HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR JANUARY 2005

Saturday, January 29, 2005, Sunday, January 30, 2005, & Monday, January 31, 2005

North Carolina's 110-76 win against Virginia and Iowa's 72-57 win against Indiana over the weekend simply reinforced what we already suspected and, as result, now might be a good time to not only start speculating on who is going to get those jobs, but also where both Indiana University head coach Mike Davis and Virginia head coach Pete Gillen will end up next year.  The early list for the Virginia job has to include Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker, South Carolina head coach Dave Odom, George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga, and Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins.  However, Amaker, whose team suddenly has hit the skids with four straight losses to Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue and is now only 12-9 on the season, must first right the ship at Michigan.  In contrast, it may be tough for Brey, whose team just knocked off Connecticut over the weekend and is 13-5 on the season and 5-3 in the league and has an excellent recruiting class that is ranked #24 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 and includes 6'11 Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'2 Kyle McAlarney from Staten Island (Moore Catholic) NY, and 6'7 Zach Hillesland from Toledo (St. John's) OH, to leave Notre Dame right now.  And Dawkins has turned down so many jobs in recent years that you have to wonder if he knows something that we don't with regards to who the successor to Mike Krzyzewski will be at Duke.  Odom was the Southeastern Conference Coach-of-the-Year a year ago, the Gamecocks are 11-7 overall and 3-4 in the league this season, and he's still extremely popular with the Virginia fans, but, at 62-years-old, you have to wonder if he's not already in his last job.  Which means the smart money is on Larranaga.  Forget about the fact that Larranaga is still extremely close friends with both new East Carolina Athletic Director Terry Holland and Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage.  Instead, what ultimately should get Larranaga the job are his track record at George Mason and that fact knows what it takes to win at Virginia, as is evident by the fact he helped Holland build the program in the early 80's when they had players like Ralph Sampson and Olden Polynice.  As a matter of fact, Larranaga has made a living both at Bowling Green and George Mason finding players like Poynice who were under the radar screen and developing them well beyond all expectations (i/e Antonio Daniels at Bowling Green and George Evans, Erik Herring, Jesse Young, and Jai Lewis at George Mason).  And 6'7 Frosh Will Harris, 6'3, Frosh John Vaughn, and 6'4 Frosh Folorian Campbell also may fall into this category and, as a result, even, if Larranaga doesn't get the Virginia job, he may turn out to be one of the hottest head coaches in the game a year from now, because George Mason doesn't have a senior on the roster of a team that currently is 11-8, has won four straight games against James Madison, Hofstra, William & Mary, and Delaware, and is starting to play well down the stretch.  The names we've heard the most for the Indiana job are Iowa head coach Steve Alford, Marquette head coach Tom Crean, former Utah head coach Rick Majerus, former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, and former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach and current Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Randy Wittman, but there is a major sleeper that you need to keep an eye on.  No, we don't think Indiana Athletic Director Rick Greenspan is going to try and hire Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight or Army head coach Jim Crews, but the connections are interesting.  Everybody knows Knight's story, but did you know that Greenspan hired Crews three years ago Army?  Greenspan also hired Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings 12 years ago when he was the athletics director at Illinois State and inside sources tells us that Greenspan would like to try and hire Stallings again.  Gillen is an excellent coach, as is evident by the fact he won big at both Xavier and Providence and he's helped develop guys like Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr, and College of Charleston head coach Tommy Herrion, and, as a result, he should be able to take his pick amongst the numerous mid-major jobs that will be open this year.  However, with his personality and quick wit, we think Gillen would be great in the broadcast both.  Remember, Gillen hasn't been compared to the late night talk show host David Letterman for nothing.  Davis is ideally suited for any mid-to-high major job that opens in the Deep South, but we think it's time to stop the rumor about UAB head coach Mike Anderson moving onto to LSU, because Tigers head coach John Brady has done a good job of righting the ship after a shaky stretch in late December when his team lost four out of five (the lost to Southern Miss, Houston, Utah and Alabama and beat Florida State).  Sure, LSU recently lost to Kentucky, 89-58, but they also have now won five of their last six games with wins against South Carolina, Ohio State, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Mississippi State.  That makes them 11-6, and their next three games against Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas are also winnable.  We also have heard that former North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty has emerged as one of leading candidates for the Tulsa job.  And another potential candidate for the Tulsa job could be Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson, whose Volunteers are 10-10 and have lost four of their last five games, if his team doesn't have a winning record down the stretch against LSU, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia at home and Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky on the road.  And that would truly be ironic, because Peterson left Tulsa after only a year to take the Tennessee job.  However, it's our guess that Peterson will get one more year to turn things around, because he's extremely popular in Knoxville, TN.  In contrast the leash for Missouri head coach Quin Snyder, whose team skipped to 10-11 with their 73-61 lost to Kansas earlier tonight, is a lot shorter.  But Missouri does still have time to right the course, as their next two games are at Texas A&M and UNLV, followed by Oklahoma and Baylor at home, Nebraska on the road, Colorado at home, Texas and Iowa State on the road, and Kansas at home.   It also looks like Long Beach State head coach Larry Reynolds, who now has a miserable 14-59 record over the last three years, is on the way out, despite the fact the 49er have recruited well, as is evident by the fact that they have a recruiting class that includes 6'1 Aaron Nixon from San Bernardino (JC) TX, who is one of the top junior college player in the nation, and is tied at #56, along with Texas Christian, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   And, believe it or not, the name we're hearing the most for the Long Beach State job is former USC head coach Henry Bibby.  It also doesn't look like Creighton head coach Dana Altman is the lock that he was a year or two ago for the Iowa job, if Steve Alford moves onto Indiana.  Instead, it looks like it will be a four-horse race for the Iowa job among Altman, former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, Wichita State head coach Mark Turgeon, and Rice head coach Willis Wilson, if Alford leaves.  Other jobs that could open this spring include Siena, Iona, Canisius, Stony Brook, Weber State, Southern Utah, East Carolina, Tulane, Saint Louis, Youngstown State, Indiana State, and IUPU-Ft. Wayne.  And, if IUPU-Ft Wayne doesn't hire IUPUI assistant coach Todd Howard, they're nuts, because he not only has played a major role in building the Jaguars' program into on one of the better teams in the league, but he also done it almost exclusively with in-state talent.  And that's a major prerequisite for being successful at a school that is attempting to establish itself at the Division I level.  If Saint Louis opens this year, we'd be surprised if Oklahoma assistant coach Ray McCallum isn't one of the leading candidates for the job.  However, if the job doesn't open for another year and Western Illinois makes significant improvement next season, then it might be tough for Saint Louis not to hire Leathernecks head coach Derek Thomas this time around.  We think Fordham head coach Dereck Whittenburg is one of the unsung heroes of the current season, as he's not only on the brink of transforming Fordham into a winning team, but the Rams have already beaten Richmond Xavier, Rhode Island, and Temple in league play this year.  And who would have believed that Virginia Tech would be 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference with wins over Clemson, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Virginia in four of their last five games?   We're also starting to think Louisville is a lot better than we originally thought they were, but we'll know a lot more when they play Cincinnati on Wednesday, February 2nd.  Currently Louisville is 18-3 overall and 6-1 in the league and ranked #9 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Poll and Cincinnati is 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the league and is ranked #17 in the same poll.  In other words, the winner of this game should be in the driver's seat to win the league and go deep into the NCAA Tournament. 

Friday, January 28, 2005

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that it looks like Valparaiso has gotten two for the price of one.  We're talking about the fact that 6'2 Jacob Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S) OH brought his younger brother, 6'6 Soph Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S.) OH, along recently on his official visit to Valparaiso, IN and now they have both decided to commit to the Crusaders.  And, while this is great news for Valparaiso, it's bad news for Army, because the older Diebler, who also is a great student, a tough hardnosed floor general, and the son of a high school coach (their father, Keith Diebler, is the head coach at Upper Sandusky High School), originally had committed to the Cadets.  The older Diebler is ranked #18 in the state in the senior class by Johnson, which makes him an excellent catch for Valparaiso in his own right, but also getting the younger brother is huge, because he's ranked #10 in the state's sophomore class and is ranked #157 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The younger Diebler reminds Johnson of Michael Dunleavy.  In other words, we're talking about an athletic white and great 3-point shooter who is excellent at getting his own shot off the dribble.  And who better to help them both refine their game than former Kansas All-American Rex Walters, who now is an assistant coach at Valparaiso and has some similarities to both players?  The verbal commitment by Jacob moves the Crusaders' recruiting class into a tie at #69, along with Chattanooga, Virginia, and Hofstra, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, even more important is the fact that Valparaiso clearly has the best recruiting class in the Mid-Continent Conference, as 6'8 Urule Igbavboa from Oakdale (Tartan) MN, 6'10 Arden Skoglund from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, and 6'1 Brandon McPherson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, all of whom signed with the Crusaders in the fall, are slso good enough to step in next year and make an immediate impact.  The early verbal commitment by Jon not only gives Valparaiso a great head start on the future, but he becomes the fourth player in the Class of 2007 to have picked a school, as he joins 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, who is already verbally committed to Charlotte; 6'7 Soph Taylor King from San Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is already verbally committed to UCLA; and 6'6 Soph Emeka Iwecka from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who is already verbally committed to Oregon State.  Earlier this week we told you that Penn State had landed 6'11 Joonas Soutamo from Finland.  Well, now it looks like he's got company, because our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is telliing us that the Nittany Lions also have a verbal commitment from Milos Dogetic from Serbia-Montenegro.  Not only does this give the Nittany Lions three inside players in this recruiting class, which already includes Soutamo and 6'5 Jamelle Cornelly from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, but the addition of Dogetic also moves their recruiting class into a tie at #99, along with St. Joseph's and Florida International, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also have confirmed that Kendall Marshall, who is ranked #5 nationally on our list of the top 7th Graders, has grown to 5'7 and will attend Potamac High School in Oxon Hill, MD, which is not a basketball powerhouse, but is an excellent school academically.  However, we suspect that Marshall will more than make up the lack of competition that he will face during the basketball season in coming years, because he also plans to play for the Boo Williams club team during the spring, summer, and fall.   Speaking of the players in the Boo Williams program, did you know that 6'0 Jr Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA, who is ranked #75 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, may be a lot closer to making his college decision than most people realize?  Nothing will probably happen until after the current basketball season is over, but right now N.C. State and Oklahoma appear to be the favorites over Virginia and Michigan.  Those last two are especially interesting, because current Wolverines head coach Tommy Amaker could be at either place depending upon whether he wants to get into the mix for the Virginia job.  Yes, when Virginia Tech knocked off the Cavaliers last night, it became time to start writing Pete Gillen's obituary at Virginia.  And the same thing can be said about Indiana's Mike Davis when the Hoosiers lost to Minnesota the night before.  Moral to the story, neither coach will survive, unless their team wins their conference tournament and advances into the NCAA Tournament.  However, now it looks like Minnesota head coach Dan Monson is safe, because, with their win over Indiana the other night, the Golden Gophers are now 14-6 overall and 4-3 in the league.  So, even if the bottom falls out, which is very possible, because they still have to play at Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, and Penn State and at home against Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Iowa, they still will have improved on last year's 3-13 conference record and 12-18 overall record.  And, if they can win two of their three games against Northwestern, Indiana, and Ohio State and beat Purdue and Penn State at the end of the season, that would make them 18-11 overall and 8-8 in the league heading into the conference tournament, which means a 20-win season and a NCAA bid is a possibility.  And, at least some of the credit has to go to former Bradley head coach Jim Molinari, who not only is largely responsible for Minnesota's #35-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, but also has helped breath new life into the program this year.  However, they stillmay not be out of the woods in the future, if 7'0 James Davis from Garden City (JC) KS, who is arguably the top junior college big man in the nation, doesn't make it academically, Molinari gets a head coaching job this spring (he's be perfect for any school in the Midwest due to his strong Chicago are connections dating back to when he was an assistant coach at DePaul), and they don't get their share of local players, like 6'6 Jr Isiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN, who is ranked #21 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'9 Jr Bryce Webster from St. Paul (St. Thomas) MN, who is ranked #78 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'7 Jr Corey Johnson from Duluth (East) MN, who is ranked #161 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'10 Jr Xavier Crawford from Richfield (H.S.) MN, who is ranked #202 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, from the Howard Pulley club team program in next year's recruiting class. 

Thursday, January 27, 2005

We no longer have 5'4 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY ranked as the #1 player in his class, but, just like Stephon Marbury in the Class of 1995 and Sebastian Telfair in the Class of 2004, both of whom also were ranked as the #1 player in their respective classes dating back to when they were in 6th and 4th Grade, this is not a knock against Walker.  If you will recall, in the final analysis Kevin Garnett edged out Marbury, but he was ranked ahead of Ron Mercer, Robert Traylor, Shareef Adbur-Rahim, Derek Hood, Wayne Turner, Vince Carter, Terrance Roberson, and Paul Pierce and Telfair ended up being ranked behind Dwight Howard, Andray Blatche, Shaun Livington, and Josh Smith and head of Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Rudy Gay, Robert Swift, and Juan Diego Tellos Palacios.  In other words, we think 6'4 from Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, who led his team to the 14-Under AAU National Championship in Orlando, FL, and 5'11 Frosh Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, who was one of the best players at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp last summer as a rising freshman, are that good right now.  As a matter of fact, we have all three of these players (Evans, Lucious, and Walker) ranked on our HOOP SCOOP ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS, which includes our ranking of the top 60 players in the nation regardless of class and position.  And, if Walker, who has tremendous court savvy, great handling and passing skills, an A- average in the classroom at a legitimate school, and the ability to put prolific numbers, grows, it really could be interesting to see which one of these three great point guards ends up being the best player in the class.  Speaking of great point guards, this is really is the big story, as we publish our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008.  And, when you also include 5'10 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'2 Frosh Willie Warren from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Frosh Verdell Jones from Champaign (Centennial) IL, 6'2 Frosh Jacovan Brown from Beaumont (Kelly) TX, 6'1 Frosh Frank Sullivan from Uniontown (R.C. Hatch) AL, 5'10 Frosh Terrell Holloway from Newark (St.Benedict's) NJ, and 6'1 Frosh Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, we find that five of the top 10 players in the class and 10 of the top 26 players in the class are point guards.  The Class of 2008 also has a lot more size than the Class of 2007, as a quick look at out list of the top players reveals that there are four players - 6'9 Frosh Greg Monroe from ranked Marrero (John Ehret) LA, 6'11 Frosh Baw Mannero from Huntsville (Madison Acacdemy) AL, 6'9 Frosh Yancey Gates from Cincinanti (Hughes) OH, and 6'11 Frosh B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH - that are 6'9 or bigger who are ranked among the top 15 players in the class.  We also find that the Class of 2008 has a surprising amount of depth, which explains why ranking the players in this class took a lot longer than we originally anticipated and, as a result, why we ended up with a grand total of 260 players ranked in order.  The Class of 2008 also is extremely top heavy in the New York/New Jeresy/Eastern Pennsylvania area, as 11 of the top 100-ranked players - 5'4 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'3 Frosh Leonard McNeil from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'2 Khalif Staton from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'5 Frosh Sylvan Landesberg from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, 6'4 Frosh Brandon Romin from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'6 Frosh Marquis Grant from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'4 Frosh Reggie Davis from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'6 Frosh David Imes from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'2 Frosh Darryl Bryant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'2 Frosh Kafele Carty from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'8 Frosh Samardo Samuels from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY - are from New York; seven of the top 100-ranked players - 6'1 Frosh Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 5'10 Frosh Terrell Holloway from Newark (St.Benedict's) NJ, 6'1 Frosh Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'5 Frosh Albert Rodgers from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 5'9 Jr Jamel Grace from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'1 Frosh Michael Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ,and 6'0 Frosh Jaheen Antney from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ - are from New Jersey; and seven of the top 100 players - 6'4 Frosh Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'5 Frosh Nasir Robinson from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'5 Frosh Anthony King from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 5'10 Frosh Charlie White from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'7 Frosh Jermaine Jackson from Reading (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Frosh Larry Loughery from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, and 6'6 Frosh Devon White from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA - are from Eastern Pennsylvania.   So we're talking about 25% of the top 100-ranked freshmen in the nation being in the New York City and Philadelphia Metropolitan areas, which not only is amazing, but also an excellent illustration of just how much young talent there is in this part of the nation.  However, California with 5'10 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Frosh Demar Derozan from Compton (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Frosh Gordon Drew from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, 6'4 Frosh Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'4 Frosh Zach Zaragoza from Irvine (Northwood) CA, 6'2 Frosh Oscar Bellfield from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 5'9 Frosh Percy Miller from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'0 Frosh Chris Solomon from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'7 Frosh Jamie Serna from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 6'0 Frosh Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'6 Frosh Richard Sims from Gardena (Serra) CA, and 6'7 Frosh Jim Soo Kim from Van Nuys (Montclaire Prep) CA, and Texas with 6'2 Frosh Willie Warren from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Frosh Jacovan Brown from Beaumont (Kelly) TX, 6'6 Frosh Corbin Ray from Katy (Taylor) TX, 6'9 Frosh Anthony Jones from Houston (Milby) TX, 6'0 Frosh Eddern McCain from Alvin (Livingston Christian) TX, 6'2 Frosh Jeremy Green from Austin (Bowie) TX, 6'3 Frosh Gerayl Sanders from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Frosh Pierce Edwards from Dallas (Covenant Christian) TX, 6'5 Frosh DeEverett Williams from Alief (Hastings) TX, 6'6 Frosh Greg Batiste from Cleveland (Heritage Chrisitan) TX, 6'8 Frosh Greg Willis from Houston (Texas Christian) TX, and 6'5 Frosh Nathan Gibbs from De Soto (H.S.) TX are the two states that feature the most players who are ranked among our top 100 freshmen.  They both have 12 apiece, which means that another 24% of the top 100-ranked freshman are in these two states.  And, when you combine Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, which have seven, six, and three players, respectively, ranked among our top 100 freshman, we find these three states account for another 16% of the top 100-ranked freshmen.  Illinois and Maryland also have five players, Indiana has four players, and Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio have three players ranked among out top-100 ranked freshmen.  To find out where all of these players are ranked be sure to click onto Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

