HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1999

Hot Recruiting Information available for previous months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999

Friday, December 31, 1999

Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX jumped out early to a 28-9 lead early in the championship game at Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE, but by half-time Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA had cut it to nine. And that's pretty much the way it stayed the rest of the way, as Willowridge won its first ever national tournament, 64-58.  The big difference in the game was Willowridge's relentless pressure early.  Tournament MVP honors went to 6'7 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Also named to the all-tournament team were 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'3 Jr Kenny Taylor from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, 6'9 Herve Lamizana from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'0 Walter Price from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who had 23 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks.  Earlier today Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ beat Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK, 75-70, to take home third place.  The leading scorer once again was Hamizana, who had 21 points.  6'5 Matthew Berry led Booker T. Washington with 18 points, but two underclassmen - 6'2 Soph Levi Harris, who finished with 10 points, and 6'3 Frosh Robert Meachem, who had 14 points - also finished in double digits. Louisville (Ballard) KY beat Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC, 49-48, for 5th place and Columbia (Keenan) SC knocked off Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 66-58, for 7th place.  That game was particularly interesting, because Harper clearly established himself as the better of the two in the battle with Stevenson for the 5th spot in our top five nationally in the Class of 2000.  However, Stevenson had more points as he went for 30, while Harper had 22 of his own.  The big difference is that Stevenson is just more under control.  For all the scores and highlights, plus our ranking of the top 80 players from the tournament, click on Slam Dunk to the Beach.

Thursday, December 30, 1999

It was no surprise that Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA beat Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK, 59-46, to advance to the finals of the Slam Dunk to the Beach National Tournament in Lewes, DE.   But it was a big surprise that Booker T. Washington was ahead 37-34 at the end of the third quarter.  It was at that point that 6'9 Eddie Griffin did what great players do - take over the game.  He finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks, but he sill hasn't come close to putting together more than some spurts here and there.  The leading scorers for Booker T. Washington were 6'5 Mathew Berry and 6'5 Marcus Edwards with 10 points apiece, but don't let their lack of scoring deceive you.  Booker T. Washington only scored 35 points in a win against Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC night before last and last night had 37 points at the end of three quarters and were only a quarter away from the championship game.  Obviously the uglier the game, the better their chances.  In the other semi-final game Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ jumped out early to a surprising 10 point lead.  By halftime Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX had taken come back and taken the lead, 36-34.   However, the tide turned again and St Patrick led most of the second half, which is a testament to Kevin Boyle, who has proved that he belongs among the very elite high school coaches in the nation after his team's performance in this tournament.   It was nip and tuck at the end, but Willowridge was able to survive 63-62, as they advanced to the finals tomorrow night against Roman Catholic. And the guys who came up big in the game were also a surprise.  The leading scorer for Willowridge was 6'7 Ivan McFarlan with 28 points, while 6'1 Walter Price finished with 22 points for St. Patrick.  Earlier in the day, Louisville (Ballard) KY beat Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 90-79, but the big story of the game was the phenomenal performance by 6'3 DeShawn Anderson, who scored 37 points.  Anderson, who is a phenomenal athlete, had some sensational dunks, but it was his 7-13 3-point shooting that had everybody talking. The leading scorer for Ballard was 6'6 Cedric Knight with 17 points, but it wasn't one of their better efforts.  Ballard will play Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC, which also won earlier today in an ugly game against Columbia (Keenan) SC, 47-46.  By far away the best player in the game was 6'5 Jerome Harper, who scored 20 points.   However, Harper was unable to get his teammates involved like he did in the opening round game two nights ago against Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA.  The only other player to score in double digits was 6'8 Tony Simmons for Seventy-First. 

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

Forget about our Question of the Day from yesterday and forget about Dave Krider's rankings in the USA Today.   The best team we're seen this winter is Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, which pulled off a major upset last night by knocking off Louisville (Ballard) KY, 76-73.   Everybody already knows about 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford and 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing, but the star last night for Willowridge was 6'3 Jr Kenny Taylor, who scored 27 points and hit a number of big 3-pointers last night.  He provides the perfect complement to Ford, Ewing, and 6'7 Ivan McFarlan, who takes care of business inside, with his excellent 3-point shooting, good ballhandling, and ability to thrive in transition.  As a matter of fact, the entire Willowridge team thrives in transition.   Not only did they beat a great Ballard team at their own game, but they also remind us of Ballard a year ago, because most of Willowridge's key players are juniors.   Which means they will be that much better next year.  And if they can duplicate what they did last night in the semi-finals tonight against Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and in the championship tomorrow night against the winner of Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA versus Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK, which will be decided later tonight, Willowridge should get serious consideration as the #1 team in the nation.   And we can say that, because we've seen a number of the top teams in the nation, like Ballard, Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, and Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and we have a pretty good idea what Lakewood (Artesia) CA, New York (Rice) NY, and West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ are like, because we've seen all their players in AAU ball during the summer and fall.  Getting back to the game last night, Willowridge jumped out, 11-4, early against Ballard, but that didn't last long as Willowridge was only up one at the end of the first quarter and by half-time Ballard was out in front 45-41.  At that point Ewing and Ford had 12 of Willowridge's 19 turnovers and Ballard was shooting 63% from the field.  However, all that changed in the second half, as Willowridge's guards committed only three turnovers and Ballard cooled off, hitting only 9-27 field goals.   Ballard was still up 59-58 at the end of the third quarter, but late in the game Willowridge had the momentum and every time Ballard got close or tied the game, Willowridge answered.  Ford had eight turnovers for the game, but he also had nine assists and he created all kinds of havoc defensively.  But that doesn't even begin to tell the story, because Ford is as quick a guard as we've ever seen at the high school level with or without the ball.  He can shoot the three and is virtually unstoppable going to the hole, but his real value is his unselfishness and ability to hit the open man.  And if he continues to play like he did in the second half last night, he will get serious consideration for our top five nationally in the junior class.  Stepping up for Ballard was 6'9Jr Brandon Bender with 22 points and 14 rebounds, but Ballard's other two inside guys - 6'6 Cedric Knight and 6'8 Mac Wilkinson - weren't quick enough to handle Willowridge's relentless pressure and tremendous quickness, as was evident by the fact they only had three rebounds apiece.   Wilkinson did have 16 points and 6'1 Jr Adam Chiles chipped in with 13 points, but Ballard's guards - Chiles (five turnovers), 5'10 Spencer Graeter (six turnovers), 5'10 Jr Greg Caudell (1 turnover), 6'1 Jr Antwan Sartin (three turnovers), and 5'10 Soph David Bryant (three turnovers) combined for 18 turnovers and as a team Ballard didn't hit a 3-point shot in the second half, as they went 2-8 for the game.  But make no mistake about it, Ballard is a great team and so is Willowridge.  Last night Willowridge was just better down the stretch.  In the other quarterfinal game late last night, Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA held on against Columbia (Keenan) SC to win, 72-67, thanks primarily from to the efforts of 6'5 Jerome Harper.  Harper had 19 points, but just as important he made his teammates better, as four other players on Keenan scored between nine and 15 points.  Roman Catholic was led by 6'9 Eddie Griffin, who finished with 20 points and 21 rebounds, but with the expection of several incredible dunks, it was an average night for the #1 senior in the nation, as he hit only 10-19 of his field goals and blocked only three shots.  For all the result, plus rankings and comments on the top players in the tournament, click on Slam Dunk to the Beach1999.

A number of people in the business have told us that 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, who was terrific earlier in the day yesterday, as he scored 23 of his team's 34 points yesterday, has committed to Stanford.  That is incorrect!  As a matter of fact, we think Stanford is now a distant third on his list.  We still think Brigham Young is the favorite, but one of Meads' best friends is 6'1 Marc Jackson from Salt Lake (Olympus) UT.  That's important  made a verbal commitment within the last week to the University of Utah and the word we're getting is that might be enough to make him take another hard look at Utah.  The state of Utah always seems to produce more than its share of talented big guys and one to watch is 6'4 Brayden Bell.  Now 6'4 may not sound like it's all that big, but when you're only in 7th grade it is.  Right now he goes to Butler Junior High School in Salt Lake City, UT, but he's already pretty good and he's a potential 7-footer.  So remember where you heard about him first!

After watching 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford and 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing, both from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, last night against Louisville (Ballard) KY, we talked with the Willowridge coaches and got an early list of schools.  Ford and Ewing have always talked about the possibility of going together to the same school as a package, so it comes as no surprise that Kentucky is mentioned as the leader.  And what a perfect fit that would be, because Kentucky's two obvious needs are a great point guard and a good outside shooter.  Duke also is very high on their list, but that will depend upon whether they have the need. Remember, the Blue Devils signed 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, who ranks as the #1 point guard in the senior class nationally, and Jason Williams, who was the top ranked point guard a year ago, is already a freshman in the program.   Also high on their list are schools like North Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Michigan State, and Louisville.  We find it very interesting that Houston is not mentioned.  The Cougars have landed two excellent back-to-back recruiting classes, but apparently that's not why they're not on the list.  Apparently they just haven't shown the same interest that lot of the top programs in the nation have been showing.   However, there is still plenty of time for that to change, because they are still open. 

Tuesday, December 28, 1999

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Colgate has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'2 Mark Linebaugh from Annville (Annville-Cleona) PA and the timing couldn't be any better, because we saw him play earlier today at Slam Dunk to the Beach.  As a matter of fact, he had the game winning assist.  He also scored 18 points and was the best player on his team, which won the state championship in Group 2 in Pennsylvania. Sam Rines, Jr, who coaches 6'9 Taurence Johnson in AAU ball tells us that the reports that we got last week about Johnson going back to Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA were incorrect.  Rines says that Johnson is still at Glassboro (Faith Christian) NJ, where he plans to play the rest of the this season, as well as next season.  This is important, because next year he will be on our 5th year list.  However, that may depend upon his legal problems (he goes to trial in February as an accomplice to felony assault), which explains why nearly 70% of the people who responded to our Question of the Day last week said Johnson's next stop will be jail.  Hopefully that won't be the case! 

Our Mid-South Editor Editor Jim Rothman has fallen down on the stick when it comes to providing us with a list of possible candidates for the University of Memphis job, so we've gone in another direction.   At the top of the list of names we've come up with are former University of Massachusetts and New York Nets head coach John Calipari and UAB head coach Murry Bartow. Whether Calapari is a serious candidate remains to be seen, but Bartow this makes perfect sense, because his father, Gene Bartow, coached Memphis State to the NCAA Final Four in 1973.  Remember, the older Bartow, who is now the athletic director at UAB, had the nickname "Clean Gene," which might be just what the doctor ordered for program that longs to return to the glory of the 70's and 80's.  We also know that University of Kentucky assistant coach George Felton and Tulsa head coach Bill Self both will have interest in the job when the time comes and Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty and Arkansas assistant coach Mike Anderson are naturals for the job.   Obviously, nothing is going to happen until spring, but it's still fun to speculate.

