NEW ENGLANDPREP REPORT
by Wayne Simone, New England Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, Director of the Connecticut Select Club Team Program, Director of the adidas HOOP Challenge, and the Editor & Publisher of Connecticut High School Hoops
Published March 20, 2002

***Denotes a player who will be in his 9th semester of high school when his class reaches its senior year

SIMONE RANKS 'EM:  THE TOP HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS IN NEW ENGLAND

SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT!
  KEEPING TRACK OF WHO BELONGS WHERE IN NEW ENGLAND

by Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP

                    Right now the junior class in New England appears to be especially good, as there are at least 15 players - 6'4 Jr Mike Sawyer-Jones from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA, 6'8 Jr Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT, 6'5 Jr Roosevelt Lee from New Britian (H.S.) CT, 6'11 Hassan Fofana from Worcester (Holy Name) MA, 6'3 Jr Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, 6'9 Jr Lamont Hamilton from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'1 Jr Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) CT, 6'3 Jr Dwight Brewington from Lynn (English) MA, 7'0 Jr Fernando Bonfin from Bridgeport (Cathedral) CT, 6'7 Jr Demetrius Nichols from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'1 Jr Jamal Warren from Holyoke (H.S.) MA, 6'3 Jr Adbi Lidonde from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'6 Jr Bryant Smith from Hartford (Weaver) CT, 6'8 Jr Nick Stafford from Worcester (Academy) MA, and 5'11 Jr Will Blaylock from Boston (East Boston) MA - with top 100 talent and/or potential nationally.  However, by itself, this is extremely misleading, because nearly half of the players listed above (Sawyer-Jones, Carrier, Hamilton, Hailey, Warren, Stafford, and Blaylock) are already in their 8th Semester of high school, which means they will not be listed as seniors by the HOOP SCOOP next season.  Instead, they will be listed as 5th year players.  Remember, it is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to rank a player separately on a 5th Year list once he player reaches his 9th semester in high school.  And when you add 6'11 Martin Iti from Winchendon (School) MA, who already is listed by the HOOP SCOOP as a 5th year player, because he's already in his 9th semester of high school, but, who is listed as a junior by most of competitors, because he will be back at Winchendon for another year, into the equation, it is easy to conclude that the New England Prep Schools will be especially strong next season. 
                    In contrast, this was a down year by New England Prep School standards, as our list of the top 5th year players in New England includes 6'10 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'3 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'11 Darryl Hill from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'2 Armon Gates from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'6 Demario Eddins from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'2 Kenton Paulino from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'8 Craig Smith from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'0 Clyde Wade from Winchendon (School) MA, 7'1 Giedrius Rinkevicius from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'2 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'10 Larry Turner from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME 6'5 Corey Herring from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'8 Luis Clemente from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'5 John Zito from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Matthew Foster from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 5'7 Kenny Minor from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'3 Daniel Rumph from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'5 Michael Clarke from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'5 Kevin Massiah from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'7 Jai Lewis from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'9 Daryl Pegram from Worcester (Academy) MA, and 6'5 Kevin Foley from Salisbury (School) CT.  In other words, we're talking about the best basketball talent in the nation in any given year below the high Division I college level.
                    And keeping track of exactly who is a 5th year player and/or who still has high school eligibililty left is a gray area that is often subject to change.  However, it is important for our purposes, because there are always a few players who were stashed in the New England Prep Schools early and, as a result, will be recruited to the college level as true high school seniors.  Falling into the category this year are 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH and 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, who are ranked #1 and #2 in New England, respectively.   Really you can't go wrong with either one of them, as they both have had tremendous senior years and deserve to be ranked among the top 20 seniors in the nation.  However, McCants, who is ranked among the nation's top 10 seniors by all of the North Carolina-based scouts, like Brick Oettinger of the Recruiter's Handbook, Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, and Dave Telep of InsidersHoops.com, has an unfair advantage over Wright, who was left off the prestigious McDonald's American Team.  Remember, McCants is originally from the state of North Carolina and signed with the Tar Heels last fall.  Wright, on the other hand, hasn't been seen by most of the nation scouts since last summer when he established his national reputation after finishing ranked #18 at the adidas ABCD Camp.  Wright also didn't play on one of adidas' elite club teams (i.e. Pump & Run) nor did he sign with one of the high profile programs, (i.e. Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, or UCLA) in college basketball.  Instead, Wright plays for the Inland Club Team, which is based in San Bernardino, CA and coached by Elveret Perry, and signed last fall with Texas A&M. 
                    But just because Wright, who is ranked #34 nationally by Gibbons and #23 nationally by Oettinger, doesn't have the right political forces on his side, that doesn't mean he isn't just as good as McCants.  Actually we think Wright is better.  Not only is he a better prospect at the next level, but we're talking somebody who can create his own shot out and is much more fluid out on the perimeter right now.  In contrast, McCants is really an undersized inside player who has had to make the conversion to the premier due to his world-class athleticism and incredible upper body strength.  Sure, McCants does remind us in many ways of a young Jerry Stackhouse and he has successfully made the conversion to the perimeter, where he's has shown he can hit a stationary jumper and handle and pass the basketball.  But what McCants does best is use his explosiveness and athleticism to get to the hole.  However, Wright is exceptional at doing that too.  So it shouldn't come as any big surprise that I'm going against the status quo, despite the fact that our New England Editor Wayne Simone and Mike Procopio, who is the Director of the National Prep School Invitational, disagree.  Thus, explains why Wright is ranked slightly higher nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, while McCants gets the nod in New England.  Yes, it's really that close a call!  What do you think?  You can tell us in our "Question of the Day" for March 21st. 
                    Another player who is developing his perimeter game is 6'2 Charles Easterling from Hartford (Bulkeley) CT.  But time is on Easterling's side, because he's going the junior college route (already has signed with Kilgore Junior College).  Few players in the senior class nationally are better than Easterling when it comes to getting to the hole, beating bigger and stronger players on the boards, and displaying incredible athleticism.  However, his outside shooting is a major question mark and, as a result, it's a fairly close call among the next four players - Easterling, 6'9 Akin Akingbala from Greenwich (Brunswick School) CT, 6'7 Nik Caner-Medley from Cape Elizabeth (Deering) ME, and 6'4 Rashid Al-Kaleem from Charlestown (H.S.) MA - on our list of the top seniors in New England.  Easterling is the best high school player of the group right now, but that could change down the road, if Easterling doesn't develop into more of a 3-point threat.  Akingbala just needs to continue to show the same progress that he's made during the last year.  We're talking about an athletic big-man with excellent mobility and athleticism, an incredible wing span, soft hands, and a good feel for the game.  Caner-Medley is an athletic white kid, but his outside shooting is suspect and he doesn't have Easterling's strength and the inner city toughness.  Al-Kaleem is one of the best 3-point shooters in the class, but we question his toughness and level of competition.  Remember, we'd never seen him prior to Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE last December.