Belleville West senior moves up in ESPN rankings after strong showing at Top 100 camp
The recent strong showing by Belleville West senior EJ Liddell at the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Basketball Camp, hasn't gone unnoticed.
Liddell, a 6-7, 220-pound forward who led the Maroons to the Class 4A state basketball championship in March, has moved up to No. 35 on the ESPN's top recruits list for the Class of 2019.
Liddell is also ranked No. 43 by Rivals.com. Liddell, who most recently took an unofficial visit to Ohio State University, competed in the NBPA Top 100 Camp at the University of Virginia. Many of the top high school players from both the Class of 2019 and 2020 competed in the week-long event.
Liddell was named to the camp's all-star team and finished the camp as the fifth leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game..
"It was a great experience and I really learned a lot,'' Liddell said last week. "Being able to play well and play the aggressive way that I like to play and holding my own against one of the top players in the nation really gave a boost to my confidence."
Liddell said that current and former NBA players helped conduct the camp, which included instruction, practice and then two games each afternoon.
" I had known some of the players through social media before I got there. But it was great to get to know them even better,'' Liddell said. "Like I said it was a great experience.''
Also named as the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year a year ago, Liddell averaged 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.9 blocked shots and 2.8 assists for a Maroons team that finished 32-2. Liddell was named a first-team all-state selection by both the Associated Press and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.
Seventeen schools have made offers to Liddell so far, including Illinois, Missouri, Louisville, Georgetown, Kansas State, Iowa, Ohio State, Marquette and Connecticut, among others.
Liddell is playing with his AAU team, Bradley Beal Elite, at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., from July 11-15
This story was originally published June 25, 2018 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Belleville West senior moves up in ESPN rankings after strong showing at Top 100 camp."