HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR APRIL 2000

Sunday, April 30, 2000

In late March 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN had about as good a week as anybody has every had at the high school level.  He scored 28 points while leading his team to the Indiana State High School Championship on Saturday, March 25th.  Then, three days later he proved to be unstoppable in the McDonalds All American Game en route to game MVP honors.   And four days after that he scored 24 points and took home game MVP honors in the NIKE Hoop Summit in Indianapolis, IN.  Well, those were just ordinary performances compared to his performance earlier today - 39 points, 24 rebounds, and four assists - in the NIKE Derby Festival Classic earlier today at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY.   Randolph is virtually unstoppable when he gets the ball in the low post, because he's so big and strong, so skilled, and so quick for somebody his size.  And he always seems to be in the right spot, which adds even more to his efficiency level.   Speaking of efficiency, it's hard to be more efficient than Randolph, who was 18-27 from the field and 3-5 from the free throw line.  Randolph also is a great passer and good ball handler for size, has a great feel for the game, and brings an intensity to the game that many of the top players in the nation lack in this day and age.  Before today there was still some doubt about whether Randolph was the best player in the senior class nationally, but now it's a no-brainer.  How could anybody have anybody else ranked ahead of Randolph?  He's that good and that efficient.  He's also one of the nicest people you'll ever meet!  As a matter of fact, anybody who doesn't like Randolph doesn't know him.  Which is why so many people are happy that Randolph has gotten a second chance and is doing so well in the process.  Remember, he missed half of his junior year and spent several months in a juvenile detention center after being arrested for the sale of firearms.  However, now the only questions about Randolph are will he declare hardship for the NBA draft right out of high school and/or will he make it academically.  He doesn't have the necessary score yet, but his SAT score appears to be closer than the voting was for Mr. Basketball in Indiana when Randolph finished second to 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN.   Speaking of Jeffries, he scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but he was not one of the top five players in the game.  He's just not tough enough inside and the outside shot hasn't been falling this spring, which leads us to wonder what really is his best position and how he will interact with Bob Knight next season?   Instead, the top five players in the game in order were Randolph, 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Darius Rice from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, and 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.   Taylor, who will likely battle Randolph for Freshman-of-the-Year honors in the Big 10 next year at Michigan State also contributed to Randolph's success yesterday with a number of great passes, but he also was unstoppable outside as he nailed 4-5 3-pointers, including what proved to be the game winning shot.  He also got the better of Cook again, although Cook does get our vote for MVP for his team.  As a matter of fact, without Cook's three 3-point shots at crunch time, the game wouldn't have been tied with less than a minute to go.  Cook finished with 21 points, but was credited with only   five assists, although he made a number of great passes throughout the game.   Instead, the the MVP for the White Team went to Miles, who finished with 25 points and was 10-14 from the field.  However, Miles wasn't as consistent throughout the game and he didn't make the big shots that Cook made when the game was on the line.   Still nobody covers more ground or is more exciting than Miles, who gets our vote as the most talented player in the class, as well as the #3 ranked player overall.   Whitehead was the second leading scorer in the game with 29 points and was absolutely terrific in transition.  However, Whitehead doesn't get much done out on the perimeter and didn't create much for himself.  As a result, he was the perfect complement to Randolph and Taylor, which also will be his role at the University of Louisville next year, which explains why he was one of the crowd favorites.  Also playing well was 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but after that there was a major dropoff, as 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC with 16 poinys and six rebounds, 6'1Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with 12 points and six assists, and only two turnovers, 6'3 Scooter McFadgon from Memphis (Raleigh-Egpyt) TN with 15 points, and 6'8 Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA 12 points and eight rebounds were all solid, but not all that memorable.   Ellis Myles, the 6'8 power forward had 14 rebounds, but was a disppointment at the offense end as he only had eight points, was called for walking four times, and obviously needs to get into better shape.   Memphis-bound 6'7 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ was effective on the boards, but he had trouble finishing against the bigger stronger guys on the Purple Team, as was evident by his 2-11 shooting.  One of the best outside shooters in the game was 5'11 Brody Boyd from Dugger (Union) IN, who hit 3-8 3-point shots, but he did little else.  Indiana-bound 6'2 Andre Owens from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN didn't convince us that he is the answer to the Hoosier's point guard question next year (only one assist and four turnovers), but he did impress with his athleticism and ability to go to the hole, which also was evident when he won the slam dunk contest.  We also liked 6'7 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH more than we thought we would, because he is really athletic and explosive transition.  However, his outside shot needs work (0-3 from beyond the arc) and talent-wise he was in over his head in this game.   Which brings us to 6'4 A.J. Moye from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, 6'5 Scott Hundley from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'1 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA, 6'10 Mike Southall from West Salem (H.S.) WI, and 6'7 Simeon Naydenov from Miami (Berkshire) FL.  Moye needs to shoot well to play well in a game like this (0-2 from beyond the arc), because he's more of a system player.   Hundley and Ridnour tried hard, but they were both in over their head and, as a result, just couldn't compete athletically.  Southall not only proved that he's a project, but finally got exposed (we had never seen him before).  One person in our business said they thought Southall has more potential than Marvin Stone, but that's ridiculous, which is why he drops out of our top 100 nationally.  Naydenov is slow, mechanical, and not very talented, which means he'll be the perfect replacement for Jeff McKinley, who is transferring from Louisville to Northern Kentucky.

Saturday, April 29, 2000

When the University of California signed 6'9 Saulis Kuzmanisks from Lithuania a week ago, everybody correctly automatically assumed that 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA was a done deal for Missouri, because Bryant and Kuzmanisks both play the same positions.  However, a lot of people have jumped the gun.  It isn't done yet and it won't be done until Tueday.  That's when the press conference will be held in the school cafeteria.  Speaking of the University of Missouri, the biggest highlight from the first night at the 2000 Show-Me Shootout on Friday night was watching 6'8 Jr David Lee from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO.  He outplayed 6'9 Jr Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI and engaged in a memorable dual with 6'8 Jr Dennis Latimore from Halstead (H.S.) KS, who also was sensational.  Everybody assumes the leaders for Lee are Duke and Missouri, but Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, and Stanford are also mentioned for this athletic warrior owns the paint at this level.  Also impressing us were 6'6 Jr Dijon Thompson from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, who can is versatile enough to play all three perimeter positions; 6'11 Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, who is unstoppable in the low post; 6'6 Jr Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who sensational in transition; 6'2 Jr J.S. Nash from Moreno Valley (Rancho Verde) CA, who shot the lights out from beyond arc (he hit seven 3-pointers) and reminds us of current New York Knicks guard Eric Brunson; 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who is the model of consistency; 6'2 Frosh Rich McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who is the best freshman Stephen Wacaser, the Editor and Publisher of Assists, Turnovers, and Loose Balls has ever seen; and 6'8 Soph Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, who more than lived up his ranking as the #3 sophomore in the state of Indiana by Jim Kasberg.  Johnson is so active, athletic, and skilled that he projects as the best player for the Northwest Region of Indiana since Glenn Robinson and, as a result, we think he has NBA potential with normal development.   Last, but not least, is 6'5 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, who consistent self.  He also told us that Duke and North Carolina have been added to his list that already includes UCLA, Arizona, Stanford, and Kansas.

Friday, April 28, 2000

It's kind of like the blind the leading the blind.  They think they are doing something positive to correct the problems that currently face college basketball, but all the NCAA Division I board of directors did yesterday when they unanimously approved changes for college basketball, which include eliminating the summer recruiting period in 2002 and limiting the number of scholarships a school can give in one year to five and only eight over a two period, was make the problem even worse.   "The board is eliminating summer basketball environments as we now know it," said Penn State President Graham Spanier," who is chairman of the Division I board of directors.  They think they are eliminating "unsavory influences affecting the lives of young people and the integrity of our programs," but exactly the opposite will happen.  Don't believe that grass routes basketball can survive just fine without the presence of college coaches?  Just look at the proliferation of events between now and the end of June, which is a two month dead period for college coaches.  They let the genie out of the bottle in the late 1980s when they took the power out of the hands of high school coaches and now they want to change things back.  But they can't, because the AAU coaches, shoe companies, and others at the grass routes level now are in control of the process and, like it or not, there is nothing the NCAA can do to make them relinquish that control.  Don't believe it?   The sneaker pimps and agents are exploiting players at a proliferating rate, as more and more players bypass college and go start into the NBA.  The latest example came yesterday when Florida's Donnell Harvey (ready or not) announced that he's going to go hardship into the NBA draft?  But now many of the top player doesn't even get to college.  When Tracey McGrady,  Al Harrington, Jonathan Bender, DerMarr Johnson, et al. went straight from high school to the League, what do you think happened?  Somebody other than the player also made a substantial profit and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that they are going to reinvest part of that money in the next generation of players.  It used to be that the good high school programs had feeder systems going all the way down to elementary school age level.  Now the good AAU programs all have their own feeder systems and they decide where the top middle school players go to high school.    They also decide where those players later go to college, prep school, and junior college, as well as when they go to the League.  As a result, the NCAA already has very little say, but what they are doing now is like a country trying to influence a totalitarian dictator by cutting off economic relations when that country has has nothing that the dictator wants.  The smart AAU coach no longer needs the money that the college coach is willing to give him under the table.  Instead, he can make his money, and a lot more of it, legally via his big NIKE or adidas contract.  And even better yet, if he gets lucky and his star player goes right to the league, he will likely be set for life.  The best example might be Pat Barrett, who has been the mentor, advisor, and even guardian for 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA for years.   Whether the NCAA likes it or not, Barrett is going to be a very rich man soon after Chandler goes to the NBA either out of high school in the spring of 2001 or after a year or two of college.  And whether the NCAA likes it or not, Barrett has done a lot more positive things for his kids, than the NCAA ever has.  Remember, the NCAA is one of the most hypocritical organizations on the planet and they are in business to perpetuate themselves.  As a matter of fact, despite all their propaganda, their track record is clear, as the student-athlete, the coach, and the fan are very low on their list.  Instead, their main concerns include their multi-billion dollar basketball television package with CBS, maintaining a positive public image, and strictly enforcing their rules and regulations that are often not even moral and ethical in our society.  That's right!  The NCAA investigator flies in first class, stays at the Hyatt, and rents a Lincoln Town Car, because somebody tipped them off that a potential recruit whose family lives below the poverty line got a free hamburger at McDonalds.  Give me a break!   Getting back to the point at hand, by eliminating the summer recruiting period, the process will be speeded up even more.  Already, if you are going to be a high school senior, the trend is to commit in August or September, instead of waiting until closer to the fall signing date or even the following spring.  Which means players have less and less information about the colleges they are considering and coaches have to decide earlier and earlier to whom they are going to offer scholarships.  As a result, transfers are at an all time high.   So if you have more transfers, naturally you're going to need more scholarships.   So what does the NCAA want to do?  Limit the number of scholarships a school can give to eight over two years.  The reason behind this move it to stop coaches from running off players, but what will happen is that players who are willing to transfer and pay in-state tuition as a walk-on will become more important than ever.   Certainly this may have some cost cutting value for lower level schools, but already we are seeing that this won't work as intended at the big-time level.  The best example is Luke Recker, who transferred in January from Arizona to Iowa.  And don't be surprised if Dane Fife transfers from Indiana to the University of Michigan, where he too would be eligible after a year, if he pays his own way.  Maybe this would help the NCAA practice more what it preaches - amateur athletics, whereby, all the teams look like and play like Ivy League teams.  However, we all know they won't do that, because they'll be in big trouble when it comes to television ratings.  Remember, there is a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar in the Year 2000 and....

Later this afternoon will be off to the 2000 Show-Me Shootout at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO and we are looking forward to seeing a number of the top players in the nation, including 6'5 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'11 Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, 6'8 Jr Dennis Latimore from Halstead (H.S.) KS, 6'9 Jr Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'0 Jr Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, and 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'1 Soph Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'10 Jr Jeff Ferguson from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, and 6'8 Jr David Lee from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO, all of whom will be in attendance and all of whom will be will be talking with over the weekend.  Games will tipoff tonight at 6:30 PM with Compton Magic versus Illinois Wildcats, The Hood versus Kansas City Rocktown, and Howard Pulley (MN) versus Kansas City 76'ers.  Then, at 7:45 PM West Coast Academy will meet Illinois Select, Team Carolina will play the St. Louis Eagles I, and Belmont Shore will play the St. Louis Eagles II.  At 9:00 PM it will be Illinois Gold versus Kentucky Select, Team Georgia Elite versus St. Louis Gateway, and the Houston Superstars versus Kansas City Magic.   Finally, at 10:15 PM it will be the Michigan Mustangs versus Arkansas Heat, SYF Players versus Bossier Select (LA), and Missouri Mavericks versus Illinois Warriors.  Pool play will resume tomorrow morning at 8:45 AM and the playoffs will begin tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.  The semi-finals are scheduled for 9:00 AM and 10:15 AM Sunday morning.  The Consolation Final will be a 12:45 PM on Sunday, followed by the Championship Game at 2:00 PM.  However, by that time, we'll be long gone, because at 2:00 PM on Sunday afternoon is also when the NIKE Kentucky Derby Festival All-Star Game tips off in Louisville, KY and we will be there!  And we will have coverage of both events, plus all the recruiting information we can pick up exclusively in the Members Section.

Thursday, April 27, 2000

Despite what is being reported by most of our competitors, 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA has not signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Missouri.  However, that does make sense, because right now the Tigers are the only school left on his list.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Lafayette has gotten a pair of commitments from 6'3 Justin DeBerry from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'6 Ben Saxton from Pine Bush (H.S.) NY and 6'8 Sean Munson from Berryville (Clarke County) VA.   Rubin also tells us Richmond has signed 5'9 Michael Stringer from Smyrna (Campbell) GA, but that the commitment made by 6'10 Pape Badiane from Glassboro (Faith Christian) NJ to University of Louisville back in February didn't hold up.  But we didn't expect it to, because our understanding was that Louisville never offered, because they didn't think he was good enough.  Instead, Badiane has signed with Cleveland State, which probably where he belongs, because he will have the time he needs to develop.

G.J. King, Editor & Publisher of the Illinois Prep Basketball Web Site, tells us that 6'11 Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL has passed the ACT and, as a result, should be eligible to play at a four-year Division I school next year.  But right now King offers no clue about who is actually recruiting Curry.  However, our guess is that it won't matter anyway, because with his huge frame, excellent mobility, high degree of skills level, and lack of quality big guys in recent years, he will enter his name into the draft in the spring of 2001 and, as a result, skip college.  But if he does attend college, we hear that Illinois, North Carolina, Memphis, and Kentucky are the early favorites.  King does have a list of schools for a number of the other top underclassmen in the state of Illinois, including 6'7 Jr Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'0 Jr Jason Straight from Chicago (Dunbar) IL, 6'7 Jr Joshua Williams from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'5 Jr Ron Howard from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, and 6'4 Jr Pierre Pierce from Westmont (H.S.) IL.  Pierce is expected to pick Iowa over Illinois and it may happen sooner than later.  Howard are the early favorites for Wisconsin and Marquette.  Syracuse, Marquette, and Indiana State are showing the most interest in Williams.  Iowa State, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Illinois, and DePaul are at the tip of Straight's list.  Echols likes Michigan State, California, Kansas, UCLA, and Marquette.

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

The University of Dayton got an early commitment well over a year ago from 6'3 Sammy Smith from Worthington (Christian) OH, but their recruiting efforts appeared to be on hold until the NCAA came down with their recent sanctions.  Since that time our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the Flyers coaching staff has been busy, as 6'8 Lamar Hill form Tyler (JC) TX, 6'7 Sean Finn from Hayes (JC) KS, 6'7 Jason Osborne from Towson (Catholic) MD, and 6'2 Ramod Marshall from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME all have signed National Letter-of-Intents.   Johnson also has confirmed that within the last 24 hours the Flyers also have picked up 6'4 Nucleus Smith from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME.   Johnson also tells us that Oregon State has gotten 6'8 Phillip Ricci from San Joaquin  Delta (JC) CA, who is ranked the #1 Junior College Player in California this year.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennslyvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is confirming that La Salle has signed 6'9 Ramel Allen from Monroe (JC) NY, St. Joseph's has landed 6'7 John Bryant from Woodbridge (H.S.) VA, and Southwest Missouri State has gotten 6'7 Daniel Novak from Weatherford (JC) TX.  Long Beach State has signed 6'6 Vance Lawhorn from Dixie (JC) UT. We're also hearing that 6'8 Matt Siebrandt from Southern Idaho (JC) ID has picked Kansas State, but the University of Louisville is on the verge of getting 6'6 Curtis Washington from Porterville (JC) CA and 6'8 Joseph E'Sima from Riverside (JC) CA.  Getting Washington, who took home tournament MVP honors after leading Porterville to the California Junior College Championship, should also push the Cardinals into the lead for 6'8 Mike McKale from Porterville (JC) CA next year.  Washington is very athletic and he can beat you of the dribble.  McKale, who is a relentless rebounder, was named to the Junior College First Team in California as a freshman, so he should be one of the top JUCO players in the nation next year. 

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that "Illinois-Chicago has hit the jackpot" by getting verbal commitments from 6'3 Cedrick Banks and 5'11 Martell Bailey, both from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL. Apparently Bailey gave the scoop last night to Tribune staff writer Bob Sakamota. "'I'll make the official announcement Thursday,' said Bailey.  'I visited UIC last Thursday and Friday, and it was fun.  I know a lot of people there, and the coaches seem real interested in me.  Cedrick has already made up his mind about signing an NCAA letter of intent with UIC, but I'm the only person he told.  Coach Collins told me I'd be starting at point guard and Ced would be the [shooting] guard.'"  With with tremendous speed and quickness, but a like of size, Bailey is ideally suited for the mid-major level.  However, Banks is an absolute steal for the head coach Jimmy Collins and the Flames.  We're talking about the #2 unsigned player in the senior class nationally, as well as the #16 ranked player in the senior class overall by the HOOP SCOOP.  Banks does need to rank on his outside shot, but he was the big reason why Westinghouse upset then #1 ranked Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at the KMOX Shoot-out in St. Louis, MO in December and was the guy who led the Westinghouse team to the 17-Under National Championship last summer in Orlando, FL.  He wasn't a McDonald's All-American, but he's got NBA-like athleticism and talent.   The big question now is whether Banks, who will likely not make it academically, will be at Illinois-Chicago next year or in the junior college ranks.  Our guess is that they won't take a chance on stashing him anywhere, because he will eligible to pay in-state tuition and he can live at home his first year.  Sakamota also quotes Bailey saying that he expects 6'7 Cameron Echols from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who ranks #14 in Illinois by the HOOP SCOOP, "to sign with the Flames."

