TODAY'S HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION

Hot Recruiting Information available from 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 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003

Saturday, August 30, 2003, & Sunday, August 31, 2003

Well you're hot, you're hot, as it now appears that we have the scoop on our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis with regards to 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who is ranked #52 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is now verbally committed to the University of Arizona.  What makes this truly ironic is the fact that Tangara and Davis have an extremely close relationship, as Tangara has played for Davis the last three years on the Georgia Elite club team and Davis played a major role in helping Tangara come to the United States.  Tangara, who made his official visit this weekend to Arizona, appears to have had such a great time on the visit that he's gone ahead and verbally committed to the Wildcats.  Obviously this is huge, because 6'9 athletes who can defend, blocks shots, and rebound like Tangara does are always at a premium.  Tangara does need to develop his offensive game, but that's why Arizona head coach Lute Olson makes the big bucks.  Olson also has one of the best coaching staffs in the business, as Jim Rosborough, Rodney Tention, and Josh Pastner are not only outstanding recruiters, but also excellent in terms of individual instruction and player development, which was one of the key things that Tangara told us that he would be looking for when making his college decision.  This moves Arizona's recruiting class into a tie at #14, along with Duke, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  If you will recall, Arizona also has a verbal commitment from 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, who is ranked #20 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, plus they already have one of the earliest verbal commitments on record from 5'9 Frosh Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, who announced for the Wildcats earlier this spring.  Arizona also is believed to be the favorite for 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who is ranked #78 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, plus they are involved with a number of the other top players in the Class of 2004, like 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Joseph Jones from Normandee (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Jeremis Smith from Ft. Worth (Dunbar) TX, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'9 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'8 Davis Nwankwo from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, and they are already are one of the early favorites for 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL and 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, all three of whom are ranked among our top six juniors nationally.  And giving the Wildcats an even bigger advantage with Webster is the fact that he is the cousin of former Arizona point guard Jason Terry.  So let's say the Wildcats hit the jackpot and get Giles and Livingston as the final two players in this year's recruiting class and get an early verbal commitment from Webster, who is the HOOP SCOOP's #1-ranked junior nationally.  Then we'd have to start talking about Olson and Pastner having the best one-two recruiting punch since Quin Snyder was at Duke with Mike Krzyzewski.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead also tells us that 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and 6'4 Channing Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA were both at Tennessee over the weekend and that the Volunteers plan to have 6'6 Anthony Morrow from Charlotte (Latin) NC on campus next weekend. 

Friday, August 29, 2003

Our Washington, DC Area Editor Steve Turner tells us that later this afternoon 6'5 Jr Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who is ranked #18 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in the Class of 2005, will be announcing his college decision.  And the word we're getting from several different sources in the DC area is that it's going to be North Carolina, which means the Tar Heels have gotten their second verbal commitment from a McDonald's All-American caliber wing player within the last 24 hours.  If you will recall, last night we reported that 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ had verbally committed to North Carolina.  Ginyard is best described as a multi-dimensional athlete who can play any position, as he rebounds, handles, passes, plays excellent defense, and is explosive off the dribble.  In other words, he does everything extremely well, except shoot the outside jump shot.   Ginyard, who picks the Tar Heels over Duke, Notre Dame, Maryland, and Wake Forest, also should be the perfect complement to Smith out on the perimeter when he arrives on campus two years from now.  They're both extremely athletic, but Smith needs to work on his ball handling and defense, which are two of Ginyard's strengths, and Ginyard needs to work on his outside shooting, which is one of the things Smith does best.  Also ironic is the fact that Ginyard's former high school teammate - 6'9 Brian Johnson, who recently transferred from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, was once thought to be a lock for the Tar Heels.  However, it appears that Louisville is the favorite for Johnson and Ginyard, who had previously been leaning towards Duke, has committed to North Carolina.  Ginyard also becomes the highest ranked junior nationally to have made a verbal commitment.  The previous highest ranked junior to have alrady verbally committed is 6'7 Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who is ranked #21 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also believe that 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, who is ranked #15 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP may not be too far away from making a verbal commitment to Duke and that Notre Dame is close to getting a verbal commitment from 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, who is ranked #17 nationally by in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Editor's Note: The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that Ginyard has verbally committed to North Carolina, which means that we had the scoop as fast as anybody in terms of both Smith and Ginyard both picking the Tar Heels.  And that's saying a lot, because three of our biggest competitors, Dave Telep of TheInsidersHoops.com, Bob Gibbons of HoopMasters.com, and Brick Oettinger and Rob Harrington of PrepStars.com are right in North Carolina's backyard.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, who does a great job of gathering information for the HOOP SCOOP, even goes one step further, as he tells me that nobody has even been coming close recently to the HOOP SCOOP in terms of getting the scoop and keeping up with the what's going on in the recruiting world on a consistent basis. 

We also have confirmed that 6'9 Terry Licorish from Toronto, ON, who previously had attended prep school at Laurinburg (Institute) NC and Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, has finally gotten the necessary core to be eligible at the Division I level and recently was declared eligible to play by the NCAA Clearinghouse.  Obviously this is somebody that everybody had forgotten about, except Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury, who recruits as well as any head coach in the nation.  Don't believe it?  How many schools could lose three inside players to the pros - 6'9 Mario Austin went hardship into the NBA Draft after his junior year in college, 6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starksville (H.S.) MS by-passed college altogether, and 6'8 Wojceich Barycz from Poland decided to turn professional and play in Europe - and have another player - 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS - not make it academically and have to go the prep school route and still come up with two quality inside players in August?  If you will recall, 6'9 Lawrence Roberts announced 10 days ago that he was transferring from Baylor to Mississippi State and now it looks like the Bulldogs are also going to get Licorish, although it's not official yet.  Obviously Stansbury, who still recruits like he's an assistant coach deserves a lot of the credit, but so do Mississippi State assistant coaches Robert Kirby and Phil Cunninhgam, who are two of the most underrated guys in the business.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson also tells us that Southern Miss got a pair of commitments from 6'6 Ronald Pittman from Tyler (JC) TX and 6'11 Rudolph Mauricette from Lee (JC) TX  in early July, but this got lost in the shuffle, because we were on the road covering the NIKE All-American Camp and the adidas ABCD Camp.  Also in early July we learned that 6'1 James Pattman was transferring from Southern Miss.  However, as of yet, we have not heard where Pattman is going, although Florida A&M has been mentioned.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Soph JeJuan Brown, who is the #2-ranked sophomore in Mississippi by Johnson, is transferring from Biloxi (H.S.) MS to Ridgeland (St. Andrews) MS and 6'2 Soph Trey Frazier from Moss Pointe (H.S.) MS, who is the #15-ranked sophomore in Mississippi by Johnson, is transferring from Moss Pointe (H.S.) MS to Ridgeland (St. Andrews) MS.  Speaking of rankings of the top players in Mississippi, we have a list of the top 82 seniors, top 37 juniors, top 31 sophomores, top nine freshman, and top five 8th graders already in hand and we plan to publish Johnson's updated Mississippi Report within the next several days. 

It's been less than a week since Scott Drew was hired as the head coach at Baylor University, but Drew and the two assistants (Mark Morefield  and Matt Driscoll) that he brought with him Valparaiso have hit the ground running, as 6'2 Trent Meacham from Champaign (Centennial) IL and 6'6 Jimmy Binnie from Johnston (H.S.) IA both are finishing up their official visits today to Baylor and, according to our International Editor Chris Johnson, they already have a verbal commitment from 6'11 Mamadou Diene from Senegal.  We're talking about a big time athlete who runs and leaps extremely well; is a good rebounder, shot blocker and passer; is skilled offensively; and has a baby hook shot that he makes with either hand.  Diene also has a great feel for the game, which is not surprising, because he's a straight A student and will graduate high school when he's still only 16-year-old next spring.  Diene also recently attended the Babacar Sy Basketball Camp in the Senegal in July and was ranked as the best player in camp.  Sy, who is very familiar with both Diene and 6'11 Jr Khadim "Bamba" Fall, who is enrolling at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this fall, thinks Diene is the better of the two right now, although Diene is a younger than Fall.  Diene also is meaner, tougher and more ready to step in and play immediately than Fall.  So when we put all this into perspective, if Fall is ranked among the top 30 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, Diene probably should be in that same top range 30 nationally in the senior class and he probably has an even bigger upside.  Diene, Fall, and 6'9 Jr Samba Gueye from Senegal, who has a 7'5 wing span and recently made an early verbal commitment to USC, are among about 10 players from the Senegal who will be attending the first ever African Top 100 Camp in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 2nd-7th.  This camp is modeled after the NIKE All-American Camp and adidas ABCD Camp and is being run by Dallas Mavericks scout Amado Fall and former Michigan State All-American Sam Vincent, who is now the coach of the South African National Team.  Unfortunately the African Top 100 Camp, which will be oozing with talent, will be off limits to NCAA Division I college coaches, but it will have a very strong NBA influence as numerous scouts, including EPSN.com draft guru Chad Ford, who is the guy that provides Andy Katz with almost all of his international information, and players, like Dikembe Mutombo, will be in attendance and working the camp.  Getting back to Baylor, Diene will be the cornerstone for a five-man recruiting class, which potentially could include Meachem, Binnie, and 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios, who is just returning for his native Columbia to Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  Remember, Drew and Morefield were the ones who discovered Palacios in South America two years ago when he was only 15-year-old playing in the 18-Under South American Tournament and were influential in getting him to attend high school in the United States.  Baylor also is in the hunt for several other top level players, like 5'11 Dupree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI and 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI.   So let's say they hit the jackpot and get Meachem, Binnie, Palacios, and either Fletcher or Horford to go along with Diene.  Not only would we be talking about a top five recruiting class, but we'd also be talking about what potentially might be the best recruiting class in the history of the school, which would be no small accomplishment when one remembers all the problems that Drew has inherited from the previous regime. 

Thursday, August, 28, 2003

Due to an editor's error 6'9 Robert Dozier from Lithonia (H.S.) GA was left off the list of the Top 440 Players in the Class of 2004 that was published yesterday.  He has since been inserted at #192 and everybody else was dropped one spot.  Actually Dozier should be rated higher than #192, but our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis continues to insist that Dozier is a wing forward.  Apparently that's the position Davis thinks Dozer will play in the NBA.  The only problem with that argument is that Dozier probably will never good enough to play in the NBA  We liked Dozier last spring when he was playing inside at the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX in April, but he was a major disappointment at NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN in July.  Instead, of using his athleticism to be the boards, block shots, and score around the basket, Dozier got lost playing out on the perimeter and this explains his low ranking.  We also had two players - 6'1 Jamelle Juneau from Bunkie (H.S.) LA and 6'9 David Farmer from Lewisville (H.S.) TX - both listed at #405 yesterday, so we've also corrected that error, plus we've added 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV, 6'4 Willicent Seymour from Jackson (Provine) MS, and 6'11 Jason Smith from Kersey (Platte Valley) CO to make it a list of the Top 445 Players in the Class of 2004.  But that's it!  Any other potential changes/additions/subtractions will be duly noted and incorporated in the rankings next time we update them later in the year.  However, we will continue to add signings and commitments and school and height changes to the list on an on going basis.  Speaking of verbal commitments, it came as no surprise today when we confirmed that 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA had announced for LSU.  Not only does this move LSU's recruiting class into a tie at #26, along with Oregon, N.C. State, Clemson, Virginia, St. John's, and Arizona, all of whom have signed one player in 11-40 range nationally, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but it also means that LSU should have one of the best one-two punches inside in college basketball.  Remember, last spring the Tigers signed 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA.  And they aren't done yet, as we think it's only a matter of time before LSU lands 6'6 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, although Temple is expected to go the prep school route next year, and 6'7 Tyrus Thomas from Baton Rouge (McKinley) LA.  Also don't rule the Tigers out of the race for 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA and 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Callaway) MS.  If the Tigers do get Tyrus Thomas or Charles Thomas, they also would have one of the deepest front-lines in college basketball.  Remember, 6'9 Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, who was a part of last year's recruiting class that was ranked #6 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003 and also 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, and 6'7 Darrell Lazare from Baton Rouge (Woodlawn) LA, will provide even more valuable depth.  And, if all this falls into place, LSU's recruiting class would move up to #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 behind Texas, Indiana, Missouri, Louisville, Alabama, and Mississippi State and ahead of Memphis, UCLA, Arkansas, and DePaul.  But the best may be still yet to come, as 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who is the #2-ranked junior by the HOOP SCOOP, is also believed to be a near lock for the Tigers.  And when all this happens, don't be surprised when LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre, who was ranked #24 on our list of the top assistant coaches in the nation when we last updated that list in January, by-passes most of the coaches who are ranked in front of him.  Also don't forget where you heard it all first!

Also remember where you heard this one first.  Earlier this evening 6'6 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ verbally committed to North Carolina, which really is like poetic justice, because that's where Smith wanted to go all along.  However, the Tar Heels' need for quality big men almost prevented this from happening and right down to the wire, schools like Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and N.C. State were making it interesting.  Obviously this is huge, because we're talking about one of the best 3-point shooters and best athletes in the nation, which explains why he is ranked a close second behind 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT on our list of the Top 5th Year Players.  This moves North Carolina's recruiting class up to #7 on our list of the list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and our guess is the Tar Heels will also continue to pursue big men like 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA and 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, despite the fact they currently don't have anymore scholarships available.  In other words, for the North Carolina to add another player to their recruiting class, which currently also includes 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA and 6'2 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC, something would have to happen.  The most likely scenario is that 6'8 Soph Byron Sanders and/or 6'11 Soph Damion Grant will see the handwriting on the wall in terms of limited playing time and, as a result, decide to transfer to a school at a lower level.  There also is the possibility that 6'0 Soph Raymond Felton will go hardship and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring and we've even heard rumors that Curry may renege on his commitment and go elsewhere.  So signing another big man and another guard in this year's recruiting class may not be out of the question for the Tar Heels.  Remember, 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD plays for a coach in Stu Vetter who steers his players toward schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference and his players almost always sign late, which gives things plenty of time to unfold.  There also is still the possibility that 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX could open things back up and look at the Tar Heels, if the opportunity presented itself.   Remember, Gibson has always been a North Carolina fan.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'1 Brian Roberts from Toledo (St. John's) OH has verbally committed to Dayton and this is pretty big as well.  As a matter of fact, we think first-year Flyers head coach Brian Gregory has gotten one of the most underrated point guards in the senior class nationally.  Physically Roberts needs to get bigger and stronger, but that might be his only weakness, as he handles, passes, defends, shoots, and is athletic  enough to play at the big time level.  This moves Dayton's recruiting class into a tie at #32, along with Penn State, Dayton, and Minnesota, on our list of the list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but even more important is the fact that the new regime now has two players in the fold with top 100-like talent.  Remember, Dayton also got a verbal commitment from 6'7 Norm Plummer from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is ranked #32 among 5th year players and would be the equivalent of a top 100 senior nationally, if he still was a high school senior. 

