Monday Afternoon Roundup: Horton-Tucker, Chicago basketball, Ben Thorson

Welcome to the Monday Afternoon Roundup, a collection of noteworthy Northwestern-related news from the weekend.

Hello, there hasn’t been too much noteworthy news for Northwestern sports, but rumors are flying. Basketball recruiting continues to ramp up, the Class of 2019 has some interesting prospects, and there’s always arbitrary speculation about a football season that is a few weeks away!

Talen Horton-Tucker plays at Adidas Gauntlet Finale in front of Northwestern coaches

Northwestern has already landed four-stars Pete Nance and Jordan Lathon to the Class of 2018, but Chris Collins’ work is not done yet. Wildcat Report’s Louis Vaccher reported that Collins and his staff were in attendance to watch No. 102 Talen Horton-Tucker, a four-star from the Chicago area, play for Team Rose at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale in South Carolina.

This certainly looks good for Northwestern. According to Michael O’Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times, Horton-Tucker will almost certainly not be attending the same school as fellow Illinois prospect Ayo Dosunmu. With Dosunmu likely going to Illinois, that leaves Northwestern, right?

247’s Crystal Ball has it at 50/50 between Illinois and Northwestern (out of a sample of two writers). Horton-Tucker’s commitment is definitely something to look out for this summer.

Northwestern basketball dedicates Twiggs Park Court

Everyone loves a good neighborhood basketball court. Today, Chris Collins, Jim Phillips and several student athletes were at the dedication of Evanston’s refurbished Twiggs Park Court (at the corner of Dewey Avenue and Payne Street).

Here’s what the court used to look like:

NUSports

And here’s what it looks like after Northwestern basketball partnered with Dynegy and the City of Evanston to do something good for the community.

Go ‘Cats!

Chicago basketball’s increasing relevancy

Northwestern and DePaul are bringing Chicago college basketball back to relevancy, says Fansided’s Jordan Maly. The article is well-written and makes some good points, as both schools are getting new stadiums and are starting to land some top recruits. DePaul recently got a commitment from point guard Tyger Campbell, the No. 56 recruit in the nation. Northwestern, as mentioned above, as landed Nance and Lathon and are searching for two more good recruits to fill out its Class of 2018.

However, it’s really hard to put DePaul in this category if the Blue Demons don’t go better than 9-23 next year.

Clayton Thorson’s brother Ben Thorson

Yes, there is another Thorson from Wheaton, Illinois who plays quarterback. Go figure! Clayton Thorson’s younger brother Ben is also trying to make a go of it in Division-I college football. Ben is listed as 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds. As you can see in the highlights:

His throwing motion is almost identical to his older brother’s.

Ben’s in the Class of 2019, so his process is a long ways off, but according to Rivals he’s becoming an interesting prospect for 2019. Given the familial connection, Northwestern will probably look to recruit him in the future. Clayton will have graduated by then, so the quarterback position will be wide open.