Skylar Jones is a little ahead of schedule.
The Public League’s top senior and the state’s highest-ranked uncommitted prospect announced her commitment to Missouri on Saturday.
The Tigers were one of five finalists for Jones, who also considered Syracuse, Mississippi State, Illinois and Rutgers.
“What stood out to me is they have the best of both worlds, athletically and academically,” said Jones, who has not decided on a major.
Missouri is coming off an 18-12 season highlighted by an overtime victory against eventual national champ South Carolina.
The 6-foot wing spent the fall taking official visits and had targeted a decision at the end of October.
“Big relief,” Jones said. “When I announced my commitment it was a real good feeling. The recruiting process was real stressful.”
One of the hardest parts was delivering the news to the schools she did not choose.
“I felt a real connection to the staffs and even some of the players,” Jones said of the other finalists.
Jones averaged team bests of 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 3.0 assists per game last season for the Dolphins, who won the Public League title and reached the Elite Eight in Class 4A before falling to Benet in the supersectional.
Now she can focus on her senior season as Young looks to gear up for another long postseason run.
“I’m going to be completely honest, we’re struggling [now] because we’re not all on the same page,” Jones said. “But we had that kind of problem last year [also].”
Knowing that everything worked out then gives Jones confidence history will repeat.
“We have a lot of talent across the board,” she said.
Jones leads the way at No. 96 nationally in the espnW/HoopGurlz rankings for the class of 2023.
She was the last of Illinois’ six top-100 players to commit, following No. 62 Jordan Wood of Carmel (Michigan State), No. 73 Janae Kent of Oak Forest (LSU), No. 77 Katy Eidle of Hersey (Michigan), No. 80 Emily Fisher of Libertyville (Maryland) and No. 83 Lenee Beaumont of Benet (Indiana).
Staying close to home
Senior guard Jazelle Young, the top returning scorer and rebounder for Kenwood, has committed to Loyola.
Young averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds last season for the Public League runner-up and Class 4A regional champ Broncos. She’s the second Kenwood player to commit to Loyola in two years, joining current Ramblers freshman Whitney Dunn.
Rising stars
Three local juniors are ranked in the espnW/HoopGurlz top 60 nationally. Grayslake Central’s Tahj Bloom and Rolling Meadows’ Roisin Grandberry, both 6-3 forwards, are No. 38 and No. 49 respectively. Xamiya Walton, a 5-5 point guard for Butler, is 55th.
No area players are in the espnW/HoopGurlz top 25 for sophomores, but Naperville Central guard Trinity Jones is among the top 25 freshmen.