HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR AUGUST 2005

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Talk about poetic justice!  Well, that's what happened earlier today when Howard Garfinkel announced the awards at the Five-Star Basketball Camp's loaded Honesdale, PA session and 6'8 Dajuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD walked away with the Most Outstanding Player award for the week in the NBA.  Prior to the start of the camp, Summers, was ranked no higher than #57 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, this terrific athlete who can beat you both inside and outside played better than anybody in camp and, as a result, gets this award the old-fashioned way (he earned it!).  Summers also capped off the week with 14 points and five rebounds in the NBA All-Star Game and led his team to a runner-up finish in the camp playoffs and, as a result, now has to be one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally.  As a matter of fact, this Georgetown-bound combo forward was good that he will get my vote next March for the McDonald's All-American Game.  We also really liked this pick, because it set everything else up perfectly, as 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA shared the Sportsmanship Award; 6'4 Soph Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA beat out 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA for the Most Promising Prospect Award, which goes to the best underclassman in camp; 5'11 Jr Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY was named the Best Playmaker, 6'8 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY was named the Best Defender, thanks at least in part to his great shot blocking skills; 6'6 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ was named the Best Rebounder; 6'6 Billy Clark from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA was named the best 6th Man in camp for his efforts on the unit that played in the 1st and 3rd quarters; 6'5 Jahmar Young from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA was the Most Improved Player from start to finish of camp; 6'2 Jr T.J. Carey from Oyster Bay (St. Dominics) NY took home the Mr. Stations Award; 6'5 Robert Mitchell from Philadelphia (International Christian Prep) PA was named the Playoffs MVP; and 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ was named as the Role Player of the Week.  And that's saying a lot, because Clark, who did a great job of making his teammates better and was like a jack-of-all-trades for his team, was one of the best players in camp.  We also think Mitchell deserves special mention, because this big time athlete and tremendous competitor who led his team to the camp championship has to have been the biggest sleeper to emerge at camp.  6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who finished with 27 points, three rebounds, and four assists and made a number of the key plays down the stretch, was also named the MVP in the NBA's Orange-White All-Star Game.  However, Ellington's high school and AAU teammate - 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA - was the leading scorer in the game with 29 points.  Also making a number of big plays down the stretch, including stealing the ball from 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA in the open court, which led to Ellington's game tying shot to make it 166-166 with only one second left in regulation, was 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  And three times was a charm (Fisher missed what would have been the game winning shot in both regulation and the first overtime), as Fisher, who finished with 11 points and nine assists, made what turned out to be the game winning shot in the second overtime.  Another candidate for all-star game MVP honors was 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who was finished with 26 points and five rebounds and was terrific in transition, as he found the open man and used his explosiveness and athleticism to got to the hole.  We also were very impressed with the 26 point/five rebound effort turned in by 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is the ultimate blue collar player and did all of the little things inside that helped his team win, as the White All-Stars beat the Orange All-Stars 173-168 in what was the best all-star game that we've seen in a long time.  The best player in the first half and early in the second half of the Orange-White All-Star Game was 6'0 Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, who not only helped set the tone of the game with his excellent ball handling and passing skills, but also hit 3-4 3-pointers and showed that he can get his shot against point guard in camp.  We also were very impressed by 28 points and five rebounds by 6'5 Lazar Heyward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who was equally impressive with his ability to get to the basket and hit the outside shot?  We also have to give special mention to 5'11 Jr Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who finished with only two points, but had 13 assists, two steals, and three rebounds while participating in one of the best match-ups in the game against 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 5'10 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, who finished with 17 points and seven assists, because they both made their teammates better and really helped the continuity of the game.  And, of course there was 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who had 19 points and seven rebounds in the all-star game and was arguably the best player in the entire camp.  However, Beasley failed to win any of the above mentioned awards.  But then this doesn't come as much of a surprise, because he failed to show up for one of his camp games during the week.  And staying focused and playing hard all the time also appears to be the only weakness in Beasley's game, as this incredible physical specimen, big time athlete, and tremendously skilled combo forward who is unstoppable both inside and outside is as talented as anybody in the junior class nationally, except for 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH.  We also were pleasantly surprised by 6'7 Kris Douse from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Delroy James from Lake Suzy (Florida Prep) FL, and 6'5 Alex Franklin from Reading (Central Catholic) PA, who finished with 15 points, 13 points, and 12 points, respectively in the NBA's Orange-White All-Star Game, but prior to that point all were under our radar screen during the week.  The only other player who was selected to play in the Orange-White All-Star Game that we didn't mention when we talked about who we thought would be in the game yesterday was 6'2 Jr Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  And, although he did score eight points in the all-star game, we still think he was in over his head while playing among the top players in camp.  Speaking of who should have been in and not in the all-star game, the only glaring omission to the 25-man team that included 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, who was an honorary selectee, was 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  The other players who were on our list last night, but didn't make the cut were 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, who was an alternate in the game, 5'10 Sean Crawford from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'6 Edwin Ubiles from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and 6'8 Jr Darnell Gant from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA.  We also have to give 6'0 Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL is due, because he sacrificed his game most of the week in order to make his teammates better and be a true point guard.  However, Rios did step up in the second half of the all-star game, as hit 3-5 3-pointers and played a key role in his team's impressive comeback.  Some other players who played well enough to get a mention, but did not get NBA All-Star Game consideration were 6'4 Antoine Watson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Darrington Hobson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'8 Tyrell Lynch from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Jr Mohammed Lo from Port Chester (H.S.) NY, 6'1 Jr Anthony Nelson from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'3 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'1 Jonathan Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'1 Stephen Curry from Charlotte (Christian) NC, 6'0 Jr Jesse Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'3 Nathaniel Lester from Brooklyn (Canarsie) NY, 6'9 Austin Wallace from New York (La Salle) NY, and 6'3 David Clark from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY.  The award winners in the NCAA Division were 6'6 Jr Kyle Doerr from Rapid City (More) SD, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the League; 5'11 Jr Gerald Colds from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who was the MVP in the Playoffs; 6'6 Jr Kyle Cook from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who was named the Top Rebounder; 6'2 Jr John Mariano from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, who was named the Best Defender; 6'2 Jr Marcus Matthews from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who was named the Best Playmaker; 6'1 Sean Whitener from Anchorage (Service) AK, who was the Most Improved Player; and 6'3 Jr Nick Hendra from New York (Xavier) NY, who won the Mr. Stations Award.  In addition to being named the Most Promising Prospect in Camp, 6'4 Soph Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA was the unanimous winner of the Most Outstanding Player Award in the Developmental League and once again firmly established himself as one of the top two sophomores in the land, along with 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA.  We also have to give special mention to 6'6 Soph Mookie Jones from Peekskill (H.S.) NY, who was named the Best Rebounder in the Developmental League, but also played up, as he helped 6'6 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, 6'5 Robert Mitchell from Philadelphia (International Christian Prep) PA, 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, and 6'4 Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY win the championship in the NBA Division.  Other award winners in the Developmental League are 6'6 Soph Patrick Johnson from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, who was named the Playoff MVP; 6'6 Soph Kevin Jones from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who was the Best Defender; 6'6 Soph Dash Harris from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who was the Best Playmaker; 5'3 Frosh Deon Kowalski from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who was Mr. Stations; and 5'8 Soph Chris Harris from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, who was the Most Improved.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

If 6'8 Dajuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD was a stock, now would be a good time buy.  Not only was he totally spectacular in a game last night, but, after leading his team to a runner-up finish in the camp playoffs, Summers would be our choice for MVP in the Playoffs at Five Star's loaded Honesdale session, despite the fact he was on the losing team in the championship game  We're talking about a 6'8 athlete who is both a force to be reckoned with inside and a deadly weapon away from the basketball with his big time athleticism, excellent outside shooting, and surprisingly good perimeter skills.  As a matter of fact, Summers has been so good this week that he has to be one of the leading candidates, along with 6'7 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, for the Most Outstanding Player Award for the entire camp.  However, it's our guess is that Henderson will win this award for several reasons.  First, Beasley probably eliminated himself from consideration when he missed a camp game.  Second, Henderson is both a great player and a great person, which makes him one of Howard Garfinkel's favorite players in camp.  Third, by making Summers the Playoffs MVP, that will allow the Five-Star people to spread the wealth around in terms of who wins the top awards in camp.  We also have been told that 5'6 Soph Erving Walker from Middle Village Christ the King) NY was missing action at camp this week due to the fact that he's been sidelined with an injury and this is important because it makes what 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY and 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NY both accomplished just that more impressive.  Not only did they show up for camp and played all week while hampered by injuries, but they also played well enough in the process where they should be named to play in  tomorrow's the Orange-White All-Star Game.  Speaking of the Orange-White NBA All-Star Game, we think there are 14 players in camp - 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Dajuan Summers from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, 6'0 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (East Side) NJ, 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 6'1 Jr Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'1 Jr Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, and 6'5 Lazar Heyward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA - who are locks to appear in this game.  We also think 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'0 Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and 6'8 Jr Darnell Gant from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA played well enough to assure themselves a spot in the game, which means 6'6 Robert Mitchell from Philadelphia (International) PA, 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 5'10 Sean Crawford from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'6 Edwin Ubiles from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'5 Gilbert Brown from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5'10 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, and 6'4 Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY will end up fighting for the remaining two or six spots in the game, depending upon whether they decide to limit the number of players on each team to 10 or 12.  We also find it interesting that 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ told us that right now Villanova is the heavy favorite right now over Louisville, although he did mention that he plans to make an official visit to Louisville, KY on September 15th.  We also continue find it interesting that 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA are almost totally inseparable and, as a result, many people at the camp think they will end up going to the same school.  However, for that to happen, Smith would have to verbally commit to Charlotte, which is where Beasley already appears to be heading, or Beasley would have to renege on the 49ers and pick the same school as Smith.  And reinforcing this theory even further is the fact that Smith told us that Louisville is the leader and Charlotte is second on his list, although he also mentioned schools like Georgetown, Kansas, and North Carolina.  The latest list for 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA includes Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, USC, Texas, Arizona, South Florida, Virginia, and St. John's and 6'6 Edwin Ubiles from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT is getting the most attention from Seton Hall, Massachusetts, Iowa State, Rhode Island, and Siena.  Seton Hall, Providence, Florida Atlantic, Drexel, and St. Joseph's are the leaders for 6'9 Austin Wallace from New York (La Salle) NY and 6'0 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ tells us that his early list includes Connecticut, Kentucky, St. John's, DePaul, Miami-FL, Clemson, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and South Carolina.  We also were extremely impressed with the caliber of talent on display in the Orange-White All-Star Game in the Developmental League earlier this evening, as the best two players in the game were clearly 6'4 Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA and 6'6 Soph Mookie Jones from Peekskill (H.S.) NY.  Jones is an incredible athlete, great rebounder, excellent passer, and he has a knack for always being around the ball.  We also like his soft hands, terrific mid-range game, and the Shawn Marion comparisons that were being made during the all-star game, although Jones, who promises to be the best player to come out of Peekskill, NY since Elton Brand, does need to continue to grow and get bigger and stronger, if he wants to someday be as good as players like Marion and Brand.  Evans had 27 points, five rebounds, three assists, and 13-18 field goals in the all-star game and did everything so effortlessly it was almost like watching somebody take candy from a baby.  However, Evans had the misfortune of playing on the losing team and Jones did not put up big enough numbers (only 14 points) to justify taking home game MVP honors.  So, instead, all-star game MVP honors in the Developmental League went to 6'3 Soph Curtis Loving from New York (Rice) NY, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds, two assists, four steals, and 10-12 field goals.  We also have to give Loving credit for playing with great intensity, as he displayed incredible athleticism, an ability to finish unequaled by anybody else in the game, excellent ball handling skills in the open court, and tremendous body control.  But we still think it's a shame they didn't give the award to somebody else (anybody else), because he's one of those guys who is more interested in putting on a show for the crowd and making himself look good than making his teammates look.  In other words, Loving is ideally suited for the McDonald's All-American Game or the Senior All-Star Game at the Reebok ABCD Camp, which in recent years have been excellent entertainment, but also have been two of the ugliest basketball games of the entire year.  We also were very impressed with 6'6 Soph Austin Johnson from Cheltenham (H.S.) PA, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and was overpowering inside; 6'5 Soph DeShawn Mitchell from Piscataway (H.S.) NJ, who was explosive, athletic, and powerful to the basket en route to 14 points; and 6'6 Soph Martez Walker from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who chipped in with 10 points, displayed an excellent understanding of the game, an ability to play both inside and outside.  And, of course there was 6'2 Frosh Duran Scott from New York (Rice) NY, who also finished with 10 points and made a lot of things happen, as he appeared to have a great nose for the ball and did most of his damage in transition.  Another one of the unsung heroes in the game was 6'0 Soph Darrell Bryant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who finished with 14 points and seven assists, but didn't do anything flashy, made his teammates better, and simply took what the defense gave him.  The same also can be said about 5'11 Soph Travan Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who scored only six points, but also might have been the most unselfish player in the game.  We also liked 6'6 Soph Kevin Jones from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots, looks like and plays like a poor man's 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, and 6'6 Soph Miguel Bocachica from Philadelphia (Washington) PA, who is a tough hardnosed player from Puerto Rico with deep shooting range, excellent skills, and a good understanding of the game.  We also have to mention 6'0 Soph Mike Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who scored 11 points and impressed us with ability to play either guard spot and go coast-to-coast.  One of the quickest players in the game was 5'4 Soph Ivon Fisher from Bronx (Our Savior Lutheran) NY; one of the better inside players was 6'6 Soph Patrick Johnson from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY; and one of the best outside shooters in the game (2-4 3-pointers) was 6'6 Soph Dash Harris from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL.  Also named to the 20-man all-star game roster for the Developmental League were 6'1 Soph Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'3 Frosh Sherrod Wright from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Soph Gary Simmons from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Soph Bilal Dixon from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'7 Soph David Imez from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, and 5'9 Soph Dre Calloway from New York (Rice) NY.  But just as noteworthy is the fact that 6'3 Frosh Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'0 Frosh Keith Spellman from Brooklyn (Thomas Jefferson) NY, who are two of the best freshmen in the nation, were both left out of the game.  Yes, it really does look like the talent level and competition in the Developmental League at Five-Star's loaded Honesdale session was that good! 

Saturday, August 27, 2005, Sunday, August 28, 2005, & Monday, August 29, 2005

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 6'8 Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN has verbally committed to the University of Memphis and this is big for a number of reasons.  First, Niles, who is ranked #31 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a physical specimen with excellent skills, deceptive mobility and athleticism for somebody his size, and an incredible amount of potential, if he ever gets into great playing shape and dedicates himself into becoming a great player.  Second, Niles is a local kid, which shows that Tigers John Calipari can still get his fair share of the top players in his backyard.  Third, the verbal commitment by Niles also gives the Memphis coaching staff the momentum that they need as they also attempt to get 6'8 Thaddeus Young and Memphis (Mitchell) TN and 6'3 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN to stay at home.  And, if they get Niles, Young, and Kemp in this recruiting class and they also can get 6'9 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to stick around for more than a year, the Tigers could have with a chance to start four homegrown players in their starting line-up year after next.  Yes, these guys are all that good!  And, if all this falls into place, whereby, the Tigers also get Young and Kemp, it could give Memphis its third top five ranked recruiting class in a row.  If you will recall, two years ago they landed a class that was ranked #3 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes For the Class of 2004 and included 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'9 Waki Williams from Mt. San Jacinto (JC) CA, 6'7 Richard Dorsey from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 7'0 Kareem Cooper from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, and 6'1 Tanqueray Beavers from Athens (H.S.) AL.  And last year their class, which included 6'9 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'5 Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (Northwestern) MI, 6'5 Antonio Anderson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 7'0 Kareem Cooper from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'9 Robert Dozier from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, was tied for #5, along with North Carolina, in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes For the Class of 2005.  This year's class already includes Niles and 6'10 Hashim Bailey from Winchendon (School) MA and is tied at #18, along with Michigan, Iowa, and Baylor, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, landing Young and Kemp may be easier said than done, because Kentucky and Tennessee are expected to provide stiff competition for Kemp and it seems like everybody is still involved with Young.  We also have confirmed that Hartford has landed 6'9 Jarrid Famous from New Rochelle (Blessed Sacrament) NY and Fairfield has landed 6'0 Jon Han from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC.  And, like several other 5th Year Players who have recently made verbal commitments, it appears that Han will enroll this fall and be eligible to play right away.  If you will recall, Han, who is originally from Woodmere (Lawrence-Woodmere) NY and attended prep school a year ago at the Tilton (School) NH, was supposed to enroll at Patterson (The Patterson School) NC this fall.  He established his national reputation in July at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp, where he finished ranked #15 at the point guard spot in camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  He also has good ball handling and passing skills, knows how to run the show, and is a tough hardnosed competitor, which makes him an absolute steal for Fairfield.  Famous also appears to be an excellent catch for Hartford, but, unlike Han, we don't expect him to walk in right away and be one of the better players in the league.  Instead, it's his upside that get us excited.  Not only does Famous have the potential to grow several more inches, but he's athletic, runs the court, blocks shots, and he just turned 17-years-old.  However, the rest of our focus today has been on the Five-Star Basketball Camp in Honesdale, PA and, quite honestly, I'm shocked by the fact that big names players, like 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ, 6'4 Paul Harris from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 5'10 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'6 Soph Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, and 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY failed to show up for the camp.   But, just because the aforementioned players ducked the competition, as well as a tremendous opportunity to work on their game and get better, it doesn't mean the camp still wasn't absolutely loaded, as the list of the top players in camp includes 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'6 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, 6'8 Dajuan Summers from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, 6'0 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (East Side) NJ, 5'10 Sean Crawford from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Jr Darrington Hobson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'1 Jr Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'6 Edwin Ubiles from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT,6'5 Gilbert Brown from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 Lazar Heyward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'6 Robert Mitchell from Philadelphia (International) PA, 6'0 Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 5'10 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'4 Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'8 Jr Darnell Gant from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'1 Jonathan Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'7 Jr Mohammed Lo from Port Chester (H.S.) NY, 6'2 Jr Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'3 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY,  6'0 Jesse Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'8 Tyrell Lynch from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Austin Wallace from New York (La Salle) NY, and 6'6 Billy Clark from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  We also have to give credit to 6'4 Frosh Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, because he not only is the best player in the Developmental League, but he did well when he was moved up to play in the NBA Division against the top players in camp.  And this is important, because that alone is enough for us to move him back ahead of 5'6 Soph Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY next time we update our rankings of the top players in the nation both regardless of class and in the Class of 2008.  Some other players who are not mentioned above, but who played extremely well today and, as a result, deserve special mention are 5'10 Jr Duane McMillan from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 5'4 Soph Ivon Fisher from Bronx (Our Savior Lutheran) NY, and 6'6 Soph Martez Walker from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL.  Stay tuned for more tomorrow and the next day, as the playoffs, all-star games, and awards ceremonies from the Five-Star Basketball Camp are just around the corner. 

