SCOOP OF THE DAY

FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2001

Previous SCOOP'S OF THE DAY available by month - October 1997 November 1997 December 1997 January 1998 February 1998 March 1998 April 1998 May 1998 June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001

EDITOR'S NOTE:  The Scoop of the Day provides you with only part of the recruiting information that we have obtained on a daily basis. Everything else can be found in the Members Section of HOOP SCOOP Online, but it is available only via subscription.   So get your Visa or MasterCard ready and click on Subscribe. 

Friday, August 31, 2001 - One of the many ways that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has influenced the game is via his former assistant coaches.  Obviously, we're talking about Mike Brey at Notre Dame, Tommy Amaker at Michigan, and Quin Snyder at Missouri.  Most people also know that David Henderson had an impressive first season last winter at Delaware and all three of Krzyzewski's current assistants - Steve Wojciechowski, Johnny Dawkins, and Chris Collins - should have equally great futures.    However, there is another former Duke assistant who you may be hearing a lot about this season.  We're talking about Tim O'Toole, who was at Duke from 1995 to 1997.  Then, O'Toole followed Amaker to Seton Hall, where he was the top assistant for a year, and the last three years he's been the head coach at Fairfield.  And this season promises to be make or break time for O'Toole, who has gone 12-15, 14-15, and 12-16 the last three years.  Sure, the pressure is on to win at least 18 or 19 games this year in the tough Metro Atlantic Conference, which should feature Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Niagara, Marist, and Rider all in the hunt for the league championship.  But the smart money should be on Fairfield, because O'Toole finally has all the horses necessary to be one of the surprise teams in college basketball this season.  Once again their go-to-guy will be Sam Spann, who ranked among the top 10 in the conference last year in five statistical categories (scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals, and blocks) and, as a result, should be one of the leading candidates for player-of-the-year honors in the conference.  However, he might not even be the best player on his team.  If you will recall, Fairfield got a late commitment last spring from 6'9 Deng Gai from Milford (Academy) CT, who was ranked as the #7 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP, as well as among the consensus top 30 high school senior by those who included 5th year players in the senior rankings.  Sure, Gai is raw, but he also has the talent, athleticism, and potential to make a lot money playing the game someday.  Obviously the Stags coaching staff was able to take advantage of the fact that Gai is the cousin of 6'11 Ajou Ajou Deng, who transferred to Fairfield from Connecticut last winter.  And of course there is 6'10 Rob Thompson, who was one of the best freshmen in the league a year ago.  In other words, we're talking about a front line that is potentially as good as there has ever been in the history of the league.  It also could be as good as any front line in the Big East.  Jermaine Clark, a 6'5 three-year starter is missing, but 6'8 Brad Feleccia, 6'2 Kudjo Sogadzi, and Jeremy Logan provide excellent depth and 5'4 Tyquan Goode from Brooklyn (Grady) NY is exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of providing the perfect chemistry at point guard.  As a matter of fact, that's why we think Fairfield will be so good this year.  Goode isn't going to score a lot of points, but he's a great floor general, excellent defender, and he makes everybody else around him better. Plus, he's a winner and, if you don't believe it, just ask Ernie Lorch who the glue was that helped New York Riverside Church overachieve so dramatically during the summer and fall of 2000?

Thursday, August 30, 2001 - The inquiry sign is up on two commitments that we reported earlier this week and Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com is reporting that the verbal commitment by 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK to the University of Oklahoma may not mean all that much, because Alexander hasn't qualified academically nor has he even attempted to take the SAT or ACT.  So anybody who thinks that the dominos are going to start falling, like 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK and/or 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK both committing to Oklahoma, are jumping to premature conclusions.  At least that's what Swaim thinks.  "Several people have already jumped the gun and reported that Bookout is on the verge of committing to the Sooners," says Swaim.   "But nothing could be further from the truth.   I still think the Oklahoma is the school you have to beat, but Bookout has official visits set up Oklahoma State on September 7th, Illinois or Arkansas on September 15th, Oklahoma on September 28th, Tennessee on October 6th, and Kansas on October 13th.  And he may make the visit to Oklahoma an unofficial visit, if he also decides to make an official visit to UCLA in late October."  Speaking of UCLA, Swaim thinks the Bruins are the favorite for 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory) OK, who is ranked #62 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Azubuike's father is still pushing him towards by-passing college and entering the NBA Draft next spring.  While we think this is totally ridiculous, at least, if we are proven to be correct, Azubuike won't have totally ruined up his life.  If you will recall, he is a great kid, as well as a straight A student.  In other words, he has an excellent chance at being successful in life whether he plays basketball or not.  Getting back to the Sooners, Alexander also had Kansas, Arkansas, and Illinois on his list, but when Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson recently hired Terry Evans, who was the head coach at Midwest City (H.S.) OK, as an administrative assistant, that pretty much sealed the deal for Alexander.  However, Swaim thinks Evans' presense on the staff at Oklahoma will have little or no effect on Williams.  "Williams is going to Duke," says Swaim.  "I'm more convinced than ever!  The only reason I think he's still taking his visits is he's a man of his word."   However, other people in the business think otherwise. "If Williams was such a lock for Duke, why hasn't he committed yet?" asks one college coach. "Something has to be holding it (a commitment) up and my guess is that's Oklahoma."  As for the other two commitments - 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV to Tennessee and 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA to Florida State, our guess is that both are rock solid.  However, why is Watson making an official visit to Fresno State this weekend?  As for Galloway, we have a source who tells us that he called Florida State head coach Steve Robinson yesterday and told him he planned to sign with the Seminoles this fall.  There also were quotes from Galloway's high school and AAU coaches in the Tallahassee, FL newspaper today.  So in our mind it's 100% done.  However, we still had to check it out further when somebody raised the question earlier today.

Wednesday, August 29, 2001 - We have decided to once again include 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL with the recruiting class of the University of Memphis, because he has never officially reneged on the Tigers.  Actually it's kind of like the situation with 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL last fall when he verbally committed to DePaul.  Not only did Curry's commitment put the Blue Demons recruiting class over the five scholarship limit, but everybody assumed correctly that Curry would enter his name into the NBA Draft and, as a result, would never play a minute at DePaul.   Memphis also is in a similar situation to DePaul a year ago, because the Tigers brought in five players - 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Chris Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA, 6'4 Anthony Rice from North Clayton (College Park) GA, 6'2 Antonio Burks from Hiwassee (JC) TN, and 6'9 Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL - in last year's recruiting class and already have three in the fold this year in 6'8 Qyntel Woods from Moberly (JC) MO, 6'3 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, and 6'8 Almamy Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  So as it stands to now Memphis doesn't have any other scholarships available.  However, when discussing this with our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman this morning, we both agreed that there is an existing precedent to count Stoudemire with the class and let it all get sorted out later, just like we did with DePaul a year ago.  And if the NCAA changes the Five-and-Three rule (they are supposed to meet on it later this fall), then Memphis may sign several more players, even if Stoudemire does opt for the NB Draft next spring.   This change moves Memphis' recruiting class up from #10 to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date and, when you stop and think about it, that's pretty amazing.  If you will recall, Memphis' recruiting class last spring was ranked #1 and it wasn't even close.   But unfortunately in this day-and-age all the top players seem to be on the fast track into the NBA.  So the question becomes how long can Tigers head coach John Calipari keep some of these guys?  In some cases, maybe longer than you might think.  Remember, most people thought Wagner would by-pass college and put his name into the NBA Draft last spring. 

Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on 6'6 Jr LaBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1 ranked player in the nation regardless of class.  No, James hasn't found a way to by-pass college early and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.  And no, James hasn't made an early verbal commitment to Ohio State, which is the school he will likely attend, if he ever does see a day of college.   Instead, it looks like James will once again play football this year for St. Vincent-St. Mary and his first game will be this Friday night.  Upon hearing this news the immediate reaction by most people seems to be that this is not the smartest move.   First, they mention the risk of a career ending injury and, then, they mention the incredible amount of money that James is destined to make someday playing basketball.   "But that's what makes LaBron such a great player," say Johnson.   "He plays sports for the competition and when somebody tells him he can't do something, that motivates him even more."  A classic example came last winter when everybody told James that there was no way St. Vincent-St. Mary was going to beat Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, which was the #1 ranked team in the nation, except by Eddie Oliver of Hoops USA, from start to finish last season.  If you will recall, James hit 13-27 field goals, including 5-10 3-pointers, en route to a 33-point effort in that game.  And two of those 3-pointers came in the final two minutes, plus he had a chance to win the game when an off-balanced 3-pointer in the final seconds bounced off the rim and Oak Hill survived, 79-78.  We've already said that "James is like Magic Johnson with a jump shot," but Johnson thinks James, who is a wide receiver and defensive back, can be another Randy Moss, if he decided to go to college and play both sports all the way through. "I'll even go a step further," says Johnson.  "If LaBron put as much emphasis on football, as he does on basketball, he has the natural talent, speed, quickness, and athleticism, and physical attributes neccessary to become the first player ever picked #1 in the draft by both the NFL and the NBA." 

Saturday, August 25, 2001, Sunday, August 26, 2001, & Monday, August 27, 2001 - Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the University of Richmond has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'10 Kevin Steenberge from Columbia (River Hill) MD and that 6'11 Ted Skuchas from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA has narrowed his list to Stanford, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, Penn State, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame.  Penn State, Drexel, La Salle, Massachusetts, Villanova, Siena, and Virginia are all involved with 6'4 Mike Cook from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and 6'7 Antwayne Robinson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA likes Stanford, Temple, Marshall, SMU, College of Charleston, and Wake Forest.  The list for 6'5 Chris Williams from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD includes Connecticut, Temple, Boston College, Cleveland State, Richmond, George Mason, and James Madison.   Marquette, St. Joseph's, Massachuesetts, and Central Connecticut State have all shown interest in 6'4 Adam Payton from Lawrence (Prep) NJ. Nana Menseh-Bonsu, the 6'8 power forward from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ likes Virginia Tech, Towson, Providence, Massachusetts, Georgia Tech, La Salle, George Washington, and Boston College and 6'5 Kenton Alston from Steelton (Steelton-Highspire) PA is getting the most attention from Monmouth, Rider, and Canisius.    Rutgers, Florida State, Niagara, Towson, Monmouth, George Mason, and Boston University were all mentioned by 6'2 DeWayne Spencer from Harrisburg (Susquehanna Township) PA and 6'7 Lawrence Ham from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA likes Loyola-Maryland, Elon College, Drexel, High Point, and Robert Morris.    Loyola-Maryland also was mentioned, along with Towson, Wagner, Columbia, Lafayette, and Colgate, by 6'2 John Morris from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA.    Cornell, Bucknell, Central Florida, James, Madison, Columbia, and Rider are all recruiting 6'6 Zach Wyatt from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA. 

Friday, August 24, 2001 - One of my favorite things to do during the fall is keep track of which teams have recruited best to-date.  So with half of the top 100 seniors already verbally committed, I thought now would be a good time to begin.  You can get our list of the top 15 classes exclusively in the Members Section and it may surprise you who is ranked #1.  Yes, Florida, which already has commitments from 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'5 Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'7 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'4 Rashid Al-Kaleen from Charlestown (H.S.) MA, edges out Duke, which already has commitments from 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'2 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'10 Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL, and 6'7 Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA.  But obviously Duke would pass up the Gators, if the Blue Devils get both 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK and 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC.  However, if Duke gets only one of the two just mentioned players and Florida gets 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, then the Gators would hold onto the top spot.   We also are already including 6'11 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN with Louisville's recruiting class, but if that doesn't materialize as expected later this week, then Louisville's recruiting class would move down to #13 behind Michigan and ahead of Nebraska.  Memphis, which had the #1-ranked recruiting class last spring, appears to be done, because they landed five players - 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Chris Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA, 6'4 Anthony Rice from North Clayton (College Park) GA, 6'2 Antonio Burks from Hiwassee (JC) TN, and 6'9 Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL - last spring and already have three commitments - 6'8 Qyntel Woods from Moberly (JC) MO, 6'3 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, and 6'8 Almany Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC - in this recruiting class.  Technically they actually have four, because 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL has never officially reneged on Memphis.  So if the NCAA surprises us (in our eyes he's already professional athlete) and Stoudemire's commitment holds up, Memphis' recruiting class would move into the #3 spot behind Duke and ahead of Louisville.  And from there the possibilities are endless, depending upon who goes where this fall.  Let's say Texas gets 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL.     Then, the Longhorns' recruiting class would move up to #3 behind Florida and Duke and ahead of Louisville.  Or let's say Anderson, 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ all end up St. John's, along with 6'6 Tim Doyle from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY, who verbally committed to the Red Storm in July.   Then, St. John's class would move into the #2 spot ahead of Duke, at least until the Blue Devils get commitments from Williams and/or Randolph.  Or let's say Fraser goes to Villanova, along with 6'2 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  Then, the Wildcats move into the #3 spot and first year head coach Jay Wright would be well on his way towards re-establishing Villanova as a powerhouse in the Big East.  Indiana's class, which already includes 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, could move all the way up to #3, if 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX and 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN both pick the Hoosiers.  Oklahoma's class could be a top five class as well, if the Sooners get Williams, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK.   You get the idea! 

Thursday, August 23, 2001 - Boy, does it really look like we missed the boat on 6'11 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN.  Yesterday, which was the first time we ever mentioned Dartez's name in connection with the University of Louisville, we said we didn't think Louisville was the lock that everybody thinks they are for Dartez.  We also had Dartez, who is transferring from Lee (JC) TX to Vincennes (JC) IN, at the wrong junior college and his list of schools, which we said included Auburn, Cincinnati, LSU, and Kentucky, apparently was bogus.  Instead, according to an article in this morning's Louisville Courier-Journal, it appears the Cardinals have beaten out Connecticut, LSU, Texas, Miami-FL, and Mississippi State for Dartez's services.  That's right!  The Courier-Journal is reporting that Dartez is expected to announce publicly later this week that he plans to attend the University of Louisville.  This is huge for the Cardinals, because Dartez is the coveted big man that the Cardinals have been looking for in recent years.  Dartez established his national reputation two years ago that adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV and, as a result, was ranked as a top 30 senior nationally by Dave Telep of BlueChipHoops.com.  However, we hope that ranking was based primarily on his potential, as Dartez only averaged 8.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg last year in junior college.  We too liked Dartez, who did a great job in the championship game two years ago, especially in the second half when the game on the line against Eddie Griffin, while playing center for the New Orleans Jazz, which also featured Chris Duhon, Maurice Williams, and Dwayne Mitchell.  But when we ranked him #80 nationally in our final ranking of the Class of 2000, Dartez ranking was based on more on natural talent and athleticisim than being a finished product.  In other words, the keys for Dartez are his upside and potential and he continues to make major strides in that direction.    As a matter of fact, he currently is playing on an all-star team made up exclusively of junior college players that is touring Argentina.  This also isn't the first time we've been taken totally by surprise since Rick Pitino became the head coach at the University of Louisville last spring.  If you will recall, we also first found out about Mick Cronin becoming the associate head caoch at the University of Louisville last April by reading the Louisville Courier-Journal.  However, we had the rest of Pitino's staff pegged a full month in advance of the Courier-Journal and we were way ahead of everybody on 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Cheshire (Academy) CT, who verbally committed to Louisville in late June, and we had the scoop on 6'2 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, who committed to the Cardinals in May, as fast as anybody.  Speaking of Garcia, he won't be returning Cheshire (Academy) CT this year.  Instead, we understand he plans to enroll at Winchendon (School) MA, along with another player from New York City - 6'3 Curtis Stinson from Bronx (Regional) NY.  This is important, because Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes is a terrific coach, so we expect Garcia, who would be ranked among our top 30 nationally, if he wasn't a 5th year player, to pick up where he left of this summer. 