There is one more major all-star game left to be played this spring and it looks like 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS has jerked around the folks running the NIKE Derby Festival Classic just like he's done during his entire recruiting process.  As a matter of fact, he sent a signed contract back to every one of the all-star games that approached him to play this spring.  This is dangerous, because technically he could be sued for lost revenue in tickets sales.  In other words, if he showed up for the Derby Classic, which will be played this Sunday at 2:00 PM at Louisville's Freedom Hall, it would probably be worth an extra 5,000 tickets sold to Kentucky fans.  However, the Derby Classic will still be an excellent all-star game, as the Purple team will feature 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, who now ranks as the #1 player in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  He will be joined by 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC, 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA, 6'10 Mike Southall from West Salem (H.S.) WI, 6'5 Scott Hundley from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'7 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, and 6'7 Simeon Naydenov from Miami (Berkshire School) FL.  The White team will feature the most talented senior in the nation in 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, plus 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Michael Sweetney from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, 6'8 Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA, 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'4 A.J. Moye from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, 5'10 Brody Boyd from Dugger (Union) IN, 6'3 Scooter McFadgon from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, 6'7 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ, and 6'2 Andre Owens from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN.

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'3 Luis Flores has transferred from Rutgers to Manhattan, which gives the Jaspers a quality transfer with three years of eligibility remaining.  It also gives head coach Bobby Gonzalez his second Big East caliber recruit in a week.  Remember, Gonzalez landed 5'11 Van Damien Green from San Jacinto (JC) TX, who was one of the top point guards in the junior college ranks this past season.  And if you add 6'2 Justin Jackette, who transferred to Manhattan from William & Mary last spring, Gonzalez is getting it done with New York City kids and recruits for the other hotbeds in the East.   Remember, Jackette is originally from New Rochelle (Iona Prep) NY, Flores is from New York (Norman Thomas) NY, Green is from New York (La Salle) NY, 6'5 David Holmes was one of the top players in the DC area before transferring to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA last fall, and 6'5 Jason Benton from New Haven (Wilbur Cross) CT ranks as the #2 senior in Connecticut.  If that weren't enough, Gonzalez, just like his mentor Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino, already appears to be a great person to work for in terms of moving up the coaching ladder quickly.  That's right!  Sources tell us that Manhattan assistant coach Chuckie Martin is on the verge taking a similar position at the University of Massachusetts. 

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'7 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) KY will make it official tonight at a 7:00 PM press conference for the University of Kentucky.  Daniels only ranks #5 in Ohio by Chris Johnson, but he should be an excellent role player for the University of Kentucky, because he can play the one, two, or the three spot.  As a matter of fact, he's such a good ball handler and passer that he plays some point guard for his high school team.  However, we suspect that his best position in college will be the wing forward spot, although he needs to get stronger and improve his outside shooting.  We do not expect Daniels commitment to effect whether Kentucky gets 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS.  Both are wing players, but Daniels is being recruited as a backup, while Rice would immediately help solve Kentucky's outside shooting problems.  Rice also would step in provide an immediate replacement for Tayshaun Prince or Keith Bogans, if either decides to leave early for the NBA draft.  However, we do suspect that 6'7 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN is holding off making a decision to see what Rice does.  If you will recall, Rice gave the Kentucky coaching staff a verbal commitment last September and several occasions since has reaffirmed that commitment, but has never publicly made it official for the Wildcats.  So if Rice goes to Kentucky, Grice will likely pick Memphis or Mississippi.  If Rice picks Memphis or goes early into the NBA, the Wildcats may become the favorite for Grice, unless Rice drags it on indefinitely.   Then, Grice's hand may be forced.  Stay tuned!

Last Friday we reported that Lamar has gotten "a steal" in 6'6 Ben Jacobsen from Omaha (Central) NE, but we didn't tell you about the rest of the players in the Cardinals recruiting class.   Last fall head coach Mike Deane signed  6'9 Jo Adande from Cisco (JC) TX, 6'4 Jared Lane from Annapolis (South Iron) MO, and 6'5 Greg Manderson from Eastfield (JC) TX and this spring he landed Jacobsen, 6'3 Tyler Hackstadt from Okawville (H.S.) IL, who was first team all-state in Class A in Illinois, and 6'6 Mike Ridgeway from Houston (Stratford) TX, who was the best among three players on his high school team all of whom signed at the Division I level.  While this alone should be enough to ensure that Lamar is one of the best teams in the Southland Conference for years to come, Deane doesn't appear to be done yet just yet.  That's right!  We are expecting Lamar to get 6'11 Brian Rowan from St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN, who impressed us last June when we saw him at the NBA Players Association Camp, and it looks like 6'5 Krunti Hester, who is transferring from Marquette, will follow Deane to Lamar.  Remember, Deane signed Hester out of Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN a year ago and half ago when he was still the head coach at Marquette. 

It looks like Oklahoma State has moved into the #2 position in recruiting head of Iowa and Cincinnati, because the Cowboys also recerntly 6'5 Melvin Sanders from Seward County (JC) KS.  As a matter of fact, Greg Swaim of Midwest Basketball tells us that head coach Eddie Sutton was forced into taking Sanders this spring, because the word was starting to get out regarding how good Sanders is, especially after he had several 30-plus point games at the end of the season in March.  That's right!  Wichita State, Texas Christian, and Kansas State had all offered this incredible athlete who, if he hadn't decided to pursue basketball, could be an olympic track star.  Apparently, the Oklahoma State coaching staff stashed Sanders in junior college a year ago, despite the fact that he had grades, in order to give him time to improve his outside shot.  Well, he's improved it and, if they didn't take him this spring, they probably would have lost him to somebody who would have signed him immediately.  As a result, Sanders counts in this recruiting class and he has three years of college eligibility remaining.  Swaim also tells us that Oklahoma State also is in line to get another phenomenal athlete, but 6'4 William "Smoosh" Parker from Southern Idaho (JC) ID won't be eligible to transfer from junior college to a four year school until the end of the summer or maybe even at mid-semester next winter.  However, Swaim tells us that he's a lock for Oklahoma State and he'll have either two and half or three years to play.  As a result, any way you slice, it looks like Sutton is on the verge of assembling his best team ever, which is saying a lot, because he took Arkansas in 1978 and Oklahoma State 1995 to the NCAA Final Four. 

Our New England Editor Wayne Simone tells us that new Hartford head coach Larry Harrison, who got the job late last week, wasted no time getting involved with the two top unsigned seniors - 6'7 Ryan Gomes from Waterbury (Wilby) CT and 6'4 Nolan McBride from Hartford (Weaver) CT - in the state of Connecticut.  As a matter of fact, both Gomes and McBride were on campus over the weekend.  Right now the competition for Gomes appears to be Siena, Creighton, and Georgia Tech.  McBride has Rider, Boston University, George Mason, and Northeastern on his list.  We also have learned that Harrison's hiring was not as surprising as we originally thought.  Apparently he'd been in the mix all the time, but was never thought to be a serious candidate until Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs withdrew his name from consideration.  He's also from the area and he was not at a school which is a rival of the University of Connecticut, which apparently is why Massachusetts assistant coach Geoff Arnold and St. John's assistant coach Kevin Clark never really had a shot at the job.  Speaking of assistant coaches, it looks like Harrison will hire Wabash Valley (JC) IL assistant coach Keith LeGree, who was a player at Cincinnati when Harrison was the recruiting coordinator for the Bearcats, and Al Seibert, who currently has a web site that is affiliated with Rival.com, but who was previously the recruiting coordinator at Western Kentucky. 

Normally we regard Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal as one of the best sportswriters in the country, but today he really missed the boat in his column about 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  He starts off fine, but about half way through he does an about face.  "The longer I look at the Ice (Milt Wagner) and Baby Ice (Dajuan Wagner) situation, the more my take melts away to another view," says Bozich.  "Let them go.  Let them work their deal.   Let the Eighties go.  Let Memphis chase all the fires that come with Father, Son, and Best Pal (Arthur Barclay, a forward from Wagner's Camden, NJ, High School team has already signed there) arrangements.  As revolting as it will be for Cards fans to watch Dajuan, still a high school junior, appear in Memphis blue, losing the Ice Man's son would not be the knockout blow that many suspect."  I totally disagree!  If you can't get Dajuan Wagner, who has been a Louisville fan all his life, something is really wrong.  Remember, his eyes light up whenever he talks about Louisville and he proudly shows his Dad's 1986 NCAA Championship ring to anybody who he thinks might be interested.  Bozich and the Louisville coaching staff might argue that Milt is going to get a $75,000 a year in an administrative assistant job at Memphis, but that doesn't work as an excuse with me.  As a matter of fact, I think the NCAA should tie scholarships to graduation rates.  That way, it would force a school, like Louisville, to do the right thing and encourage ex-players, like Milt Wagner, to come back and finish up on getting their degree.  Forget about the fact that Wagner's kid is the best high school player in the nation.  He should be back in Louisville getting his degree so he can get into coaching, regardless of whether his son is a great player.  "It is time for the Cards to fix their recruiting woes from every direction - point guard, center and every spot in between - with players who want to be in Louisville and intend to stay four suspension-free season's," says Bozich.   "A quick fix won't work.  A total fix is needed when you study the Cards' current roster, which is short, unimposing and full of frontcourt holes."  Wrong again Mr. Bozich!  Reece Gaines at the one, Marcus Maybin at the two, Luke Whitehead at the three, and several of those great players in the outstanding recruiting class that head coach Denny Crum promised would materialize this spring after Louisville lost to Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA Tournament should be more than enough to duplicate what the Cardinals did a year ago.  And even if that is not realistic, their sole signee this spring - 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA and 6'11 Muhammed Lasege, if the NCAA rules ever rules him eligible, are solid enough inside to keep the Cardinals respectable.  The problem is that Louisville didn't figure out the importance of the Wagner-Barclay package in time and, as a result, allowed Memphis head coach John Calipari to walk right in and steal his best buddy 6'7 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ.   He may not have as much potential as Myles, but he's better right now and he has a lot less baggage.  Remember, Myles was a top 50 junior, according to the HOOP SCOOP, but he dropped last summer, because he was out of shape and he failed to grow.  And Barclay isn't just the only guy who gets you Wagner.  Remember, 6'2 Jr Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA also had interest in being part of the package and, as result, that was one of the reasons why he was interested in Louisville.  "I look for Dajuan to play one college season," says Bozich.  "He might hang around for Year 2."   Wrong again Rick!  The odds are that Wagner will go directly into the NBA draft and he could be the first player ever picked #1 in the draft right out of high school.  Yes, he's that good!  However, if you have his Dad on your staff and his best friend in the program, that might be enough to get him for one year.  At least that's what Calipari is gambling on. "No matter how much everybody loves Milt, a one-year dribble-through by his son would do nothing to build the foundation of solid-players-students-citizens, something this troubled program lacks," says Bozich.   I don't agree with that either.  Again the foundation is there with Gaines, Maybin, and Whitehead.  If you got Wagner, Barclay, Carruth, and a quality big man, like 6'9 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 6'11 Jr DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, or 6'10 Jr David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, all of whom have  Louisville on their early list, then Crum would be in a position to make another run at the NCAA Championship.  However, since they aren't getting Wagner, they will have to settle for Plan B, which is to get 6'2 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who has had such a great spring that he will rank #7 nationally when we get our list of juniors done.  But based on the Wagner rhetoric, Louisville doesn't want Hurt either, because he'll likely only be in college a couple of years and you can't build a program around a guy like that.   Besides, Hurt will end up whevever his AAU coach Josh Pastner is next year and Louisville has already made it clear that they aren't in the business of putting people on staff in order to land great players (they did hire Gaines AAU coach a year ago into an administrative position, but Gaines is only a good player).  The bottom line is not that Louisville lost Wagner to Memphis, but that they didn't have the foresight to get it done before Calipari got into the picture.  Calipari deserves an A+ for his efforts, while Louisville deserves an incomplete, which may be changed to an F, if they don't turn things around in a hurry. 

John Rhodes has checked in again and he tells us that U.S. Team defeated Latvia, 102-66, in 2nd game of the Preliminary Round in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament on Sunday night.  The best player in the game was 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 12 blocked shots and three assists.  Also playing extremely well were 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY with 16 points, four  rebounds, six assists and one steal and 6'5 Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD with 14 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.  Other double digit scorers were 6'1 Jr Ben Gordon from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals and 6'5 Peter Mulligan from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Also, tonight the youngest player to ever play on this team - 6'9 Soph Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC - had six points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots.  "The coaching staff thinks Shavlik is even further along than Tim Duncan, who also competed in the tournament, was at the same stage," says Rhodes. "They're also extremely pleased to see that the players are coming together in such a short period of practice time.  The scoring has been distributed about a evenly as you would want and everybody has contributed in an unselfish manner."  Last night the U.S. Team had, what was expected to be the first of many to come, a very physcial ball game with Russia.  After a brutal 40 minutes the U.S. emerged with a 107-90 victory and once again they were led by  Griffin, who finished with 27points, 16 rebounds, eight blocked shots, one steal and one assist. "Is there anything that this kid can not do?" asks Rhodes.  However, the real story is about the steal of the year in college basketball.  We're talking about Mulligan, who is University of Maryland-Baltimore County-bound.  He had 20 points, five rebounds, and three steals.   "How does this player get overlooked by the major college coaches and especially in his own area?" asks Rhodes.  "The same thing is happening on a lesser scale with Alvin Green."  Rhodes is talking about the 5'9 backup point guard from Mytle Beach (Socastee) SC, who had four points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals against Russia.  Others worth mentioning in the win against Russia are Barrett, who had 19 points, five rebounds, nine assists and one steal, Young, who had 10 points, three rebounds, and one steal, and 6'9 Jr Jordan Collins from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who used his strength in the paint to score 14 points, grab five rebounds and block two shots.   Today the U.S. team will take a much deserved day off and start the 2nd round tomorrow by playing France, which will be without their star Tony Parker, who will be taking SAT exams in order to try and qualify for college next year in the states.  Then the winner of the game will play Yugoslavia on Thursday to complete the 2nd qualifing round and hopefully advance into the semi-finals on Friday.

Monday, April 24, 2000

John Rhodes checks in with his first report from Germany and he tells us that the United States handly defeated Finland, 99-77 in the first round of the 20th Albert Schweitzer Basketball Tournament over the weekend.   The U.S. Team was led by 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY with 17 points, seven assists, and 3 steals.  Barrett was 5-7 from the 3 point line, which by the way is farther out than the college 3 point line.  Also playing well for the U.S. Team were 6'1 Jr Ben Gordon from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY with 13 points, three assists and three steals, 6'5 Peter Mulligan from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY with 12 points (4-5 from the field), two assists and one steal, and 6'3 Jr Billy Edelin from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD with 11 points, six rebounds and one steal.  The defensive stoppers for the U.S. Team was 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight block shots, and 6'11Jared Reiner from Tripp (Tripp-Delmont) SD with six points, eight rebounds, and four block shots.  The U.S. Team next game will be against Latvia in the second round of the tournament.  Other scores from the tournament are as follows:  Turkey defeated Bulgaria, 88-66; France defeated Lithuania, 73-65; Yugoslavia defeated Spain, 88-86; Croatia defeated Slovenia, 71-68; Greece defeated Australia, 85-63; and Russia defeated Latvia, 64-61.

Last week we reported that Syracuse assistant coach Louie Orr was no longer involved with the Siena job, which we thought it was too bad, because he was the perfect candidate for the job, as well as their #1 choice.  Then, late last week we heard that Orr was back in the mix and now it looks like at 1:00 PM this afternoon he will be named as the new head coach at Siena.  So the big question is now is whether Orrr will/must? retain top assistant Robert Burke (another finalist for the job that has the 100%
support of the players).  If Burke doesn't get the job (can't see him staying with Orr regardless), he seems to be left standing when the music stops without a chair, as his old boss Paul Hewitt has already filled his staff.  We also hear that Mike Hopkins, who is the third assistant at Syracuse, will go with Orr as the #1 assistant at Siena.  While Hopkins wasn't great as a player, he is one of our favorite guys in the business and, as a matter of fact, even filled in years ago and helped us keep statistics at the adidas ABCD Camp when the camp was in Irvine, CA.  Also very interesting is the fact that Hartford finally found a replacement for Paul Brazeau, but we're still trying to figure out how DePaul assistant Larry Harrison got the job.  The three names that were always in the mix were Connecticut assistant Karl Hobbs, Massachusetts assistant Geoff Arnold, and St. John's assistant Kevin Clark, but we never heard Harrison's name mentioned until it was announced that he got the job. 

Two weeks ago we saw the Boo Williams' Hampton Roads AAU team advance the finals of the Boo Williams Invitational in Hampton, VA and a week ago we saw the Richmond Squires advance to the final four of Tony Squire's Richmond Shoot-out  in Richmond, VA.  Obviously, these are the two AAU programs in the state of Virginia, as well as two of the best in the nation, so naturally we weren't surprised that the two teams split yesterday when they squared off in the Virginia State AAU Tournament in Richmond, VA.  The Squires won the first game yesterday morning, 85-77, thanks to a 35 point performance by Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Emmanuel) NC.  Apparently Hargett simply picked up where he left off when we saw him the week, as he hit 10-18 field goals, 4-9 3-pointers, and 11-13 free throws.  Also playing extremely well for the Squires was 6'5 Jr Shawn Harris Matoca (H.S.) VA with 17 points, includuing 8-9 field goals.  Harris, who is now attracting a lot of interest from N.C. State, also did a great job on 6'4 Soph J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, who is already a top priority for both Virginia and Duke.   Redick, who is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, scored 17 points in both games, but the his 4-12 field goals and 2-8 3-pointers in the first game and 7-15 field goals and 3-9 3-pointers in the second game, were well under the norm.   However, that didn't stop the Hampton Roads group from coming back and taking home the championship last night over the Squires, 84-67, in this double elimination tournament.  The big reason why Boo Williams won in the championship was the 20 points and 13 rebounds posted by 6'8 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, but the fact that both 6'6 Jr Tyrone Sally from Durham (Emmanual) NC and 6'4 Jr Darius Hargrove from Albert (Brunswick) VA were injured only played sparingly in the championship game also enters into the equation.   So when if they both meet again in the Bob Gibbons' Tournament in Charlottesville, VA in two weeks, it should another way and it may also decide the bragging rights in the state of North Carolina, because they may not meet again the rest of the year.  Remember, the Squires are sponsored by adidas and will play mainly in adidas events, while Boo Williams sponsored by NIKE and, as a result, will only be seen in NIKE events.  Also playing well for Hampton Roads in the morning game was 6'0 Soph Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA with 19 points, but he disappeared last night. 