One of the biggest problems facing grassroots basketball today is the proliferation of events during both the high school basketball season and the spring, summer, and fall, which is the AAU and club season and the time when players attend basketball camps and single day events.  And, if the trend continues, the number of events that are being held today will be double or triple within the next five years and, as a result, everything will be diluted even more than it already is.  The problem obviously stems from the fact that everybody has seen how much money can be made if you're in the right place at the right time (i.e. LeBron James) and a lot of those people are trying to get their share of the pie.  However, not everybody is doing this motivated by profit and great example is Sam Albano, who is formerly of Redmen.com and now is the president of Hope Thru Hoops, which is a non-profit organization that now runs high school basketball events.  We mention this because on Sunday, January 30th, Albano will host the Hope Thru Hoops Second Annual Tom Crotty Memorial Classic at St. John's University and the proceeds will be donated to the Tom Crotty scholarship fund, which will fund a basketball scholarship at Marist College.  The significance of this is that Crotty was the only person killed in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11/2001 who was a four-year NCAA varsity Division I player.  The first game of the day will begin at 10:00 AM with Brooklyn (Bishop Ford) NY versus East Elmhurst (Monsignor McClancy) NY.  And that's a pretty good way to begin the day, as 6'2 Jakaria Thomas from Brooklyn (Bishop Ford) NY and 6'1 Carl Green from Brooklyn (Bishop Ford) NY will face 6'1 Jr Stephen Woods from  East Elmhurst (Monsignor McClancy) NY, who is ranked as one of the top five juniors in the city by our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio.  Then, it will be Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY versus New York (Rice) NY at 11:30 AM and it's hard to do much better than that, because we're talking about the #2-ranked high school team (Rice) in the nation by the USA Today playing against their biggest rival in a league.  We're also talking about 6'10 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, who is ranked #20 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'0 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, who is one of the fastest rising players nationally in the junior class; and 6'3 Jr Kashif Pratt from New York (Rice) NY against St. John's-bound 6'4 Jr Ricky Torres from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who is ranked #72 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best 3-point shooters in the senior class nationally, and 6'5 Chris Bethel from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who is an undersized power forward that is ranked #240 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a total steal for Fordham.  Next, it will be Flushing (Holy Cross) NY versus Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ at 1:00 PM and that game will feature 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, who is ranked #44 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Pittsburgh, against 5'11 Gordon McKenzie from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, 6'2 Kevin Ogaltree from Flusing (Holy Cross) NY, 5'11 Mike Johnson from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, and 6'8 Jr Lawrence Jolicoeur from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY.  Then, it will be Princeton (The Hun School) NJ with 6'6 Leo Nolan, 6'4 Charlie Fritsch, and 6'6 Soph Idris Hilliard versus Jersey City (St. Anthony) NY, which is ranked #3 nationally in the latest USA Today poll, with 6'9 Ahmad Nivins, 6'2 Soph Miles Beatty, 6'1 Sean McCurdy, 5'8 Derrick Mercer, and 6'5 Barney Anderson, at 2:30 PM.  And, after that, it will be Bayside (Cardozo) NY versus Bloomfield (Tech) NJ at 4:00 PM, but neither team will feature their highly touted center, because 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY will be out at least until February 1st, and 6'10 Jr Caisem Drummond from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ won't be eligible to play until February 2nd.  Instead, all of the attention will turn to 5'11 Jr Vic Morris from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'6 Jr Dasean Butler from Bloomfield (Tech) NY, and 6'1 Soph Rashon Dwight from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ.  The final two games of the evening, which will feature Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY versus Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY at 6:30 PM and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY at 8:15 PM, will televised live on the MSG (Madison Square Garden) Network and will feature players like 6'9 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is the #2-ranked junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, who is one of the fastest rising seniors nationally and is the main reason why his team is ranked #6 nationally in the latest USA Today's high school poll; 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #37 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 5'10 Levance Fields from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, who is ranked #80 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'1 Soph Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #25 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'0 Soph Mike Coburn, who is ranked #27 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'0 Chris Lowe from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #255 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'5 Soph Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #35 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'5 Tyson Johnson from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, who is ranked #147 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'8 Jr Yannick Formbor-Nono from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ; 6'5 Jr Ruben Guillandeux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ; 6'3 Tyrone Cook from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 Saiquan Stone from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY; 5'10 Jr Brian McMichael from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY; 6'3 Jr Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY; and 6'0 Soph Zamal Nixon from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY.  However, that doesn't even fully illustrate just how good this event will be, as five of the USA Today's top 25 high school teams will be participating, as New York (Rice) NY is ranked #2, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ is ranked #3, Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY is ranked #6, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ is ranked #15, and Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY is ranked #24.  Another terrific event that will be held this weekend is The Gatorade-Timberwolves Shootout, which will be held on Saturday, January 29th, in Minneapolis, MN and will feature Duluth (East) MN versus Randolph (H.S.) WI at 11:00 AM, Richfield (H.S.) MN versus Sioux City (East) IA at 1:00 PM, St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN versus Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD at 3:00 PM, Braham (H.S.) MN versus Compton (Centennial) CA at 5:00 PM, and Oakdale (Tartan) MN versus Madison (Memorial) WI at 7:00 PM.  And you won't have to travel all the way to Minneapolis, MN to see all the excellent players, like event will feature players like 6'6 Jr Isiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN, who is ranked #21 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'3 Wesley Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI, who is ranked #37 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'7 Joe Krabbenholt from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD, who is ranked #37 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'3 Jr Tyree Thompson from Compton (Centennial) CA, who is ranked #72 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'9 Jr Bryce Webster from St. Paul (St. Thomas) MN, who is ranked #78 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'6 Jr Jervaughn Johnson from Compton (Centennial) CA, who is ranked #79 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 5'11 Soph Jesse Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA, who is ranked #48 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'7 Jr Corey Johnson from Duluth (East) MN, who is ranked #161 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'7 Ryan Tillema from Randolph (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #188 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'10 Jr Xavier Crawford from Richfield (H.S.) MN, who is ranked #202 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'10 Soph Keaton Nankivil from Madison (Memorial) WI, who is ranked #110 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'8 Urule Igbauboa from Oakdale (Tartan) MN, who is ranked #257 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; that will be participating in The Gatorade-Timberwolves Shootout.  Instead, you can sit back in the comfort of your own home or office and watch each game on PayPal, which is a secured pay-per-view webcasting network.  The cost is $12.50 per game and broadcast minimun requirements are 300 K Broadband connectivity and Window Media Player 9 or better.  For more information, go to their web site at http://www.crystalclearsports.net.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

It was the summer of 1994 and 6'7 Soph Ronnie Griffin from Louisville (Central) KY not only was ranked among the top 25 players in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but promised to be the next great player to come out of the state of Kentucky.  However, like nearly all of the players who have been highly touted early during the last 15 in the city, Griffin never came close to living up to the expectations, because he never had the drive and work ethic necessary to achieve great things, much less excel both on and off the court.  Griffin played three years of high school basketball at Louisville (Central) KY; then spent a year at Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, where he averaged 19 ppg and 11 rpg, while playing for the legendary Max Good; two years at Tallahassee (JC) FL, where averaged 12.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg for junior college team that was ranked as high as #2 in the nation; made brief stops at the University of Oklahoma and Eastern Kentucky, and finally finished his career at Southern Indiana, where he was a First Team All-Great Lake Valley Conference Player two year ago.  After that Griffin dropped off the radar screen altogether until Sunday afternoon when he pronounced dead at 4:30 PM.  "A 25-year-old homicide victim whose body was found Sunday in a Payne Street apartment has been identified," says today's Louisville-Courier Journal.  It also said that he "died of multiple injuries sustained in an assault....Louisvlle Metro Police charged Richard Spellman, 35, with the murder on Sunday....Griffin had stab wounds and a cord tied around his neck."  But that was pretty much it, as nowhere in the brief five paragraphs did it mention anything about Griffin being a former basketball player nor anything about his wasted talent and potential.  And making the story even worse is the fact that Courier-Journal referred to Griffin by his real name (Laronzo Thomas Griffin), which means that most of the people who read about this in the newspaper didn't even know who Griffin was.  Obviously this is a huge tragedy, as a well as a classic illustration of wasted potential and what came happen if you just let things keep going South.  Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Penn State has landed 6'11 Joonas Soutamo from Finland and he thinks this is a good catch for the Nittany Lions.  "Like most European players, Soutamo has excellent skills and runs the court very well," says Johnson.  "But he also needs to get bigger and stronger and become more aggressive."  And that appears to be the biggest difference between Soutamo and his teammate on both their club team and the Finnish Junior National Team.  The other guy we're talking about is 6'10 Jari Vanttaja, who signed with Baylor and is widely regarded to be the best foreign player to have signed with a Division I school during the Fall Signing Period.   Johnson also tells us that Soutamo is good enough to be ranked among the top 200 high school seniors nationally, which means, if he was in the United States, he'd be the one of the best players still available.  Remember, as things stand now, 6'11 Andray Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'6 Rob Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'7 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Leo Criswell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'8 Gary Flowers from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'6 Martellus Bennett from Alief (Taylor) TX, 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'0 Eric Price from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'6 Paul Johnson from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'8 Brandon Wolfe from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'6 Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Charter) NC, 6'3 Jalon Perryman from Detroit (Rogers) MI, 6'8 Anthony Sparks from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI, 6'7 Chris Knight from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'8 DeAndre Thomas from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, and 6'5 Bilal Benn from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA are the only players ranked among our top 150 or are the equivalent of being a top 150 player who are still available.  And, in all likelihood, Blatch, Brumbaugh, and Rush will by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA Draft this spring and Rob Thomas, Davis, Williams, Smith, and DeAndre Thomas may all end up either returning to or going the prep school route next year.  Getting back to the verbal commitment by Soutamo to Penn State, he also should provide an excellent complement to 6'5 Jamelle Cornelly from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who is a tough hardnosed undersized athletic power forward and currently is the only other player in the Nittany Lions' recruiting class.  As a matter of fact, if you could combine the best parts of Soutamo's and Cornelly's games, then you'd probably have one of the best players in the Big-10 Conference next year.  However, it's still good to get two inside players who do very different things.  We also have confirmed via Dave Hammer, who is the head coach of the Salt Lake Metro club team program, that 6'8 Nate Bendall from Salt Lake City (Skyline) UT has verbally committed to Utah State.  Bendall is active on the boards and very effective when it comes to scoring around the basket, but he also has the ability to step outside, handle on the perimeter, and hit the 3-point shot.  And Utah State head coach Stu Morrill has been very successful with guys like that (i.e. 6'7 Jr Nate Harris and 6'8 Sr Spencer Nelson, both of whom have developed into to two of the best players in the league).  Morrill and his staff also have been extremely successful with their current recruiting class, which also already includes 6'3 Michael Daniels from Grayson (JC) UT, 6'4 Tyler Newbold from Payson (H.S.) UT; 6'10 Steve Cobbley from North Idaho (JC) ID; (3) Mikel Watson from Oceanside (El Camino) CA, and 6'11 Arvydas Vaitiekus from Marshalltown (JC) IA.  So with the addition of Bendall, this recruiting class moves up into at tie at #29, along with Texas Tech, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   Not only does this give Utah State the second best recruiting class among all schools outside of the top eight conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big-10, Big-12, Southeastern, Conference USA, Pacific-10, and Mountain West), but it also means that they will have to plenty work with as they move from the Big West Conference to the Western Athletic Conference next year.   And, most important of all, it may make it very tough for Morrill to leave, if the Brigham Young job opens this spring.  BYU did manage to knock off New Mexico, 68-53, last night to end a three game losing streak against Air Force, Wyoming, and Colorado State, but they're still 1-4 in the league and 7-13 overall, which makes this Saturday's game against #25-ranked Utah absolutely huge.  If BYU wins this game, it probably will be enough to get them over the hump   However, if the Cougars lose big to the Utes, then it might be time to start compiling a list of potential candidates for the job.   Obviously Morrill would be right at the top of the list, but some other great names for the job would include Iowa State assistant coach Damon Archibald, Indiana assistant coach Kerry Rupp, and Southern Idaho (JC) ID head coach Gib Arnold.  Sure, Arnold's father, Frank Arnold, didn't leave BYU on the best of terms.  But looking back on it now, those were the good days for Brigham Young basketball.  Besides, if they hired Arnold, he will probably bring assistant coach Steve Flint with him, which means he'd be a near lock to get two of the top junior college players in the nation - 6'11 Mohamed Kone from Southern Idaho (JC) ID and 6'11 Abdoulaye Ndiaye Southern Idaho (JC) ID.

