Northwestern pulled off a major recruiting victory on Monday when three-star point guard Phoenix Gill from Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius announced his commitment to become the first member of the Wildcats' Class of 2025.
Gill chose the Wildcats over offers Stanford, Iowa State and, most significantly, Illinois, where his father, Kendall, starred before going on to an NBA career.
Now, Gill will be joining his mother, a Northwestern graduate, on the purple side of the Land of Lincoln rivalry.
Gill told WildcatReport after a visit last July that he wanted to chart his own course as a player, hinting that he might not choose the same path as his famous father.
That was a notion that Northwestern head coach Chris Collins was very familiar with and helped develop a bond between the player and coach.
"Coach Collins is really similar to me," Gill said. "He told me that he had an NBA dad growing up, too, and how we kind of want to get rid of our dad's names when they're talking about us.
"[They'll say] 'Doug Collins' son' or 'Kendall Gill's son,' so we're trying to eliminate that [label]. And I think he realizes that I'm trying to do that. He feels that he would be the best fit for me [as a coach]."
Illinois may be the home state school, but Gill's announcement demonstrated that Northwestern's proximity to Chicago was a factor in his decision.
"Staying Home!!" it read.
In addition to Illinois and Northwestern, Gill also visited Iowa State multiple times, as well as Stanford.
Gill's addition means that the Wildcats landed a guard from Chicago's Catholic League for the second straight season. Angelo Ciaravino, from Chicago Mt. Carmel, will be an incoming freshman this fall.
Northwestern is one of the first 20 Power Five programs in the Rivals database to pick up a commitment for their Class of 2025.
More to come from WildcatReport...
