HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR DECEMBER 2006

Saturday, December 30, 2006, and Sunday, December 31, 2006

It was pretty much status quo earlier today at the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX and it began with The Woodlands (H.S.) TX 72-59 win over Houston (Westbury Christian) TX in the 7th Place Championship Game of the Texas Division.  The two most interesting stories in this game involved 6'3 Gerald Shaw from the Woodlands (H.S.) TX, who had his second consecutive 20-point game performance in the tournament, and 6'6 Jeffrey Francis from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who solidified his spot as one of the leading rebounders in the tournament with 10 boards.  The 7th Place Championship Game in the National Division, which found Middle Village (Christ the King) NY dropping down to play against Alief (Hastings) TX, despite the fact that Christ the King won yesterday, in order to avoid playing New York (Rice) NY in a meaningless consolation game (both teams are members of the tough Catholic High School Athletic Association in New York City), featured one of the more interesting match-ups of the tournament.  We're talking about 5'11 B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists, going head-to-head against 5'9 Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who combined for 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.  And we think these rebounding numbers are totally amazing due to the fact that all three of these players are under 6-feet tall.  Walker also had a grand total of 57 points, 20 rebounds, and 15 assists, which should put him among the leaders in the tournament in all three categories with 19.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.0 apg.  While there was no clear winner in terms of the match-up of the pint-sized point guards, Christ the King did manage to pull out a 65-59 win to redeem itself with a pair of wins after their opening round loss in the tournament to Houston (Kingwood) TX.  The 5th Place Championship Game in the Texas Division featured two of the top up-and-coming young players in the Houston Hoops club team program in 5'10 Soph Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, and 6'10 Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX.  But, once again, we also were very intrigued with 6'1 Frosh Brandon Peters from Houston (Yates) TX and 6'2 Jr Richard Brown from Houston (Madison) TX.  Mason-Griffin finished with 10 point and didn't miss a shot from the field, as he hit 4-4 field goals, including 1-1 from beyond the arc, but the most impressive part of his game as his passing, as is evident by his nine assists.  Jones had 12 points, four rebounds, and three blocked shots, but he made two of the biggest plays of the game when he got what turned out to be the game winning shot with a minute to go and got the final rebound of the game with 10 seconds remaining.  Peters, who is one of the top young prospects in the Houston area, had 10 points and Brown, who was one of the leading scorers and rebounders of the tournament heading into today, finished with 13 points and eights rebounds.  The 5th Place Championship Game in the National Division between New York (Rice) NY and Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA was too close to call with less than a minute to go, but 6'6 Jr Dorvell Carter from New York (Rice) NY hit an ill-advised 3-point shot, just like 6'5 Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ did last night, to put his team up by two points with 28 second left in the game and then 6'1 Jr Kemba Walker from New York (Rice) NY came up with a big steal that went for a lay-up with 10 seconds left to ice the game.  The final score 57-53 and the Rice attack was extremely well balanced, as 6'0 Soph Lamont Jones finished with 12 points and three assists, 6'2 Jr Chris Fouch had 11 points and was 3-6 from 3-point land, 6'4 Soph Durand Scott had 10 points and nine rebounds, 6'6 Jr Dorvell Carter from New York (Rice) NY had 10 points and 2-2 3-pointers, and 6'1 Jr Kemba Walker had eight points, five assists, and seven steals.  The best two players for Rainier Beach were 6'3 DeAngelo Jones with 16 points and 6'6 Emeke Iweka with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Houston (Bellaire) TX beat Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, 48-40, in the 3rd Place Championship Game of the Texas Division and, once again, the player who made this team go was 5'8 Jai Lucas, who finished with 13 points and four assists.  However, the big story here was the 10-point/14-rebound performance that was turned in by 6'7 Jordan Michelson from Houston (Bellaire) TX, which is good enough to get him ranked among the leading rebounders in the tournament with 10.3 rpg.  Michelson, who is a long, active, aggressive, and athletic white kid, also has to be one of the biggest sleepers to emerge in the tournament.  In other words, the only thing holding him back is a lack of strength and, as a result, he projects at the mid-major level.  6'3 Sei Paye, who finished with 13 points and hit 3-5 3-pointers, stepped up and was the best player for Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, which also got solid performances from 6'2 Jr Trent Rogers and 5'10 Soph Steven Rogers, who scored eight points apiece.  Houston (Kingwood) TX proved that their first round upset the other night against Middle Village (Christ the King) NY was not as big an upset as you might think by also taking Norcross (H.S.) GA right to the wire earlier today in the 3rd Place Game in the National Division.  And the big reason why this was still a one-point game with less than a minute to go was 6'5 Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, who finished with 22 points, 7-14 field goals, and 10 rebounds and played about as well as we've seen him play since we first discovered him when he was in 8th Grade.  Norcross got a strong performance from 6'8 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu, who finished with 17 points and 7-9 field goals, but 6'9 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA was not nearly as dominant as he was last night when he finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds and took over the game at crunch time.  This time around Lawal only had nine points and five rebounds.  However, 6'5 Tony Neysmith from Norcross (H.S.) GA was his usual steady self, as he scored 14 points, hit 4-6 field goals, including 2-2 treys, and grabbed five rebounds and played a key role in securing Norcross' 50-47 victory.  After having played in this tournament for four consecutive years, it was fitting that 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, who finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 9-13 field goals, would finally win a Championship and be named as the MVP in the Texas Division of the Academy National Invitational.  The final score was 65-44 and they beat a well-balanced Houston (Klein Collins) TX team that was led by 6'1 Jr Jeff Horner, who scored 12 point and hit 4-7 3-pointers and is one of the new players today that we didn't mention yesterday.  Another key factor was that 6'0 Jr Demetri Goodson from Houston (Klein Collins) TX and 5'11 Julian Olubuyi from Houston (Klein Collins), who were their team's two best players yesterday, were almost non-existence this time around, as they combined for a grand total of 11 points, five rebounds, and seven assists.  Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD seemed to have things pretty well under control in the Championship Game in the National Division until 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ made several big steals and several big shots and St. Patrick went on an 8-0 run to end the first half.  At that point St. Patrick had a 24-23 lead, but 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD hit a mid-range jump shot on his team's first possession of the second half and it remained too close to call until 6'4 Isaiah Tate made a 3-point shot from the top of the key and Freeman scored on a lay-up to make it 45-38 with less than four minutes left in the game.  From that point on DeMatha seemed to be pretty much in control of the game and Freeman and 6'1 Jeff Peterson made all but one of the key free throws down the stretch to ensure a 57-49 win in the title game.  The MVP for DeMatha was Freeman, who finished with 20 points and 8-15 field goals.  But the unsung hero, glue to the team, and one of the most improved players in the nation during the last year is Peterson, who followed up last night's stellar performance with 13 points and eights assists in the title game.  St. Patrick's was led by 6'1 Corey Fisher with 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.  However, he also hit only 5-15 field goals, including 1-9 3-pointers, which also was a testament to just how hard fought this game was and how good DeMatha was defensively.  6'5 Jeff Robinson also chipped had 17 points, but hit only 4-11 field goals and 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland was totally a non-factor after the intermission.  Our ranking of the top players in the tournament based on performance including both yesterday and today are as follows:  1) 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 2) 6'5 Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 3) 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 4) 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 5) 6'9 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6) 6'1 Jeff Peterson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 7) 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 8) 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 9) 5'11 B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX, 10) 5'10 Soph Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, 11) 6'5 Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 12) 6'8 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 13) 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 14) 6'1 Jr Kemba Walker from New York (Rice) NY, 15) 6'2 Jr Richard Brown from Houston (Madison) TX, 16) 6'5 Tony Neysmith from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 17) 6'0 Soph Lamont Jones from New York (Rice) NY, 18) 6'3 Gerald Shaw from Woodlands (H.S.) TX, 19) 6'6 Jr Dorvell Carter from New York (Rice) NY, 20) 6'6 P.J. Alawoya from Alief (Hastings) TX, 21) 6'5 Andrew Gabriel from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 22) 6'3 Sei Paye from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, 23) 6'2 Jr Trent Rogers from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX,  24) 5'10 Soph Steven Rogers from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, 25) 6'0 Jr Demetri Goodson from Houston (Klein Collins) TX, 26) 6'4 Soph Durand Scott from New York (Rice) NY, 27) 6'5 Ryan Pearson from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 28) 6'5 Trevin Harris from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 29) 6'2 Jr Chris Fouch from New York (Rice) NY, 30) 5'9 Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 31) 6'7 Jordan DeMercy from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 32) 5'9 Jr Chris Iles from Alief (Hastings) TX, 33) 6'10 Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX, 34) 6'7 Jordan Michelson from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 35) 6'3 Cameron Wells from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 36) 6'6 Jeffrey Francis from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 37) 6'6 DeAngelo Jones from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 38) 6'6 Emeka Iweka from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 39) 5'11 Julian Olubuyi from Houston (Klein Collins) TX, 40) 6'2 Jason Smith from Houston (Bellaire) TX, and 41) 6'1 Frosh Brandon Peters from Houston (Yates) TX.  The leading scorers in the tournament were 1) 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX with 25.0 ppg, 2) 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 23.3 ppg, 3) 6'5 Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 22.7 ppg, 4) 5'11 B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX with 20.7 ppg, 5) 6'2 Jr Richard Brown from Houston (Madison) TX with 20.0 ppg, 6) 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX with 19.7 ppg, 7) 6'9 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA with 19.0 ppg, 7) 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY with 19.0 ppg, 9) 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD with 17.7 ppg, 10) 6'3 Sei Paye from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX with 17.3 ppg, 11) 6'5 Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX with 16.0 ppg, and 12) 6'2 Jr Chris Fouch from New York (Rice) NY.  The leading rebounders in the tournament were 1) 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX with 15.0 rpg, 2) 6'6 Jeffrey Francis from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX with 12.0 rpg, 3) 6'7 Jordan Michelson from Houston (Bellaire) TX with 10.3 rpg, 4) 6'9 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S) GA with 9.3 rpg, 4) 6'6 P.J. Alawoya from Alief (Hastings) TX with 9.3 rpg, 6) 6'10 Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX with 9.0 rpg, 7) 6'5 Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX with 8.4 rpg, 8) 6'8 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA with 7.3 rpg, 9) 6'3 Cameron Wells from Houston (Bellaire) TX with 7.3 rpg, 10) 6'4 Soph Durand Scott from New York (Rice) NY with 7.0 rpg, 10) 6'7 Cody Waneck from The Woodlands (H.S. TX with 7.0 rpg, 12) 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY with 6.7 rpg.  The assist leaders in the tournament were 1) 6'1 Jr Brandon Williams from Houston (Aldine) TX with 7.7 apg, 2) 5'10 Soph Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX with 6'7 apg, 3) 5'11 Julian Olubuyi from Houston (Klein Collins) TX with 6.3 apg, 4) 6'0 Jr Demetri Goodson from Houston (Klein Collins) TX with 5.7 apg, 5) 6'0 Ashton Caesar from The Woodlands (H.S.) TX with 5.6 apg, 6) 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY with 5.0 apg, 7) 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 4.7 apg, 7) 6'1 Jeff Peterson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD with 4.7 apg, and 9) 6'1 Jr Reggie Moore from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA with 4.0 apg.

Friday, December 29, 2006

This first thing I did when I arrived this morning at the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX was find out the results from yesterday, which are as follows:  Houston (Klein Collins) TX beat Houston (Yates) TX, 56-44; Houston (Bellaire) TX beat Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 51-39; Houston (Aldine) TX beat The Woodlands, 79-53; and Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX beat Houston (Madison) TX, 88-72; in the Texas Division and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ beat Alief (Hastings) TX, 77-68;  Norcross (H.S.) TX beat New York (Rice) NY, 60-53; Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD beat Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 73-44; and Houston (Kingwood) TX beat Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 71-60, in the National Division.  Some other interesting footnotes from the first round of action in the tournament include the fact that 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX is both the leading scorer and rebounder in the Texas Division with 31.0 ppg and 12.0 rpg and 6'5 Jeff Robinson and 6'1 Corey Fisher combined for 58 points for Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ in the National Division.  Some other top individual performances were turned in by 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who had 25 points, one assist, and six rebounds; 6'8 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA, who had 22 points, nine rebounds, and four blocked shots; 6'2 Richard Brown from Houston (Madison) TX, who had 31 points and 10 rebounds; and 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY hit 5-10 3-pointers en route to 21 points.  Speaking of Walker, we have confirmed that the University of Florida has offered him a scholarship and he plans to accept it.  However, the official party line from his high school Bob Oliva is that Walker hasn't made the call to Gators head coach Billy Donovan yet.  So, for our purposes, it's not official yet, although we suspect that will change by the end of the day.  We also talked with 5'10 Soph Lamont Jones from New York (Rice) NY earlier today and he confirmed that the University of Louisville is still the heavy favorite for his services, but also mentioned that schools like Arizona, Duke, St. John's, and Connecticut also are still in the hunt.  Jones, who also is very articulate and well spoken, also indicated that his high school Maurice Hicks thinks it's too early for him to make a verbal commitment, which is why this one too remains in the grey area.  In other words, it's pretty much a done deal, unless some strange happens to change his mind between now and next fall.  So, for our purposes, Jones is back on the board until he says otherwise.  Also earlier today Houston (Yates) TX beat Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 47-44; New York (Rice) NY beat Alief (Alief-Hastings) TX, 79-55; Houston (Madison) TX beat The Woodlands (H.S.) TX, 68-58; and Middle Village (Christ the King) NY beat Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 69-53; in consolation round games.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that the guy who stepped up and played the best for Rice was 6'1 Jr Kemba Walker, who only had 17 points, 7-12 field goals, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, but also played excellent defense and was the catalyst for Rice's transition game.   Rice also got good performances from 6'5 Randy Battle, who finished 15 points and 10 rebounds; 5'10 Soph Lamont Jones, who had 12 points and three assists; 6'6 Jr Dorvell Carter, who had 12 points and five rebounds; and 6'2 Jr Chris Fouch, who had 11 points and four rebounds.  However, we were somewhat disappointed with 6'4 Soph Durand Scott, who had only five points and 10 rebounds.  And a quick look at yesterday's stats shows that Scott, who is ranked #15 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, was even more non-productive, as he finished with only two points, two rebounds, and one assists.  And Jones, who is ranked #40 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, was even worse yesterday, as he failed to score a single point.  However, that may be explained by the fact that he's been sick and only now appears to be on the road to recovery.  Instead, the big gun for Rice yesterday was Fouch, who apparently was on fire from beyond the arc, as he hit 6-14 treys en route to 23 points.  But the best player in the Hasting-Rice game was Texas A&M-bound 5'11 B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX, who had 22 points, 4-9 3-pointers, and four steals against all of the guards on a younger, but super quick and very talented Rice team.  6'10 Jr Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX, who finished 10 points nine rebounds, and four blocked shots, showed some flashes, but is still soft and clueless and, as a result, is still more of a project than a player right now.  In contrast, 6'6 Soph Kevin Perry from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds, plays hard, has nice moves around the basket, and gets the most out of his tweener size.  The best player for The Woodlands (H.S.) TX was 6'3 Gerald Shaw, who finished with 20 points and 2-4 3-pointers and impressed us with his silky smooth athleticism and knack for finding ways to get to the basket.  But the best player in The Woodlands-Madison game was 5'10 Soph Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, who had 19 points, 3-7 3-pointers, and five assists and once again made us make note of his ball handling and passing ability, outside shooting, court savvy, and maturity beyond his age.  We also really liked 6'2 Jr Richard Brown from Houston (Madison) TX, who is a prolific scoring slashing athlete that also rebounds extremely well for his size.  It also looks like 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY has picked up where he left off yesterday, as he finished with 21 points, five assists, four steals, and nine rebounds.  And that last stat is incredible when you remember Walker is only 5'7.  Also stepping up and having a good game for Christ the King was 6'5 Andrew Gabriel, who finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and 8-12 field goals.  Unfortunately 5'9 Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who teams Walker to form what is arguably the best under 6-foot back-court duo in the high school ranks in the history of the game, did not live up to expectations, as he scored only four points and had four assists.  The only player worth mentioning for Rainer Beach was 6'3 DeAngelo Jones, who finished with 11 points and showed that he has athleticism and ability to slash to the basket.  Editor's Note:  It also looks like 5'7 Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY has made it official for the University of Florida. 

Houston (Klein Collins) TX beat Houston (Bellaire) TX, 54-51, in the first of the two semi-finals games in the Texas Division, but 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who finished with with 21 points and did his usual brilliant job of making those around him better, was still the best player in the game for the either team.  And he also had plenty of help from 6'3 Cameron Wells, who finished with 13 points and 6-9 field goals and showed us that he has a good pull-up jumper from mid-range, and 6'7 Jordan Michelson, who had seven points and eight rebounds and was active on the boards and was a deceptively athletic white kid.  The two best players for Klein Collins were 6'0 Jr Demetri Goodson and 6'1 Julian Olubuyi.  However, as a prospect we liked Goodson, who finished with 11 points and six assists, a lot better, because he's just a junior, and has a true position at the next level.  The first of the two semi-finals games in the National Division between Elizabeth (St Patrick) NJ and Norcross (H.S.) GA was easily the best game of the day, as Norcross came back from a 42-29 deficit with 7:02 remaining in the 4th Quarter to tie it a 44-all.  And, if Norcross had pulled out the victory, the big hero would have been 6'9 Gani Lawal, who blocked a shot by 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ when he drove to the basket with just over a minute remaining in the game and then accounted for his team's next four points, as he tied it with a basket at 44-44 and a pair of free throws at 46-46.   But, as things turned out, 6'5 Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who scored 21 points and hit 3-4 treys, ended up being the star of the game, despite the fact that he launched an ill-advised 22-foot shot with about 12 seconds left that hit nothing but net.  And, as it turned out, that was the game winning shot, as St. Patrick pulled out the 49-46 victory.  They also did a great job of spreading floor, whereby, they were able to negate their lack of size against a front line for Norcross that featured Lawal, who is ranked #23 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has already signed with Georgia Tech, 6'8 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu, who is ranked #11 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'7 Jordan DeMercey, who is ranked #199 nationally in the senior class and had already signed with Florida State.  Lawal finished with 26 points, 10-14 field goals, 14 rebounds, and six blocked shots.  But, even more important, Lawal is an incredible athlete and a tremendous competitor, which tends to overcome the fact that he's not a skilled as some of the other highly rated big men in the senior class nationally.  Also chipping in with 10 points, seven rebounds, and 4-6 field goals for Norcross was 6'5 Tony Neysmith.  But St. Patrick did a good job of neutralizing the rest of the Norcross team, as the rest of their players collectively only scored 10 points in the entire game.  And the same thing can be said about St. Patrick, which got only seven points from anybody other than Robinson and 6'1 Corey Fisher, who also chipped in with 21 points, six assists, and hit two straight 3-pointers that gave St. Patrick a 33-24 lead with 4:04 left in the 3rd Quarter.  And that really was the big difference in the game, as St. Patrick hit 6-7 3-pointers for the game compared to only 2-7 treys for Norcross.  We also think it is important to mention that 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ did a good job handling the ball in the four corners and helping beat the Norcross press.  But Strickland also only hit 1-8 field goals and had only three points, one assist, and three steals, as this was the least productive performance that we can ever remember from this silky smooth scoring machine who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   It came as no surprise that once again 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX was the totally dominant player in the second semi-finals game in the Texas Division, as he scored 20 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and led his team to a 67-62 win against well balanced Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX team that featured 6'2 Jr Trent Rogers, 6'3 Sei Paye, 5'10 Soph Steve Rogers, and 6'5 Soph Joey Brooks, all of whom scored between 15 and 11 points.  And, when you also add 6'1 Soph Tim Frazier into the mix, this is a team that starts one senior, one junior, and three sophomores, which means they should be even better next year.  Paye, who has signed with Louisiana-Monroe, is a big time athlete with the ability to pull up and hit the three or go to basket.  Trent Rogers' forte is outside shooting, Steven Rogers runs the show, and Brooks slasher to the basket.  However, with nobody bigger than 6'5, Strake Jesuit had nobody to stop Johnson inside.  Getting back to Johnson, we also think it's worth pointing out that he is tied at the leading scorer in the tournament, along with 6'5 Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, with 25.5 ppg and is the leading rebounder in the tournament with 16.0 rpg.  Also checking in ranked among the top scorers in the tournament are 3) 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 24.5 ppg, 4) 6'9 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA with 24.0 ppg, 5) 6'2 Jr Richard Brown from Houston (Madison) TX with 23.5 ppg, 6) 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX with 23.0 ppg, 7) 6'1 B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hasting) TX with 21.5 ppg, and 8) 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY with 21.0 ppg.  And, believe it or not, the second leading rebounder thus far in the tournament is 6'6 Jeffrey Francis from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX with 13.0 rpg, followed by 6'9 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA with 11.5 rpg and 6'8 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA with 10.0 rpg.  The second semi-finals game in the National Division and the final game of the evening saw a well-balance and well coached Houston (Kingwood) TX make things interesting against Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, which features 6'5 Austin Freeman, 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell, 6'9 Jerai Grant, 6'1 Jeff Peterson, 6'4 Isaiah Tate, 6'5 Jr Kenny Tate, and 6'6 Marlin Cribbs.  But as the game wore on DeMatha's size, talent, and athleticism proved to be too much for the team that pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament last night against Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  So with this 58-48 win, DeMatha advances into tomorrow night's championship game against Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ at 8:00 PM in the National Division.  Also tomorrow in the National Division, it will be the 3rd Place Game between Norcross (H.S.) GA and Houston (Kingwood) TX at 5:00 PM, the 5th Place Game between Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA and New York (Rice) NY at 2:00 PM, and the 7th Place Game between Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and Alief (Hastings) TX at 11:00 AM.  And in the Texas Division, it will be the Championship Game between Houston (Aldine) TX and Houston (Klein Collins) TX at 6:30 PM, the 3rd Place Game between Houston (Bellaire) TX at 3:30 PM, the 5th Place Game between Houston (Yates) TX and Houston (Madison) TX at 12:30 PM, and the 7th Place Game between The Woodlands (H.S.) TX and Houston (Westbury Christian) TX at 9:30 PM.  As for the top performances in the final game of the evening, 6'1 Jeff Peterson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who is an absolute steal for Princeton, finished with 21 points, three assists, and three steals and was the guy that things happen for the Stags.  The leading scorer for Kingwood was 6'5 Trevin Harris with 18 points.  We also liked Harris' high basketball IQ and versatility and were surprised by the speed and quickness of 6'2 Trumaine Johnson, who ran the show for Kingwood.  But for Kingwood to have had a chance to win this game, they had to get more than nine points and four rebounds from their best player - 6'5 Mike Singletary, who was much better last night when he had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  In other words, Kingwood goes as Singletary goes and there is no question that he was the guy that DeMatha focused on shutting down tonight.  And really that was the big key to the game. 

