HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2001

Hot Recruiting Information available for previous months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001

Friday, August 31, 2001

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA has picked Notre Dame and this is big, because he not only provides addition athleticism inside, which is something that has alluded the Irish in the past, but he is an immediate impact player.  He also is likely to be a four-year player, because what you see might be what you get with Francis.   In other words, he doesn't have as much long term potential as some other guys, but, if what you see right now is what you get, he's perfect for head coach Mike Brey, who is in the process of turning the Irish into a perennial power in college basketball.  Francis is a 5th year player, so he isn't ranked among our top 100 seniors, but, if he was included on that list, he'd be listed among our top 30 nationally.  He also had a terrific NIKE All-American Camp.  If you will recall, we ranked him #6 overall in camp, as well as #2 in camp among centers behind 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL.  And Francis isn't the only major catch for the Irish in this recruiting class.  Remember, they landed 6'1 Chris Quinn from Dublin (Coffman) OH last spring and they got a verbal commitment from 6'8 Ricky Cornett from Homewood (Christian) IL in early August.  So suddenly Notre Dame has three players who are legitimate top 100 players nationally, which means their recruiting class is now showing up on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date behind Villanova and ahead of Illinois.  And they may move up even higher.  Remember, they only had two players - 6'1 Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and 6'7 Jordan Cornette from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH - in last year's recruiting class.  Let's say they get 6'8 Kyle Wilson from Dallas (Jesuit) TX, who will be on campus in South Bend, IN this weekend on an official visit.  That would move Notre Dame's recruiting class up to #6 behind Iowa and ahead of Syracuse.  It also would provide Notre Dame with the perfect complement to Francis and Cornett, because Wilson is better away from the basket, as he is an excellent outside shooter and not real physical.  However, that one isn't over just yet, because Illinois is still believed to be the co-favorite.   And let's say Notre Dame pulls off a major upset and also gets 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN.  Then we'd be talking about one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, right up there along with Florida, Duke, and Memphis. 

Everybody thinks that 6'2 Marshall Strickland will be at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA this fall, but Brian Merritt of http://www.elitehoops.com tells us that Strickland will remain at Sykes (South Carroll) MD.  And yes, he will be eligible to play this season.  Apparently the Maryland State High School Association has a rule that says you can play as long as you haven't turned 19 years-old prior to the start of the first game of the season.  As a result, Strickland will be eligible, because he won't turn 19 until after the season is over.  This also is consistent with what his parents told us this summer.  If you will recall, Strickland previously had attended Winchendon (School) MA and last season was the first time he attended a normal high school (not a basketball factory) and got to be a regular kid.  They not only seemed to like that, but left the possibility open that he would be back at South Carroll.  Merritt also tells is reporting that 5'11 Terrance Whittier from Brandywine (Gwynn Park) MD and 6'7 Mani Messy from Winchendons (School) MA are both transferring to Colora (West Nottingham) MD.   And they aren't the only ones.  Apparently there is a new head coach at West Nottingham Academy and he is bringing three players from Canada with him, including a 6'9 freshman with a big time future.  Moral to the story, it looks like we may have the emergence of another basketball factory on our hands. 

One of the many ways that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has influenced the game is via his former assistant coaches.  Obviously, we're talking about Mike Brey at Notre Dame, Tommy Amaker at Michigan, and Quin Snyder at Missouri.  Most people also know that David Henderson had an impressive first season last winter at Delaware and all three of Krzyzewski's current assistants - Steve Wojciechowski, Johnny Dawkins, and Chris Collins - should have equally great futures.   However, there is another former Duke assistant who you may be hearing a lot about this season.  We're talking about Tim O'Toole, who was at Duke from 1995 to 1997.  Then, O'Toole followed Amaker to Seton Hall, where he was the top assistant for a year, and the last three years he's been the head coach at Fairfield.  And this season promises to be make or break time for O'Toole, who has gone 12-15, 14-15, and 12-16 the last three years.  Sure, the pressure is on to win at least 18 or 19 games this year in the tough Metro Atlantic Conference, which should feature Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Niagara, Marist, and Rider all in the hunt for the league championship.  But the smart money should be on Fairfield, because O'Toole finally has all the horses necessary to be one of the surprise teams in college basketball this season.  Once again their go-to-guy will be Sam Spann, who ranked among the top 10 in the conference last year in five statistical categories (scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals, and blocks) and, as a result, should be one of the leading candidates for player-of-the-year honors in the conference.  However, he might not even be the best player on his team.  If you will recall, Fairfield got a late commitment last spring from 6'9 Deng Gai from Milford (Academy) CT, who was ranked as the #7 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP, as well as among the consensus top 30 high school senior by those who included 5th year players in the senior rankings.  Sure, Gai is raw, but he also has the talent, athleticism, and potential to make a lot money playing the game someday.  Obviously the Stags coaching staff was able to take advantage of the fact that Gai is the cousin of 6'11 Ajou Ajou Deng, who transferred to Fairfield from Connecticut last winter.  And of course there is 6'10 Rob Thompson, who was one of the best freshmen in the league a year ago.  In other words, we're talking about a front line that is potentially as good as there has ever been in the history of the league.  It also could be as good as any front line in the Big East.  Jermaine Clark, a 6'5 three-year starter is missing, but 6'8 Brad Feleccia, 6'2 Kudjo Sogadzi, and Jeremy Logan provide excellent depth and 5'4 Tyquan Goode from Brooklyn (Grady) NY is exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of providing the perfect chemistry at point guard.  As a matter of fact, that's why we think Fairfield will be so good this year.  Goode isn't going to score a lot of points, but he's a great floor general, excellent defender, and he makes everybody else around him better.  Plus, he's a winner and, if you don't believe it, just ask Ernie Lorch who the glue was that helped New York Riverside Church overachieve so dramatically during the summer and fall of 2000?

Thursday, August 30, 2001

The inquiry sign is up on two commitments that we reported earlier this week and Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com is reporting that the verbal commitment by 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK to the University of Oklahoma may not mean all that much, because Alexander hasn't qualified academically nor has he even attempted to take the SAT or ACT.  So anybody who thinks that the dominos are going to start falling, like 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK and/or 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK both committing to Oklahoma, are jumping to premature conclusions.  At least that's what Swaim thinks.  "Several people have already jumped the gun and reported that Bookout is on the verge of committing to the Sooners," says Swaim.   "But nothing could be further from the truth.   I still think the Oklahoma is the school you have to beat, but Bookout has official visits set up Oklahoma State on September 7th, Illinois or Arkansas on September 15th, Oklahoma on September 28th, Tennessee on October 6th, and Kansas on October 13th.  And he may make the visit to Oklahoma an unofficial visit, if he also decides to make an official visit to UCLA in late October."  Speaking of UCLA, Swaim thinks the Bruins are the favorite for 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory) OK, who is ranked #62 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Azubuike's father is still pushing him towards by-passing college and entering the NBA Draft next spring.  While we think this is totally ridiculous, at least, if we are proven to be correct, Azubuike won't have totally ruined up his life.  If you will recall, he is a great kid, as well as a straight A student.  In other words, he has an excellent chance at being successful in life whether he plays basketball or not.  Getting back to the Sooners, Alexander also had Kansas, Arkansas, and Illinois on his list, but when Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson recently hired Terry Evans, who was the head coach at Midwest City (H.S.) OK, as an administrative assistant, that pretty much sealed the deal for Alexander.  However, Swaim thinks Evans' presense on the staff at Oklahoma will have little or no effect on Williams.  "Williams is going to Duke," says Swaim.  "I'm more convinced than ever!  The only reason I think he's still taking his visits is he's a man of his word."   However, other people in the business think otherwise. "If Williams was such a lock for Duke, why hasn't he committed yet?" asks one college coach. "Something has to be holding it (a commitment) up and my guess is that's Oklahoma."  As for the other two commitments - 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV to Tennessee and 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA to Florida State, our guess is that both are rock solid.  However, why is Watson making an official visit to Fresno State this weekend?  As for Galloway, we have a source who tells us that he called Florida State head coach Steve Robinson yesterday and told him he planned to sign with the Seminoles this fall.  There also were quotes from Galloway's high school and AAU coaches in the Tallahassee, FL newspaper today.  So in our mind it's 100% done.  However, we still had to check it out further when somebody raised the question earlier today.

Lavel Johnson, who is the Mississippi Editor for both the HOOP SCOOP and MidSouth-Hoops.Com, tells us that Ole Miss will have a pair of junior college players - 6'7 Greg Johnson from Southern Union (JC) AL and 6'7 Brandon Vincent from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL - on campus for official visits this weekend.  Especially intriguing is the fact that Johnson signed with Auburn a year ago, but didn't graduate from junior college last spring.  So he will be back in junior college for another year to work exclusively on his academics.  Johnson also tells us that 6'9 Theodis Tarver from Monroe (Carroll) LA is scheduled to make an official visit to Mississippi on September 15th and 6'4 Jason Forte from Bay Springs (H.S.) MS may also be in Oxford, MS this weekend on an unofficial visit.  Forte also is expected to visit Boston College on the last weekend in September, but Johnson still thinks Miami-FL is the school you have to beat.  Johnson also tells us that 6'5 Sammy Richardson from Utica (Hinds County) MS  will be at Mississippi State this weekend on his official visit, plus he has a list of schools for 6'9 Bryan Sanders from Gulfport (Harrison Central) MS.  That list includes Southern Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, UNC-Charlotte, Tulane, Lamar, Alabama, South Alabama, and Mississippi State.  Moving a litttle further west, we still think the University of Texas is heavy favorite for 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX.  However, Kansas, North Carolina, and UCLA are still getting mentioned.  We also think Texas and SMU are the two favorites for 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who is ranked #8 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.    But we're not ruling out Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State.  Texas also is one of the top four, along with Tennessee, St. John's, and Connecticut, for 6'4 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL and we still think the Longhorns have a shot at 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX.  As a matter of fact, Wright is supposed to visit Texas on September 28th.  In other words, this one continues to drag on and on and the longer it goes, the more we like the Longhorns chances.  Remember, we all expected a commitment to be forthcoming from Wright to Indiana in July.  We still think the Hoosier are the heavy favorite, but Wright also plans to visit UCLA next month.  Our guess is that Texas, which should be able to sign three players in this recruiting class, will get Buckman, the best available player (Hopkins), and the best available wing player (Anderson, Wright, or maybe Asumnu).   You remember 6'4 Stanley Asumnu from the Houston Hoops and Houston (Westbury Christian) TX.  Well, it appears that Asumnu has surfaced at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and the word is that he's playing pretty well.

Wednesday, August 29, 2001

We have decided to once again include 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL with the recruiting class of the University of Memphis, because he has never officially reneged on the Tigers.  Actually it's kind of like the situation with 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL last fall when he verbally committed to DePaul.  Not only did Curry's commitment put the Blue Demons recruiting class over the five scholarship limit, but everybody assumed correctly that Curry would enter his name into the NBA Draft and, as a result, would never play a minute at DePaul.  Memphis also is in a similar situation to DePaul a year ago, because the Tigers brought in five players - 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Chris Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA, 6'4 Anthony Rice from North Clayton (College Park) GA, 6'2 Antonio Burks from Hiwassee (JC) TN, and 6'9 Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL - in last year's recruiting class and already have three in the fold this year in 6'8 Qyntel Woods from Moberly (JC) MO, 6'3 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, and 6'8 Almamy Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  So as it stands to now Memphis doesn't have any other scholarships available.  However, when discussing this with our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman this morning, we both agreed that there is an existing precedent to count Stoudemire with the class and let it all get sorted out later, just like we did with DePaul a year ago.  And if the NCAA changes the Five-and-Three rule (they are supposed to meet on it later this fall), then Memphis may sign several more players, even if Stoudemire does opt for the NB Draft next spring.   This change moves Memphis' recruiting class up from #10 to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date and, when you stop and think about it, that's pretty amazing.  If you will recall, Memphis' recruiting class last spring was ranked #1 and it wasn't even close.  But unfortunately in this day-and-age all the top players seem to be on the fast track into the NBA.  So the question becomes how long can Tigers head coach John Calipari keep some of these guys?  In some cases, maybe longer than you might think.  Remember, most people thought Wagner would by-pass college and put his name into the NBA Draft last spring. 

The other major move on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date involves Xavier, which has recevied a verbal commitment from 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN, who is ranked #90 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Finn joins 6'9 Randy Holbrook from Odessa (JC) TX, 6'7 Brandon Cole from Richton Park (Rich South) IL, and 6'7 Angelo Smith from Indianapolis (North Lawrence) IN to move the Muskeeters recruiting class up from #15 to #9.  And it could move up to has high as #5 behind Louisville and ahead of Iowa, if the Musketeers also land 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, who currently is ranked #74 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Getting back to Finn, our Baltimore Editor Paul Bowden, who also publishes a web site, which can be found at Baltimore Select, tells us that Finn's commitment should eliminate Xavier from the list of 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA.  "Xavier had been on him the strongest and the longest," says Bowden.  The Musketeers were the co-leader, along with Florida State, which is where he is supposed to visit the weekend of September 7th-9th.  If everything goes well on the visit, it wouldn't surprise us if Galloway picks the Seminoles sometime later in September.  However, there always is the possibility that something could happen to change his mind and open things back up.   Remember, in  we thought Galloway was a near lock for Wake Forest in late, but, then, the Demon Deacons took 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  So obviously schools like South Carolina, Miami-FL, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Rhode Island, George Mason, and Virginia Tech are all still actively pursuing Galloway.  Bowden also tells us that Jermaine Hancock, a 6'3 combo guard from Edgewood (H.S.) MD, has verbally committed to Northeastern University.  Hancock, a 2nd Team All Metro selection last season, averaged 30 ppg, five rpg and four apg.  "Hancock was contemplating a year at Milford Academy to help his recruiting," says Bowden.  "But former Towson assistant Julius Allen grabbed Jermaine when a scholarship opened at Northeastern.  Jermaine will certainly help NE in the scoring department.  He can shoot from anywhere on the court!"  And Hancock isn't the only late addition that the Huskies will have available next season in the backcourt.  Believe it or not, Northeastern also has gotten the best player still available in the state of Texas in 6'3 Jeremy Long from Beaumont (Westbrook) TX and he will be a walk-on this year, because Huskies currently don't have any scholarships available.  Getting back to the Baltimore area, Bowden also reports that 6'9 Jai Lewis from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME will visit Robert Morris this weekend and 6'8 Denard Abraham has transferred from Reisterstown (Franklin) MD to Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA.  Bowden is now reporting that Galloway has verbally committed to Florida State and that's big for the Seminoles, because Galloway is one of the best point guards still available.  As a matter of fact, there are only four point guards in the senior class - 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, and 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA - better than Galloway who are still on the board.  In other words, we'd be talking about a borderline top 100 player, if Galloway weren't a 5th year player.   Remember, we rank 5th year players separately. 

Tuesday, August 28, 2001

We have gotten a copy of memorandum that was sent from Stephen A. Mallonee, Director of Membership Services/Division I Governance Liaison for the NCAA, to the College Commissioners Association Compliance Administrator's Group, which was dated yesterday, August 27th, regarding NCAA Bylaws 13.1.8.4 and 13.13.3.  This is very important because it provides the guidelines which college coaches must adhere to this fall and it says the following:   "The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Collegiate Commissioners Association Compliance Administrator's (CCACA) group with information regarding two recent issues that relate to the attendence of NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches at basketball activities conducted during the fall contact period (September 9th through October 5th).  As set forth in Bylaws 13.1.8.4 and 13.13.3, in the sport of men's basketball, Division I coaching staff members are restricted to evaluating only basketball activities that are a part of a prospect's normal high-school, preparatory school or two-year college season, and events that are approved, sanctioned, sponored, or conducted by the applicable state high school association, the National Federation of State High School Associations or the National Junior College Athletic Association.  The legislation was designed to increase the role of the scholastic coach in the recruiting process and to minimize the external influences outside the educational community whose influence on prospects may be motivated in part by personal gain.  Consistent with the intent of the legislation to increase the importance of the scholastic environment in the recruiting process, the NCAA membership services staff has determined that it is permissible during the 2001 fall-contact period for Division I men's basketball coaches to observe activities such as pick-up games and open gyms that are conducted at a high school or two-year college under the supervision of the high school or two-year college coach.  It is not permissible for coaches to observe unorganized activities such as pick-up games or open gyms that may occur at a location other than the high school or two-year college facility (e.g. local recreation center, playground) that are not supervised by the appropriate scholastic coach.  In addition, it should note that the legislation applies in the same manner to activities conducted outside the United States.  In that regard, it would be permissible for Division I coaches to attend a nonscholastic event conducted in a foreign country during the 2001 fall-contact period only if the country sponsors the sport of men's baskethball at the high school level and the applicable oversight authority (e.g., high school governing body) approves, sanctions, sponsors or conducts the particular activity.  Please note that inasmuch new legislation related to the men's basketball recruiting calender is pending second review by the NCAA Division I Management Council at its October meeting, the staff agreed not to record any interpretation at this time." 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on 6'6 Jr LaBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1 ranked player in the nation regardless of class.  No, James hasn't found a way to by-pass college early and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.  And no, James hasn't made an early verbal commitment to Ohio State, which is the school he will likely attend, if he ever does see a day of college.   Instead, it looks like James will once again play football this year for St. Vincent-St. Mary and his first game will be this Friday night.  Upon hearing this news the immediate reaction by most people seems to be that this is not the smartest move.   First, they mention the risk of a career ending injury and, then, they mention the incredible amount of money that James is destined to make someday playing basketball.   "But that's what makes LaBron such a great player," say Johnson.   "He plays sports for the competition and when somebody tells him he can't do something, that motivates him even more."  A classic example came last winter when everybody told James that there was no way St. Vincent-St. Mary was going to beat Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, which was the #1 ranked team in the nation, except by Eddie Oliver of Hoops USA, from start to finish last season.  If you will recall, James hit 13-27 field goals, including 5-10 3-pointers, en route to a 33-point effort in that game.  And two of those 3-pointers came in the final two minutes, plus he had a chance to win the game when an off-balanced 3-pointer in the final seconds bounced off the rim and Oak Hill survived, 79-78.  We've already said that "James is like Magic Johnson with a jump shot," but Johnson thinks James, who is a wide receiver and defensive back, can be another Randy Moss, if he decided to go to college and play both sports all the way through. "I'll even go a step further," says Johnson.  "If LaBron put as much emphasis on football, as he does on basketball, he has the natural talent, speed, quickness, and athleticism, and physical attributes neccessary to become the first player ever picked #1 in the draft by both the NFL and the NBA." 

