1990s All-Decade Team: Illinois High School Basketball Legends

I have spent many hours researching these 90's players and hope I present the best of the best. My task to find the best seems to be getting more difficult with each decade.

Noticeably absent from my list is Kevin Garnett. His talents are unquestionable, but he came to Farragut as a senior and left for the NBA immediately after his one year there. I "chose" to not include him. Again, as with the 80's, I have gone over the 10-player limit and probably still left someone off that is deserving.

The All-Decade Team

Kiwane Garris — Chicago Westinghouse (1993)

6'2" Guard. College (Illinois). 2xAll-State, 2nd Team Parade AA. Won City Championship in '92, team was 79-15. 22 points and 6.0 assists average as senior. 1,948 points at Illinois (16.6 ave.), led Big Ten in FT% in '95–'96 at .866%. 2xAll-Big Ten.

Tyrone Nesby — Cairo (1994)

6'5" Forward. College (Vincennes CC/UNLV). 2xAll-State, 2nd Team Parade AA. Cairo team was 96-30, finished 3rd in state in '93. Scored over 1,700 points and was a dominating force inside. 2xAll-American at Vincennes. In 2 years at UNLV scored 1,050 points (16.2 ave.) and had 413 rebounds (6.4 ave.). 4 years in the NBA.

Frank Williams — Peoria Manual (1998)

6'3" Guard. College (Illinois). 2xAll-State, McDonald's AA, Illinois Mr. Basketball. 23 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals as senior. Manual won 3 state titles (94-5). Scored 1,440 points with the Illini and averaged 4.3 assists for career. 1st round draft pick by the Nuggets. Played 3 years in the NBA.

Ron Fields — Chicago Farragut (1995)

6'3" Guard. Declared for the 1996 CBA and was selected by the LaCrosse Bobcats. Played in Europe and other places overseas. 2xAll-State, 3x Parade All-American, McDonald's AA, Illinois Mr. Basketball. Scored 2,619 points, 32.0-point ave., 12 rebounds ave., 5 assists ave., and 4.5 blocks ave. as senior. Teams were 84-11. Fields suffered a broken neck a week before playoffs and the state tournament in '96 and left school early. Said to have had a 44" vertical.

Sergio McClain — Peoria Manual (1997)

6'4" Guard. College (Illinois). 2xAll-State, Mr. Basketball in '97. Started on team that won 4 state championships (121-11). Scored 841 points at Illinois. Member of '01 Elite 8 team.

Melvin Ely — Harvey Thornton (1997)

6'10" Center. College (Fresno State). 2xAll-State, Parade AA, McDonald's AA, National POY. Thornton teams were 93-4 and finished runner-up to Manual in the state tournament in '95 and '96. Averaged 15.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.2 blocks as senior. At Fresno he scored 1,519 points and averaged 7.5 rebounds. 2xWAC POY, 4xAll-WAC Defensive Team. 1st round pick of the Clippers. 9 years in the NBA, finished with 1,992 points and 1,215 rebounds. Played on the '07 Spurs Championship team.

Quentin Richardson — Chicago Young (1998)

6'6" Guard. College (DePaul). 2xAll-State, McDonald's AA. Team was 60-3 and won the state tournament in '98. Only player in DePaul basketball history to have over 1,000 points, 500+ rebounds, and 100+ 3's in career. 2xAll-USA Conference, USA POY. Declared for the NBA after his sophomore year and was the Clippers' 1st pick. Played 13 years in the NBA. 8,032 career points (10 ave.).

Mike Robinson — Peoria Richwoods (1996)

6'6" Guard. College (Purdue). 3xAll-State, McDonald's AA, Gatorade POY in the Midwest. Scored 2,944 points. Team was 75-37 during his 4 years. Scored 1,322 points at Purdue. '98 All-Big Ten Tournament.

Juwan Howard — Chicago Vocational (1991)

6'9" Forward. College (Michigan). 2xAll-State, McDonald's AA, Parade AA. 27 points and 10.2 rebounds as senior. Team record 72-19. 1,526 points (15.3 ave.) and 745 rebounds (7.5 ave.) for the Wolverines. 3 straight Final Fours (78-10). All-Big Ten, 2nd Team All-American. 1st round draft pick by the Bullets. 1xAll-Star, 1xAll-NBA. 2xNBA Champ with Heat. 19 years in the NBA. 16,159 points (13.4 ave.) and 7,428 rebounds (6.0 ave.).

