HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2002

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 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002

Saturday, August 31, 2002

The verbal commitment by 6'1 Ayinde Ubaka from Oakland (H.S.) CA to the University of California night before last brings the number of verbal commitments among players ranked among the top 100 nationally in the Class of 2003 to 58.  However, only one player - 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Duke - who is ranked among our top five nationally in the senior class is already verbally committed and only three players - 6'0 Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC to Wake Forest and 6'5 J.R. Giddens from Oklahoma City (John Marshall) OK to Kansas - who are ranked among our top 10 seniors nationally.  But 10 of our top 20, 23 of our top 40, 34 of our top 60, 46 of our top 80, and 58 of our top 100 seniors are already gone and it's just the end of August.   In other words, it's easier to look at who is left than who is gone.  Let's start right at the top with 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1 player in the nation regardless of class, as well as one of the best high school basketball players ever.  Obviously he's long gone to the NBA - the only question is when he will make the official announcement.  Other top five players who are still available are 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, and 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX.  Deng has flirted with schools like Texas, Virginia, Wake Forest, Missouri, Fairfield, and George Washington, but we still think it's hard to image that he'd go anywhere, but Duke.  However, the fact that Deng hasn't pulled the trigger yet, has to be some cause for concern for the Blue Devils coaching staff.  And the same can be said for Ebi, who apparently was at Duke last weekend on an official visit, but got out of town without being overwhelmed enough to make a verbal commitment to the Blue Devils.  In other words, Arizona, Texas, and Indiana appear to have a better chance than ever in the Ebi Sweepstakes.  It still appears to be a three-horse race among Wisconsin, Arizona, and North Carolina for Butch, but we're still betting on the Badgers.  However, Butch is a prototypical Lute Olson type player and he'd be one of the final pieces to the puzzle in Matt Doherty's rebuilding effort at North Carolina.  Also still available and ranked among our top 10 are 6'5 Olu Famutini from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Ft. Worth (Paschal) TX, and 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH.  The top three for Famutini appear to be Missouri, Arkansas, and Memphis.  Indiana is still believed to be the leader for Wafer.  Lavender, who wants to go to the same school as a package, along with 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, has Pittsburgh, Mississippi, and Oklahoma at the top of his list.  The only other players left ranked among our top 20 are 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and 6'10 David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV.  A number of schools, including Cincinnati, Connecticut, Mississippi State, DePaul, Indiana, and North Carolina, are mentioned for Bass, but we'd still be surprised if, end the end, he gets away from LSU.  Ariza's final six are Florida, Indiana, Georgia, UNLV, USC, and Oregon. We've thought all along that Stanford and Arizona would be tough to beat for Padgett.  Still available in the 21-40 range are 5'10 Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 6'5 Earl Smith from Lakewood (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Paul Millsap from Grambling (Lab) LA, 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'4 Thomas Gardner from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'8 Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and 6'8 Ekene Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA.   However, it's really a two-horse race between UCLA and Oregon for Brooks.   Smith, who appears to be need more time to get his academics in order, is supposed to be enrolling at Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and will be reclassified as a junior.   But when we talked with him in July, Smith's list included North Carolina, Villanova, Seton Hall, Maryland, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers, and Miami-FL.  Millsap told us several weeks ago that Arizona, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Georgia, LSU, and Louisiana Tech are showing the most interest, but, when it is all said and done, we think you can write this one down for Louisiana Tech.  The smart money says Kleiza will end up in the ACC.  Gardner is getting the most interest from schools like Oregon, Kansas, Missouri, Connecticut, and Florida.  Syracuse appears to be the heavy favorite for Roberts.  Ibekwe plans to visit USC, Arizona, Kansas, Maryland, and Oklahoma State.  Still available in the 41-60 range are 5'10 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'9 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 5'11 Tauren Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, 6'11 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, 6'4 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, 6'4 Gary Forbes from Brooklyn (Banneker) NY, 6'9 Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, and 6'7 Omari Isreal from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD.  Merritt appears to be wide open.  Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech are the leaders for Taft.   Cincinnati still appears to be the team you have to beat for Minor.  Longar has Kansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Wyoming, Nebraska, DePaul, Indiana, and Minnesota on his list.  It's a three-horse race among Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and Kansas for 6'4 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR.  The last time we talked with Forbes, his list included Georgia Tech, Virginia, Connecticut, St. John's, Mississippi State, Providence, Temple, Massachusetts, Drexel, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh.  Schaen will sign with somebody in the Pac-10, most likely Stanford or USC.  Oregon State is the favorite for Weeks, but don't count out Charlotte and Syracuse.  Nothing has changed recently with Isreal, as he's getting the most attention from is getting the most attention from Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Rhode Island, and Notre Dame.  Still available in the 61-80 range are 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S) CA, 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'10 Courtney Sims from Dedham (Noble & Greenough) MA, 6'3 Omar Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'2 Milton Collins from New Orleans (O.P. Walker) LA, 6'5 Bobby Nash from Honolulu (Iolani) HI, and 6'2 Jai Miller from Selma (H.S.) AL.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA will make five officials visits to UCLA, Stanford, Washington, Oregon, and Indiana.   We still think Villanova is the team you have to beat for Watkins.  Sims is a prime target for Syracuse.  Stanford and Kansas are the favorite for Wilkes.   Foust will likely follow Lavender to Pittsburgh, Mississippi, or Oklahoma.   Collins appears to be an academic question mark.  We have no idea who is involved with Nash.  Miller's list includes Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech, LSU, and Stanford.  Still available in the 81-100 range are 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacret Heart) CT, 6'4 Dwon Youmans from Jacksonville (Arlington County Day) FL, 6'7 Andew Francis from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'2 Art Bowers from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX, 6'9 Nick Stigger from Van Nuys (Montclair Prep) CA, 6'9 Ousmane Barro from Chicago (Julian) IL, and 6'6 Justin Hawkins from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA.  Showing the most interest in Davis are N.C. State, Seton Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Boston College.   Florida and Miami-FL were the heavy favorites at one time for Youmans, but the Gators already have commitments from 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA and 6'2 Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN and the Hurricanes appear to have a commitment from 6'2 Greg Brown from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI and they are in the final two, along with Charlotte, for 6'2 Ramel Bradley from New York (Park West) NY.  Speaking of Brown, he plans to go the junior college route to Indian Hills (JC) IA, but hopes to pass the SAT in October and transfer to Miami-FL at the end of the fall semester.  Baylor is still the favorite for Francis, but Marquette, Houston, Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Georgia Tech have all been mentioned.  Rutgers, Seton Hall, Temple, Pittsburgh, Massachusetts, St. Joseph's, Connecticut, Kentucky, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame have all been mentioned with Bowers.  Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State are the leaders for Martin.  USC is the favorite for Stigger.  UNLV is a lot stronger than most people realize for Barro, but when it all is said and done, don't be surprised if he goes to DePaul.  DePaul also is the co-favorite, along with Utah, for 6'7 Justin Hawkins from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA.  In other words, if you're a college recruiter and you're still trying to get involved with a number of players who are ranked among our top 100 nationally in the Class of 2003, you're probably wasting your time.  We also will mention 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ and 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, both of who are 5th year players, but who would be ranked among our top 10 nationally, if we included 5th year players with high school seniors.  The top five for Villanueva are Villanova, Illinois, Seton Hall, St. John's, and UCLA.  It really is a three-horse race for Shakur among Arizona, N.C. State, and Syracuse.  However, Temple is making a late push. 

Friday, August 30, 2002

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'1 Ayinde Ubaka from Oakland (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #57 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally commitment to the University of California.  While we don't think Ubaka is as naturally gifted as 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who verbally committed last week to Connecticut and, as a result, isn't ranked quite as high (we currently have Williams ranked #50 nationally in the senior class), we do think Ubaka is more a pure point guard.   Not only does Ubaka make better decisions and have better ball handling and passing skills than Williams, but he's just as quick and athletic.  In other words, if we needed a point guard to come in and run the show, we'd take Ubaka.  However, if we needed more of a scorer and more of a combo guard, it's a no-brainer for Williams.   Yes, it's really that close between Ubaka and Williams!  But it's no longer that close when looking at our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, as the University of California has taken over the #1 spot ahead of Louisville and Mississippi State, which are currently tied at #2, and Michigan State, which checks in at #4.  If you will recall, 6'8 Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'3 Wesley Washington from San Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is ranked #41 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'5 Marquis Kately from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who is ranked #19 nationally among 5th year players by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'6 Dominic McGuire from San Diego (Lincoln) CA, who is ranked #165 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; also have already verbally committed to the Golden Bears.  So it appears that Ben Braun and his staff have not only done a marvelous job recruiting, but they also should be able to focus exclusively on juniors, which gives them a huge head start on the future.  However, since the Golden Bears already have given out their five scholarships in this recruiting class, it stands to reason that their recruiting class may not remain ranked #1 forever.  As a matter of fact, our guess is that California's recruiting class could get passed up as soon as this weekend by the University of Louisville.  Did you know that 6'7 Nate Daniels from Broward County (JC) FL, who is one of the top five junior college players in the nation, is expected to be in Louisville, KY this weekend to make an official visit and attend the Louisville-Kentucky football game?  And, if Daniels verbally commits, which is something we expect him to do sooner than later, he would join 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, 6'10 Nouha Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS, and 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI in Louisville's recruiting class.   And that would be more than enought to move the Cardinals back into the #1 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   It also would give Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino the perfect complement out on the perimeter, along with 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Winchendon (School) MA, who signed with Louisville last fall.  Obviously Pitino, who currently is ranked #2 on our  list of the top head coaches, and Mick Cronin, who will be ranked #2 on our list of the top assistant coaches, will get most the credit for landing this recruiting class, but the guy who deserves special recognition for landing Diakite and Daniels, if he does indeed make it official for the Cardinals early next week, is Louisville assistant coach Vince Taylor.  Not only did Taylor live with both players when college coaches could be out during the month of July, but he was able to use his strong international contacts to help seal the deal with Diakite.  Another recruiting class that is on the rise belong to the University of Charlotte.  Not only do the 49ers already have 6'11 Martin Iti from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who is ranked #4 among 5th year players by the HOOP SCOOP, but we suspect they soon will have another verbal commitment from 6'2 Ramel Bradley from New York (Park West) NY, who is ranked #118 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  When, and if, Bradley picks the 49ers, their recruiting class, which currently is tied at #23 nationally, along with Ohio State, Kansas State, and Missouri, by the HOOP SCOOP, would move up to #19, right behind LSU and Maryland and head of Duke.  Right now it looks like it's a two-horse race for Bradley between Charlotte and Miami-FL and the fact that 6'2 Marcus Barnes recently announced he is transferring from Miami-FL certainly give the Hurricanes an obvious immediate need in the backcourt.  And that fact that Bradley's good friends with 6'6 Eliiah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA, who verbally committed to Miami-FL in July also could be a huge selling point.  However, Charlotte has its own secret weapon and that's 49ers assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry, who is one of the fastest rising guys in the business.  As a matter of fact, every time we turn it around these days, it seems like Charlotte is in somebody unexpected - i.e. 6'10 Jr Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  Did you know that Tangara and Iti are roommates at Mt. Zion Christian? 

Tuesday, August 27, 2002, Wednesday, August 28, 2002, & Thursday, August 29, 2002

No, I haven't taken the last two days off.   Instead, after living and working in the same place for the last eight years, I decided to change locations and yesterday and today have been the primary moving days.  This will not effect your subscription, because I have not deleted everybody's subscription by a day, which is what I normally do every day, either day.   It also is important to note that my phone number, fax number, and email address have all been changed and, for your convenience, you can find the updated information at the top of most of the frequently used pages on this web site.  The phone number is (502) 500-4667.  That's (502) 500-HOOP!   Unfortunately the new fax number, which is (502) 254-2646, isn't as easy to remember.  However, the new email address, which is hoopscooponline@msn.com, probably falls someplace in between in terms of being easy.  Usually when I'm out of the loop for a day or two, all hell breaks loose in terms of verbal commitments.   However, the only important thing that has happened in the last two days involves 5'11 Vern Hamilton from Richmond (Benedictine) VA, who is ranked #86 nationally on our list of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003.  Hamilton picked Clemson and, like so many of the other players the Tigers have signed in recent years, he's not star, but he has the talent, leadership, and savvy necessary to be an excellent point guard in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  And making good decisions, using his excellent passing and ball handling skills, keeping you honest with his outside shooting, and playing good defense, aren't the only things for which Hamilton is known.   Did you know that Hamilton also is a heck of a quarterback on the gridiron and, if he ever wants to play professionally, that's his sport.  But as a freshman in college, Hamilton plans to focus exclusively on basketball.  He joins 6'3 Jimmy Hudson from Eustis (H.S.) FL, who is ranked in #137 on our list of Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003, and that moves Clamson's recruiting class into a tie at #27, along with Seton Hall, Boston College, Marquette, Gonzaga, Purdue, and College of Charleston, our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And the Tigers coaching staff doesn't appear to be to be done yet, as 6'10 Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC also is expected to verbally commit to Clemson this fall.   As a matter of fact, Hamilton and Wingate both were on campus together at Clemson last weekend and they have known each other for several years dating back to win they first developed a friendship at the adidas ABCD Camp during the Summer of 2000.   Speaking of Clemson, I think the Tigers have both the talent and potential to be one of the surprise teams in college basketball this winter.  However, Brick Oettinger of the PrepStars.com and the Recruiters Handbook not only disagrees, but is adamant in his belief that the Tigers will once again finish in the bottom half of the wide open Atlantic Coast Conference.  How wide open is the ACC this year?  Well, Duke and Maryland obviously lost heavily both to graduation and players going hardship into the NBA Draft, but so did most of the rest of the teams in league, as only four of its top 21 scorers from last year return.  And two of the four are Clemson's Edward Scott and Chris Hobbs.   Only five of the top 13 rebounders return and two of those players Hobbs and Ray Henderson are also from Clemson.  Scott also is one of just four players returning from among the 15 players who made the first, second or third-team All-ACC.  The Tigers did lose Tony Stockman and Dwon Clifton, both of whom transferred last spring, but Clemson still returns 64 percent of its scoring, 78 percent of its rebounds, 72 percent of its assists, 90 percent of its blocked shots, and 68 percent of its playing time from a year ago.  I also look for Sharrod Ford and Chey Christie to both develop into two of the best sophomores in the league, plus the depth that Clemson head coach Larry  Shyatt has is very impressive.   As a matter of fact, with Steve Allen, Olu Babalola, Tomas Nagys, 6'7 Lamar Rice from Mott (JC) MI, 6'2 Shawan Robinson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, 6'5 Ori Ichaki from Israel, and 6'5 Julian Betko from Sharon (H.S.) PA all coming off the bench, the Tigers should be able to go 12 deep.  In other words, they don't have a single McDonald's All-American on the roster, but just like the Seton Hall team that lost to Michgian in the NCAA Championship Game in 1989, top to bottom, this Clemson team has more than enough talent to make things intersting.  What do you think?   Do you agree with me, that Clemson is a sleeper that could finish among the top three in the ACC?  Or do you agree with Oettinger and think the Tigers should be picked near the bottom of the league pre-season?  Or do you want to hedge your bets and predict Clemson will be someplace in the middle?  Tell us by answering yesterday's "Question of the Day".  And as long as we're talking about this year's wide open ACC, today's "Question of the Day" asks who do you think should be the pre-season favorite to win the league? 

