(2022) - PF A. J. Casey to Miami

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Talented class of 2022 forward AJ Casey becomes the latest player to land an offer from #iubb. The Chicago native started alongside Gary WestSide’s Jalen Washington for MeanStreets last spring.

AJ Casey @AndreCaseyjr_23

So blessed to say I have received an offer to Indiana University #gohoosiers

 

5-star 6'8" PF from Chicago.  Played his freshman season at Simeon HS and then transferred to Tinley Park.   No MaxPreps data available.

247

Rivals

NBC Sports

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-recruiting-class-of-2022-names-to-know-a-j-casey/?fbclid=IwAR2OOwgVlmAwL1ND72QPZjoDaI9T8QzJ2Hoo6gLCMo2pee0V4KCwu8pT1yQ

 

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Alec Lasley on Casey

https://indiana.rivals.com/news/2022-introduction-aj-casey

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

“I was just blessed,” Casey told Inside the Hall about his IU offer. “Grateful for the opportunity that they are willing to give me a scholarship to a big program like them, so I was just really excited at the time.”

https://www.insidethehall.com/2020/06/22/class-of-2022-five-star-forward-aj-casey-talks-iu-offer-and-desire-to-always-get-better/

[HoosierAloha]

“I was just blessed,” Casey told Inside the Hall about his IU offer. “Grateful for the opportunity that they are willing to give me a scholarship to a big program like them, so I was just really excited at the time.”
https://www.insidethehall.com/2020/06/22/class-of-2022-five-star-forward-aj-casey-talks-iu-offer-and-desire-to-always-get-better/

Really like the kids attitude, regardless of where he ends up.


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On 6/18/2020 at 6:57 PM, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Talented class of 2022 forward AJ Casey becomes the latest player to land an offer from #iubb. The Chicago native started alongside Gary WestSide’s Jalen Washington for MeanStreets last spring.

AJ Casey @AndreCaseyjr_23

So blessed to say I have received an offer to Indiana University #gohoosiers

 

5-star 6'8" PF from Chicago.  Played his freshman season at Simeon HS and then transferred to Tinley Park.   No MaxPreps data available.

247

Rivals

NBC Sports

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-recruiting-class-of-2022-names-to-know-a-j-casey/?fbclid=IwAR2OOwgVlmAwL1ND72QPZjoDaI9T8QzJ2Hoo6gLCMo2pee0V4KCwu8pT1yQ

 

 

Casey and Mohammed are playing at the Quincy Shootout, which is a nice little 2 day event at the end of January. Really looking forward to watching Casey live, assuming we’re able to congregate by then.

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan]

Casey and Mohammed are playing at the Quincy Shootout, which is a nice little 2 day event at the end of January. Really looking forward to watching Casey live, assuming we’re able to congregate by then.

You close to Quincy?

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15 minutes ago, woodenshoemanHoosierfan said:

You close to Quincy?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

West side of St Louis, so a couple of hours. The last couple of years haven’t gotten to see nearly as many events as I used to. So, depending on conditions, would like to do Marshall County, Bass T of C and Quincy Shootout this year. Quincy and Bass have really good fields. We’ll see.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Michigan offered five-star sophomore AJ Casey Jr. this evening, he told @Stockrisers.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Stockrisers -

Peers in his area call him a ‘generational’ talent, that is the expectation of five-star junior AJ Casey Jr. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks this past season but the five-star prospect will not return to Tinley Park. According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the dynamic forward will attend another high school next season.

This hasn’t and will not change the busy recruitment of the big man. Casey Jr. told Stockrisers.com that he is being pursued by “Illinois, Gonzaga, DePaul, Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Kansas, and Purdue.”

In an update with Casey Jr. that was taken on August 27th, he said that he’s talked with Michigan’s Juwan Howard, Gonzaga’s Rodger Powell, and Illinois’ Chin Coleman. Although, he said he’s been in touch with pretty much all the programs that have offered him and have shown serious interest.

He adds that the newest program that’s in the mix in his recruitment is Ohio State. The Buckeyes hosted Casey Jr. and his family for a zoom call on August 25th. Chris Holtmann and his staff would end up extending an offer to him and have instantly entered the mix along with plenty of their Big Ten opponents.

