Phoenix Gill from Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius announced his commitment to the Wildcats today on social media. The three-star guard is the son of Illinois legend and NBA player Kendall Gill.
BREAKING: 2025 guard Phoenix Gill commits to Northwestern
- Thread starter mshelton33
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Phoenix Gill from Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius announced his commitment to the Wildcats today on social media. The three-star guard is the son of Illinois legend and NBA player Kendall Gill.
Let's GO!
Fun fact: Gill's Wolfpack did take on Ciaravino's Caravan last December in a Chicago Catholic League conference game, and Ang's squad won 66-58. Gill led his team with 23 points.
Fun fact: Gill's Wolfpack did take on Ciaravino's Caravan last December in a Chicago Catholic League conference game, and Ang's squad won 66-58. Gill led his team with 23 points.
This is a nice fact.
Of course, we all know the final score doesn't matter.
Its how many stars the "experts" assign to the high school kids - thats what tells you is the better player.
With incredible precision.
I'm being sarcastic. Advantage Ciavarino!
It is pretty sweet that Kendall Gill chose Northwestern for his son - or at least allowed it.
The Sun Times reported last year his Dad doesn't believe in AAU and only allows him to play in one or two tourneys a year. That may affect his rating.
EDIT: OTOH, in the flood of Phoenix content, I've seen him on at least two AAU teams from the last year. Maybe Dad's declaration was something from last summer.
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This is great news! A question: is he a PG or a shooting guard? Different sites say different things. Either way seems like a great pickup. Hope we build a tradition of developing great PG's/guards following Boo's success. I would imagine that success played a role in attracting Phoenix.
Kendall Gill was on the Score 670 this morning with Mully & Haugh to talk NBA Finals, and they led off with congratulations for Phoenix Gill's commitment to NU. KG shared his appreciation for Coach Collins and Coach Lowery for their 2 years of consistent recruitment and "showing Phoenix that was the place to be...the program is headed in the right direction, and getting Chicago kids like Ciaravino to build a pipeline..."
Mully and Haugh also cited how the close proximity is a good thing, and KG shared how his son had trepidations ("...I don't want you and Mom stalking me.") to which the elder replied, "Hey man, I'm trying to get you OUT of the house. What makes you think I'm gonna go up there and stalk you? I'm trying to get you out!"
They close by asking him about the Illini legacy, and how difficult it was to allow his son to make his own decision. KG replied, "it wasn't difficult to let him make his own decision...I'm gonna be a straight shooter... Illinois didn't really recruit him. They gave him an offer, but they didn't really recruit him. We knew that last summer..." He then mentioned that Stanford, Iowa State, Harvard, Yale were other contenders, but that Northwestern ticked all of the boxes.
Kendall Gill continues to be true to form as a pundit, and it was fascinating to get this kind of insight.
Mully and Haugh also cited how the close proximity is a good thing, and KG shared how his son had trepidations ("...I don't want you and Mom stalking me.") to which the elder replied, "Hey man, I'm trying to get you OUT of the house. What makes you think I'm gonna go up there and stalk you? I'm trying to get you out!"
They close by asking him about the Illini legacy, and how difficult it was to allow his son to make his own decision. KG replied, "it wasn't difficult to let him make his own decision...I'm gonna be a straight shooter... Illinois didn't really recruit him. They gave him an offer, but they didn't really recruit him. We knew that last summer..." He then mentioned that Stanford, Iowa State, Harvard, Yale were other contenders, but that Northwestern ticked all of the boxes.
Kendall Gill continues to be true to form as a pundit, and it was fascinating to get this kind of insight.
If this is true, and his dad grew almost a foot after his sophomore year in high school, I wonder if there might be some late-bloomer genes here. Perhaps some size and strength yet to come. Also, does a "name" recruit like this raise NU's recruiting profile more than a similar player without a famous dad? Is this the kind of commitment that will make Ahneman or any of our other offers look at us in a different way? Anyway, great get. Nice to beat Undie for one.
This sounds like what I said to my daughter when she was choosing NU. It's taken 35 years to get over his Illini destroying us in the late 80s, but I'm starting to really like Kendall Gill.
In the articles on PG from winter '23 - spring '24, I've read the "not playing AAU', but I've also read, "playing EYBL with Mokan Elite" (Nike Elite Youth Basketball League) which is comprised of AAU teams, but I think is a shorter term commitment. I intuit as he's just playing these tournaments as a guest of Mokan Elite, rather than as year round commitment. (Disclaimer: If you could see/hear me as I typed this out, I'm shrugging and using occasional upspeak, as I don't know AAU ball as deeply outside of ad hoc google searches.)
Solid player and a good commit for NU. How good depends on his continued development. As I recall his dad was a bit of a late bloomer.
I’m sure Kendall wanted him to go to Illinois and I believe they felt a little dissed by Illinois not pursuing harder, but I believe he was more of a back burner recruit for them. In fact their interest may have been almost none if it wasn’t for the link to his dad.
