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Morgan Park senior forward Xzavier Taylor committed to Bradley on Sunday, according to his club coach.

Taylor, a 6-foot-9 power forward, chose the Braves over Kansas State and Wake Forest, among others. He is ranked the No. 63 power forward in the Class of 2013 by ESPN.

Taylor averaged 8.5 points while helping Morgan Park to an Illinois Class 3A state title last season. He had 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Mustangs’ state championship win.

“We think Xzavier is only going to get better,” Mac Irvin Fire coach Mike Irvin said. “He was a big important piece on that state championship run for Morgan Park. He had to match up with some of the city and state’s best big men. We think him going to Bradley definitely is a good sign for them."

Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was the lead recruiter on Taylor.

Taylor is the sixth player in Bradley’s 2013 recruit class. He joins high school seniors Jordan Swopshire and Stefan Zecevic, junior college players Chris Blake and Auston Barnes and transfer Mike Shaw, who previous played at Illinois.

Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Julius Randle remain on top of the final ESPN 100 for the Class of 2013.

See the final rankings here.

With word that shooting guard Allerik Freeman has asked for his release from UCLA, the nation’s No. 65 senior prospect may soon join Andrew Wiggins as the only uncommitted ESPN 100 prospects. Also, coaches begin to put in serious face time with the nation’s top junior recruits.

Read the entire story here.

Senior guard Alvin Ellis, of Chicago's De La Salle High School, committed and signed his letter of intent to the Michigan State Spartans on Wednesday.

Ellis, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, was previously signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He averaged 20 points, six rebounds and four rebounds for De La Salle in the Chicago Catholic League this past season.

MeanStreets AAU coach Tai Streets, Ellis’ club coach, thought Ellis would excel at Michigan State under Spartans coach Tom Izzo.

“I love Izzo though I’m a Michigan alum,” said Streets, who played football at Michigan. “That’s my guy. I know I’m going to get into trouble for that, but it’s true. If it’s not Michigan, you can’t go wrong with Izzo.

“I think it’s a great fit for Alvin. First of all, he’s a hard worker. He’s in the gym every day. His shot has improved. His ball handling has improved. Everything has improved. He’s going to be great at Michigan State. I think it’s a steal.”

Izzo, who missed out on fellow Chicago recruit Jabari Parker earlier this year, also spoke highly of Ellis in a statement.

“Alvin will be a great addition to our backcourt,” Izzo said. “We like his offensive skill set, especially his shooting touch, hitting 40 percent from three each of the last two seasons. He has good length and versatility, with the ability to defend a couple different positions on the perimeter. Combine his great work ethic, his great family background and his commitment to academics, and I expect him to be the type of player that really develops during his time as a Spartan, enjoying the complete student-athlete experience.”

Ellis joins his former high school teammate Gavin Schilling in Michigan State’s 2013 recruiting class. Ellis and Schilling were teammates at De La Salle during their junior seasons. Schilling spent his senior season at Findlay Prep in Nevada.

CHICAGO -- Jabari Parker threw down a baseline dunk. He dished out a few assists. He grabbed a few rebounds. He made a few steals and blocked a few shots.

On the court Wednesday, Parker was being Parker as he displayed his all-around game and showed why he’s been considered one of the premier high school players in the country for much of his career.

But when Parker and most people think back of his McDonald’s All American Game experience, what they’ll remember isn’t Parker’s West team winning 110-99 or anything he did during the actual game. It’ll be the memory of his introduction before the game at the United Center.

With the lights out and the spotlight on and after every other player already on the floor, Parker was announced as being from Simeon Career Academy and Chicago. The welcoming decibels were well beyond those of anyone before him.

It was the perfect reception for the hometown Duke commit Parker, a four-time state champion and two-time Mr. Basketball who is No. 2 in the ESPN 100 ranking index.

“It was like homecoming,” Parker explained after the game. “It’s just a homecoming day for me, see everybody out there. You know we can celebrate. I know I represent all the high school players, so that’s all I wanted to do. Be there and represent the city of Chicago on the way.”

Whitney Young High School junior center and fellow Chicagoan Jahlil Okafor, the nation’s No. 1 junior, was just as moved by the fans’ love for Parker.