We also have confirmed via Big Apple Sports that 6'2 Mario Jointer from Chipola (JC) FL has verbally committed to South Alabama and 6'6 Bryant Dillon from Southwestern Illinois (JC) IL has verbally committed to Purdue.  It's hard to get a gage on just how good Dillion is right now, because he is coming off a serious knee injury that sidelined him most of last season.  However, as a senior in high school he was named the City Player-of-the-Year at Indianapolis (Tech) IN and he averaged 9 ppg and 7 rpg as a freshman in junior college two years ago.  And making the story even more intriguing is the fact that Dillon is a 6'6 point guard who has good ball handling and passing skills, plays excellent defense, and rebounds well for his size.  Jointer became available when he transferred from Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS to Chipola (JC) FL earlier this summer.  If you will recall, Jointer committed to the University of Mississippi both as a high school senior and a year ago as a sophomore in junior college, but a Southeastern Conference rule, which prohibits schools in the league from taking a player unless he's been at the same junior college three consecutive semesters, prevented Jointer from signing again with the Rebels.  So South Alabama was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the opportunity, as they've landed this athletic 2-guard who we thought was destined for a nice career in the Southeastern Conference.  However, the biggest news that Big Apple Sports has to pass along involves 6'10 Chris Adams from San Francisco (JC) CA, who no longer is part of UNLV's recruiting class that was ranked #5 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  Apparently all five of the other players who signed with UNLV - 5'10 Jerel Blassingame from L.A. City (JC) CA, 6'8 Romel Beck from L.A. City (JC) CA, 6'6 Andy Hannan from Minneapolis Community (JC) MN, 6'3 John Winston from Richmond (Salesian) CA, and 6'2 Michael Umeh from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX - had already made it academically when Adams qualified at the last minute.  When given the choice of sitting out next year and paying his own way or transferring to another school and playing right away, Adams decided to go Fresno State, which now has the #3-ranked junior college player according to CBS Sportsline's list of the Top 100 JUCO's for 2002-03.   Obviously it's too late to include Adams with Fresno State's recruiting class, which was ranked #58 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003 and included 6'7 Dreike Boldin from Carl Albert (JC) OK, 7'0 Jack Marlow from Salt Lake City (JC) UT, 6'5 Marcus West from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'9 Francis Koffi from Cowley County (KC) KS, and 6'10 Rodney Timmerman from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA.  However, if we insert Adams for Timmerman, who is not on Fresno State's 2003-04 roster, the Bulldogs' recruiting class would be ranked #23 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.

Today's verbal commitment by 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA also means that 23 of our current top 40-ranked seniors are already off the board, as 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS to Arkansas, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL to Indiana, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Indiana, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA to North Carolina, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY to Louisville, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX to Texas, 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA to USC, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL to Texas, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL to Memphis, 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA to Duke, 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA to LSU, 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX to Arizona, 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Los Angeles (Price) CA to UCLA, 6'7 Shane Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN to Memphis, 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN to Florida, 6'10 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX to Texas, 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX to Missouri, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA to UCLA, 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA to Oregon, 6'9 Cedric Simmons from Shallotte (West Brunswick) CA to N.C. State, 6'5 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Indiana, 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florissant (Hazelwood Central) MO to Missouri, and 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX to Missouri are already off the board.  Which means that 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 7'0 Robert Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) NC, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'11 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL are all that's left when looking at the top 40-ranked high school seniors.  We also find that 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT to DePaul, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to St. John's, 6'10 Jackie Butler from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to Mississippi State, 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA to Virginia, and 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT to Clemson are also already off the board when looking at our list of the Top 5th Year Players.  Which means that 6'6 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) CT, and 6'6 Roosevelt Lee from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA are the only 5th year players left who are the equivalent of a senior in the 1-40 range nationally.   We also have made a lot of adjustments to our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 in an attempt to get these rankings to correspond with our raking of the Top 445 Players in the Class of 2004.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that Louisville, which was tied with Missouri at #3, has dropped to #4 due to the fact that 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who was missing in action most of the summer, dropped from #1 to #9 in our rankings.  We also understand that Telfair has been recently quoted saying that he's still open and that he has three schools left on his list.  But until tells somebody who those other two schools are and we confirm that those schools are actually still involved, we're standing by our original source that told us that Telfair called Louisville head coach Rick Pitino on Tuesday, July 29th, and told him he was coming to Louisville.   Telfair also is talking about verbally committing this fall, but waiting to sign next spring.  However, we're not sure it's going to matter, because we suspect Telfair will opt to by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.   We also stand by our original source who told us that 6'9 Theo Davis from Toronto, ON is enrolling at Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  It's not official yet, but, unless something unforeseen happens (i.e. they won't admit him into school), it will be soon!

  Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Did you know that 6'7 Josh Duncan from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH had never made an official or an unofficial visit to the University of Kentucky?  Neither did I until today.  However, if I had had that important piece of information last night, I would have predicted that Xavier would be next to impossible to beat for this skilled combo forward who made it official for the Musketeers earlier today.  And upon further reflection, we're also not so sure that Xavier is locked into taking a guard, like 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA or 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN.  Instead, taking 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI might actually be the smart move, because, once 6'9 Anthony Myles graduates after this coming season, the Musketeers will have only two quality inside players in the program in 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC and 6'8 Brian Thornton, who was a two-year starter at Vanderbilt prior to transferring to Dayton last spring.  Remember, Duncan is excellent inside, but he'd prefer to play out on the perimeter.  And that's where the Musketeers are stockpiled with young players, as 6'1 Dedrick Finn and 6'5 Keith Jackson, both of whom will be back for two more years, already have to battle for playing time against the other three quality freshmen that Xavier landed in last year's recruiting class.  If we were making the call, we might have to hold off Ratliff until we knew we weren't going to get Horford.  However, if you can get Lowry, who is ranked #26 in our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2004, which was published earlier today, it's tough to turn that down.  In other words, any way you slice it, the Xavier coaching staff can only take one more player in this year's recruiting class, as Duncan, Thornton, Coly, 6'7 Justin Doellman from Union (Ryle) KY, 6'5 Robert Barker from Greensburg (H.S.) IN, 6'5 Justin Cage from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and 6'2 Stan Burrell from Indianapolis (Ben Davis) IN, who made an early verbal commitment to Xavier in the spring, count as seven of the eight players that the Musketeers can sign during this two-year period.  We also have confirmed that UCLA has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'9 Lorenzo Mata from Southgate (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #105 nationally in our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2004.  This comes as a surprise, because we had been under the impression that Mata wasn't going to make it academically.   However, Mata apparently made up a lot of ground academically in summer school this summer and, if he continues to work this hard both on and off the court, the sky could be the limit, as we're talking about a tough hardnosed blue collar player who doesn't take any prisoneers inside.  Mata's verbal commitment also could be bad news for 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, if he has his heart set on becoming Bruin.   Remember, UCLA will probably get 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, or 6'8 Maary Leunen from Redmond (H.S.) OR at the wing forward spot, plus they will probably take another inside player, like 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior American) NY, and 6'9 Drew Richards from Rogersville (Logan Rogersville) MO, if they think another scholarship might become available.  And, if that happens, our guess is that UCLA will want somebody who is more athletic or more of a four-man than Burgess.  So our guess is that the University of Louisville is suddenly the favorite for Burgess, but he'd better not wait to long, if his heart is set on playing for Rick Pitino, because the Cardinals are also very strong with Palacios, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'8 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and our guess is that they will take the first two big guys who verbally commit.  We also understand that 6'4 Arron Afflalo is transferring from Compton (Centennial) CA to Los Angeles (Price) CA and that 7'0 Robert Swift is transferring from Bakersfield (Highland) CA to Bakersfield (H.S.) CA.   We also understand that the rumors about Swift transferring to Los Angeles (Westchester) CA were true, but that didn't materialize because he could find the right place to live, which was necessary in order to be eligible for the upcoming season.   We also understnd that Florida State is now the leader for 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Callaway) MS.

Originally we had planned to publish our post-summer ranking of the top 300 seniors.  But, as we went through our notes, talked with our correspondents, and cross-checked what we already had with numerous other sources, this list quickly became a list of the top 350.  Later it became a list of the top 400 and finally it became a list of the top 440 ranked in order regardless of position or geography.   This list is available by clicking on Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2004.  We also published our Ranking of the Top 80 5th Year Players for the Class of 2004 two days ago, but already have added 6'8 Emmanuel Willis from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'7 Jermyl Jackson-Wilson from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'1 Shane Morrison from Toronto (Jeffrey's) ON, and 6'6 Shane Rowe from Toronto, ON to the list and expect numerous other additions as we continue to find out about players we thought we going the Division I route this fall, but, instead, have surfaced in prep school.  We also published our Ranking of the 240 Top Players in the Class of 2005 on August 16th and expect to publish, with the help of Patrick Stanwood, who covered the14-Under/8th Grade AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL earlier this month, our updated Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007 this weekend and our updated Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2006 sometime in early September.       

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Will it be Xavier or will it be Kentucky for 6'7 Josh Duncan from Cincinnati (Moller) OH, who plans to announce his college decision tomorrow during a 1:30 PM press conference?  The obvious call would be to predict that Duncan is going to Xavier, especially after he made an unofficial visit to Xavier last weekend.  Remember, this is a player who did not attend the NIKE All-American Camp, the adidas ABCD Camp, and the NBA Players Association Camp and was missing in action on the AAU and club team circuit during the spring and summer.  It also is difficult to get any information from anybody in the family regarding his recruitment, as it appears they just don't want to be bothered.  In other words, less competition, staying close to home, and attending a school that is smaller should be important factors in his decision.  However, the word on the street is that the decision has already been made and several people in the know think it's already a done deal for the University of Kentucky.  We're also hearing that the Xavier coaching staff has suddenly turned up the heat in the recruitment of 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, which means they may already know something that the rest of us don't.  And assuming that Duncan does commit to Kentucky, it becomes a very interesting situation for the Wildcats, which year after next will have 6'6 Chuck Hayes and Josh Carrier in their senior class; 6'5 Kelenna Azubuike, 6'1 Patrick Sparks, and 5'9 Brandon Stockton in their junior class; 7'3 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Sheray Thomas from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'7 Bobby Perry from Durham (Hillcrest) NC, 7'2 Lukasz Obrzut from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME in their sophomore class; and 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV, Duncan, and probably another perimeter player, like 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Zam Frederick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, or 6'1 Sundiati Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, ready to step in as incoming freshmen.  Or, if Williams should decide that he needs a year of prep school before enrolling at Kentucky, would the Wildcats, which are believed to be one of the favorites for Crawford, Bradley, and Rich take two guards or would they attempt to sign one guard and another inside player, like 7'0 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON, 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, or 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC?  Getting back to Duncan, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, who is one of the few people in the business who has seen Duncan play, describes Duncan as a poor man's Rick Fox.  "He's a strong rebounder for his size and is extremely skilled inside," says Johnson.  "But, like so many players in this day-and-age, he'd rather be out on the perimeter shooting threes."  Johnson also points out that Wake Forest and Indiana are still in the hunt for Duncan.  So actually it's still a four-horse race, although the Deamon Deacons and the Hoosiers are believed to be long shots at best.  We also understand that 6'8 Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA will make it official on Thursday, August 28th, and it would be a major shock, if he verbally committed to anybody but LSU.  And, assuming that this is correct, Tigers head coach John Brady should be two years away from going to war in the always tough Southeastern Conference with a potential NBA player at every position.  Remember, the Tigers landed the three highest ranked high school players - 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX - signed by any team in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003 and we think it's also just a matter of time before 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who is the #2-ranked junior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, verbally commits to the Tigers.  Remember, LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre is Mitchell's Godfather, plus he is one of the top assistant coaches and best recruiters in the nation.  We also have confirmed that John Lucas has transferred from Baylor to Oklahoma State and that Butler has gotten 5'9 Gary Patterson from Hammond (Bishop Noll) IN, UTEP has gotten 6'2 Vernon Carr from Detroit (Redford) MI, Southern Illinois has gotten 6'2 Wesley Clemmons from Indianapolis (Northwest) IN, and Eastern Michigan has gotten 6'3 Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI.  And don't be surprised if 6'1 Rico Harris from Detroit (Denby) MI isn't too far behind in terms of making a verbal commitment to Eastern Michigan.  As a matter of fact, according to Garrett, the main reason why he reneged on his verbal commitment to Xavier in June was his desire to attend the same college as his high school teammate (Rico Harris).  Obviously, if this happens, it will give the Eagles on of the best backcourts in the Mid-American Conference for years to come.  And the same came already be said about Butler, which also already has a verbal commitment from 6'1 A.J. Graves from Switz City (White River Valley) IN.  Sure, Patterson and Graves are both small, but we're talking about a pair of guards who should complement one another extremely well, plus they both can flat out light up a scoreboard, as is evident by the fact that Graves averaged 22.3 ppg and Patterson averaged 23.4 ppg as juniors in high school last winter.  We also expect 6'8 Sebastian Greene from Lafayette (Central Catholic) IN, who will be ranked #85 nationally in the senior class when we publish our list of the top seniors nationally tomorrow (yes, we're still working on it), to make a verbal commitment to IUPUI within the next several weeks.  And assuming Greene does pick the Jaguars, IUPUI will have stolen two of the top players in the state in Greene and 6'2 George Hill from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN.  And now you know why we think IUPUI assistant coach Todd Howard is one of the best assistant coaches at the mid-to-low Division I level in college basketball.

Monday, August 25, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'8 Brian Anderson from Lamar (H.S.) CO has verbally committed to the University of Utah, but the big news for the Utes involves 6'9 Andrew Bogut from Australia, who has been the top-ranked player in each of their last two recruiting classes.  Apparently Bogut was unable to get cleared by the Clearinghouse the first time around and, as a result, had to take some addition classes in an attempt to become part of last year's recruiting class, which was ranked #18 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  However, Bogut almost didn't enroll in school for the second time in two years.  This time he was strongly considering turning professional after dominating the 19-Under World Junior Championship in Greece in July.  Not only did Bogut lead the Australian Team to a first place finish, but he also led the tournament in both scoring (26.3 ppg) and rebounding (17.0 rpg) en route to tournament MVP honors.  Bogut also had 22 points and 18 rebounds in the quarterfinals against the United States and 35 points and 29 rebounds in his head-to-head match-up against Missouri-bound 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD and the Lithuanian National Team in the Championship Game.  In other words, Bogut should be Utah's best player the minute he steps foot on campus, plus he should be one of the leading candidates for National Freshman-of-the-Year honors in college basketball this season.  Bogut also should make Utah the team to beat in the Mountain West Conference.  Remember, the Utes return five of their top eight players - 6'10 Sr Tim Frost, 6'4 Sr Nick Jacobson, 6'3 Soph Tim Drisdom, 6'5 Soph Richard Chaney, and 6'7 Bryant Markson - from a 25-8 team and they also landed 6'6 Justin Hawkins from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'10 James Langvad from Denmark, 6'10 Stefan Zimmerman from Orem (Mountain View) UT, 6'2 Josh Olson from Sandy (Alta) UT, and 6'4 Ryan Werch from Ripon (H.S.) WI in their most recent recruiting class.  We also have confirmed via Johnson that Kent State has landed 5'10 Marcus Crenshaw from Detroit (MacKenzie) MI and this gives the Golden Flashes not one, but two of the better players in the senior class in Michigan.  If you will recall, Kent State also got an early commitment from 6'6 Issac Knight from Detroit (Crockett) MI in June.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin also tells us that Penn State has gotten verbal commitment from 6'1 Mike Walker from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA.  And this comes as a major surprise, because the Nittany Lions already are stockpiled with young guards in the program after landing 6'0 Ben Luber from Newtown (Council Rock North) PA and 5'11 Marlon Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY in last year's recruiting class and getting an early commitment from 6'2 Danny Morrissey from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL earlier this month.  We also understand that 6'8 Wojceich Barycz from Poland, who verbally committed to Mississippi State in the spring, will not enroll in school this fall and, instead, plays to play professionally in Poland.  And this comes on the heels of the Bulldogs losing 6'9 Mario Austin, who declared hardship for the NBA Draft earlier this year; 6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, who by-passed college altogether and entered his name into the NBA Draft; and 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, who didn't make it academically and is now stashed in prep school at Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  However, Bulldogs head coach Rick Stansbury and his staff already have a replacement, as 6'9 Lawrence Roberts, who announced that he is transferring from Baylor to Mississippi State early last week, has already enrolled in school and is expected to be eligible to play this season.  Johnson also tells us that Kentucky, Florida, LSU, Florida State, Michigan, Miamia-FL, and St. John's are in the hunt for 7'0 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON.  If you will recall, there was some talk about Chiriaev possibly graduating from high school early last spring in Canada.  But it didn't happen and, as a result, he is now ranked as the #6 player on our 5th year list behind 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'6 Earl Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and ahead of 6'10 Jackie Butler from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'6 Roosevelt Lee from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, and 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT.  Actually, Chiriaev is still reported to be a 17-year-old senior, but since he has not played on the American club team circuit and is really an international player, we have decided to put him on the 5th year list, instead of ranking him with players in the senior class nationally.  Speaking of 5th year players, our list of the Top 80 5th Year Players is finished, but it also is subject to continuous change throughout the fall, as we gather and keep track the last minute changes that are sure to occur.  You can get this list by clicking on Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2004.  We also are almost done with our list of the Top 350+ Seniors ranked in order and likely will publish that list tomorrow. 