Friday, August 26, 2005

With the Bobby Huggins ultimatum on Tuesday, 6'9 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA picking Georgetown on Wednesday, and 6'9 Derrick Caracater from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ making it official for Louisville yesterday, I'm sure you were wondering what we were going to write about today on a slow Friday in late August?  Especially since the expected announcement earlier this week by 6'6 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, which could come at any time, has been bogged down and delayed by the NCAA Clearinghouse.  How about 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY finally having his press conference today to make it official for Syracuse?  Obviously this is huge, because Harris not only is only is the #1-ranked 5th Year Player in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but he also was the HOOP SCOOP's Player-of-the-Summer and is the one high school player in the nation that we'd want on our team, if we had to picks sides and play a game today.  Actually Harris is a 5th Year Player and he has decided to enroll at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA this fall.  Also important to the story is the fact that 5'10 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY was not a part of today's press conference and, as a result, is technically still on the board, although we do suspect it's only a matter of time before he too makes it official for Syracuse.  Obviously Syracuse's NCAA Championship two years ago, a legendary coach in Jim Boeheim, the success that Carmelo Anthony has had both in the college and in the pro ranks, and the fact that Syracuse traditionally gets most of the top players from upstate New York made this one almost predictable.  However, we also have to give Orangemen assistant coach Mike Hopkins his due, because nobody worked any harder this summer recruiting anybody than Hopkins did recruiting Harris.  As a matter of fact, ever time we saw Harris play this summer, Hopkins was there sitting in the first row.  We also understand that 6'2 Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, who signed with Syracuse a year ago, but didn't make it academically and, as a result, was expected to either sit out this year or go the prep school route, has enrolled at the University of Massachusetts.  Mayben won't be eligible to play this season, but this is still about as big as it gets for new Minutemen head coach Travis Ford, because Mayben was ranked #17 nationally in our Final Rankings of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 and has great ball handling and passing skills, tremendous speed and quickness, and incredible natural talent.  And, if that weren't enough, this also gives the new regime at UMass an important in with Jim Hart and the Albany City Rocks AAU program.  Also within the last several days 6'0 Marcus Lawrence from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who is ranked #107 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made a verbal commitment to UNLV.  We're talking about an athletic point guard who makes good decisions, knows how to run a team, and is capable of stepping in and providing the perfect complement a year from now to 6'3 Jr Jason Petrimoulx and 6'1 Frosh Jovan Adams, who are expected to be the heir apparent to 5'10 Jerel Blassingame in the backcourt this year at UNLV.  However, that's not only reason why Lawrence's decision to stay home is important for the Runnin' Rebels.  Remember, there are some excellent young players in Las Vegas, NV and the other two top local players - 6'5 Andre McFarland from Las Vegas, NV and 6'3 P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palos Verdes) NV - in this year's recruiting class have already decided to go to Southern Cal and Iowa State.  So it was important that the Runnin' Rebels re-establish the fact that they can recruit the top players in their backyard.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Cem Dimc, who was supposed to have been returning to Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH this year, has, instead, decided to enroll at Indiana University, where he will join 6'9 Soph D.J. White, 6'11 Frosh Ben Allen, and 6'8 Sr Marco Killingsworth to form what should be one of the best front lines in college basketball this season.  And the Hoosiers beat some pretty fast competition to get this one done.  As a matter of fact, North Carolina was the primary competition, although they hadn't offered yet.  Instead, it appears the Tar Heels coaching staff wanted Dimc to enroll at Brewster Academy this fall and then evaluate his progress this winter.  We also understand that North Carolina has gotten the quick fix to they were looking for by landing 6'8 Michael Copeland from Winston-Salem (Reynolds) NC, who averaged 17.8 ppg and 9.1 rpg and was named second team all-state last year.  And this is important, because Copeland, who will step in and be eligible to play this fall, appears to be better right now than 6'9 Sr Byron Sanders and 6'11 Sr Damion Grant, but is not good enough to scare off any of the top notch recruits that the Tar Heels are recruiting in the senior class nationally, including 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, and 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  We also have gotten an unconfirmed report from a source abroad about the Tar Heels being interested in 6'11 Toni Soda from Split, Croatia.  We're talking about a 6'11 skilled big man, but, according to somebody who saw Soda at the 2005 Basketball Without Borders: Europe Camp in Germany a month ago, he lacks the talent, athleticism, and natural ability to be more than a role player right away at the big time college level.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'1 Chris Martin from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME has verbally committed to Stony Brook and 6'8 Quincy Owens from Milwaukee (Washington) WI has verbally committed to Seton Hall.   And it appears that Owens, who will be enrolling this fall at Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, will reclassify himself as a junior, which should make the value of his stock rise dramatically, as he has another year to mature and develop.  It also appears that 6'9 Theo Davis from Toronto, ON has not enrolled at Iowa State, which means that Ro Russell is back in business with regards to helping one of the top players he's ever coached get his life back on track.  We also understand that 6'9 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, and 6'9 Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA are already all making plans to visit the University of Kentucky's version of Midnight Madness in Lexington, KY. 

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Five years ago Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ head coach Kevin Boyle told me that he probably was going to get a player who would be the best freshman in the nation.  The only problem being that Boyle would have to wait two more years to get him, because, at that point, 6'9 Derrick Caracter was only in 7th Grade.  And when the time came, this 6'9 man-child who matured physically very early lived up to all the hype.  As a matter of fact, after watching Caracter make his high school debut in the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, this is what we wrote about him on Tuesday, December 24, 2002.  "Caracter was tied for top rebounding honors, tied for 5th in blocked shots, and just missed making the top scoring list averaging 15.0 ppg.  But even more, important Caracter threw the game winning pass to Nardi in overtime in the semi-finals and was the big reason why St. Patrick won in the semi-finals as he finished with 18 rebounds, many of which came in the 4th quarter and overtime.  And one big time college coach who was in attendance last night even goes so far as to compare Caracter to John Williams and Chris Webber.  Caracter has the same type of body, athleticism, and high degree of skill level both inside and outside that John Williams had, but he also has incredible hands, just like Chris Webber.  Caracter also would have taken home tournament MVP honors, if St. Patrick hadn't lost in the championship game, and, as a result, any way you slice, is already way ahead of LaBron James at the same stage in his quest to become high school basketball's next summer star.  If you will recall, James didn't become the consensus #1-ranked player in his class nationally until he scored 33-points and almost single handedly pulled off the upset against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA two years ago when he was just a sophomore.  In Caracter's case, he was the leading rebounder in the top pre-Christmas Tournament in the nation while playing in the first three high school games of his career.  And this isn't the first time Caracter has stepped up to the plate and hit a home run against incredible competition.  He also was ranked as one of the top five players at the NIKE All-American Camp a year ago this summer by the HOOP SCOOP."  He did clearly got the better of 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN in their head-to-head battle at the Reebok ABCD Camp a year ago, but this was the exception, instead of the rule, as Caracter was ineligible the last part of his freshman year.  He also transferred to Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ for his sophomore season, but then returned to St. Patrick's a year ago.  Caracter also found out who the best player in the nation really is this summer when he went head-to-head again Oden.  In contrast, Caracter, who is ranked no higher than #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is now the player with a lot to prove.  Remember, despite the best efforts of Boyle and all the other people around him, Caracter has always had a reputation for not pushing himself as hard as he could and, as a result, most people in the business now question his heart and how bad he wants it.  Thus, explains why he is not one of the consensus top five players in the nation.  But it appears that somebody gets it, because you don't survive playing for Louisville head coach Rick Pitino for very long, if you don't learn to play hard.  And, if Caracter survives Pitino's conditioning program and individual instruction once he arrives on campus a year from now, then Caracter has the potential to be as good as any player Louisville has ever had.  And, yes, I not only have heard of Wes Unseld and Darrell Griffith, but I also saw both of them play for the Cardinals.  Are you starting to get the idea of just how good a player Caracter can become, if he dedicates himself to become a great player?  We're talking about a potential 10-15 year NBA All-Star who has the body and the skills necessary to play both inside and outside at the highest level.  In other words, if Caracter reaches his potential, he will make Jamal Mashburn, who to-date is arguably the best college player to ever player for Pitino, look like an ordinary player.  Caracter also becomes the 12th player to have either signed or verbally committed to Louisville in the last year-and-a-half.  If you will recall, they landed 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 5'10 Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, 6'5 Bryan Harvey from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 7'0 Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL, 6'9 Chad Millard from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and 7'0 Jonathan Huffman from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL in a recruiting class at the time that was ranked #1 in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Johnson by-passed college and entered his NBA into the NBA Draft this spring and Holloway didn't have the necessary grades to get into school and, as a result, has gone the prep school route.  Louisville also got a verbal commitment last June from 6'7 Lamar Roberson from Compton (Dominguez) CA, but, after he ended up at Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL and Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, that fell through and he ended up going to the University of Houston.  There also is 6'7 Soph Martez Walker from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who made an extremely early verbal commitment to Louisville a year ago, but, for a while was thought to be back on the board, because he told our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin that he was still being recruited by schools like UCLA, Arizona, UAB, and Texas.  But, since that time, we've been told that Walker is still should be counted with Louisville's recruiting class in the Class of 2008.  And, of course, there are the other two players - 6'2 Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI and 6'3 Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY - who are in Louisville's current recruiting class.  And they aren't done yet, because we still think Louisville is one of the top two schools, along with Villanova, for 6'8 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ and we'd be shocked if they don't get 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  However, Smith won't be on scholarship until the 2007-2008 season and Walker won't get a scholarship until the 2008-2009 season.  So, as things stand now, Louisville has only senior in 6'2 Sr Taquan Dean; only one junior in 6'3 Jr Brandon Jenkins; three sophomores in 6'11 Soph David Padgett, 6'9 Soph Juan Diego Palacios, and 6'10 Soph Terrance Farley; six freshmen in 6'9 Frosh Brian Johnson, McGee, Harvey, Williams, Millard, and Huffman.  That's 11 scholarship players minus Dean plus Caracter, Jerry Smith, and Sosa, which puts them at 13 scholarship players a year from now.  But most people in the know think Palacios will forgo his final two years of college eligibility and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.  So that opens the door for Clark and, assuming that somebody transfers due to a lack of playing time or somebody else goes pro in the next year or two, that would open the for Louisville to sign another inside player to go along with Nolan Smith in the Class of 2007.  We also have confirmed that Oregon State has landed 6'6 Seth Tarver from Portland (Jesuit) OR and this is big for the Beavers for several reasons.  First, Tarver is ranked #75 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, means he's a pretty good player.  Second, getting Tarver shows that Oregon State head Jay John and his staff are now able to keep the top local players at home.  Third, Tarver should be an excellent complement to the other two wing players that Oregon State has already landed in this year's recruiting class.  We're talking about 6'2 Calvin Haynes from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, who verbally committed to Oregon State earlier this week, and 6'3 Lathan Wallace from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who verbally committed to Oregon State several months ago.  And, this too is important, because the Beavers will have to replace 6'2 Sr Chris Stephens, 6'5 Sr Lamar Hurd, and 5'10 Sr Jason Fontenet after the current season.  Fourth, Tarver has an excellent combination of skills, athleticism, court savvy, and understanding of the game, which means he's ideally suited to step in and make an immediate impact a year from now.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that St. Francis-PA has landed one player - 6'7 T.J. Lundey from Pocono Summit (Pocono Mountain West) PA - that will count with the Class of 2005 and two players - 6'6 Kurt Hoffman from Johnstown (Greater Johnstown) PA and 6'2 Chris McFarland from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD - that count with this year's recruiting class. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA head coach Kevin Keats tells us that the "Big Ticket" has made it official for Georgetown.  Obviously we're talking about 6'10 Vernon Macklin Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and the big reason why Macklin picked the Hoyas was the strong relationship that he's established with Georgetown head coach John Thompson III.  Not only did Thompson do a great job recruiting Macklin, but Keats reminds us that every time Macklin played this summer Thompson was sitting in the first row.  Keats also tells us that Thompson's father, the former legendary head coach at Georgetown never made the call, which is important, because it shows that the son doesn't need the father in order to land one of the top 10 seniors nationally.  Whether Macklin, who also is the #2-ranked center in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, will turn out to be as good as Patrick Ewing and/or Alonzo Mourning is a question yet to be answered, but we are talking about a tremendous athlete with an incredible amount of potential and, as a result, he is the ideal guy for Thompson to build the program around.  Not only is Macklin an excellent rebounder and terrific shot blocker, but he can run the court like a deer, has a soft touch around the basket, and is potentially as good as anybody in the senior class nationally, if he continues to develop his offensive game.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that the Class of 2006 also features 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'9 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN all of whom have superstar at the high level someday already written all over each of them.  The addition of Macklin also is big, because the Hoyas' recruiting class, which also includes 6'4 Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL and 6'9 DaJuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough School) MD, moves up to #5, behind Ohio State, North Carolina, Duke, and Connecticut and ahead of Villanova, Oklahoma, Arizona, Wake Forest, Stanford, Louisville, Texas, Florida State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Michigan, Iowa, and Baylor, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And the Hoyas aren't done yet, as we also think Georgetown also might be the team to beat for 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, former Georgetown head coach John Thompson stuck by Allen Iverson during all of his legal problems and it stands to reason that Boo Williams, who also has had both Macklin and Crews on his Summer League Team in recent years, has not forgotten this over the years.  The verbal commitment by Macklin to Georgetown also is important, because he becomes the 50th player who is ranked nationally among our top 100 seniors who is currently verbally committed to a four-year school.  If you will recall, 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN has committed to Ohio State, 6'10 Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has committed to Texas, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA has verbally committed to North Carolina, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has verbally committed to North Carolina, 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA has verbally committed to Georgia Tech, 6'8 Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA has verbally committed to Arizona, 6'11 Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA has verbally committed to Stanford, 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL has verbally committed to Duke, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX has verbally committed to Oklahoma, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA has verbally committed to Duke, 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN has verbally committed to Ohio State, 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ has verbally committed to Duke, 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH has verbally committed to Ohio State, 6'2 Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI has verbally committed to Louisville, 6'11 Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA has verbally committed to Stanford, 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI has verbally committed to Connecticut, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY has verbally committed to Connecticut, 6'6 Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN has verbally committed to Tennessee, 6'7 DeShawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI has verbally committed to Michigan, 5'11 Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL has verbally committed to Florida State, 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX has verbally committed to Arizona, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA has verbally committed to Baylor, 6'3 Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY has verbally committed to Louisville, 6'4 Dave Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH has verbally committed to Ohio State, 6'0 Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT has verbally committed to St. John's, 6'4 Jason Bohannon from Linn-Mar (H.S.) IA has verbally committed to Wisconsin, 6'7 Jamie Skeen from Huntersville (North Mecklenburg) NC has verbally committed to Wake Forest, 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA has verbally committed to Oklahoma, 6'3 Anthony Gurley from Newtonville (North Newton) MA has verbally committed to Wake Forest, 6'8 Luke Harangody from Gary (Andrean) IN has verbally committed to Notre Dame, 6'9 DaJuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD has verbally committed to Georgetown, 6'2 Stefan Welsh from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has verbally committed to Arkansas, 6'10 Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL has verbally committed to Florida, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC has verbally committed to North Carolina, 6'4 Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's) PA has verbally committed to Villanova, 6'8 Keith Clark from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK has verbally committed to Oklahoma, 6'4 Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL has verbally committed to Georgetown, 6'9 Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA has verbally committed to California, and 6'8 James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA has verbally committed to UCLA, 6'3 James Dews from West Chester (Lakota East) OH has verbally committed to Miami-FL, 6'4 Aaron Holmes from St. Petersburg (Catholic) FL has verbally committed to Florida State, 6'9 Jordan Hill from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC has verbally committed to Arizona, 6'3 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has verbally committed to Virginia Tech, 6'2 Darrin Govens form Chester (H.S.) PA has verbally committed to St. Joseph's, 6'4 Carlos Morias from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA has verbally committed to Kansas State, 6'7 Jeff Allen from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has verbally committed to Virginia Tech, 6'9 Wayne Chism from Bolivar (Central) TN has verbally committed to Tennessee, 6'7 Landon Milbourne from Alpharetta (St. Francis) GA has verbally committed to Maryland, and 6'3 P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palos Verdes) NV has verbally committed to Iowa State.  And that number should become 51 when 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ picks Louisville over Memphis at his press conference tomorrow that is scheduled for 5:00 PM.  We also believe that it's only a matter of time before 7'0 Soph Randolph Morris, who is all set to start attending classes today, is reinstated by the NCAA to play at least part of this season at the University of Kentucky.  And, if this happens, the Wildcats just might be the team to beat in college basketball this year.  Remember, the Wildcats will have a strong nucleus of guards, including 6'1 Soph Rajon Rondo, 6'3 Soph Joe Crawford, 6'3 Soph Ramel Bradley, and 6'1 Sr Patrick Sparks; and some good inside players, including 6'7 Jr Sheray Thomas, 7'3 Jr Shagari Alleyne, 7'1 Jr Lukasz Obrzut, and probably Morris, all back from a team that lost in double-overtime in the NCAA Regional Finals to Michigan State.  And don't forget Tubby Smith has been second to nobody in college basketball as a coach in recent years and the Wildcats also landed 6'8 Rekalin Sims from Salt Lake (JC) UT, who was ranked as the #1 junior college player in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  Another reason why we're thinking about making the Wildcats our pre-season #1-ranked team is the fact that 6'0 Frosh A.J. Price and 6'2 Marcus Williams both have been suspended due to off-the-court problems at Connecticut. the health status of 6'9 Sr Jason Frasor and 6'7 Sr Curtis Sumpter for this season is still a question mark at Villanova, and it's just too easy to pick Duke, which returns 6'9 Sr Shelden Williams and 6'4 Sr J.J. Redick, who will be two of the best players in college basketball this year, has a lot of other holes that must be filed right away by young players.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN has verbally committed to the University of Florida.  And, despite the fact Powell is not currently ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, our Memphis Correspondent Andre Whitehead thinks this is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Gators.  In other words, we're talking about a tough hardnosed Memphis kid with a great attitude, good athleticism, and excellent 3-point shooting range.  Powell also is the third player from the state that the Gators have landed in the last three years.  If you will recall, they landed 6'2 Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN in the fall of 2002 and 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN the following year.  Powell also should be an excellent complement to 6'10 Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL, who already counts as part of their current recruiting class, and 6'4 Jr Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL and 6'3 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, both of whom are rising juniors and have already made early verbal commitments to the Gators. 