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that new University of Memphis head coach John Calipari has struck again.  No, he hasn't signed 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS or gotten an early commitment from 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who ranks as the #1 junior in America.  Instead, the University of Memphis has signed 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  Look for an official announcement tonight.   This is huge, because Diarra is ranked #47 nationally, #7 nationally at the center position, and #5 among all unsigned seniors by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have confirmed that Memphis is among the leaders for 6'9 Liberto Tetimadingar from Worcester (Academy) MA, who was on campus today.  Obviously, Calipari is taking advantage of his previous contacts from when he was the head coach at the University of Massachusetts.  Right now Tetimadingar's top four appear to be Memphis, Fordham, Georgia Tech, and Rutgers.  We also believe that Memphis is the tri-favorite, along with Kentucky and Mississippi, for 6'7 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN and the longer it goes, the more it favors the Tigers in the sweepstakes for Rice.   However, we are now hearing a new twist for Rice, which would be if he decided to declare of the NBA.  But we'd surprised if somebody so smart (Rice has a near 4.0 gpa) does something so stupid, even though one agent we spoke to thinks Rice might be among the top 20 picks in the draft in June.  Certainly Rice is an excellent athlete and a great outside shooter, but the big question is can he take the physical punishment that would be rendered night in and night out in the Southeastern Conference, much less the NBA?

Last week we reported that California was on the verge of getting 6'9 Saulis Kuzmanisks from Lithuania and, as a result, Missouri was going to get 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA.  Well, it looks like we're already half right, because the Golden Bears have signed Kuzmanisks.   We also have confirmed that Youngstown State has gotten a commitments from 6'1 Brian Woodson from Winchendon (School) MA and 6'10 Jeff Ball from Yavapia (JC) AZ and 6'8 Sean Hampton, who is transferring from Virginia Commonwealth, was on campus over the weekend.   James Madison has gotten an excellent transfer in 6'10 Kenny Whitehead, who is transferring from UNC-Charlotte.  Speaking of the 49ers, UNC-Charlotte has gotten a major commitment from 6'7 Cameron Stephens, who averaged 12 ppg and 11.5 rpg for Vincennes (JC) IN, which was one of the top junior college programs in the nation this past year.  Stephens is exactly what the 49ers need , because he's a great athlete who will slash to the basket and get more than his share of rebounds next year in Conference USA.  He'll also provide the perfect complement to 6'9 Rodney White, who sat out this past year as an academic casualty.  Remember, White is a physical specimen and a killer inside, so he should immediately become one of the best players in the league when he becomes eligible in the fall.  Add 6'7 Torey Reed from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and 6'5 Kevin Johnson from Milford (Academy) CT, both of whom signed with UNC-Charlotte last fall, plus Damon Brown, who signed with UNCC a year ago and, like White, has been waiting in the wings, and the 49ers may be one of the most improved teams in college basketball next year. 

Saturday, April 22, 2000, and Sunday, April 23, 2000

Head coach Barry Collier has been on the job at the University of Nebraska less than three weeks, but he has already established that he will be a force to be reckoned with in his backyard for years to come, as Roy Enright from Omaha (Burke) NE has made a very early verbal commitment to the Cornhuskers.  Getting this 6'9, 240 lbs, sophomore power forward is huge for several reasons.  First, Enright, who will be at both the NIKE All-American Camp and Five-Star Pitt IV this summer, is extremely skilled for somebody so big and so young and, as a result, is a legitimate top 50 sophomore in the nation.  Second, Enright is the step-son of long time Five-Star coach Herb Welling, who not only is one of the best people in the business, but also is one of the main people involved with grass routes basketball in the state of Nebraska. Third, Enright could be the link for the Cornhuskers to getting most of the top young players in the state for years to come, including 6'3 Soph Chinedu Onyenku from Omaha (Creighton) NE, who will battle Enright for the #1 ranking in the state in his class for the next two years.  As a matter of fact, Onyenku and Enright played together for Welling on the same AAU team when they were in 8th grade.  They also played on the same high school team before Enright transferred during the middle of the school year to Burke High School, which he helped to a runnerup finished in the state tournament a month ago.  Welling tells us that he knew Collier from Five-Star and when the new head coach at Nebraska saw Enright in a workout a week ago, it was a no-brainer.  Collier offered right away and it didn't take Enright long to make up his mind, because he made the commitment on Friday.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that it was announced at Ohio State's Fan Appreciation Day this weekend that 6'11Ken Johnson has been given another year of eligibility next year in accordance with NCAA guidelines that took effect a year ago regarding players who had to sit out their first year of college as academic casualities.  Johnson also tells us that Ohio State had 6'11, 260 lbs. Chris Garnett, who is transferring from Eastern Kentucky, on campus this weekend.  While Garnett, who is considered to be a project, does have a lot of potential, he's probably getting over recruited, as he will likely also take visits to Georgia Tech, Georgia, and Missouri.  He's also already taken an official visit to Hampton.  Johnson also has confirmed that 5'9 Terry Reynolds from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME has signed with Toledo and Kansas has gotten an early commitment from 6'8 Jr Wayne Simein from Leavenworth (H.S.) KS.  You remember Reynolds!  He was the undersized two-guard who helped provide Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with outside shooting during their national championship run a year ago.  Simein is probably already a familar face to many Jayhawks fans, because he was at all their home games last season and even sat in the same seat that was previously reserved for JaRon Rush up until when he had his falling out with head coach Roy Williams. 

Friday, April 21, 2000

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL has returned to New York City and will sign a National Letter-of-Intent today with Rutgers at a 2:00 PM press conference at the Gauchos Gym.  Starks, who originally attended high school at Bronx (Gompers) NY before transferring to Northwest Christian two years ago, is the best unsigned guard still available and should provide the perfect complement in the backcourt for the Scarlet Knights along with point guard Todd Billet, because Starks can play either guard spot.  However, that probably won't happen for another year, because Starks will likely have to go to prep school or sit out next year, if he doesn't meet the necessary academic requirements.  It looks like everybody has jumped the gun again on 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who many thought was ready to commit to Kentucky any day now.   However, he continues to drag it on and on and, as a result, Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith has called 6'7 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN and rescheduled is visit to Lexington, KY this weekend.  So make Grice's list a final three of Memphis, Kentucky, and Mississippi. 

Lamar has gotten a steal in 6'6 Ben Jacobsen from Omaha (Central) NE.  Remember, we saw Jacobsen last fall and called him "a poor man's Travis Watson."  At the big time level Jacobsen, who is a tough hardnosed white kid and a relentless force on the boards, would be a good role player.  But at Lamar's level and with Mike Deane's coaching, he should develop into one of the best players in the league.  Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard is one of the smartest coaches in the business, so it comes as no surprise that he has added Catholic University assistant coach Steve Howes, who is one of the top up and coming young guys in the business and who should provide a strong pipeline into the Washington, DC area, as his third assistant. 

Last weekend George Mason had 6'0 Rob Sullivan from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'5 Richard Tymes from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'8 George Jenkins from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY all on campus for official visits and it looks like the Patriots are on the verge of pulling off the hat trick in recruiting.  Immediately upon returning home from their visits Sullivan and Tymes both made it official for George Mason and we are expecting to get word any time that Jenkins has also made it official.  While all three players are expected to contribute immediately next year, none of the three is expected to start.  Remember, George Mason will be one of the best mid-major programs in the nation, as nearly everybody returns from a team that just missed going to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year.  Plus they signed 6'4 Raoul Heinen from the Netherlands and 6'9 Deon Cooper from Columbia (Central) TN last fall.  Heinen, who was very impressive while playing in Europe during the last year, is expected to walk in and start at the point spot.  Cooper, who was one of the top players in Tennessee and one of the biggest sleepers to in the nation to emerge this past season, will battle three returning starters up front.  

Oklahoma State would have been right there, along with St. John's, with the top ranked recruiting class in the nation if they had landed both 6'3 Maurice Baker from Dixie (JC) UT and 6'4 Emmanuel McElroy from Tyler (JC) TX.  Butt the Cowboys only got one of these two highly coveted junior college players.  That's right!  Within the last several days Baker made a commitment to Oklahoma State, while McElroy has opted for the University of Cincinnati.  Both of these commitments are extremely important, because both players rank among the top five junior college players in the nation and both move their respective schools into our top five in recruiting as things stand to date during the spring signing period.  If you will recall, Cincinnati's recruiting class was ranked #11 last fall, but they are no longer taking 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, who was arrested for assault several months ago.  Instead, they have gone the junior college route and added McElroy, which will be announced officially today, and 6'9 Jamal Davis from Barton County (JC) KS.  They also added 6'8 Rod Flowers from Huntsville (Butler) AL, who ranks among our top 150 high school seniors nationally, several months ago and signed 6'7 Antwan Jones from Tallahassee (JC) FL and 6'3 Field Williams from Houston (Waltrip) TX.   So, despite the fact that Cincinnati lost four starters from last year's team that was ranked #1 most of the season, it looks like the Bearcats have reloaded, because Jones, Baker, and Davis all rank among the top 10 junior college players in the nation and, as a result, are ready to immediately step in and make an impact.   Oklahoma State's class was tied ranked #8 last fall after signing 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugarland (Willowridge) TX, 6'6 Terrance Crawford from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGinnes) OK, 6'4 Bernard Kidd from Dallas (Madison) TX, 6'10 Jack Marlow from Tulsa (Union) OK, and 6'8 David Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, but Baker is the guy who puts this class over the hump.  Not only does he should immediately fill the shoes of point guard Doug Gottlieb, who is graduating this spring, but he was the best junior college point guard available.  As a result, Oklahoma State moves into the #4 spot nationally on our preliminary list of top recruiting classes behind #1 ranked St. John's, #2 ranked Iowa, and #3 ranked Cincinnati and ahead of #5 Connecticut, #6 ranked Seton Hall, and #7 ranked North Carolina.

Thursday, April 20, 2000

Yesterday the University of Houston hired Ball State head coach Ray McCallum to succeed Clyde Drexler and we think it was a great move, because McCallum is an outstanding recruiter, excellent bench coach, and first class person.  He's also smart enough not to let 6'2 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who is one of the best players in the junior class, as well as one of the best players to ever come out of Houston, get away.  And the key to getting that done would be to hire Houston Hoops head coach Josh Pastner, who is widely regarded as one of the top five AAU coaches in the nation, as well as one of the bright young guys in the business.  McCallum will likely hire Ball State assistant coaches Jerry Francis and John Fitzpatrick, although Fitzpatrick may also be in line to replace McCallum at Ball State.  And if Fitzpatrick doesn't get Ball State job, another great hire would be Arizona assistant coach Jay John, who spent a number of years at Butler as an assistant to Barry Collier and proved he can beat the big boys for Indiana kids when Jason Garder picked Arizona a year and a half ago.  And if that happened, Pastner would likely move into John's full-time spot at Arizona.  Otherwise, the best move for McCallum would be to leave the on-campus assistant coaching position open until next fall and then hire Pastner.  That way Pastner, would be able to  coach Hurt all spring and summer and legally recruit him for the University of Houston.  But for this to happen, McCallum would have to hire Pastner into one of the two recruiting positions and take whoever he hires this spring off the road in the fall.  And if McCallum doesn't do this, we'd be surprised if Pastner leaves Arizona.  Remember, Pastner and his father have developed the Houston Hoops into one of the premier AAU programs in the nation and they have teams ranging from 17-Under all the way down to the third grade.  Talk about the perfect pipeline for players!  Which is why Pastner doesn't have to be in any hurry to take the first college coaching job that comes along.  

The Ohio Stars beat the Pittsburgh Jots, 91-88, in the championship game of 12th Grade Division of the Solon Cage Classic on Sunday.  The leading scorer in the game was 6'0 Jr Brandon Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, who finished with 30 points and, as always, was very impressive with his playmaking skills.  Cheatham was joined on all tournament team by 6'6 Jr Daren Tielsch from McKees Rock (Montour) PA, 6'7 Jr Duran Goodwin from Wheeling Park (H.S.) PA, 6'2 Kamil Wilson from Bedford (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Julius Johnson from Warrensville Heights (H.S.) OH, 6'10 Matt Marinchick from Hudson (H.S.) OH, and 6'4 Chet "The Jet" Mason from Cleveland (South) OH, who also took home tournament MVP honors.  Currently our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has Mason ranked #12 in Ohio, but he was so impressed with Mason that he plans to move him into his top seven when he updates his rankings for Ohio in May.  Miami-OH assistants James Whitford and Jermaine Henderson, both of whom were in attendance, deserve a lot of credit for landing Mason, Johnson, and 6'6 Eugene Seals from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, who rebounded to have an outstanding senior year after a so-so summer, last fall.  In the 11th grade Divison the Cleveland Top Prospects, led by a dazzling 25 point first half performance by  6'8 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, by blew out the Ohio Stars, 129-68, in the championship game.   Williams finished with 37 points, the last two coming on a Vince Carter-like dunk, which brought the house down.  Also impressive for the Top Prospects was 6'9 Jr Terrance Dials from Youngstown (Boardman) OH, who reminds Johnson of 6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, although Dials doesn't have the passing skills of an Austin.   As a result, Dials will be the top big man prospect in Ohio next year and will be in the HOOP SCOOP's top 75 nationally in the junior class.  The best championship game of the day was in the 10th grade Division when BB to the Real from Detroit beat Dayton Metro, 73-72.  The MVP was 6''9 Frosh Walter Walters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, who reminds Johnson of a young Felton Spencer with his massive frame and unlimited potential.  Walters was complemented by 6'4 Frosh Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, who not only has great height for a point guard, but also sees the floor well, has excellent handling skills, and is an excellent defender.  Dayton Metro was led by 6'7 Frosh Ivan Harris from Springfield (North) OH and 6'0 Soph Matt Whitt from Tipp City (Bethel) OH.  Harris has a long arms and soft touch inside, although he needs to get bigger and stronger.  Whitt, who is extremely powerful for somebody so young, impressed Johnson so much that he now becomes the #2 sophomore point guard in the state behind 6'0 Soph Chris Quinn from Dublin (Coffman) OH. 

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that the final two for 6'7 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN are Memphis and Mississippi, which leads us to believe that the University of Kentucky will finally get 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who on numerous occasions has told the Wildcats coaching staff that he's coming, but has yet to pull the trigger publicly.  Rothman also tells us that Memphis is now high on the list of 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat recently confirmed that the Tigers are a lot stronger than most people realize for 6'11 Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, who is one of the three great centers in the junior class nationally.  Which means that new Memphis head coach John Calipari continues to recruit like crazy.  Getting back to the University of Kentucky, is looks like the three players the Wildcats will likely sign this spring are Rice, 6'7 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, and 6'3 Gerald Fitch from Macon (Westside) GA.   Rice is the big prize, because he ranks among our top dozen nationally.  Daniels, who is on campus in Lexington, KY today, should provide Kentucky quality depth at the wing forward spot.  Neither Rice nor Daniels has made it official yet, but Fitch, who was named the Class 4-A Player-of-the-Year in Georgia and is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation, did so earlier today when he picked Kentucky over Clemson and Florida State.  Like Rice, Fitch is exactly what the doctored ordered, because he is a great outside shooter.   As a result, we expect Kentucky to play a much more uptempo style next year.   At least that's what University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith indicated to us two weeks ago at the Boo Williams Tournament in Hampton, VA.   Remember, it's hard to get into your press when you're only shooting 30% from the field. 

Wednesday, April 19, 2000

The race for 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS still appears to be too close to call among Kentucky, Memphis, and Mississippi State, but think 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA is a done deal for Missouri.  Don't believe it?  Well, now that Kansas has stopped recruiting Bryant, it's a two horse race between Missouri and California and we think the Golden Bears are on the verge of signing 6'9 Saulis Kuzmanisks from Lithuania, who made an unofficial to California when he was in the area recently with his coach for the NBA All-Star Game.  As a matter of fact, head coach Ben Braun was in Saarlouis, Germany last weekend specifically to watch Kuzmanisks.  Kuzmanisks doesn't have the body that Bryant has, but he's a combo forward just like Bryant.  However, unlike Bryant, Kuzmanisks can shoot the lights out from beyond the arc.  Right now the bigger question appears to be whether Kuzmanisks, who also is being recruited by Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, will be admitted into school at California.  If that happens, Bryant would be a fool to go to Cal, because the Golden Bears also already have an early commitment from 6'9 Julian Sensley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who plans to return to prep school for another year and then follow all his former Los Angeles Rockfish teammates - 6'11 Solomon Hughes, 6'5 Brian Wethers, 6'10 Nick Vander Laan, and 5'10 Shantay Legans - to Berkeley, CA. 