Saturday, August 23, 2003, & Sunday, August 24, 2003

The PrepSpotlight.com was reporting earlier today that 6'2 Trent Meacham from Champaign (Centennial) IL and 6'6 Jimmy Binnie from Johnston (H.S.) IA had verbally committed to the University of Dayton, but it appears they jumped gun on this one.  As a matter of fact, Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report has talked with Meacham and he reports that four schools (Dayton, Florida State, Purdue, and Stanford) remain on Meacham's list and that nothing is expected to happen at least until after Tuesday, which is when he's supposed to make an unofficial visit to Purdue.  However, if Meacham wants to go to Dayton, he'd better not wait too long, because 6'1 Brian Roberts from Toledo (St. John's) OH visited the Flyers over weekend and, unless something happened to mess things up, a verbal commitment is expected at any time.  The PrepSpotlight.com also is reporting that 6'9 Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, who verbally committed to Pittsburgh a-year-and-a-half ago, has been released from his National Letter-of-Intent and plans to transfer to Cleveland State.  Obviously the connection is Cleveland State head coach Mike Garland, who was able  take advantage of his contacts when he was an assistant coach at Michigan State for the last seven years.  However, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that it didn't take Pittsburgh long come up with a replacement for Waters, as they have gotten 6'2 Antonio Graves from Mansfield (Senior) OH, who originally was supposed to be heading to prep school at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  Graves was ranked #20 in Johnson's final rankings of the top players in the Class of 2003 in Ohio last spring, but the value of his stock rose dramatically this summer, as is evident by the fact he was named the Most Outstanding Player at one of the sessions of the Eastern Invitiational Camp this summer.  Schmidt also tells us that 6'10 Justin Williams from Colby (JC) KS is down to two schools - DePaul and Auburn.  If you will recall, Williams originally is from South Holland (Thornridge) IL and this is a case where the current Blue Demons coaching staff is battling somebody with a lot of Chicago connections of their own.  Remember, Tigers assistant coach Tracy Didly played high school basketball at Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL and college basketball at Illinois-Chicago and was an assistant coach at both Illinois-Chicago and DePaul.  Our Nebraska Editor Herb Welling tells us that 6'8 Roy Enright has decided not to attend Iowa Western (JC) IA.  Instead, Enright, who is expected to be out much of the year due to a broken bone in his foot, will transfer to St. Francis-PA, where he will have three years of eligibility remaining.  And when Enright becomes eligible a year from now, he will provide Red Flash head coach Bobby Jones with what should be one of the best one-two punches in college basketball, as Enright will team with 6'4 Darshan Luckey, who not only was the first freshman in Northeast Conference history to lead the league in scoring (22.9 ppg) last year, but should be the best returning player in the league each of the next three seasons.  Welling, who is Enright's stepfather, tells us that the connection was St. Francis-PA assistant coach Jake Morton, who has been a close friend dating back to when they worked the Five-Star Basketball Camp together.  Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead informs us that Vanderbilt has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'6 Demarre Carroll from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL and this comes as a major surprise, because we thought Carroll would end up at UAB.   Did you know that Carroll's mother's brother is Blazers head coach Mike Anderson?  Carroll doesn't have a true position, because he doesn't shoot it well enough to play on the perimeter and he's not big and strong enough to play inside, but he is an excellent slasher and is talented enough to be ranked among our top 200 seniors nationally.  And also very important for Vanderbilt, Carroll is a big time athlete, which means he should be an excellent complement to 5'11 Alex Gordon from Pensacola (H.S.) FL, who verbally committed to the Commodores a week ago, in this recruiting class.  Chris Johnson tells us that Georgetown has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'4 Tyler Crawford from Staunton (Robert E. Lee) VA, who attended the NIKE All-American Camp this summer, but was not ranked among the top 50 players in camp or among the top 20 players at his position by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, there are those out there who think Crawford is a major sleeper, as he is described as having excellent hands, an accurate jump shot, the ability to go strong to the boards, and a 3.1 gpa.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Georgia, Seton Hall, and Pittsburgh are the top three schools for 6'1 Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, but he does not confirm that 6'9 Theo Davis from Toronto, ON is a lock to enroll at Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  Naclerio does tell us that he hears Cardozo is one of the schools, along with Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, being mentioned for Davis' services.  In contrast, we continue to stand by our source who says Davis will enroll tomorrow at Cardozo.

Friday, August, 22, 2003

Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead has confirmed that Andre Patterson, who is transferring from UCLA, has enrolled in school at Tennessee, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 Randy Hampton from Washington (Dunbar) DC has verbally committed to Drexel, and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'1 Brian Roberts from Toledo (St. John's) OH will make an unofficial visit to the University of Dayton this weekend and, unless something strange happens on the visit, a verbal commitment by Roberts to the Flyers should be forthcoming in the immediate future.  We also believe it's only a matter of time before St.John's gets an early verbal commitment from 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, who is ranked #7 nationally in the junior class and was the highest ranked underclassmen last month at the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN.  And, if the Red Storm do indeed pull this off, Biggs would be exactly what the doctor ordered for St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis, who always seems to have more than his fair share of good guards (i.e. Omar Cook, Marcus Hatten, Elijah Ingram, and Darryl Hill), because he is the blue collar athlete and physical specimen that they need inside.  Biggs also would be the perfect complement to 6'9 Lamont Hamilton from Milford (Academy) CT, who was the key player in last year's recruiting class; 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who has already verbally committed to St. John's three time and reneged twice; and 6'9 Jr Theo Davis, who is expected to enroll at Bayside (Cardozo) NY on Monday.  Speaking of Davis, his new high school coach Ron Naclerio is an both an alumnus and a fan of the program and, as a result, the Red Storm immediately will become the early favorite to get this athletic big man originally from Toronto (Carr West) ON.  In other words, if all the pieces fall into place when Hamilton is a junior, Bell is a sophomore, and Biggs and Davis are freshmen, St. John's not only could have one of the best front-lines in the country, but they also could be one of the teams to beat in college basketball.  Remember, at that point their backcourt would have incredible experience, assuming that both Ingram and Hill stick around that long plus they may also add another quality guard, like 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY or 6'2 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, in this recruiting class.  Speaking of the top point guards in the nation, we continue to wait for the dominos to start falling.  As a matter of fact, it's been over three weeks since 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY told Louisville head coach Rick Pitino that he plans to become a Cardinal.  However, as of yet, an official announcement has yet to be forthcoming.  We also think it's only a matter of time before 6'0 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY verbally commits to Connecticut, which would make Kansas the favorite for Price.  However, if the Jayhawks don't get Price, then we wouldn't be surprised if the new coaching staff has another ace or two up its sleeve, like 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA or, perhaps even 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL.  Remember, Kansas head coach Bill Self and his right hand man Norm Roberts did a great job recruiting Livingston when they were at Illinois and, as a result, it stands to reason that it wouldn't be that hard for the Jayhawks to get back involved.  Speaking of Livingston, Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report tells us that he doesn't think Livingston is the lock everybody thinks he is to go to Duke.  Remember, North Carolina is mounting a serious challenge, plus Schmidt mentions that Livingston plans to visit Arizona for their version of Midnight Madness the third week in October and that Livingston's last official visit is set for Illinois when the Fighting Illini play their homecoming football game against Minnesota on Saturday, October 25th.  Schmidt also confirms that 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL has official visits scheduled to Memphis and Seton Hall, plus Cerasoli plans to take an unofficial visit to Villanova.  Schmidt also has the scoop on 6'7 Ollie Bailey from Chicago (Farragut) IL, whose final five are Florida State, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Purdue, and Fresno State.  However, the biggest story of the day involves Valparaiso head coach Scott Drew, who took the Baylor job today.   Obviously this is a great hire, because Drew has tremendous international and junior college contacts, plus he is one of the bright young head coaches in the business.   In other words, Drew should be able to recruit like crazy and you can bet one of the first players he'll go after is 6'8 Juan Diegon Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  If you will recall, Valparaiso stashed Palacios at Our Savior New American when he first came to the United States two years ago.   And helping their cause even more is the fact that Palacios was in Panama all summer and, as a result, nobody really knows where they stand right now in terms of his recruitment.  Sure, Baylor has its more than its share of problems to overcome, but we're talking about a school in the Big-12, instead of the Mid-Continent Conference.   The other big winner out of all this appears to be former Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew, who is coming out of retirement to coach the Crusaders.  Not only is Drew the winningest coach in the history of the program, but during his 14-year tenure, he guided the Crusaders to seven Mid-Continent regular season titles, seven conference tournament championships, and six NCAA Tournament appearances, including in 1998 when Valparaiso beat Mississippi and Florida State to advance to the Sweet 16.  Drew also was one of 19 active Division I head coaches who had won over 500 career games (his career record is 505-306) when he retired a year ago.  Drew inherits a team that returns five of its top seven players from a team that went 20-11 and won the regular season Mid-Continent championship a year ago, plus the Crusaders have four outstanding freshmen in the program who were part of a recruiting class that was tied for #27, along with Wake Forest and California, in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  In other words, Drew not only will have a great combination of youth and experience, as his top nine players are expected to be 6'8 Sr Joaquim Gomes, 6'4 Sr Greg Tonagel, 6'4 Sr Roberto Nieves, 6'6 Jr Ali Berdiel, 6'8 Soph Dan Oppland, 6'8 Frosh Kenny Harris, 6'2 Frosh Jimmie Miles, 6'6 Frosh Oumar Sylla, and 6'9 Frosh Moussa Mbaye, but this could potentially be his best team ever!

Thursday, August 21, 2003

Five-Star Basketball Camp's August Honesdale session begins tomorrow and the word we're getting is that is camp will be loaded, as a number of the top players from the East, including 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'2 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Newark (St. Patrick's) NJ, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, 6'6 Rahshon Clark from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'10 Goran Sutton from Lansing (Everett) MI, and 6'7 Will Daniels from Poughkeepsie (Roosevelt) NY, are expected to be in attendance.  Unfortunately, it looks like 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who did not play anywhere this summer, except at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ, won't be in attendance at Five-Star, as he continues to duck the top competition in the national.  The camp playoffs will begin on Monday, August 25th, and the NBA Orange-White All-Star Classic, which is always one of the highlights of the camp, will be held in the morning on Wednesday, August 27th.  We also have the scoop on our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio with regards to 6'9 Jr Theo Davis from Toronto, ON, who is expected to enroll at Bayside (Cardozo) NY on Monday.  Apparently Naclerio, who is the head basketball coach at Cardozo, didn't trust us enough to tell us that this was going to happen.  If he had and he told us that it was off the record, he would have totally taken us out of the loop.  However, due to the fact that we have other sources on this and Naclerio never said a word, we are free to run with it.  Remember, my #1 responsibility is to provide our readers with accurate information as well as the latest scoop.  In sharp contrast, Naclerio is trying to wear two different hats and right now it appears he is putting a higher priority on getting players for his team than he does his journalist responsibility to the HOOP SCOOP.  It kind of reminds me several years ago when our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis went on record for six months saying that Rashaad Carruth would not go to University of Kentucky due to the fact the Wildcats didn't need somebody at his position.  But, sure enough, that's exactly what Carruth ended up doing, as he verbally committed to the Kentucky at the NIKE All-American Camp in July of 2000.   In other words, Davis also obviously had a more important agenda than making sure he was accurate in the HOOP SCOOP, but he sure shot himself in the foot journalistically, as, in over 20 years of covering basketball and recruiting, we've never been more wrong on a story.  I'm sure Naclerio will tell me that by withholding this information, he did what he had to do.  But I also hope he understands that it works both ways, as I've done what I'm supposed to do and broken the story.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Tim Clifford from Walpole (H.S.) MA has verbally committed to Holy Cross, 6'1 Brandon Lee from Peoria (Central) IL and 6'5 Gary Lee from Flint (Northern) MI have both verbally committed to Northwestern, and 6'5 Anthony Passley from Indianapolis (North Central) IN has verbally committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  The commitment by Passley, which was given to us by Matt Denison of inhoopsreport.com, is especially interesting, because we're talking about the best kept secret in the state in the Class of 2004.  Passley, who played for the Spiece Blue Demons this summer, has a great body and is a physical specimen, but he needs to improve his skills and, as a result, is more of a slasher than a shooter.  However, he's still a great catch for Panthers head coach Bruce Pearl, as this commitment moves Wisconsin-Milwaukee's recruiting class, which also includes 6'10 Derrick Ford from Olney Central (JC) IL, who promises to be one of the junior college players in the nation next year, into a tie at #22, along with Purdue, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And this comes on the heels of last year's recruiting class, which included 6'3 Ed McCants from Paris (JC) TX, 6'2 Ricardo Freeman from Seward County (JC) KS, and 6'0 Andre White from Zion (Zion-Benton) IL, that finished tied at #51, along with UAB, Wisconsin, USC, Minnesota, and Washington, in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  In other words, it appears that Wisconsin-Milwaukee is quickly becoming the Valparaiso of the Horizon League.  Remember, we're been telling you for years that, due to Crusaders head coach Scott Drew's strong international contacts and astute eye for talent, Valparaiso recruits more like a Big-10 team than a school in the Mid-Continent Conference.  

