Thursday, December 31, 1998

New York (Rice) NY defeated Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 78-64, in the championship game last night at Slam Dunk to the Beach. The MVP was 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett, who had 17 points, including 4-10 field goals, 3-4 3-pointers, 6-6 free throws, two rebounds, and six assists in the championship game. A strong case for tournament MVP honors also coud have been made for 6'2 Kenny Satterfield, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, but it was the play of Rice's front court players - 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe and 6'6 Jr Andre Sweet - that proved to be the difference, especially early in the game. However, the biggest difference in the game was when 6'3 Chris Monroe fouled out with three minutes left in the game. The game was tied at 50-50 beginning the fourth quarter and Rice was down by as many as four points early in the 4th quarter, but when Monroe fouled out, that was the game. Especially impressive was 6'5 Roger Mason, who overcame his stress fractured hand and went for 21 points in the championship. Monroe had 15 and so did 6'4 Earl Hunt. Good Counsel didn't get any point production out of their point guard, but eight assists for 6'0 A.J. Harris is also worth mentioning.

Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC beat Kensington (Newport School) MD, 71-67, in the third place game of the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament and 6'6 Ivan Howell firmly established himself as a top 100 players nationally with his play in this tournament. Not only did he make the all-tournament team, but he also scored 26 points, grabbed five rebounds, and hit 3-5 3-pointers in the third place game. His younger brother 6'10 Jr Rolando Howell also impressed us with his tremendous potential, athleticism, and ability to score inside. The only player to play well for Newport School was 6'10 Rodney White, whose value is going through the roof. Especially impressive were his low post moves, passing skills, and willingness to dominate inside. Duncanville (H.S.) TX beat Baltimore (Dunbar) MD for 5th place, 62-61, thanks to the efforts of 6'3 Roosevelt Brown and 6'9 Ryan Randle. Randle, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds yesterday, just got better and better as the week wore on, as he earned a spot on the tournament team. Brown impressed us with his 3-point shooting (4-8 3-pointers against Dunbar), athleticism, and ability to go to the hole. But Dunbar still would have won the game if 5'9 Lafonte Johnson, who was only 1-8 from beyond the arc, had dublicated the great game he has the day before against Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) CA the day before when he went for hit 5-8 treys. Redondo Union beat Picayune (H.S.) MS, 63-51, in the seventh place game, because Picayune had no help for 6'11 Jonathan Bender, who in this tournament was a fraud. All he wanted to do was shoot 3-pointers and hang out on the wing. As a result, he doesn't like physical contact and rarely gets a rebound. His value is dropping and if he doesn't get a clue, it will likely cost him a lot of money someday.

In the championship games of several of the several other four teams tournaments that Bobby Jacobs runs at Slam Dunk to the Beach, Towson (Catholic) MD beat Troy (Catholic) MD 59-57 in overtime and Washington (Gonzaga) DC scored six unanswered points in the second overtime to beat Barrington (St. Andrew's) RI, 76-72. In that game 6'3 Tony Robertson hit an amazing 8-13 3-pointers and played as well as we've ever seen him play. For the all-tournament team, scores from the day, and our final rankings of the top players in the tournament, click on coverage.

Wednesday, December 30, 1998

Last night in the semi-finals at Slam Dunk to the Beach Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC played well, but it's tough to beat a team that shoots 63% from the from the field for the game and knocks down 8-10 3-pointers. But that's exactly what New York (Rice) NY did, as 6'2 Kenny Satterfield and 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett made big play after big play en route to a 82-67 victory. Satterfield not only made a strong case for tournament MVP honors, but must now must be considered for a top five ranking nationally in the senior class. He's the assassin. Barrett is the steady calming influence who hasn't made a bad decision in two games. He didn't have the great numbers in rebounding and assists that he had the previous night, but 7-8 field goals and 3-3 3-pointers made him just as deadly a weapon last night. And he provides the perfect complement to Satterfield who was 9-14 from the field and 4-5 from beyond the arc. If you go out and put pressure on Satterfield and Barrett, you can almost write two points in the scorebook on every possession. They are just that explosive to the hole! But if you back off, they both shoot the lights out. As a result, Rice was impossible to make a run on last night. But that doesn't mean that Lower Richland's 6'6 Ivan Howell and 6'10 Jr Rolando Howell didn't try. Ivan, who went for 30 points, was unstoppable from mid-range, and Rolando took care of business inside, as he chipped in with 18 points of his own. However, for Lower Richland win, they had to have good play from their guards. However, 6'0 Edward Scott, who had previously been ranked among the top 100 seniors nationally, got exposed and 5'11 Eric Dugan just was in way over his head against Rice.

Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD beat Kensington (Newport School) MD, 65-60, in the other semi-final game last night at Slam Dunk to the Beach thanks primarily to the efforts of 6'3 Chris Monroe, 6'4 Earl Hunt, and 6'7 Joe Truhe, who had 19, 19 and 11 points, respectively. Hunt and Truhe also picked up the slack on the boards with nine and seven rebounds, which created by 6'5 Roger Mason, who played, but was not very effective, because he has a stress fracture on his shooting hand. 6'10 Rodney White again played well for Newport School, but the chemistry isn't right with this team, because 6'3 Jamison Brewer is playing out of position at the 2-spot and 6'0 Erick Wills tries to do too much and, as a result, forces to much from the point.

We will have scores and highlights from the championship game at Slam Dunk to the Beach, as well as our final rankings and comments on the top players in the tournament, late tonight or tomorrow morning. To see what we've already written, click on coverage.

Currently we are out of touch with what is going on in most of the other national tournaments, but we do know that #1 ranked Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and #2 ranked Middle Village (Christ the King) NY will be playing for the championship game of the tournament in Raleigh, NC and that #5 ranked Georgetown (Scott County) KY will meet Lexington (Catholic) KY in the finals of the Fifth Third Bank Holiday Classic in Lexington. In the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD beat Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 65-61 last night. That sets up the championship game against #12 ranked West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, which knocked off Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC in the other semi-final game.

Tuesday, December 29, 1998

The highlight of the day at Slam Dunk to the Beach was watching New York (Rice) NY beat Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 80-56, as 6'2 Kenneth Satterfield and 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett both had a field day. Satterfield made a living in transition, as he went for 27 points and shot 11-16 from the field. He also had three assists and four steals. Barrett was even more impressive has he had 13 points, 13 assists, five steals, and eight rebounds, which was also high for his team. Barrett also made several big 3-point shots early, as Rice jumped out to a 27-13 first quarter lead. Barrett is only a junior, but his early list includes UCLA, Syracuse, Seton Hall, St. John's, South Carolina, and Villanova. Also playing well for Rice was 6'9 Jr Kyle Cuffe, who has to move into our top 30 or 40 juniors nationally based on his head-to-head encounter with 6'10 Jr Brian Boddicker. Boddicker had previously been ranked among the top 25 juniors nationally, but he couldn't match up athletically with Cuffe, as was evident by the fact that Boddicker had six turnover, was frequently out of position, and often half a step late. Cuffe's early list includes St John's, Villanova, Duke, Providence, and South Carolina. Boddicker and University of Texas signee Roosevelt Brown were the big nameguys for Duncanville (H.S.) TX, but the guy who caught our eye was 6'2 Jr Tre' Johnson. He only had two points, but he made some of the best passes we saw all day (nine games total), as he had five assists, three steals, and four rebounds.

In other games yesterday at Slam Dunk to the Beach Kensington (Newport School) MD beat Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA, 73-64, and Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC beat Picayune (H.S.) MS, 58-34. This sets up tonights semi-finals games in the main tournament with New York (Rice) NY versus Columbia (Lower Richland) SC and Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD and Kensington (Newport Prep) MD. The second game will be a battle of DC area powers. We give the edge to Good Counsel.  A lot of people also thin think the other game will be close, but we don't.  Our prediction is that Rice will win by double digits in both the semi-finals and the championship tomorrow night. Especially impressive last night for Newport Prep was 6'10 Rodney White, who picked up where he left off when we saw him in September when he went for 44 points in the championship game of Wayne Simone's tournament in Connecticut. White made some very impressive moves inside, passed extremely well, and hit several 18' jumpers. Also playing well was Redondo Union's 6'9 Jr Andrew Zahn, who went for 26 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists, but his lack of athleticism was obvious against the quicker Newport Prep players. As a result, he'll need to pick the right college program to be a great player. His early list includes Stanford, North Carolina, Arizona, Utah, Connecticut, Syracuse, and UCLA.

