TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL  REPORT
by Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP

                        The good news is that our Texas Editor Tim Millers' top dozen ranked juniors - 6'4 Jr Willie Brown from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 6'3 Jr J'Covan Brown from Port Arthur (Memorial) TX, 6'10 Jr Jamisen Morgan from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Jr Eric Fitzgerald from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, 6'8 Jr Steve Tchiengang from Cypress (Community Christian) TX, 6'10 Jr Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX, 6'3 Jr Jeremy Green from Austin (Bowie) TX, 7'0 Jr Ian Markolf from San Antonio (Churchill) TX, 6'8 Jr Quincy Acy from Mesquite (Horne) TX, 6'8 Jr Deremey Steptoe from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'8 Jr William Brown from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX, and 6'5 Jr Phillip McDonald from Houston (Cypress Spring) TX - are all still available.  The bad news is that the Class of 2008 lacks depth, especially at the point guard spot, and, as a result, is the worst class on the horizon in the Lone Star state.  But that doesn't mean that their aren't a number of positive things to note about the Class of 2008.  First, there are some players, like 6'8 Jr Eric Fitzgerald from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, 6'8 Jr Deremey Steptoe from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'5 Jr Chris Babbs from Arlington (Oakridge) TX,  and 6'2 Jr David Kyles from Dallas (Kimble) TX, who have come out of nowhere during the last six months.  Second, the Class of 2008 does have excellent star power, as 6'4 Jr Willie Brown from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX and 6'3 Jr J'Covan Brown from Port Arthur (Memorial) TX are both ranked among the top 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Third, the Class of 2008 does have pretty good size, as Fitzgerald, Tchiengang, Acy, Steptoe, and Brown are all 6'8; Morgan and Jones are both 6'10, and Markolf stands at 7-feet.  Unfortunately Jones and Brown negate their size, because they would rather drift out on the perimeter and shoot threes, instead of block shots, rebound, and score around the basket.   And Acy is expected to reclassify as a sophomore, although Miller tells us that as of yet he has not done so.  So for our purposes, he's listed as junior.  
                        In sharp contrast to the Class of 2008, the Class of 2009 is oozing with good point guards, as 10 of Miller's top 25-ranked sophomores in the state play this position.  They are 5'8 Soph Tommy Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, 6'0 Soph G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX, 6'0 Soph Junior Cadougan from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'0 Soph Kendrick Robinson from San Antonio (Southwest) TX, 6'1 Jr Regis McDowell from Dallas (North) TX, 5'11 Jr Jamal Fenton from Houston (Chavez) TX,  6'2 Soph Brandon Thompson from San Antonio (Stevens) TX, 5'11 Soph Steve Rodgers from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, 5'8 Soph Raymond Penn from Missouri City (Ft. Bend Bush) TX, and 6'0 Soph Jordan Brickman from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX.  And the top two point guards on this list (Griffin to LSU and Vilarino to Kentucky) are both already verbally committed to schools in the Southeastern Conference.  Also making this class very intriguing is the fact that a number of the top players in the class, like 6'6 Soph Nolan Dennis from Richland Hills (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Soph John Henson from Round Rock (H.S.) TX, Soph Carl Blair from Houston (Inner City) TX, 6'8 Soph Keith Gallon from Houston (Timberwood) TX, 6'5 Soph Erik Williams from Houston (Cypress Springs) TX, 6'9 Soph Corey Jefferson from Killeen (H.S.) TX, and 6'2 Soph Marshall Henderson from Euless (L.D. Bell) TX, have come out of nowhere to assume positions right at the top of the class.  The Class of 2009 also has much better depth than the Class of 2008, as 13 sophomores versus nine juniors will get top 100 consideration the next time we update our nationally rankings in these respective classes.  And it could turn out to be even deeper, despite the fact that Gallon is expected to enroll at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this fall, if and when 6'8 Jr Quincy Acy from Mesquite (Horne) TX reclassifies and 6'2 Soph Elijah Johnson from Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV shows up in Houston, TX this fall.  Speaking of Johnson, if Miller were to include him on his list right now, he says he'd insert him at #4, behind 6'6 Soph Nolan Dennis from Richland Hills (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Soph Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 5'10 Soph Tommy Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX and ahead of 6'10 Soph John Henson from Round Rock (H.S.) TX, 6'0 Soph G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Soph Carl Blair from Houston (Inner City) TX, 6'8 Soph Keith Gallon from Houston (Timberwood) TX, 6'5 Soph Erik Williams from Houston (Cypress Springs) TX,  and 6'1 Soph Junior Cadougan from Humble (Christian Life) TX. 
