A.J. Guyton, Peoria Central, Class of 1996

While the Peoria Manual Rams were stealing all the headlines in the late nineties winning four consecutive state titles, A.J Guyton had a successful high school career at Peoria Central.

Guyton went on to play collegiately in the Big Ten at Indiana University.  It didn’t take the 6’1’’ combo guard with a deadly cross and silk stroke to make his impact felt in Bloomington.  After averaging nearly 14 points as a freshman, Guyton would become the Big Ten Co-MVP by the time he was a senior averaging nearly 20 points.  He finished his career as the fourth all time leading scorer for one of the most storied programs in the country.

Guyton had a two-year stint in the NBA, one season with the Chicago Bulls, played overseas in Europe, and now currently plays in Argentina.  End to End had the chance to catch up with A.J. about his playing days, and what’s in store for him.

Describe your high school career, and how your recruitment went?

My high school career was pretty good.  Back then I was a pretty good scorer, and I was trying to learn how to become a leader.  It enabled me to get recruited by some division one programs.  At the very beginning there weren’t that many major programs recruiting me.  Playing at Peoria Central gave me a lot of exposure.  I was able to go to the Nike camp, I was able to get on Larry Butler’s Illinois Warriors, and get some exposure at the right AAU tournaments. I got recruited by Indiana, Missouri, St. Louis, Michigan St., and Bradley.

Historically, Peoria has always produced plenty of college basketball players.  Was there ever a rivalry with Chicago?  Where is the better basketball played?

(Laughs).  Obviously at home, I felt like our competition was great up until around 2004.  Then kids starting transferring a lot, and there was a little bit of a drop off.  Chicago definitely has an edge because they have so many more kids and schools.  Peoria’s always been competitive though.  We win our share of championships, and send teams to the state finals every other year.  My argument is always this; I know they respect us and that’s all you can ask for.  They know they could never look past us and they had to bring their A-game or we were going to win.

Talk about what it was like playing for Coach Knight at Indiana.

It was the greatest experience of my life up to this point.  Coach gets a bad rap from people who don’t understand his philosophy or what he’s teaching us inside the basketball team.  I really don’t take into consideration what anybody else says unless you were part of the program.  He made us the men we are today.  If you look, we’re all successful.

You’ve played in the NBA and overseas for several years now, what are you goals moving forward?

My goals are to give back to basketball what it has given to me.  I want to get into coaching at the collegiate level.  What I can bring as a collegiate coach is really need in today’s basketball world.  I’m still young enough to get out there and show what I’m trying to teach.  So my ultimate goal is to be a college coach and give back to it some of the things I got out of it.

What were the main differences in the game between the NBA and overseas?

The style overseas is totally different.  You have to restructure your game to fit in overseas.  The pace is different, and how the game is officiated too.  You have to be in top-notch shape.  Going from big men who dunk all the time in America, to big men who shoot threes.  I always cringe when I hear NBA guys are starting a career overseas because I know what type of adjustment they’re going to have to make.  It’s not easy.

What do you think of IHSA’s switch to four class basketball?

I don’t like the switch.  It was perfect the way it was.  It’s a big mess now.  Unless they have a round robin of the four champions, then you will never know who the real champion is.  I prefer they go back to the old format.

End Of Season Showdown Notes

Brian Stinnette and ChicagoHoops.com’s End of Season Showdown at The Fieldhouse in Merrillville, Indiana showcased some of the best travel teams in the Midwest.  It also served as a last chance during this July’s live recruiting period for college coaches to see the players showcase their ability.  Head coaches and assistant coaches from high division-one programs, all the way through division-three, were in attendance.  On Wednesday and Thursday of the event, so was End to End.

Class of 2012 Point Guards emerge

Landis Farmer, 5′8”, Peoria Manual (Illinois Wolves); Farmer runs the show for the tough Illinois Wolves 15’s.  He is extremely fast with the ball in his hands, and has a slick handle.  Even though he is a true point guard, he has displayed the ability to score in many different ways all spring and summer.  Look for Farmer to make some noise with Manual over the course of the next few seasons.

Fred Van Vleet, 5′11”, Rockford Auburn (Prymetyme); Van Vleet’s point guard skills are as developed as you will find for a 15 year old.  He leads the charge for Prymetyme as they continually make deep runs in tournaments.  It’s been a while since a high-major division-one prospect has come out of Rockford, but if Van Vleet keeps working hard, that trend will end.

