Big recruiting victory for Illini hoops
On the day De La Salle Institute prodigy Mike Shaw made his high school debut, Bruce Weber was in the stands.
“He was the only coach there,” said De La Salle coach Tom White. “And it wasn't an assistant or a friend of the program. It was Coach Weber sitting there.” On the day before Shaw revealed his college destination in front of 100 family members, friends and school officials, Weber visited De La Salle one last time.
At so many points during Illinois' four-year effort to land the No. 50 recruit in the Class of 2011, Weber and assistant Jerrance Howard were there.
Those efforts might have made the difference Thursday afternoon on Chicago's near south side as Shaw with West Virginia, Marquette, Illinois and DePaul caps displayed on the lectern in front of him reached underneath to pull out another Illinois cap and fitted it on his head to indicate his choice.
It didn't hurt that Shaw knows Illinois' other three commitments well or that Illinois' current players texted him constantly to express how they feel about the program.
“It was like, ‘Man, if you come here, they're going to treat you like family,' ” Shaw said. “That played a big role. I could see (on visits) how happy the guys were. They weren't putting on an act.”
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Shaw projects as a combo forward with the power to battle on the glass and the touch to step out and shoot 3-pointers or make the right pass.
During his first three years as a De La Salle starter, Shaw averaged 11.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 blocks per game with 44 3-pointers.
“He's the glue of a championship team,” White said. “He's the guy that's going to adjust based on what the game needs for the team.
“He'll go out there and get you 20 rebounds. He'll go out there and score 15-20 points. He'll go out and ‘D' up the best player.”
Shaw gives Illinois three top 100 recruits in the Class of 2011, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.
Shaw ranks No. 50 while Orr small forward Mycheal Henry stands No. 56 and Mount Carmel combo guard Tracy Abrams is No. 60. St. Ignatius center Nnanna Egwu is just outside the top 100.
When this group signs on Nov. 10, the Illini will have the potential to field eight top 100 players next season.
Shaw, who White says needs “a pretty good score” on the ACT in order to qualify, plans to be one of those elite recruits that plays a bunch.
“I'm not about to go and sit on the bench,” Shaw said. “I'm going to do what I have to do. If it's being in the gym all night, I'm going to do what I have to do and take care of my grades to be on that court. I'm not going to settle for less.”
Shaw had good things to say about DePaul's recruiting effort. The Demons tried to make up for lost time when Oliver Purnell was hired in April, but fell short.
“DePaul is definitely a great school, great academics, great coach,” Shaw said. “I could really see their program going to the next level. Coach Purnell is a great coach. He's going to turn some heads this year.”