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Everybody in the basketball world was totally stunned by the news today that Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins has been given an ultimatum by the school president Nancy Zimpher, whereby, he has 24-hours to either resign or be fired.  Obviously this marks the end of what was a power struggle between a new university president who has been on the job less than a year-and-a-half and the biggest sports icon in Cincinnati since Pete Rose.  Huggins, who had a 399-127 record in 16 seasons as the head coach of the Bearcats, had more wins the any other head coach in Cincinnati basketball history.  However, even that doesn't begin to illustrate just how important Huggins was to the program in terms of recruiting and keeping the program at a high level.  But this does.  During the last 16 years Huggins' teams have averaged 24.9 wins per season.  And during the last 10 years his teams won the Conference USA regular season championship eight times and the Conference USA Tournament Championship four times.  Prior to that they also dominated the Great Midwest Conference by winning the league title twice and the conference tournament championship all four years of the league's existence.  And when you also include Cincinnati's two years in the Metro Conference under Huggins, his teams have finished no worse than fourth in the league in any year, as the Bearcats finished first in the league 10 times, second twice, third twice, and fourth twice.  In contrast, Tony Yates, who was the coach of the Bearcats between 1983-84 and 1988-89 had a 70-100 record, only two winning seasons, and finished as high as third in the league only once.  And prior to that Ed Badger had a five-year 68-71 record at Cincinnati and the Bearcats also had only two winning seasons and finished as high as third in the league once during his reign.  In other words, Huggins single-handedly resurrected the program and during the last 16 years has meant as much as any coach to any program in college basketball.  Sure, the Bearcats have had more than their fair share of off-the-court problems along the way, but earlier this spring the school had already declined to invoke a roll-over provision in Huggins' contract and, as a result, he only had two years remaining on his current contract.  Which makes us wonder why now?  Remember, we thought Huggins and his staff had a great shot to get 7'0 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL in their current recruiting class and that they also would likely get 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH in next year's recruiting class.  They also already had laid the groundwork with all the good young freshmen and sophomores in the area, including 6'9 Soph Yancey Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, who promises to be the next great player to come out of Cincinnati once Mayo and Walker are gone.  In other words, if the Bearcats win 25 games again this year (just like they've done the last two years) and Huggins overcame the fact that he was a lame duck coach by landing the above mentioned players, then it probably would have been Zimpher's job that was on the line, instead of Huggins.  So it's our guess that she beat Huggins to the punch.  However, we think she's a bigger fool than former Indiana University President Myles Brand, who ironically is now the head of the NCAA, was when he didn't have the guts to fire Bob Knight for just cause and, instead, instituted a zero tolerance policy and ended up getting Knight for a crime that didn't measure up to termination.  Not only has she set recruiting back at least several years, but it appears they are going to make Cincinnati assistant coach Andy Kennedy the interim head coach and figure out what they're really going to do next spring.  And this could be a bigger disaster than when St. John's fired Mike Jarvis year before last early in the season and was still scrambling around trying to figure out what they were going to do after the NCAA Final Four in early April.  And complicating things even more is the fact that Cincinnati is joining the Big East Conference this winter.  Moral to the story, if you make the wrong hire and/or wait until spring to do so, the Bearcats easily could end up being the doormat of the Big East for years to come.  And, if that happens, Zimpher may someday find out how Huggins feels today.  We're talking about the fact that contributions and dominations to the school could go into the tank and, as a result, she someday may be looking for another job.  We've already heard names like former Utah head coach Rick Majerus, Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser, former Virginia head coach Pete Gillen, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis, former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, and Creighton head coach Dana Altman being mentioned as possible candidates as Huggins' successor, but the ideal candidate would be Murray State head coach Mick Cronin.  Remember, Cronin is originally from Cincinnati, OH and he came up through the ranks as an assistant coach with the Bearcats.  However, after moving onto become an assistant coach at Louisville under Rick Pitino, Cronin also is far enough removed from Huggins to at least be considered for the job.  But even more important, Cronin knows all the right people, knows what it takes to win at Cincinnati, and has a gift for knowing how to say all the right things, making you think he's politically correct, and having all the right contacts for the purpose of recruiting at the grass roots level.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'10 Anthony Ivory from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA has decided to enroll this fall at Temple, where he will be the replacement from 7'1 Keith Butler, who recently decided to transfer to DePaul, and we have confirmed that 6'2 Calvin Haynes from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA has verbally committed to Oregon State.  And, once again, it looks like Beavers head coach Jay John and his staff have stolen one, because this is the guy who shot the light out the first day at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp and finished ranked #29 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP, in early July.  Haynes also has the athleticism to fit into Oregon State's up tempo style of play and he's got good enough ball handling skills to also play some point guard down the road, which makes him ideally suited to complement 6'3 Lathan Wallace from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who also already is apart of Oregon State's current recruiting class.  We also want to give you the scoop with regards to Chris Chaney leaving Laurinburg (Institute) NC to accept the head coaching job at The Patterson School in Patterson, NC. The school is located near Lenoir, Hickory, and Boone, NC.  The website of the school is www.pattersonschool.org.  Chaney's career record already is 419-79 and at the same age of 34, the legendary Morgan Wootten, who upon retiring several years ago was the winningest high school coach of all time, had 260 victories.  In his four years at Laurinburg, Chaney's first team was ranked among the top 25 by the USA Today and, during his three years as the prep school coach, they won two National Championships, were ranked #1 in the nation at some point in all three seasons, and had 51 players who went on to play Division I basketball.  His team last season went 40-0 and had 17 players sign D-I.  Some experts even went so far as to say that last year's team was the best prep school team of all-time.  Their average margin of victory was 40 points and they only had four games under 20 points.  They also only averaged nine turnovers a game and shot over 80% as a team from the free throw line.  And this year at The Patterson School, Chaney's team might even be better, as 6'8 Devon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA; 6'10 Jordan Hill form Atlanta (North Springs) GA, who is already verbally committed to Arizona); 6'0 Jon Han from Tilton (School) NH; 6'9 Travis George from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA; 6'5 Tony Crocker from San Antonio, TX, who already has verbally committed to Oklahoma; 6'2 Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA; 6'6 Roburt Sallie from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who is once again verbally committed to Washington; 6'7 Jr Kenyan Harmon from North Augusta (H.S.) SC, who is already verbally committed to Charlotte; 6'6 Wesley Johnson from Corsicana (H.S.) TX, who is already verbally committed to San Diego State, 6'4 Lamar Falley from Las Vegas (Durango) NV; 5'10 Raymond Brewer from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD; 7'0 Toni Soda from Croatia, and 6'9 Luka Hoti from Croatia, are already in the fold.  Soda is potentially one of the top high school players in the nation this year, but right now he is a major sleeper, because nobody knows about him yet.  Hoti is a 6'9 guard who also could end up being ranked in the 50-100 range.  It also should noted that 6'0 Angel Santiago and 6'11 Issan Diallo, both of whom were originally supposed to be heading to Laurinburg (Institute) NC, are going the junior college route and, as a result, are no longer in our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2006.  And it also appears that 6'7 Kiwan Smith will be staying at Laurinburg (Institute) NC, instead of following Chaney and all of the other players to The Patterson School.

Monday, August 22, 2005

It's not official yet for Louisville, but it should be sometime within the next week for 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the potential, skills, body, and natural talent necessary to be the best high school player that Louisville's Rick Pitino has ever signed as a college coach.  And that's saying a lot, because, when Pitino was the head coach at Kentucky, he landed 6'8 Jamal Mashburn from Bronx (Cardinal Hayes) NY, who was ranked among our top five seniors nationally in our final rankings in 1990, and 6'9 Antonie Walker from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, who was ranked #2 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2004.  Caracter does need to learn to work harder and get into even better shape, but that appears to be the plan, as Pitino is second to none in terms of individual instruction, strength and conditioning, and getting players ready to play in the NBA.  And this appears to have been the big reason why Caracter's final two schools were Louisville and Memphis, as Pitino and Tigers head coach John Calipari both have coached in "The League" and have the necessary contacts and know how to get a player ready to go into the NBA as fast as possible.  So obviously we expect Caracter to be a one and done college player.  But, assuming that something strange doesn't happen between now and later in the week, Louisville's recruiting class, which already includes 6'2 Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI and 6'3 Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, will move up to #3, behind Ohio State and North Carolina and ahead of Duke, Connecticut, Villanova, Oklahoma, Arizona, Wake Forest, and Stanford, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if they also get 6'8 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, then their recruiting class will move up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  If you will recall, Louisville and Villanova are believed to the final two of Clark, although Rutgers still should mentioned as a long shot.  We also are waiting to see what is going to happen with 6'6 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who is expected to make it official today for Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, or USC.  However, whatever happens, we're not going to get too overly excited, because we think Rush has been one of the most over hyped players that we've seen in years.  And, in the end, it looks like we weren't the only one who figured it out, as Rush was not one of the 24 players named to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and he was not good enough to keep his name in the NBA Draft after filing for early enter into the draft in May.  Rush is an incredible dunker and can be like a human highlight film when he turns it up, but he also has a tendency to live off a spectacular dunk and has too many games where he only scores six or eight points.  On the more positive side, Rush is good enough with the proper motivation to walk in and be an important piece to the puzzle this coming season, if he were included in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005, which was published on July 3, 2005.  As a matter of fact, if Rush picks Southern Cal or Kansas, that would be enough to get the Trojans' or Jayhawks' recruiting class ranked #2 or #3 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005.  We also were told last night by Mike Sullivan of Insiders.com on our weekly radio show, which you can list to by HOOP SCOOP On-Radio, that 6'6 Samari Spears from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ has verbally committed to Boston College.  However, we have to laugh when Sullivan mentioned that fact that there are those out there who talk about Spears playing the wing forward spot at the college level.  Spears doesn't have the foot speed, quickness, and athleticism to guard anybody on the perimeter, but he is a killer inside.  In other words, we're talking about a wide-bodied 6'6 power forward out of the same mold as 6'6 Danya Abrams from Terrytown (Hackley) NY, who was ranked among the top 60 players in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP in 1993 and turned out to be one of the best players in the Big East in the mid-90's.  Spears is a 5th Year Player, but, if we were to include him with high school seniors, we'd rank him in the same range that Abrams was ranked when he was a high school senior, assuming that Spears is a power forward.  However, if we were to list Spears as a wing forward, I'm not sure he'd be listed among the top 300 seniors nationally.  Yes, the position that a player plays can make that much difference and more players have been ruined in recent years, because they were too obsessed with trying to play in the NBA, instead of just doing what they do best and taking it as far as the can go.  Besides, Boston College already has a wing forward in this recruiting class.  Obviously we're talking about 6'7 Tyler Roche from Manchester (Central) NH and, with the addition of Spears, the Eagles now have two players in the fold with a huge upside and who should complement one another nicely for years to come.  The addition of Abrams also moves Boston College's recruiting class up to #28 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  The HOOP SCOOP's Patrick Stanwood tells us that 6'11 Mitchell Carter from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI has verbally committed to South Carolina and this is intriguing for several reasons.  First, when was the last time the Gamecocks landed a player out of Milwaukee, WI?  Second, Carter has always had the size and potential necessary to be one of the best big men in his class nationally, but has never lived up to expectations, as he does not appear to have the tough hardnosed demeanor and burning desire necessary to achieve greatness.  Thus, explains why Carter currently is ranked #158 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Third, South Carolina landed a number of big men, including 6'8 Alassane Savadogo from  Gulf Coast (JC) FL, 6'9 Ousmane Konate from Redlands (JC) OK, and 6'8 Kevin Palacios from Eastern Oklahoma (JC) OK, in last year's recruiting class and, as a result, the competition for playing time on the front line a year from now should be intense.  The addition of Carter also moves the Gamecocks' recruiting class up to #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  If you will recall, South Carolina also already has verbal commitments from 6'7 Chadwick Gray from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'8 Austin Steed from Augusta (Butler) GA, and 6'1 Brandis Riley from Gastonia (Gaston Day) NC.  Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis told us several weeks ago that 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Toronto (School of Eastern Commerce) ON was going to transfer to Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA.  Well, now it looks like he was right on the money, as this small athletic point guard who is mature well beyond his years has made it official for this basketball factory, which is located in the Atlanta area.  This also is huge for Davis, who is the head coach at Community Christian) GA, because Cadougan has to be ranked among the very elite freshmen nationally, along with 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sydney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'1 Frosh Kenny Boynton from Pompono Beach (Ely) FL, 6'4 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'3 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA.  Cadougan also should give Davis one of the best one-two punches in the nation for each of the next three years, because he will be high school teammates with 6'6 Soph Olu Ashaolu from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, who is ranked #5 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that both Cadougan and Ashaolu also play for Ro Russell, who runs the Grassroots Canadian AAU program, and, as a result, the pipeline for Davis to get a lot more of Russell's players in the future appears to be already in place. 

Saturday, August 20, 2005, & Sunday, August 21, 2005

The New York Panthers knocked off Aneesa Sports yesterday in the championship game of the Reebok New York City Hoops Festival, but the big story was the emergence of 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ into one of the premier point guards prospect in the nation.  Not only was this by-far-and-away the best we've ever seen this point guard from Brooklyn, NY play, but what he did over the course of three days was incredible.  If you will recall, Harvey hit a big 3-pointer with his team down by four with less than a minute and then came up with the crucial steal that helped seal his team's the victory in the quarterfinals on Thursday night against Team Odom.  Then, he had 22 points and made all the big plays as Aneesa Sports upset the Playaz Basketball Club in the semi-finals on Friday night.  And, if that weren't enough, Harvey had 18 points and his team had a legitimate chance to win when he fouled out with five-and-half minutes left and his team down by only three points in the championship game.  Harvey not only impressed everybody with his incredible speed and quickness, but he's one of the most explosive point guards that we've seen in a long time and has tremendous ball handling and passing skills, which he uses to penetrate and dish to the open man.  He's also an excellent defender and he knows what he is (a point guard), as he looks to make his teammates better first and score points second.  And Harvey is unbelievable at crunch time, as he always seems to find a way to make the big play when the game is on the line.  Harvey also had a good supporting cast, as 6'6 Jr Jermaine Peterson from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 6'7 Kayote Anyie from Brooklyn (Transit Tech) NY, 6'8 Anthony Brown from Brooklyn (Banneker) NY, and 6'5 Delroy James from Lake Suzy (Florida Prep) FL provided size, toughness, and athleticism inside and 5'10 Anderson Labiaze from Brooklyn (Banneker) NY helped with the ball handling chores on the perimeter.  Peterson also deserves a special mention, because he was unstoppable in the semi-finals against the Playaz Basketball Club, as he scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and hit 11-15 field goals.  In other words, this undersized power forward with incredible athleticism and a tough hardnosed demeanor, more than lived up his #5 ranking in the New York City in the junior class by Ron Naclerio and, as a result, is a great sleeper for our top 100 juniors nationally when we update this list later this fall.  Joining Harvey and Peterson on the all-tournament were 6'9 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'3 Vernon Teal, who now is planning on enrolling at either Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA or Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  Thomas had 16 points and eight rebounds in the semi-finals against the New England Playaz and was absolutely sensational in the championship game with 29 points against Aneesa Sports.  However, we still would have given the tournament MVP to Harvey.  Instead, Thomas was named the MVP and Harvey got the Sportsmanship Award, which was appropriate, because the people running the tournament obviously didn't have the guts to give the MVP award to somebody on the other team.  Ellington also deserves a special note, because he hit 7-12 3-pointers en route to a 23-point performance in the semi-finals against Aneesa Sports.  But Ellington missed an open 3-pointer that would have put his team up by five points with just over a minute to go in the game.  And that open the door for Harvey to come down and tie the game at 79-all with 49 second left in the game.  Ellington also showed that he has a long way to go before he can start thinking about playing point guard, as is evident by the fact that he finished with three assists and five turnovers against the pressure and defensive havoc created by Harvey.  In contrast, Stephenson did a good job of playing point guard for the New York Panthers, which had plenty of size inside with Thomas and 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY and good players out on the perimeter in Teal and 6'2 Sal Patricio from Lake Suzy (Florida Prep) FL, but didn't have 6'0 Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT around to run the show.  It also should be pointed out that they listened to us and picked Teal over Kelly on the all-tournament. But this too was a close call, because Kelly not only had 10 points and nine rebounds in the semi-finals and 13 points in the championship, but he also did a lot of the dirty work and took some of the pressure off Thomas inside.  The New England Playaz did not have anybody who received any consideration for the all-tournament, despite the fact 6'5 Kiwan Smith from Petterson (Prep) NC had 37 points and 13 points in his teams opening round game of the tournament against the Philly Ballers.  Not only did Smith hit only 8-24 field goals and 0-7 3-pointers and turn the ball over seven times against the New York Panthers in the semi-finals, but the New England Playaz couldn't get out of town fast enough after they get demolished 80-53 in the semi-finals.  One of the bigger disappointments in the tournament was 6'8 Earl Clark from Rahaway (H.S.) NJ, who had 14 points against the New York Gauchos in the quarterfinals and eight points against the Aneesa Sports in the semi-finals.  Instead, the guy who really stepped up and did all the dirty work for the Playaz Baskeball Club was 6'5 Kimanni Barrett from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who had 13 points and 16 rebounds against the New York Gauchos and 21 points and six rebounds against Aneesa Sports.  And we can't forget Henderson, who was terrific in the quarterfinals with 22 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, but somewhat disappointing in the semi-finals with 14 points, only three assists, and seven turnovers. 