However, the most anticipated matchup of the day was the meeting of 6'2 Jason Williams from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ between 6'3 Tony Robertson from Barrington (St. Andrew's) RI. Williams, who shot 10-13 from the floor, including 4-5 3-pointers, and had seven assists, went for 27 points. Robertson had 24 points, but he only connected on 8-20 field goals and 2-8 3-point field goals. We also thought 6'8 Jr Garner Meads and 6'6 Brooks Hall played well an earlier matchup between Troy (H.S.) OH and Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, but what a disappointment 6'9 Jess Pinegar was yesterday. He not only played soft, but was totally non-productive, as he had only three rebounds, five turnovers, and four points, three of which came off a 3-pointer. In otherwords, he failed to score a single basket in the paint. Meads was unstoppable going to the hole, as he made layup after layup en route to 11-14 field goals. Hall scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but even more important, he played harder, as he made a strong case to be ranked among our top 100 nationally. Even earlier in the day 6'3 DeShaun Williams scored 18 points, but that wasn't enough for Paterson (Catholic) NJ, as they lost to Baltimore (Southern) MD, 50-47.

We also got the latest list of schools yesterday for 6'3 Jamison Brewer from Kensington (Newport School) MD from his high school coach Chris Chaney. It includes Texas, Auburn, Louisville, Connecticut, and Villanova, but only assistant coaches from the last two (Connecticut and Villanova) have been seen thus far at the tournament.

Monday, December 28, 1998

We arrived at Slam Dunk to the Beach yesterday just in time to see the best matchup of the day,which featured Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ versus Washington (Gonzaga) DC. St. Joseph, led by 6'2 Jason Williams, jumped out to a 40-21 half-time lead, but then Gonzaga showed how they upset both Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and Washington (Coolidge) DC, as the went on a 28-5 run to take a 49-45 lead at the end of the third quarter. However, at that point they ran out of gas, as Metuchen came back, outscoring Gonzaga 23-10 in the 4th quarter. Williams had 21 points, six assists, and three steals, but Metuchen's leading scorer with 24 points was 6'2 Nick Cerulo, who shoots the three and is excellent for a white kid going coast-to-coast. As a result, he might have a mid-to-low major future. Especially impressive for Gonzaga were 6'6 Thomas McCloskey, 6'6 Jr Howard Blue, and 6'8 Patrick Mitchell. Mitchell takes care of business inside, but I think he's a reach from James Madison, because he doesn't have much footspeed. However, McCloskey, who is thinking about going to the Naval Academy, would be a good role player at the high Division I level, because he's versatile enough to play both inside and outside. He also plays hard, is skilled, and deceptively quicker than he looks. Blue is at that tweener size, but time is on his side (he's only a junior) and he has great offensive moves around the basket. The next game between Camden (Caesar Rodney) DE and Sanford (H.S.) DE was a waste, except for 6'1 Janavor Weatherspoon, who has signed with Old Dominion. He went for 40 points, but it was mostly off short pull-up jumpers inside the foul lane. Can he shoot the three? Can he play the one? Is he big enough to get away with what he does now in the Colonial Athletic Association? These are very important questions which will determine how successful he is in the future. In the last game of the night Little Silver (Red Bank Regional) NJ, which was led by 6'7 Sean Axani with 17 points and 6'6 Ryan Johnson, lost to Shaker Heights (H.S.) OH, 66-62. Maybe if 6'10 Tahj Holden hadn't gotten in foul trouble early it might have been different, but he's still soft and they just didn't appear to be tough enough to beat Shaker Heights, which was without their best player 6'3 Jon Higgins. Instead, 6'6 Michael Tucker was the man. He had 18 points and seven rebounds, but even more important he was their enforcer inside. He also is a big-time athlete, excellent rebounder, and good shot blocker, but his game is primarily inside, although he did go outside once and hit a 3-pointer. Also worth mentioning for Shaker Heights was the wild, but talented 6'5 Sidney Williams, who scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds.

Sunday, December 27, 1998

The outstanding freshman 6'3 Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL was the highlight of the day at the Fifth Third Bank Holiday Classic in Lexington, KY, as he went for 33 points against Louisville (Ballard) KY yesterday. As a matter of fact, our only criticism might be that he shoots too much, as was evident by his 13-25 shooting, including 2-9 from beyond the arc. He's extremely poised for somebody so young and he has the perfect frame to add the necessary strength and bulk necessary to make it at the highest level. We not sure if he's the best freshman in America, but we're not sure he's not, because he's terrific going to the hole, is an excellent passer, and explosive off the dribble. Also playing well for Wolfson, which had a chance to beat an excellent Ballard team until the closing seconds of the game, was 6'9 Kenny Walker, who played much harder than when we've seen him in the past. He still doesn't play real smart, but it's hard to argue with 16 points, seven rebounds, eight blocks, and five steals. 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender picked up where he left off in Florida last week for Ballard, as he continued to play hard and take care of business inside with 18 points and 12 rebounds. 6'8 Jr Mac Wilkinson also chipped in with 18 points and 6'6 Jr Cedric Knight had 11 points.

The other big story at the Fifth Third Bank Holiday Classic was the play of 6'9 Marquis Estill from Richmond (Madison Central) KY. He's huge! He's also terrific! I love his intensity, especially after watching 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL, who not only suffers from playing on a team with no guards, but also has no clue how to play hard. As a matter of fact, Estill, might be better than Stone right now, which is both a knock on Stone and strong statement about how good Estill really is. Especially impressive are his quick hands, great shot blocking ability, and surprising mobility for somebody his size. He's also a terrific rebounder and the sky's the limit on his upside.

Saturday, December 26, 1998

We had planned to attend the loaded Proviso West Tournament today in Hillside, IL, but the tournament director Joe Spagnola denied us press credentials last week, because we had missed the deadline.  He was willing to make an exception if we were willing to go through a bunch of red tape that wouldn't have been a problem if we had been home. But it was a major problem, because I was in Florida covering the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic, so I told him that I would be welcome at any other tournament in the country with just a phone call. Instead, I am planning on showing up today at the Fifth Third Kentucky Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, KY. Among the games  I will see today are Lexington (Bryan Station) KY versus Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) KY at noon, Louisville (Male) KY versus Decatur (Cathedral Prep) KY at 6:30 PM, Richmond (Madison Central) KY at Manchester (Clay County) KY at 8:00 PM, and Louisville (Ballard) KY versus Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL at 9:30 PM. That last game is the important game, because Wolfson has 6'3 Frosh Antonio Lawrence, who is being touted by John Reinke, the Editor and Publisher of Pony Tails, which is a scouting service based in Florida, as the best freshman in the nation. Then, after the final game to today, we plan to drive all night to Lewes, DE, where we will spend the next four days covering Slam Dunk to the Beach, which has evolved into the premier Holiday Tournament in the nation in recent years.

Friday, December 25, 1998

We finally appear to be getting to the bottom of the situation involving 7'1 Raynell Brewer from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS. He was reported to be going to Mississippi State over a month ago by HOOP SCOOP Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman, but this was not confirmed by our Texas Editor Mitch Malone, who coached Brewer when in AAU ball when Brewer was a senior high school two years ago. As a matter of fact, Malone told us on more than one occasion that Mississippi State wasn't even on the list. However, more recently we got a phone call from Wendell Weathers, who is the assistant coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS, and he confirms that Mississippi State is very much involved. He also didn't sound very happy when Malone's name was mentioned. As a result, we have assume that Malone is playing politics and we are now calling Mississippi State the strong leader for Brewer. Stay tuned!

We aren't done with the comments on each of the players yet, but you can get our rankings of the top players from the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, which was by far and away the best pre-Christmas Holiday Tournament in the nation, by clicking on coverage.

Thursday, December 24, 1998

It was no surprise that Georgetown (Scott County) KY beat Louisville (Ballard) KY in the championship game in the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, but the final score of 111-91 was a surprise. I don't think anybody expected Scott County to score 111 points or win the by 20 points. And they did all this despite the fact that their star 6'1 Rick Jones did not have a good night. He appeared to be worn out. He did score 18 points, but physically he's not as strong as most of the other Scott County players, who were hardly even breathing hard done late in the game. Except for Jones, they all appear to be lift weights.  Jones was named MVP of the tournament due to the way he played in the both the quarterfinals and semi-finals, but we would have given the honor instead to his teammate 6'5 Jr Scott Hundley, who had 25 points in the championship game and is equally effective both inside and outside. Hundley was 3-3 from 3-point land, but he also made some amazing passes, he created havoc defensively with four steals,and he was tough on the boards, as he finished ranked 7th in rebounding for the tournament with 8.5 rpg. Also making the all-tournament team were 6'3 A.W. Hamilton from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 5'9 Jerome Holman from Elizabeth (St.Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'7 Matt Carroll from Horhsam (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, 6'6 Joe Johnson from Little (Rock Central) AR, 6'7 Omar Weaver from Washington (Coolidge) DC, 6'1 Melvin McCray from Gainesville (H.S.) FL, 6'2 Chris Collier from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'0 Will Partin from Louisville (Ballard) KY, and 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY. However, the player who we rank #1 in the tournament - 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA - was left off the all tournament team, because his team was eliminated after two games. However, the averages back us up. He was by far and away the rebounding in the tournament with 14.0 rpg. He also finished tied for 5th in scoring with 21. ppg, 4th in blocks with 2.0 bpg, and tied for 12th in steals with 2.0 spg. Also deserving special recognition is Bender, who had 30 points in the championship game and was a big reason why Louisville (Ballard) KY upset Lakewood (Artesia) CA and Washington (Coolidge) DC on consecutive nights. He not only has taken his game to another level, but he also consistently played hard, as he dominated inside he finished ranked #6 in rebounding for the tournament with 9.0 rpg. It also came as no surprise that Little Rock (Central) AR beat Washington (Coolidge) DC for third place 86-64, but the player who kept Coolidge in the game and made it interesting early with his lights out shooting was Weaver, who is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation. As a matter of fact, he ranks as our #2 player in the entire tournament, because he finished third in scoring with 22.5 ppg and was also one of the statistically leaders in the tournament in field goals, 3-point field goals, rebounding, assists, blocks, and turnovers. Add that fact that he's a terrific athlete, silky smooth shooter, and outstanding passer and he has NBA written all over him. He'll get my vote for the McDonald's All-American Game.