Monday, August 26, 2002

At some point I am going to have to draw the line in terms of the endless changes that we're making to our Revised List of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2002.  This is necessary if we ever hope to publish our conference-by-conference list of the top recruiting classes, as well as all the other different other ways we look at recruiting, like who signed the best two players, best three players, and had the best talent rating average per recruit.  If you will recall, we ran out of time prior to the start of the summer and, as a result, we're still dealing with all the late breaking changes that usually we are able to ignore this time of year, because we've been long since finished with our rankings.  The latest is 6'9 Mory Correa from Pratt County (JC) KS not being admitted into school by Oklahoma State and, instead, enrolling at Wyoming.  This causes Oklahoma State's recruiting class to drop from #8 to #17 and for Wyoming's class to move all the way up to #76 on our Revised List of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2002.  We also are checking into the rumor that Greg Swaim of  GregSwaim.com called us about tonight involving 6'1 Imari Sawyer transferring from DePaul to Iowa State.  Apparently Sawyer is already on campus and plans to enroll in school at Iowa State.  However, right now that is still unconfirmed.  But, if this is the case, we think this is the perfect fit, because Cyclones head coach Larry Euctachy has a history of getting extremely talented players like Sawyer to respond to his tough hardnosed style of coaching.  In other words, it appears to be make or break time for Sawyer!  Swaim also tells us that Oklahoma State appears to be back in the hunt for 6'3 Keion Kindred from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who plans to go the junior college route for a year at Yavapi (JC) AZ and then transfer to a four-year school next fall.  Apparently Kindred, who was ranked #278 on our final ranking of the Class of 2002, will have three years to play, because he was qualified academically to be eligible as a freshman in college this year.   Swaim tells us that the Cowboys' connection is Yavapi Junior College head coach Brooks Thompson, who is both a former Eddie Sutton player and assistant coach at Oklahoma State.  However, it will still be interesting to see how this one plays out, because Oklahoma State only has three scholarships to give in this recruiting class and they are one of the three finalists, along with Kansas and Arkansas, for 6'4 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, who is ranked #47 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; they are believed to be the leader for 6'11 Steve Verwers from Weatherford (H.S.) TX, and they are also in good shape on 6'11 Nathan Lofton from Independence (JC) KS.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson confirmd that 6'4 Tom McLaughlin is transferring from Princeton to William & Mary.  If you will recall, McLaughlin was overrated as a freshman and sophomore in high school, but he's still a heck of an athlete and a smart player, which makes him a steal for the Tribe.  McLaughlin is the second player William & Mary has gotten out of Andover, MA in the last year.  If you will recall, they also signed 6'7 Jack Jenkins from Andover (Proctor Academy) MA last November and this is important, because these two players should help establish a strong pipeline into New England for years to come.  Johnson also tells us that 6'2 Blake Ahearn from St. Louis (De Smet) MO may have verbally committed to Southwest Missouri State, but for our purposes that is still unconfirmed.  However, if Ahearn picking the Bears does indeed turn out to be correct, then that's a major steal, because we're talking about an athletic white kid who has savvy, skills, outside shooting, and a #154 national ranking in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Johnson also informs us that Ohio State had 10 players on campus for unofficial visits at the Ohio State-Texas Tech football over the weekend.  The list starts with 6'8 Ivan Harris from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #12 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and already is verbally committed to the Buckeyes, and also includes three of the top juniors in Michigan - 6'3 Jr Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'10 Jr Goran Sutton from Lansing (Everett) MI, and 6'8 Jr Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI; one of the top juniors in Indiana - 6'6 Jr James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN; three of top six sophomores in Ohio - 6'5 Soph Jamelle Cornley from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'7 Soph Ross Morin from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, and 6'2 John Wolf from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH; a highly touted 5th year player who is now in prep school - 6'7 Mike Pilgram from Wolfeboro (Brewster) NH; and 6'11 Seth Gorney from Vandalia (Butler) OH.

Yesterday the Seattle Times reported that 6'5 Rodrick Stewart, who is ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Lodrick Stewart, who is ranked #61 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, both from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, planned to sign with the University of Washington this fall, but, less than two hours before the Stewart twins' father called the local newspaper to provide quotes for the story on Saturday, Rodrick and Lodrick were doing a live interview on Fox Sports Northwest Television saying they were going to USC.  In the Seattle Times article, the father is quoted saying the Southern Cal announcement was misdirection to throw off all the media and that staying close to home was a big part of the decision.   However, last night the Stewart's all finally got onto the same page, as they were saying the choice was USC.  The father also insinuated last night that the decision was actually made on Friday.  "Nothing against the University of Washington - great people, Coach Romar is a swell guy, the program is great - but he made it kind of easy to make that decision (to play for USC) based on something that happened on Friday.  I don't want to comment on that, but the decision was easy to make after that situation."  The Seattle Times speculates that the deciding factor Mr. Stewart was talking about was the commitment the University of Washington got on Friday from 6'5 Tre Simmons from Seattle (Garfield) WA via Odessa (JC) TX.   However, our guess is that yesterday's article by Andy Katz on ESPN.com, which is has a headling that reads Allegations lead to investigation of Huskies and can be found by clicking on  http://ESPN.go.com/ncb/news/2002/0825/1422719.html, was the real result of all the confusion.  Obviously this is devastating for the Huskies coaching staff, which had made tremendous in-roads in terms of recruiting all the top young players in Washington, but huge for the Trojans, which are on the verge of becoming a perennial powerhouse on the West Coast.  Don't believe that's what's on the verge of happening?  Well, the Trojans also have 6'8 Jeff McMillan, who transferred from Fordham last spring, sitting out this year and he promises to be the perfect replacement for Sam Clancy, who was the blue collar warrior inside for the Trojans, as well as big reason why USC head coach Henry Bibby has been so successful in recent years.  And the Trojans are also among the finalists for 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'8 Ekene Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #37 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'9 Nick Stigger from Van Nuys (Montclair Prep) CA, who is ranked #92 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  It is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP not to count transfers when ranking recruiting classes, so McMillan doesn't count with USC's recruiting class.  However, the Stewart twins do and, as a result, the Trojans recruiting class currently is ranked #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   And if USC, which has two more scholarships to offer, gets Ariza and Ibekwe, Ariza and Stigger, or Ekene and Stigger, than their recruiting class would move right to the top of the list ahead of Louisville and Mississippi State, which are currently tied for the top spot.   Obviously this is a team effort by the Trojans coaching staff, but it also reinforces our belief that USC assistant coach Kurtis Townsend is one of the top five assistant coaches in college basketball today.  Making the story even more ironic is fact that we said on this web site that UCLA head coach Steve Lavin should have hired his good friend Kurtis Townsend to replace former UCLA assistant coach Michael Holton when he got the head coaching job at Portland a-year-and-a-half ago.  Instead, Townsend is now a major thorn in Lavin's side, as he is battling UCLA for the top players in Southern California and rivaling the Bruins for college basketball supremacy in the Los Angeles area.

Saturday, August 24, 2002, & Sunday, August 25, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 5'10 Dru Joyce from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH has verbally committed to Akron and 6'7 Nathan Peavy from Dayton (Chaminade-Julienne) OH has verbally committed to Miami-OH.  The Joyce commitment is especially important, because Keith Dombrot has gone back to his old-stamping grounds and gotten another one of his former players.  If you will recall, Dombrot, who was the head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary prior to returning to the college ranks a year ago, signed 6'4 Derrick Tarver from San Francisco (JC) CA, who played for Dombrot in high school at Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, last fall and we also believe it's only a matter time until 6'6 Romeo Travis from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH follows in the same path to the University of Akron.  Joyce was ranked no higher than #70 prior to the start of the summer by Johnson, but he's grown two inches and had a great summer, as was evident by the fact he was the leading 3-point shooter at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ.  Peavy, who is ranked #12 in the senior class in Ohio by Johnson, becomes the second player from Mike Price's Cincinnati AAU program to verbally commit to Miami-OH this summer.  If you will recall, earlier this summer the Redhawks also got a verbal commitment from 6'7 Eric Van Buskirk from Cincinnati (Loveland) OH and, as a result, Miami-OH now has two of the top 15 seniors in the state in fold.  This also is important, because there isn't a better AAU coach in the nation than Price, so you know both players are extremely skilled and will be well prepared when it comes time to take their game to the college level a year from now.  Johnson also tells us that 6'5 Earl Smith from Lakewood (H.S) NJ is on the verge of enrolling at Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and being reclassified as a junior.  And, if that happens, then  St. Benedict's head coach Danny Hurley could have the best team in the state, ahead of Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and even Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, where Hurley's father is the head coach.  Remember, the younger Hurley also has 6'7 Jr Stanley Branch, 6'2 Art Bowers, 5'11 Bashir Mason, 6'6 Keving Palacios, 6'6 Eugene Kotorobai,and 6'7 Mike Tuck, plus he may have another surprise or two up his sleeve.  

It looks like 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has finally made it official for the University of Connecticut.  If you will recall, this was rumored to have happened a month ago.  As a matter of fact, we have reason to believe that Williams gave a verbal commitment to the Huskies coaching staff in late July, but that was contingent upon visiting Storrs, CT in August and still being comfortable with his decision.  Well, apparently Williams did finally get onto the Connecticut campus, as our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that the race for Williams has been declared official.  Obviously Connecticut assistant coach Clive Vaughn's strong West Coast contacts, dating back to his days at Long Beach State, was instrumental in getting this one done.  However, Connecticut's recruitment of Williams is a perfect illustration of how effectively the Huskies's coaching staff has recruited for year.  Actually no school in the college basketball does a better job of getting involved with a large number of players and then turning up the heat when an opportunity presents itself.  In this case, Williams' top two schools - Arizona with 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and UCLA with 5'10 Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA - suddenly had other point guard priorities, which allowed the Huskies to sneak in the backdoor and, as a result, steal a top 50 senior nationally.  Williams also has the potential to move even higher in our rankings, because he can play either guard spot and is a prolific scorer.  He's also a terrific kid, but he has shown neither the consistency nor the toughness to be ranked among the elite players in the senior class nationally.  But our guess is that will likely change once Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun gets a hold of Williams a year from now.  Remember, Calhoun not only is one of the best coaches in college basketball today, but he also does a great job of getting the most out of his players.  Ironically, another head coach who does a remarkable job of getting the most out of his players got a verbal commitment from a combo guard named Williams today.   We're talking about Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins, as the Bearcats landed 6'4 Nick Williams from Chipola (JC) FL.  This comes as no surprise for several reasons.  First, Williams and 6'10 Robert Whaley from Barton County (JC) KS both were at Cincinnati this weekend on an official visit.  Second, Chipola Junior College head coach Ryan Cross not only has strong ties with the Cincinnati coaching staff, but he already has a history of sending players to Cincinnati - i.e. 6'8 Kareem Johnson from Chipola (JC) FL, who signed with the Bearcats this past spring.  Third, Huggins has a long history of being successful with junior college players.  And this one is pretty good!   As a matter of fact, it wouldn't be a major surprise, if Williams was ranked right there among the top junior college guards prospects in the nation this season.  Did you know that Nick Williams started 25 games last season at Kansas State and averaged 9.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 2.5 apg.   He also is a big time athlete who can play either guard spot, which adds an additional twist into their recruitmentof 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX.  We also suspect that the Bearcats will get Whaley sometime in the not too distant future, but taking a commitment from this physical specimen, who isn't as skilled or in as good a shape as Danny Fortsen at the same stage, has some risk, because there are people out there who think Whaley is ready for the NBA Draft.   However, we're not in the group.  Instead, we think two years with a head coach who will push him to the limit is exactly what Whaley needs.  And, like so many guys in this day and age, it also could be worth a lot more money to him down the road.   And, if you don't believe it, just ask Antonie Walker how much money it was worth for him to play two years in college for Rick Pitino?

Friday, August 23, 2002

We've been telling you for some time that we thought 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS was a near lock for Mississippi State.  Well, it happened last night and this is huge, because it moves the Bulldogs' recruiting class into a tie at #1, along with Louisville on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, the Bulldogs also already have a verbal commitments from 6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #14 nationally on our list of Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003, and 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who is ranked #9 nationally on our list of the Top 50 5th Year Players.  Butler currently is ranked #31 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he has top five talent and potential.  We're talking about an agile athlete with great hands, excellent shot blocking and rebounding skills, and a soft tough around the basket.  In other words, the biggest question is how bad does he want and how hard is he willing to work?  But like most big guys from the Deep South, Butler needs to develop a killer instinct at the next level and, based on Mississippi State's track record in recent years under head coach Rick Stansbury, there no question in our mind that he will.  As a matter of fact, getting Butler is one of the final pieces to the puzzle as the Bulldogs join a very elite list teams in college basketball, like Duke, Arizona, Michigan State, Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Maryland, Cincinnati, Indiana, Connecticut, Louisville, and Kentucky, that have both the talent and the potential to collectively dominate the sport for a along time.  Don't believe it?  Well, Stansbury, who at the time was an assistant coach at the time, helped take the program the NCAA Final Four in 1996; they probably would have been knocking on the door again several year ago, if Jonathan Bender, who committed to Mississippi State, but never playerd for the Bulldogs, hadn't by-passed college and gone straight to the NBA; and five months ago they not only won the Southeastern Conference Tournament, but emerged with a 27-8 record, which was the most wins in school history.  And just about everybody is back, including 6'9 Mario Austin, who was the team's leading scorer (16.1 ppg) and leading rebounder (7.6 rpg) a year ago.  This also puts Mississippi State into the driver's seat for 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who is ranked #11 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Not only do Williams and Butler play for the Southeast Pump N Run Club team program, but they are extremely close friends and have even talked about going to the same school together as a package.  Obviously, if Stansbury is able to beat Alabama for Williams, it would be a major loss for Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried.  Remember, we've previously reported that Alabama was a near lock for both Williams and 6'3 Jr Glenn Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL.  But this wouldn't be the first time that Stansbury has beaten Gottfried, who, like Stansbury is regarded as one of the best recruiters in the business, for a player.  If you will recall, the final two for Austin, Derrick Zimmerman, and Antonio Jackson, all of whom also ended up playing for the Bulldogs, were Alabama and Mississippi State.  And Alabama was one of the favorites for a long time, along with Louisville and LSU, in the Jackie Butler-sweepstakes.   However, the Crimson Tide has also had their share of success, as they stole Maurice Williams, who already is one of the best point guards in college basketball, out of Mississippi two years ago; they already have three big men verbally committed in the current recruiting class, which is ranked #10 on out list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, in 6'10 Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL, 6'9 Jemario Davidson from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'10 Shawn Taylor from Vienna (Dooley County) GA; and four starters are back from an Alabama team that went 27-8 last season.  

Thursday, August 22, 2002

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin asked me today why La Salle isn't ranked higher in our Final Ranking of the Top 140 Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2002, which was published in early July, but since has been updated with several important additions - i.e. when the University of Florida landed 6'8 Christian Drejer from Denmark in late July.  Apparently La Salle finally landed 6'7 David Bell from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC about a month ago, but nobody bothered to pass that bit of information along to me until today.  As a matter of fact, Bell's commitment is so significant, that even am I making the change, because with 6'2 Jermaine Thomas from Frederick (Governor Thomas Johnson) MD, 6'4 Gary Neal from Towson (Calvert Hall) MD, and 6'10 Lewis Fadipe from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC already in the fold, the Explorers recruiting class moves up to #50 on our Revised Ranking of the Top 141 Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2002.  And, if there are any more late additions, now is the time to call me or email me, because at some point this fall, I do hope to publish our final Conference-by-Conference Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes and Different Ways to Look at Recruiting from the Class of 2002.  Speaking of late additions, did you know that St. John's got a late commitment last week from 6'2 Bruce Price from Minneapolis, MN?   Neither did we until today when Sam Albano of Redmen.com called to tip us off.   Apparently Albano also called our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio over the weekend to tip him off when it was happening, but just like Rubin, Naclerio fell asleep at the switch and forgot to pass it along.  Getting back to the different ways you can get in touch will me, I am in the process of moving, but my cell phone number, which is  (502) 500-HOOP and email address, which is hoopscooponline@msn.com, remain the same.  Actually, this is the email address I've been using for some time.   I simply got tired of all the junk mail that was being sent to the email address that has been listed on the web site for years and, as a result, stopped looking at it long ago.  Moral to the story, if you really need to reach me and it's important, call me, because I've never been much of an email person.  Our new fax number is (502) 254-2646, but it won't take effect until Tuesday. August 27th. 