So far the action at Slam Dunk to the Beach, Lewes, DE has not lived up to the billing, but all that should change later tonight, as Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX meets Louisville (Ballard) KY, which is currently #5 nationally in the USA Today's latest poll.  Willowridge is currently unranked nationally, but probably should be, because their backcourt is second to none with 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford and 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing, both of whom rank among the top 25 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'8 Ivan McFarlan, who signed early with Oklahoma State and is a top 100 senior nationally in his own right, is excellent inside.  As a matter of fact, the winner of this game will likely win the tournament.  But that doesn't mean that the other teams are going to role over and play dead.  The winner of this game will get Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which beat Fresno (Washington Union) CA in the only semi-finals game played last night.  And St. Patrick head coach Kevin Boyle appears to have a secret weapon of his own.  No, 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden isn't transferring to St. Pat's.  Instead, 6'9 Herve Lamizana has taken his game to another level.  Lamizana scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds last night and so far has been the best player in the entire tournament.  And if he duplicates this effort the next two nights, he might even get my consideration when I vote for the McDonald's All-American Team.  Also especially noteworthy was the performance last night by 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson, who had 29 points against St. Patrick.  However, the stats that tell the real story were Stevenson's 11-31 field goal percentage and 6-18 shooting form beyond the arc.  It appears to be either fest or famine for Stevenson and against great competition, it's tougher to get it done, when you shot selection is as wild as his is.  Still, he's an incredible talent!  On the other side of the bracket, Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK beat Fayetteville (71st) NC, 35-34, and right now 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA and 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC are squaring off.  Roman Catholic is currently up by 10 late in the first half, thanks to the outside shooting of 6'3 Michael Wild and the inside play of Griffin, which includes two incredible dunks. So Booker T. Washington should meet Roman Catholic tomorrow night and the winner of  Ballard versus Willowridge, which will be the last game played night, will meet in the other sem-final game, also tomorrow night.  Then, the two winners from tomorrow night will meet Thursday night for the championship. 

Monday, December 27, 1999

The best player last night at the Fifth Third Bank Kentucky Holiday Classic was 6'11 Jr David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, but he alone wasn't good enough to overcome Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, which won in the nightcap, 87-58.  Harrison scored scored 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked seven shots, and hit 11-13 field goals, but even more important he plays a lot harder than a number of the other outstanding big men we've seen recently in the junior class nationally, like 6'10 Jr Tony Key from Russellville (H.S.) KY, 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, and 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  And Harrison's recruiting situation is also very interesting.  A lot of folks think he'll end up at Vanderbilt, which is where his father is an assistant football coach.  While Harrison does have the Commodores on his list, along with Syracuse and USC, he says it's really between UCLA and Kentucky.  As a matter of fact, Harrison's cousin played for Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith when he was at Georgia and, as a result, Smith has been recruiting Harrison since he was in 7th grade.  Also playing extremely well in the nightcap was 6'5 Jr Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who had 20 points, but it was his teammate, 6'4 Peter Milligan, who might have been the biggest surprise of the day.  Mulligan signed early with Maryland-Baltimore County, but he's much better than that.  Not only was he unstoppable going to the hole , but he showed us a 3-point shot and the ability to dominate inside against bigger guys, as was evident by his nine rebounds.  The other big story of the day involved Key, who led Russellville to a shocking 88-87 over Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.  Obviously it was an upset to begin with, but it was shocking because PRP was up by 18 points early in the second quarter.  Key hit 10-13 field goals, scored 27 points, and had 11 rebounds, but he doesn't get position on the boards and he still needs to lose more weight.  However, we still have to give the edge to Key over Bender as the #1 ranked junior in the state of Kentucky.  Academics are still a  question, but Key says his early list includes UCLA, North Carolina, Syracuse, Florida, Connecticut, and Kentucky.  This is especially interesting, because we thought Louisville was the heavy favorite.  But when we specifically asked him about the Cardinals, he said no, that he wasn't interested in the Louisville.  The biggest disappointment of the day was 6'5 Blake Downing from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.  He did score 12 points and had nine rebounds, but his lack of athleticism was really evident.  He also didn't get to do the things out on the perimeter that we'd seen earlier.  As a result, it looks like we missed big time on this one.  However, 5'5 Keyonn Tutt from Pleasure Ridge Park (H.S.) KY made up for it, as he proved that he deserves some lower Division I looks.  Not only did he shoot the lights, as he hit 6-14 3-pointers, but he also is a jet in transition and a terror on defense.  Also last night, the versatile 6'5 Matt Heissenbuttel scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as Lexington (Catholic) KY beat Hindman (Knott County Central) KY, 106-55.  In the only afternoon game we saw yesterday, Limestone (Washington College) TN beat Bowling (Greenwood) KY, 77-58, but it was an ugly game.  The leading scorer was 6'3 Jr Alexander Harper was the leading scorer for Washington College with 19 points, but 6'9 Andre Scott, who had 16 points, also has to be mentioned.  So does 6'10 Jr  Mustafa Elsayyad, who is still raw offensively, but his 13 rebounds and two blocks were more than enough to intrigue several college coaches. 

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the big story yesterday at Slam Dunk to the Beach was the 60-54 upset by Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA over Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, which featured 6'9 Jr Jawod Williams, who is supposed to be the best player to come out of Ohio since Samaki Walker.   6'11 Soph Ted Skuchas only scored four points for Germantown Academy, but 6'5 Matt Kauderer, 6'4 Soph Matt Walsh, and 6'6 Soph Lee Melchionni all played extremely well, as they combined for 43 points.  Rubin tells us that best individual performances of the day were turned in by 6'4 Brian Polk from Georgetown (Sussex Tech) DE, who had 36 points and 14 rebounds; 6'4 Tony Washam from Hockessin (Sanford Prep) DE, who had 28 points on 12-19 field goals' 6'4 Juan Rozier from Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ, who had 26 points, and 12 rebounds; and 6'3 Marcus McNeal from Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ, who had 24 points and eight assists.   Upon arriving at Slam Dunk to the Beach today after driving all night last night from Lexington, KY, we talked with Kensington (Newport Prep) MD head coach Chris Chaney and he tells us that the latest list for his star player - 6'7 Jr James White - includes North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Florida, Kansas, and Connecticut.  To get all the results, through the end of the second day of action, click on Slam Dunk to the Beach.

Sunday, December 26, 1999

The six days between Christmas and New Year's is always one of the busiest times of the year due to the numerous holiday tournaments and we wish we could attend them all.  But obviously that's impossible, so we always have to make some very difficult choices.  This year we will be at the Fifth Third Bank Kentucky Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, KY, which begins today with Lexington (Lafayette) KY tipping off against Maysville (St. Patrick) KY at 10:30 AM.  Then, at noon it will be Cynthiana (Harrison County) KY versus Hazard (Perry County Central) KY, at 1:30 Newport (Central Catholic) KY will meet Harlan (H.S.) KY, and at 3:00 PM Limestone (Washington College) TN will play Bowling Green (Greenwood) KY.  The evening session will begin with Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY versus Russellville (H.S.) KY at 6:00 PM, followed by Lexington (Catholic) KY versus Hindman (Knott County Central) KY at 7:30 PM and Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY versus Brentwood (Academy) TN at 9:00 PM.   Tomorrows lineup at the Fifth Third Bank Kentucky Holiday Classic includes Middle Island (Longwood) NY against the winner of Cynthiana (Harrison County) KY versus Hazard (Perry County Central) KY at 3:00 PM, Louisville (Male) KY will play the winner of Newport (Central Catholic) KY versus Harlan (H.S.) KY at 6:00 PM, Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY will face the winner of Bowling Green (Greenwood) KY versus Limestone (Washington College) TN at 7:30 PM, and Georgetown (Scott County) KY will take on the winner of the Lexington (Lafayette) KY versus Maysville (St. Patrick) KY at 9:00 PM.  However, by the time those games start tomorrow, we will be long gone to Lewes, DE, where we plan to catch a good part of the second day of Slam Dunk to the Beach, which promises to be the best high school tournament in the nation.  We also have the cellular phone number of John Rhodes, who is the executive director of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC, so we should be able to stay on top of what happens there as well.   So stay tuned!

Saturday, December 25, 1999

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the Ohio State High School Athletic Association has declared 6'5 Soph Alex   Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, who is ranked #15 in the state among sophomores, and 6'5 Jr Sam Villegas from Lima (Senior) OH, who is ranked #17 in the state among juniors,  both of whom are natives of Puerto Rico, eligible to play beginning January 1, 2000.  And speaking of foreign exchange students from Ohio, Johnson also tells us that 6'10 Robertas Javtokas from Akron (St. Vincent-St.Mary) OH has left the University of Arizona.  Johnson says that he may return to Lituania, where he would turn professional, or transfer somewhere closer to his legal guardian Bob Kelly, who lives in Medina, OH.  The University of Pittsburgh may be a possibility, because that's where Javtokas' former teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary - 6'8 Donatas Vavackas - is currently a freshman.

For the college basketball fan the NCAA Final Four always has that Christmas-like festival atmosphere and is truly one of the best times of the year, so it is fitting that today our Question of the Day is what is the greatest college basketball team of all time? To qualify for this, the team's success has to span several seasons and at least one and in most cases two or three NCAA Championships are necessary. We thought about the San Francisco teams, which won the NCAA Championship in both 1955 and 1956, with Bill Russell.  And of course there were the great Cincinnati and Ohio State teams in the late 50's and early 60's. North Carolina with James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and Michael Jordan was exceptional in the early 80's, the Georgetown teams in the early 80's with Patrick Ewing deserve to be mentioned, so do the UNLV teams with Larry Johnson in 1990 and 1991, and Kentucky had a great run under Rick Pitino during the mid-90's. However, we settled on the Kentucky era when Adolph Rupp won the NCAA championship in 1948, 1949, and 1951; the Lew Alcindor days when UCLA won three consecutive NCAA Championships in 1967, 1968, and 1969; the Bill Walton run when UCLA won 88 consecutive games, two consecutive NCAA Championships in 1972 and 1973, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four only to lose to N.C. State and David Thompson in overtime in 1974; the 1975 and 1976 Indiana teams, which lost only one game in two seasons with Kent Benson, Scott May, and Quin Buckner; and the Dukes team, which won lost to UNLV in 1990, but won the next two NCAA Titles in 1991 and 1992 with Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, and Grant Hill.