Friday, August 19, 2005

Night before last 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and eight blocked shots, as the New York Panthers beat the Metro Hawks in the opening round of the New York City Hoops Festival at Baruch College in New York City.  But he won't be playing tonight or tomorrow in the tournament.  Instead, Caracter will be taking his visit to the University of Louisville and, unless something unforeseen happens, it appears to be only a matter of time before he verbally commits to the Cardinals.  "I'm 100% percent he's going to Louisville," says a source close to Caracter.  "It's just a question of when."  And we think this is extremely interesting, because Caracter has always been somebody who needed to pushed and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has a reputation for getting the most out of his players.  Also don't forget that up until now, Caracter, who is currently ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has been an underachiever.  However, he also has the potential to be as good as anybody in the class.  Remember, we're talking about somebody who is an incredible physical specimen and has unbelievable skills and mobility for somebody his size.  So the sky truly could be the limit if Caracter gets into better shape and learns to play hard all the time.  The other big story at the New York Hoops Festival was all the talk about how good Five-Star's Honesdale session will be August 27th-31st.  As a matter of fact, the legendary Howard Garfinkel, who is the co-director of the camp, along with Will Klein, thinks this will be one of the best sessions of Five-Star ever.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that the Five-Star Basketball Camp has been in existence 40 years and during that time most of the great players and coaches in the history of the game have attended and/or worked the camp.  Unfortunately the Five-Star people won't provide us with a list of the players who will be in attendance, but just about anybody you can name in the East is expected to be there and the number of top level players who get added to the list continues to grow every day.  No wonder Garfinkel is so excited!  Garfinkel also was busy singing the praises of 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who is ranked #67 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has a very high skill level, and 6'5 Doneal Mack from Statesville (Christian) NC, who is ranked #27 on our 5th Year list and is one of the best athletes in the nation.  Apparently they both played extremely well at Five-Star earlier this summer and, as a result, Garfinkel is touting Graves as a lock for the McDonald's All-American Team and has even gone so far as to make a Larry Bird comparison and notes that Mack was so good at one session of Five-Star that he now holds the record of seven for the most awards and trophies won at as single session of camp.  Getting back to the New York Hoops Festival, it looked like Team Odom had the game well in hand with a 61-57 lead with less than a minute to go in last night's first quarter-finals game.  But Aneesa Sports scored the last six points in overtime when 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ nailed a 3-pointer and 6'6 Jr Jermaine Peterson from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY drove to the basket, scored, was fouled, and hit the free throw to convert a 3-point play.  Harvey also was the leading scorer in the game with 20 points, but the player who actually impressed us the most was 6'4 Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who finished with 11 points and almost won the game for Team Odom, as he stepped up and made some big shots and passes at crunch time.  However, the leading scorers for Team Odom were 6'5 Rob Hampton from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 6'4 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY with 16 and 15 points apiece.  We also found it interesting that Mississippi State was the first school out of the mouth of Harvey.  However, this shouldn't come as that much of a surprise, because the Bulldogs have a history of being able to get the top players from New York City, as Todd Myles, Gary Ervin, and Vernon Goodridge have all gone there in recent years.  Harvey also mentioned Maryland, Connecticut, Florida State, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Miami-FL, but added that he's still wide open and noted that there is not a current leader.  The Playaz Basketball Club jumped to a 6-0 lead and never looked back in route to a 86-72 win against the New York Gauchos in the second quarterfinals game last night in the New York Hoops Festival.  And there were no big surprises in this game, as 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA finished with 22 points and eight assists, 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA had 13 points for the Playaz Basketball Club and 6'4 Saiquon Stone from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS led the way with 19 points for the New York Gauchos.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'0 Ricky Harris from Winchendon (School) MA is planning on attending Loyola-Maryland and the University of Maine has landed three recruits in 6'9 Dominique Scales from Casper (JC) WY, 6'10 Jordan Cook from Hamden (Academy) ME, and 6'7 Sean Costigan from Portland (Cheverus) ME.  Cook and Costian will count with this year's recruiting class, but Scales won't because he graduated with the Class of 2005.  Instead, Scales will step in this fall and be eligible to play right away for the Black Bears.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 Marsharee Nealy from Greensboro (Page) NC has picked Old Dominion, 6'5 Xavier Perkins from Boca Raton (St. Andrews) FL has verbally committed to Florida Atlantic, and 6'1 Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY is heading to Seton Hall.  That last one is big for several reasons.  First, Grant finished was the #12-ranked point guard by the HOOP SCOOP at the Reebok ABCD Camp and, as a result, we're talking about a legitimate borderline top 100 player in the senior class nationally.  Second, Grant is a pure point guard who knows how to run a team, but also has the confidence and ability to score a lot of point.  Third, Grant is a great kid.  Fourth, Grant is capable of stepping in and challenging 5'10 Frosh Paul Gause for the starting spot at point guard spot a year from now.  We also think Neely is a great catch for the Monarchs.  Not only is he one of the best seniors in the state, but he's a very explosive athlete who can beat you either slashing to the basket or with his 3-point shot.  As a matter of fact, Neely shot 42% from beyond the arc while averaging 18.0 pp and 7.0 rpg a year ago.  And Old Dominion beat some fast company, as Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and East Carolina were all showing interest in the end.  We also think Perkins is a steal for the Owls, because we're talking about a big time athlete who is excellent at slashing to the basket and great defensively.  And, if Perkins ever develops a consistent jump shot, then we may be talking about somebody with NBA potential. 

.Thursday, August 18, 2005

Our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall tells us that 6'6 Soph Cheyenne Moore, who is transferring from Clemson, has indeed decided to transfer to George Washington.  If you will recall, yesterday we said the smart money was on the Colonials and this is huge for GW head coach Karl Hobbs, because we're talking about somebody with big time athleticism and incredible natural talent.  So it should come as no surprise that Moore was ranked #10 on our list of the top 5th Year Players in the Class of 2004, which made him the equivalent of a top 40 high school senior when he signed with the Tigers two years ago.  However, for Moore to live up to his vast potential and perhaps even make money playing the game someday, he needs to continue to develop his skills and improve his understanding of the game.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Jose Garcia from Charlottesville (St. Annes-Belfield) VA, who was ranked #121 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top 800 Players in the Class of 2005, will be enrolling at the College of Charleston this fall.  If you will recall, Garcia originally signed with the University of Richmond last fall, but decided to look elsewhere this spring when former Spiders head coach Jerry Wainwright took the DePaul job.  And who better to step in and take advantage of his old contacts in the Charlottesville, VA area than College of Charleston head coach Tommy Herrion, who used to be an assistant coach at the University of Virginia?  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that the College of Charleston beat some pretty fast company in schools like Miami-FL and Texas.  The fact that Garcia is a terrific student and has a 1200 on the SAT is just an added bonus.  We also are focused on the New York City Hoops Festival, which is being run by Gary Charles and Sterling Nunnally and hosted by the New York Panthers.  I did not attend last night's opening round games when the New England Playaz with 6'7 Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'4 Rakim Sanders from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'1 Jon Han from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Trevon Wilcher from Springfield (Central) MA, and 6'8 Garrett Kissell from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI beat the Philly Ballers with 6'0 Amir Ryan from Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA, 6'4 Ameer Ali from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'2 Curtis Shaw from Rosemont (Harriton) PA, and 6'0 Vinny Simpson from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA and the New York Panthers with 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'0 Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, and 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY beat the Metro Hawks with 6'3 Stephen Woods from East Elmhurst (McClancy) NY, 6'0 Jr Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 6'5 Patrick Hazel from Bayside (H.S.) NY.   However, I will be in the gym at Baruch College at 24th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York City at 6:30 PM tonight to see Anessas Sports with 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'6 Jr Jermaine Peterson from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, and 6'9 Jabari Henry-Edwards from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ versus Team Odom with 6'4 Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'5 Rob Hampton from New York (Christ the King) NY, 6'4 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'6 Jr Andrew Gabriel from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 5'8 Jr Malik Booth from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Lawrence Jolicoeur from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, and 6'8 Rico Pitt from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY and at 8:30 PM to see the Playaz Basketball Club with 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 6'1 Soph Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, and 6'7 Wellington Smith from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ versus the New York Gauchos with 6'2 Jr Terrell McKenzie from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'5 Kashif Pratt from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Darryl Crawford from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, 5'8 Sean Crawford from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, and 6'4 Saiquon Stone from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS.  And tomorrow's night's games, which will feature the New York Panthers versus the New England Playaz at 6:30 PM and the winner of the Anesss Sports-Team Odom game and the winner of the Playaz Basketball Club-New York Gauchos game at 8:30 PM, should be even better.  And, if everything goes as expected, immediately following the Consolation game at Noon, it will be the New York Panthers and the Playaz Basketball Club in the Championship on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.  And the only thing that would be any better than this would be if the D-I Greyhounds with 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH had shown up.  Speaking of the D-I Greyhounds, they were originally on the schedule and were supposed to have played Team Odom in tonight's first game.  And, assuming that they won this game, tomorrow night's semi-finals game between the the D-I Greyhounds with Mayo and Walker and the Playaz Basketball Club with Ellington and  Henderson could have been a tremendous match-up.  Naturally we'll have all the highlights, as well as update you on any recruiting information that we pick up over the next several days.  And you can bet that right at the top of the list of the things that we'll be trying to find out is where 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'8 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NY are planning on going to school.  Right now it looks like a two-horse race between Louisville and Memphis for Caracter's services and Clark supposedly has narrowed his list to Villanova and Louisville. 

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

It came as no surprise earlier today when 6'7 Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA announced that he will attend the University of Arizona.  If you will recall, we told you that this was a done deal almost three weeks ago.  However, this is still huge, because Budinger not only is our #1-ranked wing forward in the nation, but he also is ranked #12 overall in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a world-class athlete and deadly 3-pointer shooter.  And, if that we're not enough, Budinger also is a great kid and he should be the ideal complement to 6'5 Soph Jawann McClellan and 6'6 Frosh Marcus Williams, who are the two wing players that the Wildcats have brought in the two classes ahead of him.  The addition of Budinger also is important, because it moves Arizona's recruiting class, which also includes 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX and 6'9 Jordan Hill from Atlanta (North Springs) GA, into a tie at #6, along with Oklahoma, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if they also get 6'9 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who also has Arizona right at the top of his list along with Duke and Villanova, then the Wildcats would have the #2-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, for this to happen, Arizona head coach Lute Olson would have to find a scholarship.  And for this to happen something will have to happen, as year from now 6'3 Jr Mustafa Shakur, 6'10 Jr Kirk Walters, 6'10 Ivan Radenovic, 6'5 Soph Jawann McClellan, 6'4 Soph Daniel Dillon, 6'9 Soph Mohamed Tangara, 6'4 Soph Jesus Verdejo, 6'6 Frosh Marcus Williams, 6'7 Frosh Fendi Onobun, 6'6 Frosh J.P. Prince, Wise, Hill, and Budinger are projected to be the 13 players on scholarship.  In other words, Thomas is good enough to take anyway, but, as things stand now, it doesn't look like the Wildcats will pull the trigger on 67 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA.  And this is interesting because Pondexter's father and uncle both played for Arizona head coach Lute Olson at Long Beach State and, as a result, he's Olson's to lose.  It also came as no surprise several days ago when our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead told us that 6'9 Wayne Chism from Bolivar (Central) TN had picked Tennessee over Arkansas, Memphis, Mississippi, and Alabama.  Chism not only is ranked #96 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but, as 6'9, 230 lbs, he is a physical specimen and has a knack for mixing it up inside.  The addition of Chism also is big, because it shows that the new regime can get their fair share of the top players in the state to stay home.  If you will recall, the senior class in the state is absolutely loaded, as 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'8 Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'1 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, and Chism are all ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally.  However, it's our guess that Wright will pick Duke, North Carolina, or Kentucky; in the end we suspect Memphis will tough to beat for both Young and Niles; and we think Kemp will pick Kentucky.  Chism also should provide the perfect complement to 6'6 Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) TN, who is ranked #32 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and verbally committed to the Volunteers back in June, and, as a result, Tennessee's recruiting class moves into a tie at #15, along with Georgetown, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also understand that 6'10 Sr Keith Butler is transferring from Temple to DePaul, where he will sit out next year and then have one year to play, and it appears that 6'6 Soph Cheyenne Moore is leaving Clemson and is considering Providence, East Carolina, and George Washington.  The smart money is on the Colonials, because he's visiting there today and GW head coach Karl Hobbs knows how to turn up the heat and get it done.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin also tells us that 6'2 Chris Matthews from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who was ranked #43 on our Final Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players from the Class of 2005, has decided to attend Washington State, where he will enroll this fall and be eligible to play right away, and 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (East Side) NJ has picked Rutgers.  Yes, that's the guy who established his national reputation this summer at the Reebok ABCD Camp, where finished ranked #15 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, actually that might have been too low, because Chandler finished ranked #6 in scoring with 13. ppg and #1 in steals with 2.3 spg at the camp.  In other words, we're talking about one of the top juniors nationally and, as a result, this is a major coup.  And this may only be the start, as new Rutgers assistant coach Fred Hill has the Scarlet Knights right at the top of the list for several of the other top guards in New Jersey, including 6'3 Jr Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'5 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, and 6'5 Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  And, if by some chance the Scarlet Knights can sneak into the backdoor and convince 6'9 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ to stay home, then Hill would really be living up to his ranking as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation.  Remember, this is the guy who played a major role in landing 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, 6'6 Marcus Toney-El from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, and 6'7 Damion Frey from Huntington (Walt Whitman) NY in a recruiting class that was ranked #6 by the HOOP SCOOP in 2000 and  6'8 Jason Frasor form Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NY in a recruiting class that was ranked #7 in 2002.  We also have confirmed via Kevin Keats, who is the head coach at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, that Arkansas has beaten schools like Xavier, Virginia, and Clemson for 6'2 Stefan Welsh from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  We're talking about an undersized 2-guard, but he's athletic enough, shoots it well enough, and is a good enough defender to be ranked #60 nationally in the senior class.  The addition of Welsh also moves Arkansas' recruiting class up to #13 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Remember, the Razorbacks also already have 6'9 Michael Washington from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX in the fold.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'8 Terron Sutton from Los Angeles (Price) CA has verbally committed to Loyola-Marymount and 6'5 Gerard Anderson from Los Angeles (Verbum Dei) CA will enroll at Saddleback (JC) CA this fall.  And Anderson going the junior college route is especially important to note, because, after blowing up this spring while playing for Trigonis' Belmont Shore team, he was ranked #26 in our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2006, which was published on July 28th in this section. 

