HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR FEBRUARY 2010

Saturday, February 27, 2010, & Sunday, February 28, 2010

I have good news and bad news.  First, the bad news.  I have not forgotten about the price increase to the Members Section that I first mentioned on Sunday, December 27, 2009.  If you will recall, I said I was planning on raising the subscription price to the web site sometime in January or February from $45 to $50 per month.  That way people who decide to subscribe for a longer period of time will receive substantial savings (i.e. subscribe for three months at a cost of $125 and get a $25 discount, subscribe for six months at a cost of $250 and get a $50 discount, and subscribe for one-year at a cost of $499 and get a $101 discount).  And now for the good news.  I have decided to make the price increase only $4 per month, which is important, because it will keep the price under $50 per month.  This price increase will go into effect on Thursday, March 18th, which is the first day of this year's NCAA Tournament.  And, to further entice you to either subscribe or renew your current subscription, anybody who subscribes between now and March 18th will automatically by entered into a drawing where we give away one lifetime subscription, two one-year subscriptions, three six-month subscriptions, four three-month subscriptions, and five one-month subscriptions to the Members Section of this web site.  Division I college coaches are not eligible, but everybody else is.  Everybody who subscribed in the month of February also will be included in this drawing and anybody who buys a three-month subscription will get three shots at winning, instead of just one; anybody who buys a six-month subscription will get six shots a winning, instead of just one; and anybody who buys a one-year subscription will get 12 shots at winning, instead of just one.  The winners will be contacted during the three-day period after the first and-second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and prior to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semi-Finals and Finals.  So obviously now is the perfect time to extend your current subscription, as well as to tell your friends to subscribe to the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, you get what you pay for and nobody in the business provides you with better insight and perspective, more in-depth analysis, and even close to the volume of information and player rankings that we do.   

Friday, February 26, 2010

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin also has a couple of commitments to pass along.  The first is 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, who is ranked #29 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best outside shooters to come down the pike in a long time.  Cooney is following the footsteps of 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who was his teammate last spring and summer on the Team Final club team and also has decided to attend Syracuse University.  And, just like Waiters, Cooney is a both winner and a competitor.  Cooney also is deceptively athletic and when he enrolls into school college year after next he will be expected to assume the same type of role that 6'4 Sr Andy Rautins has provided the Orangemen in recent years.  Whether getting Cooney and Waiters will be enough to help Syracuse get back into the hunt for 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who was the heart-and-sole of that Team Final club team, is anybody's guess.  "But it can't hurt," says Rubin, who reminds us that Gilchrist's final six appear to be Kentucky, Villanova, Texas, Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Oregon.  Rubin also thinks the addition of Waiters and Cooney could prove to be valuable when it comes time for 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is ranked #9 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to make his college decision.  Ross is considering schools like Syracuse, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Memphis, Villanova, Baylor, Texas, and Florida.  And, if he picks the Orangemen, then Syracuse could be well on its way towards having one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, as well as an incredible amount of firepower out on the perimeter in the Class of 2011.  Remember, Syracuse also already has an early verbal commitment from 6'5 Jr Michael Carter-Williams from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, who finished with 36 points and 37 points respectively in two games en route to a #1-ranking based on performance earlier this month at the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI.  The second commitment was by 6'6 Marin Kukoc from Highland Park (H.S.) IL, who became the seventh player in the University of Pennsylvania's current recruiting class, which is now ranked #38 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010 and also includes 6'2 Miles Cartwright from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'4 Steve Rennard from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ, 6'3 Casey James from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 6'9 Cameron Gunter from Folsom (Ridley) PA, 6'2 Dua Jok from Des Moines (Roosevelt) IA, and 6'8 Fran Dougherty from Warminster (Archbishop Wood) PA.  Kukoc is the son of former Chicago Bulls player Tony Kukoc and he has a high skill level, good basketball IQ, and a nice shooting touch. 

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson was at the Global Elite Evaluation Camp, which was held this past weekend at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS, and the top three players in attendance were 6'3 8th Grader Roderick Taylor from Jackson (Powell Middle) MS, 6'0 8th Grader Blake Jones from New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA, and 6'6 8th Grader Craig Victor from New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA.  "Taylor is a good old-fashioned wide-bodied post player who has outstanding foot work and post moves for somebody so young," says Johnson.  "And, on top of his skill set, Taylor is a warrior who goes all out.  He's a good rebounder and runs the floor.  He needs to grow some more in order to project as a top level prospect down the line, but right now he's very good.  Jones was good from start-to-finish at the camp.  He can shoot the ball with solid range and put the ball on the floor, where he uses his broad shoulders to create space and finish at the rim or to stop and pop in the mid-range.   He also showed solid defensive skills in a Saturday evening match-up when he frustrated the highly touted Malik Newman.  Victor was the best prospect and he showed the most versatility of any player in camp with his ability to play inside or outside on both offense and defense.  Victor and Taylor had a couple of spirited battles and, while Taylor was a hand full, Victor never backed down and went right back at him.  Victor showed nifty post moves and the ability to score in the post.  He also stepped out and hit the mid-range jumper and showed the ability to handle the ball in the open court and make good decisions."  Johnson also was very impressed with 5'11 8th Grader Jacques Batiste from New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA, 5'6 Frosh Jordan Green from Jackson (Rowan Middle) MS, 6'3 8th Grader Marlon Watts from New Orleans (St. Augustine) LA, and 6'0 Frosh Malik Newman from Durant (Middle) MS.  "Batiste is another power guard who showed a good understanding of the game and the knowledge of how to use his strong frame to get where he wants to go on the floor," says Johnson.  "He is a solid ball handler and is a solid mid-range shooter.  Green looks frail, but is tough and very quick.  We're talking about a push and attack point guard who likes to keep the pace up tempo and attacks cracks in the defense to get to the rim and finish the shot or make flashy dishes to his teammates for the assist.  While his shooting motion needs work, he makes more than enough long range shots to be a threat from the perimeter.  Watts surprised me with his ball handling and passing skills, along with his toughness and ability to score, rebound, and defend in the paint.  Newman was by far and away the best shooter in the camp.  I also like the fact that he's good ball handler and defender and has great size and length."  Johnson also makes note of the fact that 6'2 8th Grader Curtis Allen from Grenada (Middle) MS and 5'9 8th Grader Maurice Dunlap from Greenwood (East Middle) MS were two of the most active players in camp.  "Allen hit the boards, ran the floor, and scored well around the hoop," says Johnson.  "Dunlap was a nuisance on defense, got out on the break for easy baskets, and hit enough jumpers to be a factor."  Also noteworthy is the fact that 5'7 8th Grader Jacob Ivory from Jackson (Chastain Middle) MS and 6'4 8th Grader Gerald Glass from Vicksburg (Warren Central Middle) MS both have basketball in their genes.  Ivory, whose father once was the player-of-the-year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and is now the head coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, was solid all weekend.  "He showed good ball handling skills and made good decisions when it came time to step up his teammates," says Johnson.  Glass, whose father and mother were both all Southeastern Conference players at Ole Miss and whose father played a number of years in the NBA, is a long active forward who moves well without the ball and finds ways to score around the basket.  "He also was a willing defender and rebounder," says Johnson.  "But he does need more strength in order to be better at both."  Also turning in solid performances were 5'7 8th Grader Jaemon Catchings from Jackson (Powell Middle) MS, 5'9 8th Grader Shannon Bailey from Jackson (Whitten Middle) MS, 5'10 8th Grader William Brisby Brown from Jackson (Siwell Middle) MS, and 5'11 Frosh Clinton Moses from Jackson (Peeples Middle) MS. 

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter tells us he no longer has any doubt about who the best player is in Southern California's senior class.  The player he has in mind is 6'6 Allen Crabbe from Los Angeles (Price) CA and Utter tells us that Crabbe has made the same kind of improvement between his junior and senior year in high school that James Hardin, Russell Westbrook, and Michael Snaer did in recent years.  "What Crabbe does best is score," says Utter.  "He scores every way possible.  You can't stop him.  He has all the tools.  He's strong, athletic, smart, and good on the boards and at the defensive end."  Utter also think Crabbe is better than 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is ranked #22 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and also is bound for the University of California.  Another one of the most undervalued players on the West Coast and a major sleeper to many even in his own backyard is 6'2 Reynaul Baker from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, who currently is averaging 23.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, and 1.5 bpg.  "Baker is a slashing combo guard out of the same mold as Russell Westbrook in that he's a phenomenal athlete and plays above the rim," says Utter.  "He's not afraid to take it inside and score against the big guys in the paint.  Baker also isn't afraid to play defense against the big guys and he had 33 points in his team's 90-86 overtime loss a month ago against Price."  And that's saying a lot because Utter thinks Los Angeles (Price) CA, which features both Crabbe and 6'9 Richard Solomon, is currently the best team in Southern California.  Utter describes Baker as more of a slasher than a shooter and adds that he is more of a combo guard than a pure point guard, which makes him ideally suited for a school in the Mountain West or Western Athletic Conference.  Utter also is touting 6'3 Austin Ramljak from Oak Park (H.S.) CA for schools in the Ivy League and Patriot League.  "He's a superb outside shooter, a good passer, and has a high basketball IQ," says Utter.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that this is Ramljak's first year playing high school basketball after being sidelined as a freshman and sophomore with achilles tendentious  and as a junior with Valley Fever.  He's gotten his strength and athleticism back and now appears to be well on his way towards returning to where he was in middle school when he was the leading scorer on a highly successful AAU team that also included the likes of Hollis Thompson, Tyler Lamb, and Pe'Shon Howard.  We also have some verbal commitments to pass along and right at the top of the list is another great 3-pointer who a couple of days ago picked the University of Wyoming.  We're talking about 6'4 Francisco Cruz from Western Nebraska (JC) WY and he has already hit 67-142 treys this season.  That's 47% from 3-point land for this sharp shooting 2-guard who is ranked #72 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com.  Another junior college commitment that recently slipped through the cracks involved 6'10 Eric Buckner from Gulf Coast (JC) FL picking Georgia State.  Bucker is ranked #9 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com and it appears that he decided that he wanted to be a big fish in a small pond by picking the Panthers over big time schools like Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Maryland, and Georgia.  Also slipping through the cracks was the verbal commitment that 6'7 Eugene McCrory from Fairfax (Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers) MD made a week-and-a-half ago to Seton Hall.  And it appears that this 6'7, 240-pound power forward who is averaging 17.6 ppg and 12.1 rpg is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Pirates head coach Bobby Gonzalez and his staff who were in search of a front court quick fix in this year's recruiting class.  We also have confirmed a pair of early verbal commitments by 6'4 Jr Evan Wessel from Wichita (Heights) KS to Wichita State and 6'6 Jr Kasey Wilson from Port Charlotte (North Port) FL to Virginia Commonwealth. 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I got an email over the weekend from Mike Farrelly, who is the director of HOOP Group Elite, and he has high expectations for the nine Spring Top 100 Camps, six AAU-like events, nine Hoop Group Elite Camps, and the 16 Hoop Group Skills Camps at Pocono Invitational that are on the docket for this spring and summer.  And one of the big reasons why Farrelly is so excited is the fact that last summer the Hoop Group Elite made the move after being in New Jersey for 20 year to Albright College in Reading, PA, which was a much better setting for both the players and for college coaches.  Another big reason why this promises to be one of the best ever for the Hoop Group is the fact that most of the top players on the East Coast are expected to be in attendance at one or multiple events this spring and summer.  And, of course, there is the word on the street about the legendary Howard Garfinkel, who was one of the founders of the Five-Star Basketball Camp and helped run that camp for over 40 years, being a guest speaking this summer for the Hoop Group.  However, as of yet, we have not found anybody who is willing to go on record and confirm that this is more than just a good rumor.  As for the Hoop Group schedule of events, Farrelly tells us that the Spring Top 100 Camps are important, because they will feature unsigned seniors looking to get a scholarship and young players who are looking to get some early exposure.  The list of Spring Top 100 Camps includes the Northern Virginia Top 100 at Hoop Magic Sports Academy in Chantilly, VA on March 20th; the Baltimore Top 100 at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD on March 21st; the Boston Top 100 at Boston University in Boston, MA on March 27th; the Connecticut Top 100 at Trinity College in New Haven, CT on March 28th; the Metro Top 100 at Kean University in Union, NJ on March 30th; the Philadelphia Top 100 at the Competitive Edge Sports in King of Prussia, PA on April 6th; Hampton Top 100 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA on April 8th; the Long Island Top 100 at Island Garden in West Hempstead, NY on April 13th; and New York Top 100 at Fordham University in Bronx, NY on April 14th,.  The list of AAU-like events begins with the Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA on April 16th-18th and the Hoop Group Providence Jam Fest at Providence College in Providence, RI, April 23rd-25th, which were two of the best events that we attended last spring.  There also will be the Hoop Group Southern Jam Fest at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, VA on May 7th-9th; the Hoop Group Spring Jam Fest at the Hoop Group Headquarters in Neptune, NJ on May 14th-16th; the Hoop Group Summer Classic at the Hoop Group Headquarters in Neptune, NJ on July 11th-12th; and the Hoop Group West Virginia Jam Fest at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV on July 14th-16th.  That last one is especially important, because the Hoop Group West Virginia Jam Fest has evolved in recent years into one of the better events of the summer.  The list of Hoop Group Elite Camps, which also are still sometimes called Eastern Invitational, includes Hoop Group Academic Elite I at Haverford College in Haverford, PA on June 25th-28th; Hoop Group Elite Session I at Albright College in Reading, PA on July 5th-8th; Hoop Group Elite Team Camp at Albright College in Reading, PA on July 9th-10th; Hoop Group Elite Session II at Albright College in Reading, PA on July 10th-13th; Hoop Group Specialized Position Camp at Albright College in Reading, PA on July 14th-16th; Hoop Group Academic Elite II at Albright College in Reading, PA on July 24th-27th; Hoop Group Elite Session III at Albright College in Reading, PA on July 28th-31st; Hoop Group Junior Elite at Albright College in Reading, PA on August 1st-4th.  There also will be an invitational only camp, which has yet to be named, for 120 players in the Class of 2013 and Class of 2014 that will be held at Albright College in Reading, PA on August 6th-8th.  I also is important to mention that Hoop Group Elite Sessions I & III are always must stops for Division I college coaches, as well as our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin.  The list of Hoop Group Skills Camps that will be held at Pocono Invitational includes four Skills Camps on July 11th-15th, July 18th-22nd, July 25th-29th, and August 22nd-26th; two Junior Elite Weekends on June 12th-13th and August 20th-21st; four Father/Son Weekends on June 18th-20th, July 9th-11th, July 23rd-25th, and August 13th-15th; two Bob Hurley Skills Camps on June 27th-July 1st and August 15th-19th; the Kevin Boyle Skills Camp on August 9th-13th; two Dave Hopla Skills Camps on July 5th-9th and August 26th-30th; and the Point Guard Skill Camp on July 16th-18th.  For more information about any of these events or to just ask Hoop Group President Rob Kennedy whether his long time competitor (Howard Garfinkel) is really going to speak at camp, we encourage you to go to their web site at Hoop Group or call at 1-(732) 502-2255. 

