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HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR AUGUST 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009, Sunday, August 30, 2009, & Monday, August 31, 2009
I spent most of the weekend working on our Ranking of the Top 30 Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season. And, after going to each team's web site and getting important data (i.e. an accurate roster for each team, the number of returning starters, and last year's conference and over records), there is no doubt that there are two teams that stand above all the rest. We're talking about Kansas, which returns its top nine players from a Sweet 16 team, and Texas, which is loaded at every position, thanks to the infusion of two excellent point guards (J'Covan Brown and Jai Lucas) and the best high school player in the nation (Avery Bradley) at the two-guard spot. Also illustrating our point is the fact that Kansas checks in at #2 and Texas checks in at #4 when we put together a talent rating for each of the 30 teams that are ranked on our pre-season list. If you will recall, our talent ratings factor in things like depth experience, and improvement, but are based primarily on where each player was ranked on a 1-10 scale when he came out of high school. Junior college and prep school players are factored in accordingly and a top five-ranked high school player is worth 10 points, a top 10-ranked high school players is worth nine points, a player in the 11-40 range is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range is worth six points, a player in the 71-100 range is worth four points, a player in the 101-300 range is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000 range is worth two points, and anybody who is not the equivalent of a top 1000-ranked player is worth only one point. And it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Duke checks in with the highest talent rating. Remember, the Blue Devils have six McDonald's All-Americans (Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Jonathan Scheyer, Lance Thomas, Ryan Kelly, and Mason Plumlee), another player who would have been a McDonald's All-American (Andre Dawkins), if he hadn't have graduated from high school early, and three other players who were ranked among everybody's top 100 nationally (Brian Zoubeck, Olek Czyz, and Miles Plumlee). So, while depth in the backcourt, overall team speed and quickness, and a killer mentality are legitimate questions marks, Mike Krzyzewski's coaching and an incredible amount of talent are good enough to get the Blue Devils ranked among the top 10 in our Ranking of the Top 30 Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season. As a matter of fact, eight of our top 10-ranked pre-season teams are also ranked among the top 10 in talent on the following list: 1) Duke with a 88.8 talent rating, 2) Kansas with a 85.6 talent rating, 3) Villanova with a 80.8 talent rating, 4) Texas with a 77.2 talent rating, 5) North Carolina with a 76.8 talent rating, 6) Mississippi State with a 76.1 talent rating, 7) Michigan State with a 75.7 talent rating, 8) Kentucky with a 75.4 talent rating, 9) Florida with a 74.5 talent rating, 10) Tennessee with a 71.6 talent rating, 11) Louisville with a 70.6 talent rating, 12) Seton Hall with a 67.7 talent rating, 13) Connecticut with a 66.6 talent rating, 14) Memphis with a 63.7 talent rating, 15) Florida State with a 63.2 talent rating, 16) Washington with a 60.7 talent rating, 17) California with a 59.6 talent rating, 18) Ohio State with a 59.0 talent rating, 19) Georgetown with a 58.8 talent rating, 20) Georgia Tech with a 57.9 talent rating, 21) West Virginia with a 57.7 talent rating, 22) Cincinnati with a 55.1 talent rating, 23) Purdue with a 54.6 talent rating, 24) Minnesota with a 54.1 talent rating, 25) Texas A&M with a 53.8 talent rating, 26) Michigan with a 49.8 talent rating, 27) Binghamton with a 45.3 talent rating, 28) Western Kentucky with 39.1 talent rating, 29) Butler with a 35.5 talent rating, and 30) Siena with a 34.4 talent rating. The two teams that are not ranked among the top 10 in talent, but are legitimate pre-season top 10-ranked teams are Purdue, which has six players back who have started an average of 26 games per year each of the last two years, and Connecticut, which has a terrific nucleus (Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, and Stanley Robinson) around which to build. We also think is important to point out that a year ago the five highest ranked teams based on talent were 1) North Carolina, 2) Louisville, 3) Duke, 4) Oklahoma, and 5) Michigan State. And we probably wouldn't have had Michigan State ranked higher than anybody else in last year's pre-season poll if it weren't for our talent ratings. As a matter of fact, a quick look at last year's Pre-Season College Basketball Ranking Comparison, shows that we were the only one that had three of the four NCAA Final Four teams picked correctly prior to the start of last season. We also were right on the money with Louisville, which was the #1-seeded team in the tournament prior to the start of the tournament, and Pittsburgh and Oklahoma, which finished ranked #6 and #7 in last year's final ESPN/USA Today Poll. Getting back to this year's Ranking of the Top 30 Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season, we find that the Big-12 has the #1 and #2-ranked teams in Kansas and Texas and the Big-10 has the #3 and #4-ranked teams with Michigan State and Purdue. However, when we dig a little deeper we find that the Big East Conference has seven teams (Villanova #6, Connecticut #8, Louisville #13, West Virginia #14, Seton Hall #20, Cincinnati at #26, and Georgetown at #29) ranked among our pre-season top 30 teams. And the most improved conference appears to be the Southeastern Conference, which has four teams (Mississippi State at #5, Florida at #7, Kentucky at #9, and Tennessee at #15) ranked in the top 15. The biggest sleeper in our Ranking of the Top 30 Pre-Season College Teams for the 2009-2010 Season is Seton Hall, which has four starters back, as well as four new players (Keon Lawrence, Herb Pope, Melvyn Oliver, & Jeff Robinson, who are good enough to battle for starting spots. So obviously the big question will be whether Pirates head coach Bobby Gonzalez will be able to put all of the right pieces together and find the necessary chemistry? We also had no idea that we would end up ranking Mississippi State in our pre-season top five. However, after we went player-by-player and compared the Bulldogs against players on Florida and Kentucky, it became clear just how good this team really is. We also did the same thing and gave the edge to Connecticut over Kentucky based on experience. We also think the talent in Kentucky's freshmen class trumps Louisville depth and experience, which explains why we give the Wildcats the edge over the Cardinals.
Friday, August 28, 2009
It looks like 6'5 Deron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has recently made a strong case for being ranked among the very elite players in the senior class nationally after being named the co-MVP for his team and being the leading scorer a week ago in the 2009 Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game and after being named the MVP in the Orange-White All-Star Game at Five-Star's Basketball Camp's final session of the summer, which took place earlier this week at the Sixers Camp in Stroudsburg, PA. And that's saying a lot, because Shay Berry, who once again is playing a major role running camps and in the development of the international business for Five-Star after an stint as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College, tells us that this camp was loaded. "The NBA All-Star was vintage Five-Star," says Berry. "Garf was awesome on the microphone and the talent was BIG TIME!" "Tony Bergeron, Leigh Klein, and Adam Parmenter did a great job putting this session together. The Division-I depth went well into the first/third quarter players. The NCAA also had some Division-I players and there was a lot of future high major talent Development League." The co-Most Outstanding Players in the NBA were 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY. The Most Promising Prospect was 6'5 Jr Ladontae Henton from Lansing (Eastern) MI, Mr. Stations was 6'5 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, the Best Playmaker was 5'9 Jr Corey Edwards from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, the Best Defender was 6'10 Jr Malcolm Gilbert from Byrn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, and the Best Rebounder was 6'9 Jr Desmond Hubert from New Egypt (H.S.) NY. Also named to play in the prestigious NBA Orange-White Classic were 6'2 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'4 Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Jr Myles Davis from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, 6'0 Jr Jabarie Hinds from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Shaquille Thomas from Beckley (Mountain State Academy) WV, 6'8 Jordan Lathan from Baltimore (City) MD, 6'6 Cleveland Melvin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'5 Durand Johnson from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'2 Antoine Mason from New Rochelle (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Trey McDonald from Battle Creek (Central) MI, 6'0 Russell Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT, and 6'3 Lamount Samuell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA. The Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA was 6'2 Jr Lazaro Martinez from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, the Orange-White Classic MVP was 6'1 Jr Khalid Streaker from Fresh Meadows (St. Francis Prep) NY, the Playoff MVP was 6'0 Jr Bryan Smith from Brooklyn (Midwood) NY, the Station 13 Award Winner was 5'11 Jr Zach Hodges from Englewood (Dwight-Englewood) NY, and the Best Playmaker was 5'9 Jr Brent Jones from Brooklyn (Bedford) NY. Among the other players named to play in the NCAA Orange-White Classic were 6'0 Jr Xavier Bernard from Malverne (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Jr Xavier Thomas from Brooklyn (Thomas Jefferson) NY, 5'10 Jr Jordan Quick from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'0 Jr Travis Saltus from Teaneck (H.S.) NJ, 6'0 Jr Lami Mason from Alpharetta (St. Francis) GA, 6'2 Jr Donte Adams from Bronx (Eagles) NY, 6'3 Devon Anderson from West Chazy (Beekmantown) NY, 6'3 Jr Nelson Mendez from Ridgeway (Ridgeway Park) NJ, 6'1 Matthew Thompson from Cleveland (Heights) NY, 6'3 Brandon Williams from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 6'2 Joe Champey from Franklyn Square (Frank Carey) NY, and 6'4 Kavon Bellinger from Elliott City (Mt. Hebron) MD. The co-Most Outstanding Players in the Developmental League were 6'3 Soph Omar Calhoun from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 6'6 Soph Savon Goodman from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, the co-MVP's in the Orange-White Classic were 6'3 Soph Melvin Johnson from New York (Rice) NY and 6'0 Frosh Jaron Sina from Gladstone (Gil St. Bernard) NJ, the Playoff MVP was 6'5 Soph Jimmy Hall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and co-Best Playmakers were 6'7 Soph Kyle Anderson from Paterson (Catholic) NJ and 5'8 Frosh Ethan Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY. Also named to play in the Developmental Orange-White Classic were 6'0 Soph Dashawn Suber from New York (Rice) NY, 6'4 Soph Leroy Fludd from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, 6'3 Soph Kervin Okoro from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Soph Daniel Dingle from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 5'10 Soph Montana Mayfield from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'1 Soph Tariq Carey from Newark (Eastside) NJ, 6'4 Soph Grant Ellis from Hacketstown (H.S.) NJ, 6'5 Soph Aaron Bodie from Newark (Eastside) NJ, 6'5 Soph Jerome Frink from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'6 Soph Dominic Huffman from Gladstone (Gil St. Bernard) NJ, 6'6 Soph Jameel Werney from Hudson (Roselle Catholic) NJ, 5'8 Frosh Kavon Stewart from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 5'10 Frosh Shaquille Davis from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and 6'3 Frosh Miles Overton from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Nothing has changed with regards to the recruitment of 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has been rumored to be a near lock for UCLA for almost a year. Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter tells us the kid and the Dad both favor the Bruins. But the Mom wants him to stay close to home and, instead, is pushing the University of Washington. Usually in cases like this the mother wins. However, people in the know think she ultimately will be persuaded and UCLA will win what already has turned out to be one of the longest and most drawn out recruiting battles in a long time. Utter also tells us that UCLA is in the hunt for 6'5 Keala King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'6 Anthony Brown from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, 6'4 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, and 6'3 Vander Blue from Madison (Memorial) WI, but that landing a quality point guard is really their other top priority. Among those on their list are 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, and 5'11 Trevor Releford from Shawnee Mission (Bishop Miege) KS. However, UCLA is not believed to be the leader for any of these players. And, assuming that we're right about 6'1 Soph Jerime Anderson not being good enough, it's a safe bet that 6'5 Soph Malcolm Lee, who has played with the ball in his hands most of his life, will take over the point guard role sooner than later. In other words, we stand by what we've been telling you for the last two years, which is that Lee was a legitimate top 10-ranked player nationally in his class in high school and potentially better than Jrue Holiday and that Anderson was more ideally suited to play in the Mountain West Conference or Western Athletic Conference than the Pacific-10 Conference. So, with this in mind, we think it's a lot more likely that Brown, who has always been a UCLA fan, will commit to UCLA relatively soon. Utter also tells us not be surprised if UCLA ends up with 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is currently being recruited by schools like California, Stanford, USC, Baylor, Oklahoma, Utah, Connecticut, Florida, Washington, and Arizona. Not only is Franklin one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, but his timing might turn out to be perfect, as he's not expected to make a final decision until next spring. And, with 6'5 Tyler Lamb from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA already in the fold, it looks like the Bruins could be on the verge of loading up with wing players in this year's recruiting class just like they did a year ago when they landed a plethora of front-court players - 6'8 Tyler Honeycutt from Sylmar (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Reaves Nelson from Modesto (Christian) CA, 6'8 Mike Moser from Portland (Grant) OR, 6'9 Brendan Lane from Rocklin (H.S.) CA, and 6'10 Anthony Stover from Los Angeles (Windward) CA. Our Texas Editor Tim Miller also checks in and he tells us that the big story in his part of the country right now is the fact that J'covan Brown was cleared earlier this week by the NCAA Clearinghouse and will join 5'8 from Jai Lucas, who sat out last season after transferring from the University of Florida, and 6'2 Avery Bradley from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who was our #1-ranked player in our Final Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2009, in what arguably will be the best young backcourt in college basketball next year. "Brown will make the same type of impact for the University of Texas that Willie Warren made this past year from the University of Oklahoma," says Miller. "He's that good!" Miller also can't overemphasize how big it is for Oklahoma State that 6'8 Jr Matt Pilgram, who sat out last year at Kentucky after transferring from Hampton, has been cleared to play right away for the Cowboys. Miller also tells us that the final five for 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX are Missouri, UCLA, Baylor, LSU, and Arizona