The University of Tennessee has five scholarships to give and it looks like the Volunteers have gotten off to a good start with a commitment from 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who is ranked #92 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Watson picked the Volunteers over UCLA, Fresno State, Minnesota, Oregon, and Iowa State and is ideally suited to step in and become the point guard of the future for the Volunteers.   Not only is he very athletic and extremely talented, but he is a West Coast kid, which is important for the Volunteers, because they recruit heavily in a number of different sports on the West Coast.  Watson's commitment also is important, because he was the first player the Volunteers had in for an official visit (he was in town over the weekend) and, as a result, head coach Buzz Peterson is no longer looking for a point guard.  So it makes since that they are out of the hunt for 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who not only is ranked #8 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but also is the #1 point guard still available.   Instead, their focus will be on getting somebody at the other four positions.  As a matter of fact, this weekend 6'4 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL and 6'6 Eric Hicks from Greensboro (Dudley) NC will be on campus for official visits, 6'6 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, 6'8 Julian Terrell from Antioch (Ezell Harding Christian) TN will be in Knoxville, TN on official visits in late September, and 6'7 Brandon Bowman from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK will be campus in October.  Speaking of Bookout, we still think Oklahoma is the team to beat, but the fact that the Volunteers are the defending national champions in track and field and the fact that Bookout wants to compete in the Olympics in the discus and shotput certainly helps their cause.

Saturday, August 25, 2001, Sunday, August 26, 2001, & Monday, August 27, 2001

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the University of Richmond has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'10 Kevin Steenberge from Columbia (River Hill) MD and that 6'11 Ted Skuchas from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA has narrowed his list to Stanford, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, Penn State, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame.  Penn State, Drexel, La Salle, Massachusetts, Villanova, Siena, and Virginia are all involved with 6'4 Mike Cook from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and 6'7 Antwayne Robinson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA likes Stanford, Temple, Marshall, SMU, College of Charleston, and Wake Forest.  The list for 6'5 Chris Williams from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD includes Connecticut, Temple, Boston College, Cleveland State, Richmond, George Mason, and James Madison.  Marquette, St. Joseph's, Massachuesetts, and Central Connecticut State have all shown interest in 6'4 Adam Payton from Lawrence (Prep) NJ. Nana Menseh-Bonsu, the 6'8 power forward from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ likes Virginia Tech, Towson, Providence, Massachusetts, Georgia Tech, La Salle, George Washington, and Boston College and 6'5 Kenton Alston from Steelton (Steelton-Highspire) PA is getting the most attention from Monmouth, Rider, and Canisius.   Rutgers, Florida State, Niagara, Towson, Monmouth, George Mason, and Boston University were all mentioned by 6'2 DeWayne Spencer from Harrisburg (Susquehanna Township) PA and 6'7 Lawrence Ham from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA likes Loyola-Maryland, Elon College, Drexel, High Point, and Robert Morris.   Loyola-Maryland also was mentioned, along with Towson, Wagner, Columbia, Lafayette, and Colgate, by 6'2 John Morris from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA.   Cornell, Bucknell, Central Florida, James, Madison, Columbia, and Rider are all recruiting 6'6 Zach Wyatt from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson is reporting that 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (John Ehret) LA has verbally committed to Tulane.  This should come as no surprise.  If you will recall, when Burditt reneged on his commitment to the University of California earlier this summer, he did so because he wanted to attend a school that was closer to home and, as a result, Tulane and LSU immediately became the favorites over the schools that were pursuing him, like Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Texas.  Burditt didn't have a good summer, but he is still a world-class athlete with a lot of natural talent and a huge upside.  As a result, he is still ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally and has the potential to move a lot higher.  He also is the biggest name that second year Green Wave head coach Shawn Finney has signed to-date.  But our guess is that this is just the beginning, as Finney and his staff have already made major in-roads with most of the top young players in the Deep South.  Johnson also has the scoop on a pair of commitments that Bowling Green has picked from 6'4 Ron Lewis and 6'4 Raheem Moss, both from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH.  Moss was ranked #7 and Lewis was ranked #21 in the state by Johnson last spring, but Johnson tells us that both players should be ranked among his top 10 next time he updates his rankings.  Johnson thinks Lewis and Moss are a perfect complement to one another.  Moss is a better outside shooter, while Lewis is more of a slasher.  They're also both winners, as was evident a year ago when they led Brookhaven to an undefeated regular season and a final four finish in the state tournament.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA has narrowed his list to California, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Seton Hall, Boston College, and Oregon and 6'3 Keion Kindred from Compton (Dominguez) CA is getting attention from schools like Minnesota, UTEP, SMU, and Georgia Tech.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson, who also is the Mississippi Editor for MidSouth-Hoops.Com, tells us that Mississippi State is now the heavy favorite for 6'3 Sammy Richardson from Utica (Hinds County) MS.  Speaking of Richardson, it appears that he has emerged as the #1 player in the state's senior class over 6'4 Jason Forte from Bay Springs (H.S.) MS and 6'9 Byron Sanders from Gulfport (Harrison Central) MS.  Miami-FL appears to be the favorite for Forte, but schools like Arkansas, Boston College, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, and Southern Mississippi have all shown varying degrees of interest as well.  Sanders is soft and he's best described as a project, but you can bet that somebody like Southern Mississippi will take a chance on him.  Remember, big kids with grades are hard to find.  One of the top sleepers in the state is 6'7 Rodrick Smith from Canton (H.S.) MS, but he is attracting interest from Mississippi, Southern Miss, Jackson State, and Murray State.  

Friday, August 24, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Iowa State has picked up a pair of commitments from two talented big men in 6'10 Jackson Vroman from Snow (JC) UT and 7'1 Chris Alexander from Indian Hills (JC) IA.  If you will recall, at one time Alexander was ranked among our top 50 nationally in the Class of 2000, but he dropped out of our top 100, because he was more inconsistent than 6'11 Kwame Brown, who was drafted #1 in the NBA Draft in June, but was ranked no higher than tied for #10 in the class due  to his inconsistency and the lack motivation he often displayed even when playing against the top players in his class.  However, now it looks like Alexander has developed into one of the top junior college players in the nation.  You may also remember Vroman's father, 7'0 Brett Vroman, who was listed on the Louisville Courier-Journal's Super Five, along with Moses Malone, Robert Miller, Audie Matthews, and Steve Collier in 1974.  And just like his father who signed with UCLA, but later transferred to UNLV, Vroman is an excellent athlete, as is evident by his 35-inch vertical leap.  However, unlike his father, Vroman was unheralded in high school, because he didn't play at any of the major camps or tournaments and his family moved several times when he was in high school.  As a result, Vroman never got settled in long enough for most people in the business to find out about him.  Vroman picks Iowa State over Utah, Utah State, Brigham Young, and Purdue.  And when you add 6'4 Adam Haluska from Carroll (Community) IA, who is ranked #58 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, it is easy to see why the Cyclones recruiting class moves all the way up to #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date behind Syracuse and North Carolina and ahead of  Michigan. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also reports that West Virginia has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'10 Kevin Pittsnogle from Martinsburg (H.S.) WV and, although he doesn't rank among our top 100 nationally, we think this is an excellent get for the Mountaineers.  Not only is Pittsnogle the best player to come out of West Virginia since Brett Nelson, but he is a tough hardnosed white kid with long arms, good shot blocking ability, and the skills necessary to score around the basket.  All he needs to do is get bigger and stronger, but that should come in time.  West Viriginia also has gotten 6'7 Chaz Briggs from Wabash Valley (JC) IL.  Remember, he signed with Rhode Island last spring, but he wasn't admitted into school and, as a result, appears to be the replacement for 6'9 Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, who for a while this summer appeared to be headed to West Virginia.  However, Whaley was turned down for admission into West Virginia in late July.  We also understand that Wisconsin has gotten its second recruit this week in 6'4 Alando Tucker from Lockport (Township) IL, who picked the Badgers over Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Marquette, Illinois State, and Indiana State.  If you will recall, Wisconsin also got a commitment earlier this week from 6'7 Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominican) WI, who is ranked #82 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.    Johnson also tells us that 6'9 David Anderson has transferred from Oklahoma State, 6'2 DeAndre Haynes from Detroit (Southeastern) MI has picked Kent over the University of Detroit, and 6'9 Bryson McKenzie from Gary (West Side) IN is head ing to the Northern Illinois.  It also appears that DePaul has gotten its second commitment from 6'7 Delonte Holland from Vincennes (JC) IN and 6'9 Randy Holbrook from Odessa (JC) TX has picked Xavier.  The Holbrook commitment is significant not just because he move Xavier's recruiting class onto our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date, but, because he is ranked among the top junior college players in the nation.  And their class, which currently is ranked #15, could move all the way up to #4 behind Louisville and ahead of Iowa, if the Musketeers also get 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH and 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN.  Currently Xavier is the leader for both Hite and Finn.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 Demetrius Hunter has transferred from Georgetown to UNLV and it looks like UNLV is currently #2 on the list of 6'5 Antwain Barbour from Wabash Valley (JC) IL behind the University of Kentucky.  Remember, Barbour's coach last year was Jay Spoonhour, who is now an assistant coach for the Runnin' Rebels.

Thursday, August 23, 2001

Boy, does it really look like we missed the boat on 6'11 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN.  Yesterday, which was the first time we ever mentioned Dartez's name in connection with the University of Louisville, we said we didn't think Louisville was the lock that everybody thinks they are for Dartez.  We also had Dartez, who is transferring from Lee (JC) TX to Vincennes (JC) IN, at the wrong junior college and his list of schools, which we said included Auburn, Cincinnati, LSU, and Kentucky, apparently was bogus.  Instead, according to an article in this morning's Louisville Courier-Journal, it appears the Cardinals have beaten out Connecticut, LSU, Texas, Miami-FL, and Mississippi State for Dartez's services.  That's right!  The Courier-Journal is reporting that Dartez is expected to announce publicly later this week that he plans to attend the University of Louisville.  This is huge for the Cardinals, because Dartez is the coveted big man that the Cardinals have been looking for in recent years.   Dartez established his national reputation two years ago that adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV and, as a result, was ranked as a top 30 senior nationally by Dave Telep of BlueChipHoops.com.  However, we hope that ranking was based primarily on his potential, as Dartez only averaged 8.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg last year in junior college.  We too liked Dartez, who did a great job in the championship game two years ago, especially in the second half when the game on the line against Eddie Griffin, while playing center for the New Orleans Jazz, which also featured Chris Duhon, Maurice Williams, and Dwayne Mitchell.  But when we ranked him #80 nationally in our final ranking of the Class of 2000, Dartez ranking was based on more on natural talent and athleticisim than being a finished product.  In other words, the keys for Dartez are his upside and potential and he continues to make major strides in that direction.   As a matter of fact, he currently is playing on an all-star team made up exclusively of junior college players that is touring Argentina.  This also isn't the first time we've been taken totally by surprise since Rick Pitino became the head coach at the University of Louisville last spring.  If you will recall, we also first found out about Mick Cronin becoming the associate head caoch at the University of Louisville last April by reading the Louisville Courier-Journal.  However, we had the rest of Pitino's staff pegged a full month in advance of the Courier-Journal and we were way ahead of everybody on 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Cheshire (Academy) CT, who verbally committed to Louisville in late June, and we had the scoop on 6'2 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, who committed to the Cardinals in May, as fast as anybody.  Speaking of Garcia, he won't be returning Cheshire (Academy) CT this year.  Instead, we understand he plans to enroll at Winchendon (School) MA, along with another player from New York City - 6'3 Curtis Stinson from Bronx (Regional) NY.  This is important, because Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes is a terrific coach, so we expect Garcia, who would be ranked among our top 30 nationally, if he wasn't a 5th year player, to pick up where he left of this summer. 

One of my favorite things to do during the fall is keep track of which teams have recruited best to-date.  So with half of the top 100 seniors already verbally committed, I thought now would be a good time to begin.  You can get our list of the top 15 classes by clicking on Top Recruiting Classes To-Date and it may surprise you who is ranked #1.   Yes, Florida, which already has commitments from 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'5 Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'7 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'4 Rashid Al-Kaleen from Charlestown (H.S.) MA, edges out Duke, which already has commitments from 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'2 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'10 Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL, and 6'7 Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA.  But obviously Duke would pass up the Gators, if the Blue Devils get both 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK and 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC.  However, if Duke gets only one of the two just mentioned players and Florida gets 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, then the Gators would hold onto the top spot.   We also are already including 6'11 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN with Louisville's recruiting class, but if that doesn't materialize as expected later this week, then Louisville's recruiting class would move down to #13 behind Michigan and ahead of Nebraska.  Memphis, which had the #1-ranked recruiting class last spring, appears to be done, because they landed five players - 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Chris Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA, 6'4 Anthony Rice from North Clayton (College Park) GA, 6'2 Antonio Burks from Hiwassee (JC) TN, and 6'9 Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL - last spring and already have three commitments - 6'8 Qyntel Woods from Moberly (JC) MO, 6'3 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, and 6'8 Almany Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC - in this recruiting class.  Technically they actually have four, because 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL has never officially reneged on Memphis.  So if the NCAA surprises us (in our eyes he's already professional athlete) and Stoudemire's commitment holds up, Memphis' recruiting class would move into the #3 spot behind Duke and ahead of Louisville.  And from there the possibilities are endless, depending upon who goes where this fall.  Let's say Texas gets 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL.   Then, the Longhorns' recruiting class would move up to #3 behind Florida and Duke and ahead of Louisville.  Or let's say Anderson, 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ all end up St. John's, along with 6'6 Tim Doyle from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY, who verbally committed to the Red Storm in July.  Then, St. John's class would move into the #2 spot ahead of Duke, at least until the Blue Devils get commitments from Williams and/or Randolph.  Or let's say Fraser goes to Villanova, along with 6'2 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  Then, the Wildcats move into the #3 spot and first year head coach Jay Wright would be well on his way towards re-establishing Villanova as a powerhouse in the Big East.  Indiana's class, which already includes 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, could move all the way up to #3, if 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX and 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN both pick the Hoosiers.  Oklahoma's class could be a top five class as well, if the Sooners get Williams, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  You get the idea! 