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL beat Chicago (Fenger) IL, 63-58; Harvey (Thornton) IL beat Richton Park (Rich South) IL, 66-52; Chicago (Leo) IL upset Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 68-61; and South Holland (Seton Academy) IL upset Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, 74-71 (OT); yesterday in the quarterfinals at the Big Dipper Tournament at Rich South High School in Richton Park, IL.  So that set the stage for a great 5th Place semi-finals game earlier this evening, which is where he pick things up today.  Bloom Township won the game, 54-52, when 6'2 Larry Dumas from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL hit two free throws with four seconds left, but we were equally impressed with all the good young players, including 6'5 Jr Matthew Humphrey, 6'3 Soph Marcus Campbell, 5'9 Donell Cooper, and 6'8 Jr Josh Crittle, on Hales Franciscan.  We already knew about Humphrey, who is ranked #41 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a prolific scoring 2-guard capable of beating either with his outside shooting or his ability to glide to the basket, and Crittle, who is ranked #81 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the physical attributes necessary to be a power force inside, but needs to get meaner, tougher, and more aggressive in order to live up to the early press clippings.  However, we didn't know about Campbell, who impressed us with his outside shooting, and Cooper, who is a jet quick point guard with good anticipation (six steals) and good ball handling and passing skills.  In other words, we're talking about two of the better sophomores in the state, so it's easy to see why Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report have been pushing Hales Franciscan onto Donnie Wilkie as the team to take from Illinois for next year's City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL the week before Christmas.  And making the story even more interesting is the balance among these four players, as Cooper and Campbell finished with 14 points apiece, while Humphrey had 13 points, including 5-7 field goals and 1-3 3-pointers, and Crittle had five points and nine rebounds.  Getting back to Dumas, he finished with 16 points and four steals and made nearly all of the big plays for his team down the stretch.  Currently we have Dumas ranked #670 nationally in the senior class, but, after watching 6'1 Jacob Pullen from Maywood (Proviso East) IL yesterday afternoon and 5'10 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL in the game that immediately followed this one, there is no question that Dumas was the clear winner based on performance during the last two days.  However, Dumas, who is heading to Western Illinois, needs to continue to improve his decision making and understanding of the game, if wants to be mentioned with guys like Pullen and Thompson on a consistent basis.  The first of the two semi-finals games of the evening at the Big Dipper Tournament between Harvey (Thornton) IL and Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL also was a barnburner, as it was too close to call until midway through the 3rd Quarter, which is when Lincoln Park then went on a 15-5 to pretty much seal the deal.  The final score was 64-56 and 5'10 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, who scored most of his 15 points off floaters that came while driving to the basket, and 6'4 Mustapha Farrakhan from Harvey (Thornton) IL, who had 10 points 2-6 field goals, and 2-5 3-pointers, both turned in solid performances.  However, the two guys who really stepped up and had big games were Drake-bound 6'1 Josh Parker from Harvey (Thornton) IL, who had 22 points and really impressed us with his athleticism, body control, and ability to make tough shots, and 6'2 Jr Jeremy Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, who had 27 points and was equally lethal from behind the arc and slashing to the basket.  We also liked Montgomery's combination of strength and athleticism, which leads us to believe that he could be an absolute steal for somebody at the mid-major level a year from now.  The younger Montgomery also is a great complement to 5'10 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL and 6'4 Jonathan Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, who finished with eight points and six rebounds and once again impressed us with passing, rebounding, and versatility, as he's like a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.  We also really like the upside and potential of 6'5 Soph Courtney Bell from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, who finished with only seven points and five rebounds, but is a great role player for this team, as he is active on the boards, scores around the basket, and appears to be much more confident than when we saw him earlier this month at the Circle City Challenge of Champions at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.  The other semi-finals game between Chicago (Leo) IL and South Holland (Seton Academy) IL at the Big Dipper Tournament was still up for grabs at the 2:19 mark in the third quarter with Leo up, 46-44.  But just like in the previous game, Leo outscored Seton Academy 9-3 to end the half and take control of the game.  The final score was 77-62 and we liked all of the no-name players in this game, like 6'9 Jr Stanley Simpson from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'6 Steve Gross from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'2 Kevin Woods from Chicago (Leo) IL, 5'10 Charles Harris from South Holland (Seton Academy) IL and 6'4 Soph Aaron Nixon from South Holland (Seton Academy) IL.  Nixon hit three treys to account for all nine of his points early in the game, but he still was one of the better 3-pointers shooters that we've seen during our two-day stay in the Windy City.  Harris, who had 22 points, is small, but he's quick, creates havoc in transition, and is excellent at getting to the basket.  Woods, who finished with 17 points and impressed us with handling and passing skills, is long, lanky, and has good size at the point guard position.  Gross, who had 12 points, is a force to be reckoned with around the basket, despite the fact he's your classic tweener.  We're talking about a fierce competitor who rebounds, blocks shots, and doesn't take any prisoners.  And Simpson, who had 19 points and is ranked #579 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has to be the biggest revelation of the last two days.  Not only is he long, mobile, athletic, and coordinated, but he really surprised us with how skilled and aggressive he is around the basket.  As a matter of fact, we liked him so well that we'll probably rank him among our top 100 juniors nationally the next time we update our rankings.  And, when it is all said and done, he'll probably end up being a lot better than that.  So, if Sampson turns out to be the best player in his class in the state, remember where you heard it first! 

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Lansing (Thornton Fractional North) IL beat Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 62-42; Chicago (Von Steuben) IL beat Winnetka (New Trier) IL, 61-55; Maywood (Proviso East) IL beat Chicago (St. Patrick) IL, 60-47; Evanston (Township) IL beat Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 51-43; and Maywood (Proviso West) IL beat Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 59-56; earlier today at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament in Hillside, IL.  But just when we were starting to get bored with too many low scoring games and abysmal shooting performances, things really got interesting in the 6th game of the day between Westchester (St. Joseph) IL and Chicago (Julian) IL.   Not only was it close early (Julian actually led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter), but 6'3 Demetri McCamey and 6'6 Evan Turner, who combined for 47 of St. Joseph's 73 points, picked up where they left off the last two years in this year's tournament (St. Joseph's is the two-time defending champions in the Proviso West Holiday Tournament), and 6'2 Soph Kyree Jones from Chicago (Julian) IL, who accounted for 17 of Julian's 61 points, firmly established himself as one of the top young players in the state.  Jones impressed us with his composure on the court, excellent point guards skills, the ability to get to the hole and pull up and hit the outside shot, speed, quickness, strength, and athleticism.  In other words, we're talking about a guy that most of the Illinois-based scouting services will probably be telling you by the end of the week is one of the biggest sleepers to emerge during the holiday tournament season in the state this winter.  However, it's hard to be a sleeper when you're ranked #61 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And the rest of the story stems from the fact that Jones decided to live with his father and, as a result, transferred this fall from Bloomington (South) IN to Chicago (Julian) IL.  But we do think that 6'0 Scottie Payne from Chicago (Julian) IL, who chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds, and 5-12 field goals, is a guy who is under the radar screen and is worthy of mid-to-low major looks.  As for McCamey, who is ranked #62 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, he took over the game in the second quarter with his passing and impressed us with his outside shooting and ability to get the hole en route to 23 points, 10-13 field goals, 3-4 3-pointers.  Turner, who is ranked #112 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, still needs to get meaner and tougher inside and/or develop more of a shooter's mentality, but he did finish with 24 points, 9-13 field goals and seven rebounds and was arguably the second best player that we saw all day behind McCamey.  Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL beat Oak Park (Fenwick) IL, 55-51, in the 7th game of the day, despite the fact Hillcrest's 6'7 Kellan Thornton, who finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and was one of the most active big man that we've seen all day, played only nine minutes in the second half.  So that opened the door for 6'0 Justin Berry and 6'2 Elliott Jones, who combined for 35 points and 14-27 field goals, all of which came from inside the arc, to step up and take over the game down the stretch.  The leading scorer and best player for Fenwick was 6'3 Soph Xavier Humphrey, who finished with 12 points and 3-10 field goals.  However, when one remembers that Humphrey is ranked #120 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, we expected more.  Instead, we got to see the two best sophomores - 6'2 Soph D.J. Richardson from Peoria (Central) IL and 6'1 Soph Chris Colvin from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL - in the tournament in the final game of the evening.   Richardson, who is an explosive athlete, but more of a slasher than a shooter, was clearly the best player on the floor for either team early in the game (Richardson scored all but two of his 12 points in the first half).  Colvin, who impressed us with his passing, outside shooting, and ability to go strong to the hole, had eight points and two assists.  Whitney Young, which won the game 56-48, also featured a very balanced attack that included 5'11 Jr Bryan Hall, 5'9 Jr A.J. Rompza, 5'11 Jr Julian Kenner, 6'7 Dwight McCombs.  And we even got to see a little bit of 5'6 Frosh Ahmad Starks, who is one of the top freshmen in the city, but failed to score.  We also want to give McCombs, who is a steal of Miami-OH, special mention, because he was so active on around the basket and aggressive on the boards.  Hall was their leading scorer with 17 points.  Rompza finished with nine points and two assists.  Kenner had five points and McCombs had 10 point and four rebounds.  We also were impressed earlier in the day by the speed, quickness, and court savvy of 6'0 Jacob Pullen from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who had 20 points, 6-15 field goals, and 3-8 3-pointers against Chicago (St. Patrick) IL; the ability to get his shot and prolific scoring ability displayed by 6'0 Sam Maniscalco from Chicago (St. Patrick) IL, who had 23 points, 8-18 field goals, and 4-9 3-pointers against Maywood (Proviso East) IL; athleticism and shot blocking of 6'7 Demond Watt from Lansing (Thornton Fractional North) IL, who had 17 points, 8-10 field goals, eight rebounds, and five blocks against Northbrook (Glenbrook) IL; the ability to thrive in an up tempo setting that we saw from 6'5 Devrce Brown from Evanston (Township) IL, who had 15 points, 7-13 field goals, and five steals against Chicago (Morgan Park) IL; the athleticism and versatility of 6'1 Jr DeAngelo Vasquez from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who had 14 points, 5-8 field goals, 2-3 3-pointers, three assists, and two steals against Chicago (St. Patrick) IL; the rebounding of 6'7 Tydus Townsend from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who had seven points and 15 rebounds against Chicago (St. Patrick) IL; the outside shooting of 5'11 Jr Mike DiNunno from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, who had 12 points and 2-5 3-pointers versus Winnetka (New Trier) IL; and the potential of 6'5 Frosh Alex Rossi from Winnetka (New Trier) IL, who had four points against Chicago (Von Steuben) IL.  We thought the match-up was interesting between 5'11 Jr Kevin Dillard from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, who had 19 points, 6-14 field goals,4-7 3-pointers, three assists, four turnovers, and six steals, and 6'0 Andrew Fair from Hillside (Proviso West) IL, who had 16 points, 7-10 field goals, and six rebounds. 

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

After studying the first round pairing in all of the holiday tournaments in Illinois and then comparing them with our list of the top players in the state, we've decided to spend the entire day tomorrow at the Proviso West Holiday Classic in Hillside, IL and, at least part of the day, Thursday, December 28th, at the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament at Rich South High School in Richton Park, IL  However, it appears doubtful that I will make the hour-and-a-half journey south to the Pontiac Holiday Tournament due to the fact that 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will not play in his team's opening round game on Thursday night against Jacksonville (H.S.) IL because of an ankle injury.  The top players at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament will include 6'3 Demetri McCamey from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'1 Jacob Pullen from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'5 Evan Turner from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'3 Soph Xavier Humphrey from Oak Park (Fenwick) IL, 6'0 Jr Kevin Dillard from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'6 Demond Watt from Lansing (Thornton Fractional North) IL, 6'3 Soph D.J. Richardson from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'8 Isaiah Martin from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'1 Sam Maniscalco from Chicago (St. Patrick) IL, 6'4 Jr Supo Sanni from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL,  5'9 Jr A.J. Rompza from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'5 Jr Peter Boehm from Winnetka (New Trier) IL, 6'2 Justin Hightower from Hillside (Proviso West) IL, 5'11 Jr  Mike Di Nunno from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, 6'4 Parish West from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, and 5'6 Frosh Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL.  The first round pairings tomorrow will include Lansing (Thornton Fractional North) IL versus Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL at 9:00 AM, Chicago (Von Steuben) IL versus Winnetka (New Trier) IL at 10:30 AM, Maywood (Proviso East) IL versus Chicago (St Patrick) IL at 12:15 PM, Chicago (Morgan Park) IL versus Evanston (Township) IL at 1:45 PM, Hillside (Proviso West) IL versus Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL at 3:45 PM, Westchester (St. Joseph) IL versus Chicago (Julian) IL at 5:15 PM, Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL versus Oak Park (Fenwick) IL at 7:00 PM, and Chicago (Whitney Young) IL versus Peoria (Central) IL at 8:30 PM.  The top players at the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament include 5'11 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'5 Jr Matt Humphrey from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'4 Mustapha Farrakhan from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'8 Jr Josh Crittle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'1 Larry Dumas from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, 6'4 Jonathan Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'1 Jr Jeremy Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'7 James Henley from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'2 Trey Blue from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, and 6'1 Josh Parker from Harvey (Thornton) IL.  The first round games today include Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL versus Olympia Fields (Rich Central) IL at 9:00 AM, Park Forest (Rich East) IL versus Chicago (Fenger) IL at 10:30 AM, Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL versus Monee (Crete-Monee) IL at Noon, Chicago Heights (Marian Catholic) IL versus Richton Park (Rich South) IL at 1:30 PM, Chicago (Leo) IL versus Chicago (Harlan) IL at 4:00 PM, Harvey (Thornton) IL versus Midlothian (Bremen) IL at 5:30 PM, Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL versus Palos Heights (Shepard) IL at 7:30 PM, and South Holland (Seton Academy) IL versus Peoria (Woodruff) IL at 9:00 PM.  The top players at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, which won't tip-off until Thursday, December 28th, will include 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'5 Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'6 Kevin Johnson from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'4 Justin Bocot from Bloomington (H.S.) IL, 6'2 Ceola Clark from Gurnee (Warren) IL, 6'4 Jr Tyler Thompson from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, and 5'11 Jr  Brian Bradley from Lockport (Township) IL.  The first round pairings will include Oak Park (H.S.) IL versus Danville (H.S.) IL at 9:00 AM, Bloomington (H.S.) IL versus Skokie (Niles West) IL at 10:30 PM, Schaumburg (H.S.) IL versus Joliet (Township) IL at 1:00 PM, Gurnee (Warren) IL versus Peoria (Manual) IL at 2:30 PM, Lockport (Township) IL versus East Moline (United) IL at 4:00 PM, Chicago (Simeon) IL versus Jacksonville (H.S.) IL at 6:30 PM, Aurora (West Aurora) IL versus Pontiac (H.S.) IL at 8:00 PM, and Chicago (Curie) IL versus Lake Forest (H.S.) IL at 9:30 PM.  The Pekin Holiday Tournament, which will tip-off tomorrow, will feature 6'8 Bill Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'2 Jr Matt Roth from Washington (H.S.) IL, 6'8 Jr Luke Fabrizius from Arlington Heights (Hersey) IL, 6'1 Justin Dehm from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'2 Soph D'mitri Riggs from Bloomington (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Tori Boyd from Rockford (Boylan) IL, and 6'6 Jr Tyler Storm from Geneseo (H.S.) IL.  The first round pairings will include Morton (H.S.) IL versus Freeport (H.S.) IL at 9:00 AM, Rockford (Boylan) IL versus Normal (West) IL at 10:30 PM, Washington (H.S.) IL versus Springfield (Lanphier) IL at 12:45 PM, Moline (H.S.) IL versus Dolton (Thornton) IL at 2:15 PM, Geneseo (H.S.) IL versus Lake Zurich (H.S.) IL at 4:00 PM, Peoria (Richwoods) IL versus Chicago (Westinghouse) IL at 6:30 PM, Pekin (H.S.) IL versus Burlington (Central) IL at 8:00 PM, Arlington Heights (Hersey) IL versus Bartonville (Limestone) IL at 9:30 PM.  The only big name player at the Elgin Holiday Tournament, which enters the second round today, is 6'5 Jr Nick Fruendt from Batavia (H.S.) IL.  The schedule for today includes consolation bracket games with Glenview (Glenbrook South) IL versus Elgin (Larkin) IL at 8:45 AM, Rockford (Auburn) IL versus Carpentersville (Dundee-Crown) IL at 10:15 AM, Waukegan (H.S.) IL versus Rolling Meadows (H.S.) IL at Noon, and Palatine (Fremd) IL versus Chicago (Bronzeville) IL at 1:30 PM and winners bracket games with Buffalo Grove (H.S.) IL versus Naperville (Neuqua Valley) IL at 3:15 PM, Hoffman Estates (H.S.) IL versus Wheaton (North) IL at 5:00 PM, Elgin (H.S.) IL versus Highland Park (H.S.) IL at 6:30 PM, and Downers Grove (North) IL versus Batavia (H.S.) IL at 8:15 PM.  And, if you want to know where some of the other top players in the state will be playing this week, the State Farm Insurance Holiday Classic will feature 6'3 Soph Marcus Jordan from Wilmette (Loyola) IL, 6'4 Jeffrey Jordan from Wilmette (Loyola) IL, and 6'5 Jr Rob Belcore from Wilmette (Loyola) IL; the Centralia Holiday Tournament will feature 6'2 Jr Verdell Jones from Champaign (Central) IL and 6'1 Kavon Lacey from Alton (H.S.) IL; the DeKalb Holiday Tournament will feature 6'8 Carlon Fay from Granville (Putnam County) IL; the Lemont Holiday Tournament will feature 6'6 Mike Capocci from Lombard (Glenbard East) IL; the York Holiday Tournament will feature 6'3 Jr Chris Parrish from Brookfield (Riverside-Brookfield) IL; the Waubonsie Valley Tournament will feature 6'0 Jon Rice from Aurora (Waubonsie Valley) IL; the Jacobs Holiday Tournament will feature 6'1 Jr Johnny Moran from Algonquin (Jacobs) IL; and the Wheeling Holiday Tournament will feature 6'4 Mike Balleto from Roselle (Lake Park) IL. 

