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Friday, January 31, 2003

It's funny how things turn out sometimes.   If you will recall, earlier this week the Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled that everything was in order with regards to the amateur of status of 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH regarding the purchase of a new Hummer by his mother for his birthday.  However, today the Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled James ineligible after it was discovered that he'd been given two free "throwback" jerseys worth $845 by a local sporting good store.   Obviously this will have a direct impact not just upon the revenue making potential of the Ohio High School State Tournament, but also upon scheduled regular season games that St. Vincent-St. Mary is scheduled to play  and post-season all-star games that James is expected to play in as well.  Remember, St. Vincent-St. Mary hasn't sold out every arena St Vincent-St. Mary has played in this season, because they are the #1-ranked high school team in the nation or because James is the best player in the nation regardless of class.  Instead, James is a major drawing card, because the word is out about his having the all the ingredients necessary to become the next Michael Jordan.  But it's too bad the stupid amateurism rules used at both the college and high school level are more important than the student-athletes they are supposed to govern and the fans who pay the bills by buying the tickets.  In other words, there may be a lot of disappointed people next weekend at the Prime Time Shootout next week in Trenton, NJ, as well as the McDonald's All-American on Tuesday, March 26th, in Cleveland, OH .  At least that's the word from the legendary Morgan Wootten, who helps run the game and has final say over the selection of players.   However, whether James will be allowed to play in other all-star games will depend upon the rules set forth by the individual game.  In the case of the McDonald's All-American Game, the rule that governs participation by players states that you can't play in the game, if you have been ruled ineligible to participate in your state by the state association.  In other words, unless a judge overturns the ruling or the Ohio High School Athletic Association overturns the decision on appeal, the only way James would be able to play in the McDonald's All-American Game would be if he moved to another state and was declared eligible immediately by that state high school athletic association.  And with the game less than two months away and the importance placed on doing things the right way by the people who run the game at Sports America, you can be guaranteed that isn't going to happen.  No doubt James is partly to blame for his own fate, because normally when somebody gets a car or a pair of valuable jersey's, they don't flaunt it the way James has.  It's almost as if James was trying to get ruled ineligible, so he can speed up the bidding war among all of the major shoe companies, like NIKE and adidas, that is sure to follow his final high school game.  This also should brings into question an even more important question about the entire issue of amateurism and the use of it by both the NCAA and state high school associations to maintain power and perpetuate themselves.   In other words, if you are the best 15-year-old piano player in the world and you have gotten paid on numerous occasions to perform in person and/or on television, but can't pass a standardized test and/or have troubles academically, you're going not to be put through the same charade that the student-athlete is subject to when attempting to get into college.  Instead, they're going to say you have a special gift and not only make an exception to let you into school, but also give you a full scholarship, as well as give you extra money so you won't have to worry about getting a job and, instead, focus exclusively upon perfecting your talent.  Obviously this is extremely hypocritical, because the great piano player isn't going to bring in millions of dollars for the music school nor is he or she going to get former graduates back on campus for the first time in 20-years, if the music school improves dramatically.  But that's exactly what happens when the basketball team's number of wins increases dramatically.   As a matter of fact, there usually is a direct correlation between success in big-time athletics and contributions and donations to both the athletic department and the university in general. 