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has an updated list of of schools from 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'9 Josh Bonne from Colora (West Nottingham) MD, 5'8 Kashif Payne from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA, 6'11 Aaron Gray from Emmaus (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Troy Roundtree from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA, 6'2 Ray Barbosa from Allentown (Allen) PA, and 6'8 Dontay Tabbs from Philadelphia (George Washington) PA, all of whom he talked with at the Sonny Hill League's Tony Samartino Future Stars Tournament over the weekend.  Shakur says he has three visits lined up to Arizona, N.C. State, and Virginia, but Georgia Tech also is making a strong push.  The word on the street is that Georgetown stashed Boone at West Nottingham, but Rutgers, St. Joseph, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee are also on his list.  Payne likes Drexel, Towson, La Salle, and Maine.  Gray is getting the most attention from Rutgers, Temple, Indiana, Marquette, West Virginia, Richmond, Florida State, and Pittsburgh.  Roundtee likes Rider, Towson, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Coppin State, Youngstown State, and Maine.   Hofstra, Drexel, Towson, James Madison, Manhattan, Rider, and St. Bonaventure are the favorites for Barbosa.  Rubin thinks Tabbs is one of the biggest sleepers in Philadelphia, but he'll need a year of prep school a year from now.  However, that isn't stopping La Salle and St. Joseph's from showing a lot of interest.  However, the biggest news that Rubin has is that 6'2 Tyler Smith from Baltimore (Frederick Douglas) MD is going to Laurinburg (Institute) NC, instead of Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD.  And this appears to be a trend, because Smith is the second player who played on last year's state championship Frederick Douglas High School team to back out of going to Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD.  If you will recall, in 6'8 Richard Dorsey changed his mind in July and now is supposed to be going to Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  And yet another player from Frederick Douglas may be going the prep school route as well.  At least that's what 6'3 Gerald Brown, who is ranked #80 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, told Rubin at the adidas ABCD Camp in July when he indicated that he was going to enroll at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA this fall. 

Brian Merritt of the Elite Scouting Service in Baltimore, MD has a bunch of interesting tidbits to pass along and right at the top of the list is is confirmation about 6'1 Jr Eric Price remaining at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  If you will recall, there was a lot of speculation about both Price and 6'2 Jr Isaiah Swann from Rockville (Margruder) MD transferring to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this fall.  Well, Swann did make the move, but Price, who also had been rumored to be looking at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, has stayed at Montrose Christian, where the legendary Stu Vetter has what is potentially is best class ever with his great group of rising sophomores, which also includes 6'7 Soph Mike Freeman and 6'2 Ryan Scott, who is the son one of Vetter's greatest players ever - Dennis Scott.  And it also would not be much of surprise if Swann returns to Margruder a year from now, because he won't be 19 until after school starts at this time next year.  This is important, because Swann is already a 4th year junior and, as a result, can only play at Oak Hill one year.  However, Merritt tells us that Swann, who played football, but not basketball his freshman year, would still be eligible age-wise to play a year in Maryland.  Merritt also informs us that 6'8 Jr Rudy Gay has transferred from Baltimore (Eastern Tech) MD to Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, where he is expected to provide the perfect complement to 6'11 Will Bowers.  Merritt also has the scoop on 6'2 Robert McIver, who was at Stone Mountain (Redan) GA two years ago and Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC last season.   McIver is now at New Haven (Hillhouse) CT, plus the chances of his honoring his previous commitment to Georgetown now appears to be slim and none.  Merritt also reminds us of and confirms a number of other things that we already know and have reported, like 6'0 Tre Kelly and 6'2 Jr Earl Rigsby both being at Washington (Dunbar) DC, 6'7 Patrick Ewing, Jr transferring from Marietta (H.S.) GA to Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, and 6'6 Eliiah Clark from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY enrolling in prep school at Winchendon (School) MA.   However, we still aren't sure what's going to happen with 6'8 Emmanuel Messy from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  If you will recall, last week we reported that Messy was going to enroll at Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, but yesterday found out that Messy won't be going to Brewster Academy after all.  However, he may find out something definitive when we finally catch up to Jason Smith, who is the head coach at Brewster Academy (currently we're playing telephone tag).   Merritt also continues to tell us that we have 6'9 Byron Joynes from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #121 nationally in the senior class, ranked too low and is adamant about the fact that 6'10 Jr Aaron Agnew from Bellaire (H.S.) OH, who is ranked #126 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, should be ranked among the top 10 juniors nationally.  "Just wait and see," says Merritt.  "We're talking about a physical specimen out of the same mold as James Lang."  If you will recall, 6'10 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who is now ranked #3 among 5th year players by the HOOP SCOOP, came on like gangbusters this spring and summer.  Also in strong disagreement with me is Ritchie Davis, who runs a scouting service in Wisconsin and is the director of the Fox Valley Skillz AAU program.  Davis thinks the best junior in the state is 6'11 Jr Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI and he's probably right based on potential.  However, after watching 5'11 Jr Dupree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI almost singlehandedly lead DTA Wisconsin to a final eight finish at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, I'm one of Fletcher's biggest fans.  I also think he may turn out to be the Andrew Lavender of next year's class.  Remember, 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH led All Ohio Red to the championship of the NIKE Peach Jam, a runnerup finish in the 17-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL, and a final four finish at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL, plus he was the best player in camp on Sunday, July 7th, at the NIKE All-American Camp.  Thus, explains why Lavender is now ranked #10 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  But what do I know?  Remember, I'm the guy who has 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who is Davis' star player on the Fox Valley Skillz Black Team, ranked #3 in the senior class nationally.  And I stood by firm by my ranking of Butch #3 in the class when I talked with 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX the other night.  If you will recall, we dropped Ebi from #2 to #4 in our latest rankings and hopefully I pissed him off just enough to make him play that much harder and live up to his incredible potential. 

Wednesday, August 21, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'10 Robert Whaley from Barton County (JC) KS, who is the consensus #1-ranked junior college player in the nation, and 6'4 Nick Williams from Chipola (JC) FL, who is also is one of the top junior college players in the nation, both have official visits planned this weekend at the University of Cincinnati.   However, Johnson doesn't think the Bearcats chances are very good of getting Whaley, because it's already being rumored that he will be a lottery pick in next year's NBA Draft.  Hopefully that's based on the fact that he's gotten a lot meaner and tougher inside than he was when we last saw him the summer before his senior year in high school.   If you will recall, Whaley has always been a physical specimen and had incredible natural talent, but in high school he had no idea that he was a 6'10 man-child.  And, if he still doesn't, playing for somebody like Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins would certainly provide the toughness that he needs to make the big bucks down the road in the NBA.  As a matter of fact, two year with Huggins would be worth a lot more financially down the road than just one year.  Johnson also tells us that Ball State has recently picked up three recruits in 6'2 Julian Mills from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'2 Darren Yates from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and 6'2 Peyton Stovall from Lafayette (Jefferson) IN.  Stovall, who made official for the Cardinals two days ago, is the big prize.  Not only is he ranked #166 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but, along with 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN and 6'8 Justin Perry from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN, he helped lead the Billy Shepherd Sports team to a final four finish at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV a month ago.  Yates also is ranked among #291 nationally on our list of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003 and, as a result, Ball State's recruiting class moves up to #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'4 Erik Crawford, who was a starter last year as a freshman on Bowling Green's 24-9 team, but who averaged only 3.7 ppg and 2.1 rpg, is transferring to Northern Iowa.  This is noteworthy, because Crawford will become eligible a year from now at the same time as 6'2 Brooks McKowen from  Fairbank (Wapsie Valley) IA, 6'0 Jared Josten from Webster City (H.S.) IA, and 6'3 Adam Viet from Ackley (AGWSR) IA, who are the three players who have already made early commitments and, as a result, count in Northern Iowa's recruiting class, which currently is ranked #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  We continue to hear that Oregon State is the favorite for 6'8 Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, who is ranked #54 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but Syracuse and Charlotte are starting to make it an interesting horse race.  We're also hearing that UNLV is a lot stronger for 6'2 Michael Umeh from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'9 Ousmane Barro from Chicago (Julian) IL, and 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA than most people realize.  As a matter of fact, we think the Runnin' Rebels may get Umeh done sooner than later.  As for Barro, we think he's still one of the biggest sleepers in the senior class nationally, despite the fact that he finished ranked #21 in our rankings at the NIKE All-American Camp and is currently ranked #93 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Obviously the connection here is UNLV assistant coach Derek Thomas' strong Illinois contacts.  Beating schools like Florida, Indiana, Georgia, USC, and Oregon is a tougher task, but that's what UNLV head coach Charlie Spoonour has to do, if he wants to restore the program to the level it was at during the days of Jerry Tarkanian. 

Believe it or not, Temple University has only had two assistant coaches on the staff since Dean Demopoulos left to take the head coaching job at Missouri-Kansas City two years ago.  But now the third position is being listed as open and the guy they should hire is our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin.  Nobody knows more about Temple basketball than Rubin does, plus nobody has as much respect, contacts, knowledge, and historical perspective when it comes to high school basketball in the Philadelphia area.  However, the fact that Rubin doesn't have any head coaching experience, which might be something Temple needs when head coach John Chaney does retire, probably puts Rubin at a disadvantage when compared to somebody like Bill Ellerbee, who is the legendary head coach at Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA.  Ellerbee not only is a Philadelphia guy, but he'd be able to recruit like crazy, because he has tremendous respect from the players and the high school coaches in the area.  He's also not afraid of hard work, which is extactly what the Owls need to complement Dan Leibovitz, who is widely regarded as the one of the best recruiters in the business.  Ellerbee also would be the perfect guy to help with the transition when Chaney does retire and he may even be a candidate for the job himself.  Not only does Ellerbee have plenty of head coaching experience, but he is ranked #7 on our list of the top head coaches in the high school and prep school ranks behind Bob Hurley, Sr at Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, Morgan Wootten at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, Steve Smith at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Jack Curran at Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, Jere Quinn at Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and Stu Vetter at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD and ahead of Gary McKnight at Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, Gary DeCesare at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, Mike Byrnes at Winchendon (School) MA, Kevin Boyle at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and Dale Mabrey at Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.   In other words, Ellerbee is in some pretty fast company.  Editor's Note:  The Philadelphia Daily News reported today that Ellerbee has retired as a teacher at Simon Gratz.  This is important, because you have to teach at a school in the Philadelphia Public School System to be a coach in the Philadelphia Public League.  

In early July we told you that it was a two-horse race between New Orleans and Florida for 5'11 Mike O'Donnell from Largo (H.S.) FL, but it looks like our guess about the Privateers getting O'Donnell was wrong.  Believe it or not, O'Donnell has made a verbal commitment to the Gators and, as a result, Florida's recruiting class moves up from #7 to #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, O'Donnell will first enroll next year at Fork Union (Military) VA and then is expected to walk-on and red-shirt for a year before he ever gets a scholarship at Florida.  Obviously the Florida coaching staff wants to put some space between O'Donnell and 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, who signed with Gators a year ago, and 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA and 6'2 Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN, both of whom made verbal commitments to the Gators this summer.  But we're not sure it really matters, because head coach Billy Donovan is one of the recruiters in the business and, as a result, Florida is always going to get the pick of the litter in terms of the top high school players in the nation - i.e. 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who is the #2-ranked junior in the nation, according to the HOOP SCOOP.  In other words, O'Donnell promises to be a good role player at best and, if he's comfortable with being in that position, then he's an excellent recruit.  However, if O'Donnell thinks he's just going to wait his turn and eventually be one of the key players for the Gators, he might be in for a rude awakening.  No doubt something doesn't make sense, unless the plan is to try and steer O'Donnell a year from now to South Alabama, where former Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey is the head coach.  Instead, it looks like the New Orleans coaching staff is using its strong ties in the state of Florida to recruit 6'9 Marcus Hubbard, who is transferring from Riviera Beach (R.J. Henley) FL to West Palm Beach (Palm Beach Lakes) FL, and 5'9 Randy Jones and 6'7 Louis Graham, both of whom are already at West Palm Beach (Palm Beach Lakes) FL.  And part of the reason why the Privateers have such a good chance of hitting the trifecta in terms of getting all three of these players is Lorenzo Hands, who is the head coach at Palm Beach Lakes High School.  Hands signed with Florida State as a high school senior in 1988, but New Orleans head coach Monte Towe recruited Hands when he was an assistant coach at Florida and they've remained good friends ever since.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Pineville (H.S.) LA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is transferring to Ft. Worth (Paschal) TX.  If you will recall, Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX and Laurinburg (Institute) TX were also under consideration, but it appears that the race for Wafer has now been declared official.  Last week we reported that 6'8 Emmanuel Messy from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ had surfaced at Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  Well, now we're being told by Brewster Academy head coach Jason Smith that it didn't happen.  Instead, it looks like Brewster Academy has won out in the sweepstakes for 6'7 Michael Pilgram, who is now ranked #15 on our prep school list.  If you will recall, Pilgram, who originially is from Cincinnati (Purcell-Marian) OH, was ranked #5 in the state in our final rankings for the Class of 2002, but he was so impressive at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions last spring that he would be top 50 senior nationally, if he was still a high school senior.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also confirms that 6'11 Malick Badiane from The Senegal, who is ranked #6 on our list of the Top 50 5th Year Players, has enrolled at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  However, we report that with an asterisk, because Badiane needs two years of prep school in order to be eligible to play at a Division I school.  It also appears that 6'8 Tahirou Sani, originially from Mali, but who has spent the last four year's in France, will follow in the footsteps of Tony Parker and continue playing on an 18-under French club.  If you will recall, this is the legendary player who has been highly touted since he was in 8th grade, but apparently his legal guardian Jean-Pierre Ciesieski is concerned about letting Sani play in the United States, except maybe for the Georgia Elite AAU team next summer.  If you will recall, Linzy Davis, who is the director of the Georgia Elite AAU program, brings a U.S. Team to play in the World Junior National Tournament in Douai, France every year and over the years has developed a close friendship with Ciesieski.  And this is important, especially in light of what happened the last time one of Ciesieski's players played high school basketball in the United States.  We're talking about 6'8 Ousmane Cisse, who Ciesieski stashed at Montgomery (Catholic) AL when he was a sophomore in high school.  However, Don Jackson got his hooks into Cisse during the summer prior to Cisse's junior year and, like they say, the rest is history as Ciesieski lost control of his player and Jackson ended up steering Cisse straight to the NBA, afer Cisse exploded into one of the best players in the nation during the summer of 2000 when he was ranked as the #1 player at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  Further evidence of the strong relationship that exists between Ciesieski and Davis is illustrated by what happened with 6'10 Jr Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and 6'8 Almany Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian NC, who signed with Memphis a year ago.   Did you know that Tangara and Thiero are the only two blue chip players that Ciesieski has allowed to come to the United States since he lost Cisse and Ciesieski sent both players to play for Davis?  And if that weren't enough, we also understand there is a chance that Davis may get 6'9 Diego Brezzo from Argentina, who scored 28 points recently on the USA Team in the Men's Junior Qualifying Tournament for South America in Venezuela, to play on the Georgia Elite Team next summer.  Not only are we talking about an aggressive athlete who is strong and long inside, but, like most foreign players, Brezzo can also step outside and beat you with his shooting and perimeter skills.  And if Sani, Brezzo, and Tangara all end up playing for Georgia Elite next summer, not only would Davis have a front line that would make most big time college head coaches envious, but you can bet that Georgia Elite won't get snubbed again from playing in the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA.  Ironically, that's exactly what happened this summer, despite the fact Georgia Elite was good enough to finish in the final four of the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL a week later.   And, if NIKE still can't figure it out next summer, you can bet that Georgia Elite will be one the favorites to win the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.   Remember, Sonny Vaccaro doesn't let opportunities like this slip away very often. 