Saturday, February 20, 2010, Sunday, February 21, 2010, & Monday, February 22, 2010

It looks like our Texas Editor Tim Miller was right on the money when he told us on Friday that Humble (Christian Life) TX and Irving (God's Academy) TX were the favorites to win the prep school and the high school divisions at the National Prep Alliance National Invitational, which took place late last week in Dallas, TX.  It also comes as no surprise that 6'0 K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX was named the Most Outstanding Player in the high school division and that 5'10 Javarius Willis from Humble (Christian Life) TX was named the Most Outstanding Player in the prep school division.  If you will recall, the Texas Tech-bound Willis was terrific when we saw him a couple of weeks ago in the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI and the LSU-bound Ross-Miller has been on our radar screen dating all the way back to when he was a rising 6th Grader at the first adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA.  Also making the First Team All-Tournament Team in the high school division were 6'8 Soph Wannah Bail from Sugar Land (Trent International) TX, 6'8 Titus Rubles from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'9 Soph Shaquille Cleare from Houston (The Village School) TX, 6'3 Marvin White from Ft. Worth (Zion) TX, 6'4 Isaiah Jones from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'5 Jr Deividas Pukis from Humble (Christian Life) TX, and 6'8 Leslee Smith from Humble (Christian Life) TX.  The Second Team All-Tournament Team in the high school division included 6'11 Jr Armadou Konte from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 5'10 Jarron Crump from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'4 Denzell Newsome from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'0 Ty Graves from Ft. Worth (Zion) TX, 6'1 Soph Trey Williams from Houston (The Village School) TX, 6'5 Soph Michael Carey from Sugar Land (Trent International) TX, 6'10 Danrad Knowled from Sugar Land (Trent International) TX, 6'9 Soph Johnny Williams from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'4 Kedar Marshall from Humble (Christian Life) TX, and 6'8 Jason Carter from Humble (Christian Life) TX.  Making the First Team All-Tournament Team in the prep school division were 6'9 Kourtney Roberson from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'3 Kervin Calixte from Irving (God's Prep) TX, 6'4 Vincent Talbot from Oklahoma City (Raleigh's Finest) OK, 6'4 DeAngelo Harris from Oklahoma City (Raleigh's Finest) OK, 6'8 Greg Bendegue from Marietta (Covenant Christian) GA, and 6'3 Travis Bertran from Marietta (Covenant Christian) GA.  The Second Team All-Tournament Team in the prep school division included 6'5 Greg Womack from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'5 Tyrell Williams from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'0 Parfait Kipasa from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'2 Craig Smith from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'10 Will Clark from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'2 Duane Smith from Oklahoma City (Raleigh's Finest) OK, 6'9 Julian Robinson from Oklahoma City (Raleigh's Finest) OK, 6'7 Robert Wakefield from Oklahoma City (Raleigh's Finest) NC, 6'7 Herb Harrison from Marietta (Covenant Christian) GA, and 6'3 Brandon Henderson from Marietta (Covenant Christian) GA. 

Friday, February 19, 2010

Our Texas Editor Tim Miller tells us that Humble (Christian Life) TX and Irving (God's Academy) TX are the favorites to win the prep school and the high school divisions at the National Prep Alliance National Invitational, which began yesterday and will conclude tomorrow in Dallas, TX.  The biggest sleeper to emerge after the first day-and-a-half and the leading scorer averaging 26 ppg in two games yesterday is 6'3 Marvin White from Ft. Worth (Zion) TX.  "White is athletic, can shoot it, and is very good off the dribble," says Miller.  "He had 19 points in a lost this morning against God's Academy and he's still available."  And so is 6'0 Ty Graves from Ft. Worth (Zion) TX, who had 14 points this morning against Irving (God's Academy) TX.  "Wow is the word, when we talk about the Graves," say Miller.  "This athletic point guard put on a clinic last night against Trent International and I'm really impressed with the way he runs the team."  Also stepping up and clearly establishing himself as the #1-ranked sophomore in the state was 6'8 Soph Wannah Bail from Sugar Land (Trent International) TX.  "He had 24 points in two games yesterday and 23 points this morning in a loss against Covenant Christian," says Miller.  "Bail reminds me of Lamar Odom.  He can play inside and outside, has excellent size and athleticism, can make the outside shot, and plays with a lot of intensity."  It's also hard to believe that 6'0 K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX didn't set a record for assists, as Miller reports that his son had 36 assists in three games.   Even more incredible Ross-Miller also had 20 points last night against Houston (The Village School) TX and 21 points this morning against Ft. Worth (Zion) TX.  Also stepping up and holding his own against all the older guards that he was playing against was 6'5 Soph Michael Carey from Sugar Land (Trent International) TX.  Carey is a strong athletic competitor who plays with a lot of energy and is capable of playing either guard spot, which enabled him to scored 14 points against Irving (God's Academy) TX and 21 points against Ft. Worth (Zion) TX.  Miller also makes note of the fact that Marietta (Covenant Christian) GA put on a clinic, as 6'8 Greg Bendegue and 6'3 Travis Bertran had 18 points a piece and 6'5 Jr Nelson Yengue had 14 points in their team's 76-49 win against Irving (God's Prep) TX in the Prep School Division.  Bertran also had 29 points in his team's victory this morning.  Miller also liked the big man battle last night between 6'9 Soph Shaquille Cleare from Houston (The Village School) TX and 6'11 Jr Armadou Konte from Irving (God's Academy) TX.  Konte was better in the first half, but Cleare was better in the second half.  However, even more important, Konte's team won the game.  Other memorable performances were turned by 6'3 Kervin Calixte from Irving (God's Prep) TX, who had 24 points in a game yesterday; 6'8 Titus Rubles from Irving (God's Academy) TX, who 20 points, 15 rebounds, five blocked shots, and numerous monstrous dunks in a game last night; 6'4 Vincent Talbot from Oklahoma City (Raleigh's Finest) OK, who had 16 points in a game yesterday; 5'10 Jarron Crump from Irving (God's Academy) TX, who had 14 points and 10 assists in two games yesterday; 6'4 Denzell Newsome from Irving (God's Academy) TX, who had 18 points against Sugar Land (Trent International) TX; 6'4 Jr James Williams from Irving (God's Academy) TX, who had three treys in both of his games yesterday; and 6'1 Soph Trey Williams from Houston (The Village School) TX, who scored 26 points and put on a shooting clinic against Ft. Worth (Zion) TX. 

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I received an email earlier today from Kevin Foley, who is the President of Position Sports and NIKE's grassroots basketball media contact, and he provides us with the 2010 Jordan Brand All-American Team, which was announced at 5:30 PM ET on a special ESPNU Selection Show.  This year's Jordan Brand Classic, presented by Foot Locker, will be played at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, April 17th, at 8:00 PM and will be televised nationally live on ESPN2.  The list of 20 players selected to play in this year's game includes 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hill (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'6 Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life) NJ, 6'11 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, and 6'8 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  This comes right on the heels of the announcement of  McDonald's All-American Team, which was also was announced on a special ESPNU Selection Show a week ago.  And, with that in mind, you're probably wondering which game has the best talent.  First of all, it's important to point out that there are 17 players (Sullinger, Barnes, Knight, Irving, Harris, Selby, Thompson, Thomas, Smith, Jones, Lamb, Joseph, Jones, Bullock, Marshall, Kendrick, and Leslie) who have been selected to play in both games.  Second, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN is the only top 15-ranked senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP who made the McDonald's All-American Team, but was not selected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic.  However, 6'6 Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who is our #1-ranked 5th Year Player, would be comparably ranked with Jackson, if we included him on our list of seniors.  So that's a pretty even trade.  The same also can be said about 6'8 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence) FL, who was named to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and is ranked #19 on our list of the top players nationally in the Class of 2010, and 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who was named to play in the Jordan Brand Game and is ranked #21 on our list of the top players nationally in the Class of 2010.  And the final player - 6'8 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA - on the roster of the Jordan Brand Classic is better than 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL and 7'0 Fabricio DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL, but comparable to 6'3 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, and 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  So right now the race for bragging rights in the two top high school all-stars games that will be held this spring appears to be too close to call.  We also think it's interesting to point out that nine players (Sullinger, Knight, Barnes, Irving, Harris, Barton, Jones, Bullock, and Marshall) will get a chance to play in three all-stars games this spring due to the fact that they have been selected to play in the NIKE Hoop Summit, which will held on Saturday, April 10th in Portland, OR.  If you will recall, the NIKE Hoop Summit is exempt from the NCAA rule, which prohibits players from playing in only two all-star games prior to their graduation from high school.  As for Kevin Foley, he deserves special mention, because without question he is the best in the business at dealing with the media and making our job a lot easier. 