Saturday, December 23, 2006, Sunday, December 24, 2006, & Monday, December 25, 2006

We've been analyzing the statistics from this year's City of Palms Classic at Bishop Verot High School in Ft. Myers, FL and we think is especially interesting that three players - 6'2 Davon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL - finished ranked the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding.  Lamb also finished ranked second in the tournament in steals with 4.0 ppg, but still managed to get ranked no higher than #7 in the tournament in our ranking of the top players that we published yesterday in this section.  And this really illustrates just how great the talent was and how many great individual performances there were in the tournament.  We also had a difficult time picking King over Parsons as our #1-ranked players in the tournament.  But, in the final analysis, King led his team to the championship and he never seems to get the credit that he deserves, because he's doesn't have incredible speed and quickness and world-class athleticism, which appears to be the only prerequisite for some players to get ranked high by some of our competition.  However, King's team usually wins and he's a great 3-point shooter, terrific rebounder, tremendous competitor, and outstanding person.  And, based on the way he played here, he has to be one of the very elite players in the senior class nationally, along with 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 6'8 Michael Beasley from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'8 Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL.  And the way Parsons is playing now, you can forget his #84 nationally ranking by the HOOP SCOOP, because he's improved his speed, quickness, and confidence so much that he'll get my for the McDonald's All-American Game.  We also have to once again give Parsons, 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who finished ranked #2 in scoring and #1 in steals, and 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who finished ranked #12 in scoring and #2 in assists, their just due, because I can never remember three players collectively putting on a better performance than they did last night in the 3rd Place Game.  We also want to point out that Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN was easily the most balanced team in the tournament, as 6'6 Josh Sain averaged 22.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg, 6'6 DeVon Jones averaged 13.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg, 6'2 Jewuan Long averaged 12.3 ppg and 3.0 rpg, 6'1 Antwan Long averaged 12.3 ppg and 6.5 ppg, and 5'3 Anthony Sampson averaged 5.2 ppg and 4.0 apg.  And we have to point out that 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who has really improved his decision making and, as a result, now deserves top 100 consideration nationally, was the leader in the tournament in assists and was ranked among the top 10 in steals. So, while King got most of the glory, Brown was really the unsung hero for a great Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA team, which also got valuable contributions from 6'9 Soph David Wear, 6'9 Soph Travis Wear, 7'1 Alex Jacobson, 6'5 Jr Jamal Trice, 6'0 Jr Blake Arnet, 6'8 Soph Andy Brown, and 6'3 Mike Ure.  This also is first team that Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight has ever gotten past the semi-finals with in this tournament (Mater Dei had lost on three previous occasions) and it's our hunch this will turn out to be his best team ever.  And they could be just as good next year, as five of their top nine players are underclassmen and McKnight also has 6'0 Frosh Michael Pierce, who played sparingly, and 6'2 Frosh Gary Franklin, who is one of HOOP SCOOP's top five-ranked freshmen in the nation, but has recently been slowed by injuries, both waiting in the wings.  One of the biggest disappointments in the tournament was 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Monroe did have a great quarter here and would make a great play there, but we expected more as he was ranked no higher than #15 in the tournament in scoring and 6th in rebounding.  In other words, Monroe takes too many plays off and it seems like it takes him a while to get going, as in his first three games of the tournament he had a grand total of only six points in the first quarter of action.  Or to look at another way, we don't think Monroe should be anointed the best junior in the nationr, which many of our competitors have already done, without first earning it.  We also want to reiterate just how well we liked 6'2 Davon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who led the tournament in rebounding with 14.0 rpg and beat out 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA as the leading offensive rebounder in the tournament.   So it should come as no surprise that Lamb, who averaged 9.3 offensive rebounds per game and attacks the basket like there is no tomorrow, was one of our favorite players, as well as the biggest sleeper in emerge in the tournament.  Blair, who averaged 6.0 offensive rebounds per game, got most of these rebounds off his own missed shots, but unlike Moses Malone used to do, he wasn't trying to pad his own stats.  Another interesting footnote includes the fact that 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL not only led the tournament in scoring, but he also wasn't afraid to pull the trigger, as he hit 50-108 field goals and 17-49 3-pointers, which is pretty good when one remembers that he was double and triple-teamed in every game.  We also wanted to rank both 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Soph Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, and 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA higher than #8, #10, #11, and #15, respectively, in the tournament, but consistency counts and they were some of the better stock market players (up and down) in the tournament.  Tech) TN, 15) 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA.  The leading scorers in the tournament were 1) 6'3 Jr Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 33.5 ppg, 2) 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 30.7 ppg, 3) 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL with 29.8 ppg, 4) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 29.5 ppg, 5) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 27.8 ppg, 6) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 27.6 ppg, 7) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 26.0 ppg, 8) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA with 24.0 ppg, 9) 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 23.3 ppg, 10) 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) IL with 22.8 ppg, 11) 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 22.0 ppg, 12) 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 20.0 ppg, 13) 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 19.7 ppg, 13) 6'6 Jr Terrell Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA with 19.7 ppg, 15) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 19.5 ppg, 16) 6'3 Jr Calvin Thompson from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 19.3 ppg, 17) 6'6 D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 18.0 ppg, 18) 6'2 Jr J.D. Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL with 16.3 ppg, 18) 6'3 Jr Chris Stephenson from Punta Gorda (H.S.) FL with 16.3 ppg, 20) 6'6 Jr Rayford Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL with 16.0 ppg, 21) 6'3 Jean Louisme from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL with 15.8 ppg, and 22) 6'3 Joey Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL with 15.0 ppg.  The leading rebounders in the tournament were 1) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 14.0 rpg, 2) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 10.8 rpg, 3) 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 10.5 rpg, 4) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 10.0 rpg, 5) 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 9.8 rpg, 6) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 9.3 rpg, 7) 6'6 Terrell Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA with 9.0 rpg, 8) 6'6 Soph Rakeem Buckles from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL with 8.3 rpg, 9) 6'6 D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 8.0 rpg, 10) 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 7.8 rpg.  The assist leaders in the tournament were 1) 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 6.2 apg, 2) 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 5.7 apg, 3) 6'0 Jr Darrien Johnson from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 4.3 apg, 4) 5'3 Anthony Sampson from Jackson (Liberty Tech) MS with 4.0 apg, 5) 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 3.7 apg, 6) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 3.5 apg, 7) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA with 3.5 apg, 8) 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 3.0 apg, and 8) 6'0 David Swann from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 3.0 apg.  The leaders in steals in the tournament were 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 5.0 spg, 2) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 4.0 spg, 3) 5'9 Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 3.0 spg, 4) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 2.8 spg, 4) 6'0 David Swann from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 2.8 spg, 6) 6'0 Jr Darrien Johnson from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 2.5 spg, 7) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA with 2.3 spg, 8) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 2.3 spg, and 9) 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 2.3 spg.  The leaders in the tournament in blocked shots were 1) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 4.5 bpg, 2) 6'7 Josh Ellison from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 3.5 bpg, 3) 7'0 Keenan Ellis from Aston (American Christian) PA with 3.0 bpg, 4) 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 2.8 bpg, 5) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 2.0 bpg, 5) 6'6 Terrell Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA with 2.0 bpg, 5) 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 2.0 bpg, 8) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 1.3 bpg, 9) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA with 1.2 bpg, and 9) 6'6 DeVon Jones from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN with 1.2 bpg.  The leaders in 3-point field goals made were 1) 6'2 Jr Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 5.8 mpg, 2) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 4.2 mpg, 3) 6'3 Jose Cami from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL with 3.0 mpg, 3) 6'4 Lester Hart from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 3.0 mpg, 5) 6'2 Khalil McDonald from Aston (American Christian) PA with 2.8 mpg, 6) 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 2.3 mpg, 6) 5'9 Bart Dandridge from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 2.3 mpg, and 8)  5'10 Antwan Baggs from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 2.2 mpg.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Jeanette (H.S.) PA beat Naples (Golden Gate) FL, 69-67; Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA beat Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 79-69; Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL beat Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, 67-64; and Aston (American Christian) PA beat Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 76-65; in the four Challenge Round Games earlier today at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL.  And the most noteworthy performance was turned in by 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, who had 37 points, 13-22 field goals, 3-8 3-pointers, and 8-9 free throws in what up until this point was the second highest scored performance of the tournament, behind 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL (43 points versus Eisenhower).  We also want to mention that once again 6'5 Jr Rayford Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, who finished with 14 points, 4-15 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, and five turnovers, was a bust in this game.  Instead, 6'3 Jose Cami, who had 17 points, eight rebounds, and 5-10 3-pointers and is one of the best outside shooters that we've seen in the tournament, was the best player today for Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL.  And backing this up even further is the fact that Cami is the third leading 3-point shooter in the tournament with an average of three treys made per game.  Other stellar performances in the game earlier today were turned by 6'3 Jr Chris Stephenson from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, who had 27 points, seven rebounds, and 10-15 field goals, which means he finished better today than he did earlier in the tournament; 6'6 DaJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, who had 25 points, 16 points, 11-17 field goals, and five blocked shots, as he once again was a man-child inside; 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA, who had 24 points and 18 rebounds versus Naples (Golden Gate) FL; and 6'3 Joey Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL and 6'2 J.D. Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL, who combined for 43 points and 19 rebounds against Jeanette (H.S.) PA.  Not mentioned in this group was 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, who finished with 20 points, but had a hard time finishing inside (only 6-15 from the field) against Blair.  The Consolation Game Championship was a good old-fashioned shootout, as 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL and 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who are two of the leading scorers in the tournament once again put up prolific numbers.  Boynton, who is now the leading scorer in the tournament with 33.5 ppg, recorded the highest point total thus far by anybody in the tournament with 45 points.  And this prolific scoring combo guard who is ranked #4 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP shot an excellent percentage in the process, as he hit 15-30 field goals and 10-17 3-pointers.  Lamb, who currently is the 4th leading scorer with 29.3 ppg and the leading rebounder with 14.0 rpg, solidified his spot as one of the very elite players in the tournament, as well as one of the best players in the senior class still available.  Believe it or not, the University of Jacksonville recently told Arlington Country Day head coach Rex Morgan that Lamb was good enough for them to recruit.  Well, I've got some news for them.  Lamb not only is good enough, but, if they would be lucky enough to get this tough hardnosed competitor with big time athleticism and a great knack for being around the ball, he'd be the best player in their program.  Instead, it's our guess that somebody in the Sun Belt Conference will steal him.  Unfortunately the game was not as interesting as these two players, because Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, which had a much better supporting cast, blew Arlington Country Day out 96-72.  We also want to mention that 6'3 Carlin Jacobs from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, once and for all convinced us that he is his team's second best player, although we also were intrigued by 6'0 Jr Darrien Johnson from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, who had 11 points, eight assists, one turnover, and three steals, and 6'7 Josh Ellison from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, who had his best game of the tournament and emerged as one of the better shot blockers in the tournament.  The 5th Place Game between Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ and Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, which was won by, 76-58, Lincoln, was another blow out.  But watching 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY go for 39 points, 10 rebounds, 16-23 field goals, 3-5 3-pointers, three assists, zero turnovers, and three steals and 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ score 22 of his team's 58 points and once again carry this group on his back were two of the highlights of the entire day.  Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL came back with a vengeance in the 3rd Place Game and this time the outside shot was going down, as 6'9 Chandler Parsons, 6'5 Nick Calathes, and 5'10 Joey Rodriguez combined to hit 30-53 field goals (56.6%), 7-12 3-pointers (58.3%), and 20-21 free throws (95.2%) in what was collectively the best performance of the entire tournament.  The final score was 87-74.  Parsons finished with 35 points, eight rebounds, 11-14 field goals, and 2-3 3-pointers.  Calathes had 31 points, 12-18 field goals, and 2-5 3-pointers.  Rodriguez had 21 points four assists, 7-12 field goals, and 3-4 3-pointers.  And, yes, those three players scored all 87 of their team's points.  The loser's were led by 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe led Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 22 points and nine rebounds.  6'3 Jr Calvin Thompson from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA also chipped in with 20 points and four assists. 

The Championship Game between Santa (Ana Mater Dei) CA and Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN more than lived up to its billing, as Mater Dei led the entire game, but never seemed to be able to put Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN way.  We pick things up with 12 seconds left in the game when 5'3 Anthony Sampson from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN hit a 3-point shot to make it 81-80.  Then, Sampson immediately fouled 6'1 Kamyron Brown from  Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who went to the free throw line and sank both free throws to make it 83-80.  Liberty Tech came back the other way and 6'1 Jr Charles Holt from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN took the 3-point shot that would have tied game and sent it into overtime for the second straight evening.  But the shot never even made it to the rim, because 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA blocked the shot in what was the biggest play of the game.  Then, 6'5 Jr Jamal Trice from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA was immediately fouled, went to the line, and made both free throws.  That made it a 85-80 final and Mater Dei the champion over a well coached, well disciplined, and very athletic Liberty Tech team.  King finished with 24 points, Trice had 19 points, Brown had seven assists, and 7'1 Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA played his way into our ranking of the top 50 players with 17 points and five rebounds.  Liberty Tech once again featured a well balanced attack that included 6'2 Jewuan Long (18 points), 6'6 DeVon Jones (15 points), 6'6 Josh Sain (14 points), 6'1 Charles Holt (10 points), 6'1 Antwan Long (10 points), and 5'3 Anthony Sampson (nine points).  6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA was also named the tournament MVP.  The rest of the all tournament team included 6'3 Jerry Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'9 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, and 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  We also add that they did a great job of picking the all-tournament, as the top 13 players that I personally voted just happened to be the same 13 players that I voted for.  Next on my list were would have 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, and 6'6 Jr DeVon Jones from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, but we actually have 5'9 Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL ranked higher than those two players on list below.  Remember, Jackson's team didn't win a game in the tournament and, as a result, was down a little bit on our list for all tournament consideration, although he was one of my favorite players in the tournament.  Our ranking in order of the top players in the tournament based on performance, excluding the players who will be playing in the championship game, are 1) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 2) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 3) 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, 4) 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 5) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6) 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 7) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 8) 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 9) 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 10) 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 11) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 12) 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 13) 6'9 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 14) 5'9 Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, 14) 6'6 Jr DeVon Jones from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 15) 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, 17) 6'1 Antwan Long from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 18) 6'6 D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, 19) 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 20) 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA, 21) 6'3 Carlin Jones from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, 22) 6'3 Calvin Thompson from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 23) 6'4 Soph Oscar Griffin from Aston (American Christian) PA, 24) 6'2 Jewuan Long from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 25) 6'3 Devon Peterson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 26) 7'1 Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 27) 6'0 Jr Darrien Johnson from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, 28) 6'5 Rayford Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 29) 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA, 30) 6'2 Khalil McDonald from Aston (American Christian) PA, 31) 6'2 Greg Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, 32) 6'9 Soph David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 33) 6'9 Soph Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 34) 6'4 Justin Fairman from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 35) 6'6 Jeremy Robinson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, 36) 6'3 Jose Cami from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 37) 6'2 Jr DeAndre Kane from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, 38) 6'3 Chris Stephenson from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, 39) 5'9 Soph Darwin Ellis from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 40) 6'4 Jeramine Jones from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, 41) 6'0 David Swann from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 42) 6'6 Soph Rakeem Buckles from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 43) 6'3 Jean Louisme from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 44) 6'2 J.D. Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL, 45) 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 46) 6'2 Melvin Lambert from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 47) 5'6 Raymond Taylor from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 48) 6'6 Timmy Snyder from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, 49) 6'5 Jr Dago Pena from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, and 50) 6'3 Marcus Price from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

6'6 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who finished with 33 points, 18 rebounds, 14-26 field goals, and six steals, and 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, who finished with 35 points, nine rebounds, 14-18 field goals, picked up where they left off during the first three days earlier today at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL in what turned out to be one of the most exciting consolation semi-finals games that we've seen in a long time.  Arlington Country Day won the game 93-85, but it was too close to call most of the way, as Arlington County Day was only up 45-40 at half-time and 63-62 at the end of the third quarter.  And making the game even more interesting was the fact that nobody could stop from Lamb from slashing the to the basket and and Kearse could pretty much score at while when he got the ball on the block.  Kearse, who has already signed with Virginia Commonwealth, is not only an absolute steal for the Rams, but he is currently averaging 33.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg in his first three games of the tournament and is now a lock to be ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally next time we update our national rankings.  And the more we watch Kearse, who is strong, physical, athletic, and very competitive inside, the more we've convinced his future is at the power forward spot at the next level.  In other words, Kearse has the talent and potential to be a great one in the Colonial Athletic Association.  We still question whether Lamb can consistently hit the three, but this explosive high-flying left-handed two-guard might be the best pure slashing athlete in the entire tournament.  And, if you don't believe it, just check out his 30.3 ppg scoring average after the first three games of the tournament.  Lamb also gets our vote as the best player on his team, ahead of 6'9 A.J.  Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who only had four points and five rebounds against Kearse; 5'11 Gabriel Charlie from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who had 15 points, but hit only 6-18 field goals and 1-5 3-pointers.  Instead, the other players who stepped up the most and helped Arlington Country Day pull off the victory were 6'6 Frosh James Bell, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds and is one of the top freshman in the state, and 6'0 David Swann, who had 17 points, four assists, three turnovers, five steals, and 8-8 free throws and is a tough hardnosed overachieving point guard that provides the glue for this team.  For Ft. Myers 6'3 Marcus Price shot it better than he had earlier in the tournament (13 points and 3-8 treys) and 6'3 Jr Jean Louisme, who finished with 16 points, 5-10 field goals, and 2-3 3-pointers, intrigued us enough with his athleticism and potential to project him as a steal for the mid-major level a year from now.  The first 5th Place Semi-Finals game of the day was a total blowout, as Aston (American Christian) PA jumped out to 23-8 lead early en route to a 71-41 victory against Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ.  But it still was interesting, because two of the top players - 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ and 6'5 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA - in the tournament and the nation both put up prolific numbers.  Bayless started off slow (only one point in the first quarter), thanks at least in part to the great defense that 6'4 Soph Oscar Griffin from Aston (American Christian) PA was playing on him, but starting make some of the tough shots that he was being forced to take in the second quarter and ended up finishing with 24 of his team's 38 points when both team's cleared benched with four minutes left in the game.  Evans finished with 22 points, 9-17 field goals, 2-6 3-pointers, eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.  But Bayless gets our nod as the better player, despite the fact that he hit only 6-21 field goals, 0-3 3-pointers (most of his points came from the line as he hit 12-12 free throws), because he had less of a supporting cast and was often double and triple teamed during most of the game.  We also have to give American Christian head coach Tony Bergeron credit for getting his team to bounce back and play with a lot more effort today, despite the fact they are in the 5th Place Bracket, and Griffin, who is arguably the top sophomore in the Philly area, for helping set the tone early, as he had seven of his team's first 15 points.  We also thought 6'6 Marcus Relphorde from Aston (American Christian) PA, who finished with 13 points and 6-8 field goals, played his best game of the tournament, but have to wonder happened to 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA?  Remember, this is a guy who was one of the statistical leaders in both scoring and rebounding after the first three days, but only had four points and two rebounds in 22 minutes today.  

