From ilprepbullseye.com. Enjoy
Recruiting Analysis: Iman Shumpert
June 15, 2007
7:00 A.M. CST
Iman Shumpert, the 6'3 guard from Oak Park High School in Oak Park, IL, is a rare breed when it comes to recruiting. We say that because in today's day and age, most high school basketball players are eager to listen to all comers and will jump at the opportunity to play at a high-profile school. Not Shumpert.
Instead, Shumpert has chosen to take an old-school approach to the handling of his recruitment, a philosophy that Illinois Prep Bulls-eye finds most admirable. What this means is that those schools who have shown interest in Shumpert from the beginning will get the first crack at trying to land him. It is called "loyalty", a trait that is not emphasized all that much any more in recruiting circles.
With this in mind, there are presently four schools that Illinois Prep Bulls-eye clearly believes are at the head of the pack when it comes to Shumpert's recruiting list--Illinois, Marquette, Georgia Tech and Clemson. All four have been there from the beginning and have offered scholarships. When Shumpert completes his trip to the University of Illinois this weekend, he will have taken unofficial visits to all of these schools.
In addition to being involved from the start, another huge factor that will undoubtedly come into play with respect to Shumpert's final decision is his relationship with that particular program's head coach. Shumpert has already mentioned on numerous occassions that he feels he enjoys an outstanding relationship with Illinois' Bruce Weber, Marquette's Tom Crean, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt and Clemson's Oliver Purnell.
After the top four comes the schools that Illinois Prep Bulls-eye considers to be the "sleepers" in Shumpert's recruitment. Those would include Notre Dame, Northwestern and Bradley. All of these programs have also been on Shumpert from the get-go, all have offered, and Shumpert has also visited all of these schools unofficially.
Seeing as though Shumpert has blown up on the AAU circuit this Spring, particularly at the King James Classic in Akron, OH, an event that was certified for D1 coaches to attend, it is no wonder that a ton of other coaches from high major programs have tried to get involved late, including two of the best recruiters in college basketball in Bill Self and Kansas and Roy Williams and North Carolina. However, based on how Shumpert continues to talk, he has made it clear that both schools have some catching up to do. Could either of these schools or perhaps another high major make up the ground and end up making Shumpert's final cut? Sure, but it is going to take a lot of doing.