Jelani Neely, 5′10”, Simeon (Meanstreets); Simeon head coach Robert Smith may be relying on a sophomore to run the show for his varsity team.  If this summer is any indication, Jelani Neely looks like he will be up to the challenge.  Neely possesses a great skill set that includes a nasty cross, and a great drive-and-dish ability.  Should he continue to work on his perimeter game, as well as getting stronger, he will easily be one of the elite point guards in the CPS.

Look out for Rich South

Over the past few days it has been reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that class of 2010 guard, and Illini commit, Crandall Head will be transferring back to Rich South.  Head will join Macari Brooks to form arguably the most athletic backcourt in the state of Illinois.  Brooks, 6′2”, displayed his amazing athletic ability playing with the Mac Irvin Fire 16’s the past couple days.  The Fieldhouse was buzzing for minutes after Brooks threw down a 360 while getting fouled by an opponent.

Keep your eyes out for more stories, photos, and interviews from the End of Season Showdown…

Remember the Name

Leo’s class of 2010 combo guard, Isaac Smith III, is one of the most underrated players in the city of Chicago.  The 6′2” guard will be depended upon to take over the leadership role of the Lion squad that made it to the 3A final four last season.  With all-state guard James Pointer graduated, Smith may be asked to handle the point guard duties a lot.  He hasn’t run the point for much of his high school career, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t ready.

“I just have step up and be a leader now.  I’m used to him (Pointer) being the leader, but now I just have to work hard in practice with the younger players and play strong,” Smith explained.

Smith’s strong work ethic includes daily workouts in the gym over the summer.  He started training with Steve Pratt, of Full Package Athletics, in the Spring of 2008.  Since then, his offensive game has improved from being primarily a slasher to a capable shooter and distributor.

Currently playing with Pratt’s Chicago Elite travel team, Smith displayed great passing ability in the open court during the first part of the summer circuit.  While he is still streaky from three-point range, he has great lift and rotation on his jumper.  He also has the ability to be a lock down defender due to his speed and long arms.  College coaches started to take notice of Smith’s play at the Chicago Summer Classic in early July.  If Smith can prove he can handle the point this upcoming winter for Leo, plenty of division one colleges will be knocking on his door.

Class of 2011’s Bruce Barron

Carbondale’s Bruce Barron, 6’3’’, is making a name for himself as one of the best point guards in the state. Barron attends Brehm Prep in downstate Illinois and plays for the Illinois Titans over the summer. With ideal size, speed, and strength for a point guard, Barron combines that with an excellent feel for the position and a versatile skill set.

Besides coach Aaron Lee at Brehm, Barron has had another great teacher starting at an early age. Barron credits his older brother Justin Dentmon for the motivation to keep getting better. Last spring, Dentmon finished a successful collegiate career in the Pac-10 where he started at point guard for Washington.

“I grew up watching my brother play basketball. I saw him make it, and put it in my head that I was going to do the same thing he did. I wanted to follow in his footsteps, but be better than he was,” Barron said.

Even though they haven’t played one on one as much as they used to. Barron still admits he has some work to do.

“We played a couple times, and I beat him once. But when it comes down to it, I say he’ll beat me,” Barron said with a laugh.

Barron explained he was working on doing a better job attacking the basket this summer, and not relying on his outside shot too much. During the Chicago Summer Classic, in front of hundreds of college coaches, Barron got into the lane at will. He had plenty of weapons to distribute the ball too. The Illinois Titans start two wings over 6’5’’ who can shoot the lights out, and 6’6’’ James Siakam who finishes everything around the rim.

Before the spring, a fan wouldn’t have been able to find Bruce Barron’s name on any of the website’s that rank players in the state. After the club circuit concludes in August, a fan won’t be able to find a list where he isn’t in the top 10.

Sneak Peek at End to End, Issue Two

- Breakdown of some of Illinois’ best shooters

- Exclusive interviews former IHSA standouts Bryan Mullins (Downers Grove South/Southern Illinois University) and Patrick Beverley (Marshall/Arkansas/Ukraine) who are currently playing in the NBA Summer league.

- Player to Watch: Macon Meridian’s Trent Swigert

- Interviews with AAU coaches Tai Streets (Meanstreets) and Larry Butler (Illinois Warriors)

- Preview and breakdown of the state’s top AAU teams

….and much, much more!