HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR DECEMBER 2005

Saturday, December 31, 2005

It should come as no surprise that 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'4 Paul Harris from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'5 Jr O.J. May from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, and 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR were the five players named our First Team All-American Team when we published earlier today our ranking of the top 75 players in the nation regardless of class and position on five-man teams, which can be found by clicking onto HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams and is available exclusively in the Members Section.   And not too many people will be surprised by our Second Team, which includes 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'9 Brandon Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH.  However, you bet you that 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and his entourage will be shocked by the fact that we've dropped him down to the Third Team.  However, it appears that boredom has suddenly become the order of the day with Beasley.  He's bored playing against high school players and I'm bored watching his lack of effort against high school players.  So I'm doing the same thing that I did last spring with 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who, at the time, was being ranked as the #1 player in the nation by most of our competition not because of the way he was playing, but because he is a freak athlete who is 7-feet tall with incredible potential.  If you will recall, we dropped Oden to #3 in the class, behind 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, because he wasn't putting forth the effort necessary to achieve greatness.  But we moved Oden back up to #1 after he earned in the summer.  However, an even better comparison for Beasley might be to 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who once was the #1-ranked player in the class, but now checks in no higher than on our 8th Team, because he continues to be fat, lazy, and out of shape.  We also probably will surprise some people by ranking 6'0 Darryl Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX on the 4th Team.  As a matter of fact, I frequently hear from others in the business that Augustine is overrated, but, then, the next time I see him play (i.e. at the adidas Superstar Camp in Suwanee, GA in early July and at the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX the last several days) he's always terrific.  I also think most of our competition has 6'11 Jr Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX ranked way too low and most coaches at the high major level still don't know what a winner and tough customer 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ is.  But the fact that we have Harvey ranked several teams higher than 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 5'11 Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL, all of whom are also terrific point guards, should help illustrate our point.  We also have moved 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA way up, despite the fact we think he's a 2-guard all the way, after his brilliant performance at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC.  But, then again, there are exceptions to every rule and Reynolds can flat out light up a scoreboard.  And, if you haven't heard of 6'5 Jr Marcus Simmons from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, then you probably haven't been reading our coverage of the Academy National Invitational, which also can be found exclusively in the Members Section, the last several days.  We also are intrigued by the fact that the Buckeye State has most HOOP SCOOP All-Americans.  Obviously we're talking about 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, 7'0 Jr Kosta Koufas from North Canton (H.S.) OH, 6'7 Jr Alex Tyus from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, 6'9 Soph Yancey Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, and 6'11 Soph B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH and to illustrate even further just how promising the future is in Ohio, six of those eight players are underclassmen.  California is second on this list with seven players - 6'11 Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'8 Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA, 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Taj Gibson from San Fernardo (Calvery Prep) CA, 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, and 6'11 Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA - and Virginia is third with six players - 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'7 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, and 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA.  I also am fascinated by the fact that there are 15 centers, 15 power forwards, 15 wing forwards, 15 2-guards, and 15 point guards on our list of the top 75 players, which includes the top players in the nation regardless of class and position.  And, of these 75 players, all but 31 of them have either already signed or are verbally committed.  The four 5th Year Players who are still available are 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC, 6'6 Rob Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, and 6'7 Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC; the four seniors who are still available are 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, and 6'2 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI; the 17 juniors who haven't already made early verbal commitments are 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'7 Jr Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 6'9 Jr James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'3 Jr Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'0 Jr Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, 6'8 Jr Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 7'0 Jr Kosta Koufas from North Canton (H.S.) OH, 6'7 Jr Alex Tyus from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, 6'5 Jr Marcus Simmons from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, 6'9 Jr Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, and 6'5 Jr Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ; the three sophomores who haven't already made early verbally commitments are 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Soph Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, and 6'9 Soph Yancey Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH; and the three freshmen who are still on the board are 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sydney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA.  We also have added up the number players in each class (there are seven 5th Year Players, 39 seniors, 22 juniors, four sophomores, and three freshmen) and we find that there are an overwhelming number of juniors and seniors on our list, which is a testament to just how strong the Class of 2006 and Class of 2007 really are at the top. 

Friday, December 30, 2005

One of the things that really made this year's Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX an outstanding event was the depth talent in the field and this was especially evident watching today's Consolation Round Games.  We begin with the 56-40 win by San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX over Houston (Eisenhower) TX in the 7th Place Game in the Texas Division, where, once again, we just marveled at the athleticism, shot blocking ability, incredible potential, and continued improvement that we see in 7'0 Soph Beas Hamga from San Antonio Cornerstone Christian) TX.  Right now we have Hamga, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots in the game today, ranked #78 nationally in the sophomore class.  But, when it's all said and done, he should make a lot of money playing the game someday and, if he continues to develop at his present pace, he'll probably be a McDonald's All-American in two years.  However, the leading scorer for Cornerstone Christian was 6'8 Samuel Hannes from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, who finished with 23 points and should get some mid-to-low major looks due to his size, ability to play out on the perimeter, and outside shooting.  We also need to mention 6'5 Jamaria Johnson, who led Houston (Eisenhower) TX with 19 points, because he's been his teams best player throughout the entire tournament.  The 7th Place Game in the National Division between Alexandria (Peabody) LA and Mobile (LeFlore) AL not only featured all of the top sleepers in the tournament, but it also was the most exciting game of the tournament, as Peabody finally prevailed in double overtime by a scored of 70-68.  The leading scorer for Peabody was 6'5 Rodney Jones with 26 points, but their best player once again was 6'5 Jr Marcus Simmons, who finished with 13 points, 5-10 field goals, three rebounds, and three assists.  Not only does Simmons have big time athleticism, but he has incredible moves to the basket, is an excellent defender, and this is the first time that he's ever played against high level competition.  In other words, with normal development and progression, we're talking about a potential NBA player.  And right now he's arguably the biggest sleeper to emerge this winter.  LSU, Oklahoma State, and USC are the only schools that have thus far shown any early interest, but, like so many players in the day and age, Simmons tells us that North Carolina is his favorite school.  We also were impressed with 6'9 Jr Raphelle Turner, who finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocked shots and is one of the most improved players in the tournament from start-to-finish.  However, 6'6 Desmond King never got a chance to duplicate his 26-point/12 rebound performance from the first night against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, because he had to play too much out on the perimeter the last two games in order to compensate when other players got into foul trouble.  6'6 Johnny Mayhanne, 6'6 Soph Nick Williams, and 6'5 Jr Christopher Blakes were once again the three best players for Mobile (LeFlore) AL, as they combined for 53 points, 15 rebounds, and seven steals.  And we were a lot more impressed with Mayhanne's outside shooting today, as he hit 3-9 3-pointers and made some big shots when the game was on the line.  So mark him down as a legitimate sleeper in the 100-200 range nationally and we think Williams, who does most of his damage inside, could project even higher down the road, especially if he grows some more.  We also liked Blakes, who had 13 points, four assists, and four steals, better today than we did yesterday, as he showed an ability to thrive in transition and, with his size, athleticism, and ability to get to the basket, should be able project as a wing guard down the road, instead of being the turnover-prone point guard that he is for Mobile (LeFlore) AL.  Houston (Wheatley) TX beat Houston (Jones) TX, 74-71, to claim the 5th Place Championship in the Texas Division, but the big story here were the 38-point and 20-point efforts that were turned in by 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX and 6'8 Lawrence Gilbert from Houston (Wheatley) TX.  And, if Smith shoots like he did today, he not only will be a total steal when he arrives at the University of Texas a year from now, but we will have to be ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally.  Currently we have Smith ranked #235 in the senior class nationally, but, until now, I thought he was more of a slasher than a 3-point shooter.  We also have to move Gilbert, who also finished with seven assists, four blocks, one steal, 7-13 field goals, and 2-4 3-pointers, onto our list of all the major sleepers who have emerged in this tournament.  We're talking about a multi-dimensional athlete who is versatile enough to play both inside and outside and is good enough to project as a high major player.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Gilbert, who originally is from New Orleans (Higgins) LA, is one of many players now in Texas who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  The 5th Place Game in the National Division between Houston (Kingwood) TX and Houston (Bellaire) TX, which not only are big rivals, but also squared off in a similar type game in the final eight of the state a year ago, more than lived up to its billing, as 5'9 Nic Wise made what has to be the pass of the day to 6'5 Jr Trevin Harris, who scored game winning shot to make it 57-55 with two seconds left in the game.  Wise, who finished with 18 points, 4-10 3-pointers, and six assists, also won the head-to-head match-up against his club team teammate - 6'0 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who had only six points, 3-13 field goals, 0-4 3-pointers, nine assists, and three steals.  Bellaire also got solid performances from 6'6 Dale Van Wright, who finished with 12 points and 1-4 3-pointers, and 6'9 Isaiah Rusher, who had eight points and nine rebounds, but the guy who really kept Bellaire in the game with his outside shooting was 6'3 Emmanuel Igbinosa, who hit 5-8 3-pointers and finished with 18 points.  6'6 Jr Mike Singletary, who had 16 points, eight rebounds, and 3-4 3-pointers for Houston (Kingwood) TX, not only did a good job of complementing Wise, but he also helped the value of stock today as he finally showed more signs of being able to play out on the perimeter and shoot the 3-point shot. 

Marietta (Wheeler) GA beat Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 77-63, in the 3rd Place Game in the National Division at the Academy National Invitational earlier today and, as a result, it's easy to see why we have dubbed  Neumann-Goretti as the most disappointing team in the tournament.  Remember, Neumann-Goretti, which has a starting five that includes 6'2 Jr Antonio Jardine, 6'5 Earl Pettis, 6'9 Jr Rick Jackson, 6'2 Derrick Rivera, and 6'5 Soph Jamal Wilson and is second in terms of talent in the tournament only to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, also went down in flames yesterday to Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA.  However, even if Neumann-Goretti had played the way they're capable of playing today, it may not have mattered, because they didn't have an answer for 6'9 Jr James Hickson, who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, hit 9-16 field goals, and showed why we have him ranked #17 in the junior class nationally; 6'2 James Florence, who had 21 points, 4-10 3-pointers, and four assists; and 6'4 J.T. Tiller, who had 17 points, hit 7-12 field goals, and impressed with ability to get to the basket and ability to shut his opponent down defensively.  Rivera and Jardine led Neumann-Goretti with 21 points and 18 points apiece and Jackson, Wilson, and Pettis combined for 25 rebounds, but their heart didn't appear to be in it even though they managed to keep it close until Wheeler pulled ahead 55-47 less than minute into the 4th Quarter.  Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA jumped out early to 25-13 lead and never looked back, as they beat Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 75-48, in the Championship Game of the National Division.  As a matter of fact, it was so bad that Fairfax head coach Harvey Kitani was heard telling Chris Lawlor of the USA Today that Oak Hill had so much talent that it reminded him of watching a camp team at the NIKE All-American Camp.  This marks the third time that Oak Hill has won the Academy National Invitational in its five-year history and, in our mind, 6'0 Tywon Lawson's performance simply reinforced everything that we already thought about his being the best point guard in the nation, as well as a top five-ranked player in the Class of 2006.  Lawson finished with 21 points, 9-13 field goals, six rebounds, three assists, four steals, and one block, but he did not shoot well from beyond the arc, as the only shots that he missed all night were his 0-4 3-pointers.  Lawson also finished as the leading scorer in the National Division with 20.7 ppg, as well as the leader in steals with 4.0 spg and 5th in assists with 4.0 apg, behind 6'0 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX with 6.3 agp, 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX with 5.7 apg, 6'0 Jr Ja'Shon Hampton from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA with 4.7 apg, and 6'0 Desmond Smith from Alexandria (Peabody) LA with 4.3 apg.  Also playing well for Oak Hill were 6'7 Jeff Allen with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 7-9 field goals and 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith with 13 points and 5-11 field goals.  6'8 Jr Michael Beasley also chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds, but he played like he was bored.  However, Derrick Caracter-comparisons aren't in order yet, because Beasley is not overweight and out of shape.  Instead, he's just lazy.  But, then again, Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith reminds us that Beasley is still just 16-years-old and still has a lot of time to continue to mature.  And, believe it or not, 6'9 Matt Shaw was the leading scorer with 11 points for Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA.  However, Shaw should have had a lot more than that, as he hit only 5-13 field goals and had only four rebounds.  6'0 Jr Ja'Shon Hampton chipped in with 10 points and 6'8 Jr Chase Stanback, who heading into today was ranked third in scoring and second in rebounding in the National Division, had only five points.  The Championship Game in the Texas Division between Houston (Westfield) TX and Alief (Hastings) TX was another high intensity dogfight.  But, in the end, Westfield's balance (four players - 5'9 Chris Hagan, 6'4 Brandon Dison, 6'2 Jr Josten Crow, and 6'7 Jr Albert Turley - scored between 13 and nine points) and the inability of 5'11 Jr B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX to make shots proved to be the big difference in the game.  Holmes did finish with 22 points, but over half of his points came off free throws (13-16 from the line), as he was only 3-19 from the field and 3-9 from beyond the arc.  And making matters even worse for Hastings was the fact that their other good guard - 6'2 Jr Larry Davis, who finished with 10 points and hit 4-11 field goals and 2-6 3-pointers -  fell far short of the 20.0 ppg that he had been averaging earlier in the tournament.  And, when one finds out that Hastings hit only 13-47 field goals and 5-16 3-pointers, it's hard to imagine that this game would be as close as it was.  However, to Hastings credit, they made 22-28 free throws and this explains why the final score was 61-53.  Due to a scheduling change to accommodate the 3rd Place and Championship Games on ESPNU, the final game of the tournament was the 3rd Place Game in the Texas Division.  And it turned out to be one of best games of the entire tournament, as 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX dominated inside and 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Augustine) TX and 5'9 Brandon Brown from Houston (Aldine) TX took turns taking long range shots.  And making all this even more interesting is the fact that Brown with 34.0 ppg, Johnson with 28.5 ppg, and Augustine with 21.0 ppg were the #1, #2, and #6-ranked scorers and Brown with 10.0 rpg, Augustine with 9.5 rpg, and Johnson with 7.0 rpg were the #2, #3, and #6-ranked rebounders in the Texas Division after the first two days of the tournament.  Well, Augustine showed why he's one of the top five-ranked point guards in the nation, along with 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 5'11 Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL, and 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, as he made big shots, made great passes, and provided the leadership necessary to help his team to a 67-59 victory over Houston (Aldine) TX.  Augustine had 22 points, four rebounds, five assists, and four steals and he finished ranked 5th in the Texas Division in scoring with 21.3 ppg and tied for 4th in rebounding with 7.7 rpg.  Johnson had 23 points, nine rebounds, and 10-16 field goals and he finished tied for second in scoring with 26.7 ppg an tied for 4th in rebounding with 7.7 rpg.  Brown finished with only 12 points, four rebounds, and six turnovers and hit only 4-15 field goals and 1-9 3-pointers.  And that was one of the big differences in the game.  However, Brown still finished tied for second in scoring with 26.7 ppg and tied for second in rebounding with 8.0 rpg in the Texas Division.  Our list of the top 35 players in the tournament (both Divisions) based on performance ranked in order includes 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Jr James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'5 Jr Marcus Simmons from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 6'2 Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 5'9 Brandon Brown from Houston (Aldine) TX, 5'11 Jr B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hastings) TX, 6'2 James Florence from Marietta (Wheeler) GA,  6'6 Soph Nick Williams from Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'7 Jeff Allen from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'8 Jr Chase Stanback from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'6 Johnny Mayhanne from Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 6'4 J.T. Tiller from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'2 Jr Antonio Jardine from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 5'9 Chris Hagan from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'6 Dale Van Wright from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 7'0 Beas Hamga from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, 6'4 Brandon Dison from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'0 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'2 Jr Larry Davis from Alief (Hastings) TX, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Jr Raphelle Turner from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, 6'0 Jr Ja'Shon Hampton from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'2 Jr Justin Crow from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'5 Jerren Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'9 Jr Rick Jackson from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'7 Jr Albert Turley from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'6 Soph Desmond King from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, 6'8 Samuel Hannes from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, and 6'6 Jr Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

When Alief (Hasting) TX beat San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, 80-70; Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA beat Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 55-54; Houston (Aldine) TX beat Houston (Jones) TX, 86-80; Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA beat Houston (Bellaire) TX, 59-41; Houston (Westfield) TX beat Houston (Eisenhower) TX, 56-29; Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA beat Alexandria (Peabody) LA, 89-64; Sugar Land (Hightower) TX beat Houston (Wheatley) TX, 82-74; and Marietta (Wheeler) GA beat Houston (Kingwood) TX, 56-52; yesterday in the first round at the Academy National Invitational, it set the stage for today's semi-finals games in both the winners bracket and losers bracket of the National and Texas Divisions.   And the Consolation Bracket Semi-Finals earlier today were better than expected, as right off the bat we got a chance to see all of the good young players, like 7'0 Soph Beas Hamga, 6'3 Jr Dominic Carey , 6'10 Jr Kiril Nickolovski, 6'4 Jr Terrance Taylor, and 5'10 Frosh Jordan Brickman, on San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX and University of Texas signee 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX.  However, it was 6'5 Jr DeAngelo Kay from Houston (Jones) TX who stole the show, as this undersized shot blocking athletic junior was the leading scorer (19 points) and the  second leading rebounder (10 boards) in the game.   Kay also provided the necessary complement inside to Smith, who slashed to the basket, made his teammates better (seven assists), and finished with 16 points, as Houston (Jones) TX beat San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, 60-51.  Hamga led the losers with 13 points and 14 rebounds, but it's his size, athleticism, and dramatic improvement during the last year that make us think he's upside and potential are unlimited.  Houston (Bellaire) TX beat Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 59-56, but once again we were more intrigued with the losers, which featured three players we'd never heard of before in 6'6 Johnny Mayhanne, 6'6 Soph Nick Williams, and 6'5 Jr Christopher Blakes.  Mayhanne was the leading scorer with 18 points, but Williams, who is an undersized inside player right now, but will project as a wing forward down the road, has to be one of the biggest sleepers to emerge in the tournament, as he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and three blocks.  In other words, we're talking about an excellent athlete, physical specimen, and tough hardnosed competitor, but whether he gets recruited at the higher major level down the road may depend up whether he grows or develops more of a perimeter game.  Mayhanne, who hit only 7-20 field goals and 4-12 3-pointers against Houston (Bellaire) TX, also is more of a slasher than shooter.  But he'd be a steal at the mid-major level and it's our guess that schools like South Alabama aren't real happy that the word about how good Mayhanne is will be getting out.  Blakes isn't a pure point guard (four turnovers), but, at 6'5, we like his ball handling and passing skills (four assists) and his ability to post up smaller guards.  And this was the case on several occasions against 6'0 Jr Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX.  However, Lucas compensated for this by hitting 3-5 3-pointers en route to a 17-point/five-assist performance.  We also were impressed with 6'6 Dale Van Wright from Houston (Bellaire) TX, who not only finished with 23 points, 9-18 field goals, 3-5 3-pointers, four assists, and three steals, but he also has matured, as he took better shots and made better decisions.  One of the biggest busts of the day was 6'9 Jr Isaiah Rusher from Houston (Bellaire) TX, but, then again, this shot blocking athletic power forward didn't play except for a couple of minutes in the second half, because he was late to the game.  Houston (Wheatley) TX beat Houston (Eisenhower) TX, 79-66, in the third Consolation Game of the day.  But, except for 6'8 Lawrence Gilbert, who scored 24 points and hit 16-19 free throws to help ensure the victory for Wheatley, there wasn't much to talk about in this game.  In sharp contrast, there were lots of interesting things to talk about after Houston (Kingwood) TX beat Alexandria (Peabody) LA beat, 50-42, in the final Consolation Game of the day.  Like, 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood)  TX, who had 22 points, five assists, 7-13 field goals, and 4-7 3-pointers and, once again, reinforced our belief that he's a lot better than most people give him credit for being.   However, this also is the same guy who scored only six points and hit 1-12 field goals and 1-6 3-pointers when his team lost yesterday to Marietta (Wheeler) GA?  Like, all the great young players, including 6'6 Soph Desmond King, 6'5 Jr Marcus Simmons, and 6'9 Jr Raphelle Turner on Alexandria (Peabody) LA.  And, if King, who finished with only two points in today's game, had played like he did yesterday when he had 26 points and 12 rebounds against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill VA, his team would have won easily.  Instead, Simmons was the guy who came up big today, has he had 17 points and 8-16 field goals and impressed with his offensive rebounding and ability to make shots in the 15-20 foot range.  So it looks like we're talking about two more of the biggest sleepers to emerge in the tournament, as well as a pair of guys who are good enough to be ranked among our top 100 nationally in the junior and sophomore classes, respectively.  We also have to mention Turner, despite the fact he has only scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in two games.  Right now Turner is extremely raw, but he also has a tremendous upside.  Like the fact that a win here by Kingwood sets up a big match-up against Houston (Bellaire) TX in the 5th Place Game.  If you will recall, Lucas, Rusher, Wise, and 6'6 Jr Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX all play together in the Houston Hoops club team program and, as a result, this is a big game in terms of bragging rights.  So now tomorrow's Consolation Bracket Games are set with San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX versus Houston (Wheatley) TX at 9:30 AM in the 7th Place Game of the Texas Division; Mobile (LeFlore) AL versus Alexandria (Peabody) LA at 11:00 AM in the 7th Place Game of the National Division; Houston (Jones) TX versus Houston (Eisenhower) TX at 12:30 PM in the 5th Place Game of the Texas Division; and Houston (Bellaire) TX versus Houston (Kingwood) TX in the 5th Place game of the National Division. 

