Henricksen: Alonzo Verge’s departure the latest blow to state

If you were lucky, you were able to enjoy one season of impressive, head-turning play from Alonzo Verge, Jr.

After a breakout sophomore season, which ended on a down note as he was held out of Willowbrook’s regional game, Verge is leaving Illinois for a prep school in Florida.

With Verge, it’s been a constant flurry of rumors, both while at Willowbrook –– Is he playing this weekend? Is he suspended or is it a family issue? Will he return for his junior year? Where’s he transferring to? Who is he playing AAU with? –– and since he officially enrolled at Proviso West.

Now, after a little over two months at Proviso West, where his father starred in the 1980s, the 6-2 combo guard joins a growing list of Illinois prep prospects who have left the state in recent months.

East St. Louis junior star Jeremiah Tilmon, the state’s top college prospect, announced officially last week he was headed to La Lumiere, a prep school in Indiana. That’s where another top prospect 20 in the Class of 2017, Richmond-Burton big man Joey St. Pierre, headed this summer.

Plus, Northwestern recruit Rapolas Ivanauskas, previously the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2016, left Barrington for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

Whether it’s for academic reasons, player development, to enhance a player’s recruiting or to mature physically or emotionally, every player and family makes the decision to attend prep school for different reasons.

The post-graduate prep school route, where the player graduates from high school and is off to a prep school before heading to college, has been the more common road. But we are now seeing, as proven by the departure of Tilmon, Verge, St. Pierre and Ivanauskas, players leaving the local high school, before graduating, for a prep school more and more.

This isn’t the first high-profile exodus prior to completing a high school career. Peoria Central’s D.J. Richardson was a University of Illinois recruit and one of the top players in the state in the Class of 2009 when he bolted for Findlay Prep in Nevada for his senior year.

Former Public League star DeAndre Liggins, who played at Washington, left for Findlay Prep for his senior year before landing at Kentucky.

Prep school is a different animal, where academic opportunities are advantageous and you can arrive in the middle of the school year without the worry of having to sit out. Depending on the prep school, there are several that provide a higher competitive basketball experience, both in practice with loaded rosters and in scheduling freedom.

Whether one likes or dislikes the changing trend, an argument can be made that it’s beneficial for each individual prep school-bound kid. In many cases it is a second-chance opportunity. But even if it’s absolutely needed, it can still be a very difficult choice. These are still kids leaving home before college, battling homesickness and away from family and friends.

For selfish reasons, Illinois high school basketball fans are missing out. Ivanauskas was a headliner in the senior class who brought more relevance and intrigue to the Mid-Suburban League this winter. He was also a local boy who chose to stay close to home to play his college basketball, thus Northwestern fans would have enjoyed keeping tabs on their incoming top 100 recruit.

But this latest jolt to Illinois prep hoops, losing two top five prospects in the talented Class of 2017, is a doozy.

Tilmon is a top 20 prospect nationally who was set to make two trips to the Chicago area, with East St. Louis scheduled to play Evanston in the Chicago Elite Classic in early December and returning to play Nick Rakocevic and St. Joseph in the High School Hoops Showdown at Hinsdale Central in January.

Verge’s talent, meanwhile, became must-see for high school basketball fans as he rose to prominence last season. He had a flair not many in the state play the game with and a scoring acumen that was unmatched by any other junior in the state. The dynamic talent averaged 23 points a game as a sophomore in leading Willowbrook to a historic basketball season, which included the program’s first conference championship and 20-win season since 1972.

But that’s all we are going to see from a player who was poised to entertain state basketball fans for two more seasons.

Imagine losing two of the top five prospects in any given class over the years?

How about missing out on two of the top five players from 1998 –– take your pick among Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette, Frank Williams, Bobby Simmons or Joey Range.

What if we didn’t get to see two of the top players in 2007 (Derrick Rose, Evan Turner, Demetri McCamey, Jacob Pullen and Brandon McGee) or 2011 (Anthony Davis, Wayne Blackshear, Nnanna Egwu, Chasson Randle and Ryan Boatright) or 2014 (Jahlil Okafor, Cliff Alexander, Tyler Ulis, Keita Bates-Diop and Paul White) because of prep school departures?

While the move to a prep school all may be for the gain of the player, it sure is a loss for the high school basketball purist.