Wednesday, August 22, 2001 - Any reports that you might have heard about 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ making a verbal commitment to Stanford are premature.   However, we have confirmed that Haryasz, who is ranked #58 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has been accepted by the Stanford Admissions Department, which is no surprise, because Haryasz has a 3.6 gpa and is being recruited by several Ivy League schools.    Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis also tells us that Stanford is very interested in 6'1 Patrick Haddan from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA and taking Haddan, who also is getting interest from Princeton, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Auburn, Yale, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, Richmond, Loyola-Marymount, William & Mary, Portland, Cornell, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and American University, might be a good move for The Cardinal.   No, we don't project Haddan to be more than a good role player for head coach Mike Montgomery, but he might be the entree to getting 6'7 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and 6'8 Jr Harrison Schaen from San Ana (Mater Dei) CA, both of whom also play for Trigonis' Belmont Shore AAU team.  As a matter of fact, we think Stanford is already the early favorite for Schaen, who is expected to make a major comeback now that he's healthy again.  If you will recall, Schaen, who was missing in action all summer, was ranked among the top five players in his class in the nation after we saw him two years ago at Trigonis' Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic, but injuries and a lack of toughness appear to have held him back ever since.   Trigonis also tells us that Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico, Portland, and Kansas State are all in the hunt for 6'2 Ashanti Cook from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  Getting back to Stanford, if they do get Haryasz, that would likely open the door for Auburn, which is making a strong push, to get 6'9 Bernard Cote from Montreal (Chaplain-St. Lambert) QU.  If you will recall, we reported several days ago that Stanford was also the leader for Cote.  However, our guess is that Haryasz is their first choice, because he's so much more skilled right now and his upside is tremendous.  Auburn also appears to be among the top five, along with Georgetown, Alabama, Cincinnati, and California, for 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobile (Blount) AL, who is ranked #31 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and we don't believe Louisville is the lock everybody thinks they are for 6'11 Kendall Dartz from Hill (JC) TX.  As a matter of fact, in a recent column by Russ Blake, Dartz's junior college coach denied that a verbal commitment had already been forthcoming to the Cardinals.  However, he did confirm that head coach Rick Pitino and assistant coach Mick Cronin have both been down to see Dartez in July.  We also hear that Auburn is making a strong push for Dartz, plus schools like Cincinnati, LSU, and Kentucky should not be counted out. 

Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - It looks like the University of Houston has another major steal on its hands, as 6'4 Cedrick Hensley from Cleveland (Heritage Chrisitan) TX has picked the Cougars.  Hensley was hurt this summer and, as a result, slipped under the radar screen in most of the post summer rankings.  But this also is the player who scored 100 points in a single game last January.  We're talking about a big time athlete and prolific 3-point shooter with top 100 talent and potential.  However, for him to realize that potential, he needs to continue to develop his skills and get good coaching at the next level.  And that's why this is such a good fit for the Cougars.   Hensley also promises to be the perfect complement to the other two outstanding guards that Houston landed last spring in 6'5 Kevin Gaines, who transferred from Michigan, and 6'2 Andre Owens, who transferred from Indiana.  Now all Cougars head coach Ray McCallum needs to do is add somebody else inside and right now the pickings are pretty slim, at least in the high school ranks, as is evident by the fact that 50 of the players ranked among our top 100 nationally in the senior class have already verbally committed.  And if you include 5th year players in your rankings, which some of our competitors (i.e. Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports), that number is closer to 60 than 50.  But let's look at it another way.  If you need a quality point guard, only six point guards who ranked among our top 100 nationally - 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN, and 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV are still on the board.  The deepest position is the power forward spot, as 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, and 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'7 Curtis Withers from Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC, 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'8 Travis Garrison from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'7 Marques Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'8 Charles Davis from Selma (Southside) AL, 6'6 Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, and 6'8 Brian Feeney from Gilbert (Mesquite) AZ are all still available.  There also are surprising number of centers still available in 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, 6'10 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, 6'11 Sani Ibrahim from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, 6'10 Moulaye Niang from El Cajon (Christian) CA, and 6'10 Matt Gorman from Watertown (H.S.) NY.  In other words, 24 of the 51 players left uncommitted in our top 100 are either power forwards or centers.    However, most of these guys are too far along in the recruiting process, likely academic casualities, or, as in the case of Stoudemire, Collins, and Ibrahim, likely to by-pass college next spring and enter their names into the NBA Draft.   Recruiting at the wing forward position appears to be a little more wide open, as 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobile (Blount) AL, 6'6 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK, 6'7 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, 6'5 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, 6'5 Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC, and 6'6 Bobby Jones from Compton (Dominguez) CA are all still available.  However, this position is weak at the top as only two (Burns and Winston) of these 11 players are ranked among our top 50 and Roy, Morris, Carmona, Wade, Burditt, Petty, and Jones are all in the 75-100 range. The 2-guard spot, which includes 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'5 Antonio Lawrence from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'5 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON, 6'1 Greg Brown from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, and 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, is stronger at the top as Wright, Anderson, Adams, Lawrence, and Roye are all included among our top 50, but most of them are a lot further along in the recruiting process.  So who can somebody step in and steal as we enter the fall recruiting period?  At the 2-guard spot Hite was terrific at the end of the summer and Lawrence won't likely do anything until spring, which means anything can happen.  At the point guard spot Watson still appears to be wide open and Finn, is hidden down their in Southern Indiana.  Carmona, who is a relentless competitor, and Byars, who has skills, athleticism, and outside shooting, both appear to be wide open at the wing forward spot.    The only power forwards who haven't narrowed it down yet appear to be Freeman and Poole, but junior college and/or prep school may be in their future first.  At the center spot Diagu, Kane, Haryasz, and Lamptey all appear to be wide open.  

Monday, August 20, 2001 - Our Virginia Editor Tony Squire called this morning to let us know that 6'5 Antonio Hargrove had decided to transfer from Virginia Commonwealth to Shaw University, which is a Division II school in Durham, NC.   It also is the school where the legendary Joel Hopkins is beginning his second season as the head coach and it looks like Hopkins is on the verge of assembling a team that is every bit as good as any of the teams he had at Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  In addition to Hargrove, who will be eligible immediately, Hopkins also will go to war this year with 6'5 Jarrett Kearse, who orginially signed with West Virginia; 6'0 J.R. Raymond, who originally signed with Oklahoma; 6'7 George Mazyck, who transferred to Shaw from Nebraska; and 6'10 Steve Bynes, who attended Compton (JC) CA.  But Hopkins says his best player is 6'4 Ronald Murray, who is originally from Philadelphia, PA.  Murray was the one of the top five scorers in the Division II ranks a year ago and already a number of NBA scouts are calling.   "Murray is one of the quickest guys I've ever seen with the ball at his size," says Hopkins.  "He also can shoot the three and is an excellent ball handler and passer.    That's why I think he will be a first round draft pick regardless of what happens this season," says Hopkins.  "But if we have a good year, I think Murray will be a lottery pick.  I also think he will be the second best player I have ever coached."  In other words, Hopkins doesn't think Murray is "as good as Tracy McGrady, but he thinks he's better than Duke's Jason Williams."  And Hopkins wanted me to be sure to quote him on that.   Sure, that seems like an incredible statement, but Hopkins reminds us that everybody thought he was crazy when he tried to tell them how good McGrady was before the cat got out of the bag at the adidas ABCD Camp during the summer of 1996.   Plus, both Williams and Murray will be playing this season in the same area.   "The big difference will be that Williams will get all kinds of attention, because he plays for the highest profile program in college basketball.   Murray, on the other hand, will get lost in the shuffle, because he's at a Division II school."   However, maybe he won't get lost so quick at Shaw, especially, if Hopkins, as expected, immediately turns the Bears into a Division II power.    And with the kind of talent Hopkins is going to have this season, maybe they should give Shaw University an automatic bid straight into the NCAA Tournament, where it would be interesting to see if they're can win a couple of games. 