Alief (Hastings) TX beat Houston (Aldine) TX, 78-74, in the first semi-finals game in the Texas Division earlier today at the Academy National Invitational, but the big story here were the prolific scoring performances that were turned in by 5'11 Jr B.J. Holmes and 6'2 Jr Larry Davis, who combined 48 points for Alief (Hastings) TX, and 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson and 5'9 Brandon Brown, who combined for 55 points and 17 rebounds for Houston (Aldine) TX.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Brown, who had 35 points and 12 rebounds against Alief (Hastings) TX is currently both the leading scorer with 34.0 ppg and the second leading rebounder with 10.0 rpg in the tournament.  However, he's not getting very much Division I interest, because there is not a big demand for 5'9 2-guards who can shoot the lights out.  Still, Brown is a tough hardnosed competitor who gets the most out of what he has and, as a result, is one of our favorite players in the tournament.  And so is Johnson, who had 37 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots yesterday against Houston (Jones) TX and 20 points and five rebounds earlier today against Alief (Hastings) TX.   And he could have had a lot more if they'd gotten Johnson the ball more inside.  The other big difference in the game was the fact that Hastings was just flat out better in the backcourt with Davis and Holmes at the one and the two spots.  Davis is an excellent 3-point shooter (5-10 3-pointers) and Holmes is a pure point guard who runs the show, makes good decisions, is quick off the dribble, has a great nose for the ball, and makes a living at the foul line (14-17 free throws).  And when you also add 5'11 Jr Sherman Jones and 6'5 Soph De'Everett Williams, who finished with 11 points and six points apiece, into the equation, it becomes obvious that this team will be even better next year as six of its top seven players will be back next year.  As for Johnson, he tells us that his list of schools now includes Texas, Kentucky, Arizona, Duke, and Connecticut and we think it was especially noteworthy that Longhorns assistant coach Rodney Terry and Wildcats assistant coach Reggie Hanson were both in the house today to see him play.  We never thought Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA would knock off Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA in the first semi-finals game in the National Division, but that's exactly what happened, as Fairfax hit 20-38 field goals and 7-17 3-pointers and Neumann shot 17-51 from the field and 4-18 from beyond the arc.  And, if Neumann-Goretti hadn't decisively won the battle of the boards (28-19), it probably would have been even worse than the 57-47 final score would indicate.  Fairfax got most of its scoring output from 6'5 Jerren Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, who had 18 points, 6-8 field goals, and 3-5 3-pointers and is one of the best 3-point shooters still available, and 6'8 Jr Chace Stanback, who had 17 points, 5-10 field goals, and 2-6 3-pointers and is currently underrated at #144 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The attack for Neumann-Goretti was much more balanced, as 6'2 Jr Antonio Jardine, 6'2 Derrick Rivera, 6'5 Earl Pettis, and 6'9 Jr Rick Jackson had 14, 11, 10, and 10 points apiece, respectively.  But Neumann-Goretti failed to shut down Fairfax's outside shooting and they were one player short when Pettis fouled out and needed to make a comeback late in the game.  However, the next game went pretty much true to form, as an extremely well coached Houston (Westfield) TX team knocked off Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 52-41.  Hightower did get 19 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists from 6'0 D.J. Augustine, who is one of the best point guards in the nation.  But they did not have enough other weapons to beat Houston (Westfield) TX, which is extremely well coached and featured a well-balanced attack that included 6'4 Brandon Dison, 5'9 Chris Hagan, 6'2 Josten Crow, 6'7 Jr Albert Turley.  Turley and Crow took care of business inside, as they combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds; Hagan ran the show, as he finished with 13 points and five assists; and Dison impressed us with athleticism and ability to get to the basket in transition.  Marietta (Wheeler) GA, which features 6'9 Jr James Hickson, who is now ranked #17 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, kept it close for a while, but was never quite able to get over the hump in the final semi-finals game of the day in the National Division against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  But, of course this was not a surprise, because the nation's premier basketball factory is now at full strength.  If you will recall, 6'0 Tywon Lawson returned from a suspension on December 17th that sidelined him early in the season and, as a result, all of Oak Hill's other excellent players - 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley, 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith, 6'7 Jeff Allen, and 6'6 Landon Milbourne - are just that much better than when we last saw them three weeks ago in Lexington, KY.  Lawson, who also is as explosive a point guard as there is in the country, led Oak Hill with 16 points, 7-11 field goals, five assists, and four steals.  Smith chipped in with 13 points, five assists, three blocks, and six turnovers.  Beasley had 11 points and eight rebounds, Allen had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Milbourne had six points and two rebounds.  Hickson led Wheeler with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks.  The final score was 76-56 and this sets up tomorrow's Winner Bracket Games with Marietta (Wheeler) GA versus Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA at 4:00 PM in the 3rd Place Game of the National Division; Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 6:00 PM in the Championship Game of the National Division; Alief (Hastings) TX versus Houston (Westfield) TX at 7:30 PM in the Championship Game of the Texas Division; and Houston (Aldine) TX versus Sugar Land (Hightower) TX at 9:00 PM in the 3rd Place Game of the Texas Division. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Miami (Senior) FL beat Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, 71-43; Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA beat Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, 79-45; and Columbia (Lower Richland) SC beat Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, 62-58; in the three Consolation Round Games and Memphis (Ridgeway) TN beat Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 52-49; Memphis (Mitchell) TN beat Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 65-54;  Herndon (H.S.) VA beat Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 76-57; and Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD was up 46-28 against Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH when I left at half-time in the four Quarterfinals Games today in the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC.  The first four games were just a continuation of the mediocre performances that we've seen the last two days in this tournament, but all that changed with the start of the Mitchell-Rufus King game.  And in that game 6'4 Brandon Powell shot the lights out en route to 5-8 3-pointers and 22 points, 6'7 Andre Thornton, who had 14 points, seven rebounds, and hit 7-12 field goals, impressed us with his crafty moves around the basket and good mid-range game, and 6'8 Thaddeus Young, who had 19 points, six rebounds, 5-8 field goals, 2-2 3-pointers, and 7-7 free throws, was a model of efficiency were largely responsible for Memphis Mitchell's impressive 11-point victory.  The best player for Rufus King was 6'1 Troy Cotton, who hit 4-9 3-pointers en route to 16 points and five assists, but 6'6 Soph Bryan Brown and 7'0 Mitchell Carter combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds inside and 5'11 Soph Korey Lucious and 6'0 Leneal Harris from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI picked up where they left off yesterday in transition.  However, neither Lucious nor Harris, who together only 13 points and hit a combined 5-21 field goals and only 3-16 3-pointers against Memphis (Mitchell) TN, shot the ball as well as they did yesterday when they combined for 31 points, 9-18 field goals, and 5-9 3-pointers.  And really that was the biggest difference in the game, as Memphis (Mitchell) TN hit 22-40 field goals (55%) and 8-16 3-pointers (50%).  In contrast, Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI shot only 21-51 from the field (41.2%) and 7-25 from beyond the arc (28%).  The Herndon-Mater Dei game was was too close to call (it was 30-30 at the half) until Herndon went on a 14-4 run to start the second half.  And, with 12:17 left in the game, 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA picked up his second foul and it continued to get even worse, as 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S) VA accounted for five straight points with a 3-pointer and a long pass to 6'6 Larry Gbenyon to give Herndon (H.S.) VA a 15-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game (they play two 16-minute halves at the Beach Ball Classic).  Reynolds also hit another big 3-pointer with just over eight minutes left in the game to make it 54-37 and from there Herndon (H.S.) VA coasted to what was easily the biggest upset thus far in the tournament.  Reynolds had only nine points, one assist, four turnovers and  four steals at half-time, but he finished with 27 points and hit 3-7 3-pointers, including the two that really helped break the game wide open, and now has to be our #1-ranked player based on performance in the tournament.  King finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, but hit only 7-22 field goals and 2-9 3-pointers.  Speaking of King, his father tells us that his latest list of schools now includes Gonzaga, Duke, Villanova, USC, and to illustrate just how intense the recruiting battle really is Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Wildcats head coach Jay Wright, and Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams were all in the house to see King play last night when he went for 35 points.  King's father thinks his son is very comparable to Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison, but we think he'll go to Duke if the Blue Devils offer.  Did you know that every time King did anything last night he looked over to Krzyzewski to make sure that he was watching?  The last game of the evening went about the way we expected as Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD jumped out to 16-3 lead early and was up 46-28 at half-time, which was the point when I decided that I had had enough.  At that point 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman was the leading scorer for Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD with 19 points.  However, 6'0 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD was also playing extremely well, as he had 13 points, five assists, and was 2-4 from 3-point land.  The only player worth mentioning for Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH is 6'4 James Dews, who had 18 points, but was only 2-7 from beyond the arc in the first half.  Bright and early tomorrow morning I will flying to Houston, TX, where I will spend the next two days covering the Academy National Invitational.  So now is the perfect time to provide you with our list of top players ranked in order based on performance that we've seen the last three days at this year's Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC.  It includes 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA, 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'3 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'0 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'7 Ernest Fields from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'7 Soph Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'5 Soph Rayford Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 6'4 James Dews from Liberty Township (Lakota East) SC, 6'7 Mike Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, 5'11 Soph Korey Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'8 Jr Jerai Grant from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'0 Leneal Harris from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'1 Troy Cotton from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'8 Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'7 Andre Thornton from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'0 Jeff Aerni from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, and 6'4 Jr Carlon Brown from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA. 

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Well, it looks like we were right on the money yesterday when we alluded to the fact that it would be blowout city in today's first round games at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC, as Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI beat Miami (Senior) FL, 71-51; Memphis (Mitchell) TN beat Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, 106-52; Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD beat Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, 78-60; and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, beat Phoenix (Brophy) AZ, 65-47.  However, we were a little bit surprised by the fact that Dayton (Dunbar) OH beat  Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 69-64, in the first Consolation Game of the tournament.  And, once again 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH was the best player on the court, but it really was a quiet 17-point effort, as most of his points came off dunks and transition.  Also not playing as well for Dayton Dunbar as his statistics would indicate was 6'9 Jr Aaron Pogue.  He did finish with 14 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, but eight of his points came off free throws (8-12) and he also had five turnovers and couldn't finish around the basket, as is evident by his 3-9 field goals.  And, even more troubling are Pogue's lack of effort, lousy footwork, bad hands, and the fact that he's always out of shape.  But, of course, all of that may change once he gets to college and actually gets some coaching.  Instead, the leading scorer and player that we liked the best for Dayton Dunbar was 6'8 Mark Anderson, who was active on the boards and scored around the basket, as he finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.  Anderson didn't do much yesterday (only three points and five rebounds in the first game of the tournament), but, if this game was more indicative of his potential, then he could be a legitimate sleeper for the mid-major level.  The two leading scorers for Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL were 5'10 Brandon Williams from 6'5 Soph Rayford Shipman, who combined for 43 of their team's 66 points against Dayton Dunbar.  And, while we think Williams is an absolute steal for Stetson, we weren't as impressed as we were last night with his decision making and ability to make his teammates better when he finished with only five points, but had six assists and four turnovers.  Today Williams impressed us with his outside shooting (3-7 3-pointers), but not his assist to turnover ratio (3 assist/6 turnovers).  We also were a lot less impressed with Shipman's outside shooting today, as he hit 1-6 from beyond the arc (yesterday hit 3-7 treys).  The leading scorer in the first first round game of the day was 6'8 Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, but the value of his stock continues to drop for several reasons.  First, he wants to spend too much time away from the basket and, as a result, doesn't take advantage of his quickness, athleticism, and ability to dominate inside.  Second, Collins doesn't have 6'0 Jr Edwin Rios, who transferred from Miami (Senior) FL to Hollywood (Chaminade) FL at the end of the summer, to create scoring opportunities and help cover up his weaknesses.  Third, Collins doesn't have as good a supporting cast as he did a year ago and, as a result, needs to carry more of the load.  However, this a problem, because he has always been inconsistent and doesn't have a killer mentality.  Still, Collins got the better of 7'0 Mitchell Carter from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, who finished with only nine points and six rebounds.  Instead, the big reason why Rufus King rolled to a 20-point win was the guard play provided by 5'11 Soph Korey Lucious and 6'0 Leneal Harris, who combined for 38 points and hit 5-9 3-pointers.  Neither is a pure point guard, but they both are very athletic, explosive in transition, and they were able to exploit Miami Senior's lack of experience in the backcourt.  Rufus King also has another good guard in 6'1 Troy Cotton, who finished with seven points, two assists, four steals, and five turnovers.  However, when you also take into account the fact that Lucious and Harris combined for eight turnovers, it will be extremely interesting to see how well Rufus King handles the pressure that it is sure to see against Memphis (Mitchell) TN in tomorrow's 5:15 PM Quarterfinals Game.  Speaking of Memphis (Mitchell) TN, which jumped out to a 32-8 lead early and never looked back en route to a 54-point victory against Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, 6'8 Thaddeus Young and 6'4 Brandon Powell scored 26 and 24 apiece and combined to form what has been easily the best one-two punch that we've seen so far in the tournament.  Powell also accounted for all 24 of his points from behind the arc, as he hit 8-20 3-pointers, and Young impressed us with his incredible athleticism, high degree of skills, and multi-dimensional game, as he also accounted for eight rebounds and made several great passes.  Nobody was even worth mentioning for Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, as the final score was even worse than the 54-point final score indicates.  Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA made things interesting for a half against Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, but in the end the Stags had too many weapons, as 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman scored 28 points, 6'8 Jr Jerai Grant had 13 points, 13 points and three blocks, 6'0 Nigel Munson had 15 points and seven assists, 6'3 Jr Isiah Tate had eight points and hit 2-2 3-pointers, and 6'8 Soph Chris Braswell had six points and five rebounds.  And this is important, because we didn't even know that Braswell, who is ranked #32 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP and previously was at Suitland (Capital Heights) MD, was now at DeMatha until right before the start of the game.  So when you also take into account that DeMatha head coach Mike Jones is second to none as a coach, it's easy to see why we're more convinced than ever that they will be playing against either Memphis (Mitchell) TN or Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA in the championship game three days from now.  Martin Luther King featured a well balanced attack, which was led by 6'4 Jr Carlton Brown, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, and 6'7 Matt Iberwiro, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, and, as a result, now has to be one of the favorites in the Consolation Bracket.  The most interesting of the four first round games of the day was the final game of the day between Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ and, believe it or not, an undermanned Brophy Prep team had the lead on three different occasions mid-way through the first half with scores of 11-9, 13-11, and 15-13 and they led by as much as five points with 5:20 left in the half.  However, at that point Mater Dei went on a 14-4 run and that was pretty much all she wrote for Brophy Prep, which featured a very balance attack that included 12 points from 6'3 Brian Clark, 11 points from 6'4 Soph Jeff Hart, seven points and four rebounds from 6'3 David Schneider, and seven points and six assists from 5'10 Jr Nick Rivers.  The leading scorer and the best individual performance that we've seen so far in the tournament was turned in by 6'7 Jr Taylor King, from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who not only scored 35 of his team's 65 points, but also hit 13-25 field goals, 4-7 3-pointers, and 5-5 free throws and had two assists.  Tomorrow's schedule begins with three Consolation games between Miami (Senior) FL versus Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC at 10:15 PM, Riverside (Martin Lither King) CA versus Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC at Noon, Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ versus Columbia (Lower Richland) SC at 1:45 PM, followed by four quarterfinals games with Memphis (Ridgeway) TN versus Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH at 3:30 PM, Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI at Memphis (Mitchell) TN at 5:15 PM, Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA versus Herndon (H.S.) VA at 7:00 PM, and Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD versus Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH at 8:45 PM.  We're sticking with our predictions from yesterday for all of the games in the Winner's Bracket and we expect Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, Miami (Senior) FL, and Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ to take home victories in the Consolation Round tomorrow.  And, if we're correct, it means that all three of the in-states will all have lost their first two games in the tournament.  However, help is on the way, because Jeff Schneider, who has the All-Star Recruiting Service, Recruiting Showcases, Youth Teams, the Skill Development Basketball Academy, and Day Camps and is the father of 6'3 David Schneider, recently moved to Myrtle Beach, SC.  And, this is important, because Schneider is one of the best work-out coaches and individual instructors in the nation and, as a result, the talent level in this area should improve dramatically in a hurry. 

Monday, December 26, 2005

The games on the first day of action at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC were less than memorable, as Memphis (Ridgeway) TN beat Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 51-46; Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH beat Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 72-62; Herndon (H.S.) VA beat Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, 64-49; and Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH beat Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, 36-27.  So, instead, we'll focus on the excellent individual performances turned in by 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, who finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, five steals, 12-22 field goals, and 3-7 3-pointers against Memphis (Ridgeway) TN; 6'7 Soph Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two turnovers, three steals, and 9-14 field goals against Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL; 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA, who finished with 24 points, 8-18 field goals, one assist, and five rebounds against Columbia (Lower Richland) SC.  Speaking Reynolds, he never saw a shot he didn't like and he had the green light all night, as he also hit 8-14 3-pointers and more than lived up to his reputation as one of the most prolific scorers and best pure shooters in the class.  However, we don't have him ranked any higher than #54 in the senior class nationally, because he's an undersized 2-guard all the way.  And just as noteworthy was the mediocre performance turned in by 6'7 Mike Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, who hit 4-17 field goals and 1-6 3-pointers against Herndon (H.S.) VA.  Jones did finish with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but seven of those points came off of free throws and most of the rest of his points came off of offensive rebounds from his own missed shots.  And he was even worse in the 1st Half , as he hit 1-10 from the field and 1-5 from beyond the arc.   Cook couldn't get his team over the hump and, as a result, our favorite player of the entire day was Roe.  Not only did he more than live up to his ranking as our #17-ranked sophomore nationally and our #3-ranked sophomore in the state, behind 6'9 Soph Yancey Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH and 6'11 Soph B.J Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH, but he also knows what he is (a power forward), as he scored around the basket, rebounded, and was the best defensive player we've saw all day.  We also found it interesting that Michigan and Illinois appear to be the early favorites for Roe, although he also says that he has Ohio State, Louisville, and Michigan State.   However, less than interesting was the final game of the day, which was 2-2 with 8:30 remaining in the First Half (they play two 16 minute halves at the Beach Ball Classic) and 15-8 at the intermission.   As a matter of fact, it was so bad that the only good player in the game - 6'4 James Dews from Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH - was dumbed-down to the level of the competition, as he finished with only 14 points and five rebounds and hit only 4-14 field goals and 0-6 3-pointers.  Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH did win the game, but Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC was only down by five with 1:21 left in the game.  So it appears that bad match-ups and lopsided games are really the big story in the opening round of the tournament, as we also expect Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI to beat Miami (Senior) FL, Memphis (Mitchell) TN to roll past Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD to dismantle Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA to overwhelm Phoenix (Brophy) AZ in the four remaining first round games tomorrow.   And on Wednesday we expect Lakewood (St. Edwards) TN to beat Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, Memphis (Mitchell) TN to beat Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA to beat Herndon (H.S.) VA, and Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD to beat Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH in the four Quarter-Finals games.  Then, if everything goes that way we expect, things should really get interesting with Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD versus Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA versus Memphis (Mitchell) TN in the Semi-Finals on Thursday and Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD over Memphis (Mitchell) TN in the Championship Game on Friday.  So stay tuned!