It's now official for 6'7 Johnny Selvie and 6'5 Monte Cummings, both from Southeastern (JC) IA.   Selvie signed today with the University of Connecticut and Cummings picked Florida State over Georgia and Louisville.  Which leaves 6'9 Ronell Mingo from Compton (JC) CA as the lone quality remaining front court player that we know the University of Louisville is actively recruiting.  But we also hear that the University of Wyoming may be tough to beat for Mingo due to family connections.  Which makes us wonder where the Cardinals program is heading?  Just like Indiana University head coach Bob Knight, Crum has held his current job for 29 years.  What is especially fascinating is that the careers of both coaches almost mirror one another.   Remember, Louisville went to the NCAA Final Four in 1972, which was followed by Indiana's Final Four appearance in 1973.  Then, Louisville lost to UCLA in the 1975 National Semi-Finals and Indiana won the National Championship in 1976.  Louisville won the NCAA Championship in 1980, followed by Indiana in 1981.  The same thing happened when Louisville won it 1986 and Indiana won it 1987.  Louisville also appeared in the NCAA Final Four in 1982 and 1983, while Indiana made an appearance in 1992.  However, in recent years both schools have been getting knocked off early in the NCAA Tournament by mid-major programs.  Louisville did advance to the Final Eight three years ago for the first time since 1986, but they haven't won an NCAA game since, as they went 12-20 and, as a result, didn't make the tournament during the 1997-98 season and got knocked off by Creighton and Gonzaga in the first round the last two years.  Indiana has been eliminated in the first or second round each of the last six years.  Obviously, these two Hall of Fame coaches are in the twilight of the careers and both run the risk of getting forced out if some things don't change very quickly.  But there is one major difference.  Nobody will accuse Crum of being a bad guy.  Which brings us to several of the questions we have asked earlier this week in our Question of the Day.   Of the people who responded to our question about how they would rate Knight on a 1-5 scale, with five being the best and one being the worst, as a person and role model, 65% of those responding gave Knight a one or a two.  Even more interesting is that 82% said that there should be no difference in the standard that Knight is held to versus you or me, but 84% felt that Knight would still be the coach at Indiana next year.   So obviously what people think should happen and will happen are in direct contradiction.  And we don't think the trustees at Indiana University have any choice but to get rid of Knight or they themselves become a party to the crime, if Knight does go off the deep end someday and injures somebody in the heat of the moment during a game on national television.  "I thank God I played for coach Knight." said former Indiana University player Kent Benson.   "He made me a champion.  The liberal media have taken coach Knight's negatives, but never listed the positives.  My list outweights their list."  We have never questioned the many positive things that Knight has done, but in this case the so-called "liberal media" appears to be able to figure out what is right and wrong.   I particularly enjoyed Pat Forte's article in the Louisville Courier-Journal today regarding this very subject.  "A month ago they lined up and took their shots at Neil Reed - the liar, the whiner, the cancer," wrote Forte.  "Then they materialized to rip Ricky Calloway.  The screaming match with athletic director Clarence Doninger?  Pull team doctor Brad Bomba out of the bullpen to explain.  Then came the videotape of an abusive coach caught in the act.  It was followed, naturally, by attacks on former assistant Ron Felling, suspected to have leaked the tape.  Finally, we had Butch Carter's allegations, and the inevitable institutional backlash...Raise your voice against Bob Knight, and suddenly the least accessible basketball program in America is available for comment."  We feel that any abuse that Knight dishes out to a player is almost acceptable.  After all, nobody goes to Indiana not knowing that it will be just like the Marines.  Knight will do whatever he can to break you down, before he builds you back up.  And if you survive, you'll be set for life, because Knight will help you get a job and open doors that you never imagined were possible.  Thus, explains the willingness of IU players who have graduated to defend Knight.  However, what is not acceptable is the fact that Knight has used his position to destroy the reputations of past players and has lied about his behavior in the process.  As a matter of fact, one of the current Indiana assistant coaches told a mutual friend that none of the Neil Reed stuff was true about a week before the tape was released.  So I called that person back last week and asked him how it felt to be lied to?  In an unrelated story, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin told me recently that a coach in the area told him something, but he wasn't sure whether is was accurate or not.  "The coach is a good guy," says Rubin.  "But he lies a lot."  Sorry, by definition, you can't be a good guy and lie a lot.  So if Bob Knight is perfectly willing to lie about and line up others to lie about something as important as this, how do we know he's telling the truth about something little, like a potential recruit's playing time?   The bottom line is that his credibility and all of the positive things that he has obtained over the last 30 years has been destroyed.  And no the media didn't do it nor did any of his former players or any of his enemies.  Bob Knight is the one who has destroyed Bob Knight.  The irony is that he may now resign or get fired and become something that he has always hated - a member of the media.  He'd be a natural in the television booth with his genius for the game and charming personality, which he rarely uses when he's in the public eye.  And hopefully players and coaches that Knight would be dealing with would treat him the way they would want to be treated and not the way Knight has treated them in the past. 

We reported yesterday that Arizona State was on the verge of getting 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR.   Well, write it down, because the Sun Devils coaching staff now has a signed National Letter-of-Intent in hand from this athletic uptempo point guard who ranks among our top 30 seniors nationally.  Not only does Brooks fill a valuable need at point guard, but he's also the best player that Rob Evans, who just finished his second year as the head coach of the Sun Devils, has signed while at Arizona State.   He also moves their recruiting class into the #2 spot in the league behind Arizona.   If you will recall, Arizona State signed 6'4 Jonathan Howard from Phoenix (Brophy) AZ and 6'11 Darryl Issac from Phoenix (Peoria) AZ last fall and a year ago established a great nucleaus when they landed 6'8 Donnell Knight from Tempe (Corono Del Sol) AZ, 6'6 Tanner Shell from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, 6'8 Tommy Smith from Phoenix (North) AZ, 6'8 Chris Osbourne from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'8 Shawn Redhage from Lincoln (Northeast) NC, 5'11 Kyle Dodd from Brea (Brea-Olinda) CA, and 6'7 Justin Allen from Malta (H.S.) IL and added a good transfer in 6'6 Awvee Story, who was sitting out after transferring from Illinois.  

Another recruiting class that is dramatically on the rise belongs to the University of Pittsburgh, which has added 6'7 Zelimar Stevanovic from Gulf Coast (JC) FL and 6'10 Mark McCarroll from Milford (Academy) CT both this week.  Last fall they also signed 6'3 Julius Page from Pittsburgh (Turner-Carroll) PA, 6'7 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.)) PA, and 6'10 Torrey Morris from Oliver Springs (H.S.) TN and during the winter they added 6'4 Yuri Demetris from Pittsburgh (Shaler) PA.  Stevanovic is widely regarded as one of the top junior college wing forwards in the nation.  McCarroll, who signed with Syracuse last spring, but then went to prep school, has size, athleticism, and lots of potential, although he needs to learn to play harder.  Page is one of the best athletes in the class nationally and was terrific when we saw him a week ago in the Capital Classic.   Troutman is an undersized power forward, but he's one of the best rebounders in the country and he's dramatically improved in the last six months and, as a result, is now a borderline top 100 senior nationally.  Demetris is a prolific scorer who averaged right at 30 ppg and Morris has enough size to make him intriguing.  As a result, the Pittsburgh coaching staff has brought in a great nucleus upon which to build.   So now their focus turns toward finding a great point guard in the junior class and the guy right at the top of their list is 6'0 Jr Brandon Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, who is one of the top point guards in his class nationally and comparable to Sean Miller and Arch Miller in many ways, although we feel he's better at the same stage.  What makes this especially interesting is that Cheatham also plays for John Miller, who is the father of Sean and Arch, as well as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Jots.   It's also important, because the previous two regimes couldn't get any of the top players from the Pittsburgh Jots AAU after John Calipari, who is related to the Miller's, took the head coaching job at Massachusetts.   

Tuesday, April 18, 2000

We were glad to see that former University of Virginia and current Rhode Island assistant coach Jeff Jones finally got the American University job yesterday and we think he will be the perfect fit as long as he doesn't stay too long.  Jones, who is an outstanding bench coach, but questionable recruiter, needs to win and move onto a better job in three or four years.  Remember, American University will likely leave the Colonial Athletic Association and join the Patriot League, which would be a major drop in terms of level of the competition.  In the short run that will be good, because American University has better players than most of the rest of the teams in the Patriot League.  However, in the long run, it will hurt their recruiting.  The three leading candidates for the Houston job are Ball State head coach Ray McCallum, Appalachian State head coach Buzz Peterson, and Houston assistant Reid Gettys, although Kent State head coach Gary Waters also appears to still have a shot.  As a matter of fact, it was reported on radio this morning in North Carolina that Peterson had gotten the job, but that is not correct.  And we know that for a fact, because McCallum and his wife were at the University of Houston this afternoon and he won't be on campus if the job was already filled by Peterson.  We also have heard that Louie Orr has turned down the Siena job and, as a result, will remain at Syracuse as an assistant.  But this makes no sense to us, because Siena is a great stepping stone for a young head coach on the rise into the Big East or ACC.  So now it looks like current assistant Bob Burke, who has the support of the players (many of whom he recruited), and Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon are the leading candidates, although we also have heard UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery's name now being mentioned for the Siena job.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'4 Percell Coles from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA has sigend with Cleveland State and 6'1 Shawn McKie from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA is on the verge of making it official for Morgan State.   Rubin also told us four or five days ago that 6'5 Johnny Story from Hampton (H.S.) VA had signed with Virginia Commonwealth, but it got lost in the shuffle while we were traveling.  Speaking of Virginia Commonwealth, Rubin has confirmed that 6'8 Shawn Hampton is transferring.  The first school that comes to mind is Youngstown State, which is where Hampton's former high school coach Eric Skeeters is now an assistant.  However, it looks like Hampton is looking in the other direction.  That's right!  He thinks he's an ACC or Big East caliber player.   And as long as we're talking about transfers, 6'5 Kyle Williams, who is originally from Burlington (City) NJ, is leaving the University of  Colorado and finding a school where he can play point guard will be a major factor in his decision, according to Rubin.  We also hear that 6'2 Luis Flores wants out at Rutgers and 6'5 Marshall Williams is thinking about returning home and, if that happens, it would be just one more feather in the cap of Marquette head coach Tom Crean, who is now on the verge of returning the Golden Eagles to national prominence. 

The Houston Hoops, which were the HOOP SCOOP's Team-of-the-Summer last summer, have just picked up where they left off last July, as they finished second in the Boo Williams Invitational a week and a half ago and this past weekend beat Team Texas Red, 82-74, to win Mike Kunstadt's Tops in Texas Tournament in Austin, TX.  It's no surprise that 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who had 35 points in the championship game, was named the tournament MVP.  He also appears to have taken his game to another level, as he either scores or draw a foul any time he wants.  Excluding 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, it is beginning to look like Hurt is the best point guard in the class.   Making the Houston Hoops win even more impressive is the fact that they did it without 6'8 Jr Emmeca Okafor from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who was out with a knee injury.  However, 6'4 Marcus Spears from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA stepped up with 23 points and 6'7 Christopher Rhodes from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX picked up the slack inside.  The big gun for Team Texas Red was 6'4 Soph Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX, who had five 3-pointers, 15 points, and is now being recognized as the #1 sophomore in Texas.   He's also one of the best shooters in the nation regardless of class.  The best inside player in the championship game was 6'8 Jr Jason Maxiell from Carrollton (Neumann Smith) TX, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and five blocks.   However, by the championship game 6'4 Jr Keith Langford from Fort Worth (North Crowley) TX was too worn out to be much of a factor, as he finished with only five points.  However, he had a good reason for running out of gas.  The night before Maxiell and Wright both drove from Austin to Dallas to attend their junior proms.   Then, they returned to Austin, TX, arriving at 6:30 AM, slept for an hour, ate breakfast, and then played in the semis and the finals.  Thus, explains how Team Texas Red blew an 11 points lead in the second half.  

The West All-Stars led most of the way, but 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'9 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 5'8 Avery Queen from Troy (Redemption) NY, and 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR sparked the comeback, as the United States took home a 132-128 victory in the Dada All-Star Classic, which was presented by Nabisco, at Long Beach State Saturday afternoon.   Cummings and Johnson proved to be unstoppable inside, as they hit 16-25 field goals and combined for 36 points, while Brooks dished out eight assists and Avery wooed the crowed with his shake and bake moves and no look passes.  Speaking of Brooks, who we think is still one of the most underrated players in the senior class nationally, it looks like Arizona State is very close to getting a commitment.  As a matter of fact, he told a source at the game that he plans to sign with the Sun Devils.  The second leading scorer in the game with 21 points was 6'10 Reo Logan from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL, but he was not considered for game MVP honors.   Instead, MVP honors went to Cummings, who finished with a game high 22 points, and 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, who also finished with 21 points.  Myles also hit 8-10 field goals, but only had one rebound.  Instead, the top rebounders for the West All-Stars were 6'9 Patrick Dennehy from Mountain View (St. Francis) CA and 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, both of whom finished with seven boards apiece.  Also deserving a mention are 6'3 Tommy Johnson from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, who knocked down 4-5 3-pointers and 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, who didn't shot very well (6-16 field goals and only 1-7 3-pointers), but did have six assists and six rebounds, which is very impressive for a small point guard. 

Monday, April 17, 2000

The United States team left for Germany on Saturday, April 15th, and they will get a full week of practice in before the 2000 Albert Schweitzer Games officially begin on Saturday, April 22nd and end on Saturday, April 29th.  The team includes 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, 6'1 Jr Ben Gordon from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'11 Jared Reiner from Tripp (Tripp-Delmont) SD, 6'5 Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, 6'3 Jr Billy Edelin from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'9 Jr Jordan Collins from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 5'9 Alvin Green from Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, 6'5 Peter Milligan from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'9 Soph Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, who is the first sophomore ever to play on the U.S. team in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, which is the largest junior tournament in the world.  The tournament is divided into four pools.  Turkey, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Germany are in Pool A.   Spain France, Yugoslavia, Lituania are in Pool B.   Australia Croatia, Greece, and Slovenia are in Pool C.  The United State, Finland, Latvia, and Russia are in Pool D.  If the United States finishes in the top two in its pool, it would cross over and play one of the top two teams from Pool B in the quarterfinals.  Then, the top two teams from Pool B and Pool D will cross over into the semi-finals and play the top two teams from Pool A and Pool C.  John Rhodes, who is in charge of the United States team, has promised to provide us with immediate scores and highlights from the tournament via email, all of which can be found in the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP beginning early next week. 

Murray State has gotten two huge commitments from 7'1 Andy Hornig from Germany and 6'5 Cuthbert Victor from the Virgin Islands.  Both have played for there national teams and both would be ranked among the top 100 seniors nationally, if they played in the United States.   Hornig, at 260 lbs., is a tough hardnosed shot blocking physical specimen who has the talent and potential to become a dominant force inside at the collegiate level.   Victor, who is versatile wing forward, can run, jump, and shoot the three.   Hornig and Victor join the three recruits - 6'8 Jamar Avant from Murphysboro (H.S.) IL, 6'8 Roderick Thomas from Southern Utah State (JC) UT, and 6'3 Maumbo Rivera from St. Croix, Virgin Islands - Murray State signed last fall in a recruiting class that was ranked #37 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, 6'9 Ronnie Griffin from Tallahassee (JC) FL has since reneged on his commitment and, as a result, no longer counts with the class.   However, we still expect the Racers class to move into the top 25  nationally this spring, because Hornig and Victor are so good, Avant is a lot better than we originally thought, and Murray State is expected to sign another player from the deep south within the next week.  If that weren't enough, Murray State also has four excellent players, who sat out this year, waiting in the wings in 5'11 Kevin Paschel from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'5 Antoine Whelchel from Gainesville (H.S.) GA, 6'8 Chiwale Bedeau from Port of Trinidad, Spain, and 7'0 Lennart Christensen from Copenhagan, Denmark.  Which means the Racers will have plenty of strength and size up front.  As a matter of fact, how many teams at the mid-major level will go to war with two 7-footers next year?

Saturday, April 15, 2000, and Sunday, April 16, 2000

DC Assault beat Baltimore Select, 55-48, in the Championship of the 17-Under Division in Tony Squire's Richmond Shoot-out at Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center in Richmond, VA, but that wasn't the big story of the tournament.  The tournament was absolutely loaded with good young players.  Let's start with the Squires 15 Brooks team, which featured 5'11 Frosh Vernon Hamilton from Chester (Thomas Dale) VA, 6'6 Frosh Marcus Sikes from Petersburg (H.S.) VA, 6'5 Soph Jelani Lawrence from Richmond (Hermitage) VA, and 6'7 Frosh Brad Byerson from Chester (Thomas Dale) VA.  Hamilton already has the skills necessary to make it as a big time point guard.  He has great ball handling skills and will beat you with either hand.   He's also a great passer, is quick off the dribble, and plays with a lot of savvy.   Sikes is an excellent athlete and a good rebounder for his size, although he needs to get bigger stronger.  Lawrence is a slasher with quick hands and lots of athleticism, but he too needs to develop his skills.  Byerson, who is an excellent shot blocker, rebounder, and passer, will likley continue to grow, as is evident by his size 16 shoe.  However, the Squires 15 Brooks team didn't beat the DC Assault 16 Team, which included most of the top young players in the Washington, DC area, including 6'8 Frosh Omari Isreal from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 6'0 Frosh Tre Kelly from Washington (Dunbar) DC, 6'5 Soph Keith Blanks from Largo (H.S.) MD, 6'5 Soph Reggie Mason from Washington (Eastern) DC, and 6'0 Frosh Alfred Walton from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC.   Isreal is similar to 6'7 James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD.  That's right!  Isreal can handle, pass, and shoot out on the perimeter at 6'8, but at this level he also rules inside.  He's not as athletic as White, but he is a big time athlete and his potential is just as unlimited.  Kelly has great hands, excellent handling skills, and is extremely quick off the dribble.   Blanks can beat you offensively from mid-range and slashing to the basket, but his forte is locking up his man defensively.  Mason is an excellent rebounder, but he's at that tweener size, so he needs to grow.  Walsh is a prolific scorer and great outside shooter.  Team Carolina 16 featured 6'4 Soph Cameron Benngerman from Greensboro (Day) NC, 6'2 Soph Tarrance Dendy from Greenville (Berea) SC, 6'5 Soph Thurman Zimmerman from Columbia (Keenan) SC, and 6'5 Soph Derrick McMichaels from Columbia (Spring Valley) SC.  Benngerman is a big time talent who is quick off the dribble and excellent at pulling up and getting his shot.   Dendy might have been the best 3-point shooter in the entire tournament.   Zimmerman has great body control and is terrific on the boards, but also has the ball handling and passing skills to bring the ball up the court.  But right now he doesn't have a true position, because he is not a threat from beyond 12' from the basket.   McMichaels is another tweener, but he's tough inside, as he rebounds and dunks in your face.  Baltimore Select 16 featured 6'1 Jr Doug Underwood from Ft. Meade (Meade) MD, 6'4 Gary Neal from Aberdeen (H.S.) MD, and 6'6 Soph Jaz Cowan.  Underwood runs the show with his ball handling and passing, but he doesn't have the great understanding of the game that a top notch point guard needs at the next level.  Still he has a chance, because he's so athletic and well built.  Neal combines athleticism with outside shooting and Cowan is active inside, although he needs to get bigger and stronger.  Three freshmen for Baltimore Select who also have to be mentioned are 6'6 Frosh Matt Stevenson from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'3 Jr Frosh Gerald Brown from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD, and 6'1 Frosh James Taylor from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD.  The key with Stevenson will be how much more he grows, but he looks really young and works hard inside.  Brown is a terrific athlete who can play either the one or the two.  Taylor is an excellent 3-point shooter who isn't afraid to pull the trigger.  The Squires 16 Watkins team featured 6'4 Soph Markus Sailes from Richmond (Varina) VA, 6'7 Jr Derek Reid from Richmond (Meadowbrook) VA, 6'4 Soph Dana Burns from Richmond (Monacan) VA, and 6'3 Soph Brandon Myles from Goochland (H.S.) VA.  Sailes has excellent size for a point guard, but he's also extremely versatile, which is evident by his ability to rebound and his knack for always being in the right spot to make plays.  His ball handling and passing skills are excellent, but there is no telling what position he'll eventually play, because his father is 6'9 and the younger Sailes just continues to grow.  Reid is a junior, but he's young for his class, so you have to like his potential.  He has long arms, excellent athleticism, and a nice mid-range jumper.  Burns is an excellent 3-point shooter, but he'll also beat you going to the hole.  Myles is an extremely versatile athlete who does everything well, but nothing great.  Sam Rines 16 team featured 5'9 Frosh Ben Luber from Newton (Council Rock) PA, 6'5 Jr Kyle Allen from Mooresville (H.S.) PA, and 6'5 Frosh Rob Kurz from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA.  Luber is small, but he was one of the best players we saw in the entire tournament.  As a matter of fact, his defense, toughness, and quickness remind us of a young Bobby Hurley, although Luber is a much better shooter at this stage.  As a matter of fact, that's one of the things Luber does best - get to the spot and pull up on his jumper.  Allen has good moves and is very active, which makes him especially effective inside.  Kurz is a pure shooter who can beat you both inside and outside.  Getting back to the 17-Under age group, Baltimore Select upset the Squires Richmond Mack and DC Assault knocked off the Long Island Panthers in the two semi-finals games, but there were very few great performances in this age group.  But 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Emmanuel Academy) NC and 6'7 Jr Thomas Harvey from Durham (Emmanuel Academy) NC were two of the exceptions.  As a matter of fact, Hargett was probably the best player in the tournament.  However, tournament MVP honors went to 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport Prep) MD, who scored eight points in the championship game, primarily because he was the best player on the winning team.  White's teammate 6'2 Jr Tony Bethel from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD also was named to the all-tournament team along with Hargett, Harvey, 6'7 Omari Westley from East Cleveland (Shaw) OH, and 5'10 Jr Todd Galloway from Baltimore (City College) MD.  Galloway did a great job slowing down Hargett in the semi-finals, but it was his speed and quickness, playmaking skills and ability to penetrate and dish that impressed us the most.  He still needs to learn to shoot, but he definitely has a mid-major future.  However, with Galloway running the show, 6'2 Keith Jenifer from Towson (Catholic) MD was not nearly as effective, which leads us to believe that Jenifer has to be a one, because he's so much better with the ball in his hands.  Others who were considered for the all-tournament team were 6'1 Jr Khaleaf Watson from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'3 Calvin Dotson from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD, 6'9 Jr Robert Little from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA, 6'7 Jr Tyree Spinner from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA, 6'9 Taurance Johnson from Glassboro (Faith Christian) NJ, 6'4 Jr Shawn Harris from Ettrick (Matoca) VA, 6'3 Darius Hargrove from Lawrenceville (Brunswick) VA, and 6'7 Eric King from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.   Speaking of players from Brooklyn Lincoln, 5'9 Sebastian Telfair, who is the #1 ranked 8th grader in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, played some for Long Island Panthers and impressed us with his poise and passing.  He also told us that he plans to go to Lincoln High School next year, where he will continue to follow in the footsteps of Stephon Marbury. 