The rosters for the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL, which will be held at the United Center on Monday, March 31st, have been released and the East Squad will include 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX, 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA, 6'11 David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV, 6'9 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'5 Michael Jones from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King) NY, 6'10 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, and 6'4 Colin Falls from Wilmette (Loyola Academy) IL and the West Squad will include 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'11 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'6 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'10 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, 6'0 Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'3 Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'8 Ivan Harris from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Demetris Nichols from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI.  We also have confirmed via our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson that 6'1 Jay Jackson from Monroe (Ouachita Parish) LA, who is ranked #167 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Texas Tech.  And we think this is a steal, because Jackson is a big time athlete and scoring machine, as was evident by the fact that he was the second leading scorer with 26.8 ppg at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL right before Christmas.  Jackson also is a great kid and a tremendous competitor, but he really doesn't have a true position right now, because he's too small to be a 2-guard and he doesn't make good enough decisions to be a pure point guard at the big time college level.   However, that could change down the road as Jackson gains experience playing for Bob Knight, who is still one of the great teachers in the history of the game.   Jackson joins 6'8 DeVonne Giles from Seward County (JC) KS, 6'9 Mike Travis from San Francisco (JC) CA, and 6'4 Drew Coffman from Midland (Lee) TX to move Texas Tech's recruiting class into a tie, along with Iowa, at #29 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  This also gives Knight his second outstanding recruiting class since taking over as head coach of the Red Raiders two years ago.  If you will recall, Texas Tech's recruiting class, which included 6'8 PAwel Storozynski from Dodge City (JC) KS, 6'7 Kasib Powell from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'10 Ermal Kugo from Seminole (JC) OK, 5'11 Will Chavis from Panola (JC) TX, 6'6 Nick Valdez from Northeastern (JC) CO, and 7'0 Mickey Michalec from Skitook (H.S.) OK, in the spring of 2001 was ranked #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   With the exception of Kugo, who never enrolled in school, that class obviously has played a significant role in Texas Tech's success the last two years.  And it looks like this trend will continue, as all four of incoming players are expected to make an immediate impact.  Johnson also tells us that 6'3 Jai Miller from Selma (H.S.) AL, who is ranked #79 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of only seven players still available in our top 100 nationally, plans to sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent on Monday with Alabama, Auburn, or Stanford to play football.  However, Miller also will count as a free player in basketball, because he plans to play both sports in college.  We also have understand that 6'11 Jr Steve Hill from Branson (H.S.) MO, who is ranked #23 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is already down to three schools - Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas - and a verbal commitment should be forthcoming with the next several months.  It also looks like the Turkish player that the University of Kentucky is recruiting is 6'9 Pehver Ozer.  This is especially interesting, because Ozer, who is 20-years-old, plays for the Darussafaka Club Team, which has several former college players on the roster and, as a result, appears to be a team in the top professional league in Turkey.   If this is the case and Ozer does sign with the Wildcats in the spring, he probably would have to sit out some games next season.  The word is that Ozer has a slender build, but he's a fierce competitor and a winner, as is evident by the fact that the teams he's played on at the junior national level all over Europe in recent years have been very successful.

Thursday, January 30, 2003

Bob Gibbons All Star Sports Report is reporting that 6'2 Jr Toney Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA made a verbal commitment earlier this week to the Auburn University, but this has taken everybody by surprise, including Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, who talked with Douglas' father, Harry Douglas, just two nights ago.  "It's not a surprise that Douglas is going to Auburn," says Davis.  "But it is a surprise that it happened right now, because Mr. Douglas told me all along that his son would wait until this spring to make an official decision.  I'm also surprised, because Mr. Douglas didn't even drop a hint about it when I talked to him the other night."  Remember, the younger Douglas plays for Davis' Georgia Elite AAU team.  Douglas, who was averaging 30.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 3.0 apg, is best described as a prolific scoring point guard.  As a matter of fact, Douglas recently had a season high of 42-points, plus he's scored 115 points, hit 95% of his free throws, grabbed 24 rebounds, and dished out a dozen assists in his last four games.  Douglas, who picked the Tigers over schools like Georgia, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Cincinnati, Miami-FL, Florida State, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisville, Connecticut, Indiana, and Tennessee, is ranked #78 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Douglas is ranked as high as #30 nationally in the junior class by All Star Sports.  This moves Auburn's recruiting class into a tie with Wake Forest at #18 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Davis also tells us that Georgia is still the leader for 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, but also he warns us to watch out for the University of Oklahoma.  