Saturday, January 22, 2005, Sunday, January 23, 2005, & Monday, January 24, 2005

It is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to state the obvious before it becomes obvious and a great example of what I'm talking about is the sudden demise of the West Virginia basketball program during the last three weeks.  If you will recall, during the middle of December we said that "another coach whose days may be numbered is John Beilein at West Virginia.  Sure, the Mountaineers are off to a 6-0 start with wins against St. Peter's, Duquesne, LSU, Radford, St. Bonaventure, and Coppin State, but they are picked 10th in the league this year and it doesn't get any better in the future, as is evident by the fact that their current recruiting class, which features 6'6 Alex Ruoff from Brookville (Central) IL and 6'7 Joe Alexander from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, is tied at #133 in our Ranking of  the Top Recruiting Classes From The Fall Signing Period for the Class of 2005.  And when you include the five new schools (Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, DePaul, and South Florida) in the league next year and exclude Boston College, which is going to the Atlantic Coast Conference next year, West Virginia's recruiting class would be ranked #15 in the league....This also comes on the heels of last year's recruiting class, which was ranked #178 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2004 and included 6'11 Luke Bonner from Manchester (Trinity) NH and 6'2 Darius Nichols from Radford (H.S.) VA.   No, we don't think it's time to start the Bobby Huggins rumor to West Virginia just yet, but you might want to keep it in the back of your mind when once 6'7 Sr Tyrone Sally, 6'11 Sr D'or Fischer, 6'4 Jr Patrick Beilein, 6'6 Jr Joe Herber, 6'11 Jr Kevin Pittsnogle, and 5'10 Jr Jarmon Durisseau-Collins, who are West Virginia's top six players, all have graduated a year-and-a-half from now."  The Mountaineers also went on to beat James Madison, New Hampshire, George Washington, and N.C. State to give them a 10-0 record and the one the best starts in school history.  However, since that time the bottom has fallen out with loses to Villanova, Marshall, Boston College, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.  And they host Connecticut tomorrow night, followed by road games at Providence and Boston College and a home game against Pittsburgh.  In other words, West Virginia could easily lose their next four games, which would put their record at 11-9 and give them an eight game losing streak before they get into the easier part of their schedule, which includes Providence at home on February 9th, followed by Georgetown and St. John's on the road, Seton Hall at home, Pittsburgh on the road, Rutgers at home, and Seton Hall on the road.  Moral to the story, West Virginia head coach John Beilein is a terrific X's and O's coach, but, if the bottom falls out just like it did in league play a year ago for Georgetown, St. John's, and Miami-FL, then whether Beilein and his staff can recruit the caliber of player necessary to win in the Big East may be a mute point by the end of the season.  We also have a surprising amount of interest in the Indiana-Minnesota game two days from now, as this might be the most important game of the season for both teams.  Sure, the Hoosiers have won four in a row against Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan, and Ohio State, but there is not a lot of margin of error for IU head coach Mike Davis, whose Hoosiers have a 9-7 record and only 11 regular season games remaining, six of which are on the road and four of which are against ranked teams.  So obviously the Hoosiers can do no worse than 7-4 down the stretch and then attempt to win a couple of games in the Big-10 Conference Tournament in order to ensure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament, as well as give Davis a chance to show what he can really do a year from now with all the great young players that he's landed in the last two recruiting classes.  Minnesota currently has a 13-5 record and they are 3-2 in the league, but those three wins have come against three of four worst teams (Penn State, Purdue, and Northwestern) in the Big-10.  And, if Golden Gophers can't beat the Hoosiers at home, they're in big trouble, because they've got to go to Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Michigan State and have to face Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Iowa at home prior to the wrapping up the season on the road at Purdue and Penn State.  We also don't think it looks real good for Virginia head coach Pete Gillen.  But we're not ready to write his obituary just yet, despite the fact the Cavaliers have lost four of their last five games and are currently 10-6 on the season, because their schedule is extremely favorable the rest of the year.  Virginia does have to play North Carolina home-and-away, Wake Forest on the road, and Maryland at home, but they don't have to face either Georgia Tech or Duke again this season and five of their next six games are against Virginia Tech twice, at Providence and N.C. State, at home against Florida State.  Win five of the next six and Virginia will have a lot of momentum going into the final five games of the season at North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Florida State and at home against Maryland and N.C. State.  However, if Virginia suffers more than a loss or two in the next two weeks, then the writing will be on the wall.  New Mexico State interim head coach Tony Stubblefield is one of the hardest working guys in the business and there is no doubt that he has a great future.  But, after losing his last six games and with 4-13 record on the season, it's probably safe to assume that even the legendary Lou Henson, who called it quits over the weekend, won't even be able to secure Stubblefield's succession after the current season.  Instead, the next head coach at New Mexico State will probably be somebody like Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner, Arizona State assistant coach Tony Benford, Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley, Texas assistant coach Rodney Terry, Oklahoma State assistant coach James Dickey, Oklahoma assistant coach Ray McCallum, UCLA assistant coach Donnie Daniels, Texas Tech assistant coach Pat Knight, or former SMU head coach Mike Dement.  We also have to wonder how much Villanova's shocking 83-62 win against Kansas over the weekend will help the Wildcats in their quest to get 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA?  Remember, Villanova lost 6'7 Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA via Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA to Maryland, because somebody convinced him that the Terrapins' program was on another level and, as a result, the path to the NBA was more assured.  However, if Villanova, which still has home games against Notre Dame, Providence, St. Joseph's, Bucknell, Pittsburgh, Boston College, and Seton Hall and road games Rutgers, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and St. John's, can take advantage of what appears to be a very favorable schedule, then a 20-plus win season should be well within their grap.  And, if that happens, you have to like the direction the program is heading, regardless of whether they get Ellington and/or Henderson, because their top seven players will be back next year and they have a good recruiting class that includes 6'5 Dwayne Anderson from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'8 Dante Cunningham from Oxon Hill (Potomac) MD, and 6'9 Frank Tchuisi from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  Now also might be a good time to start thinking about National Coach-of-the-Year honors and right now the smart money is on Illinois head coach Bruce Weber and Boston College head coach Al Skinner.  And, in both cases, this might be as good as it gets.  Remember, Boston College will enter this Atlantic Coast Conference and, when that happens, the schedule will get even tougher than it already is.  As for Illinois, Weber has always been second to none as a coach, but he's yet to prove that can recruit the same way that Bill Self did prior to leaving to take the Kansas job a-year-and-a-half ago.  Speaking of Self, he too has done a masterful job this year and so have George Washington's Karl Hobbs, Tennessee Tech's Mike Sutton, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Wichita State's Mark Turgeon, St. Mary's Randy Bennett, and Georgetown's John Thompson III.  Yes, it looks like the Hoyas are back already, as their 4-2 record in the conference includes wins against Pittsburgh, Rugters, Villanova, and Notre Dame and loses to Connecticut and Syracuse!  We also are impressed with the jobs that Miami-FL head coach Frank Haith and St. John's head coach Norm Roberts have both done as rookie head coaches at the Division I level.  Did you know that the Hurricanes, which are currently 12-5, haven't lost to a none ranked team since late November (their five losses were to South Carolina State and Xavier early and Georgia Tech, Duke, and North Carolina in conference play) and they have already knocked off two teams (Florida and N.C. State) who at the time were ranked among the top 25 nationally?  The Red Storm are 7-8 with impressive wins against N.C. State and Pittsburgh.  And they're doing it primarily with one junior (Ryan Williams), two sophomore (Daryll Hill and Lamont Hamilton) and four new players (Rodney Epperson, Dexter Gray, Cedric Jackson, and Eugene Lawrence). 

Friday, January 21, 2005

I have good news and bad news.  The good news is that I am finally ready to publish our Ranking of the Top 460 Players in the Class of 2007.  The bad news is that compiling this list has taken a lot longer than I originally anticipated and, as a result, I have not yet started on our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008.  And I won't do so until day after tomorrow, because tomorrow (Saturday, January 22nd) I plan to catch up on some other things, as well as attend a doubleheader at Louisville Gardens Louisville, KY, which will feature Louisville (Trinity) KY versus Canyon Springs (Merino Valley) CA at 7:00 PM and Compton (Dominguez) CA versus Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY at 8:30 PM.  That's 5'10 Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Merino Valley) CA, who is ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has already signed with the University of Louisville, versus Louisville (Trinity) KY, which features 6'1 Zach Berry, 6'3 Kyle Sexton, 6'3 Bret Sexton, and 6'9 Charlie Gonzalez and is fresh of their L.I.T. (Louisville Invitational Tournament) championship last week, and Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, which features our #1-ranked senior in the state in 6'0 JaJuan Spillman, as well as some good underclassmen, including 6'5 Jr Vincent Crutcher, 6'6 Soph Kamali LiBurd, 6'0 Frosh Adam Decker, and 6'6 Frosh Allen Murry, versus 6'5 Bryan Harvey from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who is ranked #32 nationally in the senior class and also has already signed with the University of Louisville.  And, as an added bonus, Compton (Dominuez) CA also features 6''0 Frosh Brandon Jennings, who is one the top 10 freshman in America, and 6'4 Soph Quentin Watkins, who checks in at #107 in our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007.   And this really illustrates just how good we think the sophomore class is nationally, as well as in the state of California, as 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'5 Soph Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'6 Soph Omondi Amoke from Oxnard (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Soph Tyrone Shelley from San Diego (Crawford) CA, 5'11 Soph Jessie Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'1 Soph Jordan Block from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Soph Darshawn McClellan from Fresno (Edison) CA, 7'1 Soph Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei)C A, 6'5 Soph Chase Stanback from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'7 Soph Tim Shelton from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'6 Soph Jamelle Horne from San Diego (Hoover) CA, 6'6 Soph Pierce Brooks from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, and 6'9 Soph Clint Amberry from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA are all ranked ahead of Watkins.  We mention this, because California has the most players (13) ranked among our top 100 sophomores nationally, followed by Texas with 12 players, Maryland with eight players, Ohio with seven players, Georgia with six players, Michigan and New York with five players apiece, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey with four players apiece, and North Carolina and South Carolina with three players apiece.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that the top two players in the class - 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'5 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH - are both from the same state, city, and high school.  And so is 6'9 Soph Keenan Ellis, who recently transferred from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN to Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and, according to our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, played in his first game of the season last night.  We also find it interesting that four of the top 15 players in the class - 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'2 Soph Nolan Smith from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'5 Soph Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, and 6'8 Soph Dontae Green from Towson (Catholic) MD - are from the state of Maryland.  And, it would be five of the top 15, if we also included 6'0 Soph Chris Wright from the Washington (St. John's) DC.  We also think it's important to note that two of the top 20-ranked sophomores - 6'7 Soph Marshall Moses from Aiken (H.S) SC, 6'7 Mike Holmes from Bishopville (Lee Central) SC are from South Carolina.  And, if we dig a little deeper, we find that three of the top 50 sophomores are from South Carolina, because 6'5 Soph Tony Neysmith from Mauldin (H.S.) SC also then would make the list.  We also are extremely impressed with the number of great players in this class, as 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH , 6'5 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'8 Soph Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'3 Soph Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'0 Soph Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'0 Soph Jerrad Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'5 Soph Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'2 Soph Nolan Smith from Upper Marlboro (Riversdale Baptist) MD are already good enough to be ranked among the top 60 players nationally right now (see the HOOP SCOOP ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS, which were published on December 31st and includes our ranking of the top players nationally regardless of class and position).  We also think this class has a tremendous amount of depth, which explains why it took so long for us to update and why we included a grand total of 460 players on the list, and, unlike the current junior and senior classes, the Class of 2007 has an overwhelming number of outstanding point guards including 6'3 Soph Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'0 Soph Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'0 Soph Jerrad Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'0 Soph Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, and 5'10 Soph Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'1 Soph Maurice Miller from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, and 6'2 Soph Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  However, the Class of 2007 doesn't have anywhere close to the amount of size that the Class of 2006 has, as is evident by the fact that the top 10 centers - 6'8 Soph Dantae Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'8 Soph Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, 6'8 Soph Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'8 Soiph Nayal Koshwal from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'8 Soph Gani Lawal from Riverdale (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Soph Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH, 6'8 Soph Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'8 Soph Montavious Adams from Milledgeville (Baldwin) GA, 6'8 Soph Braxton Dupree from Towson (Catholic) MD, and 6'9 Jr Keenan Ellis from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH - are currently listed at either 6'8 or 6'9.  In contrast, the Class of 2006 has six players - 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'10 Jr Vernon Macklin from Portmouth (Norcom) VA, 6'11 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, and 6'11 Jr Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA - that are 6'11 or taller who are ranked among our top 30 juniors nationally.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

It doesn't happen very often, but today we have the scoop on our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson with regards to something that has happened in the Buckeye State.  We're talking about the verbal commitment that Wright State has received from 6'11 James Craft from Mercersburg (Academy) PA.  And this is exactly what the doctor ordered, because Craft, who is originally from Richmond, VA, but has been rapidly developing in prep school as a senior a year ago and now as 5th Player, is a lefty big man who rebounds, blocks shots, and is very effective facing the basket.  In other words, Craft should be the heir apparent to 6'8 Sr Zach Williams, who will graduate this spring, at the center spot next year and is ideally suited to complement all the good young players that Wright State head coach Paul Biancardi already has in the program, including 6'0 Soph DaShaun Wood, 6'5 Soph Zakee Boyd, 6'7 Soph Drew Burleson, 6'6 Frosh Everett Spencer, 6'8 Frosh Jordan Pleiman, 6'2 Frosh Lorenzo Shine, 6'6 Frosh Brandon Ivery, 6'7 Frosh Parrysh Munroe from Massanutten (Military) VA.  But that only tells half of the story, as Wright State's three leading scorers (Wood, Boyd, and Burleson) are sophomores and there is only one senior (Williams) and one junior (6'2 Jr Jaron Taylor) in the program.  We also find it interesting that our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff has decided to run a tournament the same weekend as the Houston Kingwood Classic, which has been one of the premier events in the nation in recent years.  Grandstaff's event will be called the Next Level National Tournament and it will be held in Dallas, TX at Grapevine/Colleyville ISD near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Friday, April 22nd, Saturday, April 23rd, and Sunday, April 24th, and each team participating in the 17-Under, 16-Under, 15-Under Divisions will be guaranteed a minimum of four games.  Even more interesting is that fact Grandstaff has an impressive list of teams, which can be found by clicking on his web site at NextLevelBaller.com.  But when we check out the press release that was recently sent out about the Houston Kingwood Classic, which will held in Houston, TX the same weekend and is open to boys' 9-Under through 17-Under, we find that the Georgia Stars, Albany City Rocks, The Family, Louisiana Select, Kansas City Keys, and South Carolina Ravens are scheduled to be in both tournaments.  And it will be interesting to see if they all live up to their commitments and/or they send a different team to each event.  Moral to the story, the recruiting battle for teams, scouting services, and college coaches is on and, while college coaches will be scrambling back-and-forth between both events, the choice is easy for me.  Remember, the Houston Kingwood Classic not only annually provides me with an opportunity to see many of the nation's top players late in their junior and sophomore years, but it also allows me to get a great head start on the future.  As a matter of fact, this is where I got the opportunity to see players, like 5'4 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 5'11 Frosh Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, and 6'6 8th Grader Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn, NY, all of whom are ranked among the top five nationally in their respective classes, for the first time.  And the Houston Kingwood Classic isn't the only event that Hal Pastner will be running this year that I am planning on attending, as the Las Vegas Easter Classic in Las Vegas, NV from March 23rd-26th, the The Main Event in Las Vegas, NV from July 22nd-26th, and the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX from December 28th-30th, are already on my schedule.  And, who knows, maybe I'll also show up again for the Las Vegas Spring Showcase in Las Vegas, NV from April 15th-17th and stick around for the National Youth Basketball Championships/Las Vegas Summer Classic in Las Vegas, NV, July 27th-31st.  For more information about all the events that Pastner runs throughout the year, be sure to click on www.visionsports.com.  Getting back to two events that will be going head-to-head in Texas the fourth weekend in April, it will also be interesting to see if we finally run into somebody from www.texasroundball.com.  Believe it or not, I've been in the state almost a dozen times to cover events during the last five years, but I have yet to see anybody from this rag.  However, I continue to hear how they see every player in the state and how they are getting ready to branch out and do the same thing nationally.  Only problem, if nobody ever sees you or even knows who you are, how can you have any credibility?  And proving the point even further are their ranking of the top 22 players in the junior class in Texas.  Currently we have 6'9 Jr Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX and 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX ranked #8 and #9 nationally in the junior class, but www.texasroundball.com doesn't have James ranked any higher than #7 in the state and they have 6'10 Jr Michael Washington from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, who is really a reclassified senior from McGehee (H.S.) AR that we previously had ranked #164 nationally in the senior class, ranked #1 in the class ahead of 6'9 Jr Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'9 Jr Chris Roquemore, who currently is missing in action, 6'9 Jr Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Jr Derrick Roland from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'3 Jr Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Jr Darius Santee from Missouri City (Ft. Bend Marshall) TX, 7'1 Jr Josh Lomers from Boerne (H.S.) TX, 6'1 Jr Dewayne Reed from Houston (Wheatley) TX, 6'5 Jr Kelvin Lewis from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 6'7 Jr Michael Behrens from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 5'9 Jr Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 6'6 Jr Dale Van Wright from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'7 Jr George Odufuwa from Dallas (Kimball) TX, 6'4 Jr Jermaine Bell from De Soto (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Jr Bryan Beasley from Pflugerville (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Jr Will Paul from Corpus Christi (Calallen) TX, 6'10 Jr Dexter Pittman from Rosenburg (Terry) TX, 6'7 Jr Anthony Harris from Ft. Worth (O.D. Wyatt) TX, and 6'5 Jr Joseph Fulce from Plano (H.S.) TX. 