Wednesday, August 22, 2001

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis wanted me to be sure to let everybody know that his web site has changed addresses.  It now can be found at www.fullctpress.net.   In addition to providing you information about the Fullcourt Press Scouting Service, Player Rankings, the Belmont Shore Basketball Club, Fullcourt Press All-West Camp, Dream Classic, Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic, Fullcourt Press Frosh/Soph Camp, and himself, Trigonis also has a good events calender, links to other web sites, and Trigonis' Tidbits, which hopefully he'll turn into in a recruiting column.  Speaking of Trigonis and his events, two of our next stops will be at the Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase at Jordan High School in Long Beach, CA on September 9th and the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic, which is tentatively scheduled at Lynwood High School in Lynwood, CA, September 14th-16th.  For more information about either event call Trigonis at 1-(562)-223-0190.  Currently neither event is sanctioned by the state of California, but with the help of Jerry Gale, the editor and publisher of SoCalHoops, as well as one of the more astute attorney's in the Los Angeles area, and Ray Lokar, the head coach at LaPuenta (Bishop Amat) CA and the president of the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association, they are hoping to get that done and, as a result, college coaches may be able to attend.  We also want to apologize to Trigonis for not providing you with the rosters sooner for the all-star games from his Fullcourt Press All-West Camp, which were help on Friday, July 13th.  If you will recall, our lab top computer crashed on July 17th and that set us back at least a month.  The players named to the Top 30 Game were 6'5 Shaddean Aaron from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'2 Soph Aaron Afalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'8 Jr Mohamed Abukar from San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) CA, 6'8 Ronald Allen from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'8 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Sterling Byrd from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'3 Jr Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Nate Carter from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'8 David Chiotti from Mountain View (St. Francis) CA, 6'2 Ashanti Cook from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Jr Scott Cutley from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'1 Patrick Haddan from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, 6'6 Onye Ibekwe from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'3 Keion Kindred from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'7 Marcedes Lewis from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 5'10 Jason McKinney from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Ryan Meilleur form Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'4 Steve Moore from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'3 Carlos Munoz from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Jason Obazuaye from San Jose (Hill) CA, 6'2 Kenton Paulino from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'8 Jr Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 5'10 Carlos Rivers from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 6'5 Derek Stockalpher from Carlsbad (H.S.) CA, 5'11 Armando Surratt from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'5 Porter Troupe from La Jolla (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Jamaal Walls from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'3 Jr Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'1 Jr Marcus Williams from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, and 6'3 Brandon Worthy from San Jose (Mt. Pleasant) CA.  The players named to the Top 60 Game were 5'9 Jr Kevin Bell from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'2 Jr Mark Bradford from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 5'11 Rashaun Broadus from Milani (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Wayne Chamberlain from Los Angeles (Washington) CA, 6'4 Geoffrey Clayton from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'7 Seth Davis from Pasadena (Muir) CA, 6'7 Keith Edmunds from Fountain Valley (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Jamaal Hall from Pasadena (Muir) CA, 6'9 Gary Hamilton from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'5 Jr Justin Hawkins from Pasadena (Muir) CA, 6'10 Ryan Hollins from Pasadena (Muir) CA, 6'5 Terrence Jones from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'5 Julius Keeler from Escondido (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Saul Langster from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'2 Mike Mebanna from Glendora (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Tony Melum from Newport Beach (Newport Harbor) CA, 6'6 Cory McJimson from Rialto (Eisenhower) CA, 6'5 Joseph Morgan from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'4 Anthony Nalor from Northfield (Mt. Hermon) CA, 6'4 Danny Nwaelele from Bothel (Inglemoor) WA, 6'7 Ryan Schwartz from Denver (Kennedy) CO, 5'9 Jr Deon Simpson from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Kenneth Smith from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'3 Giovanni St. Amant from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 5'10 Soph Enrico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA, 6'1 Chad Vakili from Costa Mesa (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Lauren Walls from Shonto (Monument Valley) AZ, 6'7 Jr Alan Wiggins from Poway (H.S.) CA, 5'11 M'Jumbe Williams from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, and 6'5 Jr Trayvon Williams from Fontana (H.S.) CA.  The players named to the Top 90 Game were 6'9 Rodrique Benson from Del Mar (Torrey Pines) CA, 6'4 Jason Burrell from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, 6'7 Isaiah Bryant from Riverside (North) CA, 6'0 David Conte from Costa Mesa (H.S.) CA, 5'7 Jacob Crawley from Irvine (H.S.) CA, 6'9 Keilon Daniels from San Bernardino (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Jr Chris Devine from Eagle River (Clugiak) AK, 6'4 Jared Dillinger from Littleton (Dakota Ridge) CO, 6'0 Marcus Echols from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'3 Jr Josh Flynn-Brown from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'4 Jake Franzen from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 6'4 Dominic Freeman from Long Beach (Millikan) CA, 6'2 Jamel Gay from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 5'7 Frosh Michael Gordon from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'7 Samir Hernandez from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'5 Jr Kyle Hogan from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Ryan Johnson from Rolling Hills (Peninsula) CA, 5'10 Jr Eric Lane from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'3 Marvin Lea from Riverside (King) CA, 6'2 Matt Llewellyn from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, 6'2 Matt McCraw from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'0 Brian McFadden from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'6 Hamadi McIntosh from Union City (Logan) CA, 6'0 Greg Nelson from Carlsbad (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Robert Neyland from La Canada (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Brice Prather from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Marcellus Robertson from La Habra (H.S.) CA, 5'10 Jonathan Smith from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'4 Jr Drew Terry from Irvine (Northwood) CA, and 6'4 Jr Joshua Washington from Bay St. Louis (St. Stanislaus) MS. 

We also have yet to mention the major award winners from the three sessions of the Cape Scope/High Potential "Blue Chip" Basketball Camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY from this summer.  So we will take the opportunity to do so now.  The MVP for the week from the June 24-28 Session was 6'11 Robert Summers from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH.  The Runner-Up MVP was 6'6 Bobby Bossman from Strongsville (H.S.) OH.  The Best Underclassmen was 6'8 Jr Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY.  The Junior MVP was 5'5 8th Grader Javante Clanton from Columbus (Finland) OH.  The Junior Runner-up MVP was 6'1 Frosh Walt Rader from McKee (Jackson County) KY.  The MVP for the week from the July 8-12 Session was 6'8 Mark Surgalski from Ashland (Paul Blazer) KY.   The Runner-Up MVP was 6'4 Matthew Del Valle from Elyria (Catholic) OH.  The Best Underclassmen was 6'8 Jr Michael Rembert from Chicago (St. Rita) IL. The MVP for the week from the July 22-26 Session was 6'3 David Inabnit from Whiteland (H.S.) IN.  The Runner-Up MVP was 6'8 Steven Goff from San Antonio (John Jay) TX.  The Best Underclassmen was 6'6 Jr Brandon Ross from Columbus (Northland) OH.  For more information about the Cape Scope/High Potential "Blue Chip" Basketball Camp, click on http://www.basketball-camp.net.  We also want to tell you about the The Inaugural "Blue-Chip" Basketball Shootout, which will be held at Bellarmine College on Friday, December 7th.  The field will include Louisville (Seneca) KY versus Radcliff (North Hardin) KY at 4:30 PM, Brandenburg (Meade County) KY versus Elizabethtown (South Central) KY at 6:00 PM, New Albany (H.S.) IN versus Glasgow (H.S.) KY at 7:30 PM, and Louisville (Holy Cross) KY versus Russellville (H.S.) KY at 9:00 PM. 

Any reports that you might have heard about 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ making a verbal commitment to Stanford are premature.   However, we have confirmed that Haryasz, who is ranked #58 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has been accepted by the Stanford Admissions Department, which is no surprise, because Haryasz has a 3.6 gpa and is being recruited by several Ivy League schools.   Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis also tells us that Stanford is very interested in 6'1 Patrick Haddan from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA and taking Haddan, who also is getting interest from Princeton, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Auburn, Yale, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, Richmond, Loyola-Marymount, William & Mary, Portland, Cornell, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and American University, might be a good move for The Cardinal.  No, we don't project Haddan to be more than a good role player for head coach Mike Montgomery, but he might be the entree to getting 6'7 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and 6'8 Jr Harrison Schaen from San Ana (Mater Dei) CA, both of whom also play for Trigonis' Belmont Shore AAU team.  As a matter of fact, we think Stanford is already the early favorite for Schaen, who is expected to make a major comeback now that he's healthy again.  If you will recall, Schaen, who was missing in action all summer, was ranked among the top five players in his class in the nation after we saw him two years ago at Trigonis' Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic, but injuries and a lack of toughness appear to have held him back ever since.  Trigonis also tells us that Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico, Portland, and Kansas State are all in the hunt for 6'2 Ashanti Cook from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  Getting back to Stanford, if they do get Haryasz, that would likely open the door for Auburn, which is making a strong push, to get 6'9 Bernard Cote from Montreal (Chaplain-St. Lambert) QU.  If you will recall, we reported several days ago that Stanford was also the leader for Cote.  However, our guess is that Haryasz is their first choice, because he's so much more skilled right now and his upside is tremendous.  Auburn also appears to be among the top five, along with Alabama, Georgetown, Cincinnati, and California, for 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobile (Blount) AL, who is ranked #31 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and we don't believe Louisville is the lock everybody thinks they are for 6'11 Kendall Dartz from Hill (JC) TX.  As a matter of fact, in a recent column by Russ Blake, Dartz's junior college coach denied that a verbal commitment had already been forthcoming to the Cardinals.  However, he did confirm that head coach Rick Pitino and assistant coach Mick Cronin have both been down to see Dartez in July.   We also hear that Auburn is making a strong push for Dartz, plus schools like Cincinnati, LSU, and Kentucky should not be counted out. 

Tuesday, August 21, 2001

It looks like the University of Houston has another major steal on its hands, as 6'4 Cedrick Hensley from Cleveland (Heritage Chrisitan) TX has picked the Cougars.  Hensley was hurt this summer and, as a result, slipped under the radar screen in most of the post summer rankings.  But this also is the player who scored 100 points in a single game last January.  We're talking about a big time athlete and prolific 3-point shooter with top 100 talent and potential.  However, for him to realize that potential, he needs to continue to develop his skills and get good coaching at the next level.  And that's why this is such a good fit for the Cougars.   Hensley also promises to be the perfect complement to the other two outstanding guards that Houston landed last spring in 6'5 Kevin Gaines, who transferred from Michigan, and 6'2 Andre Owens, who transferred from Indiana.  Now all Cougars head coach Ray McCallum needs to do is add somebody else inside and right now the pickings are pretty slim, at least in the high school ranks, as is evident by the fact that 50 of the players ranked among our top 100 nationally in the senior class have already verbally committed.  And if you include 5th year players in your rankings, which some of our competitors (i.e. Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports), that number is closer to 60 than 50.  But let's look at it another way.  If you need a quality point guard, only six point guards who ranked among our top 100 nationally - 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN, and 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV are still on the board.  The deepest position is the power forward spot, as 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, and 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'7 Curtis Withers from Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC, 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'8 Travis Garrison from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'7 Marques Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'8 Charles Davis from Selma (Southside) AL, 6'6 Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, and 6'8 Brian Feeney from Gilbert (Mesquite) AZ are all still available.  There also are surprising number of centers still available in 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, 6'10 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, 6'11 Sani Ibrahim from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, 6'10 Moulaye Niang from El Cajon (Christian) CA, and 6'10 Matt Gorman from Watertown (H.S.) NY.  In other words, 24 of the 51 players left uncommitted in our top 100 are either power forwards or centers.   However, most of these guys are too far along in the recruiting process, likely academic casualities, or, as in the case of Stoudemire, Collins, and Ibrahim, likely to by-pass college next spring and enter their names into the NBA Draft.  Recruiting at the wing forward position appears to be a little more wide open, as 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobile (Blount) AL, 6'6 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK, 6'7 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, 6'5 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, 6'5 Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC, and 6'6 Bobby Jones from Compton (Dominguez) CA are all still available.  However, this position is weak at the top as only two (Burns and Winston) of these 11 players are ranked among our top 50 and Roy, Morris, Carmona, Wade, Burditt, Petty, and Jones are all in the 75-100 range. The 2-guard spot, which includes 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'5 Antonio Lawrence from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'5 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON, 6'1 Greg Brown from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, and 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, is stronger at the top as Wright, Anderson, Adams, Lawrence, and Roye are all included among our top 50, but most of them are a lot further along in the recruiting process.  So who can somebody step in and steal as we enter the fall recruiting period?  At the 2-guard spot Hite was terrific at the end of the summer and Lawrence won't likely do anything until spring, which means anything can happen.  At the point guard spot Watson still appears to be wide open and Finn, is hidden down their in Southern Indiana.  Carmona, who is a relentless competitor, and Byars, who has skills, athleticism, and outside shooting, both appear to be wide open at the wing forward spot.   The only power forwards who haven't narrowed it down yet appear to be Freeman and Poole, but junior college and/or prep school may be in their future first.  At the center spot Diagu, Kane, Haryasz, and Lamptey all appear to be wide open.  

We mentioned above that 50 of our top 100 seniors have already verbally committed, but we didn't get a chance to tell you that the 50th verbal commitment came last night when 6'7 Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominician) WI, who is ranked #82 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, picked the University of Wisconsin.   And looking back on it we think #82 is a conservative ranking, despite the fact that Nixon was missing in action all summer due to an injury.  So most people have no idea how good he is.  But we do, especially after watching him last spring at the Spiece Tournament in Ft. Wayne, IN, where he reminded us of Antoine Walker with his athleticism and ability to play any position on the court.  The first time we saw him at Spiece, Nixon was playing inside, as he was aggressive on the boards, blocked shots, and scored around the basket.  In the next game Nixon was playing both inside and outside, as he also impressed us with handling and passing skills and ability to hit the 3-pointer.  The third time we saw him, Nixon played almost exclusively out on the perimeter, as he was the guy bringing the ball up court and starting the offense, plus he continued to impress us with his outside shooting.  In other words, we think this is a great catch for the Badgers.  As a matter of fact, we like Nixon a lot better than 6'9 Steve Novak from Brown Deer (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #88 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and recently verbally committted to Marquette.  Novak is one of the best outside shooters in the senior class nationally and he helped himself this summer, as he got it done against some of the best player in the nation.  But he lacks Nixon's athleticism, versatility, and upside.  We also have received word that William & Mary has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'2 Brett Howell from Auburn (H.S.) AL.  If you will recall, Howell signed last fall with Eastern Kentucky, but now he doesn't plan to enroll at EKU.   So he has been released from his National Letter-of-Intent and is free to transfer to the school of his choice, where he will be eligible beginning second semester this winter.  And Howell isn't the only player the Tribe is close to getting.    We know that 6'3 Wes Wardrop from Worcester (Academy) MA is in Williamsburg, VA right now making an unofficial visit to William & Mary and 6'7 Jack Jenkins from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH and 6'8 Daryl Pegram from Worcester (Academy) MA are also very high on their list.  The only problem is that at William & Mary only has one scholarship left and it will go to whoever commits first. 

Monday, August 20, 2001

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that the Memphis Commerical-Appeal on Saturday reported that 6'8 Almany Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC has verbally committed to the University of Memphis and for all practical purposes they are correct.  However, our Georgia editor Linzy Davis, who also is Thiero's club team coach on the Georgia Elite AAU team, tells us that Thiero still may take an official visit to the University of Michigan and that Louisville is also really turning up the heat.  In other words, we're counting Thiero with Memphis's recruiting class, but we're also telling you that the possibility exits that he may change his mind.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL has verbally committed to DePaul.  This is important for the Blue Demons, because it shows that DePaul can still get the top players in their own backyard.  If you will recall, since arriving in Chicago four years ago, Kennedy has recruited like crazy in the Windy City, as he has landed Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Lance Williams, Steve Hunter, Andre Brown, Imari Sawyer, Marlon Brooks, and now White.  But his won-loss ratio hasn't come close to matching the level of talent in the program nor was DePaul one of the finalists for either of the two great point guards - 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL and 6'2 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL - from Chicago, IL in this year's senior class.  However, we talked with DePaul head coach Pat Kennedy at the NCAA Final Four last March and he thinks his team will improve dramatically this year for two reasons.  First, he won't have a team made up of primarily of big men and point guards.  Second, he'll have a lot of good young players in the program who should help the chemistry and provide a better supporting cast.  Remember, the Blue Demons landed a recruiting class last spring that was ranked #15 nationally, despite the fact the 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, who verbally committed to DePaul last fall, opted to go straight of out high school into the NBA Draft.  That class featured 6'8 Sam Hoskin from Schoolcraft (JC) MI and 6'7 Quemont Greer from Homestead (Berkshire) FL, both of whom are power forwards, but also are capable of playing some out on the perimeter.  It also included three wing players in 6'4 Levar Seals from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL, 6'1 Marlon Brooks from Lincoln (JC) IL, and 6'4 Drake Diener from Fond du Lac (Goodrich) WI.  Seals and Brooks are both big time athletes who should provide immediate help at the 2-guard spot, and Diener, who promises to be an excellent role player, brings needed outside shooting to the table.