Saturday, December 24, 2005, & Sunday, December 25, 2005

One of the busiest times of the year for high school basketball is the week between Christmas and New Year's and once again I plan to spend the first three days (Monday, December 26th, Tuesday, December 27th, and Wednesday, December 28th) at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC and the next two days (Thursday, December 29th, and Friday, December 30th) in the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX.  So obviously now is the perfect time to provide you with the schedule and a list of the top players for both tournaments.  We begin with the Beach Ball Classic, which has four games scheduled for later today (Monday, December 26th) with Dayton (Dunbar) OH versus Memphis (Ridgeway) TN at 3:30 PM, Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, versus Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL at 5:15 PM, Herndon (H.S.) VA versus Columbia (Lower Richland) SC at 7:00 PM, and Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH versus Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC at 8:45 PM.  Then, tomorrow (Tuesday, December 27th), the first game will begin at 1:45 PM with the Loser of Game #1 (Dunbar-Ridgeway) versus the Loser of Game #2 (St. Edwards-Monsignor Pace), followed by Miami (Senior) FL versus Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI at 3:30 PM, Memphis (Mitchell) TN versus Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC at 5:15 PM, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD versus Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA at 7:00 PM and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA versus Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ at 8:45 PM.  And on Wednesday (December 28th), the first game will begin at 10:15 AM with the Loser of Game #6 (Miami Senior-Rufus King) versus the Loser of Game #7 (Mitchell-Myrtle Beach) SC, followed by the Loser of Game #4 (Lakota East-Socastee) versus the Loser of Game #8 (DeMatha-Martin Luther King) at Noon, the Loser of Game #9 (Mater Dei-Brophy Prep) versus the Loser of Game #3 (Herndon-Lower Richland) SC at 1:45, the Winner of Game #1 (Dunbar-Ridgeway) versus the Winner of Game #2 (St. Edwards-Monsignor Pace) at 3:30 PM, the Winner of Game #6 (Miami Senior-Rufus King) versus the Winner of game #7 (Mitchell-Myrtle Beach) at 5:15 PM, the Winner of Game #9 (Mater Dei-Brophy Prep) versus the Winner of Game #3 (Herndon-Lower Richland) at 7:00 PM, and the Winner of Game #8 (DeMatha-Martin Luther King) versus the Winner of Game #9 (Mater Dei-Brophy Prep) at 8:45 PM.  I will be long gone on Thursday, December 29th, but the schedule at the Beach Ball Classic on that day will begin with three Consolation Bracket Games at 10:15 AM, Noon, and 1:45 PM and conclude with two 5th Place Semi-Finals Games at 3:30 PM and 5;15 PM and two Semi-Finals Games at 7:00 PM and 8:45 PM.  And on the final day, Friday, December 30th, the Consolation Championship will be at Noon, the 5th Place Game will be at 3:30 PM, 3rd Place Game will be at 5:30 PM, and the Championship Game will be at 7:30 PM.  The list of top players who will be at the Beach Ball Classic includes 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 5'11 Soph Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'8 Soph Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA, 6'6 Michael Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, 6'4 James Dews from Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH, 6'4 Soph Ray Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 7'1 Jr Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'3 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'7 Soph Bryan Brown from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'4 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'2 Jr Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'9 Jr Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 7'0 Mitchell Carter from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'9 Jr Jerai Grant from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'2 David Schneider from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, 6'4 Soph Derrick Macon from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'3 Jr Carlin Brown from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, 6'2 Troy Cotton from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'5 Andre Thornton from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'9 Jr Scott Moviel from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'0 Jr Jeff Peterson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'4 Soph Kenny Tate from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'8 Soph Jay Thames from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'3 Soph Corey Smith from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'5 Soph Christian Bors from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'3 Soph Jamal Trice from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'7 Soph Josh Benson form Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'6 Ernest Fields from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Jr Justin Johnson from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, 6'2 Wesley Channels from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Mark Anderson from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'7 Drew Smith from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, 6'3 Soph Giancarlos "J.C." Flores from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'7 Frosh Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'7 Frosh David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  In other words, it looks like the Beach Ball Classic is just as good as ever, as the field includes three teams each from Ohio and South Carolina; two teams apiece from California, Tennessee, and Florida; and once team from Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Arizona; and features 14 players who are ranked among the top 100 or higher nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in their respective classes.  The Academy National Invitational won't tip-off until Wednesday, December 28th, with Alief (Hastings) TX versus San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX at 9:30 AM, followed by Mobile (LaFlore) AL versus Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA at 11:00 AM, Houston (Aldine) TX versus Houston (Jones) TX at 12:30 PM, Houston (Bellaire) TX versus Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA at 2:00 PM, Houston (Eisenhower) TX versus Houston (Westfield) TX at 3:30 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Alexandria (Peabody) LA at 5:00 PM, Sugar Land (Hightower) TX versus Houston (Wheatley) TX at 6:30 PM, and Marietta (Wheeler) TX versus Kingwood (H.S.) TX at 8:00 PM.  The eight losers will then play at 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, and 2:00 PM and the eight winners will play at 3:30 PM, 5:00 PM, 6:30 PM, and 8:00 PM on Thursday, December 29th, and I'm especially looking forward to seeing Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with 6'0 Tywon Lawson, who is the best point guard in America.  If you will recall, I've already seen Oak Hill play three times this year, but without Lawson, who was suspended until December 17th.  I also will be in Houston, TX for the final day of the tournament when the 7th Place Game in the Texas Division tips off at 9:30 AM, followed by the 7th Place Game in the National Division at 11:00 AM, the 5th Place Game in the Texas Division at 12:30 PM, the 5th Place Game in the National Division at 2:00 PM, the 3rd Place Game in the National Division at 4:00 PM, the Championship Game in the National Division at 6:00 PM, the Championship Game in the Texas Division at 7:30 PM, and the 3rd Place Game in the Texas Division at 9:00 PM.  The official party line is that the schedule has been changed to Accommodate ESPNU Television Coverage, but it also won't hurt attendance one bit if four of the top teams in the Houston area are playing in those final two games.  The list of top players in the tournament also is very impressive, as we'll get a chance to see 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'9 Jr James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) TX, 6'0 Darryl Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'2 Jr Antonio Jardine from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'9 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 5'9 Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 5'11 Jr Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'8 Jr Isaiah Rusher from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'3 Soph Chris Solomon from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'5 Jr Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 6'7 Jeff Green from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Dale Van Wright from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'7 Landon Milbourne from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Soph Beas Hagma from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, 6'5 Jerren Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'1 Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'6 Jr Chase Stanback from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'7 Jr Trey Lang from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 5'9 Brandon Brown from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'5 Pierre Beasley from Houston (Westfield) TX, 5'11 Jr Ja'Shon Hampton from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'5 Anthony Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Jr B.J. Holmes from Alief (Hasting) TX, 6'3 John Tiller from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'4 Soph Josh Wilson from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'5 Jr Josh Simmons from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 6'5 Jr Tyrone Williams from Alief (Hastings) TX, 6'8 Jr Albert Turley from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'2 Jr Adrian Williams from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'5 Soph DeEverett Williams from Alief (Hastings) TX, 6'3 Jr Dominique Nixon from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'6 Michael Behrens from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'2 Soph DeShawn Garrett from Houston (Wheatley) TX, 6'8 Matt Shaw from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, and 6'11 Albert Jackson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  And we also suspect that there are some major sleepers on Alexandria (Peabody) LA and Mobile (LeFlore) AL.  As a matter of fact, we've heard through the grapevine that the best team in Louisiana next year will be Alexandria (Peabody) LA, which means this team must be loaded with good young players who have not shown up on our radar screen yet. 

Friday, December 23, 2005

The cream really did rise to the top at this year's City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, which we covered from start to finish during the last week, as all of the big names players - 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy TN, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY - finished among the top 10 players in the tournament in our Ranking of the Top Players in the City of Palms Classic and they totally dominated the tournament statistically.  The leading scorers in the tournament were 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA and 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL finished tied for 1st with 32.0 ppg, followed by 3) 6'1 Reed Baker from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL with 31.5 ppg, 4) 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN with 29.0 ppg, 5) 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL with 28.2 ppg, 6) 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 27.0 ppg, 7) 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX with 24.8 ppg, 8) 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 23.8 ppg, 9) 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR with 21.3 ppg, 10) 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC with 19.3 ppg, 10) 6'2 Joshua Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN with 19.3 ppg, 12) 6'4 Jr Brent Wood from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL with 19.0 ppg, 13) 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA with 18.8 ppg, 14) 6'8 Jr Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 18.5 ppg, 14) 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 18.5 ppg, and 16) 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez CA with 16.4 ppg.  The leading rebounders in the tournament were 1) 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX with 14.8 rpg, 2) 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR with 14.3 rpg, 3) 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL with 13.4 rpg, 4) 7'1 Soph James Tyler from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL with 11.0 rpg, 5) 6'7 Yves Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 9.7 rpg, 5) 6'5 Jr Darryl Arnold from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS with 9.7 rpg, 7) 6'7 Soph Brandon Tobler from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, 8) 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 9.0 rpg, 9) 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 7.8 rpg, 10) 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN with 7.3 rpg, 11) 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA with 7.0 rpg, 12) 6'3 Dominique Jones from Lake Wales (H.S.) FL with 6.8 rpg, 12) 6'6 Jr Brandan Brown from Brentwood (Academy) TN with 6.8 rpg, 12) 6'6 Jr Glenn Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC with 6.8 rpg, and 15) 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 6.5 rpg.  The leaders in assists in the tournament were 1) 5'11 Jr Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 6.8 apg, 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 6.8 apg, 3) 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA with 4.8 apg, 4) 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA with 4.4 apg, 5) 6'1 John Keim from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL with 3.7 apg, 6) 6'3 Jr Devon Peterson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 3.5 apg, and 7) 6'2 Zack Ward from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL with 3.3 apg.  The leaders in steals in the tournament were 1) 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA with 4.6 spg, 2) 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA with 4.3 spg, 3) 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 4.0 spg, 4) 6'5 Darren Dexter from Sarasota (Riverview) FL with 3.4 spg, 5) 6'3 Dominique Jones from Lake Wales (H.S.) FL with 3.3 spg, and 6) 6'5 Jr Darryl Arnold from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS with 2.7 spg.  The leaders in blocks in the tournament were 1) 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN with 5.0 bpg, 2) 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX with 3.0 bpg, 3) 7'1 Soph James Tyler from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL with 2.3 bpg, 4) 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR with 2.0 bpg, 5) 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL with 1.8 bpg, 6) 6'7 Soph Brandon Tobler from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL with 1.7 bpg, 7) 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC with 1.5 bpg, and 7) 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 1.5 bpg.  We also think it is worth noting that 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy TN, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, and 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez CA were listed in three of the above mentioned statistical categories and that 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 7'1 Soph James Tyler from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'5 Jr Darryl Arnold from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Soph Brandon Tobler from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Dominique Jones from Lake Wales (H.S.) FL were listed in two of the above statistical categories.  And this is important, because this further illustrates just how dominant these players were in this year's City of Palms Classic.  We also want to give Steve Bumm and Chris Diller a special mention.  Bumm, who was a long time member of the board of directors of the tournament and a good friend to the HOOP SCOOP, died of a heart attack last month at the age of 51.  Diller, who has been the voice of the City of Palms Classic, during all 13 of the tournaments that I have attended during the last 15 years, also has been a good friend to the HOOP SCOOP and was always willing to lend a helping hand to anybody in a time of need.  Diller has let it be known that this was probably the final year that he will be the public address announcer for the tournament and, as a result, now seems like a good time to say thanks for the help when I had computer problems a year ago and all of the rides to and from the gym over the years. 

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Bradenton (Pendleton School) Fl beat Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, 54-39; Lake Wales (H.S.) FL beat Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 65-52; Winter Park (Lake Howell) NC beat Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 94-67; and Piney Woods (H.S.) MS beat Cape Coral (Bishop Verot) FL, 56-54, in the four Challenge Round Games at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, which means it's time to start thinking about who is going to win the Consolation Championship, 5th Place Championship, 3rd Place Championship, and the Championship and who will be on the 12-man all-tournament team.  As things stand now, the 12 players that we'd vote for are 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'2 Joshua Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 6'1 Reed Baker from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, and 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA.  However, that could change depending upon what happens the rest of the day.  If 6'9 Mike Yocum plays like he did the last night against 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA beats Brentwood (Academy) TN in the championship game, we might replace Jennings with Yocum.  And, if 6'7 Yves Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ steps up and plays like he did the first night and Fisher is just ordinary when St. Pat's faces Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR in the 3rd Place Game, we might take Fisher out and put Mbala onto our all-tournament ballot.  We also have decided that Carter should make it, because he's currently tied with Calathes, as the leading scorer in the tournament with 32.0 ppg and led his team to an impressive 72-41 win against Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX in the Consolation Championship Game.  And we did not consider James, because he stunk it up in that same game with only 12 points, 3-17 field goals, and 2-8 3-point shooting.  Carter did take his usual number of bad shots, but he did manage to have 32 points, five assists, 5 steals, 13-28 field goals, and 4-14 3-pointers.  In other words, Carter got his point, but he also tried to make his teammates better and, in the process, helped his team win the game.  In contrast, James tries to do too much and spends way too much time trying to bring the ball up the court and playing out on the perimeter.  The 5th Place Game was extremely interesting, because it featured two very similar teams (one from the East Coast and one from the West Coast), as well as two of the top young players in America in 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA and 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who the #1 and #2-ranked players, respectively, in their classes nationally.  And both players lived up to their reputations, as Jennings finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals and hit 6-11 field goals and 1-4 3-pointers and Stephenson had 24 points 11 rebounds, and three assists and hit 10-16 field goals and 1-1 3-pointers and both players put together their best performances of their tournament.  Compton (Dominguez) CA won the game 98-88, but we gave the edge in the way they played to Stephenson, who, not only is already Lincoln's best player, but is multi-dimensional enough and quick and athletic enough to do just about anything on the court that he wants to do.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that North Carolina has always been Stephenson's favorite school and Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams was in the house to watch him, as well as 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, whose top  two schools are North Carolina and UCLA, in the 3rd Place Game and 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, both of whom have already signed with North Carolina and will face one another in the championship game.  However, that's not a knock against Jennings, who should finish as the leader in the tournament in steals with 4.6 spg, among the leaders in assists with 4.4 apg, and he also was one of the best rebounding guards in the tournament.  In other words, Jennings is capable of dominating the game in a number of different ways.  And Jennings and Stephenson weren't the only players who played well in this game, as 6'5 Kevin Menner had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and hit 7-10 field goals for Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 5'10 Hilton Dawson had 19 points, 6'5 Patrick Christopher had 15 points, 6'3 Dezon Otis had 14 points, and 6'4 Quinton Watkins had 10 points for Compton (Dominguez) CA.  Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ knocked off Lake Owego (H.S.) OR, 59-51, in the 3rd Place Game and the big difference in the game was 6'6 Jr Jeffrey Robinson, who is ranked #43 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but had only four points and one rebound versus Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC and five points and one rebound versus Brentwood (Academy) TN in earlier tournament games.  However, in this game it was the Jeff Robinson that we expected to see, as he finished with 18 points and hit 9-12 field goals, most of which came off fast break attempts and earth-shattering slam dunks.  Also playing well for St. Patrick's was 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher, who had 11 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and 6'5 Ruben Guillandeaux, who had 13 points and did most of the damage from beyond the arc, as he finished with 2-4 3-pointers.  Kevin Love, once again was the best player for Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, but St. Patrick's did a great job of denying this 6'9 man-child the ball and keeping him off the boards, as he finished with only 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks.  Brentwood (Academy) TN jumped out to a 7-2 lead early against Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) TN and led by as many as eight points midway through the first quarter in the championship game of the City of Palms Classic.  However, 6'4 Wayne Ellington got hot in the Second Quarter and by half-time it was the Ellington and Henderson Show as Ellington had 13 points and 6'5 Gerald Henderson had 12 points and Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA was up 38-32.  6'10 Brandan Wright was the leading scorer for Brentwood (Academy) TN with 16 points.  But even more interesting is the fact that Brentwood was shooting 53.8% (14-26) from the field, but was down by six in the first half.  Also Episcopal Academy was beating Brentwood 16-12 on the boards, which really illustrates Wright's only glaring weakness.  And it got even worse early in the second half, as Episcopal Academy led as many as 13-points late in the 3rd Quarter.  However, Brentwood Academy went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter and, if Brentwood Academy can take advantage of Wright's size and uncanny ability to score from mid-range and in, they still have a shot to win the game.  And helping Brentwood Academy's cause even more was a technical four by Episcopal Academy head coach Dan Dougherty at the 7:13 mark in the 4th Quarter.  Then, Wright scored to cut it to four and they traded basket's until Brentwood went on a 5-0 run to make it 61-60 with 3:32 left in the game.  At that point 6'6 Jr Brandan Brown hit a 3-pointer to give Brentwood its first lead since midway through early in the 2nd Quarter.  Then, Ellington answered with a long two, but 6'1 Jr John Garrett answered with another 3-pointer and Brentwood never looked back en route to a 74-68 victory to claim the championship in the 33rd City of Palms Classic.  The 12 players named to the All-Tournament Team were 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'2 Joshua Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'7 Yves Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, and 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  And we agree with all of the picks, except for Mbala, because he only scored six points and had eight rebounds in the 3rd Place Game tonight.  Instead, we would have named 6'1 Jr Corey Stokes from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ or even 6'6 Jr Jeffrey Robinson, who had two mediocre games, but came up big tonight and helped turn things around tonight when it counted tonight.  Wright also was named the tournament MVP, as he finished with 31 points six rebounds, and hit 12-23 field goals.  Bone also chipped in with 18 points seven rebounds, and 3-6 3-pointers for the winners.  Ellington had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 2-7 3-pointers and Henderson had 27 points, eight rebounds, and hit 12-22 field goals for the losers.  We also find it interesting that the role was reversed in the Second Half, as Episcopal Academy hit 50.8% from the field, but lost the game. 