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The original plan was to publish Tim Miller's Texas Report sometime this week.  However, due to the fact that our Florida Editor Rick Staudt beat Miller to the punch by getting me his report over the weekend, we are now ready to publish the Florida Report.  And it is pretty darn impressive as it includes his ranking top 146 seniors, top 75 juniors, top 50 sophomores, top 25 freshmen, top 15 8th Graders, and top 10 7th Graders, some interesting comments about how things stack up in each class, and six All-State Teams, which includes his ranking of the top 30 players in the state regardless of class and position.  We also are fascinated with his First Team All-Time All-State Team, which includes Derek Harper, Teddy Dupay, Vince Carter, Howard Porter, and Darryl Dawkins and does not include players like Tom Hammonds, Chris Corchiani, Doug Edwards, James Collins, Amare Stoudemire, Darius Washington, Nick Calathes, Kenny Boytnon, Brandon Knight, and Austin Rivers.  Obviously this will continue to give our subscribers something to debate about, as the publication of a First Team All-Time All-State or All-Area Team with each of our latest reports is just one more thing that separates us from our competition.  If you will recall, we published Rick Lewis' North Carolina Report on February 12th, Dinos Trigonis' West Coast Report on February 4th, Lavel Johnson's Mississippi Report on January 27th, and Andre Whitehead's Tennessee Report on January 21st.  And that comes on the heels of Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which was published on November 8th, and Horace Neysmith's Georgia Report, which was published on September 18th.  Next up will be Tim Miller's Texas Report, which will be published early next week and then Ron Naclerio's New York City Report, which we plan to publish by the end of the month.  Getting back to Staudt and his Florida Report, there is no question that he is the best source there is with regards to high school basketball in the Sunshine State.  Staudt has been our Florida Editor for the last six years, is a recruiting analyst for FloridaHoops.com and Rival's Florida Varsity, and a correspondent for the Recruiter's Handbook and PrepStars.com.  Staudt's also is a class act and does a great job maintaining editorial independence, as he is not associated with any club team and does not run tournaments, camps, and/or events.  And, if that weren't enough, Staudt gets an A+ in terms of providing keen insight and turning in a finished product ready for publication, which obviously makes my job a lot easier. 

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Earlier this evening I went through all the conference standings, looked the Sagarin Ratings, and came up with a list of 65 teams, which if the NCAA Tournament were seeded today, in our opinion should be in this year's field.  Big East Conference has eight teams with Syracuse (24-2), Villanova (22-3), West Virginia (19-5), Pittsburgh (19-6), Georgetown (18-6), Marquette (16-8), Louisville (16-9), and Cincinnati (15-10).  The Atlantic Coast Conference with Duke (21-4), Virginia Tech (21-4), Wake Forest (18-6), Maryland (17-7), Clemson (18-7), Florida State (18-7), and Georgia Tech (18-8) and the Big-12 Conference with Kansas (25-1), Kansas State (20-4), Texas (20-5), Baylor (20-5), Texas A&M (18-7), Missouri (18-7), and Oklahoma State (17-7) both have seven teams apiece.  The Southeastern Conference has six teams with Kentucky (25-1), Vanderbilt (19-5), Tennessee (18-6), Mississippi State (18-8), Mississippi (17-7), and Florida (17-8) and the Big-10 Conference has four teams with Purdue (21-3), Michigan State (21-6), Ohio State (20-6), and Wisconsin (19-6).  The Atlantic-10 Conference with Temple (20-5), Richmond (20-6), and Xavier (17-7), the Mountain West Conference with New Mexico (23-3), Brigham Young (23-3), and UNLV (19-6), and the Pacific-10 Conference with California (17-8), Arizona State (18-8), and Washington (17-8) all have three teams apiece.  The West Coast Conference with Gonzaga (21-4) and Saint Mary's (21-5) has two teams and 22 conferences have only one team in the tournament.  They are the America East Conference with Stony Brook (18-7), Atlantic Sun Conference with Belmont (16-10), Big Sky Conference with Weber State (17-8), Big South Conference with Coastal Carolina (23-5), Big West Conference with Pacific (16-8), Colonial Athletic Association with Old Dominion (21-7), Conference USA with UTEP (19-5), Horizon League (23-4) with Butler (23-4), Ivy League with Cornell (21-4), Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with Siena (22-5), Mid-American Conference with Kent State (18-8), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with Morgan State (19-8), Missouri Valley Conference with Northern Iowa (23-3), Northeast Conference with Quinnipiac (18-7), Ohio Valley Conference with Murray State (24-3), Patriot League with Lehigh (16-9), Southern Conference with Wofford (19-8), Southland Conference with Sam Houston State (18-5), Southwestern Athletic Conference with Jackson State (14-11), Summit League with Oakland (20-8), Sun Belt Conference with North Texas (18-8), and Western Athletic Conference with Utah State (20-6).  The final team to make the list and a team that really is right on the bubble is the University of Cincinnati, which currently is 15-10 overall and 6-7 in the league and is ranked #47 in the Sagarin Ratings.  There are three other teams (Washington, which is ranked #48, Mississippi State, which is ranked #49, and Arizona State, which is ranked #53) with at-large bids that have a lower Sagarin Ranking than Cincinnati.  But the Bulldogs and the Sun Devils have three more wins and the Huskies have two more wins than the Bearcats.  And down the stretch winning games may be easier said than done for Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin, whose team got knocked off earlier this evening at South Florida and has games down the stretch at home against Marquette, DePaul, and Villanova and road games at West Virginia and Georgetown.  That's one cupcake and games against four of the top six teams in the league.  Go 3-2 and the Bearcats will have a 9-9 record in the league and a 4-6 record against top 25-ranked teams, which should be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament.  However, if Cincinnati goes 1-4, then the Bearcats will have a 16-14 overall record, 7-11 record in the league, and a 2-7 record against top 25-ranked teams heading to the conference tournament.  And, if that's the case, Cincinnati will need to win the Big East Conference Tournament in order to only only make the NCAA Tournament, but also keep Cronin off the hot seat.  We also think it is interesting to point out that there are as many as nine coaching jobs in the Big East Conference that potentially could open this spring if the moons are aligned, lightning strikes, and everything falls just right.  If you will recall, DePaul is already open and most people seem to think that it's just a matter of time before Rutgers and St. John's do likewise.  We don't expect Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun to retire after the current season.  But he has been sidelined this year with health problems and, as a result, it wouldn't be a total surprise if he did step down.  Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has denied having any interest in the New Jersey Nets job.  But the rumor is still out there and Pitino is known to be impulsive.  The word on the street is that Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter will be safe for another year.   However, if we're wrong, Providence head coach Keno Davis will be an obvious choice for Iowa.  We also don't think Bobby Gonzalez at Seton Hall, Mike Brey at Notre Dame, and Mick Cronin at Cincinnati are in trouble right now.  But a strong regular season finish and/or some wins in the conference tournament will help keep the wolves away. 

Monday, February 15, 2010

Who do you like better 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, or 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ?  After watching those three players over the weekend at the Prime Time Shootout on Friday night at Kean University in Union, NJ and on Saturday and Sunday at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ, we believe the race is now too close to call.  Lamb obviously turned in the best individual performance en route to 49 points against Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ.  But Lamb doesn't pass the ball as well, isn't as consistent, and isn't as strong physically as Waiters.  Lamb is better off the dribble, but Joseph is a better outside shooter when he has time to square up and get his shot.  Joseph also is a total winner and true combo guard who is equally good at either the one or the two spot.  In contrast, Lamb is a pure 2-guard all the way.  And so is Waiters, although he's a terrific passer and tremendous competitor.  All three of these guys should be ranked in the 10-20 range nationally and all three should be the McDonald's All-American Game.  Unfortunately only two are, as another player Syracuse-bound player - 7'0 Fabricio DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL - instead got the nod.  And, after watching Waiters go for 34 points and two 3-pointers in a 74-58 win against Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, there is no question that he will step in and make an immediate impact next year for the Orangemen.  In contrast, we suspect that DeMelo will probably red-shirt due to the fact that he's more of a potential guy than a finished product.  And, as long as we're making comparisons, there is no question that 6'3 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St Patrick) NJ is clearly better than Lamb, Joseph, and Waiters and that 6'2 Jr Myles Davis from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ is not a good as Lamb, Joseph, and Waiters.  However, Davis, who is ranked #69 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'7 Ronald Roberts from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, who is ranked #407 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, might have been the two players who helped himself the most over the weekend.  They simply refused to let their team lose when they combined for 57 points against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Davis also is the guy who hit eight 3-pointers and his athleticism and competitiveness makes him arguably one of the best 2-guard prospects in the junior class nationally.  Roberts is a power forward who can step out and he's good enough to step in and make an immediate impact next year, if Norm Roberts survives at St. John's.  And, if Roberts doesn't survive, then this athletic power forward who is tough on the boards and active around the basket, will be one of those guys that a lot of big time schools will be scrambling in order to get involved with.  We also hope the rumors are true about the entire event being moved next year to Kean University, which is a much more of a fan friendly and warm setting (the Sun National Bank Center is always really cold due to the fact that it's really a hockey arena with ice underneath the basketball court).  The HOOP SCOOP's Ranking of the Top 25 Players based on performance from the Prime Time Shootout over the weekend are as follows:  1) 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 2) 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 3) 6'3 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St Patrick) NJ, 4) 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 5) 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6) 6'2 Jr Myles Davis from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, 7) 6'3 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 8) 6'7 Ronald Roberts from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, 9) 5'9 Jr Tavon Sledge from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, 10) 6'1 Elijah Carter from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 11) 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, 12) 6'8 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 13) 6'4 Soph Omar Calhoun from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 14) 6'4 Frantz Massanet from Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ, 15) 6'1 Jr Derrick Wilson from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, 15) 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 17) 6'2 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 18) 6'5 Jr Jermaine Sanders from New York (Rice) NY, 19) 6'2 Jr Will Martinez from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 20) 6'6 Jay Canty from Oak Ridge (Military) VA, 21) 6'0 Jr Shaquille Stokes from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 22) 6'5 Aaron Brown from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 23) 6'3 Jr Khalid Lewis from Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ, 24) 6'4 Maurice Barrow from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, and 25) 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA. 

Sunday, February 14, 2010

We pick things up with the third game of the day at the Prime Time Shootout at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ when Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY held on to beat Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 73-69, in what turned out to be one of the better games of the entire event.  We expected University of Tennessee-bound 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, who has been sensational every time we've seen him play this winter, and 6'4 Soph Omar Calhoun from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who promises to be the next great player to come out of New York City, to play well.  But the big hero today was 5'9 Jr Tavon Sledge from Dix Hill (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, who finished with 23 points and did a good job of running the show, creating havoc defensively in transition, and picking up the slack for Harris after he fouled out late in the game.  Harris finished with 19 points, but he didn't show the outside shot and didn't dominate on the boards the same way he did when we saw him finish with 35 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, 14-23 field goals, 3-6 3-pointers, and 4-4 3-pointers in the 2010 Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, MA and 36-points, double-digit rebounds, and several 3-pointers at the Prime Time Shootout in Morgantown, WV.  Calhoun did a little bit of everything in this game en route to 24 points.  However, he did not live up to his reputation of being a great 3-pointer shooter, as Calhoun only had one trey and did most of his scoring in transition.  Calhoun was complemented by 6'8 Roland Brown from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who finished with 18 points and did a good job of using his size to rebound and post-up; 6'7 Dominykas Milka from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who finished with 13 points and did a lot the dirty work inside; and 6'0 Jr Corey Edwards from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who finished with eight points and impressed us with his ability to find the open man and other point guard skills.  We also have to mention Harris' younger brother - 6'7 Jr Tyler Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, who finished with 12 points, played more under control, and didn't take as many bad shots as he did the past several times when we've saw him play.  We have to give Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ a lot of credit in the next game, as this well balanced and very athletic bunch remained within striking distance most of the way (they were never down by more than 13, but never closer than four points the entire way) against Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, which is ranked as high as #2 in the latest national high school polls and now has a 27-2 record on the season. The final score was 63-57 and, once again, the best player for Findlay Prep was 6'3 Corey Joseph, who finished with 19 points and a pair of treys.  And picking up the slack for 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who is sidelined indefinitely with an injury, were the underclassman - 6'7 Soph Winston Shepard, 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson, and 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss, who finished with 13, 11 points, and 11 points respectively.  We also were very impressed with the 29-point performance turned in by 6'4 Frantz Massanet from Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ.  Currently we have this Drexel-bound 2-guard ranked #215 nationally in the senior class.   But, if he improves his outside shooting, Massanet will have a chance to make money playing the game.  The same also can be said about the silky-smooth 6'3 Jr Khalid Lewis from Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ, who has an incredible wing span and did most of his damage in transition.  Lewis needs to get bigger and stronger physically, but he rebounds well for his size, is an excellent ball handler and passer, and is second to none with his explosive first step.  Our final game at this year's Prime Time Shootout was close for a half, but then Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY went on a 17-6 run in the 3rd Quarter and coasted from there to a 55-36 win over Marlton (Cherokee) NJ.  The only player to score in double-digits for Cherokee was 5'10 Willis Nicholson, who finished with 11 points.  Bishop Loughlin was led by 6'0 Jr Kareem Canty and 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston, who combined to score 22 of their team's 55 points.  Are starting to get the idea that this one was pretty ugly?  And on top of that all but four of Pinkston's 11 points came off free throws. 