Brian Cook — Lincoln (1999)

6'10" Center. College (Illinois). 2xAll-State, Parade AA, Illinois Mr. Basketball. Team was 78-10. 22.0-point ave., 10.2 rebound ave., 3.4 blocks ave. senior year. All-Big Ten, Big Ten POY. 1,748 points (13.2 ave.), 815 rebounds (6.2 ave.). Led Big Ten in scoring in '02–'03 with 599 points. 1st round draft pick by the Lakers. 9 years in the NBA. Scored 2,312 points and had 1,115 rebounds. Father is Norm Cook.

Corey Maggette — Oak Park Fenwick (1998)

6'6" Forward. College (Duke). 3xAll-State, McDonald's AA. Fenwick went to the quarterfinals of state in '98, 77-12 overall record. Played one year at Duke, averaged 10.6 points. All-ACC Freshman Team. Lost to UConn in NCAA Finals. 1st round NBA pick by the SuperSonics. 14 years in the NBA. 13,198 points (16 ave.).

Tom Kleinschmidt — Chicago Gordon Tech (1991)

6'5" Guard. College (DePaul). 2xAll-State, 3xAll-Midwest, McDonald's AA. In the '90 state tournament he scored 125 points (31.2 ave.), 38 rebounds (9.5 ave.), 15 assists (3.8 ave.), and 14 steals (3.5 ave.) and lost to King in the finals. 26-point ave., 11 rebounds, and 7 assists his senior year. Team was 81-9 in his 3 years. At DePaul he scored 1,837 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 100 steals. 3xAll-Midwest Conference and 1x Midwest POY. Played in the CBA.

Cuonzo Martin — East St. Louis Lincoln (1990)

6'5" F/G. College (Purdue). 2xAll-State. Won 2 state titles and finished 3rd. Scored 198 points in 3 state tournament games in '89. Teams were 80-16. Scored 1,666 points at Purdue. Teams were 90-37 and went to the Elite 8 in '95. All-Big Ten. Won Big Ten in '94 and '95. 2nd round draft pick by the Hawks. Played with LaPhonso Ellis at Lincoln.

Rashard Griffith — Chicago King (1993)

7'0" Center. College (Wisconsin). 3xAll-State, McDonald's AA, Illinois Mr. Basketball. Won state championships in '90 and '93. Team was 148-6. 22.4-point ave., 14.1 rebound ave., 7 blocks ave. his senior season. All-Big Ten Freshman Team (13.9 points and 8.5 rebounds ave.). All-Big Ten as a sophomore (17.2 points and 10.8 rebounds ave.). 2nd round draft pick by the Bucks in '95.

Chris Collins — Northbrook Glenbrook North (1992)

6'3" Guard. College (Duke). 2xAll-State, McDonald's AA, Illinois Mr. Basketball. 32.7-point average as senior. 50% from 3-point line. Team was 55-6 his junior and senior years. 1,091 points at Duke. 2nd Team All-ACC.

Sherell Ford — Maywood Proviso East (1991)

6'7" Forward. College (UIC). 2xAll-State. 23-point ave. and 50% from 3's as senior. State championship in '91. Team record 79-10. 2,012 points and 807 rebounds in his career at UIC. 2xAll-MCC, Horizon League POY in '95. 1st round draft pick of the SuperSonics.

Troy Hudson — Carbondale (1994)

6'1" Guard. College (Missouri/SIU). All-State. 24.1-point average as senior and 7.0 assists. 109 points in 4 games in the state tournament in '94. All-time leading scorer at Carbondale. Team was 52-8 his junior and senior seasons. In 2 seasons at SIU he scored 1,164 points (4th all-time) and led the team in steals both years. 2nd Team All-MVC. Was not drafted but played 11 years in the NBA. 4,673 points, 1,748 assists, and 877 rebounds.

Antoine Walker — Chicago Mt. Carmel (1994)

6'9" Forward. College (Kentucky). 2xAll-State, McDonald's AA, Parade AA. In 2 years at Kentucky he scored 806 points (11.7 ave.) and grabbed 450 rebounds (6.5 ave.). All-SEC, 2xAll-SEC Tournament. '95–'96 NCAA Champion. 6th overall in draft, picked by Celtics in '96. 12 years in the NBA. All-NBA Rookie, 3xAll-Star. NBA Champ with Heat '06. 15,647 points (17.5 ave.) and 6,891 rebounds (7.7 ave.).