Strike affects Chicago recruits

Many Kentucky Basketball fans follow all the recruiting news when it comes to high school players that have Kentucky on their list. The city of Chicago, alone, is a hot bed for basketball recruiting. Just ask Bruce Weber. He could not recruit the city of Chicago and his job was made worse by guys such as Tom Crean or John Calipari.

As Dave Telep, the Senior National Recruiting Analyst for ESPN.com, tells us, this could have an effect on college basketball recruiting.

Jahlil Okafor is one of the top players in the class of 2014. Kentucky is on his list.

The contact period started over the weekend for college basketball coaches and the teachers strike in Chicago has put a dent on things. In addition to Okafor, two other recruits live in Chicago: Jabari Parker and and Cliff Alexander. Alexander is a high school junior and Coach Calipari can not see him play in the high school gym due to the strike.

This is, in part, due to the restrictions that the NCAA places on high school juniors. Outside of the April recruiting period, high school juniors can only meet with college coaches at their high school.

For seniors like Jabari Parker, coaches can meet at their homes. Seniors, for the most part, have nothing to worry about. It’s the underclassmen that have something to worry about.

The Chicago Public Schools pushed for a waiver by the llinois High School Association for fall sports to go on but there’s no precedent for a waiver to be approved. At a board meeting on Monday, the ISHA voted against giving CPS a waiver. According to a CPS press release, there does not appear to be any sports that will take place during the strike.

There are 43 unresolved issues between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools. It could be a while before things get resolved. While high school basketball season won’t start until later, high school football players are running out of time to showcase their talents to college scouts.