Wednesday, December 23, 1998

It will be an all Kentucky final tonight in the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL tonight, because last night Georgetown (Scott County) KY stunned Little Rock (Central) AR, 85-73, and Louisville (Ballard) KY upset Washington (Coolidge) DC, 80-67, in the semi-finals. Although both teams are ranked among the top in the USA Today, nobody at the tournament thought Scott County, despite the fact that they are the defending state champions in Kentucky, had much of a chance to beat Little Rock Central, which features more talent than a lot of Division I schools, including Arkansas bound 6'8 Joe Johnson, Oklahoma signee 6'4 Jarrett Hart, and a pair athletic two guards - 6'2 Mark Green and 6'3 Andre Amos - who take turns have big nights in alternating games. However, Scott County jumped out to 14-5 lead half way through the first quarter and never looked back. They beat Little Rock Central at their own game (running and pressing) and they shot the lights out, as they hit 10-21 3-pointers and 29-55 field goals. Amazingly, they also beat Little Rock Central on the boards 35-26, but the big key was Scott County's secret weapon - 6'1 Rick Jones, who might be the best kept secret in the nation. Why? Because he didn't go to any camps during the summer and a lot of the national scouts haven't seen him. And those who have apparently don't have a very good eye for talent. The book on him has been "great 3-point shooter, but not quick enough, strong enough, and creative enough to play at the highest Division I level." But that's wrong! Jones reminds us of 5'9 Ted Dupay, the state of Florida's all-time leading scorer who is averaging in double digits as a freshman at the University of Florida. Jones may not be a pure point guard, because he's such a great outside shooter with deep range, but he makes great decisions, does an amazing job of breaking down the defense and splitting the double team, is a tremendous passer, and excellent defender. He's also a jet with the ball from end-line to end-line and he had no trouble getting his shot against Little Rock Central, which makes a living off its athleticism and transition. Jones told us after the game that Louisville has been recruiting him the hardest, but LSU, St. Louis, Tennessee Tech, Richmond, Murray State, and Vanderbilt are also on his list. However, like so many kids from the Bluegrass State, he also told us that it's his dream to play at the University of Kentucky. But right now the Wildcats don't appear to be interested, despite the fact they need a point guard who can step in and replace Wayne Turner next year. Getting back to the game, Jones was 7-14 from the field, 3-8 from beyond the arc, and 10-10 from the foul line, as he went for 27 points. He also had five assists and only two turnovers. But he wasn't the only one who was amazing. As a matter of fact, the entire Scott County must be mentioned because they are all very athletic and physical ready to challenge you on every possession. And they do, especially in transition (Little Rock Central didn't get an uncontested fast break all night). Especially impressive was 6'5 Jr Scott Hundley who is versatile enough to play both inside or outside. He was 2-2 from 3-point land, but was the leading rebounder in the game with nine boards. He's got great heart, is wiry strong, and plays terrific defense. Hundley was complemented by 6'3 Bryant Harris and 6'7 Soph Nate Austin inside and 6'3 A.W. Hamilton, 5'11 Chris Wallace, and 5'10 Jr Casey Alsop, all of whom created havoc on made big shots out on the perimeter. Not only did the take Little Rock Central completely out their game, but they dominated from start to finish. They lead 8-3 after two and a half minutes and they were up 27-18 at the end of the first quarter. It was 41-33 at half-time, 65-51 at the end of the third quarter, and 65-51 at the end of the game.

To get into the semi-final game at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, Louisville (Ballard) KY had already pulled off one stunning upset the night before against Lakewood (Artesia) CA, which is ranked #3 nationally in the latest USA Today poll. But they were still the underdog against Coolidge, which isn't nationally ranked, but should be (are you listening Dave Krider?). Coolidge features one of the top seniors in the nation in 6'6 Derick Payne, as well as one of the biggest sleepers in the nation in 6'7 Omar Weaver. Remember the name, because he's made a strong case to be ranked among the top 30 or 40 seniors nationally in this tournament with his lights out 3-point shooting (5-9 versus Ballard), tremendous athleticism, long arms, great hands, and excellent ball handling and passing skills. Coolidge is also tough inside with 6'6 Jr David Holmes, who had a dozen rebounds against Ballard) and good on the perimeter with 6'4 Jr Michael Stewart.  But they were only adequate at point guard. And that proved to be the difference in the game. In the first half Ballard's three inside guys 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender, 6'8 Jr Mac Wilkinson, and 6'6 Jr Cedric Knight accounted for 25 of Ballard's 27 points, as they trailed Coolidge 34-27. But in the second half Ballard's guards - 6'0 Will Partin, 5'10 Jr Spencer Graeter, and 6'0 Soph Adam Chiles got on track, as the combined for 27 points down the stretch. At the end of the third quarter, Ballard was down 52-48, but then they scored 18 unanswered points en route to a 80-67 victory to set up tonight in the championship game in what might be a preview of the Kentucky State High School Basketball Championship next March in Rupp Arena. It doesn't get any better than this!

Tuesday, December 22, 1998

The level of play really picked up yesterday at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic and highlighting the day was the stunning upset of Lakewood (Artesia) CA, which was the nation's #5 ranked team in last week's USA Today poll, by a young, but very well coached Louisville (Ballard) KY. Ballard's front-line players, include the highly touted 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender, 6'8 Jr Mac Wilkinson, and 6'6 Jr Cedric Knight, but the key to their success was the outstanding guard play by 6'0 Will Partin and 5'10 Jr Spencer Graeter, both of whom are deceptively quick and, as a result, impossible to press. Artesia found this out the hard way, as they also created havoc defensively, hit a number of big 3-pointers, and provided great ball movement, as Ballard took over for good in the second quarter and held on for a 76-73 victory. Granted Artesia didn't play well, as 6'8 Jason Kapono was held to 12-28 from the field, but Ballard had a lot to do with that, as only seven players from Artesia even scored.  In another wild game last night Washington (Coolidge) DC beat Huntsville (Grissom) AL, 67-62. 6'10 Marvin Stone played much better than he did on Saturday, as he scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but Stone and 6'5 Soph Chris White, who also chipped in with 18 points, didn't have the outside guard support they needed to overcome Coolidge's 3-point shooting, athleticism, and defensive pressure, which was responsible for numerous layups and Michael Jordanisque dunks by 6'6 Derick Payne. Payne also accounted for half of Coolidge's 10 steals, while Weaver impressed us with his great body control and silky smooth release from long range. Payne accounted for 43 of Coolidge's 67 points. In another great game Little Rock (Central) AR beat Jacksonville (Ribault) FL, 86-61, to set up tomorrow's matchup in the other semi-final game against Georgetown (Scott County) KY. Once again Little Rock Central had a very balanced scoring attack, which was led by 6'6 Joe Johnson with 19 points, but our favorite player on Central's team is 6'4 Jarrett Hart, who has to be one of the fastest rising players in the nation. He's built like a tank, but he's as quick as a cat and he's almost unstoppable going to the hole. But even more important, he has a great feel for the game and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time to make the big play. Throw in the fact that Hart is an excellent defender and good outside shooter and it's hard not to think he doesn't belong in the top 40 or 50 nationally. Also chipping in with 15 points was 6'3 Mark Green, another outstanding athlete who can create havoc defensively and shoot the lights out. Can you believe that nobody is recruiting this guy? Also getting totally overlooked is Ribault's 6'6 Jerome Stamper, who is one of the leading scorers in the tournament with 19.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg in two games. We're not sure what position he plays, but it doesn't matter, because he's a tremendous athlete and an excellent finisher who makes play after play. If he grows or develops 3-point shooting range, it's scary how good he could be. We also like 6'6 Jr Eddie Baker, but we question whether he can shoot the 3-pointer. We also questioin whether he is committed to the University of Florida. At least that's what he told us last night. He also told Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat several days ago that he's still considering Florida, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, and North Carolina. Earlier in the day Georgetown (Scott County) KY beat Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 91-78, in the fourth quarterfinal game. But this time 6'2 Rick Jones, who was a major disappointment in the opening round when he only scored five points, hit 11-14 field goals, including 4-6 3-pointers, en route to 34 points, which is the highest individual point total in the tournament thus far. One of the biggest disappointments of the tournament was watching Gainesville (H.S.) FL beat Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA in a consolation bracket game, because we won't get to see 6'7 Donnell Harvey anymore in the tournament. Today he was almost unstoppable as he had 28 points, including 12-15 field goals, and 15 rebounds, which makes him the leading rebounder for the tournament. Gainesville had more horses though, including 6'4 Jr Jerry Edwards, 6'1 Melvin McCray, 6'5 Jr Jerald Fields, 6'2 Chris Benson, 6'2 Frosh Alton Darling, and 6'5 Jr Orien Green, who was their best player and leading scorer yesterday with 24 points. Also putting up big numbers and leading his team to a consolation bracket win was 6'6 Matt Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, who is currently the leading scorer in the tournament with a 25.5 ppg average.

