Illinois Basketball Recruiting: Mike Shaw To Make Decision Thursday Night

Mike Shaw—a 6'8", 213 pound power forward—will make his decision regarding where he will attend college this Thursday night.

Rivals.com rates the senior high school recruit as a 4-star recruit, listing him as the 58th best player in the nation

Shaw narrowed his list of teams down to Marquette, Illinois and DePaul after taking an official visit to all three schools.

According to Michael O'Brien of the Chicago Sun Times, a source says Shaw is likely to choose Illinois on Thursday.

This may not come as a surprise, though. Shaw's latest visit came to Illinois this past weekend, when Illinois hosted its annual Blue & Orange Scrimmage.

"This is your classic old school recruiting," recruiting analyst Joe Henricksen said. "It's gone down to the wire. I, personally, think it is going to come down to the school that has been in on him since the beginning. I think that is going to pay dividends for Illinois when it is all said and done."

Whether Shaw picks Illinois or not, it will end a four-year battle between the Illini and DePaul for the highly praised recruit out of De La Salle, Illinois.

"We're not used to these recruitments anymore," Henricksen said. "We're so used to kids deciding early. This has been a fight to the finish that has intensified because it's the first time DePaul and Illinois have gone head to head for a recruit in years."

Mac Irvin Fire's head coach, Michael Irvin, has had the pleasure of having one of the nation's best players on his AAU team, and he understands the importance of Shaw's decision.

"This is a big decision for Mike," Mike Irvin said. "He's been one of the elite players in the state for a long time. Whatever he chooses, those are three good schools."