Sunday, August 14, 2005, Monday, August 15, 2005, & Tuesday, August 16, 2005

What happened at the Boys adidas Junior Phenon Camp in San Diego, CA over the weekend really isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things.  There were no NBA Scouts in the stands, nobody's college scholarship was on the line, and nobody will be checking back someday to see how any of these players did in camp when voting for the McDonald's All-American Game.  However, this was still a great experience for everybody involved, because we all got a tremendous head start of the future.  Remember, from our perspective this serves as a great starting point with many of the top players that we'll be watching and tracking for years to come.  And whether you were the best player or the worst player in the camp, you still got a chance to compete and get evaluated in the same type of setting that college coaches will someday see you when a college scholarship is on the line.  Each player also got a chance to see exactly where he stacks up against some of the best players his age in the nation and, as a result, now has a better understanding of what his strengths and weaknesses are and what he needs to work on to become a better player.  For some it was a tough weekend, as many played out of position and were stuck on bad teams or with players who were more interested in scoring a lot of points, instead of making their teammates better.  But, in the long run, the players who faced the most adversity will be the ones who actually benefited the most.  Remember, if you never face any adversity, you never improve.  And, one of the players who faced the most adversity was 5'8 7th Grader Matt Carlino from Scottsdale, AZ, who was injured, but still played in both of the games on Sunday morning and afternoon, because he didn't want to play in the 7th Grade All-Star Game without having earned it.  So this set the stage for Carlino, who also was named the MVP in the 6th Grade All-Star Game at this camp a year ago, to become a repeat winner, as he finished with 15 points and took the game over down the stretch.  Carlino, who is an excellent passer, also is very unselfish player, but his outside shot wasn't going to down in the all-star game and, as a result, he had to turn things around with his defense, hustle, and willingness to do whatever it takes to win the game.  But this was still not enough for Carlino to get ranked as the #1 player in the 7th Grade Division by the HOOP SCOOP.  Instead, that honor goes to 5'8 7th Grader Tony Wroten from Renton, WA, who finished with 12 points in the 7th Grade All-Star Game and impressed us with his athleticism and versatility, as he demonstrated an ability to get his shot against anybody, beat you with his deep shooting range, great body control, good handling and passing skills, toughness on the boards, great anticipation, and quick hands, which he uses to get more than his fair share of steals and blocked shots.  We also were very impressed with 5'5 7th Grader Shaquille Stokes from New York, NY, who finished with 18 points in the 7th Grade All-Star Game, but still was one of the more unselfish players in camp.  As a matter of fact, in the final analysis Carlino, Wroten, and Stokes were all considered for All-Star game MVP and for top players honors in camp.  Yes, it really was that close and really, any way you slice it, there isn't a right or wrong answer.  Another one of the biggest stories of the week involved 6'1 8th Grader Travis Robertson from Philadelphia, PA and 5'10 8th Grader Tony Chenault from Philadelphia, PA, who not only are from the same AAU Program, but also were the two best players in camp in the 8th Grade Division.  And, if you exclude the 8th Grade All-Star Game, Chenault would have been an easy choice for our #1-ranked player in his age group.  However, Chenault turned out to be a non-factor with only two points and Robertson, who just kept getting better and better as the week wore on, finished with 29 points in the all-star game.  In other words, the same thing happen here that happened a week ago at the Girls adidas Junior Phenon Camp when one player dominated the week, but didn't rise to the top when matched up against the best players and best athletes in camp in the all-star game.  But don't feel too sorry for either Chenault or 5'6 6th Grader Devon Brookshire from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, who was the girl that we dropped from #1 to #2 last week at the Girls adidas Junior Phenom Camp.  Both are great kids and have a tremendous future ahead of them.  Besides being ranked #2 in camp is still tremendous when one remembers that they accomplished this feat while playing against many of the top players in the nation.  But 29 points still wasn't enough for Robertson to walk away with all-star game MVP honors in the 8th Grade Division.  Apparently Robertson was penalized, because he wasn't on the winning team.  However, we're still scratching our head with regards to 5'8 8th Grader Oliver Wells from Cedar Hill, TX and 5'8 8th Grader Eric Watson from Memphis, TN being named co-MVP in the Senior All-Star Game.  We don't want to take anything way from Watson, who did have nine points and did a good job of running the show for Team Adidas West, which was coached by Schea Cotton.  However, Wells scored 20 points and, in our opinion, was clearly the best player on the winning team and, as a result, should not have had to share this award.  Also scoring 10 points in the 8th Grade All-Star Game was 6'6 8th Grader Jarrell Eddie from Charlotte, NC, but he turned us off with his unwillingness to do anything inside.  In other words, Eddie was the tallest player in the game, but he thinks he a perimeter player.  So we dropped him from #3 to #7 in camp and hope that he either gets meaner and tougher around the basket or really works on his jump shot.  Things were a much more clear-cut in the 6th Grade age group, as 5'6 6th Grader J-Mychal Reese from Bryan, TX was the #1-ranked player in camp and 6'2 6th Grader Jon Allen from Houston, TX was the MVP in the all-star game.  Allen finished with 21 points, including the final two baskets of the game to ensure a 70-67 win, in the all-star game.  But even more impressive were this skilled big man's tremendous post moves, great passing skills, and surprising mobility and agility for somebody so big and so young.  We also thought Reese, who had nine points and really impressed us with his athleticism, moves to the basket, and ability to shoot the three, and 5'4 6th Grader Jordan Adams from Smyrna, GA, who had 14 points and is strong physical, mobile, athletic, and tough to stop around the basket, were the other two best players in the 6th Grade All-Star Game.  Nobody ever gets enough credit for playing great defense, so we're thrilled to pass along the names of the five players who were named as the Best Defenders in camp in each age group.  In the 8th Grade Division the list includes 6'5 8th Grader James Johnson from North Hills, CA, 6'5 8th Grader Ronald Brown from Memphis, TN, 6'4 8th Grader Michael Luter from Milwaukee, WI, 6'2 8th Grader Erik Swoope from Lake Elsinore, CA, and 5'9 8th Grader Marcell McClain from Mesa, AZ.  In the 7th Grade Division the list includes 6'2 7th Grader Bartram O'Neil from Ft. Worth, TX, 5'1 7th Grader Stevie Taylor from Gahanna, OH, 5'8 7th Grader Tyler Hubbard from Mitchellville, MD, 6'2 7th Grader D.J. Brooks from Dallas, TX, and 5'2 7th Grader Conner McCane from Rockford, MI.  In the 6th Grade Division the list includes 5'0 6th Grader Nathaniel Britt from Upper Marlboro, MD, 5'0 6th Grader Denzel Ingram from Chapel Hill, NC, 4'9 5th Grader LaShain Matthews from Staunton, VA, 5'2 6th Grader Terry Henderson from Raleigh, NC, and 4'10 5th Grader Timeric Williams from Austin, TX.  We also want to thank our good friend Joe Keller, who is the President and CEO of the adidas Junior Phenom Camp, for allowing Patrick Stanwood and myself a strong voice when it came to picking the 20 players who made the all-star game in each age group.  However, we also want to point out that the 12 coaches in each age group had something to say about who was in each all-star game.  So it should come as no surprise that the 20 players who were in each all-star game and our top 20-ranked players in each age group are not one and the same.  In some cases, Stanwood and myself got the advantage of having seen certain players, like 6'1 8th Grader Austin Kelly from Sherman Oaks, CA, 5'7 7th Grader Myles Davis from Plainfield, NJ, and 6'2 6th Grader Daniel Dixon from Great Falls, VA, one more time in the afternoon session on Sunday (the all-star teams were picked after the first set of games on Sunday morning).  Other players, like 6'3 8th Grader Jonathan Graham from Maryland, suffered from being on too good a team, as one of the criteria that we adhered to was taking at least one player from each team.  And, in several cases, like picking 5'9 8th Grader Masceo Harmon from Memphis, TN over 5'11 8th Grader Reynolds Maharajh from Weddington, NC and 5'8 7th Grader Jacoby Davis from Charlotte, NC over 5'4 7th Grader Sterling Gibbs from Scotch Plains, NJ, I didn't agree with the consensus opinion, but I thought it was close enough that I could live with it.  And, as fate would have it, Davis turned out to be one of the better players in the 7th Grade Game, as he really impressed us with his 3-point shooting and athleticism in transition.  I also think it is important to point out that when picking the all-star teams, we all were on the same page when we turned in the 20 names that we thought should be on each team.  And getting to that point took some serious sacrifices and compromises, especially in the 7th Grade Division where at one point 5'4 6th Grader Stevonte Young from Hayward, CA, 5'4 7th Grader Sterling Gibbs from Scotch Plains, NJ, 6'4 7th Grader Malik Garner from Philadelphia, PA, 6'0 7th Grader Michael Gilchrist from Plainfield, NJ, 5'3 7th Grader Austin McBroom from Palmdale, CA, 6'4 7th Grader Jared Moore from Laguna Niguel, CA, 6'2 7th Grader Bartram O'Neil from Ft. Worth, TX, 5'11 7th Grader Charles Joy from O'Fallon, IL, and 5'11 7th Grader Tommy Garrett from Blackhawk, CO were all being considered for the final two spots in the all-star game.  Ironically, Joe Keller was smart enough to have nothing to do with picking the all-star teams this year and, as a result, should get none of the blame, if somebody you think somebody who didn't make the cut should have been on one of the teams.  Instead, you can blame me, because I know that the coaches of the teams, Stanwood, and myself tried to be as fair and accurate as possible when picking the teams.  Editor's Note:  You can get our ranking of the top 85 8th Graders, top 70 7th Graders, and Top 65 6th Graders in camp by clicking on Ranking of the Top Players at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

The early returns are in and, after the first day of action at the Boys adidas Junior Phenom Camp, it looks like Joe Keller, who is the President and CEO of the camp, has done it again, as the 8th Grade Division at camp is totally loaded.  And, if don't believe it, just take a look at our list of the top players in this age group, which ranked in order includes 1) 5'10 8th Grader Tony Chenault from Philadelphia, PA, 2) 6'6 8th Grader Jarrell  Eddie from Charlotte, NC, 3) 6'5 8th Grader James Johnson from Charlotte, NC, 4) 6'6 8th Grader Dwayne Polee from North Hills, CA, 5) 6'1 8th Grader Travis Robertson from Philadelphia, PA, 6) 6'5 8th Grader Ronald Brown from Memphis, TN, 7) 6'5 8th Grader Joshua Smith from Kent, WA, 8) 6'2 8th Grader Travis Zeigler from Los Angeles, CA, 9) 6'6 8th Grader Ramon Eaton from Sacramento, CA, 10) 6'3 8th Grader Jonathan Graham from Maryland, 11) 5'9 8th Grader Jack O'Neill from Philadelphia, PA, 12) 6'2 8th Grader Dominic Ballard from Seattle, WA, 13) 5'9 8th Grader Oliver Wells from Cedar Hills, TX, 14) 6'4 8th Grader Tyler Lamb from Chino, CA, and 15) 5'8 8th Grader Anthony Taylor from Pleasantville, NJ.  The 7th Grade Division is not as deep, but it does have some very good players at the top, as our list of the top dozen players ranked in order after the first day includes 1) 5'9 7th Grader Troy Wroten from Seattle, WA from Renton, WA, 2) 6'2 7th Grader Jordan Gray from Ft. Worth, TX, 3) 5'9 7th Grader Matt Carlino from Scottsdale, AZ, 4) 6'3 7th Grader Zach Peters from Plano, TX, 5) 6'1 7th Grader Justin Raab from Chicago, IL, 6) 5'6 7th Grader Shaquille Stokes from New York, NY, 7) 6'4 7th Grader Damiene Cain from Chino Hills, CA, 8) 5'5 7th Grader Gregory Travis from Chicago, IL, 9) 5'11 7th Grader Trevor Cooney from Wilmington, DE, 10) 6'3 7th Grader Cory Blackwell from Alpharetta, GA, 11) 5'4 7th Grader Sterling Gibbs from Scotch Plains, NJ, and 12) 5'8 7th Grader Christopher Martin from Upper Marlboro, MD.  However, it should be pointed that in both the 6th & 7th Grade age groups neither Patrick Stanwood nor myself got to see all of the teams yesterday and, as a result, there will be new players moving onto the list.  The 6th Grade Division also does not have the same depth the 8th Grader Division has and it's definitely not was good as it was a year ago when it had Matt Carlino, Austin Rivers, and Jamal Branch, who, at the time, were the top three players in this age group.  However, it's still loaded at the top as the top dozen players after the first day in the 6th Grade age group includes 1) 5'6 6th Grader J-Mychal Reese from Bryan, TX, 2) 6'2 6th Grader Jon Allen from Houston, TX, 3) 5'2 6th Grader Tyler Lewis from Statesville, NC, 4) 5'8 6th Grader Bryan Velasco from Yorba Linda, CA, 5) 5'6 6th Grader Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston, TX, 6) 5'2 6th Grader Anthony Bagtas from Union City, GA, 7) 5'2 6th Grader Dalanta Hoover from San Diego, CA, 8) 5'11 6th Grader Alexander Mendoza from Stevens Ranch, CA, 9) 5'6 6th Grader Rashad Muhammad from Henderson, NV, 10) 5'0 6th Grader Maurice Fleming from Chicago, IL, 11) 55 6th Grader Seth Jacobs from Arroyo Grande, CA, and 12) 5'2 6th Grader Jordan Montgomery from Orlando, FL.  We also find it interesting that three of the top five players in camp in this age group play for the Houston Jaguars.  Texas also two of the top five 7th Graders in camp, which is just one indication of just how well the Lone Star State is represented in camp.  However, the two states with the strongest contingents are California, and Pennsylvania.  We also think it's going to be tough for anybody to ranked above 5'10 8th Grader Tony Chenault from Philadelphia, PA, who is fresh off an awesome week at the 14-Under Nationals, where played up a year and was still ranked #13 in the entire tournament by the HOOP SCOOP.  Another one of the highlights yesterday was watching 5'2 6th Tyler Lewis from Statesville, NC, who scored 29 points in both of his games.  Thus, explains why this small prolific scoring 2-guard is ranked #3 in camp in his age group.  We also think it's important to point out that 7th Grader Matt Carlino from Scottsdale, AZ was injured and, as a result, did not play in the evening session.  However, even if he had, Carlino still may not have been ranked any higher than #3 in the 7th Grader age group, because 5'9 7th Grader Troy Wroten from Seattle, WA from Renton, WA, who had 29 points when we watched him in the afternoon session, and 6'2 7th Grader Jordan Gray from Ft. Worth, TX, who scored at will inside and passed the ball extremely well out of the post when double-teamed, were both tremendous yesterday.  And how about all the size at the top of the list of our top 8th Graders.  We're talking about six centers and two power forwards being ranked among the top 10 players in camp.  And this could prove to be important down the road as the Class of 2010 attempts to overtake the Class of 2009, which was almost void of any dominating inside players last week at the 14-Under Nationals. 

Friday, August 12, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has bad news, as he tells us that 6'6 Michael Blackshear was shot and killed night before last in Philadelphia, PA.  If you will recall, Blackshear who played high school basketball at Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, was an undersized power forward, but was still ranked #90 nationally in our final rankings for the Class of 2002, because he was such a tough hardnosed competitor around the basket.  We also find it interesting that  Blackshear's father, Ron Blackshear Sr, played basketball for Temple head coach John Chaney at Cheney State, where they won a Division II national championship.  And even more ironic is that the fact that the younger Blackshear followed in his father's footsteps not once, but twice, when he enrolled at Temple three years ago, but, after sitting out as a non-qualifier as a freshman and then never get a a lot playing time, transferred at mid-semester last season from Temple to Cheney State.  On a more positive note, it looks like the hometown newspaper has finally picked up on what we told you two weeks ago about 6'7 Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA attending the University of Arizona.  If you will recall, on Saturday, July 30th, we said "Budinger has decided to attend the University of Arizona, but the official announcement won't be forthcoming until August 15th, which is the date he has selected to hold a press conference to announce his decision."  Well, it looks like the date has been moved back two days, but the San Diego Union-Tribune is citing sources for the other two schools still on Budinger's list (UCLA and USC), which say they have been eliminated from consideration.  It also looks like the University of Dayton has stolen one in 6'3 Marcus Johnson from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH.  We're talking about the guy who several years ago was touted as the next great player to come out of the same high school that produced LaBron James, but for the last three years was not ready to live up to the hype and expectations and, as a result, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson had him ranked #7 in the state's senior class and we had him ranked #124 nationally in the Class of 2006 prior to the start of the summer.  However, while playing along with 6'8 Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH on the King James Rising Stars, which advanced all the way into the final four at the Main Event in Las Vegas, NV, it's clear that this big time athlete not only is finally starting to finally live up to the expectations, but also may have pro potential, if he continues to the improve at his current pace.  In other words, it looks like the light has finally clicked on, so now the Flyers are two-thirds of the way home with their current recruiting class.  If you will recall, Dayton already has a verbal commitment from 6'9 Kurt Huelsman from St. Henry (H.S.) OH and they are still looking for a point guard.  How about 5'9 Jerome Randle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, whose top two schools are Dayton and Tulsa?  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'9 Rico Pitt from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY has picked Stony Brook over Rider, Hartford, and Siena and it appears that 6'1 Armon Bassett from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA is heading to Missouri.  And this too is interesting, because, despite the fact that the entire Missouri coaching staff is prohibited from being out on the road for a year, it looks like they haven't lost their touch, as Bassett becomes the 4th player that they've landed in this year's recruiting class.  Remember, they already have verbal commitments from 6'8 Adam Knollmeyer from Jefferson City (Helias) MO, 6'3 Keaton Grant from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'1 Keon Lawrence from Newark (Wecquahic) NJ and, as a result, Quin Snyder and his staff now have a good supporting cast to come in and complement all of the good young players that they already have in the program.  We also find it interesting that 6'6 Dwight Lewis from Metarie (Archbishop Rummel) LA has reneged on the University of Kansas for a second time.  If you will recall, Lewis originally verbally committed to the Jayhawks in April, but then came out and said that he wasn't ready to make that decision.  Then, shortly after that Lewis verbally committed to the Jayhawks a second time.  And, if Bell verbally commitments and reneges again, he could tie the record held by 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who currently holds the record for the most times verbally committed and reneged on the same school.  We're talking about the three times Bell made verbal commitments and the three times Bell reneged on St. John's.  We also speculated on whether 6'7 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA might re-open his recruitment several days ago, but now we're being told that you can etch Beasley's commitment in stone for the University of Charlotte.  We've already alluded to the fact that Beasley is extremely close to 49ers assistant coach Dalonte Hill, but he also really likes the city and the school.  So it appears that all of the people who think that this commitment won't hold up, because they don't think Charlotte is in a big enough conference or at a high profile enough school, are guessing wrong.  As a matter of fact, our source mentioned the fact that Lamar Odom first went to UNLV and later went to Rhode Island, where he helped lead the Rams deep into the NCAA Tournament, as a precedent.  Speaking of our source, we can't tell who it is, but, if we could, you'd know all of this is right on the money.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 DeShawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI has verbally committed to the University of Michigan.  And this is big for several reasons.  First, we're talking about somebody who is ranked #34 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, Sims is an in-state kid and it's always good to keep the top local kids at home.  Third, Sims is a big time athlete who is capable of playing either forward spot, although he's better right now inside, because he's an outstanding rebounder and a tough hardnosed competitor around the basket.  He also needs to improve his outside shooting and perimeter skills in order to be project as wing forward in the Big-10, but, with a lot of hard work, that's well within the range of possibility.  We also find it interesting that three of the University of Kentucky's prime recruits - 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'3 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN - are from neighboring Tennessee.  But this is easily explained by the fact that the level of big time talent in the Bluegrass state is at an all-time low.  Some other seniors that the Wildcats have been mentioned with include 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 6'9 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA, 6'9 Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA, 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'2 Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX and some underclassmen that they've already got a head start on include 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'10 Jr Keenan Ellis from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'3 Jr Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'7 Jr Gani Lawal from Riverside (H.S.) GA, 5'8 Jr Isaiah Thomas from Tacoma (Curtis) WA, and 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  However, our primary focus right now is on the covering the Boys adidas Junior Phenom Camp, which begins today in San Diego, CA and will it feature 120 of the best players in the nation in the 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades nationally.  So stay tuned, because we'll provide you with all of the highlights, as well as rankings of the top players in camp as they become available. 