                        The next great class in the state promises to be the Class of 2010.  And Miller should now, because his adidas TG Express team has played for the National Championship in their age group in the AAU Nationals each of the last four years (they won it in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and finished second last summer).  It also comes as no surprise that the #1-ranked player in this class is Miller's son - 6'0 Frosh K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX, who has been so impressive while playing up at the 17-Under level this spring that schools like Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Texas A&M, and Baylor are all really turning up the heat as they attempt to get this one done early.  From there it's almost too close to call as 6'6 Frosh Julian Washburn from Dallas (Kimble) TX, 6'5 Frosh Jackson Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX, and 6'5 Frosh Randy Collins from LaPorte (H.S.) TX are interchangeable in the race of second and 6'1 Frosh DeCarlos Frank from Beaumont (Ozen) TX, 6'8 Frosh Steve Baird from San Antonio (Feast) TX, 6'0 Frosh Brandon Peters from Houston (Yates) TX, 5'11 Frosh Jamisen Stern from Waxahachie (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Frosh Evan Washington from De Soto (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Frosh Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Frosh Darius Terrell from De Soto (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Frosh Darius Hollis from Ft. Worth (All Saints) TX, and 6'1 Frosh T.J. Taylor from Denison (H.S.) TX all have top 100 potential.  We also wouldn't be surprised if 6'9 Frosh Perry Jones from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX, 6'7 Frosh Michael Oyedeji from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'8 Frosh Daniel Alexander from Dripping Springs (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Frosh John Bohannon from Lancaster (H.S.) TX, and 6'10 Frosh Sam Ryan from Conroe (Woodlands College Park) TX, all of whom are in the 18 to 26 range on Miller's list, also move into this elite category.  Remember, big guys develop late and we're talking about freshmen in high school, which means additional growth in each case is not out of the question.   But really makes the Class of 2010 is the overall balance in the class.  "This class doesn't specialize in anything, but has a lot of everything," says Miller.  "It has size, depth, athleticism, point guards with high IQ's, wing players that are skilled, and shooting guards that are explosive."  As a matter of fact, Peters and Stern are two of the most explosive leapers in the nation regardless of class.  
                        And the Class of 2011 might be even better than the Class of 2010, as six of the top seven-ranked players - 6'7 8th Grader Labryan Nash from Dallas, TX, 6'2 8th Grader Jamal Branch from Houston, TX, 6'3 8th Grader Julian Lewis from Galveston, TX, 6'8 8th Grader Zach Peters from Plano, TX, 6'0 8th Grader Benjamin Dillard from Frisco, TX, and 6'4 8th Grader Kinzael Bolton from Houston, TX - on Miller's list were ranked among the top 50 8th Graders nationally when we updated Ranking of the Top 400 Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (8th Graders) a month ago.  And, if Miller had known about 6'5 8th Grader Jerry Singleton from Garland, TX at that time, he too would have been on that list.  Not only are we talking about one of the biggest sleepers nationally in the class to emerge this spring, but Singleton is versatile enough to play just about any position on the court.  The Class of 2012 and Class of 2013 also have tremendous promise, as is evident by the fact that they both have the #1-ranked player nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  We're talking about 5'11 7th Grader J. Mychal Reese from Byan, TX and 5'9 6th Grader D.J. Griggs from Lake Jackson, TX.  However, those are stories for a future time.  As for the Class of 2007, about the only new thing to add is the fact that some of the 5th Year players, like 6'8 DaeQuan Montreal from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'3 Marcus Brister from Irving (God's Academy) TX, and 6'10 Kevin Anderson from Irving (God's Academy) TX came on like gangbusters and made names for themselves this past winter and spring.  However, Montreal and Anderson are still short of meeting the academic requirements necessary to be eligible at the Division I level and, as a result, are both heading to Southern Idaho (JC) ID.  Brister, on the other hand, appears to be a steal for Iowa State.  We also think it is important to note that Miller combined 5th Year Players and seniors when doing his ranking of the top players in the Class of 2007.