And, if the Sooners pull this off, it wouldn't be the first time they have gotten a player that was stashed at Bridgton Academy who was supposed to have been a done deal for the Bulldogs.  Remember, 6'10 Larry Turner from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME re-signed with Georgia last year, but was unable to get into school, because he failed to pass the high school graduation equivalency test that is required for entrance into the University of Georgia.  However, that is not a problem for the University of Oklahoma, which does require such a test as part of their entrance requirements.  We also have confirmed that 6'3 Jr Joseph Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Michigan and this is huge, because it means the top two juniors in the state have already picked the Wolverines and, as a result, their recruiting class moves up to #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  If you will recall, Michigan also already has a verbal commitment from 6'6 Jr Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI and it's not inconceivable that Crawford's teammate, 6'6 Jr Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is one of the top three sophomores in the state, along with Crawford and Coleman, and/or 6'2 Soph Jarrett Smith from Westland (John Glenn) MI, who is the top ranked sophomore in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, could make an early commitment to Michgan in the not to distant future.   Obviously Michigan's NCAA problems that date back to previous regimes are not hurting the current staff's recruiting one bit.  As a matter of fact, Michigan's current recruiting class, which includes 6'4 Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'9 Brent Petway from Griffin (H.S.) GA, and 6'10 Courtney Sims from Dedham (Noble & Greenough) MA, is currently ranked #21 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  But even more important is the fact that Petway and Sims give Wolverines head coach Tommy Amaker two of the last important pieces to the puzzle  Sims needs to get bigger and stronger and Petway needs polish, but they both came out of nowhere last summer and, when they did, the Michigan coaching staff took advantage of the opportunity.  Right now we have Petway ranked #58  and Sims #68 in the senior class nationally, but if we were ranking them just based on natural talent and potential, they'd both be a lot higher.   As a matter of fact, Petway and Sims both have NBA potential!  Which means that Michigan not only is one of the biggest surprises in college basketball this year, but they appear to be perfectly positioned to keep it going for many years into the future.  Don't believe it?  Well, Daniel Horton appears to be well on his way towards winning Freshman-of-the-Year honors in the Big-10; Harris, Coleman, and Crawford ensure that the Wolverines will be loaded on the perimeter for years to come; and Petway, Sims, and 6'11 Frosh Chris Hunter all have incredible potential inside.  In other words, there are a lot of similarities between Michigan and Louisville right now.  Both have a head coach who is only in his second year rebuilding the program.  Both came into the season this year with little or no expectations, but are currrently two of the hottest teams in college basketball.  And both have already knocked off the team that is now preceived to be big brother in their own backyard.  That's not to say that Kentucky and Michigan State won't remain among college basketball's elite, but with the progress both Louisville and Michigan have already made and where they appear to be heading, it's going to be extremely interesting to watch both the Louisville-Kentucky and Michigan-Michigan State rivalries closely for many years.

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

The University of Alabama has lost its last three games against Auburn, Mississippi, and Kentucky, but they did get the most important verbal commitment to-date so far this year when they landed 6'7 John Felix from Bevill State (JC) AL last week.  Yes, this happened a week ago, but to our knowledge nobody in our business has picked up on it nationally until today.  We're talking about a big time athlete who is similar in a lot of ways to Glenn Robinson, because he can beat you inside with his ability to post up and rebound and outside with his perimeter skills and 3-point shooting.  Felix, who also is an excellent defender, already has had several 35-40 points games this year and he's only a freshman in junior college.  In other words, this is an early verbal commitment for next year.   Felix was originally recruited from France to Birmingham Southern by assistant coach Scott Stapler, but they never could academically get him into school.  Instead, a year ago Felix went to prep school at Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, where was the teammate of 6'11 James Lang, and now is one of the top freshmen in the junior college ranks this year.  Not only does give give head coach Mark Gottfried another advantage in the three way recruiting battle that is presently being waged among Alabama, Louisville, and UAB for Lang services, but it also moves the Crimson Tide's recruiting class into a tie at #7, along with N.C. State, Cincinnati, Iowa, and Michigan, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Shawnson Johnson is transferring from LSU to North Texas, 6'7 Najeeb Echols is tranferring from Missouri to Illinois State, and 6'2 Michael Liggons from Rome (Coosa) GA is transferring from Georgia to Middle Tennessee State.  It also appears that Hartford has landed 6'8 Aleksas Zimnickas from Toronto, ON, but we're not sure whether to include him with the Hawks' current recruiting class or not, because he plans to enroll in school right away.  Regardless, it appears that Hartford has a steal on their hands, because Zimnickas is skilled, fundamentally sound, and plays hard.  As a matter of fact, he reminds those who have seen him of Rhode Island freshman Jon Clark in many ways.  Everybody know that Hartford has two of the best recruiters in the business at the mid-major level in Chris Pompay and Al Seibert, but the guy who got this one done was John Yablonski, who is the other assistant coach on Larry Harrison's staff. 

