Highly touted Leonard commits to Illinois

With perennial heavyweights such as Florida and Louisville stepping up their efforts to land Robinson High School's Meyers Leonard, Illinois wanted to find out where it stood with the fast-rising junior.

Turned out, the Illini couldn't be any higher in the 6-foot-10 center's eyes.

Leonard, whose dazzling showing at multiple all-star camps had coaches swooning all over the country, committed to Illinois on Tuesday.

He joins Waukegan's Jereme Richmond and Crane's Crandall Head as oral commitments in the Class of 2010.

Leonard ranks as the No. 43 junior in the country according to Scout.com, which meshes nicely with the rankings doled out to Richmond (No. 11) and Head (No. 12).

"Excellent get," said Dave Telep of Scout.com. "He's one of my favorite guys."

Leonard, who weighs just 200 pounds, sounds like a cross between former Illini James Augustine and current sophomore Mike Tisdale.

"Don't get me wrong, there's some projection going on here," Telep said. "But he's got the size and skills. What he's lacking is the weight.

"A year from now, I would hope he's tracking along as a top 25 player in the class. When he gets stronger, his confidence will go through the roof."

Leonard posted a handful of 20-point, 10-rebound games last season for Robinson High School, a Class 2A competitor 110 miles southeast of Champaign near the Indiana border.

In addition to offers from Louisville and Florida, Leonard also reportedly received scholarship invites from Purdue, Indiana, Iowa and Southern Illinois.