Saturday, August 18, 2001, and Sunday, August 19, 2001 - Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Xavier has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'7 Brandon Cole from Richton Park (Rich South) IL, but the biggest story going right now involves 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, who was ranked #31 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in our final rankings on the Class of 2001 last spring.  While this comes as no real surprise (the Buckeyes were the early leader for Hart when he was a junior and more recently the word on the street was they were the leader over Michigan State), Hart may turn out to be the best player Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien has ever signed.  Remember, the senior class nationally a year ago was loaded, so if Hart were included in this class, he would not only be ranked among the top 10 or 15 nationally, but he also would be a near lock to make the McDonald's All-American team.    "Hart is an absolote steal for the Buckeyes," says Johnson.    "Ohio State was involved with some good wing players, but none them have the talent, skills, and athleticism of Hart, who might have been the best athlete in the state of Michigan last year."  Johnson thinks Hart may even have more NBA potential than the other great one from Flint a year ago.  He's talking about 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI and that's a pretty strong statement, because Tolbert finished as the #2-ranked player in the Class of 2001 according to the HOOP SCOOP.  With Hart's commitment the Buckeyes will be able to focus exclusively on inside guys, like 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'8 Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, 6'10 Chris Hunter from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'7 Marquis Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnmam City) OK, 6'8 Chris Ellis from Marietta (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Bernard Cote from Montreal (St. Lambert) ON, 6'8 Julian Terrell from Antioch (Ezell Harding Christian) TN, and 6'8 Charles Bass from Crete (Crete-Monee) IL, plus the Ohio State coaching staff may find out about some good foreign big men while playing the next two weeks in Europe on a trip that begins on Monday.   Hart's commitment also will allow the Buckeyes to start concentrating on junior guards and they are hoping to keep their Michigan connection going (O'Brien landed Howard Eisley and Paul Grant when he was at Boston College and he signed Brett Darby three years for the Buckeyes), as they are already targeting  6'3 Jr Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'0 Jr Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, 6'3 Jr Byron Davis from Detroit (Rogers) MI.  The only question now is whether Hart will count with this recruiting class, because he will be a partial qualifier this season.   In other words, he will enroll in school this fall and practice with the team this winter.  However, he won't be able to play this season.  The key might be whether he signs a National Letter-of-Intent.  If he does, he be the marquee player in this year's recruiting class.  If he doesn't, he would count with last year's class, which included 6'1 Brandon Fuss-Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, 6'7 Matt Sylvester from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 6'7 Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, and 6'9 Terranced Dials from Youngstown (Boardman) OH and was ranked #10 nationally.  But with the addition of Hart, Ohio State's recruiting class would move all the way up to #2 behind Memphis.   Speaking of Memphis, they had a similar situation with 6'2 Antonio Burks from Hiwassee (JC) TN, who transferred to the University of Memphis at the semester break and sat out last winter.  So, as we understand it, Burks will eligible to play at Memphis this season sometime in late December and this is important, as the word we're getting out of Memphis is that Burks has been ridiculous this summer.  He also is more athletic and explosive in transition than Allen Iverson, which means Memphis should have one of the best backcourts in college basketball this season.   Remember, they also have 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who was the #1-ranked high school player in the nation in the Class of 2001 by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, our Memphis Editor Jim Rothman tells us that biggest surprise has been 6'8 Chris Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA.   "We're not doing any projecting with Massey," says Rothman.   "He has an NBA prototype body right now and he's good enough to make an impact in the league right now."  I guess now everybody understands why we thought Massey was the best junior college player in the nation last year and why we thought the Tigers recruiting class was so much better than everybody else's last spring.  The only question now is whether head coach John Calipari can put together the pieces quickly and find the right chemistry.   If he does, we are likely talking about a NCAA Final Four team and if that happens, remember where you heard it first!

Friday, August 17, 2001 - Soon we suspect there will be a number of surprises with regards to where certain players surface in terms of junior college and/or prep school.    However, 6'11 Martin Iti from Australia stepping in as the replacement at the Winchendon (School) MA for 6'11 Sani Ibrahim, who has transferred to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, shouldn't be one of them.  As a matter of fact, we think Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes may have come out ahead on this deal.  If you will recall, Iti was terrific when we saw him at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, as he blocked shots, rebounded, ran the floor, and scored inside, as well as anybody in the tournament.   Ibrahim, on the other hand, had a terrible summer and, as a result, has dropped from #6 to #33 in the class nationally.  We also have finally confirmed that 6'8 Yusef Baker from Orlando (Evans) FL, who is ranked #66 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has made it official for South Florida.  If you will recall, we told you last winter that we thought the Bulls were the heavy favorite to get Baker.  So the only real surprise is that it took so long.   Remember, South Florida assistant coach David Zimroth is one of the best recruiters in the nation and he usually always gets his man, especially when he is involved with an in-state kid.  South Florida also landed an excellent recruiting class last spring that included 6'5 Greg Brittian from Central Florida (JC) FL, 6'5 Kelvin Brown from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, 6'8 Brandon Brigman from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Marlyn Bryant from Leesburg (H.S.) FL, 5'9 Brian Swift from Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH, and 6'2 Larry Thompson from Fort Scott (JC) KS.  So it should be obvious that head coach Seth Greenberg has done what many other excellent coaches were unable to do at South Florida.  We talking about continuing to elevate the program to a higher and higher level, despite the fact B.B. Walden and Altron Jackson both will graduate after this season.  One that we haven't confirmed is that 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA has verbally committed to Georgia Tech.   It very well indeed may be that he has told Paul Hewitt and his staff that he's coming, but nobody else seems to know about it, as Boston College, Virginia, Notre Dame, North Carlolina, and Florida all believe they're still in the hunt. 

Thursday, August 16, 2001 - Greg Swaim had an all-star lineup when he had 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'3 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, and 6'0 Julian Richardson from Miami (Pace) FL all on his weekly radio show, which is archived on his web site at http://www.gregswaim.com, on Monday night.  Especially interesting is the story with Richardson, who has risen from total obsurity into a national recruit based on his performance at several events this summer.  Prior to the summer Richardson was getting attention from schools like Furman, but now his list includes Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Florida State, Arkansas, and South Florida.  Swaim also believes that Richardson is a great sleeper for our top 100 nationally, as he tells us that several college coaches compare Richardson to former Oklahoma State guard Joe Atkins.    However, when we saw the Coast to Coast team at the AAU Junior Boys Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL in late July, we thought 6'2 Stephen Cowherd from Parkland (Stoneman Douglass) FL was the best player on his team.    In other words, there is a clear difference of opinion and only time will tell on this one.  All this becomes important, because Swaim tells us that Oklahoma State is going to take whichever point guard (Richardson or Hopkins) commits first.   We also have another major difference of opinion between Swaim and our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff, who is the director of the Team Texas AAU program.   Grandstaff believes that Texas is a strong leader for Hopkins over Tennessee, Georgia Tech, SMU, Illinois, and Oklahoma State.   Swaim on the other hand, thinks Oklahoma State is as strong as anybody with Hopkins, because the point guard spot will be wide open when Maurice Baker graduates after this season and it's not that far away from home (one of the reasons why Cincinnati has been eliminated is that Hopkins does want to go that far away from home.  Swaim also believes that Oklahoma isn't the total lock for Bookout that everybody thinks they are.  "If I had to bet on it, I'd still pick the Sooners," says Swaim.  "But he also has Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Illinois, Kansas, and UCLA on his list."  Swaim also thinks Sheldon Williams is a near lock for Duke.  As a matter of fact, Williams said Duke was still the leader on his show the other night.  Actually nothing has changed with Williams in months, as he also mentioned Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Michigan.  Swaim also confirms that 6'2 Nate Johnson from Penn Valley (JC) MO has finally made it official for Oklahoma State.   If you will recall, Johnson committed to the Cowboys in mid-July, but then re-opened his recruiting later in the month.  However, now it is official and apparently they plan to use Johnson to help them recruit Richardson (both players are scheduled to make official visits to Stillwater during the same weekend early next month).   We also find something that everybody (Swaim, Grandstaff, and myself) can agree upon.  We're talking about the strrong position that Illinois is in with Deron Williams.  Sure, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, and Maryland are also on Williams' list, but it looks like Fighting Illini head coach Bill Self will be tough to beat on this one.  Did you know that Self has known the kid since he was in junior high school?  Plus, Williams' mother is one of Self's biggest fans.  Grandstaff also tells us that Williams won't be the only Dallas area player who will be heading to Illinois.  He's talking about 6'8 Kyle Wilson from Dallas (Jesuit) TX and he tells us to write it down.    Wilson, who promises to be an excellent role player at the big time college level, will be the Fighting Illini's 5th and final  recruit this season.  If you will recall, the Fighting Illini already have three top 100 players in the fold in 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'5 J.R. Morris from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, and 6'10 James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Trail) IL.  Last, but not least, we are already looking forward to being on Swaim's radio show, which currently is the hottest recruiting radio show in the nation, next Monday night at 10:00 PM EST.  And if you can't join us live, Swaim archives everything.  In other words, you can catch us at your convenience at http://www.gregswaim.com.

