TEXAS PREP  REPORT
by Wes Grandstaff, Texas Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, Senior BCI Vice President, Southwestern AAU Boys Basketball Chairperson, & Director of the Team Texas Basketball Program (for more information about his program and/or dates for his numerous events, click on USAHoopsBoys)

GRANDSTAFF  RANKS 'EM:  THE TOP PREP PLAYERS IN TEXAS

 FUTURE LOOKING BETTER AND BETTER FOR TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
by Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP, and Wes Grandstaff, Texas Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, Senior BCI Vice President, Southwestern AAU Boys Basketball Chairperson, & Director of the Team Texas Basketball Program (for more information about Grandstaff's program and/or dates for his numerous events, click on USAHoopsBoys)

                    When our then Texas Editor Mitch Malone published a national list of the top 100 seniors three years ago that included 24 players from the Longhorn state, I told him that he was either the biggest homer of all time or the senior class in the state was the best class in the history of high school basketball.  And if the latter was true, he wouldn't be able to do it again or he'd lose all his credibility.  Sure, Malone was and still is a great source of information with his Texas Blue Chip Report.  However, in our business shooting straight and not overhyping your own players is essential to maintaining your credibility.  So in recent years I've been looking for a good alternative.  The name that keeps coming up is Mike Kunstadt, who does an excellent job publishing TexasHoops.com.  However, Kunstadt comes as close to representing the status quo and establishment as you can get.  And that's definitely not our agenda!  Instead, our goal is to find that balance, whereby, we can upset the status quo and at the same time remain both credible and accurate. 
                    Well, after a lot of searching we feel like we've found the perfect person in Wes Grandstaff, who is the director of the Team Texas AAU program, which is quickly becoming the one of premier club team programs in the nation.  The reason we like Grandstaff so well is that he appears to be above most of the politics that so often goes hand-in-hand with Texas player rankings.  Also very important are the strong grassroutes ties that Grandstaff has established all the way down to the elementary school age group via his younger teams.  Not only does this provide us with an opportunity to see a list of the top freshmen, top 8th graders, and top 7th graders, which goes 21, 30, and 13 deep, respectively, but it also allows us to track players over a long period of time, which is especially important for college recruiters and NBA scouts. 
                    This is also important when one remembers that basketball more often than not was something the top athletes in Texas did mainly to stay in shape between the fall football season and spring football practice.  However, the growing emphasis placed on basketball has made players make a choice between the two sports at a very early age.  Also, an increasing population (much of which comes from strong basketball areas like the Midwest and Northeast), a growing emphasis on coaching, and the proliferation of outstanding AAU programs, like Team Texas, Houston Hoops, Ft. Worth Lions, Texas Blue Chip, Houston Jaguars, and Houston Superstars, are just some of the reasons why players in Texas continue to get better and better.
                    If you still include 6'1 Carlos Hurt, who grew up in Texas, but transferred from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX to Louisville (Moore) KY last fall, there are four players - Hurt, 5'10 Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'3 Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, and 6'7 Jason Maxiell from Carrollton (Neumann Smith) TX - in senior class from Texas with McDonald's All-American potential.  Also ranked among our 50-100 nationally from Texas are 6'9 Lawrence Roberts from Houston (Lamar) TX and 6'4 Keith Langford from Crowley (North Crowley) TX, both of whom established their national reputations during the summer on the AAU circuit, and 6'4 Nile Murry from Houston (Klein Forest) TX, who is still one of the biggest sleepers in the nation, because he didn't play much AAU ball outside the state last summer. 
                    But it's really the quality of depth in the senior class that makes this such a good year, as 6'9 Chris Wright from Redwater (H.S.) TX, 6'3 Dandrick Jones from Dallas (Kimball) TX, 6'4 Stanley Asumnu from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'4 Nick Williams from Mansfield (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Justin Isham from Lancaster (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Emeka Okafor from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'7 Chris Williams from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'3 Kenny Taylor from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'5 Aaron Curtis from Grand Prairie (South) TX, 6'5 Daryl Mason from Bryan (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Corey Smith from Houston (Lamar) TX, 6'8 Matt Gipson from Burkburnett (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Matt Williams from Temple (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Curtis Walker from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'7 Chris Rhodes from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, and 6'10 Aaron Combs from Ft. Bend (Dulles) TX all get top 200 national consideration.