We now believe that Virginia is the leader for 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI, who ranks among the top 10 seniors in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP. Also still on his list are Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, and Georgetown. Kentucky is making a late run and California appears to be out.

Monday, December 21, 1998

Saturday night at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA, who currently ranks as the #1 high school senior in America by the HOOP SCOOP, told us that he is about to narrow his list of schools to three - Clemson, Florida, and Georgia. That means that Georgia Tech, Alabama, Auburn, et al, except for maybe Kentucky, are out. Harvey says that somebody from Kentucky recently was at one of his games and they could get back into the picture. Also worth mentioning is Harvey's teammate 6'6 Carmel Evans, who deserves top100 consideration nationally, but before this tournament was such a sleeper that our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis had never heard of him. But apparently Auburn, Clemson, and Georgia State do already know about Evans, because those are the three schools he mentioned on Saturday.

After the game Saturday we got the recruiting scoop from the coaches at Washington (Coolidge) DC about 6'6 Derick Payne, 6'7 Omar Weaver, 6'4 Jr Michael Stewart, and 6'6 Jr David Holmes. They surprised us when they assured us that Payne was going to make it academically, although there is still some concern about his passing the SAT. But if he does, Georgetown appears to be a lock. You can write it down! Georgetown, USC, UCLA,and Kansas State are recruiting Weaver, but this one is also almost done, as Maryland appears to be the heavy favorite for this terrific outside shooting wing forward. Clemson, Rutgers, North Carolina, Maryland, and Miami-FL have all showed early interest in Holmes. Stewart is getting early looks from Maryland, George Washington, Georgia State, and Howard.

Sunday, December 20, 1998

Three different times at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, Washington (Coolidge) DC was on the verge of putting Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA away. But each time this team for rural Georgia kept coming back, as 6'7 Donnell Harvey ruled inside with 13 rebounds and a number earth shattering dunks and 6'6 Carmel Evans, who is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation, impressed us with his athleticism and 3-point shooting. But they never could quite get over the hump, as Coolidge won, 72-67, and 6'6 Derick Payne delighted the crowd with a number of incredible moves to the basket . Not only did he led all scorers with 26 points, but he also made a strong case for my vote in the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game next spring. Payne was complemented by another major sleeper in 6'7 Omar Weaver, who was 4-10 from beyond the arc, and two of the best juniors in the Washington, DC area 6'4 Jr Michael Stewart and 6'6 Jr David Holmes, who has 11 points and 10 rebounds. While the Coolidge-Randolph Clay game was one of the best games we've seen in a long time, the rest of the games yesterday were either blowouts or disappointments. In the first game of the day, Little Rock (Central) AR held 6'3 Soph Rashaad Carruth to 23 points and coasted to a 121-61 victory over Decatur (Cathedral Prep) GA. And it was actually worse than the final score, as Little Rock Central led 35-11 at the end of the first quarter and 59-25 at halftime. Little Rock Central, which is favorited to win the tournament, featured a balanced attack as 6'2 Mark Green led all scorers with 33 points, followed by 6'3 Andre Amos (20 points), 6'6 Joe Johnson (17 Points), Jarrett Hart (13 points) and 5'8 Tarvoris Uzoigwe (10 points). In the secong game of the day, Jacksonville (Ribault) FL beat Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 68-65, in overtime, but it was an ugly game and we were disappointment with 6'6 Jr Eddie Baker, who already has committed to the University of Florida. However, we did like Ribault's 6'6 Jr Jerome Stamper, who was the leading scorer in the game, along with Archbishop Carroll's 6'2 Jr Donnell Young, both of whom at 23 points. Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ beat Naples (Barron Collier) FL in a loser's bracket game, 74-44, and it could have been a lot worse, but St. Patrick head coach Kevin Boyle played everybody. The guy who played the best was 5'9 Jerome Holman, who scored 20 points and dished out six assists. He played well enough to draw the interest of Notre Dame assistant coach Fran McCaffrey, who told Boyle after the game that they are very interested in his small, but quick point guard. The 5th game of the day was also a blowout as well as a disappointment, as Huntsville (Grissom) AL beat Cape Carol (Mariner) FL, 79-39. 6'5 Soph Chris White led Grissom in both scoring and rebounding with 16 points and 12 boards, but what has happened to 6'10 Marvin Stone? He does have excellent skills, but they don't use him, as is evident by his lack of production (10 points and 7 rebounds). In the last game of the day, Louisville (Ballard) KY, led by 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender and 6'8 Mac Wilkinson, coasted past Horsham (Hatboro) PA, which featured 6'6 Matt Carroll and 6'5 Soph Patrick Carroll.

Saturday, December 19, 1998

Last night in the opening game of the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ jumped out to a 17-5 lead over Miami (Northwest Christian) FL. However, if you let good teams hang around, they can beat you and that's exactly what happened as St. Patrick, which was ranked #10 nationally, according to the USA Today, was upset, 78-72. Perhaps it might have been different if 6'11 Samuel Dalembert, who has always been a tremendous shot blocker and defender, but also has made major strides at the offensive end hadn't fouled out. But Northwest Christian just wanted it more and they made every big shot down the stretch, as 6'10 Antonio Saunders hit 15-15 free throws and was unstoppable going to the hole and 6'2 Chris Collier and 6'3 Jr Ed Starks combined for 6-11 3-point field goals. We especially liked Starks, because this multi-dimensional athlete who is originally from Brooklyn is a jack-of-all trades. He's a good enough passer and ball handler to start the offense and he's an excellent rebounder for his size. But even more important, he showed that he has a great feel for the game, as made big play after big play. Lakewood (Artesia) CA, which is ranked #5 in the USA Today, beat Naples (Barron Collier) FL, 70-55, in the second game of the night, as 6'8 Soph Jack Martinez led the winners with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Georgetown (Scott County) KY ran away with against Gainesville (H.S.) FL in the final opening round game, but 6'1 Rick Jones never got on track with his outside shooting and, as a result, was a major disappointment. Today we'll cover all six games, beginning with the Decatur (Cathedral Academy) GA versus Little Rock (Central) AR game at 12:40 PM, but the key matchups are Washington (Coolidge) DC versus Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA at 6:05 PM and Huntsville (Grissom) AL versus Cape Coral (Mariner) FL at 8:20 PM. If Randolph Clay and Grissom both win that would set up a matchup between 6'7 Donnell Harvey and 6'10 Marvin Stone, who rank #1 and #3, respectively, in the senior class nationally, on Monday at 8:35 PM.

Remember where you heard it first! John "Pony Tail" Reinke, who publishes Pony Tails Scouting Service, which is widely regarded as the #1 scouting service in Florida, tells us that 6'5 Frosh Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL is the best freshman in America. "Lawrence has a 38' vertical jump and is versatile enough to play the one, two, or the three spots,"says Reinke. "There isn't anything he can do. He's better than Eddie Starks (who took over the first game down the stretch last night in the Nation's Bank City of Palms Classic and is a legit top 50-100 range junior in the nation) right now," says Reinke.

Friday, December 18, 1998

The two best teams in the junior college ranks appear to be Indian Hills (JC) IA and Barton County (JC) KS, both of which are currently undefeated. Indian Hills (JC) IA, which hasn't lost a game in almost two years, features one of the top freshmen in the junior college ranks in 6'5 Corey Hightower, as well as Baylor signee 6'7 Terry Black, UNC-Charlotte signee 6'5 James Zimmerman, UNC-Wilmington signee 6'1 Baron Thelman, and 6'7 Shon Coleman, who originally signed with Wake Forest. Barton County is also pretty good with 7'3 Aleksandar Radojevic at center and four excellent transfers from Division I schools. They are 6'4 Lamont Roland, who transferred from Ball State, 6'1 Johnny Carson, who transferred from Cincinnati, 6'5 DeMarcus Minor, who from Marquette, and Joe Fermino, who transferred from Monmouth.

Our New England Editor Wayne Simone tells us that 6'5 Jimmy Hunter, who averaged 10 ppg as a freshman last year at Loyola-Maryland, but is now transferring, will visit Creighton this weekend. Hunter also is considering Boston College, James Madison, Old Dominon, Florida State, LaSalle, and Virginia Tech.