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

It looks like the University of Illinois is making a strong push for 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, who is ranked #30 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #4 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, and, if the Fighting Illini land either or both, it may not matter if Bruce Weber and his staff can get the top players right in own their backyard.  Remember, they lost out for 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL a year ago to Kansas and in this year's recruiting class two of their prime targets - 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 5'11 Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL, who is ranked #19 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, signed with Duke and Kansas this fall.  However, Illinois already has an early verbal commitment from 6'3 Jr Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, who is ranked #12 nationally in the junior class, and they are believed to be one of the favorites, along with North Carolina and Kansas, for 6'3 Jr Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is ranked #9 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  So, if the Fighting Illini gets any three of the four above mentioned players, they would be well on their way towards being just as good at the one, two, and three spots in a couple of years as they were when they had Deron Williams, Dee Brown, and Luther Head and advanced to the NCAA Final Four last March.  And the fact that Illinois has picked up where it left off a year ago and is currently 11-0 on the season should only enhance their chances of getting all this done.  We also understand that 6'2 Knezevic Nicola from Serbia-Montgenegro finally made it official for the University of California several days ago and this is huge for the Golden Bears, because he is one of the best point guards who was still available.  Remember, this tough hardnosed competitor who thrives in transition, makes those around him better, and is versatile enough to play either guard spot was ranked as the 3rd best point guard, behind 65 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'0 D.J. Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA and ahead of 6'4 Derrick Jasper from Paso Robles (H.S) CA and 5'11 Soph Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, after we first saw him last summer at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp in Suwanee, GA.  And Nicola should also be an excellent complement in the backcourt to the other two guards that California already has in this year's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'10 Jerome Randall from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'9 Ryan Anderson from El Dorado (Oak Ridge) CA, and 6'9 Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA and is now ranked #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, when it's all said and done, this class may turn out to be even better than #8, because people who have seen Anderson play tell us that he's one of the biggest sleepers in the senior class nationally.  However, none of all this comes a surprise to us, because California's Joe Pasternack is one of the most astute up-and-coming assistant coaches in the business.  We also find it interesting that the list for 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, which now includes Arizona, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, and Texas, has almost totally changed.  If you will recall, the last time we talked with Jennings, he mentioned Arizona, Syracuse, Louisville, and Kentucky.  But, really it doesn't matter, because we still think Jennings, who is the #1-ranked sophomore nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is a near lock for the Wildcats.  And what about the fact that Tiny Morton, who is the head coach at Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, told us that Louisville is the earlier favorite for 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY?  So obviously all the time Rick Pitino spent recruiting Sebastian Telfair several years ago wasn't a total waste after all.  Villanova, St. John's, Virginia Tech, Memphis, Providence, Kentucky, Virginia, Pittsburgh, an Georgetown were the schools mentioned by 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ. 

Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX beat Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 51-47, and LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA beat Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, 77-67, in the two Consolation Semi-Finals Games earlier today in the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL.  However, the most interesting thing about these two games were individual performances that were turned in by 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds; 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, who had 17 points and 17 rebounds; and 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, who had 41 points, eight assists, and 7-17 3-pointers.  And for a while we thought Carter, who had 27 points at half-time, might have a shot at Teddy Dupay's single-game tournament scoring record, which was set with 56 points against Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) OH in 1997.  Carter also took better shots and got his teammates more involved and, as a result, moves up #11 in our rankings of the top players in the tournament after four days and two games.  And we'd like to rank Carter even higher, but the cream really has risen to the top in this tournament, as the top 10 players currently are 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarastoa (Riverview) FL, 6'7 Yves Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and  6'5 Ruben Guillandeaux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  However, as things stand now, Carter is the leading scorer in the tournament with 96 points in three games (32.0 ppg).  In contrast, Davis, who was the leading scorer in the tournament, and James, who was the 4th leading scorer in the tournament, have fallen off a little bit, as currently the leading scorers in the tournament are 5'10 Demond Carter from La Place (Reserve Christian) LA with 32.0 ppg, 6'2 Reed Baker from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL with 31.5 ppg, 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN with 30.ppg, 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL with 28.3 ppg, 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR with 27.0 ppg, 6'7 Yves Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 27.0 ppg, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 26.5 ppg, 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX with 25.0 ppg, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 24.0 ppg, and 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL with 23.5 ppg.  So obviously your probably wondering what it's going to take to break into our ranking of the top 10 players in the tournament?  How about Calathes going to for 50 points in the first of the two 5th Place Quarter Finals Game?  And Calathes had a real shot at breaking Dupay's single-game scoring record.  However, he was more concerned about about helping his team win the game than individual honors, as he made some great passes to teammates for easy basket in the closing minutes of the game.  But it still wasn't enough, as 6'5 Patrick Christopher hit the game winning shot with three seconds remaining to it a 91-89 final score.  Calathes now not only holds the third highest single-game scoring performance in the 33-year history of the tournament, behind Dupay and Clifford Rozier, who had 51 points in 1989, but he also finished with an incredible stat line that includes 18-24 field goals, 4-7 3-pointers, seven assists, and five steals, which is good enough to suddenly get him ranked among our top five players in the tournament, along with Love, Wright, Henderson, Ellington.  Calathes also was complemented by 5'10 Jr Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who finished with 19 points and eight assists, and 6'8 Jr Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who had nine points, but hit only 1-5 field goals, had only four rebounds, and did not come close to playing as well as he did last night.  Christopher led the winners with 30 points, 16 rebounds, and four steals, but he hit only 1-2 3-pointers.  Instead, Christopher, who is best known for his outside shooting, scored most of his points off transition (11-19 field goals).  6'1 Brandon Jennings and 6'4 Jr Quinton Watkins also combined 41 points and hit 17-28 field goals, but, once again, Jennings did not live up to his reputation, as he also had only two assists, five turnovers, and two steals.  The other 5th Place Quarter Finals Game between Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC didn't have any incredible individual performances, but the 28-point performance by 6'3 Jr Devon Peterson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY was still very good by normal standards.  Peterson also shot the light out, as he hit 6-9 3-pointers, and he had six assists and was largely responsible for Brooklyn Lincoln's 96-89 win over Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Peterson did not score a single point in Lincoln's win over Nacogdoches (H.S.) NY in the first round of the tournament on Saturday night and had only 10 points in their second round loss to Brentwood (Academy) TN last night.  Also stepping up and surprising us with 24-point performance in this game was 6'5 Soph Kendall Smith from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC.  And just like Peterson on Brooklyn Lincoln, Smith wasn't even good enough to make our list of the top 60-plus players in the tournament, as he had a grand total of six points in his first two games of the tournament.  We also think it's important to point out that 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC was more of a dominant force than he's previously been in the tournament, as he finished with 15 rebounds, 13 rebounds, and hit 3-8 3-pointers.  However, this was not one of the better efforts that we've seen from 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, who finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, 5-11 field goals, and 0-3 3-pointers and seven turnovers.  And the same can also be said about 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who finished with only five points and four rebounds.  Instead, Brooklyn Lincoln got most of its scoring and rebounding output from 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson, 6'5 Kevin Menner, and 5'10 Nick Leon, who combined for 46 points 19 rebounds.  This also sets up tomorrow's Challenge Round Pairings, which include Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL versus Cape Coral (H.S.) FL at 8:30 AM, Lake Wales (H.S.) FL versus Sarasota (Riverview) FL at 10: 15 PM, Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL versus Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC at Noon, and Piney Woods (H.S.) MS versus Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL at 1:45 PM.  Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR jumped out to 6-0 lead and led by as many as 10 points in the first half of the first Semi-Finals game, but two great players (Wayne Ellington and Gerald Henderson) proved to be better than just one (Kevin Love) in this game.  By half-time Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA had cut the lead to five points and, by late in the 3rd Quarter, the momentum really shifted into Merion Station's favor when 6'9 Mike Yocum dunked one right in Love's face and attempted to draw a pair of charges from Love and 6'6 Michael McLaughlin.  Lake Oswego also stopped getting the ball inside to Love, but Episcopal Academy still did not take its first lead in the game until a little less than five minutes remained.  And, at that point, Merion Station immediately went into a delay game, which caused it to become a free throw shooting contest.  The final score was 70-57 and 6'4 Wayne Ellington and 6'5 Gerald Henderson combined for 46 points.  Henderson impressed everybody with his incredible athleticism, but it was Ellington, who finished 10-17 field goals, 4-8 3-pointer, and 26 points and did most of the ball handling and made the clutch 3-point shot that really broke Lake Oswego's back at crunch time.  Love led Lake Oswego with 26 points and 10 rebounds and 6'0 Jr Ernie Spada was the guy who scored 11 of his team's first 18 points and helped set the tone for Lake Oswego early in the game with numerous fast break opportunities.  Lake Oswego also shot 21-42 from the field (50%) and 5-13 from beyond the arc (38.5%), but Episcopal Academy shot even better 26-50 (52%) from the field and they only had five turnovers for the game.  The second Semi-Finals game started out the same way as the first, as the team (Brentwood Academy) with the dominant big man (Brandan Wright) jumped out to a 12-8 lead early and then went on a 16-5 run to take a 28-13 lead over Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ late in the 1st Half.  And it was pretty much status quo until St. Patrick's regained some momentum mid-way through the 4th Quarter when they outscored Brentwood Academy 17-8 to make it 58-51 with 1:32 left in the game.  Then 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher scored for St. Patrick to make it 58-53 with 1:10 left in the game.  And two seconds later 6'5 Ruben Guillandeaux stole the ball and fed Fisher for a lay-up.  However, Fisher missed the lay-up, Wright got the rebound, and both teams traded baskets the rest of the way.  Final score:  63-56.   Not only is this a huge upside (St. Patrick's is currently ranked #3 in the USA Today), but it means that St. Patrick's perfect record of never winning the championship in the City of Palms Classic remains intact (they've been here eight times and played in the title game four different times, but never won the championship).  It's also a disappointment, because the much anticipated much-up between 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN in this tournament will never take place.  However, watching Wright battle against 6'4 Wayne Ellington and 6'5 Gerald Henderson in the championship game tomorrow night should be tremendous as well, because we're talking about two top-five ranked seniors nationally, as well as three locks for this year's McDonald's All-American Team.  Wright finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and six rebounds, which means he scored 85 points, has 23 rebounds, and 20 blocked shots in three tournament games.  But what's really amazing is the fact that Wright is shooting 32-43 from the field in his three tournament games.  6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ led the losers in scoring with 19 points and 6'7 Yes Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds.  Tomorrow's Consolation Bracket Championship between Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX and LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA will tip-off at 3:45 PM, the Fifth-Place Game between Compton (Dominguez) CA and Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY will tip-off at 5:30 PM, the Third-Place Game between Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ and Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR will tip-off at 7:15 PM, and the Championship Game between Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and Brentwood (Academy) TN will tip-off at 9:00 PM. 

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The big story in today's Consolation Games at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL was the 31-point and 12-rebound performance that was turned by 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL against Cape Coral (H.S.) FL.  Not only did Davis score 31 points, but he also assured himself a spot on the all-tournament, as he's now averaging 30.3 ppg and 14.3 rpg and is ranked as one of the top 10 players in the tournament, behind 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington (Episcopal Academy) PA and ahead of 6'7 Yves Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'5 Ruben Guillandeaux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, by the HOOP SCOOP after the first three days.  Davis and 6'5 Darren Dexter also almost single-handedly helped Sarasota (Riverview) FL win the game against Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, as they accounted for 48 of their team's 58 points and connected on 21-35 of their team's 25-52 field goals.  6'2 Nate Allen and 6'7 Soph Brandon Tobler combined for 31 of Cape Coral (H.S.) FL's 46 points, but the only player on this team that deserves a mention in our ranking of the Top 60-plus Players in the Tournament, which will published at the conclusion of the tournament complete with the statistics and comments about each player, is Tobler.  And that is based more on potential than what Tobler, who is soft and not productive enough at the offensive end actually has done in the tournament.  The other Consolation Game of the day between LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA and Piney Woods (H.S.) MS went right down to the wire, but 6'4 Konstantinos Brozos hit the game winning shot from the corner with three seconds left and Reserve Christian won the game 58-55.  And another big reason why Reserve Christian was able to pull out the victory is the fact that 5'10 Demond Carter didn't kill his team with his poor shot selection.  However, his 11-24 field goals and 3-10 3-point shooting still wasn't enough to redeem himself after they way shot in the first game of the tournament.  If you will recall, Carter hit 7-23 field goals and 4-13 3-pointers when his team got upset by Sarasota (Riverview) FL.  This time Carter finished with 27 points and Konstantinos chipped in with 13 points.  The player with the biggest name for Piney Woods is 6'8 George Fotso, but he's been embarrassingly non-productive in this tournament.  Instead, the three best players for Piney Woods were 6'5 Jr Daryl Arnold, 6'3 Jr Allen Aragbaye, and 6'3 Jr Chris Sims, who combined for 36 points.  But Aragbaye and Sims also combined to hit only 4-19 3-pointers and as a team Piney Woods hit only 4-21 3-pointers, which means they collectively shot even worse in the tournament than Carter did.  Instead, we thought Arnold, who helps compensate inside for the fact that 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney is currently ineligible and, as a result, unable to play in the tournament, was their best player.  Arnold is long rangy athlete who rebounds well for his size and is good at getting his shot from mid-range and in.  This also is a good place to note that Sidney tells us that he's a big Alabama fan, although he quickly adds that he really has no idea where he will end up going to college.  However, this is still interesting when one remembers all the great recruiting battles that Alabama and Mississippi State have had in recent years.   Two of the top three-ranked juniors in the state - 6'0 Jr Edwin Rios from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL and 6'4 Jr Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL - participated in the final Sunshine Series Game of the tournament, but two unexpected players - 6'5 Eneil Polynice from Sarasota (Booker) FL, who finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, four turnovers, and three steals, and 6'0 Soph Zach Bailey from Sarasota (Booker) FL, who had 25 points and 3-5 3-pointers - stole the show, as Booker won the game Chaminade, 69-63.  Clark did have 18 points, but he hit only 7-16 field goals attempts, as University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan and assistant coach Larry Shyatt watched their feature wing player outshine Rios, who not only finished with just a dozen points, but hit just 3-19 field goals and 3-14 3-pointers.  Rios also didn't make his teammates better, as he only had two assists and three turnovers.  Getting back to Polynice, he has to be one of the biggest sleepers in the entire tournament, because none of the major national scouts in attendance (Rob Harrington from PrepStars.com and the Recruiters Handbook, Justin Young from Rivals.com, Dave Telep of Scout.com, and myself) had even heard of him before today.  We're talking about a high energy athlete who is an excellent 3-point shooter (3-4 3-pointers), good passer (eight assists), and a surprisingly good rebounder (10 boards).  However, Polynice also needs to get bigger and stronger, tends to be turnover prone, and really doesn't seem to have much of a concept of how to play the game.  In other words, we're talking about somebody who is just oozing with untapped potential and, as a result, junior college or prep school might first be in his future.  We also think 6'9 Soph Eloy Vargas from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL deserves a special mention.  Vargas is soft and raw offensively, as is evident by the fact that he scored only 11 points on 4-13 field goals attempts, but 17 rebounds is enough to get anybody's attention.  In their first game of the tournament on Friday, everybody was singing the praises of 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who finished 26 points, three blocks, and four steals and brought the house down on numerous occasions.  However, earlier tonight 6'4 Wayne Ellington was the man for Episcopal Academy, as he finished with 30 points and seven rebounds and hit 9-16 fields, as he led his team to an impressive 81-65 win against Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL in the first Quarterfinals Game of the day.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that in two games we still have not seen Ellington do what he does best, which is shoot the lights out.  Ellington has hit 3-10 3-pointers in two games, but, if he gets on track with his outside shot tomorrow night in the first of two semi-finals games against Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, there may not be many rebounds for 6'9 Jr Kevin Love to garner.  Henderson also chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the unsung hero for Episcopal Academy earlier tonight was Albany-bound 6'9 Mike Yocum, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds and was 6-6 from the field.  We also think it's important to point out that 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Lake Howell (Winter Park) FL, who had 19 points and seven assists against Merion Station, was clearly better than the other top two juniors in the state (Rios and Clark, both of whom played in the previous game).  However, the best player for Lake Howell tonight was 6'8 Jr Chandler Parsons, who finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, and five steals and hit 11-16 field goals and 6-8 3-pointers.  Yes, we're talking about a 6'8 junior with athleticism and upside who can shoot the lights out.  So rest assured that Parsons will be ranked in our top 100 the next time we update our rankings of the top juniors in the nation.  Miami-FL, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Central Florida, and South Florida are showing the most interest, but we also suspect that Parsons' list will get longer before it gets shorter.  Unfortunately for Lake Howell, 5'11 Joey Rodriguez not only did not duplicate his stellar performance on Saturday night, but he finished with only four points, three assists, and five turnovers and failed to get his teammates involved.  But this only partially explains how Lake Howell could shoot 23-48 from the field and 10-21 from beyond the arc and lose by 16 points.  Lake Howell also couldn't match-up with Episcopal Academy's size and quickness inside, as they got beat 31-17 on the boards.  If you had told me that Brentwood (Academy) TN would have a 39-35 half-time lead against Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, I would have told you that you're nuts.  However, that's the case in today's second Quarterfinals Game, as 6'10 Brandan Wright and 6'2 Joshua Bone have combined for 30 of Brentwood's 40 first half points.  Bone did all of his damage early in the game, as he hit 4-6 3-pointers, and Wright came alive late in the half, as he finished with 16 points and five rebounds and finally started to compensate for the excellent defensive effort being provided by 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  Offensively 5'10 Nick Leon with 13 points and 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson with 11 points have provided most of the scoring for Lincoln.  And Brentwood Academy simply picked up where it left off late in the first half, as they coasted to a 82-63 win and Wright, who finished with 32 points, didn't even play the last two minutes of both the 3rd and 4th Quarters of the game.  Bone and 6'6 Jr Brandan Brown finished with 22 points and 14 points, respectively, for Brentwood Academy and Lincoln was led by Stephenson with 21 points, Leon with 18 points, and 6'3 Devon Peterson with 10 points.  This also sets up tomorrow's other Semi-Finals match-up with Brentwood (Academy) TN versus Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which is scheduled to tip-off at 9:30 PM.  The rest of tomorrow's schedule will include Consolation Semi-Finals Games at 11:45 AM with Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX versus Sarasota (Riverview) FL at 11:45 AM and LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA versus Lake Wales (H.S.) FL at 1:30 PM; Fifth Place Semi-Finals Games with Compton (Dominguez) CA versus Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL at 3:15 PM and Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC versus Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY at 5:15 PM, and the first Semi-Finals Games with Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA versus Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR at 7:00 PM.  Our guess is that Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ will both win tomorrow night and that Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ will finally win the City of Palms Classic on Thursday evening.  The tip-off for that game is scheduled for 9:00 PM. 