                    The junior class promises to be even better, as it features four outstanding guards - 6'3 Jr Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'1 Jr Daniel Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Jr Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, and 5'10 Jr Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, all of whom have contrasting styles.  Wright is a big-time athlete who is widely regarded as one of the best 3-point shooters in the class nationally.  Horton has good ball handling and passing skills, but he's actually more of a combo guard, because he's such a prolific scorer, as is evident by the incredible numbers he's been posting this winter.  Williams just goes out and quietly gets the job done, as he runs the show, makes great decisions, and makes his teammates better.  Hopkins isn't as consistent, but he's a lot more exciting, as he often brings the house down with his incredible athleticism and explosive speed and quickness. 
                    The other big story in the junior class is how concentrated all the top players are in one area, as the top seven players on our list -  Wright, Horton, Williams, Hopkins, 6'7 Jr Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'5 Jr Senecca Collins from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'3 Jr Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX  - all are from the Dallas Metroplex.  Also from Dallas is 6'6 Jr Kyle Wilson from Dallas (Jesuit) TX, who is ranked #12, and 6'4 Jr Josh Washington from Lubbock (Monterey) TX, who is ranked #9, and 6'7 Jr Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, who is ranked #11, both play for Team Texas.   In other words, only two juniors - 6'4 Jr Cedrick Hensley from Cleveland (Heritage) TX and 6'3 Jr Brian Young from San Antonio (Central) TX - without Dallas ties are ranked among our top dozen juniors in the state.
                    The sophomore class is more geographically balanced than the junior class, plus it has more quality size, as 6'9 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozone) TX, 6'4 Soph Lance Jackson from Fort Worth (Dunbar) TX, 6'7 Soph Chris Reay from Plano (H.S.) TX, and 6'8 Ndidi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX are all ranked among the top five sophomores in the state.  Perkins and Jackson are also legitimte top five sophomores nationally.  Perkins needs to get bigger and stronger, but is an excellent shot blocker who is extremely mobile in transition and almost unstoppable offensively when he gets the ball around the basket.  Perkins gets the edge right now, but Grandstaff thinks that Jackson could pass him down the road, especially if Jackson grows and/or develops better perimeter skills.  However, it may not matter at least for a while, because Jackson has such a nasty killer-like instinct, is so athletic and strong, and finishes so well around the basket. 
                    It's almost too close to call when trying to rank the top four players in the freshman class, because 6'6 Frosh Rell Porter from Pittsburg (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Jernis Smith from Fort Worth (Dunbar) TX, 5'10 Frosh Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, and 6'2 Frosh Daniel Gibson from Houston (Dowling) TX are all good enough to be ranked among the top 15 freshmen nationally.  Porter gets the nod, because he's such a skilled post-up player, so fundamentally sound, and has a such a great work ethic.  Plus, he always seems to get the best of Smith in their head-to-head encounters.  Smith is extremely active and terrific on the boards, but needs to develop more consistency and maturity.  Horton, who has the potential to be just as good as his older brother, has great handling skills and is terrific defensively.  Gibson, who is an excellent ball handler, great penetrater, terrific outside shooter, and good defender, has the complete package.
                    And it doesn't end there, as 6'0 Frosh Red White from Dallas (Molina) TX, 6'6 Frosh Kevin Langford from Crowley (North Crowley) TX, and 6'0 Frosh George Youngblood from Dallas (Highland Park) TX also are projected to have big-time futures.  White is an excellent outside shooter with good handling skills and savvy beyond his years.  Langford, who is better than his brother at the same stage, is one of the premier shot blockers in the state and an excellent shooter from 15-feet and in.  Youngblood is an extraordinary 3-point shooter and an excellent finisher around the basket.

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