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Just imagine being the player who stepped to the line with his team down by one with only 0.4 seconds remaining in the game and missing both free throws.  Well, that's exactly what happened last night when Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA squeaked out a 79-78 win against Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ in the nationally televised game in the Prime Time Shootout at Kean University in Union, NJ.  And those last two free throws were not the only free throws that 6'3 Jr Derrick Gordon from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ missed, as he went 2-9 from the line and scored only five points in the game.  However, this Western Kentucky-bound athletic blue collar player did have one of the best blocks in the game when he got back and made a great defensive play on an Oak Hill fast break.  Besides, one of the best ways to improve is to face and overcome adversity and, as a result, it will be interesting to see how Gordon plays in tonight's 7:30 PM game against New York (Rice) NY.  The guy who set the tone early in this game was 6'2 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who scored eight of his team's first 12 points.  Then, 6'3 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ got hot from beyond the arc and his team slipped ahead a couple of times by a point at 24-23 and 26-25 mid-way through the 2nd Quarter.  And 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'8 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA took over in game in the 3rd Quarter and Irving made two big 3-pointers in the last two-and-a-half minutes to put St. Patrick's into a position to win the game.  However, Irving also was a little bit too unselfish when he decided not to drive to the basket and, instead, made the pass to Gordon, which ended up costing St. Patrick's the game.  Howard led Oak Hill with 21 points.  Smith and 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA both chipped in with 18 points and 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA had 11 points, as those four players accounted for 68 of their team's 79 points.  Irving and Gilchrist both had 28 points apiece.  However, even more important, Irving showed his deep 3-point shooting range finishing with six treys and Gilchrist converted 10-13 free throws.

We were really interested to see how 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross was doing at Burlington (Life Center) NJ.  But it was 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ who stepped up and stole the show with 34 points and two 3-pointers in a 74-58 win against Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY in the first game of the day at the Prime Time Shootout at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ.  Maybe Waiters was trying to make up for the fact that he was snubbed from making the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game.  But there is no doubt that this strong athletic Syracuse-bound 2-guard who is versatile enough to play the one,  the two, and the three is a legit top 20 senior nationally.  As a matter of fact, Waiters was so good that we would rank today's performance among the top best we've seen all winter.  The other player who came up big in this game was 6'2 Jr Will Martinez from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who finished with 28 points and was a very impressive 14-15 from the foul line.  We're talking about the starting point guard on the Puerto Rican 17-Under National Team and a legitimate mid-to-high major recruit a year from now.  Martinez is versatile enough to play either guard spot, but right now he is more of a slasher than a shooter, as all of his point come either off transition or from the foul line.  As for Ross, he finished with 14 points and had a pair of threes and a pair of dunks.  Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY knocked off Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ, 61-47, in the second game of the day.  However, it was size, length, athleticism, and ability to run the court displayed by 7'0 Jr Jordan Dickerson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY that really caught our attention.  Dickerson only had seven points, but the sky could be the limit for this 16-year-old big man who is originally from Virginia.  First of all he's not a stiff.  Second, Lincoln head coach Tiny Morton tells us that Dickerson has made enormous strides since he first enrolled into school last fall.  Third, Dickerson is still only 16-years-old and will likely reclassify and go to prep school for a year prior to enrolling at a four-year Division I college or university.  Fourth, Dickerson is a total sleeper, as is evident by the fact that he is currently unranked by the HOOP SCOOP and nobody outside of New York City seems to have heard of him.  And making the story even more intriguing is the fact that Dickerson doesn't have much of a rep even in the Big Apple.  "He stinks," says our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio.  "I've seen him play a couple of times and he doesn't get anything done.  Tiny thinks he'll be a lottery pick someday, but...."  However, assuming that Dickerson pays his dues and gets bigger and stronger physically, Morton just may turn out to be right on this one.  The leading scorer and best player right now for Lincoln was 6'0 Jr Shaquille Stokes, who finished with 17 points and 3-pointers.  But time may be running out for Stokes to live up to his early press clipping, as he has yet to develop a point guard mentality and/or grow to the height necessary to attract the interest of high major schools. 

We weren't surprised that Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ beat Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY in the third game of the day of the Prime Time Shootout at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ.  However, we were surprised by the fact that it wasn't even close, as a balanced Trenton Catholic team that won the game 53-37.  Trenton Catholic's best player was 6'3 Jr Khalid Lewis and, although he needs to get stronger physically, he impressed us with his athleticism and explosiveness en route to 11 points.  Their leading scorer was 6'4 Frantz Massanet with 14 points.  Also chipping in with 13, 10, and nine points apiece for Trenton Catholic were 5'9 Dondre Whitmore, 6'5 Markese Tucker, and 5'9 Jr Christopher Lewis.  The two best players for Thomas Jefferson were 6'6 Jr Shamel Williams with 16 points and 6'4 Soph Thaddeus Hall with 14 points.  And this is important, because St. John's-bound 6'2 Jr Davonte Grace, who finished with just 10 points, was no better than Thomas Jefferson's third best player.  The next game between Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV and Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) MA was a lot closer most of the way than the final 64-48 might indicate, thanks primarily to the 24-point effort turned in by 6'1 Derrick Morris.  However, the best player in the game was 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who finished with 19 points and was almost unstoppable when he wanted to square up and take the outside shot.  We also were impressed with the 19-point performance turned in by 6'3 Nick Johnson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV.  And what about 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who is finally healthy and scored 11 points while starting in his first high school varsity basketball game?  The next game was one of those ugly grind it out low scoring affairs, which saw Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ beat Oak Ridge (Military) NC, 63-46.  The big difference in the game was the outside shooting 6'1 Elijah Carter from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who finished with 31 points and five 3-pointers.  The only player to score more than six points for Oak Ridge Military was 6'6 Jay Canty, who finished with 21 points and knocked down three 3-pointers off his own.  The next game was redemption time for Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which jumped out to a 11-2 lead early, led 35-16 late in the second quarter, and coasted onto a surprisingly easy 74-56 win against New York (Rice) NY.  It came as no surprise that 6'3 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ combined for 39 points of their team's 74 points.  We also were glad to see that Gordon played better than he did last night, as he gave maximum effort, had some assists, made most of his free throws, and finished with eight points.  The only player who really stepped up for Rice was 6'5 Jr Jermaine Sanders, who finished with 18 points and a pair of 3-pointers.  Also noteworthy is the fact that 6'8 Kadeem Jack from New York (Rice) NY, who finished with only eight points, did not live to expectations.  But, then again, Jack was playing against 6'8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is the best player in the nation regardless of class. 

The final game of the evening was the best game of the day at the Prime Time Shootout at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ., as Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ played Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA close most of the first half and then went on an 8-2 to end the 2nd Quarter and take a 40-39 half-time lead.  And it was the 26-point first half effort turned in by 6'5 Doron Lamb that was keeping Oak Hill in the game.  We also were impressed with the outside shooting of 6'2 Jr Myles Davis from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, who had 15 points and five 3-pointers in the first half, and 6'7 Ronald Roberts, who scored all of his 12 first half points within 10-feet the basket.  The game continued to be too close to call until the last three minutes of the game, which when a number of incredible things happened.  The first was the 1-4 free throws by Lamb, who at the time had already scored 40 points in the game.  The second was the great free throw shooting by St. Peter's, which as a team made 12 straight free throws and 13 of their last 14 free throws to pull out an 84-81 victory.  The third was the incredible 3-point shooting exhibition put on by Lamb, who hit three straight 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the game.  Unfortunately the final three came with only 0.6 second remaining.  And making the story even more incredible is the fact that Davis hit a pair of free throws with 37.4 seconds remaining in the game to make it 77-72.  Lamb finished with 49 points and clearly turned in the best individual performance of the day even though he also cost his team the game with those three missed free throws.  Davis finished with 33 points and eight 3-pointers, including the one that tied the game at 69-69, which broke a 10-2 run by Oak Hill to start the 4th Quarter.  Roberts got hot midway through the second half and was the guy primarily responsible for putting his team up by five at the end of the 3rd Quarter.  Are you starting to get the idea that this was about as good as it gets?  It also was an upset of monumental proportion.  Remember, Oak Hill Academy is ranked 23-2 on the season against a national schedule and is a consensus top 10-ranked team by all of the national polls and Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ is nowhere to be found in any of the national polls.  The bottom line, the St. Peter's players just wanted it more and nobody, except Lamb, showed up for Oak Hill.

