Henricksen: Ranking nine impactful transfers for 2015-2016

SHARE Henricksen: Ranking nine impactful transfers for 2015-2016
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The high school basketball transfer isn’t a new phenomenon; it’s been going on in Chicago area basketball for decades.

Whether it was Nick Anderson making the influential move from Prosser to Simeon in the 1980s or any of the recent moves in the past decade that impacted the prep basketball landscape –– Jereme Richmond from North Shore Country Day to Waukegan, Wayne Blackshear from Curie to Morgan Park, Nate Minnoy from Mt. Carmel to Hales, D.J. Cooper from Hales to Seton or the random out-of-state transfer who arrived on the scene (Hello, Marcus LoVett!) –– the moves can define a season or program.

This past offseason hasn’t been any different, with a couple of big moves taking place the past couple of weeks.

The latest and biggest moves include the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2016, Barrington’s Rapolas Ivanauskas, transferring out of state to a prep school, while junior star Alonzo Verge is headed to Proviso West after a head-turning sophomore season at Willowbrook.

There are an endless list of transfer-related reasons why a kid moves from one to school to another. There is an actual book now parents can purchase providing all the different reasons why it’s perfectly OK for your child to transfer. No, no, no, the Hoops Report kids you. But …

A few of the chapters in that book could include:

I want 17 shots; I only got 12 last year … Wait! What? I have only five Division I offers? If I go to (enter school name here) it will surely get me double digit offers! … Uh-oh! Time to get my academics fixed … My parents think my high school coach sucks … “I do what he says. My AAU coach made me do it!” … A chance to win championships. … Prep school sounds cool!

Again, I kid you (sort of). There are definitely some legitimate reasons for transfers.

The movement hasn’t stopped since basketball’s regular season ended in March, with a flurry of transfers occurring that will impact the high school basketball landscape this coming season.

The Hoops Report ranks the impact of each offseason move of individual players throughout the Chicago area.

No. 1: Alonzo Verge leaving Willowbrook for Proviso West

Although there were plenty of unfounded rumors reported about where Verge might end up, the talented junior guard will be at Proviso West this coming school year.

The impact: Why this is the biggest transfer to date is due to the fact it impacts two programs. The 6-2 combo guard had an impactful, breakout year and led Willowbrook to its best season in decades, along with its first conference championship in over 40 years this past season. A chance to build on that season and again be a factor in the West Suburban Gold is over for Willowbrook. Meanwhile, Proviso West, where Verge’s father starred in the 1980s, becomes an instant contender in the West Suburban Silver.

No. 2: Rapolas Ivanauskas leaves Barrington

When it comes to prep hoops in Illinois, the 6-8 senior who has committed to Northwestern and is headed to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, will be out of sight, out of mind.

The impact: You win with seniors. And really good seniors can take you places a program like Barrington hasn’t been before. With a dominating senior like Ivanauskas returning, who knows what the Broncos could have done following a season in which it won 23 games and captured a conference championship for the first time in nearly 40 years.

No. 3: Curie adds young, out-of-state talent

While Curie will welcome the addition of DePaul Prep transfer Michael Johnson, a 5-9 junior guard, the big addition is Landis Sanchez-Nolley, Jr., an ultra-talented 6-3 sophomore guard who moved in from Atlanta.

The impact: When you add a player who looks to be a top 10 player in his class –– in this case, the Class of 2018 –– you expect a major impact for the Condors. Sanchez-Nolley is a do-it-all type guard who will blend in nicely with a potent perimeter attack that features DePaul recruit Devin Gage and junior Elijah Joiner.

No. 4: Herenton x 2 for Stevenson

A couple of promising brothers, guards Rodney and Willie Herenton, leave Young after playing significant roles over the course of the past two seasons and head to Stevenson.

The impact: Young is loaded with a treasure chest of young, talented guards, so the impact may be less minimal than people think for the Dolphins. But Stevenson, the defending Class 4A champs, have lost 52 points a game off last year’s team. While junior Justin Smith was a double-figure scorer last season and returns as one of the top prospects in the Class of 2017, coach Pat Ambrose will have opportunities and competition to fill the various holes and monstrous production left by the likes of Jalen Brunson, Connor Cashaw, Matt Johnson and Parker Nichols.