and 6'0 K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX still has a long list that includes schools like South Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Georgetown, Cincinnati Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma State, California, Arizona State, SMU, North Texas, Stephen F. Austin, and Utah State. And would you believe it if I told you that 6'7 Julian Washburn and 6'7 Soph Chris Washburn are both transferring from Duncanville (H.S.) TX to Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, where they will form the perfect complement at the three and the five spots to 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist and 6'2 Kyrie Irving? It also looks like 5'10 Jamison Stern has transferred from Duncanville (H.S.) TX back to Waxachachie (H.S.) TX and 6'3 Bakari Turner is transferring from Plano (West) TX and 6'0 Jr Deon Houston is transferring from Irving (God's Academy) TX to Duncanville (H.S.) TX, where they will join 6'9 Perry Jones, who is only major holdover on the team from the disaster of a year ago. Also loading up is Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, which is getting 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX and 6'11 Soph Isaiah Austin, 6'8 Soph Nick Banyard, and 6'1 Soph Ricky Roberts, all three of whom last season were at Mansfield (Legacy) TX. Miller also makes note of the fact that 6'7 Tony Mitchell has transferred from Miami (Choice Academy) FL to Dallas (Pinkston) TX, 6'8 Soph Wannah Bail has transferred from Houston (The Village) TX to Houston (Lutheran North) TX, and 6'8 Soph Winston Sheppard has surfaced at Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the University of Pennsylvania has a major steal on their hands with yesterday's addition of 6'9 Kevin Panzer from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA. We're talking about a 6'9 face-up four-man who can shoot the lights out, runs the court and has excellent athleticism, and is ranked #206 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. This also moves the Quakers' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'4 Steve Rennard from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ and 6'2 Austin Kelly from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, into a tie at #42, along with Kent State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. However, even more important is the fact that Pennsylvania head coach Glen Miller and his staff are already way ahead of the curve with regards to this year's recruiting class when compared to all of the other schools in the Ivy League. Rubin also tells us that the big story at the Sonny Hill Future Stars League a week ago was the emergence of 6'7 Soph Amile Jefferson from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA into the next great player from the Philadelphia area. "He's an inside/outside player," says Rubin. "He can post-up, beat you from both mid-range and beyond the arc, and can get to the basketball using either hand. He also can put the ball on the floor, is an excellent passer, and has a high basketball IQ." And to drive home the point even further is the fact that Rubin likes Jefferson better at the same than Wayne Ellington and Gerald Henderson. But unlike Ellington, who signed with North Carolina, and Henderson, who signed with Duke, this time around the Villanova program, which is fresh of their NCAA Final Four appearance last March, may be at a high enough level on the pedestal to keep Jefferson at home. And the same also holds true for 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is the #1-ranked player nationally regardless of class, and 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, who is the top ranked junior in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area. As a matter of fact, Rubin thinks that Villanova is the school you have to beat for Christmas, who also has schools like Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Baylor, Ohio State, Georgetown, and Indiana on his list. The smart money is still on Gilchrist going to Kentucky, but Villanova head coach Jay Wright and his staff are doing the best to make this one interesting. It also looks like Mississippi Valley State head coach Sean Woods is totally overhauling the roster after taking over as head coach of the Delta Devils 14 months ago and going 7-25 this past season. If you will recall, 6'3 Michael Mayo from Cochise (JC) AZ, 6'3 Jason Sabb from Angelina (JC) TX, 6'6 Mark Holmes from River Grove (Guerin College Prep School) MS, 6'5 Darian Donald from East Mississippi (JC) MS, 6'6 Chris Hamblin from Western Nebraska (JC) NE, 6'6 Ricky Lamb from Jacksonville (Raines) FL, 6'1 D'Angelo Jackson from Arkansas-Fort Smith (JC) AR, and 6'9 Jason Holmes from Cochise (JC) AZ all were apart of Mississippi Valley State's recruiting class, which was ranked #47 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2009. However, now it looks like they have added a ninth and a 10th recruit to last year's recruiting class with the late additions of 6'5 Cor J Cox from Olney Central (JC) IL and 6'10 Jacob Blankenship from Santa Fe (JC) FL. Blankenship is a 6'10 skilled low post physical presence and Cox is an athletic left-handed wing forward with a 7-foot wing span who is equally adept at shooting and slashing to the basket. And the word on the street is that Cox might turn out to be the best player in this recruiting class, as well as one of the better players in the league next year. Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that Campbell University also has landed a couple of late additions in 6'7 Larry Awosanya from Newark (Edison Job Corps) NJ and 6'5 Seiwe Olivier from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS. The former is a good old-fashioned blue collar power forward and the latter is a slashing athletic wing forward who plays hard, rebounds well, and has good ball handling skills for somebody his size.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis sent me a copy yesterday of his FullCourt Press 2009-2010 Event Calendar, which includes a number of the important events that are already scheduled for the next year, as well as all of the events that Trigonis will be running under the Fullcourt Press and the Pangos logos. Believe it or not, Trigonis has one more event scheduled for the end of the month and a grand total of 11 events scheduled between now and the first weekend in November. This list includes the Fullcourt Press Central Valley Showcase at Sierra Pacific High School in Hanford, CA on August 29th; Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase in Long Beach, CA on September 13th; the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic at Lynwood High School in Lynwood, CA on September 19th-20th; the Fullcourt Press Las Vegas Fall Showcase at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, NV on September 23rd; the Fullcourt Press Utah Fall Showcase at Salt Lake City, UT on September 29th; Fullcourt Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp at Lynwood High School in Lynwood, CA in October 3rd-4th; Fullcourt Press Coaches Clinic at Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA on October 7th; Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp in Chicago, IL on October 10th-11th; Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp in Chicago, IL on October 17th-18th; Pangos All-East Frosh/Soph Camp at Philadelphia, PA on October 31st-November 1st; and Fullcourt Press Northern Exposure Camp in Calgary Canada onj November 7th-8th. Trigonis also is already touting the fact that 6'4 Soph Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who is the #1-ranked sophomore in America by the HOOP SCOOP, will be one of the main attractions at the Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase in Long Beach, CA and the Fullcourt Press Las Vegas Fall Showcase at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, NV will be the first place that people on the West Coast will get a chance to see 6'10 Enes Kanter, who was the MVP in the 18-Under European Championships this summer and will be enrolling this fall at Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV. Trigonis' All-Frosh camps in Lynwood, CA, Lilburn, GA, Chicago, IL, and Philadelphia, PA also will be worth keeping an eye on due to the fact that there always seem to be a number of players who establish their national reputations at these camps. Trigonis also has given me permission to take his list and incorporate all of the events and dates that I currently have available to come up with a pretty good list, which can be found by click onto Dates/Future Events. And this is just the beginning, as all fall we'll be updating this page as the dates and locations for all of the events that will be taking place during course of the next year become available. To make us aware of a particular event, feel free to email be at hoopscooponline@msn.com. As for me, I'm planning on staying home and catching up on player rankings and keeping track of recruiting this fall. Did you that between July 5th and August 18th I was only home five days? However, I probably will attend the True Hoops Elite Showcase at Norcross High School in Norcross, GA on September 12th-13th and I am thinking about combining the Gym Rats Midnight Madness at Eastern High School in Voorhees, NJ on September 26th and the Hoop Group Fall Jam Fest at Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ on September 26th-27th. And you can be sure that this winter I will be at events like the Marshall County HoopFest in Benton, KY on December 3rd-5th, King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic in Louisville, KY on December 17th-22nd, City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL on December 18th-23rd, Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC on December 26th-31st, the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, MA on January 15th-18th, NIKE Extravaganza at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA on February 6th, and the Prime Time Shootout at Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ on February 12th, the Prime Time Shootout at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ on February 13th-14th, and NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis, IN on April 3rd-5th.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Among the latest verbal commitments that we've added to our list of Recent Commitments are 6'5 Mychal Parker from Charlottesville (The Miller School) VA to the University of Maryland, 6'7 Justin Martin from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN to Xavier, 6'1 Cedrick Lindsay from Washington (Gonzaga) DC to the University of Richmond, 6'2 Brady Heslip from New Hampton (Prep) NH to Boston College, 6'3 Dominique Langston from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT to Quinnipiac, 6'6 Melvin Ejim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH to Iowa State, 6'5 Jr Elgin Cook from Milwaukee (Hamilton) WI to Iowa State, 6'3 Jr Jordan Green from Flower Mound (H.S.) TX to Texas A&M, and 6'3 Jr Dominique Dunning from Corona (Centennial) CA to New Mexico. The commitment by Parker is especially interesting, because he is ranked #89 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the talent and athleticism necessary to evolve into one of the better players in the Atlantic Coast Conference down the road. All he needs is toughness and a little bit more consistent outside shot in order to step up and challenge 6'6 Terrence Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD for the wing spot that will be vacated next spring by 6'6 Sr Greivis Vasquez. Speaking of Maryland's recruiting class, it is tied at #14, along with Florida International, on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010 now that Ross, Parker, and 6'0 Terrell Stoglin from Tucson (Santa Rita) AZ are all in the fold. The commitment by Martin also is very intriguing, because he passed on the Musketeers the first time around when he picked the University of Louisville last fall. However, like so many players in this day-and-age who make early verbal commitments when they are sophomores and freshmen, Martin changed his mind and reneged on the Cardinals this past spring. And, while Martin did not have a good spring and summer, we still think this is a steal due to the fact that we're talking about somebody with the athleticism, outside shooting, and upside and potential necessary to evolve into a great player down the road. Martin does need to get bigger and stronger physically, become more consistent, and develop more of a killer mentality. But he's probably going to grow some more and he's still just learning how to play the game. We also think Lindsay is a great catch for the Spiders for a number of reasons. First, he's a very good player, as is evident by the fact that he's currently ranked #140 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. And he would be ranked even higher, if he were more of a true point guard and/or not undersized for the 2-guard spot. Second, Lindsay not only is an excellent 3-point shooter, but he's also a tremendous competitor and a very good defensive player. Third, Lindsay plays for one of the top high school coaches in the nation in Steve Turner and it's always good to have a pipeline into one of the premier programs in the tough DC Catholic League. Fourth, Lindsay should provide an excellent complement to 6'3 Wayne Sparrow from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, who is also capable of playing either guard spot and has the athleticism, versatility, and outside shooting necessary to contribute right away. Heslip was one of the best 3-point shooters that we saw all summer and he's a true combo guard, as he's also capable of running the show and creating for his teammates. Heslip also is a tremendous competitor and he should fit perfectly into Boston College head coach Al Skinner's system due to the fact that he's an overachiever, always seems to get the most out of his ability, and is great at crunch time. Langston is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Bobcats, because he's one of those guys who can light up a scoreboard. He's also very effective using his strength and athleticism to get to the basket or pulling up and knocking down the mid-range jump shot. Langston also has an extra year of maturity after having a successful four-year high school career at Bridgeport (Kolbe Cathedral) CT. And this comes right on the heels of 6'6 Rasheem May-Thompson from Towson (Catholic) MD becoming a late addition to Quinnipiac's 2009 Recruiting Class, which already is ranked #1 in the league and also includes 6'7 Tevin Baskin from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, 6'1 Deantay Twyman from Polk (JC) FL, 6'7 Jamee Jackson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 5'9 David Johnson from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, and 6'4 Ryan Bogdon from Summerville (Pinewood Prep) SC. May-Thompson does need to get bigger and stronger physically, but he should evolve into an excellent four-man down the road due to the fact that he is really good at blocking shots, rebounding, scoring around the basket, and running the court. Ejim can flat out shoot the basketball and he's got deep range, which makes him tailor made for Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott's system. On the other hand, Cook, who is ranked #53 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a true thoroughbred with a great bloodline (his father is former University of Arkansas point guard and NBA star Alvin Robertson). And, just like his father, Cook is excellent at slashing to the basket and has the speed and quickness necessary to lock his man up defensively. Green is best described as an excellent 3-point shooter and he's got a great upside, which makes ideally suited to complement 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from Arlington (Grace Prep) TX in a recruiting class that is now ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2011. Dunning has a great motor, can score in a variety of ways, and is ranked #156 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP. We also understand that 6'6 Anthony Brown from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, who is ranked #79 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has narrowed his list of school down to four. They are UCLA, Stanford, Arizona, and California.
