Cliff Alexander of Chicago Curie High School, a five-star prospect on Rivals.com and ESPN's basketball recruiting website, narrowed down his list of top-10 schools in no particular order. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound power forward will graduate in 2014 and will likely receive immediate playing time wherever he decides to play.
Alexander listed Kansas, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, Illinois, DePaul, Indiana, Memphis, Baylor and Arizona as his top-10 schools. His AAU coach Mike Irvin believes the inclusion of local DePaul and state school Illinois was an advantage for both teams.
"That's a great step for both local teams," Irvin said. "Cliff is one of the best players in the country, and he's a game-changer at the college level. He can not only lead you to the NCAA tournament, but to the Final Four. DePaul coach Oliver Purnell and assistant Billy Garrett have done a nice job recruiting Cliff. Illinois coach John Groce and assistant Paris Parham have also been great."
Fellow Chicago center Jahlil Okafor, ESPN's No. 1-ranked junior prospect, also listed Illinois in his top-eight schools for consideration. Both players also considered Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio State.
Irvin mentioned that there is a chance that both players could sign letters of intent with the same school. Both players are members of Irvin's Mac Irvin Fire team. "Why not?" Irvin said. "One is a power forward, and one is a center. I could see that happening."
Alexander is set to visit Kansas on Friday and will meet with Illinois on Saturday. Okafor and Alexander have added to Chicago's recent list of top high school prospects. Duke recruit Jabari Parker of Simeon was ranked No. 2 for this year's senior class. Current New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis, who played high school ball at Perspectives in Chicago, was the No. 1 player in the 2011 high school class.
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