“Seeing the crowd embrace him as they did, he deserves it more than anybody,” Okafor said. “Seeing everybody cheer that loud, I was really happy and just put like chills down my body. It’s something I can work hard for and maybe I can experience that next year.”

It was nearly the same feeling for Ronnie Fields, a former McDonald’s All American from Chicago, who was attending his first McDonald’s game in nearly 20 years.

“I was so happy,” said Fields, who was a McDonald’s All American in 1996. “I was waiting for him to come out.”

“To see the city continue to breed these guys out, it just made me proud,” he said. “You go down the list. We got Jabari. We got Derrick Rose. We got Okafor coming. That goes back to Isiah Thomas. The list goes on and on.”

Parker was thought to be playing his final game in Chicago for the foreseeable future, but he hinted at another game, possibly meaning a Duke game in Chicago next season. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski did bring Jon Scheyer back to play before his hometown Chicago crowd, and that also could be the case for Parker, who is expected to spend just one season in college before bolting for the NBA.

Whether or not Parker will be back in Chicago next year, he left a bit of everything on the floor Wednesday. He had 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks; didn’t allow anything easy to No. 1-ranked Andrew Wiggins (uncommitted; from Canada by way Huntington Prep in West Virginia); and came out on the victorious side, just as he did throughout his career.
All in all, Parker realized his hometown experience was unique at this game.

“I know I’ve been spoiled a little bit more being in Chicago and playing at the United Center,” Parker said. “This was a great experience.”

In an all-star showcase, which team wins the game is often secondary. But which players win their individual matchups -- now that's another story. So to get you prepped for the McDonald's All American Game (Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU and WatchESPN), we've ranked the top five matchups to watch during the contest.

With bragging rights and sometimes rankings on the line, you can bet these high-level one-on-one battles will be intense and will provide must-see TV. Here's what you need to know.

Read the entire story.

Now that No. 2 senior prospect Jabari Parker is back to full health, has his college decision behind him and is chasing a fourth consecutive state title, Paul Biancardi re-examines what makes Parker such a unique and talented player as his high school career winds to a close and why he’ll be able to make an immediate impact at Duke next year.

Read the entire story here.

Dave Telep’s Friday recruiting notebook includes an introduction to one of the nation’s most impressive freshmen, a look at Indiana’s big recruiting weekend, why John Calipari’s words resonated with the nation’s No. 2 junior, Illinois putting in work on the recruiting trail and more.

Read the entire story here.

Dave Telep updates his impressions of top players and teams in the aftermath of the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Paul Biancardi and Dave Telep break down the top game and top performers from the Hoophall Classic: No. 7 senior Aaron Gordon and No. 2 senior Jabari Parker.

Last week we paused to look back at the most memorable basketball recruiting stories of 2012. But recruiting is all about the future. So as the calendar turns to a new year, it's time to focus on the stories that will be making news in 2013.

And while there are still plenty of intriguing stories to watch in the 2013 class -- No. 1 prospect Andrew Wiggins and No. 7 Aaron Gordon among them -- much of the focus in 2013 will actually be on the 2014 class, especially top two recruits Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor.

So we asked our RecruitingNation basketball experts to get their crystal ball out and look into the future to identify what recruiting stories will be the most interesting to follow in the coming year.

Read the entire story here.

Dave Telep and Paul Biancardi discuss schools in the running for Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins, and they update the commitments of Michael Finke to Illinois, Romelo Trimble to Maryland and Solomon Poole to Georgia Tech.

Simeon Career Academy senior forward Jabari Parker's college announcement will be shown live on ESPNU at 3 p.m. CST on Thursday.

Parker, the nation's No. 2 senior, has a final list of BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford. He's made official visits to all the schools except Stanford. He did visit Stanford on an unofficial visit previously.

Simeon coach Robert Smith said Parker is keeping everyone in suspense. Parker's father, Sonny Parker, told USA Today he believes his son is down to Duke and Michigan State, but he isn't sure.

"To be honest, he hasn't told anyone," Smith said. "He just said Thursday. This is what he wants. I think he's 90 percent sure if he's not 100 percent sure on where he wants to go."

As a junior, Parker was named the ESPNChicago.com Player of the Year, Illinois' Mr. Basketball and the national Gatorade Player of the Year. He averaged 19.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.