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For more pictures from Sunday's event, click here.

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Guessing the ages of the top players at the Illinois Shootout was a game in itself.

"I look older, but I'm just going into my sophomore year," said Gary (Ind.) Bowman Academy standout DeJuan Marrero. "I'm 15. In June I'll turn 16. I've just got my (driver's) permit now."

Looks were deceiving Sunday as 14 prep teams competed at the Assembly Hall and Ubben Basketball Complex. That was especially true with the men, er, boys from Carbondale Brehm Prep. The mature appearance of James Siakam (a rising junior) and Emmanuel Ochenje (sophomore), among others, made the Brehm roster look like a junior college roster.

More than one observer said, "There's no way he's a sophomore" about a player from Brehm. Their physiques are more advanced than what you might expect of a 15- or 16-year-old. And in some cases, those kids are young to the game.

"He's only been playing basketball for 2 1/2 years," Brehm coach Aaron Lee said of Siakam, a workhorse forward that will be a priority for Illinois in the Class of 2011.

The recruiting game still is speeding up. So, apparently, is their physical maturation.

"I don't know why I'm here," said one college coach as he watched Brehm Prep cruise to its fourth win in four games. "I can't get any of these guys. They're too good."

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Illinois hasn't had much success in recruiting players from Indiana. But there were five Shootout teams from the Hoosier State, and the Illini are going to try, try, try again with its top players.

One of those is Marrero, a high-energy, 6-foot-4 forward. The Bowman standout was making his third trip to the UI campus.

"I enjoy Illinois. It would be one of my top schools if I was going to make a decision now," he said. "I took a tour of the new (practice) facility. It's open 24/7 to the players, and I really like that."

Marrero just finished his freshman year and said he probably won't choose a school until after his junior season. He listed three offers (Purdue, Indiana, Valparaiso) and said Illinois, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Michigan, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Florida, Oregon and Miami are among the schools recruiting him.

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A longstanding rule at Simeon is that freshmen aren't allowed to play with the varsity.

Not even Derrick Rose, arguably the greatest point guard to come out of the state, was allowed to play varsity as a freshman.

"That's because I wasn't the coach," Simeon coach Robert Smith joked. "If I was the coach he would've been playing varsity."

That rule is about to be broken. Smith said incoming freshman Jabari Parker, the son of former NBA player Sonny Parker, will suit up with the Simeon varsity next season.

"He has a skill level that's unbelievable," Smith said of the 6-foot-5 Parker. "He really, really understands the game. Right now in high school he can actually play all five positions."

Of course, there's still a ways to go in Parker's recruitment. He would be a college freshman for the 2013-14 season.

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Illinois ditched its elite camp a few years ago, replacing it with the team camp that took place Sunday. Coach Bruce Weber had become disheartened with the elite camp, largely because the staff "couldn't get some" of the better players to attend the camp. Too much funny business.

But the Illinois staff has turned the Shootout into its finest recruiting event of the year, in terms of getting top prospects on campus. It also helps that the current Illini players have outgoing, recruit-friendly personalities. The likes of Bill Cole, Demetri McCamey, Dominique Keller, Mike Davis and Stan Simpson spent the entire day at Ubben, watching games and their future teammates.

"I get along with those guys great," said UI recruit Meyers Leonard. "That's part of the reason I love coming down here so much."

Weber buzzed back-and-forth between the Assembly Hall and Ubben Basketball Complex, observing committed prospects and prospects he hopes will commit.

"I just think with all of our camps, we're just trying to promote our program," Weber said. "Any time you can get kids on campus, it's a positive thing. You hope you have good players on campus and you can promote our entire university. Our players do a great job with the camps and getting the players around our program. That's been the biggest thing is just getting them here."

The Illinois coaches are going to stick with the team camp in lieu of the elite camp. Assistant Jerrance Howard, who helped run elite camps at Texas A&M and Kentucky, said the team camp is more advantageous because "you don't upset people" by not inviting certain prospects, and the players feel more comfortable with their own teammates and coaches.

"Until you've been here and you've seen our facilities, you might not know how good it is," Weber said. "My thing is making it a first-class operation where people feel good about it. We're fortunate because we have fans that really like basketball, so you get a good crowd with people that want to watch basketball (in June)."

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After a year at Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, D.J. Richardson is back in central Illinois. The incoming freshman said he plans to be on campus for good on Friday. Summer classes begin June 15.

"I've been waiting for this time for a long time," said Richardson, who watched games featuring UI recruits Jereme Richmond and Tracy Abrams and mingled with current players.

Richardson also expressed a sense of relief that he is "all the way" qualified and expected to be eligible to play as a freshman.

"Going to prep school was the best thing that ever happened to him," said his father, D.J. Richardson Sr.