Friday, December 24, 1999

The setting was ripe for an upset in the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, as 5'5 David Christ and 6'2 Jose Caraballo combined for three 3-pointers to give Miami (Northwest Christian) FL an early 13-5 lead over Louisville (Ballard) KY in the championship game.  Ballard closed the gap to 20-16 at the end of the first quarter, but by halftime it looked like the Bruins were in big trouble, as Northwestern Christian was shooting the lights out (Christ was 4-4 and Caraballo was 3-7 from beyond the arc) and 6'3 Eddie Starks was consistently handling the Ballard press, as well as staying out of foul trouble.  So at the intermission, with Northwest Christian up, 45-37, it was time to see what Ballard was really made of.  Most teams would have packed their tents and gone home, but in the third quarter Ballard proved that it has the makings of a great team.  Northwest Christian finally cooled off and Ballard's relentless pressure was starting to pay off, as they cut the lead to one with 5:41 left in the third quarter.  A minute later Ballard took the lead for good, 53-51.  At that point Ballard started getting the breaks and Northwest Christian looked tired.   So just like we predicted yesterday in the Members Section, Northwest Christian was good enough to make things interesting for a while, but in a 32 minute game, Ballard was just too talented, too deep, and too good.  However, in this game there really were no losers.  And as Northwest Christian head coach Anthony Pujol, who said a few words to the crowd when the game over, pointed out, the real winners were the fans in attendance at the City of Palms Classic.  Not only had they witnessed a great game, but the participants were class acts in every way, which is so refreshing in this day and age.  So it was only fitting that 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender, who was the leading scorer, along with 6'1 Jr Adam Chiles, for Ballard, was the first person to go over and huge Starks when he was selected tournament MVP.  As a matter of fact, the selection committee for the all-tournament team of which we were apart picked Starks the MVP by  unanimous vote, despite the fact that he only hit 6-16 field goals, including 0-4  3-pointers, en route to 19 points and nine rebounds in the championship game.  However, Starks was the heart and sole of his team.  He was the glue that held them together.  He was the point guard on offense and the center on defense.  They wouldn't have won a game in the tournament without him and he was the most important player on the court for either team in every game.  The leading scorer for Northwest Christian was 6'2 Jose Carabello with 33 points.   Carabello, who was 7-13 from beyond the arc, hits 3-pointers like most players shoot layups, but right now only Stetson, Florida Southern, and Jacksonville are recruiting him.  Which means he might be the biggest sleeper in Florida since Tracy McGrady.  And based on his performance in this tournament we have to agree with Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat, who says he'd take Carabello over 6'3 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ, who signed with Miami-FL during the fall signing period.  Carabello needs strength, but he's lightning quick and he's a tremendous competitor.  Also chipping with 15 points for Northwester Christian was Christ, but we also have to mention 5'10 Kenny Major and 6'1 Robert Thompson, who were two of the best role players in the tournament.  Ballard also had several role players step, including 5'10 Jr Greg Caudell, who helped tire out Starks and who it several big 3-point shots in the second half, and 6'1 Jr Antwan Sartin, who finished with 11 points.   And 6'8 Mac Wilkinson had his best game of the tournament, which brings us to our next very interesting point.  Can you believe that Wilkinson and 6'6 Cedric Knight are almost totally being overlooked.  They are both a little undersized for their position at the big time level, but they are both winners and they're both pretty good players!  In the third place game earlier in the evening Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA redeemed itself with a 79-70 victory over Boston (English) MA, but the game really wasn't that close, as Mater Dei was up 61- 42 at the end of the third quarter and shot an impressive 66% from the field for the game.  6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson finally missed a couple of shots, as he only hit 6-8 field goals en route to 16 points, but it was his 11 rebounds and nine blocks that tell the real story.   However, even more impressive was 6'0 Steve Scoggin, who scored 26 points and hit 4-6 from 3-point land, which is why he landed on the all-tournament team.   Others named to the all-tournament team, which was expanded to 13, were Sampson, Starks, Carraballo, Christ, Bender, Chiles, 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 6'6 John Spivey from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'6 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Jr Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'4 Raymond Noiles from Boston (English) MA, and 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL.  Why did we know that somehow someway Wallace, who was actually the last player named to the team, would make the all-tournament team?  In fairness to Wallace, he was the assist leader for the tournament, but he also led the tournament in turnovers and he was not place to be found among the leading scorers.  No doubt he's a phenomenal athlete and a tremendous dunker, but he's not a great basketball player.  Not yet anyway!   Which is why we will probably drop him back to #6 on our national player list and move 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA back into the top five.  Earlier in the day, Slidell (Salmen) LA beat Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL for fifth place, 74-63, and Lilburn (Berkmar) GA knocked off Miami (South Miami) FL, 82-72, in the consolation bracket championship.

Thursday, December 23, 1999

Louisville (Ballard) KY did indeed win the other semi-final game late last night, 103-70, over Boston (English) MA, but that really doesn't begin to tell story of how well the Bruins have played all week at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL.   Ballard is averaging 98.7 ppg in three games and last night they shot 69% (40-58) from the field.  And if that weren't enough, three of the top four leaders  - 6'1 Jr Adam Chiles (75%), 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender (62%), and 6'6 Cedric Knight (62%) - in field goal percentage in the tournament are from Ballard.  So the stage has been set for what could be a great matchup night between Ballard and Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, but it will only be close as long as the Eagles can keep their star 6'3 Eddie Starks out of foul trouble.  They also need to continue shoot the lights out, which is something they've been doing for three games now, as they have hit 34-74 3-point field goal attempts and knocked off two nationally ranked teams - Denver (East) CO and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  While Northwest Christian is great in transition, their best chance tonight might be to shorten the game.  We're not suggesting a total stall, but the four-corners offense can be a heck of an offense, especially when you're got guards as good as Northwestern Christian's Starks, 6'2 Jose Carabello and 5'5 David Christ.  The third place game also could be a great matchup, because Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight tells us that his tremendous freshmen 6'7 Harrison Schaen will play tonight.   Schaen, who ranks among the top five freshmen in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, has been sick for the last week and, as a result, has only played one minute so far in the tournament.  This could be huge, because Schaen so multi-dimensional, which could solve a lot of problems both inside and outside for Mater Dei.  McKnight also points out that 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson has only gotten nine shots in the last two games (he's a perfect 9-9).  As a matter of fact,  Sampson is the leading field goals shooter in the tournament, as he's hit 90% from the field.  However, if we had to call, it we still have to give Boston (English) MA a slight edge, because they are so much tougher than Mater Dei.  Forget about being 30 points down last night - they were still playing every possession like it was the final minute in a two point game.  Coming up very shortly, Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL will meet Slidell (Salmen) LA in the 5th Place Game.  And just over, Lilburn (Berkmar) GA has knocked off Miami (South Miami) FL in the Consolation Final, 82-72.  Once again 6'6 John Spivey stepped up big for Miami (South Miami) FL, as he scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, which means he ranks among the leaders in both scoring and rebounding for the tournament.  Obviously things could change between now and the end of the day, but if we had to pick the All-Tournament team right now, we would vote for Starks and Childs as co-MVP's.  We also would pick three others from the two teams in the championship game.  The candidates are Knight, Bender, Carabello, and Christ, unless somebody else really steps up tonight and is totally ridiculous.  We also have to include 6'6 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA.  His team only played three games, but he was the leading scorer (27.3 ppg) and leading rebounder in the tournament (12.7 rpg).   Other locks on the 11-man team are Spivey and 6'1 Chris Duhon, who was second in both scoring (25. ppg) and assists (5.0 apg) head into the final day.   After that it gets harder.   Let's go with one player each from both the third place teams - Sampson from Mater Dei and 6'4 Raymond Noiles from Boston (English) MA.  We also have to go with 6'5 Jr Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, who has gotten it done both inside and outside for Berkmar all week, as is evident by the fact that he ranks among the top five in the tournament in both scoring and rebounding.  The final spot is still up for grabs, but right now we're leaning towards 6'5 Jr Kelvin Brown from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, who also ranks among among the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding.  Last year we thought it was a crime that Donnell Harvey was left off the all-tournament team, but this year 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL won't get our vote.  As a matter fact, the only award we think he deserves is biggest disappointment of the tournament.

Earlier this week we promised you our ranking of the top seniors nationally by position and you can now get each list by clicking on Rankings of the Top Players Nationally. Obviously things change in our business on a daily basis, so we've already moved 6'7 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, who was both the leading scorer and rebounder at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic, way up on our list of Power Forwards.  And three other players - 6'4 Raymond Noiles from Boston (English) MA, 6'2 Jose Carabello from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, and 6'6 John Spivey from Miami (South Miami) FL - have been added to our list of the top 350 seniors nationally based on their performances and potential in this tournament.  However, don't look for that list to finished until after the first of the year.  And the same holds true for our list of the top prep school players.

Among the players we've talked with at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic are 6'5 Jr Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA and 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and we got an early list of schools for both players.  Williams, who is also an excellent student, has Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Duke, Cincinnati, Miami-FL, Vanderbilt, and Michigan on his list.  Sampson says that North Carolina is the leader over schools like Arizona, UCLA, Kansas and Virginia, which is interesting, because Sampson is the nephew of former Virginia All-American Ralph Sampson.   Iona, Southern Illinois, and Georgetown College are showing interest in 6'6 Cedric Knight from Louisville (Ballard) KY, who ranks among #32 power forward nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but may have to move up even further after his performance in this tournament.  Another player who is getting little or no interest, but should based on his performance in this tournament, is 6'3 Eric Dobson from Immokalee (H.S.) FL.  Dobson is a big time athlete and he's a streaky outside shooter and a great penetrator.  However, he's wild and out of control, plus he's a terrific football player.  However, the word is he wants to play basketball, so mid-majors looking for an athletic 2-guard with grades and a great upside should take note.