It's funny how things sometimes turn out, because, if you'd asked UCLA head coach Steve Lavin what his ideal job was 10 years ago, he probably would have said the University of San Francisco.  After all, Lavin is originally from the Bay Area and his father, Cap Lavin, was a legendary coach at Anselmo (Sir Francis Drake) CA.  Well, now Lavin's days appear to be numbered at UCLA and so do those of current Dons head coach Philip Mathews at San Francisco.  So obviously a lot of people are putting two-and-two together and coming up with Lavin as the next head coach at San Francisco.  They also expect Pittsburgh head coach Ben Howland to get the UCLA job, but we're not so sure, despite the fact that Howland is one of the hottest head coaches in college basketball and he's one of Sonny Vaccaro's main guys.  Remember, UCLA is an adidas school and Vaccaro would like nothing more than to have one of his guys as the next head coach at UCLA.  However, Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried, despite the fact the Crimson Tide has lost three games in a row, still appears to be the favorite among the boosters and former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lon Kruger is a name that always seems to come up when we talk with people inside the business.   And, if that happens, it could be the start of a domino effect that could just continues to snowball, if University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith were to say yes this time around to the Atlanta Hawks.  Did you know that that Smith turned down the Hawks job three years ago?  Obviously the first choice for the University of Kentucky job, if it opens, would be Florida head coach Billy Donovan.   However, the smart money is on Donovan staying at Florida.  And, if that happens, the name we're starting hear as the potential successor to Smith at Kentucky is Texas head coach Rick Barnes.  Remember, the ideal candidate that first-year University of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart will be looking to hire is somebody with proven head coaching experience who is hot in the business, but who doesn't have Kentucky ties.  Obviously Barnes fits that description and so does Illinois head coach Bill Self, if suddenly either Kentucky or Texas is looking for a head coach.  However, we think this senario is a little less likely, unless Self himself thinks Roy Williams or Eddie Sutton might be going someplace soon (Oklahoma State and Kansas are supposed to be Self's ideal jobs) or 6'6 Jr Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IN, who is already believed to be a lock fo the Fighting Illini, is so good that he will never play a day of college basketball.  However, let's say that Self does move.  Then, two of the leading candidate for Illinois would likely be Creighton head coach Dana Altman or Oregon head coach Ernie Kent, which would present several other interesting scenarios.  If Kent left Oregon, you can bet that Minnesota head coach Don Monson will be looking to get that job in a New York-minute.  Remember, if 6'11 Rick Rickert declares hardship after this season, Minnesota becomes an even tougher job than it already is.  If Altman left Creighton, then Arkansas-Little Rock head coach Porter Moser, who was a two-year starter at Creighton as a player in the late 80's and currently is 12-7 on the season, would likely be in line to replace Altman.  We also are starting to hear names like Dayton head coach Oliver Purnell and Western Kentucky head coach Dennis Felton for Clemson, if Larry Shyatt doesn't survive.   However, regardless of what happens at Clemson, it looks like Tigers assistant coach Darren Tillis is in line for North Carolina A&T, which currently is 0-14 on the season.  And, if Shyatt does get fired at Clemson, he should be one of the leading candidates for the Cleveland State job.  Not only is Shyatt originally from Cleveland, but he was an assistant coach at Cleveland State for six years.   As a matter of fact, Shyatt recruited Tillis, who was the 21st player selected in the 1982 NBA Draft, to Cleveland State.  If Purnell were to leave Dayton, how about Louisville assistant coach Mick Cronin as the coach to be named later for former Dayton head coach Jim O'Brien.  If you will recall, Rick Pitino hired O'Brien when he was at Kentucky and later took O'Brien with him to the Boston Celtics, where he has remained as the head coach.  However, we don't think Pitino would be able to get Cronin the Western Kentucky job, like he did when Ralph Willard was an assistant coach at Kentucky, if Felton left.  Did you know that all the Western Kentucky fans are mad at Pitino, because Louisville exercised the $50,000 buyout in their contract and didn't play the Hilltoppers this year?  However, we won't be surprised if Louisville assistant coach Vince Taylor wasn't in line for Eastern Kentucky, if Colonels head coach Travis Ford doesn't survive.  Would Wyoming head coach Steve McClain be interested in Texas A&M, if by some chance Melvin Watkins?  Remember, the Aggies have more than enough money to pay what it takes to find a big name head coach.   However, if Watkins is able to continue to build on the Aggies 10-6 record, will they get 6'1 Carlos Hurt from Wabash Valley (JC) IL?  Actually we hear that's closer than most people realize to happening.  Would Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton take Tennessee State?  We don't think so, but we've heard that rumor as well.  We also don't think Temple head coach John Chaney is going anywhere, but the rumor is out there that this will be his last year and the name we hear the most, if Chaney does hang it up, is Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Randy Ayers.  Obviously 76ers head coach Larry Brown have some influence, but the real connection is first-year Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw, who tried to hire Ayers as the head coach when he was still at DePaul last spring.  We also are hearing Duke assistant coach Chris Collins being mentioned for the Penn State job and St. Bonaventure head coach Jan van Breda Kolff could be in line for the N.C.  State job, if Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek moves to someplace like Texas.  The word is that van Breda Kolff is tight with the athletic director at N.C. State and, as a result, would be a natural fit, if Sendek, who, two years removed from being a guy on the bubble, is now one of the hottest head coaches in the businss.