Our Virginia Editor Tony Squire called this morning to let us know that 6'5 Antonio Hargrove had decided to transfer from Virginia Commonwealth to Shaw University, which is a Division II school in Durham, NC.  It also is the school where the legendary Joel Hopkins is beginning his second season as the head coach and it looks like Hopkins is on the verge of assembling a team that is every bit as good as any of the teams he had at Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  In addition to Hargrove, who will be eligible immediately, Hopkins also will go to war this year with 6'5 Jarrett Kearse, who orginially signed with West Virginia; 6'0 J.R. Raymond, who originally signed with Oklahoma; 6'7 George Mazyck, who transferred to Shaw from Nebraska; and 6'10 Steve Bynes, who attended Compton (JC) CA.  But Hopkins says his best player is 6'4 Ronald Murray, who is originally from Philadelphia, PA.  Murray was the one of the top five scorers in the Division II ranks a year ago and already a number of NBA scouts are calling.  "Murray is one of the quickest guys I've ever seen with the ball at his size," says Hopkins.  "He also can shoot the three and is an excellent ball handler and passer.   That's why I think he will be a first round draft pick regardless of what happens this season," says Hopkins.  "But if we have a good year, I think Murray will be a lottery pick.  I also think he will be the second best player I have ever coached."  In other words, Hopkins doesn't think Murray is "as good as Tracy McGrady, but he thinks he's better than Duke's Jason Williams."  And Hopkins wanted me to be sure to quote him on that.  Sure, that seems like an incredible statement, but Hopkins reminds us that everybody thought he was crazy when he tried to tell them how good McGrady was before the cat got out of the bag at the adidas ABCD Camp during the summer of 1996.  Plus, both Williams and Murray will be playing this season in the same area.  "The big difference will be that Williams will get all kinds of attention, because he plays for the highest profile program in college basketball.  Murray, on the other hand, will get lost in the shuffle, because he's at a Division II school."  However, maybe he won't get lost so quick at Shaw, especially, if Hopkins, as expected, immediately turns the Bears into a Division II power.   And with the kind of talent Hopkins is going to have this season, maybe they should give Shaw University an automatic bid straight into the NCAA Tournament, where it would be interesting to see if they're can win a couple of games. 

We also talked today with Ro Russell, who is the co-director the Grass Roots Canada AAU team and the editor of a soon to be web site, www.hoopscanada.fan.ca, and he provides us with a recruiting update on the top three players from Canada, as well as a sneak preview of three outstanding freshmen in Canada.  Let's first start with the 6'7 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON, who  has clearly emerged as the premier player in Canada, as well as potentially one of the best ever to come out of that country.  Russell thinks Connecticut is the leader right now ahead of Virginia, which is a strong second over Boston College, Kansas, and Rutgers.   Villanova also was among the favorites for Brown, but when they recently landed 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Bronx (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who plays the same position, that changed.  Stanford is currently the leader for 6'9 Bernard Cote from Montreal (Chaplain-St. Lambert) QU, but Notre Dame, Kansas, Auburn, Minnesota, and Kentucky are also on his list.  But before Kentucky fans get too excited, Russell tells us the Wildcats are a long shot at best.  Apparently head coach Tubby Smith has called a couple of times and the kid really likes Tubby.  However, that's all they've done.  In contrast, Connecticut, Boston College, and Rutgers are all expected to have Brown on campus this weekend for unofficial visits.  Russell also thinks George Washington and Massachusetts are the favorites for 6'5 Aaron Hutchinson from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC.  As for the future, Russell tells us that 6'4 Frosh Nathan Skinner from Toronto (St. Michaels) ON was the MVP at the Junior adidas ABCD Camp that was held last week in Flint, MI.  We're talking about a big time athlete who can rebound and slash to the basket.  Somebody out of the same mold as 6'5 Jr Olumuyiwa Famutini from Flint (Northwestern) MI and just like Famutini, Russell thinks Skinner will end up playing in the United States.  And that's fine with Russell, but he also makes it clear that Skinner can do a lot for basketball in Canada, if he continues to play for his Grass Roots Canada team.  Russell also raves about 6'9 Frosh Theo Davis from Toronto, ON, who he suspects will play at Toronto (Westhill) ON this season.  Davis has a size 16 shoe, has grown 12-inches in the last year, and already is surrpisingly skilled, athletic, and coordinated for somebody so big and so young.   As a result, Davis has potential superstar written all over him and already a number of big time schools, including Duke, Auburn, Kentucky, and Seton Hall, are showing early interest.  Another name to remember is 6'1 Frosh Kerchel Carter from Toronto (Henry Carr) ON.  "He has a big time future at the point guard spot," says Russell.

One of the premier events during the month of August was the Junior adidas ABCD Camp and the camp director, Chris Grier, who also is the director of the Michigan Hurricanes AAU program, provides us with the rosters from the all-star game, as well as all the major award winners.  The Red Team included 5'10 Frosh Edward Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'4 Frosh Jabari Currie from Detroit, MI, 6'4 Frosh Nate Skinner from Toronto (St. Michaels) ON, 6'4 Frosh Romare Trusty from Detroit (Crockett) MI, 6'11 Frosh Kenneth Gregory from Chicago, IL, 6'2 Frosh Peter Hollis from Chicago, IL, 5'8 8th Grader Tajuan Porter from Detroit (Nolan) MI, 5'10 Frosh Christen Parker from Chicago, IL, and 6'2 8th Grader James Wilson from Saginaw, MI.  The White Team included 6'1 Frosh Ronald McFoley from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'1 Frosh Kerchel Carter from Toronto (Henry Carr) MI, 6'4 Frosh Dominque Washington from Canton, MI, 6'4 8th Grader Dante Sist from Detroit, MI, 6'9 Frosh Theo Davis from Toronto, ON, 5'9 Frosh Andre Ricks from Detroit, MI, 5'10 Frosh Daniel Greenan from Ada, MI, 5'10 8th Grader John McKinney from Saginaw, MI, and 5'7 6th Grader Anthony Crater from Flint, MI.  The MVP of the camp was Skinner, who had 28 points, four dunks, four 3-pointers, nine rebounds, and a chest to chest dunk against Gregory, who is already 6'11.  The Academic All American winner was Parker, who paid his way to camp by winning a scholarship, whereby, he had to write an essay about a corporation he would start and how he would operate it.  His corporation:  Teaching the fundamentals of basketball to young kids by the hour.  The Best Guard Upperclassman was a tie between McFoley and Tucker.  Currie took home the award as the Best Wing Upperclassman and Davis was named the Best Post Upperclassman.  Crater and Porter tied for the Best Guard Underclassmen, McKinney was the Best Wing Underclassmen, and Sist was the Best Post Underclassman.  Tucker was also the Scoring Champion for the week, while Trusty was the One-on-one champion and Porter was the 3-Point Shooting Champion.   Greenan was named Mr. Station, Wilson was named Mr. Hustle, and George was named Mr. Defense.

Believe it or not, the other Philly team won the Sonny Hill Future Stars Tournament at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, August 15th-19th.  We're talking about the Philadelphia Phoenix, which upset the Sonny Hill Seniors, 56-56, in the championship game.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was there all five days and he tells us that the Phoenix were led by the 6'5 Michael Blackshear, who was named tournament MVP en route to a 19-point and 10-rebound performance in the championship game.  Omar Johnson, a 5'8 junior point guard from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, chipped in with nine points and four assists, while 6'7 Chaz Crawford from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA dominated inside with 10 rebounds and four blocks.  Leading the Sonny Hill Seniors were 6'4 Maurice Collins from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA with 16 points and 10 rebounds and 6'4 Kenell Sanchez from Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ with 10 points and six rebounds.  En route to the championship the Phoenix upset the Tim Thomas Playaz with 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and 6'5 John Winchester, who along with his teammate, 6'9 Eric Davis, is heading to Raleigh (Bonner Academy) NC.   If you will recall, both Winchester and Davis previously were supposed to enroll at Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC this fall as 5th year players.  In the semi-finals the Phoenix upset Rasheed Wallace's Hunting Park Warriors, which featured 6'3 Jr Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and 6'4 Mike Cook from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA.  In other words, the Phoenix knocked off two of the final four teams (Tim Thomas and Hunting Park) from the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas and the host team (the Sonny Hill Seniors) in their final three games of the tournament.  In addition to Blackshear, Ingram, Winchester, Shakur, and Cook, the all-tournament team consisted of 6'11 Jr Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) PA, 6'2 Jr Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'3 Jr Jesse Holly from Roselle (Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Jr Ray Barbosa from Allentown (William Allen) PA, 6'4 Adam Lane from Orefield (Parkland) PA, 6'5 Dahliek Powell from Philadelphia (Roxborough) PA, 6'3 Daniel Rumph from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'6 Soph Harry Brown from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD, 6'8 Jr Richard Dorsey from Baltimore (Southern) MD, 5'9 Soph Dontaye Draper from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD, 6'8 Jaz Cowan from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, 6'4 Jr Gerald Brown from Baltimore (Douglass) MD, 6'4 Soph Charron Fisher from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'5 Jr Troy Roundtree from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA, 6'9 Jon Clark from Toronto (St. Michael's) ON, 6'7 Mike Tuck from Toronto, ON, and 6'3 Tommy Baker from Millville (H.S.) NJ, and 6'7 Manny Messy, who was at Winchendon (School) MA, but now is rumored to be heading to Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  The other big story of the tournament involved a quarterfinals upset by Rick Barrett's Gym Rats I over the Tim Thomas Playaz Junior Team.  Although we're not ready to compare Baker to Barrett's last great player, Ernest Turner, the principle was the same, as Baker had a 40-point effort against the Tim Thomas Playaz Juniors and was the leading scorer in the tournament with a 31.0 ppg average.

Saturday, August 18, 2001, and Sunday, August 19, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Xavier has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'7 Brandon Cole from Richton Park (Rich South) IL, but the biggest story going right now involves 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, who was ranked #31 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in our final rankings on the Class of 2001 last spring.  While this comes as no real surprise (the Buckeyes were the early leader for Hart when he was a junior and more recently the word on the street was they were the leader over Michigan State), Hart may turn out to be the best player Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien has ever signed.  Remember, the senior class nationally a year ago was loaded, so if Hart were included in this class, he would not only be ranked among the top 10 or 15 nationally, but he also would be a near lock to make the McDonald's All-American team.     "Hart is an absolote steal for the Buckeyes," says Johnson.     "Ohio State was involved with some good wing players, but none them have the talent, skills, and athleticism of Hart, who might have been the best athlete in the state of Michigan last year."  Johnson thinks Hart may even have more NBA potential than the other great one from Flint a year ago.  He's talking about 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI and that's a pretty strong statement, because Tolbert finished as the #2-ranked player in the Class of 2001 according to the HOOP SCOOP.  With Hart's commitment the Buckeyes will be able to focus exclusively on inside guys, like 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'8 Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, 6'10 Chris Hunter from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'7 Marquis Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnmam City) OK, 6'8 Chris Ellis from Marietta (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Bernard Cote from Montreal (St. Lambert) ON, 6'8 Julian Terrell from Antioch (Ezell Harding Christian) TN, and 6'8 Charles Bass from Crete (Crete-Monee) IL, plus the Ohio State coaching staff may find out about some good foreign big men while playing the next two weeks in Europe on a trip that begins on Monday.   Hart's commitment also will allow the Buckeyes to start concentrating on junior guards and they are hoping to keep their Michigan connection going (O'Brien landed Howard Eisley and Paul Grant when he was at Boston College and he signed Brett Darby three years for the Buckeyes), as they are already targeting  6'3 Jr Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'0 Jr Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, 6'3 Jr Byron Davis from Detroit (Rogers) MI.  The only question now is whether Hart will count with this recruiting class, because he will be a partial qualifier this season.   In other words, he will enroll in school this fall and practice with the team this winter.  However, he won't be able to play this season.  The key might be whether he signs a National Letter-of-Intent.  If he does, he be the marquee player in this year's recruiting class.  If he doesn't, he would count with last year's class, which included 6'1 Brandon Fuss-Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, 6'7 Matt Sylvester from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 6'7 Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, and 6'9 Terranced Dials from Youngstown (Boardman) OH and was ranked #10 nationally.  But with the addition of Hart, Ohio State's recruiting class would move all the way up to #2 behind Memphis.   Speaking of Memphis, they had a similar situation with 6'2 Antonio Burks from Hiwassee (JC) TN, who transferred to the University of Memphis at the semester break and sat out last winter.  So, as we understand it, Burks will eligible to play at Memphis this season sometime in late December and this is important, as the word we're getting out of Memphis is that Burks has been ridiculous this summer.  He also is more athletic and explosive in transition than Allen Iverson, which means Memphis should have one of the best backcourts in college basketball this season.   Remember, they also have 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who was the #1-ranked high school player in the nation in the Class of 2001 by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, our Memphis Editor Jim Rothman tells us that biggest surprise has been 6'8 Chris Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA.   "We're not doing any projecting with Massey," says Rothman.    "He has an NBA prototype body right now and he's good enough to make an impact in the league right now."  I guess now everybody understands why we thought Massey was the best junior college player in the nation last year and why we thought the Tigers recruiting class was so much better than everybody else's last spring.   The only question now is whether head coach John Calipari can put together the pieces quickly and find the right chemistry.   If he does, we are likely talking about a NCAA Final Four team and if that happens, remember where you heard it first!

Friday, August 17, 2001

One of the best junior college jobs in the nation is the College of Southern Idaho (JC) ID, which has had as much talent as any program in the nation during the last several years with players like 7'0 Uche Okafor, 6'4 Blandon Ferguson, 6'8 Ben Eze Ndubuis, and 6'4 Tony Bobbitt.  We bring this to your attention, because Derek Zeek, who has been the head coach at Southern Idaho the last two years, has been fired.  Speaking of junior college players, it looks like new Towson head coach Michael Hunt has stolen another one in 6'6 Keon Blanks from Carl Albert (JC) OK.  Not only is Blanks an incredible athlete, but he is expected to step in and start immediately this coming season.  So could 5'11 Jamaal Gilchrist, but he will have to sit out next year after transferring to Towson this spring from Texas A&M.   Towson also signed 6'9 Tony Dixon from Jackson (Memorial) NJ and 6'3 Calvin Dotson from Mott (JC) MI last spring and our Baltimore Editor Paul Bowden tells us that Hunt and his staff have already made major in-roads with a number of the players in the area, including 6'7 Jaz Cowan from Owings Mills (McDonogh) MD, 6'8 Jai Lewis from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'5 Renardo Dickerson from Baltimore (Southern) MD, 6'3 Wade Dunston from Potomac (Bullis School) MD, and 6'6 Dontez Dean from Seward (JC) KS.  Hunt also is using his old Georgia and Tennessee connections to get the Tigers involved with 6'5 Derrick Broom from Cartersville (Woodlawn) GA, 6'7 Steve Warner from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'5 Winston Robinson from Knoxville (Beardean) TN, plus we hear them mentioned with 6'9 Paul Williams from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'7 Antonio McMillan from Philadelphia (Christian) PA.

The big news of the day involves 6'5 Lloyd Price, who has decided to make it official.  Yes, he is transferring from Xavier to Fairleigh Dickinson, where will have to sit out next year and then have one-year to play.   This is huge, because Price is a world-class athlete and he will used at both the wing forward and 2-guard spot, where he will make a living posting up smaller and less athletic guys all day long in the Northeast Conference.  Price also provides Fairleigh Dickinson, which also recently got a commitment from 6'4 Chad Timberlake from Brooklyn (New Utrecht) NY, with the marquee player upon which to continue to build around.  And that should be well within their grasp when one considers Fairleigh Dickinson's geographic proximity with New York City and the fact that FDU gets a lot of players they have a chance to get onto campus during the summer at the adidas ABCD Camp.  However, the big connection here appears to be assistant coach Jim Carr's prior relationship with Price, which dates back to their days at Five-Star when Carr was a coach at the camp and Price was a player.

Soon we suspect there will be a number of surprises with regards to where certain players surface in terms of junior college and/or prep school.   However, 6'11 Martin Iti from Australia stepping in as the replacement at the Winchendon (School) MA for 6'11 Sani Ibrahim, who has transferred to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, shouldn't be one of them.  As a matter of fact, we think Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes may have come out ahead on this deal.  If you will recall, Iti was terrific when we saw him at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, as he blocked shots, rebounded, ran the floor, and scored inside, as well as anybody in the tournament.  Ibrahim, on the other hand, had a terrible summer and, as a result, has dropped from #6 to #33 in the class nationally.  We also have finally confirmed that 6'8 Yusef Baker from Orlando (Evans) FL, who is ranked #66 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has made it official for South Florida.  If you will recall, we told you last winter that we thought the Bulls were the heavy favorite to get Baker.  So the only real surprise is that it took so long.   Remember, South Florida assistant coach David Zimroth is one of the best recruiters in the nation and he usually always gets his man, especially when he is involved with an in-state kid.  South Florida also landed an excellent recruiting class last spring that included 6'5 Greg Brittian from Central Florida (JC) FL, 6'5 Kelvin Brown from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, 6'8 Brandon Brigman from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Marlyn Bryant from Leesburg (H.S.) FL, 5'9 Brian Swift from Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH, and 6'2 Larry Thompson from Fort Scott (JC) KS.  So it should be obvious that head coach Seth Greenberg has done what many other excellent coaches were unable to do at South Florida.  We talking about continuing to elevate the program to a higher and higher level, despite the fact B.B. Walden and Altron Jackson both will graduate after this season.  One that we haven't confirmed is that 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA has verbally committed to Georgia Tech.   It very well indeed may be that he has told Paul Hewitt and his staff that he's coming, but nobody else seems to know about it, as Boston College, Virginia, Notre Dame, and Florida all believe they're still in the hunt. 