Monday, December 19, 2005

For the second time in three days one of the big stories at the City of Palms Classic involved Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, which is the host team in the tournament and has never won a game in the tournament.  We've already told you that Bishop Verot gave one of the better teams in the state all it wanted on Saturday, before finally losing 76-67 to Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL.  And they were down by only two points with less than a minute to go against Lake Wales (H.S.) FL in the first of two Consolation Games earlier today.  Lake Wales won the game today, 60-55, but Bishop Verot proved that it could play with anybody in the state, as 6'1 Reed Baker from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, who finished with 31 points of his own in the game the other night, picked up right where he left off on Saturday.  This time Reed finished with 32 points and 6-13 3-pointers and made a strong case for being one of the top 3-point shooters and toughest competitors in the tournament.  But even more important, Reed, who is an absolute steal for The Citadel, hit most of the big baskets down the stretch and more than offset the fact that 6'4 Jr Brent Wood, who hit 7-14 field goals and scored 27 points against Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, was held to only three points and 1-7 3-point shooting  by Lake Wales.  However, Bishop Verot didn't have anything to offset Lake Wales' size and athleticism, as they got beat 31-16 on the boards and got into too much of a hurry and made a number of key turnovers down the stretch.  Lake Wales also played much better than it did on Saturday, as it featured a balanced scoring attack from 6'2 Jerrell Wilson, 6'3 Dominique Jones, 6'2 Jr Jerel Blocker, 6'8 Anthony Johnson, who combined for 50 points and also created problems for Bishop Verot with their speed and quickness.  Wilson and Johnson also combined for 14 rebounds and made it impossible for Bishop Verot to get anything done around the basket.  However, Wilson, who is a force to be reckoned with inside, needs to grow or develop a better perimeter game and Johnson, who makes a living by getting cheap baskets due to his size, needs to become more aggressive in order to get recruited very high at the next level.  Instead, the Blocker, who is an excellent defender and more of slasher than a shooter, and Jones, who is a strong physical athletic 2-guard that can shoot the 3-point shoot and finds ways to score in transition, are the two best prospects on this team.  Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX beat Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 56-44, in the other Consolation Game earlier today, but really this was the Damion James-show, as the 6'9 combo forward from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #18 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, had 31 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots, two steals, and 4-8 3-pointers.  And this comes on the heels of James' 27-point/9-rebound performance on Saturday, which makes him one of the leading scorers and leading rebounders in the tournament.  The two best players for Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL were 6'8 Jr LaRon Dendy and 7'1 Soph James Tyler, who combined for 30 points and 14 rebounds.  However, Dendy also was 4-13 from the field, which means that over half of his 18 points came from the foul line, as he hit  10-13 free throws, and, although Tyler has excellent skills and post moves for somebody so big and so young, he is still too slow and mechanical to thrive in an up and down game.  When you also throw in the fact that the Pendleton School's players never seem to be very inspired, it's easy to see why there isn't a lot to talk about in this game other than the way James played.  Auburndale (H.S.) FL beat Homestead (South Dade) FL, 85-72, in the only Sunshine Series Game of the day, but this game too was a bust.  As a matter of fact, the only player that we want to mention for Homestead (South Dade) FL is 6'2 Tremayne Russell from Homestead (South Dade) FL, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.  Unfortunately Russell, who is his team's point guard, doesn't make very good decisions, as is evident by the fact that he had only three assists and eight turnovers.  Russell also isn't a very good outside shooter, but is explosive off the dribble and is excellent at driving to the basket.  And it was hard to pick a best player for Auburndale (H.S.) FL, as 6'0 P.J. Turner finished with 21 points, 5'11 Kendrick Johnson had 20 points, and 6'4 Brandon Giles had 11 points, but hit 3-4 3-pointers and was hit team's leading rebounder with four boards.  Things finally heated up with the first Quarterfinals Game between Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, but St. Pat's jumped out to a 20-14 lead after one quarter and never looked back en route to a 88-57 blowout.  The best player on the court was 6'7 Yes Mekomgo Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds and also impressed with us his passing, aggressiveness, and ability to defend out on the perimeter.  What a steal for La Salle!   6'5 Ruben Guillandeaux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #116 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, also chipped in with 20 points and impressed us with his outside shooting (3-3 3-pointers), ability to get to the hole, and excellent ball handling and passing skills, which leads us to believe that he may be able to play some point guard at the next level.  We're also talking about another one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, but unlike Mbala, Guillandeaux is still on the board and he tells us that his favorite school is Wake Forest.  However, he hasn't heard for the Demon Deacons yet.  Instead, the schools that are showing the most interest in Guillandeaux are USC, Providence, Boston College, La Salle, Washington State, Marquette, Rhode Island, Penn State, and Virginia Tech.  As a matter of fact, one of the players that Hokies head coach Seth Greenberg was here to see tonight was Guillandeaux and this is exactly the type of player that Greenberg has made been able to steal and win with over the years.  Also playing well for St. Patrick's were 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher, who finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists and the catalyst for his team's up tempo style of play, and 6'8 Yannick Formbor-Nono, who had nine points and did a lot of the blue collar work inside.  But 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ was pretty much missing in action, as finished with only four points and one rebound.  But then again they really didn't need him.  The best player for Kernersville (John Glenn) NC was 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses, who finished with 25 point and six rebounds.  However, we'd like Moses, who has been called a young smaller version of Sam Perkins, a lot better if he was a couple of inches taller.  Still Moses gets after it inside, plus he can beat you with his mid-range game and 3-point shooting range.  Unfortunately the other half of Robert Glenn's one-two punch never seemed to get on track, as he finished with only 14 points, hit only 4-12 field goals and 0-5 3-pointers, and had three turnovers.  Obviously we're talking about 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace, who is a big time athlete and physical specimen, but still appears to be pressing too much after having a mediocre spring and summer.  We also liked the way 6'5 Chris Jacobs from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds got after it inside, but were disappointed with Robert Glenn's guard play.  And that really was the big difference in the game, as Robert Glenn couldn't handle St. Patrick's pressure in the back court and they only got six points and one assist out of 6'0 Jeff Adams and 6'5 Kendall Smith.  The best game of the day easily was the last (the second Quarterfinals Game), as Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR jumped out to a 12-7 early and led by as many as14-points midway through the Second Quarter against Compton (Dominguez) CA and 6'10 Jr Kevin Love impressed everybody with his ability score inside and dominate the boards (he had 10 points and 12 rebounds in the first half).  And Love wasn't the only Oswego player hurting Dominguez, as 6'6 Michael McLaughlin had 12 points and five rebounds and was providing the perfect complement inside; 6'9 Jr Jared Cunningham had eight points and was hitting open jump shots; and Oswego's guards were handling Dominguez's pressure surprisingly well.  And, if it hadn't been for 6'5 Patrick Christopher, who hit 4 straight 3-pointers late in the first half, Dominguez might not have been in the game, much less down only six at half-time and tied at 35-all with 6:15 left in the 3rd Quarter.  From there it was too close to call, until early in the 4th Quarter when Lake Oswego went on a 11-4 run to make it 51-44 with 4:52 left in the game.  Lake Oswego become very deliberate and are matched Dominguez point-for-point down the stretch.  Final score 68-59!  Love finished with 27 points and 27 rebounds, which is the most rebounds that I can remember in a game at the City of Palms Classic since I first started attending the event in 1991.  Christopher led Dominguez with 22 points and 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings, who is the #1-ranked sophomore in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, had nine points, seven assists, and five steals, but was unable to take over the game down the stretch.  Getting back to Love, he told us that us his top three schools are UCLA, North Carolina, and Duke and that Washington, Kansas, Ohio State, Connecticut, and USC also should still be mentioned.  Love also confirmed once again that 6'7 Jr Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR is his best friend, that they have great chemistry on the court together, and that, if it works, they'd like to go to the same school together.

Saturday, December 17, 2005, & Sunday, December 18, 2005

There were only two upsets during the first two days of action at the City of Palms Classic and they occurred in the first two games of the tournament when Sarasota (Riverview) FL knocked off LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 81-77, and Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL beat Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 79-76.  And this Sunshine Series Game between one of the local schools and one of the traditional basketball powers in the state is the perfect place to start, because 6'6 Jr Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, who is a high energy multi-dimensional big-time athlete, promises to be one of the biggest sleepers to emerge in the tournament.  And Kearse, who is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, will likely stay that way, because most of our competition (i.e. Rob Harrington from PrepStars.com and the Recruiters Handbook and Dave Telep of Scout.com) won't arrive until Monday or Tuesday and, as a result, won't get to see Kearse play, because that was the only game his team will get to play in the tournament.  Kearse told us after the game that the only school that currently is showing a lot interest is South Florida, but that should change, because assistant coaches from schools like Florida, Georgia Tech, and Massachusetts were in the house on the first night and you can bet they're already turning up the heat.  Kearse had 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, and five steals and hit 7-12 field goals, 1-2 3-pointers, and 8-9 free throws, but, even that doesn't illustrate how good he was, as we rank him #7 in the tournament based on performance after the first two days.  Speaking of the top performances after the first two days of the tournament, our list includes 1) 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 2) 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 3) 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 4) 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 5) 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6) 6'4 Jr Brent Wood from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, 7) 6'6 Jr Lance Kearse from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 8) 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 9) 6'1 Reed Baker from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, 10) 5'11 Jr Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 11) 6'9 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 12) 6'3 Jr Dominique Jones from Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, 13) 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 14) 6'5 Kevin Menner from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 15) 6'5 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 16) 6'0 Soph Miguel Paul from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 17) 6'5 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 18) 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 19) 6'6 A.J. Tolbert from Compto(Dominguez) CA, 20) 6'5 Jr Darryl Arnold from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 21) 6'4 Jr Quinton Watkins from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 22) 6'8 Jr Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 23) 6'7 Soph Kevin Foster from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 24) 6'2 Joshua Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 25) 6'2 Soph J.D. Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL, 26) 6'0 Chris Irvin from Port Charlotte (H.S.) FL, 27) 6'6 John Mesadiou from Naple (Golden Gate) FL, 28) 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 29) Corey Godzinski from Clermont (East Ridge) FL, 30) 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 31) 6'5 Darren Dexter from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 32) 6'2 Jeff Banks from Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL, 33) 6'8 Jr LeRon Dendy from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 34) 6'3 Jr Allen Aragbaye from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, and 35) 6'5 Jr Kevin Branch from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA.  It also should be noted that Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ won't play in the tournament until Monday and we also haven't seen Auburndale (H.S.) FL, Homestead (South Dade) FL, Hollywood (Chaminade) FL and Sarasota (Booker) FL, which will play in Sunshine Series Games on Monday and Tuesday.  So obviously no players from these teams have been included on the above list.  And, even if they were, we find it hard to believe that anybody would be any better than Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, who hit 12-13 field goals and had a triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks shots in his team's 72-49 win against Lake Wales (H.S.) FL.  We also were extremely impressed with the performances turned in by 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals, three blocks, and 11-18 field goals, and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who finished with 23 points 13 rebounds, and 10-17 field goals in their team's 68-38 win against Cape Coral (H.S.) FL.  Right now the slight edge goes to Henderson based on the first night's performance, but Ellington, who was only 2-6 from 3-point land hasn't shown what a deadly 3-point shooter he can be yet.  Remember, Ellington is one of the best 3-pointers in the nation and, when he's on, he gets the nod over Henderson as being the better of the two.  The leading scoring in the tournament after the first two days is 6'7 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, who is averaging 32.0 ppg and was largely responsible for his team's upset of LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, as he finished with 37 points, 21 rebounds, and made most of the clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the win.  Right now Davis needs to get bigger and stronger to play inside and he's not a great 3-point shooter, is evident by the fact that he's only 1-8 from behind the arc in two game.  However, Davis may grow another three or four inches and and he's a prolific scorer from mid-range and in.  So he's obviously is a steal for Central Florida.  We also haven't seen the best yet from 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, but 10 points, eight assists and five steals in his team's 69-36 win against Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and 20 points two assists, and eight steals in his team's win against Piney Woods (H.S.) MS is still good enough to get him ranked among our top five.  As a matter of fact, a quick look at our statistics shows that Jennings is leading the tournament in both assists and steals with 5.0 apg and 6.5 spg.  And what about 6'4 Jr Brent Wood from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL and 6'1 Reed Baker from Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, who combined for 58 points and 11-24 3-pointers in their team's 76-67 heart-breaking loss to Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL in what so far has been the most exciting game of the tournament?  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL has never won a game in the City of Palms Classic, but was up 39-36 at half-time and was up by six points early in the second half against one of the best teams in the state early in the second half when Wood picked up his 3rd foul.  And from that point on Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, which has the other two players - 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL and 5'11 Jr Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL - who are ranked among our top 10 players in the tournament after the first two days, took control of the game, as they outscored Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, 19-10, in the 3rd Quarter and 21-18 in the 4th Quarter.  Calathes scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half and was the key reason why his team didn't get blown out early by Bishop Verot, which shot 14-24 (58.3%) from the field and 6-12 (50%) from beyond the arc.  In contrast, Rodriguez, who finished with 15 points, seven assists, three steals, and 7-11 field goals, did most of his damage in the second half, as he pushed the tempo and made a living penetrating and dishing to the open man who on numerous occasions  was open around the basket.  And the biggest benefactor from Rodriguez's up tempo aggressive style was 6'8 Jr Chandler Parsons, who finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, and hit most of his 6-14 field goals down the stretch.  Speaking of Parsons, he needs to get bigger and stronger, but he's surprisingly athletic, very skilled, and has an extremely soft tough both around the basket and out to 3-point land.  We've already given you some of the scores, but now we'll break it down for you into Sunshine Series Games and actual tournament games.  So far there have been three Sunshine Series Games with Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL beating Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 79-76; Naples (Golden Gate) FL beating Punta Gorda (Charlotte) NC, 71-55; and Clermont (East Ridge) FL beating Port Charlotte (H.S.) FL, 68-61.  And in the 16-team tournament field, Sarasota (Riverview) FL beat LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 81-77; Merion Station (Episcopal Station) PA beat Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, 68-38; Compton (Dominguez) CA beat Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 69-36; Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC beat Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 55-53; Compton (Dominguez) CA beat Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 52-42; Brentwood (Academy) TN beat Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, 72-49; Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL beat Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL, 76-67; and Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY beat Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 68-54.  This sets out up the schedule for Monday, December 19th, which will include Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL at 1:45 PM and Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL versus Nacogdoches (H.S.)  TX at 3:30 PM in Consolation Bracket Games; Homestead (South Dade) FL versus Auburndale (H.S.) FL at 5:15 PM in a Sunshine Series Game; and Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC versus Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ at 7:00 PM and Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR versus Compton (Dominguez) CA at 9:30 PM in Quarterfinals Games.  Then, on Tuesday, December 20th, it will be Sarasota (Riverview) FL  versus Cape Coral (H.S.) FL at 1:45 PM and Piney Woods (H.S.) MS versus LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA at 3:30 PM in Consolation Bracket Games; Hollywood (Chaminade) FL versus Sarasota (Booker) FL at 5:15 PM in a Sunshine Series Game; and Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL versus Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA at 7:00 PM and Brentwood (Academy) TN versus Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY at 8:45 PM in Quarterfinals Games. 

Friday, December 16, 2005

I am already in Ft. Myers, FL for the City of Palms Classic and, once again, this promises to be one of the premier holiday tournaments in the nation, as five players - 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'8 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'4 Frosh Lance Stepheson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY - are ranked among our top five players nationally in their respective classes; 11 players - Ellington, Wright, Love, Jennings, Stephenson, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'0 Jr Edwin Rios from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, 7'2 Soph James Tyler from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'3 Frosh Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ - are ranked among our top 25 nationally in their respective classes; and 24 players - Ellington, Wright, Love, Jennings, Stephenson, Henderson, James, Rios, Tyler, Moore, Strickland, 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'8 Jr Laron Dendy from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'10 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Jr Jeffrey Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'0 Soph Miguel Paul from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'3 Soph Khalif Staten from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Frosh Toarlyn Fitzpatrick from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, and 6'0 Frosh Anthony Baskerville from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ - are ranked among our top 100 nationally in their respective classes.  And that doesn't even 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, who is the #1-ranked freshman in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but has been ruled ineligible by the Mississippi High School Activities Association; 6'8 Derrick Caracter, who surprised everybody when he transferred from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NY to Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA at the beginning of the school year; 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley and 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith, who were supposed to be in the tournament when they were at Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD a year ago (Riverdale Baptist decided not to play in the tournament when Beasley and Smith transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA last spring); and 6'11 Robin Lopez, 6'11 Brook Lopez, and 6'5 Quincy Pondexter, who also were supposed to be in the field until the principal at Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA decided not to let their team travel this year.  Games will tip-off later this afternoon with LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA versus Sarasota (Riverview) FL at 4:30 PM, Lakeland (Kathleen) FL versus Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL  in a Sunshine Series Game at 6:15 PM (Sunshine Series Games are independent of the 16-team tournament field and provide some of the better teams in Florida and area teams a chance to play in the tournament), Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA versus Cape Coral (H.S.) FL at 8:00 PM, and Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL versus Compton (Dominguez) CA at 9:45 PM.  Tomorrow's schedule will begin with another Sunshine Series Game with Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL versus Naples (Golden Gate) FL at 11:30 AM, Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC versus the winner of Game #1 (Reserve Christian or Riverview) at  1:15 PM, yet another Sunshine Series Game with Clermont (East Ridge) FL versus Port Charlotte (H.S.) FL at 3:00 PM, Piney Woods (H.S.) MS versus the winner of Game #4 (Dominguez or Pendleton School) at 4:45 PM, Lake Wales (H.S.) FL versus Brentwood (Academy) TN at 6:30 PM, Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL versus Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL at 8:15 PM, and Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX versus Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY at 10:00 PM.  Sunday, December 18th, is an off day.  So games will resume on Monday, December 19th, with a Consolation Game with the loser of Game #9 (Lake Wales or Brentwood Academy) versus the loser of Game #10 (Lake Howell or Bishop Verot) at 1:45 PM; another Consolation Game with the loser of Game #11 (Nacogdoches or Lincoln) versus the loser of Game #4 (Pendleton School or Dominguez) at 3:30 PM, a Sunshine Series Game with Homestead (South Dade) FL versus Auburndale (H.S.) FL at 5:15 PM, a Winners Bracket Game with Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus the winner of Game #6 (Robert Glenn, Reserve Christian or Riverview) at 7:00 PM, and another Winners Bracket Game with Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR versus the winner of Game # 8 (Pendleton, Dominguez, or Piney Woods) at 9:30 PM.  The schedule for Tuesday, December 20th, begins with a Consolation Game with the loser of Game #13 (Episcopal Academy or Cape Coral) versus the loser of Game #6 (Robert Glenn, Reserve Christian, or  Riverview) at 1:45 PM, another Consolation Game with the loser of Game #8 (Piney Woods, Pendleton School, or Dominguez) versus the loser of Game #1 (Reserve Christian or Riverview) at 3:30 PM, a Sunshine Series Game with Hollywood (Chaminade) FL versus Sarosota (Booker) FL at 5:15 PM, a Winners Bracket Game with the winner of Game #3 (Episcopal Academy or Cape Coral) versus the winner of Game #10 (Lake Howell or Bishop Verot) at 7:00 PM, and another Winners Bracket Game with the winner of Game #11 (Nacogdoches or Lincoln) versus the winner of Game #9 (Lake Wales or Brentwood Academy) at 8:45 PM.  The schedule for Wednesday, December 21st, includes two Consolation Games at 11:45 AM and 1:30 PM, two 5th Place Games at 3:15 PM and 5:15 PM, and two Winners Bracket Games at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM.   And on the final day, December 22nd, all 16 teams will play with Challenge Round Games at 8:30 AM, 10:15 AM, Noon, and 1:45 PM; the Consolation Championship at 3:45 PM; 5th Place Championship at 5:30 PM; 3rd Place Game at 7:15 PM; and the Championship Game at 9:00 PM.  The favorite in the field and the only team that is nationally ranked is Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which is ranked #4 in the latest USA Today Super 25 poll.  However, despite the fact St. Patrick has participated in the tournament seven times and finished second four times, they have never won the City of Palms Classic.  And we look for history to repeat itself, as we expect Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA to beat Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY to beat Brentwood (Academy) TN, Compton (Dominguez) CA to beat Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to beat LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA in the Second Round; Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to beat Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and Compton (Dominguez) CA to beat Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA in the Semi-Finals, and Compton (Dominguez) CA to beat Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ in the championship.  In other words, we think it very well could be a repeat of one of the all-time great City of Palms semi-finals game when Compton (Dominguez) CA knocked off Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ en route to the championship in 1995.  Remember, you win with great guards at the high school level and 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA not only is the #1-ranked sophomore in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but he's already being touted as the next Isiah Thomas.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