The second 5th Place Semi-Finals game earlier today at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL looked like it would be a rerun of yesterday's blow-out when Gretna (Helen Cox) LA eliminated Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY from the winners bracket when Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA jumped out 18-9 early and led by as much as 28-13 mid-way through the second quarter.  But, with 5'9 Soph Darwin Ellis, 6'0 Chris Epps, 6'3 Devon Peterson, 5'10 Devon McMillan, and 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY in the line-up, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY went on a 15-2 run to end the half, which made it 30-28 at the intermission.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that for the second time in two games 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY was in foul trouble and had failed to score in the first half.  6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY also had eight points and several of his field goals came by hitting mid-range jumpers.  The leading scorer in the first half for Schneley was 6'6 D.J. Kennedy with nine points, but 6'2 Jr Greg Blair was the one who set the tone early, as he scored eight of his team's first 15 points.  Unfortunately for Schenley, the younger Blair only scored two points the rest of the game and 6'6 DaJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, who finished with only nine points and seven rebounds, was hampered by foul trouble, which at least in part helps explains why Lincoln went on a 35-8 run and led 48-35 at the end of the 3rd Quarter.  And it got worse after that, as Lincoln coasted to a 75-54 win and 6'9 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY had a career-like game with 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and 10-15 field goals.  Also chipping in with 11 points and eight points apiece for Lincoln were 6'0 Chris Epps and 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson.  The leading scorer for Schenley was 6'6 D.J. Kennedy with 20 points.  6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA hit a pair of threes and Mater Dei jumped out to a 10-0 lead early against Gretna (Helen Cox) LA in the first of today's two semi-finals games.  But Mater Dei, which was up 42-27 at half-time, was never quite able to put it away in the first half, as 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA finally woke up at the 5:11 mark in the second quarter and scored his first basket of the game.  By half-time Monroe had eight points and this is important, because if Helen Cox was going to get back into the game, Monroe, who has a tendency to take too many possessions off, had to show everybody why he is a consensus top three-ranked junior in the nation.  The leading scorer in the first half for Mater Dei once again was 6'7 Taylor King, who had 20 points, four rebounds, 8-12 field goals, and 4-5 3-pointers.  6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, who finished with 21 points and five rebounds, did step up and played much better in the second half.  However, when Helen Cox was making its run in the 4th quarter, Mater Dei was too worried about Monroe.  And this opened things up for 6'3 Jr Calvin Thompson to hit a 3-pointer that made it 61-60 and a lay-up that made it 62-61, which gave Helen Cox its first and only lead with 3:10 left in the game.  From that point on it was all Mater Dei, which outscored Helen Cox 15-3 en route to a 78-67 victory.  Also noteworthy is the fact that 6'7 Taylor King, who finished with 28 points, but missed four straight shots early in the 4th quarter, did not score a single point down the stretch.  Instead, the big hero for Mater Dei was 6'1 Kamyron Brown, who not only scored 12 of his team's final 15 points, but did most of the ball handling and made most of the foul shots at crunch time.  So obviously Brown, who finished with 17 points, four assists, and four steals, has improved his ball handling and decision making dramatically since we last saw him the summer and, as a result, will probably move into our top 100 nationally in the senior class the next time we update our rankings.  King also finished with 13 rebounds, which means that he is still ranked among the six players in the tournament in both scoring and rebounding with 28.5 ppg and 12.3 rpg.  We also want to mention the fact that Thompson, who had 16 points, 5-10 field goals, 2-5 3-pointers, zero assists, and four turnovers, was better than he was last night, but not nearly as good as he was on Monday night when we thought he might project as a big time point guard.  Instead, he appears to be ideally suited for somebody in the Sun Belt Conference, but he does another year before he has to make that decision, because he's just a junior.  Also chipping in with 15 points was 6'4 Jr Justin Lambert, but otherwise Helen Cox lacked the depth and experience in this type of environment necessary to take it from Mater Dei when the game was on the line. The other semi-finals game was a track meet Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL and Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN and, if both teams hadn't missed more than their share of lay-ups in the first half, then they would have been on pace for both teams score to have scored well over 100 points.  However, Lake Howell led Liberty Tech 38-33 at half-time and 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who had 18 points and 8-12 field goals, appeared to be well on his way towards continuing to be the leading scorer in the tournament.  Speaking of Calathes, he also beat 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA to win the 3-Point Shooting Contest last night and earlier this evening 7'0 Keenan Ellis from Aston (American Christian) PA beat 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, who had the only perfect dunk of the evening, to win the Slam Dunk Contest.  However, the inquiry sign is up, because Ellis got an extra dunk (when he missed) and Jackson did not (when he missed) and, as a result, they will probably end up being named co-MVP's in the dunk contest.  Lake Howell continued to lead until 30.8 seconds were left in the 3rd Quarter and from there it was too close to call until Liberty Tech finally took control of the game in overtime.  Liberty Tech won 78-74 and they did so without a big game from Murray State signee 6'2 Jewuan Long, who had only six points and four rebounds.  Instead, the big heroes were 6'6 Josh Sain, who had 20 points, four rebounds, and 8-14 field goals; 6'6 DeVon Jones, who had 21 points, seven rebounds, and 10-12 field goals, 6'1 Antwan Long, who had 20 points and 8-12 field goals; and 5'3 Anthony Sampson, who had two points, 11 assists, and five turnovers.  We also think it is important to point out that Liberty Tech hit 32-57 field goals (56.1%) and 6-18 3-pointers (33.3%) compared to Lake Howell's 31-70 field goals (44.3%) and 4-19 3-pointers (21.1%).  And really that was the story of the game, as Lake Howell took terrible shots and didn't play good defense and Liberty Tech was well coached, executed to perfection, and played like the defending state champion which they are.  Calathes only scored nine points in the second half, but, even more important, he was only 3-12 after the intermission, as he hit 11-24 field goals and only 1-7 3-pointers for the game.  5'10 Joey Rodriguez, who made two big baskets to tie the game in the final minutes, finished with 21 points, 9-14 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers, but only had one assist and four turnovers.  6'9 Chandler Parsons had 16 points, 14 rebounds, 7-19 field goals, and 1-5 3-pointers.  Pompano Beach (Ely) FL beat Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL in the final Consolation Semi-Finals Game of the day, 74-69, and the leading scorer in the game was 6'2 Jr Kenneth Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 23 points, but he was only 11-25 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. 

And, with the conclusion of this game, tomorrow's schedule has been set, as it will be Naples (Golden Gate) FL versus Jeanette (H.S.) PA at 8:30 AM, Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA versus Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL at 10:15 AM, Punta Gorda (Charlotte) NC versus Decatur (Eisenhower) IL at Noon, Aston (American Christian) PA versus Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL at 1:45 PM in the four Challenge Rounds Games; Pompano Beach (Ely) FL versus Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL at 3:45 PM in the Consolation Championship; Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY versus Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ at 5:30 PM in the 5th Place Game; Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL versus Gretna (Helen Cox) LA at 7:00 PM in the 3rd Place Game; and Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN versus Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA at 9:00 PM in the Championship Game.  Yes, it looks like four times is a charm of Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, as the previous three times this team has participated in this tournament they have lost in the semi-finals.  The leading scorers in the tournament after four days of action are 1) 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL with 33.0 ppg, 2) 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 30.5 ppg, 3) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 30.3 ppg, 4) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 30.3 ppg, 5) 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 29.7 ppg, 6) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 28.5 ppg, 7) 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN with 25.7 ppg, 8) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 9) 5'11 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 19.5 ppg, 10) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 19.3 ppg, and 10) 6'5 Jr Rayford Shipman from Miami Monsignor (Pace) FL.  The leading rebounders are 1) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 14.7 rpg, 2) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 12.4 rpg, 3) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 11.0 rpg, 4) 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 10.0 rpg, and 5) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 9.3 rpg.  The assist leaders are 1) 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 6.5 apg, 2) 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 6.0 apg, 3) 5'3 Anthony Sampson from Jackson (Liberty Tech) MS with 5.3 apg, 4) 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 5.0 apg, 4) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA with 4.0 apg, 5) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 3.7 apg, and 6) 6'0 David Swann from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 3.3 apg.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The first losers bracket game of the day earlier today at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL provided redemption for both Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, which was upset in their opening round game two nights ago by Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, but coasted to a 96-69 win today against Jeanette (H.S.) FL, and 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) FL, who stunk it up the other day against Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, but today finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and 11-13 field goals and was very impressive passing the ball in transition against Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL.  However, the big story in this game was the performance turned in by 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who finished with 30 points, 16 rebounds, six steals, and 12-25 field goals.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that after two games Lamb is now averaging 29.5 ppg and and 13.0 rpg, which ties him for #3, along with 6'7 Taylor King from Santa (Ana Mater) CA, in scoring in the tournament and ranks him #2 in the tournament in rebounding, behind 6'11 Brandon Walters from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL and ahead of 6'7 Taylor King from Santa (Ana Mater Dei) CA.  Not only is Lamb in pretty fast company, but he also is putting up these numbers without the benefit of knocking down a lot of 3-pointers (he's 3-10 from beyond the arc in two games) and a lot of size (he's only 6'2).  But he is strong and athletic and has a great nose for the ball, which makes him ideally suited as a role player for the big time level or as a potential star for anybody in the Atlantic-10 Conference on down.  And, if Lamb keeps playing like this the rest of the tournament, we might also consider ranking him among our top 100 seniors nationally.  Or to look at this another way, Lamb not only is one of the guys who has helped increase the value of his stock the most in this tournament, but he also might be one of the best unsigned players still available.  In other words, if Lamb was a stock, now might be a good time to buy.  In contrast, 5'11 Gabriel Charlie from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who had only 11 points and hit 4-14 field goals and 2-7 3-pointers in this game, continues to look more like prime junior college material, as he tends to wild, out of control, and inconsistent, and 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who was embarrassingly non-productive with only five points, four rebounds, and 2-7 field goals, has done nothing to convince us that he belongs among the top 100 seniors nationally.  Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, which lost last night to 105-68 to Aston (American Christian) PA, won 88-74 in the other losers bracket game earlier today.  However, what will really made this a memorable game is the fact that 6'6 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, who finished with 43 points and 11 rebounds, and 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, who finished with 31 points, six assists, three steals, and 11-19 field goals, registered two of the best performances that we've seen so far in the tournament.  Jackson also is one of our favorite players in the tournament, because he's got jet-like speed and quickness, a great nose for the ball, and made much better decisions today, as is evident by his assist-to-turnover ratio (six assists/two turnovers).  Kearse, who is a physically specimen inside at this level, but has the perimeter skills and athleticism necessary to make the conversion to out on the perimeter at the next level, also clearly won the match-up against 6'6 Jeremy Robinson from Decatur (Eisenhower) PA, who had with 19 points and 9-12 field goals, but only three rebounds and lacks the toughness necessary to it done at a high level inside.  Speaking of Robinson, his stats are clearly better today (yesterday he had only eight points and four rebounds), but thus far he's still been one of the bigger disappointments in the tournament.  In the first of the four quarterfinals games, Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN not only pulled off the upset against Aston (American Christian) PA, but they won the game by 13 points and actually it wasn't as close as the final 74-61 score might indicate.  6'2 Jewuan Long, 6'1 Antwan Long, and 6'6 Josh Sain combined for 59 of Liberty Tech's 74 points, but it was Sain who absolutely destroyed American Christian with 35 points, eight rebounds, and 12-19 field goals.  Sain needs to get bigger and stronger and he's a tweener size, but we think he would be an absolute steal for somebody at the mid-major level.  And that fact that he shows a nice mid-range shot and even hit a 3-pointers makes us think he at least has a chance to make the conversion to a wing forward spot down the road.  The only players who played respectably for American Christian were 6'6 Michael Glover, who just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds; 6'2 Kahil McDonald continued his hot shooting hand from beyond the arc with 3-7 3-pointers; and 6'4 Soph Oscar Griffin from Aston (American Christian) PA, who got most of his nine points slashing to the basket.  However, we're still wondering what happened to 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, who is our #2-ranked junior nationally, but managed to score only 12 points, hit 5-12 field goals and 0-4 3-pointers, and had one assist and four turnovers?  And the rest team was even worse, as 6'6 Marcus Relphorde had only five points, 6'2 Andre Tarver had only four points, 7'0 Keenan Ellis had only three points, and 6'0 Josh Spivey, 6'4 Michael Tuitt, and 6'11 Hamidu Rahman all failed to score.  American Christian also hit only 3-14 3-pointers and had a bad assist-to-turnover ratio (nine assists/19 turnovers), as it was clearly evident that they didn't come to play. 

Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA jumped out to a 9-1 lead early and led 17-9 with 2:39 left in the first half against Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ in the second quarterfinals game of the day.  But at that point the momentum shifted and 6'7 Taylor King, who had 10 of Mater Dei's first 17 points, cooled off, which opened the door for St. Mary's to get back into the game.  And by half-time 6'3 Jarryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ had totally taken over the game, as once against he was pretty able to do whatever he wanted pretty much at will (17 points, 6-14 field goals, 2-4 3-pointers, five assists, and one turnover) and St. Mary's was only down by three.  And it was tied 42-all with 6:50 left in the 3rd Quarter, which is when Mater Dei went on a 25-6 run during the rest of the quarter to pretty much seal the deal.   However, 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ still made a strong case being named the best player in the tournament after the first two days, as he finished with 31 points, 10-24 field goals, 4-8 3-pointers, five assists, five steals, and four steals against Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and is still the leading scorer in the tournament with 32.5 ppg.  King cooled off some with his outside shooting (only 11-27 field goals and 4-14 3-pointers), but he still finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, which keeps him among the leaders in the tournament in both categories.  Also chipping in with 20 points and eight assists was 6'1 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and the Wear twins combined for 17 points and nine rebounds.  Pompano Beach (Ely) FL beat Punta Gorda (Charlotte) NC, 100-81, in the final losers bracket quarterfinals game of the day and, once again, 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL put up prolific numbers, as he finished with 32 points, 11-27 field goals, 6-13 3-pointers, five rebounds, five assists, and zero turnovers.   And this was just enough for Boynton to edge out 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ as the leading scorer thus far in the tournament.  However, even more important, Boynton got plenty of help, as 6'4 Jermaine Jones, who is athletic wing player that would be a good catch at the mid-major level, stepped up with 23 points and 13 rebounds and 6'3 Carlin Jacobs, 5'10 Antwan Baggs, and 6'0 Jr Darrien Johnson made it a very balanced scoring attack as they all had between 12 and 14 points apiece.  We also were surprised by 6'5 Jr Dago Pena from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, who was a total none factor last night with a stat line that included eight points, 3-13 field goals, 1-7 3-pointers, 1-3 free throws, and two rebounds.  However, in this game Pena more than held his own against Ely's quickness and athleticism, as he scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and hit 8-20 field goals and 3-6 3-pointers.  Pena also has versatility necessary to play both inside and outside, which makes him somebody to keep on eye for schools at the mid-to-high major level.  We also continue to be intrigued by 6'6 Timmy Snyder from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds, but needs to get bigger and stronger in order to finish better around the basket, and liked 6'3 Jr Chris Stephenson from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds, better than yesterday, although he still didn't convince us he can finish, as he went 4-12 from the field.  The best game so far in the tournament was the track meet/shoot out in the third quarter finals game between Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA and Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL.  6'4 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL had 34 points, three assists, and three steals and hit 13-25 field goals and 1-5 3-pointers and 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL had 27 points, eight rebounds, 11-15 field goals, and 3-5 3-pointers, but the big secret to Lake Howell's success was the crafty point guard play of 5'10 Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who finished with 18 points, 12 assists, four turnovers, three steals, 5-8 field goals, and 2-3 3-pointers.  In contrast, the only player who stepped up and played great for Schenley was 6'6 DaJuan Blair, who 29 points 14 rebounds, and 14-19 field goals and had people, like Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com, calling him a smaller version of Glen Davis, who was the MVP in this tournament three years ago.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that all of two but Blair's rebounds came off the offensive boards, most of which were his own missed shots.  Schenley also got a double-double from 6'6 D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.  However, Kennedy didn't play nearly as well as he did last night when he finished with 25 points and was one of the best players of the entire day.  Also chipping in with 15 points and 12 points apiece for Schenley were 6'2 Jr Greg Blair and 6'2 Jr Deandre Kane, but their 10-25 field goals and 3-14 3-point shooting really tells a tale.  Moral to the story, three great performances are always better than just one. Talk about a good old-fashioned ass-kicking!  That's what happened in the final quarterfinals game of the day between Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and Gretna (Helen Cox) LA.  Lincoln led only once when the score was 10-9.  At that point Helen Cox scored the next seven points to take a 16-10 lead and it pretty much remained that way until half-time when the score was 33-25.  However, in the second half it was all Helen Cox, as they outscored Lincoln 47-34 en route to a 80-59 victory.  And one of the big differences in the game was the inside match-up between what we thought might be the two top big man prospects in the tournament - 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, who finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who had only four points and four rebounds.  We also were impressed with Helen Cox's athleticism, coaching, and balance, as 6'4 Jr Justin Fairman, who finished 20 points and seven rebounds, stepped up and impressed us with explosiveness and his moves to the basket; 6'1 Frosh Robert Howard, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds, impressed us with his poise and versatility, and 6'3 Jr Calvin Thompson, who had 17 points, impressed us with his solid point guard play and ability to make foul shots (12-12 free throws).  6'2 Justin Fairman also chipped in with 10 points as Helen Cox had five players in double-figures.  6'6 Lance Stephenson led Lincoln with 28 points and eight rebounds, but the only other player for Lincoln to score as many as 10 points was 6'3 Devon Peterson, who finished with 11 points, but was 5-14 from the field.

Needless to say this was not a good day at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL for teams from the Northeast, as this sets up tomorrow's semi-finals games between Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and Gretna (Helen Cox) LA at 6:45 PM and Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN versus Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL at 9:15 PM.  And who would have thought it, as Aston (American Christian) PA and Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, which were the #1 and #2-seeded teams in the tournaments, have both already gone down in flames?  Instead, Mater Dei now appears to be the heavy favorite, but, after watching everybody play twice in the tournament, we think any one of the four teams can win the championship.  However, we also have a hunch that Lake Howell will talk away with the championship trophy.  The rest of tomorrow's schedule includes Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL versus Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL in a Consolation Bracket Semi-Finals Game at 1:15 PM, Aston (American Christian) PA versus Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ in a 5th Place Semi-Finals Game at 3:00 PM, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY versus Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA in a 5th Place Semi-Finals Game at 5:00 PM, and Pompano Beach (Ely) FL versus Punta Gorda (Charlotte) in a Consolation Bracket Semi-Finals at 11:00 PM.  The leading scorers, which includes only players on the 16 teams in City of Palms Classic tournament field after the first three days are as follows:  1) 6'5 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 34.0 ppg, 2) 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 33.0 ppg, 3) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 32.5 ppg, 4) 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL with 32.0 ppg, 5) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 29.5 ppg, 6) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 28.7 ppg, 7) 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN with 28.5 ppg, 8) 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL with 27.0 ppg, 8) 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 27.0 ppg, 10) 6'5 Jr Rayford Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL with 24.0 ppg, 11) 6'6 DaJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 22.5 ppg, 12) 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 21.5 ppg, and 13) 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA with 20.0 ppg.  The leading rebounders are 1) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 13.0 rpg, 2) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 12.0 rpg, 3) 6'10 Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 11.5 rpg, 3) 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 11.5 rpg, 5) 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA with 10.0 rpg, and 6) 6'6 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA with 9.5 rpg. 

