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Class of 2009 Presents The 6-3 Club
Jully 16, 2008

Since the 2009 class entered high school, there's been an elite group of guards that have seen their names at the top.  There have been a few additions since their freshman year, but not many.  They're all in the same general size area and most are off guards though a couple are points.  We call this crew of studs: The 6-3 Club.

Joseph Bertrand, 6-foot-4 ½, Combo Guard, Sterling, Illinois Wolves, Committed to University of Illinois
Coming in to high school, there was not much, if anything, being said about Bertrand.  As a sophomore, he began to show great promise.  He's since developed his skills, athleticism, and body, and though he needs to become a little more consistent, has proven himself as one of the nation's elite guards.  Joseph is a combo guard that has definitely grown a lot in height and may be pushing himself out of the 6-3 club (due to size) but the kid has great potential as a Big Ten player.

David Brown, 6-foot-3, Shooting Guard, Rockton-Hononegah, Illinois Warriors
If there's a player that saw his recruitment soar more than David Brown in the year 2008, please come forth because this kid went from rags to riches!  Brown is a 6'3" shooting guard with good strength, a high IQ, and tremendous shooting range and accuracy.  He's a big time player that has been very clutch for the Illinois Warriors .  Since the high school season ended, he went from a high mid major prospect to a surefire high major prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, DePaul, and Northwestern, among many others.

Chris Colvin, 6-foot-3, Point Guard, Whitney Young, Mac Irvin Fire
Colvin has always made a strong case to figure as the state's top guard.  He's extremely athletic with great quickness, speed, leaping ability, and explosiveness.  It's tough for any defender to guard him one-on-one as he can score or use his high level playmaking skills to get easy baskets.  He has greatly improved the consistency on his 3-point shot which makes him, at the least, a legitimite four-star player.  He has a great chance as a future high major point guard.

Marcus Jordan, 6-foot-3, Combo Guard, Whitney Young, Rising Stars
Whether he was talented or not, Marcus Jordan was sure to have the hype as he entered high school.  Fortunately, he has done more than lived up to his billing as he has surpassed the label of, what most thought him to be, a mid major guard.  The 6'3" power guard has the tools to play the point and the "2".  He can consistently beat you from the outside, uses both hands well, has a very high IQ, and can definitely get to the rack and create.  He's very strong, plays with great poise, defends well, and is a great perimeter rebounder.  He's earned the label of a high major prospect over the course of the spring and early summer.

James Kinney, 6-foot-2, Point Guard, Champaign Centennial, Illinois Elite
James has consistently proven himself as an elite guard throughout his high school career and, just as much, has consistently fallen more and more under the radar.  He's a smooth lefty with a sweet shooting stroke, a yo-yo handle, and great passing skills.  He's active defensively and has all the necessary leadership tools looked for in a floor general. He's got good athleticism and is a score-first player but has all the abilities to play the point guard full time.  He's got offers from 10 mid major schools and is hoping to garner some high major offers after the July evaluation period.

Brandon Paul, 6-foot-3, Shooting Guard, Warren Township, Illinois Warriors, Committed to University of Illinois
Paul is a player that MidStateHoops.com projected to have a whole lot of success when he was labeled as a borderline mid major prospect in his early high school career.  He's got great athleticism, energy, and aggressiveness.  He can shoot the three, make acrobatic finishes at the rim, and has the ability to rise and dunk over anyone in his way.  He's a high leaper and very quick off the ground allowing him to get a lot of second chance points and defensive rebounds.

D.J. Richardson, 6-foot-3, Shooting Guard, Peoria Central, Illinois Warriors, Committed to University of Illinois
MidStateHoops.com was the first to rank D.J. Richardson as the state's number one player.  Though his rankings have fluctuated some over the course of his career, he has never fallen out of our top five and has been, once again, proving himself as the state's best over the course of the past year and a half.  He was very dominant in our Fall League last season, showing a scoring prowess that he had yet to display, and had a strong high school season.  He was very solid during the spring and opened the summer up on a tear at the Peach Jam Invitational.  We project, by summer's end, D.J. will find himself as a borderline top 20 national prospect.

Darius Smith, 6-foot-2, Combo Guard, Marshall, Illinois Warriors
Smith has started varsity since his freshman year and has been to the state tournament each time.  Sure he had Patrick Beverly his first year, Mike Stovall his sophomore year, and yes, he had Ryan Hare last season but the kid has proven himself a winner.  He played very strong with the Illinois Warriors in the spring earning a national reputation as a high major caliber guard.  Don't be surprised if he is able to take Marshall back to the state tournament in his final go around.

Diamond Taylor, 6-foot-3, Shooting Guard, Bolingbrook, Illinois Wolves, Committed to University of Wisconsin
Taylor wasn't brought up with the majority of the guys on this list as he grew up in Wisconsin.  However, the future Badger is definitely one of the cream of the crop in the 2009 class.  He's an explosive scorer with good athleticism and a much improved body.  He can put the ball in the basket from anywhere on the floor and has drawn many comparisons to former University of Wisconsin guard Devon Harris.

Dyricus Edwards, a Peoria-area guard who saw his stock rise tremendously over the course of the past year, and Xavier Humphrey and D'mitri Riggs, two players who are both legitimate Division I prospects but saw their stocks drop rapidly over the course of their high school careers, were also considered.

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