Trio Emerging As Favorites for Top Ranked Phoenix Gill

The Chicago Elite Classic is one of the premier early season events across the country.  Prep Hoops Illinois attended over the weekend catching a large majority of the top players in the state.  Among those was St. Ignatius star and PHI #1 overall 2025 prospect Phoenix Gill Phoenix Gill 6'3" | SG St. Ignatius | 2025 State #72 Nation IL .  The St. Ignatius shooting guard is an ultra smooth scorer with a clean jumper, plus athleticism, and creativity off the bounce.  He went for 22 points (8-23 FG), (2-7 3 PT) (4-5 FT), 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in a narrow loss to Riverside Brookfield on Saturday.  We caught up with him after the game to get his thoughts on the early season.

“It is a little up and down right now.  We are not playing up to par.  We shouldn't have lost this game.  It was a bad loss.  I feel like we are going to get better and move onto the next.”

Where has he seen the most growth in his game from sophomore to junior year?

“I think knowing how to make the right play basketball IQ wise.  Playing off two feet that helped a lot.  Also my cutting.  I know they are going to tag me or full deny me every play so I have to know how to cut and make the proper reads.”

Gill told us the latest with his recruitment and from the sounds of it there are several favorites starting to emerge.

“Northwestern, Stanford, and Iowa State are recruiting me the hardest.  They are really dialed in on me.  I feel like down the stretch those three are the ones that are heavy right now.”

Northwestern has put a lot of work in on this recruitment and he is closely paying attention.

“I love their guard play.  As we saw last night in the Purdue game Boo Buie was going off.  Ty Berry.  It is a good fit for me.  They run a lot of plays for their guards.”

Stanford also fits the high academic along with high-major basketball.

“They let their guards play with some freedom.  They had Tyrell Terry a few years ago.  They have Stojakovic, Peja's son.  They are going to be big time players.  They really run things through their guards.  That would be a great place for me to go.  They run a lot of sets to get you open.”

Iowa State has also made an impression on the St. Ignatius guard.

“I love their togetherness.  Everything is good with them.  They play zone on the backside with their defense that makes teams turn the ball over.  They get a lot of fast break opportunities because of that.  I am a fast break guy of course.  They let their guards do whatever they want and control the pace of the game.”

What other schools are involved?

“Illinois of course will always be in the mix.  They are a little less on the recruiting, but I feel it could come into play of course because my dad went there.  They are 4^th right now.  I like their togetherness, brotherhood, and tenacity on defense.”

Does he wish they would put the peddle down harder?

“Yea of course I do.  It is what it is at the end of the day.  It is going to come down to what is the best fit for me and who is recruiting me the hardest and who actually wants me.  They have been good, but they just haven't been talking to me.  I would like to see them come after me hard.”

He talked about a timeline for a decision.

“I would say some time around 9 months from now toward the end of summer.  Sometime before basketball season.”

His dad Kendall Gill was a heavily recruited prospect in the 1980's before a big time college and long NBA career.  What has he talked to him about when it comes to the recruiting process?

“He is letting me do my own thing.  He obviously gives me good advice on what to do in certain situations.  I am just taking it a day at a time.  It is not about where my dad went to school.  He honestly wants me to go where the best fit is for me.”

What will be most important in a program for Gill?

“Education first off.  Having the right guys in the locker room.  Having the right guys on campus is really going to play a factor.  Of course you want a beautiful campus.  Northwestern, Iowa State, and Stanford all have beautiful campuses.  I am hoping to get a degree.”

The top 2025 prospect in the state is clearly watching those who are making him a priority and taking the time to check out their games to see how he would fit in their style of play.  It would not shock us at all to see him be one of the first in his class to come off the board.