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Last week we reported that 5'11 Shaun Davis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID had either already verbally committed or was on the verge of verbally committing to Indiana University.  Well, now we have confirmed via Gib Arnold, who is Davis' junior college coach.  Apparently Davis, who is expected to provide the Hoosiers with the jet-like speed and quickness at the point guard spot that they need, made the verbal commitment while he was on his official visit during the holiday break, but it was never officially announced.  Arnold also tells us that the recruiting for his three talented big men (6'11 Mohamed Kone, 6'11 Abdoulaye Ndiaye, and 6'9 Bruno Claudino) and his other outstanding point guard (6'0 Jamaal Brown) is as intense as ever.  As things stand now, Brown, who is averaging 17.6 ppg and 9.5 apg, is getting the most attention from Gonzaga, Purdue, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Illinois, Oklahoma State, and Georgia Tech.  Kone, who is averaging 13.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 2.0 bpg, appears to like Baylor, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Kentucky, and Auburn.  The list for Ndiaye, who is averaging 9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 2.5 bpg, includes Georgetown, Baylor, Virginia, and Ohio State.  Claudino, who was averaging 7.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg before being sidelined seven games ago with an injury, is getting the most attention from Utah, Washington, Pittsburgh, and South Carolina.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Davis is averaging 10.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg, 6'3 Dani Hazut is averaging 11.4 rpg and 4.8 rpg, and 6'7 Frosh Travis Gabbidon is averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.7 rpg, which means that the College of Southern Idaho could end up with seven players averaging in double-digits by the end of the season.  And, just as impressive is Arnold's ability to keep them all happy.  But, then again, what do you expect from somebody who is one of the bright young coaches in the game, as a well as a chip off the old block?  Remember, Arnold's father is Frank Arnold, who was the head coach at Brigham Young and Hawaii, as well as an assistant coach for John Wooden at UCLA  And, like any good head coach, Arnold also has a great staff, which includes Barret Peery, Babacar Sy, and Steve Flint.   And, this too is important, because, it would not surprise us if Flint, Kone, and Ndiaye all went to the same four-year Division I school as a package this spring.  If you will recall, Flint signed Ndiaye when he was an assistant coach at San Diego a year ago and the big reason why Ndiaye came back for another year at Southern Idaho (Ndiaye was academically eligible to play at the Division I level a year ago) was the fact that Flint joined the Southern Idaho coaching staff in August.  It also appears that our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton with regards to a player right in his backyard - 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who yesterday picked the University of North Carolina.  And, while Graves has good ball handling and passing skills, the ability to beat you with his 3-point shooting, and is an excellent rebounder for his size, we still wonder if Graves will ever be anything more than just a good role player for the Tar Heels.  Part of the problem is that Graves doesn't have great foot speed, athleticism, and quickness, but he might be able to overcome some of that by getting into better playing shape once he arrives a-year-and-a-half from now in Chapel Hill, NC.  However, an even bigger problem is that the Tar Heels will already be well stocked at the one, two, and three spots by the time Graves enrolls in the fall of 2006.  Remember, 6'3 Frosh Quentin Thomas already is in the program and 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who is ranked #35 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, who is ranked #47 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are all having great senior years and, as a result, should move up even higher next time we adjust our rankings of the top seniors nationally.  In other words, it look like North Carolina is doing a great job of keeping up with Duke, which currently has the #2-ranked recruiting class in the nation and has a history of being able to just keep on bringing in great players.  So let me say that again.  We think Graves, who we have ranked #47 nationally in the junior class, could be just a good role player, especially if the Tar Heels land another one of the great guards, like 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr D.J. Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, and 6'4 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, in the junior class and/or get 6'6 Soph Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert B. Glenn) NC, who will be ranked #13 on our list of the top sophomores nationally, which we plan to publish by the end of the week.  The addition of Graves moves North Carolina's recruiting class into a tie at #7, along with California, N.C. State, and Arizona, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, we suspect that this will only be the beginning, because, in addition to Ellington, Augustine, Cook, and Lawson, the Tar Heels also are mentioned with 6'9 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'9 Jr Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'10 Jr Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA, 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'11 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedicts') NJ, 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'2 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, 6'6 Jr Isaiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN, 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Jr Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'4 Jr Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'7 Jr An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, 6'4 Jr Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Jr Landon Milbourne from Alpharetta (St. Francis) GA, 6'0 Jr Jawan Carter from Wilmington (Tatnall) DE, 6'6 Jr Shamari Spears from Salisbury (H.S.) NC, 6'8 Jr Jeff Allen from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'5 Jr David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, 6'9 Jr Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'9 Jr Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH, 6'5 Jr Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, 6'7 Jr Jamie Skeen from Hunterville (North Mecklenberg) NC, 6'5 Jr Derrick Jaspers from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA, 6'0 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'10 Jr Mitchell Carter from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'2 Jr Trevon Hughes from Delafield (St. John) WI, 6'0 Jr Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA, and 6'2 Jr Stefan Welsh from Newport News (Woodside) VA.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

There was a lot of high school basketball action over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, but the biggest upset occurred when Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA knocked off Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 82-68, yesterday in a game that took place in Greensboro, NC.  "It was a tail of two halves," says Wes Jones, who is one of our subscribers and provides us with an excellent analysis of what happened in the game.  "Oak Hill jumped out to a 10-2 lead, they dominated the glass, and appeared to be well on their way to an easy victory, as 6'9 Kevin Durant was the key with eight points early in the game.  In contrast, 6'2 Louis Williams and 6'4 Michael Mercer were struggling from the field (Williams hit 1-4 3-pointers and Mercer had a couple of air balls from beyond the arch) and the only player keeping South Gwinnett in the game was 6'7 Jr Avery Stukes, who had several baskets inside, as Oak Hill led by as many as 11 points in the first half.  But then the momentum shifted late in the second quarter, as South Gwinnett turned up the defensive pressure and closed the gap to only six at half-time.  Durant had 14 points at the intermission, including 2-2 3-pointers, and he certainly showed why scouts love him, as he showed shooting range, a nice touch around the basket, and the ability to put the ball on the floor.  The 'Sportscenter' play of the first half was made by Williams, who did a reverse spin move on the baseline around Oak Hill's 6'4 Jamont Gordon and took it to the basket with an acrobatic lay-up that brought the crowd to its feet.  The second half was all South Gwinnett.  They did an excellent job of limiting Oak Hill to one shot and seemed to get every loose ball.  I was especially impressed with Williams' defense, as he had a couple of steals that led to easy baskets and took a charge.  South Gwinnett cut Oak Hill's lead to 40-37 after a break away dunk by Mercer with 4:35 to play in the third quarter.  Oak Hill mainly ran their offense in the second half through Gordon and 6'3 Eric Devendorf.  I was, to be honest, shocked as Durant was completely MIA (missing in action) in the second half.  I believe he only had one shot attempt, a real surprise after he was so effective in the first half.  Moving ahead,Williams drilled a 3-pointer with Devendorf right in his face to tie the game at 44-44.  South Gwinnett then had two steals for two easy break away dunks by Mercer to take a 51-48 lead after three quarters.  Devendorf began the fourth quarter by nailing a three for Oak Hill to tie the game at 51-51.  Then Oak Hill went to a 3-2 zone.  But it didn't matter, as Williams drove right down the heart of Oak Hill's defense to take a 53-51 lead.  That's also when 5'10 Jr Delano Howard, who was South Gwinnett's best player down the stretch, went to work.  First, Howard picked apart Oak Hill's defense beginning with a 3-point play to make it 56-51.  After Gwinnett went one of two from the foul line, both teams exchanged runners in the lane (one from 6'0 Tywon Lawson of Oak Hill and one from Howard) to make it 59-53.  Oak Hill then went to a hard full-court press and made a mini run to tie the game at 59-59.  But then Howard answered with another drive to the basket, Williams had a couple of nice drives, and Howard made a nice penetrating drive and dish to Jukes, which made it 72-63 with 2:00 minutes to go.  It then became the Michael Mercer-Dunk Contest, as he took advantage of a couple of Oak Hill misses, including one where he brought the crowd to his feet as he went coast-to-coast and dunked on Gordon of Oak Hill.  The final was 82-68.  Certainly 6'2 Louis Williams was the star, as he finish with 32 points.  But he did struggle a bit from the field, as he hit two 3-pointers from NBA range, but had several misses that were way off.  Williams clearly is at his best when he puts the ball on the floor and takes it to the basket, because he can really finish or get to the free throw line.   6'4 Michael Mercer finished with 22 points, but didn't show much range as all of his 3-point attempts were air balls (0-3 3-pointers).  But Mercer does have a knack of knowing when to get out on the break as at least five of his baskets were dunks.  Howard finished with nine points.  Devendorf, who struggled from behind the arc (I believe he was only 1-5), but did a nice job of driving to the basket, finished with 18 points to lead Oak Hill.  You have to give Gwinnett credit as they played really good half-court defense, but Oak Hill also missed several shots right around the basket and their guards did not do a good job of getting back on defense." Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also checks in with the results from the Flyin' To The Hoop in Dayton, OH and he tells us that Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY won the championship in the Flyin' To the Hoop Bracket for the third straight year.  This time they beat Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, 66-46, and 6'3 Jr Daye Kaba took home tournament MVP honors, as he finished with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal in the championship game.  We're talking about an athletic combo guard who is like a jack-of-all-trades, because he has good ball handling and passing skills, rebounds well for his size, and is excellent at getting to the basket.  Also named the tournament MVP in the Top Gun Bracket was 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, who finished with 33 points, four rebounds, and seven assists.   However, even more important Carter won the point guard duel against the ultra-quick 5'11 Frosh Edderin McCain from Alvin (Livingston Christian) TX, who finished with 16 points, two rebounds, four assists, and five steals.  The all-tournament, which consisted of players who did not play in the two brackets, included 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, who scored 27 points in his team's 75-69 win over Cincinnati (Taft) OH; 6'5 Jerome Tillman from Beavercreek (H.S.) OH, who had 33 points and 10 rebounds against Cincinnati (Withrow) OH and has the grades necessary to get recruited as an undersized power forward at the mid-to-low major level; 6'3 Jr James Dews from West Chester (Lakota East) OH, who had 21 points and three rebounds against Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU and is one of the best 3-point shooters in the junior class nationally; 6'2 Johnny Wolf from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH, who scored 38 points versus Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC and is third best unsigned senior in Ohio; and 6'6 Scott Grote from Centerville (H.S.) OH, who 30 points, six rebounds, and two assists against LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA and, just like his uncle, Steve Grote, who started for the University of Michigan team that lost to Indiana in the NCAA Championship Game in 1976, is an excellent outside shooter and a tenacious defender. 

Monday, January 17, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that now is one of the most important times of the year in terms of recruiting for the Philadelphia Big Five schools, plus Drexel.  And, if you don't believe it, just ask Villanova head coach Jay Wright about their chances of getting 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, both of whom are prime recruiting targets in the junior class for Villanova, but also are on the "A" list of heavy hitter schools like Duke, North Carolina, Connecticut, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, N.C. State, and Arizona.  And, while the Wildcats are trying to get a head start on next year's recruiting, they also still want to add one more player to their current recruiting class, which already includes 6'5 Dwayne Anderson from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Dante Cunningham from Washington (St. John's) DC, and 6'9 Frank Tchuisi from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and is tied at #89, along with Miami-FL, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  The two most likely targets are 6'4 Bilal Benn from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'9 Rousean Cromwell from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, but it also wouldn't surprise us if the Wildcats took a transfer in the spring or just held the scholarship so they can get an additional player from next year's strong junior class.  Obviously Ellington and Henderson are right at the top of their list, but Villanova also is in the hunt for 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'1 Jr Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Antonio Pena from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'6 Jr Shamari Spears from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'8 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'1 Soph Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, 6'9 Jr Andrew Ott from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'0 Jr David Cubillan from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'1 Jr Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'8 Jr Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, 6'3 Jr Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Jr Jabari Edwards from Brooklyn (Poly Prep) NY, 6'4 Jr Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, and 6'8 Jr Kraidon Woods from Swiftwater (Pocono Mountain East) PA.  Or ask St. Joseph's, which doesn't have any scholarships available after signing 6'5 Jordan Fowler from Montclair (H.S.) NJ, 6'9 Ahmad Nivins from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'4 Edwin Lashley from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and 6'7 Alvin Mofunanya from Englewood (Dwight Morrow) NJ during the Fall Signing Period, but continues to look at 6'4 Bilal Benn from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and is exploring the possibility of taking a junior transfer or a transfer from a four-year Division I school in case another scholarship suddenly becomes available.  However, the biggest priority for St. Joseph's is to find a point guard in next year's junior class and right now they're showing the most interest in 6'0 Jr Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'0 Jr Jawan Carter from Wilmington (Tatnall) DE, 6'1 Jr Darrin Govens from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'1 Jr Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'1 Soph Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, 6'1 Jr Nick Vier from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, and 5'11 Jr Malik Alvin from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA.  St. Joseph's also wants to land a perimeter player and power player in the junior class and among their targets are 6'3 Jr Stefan Welsh from Newport News (Woodside) VA, 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Jr Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, 6'5 Jr Desean Butler from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'7 Jr Danny Warner from Lincroft (Christian Brothers) NJ, 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Ott from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'8 Jr DeJuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD.  Or ask La Salle, which didn't sign anybody during the Fall Sign Period, but has added a transfer in 6'5 Marshall Taylor from Philadelphia (West Catholic) PA via Siena and has three more scholarships available for the senior class.  Right now their #1 target is 6'8 Maurice Thomas from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, but 6'6 Teron Murray from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Paul Johnson from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'1 Chris Lowe from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Carlos Monroe from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, 6'0 Marquis Jones from South Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Brian Grimes from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'3 Dominic Coleman from Hillsborough (JC) FL, 6'5 Akeem Wright from Neosho (JC) KS, and 6'3 Craig Winder from Cecil (JC) MD also are high on their list.  The Explorers also are getting an early jump on next year by recruiting 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Ott from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr Darrin Govens from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'1 Jr Matt McFadden from Medford (Shawnee) NJ, 6'7 Jr Dennis Horner from Absecon (Holy Spirit) NJ, 6'1 Jr Nick Vier from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, 5'11 Jr Malik Alvin from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'7 Jr Eric Meister from State College (H.S.) PA, 6'3 Jr Devon McBride from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'8 Jr Mike Yocum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'6 Jr Edwin Ubilies from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Jr Greg Nero from Red Hook (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Kraidon Woods from Swiftwater (Pocono Mountain East) PA, 6'4 Jr Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'6 Jr Zahir Carrington from Philadelphia (Masterman) PA, 6'8 Jr Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, 6'6 Jr Mike Ringgold from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'5 Jr Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, and 6'8 Jr DeJuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD.  Or ask Pennsylvania, which had the best recruiting class in the Ivy League during the Fall Signing Period when they landed 6'8 Cameron Lewis from Exeter (School) NH, 6'3 Kevin Egee from Folsom (Ridley) PA, 6'7 Brennan Votel from Covington (Catholic) KY, 6'7 Tommy McMahon from San Mateo (Serra) CA, and 6'2 Aaron Cohen from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA.  So now the Quakers are  concentrating exclusively on all of the good juniors with excellent grades right in their own backyard, like 6'4 Jr Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Ott from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr Matt McFadden from Medford (Shawnee) NJ, 6'6 Jr Zahir Carrington from Philadelphia (Masterman) PA, 6'5 Jr Brian Morris from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA, 6'4 Jr Ken St. George from Philadelphia (Central) PA, 6'8 Jr Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'8 Jr Mike Yocum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'7 Jr Dennis Horner from Absecon (Holy Spirit) NJ, and 5'10 Jr Jerry Kaminer from Cherry Hill (East) NJ.  Or ask Drexel, which landed 6'3 Scott Rodgers from Philadelphia (Central) PA and 6'0 Tremaine Hawthorne from Steelton (Steelton-Highspire) PA during the Fall Signing Period and, as a result, now is looking for a quality inside player or the best player available in the senior class.  The big guys are 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA and 6'7 Carlos Monroe from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL and the best players available are 6'6 Paul Johnson from Washington (Gonzaga) DC and 6'6 Jeff McDermott from New Rochelle (H.S.) NY.  Drexel also is attempting to get a head start on next year by targeting 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Jr Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'6 Jr Zahir Carrington from Philadelphia (Masterman) PA, 6'8 Jr Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, 6'3 Jr Devon McBride from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'6 Jr Mike Ringgold from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'5 Jr Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, and 6'8 Jr Mike Yocum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, as well as number of players in the North Jersey/New York City area thanks the addition of former Iona assistant coach Tony Chiles and all of his contacts in the NYC Metropolitan area.  But don't ask Temple, which is more secretive about their recruiting than the CIA.  However, we do know that Temple signed 6'10 Sergio Olmos from Spain during the Fall Signing Period, they recently landed 6'4 Semaj Inge from Camden (Woodrow Wilson) NJ, and, due to the fact that another scholarship has suddenly become available, they are compiling a list of power forwards, which includes 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA and 6'7 Carlos Monroe from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL.  Temple also is making an early push for 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Jr Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'9 Jr Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'3 Jr James Inge from Camden (Woodrow Wilson) NJ, 6'8 Jr Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, and 6'6 Jr Mike Ringgold from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA. 

