One player who has a tremendous upside in the Class of 2002 is 6-10, 215 pound center/power forward James Augustine of Lincoln-Way H.S. in New Lennox, Ill.

A long lefty insider, Augustine had a good Three Stripes Classic tournament at Hofstra University. A nice young man who works hard, Augustine is likely to see his recruiting pick up due to his great upside.

Augustine told us he is wide open and has not really cut his list down. But he has interest in Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Notre Dame, and Northern Illinois.

Augustine is very agile and mobile, and he flies in for offensive rebounds and stickbacks. He likes to step out on the wing and put the ball on the floor a bit and shoot the occasional three pointer, but that's not really where his future lies.

On the defensive end, Augustine used his long arms to frustrate opposing team's big men. This past season playing alongside Marquette signee Kevin Menard, Augustine averaged 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five blocks per game. He said he has a 3.0 GPA and has achieved qualifying scores on both the SAT and ACT.

Augustine will rejoin his regular club team, the Illinois Gold, at the AAU Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

James Augustine AT THREE STRIPES CLASSIC:

Illinois Fire versus Beach Ball: A tough game for the Fire. Raymond Felton and company own this game from the start. Augustine never gets going. He scores just four points.

Illinois Fire versus New York Ravens: The Fire outwork the Ravens in this matchup. Augustine stays out of foul trouble and plays a smart game. He scores seven points and grabs seven rebounds.

Illinois Fire versus Houston Superstars: The Fire match up well here and win this game, 80-66. Augustine hits a three-pointer and ends up with seven points coming off the bench.

Illinois Fire versus Newark Rams: Augustine gets into a little bit of early foul trouble. He scores five points.

Illinois Fire versus Newark Rams: In a rematch during the pool tournament playoff round, Augustine picks up eight points and seven rebounds.

Illinois Fire versus SE Raptors: A matchup against rising junior big man Jackie Butler. Augustine handles himself just fine and scores seven points.

*Remember, Augustine is the third or fourth offensive option for the Fire. His shot selection was good but his chances were limited.