Friday, April 14, 2000

Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat tells us that Connecticut is now the leader over South Florida for 6'7 Johnny Selvie from Southeastern (JC) IA.  Jira also tells us that Selvie has also cancelled his visit to Michigan and Louisville is out.  Arkansas has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'1 Jannero Pargo from Neosho County (JC) KS.  Rick Jones was dismissed from the team by Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings yesterday for a "violation of team rules," and, as a result, will transfer.  Kentucky now appears to be a lock for 6'2 Gerald Fitch from Macon (Westside) GA, because he has cancelled his visit to Florida State.   However, the Wildcats will have to wait until, Wednesday, April 20th, because that's when the press conference is scheduled.  San Jose State is now out of the hunt for 6'9 Andreaus Bloch from Germany via Fresno (Central) CA and, as a result, he will likely pick Fresno State, Pepperdine, or Northwestern, which has made a late push.  USC lost out on 6'6 Travis Hanour from Laguna Beach (H.S.) CA, who signed with Arizona, and 6'9 Chris Manker from Laguna Beach (H.S.) CA, who signed with Oregon State, and, as a result, still has three scholarships to offer this spring.  So if you know of a player who is interested in one of these scholarships, tell him to send 500 letters on the same day in care of the University of Southern California Men's Basketball Office, University Park, Los Angeles, CA  90089.  That way they'll be sure to know that the player is interested.  

It looks like Virginia is among the early favorite for 6'11 Jr DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, both of whom rank among the top big men in the loaded junior class.  Virginia leads a list that includes Wake Forest, North Carolina, Duke, Auburn, Miami-FL, and Louisville for Diop.  Sampson, who is the nephew of Ralph Sampson, has Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona, Kansas, and UCLA high on his list and it wouldn't be a surprise if the Cavaliers try and get involved with 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'5 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, who have already been mentioned in a possible package, along with Sampson, for UCLA, Kansas, and Arizona.   However, we think Virginia is more likely to pull off a package that includes a number of the Boo Williams' players, including 6'8 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'8 Jr Jason Clark from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'4 Soph J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA. 

It's not official yet, but we would be surprised if 6'6 JaRon Rush and 6'11 Jerome Moiso are back at UCLA next year.  However, like so many others, if they do go hardship into the NBA draft, we'd be surprised if they get drafted as high as they anticipate.    As a matter of fact, we wouldn't take either Rush or Moiso over Iowa State's Marcus Fizer, Cincinnati's DerMarr Johnson, Indiana Hills Junior College's Ernest Brown, Minnesota's Joel Pryzbilla, St. John's Erick Barkley, Connecticut's Khalid El-Amin, Indiana Hills Junior College's Cory Hightower, and DePaul's Paul McPherson, who are the nine underclassmen who have already announced that they will declare for the draft.  Nor would we take either of them over LSU's Stromile Swift, Texas' Chris Mihm, Florida's Mike Miller, Alabama's Schea Cotton, DePaul's Quentin Richardson, or Tennessee's Tony Harris, all of whom also will likely put their names into the draft before the May 14th deadline.  However, we would take both Rush and Moiso over any of the high school players - 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, or 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington) CA - who are expected to bypass college and go directly into the league.  Getting back to Swift for a minute, right now he's saying that he plans to be back next year, but if he comes out this year, he might be the #1 or #2.  However, if he waits until next year, his draft standing could drop as far down as #5 or #6.  Don't believe it?  Who would you rather have down the road if you were an NBA General Manager?  Swift, 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'11 Jr Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, or 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL.  That's right!   If those four current juniors in high school all decide to skip college and enter the NBA draft in the spring of 2001, they just might be picked in 1-2-3-4 order.  That's how good the junior class is and that's our Question of the Day.   Who would you pick first?  Swift, Wagner, Chandler, Curry, or Brown.

There are a number of excellent events going on around the nation this weekend, like Wayne Simone's Connecticut Select Hoop Challenge at Connecticut College in New Haven, CT, which includes over a 120 teams in the 17-Under, 16-Under, 15-Under, 14-Under, and 13-Under age groups.  Simone's tournament will feature most of the top teams in the Northeast, but we'll be at Tony Squire's Richmond Shoot-out at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, which also should be loaded.  As a matter of fact, this promises to be our first look at Squire's 15-Under Team, which many feel is the best AAU team in the nation for that age group.  Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that numerous college coaches are also in Saint Quentin, France for the European Championship for Junior Men Challenge Round 2000, which is being held April 12th-16th and includes teams from France, Russia, Slovenia, Georgia, Turkey, and Poland.  The big attraction for American college coaches is 6'1 Tony Parker from France, who is currently trying to decide whether he will sign a pro contract in France this spring or enroll in a college in the United States next fall.   Yes, Parker is that good!  The tournament is also important, because the top four teams will join Spain, Greece, and Croatia, which have already qualified, in the Europeans Championship from Junior Men in Zadar, Croatia from July 14th-23rd.  Also sending teams will be the two other qualifying tournaments in Germany and Bulgaria.   Johnson tells us that the Yugoslavian team is the heavy favorite to win the Bulgarian Tournament, but the tournament in Germany is wide open, as Germany, Lithonia, Iceland, and Italy all have a legitimate shot at winning the tournament.

Thursday, April 13, 2000

It looks like former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins has turned down the University of Houston job.  Apparently he just wants to take a year off, before weighing his options, but the deciding factor was really Cremins' wife, who was dead set against her husband taking the job.  Speaking of Georgia Tech, it looks like new head coach Paul Hewitt will retain assistant coach Willie Reese, but the word is that he will be getting the third spot and, as a result, will no longer be on the road recruiting. The other two spots will go to James Madison assistant coach Dean Keener, who was on the same staff with Hewitt under George Raveling at USC, and Cliff Warren, who was with Hewitt at Siena.  This is particularly interesting, because it means that Siena assistant Robert Burke will be looking for a job, if he doesn't land the Siena job.  And that's entirely possible, because we think Syracuse assistant coach Louie Orr is going to get Siena soon. It also means that former Georgia Tech star Mark Price is out.  However, he'll probably join Cremins when he gets back into a coaching in a year or two.  Getting back to the Houston job, it looks like the Cougars are going hard after Appalachian State's Buzz Peterson, who is widely regarded as one of the hot young head coaches in the nation.  Today Robert Morris announced that former Nebraska head coach Danny Nee has been selected to take over that program.  It looks like Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall is now the leading candiate for the American University job, because he did exceptionally well in the interview.  South Carolina State head coach Cy Alexander interviewed for the American job today and Rhode Island assistant coach Jeff Jones, Temple assistant coach Nate Blackwell, and Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs also still have a legitimate shot at the American University job.  The four leading candidates for the Charleston Southern job are Virginia Tech assistant coach Donnie Marsh, Florida State assistant coach Jim Platt, South Carolina assistant coach Barclay Radebaugh, and Gardner-Webb head coach Rick Scruggs.   Florida International will likely hire Marsh, Miami-FL assistant coach Scott Howard, or South Florida assistant coach Dave Zimroth.   Former Florida International head coach Shakey Rodriguez may surface as an assistant at Florida Atlantic.  The leading candidate for the Western Carolina job is Vanderbilt assistant coach Steve Shurina, but Tennessee assistant coach Chris Ferguson and Wake Forest assistant coach Frank Haith are also still being mentioned. 

Temple may have lost Mark Karcher, who declared for the NBA draft today, but they also got a commitment today from 6'3 Brian Polk from Georgetown (Sussex Tech) DE.  The only problem is that they will likely have to wait a year for Polk, who is a legitimate top 150 senior nationally, to become eligible, as he is expected to be a non-qualifier academically.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Jackie Rogers from Barton County (JC) KS has signed with Massachusetts, but the inquiry sign is up on 6'0 Dinno Daniels from Tyler (JC) TX.  Apparently his junior college coach wants him to go to Miami-FL, but he wants to go to Rhode Island, which is why there has been so much confusion about where he's going.  However, in the end we still think the Rams will get Daniels.   Rhode Island also appears to be close to getting a commitment from 6'11 Melih Yavsaner from Hill (JC) TX, who is ranked as the #1 unsigned junior college big man in the nation by Van Coleman of Future Stars.  Texas Christian has signed 6'3 James Davis from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI, Tennessee Tech has landed 6'6 Ahmad Richardson from Millersburg (Military) KY, and East Tennessee State has gotten Ryan Carson from Charlotte (Providence Day) NC.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Nebraska head coach Barry Collier has hired long time Western Nebraska head coach Dave Campbell as an assistant coach, but it looks like the Cornhuskers have already lost out on the top junior in the state 6'7 Jr Jimmy Motz from Lincoln (Northwest Lincoln) NE.  That's right!  This sharpshooting wing forward has made an early commitment to Creighton.  Speaking of the top underclassmen in the state of Nebraska, 6'9 Soph Roy Enright from Omaha (Creighton) NE has the big reputation, but his teammate - 6'3 Soph Chinedu Onyenku, also from Omaha (Creighton) NE - is better.  As a matter of fact, Johnson has sources who tell him that Onyenku, who is originally from Nigeria, but who has grown up in the United States and, as a result, has been cultured and educated here, is both an excellent student and a legitimate top 50 sophomore nationally.

This weekend at Long Beach State University the West All-Stars will meet the U.S. All-Stars in the 4th Annual Dada All-Star Classic, which is being presented by Nabisco.  The game will tip-off at 3:00 PM immediately following the All-Southern California Game at 1:00 PM.  The West All-Stars will feature 6'9 Patrick Dennehy from Mountain View (St. Francis) CA, 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'8 Robert Turner from Anaheim (Western) CA, 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'6 Keith Brooks from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'7 Teyo Johnson from San Diego (Mira Mesa) CA, 6'5 Kevin Roberts from Petaluma (Casa Grande) CA, 6'4 Tommy Johnson from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'4 Jameel Pugh from Sacramento (Grant) CA, 6'3 Alfred Williams from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, and 5'9 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA.  The U.S. All-Stars will include 7'0 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT   6'9 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'9 Reo Logan from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL, 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Homewood (Flossmoor-Homewood) IL, 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ,  6'7 Nick Anderson from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, 6'7 Omar Weaver from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'5 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'4 Desmon Farmer from Flint (Northwestern) MI,6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR,  and 5'6 Avery Queen from Troy (Redemption) NY.   Unfortunately 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'9 Jason Parker from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'5 Orien Greene from Gainesville (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Matt Lotich from New Trier (Winnetka) IL, and 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL were originally supposed to be in the game, but have been scratched from the lineup for various reasons.  However, the above rosters have been updated and are accurate as of today. 

Also this weekend Bob Gibbons will be putting on two important all-star games in Winston-Salem, NC at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.  Tomorrow night the Jam Fest will include a slam dunk and 3-point shooting contest at 7:00 PM and the North/South All-Star Classic at 8:00 PM.  The North All-Stars will include 7'0 Tom Timmermans from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'8 Chris Hobbs from Chapel Hill (East Chapel Hill) NC, 6'7 J.K. Edwards from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, 6'8 Tizzo Johnson from Millersburg (Military) KY, 6'4 Danny Gathings from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 Brent Halsch from Greensboro (Day) NC, 6'4 Jay Joseph from Lansdale (North Penn) NC, 6'6 Joel Justus from Winston-Salem (Mt. Tabor) NC, 6'0 Jameer Nelson from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'2 Taron Downey from Oxford (J.F. Webb) NC and 6'3 Elliot Cole from Burlington (Walter Williams) NC.  The South All-Stars will include 6'10 Chavis Thompson from Florence (Wilson) NC, 6'9 Peter Tsampas from High Point (Westchester) NC, 6'8 Marcus Melvin from Fayetteville (Douglas Byrd) NC, 6'9 Brandon Clifford from Greensboro (Page) NC, 6'5 Reggie Love from Charlotte (Providence Day) NC, 6'6 Josh Hare from Cleveland (Bradley Central) TN, 6'6 Carlos Dixon from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'4 Greg Taylor from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC, 6'2 Ronald Taylor from Raleigh (Southeast) NC, 6'2 Brandon Temple from Wake Forest (Wake Forest-Rolesville) NC, and 6'0 Demetric Stevens from Johnson City (Science Hill) TN.  Then, on Saturday, April 15th at 7:30 PM is the Atlantic Coast/USA Hoops Challenge.  The Atlantic Coast All-Stars will feature 6'9 Jason Parker from Fork Union (Military) VA, 7'0 Dshamal Schoetz from High Point (Wesleyan Christian) NC, 6'9 Chris Wilcox from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6'9 Michael Bell from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6'6 Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Michael Joiner from Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC, 6'8 Liberto Tetimadingar from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'5 Dwon Clifton from High Point (Westchester) NC, 6'4 Marvin Lewis from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'3 A.W. Hamilton from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, and 6'3 Trey Guidry from Baton Rouge (Central) LA.  The USA All-Stars will include 6'7James Thomas from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'8 Tory Reed from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'11 Kyle Davis from Blakely (Early County) GA, 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'9 Herve Lamizana from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 A.J. Moye from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, 6'3 Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Callaway County) GA, 6'1 Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'1 Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'1 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL.

Wednesday, April 12, 2000

The Capital All-Stars were down, 73-62, with 5:09 left in the third quarter, but they came back to beat the U.S. All-Stars, 112-101, last night in the Reebok Capital Classic All-Star Game at the MCI Center in Washington, DC..  If that isn't a good enough story by itself, the hero for the Capital All-Stars was none other than 6'3 Tamir Goodman from Towson (Takoma Academy) MD.  You remember him!  He's the guy who put up incredible numbers against private school competition and, as a result, was called the "Jewish Jordan."  As a junior he committed to the University of Maryland as a junior, but many, including us, questioned whether he was good enough and his getting hurt last summer and not being able to play against the top competition in the nation at the adidas ABCD Camp raised even more questions.  As a result, he changed his mind about going to Maryland and, instead, opted for Towson last fall.  But last night Goodman proved all the critics wrong.  No, he's not one of the best players in the nation.   But he did show that he's willing to sacrifice for his team and that he's an exceptional passer, as was evident by his eight assists and leadership when the game was on the line.  As a matter of fact, he was the guy who made most of the key passes when the Capital All-Stars went on a 12-0 run with five minutes left in the game.   Forget about the fact that he only had two points and only took one shot in the entire game.  Goodman effected the game so much that he shared MVP honors for his team with 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH.  Robinson scored 15 points and had nine rebounds, but even more important was the fact that he too made a number of key plays and big baskets at crunch time.  Another candidate for MVP honors was 6'4 David Hawkins from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who made the two baskets that broke the game open with four minutes left in the game.   However, Hawkins took more shots (6-19 field goals) than he had points (17 points).   Also playing well for the Capital All-Stars were 6'7 Delonte Holland from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosvelt) MD, 6'6 Deon Saunders from Washington (Springarn) DC, and 6'9 Michael Sweetney from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD.   Both Saunders and Holland thrive in this type of setting, so it was no surprise that they got most of their points off transition and dunks.  Sweetney, who is best in a more structured setting, did most of his damage late in the game and, as a result, was another big reason why the Capital All-Stars took home the victory.  Sweetney also was the leading rebounder in the game with 11 boards.  Also needing more structure than a game like this provides were 6'6 Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, who chipped in with a quiet 10 points, and 6'3 Marvin Lewis from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who nailed several 3-pointers.   Sparking the U.S. Team in the first half were 6'3 Julius Page from Pittsburgh (Turner-Carroll) PA and 6'2 Tony Stockman from Medina (H.S.) OH with 11 points apiece.  The big problem was that neither did much after the intermission, as Stockman failed to score a point and Page was limited to only four points.  Still, Page might have been the best athlete in the game and he's definitely not gun shy, as he showed that he can beat you from downtown or around the basket.   Stockman is a tough hardnosed competitor with a quick release and the ability to get his shot against just about anybody, but he only got three looks in the entire second half, which might explain why he was held scoreless.  Instead, it was the Riverside Church guys - 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY and 6'8 Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY - who stepped up and kept the U.S. All-Stars in the game down the stretch.  Cuffe, who finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, took home his team's MVP honors, while Williams chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds.  We also have to mention 6'0 Derrick Snowden from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, because he had six assists, and 7'6 Neil Fingleton from Worcester (Holy Name) MA, who finished with four points, but he did effect the game with seven blocks and eight rebounds.  The other future Tar Heel - Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN was probably the biggest disappointment of the big name players in the game.  He not only failed to score, but he never really got into the flow of the game, which leads us to wonder how long he will last at North Carolina.  Remember, there is talk that Ronald Curry may play exclusively basketball next year and 6'2 Brian Morrison from Redmond (Lake Washington) WA was dynamite two nights ago in the Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic in Raleigh, NC.  As a result, Boone may be the odd man out. In the preliminary game last night 6'4 Dustin Hellenga from Reston (South Lakes) VA and 6'6 Sean Brooks from Seat Pleasant (Central) MD lead the Suburban All-Stars to a 120-118 victory over the District All-Stars.  Brooks, who is an steal for Drexel, is an undersized power forward, but he's a monster on the boards (10 rebounds) and tough to stop when he gets the ball on the blocks (11-17 field goals all from inside).  Hellenga, who took home his team's MVP honors, had 18 points and really impressed us with his athleticism and ability to explode to the basket.  He also had 10 rebounds and the word is that he's a terrific outside shooter, although he was only 1-6 from beyond the arc in this game.  The MVP for the District All-Stars was 6'6 Robin Wentt from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD.  Wentt finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but even more important, was clearly the best player in the game for either team.  The leading scorer for the District All-Stars was 5'10 Rob Monroe from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  Monroe, who finished with 20 points, is small, but he's quick and he can shoot the lights out, as was evident by his 4-6 3-point shooting.