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

While most of the high school basketball world is focused on the Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, NJ, February 6th-9th, I will once again be covering the National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI, February 7th-9th.  Not only will this give us another opportunity to see most of the top prep school and 5th year players, but, at Mike Procopio's event, we'll get to see all these guys in mid-season form and, as a result, do an even better job of fine tuning our 5th year list.  The first game on Friday, February 7th, will tip-off at 3:00 PM with Ocala (Christian Shores Academy) FL versus Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, followed by New Hampton (Prep) NH versus Laurinburg (Institute) NC at 4:45 PM, Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH versus Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL at 6:30, Marion (Tabor Academy) MA versus Miami (Senior) FL at 8:15 PM, and Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY versus Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME at 10:00 PM.  The first game on Saturday, February 8th, will match Ocala (Christian Shores Academy) FL against a team that has not yet been announced at 8:30 AM, followed by Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY versus Winchendon (Notre Dame) MA at 10:15 PM, North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME versus West Simsbury (The Masters School) CT at Noon, Miami (Senior) FL versus Pawtucket (St. Raphael) RI at 1:45 PM, Ocala (Christian Shores Academy) FL versus Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT at 3:30 PM, and Laurinburg (Institute) NC versus Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME at 5:15 PM.  The rest of the day is open, because the University of Rhode Island has a home game against George Washington.  Sunday's schedule begins with Chestnut Hill (Brimmer & May) MA versus Bradenton (Pendleton School) MA at 10:30 AM, a game between two teams yet to be announced at Noon, Stamford (King & Low-Heywood Thomas) CT versus Salisbury (School) CT at 1:45 PM, Ocala (Shore Christian) FL versus Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT at 3:30 PM, Grass Roots Canada versus Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA at 5:15 PM, and Barrington (St. Andrews) RI versus Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH at 7:00 PM.  Some of the top players will include 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Demetris Nichols from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'8 Jr Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'7 Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'0 Jr Tauren Green from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Acadmey) NH, 7'0 Julian Lamptey from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'5 Marquis Kately from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'3 Adbi Lidonde from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'5 LaKeith Blanks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Relando Balkman from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Norman Plummer from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'8 Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT, 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'10 Ben Elias from Ocala (Christian Shores Academy) FL, 6'6 Jr Lamar Barrett from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'8 Blake Schlib from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'4 Michael Cook from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'10 Konimba Diarra from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'1 Jr Emery Outland from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'4 Jr Matt Mattone from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'2 Carlos Rivera from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'2 Loren Stokes from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'5 Joel Smith from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'8 Rekalin Simms from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'1 Van Crafton from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'10 Oluwafemi Ibikunte from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'0 David Gale from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 Jamaal Walls from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'9 Reggie George from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 7'2 Lukasz Obrzut from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) NH, 6'7 Joe Dickins from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'3 Alray Thomas from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'3 Sammy Hunter from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'5 Sekou Lewis from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'5 Soph Michael Gore from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'9 Asrangue Souleymane from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'5 Francois Pehoua from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Anthony Bruin from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Ryan Cahak from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and 5'10 Terrance Crump from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  And one the way to the National Prep School Invitational we're going to attempt to catch the first night of the Prime Time Shootout at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth, NJ on Thursday, February 6th, because the matchups will include Newark (East Side) NJ versus Bloomfield (Tech) NJ at 4:30 PM, Plainfield (H.S.) NJ versus Elizabeth (H.S.) NJ at 6:00 PM, Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ versus Paterson (Catholic) NJ at 7:30 PM, and Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ at 9:00 PM.  