Wednesday, December 22, 1999

As expected, it was the best game so far in the City of Palms Classic.  And as expected, that New York City toughness was the major difference in the game.  That's right!  6'3 Eddie Starks is originally from the East Side of Harlem near Rice High School and he plays like it.   So does the rest of the Miami (Northwest Christian) FL team, which didn't take any prisoners, as they beat Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 72-56.  Northwest Christian jumped out to a 17-12 led at the end of the 1st quarter and led 29-23 at halftime.  Then Starks, who was playing center on defense and running the show on offense, took over, as he nailed three straight 3-pointers to make it 49-36 with 1:53 left in the third quarter.   How good is Starks?  He gets our vote as the best player here based on performance!  You could see the fire in his eyes.  There was no way he was going to let his team lose, despite the fact his team had nobody over 6'3 and Mater Dei was ranked among the top 10 nationally.  And then he got in foul trouble.  But instead of allowing Mater Dei to make a comeback, Northwest Christian extended the lead to 17 at the end of the third quarter and went on to coast to a 72-56 victory.  Also lighting it up for Miami (Northwestern) FL was 6'2 Jose Carabello and 5'5 David Christ.  Starks had 20 points, Carabello had 21 points, and Christ had 15 points, as he hit 4-5 3-pointers and single-handedly broke Mater Dei's back on more than one occasion.  The leading scorer for Mater Dei was 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson with 18 points.  Chipping in with 12 points was 6'0 Steve Scoggin, but 6'5 Cedric Bozeman was amazingly quiet with only four points and one assist.  He also had four turnovers.   Northwest Christian will meet the winner between Boston (English) MA and Louisville (Ballard) KY, which will be Ballard, in the second semi-final game.  Ballard jumped out to a 8-2 lead and never looked back, as the Bruins were up 32-12 at the end of the first quarter and 60-30 at halftime. And it appears that 6'1 Jr Adam Chiles simply picked up where he left off yesterday.  At halftime, Childes was Ballard's leading scorer 14 points.  Also chipping in with nine points apiece were 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender and 5'10 Soph David Bryant, while 6'6 Cedric Knight and 6'8 Mac Wilkinson each added eight apieice.   Earlier today Ft. Lauderadale (Dillard) FL beat Jacksonville (Ribault) FL, 74-52; Slidell (Salmen) LA beat Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 77-73; Lilburn (Berkmar) GA beat Denver (East) CO, 77-67; and Miami (South Miami) FL beat Camden (H.S.) NJ 65-55.  Among of the top performers were 6'6 John Spivey, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds versus Camden; 6'0 Jr Adrian Border from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, who was 10-11 from the field, as he went for 25 points versus Denver (East) CO;  6'3 Troy Smith and 6'1 Chris Duhon, who combined for 49 against Williamsport (H.S.) PA; and 6'5 Jr Kelvin Brown from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.  Also deserving special mention is 6'4 Jerome Stamper from Jacksonville (Ribault) FL.  We don't know what position Stamper plays, but he's such a competitor and due to his quickness to the basket, he always seems to draw more than his share of fouls.  As a matter of fact, he hit 12-17 free throws, which accounted for over half of his 23 points.  Last, but not least, was the best player of the day, except for Starks, 6'7 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, who already was the second leading scorer and leading rebounder in the tournament averaging 24.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg heading into today's game.   This afternoon he had 34 points and 12 rebounds, but even more important, he's beginning to look like an absolute steal for the University of Pittsburgh, which signed him early.

Last night Miami (Northwest Christian) FL held on to win, 81-70 against Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL and set up the semi-finals matchup tonight against Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA in the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers. FL.  It will be especially interesting to see how Mater Dei's guards handle Northwest Christian's relentless pressure.  Remember, 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman made an early commitment to UCLA in September, because they promised him they wouldn't recruit another point guard either this year or next year.   While UCLA appears to have put all their eggs in Bozeman's basket, we're not sure that he's enough of a pure point guard to walk in successfully replace Earl Watson when he graduates after next season. And most scouts feel that 6'0 Steve Scoggin is really a 2-guard with a point guard's size. Those questions may be answered tonight.   Another question mark is whether Northwest Christian will shoot like they did last night when they hit 24-45 field goals, including 13-31 3-pointers.  The best player for Northwest Christian is 6'3 Eddie Starks, but the last two nights Denver (East) CO and Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL  made adjustments and slowed him down.  However, that left other people open, which was especially evident last night, as 6'2 Jose Caraballo scored 33 points, which was the second highest one game total in the tournament after three days.  After three days of action, everybody in the tournament has played two games and at this point the leading scorer is 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA averaging 26.0 ppg, followed by Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA at 24.0 ppg, 6'5 Jr Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA at 22.5 ppg, 6'5 Jr James Pulliam from Camden (H.S.) NJ at 22.5 ppg, Caraballo with 21.5 ppg, 6'4 Raymond Noiles from Boston (English) MA at 20.0 ppg, and 6'3 Eric Dobson from Immokalee (H.S.) FL at 19.0 ppg, 5'11 Cleophus Morris from Denver (East) CO at 18.5 ppg, 6'4 Jr Earl Moore from Ft. Myers (Cypress Lake) FL at 18.0 ppg, and 6'5 Jr Ayyun Ali from Williamsport (H.S.) PA at 17.5 ppg.   The leading rebounder is Troutman with 13.0 rpg, but he's not a candidate for MVP honors, because his team lost to Boston (English) MA last night.  He's followed by 6'5 Raheim Lamb from Boston (English) MA at 11.0 rpg, Williams with 9.5 rpg, 6'8 Jr Steve Allen from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL with 9.5 rpg, and 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childlersburg (H.S.) AL with 9.5 rpg.  Wallace also is leading the tournament in assists with 6.5 apg.  However, he also is leading the turnovers.  Already today in the 11:15 AM game, Miami (South Miami) FL beat Camden (H.S.) NJ, 65-55, thanks to the efforts of 6'3 Jemel Davilla, who had 17 points and five assists.   The last several days Pulliam has picked up the scoring vacum created by the absence of 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner, but South Miami shut him down today with only six points.  Instead, 6'8 Roy Carmichael was the leading scorer with 14 points.  In the second game, which currently is progress, Lilburn (Beckmar) GA is up 32-21 mid-way through the second quarter.  We will have more on that later in the Members Section, as well as the results of the other consolation bracket and winners bracket games.  In the consolation bracket, it will be Williamsport (H.S.) PA versus Slidell (Salmen) LA game at 2:45 PM and the Jacksonville (Ribault) FL versus Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL game 4:45 PM and in the semi-finals Miami (Northwest Christian) FL will meet Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA at 7:00 PM and Boston (English) MA will face Louisville (Ballard) KY at 9:30 PM.  We think Northwest Christian will pull the upset, but if anybody beats Ballard in this tournament, it would be a major surprise.  As a matter of fact, Ballard appears to be as good as anybody in the country, except for maybe New York (Rice) NY.

Our Michigan Editor Steve Bell has been telling us for years that 6'0 Maurice Searight from Orchard Lake (St. Mary) MI is as
talented as any point guard in America. Tuesday night he showed why, as St. Mary's defense keyed a second-half comeback to beat Lansing (Waverly) MI, 77-65, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI.  Searight proved during the football season that he's the epitome of a big game player. Last night the combination of his athleticism and competitiveness were just too much again, as he  finished with 25 points, nine assists, and 10 rebounds. 6'3 Marcus Taylor, who ranks as the #4 senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, scored 26 points for Waverly.  Bell also tells us that a number of lesser-known players in the state are off to big starts, two weeks into the season.   6'5 junior two guard JaQuan Hart of Flint (Northern) MI has been overshadowed by teammate 6'6 Soph Matt Trannon and 6'4 Jr Kelvin Torbert and 6'5 Desmon Farmer, both of Flint (Northwestern) MI, but Hart is a top 50 junior in his own right. He's similar to Morris Peterson at the same age - he's physically underdeveloped, but Hart's a good athlete who can flat-out shoot the ball.   6'6 wing forward Thomas Dillard of Kalamazoo (MI) Central is leading the state in scoring. Always a smart, mid-range player, he's really opened his game up: Dillard drives aggressively, shoots the three, and
finishes the break as well as any player in Michigan not named Paulding or Torbert.   Detroit head coach Perry Watson's first West Michigan recruit, Dillard is a top 100 talent.  I've touted the senior class as one of the tallest ever, but the juniors
are strong in that department as well, thanks to the development of some Grand Rapids kids. Everyone knows the Benton Harbor duo of 6'9 Jr  Robert Whaley and 6'10 Jr Jeff Ferguson.  After them are a number of legitimate centers: 7'0 Jr Keith Westhouse of Grandville (Calvin Christian) MI, 6'10 Jr Steve Green of Macomb (Lutheran North) MI, 6'10 Jr Justin Ockerman of Garden City (MI) H.S., and 6'11 Jr Brandon Heemskerk from Grand Rapids (MI) Christian.

Dave Zuberer, the head coach of the Derek Smith All-Star's AAU program based in Louisville, KY, has seen all the games at the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Tournament in Fairdale, KY and he tells us that Bowling Green (H.S.) KY and Louisville (Male) KY are both absolutely loaded with good underclassmen and 6'5 Jr Josh Carrier is at the top of the list.  Here's how he ranks the top players in the tournament:
1. Josh Carrier, 6'5", 2G, Class of 2001, Bowling Green - great outside shooter...clutch shooter...has improved his ability to penetrate and score...olidified his Top-5 ranking in the junior class.
2. Larry O'Bannon, 6'4", WF, Class of 2001, Louisville Male - Great athlete...proved he score against big-time competition...very good on the baseline...needs to prove he can hit the outside shot.
3. Michael Haney, 6'5", WF, Class of  2001, Madisonville - not flashy, but very productive..., automatic inside of 15 feet...very smart and disciplined...best player from Madisonville since Travis Ford.
4. Tony Key, 6'10", C, Class of 2001, Russellville - Only played in two games...dominant rebounder and scorer around the basket...needs to improve post moves and interior defense.
5. Jermaine Burks, 6'3", WF, Class of 2000, Louisville Male - tremendous scorer...seemed to improve every game of the tournament...scored against big-time competition...great athlete and leaper.
* Don Rodgers, 5'11", PG, class of 2000, Bowling Green - as solid a point guard as there was in the tournament...doesn't score much, but is tough-nosed and understands his role...great leader and ball handler...most underrated player in the tournament.
* Brandon Wardlow, 6'0", 2G, class of 2001, Bowling Green - has improved a lot since last year...is a good 3-point shooter and finishes well in transition...had a great tournament performance.
* Terez Dewalt, 6'4", WF, class of 2001, Bowling Green - a warrior inside against bigger players...has a knack for finding the ball...great athlete and finisher in transition...very good defender...limited offense outside of the paint.
* Tyler Ray, 6'6", C, class of 2003, Bowling Green - Remember this kid's name!...great player for a freshman...good shot blocker
and rebounder... nice touch around the basket...one of the best freshman in the state.
* Tyler Zornes, 6'3", PG, class of 2000, Boyd County - most overrated player in the tournament - it was obvious that he had not faced as good of competition this year...very good passer...averages over 20 points, because he shoots every time he touches the ball.
* Maxie Stamps, 6'5", WF, class of 2000, Christian County - one of the best athletes in the tournament...solid player inside and out...good college prospect.
* James Booker, 6'0", PG, class of 2000, Louisville Manual -very solid guard...good outside shooter...very smart making decisions...should be a solid small college player.
* Rob King, 6'5", WF, class of 2000, Louisville Manual -a very good athlete...very intense player and rebounder...good defensive player...will be better at the college level...solid division 2 player.
* Brian Thornton, 6'8", PF, class of 2001, Louiville Manual - has improved greatly since the beginning of the season...good scorer around the basket...great rebounder and shot blocker...tremendous potential with improved quickness.
* Ed Robinson, 6'5", PF, class of 2000, Fairdale - good scorer around the basket...very strong and intense player...loses
composure occassionally...struggles against bigger players.
* Leroy Hickerson, 6'4", WF, class of 2000, Fairdale - one of the best athletes in the tournament...tremendous leaper...lots of
potential...good passer...definite juco player.
* Coric Riggs, 6'3", WF, class of 2001, Fairdale -established himself as one of the best juniors in Louisville...good leaper...
nice outside shot with the ability to penetrate...loads of potential.
* Johnny Mathis, 5'11", PG, class of 2002, Louisville Male -has taken the role as Male's best point guard...very good ball handler and passer...deceptive athlete...great in transition...one of the top sophomores in
the state.
* LeVar Carter, 6'5", PF, class of 2002, Louisville Male - very good athlete and shot blocker...tremendous potential...one of the top sophomores in the state.
* Mike Bush, 6'3", WF, class of 2003, Louisville Male - the best freshman in the state...great composure for his age...good offensive player...very strong for a freshman...gets better every game.
* Marlis Scott, 6'1", PG, class of 2000, Marion County - the best pure point guard in the tournament...good scorer and penetrater...passes the ball well...will take some possessions off occassionally...definite juco player.
* Teco Dickerson, 6'3", 2G, class of 2001, Russellville - great outside shooter...very good driving to the basket.
* Brandon Moore, 6'7", PF, class of 2001, Louisville St. Xavier - the most disappointing player of the tournament...has not improved since he was an 8th grader...needs to improve his desire and work ethic...much untapped potential.
* Chris Kelly, 6'3", WF, class of 2000, Louisville St. Xavier - solid player...doesn't make mistakes...good offensive ability...will be solid small college player.
* Brandon Brown, 5'6", PG, class of 2000, Shelby County - good playmaker and ballhandler...needs to improve shot selection...very streaky shooter...great passer.
* Daniel Clark, 6'2", 2G, class of 2000, Shelby County - the human highlight film of the tournament...by far the best leaper in the tournament...great dunker...limited basketball ability.
* Tony Green, 6'6", PF, class of 2000, Shelby County -can be as good as he wants...doesn't play with intensity...very good around the basket...needs to improve desire and work ethic.
* Rynell Baily, 6'4", WF, class of 2000, Shelby County - very good athlete...intense competitor on both ends...will be a solid small college player.

