Lane had its first Division I basketball player in program history last year in Shaheed Solebo, who is now a freshman at Youngstown State.
This November it will be back-to-back years for coach Nick LoGalbo’s program as big man Dalton Scantlebury committed to Penn last week. The 6-9 senior will sign with the Ivy League school later this fall during the early signing period.
Scantlebury said that Penn was always at the top of his list, because it has one of the top business schools in the country. He also heard very favorable reviews from a friend who is currently a student-athlete at the Philadelphia school.
“I knew that is where I wanted to go, even before they officially offered me,” Scantlebury said. “So when I went on my first visit I really wanted to like it, and I really did.”
He took that unofficial visit in June and followed it up with his official visit this past weekend.
“It’s a great balance of athletics, academics and social scene,” Scantlebury said. “When I went on my visit the campus was just gorgeous. I have felt it all along, that this was the place I wanted to go.”
Scantlebury, who averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds as a junior, became a coveted prospect, especially among high-academic Division I programs, with a stellar offseason.
“The academic piece was very important to me and that started with where I went to high school,” Scantlebury said. “I attribute that to being in a place where academics are going to set me up for the future and to put me in the best possible places in the future.”
Eyes on Oswego East’s Mason Lockett
Oswego East’s Mason Lockett continues to generate buzz and interest while preparing for what should be a breakout junior campaign.
The smooth 6-5 guard was once an under-the-radar prospect, but he vaulted up the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s prospect rankings last winter and hasn’t slowed down. College programs have taken notice.
Already this fall in just a few weeks of open gym time, Lockett has had Xavier, Iowa State, Akron, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and South Carolina all in to see him with more to follow throughout the fall.
Tyler opens up recruitment
Homewood-Flossmoor point guard JD Tyler committed to Kent State two months ago. But with the early signing period in less than two months, Tyler announced last week he was reopening his recruitment. He’s among the top 25 senior prospects in Illinois.
Other recruiting news
• Valparaiso and coach Roger Powell dipped into his home state again in the Class of 2025. Powell and his staff landed 6-7 JT Pettigrew of Bolingbrook one year after signing Joliet West star Justus McNair. Powell’s Valpo roster also includes Illinois products Isaiah Stafford (Bolingrook), Devon Ellis (Conant) and Jayden Watson (Bloom).
• Benet’s Daniel Pauliukonis has received multiple offers since the end of his junior season and has had plenty of activity in open gyms this fall. The 6-9 senior recently returned from a visit to Purdue-Fort Wayne and has October visits set with North Dakota State and Southern Illinois. He also is setting up a visit to Drake.