I played for fremd in 85-86'. I suffered a career ending injury mid season. But I watched Kendall Gill beat us in the post season tourney for rich central. If pheonix is any bit as athletic as his dad, we got a steal. I have never seen a player dominate like kg! And we had george poorman guard him all game. Gp went on to start at notre dame as cornerback for their nat champ team in 87/88. Sign me up for this fellow! I really look forward to see how he fits in to our future teams !!
It surely can't hurt, especially in the Chicago area. These days with so much information on the internet recruits can search each other for a lot of information. Having an NBA dad has got to ring some bells.
Backs up what the Undie fans are saying. Gill was a courtesy offer and wasn’t good enough for them. He can go to a place where he might play instead of their powerhouse!
Next up, Back to defending TSJ of any wrongdoing as his trial starts.
Almost makes me feel bad for those chants directed at Kendall from the student section of the old W-R (Gill didn't get it nearly as bad as his teammate, Kenny).
Like this type of pickup stated a while ago that the staff needed to concentrate more on "local" (within a day's drive, so being able to see them numerous times) recruits who, while less heralded, are well coached and are well-rounded players who will do the "little things."
Like this type of pickup stated a while ago that the staff needed to concentrate more on "local" (within a day's drive, so being able to see them numerous times) recruits who, while less heralded, are well coached and are well-rounded players who will do the "little things."
Probably a lot of truth in their statements seeing they are adding Morez Johnson who is a top 30 recruit this year, Fears who is a top 40 recruit next year, and seem to be about to announce on a Canadian kid (Riley?) who is top 20 and likely going to reclass to 2024.
Other than the last name connection I’d say Gill wasn’t high on their radar.
Great fit for NU though- our best fits seem to be kids that will stick around in the program for 3-4 years versus the high yearly portal churn of an Illinois.
You would think they could take the high road when the recruit is the son of one of the most accomplished players in their history.
Doesn’t make Illinois happy if they take a lesser recruit and the Gill’s aren’t happy if his playing time is minimal
Thought this needed to be said: Welcome Phoenix! We can't wait to scream our heads off in an electric Welsh-Ryan as you emerge as a force on the team, in the conference, and in the dance. You've picked a great school and a great program, and no doubt you'll be putting your own stamp on it.
This thread won’t be complete until combes stops by to tell us how this was a “nice get for Northwestern”. He’ll also tout all the highly rated incoming Illini recruits and confirm that Undie had no legitimate interest in PG. Hopefully PG comes in with a chip on his shoulder and turns out to be a star for NU.
The condensation on the social media posts on the Illinois sites are comical.
For Illinois, that was the high road. I’m sure they debated even giving him an offer.
As much as I have said the same (academic reputation enables us to retain players, so we HAVE to recruit kids who genuinely value the diploma)...
I think with all the upheaval in NIL and transferring, we can't really be sure how things will play out going forward.
My fear is that anybody we get who is impressive right away is now a much bigger threat to transfer out. In other words, the fine line between sticking around for the Northwestern diploma and leaving for NIL or NBA exposure or "chance to play for the championship" may have shifted against us.
Football or basketball, I think our way to go is to recruit young players for development. I think the value of the degree will hold those who might be targets for other teams along with NIL money that we devote to keeping them rather than trying to outbid teams for transfers.
I met an impressive young lady who just graduated from St Ignatius and is Wisconsin bound this fall. She gave a strong endorsement of Phoenix Gill’s character.
The Gills (Kendall and Phoenix) guested on Stacey King's "Gimme the Hot Sauce" podcast. I dig Stacey's enthusiasm as the color commentator for the Bulls, so I find him a fun listen. They do 45 minutes, and it's a pretty deep dive on their process. Items I found interesting:
- Kendall loved Stanford. He was all-in from the jump. However, on the way back, Phoenix told his dad he wasn't totally sold on them. Upon returning, they were already planning to go to the NU-Minnesota game. Kendall said that he knew it was over when they had invited them back to the lockerroom, and he saw his son react to how the team was celebrating the win, and just the overall vibes of the program.
- Phoenix cited how Coach Collins and Lowery built such a strong relationship with him - it started in 8th grade, when they'd invite him up to practice.
- Phoenix really was inspired by Boo Buie and Ty Berry - he sees himself as a lead guard. Seeing those guys thrive makes him hopeful that he can do the same type of impact there.
- Kendall really respected Coach Collins - cited how Collins himself was a McDonalds All American from High School, and as a result Collins himself has gone through the recruiting process and is very thoughtful about treating recruits and their families with respect.
- Stacey and Kendall also point out "Chris was a gunner. You wanna play for a gunner, cause they're gonna let you run and go get it."
- Stacey also remarked how much he likes watching the 'Cats play - that Chris has been able to get smart and talented guys up there, and that it's great they're getting more Chicago guys.
- Stacey closes by telling Phoenix to really focus on defense - that's gonna be the way he can get time as a frosh.
- Kendall also kept reiterating that he wanted to be sure Phoenix got into a strong academic school - "At some point, this is all going to be over, and you need to have something good to fall back on." This was pretty much reaffirming the "make the best decision for the next 40 years" argument.