The rest of the Prime Time Shootout will be played at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ and the first game on Friday, February 7th, between Lawrenceville (School) NJ versus Neptune (H.S.) NJ will tip-off at 3:00 PM, followed by Clifton (H.S.) NJ versus New Brunswick (St. Peter's) NJ at 4:30 PM, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ versus Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC at 7:30 PM, and Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA at 9:00 PM.  The Prime Time Shootout schedule for Saturday, February 8th, features Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ versus East Lyme (H.S.) CT at 10:30 AM, Newtown (Council Rock North) PA versus Willingboro (H.S.) NJ at Noon, Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA versus Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD at 1:30 PM, Harrisburg (H.S.) PA versus Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY at 3:00 PM, Jackson (Lanier) MS versus Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY at 4:30 PM, Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY versus Columbus (Brookhaven) OH at 6:00 PM, Akron (St. Vincent-St Mary) OH versus Los Angeles (Westchester) CA at 7:30 PM, and Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC versus Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ at 9:00 PM.  The schedule for Sunday, February 9th, includes Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA versus Richland (St. Augustine) NJ at 10:30 AM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Paterson (Catholic) NJ at Noon, Middle Village (Christ the King) NY versus Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY at 1:30 PM, Houston (Westbury Christian) TX versus Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ at 3:00 PM, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ versus Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY at 4:30 PM, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus New York (Rice) NY at 6:00 PM, Camden (Catholic) NJ versus Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA at 7:30 PM, and Trenton (Central) NJ versus Burlington (North Burlington) NJ at 9:00 PM.  Obviously the Prime Time Shootout is absolutely loaded, as the top players in attendance will include 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'8 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Academy) NJ, 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'8 Jr Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'3 Soph Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'8 Ivan Harris from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 J.R. Reynolds from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Jr Isaiah Swann from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Jr Earl Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'3 Art Bowers from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Jr Stanley Branch from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'9 Frosh Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'7 Reyshawn Terry from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC, 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Jr Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 5'10 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Louis McCroskey from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'3 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Jr Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'2 Jr Cedric Jackson from Burlington (North Burlington) NJ,5'11 Jr Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 5'11 Jr Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'7 Jr DeSean White from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'6 Soph Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'5 Jr Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Jr Brian Laing from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Jr Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'11 Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'6 Scott Cutley from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'0 Tyler Relph from Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY, 6'7 Ryan Pettinella from Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY, 6'7 Jr Charles Rhodes from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'7 Jr Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'3 Jr Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'8 Jr Ben Nwachukwi from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 7'3 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, 6'11 Grant Billmeier from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'10 Konimba Diarra from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 Warren Scott from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Byron Joynes from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Ben Luber from Newtown (Council Rock North) PA, 6'6 Dion Dacons from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Keith Foster from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NJ, 6'2 Jr Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'7 Herb Courtney from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, 6'6 Romeo Travis from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 5'8 Dru Joyce from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'2 Jr Marcus Williams from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 5'11 Jason Patterson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 Marques Alston from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Taevon Nelson from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'4 Jr Bilal Benn from Philadelphia (Dougherty) PA, 6'8 Eddie Green from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NJ, 6'8 Justin Bolander from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NJ, and 5'8 Jr Rich Cunningham from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  However, I've seen most of these players already this winter and, as a result, being at the National Prep School Invitational for three days will be a lot more beneficial for my purposes.   Which means covering the Prime Time Shootout will be delegated exclusively to Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey editor Allen Rubin and hopefully he will be up to the task, as this promises to be one of his most important assignments ever.