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, who will be ranked #24 on our list of the top players nationally in the Class of 2004 when we publish our national rankings this weekend, has verbally committed to the University of Missouri.   This comes as no surprise, because the Tigers have been the odds-on-favorite to land Horton since last April, but it still is a huge catch for Quin Snyder and his staff.  Not only is Horton good enough to step in and run the show immediately when he arrives on campus a year from now, but he's comes from a great basketball family, as his older brother - 6'3 Daniel Horton is the starting point guard at Michigan and his father (Darrel Horton) is a successful coach on the AAU circuit.  The addition of Horton moves Missouri's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood Central) MO, 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, and 6'6 Glenn Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, into a tie at #3, along with Louisville, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  It also gives Synder a little big of everything in this recruiting class, as Grimes is a wide body inside, Brown is versatile enough to play both the three and the four spots, Dandridge will be one of the best shooters in the prep school ranks this year, and Horton promises to be one of the best point guards in the league.  We also have confirmed that Marquette has landed 6'8 Ryan Amoroso from Burnsville (H.S.) MN, who is best described as a blue collar white kid with good skills and deceptive mobility around the basket.   Amororo didn't attend the NIKE All-American Camp or the adidas ABCD Camp this summer, but he was impressive enough at the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL to attact serious interest from schools like Florida and Iowa State.  Amoroso joins 7'0 Mike Kinsella from Minneapolis Community/Technical (JC) MN, who verbally committed to Marquette in July, to give the Golden Eagles not one, but two inside players from Minnesota in the recruiting class.  And this too comes as no surprise, because Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report told us in late July that they thought the final two for 6'9 Shaun Pruitt form Aurora (West Aurora) IL were Michigan State and Illinois.  If you will recall, prior to that point Marquette had been mentioned as one of the favorites for Pruitt.  We also understand that 6'9 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN asked for and received his release to Boston College on Sunday and, as a result, now plans to transfer to the University of Minnesota.   This too is important, because we were wondering a year ago whether the Golden Gophers coaching staff could keep the top players in the state at home.  But that question has been put to rest, because 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who originally verbally committed to Duke last fall, also changed his mind several months ago and plans to enroll at Minnesota this fall, plus the top two juniors in the state - 6'9 Spencer Tollackson from  Chaska (H.S.) MN and 6'3 Miles Webb from Brooklyn Park (Park-Center) MN - are already in the fold in the current recruiting class.  We also have confirmed that 6'11 Jason Loughry from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MN has verbally committed to Mt. St. Mary's and our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'11 Todd Folmer from Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) CA has reneged on the University of Washington.  Trigonis also tells us that 6'0 Bobby Brown from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and 6'6 Perrin Johnson from Claremont (H.S.) CA, both of whom were expected to go the prep school route this year, are going to Cal State-Fullerton and Cal State-Northridge, respectively.  Trigonis also tells us that 6'2 Jermaine Middleton from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA plans to attend South Kent (Prep) CT this year.  However, the biggest story of the day involves Sonny Vaccaro, who is stepping down as the top basketball guy at adidas.  Actually we knew something was up a week ago when we heard that Chris Rivers, who was Vaccaro's right hand man for basketball operations at the grass roots level, was stepping down to pursue other job opportunities.  Right now it's all speculation, but a lot of people think the Vaccaro will end up at Reebok.  If you will recall, a year ago Vaccaro almost made the jump.  And, if he does go to Reebok in the immediate future, who can blame him?  Not only does Reebok have a lot more money than adidas does, but the pendulum has swung back into NIKE's favor in terms the amount of talent in the sophomore and junior classes in NIKE programs.  Remember, Vaccaro was the person who not only signed Michael Jordan, but helped build NIKE into the shoe company giant that it is today.  However, in the early 90s Vaccaro left NIKE and went to adidas, where he has been in a thorn in the side of his previous employer ever since.   Ironically, Vaccaro has never been able to compete with NIKE in terms of the bottom line, but, at the same time, thanks primarily to Vaccaro's incredible network of contacts, adidas had been winning the grass roots shoe battle in recent years.  But that changed recently when NIKE signed LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, both of whom attended the adidas ABCD Camp two year ago.   Sure, Vaccaro could retire and fade quality into oblivion, but that's just not his style.  What is Vaccaro's style would be for him to find another company, like Reebok, whereby, he can operate on a more even playing field and, as a result, give NIKE another run for its money. 

"Go ahead, give it a shot.  Try walking into a young ballplayer's living room today with the intention of selling him that outdated gadget you've been pushing door-to-door, that moral compass pointing away from immediate gratification and toward the formative benefits of a four-year school.  You don't want him to go straight from the prom to a the pros?  You don't even think a year or two of higher learning, social adjusting and emotional maturing sufficiently prepares him for the NBA?  You believe David Stern's minumum-age requirement is the best idea since Al Gore cooked up the internet?  Fine, make your pitch.  Open your briefcase, clear your throat and address a few high school All-Americans who might take that LeBron Leap into next June's draft.  Seated before you are two frontcourt stars from Georgia, Dwight Howard and Josh Smith, and a 6-foot whiz kid from New York, Sebastian Telfair.  What are you going to tell them, that the coach at your fine institution would never, ever pull anything out of the Baylor playbook turned in by Dave Bliss?  Might you swear your coach would only poison them on the condition they were still alive?  Didn't think so.  You see, there's nothing left to say or sell," said Ian O'Connor in yesterday's USA Today.  "College coaches have already sucked the lifeblood out of the arguement that they can make men out boys.  Bliss is only the ugliest face on a landscape littered with the debris of jock-culture entitlement, perpetual adolesence and cold-hearted greed."  O'Connor goes on to hold up Fairfield, Missouri, Georgia, Iowa State, and St. Bonaventure as examples of other programs that have run recently run astray and he asks "shouldn't the parents of lottery-pick possibilities such as Howard, Smith, and Telfair start to sweat when the college crowd comes calling?  Do these mothers and fathers want to hand over the development of their children to men who might pull them into the mud pit to soil all those multimillion-dollar NBA dreams?"  Sure, college basketball has it's share of problems, but all this pales in comparison when you start talking about the image problem that the NBA has today.  Not only are we talking about a bunch of overpaid spoiled pampered prima donnas who have more in common with renegades, outlaws, thugs, drug dealers, and rappers than mainstream American, but one of the biggest stories of the day involves one of the NBA's most legitimate guys, Kobe Bryant, who previously was positive role model, but now must admit that he's both a liar and an adulteress as part of his legal defense.  Ironically, Mr. O'Connor says the living definition of a ghoul is "a grave robber" when talking about Bliss and Baylor's mission statement, but that's exactly what the NBA is doing when it entices the high school and college basketball player to take the money and run, instead of taking steps to encourage him to become the best player he can be.  In other words, the path is much different if your goal is to be a high first round draft choice and/or get your first NBA contract versus making the most money in the long run and becoming one of best players in the league before your career is over.  Everybody assumes that Dwight Howard will by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft, but here is a kid from a two-parent home with excellent grades and the work ethic, drive, and determination to be success in life regardless of whether he plays professional basketball.  He also continues to tell anybody who will listen that he wants to go to college.  But nobody believes him!  College basketball also still has some class, the coaches do a better job in terms of play development, the rivalries still have meaning, ticket prices aren't totally ridiculous, there is still some accountability in terms of public perception, the NCAA Tournament is second to none as a sporting event, and God forbid, some of the players might even learn something and, in some cases even get a degree.  But, all too often, the player who needs the time the most to develop both as a basketball player and as a person falls prey to all the pressure and the need for immediate gratification.   Remember, NBA General Managers have more money than they know what to do with and what they care about most is winning basketball games and selling tickets, which means the pressure is intense to find the next Michael Jordan/LeBron James.   Moral to the story, the typical player goes prematurely into the NBA Draft, because everybody tells him he can set himself up for life, but, more often than not, exactly the opposite occurs.  Did you know that well over half of the players in the NBA are broke when they retire?  They also are less equipped to get a job, function in society, and meet the harsh realities of life once the good times end than they would have been if they had gone through the normal development process, whereby, they stayed in school and developed as a person, a student, and a basketball player.  However, we not only have all of the street agents, runners, and other shady people attempting to get their hooks into the stars of tomorrow, but things are so out of control and mainstream America is so clueless that even a respected columnist who writes for the USA Today is encouraging the mass exodus of student-athletes at an early age into the NBA Draft.   Not only is this kind of mentality destroying the game at every level, but it also is a sad commentary on our society. 

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Late last week we reported that 6'5 C.J. Anderson from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH would all be attending Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.   But now it appears that he has changed his mind and, instead, will attend Laurinburg (Institute) NC, which is expected to be a absolutely loaded, as is evident by the fact that Laurinburg head coach Chris Chaney will go to war this winter with a team that includes Anderson, 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'11 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, 6'3 Vincent Banks from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, 6'7 Loic Theophile from France, 6'5 Joe McCray from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, 6'11 Benny Sougetov from Central Africa, 6'6 Keving Palacios from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 7'6 Jerry Sokolowski from Toronto, Canada, 6'6 Chad Ferguson from Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV, 5'10 Eric Howard from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, 5'11 Dwayne Foreman from Apopka (H.S.) FL, and 6'1 Chance McGrady from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL.  However, Butler, who is expected to re-sign with Mississippi State; Longar, who is expected to re-sign with Oklahoma; Banks, who recently verbally committed to Cincinnati; and McCray, who verbally committed to Nebraska in late June; all are already off the board.  Dorsey is getting the most attention from Miami-FL, Auburn, LSU, Charlotte, and Cincinnati.  Villanova and St. John's are the two high level schools mentioned the most with Rice.  Theophile, who athletically is like LSU-bound 6'7 Regie Koundjia, hasn't been seen by anybody yet, because he just arrived in the country from France, but you bet his recruitment will take off in September when college coaches are back out on the road and able to attend high school work-outs and practices.  LSU and Xavier are the leaders for Sougetov.  Charlotte will be the school you have to beat for Palacios.  Sokolowski is totally wide open.   Ferguson is a white kid who can flat out shoot the lights out and, as a result, has gotten a lot of Pacific-10 interest.  Howard and Foreman are getting mid-major attention and McGrady will all get recruited at the mid-to-low Division I level.  It also is important to point out that 6'10 Ousmane Konate, who committed to Missouri over a year ago, but reneged on the Tigers earlier this month, is no longer at Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  Instead, Konate, who now is attracting interest from schools like Arizona, Charlotte, and Xavier, is at Gulf Coast (JC) FL.  We also are still waiting to see if 6'10 Jr Andris Biedrins from Rita, Latvia, who made his American debute at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV in late July, returns to the United States this fall.  If Biedrins does return, the smart money says he will attend either Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD or Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  But even without Biedrins, Chaney's goal is not only to field at team that is better than last year's, which had a 40-2 record, won the prep school national championship, and had 12 Division I players, but also finish the season with what will be remembered as the best prep school team ever assembled.  The key obviously will whether he can develop the same type of chemistry that they enjoyed a year ago, as Butler, Longar, Sougetov, Dorsey, Palacios, Theohile, McCray, Banks, Anderson, and Rice are all good enough to challenge for starting positions.  And we'll get a sneak preview of whether that will happen when we attend the War On the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament in Milford, DE on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 21st-23rd.  Speaking the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament, the field for this year's tournament, which once again promises to be absolutely loaded, will include Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, St. Laurent (Champlain St. Lambert) QU, Fork Union (Military) VA, Laurinburg (Institute) NC, Burlington (Life Center) NJ, Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, Richmond (New Creations Christian) IN, Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, South Kent (Prep) CT, and Winchendon (School) MA. 

Monday, August 18, 2003

Today is a day mourning for people in our business, because Les Kaune, who was diagnosed with cancer several months ago, died on Wednesday, August 13th, and was laid to rest today in Radnor, PA.  Kaune was never quoted in the HOOP SCOOP and he never served in any official capacity, but he was a long time friend of our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, our Northeast Editor Dave Schultz, H.S.B.I. Report Editor & Publisher Tom Konchalski, Norm Eavenson and Rob Matera, both of All-Stars Sports, and, numerous other people in the business and, as a result, was like an unofficial consultant to us all.  Kaune, who was 72 years old and retired from Philco Ford, also was the president of the Philadelphia Basketball Junkies Club and over the years annually attended numerous basketball events, including the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ, the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament in College Park, MD and Villanova, PA, and Slam to the Beach in Lewes, DE.  Speaking of Slam Dunk to the Beach, the Executive Director of the Tournament, Bobby Jacobs, plans to name the media hospitality room at his tournament in Les Kaune's name.  In addition to being at Kaune's funeral today, Rubin and Schultz also were at the Sonny Hill Future Stars Tournament at Temple University over the weekend and Rubin tells us that Philadelphia MJC, thanks to the efforts of 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA with 20 points and four assists in the championship, 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA with 10 points and nine rebounds, and 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA with 13 points and seven rebounds, and 6'2 Antoine Brown from Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA with 16 points and six assists, beat Philadelphia Phoenix in the championship, 95-63.  And the championship game wasn't the only game in the tournament where Philadelphia MJC was clearly the dominant team.   As a matter of fact, only once in the entire tournament was the mercy rule, whereby, the game is called if a team is up by more than 20 points with two minutes remaining, was no enforced.  Lowry was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, but the debate continues regarding who is the best point guard in Philadelphia, as 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, who has been sidelined for several months due to a shoulder injury, came back and never missed a beat.   Singletary also was the best player for the Playaz Basketball Club (formerly known as the Tim Thomas Playaz).  And that's saying a lot because the Playaz also featured 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and 6'5 David McClure from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, 6'7 Jr J.R. Inman from Montvale (St. Joseph's) NJ, and 6'5 Soph Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA.  However, neither Lowry nor Singletary were in the same class as 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, who scored inside and outside, made spectacular dunks, blocked shots, rebounded with authority, and clearly was the best player in the tournament.  In other words, Gay picked where he left off in July.  If you will recall, Gay not only took his game to another level during the summer, but he also was named as #1-ranked player by the HOOP SCOOP at the NIKE All-American Camp.  Right now it appears to be too close to call among Maryland, Syracuse, Connecticut, St. John's, Villanova,and Georgia Tech, but the longer this one goes, the better the chance Gay will stay home.  Other top performances were turned in by 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'4 Mark Tyndale from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'8 Spencer Tollakson from Chaska (H.S.) MN, 6'4 Charron Fisher from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'6 Jr Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'6 Sam Young from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD, 6'5 Marc Egerson from Newark (Glasgow) DE, 6'6 Jonathan Hart from Roselle (H.S.) NJ, and 6'3 Soph Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that Tyndale has taken his game to another level and, as result, in now one of the fastest rising player in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey area.  Tyndale is a slasher/passer/defender who makes a living getting to the foul line.  Schools like Dayton, Massachusetts, La Salle, Rhode Island, N.C. State, East Carolina, St. Joseph's, and Temple are already recruiting him, but Tyndale shoots the ball well enough to attract even further big time interest. 

Indian Hills (JC) IA, which won the National Junior College Championship in 1997, 1998, and 1999, and Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA, which won the National Junior College Championship in 2002 and 2003, should once again be two of the most powerful teams in the junior college ranks next season.  However, the team to beat in the powerful Iowa Athletic Conference might just be Iowa Western (JC) IA, which returns three starters in 6'2 Nedu Onyeuku, 6'7 Ethan Shaw, and 6'7 Luther Boyd from a team that went 25-6 last season.  However, it's their incredible depth, as the list of players that the Reivers have assembled includes 6'9 Nick Stiggers, 6'8 Roy Enright, 6'8 Matt O'Connor, 6'2 Kris Collins, 6'4 Kyle Prochaska, 5'11 Mose Howard, 6'2 Landon Scott, 6'5 Jazz Ross, 6'3 Wade Dunston, and 6'2 Antonio Poole, that makes us think that this is potentially the best junior college team in the nation.  Onyeuku, who is like a human highlight-film at the 2-guard spot, is getting attention from schools like Texas, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Illinois State, South Alabama, and South Florida.  Shaw, whose forte is taking care of business on the boards, has already decided to return home by making an early verbal commitment to the University of Detroit.  Boyd is very skilled and offensive minded, but, at 6'7, 245 lbs., he's also a warrior on the boards and he led the league in blocked shots a year ago.  Houston, South Florida, Purdue, and Loyola-Chicago are all in the hunt.  Stiggers is originally from Memphis, TN, but USC stashed him at Van Nuys (Montclair Prep) CA when he was a junior in high school.  However, the scholarship offer to Stiggers by the Trojans a year ago was never forthcoming and, as a result, this extremely talented and athletic inside player slipped through the cracks.  Enright, who decided to transfer from the University of Nebraska after a disappointing freshman season, is still recovering from a stress fracture.  But he should be back soon and, as a result, schools like UNLV, Long Beach State, Denver, and Northern Iowa are showing the most interest.  O'Connor is a very skilled and very athletic white kid who qualified as a high school senior last year and, as a result, is expected to play one year in junior college and then have three years of eligibility remaining at a four-year Division I school.  Denver, Drake, and Northern Illinois appear to be the favorites for O'Connor's services.  Collins, who is projected to be the starting point guard, averaged 16.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.7 apg, and 2.3 spg at Collin County (JC) TX two years ago, but did not play last season at the University of Minnesota.  Prochaska was the Nebraska High School Player-of-the-Year last year and he led Wahoo (Bishop Neuman) NE to the C-1 State Championship each of the last two years.  He also is skilled enough and talented enough to step in immediately and challenge for a starting spot at the wing forward as a freshman.  Howard, who is getting the most interest from Missouri-Kansas City and Arkansas-Little Rock, has come on strong this summer, plus he qualified late, which means he'll have three years to play at the Division I level after this season.  Scott is another late qualifier, plus he's a great outside shooter, as is evident by the fact that he hit 71 treys last season and broke the Sioux City career scoring record, which previously was held by Kirk Hinrich.  Right now Illinois State, Arkansas-Little Rock, and UNC-Wilmington are the schools to beat for Scott' services.  Ross is an explosive athlete who our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis thought was a top 20 senior in the state a year ago.  Dunston played at Dayton College (JC) FL, but this versatile athlete with mid-major talent is best known dating back to his days as Potomac (The Bullis School) MD.  Poole was a high flying athlete during his high school days at Chicago (Farragut) IL. 

