MICHIGAN PREP REPORT

by Steve Bell, Editor & Publisher of The Bank and Michigan Editor of the HOOP SCOOP

BELL RANKS 'EM: THE TOP PREP PLAYERS IN MICHIGAN

NO END SIGHT FOR GREAT PREP TALENT IN MICHIGAN

by Steve Bell, Editor & Publisher of The Bank and Michigan Editor of the HOOP SCOOP

                When will it end?  Will the state of Michigan ever stop producing the United States' best high school basketball talent?  Per capita, it's no contest (there are only nine-million people in the state; Detroit proper isn't even seven figures).  But in raw numbers, too, no one can mess with John Engler, Inc.  We need not remind you of the native sons that dominated the roster of the 2000 NCAA Champions.   And now Michigan State is the HOOP SCOOP's pre-season #1 ranked team.
                    That well-documented Michigan State feeder, Flintown, is as strong as ever.  6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI is no less than a consensus top three senior in America.  This prototypical NBA 2-guard is headed to surprise, surprise, Michigan State.  It may take longer for him to get to the League, but 6'6 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI definitely has the skills.  He's a three-position player at the highest level of college ball, a Jalen Rose/Cory Hightower type.  He's less of a floater than Hightower and lacks the natural basketball talent of Rose.  Hart's recruitment came down to Michigan, and Iowa.  Brian Ellerbe and Terrance Greene won out, overcoming Hart's Ed Martin paranoia.
                    It's not Flint, but it is the Saginaw Valley Conference and it is the Michigan Mustangs, where we find one of the nation's elite juniors, 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, Kelvin Torbert's boy.  Right now, no point guard in state can touch Peeper.  How long will that last?  For awhile, at least.  I compare Roberson to Damon Bailey, a high school player who was just so savvy, so ahead of the game.  Peeper has always played a step up in comp - starting for The High as a freshman, for the Mustangs as a rising soph - and he has gained a competitive edge over players of the same age.  He makes minimum mistakes for a 16-year old and can shoot as well as he can run a team.  How does a perimeter triumverate of Pepper, Torbert, and Marcus Taylor sound?  You can bet Tom Izzo, Brian Gregory, Stan Heath, et al, are fantasizing about it as we speak. 
                    The best sophomore in Flint is also one of the most controversial players the state has seen in recent years - 6'5 Soph Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI.   Actually, it isn't Olu himself who is controversial.  Rather it is his association with Mustangs frontman Chris Grier that has some wondering, wassup?  For Olu isn't a native Flintstone.  Rather, he's a Canadian expatriate whom many believe was hand-placed by Grier at Flint Northwestern.  Love him or hate him, Grier may be the most powerful figure in Michigan basketball.  Over the last five years, the MSU alumnus has parlayed the state's elite talent - Torbert, Roberson, 6'10 Jr Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI, 6'9 Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, 6'9 Jeff Ferguson from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI (another Canuck), Jason Richardson, DeeAndre Hulett, Brent Darby, Charlie Bell, Greg Stempin - into adidas' flagship program.  Not in Michigan, but in the United States. 
                    But after that 6'4 Jr Ricardo Billings from Detroit (Rogers) MI is the warning shot.  He didn't play AAU ball, so he is overshadowed by other juniors like 6'5 Jr Lester Abrams from Pontiac (Northern) MI and 6'5 Jr Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI.  There's just one thing...Ricardo's better, a 6'4, 190-pound 16-year old who can play both guard spots.  He's Ohio State's top recruiting priority for the Class of 2002. 
                    A class down from Billings, it gets really interesting.  Our top three sophomores (and five of the top 10) are all from the Detroit Public School League.  Although year-in-year-out the PSL is as competitive a league as there is in America, that sort of top heaviness hasn't happened in my memory.  6'3 Soph Dion Harris' nickname in Virgil Phillips' REACH program is Scottie Pippen.   Not bad.  But this kid from Detroit (Redford) MI plays like Kobe Bryant.  Like all the great Detroit players - Haywood, Gervin, Webber, Rose - he just has an uncanny skill level relative to his size (here's a 6'3 15-year old who is already beginning to beef up).  As a freshman Harris occasionally blew up for Redford, a team which reached the PSL Championship game.  Over the summer, in age-group competition, Dion was untouchable.
                    Already, 6'9 Soph Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI has been pulsing on recruiters' infrared for years. A legitimately big, legitimately skilled post player, the best since Robert Traylor.  Walter has the body to bang with anyone and reaps the reward of a purposeful post game.  The thing is, this kid can shoot, too.  Walter is headed towards a redemptive basketball career, a redemptive young life, overcoming a tragic beginning.  He's coming along at a healthy pace, playing ball, growing up.
                    Waters' Southeastern teammate (although over the summer it seemed he wouldn't be), 6'3 Soph Brandon Jenkins, will be recruited as a point guard at the highest level.  He's so big, athletic and confident, when B.J. has the ball at full bore it's damn-near impossible to guard him. 
                    Not only does Detroit (Rogers) MI have the best junior in the league, but Steve Hall's club also features two terrifically talented 10-graders.  6'3 Soph Byron Davis is a move-in from Detroit (Commerce) MI and one of the most exciting dunkers in the state.  6'6 Soph Lashawn Woodard is a gifted baseline slasher who will surprise you with his ability to step out and handle the ball. 
                    Now check this out - the top three freshmen in the state are also from the PSL.  6'1 Frosh Rico Harris from Detroit (Central) MI used his overpowering, open court athleticism to put on a display in the 14-Under State AAU Tournament not seen Kelvin Torbert in 1997.  6'3 Frosh Darryl Garrett from Detroit (MacKenzie) MI is perhaps the freshman most ready to contribute at the varsity level.  He's got the size and touch to kill you from 3-point range.  Then there's 6'2 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI.  He's from the same school as Rickey Paulding.  Like Paulding, he plays above the rim.