Another program in the Big Ten making a push at Casey Jr. is none other than Illinois. The hometown school, the local program, has been making a major push at him. Stockrisers.com had the report that Brad Underwood completed a zoom call on the evening of August 26th

“[each coach] They love my athletic ability, the versatility in my game, my jump shot, defense and looking to play as a wing and be a positionless player,” Casey Jr. said.

Despite having pretty much the same schools in the mix and not much shift in his recruitment, I expect more programs to take a look at Casey Jr. He is a special talent ranked amongst the Top-25 prospects in the class of 2022. If blue blood programs entered the mix it wouldn’t be any type of surprise for me.

Casey Jr. has no timetable to cut his list and/or make any type of college decision.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

AJ Casey transfers to Young

The talented 6-8 forward who began his career at Simeon and played his sophomore season at Tinley Park is headed back to the Public League.

The state’s top-ranked prospect in the junior class, AJ Casey, is on the move.  The talented 6-8 forward who began his career at Simeon and played his sophomore season at Tinley Park is headed back to the Public League. Casey will attend Young this year.

Casey is among the top 20 prospects in the country in the Class of 2022.

Casey says his family has had its eye on moving to Chicago and finding the right school balance. “We have actually been looking to move and have been looking for a house in the city for awhile,” said Casey. “We found a house and started thinking about schools and what would be best for me.”

Casey says there was some consideration given to attending a prep school for his final two years. His mom, however, wasn’t on board with that.  “My mom really wanted me to stay here and not go the prep school route,” said Casey. “So we wanted to find the best possible school here. Young is one of the best academic schools in the city and state. I’ve been an honor roll student so when looking at the academic side of things, I wanted to challenge myself even more.”

While it will be his third school in three years, Casey says he is excited about the opportunity at Young –– academically, culturally, socially and athletically.  “Young has so much of everything,” said Casey. “I have always done what I’m supposed to do in school. I make friends pretty easily and get along with people well.”

Casey is familiar with playing for a powerhouse basketball program. He played a small role as a freshman at Simeon, where he provided a put back basket at the buzzer to beat Brother Rice in overtime to win a Class 4A regional title. He finished with eight points and 11 rebounds in that regional title game.

He now joins another basketball power program at Young. While youthful and somewhat inexperienced, the Dolphins are expected to be among the top five teams in the state next season with Casey and the return of super sophomore guard Dalen Davis and promising 6-7 junior Xavier Amos.

A long, multi-faceted forward, Casey broke through with a monster sophomore campaign. He put up some whopping numbers, averaging 22 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.1 blocks at Tinley Park this past season. As one of the elite players in the country, Casey has also been a part of USA Basketball and is national recruit.

With a bevy of high-major offers, Casey will have his pick of big-time college programs to choose from. While he says he’s not close to making a decision, he says there are a few schools that have stood out in terms of recruiting him the hardest at this point.

“Michigan, Iowa State, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, DePaul and Gonzaga to name a few,” said Casey when asked what schools have been the most involved. “I’m still a long way from making any decision.”

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

We'll likely be on the outside looking in on this kid after it's over.

Chicago Sun-Times -

This was to be the time AJ Casey, the state’s top-ranked junior prospect, would be performing on a big stage.

As a freshman at Simeon the heralded prospect played an important but small role for the Wolverines. Then last year as a sophomore at Tinley Park he was rarely seen by the masses.

But following a transfer to Young for his junior year, Casey was poised to not only be a big name but become a prep hoops must-see attraction this season. He boasts the type of versatility and skill you typically don’t see in a player his size.

With the national schedule Young plays every year, the 6-8 forward would be seen in high-profile events, including the Chicago Elite Classic, the Beach Ball Classic in Florida and a trip to Washington, D.C. in the month of December alone. Those opportunities have been canceled, due to the coronavirus, while the coming months are still up in the air.

“It’s definitely been frustrating,” said Casey. “You do get frustrated with how everything is right now. I was excited about being able to showcase myself, to showcase my talent. But you take it day by day and stay positive, keep working and keep believing that something positive will happen. ”

Casey hasn’t even been able to enjoy the recruiting process, which will surely become a heated one in the coming year. A player who is considered to be among the top 25 players in the country, Casey would typically have been on campuses this fall for unofficial visits and taking in some college games as a special guest this winter. Now he’s relegated to phone calls and zoom meetings.