One of the things we did last night was update our list of links, which hopefully will make it faster and easier for you to find recruiting information on the world wide web.  We have tried to arrange it so that most of the national, state and regional recruiting, holiday tournament, club team, high school, camp and summer tournament, foreign, and newspaper web sites are in the same proximity, plus we have included the official web sites of both the NCAA and the NJCAA.  Hopefully we already have most of your favorite web sites already listed, but if there are a few we think we should add, don't hesitate to call me at 1-(502)-493-0043 or email me at clark@hoopscooponline.com.   Yes, my email is finally working again.  If you will recall, we had computer problems during the middle of July and, as a result, had to purchase a new computer while on the road.  So only now am I catching up on less important things like email.  As a matter of fact, if it is important and you want my immediate attention, it is always best to call me, because I view email more as an inconvenience than a necessity.   Getting back to our list of links, we also have permanently added a link to this page, as well as links to our pages with Early Commitments, National Rankings, Top Recruiting Classes, Area And State-By-State Reports, and Dates/Future Events.   And as long as we're talking about dates and future events, my tentative plan is to attend the Five-Star Camp in Honesdale, PA on August 27th-29th, several events on the West Coast in early September, including the FullCourt Press Fall Hoops Classic at Lynwood, CA, September, 14th-16th, the Charlie Weber Invitational at College Park, MD, September 21st-23rd at College Park, MD, and Rick Barrett's Midnight Madness in Cherry Hill, NJ on September 29th.  Unfortunately it doesn't appear that college coaches will be able to attend any of these events, because none of them are expected to be sanctioned by their state high school associations.  As a matter of fact, we know of only four events that will be sanctioned this fall and Mike Kunstadt's event, which will be held in Texas; Greg Swaim's two events, which will be held in Oklahoma City and Tulsa; and Bob Gibbons'event, which will be held in North Carolina, will have kids primarily from those states.   And that appears to be the key to getting sanctioned in a lot of states.  In other words, the NCAA is trying to put the club teams and traveling teams out of business, but it won't work.  Instead, it will probably cost them a lot of money (i.e. Charlie Weber, who reportedly plans to sue the NCAA).  Sure, college coaches won't be able to attend many of the top events this fall, like the one's we mentioned above, as well as the New York Slam Fest at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, September 7th-9th, the Five-Star Invitational Tournament at Staten Island, NY, September 14th-16th, and the adidas Hoop Challenge at Yale University in New Haven, CT, September 14th-16th, but the proliferation of events during dead periods for college coaches is one of the fast growing trends in the business.   But right now it's like the blind leading the blind, because nobody seems to have a clear idea of what is going to happen in September.  Obviously the NCAA is attempting to put a lot of these events out of business, but what they are actually doing is putting more power into the hands of the event organizers, club team coaches and scouting services.  Is this really what the NCAA wants?  And what are they going to do about the five-and-three rule, which limits the number of players a school can sign over a two-year period?  And what is going to happen to all the foreign players who are having the eligibility called into question, because they played on a team that has a player or players who are professional athletes?  And what are they going to do about the summer evaluation period next July?  In other words, there are a lot of unanswered questions that could dramatically change the landscape of college basketball for years to come just as dramatically as the evolution of the fall signing period in the early 1980's, the implementation of Prop 48 in the late 1980's, and the ever increasing restrictions and limitations on college coaches during the last 20 years have changed the recruiting process since we started covering this process in 1983. 

Thursday, August 16, 2001

We have finally found out what happened to former Kensington (Newport School) MD head coach Chris Chaney.  If you will recall, Newport School closed in June and since that time it has seemed like Chaney has dropped off the face of the earth.  Well, our buddy Tony Squire tells us that Chaney has finally surfaced as the new head coach at Laurinburg (Institute) NC and it looks like he already has loaded up with talent.  We know that's where 6'5 Steve Leven, who played for Chaney last year at Kensington (Newport School) MD, plans to make his home as a 5th year player this season and Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA head coach Steve Smith tells us 6'8 Boubacar Coly, who has came on like gangbusters this summer, is tranferring to Laurinburg Institute due to the fact that Oak Hill has too many players.  Squire also tells us that 6'10 Deante Smith from Petersburgh (H.S.) VA has will return for a 5th year and he too has been placed at Laurinburg Institute.  And this just what we know about so far.   However, Chaney still has a long way to go if he wants to equal the incredible among of talent that Smith has assembled at Oak Hill.  Believe it or not Smith is actually turning players away.  In addition to Coly, it appears that neither 6'11 Jr Malick Diame from the Senegal nor 6'11 Jr Jermaine Bell from Rochester (Franklin) NY are going to enroll that this basketball factory when school starts in a couple of weeks.  But Smith will still have more talent than most college teams, as his starting line-up will likely include 6'10 Sani Ibrahim, who has transferred from Winchendon (School) MA; 6'7 Carmelo Anthony, who has transferred from Towson (Catholic) MD; 6'1 Justin Gray and 6'3 Eric Wilkins, both of whom were at Oak Hill last year; and 6'2 Chadd Moore, who has transferred from Huntsville (Lee) AL.  Smith will also make sure that get 6'5 Richard Joyce, 6'7 Antywane Robinson, 6'9 Ian Johnson, 6'5 Jr Pierre Dacones from Statesville (H.S.) NC, and 6'7 Jr Omari Isreal all get a lot of playing time.  That's right!   Isreal, who was being  projected as the next great player to come out of the Washington, DC area has transferred from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD to Oak Hill.  So has Dacones, who has left Statesville (H.S.) NC, where he was playing for his father.   In other words, Smith is already loading up for next year.  And the recruiting might be just as interesting, because it already promises to be a war among Virginia, Maryland, and Syracuse for Isreal's services.  As for the seniors, Anthony is already committed to Syracuse, Gray and Joyce have committed to Wake Forest, and Moore recently made it official for Cincinnati.  Which leaves Ibrahim, who is still totally wide open; Wilkins, who will likely pick from among Seton Hall, Boston College, Miami-FL, Rugter, and San Diego State; Robinson, who is attracting the most interest from Richmond, East Carolina, William & Mary, SMU, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Clemson; and Johnson, who has the grades necessary to attract interest from schools like William & Mary, Holy Cross, Yale, and Davidson.

It appears that 6'7 Jr Omari Isreal transferring from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA isn't the only big transfer story in the Washington, DC area.  It already has been reported nationally that 6'1 Demetrius Hunter is leaving Georgetown and will likely transfer to either Brigham Young or Oklahoma, but outside of the DC area few people know that 6'8 Soph Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA may be following in the footsteps of his former teammate - 6'5 Jr Ricky Lucas, who transferred from Bishop O'Connell to Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD earlier this spring.  It also now appears that 5'11 Soph Eric Price from Washington (Gonzaga) DC and 6'0 Jr Earl Rigsby from Washington (Dunbar) DC both may be in line to transfer to Ft. Washington (National Christian) WA.  We also hear that 6'4 Shawn Harris, who will be a 5th year player this year at Fork Union (Military) VA, has narrowed his list to George Washington, East Carolina, and Virginia Tech.  As a matter of fact, our Virginia Editor Tony Squire tells us that Harris, along with 6'9 Allen Calloway from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA and 6'10 Deante Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, will be making an unofficial visit to East Carolina this weekend.  Squire also tells us that Harris, Calloway, Smith, 6'9 Chris Copeland from Richmond (Heritage) VA and 6'4 Marcus Sailes from Verona (H.S.) VA all will likely be at Virginia Tech next weekend.  Harris is also expected to visit George Washington early next week.  Speaking of Squire, who is the director of the Squires AAU program, he is the driving force behind grassroots basketball in Central Virginia the same way Boo Williams owns the Hampton Roads area.  So we encourage anybody who is interested in basketball in this part of the nation to make a point to go to Squire's new web site, which can be found at http://www.squirebball.com.   Squire tells us that he not only plans to provide a lot of information, but his people will attempt to update it on a daily basis. 

Wednesday, August 15, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'5 Derek Stockalter from Carlsbad (H.S.) CA has verbally committed to the University of San Diego.  He picks the Toreros over Utah, San Diego State, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, and Loyola-Marymount.  This comes on the heels of a commitment San Diego got from 6'2 Travis Smith from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA early in the summer and a recruiting class, which was ranked second in their league and included 6'6 Corey Belser from  Spanaway (Bethel) WA, 6'9 Nick Lewis from Phoenix (Brophy) AZ, and 6'2 Mike McGrain from Portland (Jefferson) OR, that they landed last spring.  As a result, it looks like San Diego is well on its way towards challenging Gonzaga and Pepperdine as the one of the premier teams in the West Coast Conference.  That would be doubly true if Brad Holland and his staff can land 6'10 Moulaye Niang from El Cajon (Christian) CA, 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ, and/or 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV.   That's right!  Niang, Haryasz, and Watson all rank among our top 100 nationally and all three are prime targets of the University of San Diego.  Get one and that would be enough to raise some eyebrows.  Get all three and it would like winning the lottery.  It also would help the Toreros keep up with the Joneses.   Remember, right down the road Steve Fisher is building a powerhouse of his own at San Diego State.  Johnson has the scoop on the University of Dayton, which has gotten a verbal commitment, lost a player, and kept another player from transferring.  The commitment comes from 6'10 James Cripe from Loveland (H.S.) OH.  The player they lost is 6'3 Shawn Higgins from Washington (Spingarn) DC, who was ranked #122 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2001.  Unfortunately for the Friars, Wiggins didn't make it academically.  Instead, he will enroll at Allegany (JC) PA.  The player who has decided to stay is 6'5 Sam Smith, who was originally from Worthington (Christian) OH.  Smith announced that he planned to transfer in the spring, but after he looked around at some other schools, he apparently decided that the grass wasn't greener elsewhere.  Johnson also tells us that Toledo has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'10 Allen Pinson from Hebron (Lakewood) OH and Marquette continues to recruit the Chicago area hard, as the Golden Eagles have added a commitment from 6'4 Joe Chapman from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL. 

Greg Swaim had an all-star lineup when he had 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'3 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, and 6'0 Julian Richardson from Miami (Pace) FL all on his weekly radio show, which is archived on his web site at http://www.gregswaim.com, on Monday night.  Especially interesting is the story with Richardson, who has risen from total obsurity into a national recruit based on his performance at several events this summer.  Prior to the summer Richardson was getting attention from schools like Furman, but now his list includes Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Florida State, Arkansas, and South Florida.  Swaim also believes that Richardson is a great sleeper for our top 100 nationally, as he tells us that several college coaches compare Richardson to former Oklahoma State guard Joe Atkins.  However, when we saw the Coast to Coast team at the AAU Junior Boys Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL in late July, we thought 6'2 Stephen Cowherd from Parkland (Stoneman Douglass) FL was the best player on his team.  In other words, there is a clear difference of opinion and only time will tell on this one.  All this becomes important, because Swaim tells us that Oklahoma State is going to take whichever point guard (Richardson or Hopkins) commits first.  We also have another major difference of opinion between Swaim and our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff, who is the director of the Team Texas AAU program.  Grandstaff believes that Texas is a strong leader for Hopkins over Tennessee, Georgia Tech, SMU, Illinois, and Oklahoma State.   Swaim on the other hand, thinks Oklahoma State is as strong as anybody with Hopkins, because the point guard spot will be wide open when Maurice Baker graduates after this season and it's not that far away from home (one of the reasons why Cincinnati has been eliminated is that Hopkins does want to go that far away from home.  Swaim also believes that Oklahoma isn't the total lock for Bookout that everybody thinks they are.  "If I had to bet on it, I'd still pick the Sooners," says Swaim.  "But he also has Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Illinois, Kansas, and UCLA on his list."  Swaim also thinks Sheldon Williams is a near lock for Duke.  As a matter of fact, Williams said Duke was still the leader on his show the other night.  Actually nothing has changed with Williams in months, as he also mentioned Illinois, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Michigan.  Swaim also confirms that 6'2 Nate Johnson from Penn Valley (JC) MO has finally made it official for Oklahoma State.  If you will recall, Johnson committed to the Cowboys in mid-July, but then re-opened his recruiting later in the month.  However, now it is official and apparently they plan to use Johnson to help them recruit Richardson (both players are scheduled to make official visits to Stillwater during the same weekend early next month).  We also find something that everybody (Swaim, Grandstaff, and myself) can agree upon.  We're talking about the strrong position that Illinois is in with Deron Williams.  Sure, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, and Maryland are also on Williams' list, but it looks like Fighting Illini head coach Bill Self will be tough to beat on this one.  Did you know that Self has known the kid since he was in junior high school?  Plus, Williams' mother is one of Self's biggest fans.  Grandstaff also tells us that Williams won't be the only Dallas area player who will be heading to Illinois.  He's talking about 6'8 Kyle Wilson from Dallas (Jesuit) TX and he tells us to write it down.   Wilson, who promises to be an excellent role player at the big time college level, will be the Fighting Illini's 5th and final  recruit this season.  If you will recall, the Fighting Illini already have three top 100 players in the fold in 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'5 J.R. Morris from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, and 6'10 James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Trail) IL.  Last, but not least, we are already looking forward to being on Swaim's radio show, which currently is the hottest recruiting radio show in the nation, next Monday night at 10:00 PM EST.  And if you can't join us live, Swaim archives everything.  In other words, you can catch us at your convenience at http://www.gregswaim.com.

The University of Louisville announced its schedule yesterday for the upcoming Men's Basketball season and it looks like first year head coach Rick Pitino will have a winning season, despite the fact he only has three players in the program - Reese Gaines, Carlos Hurt, and Brandon Bender - who are good enough to play at Louisville, if the program is where he wants it to be.  Let's take a closer look.  In December Louisville has home games against South Alabama, Tennessee State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the winner of Virginia Tech-Murray State, Coppin State, Tennessee Tech, and Eastern Kentucky.  So on paper that should be seven wins.  They also will be the underdog against Ohio State and Tennessee at home and Oregon and Kentucky on the road, which means their December record should be 7-4.  Louisville also should be favored to beat Marquette, Texas Christian, DePaul, Saint Louis, and East Carolina at home and East Carolina on the road in January and February.  That would give them an additional six wins and, as a result, almost assure them a winning season in their 28-game regular season schedule.  However, we don't see the Cardinals beating UAB, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Memphis, and Indiana on the road and Cincinnati and Charlotte at home, which means we see the Cardinals losing at least 11 games during the upcoming season.  That brings us to the games that could go either way, like South Florida at home and DePaul, Marquette, and Saint Louis all on the road.  Assuming the Cardinals go 2-2 in those four games, their regular season record would be 15-13 with what appears to be an easier schedule than they've had in recent years.  But Pitino has a knack for getting his players to overachieve whether they like it or not and, as a result, if several of those expected losses can be turned into wins and, if the Cardinals can win a couple of games in the post-season Conference Tournament, they could be right on the NCAA bubble in the middle of March.  And looking ahead even further, we understand that Papa John's Pizza will be sponsoring a four-team holiday tournament in Louisville prior to Christmas beginning in December of 2002.  It will be called the Papa John's Invitational, but really it will be the Rick Pitino Invitational, as the field the first year is expected to include Louisville, Providence, Holy Cross, and Manhattan.  Making things even more intriguing is the fact that Louisville will likely play Providence and Holy Cross will play Manhattan on the first night.  If you will recall, Pitino was once the head coach at Providence College, where he guided the Friars to the NCAA Final Four in 1987, and to this day maintains strong ties to the school, including with the athletic director, who is one of Pitino's closest friends.  Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard and Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez also have extremely close ties to Pitino.  As a matter of fact, Pitino hired Willard's son as an assistant coach at Louisville last spring, plus he also tried to hire Willard, who has been one of his best friends dating back to the days when Willard was an assistant coach under Pitino at the University of Kentucky and with the New York Knicks.  However, Willard decided to remain at Holy Cross.  Gonzalez has never worked for Pitino, but he's still one of Pitino's guys.  As a matter of fact, Pitino almost hired Gonzalez on two different occasions when he was at the University of Kentucky and he wanted to hire Gonzalez when he got the Louisville job this spring.  But there was no way Gonzalez was going to leave Manhattan now that he has the cupboard full.  And this won't be the first time Manhattan and Holy Cross have met in recent years.  Did you know that Holy Cross beat Manhattan last year in Worcester, MA and Pitino was at the game.  Holy Cross is scheduled to return the game this year and originally the game was supposed to be played at Madison Square Garden.  But now it will be at Manhattan due to a scheduling conflict.  Making the story even more interesting is the fact that Pitino was one who talked Willard and Gonzalez into playing against each other in the first place.  Getting back to the Papa John's Invitational, all this is not etched in stone yet nor has it been released yet, so obviously things could change.   However, our source on all this is about as good as you can get. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2001

A week ago we told you that Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez was on the verge of hiring Steve Masiello, who currently is the administrative assisitant at Tulane, into the #3 spot on his staff.  Well, Masiello started at Manhattan yesterday.  We also thought Charlton Clarke, who played at the University of Massachusetts and is now an assistant coach at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY might be in line to get hired at Manhattan, but it looks like Travis Lyons, who played his high school ball at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, college ball at Manhattan, and is now on the staff at New Mexico, also will be making the move back to Manhattan.  However, we don't expect an official announcement to be forecoming until early next week.  Lyons will move into the #2 spot, which was orginally earmarked for Kendrick Moore.  However, Moore, who has occupied the #3 spot on the staff for the last year, instead, has decided to move into another direction.  So with Lyons and Mike Bramucci, who is moving up from the #2 spot into the #1 spot since Michael Malone has left to work for the New York Knick, both on the road and Masiello in the on-campus non-recruiting position, it looks like Gonzalez has one of the best young staffs in all of college basketball.  But when it comes to recruiting, Gonzalez is second to none, as is evident by the fact that Manhattan got a verbal commitment yesterday from 5'8 Kenny Minor from Winchendon (School) MA.  In other words, Gonzalez's whole staff is currently in disarray, but he's still getting players.  And he may be in line to get some more, because Lyons apparently has such strong ties to 6'3 Darnell Hopkins from Towson (Catholic) MD that he probably will be able to deliever him to Manhattan.  Which means that Gonzalez now appears to have have established a strong pipeline into Baltimore.  If you recall, Minor was one of the top players in the city last year while playing for Baltimore (Dunbar) MD.  As a matter of fact, we're told that Minor outplayed North Carolina-bound 6'2 Melvin Scott several times last winter.  Minor, who is best friends with 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Towson (Catholic) MD, also played extremely well for Baltimore Select, which finished in the final four at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV late last month, and, as a result, would be a legitimate top 250 senior nationally.  Instead, this jet quick point guard will be a 5th year player.   When we first saw Hopkins and Anthony a year-and-a-half ago, we actually liked Hopkins better.  But then, Anthony grew four or five inches and got dramatically better.  However, that doesn't mean that Hopkins, who is best described as a jack-of-all-trades and is a great kid, shouldn't still be ranked among the top 150 nationally in the senior class.  In other words, he's be an absolute steal for Manhattan, which along with Hofstra, could be the best college team in the New York City area next year. 