Saturday, August 16, 2003, & Sunday, August 17, 2003

The Class of 2005 pales in comparison to both the Class of 2004 and the Class of 2006, but, after the emergence this summer of players like 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'8 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, and 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO into top 10 players nationally, the class appears to be much better than we originally thought.  In other words, this promises to be a very late developing class and a perfect illustration of the our point is provided by the lack of early verbal commitments that have been already been made, as 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC to Wake Forest, 6'2 Jr Jarrett Smith from Westland (John Glenn) MI to Michigan, 5'10 Jr A.J. Abrams from Austin (McNeil) TX to Texas, and 6'8 Jr Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX to Texas Tech are the only juniors who are already off the board.  That's in sharp contrast to a year ago at this time when 12 of our top 100 juniors - 6'3 Jr DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA to Duke, 6'2 James OnCurry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC to North Carolina, 6'5 Jr Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX to Arizona, 6'5 Jr Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN to Purdue, 6'6 Jr Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI to Michigan, 6'11 Jr Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI to Wisconsin, 6'1 Jr Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH to Cincinnati, 6'6 Jr J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN to Iowa, 6'5 Jr Cheyenne Moore from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD to Georgetown, 6'9 Jr Jermaine Bell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA to St. John's, 7'0 Jr Rob Hibbert from North Bethesda (Georgetown) MD to Georgetown, and 6'7 Jr Marquis Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI to Michigan State - had already made verbal commitments.  And the trend of early commitments didn't stop there, as 6'9 Jr Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN to Minnesota, 5'9 Jr Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI to Michigan State, 6'4 Jr Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV to Kentucky, 6'2 Jr Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI to Wisconsin, 6'3 Jr Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI to Xavier, 6'0 Jr Enrico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA to San Diego, 6'3 Jr Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA to Penn State, 6'0 Jr Desmond Gadis from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Purdue also were already verbally committed at this time a year ago.  However, since that time Vaden has reneged on the Boilermakers and now plans to sign with Indiana, Butler has reneged on the Bearcats and now plans to sign with Ohio State, Moore has reneged on Georgetown and now plans to sign with Clemson, Bell can't seem to make up his mind whether he's coming or going as he's verbally committed three tims and reneged on St. John's twice, Garrett has reneged on Xavier and is once again available, Tucker has reneged on San Diego and appears to be close to making a verbal commitment to Minnesota, and Morse has reneged on Penn State and is once again available.  In other words, six of the 20 verbal commitments that had been reported at this time a year ago have failed to hold up, plus there is always the possibility that Bell will once again join this list.  The other interesting item about the Class of 2005 is the fact the traditional basketball hotbeds, like New York City, California, Texas, Illinois, and Michigan are hardly represented at all when we start talking about the top players in the class.  Instead, we get a real cross section of America as players from Seattle, WA; Denham Springs, LA; Snellville, GA; Washington, IN; Flossmoor, IL; Deland, FL; Ramsey, NJ; Jackson, MS; Athens, AL; Poplar Bluff, MO; Pulaski, TN, Durham, NC; Moreno Valley, CA; Troy, NY; and Carmel, IN make up the top 15 players in the class.  That's 15 players from 14 different states!   And digging a little deeper, we also find that 48 players from 23 states and two players from Canada are represented among the HOOP SCOOP's top 50 players and 98 players from 30 states and two players from Canada are represented among the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 players in the class.  However, when we get this deep, we find that the population tends to become more of a factor, as the two states with the most players ranked among our top 100 juniors nationally are California and Texas with 10 players apiece, followed by Illinois with nine, New York with seven, New Jersey with and Georgia with six, Pennsylvania and Michigan with five, and Alabama and Virginia with four, and Indiana, and North Carolina with three apiece.  You can get the complete list exclusively in the Members Section by clicking on Ranking of the Top Players in the Class for 2005.

Friday, August 15, 2003

It looks like Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA head coach Steve Smith is well on his way towards having one of his best teams ever, as 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA announced yesterday that he plans to enroll at Oak Hill this fall.  And when Johnson enrolls, Oak Hill will have a starting line-up that features Johnson at center, 6'7 Dayshawn Wright at power forward, 6'9 Josh Smith at wing forward, 6'4 Jr K.C. Rivers at the 2-guard spot and 6'2 Rajon Rando at point guard, plus Smith will have 6'11 Jr Bamba Fall from the Senegal, 6'9 Jr Donatus Visockis from Lithuania, and 6'6 Soph Anthony Wright available to come off the bench.  In other words, we're talking about two locks for the McDonald's All-American Game in Smith and Johnson; a blue collar banger inside in Wright, who is best described as a poor man's Elton Brand; an incredibly talented point guard in Rando, who also is capable of putting up prolific numbers, three top 50 juniors nationally in Rivers, Fall, and Visockis; and a sophomore in Wright with a lot of potential.  And they might be even better next year, if Rivers, Fall, Visockis, and Wright all return, because we continue to hear that 6'1 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC, who is the #3-ranked sophomore nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, may eventually transfer to Oak Hill and 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, who will be ranked #11 in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP when we publish tomorrow our updated rankings of the top players nationally in the Class of 2005 exclusively in the Members Section, may transfer to Oak Hill after his junior season.  You can get a sneak preview of this year's team when Oak Hill scrimmages Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA on Tuesday, October 21st and Fork Union (Military) VA on Sunday, October 26th.  Speaking of the Oak Hill-Hargrave Military Academy scrimmage, this promises to be one of the most talent laden scrimmages ever, as Kevin Keats, who previously was the assistant coach at Marshall University, has returned to Hargrave as the head coach and he is expected to field a team that features 6'2 Isaiah Swann, 6'6 Norm Plummer, 6'5 C.J. Anderson, 6'9 Jerome Habel, 6'3 Stanley Burrell, and 6'4 Rashaud Nixon.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN has unofficial visits planned this fall for UCLA, Duke, and Kansas.  Apparently Smith's mother works for an airline and, as a result, he gets to fly whenever he wants for free.  We also continue to hear North Carolina, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Arizona mentioned with 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that 6'5 Bobby Clark and 6'7 Charles Thomas both have returned to Jackson (Callaway) MS.  If you will recall, Clark and Thomas originally were at Jackson (Callaway) MS, but transferred to Jackson (Lanier) MS last fall.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was at the Sonny Hill Future Stars Tournament tonight at Temple University and he talked with 6'5 Marc Egerson from Newark (Glasgow) DE, 6'4 Marc Tyndale from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'6 Jonathan Hart from Roselle (H.S.) NJ, 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'1 Mike Walker from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA, and 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA about their recruiting.  Egerson, who was the Player-of-the-Year in Delaware last year, likes East Carolina, Hofstra, La Salle, and Delaware State.  Tyndale is getting the most interest from Dayton, Massachusetts, La Salle, Rhode Island, N.C. State, East Carolina, St. Joseph's, and Temple.  Hart has Duke, Kansas, Maryland, Wake Forest, St. John's, Miami-FL, Kentucky, Ohio State, Connecticut, and La Salle on his list, but it will be interesting to see if any of these schools actually offer.  Cerasoli mentioned Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Memphis, Auburn, Villanova, and Georgia.  Walker likes Pittsburgh, Providence, Penn State, Pennsyslvnia, Stanford, Kent State, Western Kentucky, Siena, and East Carolina.   Nothing has changed for Lowry as he mentioned Kansas, Connecticut, Xavier, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.  We still think Duke is the school you have to beat for 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, but we're starting to hear that North Carolina is a lot stronger than most people realize. 

Thursday, August 14, 2003

We've been telling you for months that 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP,  would is a near lock for LSU and, once again it appears we're going to be right on the money, because the word on the street is that a verbal commitment by Davis to the Tigers will be forthcoming by the end of the month.  And when this happens, Davis will provide LSU head coach John Brady with the fourth important piece to the puzzle in the Tigers quest to win the NCAA Championship several years from now.  If you will recall, LSU was the only school to land three players - 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA, who was ranked #10 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003; 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who was ranked #21 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003; and 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, who was ranked #40 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003 - who were ranked among our top 40 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, if LSU also adds 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who will be the #2-ranked junior when we update our rankings of the top juniors nationally this weekend, a year from now, then the Tigers will potentially be able to war during the 2005-06 season with a future NBA player at every position.  We also also believe that a verbal commitment by 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, who will be ranked #17 nationally in the junior class when we update our rankings of the top juniors nationally, is close to making it official for Notre Dame.   And when this happens sometime within the next to 10 days, Paulus would become the highest ranked junior to have already made a verbal commitment.  Currently that honor belongs to 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who is already committed to Wake Forest.  Speaking of verbal commitments from juniors, players in the Class of 2005 appear to be much slower to make up their mind in terms of their college decision, as Swinton to Wake Forest, 6'2 Jr Jarrett Smith from Westland (John Glenn) MI to Michigan, 6'8 Jr Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX to Texas Tech, and 5'10 Jr A.J. Abrams from Austin (McNeil) TX to Texas are the only players ranked among our top 200 juniors nationally who have already verbally committed.  And, as things stand now, the only sophomore to have made an early commitment is 5'9 Soph Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX and the only  freshman to have made an early commitment is 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI has official visits scheduled for UCLA on August 30th and Ohio State on September 6th and Georgia Editor Linzy Davis thinks Arizona is the team you have to beat for 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  Davis also thinks Wildcats assistant coach Josh Pastner, despite his youthful age (Pastner is only 25-years-old), is already second-to-none as a recruiter and he sites Pastner as the main reason why the Wildcats are in such good shape with Tangara.  Miami-FL appears to be second on Tangara's list, followed by Louisville, Michigan, Memphis, and Florida.  However, the biggest story that Davis has to pass along involves the fact that he will become the head coach at McDonough (Community Christian School) GA next season and there appears to be no limit on Davis' potential to get players.  As a matter of fact, Davis already has two players - 6'5 Soph Mamadou Marega from the Senegal and 6'11 Frosh Issa Diallo from Mali - already on campus and 6'7 Soph Bcar Oputa, who currently is in England, as he attempts to immigrate from Nigeria to the United States, is en route.  Davis also plans to leave on Monday for a week long recruiting trip to Nigeria, Mali, and the Senegal and our guess is that he'll come back with more than his fair share of talent.  The real reason behind Davis' madness stems from the fact that the Georgia High School Athletic Association won't let middle school players participate at the varsity level and this could be a potential problem in a couple of years for his son, Drew Davis, who is one of the top 4th graders in the nation.  However, by joining the National Independent High School Association and playing a national high school schedule, Davis' son should be able to get valuable experience at an early age and Davis will get a chance to build this into one of the premier high school basketball programs in the nation.  And he's going to do it first exclusively with international players in the freshman and sophomore age groups and later with elite players from the community.  "You must fit academically and in terms of citizenship with our profile," says Davis.  In other words, Community Christian has incredible facilities, great living conditions for the students, excellent academics, personal trainers, and doctors on staff and, as a result, jerks with behavior problems need not apply.  

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

The 2003 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team, which features Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics, Mike Bibby of the Sacramento Kings, Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers, Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors), Nick Collison of the Seattle SuperSonics, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets, Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets, Karl Malone of the Los Angeles Lakers, Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic, and Jermaine O’Neal of the Indiana Pacers and is coached by Detroit Pistons head coach Larry Brown, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, and Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell, is currently training in New York City for the 2003 FIBA Americas Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 20th-31st (the top three finishing teams will earn qualifying berth for the 2004 Olympics).  However, that doesn't mean that Williams and Purnell have forgetten about recruiting.  Believe it or not, Williams is waiting to see if 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ accepts the scholarship offer that the Tar Heels have reportedly made to his athletic wing player who can shoot the lights out and is like a highlight film in transition.  Remember, Smith has always been a Tar Heels fan, but, when it appeared the Tar Heels weren't going to offer this spring, the school that was right at the top of his list was Louisville.  And this is important, because we've heard through the grapevine that Smith committed to the Cardinals, but then hesitated on the decision and, as a result, head coach Rick Pitino went ahead and took 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL.  In other words, you'd think that Smith would have learned the first time what can happen if you don't go ahead and pull the trigger when the opportunity presents itself.  Purnell, on the other hand, has to think August 13th is a lucky day, because this is the day the new coaching staff at Clemson landed their first recruiting since taking the job earlier this spring.  We're talking about 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, who, at 6'6, has the athleticism, ball handling and passing skills, and outside shooting necessary to play the one, two, and the three spots at the next level.  Moore, who will be a 5th year player next year, also has the talent and potential to play in the NBA someday, which means that if he were ranked among high school seniors today, we'd have him in the same range as 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL and just ahead of 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL.  Speaking of Bradley, we thought Seton Hall was going to get a verbal commitment from this athletic 2-guard in July, but now it looks like the University of Kentucky might be the team to beat for Bradley's services.  Bradley also is high on the list of Clemson, as are 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'2 Zam Frederick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, 6'2 Robert McIver from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'3 Marquie Cooke from Suffolk (Namsemond River) VA, 6'4 Channing Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA, 6'9 E.J. Drayton from Colby (JC) KS, 6'6 Sam Perry from Woodmont (H.S.) SC, 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Potomac (The Bullis School) MD, 6'8 Emmanuel Willis from Mendenhall (H.S.) MS, 6'9 James Mays from Garner (H.S.) SC, and 6'3 Sterling Ledbetter from Allegany (JC) MD.  And Purnell isn't the only head coach in the state who is smiling right now.  Did you know that Furman head coach Larry Davis received a verbal commitment from 6'11 Matt Kyle from North Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC several days ago?  Sure, Kyle is a project right now, but, like they say, you can't teach size, plus, if he gets bigger and stronger, this long lanky big man has a lot of potential, as is evident by the fact that schools like Dayton, South Alabama, and Hawaii were also showing interest.  Kyle also is an excellent student (1200 SAT), he works hard, and has improved dramatically in recent months, but the icing on the cake is the fact that he is a homegrown kid (the Paladins currently don't have an in-state player on their roster). 