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Now that we have had some time to put things into perspective and since the next stop on our summer tour, which is the Boys adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA, doesn't start until tomorrow, this is the perfect time to tell you who we think the big winners were this summer.  The biggest winner was 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who, after a very mediocre spring, finally lived up to his incredible potential, as he was best player at the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ and was the big reason why the Spiece Indy Heat repeated as champions at the Reebok Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  And, if Oden continues to play like he did this summer, then he should be well on his way towards becoming one of the great players in the history of the game.  However, if Oden once again becomes lackasidasical and people have to make excuses for him because he's bored and doesn't dominate the way somebody with his incredible size, talent, athleticism, wing span, and explosiveness should, then we'll drop him out of the #1 spot again.  In other words, the Class of 2006 is loaded at the top and, as a result, you have to bring your "A" game every night, if you want to be the #1-ranked player in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, we don't rank players based on what they might be.  Instead, with us, you have to earn it!  And Oden not only earned it, but he helped his team earn it was well, as the Spiece Indy Heat beats out EBO-EA Sports, as our Team-of-the-Summer.  Oden also wins our award for Best Shot Blocker and not only is our #1-ranked player in the nation in the Class of 2006, but he now is our #1-ranked player in the nation regardless of class, ahead of 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, and 6'10 Brendan Wright from Brentwood (H.S.) TN.  Mayo, who was our choice as the #1-ranked player at the NBA Players Association Camp in Richmond, VA and was our ranked #3 player overall at the Reebok ABCD Camp, is easily the best junior.  The best sophomore is 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, the best freshman is 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, and the best 5th Year Player is 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY.  Speaking of Harris, he wins our award as the Player-of-the-Summer for several reasons.  First, he is such a tough hardnosed competitor, incredible physical specimen, great rebounder, terrific passer, and relentless defender that he is the first guy we'd take if we had to take a player, start a team, and win games right now.  Second, consistency counts and nobody was more consistent this summer from start to finish than Harris.  As a matter of fact, we can't remember him once having a bad game. Third, Harris got the shaft when the powers-that-be who are connected with the Reebok ABCD Camp named 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX as the co-Senior MVP's in camp.  We certainly don't want to knock James, who finished ranked #7 overall at the Reebok ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  But in addition to being the leading scorer for the week in camp with 15.6 ppg and tied as the 7th leading rebounder with 6.9 ppg, Harris was named the MVP in the Senior All-Star Game with 34 points and did something that nobody else has been able to do in a long time.  We're talking about stopping 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, who scored only two points in their head-to-head match-up at the Reebok ABCD Camp.  So it should come as no surprise that Harris also wins our awards as the Best Defensive Player and the Most Relentless Competitor.  The best player at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp was 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and the best player at the NIKE All-American Camp was 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  However, Lawson gets this award with an asterisk, because the best player in camp when I was there was clearly 6'3 Jr Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ.  It should come as no surprise that our choice for the Best Athlete and the guy most like a human highlight-film is 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH.  The Best Coach of the Summer was Wayne Brumm, who, even by his own admission, took an unheralded SYF Players team, which featured 6'9 Jamil Tucker from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'4 E'Twuan Moore from East Chicago (Central) IL, 6'3 Tyrone Appleton from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'7 Jr Robbie Hummel from Valparaiso (H.S.) IN and 6'8 Jr Scott Martin from Valparaiso (H.S.) IN, and finished second in the Houston Kingwood Classic and NIKE Peach Jam and won the AAU Super Showcase.  The Best Playmaker is 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but, after what 5'9 Jerome Randle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL did in the 17-Under AAU Nationals in Orlando, FL, we think he too deserves a special mention in this category.  Randle does win our award for the Biggest Overachiever of the Summer, because, at his height and size, he should project as no higher than a mid-major player.  However, thanks primarily to Randle's tremendous heart, court savvy, and understanding of the game, Ferrari won the 17-Under AAU National Championship.  The Most Improved Player has to be 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who has improved so much that he has gone from being ranked #201 as a junior last fall to #26 in our Post Summer Ranking of the Top 100 Rising Seniors (Class of 2006).  Pondexter does need to continue to work on his outside shooting, but his confidence has gone through the roof, he's grown an inch, has developed more of a perimeter game, and is one of the best athletes in the class.  The Best 3-Point Shooter is 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD and, if you don't believe me, just as the guy who was trying to guard him when we has launching 25-30 footers in the Main Event in Las Vegas, NV.  If you will recall, Durant had a total of nine 3-pointers in two games and, at his size, is unstoppable out on the perimeter.  Finishing a close second in this category is 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who had nine 3-pointers in a game in the adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas, NV, but the level of competition wasn't as good, his range isn't as deep, and he's not 6'10.  The Biggest Disappointment is a tie between 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC and 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA.  However, in both cases the biggest problem might be a lack of confidence and too much hype to early.  So, in both cases, it will be interesting to continue to track them and see if they have what it takes to rebound from what was a very tough summer.  Our Missing Action Award goes to 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, who is the highest ranked player who was hurt and, as a result, did not play all summer.  This also explains why there was little change in his ranking, as he was ranked #23 in our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2006, which was published in on June 10th, and #22 in our Post Summer Ranking of the Top 100 Rising Seniors (Class of 2006), which was published last week.  The Best Rebounder was 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and he might also have won the Best Sportsmanship Award, if it hadn't been for 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, who was sidelined in early June after seriously being injured in a car accident.  Williams may not have been seen this summer (he spent the entire summer in a hospital bed), but he wasn't forgetten.  Remember, this is one of the nicest kids going and he came a long way as a basketball player during the two years that we've known him.  The Top Gun of the Summer goes to 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who is a great shooter whether he's hitting or missing.  The Clutch Player of the Summer was 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who appeared to have ice in his veins, as he made all the big shots in all the big games.  The Most Visible Head Coach of the Summer goes to Washington's Lorenzo Romar, who edges out North Carolina's Roy Williams, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins, Arizona's Lute Olson, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, Wake Forest's Skip Prosser, and Virginia's Dave Leitao for this award.  Moral to the story, the Huskies are battling out with schools like UCLA and North Carolina for 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the most skilled big men to come down the pike in a long time, and, as a result, Romar has to work even harder than he did a year ago when he surprised a lot people by landing 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA and 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA, who were the two highest ranked players signed by any school last fall.  The Most Visible Assistant Coach also was a very tough call, but so we made it a tie between Boston College's Ed Cooley, who, along with Bill Coen, is second to none as an evaluator talent and finding the diamond in the rough who will develop into a big time player, and Oklahoma's Ray McCallum, who, as an assistant coach, appears to have picked up right where left off when he was one of the hardest working head coaches in the nation at both Ball State and Houston.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Now that we're finished covering and writing about the 14-Under AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL and the Girls adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA, now is the perfect time to turn our attention back to recruiting.  And right at the top of our list of things that have happened during the last week is the verbal commitment by 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI to the University of Connecticut.  We list Smith, who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, as a 2-guard, but he's actually a combo guard who potentially could move into the point guard spot down the road.  Smith also is an excellent athlete who thrives in an up tempo setting and, as a result, he's great insurance in case 6'0 Frosh A.J. Price and/or 6'2 Jr Marcus Williams are good enough to forgo the rest of the college eligibility and enter the NBA Draft after next season.  However, when Smith first arrives at Connecticut a year from now, it wouldn't surprise us if he pushes for the starting 2-guard spot, which will be open after 6'5 Sr Rashad Anderson and 6'5 Sr Denham Brown both graduate next spring.  The addition of Smith also moves the Huskies' recruiting class up to #4, behind Ohio State, North Carolina, and Duke and ahead of Villanova, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Stanford, Louisville, Texas, and Florida State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Remember, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY and 6'6 Will Harris from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH have already made early verbal commitments to Connecticut.  And, it's possible the Huskies could end up with the #1-ranked recruiting class, because they have at least three more scholarships available and they are targeting 6'5 Jerome Dyson from Proctor (Academy) NH at the 2-guard spot; 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'4 Lazar Hayward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, and 6'8 Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH at the wing forward spot; and 7'0 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) CT, 6'10 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'9 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, 6'8 DeShawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'9 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'6 Mike Jones from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC, and 6'11 Jonathan Mandledove rom Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA all for the one or two remaining inside spots they may have available.  In other words, all of the hard work that Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun and assistant coaches Tom Moore and Andre LaFleur did this summer appears to be paying off, as they not only are on track to have an outstanding recruiting class, but Calhoun is one of the leading candidates for the HOOP SCOOP's Most Visible Head Coach of the Summer Award and Moore was one of the Most Visible Assistant Coaches of the Summer.  We also have confirmed via our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio that 6'1 Trevon Hughes from Delafield (St. John NW Academy) WI has verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin.  And, while this had been expected for some time, it's still an important catch for the Badgers, because Hughes is an in-state kid with top 100 potential and the leadership qualities necessary to immediately challenge for playing time in the backcourt a year from now.  Hughes also is a nice complement to 6'4 Jason Bohannon from Linn-Mar (H.S.) IA, who is one of the fastest rising players in the nation after his terrific performance this summer at the NIKE All-American Camp, and 6'10 J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI, who should provide an excellent complement inside for several years to 6'11 Soph Greg Stiemsma and 6'11 Soph Brian Butch, and, as a result, Wisconsin's recruiting class moves up to #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  It also appears that 6'7 Kenyan Harmon from North Augusta (H.S.) SC has verbally committed to Charlotte, but he plans to enroll first at Laurinburg (Institute) NC, where he will be reclassified as a junior.  You now, that's the guy who we had ranked #15 at the Pangos All-American Camp in early June, but was left out of the top all-star game because he didn't have the right politics.  So, instead, he had to settle for 16 points and MVP honors in the Top 45 All-Star Game.  Right now Harmon is an undersized power forward, but he's got big time athleticism and his ball handling and outside shooting have improved enough over the last year that we think he's got a chance to develop into a wing forward down the road.  The addition of Harmon also moves Charlotte's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, into a close second, right behind Florida, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, we're not sure how long it will remain there, because Beasley at some point may renege on his commitment to the 49ers.  As a matter of fact, when Beasley committed to Charlotte last fall, the people around him never thought he'd actually end up there.  Instead, they were just trying to make it look good 49ers assistant coach Dalonte Hill, who prior to getting an assistant coaching job at UNCC a year ago, was both an assistant coach and a player in the DC Assault program.  At the time of Beasley's commitment, everybody thought he was a near lock to by-pass college and go straight to the NBA.  But now that there is an age limit and a one-year waiting period upon graduation from high school, the possibility does exist that Beasley will have to go to college for a year.  And we do think Beasley could still end up at Charlotte.  Remember, recruiting is all about connections and knowing the right people.  However, schools like Louisville, Georgetown, and Maryland also have great connections that could help them get Beasley.  If you will recall, Beasley is both high school and AAU teammates with 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is expected to follow in his late father's (Derek Smith) and go to Louisville; Georgetown appears to be well on its way towards once again locking up a lot of the top local players, thanks to John Thompson III's name and excellent coaching and assistant coach Kevin Broadus' strong local ties; and new Maryland assistant coach Rob Moxley helped recruit Beasley the first time around when he was at Charlotte.  We also have confirmed that 6'11 Soph Jeff Salovski has decided to transfer from Massachusetts and 6'0 Soph Marlon Smith is transferring from Penn State to Fordham, where he will join 6'8 Soph Bryant Dunston and 6'5 Chris Bethel from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who also are from the city.  And this is important, because, for Fordham to be successful in the long term, a strong New York City presence is vital for the purposes of recruiting.  This also is huge, because Smith, who is originally from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, has started the last two years at Penn State, where he was an all-rookie selection as a freshman and average 12.9 ppg, and he will still have two years of college eligibility remaining after he sits out next season.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin also checks in and he tells us that Providence, Xavier, La Salle, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and George Washington appear to be the leaders for 6'9 Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA.  Among those showing the most interest in 6'4 Ruben Gillandeaux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ are Florida, South Florida, Marquette, Seton Hall, Rutgers, La Salle, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, and Providence.  The list for 6'4 Jerome Dyson from Proctor (Academy) NH includes Connecticut, Maryland, Boston College, Providence, N.C. State, Texas, and Florida.  The early favorites for 6'8 Jr Idris Hilliard from Princeton (The Hun School) PA are Georgetown, Virginia, Georgia Tech, St. John's, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, and Stanford.  The list for 6'5 Brian Morris from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA is long, as Richmond, La Salle, West Virginia, Towson, George Mason, Kent State, Akron, Miami-OH, Dayton, Delaware, and Pennsylvania are all in the hunt.  George Washington, Pennsylvania, La Salle, Rhode Island, George Mason, College of Charleston, Columbia, and Bucknell are involved with 6'7 Rich Fleming from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA.  La Salle, Rhode Island, James Madison, George Mason, Rider, Wagner, and Siena all get mentioned by 6'5 Terrence Rodrick from Allentown (Allen) PA, who is one of the fastest rising seniors in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey area. 

Tuesday, August 9, 2005

After the first several days of the tournament, we thought the Memphis War Eagles and Texas Select were the two teams to beat at the 14-Under AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL.  And, Patrick Stanwood, who covered the tournament from start to finish, still thought this two days ago when these two teams squared off in the quarterfinals.  However, it wasn't meant to be, as the Memphis War Eagles lost in the championship game  for the third consecutive year in their respective age group in the Nationals.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that the Memphis War Eagles beat Texas Select in the semi-finals of the 13-Under Tournament a year ago.  And what about the fact that for the second straight year a team that was not one of the favorites ended up winning the championship in the 14-Under Nationals?  If you will recall, a year ago the R.A.I.D.E.R.S. surprised everybody, as they not only took home the title, but it also was the coming out party for 6'4 Soph Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA and 6'4 Soph Nasir Robinson from Aston (American Christian) PA, who are two of the top players in the nation in their age group.  And this year the Baltimore-based Chick Webb Spiders, which lost in the first round of the playoffs a year ago in the 13-Under Nationals, knocked off the Memphis War Eagles, 39-34, yesterday in the championship game and 6’5 Frosh Terrell Vinson Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is an undersized power forward without much of a reputation outside the Baltimore Area, was their best player.  "He's doesn't have to score a lot of points to dominate a game," says Stanwood.  "Vinson passes and finishes well inside, plays great defense, is a relentless rebounder, and has a great court presence.  So he has to be one of the top players nationally in his class."  Vinson also was one of the top players in the tournament, as he finished ranked #4 on Stanwood's list of the top 74 players in the tournament, behind 6'4 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Frosh Greg Robbins from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA, and 6'3 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX.  Williams and Franklin were the two stars of the Texas Select team and Robbins was another player who came out of nowhere, as is evident by the fact that he was ranked no higher than #32 on Allen Rubin's list the last time he updated his ranking of the top players in Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey.  And rounding out Stanwood's list of the top five players in the tournament is 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who was the only player who played worth a darn for Team California.  Speaking of Team California, they got knocked off in the round of 32 by the Georgia Hurricanes and 6'2 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA was so disappointing that he is the last player on Stanwood's list of the top 74 players in the tournament.  And the only reason why he's ranked at all is that if we left him off the list entirely, some people might get the wrong idea and think we forgot about him altogether.  As a matter of fact, Walker, who previously was the #1-ranked player in the nation until 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS stepped up and claimed the spot at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC in late May, was so disappointing that one knowledgeable basketball observer was heard comparing Walker to Estaban Weaver.  Remember, Weaver was the #1-ranked player nationally in the freshman class in 1994, but he went straight South the rest of his career.  But hopefully Walker will get his confidence back and rebound the same way that 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA did after being ranked as the #1 freshman in the nation two years ago and then struggling during the spring of that year.  And  rounding out Stanwood's top dozen players in the tournament ranked in order are 6'2 Frosh Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6’4 Frosh Lesley McDonald from Memphis, TN, 6’1 Frosh Jacob Mulinix from Bloomington, IN, 6’0 Frosh Gentry Hines from Memphis, TN, 6’4 Frosh Michael Calhoun from Atlanta, GA, 6’1 Frosh Manuel Atkins from Atlanta, GA, and 6’2 Frosh Lorenzo Brown from Atlanta (Centennial) GA.  And the rest of his list in order includes 13) 5'11 8th Grader Tony Chenault from Aston (American Christian) PA, 14) 6'2 Frosh Duran Scott from New York (Rice) NY, 15) 6’6 Frosh Stephen Vantreese from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 16) 6’2 Frosh Greg Wooten from Memphis, TN, 17) 5’10 Frosh Steven Rogers from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, 18) 6’2 Frosh Orlando Williams from Cincinnati, OH, 19) 6’2 Frosh Sherrod Wright from Mt Vernon (HS) NY, 20) 5’5 Frosh Carl Jones from Orange, OH, 21) 5’11 Frosh Peyton Siva from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 22) 6’4 Frosh Jeronne Maymon from Madison (Memorial) WI, 23) 6’0 Frosh Tevin Swann from Hampton (HS) VA, 24) 5’11 Frosh Tyrone Gardner from Middletown, CT, 25) 6’3 Frosh Marcus Jordan from Deerfield, IL, 25) 6’5 Frosh Jerry Brown from San Francisco (Sacred Heart Cathedral) CA, 26) 5’10 Frosh Chad Wilson from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 28) 6’5 Frosh Dalton Pepper from Fairless Hills (Pensbury) PA, 29) 6’3 Frosh George Harper from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 30) 6'3 Frosh Tony McGilvery from Ft. Worth, TX, 31) 6’5 Frosh PF Richard Howell from Gwinnett (Central) GA, 32) 6'5 Frosh Ferrakoln Hall  Memphis, TN, 33) 6’2 Frosh Darian Kelly from Girard (HS) KS, 34) 6’4 Frosh Leshon Edwards from Baltimore (St. Francis) MD, 35) 5’10 Frosh Justin Cobbs from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA, 36) 5’9 Frosh Kyle Randall from Cleveland, OH, 37) 6’2 Frosh 2G Kevin Bloom from Kendallsville (HS) IN, 38) 6'9 Frosh Chris Cunningham from Los Angeles, CA, 39) 6'4 Frosh Henry Smith from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 40) 6'3 Frosh Justin Hawkins from Los Angeles (Taft) CA, 41) 6'1 Frosh Darren Goodson from Cincinnati, OH, 42) 6'6 Frosh Dartaye Ruffin from Stroughton, MA, 43) 6'4 Frosh Errick Peck from Indianapolis, IN, 44) 5'9 Frosh Everick Morris from Memphis, TN, 45) 6'3 Frosh Zach Jones from Memphis, TN, 46) 6'2 Frosh Mfon Udfia from Decatur (Middle Grove) GA, 47) 6'1 Frosh Gerrard Sheppard from Baltimore, MD, 48) 6'4 Frosh Shaun Adams from Liberty (H.S.) MO, 49) 6'3 8th Grader Tashawn Mabry from Rocky Mount, NC, 50) 6'5 Frosh Jonah Calmese Jonesboro (H.S.) AR, 51) 5’10 Frosh Jarvis Phillips from Cedar Hill, TX, 52) 6'4 Frosh Tevin Holmes from Houston, TX, 52) 6'8 Frosh Robert Capobianco from Greensboro, NC, 53) 6'4 8th Grader DeMondre Chapman from Flushing, MI, 54) 6'3 Frosh Jordan Walker from Chicago, IL, 55) 6’5 Frosh Brian Oliver from Newcastle (William Penn) DE, 56) 5'9 Frosh Glenn Wallace from Chicago, IL, 57) 58) 5’8 Frosh G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (HS) TX, 59) 6'2 Frosh Reco McCarter from Wilson, NC, 60) 6’5 Frosh Paris Bennett from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 61) 6'4 Frosh DeMarkus Bracey from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 62) 5’7 Frosh Anthony Baskerville from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 63) 6’6 Frosh Derrick Favors from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 64) 6'5 Frosh Tremaine Henderson from Prescott (H.S.) AR, 65) 6'5 Frosh Marquis Tolliver from Houston, TX, 66) 6’4 Frosh  Zaccheus Mason from Nashville (Christ Presbyterian Academy) TN, 67) 6'4 Frosh Mario Vasser from Atlanta, GA, 68) 6’1 Frosh Kyree Jones from Indianapolis, IN, 69) 5'11 Frosh Cole Rakestraw from Springdale, AR, 70) 6’7 Frosh Daniel McElroy from Cincinnati, OH, 71) 6’7 Frosh Kirk Hickerson from New Orleans, LA, 72) 5'10 Frosh Fred Gulley from Jones (Fayetteville) NC, 73) 6’2 Frosh Madrecas Hood from Huntsville, AL, and 74) 6’2 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (HS) CA.  We also think it's important to point out that the Chick Webb Spiders beat the Spiece Cincinnati Tigers, 61-50; the New York Gauchos beat Boo Williams Peninsula, 46-43; the Memphis War Eagles beat Texas Select, 68-62l; and Indiana Elite beat Team Melo, 50-42; in the quarterfinals to set up the two semi-finals games where the Chick Webb Spiders beat the New York Gauchos, 49-48 (OT), and the Memphis War Eagles beat Indiana-Elite-One, 68-57. 