Our Baltimore Editor Paul Bowden also provides us with the scoop on two other 5th year players who are originally from the Charm City.   No, 6'8 Jai Miller from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME has not verbally committed to Virginia Commonwealth, as has been previously reported.  At least not yet!   However, Bowden does tell us that VCU appears to be way out in front of schools like George Mason, James Madison, Robert Morris, Towson, Central Connecticut State, and Marist.  We also thought Wake Forest was close to getting a verbal commitment in late July from 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, but 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA grabbed the scholarship first.  So Bowden tells us that West Virginia, Xavier, and Florida State are out in front of schools like Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and Miami-FL.  We also hear that Rutgers has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'3 Daevon Haskins from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA via Baltimore (Walbrook) MD.   Haskins played well when we saw him on the Mount Royal team in the AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL two weeks ago and, as a result, he promises to be a good role player in the Big East.  However, this slasher/athlete isn't good enough to take the Scarlet Knights program to the next level. 

The University of Georgia appears to be close to getting verbal commitments from 6'8 Chris Ellis from Marietta (H.S.) GA and 6'4 Wayne Arnold from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, neither of whom are ranked among our top 100 nationally, but both of whom easily could be.  Arnold, who combines athleticism with outside shooting, is probably the better of the two right now.  However, Ellis just gets better and better every time we see him.  We also like Ellis' size, athleticism, and aggressivness inside, which makes him the perfect complement to 6'10 Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA, who verbally committed to the Bulldogs this spring, and 6'10 Larry Turner from Milledgeville (Baldwin) GA, who signed with the Bulldogs a year ago.  Georgia also landed 6'2 Michel Liggons from Rome (Coosa) GA and 6'1 Jarrod Gerald from Mullins (H.S.) SC in last year's recruiting class, plus they have Damien Wilkins, who transferred in June from N.C. State, waiting in the wings.  So obviously the Bulldogs can get real selective in their recruiting, as they only have one more scholarship to offer under the five and three rule, whereby, you can only sign eight players over a two-year period.  We also are very interested to see who Georgia Tech gets, as the Yellowjackets are involved with a lot of the top players, like 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'8 Travis Garrison from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'4 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NY, but aren't really the leader on anybody.  And making it all even more intriguing is the fact that no coach in basketball does a better job of evaluating talent and figuring out how that talent fits into his program than Paul Hewitt .  Thus, explains why he was so successful at Siena and why he was able to step in and overachieve a year ago at Georgia Tech. 

We understand that 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN was on campus at the University of Louisville yesterday, but we still think it's going to be extremely tough to get him away from Indiana University, especially if head coach Mike Davis hires former IU star Mike Woodson, who is a close friends with May's father (Scott May), as an assistant coach.  We also hear that the May's mother really likes new Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, but we still think the key is May's brother, Scott May, Jr, who is supposed to enroll this fall at Indiana University, where he is expected to walk-on the basketball team.   We also continue to hear that Duke is the strong leader for 6'10 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, but what would you think if Oklahoma got Williams, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK?  We have a soruce who thinks it will happen and, if it does, the Sooners will be well on their way towards their third consecutive top 10 recruiting class.  If you will recall, this spring Oklahoma's class finished ranked #6 by the HOOP SCOOP with 6'5 Ebi Ere from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'5 Jason Detrick from SMS/West Plain (JC) MO, 6'1 Quannas White from Midland (JC) TX, 6'10 Jabahri Brown from Rose State (JC) OK and 6'8 Matt Gipson from Burkburnett (H.S.) TX and a year ago the Sooners class finished a close second behind Oklahoma State, which had the #1-ranked class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, with 6'8 Aaron McGhee from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'6 Daryan Selvy from Carl Albert (JC) OK, 6'8 Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, 6'6 James Wright from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'9 Ronnie Griffin from Tallahassee (JC) FL, 6'9 Jozsef Szendrel from Northeast Colorado (JC) CO, and 6'0 Blake Johnson from Midland (H.S.) TX.  If Sooners head coach Kelvin Sampson can pull this off, it obviously would put his program among the elite in college basketball.  Remember, junior college players, which Sampson has made a living off of thus far, can only take you so far in terms of long term stability.  In other words, if a program is to remain near the top for very long, a strong nucleus, which can only be provided by players who will be in the program for four or five years, becomes a necessity.  Sure, Williams may go pro prematurely, but you can bet Sampson and his staff are hoping to keep this group together for as long as possible.  Remember, the Athletes First AAU program, which features Williams, Bookout, Alexander, and 6'7 Marquis Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, won the AAU Super Showcase and finished in the final four of the adidas Big Time Tournament a year ago, so this is at least the second year they've all been together.  This also may be why Sampson turned down so many head coaching jobs in the last two years (he apparently has been waiting on this class).  Speaking of Hayden, the HOOP SCOOP has learned that New Mexico appears to be one of the schools that is trying to steal this athletic aggressive power forward who continues to move up in our rankings as he continues to improve his perimeter skills.  Currently we have Hayden ranked #56 nationally.   And this just reaffirms what we already know, as the New Mexico staff does a great job of evaluating where players are today and projecting where they will be several years down the road.  This becomes even more evident when we look at a number of the other players the Lobos are involved with, including 6'1 Ashanti Cook from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'7 Brandon Bowman from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Bobby Jones from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'9 David Paris from Modesto (Christian) CA, 6'5 Marquise Kately from San Francisco (Riordan) CA, 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ, and 6'3 Josh Washington from Lubbock (Monterey) TX, all of whom are good now, but have even greater potential. 

Saturday, August 11, 2001, Sunday, August 12, 2001, and Monday, August 13, 2001

It comes as no surprise that 6'2 Chadd Moore from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #34 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati while on campus for an unofficial visit over the weekend.  If you will recall, Bearcats head coach Bobby Huggins made getting Moore a priority this summer and when that happens Huggins usually gets his man.  We also suspect that this will be the perfect fit for both parties, because Cincinnati needs somebody who can step right in and run the show and Moore, who as a rising sophomore was ranked as the #1 player in his class nationally at the end of the summer, needs somebody who will push him and make him tougher both on and off the court.  Moore, who is an outstanding 3-point shooter, is capable of playing either guard spot, so he will also provide the Bearcats with plenty of versatility.   So we don't think his commitment will effect the recruitment of 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who led Team Texas to the championship in both the NIKE Peach Jam and the AAU Super Showcase in July and, as a result, is the leading candidate to be named the Most Improved Player-of-the-Summer later this month by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, the University of Texas appears to be the heavy favorite for Hopkins, but Cincinnati is well connected with the Team Texas AAU program.  Remember, the Bearcats landed former Team Texas star 6'7 Jason Maxiell from Carrollton (Newman Smith) TX last fall.  Also former Cincinnati All-American Kenyon Martin is from Dallas and, as a result, the Bearcats have a strong following in the Dallas area.  In addition to the Longhorns and the Bearcats, Hopkins, who is ranked #8 nationally, as well as the #3 point guard in the class behind 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC and 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, also is still considering Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and SMU.  Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff also still believes that Hopkins' Team Texas backcourt mate - 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX - is a near lock for Indiana.  However, we warns IU fans not to count their chickens before they hatch, because Wright will still likely make an unofficial visit to the University of Texas before making a final decision.  Getting back to the University of Cincinnati, we also believe the Bearcats may be close to getting another verbal commitment later this week from 6'6 Eric Hicks from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who is expected to be in Cincinnati on an unofficial visit on Wednesday.  Hicks isn't ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, but he's close.   He's also the type of explosive undersized power forward that Huggins has made a living with over the years.  Hicks not only plays his tail off, but he's very athletic and extremely aggressive on the boards. 

Friday, August 10, 2001

We're not sure if it has been officially announced yet, but we do know that the other schools that were involved with 6'10 James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Way) IL have been told that he's decided to attend the University of Illinois.  Augustine is best described as a late developer and, as a matter of fact, I recall arguing with Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report about this very subject at the Spiece Tournament in early May.  At the time I thought Augustine belonged in the top 100 nationally, but now it looks like the Schmidt's are on the high end of the spectrum, as they're talking about putting him into the top 50 range.  But we think that's a little high, as Augustine, who checks in at #75 on our list, was like a fish out of water when we saw him on the first day at the adidas ABCD Camp.  However, what Augustine lacks in athleticism, he more than makes up for with his skills, smarts, heart, and knack for getting things done around the basket.  He also continues to get better and better every time we see him, plus he has pretty good shooting range and, as a result, we think he has the potential to develop into another Scott Padgett.   We also think he's a great catch for the Fighting Illini.  Augustine is the third player ranked among the top 100 nationally, as well as the second in-state player, in this recruiting class who has elected to play for Bill Self, who is beginning his second year as head coach of the Fighting Illini.  If you will recall, last spring Illinois landed 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who is ranked #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and in July they got 6'6 J.R. Morris from Milwaukee (Washington) WI, who is ranked #77 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Augustine also becomes the 46th player ranked among our top 100 nationally to have already made a verbal commitment.  In other word, almost have the top 100 seniors are gone and the fall recruiting period is still a month away.

Jim Hart, director of the Albany City Rocks AAU program, tells us that 6'6 Steven Snipes from Schenectady (H.S.) NY has become the first player to cast his lot with new Morgan State head coach Butch Beard.  And Snipes will be eligible this season, because he graduated in the Class of 2001 and has already qualified academically.  As a result, we think this is a perfect fit for both parties.  With Snipes, we're talking about an athletic wing player with versatily and mid-major ability.  Beard has already proven himself on both the college level, as the head coach at Howard University, and the professional level, as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets, but he tells us this will be his toughest assignment yet.  So you can bet that Snipes will be asked to step in and start immediately next year.  He also might be asked to help recruit his talented high school teammate - 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #86 nationally in the Class of 2002 by the HOOP SCOOP.  If Freeman qualifies academically, then Beard's changes of pulling off a major coup would be slim and none.  However, if Freeman doesn't get the necessary grades and test score (and right now that appears to be a definite possibility), then anything could happen.  Remember, kids in upstate New York don't get overrecruited like New York City kids do and, if Freeman decided to attend Morgan State, he not only would be the star of the team, but he also would probably be the most important recruit in the history of the school. 

We understand that Compton (Dominguez) CA has officially hired former USC star Calvin Mack as it's new head basketball coach, but as of yet nothing official has happened with former Dominguez head coach Russell Otis.  Remember, in late July we reported that we thought Otis was in line to become the new head coach at Lynwood (H.S.) CA.  It also appears that UCLA head coach Steve Lavin is back in hot water with the Los Angeles media over an unofficial visit the Pump-N-Run Team made to Westwood before they were eliminated from the Pump's Best of the West Tournament at Loyala Marymount University a week ago.  However, we think that's the least of Lavin's worries.  Sure, the Bruins are in great shape on both 6'11 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia and 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, but both are probably spring signees and neither is guaranteed to making it, as the amateurism of most foreign players now is being called into question by the NCAA and Burns has academic question marks.  So do you take somebody like 6'5 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #36 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, instead?  You bet you do, but the Bruins have gotten a late start recruiting Adams.   So our guess is that Adams will be a nice replacement for 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, who committed to the California in the spring, but then reneged on his commitment this summer.  And if Adams doesn't pick the Golden Bears, Arizona appears to be a strong second.  Instead, our guess is that UCLA will sign the best big man they can find this fall.  However, your guess is as good as mine as to who that might be.  Remember, quality big guys in the senior class are few and far between and, other than Lorbeck and Burns, there isn't anybody you can point to and say the Bruins are in great shape on. 

Thursday, August 9, 2001

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us to write it down!  6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY is going to make it official for Villanova and the press conference is this afternoon.  This is huge for first year head coach Jay Wright, because Sumpter, who is ranked #2 in New York City and #37 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St.  Raymond's) NY, who is ranked #1in New York City and #22 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, because it shows he can get the top players from New York City to go south to Philadelphia, PA.   Wright also will be trying to hit the trifecta by turning up the heat on 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is Sumpter's best friend.  But Villanova won't be the only school turning up the heat on Fraser, as he also is a top recruiting priority for both North Carolina and St. John's.  He's especially vital for the Red Storm, becaus if he gets away, it would be a major blow to the St. John's program.  Remember, St. John's is in major need of a talented shot blocking/rebounding athlete and Fraser fits that description perfectly.  The Red Storm also has always relied heavily on home grown talent and losing the top three players in the area  (Ray, Sumpter, and Fraser) to the same program just down the road would make life miserable both on and off the court for Mike Jarvis and his staff.  However, if the Red Storm gets Fraser, 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and an athletic wing player, like 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, Jarvis and his staff would then be sitting pretty.  In other words, it's crunch time for all three programs, as the winner in the Fraser Sweepstakes will likely get the inside track in the race to become one of the elite teams in college basketball during the next several years.   Although we are still waiting to hear from Naclerio, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that it is official.  Sumpter did indeed pick Villanova at his 2:00 PM press conference, which was held at Madison Square Garden. 

Everybody talks about the jobs that Rick Pitino at Louisville and John Calipari at Memphis are doing to restore those programs to national prominence, but their is another program in Conference USA that is about to make a major comeback.  We're talking about Tulane University, which is where head coach Shawn Finney has been busy recently hosting recruits, like 6'8 Brandon Vincent from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, Tim Bush from Marrero (Archbishop Shaw) LA, and 6'8 Jr Jarvelle "Warren" Scott from New Orleans (Abramson) LA, on unofficial visits.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also points out that all these players are from home grown kids from the New Orleans area (Vincent was the high school teammate of Burditt before going the junior college route a year ago).  So obviously Finney is taking care of business in his back yard by laying a strong foundation with the local kids.  And they're all players who are capable of setting in and making an immediate impact.  As a matter of fact, Vincent is the top ranked returning junior college player in the state of Florida, according to Rick Ball, who is widely regarded as the foremost authority on junior college players in the nation.  Johnson also tells us that Tulane expects to have 6'8 Jermaine Spencer from New Iberia (H.S.) LA and 6'4 Jr Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR on campus this weekend, plus the Green Wave are in the hunt for players in other parts of the state, including 6'10 Theodis Tarver from Monroe (Carroll) LA, 6'11 Alex Kireev from Shreveport (Evangel Christian) LA, 6'1 Jr Jay Jackson from Monroe (Ouachita) LA, and 6'4 Jr Johnny Hodge from Monroe (Ouachita) LA.   And they also are already involved with all the good young players in the states of Mississippi and Alabama, including 6'9 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'9 Travis Outlaw from Starksville (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Jr Kenny Hooks from Hurley (East Central) MS, 6'9 Soph Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and 6'9 Soph Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS.

