear (Louisville), and Anthony Davis (Kentucky) are the latest examples. And while it's nothing new for high school kids to go out of state to play college ball, Chicago kids traditionally stayed in state, if not in the city.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big DePaul basketball fan. Can't claim alumni status or anything like that, though after two years at a community college I was all set to transfer to DePaul until I moved to Alaska instead. But I became a fan for no reason other than when I first started watching college ball in about '98 or so (I was strictly an NBA fan prior to that), I started by watching that DePaul team with Q Rich and them, and they've been my squad ever since.

But while the talent pool in Chicago's high school hoops is as deep as ever, with the decline of DePaul came a lack of commitments from kids in the city, and they opted to go elsewhere. The drought also extends to the University of Illinois, where Bruce Weber has done a fine job of recruiting in-state, but still cannot break through and recruit Chicago kids the way a Pitino or Calipari can.

The last few season have been horrendous for DePaul basketball, but there have been bright spots. Flint, Michigan's own Wilson Chandler has made a name for himself in the NBA, freshman Melvin Cleveland from Maryland just won the Big East Freshman of the Year award, and new coach Oliver Purnell is as determined as any other previous Blue Demons coach was at attracting Chicago talent.

Can Jabari Parker Save DePaul?



Every Chicago high school hoops fan has heard the name Jabari Parker by now. The super-sophomore plays for Derrick Rose's alma mater, Simeon. He's played for the varsity squad both years of high school, the first freshman to ever play for Simeon's varsity squad (though don't get it twisted, Rose was good enough to play varsity as a freshman, but former coach Bob Hambric had a longstanding tradition that freshmen would not play on the varsity squad). He is a consensus top-5 recruit in the class of 2013 and already has top power colleges hitting him up.

And DePaul wants him really, REALLY bad. So if the trend has been elite Chicago kids going out of state, what makes me think Parker will buck the trend? Well, for one, because a die-hard fan can dream, damnit. Beyond that, though, it should be noted that Parker's close friend, Morgan Park's Billy Garret Jr. has just committed to DePaul. Which might mean nothing. Or it might mean that this friendship might convince an elite Chicago player to finally decide to stay home.

Parker committing to the Blue Demons would potentially cause a major domino effect. DePaul could be competitive again, and recruits could be more open-minded to staying in-city or even in-state. Of course, even if Parker joined the Blue Demons, he would most likely be one-and-done and his impact would be minimal. Imagine if the former happened, however. Imagine if Derrick Rose has signed with DePaul. Crazy, huh? But had he did, would Wayne Blackshear and/or Anthony Davis signing with DePaul this year had been as crazy?

Ultimately, the onus is on Oliver Purnell to return DePaul to glory, and judging by his past history, he should be able to at least bring them back to relevancy, however he seems to like getting his Larry Brown on, rebuilding programs and then bolting before they reach their peak.

One thing is not in doubt in the least, however. On the high school tip, the city of Chicago will continue to crank out the type of talent that has coaches all over the country salivating. Here's hoping one of them decides to stay home.

Will the real Carlos Boozer please stand up?

Ever since Jerry "Organizations wins championships" Krause dismantled one of the greatest NBA teams of all times, the Chicago Bulls have been slowly climbing back to respectability.
At the same time, ever since Elton Brand was traded for a teenage Tyson Chandler, it's been known around the league that the Bulls were missing a back-to-the-basket low post presence. The Bulls had a chance to accomplish both goals in one fell swoop when they signed Carlos Boozer to a five-year, $75 million contract last summer.

NBA fans, and Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers fans in particular, have been familiar with all the highs and lows of Carlos Boozer over the years. An outstanding post scorer and rebounder. A horrible defender. An All-Star and Olympian. An injury-plagued player. The Chicago Bulls took the risks because they needed his skills and, well, they had the money to spend.

Before the season even started, injury hit Boozer once again. A man who stands 6'9", 270 and has gone up against some of the biggest people in the world met his match in the form of an ill-placed gym bag. Down he went for the first month of the season.

Upon his return, though he would only play in 59 games on the season, Boozer was as good as advertised. He averaged 17.5 and 9.6 and was an integral part of a surprising 62-win team. Bulls fans were willing to overlook his constant injuries due to their depth, as long as he was able to produce when he did play. And with the playoffs approaching, fans were looking forward to seeing Boozer feast on the Indiana Pacer's bigs.

It was all good just a week ago.
..or two, or however long ago that Chicago-Indiana first round series started. Despite the fact that Chicago won the series 4-1, no one can claim it was an easy series, save for the decisive game five. No one struggled more mightily, on either team, than Boozer, who averaged 10 and 10 on 35% shooting. In fact, in game 5 when damn near everyone else were having career playoff games, Boozer had 2 points and five rebounds.

Boozer obviously has to step up against the Atlanta Hawks, and beyond should they advance. I can't think of too many other players that have been as criticized by fans and media alike as Boozer has. But while most players relish proving the haters wrong, Boozer seems content to let everyone say what they wanna say, keep doing his thing, and go into beast mode occasionally.

That won't be good enough to help the Chicago Bulls win the championship, and it's certainly not what the Bulls organization were hoping for when they signed Boozer to that contract last season. The Hawks series should be seen by Boozer as his chance to redeem himself both to the organization and his team. Will he step up or be content to do his thing..and go into beast mode occasionally?