When we made the University of Kentucky our pre-season #2-ranked college team in the nation, we did so thinking that 6'10 Soph Randolph Morris would be suspended for the first part of the season, after having accepted travel and other expenses last spring related to trying out for NBA teams.  Well, it looks like we right on the money, because it was announced today that Morris' season long suspension for his attempt to enter the NBA Draft has been reduced to 14 games.  The official party line is that the NCAA has new information that "provides addition understanding of Morris' original intent to enter the NBA Draft as well his mind-set during the process."  However, we have to wonder if legal precedent for similar cases had anything to do with it.  Remember, Connecticut's Charlie Villanueva was in similar situation two years ago, but was suspended for only eight games.  But regardless of what we think, Morris will now only have to sit out five more games against Louisville on Saturday, Iona on December 23rd, Ohio University on December 30th, Central Florida on January 3rd, and at Kansas on January 7th and will return against Vanderbilt on January 10th, which is when the Wildcats' Southeastern Conference schedule begins.  It's also about the time that Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith has gotten all of the chinks in the armor out and gone almost seemingly unchallenged through the Southeastern Conference in recent years.  And helping Kentucky's situation even more is the fact that the Southeastern Conference does not appear to be all that strong this year and Joe Crawford, who has been slowed with a bruised right knee, should once again be completely healthy.  In other words, we're not ready to write off the Wildcats just yet, despite the fact they've suffered humiliating loses the last two weekends to North Carolina and Indiana.  And it might not be a lot better this weekend, if they don't come to play against Louisville.  A lot of people seem to think there are internal problems and that the Wildcats miss the toughness that Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike brought to the table year ago.  However, with Morris in the middle; a healthy Crawford complementing 6'1 Soph Rajon Rondo, 6'0 Sr Patrick Sparks, and 6'1 Soph Ramel Bradley out on the perimeter; 6'8 Jr Rekalin Sims being more than capable at the power forward spot; and 6'7 Jr Sheray Thomas, 7'1 Jr Shagari Alleyne, 6'2 Sr Ravi Moss, 6'6 Jr Bobby Perry, 7'0 Jr Lukasz Obrzut, and 7'2 Frosh Jared Carter providing overwhelming amount of quality depth; it's hard to believe Kentucky won't be one of the most improved teams in the nation when the conference season rolls around.  We also have confirmed via our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin that 6'5 Malik Perry from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA has verbally committed to the University of Iowa and this is important for several reasons.  First, Rubin loves his toughness, versatility, defense, and improving perimeter game, which means that Perry, who is ranked #101 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, promises to be an excellent role player for the Hawkeyes.  Second, Perry becomes the first player to have made a verbal commitment since we wrapped up our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006 and, as a result, he's the first player that we've added to our list of Recent Commitments, which will include all of the commitments and signings that we will track between now and the end of the Spring Signing Period.  Third, the addition of Perry moves Iowa's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Cyrus Tate from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'6 Justin Johnson from Tyler (JC) TX, and 6'11 Jamie Vanderbeeken from Belleville (Quinte Secondary) ON, up into a tie #21, along with Kentucky on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And this too is noteworthy, because it marks the first addition since we finalized our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006.  We also have a second addition that was provided to us via an email about the three players that were signed by Wofford this fall.  We already had 6'8 Corey Godzinski from Clermont (East Ridge) TN, and 6'5 Tim Johnson from Cordova (Evangelical Christian Academy) TN included with Wofford's recruiting class, but the addition of 6'10 Emilo Lebolo from Athens (Academy) GA moves the Terriers' recruiting class into a tie at #167, along with Columbia, Wichita State, and The Citadel, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And this appears to be a good catch for this Southern Conference school, because Lebolo is one of the best shot blockers and rebounders in the state, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 16.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 3.5 bpg a year ago.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio provides us with yet another addition as he tells us that 6'8 Edmund McCrae from Bayside (Cardozo) NY verbally committed to St. Peter's earlier today.  McCrae is averaging 14.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg, but thinks Naclerio thinks he's best on the perimeter, because he's shooting 38% from beyond the arc and is excellent at slashing to the basket.  And Naclerio should know, because he's also McCrae's high school coach.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

With the publication of our Different Ways To Look at Recruiting Section, we are now officially done wrapping up the Fall Signing Period.  And this is the perfect complement to our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006, which we published on Monday, December 12th, and our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes By Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2006, which we published yesterday, because it illustrates a number of important things that might otherwise go unnoticed.  Like just how good North Carolina's recruiting class really is.  Did you know that for the second consecutive year the Tar Heels are ranked #1 in our ranking of which school signed the best four players over a two-year period?  A year ago that list included Marvin Williams, Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor, and Marcus Ginyard and this year it includes Hansbrough again, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, and 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Williams entered his name into the NBA Draft last spring, but the Tar Heels also have Danny Green already in the program and 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 are apart of North Carolina's current recruiting class and fall into the 40-100 range nationally.  In other words, a year from now the Tar Heels will have what promises to be the best young talent in a program that we've ever seen, as Hansbrough, Frasor, Ginyard, and Green will be sophomores and Ellington, Wright, Lawson, Graves, Stepheson, and Thompson will all be freshmen.  And that's assuming that Hansbrough doesn't bolt to the NBA next spring after one only season at North Carolina.  However, keeping all of these guys together very long may be easier said than done, due to the 19-Under age limit that the NBA and the Players Union agree upon last June.  And the story becomes even more interesting with a quick look at our archives, which you can do by clicking onto Top Recruiting Classes, which shows that only once before has a team averaged 10.0 points for its four best recruits over a two-year period.  And that was back in 2001 when Michigan State had Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor from the Class of 2000 and Kevin Torbert and Alan Anderson from the Class of 2001.  However, the Spartans did not have four top five-ranked players in those two recruiting class, as a quick look at our National Player Rankings archives shows that Randolph was ranked #1 and Taylor was ranked #4 and Torbert was ranked #2 and Anderson was ranked #33 in their respective classes.  But Randolph offset Anderson, because we gave him 12 points, which is reserved for the few players that we think will be a superstar at the highest level (i.e Kevin Garnett, LaBron James, Dwight Howard, Greg Oden, and Kevin Durant.  So this is the first time ever that we've tracked a team landing three top five-ranked in the same recruiting class (Ellington, Wright, and Lawson) and four top five-ranked players over a two-year period (Hansbrough, Ellington, Wright, and Lawson).  We also were very intrigued with the fact that Louisville's four-man recruiting class, which is ranked #5 in our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006, has walked away with the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit by Team.  However, 6'9 Derrick Caracter from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, puts them over the top, as the Cardinals have a top 10-ranked player (Caracter) and three players (Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith, and Earl Clark) in the 11-40 range nationally, while Duke only has three players (Jonathan Scheyer, Gerald Henderson, and  Brian Zoubek) in the 11-40 range nationally.  We think it's noteworthy that North Carolina, Ohio State, and Texas have the #1, #2, and #4 ranked recruiting classes in our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006 and they check in at #1, 2, and #3, respectively, on our lists of who signed the best two players and best three players, as the Tar Heels have Wayne Ellington, Brandan Wright, and Tywon Lawson; the Buckeyes have Greg Oden, Michael Conley, and Daequan Cook; and the Longhorns have Kevin Durant, D.J. Augustine, and Dexter Pittman.  We also think it's interesting that the Mid-Continent Conference finished ranked #9, behind the ACC, Pacific-10, Big East, Big-12, Big-10, Southeastern, Conference USA, and Atlantic-10 and ahead of the West Coast, Colonial Athletic Association, Western Athletic, Metro Atlantic, Horizon League, America East, Mountain West, Southland, Mid-American, Big Sky, Northeast, Missouri Valley, Southwestern Athletic, Ohio Valley, Atlantic Sun, Southern, Big West, Big South, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Patriot League, Ivy League, and Independents, on our list of the conferences with the highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit.  However, this does not mean that the Mid-Continent is one of the fastest rising conferences in college basketball.  Remember, the Mid-Continent Conference landed only eight players and was ranked no higher than #28 in our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes By Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2006.   Instead, this is explained by the fact that 6'10 Shawn King from Carl Albert (JC) OK, who signed with Oral Roberts, is one of the better junior college players in the nation and, as a result, would fall in the 40-70 range nationally, if he was a high school senior.  In other words, the Mid-Continent Conference has a disproportionately High Talent Rating Average Per Recruit thanks to one player. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

It comes as no surprise that the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big-East Conference, and the Big-12 Conference have finished ranked #1, #2, and #3 in our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes By Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2006, which was published exclusively in the Members Section earlier today.  However, we were somewhat surprised by the fact that Atlantic-10 Conference finished ranked #6, behind the ACC, Big East, Big-10, and Pacific-10 and ahead of the Southeastern, Conference USA, Colonial, Mountain West, Southern, Mid-American, Sun Belt, Ohio Valley, America East, Western Athletic, Southland, Missouri Valley, Ivy League, West Coast, Patriot League, Horizon League, Northeast, Big Sky, Atlantic Sun, Metro Atlantic, Big West, Mid-Continent, Big South, Independents, Southwestern Athletic, and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conferences.  And a quick check of our archives, which you can do by clicking onto Top Recruiting Classes, shows that this is only the second time that the Atlantic-10 Conference has had a recruited class that finished ranked as high as #6 (the last time it was ranked #6 was in the spring of 2000) in our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes By Conference.  We also find that this is by-far-and-away the best recruiting class that the Atlantic-10 Conference has landed during the Fall Signing Period since 1998, which is how far our archives currently go back on our web site.  But this is explained at least in part by the fact that two new teams have been added to the league (Charlotte and Saint Louis) and the 49ers are recruiting like there is no tomorrow.  As a matter of fact, we have Charlotte's recruiting class ranked #14 in our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006, which we published in this section yesterday, and they also have early verbal commitments already from 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'6 Jr Kenyan Harmon from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC for the Class of 2007.  Also contributing to this up swing are all the outstanding coaches in the league like Temple's John Chaney, St. Joseph's Phil Martelli, La Salle's John Giannini, George Washington's Karl Hobbs, Charlotte's Bobby Lutz, Rhode Island's Jim Baron, Duquesne's Danny Nee, Xavier Sean Miller, Dayton's Brian Gregory, Fordham's Dereck Whittenburg, Richmond's Chris Mooney, Massachusetts' Travis Ford, and St. Bonaventure's Anthony Solomon.  And this is important, because suddenly it appears that the Atlantic-10 Conference is winning the race among the conferences that just miss playing at the high major level.  Obviously we're talking about the Atlantic-10, Conference USA, Mountain West, and Western Athletic, all of which fall somewhere between the High Major level and the Mid-Major level.  Speaking of how conferences stack up on the Division I spectrum, the ACC, Big East Big-12, Big-10, Pacific-10, and Southeastern Conferences are High Major conferences; the four just mentioned conferences (Atlantic-10, Conference USA, Mountain West, and Western Athletic) are in the next group; and the Sun Belt Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association are at the top of the Mid-Major level, which also includes the Mid-American, Missouri Valley, West Coast, Metro Atlantic, Southern, Ohio Valley, America East, and Mid-Continent conferences, and the Horizon League.  Then, there is another gap to the Ivy League, Patriot League and Big West and Northeast conferences, which fall in-between the Mid-Major and the Low Major level.  And at the low Division I level are the Southland, Big Sky, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Southwestern Athletic, and Mid-Eastern Athletic conference and the Independents, most of which have joined the Division ranks in recent years and are looking for a conference to join.  We also think it is important to point out that the conference in which a team plays determines the level at which the team is on the Division I spectrum.  In other words, Gonzaga is in a Mid-Major conference, but has had High Major success and, as a result, is now able to recruit High Major players.  However, just because a player signs with a High Major school or is being recruited at the High Major level, it doesn't mean he's a High Major player.  We all bring this up, because everybody uses these terms, but criteria in terms of the way they are applied varies dramatically.  However, one thing is for sure.  College coaches want names and, in this day and age, the earlier the better.  And nobody does a better job of this than the HOOP SCOOP.

Monday, December 12, 2005

It's finally finished!  I'm talking about the our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006 and I find especially interesting that there appears to be a direct correlation between schools that have had great success in recent years and schools that are getting it done on the recruiting trail.  As a matter of fact, the two teams (North Carolina and Connecticut) that have won the last two NCAA Championships, check in with the #1 and #3-ranked recruiting classes.  And Texas, Louisville, Oklahoma, Duke, and Georgia Tech, which check in at #4, #5, #7, #9, and #10, respectively, have also made NCAA Final Four appearances within the last five years.  Another one of the biggest factors in recruiting is to keep the local players at home and getting players on campus at an early age and North Carolina, Ohio State, Texas, Washington, Memphis, Duke, Wake Forest, and Texas A&M, which check in at #1, #2, #6, #8, #9, #11, and #12 all fall into this category.  North Carolina and Duke recruit all over the nation, but they also benefit greatly from the fact that many of the players that they land get a chance to make an unofficial visit  when they are in town for the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, which is always held Memorial Day weekend in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.  It's normal for Ohio State to own the state, but when one remembers that Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta previously was both the head coach and an assistant coach at Butler, it's easy to see why they had all of the right connections to get 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  Texas' big prize is 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, but four of their six recruits - 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'10 Dexter Pittman from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, 6'2 Justin Mason from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, and 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX - are in-state players and most of the players current on their roster are from the Lone Star state.  Washington has successfully recruited players from all over the nation, but the heart-and-sole of their recruiting the last two years has been right in their backyard, as the top three players they've landed have been 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA, and 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA.  Unfortunately Webster decided to by-pass going to college and entered his name into the NBA Draft last spring, but the fact that Webster and Hawes are from the same high school probably helped lay the foundation for the Huskies to beat out schools like North Carolina and UCLA for Hawes, who is one of the most skilled big men to come down the pike in a long time.  Memphis also is able to recruit nationally, but now a lot of the top players in Memphis are staying home, as is evident by the fact that they landed 6'1 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN and 6'8 Pierre Niles from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL and previously Memphis (Ridgeway) TN in this year's recruiting class.  Wake Forest has build their team in recent years with in-state players and the best example obviously is Chris Paul.  And all six of Texas A&M's recruits - 6'2 Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Jerrod Johnson from Humble (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Joseph Fulce from Plano (H.S.) TYX, 6'4 Derrick Roland from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, and 5'11 Bryan Beasley from Pflugerville (H.S.) TX - are in-state players.  We also think it's important to point out that most of the additions and changes that I've made over the weekend have been at the lower end of our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006.  However, there is one major exception.  Did you know that Lamar landed 6'6 Lamar Sanders from Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS, 6'4 Currye Todd from Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS, and 6'1 Charles Hampton from Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS?  Neither did we until today.  And did you also know that Sanders, who is sitting out this year completing his degree requirements, averaged 18.0 ppg and 11.0 rpg, shot 69% from the field, and was a First Team NJCAA All-American last year, along with 6'8 Rekalin Sims from Salt Lake (JC) UT, 6'2 Eddie Smith from Moberly (JC) MO, 6'4 Jerome Richardson from Frank Phillips (JC) TX, 6'7 Chaz Spicer from Kankakee (JC) IL, 6'5 Robert Hines from Arizona Western (JC) AZ, 6'4 Michae Neal from Lon Morris (JC) TX, 6'1 Sylvester Mays from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'7 Torre Johnson from Garden City (JC) KS, and 6'6 Kyle Prochaska from Iowa Western (JC) IA.  And Todd, who is an excellent outside shooter, and Hamilton, who is capable of playing either guard spot and can lock you up defensively, are both pretty good too.  Thus, explains why how Lamar has come out of nowhere to be ranked #36 in our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006.  We also think it's interesting that Lamar is only one of 13 schools, along with Duke, Arkansas, Georgetown, Arizona, Stanford, Michigan State, Iowa, Syracuse, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Texas Tech, to have signed three players or less and be ranked among the top 50 recruiting classes.  And this is important, because it illustrates the fact that our Ranking of the Top 265 Recruiting Classes From the Fall Signing Period For the Class of 2006 takes into account both quality and quantity.  However, if you're one of those people who thinks landing one in the case of 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, two, or three great players trumps everything else, then you'll have to wait another couple of days for our Different Way to Look at Recruiting Section, which will include our ranking of the schools with the highest talent rating average per recruit; ranking of who signed the best two players, three players, and four players this year and last year; and list by conference of all of the top 100 high school players or the equivalent of prep school and junior college who signed with a Division I school.  We also are already just about finished with our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2006 and plan to publish that tomorrow.   And all of this comes just in time for me to fly to Ft. Myers, FL later this week to cover the City of Palms Classic, which promises to be the best holiday tournament in the nation this year.  Remember, the field of teams includes Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, Compton (Dominguez) CA, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, Brentwood (Academy) TN, LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, Orlando (Jones) FL, Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, Sarasota (Riverview) FL, Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, and Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL and the list of players includes 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'4 Jr Quentin Watkins from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'0 Jr John Roberson from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'5 Ruben Guillendeux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 6'6 Jarvis Williams from Orlando (Jones) FL, 6'0 Jr Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'7 Jr Chandler Parson from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'6 Jr Dominique Lacy from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'7 George Fotson from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Yves Mekongo-Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Yannick Formar-Nono from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Jr Allen Avagbayne from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'3 Jr Chris Sims from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Jr Kevin Branch from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'7 A.J. Tolbert from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Jr Jerry Howard from Orlando (Jones) FL, 6'8 Mike Yocum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'3 Dezon Otis from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Jr Daryll Arnold from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Abdollah Baume from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 5'9 Josh Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN, and 6'2 Calvin Liptrot from Orlando (Jones) FL. 

Saturday, December 10, 2005 & Sunday, December 11, 2005

The highlight at the 2005 Nissan On Nicholasville Shootout in Lexington, KY on Friday night was the performance turned in by 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, who just missed a triple-double, as he scored 23 points, had grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked 16 shots in his team's 70-62 win against Lexington (Cathlolic) KY.  Wright also hit 11-14 field goals and an impressed us with his soft touch, incredible timing, and his explosiveness.  In other words, Wright, who is one of our top five-ranked seniors nationally, reminds us of Darius Miles in the way he covers a lot of ground in a hurry.  Wright also had a lot to do with the fact that Lexington Catholic appeared to be the gang that couldn't shoot straight, as they hit only 24-74 field goals and 6-24 3-pointers and 6'3 Brian Hewitt, who was their best player, hit only 3-14 field goals and 1-10 3-pointers.  We also thought it was interesting that in the preceding game Lexington (Henry Clay) KY went 0-10 from behind the arc, but still managed to pull out a 66-58 win against Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY.  This game also featured one of the top seniors in 6'2 Aaron Dunaway from Lexington (Henry Clay) KY, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, but was 0-4 from 3-point land; one of the top juniors in 6'4 Jr Jeremy Anderson from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, who finished with 20 points and 5-7 3-pointers; and one of the top sophomores in the state in 6'4 Soph Aaron Boyd from Lexington (Henry Clay) KY, who finished with 21 points, but hit 0-5 3-pointers.  We also think it's worth noting that Louisville (Manual) KY pulled off a 60-51 upset against Cadiz (Trigg County) KY in the first game of the evening, as 6'2 Drew Smith, 6'3 Tra'h Moore, and 5'5 Soph Aaron Williams, who combined for 39 points of Manual's 60 points, more than off-set the 30 points and 18 rebounds that 6'2 Jeremy Jones and 6'6 Jr Russell Mackins turned in for Trigg County.  Jones, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, six turnovers, and two steals, is still an interesting prospect, but he didn't play nearly as well as he did a week ago when we saw him at the Marshall County Hoop Fest.  And we probably will be hearing a lot more about the Crimons in the feature, because three of Manual head coach Dave Zuberer's top six players - 6''3 Frosh Jacob Jenkins, 5'5 Soph Aaron Williams, and 5'8 Soph Derrance Lawson - are freshmen and sophomores and we think it was no accident that 6'1 7th Grader Tony Kimbro, Jr from Louisville (Noe Middle) KY was at the game.  Yes, we're talking about the son of former Louisville player Tony Kimbro, who as a sophomore in high school in 1983 was one of the best sophomores we've ever seen.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that the Noe Middle School is right across the street from Manual and it appears that the younger Kimbro, who already is being called the "next great one to come out of Louisville," has already expressed an interest in attending Manual and then following in the footsteps of his father to the University of Louisville.  Kimbro also tells us that he's a good student and he seems like a real nice kid.  Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA knocked off Millersburg (Military Institute) KY in the final game of the evening, but the only thing that was new and interesting here was MMI's front line, which 6'11 Jonathan Uchendu, 7'2 Lawrence Brown, and 6'8 Jr Matthew Morgan.  Uchendu is already bound for Purdue, Brown is a 7-foot project, and Morgan is a power forward who can step out and hit the mid-range shot, which makes him intriguing for the mid-major level.  However, we suspect Morgan is a 4th Year junior. 