Wednesday, August 8, 2001

N.C. State got a verbal commitment several days ago from 6'4 Cameron Bennerman from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is widely regarded as a borderline top 100 senior nationally, and we also expect the Wolfpack to also get a verbal commitment from 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, who is ranked #57 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, before the end of the week.  And assuming that this does happen, N.C. State would have only one scholarship remaining due to the five and three rule.   Remember, in last year's recruiting class N.C. State signed 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'8 Levi Watkins from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'9 Josh Powell from Riverdale (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Illian Evtimov from Winston-Salem (Bishop McGuinness) NC, and 6'10 Jordan Collins from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, but the icing on the cake would be if they can emerge as the winner in the sweepstakes for 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC.  However, we think that's a long shot, unless the scenario that we described yesterday occurs, whereby, Duke gets 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK and Randolph doesn't want to compete with somebody better than he is for the same position, Florida gets 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and North Carolina gets 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'0 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) NY.   Speaking of Fraser, look for Villanova to start turning up the heat on this athletic power forward who is ranked #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP once they land 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  If you will recall, Sumpter and Fraser are best friends and they have talked about attending the same college for several years now.  And, according to our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio, Sumpter's commitment could be forthcoming as soon as tomorrow.   Naclerio also tells us that Fairleigh Dickinson has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'4 Chad Timberlake from Brooklyn (New Utrecht) NY, who was ranked #26 in the junior class in New York City by the HOOP SCOOP last spring.   Timberlake, who is originally from New Jersey, is a lefty and he's versatile enough to play both inside and outside.  "He doesn't do anything great, but he does everything well," says Naclerio.  "He's like a jack-of-all-trades, so he's a good get for FDU.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on 6'3 Bryant McAllister from West Mifflin (H.S.) PA, who has committed to Duquense.  Johnson also tells us that it is being reported that 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI will be able to get out of the National Letter-of-Intent he signed with Michigan last fall and, instead, enroll at either Ohio State or Michigan State, where he might even be eligible to play as a college freshman this fall.  Stranger things have happened, but we'd be surprised.  Normally a player would have to sit out one-year, but if the school doesn't release him he would have to sit out two years (i.e. Lawrence Funderburke when he transferred from Indiana to Ohio State).  What we think is more likely to happen is for Hart not to qualify academically.  Then, his National Letter-of-Intent would be null-and-void.   That would allow him to go anywhere he wants, but he would have to sit out a year or go to prep school, because he wouldn't be eligible to play at a four-year school next year. 

Tuesday, August 7, 2001

Two days ago we mentioned that 44 of the top 100 seniors have already made verbal commitments, but we didn't include 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Lake) FL, who verbally committed to the University of Memphis in early February, on that list for several reasons.  First, Stoudemire is no longer playing for Travis King, whose Memphis connections were the major reason behind Stoudemire's early commitment.  While Stoudemire hasn't officially reneged on the Tigers, the popular belief among people in the business is that his commitment won't hold up.  But not because he plans to go to another school, which brings us to the second reason.  If you will recall, his mother admitted in an interview on a program that aired in mid-July by HBO that she accepted money and gifts from NIKE's George Raveling in exchange for her son's participation at the NIKE All-American Camp.  And that should make Stoudemire a professional athlete in the eyes of the NCAA.  However, it really won't matter down the road, because it is our belief that Stoudemire will follow in the footsteps of 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, and 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, all of whom by-passed college and entered their names into the NBA Draft this spring.  And we think that's probably the best move Stoudemire can make.  Not only is Stoudemire an academic question mark, but his family needs the financial stability and he's more ready to make the jump than the four players mentioned above.  He's not as skilled, but his likelihood for development and achieving long term success as professional athlete is much greater than with Brown, Chandler, Curry, and Diop.   Remember, Stoudemire plays a lot harder, is meaner and tougher, and has the heart and desire necessary to become a great player.  And Stoudemire isn't the only player in this class who may have to make the jump right to the NBA.  Yes, we'd also be very surprised if 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA plays a minute of college basketball.  Remember, Collins failed to play at any of the major events this summer after he played so well as the adidas ABCD Camp (he finished ranked #8 in camp and #3 among centers), because he didn't want to hurt the value of his stock.   And with Collins' troubled past and academic question marks, he too is probably more suited to go straight to the league than Brown, Chandler, Curry, and Diop, all of whom are nice kids and needed the time to develop.  However, unlike, Stoudemire, Collins' chances of making it aren't very good and, as a result, we predict that Collins eventually will be a good Development League Player once he becomes old enough to play in the league and if he can stay out of trouble.  We've also heard rumors about 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX and 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC going straight to the league.  Well, Bosh's AAU coach Mitch Malone says that won't happen.  Not only does he mention the fact that Bosh is still raw and has a lot of developing to do, but he also cites another one of his former players, Kenyon Martin, who attended four years of college and as a senior was the consenus National College Player-of-the-Year, as an example of how important the college experience can be in terms of getting a player ready for the league.   Randolph remind us of another former Duke player who thought he was on the fast track to the NBA, but who wasn't ready to walk in and start at Duke as a freshman.   We're talking about Chris Burgess.  If you will recall, Chris was another big man who didn't like physical contact.  However, we still think the Blue Devils will be tough to beat for Randolph, unless 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK commits to the Blue Devils and Randolph gets scared off, because they play the same position.  And Randolph may not go to Florida and North Carolina either if the Gators, which have only one more scholarship available, get Bosh first and North Carolina, which wants to sign two big men, lands two from among Williams, 6'9 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, and 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN.  In other words, the dominos could start falling soon and our guess is that Williams will commit to Duke, Francis will pick North Carolina, and Fraser and May both will stay home and attend St. John's and Indiana.  We also look for 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX to pick Indiana and we believe that 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA is a lock for UCLA, unless he falls short academically.  We believe Texas is a total look for 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX and a near lock for 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, plus we think the Longhorns are the leader for 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL.  St. John's will be tough to beat for 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, Oklahoma is a near lock for 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and we expect 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI to sign this winter with the University of Michigan this winter to play football.  We also believe Cincinnati will probably get 6'2 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobile (Blount) AL is expected to pick Alabama, Villanova appears to be close to getting a commitment from 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and Arizona State is the leader for 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX.  In other words, there isn't much left to be decided among the top players in the Class of 2002, at least until some of the players who have already verbally committed decide to renege and re-open their recruiting.    

Monday, August 6, 2001

Everybody in the business knows that Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez is Rick Pitino's guy.  As a matter of fact, Pitino almost hired Gonzalez two different times when he was at the University of Kentucky.  Gonzalez also was a guest of Pitino this year at the Kentucky Derby and in recent years they have spent time together at Saratoga Race Track in August.  And it looks like more than X's and O's and a love for horse racing have rubbed off on Gonzalez, who, just like Pitino, now appears to have a knack for moving his  assistants.  If you will recall, a year ago Chucky Martin moved from Manhattan to Massachusetts and now it appears that Michael Malone, who is currently the #1 assistant at Manhattan, is heading to the New York Knicks, where he will fill the vacancy created by Kevin O'Neill, who has taken an assistant coaching position with the Detroit Pistons.  Gonzalez may also be on the verge of losing Kendrick Moore, who currently is the #3 assistant, but has the option of moving into the #2 position at Manhattan or taking another job (we know he was recently mentioned for a spot at Xavier).  Either way it looks like Gonzalez is on the verge of hiring Steve Masiello, who currently is the administrative assisitant at Tulane, into the #3 spot.  You remember Masiello, he was a walk-on at the University of Kentucky under both Pitino and Tubby Smith and more recently Pitino almost hired him as an administrative assistant this spring at Louisville.  Masiello is also regarded as the one of the bright young assistant coaches in the business, which means he has a lot in common with all of Gonzalez's other assistants who are quickly moving up the coaching ladder. 

Matt Denison, the editor and publisher of Matt's Stats INHOOPS.com and Reggie Tisdale, the editor and publisher of Indiana Basketball News.com both tell us that Southern Illinois has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'4 Blake Schoen from Oxford (Benton Central) IN.  Denison also brings us up-to-date on a verbal commitment that is several weeks old.  Apparently 6'10 John Morningstar from Elkcord (Concord) IN verbally committed to Miami-OH right before he left for the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, but to our knowledge nobody nationally has picked up on it.  Tisdale also has the scoop on several other verbal commitments that have occured within the last 24 hours, as 6'6 John Hunter from Gaston (Wes-Del) IN has committed to IUPFU and 6'9 Kevin Cates from Muncie (H.S.) IN has decided to stay home and attend Ball State.  The Cates commitment is especially significant, because he was ranked #122 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP prior to the start of the summer and Ball State has recruited the kid hard for two years.   Cates also is ranked as the #4 senior in the state by Tisdale behind 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'9 Matt Keifer from Evansville (Mater Dei) IN, 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN and ahead of 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN.  Obviously this makes Cates a steal for the Cardinals, but Tisdale also thinks the extremely athletic Hunter is a major sleeper and, as a result, a great catch for IUPFU, which will be joining the Division I ranks this season. 

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio is keeping a close eye on the situation involving 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who is ranked #37 nationally on our Post Summer Top100 National Rankings for the Class of 2002, because he thinks a verbal commitment by Sumpter to Villanova could be forthcoming within the immediate future.  And this could be huge in terms of tipping the balance of power in the Big East in favor of the Wildcats.  If you will recall, new Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who is one of the rising stars in the coaching world, as well as one of the best guys in the business, got more than his share of the top mid-major players out of New York City during his seven year reign at Hofstra.  And now it looks like that trend is continuing, as Villanova already has a verbal commitment from 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who is ranked #22 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and Sumpter appears to be almost a foregone conclusion.  In other words, the Wildcats appear to be on the verge of landing the top two players in the senior class from New York City and, as a result, it becomes even more important than ever for St. John's to get 6'9 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY and 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who are ranked #19 and #26, respectively, nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Yes, it's crunch time for Mike Jarvis and his staff.  Our guess is they will get Ingram, but North Carolina and Villanova are both serious competition for Fraser.  Also mentioning both St. John's and North Carolina is 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappin (H.S.) NJ, but our guess is that Cooke will declare for the NBA Draft next spring.  Naclerio also believes tells us that Villanova is in the hunt for another New York City kid - 6'4 Quincy Douby from Brooklyn (Grady) NY.  However, Naclerio believes Seton Hall, Hofstra, and George Mason are the leaders. 

It also looks like Hampton University head coach Steve Merfeld continues to blow away all the competition at the lower Division I level in terms of NCAA success and the recruiting trail.  Remember, last spring Hampton pulled off a stunning first round upset against Iowa State in the first round of the tournament NCAA Tournament and their recruiting class included 6'5 Devin Green, from Columbus (Beechcroft) OH and 6'3 Tihon Johnson from Columbus (East) OH, both of whom were ranked among the top 200 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Now it looks like they have stolen another one in 6'7 Troy Washington from Denmark (Denmark-Olar) SC, who is an athletic combo forward who plays for Team Carolina and is a legitimate top 250 senior nationally.  Yes, Washington has already made it official for the Pirates and it appears that Hampton is also close to getting another verbal commitment.  And we'll provide you with all of the details as they become available.

The senior class in Ohio is way down as is evident by the fact that only three players - 6'1 Chris Quinn from Dublin (Coffman) OH, 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, and 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH - from that state rank among our top 100 nationally.  But our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson reminds us that the state is just oozing with talented underclassmen.  Obviously at the top of the list is 6'6 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1-ranked player in America regardless of class.  We've also already talked a lot about Bobby Kortsen's Team 7-Up, which finished in the final four of the "A" Division at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV and won a tournament in Italy this spring.  However, there is another terrific young team in Ohio that needs to be mentioned.  We're talking about the Cleveland Basketball Club's 16-Under Team, which knocked off both the Ft. Worth Lyons and the Brooklyn Juice to advance to the Round of 32 in the open Division at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  Their best player is 6'6 Jr Reggie Harwell from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH.  Whether Mike Duncan, who is the director of the Cleveland Basketball Club, is right about Harwell being the #2-ranked junior in the state is open to debate, but Harwell already has scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Iowa, Wisconsin, Xavier, and South Florida and serious interest from Alabama, Marquette, and UNC-Charlotte.  The Cleveland Basketball Club's 16-Under team also features 6'5 Jr Demarcus Johnson from Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH and 6'2 Jr Dan Morrissey.   Johnson, who is the younger brother of Sonny Johnson and Julius Johnson, is already getting early interest by Miami-OH, Ohio State, Iowa, Marquette, and Dayton.  Morrissey actually has already been recruited away, as he is transferring from Cleveland (University) OH to Brandon (IMG) FL, which is a prep school in Florida that has the potential to become a major basketball factory.  However, that's a story for a later date.  Instead, we want to update you on 6'9 Jr Ivan Harris, who has finally made it official.  No, Harris, who is the #2-ranked junior in Ohio by Johnson, is not making an early commitment to Ohio State.  Instead, Harris is transferring schools.  Last year he was at Springfield (North) OH, but this year he'll be at Springfield (South) OH.  As for when Harris will make his college decision, he recently went on record saying that he won't make an official decision until after his junior season.  However, we still think he will pick the Buckeyes over schools like Michigan State, Cincinnati, and Penn State.

Sunday, August 5, 2001

It looks like college coaches are wasting no time wrapping up verbal commitments now that the summer evaluation period is over.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the biggest verbal commitment that has occured within the last day or two involves 6'8 Ricky Cornett from Homewood (Christian) IL, who has made it official for Notre Dame.  Cornett is not much of an offensive threat, but he does play hard inside, is active on the boards, and is the type of athlete that has often eluded the Irish in recent years.  It also appears that Utah, which only has three scholarships to offer, is done recruiting.  If you will recall, the Utes recently landed 6'4 Tim Drisdom from Downey (Calvary Chapel) CA and now they have 6'6 Bryant Markson from Monrovia (H.S.) CA and 6'5 Richard Chaney from Los Angeles (Verbum Dei) CA.   Oregon State has gotten its first verbal commitment from 6'10 Kevin Field from Tacoma (Wilson) OR, who was mediocre when we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp, but good when we saw him at the adidas Big Time Tournament.   Johnson also tells us that 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has beaten 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Fitchburg) VA to the punch by picking Wake Forest.  Now all the Deamon Deacon need to do is sign another inside player.  If you will recall, Wake Forest already has verbal commitments from 6'5 Trent Strickland from East Flat Rock (East Henderson) NC, 6'5 Richard Joyce from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'9 Eric Williams from Wake Forest (Rolesville) NC.  Johnson also is reporting that 6'10 Derrick Grubb from Colleyville (Heritage) TX has verbally committed to Pepperdine and it looks like Central Michigan may have a major steal on their hands in 6'3 Kevin Nelson from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, who really impressed us with his athleticism and ability to make shots in the adidas Big Time Tournament.  Central Michigan also has gotten a verbal commitment from 5'6 Joe Carr from Detroit (Renaissance) MI.

Now that the summer camp season is over you can throw all the old rankings out the window and, as a result, the publication of our Post Summer Top100 National Rankings for the Class of 2002 couldn't come at a better time.  And yes, there are some surprises, like 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX being ranked among our top 10 nationally.  However, we think he's earned it after leading Team Texas to the championship in both the NIKE Peach Jam and the AAU Super Showcase.  And Hopkins isn' the only player from Texas who is ranked among our top 10 nationally.  As a matter of fact, three other players from Texas - 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'2 Daniel Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, and 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX - are also ranked among our top 10 and two other players from Texas - 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX and 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX - are ranked among our top 30 nationally.  Other interesting trends involve the number of players who have already verbally committed and the number of new players who have moved into our top 100.  With the verbal commitment by 6'8 Ricky Cornett from Homewood (Christian) IL, 44 of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 seniors are already off the recruiting board.  And taking an even closer look, we find that four of our top 10, 13 of our top 25, 24 of our top 50, and 33 of our top 75 are also already verbally committed.  The players who weren't ranked among our national top 100 prior to the start of the summer, but who are now on the list are Buckman, 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'7 Marquis Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'10 Matt Haryazs from Page (H.S.) AZ, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, 6'7 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, 6'9 Steve Novak from Brown Deer (H.S.) WI, 6'5 Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC, and 6'5 Jonathan Modica from Smackover (H.S.) AR.  While all these players were moving up in our rankings, a number of others, including 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappin (H.S.) NJ, 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'3 John Winchester from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'5 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'10 Keith Butler from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Cameron Bennerman from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'7 Cortez Davis from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'5 Vincent Grier from Charlotte (South Mecklenburg) NC, 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, and 6'10 Akin Akingbala from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) MA, have been removed from our list althogether, because they are 5th year players.  Instead, they will be listed separately on our prep school and 5th year list. 