Tuesday, December 21, 1999

If the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic ended tonight, the our choice for MVP honors might be 6'4 Raymond Noiles from Boston (English) MA.  For the second consecutive day he stepped up and was the best player on the court.  Not only does he make big shots and play excellent defense, but he also is a relentless warrior and a total winner.  And he might be one of the best kept secrets in the nation.  Stony Brook, Illinois-Chicago, Fairfield, and Rider have all shown interest and Michigan State has called twice, but he shoots will well enough and is athletic enough to warrant to be a great role player at the big time athlete.  Yesterday he had 25 points versus Immokalee (H.S.) FL and tonight he scored 15 points and played a major role, as Boston (English) MA beat Slidell (Salmen) LA, 81-60, to advance into the semi-finals tomorrow night against Louisville (Ballard) KY.   Speaking of Ballard, the big gun wasn't 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender.   Instead, the guy who really stepped up was 6'2 Jr Adam Chiles, who scored 23 points.   He was especially effective driving into the lane, where he pulled up and hit the 15 jumper.  We're not sure what position Chiles plays, because he doesn't look for the 3-point shot and he isn't a pure point guard, but he was almost flawless, as he hit 8-9 field goals, had four assists, and made big basket after big basket, as Ballard coasted to a 91-72 win over Williamsport (H.S.) PA.  Also playing extremely well in the second was Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, which jumped out to a 45-28 halftime lead against Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, as 6'3 Eddie Starks, 6'2 Jose Caraballo, and 5'5 David Christ combined for nine 3-pointers in the first half.  Northwest Christian is extremely well coached, they played extremely hard, and they are capable of running you right out of the gym, which should make tomorrow night's game against Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA extremely interesting.  If Mater Dei plays like it did yesterday or isn't able to control the tempo, we could have a major upset on our hands.   In the consolation games earlier today Denver (East) CO murdered Boca Raton (Pope John Paul II) FL, 103-51; Miami (South Miami) FL beat Childersburg (H.S.) AL, 70-58; and Lilburn (Berkmar) GA beat Immokalee (H.S.) FL, 71-41.  Especially noteworth was the performance by 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL.  He 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks, but that doesn't tell the complete story.  He hit 5-15 field goals, including 1-8 from beyond the arc, had seven turnovers, and was a total none factor in the first half.  Wallace wasn't the only elite player who couldn't seem to find the mark.  As a matter of fact, we've never seen 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA shoot in any worse, as he connected on only 5-17 field goals, including 2-8 from 3-point land. 

Late last week we reported in the Members Section that we had gotten unconfirmed reports about 5'6 Avery Queen running into off the court problems at the Winchendon (School) MA, but it wasn't until yesterday that we got it confirmed via Matt Borrello of the All-Star Report.  Apparently Queen has been kicked out of school and has returned to Moreno Valley (H.S.) CA, where he plans to finish the rest of the year.   Borrello also is confirming that 7'0 Rashid Hardwick has left Winchendon (School) MA and has returned home to Freeport (H.S.) NY, where will attempt to get his G.E.D. and  then go the junior college route.  It looks like 6'9 Taurence Johnson continues to change schools like most people change socks.   Remember, he started the fall at Williamsport (H.S.) PA, but got expelled in September.  Originally he planned to enroll at Williamsport (Loyalsock) PA.   Then, he was supposed to be going to Grove City (George Jr. Republic) PA, followed by Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, junior college, and Glassboro (Christian) NJ, which is where he was last week.  However, now it looks like he's back at Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  And that's our Question of the Day, where will Johnson end up next? 

Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report probably already has it, but the rest of us have been in the gym and/or traveling the last four or five days, so only now are we finding out about 6'5 Jr Roger Powell from Joliet (Township) IL, who ranks #10 in the state of Illinois and among our top 100 nationally, making an early commitment to the University of Illinois.  We also have run across a number of other interesting items we've run across at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic, like what ever happened to former Miami (Senior) FL head coach Frank Martin.  Did you know that he's now the head coach at Miami (Booker T. Washington) FL, but you won't hear about them for another year or two, because currently the school is making the transition from being a middle school to a high school and, as a result, the oldest class in the school is now the group of 9th graders, which he is currently coaching.  However, it's only a matter of time before Martin turns this school into a national power.  As a matter of fact, Booker T. Washington is one of only two schools that has a major show deal with NIKE. Speaking of the top players in Miami, 6'2 Ed Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL tells us that his list now includes Rutgers, Massachusetts, Miami-FL, Connecticut, and St. John's.   However, we'd be surprised if Starks picks either of the last two, because they both signed a great guard from New York City during the fall signing period.

Our buddy 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY says his list now includes Louisville, N.C. State, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Alabama. Kansas, Florida, Duke, and Virginia, but he's more concerned about where he is in the rankings.  In the game program at the City of Palms Classic 6'4 Stan King from Denver (East) CO was listed as a junior, but his high school coach tells us that is not correct.  However, King, who hasn't made it academically will likely go to Winchendon (School) MA, if he doesn't qualify.  If he does, Baylor and Massachusetts appear to be the leaders.  Utah and Gonzaga are the schools being mentioned by 6'0 Steve Scoggin from Santa Ana Mater (Dei) CA, but Fairfield is trying to making a push.  We have confirmed that 6'5 Soph Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL, who is the the top sophomore in the state of Florida, as well as a top five player in his class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, will be playing for EBO-EA Sports next summer.  We also understand that his  two early favorites for college are Florida and Kentucky.  Apparently he really likes Gators head coach Billy Donovan, but who doesn't like Billy the Kid?  Villanova, Connecticut, Miami-FL, Louisville, Towson, and Cincinnati make up the wish list for 6'3 Jemel Davila from Miami (South Miami) FL, but our guess is he will sign with a school not currently being mentioned. 

Monday, December 20, 1999

In the four first round games played earlier today at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, Miami (Northwest) Christian) FL stunned nationally ranked Denver (East) CO, 80-49; Boston (English) MA beat Immokalee (H.S.) FL, 67-51; Williamsport (H.S.) PA beat Childersburg (H.S.) AL, 74-62; and Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL beat Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 76-66.  Also today Camden (H.S.) NJ beat Ft. Myers (Cypress Lake) FL, 72-65, in a consolation game and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA beat Jacksonville (Ribault) FL, 50-48, in the only quarterfinal game of the day. While 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'3 Eric Dobson from Immokalee (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Jerome Stamper from Jacksonville (Ribault) FL, 6'7 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, and 6'5 Jr Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA all turned in performances that are worth mentioning, the bigger story of the day was who didn't play well and who was missing in action.  At the top of the list was 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, who had 15 points and seven rebounds.  But his six turnovers and 5-13 field goal shooting, including 0-5 from beyond the arc, were very disappointing, especially when one remembers he is considered by many to be the national player-of-the-year.  Not in this country!  And not by me!  Granted he didn't have much of a supporting cast, but finding a way to overcome poor coaching and lack of support is the sign of a great player.  The best example was Kevin Garnett as a junior in high school at Mauldin (H.S.) SC in the Beach Ball Classic.  Not only did he not have any help, but he also had to overcome one of the worst high school coaches I've ever seen.  Still, when asked who the best high school player he's ever seen, Bill Cronauer of the B/C Scouting Service, who has covered high school basketball dating back to the early 1960's, at the time said, "I might be watching him (Garnett)."  Before injuries killed his career, Randy Livingston not only made bad players around him better, but he actually beat some pretty good teams, including whoever we happened to see him against one night in Raleigh, NC.  Another major disappointment was 6'5 Raheim Lamb from Boston (English) MA, who was supposed to have been so improved, according to a number of scouts who have seen him recently in New England.  However, his only point of the game came at the charity stripe.  He did have 10 rebounds, but six of them were at the offensive end, many of which were his own misses.  Even worse was 6'4 Stan King from Denver (East) CO.  He did have nine points, but he let his team get beat by 31 points.  And of course there was the entire Mater Dei team, which escaped with their lives against Ribault.  The only player who was in double digits was 6'0 Steve Scoggin with 17 points, but he was only 5-14 from the field and only 3-6 from the free throw line, which is very uncharacteristic of this combo guard who is currently being recruited by Utah and Gonzaga.  And the stats tell even more of the story, as 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson and 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman both scored only two baskets apiece, as they combined for a grand total of 14 points.  And the missing in action team, which includes 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 5'11 Jr Charles Frederick from Boca Raton (Pope John Paul II) FL, 6'9 Taurance Johnson formerly of Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 6'6 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ, and 6'7 Frosh Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, John "Pony Tail" Reineke," who is regarded by many as the #1 scout in the state of Florida, and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ head coach Kevin Boyle, whose team previously had participated in this tournament for years, will likely have more talent the all-tournament team.  Even the players who were mentioned above among the better players of the day didn't impress us all that much.  Starks had 16 points, but he also had six turnovers and wasn't consistent throughout the entire game.  Dobson had 22 points, but this big time athlete has never seen a shot he would take, as was evident by his 2-11 shooting from beyond the arc.  Stamper's numbers were impressive - 19 points, six rebounds, and four blocks - but what position does he play?  Troutman scored 23 points, but most of those points came in the second half and where was he on the defensive glass?  That's right! He only had one defensive board for the entire game.   Clark shot the lights out in the first half, as he had 17 points at the intermission, but where was he in the second half?  Get the idea this wasn't one of the best days ever at the City of Palms Classic.  As a matter of fact, it was a major disappointment!  And tomorrow afternoon may not get a lot better, as Denver (East) CO will try and redeem itself against Boca Raton (Pope John Paul II) FL in the first game at 11:50 AM, followed by Miami (South Miami) FL versus Childersburg (H.S.) AL at 1:35 PM and Lilburn (Berkmar) GA and Immokalee (H.S.) FL at 3:20 PM.  However, things should then get interesting, because Williamsport (H.S) PA is good enough to at least test Louisville (Ballard) KY at 5:20 PM, Boston (English) MA and Salmen (H.S.) LA will be fairly evenly matched 7:30 PM, and Miami (Northwest Christian) FL versus Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL promises to be one of the best games of the tournament.    