Friday, February, 12, 2010

With the publication earlier today of Rick Lewis' North Carolina Report, we now have published four Area & State-by-State Reports within the last three weeks exclusively in the Members Section.  If you will recall, we also published Dinos Trigonis' West Coast Report on February 4th, Lavel Johnson's Mississippi Report on January 27th, and Andre Whitehead's Tennessee Report on January 21st.  And that comes on the heels of Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which was published on November 8th, and Horace Neysmith's Georgia Report, which was published on September 18th.  Next up will be Tim Miller's Texas Report, which will be published soon after our return from the Prime Time Shootout this weekend in Union, NJ and Trenton, NJ, and that will be followed by Rick Staudt's Florida Report and Ron Naclerio's New York City Report, both of which we plan to have published by the end of the month.  As for Lewis' North Carolina Report, he does a great job of illustrating just how good the basketball is right now along Tobacco Road.  However, he does not mention the fact that with all of the Christian Schools and basketball factories that have sprung up in the state in the last few years the state also has an overabundance of carpetbaggers.  Some of the most notable being 6'8 Jr Quincy Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality of Education) NC, who is originally from Chicago, IL; 6'9 Luke Cothron from Red Springs (Flora MacDonald) NC, who is originally from Alabama; 6'1 Eric Smith from Arden (The Christ School) NC, who is originally from South Carolina; 6'11 Jr Marshall Plumlee from Arden (The Christ School) NC, who is originally from Indiana, 6'4 Jr Tony Kimbro from Arden (The Christ School) NC, who is originally from Louisville, KY; 7'0 Soph Peter Jurkin from Charlotte (United Faith) NC and 6'8 Soph Hanner Perea from Charlotte (United Faith) NC both play for the Indiana Elite club team program and are originally from Africa; 6'11 Soph Joseph Uchebo from Oak Ridge (Military) NC, who plays for the Georgia Elite club team program and is originally from Africa; and most of the players, including 6'7 8th Grader Andrew Wiggins, who is now arguably the #1-ranked 8th Grader in the nation, that play for Ro Russell at Creedmoor (Christian Faith) NC are originally from Canada.  Speaking Wiggins, Russell tells us that it's his goal for Wiggins to someday be included on North Carolina's First Team All-Time All-State Team, which currently includes six players (Michael Jordan, David Thompson, Pete Maravich, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, and Phil Ford), because it was impossible to narrow the list to just five.  Yes, Wiggins has the natural talent, athleticism, and potential to grow necessary to have potential superstar written all over him.  Another thing that Lewis didn't touch on is the fact that there are still some pretty good unsigned/uncommitted players in the state's senior class.  The first obviously is 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who will likely pick either Kentucky or N.C. State.  The second is 6'2 Aishon White from Charlotte (Evelyn Mack Academy) NC, who had 18 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, 8-13 field goals, and 1-3 3-pointers when we saw him last week in the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI.  The third is 6'6 Tashawn Mabry, who recently broke Phil Ford's career scoring record at Rocky Mount (H.S.) NC and he is an undersized four-man that is a beast inside.  He'd be a steal for a school at the mid-major level!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The 2010 McDonald's All-American Team was announced earlier today and this year's team includes 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'11 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'8 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, 6'6 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'3 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'6 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, and 7'0 Fabricio DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL.  And this time around we think the final product deserves a B+ or an A-, as all of the top 15-ranked players nationally by the HOOP SCOOP made the team.  And there was only one player on the team who I think is outside of the margin of error in terms of being able to come in and be very competitive in the game.  And that's the Syracuse-bound 7'0 Fabricio DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL, who is ranked #75 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is more of a potential guy than a finished product.  Actually there were three players who I voted for on the final 25-man ballot who did not get named to the 24-man team.  They were 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) M, and 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  There also were three other players - 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX, and 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA - who we would have voted for if they had been on the final ballot.  On the other hand, the two players who were named to the team that I did not vote for on my final ballot were 7'0 Fabricio DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL and 6'6 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, who in our opinion played his way out of consideration after having a mediocre summer.  We also think it is interesting that two players from Nevada (Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph), one player from Washington (Josh Smith), and one player from Oregon (Terrence Jones) were named to play in the game.  However, nobody from California and only one player from Texas made this year's team.  And, based on who was on the final ballot, I agree with that decision.  The state with the most players (Brandon Knight, Patric Young, and Fabricio DeMelo) on the team is Florida and the New York Metropolitan area also is well represented, as 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY all made the team.  And I also agree with that decision.  The only two players who play on the same high school team and in the same club team program who made the team are 6'9 Tristan Thompson and 6'3 Cory Joseph, who play in the spring and summer for Grassroots Canada, which won the adidas 64 Tournament in July of 2008, and in the winter for Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, which won high basketball's national championship a year ago.  Also noteworthy is the fact that five of the 24 players named to play in this year's McDonald's All-American Game are still available and the University of Kentucky is involved with every one of them.  We're talking about 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, and 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC.  Our only criticism of the selection process is that they let the cat out of the bag well in advance of the selection show, which was aired at 5:30 PM this evening on ESPNU, by telling the players who have been selected to play in the game several weeks in advance.  In the future we suggest that they let everybody find out at the same time, just like the NCAA Tournament does Selection Sunday.  Not only would this help maintain the suspense, but it also would probably help the ratings for the ESPNU's McDonald's All-American Selection Show.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Just when we thought 6'6 Terrence Ross was all set to enroll at Phoenix (Westwind Academy) AZ, he comes full circle and is now back at Portland (Jefferson) OR, which is the school that he attended when he was a freshman and sophomore in high school.  Ross was enrolled for the last year-and-a-half at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, but decided to leave a week ago and was reported to be heading to Phoenix (Westwind Academy) AZ.  This also is the same guy who verbally committed to the University of Maryland last spring, but then failed to sign during the Fall Signing Period and re-opened his recruitment in December.  We also told you yesterday that 6'0 K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX was on the verge of making a verbal commitment to LSU.  Well, the press conference is tomorrow and he is expected to pick the Tigers over schools like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Cincinnati.  This also is the second time around for Ross-Miller, as he originally verbally committed to the University of Kentucky when he as a freshman, but then back off of that commitment after Billy Gillispie got the ax last spring.  The other big story in the Lone Star State involves Houston (Yates) TX, which is now 24-0 on the season and is ranked #1 in the nation in the latest Max Preps poll and has scored 100 points or more in 16 of its 24 games this season.  Yates, which also is ranked #2 in the latest Rise/ESPN and USA Today Super 25 polls and #3 in the latest National Prep Poll, beat one team a couple of weeks ago 125-26 and 6'2 Joseph Young, who is the team's catalyst, had a 24-point quarter in another game.  "Young is a scoring machine," says our Texas Editor Tim Miller.  "Young is a big time athlete and can flat out shoot the basketball.  He's a legit top 100 senior nationally and a major steal for Providence."  Miller also gives a lot of the credit to Houston Yates head coach Greg Wise for turning this high-powered explosive athletic group into a national power.  We always knew him as Nic Wise's father.  But it looks like the elder Wise is now a guy that we need to add to our list when we come out later this month with our new coaches rankings.  We also are intrigued by the fact that Miller tells us that the fastest rising player in the state is 6'4 Soph Marcus Smart from Flower Mound (Marcus) TX, who is currently ranked #114 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but has the strength, athleticism, ability to get to the basket, and upside and potential to pass up all of the other highly touted players, like 6'0 Soph J'Michal Reese from Bryan (H.S.) TX, 6'11 Soph Isaiah Austin from Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, 6'8 Soph Wannah Ball from Houston (Lutheran) TX, and 6'3 Soph Lynden Rose from Houston (Second Baptist) TX, in the state's loaded sophomore class.  "What he does best is win," says Miller.  "And that's exactly what Smart did when he led his team to the championship over Long Beach Poly in the Whataburger Basketball Tournament.  Not only was he named the tournament MVP, but he made a strong case for being a top 30-ranked sophomore nationally."  On the other hand, Miller tells us that Arlington (Grace Prep) TX and Duncanville (H.S.) TX have fallen far short of expectations this winter.  If you will recall, Duncanville still has plenty of star power with the likes of players like 6'11 Perry Jones, 6'1 Soph Deion Houston, 6'7 Julian Washburn, and 6'8 Soph Chris Washburn.  However, Jones is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the Class of 2010, as last summer he played himself into a top-five national ranking, but this winter has not been a dominant force like one of truly elite players in the nation should be.  Duncanville is currently 20-11 on the season, but last night they got knocked off in district play by Grand Prairie (South) TX.  They don't have good chemistry, have blown big leads, and don't play with a lot enthusiasm," says Miller. "And it's the same story with Grace Prep.  Isaiah Austin is another one of the biggest disappointments of the winter and this team has never molded into a tough hardnosed cohesive unit." 

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

As things stand now, 10 of our top 100-ranked seniors nationally - 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'6 Terrence Ross from Phoenix (Westwind Academy) AZ, and 6'0 K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX - are still available.  And soon we suspect there will be only nine, as Ross-Miller is expected to verbally commit to LSU sooner than later.  Apparently Tigers head coach Trent Johnson and his staff have done a good job of selling Ross-Miller on the fact that 5'10 Andre Stringer from Jackson (Forest Hill) MS, who signed with Tigers during the Fall Signing Period, is more of a scorer than a pure point guard and that they need a stabilizing force who can step in immediately next year and run the show.  Stringer is a jet quick guard who is capable of putting up prolific numbers and making big plays.  In contrast Ross-Miller has a high basketball IQ, is good at using his body to get into the lane, and knows how to get to his spots and score.  And, if this does indeed happen, Ross-Miller and Stringer together will provide an excellent complement to 6'7 Matt Derenbecker from Metairie (Metairie Park Country Day) LA, 5'10 Andre Stringer from Jackson (Forest Hill) MS, 6'6 Ralston Turner from Muscle Shoals (H.S.) AL, and 6'8 Jalen Courtney from Jackson (Provine) MS in a recruiting class that will move up from #28 to #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  It also looks like the next stop for 6'6 Terrence Ross will be at Phoenix (Westwind Academy) AZ.  Yes, that's the same guy who played his first two years of high school basketball at Portland (Jefferson) OR and then transferred to Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, where he has spent the last year-and-a-half playing for the legendary Stu Vetter.  Ross also verbally committed to the University of Maryland, but did not sign during the Fall Signing Period and then reneged altogether on the Terrapins in December.  The final four schools on his list now are Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, and Maryland.  However, we've been told that Kansas has always been on the outside looking in on this one and it also doesn't look as good now for both Duke and Maryland since Ross has left the DC area and Atlantic Coast Conference country.  So through the process of elimination we think the smart money is now on Kentucky.  And, if Ross picks the Wildcats, this also could enhance their chances of getting 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who not only is Ross' former high school teammate, but also is one of his close friends.  And, if Jones and Ross both pick the Wildcats, that probably will be good news for N.C. State, which is Kentucky's main competition in the race for 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who would be competing for the same position as Ross and Jones at the three and the four spots.  We also still think the Wildcats will get 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL and that 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD is a near lock for the University of Kansas.  However, we're less certain about 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, whose final  five schools still appear to be Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut, Arizona, and Miami-FL, and 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, whose final five are Connecticut, Texas, Villanova, Minnesota, and UNLV.  We still think Connecticut is the team to beat for Joseph, but it wouldn't surprise us if Joseph decides to join his former Grassroots Canada club team teammates - 6'9 Tristian Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV and 6'3 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ - at the University of Texas.  And, if that happens, it's our guess that Lamb will end up at Connecticut due to the fact that he appears to be interested in going to a school where he can step in and be the marquee player in the recruiting class.  And that isn't going to happen at Kentucky and Kansas, if they get Knight and Selby.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin thinks the University of Hartford may have stolen one in 5'9 Tyree Johnson from Lansdowne (Penn Wood) PA.  "He plays excellent defense, can score points, and knows what it takes to win and run a team after being the floor general on last year's state championship team," says Rubin.  Johnson also provides another important link back into the Philadelphia area where Hawks head coach Dan Leibovitz was an assistant coach for 10 years at Temple.  If you will, recall, Hartford also has a verbal commitment from 6'0 Mustaffa Jones from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA.  It also looks like Kent State has landed a pair of junior college players that have fallen under our radar screen.  The first was 6'6 DeAndre Nealy from Mott (JC) MI, who signed with the Golden Flashes during the Fall Signing Period.  Not only was Nealy one of the most prolific shot blockers in junior college history (he averaged just over eight blocks per game), but he also was named the MVP of the Division II Junior College Tournament as a freshman in 2008.  He's currently sitting out this year to focus on academics and will have two years to play.  The second was 6'2 Mike Porrini from Gulf Coast (JC) FL, who picked the Golden Flashes a week ago Saturday.  Porrini is a "tough-as-nails" point guard with the leadership skills and basketball IQ necessary to step in and help fill the void that will created once 6'4 Sr Chris Singletary and 6'5 Sr Frank Henry-Ala graduate this spring.   The additon of Nealy and Porrini moves Kent State's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'4 DeShawn Clay from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'7 Kenny Knight from Cincinnati (Aiken) OH, 6'7 Mark Henniger from Massillon (Jackson) OH, 6'4 Eric Gaines from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL, and 6'4 Carlton Guyton from Mineral Area (JC) MO, up to #27 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. 

Monday, February 8, 2010

The big recruiting news over the weekend was the verbal commitment made by 6'4 Justin Coleman from Huntington (Prep) WV to the University of Louisville, which was in need of an athletic wing with some size and a strong physical athletic power forward to complement 6'9 Soph Samardo Samuels and 6'9 Soph Terrence Jennings inside.  Coleman is ranked #30 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and he is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals, thanks to his big time athleticism, excellent 3-point shooting range, and ability to create his own shot off the dribble.  If you will recall, this also is the guy who burst onto the scene last summer at NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, VA, where he finished ranked #10 in the camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  He transferred from Petersburg (H.S.) VA to Huntington (Prep) WV in order to improve his academic situation and have a chance to be eligible at a four-year Division college or university.  He hasn't made it yet, but the party line is that he's really close.  The addition of Coleman moves Louisville's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'0 Russell Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT and 5'11 Elisha Justice from Pikeville (Shelby Valley) KY, who will be a walk-on for the Cardinals, into a tie #37, along with Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  And they may not be done yet, as Rick Pitino and his staff also are believed to be in good shape for 6'10 Gorgui Dieng from the Senegal via Huntington (Prep) WV.  Louisville also has a great head start on the future with a recruiting class that is ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2011 and already includes 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'10 Jr Michael Chandler from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'5 Jr Ryan Taylor from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and 6'10 James "Zac" Price from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH.  That leaves the final two pieces to the puzzle, which are a strong athletic power forward, like 6'8 Ricardo Ratliffe from Central Florida (JC) FL, who is the #1-ranked junior college player in the nation, and 6'2 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who is ranked #3 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has been the Cardinals' top recruiting priority for over a year now.  It also looks like Marquette head coach Buzz Williams has gone back to his old stamping ground with the verbal commitment that he received last week from 6'6 Jae Crowder from Howard (JC) TX.  We're talking about a versatile athletic wing forward who picked the Golden Eagles over Texas Tech, Baylor, UNLV, and Illinois State.  Crowder is ranked #16 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com and this intense competitor is currently averaging 17.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.4 spg on a 20-2 team that is ranked #6 in the latest NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Poll.  The addition of Crowder also moves Marquette's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'3 Vander Blue from Madison (Memorial) WI, 6'10 Monterale Clark from Hill (JC) TX, 6'1 Reggie Smith from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'6 Jamail Jones from Montverde (Academy) FL, and 6'4 Devonte Newbill from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  And this comes right on the heels of last year's #1-ranked recruiting class, which included 6'7 Erik Williams from Cypress (Cypress Springs) TX, 6'0 Junior Cadugon from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'6 Jeronne Maymon from Madison (Memorial) WI, 6'3 Dwight Buycks from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'2 Darius Johnson-Odom from Hutchinson (JC) KS, 6'10 Brett Roseboro from Quakertown (H.S.) PA, and 7'2 Youssouphe Mbao from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  Roseboro never enrolled in school, it turns out that Maymon had the parent from hell and has since transferred to Tennessee, and it seems like you have to start trying to replace junior college players as soon as they enroll in school, which explains why the Marquette coaching staff just keeps right on recruiting more players.  We're also hoping that a third time turns out to be a charm for 6'7 Chanse Creekmur from Marshalltown (H.S.) IA, who verbally committed to Arizona State over the weekend.  If you will recall, Creekmur originally committed to the University of Iowa a-year-and-half ago, but later reneged and then picked Santa Clara last summer.  Creekmur is ranked #113 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and he should fit perfectly into the Sun Devils' motion offense due to his versatility and ability to both catch-and-shoot and create off the dribble.  Creekmur also promises to be an excellent complement to 6'5 Keala King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'2 Brandon Dunson from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, 7'0 Jordan Bachynski from Calgary (Centennial) AB, and 6'3 Corey Hawkins from Goodyear (Estrella Foothills) AZ in a recruiting class that is now tied at #21, along with Florida International and South Carolina, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  It also looks like 6'2 Hakeem Harris from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ has changed his mind about going to Columbia and is now heading to Brown.  And this is a major coup for the Bears, because this power 2-guard is a tremendous competitor and he is good enough to be ranked #237 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  There also is the verbal commitment that 6'2 Jordin Mayes from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #87 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made last week to the University of Arizona.  And we find this especially interesting due to the fact that Mayes and 6'6 Daniel Bejarano from Phoenix (North) AZ, who signed with the Wildcats during the Fall Signing Period, both play the same position as 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who also is high on Arizona's wish list. 