Wayne Simone also wanted to comment on one of the items we posted yesterday regarding Manhattan head coach John Leonard, being under fire. Simone says the fact that Leonard's assistants Mark Turner and Sean Cleary both quit is unheard of. "They are both friends of mine, but they let their boss down and they let me down, because one of my players is at Manhattan (Simone is also the head coach the Connecticut Select AAU Program)," says Simone. "And I still think the jury is out. They have the talent to still do pretty well this year and it looks like former Western Kentucky head coach Matt Kilcullen will take one of the vacant assistant jobs. Leonard could get fired if he doesn't do well, but he just as easily could get a better job out of all this if he does well.

We are now being told that St. John's, Fordham, and Seton Hall are all recruiting Karim Shabazz, who is transferring from Florida State. We also understand that Shabazz will be at the St. John's-Fordham game tomorrow night and we look for him to enroll in school at St. John's on Monday, which means he will be eligible beginning second semester next year.

We are in Ft. Myers, FL for the Nation's Bank City of Palms Classic where we will see three of the top 15 teams, according to the USA Today, in the nation tonight in Lakewood (Artesia) CA, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and Georgetown (Scott County) KY. The tournament also features a number of the nation's premier seniors, including 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA, 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL, 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'6 Joe Johnson from Little Rock (Central) AR, 6'6 Derick Payne from Washington (Coolidge) DC, 6'6 Matt Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, 6'11 Samuel Dalembert from Elizabeth (St Patrick) NJ. An added bonus are a number of the top sophomores in the nation, including 6'9 Soph Apolinar Fernandez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'3 Soph Rashard Carruth from Decatur (Cathedral Prep) GA, 6'7 Soph Jack Martinez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'5 Soph Pat Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, and 6'7 Soph Chris White from Huntsville (Grissom) AL.  We will be posting results daily, so make sure you check back for the highlights this weekend.

Thursday, December 17, 1998

One of the hottest assistant coaches in the nation is Virginia's Bobby Gonzalez and one of the jobs he would be perfect for due to his New York ties would be Manhattan College, where current head coach John Leonard is already under fire. As a matter of fact, both of his assistant coaches recently have quit and many already think he is a lame duck coach. However, he's not the only head coach who is already under the microscope. People are already talking about Xavier head coach Skip Prosser moving to South Bend in the spring to replace current Notre Dame head coach John McLeod and we have heard rumors that University of Pittsburgh head coach Ralph Willard could be the early favorite to replace Louisville head coach Denny Crum, if athletic director Tom Jurich decides to pull the trigger.

If you will recall, last spring we ranked Auburn's recruiting class #6 nationally. So it comes as no surprise that the Tigers are currently ranked #19 nationally with a 9-0 record. And we look for this trend to continue, because one of those recruits, 6'8 Adrian Pearson, who was one the leading scorer in the junior college ranks, as well as one of the top five junior college players in the nation two years ago, graduated from Southern Union (JC) AL on Monday and has enrolled at Auburn, where he has been cleared to play immediately. But that's not all, as 6'2 Corey Watkins from Winchendon (Prep) MA, who also signed with Auburn a year ago, is now eligible.

Wednesday, December 16, 1998

Our Philadelphia Area Allen Rubin tells us that the University of Pennsylvania has picked up a commitment from 6'8 Andrew Coates from Bellevue (Eastside Catholic) WA, who ranks #694 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP. Our final rankings from the fall signing period show that Penn's recruiting class ranks #48 nationally, but the addition of Coates will move Penn's recruiting class up to #42, ahead of Liberty and behind California, St. Louis, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin, all of whom are tied at #38. And the Quakers may move up even higher, because Rubin thinks they are also close to getting a commitment from 6'4 Khalid Bray from Philadelphia (Central) PA, who ranks #26 among seniors in the Philadelphia/South Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania Area, and they are believed to be the leader for 6'4 Duane King from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) PA.

Today I finally finished our section that ranks the top recruiting classes in a number of different ways, including by talent rating average per recruit by both conference and by school. It also ranks the schools that signed the best two and three players, as well as who signed the best four players over the last two years. You can review all these rankings by clicking on different ways to look at recruiting. We have also made some final revisions on our rankings of the top recruiting classes both by team and by conference. So we have provided you with a link to each of those pages. You can easily get there by clicking on Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes and Recruiting by Conference.

Tuesday, December 15, 1998

Several days ago we told you that North Carolina head coach Bill Guthridge was in Bloomington, IN last Wednesday to make an in-home visit with 5'11 Jon Holmes from Bloomington (South) IN. So it comes as no surprise that Reggie Tisdale, the Editor & Publisher of Indiana Basketball News, is reporting that this hardnosed sharpshooting point guard committed to the Tar Heels earlier today. Holmes, who ranks #9 in Indiana and #214 nationally, is an excellent addition to the North Carolina program, because he's like a coach on the floor. He's a great passer and excellent outside shooter, but he lacks the size and strength to project as a big-time player. As a result, he is the perfect role player to bring as the future backup to Ronald Curry.

Sources close to the UCLA program are telling us that 6'9 Carlos Boozer from Juneau (Douglas) AK had a great visit over the weekend and, as a result, may be back in the lead over Duke for this extremely talented power forward who ranks #6 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP. This makes perfect sense because his good friends and former AAU teammates - Ray Young and Matt Barnes - are currently freshmen at UCLA. Speaking of the EBO-Fresno AAU program, word on the street is that 6'9 Jr Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX, who ranks as one of the top two or three juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, will likely be the replacement for Boozer on the EBO team next summer. If this happens, we could talking about a potentially lethal inside/outside combination, because EBO head coach Darren Matsubara already has 6'5 Jr DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, who is one of the other top candidates for national player of the year honors in the Class of 2000.

It is now common knowledge that 7'1 Karim Shabazz is transferring from Florida State, but most people don't know that Shabazz's mother is sick and one of his main concerns is being closer to her. As a result, both our New York Editor Ron Naclerio and Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin are predicting that Shabazz will wind up back in New York at St. John's.

During the fall signing period 6'4 Tito Maddox from Compton (H.S.) CA committed to Arizona State, but didn't sign a national letter-of-intent. And maybe it is a good thing, because his value appears to be going through the roof, as he is only one of three point guards remaining who rank among our top 100 seniors nationally. We reported earlier that he really likes Southern California and now it appears they have a scholarship available for him, because Trojans point guard Kevin Augustine has announced that he is transferring. Also showing interest is UCLA, which appears to be worried about their point guard situation, because Baron Davis has been talking about declaring hardship for the NBA. However, we don't look for this to happen. If you will recall, Davis told anybody who would listen for six months during the recruiting process that he was going to Duke. Moral to the story, Davis likes to talk, but we don't put a lot of credibility into what he says.

Monday, December 14, 1998

We talked with 6'10 Jr Reo Logan from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL, who is one of the four outstanding juniors in the state of Illinois, at the Reebok Classic yesterday at Loyola University in Chicago, IL and he told us that the he is still wide open. However, he also confirmed that Illinois and DePaul are the early favorites. Also showing serious interest are Syracuse, Kentucky, Arizona, Indiana, and Louisville.

We got to see a number of outstanding underclassmen at the Reebok Classic yesterday, including 6'2 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, who more than lived up to his billing as the #1 freshman in the state of Illinois. He doesn't show much range, but he still deserves to be ranked among the top five freshman nationally, because he's a great passer, defender, and playmaker who makes great decisions and plays with amazing savvy for somebody so young, The Julian team also features several other good young players, including 6'7 Soph Demarion Edins, 6'7 Soph Anton Palmer, and 6'6 Soph Martese Williams, but the name to remember is 6'7 Soph James Peters. Peters is an aggressive shot blocker who plays above the rim and is active on the boards. And the sky is the limit, especially if he grows at all, because he plays with great intensity and he's already a force inside, Another good young team that we saw both yesterday at the Reebok Classic yesterday and the night before against Chicago (Simeon) IL at Chicago State is Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, which features 6'6 Soph Nageeb Echols. He is regarded by many as the #1 sophomore in Illinois. But we're not buying it just yet. He did show flashes, but he didn't play well and he doesn't play with the intensity necessary to be ranked ahead of 6'9 Soph Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, who is our choice as the #1 sophomore in the state. Echols did score 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but two other sophomores who deserves top 100 consideration nationally - 6'3 Soph Ronald Williams and 5'11 Soph Chris Hill - were also very effective. Hill, who had four points, four assists, and three steals yesterday, is an jet quick point guard who plays excellent defense and makes his teammates better, as he makes things happen in an uptempo setting. Howard, who had 10 points and four rebounds yesterday, is a slasher who with quick hands and great timing makes a living off athleticism and quickness.