Sunday, December 19, 1999

We have spent most of the off -day today at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic finalizing our rankings of the top 350 seniors nationally.  We have broken it down by position, whereby, we have ranked in order the top 58 centers, the top 86 power forwards, the top 70 wing forwards, the top 76 two-guards, and the top 60 point guards to get a perfect 350.   As the week goes on, we will publish each one of these lists in the Members Section.  We also will publish an extensive list of the top prep school, 5th year, and foreign players, but right now we have available our revised top 100 senior list, which includes 13 players - 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'3 Cedric Banks from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, 6'9 Taurance Johnson from Glassboro (Faith Christian) NJ, 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, 6'9 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 7'0 Chris Alexander from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'10 Kendall Dartez from Cecilia (H.S.) LA, 6'8 Jamar Smith from Pine Hill (Overbrook Regional) NJ, 6'3 Drew Schifino from Pittsburgh (Penn Hills) PA, 6'5 Emmett Thomas from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, and 6'4 Blake Downing from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY - who are still available.  Unfortunately, that number is cut in half very quickly, because Banks, Johnson, Brooks, Alexander, and Smith are all not expected to make it academically, so they will likely have to go the junior college or prep school route.   To get this list click on Top 100 National Rankings.

Saturday, December 18, 1999

We knew that Camden would be without 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner, who is out with a broken finger, but his teammate 6'7 Jr Arthur Barclay was also a no-show, which makes Camden (H.S.) NJ the perfect opponent for Boca Raton (Pope John Paul II) FL, which was also without its two best players - 6'0 Richard Alexis and 5'11 Jr Charles Frederick, both of whom were suspended from the team earlier in the week.  Fortunately, we won't have to watch the game, unless both teams advance to the loser bracket championship and we don't think that will happen, because both teams are really bad.  Jacksonville (Ribault) FL beat Camden (H.S.) NJ, 69-54, in the nightcap at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL earlier tonight, but the game really wasn't that close, as jumped out to a 18-4 lead and then toyed with Camden the rest of the way.  The leading scorers for Ribault were 6'5 Eddie Baker with 16 points and 6'5 Jerome Stamper with 13 points, while 6'5 Jr James Pulliam picked up the slack for Camden with 21 points.  Pope John Paul II was no match for Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, which coasted to an easy 75-41 win behind a 21 point effort by  6'11 Jr Jamal Samspon, who was a force inside, as he altered numerous shots and brought the house down several times with earthshattering dunks.  The leading scorer for Pope John Paul II was 6'4 Jesse Hatfield with 15 points, but most of his points came early.   And then it was 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender's turn, as Louisville (Ballard) KY murdered Ft. Myers (Cypress Lake) FL 102-45.  Bender had 26 points and 11 rebounds, but even more important, he played harder than we've seen him play in a long time.  As a matter of fact, we're been his biggest critic, so it was only fair that we congratulate him at the game.  We also told him that if he can do it once, we expect him to duplicate it all the time. So naturally we're already anticipating a Sampson versus Bender match-up in the championship and the chances are pretty good of that happening, because both teams are absolutely loaded, which explains why they are both ranked among the top 10 nationally in all the national prep polls.  However, the best game of the first day was when Slidell (Salmen) LA beat Miami (South Miami) FL, 72-67.   We kept waiting for Salmen to put South Miami away, but it never happened.  We were especially impressed with the play of 6'7 John Spivey, who had 27 points, six rebounds, and three blocks.  Spivey says he's getting looks from schools like Florida International, Wichita State, and Rider, but after his performance this afternoon, it looks like Fairfield will jump into the picture and he'd be perfect at that level.  Spivey is an inside player for his team, but he can also step out and do things on the perimeter, as was evident by his 2-3 3-point shooting.  Also combining for 28 points were 6'3 Jemel Davila and 6'4 Soph Alex Carter, but  they weren't enough to overcome 6'1 Chris Duhon, who was the leading scorer of the day with 36 points.  Not only did Duhon hit 6-11 3-pointers, but he made great decisions and always was under control.  As a result, he simply reinforced why he's ranked as the #1 point guard in the class by the HOOP SCOOP, as well as one of the leading candidates for national player-of-the-year honors.  Tomorrow is an off day at the City of Palms Classic, but we're looking forward to the other four opening round games on Monday, December 20th, with Miami (Northwest Christian) FL versus Denver (East) CO at 1:45 PM, Immokalee (H.S.) FL versus Boston (English) MA at 3:35 PM, Childersburg (H.S.) AL versus Williamsport (H.S.) PA at 7:45 PM, and Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL versus Lilburn (Berkmar) GA at 10:00 PM.  Also on the Monday schedule are a Consolation Game at noon between Ft. Myers (Cypress Lake) FL and Camden (H.S.) NJ and a quarterfinal game at 5:30 PM between Jacksonville (Ribault) FL and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.

Friday, December 17, 1999

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio provides us with an update on the recruitment of 6'8 J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, 6'3 Terrance Watkins from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'4 Royal Ivey from Blairsville (Blair Academy) NY.  Mathis is the guy who is getting overrecruited, but this makes perfect sense due to the fact that there are so few inside players are left with any size.  His list includes Virginia, Villanova, Massachusetts, Florida, Northwestern, and Georgia Tech.   Watkins is getting underrecruited, because his outside shooting and ball handling are both suspect.  However, Boston College, Hofstra, Iona, St. Peter's, and Long Beach State are all on his list.  Ivey is a 5th year player, but he's very young for his class (still only 17) and he's got a size 16 shoe, which means he may grow some more.   Siena, Rider, Marist, UTEP, and Baylor all have shown serious interest, while Vanderbilt, Boston College, Providence, Notre Dame, and Villanova are all looking.   Naclerio still thinks ranking the best junior in New York City is too close to call, but if you go beyond the city limits, 6'2 Jr Ben Gordon from Mount Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is a legitimate top 30 junior nationally, is the easy winner.   And he's a guy who may leave the city.  Iona is trying like crazy and St. John's is involved, but remember, the Gaels are a mid-major school and the Red Storm just got 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  So Gordon is a prime target for schools like Providence, Syracuse, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Villanova.  Looking ahead to the future, Naclerio tells us that he'd be shocked if 5'8 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Ann Sullivan) NY doesn't go to Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY next year.  You remember Telfair, he's the great 8th grader who we have been comparing to Stephon Marbury dating all the way back to when he was in 4th grade.  And just like Marbury, he's from the Coney Island area of Brooklyn, so he lives in Lincoln's school district, plus his older brother already goes to Lincoln.  Speaking of Lincoln, Marbury's old school will face New York (Wadleigh) NY and Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY will meet Bayside (Cardozo) NY in a doubleheader, which starts at 5:30 PM, at the Gauchos Gym tomorrow night.  If that weren't enough good basketball on the Saturday before Christmas in the city, at 3:00 PM at St. Raymond's High School in the Bronx, Middle Village (Christ the King) NY will meet Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.   Naclerio tells us that a lot of people are planning on being at both places, because it's only about a 10 minute drive from St. Raymond's to the Gauchos gym.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Princeton has gotten a commitment from 6'1 Ed Persia from Beaumont (Monsignor Kelly) TX, Florida Tech has a steal in 5'9 Justin Luber from Rydal (Abington Friends) PA, and Duquesne has landed 6'7 John Palwak from Natrona Heights (Highlands) PA, who is the first player signed by the Dukes in this recruiting class. If you will recall, last spring the Duquesne's recruiting class, which was ranked #70 nationally, included 6'3 Kevin Forney from Philadelphia (Christian) PA, 6'10 Chris Clark from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'6 Jack May from Chino Hills (Ayala) CA, 6'6 Brad Midgley from Pittsburgh (Canevin Catholic) PA, and 5'11 Devin Montgomery from Woodland Hills (Alemany) CA. So now Palwak is a provides a nice complement to that group and so would 6'3 Drew Schifino from Pittsburgh (Penn Hills) PA, who committed to Duquesne during the summer, but later reneged and may now go to Pittsburgh instead.

Yesterday we heard that 5'6 Avery Queen may had gotten into a fight and, as a result, was no longer at Winchendon (School) MA, but we have not been able to confirm this through any one of a number of different sources in New England. However, we do suspect that there was something to this story, but apparently everything has been smoothed over and Queen is still at Winchendon. Obviously, this is good news for the University of Michigan, which is where Queen signed this fall. Queen is really small, but he more than makes up for it with his incredible quickness, terrific 3-point shooting, and ability to thrive in transition. As a result, he should be the be the perfect complement to Michigan's two outstanding freshmen guards - Kevin Gaines and Jamal Crawford - both of whom are putting up big numbers in the Big-10 this year.