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

The University of Minnesota missed out on getting 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who verbally committed to Duke in the spring; 6'2 Lawrence McKenzie from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, who verbally committed to Oklahoma in late June; and 6'8 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who picked Boston College in early June; but the Golden Gophers are already way ahead of the game in terms of keeping the top players in the Class of 2004 at home.  As a matter of fact, just last week they got an early commitment from 6'9 Jr Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN, who is ranked #115 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and now they another verbal commitment from 6'3 Jr Miles Webb from Brooklyn Park (Center) MN.  We haven't seen Webb play and we don't know much about him, except for the fact that he plays for the same AAU team as Tollackson and is ranked among the top three juniors in the state, along with Tollackson and 6'6 Jr Steve Neal from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN.  Minnesota also has 6'2 Adam Boone, who was ranked #54 nationally in the Class of 2000 upon graduation from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, waiting in the wings, after transferring from North Carolina in the spring, and they landed 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'2 Kris Collins from Collin County (JC) TX, and 6'7 Stanley Gaines form Chicago (Whitney Young) IL in last year's recruiting class.  So NCAA Probation obviously is something the Golden Gophers are doing an excellent job of overcoming, as they continue to build a strong supporting cast around 6'11 Rick Rickert, who was the team's leading scorer with 14.2 ppg and third leading rebounder with 5.2 rpg, as a freshman last year.  Another school that isn't using potential NCAA probation as an excuse for not getting it done is the University of Michigan.  If you will recall, the Wolverines landed 6'9 Brent Petway from Griffin (H.S.) GA, who emerged as one of the biggest sleepers on the summer at the 17-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL three weeks ago and, as a result, is now ranked #58 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And it also looks like the Wolverines are also on the verge of getting a commitment from 6'9 Bryon Joynes from Mouth of Wilson Oak (Hill) VA.  In other words, Michigan appears to be on the verge of having the three players - 6'11 Chris Hunter from Gary (West Side) IN, Petway, and Joynes - either already in the program or in their current recruiting class who are good enough to restore the program to the national promience it enjoyed during the Steve Fisher era in the late 80's and 90's.   Sure, Joynes is currently ranked no higher than #121 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but that's because he's out of shape.  Not only is Joynes very skilled, but he reminds Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith of Mario Boggan, who played at Oak Hill prior to going to Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA a year ago and the University of Florida this fall.  Speaking of Oak Hill, Smith confirms that Joynes, who previously was at Towson (Catholic) MD; 6'8 Ivan Harris from Springfield (South) OH, who is ranked #12 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'2 Marcus Williams from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, who is ranked #50 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'3 J.R. Reynolds from Roanoke (Catholic) VA, who is ranked #53 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'8 Warren Scott from New Orleans (Abramson) LA, who is ranked #117 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'6 Dion Dacons, who was the 7th man at Oak Hill a year ago and is ranked #289 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'2 Jr Isaiah Swann from Rockville (Margruder) MD, who is ranked #34 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; are all enrolled in school and will be playing for what could be one of his best team's ever.  No, there isn't a superstar among the bunch, like Ron Mercer or Carmelo Anthony, but every player mentioned above is extremely talented, very unselfish, and plays at both ends of the court.  Smith also puts an end, once and for all, to the speculation about 6'11 Malick Badiane from The Senegal and 6'1 Soph Eric Price from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD both surfacing this year at Oak Hill.  Price apparently was the odd-man-out with all the talented guards currently in the Oak Hill program and, as a result, may end up at someplace like Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  As for Badiane, he is already 18-years-old and doesn't have the grades necessary to graduate from Oak Hill in only one year.  Remember, Smith tries not to take guys who are also going to need another year of prep school once they get out of Oak Hill.  Instead, it appears that Oak Hill is going to get 6'6 Jr Churchill Odia-Ehis from Nigeria, who is ranked #19 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Smith tells us it's not a done deal just yet, because all the paperwork isn't complete and Odia-Ehis is still back at home The Senegal.  Without Odia-Ehis, Oak Hill would still be terrific, but with him, they almost have to be the pre-season #1-ranked team in the nation by anybody who isn't totally out to lunch.  Remember, our International Chris Johnson thinks Odia-Ehis is currently the best 18-under player on the entire continent of Africa.  This also is the guy who was named the Best Defender at Five-Star's Pitt III session.  A lot of people think he can't shoot, because he was perfectly happy to give up the basketball at the NIKE All-American Camp this summer.  As a matter of fact, he had several games at NIKE where he never scored a single point.  However, we saw him hit more than his share of 3-pointers in the Orange-White All-Star Game at Five-Star in Pittsburgh, PA and in the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  But what Smith likes best about Odia-Ehis is his feel for the game. "Right now he's probably more of a two or a three," says Smith.  "But down the road, I'll probably play Odia-Ehis some at point guard, as well as on the wing."  Getting back to Joynes, Maryland, Virginia, and Providence are also still on his list, but it would be a major upset if the Wolverines don't get this one done sooner than later.  Not only has Michigan done the best job recruiting Joynes, but they also have all the right connections.  Not only did Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker establish a lasting friendship with Smith when Amaker as an assistant coach at Duke, but Wolverines assistant coach Billy Schmidt was one of Smith's assistant coaches at Oak Hill Academy from 1992 to 1994, prior to moving onto Tennessee and Northwestern with Kevin O'Neill and Seton Hall and Michigan with Amaker. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that N.C. State also has gotten an early verbal commitment from one of the more unheralded players in the Class of 2004.  We're talking about 6'9 Jr Cedric Simmons from Shallotte (West Brunswick) NC, who is ranked #81 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but who has yet to show up on a lot of people's radar screen.  However, the big prize for the Wolfpack would be 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, who was ranked #5 in the junior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP prior to the start of the summer and is now ranked #2 on our 5th year list behind 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ.  N.C. State and Arizona appear to be the co-favorites for Shakur and, if Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek can pull this off, he would have one of the premier backcourts in college basketball, as well as one of the best teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, for at least the next three years.  Johnson also looks good on his prediction earlier this month with regards to Paul Biancardi becoming the associate head coach at Ohio State.  If you will recall, right after Bruce Parkhill called it quits two week ago, Johnson told us that Biancardi would likely be moved into Parkhill's spot and Monte Mathis would likely move up from his adminstrative spot into the third assistant's spot.  Well, it looks like Johnson was two-for-two, because that's exactly what happened yesterday.  We also previously have reported that 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Pineville (H.S.) LA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is on the verge of transferring to Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX.  However, we haven't told you that 6'10 Jr Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC also is considering transferring to Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX.   As a matter of fact, our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, who runs the Georgia Elite AAU program for which Tangara plays, confirms this, plus Davis tells us that the Arizona and Charlotte are the latest schools on Tangara's list,which currently also includes North Carolina, Michigan, Memphis, Tennessee, and Georgia.   And in both cases the connections are extremely interesting.  Did you know that Tangara's roommate at Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC is none other than 6'11 Martin Iti, who already is verbally committed to the 49ers?  Did you also know that Hal Pastner, who is the director of the Houston Hoops club team program; Josh Pastner, who is the assistant coach at Arizona; and Jerome Tang, who is the head coach at Heritage Christian, are all closely connected?  Obviously the Pastner's are father and son and Tang is one of the coaches for the Houston Hoops program.  In other words, if Tangara is going to transfer to Heritage Christian, Davis needs to make sure that Tangara will continue to play for his Georgia Elite Team and not get recruited away to the Houston Hoops.  Davis also might be smart to take advantage of his relationship with Pastner to get some of the outstanding young Houston Hoops players, 6'3 Jr Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX and 5'10 Frosh Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, to play for the U.S. Team that he takes to play in the World Junior National Tournament in Douai, France every spring.  Speaking of that team, Davis tells us that he already has 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH and 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH lined up to play in next year's game, plus he has Brookhaven head coach Bruce Howard penciled in as one of the coaches for the team.  However, the supreme coup will be for Davis to make the same move, whereby, he also gets Atlanta Celtics head coach Wallace Prather to be one of the coaches and gets 6'10 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Jr Joshua Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA, 6'8 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, and 6'5 Dwayne Day from Vidalia (H.S.) GA as part of the package.  Just imagine how good Lavander would be if he had guys like Howard, Smith, Morris, Day, Tangara, and Foust to get the ball to both inside and out on the perimter?  

Saturday, August 17, 2002, Sunday, August 18, 2002, & Monday, August, 19, 2002

We finally caught up with our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson and he confirms that 6'9 Emmanuel Willis from Mendenhall (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #81 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, did indeed verbally commit to Mississippi on Wednesday, August 14th.  If you will recall, we predicted this would happen last Tuesday, but never followed up with any kind of confirmation.  Johnson also tells us that Ole Miss has gotten a late addition in 6'5 Patrick Fields from San Antonio (John Jay) TX, who will walk-on this year, but will receive a scholarship a year from now.  Fields, who played AAU ball this summer with Texas Blue Chip and is multi-dimensional enough to be a good role player at three different positions, including point guard, will join 6'3 Trey Pearson from South Fulton (H.S.) TN, who signed with the Rebels in the spring; 6'3 Jonathan Loe, who sat out last season at Ole Miss as a red-shirt freshman; and 6'2 Mario Jointer, who is expected to sign with Ole Miss this fall and have three years of eligibility remaining; to give the Rebels four excellent sophomore guards in the program a year from now.  If you will recall, Jointer originally signed with the Rebels out of high school, but then went the junior college route.  Last year Jointer was one of the best freshmen guards in the nation at Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, but now he has transferred to Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS, where he will sit out this season.  And Jointer isn't the only player who has followed this path.  Remember, three years ago 6'3 David Sanders, who orginally signed with the Rebels as a high school senior, played a year at Tallahassee (JC) FL, but then transferred to Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS, where he sat out a year and then had three years of eligibility remaining at Mississippi.  So with so many good young guards already in the Mississippi program, Johnson doesn't think it's much of a surprise that 6'3 Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #124 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will be one that gets away.  Johnson tells us that Tulane and Fresno State are currently the leaders for Camper, who is the ultimate combo guard, because he's such a great passer, plus he's got nice size and good athleticism.  However, that could change, if the Southeastern Conference rule, which states that you have to attend the same junior college for three consecutive semesters prior to tranferring to a SEC school, messes things up with Jointer, and, if Willis reneges on Ole Miss.  Apparently Souther Miss isn't taking no for an answer and, as a result, the Golden Eagles are continuing to recruit Willis.  If that weren't enough, Johnson also confirms that it's a two-horse between Mississippi State and LSU for 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS and he predicts that Jackson (Lanier ) MS will be a legitimate top 25 team nationally this season, if everybody who has transferred to that school gets eligible this season.  Previously we'd reported that 6'7 Jr Charles Thomas, who is ranked #89 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Bobby Clark, who is ranked #100 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, both had transferred from Jackson (Calloway) MS to Jackson (Lanier) MS.  Well, now Johnson is telling us that 6'7 Charles Rhodes, who is ranked #79 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has transferred from Forest (H.S.) MS to Jackson (Lanier) MS.  In other words, Lanier has added three top 100 juniors, plus they already have 6'2 Soph Monte Ellis, who is ranked as one of the top five sophomores in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  Thomas, Clark, and Rhodes are also teammates, along with 6'9 Jr Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS and 5'11 Jr Charlie White from Jackson (Provine) MS, on the Jackson Tigers club team and it will be interesting to see if these three players don't get recruited again.  Currently the word on the street is that Thomas Billups, who is the head coach of Jackson Lanier and the director of the Magnolia Stars club team program, may switch shoe company affliations from NIKE to adidas.  This is important, because Billups has a history of making sure his players play for his program, which obviously is in direction competition with the Jackson Tigers. 

I got a call last night from 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to tell me that he is still wide open in terms of his recruitment.  If you will recall, last week we cited an unnamed source who thinks the Universit of Texas may now be the team to beat for Ebi, but also pointed out that Duke, Arizona, and Indiana are all very much in the picture.  Well, we still think our source, who thinks Texas is in better shape than anybody realizes, has enough credibility to not totally disregard.  However, you can't get any better source than the player himself.  Speaking of Ebi, we've maintained since last spring that Duke was the school you had to beat for this amazing athlete with tremendous shot blocking ability, explosive speed and quickness, an incredible wing span, and the potential to be as good as anybody in the class, except for 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1-ranked player in the senior class nationally.  We also thought Duke was the heavy favorite for 6'7 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but we're starting to wonder what's taking so long?  In other words, the longer Deng and Ebi both drag it out, the better the odds become that they'll go elsewhere.  A good example is George Washington, which is attempting to make a serious push for Deng, who is expected to be on campus for an official visit within the next few days.   Remember, George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs recruited Ajou Ajou Deng, who is Deng's older brother, to Connecticut, plus GW assistant coach Steve Pikiell has done a superb job of recruiting Deng for the Colonials.  And Deng isn't the only top 100 player that George Washington will have on campus within a week's time.  Did you know that 6'4 Andres Sandoval from Winchendon (School) MA, who is ranked #26 on our 5th year list, but who would be a top 100 senior if he counted with the Class of 2003, was at GW over the weekend and 6'2 Art Bowers from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #88 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will be on campus later this week.  So obviously we weren't kidding last week when we said that 6'5 LaKeith Blanks from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, who is ranked #17 on our list of the Top 50 5th Year Players and has been a prime target for the Colonials for a long time, might be out of luck, if he wants to go to George Washington and doesn't pull the trigger soon.  We also have confirmed that Colorado State got a commitment recently from 7'0 Stuart Creason from Coppell (H.S.) TX.  Creason was not listed on our updated list of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003, but he has grown to 7-feet and was getting attention from schools like Utah, Oregon, and Illinois.  In other words, it looks like the Rams have stolen their fourth player out of Texas in less than a year.  If you will recall, last fall Colorado State signed 6'3 Michael Morris from Katy (Cinco Ranch) TX and 6'4 Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX, who were ranked #165 and #182, respectively, nationally in our final ranking of the top players in the Class of 2002, plus they also have an early verbal commitment from 6'8 Phil Thomasson from Burleson (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #149 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  So it comes as no surprise when people tell us that Colorado State assistant coach Buzz Williams is a name we need to add to our list of top assistant coaches.  Not only is he one of the best evaluators of talent, but he appears to be one of the fastest rising guys in the business.   Another guy who is tough to say no to is Oregon assistant coach Scott Duncan.  As a matter of fact, when we reported last week that 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, had narrowed his list to five (Florida, Indiana, Georgia, UNLV, and USC), Duncan got that changed in a hurry.  Ariza now plans to take an unofficial visit to USC and, as a result, the Ducks will make an in-home visit and get an official on-campus visit.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis also tells us that 6'7 Doug Thomas from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC has not met the necessary academic requirements to be eligible as a freshman at the University of Iowa and, as a result, has enrolled at Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA.

Friday, August 16, 2002

How can 6'1 Jr Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Jr Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'9 Jr Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Jr Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'8 Jr D.J. White from Tucaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'7 Jr Stanley Branch from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Jr Roy Bright from Durham (Northern Durham) NC, and 6'8 Jr Kalen Grimes from Florissant (Hazelwood Central) MO not be ranked among the top 10 players in the junior class nationally?  That's the question I was asking myself earlier today when I published our Post Summer Ranking of the Top 280 Players in the Class of 2004.  I bring this up, because it provides just one more illustration why the next great class in high school basketball will likely be the current junior class.  If you will recall, there were almost as many underclassmen as there were seniors ranked on our top 50 players at the NIKE All-American Camp.  And the #1-ranked player by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas ABCD Camp - 6'9 Jr Joshua Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA, the best player at the adidas Big-Time Tournament - 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, and the best player at the NIKE Peach Jam - 6'9 Jr Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, were all juniors.   As matter of fact, we think a strong case can be made that the junior class nationally is as good as the senior class right now.  However, there are still some important questions that must be answered before we're ready to started touting the Class of 2004 as the next great class in college basketball.  Like, will these guys fall into the same trap that many of the top current seniors have fallen into by getting too much notoriety too early, reading their press clippings, and feeling like they have nothing more to prove.  In other words, consistency, pride, and going to war every night still counts, at least in our book, if you want to be one of the top players in the nation.  Also extremely interesting is the trend, whereby, a number of the top juniors nationally have already made verbal commitments a full two years prior to when they are expected to enroll into college at a four-year school.  Already gone are 12 of our top 100 juniors, as 6'2 Jr DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA has picked Duke, 6'2 Jr JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC has picked North Carolina, 6'5 Jr Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN has picked Purdue, 6'2 Jr Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH has picked Cincinnati, 6'6 Jr J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN has picked Iowa, 6'11 Jr Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI has picked Wisconsin, 6'6 Jr Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI has picked Michigan, 6'5 Jr Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX has picked Arizona, 6'10 Jr Jermaine Bell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA has picked St. John's, 6'7 Jr Marquis Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI to picked Michigan State, 7'0 Jr Roy Hibbert from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD has picked Georgetown, and 6'5 Jr Cheyenne Moore from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD has picked Georgetown.  And the list doesn't stop there, as 6'9 Jr Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN verbally committed to Minnesota earlier this week, 5'9 Jr Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI has picked Michigan State, 6'4 Jr Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV has picked Kentucky, 6'2 Jr Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI has picked Wisconsin, 6'3 Jr Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI has picked Xavier, and 6'0 Jr Enrico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA has picked San Diego.  That's 18 of our top 280 already off the board, plus several other players, including 6'3 Jr Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA to Penn State and 6'0 Desmond Gadis from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Purdue, who are not ranked among our top 280 nationally, are also already verbally committed.  In other words, the trend in recent years, whereby, a school gets as many players as possible on campus for unofficial  visits when they are sophomores and freshmen, appears to be working.   However, this also can be double-edged sword, because in some cases a school may not want to take a verbal commitment from a player this early and/or may realize they made a major mistake later on, if the player doesn't develop as expected, has off-the-court problems, or somebody better comes along. 