Wednesday, August 15, 2001 - Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'5 Derek Stockalter from Carlsbad (H.S.) CA has verbally committed to the University of San Diego.  He picks the Toreros over Utah, San Diego State, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, and Loyola-Marymount.  This comes on the heels of a commitment San Diego got from 6'2 Travis Smith from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA early in the summer and a recruiting class, which was ranked second in their league and included 6'6 Corey Belser from  Spanaway (Bethel) WA, 6'9 Nick Lewis from Phoenix (Brophy) AZ, and 6'2 Mike McGrain from Portland (Jefferson) OR, that they landed last spring.  As a result, it looks like San Diego is well on its way towards challenging Gonzaga and Pepperdine as the one of the premier teams in the West Coast Conference.  That would be doubly true if Brad Holland and his staff can land 6'10 Moulaye Niang from El Cajon (Christian) CA, 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ, and/or 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV.   That's right!  Niang, Haryasz, and Watson all rank among our top 100 nationally and all three are prime targets of the University of San Diego.  Get one and that would be enough to raise some eyebrows.  Get all three and it would like winning the lottery.  It also would help the Toreros keep up with the Joneses.   Remember, right down the road Steve Fisher is building a powerhouse of his own at San Diego State.  Johnson has the scoop on the University of Dayton, which has gotten a verbal commitment, lost a player, and kept another player from transferring.  The commitment comes from 6'10 James Cripe from Loveland (H.S.) OH.  The player they lost is 6'3 Shawn Higgins from Washington (Spingarn) DC, who was ranked #122 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2001.  Unfortunately for the Friars, Wiggins didn't make it academically.   Instead, he will enroll at Allegany (JC) PA.  The player who has decided to stay is 6'5 Sam Smith, who was originally from Worthington (Christian) OH.  Smith announced that he planned to transfer in the spring, but after he looked around at some other schools, he apparently decided that the grass wasn't greener elsewhere.  Johnson also tells us that Toledo has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'10 Allen Pinson from Hebron (Lakewood) OH and Marquette continues to recruit the Chicago area hard, as the Golden Eagles have added a commitment from 6'4 Joe Chapman from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2001 - A week ago we told you that Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez was on the verge of hiring Steve Masiello, who currently is the administrative assisitant at Tulane, into the #3 spot on his staff.   Well, Masiello started at Manhattan yesterday.  We also thought Charlton Clarke, who played at the University of Massachusetts and is now an assistant coach at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY might be in line to get hired at Manhattan, but it looks like Travis Lyons, who played his high school ball at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, college ball at Manhattan, and is now on the staff at New Mexico, also will be making the move back to Manhattan.   However, we don't expect an official announcement to be forecoming until early next week.  Lyons will move into the #2 spot, which was orginally earmarked for Kendrick Moore.  However, Moore, who has occupied the #3 spot on the staff for the last year, instead, has decided to move into another direction.  So with Lyons and Mike Bramucci, who is moving up from the #2 spot into the #1 spot since Michael Malone has left to work for the New York Knick, both on the road and Masiello in the on-campus non-recruiting position, it looks like Gonzalez has one of the best young staffs in all of college basketball.  But when it comes to recruiting, Gonzalez is second to none, as is evident by the fact that Manhattan got a verbal commitment yesterday from 5'8 Kenny Minor from Winchendon (School) MA.  In other words, Gonzalez's whole staff is currently in disarray, but he's still getting players.  And he may be in line to get some more, because Lyons apparently has such strong ties to 6'3 Darnell Hopkins from Towson (Catholic) MD that he probably will be able to deliever him to Manhattan.  Which means that Gonzalez now appears to have have established a strong pipeline into Baltimore.  If you recall, Minor was one of the top players in the city last year while playing for Baltimore (Dunbar) MD.  As a matter of fact, we're told that Minor outplayed North Carolina-bound 6'2 Melvin Scott several times last winter.  Minor, who is best friends with 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD, also played extremely well for Baltimore Select, which finished in the final four at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV late last month, and, as a result, would be a legitimate top 250 senior nationally.  Instead, this jet quick point guard will be a 5th year player.     When we first saw Hopkins and Anthony a year-and-a-half ago, we actually liked Hopkins better.  But then, Anthony grew four or five inches and got dramatically better.  However, that doesn't mean that Hopkins, who is best described as a jack-of-all-trades and is a great kid, shouldn't still be ranked among the top 150 nationally in the senior class.  In other words, he's be an absolute steal for Manhattan, which along with Hofstra, could be the best college team in the New York City area next year. 

Saturday, August 11, 2001, Sunday, August 12, 2001, and Monday, August 13, 2001 - It comes as no surprise that 6'2 Chadd Moore from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #34 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati while on campus for an unofficial visit over the weekend.   If you will recall, Bearcats head coach Bobby Huggins made getting Moore a priority this summer and when that happens Huggins usually gets his man.  We also suspect that this will be the perfect fit for both parties, because Cincinnati needs somebody who can step right in and run the show and Moore, who as a rising sophomore was ranked as the #1 player in his class nationally at the end of the summer, needs somebody who will push him and make him tougher both on and off the court.  Moore, who is an outstanding 3-point shooter, is capable of playing either guard spot, so he will also provide the Bearcats with plenty of versatility.   So we don't think his commitment will effect the recruitment of 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who led Team Texas to the championship in both the NIKE Peach Jam and the AAU Super Showcase in July and, as a result, is the leading candidate to be named the Most Improved Player-of-the-Summer later this month by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, the University of Texas appears to be the heavy favorite for Hopkins, but Cincinnati is well connected with the Team Texas AAU program.   Remember, the Bearcats landed former Team Texas star 6'7 Jason Maxiell from Carrollton (Newman Smith) TX last fall.  Also former Cincinnati All-American Kenyon Martin is from Dallas and, as a result, the Bearcats have a strong following in the Dallas area.  In addition to the Longhorns and the Bearcats, Hopkins, who is ranked #8 nationally, as well as the #3 point guard in the class behind 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC and 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, also is still considering Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and SMU.   Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff also still believes that Hopkins' Team Texas backcourt mate - 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX - is a near lock for Indiana.  However, we warns IU fans not to count their chickens before they hatch, because Wright will still likely make an unofficial visit to the University of Texas before making a final decision.  Getting back to the University of Cincinnati, we also believe the Bearcats may be close to getting another verbal commitment later this week from 6'6 Eric Hicks from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who is expected to be in Cincinnati on an unofficial visit on Wednesday.  Hicks isn't ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, but he's close.   He's also the type of explosive undersized power forward that Huggins has made a living with over the years.  Hicks not only plays his tail off, but he's very athletic and extremely aggressive on the boards. 

Friday, August 10, 2001 - We're not sure if it has been officially announced yet, but we do know that the other schools that were involved with 6'10 James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Way) IL have been told that he's decided to attend the University of Illinois.  Augustine is best described as a late developer and, as a matter of fact, I recall arguing with Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report about this very subject at the Spiece Tournament in early May.  At the time I thought Augustine belonged in the top 100 nationally, but now it looks like the Schmidt's are on the high end of the spectrum, as they're talking about putting him into the top 50 range.  But we think that's a little high, as Augustine, who checks in at #75 on our list, was like a fish out of water when we saw him on the first day at the adidas ABCD Camp.  However, what Augustine lacks in athleticism, he more than makes up for with his skills, smarts, heart, and knack for getting things done around the basket.  He also continues to get better and better every time we see him, plus he has pretty good shooting range and, as a result, we think he has the potential to develop into another Scott Padgett.    We also think he's a great catch for the Fighting Illini.  Augustine is the third player ranked among the top 100 nationally, as well as the second in-state player, in this recruiting class who has elected to play for Bill Self, who is beginning his second year as head coach of the Fighting Illini.  If you will recall, last spring Illinois landed 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who is ranked #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and in July they got 6'6 J.R. Morris from Milwaukee (Washington) WI, who is ranked #77 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Augustine also becomes the 46th player ranked among our top 100 nationally to have already made a verbal commitment.  In other word, almost have the top 100 seniors are gone and the fall recruiting period is still a month away.