Friday, August 21, 2009, Saturday, August 22, 2009, & Sunday, August 23, 2009
Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio was at the 2009 Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game, which was played at the Gauchos Gym in the Bronx, NY after a two-hour rain delay forced there to be a last minute change of venues on Friday night, and the two best players in the game were 6'3 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD and 6'4 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA. Lamb, who picked up where he left off a year ago when he had 25 points in this game, was the leading scorer with 23 points. He also did a good job slashing to the basket, hitting the outside shot, and getting his teammates involved with 8-12 field goals, 4-5 3-pointers, 3-4 free throws, five assists, and only one turnover. Selby finished with 18 points, six assists, 7-11 field goals, and 4-4 free throws and really impressed Naclerio with his incredible spin moves, one of which was the best move of the night. "Selby reminds me of a young Gary Payton," says Naclerio. "He talks trash, but also backs it up with his ability to go either direction, beat you both inside and outside, and play excellent defense. "He also has the balls, heart and desire, and intensity necessary to evolve into a superstar someday." Lamb and 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and 9-16 field goals, were named the co-MVP's for the Skip to My Lou Team, which beat The Goat Team, 133-120. However, Naclerio tells us the game was a lot closer than the final would indicate, as there were 14 ties and 18 lead changes before the Skip to My Lou Team went on a 39-27 run to put the game away in the 4th Quarter. The co-MVP's for The Goat Team were Selby and 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 1-6 free throws. "Leslie plays hard, rebounds, and is extremely athletic around the basket," says Naclerio. The biggest surprise in the game was 6'7 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hilll) VA, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds and impressed Naclerio with his incredible length and athleticism and ability to get to the basket . "I'd like to see him shoot it better," says Naclerio. "But Smith reminds me of a undersized Ed Pinckney with his ability to use his wiry frame to find the right angles and glide to the basket." Naclerio also gives special mention to 6'6 Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, and 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX. Marshall and Pressey were the two unsung heroes in the game, as they had only two and four points respectively. But Marshall also had eight assists and the second best move of the night with a double-reverse spin right-to-left and then underarmed the shot for a lay-up. Pressey did a great job getting his teammates involved and creating havoc at the defensive end with his speed and quickness. Waiters had 15 points, 6-10 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers. But what impressed Naclerio the most was Waiters' strength, build, athleticism, and basketball IQ. "Irving was better in the game than the practice," says Naclerio. "He finished with 16 points, 6-11 field goals, 2-5 3-pointers, three assists, and two turnovers and did a good job of showing that he's one of the elite combo guards in the nation." Naclerio also really liked Barton's length, athleticism and shooting touch, as he finished with 18 points, 7-11 field goals and 2-2 3-pointers. Naclerio also can see what all the hype is about with both 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S) IA and 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL. Rivers finished with only nine points, 3-7 field goals, and 2-5 3-pointers. "But Rivers is very unselfish and does a great job of getting his shot and setting up his man with his explosive first step," says Naclerio. "He's definitely got an NBA-like game." Barnes did a little bit of everything, as he used his size, versatility, and athleticism to finish with 18 points, six rebounds, and 5-11 field goals. Naclerio also makes note of the fact that it was hard to evaluate 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, and 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, because many of the guards and wing players in the game were more concerned about making themselves look good than getting the ball inside and keeping the big guys happy. And right at the top of this list was 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who was the second leading scorer on his team with finished with 16 points, 6-10 field goals, 4-7 3-pointers, one assist, and four turnovers. However, Naclerio does give Sullinger, who finished with eight points, one rebound, and 4-6 field goals, a lot of credit. "He had a good attitude and didn't complain about not getting the ball in the low post," says Naclerio. Smith finished with only four points. But it's hard not to like his size and physical presence inside. Christmas had only six points and still is very raw. But you have to like his size, athleticism, and potential. Jones eight points and 4-4 field goals, but was not a dominant force inside. Naclerio liked the speed and quickness of 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, but questions his shooting, as he did not shoot well the day before in the practice and scored only 10 points and hit only 4-12 field goals and 1-3 3-pointers in the game. Naclerio also liked 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA. But he also questions whether Wroten's has gotten any better, as he finished with nine points and 4-6 field goals this time around. And neither has 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who finished with six points, zero rebounds, 3-6 field goals, and 0-2 free throws. "He's almost gotten too big and strong for his own good," says Naclerio. "He also doesn't trust his mid-range game. Instead, Thompson took everything to the basket and he paid for it a couple of times by getting his shot blocked. But even though Thompson wasn't one of the elite players in the game, you can see that the skills and the talent are there. It wouldn't surprise me if he's a lottery someday." Naclerio also makes note of the athleticism of 6'6 Terrence Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD. But he only played 12 minutes and scored only two points. The same also can be said about 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who scored only two points and saw only 10 minutes of playing time. And last, but not least, are 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita (Wichita Heights) KS and 6'8 Soph DaJuan Coleman from DeWitt (Jamesville-DeWitt) NY. They both have the potential to be great players someday. But they were clearly in over their head, as they combined for a grand total of two points and also saw only limited playing time.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Pat Stevens, who is the Editor & Publisher of the National Recruiting Wrap and has covered high school basketball and recruiting for Hoopmasters.com and CSTV, provides us with the scoop on Chris Chaney, whose next stop in what already has been an illustrious coaching career will be at Durham (Prep) CT. If you will recall, Chaney began his head coaching career at Kensington (Newport School) MD, where he coached players like DerMarr Johnson, Rodney White, James White, and Louis Bullock. Then Chaney made the move in 2001 to Laurinburg (Institute) NC, where he won National Prep School Championships in 2003 and 2005 and had players like Regis Koundjia, Richard Dorsey, C.J. Anderson, Joe McCray, Longar Longar, Antonio Anderson, Shawne Williams, and Robert Dozier. Then Chaney moved again four years ago to Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, where he won another National Prep School Championship in 2006 and had players like Seketoure Henry, Hashim Bailey, Roburt Sallie, Tony Crocker, Bobby Maze, Jeremy Hazel, Tirrell Baines, Dominique Sutton, Earl Pettis, Nate Miles, Courtney Fortson, Varez Ward, Matt Simpkins, Darius Johnson-Odom, Will Brown, Rashanti Harris, Clarence Trent, DeAndre Kane, Vincent Council, Hassam Whiteside, and Arsalem Kazemi. And it looks like Chaney hasn't lost his touch when it comes to reloading quickly, as Stevens tells us that 6'9 Marquez "Luke" Cothran will be making Durham (Prep) CT his fifth school in four years. If you will recall, Cothran spent his freshman year at Huntsville (Madison Academy) AL and since has also made stops at Nashville (Christian Academy) TN, Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, and Red Springs (Floral McDonald) NC. Stevens also has put together several terrific lists, which also can be found on his web site at patstevensbasketball.com. The first list includes the top players that have surfaced at all of the top prep schools this fall. We start with Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, which will go to war this winter with 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'4 Lorenzo Brown from Roswell (Centennial) GA, 6'8 Shawn Kemp from Canton (Cherokee) GA, and 6'2 Mardracus Wade from Memphis (Mitchell) TN. Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH has reloaded with the likes of 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'8 C.J. Fair from Baltimore (City College) MD, 6'10 Mo Walker from Toronto, ON, 6'6 Melvin Ejim from Brampton, ON, 6'3 Austin Carroll from Worcester (Academy) MA, 5'11 Jr Naadir Tharpe from Worcester, MA, and 6'9 Soph Richard Peters from Pickering (Weston) ON. Mike Byrnes at Winchendon (School) MA will have a roster that features 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'5 James Stukes from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Eric Ferguson from Statesboro, GA, 5'11 Akeem Williams from Brockton, MA, 5'11 Anthony Ireland from Waterbury (Crosby) CT, 6'8 Jr Angel Nunez from Bronx (Cardinal Hayes) NY, and 6'9 Soph Khem Birch from Quebec City, QU. The list of players at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA includes 6'6 Ron Giplaye from Newark, DE, 6'2 Jordair Jett from Saint Paul (St. Bernard's) MN, 6'7 Cleveland Melvin from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, and 5'11 Corey Wright from Thompson (Marianapolis) CT. Among those who have surfaced at South Kent (Prep) CT are 6'6 Joel Wright from Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY, 6'6 J.J. Moore from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, 6'0 Russ Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 5'10 Danny Lawhorn from Hartford (Public) CT, and 6'3 Mike Buffalo from Bronx (Wings) NY. The most notable names at Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA are 6'3 Matt Brown from Barrington, RI, 6'7 Hector Harold from Los Angeles, CA, 6'5 Laurent Rivard from Montreal, QU, and Majok Majok from South Kent (Prep) CT. The top three players at New Hampton (Prep) NH will be 6'9 Evan Smotrycz from Reading, MA, 6'7 Dartaye Ruffin from Winchendon (School) MA, and 6'0 Jr Jordan Laguerre from Manchester (Trinity) NH. The top two players at Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT promise to be 6'3 Dominique Langston from Bridgeport (Kolbe Cathedral) CT and 6'11 Soph Andre Drummond from Middletown (Capital) CT. North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME will feature 6'5 Charles Standifer from Sacramento (Capital Christian) CA and 6'4 Yevgenity Dyachenko from Sacramento (River City) CA. Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME will feature 6'10 Waverly Austin from Irving (God's Academy) TX and 6'6 Tyshawn Bell from Camden (Caesar Rodney) DE. Worcester (Academy) MA will feature 6'2 Billy Baron from Warwick (Bishop Hendricken) RI and 6'8 Jr Tyler Olander from Storrs (E.O. Smith) CT. Tilton (School) NH will feature 6'5 Gerard Coleman from West Roxbury (H.S.) MA and 6'9 Jr Ryan Canty from Danvers (St. John's Prep) MA. Back for another year at Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT are 6'5 Jason Morris from Atlanta, GA, and 6'0 Jr Derrick Wilson from Anchorage, AK. Southborough (St. Mark's) MA will have 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough, MA, 6'8 Melsahn Basabe from Glen Cove, NY, and 6'7 Soph Alex Murphy from South Kingstown, RI. The two most notable players at Barrington (St. Andrews) RI are 6'3 Jr Mike Carter Williams from Hamilton, MA and 6'4 Soph Ricardo Ledo from Providence, RI. Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA will feature 6'2 Denzel Brito from Wareham, MA and 5'11 Jr Shabazz Napier from Charlestown, MA. Lee (Academy) ME will feature 6'7 Max Esho from Upper Marlboro, MD and 6'1 Winston Graham from Bronx, NY. Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ will feature 6'4 Bo Barnes from Phoenix (Scottsdale Christian Academy) AZ, 6'5 Jamal Franklin from Phelan (Serrano) CA, 6'7 Tony Snell from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, and 6'9 Ludovic Ndaye from Montreal, QU Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA will feature 6'9 Darren Sealy from London, England and 6'4 Isiah Stokley from Jamaica (Edison) NY. Newark (NIA Prep) NJ will feature 6'2 Aishon White from Union (H.S.) NJ, 6'3 Kelvin Amayo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, and 6'5 James Frazier from Elizabeth (H.S.) NJ. Bayville (Ocean Academy) NJ will feature 6'9 Keith Dewitt from Goldsboro (Charis Prep) NC and 6'9 Eric Moreland from Missouri City (Highland) TX. Back for another year at Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL is 6'9 Dwight Powell from Toronto, ON. The second list includes top players who are transferring schools and it includes 6'8 Tobias Harris from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY to Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC to Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC, 6'8 Josh Hairston from Spotsylvania (Courtland) VA to Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'9 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Paxon) FL to Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from Atlanta (Westlake) GA to Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'7 Roscoe Smith from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Taran Buie from Albany (Bishop Maginn) NY to State College (Boalsburg) PA, 6'3 Crandall Head from Chicago (Crane) IL to Richton Park (Rich South) IL 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA to Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'0 Juwan Staten from Dayton (Thurgood Marshall) VA to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Stacey Poole from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL to Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, 6'8 Jason Carter from Houston (Marshall) TX to Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'2 LaBradford Franklin from San Diego (H.S.) CA to Temecula (Great Oak) CA, 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX to Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (Northeast Catholic) PA to Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 6'0 Jr Cezar Guerrero from City of Industry (Workman) CA to Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'3 Jr Jabari Brown from Richmond (Salesian) CA to Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'2 Jr Matt Carlino from Gilbert (Highland) AZ to Bloomington (South) IN, 6'6 Jr Andre Henley from Chicago (De La Salle) IL to Carbondale (Brehm Prep) IL, and 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson from Gilbert (Highland) AZ to Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'10 Matt Lopez from Sewell (Washington Township) NJ recently made a verbal commitment to La Salle. We're talking about somebody who has lost over 50 pounds in the last year, which leads us to believe that he's got a very good work ethic and a big upside. Lopez has good low post moves and is a good rebounder, but he is expected to red-shirt as a college freshman due to the fact that he's still more of a project than a finished product and they don't need him right away due to the fact that 6'10 Frosh Aaric Murray promises to be one of the best big men in the league for the next four years. We also understand that 6'6 Jamail Jones from Decatur (Greenforest Christian) GA, who was the #12-ranked power forward by the HOOP SCOOP at the LeBron James King City Classic in Cleveland, OH, has verbally committed to Marquette. In other words, it looks like Golden Eagles' head coach Buzz Williams and his staff are continuing to stockpile quality players, as Jones joins 6'10 Monterale Clark from Hill (JC) TX and 6'5 Aaron Bowen from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL in a recruiting class that is now tied at #12, along with Michigan State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. And this comes right on the heels of Marquette's recruiting class that was ranked #1 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2010 and includes 6'7 Erik Williams from Cypress (Cypress Springs) TX, 6'0 Junior Cadugon from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'6 Jeronne Maymon from Madison (Memorial) WI, 6'3 Dwight Buycks from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'2 Darius Johnson-Odom from Hutchinson (JC) KS, 6'10 Brett Roseboro from Quakertown (H.S.) PA, and 7'2 Youssouphe Mbao from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA. It also looks like Florida Atlantic has picked up an early verbal commitment from 6'2 Jr Brett Comer from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, who is ranked #226 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and played his first two years of high school at Overland Park (Blue Valley Northwest) KS. And our Florida Editor Rick Staudt thinks this is a great catch for the Owls. "Comer has a high skill level, tremendous basketball IQ, and a great feel for the game," says Staudt. " He also can play either guard spot, which will make him interchangeable in the backcourt next year with Austin Rivers." We also have confirmed that 6'5 Pat Moore from Utica (Notre Dame) NY has verbally committed to Colgate, 6'2 Jabs Newby from Beckeley (Mountain State University Academy) WV has verbally committed to Eastern Kentucky, 6'2 Vaughn Autry from Gardena (J. Serra) CA has verbally committed to Utah State, 6'6 Kevin Mulloy from Oxnard (H.S.) CA has verbally committed to UC-Irvine, and 6'10 Brandon Cataldo from Rainier (H.S.) OR has verbally committed to Portland State. We also are being told by our best source in the Baltimore area that 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD is a done deal for the University of Kentucky. And, assuming that this is correct, this could have a direct impact on what 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL ends up doing. As things stand now, Kentucky and Florida appear to be in the lead over schools like Connecticut, Duke, Syracuse, UCLA, Georgia Tech, and Miami-FL for Knight's services. However, our Florida Editor Rick Staudt tells us that Knight does not plan to make his college decision until next spring. So, if Selby picks the Wildcats this fall, then that probably will put the Gators in the driver's seat in the Brandon Knight sweepstakes. It also looks like it's a two horse race between Indiana and Duke for 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ. But when the dust has cleared we think Irving will pick Indiana, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA will pick Duke, 6'8 Joshua Smith from Kent (Kentwood) WA will pick UCLA, and 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN will pick Memphis. That leaves 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'10 Enes Kanter from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV as the two highest ranked players who are still available and not all that far along in the recruiting process.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'10 Enes Kanter will be among the players that will be enrolling this fall at Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV. And, if you've never heard of this 6'10, 240-pound center from Turkey, you will. "Kanter is not your stereotypical European big man," says Johnson. "Instead, he's a bigger version of Jared Sullinger. He's got great hands, excellent post-up moves, and is extremely physical on the boards." Kanter averaged 18.6 ppg and 16.4 rpg and was the named MVP in the European 18-Under Championships. But even more impressive is the fact that Kanter had 32 points and 25 rebounds in his team's loss to Serbia in the semi-finals and 35 points and 19 rebounds when his team won the tournament's Bronze Medal. And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Kanter turned down a multi-million dollar offer to play professionally in Europe. This 17-year-old dominant inside force also is one of the best players his age that several of Johnson's spies in Europe have ever seen and he will join players like 6'8 Tristan Thompson, 6'3 Cory Joseph, 6'9 Godwin Okonji, 6'3 Nick Johnson, 5'11 Isaiah Grayson, 6'4 Jr Jabari Brown, 6'7 Soph Winston Sheppard, and 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss on a team that will be going for a repeat of last year's high school basketball national championship. And what about the fact that Thompson, who is currently ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, might not be the best player on the team next year? The word is that Kanter is that good! And once all of our competition gets a chance to see him play this winter, he promises to be a lock for the McDonald's All-American Game and he will ranked among the top five or 10 seniors nationally. Schools like Texas, West Virginia, USC, and North Carolina already know about Kanter, but you can bet his list will get a lot longer before it gets shorter. And, in the mean time, remember where you heard about it first. Editor's Note: The addition of Kanter onto our radar screen also solves an interesting problem in terms of what to do about 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, who recently graduated from high school and already is Durham, NC, where he plans to room with Duke's other two freshmen - 6'8 Ryan Kelly from Raleigh (Ravenscroft) NC and 6'11 Mason Plumlee from Arden (Christ School) NC - when school begins next week. If you will recall, Dawkins is ranked #16 nationally in our Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010. But, now that Dawkins is skipping his senior year of high school and no longer counts as part of the Class of 2010, we've inserted Kanter into Dawkins' and he will move up or down accordingly once we've seen him play.