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Everything was going pretty much as expected yesterday in the opening round of the City of Palms Classic at Bishop Verot High School in Ft. Myers, FL until the final game of the evening when Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ upset Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 83-80.  And really the game wasn't that close as St. Mary's led by as many as 10 points with 6:25 left in the game.  It also was 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ at his best, as he finished with 34 points, 10-18 field goals, 3-6 3-pointers, 11-13 free throws, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals.  In other words, Bayless picked up where he left off from when we last saw him at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic when he was named co-MVP for his team.  Bayless also reinforced why we have him ranked #4 in the senior class nationally, as he rebounding extremely well for his size, broke the press and got to the basket at will, and made his teammates better.  He also did most of his damage (24 points) in the second half, which is when St. Mary's, which led 40-39 at the intermission, took over the game.  We also were impressed with the outside shooting and ball handling of 6'5 Jr Matt Skelly and 5'10 Austinn Cahill, who combined for 25 points 8-14 field goals and 3-7 treys, and the solid inside play provided by 6'7 Soph Byron Fulton and 6'2 Jr James Hollins, who combined for 17 points and 14 rebounds.  However, we suspect that St Mary's run in the winners bracket will be short lived, because they are now scheduled to meet Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, which has already knocked off Naples (Golden Gate) FL, 89-48, and Jeanette (H.S.) PA, 94-45, in their two opening round games, tomorrow at 3:30 PM.  And making this mountain even more difficult to climb for St. Mary's is the fact that Mater Dei features three players - 7'1 Alex Jacobson, 6'9 Soph Travis Wear, and 6'9 Soph David Wear - who are 6'9 or bigger and Duke-bound 6'7 Taylor King, who has scored 59 points, grabbed 25 rebounds, and hit 10-33 points and 11-18 3-pointers in two games of the tournament.   Davis Wear provided the most support with 17 points and five rebounds against Golden Gate and Travis Wear was the guy who stepped up with 12 points and eight rebounds against Jeanette, but this also is probably one of Gary McKnight's deepest teams ever, as 6'1 Kamryon Brown and 6'0 Jr Blake Arnet share the point guard duties, 6'8 Soph Andy Brown provides yet another body inside, 6'3 Mike Ure complements King with his outside shooting, 6'5 Jr Jamal Trice slashes to the basket, and 6'0 Frosh Michael Pierce represents the future.  One of the biggest disappointments of the day yesterday was the Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL team in general, which lost 69-49 to Jackson (Liberty) TN, and specifically 6'5 Jr Rayford Shipman, who finished with 10 points, 5-13 field goals, 0-4 3-pointers, and six turnovers and saw the value of stock drop from the high to mid-major-plus level.  Shipman did redeem himself earlier today when he scored 30 points and hit 13-19 field goals, including 2-5 3-pointers, as Monsignor Pace knocked off Naples (Golden Gate) FL, 88-51.  But we're not sure this means much, because this was like a race horse dropping in class and picking up a cheap claim.  We also were impressed with 6'9 Jr Greg Monroe and 6'3 Jr Calvin Thompson, who combined for 45 point in their team's 70-60 win last night against Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL.  Monroe, who finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, four blocks shots, and three steals, and 10-15 field goals, impressed all the college coaches from schools, like USC, Duke, Florida, and North Carolina, that we here to see him last night.  But it was Thompson who drew the biggest accolades, because he's one of those sleepers who always seems to come out of the woodwork at the City of Palms Classic.  We're talking about a guy who not only finished with 24 points, 8-9 field goals, 2-2 3-pointers, 6-6 free throws, three assists and two steals, but also run the show so well for his team that we can't remember him making a bad decision all night.  The fact that he Thompson also has nice size, good athleticism, and is just a junior makes him a legitimate top 100 junior nationally, if he continues to play like this throughout the rest of the tournament.  We also liked the athleticism and outside shooting that Helen Cox got from 6'2 Melvin Lambert, who was 5-9 from the field and 1-3 from beyond the arc, and the explosiveness to the basket displayed by 6'6 Timmy Snyder from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, who is an athletic white that registered two of the best dunks of the entire day en route to 10 points and 4-6 field goals.  Snyder does need to get a lot bigger and strong physically, but the fact that he's got a 4.0 gpa and 1280 SAT makes him extremely intriguing for schools at the lower Division I level.  We also were impressed by the outside shooting displayed by 6'0 Michael Wilkie from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, who hit 2-3 3-pointers.   But we also have to wonder why Wilkie didn't play any more than just nine minutes, especially in light of the fact that his father, Donnie Wilkie, is one of the people who runs the tournament.  Other people were impressed with the athleticism of 6'3 Jr Chris Stephenson from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, but he only finished with eight points and had a hard time hitting a lay-up.  Another disappointment yesterday was 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA, who finished with only 11 points, but Dave Telep of Scout.com, who has Pryor ranked among the top 20 juniors nationally, reminds us that Pryor hasn't played any basketball until recently due to the fact that he's one of the best quarterback prospects in the nation on the gridiron.  Two other surprises yesterday included 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, who finished with 22 points, 10-13 field goals, and eight rebounds against Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL; and 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10-21 field goals against Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ.  Sain is a high energy athlete who does most of his damage inside, as he clearly got the better of 6'7 Jr Terrance Saintil from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, who is another intriguing prospect with some size and athleticism, but a limited offensive game.   Lamb is a big time athlete with the ability to both slash to the basket and hit the outside shot, rebounds well for his size, and makes better decisions than most of his teammates in transition.  We also have to mention that Gabriel Charley from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL started out great, but disappeared offensively as the game wore on (he finished with 15 points, 5-8 field goals, and 3-5 3-pointers) and 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but still has not convinced us that he's mean and tough enough inside or good enough away from the basket to be more than a good role player at the University of Kentucky. 

We also thought we had an upset in the making in the opening round earlier tonight at the City of Palms Classic when Pompano Beach (Ely) FL jumped to a 15-6 lead and 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton was on fire early, as he had accounted for 12 of his team's 15 points at the 1:10 left in the first quarter.  However, with Boyton on the bench early in the second quarter, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY went on a 13-2 run and never relinquished control of the game until late in the 4th Quarter when Boyton hit a pair of shots to close the gap to only two points with a minute to go in the game.  And 6'3 Carlin Jacobs from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, who finished with 15 points  and was Ely's second best players, actually tied the score at 68-all with five seconds left in the game.  But Lincoln quickly recovered and 6'3 Devon Peterson, who was his team's best player tonight with 26 points, 10-15 field goals and 3-3 3-pointers, hit the game winning shot with 2.1 seconds remaining.  Boynton finished with 34 points, six rebounds, 13-26 field goals, and 7-14 free throws, but missed some big shots down the stretch, including two right before Jacobs hit the game tying basket that we mentioned a moment ago.  Boynton also won the battle between the two top five-ranked sophomores nationally, although 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY was plagued by foul trouble and played only three minutes and had zero points and zero rebounds in the first half and saw only 18 minutes of action in the entire game.  Still, Stephenson finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and 6-11 field goals and, as usual, was almost unstoppable in transition when he finally got going in the second half.  We also have to mention the fact that 6'10 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY had 19 rebounds and six blocked shots.  Unfortunately Walters also was almost non-existent at the offensive end (only six points), as he rarely gets the ball inside and, as a result, is unable to take advantage of his size, length, and athleticism.  We also were impressed with the explosive first step, ball handling and passing, and ability to knock down the open three that we saw from 5'9 Soph Darwin Ellis from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and willingness of 6'3 Jr Khalif Staten from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY to lock his man up defensively.  Lincoln's 71-68 victory also sets up tomorrow's other lower bracket quarterfinals game against Gretna (Helen Cox) LA at 9:30 PM.  The third first-round game of the day between Aston (American Christian) PA and Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL was standing room only, but not very close as American Christian jumped out to an 18-11 lead early, led 50-29 at half-time, and won the game 105-68.  6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, who is our #2-ranked junior nationally, did most of his damage in the first half, as he had 19 of his 25 points before the intermission.  In contrast, 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA, who was plagued by foul trouble early and only had six points and four rebounds in the first two quarters, was the dominant force in the second half, as he finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds and hit 10-12 field goals.  Glover also is one of our favorite players in the tournament, because he has big time athleticism, is a killer on the boards, and is almost unstoppable inside with his blue collar work ethic and knack for always being in the right spot at the right time.  We also were impressed with outside shooting provided 6'2 Kahlil McDonald from Aston (American Christian) PA, who hit 6-7 3-pointers and finished with 18 points; the ball handling passing provided by 6'0 Joshua Spivey from Aston (American Christian) PA, who had six points and five assists; the slashing ability of 6'4 Soph Oscar Griffin from Aston (American Christian) PA, who finished with 10 points; and the shot blocking of 7'0 Keenan Ellis from Aston (American Christian) PA, who had six points and six blocked shots.  The best player for Ft. Myers was 6'7 Lance Kearse, who has gotten bigger and stronger since we saw him last summer, as he finished with 21 points, including 13-16 free throws.  Also chipping in with 19 points and 10 points apiece for Ft. Myers were 6'3 Jr Jean Louisme and 6'3 Marcus Price.  The 5th Game of the day today featured Lakeland (Kathleen) FL versus Ft. Lauderdale (American Heritage) FL and this turned out to be the most interesting of all the Sunshine Series Games, which are separate from the regular tournament, due to the presence of three of the better young players in the state in 6'1 Jr Miguel Paul from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'7 Jr Kevin Foster from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, and 6'10 Jr Eloy Vargas from Ft. Lauderdale (American Heritage) FL.  Vargas is a long lanky shot blocking center, but he takes too many bad shots, as is evident by the fact that he hit only 4-17 field goals en route to a 14-point/10-rebound/eight-block performance.  But, then again, maybe Foster, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds and is an athletic power forward that gets it done around the basket, may have had something to do with it.  Paul, who finished with 14 points and hit only 3-11 field goals, was a major disappointment in this game, but somehow Kathleen still managed to squeak out the win, 50-49.  Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA jumped out to a 24-12 lead early against Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, but thanks primarily to the speed and quickness of 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson and 5'9 Jr Bart Dandridge, who combined for 40 points, Eisenhower always seemed to be within striking distance and, as a result, was able to close the gap several times to within four points in the final minute.  However, the game was really never in doubt, as answered every time Eisenhower got any momentum, Schenley found a way to answer.  Schenley also hit most of its free throws down the stretch and had a very balanced scoring attack that featured 6'6 DeJuan Blair, 6'6 D.J. Kennedy, 6'2 Jr Greg Blair, and 6'2 Jr Deandre Kane.  The Pittsburgh-bound Blair, who is a physical specimen inside and a beast around the basket, finished with 16 points and five rebounds.  Kennedy, who is a slasher/athlete with a future likely to be in football, was the leading scorer with 25 points.  Blair and Kane are both very athletic and do a little bit of everything as they chipped in with 22 points and six rebounds.  And this sets us the other two quarterfinals games tomorrow between Aston (American Christian) PA and Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN at 1:45 PM and Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA and Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL at 7:00 PM.  The leading scorers, which includes only the 15 teams that we've seen in the 16-tournament field (Lake Howell doesn't play until tomorrow) after the first two days are as follows:  1) 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 34.0 ppg, 1) 6'2 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL with 34.0 ppg, 3) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 29.5 ppg, 4) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 29.0 ppg, 5) 6'3 Devon Peterson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 26.0 ppg, 6) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA with 25.0 ppg, 7) 6'6 D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburg (Schenley) PA with 25.0 ppg, 8) 6'5 Jr Rayford Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL with 24.0 ppg, 9) 6'3 Jr Calvin Thompson from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 24.0 ppg, 10) 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA with 23.0 ppg, 11) 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN with 22.0 ppg, 12) 6'7 Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL with 21.0 ppg, 12) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA with 21.0 ppg, and 14) 6'2 Kahlil McDonald from Aston (American Christian) PA with 18.0 ppg.  The leading rebounders are 1) 6'11 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 19.0 rpg, 2) 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 12.5 rpg, 3) 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA with 11.0 rpg, 3) 6'9 D.J Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 11.0 rpg, 3) 6'6 DeVon Jones from Jackson (Liberty Tech) MS with 11.0 rpg, and 6) 6'2 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 10.0 rpg.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that King, Glover, and Lamb make both of the above lists. 

  Monday, December 18, 2006

During the last week it's literally been like a made scramble to complete our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period, our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, and our Different Ways to Look at Recruiting; cover the Circle City Challenge of Champions at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN and the opening round of the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic at Fairdale High School in Fairdale, KY; and publish our Ranking of the Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (6th Graders).  So, it only now, while I'm flying to Ft. Myers, FL to cover the City of Palms Classic do I find time to catch up and recruiting and transfers.  And right at the top of the list is 6'6 Soph Jamal Boykin, who we already knew was transferring from Duke, picking the University of California.  Our good friend Dinos Trigonis, who is the editor and publisher of Full Court Press, was the first person to report this and it is fitting that he would have the scoop due to the fact that Boykin played in his club team program throughout all of his high school career.   As a matter of fact, one of the Trigonis' biggest accomplishments stemmed from the fact that he was able to get the Blue Devils to take an undersized inside guy who a lot of people questioned had the size and athleticism to play in what is arguably the premier program in college basketball today.  However, nobody ever questioned Boykin's heart, just his ability to get any playing time with all of the other great players, like 6'9 Soph Josh McRoberts, 7'0 Frosh Brian Zoubek, 6'8 Frosh Lance Thomas, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, and 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who play a similar position that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has recruited in the last three recruiting class.  We also stand by our ranking of  Boykin as a top 30-ranked high school player two years and think he's a great catch for the Golden Bears, because he's a terrific rebounder and has an incredible work ethic, which makes him one of the top overachievers in the game today.  We're also are glad to see that Boykin picked a school, where he can excel both on and off the court.  Remember, Boykin also is a great kid and an outstanding student.  I also was intrigued when our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin told me last week that 6'1 Soph Josh Thornton was transferring from Georgetown to Towson.  Obviously Thornton was going to be one of the odd men out now that the Hoyas have 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC and 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD both signed, sealed, and delivered.  This also maybe this will be a harbinger of things to come, as Towson head coach Pat Kennedy attempts to establish the same type of pipeline from Georgetown that Loyola-Maryland head coach Jimmy Patsos has had the last several years when a player transferred from the University of Maryland.  Rubin also informed me last week that 6'4 Remy Cofield from West Roxbury (Roxbury Latin) MA, who is ranked #358 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked the University of Pennsylvania, which means the Quakers are now done recruiting this year and, as a result, can concentrate exclusively on getting a head start on the future.  And, just as important, it looks like first-year Pennsylvania head coach Glen Miller and his staff have picked up where the old regime left off as they not only have the best recruiting class in the league, but also have a recruiting class that is tied at #73, along with Texas State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  If you will recall, they also already have 6'6 Tyler Bernardini from San Diego (Parker) CA, 6'0 Harrison Gaines from Phelan (Serrano) CA, 6'7 Dan Monckton from Glenview (Glenbrook South) IL, and Jack Eggleston, 6'8, PF, Ft. Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) FL in the fold.  We also have confirmed that New Mexico State has landed 5'9 Jay Dee Luster from San Diego (Hoover) CA, who is ranked #397 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but now appears to be playing the best basketball of his life.  And apparently it was Aggies head coach Reggie Theus' old connections that helped get this one done.  Remember, prior to becoming an assistant coach at Louisville for two years and then the head coach at New Mexico State a year ago last April, Theus was a coach for the Southern Cal All-Stars at the same time Luster was beginning to surface as a player.  Luster is a prolific scoring point guard who knows how to run a team, which makes him ideally suited to step in and complement 6'9 Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, 6'4 Jahmar Young from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'4 DeAngelo Jones from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, and 6'4 Aaron Castillo from Las Cruces (H.S.) NM in a recruiting class that is now tied at #30, along with SMU, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also have been informed that 6'6 Billy Allen from Hamilton (H.S.) OH, who signed with Albany, and 6'5 Antiquan Beckham from Louisville (Ballard) KY and 6'5 LeRoy Nobles from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, both of whom signed with IUPUI, inadvertently were left out of our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period, despite the fact that we had all of these players listed with their respective schools in our ranking of the top seniors and 5th Year Players nationally.  So IUPUI is now tied at #125, along with Northwestern, Minnesota, Sam Houston State, Vermont, Western Kentucky, Tennessee, San Diego State, UNC-Wilmington, Cincinnati, Hampton, Valparaiso, and Rhode Island, and Albany is now tied at #151, along with Central Michigan, Old Dominion, Youngstown State, Loyola-Illinois, Longwood, Holy Cross, Liberty, Richmond, Tulane, Hofstra, Towson, Akron, Lehigh, Jacksonville State, Butler, Hartford, Montana, Tennessee State, and Oral Roberts, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.

Saturday, December 16, 2006, & Sunday, December 17, 2006

Earlier this evening we published our Ranking of the Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (6th Graders), which means I can spend the rest of the month focusing exclusively on the important holiday tournaments that I am planning on attending.  My first stop will be tomorrow at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, which will feature five players - 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'3 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL - who are ranked among the top five players nationally in their respective class by the HOOP SCOOP, as well as some of other likely McDonald's All-Americans in 6'4 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) VA, 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'10 Soph Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'10 Soph David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  Then, after Christmas I plan on spending a day at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament in Hillside, IL on December 27th, attending the best match-ups that I can find in the Chicago area on December 28th, and flying to Houston, TX, where I will cover the Academy National Invitational on December 29th-30th.  As for our Ranking of the Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (6th Graders), this brings the total number of players that we've ranked nationally this fall to 3,300 names all ranked in order by class.  If you will recall, we updated our Ranking of the Top 150 5th Year Players for the Class of 2007 on November 29th, we published our Ranking of the Top 900 Players in the Class of 2007 (Seniors) on October 3rd, we published our Ranking of the Top 600 Players in the Class of 2008 (Juniors) on September 1st, we published our Ranking of the Top 500 Players in the Class of 2009 (Sophomores) on September 13th, we published our Ranking of the Top 400 Players of the Class of 2010 (Freshmen) on October 15th, we published our Ranking of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2011 (8th Graders) published on November 26th, and we published our Ranking of the 300 Top Players in the Class of 2012 (7th Graders) on December 7th.  So all that is left for me to now with regards to national player rankings is to update our 20 five-man HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams, which includes the top 100 players nationally regardless of class and position.  You should look for these new rankings on New Year's Day and then I will spend a lot of time in January, February, and March publishing as many state-by-state and area reports as possible.  Getting back to our Ranking of the Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (6th Graders), it's really too early know just how good this class is going to be.  However, I can tell you that there are some great players at the top.  If you will recall, 5'8 6th Grader D.J. Griggs from Houston, TX and 5'9 6th Grader Kasey Hill from Eustis, FL, who are our top two-ranked players in the class, squared off last summer in the all-star game at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp.  Griggs, who has great moves, tremendous athleticism, unbelievable nature talent, and is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, scored 26 points and hit four 3-pointers in that game.  And this is important, because, unlike with the 7th Grade and 8th Grade rankings, we don't have a tie for the top spot in this class, although Hill, who had nine points of his own in that all-star game at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp, has an incredible wing span, runs the court like a deer, has excellent moves around the basket, and is a tremendous shot blocker.  Also near the top of the list is 6'4 6th Grader Dre Klayton from Orlando, FL, who was the best player at the 11-Under AAU National Tournament this past summer and is described by Michael Woodbury, who was the tournament director for this age-group, as a powerhouse inside.  "He sees the floor very well, can hit the 15-foot jumper, and has an above average handle for a big man.  Klayton also is a good shot blocker with decent hops and is solid in every aspect at the defensive end.  His only weakness is that he's not challenged at this level."  And don't forget about 5'3 6th Grader Dalante Hoover from San Diego, CA, who played up a year ago in the 6th Grade Division at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp and, as a result, now has back-to-back years where he finished ranked #6 and #3 in this age group at this camp.  Rounding the top five-ranked players in this class is 6'1 6th Grader Ramone Snowden from Virginia Beach, VA  "He is a playmaker with heart of a lion and the will of a champion and plays well with his back to the basket or facing up," says Woodbury, who ranked him as the second best player at the 11-Under Nationals.  "He also has a solid handle for a big man...superior around the basket...mans the boards well...see the floor like a guard...great man-to-man defender.  Only weaknesses are that he is out of control on occasion and is slow to help on defense."  To find out where all the rest of the players on this list are ranked click onto our Ranking of the Top 150 Players Nationally in the Class of 2013 (6th Graders). 

