DePaul recruit Billy Garrett Jr. has the desire to compete at the highest level against the highest competition, a characteristic common among great athletes.

The Class of 2013 signee, a 6-foot-4-inch, 170-pound guard, will join his father, Assistant Coach Billy Garrett Sr. at DePaul next season.

Coach Garrett had a pretty good idea of where his son would have a chance to play against top tier talent. His son shared his opinion.

“Ever since I left Chicago, I’ve been trying to work to get back here,” said Coach Garrett. “The competition and talent is elite here. Everywhere we’ve gone, Billy’s been, well, dominant. He wanted to come back here to see how good he was. This is where his measuring stick was.”

Coach Garrett would know. His coaching career began in Chicago and has taken him across the country. Garrett has made stops in New York, Iowa, New Mexico and New Jersey before joining the DePaul coaching staff in 2009.

Of all the basketball he’s seen over the last three decades, Coach Garrett believes that no league can match the athleticism and competitiveness of Chicago’s Public High School League.

“The thing about the Public League is, it’s a high intensity game. You have to bring your name, not your game,” Coach Garrett said.

So when it came time for Garrett’s son Billy Jr. to attend high school, both father and son knew that Chicago was the place to play.

So how has Garrett Jr. measured against Chicago’s elite?

He helped Morgan Park to the City Title as a sophomore. He holds the school’s career mark for scoring and assists. He has the 23-3 Mustangs ready to make a run at the State Title.

“He didn’t understand the physical aspect of the Public League,” said Morgan Park head coach Nick Irvin. “[As a freshman] he played seven games on the frosh-soph so he could get used to the pushing, the shoving, the hard fouls, the elbows.” Irvin was a three time First Team All-State sharpshooter at Carver in the late ’90s.

“Once I thought he was ready, I pulled him up to varsity, and he hasn’t looked back since,” said Irvin.

Banners now adorn the South Side gymnasium where Garrett Jr. has wowed fans, coaches and teammates since 2009. His most recent triumph came in a thrilling Public League Tournament semifinal overtime victory over Duke recruit Jabari Parker’s Simeon squad.

“Simeon was all about perseverance. We went up, we went down. We stayed together,” said Garrett Jr.

Kyle Davis, who has earned a scholarship to attend the University of Dayton next season, committed a turnover late in the game, and Morgan Park fell behind 53-52 in overtime.

“I turned over the ball, and we called timeout. I was beating myself up because I turned it over, and Billy came up to me,” Davis recalls. “He said ‘Kyle, stay calm. You got the next play.’ Next play we come down, and I forced a jump ball. Saved us.”

Returning the favor with 10 seconds to play in overtime, Davis hit a streaking Garrett Jr. at mid-court, and the resulting layup was the difference for the Mustangs.

“Billy really knows how to pick up a person when you need them,” said Davis.

Garrett Jr. will join a Blue Demon squad next year that could certainly use a lift.

With only two seniors on this year’s team that has won only two Big East games so far, Garrett Jr. will be playing with an experienced bunch: starting guard Brandon Young, and forwards Cleveland Melvin and Donnavan Kirk will be seniors next season.

Whether he’s announced in the starting lineup or will join his father on the bench, Garrett Jr. can’t wait to get started at DePaul.

“I’m going to come in, and I’m going to work. I’m not going to work to come off the bench, I’m going to work to be a starter. If I am, great, but if I’m not, I’m going to try and contribute the best I can.”