Highland back among nations best
There aren't many programs that have higher expectations than the one Pete Norman has built at Highland. The Illinois program sent eight players to the Division One level last year and Norman says he expects a similar crop to come out this season.
"We've had a pretty good run here," Norman said modestly. "Expectations are pretty high."
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We asked Norman for a rundown of his top prospects in this class.
"The first one is Matija Poscic," Norman said. "He's probably our top returning player. He's being recruited by Big East, Big 12 type programs. He's 6-9, scores inside and out. He is just a very solid player."
"Of our returning guys, Tim Green is a combo guard. Jay Thomas was a medical redshirt last year, he's a 6-2 combo guard. Tim will be the combo guard, he'll play both off and point, Jay's more of a point guard."
"Anthony Simpson is 6-7, he will be a resdhirt freshman. He'll have a chance to graduate and play three years. He is very athletic, a 3-4 type player."
"Then we have two transfers that will go back to Division One. Marquis Young he's a 6-9, 285-pound kid, transferred from Ole Miss last year. And Eric Jones, 6-4, 210, he was at Southeast Missouri last year."
There will be plenty of traffic through Highland, and it has already started.
"The main ones that have been hit up so far are Poscic and Green, but Poscic is over in Croatia," Norman said. "He had a lot come in last spring to watch him."
A lot more will follow.