From today's J/S:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=624322Racine Horlick basketball star drawing plenty of national attentionIt is official.
Let the hoopla begin, because the Milwaukee area has its next big-time high school basketball player. And like the last, he is on a grand platform.
Jamil Wilson is a budding phenom and one of the top prospects in his class nationally. His body of work at Racine Horlick and with his summer team, Wisconsin Playground Warriors, has made college coaches drool. Scouts, Web sites and recruiting services have followed his every step since the spring.
But few things can legitimize the hype like an invitation from USA Basketball. Not that Wilson is all hype, but the 6-foot-7 forward had gotten most of his shine before and during his sophomore season. With the exception of some top tournaments his summer team plays in, Wilson had not been on the court with an abundance of talent the way he was last weekend.
Wilson was one of 32 players chosen by USA Basketball to participate in the Youth Development Festival from Thursday through Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colo. Milwaukee Pius point guard Korie Lucious, the last local player to create a horde of national attention for himself, also played. Based on several player rankings and All-American selections, there was no water in this concoction, just pure substance.
As one of the younger and more inexperienced players, at least for this sort of event, Wilson was a role player in Colorado. He came off the bench and tried to provide life when his squad needed it, although it didn't need much with five players averaging double figures over five games.
In his five games, Wilson averaged a little more than 9 minutes and less than two points. He did manage six blocks with his long arms and quick feet. His play was limited, however, because of a head injury.
Even though Wilson did not blow up the scene at the Development Festival, he is still set up to be the biggest thing to come out of Racine since Caron Butler, the Washington Wizards' all-star forward.
Aside from his skills on the basketball court, Wilson is nothing like Butler was at his age. Butler was arrested 15 times before his 15th birthday and played only briefly at Racine Park before transferring to Maine Central Institute, a private boarding school known for its academics and even more for its basketball lineage.
Wilson does not have a need to leave Racine, though. His time at Horlick has gone well in his first two seasons. He is still working on his low-block game and perimeter shot, but he averaged 18.3 points per game as a sophomore and recorded a triple-double - 37 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists - with Marquette University coaches in attendance last season.
Those kinds of numbers in his second season put a big gold star over Racine on the map college coaches use to find players. Marquette and Wisconsin have swooned over Wilson, and he has more recently been courted by an abundance of high majors such as North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan State and Texas.
Lucious, who averaged 18 points and had 11 steals in five games at the Development Festival, is one of the few current high school athletes in Wisconsin who knows what Wilson is about to experience.
"Being only a sophomore, he's going to experience a lot more," Lucious said. "He can play, so he should be able to (handle it)."
He has the right people around him to do that. The soft-spoken, almost shy Wilson has a strong group of peers that can help guide him, and his Playground Warriors organization has been through similar processes in the past, which should make the transition smooth.
The kid was already in the house of renowned high school players, but he is now making his way into the secret room of the elite. And none of it is based on hype, just his game.