Thursday, December 16, 1999

Our Oklahoma Editor Bob Grace tells us that the University of Oklahoma, which is now tied for #13 with Indiana on our list of the Top 130 Recruiting Classes, could have the best recruiting class in the nation, if the Sooners get 6'5 Ruben Douglas, who transferring from Arizona, and 6'8 Reggie Evans from Coffeyville (JC) KS.  As a matter of fact, Grace tells us that if this happens, Midwest Basketball plans to ranks Oklahoma's recruiting class #1 ahead of St. John's.  And if this does happen, we will have to agree to disagree for several reasons.  First, we don't include transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  Second, even if we did include transfers, like Midwest Basketball does,  it would still not give the Sooners enough points to beat St. John's.  Let's take a closer look.  If they get Douglas, it would give Oklahoma six additional points on our 1-10 scale.  That would move Oklahoma into the #3 position nationally behind Seton Hall and ahead of North Carolina with 28 points.  If they also get Evans, who is worth eight points, that would move Oklahoma's class up into second with 36 points.  And let's say that we're underestimating the value of both 6'6 James Wright from Winchendon (School) MA and 6'8 Aaron McGhee from Vincennes (JC) IN by only give them six points apiece.  If we bump both of them up to eight points and, as a result, give the Sooners an additional four points to make their cumulative total 40 points, it would still not be enough to beat St. John's, which currently has 41 points.    However, we're also not sure that this will materialize, despite the fact that Douglas and Evans were both scheduled to make official visits to Oklahoma next week during the Cincinnati game next Wednesday night.  Apparently Evans has cancelled his visit and Oklahoma has faded, because they already have number of similar type players - McGhee, Wright, and 6'8 Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN - in this recruiting class.  Instead, we think Iowa is still the team to beat for Evans, who is regarded by many as one of the top five junior college players in the nation, although Cincinnati and Maryland are also high on his list. 

If you doubt that Cincinnati will remain one of the top teams in college basketball for a long time to come, take a quick look  at our list of the Top 130 Recruiting Classes.  Right now the Bearcats are tied at #11, but they are still far from done.  As it stands now, the Bearcats intend to sign two more players in the spring, but that number could become three, if  DerMarr Johnson decides to declare hardship for the NBA draft.  Right now the guys they're recruiting the hardest 6'8 Reggie Evans from Coffeyville (JC) KS, 6'9 Jamal Davis from Barton County (JC) KS, and 6'5 Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY, but that list will get longer before it gets shorter.  The Bearcats also will have two scholarships available a year from now, but if they sign several guys this spring, they will have to become very selective.  Not only are they believed to be the favorite for 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, who promises to be the best player the state has produced since Samaki Walker, but it would be a surprise if Williams goes anywhere else.  Remember, Cincinnati signed Steve Logan from Lakewood (St Edward) OH two years ago and head coach Bobby Huggins has extremely strong ties in the Northeast part of the Ohio.  Remember, Huggins was the head coach at Akron before taking the Cincinnati job about a decade ago.  Plus, he's not only originally from this area, but his father, Charlie Huggins, was one of the top high school coaches in the state and, as a result, now has legendary status.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that two of the state's top 15 basketball players - 6'7 Rick McFadden from Struthers (H.S.) OH and 5'9 Brandon Childress from Bedford (Chanel) OH - have both verbally committed to Ohio State for football.  There is also talk about them walking on to play basketball, but we don't think that will happen.  It is our understanding that the NCAA changed the rule and, as a result, anybody who plays both sports now counts towards the 13 player scholarship limit in basketball.  And football is the sport Childress and McFadden will both play if they have to make that choice.  McFadden, who picked Ohio State over West Virginia, is an outstanding quarterback, while Childress, who picked the Buckeyes over USC, was voted Mr. Football in the state of Ohio. 

Wednesday, December 15, 1999

We were talking with Dick "Hoops" Weiss of the New York Daily News several days ago and he pointed out something very interesting about the talented trio - Korleone Young, JaRon Rush, and Corey Maggette - who played for the CMH 76ers several years ago.   What are they doing now?  We're not sure about Young, but he's not in the NBA.   Maggette is in the league, but he came out too soon and is struggling as rookie.   And Rush is now suspended at UCLA due to a possible recruiting violation involving an agent in Los Angeles, Jerome Stanley, who is associated with Rush's former AAU coach Myron Piggy.  The violation is minor - Stanley allegedly gave Rush several hundred dollars after he enrolled at UCLA.  However, Piggy's situation is major, because right now the FBI is investigating him for income tax evasion, which might be just the tip of the iceberg.  Did you know that during the summer of 1998, which was the last year he was associated with NIKE, Piggy got his money up front from  NIKE to play in all the major summer tournaments, but never showed.   According to police and newspaper records in Kansas City, MO, Piggy also has a questionable past and apparently his association with both JaRon and Kareem Rush, who is also suspended at Missouri, continues to haunt them.  What will come out of this is anybody's guess, but it is an interesting test case, because there is no clear definition regarding the role of AAU coaches, who are often funded by shoe companies, agents, and sometimes even criminals.  All too often everybody turns their head.   The big loser is the player, who is still just a kid.  But he's the one who loses his eligibility, while the real culprit usually gets off scott free.  Which brings us back to Weiss' original point - maybe it is poetic justice that things have turned out this way.  Remember what jerks Young, Rush, and Maggette were two summers ago when they wouldn't talk to the media at the NIKE All-American Camp and had an attitude unparalleled by anybody we've seen covering high school basketball and recruiting since 1983.  Also remember the CMH 76ers were eliminated in every major tournament they played in all summer, two years ago because they were jaded.  They'd gotten too much to early, they had no heart, and they thought they were god's gift to basketball.   They probably won't ever figure it out, but hopefully won't be role models for the current group of high school players who are on the horizon, except from a standpoint of how not to act.

During the winter of 1988-89 a lot of people thought I was nuts when I starting talking about the possibility of  Rick Pitino leaving the New York Knicks to rebuild University of Kentucky basketball program.   Not only did Pitino take the job, but he became even bigger than the program itself, as he took the Wildcats to the NCAA Final Four three times and won the National Championship in 1996.  And almost as important, Pitino found out early that the biggest game of the year for Kentucky was against Louisville, not Indiana.  Pitino lost to Louisville his first year, but after that he beat the Cardinals six out of seven times, before taking the Boston Celtics job in May of 1997.  All this is extremely important, because current University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, who is 0-2 against the Cardinals in his tenure at Kentucky, will face the University of Louisville on Saturday in what promises to be one of the most important games of his career.  A win against Louisville, which is playing fairly well and, as a result, should be the favorite, despite the fact that game is being played in Lexington, KY, would solve a lot of problems for the Wildcats.  Kentucky's outside shooting so far this season has been pathetic, their assist to turnover ratio has been even worse, and players, like Marvin Stone and Keith Bogans - who were ranked among the top five nationally a year ago in high school, have yet to crack the starting lineup.  If you are Pitino and you're winning, you can get away with bringing top five high school players, like Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer, along slowly.  However, if your style of play is reminiscent of the more deliberate days of the Joe Hall era, instead of the fast-paced uptempo exciting shoot the lights out game that Kentucky fans became accustomed to under Pitino, you'd better win!  Already the natives are restless, but a loss to Louisville on Saturday could be devastating for the current regime.  Smith is one of the nicest guys in the world and he's a good coach, as has been evident as his teams - two at Tulsa, two at Georgia, and his first year at Kentucky when they won the national championship - have overachieved in five of the last six seasons.  But Kentucky fans had have a short memory and expect immediate results.  And if the current trend continues, you can bet that you will start hearing a lot more talk about Smith leaving and Pitino returning.  Right now that might sound ridiculous, but it might not be as farfetched as you might think.  Remember, Pitino is very impulsive and just because he says he's happy in the pros today, doesn't mean he won't change his mind tomorrow.  Also there is the fact that Kentucky athletic director C. M. Newton, who plans to retire in June, will likely be replaced by Associate Athletic Director Larry Ivy, who is one of Pitino's best friends.   All this is important, because Newton is a much stronger personality than Ivy, which would be great for Pitino, who left for the Celtics not just for the money, but because he wanted total control.  And of course there is the money, which becomes less of an object with every loss.  If Pitino were really interested in the job Kentucky job again, not only could the money be found to match the astronomical amount that he makes right now with Celtics, but the big money people in Lexington would also probably finance that new arena he had on the drawing board during his last year at Kentucky. And that's the hard part.  Getting Smith take the Celtics job should be easy.  After all, Pitino, who is the President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics, will make the hire.  Then, Pitino will quit and take the Kentucky job again.   Obviously that's what a lot of Kentucky fans are dreaming about, but it sure beats their current nightmare, which is becoming the 1999-2000 season, especially with another loss to Louisville.  Obviously we're not making a prediction.  Instead, we're just having some fun speculating on a slow day.  However, with Pitino never say never.   Remember, everybody told me during the winter of 1989 that Pitino would never leave the Knicks for Kentucky the first time around.  However, we are serious when we say that Smith had better find some quick solutions.  One might be to start Bogans and Stone.  Another might be to solve the point guard problem once and for all by going out and getting a good junior college transfer who is ready to step in and run the show next year.  While Kentucky's latest addition, 6'1 Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA definitely can help defensively, he's not a pure point guard, which makes a big difference when you're trying to cover up other deficiencies and get the ball into hands of other players when they can do something with it - like score!

Tuesday, December 14, 1999

While many of our competitors simply rank the top 30 or 40 recruiting classes and move onto something else, we have just completed the most comprehensive study that we've ever done in terms of ranking recruiting classes.   It includes our 17 page list of the Players signed by each Division I team, which will be similar to the one the USA Today will publish.  However, unlike the USA Today's list, we also provide you with our nine page ranking of the Top 130 Recruiting Classes, our 20 page list Ranking Each Classes by Conference, and our 10 page list of Different Ways to Look at Recruiting.  That's 56 pages on recruiting, if you print it all like I did.  While we've kept you up-to-date on our progress, we found several additional things that are extremely interesting.   First, we went back and looked again at the top conferences, according the traditional approach in evaluating recruiting, whereby, we assign every player a rating on a 1-10 scale and come up with a cumulative total for each team.  The Atlantic Coast Conference ranks no higher than sixth on the list, but that doesn't take into account that the ACC only has nine teams in the league, which means it is at a major disadvantage.  However, when we measure the highest talent rating average per recruit, the ACC not only finished tied at #1, along with the Big East, with a 5.0 talent rating average per recruit, but it also finished well ahead of everybody else with a 5.3 talent rating average per recruit last spring and a 5.6 talent rating average per recruit in the spring of 1998. While other people talk about why the Atlantic Coast Conference is one of the best conferences in college basketball, we've actually gone the extra mile and provide the proof!  The possibilities are endless, but we found a trend  particularly interesting at the mid-major level involving the Mid-American Conference.  Last spring the league was ranked #11 among all Division I conferences in terms of who signed the most good players.  That alone might not be enough to set off warning bells, but this fall the Mid-American followed up with the 9th best recruiting class when compared to all Division I onferences.  As a result, we have to conclude that the Mid-American Conference is not only one of the fastest rising conferences in college basketball today, but also is a good league to keep an eye on in the future, especially when one is trying to guess who some of the giant killers will be in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a couple of years.  Second, we found our chart for the Highest Talent Rating for the Top Four Recruits especially interesting.  It eliminates players who signed last spring, but aren't in school.   This is very important, because it gives us an accurate indictor of who the top four young players are in each program beginning next season.  And not surprisingly it reads like a Who's Who of the Top Teams in College Basketball, as the top 10 includes Duke and Cincinnati tied at #1, followed by Michigan State, Connecticut, Michigan, Seton Hall, Kansas, Florida, St. John's, and Kentucky.  Third, I am totally fascinated by our ranking by conference of players ranked among or equivalent to top 100 nationally, which means junior college players and prep school players are factored in as if they were still in high school.  If you assign every player signed a ranking and add up the points to get a cumulative total, the clear winner is the Big-12, followed by Conference USA and then Big East.  However, if you only look at it from a top 100 perspective, the Big East, which signed five fewer players than both Conference USA and the Big-12, is the clear winner.  Why?  The answer is simple.  Teams in the Big East landed three top five players in the nation in 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, as well as a top 10 player in 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, and five more players who rank in the 11-40 range.  Obviously, this explains why on the surface we originally thought the Big East would have the best recruiting class.  However, when we started adding up the numbers, it didn't materialize the way we thought, which is why we are clearly why ahead of all the competition in analyzing and ranking recruiting classes.