Ironically, a week after we told you where we thought each of the three top freshman - 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA to UCLA, 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH to Cincinnati, and 6'1 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC to Louisville - in the nation were leaning in terms of their college choice, King went ahead and made what appears to have been the earliest verbal commitment on record when he picked UCLA.  Well, here we go again, as 6'7 Frosh Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, who Patrick Stanwood ranked as the #2 player at the 14-Under/8th Grade AAU National Tournament last week in Orlando, FL, could be a lot closer to making a verbal commitment to the University of Oregon than anybody realizes.   And this would make perfect since, because Love's father, Stan Love, is the 4th leading scorer in the history of Oregon Ducks basketball with 1,655 points from 1968 to 1971.  As a matter of fact, it will be interesting to see which happens first - an early verbal commitment from Love to Oregon or a pair of verbal commitments to wrap up their current recruiting class.  If you will recall, Oregon already has a verbal commitment from 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA and they also have been mentioned a number of unsigned seniors like 6'8 Maarty Leunen from Redmond (H.S.) OR, 6'2 Quentin Thomas from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'7 Ty Morrison from Phoenix (Browne) AZ, 6'9 Lorenzo Matta from South Gate (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Tim Pierce from Oakland (Fremont) CA, 6'7 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) OR, 6'2 Chamberlain Oguchi from Sugar Land (Ft. Bend) TX, and 6'7 Lee Cummard from Mesa (H.S.) AZ.  Who?  We hadn't heard of Cummard either until I received a copy of Trigonis Tidbits, which were published August 11, 2003 on Dinos Trigonis' web site, which can be found at Full Court Press.Net.   "Browsing around the internet, I was amused to discover that Insiders.com's West Coast scouts Greg Hicks and Tracey Pierson have proclaimed Quinton Thomas as the West Coast's #1 point guard and Lee Cummard as the West Coast's top off-guard.  Maybe it was me dreaming or sleep walking through this summer, but I neither saw nor heard of a point guard that made as convincing of a case for the top West Coast point guard spot as 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA.  All Farmer did was lead his club to two major tourney championships (Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in North Carolina and Best of the Summer Tournament at Loyola-Marymount - besting the powerful Atlanta Celtics at both venues) as well as a Final Four finish at Hal Pastner's Houston Kingwood Classic.  Farmer was also arguably the top point guard in attendance at this year's summer NIKE All-American Camp (the HOOP SCOOP ranked Farmar #3 in camp among point guards).  But I guess that is not good enough for scouts like Hicks and Pierson as well as Dave Nahabedian (the self-proclaimed #1 scout on the West Coast) who also feels the same way about Thomas being Farmer's equal.   Thomas' high water mark this spring and summer was being named all-tourney at the adidas Big Time Tournament (not a shabby accomplishment).  But like Jim Rome likes to say, in the end, its all about 'Scoreboard' and the Scoreboard heavily tilts in Farmer's favor.  Case Closed!!!  The annoiting of Cummard also makes for interesting discussion.  Cummard (although talented and with nice potential) is not anywhere close to being the player that Duke-bound 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, UCLA-bound 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, and Oregon-bound 6'3 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA are at this time.  If this keeps up, it may result in mandatory drug testing for all of us scouts." Editor's Note:  Cummard played for the Arizona Cagers I in the adidas Big Time Tournament, but was missing in action at both the NIKE All-American Camp and the adidas ABCD Camp and, as a result, was not seen by most of the national scouts, including us, this summer.   Obviously, this explains why Cummard is not on most people's radar screen, much less listed among the top 100-300 seniors nationally.  However, after further investigation, the word we get is that Cummard is a good scorer and a legitimate sleeper, but he needs to improve his outside shooting, if he wants crack anybody's top 100 list.   In other words, it looks like Hicks and Pierson are way out on a limb on this one, but, as is so often the case, time will tell whether they're proven to be right or wrong.   Trigonis also wanted us to mention how good 6'8 Jr Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ and 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA were at the 2003 Fullcourt Press All-West Camp in mid-July.   Speaking of that camp, the Top 24 All-Star Game was loaded, as is evident by the fact that it included Hill, Shipp, 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'4 Curtis Allen from Palos Verdes (Rolling Hills Prep) CA, 6'3 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Jared Dudley from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 Jr Brian Harvey from Carson (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Jr Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'7 Lamar Roberson from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'6 Marcel Jones from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'4 Matt Thomas from Riverside (King) CA, 6'0 Bobby Brown from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'3 Soph Christian Polk from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, 6'6 Chris Berry from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'9 Jr Eugene Crockett from Sacramento (Charter) CA, 6'9 Chris Henry from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'0 Jr Daren Jordan from Phoenix (Browne) AZ, 6'3 Matt Sargeant from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, 6'4 Schuyler McKay from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'7 Jr Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'7 DeMarcus Young from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'9 Ephraim Williams from San Bernardino (Arroyo Valley) CA, and 6'8 Brandon Hinchee from Albany (H.S.) CA.  And we're looking forward to seeing many of these same players at the Pangos 2003 Full Court Press Fall Showcase, which will be held Sunday, September 7th, at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, CA and the Pangos 2003 Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic, which will be held, Friday-Sunday, September 12th-14th, at the Warrior Center in Cypress, CA.  If you will recall, two of the best players a year ago at the 2002 Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic were 6'7 Dorell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA and 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA.  And this is important, because at the time few people had ever heard Wright and Afflalo was so good that he convinced us that he was the best junior in Southern California.  The schedule for the Pangos 2003 Full Court Press Fall Showcase begins at 10:00 AM with the Top 24 Freshman Game, followed by the Top 48 Sophomore Game at 11:30 AM, Top 24 Sophomore Game at 1:00 PM, Top 48 Junior Game at 2:30 PM, Top 24 Junior Game at 4:00 PM, Top 48 Senior Game at 5:30 PM, and Top 24 Senior Game at 7:00 PM.  Trigonis also tells us that Chris Monter of College Basketball News is reporting that Boston College has landed 6'6 Jared Dudley from South Kent (Prep) CT and that he will enroll into school right away.  Assuming this is true, this is a major scoop for Monter and it is a major catch for Boston College.  If you will recall, Dudley is a guy without a true position, but he's tough on the boards, terrific from mid-range and in, and he did all the dirty work for the Pump N Run All-Stars, which are the HOOP SCOOP's co-team of the spring and summer, along with the New York Gauchos.

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

We've been telling you for months that it was only a matter of time before Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL head coach Thad Fitzpatrick and 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL both ended up at Indiana University.  Well, White, who was our choice as the best player in camp on the first day at the NIKE All-American Camp, verbally committed to Indiana on July 8th and now we're getting reports that Fitzpatrick as followed suit.  Not only is Fitzpatrick one of Indiana University head coach Mike Davis' closest friends, but he also should give Davis one of the best one-two punches in terms of assistant coaches being on the road in the business.  If you will recall, Fitzpatrick was an assistant coach at Alabama, Wyoming, and Miami-FL prior to being a high school coach the last six years and Dusty May, who has been on the road recruiting for the Hoosiers since April, has been the point man for Davis' recruiting during the last year, as he's lined up a recruiting class that already includes White, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN and currently is ranked #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And they aren't done yet, as the Hoosiers are listed among the favorites for players like 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL and 6'9 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA; they are mentioned with players, like 6'7 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'9 Shaun Pruitt from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, 7'1 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN; and they already appear to have a great head start on next year's recruiting with juniors like 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'9 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, and 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 George Hill from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN, who was one of the biggest sleepers to emerge this summer, as was evident by the fact that he was ranked as the #13 2-guard in camp at the adidas ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to IUPUI.  Hill also was one of the leading scorers at the adidas ABCD Camp.  In other words, we're talking about a legitimate top 150 senior nationally, as well as somebody who combines the athleticism and outside shooting necessary to be mentioned as both a shooter and a slasher.  And this isn't the only player that IUPUI assistant coach Todd Howard, who is one of the sharpest evaluators of talent in the business has stolen recently.  In addition to the two players - 6'8 Chaz Spicer from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'0 David Barlow from Indianapolis (Pike) IN - that IUPUI had listed in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the Class of 2003, they also added 6'4 Akeem Clark from Black Hawk East (JC) IL, who was ranked among the top 10 players in the junior college ranks in scoring last year with 22.6 ppg, and 6'8 James Booyer from Black Hawk East (JC) IL and, as a result, IUPUI's recruiting class would now be tied at #102, along with West Virginia, College of Charleston, Miami-OH, Evansville, Oregon State, Drexel, Creighton, South Alabama, San Diego, Hofstra, Southern Illinois, and Old Dominion, if we'd known about this in time to add to our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  Another one of the most astute evaluators of talent in the nation is Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo and it appears the latest player that he has stolen is 6'7 DeSean White from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA.  However, whether White turns out to be as good as Abdul Mills, Ryan Gomes, and Donnie McGrath, all of whom were underrecruited and, as it turns out, underrated when they came out of high school, but now will play privotal roles as Providence not only promises to be one of the biggest sleepers in college basketball next year, but may be picked to finish as high as #3 in the Big East Conference, behind Connecticut and Syracuse next season, may depend upon how badly he wants it and/or whether Friars head coach Tim Welsh can push the right bottons.  Remember, a year ago at this time White was ranked as the #1 player in the junior class in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey area by Allen Rubin, but he put on a lot of weight, had a mediocre winter, as is evident by the fact that he dropped from #1 to #5 in the area last spring, and was not mentioned by the HOOP SCOOP among the top players at the NIKE All-American Camp.  But Rubin does tell us that White is now in a conditioning program and he's played well the rest of the summer.  This probably means that the Friars won't be taking 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Potomac (The Bullis School) MD, who they've been waiting on to pull the trigger for months.  Did you know that Friars also have another verbal commitment from 6'8 Anthony Ivory from White Plains (South Maryland Christian) MD?  Well, I didn't until today.  Rubin tells us that he told us this months ago, but, if I didn't write about it and it's no place to be found on our web site, it's obvious that I didn't know about it.

Monday, August 11, 2003

We've been telling you for the last several months that Missouri was the team to beat for 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, and 6'6 Glenn Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and right now it looks like two-down and one-to-go, as the HOOP SCOOP's Patrick Stanwood has confirmed that both Brown and Dandridge verbally committed to the Tigers over the weekend.  Dandridge, who is now a 5th year player, did not rank among our top 100 juniors nationally in our Pre-Summer Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2004, but he'd be pretty darn close, if we still counted him with the current seniors, because he was one of the best 3-point shooters we saw all summer.  Brown also was not ranked among our top 100 juniors prior to the start of the summer, but we plan to rank him among the top 40 seniors nationally when we update our national rankings for the Class of 2004.  Not only have Dandridge's perimeter skills have improved, but he had an excellent summer, as was evident by the fact that he finished ranked #20 by the HOOP SCOOP and was the leading scorer in the Senior All-Star Game at the adidas ABCD Camp.  These two commitments move Missouri's recruiting class up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  If you will recall, the Tigers also got a verbal commitment from 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood Central) MO in July and, if they also get Horton, as expected, then their recruiting class would move up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And this comes on the heels of last year's class, which included 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Thomas Gardner from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'3 Randy Pulley from Barton County (JC) KS, and 6'1 Spencer Laurie from Springfield (Kickapoo) MO, and the previous year's class, which featured 6'4 Jimmy McKinney from St. Louis (Vashon) MO.  We also think it's only a matter of time before the Tigers get 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, who not only is one of the fastest rising players nationally in the junior class, but also is a legitimate top 10 junior nationally.  In other words, Missouri should not miss a beat for the next several years, despite the fact Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, and Travon Bryant will all graduate after this coming season.  We also have confirmed via our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson that 6'2 Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH did indeed verbally commit to Ohio State earlier today.  If you will recall, we thought it was only a matter of time before Butler made it official for the Buckeyes after he reneged on Cincinnati early last week.  Butler's commitment moves Ohio State's recruiting class into a tie at #20, along with Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, plus it gives the Buckeyes the point guard that they wanted to land in this recruiting class.  We also have been getting reports that UCLA has gotten a late commitment from 6'2 Aaron Bruce from Australia, but sources close to the program are telling us that this not only hasn't happened, but it probably won't happen.  Apparently Bruce scored 25 points in the World Junior Championship in Greece in July against the United States team and UCLA did show some mild interest until they found out he wasn't good enough for the Bruins.  Instead, we expect the Bruins to sign a wing forward, like 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, or 6'8 Maarty Leunen from Redmond (H.S.) OR, and a big man, like 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, in their current recruiting class.  However, we still think Ohio State is the school you have to beat for Hairston, Arizona is the school you have to beat for Giles, and Leunen will end up someplace closer to home like Oregon or Oregon State.  We also believe that Georgia Tech is leader for Morris, although heavy hitters like North Carolina, Louisville, and Kentucky promise to make this one interesting.  Speaking of Georgia Tech, the Yellowjackets also may be the school you have to beat for 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, plus our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton thinks that 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC and 6'2 Zam Frederick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, who are extremely close friends, are leaning towards going to Georgia Tech as a package.   However, if they're going to do it, they'd better hurry up, because the Georgia Tech coaching staff might not want to take two players who are so similar.  Frederick and Dickey also might want to hurry up, because the Georgia Tech has been mentioned with a number of the top guards in the nation, like 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'1 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'2 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'2 Lyndale Burleson from Seattle (Franklin) WA, and 6'4 Chamberlain Oguchi from Sugar Land (Ft. Bend) TX, and a number of the top front-court players, like 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'10 Goran Sutton from Lansing (Everett) MI, and 6'7 Jeremis Smith from Ft. Worth (Dunbar) TX, 6'6 Marcus Monk from Lapento (East Poinsette) AR, 6'7 Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'8 Kevin Langford from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, and, as a result, there may be only so many scholarships to go around.  We also have heard that 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN might be a lot closer to make a verbal commitment than most people realize.  If McRoberts stays close to home, the smart money appears to be on Indiana.  If he elects to go away to school, Duke appears to be the favorite.  Remember, McRoberts attended the Duke basketball camp in June and it's tough to beat the Blue Devils after they've had a player on campus for an unofficial visit. 

Saturday, August 9, 2003, & Sunday, August 10, 2003

Thanks to an excellent source of our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, we mentioned on Friday night that a verbal commitment by 6'2 Danny Morrissey from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL to Penn State was in the works.  Since that time our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that Morrissey has indeed picked the Nittany Lions and we think this is a great catch, because Morrissey is a tough hardnosed competitor who can shoot the lights and provide the perfect complement to the other two young point guards that the new coaching staff already has in the program.  If you will recall, the old regime signed 6'0 Ben Luber from Newtown (Council Rock North) PA, who was ranked #129 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2003, last fall and the new regime added 5'11 Marlon Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, who was ranked #193 natioinally in our final rankings of the Class of 2003, in the spring.  Morrissey will be a 5th year player, but with an added year of maturity, he also is the eqivalent of a player in the 50-100 nationally, if he was still a high school senior.  Obviously, this is a major upgrade from 6'4 Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA, who had committed to the previous coaching staff, but changed his mind last spring when the coaching change was made, and, as a result, the Nittany Lions coaching staff can now turn its focus towards signing front-court players (wing forwards, power forwards, and centers) and some of the one's we've heard them mentioned with include 6'6 Jared Dudley from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'4 Brian Lainge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'8 Frank Holmes from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN, 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Potomac (The Bullis School) MD, 6'7 Akida McLain from Pittsburgh (Penn Hills) PA, 6'9 Randall Hanke from Pawling (Trinity-Pawling) NY, 6'7 DeSean White from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, and 6'6 Mike Walker from Macon (Southwest) GA.  Johnson also has confirmed that San Diego State has landed 6'2 Lorenzo Keeler from Escondido (H.S.) CA and this too is an excellent catch, because Keeler, who originally verbally committed to the University of San Diego, is ideally suited for the Mountain West Conference.  In other words, he's athletic enough and a prolific enough scorer to play at the high major level (his other choice was Minnesota), but he also would run the risk of getting recruited over.  Rubin also tells that Virginia Tech has been added to the list, along with Connecticut, Syracuse, Xavier, Kansas, and Pittsburgh, of 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, but it appears we have the scoop on Rubin with regards to 6'5 Bilal Benn from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA verbally committing to Siena.  We also understand that 5'11 Alex Gordon from Pensacola (H.S.) FL has verbally committed to Vanderbilt and 6'2 Marcus Hammond from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH has picked the College of Charleston.  If you will recall, Hammond's final two schools were William & Mary and Evansville earlier this year when he was a high school senior, so naturally Cougars head coach Tommy Herrion had all the right connections to get this one done when he hired former William & Mary assistant coach Pat Skerry and former Evansville head coach Stacey Palmore, both of whom are recognized as two of the best recruiters at the mid-major level in the business, this spring.  Gordon, who is ranked #196 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, never lived up to the early hype nor did he ever grow, but he is the athletic point guard that the Commondores coaching staff was looking for to back up 5'11 Mario Moore after Russell Lakey graduates after next season.  However, the most interesting item might be the list of candidates we've come up with for the Baylor coaching job, which was vacated on Friday when Dave Bliss was forced to resign.  Obviously, it's going to be tough rebuilding the program, as the school president plans to implement a self-imposed two years probation.  But we're still talking about a head coaching job in the Big-12, which can pay the type of money that would attract some former big name head coaches like Matt Doherty, Fran Fraschilla, and Steve Lavin.  And it would be a major step up for somebody like Texas Christian assistant coach Kevin Lewis, Texas assistant coach Frank Haith, and Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner.  However, our guess is they will hire former Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs head coach John Lucas.   Not only does Lucas have strong ties in the area (he lives in Houston, TX and is a former Houston Rockets player), but he also apparently has the support of the players on the Baylor team.  As a matter of fact, his son, John Lucas, Jr was the starting point guard at Baylor as a freshman and sophomore the last two years.   Ironically, Lucas also has a younger son, 5'11 Frosh Jai Lewis from Houston, TX, who was ranked #44 at the 14-Under AAU National Tournament by Patrick Stanwood and will be recruitable athlete once he enrolls in high school later this month.  In other words, if Lucas gets the job, a verbal commitment from this talented freshman might not be too far behind. 

