PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Peoria Public Schools started school Wednesday so the summer is over for Aaliyah Guyton.
But what a summer it was for the Peoria High School guard.
The impressive list of schools offering her a basketball scholarship grew over the past few months. And it includes Big Ten programs.
“Iowa, Illinois, Ohio State, Mississippi State, DePaul, Oakland, Michigan State, Missouri,” Aaliyah Guyton said as she listed the schools who’ve made offers to her this summer.”
Guyton is still a relatively young recruit. She’s only played two years of high school basketball.
“This is all knew new to me,” Aaliyah Guyton said. “I’m learning as I go through this process and getting good guidance from my father.”
Her father A.J. was a star at Peoria High, then played at Indiana and in the NBA with the Bulls and Warriors. He’s helping his daughter through the avalanche of interest she has from college basketball programs.
“I’m anxious to see who continues to recruit her,” said A.J. Guyton. “That’s part of the process. People can make offers but wo recruits you. Everybody wants 37 offers but you can only go to one school.
The younger Guyton says she likely won’t make her college choice until next summer. But she’s glad she has a dad who’s been through the rigors of being recruited.
“It’s good for me as a player and as a person. I can ask questions, get different answers from him, a different point of view,” said Aaliyah Guyton.
The two have criss-crossed the country for high school and AAU games over the past couple months. They are in gyms all the time.
But they admit they really have never played against each other in one-on-one. Not even a little friendly competition.
That may chance once Aaliyah’s recruiting is over.
“Right now it’s about keeping her positive. I want her mind to be focused on getting better,” A.J. Guyton said with a smile. “I don’t want to hurt her by defeating her time and time again.”
His daughter appears ready for the challenge.
Her answer: “We’ve got to get that down.”