Friday, December 15, 2006

It was one of the most impressive performances that I've seen in a long time.  I'm talking about the 43 points, 13 rebounds, 17-26 field goals, five steals, and three blocks that 6'5 Steffphan Pettigrew from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY had last night against Louisville (Central) KY in the opening round the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic at Fairdale High School in Fairdale, KY.  However, the question remains whether Pettigrew, who is currently being recruited by schools like Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Duquesne, Murray State, Morehead State, Bradley, Evansville, and Georgetown College, is strictly an undersized inside guy or somebody who can convert to a wing forward spot at the next level.  In my opinion it's the former.  Not only is he a beast inside, but he has world class athleticism, plays with incredible intensity, and is almost impossible to stop when he gets the ball around the basket.  In other words, Pettigrew, who would be a total steal at the mid-major level or a great role player at the high major level, should do what he does best and let it take him as far as it can, instead of becoming just another dime a dozen guy out on the perimeter.  As a matter of fact, I liked Pettigrew so well that I think that big time schools like Kentucky and Louisville should take a look.  We also think Pettigrew is hands down the best senior in the state right now, although we do like 6'8 Jeff Brooks from Louisville (Doss) KY, who I have seen twice in the last two weeks, better as a prospect.  What Brooks does best is pass, blocks shots, and be explosive, which makes for an interesting combination for this athletic combo forward who had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 6-6 field goals, seven assists, two turnovers, and three steals in his team's 72-48 win last night against Frankfort (Franklin County) KY.  But it's Brooks' upside and potential that makes him such a steal for Penn State.  Currently we have Brooks ranked #194 nationally in the senior class, which is the right range.  But, if he gets bigger and stronger physically, becomes more assertive, and realizes just how good he can become, the sky is really the limit.  Another big story in the first round of the King of the Blue Grass involved 6'8 Frosh Dakota Euton from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY and 6'4 Frosh Chad Jackson from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, who combined for 62 points and led their team to a 72-70 victory against Washington (Ballou) DC in the 4:30 PM game this afternoon.  While this came as no surprise to us (we currently have Euton ranked #11 and Jackson ranked #56 nationally in the freshman class), it did firmly establish these two players as the top two freshmen in the state.  Euton impressed everybody with his high skill level and ability to knock down the 3-point shot, as he finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds, 8-20 field goals, 3-6 3-pointers, and 17-19 free throws, while Jackson made a living using his athleticism and ability to get to the basket, as he finished with 26 points, 9-15 field goals, 8-12 free throws, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.  However, we expect Rose Hill's run in the winner's bracket to be short lived, because tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 PM they will face Louisville (Ballard) KY, which, after beating Memphis (Kingsbury) TN, 94-45, is now the heavy favorite to win the tournament.  Ballard also is easily the quickest team in the tournament, as is evident by the fact that they had 29 steals and made a living off transition with players like 6'5 Antiquan Beckham, 6'1 Jr Jamal Crook, 5'8 Soph Wesley Cox, 6'1 Johanne Hamilton, and 6'3 Jonathan Gholson, who are all lightning quick, play with incredible intensity, and are interchangeable in a lot ways.  We were especially impressed with Beckham, who finished with 12 points, 5-7 field goals, four assists, three turnovers, and three steals, and Cox, who had six points, two assists, and nine steals and has high major potential, if he continues to grow.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Cox is the grand son of Wesley Cox, who in the early 70's at Louisville (Male) KY was one of the best high school players to ever play in the state; Crook is the son of Flenoil Crook, who during the same era was an incredible talent at Louisville (Central) KY; Hamilton is the son of former Kentucky Colonels point guard Joe Hamilton; 5'9 Jr Josh Chiles is the younger brother of former Ballard star Adam Chiles; and 5'9 Marcus Miller is the son of former Ballard player Al Miller.  We also want to mention Louisville (Central) KY, whose key players - 6'4 Soph Lee McGee, 5'10 Jr Randy Skeens, 6'4 Jr Leland Blanks, 5'9 Jr Chris Starks, 5'9 Soph Alex Morrison, 6'5 Soph Paul Bunton, 5'11 Jr Lorenzo Unseld - are all underclassmen.  And McGee, who finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 14-22 field goals, was also one of our top five ranked players in the opening round of the tournament based on performance, behind 1) 6'5 Steffphan Pettigrew from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, 2) 6'8 Jeff Brooks from Louisville (Doss) KY, and 3) 6'8 Frosh Dakota Euton from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY and ahead of 5) 6'4 Frosh Chad Jackson from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6) 5'9 Doug Beaumont from Louisville (Male) KY, 7) 6'5 Antiquan Beckham from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 8) 6'1 Jr Jamal Crook from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 9) 5'8 Soph Wesley Cox from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 10) 6'4 Reggie Smith from Fairdale (H.S.) KY, 11) 6'6 Israel Chambers from Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY, 12) 6'0 Monie Hudson from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, 13) 6'3 Jonathan Gholson from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 14) 6'0 Nick Britt from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, 15) 5'10 Tyron Parker from Washington (Ballou) DC, 16) 6'5 Riley Benock from Brandenburg (Meade County) KY, 17) 6'4 Jeremy Anderson from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, 18) 6'1 Johanne Hamilton from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 19) 5'10 Jr Randy Skeens from Louisville (Central) KY, and 20) 5'9 Jr Jaquan Ransom from Fairdale (H.S.) KY.  

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Our Different Ways to Look at Recruiting section is the perfect complement to our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period, which we published on Tuesday, December 12th, and our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, which we published yesterday.  And it is here that we really get to really see how certain teams are dominating in recruiting.  Let's start with Duke, which for the third time in three years ranks among the top three when we look at who has the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit By Team.  This year the Blue Devils are ranked #1 on the list with three players in the fold in 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'3 Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  And, it wouldn't surprise us if they also landed 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV, who currently is the highest ranked player still available, in the spring.  Remember, the same thing happened a year ago when Duke landed 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ during the Fall Signing Period and then landed 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ last spring.   And that came on the heels of Duke's recruiting class in 2005 that included 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, and 6'4 Martiynas Pocius from Plymouth (Holderness) NH.  Boateng transferred to Arizona State last spring and Boykin is in the process of transferring right now, but the fact remains that the Blue Devils have finished with the #2, #10, and #8-ranked recruiting classes at the conclusion of the Spring Signing Period in 2005 and 2006 and the conclusion of the Fall Signing Period this fall.  However, even more impressive is the fact that Duke has also finished ranked #2, #3, and #1, respectively, when we look at our chart with the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit by Team during this same period, as they have landed 12 players in the last three years who are the equivalent of a top 50-ranked high school senior nationally.  USC with 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Venice, CA, who is ranked #2 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, and Kansas State with 6'6 Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, who is ranked #1 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, and 6'8 Michael Beasley from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, edge the Blue Devils out in our ranking of the teams with the highest talent rating average for the top two recruits.  However, even more important, they are the marquee players in a pair of recruiting classes that are ranked #3 and #4, respectively, in our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period.  In other words, with five players in the fold, both programs have landed both quality and quantity, as Trojans head coach Tim Floyd and Wildcats head coach Bobby Huggins are resurrecting these programs in a hurry.  Duke also checks in at #1, USC is tied at #3, and Kansas State is tied at #7 in our ranking of the teams with the highest talent rating average for the top three recruits.  But this is really where we get a sense of the strength of Indiana's class, which is ranked #1 in our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period and features 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'5 Jamarcus Ellis from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'10 Eli Holman from Richmond (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN, and 6'4 Jordan Crawford from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and Syracuse's class, which is ranked #2 in our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period and features 6'8 Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'9 Rick Jackson from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'2 Antonio Jardine from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'0 Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, and 6'10 Sean Williams from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  A quick look at our ranking of the teams with the highest talent rating for the top four recruits from this year and last year also is important, because it really illustrates just how well Ohio State, North Carolina, and Texas are getting it done.  Remember, the Buckeyes had the #4-ranked recruiting class in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 when they landed 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, and 6'9 Othello Hunter from Hillsborough (JC) FL and now they have followed that up with a recruiting class that is ranked #9 in our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period and includes 7'1 Kosta Koufas from Canton (Glen Oak) OH, 6'9 Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S.) OH, and 6'6 Evan Turner from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL.  And making this story even more impressive is the fact that Ohio State already has the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008 with players like 6'10 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH, 6'1 Jr Anthony Crater from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH, and 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN already in the fold.  Equally impressive was the great recruiting class that North Carolina landed a year ago when they signed 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, and 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA.  If you will recall, Lawson, Wright and Ellington were all ranked among our top five high school seniors a year ago by the HOOP SCOOP, so when you combine them with 6'9 Soph Tyler Hansbrough, 6'3 Soph Bobby Frasor, 6'5 Soph Marcus Ginyard, and 6'5 Danny Green, it's easy to see why we think North Carolina not only has the best young talent, but also is clearly the team to beat in college basketball this year.  Texas is another program that just continues to recruiting like crazy, as they have followed up on last year's #3-ranked recruiting class, which included 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Dexter Pittman from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, 6'2 Justin Mason from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX, and 6'10 Matt Hill from Lincoln (Southeast) NE, with the #25-ranked recruiting class this year, which includes 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'10 Clint Chapman from Camby (H.S.) OR, 6'8 Alexis Wangmene from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, and 6'1 Dogos Balbay from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH. 

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference is ready for publication and it should come as no surprise that the top conferences ranked in order are the Big East, Big-12, Big-10, Atlantic Coast, Pacific-10, Southeastern, Conference USA, and Atlantic-10.  But it comes as a major surprise that the Southland Conference is ranked #9, ahead of the Missouri Valley, Colonial Athletic Association, West Coast, Mountain West, Sun Belt, Mid-American, Horizon League, and Western Athletic.  However, this is easily explained by the fact that this system rewards quantity as much as it does quality and only four conferences (the Big East, Big-12, Big-12 and Atlantic Coast) landed more recruits than the Southland Conference, which has 34 players in the fold.  So obviously this is a perfect illustration of why it's important to look at recruiting a number of different ways, which will we do tomorrow in our Different Ways to Look at Recruiting Section.  And, to give you a sneak preview, the Southland Conference finishes ranked #18, behind the Pacific-10, Big-10, Big East, Atlantic Coast, Big-12, SEC, Conference USA, Atlantic-10, Mountain West, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Missouri Valley, Mid-American, Colonial Athletic, and Horizon League and ahead of the Big West, American East, Mid-Continent, Metro Atlantic, Patriot League, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southwestern Athletic, Southern, Ivy League Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, and Independents, after we have come up with the Talent Rating Average Per Recruit for all the teams in each conference.  And to do these we have to assign each recruit by each school a talent rating on a scale of 1-10, whereby, a top five-ranked high school player is worth 10 points, a top 10-ranked high school player is worth nine points, a player in the 11-40 range is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range is worth six points, a player in the 71-100 range is worth four points, a player in the 101-300 range is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000 range is worth two points, and player not ranked among the top 1000 high school players is worth only one point.  Junior college players and 5th Year Players are factored in as if they were the equivalent of a high school senior, but transfers from other four-year Division I schools are always excluded when we rank recruiting classes.  Another good illustration of where the numbers game can become important is with a conference like the Big East, which has a total of 16 teams in the league and, as a result, has a big advantage when it comes to signing the most good players.  In other words, the Big East Conference is the clear winner in our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference with 219 points, 45 recruits, and a 4.867 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit, but finishes ranked #3 when we look at who signed the best quality of talent, behind the Pacific-10 Conference, which has 145 points, 29 recruits, and a 5.000 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit, and the Big-10 Conference, which has 178 points, 36 recruits, and a 4.944 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit.  However, these things also go in cycles and last spring the Pacific-10 Conference finished ranked no higher than #8 among Division I Conferences with 159 points, 35 players, and a 4.543 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit and the Big-10 Conference finished  no higher than #7 among Division I Conferences with 176 points, 39 recruits, and a 4.513 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit.  Contrast that with the Big East Conference, which finished ranked #1 among Division I Conferences with 317 points, 69 recruits, and a 4.594 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit last spring, and it becomes clear why most experts think the Big East Conference is quickly becoming the most dominant conference in college basketball.  To take a closer look at these type of trends, we encourage you to click onto Top Recruiting Classes, which is where you can find our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes, our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conferences, and Different Ways to Look at Recruiting from both the conclusion of the Fall Signing Period and the Spring Signing Period going all the way back to the spring of 1998. 

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

We have completed our Final Ranking of the Top 260 Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period and the big winner appears to be Indiana University, despite the fact that Hoosiers head coach Kelvin Sampson hasn't been able to call recruits or go out on the recruiting trail due to sanctions that were imposed for violating NCAA rules dating back to his days at the University of Oklahoma.  Moral the story, if the Indiana coaching staff can recruit this well now, just imagine what they will be capable of doing when they are operating on the same playing field as everybody else.  Obviously the star player in Indiana's recruiting class is 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, but the two players who tipped this class over the top are 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN and 6'4 Jordan Crawford from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, neither of whom made their college decision until right at the end of the Fall Signing Period.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Jones did not sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent with the Hoosiers, because he first plans to go the prep school route and, as a result, will probably count with Indiana's recruiting class again next year.  However, it is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP not reclassify a player once he reaches his senior year of high school.  Besides, over the year's stranger things have happened.  One of the best examples we can think of was back when Max Good was the head coach Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and in July he thought he was getting both Antoine Walker and Allen Edwards.  But, in the end, they both made it academically and enrolled as freshmen at the University of Kentucky in the fall of 1995.  It also is the editorial policy to count players who have made a verbal commitment, but who have not signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent, with a school's recruiting class, as long as the player hasn't indicated that he plans to change his mind or has started visiting other schools.  In other words, you are only as good as your word.  But unfortunately this can't be said about an overwhelming number of players where there are coaching changes in the spring.  Remember, the rule says that a student-athlete is signing with the member institution and not the head coach, but the NCAA no longer seems to be interested in enforcing this rule when a head coach leaves for another job and, as a result, trying to keep track of who is going where in the spring is next to impossible.  We also think it is interesting to point out that four of the top dozen recruiting classes (Kansas State, Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Texas A&M) belong to school's in the Big-12 Conference.  However, when we dig a little deeper, we find that there is a four-way tie among the Big-10 with Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Purdue; the Big East with Syracuse, DePaul, Villanova, and Pittsburgh; the Big-12 with Kansas State, Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Texas A&M; and Pacific-10 with USC, Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington; as four schools apiece from each of these leagues account for 80% of the top 20-ranked recruiting classes.  And when we dig even deeper we find that the Big East Conference has the advantage with six of the top 30-ranked recruiting classes in Syracuse, DePaul, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, and Seton Hall.  But this not necessarily good news for first-year Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez, who also finds that he has a recruiting class, which includes players like 6'5 Jeremy Hazel from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, 6'6 Michael Glover from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL, 6'9 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and 6'10 Augustine Okosun from Harcum (JC) PA, that is ranked no higher than #6 in the league, despite the fact it's ranked #28 in the nation.  When we go 40 deep, we continue to find that the Big East with eight recruiting classes and Big-12 with seven recruiting classes are the big winners, followed by the Atlantic Coast with six recruiting classes, Big-10 with five recruiting classes, and the Pacific-10, Southeastern, Conference USA with four recruiting class apiece.  Or to look at this another way, only two schools (Gonzaga and Massachusetts) that don't belong to one of these seven conferences finished with recruiting classes ranked among the top 40 in the Division I ranks.  So, while a lot of people may be able to successfully make a case about there being parity in college basketball, this theory goes right out the window when you start talking about recruiting.  Instead, you have to drop all the way down into the 40-50 range to find schools, like Bradley, New Mexico State, Kent State, Pepperdine, Virginia Commonwealth, Utah, and Middle Tennessee State, that aren't in the very elite conferences.

Monday, December 11, 2006

The drop dead date for our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Fall Signing Period is tomorrow and, as a result, I am totally focused on finding players who have slipped through the cracks or have fallen under the radar screen in our Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  So you know that I was thrilled when our West Coast Editor Alan Utter called earlier tonight and provided me with an updated recruiting list for a number of the top juniors on the West Coast.  UCLA, Arizona, Ohio State, Nevada, and Gonzaga are the top five for 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Galena) NV, who is ranked #5 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The list for 6'8 Jr Drew Gordon from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, includes Washington, Arizona, UCLA, North Carolina, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, and Connecticut.  The top three for 6'9 Jr Matt Simpkins from Sacramento (Capital Christian) CA, who is ranked #13 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, appear to be Connecticut, Washington, and Arizona.  The race is on among UCLA, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Arizona State, Florida State, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Stanford, and Oregon State for 6'3 Jr Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, who is ranked #17 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  UCLA, North Carolina, and Arizona are the leaders for 6'2 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, who is ranked #17 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  UCLA, Notre Dame, Stanford, Arizona, and Washington are involved with 6'10 Jr Corbin Moore from Los Alamitos (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #108 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, New Mexico, Utah, and Gonzaga are among those in the hunt for 6'4 Jr Brad Tinsley from Oregon City (H.S.) OR, who is ranked #179 nationally in the junior class.  We also find the rumors interesting about 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is our #1-ranked junior nationally, to be interesting, but we don't read a lot into it, as it appears that a lot of people are trying to read more into something that he recently said than actually is there.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also checks in and he tells us that 6'5 William Thomas from East Cleveland (Shaw) OH, who is ranked #159 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, likes Ohio University, Kent State, Robert Morris, Oklahoma, Fordham, and Seton Hall and USC appears to be the leader over Pittsburgh, Florida, and Tennessee for 6'8 Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, who is ranked #178 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.

Saturday, December 9, 2006, & Sunday, December 10, 2006

It has to be one of the most efficient performances that we've ever seen.  We're talking about the 34 points scored by 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN in the final game last night at Circle City Challenge of Champions at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.  Not only did he score most of his points off free throws (22-25 from the foul line has to be a tournament record), but Gordon also was unstoppable going to the basket, as he hit 6-8 field goals and just blew by defenders en route to several of the most spectacular dunks of the day.  Gordon didn't light it up from downtown like we've seen him do in the past, but he did also impress us with his timing and knack for being in the right place at the right time, as he had six boards and five steals and drew comparisons to NBA star Dwayne Wade.  In other words, Gordon, who also is second to none at attacking the basket, more than lived up to his press clippings.  Remember, we have Gordon ranked #3 nationally in the senior class, behind 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV and ahead of 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 6'8 Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, and 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, and we think he has superstar someday in the NBA written all over him, thanks to his incredible athleticism, prolific scoring ability, and tremendous drive and determination, which is necessary to achieve greatness at the highest level.  Gordon also had plenty of help from 6'8 Adam Hodzic, who finished with 19 points and impressed us with his knack for finishing around the basket, as his 9-11 field goals will attest.  As a matter of fact, Hodzic, who signed with Lipscomb during the Fall Signing Period and is ranked #664 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was arguably the most underrated player in the entire tournament, as he definitely belongs in the 200-300 range nationally.  We also liked the rest of North Central's supporting cast, as 5'9 Kevin Gant, who finished with five points, three assists, and two turnovers, is a pint-sized point guard with jet-like speed and quickness; 6'5 Jr James Hollowell, is a like a jack-of-all-trades, as he finished with five points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks; 6'0 Devon Hunter, who had five points and was 1-3 from beyond the arc, has excellent athleticism and a nice looking outside shoot; 6'1 Soph Evan Gordon impressed us with ball handling and passing, as he finished with five points and four assists; and 6'9 Jr Chris Toler, who played only eight minutes and failed to score due to four trouble, gives them another body inside.  Or to put it another way, we think North Central has the star-power, balance, and chemistry necessary to easily be the best team in the state this year.  However, it didn't come all that easy last night for North Central, which never was quite able to put Dayton (Dunbar) OH away, despite the fact they led 16-6 at the end of First Quarter, 29-22 at half-time, and by as many as 13 points late in the Third Quarter.  But, even after Dayton Dunbar scored three quick baskets to start the second half to make it 29-all with 6:20 left in the Third Quarter and when Dayton Dunbar closed the gap to only three points with only 16-second left in the game, we didn't think the game was ever really in doubt.  The final score was 70-65 and we also think it's interesting to note that Gordon had 22 of his 34 points in the second half.  The best player for Dayton Dunbar was 6'8 Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, who finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but didn't shoot a very high percentage from either the field or the foul line (5-13 field goals and 9-15 free throws).  The University of Dayton-bound 6'9 Jr Joshua Benson chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds, but the leading scorer for Dayton Dunbar was 6'1 Norris Cole, who finished with 20 points on 6-15 field goals, 1-5 3-pointers, and 7-10 field goals.  The second best individual performance of they day was turned in by the Purdue-bound 6'9 JaJuan Johnson from Indianapolis (Franklin Central) IN, who finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds.  But what intrigued me the most was making the comparison between 5'11 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, who finished with 15 points, 6-11 field goals, 2-3 3-pointers, two assists, four turnovers, and four steals in his team's one-point win over Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, and 6'1 Jeff Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who finished with 16 points, 6-13 field goals, 0-2 3-pointers, two assists, one turnover, and two steals in his team's 67-49 win against East Chicago (Central) IN.  Teague, who is ranked #80 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is more of a pure point guard and is bigger, quicker, and makes better decisions than Thompson.  In contrast, Thompson, who is currently ranked #93 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, shoots it a lot better and is physically stronger than Teague, which means that Thompson is just as good at getting to the basket, despite the fact he's two-inches shorter and not as explosive.  Moral to the story, we think this race is too close to call and our good friend Rick Bolus of the High Potential Basketball Recruiting Service, who we sat next to all day, agrees.  But regardless of which player is better, there is no doubt that Northwestern with Thompson and Wake Forest with Teague both have a major steal on their hands.  Another player who really was explosive to the basket was 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, who finished with 18 points and 7-16 field goals, but still seems to be a lot more comfortable slashing to the basket than pulling up and hitting an open jump shot.  Two of the best 3-point shooters that we did see all day were 6'9 Bill Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, who finished with 17 points, five assists, and hit 3-7 treys, and 6'4 DeShawn Clay from Gary (West Side) IN, who had 18 points, seven rebounds, 7-18 field goals, and 4-7 treys.  Clay, who is ranked #246 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, also is one of the guys who helped himself the most, as he's long and athletic, has a soft shooting touch and a silky-smooth demeanor, and appears to have a big upside.  We also have to mention 6'4 Jonathan Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, because he not only finished with 13 points and five rebounds and provided the perfect complement to Thompson, but due to the fact that he also hit the game winning 3-point shoot with 3.2 seconds left against Indianapolis (Arlington) IN.  One of the biggest disappointments of the day was the fact that 6'9 Soph Stephan Van Treese from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN only scored four points in his team's 55-44 win against Anderson (H.S.) IN.  However, it wasn't Van Treese's fault that they don't get him the ball and, as a result, he is still listed as one of the better players listed below, thanks to the fact that he also finished with 10 points, five blocked shots, and three steals, is surprisingly athletic, and always plays with a lot of heart.  We also were disappointed in Tennessee-bound 6'1 Jr Cordell Passley from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who finished with nine points and, once again, made us wonder what position he's going to play at the next level?  We were impressed by 6'3 Antwaun Boyd from Anderson (H.S.) IN, who hit several outside shots, posted-up, showed a good mid-range, took a charge, and played excellent defense, in the second quarter against Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  But, then Boyd did absolutely nothing in the second half, which explains why he wasn't rated any higher on our list of the top players based on performance at the Circle City Classic Challenge of Champions.  Speaking of our list of the top 20 players at this event, it includes 1) 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 2) 6'9 JaJuan Johnson from Indianapolis (Franklin Central) IN, 3) 6'1 Jeff Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 4) 5'11 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 5) 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, 6) 6'9 Billy Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 7) 6'4 Jonathan Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 8) 6'8 Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 9) 6'9 Soph Stephan Van Treese from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 10) 6'4 Soph DeShawn Clay from Gary (West Side) IN, 11) 6'3 Antwaun Boyd from Anderson (H.S.) IN, 12) 6'8 Adnan Hodzic from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 13) 6'5 Damian Williams from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 14) 6'3 Kyle Riley from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 15) 6'4 John Freeman from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, 16) 6'4 Kawaen Short from East Chicago (Central) IN, 17) 6'1 Norris Cole from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 18) 6'3 Brandon Beasley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, 19) 6'4 Dewann Squires from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, and 20) 6'7 Horace Bond from Gary (West Side) IN.  Also noteworthy is the fact that 6'3 E'Twaun Moore from East Chicago (Central) IN, who is ranked #22 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, did not make the list, because he was slowed by an injury and, as a result, only played 12 minutes against Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN.  However, we do have to give Moore, who was the second best prospect to participate in the event, credit for attempting to play, as he hit several long 3-pointers early in the game and went 2-3 from beyond the arc en route to six points. 

