The scoop from our college basketball beat writer, who was courtside at the Shootout at the Hall on Saturday:

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The Assembly Hall transformed into an Illinois recruiting mecca Saturday. Really, if you're an Illini fan, there might have been only two negatives surrounding the Shootout at the Hall: it wasn't played in Maui, and wintry weather limited attendance.

But the second edition of the Shootout was postcard-perfect through orange-tinted glasses.

The Illinois recruits in the house put on a show. JOSEPH BERTRAND, BRANDON PAUL, D.J. RICHARDSON and JEREME RICHMOND averaged 21.5 points between them. Toss in recruiting target CRANDALL HEAD, who erupted for a Shootout-record 34 points, and the scoring average between the five players was 24 points per game.

Think the future's bright? And other players have taken notice.

"Illinois is definitely No. 1 on my list right now," said Whitney Young sophomore ANTHONY JOHNSON.

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It took Crandall Head less than two minutes into his game to steal the day. The Rich South sophomore, a spitting image of his brother LUTHER HEAD, slam dunked an alley-oop on the first possession of a game against Centennial. Ninety seconds later he swished a three-pointer.

A 6-foot-5 wing, Head made 14 of 21 shots. He showed why the Illinois staff would love to pair him with Richmond in its 2010 recruiting class.

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After his first game at the Assembly Hall, Crandall said he anticipates announcing a college decision in early January.

"Probably after New Year's," he said.

All indications point toward Illinois. Crandall sat with current Illini and friends CALVIN BROCK and DEMETRI MCCAMEY after the game. Luther Head has maintained a good relationship with BRUCE WEBER, and the two spoke as recently as last week. Crandall said Illinois is at the top of his list.

"The best thing about Crandall, he's pretty humble," Rich South coach SCOT RITTER said. "He's a good kid. And he understands the game. He's got a very high basketball IQ."

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With 34 points, Crandall has already outdone Luther in one respect. Luther's career high at the Assembly Hall was 26 points.

"I talked to him last night," Crandall said. "He told me just come out and play my game and do my thing."

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New Trier senior JACK BOEHM had a career day with 27 points against Warren and UI commitment Brandon Paul.

Boehm, a 6-6 pitcher/forward, has signed with Bucknell to play baseball. While Jack Boehm's future is on the diamond, his brother PETER BOEHM's is on the hardcourt. Peter has signed with Harvard to play basketball.

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There is a method to the madness of selecting teams. If your roster includes an Illinois recruiting target, come on down.

"The reason we got invited to this is because of (sophomore) ALEX ROSSI, and Illinois is looking at Alex," said New Trier coach RICK MALNATI.

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Playing for Warren, UI recruit Brandon Paul draws a crowd. He's the No. 1, No. 2 and possibly their No. 3 option. Still, the 6-2 guard had 19 points against New Trier, and you could argue Paul has the highest ceiling of all of Illinois' recruits.

"I think he's just skimming the surface of what he can be," Warren coach CHUCK RAMSEY said.

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Of the three junior guards committed to Illinois, Peoria Central's D.J. Richardson might be the closest thing to a point guard – right now. But if Paul's ballhandling someday equals his athleticism, it could be Paul running the point at Illinois.

"Coach Weber said he'd like me to develop into a point guard," said Paul, who wore an orange and blue Illinois tie to the game.

In a one-on-one situation, few players can defend Paul. Problem is, it's usually one-on-two.

"He shot 16 free throws (in a game Friday night)," coach Chuck Ramsey said. "He's been shooting a lot of free throws because he can get in the lane."

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Freshman JEFF JORDAN was joined by most of his Illini teammates in watching younger brother MARCUS JORDAN in the Whitney Young-Central game. Marcus is a junior at Whitney Young and has attended several of Jeff's Illinois games this season.

"I wanted to go to Maui with my dad but I had practice," Marcus Jordan said with a laugh.

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Marcus Jordan, a 6-4 junior guard, is taking the relaxed approach to college recruiting.

"My mom is taking care of all that stuff," he said. "I haven't even thought about it."

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The current Illinois players attended most of the games Saturday. However, there was a brief hiatus around 4:45 p.m.

"Free throws," Bruce Weber said.

Players had the daily double this week in terms of free throw shooting. Each day, Weber ordered two sessions of foul shots to somehow remedy the Big Ten's second-to-worst percentage (61 percent).

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Jereme Richmond, Waukegan's 6-6 sophomore, seems to be evolving into a different type of player. He spent much of Waukegan's 47-44 loss to Peoria Manual battling in the paint. Over the last year with the Rising Stars AAU program and at North Shore Country Day, Richmond spent more time roaming the perimeter as a wing.

"I guess I anticipated him playing on the perimeter more," Peoria Manual coach DERRICK BOOTH said.

Richmond had 19 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in his first game at the Assembly Hall.

"I like to think of myself as being able to do both, perimeter and the post," said Richmond, who turns 16 in the spring. "Primarily I want to play on the wing though."

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Strangely, the youngest commitment has been committed to Illinois the longest. Last November, Richmond became the first prep freshman to commit to Illinois. He still wears size 18 shoes, and his feet haven't grown "in about a year," he said.

"I'm probably done growing," said the 6-6 Richmond.

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Asked if other college programs have inquired about his availability, Jereme Richmond said any recruiting calls go through his father BILL RICHMOND and Waukegan coach RON ASHLAW.

"There has not been one single call, one single letter, one single fax, one single text message," Ashlaw said.

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That isn't the case with Sterling junior Joseph Bertrand. He still receives recruiting letters from the likes of Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Texas and Colorado, Sterling coach PETE GOFF said. Just two months after he committed, Bertrand's name harmlessly remains on their mailing lists.

"I've just been keeping them (the letters) in a bundle. No one has called," Goff said. "I asked Joseph if he wanted them. He said yes. He wants to save them. But as soon as he committed, my phone stopped ringing – to my wife's delight."

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Local fans saw why Joseph Bertrand has created a stir in small-town Sterling. The 6-5 junior guard tied a season high with 28 points against Peoria Central. Goff said Bertrand is probably the first Sterling product to receive a Division I basketball scholarship offer in at least 25 years.

"You would never know he's going to the University of Illinois," Goff said. "He's such a humble kid."

Bertrand committed to Illinois within 24 hours of Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson's commitments.

"I don't think it was planned," Bertrand said of the domino effect. "I had talked to him (Richardson) about a week before we committed. He committed first. I talked to him on the phone. I asked him which college he liked. He asked me which college I liked. And we both said Illinois."

Bertrand and Richardson shared the court Saturday and combined for 48 points.

"I told him on the court, 'Good shot, keep playing hard,' " Richardson said.

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To a player, the four Illinois recruits said their respective commitments to Illinois remain solid. So did family members.

"Only death can keep us from it," said Brandon's mom, LYNDA PAUL, an AAU coach in the Chicago area.