Among the biggest disappointments yesterday at the Reebok Classic was 6'5 Frosh Stanley Gaines from Chicago (Providence St Mel) IL, who until recently was ranked as the #1 player in his class both in the state and nationally. First of all, he's not 6'7, which is what he's listed at. Second, he was nothing more than a role player for Providence St. Mel against Hillside (Country Club Hills) IL. However, Gaines did show a 3-point shot once early in the game and he does have lots of potential and athleticism, which might explain why Bloomington AAU head coach Bob Pryor was in the house to watch both Gaines, as well as 6'3 Soph Levar Seals. The connection is Billy Garrett, who is the head coach at Providence St. Mel. Garrett played for Pryor in 1977 and 1978 and it appears that he is pushing his players in Pryor's direction. So don't be surprised if both Gaines and Seals wind up playing for Pryor next summer. So will the two top sophomores in the state of Indiana in 6'0 Soph Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and 6'7 Soph Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN, who put up big numbers Saturday night against 6'8 Jr Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN. However, the guy who ensures that Bloomington AAU will be one of NIKE's top AAU teams next summer is 6'9 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who, like Randolph, also ranks among the top 10 juniors nationally.

Sunday, December 13, 1998

Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL jumped out to a 25-22 lead over #1 nationally ranked Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD at the end of the first quarter in the Hoops in the Loop Preview at Loyola University in Chicago, IL yesterday - thanks mainly to the efforts of 6'2 Jr Imari Sawyer, who had 14 points, two big steals, and four 3-pointers. However, at that point Sawyer's evil twin-brother appeared to take over, as his decision making went out the window and 6'4 Keith Bogans and 6'4 Joe Forte took over the game. DeMatha went on a went on a 31-13 run that extended mid-way into the third quarter. Forte finished with 36 points and 7 rebounds and Bogans had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but the two unsung heroes for DeMatha were 6'6 Jr Robin Wentt, who also had 11 rebounds, and American University bound 6'11 Derek Ahern, who defensively helped shut down King's powerful inside game in the second quarter. The fact that DeMatha won the battle of boards 47-25 and they shot 58% versus King's 41% from the field were the two big differences in the game. Especially disappointing for Martin Luther King was 6'11 Leon Smith, who connected on only 6-15 field goals and only had nine rebounds. Martin Luther King also featured three other players who will play at the mid-to-high Division I level in Sawyer, 6'8 Demetrius Williams, and 6'2 Emmanuel Dildy, but their most consistent player yesterday was 6'5 Stanley Thomas, who provided a perfect complement as he go rebounded, passed, defended, and made those around him better. In the other two games of the Hoops in the Loop Preivew, Milwaukee (Vincent) WI beat Gary (West Side) IN, 54-41, and Chicago (Westinghouse) IL beat Bloomington (South) IN, 51-31. We were impressed by 6'2 Kenneth Lowe's ability to hit the 3-pointer, but having said that we are still surprised that the West Side only lost by 13, as the Vincent team hit 20-36 field goals and 6'7 James Wright was very active on the boards inside and 6'5 Marshall Williams made his presence felt out on the perimeter. 5'11 Jon Holmes also tried to keep Bloomington South in the game against Westinghouse with his outside shooting, but the outside shot wasn't falling as Holmes hit only 3-10 3-point field goals and his team overall was only 4-22 from beyond the arc. They also couldn't keep up with Westinghouse's quickness and balanced attack, which included three of the better juniors in Chicago in 6'2 Jr Dennis Trammell, 5'10 Jr Martell Bailey, and 6'2 Jr Cedrick Banks.

Although 5'11 Jon Holmes from Bloomington (South) IN wasn't very impressive yesterday, he has been getting some big-time looks from schools like South Carolina, Clemson, Texas, and North Carolina. As a matter of fact, Tar Heels head coach Bill Guthridge was in his home earlier this week. Obviously, Holmes isn't going to beat out North Carolina's point guard of the future Ronald Curry, but he'd be a great role player in the ACC and playing against somebody with Curry's talent everyday in practice could provide the kid of competition he needs to perhaps play professionally abroad someday. Also playing at North Carolina wouldn't hurt if Holmes wanted to follow in his father's footsteps (J.R. Holmes is one of the best high school coaches in the state of Indiana).

One of the better point guards who is still available is 6'2 Emmanuel Dildy from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL. His list includes Miami-OH, Clemson, New Orleans, Northern Illinois, Wyoming, Princeton, and Columbia. That's right! He's not only academically qualified (unlike most players who play at King), but he's also a national honor society student and his grades are good enough to be considered by Ivy League schools.

As time goes on the speculation about who will replace the retiring Dr. Tom Davis at Iowa this spring is becoming a hot topic of conversation. According to both Van Coleman, the Editor of Future Stars, and the Des Moines Register, the list is long and it may get longer. As a matter of fact, it seems like everybody, except Rick Pitino, who might be interested in returning to the college game if the lock-out continues into the spring and summer, is already a candidate. Among the names mentioned already are Southwest Missouri State head coach Steve Alford, Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins, Illinois State head coach Kevin Stallings, South Carolina head coach Eddie Fogler, Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson, Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton, New Jersey Nets head coach John Calipari, former St. John's head coach Fran Fraschilla, Florida head coach Billy Donovan, Ball State head coach Ray McCallum, Utah head coach Rick Majerus, Duke assistant coach Quin Snyder, and Kansas assistant Matt Dougherty.

Saturday, December 12, 1998

At the Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout on Thursday, 5'10 Brandon McKissic from Peoria (Central) IL showed why we think he is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation. However, before college recruiters get too excited, we have to warn you that this athletic point guard who can take you off the dribble and shoot the lights out is prime junior college material. His list includes Vincennes (JC) IN, Barton County (JC) KS, Independence (JC) KS, Hutchinson (JC) KS, Wabash (JC) IL, and Burlington (JC) IA.

At the Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout last Thursday we full-court pressed Larry Butler from Illinois Spotlight and Roy and Harv Schmidt from Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye for an early list for some of the top juniors in Illinois. DePaul is the leader over Syracuse, North Carolina, Kentucky,and Connecticut for 6'2 Jr Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, who ranks among the top 10 juniors in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP. Illinois appears to be the early favorite over Georgetown, Arizona, and DePaul for 6'8 Jr Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL. Darius Miles, the 6'10 junior from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL likes St. Louis, Illinois, Georgetown, Michigan, Connecticut, Arizona, Kansas, UCLA, DePaul, California, Duke, North Carolina, and Kentucky.

Roy Schmidt of Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye tells us that the Proviso West Holiday Tournament in Hillside, IL, December 26th-30th, is absolutely loaded. The first game at 9:00 AM on December 26th will feature 6'10 Rio Logan and Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL against Chicago (Farragut) IL. Immediately following at 10:30 AM will be Evanton (Township) IL against Hillside (Proviso West) IL. Then at 12:15 PM, Maywood (Proviso East) IL will play Oak Park (Fenwick) IL, followed by Winnetka (New Trier) IL versus Homewood (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL at 1:45 PM. Westchester (St. Joseph) IL plays Chicago (Dunbar) IL at 3:30 PM and it's Chicago (Westinghouse) IL versus Deerfield (H.S.) IL at 5:15 PM. The prime-time games will feature Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL versus Chicago (Manley) IL at 7:00 PM and Dolton (Thornridge) IL versus Schaumburg (H.S.) IL at 8:30 PM.

Friday, December 11, 1998

At the Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO, everybody was expecting 6'4 Keith Bogans from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and/or 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL to step up and make a serious challenge for top player honors in the senior class. However, it didn't happen! As a matter of fact, the game between Hyattsvile (DeMatha) MD and St. Louis (CBA) MO was terrible. The DeMatha players played like they had jet-lag. Their outstanding sophomore 6'11 Jordan Collins has put on weight and isn't as quick and athletic as he was last summer. Bogans wasn't hitting his shots, as he went 1-6 from 3-point range and was 6-17 from the field. What saved DeMatha was 6'4 Joe Forte, who hit 4-9 3-pointers, as he went for 24 points. He also had nine rebounds. Collins chipped in with eight rebounds, but nobody else did a thing up front. However, DeMatha still escaped with a 59-51, but most scouts in attendance agree that the nation's #1 ranked team could be in big trouble if they play like this tomorrow afternoon when the meet Martin Luther King High School in the Hoops in the Loop Preview in Chicago. Making a name for himself for Christian Brothers was 6'1 Ryan Johnson, who shot the lights out (3-4 3-pointers and 11-18 from the floor), but also impressed us with his quickness and ability to take you off the dribble. However, the player to remember from is 6'7 Soph Tamarr Maclin who is probably already a lock for St. Louis, because Billikins assistant coach Derek Thomas was formerly the head coach at Christian Brothers and has had the kid in camp since was in grade school. Maclin is already a man-child and he's not shy on the inside, as was evident by his 13 rebounds against DeMatha. Earlier in the day Huntsville (Grissom) AL beat Nashville (H.S.) IL, 56-42, and the final score tells much of the story, because Stone, despite his 19 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, never really got on track. Obviously somebody needed to save the day. That was 6'2 Kent Williams from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) IL, who went for 48 points against Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, as he broke the all-time tournament scoring record, which was formely held by Ted Dupay, who had 46 points a year ago. Playing well earlier in the day was 6'5 Jr DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA. He thrilled the crowd with a number of impressive dunk and showmanship, as he led his team to a 20 point win over University City (H.S.) MO. We also were impressed by the performance of 6'8 Jarriot Rook from Troy (Buchanan) IL, who wasn't intimidated at all by 6'11 Casey Sanders from Tampa (Prep) FL, who ranks as one of the top 10 players in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP. Rook had 22 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. But even more important, he was much more inspired than Sanders, who led his team with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and nine blocks. As a result, Sanders posted better numbers, but his team lost the game, 61-52. One of the only interesting games of the day featured Peoria (Central) IL against Jackson (Provine) IL. 5'10 Brandon McKissic and 6'5 Soph Marcellus Sommerville combined for 49 of Peoria Central's 68 points, as they sent Provine home with a 68-62 loss. Ole Miss and Southern Miss signees 6'5 Aaron Harper and 6'2 Marcus Terrell combined for 37 points of their own, but Peoria Central did a good job of shutting down 6'8 Jr Justin Reed, who ranks as one of the top 30 juniors in the nation. We missed the first game of the day between Jennings (H.S.) MO and Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, but 6'0 Brenden Finn apparently had the hot hand, as he was 8-11 from the floor, including 5-8 from beyond the arc. However, Minnesota signee 6'6 Shane Schilling was the leading scorer with 22 points and 6'2 Jr Adam Boone showed why he's one of the top three juniors in Minnesota, as Minnetonka won the game, 75-51.