Thursday, August 15, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'9 Jr Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN, who was ranked #12 at the center spot at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Minnesota.  This is significant for several reasons.  First, Tollackson is a home grown kid and, it's always important to get the best kids, especially early, from right in your own backyard.   Second, Tollackson is a strong physical specimen with surprisingly mobile.   "He's not a quick leaper, but he's quick around the basket," says Johnson. "He's also is an excellent rebounder and skilled around the basket."   As a matter of fact, Johnson thought Tollackson was impressive enough at the NIKE All-American Camp to get top 100 national consideration, plus he points out that Tollackson led the Minnestoa Magic to a third place in 16-Under AAU Tournament in July.  Johnson also tells us that Seton Hall is out of the hunt for 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who is ranked #10 nationally in the sneior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Apparently the Pirates only have one scholarship remaining and that precludes Seton Hall head coach Louie Orr from taking Lavender and 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who is ranked #74 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, together as a package.  If you will recall, Lavender and Foust have expressed a strong desire to go together to the same school as a package and the five schools that are on both players' lists are Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Marquette, and Clemson.  Johnson's guess is that it will be Pittsburgh and we tend to agree.   As a matter of fact, Pittsburgh head coach Ben Howland spent most of July focusing on these two players and, if he added Foust and Lavender to a recruiting class that already includes 6'9 Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, who is ranked #67 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, then we'd be talking about one of the top recruiting classes in the Big East.  We also would watch Pittsburgh's recruiting class move up to #5 behind Louisville, Michigan State, California, and Memphis on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if they also landed 6'9 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, who is ranked #43 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, then Pittsburgh's recruiting class would move into the #1 spot just ahead of Louisville.  We also continue to hear that 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Pineville (H.S.) LA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is on the verge of transferring to Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX.  However, sources in Houston tell us that it hasn't happened yet.  We also are hearing that Texas may now be the leader for 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  But we're still not willing to bet against Duke, especially once they get him on campus this fall for an official visit.  And don't rule out Arizona and Indiana either.  Remember, the Wildcats have all the right connections with assistant coach Josh Pastner, whose father runs the Houston Hoops club team program, and Hoosiers head coach Mike Davis has made Ebi a top recruiting priority all spring and summer.  As a matter of fact, Davis was one of the most visible head coaches of the summer, thanks, at least in part, to Ebi.

Wednesday, August 14, 2002

When I talk about the Class of 2006 potentially being one of the great classes in the history of the game, I do so with a great deal of confidence.  Not only did I spend a good part of the first six days in August at the 14-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL, but have personally seen the top 11 players - 6'9 Frosh Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'9 Frosh Vernon Macklin from Portmouth (Norcom) VA, 5'8 Frosh Demond Carter from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'6 Frosh Durell Arthur from Dallas, TX, 5'9 Frosh Nick Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, 6'8 Frosh Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'2 Frosh Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'2 Frosh Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, 6'6 Frosh Tracy Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'8 Frosh Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'8 Frosh Brandon Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TX - in the class all on more than one occasion.  Ironically, the highest rated player in the class that I haven't seen is 7'1 Frosh Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who previously was ranked #2, but who drops to #12.  Obviously you're probably wondering how a player can drop 10 spots without even being seen.  First, I found out he's white.  Remember, I have a bias against big white kids who are overhyped due to their size and potential.  Second, I'm continue to hear how much potential Bennett has, but that's always followed up with how his coordination hasn't caught up with his skills yet and, as a result, he still has a long way to go before he's a finished product.  Well, more and more, my philosophy is let him earn, especially in this class.  In other words, if you want to be ranked among the top 10 in the Class of 2006 , you'd better be pretty darn good right now.  Remember, Caracter and Carter were both ranked among the top 10 players regardless of class by the HOOP SCOOP in early July at the NIKE All-American Camp; Macklin is one of the best most athletic and naturally talented freshmen I've ever seen; Arthur is an incredible multi-dimensional athlete who can beat you both inside and outside; Wise puts up ridiculous numbers, but also has a great feel for the game and knows how to keep his teammates happy; Oden has been the big man inside for the Indy Spiece Heat, which have dominated this age group for years; Smith, Smith, & Smith were catalysts for Team Detroit/B-Real and DTA-Wisconin, which were the two teams that played for the 14-Under AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL; Kelly promises to be the next great big man to come out of New York City; and Wright is a sleeper out of Tennessee.  Obviously the deeper we go (in this case 150 freshman), the more there is margin for error.  Remember, some players will grow and continue to develop, while others will plateau and get passed up.  So, if somebody you know about is not on the list, feel free to call me at (502) 500-4667.  However, don't get bent out of shape if you think we have somebody too low or not on the list at all, because we have three more years to get it right.  In other words, this is a great starting point, but some parents and coaches want to treat it like it's the final ballot for the McDonald's All-American Game. 

Verbal commitments continue to come in at a steady pace.  Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio has the scoop on Hofstra getting a verbal commitment from 6'9 Brian Sisti from Northport (H.S.) NY.  And he thinks this is a good catch for the Flying Dutchmen, because Sisti is a blue collar wide body with excellent grades.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that San Diego has added a transfer in 6'5 Brett Melton, plus the Toreros have gotten an early commitment from 6'0 Jr Enrico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA.  Melton is transferring from the University of Illinois and will have two years to play at San Diego after sitting out next season   Ironically, Milton is returning to the city where he had one of the finest performances of his career three years ago in the semi-finals of the NIKE Summer National Basketball Championship.  If you will recall, Melton hit eight 3-pointers and had 37 points in the Illinois Warriors incredible upset against New York Riverside Church, which at the time was undefeated as the end of the summer quickly approached.  Tucker is an athletic point guard who is ranked #19 in the junior class in California by our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis.  However, we suspect Trigonis will move Tucker up in his rankings, because he at an excellent summer and evidence of this is provided by the fact that Tucker made the Top 25 All-Star Game at the 5th Annual Full-Court Press All-West Camp in July.  We also have confirmed that Houston has landed 6'3 Lanny Smith from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, who is ranked #274 nationally on our list of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003, and the College of Charleston has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'9 Jeff Horowitz from Charlotte (South Mecklenburg) NC.  Smith joins 6'4 Parker Pinkalla from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, who verbally committed to the University of Houston last spring.  Pinkalla is a lights out 3-point shooter and Smith has the skills necessary to play point guard at 6'3.  In other words, Cougars head head coach Ray McCallum has landed a pair of guards who should complement one another nicely in the future.  Horowitz isn't ranked among our top 300 nationally, but the list of schools - William & Mary, Middle Tennessee State, Davidson, Holy Cross, Princeton, and Pennsylvania - that were recruiting him is extremely impressive, plus N.C. State and Stanford have also started to show recent interest.  Horowitz, who also is a great student, has excellent skills and is tough on the boards, as was evident at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA, where he finished ranked as the 5th leading rebounder in the tournament with 7.2 rpg.  Horowitz joins 6'2 David Truesdale from Dodge City (JC) KS, who verbally committed to the College of Charleston, to give the Cougars a recruiting class that is tied at #25, along with Seton Hall, Boston College, Purdue, Gonzaga, and Marquette, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  This also puts Cougars head coach Tommy Herrion in an extremely enviable position, because he only has one more scholarship available for this recruiting class.   If you will recall, last spring the Cougars signed 6'4 Marcus Johnson from Tallahassee (JC) FL and 6'7 Isaiah "Zeke" Johnson from Palm Beach (JC) FL, plus they added a transfer in 6'4 Robert Swaim, who was transferring from the University of Connecticut.  In other words, every player Herrion has landed since taking over at the College of Charleston last spring is good enough to play at an even higher level. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2002

The first day that a player in the Class of 2003 can officially sign a National Letter-of-Intent is Wednesday, November 13, 2002.   That's three months from today!  However, over half of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 seniors nationally have already verbally committed.  Actually the number currently stands at 51 and tomorrow morning it is expected to increase to 52 when 6'8 Emmanuel Willis from Mendenhall (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #81 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, makes it official for the University of Mississippi.   Also already off the board are 12 of our top 25 and 24 of our top 50-ranked seniors.  And when you take an more in-depth look, 94 of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003 are already gone.   Also already gone are three of the top five, six of the top 13, and nine of the Top 50 5th Year Players.   Speaking of our updated rankings of the top seniors and 5th year players, both of which were published yesterday, we have made two minor changes.  First, we have taken 6'1 Jamual Warren from Holyoke (H.S.) MA off our 5th year list and added onto our senior list tied at #100, along with 6'7 Ije Nwankwo from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI.  Although Warren may ultimately require a 5th year of high school a year from now, the word we get is that he currently is only beginning his 7th semester of high school and, as a result, is a true high school senior.  Second, we have moved 6'8 Emmanuel Messy from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH into Warren's old spot at #31 on our 5th year list.  Obviously we will continue to make changes and make additions to our 5th year list as players we didn't know about surface this fall, but we don't plan on making any more revisions to our senior rankings until we update that list again a month from now.   Getting back to Willis, he is ideally suited for the the Rebels, because this athletic power forward who is aggressive on the boards and exciting in transition is a thoroughbred.  As a matter of fact, he reminds us of former Cincinnati All-American Kenyon Martin in many ways.  And, if his offensive skills improve,Willis has the natural talent and potential to develop into the time of player.  Willis also is the stereotypical player that Rebels head coach Rod Barnes and his staff have made a living off during the last four years.  During their tenure Ole Miss has not signed one McDonald's All-American, but they have been as good as anybody in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference, as they have advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times, the NIT Tournament once, and have finished with an impressive 86-46 overall record.

It looks like George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs is continuing to build the Colonials into a powerhouse they same way he helped do it at the University of Connecticut.  When Hobbs got the job a year ago, the first thing he did was to hire a great coaching staff, which included Kevin Broadus.   Not only does Broadus know the Washington, DC area like the back of his hand, but also reminds us of Hobbs in many ways with his astute ability when it comes to evaluating talent and focusing in on who he can get.  In other words, last year's recruiting class, which featured 6'9 Omar Williams from Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA, 6'7 Nana Mensah-Bensu from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'11 Alex Kireyev from Shreveport (Evangel Christian) LA, 6'6 Mike Hall from Palos Heights (Shepard) IL, 6'4 Carl Elliott from Pauling (Trinity Pauling) NY, was no accident.  And speaking of that class, did you know that this group won the Freshman Division in the tough DC Kenner League this summer?   All this is important, because George Washington added another important piece to the puzzle today when the Colonials got a verbal commitment from 6'4 Ricky Lucas from Herndon (H.S.) VA.  Currently Lucas ranks no higher than #112 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but he's got the talent and potential to be a legitimate top 20 or 30 player nationally in his class.  He also is currently the consensus #2-ranked senior in the Washington, DC area behind 6'8 Omari Isreal from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD.  However, it hasn't all fallen together yet for Lucas, as he's been at three difference schools - Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and Herndon (H.S.) VA - in the last three years and up until this point has been an underachiever.  And Lucas isn't the only player that George Washington is hoping to steal this fall.  As a matter of fact, we're kind of surprised that 6'5 LaKeith Blanks from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, who is ranked #17 on our list of the Top 50 5th Year Players and is a prime target for the Colonials, hasn't already made it official for George Washington.  There is no doubt in our mind that George Washington will take both Lucas and Blanks, but we also know that GW is involved with a number of other talented perimeter players.  In other words, the scholarship may not be there forever.  We also understand that Boston College has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'1 Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) MA, who is ranked #28 nationally on our list of the Top 50 5th Year Players.  However, don't let that fool you.  Not only would Hailey be a ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, if we included him on that list, but he has good understanding of the game, is an excellent outside shooter, and the speed, quickness, and athleticism to be succesful at the big time college level.  All he lacks is size.  Hailey joins 6'9 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who is ranked #143 on our list of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003, to move the Eagles recruiting class into a tie at #25, along with Seton Hall, Marquette, Purdue, and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Another school that continues to impress us with their ability to get players who will could to develop in their program is Baylor.  If you will recall, the Bears landed a recruiting class two years ago that included 6'9 Lawrence Roberts from Houston (Lamar) TX, 6'6 Roderick Neely from McLennan (JC) TX, 6'3 Kenny Taylor from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, and 5'11 John Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX and last spring they signed 6'6 Terrance Thomas from Lon Morris (JC) TX, 6'4 Ellis Kidd form Seminole State (JC) OK, 6'9 Tommy Swanson from North Crowley (JC) TX, and 5'10 Robert Hart from Paris (JC) TX.  In other words, the Bears should have one of the best forward duos in college basketball the next two years with Roberts and Thomas and more inside help is on the way with today's addition of 6'9 Tyrone Nelson from Hempstead (H.S.) TX.  No, John Eurey, who has ridiculously overhyped Nelson for almost a year, we've not talking about one of the top 10 or 15 seniors in the nation.  However, Nelson, who checks in at #125 our list of the top seniors, does have a lot of potential, as well as the athleticism, mobility, and hands necessary to develop into a quality player down the road.  In other words, Nelson could turn out to be a steal for Baylor, once he gets bigger and stronger and develops under Dave Bliss tutorage.  And Nelson isn't the only player that Baylor may steal this fall, as the Bears are also appear to be the favorite for 6'7 Andrew Francis from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who is ranked #87 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  What makes Francis so intriguing are his athleticism, skills, versatility, and understanding of the game, which allows him to play point guard at 6'7.   Apparently Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight also is intrigued enough with Francis to make him a prime recruiting target.  We know that, because Knight made it a point to personally watch Francis on the first day at the adidas Big Tournament in Las Vegas, NV. 

Saturday, August 10, 2002, Sunday, August 11, 2002, and Monday, August 12, 2002

Over the weekend Wright State got a verbal commitment from 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN and today Syracuse landed 6'3 Louis McCroskey from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and Butler got 6'11 James Smalligan from Grand Rapids (East) MI.  Our Michigan Editor Steve Bell calls Smalligan is "a project," but Smalligan is the biggest player in the state, has grown nine inches in the last two years, and has excellent skills facing the basket.  So it should come as no surprise that Smalligan is ranked as the final player on our list of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003, which we've been working on all weekend and published today.  We also have published our list of the Top 50 5th Year Players and, hopefully, this will avoid the confusion that often occurs with people who aren't familiar with our editorial policy, whereby, we rank players separately once they reach their 9th semester of high school.  Getting back to the three most recent commitments, Smalligan's commitment to Butler moves the Bulldogs recruiting class into a tie at #20, along with Northern Iowa, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Smalligan also is the third player Butler has landed in the last 10 days.  If you will recall, Butler also has received verbal commitments from 6'5 Nick Brooks from Robinson (H.S.) IL, who is ranked #156 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Brandon Crone from Frankfort (H.S.) IN, who is ranked #172 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  In other words, the Bulldogs continue to get the same type of players, who will fit into the system and have a lot of upside, that has made them so successful in recent years.  McCroskey is another guy with a great upside, but after watching him lead the Bronx Ravens to the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, we have to admit that he's pretty good right now.  As a matter of fact, McCroskey, who is like a jack-of-all-trades, was so instrumental in the Ravens' success that he even deserved consideration for tournament MVP honors.  "Whatever you need him to do, he'll do," says his high school coach Gary DeCesare.  "If you need somebody to handle the ball or run the team, he'll play point guard.  If you need a big shot out on the perimeter, he'll make it.  If you need somebody to play inside, he'll do it.  If you need a big rebound, he'll get it."  McCroskey is the ultimate team player and, as a result, we project him as the perfect role player for the Orangemen.   However, if McCroskey contiunes to develop at his present pace, he will likely turn out to be a lot better than just a role player and, thus, explains why he's ranked #66 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP on our Top 300 Players in the Class of 2003.  This is also important for "The Cuse," because it's always good for head coach Jim Boeheim and his staff to get their fair share of the top players in New York City, plus it allows them to set their sights on a landing a pair of big men.  If you will recall, Syracuse landed 6'7 Demetrius Nichols from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, who is ranked #56 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, last spring and, with the addition of McCroskey, their recruiting class now moves into a tie at #11, along with Kansas, Michigan, and Villanova, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if Syracuse also gets 6'8 Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who is ranked #35 nationally on our list of the top seniors, then, the Orangemen's class would move up to #4 behind California and ahead of Memphis.  Currently Syracuse is believed to be the favorite for Roberts, but they'd also are among the leaders for 6'9 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY and 6'10 Courtney Sims from Dedham (Noble & Greenough) MA.  In case you've forgotten about Webster, he's the guy who led that overachieving Billy Shepherd team to the final four at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  He also reminds us of former Purdue star Brian Cardinal, because he's a tough hardnosed competitor who will simply find a way to beat you either inside with aggressiveness and power on the boards and surpring agility around the basket or outside with his ability to pull up and hit the three.  In other words, we think Webster, who ranked #94 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is an absolute steal for Wright State.  And we're glad to see that Raiders head coach Ed Schilling was able to pull this off, despite the fact everybody saw how well Webster played at the adidas Big Time Tournament.  If you will recall, Webster told us at the time that Wright State was the leader over schools like Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois.