Monday, December 13, 1999

We aren't finished with our list of the Different Ways to Look at Recruiting from the 1999-2000 Fall Signing Period, but we do have enough done to provide you with our list of the Talent Rating Average Per Recruit by Conference, our ranking of the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit by Team, our ranking of the Highest Talent Rating for the Top Two Recruits signed by each team, and our ranking of the Highest Talent Rating for the Top Three Recruits signed by each team.  The last list is of particular interest, because there are five teams (Michigan State, Michigan, DePaul, UAB, and Louisville) that make the top 30 with only two players in the their recruiting class.   But even more important, the three teams (Seton Hall, St. John's, and Connecticut) with the Highest Talent Rating  for the Top Three Recruits are all from the Big East Conference.  Seton Hall wins the race for both the best two and the best three players signed, but it's a tie between Duke and Kansas for the school with the highest talent rating average per recruit. 

Sunday, December 12, 1999

We stayed home this weekend to work on our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the 1999-2000 Fall Signings Period, so we really appreciate the following information, which was provided by G.J. King of The Recruiter Online and Allen Rubin of the HOOP SCOOP.  King, who was at the Hoops to the Loop Tournament in Chicago, IL today, tells us that a second upset of the #1 ranked team in the nation by a good Chicago team wasn't in the cards, as Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA beat Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 69-55.  Oak Hill featured a very balanced scoring attack as 6'5 David Holmes had 17 points, 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth had 16 points, 6'1 Cliff Hawkins had 15 points, and 6'6 Luke Whitehead had 13 points.  The leading scorer for Whitney Young was 6'7 Jr Najeeb Echols, who had 17 points and eight rebounds, but the statistic that really caught our eye was 15 assists by Hawkins, who recently signed with Kentucky.   However, we're still not sure what to really make of this, because Whitney Young's point guard, as well as one of its best defenders, 5'11 Jr Chris Hill, is out four to six weeks with a broken wrist.  Rubin tells us about the other big game of the day, which featured New York (Rice) NY against Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, at the Diane Brennan Tournament at Fordham University.  Rice won 75-64, but Rubin says the battle between 5'9 Andre Barrett and 6'1 Omar Cook was too close to call.  Barrett, who took home MVP honors, had 21 points, eight assists, three turnovers, and was 4-8 from 3-point land.  Cook had 22 points, 11 assists, nine turnovers, and was 1-2 from beyond the arc.

It was seven or eight years ago when Bobby Jacobs, the Executive Director of Slam Dunk to the Beach, cornered me at the Delaware Shootout and wanted to know what it would take to get me to come and cover his tournament.  I told him the answer was simple.  I said I'd go to the end of the world if there were enough good players.  Well, going to Lewes, DE, which is right on the Delaware Shore, in the middle of the winter almost seems like going to the end of the world.  However, once you get there it's easy to see why Slam Dunk to the Beach is now regarded as the premier high school basketball tournament in the nation.  And this year promises to be better than ever, as three of the HOOP SCOOP's top five seniors - 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, and 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC - will be among the feature attractions.  The tournament also will feature a number of other outstanding players, including 6'4 Marvin Lewis from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'11 Mohammed Diakite from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, 6'3 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ, and 6'8 Michael Joiner from Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC.  Also featured will be some of the nation's top juniors, including 5'10 Jr Terrance Ford and 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing, both from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'8 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport Prep) MD, and 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY.  On Sunday, December 26th, Jacobs has a full day lined up, as Wilmington (Friends) DE meets Camden Wyoming (Caesar Rodney) DE at 8:00 AM.  Then, at 9:45 AM, it's Wilmington (St. Elizabeth's) DE versus Felton (Lake Forest) DE, followed by Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ versus Georgetown (Sussex) DE at 11:30 AM, Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA versus Towson (Catholic) MD at 1:15 PM, Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ versus Scranton (Bishop Hannan) PA at 3:00 PM, and Hockessin (Sanford) DE versus Annville (Annville-Cleona) PA at 4:45 PM.  Next comes Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA versus Baltimore (Calvert Hall) MD at 6:30 PM, Kensington (Newport School) MD versus Bayonne (Marist) NJ at 8:15 PM, and Lakewood (St. Edward) OH versus Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA at 9:45 PM.  The second  day, Monday, December 27th, will again start bright and early at 8:00 AM with Cape Henlopen (H.S.) DE versus Atlantic City (H.S.) NJ.  Next, at 9:30 AM Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA will meet Wilmington (St. Elizabeth's) DE, followed by Georgetown (Sussex) DE versus New Castle (William Penn) DE at 11:00 AM, Wilmington (Howard) DE versus Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ at 12:30 PM, Baltimore (Calvert Hall) MD versus Tucson (Santa Rita) AZ at 2:00 PM, East Greenbush (Columbia) NY versus Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) MD at 3:30 PM.   Then, at 5:00 PM Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA will face Bayonne (Marist) NJ, at 6:30 PM Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ will meet Kensington (Newport School) MD, and at 8:00 PM Baltimore (Dunbar) MD will play Beavercreek (H.S.) OH.  Last, but not least, is the first Slam Dunk to the Beach Quarter Final game between Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and Fresno (Washington Union) CA.  The third day, Tuesday, December 27th, also tips off at 8:00 AM with Wilmington (St. Mark's) DE versus Hockessin (Sanford) DE.   Then, at 9:30 AM it will be Annville (Annville-Cleona) PA versus Wilmington (Howard) DE, followed by Richland (St. Augustine) NJ versus Crisfield (H.S.) MD at 11:00 AM, Baltimore (Southern) MD versus Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA at 12:30 PM, Lakewood (St. Edward) OH versus Towson (Catholic) MD at 2:00 PM, Kensington (Newport School) MD versus Tucson (St. Rita) MD at 3:30 PM, and Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD versus Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT at 5:00 PM.  And the last three games of the day will feature the other three Slam Dunk to the Beach Quarter Finals games with Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK versus Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC at 6:30 PM, Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA versus Columbia (Keenan) SC at 8:00 PM, and Louisville (Ballard) KY versus Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX at 9:30 PM.  The final two days of the tournament will feature winner and loser bracket games in the Governor's Cup, Mayor's Cup, Tip-Off Classic, National Power Series, and Slam Dunk to the Beach tournaments.  The semi-finals for the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament will be held at 7:30 PM and 9:00 PM on Wednesday, December 29th, and the championship will be at 9:00 PM on Thursday, December 30th.  Our prediction, Louisville Ballard will beat whoever they're matched up against in the championship game.

Saturday, December 11, 1999

Our Exclusvie Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the 1999-2000 Falls Signings Period is complete and the results are very interesting.  If you assign every player a rating on a scale of 1-10, add up the points, and come up with a cumulative total, the big winner appears to be the Big-12 Conference.  However, if you divide the total number of points by the total number of players signed, the two conferences that recruited best are the Big 10 and Atlantic Coast, which are tied with a 5.0 talent rating average per recruit.  And if you just want to know which league conference signed the most top 100 players, that honor goes to Conference USA with 20.  The Big East also must be mentioned, because it not only features the top two ranked recruiting classes in St. John's and Seton Hall, but it also has five players who rank among the top 10 in the nation in high school or prep school, as is the case of 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME.  So obviously it's not as clear cut as it looks.  After you've taken the time to look at this 20 page report that ranks every team in every conference in Division I, we'd be interested to hear what you think.   You can email us at clark@hoopscooponline.com and/or you can respond to our Question of the Day, which asks what conference do you think had the best recruiting class during the fall signing period?

Friday, December 10, 1999

It doesn't get any better than the game between Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Chicago (Westinghouse) IL yesterday at the Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO.  Oak Hill was the #1 ranked team in the nation, according to the USA Today.  With five players, count them - 6'8 Abdou Diame, 6'5 David Holmes, 6'6 Luke Whitehead, 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth, and 6'1 Cliff Hawkins, who rank among our to 60 nationally, head coach Steve Smith has more talent than most college teams.  And on paper, this group might even better than a year ago, when Oak Hill went undefeated and won the national championship.  Although Westinghouse returned most of its key players from a team that was ranked among the top 10 nationally most of last year, won the AAU 17-Under National Championship last summer, and currently is ranked #4 in the nation, on paper it looked like the Warriors has neither the size nor the talent necessary to pull off the upset.  However, in over 30 years of watching high school basketball, we've seen many teams any quicker or more relentless.  They played every position like it would be their last.  Oak Hill was successful at controlling the tempo, as the 58-57 score obviously would indicate.  But Westinghouse's full-court pressure defense resulted in a dozen turnovers among Oak Hill's primary ball handlers - Hawkins, Carruth, and 6'1 Chris Williams, as well as 10 steals, many of which turned into Westinghouse layups in the second half.   However, the big key for Westinghouse were a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half for 6'2 Craig Franklin and two more down the stretch for 6'3 Cedric Banks, who finished with 20 points and easily was the MVP in the game.   Banks has attracted interest from schools like DePaul, Loyola-Illinois, St. Louis, and USC, but don't let that list fool you.  His grades have kept a lot of schools away, so our guess is that he will likely be one of the leading candidates for National Junior College Player-of-the-Year in two years.  And that wouldn't be a bad direction for him to go, because he still needs to continue to develop his outside shooting.   Right now we have Banks ranked #30 nationally, but that's too low.  As a matter of fact, he's so quick, so athletic, so relentless, and so skilled in every area except outside shooting, that he'll get our vote for the McDonald's All-American Game next March.  We also were impressed with Franklin, 6'3 Dennis Trammell, and 5'10 Martell Bailey, but even important was Westinghouse's ability to make big plays, which kept them in striking in distance throughout the game.  Their defense also had something to do with Oak Hill's inability to hit the outside shot.   As a matter of fact, Carruth, who is Oak Hill's big gun, was only 1-5 from beyond the arc and as