Friday, December 9, 2005

The main thing I've been doing the last several days is looking for players who have signed and/or made verbal commitments that have slipped through the cracks and, as a result, now is the perfect time for you to take a close look at our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and let us know who we're missing.  The best thing to do is email me at hoopscooponline@msn.com and I encourage you to do this by Monday, December 12th, because that's when I plan to finalize our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 from the Fall Signing Period.  Then, on Tuesday, December 13th, I will finalize our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference and on Wednesday, December 14th, I will publish all the other Different Ways to Look at Recruiting, which will include the schools with the highest talent rating average per recruit; the schools that signed the best two players, the best three players, and the best four players in this year's and last year's recruiting classes; and a list by conference of all the players ranked among the top 100 nationally in high school or the equivalent in prep school or junior college that signed with a Division I school.  And some of the more interesting items that we previously already knew about, but previously had forgottten to add to our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 includes 6'7 Zach Peacock from Miami (Norland) FL to Georgia Tech, 7'0 Chas McFarland from Worcester (Academy) MA to Wake Forest, and 6'6 Will Harris from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH to Virginia.  And this is important, because the addition of Peacock moves the Yellow Jackets' recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'11 Brad Sheehan from Lathan (Shaker) NY, up to #10; the Demon Deacons' recruiting class, which also included 6'7 Jamie Skeen from Huntersville (North Mecklebnburg) NC, 6'3 Anthony Gurley from Newtownville (Newton North) MA, 6'5 L.D. Williams from Montverde (Academy) FL, 5'11 Isameal Smith from Concord (Central Cabarrus) NC, and 6'3 Dennis Godfrey from Sanford (Lee County) NC, up to #11; and the Cavaliers' recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Jamil Tucker from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'4 Solomon Tat from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, and 6'9 Johnnie Lett from Mobile (B.C. Rain) AL, up to #30, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  In other words, the earlier returns indicate that the Atlantic Coast Conference will be the big winner of the Fall Signing Period, as four schools (North Carolina at #1, Duke #9, Georgia Tech at #10, and Wake Forest at #11) have recruiting classes that are ranked among the top 11 recruiting classes in the nation.  And, if we dig a little deeper , we also find that eight of the top 40-ranked recruiting classes belong to schools in the ACC, as Virginia, Florida State, Clemson, and Maryland check in at #30, #31, and in a tie at #40, respectively.  That puts the Atlantic Coast Conference one ahead of the Big-12 Conference, which has seven of the top 40-ranked recruiting classes with Texas at #4, Oklahoma at #7, Texas A&M at #12, Missouri at #28, Oklahoma State at #32, and Iowa State and Texas Tech both tied at #38.  However, three of those eight recruiting classes from the Big-12 are ranked lower than Florida State at #31, which really illustrates just how well the ACC really did this fall.  We also are intrigued by the three players that San Diego State has landed in 6'3 Kashif Watson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 Jervaughn Johnson from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'8 Jon Pastorek from Anaheim (Canyon) CA.  Sure, this is only the third best recruiting class, behind Colorado State and Utah, in the Mountain West Conference, but Watson, who also signed with Aztecs a year ago, is a big time athlete, excellent defender, and a tough hardnosed competitor that can beat you both inside and outside; Johnson, who ranked #142 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP,  is an undersized inside guy who is a physical specimen, excellent athlete, and terrific rebounder; and Pastorek, who has grown nine inches in the last four years, is an excellent shot blocker and a great student (4.0 gpa).  And this comes on the heels of San Diego State's recruiting class from a year ago, which included 6'7 Frosh Kyle Spann from Newark (Memorial) CA, 6'10 Frosh Brett Hoerner from Fullerton (H.S.) CA, and 5'10 Frosh Richie Williams from Spring Valley (Steele Canyon) CA.  And with 6'5 Lorenzo Wade, who transferred from Louisville to San Diego State during the off-season, there is no telling how good this team could be a year from now, especially, if 6'8 Jr Marcus Slaughter and 6'3 Jr Brandon Heath, who combined to average 36.1 ppg a year ago and currently are two of the best players in the league, both stick around for their senior year.  And, if that weren't enough, the Aztecs also have 6'10 Jr Mohamed Abukar, who transferred from Florida a year ago and will eligible later this month, waiting in the wings.  And what about Southern Miss' recruiting class, which is ranked #32 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and features three junior college players - 6'11 Gjio Bain from Northeast Nebraska (JC) NE, 6'0 DeWayne Green from Mt. San Jacinto (JC) CA, 6'9 Demar Dotson from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, who are ranked  #37, #46, and #60 by Juco Junction and a high school player - 6'9 Andre Stephens from Heilelberg (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #133 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP?  We also are impressed with Oral Roberts' recruiting class, which is tied at #40, along with Clemson, St. Joseph's, Alabama, Dayton, Maryland, Marshall, and UTEP, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006  and includes 6'10 Shawn King from Carl Albert State (JC) OK, 6'4 Jeremy Hazell from Patterson (The Patterson (School) NC, 6'2 Dominique Green from Muskogee (H.S.) OK, and 6'8 David Jackson from Tucson (Rincon) AZ.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that King is ranked #25 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction and Hazell is one of the best 3-point shooters that we saw three weeks ago at the National Prep Tip Off Showcase at St. Andrews High School in Barrington, RI.

Thursday, December 8, 2005

North Carolina, which has 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, and 6'8 Deon Thompson, 6'8, PF, Torrance (H.S.) CA in the fold, and Ohio State, which has 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, 6'9 Othello Hunter from Hillsborough (JC) FL, and 6'8 Josh Chichester from West Chester (Lakota West) OH, in the fold, clearly have the best two recruiting classes on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, while just about any coach in the nation would be perfectly happy to take whichever one of these two recruiting classes that you don't want, I'm wondering what would top landing an athletic shot blocking 7-center, like Oden, and/or three of the top five-ranked players in the nation (Ellington, Wright, and Lawson).  Well, I'll tell you.  How about landing the #1, #2, and #3-ranked players in the nation.  And what you think if I told you that I think it possible that former Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins will get the West Virginia job in the spring and land 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH in next year's recruiting class.  Obviously getting Mayo and Walker makes perfect sense when one remembers that both players are originally from West Virginia and Cincinnati was the heavy favorite for their services when Huggins got fired in August.  And getting Beasley might not be all that difficult, despite the fact that he's already verbally committed to Charlotte.  Remember, we've already mentioned a number of times that the key to getting Beasley is to to hire Charlotte assistant coach Dalonte Hill and Huggins also already has all the right connections with the DC Assault club team program dating back to when he landed DerMarr Johnson at Cincinnati in 1999.  However, for all this to happen Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser will have to take the Cincinnati job and West Virginia head coach John Beilein will have to take the Wake Forest job.  And, while this is not a prediction, we definitely are intrigued by all the possibilities.  Another interesting scenario, if Prosser leaves Wake Forest for Cincinnati, involves Miami-FL head coach Frank Haith, who was an assistant coach at Wake Forest during the Dave Odom era, returning to his old stamping grounds and Huggins winding up at Miami-FL.  And, if that happens, that would not be good news for anybody who recruits in the Sunshine State, because you know the first person that Huggins will hire is Frank Martin, who previously was the head coach at Miami (Senior) FL prior to moving on to become at college assistant coach at Northeastern and Cincinnati.  We also are intrigued by the fact that there appears to be an intense recruiting battle going on for 5'10 8th Grader Kendall Marshall from McLean (Potomac School) VA.  Will Marshall remain at the Potomac School once he enters high school next year or will he enroll at either Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA or Washington (St. John's) DC?  Marshall's father, Dennis Marshall, who is the Washington, DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, isn't saying, but we think the smart money is on St. John's.  Not only will Marshall benefit from playing against 6'1 Jr Chris Wright, who is ranked #13 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but the lure of playing in the tough WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) may be too difficult to pass up.  I also am getting ready to go to Lexington, KY tomorrow night for the 2005 Nissan On Nicholasville Shootout, which will be held at Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, KY and will be feature Louisville (Western) KY at versus Portsmouth (H.S.) OH at 6:30 PM and Louisville (Central) KY versus Carrollton (Carroll County) KY at 7:30 PM in the Alumni Gymnasium and Louisville (Manual) KY versus Cadiz (Trigg County) KY at 5:00 PM, Lexington (Henry Clay) KY versus Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY at 6:30 PM, Lexington (Catholic) KY versus Brentwood (Academy) TN at 8:00 PM, and Oak Hill (Academy) VA versus Millersburg (Military Institute) KY at 9:30 PM in the Bueter Athletic Center.  Some of the top players who will be in attendance include 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'7 Jeff Allen from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Jonathan Uchendu from Millersburg (Military) KY, 6'6 Landon Milbourne from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr Russell Mackins from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, 6'2 Jeremy Jones from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, 6'3 Aaron Dunaway from Lexington (Henry Clay) KY, 6'5 Leroy Nobles from Louisville (Central) KY, 6'3 Jr Jeremy Anderson from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, 6'9 Adrius Pegues from Louisville (Western) KY, 7'1 Lawrence Brown from Millersburg (Military) KY, 6'3 Trah Moore from Louisville (Manual) KY, 6'3 Soph Aaron Boyd from Lexington (Henry Clay) KY, 5'11 Jr Nick Britt from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, 6'3 Brian Hewitt from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'4 Soph Taylor Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'5 Soph Nathan Novosel from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'6 Cam Thoroughman from Portsmouth (Clay) OH, 6'3 Frosh Jacob Jenkins from Louisville (Manual) KY, and 6'3 Frosh Ridge Wilson from Louisville (Central) KY.  And our Canadian Editor Ro Russell wanted us to mention that he will be hosting the Prep Stars of North America Tournament this weekend at H.B. Beal Secondary School in London, ON and the field of teams will include Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, Toronto (Tapps) ON, Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, London (Beal) ON, San Fernando (Calvary Prep) CA, Toronto (Pickering) ON, Montreal (Vanier) QU, Scarborough (West Hill) ON, and Toronto (Oakwood) ON.  Some of the top players will include 6'8 Taj Gibson from San Fernando (Calvary Prep) CA, 6'9 Theo Davis from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'4 Devon McLendon from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'9 Travis George from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, 6'5 Kamar Burke from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'9 Lindsey Robinson from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, 6'4 Amir Ali from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'7 D.J. Wright from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'8 Matt Walden from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, 6'5 Malik Perry from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'4 Cam Proctor from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'0 Kerchel Carter from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'4 Akeem Sween from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 5'10 Mike Scott from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'9 Dobre Mavrak from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'2 Kahlil McDonald from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, 6'2 Sedale Jones from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, 6'4 Jr Javari Williams from Toronto (Tapps) ON, 6'6 Joel Williams from London (Beal) ON, 6'7 Soph Adam Jespersen from London (Beal) ON, 6'2 Marcus Long from Toronto (Pickering) ON, 6'1 Jr Devoe Joseph from Toronto (Pickering) ON, 6'6 Olivier Dupiton from Montreal (Vanier) QU, 6'5 Soph Dwayne Smith from Scarborough (West Hill) ON, 6'5 Akeem Small from Scarborough (West Hill) ON, 6'6 Kyle Johnson from Scarborough (West Hill) ON, and 6'3 Alain Mutuba from Toronto (Oakwood) ON.  Contact Ro Russell at 1-(416) 567-4770 for more information, as well as the complete schedule of games. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

The Fall Signing Period and has come and gone, but we continue to track verbal commitments and signings and the latest is 6'5 Kyle Wright from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who several days ago picked Stony Brook.  We're talking about an athletic 2-guard who was ranked #60 on our list of the top players at the National Prep Tip Off Showcase at St. Andrews High School in Barrington, RI and is ranked #77 in our Ranking of the Top 125 5th Year Players.  Wright, who, in our opinion, is the third best player on his prep school team, behind 6'6 Will Harris and 6'4 Xavier Silas and ahead of 6'2 Dodie Dunson, 6'6 Brian Grimes, 6'7 Mike Freeman, 6'3 Nikko Scott, 6'7 Rainer Blickle, and 6'7 Soph Emmanuel Negedu, also has a very high basketball IQ and is a prolific scorer who can beat you with both his outside shooting and ability to get to the basket.  And this makes him the perfect complement to 7'2 Riiny Ngot from Calgary (Father Lacombe) AB; 6'1 Chris Martin from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'3 Marcus Robinson from Pittsburgh (Allderdice) PA, 6'1 Eddie Castellanos from Hoboken (H.S.) NJ, and 6'8 Rio Pitt from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, all of whom are already apart of Stony Brook's recruiting class, which now is tied at #32, along with Hofstra and Colorado, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also understand that Stony Brook has one more scholarship available.  However, if they use it, they can afford to be very picky, because they already have a little bit of everything in this recruiting class, as Ngot is expected to provide the size and athleticism inside, Pitt is a skilled power forward, Castellanos promises to be an excellent floor general, Martin is an excellent combo guard, and Robinson and Wright will supply plenty of firepower out on the perimeter.  We think it is important to remind you from time to time that we don't count transfers when ranking recruiting class.  But, if we did, they University of Massachusetts would have recruiting class that would be tied at #20, along with Kentucky, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  In other words, no other school in the nation has four players sitting out this year who are as good as 6'1 Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, who originally signed with Syracuse, but didn't make it academically and is sitting out this year at UMass; 6'6 Jr Gary Forbes, who averaged 9.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg a year ago at Virginia; 6'7 Jr Etienne Brower, who averaged 8.3 ppg and was the third leading scorer on the team a year ago at Boston University; and 7'0 Soph Luke Bonner, who saw limited playing time a year ago at West Virginia, but has grown to 7-feet and has a great bloodline (Bonner's older brother is former Florida starter Matt Bonner).  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Massachusetts has only senior on its current roster, but the four players mentioned above all could end up starting for the Minutemen a year from now.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin also checks in and he's got some interesting recruiting information to pass along.  And right at the top of the list is 6'11 Hamady N'diaye from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, who is now mentioning schools like Rutgers, George Washington, Pittsburgh, Baylor, USC, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Oklahoma State.  If you will recall, N'Diaye, who is ranked #95 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is one of only six players ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally who is still available.  The others are 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, and 7'3 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL.  Rubin also provides us with a list that is very different from the one that 6'9 Theo Davis from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA gave us two week ago when he mentioned George Washington, La Salle, Kentucky, UTEP, and Georgetown.  However, it appears that Rubin got the list, which this time includes Gonzaga, Michigan, George Washington, La Salle, and Mississippi State, from Davis' prep school coach Darryl Schofield.  The University of Illinois now appears to be the heavy favorite over the University of Washington for 6'4 Devon McLendon from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  Rhode Island, Illinois State, Providence, Howard, Eastern Illinois, and Maryland-Baltimore County were mentioned by 6'5 Malik Perry from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  The favorites for 6'4 Amir Ali from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA area Arkansas-Little Rock, George Washington, Hartford, Delaware, and Virginia Commonwealth.  The list for 5'10 Mike Scott from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA includes Rice, Howard, Niagara, UAB, UTEP, Delaware, and Old Dominion.  Tulane, Niagara, Eastern Michigan, and Hartford are the leaders for 6'4 Deonte Taylor from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  Villanova still appears to be one of the top four, along with Duke, N.C. State, and Wake Forest, for 6'0 Jr Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC.  Pittsburgh is believed to be the favorite over Iowa, Memphis, Nebraska, and Charlotte for 6'6 Tyler Smith from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  James Madison, Massachusetts, South Florida, and Rhode Island were mentioned by 6'4 Herb Tanner from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  The list for 6'0 Shane Mahoney from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA includes Pepperdine, New Hampshire, Loyola-Maryland, and Wofford.  The top two for 6'7 Mahamoud Diakite from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA are UTEP and Pepperdine.   Pepperdine, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Illinois, UTEP, and Fresno State are showing the most interest in 6'9 Djibril Thiam from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  UCLA, St. John's, and Cincinnati are the leaders for 6'9 Lindsey Robinson from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA.  The favorites for 6'2 Kahlil McDonald from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA are Marist, George Mason, and Rider.  We also find it interesting that 6'8 Matt Walden from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA likes Temple, but the Owls don't have any scholarships available and, as a result, it appears to be a two-horse race between La Salle and George Washington.  And last, but not least, 6'9 Travis George, who has been at Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA for three weeks now, is being recruited by Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, George Washington, and Wyoming. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