Thursday, August 9, 2001 - Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us to write it down!  6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY is going to make it official for Villanova and the press conference is this afternoon.  This is huge for first year head coach Jay Wright, because Sumpter, who is ranked #2 in New York City and #37 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St.  Raymond's) NY, who is ranked #1in New York City and #22 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, because it shows he can get the top players from New York City to go south to Philadelphia, PA.   Wright also will be trying to hit the trifecta by turning up the heat on 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is Sumpter's best friend.  But Villanova won't be the only school turning up the heat on Fraser, as he also is a top recruiting priority for both North Carolina and St. John's.   He's especially vital for the Red Storm, becaus if he gets away, it would be a major blow to the St. John's program.  Remember, St. John's is in major need of a talented shot blocking/rebounding athlete and Fraser fits that description perfectly.   The Red Storm also has always relied heavily on home grown talent and losing the top three players in the area  (Ray, Sumpter, and Fraser) to the same program just down the road would make life miserable both on and off the court for Mike Jarvis and his staff.  However, if the Red Storm gets Fraser, 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and an athletic wing player, like 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, Jarvis and his staff would then be sitting pretty.  In other words, it's crunch time for all three programs, as the winner in the Fraser Sweepstakes will likely get the inside track in the race to become one of the elite teams in college basketball during the next several years.  Although we are still waiting to hear from Naclerio, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that it is official.  Sumpter did indeed pick Villanova at his 2:00 PM press conference, which was held at Madison Square Garden. 

Wednesday, August 8, 2001 - Three days ago we mentioned that 44 of the top 100 seniors have already made verbal commitments, but we didn't include 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Lake) FL, who verbally committed to the University of Memphis in early February, on that list for several reasons.  First, Stoudemire is no longer playing for Travis King, whose Memphis connections were the major reason behind Stoudemire's early commitment.  While Stoudemire hasn't officially reneged on the Tigers, the popular belief among people in the business is that his commitment won't hold up.  But not because he plans to go to another school, which brings us to the second reason.  If you will recall, his mother admitted in an interview on a program that aired in mid-July by HBO that she accepted money and gifts from NIKE's George Raveling in exchange for her son's participation at the NIKE All-American Camp.  And that should make Stoudemire a professional athlete in the eyes of the NCAA.  However, it really won't matter down the road, because it is our belief that Stoudemire will follow in the footsteps of 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, and 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, all of whom by-passed college and entered their names into the NBA Draft this spring.  And we think that's probably the best move Stoudemire can make.  Not only is Stoudemire an academic question mark, but his family needs the financial stability and he's more ready to make the jump than the four players mentioned above.  He's not as skilled, but his likelihood for development and achieving long term success as professional athlete is much greater than with Brown, Chandler, Curry, and Diop.   Remember, Stoudemire plays a lot harder, is meaner and tougher, and has the heart and desire necessary to become a great player.  And Stoudemire isn't the only player in this class who may have to make the jump right to the NBA.  Yes, we'd also be very surprised if 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA plays a minute of college basketball.   Remember, Collins failed to play at any of the major events this summer after he played so well as the adidas ABCD Camp (he finished ranked #8 in camp and #3 among centers), because he didn't want to hurt the value of his stock.   And with Collins' troubled past and academic question marks, he too is probably more suited to go straight to the league than Brown, Chandler, Curry, and Diop, all of whom are nice kids and needed the time to develop.  However, unlike, Stoudemire, Collins' chances of making it aren't very good and, as a result, we predict that Collins eventually will be a good Development League Player once he becomes old enough to play in the league and if he can stay out of trouble.  We've also heard rumors about 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX and 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC going straight to the league.  Well, Bosh's AAU coach Mitch Malone says that won't happen.  Not only does he mention the fact that Bosh is still raw and has a lot of developing to do, but he also cites another one of his former players, Kenyon Martin, who attended four years of college and as a senior was the consenus National College Player-of-the-Year, as an example of how important the college experience can be in terms of getting a player ready for the league.    Randolph remind us of another former Duke player who thought he was on the fast track to the NBA, but who wasn't ready to walk in and start at Duke as a freshman.    We're talking about Chris Burgess.  If you will recall, Chris was another big man who didn't like physical contact.  However, we still think the Blue Devils will be tough to beat for Randolph, unless 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK commits to the Blue Devils and Randolph gets scared off, because they play the same position.  And Randolph may not go to Florida and North Carolina either if the Gators, which have only one more scholarship available, get Bosh first and North Carolina, which wants to sign two big men, lands two from among Williams, 6'9 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, and 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN.  In other words, the dominos could start falling soon and our guess is that Williams will commit to Duke, Francis will pick North Carolina, and Fraser and May both will stay home and attend St. John's and Indiana.  We also look for 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX to pick Indiana and we believe that 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA is a lock for UCLA, unless he falls short academically.  We believe Texas is a total look for 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX and a near lock for 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, plus we think the Longhorns are the leader for 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL.  St. John's will be tough to beat for 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, Oklahoma is a near lock for 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and we expect 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI to sign this winter with the University of Michigan this winter to play football.  We also believe Cincinnati will probably get 6'2 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobile (Blount) AL is expected to pick Alabama, Villanova appears to be close to getting a commitment from 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and Arizona State is the leader for 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX.  In other words, there isn't much left to be decided among the top players in the Class of 2002, at least until some of the players who have already verbally committed decide to renege and re-open their recruiting.    

Tuesday, August 7, 2001 - Everybody in the business knows that Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez is Rick Pitino's guy.  As a matter of fact, Pitino almost hired Gonzalez two different times when he was at the University of Kentucky.    Gonzalez also was a guest of Pitino this year at the Kentucky Derby and in recent years they have spent time together at Saratoga Race Track in August.  And it looks like more than X's and O's and a love for horse racing have rubbed off on Gonzalez, who, just like Pitino, now appears to have a knack for moving his  assistants.   If you will recall, a year ago Chucky Martin moved from Manhattan to Massachusetts and now it appears that Michael Malone, who is currently the #1 assistant at Manhattan, is heading to the New York Knicks, where he will fill the vacancy created by Kevin O'Neill, who has taken an assistant coaching position with the Detroit Pistons.  Gonzalez may also be on the verge of losing Kendrick Moore, who currently is the #3 assistant, but has the option of moving into the #2 position at Manhattan or taking another job (we know he was recently mentioned for a spot at Xavier).  Either way it looks like Gonzalez is on the verge of hiring Steve Masiello, who currently is the administrative assisitant at Tulane, into the #3 spot.  You remember Masiello, he was a walk-on at the University of Kentucky under both Pitino and Tubby Smith and more recently Pitino almost hired him as an administrative assistant this spring at Louisville.  Masiello is also regarded as the one of the bright young assistant coaches in the business, which means he has a lot in common with all of Gonzalez's other assistants who are quickly moving up the coaching ladder. 