Friday, August 9, 2002

It looks like first-year College of Charleston head coach Tommy Herrion continues to get players with the talent to play at a much higher level than the Southern Conference.  If you will recall, last spring the Cougars signed 6'4 Marcus Johnson from Tallahassee (JC) FL and 6'7 Isaiah "Zeke" Johnson from Palm Beach (JC) FL, plus they added a transfer in 6'4 Robert Swaim, who was transferring from the University of Connecticut.  And now they have gotten a verbal commitment from 6'2 David Truesdale from Dodge City (JC) KS.   Originally Truesdale is from Charlotte (Garinger) NC, so the College of Charleston had a geographical advantage over schools like New Mexico and South Alabama and they could compete with schools like UNC-Wilmington, East Carolina, and Winthrop for Truesdale's services.  However, that wouldn't have been the case, if Truesdale had attended any of the top junior college camps this summer.  Not only is Truesdale a prolific scorer and a big time athlete, but the word is that he's just as good the three guys Herrion stole in the spring.  We also have the latest list for 6'10 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, which includes Kansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Wyoming, Nebraska, DePaul, Indiana, and Minnesota.  Arizona, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Georgia, LSU, and Louisiana Tech are the favorites for 6'7 Paul Millsap from Grambling (H.S.) LA.  Texas Christian and Indiana are the leaders over SMU and Arizona State for 6'8 Chris Low from Tyler (Gorman) TX.  Arizona and N.C. State still appear to be the two you have to beat for 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, but Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and possibly even Temple are also in the hunt.  If you will recall, Villanova was eliminated from the Shakur sweepstakes last week when the Wildcats got 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  North Carolina and Connecticut, also were also on Shakur's list, but the Connecticut are waiting on 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to make his official visit and then commit and the Tar Heels only have two scholarships remaining in the Class of 2003 and Class of 2004 and they need to sign a pair of quality big guys.   Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA will make official visits to Florida, Indiana, USC, Georgia, and UNLV.   Trigonis also tells us that his Full Court Press Showcase is set for Sunday, September 8th, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, CA and his Full Court Press Fall Hoops Classic is tentatively scheduled to be held at Lynnwood High School in Lynwood, CA, Friday, September 13th, through Sunday, September 15th.  We plan to attend both events, but won't be at his Full Court Press All Frosh/Soph Camp, October 4th-6th.  Instead, we'll be in the East that weekend at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.   Trigonis also tells us that the schedule is set for the 9th Annual Dream Classic at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, January 4th, and already he's touting it as one of the biggest events of the entire winter, as the feature game will match-up Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA against Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH.   In other words, we may be talking about the about the #1 high school team in the nation (Mater Dei) against the #1 player in the nation - 6'7 Lebron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH.  And immediately following that game it will be Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair versus Vallejo (H.S.) CA with 6'2 Jr DeMarcus Nelson.  The rest of the schedule will include Los Angeles (Loyola) CA with 6'3 Omar Wilkes versus Lakewood (Mayfair) CA with 6'6 Justin Hawkins, Carson (H.S.) with 6'8 Ekene Ibekwe versus Compton (Centennial) CA with 6'1 Jr Gabriel Pruitt and 6'3 Jr Aaron Affalo, and Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA with 6'5 Soph Jamaal Boykin and Los Angeles (University) CA with 6'6 Ruben Boykin in what promises to be the battle between the brothers.  In an interesting sidenote, Trigonis is now telling us that Wilkes is one of the fastest rising players in the nation.   No, Wilkes hasn't decided to stop playing for the Pump's and play for Trigonis' Belmont Shore club team.  But Wilkes younger brother - 6'9 Frosh Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA - has decided to play for Belmont Shore.  

Mike Sullivan of RivalsHoops.com is reporting the University of Memphis has gotten a verbal commitment today from 6'7 Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ.  Banks was ranked #34 prior to the start of the summer, but he will be ranked among our top 20 nationally after finishing ranked #9 by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas ABCD Camp, as well as #2 at the wing forward spot.  We're talking about a big-time athlete who plays above the rim, thrives in transition, and shoots the three.   Normally a school in the Deep South wouldn't be able to go into a New Jersey and beat all the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference schools for somebody like Banks, but Calipari has already had a lot of practice dating back to the days of Louis Roe and Marcus Camby at Massachusetts and more recently with the Camden Connection of Dajuan Wagner and Arthur Barclay.   And Calipari isn't exactly a carpetbagger to the area.  Remember, Calipari previously was the head coach of the New Jersey Nets, as well as an assistant coach for Larry Brown with the Philadelphia 76ers.  This is the second top 20 player that Memphis has gotten a commitment from this week.  If you will recall, the Tigers also landed 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX, who will be ranked #13 nationally when we update our rankings within the next few days, on Sunday.  And, if that weren't enough, Memphis also got a commitment from 6'8 Michael Ford from Fitchburg (Notre Dame Prep) MA on Monday and, as a result, their recruiting class is now tied at #3 with California on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Speaking of our rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, we've been alluding to that list a lot recently, but now we have published this list, which includes in order Louisville, Michigan State, Memphis, California, Illinois, Wake Forest, Florida, Valparaiso, Alabama, Mississippi State, Kansas, Michigan, Villanova, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Duke, Georgetown, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Kansas State, Missouri, Seton Hall, Marquette, Gonzaga, and Purdue.  The Big-10 appears to be the clear winner, as Michigan State and Illinois both check in with top five classes to-date and Michigan State, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, and Purdue are ranked among the 26 schools on the list.   Conference USA with Louisville and Memphis also has two schools ranked among the top five, but only one other school (Marquette) in Conference USA is ranked among the top 25.  Instead, the Conference that has ties the Big-10 with the most schools on our list is the Southeastern Conference with Florida, Alabama, Mississippi State, Georgia, and LSU. 

Thursday, August 8, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Ohio State associate head coach Bruce Parkhill decided to call it quits yesterday and that means that long-time Jim O'Brien assistant coach Paul Biancardi is expected to be named the new associate head coach for the Buckeyes.  This important, because it also means that Monte Mathis, who was temporarily moved up last winter when Dave Spillar took a leave-of-absence and eventually got out of coaching, will move into the third assistant spot once again to join Biancardi and LaMonta Stone, who previously was an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and the head coach at River Rouge (H.S.) MI, to form one of the young best coaching staffs in the nation.  As a matter of fact, Biancardi will be ranked as the #1 assistant coach in the nation when we update our rankings of the top coaches sometime this fall.  As it stands now Biancardi will edge out Louisville's Mick Cronin, who moves up from #3 to #2; Villanova's Fred Hill, who will move up from #7 to #3; Michigan State's Brian Gregory, who will move up from #13 to #4; and USC's Kurtis Townsend, who will move up from #8 to #5.  The rest of the list will be determined later, because right now we are focusing on revising our national player rankings and keeping up with the normal flow of verbal commitments, which currently stands at 26 since the beginning of August.  Make that 27, because Johnson now is telling us that Wisconsin has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'2 Kammron Taylor from Minneapolis (South) MN.  Prior to the start of the summer Taylor was ranked #245 nationally in the Class of 2003 by the HOOP SCOOP, but he moves way up after leading a well-balanced Howard Pulley team to the final four at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA.  Taylor is an excellent combo guard with good handling and passing skills, court savvy, and the ability to hit the three, but he's not good enough for 5'11 Jr Depree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, who was terrific when we saw him at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, to worry about, if the Badgers decide to recruit yet another guard a year from now (the popular opinion seems to be that Taylor's commitment will preclude the Badgers from signing Fletcher a year from now).  If you will recall, Wisconsin signed 6'3 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'4 Alando Tucker from Lockport (Township) IL, and 6'1 Marcetteus McGee from Chicago (Farragut) IL in their most recent recruiting class and they already have an early verbal commitment from 6'2 Jr Michael Flowers from Madison (LaFollette) WI in the Class of 2004.  In other words, the Badgers are loading up on backcourt players, but none of them comes close to Fletcher, who would be the perfect complement to 6'11Jr Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI, who verbally committed to Wisconsin last spring, and 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who is the Badgers prime recruiting target in the Class of 2003.   As for our National Player Rankings, the 5th year list will include 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ and 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, and 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, all three of whom would be ranked among the top 20 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  So please don't e-mail me or call me and tell me I;ve forgotten to include one or all of them on our list of the top seniors.  You will only make yourself look like a moron.  As a matter of fact, a number of people feel into this category last year, especially with regards to 6'10 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA and 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykesville (South Carroll) MD.  A sneak preview of our top dozen post-summer seniors in order includes 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'0 Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, 6'5 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Pineville (H.S.) LA, 6'5 J.R. Giddens from Oklahoma City (John Marshall) OK, 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, and 6'8 Ivan Harris from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Except for Ebi, who is just too good to drop any lower than 4th, to hell with all the overhyped pampered guys who have been reading their press clippings and didn't bring their "A" game part or all of the summer.  Our top six juniors in order are 6'9 Jr Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 Jr Josh Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA, 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'8 Jr Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, and 6'6 Jr Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL; our top six sophomores in order are 6'6 Soph Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 5'10 Soph Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, 6'2 Soph Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, 6'1 Soph Eric Price from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Soph Monte Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'2 Soph 6'1 Jr Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY; and our top six freshmen in order are 6'9 Frosh Derrick Carachter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'9 Frosh Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA, 5'8 Frosh Demond Carter from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'9 Frosh Durell Arthur from Dallas, TX, 5'9 Frosh Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, and 6'10 Frosh Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN. 

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'10 Jarrod Boswell from Lakeside (El Capitan) CA, who is currently ranked #267 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Wyoming.  Trigonis also points out that Boswell was a top 25 all-star at the 5th Annual Full-Court Press All-West Camp during the middle of July.  Boswell, who picked Wyoming over schools like San Diego State, Colorado State, and Santa Clara, isn't very athletic, but he is a physical specimen at 6'10, 240 lbs., and, as a result, this is an excellent catch for the Cowboys.  Trigonis also tells us that 6'3 Benas Veikalas from San Diego (Horizon) CA has signed with Metro State, which is the defending NCAA Division II National Champion, and he will eligible rate away because he graduated with the Class of 2002.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has beaten our Michigan Editor Steve Bell to the bunch by informing us about the commitment by 6'5 Eddie Spencer from Muskegon Heights (H.S.) MI, who is ranked #15 in the state on Bell's list of the top seniors, to Central Michigan.   We also have confirmed that 6'7 Gordon Klaiber from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD has signed with Hartford.  This is huge, because Klaiber has big time athleticism and talent, plus he's versatile enough to play both inside and outside.  And apparently the fact that Hawks head coach Larry Harrison promised Klaiber that he would play him on the wing, instead of inside, was what sealed the deal.  Right now Klaiber is about 6'7-1/2, but, just like his older brother - 6'10 Antric Klaiber who played college basketball at the University of Connecticut and now is playing in Europe, the younger Klaiber is still growing and, as a result, is expected to top out at 6'9 or 6'10.  It also appears that 6'10 Bernard Lowndes from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA is on the verge of making it official for Hartford.  Lowndes, who is originally from Potomac (Oxon Hill) MD, still has not qualified academically, but he is expected to enroll at Hartford as a walk-on, sit out the upcoming season, and receive a scholarship a year from now.  Lowndes is not a great player right now, but he's got an incredible wing span, is extremely athletic, and runs the floor like a deer.  In other words, Lowndes is like a poor man's version of 6'10 Hilton Armstrong from Peekskill (H.S.) NY, who turned out to be a steal for the University of Connecticut last spring.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the inquiry sign is now up on 6'3 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  If you will recall, we reported on Monday that Webb had verbally committed to Georgia Tech, but apparently Rubin's source didn't distinguish between something that was supposed to happen and something that had actually happened.  Ironically the same source told Rubin that 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ was a done deal for Villanova, but that hasn't happened yet either.  We also continue to get reports about the commitment 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA made to Mississippi State last week not being firm.  However, until Ervin officially reneges on the Bulldogs, we'll continue to count him as Rick Stansbury's latest recruit.  We also believe that Mississippi State is the team you have to beat for 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, although LSU also still has to be included on Butler's list.  Speaking of the Tigers, we still are counting 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who verbally committed last winter, with LSU.  If you will recall, Koundjia told a number of people in July that he wanted to re-open his recruitment, but he also never officially reneged on the Tigers.  Remember, LSU placed Koundjia at Laurinburg in the first place.  In other words, Laurinburg head coach Chris Chaney understands how the game is played and, as a result, we'd be majorly surprised if Koundjia ends up anywhere but LSU.  We are counting 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL as done for the University of Louisville, despite the fact he has yet to a have the press conference and make the official announcement.   Apparently the hold-up is that Lang's AAU coach James Harris wants to make the announcement via adidas.  However, Lang himself keeps telling people in our business that's done and the word we get is that Lang told the Cardinals coaching staff what they wanted hear when he was in Louisville, KY on Monday, August 5th.  I also get a kick out of Louisville fans who are concerned about the fact that 6'10 Nouha Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS only averaged 6.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg last season while playing behind 6'10 Robert Whaley, who is widely regarded as the #1 junior college player in the nation this coming season.  As a matter of fact, Mike Martin, who runs the Midwest Scouting Service, rates Diakite as the #2 junior college big man, behind Whaley, plus a number of college coaches who saw Diakite dominate at Jerry Mullins' junior college camp in late July think he should be ranked among the top five or 10 junior college players nationally.  We also are anticipating a verbal commitment in the immediate future by 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Connecticut and we're waiting to see if Watkins makes it official for Villanova.  As soon as we mentioned that we were still waiting on Lang to make it official, he did exactly that.   So Louisville officially now has the #1-ranked recruiting class to-date for the Class of 2003.

Wednesday, August 7, 2002

By the time they were ready to tip-off the championship game at the 14-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL yesterday, I was at the airport getting ready to return home after a solid month of being on the road.  However, the title game appears to have gone about the way we expected, as Team Detroit/B-Real beat DTA-Wisconsin, 75-61.  Remember, Team Detroit had two Smith's - 6'2 Frosh Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI and 6'6 Frosh Tracy Smith from Detriot (Martin Luther King) MI, while DTA-Wisconsin only had one - 6'2 Frosh Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI.  And you'd better remember all three names, because they're legitimately all are good enough to be ranked among the top dozen players nationally in the loaded Class of 2006.  And this wasn't the only team from the state of Michigan that has enjoyed great success in early August.  Did you know that Team Michigan, which was led by Kent State-bound 6'1 DeAndre Haynes from Detroit (Southwestern) MI and 6'3 Derrick Ponder from Pontiac (Northern) MI, who appears to have been a late addition for Iowa State, advanced to the final four at the 19-Under Men's Basketball AAU National Championship in Knoxville, TN?  Speaking of the 19-Under Men's Basketball AAU National Championship, our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, and 6'5 David Noel from Durham (Southern Durham) NC, all three of whom are bound for North Carolina, led the North Carolina Gators to 102-97 victory over the Tennessee Thunder yesterday in the championship game in Knoxville, TN.  Ironically, the Tennessee Thunder also had three players - 6'4 Stanley Asumnu from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'1 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, and 7'0 Justin Herndon from Nashville (Donelson) TN - who are bound for the University of Tennessee.  Herndon scored 30 points in the championship game, but he was only average earlier in the week, according to Whitehead.  McCants was the leading scorer in the game with 36 points, but Felton, who finished with 31 points in the title game and was sensational all week, took home tournament MVP honors.  The fourth team in the final four at the 19-Under Nationals was Martin Luther Brothers, which was led by 6'2 Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA and 6'7 Greg Brunner from Charles City (H.S.) IA.  On the other side of the state it appears that we've pissed off at least one Memphis fan with our comments about the likelihood of 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX by-passing college and going straight into the NBA Draft next spring and 6'8 Michael Ford from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA not being ranked among our top 400 nationally.  Apparently Ford was good enough at the adidas Big Time Tournament to attract attention from schools like Louisville and Connecticut, but we didn't see him play in Las Vegas, NV and, as a result, we didn't know prior to today that he may being emerging into what some coaches think is a big time player.  I also stand by the fact that most people I talk with think Perkins is long gone to the NBA, but just like Dajuan Wagner a year ago, Perkins would be much better served by going to college for a year or two or three, as he continues to get into top notch playing shape and refines what already are outstanding offensive skills.  As for any Tigers fans who suddenly think I'm anti-Memphis or John Calipari, give me a break.  Remember, I'm they guy who named Wagner the HOOP SCOOP Pre-Season College National College Player-of-the-Year and ranked Memphis among top five nationally prior to the start of last season.  We also had Calipari ranked #17 nationally among Division I head coaches, Steve Roccaforte ranked #11 among all Division I assistants and Tony Barbee mentioned on our best of the rest assistants list.  Plus, Tigers Derek Kellogg will also have to make that list in the near future, because, just like Roccaforte and Barbee, he's one of the bright young guys in the business.  With all that in mind, it might be easier to make a case that I'm pro Memphis, instead of anti-Memphis.  However, I just try and call 'em like I see 'em.  Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong, but over the long haul, I'm told we have a pretty good track record.