6'3 O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH is no longer the #1-ranked rising freshman in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, as that honor now belongs to 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, but his legend was enhanced even further among his peers at the 14-Under/8th Grade AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL last week as he led the DI Greyhounds to a 61-49 victory over Portland Elite United Salad in the championship game and was the easy choice for tournament MVP honors.  The HOOP SCOOP's Patrick Stanwood, who covered the tournament all week, tells us that Mayo, who was also complemented by 6'4 Frosh William Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'8 Frosh Keenan Ellis from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN, and 6'4 8th Grader Chris Grimes from Cincinnati, OH, was totally dominant in the first half of the championship game, as he missed only two field goals and scored 17 points.  But in the second half Mayo, who coasted through most of the tournament, put it back on cruise control and this allowed 6'7 Frosh Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and 6'5 Frosh Kyle Singler from Portland, OR to step up for Portland Elite and cut it to within five points down the stretch in the championship game.  In other words, Mayo is no LeBron James!   Instead, it appears that he has fallen into the same trap that a lot of the other top players have fallen into in recent years, whereby, they are a dominant force at a young age, but can't turn it off and on as effectively once they get to the high school, college, and pro levels.  However, Stanwood tells us that Mayo was easily the best player in the tournament, followed by 2) Love, 3) 6'5 Frosh Mike Singletary from Houston, TX, 4) 6'8 Frosh Cole Andrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, 5) 6'1 Frosh Senario Hillman from Irwinton (Wilkinson County) GA, 6) 6'2 Frosh DeMario Bell from Boiling Springs (H.S.) SC, 7) 5'10 Frosh Madaris J. Woods from Richmond (Varina) VA, 8) 6'6 Frosh Gary Johnson from Houston, TX, 9) Singler, 10) 6'4 Frosh Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 11) 6'7 Frosh Albert Gallatin from Uniontown (H.S.) PA, 12) 6'0 Frosh Gabriel Charley from Jacksonville (First Coast) FL, 13) 6'0 Frosh Maurice Miller from Memphis, TN, 14) 6'3 Frosh D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, 15) Ellis, 16) 6'3 Frosh Jordan Brown from Richmond (L.C. Brown) VA, 17) 6'4 Frosh William Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 18) 6'2 Frosh Melguan Bolding from Brooklyn, NY, 19) 6'7 Frosh Isaiah Rusher from Houston, TX, 20) 6'2 Frosh Dorenzo Hurlson from Charlotte, NC, 21) 6'6 Frosh Shawn Hawkins from Washington (St. John's) DC, 22) 6'0 Frosh Sam Zelinski from Philadelphia (William Penn) PA, 23) 5'5 Frosh Dwan McMillan from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 24) 6'3 Frosh Jamar Samuels from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 25) 6'8 Frosh Jabari Edwards from Brooklyn, NY, 26) 6'2 Frosh Delwan Graham from Fairburry, GA, 27) 6'3 Frosh Gary Clark from Sarasota (H.S.) FL, 28) 6'4 Frosh Carleton Scott from San Antonio (Roosevelt) TX, 29) Grimes, 30) 5'10 Frosh John Roberson from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 31) 5'11 Frosh Venoy Overton from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 32) 5'9 Frosh Rahmon Fletcher from Kansas City (Paseo) MO, 33) 5'11 Frosh Joshua Martin from Philadelphia, PA, 34) 5'11 Frosh Kalin Lucas from Orchard Park (St. Mary's) MI, 35) 6'5 Frosh Jeremy McCarty from Houston, TX, 36) 6'4 Frosh Chris Smith from Richmond, VA, 37) 5'10 Frosh Zachary Warren from Gainesville (H.S.) GA, 38) 6'7 Frosh Devin Seary from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI, 39) 5'10 Frosh Atavis Langford from Hampton, VA, 40) 6'2 Frosh Jeffrey Jordan from Chicago (Loyola) IL, 41) 6'2 Frosh Zachary Graham from Norcross, GA, 42) 6'9 Frosh John Marciano from Colonia, NJ, 43) 6'5 Frosh Emeka Iweka from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 44) 5'11 Frosh Jai Lucas from Houston, TX, 45) 6'4 Frosh Gabriel Anderson from Bronx, NY, 46) 5'11 Frosh Darius Gabriel from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 47) 5'5 Frosh Dewan Thomas from Little Rock (H.S.) AR, 48) 5'11 Frosh Anthony Fisher from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 49) 6'0 Frosh Jerrad Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, and 50) 6'0 Frosh Anthony Brock from Little Rock (McCellan) AR.  Obviously this class isn't nearly as good nor as deep as the Class of 2006.   However, Stanwood does tell us that the Class of 2007 has the Class of 2006 beat in one area - overzealous parents who want to lobby for their kids.  Having said that I encourage any parent who wants to call me and attempt to find out why their kid isn't ranked higher or why he is not even on the list not to put that kind of a target on their son's back.  In other words, all this is a starting point and, as a result, we have four years to get it right.  Nobody is going to make the McDonald's All-American Team or get a college scholarship based on these rankings.  Editor's Note:  These rankings will be used to help formulate our rankings of the Top Players in the Class of 2007, which should be published sometime later this month and one player who won't be on the list is 6'2 Frosh Jeffrey Jordan from Chicago (Loyola) IL.  Sure, we're talking about Michael Jordan's son, but he wasn't even the best player on his team, much less one of the better players in the tournament.  Jordan does have good ball handling and passing skills, he is extremely competitive, and he does have a nice move to the basket, which he used to hit several lay-ups, but he's not a good outside shooter, he's not every tough, and he's not very big physically.  In other words, the best thing that Stanwood could have done is left the younger Jordan off the list altogether, let him fade into oblivion, and have a solid high school career.  Moral to the story, we're talking about an average player whose name nobody would even know if his father wasn't the best player in the history of the game.  However, when Stanwood and I watched the big game between the D-I Greyhounds and the Rising Stars JG in pool play on Saturday, August 2nd, the place was packed.  You'd have thought his father was playing!   Apparently Stanwood's argument is that Michael Jordan wasn't that good a player when he was a freshman and sophomore in high school and he may make the same type of development.  But by the time Jordan was a junior in high school, he was the best 2-guard prospect that Brick Oettinger of the Recruiter's Handbook has ever seen.  In the case of the younger Jordan, I see no signs of this kind of dramatic development happening within the next two years and, even, if it does, it would much better to let him earn it versus overhyping him before the fact.  As a matter of fact, this might be the biggest problem with ranking players today, as far too many players read their press clippings at too early and age and start to believe they really are that good.  And in Jordan's case, ranking him #40 in the tournament based on what I saw not only is ridiculous, but it's totally unfair to him.  However, the difference between these rankings and the rankings of the Class of 2007 are that Stanwood is entitled to his opinion and I like the debate. 

Friday, August 8, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has one verbal commitment to report for today and he is anticipating that another verbal commitment will occurr on Monday.  Today's verbal commitment came when 6'5 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL picked Wisconsin over DePaul and this is an important catch, because Williams, who is ranked #79 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will provide the athletic/slasher/wing player to not only complement 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI and 6'2 Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follotte) WI, both of whom are already verbally committed to the Badgers, in this recruiting class, but he also moves their recruiting class into a tie at #10, along with USC and Mississippi State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Williams also should provide another excellent piece to the puzzle, as Wisconsin should have one of the best teams in college basketball year after next when 6'8 Mike Wilkinson, 6'8 Zach Morley, and 6'3 Devin Harris are seniors, 6'5 Alando Tucker, 6'5 Maurice Wade, and 6'8 Ray Nixon are juniors, 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI and 6'2 Kammron Taylor from Minneapolis (South) MN are sophomores, and Steimsma, Flowers and Williams.  In other words, there appears to be no end in sight as Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan has already won outright or shared a piece of the Big-10 Conference Championship in each of his first two years at the helm of the Badgers.   The verbal commitment that Johnson is anticipating early next week is 6'2 Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH, who was ranked #49 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP in our pre-summer rankings, to Ohio State.  As a matter of fact, Butler, who reneged on Cincinnati earlier this week, is visiting Ohio State today and he's not going to have to the time necessaey to take an official visit to Clemson, which is the other school on his list, if he announces his decision on Monday.  So it looks like Ohio State assistant coach Monte Mathis, who is originally from Cincinnati, is going to go two-for-two when it comes to going head-to-head against the school (the University of Cincinnati) from his old stamping grounds.  If you will recall, in late June the Buckeyes also beat the Bearcats for 6'10 Matt Terwilliger from Troy (H.S.) OH, who is ranked #92 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And this is extremely important for a number of reasons:  First, Butler and Terwilliger are the #1 and #2-ranked seniors in the state by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, beating Cincinnati for players in their own backyard is a major accomplishment, because Bearcats head coach Bobby Huggins not only has tremendous contacts throughout the state, but Huggins and Bearcats assistant coach Andy Kennedy form one of the best one-two punches in terms of recruiting in college basketball today.  Third, this gives the Buckeyes the momentum they need as all the attention turns towards 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI and 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, who are Ohio State assistant coach LaMonta Stone's top two recruiting priorities.  Remember, Stone used to be the head high school coach at River Rouge (H.S.) MI and an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and, besides being one of the top up-and-coming young guys in the business, he was hired a year ago last spring specifically so the Buckeyes could take advantage of his strong Michigan ties.  If the Buckeyes hit the jackpot and get Butler, Hairston and Horford, then their recruiting class would move up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 behind Texas, Indiana, and Louisville and ahead of Alabama and Memphis.  And, if Ohio State gets Butler, that would preclude the Buckeyes from taking either 5'11 Dupree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI or 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, both of whom have had Ohio State high on their list since last spring.   However, the smart money in the Cerasoli-sweepstakes might already be on Memphis, which has been a lot stronger on this one than most people have realized for some time.   We also know that Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgia Tech, and Auburn are high on Cerasoli's list, but also don't be surprised if N.C. State sneaks into the backdoor.    If you will rcall, the Wolfpack dropped out of the race for Cerasoli in May when Tony Bethel transferred from Georgetown to N.C. State, but the N.C. State coaching staff kept showing up at all of Cerasoli's games at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, which leads us to believe they once again have serious interest.  Johnson also tells us that the Buckeyes are smart enough not to put all their eggs into one basket when it comes to recruiting another inside player, as they also are being mentioned with 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Andrew Brackman from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 6'9 Jerome Habel from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'8 Justin Holt from Tacoma (JC) WA.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin talked with 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ recently and his latest list includes St. John's, Kentucky, Miami-FL, Duke, Arizona, Virginia, and North Carolina.  However, our guess is that Caracter will end by-passing college altogether and getting drafted by somebody like the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, or New York Knicks.  Rubin also has a list of schools for 5'9 Rich Cunningham from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, which includes Siena, La Salle, Dayton, St. Bonaventure, and Wagner, plus he hears Penn State is on the verge of getting a verbal commitment from 6'2 Danny Morrissey from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL.  The same West Coast source who originally tipped us off about a verbal commitment by 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA being forthcoming in the immediate future also believes it's only a matter of time before the Bruins get 6'3 Soph Andre Barrows from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, who is #14 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We're also hearing that Gonzaga may now be the favorite for 6'10 Chris Miles from Provo (Timpview) UT and we still think it's only a matter of time before 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY officially announces for Louisville. 

Thursday, August 7, 2003

You probably thought we were stretching it a week ago when we said "already sources on the West Coast are telling us that UCLA has already offered King and they think he may be a lot closer to accepting the Bruins' offer than most people realize."  Well, believe it or not, 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA made what we believe is the earliest verbal commitment on record to Division I school when he announced yesterday that he plans to attend UCLA after he completes his four years of high school.  A lot of people probably think that Damon Bailey made the earliest verbal commitment ever, but, despite the fact Bob Knight saw him play when he was in 8th Grade, Bailey did not verbally commit to the Hoosiers until he was a sophomore in high school.  Instead, the earliest two commitments that we can remember were made simulaneously when 6'5 Robert Vaden and 6'0 Desmond Gadis, who both at the time were at Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN, verbally committed to Purdue during November of their freshman year in high school.  However, things can change over the course of time, as Vaden and Gadis are now both at Indianapolis (Pike) IN and Vaden has since reneged on Purdue and committed to Indiana.  But in the case of King, we'd be surprised if this verbal commitment doesn't for several reasons.  First, UCLA is quickly re-establishing itself as one of the premier programs in college basketball under the direction of new head coach Ben Howland and, as a result, it's doubtful that King will want to re-open his recruitment and entertain other offers.  As a matter of fact, sources on the West Coast tell us that King's father has already gone on record saying that his son plans to be at UCLA all four years.  In other words, King comes from an upper middle class family, where getting an education is more important than getting his first contract in the NBA.  Second, King's parents have attended all of his games this spring and summer on the AAU and club team circuit, so you can bet that he'll pick a school close to home, so his family can see him play.  Third, UCLA is a great school academically and, as a result, King would be hard pressed to find another school that will do as good a job meeting his needs both in the classroom and on the hardwood.  Fourth, with verbal commitments already in hand from two of the top juniors on the West Coast in 6'2 Jordan Farmer from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA and 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA and the best freshman in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP in King, it already appears that UCLA is already doing a great job of attracting the top players in their own backyard.  As for King, we're talking about somebody who is a lights out 3-point shooter with excellent skills and tremendous court savvy from somebody his age.  However, if King grows three of four more inches, the sky truly could be the limit, because we'd then be talking about a 6'10 white kid with the skills necessary to play both inside and outside and a basketball IQ similar to that of Larry Bird.   In other words, the only question then would how bad does King want it and does he have that incredible drive and determination necessary to become one of the best players in the history the game?  Obviously that's a huge if, but, if it happens, remember where you heard it first!  We also have confirmed via our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson that 6'2 Derrick Low from Honolulu (Iolani) HI, who was the #11-ranked point guard at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Washington State, which means that Howland isn't the only first-year head coach in the Pacific-10 Conference who is turning things around in a hurry.  If you will recall, new Cougars head coach Dick Bennett, who is widely regarded as one of the premier X's and O's coaches in the business, inherited Justin Garcia from San Bernardino (JC) CA, who, at 7'0, 245 lbs., is expected to provide a physcial presence inside, from the previous regime and signed two highly touted junior college players in 6'5 Jeff Varem from Vincennes (JC) IN and 6'5 Anthony Grant from Eastern Utah (JC) UT during the spring signing period.  And they aren't done yet, because we know that the Cougars also been mentioned with players like 6'3 Lyndale Burleson from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 6'10 Chris Miles from Provo (Timpview) UT, 6'4 Kyle Weaver from Beloit (Memorial) WI, and 6'8 Chris Henry from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA. 