Monday, January 27, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that this morning the Ohio State High School Athletic Association ruled that 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH had done nothing that would violate his amateur status and, as a result, he will eligible to play the rest of the season.  If you will recall, the Ohio State High School Athletic Association let it be known recently when it became public that James' mother had bought her son a $49,000 Hummer for his birthday that they planned to investigate the matter to see if it would effect James' high school basketball eligibility the rest of the season.  Obviously the state association wanted to give the appearance that they are in control of the situation, but, if they had ruled James ineligible, all they would have been in control of was taking a financial bath and getting ripped by people like us for trying to overstepping their bounds.  Johnson also tells us that Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH kept its perfect record intact yesterday by beating Akron (Buchtel) OH, 82-71.  James had 25 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists.  Talk about perfect timing!  Earlier today we published onto the web site our updated Ohio Report, which can includes Johnson's six all-state teams regardless of position and class, an article that provides insight and analysis about the top players in each class, and Johnson's rankings in order of the top 131 seniors, top 95 juniors, top 44 sophomores, top 28 freshmen, top 13 8th graders, top five 7th graders, top five 7th graders, and one 6th grader, which can be found by clicking on Johnson Ranks 'Em:  The Top High School Players in Ohio.  And later this week we plan to also publish our updated Kentucky Report, which should be especially interesting, because a lot of things have changed since our Kentucky Editor Larry Kihnley last updated his rankings a year ago.  Back then his top six underclassmen in the state were 6'3 Jr Michael Bush from Louisville (Male) KY, 6'8 Jr Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, 5'10 Soph Rajon Rando from Louisville (Eastern) KY, 6'8 Soph Robbie Simpson from Louisville (Seneca) KY, 6'7 Jr Michael Brock from Independence (Simon Kenton) KY, and 6'6 Jr David Cornwell from Louisville (Ballard) KY.   Since that time Bush's basketball career has gone South and, as a result, he has decided not to play basketball in college; Simpson transferred to Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC; Cornwell transferred from Louisville (Ballard) KY to Louisville (Eastern) KY, where he is now ineligible; and Rando has grown to 6'2.  So we asked Kihnley to provide us with a sneak preview of his top five players in the state are regardless of class and it comes as no surprise that Rando is ranked #1, followed by 6'3 O.J. Mayo from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, who is the consensus #1 8th garder in the nation, 6'10 Jr Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'2 Jr Chris Lofton from Maysville (Mason County) KY, and 6'7 Justin Doellman from Union (Ryle) KY.  In other words, Kihnley only has one senior in the state ranked among his top five.  Kihnley also tells us that Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana are the top three for Farley.  However, when it is all said and done, we'd be surprised if Farley doesn't end up at Louisville.  Apparently Farley is a big Rick Pitino fan.  We also continue to hear that 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL will honor his original commitment to Louisville and sign with the Cardinals in the spring.  And, if that does happen, Louisville's recruiting class would move back up to #1 on our list of the top Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Currently Louisville's class, which is tied at #8, along with Mississippi State, includes 6'7 Nate Daniels from Broward County (JC) FL, 6'10 Nauha Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS, and 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI.  Lang is also expected to visit UAB and Alabama in the spring, but the Crimson Tide could be out, if Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried gets the UCLA job.  Remember, Gottfried was an assistant coach at UCLA during the Jim Harrick era and he appears to be the overwhelming favorite for the job right now.  We also know that Louisville is recruiting a number of the top juniors in the nation, including 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'8 Jr Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'10 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Atlanta Southwest Christian) GA, 6'8 Jr Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Jr Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'4 Jr Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Jr Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Jr Rajon Rando from Louisville (Eastern) KY, 6'3 Jr Jamarcus Ellis from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, 6'2 Jr Chris Lofton from Maysville (Mason County) KY, and 6'10 Jr Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.  As a matter of fact, Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino was in Camden, AL to see Williams, who had 29 points, 16 rebounds, and six rebounds against Greenville (H.S.) AL on Friday night.  And Louisville isn't the only school that was in Camden, AL last week.  Did you know that Texas head coach Rick Barnes was in town last Wednesday and somebody from Duke was in town on Thursday?