Saturday, January 15, 2005, & Sunday, January 16, 2005

Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson was at the big match-up between 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS and 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA yesterday in the Jackson, MS and he tells us that it not only lived up to all the hype, but it also was one of the best high school basketball games he's ever seen.  And South Gwinnett wasted no time when it came to establishing an electric type atmosphere, as they found Williams twice and 6'7 Jr Avery Stukes once for alley-oops on the first three possessions of the game.  They also easily handled Lanier's man-to-man defense early, but, after switching to a zone, Lanier regained the momentum and led South Gwinnett 20-18 at the end of the first quarter and 37-31 at half-time.  At that point Ellis had 20 points and 4-7 3-pointers and Williams had 15 points, 6-12 field goals, and 0-4 3-pointers.  And that was the difference in the intermission as Williams, 6'4 Mike Mercer and 5'10 Jr Delano Howard were a combined 0-10 from beyond the arc in the first half.  South Gwinnett also didn't get their outside shooting back on track until the end of the 3rd Quarter when Williams, who at the time had hit only 1-10 3-pointers, finally knocked one down to cut the lead to 56-47 at the end of three.  Then Howard hit two more 3-pointers early in the 4th Quarter and Lanier got a little bit too conservative, as South Gwinnett kept chipping away at the lead and actually went ahead 64-62 in the final seconds of the game.  However, Ellis, who was triple-teamed, somehow managed to hit the game tying shot to send the game into overtime.  And that's when Ellis went nuts, as he scored seven points in the first overtime and 12 points in the second overtime to lead Lanier to an 88-79 victory.  Ellis finished with 46 points, 13-27 field goals, 7-14 3-pointers, 13-18 free throws, six assists, four rebounds, and seven turnovers.  Williams led South Gwinnett with 34 points, 13-34 points, 2-13 3-pointers, and 6-11 free throws.  Mercer finished with 24 points, 12-20 field goals, and 0-5 3-pointers and Stukes chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, three steals, and one blocked shot.  And making the story even more amazing is that the fact South Gwinnett hit only 4-26 3-pointers compared to 10-22 3-pointers for Lanier.   But South Gwinnett had 15 offensive rebounds, converted numerous turnovers into baskets, and took almost 20 more shots than Lanier, but just ran out of gas in the second overtime.  Johnson also is looking forward to the Battle of the Border, which will be held at the Coliseum in Jackson, MS tomorrow with Madison (Central) TN versus Moss Point (H.S.) MS at 12:30 PM, followed by Piney Woods (H.S.) MS versus Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN at 2:15 PM, Jackson (Jim Hill) MS versus Memphis (Ridgeway) TN at 4:00 PM, Jackson (Lanier) MS versus Memphis (Mitchell) TN at 5:45 PM.  In other words, the day will start with the #2 and #3-ranked juniors - 6'8 Jr Malcolm Kirkland from Madison (Central) MS and 6'7 Jr David Booker from Moss Point (H.S.) MS - in the state going head-to-head; followed by a game that will feature the #8-ranked senior and the #1-ranked sophomore in Tennessee in 6'7 Lawrence Kinnard from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN and 6'1 Soph Maurice Miller from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN versus the #5-ranked sophomore in Mississippi in 6'4 Daryll Arnold from Pine Woods (H.S.) MS; a game that will feature 5'11 Raymond Davis, 6'3 Tony Hobson, 6'2 Sollie Norwood, and 6'2 Frosh Chris Wallace, all of whom are good local players, versus 6'8 Jr Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, who is one of the fastest rising juniors in the nation; and a game that will feature 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who is one of the top two or three seniors in the nation, versus 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, who is ranked #5 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   

Friday, January 14, 2005

It looks like we were right and we were wrong when we told you on Tuesday that 6'3 Frosh Joe Crawford had received a release and planned to transfer from the University of Kentucky.  He was released to talk to other schools (Michigan State, Clemson, Arizona, Kansas State, Illinois, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma were among those who had contacted Kentucky about gets Crawford's academic transcripts earlier this week), but he was not released to transfer to another school.  And this is very important, because, without a release from Kentucky, Crawford would have to sit out two years and, as a result, would have only one-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining.  Apparently Crawford was disappointed in his lack of playing time, although he was averaging 3.8 ppg and 13.3 minutes per game.  Remember, we're talking about a somebody who was a McDonald's All-American and was ranked was ranked #19 in our Final Rankings of the Class of 2003 and, as a result, had delusions of going to college for a year or two then entering his name into the NBA Draft.  Also don't forget that Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith has a history of bringing highly touted freshmen along slowly (i.e Tayshawn Prince, Keith Bogans, Marvin Stone, and Rashaad Carruth) and sometimes it works out and sometimes the player gets impatient and transfers.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that today is the last day that Crawford can enroll in classes at Michigan State, which is where he was leaning and is close to home, and be eligible to play second semester two years from now, if they don't grant him a release.  In other words, it looks like the Wildcats have Crawford exactly where they want him, because it's our guess that he'll return to the team, work things out, play the rest of the season, and then make a decision about transferring in the spring or summer.  And, if that happens, you can bet that Crawford will be granted a release, whereby, he will only have sit out one season and then have three year to play.  However, its our guess that Crawford will return, continue to develop more confidence, get more playing time, and become an even more important piece to the puzzle as the Wildcats continue to develop into one of the best teams in college basketball down the stretch.  Moral the story, Crawford is a great kid, he's growing through growing pains, and two months from now nobody will even remember what happened, if he decides to stay.  We also are believe that 5'11 Shaun Davis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID has either already told or is on the verge of telling the Indiana University coaching staff that he plans to become a Hoosier.  If you will recall, Davis was the starting point guard and averaged 8.1 ppg and 4.2 apg a year ago at Pepperdine.  Davis also currently is averaging 10.5 ppg and uses his jet-like speed and quickness to team with 6'0 Jamaal Brown to form one of the best backcourts in the junior college ranks.  And, if this does materialize as expected, this would is important for a number of reasons.  First, Davis is good enough to step in and contribute right away, which means he likely will get a lot of playing time next year and could be the heir apparent to 6'2 Jr Marshall Strickland when he graduates after the 2005-2006 season.  Second, Davis provides excellent insurance in case the Hoosiers don't get 6'0 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who is ranked #38 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, Conley is Indiana's top recruiting priority at point guard in the junior class, but right now appears to be leaning towards Wake Forest.  Third, Davis also will provide insurance in case 5'11 Deonta Vaughn from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, who signed with the Hoosiers in the fall, doesn't make it academically and, as a result, has to go to prep school next year.  Fourth, Davis complements the other players in this recruiting class, because 6'10 Ben Allen from Australia, who should help the Hoosiers both inside and outside next year; 6'6 Joey Shaw from Chandler (H.S.) AZ, who is an excellent outside shooter; and Vaughn, who is a physical tough hardnosed scoring combo guard; all do different things.  Speaking of Indiana's current recruiting class, which currently is tied at #51, along with Oregon State, College of Charleston, Tennessee, and Missouri, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, the addition of Davis will move this class into a tie at #26, along with Marshall and Colorado State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005,  Obviously this is important, because this not only will give Indiana the highest ranked recruiting class in the Big-10 Conference for the second straight year, but it means that the cupboard will be full a year from now, even if 6'3 Jr Bracy Wright opts to forego his final year of college eligibility and enters his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  Remember, Indiana head coach Mike Davis is now starting three freshmen in 6'9 Frosh D.J. White, 6'5 Frosh Robert Vaden, and 6'3 Frosh A.J. Ratliff, plus Strickland, 6'8 Jr Patrick Ewing, 6'4 Soph Roderick Wilmont, 6'8 Jr Sean Kline, and 6'7 Frosh James Hardy will all return and 6'7 Sr Marco Killingsworth and 6'5 Sr Lewis Monroe both of whom transferred from Auburn to Indiana last spring, are waiting in the wings.  We also find it interesting that Davis plays on a junior college team that not only is currently ranked #4 in the latest NJCAA Division I Poll behind 1) San Jacinto (JC) TX, 2) Western Nebraska (JC) NE, and 3) Arizona Western (JC) AZ and ahead of 5) Chipola (JC) FL, 6) Lon Morris (JC) TX, 7) Iowa Western (JC) IA, 8) Santa Fe (JC) FL, 9) Arkansas-Ft. Smith (JC) AR, 10) Temple (JC) TX, 11) Redlands (JC) OK, 12) Southwestern Illinois (JC) IL, 13) Salt Lake (JC) UT, 14) Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, 15) Neosho County (JC) KS, 16) Frank Phillips (JC) TX, 17) Truett-McConnell (JC) GA, 18) Moberly (JC) MO, 19) Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS, and 20) Shelton State (JC) AL, but also recently knocked off Dixie (JC) UT, which was the pre-season #1 ranked junior college team in the nation and was ranked #15 in the junior college ranks prior to their loss last week.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

One of the things that separates the HOOP SCOOP from most of our competition is our incredible network of editors, contributors, and correspondents and, when you combine that with the fact that we've placed a growing emphasis on getting ahead start on charting the players at a younger and younger age, it's easy to see why we are light years ahead of our competition.  And, if you don't believe me, just try and find a list of the top 7th and 8th Graders in the nation.  Actually, you can do it, if you look hard enough, but I guarantee you that anything you do find will pale in comparison to the list that we published today Ranking the Top 225 Players in the Class of 2010 and the list that we published on October 10, 2004 Ranking the Top 175 Players in the Class of 2009.  Yes, that's a grand total of 400 of the top 7th and 8th Graders nationally ranked in order in their  respective classes and this is extremely important, because it gives us a great starting point as we continue to track all of these players throughout their career.  And just as impressive is the fact that I have personally seen and evaluated all of the players on both of these lists who attended the adidasJuniorPhenomCamp last summer.  In other words, when I tell you that 6'3 Randy Collins from LaPorte, TX; 5'9 Kevin Gray from Columbus, OH, 5'9 Steve Whittingham from New York, NY; 5'9 K.C. Ross-Miller from Lewisville, TX; 5'4 Kendall Marshall from Dale City, VA; 6'2 Kearis Pinkney from Orlando, FL; 6'3 Jarell Eddie from Charlotte, NC;.....are the best 7th Graders in the nation and that 6'4 Demetrius Walker from Fontana, CA; 6'3 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn, NY; 6'4 LeShon Edwards from Baltimore, MD; 5'9 G.J. Vilarino from Phoenix, AZ; 6'6 Aaron Moore from Riverside, CA; 5'8 Tommy Griffin from Houston, TX; 6'1 Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach, FL; 5'8 Roger Franklin from Duncanville, TX; 5'10 Dexter Strickland from Rahway, NJ, 5'9 Lamont Jones from New York, NY.....are the best 8th Graders in the nation, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about.  And the best is yet to come, because, instead of going East to tomorrow to cover the West Virginia Showcase in  Shepherdstown, WV, I have decided to stay home and start working on our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007 and Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008, both of which I plan to publish by the end of next week.  Speaking of the Class of 2007, which features 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'5 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'8 Soph Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'3 Soph Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'0 Soph Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'0 Soph Jerrad Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'3 Soph Nolan Smith from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'5 Soph Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, suddenly this class appears to be almost as good as the Class of 2006, which features 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'9 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Jr Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'9 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Jr Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'4 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'10 Jr Vernon Macklin from Portmouth (Norcom) VA, 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, and 6'8 Jr Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN.  And the Class of 2008 with 6'4 Frosh Tyreke Evans from Ashton (American Christian) VA, 5'10 Frosh Korie Lucious from Whitefish Bay (H.S.) WI, 5'4 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'9 Frosh Greg Monroe from Marrero (John Ehret) LA, and 6'6 Frosh Olu Ashaolu from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA also looks like it could be pretty good, which means there really is light at the end of the tunnel.  Remember, the Class of 2005, which features 6'6 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'7 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, and 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, is mediocre at best.  However, before we update our junior and senior class rankings again (we published our Ranking of the 625 Top Players in the Class of 2005 on September 7th and our Ranking of the Top 575 Players in the Class of 2006 on September 20th), we will continue looking ahead to the future by publishing our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2011 (6th Graders) and Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2012 (5th Graders), as well as catch up on numerous state-by-state reports.  So stay tuned! 