Saturday, August, 15, 2009, Sunday, August 16, 2009, & Monday, August 17, 2009
The sleepers and players without much of a reputation were the order of the day at the Elite Players Camp, which was held over the weekend at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA. And right at the top of the list was 5'10 Frosh Nate Motley from Hampton (Bethel) VA, who shot the lights out every time we watched him play. Not only is Motley a pure shooter, but he gets his shot off in a hurry and also is excellent at creating his own shot off the dribble. Obviously a big key will be how much he grows. However, if Motley gets to be 6'2 or 6'3, he could evolve into the next J.J. Reddick or the 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, both of whom also played on the Boo Williams Summer League Team and decided to attend Duke University. And, if Motley decides he wants to follow in their footsteps, he will have no problem getting into a school like Duke due to the fact that he is an excellent student. Motley also is an excellent athlete and tremendous competitor, which means we're talking about one of the best freshmen in the nation. And, if he gets to be 6'4 or bigger, then with normal development Motley will probably make a lot of money playing this game someday. We also were very impressed with 5'10 8th Grader TaRon Ayers from Beckley, WV, who reminds us of Kendall Marshall at the same stage. Not only does Ayers have excellent ball handling and passing skills, a terrific feel for the game, and an excellent basketball IQ, but he also is like a coach on the floor, makes everybody around him better, and knows how to control the tempo of the game. But we'll be surprised if Ayers grows to be 6'4 like Marshall did. On the other hand, Ayers shoots it a lot better than Marshall ever has, which makes him equally suited to play either the one or the two depending upon the situation, players around him, and, in the future, how much he grows. And what about 5'9 Frosh Andrew Rowsey from Lexington (Rockbridge) VA? What he lacks in size he more than makes up for with his competitiveness, outside shooting, court savvy, and ability to run a team. Rowsey also helped set the tone early in the top all-star game with several big steals and his ability to make things happen in transition. Another one of the best 3-point shooters, as well as one of the better players, in the camp was 6'2 Frosh B.J. Andrews from Baltimore (Donough) MD. He's got deep range, big time athleticism, and nice size for his age and position. The best big man in camp clearly was 6'7 Frosh Rardari Bullock from Hampton (Kecoughton) VA. However, Bullock got hurt early in the top all-star game and, as a result, did not get a chance to use his size and athleticism to block shots, rebound, and score around the basket while playing against the best players in camp. The player who helped himself the most in the all-star game was 5'9 Frosh James Daniel from Hampton (Phoebus) VA. Not only did Daniel use his speed and quickness to blow past slower defenders, but he also impressed us with his ball handling and passing skills and ability to beat you with his outside shooting. My favorite player in camp might have been 6'3 Frosh Kenny Solomon from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD. He was arguably the best rebounder in camp. But even more important is the fact that this tough undersized athletic power forward sacrificed his perimeter game to crash the boards and not take any prisoners in the paint. Falling into the multi-dimensional category were players like 6'3 Soph Jordan Stickler from Annapolis (Christian) MD, 6'2 Frosh Charles Glover from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'5 Soph Aaron Bacote from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 6'3 Frosh Andrew Calomerise from Washington (St. John's) DC, and 6'2 Soph Kevin Boyd from Baltimore (Gleneig Country School) MD. It also looks like 6'5 Frosh Brandon Stith from Lawrenceville (Brunswick) NC has the same silky smooth demeanor and long frame that his father (Bryant Stith) had when we were watching him play in the late 80's. We're also still trying to decide whether 5'8 Soph Eric Christian from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 6'3 Frosh Elijah Brown from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, and 5'11 Frosh Blake Sanders from London (South Laurel) KY are better at the two or the one spot. Christian has the size, speed, and quickness necessary to be a point guard, but the scorer's mentality necessary to be a two. Brown is used to having the ball in his hands, but he's such a great 3-point shooter it's hard not to think of him as a two. Sanders is a tough hardnosed competitor and has an incredible basketball IQ. But he's a streaky outside shooter and he's probably not going to grow a lot more, which makes him more of a one than a two. Another interesting tidbit involves the fact that there were three brothers participating at the camp. The oldest was 6'7 Soph Clint McCullough from Stilwell (H.S.) KS and he impressed us with his ability to score in a variety of ways and was one of the best big men in camp. The other two played in played in the younger division and 6'5 8th Grader Connor McCullough from Stillwell, KS was clearly the second best player in this age group. The youngest of the three was 5'9 7th Grader Clay McCullough from Stillwell, KS and he was one of the better 3-point shooters in the camp. Also noteworthy in the younger age group were the versatility and athleticism of players like 6'1 8th Grader Derick Brewer from Charlotte, NC, 5'8 7th Grader Dominique Collier from Denver, CO, and 5'9 8th Grader Floyd Preito from Philadelphia, PA; the ability of 5'7 7th Grader Kevin Dorsey from Portabacco, MD to get into the lane and create for his teammates, and the toughness, willingness to run the court, and ability to finish around the basket by 6'2 8th Grader Avery Edwards from Wake Forest, NC. Our Ranking of the Top Players in the Older Division includes 1) 5'10 Frosh Nate Motley from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 2) 5'9 Frosh Andrew Rowsey from Lexington (Rockbridge) VA, 3) 6'2 Frosh B.J. Andrews from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, 4) 6'7 Frosh Rardari Bullock from Hampton (Kecoughton) VA, 5) 5'9 Frosh James Daniel from Hampton (Phoebus) VA, 6) 6'3 Frosh Kenny Solomon from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, 7) 6'3 Soph Jordan Stickler from Annapolis (Christian) MD, 8) 6'2 Frosh Charles Glover from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 9) 6'5 Soph Aaron Bacote from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 10) 6'3 Frosh Andrew Calomerise from Washington (St. John's) DC, 11) 5'8 Soph Eric Christian from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 12) 6'5 Frosh Brandon Stith from Lawrenceville (Brunswick) NC, 13) 6'3 Frosh Elijah Brown from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 14) 5'11 Frosh Blake Sanders from London (South Laurel) KY, 15) 6'7 Soph Clint McCullough from Stilwell (H.S.) KS, 16) 6'2 Soph Kevin Boyd from Baltimore (Gleneig Country School) MD, 17) 6'6 Frosh Corbyn Jackson from Goochland, VA, 18) 5'7 Frosh Anthony Barber from Hampton (H.S.) VA, 19) 6'1 Soph Derrius Franklin from Ft. Eustis (Woodside) VA, 20) 6'3 Frosh Brian White from Chester (Matoca) VA, 21) 5'8 Frosh Isaiah Tripp from Baltimore (Gleneig Country School) MD, 22) 5'11 Frosh Tavon Blackmon from Washington (Gonzaga) MD, 23) 6'2 Frosh Donovan Lynch from Virginia Beach (Landstown) VA, 24) 6'4 Soph Ot Elmore from Charleston (South Charleston Middle) WV, 25) 6'5 Frosh Jarek Beegan from Centerville (Tower Heights Middle) OH, 26) 6'0 Soph Thad Toye from Staunton (St. Annes' Belfield) VA, 27) 6'2 Frosh Joshua Frederick from Hampton (Phoebus) VA, 28) 5'11 Frosh Jamall Geenwood from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, 29) 6'3 Soph Joshua Fortune from Hampton (Kecoughton) VA, 30) 6'1 Soph Anthony Osbourn from Fairmont (H.S.) WV, 31) 6'6 Soph Alex Murphy from Carolina (North Marion) WV, 32) 5'6 Soph Benjmain Sealey from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 33) 5'7 Frosh Magic Harris from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, 34) 5'7 Soph Khaliq Fletcher from Hampton (Phoebus) VA, and 35) 6'1 Soph Richard Romeo from Roanoke (Catholic) VA. Our Ranking of the Top Players in the Younger Division includes 1) 5'10 8th Grader TaRon Ayers from Beckley, WV, 2) 6'5 8th Grader Connor McCullough from Stillwell, KS, 3) 6'1 8th Grader Derick Brewer from Charlotte, NC, 4) 5'8 7th Grader Dominique Collier from Denver, CO, 5) 5'9 8th Grader Floyd Preito from Philadelphia, PA, 6) 5'7 7th Grader Kevin Dorsey from Portabacco, MD, 7) 6'2 8th Grader Avery Edwards from Wake Forest, NC, 8) 5'11 8th Grader Charles Eddie Smith from Varnville, SC, 9) 6'1 8th Grader Romelo Trimble from Upper Marlboro, MD, 10) 5'5 7th Grader A.J. Robinson from Sterling, VA, 11) 5'8 8th Grader Riley LaChance from Brookfield, WI, 12) 6'2 8th Grader Chad Kanugh from Franklin, WI, 13) 6'0 8th Grader Daniel Noe from Fairfax, VA, 14) 5'11 8th Grader Jon Elmore from Charleston, WV, 15) 5'1 7th Grader Mickey Dixon from New Castle, DE, 16) 5'8 8th Grader Tre Thomas from Bowie, MD, 17) 5'7 8th Grader Bradley Speakman from Alexandria, VA, 18) 5'9 7th Grader Clay McCullough from Stillwell, KS, 19) 5'5 7th Grader Trey Johnson from Lansdowne, VA, 20) 5'7 7th Grader Richard Washington from Newport News, VA, 21) 5'8 8th Grader Shikery Muhyee from Newport News, VA, and 22) 5'10 8th Grader Cody Gray from Franklin, OH.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Things have finally slowed down enough for me to start thinking about our "Best of the Summer Awards" and picking 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH as both the Player of the Summer and as the #1-Ranked Senior Nationally is a no-brainer. If you will recall, Sullinger finished ranked #2, behind 6’3 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (HS) FL, in our ranking of the top players at the LeBron James King City Classic in Cleveland, OH and led his team to the championship in both the NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC and the AAU 17-Under Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Bottom line, Sullinger's team almost always wins, he's clutch at crunch time, and is a tremendous competitor. Combine that with the fact that Sullinger has an incredible basketball IQ, is like a coach on the floor, and is extremely unselfish and the sky is the limit for this 6'8 physical specimen who is similar in many ways to Kevin Love. And that's saying a lot, because Love was our #1-ranked player in the Class of 2007, led UCLA to the NCAA Final Four in the spring of 2008, and averaged 11.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg as a rookie for the Minnesota Timberwolves this past season. Sullinger, who committed to Ohio State at the end of his freshman year, becomes the third player that the Buckeyes have landed in the last four years who has been ranked #1 in the nation by somebody in our business. If you will recall, 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who led Ohio State to a runner-up finish in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, was the consensus #1-ranked high school player in 2006 and 7'0 B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (H.S.) OH, who didn't start for Ohio State this past season, but was still picked #24 by the Dallas Mavericks in this year's NBA Draft, was ranked #1 in the nation a year ago by Rivals.com. And it wouldn't surprise us one bit if Ohio State head coach Thad Matta would rather have Sullinger than the other two. Not only will Sullinger likely be more than just a one year or two year college player, but he also is the marquee player in Ohio State's current recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'4 Jordan Sibert from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, 6'4 Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton) IL, 6'6 J.D. Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH, and 6'3 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH and is ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. Our Runner-up Player of the Summer is 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN. Not only was he our #1-ranked player at the five events that took place in Las Vegas, NV during the week of July 22-26th, but he also made the game winning shot in one game and was instrumental in the Memphis Magic's 16-point come from behind win in the championship game of the adidas Super 64 Tournament. It also should come as no surprise that our vote for the #1-Ranked Junior Nationally, as well as the Best Player in the Nation Regardless of Class, goes to 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ. The Best Sophomore in the Nation is clearly 6'4 Soph Shabazz Muhammed from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV and 6'5 Frosh Brian Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA edges out 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV as the Best Freshman in the Nation, despite the fact that Williams-Goss led Dream Vision to the championship in the AAU 14-Under Nationals last week in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The Most Improved Player from the beginning to the end of the summer clearly was 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX. If you will recall, Jones took his game to another level at the Big Shots Tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC and was the guy a lot of college coaches were talking about being the guy with the most potential in the class by end of the summer. The Fastest Rising Player of the Summer has to be 5'7 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who has transformed himself from being a guy that everybody thought was too small into a player who is now ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. He also a great combination of strength and quickness, an excellent understanding of the game, and a willingness to compete that is hard to find in this day-and-age. The Sleeper of the Summer is 6'4 Justin Coleman from Richmond (Henrico County) VA, who was totally unknown by anybody prior to the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp, but now is ranked #27 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. However, we also gave serious consideration for this award to 5'10 Bruce Ellington from Monack Center (Berkeley) SC, who has emerged from relative obscurity into one of the best point guard prospects in the nation. And, if you don't believe it, just check out the fact that we have Ellington currently ranked #54 in our Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010, The Surprise of the Summer goes to 6'0 Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA based on the fact that he stepped up and was the best player in the all-star game at the Reebok All-American Camp. Remember, this is the guy that our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin had dubbed as a major bust for a long time. The Biggest Disappointment of the Summer has to be 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS. However, this might not be fair to Ross, because he still may not be fully recovered from an injury that he suffered last spring. On the other hand, Ross has a reputation for being lazy and maybe this will motivate him to work harder and become the great player we know he can become. The Best Playmaker has to be 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop Connell) VA. The Best 3-Point Shooter is 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA. And 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC edges out 6'5 Jr Damien Leonard from Greenville (J.L. Mann) SC for the Top Gun of the Summer. Terrell, who was sensational in the morning session at the LeBron James King City Classic and awful in the championship game in the Reebok Summer Championships, also was a candidate for