Friday, December 8, 2006

I have already previewed most of the tournaments and events that I plan to attend the rest of the month (we talked about the City of Palms Classic on November 5th, the Academy National Invitational on November 22nd, and the Circle City Classic Challenge of Champions and the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic on December 5th), but I have not yet talked about two of the top holiday tournaments that I will be attending right after Christmas in the state of Illinois.  The Proviso West Holiday Tournament, which will be held December 27th-30th at Proviso West High School in Hillside, IL and will feature 14 teams that are ranked among the area's top 25 teams or the state's top 50 teams.  On the first day, Wednesday, December 27th, it will be Calumet City (Thornton Fractional North) IL versus Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL at 9:00 AM, Chicago (Von Steuben) IL versus Winnetka (New Trier) IL at 10:30 AM, Maywood (Proviso East) IL versus Chicago (St. Patrick) IL at 12:30 PM, Chicago (Morgan Park) IL versus Evanston (Township) IL at 1:45 PM, Hillside (Proviso West) IL versus Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL at 3:45 PM, Westchester (St. Joseph) IL versus Chicago (Julian) IL at 5:15 PM, Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL versus Oak Park (Fenwick) IL at 7:00 PM, and Chicago (Whitney Young) IL versus Peoria (Central) IL at 8:30 PM.  The list of top players will include 6'3 Demetri McCamey from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'0 Jacob Pullen from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'6 Evan Turner from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 5'10 Jr Kevin Dillard from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'8 Isaiah Martin from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL,5'9 Jr A.J. Rompza from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'4 Jr Jeremy McCray from Evanston (Township) IL, 6'2 Jr Dion Dixon from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'2 Soph Xavier Humphrey from Oak Park (Fenwick) IL, 6'3 Jr Supo Sanni from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'0 Sammy Maniscalco from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'7 Dwight McCombs from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'3 Soph D.J. Richardson from Peoria (Central) IL, 5'11 Jr Mike Di Nunno from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, 6'7 Kellen Thornton from Country Club Hills (Thornton) IL, 6'6 Darius Fields from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, 5'10 Michael Horton from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, 6'7 Demond Watt from Thornton (Fractional Traditional North) IL, 6'5 Parish West from Maywood (Proviso West) IL, 6'2 Justin Hightower from Hillside (Proviso West) IL, 6'1 Jr Bryan Hall from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'5 Jr Daniel Farr from Evanston (Township) IL,  5'9 Soph Glenn Wallace from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'5 Jr Peter Boehm from Winnetka (New Trier) IL, 5'7 Soph Tyler Sugiyama from Winnetka (New Trier) IL, 6'1 Soph Matt Salter from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'0 Soph Louis Erkins from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'6 Frosh DeAndre McCamey from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, and 5'8 Frosh Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL.  The Big Dipper Holiday Tournament, which will be held December 26th-29th at Rich South High School in Richton Park, IL also has already announced it's first round match-ups that will tip-off on Wednesday, December 27th and will include Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL versus Olympia Fields (Rich Central) IL at 9:00 AM, Park Forest (Rich East) IL versus Chicago (Fenger) IL at 10:30 AM, Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL versus Monee (Crete-Monee) IL at Noon, Chicago Heights (Marian Catholic) IL versus Richton Park (Rich South) IL at 1:30 PM, Chicago (Leo) IL versus Chicago (Harlan) IL versus 4:00 PM, Harvey (Thornton) IL versus Midlothian (Bremen) IL at 5:30 PM, Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL versus Palos Heights (Shepard) IL at 7:30 PM, and South Holland (Seton Academy) IL versus Peoria (Woodruff) IL at 9:00 PM.  Some of the top players who I expect to see at the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament will include 6'5 Jr Matt Humphrey from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 5'11 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'8 Jr Josh Crittle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'3 Mustafa Farrakhan from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'7 James Henley from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'4 Jonathan Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'1 Jr Jeremy Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, and 6'1 Josh Parker from Harvey (Thornton) IL.  I also may sneak down to the tournament in Pontiac, IL to see Chicago (Simeon) IL with 6'3 Derrick Rose, 6'6 Tim Flowers, and 6'6 Kevin Johnson from Chicago (Simeon) IL, as well as any number of other holiday tournaments when I'm in the Chicagoland area on December 27th and 28th, depending on the match-ups and who I want to see play.  However, as things stand now, my exact schedule is still up in the air.  HOOP SCOOP Associate Editor Patrick Stanwood checks in with some recruiting information and especially interesting is the list of schools, which includes Villanova, Rutgers, Michigan State, UCLA, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Florida, for 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #3 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  In contrast, earlier this week our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin gave us a list for Strickland that included Villanova, Rutgers, Michigan State, UCLA, Marquette, Miami-FL, and Florida.  So obviously only the first four schools on both lists appear to be rock solid.  Stanwood also tells us that 6'3 Soph Kenny Boyton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, who is ranked #12 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP,  is considering Florida, North Carolina, Miami-FL, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Duke.  The list for 6'6 Soph Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #12 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, includes North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Memphis, Florida, Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M, Georgetown, and Louisville.  The early favorites for 6'1 Soph G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #20 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, are Kansas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Memphis, and Illinois.  The list for 6'6 Soph Noel Johnson from Fayetteville (Fayette County) GA, who is ranked #29 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, includes Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Florida State, N.C. State, Ohio State, and Arizona.  Among those involved with 6'5 Jr Ray Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL who is ranked #29 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are Florida, Florida State, Miami-FL, Kansas State, LSU, Memphis, Georgia Tech, and Clemson.  The leaders for 6'10 Jr Eloy Vargas from Ft. Lauderdale (American Heritage) FL, who is ranked #63 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are North Carolina, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Wichita State.  Already in the hunt for 6'10 Jr Kenneth Kadji from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, who is ranked #101 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are Kansas State, Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Memphis, Georgia Tech, and Memphis. 

Thursday, December 7, 2006

Originally I had planned to make it only a list of the top 200 players in the nation.  But upon completion of our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2012 (7th Graders) earlier this evening, I had compiled a list of 293 names and, as a result, went ahead and made it a list of an even 300 players all ranked in order.  Obviously this is incredible all by itself, but it becomes totally mind-boggling when one also remembers that this comes on the heels of our Ranking of the Top 150 5th Year Players for the Class of 2007, which was published on November 29th; our Ranking of the Top 900 Players in the Class of 2007 (Seniors), which was published on October 3rd; our Ranking of the Top 600 Players in the Class of 2008 (Juniors), which was published on September 1st; our Ranking of the Top 500 Players in the Class of 2009 (Sophomores), which was published on September 13th; our Ranking of the Top 400 Players of the Class of 2010 (Freshmen), which was published on October 15th; and our Ranking of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2011 (8th Graders), which was published on November 26th.  That's a grand total of 3,150 names all ranked in order by class and, if that wasn't enough, you can also check out our archives by clicking on Ranking of the Top Players Nationally.  Not only does this include similar type rankings from the last several years, but you also will find our Final Ranking of the Top 600 Players from the Class of 2004; our Final Ranking of the Top 300 Players from the Class of 2003; our Final Ranking of the Top 400 Players from the Class of 2002; our Final Ranking of the Top 400 Players from the Class of 2001; our Final Ranking of the Top 100 Players from all of the classes between 1987 and 2000; our Final Ranking of the Top 50 Players from all of the classes between 1984 and 1986; and the Final Ranking of the Top 100 Players by All-Star Sports from the Class of 1983, which was reprinted with the permission of Bob Gibbons several years ago.  In other words, the HOOP SCOOP is truly in a class by itself with regards to being ahead of curve when it comes to providing you with names and exactly where we think each player belongs.  Obviously this alone makes the subscription price of the HOOP SCOOP Online well worth the cost, especially when one remembers that most of this is information that you won't get anywhere else.  In sharp contrast, some of our competition has a hard enough time just being accurate with regards to where they have the top players in the nation and they don't go any deeper than the top 100-200 players nationally in the senior, junior, and sophomore classes.  But, then again, they don't have the perspective that I have from covering high school basketball and recruiting professionally for almost a quarter of a century and as a fan for almost a third of a century.  I also would be remiss if I didn't give all the people who have contributed to these lists their just due and a tremendous thanks, because, without their help, both the depth and accuracy that we've been able to achieve would not be possible.  And we aren't done yet, as our Texas Editor Tim Miller and Joe Keller, who runs the adidas Junior Phenom Camp, both are telling me that I will have preliminary rankings in hand by early next week of the players for the Class of 2013 (6th Graders), which means we'll have all of our national rankings done just in time to cover the big tournaments that I'll be attending right before and right after Christmas.  As for our Ranking of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2012 (7th Graders), we think it is important to point out that we have a tie between 5'10 7th Grader J-Mychal Reese from Bryan, TX and 6'3 7th Grader Reggie Ragland from Huntsville, AL for the #1-ranking in the class.  However, just like with our Ranking of the Top 300 Players in the Class of 2011 (8th Graders), where we have a four-way tie for #1 among 6'7 8th Grader LaBryan Nash from Dallas, TX, 6'2 8th Grader Davontay Grace from Brooklyn, NY, 6'2 8th Grader Matt Carlino from Tempe, AZ, and 6'7 8th Grader LaQuinton Ross from Jackson, MS, we've got plenty of time to figure this out.  Remember, the ranking of middle school players is a great starting point, but things can change dramatically over the next four years as players grow, mature, and develop both physically and mentally.  Speaking of Nash, Grace, Carlino, and Ross, they all are planning on attending Tim Miller's U.S. Elite Camp at Baylor University (middle school players) in Waco, TX on January 12th-14th and, if Miller also can persuade Reese and Ragland to show up, it would be the supreme coup.  But, if he can pull this off, it wouldn't be the first time they have faced on another, as Reese and Ragland both led their respective team's to the Final Four of the 12-Under Nationals last summer.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Reese has been the #1-ranked player in his age group at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp during the last two summers and is clearly one of the best players I've ever seen at his age and Ragland, who already is a physical specimen and a tremendous athlete, can also hit a baseball 400-feet and is almost impossible to tackle as a running back on the gridiron.  In other words, we're talking about one player who has done a marvelous job of handling all the pressure that has already been thrust upon him by the national media and is mature beyond his age and another whose goal is to become the first player ever to be the National Player-of-the-Year when he's a senior in high school in three different sports.  We think it is interesting to point out that this class is loaded with inside players, as eight of the top 10-ranked players in the class are either power forwards or centers.  We're talking about 6'3 7th Grader Reggie Ragland from Huntsville, AL, 6'6 7th Grader John Crowder from Baltimore, MD, 6'1 7th Grader DiVante Smith from Indianapolis, IN, 6'2 7th Grader Winston McLeod from Brooklyn, NY, 6'2 7th Grader Reginald Dillard from Greensboro, NC, 6'3 7th Grader Kristopher Jenkins from Norway, SC, 6'4 7th Grader Devonte Green from Dallas, TX, and 6'9 7th Grader Jordan Price from Decatur, GA.  We also think it is important to point out that with the exception of 6'6 7th Grader John Crowder from Baltimore, MD, all of the top players in this class are the right age, which means the trend of reclassifying players early has started caught up with the Class of 2012 yet.  Another interesting trend involves the state of Texas, which appears to be absolutely loaded in this age group, as is evident by the fact that six of our top 25-ranked players are from the Lone Star state.  They are 5'10 7th Grader J-Mychal Reese from Bryan, TX, 6'4 7th Grader Devonte Green from Dallas, TX, 6'8 7th Grader Rasheed Sulaimon from Houston, TX, 5'6 7th Grader Ricky Roberts from Arlington, TX, 5'11 7th Grader Jonathan Gray from Ft. Worth, TX, and 5'8 7th Grader Desmond Brown from Mansfield, TX.

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Our Texas Editor Tim Miller was at the Cornerstone Turkey Shootout in San Antonio, TX last weekend and he tells us that Houston (Inner City) TX not only beat San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, which features 6'7 Jr Nate Miles and 6'10 Tearon Hill, twice in the same day, but they also reinforced his belief that they are the best team in the Houston area, as well as one of the best prep school teams in the nation.  If you will recall, this is the team that upset Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH in the Chicago Prep Classic in Chicago, IL last month and features a bunch of players, including 5'11 Mitchell Fields, 6'8 Tyrone Fleming, 6'8 Soph Novell Arnold, and 6'2 Soph Karl Blair, who thus far have been flying under the radar screen.  And, if that isn't enough to get your attention, Miller also tells us that Fields, who scored 40 points in one of the games on Saturday, is better than any of the point guards in the state in this year's senior class.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX ranked #34, 6'0 B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX ranked #50, 5'11 John Roberson from Plano (H.S.) TX ranked #70, and 6'1 Biko Paris from Cypress (Community Christian) TX ranked #95 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  "Fields has jet-like speed and quickness with the ability to stop on a dime, pull-up, and hit the jumper," says Miller.  "He also makes good decisions, knows how to run a team, can get his shot off the dribble, and is still available."  As a matter of fact, the only school that we know of that has shown any interest in Fields is Nebraska, but you can bet that will change in a hurry now that we've put the word out.  Miller also thinks Fleming, who is the equivalent of a borderline top 100 senior nationally (Fields and Fleming are both 5th Year Players), could be a major steal for somebody looking for a long rangy shot blocking/rebounding athlete who does all of the dirty work inside.  Unfortunately college recruiters will have to wait on the other two, because Arnold, who already is in his fourth year of high school (last year Arnold was listed as a junior at Hoover High School in San Diego, CA, where he averaged 19.2 ppg and 1.7 bpg), is being listed as a sophomore and Blair is a true sophomore.  Arnold is a scoring machine who can also rebound, block shots, and defend and, if he actually sticks around at Inner City until 2009, Miller thinks Arnold will end up being the best player in the state.  Blair, who is arguably the top shooting guard in the state's sophomore class, along with 6'1 Soph Marshall Henderson from Euless (L.D. Bell) TX, has strong moves to the basket and makes big shots.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that the early list for 6'7 Jr James Southerland from Bayside (Cardozo) NY includes Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse, St. John's, Virginia Tech, Florida, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, Hofstra, St. Joseph's, Louisville, USC, Miami-FL, South Carolina, and Clemson and Clemson, Hofstra, George Mason, Fordham, Rutgers, Duquesne, and St. Joseph's are the schools showing the most interest in 6'1 Jr Trinity Fields from Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  It also looks like UCLA is going to be tough to beat for 6'9 Soph Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who ranked #17 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'9 Soph David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who ranked #18 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And this makes perfect sense when one finds out that Clay McKnight, who is the son of legendary Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight, was hired as the video coordinator at UCLA this fall.  The Wear twins are also both excellent students, they just continue to grow, and they have unlimited potential, so it came as no surprise when we heard that the Bruins had backed off 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who is the #1-ranked sophomore in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, UCLA and USC became the favorites for Sidney's services when he moved out West last spring and all this is important, because the Trojans are now appear to be perfectly positioned to land the #1-ranked player in the nation for a third consecutive year.  Remember, USC recently signed 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but is ranked #1 by some of our competitors, and they also got an early verbal commitment several weeks ago from 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #1 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP. 

