If there is one thing in the world that Greg Tucker regrets, it is his lack of effort in the classroom at Whitney Young. Greg never thought that a basketball player could really mess up his grades to the point that he wouldn’t see the floor, feeling almost “invincible”. As long as he performed well on the court, Greg had always been satisfied. Once report cards rolled around freshmen year and sophomore year, he finally realized what had occurred. Since his grades were so poor he knew he needed a fresh start, so he transferred to Lincoln Park to “start over.” Not only is he improving academically, but as demonstrated by his strong play in the Full Package Exposure League brought to you by Illinoishsbasketball.com, his game is also improving leaps and bounds.

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Class of 2010 wing Duje Dukan of Deerfield High School has picked up a scholarship offer from Colorado of the Big 12 Conference, according to his AAU coach and personal trainer, Steve Pratt of Full Package.

Dukan has gone from unknown to high major in just a years time, as he broke on to the scene with a league MVP performance in the Full Package Fro/Soph Exposure League last year. Since then he has grown to be  6′7, and has vastly improved his outside shot, ball handling, and rebounding abilities, among other things.

Dukan has received interest from an array of other schools including Michigan and Washington State.

2010 guard Karl Madison (Springfield Lanphier) took a trip up north this week past weekend to Northwestern where he took in a football game, practice, and toured the campus.

“It was really nice I enjoyed the visit a lot. When I got there I first toured the campus it was really nice, and then I was able to meet the team and take in a football game. It was a lot of fun. I talked with Carmody the head coach for a while then we went to the football game. It really was a lot of fun,” said Madison about his visit.

Madison had many likes about the school, but what stood out in his mind were academics and the coaches.

“Yes I like the academics side of it a lot. It’s a private school and not to big. Tavaras Hardy, he is a really cool coach, I really bonded with him, the other coaches are real nice as well. They haven’t offered me a scholarship yet, but they are close. I could see myself playing at Northwestern.”

“Wichita State is on me pretty hard. I have also been receiving a lot of mail from Miami (FL), Georgia Tech, Marquette, Kansas State, Illinois State, and Stanford,” commentated Madison about other schools taking a note on him. Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Missouri State, and Texas-Arlington are all among the schools who Madison has a standing offer from.

Class of 2010 “space cadet” Brandon Spearman (Simeon) recently picked up his first ACC offer, courtesy of Miami (FL).

“Miami, I mean they have been looking at me since I was a freshman. They called me and said they wanted me to go to school there and offered me a scholarship. They also said I should come check out the school, campus, and facilities see how I like it,” said Spearman.

With conditioning in full swing, Spearman is steadily preparing for his first season at Simeon. “It’s been good, real good, I’ve been working real hard in the gym. At Simeon everyone works hard, you really have to go hard on everything and can’t take anything off.

We go hard or Coach Rob (Smith) is throwing us out the gym, but Coach Rob is a nice guy he wants the best for us on and off the court.”

With personal agendas out the window, Spearman and the rest of Simeon’s squad have one goal in mind, “Win state is the main goal that’s what I am really excited about. The chemistry wasn’t there at Hales, but at Simeon everything is more team orientated.”

As for the rest of Spearman’s recruiting picture, he has offers from Ohio, Dayton, Indiana State, and Baylor. Spearman is also hearing from other schools all over the board. “Virginia, West Virginia, Cincinnati are coming into the picture. Kentucky is still talking to me and I talked to Kansas the other day, they are going to come up for a game or two. Iowa State came and checked me out a time or two in open gym so they are definitely in as well.”

Class of 2010 guard Karl Madison (Springfield Lanphier) is taking an unofficial visit today to Northwestern. “I’m expecting to get to know the coaches a little better, see the campus, and go to the football game. I really just want to get to know the coaches a lot better,” said Madison about what he is expecting this weekend. Madison currently has offers from Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Missouri State, and Texas-Arlington. Witcha State and Saint Louis are expressing interest as well.