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

With most of the top high school seniors and 5th Year Players already signed, sealed, and delivered to four-year colleges, the mad scramble for junior college players and transfers continues, as 6'8 Soph Regis Koundjia is transferring from LSU to George Washington, 6'8 Frosh Emmanuel Willis is transferring from USC to Auburn, 6'4 Soph Rodrick Stewart is transferring from USC to Kansas, 6'3 Jr Ricardo Billings is transferring from Ohio State to Oakland, and 6'10 Soph Adams Simons is transferring from N.C. State to Xavier.  Koundjia picking the Colonials is huge, because this ensures that the Colonials, which currently are 11-2 and are one of the hottest teams in college basketball right now, will be even better in the future than they are this year.  Did you know that GW head coach Karl Hobbs only has two seniors - 5'10 Sr T.J. Thompson and and 5'10 Sr Lafonte Johnson - in the program; his team is loaded with talented young players, like 6'4 Soph Carl Elliott, 6'4 Soph Ricky Lucas, 6'5 J.R. Pinnock, and 6'1 Frosh Maureece Rice; and he's got two more excellent recruits already in the fold in 6'8 Robert Diggs from Gywnn Park (Brandywine) MD and 6'7 Montrell McDonald from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME?  In other words, there appears to be no end in sight and, as a result, whoever replaces Hobbs, when he moves into a big time job in the next year or two, will be walking into a goldmine.  Willis is a tough hardnosed blue collar athletic power forward who should prove the perfect complement to 6'7 Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Joey Cameron from Leeds (H.S.) AL, 6'5 Rasheem Barrett from Atlanta (Marist) GA, 6'7 Josh Dollard from Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC, and 6'3 Jarvis Hill from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who all signed with the Tigers during the Fall Signing Period.  Speaking of Auburn's recruiting class, which currently is ranked #21 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, it looks like the Tigers, which only have one player - 6'11 Ryan Daniel, who is averaging 0.9 ppg and 0.7 rpg, in the program over 6'6, will go from rags to riches inside in just one year.  And, if we counted transfers when ranking recruiting classes, Auburn's class would be ranked #13 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, behind Louisville, Duke, Washington, Mississippi, Memphis, North Carolina, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, LSU, Alabama, Baylor, and UNLV and ahead of Kansas, Arizona, Marquette, Georgia, Pittsburgh, UCLA, New Mexico, Connecticut, and USC.  Stewart transferring to Kansas comes as no surprise, because Jayhawks assistant coach Kurtis Townsend was the one who originally signed both Stewart and his twin brother - 6'4 Soph Lodrick Stewart - when he was an assistant coach at USC two years ago.  As a matter of fact, the only reason this one took so long were questions about whether Stewart would be eligible academically.  Billings, who was ranked #61 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is an absolute steal for the Grizzlies and it appears they beat some pretty strong company, as schools like Georgetown, Dayton, Detroit, Wright State, and Bowling Green were also in the hunt.  However, when it was all said and done, the two deciding factors were that Billings, who is from Detroit (Rogers) MI, wanted to return home and he has a close relationship with Oakland assistant coach Devon Smith, who was at Ohio State in an administrative role when Billings sat out as a non-qualifier two years ago.  And Billings isn't the only transfer that Oakland has added this winter, as they also picked up 6'1 Calvin Wooten from Rutgers and 6'6 Vova Feverovas from Wright State, both of whom also are from the Detroit area and are returning home.  Simons picking the Musketeers is interesting, because Arch Miller is Director of Basketball Operations at N.C. State and his older brother, Sean Miller, is now the head coach at Xavier.  Obviously Simons was looking for more playing time and the Miller's did a good job of keeping this one within the family.  Dave Hammer, who is the head coach of the Salt Lake Metro club team program and our best source for information in that part of the country, tells us that Brigham Young has landed 6'3 Jackson Emery from Apline (Long Peak) UT.  And Hammer thinks this is a nice catch for BYU, because we're talking about an athletic white kid with good skills and an excellent 3-point shot.  All he needs to do is get stronger and he should have plenty of time to do that, because Emery is expected to play one year and then go on a two-year mission. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has the latest list of schools for 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who will be the #3-ranked player in the junior class nationally, behind 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'9 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, next time we update our rankings of the top players in the Class of 2006 and it includes North Carolina, Duke, Connecticut, Villanova, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and N. C. State.  Rubin also has confirmed that 6'11 Frosh John Kelly is transferring from Penn State to Iona, 6'10 Soph Hassan Fofana is transferring from Maryland and Loyola-Maryland, 6'5 Frosh Marshall Taylor is transferring from Siena to La Salle, but the big transfer news involves 6'4 Frosh Joe Crawford, who received his release from the University of Kentucky today and could enroll at Michigan State as soon as tomorrow.  And Crawford's timing couldn't be any better, because, if he enrolls right away, he will be eligible to play after the end of the first semester a year from now.  Crawford also will help 6'3 Soph Shannon Brown and 6'4 Jr Maurice Ager fill the void that will be created when 6'3 Sr Chris Hill and 6'4 Sr Kelvin Torbert graduate this spring and he could end up being the best perimeter player in the program at the beginning of his junior year, if Brown enters the NBA Draft prematurely after either this season or next season.  The departure of Crawford also gives the Wildcats' coaching staff another scholarship.  If you will recall, until yesterday Kentucky had 13 scholarship players in 6'6 Sr Chuck Hayes, 6'5 Sr Josh Carrier, 6'5 Jr Kelenna Azubuike, 6'1 Jr Patrick Sparks, 5'9 Jr Brandon Stockton, 7'3 Soph Shagari Alleyne, 7'1 Soph Lukasz Obrzut, 6'7 Soph Sheray Thomas, 6'7 Soph Bobby Perry, 6'3 Frosh Ramel Bradley, 6'11 Frosh Randolph Morris, 6'1 Frosh Rajon Rondo, and 6'4 Frosh Joe Crawford and only one player in this year's recruiting class in 6'4 Adam Williams from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL.  So now, instead of having to decide whether to go ahead and offer 7'1 Jared Carter from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, who is ranked #270 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but is an agile big man with soft hands, a nice touch around the basket, the ability to block shots, and a huge upside, or wait until spring for 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, whose final five are Virginia Tech, Florida State, Michigan, Kentucky, and Duke, they suddenly now have two scholarships available and, as a result, can do both.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'3 Jr Patrick Christopher from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA has verbally committed to the University of California and we think this is an important catch for a numbers of reasons.  First, Christopher combines big time athleticism with the ability to create his own shoot against anybody and shoot the lights out.  Second, Christopher is pretty good, as is evident by the fact that he's ranked #59 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Third, getting Christopher continues to help re-establish the Golden Bears' pipeline back into the Los Angeles area.  If you will recall, they have 6'11 Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA in their current recruiting class and 6'4 Soph Omar Wilkes, who transferred last spring from Kansas to California, is sitting out this year.  However, right now the Golden Bears don't have one scholarship player from the Los Angeles area on their roster.  Christopher also is a pretty good consolation prize considering the fact that the Golden Bears are no longer in the hunt for 6'6 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, whose final four schools now appear to be Illinois, Duke, Arizona, and Wisconsin.  Trigonis also tells us that the early list for 6'6 Soph Omomdi Amoke from Oxnard (H.S.) CA includes Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, California, and Washington.  And for those of you who haven't heard of about this big time athlete with exceptional handling skills for somebody his size, we're talking about the MVP at the Full Court Press Fall Frosh/Soph Camp, as well as one of the biggest sleepers nationally in the sophomore class nationally.  Amoke does need to improve his jump shot, but, if he ever becomes a consistent 3-point shooter, the sky's the limit!  Trigonis also tells us that 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA stole the show with a 30-point performance on Saturday at the Pangos Dream Classic.  As a matter of fact, Jefferson was so good that some people are talking about the possibility of his by-passing college and entering the NBA Draft this spring.  And, Jefferson, who is ranked #27 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has already signed a National Letter-of-Intent with UNLV, probably would fit right in, because he's an incredible athlete, is versatile enough to score both inside and outside, and doesn't play any defense whatsoever.  Speaking of the Pangos Dream Classic, Compton (Dominguez) CA beat Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 58-53; Los Angeles (Price) CA beat Gardena (Serra) CA, 65-49; Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV beat Compton (Centennial) C, 54-47; Lynwood (H.S.) CA beat Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 72-50; and North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA beat Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 62-55.  And, in addition to Jefferson, some of the other top individual performances were turned in by 6'0 Darren Collison from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, who finished with 27 points against Compton (Dominguez) CA; 6'7 Marcus Palmer from Los Angeles (Price) CA, who finished with 24 points against Gardena (Serra) CA; 6'11 Jordan Wilkes from Los Angles (Loyola) CA, who finished with 22 points against Lynwood (H.S.) CA; 6'5 Bryan Harvey from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who finished with 20 points against Etiwanda (H.S.) CA; 6'5 Jr Jervaughn Johnson from Compton (Centennial) CA, who finished with 20 points against Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV; 6'9 Jr Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, who finished with 19 points against Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA; 6'3 Kashif Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who finished with 18 points against Compton (Centennial) CA; 6'3 Jr Tyree Thompson from Compton (Centennial) CA, who finished with 17 points against Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV; 6'6 Jr Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who finished with 17 points against North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA; 6'0 Jr Marcus Lawrence from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who finished with 16 points against Compton (Centennial) CA; 5'11 Jr Joseph Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA, who finished with 16 points against Los Angeles (Price) CA; 6'5 Jr Josh Guillory from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, who had 14 points against Los Angeles (Loyola) CA; 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who had 14 points against North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA; and 6'4 Ed White from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, who had 14 points against Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA.

Saturday, January 8, 2005, Sunday, January 9, 2005, & Monday, January 10, 2005

I'm still waiting for somebody to give me a good reason why Ron Artest and the other players who went into the stands during the brawl that took place two months ago at the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Piston game in Auburn Hills, MI should ever be allowed to play in the NBA again.  And I don't think political correctness, being forgiving, or whether the Indiana Pacers ever win another basketball game are as important as the message that needs to be sent to everybody in our society.  In other words, this is totally unacceptable behavior, there are certain lines that you can't cross, and going after the fans and vice versa  are right at the top of the list.  Besides, who will know the difference in 20 years if any these guys ever play in the league again or have to take their act to Europe where they will probably still make a half-a-million dollars a year for the rest of their career (if this were you or me, we'd have a hard time ever getting a job again).  Remember, we're not talking about Michael Jordan or LeBron James.  Instead, these guys have given the NBA such a black eye that many in mainstream America now wonder whether it's safe to take their kids to a NBA game.  And making things even worse is the fact that the episode in Auburn Hills, MI just reinforced the thug-like mentality that the NBA already has and things don't promise to get any better when most of the players coming into the league in this day-and-age lack the maturity necessary to function normally in our society both on and off the court.  The NBA Players Association can help solve this problem by putting in a 21-years-old or graduated from college requirement to be in their union.  That way the student-athlete who can graduate from college in three years won't be penalized, but the academically challenged 18 or 19-year-old won't be able to just slide by via the prep school or junior college route for a year or two.  Speaking of the NBA Players Association, this has to be the worst union the history of unions, because, every time a high school or college players enters his name prematurely into the NBA Draft, somebody making millions of dollars a year lost his job.  Obviously the NBA Players Association is doing a great job of protecting their future members, but an awful job of protecting their current members (the players).  But what do you expect from a group of people most of whom are not college graduates, are way overpaid, and are lacking in maturity, as is evident by the fact that the average player in the league plays less than three years and is broke when he retires.  However, even worse is the fact that the average junior high school basketball player now thinks he's going to by-pass college and go straight to "The League."  In contrast, the NCAA wants to make big time college basketball and football more like the minor sports, instead of recognizing they are in a very competitive race with the NBA for the entertainment dollar.   And, if you don't believe college basketball is big business, just look at all of the college coaches that are already on the hot seat.  As things stand now, only three jobs (USC, where Henry Bibby was fired; Tulsa, where John Phillips resigned; and Vermont, where Tom Brennan is retiring) have already opened, but already the speculation about what jobs are going to open in the spring is almost endless.  But it appears that nothing is happening right now, as former University of New Orleans and Iowa State head coach Tim Floyd, who was fired by the New Orleans Hornets last May and will be paid through the 2005-06 season, has put Southern Cal on hold.  And the word on the street is that Floyd is waiting to see what happens at LSU, which has lost four of its last five games (they beat Florida State, but lost to Southern Miss, Houston, Utah, and Alabama).  We've also heard that, if Floyd takes the USC job, he will attempt to hire LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre, which would make things extremely interesting with regards to 6'8 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA.  Remember, Mitchell is Pierre's Godson and, while there is precedent, whereby, a player can follow his father to another school, we don't know whether Mitchell will be able to get out of his signed National Letter-of-Intent and follow Pierre to another school, if all this materializes.  Or, if current LSU head coach John Brady doesn't turn things around this year and Floyd ends up being his replacement at LSU, it also would make sense that Floyd would retain Pierre, who is the highest paid assistant coach in the Southeastern Conference, as well as one of its best recruiters.  Indiana University head coach Mike Davis took some of the heat off himself when the Hoosiers knocked off Wisconsin over the weekend, but he's not out of the woods yet after a mediocre 6-7 start with wins against Indiana State, Western Illinois, Ball State, Oral Roberts, Furman, and Wisconsin and losses against North Carolina, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Missouri, and Charlotte.  And, if Davis does get forced out, one guy who won't get the job is Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight.  Sure, there is a different president, a different athletic director, and a different administration in place, an overwhelming number IU fans would welcome Knight back with open arms, and, if offered, Knight would probably take the job in a New York-minute.  But Knight has no shot at the job, because he's suing the school.  Instead, the heavy favorite to replace Davis is Iowa head coach Steve Alford, although we've also heard Marquette head coach Tom Crean's name being tossed around.  We've also heard former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson's name mentioned as a possibility for the Tulsa job, but Oral Roberts head coach Scott Sutton, who is a chip off the old block (his father is Eddie Sutton) and already has plenty of head coaching experience (Scott's older brother Sean Sutton is the heir apparent to his father at Oklahoma State, but doesn't have any head coaching experience); Texas assistant coach Rodney Terry, who is one of the fastest rising assistant coaches in the business, and Tulsa interim head coach Alvin "Pooh" Richardson, who has both played and coached at Tulsa, are the young up-and-coming type guys (i.e Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, and Bill Self) that the Golden Hurricane have done extremely well with in the past.  It also looks like Shawn Finney could be in trouble at Tulane and, if he doesn't survive, Indiana head coach Mike Davis, former Tulane and Miami-FL head coach Perry Clark, and Northeastern head coach Ronnie Everhart are great names for the job.  We also suspect that Steve Cleveland's days at Brigham Young could be numbered after a 5-10 start.  Sure, he's got a 134-97 record in seven-and-a-half-years at BYU, but 22,700 seats is lot to fill when you're losing and he's yet to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.  If time is not on the side of Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson whose Volunteers are 8-6 with games against Mississippi State, South Carolina, Florida, Louisville, and Kentucky just around the corner, then Murray State head coach Mick Cronin would be an interesting name for that job.  We also have heard Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker's name for Virginia, if Peter Gillen's team doesn't make the NCAA Tournament this year.  However, Virginia's schedule is more favorable this time around, as the Cavaliers only have four ranked teams (at #3 Wake Forest, #4 North Carolina twice, and at #5 Duke) and a number of teams that they have chance to beat (Miami-FL and Clemson at home, at Providence, and Maryland, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, and Florida State both home and away) remaining on this year's schedule.  We also suspect that somebody won't survive this year in the Big-12 Conference, but this will likely be determined by how well Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas State all do the rest of the season.  Rod Barnes at Mississippi should be save now, thanks to a 9-6 start and a recruiting class that is ranked #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, but we're still not so sure about Minnesota.  Sure, the Golden Gophers have are off to a 11-3 start and they should win later this week against Purdue.  However, they have played every cream puff the could find and the bottom should fall out,when they go to Illinois and Michigan, play Northwestern and Wisconsin at home, and face Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana both home-and-away all prior to finishing up at Purdue and at Penn State.  We don't have any names yet for the Vermont job, but couldn't go wrong with one of the up-and-coming guys in the Big East, like Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, Connecticut assistant coach Tom Moore, Pittsburgh assistant coach Barry Rohrssen, or Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo. 

Friday, January 7, 2005

There will not be a LeBron James, Dwight Howard, and Sebastian Telfair, who is capable of knocking your socks off, in this year's Pangos Dream Classic, which will be held this year tomorrow at the New Hope University International Darling Pavilion in Fullerton, CA.   But it still promises to be pretty good, as the list of players will include 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Bryan Harvey from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Jeffrey Pendergraft from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'11 Jr Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'9 Jr Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'11 Jordan Wilkes from Los Angles (Loyola) CA, 6'0 Jr Marcus Lawrence from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'3 Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Jr Tyree Thompson from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'5 Jr Jervaughn Johnson from Compton (Centennial) CA, 5'11 Jr Joseph Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'5 Jr Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'0 Darren Collison from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'0 Soph Jesse Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'4 Soph Kieran Ramsey from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'4  Soph Quentin Watkins from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'10 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'7 Rashad Austin from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Kashif Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'5 Jr Josh Guillory from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'1 Jr Tim McLauren from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Jr A.J. Torbert from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'9 Jr Terron Sutton from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'4 Ed White from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'4 Marcus Carter from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'0 David Carter from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Brantley Watson from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'6 Marcus Palmer from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'0 Justin Thomas from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'3 Jr Dezon Otis from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'10 Austin Autry from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'3 Buchi Awaji from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'6 C.J. Portz from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV.  The first game of the Pangos Dream Classic will tip-off at 2:00 PM with Gardena (Serra) CA versus Los Angeles (Price) CA, followed by Compton (Centennial) CA versus Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV at 3:30 PM, Lynwood (H.S.) CA versus Los Angeles (Loyola) CA at 5:00 PM, Compton (Dominguez) CA versus Etiwanda (H.S.) CA at 6:30 PM, and North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA versus Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA at 8:15 PM.  We also have confirmed that William & Mary has landed 6'6 Alex Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and this is important for several reasons.  First, the addition of Smith moves the Tribe's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Chris Darnell from Stafford (North Stafford) VA and 6'1 Calvin Baker from Newport News (Woodside) VA, into a tie at #107, along with Ball State, Texas A&M, Illinois, Liberty, Fordham, James Madison, and Idaho, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Second, the addition of Baker means that William & Mary is cleaning up right in their own backyard, which is important because they currently only have three players - 6'0 Jr Adam Dutton from Winchester, VA, 6'3 Soph Adam Trumbower from Roanoke, VA, and 6'6 Frosh Chris Stratton from Burke, VA - on their roster from the state of Virginia.  Third, Smith will give the Tribe the type of player that everybody seems to be looking for this winter, as we're talking about an undersized inside player who is not only is a great role player on one of the best high school teams in the nation, but also is an excellent athlete, a warrior on the boards, and thrives in an uptempo setting.  Speaking of inside players who are still available, we compiled our list of the top 45 power forwards and centers who are still on the board, which includes 6'11 Andray Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'6 Martellus Bennett from Alief (Taylor) TX, 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'8 Gary Flowers from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'8 DeAndre Thomas from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, 6'6 Paul Johnson from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'9 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'8 Brandon Wolfe from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'8 Diamon Simpson from Hayward (H.S.) CA, 6'9 Michael Washington from McGehee (H.S.) AR, 6'8 Lamar Roberson from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Travis George from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'8 Anthony Sparks from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI, 6'7 Brian Grimes from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'7 Desmond Yates from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN, 6'7 Rashad Austin from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'9 Horace Dixon from Mauldin (H.S.) SC, 6'7 Elliott Johnson from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'8 Tai Gibson from Merced (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'6 Juwann James from Jacksonville (Raines) FL, 6'8 Kenneth Bowman from Los Angeles (Washington) CA, 6'7 Jeremiah Bryant from Chicago (Fenger) IL, 6'9 Rousean Cromwell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'7 Marchello Vealy from Oklahoma City (Southeast) OK, 6'8 Obi Ikeakor from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 7'1 Jared Carter from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'7 Matt Pilgrim from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'9 Quinton Thornton from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 Peter Stein from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'6 Roland Griffin from Mauldin (H.S.) SC, 6'7 Mike Davis from Chicago (Gordon Tech) NY, 6'7 Carlos Monroe from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, 6'8 Curtis Brown from Marietta (Mt. Olive Prep) GA, 6'7 Colin McIntosh from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA, 6'9 Brian Morris from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'7 Darrin Mahoney from Heber City (Wasaech) UT, 6'8 Adam Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'10 Hashim Bailey from Wayne (Passiac Tech) NJ, 6'8 J.P Fielder from Smyrna (Campbell) GA, 6'10 Tyler Jennings from Guntersville (H.S.) AL, 6'9 Mike Davis from Brooklyn (Banneker) NY, and 6'10 Matt Adler from Cleveland (St. Ignatius) OH.