Saturday, August 6, 2005, Sunday, August 7, 2005, & Monday, August 8, 2005

Believe it or not (normally our beat is covering boys' high school basketball recruiting and ranking the top high school players in the nation for Men's Division I college coaches and avid fans), I have spent the last three days at the Girls adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA and our ranking of the top 50 8th Graders, Top 50 7th Graders, and Top 30 6th Graders in Camp can be found by Ranking of the Top Players at the Girls adidas Junior Phenom Camp.  Not only was the intensity level at this camp at an all time high, but the level of talent was even better than expected, as 5'6 8th Grader Chloe Wells from Riverside, CA was so good that we were trying to talk adidas Junior Phenom Camp President and CEO Joe Keller into inviting her back next week to the Boys adidas Junior Phenom Camp to see how she'd stack up against the boys.  We're talking about somebody with Allen Iverson-like speed and quickness, is a great defender, was almost unstoppable when she wanted to go to the basket, and is a terrific 3-point shooter.  And, if that weren't enough, Wells also didn't forget her teammates, as he she was one of the best passers and playmakers in the camp.  In other words, there is nothing Wells can't do, as was evident by the fact that she had 40 points in her last regular camp game and then followed that up with 20 points and MVP honors in the 8th Grade All-Star Game.  However, while Wells left little doubt in the all-star Game about who the best player was in the 8th Grade Division, the other two all-star games only complicated things in terms of how we ended up ranking the top players in camp.  As a matter of fact, 5'7 6th Grader Keitra Wallace from Bloomington, CA was so dominant in the 6th Grade All-Star that we moved her up to #1 in her age group ahead of 5'6 6th Grader Devon Brookshire from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.  And, we really hated to do this, because Brookshire was clearly the best player in camp in this age group all weekend, as he used he skills, competitiveness, and toughness to carry on her back what was not one of the best teams in the camp.  But, in the all-star game, it became clear that Brookshire didn't have the great speed, quickness, and athleticism necessary to dominate the same way that she did in a more structured setting where teamwork and coaching play a much bigger role.  We also had Wallace ranked no higher than #7 in the 6th Grade Division heading into the all-star game, because she didn't finish all that well and didn't play as hard earlier in the week when we wasn't playing against as tough a competition.  In sharp contrast, Wallace blocked shots, rebounded, ran the court, and scored around the basket almost at will, as he scored 13 points and was the big difference in her team's 52-30 win in the 6th Grade All-Star Game.  Wallace's size, bulk, and athleticism also may have had something to do with why the players on the other team missed a seemingly endless number of  lay-ups and easy shot.  The best player in the 7th Grade Division all weekend was 5'7 7th Grader Brittany Rountree from Jacksonville, FL.  But, after spending several minutes on the floor with an injury early in the game, she never seemed to get things back onto track in the all-star game.  Still, Roundtree used her great strength, hustle, and athleticism to totally dominate this age-group.  And, while Roundtree had 25 points in one camp game, her lack of point production (only three points in the all-star) opened the door for some unexpected heroes to step up and steal the show in the 7th Grade All Star Game.  We're talking about 5'5 7th Grader Jamie Drummer from Muncie, IN and 5'0 7th Grader Kelly Gramlick from Austin, TX, who combined for 21 points in the all-star game and walked away with co-MVP honors.  Gramlick outscored Drummer 13 to eight, but Drummer shared the award, because she made the two big 3-pointers that helped the West Squad take control of the game.  We also really were very impressed with the play of 5'5 7th Grader Cassie Jay People from San Antonio, TX and 5'10 7th Grader Sheila Boykin from California, who had nine points and eight points apiece in the 7th Grader All-Star Game and solidified themselves the #2 and #3-ranking in this age group.  We also think it is interesting to point out that our #2 and #3-ranked 8th Graders scored zero and one points in the all-star game, but played so well prior to this time that we just to threw it out in the final analysis.  We're talking about 5'8 8th Grader Ashley Ward from Irvine, CA, who was one of the most prolific scorers in the camp, and 5'8 8th Grader Chandler Jones from Woodinville, WA, who was one the most skilled, toughest, and most hardnosed players in the camp.  Also turning in several of the best single-game individual performances in camp were 5'8 8th Grader Melissa Sweat from Bakersfield, CA, 5'2 8th Grader Odyssey Sims from Irving, TX, and 5'7 8th Grader Brittany Shine from Sacramento, CA.  The most skilled player in camp was 5'4 8th Grader Kayla Moritzky from Coto De Caza, CA, but we were disappointed that this point guard whose game is a lot like that of former Duke All-American Bobby Hurley didn't get a chance to try and stop Wells in the all-star game.  It probably wouldn't have happened, but you know a great competitor like Hurley never would have back down from the challenge of guarding somebody like former Georgia Tech All-American and current NBA Player Kenny Anderson.  Our favorite player in camp was 4'11 8th Grader Thea Lemberger from Santa Monica, CA.  Not only did Lemberger overcome her lack of size to get picked to played in the all-star game, but she understood the role of a good point guard as well as anybody in camp.  She also used her speed and quickness to play with reckless abandon and surprised a lot of people with her willingness to take the charge and ability to create her own shot.  Another player who falls into this category was 4'5 7th Grader Janelle Perez from El Paso, TX, who not only played well, but proved she could score against the best players in her age group in the 7th Grade All-Star Game and, as a result, we moved her up to #6 in the 7th Grade Division in our final rankings in camp.  The player who we moved up the most in our rankings at the end of the camp was 5'6 8th Grader Antoinette Bannister from Jacksonville, FL.  Not only is Bannister a physical specimen who is capable of playing any position on the court, but she was knocking down 3-pointers, handling the ball in transition, and getting more than her share of rebounds in her final game.  However, maybe she had something to prove, because she was not picked for the all-star game (the teams had to be picked before the final set of games).  We also have to mention 6'3 8th Grader Netanya Jackson from Antioch, TN, who was one of the least athletic and most skilled players in camp.   Remember, you can't teach size and, if you can score pretty much anytime you can the ball in the low post, that's a great combination.

Friday, August 5, 2005

We don't expect the official announcement to be forthcoming right away, but the word on the street is that 6'9 Derrick Caracater from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ has decided to attend the University of Louisville.  And, assuming that this information is correct, Caracater will be the best player that Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino has ever landed as a Division I head coach.   And that's saying a lot when one remembers that Jamal Mashburn, who was ranked among the five high school players in the nation in our Final Ranking of the Top 100 Players in the Class of 1990, was the big prize in Pitino's second recruiting class at Kentucky.  The addition of Caracter also will move Louisville's recruiting class, which currently is ranked #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and already includes 6'2 Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI and 6'3 Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, up to #3, behind Ohio State and North Carolina and ahead of Duke, Villanova, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, and Stanford, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if they also get 6'8 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, who appears to have it down to two schools (Louisville and Villanova), then the Cardinals' recruiting class would move up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  In other words, it looks like Pitino is continuing to recruit like crazy, because this immediately follows last year's recruiting class, which was ranked #1 prior to when 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA entered his name into the NBA Draft and 7'0 Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL decided to go the prep school route.  We also believe it's only a matter of time before 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who finished ranked #6 at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp and was one of the fastest rising players in the nation, follows in his late father's footsteps and picks the Cardinals.  So, if all this materializes and nobody goes pro early or transfers, the Cardinals will be one over on scholarships two years from now.  Remember, 6'11 Scott Padgett, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios, and 6'10 Terrance Farley will be freshmen this year; 6'8 Brian Johnson, 5'10 Andre McGee, 6'5 Bryan Harvey, 6'5 Terrance Williams, 6'9 Chad Millard, and 7'0 Jonathan Huffman will all be freshmen this year; Caracter, Jerry Smith, Sosa, and Clark will give Louisville four players in this recruiting class who are ranked among our top 40 seniors on our Post Summer Ranking of the Top 100 Rising Seniors (Class of 2006); and Nolan Smith is a legitimate top 10-ranked junior nationally.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 David Schneider from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ has verbally committed to William & Mary and we think this is an absolute steal.  Not only is Schneider a tough hardnosed competitor who can run the show and shoot the lights out, but he's got a great feel for the game, has deceptive speed and quickness, and plays like the coach's son that he is.  If you will recall, Schneider's father is former Cal Poly-San Lius Obispo head coach Jeff Schneider, who now is one of the top work-out coaches and evaluators of talent in the scouting service business in the nation.  Schneider does need to get physically bigger and stronger.  But, when he does, he could turn out to be the best player to ever play for the Tribe.  Schneider also should be an excellent addition to 6'7 Danny Sumner from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA and 6'10 Stephen Hess from Gastonia (Day School) NC in a recruiting class that is now tied at #26, along with Northern Iowa and Missouri, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And this comes on the heels of the excellent recruiting class, which includes 6'1 Calvin Baker form Newport News (Woodside) VA, 6'6 Alex Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Peter Stein from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, and 6'8 Chris Darnell from Stafford (North Stafford) VA, that William & Mary has getting ready to enroll in school right now.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'8 Isham Phillips from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA has decided to enroll at Florida Atlantic, where he will be eligible to play this fall.  Rubin also confirms that 6'10 Justin Fry from Elliottsburg (West Perry) PA, who is one of the fastest rising players in his area, has verbally committed to Maryland-Baltimore County, and he thinks it's just a matter of time before 6'5 Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA makes it official for La Salle.  And, when he does, this will be significant for Explorers head coach John Giannini, because Green will be the first player from the Philadelphia Area that Giannini has landed since taking over the reigns at La Salle a year ago.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 Brent Butler from Norcross (H.S.) GA has picked Fordham.  Not only are we talking about an excellent maker, but he's a great kid, excellent student, and has a great bloodline (his father was an All-American football player at Florida State).  It also appears that 6'9 John Fields from Fayetteville (Jack Britt) NC is exactly what the doctor ordered for East Carolina, which also landed three inside players - 6'9 Tyrone Beal from Allegany (JC) MD, 6'8 Quentin Goods from Goldsboro (Charis Prep) NC, and 6'10 Justin Ramsey from Chesepeake (Calvary Christian) VA - after taking over this spring.  Fields is still raw offensively, but he is a superb athlete who can run, jump, rebound, and block shots.  However, what makes the verbal commitment by Fields to East Carolina so important is the fact that he's got a huge upside and, as a result, those who have seen him think he's a major steal for the Pirates.  Donnie Wilkie, who invites that teams for the City of Palms Classic in Ft Myers, FL, confirms that 6'1 Frosh Kenny Boynton is transferring from Coconut Creek (North Broward Prep) FL to Pompano Beach (Ely) FL and our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that 6'6 Vincent Rodgers is transferring from Lithonia (Martin Luther King) GA to Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA.  If you will recall, this is the guy who is ranked #36 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP that is originally from New York City and that we've seen play many times for Team Next.  Davis also thinks 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Toronto (School of Eastern Commerce) ON is going to transfer to Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA and he informs us that 6'4 Solomon Tat from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA is not a 5th Year Player, because he will not be entering his 9th semester of high school this fall.  Davis also tells us that Georgia has emerged as the heavy favorite over schools like Texas, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Mississippi State Tat's services.  So don't be surprised if a verbal commitment by Tat to the Bulldogs sometime in the near future is not forthcoming.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Chris Berry is transferring from Fresno State to Kent State.  And this comes as somewhat of a surprise, because we thought Bowling Green, which finished second for Berry the first time around and was believed to be the favorite when Berry decided to bounced from Fresno State, was the team to beat.  However, it looks like Kent State assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer's strong West Coast ties won out for this aggressive athlete with no true position, but who averaged 8.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg as a freshman last season for the Bulldogs. 

