TALENT DOWN IN THE CITY, BUT UP IN THE METRO AREA
Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP

                    The trend in recent years has been for there to be great young talent in New York City.  But, as time goes on, the trend has been for the talent level to become stagnate, as many of the top players leave the city for prep schools and basketball factories and others fall prey to the street agents, believing all the hype and getting caught up in all of the insanity, and playing too much AAU ball, instead of developing their skills and working on their game.  Thus, explains why the junior and seniors classes in the city are not up to the lofty standards which one has become accustomed to since Dr. James Naismith invited the game well over a 100 years ago.  It also explains why we have chosen once again to include the top players in the Metropolitan area, which also includes North Jersey, Westchester County, and Long Island, when putting together our six All-Metro New York Teams.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that only six of the top 15 players and only 15 of the 35 players on this list, which includes all of the top players regardless of class and position, actually play for high schools in New York City.  And the senior class in the city looks especially weak when one remembers that it has only two high profile big name players in 6'5 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'4 Durand Scott from New York (Rice) NY.  However, when one includes the two McDonald's All-American's (Dominic Cheek and Dexter Strickland) from North Jersey and 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is arguably the best high school player in the nation regardless of class, then suddenly the Metropolitan area appears to be as strong as any area in the nation.  And to illustrate what we're talking about with regards to all of the great young talent in the Metropolitan area even further is the fact that only 14 of the top 35 players listed on our seven All-Metro Teams are seniors.  The rest of the list includes 12 juniors and nine sophomores.  But 6'3 Jr Doran Lamb, who would have been the highest ranked junior on this list, is already long gone after transferring from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA almost a year ago. 
                        It also is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to play to the strengths of our area editor's and correspondents and, as a result, our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio's rankings of the top 150 seniors, top 126 juniors, top 100 sophomores, top 76 freshmen, top 26 8th Graders, top 15 7th Graders, and top two 6th Graders, includes only the top players who play for schools within the five boroughs of New York City.  And, this is important, because not only are the players from New Jersey left out, but players from Westchester County, like 6'4 Sherrod Wright from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY and 6'0 Soph Jabarie Hinds from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and Long Island, like 6'8 Jr Tobias Harris from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, 6'0 Jr Devon McMillan from Uniondale (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Soph Achraf Yocobou from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, and 6'2 George Beamon from Roslyn (H.S.) NY, also have not been included on his list.  Naclerio also does not see all of the middle school players as much as somebody like Artie Cox, who is an assistant coach varsity coach and head junior varsity coach at Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  So we have to give Cox both an assist and thank him for all of his help with the middle school rankings.
                        One of the best examples of a guy who has gotten caught up in all of the insanity and pressures that go along with being the "next great one" of out of the Big Apple is 6'5 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  Stephenson has the natural talent, skills, and potential to be one of the best players, along with Nate Archibald, Connie Hawkins, Pee Wee Kirkland, Bob Cousey, Earl Manigault, Dean Meminger, Herman "Helicopter" Knowling, Bill Cunningham, Roger Brown, James "Fly" Williams, Mark Jackson, Kenny Smith, Kenny Anderson, Lloyd Daniels, Felipe Lopez, Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, at al., to ever come out of New York City.  Not only is Stephenson the only guy on this list who can play both inside and outside, but the fact that he led his team to an unprecedented four straight PSAL (Public School Athletic League) titles speaks for itself.  He's also the leading scorer in the history of both the city and the state, but also has added too much strength while sacrificing explosiveness and athleticism and does not play with the same fire and passion that he did a year ago.  On the other hand, watching 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ is like a breath of fresh air due to the fact that he is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, is a phenomenal rebounder and an incredible athlete, plays every possession like it might be his last, is a year or two younger than most of the players in his class, and appears to be oblivious to all of the hype and notoriety.  Right now we have Stephenson and Gilchrist listed as our co-Players-of-the-Year in the New York Metropolitan area, but Gilchrist is taller, is even more Jordan-esque at the same stage, and has a bigger ceiling, as he has a higher basketball IQ and still has the potential to grow, get better, and develop while playing for one of the premier high school coaches in the nation (Kevin Boyle).
                        The New York City also is not known for producing a lot of players with great size nor does it usually have its share of great outside shooters.  But now might be an exception to the rule with regards to outside shooting, as there are some excellent 3-pointers shooters, like 6'3 Soph Michael Taylor from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 6'5 Soph Jermaine Saunders from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'1 Soph Shelton Mickell from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, on the horizon in the sophomore class.  We also have to mention that the next great class in NYC promises to be the freshman class, which features eight players with big time talent and potential in 5'11 Frosh Jevon Thomas from Jamaica (Edison) NY, 6'3 Frosh Omar Calhoun from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Frosh LaBrent Walker from Bayside (H.S.) SC, 5'11 Frosh DeShawn Suber from New York (Rice) NY, 6'4 Frosh Leroy Fludd from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, 6'4 Nkereuwen Okoro from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Frosh Jeff Neverson from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, and 5'11 Frosh Avodele Akinmola from Brooklyn (South Shore) NY.  Those first four have already proven it on the AAU scene and, as a result, already have a nation reputation.  But Naclerio tells us to watch out for Fludd, who right now is the sleeper of the bunch and has the athleticism and upside and potential necessary to be as good as any of these guys.  I've never seen 6'6 8th Grader Jordan Washington from Queens, NY, but every seems to think he's clearly the best 8th Grader in the city and he's already drawing comparisons to Louisville's 6'8 Frosh Samardo Samuels.  The only drawback might be that Washington has already been reclassified and is older than most of the other players in his class.