Belleville West senior and reigning Mr. Basketball EJ Liddell has a full summer ahead
After leading the Belleville West Maroons to the Class 4A state championship in March and being named Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year in Illinois, EJ Liddell has plans for a busy summer.
But the 6-foot-7, 220-pound Liddell, ranked the No. 43 recruit in the nation by Rivals.com, plans on taking his time to decide which college program he will join for the 2019-2020 season.
Seventeen schools have made offers so far, including Illinois, Missouri, Louisville, Georgetown, Kansas State, Iowa, Ohio State, Marquette and Connecticut, among others. There will surely be more offers in the coming weeks.
"I've had a lot of people texting me with interest and others calling and getting to know me a little bit," Liddell said. "Probably in July. I might take down my list. That's when a lot of the offers might come in because that's when the last evaluation period ends."
A member of the St. Louis based 17U Bradley Beal Elite team in the Elite Youth Basketball League — where he is teammates with Normal West High School senior and University of Oregon recruit Francis Okoro and East St. Louis senior Terrance Hargrove Jr. — Liddell will attend the MVBA top 100 camp at the University of Virginia from June 12-17.
"The NBPA camp is with many of the top 100 players in the nation, and I also may go to a top 100 camp in Los Angeles later this summer," Liddell said. "Then we'll be playing in our summer league. We need to go out every night and play as hard as we can this summer. We're going to have a target on our backs every night this season."
Liddell will also continue to play with the Bradley Beal Elite Team in addition to playing in the Southwestern Illinois College Summer League with his Belleville West team as they begin to work towards defending the Class 4A state title.
Liddell, who averaged 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Maroons team that finished 32-2, was also named a first-team all-state selection by both Associated Press and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. He plans on making an unofficial visit to Ohio State University in June. He has also made unofficial visits to Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas State.
With five of its top eight players returning, including Liddell, Lawrence Brazil III and Keith Randolph, Belleville West will be marked by their opponents.
Maroons coach Joe Muniz said that in addition to competing in the Southwestern Conference, West will compete at the Washington Tournament of Champions, the O'Fallon and Highland shootouts, the Marshall (Ky.) County Shootout and the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo.
West will also play nonconference games against Springfield Southeast and St. Louis Chaminade.
Muniz said that Liddell is handling the recruiting process very well.
"EJ has a ton of schools who are wanting his services beginning in the fall of 2019, and he's handled it very well," Muniz said. "He doesn't get too up tight about it. He and his family are going through a process, and they're going to let the process play out. I know that when it's time, he will make the decision which is right for him."
Liddell is also working on becoming an even better player. It's that same work ethic that has made him one of the top high school players in the nation.
"I'm working on all aspects of my game right now," Liddell said. "I'm spent a lot of time on my ball-handling and 3-point shooting. I want to play the the stretch 4 at the college level. I can shoot the 3. I just maybe have to take a little further out."
This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Belleville West senior and reigning Mr. Basketball EJ Liddell has a full summer ahead."