The younger Richardson sported a huge national championship ring he won with a Findlay Prep squad that finished the season undefeated.

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Jereme Richmond remains the gem of Illinois' recruiting haul. The 6-7 forward dominated at least two of Waukegan's games, something he'll have to do more often with the departure of News-Gazette All-Stater Colin Nickerson.

"We don't have that other scorer. We have a lot of role players on this team, and we'll have to work harder," Richmond said. "We'll have to be a more disciplined team."

There's been speculation Richmond would leave Waukegan for a prep school next season. He said his academic standing is strong enough that he'll remain a Bulldog.

"I'll be at Waukegan next year," Richmond said.

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Illinois recruit Meyers Leonard, a rising junior at Robinson, added a new element to his game: a tattoo. About a week ago Leonard got his first tattoo, a design on his back that honors his late father, who passed away when Meyers was 6.

"It hurt all of last week. It's starting to heal up, thank goodness, before this (event)," Leonard said.

Leonard's best game Sunday came against the big lineup from Brehm Prep, with much of the UI roster looking on from a courtside seat. The Robinson standout said he's up to 7-foot, 225 pounds, and eagerly awaits the national signing period in November.

"I just can't wait for that day when I can sign that piece of paper," Leonard said. "Just like Jereme (Richmond) told you last year, I don't expect anything less than a national championship. Just look at all the guys we've got coming in. You've got D.J. (Richardson), you've got Brandon Paul. There's just no reason why we can't."

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Broad Ripple (Ind.) rising sophomore Ron Patterson shows many of the signs of an elite prospect.

It figures to be a challenge for Illinois to pull him out of the Hoosier State – Purdue was the first school to extend an offer – but the 6-4 swingman would be worth their time.

"I would consider Illinois," Patterson said. "I would look at them. I've been here once for a game. I like them. I like how they play. I like Coach Weber."

Patterson said he probably would make a college decision by the end of his sophomore year.

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Bruce Barron, a Class of 2011 prospect, is the point guard at Carbondale Brehm Prep.

"His brother is Justin Dentmon," Brehm Prep coach Aaron Lee said.

You remember Dentmon, a one-time Illinois State recruit that last season completed his college career at Washington. From Lee's viewpoint, Dentmon very easily could have been a point guard at Illinois.

"When Justin became enrolled at Winchendon (Prep), Bruce followed all of the necessary NCAA rules in recruiting him. Other coaches did not," Lee said. "But Bruce did what was best for Justin. Him not getting Justin had nothing to do with Bruce not recruiting him. Bruce lost out on a kid by doing things the right way. Other coaches didn't do that. People should know that."

Why bring this up now? Lee has numerous UI recruiting targets on his roster and handles the recruitments for several of the players at Brehm Prep.

"That story (about Dentmon) is one of the reasons why I would love for one of my kids to play at Illinois for Coach Weber," Lee said. "I know he'll be a better man when he finishes those four years."

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Among the fans in attendance was Bradley coach Jim Les. He could afford to be a fan – and not break an NCAA rule – because his son Tyler is a junior forward at Peoria Notre Dame, one of the teams in the field.

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Illinois' recruiting focus is on the Class of 2011, when it will have up to five scholarships available. One of the top 2011 prospects in attendance was Whitney Young standout Sam Thompson, who might have enjoyed the day's singular highlight, an alley-oop dunk at the Assembly Hall.

Thompson, who has an offer from Illinois, doesn't have to be the star for the reigning Class 4A state champions. "Right now we potentially have seven Division I players," Young coach Ty Slaughter said. And Thompson's recruitment is just getting started.

"It's really kind of amazing when you think about him," Slaughter said. "He's a kid that's very intelligent and comes from a tremendous family. His mom's a doctor, his dad's an attorney. It's kind of the Huxtables in reverse.

"He loves basketball. He's still a fan of the game. He's still a student of the game. The college process has not really taken complete control of him as it has with some players. He still likes playing."

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UI recruit Tracy Abrams spent part of the afternoon with future teammate Jereme Richmond and several of the current Illini.

"I'm starting to get to know them better as people, off the court," Abrams said.

The Mount Carmel rising junior, the top point guard in the field, said he will move from the Derrick Rose All-Stars to the Mac Irvin Fire roster for the July evaluation period.

"I wanted to play with a Nike team," Abrams said. "There were a couple of (conflicts) with me being on an adidas team and going to Nike events."

Chicago Mount Carmel coach Mike Flaherty said the Caravan returns seven of its top nine players, lessening the pressure on Abrams at the point.

"He should be a first-teamer this year. And a lot of that depends on the team's success. It will be more difficult to guard him this year. Last year he didn't really have the kids around him to kind of offset the double teams. I think next year we'll be a little more equipped to do that. So I think it will be a little harder to guard him one-on-one."