Thursday, August 4, 2005

After having covered the 14-Under AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL for the last three days, now is a great time to go out on a limb and tell you what we think it going to happen when the playoffs begin tomorrow.  First, we think it's safe to say that the Team California, which won the 13-Under Nationals a year ago, won't be repeating as national champion in this age group.  Not only is 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA having a difficult time dealing with all the pressure that goes with being touted in Sports Illustrated as the next LeBron James, but this team doesn't have its head coach and it lacks chemistry, outside shooting, and the toughness necessary to beat the really good teams, like the Memphis War Eagles, Team New Jersey, Texas Select, Indiana Rising Stars, and Atlanta Celtics, in the tournament.  As a matter of fact, the Little Mizzou Tigers came within a missed 3-point attempt of taking into overtime the team that features Walker; two of players - 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA and 5'9 Frosh G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX - who were ranked among the top five players nationally in the Class of 2009 when we last updated our rankings for this class on October 10, 2004; and some other highly ranked players, like 6'3 Frosh Roberto Nelson from Santa Barbara, CA, 6'5 Frosh Rome Draper from Fontana, CA, and 6'2 Frosh Gary Franklin from Los Angeles, CA.  And, illustrating our point even future is the fact that Team California trailed Bay State Magic Elite, 28-21, at half-time yesterday, before going on a 10-2 run to begin the second half and coasting to a 63-50 victory.  Instead, the team we think might be the team to beat is Team New Jersey, which features 6'3 Frosh Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 5'9 Frosh Anthony Baskerville form Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'5 Frosh Paris Bennett from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  Bennett, not only scored 25 points in today's game against the Houston Superstars, but he does most of the dirty work inside.  Baskersville is a tough hardnosed ultra quick undersized 2-guard who makes things happens, knows who to get his shot in a hurry, and just explodes when he makes a move to the basket.  Strickland is a multi-dimensional athlete with long arms and good hands, which he uses to block shot rebound well for his size, and make great moves to the basket.  He  also surprised us with how well he handles, passes, and shoots the three.  So we're talking about somebody who was so impressive earlier today that he has to be ranked right up there, along with 6'4 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX and 6'3 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, as one of the top three players in the tournament.  Speaking of Williams and Franklin, we watched them both again tonight and decided that we like Williams a little better.  He's an inch bigger, a little more versatile, and scores equally well with either hand.  We also find it interesting that Williams, who finished with 17 points tonight, is already getting early interest from most of the high Division I schools in the state of Texas.  However, Williams tells us that he's originally from Arkansas and, as a result, the Razorbacks are one of his two favorite schools, along with Georgetown.  Another team that we hadn't seen prior today that can win the tournament is the Atlanta Celtic Gold, which features 6'6 Frosh Michael Calhoun from Atlanta, GA and 6'1 Frosh Manuel Atkins from Atlanta, GA.  Atkins has an excellent combination of skills, athleticism, and versatility, but what convinced us that he's one of the top 10 players that we've seen in the entire tournament was his willingness to take and make big shoots at crunch time against the Cleveland Basketball Club.  Calhoun not only looks a lot like 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, as they both have the same build and hair style, but Calhoun also plays like Thomas.  They both play hard on very possession.  They both need to get bigger and strong physically to be just as effective inside at a higher level.  And they both are very effective from mid-range and in, but they both need to improve their outside shooting in order to someday be able to make the conversion to the wing forward spot.  Another one of our favorite players of the day was 6'4 Frosh Greg Robbins from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA.  We're talking about an extremely skilled white kid with great moves to the basket and the quickness and finesse necessary to also be able to step out on the perimeter and beat you with his 3-point shot.  Robbins also is a lot better than 6'5 Frosh Dalton Pepper from Yardley, PA, who our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin thinks might be the best player in the Philly area in the Class of 2009.  However, when I saw Pepper yesterday he was very ordinary.  But, when Stanwood saw him today, he thought Pepper was terrific, as he knocked down several 3-pointers and even dunked one 14-year-old's face.  Some other players who we added to our on-going list, which Stanwood will finalize at the end of the tournament and will published exclusively in the Members Section, include 6'3 8th Grader Tashawn Mabry from Rocky Mount, NC, 6'5 Frosh Jonah Calmese from Jonesboro (H.S.) AR, 6'4 Frosh Tevin Holmes from Houston, TX, 6'8 Frosh Robert Capobianco from Greensboro, NC, 6'4 8th Grader DeMondre Chapman from Flushing, MI, 6'3 Frosh Jordan Walker from Chicago, IL, 5'9 Frosh Glenn Wallace from Chicago, IL, 6'2 Frosh Reco McCarter from Wilson, NC, 6'5 Frosh Ferrakoln Hall from Memphis, TN, 6'5 Frosh Henry Smith from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Frosh DeMarkus Bracey from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 6'9 Frosh Chris Cunningham from Los Angeles, CA, 6'5 Frosh Tremaine Henderson from Prescott (H.S.) AR, 6'3 Frosh Tony McGilvery from Ft. Worth, TX, 6'5 Frosh Marquis Tolliver from Houston, TX, 6'0 Frosh Lorenzo Brown from Atlanta, GA, 6'4 Frosh Mario Vasser from Atlanta, GA, and 5'11 Frosh Cole Rakestraw from Springdale, AR.  Either Stanwood or myself saw every one of these players except for Vasser, who makes the list because he hit 10 3-pointers and scored 45 points earlier today against the Racine Basketball Club. 

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

The hot topic of conversation in the business today was the news that adidas plans to buy Reebok for $3.8 billion.  And this should make things even more interesting in terms of the shoe company wars, because this will give adidas about 20% of the shoe company market in the United States and would put them into a better position to challenge NIKE for supremacy in the basketball business.  It also is ironic that Sonny Vaccaro, who left adidas to go to Reebok a-year-and-a-half ago, could once again end up working for adidas.  And, if this happens, it would be great for covering the grass roots basketball business, because it potentially could end all the madness, whereby, the three shoe companies (NIKE, adidas, and Reebok) go head-to-head with camps in early July and tournaments in late July.  However, people in the know don't think this happen.  Instead, the smart money seems to be on Vaccaro venturing off in yet another direction.  But really only time will tell and right now our primary focus is on covering the 14-Under AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL.  And, after the first two days of pool play, it has been somewhat of a disappointment.  Not only are a surprising number of the very elite players in the class, including 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Wood (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'1 Frosh Kenny Boynton from Coconut Creek (North Broward Prep) FL, 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Toronto (School of Eastern Commerce) ON, 6'6 Frosh Karon Johnson from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'7 Frosh Jarius King from Charlottesville (The Miller School) VA not in attendance, but big name players like 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Frosh Leshon Edwards from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, 5'9 Frosh G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Frosh Derrick Favors from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, and 5'10 Frosh Chad Wilson from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD have not lived up to expectations.  The class also does not feature any quality size, there do not appear to be a lot of new players coming out of the workout, and there have not been many exciting games.  However, we do expect things to pick up tomorrow when most of the #1 and #2-seeded teams in each pool meet in the final day of pool play.  As a matter of fact, some of the match-ups we're planning on watching tomorrow include Ferrari (IL) versus the Wilson Kings (NC) at 8:30 AM; Houston Superstars versus Team New Jersey at 10:00 AM; Atlanta Celtics Gold versus Cleveland Basketball Club at 11:30 AM; North Carolina Hawks versus Arkansas-Hawks at 1:00 PM; Memphis War Eagles versus Young Bucks (RI), Arkansas Wings versus the New York Gauchos, and the Houston Hoops versus the Metro Sixers all at 2:30 PM, Rising Stars of America (CA) versus Poly Nation (NV) at 4:00 PM; Madison Spartans versus Team Indiana at 5:30 PM; Texas Select versus Cincinnati Flight All-Stars at 7:00 PM, and Team Maryland versus Iowa Crusaders at 8:30 PM.  The best team ever seen in the tournament is the Memphis War Eagles, which features 6'4 Frosh Leslie McDonald from Memphis, TN, 6'2 Frosh Greg Wooten from Memphis, TN, 6'0 Frosh Gentry Hines from Memphis, TN, 6'6 Frosh Franklin Hall from Memphis, TN, and 5'9 Frosh Everick Morris from Memphis, TN, but Texas Select has the two best players that we've seen in the tournament in 6'4 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX and 6'3 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX.  And, until we see this team again tomorrow, we really think it's too call to call between Williams and Franklin for top player honors on both the team and in the tournament.  We still haven't seen some of the teams in the tournament and, as a result, do not include players like 5'9 Frosh Tommy Griffin from Houston, TX, 6'2 Frosh Dexter Strickland from Rahway, NJ, and 5'10 Frosh Fred Gulley from Fayatteville, AR in our rankings.  But, based on what we have seen so far in the tournament, our list of the top players in the is as follows:  1) 6'4 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 1) 6'3 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 3) 6'4 Frosh Leslie McDonald from Memphis, TN, 4) 6'3 Frosh Jacob Mulinix from Bloomington, IN, 5) 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6) 6'2 Frosh Greg Wooten from Memphis, TN, 7) 5'10 Frosh Steven Rogers from Houston, TX, 8) 5'11 8th Grader Tony Chenault from Philadelphia, PA, 9) 6'2 Frosh Orlando Williams from Cincinnati, OH, 10) 6'4 Frosh Greg Robbins from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA, 11) 5'5 Frosh Carl Jones from Orange, OH, 12) 5'11 Frosh Tyrone Gardner from Middletown, CT, 13) 6'3 Frosh Marcus Jordan from Deerfield, IL, 14) 6'2 Frosh Kevin Bloom from Kendallsville (H.S.) IN, 15) 5'11 Frosh Peyton Siva from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 16) 6'6 Frosh Dartaye Ruffin from Stoughton, MA, 17) 6'7 Frosh Daniel McElroy from Cincinnati, OH, 18) 6'3 Frosh Justin Hawkins from Los Angeles, CA, 19) 6'7 Frosh Kirk Hickerson from New Orleans, LA, 20) 6'0 Frosh Gentry Hines from Memphis, TN, 21) 6'2 Frosh Madrecas Hood from Huntsville, AL, 22) 6'5 Frosh Brian Oliver from Glassboro NJ, 23) 5'9 Frosh Kyle Randall from Cleveland, OH, 24) 5'9 Frosh Ken Ortiz from Newark (Science) NJ, 25) 6'4 Frosh Errick Peck from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN, 26) 5'10 Frosh Chad Wilson from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 26) 6'3 Frosh George Harper from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 28) 6'5 Frosh Jerry Brown from Oakland, CA, 28) 5'9 Frosh Everick Morris from Memphis, TN, 29) 5'9 Frosh G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX, 30) 6'3 Frosh Zach Jones from Memphis, TN, 31) 6'4 Frosh Leshon Edwards from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, 32) 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA, 33) 6'6 Frosh Derrick Favors from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 34) 6'4 Frosh Travis Robinson from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, and 35) 5'8 Frosh Rameel Johnson from Newark (Science) NJ.

Tuesday, August 2, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Michael Cook,, who was one of the best players on his team the last two years, is transferring from East Carolina to Pittsburgh, and our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton tells us that 6'1 Brandis Riley from Gastonia (Gaston Day) NC, who is an athletic combo guard that does a little bit of everything, has verbally committed to South Carolina.  But that's it, as it's totally quiet on the recruiting front.  So now it the perfect opportunity to publish our Post Summer Ranking of the Top 100 Rising Seniors (Class of 2006) and we think it is interesting that the top four players on our list are the same when compared to our last list that we published on June 10th.  However, the order of these four players has changed, as 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN has moved up to #1 and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA has dropped to #3.  Other changes at the top of the list include 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA moving up from #7 to #5, 6'9 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX dropping from #5 to #10, 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA moving up to #32 to #7, 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL moving up from #57 to #9, 6'10 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA moving up from #10 to #8, 6'11 Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA moving up from #24 to #13, 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA moving up from #90 to #14, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ moving up from #19 to #15, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN dropping from #8 to #17, 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH dropping from #9 to #23, 6'0 Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA dropping from #13 to #24, and 6'8 Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN dropping from #16 to #31.  It also should be pointed out that 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY drops completely off the list, because he's now in his 9th semester of high school and, as a result, is now a 5th Year Player.  However, Harris is the #1-ranked player in our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2006, which was published on July 28th.  And he would be the 5th player in our top five, if we did include him on our list of the top seniors.  We also find it interesting that five of the top seven-ranked seniors are already off the board, as 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN has already verbally committed to Ohio State, 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD has already verbally committed to Texas, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA has already verbally committed to North Carolina, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has already verbally committed to North Carolina, and 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA has already verbally committed to Georgia Tech.  And when we dig a little deeper, we also find that 6'11 Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA is already gone to Stanford, 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL is already gone to Duke, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX is already gone to Oklahoma, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA is already gone to Duke, 6'0 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN has already gone to Ohio State, 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ is already gone to Duke, 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH is already gone to Ohio State, 6'2 Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI is already gone to Louisville, 6'11 Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA is already gone to Stanford, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY is already gone to Connecticut, 6'6 Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN is already gone to Tennessee, 5'11 Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL is already gone to Florida State, 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX is already gone to Arizona, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA is already gone to Baylor, 6'3 Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY is already gone to Louisville, 6'4 Dave Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH is already gone to Ohio State.  In other words, 21 of the top 40-ranked players have already verbally committed.  And when we look at the entire top 100 list, also find that 6'0 Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT is already gone to St. John's, 6'4 Jason Bohannon from Linn-Mar (H.S.) IA is already gone to Wisconsin, 6'7 Jamie Skeen from Huntersville (North Mecklenburg) NC is already gone to Wake Forest, 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA is already gone to Oklahoma, 6'3 Anthony Gurley from Newtonville (North Newton) MA is already gone to Wake Forest, 6'8 Luke Harangody from Gary (Andrean) IN is already gone to Notre Dame, 6'9 Dajuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD is already gone to Georgetown, 6'10 Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL is already gone to Florida, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC is already gone to North Carolina,  6'4 Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA is already gone to Villanova, 6'8 Keith Clark from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK is already gone to Oklahoma, 6'4 Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL is already gone to Georgetown, 6'9 Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA is already gone to  California, 6'9 James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA is already gone to UCLA, 6'3 James Dews from West Chester (Lakota East) OH is already gone to Miami-FL, 6'4 Aaron Holmes from St. Petersburg (Catholic) FL is already gone to Florida State, 6'9 Jordan Hill from Atlanta (North Springs) GA is already gone to Arizona, 6'3 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD is already gone to Virginia Tech, 6'2 Darrin Govens from Chester (H.S.) PA is already gone to St. Joseph's, 6'4 Carlos Morias from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA is already gone to Kansas State, 6'7 Jeff Allen from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD is already gone to Virginia Tech, 6'7 Landon Milbourne from Alpharetta (St. Francis) GA is already gone to Maryland, and 6'3 P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palos Verdes) NV is already gone to Iowa State.  So, with the Fall Signing Period still over three months away, 44% of the players that are ranked among our top 100 nationally are already verbally committed. 

Monday, August 1, 2005

Our Florida Editor Rick Staudt and Patrick Stanwood were both at the 17-Under AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL, which concluded earlier today when Ferrari beat the Chicago Jaguars 65-64 in the championship game, and, while the tournament did not have the overabundance of big names that it has had in recent years, there still are some interesting stories.  Like the two teams from the Windy City advancing all the way to the title game.  Like the Boo Williams Summer League team and SYF Players, which were clearly the two best teams in the tournament, getting knocked off early in the playoffs.  Remember, Boo Williams won the NIKE Peach Jam and had a chance to be the team of the summer, if they had won both this tournament and the AAU Super Showcase, which also was played last week in Orlando, FL at Disney's Wide World of Sports.  However, Boo Williams could do no better than finish in 8th Place after losing 57-55 to an Illinois Wolves team that is always extremely well coached, but did not feature any big name players.  And the SYF Players were in a similar situation after finishing second in the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX and the NIKE Peach Jam and winning the championship in the the AAU Super Showcase.  But they ran into a major roadblock against the Arkansas Wings, which knocked them off 82-75, and, as a result, finished no better than 12th in the tournament.  Like 5'9 Jerome Randle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, who not only was the tournament MVP, but also provided the same type of spark and was the same super quick undersized electrifying point guard that Andrew Lavender was in this tournament a few years ago.  Randle finished with 12 points, but he scored his only basket in the second half with 3.1 second left in the game to win the game.  And this comes as no surprise to us, because Randall was one of the best point guards that we saw at the Kingwood Classic way back in April.  And what we wrote at the time still appears to be applicable today.  "We're not sure how well he shoots it and he's really small, but Randall is a tremendous competitor with jet-like speed and quickness, excellent ball handling and passing skills, a great crossover, and a knack for knowing when to speed things up or slow them down.  In other words, he'd be a steal at the mid-major level."  Right now Tulsa and Dayton are showing the most interest, but I'm wondering if there is a way to sneak Randle into the bottom of the top 100 next time we update our national rankings for the Class of 2006.  Yes, Staudt and Stanwood were both that impressed and pure point guards who know who to run the show and make everybody around them better are at such a premium in this day and age.  Also playing well enough in the 17-Under Nationals to get special mention are 6'8 Jr Mac Nayal Koshwal from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'7 Andre Walker from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'2 Darren McKenzie from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'9 Jarvis Varnardo from Brownsville (Haywood County) TN, 6'1 Jr Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, 6'3 Etwann Moore from East Chicago (Central) IN, 6'4 Cleveland Richard from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 5'11 Jr John Roberson from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'6 Duke Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 6'3 James Dews from West Chester (Lakota East) OH, 6'9 Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA, and 6'4 Adrion Graves from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH.  Koshwal, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Chicago Jaguars in the championship game, was the strongest and most dominant inside player in the tournament.  He does need to improve his offensive skills, but Koshwal runs and jumps, is very athletic for his size, and is a warrior around the basketball.  Walker, who was the second best player on the Ferrari team, was one of the biggest surprises in the tournament.  He also was a tough match-up, as he finished in the lane, it the mid-range jumper, and knocked down the 3-point shot.  McKenzie provided the perfect complement in the back-court, because he and Randle were interchangeable at both guard spots, as is evident by the fact that McKenzie finished with nine points and seven assists in the championship game.  Varnardo, who led the Mid-State Ballerz all the way to the final four, where they were knocked off by Ferrari, needs strength, but this long lanky shot blocking athlete is a lot better than we originally thought and, as a result, appears to be a major steal for Mississippi State.  Wright was easily one of the best players in the tournament, as he hit 3-pointers, scored off transition, and created havoc defensively of the Boo Williams team.  The same also can be said at Moore, who was the catalyst for the SYF Players.  We knew already knew he was a top notch defender and tough to stop when he goes to the basket, because he's so athletic.  But we were a little surprised when we were told that it more than his share of 3-pointers in this tournamet.  Yes, it looks like Moore really is a complete player and, as a result, a legitimate top 50-100 range senior nationally.  And this is important, because previously we've had Moore listed in the Class of 2007.  Richard was the best player on the Houston No Limit Team, which didn't have anybody on the team taller than 6'5.  In other words, Richard is an overachiever, as we're talking about an undersized 6'4 power forward who plays with reckless abandon and gets more than his fair share of rebounds.  Calathes needs a system, but he was one of the leading scorers in tournament, as well as NIKE Team Florida's best player.  Roberson can play either guard spot, as is evident by the fact that he runs the show for NIKE Team Florida, is an excellent 3-point shooter, and a perfect complement in the backcourt to Calathes.  Crews, who helped 6'10 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA anchor the front-line for Boo Williams Team, simply picked up where he left off earlier in the summer, as he once again dominated around the basket.  Dews, who was the best player for All Ohio, is one of the best 3-point shooters in the Class of 2006.  But he also impressed our guys with his good on the ball defense and ability to go to the basket and finish in transition.  Stephenson was one of the best inside players in the tournament, as he used his size and athleticism to score, rebound, block shots, and anchor the front line for Louisiana Stars.  Graves is an excellent finisher, good 3-point shooter, and tremendous competitor who has a knack for being around the ball and making things happen.  So it comes as no surprise that was the best player on the Queen City Prophets.