With the publication earlier today of our Ranking of the Top 310 Freshmen, we now have most comprehensive high school basketball national player list ever assembled.  And, if you don't believe it, just take a quick look at our Ranking of the Top 125 5th Year Players, which was published six days ago; our Ranking of the Top 970 Seniors, which was published seven weeks ago; our Ranking of the Top 660 Juniors, which was published a month ago; and our Ranking of the Top 440 Sophomores, which was published a week ago.  That's 2,505 names all ranked in order within their respective classes and this is an extremely valuable tool for the college coach who is looking to get a head start on the future.  Remember, the recruiting process has been speeded up so much in recent years that 21 of our top 100 ranked juniors are off the board, as 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has already verbally committed to Charlotte, 6'3 Jr Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ has already verbally committed to Arizona, 6'3 Jr Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN has already verbally committed to Illinois, 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has already verbally committed to Georgetown, 7'0 Jr Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN has already verbally committed to Kansas, 6'0 Jr Edwin Rios from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL has already verbally committed to Miami-FL, 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (East Side) NJ has already verbally committed to Rutgers, 6'8 Jr Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD has already verbally committed to Syracuse, 6'5 Jr Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI has already verbally committed to Michigan, 6'4 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL has already verbally committed to Florida, 6'5 Jr Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA has already verbally committed to USC, 6'8 Jr Braxton Dupree from Towson (Calvert Hall) MD has already verbally committed to Maryland, 6'9 Jr Leron Dendy from Greer (H.S.) SC has already verbally committed to Clemson, 6'9 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA has already verbally committed to Syracuse, 6'4 Jr Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Monsignor Bonner) PA has already verbally committed to Maryland, 6'4 Jr Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL has already verbally committed to Florida, 6'0 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY has already verbally committed to Syracuse, 7'1 Jr Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA has already verbally committed to Arizona, 6'6 Jr Nate Miles from Toledo (Waite) OH has already verbally committed to Xavier, 6'6 Jr Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S.) OH has already verbally committed to Ohio State, and 6'6 Jr Chris Wright from Trotwood (Madison) OH has already verbally committed to Dayton.  In other words, if you're a college coach and you're still trying to figure out who you're going to get involved with in the junior class nationally, you're really behind the eight ball.  Instead, what college coaches want right now are names of freshmen and sophomores and anybody who is not aware of the fact that we're the best in the business at providing this service obviously doesn't subscribe to the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP, which where all this is exclusively available.  And to toot our horn even a little further, we've seen most of the top freshmen in the nation play in a variety of settings during the last year-and-a-half, thanks to our coverage of events like the adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA, President's Day All American Tournament in Portland, OR, and 14-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL.  And the top four players - 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'3 Frosh Kenny Boynton from Pompono Beach (Ely) FL, and 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA - on our list have earned their ranking by playing up and getting it done against some of the top players in the nation in the 17-Under age group.  In contrast, 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA, who was the #1-ranked player in the class the last time we updated these rankings, has dropped to #29 in the class after he laid an egg at the 14-Under Nationals.   The class also is absolutely loaded at the wing forward spot, as nine of the top 18-ranked players in the class play this position.  We're talking about 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'6 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Frosh Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'4 Frosh Leslie McDonald from Memphis (Briarcrest) TN, 6'4 Frosh LeShon Edwards from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'5 Frosh Jerry Brown from San Francisco (Sacred Heart) CA, 6'3 Frosh Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  The Class of 2009 also appears to have some excellent power forwards, as 6'6 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'6 Frosh Karon Johnson from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'4 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'6 Frosh Terrell Vinson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD are all ranked among our top 10 players in the class.  In contrast, there are only four centers - 6'6 Frosh Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'9 Frosh Chris Cunningham from Diamond Bar (Diamond Ranch) CA, 6'7 Frosh Alex Oriakhi from North Andover (Brooks School) MA, and 6'7 Frosh Tyler Griffey from Wildwood (Lafayette) MO- who are ranked among our top 30 freshmen and they check in at #15, #20, #21, and #30, respectively.  The class also doesn't have very many quality point guards, as 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, 5'8 Frosh Tommy Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, 6'0 Frosh Kendrick Robinson from San Antonio (Southwest) TX, and 5'11 Frosh Peyton Silva from Seattle (Franklin) WA are the only players who play this position and are ranked among our top 30 players in this class.  We also think it is interesting that no one state appears to have an overwhelming number of players at the top of the list.  Instead, California with 6'6 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Frosh Jerry Brown from San Francisco (Sacred Heart) CA, 6'9 Frosh Chris Cunningham from Diamond Bar (Diamond Ranch) CA, 6'3 Frosh Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Frosh Joe Burton from Hemet (West Valley) CA, and 6'6 Frosh Jordan Hamilton from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA; Texas with 6'6 Frosh Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Frosh Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 5'8 Frosh Tommy Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX, 6'0 Frosh Kendrick Robinson from San Antonio (Southwest) TX, 5'9 Frosh G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX, and 5'10 Frosh Steve Rogers from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX; and Georgia with 6'0 Frosh Junior Cadougan from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, 6'6 Frosh Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'6 Frosh Noel Johnson from Lovejoy (H.S.) GA, 6'3 Frosh Manuel Atkins from Lilburn (Parkview) GA, 6'6 Frosh Michael Calhoun from Austell (South Cobb) GA, and 6'3 Frosh Lorenzo Brown from Atlanta (Centennial) GA; all have six players apiece who ranked among our the top 50 players in the class.  And the biggest sleeper in the Class of 2009, according to Patrick Stanwood, who is our Middle School Editor and been following the top players in this class for years, is 6'9 Frosh Gregory Echenique from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  Apparently there are people out there who have seen Echenique play who think he's the best player in the class in the state of New Jersey.  However, since we haven't seen him and few people appear to know about him, we decided to play it safe and rank him no higher than #40 in the class.  To get all of the rankings, click onto our Ranking of the Top 310 Freshmen.

Saturday, December 3, 2005, Sunday, December 4, 2005, & Monday, December 5, 2005

When we found out that 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who had been suspended and will not return until December 17th, had not made the trip, we knew that watching Oak Hill's games against Chicago (Simeon) IL and Canton (McKinley) OH in the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Benton, KY would be anticlimactic.  However, Oak Hill still managed to dodge the bullet with a 63-52 win against Chicago (Simeon) IL and a 51-50 win against Canton (McKinley) OH and in both cases it proved to be an excellent learning experience for 6'3 Jr Nolan Smith, who not only ran the show, but also was their leading scorer with 21 points versus Simeon and 22 points versus McKinley and best player in both games.  6'8 Jr Michael Beasley also had his moments, as he had 19 points and eight rebounds against Simeon and 15 points and nine rebounds against McKinley, and 6'7 Jeff Allen scored 11 points and made a lot things happen against Simeon.  But 6'7 Landon Milbourne, who had eight points against Simeon and six points against McKinley, was almost a non-factor, if he exclude his 2-2 3-point shooting against Simeon; 6'5 Billy Clark, who had a grand total of four points and five rebounds in two games, is a solid role player at best; and 6'10 Albert Jackson, who failed to score and had only one rebound against Simeon and four points and two rebounds against McKinley, isn't even a very good high school player right now, much less ready to walk-in and contribute at the University of Georgia a year now.  Instead, the most exciting game of the entire weekend was the 64-62 win that Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL had over Bolivar (Central) TN.  And the difference in the game proved to be Arlington Country Day's excellent balance, as they had four players - 6'0 Jr Devon Lamb with 19 points, 6'0 Josue Soto with 16 points, 6'5 Chris Merrewether with 15 points, and 6'8 Soph A.J. Stewart with 13 points - who accounted for nearly all of their scoring.   We also were impressed with Soto's competitiveness and ability to make those around him better and Stewart's dramatic improvement since we saw him last summer.  Not only did Stewart hit 6-9 field goals and have 12 rebounds, but his confidence has gone through the roof and, along with Merrewether, who had 15 rebounds of his own, helped pick up the slack inside when 7'3 Jason Bennett got into foul trouble.  Speaking of Bennett, he only scored one point, but his coordination, mobility, and agility have dramatically improved and, as a result, former Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins, who was in attendance specifically to watch this 7'3 giant, wasn't disappointed.  If you will recall, Huggins has been recruiting Bennett for over a year now, so it came as no surprise when Bennett told us that he was waiting until spring in order to see where Huggins ends up before making his college decision.  Bennett says that Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, and Clemson are the leaders right now, but also mentioned schools like Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami-FL, Arizona, and Arkansas.  In contrast, 6'9 Wayne Chism and 6'2 Willie Kemp combined for 47 points and 14 rebounds, as they did most of the damage for Bolivar (Central) TN.  We also liked Kemp's decision making and ability to make things happen in transition and we were surprised by Chism's willingness to step out and take the outside shoot (he was 2-4 from beyond the arc).  Some of the other other top individual performances were turned by 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, who tied the single-game Marshall County Hoop Fest scoring record with 36 points against Memphis (Ridgeway) TN; 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, who had 29 points against Peoria (Richwoods) IL; 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds against London (South Laurel) KY; 6'7 Manual Cass from Carbondale (H.S) IL, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds against Paducah (Tilghman) KY; 6'3 Jr Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who had 20 points and four assists against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Jr Bill Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, who had 16 points against Memphis (Mitchell) TN; 6'2 Jeremy Jones from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, who had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists against Union City (H.S.) TN; 6'6 Jr Russell Mackins from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds against Union City (H.S.) TN; 6'6 Randon Cavette from Mayfield (Graves County) TN, who had 28 points and 14 rebounds against Lexington (H.S.) TN; and 6'4 Walt Allen from London (South Laurel) KY, who had 23 points and six rebounds against Brentwood (Academy) TN.   Jones deserves special mention, because he was the biggest sleeper to emerge at the Marshall County Hoop Fest.   Jones needs to get stronger physically, but he is extremely athletic, rebounds well for his size, is excellent in transition, takes and makes tough shots, and is a surprisingly good ball handler and passer.   In other words, this up tempo combo guard would be a steal for the right mid-major program and, if he plays like this all the time, might just be the best senior in the state.   We also liked 6'5 Soph Nathan Novosel and 6'5 Soph Taylor Stewart, who combined for 25 points and nine rebounds for Lexington (Catholic) KY.  As a matter of fact, they were two of Lexington Catholic's three best players, along with 6'3 Brian Hewitt, who finished with 17 points.  The best role player that we saw all weekend was 6'4 Jr Bryant Orange from Chicago (Simeon) IL.  Not only did Orange do most of the dirty work inside, as he scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but he also was perfect from the field (7-7 field goals) and he picked up the slack for 6'5 Jr Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who was one of the biggest disappointments of the weekend.  We also were disappointed with 6'8 Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH, who scored 15 points, but hit only 4-11 field goals and had only four rebounds versus Oak Hill Academy.  

Friday, December 2, 2005

Several days ago we told you that there were only seven players - 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'6 An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, and 6'11 Hamady Ndiaye from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA - that are ranked among our top 100 nationally in the senior class who are still available.  Well, make that number six, because Wilderness signed with Charlotte on Friday, November 11th.  However, we didn't find out about it until earlier today.  But this is still very important, because, with Wilderness, 6'1 Carlos Williams from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, who is a consensus top 10-ranked junior college player, 6'5 Cameron Tatum from Tucker (H.S.) GA, 6'5 Charles Dewhurst from Charlotte (Latin) NC, 6'9 Sean Phaler from Fullerton (JC) CA, and 6'4 Ian Anderson from Portland (Wilson) OR all in the fold, the 49ers now have a recruiting class that is ranked #12 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  In other words, it looks like Charlotte, which has moved from Conference USA into the Atlantic-10 Conference this year, could be on the verge of being what Gonzaga is to the West Coast Conference and Memphis promises to be Conference USA.  And the icing on the cake will be if 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is the #2-ranked junior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP and verbally committed to Charlotte well over a year ago, honors his verbal commitment to the 49ers.  If you will recall, there has been a lot speculation about whether this verbal commitment will hold up, but anybody who thinks that Charlotte doesn't play at high enough level school to keep Beasley from looking elsewhere hasn't been paying attention.  Instead, the big key to keeping Beasley in the fold appears to be whether Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz can keep 49ers assistant coach Dalonte Hill, who was the big reason why Beasley verbally committed in the first place, from taking another coaching job next spring.  And Beasley isn't the only junior who has made an early verbal commitment to Charlotte, as 6'6 Kenyan Harmon from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC also is already in the fold for next year and, as a result, Charlotte also has the #5-ranked recruiting class, behind Syracuse, Maryland, Arizona, and Florida, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Speaking of Maryland's recruiting class, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Jr Dino Gregory from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD, who is ranked #227 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked the University of Maryland.  And, while this was expected (Rubin told us that this would likely happen earlier in the week), it's still big important, because, with 6'8 Braxton Dupree from Towson (Calvert Hall) MD and 6'4 Jr Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Monsignor Bonner) PA already in the fold, it's obvious that the Terrapins have a great head start on the future.  It's also obvious that Maryland head coach Gary Williams knew what he was doing when he hired Rob Moxley and Michael Adams last spring and you can also bet that former Maryland player and current assistant coach Keith Booth's strong contacts in the Baltimore area also came into play when it came time land both Dupree and Gregory.  We also find it interesting that Moxley was previously an assistant coach at Charlotte, which means he played an important role in helping lay the foundation there as well.  We also are impressed with the recent addition of 6'7 Curtis Parker from Shelton State (JC) AL to Murray State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'2 Jay-R Stowbridge from Harvest (Sparkman) AL, 6'1 Brandon Evans from Jackon (Liberty) TN, and 6'6 Daniel Ard from Benton (Marshall County) TN and now is tied at #46, along with South Carolina, La Salle, and Colorado State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Parker, who was named Pre-Season Region Player-of-the-Year earlier this fall, averaged 11.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg a year ago on a year team that finished 8th in the nation with a 30-8 record.  However, even more important, Parker has great hands, can run and jump, and has both width and strength, which means he should be ideally suited to step in a year from now and replace 6'10 Sr Pearson Griffith and 6'7 Sr Charles Johnson, both of whom will graduate after the current season.  I also am getting ready to go the Marshall County Hoop Fest 2005 at Marshall County High School in Benton, KY, which will games tonight with Paducah (Tilghman) KY versus Lexington (Catholic) KY at 7:00 PM and  Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Chicago (Simeon) IL at 8:30 PM and games tomorrow with West Paducah (Heath) KY versus Carmi (White County) IL at 8:00 AM, Paducah (Tilghman) IL versus Carbondale (H.S.) IL at 9:30 AM, a girls game at 11:00 AM, Cadiz (Trigg County) KY versus Union City (H.S.) TN at 12:30 PM, Mayfield (Graves County) KY versus Owensboro (Catholic) KY at 2:00 PM, a 3-point shooting contest at 3:00 PM, Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL versus Memphis (Ridgeway) TN at 4:30 PM, Bolivar (Central) TN versus Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL at 6:00 PM, London (South Laurel) KY versus Brentwood (Academy) TN at 7:30 PM, Canton (McKinley) OH versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 9:00 PM, and Memphis (Mitchell) TN versus Peoria (Richwoods) IL at 10:30 PM.  Yes, we will get to see Oak Hill Academy, which will feature 6'0 Tywon Lawson, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley, 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith, 6'6 Anthony Wright, 6'7 Jeff Allen, 6'6 Landon Milbourne, and 6'9 Albert Jackson, twice.  But the Marshall County Hoop Fest 2005 also will feature a number of other highly touted players, including 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'3 Jr Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'0 Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'7 Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH, 6'1 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'9 Wayne Chism from Bolivar (Central) TN, 6'4 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'6 Andre Thornton from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, and 6'6 Jr Russell Mackins from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY.

Thursday, December 1, 2005

One of the things that I'm focused on right now is finding verbal commitments and signings of players that have either slipped through the cracks and/or have not been reported to us as of yet.  And the list of Fall 2005 West Coast High School Signings and Commitments that our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis recently emailed to me has been a big help in this endeavor, as we've broken the list down into two categories.  The first category includes all of the players on the West Coast that we already knew had signed and it includes 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA to Washington, 6'7 Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA to Arizona, 6'11 Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA to Stanford, 6'11 Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA to Stanford, 6'8 Taj Gibson from San Fernando (Calvary Baptist) CA to USC, 6'4 Derrick Jasper from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA to Kentucky, 6'3 Tra'Von Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA to Memphis, 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA to North Carolina, 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA to California, 6'8 James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA to UCLA, 6'5 Matt Bouldin from Thunder Ridge (Highlands Ranch) CO to Gonzaga, 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA to North Carolina, 6'10 Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA to California, 6'6 Seth Tarver from Portalnd (Jesuit) OR to Oregon State, 6'7 Kevin Galloway from Sacramento (H.S.) CA to USC, 6'4 P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) NV to Iowa State, 6'7 Phil Nelson from Salem (McNary) OR to Washington, 6'6 Kasey Cunningham from Albuquerque (Cibola) NM to USC, 6'0 Marcus Lawrence from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV to UNLV, 6'3 Ryan Anderson from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA to Nebraska, 6'9 Kevin Coble from Scottsdale (Christian) AZ to Northwestern, 6'3 Adrian Oliver from Modesto (Christian) CA to Washington, 6'2 Calvin Haynes from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA to Oregon State, 6'9 Ryan Anderson from El Dorado Hills (Oakridge) CA to California, 6'9 Kenny Lawson from Vista (H.S.) CA to Creighton, 6'9 Daniel Deane from Salt Lake City (Judge Memorial) UT to Utah, 6'4 Earnest Williams from Federal Way (H.S.) WA to Utah State, 6'7 Jarrel Smith from Birmingham (Van Nuys) CA to Colorado State, 6'3 Lathan Wallace from Portland (Jefferson) OR to Oregon State, 6'9 Jimmy Smith from Birmingham (Van Nuys) CA to Colorado State, 6'6 Julius Thomas from Lodi (Tokay) CA to Portland State, 6'1 C.J. Morgan from Elk Grove (Franklin) CA to Pacific, 6'8 Terron Sutton from Los Angeles (Price) CA to Loyola-Marymount, 6'0 Marquis Hall from Portland (Jefferson) OR to Lehigh, 6'8 Matt Shaw from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA to Temple, 6'10 Derek Oestreicher from Redding (Liberty Christian) CA to New Mexico, 6'7 Blake Wallace from Anaheim (Servite) CA to Pepperdine, 6'9 Andreas Schreiber from Brentwood (H.S.) CA to Pennsylvania, 6'5 Charles Anderson from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, 6'4 Michael Porter from Modesto (Christian) CA to Kentucky, 6'7 Shane Hanson from Lake Elsinore (Temescal Canyon) CA to UC-Davis, 6'8 Travis Derochowski from Salem (West Mennonite) OR to Montana State, 6'0 Kevin Buggs from Long Beach (Poly) CA to San Jose State, 6'6 Brad Sweezy from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA to Loyola Marymount, and 6'2 Jake Neilson from Aurora (Grandview) CO to Colorado State.  We also think it's important to point that the only commitment that we had that the list of Fall 2005 West Coast High School Signings and Commitments didn't have was 6'5 Zach Evans from West Hills (Chaminade) CA to Bucknell.  And, after cross-checking every name on the list with our list of Signings and Commitments, we also find that 6'6 Tyrone Armstrong from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA has reneged on Pepperdine, 6'7 Decensae White from San Mateo (Serra) CA has reneged on Loyola-Marymount, and 6'2 Todd Lowenthal from Poway (H.S.) CA has reneged on San Diego.  The second category includes all the players on the West Coast that we didn't know had signed and/or committed and right at the top of the list are 6'6 Jervaughn Johnson from Compton (Centennial) CA to San Diego State and 6'8 Matt Lagrone from San Diego (Horizon) CA to Nevada.  The rest of the list includes 6'7 Cedric Latimer from Los Angeles (Windward) CA to Santa Clara, 6'5 Paul Noonan from Beaverton (H.S.) OR to Boise State, 6'7 Grant Parker from Englewood (Cherry Creek) CO to Air Force, 6'2 Kalvin Bay from Tempe (Marcos De Niza) AZ to Colorado, 6'3 Brandon Dowdy from Redland (East Valley) CA to San Diego, 6'5 Jonathan Gunderson from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA to Santa Clara, 6'8 Joshua Miller from Chino Hills (Alaya) CA to San Diego, 6'4 Chad Decasas from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA to UC-Irvine, 6'3 Curtis Eatmon from Rancho Cucamongo (Los Osos) CA to Utah, 7'1 David Foster from Lake Forest (El Toro) CA to Utah, 6'8 Jon Pastorek from Anaheim (Canyon) CA to San Diego State, 6'10 Zach Moritz from Vancouver (Columbia River) WA to Boise State, 6'9 William Foster from Buckley (White River) WA to Gonzaga, 6'10 Sam Phippen from Durango (H.S.) CO to UC-Santa Barbara, 6'4 Ian Anderson from Portland (Wilson) OR to Charlotte, 6'5 Jordan Cameron from Newbury Park (H.S.) CA to Brigham Young, 6'5 Aaron England from Magna (Cyprus) UT to Utah State, 6'5 Eric Platt from Casper (Kelly Walsh) WY to Wyoming, 6'9 Elgin Fitzgerald from Colorado Springs (Palmer) CO to Dartmouth, 6'3 Michael Taylor from Brewster (H.S.) WA to Eastern Washington, 6'4 Justin Graham from Ripon (H.S.) CA to San Jose State, 6'9 Oliver Caballero from Salinas (Alisal) CA to San Jose State, 6'2 Justin Johnson from El Segundo (H.S.) CA to Portland, 6'7 Kyle Coston from Lynden (Christian) WA to Portland State, 5'11 Emmanuel Jenkins from Tacoma (Franklin Pierce) WA to Portland State, 6'6 J.J. Anderson from Torrey Pines (H.S.) CA to Brown, 6'3 Matt Jones from San Francisco (St. Ignatius) CA to Brown, 6'5 Nate Rohnert from Parker (Chaparal) CO to Yale, 5'9 Corey Davis from Salem (West Salem) OR to Montana State, 6'4 Bussy Ellis from San Juan Capistrano (J. Serra) CA to UC-Davis, 6'4 Drew Menez from Concord (Clayton Valley) CA to UC-Davis, 6'2 Darren Moore from Chino Hills (Ayala) CA to Northern Colorado, and 6'4 Tristan Wilson from Glendale (Apollo) AZ to Sacramento State.