the both the Best Performance and the Worst Performance of the Summer. However, 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL edged both Terrell and 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH out of the Best Performance-of-the-Summer Award with his superb performance in the evening session at the LeBron James King City Classic. And 6'8 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV edged Terrell out for the Worst Performance-of-the-Summer Award when he got total dominated in his team's loss to New Heights in the playoffs of the adidas Super 64 Tournament. However, 6'5 Javvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who was a dominant force inside in the game, also deserves a lot of credit for Thompson's incredible demise in that game. Our Missing-In-Action Award goes to 6'11 Jeremy Tyler, who not only has not been seen by anybody since he announced his plan to forgo his senior year of high school last spring, but also likely won't be seen in the immediate future now that he has signed a contract to play professionally in Israel. We tried to find somebody who was a better rebounder than 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH. But that person doesn't exist in the high school ranks today. So Sullinger wins the Best Rebounder Award. He also has to be right up there for the Sportsmanship Award, along with 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, and 6'7 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY. However, in the end, we gave this award to 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who not only led his team to the championship in the 14-Under Nationals, but also has a 4.0 gpa, speaks Chinese, always has a smile on his face, and is just as good a kid as he is a basketball player. Our Stock Market Player of the Summer is 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC. When he's on top of his game, Leslie is one of the best players in the nation. When he's not on top of his game, he's tough to watch. The Best Shot Blocker of the Summer has to be 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and the Best Defender of the Summer goes to 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX. The Most Over Hyped Player of the Summer was 7'0 Fabrico DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL. He legitimately belongs in the 50-100 range nationally based on his size and potential. But scout.com ranking DeMelo, who is a potential guy and not a finished product, as the second best center in America is a little ridiculous. Moral to the story, you've got to be pretty good right now to be ranked among our top 10 seniors nationally. Florida's Billy Donovan beat out USC's Kevin O'Neill and Florida International's Isiah Thomas as our Most Visible Head Coach of the Summer and Florida State's Andy Enfeld beat out Florida's Richard Pitino and USC's Bob Canto as our Most Visible Assistant Coach of the Summer. And this is important, because there usually is a direct correlation between coaches that you see on the recruiting trail and schools that have gotten it done when it comes time to compile our final ranking of the top recruiting classes. The Team-of-the-Summer has to be All-Ohio Red, which this spring and summer won the championship in the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament, Billy Hensley Memorial Spiece Run 'N Slam, NY2LA AAU Tournament, All-Ohio Super 16, NIKE Memorial Day Tournament, 17-Under Ohio State AAU Tournament, NIKE Peach Jam and AAU 17-Under Nationals and featured 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH, 5'11 Kevin Gray from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Adrian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, and 6'5 James Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH. Our Coach of the Summer is Tom Topping, who guided NIKE Team Florida to the championship in both the Main Event in Las Vegas, NV and the Desert Duel in Phoenix, AZ, as well as final four appearances in the NIKE Peach Jam and Rumble in the Bronx.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that the list of 24 players who will participate in this year's Boost Mobile Elite 24 All-Star Game, which will tip-off at 7:00 PM on Friday, August 21st, at Rucker Park in New York City, includes 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S) IA, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'6 Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'4 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'7 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hilll) VA, 6'6 Terrence Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL,6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita (Wichita Heights) KS, and 6'8 Soph DaJuan Coleman from DeWitt (Jamesville-DeWitt) NY. Conspicuous by their absence are three of the HOOP SCOOP's top 10-ranked seniors - 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN - and four of the HOOP SCOOP's top seven-ranked juniors - 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'8 Jr James McAdoo from Norfolk (Christian) VA, and 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX. But the real shocker for Naclerio is 6'5 Javvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who is ranked #25 in our Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010, not being on the roster. "You would think that the best player in the city would be in the game," says Naclerio. "Pinkston has worked hard and deserves a lot credit for developing into an excellent perimeter player and very good 3-point shooter." We also were surprised to find out that Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, and Tyreke Evans will be coaching in this year's Boost Mobile Elite 24 All-Star Game. While all four have very promising professional careers ahead of them and three are past participants of the game, we have to wonder what qualifies them to be coaches other than just having big name recognition? Hopefully they'll do what they've done each of the last three years and let Naclerio, who is the head coach of Bayside (Cardozo) NY and a Rucker Park legend, and Tiny Morton, who is the head coach of Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, once again coach the teams and let the celebrity coaches shake hands, kiss babies, and do television interviews. There also will be a Slam Dunk Contest that will be held prior to the start of the actual game at 5:30 PM on Friday, August 21st. The contest will feature the six best dunkers selected from the Boost Mobile Elite 24 roster. The contest will have two rounds with two dunks per round. The scoring is non-cumulative and only the top four players will advance to the final round. The player with the high score in the final round will win the contest. Rondo and Jennings will be joined by the Wilson Chandler of the New York Knicks to judge the contest. North Carolina's Dexter Strickland was the Slam Dunk Contest winner in 2008. The game will televised by tape delay on ESPNU at 7:00 PM on Saturday, August 22nd, and Naclerio will provide us with his expert analysis and insight into what he thinks about the performance of each player exclusively right here in the Members Section.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
It looks like all of the hard work that new Florida International head coach Isiah Thomas and his staff put in this spring and summer is paying off in a big way. If you will recall, the Golden Panthers received verbal commitments from both 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and 5'8 Phil Taylor from Marietta (Wheeler) GA during the middle of July. And now they landed 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA. Not only are all three ranked among our top 100 players nationally in their respective classes (currently we have Ferguson ranked #55 and Taylor #98 in the senior class and Coleman ranked #8 nationally in the junior class), but the Golden Panthers beat some pretty fast company for their services. Remember, Ferguson was also being recruited by schools like Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, UCLA, and Duke. Coleman picked Florida International over Connecticut and West Virginia. And a lot of people thought that Taylor would follow his high school teammate (Richard Howell) to N.C. State. When one also remembers that the Golden Panthers got a verbal commitment last spring from 6'4 Dejuan Wright from Gillette (JC) WY, it's easy to see why we have their current recruiting class ranked #13 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. And this comes on the heels of the six junior college players 6'7 Eric Frederick from Highland (JC) IL, 6'4 Antoine Watson from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'5 Marvin Roberts from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'3 Stephon Weaver from Connors State (JC) OK, 6'6 Kavon Lytch from Midland (JC) TX, and 5'10 Phil Gray from Malcolm X (JC) IL that were apart of Florida International's recruiting class which was tied at #33 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2009. As for Ferguson, he's got the potential and athleticism necessary to be one of the best players in the country. But he would rather shoot 3-pointers and play out on the perimeter than use his size and athleticism to dominate inside and, as a result, has yet to live up to the incredible hype that has been created by some of our competitors. So, with this in mind and also taking into account Thomas' long history of both playing and coaching in the NBA, this appears to be a perfect fit. The other big story that occurred during the last four days while I was focused exclusively on covering and then putting together the rankings of all of players from the 2009 Junior Phenon Camp in San Diego, CA is the fact that 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN narrowed his list to three schools. And the University of Kentucky was not one of them, which means that it should only be a matter of time before Jackson picks Memphis over Kansas and Tennessee. Obviously this will be a major coup for the Tigers. But, even more important, will be the fact that new Memphis head coach Josh Pastner will be able to go to war year after next with 6'4 Soph Elliott Williams and 6'8 Soph Wesley Witherspoon at the wing spots and with Jackson running the show at the point guard spot. That's three potential NBA players, which means that the Tigers won't miss a beat, despite the fact that John Calipari left Memphis to become the head coach at Kentucky last spring. It also looks like Ohio State is planning on picking up where the All-Ohio Red team left off at the end of July with the addition of the fourth player - 6'6 J.D. Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH - off of that team. If you will recall, 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, who is the #1-ranked senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'4 Jordan Sibert from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, who was sidelined all spring and summer, but is a legitimate top 50-ranked senior nationally, and 6'3 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH, who tough hardnosed competitor, excellent 3-pointer shooter, and a great role player, also were apart of this team which has totally dominated the AAU scene in their age group each of the last three years. When you also add into the equation 6'8 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'4 Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton) IL, who is ranked #95 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, it's easy to see why we have the Buckeyes' recruiting class ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. And what about University of Detroit head coach Ray McCallum going back to his old stamping grounds and landing 6'7 Jordan Manuel from Indianapolis (Howe) IN and 5'7 Jr Alvin "P.J." Boutte from Indianapolis (Howe) IN? Neither player projects at the high major level due to the fact that they both have not grown and, as a result, have fallen into the "tweener" trap. However, that's the only thing separating them from playing in the Big-10 Conference, instead of the Horizon League. As for Boutte, we don't look for this addition to scare off 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, who is ranked #34 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the Titans' #1-recruit. Instead, the big question is whether the coach's son wants to play for a school at the big time level, like Kansas, UCLA, Oklahoma, Michigan Michigan State, Arizona, or Duke, or be a big fish in a small pond and play for his father at the University of Detroit? We're betting on the latter. It also looks like Wagner College has stolen one in 6'2 Evan Pierce from Mt. Lebanon (H.S.) PA. They beat Drexel, Iona, Air Force, Youngstown State, and most of the schools in their league for this versatile athlete who can both get to the rim and fill it up from beyond the arc. Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'2 Austin Kelly from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA has verbally committed to the University of Pennsylvania and 6'0 Andre Winston from Tacoma (Lakes) WA has picked James Madison. Yes, that's the same guy who played so well in the Seattle Rotary Select-Mac Irvin Fire game, which was the best game that we saw last month in the four tournaments in Las Vegas, NV. Watson averaged 20 ppg and 8 apg this past season for his high school team, but what we liked best about him was his on-the-ball defense and is ability to slash to the basket. Kelly is ranked #440 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. But he should be a perfect fit for the Quakers, because he's a very good defender and is excellent at getting to the basket. Our North Carolina Editor Rick Lewis tells us that 6'4 Jay Canty from Jamestown (Ragsdale) NC has verbally committed to Xavier and 6'5 Jordan Downing from Huntersville (Hopewell) NC has verbally committed to Davidson. Downing is a versatile athlete who plays excellent defense, is good in transition, and can beat you with his mid-range game. Canty, who originally verbally committed to High Point, but later reneged, is a tough hard nosed competitor that is ideally suited to replace 6'6 J.D. Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH. If you will recall, Weatherspoon committed to the Musketeers last fall, but changed his mind after the coaching change in the spring and now is heading to Ohio State. We also have confirmed that 6'8 Richard Solomon from Los Angeles (Price) CA has verbally committed to the University of California. Currently we have Solomon ranked #115 nationally in the senior class, but he's long and athletic, runs the court, blocks shots, and has a huge upside. In other words, Solomon is ideally suited to complement 6'4 Allen Crabbe from Los Angeles (Price) CA and 6'5 Alex Rossi from Winnekta (New Trier) IL, who also are apart of the Golden Bears' recruiting class, which is ranked #21 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. There also is the verbal commitment that 6'4 Cameron Wright from Cleveland (Benedictine) OH made to the University of Pittsburgh and the fact that 6'6 Chane Behanan from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY appears to have reneged on the verbal commitment that he made a year ago to the University of Cincinnati. Behanan, who previously attended high school at Cincinnati (Aiken) OH, has moved with his mother to Bowling Green, KY. He also is ranked #21 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and will be the #1-ranked player in the state's mediocre junior class. We also have confirmed that 6'3 Mardracus Wade from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, who is ranked #104 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked Arkansas over Memphis, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Baylor, and Massachusetts and 6'6 Heath Houston from Powder Springs (Hillsgrove) AL has become Auburn's first recruit in the Class of 2010.