There had been rumors for weeks about the videotape that shows Bob Knight grabbing former Indiana University player Neil Reed by the neck and pushing him backward.  Well, it's not a rumor anymore, because last night CNN/SI released the tape and it is clear that Knight went well beyond the line of what is acceptable for a coach to do in terms of instructing and/or motivating a player.  Certainly this is a devastating blow to Knight who already is the subject of an investigation by two university trustees who are looking into reports from two former players about Knight physically abusing team members.  Obviously this is not acceptable behavior, but even worse is the fact that Knight appears to be the Bill Clinton of basketball.  Not only has he used his position to lie, coverup, and intimidate those who wouldn't fall into line, but he also has ruined his image as the quintessential model of the right way to run a college basketball program.  While the debate rages in the media as to whether Knight should keep his job, and that's our Question of the Day, we don't believe that all of the responsibility shouldn't fall on Knight alone.   We think it is time for Indiana University to accept responsibility, as well.  For years the school has made excuses, turned the other way, and/or simply ignored past incidents.  Our guess is that the school won't fire Knight, but they will probably reprimand, fine, suspend, or punish in some other way.  However, all this would be windowdressing.  It won't change Knight's pattern of behavior.  People deserve second chances, but unfortunately Knight has had more chances than a cat has lives.  We think it is time for Knight to go, especially in the light of the fact that more tapes may be on the way.  That's right!   We're talking about more reports of Knight abusing other players and players whose names haven't been mentioned yet coming forward.  Many thought Knight would go out like Woody Hayes, who made a major mistake.  Instead, Knight will likely either go out like Clinton, who always seems to be one step ahead of the law, or Richard Nixon, who at least had the decency to resign after he was caught lying for over two years.  Hopefully, it won't take Knight that long.  Remember, his contract runs out on June 30, 2002 and word is that it won't be renewed. 

The big recruiting news today, which is the first day of the spring signing period, is that very little new of importance happened, which is no surprise, because very few players are still available and most of those who are haven't qualified academcially.  The best player still on the board is 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS.  We still think he's going to pick Kentucky over Memphis and Mississippi State, but he's having trouble pulling the trigger.  We also think Kentucky is close to getting 6'2 Gerald Fitch from Macon (Westside) GA, who is heck of an outside shooter and a major sleeper.  As a matter of fact, Clemson was hoping to steal him.   Kansas has dropped out of the sweepstakes for 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, so now his final two appear to be Missouri and California. We're guessing it will be Missouri, but that list could get longer again if he qualifies academically.  If he doesn't, prep school likely be in his future.  Speaking of prep schools, UNLV has gotten a commitment from 5'9 LaFonte Johnson from York (Crispus Attucks) PA and he should go nicely with the other guard - 6'0 Steve Scoggin from Mater Dei (Santa Ana) CA - the Runnin' Rebels landed recently.   Georgia Tech will have 6'10 John Toombs from York (Crispus Attucks) PA on campus this weekend, but his list also still includes Georgia, Tulane, and Villanova.  South Alabama has gotten a commitment from 6'6 Emmitt Thomas from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL and UAB has landed the the best recruiting class since head coach Murry Bartow has been at the school.  Remember, last fall UAB got two outstanding junior college players in 6'9 Eric Batchelor from  Northeast Mississippi (JC) MS and 6'5 George Arnold from Holmes (JC) MS, recently they got a commitment from 6'9 Tom Frericks from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, and today they signed 6'4 Asa Woods from Dora (H.S.) AL and 6'7 Will Campbell from Chipola (JC) FL.   As expected, today Manhattan signed 5'11 Van Damien Green from San Jacinto (JC) CA and Louisville signed 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, despite the fact they weren't even on his list two weeks ago and he hasn't visited the campus. 

Tuesday, April 11, 2000

A month ago Sonny Vaccaro asked me to write an article for the 2000 Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic game program.  In the article I mentioned that 6'2 Brian Morrison from Redmond (Lake Washington) WA was "one of the most exciting players we saw all last summer and perhaps still the one of the bigger sleepers in the nation." Well, we didn't know how right I would be.  But we found out last night as Morrison shared his team's MVP honors with 6'1Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY.  Morrison, who reminds us of former Kentucky All-American Rex Chapman with surprising athleticism and incredible leading ability, had 19 points, three assists, and four steals.  And just like Chapman, he showed he can beat you from downtown with his 3-5 3-point shooting or going to the basket and bringing the house down with a spectacular dunk.  Currently we have Morrison ranked #32 nationally, but that's too low.  Morrison was also a crowd favorite for another reason - he signed with the University of North Carolina last fall.  Brown was the other hero in the game, because he had 13 assists, which tied the record for the most number of assists in the 35 year history of the game.  That alone is enough to ensure him MVP consideration, but he also had 13 points, three steals, and eight rebounds, which is amazing when you remember that he was one of the smallest players in the game.  Also playing well for the East Team were 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL. As usual, Stevenson thrilled the crowd with numerous dunks.   So did Griffin, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  However, neither was hitting their outside shots, as Stevenson was 1-4 and Griffin was 0-4 from beyond the arc.   Brown, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds, is another player whose value is on the rise.  He does most of his damage inside, because he's just so efficient and he just explodes to the basket.  The leading scorer from the East Squad was 6'9 Brian Boddicker from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, but that is deceiving, because most of his points came as the result of cherry picking or outside shooting.  He still needs to get tougher inside, but we were glad to see Boddicker do well, because he's such a nice kid.  Remember, he had a tough summer last summer due to injuries.  Also deserving a mention for the East Squad is 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, who nailed several 3-pointers and had five assists.  Picking an MVP for the West Squad was much harder at the time, but it become obvious that it was the right call after looking at the stats for 6'10 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Austin also hit 9-13 field goals and was consistent throughout the entire game.  The other possible choices were 6'9 Abdul Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Chris Wilcox from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, but they didn't get it done on the boards, as is evident by the fact that they only had four rebounds a piece.  And that was the big difference in the game, as the East outrebounded the West 71-53 en route to a 146-136 victory.  The leading scorer with 22 points for the West was 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, but most of his points came off dunks.   As a matter of fact, that's his forte, along with being a world-class athlete.   However, he needs to develop better skills and become more consistent away from the basket, which is why we rank him among our top 10 nationally, instead of the top five.   It's also why we hope he forgets about going to the NBA for at least a year or two and, instead, enrolls at Alabama, which is where he signed last fall.  Also playing well for the West was 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, who impressed everybody with his passing (10 assists) and outside shooting (3-8 3-pointers).  Sawyer finished with 14 points, while 6'3 Scooter Sherrill from Mt. Ulla (West Rowan) NC had 14 points and 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC had 13 points.  We question what position Sherrill plays at the next level, because he doesn't handle it well enough to play the one and he doesn't shoot it well enough to play the two.  Harper, who was only 1-7 from beyond the arc, hasn't been the same player this spring.  However, that's understandable, because right now he has off the court problems and, as a result, appears to be heading for the junior college route.  As a matter of fact, we reported several days ago that Indiana Hills (JC) IA might be where he ends up, but the last two days the Southern Idaho (JC) ID has been watching his every move here in Raleigh, NC.  Chris Duhon, the 6'1 point guard from Slidell (Salmen) LA, had seven assists, but the outside shot wasn't going down, so nine points was well below his average.  We had heard how well 6'9 Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX played in the practices the two days before we arrived, but three points and three rebounds makes him the biggest disappointment in the game.

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 5'11 Van Damien Green from New York (La Salle) NY via San Jacinto (JC) TX is returning home tomorrow and is planning a press conference tomorrow night at the Gauchos Gym in the Bronx, NY to announce his college decision.  Our guess is that he will pick Manhattan over Pepperdine, Houston, Tulane, and Texas A&M.  Think about it!  Why fly to New York if he were going to pick any of those other schools?   This is huge, because it gives the Jaspers an outstanding point guard who is capable of stepping in being one of the best point guards in the league from day one.   It also means that Manhattan is covered at the point guard spot, because 5'11 Shawn Mark from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who committed to Manhattan last fall, may not make it academically.  Assuming that Mark doesn't it make and Green simply takes his place in Manhattan's three man recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 David Holmes from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'6 Jason Benton from New Haven (Hillhouse) CT, it would move Manhattan's class even higher than it was last fall.  Remember, we had Manhattan's recruiting class ranked #32 nationally our list of the Top 130 Recruiting Classes at the conclusion of the fall signing period, which is outstanding for a school at the mid-Division I level.

Some additional names for the Siena job are Ohio State assistant coach Paul Bianchardi, Boston College assistant coach Tim O'Shea, and  Siena assistant coach Robert Burke, but we'd be surprised if any of them get it.  As a matter of fact, we hear that Syracuse assistant coach Louie Orr is a lock for the job and it may happen by the end of the week.  We continue to believe that St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis has interest in jumping to the NBA, but right now there don't appear to be any offers.  We recently mentioned the New Jersey Nets as a possibility, because the new owner, George Steinbrenner has a history of hiring big name guys.  However, we think that could be the job Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino takes this spring, especially if Larry Bird buys the Celtics.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Drexel has gotten a commitment from 6'3 Eric Schmider from Cecil (JC) MD and predicts that the University of Maine will get 6'0 Tory Cavaleno from Atlantic City (H.S.) NJ.

Monday, April 10, 2000

Over an era that has spanned 35 years, three locations, and several name changes, two things about the Roundball Classic, which will be played this year at the new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, NC, tonight, April 10^th, on ESPN, have not changed.  First, you can always count on many of the finest high school players from across the nation to participate in the game.  Second, the game has always been the pride and job of Sonny Vaccaro.  The Roundball Classic is also very dear to Vaccaro’s heart, because it has provided him with the tool necessary to develop many of the important friendships, contacts, and relationships that have proved to be so valuable in his rise to the top of the business not once, but twice! The Roundball Classic has also afforded Vaccaro the opportunity to give back to the game and society in many different ways, including this year, whereby, all the proceeds to the game will be donated to the Jimmy V. Foundation in memory of the late Jimmy Valvano in the fight against cancer.  As a matter of fact, nobody’s name is more synonymous today with basketball at the college and high school than Sonny Vaccaro.  So it was very appropriate when they changed the name of this year’s game to the Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic!  It also was fitting at the game's annual banquet last night that Vaccaro himself was honored.   Nobody has done more and/or given more back to the game than Vaccaro and last night a lot of people got a chance to let Vaccaro know how they feel about him and say thanks for all the positive things he's done over the years.  Getting back to the game, it is absolutely loaded, as the list of players includes 6’9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 5'8 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, feature 6'10 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, 6'9 Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6’6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'5 Marcus Toney-El from East Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6’9 Abdou Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6’2 Brian Morrison from Redmond (Lake Washington) WA, 6'9 Chris Wilcox from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6'3 Scooter Sherrill from Mt Ulla (West Rowan) NC and 6'8 Michael Bell from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6’9 Brian Boddicker from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'9 Jason Parker from Fork Union (Military) VA.

Southern California beat Hampton Roads, 64-52, to win the prestigious Boo Williams Spring Invitational yesterday afternoon and 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA just kept getting better and better as the weekend wore on en route to tournament MVP honors.  Chandler is becoming a dominant force inside, as he blocks shots, rebounds, and scores pretty much whenever he wants to from 15 feet and in.  However, that didn't stop 6'2 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX from penetrating and scoring.  Chandler did block some of his shots, but more often than not Hurt found a way to score.  As a matter of fact, Hurt always seems is exceptional at changing speeds and pulling up and hitting the open jumper.   He also has great leaping ability and body control, which is uses to challenge the trees when he goes inside.  If you don't include 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who by his standards was very ordinary at Boo Williams, Hurt, whose list includes Louisville, Arizona, Cincinnati, Syracuse, and USC, has to be right there as the #1 ranked point guard in the class nationally, along with 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX and 6'0 Jr Maurice Williams from Jackson (Murrah) MS.  And now it looks like the race for the top big man in the class also is almost too close to call among Chandler, 6'11Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, and 6'11 Jr Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA.  As a matter of fact, Brown, who made a very early commitment to Florida last summer, might just be the best of the three. That's right!  He's gotten so much better since we saw him last summer that it's scary.  He's always been exceptionally quick and athletic inside, but now he has the skills to go with it.   Plus, he handles and passes exceptionally well for somebody so big, which means he's valuable in the open court when his team needs help breaking the press.  Brown's team Georgia Stars) got beat by Hampton Roads in semi-finals, but he was every bit as good as Chandler throughout the tournament. However, he didn't make the all-tournament team, which did include Chandler, Hurt, 6'6 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'6 Jr Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Jr David Lee from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO, and 6'8 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Mike Price's Cincinnati AAU beat All Ohio Red in the championship of the All Ohio NIKE Cup in Columbus, OH over the weekend.  Tournament MVP honors went to 6'7 Jr Matt Sylvester from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, who currently is considering Cincinnati, Ohio State, Dayton, Xavier, and Utah.  Also named to the all-tournament team were 6'5 Jr Danny Horace from Cincinnati (Western Hills) OH, 6'4 Jr J.J. Sullinger from Worthington (Thomas Worthington) OH, 6'8 Jr Adam Waleskowski from Kettering (Alter) OH, 6'5 Jr Keith Jackson from Cincinnati (Purcell Marian) OH, and 6'7 Jr Jordan Cornette from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH.  Johnson didn't get a list schools for Horace and Sullinger, but he tells us that Dayton leads Cincinnati, Ohio State, Wake Forest, Miami-OH, and Toledo for Waleskowski.  Remember, Waleskowski's older brother, Keith Waleskowski, already plays for the Flyers.  Jackson likes Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier, and Dayton and Cornette is being recruited by Massachuetts, Ohio State, Xavier, Dayton, Notre Dame, Miami-OH, and Toledo.  Also impressing Johnson were 6'7 Jr Anthony Vasser from Birmingham (Woodlawn) AL, who is one of the top three juniors in Alabama, and 6'5 Soph Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, who, despite the fact he's only a sophomore, was as talented and athletic as anybody in the tournament.  Vasser's top five appear to be Alabama, Auburn, Duke, Texas, and N.C. State.  Cincinnati is the early leader for Carmona, but Dayton and Ohio State also have shown early interest.  The Upstate South Carolina Team also had three excellent players who must be mentioned in 6'3 Jr Brandon Freeman from Greenwood (H.S.) SC, 6'3 Jr Alexander Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, and 6'8 Soph A.J. Heyward from Charleston (Garrett Academy) SC, who reminds Johnson of a young Lester Earl.  "He blocks shots, dunks in your face, rebounds, and runs the court just like Earl," says Johnson.  

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was at the Charlie Weber Tournament at Villanova University over the weekend and he tells us that the three players who impressed him the most were 6'5 Jr Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport Prep) MD, and 6'3 Jr Billy Edelin from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD.  Hodge was Rubin's choice for MVP (no official MVP was named), because he led the New York Ravens to the championship over the Bronx Gauchos, 80-73, and does so many things well.  But White was by far the best player at the event.  As usual, he was unstoppable with his electrifying dunks, but he also rebounded well, passed well, and didn't try to just slash, slash, slash to the basket.  He also was more consistent from outside, which means his overall game has really improved and, as result, he too has to be a candidate for our top five nationally in the Class of 2001.  Complementing Edelin on the USA Players were 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY and 6'4 Jr Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY and Tony Squires' team, which featured 6'7 Tyrone Sally from Raleigh (Emmanuel) NC, 6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas from Raleigh (Emmanuel) NC, and 6'1 Johnathan Hargett from Raleigh (Emmanuel) NC, also deserves a mention.   The player who improved the value of his stock the most in the tournament was 6'5 Jr David Bell from Philadelphia (Olney) PA, who is ranked #10 in the juniors class in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area by Rubin in his latest report.   Rubin says he will likely move him up to #6 in the area, but adds that's about as high as he's going to get, because the five guys ahead of him - 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'5 Jr John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, 6'2 Jr Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, 6'7 Jr Samuel Nadeau from Burlingotn (Life Center) NJ, and 6'7 Jr Olu Bobalua from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ - are all outstanding players. 

Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat tells us that 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, who ranks among our top 150 nationally, but has the potential to move higher, has, as expected, verbally committed to the University of Louisville and is expected to sign a National Letter-of-Intent with the Cardinals on Wednesday, which is the first day of the spring signing period.   Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has the scoop on where 6'6 Jeff Shiffner from Mendham (West Morris) NJ is going to college.  Write him down for the University of Pennsylvania!  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson keeps telling us that 6'4 Romaine Guessagba-Sota from Dayton (Christian) OH is the best kept secret in the nation.   As a matter of fact, Johnson thinks top 20 nationally, which is where we plan to rank him next time we publish a national senior list, is too low.  Johnson says that Guessaga-Sota, who has the strength, build, and leaping ability of Jerome Harmon and the incredible quickness and athleticism of Dwight Anderson, was sensational with 34 points yesterday in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game.  Guessaga-Sota signed early with Xavier, but junior colleges better start paying attention, because the word is that he's along way away from getting the necessary test score and, as a result, may be heading in their direction.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson still thinks Kentucky is the leader for 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, but agrees that the longer it goes, the more it favors Memphis.  Johnson also thinks that the likely loser (Memphis or Kentucky) in the Rice sweepstakes could get an excellent consolation prize in 6'7 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN, who is one of the best junior college wing forwards available.  Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida State also in hot pursuit for Grice, but we think Memphis and Kentucky he will pick Kentucky or Memphis.   