Thursday, January 6, 2005

We have confirmed that 6'3 Jessie Sapp from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, who is ranked #124 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Georgetown and this is extremely interesting for a number of reasons.  First, Sapp, who is best described as a slasher/scorer/athlete, showed flashes of brilliance last spring and summer while playing for the New York Gauchos and, as a result, has a huge tremendous amount of natural talent and potential.  Second, Sapp should be an excellent complement to the Hoyas other three recruits - 6'1 Josh Thornton from Wyoming Park (Caeser Rodney) DE, 6'5 Marc Egerson from Philadelphia (Luthern) PA, and 6'7 Octavious Spann from College Park (Banneker) GA, all of whom signed during the Fall Signing Period.  Remember, Sapp is capable of playing either guard spot, which should free up Thornton, who is a prolific scoring combo guard, when they're in the backcourt together.  Sapp also is an excellent defender, which means he should fit right in with Egerson and Spann, neither of whom are great 3-point shooters, but both of whom are excellent defenders and big time athletes who thrive in an uptempo 94-feet physical type setting.  In other words, it looks like first-year Hoyas head coach John Thompson III is getting the same type of tough hardnosed players that his father made a living with as head coach of the Hoyas when they advanced to the NCAA Final Four three times in the early 80's.  Third, Sapp is originally from New York City, but he still is the first local player to pick Georgetown since the new regime took over last spring.  And this is important, because the Washington, DC area is just oozing with great young talent and it's Georgetown assistant coach Kevin Broadus' job to open the floodgates and keep the pipeline going.  Did you know that few people are better connected in the Washington, DC area than Broadus?  As a matter of fact, Broadus is the guy who landed 6'4 Soph Ricky Lucas two years ago when he was at an assistant coach at George Washington.  Fourth, the addition of Sapp moves Georgetown's recruiting class into a tie at #40, along with Cincinnati, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, and Purdue, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  So now all the Hoyas need to do to make this an excellent recruiting class is to find a quality big man or two to go along with all the good inside players - 6'8 Frosh Jeff Green, 7'2 Roy Hibbert, and 6'9 Frosh Cornelio Guibunda - that the previous regime landed a year ago.  And that might be easier said than done, because the two guys at which they appeared to have the best shot - 6'8 Alfred Aboya from Tilton (School) NH, who originally verbally committed to Georgetown, but later reneged and ended up going to UCLA, and 6'9 Vernon Goodridge from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who picked Mississippi State - both got away last fall and there isn't much left in the senior class nationally.  Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that 6'4 Jr Carlos Morias from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, who is a big time athlete, a great 3-point shooter, and good enough to be ranked among the top 25 juniors nationally, via Angola has verbally committed to Kansas State.  And this is huge, because it means that suddenly the Wildcats are ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Remember, the Wildcats already have an early verbal commitment from 6'8 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA and there appear to be several more on the way, as Davis tells us that he expects Kansas State assistant coach Jim Elgas to stash several more talented international players at his school within the next year.  Speaking of the Kansas State having a #1-ranked recruiting class, this is their year of reckoning after having the #1-ranked recruiting class in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2003.  And, as things stand, they are off to a 10-1 record with wins against North Dakota State, Denver, Washington State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Oakland, Wyoming, UT-San Antonio, Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, and Central Michigan and a lost against Rutgers.  But we'll know a lot more about whether the Wildcats are for real by the end of the month, because they will play Texas Tech, Missouri, and Iowa State at home and Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Missouri on the road, all of which are winnable games.  In other words, if they win four or five of these games, a 20-win season and a NCAA Tournament bid should be within their grasp.   However, if Kansas State loses four or five of these games, Wildcats head coach Jim Wooldridge, who is now in his 5th Year at Kansas State, could be looking for a job (the rest of their schedule, which includes Oklahoma State, Texas, Iowa State, Colorado, and Kansas on the road and Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Baylor, and Nebraska is a lot tougher).  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Connecticut, Syracuse, Virginia, Miami-FL, St. Joseph's, La Salle, Villanova, and Temple are the leaders for 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  The early list for 6'2 Soph Antonio (Scoop) Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA includes N.C. State, Arizona, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, St. Joseph's, Villanova, Virginia, and Syracuse.  Among those involved with 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA are Cincinnati, Georgetown, Villanova, La Salle, St. Joseph's, Temple, and Drexel.  The leaders for 6'8 Jr Jason Love from Jenkinstown (Abington Frirends) PA are Cincinnati, Rutgers, Villanova, La Salle, St. Joseph's, Temple, and Georgetown.  The early favorites for 6'8 Soph Rick Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA are St. Joseph's, Villanova, La Salle, Drexel, Temple, Georgetown, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky.   Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that George Mason, Fairfield, and New Mexico State have been showing the most interest in 6'8 Adam Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, but still has nothing new to report about 6'9 Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, who recently has been missing in action and appears to be back home in Toronto, ON.  However, we'll keep pressing Naclerio for news, because Davis is the second highest ranked senior nationally, behind 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL and ahead of 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'8 Gary Flowers from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and 6'6 Martellus Bennett from Alief (Taylor) TX, who is still available. 

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

The next event that I will be attending is the Louisville Roundball Classic, which will be held on Saturday, January 8th at Louisville Gardens with Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY versus Louisville (Male) KY at 12:30 PM, Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD versus Louisville (DeSales) KY at 2:00 PM, Fairdale (H.S.) KY versus Brentwood (Academy) TN at 5:30 PM, and Brewster (Academy) NH versus Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL at 7 PM.  In other words, right in my own backyard I'll get to see players like 6'6 Jeff Adrian from Brewster (Academy) NH, who is ranked #11 on our list of the top 5th Year Players and is bound for Connecticut; 6'9 Chad Millard from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who is ranked #110 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Louisville; 6'11 Jonathan Huffman from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who is ranked #291 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Louisville; 6'9 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, who is ranked #3 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is prime recruiting target for schools like Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Indiana, and Tennessee; 6'6 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, who already is verbally committed to the University of Charlotte and will be ranked among the top five sophomores in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP after moving back up a year in class when we update our rankings later this month; and 6'3 Soph Nolan Smith from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, who is ranked among the top 10 sophomores in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP and who will be a top recruiting priority for the University of Louisville a year from now.  If you will recall, Smith's father was Derek Smith, who played for the Cardinals from 1979-82.  However, that only begins to tell the story, as the younger Smith has grown up a Louisville fan and his older sister not only is a freshmen at the University of Louisville, but she's also Junior Bridgeman's daughter's roommate.  Obviously that's a huge connection, because Bridgeman played for the Cardinals from 1972-75 and, after a long career in the NBA, is now is a member of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees.  And on tap the following week at Louisville Gardens will be the Louisville Invitational Tournament, which will tip-off on Tuesday, January 11th with Louisville (Central) KY versus Louisville (Iroquois) KY at 3:00 PM, Louisville (Manual) KY versus Louisville (St. Xavier) KY at 4:30 PM, Louisville (Male) KY versus Fairdale (H.S.) KY at 6:00 PM, and Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY versus Louisville (Seneca) KY at 7:30 PM.  Then, on Wednesday, January 12th, it will be the Louisville (Manual) KY-Louisville (St. Xavier) KY winner versus Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY at 3:00 PM, the Louisville (Central) KY-Louisville (Iroquois) KY winner versus Louisville (Trinity) KY at 4:30 PM, the Louisville (Male) KY-Fairdale (H.S.) KY winner versus Louisville (Ballard) KY at 6:00 PM, and Louisville (Seneca) KY-Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY winner versus Louisville (DeSales) KY at 7:30 PM and on Friday, January 14th, it will be the Louisville (DeSales) KY-Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY-Louisville (Seneca) KY survivor versus Mt. Washington (Bullitt East) KY at 4:00 PM, the Louisville (Ballard) KY-Louisville (Male) KY-Fairdale (H.S.) KY survivor versus London (South Laurel) KY at 5:30 PM, the Louisville (Trinity) KY-Louisville (Central) KY-Louisville (Iroquois) KY survivor versus Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY at 7:00 PM, and Jeffersonville (H.S.) KY-Louisville (Manual) KY-Louisville (St. Xavier) KY survivor versus Mt. Sterling (Montgomery) KY at 8:30 PM.   The Semifinals will be held at 10:30 AM and Noon on Saturday, January 14th, and the Championship Game will be held at that same evening at 7:30 PM.  However, by this time I probably will be Shepherdstown, WV to cover the West Virginia Showcase on January 14th-15th, which will include Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, Towson (Catholic) MD, Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, Greensboro (Dudley) NC, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, Washington (St. John's) DC, Martinsburg (H.S.) WV, Charlottesville (Miller School) VA, St. George (Blue Ridge School) VA, and Charleston (Capital) WV and will feature players like 6'8 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, 6'0 Jr Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, 6'0 Jr Tashi Ito from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'1 Jovan Adams from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, 6'7 Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'4 David Huertas from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'8 Laurynas Mikalauskas from St. George (Blue Ridge School) VA, 6'2 K.J. Matsui from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 7'2 Jr Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'5 Sammy Hernandez from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'7 Soph Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'1 Soph Malcom Delaney from Towson (Catholic) MD.  And on the way home I plan to stop on the last day (Monday, January 17th) in Dayton, OH at Flyin To the Hoop, which will be held at January 15th-17th.  This year's field will include Flyin Beavercreek (H.S.) OH, Centerville (H.S.) OH, Cincinnati (Christian Center Academy) OH, Dayton (Dunbar) OH, Hamilton (H.S.) OH, West Chester (Lakota East) OH, Alvin (Living Stones Christian) TX, Richmond (New Creations Christian) IN, Clayton (Northmont) OH, Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, Ottawa (Ottawa-Glandorf) OH, Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, Pickens (Prince Avenue) SC, Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU, Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH, Cincinnati (Taft) OH, Toledo (St. John's) OH, Troy (H.S.) OH, Vandalia (Butler) OH, and Cincinnati (Withrow) OH and will feature players like 6'4 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 5'11 Demond Carter from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'9 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'3 Jr James Dews from West Chester (Lakota East) OH, 6'4 Maurice Joseph from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU, 6'3 Chris Howard from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, 6'6 B.J. Raymond from Toledo (St. John's) OH, 6'7 Chris Knight from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'7 Zach Hillesland from Toledo (St. John's) OH, 6'7 Josh Dollard from Pickens (Prince Avenue) SC, 6'8 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'2 Jr Heath White from Cincinnati (Taft) OH, 6'5 Soph Billy Allen from Hamilton (H.S.) OH, 6'4 Soph Kevin Branch from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'7 Matt Pilgrim from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'2 Johnny Wolf from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH, and 6'8 Tyrone Bradshaw from Cincinnati (Taft) OH.  

Tuesday, January 4, 2005

We're still catching up on what happened at some of the top post-season Christmas Tournaments and our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells Atlanta (Mays) GA team beat Provo (Timpview) UT, 55-52, in the Championship Game at the 22nd Annual Arby's Classic in Bristol, TN.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Atlanta Mays, which was led by tournament MVP 6'7 Rashad Chase from Atlanta (Mays) GA, who is ranked #103 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, was extremely disciplined and well coached.  And this was especially evident every time Provo (Timpview) UT attempted to close the gap in the title game.  Chase, who is an absolute for Georgia State, did all of his damage inside, because his hand was completely wrapped up due to an injury and, as a result, 5'7 DeAndre Bray, 6'4 Brandon Houston, and 6'4 Michael Warren took care of business outside for Atlanta (Mays) GA.  Provo (Timpview) UT was led by 6'5 Matt Mortensen from Provo (Timpview) UT, who is ranked #337 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Whitehead thinks Mortensen, who is bound Marquette, is a lot better than that, because he can flat out shoot the lights out, has good ball handling skills, finishes well, rebounds well for size, and is bouncy and athletic.  But his 21 points and seven rebounds were not enough to get his team over the top in the championship game.  Meridian (H.S.) MS beat Johnson City (Science Hill) TN, 81-72, in the 3rd Place game, but the big story here was the unselfish play and productivity of 6'9 Cyrus McGowan from Meridian (H.S.) MS, who had 16 points, 18 rebounds (eight offensive), and five blocks.  McGowan only had one assist in the 3rd Place Game, but Whitehead liked the way he always found the open man and notes that he only took 13 shots, hitting 8-13 field goals.  But the reason McGowan will probably be ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally next time we update our national rankings is that fact he's gotten a lot more aggressive and stronger since we last saw him at NBA Players Camp in June.  McGowan was complemented by 6'0 Chris Harris, who actually was the leading scorer for Meridian (H.S.) MS was with 19 points in the 3rd Place Game.  The leading scorer for Johnson City (Science Hill) TN was 6'4 Soph Omar Wattad, who Whitehead thinks is top five in the sophomore class in Tennessee, with 24 points.  And, when it's all said and done, Wattad may end up being ranked even higher than that, because he keeps getting better and better, handles it great, shoots it extremely well, and finishes with either hand.  He's also not flashy, but really efficient, as was evident when his team was down by double-digits midway through 3rd Quarter and he almost singlehandedly was responsible for the score being tied at 54-all at the end of the 3rd Quarter.  Reston (South Lakes) VA beat Urspring, Germany, 56-54, in the 5th Place Game, thanks primarily to the efforts of 6'2 Ryan Scott from Reston (South Lakes) VA, who is the son of former Georgia Tech All-American Dennis Scott and is heading to College of Charleston, with 23 points.  But the big story here was the two German kids.  We're talking about 6'11 Soph Fabian Boeke, who had 21 points, but didn't play like your stereotypical European player.  Instead, Boeke played with his back to basket, showed a nice hook shot with either hand, and finished very well around the basket, as he hit 10-12 field goals in the 5th Place Game.  As matter of fact, Whitehead was so impressed that he thinks Boeke would be ranked among the top 30 sophomores nationally, if he was an American player.  And the other player - 6'4 Frosh Lucca Staiger from Urspring, Germany - impressed him even more, as he had 12 points, five boards, five assists, and ran the point.  Staiger also has a beautiful stroke, uncanny passing skills, a great feel for game, and a strong body, at 6'4, 210 pounds.   The only drawback might be that he's not a great passer yet, but already schools like Ohio State and Cincinnati are showing interest.  However, his coach thinks Staiger, who already is one of the leading scorers in a men's league in Europe that includes a lot of former American college players, will end up playing professionally in Europe.  In addtion to Chase, Mortensen, McGowan, Wattad, Scott, Boeke, Staiger, Bray, and Houston, the Arby's Classic All-Tournament team also included 6'5 Jevohn Shepherd from Toronto (West Hill) ON; who has already signed with Michigan; 6'4 Nathan Skinner from Toronto (West Hill) ON, who is being recruited by Georgetown, Temple, and Pennsylvania; 6'4 Cordero Seymour from Freeport (Tabernackle Baptist) Bahamas, who is a freak athlete; 6'7 Jr Cordell Pope from Birmingham (Parker) AL, who is ranked #133 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'0 Soph Malik Alvin from Philadelphia (Simeon Gratz) PA; 6'6 Ivan Eberhart from Thomson (H.S.) GA; 6'3 Ian McKinney from Johnson City (Science Hill) TN; 6'0 Jocolby Davis from Meridian (H.S.) MS; 5'10 Jesse McMurray from Gates City (H.S.) VA; 5'9 Steve Nash from Provo (Timpview) UT; 6'5 Jr Jonathan Tavernari from Provo (Timpview) UT, and 6'4 Bryan Terrill from Tennessee (H.S.) TN.  