Saturday, August 8, 2009, Sunday, August 9, 2009, Monday, August 10, 2009, & Tuesday, August 11, 2009
They're finally finished!!! I'm talking about our Exclusive Ranking of the Players at the 2009 Junior Phenom Camp, which was held over the weekend in San Diego, CA and featured many of the top players nationally in the Class of 2014, Class of 2015, and Class of 2016. And right at the top of the list was 5'7 7th Grader Perry Dozier from Columbia, SC, who simply reinforced the fact that he is the best player nationally in his class with his incredible skills, athleticism, silky smooth demeanor, and ability to play any position on the basketball on the court. He also has a great bloodline, as is father (Perry Dozier) and uncle (Terry Dozier) both played for the University of South Carolina in the 1980's. However, right now Dozier's game is a lot more like that of Kobe Bryant due to his great ball handling and passing skills, ability to light up a scoreboard, incredible feel for the game and innate understanding of when to get his own points and when to make his teammates better. But this was not the big story of the camp, as we'd already seen Dozier emerge as the best player a year ago at two different camps. Instead, the big story was the incredible, balance, competitiveness, and depth of talent at this year's Junior Phenom Camp. And, while this had to be great news for Joe Keller, who is the Executive Director and CEO of Phenom Basketball, it was not good news for me. That's because this was the hardest camp to evaluate in the 26 years that I've been attending superstar oriented camps dating back to the AFBE (Athletes For Better Education) Camp in 1983. Picking the top several players on each team wasn't much of a problem. However, it was very difficult after that due to the fact that there just wasn't much separation among many of the players in the middle of the camp. And, this is important, because, if I saw all of the players in this camp 100 times, our list would come out a 100 different ways. In other words, rankings are a reflection of what somebody has seen, thinks, and knows at the time. So obviously this is not an exact science and things like playing hard, teammate work, defense, sharing the basketball, and attitude are also all very important parts of the equation. And most of the players in this camp get high marks in these areas. But there several notable exceptions. Can you believe that the was a player who at the time was playing in the 6th Grade All-Star Game that told his coach that he didn't have to listen to him? There also was "the point guard from hell" (he never passed the basketball) on a team in the 8th Grade Division and a parent of player from Philadelphia, PA in the 7th Grade Division who was the ultimate overzealous parent. She told me that the referees all told her how good her son was. I told her that when those referees published their rankings of the top players in camp, that he'd been in good shape. Moral to the story, this is a very difficult task and beauty is often in the eye of the beholder. But, unlike some of our competitors who can't even get the top players ranked correctly (i.e. rivals.com had B.J. Mullens ranked as the #1 player in their final ranking of the top players in the Class of 2008), our track record speaks for itself and we have stood the test of time. As for the camp itself, the 6th Grade Division was the best age group and six of the top 10-ranked players - 5'8 6th Grader Jeremy Hemsley from Alta Loma, CA, 5'9 6th Grader Sebastian Baugh from Pelta, IA, 5'7 6th Grader Kameron Edwards from Hacienda Heights, CA, 5'5 6th Graders Nijah Pearson from Beaumont, TX, 5'7 6th Grader Tyus Battle from Edison, NJ, and 5'9 6th Grader Zachary Collins from Las Vegas, NV - in this age group were centers. And that number would be seven if 5'1 7th Grader Joshua Holliday from Marietta, GA, who actually played down a year due to the fact that he's young for his class, hadn't been switched to the power forward spot due to the fact that's the position that he played in the all-star game and he is ranked #1, instead of #2, at that position. The second best age group was the 7th Grade Division, but it was the unselfishness of players like 5'6 8th Grader Noah Robotham from Las Vegas, NV, 6'0 8th Grader Robert Berwick from Atascadero, CA, 4'10 8th Grader Jared Hunter from Beaumont, TX, 5'7 8th Grader Isaac Deese from Artesia, CA, 5'8 8th Grader Darryl Gaynor from Las Vegas, NV, 5'0 8th Grader Malik Stewart from Las Vegas, NV that made the all-star game in the 8th Grade Division by-far-and-away the best all-star game. However, it was 6'2 8th Grader Jonathan Carson from Milwaukee, WI, who in the end stole show with 18 points and MVP honors in the 8th Grade All-Star Game. The MVP in the 7th Grade All-Star Game was 5'7 7th Grader Perry Dozier from Columbia, SC and the MVP in the 6th Grade All-Star Game was 5'8 6th Grader Jeremy Hemsley from Alta Loma, CA. We also want to mention all of the unsung heroes of the camp. The list of players named to the All-Defensive Team in the 8th Grade Division includes 5'7 8th Grader Khalil Thompson from Las Vegas, NV, 4'10 8th Grader Jared Hunter from Beaumont, TX, 5'11 8th Grader Jared Stuedemann from Paso Robles, CA, 5'3 8th Grader Bobby Phills from Charlotte, NC, 5'7 8th Grader Miles Reynolds from Chicago, IL, 5'7 8th Grader Andrew Dossman from Long Beach, CA, 6'0 8th Grader Nicholas Ortega from Phoenix, AZ, 6'3 8th Grader Benjamin Peterson from Turlock, CA, 6'0 8th Grader Alec Shaffer-Doan from Reynoldsburg, PA, 6'1 8th Grader Dorian Pickens from Cave Creek, AZ, 5'0 8th Grader Malik Stewart from Las Vegas, NV, 5'0 8th Grader Chandler Redix from Apple Valley, CA, 5'6 8th Grader Noah Robatham from Las Vegas, NV, 5'4 8th Grader Jalen Hall from Moreno Valley, CA, 6'1 8th Grader David Taylor from Germany, 5'6 8th Grader Obim Okeke from Reno, NV, and 5'9 8th Grader Kameron Murrell from Long Beach, CA. The list of players who received Sportsmanship Awards in the 8th Grade Division includes 4'9 8th Grader Darius Moore from Fayetteville, NC, 5'5 8th Grader Elijah Sykes from Chandler, AZ, 4'10 8th Grader Jared Hunter from Beaumont, TX, 6'2 8th Grader Asher Clasen from Temecula, CA, 6'0 8th Grader Peter Wood from Eugene, OR, 5'0 8th Grader Gino Littles from Paradise Valley, AZ, 5'3 8th Grader Thomas McCarthy from Rancho Santa Fe, CA, 5'8 8th Grader Kevin Saiz from Corrales, NM, 5'6 8th Grader Daniel Torres from Oceanside, CA, 6'2 8th Grader Jonathan Carson from Milwaukee, WI, 5'1 8th Grader De'Ron Kyle from Glendale, AZ, 5'3 8th Grader Aubrey Stephens from Clackames, OR, 5'3 8th Grader Brandon Wheelihan from Carlsbad, CA, 5'9 8th Grader Will Coughlin from Atascadero, CA, 6'2 8th Grader John Jackson from Tuscon, AZ, 5'1 8th Grader Shawn Stanley from Kuna, ID, 5'3 8th Grader Colton Bishop from Winston-Salem, NC, 5'9 8th Grader Matthew Yamout from Carlsbad, CA, 5'9 8th Grader Alex Ettinger from Altadena, CA, and 5'6 8th Grader Justin Claus from Rio Dell, CA. The list of players named to the All-Defensive Team in the 7th Grade Division includes 5'8 7th Grader Michael Gonzalez from Humble, TX, 5'0 7th Grader Caleb Tregre from Cincinnati, OH, 4'7 7th Grader Eric Dunbar from Woodbridge, VA, 5'3 7th Grader Alex Copeland from Los Angeles, CA, 5'9 7th Grader Timothy Smith from Yuma, AZ, 5'5 7th Grader William Lemasters from Dallas, TX, 5'9 7th Grader James Pak from University Place, WA, 5'0 7th Grader La'Quan Hawkins from Henderson, NV, 5'5 7th Grader Travis Waller from Yorba Linda, CA, 5'10 7th Grader Michael Zabrecky from Center Valley, PA, 4'10 7th Grader Jesus Zambrano from Paramount, CA, 5'5 7th Grader Rex Pflueger from San Juan Capistrano, CA, 5'1 7th Grader Travis Petties from Chula Vista, CA, 5'3 7th Grader Derek Polk from Del Mar, CA, 5'8 7th Grader Christopher Hatch from Thousand Oaks, CA, 4'10 7th Grader Cole Gentry from St. Charles, IL, 5'3 7th Grader Derrick White from Boise, ID, 5'5 7th Grader Donn-Christian Corbin from Stockton, CA, 5'9 7th Grader Benjamin Turk from Tucson, AZ, 5'2 7th Grader Khaleel Jenkins from El Cajon, CA, and 6'1 7th Grader Christian Munoz from Fairfield, CA. The list of players who received Sportsmanship Awards in the 7th Grade Division includes 5'7 7th Grader Perry Dozier from Columbia, SC, 5'0 7th Grader Bailey Kikuchi from Monterey Park, CA, 6'0 7th Grader Brett Bowman from Las Vegas, NV, 5'4 7th Grader Timothy Hinton from Norwalk, CT, 5'4 7th Grader Ian Brown from Canandaigua, NY, 5'6 7th Grader Eleco Soto from San Jose, CA, 5'2 7th Grader Jordan Tanuvasa from Honolulu, HI, 5'8 7th Grader Colby Daniels from Hayden, ID, 5'5 7th Grader Kurt Milch from Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, 4'11 7th Grader Bo Swoverland from Scottsdale, AZ, 5'1 7th Grader Richie Thornton from Las Vegas, NV, 5'8 7th Grader Kason Harrell from Greensburg, PA, and 4'10 7th Grader Tyson Baker from Idaho Falls, ID. The list of players named to the All-Defensive Team in the 6th Grade Division includes 4'11 6th Grader Eric Cussimonio from Lancaster, CA, 4'6 6th Grader Ethan Ardalan from Calabasas, CA, 5'0 6th Grader Devin Newton from Inglewood, CA, 5'0 6th Grader A.J. Oliveira from San Diego, CA, 5'5 6th Grader Jordan Tucker from White Plains, NY, 5'0 6th Grader Trevon Bradford from Clackamas, OR, 5'2 6th Grader Kendall Barnes from Peoria, AZ, 4'8 6th Gader Javan McBride from Charlotte, NC, 4'9 6th Grader Daniel Venzant from Midland, TX, 5'0 6th Grader Isaiah Banks from North Las Vegas, NV, 4'8 6th Grader Darion Achohido from Las Vegas, NV, 5'1 6th Grader John Ketchel from Discovery Bay, CA, 5'0 6th Grader Thomas Jackson from Bloomfield, CT, and 5'0 6th Grader Ellis Jefferson from San Antonio, TX. The list of players who received Sportsmanship Awards in the 6th Grade Division includes 5'8 6th Grader Andrew Weber from Fruitland, ID, 5'6 6th Grader Lonell Lenox from Hot Springs, AR, 4'10 6th Grader Michael Curley from Temecula, CA, 4'7 6th Grader Christopher Jones from East Hartford, CT, 4'11 6th Grader Kaelon Money from Cypress, TX, 4'8 6th Grader Jake Milch from Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, 4'10 6th Grader Eddie Fernandez from San Diego, CA, 4'11 6th Grader Michael Pelaiz from San Diego, CA, 5'3 6th Grader Austin Smellie from Preston, ID, 5'2 6th Grader Michael Feinberg from Rancho Santa Fe, CA, 4'9 6th Grader Jake Klores from New York, NY, 5'0 6th Grader Andrew Ekmark from Phoenix, AZ, 4'9 6th Grader Daniel Hyun from Santa Barbara, CA, 4'11 6th Grader Stephen Rocklin from Studio City, CA, 5'1 6th Grader Austen Awosika from Chino, CA, 4'11 6th Grader Justin Leip from Ashland, MA, 4'6 6th Grader Kihei Clark from Reseda, CA, and 5'4 6th Grader Mitch Peterson from Richfield, OH.
Friday, August 7, 2009
I've been covering the AAU 14-Under Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, FL all week and, as a result, I've done my best to ignore all of the verbal commitments that have been made to four-year Division I colleges and universities. However, since today is a travel day, now is a good time to catch up on what's happened during the time-period since college coaches went off the road a week ago. And right at the top of the list is the early verbal commitment that 6'5 Jr Samuel "P.J." Hairston from Greensboro (Dudley) NC made to the University of North Carolina. This comes as no surprise to us, because our North Carolina Editor Rick Lewis has been telling us for months that this was a done deal. The only hold-up being that there is now an unwritten agreement among coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference that they won't take early commitments from players before they reach their junior year in his school. As for Hairston, he's a big time athleticism and excellent 3-point shooter with deep range. But he was slowed by a groin injury this spring and summer, which explains why Hairston has not lived up to his #12-ranking nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP. Hairston also should be an excellent complement to 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and 6'5 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, who are the two players that are apart of North Carolina's current recruiting class, which is ranked #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010, and 6'8 Jr James McAdoo from Norfolk (Christian) VA, who is one of the top players in the junior class nationally and also is expected to pick the Tar Heels sooner than later. There also is the verbal commitment that 7'0 Fabrico DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL made to Syracuse. The good news is that DeMelo is a physical specimen with good hands and passing ability, which means he is ideally suited to fit into Orangemen head coach Jim Boeheim's system. The bad news is that DeMelo is a project who will need some to develop and, as a result, will likely red-shirt his first year. In other words, DeMelo gets ranked #78 nationally in the senior class more based on potential than what he actually accomplishes in the hardwood. Still, the addition of DeMelo is enough to get Syracuse's recruiting class moved up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. If you will recall, the Orangemen also already have 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'10 Baye Moussa Kieta from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'7 C.J. Fair from Baltimore (City College) MD in the fold. And what about the verbal commitment that Ole Miss picked up from 6'8 DeMarco Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #88 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP? We're talking about one of my favorite players in the class due to the fact that he is a good old-fashioned blue collar inside guy who is surprisingly mobile, tough, and effective around the basket for somebody his size. Two that caught us by surprise were 6'5 Joe Harris from Chelan (H.S.) WA and 6'4 K.T. Harrell from Montgomery (Brewbaker Tech) AL both making verbal commitments to the University of Virginia. Quite honestly we've never even heard of Harrell and apparently the Cavaliers coaching staff saw something that we didn't in Harris, who we thought was a mid-major player when we watched him play on Friends of Hoops-Seattle a week-and-a-half ago in the Desert Duel in Phoenix, AZ. However, new UVA head coach Tony Bennett made a living with guys like this when he was at Washington State and he does have a major steal in 6'8 Will Regan from Buffalo (Nichols) NY, who is ranked #57 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is perfect for his system. We also think 6'6 Alex Dragicovich from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, who has verbally committed to Notre Dame, will fit nicely into Irish head coach Mike Brey's system. Dragicovich is versatile enough to play multiple positions, has excellent skills out on the perimeter, and has a big upside once he gets bigger and stronger physically. You also have to be impressed with the fact that Miami-FL has landed 6'5 Rion Brown from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA. Remember, this is the guy that our West Coast Editor Alan Utter was raving about on the first day at the Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas, NV. What Brown does best is shoot the outside shot, but he's also was one of the players who helped himself the most this summer, which explains why he is now ranked #68 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. We were somewhat surprised by the fact that the University of Arizona took an early verbal commitment from 6'8 Jr Sidiki Johnson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY. We liked Johnson upside and potential and ability to score around the basket when we saw him at the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia, PA. But we had him ranked no higher than #7 at the center spot in that camp, which leads us to believe that he's not good enough for the Wildcats right now. But then again, you can teach size and one-in-the-hand is worth two-in-the-bush. It also looks like Fairfield has stolen one in 6'7 Adam Jones from Winter Park (H.S.) FL. Yes, that's the same guy who provided the inside presence on the team that knocked off three nationally ranked high school teams last December in the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL and featured 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers. There are those who think Jones will project as a wing forward down the road, but his game is too good 15-feet and in and it's too hard to find quality inside guys in the Metro Atlantic Conference. So, it's our guess that Fairfield head coach Ed Cooley may have a hidden gem on his hands and, as a result, will use him at the power forward spot, where he will provide an excellent complement to 6'3 Colin Nickerson from Waukegan (H.S.) IL and 5'11 Derrick Needham from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, who were the two players he signed in last year's recruiting class, and 6'2 Jamel Fields from Albany (Academies) NY, who also is already in the fold in this year's recruiting class. Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'10 Naohall Folaham from Wilbraham (Wilbraham & Monson) MA has committed to Marist, 6'6 Trenity Burdine from Reading (H.S.) PA has committed to Siena, and 6'4 Jeff James from Bowie (H.S.) MD has committed to Mount St. Mary's. James is a great catch for the Mountaineers, because he's a local player and an excellent athlete who knows how to get to the hole, play excellent defense, and is a lot better than where we have him currently ranked at #703 nationally in the senior class. Burdine is best described as a long athletic wing player who can put it on the floor and beat you with his mid-range game and outside shot. What Folaham does best is use his length to block shots, rebound, and score around the basket. We also have confirmed that 6'7 Alex Tiffin from Thousand Oaks (H.S.) CA has committed to UC-Davis, 6'4 Eric Gaines from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL has committed to Kent State, 6'11 Will Artino from Waukee (H.S.) IA has committed to Creighton, 6'5 Ben Vozzola from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV has committed to San Diego, 6'7 Ricky Kreklow from Columbia (Rockbridge) MO has committed to Missouri, 6'7 Marvin Baynham from Miami (Norland) FL has committed to Georgia Southern, 6'5 Shelton Boykin from Long Beach (Poly) CA has committed to Long Beach State, 6'3 Matt Kennedy from Charleston (West Ashley) SC has committed to Charleston Southern, 6'7 Joe Harris from Twinsburg (H.S.) OH has committed to Miami-OH, 6'6 Will Triggs from Edwardsville (H.S.) IL has committed to Austin Peay, 6'5 Charles Hankerson from Miami (Coral Reef) FL has committed to the University of Alabama, 6'4 Dennis Diaz from Deland (H.S.) FL has committed to Stetson, 6'4 James Williams from Deerfield Beach (H.S.) FL has committed to High Point, 6'6 Trenity Burdine from Reading (H.S.) PA has committed to Siena, and 6'6 Jr Austin Etherington from Arcadia (Hamilton Heights) IN has made an early verbal commitment to Indiana.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The final four is set at the 2009 AAU 14-Under National Tournament at Lake Buena Vista, FL and in tomorrow's semi-finals games it will be NIKE Team Florida versus Dream Vision at 7:00 PM and the Houston Defenders versus the Carolina Warriors at 8:30 PM. Then the two winners will play for all the marbles at 2:30 PM on Saturday afternoon. And we're sticking by our prediction from yesterday, despite the fact that Dream Vision looked sluggish and their quarterfinals game was a lot closer against the Peasemakers than the 61-44 final score would indicate. In contrast, the Houston Defenders looked really sharp and ready to play in their quarterfinals game, as they led by over 30 points in the 3rd Quarter and coasted from there to 68-45 win against the Houston Hoops. NIKE Team Florida had very little trouble in their 60-47 win against TP Elite in the first quarterfinals game of the day and the Greensboro Warriors picked where they left off when they knocked off the Texas Titans, 41-35, in the round of 16 with another stunning upset against the Mac Irvin Fire. The final score was 53-45 and this was truly a team effort, as the three best players - 6'5 Frosh Donavan Gilmore from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'2 Frosh Jonathan Terry from Greensboro (Day) NC, and 5'10 Frosh Kevin Hunt -from Greensboro (Dudley) NC - for the Greensboro Warriors did not make our list of the top 100-ranked players in the tournament, which is as follows: 1) 6'5 Frosh Brian Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA (Houston Defenders), 2) 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV (Dream Vision), 3) 6'0 Frosh Kasey Hill from Mount Dora (Bible) FL (NIKE Team Florida), 4) 6'4 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX (Houston Defenders), 5) 5'11 8th Grader Joel Berry from Apopka (Middle School) FL (NIKE Team Florida), 6) 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego, CA (Dream Vision), 7) 6'4 Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX (Houston Defenders), 8) 6'8 Frosh Thomas Hamilton from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL (Mac Irvin Fire), 9) 6'7 Frosh Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX (Texas Titans), 10) 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego, CA (Dream Vision), 11) 6'5 Frosh Dre Kalo Clayton from Orlando, FL (NIKE Team Florida), 12) 6'4 Frosh Ishmail Wainwright from Raytown (South) MO (KC Cowboys), 13) 5'9 8th Grader James Blackmon from Ft. Wayne, IN (Spiece Indy-Blackmon), 14) 6'4 Frosh Jabari Parker from Chicago (Simeon) IL (Mac Irvin Fire), 15) 6'3 Frosh R.J. Curington from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (Mac Irvin Fire), 16) 6'8 Frosh William Goodman from Decatur (Southwest DeKalb) GA (J-Smoove Allstars), 17) 6'8 Frosh Tyrek Coger from Raleigh (Upper Room Christian Academy) NC (Garner Road Bulldogs), 18) 6'7 8th Grader Jalil Okafor from Chicago, IL (Nolan Richardson Mustangs), 19) 6'5 Frosh Nicholas King from Memphis (East) TN (Memphis YOMCA), 20) 6'0 Frosh Elijah Brown from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH (TNBA Cleveland), 21) 6'8 Frosh Malik Price-Martin from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL (Florida Rams), 22) 5'11 Frosh Derrick Jackson from Columbia (Spring Valley) SC (South Carolina Ravens), 23) 6'7 Frosh Jonathan Williams from Memphis (Southwind) TN (Memphis YOMCA), 24) 6'0 Frosh Delano Spencer from Lilburn (Parkview) AR (Atlanta Celtics), 25) 5'9 Frosh Connor Frankamp from Wichita (North) KS (KC Cowboys), 26) 6'1 Frosh Jonathan Severe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY (Long Island Lightning), 27) 6'3 Frosh Deonte Burton from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI (TP Elite), 28) 6'7 Frosh Chris Davenport from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA (J-Smoove Allstars), 29) 6'3 Frosh Roschon Prince from Long Beach (Poly) CA (Dream Vision), 30) 6'6 Frosh Antonio Davis from Atlanta (Christian) GA (J-Smoove Allstars), 31) 6'1 Frosh Dequan Cook from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD (Team Melo), 32) 6'1 Frosh Donast Simmonse from Tulsa (Edison) OK (Oklahoma City Hawks), 33) 6'0 Frosh Charles Tucker from Lansing (Eastern) MI (All-Ohio Red), 34) 6'0 Frosh Brenton Scott from Ft. Wayne (Northrop) IN (Spiece Indy-Blackmon), 35) 6'3 Frosh Jarod Williams from Danville (George Washington) VA (Squires Education Foundation), 36) 6'1 Frosh Matt Jones from De Soto (H.S.) TX (Texas Titans), 37) 5'9 Frosh Anthony Virdure from St. Louis, MO (St. Louis Family), 38) 6'2 Frosh Cullen Neal from Albuquerque (Eldorado) NM (Granger Hurricanes), 39) 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Dyson from Memphis (Brighton) TN (Memphis YOMCA), 40) 6'4 Frosh Jordan McKey from Richardson (Berkner) TX (Dallas Mustangs), 41) 6'1 Frosh Myrek Fowkles from Baltimore, MD (WPC Elite), 42) 6'2 Frosh Brian Andrews from Owings Mills (McDonogh) MD (Maryland Wildcats), 43) 6'4 Frosh Mitchell Robinson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA (Mitchellville), 44) 6'6 Frosh Derek Griffin from Rosenberg (Terry) TX (Houston Defenders), 45) 6'4 8th Grader Joe Burton from Houston, TX (Houston Select 2014), 46) 6'4 8th Grader LeRon Black from Memphis, TN (Memphis Wareagles), 47) 6'5 Frosh Greg McClinton from Winston-Salem (Forsyth Country Day) NC (Greensboro Warriors), 48) 6'4 Frosh Terrance O'Donohue from Chattanooga (McCallie) (Atlanta Celtics), 49) 6'3 Soph Broderick Harris from Houston (Jones) TX (Houston Hoops), 50) 6'0 Frosh Matthew Hillman from Washington (Sidwell Friends) DC (Maryland Finest), 51) 6'2 8th Grader Tony Upchurch from Pearland, TX (Houston Select 2014), 52) 5'4 Frosh Anthony Ridley from Kansas City (Hogan Prep) MO (KC Cowboys), 53) 6'3 Frosh Nicholas Fuller from Sun Prairie (H.S.) WI (Wisconsin Force), 54) 6'0 Frosh Bryson Scott from Ft. Wayne (Northrop) IN (Spiece Indy-Blackmon), 55) 6'4 Frosh Jonathan Howard from Wilcox (County) GA (Atlanta Celtics), 56) 6'3 Frosh Allerik Freeman from Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC (Charlotte Royals), 57) 6'6 Frosh Rodney Bullock from Hampton (Kecoughtan) VA (DC Assault), 58) 6'5 Frosh Stephen Domingo from San Francisco (Sacred Heart) CA (SF Rebels), 59) 5'8 7th Grader Juwan Gooding from Boston, MA (Boston Saintz/Team 3R), 60) 6'6 Frosh Dylan Jones from Houston (Bellaire) TX (Texas Cagers), 61) 6'0 8th Grader Romelo Trimble from Upper Marlboro, MD (DC Assault), 62) 5'10 Frosh Blake Sanders from London (South Laurel) KY (Kentucky Elite), 63) 6'4 Soph Roderick Harris from Houston (Jones) TX (Houston Hoops), 64) 5'8 Frosh Anthony Bagtas from Atlanta (Westlake) GA (Atlanta Celtics), 65) 5'9 8th Grader Anton Beard from North Little Rock, AR (Arkansas Wings), 66) 5'8 Frosh Marquan Botley from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX (Texas Titans), 67) 6'6 Frosh Goodluck Okonoboh from Tilton (School) NH (BABC), 68) 6'2 Frosh Kendal Harris from Richardson (Berkner) TX (Dallas Mustangs), 69) 6'0 Frosh Dryall Goods from Tualatin (H.S.) OR (I-5 Elite Black), 70) 6'1 Frosh Rashad Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV (Dream Vision), 71) 6'3 Frosh Marc Loving from Toledo (St. John's) OH (All-Ohio Red), 72) 6'6 Frosh Andre Horne from Miami, FL (Florida Family 14s), 73) 6'2 Frosh Dedrick Lee from Clarksville (H.S.) AR (KC Cowboys), 74) 6'5 Frosh Shaquille Morris from Oklahoma City (John Marshall), 75) 6'2 8th Grader Dorian Holland from Florence, MO (Nolan Richardson Arkansas Mustangs), 76) 6'0 Frosh Timothy Boyd from Conway (H.S.) AR (Arkansas Wings), 77) 5'8 Frosh Cameron Calcote from Allen (H.S.) TX (LBA Seawolves), 78) 6'2 Frosh Jaquel Richmond from Greensboro (Dudley) NC (Greensboro Warriors), 79) 6'6 Frosh Maquadius Bain from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL (Florida Rams), 80) 6'6 Frosh Kyle Wilson from Ft. Worth (Dunbar) TX (LBA Seawolves), 81) 6'5 7th Grader Kewan Johnson from Atlanta, GA (J-Smoove Allstars), 82) 6'2 Frosh Justin Jackson from Spring, TX (Houston Hoops), 83) 6'5 Frosh Marcus Bryan from Raleigh (Enloe) NC (Garner Road Bulldogs), 84) 6'1 Frosh Bryce Alford from Albuquerque (La Cueva) NM (Granger Hurricanes), 84) 6'3 Frosh Jeremy Johnson from Birmingham (Carver) AL (Alabama Ballers), 85) 5'11 Frosh Jack Gilbert-Gibbs from Westerville (North) OH (All-Ohio Red), 87) 6'3 Frosh Emonte' Rogers from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA (DC Assault), 88) 6'3 Frosh Terrence Johnson from Pembroke (H.S.) FL (Florida Family 14s), 89) 5'5 Frosh Gary Bradshaw from Columbia (Ridgeview) SC (South Carolina Ravens), 90) 5'9 8th Grader Brandonn Etienne from Crosby, TX (Houston Select 2014), 91) 5'11 Frosh Anthony Carroll from Wauwatosa (West) WI (TP Elite), 92) 6'2 Frosh Shirmane Thomas from Dallas (Skyline) TX (Dallas Mustangs), 93) 6'0 Frosh Jamaal Cole from Snellville (Brookwood) GA (Atlanta Celtics), 94) 6'5 Frosh Collin Hartman from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN (Indiana Elite Jazz), 95) 5'7 Frosh Cameron Payne from Memphis (Lausanne) TN (Memphis Wareagles), 96) 5'7 Frosh Darrien White from Albany (Academy) NY (Albany City Rocks), 97) 6'4 Frosh Eric Levenberry from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD (DC Assault), 98) 6'2 Frosh Rondae Jefferson from Chester (H.S.) PA (Team Nelson), 99) 5'7 Frosh Travis Jorgensen from Columbia (Rockbridge) MO (KC Cowboys), and 100) 6'1 Frosh Austin Hatch from Ft. Wayne, IN (Spiece Indy-Blackmon). Editor's Note: These rankings are final due to the fact that I will be on a 6:30 AM flight to San Diego, CA tomorrow morning to cover the Junior Phenom Camp this weekend in San Diego, CA.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
We told you yesterday that we thought the Atlantic Celtics could knock off the J-Smoove Allstars and we told you the day before yesterday that we thought Dream Vision was the team to beat in this year's 2009 AAU 14-Under National Tournament at Lake Buena Vista, FL. However, we still did not expect the Atlanta Celtics to beat J-Smoove by 20 points and then turn around later the same day and lose by 21 points to Dream Vision. But that's exactly what happened, as Dream Vision jumped out to 19-5 lead early and simply ran the Atlanta Celtics out of the gym. Once again Dream Vision's leading scorer was 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV with 24 points. But they also featured a very balance attack, as 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego (Lincoln) CA had 17 points, 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego (Lincoln) CA had 12 points, and 6'4 Frosh Roschon Prince from Long Beach (Poly) CA and 6'1 Frosh Rashad Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV both had nine points apiece. And making the story even more interesting is the fact that most of the other people covering this event still haven't figured out that Dream Vision is clearly the best team in the tournament. They're well coached, very unselfish, and are about as relentless and competitive as you can get, which helps make up for their lack of size and bulk inside. But we don't expect to be much of a problem until Dream Vision gets to the final four and matches up against NIKE Team Florida, which has a beast inside in 6'5 Frosh Dre Kalo Clayton from Orlando, FL, as well as perhaps the most lethal backcourt in the tournament with 5'11 Frosh Kasey Hill from Mt. Dora (Bible) FL and 5'11 8th Grader Joel Berry from Apopka (Middle School) FL, who combined for 45 points in NIKE Team Florida's 62-48 win earlier today against Oklahoma City Hawks. As a matter of fact, Berry has been so good and so consistent with his outside shooting and competitive nature that he gets our vote as one of the top five players in the tournament, along with 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'7 Frosh Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX, 6'8 Frosh Thomas Hamilton from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, and 6'5 Frosh Brian Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA. Speaking of Bridgewater, he totally took over the game when the Houston Defenders went on a 21-6 run to start the second half in their second round game earlier today against the Gardner Road Bulldogs. The Houston Defenders won the game 76-64 and Bridgewater, who finished with 24 points, once again made a strong case for being ranked as the #1-ranked player in both the tournament and the nation in his class. Also chipping in with 18 and 15 points apiece respectively were 6'4 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX and 6'4 Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX and they have the strength, athleticism, versatility, skills, and basketball IQ necessary to make the Houston Defenders a tough out on the other side of the bracket. As a matter of fact, we predict that when it gets down to the nitty-gritty on Friday, it will be Dream Vision versus NIKE Team Florida and the Houston Defenders versus either the Texas Titans or the Mac Irvin Fire. in the semi-finals. And, assuming that game materializes tomorrow night at 8:30 PM on Court #1, we should see two of the top big men in the tournament in 6'8 Frosh Thomas Hamilton from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL versus 6'7 Frosh Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX. But unfortunately they both attempt to do too much out on the perimeter, instead of dominating the paint, which is where they potentially could make a lot of money playing this game someday. We also got a chance to see 6'4 Frosh Broderick Harris from Houston (Jones) TX and 6'3 Roderick Harris from Houston (Jones) TX, who combined for 30 points in the Houston Hoops's 83-73 win earlier today against the Atlanta Knicks and are the fourth set of identical twins, along with 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego (Lincoln) CA and 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego (Lincoln) CA on Dream Vision, 6'4 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX and 6'4 Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX on the Houston Defenders, and 6'0 Frosh Bryson Scott from Ft. Wayne, IN nor 6'0 Frosh Brenton Scott from Ft. Wayne, IN on Spiece-Blackman, who are playing on team in the winner's bracket of the tournament. Roderick, who finished with 19 points, is an inch shorter and is versatile enough to play some out on the perimeter. In contrast, Broderick, who finished with 11 points, is strictly an inside player. We also want to mention 6'8 Frosh Tyrek Coger from Raleigh (Upper Room Christian Academy) NC, because he did an excellent job of holding his own and keeping his game in the game for a half while playing against 6'5 Frosh Brian Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA and the Houston Defenders. There is no doubt that this skilled big man who scores, rebounds, and blocks shots in the low post is one of the best big men in the tournament. And what about the eight 3-pointers and 24 points that 6'0 Frosh Delano Spencer from Lilburn (Parkview) GA had against Dream Vision and the 18 points and nine rebounds that 6'3 Frosh R.J. Curington from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA had tonight in the Mac Irvin Fire's 69-47 win against the Ivey 23 Terps?