First, we reported that 6'0 Dinno Daniels from Tyler (JC) TX had verbally committed to Miami-FL.  Then, we reported that Daniels had reneged and was headed to Rhode Island.  Well, now it looks like he's changed his mind again and is going with his original choice - Miami-FL.  Either way, Daniels would make an immediate impact, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 10 ppg at the University of Memphis as a freshman two years ago and is now one of the best point guards in the junior college ranks.  South Florida, Florida International, and Miami-FL are all involved with 6'1 Marcus Barnes from Miami (Senior) FL.  Recently 6'7 Will Campbell from Chipola (JC) FL committed to Rutgers, but he did the same thing a while back with Wyoming.  UNC-Charlotte also appears to be on Campbell's list and we do think it will be one of those three.   Kevin Henry is transferring from New Mexico, but he only has one year of eligibility remaining.   Speaking of the Lobos, Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat tells us that 6'7 Isiah Johnson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME has committed to New Mexico and 6'9 Ronnie Griffin from Tallahassee (JC) FL was in Albuquerque, NM on an official visit last weekend.   Holy Cross has gotten 6'7 Greg Rector from Gaithersburg (Quince Orchard) MD, who was named the Montgomery County Player-of-the-Year over Georgia Tech bound 6'4 Marvin Lewis and 6'11 Mohammed Diakite, who signed early with St. John's, both of whom are at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  Rector joins 6'0 Jave Meade from Northfield (-Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA and 6'5 John Bucaro from South Huntington (St. Anthonys) NY to give head coach Ralph Willard what will likely be the best recruiting class in the league.  It looks like UNLV is now the favorite for 6'4 Immanuel McElroy from Tyler (JC) TX, who is a consensus top five junior college player. 

Sunday, April 9, 2000

We are hearing a lot different names for the University of Houston job, but wouldn't Texas Christian head coach Billy Tubbs be a perfect fit?  Syracuse assistant coach Louie Orr appears to be the leading candidate for the Siena job, but we also hear St. John's assistant coach Kevin Clark's named being mentioned.  Clark also is a candidate for the Hartford job and it appears to be only a matter of time before he moves.  We also believe Clark's boss, Mike Jarvis, could be in line for the New Jersey Nets job.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio expects that job will open this spring and he reminds us that the new owner George Steinbrenner likes to hire big name coaches.  And Jarvis is a big name now in New York City.  Plus, he's a terrific coach, as well as a very legitimate guy, despite all the recent harrassment by the NCAA.  If that happens, now that former Siena head coach Paul Hewitt has taken over at Georgia Tech, the only obvious candidate for St. John's would be Hofstra head coach Jay Wright.   And if Wright moves, the popular consensus is that assistant coach Tom Pecora will get the head coaching job at Hofstra.  Hewitt is in the process of hiring his staff, which likely will include two holdovers from the previous regime (Mark Price and Willie Reese), but one guy who won't be making a move to Georgia Tech is University of Georgia assistant coach Michael Hunt.  Hunt would be a natural of the job, because he is one of the top assistant coaches in the nation and he's got all the contacts necessary to get more than his share of the top players in the great junior class in Georgia next fall.  He's also the godfather to Hewitt's second daughter, which is why a lot of people thought this might happen. 

Can you believe that 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN is ranked #1 in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but didn't come out on top in the voting for Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana?   Despite the fact that  Randolph led his team to the state championship two weeks ago over Bloomington North, was named MVP in the McDonald's Game and was the MVP in the NIKE Hoop Summit, that award went to 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN.  While Jeffries, who last summer was namd the #1 player at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, had been ranked higher previously, but he did not play well in any of the three games mentioned above.   Randolph also had better numbers in terms of ppg and rpg, so it makes a mockery out of the award.  But it won't be the first or last time.  As a matter fact, Purdue-bound Woody Austin Mr. Basketball won the award over Shawn Kemp in the late '80s.  And just like Kemp, who signed with Kentucky but never played there, Randolph didn't sign with either Indiana or Purdue.  Obviously politics is more important than talent when it comes to picking Mr. Basketball in Indiana and that's a shame!

This is unconfirmed, but we are hearing that 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC may be heading to Indian Hills (JC) IA.   Remember, Harper verbally committed to Cincinnati last summer, but after he was arrested to assault, the Bearcats withdrew the scholarship.  Kansas State, UNLV, and Arizona are still on the list for 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, but it look like Rutgers is close to getting a commitment.  This would make sense, because UNLV, which was the other top school on Starks' list, recently got 6'0 Scott Scoggin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  Speaking of players from Mater Dei, we have confirmed that 6'5 Cedric Bozeman, who verbally commmitted to UCLA last fall, is officially open and plans to look at other schools this spring. Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight also told us that at the NCAA Final Four a week ago that Bozeman may still end up UCLA.  Apparently Bozeman wants to look around just to make sure he's comfortable with the decision.  And UCLA isn't the only school in Southern California that is having trouble getting recruits to keep their commitments.  If you will recall, 6'6 Travis Hanour from Laguna Beach (H.S.) CA verbally committed to USC in late February, but later reneged.  Now he's saying that he will go USC, if his high school teammate 6'9 Chris Manker also picks the Trojans.  Both visited Oregon State last week, but Hanour has eliminated the Beavers.  So Hanour final two are USC and Arizona.  Manker is expected to pick with Oregon State or USC. 

Saturday, April 8, 2000

In the opening round game at the Boo Williams Spring Invitational in Hampton, VA between Southern California  with 7'2 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominquez) CA, 6'6 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'3 Jr Steve Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA and Georgia Elite with 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr Josh Pace from Griffin (H.S.) GA, 6'10 Soph Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA, 6'9 Jr Richard Sadler from Mt. Airy (Habersham Central) GA there was more raw talent on the court than in the NCAA Championship game a week ago between Michigan State and Florida.  However, unlike last Monday night, the coaching wasn't as good and  most of players are still a long way from reaching their potential.  As usual, 7'0 Chandler from Compton  had his moments and Carruth hit several long range bombs.  But the two players who impressed us the most were Childress and 6'10 Soph Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA.  Childress needs to get bigger and stronger, but he reminds us so much of former UCLA All-American Keith Wilkes with his silky smooth demeanor and ability to hit the three point shot or glide to the basket.  And just like Wilkes was in his day, Childress a great kid and an outstanding student.  Johnson promises to be the next great player from Albany, GA and he may be this year's version of 6'11 Jr Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, who currently ranks #6 nationally among juniors by the HOOP SCOOP.  Also worth mentioning was the last game we saw last night between Memphis and Delaware Valley, which featured 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  New Memphis head coach John Calipari, who was sitting in the first row, couldn't have scheduled it any better if he'd tried, because Memphis' star player - 6'3 Jr Earnest Shelton from Memphis (White Station) TN - also is one of Calipari's top priorities for next fall.  For Wagner it was an average night, but for Shelton it was his nationally coming out party.  Not only was Shelton not intimidated by Wagner, but he actually got the better of him on a number of different occasions, like when he blocked his shot, out hustled him for loose balls, and pick off several passes.  Shelton also wasn't afraid to take it the hole or pull up and hit the open three.  As a result, the value of his stock is on the rise - from top 50 or 60 nationally in the junior class to top 30.  We also were impressed with a number of players on Boo Williams' Hampton Roads team, including 6'4 Soph J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'8 Jr Jason Clark from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'8 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, and 6'7 Jr James Smith from Virginia Beach (Cape Henry) VA, but the guy who surprised us the most was 5'10 Jr Timmy Smith from Newport News (Denbigh) VA.  Smith's lack of size is a cause for concern, but does everything else, including use his speed and quickness to create havoc in the open court.  We also like his ball handling, passing, and decision making.  However, the biggest surprise through the end of pool play was 6'8 Jr Jason Maxiell from Dallas (Newman Smith) TX.  Nobody plays with the same intensity of Florida's Donnell Harvey, but there are a lot of similarities.  Maxiell is an aggressive athlete who blocks shots, rebounds with authority, and plays harder than anybody else we've seen the tournament.  Plus, he's an inch bigger than Harvey and he has better skills away from the basket.  But it's the monster dunk and his explosive quickness to the basket that have everybody shaking their head.

We reported on Thursday that 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS had cancelled his scheduled press conference for Friday, April 7th, but we didn't know that it was Memphis head coach John Calipari who had turned up the heat.   As a matter of fact, Calipari went to the school on Thursday unannounced and talked Rice into putting off making the decision.   And the longer it goes, the better we like the Memphis' chances.  Remember, Calipari has only been recruiting him a couple of weeks.   We still think Kentucky is the favorite, but right now it appears to be a two horse race, because the word we're getting is that  Mississippi State is out.  We also understand Kentucky and Memphis in a war now for 6'7 John Grice from Shelby State (JC) TN.  That's right both Calipari and Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith made in-home visits on Thursday and, as a result, are among his final five, along with Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Florida State.  And as long as we're talking about Memphis' recruiting, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal is reporting that 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ may move to Memphis, if Wagner's father, Milt Wagner gets a job as an administrative assistant on Calipari's staff.  It's not done, but we have confirmed that the chances are excellent that both Wagner's will end up at Memphis.  Which brings us to another very important question.  Is the University of Louisville asleep at the switch while Calipari is stealing their most important recruiting (Wagner) since Darrell Griffth?  Are they willing to let Wagner and Company just slip away?  Actually we know where Cardinals head coach Denny Crum is supposed to be this weekend - at the Pump Tournament at Cal State Dominguez Hills, CA.  He  is still working on this year's class and right now he's probably putting the finishing touches on getting 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, who is one of the only unsigned big guys in the class.   That's right!  Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat is reporting that it's almost a done deal.  Apparently Connecticut is out and Louisville and Memphis have both made a late push.  Myles is an undersized power forward, but he does have the body and athleticism to take care of business on the boards and score inside.  He also can step out and shoot the three, but he needs to worker harder and stay in shape.  As a result, he has the potential to move back into our national top 100, but right now we're waiting to see if he earns it. 

Friday, April 7, 2000

The Boo Williams Invitational Basketball Tournament in Hampton, VA is always one of the premier events of the year and it tips off tonight at 6:00 PM with the Legends versus the St. Louis Eagles, Howard Pulley versus the Tennessee Travelers, the Illinois Warriors versus Coast to Coast, and Michigan Dreamcast versus the Playground Warriors.  At 7:30 PM it will be The Family versus Baltimore Blue, Houston Hoops versus BWSL II, Shreveport Bossier versus Emerald City, and Sports Express versus the Charlotte Royals.   At 9:00 PM Southern California will play Georgia Elite,   Riverside Church will face the Kentucky All Stars, the Alabama Lasers will meet Team Florida, BABC will battle Potomac Valley.  Then, at 10:30 PM it will be Toronto versus New Jersey, Team Texas versus the Georgia Stars, BWSL versus Cleveland Top Prospects, and Del Val Hoops versus Memphis.  Pool play will resume again at 8:00 AM Saturday morning and end at 5:00 PM with each team getting two more games.  The first round of the playoffs will be at 8:00 PM and 9:30 PM on Saturday night.  The semi-finals for both the Gold and Silver Divisions will be on Sunday morning at 11:00 PM and the Gold and Silver Championship Games will be played at 3:30 PM.  We will attend the first two days of the Boo Williams Tournament and then move onto Raleigh, NC where we will attend the  Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic practices and awards banquet on Sunday, April 9th, and the all-star game on Monday, April 10th.  Then, it will be on to the Capital Classic All Star Game in Washington, DC on Tuesday, April 11th.   All of this will be covered exclusively in the Members Section.  

Another excellent event that will be held this weekend is the Executive Inn All-Star Classic in Louisville, KY at Bellarmine College.  As a matter of fact, it is a must stop for lower level schools that are looking to steal somebody late.  It's also a great opportunity for schools at all levels to an early start on some of the top underclassmen in the area for next year.  On Saturday at 5:00 PM there will an underclassmen workout that will include 6'2 Jr Adam Chiles from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'3 Jr Ben Bowling from Hazard (Perry County Central) KY, 6'4 Jr Anthony Johnson from Louisville (Iroquois) KY, 6'8 Jr Brian Thornton from Louisville (Manual) KY, 6'4 Jr Dewayne Rogers from Munfordville (Hart County) KY, 6'7 Jr Brandon Moore from Louisville (St. Xavier) KY, 6'5 Jr Rod Lyvers from Lexington (Dunbar) KY, 5'9 Soph Brandon Stockton from Glasgow (H.S.) KY, 5'11 Soph Johnny Mathis from Louisville (Male) KY, 5'10 Soph David Bryant from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'2 Soph Petie Brown from Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'4 Soph Larry Williams from Louisville (Seneca) KY, 6'4 Jr Teco Dickerson from Russellville (H.S.) KY, 6'1 Soph A.J. Groves from New Albany (H.S.) IN, 6'10 Soph Charles Jenny from Floyds Knobs (Floyd Central) IN, 6'4 Soph Andre Jones from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, and 6'5 Soph Todd Capes from North Vernon (Jennings County) IN.  The first senior game will begin at 6:00 PM.  The East team will include 6'3 Josh Brock from Corbin (H.S.) KY, 6'7 Ben Hogancamp from Bardwell (Carlisle County) KY, 6'0 Tommy Johnson from Frankfort (H.S.) KY, 6'2 Pat Michels from Crestwood (South Oldham) KY, 6'0 Matt Morris from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 5'11 Ben Rushing from Clinton (Hickman County) KY, 6'4 Ish Taylor from Burgin (H.S.) KY, 6'5 Will Thomas from Lexington (Tates Creek) KY, 6'4 Drew Wells from Morganfield (Union County) KY, 6'0 Ryan West from Owensboro (Catholic) KY.  The West Team will include 6'1 James Booker from Louisville (Manual) KY, 6'3 James Cleveland from Louisville (Western) KY, 6'4 Terry Givens from Versailles (Woodford County) KY, 6'7 Stephen Horn from Lexington (Christian) KY, 6'5 Eric Jones from Louisville (Southern) KY, 6'5 Rob King from Louisville (Manual) KY, 6'8 Kip Kirchbaum from Richmond (Madison Central) KY, 6'4 Jeff Masudi from Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'0 Brad Morgan from Louisville (Beth Haven) KY, 6'0 Chris Stobaugh from Louisville (DeSales) KY, 5'9 Ray Trowell from Louisville (Eastern) KY, and 6'8 Matthew Zinz from Shepherdsville (North Bullitt) KY.  The second senior game will tipoff at 8:00 PM.  The East will feature 5'10 Casey Alsop from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'5 Antwain Barbour from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, 6'10 Tom Frericks from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, 6'5 Will Harris from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'3 Jonathan Haston from Millersburg (Military) KY, 6'4 Matt Heissenbuttel from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'2 Michael Morris from Russellville (H.S.) KY, 6'1 Marlis Scott from Lebanon (Marion County) KY, 6'7 Nathan Sexton from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, 6'2 Dominique Townes from Millersburg (Military) KY, and 6'3 Reggie Williams from Millersburg (Military) KY.  The West will include 5'7 Deshawn Bowman from Louisville (Iroquois) KY, 6'3 Jermaine Burks from Louisville (Male) KY, 6'5 Blake Downing from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'6 Nathan Fortener from Hartford (Ohio County) KY, 6'1 Kyle Hampton from Louisville (Shawnee) KY, 6'5 Leroy Hickerson from Fairdale (H.S.) KY, 6'6 Cedric Knight from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'5 Duane Lightfoot from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, 6'3 Reid Markham from Louisville (Trinity) KY, 6'5 Ed Robinson from Fairdale (H.S.) KY, 5'6 Kenyon Tutt from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, and 6'5 Jason White from Warsaw (Gallatin County) KY.

Thursday, April 6, 2000

Our Michigan Editor Steve Bell tells us that Eastern Michigan assistant coach Terence Greene, who played at DePaul in the late 80's, has been named to full the non-recruiting position on the staff at the University of Michigan.  This is huge, because Greene is from Flint, MI, which in recent years has been one of the biggest hotbeds for talent for a town its size in the nation.  And beginning with Antonio Smith in the class of 1995, Michigan's big rival, who also happens to be the national champion, Michigan State, has owned Flint.  Where do you think Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, and Morris Peterson all came from? Greene's first assignment will be to try and turn the tide in the sweepstakes for 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who ranks as the #2 junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   But it might already be too late.  However, it's not too late for the Wolverines to make a strong push for 6'6 Jr JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, who is the #3 ranked junior in the state behind Torbert and 6'9 Jr Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI.  Not only does Bell expect Hart to make a major splash nationally this summer, but he also thinks getting Hart could be the key to getting 6'7 Soph Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, who ranks as the #2 sophomore in the state by the HOOP SCOOP.  Not only are they high school teammates, but they also are cousins. 

A press conference was scheduled for tomorrow for 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, but we've gotten word that it has been postponed.  Right now it looks like a three horse race among Kentucky, Memphis, and Mississippi State, but we don't think this bolds well for the Wildcats, which were supposed to be the favorite.  Our guess is that there is a lot of late pressure from the local schools - Mississippi State and perhaps Memphis and, as a result, he is having trouble making it official.  Remember, the same thing happened the first time when he told the Kentucky coaching staff that he was coming last fall, but never pulled the trigger.  It also puts University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith into a difficult position when he goes into the home of 6'7 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH on Sunday.  If Rice had committed to Kentucky tomorrow, we suspect the visit with Daniels would have been cancelled.  And if Rice had gone elsewhere, Kentucky probably would have offered Daniels on the visit.  But what happens now if Daniels wants to commit?  Does Smith offer Daniels and then recruit right over him, if Rice also decides to commit later in the month?

