It’s really hard to say where the problem started and at what point it might end, but the recruiting process for Chicago Colleges has been nothing short of a hoops nightmare for the state. Going back to the days of Isiah Thomas who grew up in the Chicago area and would wake up at 5 AM each morning, to take a 90 minute commute to high school. He made this commitment at a very early age, so he could develop his basketball talents further at a good, private school in Chicago. His tremendous dedication led to a nice scholarship at the University of Indiana; which is outside the borders of Chicago, Illinois; where Thomas was born and played basketball. This would only be the start for the recruiting problems that Illinois colleges still face today. Letting a talented point guard like Isiah Thomas, who became an all star in the NBA for many years, get out of your backyard is not something the hoop fans in Chicago want to see very often.

In 1994 a powerful movie called Hoop Dreams came out and showed two basketball prospects over a 5 year period in Chicago, Illinois. This true story documentary on basketball followed the lives of Arthur Agee and William Gates. Both of these guys looked up to Isiah Thomas and he was their basketball idol while growing up in this film. Isiah’s old high school recruited both young men to play, but only one would survive after the first year; while the other one had to return back to his old high school. This movie points out a lot of the real-life struggles that take place on the streets of Chicago and how a college basketball scholarship is one way to leave the Chicago streets.

While Hoop Dreams was being seen for the first time around the country, another very interesting story was coming to light in Illinois basketball. A very tall and talented kid by the name of Kevin Garnett was making headlines and some were suggesting he would not even play college basketball and go straight to the NBA, because he was that good. Garnett was born and grew up in South Carolina, but transferred to a Chicago school called Farragut Career Academy. He played out his senior year there and also played along side high jumper Ronnie Fields. Most basketball fans know who Kevin Garnett is, but very few would know the name Ronnie Fields. It has been reported that Ronnie Fields had a 50 inch vertical leap and to put that in perspective, Michael “Air” Jordan had a 46 inch vertical leap during his highest flying days. Garnett and Fields both committed to play basketball at Depaul; which was a Chicago college. However, Kevin Garnett would skip out on Depaul and go to the NBA; while Ronnie Fields suffered an injury from a car accident and went to the CBA Draft; which was a pro league just under the NBA’s elite league, and got drafted in the 7th round by the LaCrosse Bobcats. It was another hoops nightmare for the recruiters working along side Chicago colleges. Two more talented high school stars that played in Illinois, but would never play for a college in Illinois.

A modern star for the Chicago Bulls is Derrick Rose, who also grew up in the Illinois area and chose to leave the state to play his college basketball down south in Memphis. I’m sure a lot of basketball fans are glad to see Rose back in their state playing basketball for them, even though the Colleges in Chicago must have tried everything in the world to keep this kid in state. It appeared the University of Illinois would change things up; when they almost got Eric Gordon from the state of Indiana. In one of the biggest and most public recruiting battles ever for a high school player, Gordon finally chose to be a Hoosier in his own home state and never did play for a college in Chicago. Gordon only stayed at Indiana for 1 year and now is a key member of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team.

So the story continues in Chicago and the problems their colleges have with recruiting the basketball stars in their own home state. There is nothing they can do about the past and losing players like Derrick Rose, Isiah Thomas, Kevin Garnett, and others who have left the borders of Illinois to play basketball. They can only control the future and you can bet all the colleges in and around Chicago are now pulling out all the stops, so they can keep these kids in state. You can already see some of the early results with players like Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson staying home to play at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.