Post by coachciepierski on Oct 19, 2014 13:41:14 GMT -5
About The Illinois Stars...
The Illinois Stars is an AAU program out of the Chicago area that operates much more like a high school or college team versus the typical AAU program. We are a Reebok-sponsored program, and also have two generous sponsors: Darrell Jackson, CEO of Seaway Bank, as well as John Rogers, CEO of Ariel Investments. So why are we unique?
- Our Practices Are Like College - I'm sure most AAU programs claim this, however I will give you the meat and potatoes why. First, we just don't roll out the ball and scrimmage like most programs do. We will have 3-4 hour practices, with the first hour 100% dedicated to skill development, as well as conditioning. Thereafter we go over our plays. We have two zone offenses, three man-to-man offenses, and dozens of quick hitters. Lastly, we actually tape every practice and game, and will have 45 minutes to an hour of film session, breaking things down so the kids can see what we are talking about.
- Rules With Consequences - We are more about winning and losing, rather we are trying to make men out of our boys. When you break one of the 40+ rules we have for our squad, there will be consequences, from suspensions, to even being kicked off our squad. Our rules were a hodge-podge of rules that we got from various colleges in the area. Last year we kicked off a player for breaking some of these rules, and this summer we actually suspended two of our better players during live period, in front of college coaches (don't worry, this wasn't Karl!). Again, we mean it when we way we want to make men out of these boys.
- You Need The Grades - Grades with AAU? With us, yes. Head Coach Troy Johnson is a teacher by trade, and myself, as well as Darrell Jackson, are successful businessmen. We are more about education than we are about basketball, and we view a college scholarship as a way to get a free education and better yourself. If you don't have the grades, you're not on the team. Because of this, 100% of our 2015 student athletes will be eligible to play ball in college.
- Media Training - We want our kids to be the most prepared when entering college. Because of this, we have all eleven of our kids professionally media trained. Our kids will be prepared to talk in front of the camera, on the ratio, as well as communicate effectively to coaches and teammates, and be open with fans. It's something they can take well beyond college also, and into the workplace.
We have been extremely successful with putting our kids on the map, and getting them to commit to some impressive programs. Here are our commitments to date:
- Aaron Jordan - 6'5" - SG - University of Illinois
- Brandon Hutton - 6'6" - SF - University of Iowa
- Christian Romine - 6'10" - PF - UTEP
- Karl Harris - 6'5" - SG - La Salle
- Andre Statam - 6'7" - PF - Jacksonville State
You guys are definitely getting a very good basketball player in Karl Harris, and someone who will do just about anything to win. I want to break things down on what he can do on offense, defense, and then what he's working on.
Offensively, Karl is really able to play anything from the point guard to the small forward, however his best position is the shooting guard. Karl handles the ball well, and is extremely unselfish when finding the best shot on the floor. If someone else has a better shot, or is more skilled, he has no problem deferring. Karl is extremely talented driving to the basket, and uses his 38" vertical well finishing above the basket. One extremely unique ability Karl has is even if someone smacked him with a baseball bat when going into the lane, he will always get that ball right around the basket...he's outstanding at 3-point plays. Karl is a slightly above average shooter, however extremely excellent when shooting on the baseline. I would not be surprised if he shot 75% from the arc on the baseline. Karl is a clutch free throw shooter, and he was always counted on towards the end of games. If we were in a close game, Karl was on the floor.
Defensively I would say is where I'm most proud of Karl. During our 16U season, I would have said that Karl was an average defender, and could have done a better job. He really proved us around, and he went on to possibly being our best on-the-ball defender during our 17U season. Karl is so fast, so long, and so quick, that he just gave headaches to the opposition. When we played against Brevin Pritzl (Wisconsin), Karl did an excellent job at just making his life a living hell, and Brevin was held to 12 points the entire game (prior to that he was scoring 30+), and much of this was due to Karl's defense. In the passing lanes Karl is obviously excellent, being able to read the defense, flash out into the lanes, and start the break. Not sure if LaSalle presses alot, but if they do, I think Karl can be a huge part in what you do.
What is Karl working on? Well, first, and this goes with every kid, Karl needs to get stronger. But again, this is no surprise. Second, I think Karl will need to tighten up his handles somewhat. Like most kids his age, he at times stands upright when handling the ball because he can get away with it. In the A-10 that won't be easy, so he'll have to adjust. Lastly, he will need to work on his shot. It definitely goes in, however he hops instead of jumps, and flicks the ball rather than a better follow-through. It would be an issue if he couldn't shoot to begin with, however he's a good shooter, and just needs to make minor tweaks.
At the end of the day, Karl had offers from La Salle, Saint Francis (PA), Wright State, Toledo, Chicago State, and SIUE, and interest from Florida Intl, Louisiana Tech, Northern Kentucky, and Illinois State.
About Karl Harris The Person...
I always think this is more important, because obviously the kid can play, however what kind of kid are you getting? If he trouble? If he a hard worker? What's his personality like? Let me tell you a few things in order to sum this up...
I recruited Karl Harris from the Full Package AAU program. On that team Karl was "The Man", averaging 20 points a game, playing every minute, and really shining. However, he wasn't being challenged, and he wasn't playing on the biggest stages. When recruited him, I reminded him that our team had a host of Top 100, All-American players, and two of them in his position (Aaron Jordan and KJ Santos). He said he wanted to get better, challenge himself, and he's fine with this. He ended up coming on our squad, and came off the bench the entire year for our 16U team, however there is more to this. While he came off the bench, he led our squad in minutes. He also led our squad in assists because our point guard, Cole Gentry, was hurt, and while never playing point, he took it upon himself to do it, knowing his scoring would suffer, for the better of the team. Karl was third in rebounding and steals on our squad, as well as being fourth in scoring. Coming into our 17U season, Karl was one of the most improved kids on our squad, and earned the title as "starter", actually starting over KJ Santos in the summer. In Anaheim and Vegas, Karl really played well and blew up, which led to much of his interest as of late. As you see, Karl isn't a "me" player, but a "we" player, and does things for the better of the team.
When we would be on the road, the three coaches would drive separate cars with some kids in each. This started when we were in Orlando during our 16U season, but we would all fight on who would take Karl, because he was by far the funniest kid on our squad. He's a kid that everyone enjoyed and got along with.
Karl is always looking to better himself. He already has asked both myself and Darrell Jackson about possible internships in the future, and really looking into a future in business. He's an Honor Roll student, always working hard, and goes the extra mile in whatever he does.
If you guys have anything questions, please ask! Excited for you guys, and excited for Karl!