Monday, August 6, 2001 - Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio is keeping a close eye on the situation involving 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who is ranked #37 nationally on our Post Summer Top100 National Rankings for the Class of 2002, because he thinks a verbal commitment by Sumpter to Villanova could be forthcoming within the immediate future.  And this could be huge in terms of tipping the balance of power in the Big East in favor of the Wildcats.  If you will recall, new Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who is one of the rising stars in the coaching world, as well as one of the best guys in the business, got more than his share of the top mid-major players out of New York City during his seven year reign at Hofstra.  And now it looks like that trend is continuing, as Villanova already has a verbal commitment from 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who is ranked #22 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and Sumpter appears to be almost a foregone conclusion.  In other words, the Wildcats appear to be on the verge of landing the top two players in the senior class from New York City and, as a result, it becomes even more important than ever for St. John's to get 6'9 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who are ranked #19 and #26, respectively, nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Yes, it's crunch time for Mike Jarvis and his staff.  Our guess is they will get Ingram, but North Carolina and Villanova are both serious competition for Fraser.  Also mentioning both St. John's and North Carolina is 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappin (H.S.) NJ, but our guess is that Cooke will declare for the NBA Draft next spring.  Naclerio also believes tells us that Villanova is in the hunt for another New York City kid - 6'4 Quincy Douby from Brooklyn (Grady) NY.  However, Naclerio believes Seton Hall, Hofstra, and George Mason are the leaders.  

Sunday, August 5, 2001 - Now that the summer camp season is over you can throw all the old rankings out the window and, as a result, the publication of our Post Summer Top100 National Rankings for the Class of 2002 couldn't come at a better time.  And yes, there are some surprises, like 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX being ranked among our top 10 nationally.  However, we think he's earned it after leading Team Texas to the championship in both the NIKE Peach Jam and the AAU Super Showcase.    And Hopkins isn' the only player from Texas who is ranked among our top 10 nationally.  As a matter of fact, three other players from Texas - 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'2 Daniel Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, and 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX - are also ranked among our top 10 and two other players from Texas - 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX and 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX - are ranked among our top 30 nationally.  Other interesting trends involve the number of players who have already verbally committed and the number of new players who have moved into our top 100.  With the verbal commitment by 6'8 Ricky Cornett from Homewood (Christian) IL, 44 of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 seniors are already off the recruiting board.  And taking an even closer look, we find that four of our top 10, 13 of our top 25, 24 of our top 50, and 33 of our top 75 are also already verbally committed.  The players who weren't ranked among our national top 100 prior to the start of the summer, but who are now on the list are Buckman, 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'7 Marquis Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'10 Matt Haryazs from Page (H.S.) AZ, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, 6'7 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, 6'9 Steve Novak from Brown Deer (H.S.) WI, 6'5 Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC, and 6'5 Jonathan Modica from Smackover (H.S.) AR.  While all these players were moving up in our rankings, a number of others, including 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappin (H.S.) NJ, 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'3 John Winchester from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'5 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'10 Keith Butler from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Cameron Bennerman from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'7 Cortez Davis from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'5 Vincent Grier from Charlotte (South Mecklenburg) NC, 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, and 6'10 Akin Akingbala from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) MA, have been removed from our list althogether, because they are 5th year players.  Instead, they will be listed separately on our prep school and 5th year list. 

Saturday, August 4, 2001 - Just before we had computer problems on Thursday, Dave Telep of http://bluechiphoops.com told us that 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA had made it official for Texas A&M.  This is  absolutely huge for Aggies head coach Melvin Watkins, because Wright promises to be the best player he has ever signed.  Wright is a protypical NBA 2-guard and, as a result will be ranked among our top 15 seniors nationally.  Not only does he have the size, athleticism, and ball handling skills necessary to make it at the highest level, but he also has deep shooting range and the moves and quickness necessary to get his shot against just about anybody.  Wright was ranked as the #18 player overall, as well as the #3 wing forward, at the Adidas ABDC Camp earlier this summer.  However, Wright was not ranked among our top 300 rising seniors prior to the start of the summer, due to the fact that he got lost in the shuffle (we liked him when we saw him last fall, but had forgetten about him, because he attends a prep school in the East).  Nor was he ranked anywhere by anybody else, except Dave Benezra of Recruiting USA, so we think that qualifies him as the biggest sleeper to emerge this summer.    We also have received word from Allen Rubin that 6'2 Shawan Robinson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, was ranked #26 at the point guard position and #112 overall nationally, has verbally committed to Clemson University.   This too is an excellent get for the Tigers, as once again head coach Larry Shyatt has gone right into the back yard of Duke, N.C. State, and North Carolina to land a recruit.  Sure, Clemson was helped by the fact that a number of the dominos have already fallen, as the Blue Devils already  have a commitment from 6'1 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL and North Carolina has a commitment from 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC.  But Robinson doesn't figure to be a starter for Clemson anytime soon, as the Tigers already have three excellent young guards - Tony Stockman, Dwon Clifton, and/or Chey Christie - already in the program.  Instead, Robinson is expected to be an excellent role player in the immediate future and, if he improves his outside shooting and decision-making, he could emerge as a starter by the time he is a junior or a senior.  And the Tiger could be on the verge of adding even more backcourt depth, as the Tigers are believed to be among the leaders for 6'3 Logan White from Cleveland (University) OH, who shot the lights out when we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp, where he finished ranked #22 overall, as well as #5 at his position, in camp.

Friday, August 3, 2001 - Yesterday afternoon the Illinois Warriors defeated Boo Williams, 73-56, to win the championship of the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL.  However, we didn't get to see the game, because we ran into a computer problem that involved a temporary loss of data in the Members Section.    So we have to give Brick Oettinger of the Prep Stars and the Recruiter's Handbook an assistant on this report.  Once again 6'8 Andre Iquodola from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who hit the game winning shot in the semi-finals, stepped up with 22 points, including 16 points in the second half, en route to tournament MVP honors.  But this time Iquodola didn't provide any last minute heroics.  Instead, he helped ice the game by hitting 9-10 free throws in the second half.  Boo Williams was led by 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, who played much better here than he did at the NIKE All-American Camp in early July, with 12 points.  Also scoring in double-digits for Boo Williams were 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA with 11 points and 6'4 J.J. Redick from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA with 10 points.  Gilchrist, Brown, and Redick also joined Iquodola on the First Team AAU All-American Team.  The rest of the team included 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakewood (Kathleen) FL, 6'2 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'7 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Daevon Haskins from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD, 6'6 Eric Hicks from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 7'0 Justin Herndon from Jonesborough (David Crockett) TN.  The second team included 6'4 Jr Dwight Brewington from Lynn (Englis) MA, 6'7 Greg Brunner from Charles City (H.S.) IA, 6'4 Joe Chapman from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'1 Will Holoman from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL, 6'2 Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA, Isiah Hunter from Charlotte (Independence) NC, 5'7 Jr Andrew Lavander from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'7 Dewayne Lee from Cordova (H.S.) TN, 6'4 Ryan Moore from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 5'11 Jr Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, 6'6 Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'5 Shawn Witherspoon from Ovieda (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Gordon Zastow from Manitowoc (Lincoln) WI, and 6'8 Evan Brock from Marrietta (Lassiter) GA.  Speaking of Brock, he was one of our favorite players in the tournament.  We're not sure Brock deserves top 100 national consideration quite yet, but this athletic power forward with excellent rebounding and passing skills could develop into a big time player.  And the fact that he hit several three's the second time we saw him just reinforced our initial opinion.    Brock does need to get stronger physically, but he already has been offered by Central Florida, Mississippi State, Idaho, and Georgia.  However, Alabama, Georgia Southern, Clemson, Tennessee Tech, and Middle Tennessee State are also showing interest in Brock.  Also noteworthy is the fact that neither 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD nor 7'0 Keith Butler from Winchendon (School) MA made either the First or the Second Team all tournament team.  Nor should they have.  Strickland may have had an excuse, because he was slowed by an injury.    But he really didn't play well.  Butler has a huge upside, but we don't think he's ready to walk in and fix Louisville's front-line problems right of the bat.   And even if Butler is good enough and he does verbally commit to Louisville, it may not mean a whole lot, because he still is a long way away from making in academically.   As a result, Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino may accept his commitment and, then, try and stash Butler at junior college. 