Saturday, August 4, 2001

Just before we had computer problems on Thursday, Dave Telep of http://bluechiphoops.com told us that 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA had made it official for Texas A&M.  This is  absolutely huge for Aggies head coach Melvin Watkins, because Wright promises to be the best player he has ever signed.  Wright is a protypical NBA 2-guard and, as a result will be ranked among our top 15 seniors nationally.  Not only does he have the size, athleticism, and ball handling skills necessary to make it at the highest level, but he also has deep shooting range and the moves and quickness necessary to get his shot against just about anybody.  Wright was ranked as the #18 player overall, as well as the #3 wing forward, at the Adidas ABDC Camp earlier this summer.  However, Wright was not ranked among our top 300 rising seniors prior to the start of the summer, due to the fact that he got lost in the shuffle (we liked him when we saw him last fall, but had forgetten about him, because he attends a prep school in the East).  Nor was he ranked anywhere by anybody else, except Dave Benezra of Recruiting USA, so we think that qualifies him as the biggest sleeper to emerge this summer.   We also have received word from Allen Rubin that 6'2 Shawan Robinson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, was ranked #26 at the point guard position and #112 overall nationally, has verbally committed to Clemson University.  This too is an excellent get for the Tigers, as once again head coach Larry Shyatt has gone right into the back yard of Duke, N.C. State, and North Carolina to land a recruit.  Sure, Clemson was helped by the fact that a number of the dominos have already fallen, as the Blue Devils already  have a commitment from 6'1 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL and North Carolina has a commitment from 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC.  But Robinson doesn't figure to be a starter for Clemson anytime soon, as the Tigers already have three excellent young guards - Tony Stockman, Dwon Clifton, and/or Chey Christie - already in the program.  Instead, Robinson is expected to be an excellent role player in the immediate future and, if he improves his outside shooting and decision-making, he could emerge as a starter by the time he is a junior or a senior.  And the Tiger could be on the verge of adding even more backcourt depth, as the Tigers are believed to be among the leaders for 6'3 Logan White from Cleveland (University) OH, who shot the lights out when we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp, where he finished ranked #22 overall, as well as #5 at his position, in camp.

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis provides us with an update on the recruiting for a number of the top players in Southern California.   At the top of the list is 6'8 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, whose value has skyrocketed after excellent performances at both the adidas ABCD Camp and the adidas Big Time Tournament.  Not only are we talking about a potential McDonald's All-American, as well as a legitimate top 20 junior nationally, but we talking about an athletic combo forward who eventually may be 6'10 or 6'11.  Yes, both his parents are extremely tall and, as a result, there appears to be several more inches of growth in this young man.  Hs list already includes Duke, Arizona, Florida, Syracuse, North Carolina, UCLA, USC, California, St. Louis, and Connecticut, but that list promises to get longer before it gets shorter.   California, Kansas, UCLA, and Arizona appear to be the leaders for 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  Trigonis also confirms what we've been hearing about 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, who suddenly thinks he's ready for the NBA after playing well enough to be ranked #8 overall and #3 at the center position at the adidas ABCD Camp earlier this month.   However, Collins' high school recruitment is even more interesting,, as it appears that he is going to transfer to Fresno (San Joaquin) CA, which is the same school that 6'5 Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL is expected to enroll at later this summer.  Maryland not only appears to be the leader for 6'7 Brandon Bowman from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, but the Terrapins also already have the in-home and on-campus visit set up for this athletic wing player with a tremendous upside.   Minnesota, Oregon, New Mexico, and Loyola-Marymount are all in hot pursuit of 6'2 Ashanti Cook from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  Long Beach State, Portland, and Sacramento State are battling it out for 5'11 Carlos Rivers from Long Beach (Poly) CA.  Stanford appears to be extremely interested in 6'1 Patrick Hadden from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, but Princeton, Fresno State, South Carolina, Portland, Pepperdine, Pennsylvania, William & Mary, San Diego, and St. Mary's are also showing a lot of interest.  Iowa Western Junior College would take 6'7 Jamaal Walls from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA right now, but Trigonis is looking for a prep school that would be willing to take Walls for two years.  And if that happenw, Walls would be reclassified as a junior, but, then would be ranked as a 5th year player a year from now.  UCLA appears to be a near lock for 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, but Trigonis refuses to mention the fact that Burns may have a hard time getting into UCLA academically.  While Burns is exceptionally gifted as a basketball player, he struggles in the classroom and his parents are overly sensative about the subject.

We continue to believe that when it is all said and done Indiana University will be very tough to beat for 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN.  However, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Louisville are all still high on his list.  As a matter of fact, Tar Heels head coach Matt Doherty,  Irish head coach Mike Brey, and Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino were in attendance at all of May's games at the 2000 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL earlier this week.  Everybody seems to thinks Illinois and Purdue are the leaders for 6'10 James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Way) IL, but he says he's still wide open.   However, when he gave us a his list of schools, the first two schools Augustine mentioned were Illinois and Purdue, followed by Ohio State, Wake Forest, Xavier, and Notre Dame.  Augustine also said he still likes Marquette, but added the Golden Eagles are no longer recruiting him, due to the fact they recently got a verbal commitment from 6'9 Steve Novak from Brown Deer (H.S.) WI.  6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburg (Castle) IN, who is ranked #96 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, confirms that Xavier is the strong favorite, but adds that Michigan State and Mississippi State are also on his list.  Earlier this week we mentioned that 6'1 Nate Johnson from Penn Valley (JC) MO had verbally committed to Oklahoma State, but it isn't a done deal just yet, as this athletic combo guard, who is similiar to Cowboys point guard Maurice Baker, still appears to be considering Iowa State, UNLV, DePaul, and Southwest Missouri.  This one isn't done yet either, but we believe it is only a matter of time before 6'3 Josh Washington from Lubbock (Monterey) TX announces for Texas Tech.  Washington is an excellent athlete a good outside shooter, and a legit top 200 senior nationally, but even more important is that fact that a verbal commitment by Washington to the Red Raiders would help estabish the fact that new Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight can keep the good local kids home.   Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Miami-FL, and Oklahoma were the schools mentioned by 6'7 Marquis Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, who didn't rank among our top 100 nationally prior to the start of the summer, but will when we update our nationally rankings later this month.  Not only is Hayden a physical specimen and killer inside, but grown an inch in the last year and he's working hard to develop his perimeter skills, as was evident when we saw him hit several jump shots at the 2000 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL.

Friday, August 3, 2001

Yesterday afternoon the Illinois Warriors defeated Boo Williams, 73-56, to win the championship of the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL.  However, we didn't get to see the game, because we ran into a computer problem that involved a temporary loss of data in the Members Section.   So we have to give Brick Oettinger of the Prep Stars and the Recruiter's Handbook an assistant on this report.  Once again 6'8 Andre Iquodola from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who hit the game winning shot in the semi-finals, stepped up with 22 points, including 16 points in the second half, en route to tournament MVP honors.  But this time Iquodola didn't provide any last minute heroics.  Instead, he helped ice the game by hitting 9-10 free throws in the second half.  Boo Williams was led by 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, who played much better here than he did at the NIKE All-American Camp in early July, with 12 points.  Also scoring in double-digits for Boo Williams were 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA with 11 points and 6'4 J.J. Redick from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA with 10 points.  Gilchrist, Brown, and Redick also joined Iquodola on the First Team AAU All-American Team.  The rest of the team included 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakewood (Kathleen) FL, 6'2 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'7 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Daevon Haskins from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD, 6'6 Eric Hicks from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 7'0 Justin Herndon from Jonesborough (David Crockett) TN.  The second team included 6'4 Jr Dwight Brewington from Lynn (Englis) MA, 6'7 Greg Brunner from Charles City (H.S.) IA, 6'4 Joe Chapman from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'1 Will Holoman from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL, 6'2 Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA, Isiah Hunter from Charlotte (Independence) NC, 5'7 Jr Andrew Lavander from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'7 Dewayne Lee from Cordova (H.S.) TN, 6'4 Ryan Moore from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 5'11 Jr Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, 6'6 Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'5 Shawn Witherspoon from Ovieda (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Gordon Zastow from Manitowoc (Lincoln) WI, and 6'8 Evan Brock from Marrietta (Lassiter) GA.  Speaking of Brock, he was one of our favorite players in the tournament.  We're not sure Brock deserves top 100 national consideration quite yet, but this athletic power forward with excellent rebounding and passing skills could develop into a big time player.  And the fact that he hit several three's the second time we saw him just reinforced our initial opinion.    Brock does need to get stronger physically, but he already has been offered by Central Florida, Mississippi State, Idaho, and Georgia.  However, Alabama, Georgia Southern, Clemson, Tennessee Tech, and Middle Tennessee State are also showing interest in Brock.  Also noteworthy is the fact that neither 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD nor 7'0 Keith Butler from Winchendon (School) MA made either the First or the Second Team all tournament team.  Nor should they have.  Strickland may have had an excuse, because he was slowed by an injury.    But he really didn't play well.  Butler has a huge upside, but we don't think he's ready to walk in and fix Louisville's front-line problems right of the bat.   And even if Butler is good enough and he does verbally commit to Louisville, it may not mean a whole lot, because he still is a long way away from making in academically.   As a result, Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino may accept his commitment and, then, try and stash Butler at junior college. 

Thursday, August 2, 2001

If you had told me that 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA was going to hit only 1-15 field goals in this morning's against the Charlotte Royals, I would have told you the Boo Williams team was in big trouble.  And they were in the first half of the first semi-finals game at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL, as the Charlotte Royals led 34-21 at intermission.  However, in the second half 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA,who scored 14 points in the second half, exploited his match-up against 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Boo Williams, which was down by as many as 14 early in the second half, came charging back.  Not only did Boo Williams win the game, 56-55, but in the end it really wasn't that close - 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close gap to only one.  Gilchrist finished with 18 points and 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA finished with 17 points, but the guy who provided the big spark and help turn the game around in the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws was 6'2 Mario Taybron from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA.  McCants was the leading scorer for the Charlotte Royals with 17 points, including 3-pointers, but the best player today for the Royals was 6'8 Donte Minter from Mt. Ulla (West Rowan) NC, who had 16 points and was surprisingly effective on the boards, especially early in the game.  Also helping set the stage early in the game was Gray, who scored all seven of his points in the first half.  In the second semi-finals game the Illinois Warriors jumped out early, but similar to the way Athletes First allowed Memphis Y.O.M.C.A. to hang around the night before, the Warriors failed to put Y.O.M.C.A. away.  However, it wasn't until late in the 4th quarter that we felt like Y.O.M.C.A. might pull off another stunning upset.   We pick it up the action with only five seconds left in the game, the scored tied at 57-57, and 6'2 Jeremy Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN on the line for two shots.  Hunt hit both free throws to give Y.O.M.C.A. the lead.  So if you're Warriors head coach Larry Butler do you go for the win or go for the tie?   The smart move probably would have been to give the ball to 6'2 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL and let him go coast-to-coast.  But it didn't happen that way.  Instead, 6'8 Andre Iquodola from Springfield (Lanphier) IL ended up with the ball about 25-feet from the basket and time running out when he launched it.  And he hit nothing but net, as the Illinois Warriors emerged with a thrilling 60-59 victory to set up this afternoon's 3:00 PM championship against Boo Williams.  Hunt, who is a skinny athlete with excellent 3-point range and explosive moves to the hole, was the leading scorer for Y.O.M.C.A. with 23 points.  He also was their best player and, as a result, emerges as a legit top 100 senior nationally, as well as an absolute steal for the University of Memphis, which got a verbal commitment from him last month.  Also playing well for Y.O.M.C.A. was 6'7 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Craigmont) TN, who scored 12 points and hit two big 3-pointers late in the game.  Brown with 17 points and Iquodala with 12 points were the only two players in the double-digits for the Warriors.  Speaking of those two players, Brown is much more of a finished product than Iquodola.  He can beat you outside with his excellent 3-point shooting range or take you to the basket with his explosive quickness and big time athleticism.  Plus, Brown handles it extremely well  for a 2-guard and has a great feel for the game.  As a matter of fact, he's a lot better than McCants, who is ranked anywhere from top five to top 30 nationally in the senior class, is right now.  So there is no doubt about it! In our mind Brown is a top 10 junior nationally, as well as the #1 junior in the state of Illinois.  On the other hand, Iquodola is a tremendous athlete who is just oozing with potential.   However, despite the fact he hit the game winning shot, we're not sure if he'll ever become a good outside shooter.  He simply doesn't have a shooter's mentality, as is evident by the number of 3-pointers he takes are few and far in-between.  Iquodola does show flashed, but he also doesn't play with the consistency that Brown plays with game in and game out.  Getting back to the championship, which is set to tip-off in an hour-and-a-half, we think Boo Williams will win big, unless Ridick has another bad shooting night. 

Wednesday, August 1, 2001

The final four at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL has been set and, yes, there are some surprises.  As a matter of fact, the two best teams in the tournament (B.A.B.C. and Athletes First) both were upset earlier today.  B.A.B.C. lost to the Charlotte Royals, 68-60, in the round of 16 this morning and Athletes First got knocked off in overtime, 88-81, tonight in the quarterfinals by Memphis-YOMCA.  In other quarterfinals games tonight the Illinois Warriors beat Maryland-Mount Royal, 75-59, Boo Williams beat the Tallahassee Wildcats, 72-55, and the Charlotte Royals beat the Illinois Wildcats, 76-66.  As usual, the big hero for the Illinois Wildcats was 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who finished with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, but only two other players - 6'0 Jason Smith from Chicago (Farragut) IL with 12 points and 6'7 Elliott Poole from Chicago (Farragut) IL with 13 points - scored in double-digits for the Wildcats.  Even more important the Wildcats failed to take advantage of their size inside.  Instead, the key to the game was the perimeter play of Charlotte Royals, which received a combined 53 points from 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'2 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'2 Isiah Hunter from Charlotte (Independence) NC.  Boo Williams won easily in other game on that side of the bracket, as 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'8 Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'6 Robert Strickland from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA combined for 58 points.  The leading scorer for the Tallahassee Wildcats was 6'4 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL with 24 points.  However, nobody else stepped up for the Wildcats.  So  Boo Williams will be favored to beat the Charlotte Royals in the first semi-finals game tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.  But, if McCants is as good as a lot of people seem to think, a repeat upset may be in the making.  If you will recall, McCants led the Royals to an upset over the Boo Williams team at the Boo Williams Invitational in early April en route to tournament MVP honors.  Also earlier night 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK  who was the leading scorer of the evening with 29 points, convinced us that he is a top five senior nationally.   However, that wasn't enough to overcome a pesky Memphis Y.O.M.C.A. Team.  6'7 Derrick Byars from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN stepped us with nine points in the 4th quarter, but the two big heroes throughout the entire game were 6'0 Clyde Wade from Winchendon (School) MA with 28 points, including eight points in the overtime, and University of Memphis-bound 6'4 Jeremey Hunt from Memphis (Craigmont) TN with 24 points, including seven points in the overtime.  The Illinois Warriors turned a close game into a blowout, as 6'2 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL and 6'2 Jimmy Miles from Homewood (Christian) IL combined for 21 points in the fourth quarter.  Speaking of Brown, he really impressed us with his athleticism and quickness to the basket, as well as his outside shooting and play on the perimeter.   So we decided to get an earlier list of schools.   First, we asked Illinois Warriors head coach Larry Butler, who told us Brown is too wide open to even provide us with a list.  Next we asked Brown himself and he said he liked most of the schools in the Big-10.  Even more specially Brown mentioned Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa.  He   also said that Dee Brown, who is both his high school and AAU teammate, could be a factor in his decision.  Then, we asked Roy Schmidt, who is the editor and publisher of the Illinois Bulls-eye Prep Report, and he thinks Brown is already a near lock for the University of  Illinois.  Schmidt also told us that he thought Brown might make an early commitment to the Fighting Illini sometime this fall.  We also talked several other players on the Illinois Warriors, including 6'8 Ricky Cornette from Homewood (Christian Academy) IL, who hasn't scored many points in this tournament, but who has impressed us with his aggressiveness and athleticism inside, and 6'8 Andre Iquodola from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally.  Iquodola isn't as good a Butler thinks he is (Butler told us he'll be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft somebody), but Iquodala is a legitimate top 100 senior nationally and he does have a lot of potential, which is why schools like Boston College, Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland are all showing a lot of interest.   Cornette told us he has official visits already set up with Kansas State, Notre Dame, USC, and Illinois, but isn't sure what he's going to do with his 5th visit.   Among the options appear to be Michigan, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, Stanford, Ohio State, and Indiana.  Getting back to the semi-finals game between the Illinois Warriors and Maryland-Mount Royal, Brown finished with 22 points and 6'4 Jr Collin Falls from Chicago (Loyola Academy) IL had 15 points.  The leading scorer and best player for Mount Royal was 5'10 JaJuan Robinson from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD, who finished with 16 points and made things interesting when he cut the lead to four points in the third quarter when he hit two quick 3-pointers.  Our guess is that the Illinois Warriors will beat Memphis-YOMCA in tomorrow morning's 10:30 PM semi-finals game, but, if Memphis YOMCA can beat Athletes First, anything is possible.   However, if everything goes as expected, Boo Williams will beat the Illinois Warriors in the championship game tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM.  And a big reason why we're making Boo Williams the favorite is this team appears to be fresher and deeper than everybody else in the tournament.  If you will recall, Athletes First, Illinois Warriors, and B.A.B.C. all played in the AAU Super Showcase last week and, as a result, were both be mentally and physically tired.  Instead, this Boo Williams team appears to be peaking at the right time and, ssuming we're right, this would this give Boo Williams his second consecutive 17-Under AAU National Championship.

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