We also think it is important to note that Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ won the 31st Annual adidas Kingdom of the Sun Invitational Tournament in Ocala, FL by defeating St. Petersburg (Lakewood) Fl, 65-55, in the championship game.   And it should come as no surprise that 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #17 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the hardest working players in the junior class nationally, scored 24  points in the championship game.  However, we are somewhat surprised by the fact that 6'1 Jr Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who finished with 14 points in the championship game and 15 points in St. Benedict's 51-37 win against Ocala (Vanguard) FL in the semi-finals was named the tournament MVP.   Remember Harvey, who is currently ranked #35 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is not ranked as high as Thomas, who we have ranked #17 nationally in the junior class.  We also raised an eyebrow when we saw that 6'1 Jr David Culliban from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who finished with 10 points in the championship game, was picked onto the all-tournament team over 6'5 Soph Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who also finished with 10 points in the championship game and tentatively is ranked #14 nationally in our rankings of the top sophomores that will be published later this month.  But, then again, I wasn't there and I don't know what all happened throughout the course of the tournament.  The leading scorer in the championship game for St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL was 6'2 Sean Morrison with 23 points and the leading scorer in the tournament was 6'0 Denis Clemente from Miami (Calusa Prep) FL, who finished with 94 points in three games and had a single-game high of 40 points against Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.   Speaking of Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, they beat Ocala (Vanguard) FL, 72-48, in the 3rd Place Game, but, even more interesting is the fact that Pleasure Ridge Park head coach Dale Mabrey notched his 600th career win in their opening round game against the legendary Shaky Rodriguez, who has returned to high school coaching this year and is quickly building Miami (Dr Krop) FL into one the powerhouse teams of the future.  Eustis (H.S.) FL beat Orlando (Pine Castle Christian) FL, 41-39, in the 5th Place Game; Warwick (Bishop Hendricken) RI beat Cincinnati (La Salle) OH, 71-48, in the Consolation Championship; and the all-tournament included Harvey, Thomas, Culliban, Clemente, Morrison, 6'4 Mario Telfair from St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL, 6'3 Jamal Naylor from Ocala (Vanguard) FL, 6'1 Keithson Smith from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'1 Joe Burnett from Eustis (H.S.) FL, 6'0 Jr Brandon Jackson from Orlando (Pine Castle Christian) FL, 6'0 D.J. Carcieri from Warwick (Bishop Hendricken) RI, and 6'4 Colin Flynn from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH.  We also understand that 5'10 Richie Williams, who led Spring Valley (Steele Canyon) CA to a stunning upset against Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, which prior to this loss was ranked #1 in the USA Today's high school poll, in the semi-finals of the Holiday Prep Classic at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, CA, has verbally committed to San Diego State.  And our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis thinks this is a major steal, because Williams, who scored 38 points against Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 25 points against Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ, and 25 points against La Jolla (H.S.) CA, might be the quickest player in the class on West Coast.  Williams also is one of the best 3-point shooters and fastest rising players in the class.  As a matter of fact, when Trigonis saw Williams several months ago at one of his events, he thought he was a low Division I player.  However, Trigonis tells us that Williams has either improved dramatically or he had a career tournament.  Either way, the Aztecs beat some pretty fast competition as schools like Oklahoma State and Washington State have been calling.  The addition of Williams, who is averagingt 23.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 7.0 apg, and 5.0 spg, moves San Diego State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Kyle Spain from Newark (Memorial) CA, 6'10 Brett Hoerner from Fullerton (H.S.) CA, 6'2 Khalif Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, and 6'11 Jabbar Young from San Bernardino (JC) CA, into a tie at #45, along with Wisconsin-Green Bay, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, that really doesn't tell the story, because all five of these players have major upsides, plus they are good enough right now to step in and make an immediate impact next year.   And, if you also count 6'9 Mohamed Abukar, who has transferred from Florida to San Diego State and is sitting out this year (it's not the editoral policy of the HOOP SCOOP to count transfers when ranking recruiting classes), then we'd be talking about a recruiting class that is ranked #19 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'4 Semaj Inge from Camden (Woodrow Wilson) NJ, who is ranked #219 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Temple.  Rubin also has Inge ranked #7 in the senior class in his area, but he thinks Inge is better than that, because he sees the court, is a great passer, has a good mid-range game, plays excellent defense, rebounds well for his size, and is very vocal on the court, as he displays excellent leadership qualities.  In other words, Inge, who grew up playing point guard and has been moved back to that position after playing off the ball a year ago, should be the heir apparent to 6'6 Jr Mardy Collins when he graduates after the 2005-06 season.  He also should provide an excellent complement to 6'11 Soph Wayne Marshall and 6'5 Frosh Mark Tyndale and, if Inge turns out to be as good as Rubin thinks he will, any plans that Owls head coach John Chaney has about retiring may be put on hold for a few more years. 

Monday, January 3, 2005

One of the highlights of the entire holiday season was watching Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA knock off Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC in the championship game of the Dell Curry Shootout in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, January 1st.  The place was packed and it was to close to call until late in the first quarter when St. John Neumann opened up a 10-point lead and led 37-29 at half-time.  6'11 Shawn Taggart, who helped set the tone early with a 3-pointer and a pair of field goals inside, as he scored seven of his team's first 10 points, and 6'7 Brandon Rush, who had eight points in the first half and brought the house down with several sensational dunks, were doing mostof the damage for Mt. Zion.  The three best players for St. John Neumann - 6'5 Jr Earl Pettis, who was shooting the lights out, 6'7 Soph Rick Jackson, who was getting it done inside, and 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera, who was taking advantage of Mt. Zion's lack of a pure point guard with his speed, quickness, and ability to get to the basket - had combined for 29 of St. John Neumann's 37 first-half points.  At this point it looked like St. John Neumann might put Mt. Zion Christian away early in the second half, especially after a controversial call against Mt. Zion Christian late in the first half changed the momentum even further (the official ruled the basket good and gave Mt. Zion a technical foul for having six men on the court).  However, we have to give Mt. Zion Christian credit for fighting back, despite the fact Rush only scored two points after the intermission (I still can't believe some people have this guy ranked among the top five players in the nation and they talk about him entering his name into the NBA Draft in June).   Instead, the heroes for Mt. Zion down the stretch were Taggart, who finished with 20 points and was much more aggressive than he's been in the past, and 6'6 Jr DeNero Thomas, a sleeper from New Orleans who made four big 3-pointers, that were spearheading the Mt. Zion attack.  But, after closing the gap to only one at 67-66 with 1:04 left, St. John Neumann hit all of their free throws and Mt. Zion Christian missed most of their free throws in the final minute of the game.   Combine that with St. John Neumann's ability to make big plays when they had to and it's not hard to figure out why St. John Neumann won the game 72-66.  And when you also factor in 6'2 Soph Antonio Jardine, who is ranked as the #1 sophomore in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area by Allen Rubin, it's also not hard to figure out why St. John Neumann, which will four of its top five players, is a prime target of both the Beach Ball Classic and the City of Palms Classic for next year.  As a matter of fact, John Rhodes, who runs the Beach Ball Classic, was at the game and Donnie Wilkie, who invites the teams for the City of Palms Classic, was seen at this tournament on Thursday, December 30th.  The leading scorer for St. John Neumann was Pettis, who finished with 22 points.  Jackson chipped in with 17 points and 6'5 David Burton had 10 points for St. John Neumann, but it was Rivera who took home tournament MVP honors.  Pettis also was named to the all-tournament team, along with Taggart, 6'8 Jr Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'9 Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA.  Speaking of Macklin, who is ranked #7 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, he was a major disappointment when we saw him score only 11 points and be less than dominant in the 3rd Place Game against Laurinburg (Institute)  NC.  Instead, the leading scorer for Norcom was 6'5 George DeGroat with 17 points and impressive on the boards for Norcom was 6'4 Jr Benjamin Finney.  Smith led Laurinburg with 15 points, but we also liked 6'7 Libasse Saye well enough to think he might be the answer for somebody at the mid-major level looking for a tough hardnosed undersized power forward and 6'4 Soph Antoine Watson, who used his strength and athleticism to thrive in transition and already appears to be well on his way towards becoming the leader of the Laurinburg team, as well as one of the fastest rising sophomores in America.  Several other players at the Dell Curry Shootout who must be mentioned include 6'8 Cassan Breeden from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'7 Soph Michael Holmes from Bishopville (Lee Central) SC, and 6'5 Jr Doneal Mack from Statesville (Christian) NC.  Holmes was the most impressive of the three just mentioned players, because he's really developed his perimeter game and, as a result, is no longer just a powerful athletic undersized inside guy.  We also have to give our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton full credit on this one, because he was the first person to tell us how good Holmes, 6'6 Soph Eric Wallace from Kernersville (John Glenn) NC and 6'6 Marshall Moses from Aiken (H.S.) SC all were.  And, based on how Holmes played at the Dell Curry Shootout, he currently projects as the best of three.  In contrast, Breeden and Mack are both great athletes, but they're better slashers than they are outside shooters.  But in the case of Mack, time is still on his side, he has good work ethic, and you know he'll kept getting better, because he's annually attends at the Five-Star Basketball Camp.  We didn't get to see Charlottesville (St. Annes-Belfield School) VA with University of Richmond-bound 6'5 Jose Garcia, Charlotte (Phillip O'Berry) NC with 6'5 Jr Omar Carter, who posted a pair of 29-point/9-rebound and 22-point/9 rebound performances, and Mauldin (H.S.) SC with 6'5 Soph Tony Neysmith, who is one of the better sophomores in the land, and 6'6 Roland Griffin and 6'9 Horace Dixon, both of whom are unsigned and showed world-class athleticism in the Slam Dunk Contest.  However, we did see enough of the tournament to know that we lucked out by going to to Charlotte, NC on Friday, December 31st, instead of going straight home right after the Academy National Invitational. Speaking of the Dell Curry Shootout, we were extremely impressed with the incredible fan support and the great job that Jeffrey Hood, who is the Executive Director/Tournament Founder, did running this event, which also included a National Girls Tournament and a Local Boys Tournament.  And it should be even better next year, because it appears that Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington and 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson and Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD with 6'6 Soph Michael Beasley and 6'3 Soph Nolan Smith are among the schools they're going after for next year's tournament.

Saturday, January 1, 2005, & Sunday, January 2, 2005

Westchester (St. Joseph) IL beat Chicago (Julian) IL, 71-59, to win the Proviso West Holiday Tournament; Bloomington (H.S.) IL beat Chicago (Simeon) IL, 58-56; to win the Pontiac Holiday Tournament; and Chicago (Westinghouse) IL beat Pekin (H.S.) IL, 56-32, to win the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament; but Roy Schmidt of the IllinoisPrepBulls-eye.com tells us that the two big stories this past week in the state of Illinois are that Westchester (St. Joseph) IL has re-emerged as a dominant program in the state and a serious threat to win this year's state championship and that 6'2 Jerel McNeal from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL may have surpassed 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL and 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL as the best player in the state.  And Schmidt says this despite the fact that Hillcrest managed only a 1-2 finish at Proviso West, while Wright's team finished third in the tournament.  However, McNeal had 22 points and 13 rebounds in their opening round win against Chicago (Harlan) IL, 12 points against Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, and 30 points and nine rebounds versus Maywood (Proviso East) IL.  In contast, Wright had 16 points in the opening round against Chicago (Hubbard) IL, eight points in the second round against Maywood (Proviso East) IL, only four points in their against semi-finals loss to Chicago (Julian) IL, and 21 points against Chicago (Von Steuben) IL in the third place game.  But even  more important, McNeal totally outplayed Wright when Hillcrest defeated Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL in mid-December at the Shootout at the Hill, as he finished with almost a quadruple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds, nine steals, and seven assists, and totally took over the game down the stretch, as he scored the stole the ball and coverted the game winning basket.   St. Joseph's beat some stellar competition in Oak Park (Fenwick) IL, Maywood (Proviso West) IL, Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, and Chicago (Julian) IL in route to the Proviso West Holiday Tournament and 6'2 Tony Freeman, who was the tournament MVP, etched the award in stone by outperforming three other excellent guards in the tournament in 6'2 Phillip Perry from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'1 Angel Santiago from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL, and 6'1 Brandon Ewing from Chicago (Julian) IL.  But what makes St. Joseph's such a great team is the fact that they are one of the best defensive teams in the state, everybody knows and accepts their role, and they have one of the best backcourt combinations in Freeman and 6'2 Jr Jonathan Peoples, who also was an all-tournament selection, along Santiago, McNeal, Ewing, Wright, Perry, 6'6 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 5'8 Maurice Aker from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, and 6'5 Paul Warren from Chicago (Von Steuben) IL.  Yes, Scheyer made the all-tournament, despite the fact that he shot just 15-37, including 4-21 3-pointers, in what was one of the worst 41-point scoring performances that Schmidt has seen, as Glenbrook North lost in a stunning 58-53 upset against Evanstown (Township) IL in the opening round.  But that doesn't not diminish the fact that Scheyer is hands down the best junior in the state and is the subject of an intense recruiting battle that now appears to include only four schools - Illinois, Duke, Wisconsin, and Arizona.  However, Scheyer still may be a long way away from making a decision, which means that there is still plenty of time for schools like Kansas and California to get back into the hunt.  Remember, that's exactly what happened with 6'8 Julian Wright, who is one of Scheyer's closest friends, when the Jayhawks appeared to be totally out of the running last summer, but sealed the deal in the fall.  Also don't forget that Scheyer's father and California head coach Ben Braun have been long time friends.  The big story at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament involved 6'3 Soph Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who hit the game winning free throw after severely spraining his ankle after catching an inbound pass in the closing seconds of his team's semi-finals win against Gurnee (Warren) IL.  But that was all she wrote for Simeon, because Rose was unable to play in the championship and, as a result, Bloomington (H.S.) IL, which featured 6'1 Dodie Dunston and 6'3 Brandon Holtz, both of whom are heading to Illinois State, had too many weapons for 6'5 Soph Tim Flowers and 6'2 Tim Green to handle by themselves.  6'2 Soph Justin Bocot led Bloomington in scoring with 23 points and Holtz chipped in with 16-points for Bloomington.  However, the player the best prospect in the championship game was Flowers, who gives Simeon a dominant inside presence at both ends of the court, as well as one of the best one-two punches in the state right now.   Getting back to the semi-finals game, Rose finished with 14 points and four steals, but Gurnee (Warren) IL put themselves on the state-wide map as well.  "Despite coming up short, Warren looked impressive against Simeon and showed us that over the course of the next two years they have the capability of being among the most dominant teams in the state," says Schmidt.  "This team is loaded with talented young pups, two of whom are 6'3 Jr Marcus Lewis and 6'2 Soph Ceola Clark.  Lewis is a very good long-range shooter who also gets after it defensively while Clark is an athletic combo guard with tremendous quickness.  Clark finished with 15 points and five rebounds and Lewis totaled 13 points on 5-12 shooting (3-7 3-pointers) to go along with five rebounds."  Dunston took home tournament MVP honors, but many observers felt that 6'3 Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL should have received this honor after scoring 38 points in his team's triple overtime win against Chicago (Currie) IL in the first round and a 32-point performance in the 5th Place Game against Oak Park (H.S.) IL.  The highlight at the Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament came in the semi-finals with the head-to-head match-up between 6'8 DeAndre Thomas from Chicago (Westinhouse) IL, who had 26 points and nine rebounds, and hit 13-20 field goals, and 6'9 Soph Billy Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, who had 14 points, seven rebounds, and hit 7-13 field goals.   Thomas also proved that he is the best big man prospect in the state in the Class of 2005 and, perhaps, even more important, one of the few unsigned seniors anywhere who is capable of stepping in and making an immediate impact at the high Division I level next year.  "Thomas also deserves to be commended on the fact that he has been working extremely hard in the classroom," says Schmidt.  "Word has it that Thomas scored a 20 on his most recent ACT test and, as a result, stands a much better chance of qualifying academically than many people thought during the summer."   However, before all of the college coaches who are reading this get too excited, it's important to point out that you're probably going to have to beat Purdue, which is where Thomas' good buddy and AAU teammate 6'4 Nate Minnoy is heading.   While Westinghouse won the game and Thomas, who was named the tournament MVP, won the match-up, Cole also proved his worth, as "he popped out and hit a variety of jumpers and showed the ability to score over Thomas in the post.