Wednesday, August 6, 2003

A year ago through the first six days of August, we had confirmed verbal commitments from the following players:  6'3 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL to Michigan State, 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX to Memphis, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL to Louisville, 6'10 Nouho Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS to Louisville, 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to Villanova, 6'8 Will Sheridan to Hockessin (Sanford) DE to Villanova, 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY to DePaul, 6'5 Blake Adams from Aldine (Nimitz) TX to Texas Christian, 6'5 Dameon Mason from Aurora (West Aurora) IL to Marquette, 6'5 Nick Brooks from Robinson (H.S.) IL to Butler, 6'2 Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ to Seton Hall, 6'9 Dwayne Curtis from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL to Auburn, 6'8 James Matthews from Detroit (Denby) MI to Marquette, 6'8 Corey Gibbs from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA to Georgia, 6'5 Brandon Crone from Frankfort (H.S.) IN to Butler, 6'8 Marcus Slaughter from Riverside (J.W. North) CA to San Diego State, 6'8 Michael Ford from Huntsville (Johnson) AL to Memphis, 6'8 Reyshawn Terry from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC to North Carolina, 6'4 Adrian Schaffer from Rochester (Adams) MI to Wisconsin-Green Bay, 6'1 Lenny Miles from Commerce City (Adams City) CO to New Mexico, and 6'5 Jawaan McLellan from Houston (Milby) TX, who made an early commitment to Arizona when he was a junior.   In other words, all hell had broken loose, as we'd tracked 21 verbal commitments or 3.5 verbal commitments a day from August 1, 2002 to August 6, 2002.  However, this year history does not appear to be repeating itself, as our current list of verbal commitments during the same six days includes only 6'9 Kyle Lasek from Moline (H.S.) IL to Western Illinois, 6'8 David Gomez from Baton Rouge (Episcopal) LA to Tulane, 6'7 Diego Belizario from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to Tennessee State, 6'2 Tyrone Jackson from Fresno City (JC) CA to Fresno State, 6'6 Brandon Patterson from Altheimer (Unified) AR to Mississippi, 5'10 Jr A.J. Abrams from Austin (McNeil) TX to Texas, and 6'3 Vincent Banks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to Cincinnati.  That's only 1.2 verbal commitments per day and only one commitment from a player (Banks) who is the equivalent of a top 100 senior nationally.  That's also in sharp contrast to a year ago when 11 players (Brown, Perkins, Lang, Diakite, Nardi, Sheridan, Mejia, Adams, Mason, Brooks, and Nutter) who were the equivalent of a top 100 senior nationally made verbal commitments.  Obviously a major reason for this year's lull has to do with the fact that a record number 56 of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 pre-summer ranked seniors have already verbally committed, plus three of the top five junior college players in the nation - 6'7 Jean Felix from Bevill State (JC) AL to Alabama, 5'11 Aking Elting from Southern Idaho (JC) ID to DePaul, and 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL to Louisville - are also already off the board.  And the two most recent verbal commitments by Abrams and Banks come as somewhat of a surprise, because we didn't expect Cincinnati to be adding another point guard in this recruiting class and we didn't expect Texas to be adding any more players this soon after landing what clearly is the best recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, Abrams, who is just a junior, is the perfect insurance policy in case 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX declares hardship from the NBA Draft after a year or two at Texas or he re-opens his recruitment, if a scholarship should become available at North Carolina.  Remember, Gibson's favorite school when he was growing up was North Carolina and, as a result, the possibility exists that under the right circumstances Gibson may decide to reconsider his college choice at some future date.  Abrams is only 5'10, 135 lbs., but, just like Gibson, he can shoot the lights out and is a good enough ball handler and passer to play the point guard spot.  In other words, Abrams is the ideal back-up point guard to sign in the class behind Gibson, but not good enough to scare off the next great point guard that the Lornhorns coaching staff is likely to recruit.  The verbal commitment by Banks was facilitated by the fact that 6'2 Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH, who verbally committed to the Bearcats a year-and-a-half ago when he was a sophomore in high school, decided to re-open his recruitment on Sunday and, as a result, now plans to make visits to Ohio State and Clemson.  Not only would this obviously alienate the Cincinnati coaching staff, but it potentially could have put them into a major bind, if they hadn't already been recruiting Banks as an alternative to 6'2 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who has been Cincinnati's top priority all along.  So they went ahead and offered Banks, who took the commitment, dropped out of the hunt for Butler altogether, and are still focusing their attention on Swann.  And it may turn out to be better for the Bearcats in the long run, because Banks and Swann are both combo guards and, as a result, it gives Bobby Huggins and his staff just one more positive thing to sell Swann on with regards to picking the Bearcats.  Remember, Swann is being recruited primarily as a 2-guard for the college level, but, if he has aspirations about playing in the NBA someday, he must become more of a point guard.  As for Banks, who was ranked #70 nationally in the Class of 2003 and verbally committed to Miami-FL last spring, but didn't make it academically and is now going the prep school route, he's capable of playing both the point guard spot and putting up big numbers at the 2-guard spot.  In other words, Swann and Banks should both challenge for the starting 2-guard spot and provide depth at point guard behind 6'4 Nick Williams when they're college freshmen and then be interchangeable together in the backcourt for the following three years. 

Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Sometimes timing is everything, as is evident by the fact that John Rhodes, who is the Executive Director of the Beach Ball Classic, provided us in late June with the list of teams that will be participating this December in the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC.   However, the fact I've been going non-stop and on the road for over a month and, as a result, only now am starting to catch up on things that aren't time sensative (the Beach Ball Classic will be held December 26th-30th in Myrtle Beach, SC) should not diminish the importance of the event or just how good the teams and players are who will be participating in this event.  As a matter of fact, this year's Beach Ball Classic field promises to be one of the best that Rhodes has ever assembled, as is evident by the list of teams, which includes Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, Suffolk (Nansemond River) VA, Greensboro (Dudley) NC, Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, Orlando Edgewater) FL, Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, and Gaffney (H.S.) SC, and the list of top players, which includes 6'7 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'5 Jr Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'6 Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'3 Marquie Cooke from Suffolk (Nansemond River) VA, 6'1 Zam Fredrick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, 5'11 Dupree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, and 6'4 Brian Lainge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.   In other words, there will be 15 players who are ranked among our top 100 nationally in their respective class at this year's Beach Ball Classic.  We also got a list of teams that are supposed to be in the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, which will be held December 18th-23rd and, as usual, this promises to be the best pre-Christmas Tournament in the nation, as the list of teams, which includes Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, Dallas (Seogoville) TX, Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, Bremerton (H.S.) WA, Toledo (St. John's) OH, Lexington (Catholic) KY, Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, Birmingham (Parker) AL, Winter Haven (H.S.) FL, Brandon (H.S.) FL, Jacksonville (Raines) FL, Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, Naples (H.S.) FL, and Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, and the list of top players, which includes 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'3 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'2 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'9 Walter Sharpe from Birmingham (Parker) AL, 6'1 Brian Roberts from Toledo (St. John's) OH, 6'6 Jr Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'9 Jr Yamone Coleman from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'5 Jr Zarron Cann from Brandon (H.S.) FL, 6'8 Robinson Louisme from Ft. Myers, FL, 6'3 William Graham from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'3 Demetrius Green from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'4 Harrison Morton from Lexington (Catholic) KY, also is very impressive.  And it would be even more impressive, if the rumors are true about 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA transferring to Los Angeles (Westchester) CA this fall and if Donnie Wilkie, who is in charge of inviting the teams for the City of Palms Classic, finds the right team to replace Miami (Senior) FL, which originally was scheduled to participate in the tournament, but recently had to drop out of the field. 

Saturday, August 2, 2003, Sunday, August 3, 2003, & Monday, August 4, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Tulane has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'8 David Gomez from Baton Rouge (Episcopal) LA, who is ranked #208 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Gomez didn't attend either the NIKE All-American Camp or the adidas ABDC Camp this summer, but he does have a huge upside, is an excellent student (3.5 gpa and 25 ACT), and should fit in nicely with the Green Wave's most recent recruiting class, which included 6'3 Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Dan Fitzgerald from St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN, 6'4 Chris Moore from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'0 Troy Aaron from Lake Charles (St Louis) LA, and 6'8 Cory Castine from Marrero (Archbishop Shaw) LA.  Now all Tulane head coach Shawn Finney needs to do is find a great player or two who can help take the program to the next level.  How about 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA, who is ranked #53 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'8 Emmanuel Willis from Mendenhall (H.S.) MS, who signed with Southern Mississippi last fall, but didn't make it academically and has reportedly taken his game to another level, as he gets ready to go the prep school route after falling short academically this spring; or 6'8 Tyrus Thomas from Baton Rouge (McKinley) LA, who came out of the woodwork earlier this week at the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL and may be a top 100 senior nationally?  If Tulane gets any one of the three just mentioned players and somebody, like 6'4 Martin Zeno from Baton Rouge (Sulphur) LA and 6'3 Matt Barrow from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, both of whom also are high on the Green Wave's priority list, then you would have to assume tha the Finney and his staff would be well on their way towards achieving their goal of becoming one of the better teams in Conference USA year-after-next.  Johnson also tells us that 6'7 Diego Belizario from Laurinburg (Institute) NC has verbally committed to Tennessee State and he tells us that 6'11 Jr Khadim Fall is the big kid from the Senegal who is supposed to enroll at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this fall.  Fall, who at 6'11, 180 lbs., obviously needs to get bigger and stronger, plus he is raw offensively, but this lefty is a big time athlete with good hands and feet, great shot blocking ability, and good defensive skills.  He also has the natural talent and potential to be the best player Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith has gotten from via his Senegal-connection and that's saying a lot, because he's previously had players like 6'11 Jules Camara, 6'9 Abdou Diame, and 7'0 DeSagana Diop.  We also have confirmed via Big Apple Sports that 6'2 Tyrone Jackson from Fresno City (JC) CA has verbally committed to Fresno State and we are being told that 6'2 Mario Jointer will not be returing this fall to Northeast Mississippi (JC) MS.  Instead, it appears that Jointer will enroll at Chipola (JC) FL, which means there is no way he can go to the University of Mississippi.  If you will recall, Jointer signed with Ole Miss both as a senior in high school and last year during his second year of junior college, but was prevented from attending Mississippi by a Southeastern Conference rule that restricts a player from enrolling at any school in the league unless he has completed three consecutive semesters at the same junior college.  And since this is Jointer's third junior college in as many years, it is obvious that he has fallen into the same trap he did a year ago.  Not only does this mean that his recruitment will be starting over, but it also means that he no longer counts with Ole Miss' recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS and 6'6 Brandon Patterson from Altheimer (Unified) AR.  Speaking of the commitment by Patterson, our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman told us about his commitment earlier today and, as a result, the Rebels' recruiting class only drops one spot (with the loss of Jointer and addition of Patterson) into a tie at #29, along with Minnesota, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004. 

Friday, August 1, 2003

If you include 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who has already told the Louisville coaching staff that he plans to become a Cardinal, but who probably won't officially announce his decision to go to Louisville until next week, 56 of our top 100 seniors are already verbally committed.  And we expect that number to increase dramatically now that college coaches are off the road (the Summer Evalution Period ended yesterday).  However, right now it appears to be the calm before the storm, because the only new verbal commitment that we've added to our list of Recent Commitments today is 6'9 Kyle Lasek from Moline from (H.S.) IL.  Not only did Lasek lead the RBS All Stars to a runner-up finish in the Division II 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL, but he impressed us with his ability to block shots, run the court, and score from mid-range and in.  This comes on the heels of Western Illinois' strong recruiting class from the Class of 2003, which included 6'5 Doyle Cole from Jacksonville (JC) TX, 5'8 T.J. Gray from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'6 Keith Archie from Kishwaukee (JC) IL, and 6'4 Anthony Lenior from Redlands (JC) OK and our guess is that several more recruits won't be too far behind, because Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas was one of the most visible head coaches, as well as one of the hardest working head coaches of the summer.  We also hear that Northwestern may be close to getting a verbal commitment from 6'1 Brandon Lee from Peoria (Central) IL, but, if we were the Wildcats coaching coaching staff we'd be already be focusing on 6'2 Jr Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 6'0 Jr Bryan Mullins from Downers Grove (South) IL, 6'7 Jr Mike Davis from Chicago (Gordon Tech) IL, and 6'3 Jr Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL.  Not only are we talking about the four best players on the Illinois Wolves 16-Under Team, which won the 16-Under Division of the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and finished in 10th Place in the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship, but they're all right in Northwestern's backyard and they all have the grades necessary to get into just about any school in the nation.  As a matter of fact, Mullins and Frasor both have better than a 4.0 gpa and the entire team has close to a 4.0 gpa.  Thanks primarily to the efforts of Patrick Stanwood, we also are focusing right now on the 2003 AAU Boys' Basketball 14-Under/8th Grade National Championship, which tipped off at 8:30 AM this morning in Orlando, FL.  Not only does Stanwood plan to spend most of his time durig the next week watching the top players in the tournament, but he also already has accumulated an excellent list of the top players in the class.  And right at the top of that list are 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'1 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC, 5'9 Frosh Jay Dee Luster from San Diego (Hoover) CA, and 6'0 Frosh Adrian Bowie from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD.  However, unlike a year ago when most of the top players in the Class of 2006 played in this tournament, Mayo appears to be the only top player in the class in attendance this year and one of the highlights of the tournament promises to be tomorrow night at 7:00 PM when Mayo's team (the D-I Greyhounds) goes head-to-head against the Rising Stars JG, which features 6'1 Frosh Jeffery Jordan, who is Michael Jordan's son.  Another must see game will be at 10:00 PM tonight between the FBVA Orlando Raptors, which have one of the best programs at this age group in the nation, and the Houston Hoops with 6'5 Frosh Mike Singletary from Kingwood (Creekwood) TX and 6'6 Frosh Gary Johnson from Houston (Shotwell) TX.  However, the biggest story involving the Class of 2007 involves the college recruitment of King, Mayo, and Smith, who are the top three players in the class.  Already sources on the West Coast are telling us that UCLA has already offered King and they think he may be a lot closer to accepting the Bruins' offer than most people realize.  We also don't think it was a coincidence when Mayo moved from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY to Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH this spring.  Remember, Cincinnati is always tough to beat for players in their own backyard and we know for a fact that Mayo has already been on Cincinnati's campus a number of times.  Smith is the son of former Louisville All-American Derek Smith and, as a result, most people in the know think the connections are so strong that the Cardinals will be the heavy favorite when it comes time for the younger Smith to make his college decision.  In other words, we can already point to the top three players in the Class of 2007 prior to when they enroll in high school and tell you where they probably will go to college.