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Things are starting to get interesting in the 2009 AAU 14-Under National Tournament at Lake Buena Vista, FL now that pool play has ended and the playoffs are set to begin at 10:00 AM tomorrow morning. And right off the bat in the opening round it will be the J-Smoove Allstars versus the Atlanta Celtics in the 11:30 AM game on Court #1. And the J-Smoove Allstars, which have an all-star cast that includes 6'8 Frosh William Goodwin from Decatur (Southwest DeKalb) GA, 6'6 Frosh Antonio Davis from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'7 Frosh Chris Davenport from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 5'8 Frosh Anthony Bagtas from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, and 6'5 7th Grader Kewan Johnson from Atlanta, GA, had better not be too smoove in this game, because the Atlanta Celtics are very capable of pulling off the upset against their rival program from the same club team organization. Reinforcing this point even further is the fact that Atlanta Celtics, which are led by 6'4 Frosh Jonathan Howard from Wilcox (County) GA, 6'8 Frosh Terrance O'Donohue from Chattanooga McCallie) TN, and 6'0 Frosh Delano Spencer from Parkview) GA, came back from almost a 20-point deficit to make it a one-point game in the final minute and almost pull off the upset this morning against the Texas Titans, which are one of the best teams in the tournament. However, let's assume that J-Smoove does survive their first round game tomorrow and then has to go head-to-head against a well rested Dream Vision Team, which won today via forfeit and features 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego, CA, 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego, CA, 6'4 Frosh Roschon Prince from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 5'10 Frosh Dalante Hoover from San Diego, CA, 6'1 Frosh Rashad Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, and 6'5 Frosh Jamal Aytes from San Diego (Foothill) CA. If you will recall, we told you yesterday that we thought Dream Vision was the team to beat in the tournament and, as a result, nobody has tougher road through the first two rounds of the tournament than the J-Smoove All-Stars. Several other interesting first round games that will be worth keeping an eye on tomorrow include the Spiece-Blackman versus the Albany City Rocks at 10:00 AM on Court #4, the Houston Defenders versus the Maryland Wildcats at 1:00 PM on Court #1, and the Texas Titans versus Team Nelson, which was the team that upset the J-Smoove All-Stars on the first day of the tournament, at 2:30 PM on Court #1. In addition to the big second round match-up, which we expect to feature the J-Smoove Allstars versus Dream Vision at 5:30 PM tomorrow on Court #1, we also are looking forward to seeing potential match-ups tomorrow afternoon and evening that will feature NIKE Team Florida versus the Oklahoma City Hawks at 4:00 PM on Court #1, the Houston Defenders versus the Garner Road Bulldogs at 7:00 PM on Court #1, and All-Ohio Red versus the Texas Titans on Court #1 and the Long Island Lightning versus DC Assault on Court #4 at 8:30 PM. The top individual performance of the day today was turned in by 6'7 Frosh Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX, who had 27 points and made a strong case for being the top-ranked player in the tournament with his power, athleticism, and dominance around the basket. We also were impressed with the six 3-pointers and 30 points scored by 6'0 Frosh Elijah Brown from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH; the incredible athleticism on display by 6'5 Greg McClinton from Winston-Salem (Forsyth Country Day) NC; and the chemistry, coaching, and balance of the K.C. Cowboys, which featured 6'4 Frosh Ishmail Wainright from Raytown (South) MO, 5'5 Frosh Anthony Ridley from Kansas City (Hogan Prep) MO, 5'9 Frosh Connor Frankamp from Wichita (North) KS, 5'7 Frosh Travis Jorgensen from Columbia (Rockbridge) MO, and 6'2 Frosh Dedrick Lee from Clarksville (H.S.) AR. Speaking of the K.C. Cowboys, they are in line to meet the Houston Defenders in another must see game at 1:00 PM on Thursday on Court #1, if both of these teams win their first and second round playoff games tomorrow. Also on our list of the top individual performances today by players who we have not previously been mentioned in this tournament are 6'1 Frosh Jonathan Severe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 5'9 Frosh Timothy Boyd from Conway (H.S.) AR, 6'2 Frosh Cullen Neal from Albuquerque (El Dorado) NM, 6'0 8th Grader Romelo Trimble from Upper Marlboro, MD, 6'1 Frosh Bryce Alford from Albuquerque (La Cueva) NM, 6'3 Frosh Jarod Williams from Danville (George Washington) VA, and 5'9 Frosh Anthony Virdure from St. Louis, MO.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Everybody seems to think that NIKE Team Florida, which is the #1-seeded team in the tournament, and the Houston Defenders, which are the #2-seeded team in the tournament, are the two teams to beat in this year's AAU 14-Under National Tournament in Lake Buena Vista, FL. However, we're going to go out on a limb and tell you that the team to beat is Dream Vision. They're seeded #2 in their pool, but yesterday they beat the New Jersey Shoreshots, 68-37, and earlier today they beat Houston Select 13's, 75-34. This team also has excellent coaching, great chemistry, unbelievable quickness and finesse, and an unselfish cast that includes 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego, CA, 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego, CA, 6'4 Frosh Roschon Prince from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 5'10 Frosh Dalante Hoover from San Diego, CA, 6'1 Frosh Rashad Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, and 6'5 Frosh Jamal Aytes from San Diego (Foothill) CA. In contrast, the Houston Defenders, which features a nucleus that includes 6'5 Frosh Brandon Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA, 6'4 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX and 6'4 Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, relies more on strength and power. However, before you pencil in the Houston Defenders as the easy winner, don't forget that both Robinson's are world class athletes and they might be even better football players than they are basketball players. And this is important, because you can bet they won't have any trouble going war inside against Bridgewater and matching up out on the perimeter again the Harrison's. We also want to mention the fact that Williams-Goss followed up yesterday's 22-point performance with 23 points today, which makes him one of the most consistent players in the tournament. This also once again makes him one of the top three players of the day, along with 5'11 Frosh Kasey Hill from Mt. Dora (Bible) FL, who had 20 points in NIKE Team Florida's 62-39 win against the Maryland Wildcats, and 6'7 Frosh Julius Randle from Plano (Prestonwood Academy) TX, who gets our Middle Atlantic Editor Tra' Toye's vote as the best player in the tournament after the first two days. Toye also has 6'0 Frosh Matthew Hillman from Washington (Sidwell Friends) DC extremely high on his list. Not only does Hillman shoot the lights out, but he's physically strong, extremely skilled, and he's got a competitive swagger about him. "He's not afraid to let you know that he just scored on you and he's going to do it again the next time down the court," says Toye. There also is 6'7 8th Grader Jalil Okafor from Chicago, IL, who is playing for the Nolan Richardson Arkansas Mustangs, and was perhaps the biggest sleeper to emerge today. Okafor also is one of the best players with quality size in the tournament, along with 6'9 Frosh Thomas Hamilton from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'8 Frosh William Goodwin from Decatur (Southwest DeKalb) GA, 6'8 Frosh Tyrek Coger from Raleigh (Upper Room Christian Academy) NC, and 6'8 Frosh Malik Price-Martin from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL. We also were impressed with the 21-point performance that was turned by 6'7 Frosh Chris Davenport from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, as well as all of the other talented players, like 6'6 Frosh Antonio Davis from Atlanta (Greater Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'5 7th Grader Kewan Johnson from Atlanta, GA, and 5'8 Frosh Anthony Bagtas from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, on the J-Smoove Allstars. However, they have yet to find the right chemistry, as the J-Smoove Allstars lost yesterday to Team Nelson and only beat the Charlotte Royals by nine points in a game that was a lot closer than it should have been today. I haven't seen the Kansas City Cowboys yet, but people are telling me that 6'4 Frosh Ishmail Wainright from Raytown (South) MO is one of the best players in the tournament. And, after today's 73-35 win over Nothing But Net, it looks like this might also be one of the best teams in the tournament. Some of the players who played well enough to be mentioned today include 5'11 8th Grader Joel Berry from Apopka (Middle School) FL, 6'4 Frosh Jordan McKay from Richardson (Berkmar) TX, 6'5 Frosh Marc Loving from Toledo (St. John's) OH, 6'1 Frosh Myrek Fowkles from Baltimore, MD, 5'8 7th Grader Juwan Gooding from Boston, MA, 5'8 Frosh Cameron Calcote from Allen (H.S.) TX, 6'4 8th Grader LeRon Black from Memphis, TN, 6'3 Frosh Deonte Burton from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'3 Frosh Nicholas Fuller from Sun Prairie, WI, 5'11 Frosh Jack Gilbert from Columbus (DeSales) OH, and 6'3 Frosh Allerik Freeman from Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The biggest upset on the first day of action at the AAU 14-Under Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, FL occurred when Team Nelson (PA) knocked off the J Smoove All-Stars, 76-73. However, it was otherwise pretty much status quo, as most of the teams that were seeded #1 and #2 in their respective pools had no trouble with the teams that were seeded #4 and #3 in their respective pools. Especially noteworthy were the Houston Defenders' 71-40 win over the Philly Hurricanes, NIKE Team Florida's 87-38 win over the Augusta Metro Superstars, the Spiece Indy-Blackmon's 84-34 win over Team Houston, Dream Vision's 69-37 win over the NJ Shoreshots, All-Ohio Red's 58-15 win over Team Stat 13-Under Blue, the Kansas City Cowboys' 70-44 win over the Nolan Richardson Arkansas Mustangs, the Texas Titans' 81-38 win over the Queen City Prophets, Memphis YOMCA's 84-34 win over Kessels Heat, the Florida Rams' 69-32 win over the South Piedmont Heat, the Dallas Mustangs' 66-40 win over the Mid Penn Motion, the Atlanta Knicks' 78-51 win over Hoopaz Only, the War Eagles' 75-04 win over the Maryland Pistons, Peacemakers' 73-41 win over the Birmingham Stars, and the Oklahoma City Hawks' 78-49 win over the Dayton Panthers. The cream also rose to the top with regards to the top players in the tournament, as 6'5 Frosh Brian Bridgewater from Baton Rouge, LA, 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, and 5'9 8th Grader James Blackmon from Ft. Wayne, IN were the three best players that we saw all day. Bridgewater, who is clearly the best player in the nation in his class right now, was once again unstoppable around the basket with 25 points and double-digit rebounds. Williams-Goss finished with 22 points, but it was his unselfishness, moves to the basket, and ability to finish in transition that impressed us the most. Blackmon had 23 points, but it was his five 3-pointers and the fact that he was playing up a year in class that really caught everybody's attention. And complementing Blackman with 21 points and four 3-pointers was 6'1 Frosh Austin Hatch from Ft. Wayne, IN. However, neither 6'0 Frosh Bryson Scott from Ft. Wayne, IN nor 6'0 Frosh Brenton Scott from Ft. Wayne, IN, who combined for only 13 points, stepped up and showed what they were capable of doing today for the Spiece Indy-Blackmon. And neither did the other two sets of twins that we saw earlier today, as 6'4 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX and 6'4 Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX combined for only 15 points for the Houston Defenders and 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego, CA and 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego, CA combined for only 13 points for Dream Vision. Other players who played well enough when we saw them today to give special mention to were 5'11 8th Grader Joel Berry from Apopka (Middle School) FL, 6'5 8th Grader Joseph Burton from Houston, TX, 6'7 Frosh Jonathan Williams from Memphis (Southwind) TN, 6'6 Frosh Derek Griffin from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, 6'5 Frosh Dre Kalo Clayton from Orlando, FL, 6'4 Frosh Jamall Robinson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, and 6'2 Frosh Brian Andrews from Owings Mills (McDonogh) MD.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
With their impressive 75-64 win earlier today over the Boo Williams Summer League Team in the Championship Game of the AAU 17-Under Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, FL, All-Ohio Red not only locked up Team-of-the-Summer honors, but also made a strong case for being one of the great AAU teams of all time. Remember, this is the same team that finished with a 69-2 record two years ago, a 70-1 record a year ago, and lost only eight games this year, despite losing its second best player - 6'3 Jordan Sibert from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, who broke his leg in the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament and, as a result, was sidelined for the entire spring and summer. All-Ohio Red also won the championship in the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament, Billy Hensley Memorial Spiece Run 'N Slam, NY2LA AAU Tournament, All-Ohio Super 16, NIKE Memorial Day Tournament, 17-Under Ohio State AAU Tournament and the NIKE Peach Jam and features 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, who is our #1 ranked senior nationally, as well as a great supporting cast that also includes 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH, 5'11 Kevin Gray from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Adrian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, and 6'5 James Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH. Their only major downfall came earlier this week when they lost in pool play to the New Jersey Celtics and in the first round of the playoffs to the Rising Stars (IL) in the AAU Boys’ Basketball 17-Uuder Super Showcase. However, All-Ohio Red left little doubt about who the best team was in the AAU 17-Under Nationals, as they also beat the New York Gauchos, 80-64, in the semi-finals and Sullinger had 27 points in that game. Sullinger also had 30 points in the championship game and was the clear choice for tournament MVP honors, as All-Ohio Red jumped out to a 22-8 lead early and led by as many as 24 points early in the 3rd Quarter. Also playing well for All-Ohio Red were Staten, Weatherspoon, Payne, and Craft, who chipped in with 15, 10, nine, and eight points apiece respectively in the title game. The leading scorer for the Boo Williams Summer League Team was 6'7 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA, who finished with 23 points in the championship game. Also scoring in double-digits for the Boo Williams Summer League Yeam in the title game were 6'4 Soph Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD and 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, who finished with 10 points apiece. We also are getting ready for the AAU 14-Under Nationals, which will begin tomorrow and will be held all next week in at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The team to beat is the Houston Defenders, which feature three of the top rising freshmen in the nation in 6'6 Frosh Brian Bridgewater from New Orleans, LA, 6'5 Frosh Aaron Harrison from Houston, TX, and 6'5 Frosh Andrew Harrison from Houston, TX. Other serious contenders that we'll be watching closely include the Mac Irvin Fire, Atlanta Celtics, NIKE Team Florida, All-Ohio Red, Texas Titans, and the Kansas City Cowboys. So stay tuned!
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