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

The next event that I plan to cover will be the Circle City Classic Challenge of Champions, which will be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday, December 9th, and will feature Indianapolis (Franklin Central) IN versus Peoria (Richwoods) IL at Noon, Gary (Westside) IN versus Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN at 3:00 PM, Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN versus Anderson (H.S.) IN at 4:30 PM, Indianapolis (Arlington) IN versus Chicago (Lincoln Park) IN at 6:00 PM, Indianapolis (Pike) IN versus East Chicago (Central) IN at 7:30 PM, and Indianapolis (North Central) IN versus Dayton (Dunbar) ON at 9:00 PM.   And the list of players that we're looking forward to watching also is very impressive as it includes 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'3 E'twaun Moore from East Chicago (Central) IN, 6'9 Soph Stephan Van Treese from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Jeff Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, 5'11 Michael Thompson from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'3 Jr Cordell Passley from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'10 Jajuan Johnson from Indianapolis (Franklin Central) IN, 6'9 Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) IN, 6'9 Billy Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'1 Jr Jeremy Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'9 Jr Josh Benson from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'4 Jonathan Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'3 John Ashworth from Indianapolis (Franklin Central) IN, 6'4 Antwaun Boyd from Anderson (H.S.) IN, 6'6 Horace Bond from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'5 Justin Freeman from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, 6'1 Justin Dehm from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'4 Wesley Danzy from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'5 Damian Windham from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'0 Norris Cole from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'7 Jr Chris Toler from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'7 J.J. Henley from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'3 Soph Larry Smith from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'6 Soph Chris Read from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'7 Soph Jeff Robinson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'8 Soph Edward Hazelet from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, 6'1 Soph Evan Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'4 Soph DeShawn Clay from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'7 Soph Dominic Nicholson from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, 6'8 Frosh Dominique Ferguson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and 6'10 Frosh Jan Maehlan from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  In other words, the field includes three players who are ranked among the 25 nationally in their respective classes (Gordon, Moore, and Van Treese), four more players who ranked among our top 100 nationally in their respective classes (Teague, Offutt, Thompson, Passley), another four players with top 100 potential (Johnson, Pogue, Cole, and Jeremy Montgomery), and a bunch of good young players and players who fall into the mid-to-low Division I range.  I also am getting ready for the King of the Blue Grass Holiday Classic, which will be held from December 14th-19th at Fairdale High School in Fairdale, KY and, as always, will include many of the top teams and players in the state.  The tournament will begin on Thursday, December 14th, with Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY versus Cecilia (Central Hardin) KY at 4:30 PM, followed by Louisville (Doss) KY versus Frankfort (Franklin County) KY at 6:00 PM, Louisville (Central) KY versus  Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY at 7:30 PM, and Louisville (Male) KY versus Brandenburg (Meade County) KY at 9:00 PM.  The rest of the first round games will be played on Friday, December 15th, with Ashland (Rose Hill) KY versus Washington (Ballou) DC at 4:30 PM, Fairdale (H.S.) KY versus Lewisport (Hancock County) KY at 6:00 PM, Louisville (Ballard) KY versus Memphis (Kingsbury) TN at 7:30 PM, and Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY versus Louisville (DeSale) KY at 9:00 PM.   The list of top players in this year's King of the Bluegrass will include 6'8 Jeff Brooks from Louisville (Doss) KY, 6'5 Steffpone Pettigrew from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, 6'5 Antiquawn Beckham from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'4 Jeremy Anderson from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, 6'8 Eugene Wade from Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY, and 5'10 Doug Beaumont from Louisville (Male) KY.  But what has us really excited is the fact that this will give us another early look at 6'7 Frosh Dakota Euton from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, who is ranked #11 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Chad Jackson from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, who is ranked #56 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Euton reminds us offensively of a young Dan Issel, but he needs to get meaner and tougher at the defensive end and more physical inside in order for that to be a good comparison.  Still, Euton, who hails from the same school that originally produced 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV and 6'6 Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, has the talent and potential to become the next great player in the state.  However, unlike Mayo and Walker, who transferred to Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH after their freshman season, it's doubtful that Euton will move to another state due to the fact that his mother is both the athletic director and the girls basketball coach at Rose Hill.  We also plan to be at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, which we previewed exclusively in the Members Section three weeks ago, from Monday, December 18th, through Friday, December 22nd.  But right now we're focused primarily on getting ready to publish later this week our Ranking of the Top 200 Players in the Class of 2012 (7th Graders) and next week our recruiting wrap-up from the Fall Signing Period.  Not only will this include our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes and our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, but it also will provide you with a number of Different Ways to Look at Recruiting that includes a look at the schools with the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruiting, a list of what schools signed the best two players, best three players, and best four players when you include both last year and this fall, and a breakdown of all the players who are the equivalent of top 100 nationally by conference.  So stay tuned! 

Monday, December 4, 2006

Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter attended the Stoneridge Prep Tournament at Calabasas High School in Calabasas, CA over the weekend and was impressed by the talent level at this three day event, which was hosted Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA and included Oakdale (St. Thomas More), CT, Henderson (Findlay College Prep) NV, South Kent (Prep) CT, Chicago (Boys to Men) IL, and Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  Brewster Academy beat Stoneridge Prep, Boys to Men beat South Kent, and St. Thomas More beat Findlay on Friday night; South Kent lost to Findlay, Brewster lost to Boys to Men and St. Thomas More lost to Stoneridge Prep on Saturday; and Brewster Academy beat Findlay College Prep, Boys to Men beat St. Thomas More, and Stoneridge Prep came from behind to beat South Kent, as 5'10 Jr Angelo Johnson scored a game high 22 points, on the final day.  Also playing well enough to deserve a mention for Stoneridge Prep were 6'7 Troy Gillenwater, who finished with 21 points in Sunday's game, 6'4 Charles Boozer, 6'5 Moussa Camara, and 6'7 Mychael Thompson, who on the first two days was Stoneridge's most consistent player.  The best two players for Boys to Men, which finished 3-0 in the tournament, were 6'0 Jr Jeremiah Kelly and 6'8 Mac Koshwal.  Brewster Academy was led by 6'9 Craig Brackins, 6'1 Terrell McKenzie, 6'6 Andre McFarland, and 6'3 P'Allen Stinnett.  Playing well for South Kent were 6'3 Calvin Haynes, 6'0 David Hicks, and 6'7 Jr Jim Soo Kim.  However, the same also can't be said about 5'8 Isaiah Thomas, who transferred from Tacoma (Curtis) WA to South Kent Prep after the Thanksgiving Holiday and is supposed to be reclassifying as a junior.  The best player in entire tournament was 6'8 Jr Devin Ebanks from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who is super quick, very jumpy, has a great handle, and is unstoppable going to the hoop.  As a matter of fact, Utter liked Ebanks so well that he was heard comparing him to UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (although he thinks Ebanks is a potentially a lot better Mbah a Moute) and calling him an O.J. Mayo without the 3-point shot.  We also found it interesting that Ebanks' list of schools includes Rutgers, Georgetown, Miami-FL, Connecticut, St. John's, and New Mexico; Kelly likes Washington, Iowa State, Illinois, and Wisconsin; and McKenzie says that N.C. State is the leader over Georgetown and Virginia.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the University of Virginia finally received the binding National Letter-of-Intent yesterday (our competition reported that this was a done deal last week) from 6'8 Mike Scott from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, which means that the Cavaliers' recruiting class now has three players in this year's recruiting class with Philly ties.  If you will recall, 6'4 Jeff Jones is from Drexel Hill (Monsignor Bonner) PA, 6'1 Sam Zeglinksi is from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, and Scott signed with Temple a year ago when he was a high school senior at Chesapeake (Deep Creek) VA.  Scott, who was ranked #309 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2006 and is now ranked #65 in our Ranking of the Top 5th 150 Year Players for the Class of 2007, is an explosive athlete, but he needs to bigger and stronger and/or improve his jump shot, if he ever wants to be more than a good role player for the Cavaliers.  However, we still think this is a good catch, because Scott is an in-state kid, can play facing the basket, and has a big upside.  Rubin also catches us up on several other things from his area that have slipped through the cracks, as 6'5 Ricardo Brown from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA has signed with Towson and 6'4 Clarence Jackson from Marlton (Cherokee) NJ has signed with Siena.  And both of these additions are important, because Brown, who is ranked#267 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a strong physical aggressive athlete with the versatility necessary to play multiple positions and Jackson, who is ranked #393 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is the fourth player in a recruiting class that also already includes 6'0 Chris De Rosa from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, 6'9 Ryan Rossiter from Staten Island (Monsignor Farrell) NY, and 6'7 Steve Priestley from Uniondale (H.S.) NY.  Rubin also has an early list of schools for 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #3 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, which includes Villanova, Rutgers, Michigan State, Marquette, Miami-FL, UCLA, and Florida State, and 6'7 Jr Austin Johnson from Wyncote (Cheltenham) PA, who is ranked #110 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which includes Rutgers, Penn State, La Salle, Temple, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's, and Delaware.  Our Canadian Editor Ro Russell wanted us to mention that he will running the Inaugural Sam Ashaolu Charity Prep Showcase in honor of the basketball player who was shot and almost killed in the shooting at Duquesne University on September 17th.  It will be held at the Centennial Recreation Center in Toronto, ON on Friday, December 15th, and Saturday, December 16th, and will feature Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, Toronto (Taps Prep) ON, Toronto (Vaughan Road) ON, Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, Toronto (Eastern Prep) ON, Pickering (H.S.) ON, Toronto (Prep) ON, and London (H.B. Beal) ON and include player like 6'11 DeAndre Jordan from Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, 6'0 Soph Junior Cadougan from Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, 6'7 Jr Olu Ashaolu from Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, 6'7 D.J. Wright from Toronto (Taps) ON, 6'9 Marvell Waithe from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'4 Javari Williams from Toronto (Taps) ON, 6'0 Kerchel Carter from Toronto (Taps) ON, 6'3 Devoe Joseph from Pickering (H.S.) ON, 6'11 Mike Luby from Toronto (Taps) ON, 5'9 Alex Johnson from Toronto (Vaughan Road) ON, 5'8 Tyrone Bramble from Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, 6'6 Curtis Trotter from Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, 6'4 Stefton Spence from Pickering (H.S.) ON, 6'8 Adam Jespersen from London (H.B. Beal) ON, 5'11 Melvin Goins from Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, 5'9 Andrew Cunningham from Toronto (Tap) ON, 6'2 Cory Joseph from Pickering (H.S.) ON, 6'8 Jared Mintz from Toronto (Vaughan Road) ON, 6'3 Jacob Gibson-Bascombe from Toronto (Eastern Prep) ON, 6'1 Rodel Grenaway from Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, 6'8 Brion Stafford from Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX, 6'6 Arnold Mayorga from London (H.B. Beal) ON, 6'0 Yonis Berhe from Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, and 6'0 Jeuvol Myles from Pickering (H.S.) ON.  For more information about the Inaugural Sam Ashaolu Charity Prep Showcase, click onto SamAshaolu.com.

Saturday, December 2, 2006, & Sunday, December 3, 2006

We thought we might have an upset in the making in the marquee game of the day at the Marshall County HoopFest as 6'5 Jr Scottie Haralson scored 19 his team's 36 first-half points and Jackson (Provine) MS was leading an Oak Hill team, which featured 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings, 6'3 Nolan Smith, 6'9 Jr Howard Thompkins, 6'5 Alexander Legion, 6'9 Julian Vaughn, by one point at half-time.  However, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA went on a 8-2 run to start the second half and then never looked back as they outscored Provine 56-21 en route to an impressive 91-57 victory.   And the big key to Oak Hill's success was the fact that Jennings, who finished with 21 points, eights assists, five rebounds, and 8-12 field goals, not only took over the game after the intermission, but played so well in the second half that a number of people told me after the game that I was correct about Jennings being the best player junior in the nation.  We also found it interesting that the legendary Steve Smith, who has been the coach at Oak Hill for 20 years, told us before the game that he thought North Carolina's Tywon Lawson, who played the last two season for Smith at Oak Hill, was slightly better than Jennings at the same stage.  However, Smith also added that he thought Jennings has more potential, because he's quicker and more explosive than Lawson.  Nolan Smith finished with 21 points and four rebounds and hit 9-13 field goals; Thompkins had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds; Legion had 16 points and 2-5 3-pointers; and Vaughn had 11 points, seven rebounds, and hit 3-4 field goals; but the other player that everybody was raving about in this game was Haralson.  Not only did he hit 8-12 3-pointers en route to 28 points, but Haralson surprised everybody with his athleticism, outside shooting, and ability to get it done against some of the top players in the nation.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Haralson is ranked #443 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which makes him a major sleeper for schools at the high Division I level.   Also impressing all of the scouts, coaches, and fans in attendance was 6'2 Demorris Summers from Jackson (Provine) MS, who is ranked #897 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but would be a steal for the right school at the mid-major level looking for an athletic combo guard that plays with a lot energy, makes things happen in transition, and knows how to get to the basket.  Summers finished with 15 points and hit 6-9 field goals, but he and Haralson did not have an experienced enough supporting cast to hang with Oak Hill once they turned up the heat in the second half.  But that doesn't mean that we don't like 6'6 Soph Emery Kelly from Jackson (Provine) MS, who had eight points and six rebounds, and 6'7 Frosh Stephen Smith from Jackson (Provine) MS and 6'6 Frosh Jalen Courtney from Jackson (Provine) MS, both of whom briefly saw action, as prospects.  In other words, this might be a team for the national tournament directors, like Donnie Wilkie of the City of Palms Classic, to keep an eye on this winter.  And we'd be very surprised if Marshall County HoopFest Tournament Director Steve Woodward doesn't already have Jackson (Province) MS locked up for a return appearance next year.  We also were very impressed with 6'6 Kevin Johnson from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who teamed with 6'3 Derrick Rose from (Chicago (Simeon) IL and 6'5 Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL to lead their team to 79-49 win against Champaign (Central) IL in the final game on Friday evening.  Johnson had 24 points, seven rebounds, and 10-14 field goals and brought the house down several times with his explosive moves to the basket and ability to finish in thrilling fashion.  As a matter of fact, Johnson, who is now ranked #681 nationally in the senior class, was so good that we'll have to move him way up in our rankings, despite his tweener size.  Or to put things into even better perspective, it looks like Wisconsin-Milwaukee has stolen not one, but two players who should make an immediate impact a year from now out of this program.  The other being Flowers, who finished 15 points and six rebounds, but was not nearly as dominant on the boards as he was when we saw him last summer at the NIKE Peach Jam and in the Reebok Big Time Tournament.  As for Rose, he had 12 assists and showed some flashed of brilliance.  But, when it was all said and done, Rose's nine points and 1-4 3-pointers were somewhat of a disappointment.  Remember, we're talking about the #1-ranked senior point guard in the nation and, as a result, the level of expectations are a lot higher.  The only player for Champaign (Central) IL worth mentioning was 6'4 Jr Verdell Jones, who finished with 12 points and impressed us with his athleticism and ability to find the open man and create his own shot.  Unfortunately Jones also was a like a deer learning to run in this game, as he obviously is not used to playing against tough Chicago area competition and his decision making and shot selection (3-12 field goals and 1-3 3-pointers) was not where it needs to be if he's going to be ranked as one of the top juniors in the state.  The other big story of the day involved University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, who after the Wildcat's loss to North Carolina Saturday afternoon made the trip from Chapel Hill, NC to Benton, KY to see 6'8 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent with the Wildcats last month.  And, while this thrilled most of the fans, there wasn't much to see as Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL jumped out to 22-3 lead with 3:30 left in the First Quarter and was up 44-7 against Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY when I left with 5:12 left in the Second Quarter.  At that point Stewart had six points, but 6'3 Gabriel Charley from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL was slashing to the basket, hitting 3-pointers, creating havoc defensively, and making us wonder why we have him ranked no higher than #725 nationally in the senior class.  And really that was the big story of the tournament, as a number of players without big names and reputations, like Charley; Haralson, Johnson; 6'5 Jr Taylor Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds versus Pinckneyville (H.S.) IL; 5'6 Justin Ray from Gulfport (H.S.) MS, who had 31 points and hit 6-15 3-pointers versus Peoria (Richwoods) IL; 6'2 Jewuan Long from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, who scored 18 points and hit most of the big shots down the stretch against Alton (H.S.) IL; 6'3 Jr Michael Young from Riverdale (H.S.) TN, who had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 8-11 field goals versus Lafayette (H.S.) MO; 6'0 Jr Travis Spiceland from Benton (Marshall County) KY, who had 28 points and hit 3-3 3-pointers versus Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, has some of the best performances tournament.  We also want to give a special mention to 6'11 Nick Evans from Carbondale (H.S.) IL, who was one of the biggest sleepers to emerge in the tournament.  Evans, who has 12 points and seven rebounds, is still very raw and doesn't finish as well as we'd like around the basket, but he has the frame to put on the strength that he needs to become a killer inside and is surprisingly mobile and aggressive for somebody his size.  We also were intrigued by 6'8 Soph Tyler Griffey from Wildwood (Lafayette) MO, who finished with 17 points and hit 1-2 3-pointers.  However, we're still not sure whether Griffey projects as a three or a four due to the fact that he has neither the size and strength necessary to be a big time power forward nor the speed and quickness necessary to guard anybody out on the perimeter.  But, then again, time is on his size, as Griffey is still just a sophomore. 

Friday, December 1, 2006

With yesterday's resignation by Minnesota head coach Dan Monson, who began the season with wins against North Dakota State and Long Island University, but has since suffered five straight losses against Iowa State, Marist, Southern Illinois, Montana, and Clemson, there are now three Division I head coaching job that will be open at the end of the season.  In case you missed it, Colorado head coach Ricardo Patten announced on October 25th that he will step down at the end of the current season and Radford head coach Byron Samuels announced on November 2nd that this will be his final season at the helm of the Highlanders.  The obvious choice for the Colorado job is Air Force head coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose team already is off to a 7-1 start this season with impressive wins against Stanford, Colorado, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest; the perfect fit for Radford would be George Mason assistant coach James Johnson, who is one of the top up-and-coming guys in the business and is the next in a long line of outstanding assistant coaches to have worked for Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga; and the guy most people think will end up with the Minnesota job, despite the fact he's already come out and said that he's not interested in the job, is Detroit Pistons head coach and former Golden Gophers player Flip Saunders.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Sanders' son (Ryan Saunders) is a walk-on basketball players for the Golden Gophers, his daughter is on the university's dance team, and his wife still lives in Minneapolis, MN, despite the fact that he husband is the head coach of the Pistons.  However, assuming that Saunders, is true to his word, then things really could get interesting, as the list of names that we've heard already includes former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, former Utah head coach Rick Majerus, former Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery, Wichita State head coach Mark Turgeon, Creighton head coach Dana Altman, UNLV head coach Lon Kruger, Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery, Old Dominion head coach Blaine Taylor, Butler head coach Todd Lickliter, Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter, Dayton head coach Brian Gregory, Bradley head coach Jim Les, and North Dakota State head coach Tim Miles.  But Majerus probably still can't pass the physical, Montgomery probably won't leave the West Coast, Turgeon and Altman are making too much money, and none of the rest of the candidates, except for Lavin, radiate the type of energy and excitement that the athletic department needs to get a big boast in season ticket sales.  So, if Saunders, who has not been involved in the college game for 20 years and, as a result, may not have the necessary contacts that the Golden Gophers need to get it done on the recruiting trail, doesn't take the job, it almost has to be Levin due to his charisma and pizzazz, ability to recruit, UCLA background, and ESPN connections.  Besides, Lavin is also probably will be smart enough to hire somebody like Darryl Sharp, who used to be an area high school coach, has college experience as the Director of Basketball Operations at Louisville and as an assistant coach at Iowa State, and is wired into all of the local AAU people.  And this is important, because one of Monson's biggest problems was that he couldn't get the top players in his backyard to stay home.  I also am getting ready to go to the Marshall County Hoop Fest, which will be held at Marshall County High School in Draffenville, KY and expect to see three game tonight, as it will be Paducah (Tilghman) KY versus Shelbyville (H.S.) TN at 7:00 PM, Benton (Marshall County) KY versus Cadiz (Trigg County) KY at 8:30 PM, and Chicago (Simeon) IL versus Champaign (Central) IL at 10:00 PM and seven games tomorrow as, it will be Murfreesboro (Riverdale) TN versus Wildwood (Lafayette) MO at 12:30 PM, Carbondale (H.S.) IL versus Webster Groves (H.S.) MO at 2:00 PM, Alton (H.S.) IL versus Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN at 4:30 PM, Lexington (Catholic) KY versus Pinckneyville (H.S.) IL at 6:00 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Jackson (Provine) MS at 7:30 PM, Peoria (Richwoods) IL versus Gulfport (H.S.) MS at 9:00 PM, and Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL versus Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY at 10:30 PM.  I also am looking forward to seeing how 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings, who is our #1-ranked junior nationally, is fitting in at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, as well as all of the other good players who will be in attendance, including 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'3 Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Alexander Legion from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Julian Vaughn from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'5 Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'11 Teeng Akol from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Billy Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'8 Soph Tyler Griffey from Wildwood (Lafayette) MO, 6'5 Jr Jelani Poston from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'6 Kevin Johnson from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'2 Enrique Cova-Benitez from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'4 Jr Donald Stewart from Champaign (Central) IL, 6'1 Justin Dehm from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'4 Soph Emari Bailey from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 7'2 Marial David Dhal from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'3 Jr Scott Haralson from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'5 Jr Taylor Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'5 Jr Nathan Novosal from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 7'0 Steve Yien from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'3 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'2 Demorris Summers from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'3 Jewon Long from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'6 Soph Emery Kelly from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'5 Devon Jones from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'0 Gabriel Charlie from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 5'9 Justin Ray from Gulfport (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Frosh James Bell from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'0 Jr Travis Spiceland from Benton (Marshall County) KY, 5'7 Rodney Davis from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, 6'4 David Jones from Paducah (Tilgham) KY, 6'2 Jonathan Roof from Paducah (St. Mary) KY, 6'5 Jr Isaac McClure from Paducah (Tilghman) KY, 6'3 Matt Kimbler from Mayfield (Graves County) KY, and 6'2 Gabriel Shaw from Paducah (St Mary) KY.