Sunday, February 7, 2010

I was in the house for the tip-off of the first game of the day at 9:30 AM in the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI, because I wanted to get a good look at 6'7 8th Grader Andrew Wiggins from Creedmoor (Christian Faith) NC, who is ranked #6 nationally in the Class of 2014 by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, after watching him finish with 18 points, four rebounds, and 9-19 field goals against South Kent (Prep) CT, you can make a strong case for Wiggins being the best player nationally in the Class of 2014.  Wiggins has amazing agility, body control, coordination, and athleticism for somebody so young.  But right now he does most of his damage around the basket, which makes him a guy without a position on a team that has a more than it's share of athletic inside guys, including 6'8 Jr Kevin Thomas, 6'8 Jr Braeden Anderson, and 6'7 Chris Hill.  His coach (Ro Russell) projects Wiggins as a 2-guard.  But that may depend upon how much he grows and whether he improves his ability to shoot off the dribble and develops more of a perimeter player's mentality.  However, time is on his side and he's got the right genes.  Did you know that Wiggins is still only 13-years-old and his mother is 6'1.  Thomas, Anderson, and Hill combined for 26 points and 22 rebounds and 5'9 Byron Rhymes, who finished with 13 points, five assists, four turnovers, two steals, 4-6 field goals, and 2-3 3-pointers, did a good job running the show and keeping the defense honest with his outside shooting.  However, it still wasn't enough as 6'6 J.J. Moore form South Kent (Prep) CT turned it up down the stretch in en route to 21 points, 11 rebounds, three steals 7-18 field goals, and 2-6 3-pointers in a 84-75 win.  Moore was complemented out on the perimeter by 6'2 Russell Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT with 18 points, two assists, three turnovers, three steals, 5-11 field goals, 2-3 3-pointers, and 6-7 free throws and 6'0 Danny Lawhorn from South Kent (Prep) CT with two points, 12 assists, four turnovers, five steals, and 0-6 field goals and inside by 6'6 Chris Johnson, who finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, 6-7 field goals, and 5-7 free throws.  The next game was a lopsided affair, as Oakdale Thomas (More) CT knocked Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) MA, 94-62.  But it was still good to get another look at 6'11 Soph Andre Drummond from Oakdale (St. Thomas) CT, who was solid when we saw him finish with six points, eight rebounds, two blocked shots, three steals, and 3-8 field goals on Friday against Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA.  This time around Drummond had 14 points, five points and 6-7 field goals, which, once again, aren't impressive numbers for a top five-ranked sophomore nationally.  So, while Drummond's size,  athleticism, and potential are off the chart, he is an enigma due to the fact that he is still somewhat like a deer learning to run and has not yet developed the killer mentality necessary to be a great player.  Instead, balance was the order of the day for St. Thomas, as 6'4 Tre Bowman, 6'3 Byron Allen, 6'7 Matt Conway, 6'2 Phil Izevbehai, 6'3 Dominique Langston, and 6'4 Jacob Jenkins finished with 13, 12, 12, nine, eight, and seven points apiece.  We think Langston, who is a strong physical versatile athlete, and Jenkins, who is a sharp shooting role player on this team, are steals for Quinnipiac and Bellarmine.  But there is still something left for everybody, as Allen, Bowman, and Izevbehai all project at different levels of the Division I spectrum.   The parallel in the next game to the upset by Southborough (St. Mark's) MA over Winchendon (School) MA on Friday night is striking, as in both cases a regular high school team knocked off a New England prep school team and two players on the winning team had two of the top individual performances in the entire tournament.  This time around it was Barrington (St. Andrews) RI that pulled off the 87-81 upset against Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and it was 6'5 Jr Michael Carter-Williams, who finished with 37 points, six rebounds, eight assists, four steals, 12-16 field goals, 5-8 3-pointers, and 8-10 free throws, and 6'5 Soph Richard Ledo, who finished with 28 points, 10-19 field goals, and 4-9 3-pointers, that knocked everybody's socks off.  And all four of those 3-pointers by Ledo came in the second, including two at crunch time that helped put St. Andres over the hump.  Also turning in an incredible performance in this game was 6'7 Tyshawn Bell from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who scored 31 points and missed only one shot during the course of the entire game, as he hit 9-9 field goals, 6-6 3-pointers, and 7-8 free throws.  We also liked the toughness, hustle, and killer mentality that 6'9 Levan Shengelia from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME showed around the basket en route to 14 points and six rebounds.  However, what really makes this University of Rhode Island-bound big man so intriguing are his good hands, willingness to run the court, ability to step away from the basket and keep you honest with his outside shot, and blue collar work ethic.  The final game of the day that we got to see prior to leaving to catch a flight featured Winchendon (School) MA and the Canarias Basketball Academy and there were a number of surprises.  The first surprise was the game wasn't any closer as Winchendon (School) MA coasted to a 69-46 victory.  The second surprise was that the battle of boards was totally even, as both teams finished with 37 rebounds and neither team had any advantage on either the offensive or defensive boards.  The third surprise was that the Canarias Basketball Academy did not shoot nearly as well as a team as they did last night against South Kent (Prep) CT when they hit 11-25 (44.0%) 3-pointers.  This around they shot only 4-14 (28.6%) from behind the arc.  But, then again, their best outside shooter - 6'2 Tom Pereira from Derby, England, who had 27 points and 7-15 3-pointers last night, did not play in this game.  And you can also make a case that Winchendon played better defensively today against the Canarias Basketball Academy than South Kent Prep did last night.  The fourth surprise is that Winchendon's inside players - 6'8 Markus Kennedy, 6'9 Jr Khem Birch, 6'7 Jr Angel Nunez, 6'8 Eric Ferguson, and 6'7 Dominique Ferguson - didn't totally dominate against the taller, but less athletic and not as physically strong Canarias Basketball Academy players.  And to illustrate our point even further is the fact that the five aforementioned players combined for only 27 points and 22 rebounds.  Instead, it was Winchendon's guards that picked up the slack, as 5'10 Anthony Ireland had 19 points, seven assists, 6-9 field goals, and 5-5 3-pointers and displayed the toughness necessary to play for Max Good at Loyola-Marymount and 5'10 Akeem Williams had 14 points, four assists, 5-13 field goals, and 2-6 3-pointers.  Our Ranking of the Top 30 Players based on performance at the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI are as follows: 1) 6'5 Jr Michael Carter-Williams from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 2) 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, 3) 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 4) 6'8 Soph Alex Murphy from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, 5) 6'7 C.J. Fair from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6) 5'10 Javarez Willis from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 7) 6'8 Tony Snell from Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ, 8) 6'5 Jr Richard Ledo from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 9) 6'9 Jamir Hanner from Newark (Alif Muhammad Nia Prep) NJ, 10) 6'2 Bill Baron from Worcester (Academy) MA, 11) 6'8 Majok Majok from Mt. Hermon (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) NJ, 12) 6'6 8th Grader Andrew Wiggins from Creedmoor (Christian Faith) NC, 13) 6'9 Patrick Arda from Canarias Basketball Academy, 14) 6'7 Tyshawn Bell from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 15) 6'0 Jr Shabazz Napier from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 16) 6'2 Aishon White from Charlotte (Evelyn Mack Academy) NC, 17) 5'10 Anthony Ireland from Winchendon (School) MA, 18) 6'3 Byron Allen from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 19) 6'6 Michael Haynes from Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA, 20) 6'9 Levan Shengelia from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 21) 6'7 Youri Dascy from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 22) 6'3 Taevaunn Prince from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH, 23) 6'2 Tom Pereira from Canarias Basketball Academy, 24) 6'11 Soph Andre Drummond from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 25) 6'4 Tre Bowman from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 26) 6'2 Russell Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT, 27) 6'3  Dominique Langston from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 28) 6'1 Alexander Harris from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 29) 6'7 Laurent Rivard from Mount Hermon (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, and 30) 6'1 Jordair Jett from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA. 

Saturday, February 6, 2010

The Canarias Basketball Academy, which features high players from all over Europe, and South Kent (Prep) CT, which has a strong New York City flavor, battled right down the wire in what was clearly the best game of the day in 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI.  We pick things up in the final seconds of the game right after 6'0 Danny Lawhorn hit 3-4 free throws to give him team a point lead.  At that point 6'9 Patrik Auda from Brno, Czech Republic into the lane and missed what would have been the game winning shot.  However, we still have to give this agile big man his just due, as Auda finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3-7 3-pointers, and 8-17 field goals and impressed us with his toughness, agility, ability to handle and shoot the three, and knack for finding ways to finish in traffic.  We also were really impressed with the outside shooting of 6'2 Tom Pereira from Derby, England, who had 27 points and 7-15 3-pointers, and the length, agility, athleticism, and upside of 6'11 Jr Aaron Geramipoor from Manchester, England and 6'10 Abdi Saer from London, England, 6'9 Patrik Auda from Brno, Czech Republic, who combined for 11 points and 12 rebounds.  But they still couldn't overcome the 30-point effort turned by 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, who finished with 30 points, 4-11 treys, and made a number of big shots down the stretch.  We also liked the way 6'2 Russell Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT handled, passed, and slashed to the basket en route to 11 points, six assists, and only one turnover.  However, we were disappointed in Smith's outside shooting, as this Louisville-bound combo guard was only 1-7 from behind the arc.  The other big story of the day was way the Mount Hermon (Northfield-Mount Hermon) MA jumped out to a 32-17 lead en route to a 80-58 win against North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.  And this was no accident, as Northfield-Mount Hermon team featured a well-balanced attack that included 6'7 Majok Majok, 6'2 Jr Aaron Cosby, 6'7 Laurent Rivard, and 6'7 Hector Harold.  Majok finished with 19 points and this high energy athlete was dominant around the basket with his toughness, and ability to finish, and rebound in the low post.  He's also is tough on the boards, gets a lot of second chance points, sees the open man, can guard bigger and smaller guys equally well, and has long arms, good hands, and quick feet.  We're talking about one of my favorite players of the entire weekend, as well as the type of inside player who is ready to walk in and contribute right away next year as a college freshman.  And it appears that schools like Illinois, Oklahoma, Marquette, Boston College and Iowa State agree, as they all have shown recent interest.  However, when it's all said and done, Majok could end up being an absolute steal for Harvard, which is where he plans to go, if he scores high enough on the SAT.  Another steal for the Crimson is Rivard, who finished with 14 points and impressed us with his outsides shooting, surprisingly good ball handling and passing skills for his size, and deceptive athletic, which he uses to make high flying acrobatic moves to the basket.  I still think Cosby is more of a two than a one due to his ability to slash to the basket and shoot the three.  But here he sacrificed his scoring (Crosby only had 10 points), as he did do a nice of running the show and making his teammates better.  Harold has the quickness and athleticism and the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play out on the perimeter.  But we question whether he has the ability to shoot the three well enough necessary to be a true wing forward, as all of his 14 points from inside the arc.  And Harold is not mean and tough enough to play inside, which makes him guy without a true position for the high major level.  Instead, Harold is just a talent, as well as a great catch for Pepperdine.  We already knew that 6'0 Jr Shabazz Napier from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA had a scorer's mentality.  But earlier in the day he impressed with us with his court vision and ball handling and passing skills, as finished with 19 points and 14 assists in a 90-68 win against Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA.  Humble (Christian Life) TX has not one, not two, not three, but four physical specimens inside in 6'9 Kourtney Roberson, 6'8 Leslee Smith, 6'9 Jr Chris Coleman, and 6'8 Jason Carter.  But in their game early this afternoon it once again was the backcourt duo of 5'10 Javarez Willis and 6'2 Craig Smith who combined for 22 points and were primarily responsible for their team's 91-77 win against Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  The best player today for Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA was 6'1 Jordair Jett, who finished with 19 points and intrigued us with strength, athleticism, defense, and ability to play either spot.   We also are still trying figure out why the University of Connecticut accepted a scholarship offer from 6'8 Cleveland Melvin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  He finished with 12 points and had several impressive dunks, but is not very skilled and efficient at the offensive end.  But in fairness to Melvin maybe we should see him again as it appears that he's been slowed by an injury.  Even earlier in the day they didn't have their best player - 6'3 Isiah Stokley.  But Charlotte (Evelyn Mack) NC still made it look easy by coasting to a 70-53 win against Philadelphia (Rise Academy) NC.  And, in the process, 6'2 Aishon White turned in one of the better performances of the day with 18 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, 8-13 field goals, and 1-3 3-pointers; 6'6 Manny Diaz was very effective inside with 12 points and 12 rebounds; and 6'3 Will Bunton chipped in with 17 points and 3-7 3-pointers. 