Thursday, December 10, 1998

Steve Bell,  Editor & Publisher of The Bank, which is a Michigan based scouting service, tells us that Michigan has jumped into the hunt for 6'8 Mark Maxwell from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI. Apparently they are still looking for a power forward after losing out on 6'7 Aloysius Anagonye from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, who recently signed with Michigan State. Maxwell's list also includes Kent, Detroit, and Eastern Michigan. Bell also tells us that University of California head coach Ben Braun was in Ann Arbor last night to see 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI. Also at the game was Michigan head coach Brian Ellerbe.

Speaking of '6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI, the Cats' Pause, a weekly publication that covers the University of Kentucky is reporting that the Wildcats are trying to make a late push for Blanchard now that Myron Anthony is transferring. We also have heard that Kentucky has inquired about 6'5 Reese Gaines from Madison (West) WI, but we still think this athletic 2-guard will go to either Wisconsin or Louisville. While Blanchard and Gaines are two of the best players still available, Kentucky's big need is a point guard to replace Wayne Turner, who will graduate after this season, and neither fits the description.

Late tonight we will have scores and highlights from the Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO, which is always one of the top events of the entire year. Among the top players we see today are 6'4 Keith Bogans from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL, 6'11 Casey Sanders from Tampa (Prep) FL, 6'4 Joe Forte from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'5 Jamaal Crawford from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, and 6'5 Jr DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA.

Wednesday, December 9, 1998

The first week in January the HOOP SCOOP will be making major changes in our billing for online subscribers. In the past, we have not had the capability to allow subscribers to subscribe for more than a month at a time. But soon we will. We also plan to lower the price of a 30 day subscription to the web site from $19.95 to $12 per month. Longer periods, like $30 for three months, $60 for six months, and $100 for a year will also be available. Current subscribers are encouraged to cancel their online subscription through Ibill and can take advantage of this offer in advance today, Wednesday, December 9th, or the first four days of next week, December 14th-17th, by calling 1-800-253-DUNK.

We have followed up some more on the situation involving Raynell Brewer from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS. Sources close to the Mississippi State program confirm that they think they are going to get this athletic 7-footer. Apparently, there are a lot of politics involved, so we continue to get totally conflicting reports depending upon who we talk with. Unfortunately our calls to his junior college coach, Bob Weathers, have gone unanswered. So we will just have to wait and see.

We talked with Maine Central Institute head coach Max Good yesterday and he tells us that 30 college coaches and three NBA scouts were in Pittsfield, ME this past weekend watching the tournament hosted and won by this New England prep school. The tournament MVP was 6'6 Caron Butler, who had 31 points, 12 rebounds, and seven steals the first night. However, the big reason why Butler moves into our top 10 nationally in the senior class is his great defense and understanding of the game. Also worth mentioning is the 54 points, 23 rebounds, and 11 assists that 6'9 Dermarr Johnson had in the two games, which are right on his season averages. This is worth mentioning, because he's been putting up these numbers against all kinds of gimmick defenses, like a box-and-one or a triangle-and-two, designed specially to stop him. However, the thing that Good is the most pleased about is Johnson that has learned to play so much harder than he has in the past. And this is why we've moved him back into our top five nationally.

Tuesday, December 8, 1998

If you will recall, our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman reported a month ago that 7'1 Raynell Brewer from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS had committed to Mississippi State, but within hours we put the inquiry sign up, because Mitch Malone, the Editor & Publisher of the Texas Blue Chip Report, told us that Brewer wasn't even considering Mississippi State. More recently, a source who would know told us that Mississippi State was still going to get Brewer and now we are getting reports that the Jackson Clarion-Ledger has reported that Brewer has committed to the Bulldogs. However, Todd Kelley of the Clarion-Ledger does not confirm this fact and Malone tells us that Brewer hasn't not even begun to take any official visits yet.  Malone says that Fresno State, Alabama, and Oklahoma are still the leaders and he is getting this from Brewer's father, who apparently will have the final say.

Another one that is all messed up is the recruitment of 6'7 Romeo Augustine from Youngstown (Rayen) OH, who we first reported had committed to Duquesne. Later we retracked that and reported that he was signed Toledo. Apparently our source in Northern Ohio jumped the gun on both counts, because Ohio Editor Chris Johnson now is telling us that Augustine is not only still one the board, but that he's the subject of a tug-a-war between those who are pushing him to Toledo and those who want him to go to Duquesne. "This one could get ugly before it's over," says Johnson.

Bob Starkman, the HOOP SCOOP's South Florida Editor, missed badly with his report on Antonio Latimer a month ago. However, he assures us that he is right on the money with this one, because his source is the father of 6'4 Jr Jemel Davila and 6'1 Frosh Joel Davila. Apparently both of his sons have left Miami (Senior) FL and have enrolled at Miami (South Miami) FL, which should obviously boost that program in a big way.

Monday, December 7, 1998

Three cheers for the NBA lockout!  Let's hope they never come back. Not only has the league corrupted itself for years, but it has also done more to corrupt the college game than the NCAA with its divine and infinite wisdome ever could. As the NBA has pillaged and looted the college game of its stars, it is no longer the dream of every 10 year-old to win the NCAA Championship. Instead, now all they care about is money, as their dream is achieving the fame and fortunate, as well as the problems, that go with becoming a professional athlete. If you try real hard, you can become as big a jerk as Dennis Rodman. Now that there is no NBA, network televisions ratings for college basketball are up 62% when compared to the same period a year ago.  Ticket sales are also up, as sports fans are finding out that the college game is just a much better sport. The players play harder, there is actually some coaching, regular season games mean something, and the cost isn't as outrageous. Not only does this promise to be the best college basketball season in years, but hopefully it will get back some of it's continuity, especially if the lockout extends into next spring and summer and none of the current college and high school stars depart early for a world they aren't ready for in the first place.

HOOP SCOOP New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that the player who might be getting underrecruited the most in the Big Apple is 6'3 Reggie Brown from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, who ranks #8 in the city on the list the Naclerio just turned in. Virginia Tech, Richmond, Central Florida, and Rider are the schools currently showing the most interest, but Brown can shoot the heck out of it, which is why we think his value will raise dramatically during the winter. Loyola-Maryland, Boston University, Fairfield, and St. Peter's are the leaders for Brown's teammate, 6'8 Uka Agbai. 6'1 Justin Wilson, also from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, is being recruited by Long Island, St. Peter's, and Central Florida. Luis Flores, the 6'2 slasher/athlete from New York (Norman Thomas) NY who established his reputation last summer at Five Star's Honesdale II Session, is also getting underrecruited. Right now his list includes Manhattan, Canisius, Hofstra, Drexel, and Duquesne.

The big story at the All-Ohio Hoops Festival in Columbus, OH over the weekend was the performance in the final game of the night by 6'2 Frosh Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL. He was not only led his team with 24 points, eight assists, and four steals, but also played with the savvy of a player well beyond his years. His high school coach Loren Jackson was quoted in the Chicago Tribune yesterday saying that Dockery is the best freshman in the state of Illinois and HOOP SCOOP Ohio Editor Chris Johnson agrees. However, neither Dockery nor Fordham bound Phil Dupree from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH were the leading scorer in the game. That honor went to 6'5 Robbie Owens, also from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who had 28 points and showed a much improved 3-point shot. Owens' list includes a number of Big 10 schools, including Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Also playing well in other games at Jerry Watson's Tournament were 6'6 Brandon Hunter from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'2 Craig Jackson from Columbus (East) OH, 6'5 P.J. Sanders from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 5'9 Jr Brandon Childress from Bedford (Chanel) OH, 6'4 Soph Darrell Peterson from Cincinnati (Western Hills) OH, 6'5 Soph Danny Horace from Cincinnati (Western Hills) OH, 5'10 Soph Brian Swift from Bedford (Chanel) OH, 6'6 Frosh Tony Murphy from Columbus (East) OH.