Tuesday, August 6, 2002

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman confirms that the University of Memphis got another verbal commitment last night from 6'8 Michael Ford from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  You remember him!  That's the guy who led the Alabama Lasers to the championship at the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament in April.  He's also the guy we saw at the NIKE Memorial Day Classic in Bloomington, IN and we didn't think was good enough to be included in our final ranking of the top 400 players in the Class of 2002.  In other words, the jury is out on this skinny athletic combo forward who previously is from Huntsville (Johnson) AL.  Ford joins 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX, who committed to the Tigers over the weekend.  However, Perkins will likely enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring, so we'd get a little more excited about Memphis' recruiting class, if the Tigers got a commitment from somebody like 6'5 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI or 6'7 Jr Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ.  And according to Rothman, they could end up with both.   Tthe top three schools for Famutimi, who was ranked #22 nationally in the senior class prior to the start of the summer by the HOOP SCOOP, but who will be ranked among our top 10 when we update our rankings later this month, are Memphis, Arkansas, and Missouri.  The short list for Banks includes Memphis, Maryland, and Connecticut.   We also understand that 6'7 Gordon Klaiber from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD may be close to making a verbal commitment to the University of Hartford.  As a matter of fact, he's on campus right now and, if Hartford head coach Larry Harrison pulls the trigger, which we think he will, he would have one of the biggest steals of the year.  Remember, this is the guy who led New York Elite to the championship at the Three Stripes Classic at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY and, at the time, he had only one Division I offer.  However, if Klaiber counted as a high school senior, he would have top 100 potential.  Instead, Klaiber was supposed to be a 5th year player bound for Troy (Redemption) NY.  But now it appears he's going to make it academically and, if he does, Klaiber would be eligible immediately at Hartford.  Our West Coast Editor Editor Dinos Trigonis thinks Oklahoma State may now be the leader over schools like Marquette, USC, Arizona State, Providence, Long Beach State, and UC-Santa Barbara for 6'7 Marcus Dove from Long Beach (Millikan) CA.  Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff thinks 6'10 Steve Verwers from Weatherford (H.S.) TX was one of the biggest sleepers to emerge this summer and obviously so do Oklahoma State, Michigan, Texas, Texas Christian, and SMU, all of whom have scholarship offers on the table.   We still haven't confirmed whether 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ is official for Villanova, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin doesn't think it's a done deal yet.  But assuming he's wrong, that would bring the number of commitments already this month to 20.  If you will recall, 6'5 Jr Jawaan McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX started things off last Thursday when he made an early commitment to Arizona.  That was followed by 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to Villanova, 6'8 Reyshawn Terry from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC to North Carolina, 6'8 James Matthews from Detroit (Denby) MI to Marquette, 6'5 Nick Brooks from Robinson (H.S.) IL to Butler, and 6'1 Lenny Miles from Commerce City (Adams City) CO to New Mexico, 6'5 Dameon Mason from Aurora (West Aurora) IL to Marquette, 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY to DePaul, 6'4 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL to Michigan State, 6'8 Corey Gibbs from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA to Georgia, 6'8 Marcus Slaughter from Riverside (J.W. North) GA to San Diego State, 6'6 Blake Adams from Aldine (Nimitz) TX to Texas Christian, 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX to Memphis, 6'2 Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ to Seton Hall, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL to Louisville, 6'10 Nouho Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS to Louisville, 6'8 Will Sheridan to Hockessin (Sanford) DE to Villanova, 6'3 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ to Georgia Tech, and 6'8 Michael Ford from Huntsville (Johnson) AL to Memphis. And that number increases to 23 when you add 6'5 Brandon Crone from Frankfort (H.S.) IN to Butler, 6'9 Dwayne Curtis from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL to Auburn, and 6'4 Adrian Schaffer from Rochester (Adams) MI to Wisconsin-Green Bay.  Crone was the #16-ranked wing forward at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, so, along with Brooks, he should give Butler a great one-two punch in this recruiting class.  Auburn obviously was able to take advantage of new Auburn assistant coach Tracy Dildy's strong Chicago-connections to get this one done.  Schaffer was the 4th leading scorer with 26.5 ppg at the adidas Big Time Tournament and against the Alley Cats he scored 40 points to post one of the top single-game scoring efforts in the tournament.   So obviously we think first-year Wisconsin-Green Bay Tod Kowalczyk has a major steal on his hands.

Prior to last night we all thought the Spiece Indy Heat was going to make it a three-peat at the 14-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL.  However, they got ambushed last night in the first semi-finals game against Team Detroit/B-Real, which jumped out early and never looked back, thanks to the efforts of 6'2 Frosh Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI and 6'6 Frosh Tracy Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, who combined for 37 of their team's 60 points.  At half-time Team Detroit led by 28-22, but they scored the first eight points of the second half and that was pretty much it, as they coasted to a 60-54 win.  The Spiece Indy Heat, which had won convincingly against Team Texas Red in the round of 16 and Boo Williams in the quarterfinals, was led by 6'0 Frosh Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN with 13 points, 6'10 Frosh Greg Odom from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN with 11 points, and 6'3 Frosh Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH with 10 points.  However, nobody on the Spiece Indy Heat played very well.  Maybe they just run out gas or maybe the just run into two players who weren't going to be denied.   Ramar Smith is unstoppable when he gets the ball in transition, plus he's an excellent outside shooter, a big time athlete, and a guy who already has established his reputation nationally while playing against older players at placed like the NIKE Peach Jam.  Tracy Smith, who is another incredible athlete, is the ultimate warrior inside, as he uses his quick hands and feet to seemingly get almost every rebound, contest very shot, and score at while in the low post.  He also surprised us with his ability to step away from the basket and keep you honest with his mid-range shot.   Both Smith's need to be ranked among the top dozen freshmen nationally and so does another Smith who led DTA-Wisconsin into the other semi-finals game against the Kansas City Keys.  We're talking about 6'2 Frosh Jerry Smith from Milwaukee (Dominican) WI, who finished with 22 points and did just about everything in that game except sell tickets, as he hit 3-pointers, rebounded, handled, passed, and created havoc on defense with his quick hands and excellent anticipation.  And Jerry Smith isn't the only player the other two Smith's will have to be concerned about in today's championship game.  The point guard who runs the show and makes everybody else better is 5'10 Frosh Steve Gruber from Milwaukee (Whitefish Bay) WI.  One of the best 3-point shooters in the entire tournament is 6'1 Frosh Troy Cotton from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  The undersized inside guy who gets it done on the boards and scores around the basket is 6'4 Frosh Eric O'Neil from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  And the guy who does a little bit of everything both inside and outside is 6'4 Frosh James Pruitt from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  DTA-Wisconsin beat the Kansas City Keys, 59-54, but this semi-finals game was never really that close.  As a matter of fact, DTA-Wisconsin seemed to toy with the Kansas City Keys the entire game.  Every time this well coached gutty balanced team from Kansas City, MO made a run, it seemed like DTA-Wisconsin woke up just enough to keep things from getting too interesting.  The Kansas City Keys were led by 6'0 Frosh Isacc Miles from Kansas City (Bishop Meige) KS, 5'6 Frosh Dominique Johnson from Kansas City (Bishop Meige) KS, and 6'1 Frosh Dustin Andrews from Lees Summit (North) MO, who combined for 44 of their team's 54 points.  However, their best player - 6'3 Frosh Chris Witry from North Kansas City (Park Hill) MO did not match up well against DTA-Wisconsin's athleticism and quickness inside.   The best game, as well as the best individual performance in the entire tournament both occured on Sunday when the Houston Hoops beat the Memphis-Bellview FCA War Eagles, which had finished second a year to the Spiece Indy Heat a year ago in the 13-Under age group, double overtime.  In that game 5'9 Frosh Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX scored 40 points and, thus, explains why we have him ranked as the #2 player in the entire tournament behind 6'9 Frosh Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA. 

The verbal commitments just keep right on coming, as 6'11 Shawn Taylor from Vienna (Dooley County) GA to Alabama, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL to Louisville, 6'10 Nouha Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'8 Will Sheridan from Hockessin (Sanford) DE to Villanova, 6'3 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ to Georgia Tech, 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ to Villanova have either already made it official or are expected to do so today.  It would easy to put two-and-two together and come to the conclusion that when Alabama got Taylor yesterday that this was the deciding factor for Lang.   However, if it was, it shouldn't have been, because Taylor isn't good enough for Lang to worry about.  Remember, Taylor dropped out of our top 100 last spring, because he's soft and his game has plateaued.  Lang, on the other hand, has taken his game to another level.  If you will recall, prior to the start of the summer, Lang was ranked #52 nationally in the Class of 2003 by the HOOP SCOOP, but he was one of the top big men we saw this summer, as he finished ranked #15 at the adidas ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP and was terrific when we saw him playing for the Alabama Ice at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  Lang weighs in the neighborhood of 300 lbs., but he's surpringly mobile and agile inside, plus he has soft hands and a great touch around the basket.  We also expect Diakite to pull the trigger and make an announcement today.  We're not only talking about on of the top five junior college prospects in the nation, but he's ideally suited to play for Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino because he's a tremendous competitor and a big time athlete.  When these two commitments are added the commitment by 6'5 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, who picked Louisville in June, it moves Louisville's recruiting class right up to the top of the list just ahead of Michigan State.  And, if the Cardinals can also get 6'7 Nate Daniels from Broward County (JC) FL, who also is ranked among the top five junior college players in the nation, and 7'3 Shargi Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, who is a project right now, but has a big upside, then we would probably be talking about the top ranked recruiting class in the nation.  We also would be talking about a legitimate NCAA Final Four team a year from now, as well as one of the best rebuilding jobs in years.   Sure, Carlos Hurt and Brandon Bender, who were the cornerstones of Louisville's first recruiting class, didn't pan out, but the Cardinals added 6'10 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'2 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, and 6'3 Prileu Davis from Phoenix (JC) AZ in last year's recruiting class, plus Marvin Stone, who transferred from the Univesity of Kentucky to the University of Louisville in January, is waiting in the wings and, as a result, will be eligible for next season after the fall semester is over in late December.  Although Stone will only be available for one year, he promises to make the same type of immediate impact that Jamal Mashburn made when he played for Pitino at Kentucky.  And the similarities don't end there, as Pitino also appears to be only a year away from having the same level of talent and depth that he did at Kentucky during the mid-90s when he went to war with guys like Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson, and Tony Delk.  Sheridan, who already has made it official for the Wildcats, and Watkins, who is expected to do so soon, both going to Villanova also is very important.  This would come on the heels of last weeks verbal commitment from 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, plus it would move their recruiting class up to #3 behind Louisville and Michigan State on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date, as well as ensure the Wildcats a spot among the top ranked recruiting classes in the nation for the second consecutive year.  However, if Villanova wants to be assured of having as class comparable to the one they had a year ago when they signed 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'1, Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NJ and landed 6'5 Baker Dunleavy from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, and 6'2 Michael Claxton from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, both of whom will walk-on next year, they need to also add 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ.  Currently it appears that Villanova is the favorite for Villanueva over Illinois, Seton Hall, St John's, and UCLA.   Getting back to Watkins and Sheridan, who were ranked #28 and #66, respectively prior to the start of the summer in the Class of 2003 by the HOOP SCOOP, they both have a tremendous amount of potential, although they both a reputation for being soft, inconsistent, and not always playing hard.  But that might not be a fair rap with regards to Sheridan, who has taken his game to another level this summer.  Not only is Sheridan playing a lot harder, but he's now in tremendous shape. 

Monday, August 5, 2002

We have finally gotten a chance to put together our list of the top players at the 14-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL and once again I want to stress just how good this tournament is, as at least 13 of the freshmen that we've seen during the last five days are legitimate top 20 players in their class nationally, plus there are several big time 8th graders that have to be thrown into the mix as well.  The top 25 players that we saw in the tournament ranked in order based both on college potential and performance were 6'9 Frosh Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA, 5'9 Frosh Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, 6'9 Frosh Durell Arthur from Dallas, TX, 6'10 Frosh Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'2 Frosh Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'2 Frosh Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, 6'6 Frosh Tracy Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'7 Frosh Brandon Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'8 Frosh Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Frosh Jermarcus Robinson from Springhill (H.S.) LA, 6'3 Frosh Charles Boozer from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, 6'2 Frosh Marquis Johnson from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'1 Frosh Willie Kemp from Boliver (H.S.) TN, 5'8 8th Grader Jeremiah Kelly from Chicago, IL, 6'7 Frosh Pierre Niles Henderson from Memphis (Treadwell) TN, 6'1 Frosh Terrell McKenzie from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'1 Frosh Robert Johnson from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'1 Frosh Calvin Liprot from Pinecastle (Christian) FL, 6'3 Frosh Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'6 Frosh Odutina George from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Frosh Keith Ramsey from Murfreesboro (Oakland) TN, 6'7 Frosh De'Antuan "Peanut" Whitehead from Birmingham (West End) AL, 6'4 Frosh Adron Tennell from Irving (H.S.) TX, 6'3 Frosh Trent Boone from Dallas, TX, and 5'10 Frosh Marquise Sullivan from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD.  The next 25 in some semblance of order were 6'3 Frosh William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'5 Frosh Terrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'6 Frosh Jamie Billie from Charlotte (North Mecklenberg) NC, 6'5 Frosh An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, 6'4 Frosh Andre Gullens from Chicago, IL, 6'3 Frosh James Pruitt from Milwaukee, WI, 6'5 Frosh Daron Hood from Bigelow (H.S.) AR, 6'8 Frosh Jeremy Henderson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Frosh Rickey Parks from Minneapolis (North) MN, 6'3 Frosh Devin Butler from New Orleans (McDonough) LA, 6'3 8th Grader Tony Neysmith from Maldin (Middle School) SC, 6'2 Frosh Kashil Pratt from New York (Rice) NY, 6'5 Frosh Jerrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 5'10 Frosh Brian Johnson from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD, 5'11 Frosh Jordan Daisy from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 6'0 Frosh Gerald England from St. Paul (Highland Park) MN, 6'4 Frosh Marvel Powell from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'2 Frosh Benjamin Finney from Portsmouth (Wilson) VA, 6'2 8th Grader Jeremy Franklin from Oakland (St. Paschal's Baylon) CA, 6'5 Frosh Jonathan Brown from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Frosh Emeka Iweka from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'5 Frosh Wesley McCrary from Hoover (H.S.) AL, 5'11 Frosh William Barnes from Tuscaloos (Hillcrest) AL, 5'8 Frosh Lionel Booker from Dallas, TX, and 5'10 Frosh Steven Gruber from Milwaukee, WI.  Another 30 players worth mentioning, but in no semblance of order, includes 6'2 Frosh Jermaine Beal from De Soto (H.S.) TX, 6'1 Frosh Troy Cotton from Milwaukee, WI, 6'2 Frosh Duke Calhoun from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, 6'3 Frosh Mack Doneal from Charlotte (Independence) NC, 6'8 Frosh Casey Crawford from Overland Park (Blue Valley North) KS, 6'3 Frosh Pierre Beasley from Houston (Westfield) TX,  6'6 Frosh Courtney Wallace from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, 5'10 Frosh Bryan Beasley from Pflugerville, TX, 6'2 Frosh Brandon Watson from Newport News (Heritage) VA, 6'4 Frosh Derek Smith from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, 6'0 Frosh Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 5'9 Frosh Jordan Cheatham from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'1 Frosh Devin Williams from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'8 8th Grader Aaron Pogue from Dayton, OH, 6'3 Frosh Curtis White from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'3 Frosh Joshua Davis from Chicago, IL, 6'2 Frosh Antonio White from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'6 Frosh Daniel Deane from Salt Lake City (Judge Memorial) UT, 6'5 Frosh Deravious Freeman from Greenville (Berea) SC, 6'4 Frosh Navarro Bowman from Suitland (H.S.) MD, 5'11 Frosh Nick Reid from Washington, DC, 6'5 Frosh Jeffrey Owens from Suitland (H.S.) MD, 6'6 Frosh Arbry Butler from Little Rock (Central) AR, 5'8 Frosh Jason Smith from Charlotte (East Mecklenberg) NC, 6'4 Frosh Peter Flowers from Oak Park (Fenwick) IL, 6'0 Frosh Darius Roper from Murfreesboro (Oakland) TN, 6'1 Frosh Ryan Anderson from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'3 Frosh Walter Washington from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 6'5 Frosh Shawn Rouse from San Antonio (Jay) TX, and 6'0 Frosh Stefan Welsh from Newport News (Woodside) VA. 