“The zooms have definitely gotten old,” admitted Casey of the go-to recruiting method used by college coaching staffs these days.

Despite the boredom of the current way recruiting is done, Casey remains appreciative of the coaches who are putting in the time to recruit him.

“It’s how recruiting is now, and it is a little boring,” he says. “But that is their job and I understand that. They have to do what they have to do. But I’m still learning. I am able to get to know coaches and about schools. They are investing a lot of their time, and I am grateful for that.”

The list of suitors is endless. There are high-major programs across the country who are already entrenched in his recruitment. Casey says he has a pretty lengthy list who he hears regularly from and has interest in. But he did single out a few that stand out.

“All the schools are doing their job, giving me the same amount of attention, but Michigan, Gonzaga, Louisville and Ohio State are a few that stand out,” said Casey. “It’s early and I’m sure a lot will change when things get back to normal.”

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Friday night was Casey's first game of the virus abbreviated season and Whitney Young defeated Taft 68-41.   He was not named among the scoring /rebounding leaders for Young.

Tonight Young defeated Mount Carmel 81-71.  Casey with 16 pts. and 6 reb.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

https://illinois-basketball.com/whitney-young-st-laurence-aj-casey/

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Whitney Young dominated Homewood Flossmoor from the start and won 66-42.  Casey with 9 pts. on 3-5 FG; 1-2 on 3s; 2-4 FT; 6 reb; 1 asst; 2 stl; 0 blk; 2 TO.  The starting 5 for Young played 10 minutes in the 1st half and just 6 minutes in the 2nd.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Whitney Young defeated Thornton 67-51.  Casey with 17 pts; 8 reb; 6 asst.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Casey played in the Swish N' Dish event this weekend and is a teammate of Jalen Washington on the Meanstreets squad.  These comments about Casey from Illinois Hoop Prospects-

[IUBBx5Banners]

3 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Casey played in the Swish N' Dish event this weekend and is a teammate of Jalen Washington on the Meanstreets squad.  These comments about Casey from Illinois Hoop Prospects-

Thanks for the update. I know when we initially made contact, there were some twitter comments about how they’d like to play together. What a recruiting coup that would be

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Eric Bossi -

IMPORTANT SPRING AND SUMMER AHEAD FOR CASEY AND WASHINGTON

Currently ranked No. 24 and No. 31 in the class of 2022 by 247Sports, big men Jalen Washington and AJ Casey team up together on Meanstreets and they each have an important spring and summer ahead of them.

A product of Gary, Ind., Washington is still getting back to full speed from a knee injury and the 6-foot-9 junior’s game is in a state of change. He’s adding to his frame as he matures and while he’s currently listed as a power forward, he may make more sense on the college level as a skilled five man who can help control the glass, play good positional defense and also soften defenses a bit because he’s a good jump shooter. He’s also still wearing a bulky brace and it will be interesting to see if he’s able to move around a little better once he sheds it. Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue and Stanford have been among those prioritizing him and of course the new Indiana staff is likely to make him a priority as they settle in.

Friday and Saturday were my first chances to see Casey in person since almost two summers ago, so it was nice to see him live compared to on film. At 6-foot-7, maybe 6-foot-8 he’s pretty mobile and he’s got some skill. A good athlete, he’s a guy that many coaches have told me they are interested in getting a better look at. Some think he’s every bit as good, if not better, than he’s currently ranked while others have wondered. As for his weekend play, he was generally solid and I’m looking forward to seeing what type of summer he has as we look to get a better handle on the rising senior class.

I would imagine new DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield will try to make him a priority and Casey did score offers from Memphis and Gonzaga during the winter months. Illinois, Louisville, Michigan, Purdue and many others are also involved. Just who will show up to watch him play – assuming coaches can get out at some point this summer – will be interesting to see.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Casey was named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 4A All-State team.

Braden Huff of Glenbard West was looked at by Archie and was also named to the 4A All-State team.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Still unknown how many offers extended by the previous staff will be re-affirmed.

Matt Reynolds - Director of the Prep Hoops Circuit -  AJ Casey 2022 @MeanstreetsEYB standout lived up to the hype. He can score at all three levels, impacts defense and plays with heart. Five star no doubt. 

 Jalen Washington is Casey's teammate on Meanstreets and the team went 6-0 on the weekend.