Nov. 10, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State head basketball coach Tim Jankovich solidified the Redbird backcourt for years to come as guards Johnny Hill (Glenbard East), Nic Moore (Warsaw, Ind.) and Nick Zeisloft (Lyons Township) each signed National Letters of Intent (NLIs) to continue their education and basketball careers at Illinois State.
"We are so excited that these three young men have chosen to become a part of our program," Jankovich said. "Individually, they are all outstanding players in their own right, but for us, it is even more exciting when we think of them as a group and all the positive attributes they can bring to each other. We are very impressed with their talent, character and their drive to become great players. They also share the fact that they come from highly successful programs."
Hill, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard, averaged 18 points, six rebounds and 3.5 steals per game as a junior at Glenbard East. He also led the Rams to a 27-2 record and a trip to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 4A sectional championship game, where they fell to Benet Academy. Hill earned All-DuPage Valley Conference honors in 2010 and was selected to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) All-State Fourth Team.
In addition, Hill led the Rams to titles at both the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout and the Loyola Rambler Shootout last season. He was named the most valuable player at the Riverside-Brookfield event. Hill spent the spring playing on the AAU circuit with the Rising Stars Gold. According to ESPN.com, Hill is "a solid all-around wing with excellent upside." Hill is also considered a top-15 prospect in the state of Illinois.
Moore, a 5-foot-9 point guard and three-star Rivals recruit, led Warsaw Community High School to a 23-3 record and a berth to the state title game. The two-time Warsaw Times-Union Area Player of the Year averaged nearly 21 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals per game. He also shot 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and converted 79 percent of his free throws.
Entering this season, Moore has scored 1,182 career points at Warsaw, which ranks sixth in school history. He scored 28 points and dished out six assists in the Indiana 4A state title game last season. On the AAU circuit, Moore led the Spiece Indy Heat to the final four in the 17-under division at the NIKE Peach Jam, in North Augusta, S.C. Illinois Prep Bulls-eye states that "Moore is a jet-quick point guard who possesses the outstanding combination of tremendous scoring ability to go along with exceptional playmaking skills."
Zeisloft, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, led Lyons Township (LaGrange, Ill.) to a 26-2 record in 2009-10, by averaging 11.5 points per game. He shot 40.9 percent on threes (52-for-127), while adding 4.5 rebounds and a team-leading 3.4 assists per contest. The Lions advanced to the IHSA Class 4A sectional finals after opening the season with 23-straight victories, but lost to the eventual state champion, Chicago Simeon.
Zeisloft played AAU basketball for Full Package Athletics and he scored 25 points in a near upset over AAU power, Meanstreets, during the End of the Season Showdown in Merrillville, Ind. He ranks as one of the top Class of 2011 prospects in the state of Illinois, according to ChicagoHoops.com. Zeisloft has also been tabbed as "one of the premier shooters in Illinois," by the City/Suburban Hoops Report.
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