Enter the Herentons, a pair of seasoned players in their respective class. With what was to be a wide open North Suburban Lake, a conference race that should take a dip this coming season in comparison to recent years, the addition of Rodney Herenton, a physical senior guard, and Willie Herenton, a promising junior guard, the power has shifted back and clearly makes the Patriots the favorite to repeat.

No. 5: Another backcourt weapon for Morgan Park

Playing in a program and for a coach that provides guards with the freedom and a fun style players with the ball in their hands thrive in, talented sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu, a Hoops Report top five prospect in the Class of 2018, transfers from Westinghouse to Morgan Park.

The impact: This past season Charlie Moore teamed up with transfer Marcus LoVett to form the state’s most dynamic backcourt. Now Moore will headline a backcourt this coming season that will include another flashy guard –– sophomore Ayo Dosunmu. While the impact won’t compare in any way to LoVett’s move to Morgan Park, Dosunmu made his presence felt last year as a freshman at Westinghouse and is one of the top young talents in the city.

No. 6: Oak Park-River Forest takes a hit

Alan Griffin, who was considered one of the top 10 players in the Class of 2018 in Illinois, will not be attending OPRF this coming school year. His father, former NBA player and former Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin, took an assistant coaching job with the Orlando Magic this summer.

The impact: West Suburban Silver Conference favorite Oak Park-River Forest, led by senior guard Breshawn Wilkerson and a host of talented juniors, was an overwhelming league pick heading into the school year because of the emergence and potential of Griffin. However, the loss of the smooth 6-4 shooter simply brings the Huskies back to the pack –– and certainly impacts the long-term potential of this team going forward.

No. 7: New Kenwood trio raises stakes

While it’s not of the big-name variety, Kenwood did add three pieces who will all be factors: Lincoln Park’s versatile 6-4 Miles Curry, Whitney Young’s David Hunt and Phillips guard Charles Harlan.

The impact: Kenwood expected to be a preseason top five team with the return of seniors Nick Robinson and Zion Morgan, along with a healthy Manny Patterson, one of the top juniors in the Public League. And that was before the addition of three transfers who will provide more depth and options for coach Marlo Finner.

No. 8: Simeon adds needed size

After playing in relative obscurity at Al Raby the past couple of years, 6-8 Terrell Phipps makes a big leap and transfers to high-profile Simeon. Also, James Gordon, a 6-5 forward, is an out-of-state senior

The impact: Simeon was already poised to challenge for a city and state title this season before the addition of Phipps. But with such a surplus of high-level guards, including seniors Zach Norvell and Josh Thomas, junior Evan Gilyard and sophomore Kezo Brown, the addition of a 6-8 player like Phipps is only going to help this team inside.

No. 9: Big addition for Conant

There have been plenty of noteworthy transfers in the Chicago area, but an under-the-radar transfer late last school year was Michael Downing, an athletic 6-7 post player, who left St. Joseph and enrolled at Conant.

The impact: Although not as far-reaching, maybe, as other transfers, this could prove to be a significant impact in the Mid-Suburban League West, where defending champ Barrington recently lost Rapolas Ivanauskas. While Downing is just a junior and a work in progress, he continues to make strides and will surely be a big factor for coach Tom McCormack and the Cougars, which return some nice, key pieces to join Downing.

Transfer tidbits …

➤ While it’s not in the Chicago area, maybe no school received a bigger impact than Champaign Central, which added two talented players as a result of hiring head coach Jeff Finke. Now Central is a major player in Class 3A with the addition of star sophomore Tim Finke and 6-7 senior Nick Finke, who is a Division II prospect.

➤ Although it’s been falsely reported that Antonio Williams, who played at Proviso East last year, was transferring to Bogan, it hasn’t happened. And as of this past weekend it appeared Williams would be heading back to Proviso East.

Follow Joe Henricksen and the Hoops Report on Twitter @joehoopsreport

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