PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/
SOUTH JERSEY PREP REPORT
by Allen Rubin, Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor of the HOOP SCOOP
Published December 4, 2002

***Denotes a player who will be or already is a 5th year player once he reaches his 9th semester of high school

Editor's Note:  Rubin's list of the top 603 seniors, 490 juniors, 308 sophomores, 207 freshmen, 69 8th graders, and 34 7th graders can be found by clicking below on Rubin Ranks Em:  The Top Players in Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey.

TOP 5TH YEAR PLAYERS

MUSTAFA SHAKUR CLEARLY ESTABLISHES HIMSELF AS #1 PLAYER IN PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY
by Clark Francis, Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP 

                    During the last 10 years the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area has been blessed with a number superstars, like Rasheed Wallace, Jason Lawson, Alvin Williams, Kobe Bryant, Richard Hamilton, Eddie Griffin, Dajuan Wagner, and presently Mustafa Shakur.  However, there is not another player currently on the horizon who we can mentioned in the same breath with this group.  But there are some good stories.  Like the quest by 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA to break Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia Public League career all-time scoring record.  Like the overabundance of outstanding point guards in the junior class, including 5'11 Jr Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 5'11 Jr Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Dougherty) PA, 6'2 Jr Cedric Jackson from Burlington (Northern Burlington) NJ, 6'2 Jr Antoine Brown from Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA, 5'8 Jr Rich Cunningham from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'0 Jr Albert Fisher from Pennsauken (H.S.) NJ, 6'1 Jr Mike Walker from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA, and 6'2 Jr Chris Shovlin from Wilkes-Barr (Gar) PA, all of whom project at the mid-to-high major level.  Like 6'10 Wayne Marshall from Philadelphia (Martin Luther King) PA, who, after a mediocre summer, has exploded during the fall and early winter.  As a matter of fact, Marshall shot 12-12 from the field and 5-6 from the foul line, as he finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and scored the winning game shot at the buzzer to lead his team to a one-point win over Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA just last night.   Thus, explains why our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area Editor Allen Rubin thinks Marshall is such a steal for Temple.  Rubin also thinks Marshall is a legitimate top 50 senior nationally and even goes so far as to include Marshall among the top seven big men from this year area in the last 10 years.  And that's a very strong statement when one remembers that the other six big men on Rubin' list are Wallace, Lawson, Griffin, 6'9 Marc Jackson from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'10 Kirk Luchman from Medford (Shawnee) NJ, and 6'10 Lari Ketner from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA.  Like 6'7 Arnaud Dahi from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who was outstanding recently at the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament in Milford, DE and, as a result, will move into our top 100 nationally next time we update our senior rankings.   Like 6'10 Roman Narmbaye-Mbainbas from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is ranked #1 in shot blocking, #2 in rebounding, and #3 in defending by Rubin below.  Obviously Narmbaye-Mbainbas's defense is way ahead of his offense, but, just like Dahi, the value of his stock is sure to go up this winter as college recruiters scramble to recruit anybody left with size.  Like 6'8 Jr Dontay Tabbs from Philadelphia (George Washington) PA, who is one of the biggest sleepers nationally in the junior class.  Tabbs rebounds, scores, and defends, but outside of the city, few people have ever heard of this 6'8 wiry athletic mobile power forward.  The only problem is that college recruiters will probably have to wait two years for his services, because right now he's being listed as a repeat junior.  Like 6'4 Dustin Salisbury from Lancaster (McCaskey) PA, who is the athlete in the area in the senior class and, as a result, could be a steal for the right mid-major program.

BEST SHOOTERS IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List

BEST SCORERS IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List

BEST REBOUNDERS   IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List

BEST SHOT BLOCKERS   IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List

BEST PLAYMAKERS IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List

BEST DEFENDERS IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List

MOST IMPROVED IN THE PHILADELPHIA/EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA/SOUTH JERSEY AREA
5th Year Players are excluded from this List