The NCAA sanctioning events sound great, but for some unexplained reason the Wheelchair Classic at St. John's University failed to get sanctioned for the first time in the 27 year history of the event.  As a result, numerous college coaches from all over the nation showed up, but did not gain admission when they found out that the event was unsanctioned.  Talk about a major waste of time and money!  One person who was in the gym was the HOOP SCOOP's New York Editor Ron Naclerio and he tells us that there was another first in tournament year history.  For the second consecutive year 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY took home MVP honors, which is something that's never been done before.  He led Queens to its fifth consecutive title, as they beat Brooklyn, 94-78.  Cook had 17 points and seven assists in the championship game and 23 points and seven assists in opening round versus Manhattan on Tuesday night.  The best players for Brooklyn were 6'2 Mike Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY with 14 points and four assists and 6'1 Lee Church from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY with 10 points and four assists.  In the Consolation game Bronx defeated Manhattan, 98-78, behind a strong effort by 6'3 Jr Sean Danzler from Bronx (Christopher Columbus) NY, who had 19 points.  Chipping in with 15 points was 6'5 Jr Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.   The leading scorer in the game was 6'3 Adrian Walton from Milford (Academy) NY, who shot a sizzling 15-23 from the field and had 36 points for Manhattan.

Wednesday, April 5, 2000

A lot of people have been asking when our next Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report will be published.  Well, it looks like sooner rather than later.  Actually, we've been working on it off and on for weeks and finally our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin is finished driving me nuts with late changes.  The actual player list includes 584 seniors, 422 juniors, 309 sophomores, 182 freshmen, 47 8th graders, 10 7th graders, and one 6th grader.  That's 1555 names and it has to be a record.  You can get this report by clicking on Rubin Ranks 'Em:   The Players in Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey.  You also need to access the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which includes Rubin's rankings of the top six teams in the area regardless of class and position, plus some interesting comments about 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, as well as most of the other top players in each class.  Altogether the reports is 31 pages and it is one of the best things we've ever published.

As expected, Butler head coach Barry Collier has become the new head coach at Nebraska.  So now it's time to start speculating on who will get the Butler job.  Our guess is that it will be either Collier's top assistant at Butler, Thad Matta, or Arizona assistant coach Jay John, who previously was an assistant coach at Butler.  If it were our call, it would be a no-brainer, because John already has proven he can get the best players out of the state of Indiana.  How do you think the Wildcats got Jason Gardner?   And if John does get the job, don't be surprised if head coach Lute Olson moves up Josh Pastner, who was a walk-on at Arizona, but who will graduate this spring.  Even more important Pastner is the head coach of the Houston Hoops, which was named the team of the summer by the HOOP SCOOP last summer.   Pastner is not only widely regarded as one of the top young coaches in the nation, but the precedent for hiring a bright young up and coming guy at a high level program was set a year ago when Mike Krzyzewski hired his former player Steve Wojciechowski.  What Pastner lacks in experience he more than makes up for with his contacts, because, unlike Wojciechowski when he was hired at Duke a year ago, Pastner already knows everybody who counts in the business.  As matter of fact, we've heard that 6'2 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who ranks among the top 15 players in the nation and plays for Pastner during the spring, summer, and fall, has already told Pastner that he plans to go wherever Pastner is next year.

We are hearing that American University may be close to hiring Rhode Island assistant coach Jeff Jones and this makes sense, because Travis Ford got the Eastern Kentucky job yesterday.  But even more interesting are the rumors that Morehead State head coach Kyle Macy may be heading back to the University of Kentucky as an assistant athletic director.  Remember, when C.M Newton retires effective July 1st, Senior Associate Athletic Director Larry Ivy will move into his job and Kathy Deboer, who previously was in charge of women's athletics and the Blue-White Fund, would move into Ivy's job.  Then Macy, who has a banking background, would either move into her job or Kyle Moats, who is in charge of Marketing would move into Deboer's job and Macy would take his job.  

Now that Siena head coach Paul Hewitt has taken the Georgia Tech job, it looks like Syracuse assistant coach Louie Orr and St. Joseph's assistant Matt Brady are being mentioned as the leading candidates for St. Joseph's.  Don't let Orr's low profile image fool you.  He's one of the best recruiters in the nation, as well as one of our favorite people in the business, and, as a result, we think he would be perfect for the job.  So would Brady, who played four years and was the team captain at Siena.  As a matter of fact, he might have the inside track, because he was a finalist for the job last time.   Brady is also a student of the game, a great recruiter, and a renown shooting instructor.  We're also hearing that Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs could be in line for the Siena job, but the word we're getting is that he's going strong after the Houston job.  Whoever gets the job could be walking into a gold mine, because Hewitt is leaving the cupboard full and the Metro Atlantic Conference is one of the cradles for coaches on the rise to the big time.  Get a job in the Metro Atlantic, win for a few years, and you're on the fast track into the ACC or Big East.  Don't believe it?   Let's take a closer look.  From Manhattan Steve Lappas went to Villanova and Fran Fraschilla went to St. John's and then New Mexico.  From Iona Jim Valvano went to N.C. State, Pat Kennedy went to Florida State and then DePaul, and Tim Welsh went to Providence.   Loyola-Maryland produced Michigan's Brian Ellerbe and Xavier's Skip Prosser.  Richmond's John Beilein came from Canisius and Rutgers' Kevin Bannon was previously at Rider.  Siena produced John Griffin, who was at St. Joseph's, Mike Deane, who went to Marquette and then Lamar, and Hewitt, who is now bound for Georgia Tech.  The big question is who will be next?  Bobby Gonzalez at Manhattan, Tim O'Toole at Fairfield, or Jeff Ruland at Iona.

Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat tell us that Utah has gotten a major commitment from 6'1 Kevin Bradley from Compton (JC) CA, who is widely regarded as the #1 junior college point guard on the West Coast.  As a matter of fact, Jira tells us that Bradley was the only player who has gotten the best of 5'8 Kenneth Brunner from Southern Idaho (JC) ID in a head-to-head to matchup during the last year.  Bradley not only will provide the perfect complement to 6'3 Travis Spivey from Salt Lake (JC) UT, who also recently committed to the Utes, but also should ensure that the Utes will have one of the best backcourts in the nation next season.  That's right!  Utah will be so loaded next year that it might turn out to be Rick Majerus' best team ever.  Remember, 6'10 Chris Burgess, who transferred to Utah from Duke last spring and is currently waiting in the wings.  Add 6'9 Britton Johnsen, 6'9 Jon Carlisle, and 6'5 Trace Caton, all of whom played a lot two years ago when Utah lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Championship game, but have been on missions the last two years, to the equation and Utah should be as good as anybody in the nation next year.  If by some chance they got 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, it would just be the icing on the cake.   However, we think Brigham Young will probably get Meads, although it may not matter for a couple of years, because Meads is expected to go on a Mission.  Speaking of Brighton High School, we were glad to see that Lynn Moncur, who was the long time assistant at Brighton, get the head coaching job at Brighton when the legendary Jim Jimas recently retired.  Moncur is one of the best people in the business and he has a reputation for being one of the best AAU coaches on the circuit. 

Tuesday, April 4, 2000

I saw the Florida comparison to Duke again today in the USA Today, but I don't like the comparison.  Instead, it should be obvious, especially after last night's 89-76 victory in NCAA Championship game by Michigan State, that the Spartans are on the verge of becoming the next great team in college basketball.  Michigan State and Duke even recruit a lot of the same players, including Duke star Shane Battier, who picked the Blue Devils over the Spartans three years ago, and Mike Chappell, who transferred from Duke back to Michigan State a year ago.  And Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has a lot more in common with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski than Florida's Billy Donovan does.  Donovan is a Rick Pitino clone and just like Pitino, he's a slick New Yorker who lives by the sword and dies by the sword, which was especially evident last night when Michigan State's experience, coaching, and defense shut the Gators down.  It reminded us the 1987 semi-final game when Syracuse destroyed a Providence team, which was coached by Pitino and featured Donovan and Delray Brooks.  All this is important, because that was the first year of the 3-point shot and that Providence group changed the way the game is played today.  However, historically whenever Pitino and Donovan teams have run up against extremely talented well coached teams (i.e. Arizona in the 1997 title game and Michigan State last night) that play great perimeter defense and can handle their relentless full-court pressure, the result is often the same.  And just like Pitino, Donovan radiates energy and, as a result, is one of the most charismatic coaches in the business.   Instead, Izzo is more like Krzyzewski, who is much more down to earth as he reflects his Midwestern routes.  Izzo has always been regarded as an excellent coach, but last night he took a step toward greatness, as the Spartans put on one of the most dominant performances seen in the Final Four in a long time.  And like Krzyzewski, it's our guess that he will remain at his present job for years to come, as he builds upon what he's already accomplished.  Sure, Michigan State will lose Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, and A.J. Granger, but did you know that everybody else is back next year?  Plus, two of the top five ranked players in the nation - 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN and 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI - both signed with the Spartans last fall.   Randolph,who has emerged as the #1 senior in the nation this spring, promises to give the Michigan State a powerful presence inside that they don't currently have and they won't miss a beat with Taylor at point guard.  As a matter of fact, last summer, I told Izzo that he may have the best point guard in the nation this year in Cleaves.   I added that if he gets Taylor, who Izzo was recruiting at the time, Michigan State could even be better at that position next year.  Izzo agreed!  If that weren't enough, Michigan State also is the heavy favorite for 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who currently is ranked as the #2 junior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  Torbert is a tremendous athlete, great outside shooter, and a model of consistency.  That's right!  I've probably seen him close to 50 times and I have yet to see him have a bad game, which is why we rank him over 7'0 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA and 6'11 Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, both of whom are potential future NBA All-Stars.  If that weren't enough, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson still thinks Michigan State will be tough to beat for 6'9 Jr Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, despite the fact that Whaley's legal guardians are Missouri assistant coach Tony Harvey's parents.  Whaley has had some personal problems during the last year and, as a result, did not play well last summer, so he's dropped from top five to top dozen in the class nationally.  However, if he gets his life in order, we could be talking about another potential superstar at the highest level opting for Michigan State next year!  So remember where you heard it first!  Michigan State is on the verge of becoming the next Duke, as well as the next dynasty in college basketball! Which is why we think Michigan State should be the early favorite to be ranked as the #1 team in the nation in the fall ahead of teams like Arizona, Duke, Florida, and North Carolina.

Sunday night at the NCAA Final Four head coach Leonard Hamilton told us that he was staying put at Miami-FL.   So it comes as no surprise that he signed a seven year contract yesterday with the Hurricanes.  As a result, he's no longer a candidate for the Georgia Tech job, unless by some chance they decide to give him the moon.  And that unwillingness to fork out the necessary bucks to attract a big name coach appears to be the big reason why the Georgia Tech job has been open for over six weeks.  The name we're hearing most now is Appalachian State head coach Buzz Peterson and if he gets the job, he'd be following in the footsteps of the last head coach at Georgia Tech Bobby Cremins, who also established his reputation as the head coach at Appalachian State in the early in 1980s.  We heard at the NCAA Final Four several days ago that the University of Houston was going to go hard after Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino, but we'd be shocked if Pitino had any interest in the job.  We'd also be very surprised if North Carolina had any interest in Pitino, because he and former Tar Heels head coach Dean Smith don't get along.  Remember, Smith still has tremendous influence in Chapel Hill, NC.  Plus, it would be a major surprise if the Tar Heels hired somebody outside of the North Carolina family. 

Monday, April 3, 2000

One of the most controversial figures in all of basketball is Bret Bearup.   As a matter of fact, 84% of those who responded to our Question of the Day from last Friday view Bearup in a negative light and a recent email I received explains why.  "You really think Bret is a straight-up guy?? He hides behind this persona as a financial manager when, in fact, he's really a de-facto agent. Don't let his inane ramblings get you. Yes, he does really care about his clients which is more than most agents but he is not all you make him out to be. He's arrogant and self-serving like most agents!!!"  Agents are regulated by the NCAA and the NBA, which basically means they make their own rules.   However, Bearup is regulated by the law via the Securities and Exchange Commission, which means Bearup's standard of accountability is at a much higher level.  I continue to hear and read what a bad guy Bearup is, but I've talked with very few people who actually know him who see him in this light.  The bottom line is that most professional athletes are broke at the time of their retirement, but Bearup has a great track record of making money for his clients.  So whether you like him or don't like him, he does at least provide a necessary service, whereby, his clients are much better off as a result of their dealings with him.  Can the same be said about NBA agents?   Remember, rookie salaries are slotted by the NBA, so an agent's negotiating skills become null and void for the first three years.  Which brings us to another very interesting question?  Why do rookies give agents a percentage of their contract, which basically would be the same regardless of whether they sign with an agent or not?

Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Providence, Rutgers, and Villanova are the leaders for 6'9 Liberto Tetimadingar from Worcester (Academy) MA, who is one of the most multi-dimensional players still available.   Louisville appears to be one of the favorites for 6'9 Rowell Mingo from Compton (JC) CA, but everybody at the NCAA Final Four seems to think 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ is bound for Memphis.  Everybody also thinks that Kentucky is on the verge of landing 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS and if that happens we expect the Wildcats to drop out of the sweepstakes for 6'7 Erik Daniels from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH.  We also know that the Kentucky coaching staff has interest in 6'2 Gerald Fitch from Macon (Westside) GA and 6'2 Tony Parker from France, who was so good yesterday in the NIKE International Hoop Summit All-Star Game.   If Parker ranked with current seniors in the United States, he's be a legitimate top 30 senior nationally and, as a result, would be the perfect solution to Kentucky's point guard problems.  With Parker as a starter, along with Keith Bogans, and Saul Smith, J.P. Blevins, and 6'1 Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA all coming off the bench, Kentucky's backcourt problems would quickly become a thing of the past.

It looks like Butler head coach Barry Collier is now the leading candidate for the Nebraska job, which was recently turned down by Bill Self, and it may happen as soon as today.  The connection is that Collier and Nebraska athletic director Bill Byrne were together at Oregon in the 80's.  It looks like Youngstown State assistant coach Derek Kellogg is the leading candidate for a similar position at the University of Massachusetts.  Kentucky assistant coach George Felton, former Nebraska head coach Danny Nee,  St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Baron, and Colorado assistant coach Terry Dunn are all candidates for the Air Force job.  But our advise would be not to take it, because we think that's one of the toughest jobs in the nation.  The top three candidates for Eastern Kentucky are Rhode Island assistant coach Jeff Jones, Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Jerry Eaves, and Campbellsville head coach Travis Ford.  While any one of the three will be a great choice, Ford is the guy we'd hire, because he's done a remarkable job as a head coach at a much lower level.   The leading candidates to replace Bob Leckie, who last week was named the head coach at St. Peter's, at Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, which is one of the top high school jobs in the nation, are former Brooklyn (Nazareth) NY head coach Ted Gustus, former Buffalo assistant coach Rock Eisenberg, and Riverside Church head coach Ken Pretlow, who is also currently the top assistant at Bishop Loughlin.

One of the latest developments in the continuing Bob Knight saga is that former Indiana University player Darryl Thomas has come out in defense of Knight.  He said he was subjected to Knight's "infamous temper more than anybody in the history of Indiana, but the coach never reached back to hit any player in the four years I was there.  And I deserved it as much as anybody."  However, we've heard everything from Indiana University athletic director Clarence Doninger being on the verge of getting fired over his comments from a week ago to Knight being on the verge of resigning himself.  We also are getting a lot of emails from IU fans making this out to be the biggest conspiracy since the Republican right wing conspiracy to get Bill Clinton.   As a matter of fact, the similarity doesn't end there.  If it ever comes out that Knight lied about hitting former Indiana University player Neil Reed and influenced all the former players who are still in the IU sphere of influence, it would just as devastating and embarrassing as the alleged incident itself, if it ever is proven to be true.  One thing is for sure, we don't think we've heard the last of all this. 

Saturday, April 1, 2000 & Sunday, April 2, 2000

It's been our feeling all along that there isn't a lot of difference among the top 15 seniors in the nation and, as a result, whoever stepped up their game this spring in the post-season all-star games would get serious consideration for top player honors in the Class of 2000.  Well that's exactly what has happened with 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, who had been ranked #14 nationally in the class by the HOOP SCOOP.  But based on his performances in the Class-4 state championship in Indianapolis, IN a week ago, the McDonalds All American Game on Wednesday night, and this weekend in the NIKE International Hoop Summit, there is no doubt that Randolph deserves to be ranked as the #1 player in the class.  In the Hoop Summit he was once again the best player in the game.  He was the leading scorer with 24 points.  Plus, he hit 11-17 field goals and was tied with 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL with eight boards for top rebounding honors.  Randolph and 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA combined for the first eight points of the game, as the USA Team jumped out to an 8-0 lead.  However, the International Team made things interesting midway through the first half when they took out 5'11 Marko Popovic from Croatia and 6'6 Sergi Vidal from Spain and inserted two quicker guards - 6'2 Tony Parker from France and 6'2 Christopher Exilus from Toronto, ON.  Parker was the leading scorer with 20 points for the International Team, but even more important, he dished out seven assists and had no turnovers against Duhon and 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, who are widely regarded as the two premier senior guard in the nation.  Parker needs to improve his outside shooting and decision making in the paint, but he's so quick and athletic and he uses both hands and changes direction extremely well.  As a result, he's the best point guard available for college recruiters, because he told us after that he'd like to play college basketball in the United State next year.  He says he's wide open on schools, but he likes teams like Duke, North Carolina, and Connecticut.  However, he's probably better suited for somebody that needs a quality point gaurd right away, like Notre Dame, Kentucky, or UCLA, which all had their entire coaching staffs in attendance.   As a matter of fact, Parker, whose father is American, but who played professionally in Europe and remained there after his playing career was over, attended the same high school as UCLA's Jerome Moiso in France.  Exilus only scored had four points, but his athleticism, speed, and quickness created problems for the United States team, as provided a much better matchup against the United States guards.   We also were very impressed with Olumide Oyedeji from Nigeria, who is an absolute physical specimen, as was evident by his 13 rebounds and ability to dominate the paint.  He also had 19 points, but wasn't very effective away from the basket.  "He also has the biggest calves I've ever seen," says Ron Naclerio, the New York City of the HOOP SCOOP.  "Randolph is a big guy, but he's looks small when compared to Oyedeji.  It looks like his body has been chissled out of stone.  I'd like to have him on team someday if were a NBA general manager."  And that's probably the only way he'll ever play in the United States, because he already plays on a professional team in Germany.   Complementing Oyedeji on the front line were 6'8 Adbou Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Andrew Rice from Australia.   Diame had 11 points and three rebounds, but did a good job of not letting 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who scored only four points and only six rebounds, and 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who had 15 points and  eight rebounds, go crazy.  Rice, who hit 5-7 field goals mostly in the 15-20 range, is a little bit mechanical and soft, but he's a terrific outside shooter and surprisingly athletic.  Also playing well for the International Team was 6'8 Goran Cakic from Yugoslavia, who hit 6-7 field goals en route to 14 points.   However, all this wasn't enough for the International Team to beat the United States.  Final score 98-97. 

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