Sunday, August 4, 2002

I've spent most of my time since last Thursday in the gym at the 14-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL, and, as a result, there hasn't been a lot of time to keep up with the verbal commitments that now seem to be coming in at a ridiculous pace.  Currently the number of commitments within the last three days is 14 and that includes the three additional commitments from 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX to Memphis, 6'5 Blake Adams from Aldine (Nimitz) TX to Texas Christian, and 6'2 Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ to Seton Hall that we've added to our list today.  None of these commitments comes as a major surprise, but Perkins picking Memphis is the commitment that will attract the most attention, because he's currently ranked #14 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and was ranked as high as #2 in the class at a younger age, prior to when he got bigger and stronger and lost a lot of his athleticism.   Making this commitment even more intriguing is the fact that sources close to the Perkins tell us there is almost no chance that he'll attend college.  Instead, the word is that he plans to by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring and, as a result, he could become the fourth player with some association to the Memphis program to go to the NBA within a year's time.  The others were Dajuan Wagner, who went hardship after his freshman year of college; 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, who committed to Memphis a year-and-a-half ago, but, instead, entered his name into NBA Draft last spring; and 6'7 Qyntel Woods from Northeast Mississippi (JC) MS, who signed with Memphis last fall, but also entered his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  However, let's say our source is wrong and Perkins does end up at Memphis for a year or two.  Then Tigers head coach John Calipari would have the skilled physical specimen inside that he needs to not only become one of the teams in college basketball, but also make all the Memphis fans forget about the loss of Wagner in a hurry.  Remember, Calipari already has most of the other pieces to the puzzle and, as a result, the Tigers should be better than most people expect this winter.  Nutter, who is ranked #74 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is an important catch for the Pirates, because once again Seton Hall head coach Louie Orr and his staff have established that they can keep the top players in their backyard at home.  If you will recall, two weeks ago Seton Hall also landed 6'11 Grant Billmeier from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  And, if you add 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who will be named the Player-of-the-Summer by the HOOP SCOOP later this month, and 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who is still one of the most underrated players in the nation, to make this a four-man recruiting class, then the Pirates would have the second best Recruiting Class To-Date behind Michigan State and ahead of California.  Currently Seton Hall and Pittsburgh are believed to be the co-favorites for these two overachievers who led their team to the championship at the NIKE Peach Jam and a runner-up finish at the 17-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship last week in Orlando, FL.  Perkins and Nutter become the 42nd and 43rd players who were ranked among our pre-summer top 100 nationally to have made verbal commitments.  Perkins' commitment also brings the number of players ranked among our top 20 to eight and our top 50 to 22.  Adams isn't good enough to be listed in the top 20 or the top 50 nationally, but this athletic wing player with excellent 3-point shooting range and perimeter skills was a prime target for the new coaching staff at TCU.  In other words, Neil Dougherty, who was previously ranked as the #2 assistant coach in college basketball by the HOOP SCOOP, hasn't lost his touch when it comes to targeting the right player and getting his man.

Saturday, August 3, 2002

When you start talking about the great jobs in the history of the game, what Michigan State has done recently has to rank right up there near the top.  If you will recall, the Spartans already had gotten commitments from a pair of seniors in 6'0 Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI and 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI and a pair of juniors in 5'10 Jr Drew Neitzel from Wyoming (Wyoming Park) MI and 6'7 Jr Marquise Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI.  And this comes on the heels of a recruiting class, which was ranked #3 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in our final rankings from the Class of 2003 and included 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'4 Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI, 6'10 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia, 6'2 Rashi Johnson from Mott (JC) MI, and 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN.  But the biggest prize of all has to be 6'4 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  That's right!  Both Chris Johnson of the HOOP SCOOP and Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report have confirmed that Brown picked the Spartans on Friday night.  How significant is this?  Well, Brown not only is the highest ranked player nationally in the Class of 2003 to have verbally committed to-date, but, along with Cotton and Naymick, he moves the Spartans recruiting class ahead of California, Illinois, Florida, Wake Forest, and Valparaiso, all of which also have already landed three players in this recruiting class, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Brown, who picked the Spartans over schools like DePaul, Cincinnati, Kansas, Notre Dame, Illinois, Iowa, UNLV, and Louisville, is easily the most talented 2-guard in the senior class nationally, but we plan to drop him five or 10 spots when we update our rankings in August, because he coasted most of the summer (i.e. his lackisdasical effort the first three days at the NIKE All-American Camp).    However, that won't stop the Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and his staff from worrying about whether they will lose Brown to the NBA prematurely just like with Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph a year ago and Marcus Taylor this spring. Yes, Brown is that good!   He's also an amazing athlete who can score at will whenever he wants both inside with his strength and explosive moves to the basket and outside with his quickness, ability to get his shot, and shooting range.  Johnson also tells us that Brown's commitment to the Spartans should open the door for Ohio State to come in and steal two of the top juniors in the state - 6'4 Jr Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI and 6'3 Jr Joseph Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, both of whom were ranked among the top 30 players at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, Michigan State already is well stocked at both guard positions now with Cotton and Brown, plus they already have a good backup in Neitzel in the following class, and Michigan is in equally great shape in the backcourt with commitments already in hand from 6'4 Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI and 6'6 Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI.  Brown also becomes the 41st player ranked among our pre-summer top 100 nationally to have already verbally committed and digging even deeper we find that 72 of our top 280 players are gone.  In other words, over 25% of the top players are gone and the beginning of the fall signing period is still over three months away.  And that includes 6'8 Corey Gibbs from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, who is ranked #133 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Dameon Mason from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, who is ranked #131 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, both of whom made verbal commitments within the last day or so to Marquette and Georgia, respectively.  Speaking of Gibbs and Mason, neither will be ranked in this range when we update our rankings later this month.  Mason, who was as good as anybody on a loaded Illinois Fire Team, has to move into our top 100 nationally after stellar performances at both the Three Stripes Classic and the adidas Big Time Tournament.  In other words, Mason promises to be the perfect replacement for Dwayne Wade, who is expected to declare hardship for the NBA Draft next spring, and he also solidifies Marquette's strong recruiting base in Chicago, IL.  Did you know that Marquette head coach Tom Crean and Illinois Warriors head coach Larry Butler are on the outs after Butler tried to influence Wade to jump to the NBA last spring?  Gibbs, on the other hand, will drop, because he has no true position, as he isn't big and strong enough to play inside and can't handle it well and shoot it well enough to play out on the perimeter.  Instead, we're talking about a slasher/athlete who often has trouble finishing.  However, University of Georgia head coach Jim Harrick has worked miracles with guys like this before, so we think this too could turn out to be a perfect fit.  There also are a surprising number of 5th year players, like 6'11 Martin Iti from Winchendon (School) MA to Charlotte, 6'6 Eliiah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA to Miami-FL, 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to Mississippi State, and 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY to DePaul, who have recently made early verbal commitments. Mejia's commitment is the most recent (only about 24 hours old) and he's an absolute steal for the Blue Demons.    Not only is Mejia a scoring machine and a big time athlete, but he's multi-dimensional enough to play three different positions.  As a matter of fact, it's our understanding that DePaul head coach Dave Leitao recruited Mejia as a point guard.  Mejia's commitment also is important, because it establishes that DePaul's national recruiter Josh Oppeinheimer can go anywhere in the country and get players to come to the Windy City.  And if that weren't enough, our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'8 Marcus Slaughter from Riverside (J.W. North) CA has verbally committed to San Diego State and Johnson tells us that 6'2 Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ may have verbally committed to Seton Hall.  We'll have more on Nutter's commitment as details become available, but we think Slaughter is a major steal for the Aztecs.  Currently Slaughter isn't ranked among our top 280 nationally, but he will be after his brilliant performance at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV in late July.  We're talking about one of the biggest sleepers of the summer due to his athleticism, toughness on the rebound, ability to score from mid-range and in, and tremendous upside. 

Friday, August 2, 2002

Now that college coaches are off the road and they can make face-to-face contact again with prosective recruits (the July Evaluation Period was a dead period for making contact with players and for players taking official and unofficial visits to schools), the flood of commitments promises to be fast and furious.  Actually it already is, as 6'4 Jr Jawaan McLellan from Houston (Milby) TX made an early verbal commitment to Arizona, 6'8 James Matthews from Detroit (Denby) MI made a commitment to Marquette, 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ made a commitment to Villanova, 6'8 Reyshawn Terry from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC made a commitment to North Carolina, 6'5 Nick Brooks from Robinson (H.S.) IL made a commitment to Butler, and 6'1 Lenny Miles from Commerce City (Adams City) CO made a commitment to New Mexico, all within the last 36 hours.  The commitment by Terry is especially surprising.  We knew he wanted to go to North Carolina, but, as we told you two days ago, the Tar Heels only have three scholarship left for the Class of 2003 and Class of 2004.  So we're surprise the offer was forthcoming by the Tar Heels.  Let's take a closer look.  If you will recall, North Carolina will have three sophomores in Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott, and Jackie Manuel and six freshmen in the program  in 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'9 Bryon Sanders from New Hampton (Prep) NJ, 7'1 Damien Grant from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and 6'5 David Noel from Durham (Southern Durham) NC, who will walk-on his first year, but then receive a scholarship.  That's nine scholarships, the early verbal commitment by 6'2 Jr JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC makes 10, and the commitment last night by Terry makes 11.  So obviously the last two targets by the Tar Heels, unless one of the players mentioned above decides to transfer, have to be to a pair of big men from either the current recruiting class or the Class of 2004.  And this is important, because it should have direct ramifications on all the point guards the Tar Heels have been recruiting, including 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA.  Speaking of Shakur, it also looks like Villanova is also out of the picture for Shakur, whose top four schools now have to be N.C. State, Arizona, Connecticut, and Syracuse.  Apparently when Villanova got Nardi yesterday, Shakur eliminated the Wildcats, because he didn't want to compete with Nardi and all the other guards in the program for playing time.  And, if that's a factor in Shakur's decision, it's easy to see why N.C. State and Arizona are the leaders, as Connecticut is on the verge of landing 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Syracuse already has an outstanding point guard in the program in Gerry McNamara.  Nardi, who is ranked #60 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has been compared to former Duke star Bobby Hurley and Maryland point guard Steve Blake, also is an outstanding student (#1 in his class academically). Nardi, who is more of a pure point guard than the two guards (Allan Ray and Randy Foye) the Wildcats signed a year ago, picked Villanova over Pittsburgh, N.C. State, Rutgers,  and Connecticut.  McLellan was ranked #98 prior to the beginning of the summer by the HOOP SCOOP, but he should move up dramatically, because he just got better and better as the summer wore on.   Obviously it is a feather in the cap for first-year Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner to get a commitment a year in advance from a player from his backyard (Pastner is from Houston), but this alone won't get him ranked among the top assistant coaches in the nation.  However, if Pastner, who has done a lot of the leg work on 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, and 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, all three of whom were ranked among the HOOP SCOOP's top six player in the Class of 2003 prior to the start of the summer, which is possible, but not probable, then we'd have to find a spot for Pastner on our list.  Matthews is ranked #185 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and this summer he was a role player for the Michigan Hurricanes.  However, when it is all said and done, there is no telling how good this athletic power forward may become, as his upside appears to be unlimited.  Brooks, who is ranked #181 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was one of the best players for the Bloomington Red AAU team this spring and summer and, as a result, follows in a long line of players Butler has stolen in recent years.  Miles also appears to be a good get for New Mexico, because he showed up among the top 200 in Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports pre-summer rankings. 

Thursday, August 1, 2002

Yesterday was the end of the Summer Evaluation Period of college coaches, so all the college coaches and nearly all the people in our business, except for us, went home.  Instead, I stayed in Orlando, FL and spent all day today at the 14-Under Boys' Basketball AAU National Championship, where the level of talent in this age group is absolutely incredible.  However, just seeing one player - 6'9 Vernon Macklin from Portmouth (Norcom) VA - made it all worth the extra effort.  To my knowledge nothing has ever been written about Macklin before by anybody in our business.  Boo Williams, who is the director of the Boo Williams AAU program, had told me one several occasions that he had a good big young player on the horizon, but Williams never could seem to remember his name.  Everybody just calls him "Big Ticket" and now we know why.  He's not real polished offensively yet, but Macklin can run the floor like a deer and has incredible athleticism, mobility, and intensity for somebody so big and so young.  He also has an incredible wing span and covers an unbelievable amount of ground in a hurry.  We saw him score 23 points against the North Lake Wolfpack, but that doesn't include the dunk he missed, which still was the best play of the entire day, as it only took him three steps to get from the half-court line to the basket with the ball on the fast break.  Macklin might not be better right now than 6'9 Frosh Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, because he not as skilled, but potentially he might better than Caracter.  He also potential might be the best player Williams has ever had in his program and that's say a lot, because comparing somebody to Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Joe Smith, J.R. Reid, and Ronald Curry puts you in pretty fast company.  We also may be talking about Alonzo Mourning reincarnated, because Macklin is already a tremendous shot blocker.  In other words, we're talking about the HOOP SCOOP's Sleeper-of-the-Summer and one of the best freshmen I've ever seen!  And Macklin's intensity level (he's extremely active and plays hard on every possession) also seems to have carried over to the rest of the players on this Boo Williams, because 6'4 Frosh Marvel Powell from Newport News (Warwick) VA, 6'2 Frosh Benjamin Finney from Portsmouth (Wilson) VA, 6'2 Frosh Brandon Watson from Newport News (Heritage) VA, and 6'0 Frosh Stefan Welsh from Newport News (Woodside) VA also really get after it and are good enough for us to think they're the team beat for the 14-Under AAU National Championship. We also got a chance to see three of the other players - 5'9 Frosh Nic Wise from Houston, TX, 6'10 Frosh Greg Oden from Indianapolis, IN, and 6'9 Frosh Durell Arthur from Dallas, TX - who were ranked among our top five nationally in the Class of 2006 prior to the start of the summer.  Wise, who was ranked #5, has to move ahead of Oden and Arthur, after his performance earlier today when he scored 24 points and dished out six assists.  We're talking about a point guard with strength, savvy, outside shooting, and maturity beyond his years.  We also think Arthur, who was ranked #4 nationally in the Class of 2006 by the HOOP SCOOP prior to the start of the summer, has to pass up Oden, because he's more athletic and more multi-dimensional, as he can also handle, pass, and shoot out on the perimeter.  He's also has a chance to contest everything with his incredible wing span, great timing, and explosive quickness.  But Oden, who is the star player around which the favored Spiece Indy Heat is built, is still pretty outstanding in his own right.  Oden, who has grown two inches since we saw him in February, also uses his quickness and athleticism to try and contest everything.  He also uses his great anticipiation to come up with a surprising number of steals, is tough on the boards, and active around the basket.  So when you add 5'8 Frosh Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, who is not in this tournament, but who is finished ranked #8 overall at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, and 7'1 Frosh Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who also is not in this tournament, but who was the #2-ranked player in the freshmen class by the HOOP SCOOP pre-summer, it's easy to see why the Class of 2006 is absolutely sensational.

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