Sunday, December 6, 1998

G.J. King, the Editor & Publisher of The Recruiters Online, tells us that 6'8 Soph Dennis Latimore from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, who established his national reputation as one of the top players in his class nationally at the Phenom Junior All-American Festival in early August, already has an early list of schools. As it stands now, Georgetown is the leader, followed by Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Michigan, and UNLV. King also give us the the early list for 6'7 Soph Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who is battling 6'10 Soph Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL for the #1 ranking in the state in his class. In no particular order, Echols schools are DePaul, UCLA, and Duke.

Saturday, December 5, 1998

After being suspended for the first four games and not getting any playing time last week against Kansas when he finally was available, Myron Anthony has decided to transfer from the University of Kentucky. The fact that he has not played a minute this year is important, because if he enrolls at another Division I school by January, he would be eligible at semester break next season. The only school we've heard so far is Florida State, but you can bet that list will get longer before he makes his decision. This is also very important for Kentucky, because this frees up a scholarship for the spring. Look for the Wildcats to either go after a quality point guard or the best available player, like 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA. Or they could do both, because it wouldn't surprise us if 6'10 Marquis Estill from Richmond (Madison Central) KY ended up in prep school next year.

Friday, December 4, 1998

We have been slow to post recruiting information the last several days, because we have been working night and day on our ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference and we're almost done. As a matter of fact, we will have all Division I conferences ranked in order top-to-bottom by the end of the evening. As it stands now, the big winner appears to be the Southeastern Conference, which, using our rating system, has a total of 203 points. The Big East with 172 points edges out the Big 10 for second with 171 points.  Next are the Atlantic Coast Conference (129 points), Conference USA (128 points), Big 12 (117 points), Pacific-10 (98 points), Western Athletic (96 points), Atlantic-10 (69 points), Missouri Valley (56 points), Mid-American (45 points), and Colonial (40 points). For the complete list conference by conference, click on recruiting by conference.

Thursday, December 3, 1998

Previously we had been counting 6'7 Lubos Barton from the Czech Republic with Valparaiso's recruiting class. However, since he is not only playing, but also is one of the Valpo's best players this year, we have taken him off our list. We also will do something similiar with anybody who has signed in the fall, but becomes eligible and plays at any point during the season. As a result, some players will count in the fall rankings, but will not be included in the spring. Another adjustment we have made in the last 24 hours, as we continue to make minor adjustments to our ranking of the top recruiting classes, is to drop 6'5 Kareem Rush from Kansas City (Pembroke Hill) MO, from UCLA's list. He has verbally committed to the Bruins, but he has not signed a national letter-of-intent. We still think he will go to UCLA, but if you will recall, his older brother (Jaron) committed to Kansas at this time last year. However, it later didn't hold up. Instead, he signed with the Bruins during the spring signing period.

Last winter it looked like Indiana University might have a tough time getting 6'10 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who ranks among the top 10 juniors in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP. But things can change dramatically in the recruiting business and sources close to Jeffries think that Indiana is now the leader. Apparently he has a great relationship with Hoosier assistant coach Mike Davis, but by no means is it a lock just yet. Also still on his list are North Carolina, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Kentucky.

Wednesday, December 2, 1998

All four of Virginia's early signees - 6'0 Majestic Mapp from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Travis Watson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Roger Mason from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, and 6'10 Jason Rogers from Staunton (Robert E. Lee) VA - will likely be on campus the weekend of December 12th when the Cavaliers host St. John's. This could prove to be especially mportant, because 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI will be making his official visit to Charlottesville, VA that weekend. And you can bet they will try and persuade him to follow in their footsteps and sign with the Cavaliers in the spring. And if he does, that might be enough to get Virginia, which currently ranks #3 nationally in recruiting by the HOOP SCOOP, the #1 ranking. However, Blanchard isn't the only option, because Virginia assistant coach Bobby Gonzalez recently went to Paris, France to recruit 6'7 Liberto Tetimadingar, who is a skilled and talented athlete who can play the one, two, and the three spots. Providence and St. John's are also involved, but as it stands now Virginia is the heavy favorite. Which brings us to the next question. Do you take Tetimadingar if he wants to come or wait for Blanchard? Or do you just take them both and solve the scholarship problem later (Virginia only has one more scholarship available, unless somebody transfers)?

Within the last 24 hours we have not only updated our rankings of the top recruiting classes from the fall signing period for the final time, but we also have adjusted some of our player rankings and ratings, which takes into consideration just how good we think the senior class is nationally. The top five players in the class - 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA, 6'4 Keith Bogans from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL, 6'9 Dermarr Johnson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and 6'11 Leon Smith from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL - all still get 10 points a piece. The rankings have changes a little, but the ratings have stayed the same with the next five - 6'9 Carlos Boozer from Juneau (Douglas) AK, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'2 Jason Williams from Metchum (St. Josephs) NJ, 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI, and 6'11 Casey Sanders from Tampa (Prep) FL. They all still get nine points apiece. So do 6'4 Kevin Gaines from Las Vegas (Clark) NV, 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS, 6'2 Kenneth Satterfield from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Brett Nelson from St. Albans (H.S.) WV, 6'4 Joe Forte from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, and 5'10 Jason Gardner from Indianapolis (North Central) IN. These next seven, who rank #11 through #17, all would be ranked among the top 10 nationally in a normal year, so we've given each player an extra point. We've also extended the number of players who get eight point apiece to 55, instead of the usually cut-off at 40 and we've done something similiar with the top 100, as 25 additional players get four points, instead of the usual three points apiece. As a result, our rankings of the Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes have changed a little. We've also added eight more teams to our list, as additional information has been compiled within the last week. Perhaps the most interesting addition to the list is East Tennessee State, which checks in at #77 with eight points and three recruits in 6'1 Michael Griffith from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'5 Danny Sterbenz from Johnson City (Science Hill) TN, and 6'2 Ryan Lawson from Rogersville (Cherokee) TN. Not many schools at the mid-major level signed three better guards and most people don't know it yet, because Sterbanz and Lawson were not reported until long after the signing period was concluded.

Tuesday, December 1, 1998

Another one of the premier events of the entire year is the 22nd Reebok Holiday Prep Classic field, which is presented by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It features five of the nation's top 25 teams, according to the National Prep Basketball Poll, in #2 ranked Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, #3 ranked Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, #12 ranked Compton (Dominguez) CA, #21 ranked Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and #25 Mesa (Mountain View) AZ. The Classic's 54 team field also will include Fresno (Washington Union) CA, Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and Reno (Galena) NV, as well as some of the very elite players in the respective classes nationally, including 6'4 Kevin Gaines from Las Vegas (Clark) NV, 6'7 Travis Watson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Jr DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'6 Jr  Luke Whitehead from San Francisco (St. Ignatius) CA, 7'0 Soph Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA. Games will begin on Saturday December 19th at 9:30 AM in Durango and Cimarron-Memorial High School's Main and Auxiliary Gyms and run all day concluding with the final set of four games at 8:50 PM. Sunday, December 20th, will be a dead day. Then, the tournament will run all day long on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, December 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.

We were already planning on attending the Hoops in the Loop Preview Tournament at Loyola University in Chicago, IL, on December 12th, where the marquee game features two of the premier high school teams in the nation this year with Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD invading the Windy City to challenge Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL. The other two games feature Chicago (Westinghouse) IL and against Bloomington (South) IN and Gary (West Side) IN against Milwaukee (Vincent) WI. However, it wasn't until today that we found out about the six other games also scheduled to be played at Loyola University on Sunday, December 13th. At 11:00 AM Chicago (Curie) IL plays Chicago (St. Patrick) IL, followed by Chicago (Robeson) IL versus Chicago (Julian) IL at 12:30 PM and Barrington (H.S.) IL versus Chicago (Whitney Young) IL at 2:00 PM. Then at 3:30 PM Homewood (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL faces Chicago (Westinghouse) IL and at 5:00 PM Chicago (Hubbard) IL plays Chicago (Providence St. Mel) IL. The nightcap at 6:30 PM will feature Chicago (Julian) IL versus Chicago (Farragut) IL.

Several weeks ago we posted updated our rankings of the top players by class in the state of Indiana, but it wasn't until this afternoon that Jim Kasberg finished the article to accompany his list. Not only was it worth waiting for, but it is Kasberg at his best. To go directly to our Indiana Report, which mentions two very talented sleepers in 6'5 Aaron Hogg from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 5'10 Eugene Wilson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, both of whom are getting underrecruited, click on Indiana.