Thursday, August 2, 2001 - If you had told me that 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA was going to hit only 1-15 field goals in this morning's against the Charlotte Royals, I would have told you the Boo Williams team was in big trouble.   And they were in the first half of the first semi-finals game at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL, as the Charlotte Royals led 34-21 at intermission.  However, in the second half 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA,who scored 14 points in the second half, exploited his match-up against 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Boo Williams, which was down by as many as 14 early in the second half, came charging back.  Not only did Boo Williams win the game, 56-55, but in the end it really wasn't that close - 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close gap to only one.  Gilchrist finished with 18 points and 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA finished with 17 points, but the guy who provided the big spark and help turn the game around in the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws was 6'2 Mario Taybron from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA.  McCants was the leading scorer for the Charlotte Royals with 17 points, including 3-pointers, but the best player today for the Royals was 6'8 Donte Minter from Mt. Ulla (West Rowan) NC, who had 16 points and was surprisingly effective on the boards, especially early in the game.  Also helping set the stage early in the game was Gray, who scored all seven of his points in the first half.  In the second semi-finals game the Illinois Warriors jumped out early, but similar to the way Athletes First allowed Memphis Y.O.M.C.A. to hang around the night before, the Warriors failed to put Y.O.M.C.A. away.  However, it wasn't until late in the 4th quarter that we felt like Y.O.M.C.A. might pull off another stunning upset.    We pick it up the action with only five seconds left in the game, the scored tied at 57-57, and 6'2 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN on the line for two shots.  Hunt hit both free throws to give Y.O.M.C.A. the lead.  So if you're Warriors head coach Larry Butler do you go for the win or go for the tie?   The smart move probably would have been to give the ball to 6'2 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL and let him go coast-to-coast.  But it didn't happen that way.  Instead, 6'8 Andre Iquodola from Springfield (Lanphier) IL ended up with the ball about 25-feet from the basket and time running out when he launched it.  And he hit nothing but net, as the Illinois Warriors emerged with a thrilling 60-59 victory to set up this afternoon's 3:00 PM championship against Boo Williams.  Hunt, who is a skinny athlete with excellent 3-point range and explosive moves to the hole, was the leading scorer for Y.O.M.C.A. with 23 points.  He also was their best player and, as a result, emerges as a legit top 100 senior nationally, as well as an absolute steal for the University of Memphis, which got a verbal commitment from him last month.  Also playing well for Y.O.M.C.A. was 6'7 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, who scored 12 points and hit two big 3-pointers late in the game.  Brown with 17 points and Iquodala with 12 points were the only two players in the double-digits for the Warriors.  Speaking of those two players, Brown is much more of a finished product than Iquodola.  He can beat you outside with his excellent 3-point shooting range or take you to the basket with his explosive quickness and big time athleticism.  Plus, Brown handles it extremely well  for a 2-guard and has a great feel for the game.  As a matter of fact, he's a lot better than McCants, who is ranked anywhere from top five to top 30 nationally in the senior class, is right now.  So there is no doubt about it! In our mind Brown is a top 10 junior nationally, as well as the #1 junior in the state of Illinois.  On the other hand, Iquodola is a tremendous athlete who is just oozing with potential.    However, despite the fact he hit the game winning shot, we're not sure if he'll ever become a good outside shooter.  He simply doesn't have a shooter's mentality, as is evident by the number of 3-pointers he takes are few and far in-between.   Iquodola does show flashed, but he also doesn't play with the consistency that Brown plays with game in and game out.  Getting back to the championship, which is set to tip-off in an hour-and-a-half, we think Boo Williams will win big, unless Ridick has another bad shooting night. 

Wednesday, August 1, 2001 - The final four at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL has been set and, yes, there are some surprises.  As a matter of fact, the two best teams in the tournament (B.A.B.C. and Athletes First) both were upset earlier today.  B.A.B.C. lost to the Charlotte Royals, 68-60, in the round of 16 this morning and Athletes First got knocked off in overtime, 88-81, tonight in the quarterfinals by Memphis-YOMCA.  In other quarterfinals games tonight the Illinois Warriors beat Maryland-Mount Royal, 75-59, Boo Williams beat the Tallahassee Wildcats, 72-55, and the Charlotte Royals beat the Illinois Wildcats, 76-66.  As usual, the big hero for the Illinois Wildcats was 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who finished with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, but only two other players - 6'0 Jason Smith from Chicago (Farragut) IL with 12 points and 6'7 Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL with 13 points - scored in double-digits for the Wildcats.  Even more important the Wildcats failed to take advantage of their size inside.  Instead, the key to the game was the perimeter play of Charlotte Royals, which received a combined 53 points from 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'2 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'2 Isiah Hunter from Charlotte (Independence) NC.   Boo Williams won easily in other game on that side of the bracket, as 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'6 Robert Strickland from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA combined for 58 points.  The leading scorer for the Tallahassee Wildcats was 6'4 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL with 24 points.  However, nobody else stepped up for the Wildcats.  So  Boo Williams will be favored to beat the Charlotte Royals in the first semi-finals game tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.  But, if McCants is as good as a lot of people seem to think, a repeat upset may be in the making.   If you will recall, McCants led the Royals to an upset over the Boo Williams team at the Boo Williams Invitational in early April en route to tournament MVP honors.  Also earlier night 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK  who was the leading scorer of the evening with 29 points, convinced us that he is a top five senior nationally.   However, that wasn't enough to overcome a pesky Memphis Y.O.M.C.A. Team.  6'7 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN stepped us with nine points in the 4th quarter, but the two big heroes throughout the entire game were 6'0 Clyde Wade from Winchendon (School) MA with 28 points, including eight points in the overtime, and University of Memphis-bound 6'4 Jeremey Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN with 24 points, including seven points in the overtime.  The Illinois Warriors turned a close game into a blowout, as 6'2 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL and 6'2 Jimmy Miles from Homewood (Christian) IL combined for 21 points in the fourth quarter.  Speaking of Brown, he really impressed us with his athleticism and quickness to the basket, as well as his outside shooting and play on the perimeter.   So we decided to get an earlier list of schools.   First, we asked Illinois Warriors head coach Larry Butler, who told us Brown is too wide open to even provide us with a list.  Next we asked Brown himself and he said he liked most of the schools in the Big-10.  Even more specially Brown mentioned Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa.  He   also said that Dee Brown, who is both his high school and AAU teammate, could be a factor in his decision.  Then, we asked Roy Schmidt, who is the editor and publisher of the Illinois Bulls-eye Prep Report, and he thinks Brown is already a near lock for the University of  Illinois.  Schmidt also told us that he thought Brown might make an early commitment to the Fighting Illini sometime this fall.   We also talked several other players on the Illinois Warriors, including 6'8 Ricky Cornette from Homewood (Christian Academy) IL, who hasn't scored many points in this tournament, but who has impressed us with his aggressiveness and athleticism inside, and 6'8 Andre Iquodola from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally.  Iquodola isn't as good a Butler thinks he is (Butler told us he'll be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft somebody), but Iquodala is a legitimate top 100 senior nationally and he does have a lot of potential, which is why schools like Boston College, Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland are all showing a lot of interest.   Cornette told us he has official visits already set up with Kansas State, Notre Dame, USC, and Illinois, but isn't sure what he's going to do with his 5th visit.   Among the options appear to be Michigan, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, Stanford, Ohio State, and Indiana.  Getting back to the semi-finals game between the Illinois Warriors and Maryland-Mount Royal, Brown finished with 22 points and 6'4 Jr Collin Falls from Chicago (Loyola Academy) IL had 15 points.  The leading scorer and best player for Mount Royal was 5'10 JaJuan Robinson from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD, who finished with 16 points and made things interesting when he cut the lead to four points in the third quarter when he hit two quick 3-pointers.  Our guess is that the Illinois Warriors will beat Memphis-YOMCA in tomorrow morning's 10:30 PM semi-finals game, but, if Memphis YOMCA can beat Athletes First, anything is possible.   However, if everything goes as expected, Boo Williams will beat the Illinois Warriors in the championship game tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM.  And a big reason why we're making Boo Williams the favorite is this team appears to be fresher and deeper than everybody else in the tournament.  If you will recall, Athletes First, Illinois Warriors, and B.A.B.C. all played in the AAU Super Showcase last week and, as a result, were both be mentally and physically tired.  Instead, this Boo Williams team appears to be peaking at the right time and, ssuming we're right, this would this give Boo Williams his second consecutive 17-Under AAU National Championship.

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