Friday, February 5, 2010

The two highlight of the day earlier today at the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI were the game winning shots by 6'7 James Frazier from Newark (Alif Muhammad Nia Prep) NJ and 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA.  The former turned out to be the surprise hero with a deep 3-pointer in a 73-72 upset against Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and the latter capped off what turned out to be an impressive 27-point/seven-rebound performance against Winchendon (School) MA.  The final score was 80-78 and Lubick also clearly established himself as the best player that we saw all day with 12-16 field goals and 2-3 3-pointers while matched up against 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Winchendon (School) MA.  Remember, Kennedy is one of the best inside players in the senior class nationally and is bound for Villanova, but he only finished with four points and nine rebounds in this game.  And right behind Lubick on our list of the top performances of the day has to be 6'8 Soph Alex Murphy from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, who finished with 27 points, 10-15 field goals, and 4-8 3-pointers and clearly outplayed the highly touted 6'9 Jr Khem Birch from Winchendon (School) MA.  This also was a good day for players bound for Syracuse, as 6'5 Jr Michael Carter-Williams from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI scored 36 points and hit 6-11 field goals against Phoenix (Westwind) AZ and 6'7 C.J. Fair from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH had 21 points, 12 rebounds, 8-14 field goals against Newark (Alif Muhammad Nia Prep) NJ.  However, Carter-Williams took 29 shots in this game and he's going to have to develop physically in order to step in and play in the Big East.  This also was the best we've ever seen Fair play, as he was much more active and aggressive around the basket and he displayed a soft touch on his mid-range shot.  On the other hand, this was not one of Brewster Academy's better efforts, as 6'6 Will Barton, who had only 12 points, 6-12 field goals, and six turnovers, 6'0 Jr Naadir Tharpe, who has six points, five assists, and four turnovers, and 6'10 Maurice Walker from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who 12 points and only one rebound, did not live up to expectations.  We were impressive with the energy, athleticism, and quickness around the basket displayed by 6'9 Jamir Hanner from Newark (Alif Muhammad Nia Prep) NJ, who had 20 points, 17 rebounds, 10-20 field goals, and three steals against Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  Unfortunately it looks like Hanner's still a long way from qualifying academically and, as a result, junior college may be in his future.  We also were impressed with outside shooting and the way University of Rhode Island-bound 6'2 Bill Baron from Worcester (Academy) NH, who finished with 30 points, 6-13 field goals, and 5-11 3-pointers, and 6'2 Christophe Varidel from Worcester (Academy) MA, who finished with 17 points and 5-11 3-pointers, complemented one another and kept the game close in their 74-65 loss against Humble (Christian Life) TX.  One of the biggest surprised of the day was 5'10 Javarez Willis from Humble (Christian Life) TX, who finished with 25 points, five assists, four turnovers, two steals, 9-17 field goals, and 7-15 field goals against Worcester (Academy) MA.  What a steal for Texas Tech!  But we were somewhat disappointed with 6'9 Kourtney Roberson from Humble (Christian Life) TX, who is an incredible physical presence inside, but had only six points and eight rebounds in this game, and we're still trying to figure out what's happened to 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Humble (Christian Life) TX, who finished with seven points and three rebounds.  Coleman is incredible agile and runs the court extremely well, but he's also very verbal on the court and, as a result, we suspect attitude and immaturity are part of the problem.  We also have to mention 6'7 Youri Dascy from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, who finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, and 9-18 field goals Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ.  However, before college coaches get too excited about this strong athletic power forward, we need to make note of the fact that Dascy is already committed to Brandeis University, which is a Division III power, as well as one of the best schools in America.  And what about New Mexico-bound 6'8 Tony Snell from Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ, who finished with 18 points, six rebounds, eight assists, 6-10 field goals, and 3-5 3-pointers?  Snell is versatile enough to play four different positions and is a lot better than were we have him ranked at #26 on our list of the top 5th Year Players.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

For those of you who haven't figured out that our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis is the foremost authority on high school basketball in his part of the country, I suggest that you check out our West Coast Report, which was published earlier today exclusively in the Members Section and includes his ranking of the top 211 seniors, top 182 juniors, top 185 sophomores, top 101 freshmen, top 25 8th Graders, top five 7th Graders, and top 6th Grader.  And, if that weren't enough, we also provide you with some analysis of each class by yours truly; our five All-West Coast Teams, which include the top 25-ranked players regardless of class and position; and a First Team All-Time All-West Coast Team, which includes our choice of the top 10-ranked players in the history of high school basketball on the West Coast.  And anybody who makes this list is in pretty fast company, as it includes Bill Walton, Kevin Love, David Greenwood, Sidney Wicks, John Williams, Marques Johnson, Jason Kidd, Raymond Lewis, Gail Goodrich, and Mike Bibby.  That's eight players from California, one player from Oregon, one player from Arizona, and  six players who played for UCLA.  We also think it's important to get the top players right and we find it interesting that a quick look at Trigonis' West Coast Report, reveals that 11 of his top dozen ranked players in the Class of 2010 are the same as we have on our national list.  Trigonis also backs up his credibility with a long list of players that he discovered and/or knew about before anybody else.  It includes Casey Jacobsen, Trevor Ariza, Trevon Bryant, Ellis Myles, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan, Evan Burns, Kirk Snider, Jamal Boykin, Jeremy Hazell, Renaldo Woolridge, Kyle Fogg, Carlon Brown, and Seketoure Henry.  However, Trigonis is best known for the plethora of events, including the Pangos Dream Classic in January, the Fullcourt Press Spring League in March, the Fullcourt Press Easter Classic in April, the Fullcourt Press Spring Showcase in May, the Pangos All-American Camp in June, the Fullcourt Press All-West Camp and the Fullcourt Press Cream of the Crop Challenge in July, the Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase and the Fullcourt Press Hoops Classic in September, and all of his Fullcourt Press Frosh/Soph Camps in October, that he runs throughout the course of the year.  And, if that weren't enough, Trigonis also is the Editor and Publisher of Full Court Press, which can be found by clicking onto fullctpress.net; coaches Belmont Shore, which is one of the top club team programs on the West Coast; and is on the board of directors for the GBOA (Grassroots Basketball of America).  No wonder Trigonis knows who all the players are....he's got his hand in everything.  And  now he has the best list of players available for anybody who is interested in high school basketball on the West Coast.  As a matter of fact, he might have the only list available.  And, if you don't believe me, just check around.  It's almost impossible to find a ranking of the top players on the West Coast, except right here in our West Coast Report.  This report also is the perfect complement to Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which was published on November 8th, Andre Whitehead's Tennessee Report, which was published on January 21st; and Lavel's Johnson's Mississippi Report, which was published on January 27th.  Next up will be Rick Lewis' North Carolina Report, which I suspect will be published sometime next week, followed by reports from places like Texas, Florida, and New York City.  So stay tuned!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

With the firing of Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg on December 3rd, the firing of University of Pennsylvania head coach Glen Miller on December 14th, the resignation of Dartmouth head coach Terry Dunn on January 8th, the firing of DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright on January 11th, and the firing of UNC-Wilmington head coach Bennie Moss on January 29th, there are now five coaching jobs that are now officially open on the Division I spectrum.  And, when one also takes into account that Fairleigh Dickinson is only 6-16 on the season, it's pretty safe to assume that Knights interim head coach Greg Vetrone probably won't be back next year.  We mention that because we've already heard rumblings about Seton Hall assistant coach Dermon Player having the inside track necessary to get the Fairleigh Dickinson job.  Not only does Player have all the contacts necessary to recruit like crazy in the New York Metropolitan area, but he also has head coaching experience dating back to his days at Riverside Church and he's got both the charisma and energy necessary to fire up the fan base. The same also can be said about Florida International head coach Isiah Thomas with regards to the DePaul job.  If you will recall, Thomas gained valuable coaching experience when he was a head coach in the NBA with both the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.  Thomas has also overcome any questions about whether he can recruit with all of the good junior college players that he and his staff landed last spring and a recruiting class that is now tied at #21, along with South Carolina, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.   Obviously this would be a case where the favorite son finally comes home and, as a result, it would be hard to believe that all of the top players in the Windy City won't be standing in line to go to DePaul, if Blue Demons athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto is smart enough to make the hire.  And even better, the price for this financially strapped catholic school will be right due to the fact that Thomas doesn't need the money.  Did you know that Thomas has donated his first year's salary at Florida International back to the university?  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that another former NBA star (Mark Jackson) has his eye on getting into college coaching and he potentially could do the same thing for St. John's, if the posse finally catches up to Norm Roberts, that we expect Thomas to do at DePaul.  I also love the rumor about the legendary Bob Knight getting the Rutgers job, if Fred Hill doesn't turn things around in a hurry.  And what would you think if I told you that Kevin Boyle, who is head coach at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, NJ, will become Knight's top assistant with the understanding that Boyle will be the heir apparent when Knight retires in three or four years?  Another good name for both Rutgers and St. John's is Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg, who not only is a New York City guy, but also has felt the effects of budget cuts at his current school.  Maybe this explains why Greenberg's name also is one of the names we're hearing, along with Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, and Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, for the University of Oregon job.  However, before you start to write the coaching obituary of Ducks boss Ernie Kent, it's important to remember that this guy has nine lives (he's been rumored to be getting fired for years).  And to illustrate our point even further, Oregon halted a five-game skid with wins over the weekend against UCLA and USC.  It also looks like things have gone south for Ken McDonald at Western Kentucky after leading his team to a 25-9 record a year ago in his first year as head coach of the Hilltoppers.  If you will recall, WKU has four starters back from that team, but currently is only 12-10 on the season.  Some of the names we're hearing for the Fordham job are ESPN television analyst Fran Fraschilla, Hofstra head coach Tom Pecora, Cornell head coach Steve Donahue, former Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff, Hofstra interim head coach Jared Grasso, and University of Louisville assistant Steve Masiello.  We also are hearing Masiello's name being mentioned for Manhattan, if Barry Rohrssen gets the ax.  And this would make sense due to the fact that Masiello is originally from White Plains, NY.  It also would explain the Cardinals' urgency to close the deal on 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, who made an early commitment to Louisville a month ago, and why it's so important to also close deal on 6'2 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN sooner than later.  Remember, Masiello is recognized as one of the best recruiters in the business and he's been the point man in the recruitment of both Blackshear and Teague.  We also think Towson wouldn't go wrong with Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan, Virginia Tech assistant coach Bill Courtney, Virginia Tech assistant coach James Johnson, or Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman, if they decide to pull the plug on Pat Kennedy.  And what about Kansas assistant coach Danny Manning for UNC-Wilmington?  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the University of Pennsylvania is waiting to see how interim head coach Jerome Allen does the rest of the season.  However, the ideal fit would be Cornell head coach Steve Donahue, who previously an assistant coach at Penn prior to taking his current job and is a Philly guy.  Another natural fit would be Temple assistant coach Matt Langel, who was previously was both a player and an assistant coach for the Quakers. 

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Pat Stevens of Patstevensbasketball.com recently sent out a press release for the 2010 National Prep School Invitational, which I will attend this weekend at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI, and he provides us with the updated schedule and some interesting match-ups to watch.  And right at the top of the list is Winchendon (School) MA versus Southborough (St. Mark's) MA at 4:45 PM on Friday, February 4th.  That's 6'9 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA versus 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Winchendon (School) MA, who are two of the top inside players in the senior class nationally, and 6'9 Soph Khem Birch from Winchendon (School) MA versus 6'7 Soph Alex Murphy from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, who are two of the top sophomores in the country.  And earlier in the day at Noon it will be interesting to see how South Florida-bound 6'10 Waverly Austin from Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA does against 6'11 Soph Andre Drummond from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who is one of the top 10-ranked sophomores nationally by the HOOP SCOOP?   We also will be looking forward to the 12:45 PM game on Saturday, because that's when 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Humble (Christian Life) TX and 6'8 Kourtney Roberson from Humble (Christian Life) TX will go head-to-head against 6'7 Cleveland Melvin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and 6'7 Ron Giplaye from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  And on the final day of the event it will be fun to see the fireworks when 5'11 Jr Shabazz Napier from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA and 6'2 Jr Aaron Cosby from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, who are both reclassified juniors, go head-to-head in "a run-and-shoot game" at 4:00 PM.  The tournament will tip-off on Thursday, February 4th, with Somerset (CJEOTO Academy) NJ versus Lee (Academy) NC at 10:00 AM, followed by Temple Hills (Progressive Christian) MD versus Charlotte (Evelyn Mack Academy) NJ at 11:30 AM, Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA versus Beckley (Mountain State Academy) WV at 1:15 PM, Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT versus Wilbraham (Wilbraham & Monson) MA at 2:45 PM, Thompson (Marianapolis) CT versus Bayville (Ocean Academy) NJ at 4:15 PM, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Gran Canaria (Canarias Basketball Academy) Spain at 5:45 PM, Lakeville (Hotchkiss) CT versus Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH at 7:15 PM and Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ versus Newark (Alif Mohammed Nia School) NJ at 9:00 PM.  The schedule on Friday, February 5th, will include Beckley (Mountain State Academy) WV versus Bayville (Ocean Academy) NJ at 9:00 AM, Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH versus Newark (Alif Mohammed Nia School) NJ at 10:30 AM, Oakdale (Thomas More) CT versus Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA at Noon, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA at 1:30 PM, Barrington (St. Andrews) RI versus Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ at 3:00 PM, Winchendon (School) MA versus Southborough (St. Mark's) MA at 4:45 PM, Worcester (Academy) MA versus Humble (Christian Life Academy) TX at 6:30 PM, and North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME versus Gran Canaria (Canarias Basketball Academy) Spain at 8:15 PM.  The schedule on Saturday, February 6th, will include Creedmoor (Christian Faith Academy) NC versus Temple Hills (Progressive Christian) MD at 9:30 AM, Charlotte (Evelyn Mack Academy) NC versus Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA at 11:00 AM, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Humble (Christian Life) TX at 12:45 PM, Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA versus Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA at 2:30 PM, North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME versus Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA at 4:00 PM, South Kent (Prep) CT versus Gran Canaria (Canarias Basketball Academy) Spain at 5:30 PM, and Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME versus Andover (Proctor Academy) NH at 7:15 PM.  The schedule on Sunday, February 7th, will include Creedmoor (Christian Faith Academy) NC versus South Kent (Prep) CT at 9:30 AM, Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT versus Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA at 11:00 AM, Barrington (St. Andrews) RI versus Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME at 12:45 PM, Winchendon (School) MA versus Gran Canaria (Canarias Basketball Academy) Spain at 2:30 PM, Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA versus Lawrence (Groton Academy) MA at 4:00 PM, and Worcester (Academy) MA versus Suffield (Academy) CT at 5:30 PM.  The list of players who we expect to see at this event can be found by reading our preview of this event on January 13th and even more information about this event can be found going to their web site at NationalPrepInvitational.com. 

I also am looking forward to covering the Prime Time Shootout, which will be held on Friday, February 12th, at Kean University in Union, NJ and on Saturday, February 13th, and Sunday, February 14th, at the Sun National Bank Center (formerly the Sovereign Bank Arena) in Trenton, NJ.  And the best game of the entire event is expected to occur on first night when 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist and 6'2 Kyrie Irving, who are two of the top 10-ranked players nationally regardless of class, square off against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  It also will be interesting to see how things turn out when Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD go head-to-head on Saturday.  Remember, Bob Hurley and Stu Vetter, who are two of the most successful high school coaches in the history of the game, both have a history of being more than just a little bit picky about who they play and one of them is going to home with a loss in this game.  We also really like the match-up between Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY on Sunday, because this game will feature the best senior (Tobias Harris) and the best sophomore (Omar Calhoun) in the New York City Metropolitan area.  The schedule for Friday has Monroe (Township) NJ versus Basking Ridge (Ridge School) NC at 5:30 PM, Lakewood (H.S.) NJ versus Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ at 7:00 PM, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 8:30 PM, and Plainfield (H.S.) NJ versus Metuchen (St. Joseph's) NJ at 10:00 PM.  The schedule on Saturday has Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY versus Burlington (Life Center) NJ at Noon, Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ versus Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY at 1:30 PM, Brooklyn (Thomas Jefferson) NY versus Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ versus 3:00 PM, Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT versus Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV at 4:30 PM, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ versus Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD at 6:00 PM, New York (Rice) NY versus Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ at 7:30 PM, and Jersey City (St. Peter's Prep) NJ versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 9:00 PM and the schedule on Sunday has Pennington (School) NJ versus Albany (Academy) NY at 11:00 AM, Buffalo (Nichols School) NY versus Oak Ridge (Military) VA at 12:30 PM, Middle Village (Christ the King) NY versus Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills West) NY at 2:00 PM, Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV versus Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ at 3:30 PM, Marlton (Cherokee) NJ versus Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY at 5:00 PM, Newark (Malcolm X. Shabazz) NY versus Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY at 6:30 PM, and Skillman (Montgomery) NJ versus New Egypt (H.S.) NJ at 8:00 PM.  The list of top players who will be participating in this year's Prime Time Shootout is extremely impressive, as it includes 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'6 Terrence Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'8 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Will Regan from Buffalo (Nichols) NY, 6'8 Kadeem Jack from New York (Rice) NY, 6'6 Derrick Williams from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'5 Jason Morris from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, 6'6 Shane Southwell from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Ashton Pankey from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'9 Godwin Okonji from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'2 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Gilvydas Birute from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 5'10 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Baye Keita from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Mike Poole from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 6'4 Aaron Brown from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 6'4 Thomas Laerke from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'9 J.P. Kambola from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 6'3 Frantz Massenat from Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Jamel "Buddha" Fields from Albany (Academy) NY, 6'5 Jay Canty from Oak Ridge (Military Academy) NC, 6'5 Maurice Barrows from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'6 Ron Roberts from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, 6'1 Elijah Carter from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'3 Marko Petrovic from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'6 Chase Plummer from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'1 David Coley from Brooklyn (Thomas Jefferson) NY, 5'9 Kevin Boyle from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Daveon Boardingham from Newark (Malcolm X Shabazz) NJ, 6'2 Brandon Frazier from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 5'9 Willis Nicholson from Marlton (Cherokee) NJ, 6'8 Roland Brown from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'6 Markese Tucker from Hamilton (Trenton Catholic) NJ, 6'11 Monty Brown from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 5'9 Jr Tavon Sledge from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, 6'2 Jr Myles Davis from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'5 Jr Jermaine Sanders from New York (Rice) NY, 6'1 Jr Derrick Wilson from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, 6'7 Jr Tyler Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, 6'0 Jr Davontay Grace from Brooklyn (Thomas Jefferson) NY, 6'2 Jr Tyrone Johnson from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 5'11 Jr Corey Edwards from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Jr Sidiki Johnson from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 6'0 Jr Shaquille Stokes from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY 6'9 Jr Daouda Soumaoro from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 Jr Desmond Hubert from New Egypt (H.S.) NJ, 7'1 Jr Jordan Omogbehim from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'7 Jr Jordan Lawson from Oak Ridge (Military Academy) NC, 6'3 Jr Derrick Gordon from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Jr Keith Lumpkin from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ, 6'7 Soph Winston Shepard from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Soph Omar Calhoun from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Soph Clyde Smith from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, 6'10 Soph Joseph Uchebo from Oak Ridge (Military Academy) NC, 6'1 Soph DaShaun Suber from New York (Rice) NY, 6'4 Soph Rashad Andrews from New York (Rice) NY, 6'5 Soph Nkeruwen Okoro from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Soph Daniel Dingle from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'3 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'0 Frosh Jevon Thomas from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, and 6'9 Frosh Austin Colbert from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.

Monday,  February 1, 2010

With the two verbal commitments over the weekend by 5'8 Daryl Traynham from Upper Marlboro (Henry Wise) MD to the University of Massachusetts and 6'5 Jackson Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX to the University of Texas, there are now only 12 players ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally who are still available.  We're talking about 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Josh Selby from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Corey Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'4 Justin Coleman from Huntington (Prep) WV, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'6 Terrance Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'0 K.C. Ross-Miler from Irving (God's Academy) TX, and 6'2 Jordin Mayes from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  As for Traynham and Jeffcoat, they play totally different positions, but there are some interesting similarities.  First, they are both undersized guys for their position.  Second, they don't get nearly the respect they deserve on the basketball court, despite the fact they both have a blue collar work ethic and are two of the biggest overachievers in the senior class nationally.  However, in the case of Jeffcoat, it probably isn't going to matter much in the long run due to the fact that he's going to sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent to play college football for the Longhorns later this week.  Not only is Jeffcoat one of the top defensive end prospects in the country, but, just like his father (Jim Jeffcoat) who played for 15 years in the NFL, Jackson Jeffcoat will likely make his living playing on Sunday.  Speaking of the older Jeffcoat, he is now an assistant football coach at the University of Houston, but was unable to get deliver his son, whose final three schools were Texas, Houston, and Oklahoma.   And, while we love the way Jeffcoat totally dominates in the paint on the hardwood, it's doubtful that this 6'5 power forward who is ranked  #56 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP will ever play a minute of college basketball.  So for our purposes he will not count along with 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV in the Longhorns' current recruiting class.  The only thing Traynham lacks is size, as he's got a great basketball IQ, excellent ball handling and passing skills, the ability to lock his man up defensively and create havoc in transition, and a knack for being able to run the show and make those around him better.  But keeping up with Traynham, who is ranked #73 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has been easier said than done, as he started his high school career at Upper Marlboro (Henry Wise) MD, then made stops at Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, Charlotte (Vance) NC, and Lee (Academy) ME, and now is back at Henry Wise, where he is currently averaging 22.7 ppg and is one of the top players in the Washington, DC area.  We also find it interesting that Traynham's father (Damon Handon), who plays a key role when it comes to helping run the DC Assault club team program, is similar to Jeffcoat's father in that he was not just a normal parent when it came to his involvement in the recruiting process.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Stefan Nastic from Thornhill (Secondary School) ON has verbally committed to Stanford, 6'4 Devonte Newbill from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA has picked Marquette, and 6'3 Sean Armand from Somerset (Central Jersey Each One Teach One Academy) NJ has decided to return home and attend Fordham University.  The commitment by Armand actually happened almost a month ago, but fell under our radar screen until Ian Turnbull, who is the head coach at Central Jersey Each One Teach One Academy, called and made me aware of it over it weekend.  Turnbull tells us that his 6'3 2-guard is currently averaging 26.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 4.0 apg on a 16-5 team that will play this weekend in the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI on February 4th-7th.  Nastic is a skilled big man who played on the Serbian 16-Under National Team last summer and has the basketball IQ, feel for the game, ability to run the court, and soft touch necessary to complement 6'5 Anthony Brown from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, 5'11 Aaron Bright from Bellevue (H.S.) WA, 6'10 Dwight Powell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'10 John Gage from Vashon (Vashon Island) WA, and 6'7 Josh Huestis from Great Falls (Russell) MT in a recruiting class that is now ranked #23 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.   However, even more important, the three 6'10 guys (Nastic, Powell, and Gage) in this recruiting class are exactly what the doctored order for second year Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins and his staff who do not have a lot of quality size currently in the program.  Dunson was ranked #528 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007 when he was a high school at Bloomington Central Catholic) IL and originally signed with the University of Chattanooga.  But it looks like he's dramatically improved as Dunson is now ranked #123 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com.   Dunson joins 6'5 Keala King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 7'0 Jordan Bachynski from Calgary (Centennial) AB, and 6'3 Corey Hawkins from Goodyear (Estrella Foothills) AZ in a recruiting class that is currently tied at #28, along with Purdue and Iowa, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.