Saturday, January 25, 2003, & Sunday, January 26, 2003

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that La Salle has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'10 Roman Narmbaye-Mbainas from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is ranked #5 in the area in the senior class by Rubin, as well as #288 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Narmbaye-Mbainas, who is best described as a shot blocker/defender/rebounder, needs to continue to work on his offensive skills and, as a result, obviously this appears to be a perfect fit, because the guy who got this one done is Explorers assistant coach Roland Houston.  No, Houston didn't make our list of the top assistant coaches this time around, but it's only a matter of time before he does, because, at 6'8 and as a former player at both the University of Rhode Island and in Europe, he's good at working with big men.  And Houston has a lot to work with, because Narmbaye-Mbainas is one of the best unsigned big men still available, but he has a huge upside.  Narmbaye-Mbainas also moves the Explorers' recruiting class into a tie at #101, along with Lamar, Colorado, Ball State, Hofstra, Hampton, Chattanooga, San Diego, Georgia Southern, Bradley, and Bowling Green, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Combine that with the class, which included David Bell from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'4 Gary Neal from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'2 Jermaine Thomas from Fredrick (Governor Thomas Johnson) MD, and Lewis Fadipe from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC and was ranked #50 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, that second-year head coach Billy Hahn brought in a year ago and there is no question it's only a matter of time before La Salle becomes one of the better teams in the Atlantic-10 Conference.  Remember, Hahn has a great eye for talent and, as a result, is master at finding the guy who is going to develop into an excellent player down the road (i.e. Juan Dixon).  Rubin also tells us that La Salle doesn't have any more scholarships available and that's too bad, because, if they did, you can bet they would be one of the schools to beat for 6'7 Arnuad Dahi from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is ranked #109 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Not only is Dahi an excellent athlete with an enormous amount of potential, but after watching him at the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational in Milford, DE in November, there is no doubt that he's a better 3-point shooter than we originally thought.  Instead, Dahi's list includes schools like Penn State, Old Dominion, Wisconsin, and Missouri.  And thanks to the efforts of Penn State assistant coach Pat Brogan, who prior to this year was an assistant coach at Lafayette and, as a result, has more than his share of Philly contacts, the Nittany Lions are also making a strong push for 6'9 Jason Cain from Philadelphia (Bartram) PA.  Cain, who is already academically qualified, played extremely well when we saw him at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL before Christmas.  So in our mind he is one of the fastest rising players in the nation.  Currently Cain's list also includes Villanova, Temple, UNC-Greensboro, Western Kentucky, Virginia, and South Alabama, but we think his list will get longer before it gets shorter, as we're talking about an extremely athletic white kid with toughness, the ability to score and rebound around the basket, and the potential to develop into an excellent wing forward down the road, if he doesn't get bigger and stronger.  However, the best player still available in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor is 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, who is ranked as the #1 senior in the area by Rubin and who is a legitimate top 50-100 range player nationally.  However, there are two problems.   First, Rice probably isn't going to make it academically, which means that schools like Coppin State are hanging around hoping to get him as a Prop 48 casuality.   Second, Rice is such a hometown kid that he often doesn't travel and, when he does, he has left major camps and tournaments early in order to go home.  So it wouldn't surprise us one bit if Rice went the prep school route to Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA next year and then attract the interest of the local schools.  As a matter of fact, Rice would be perfect for Temple.  Remember, Owls head coach John Chaney has made a living taking guys from tough backgrounds over the years, plus this strong athletic point guard who puts up prolific numbers, as is evident by the fact that he recently broke Wilt Chamberlain's high school career scoring record, has an incredible amount of talent, as is evident by his playground legendary status.   Add Rice at point guard to 6'3 Mario Taybron from Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA, who would then be able to play his natural 2-guard spot, and 6'10 Wayne Marshall from Philadelphia (Martin Luther King) PA and 6'5 Michael Blackshear, who is sitting out this year due to academic reaasons, both inside, plus all the good young players Temple already has in the program, and it wouldn't surprise us if Chaney suddenly is on the verge of having one of his best team's ever two years from now.   Rubin also believes that 6'3 Russell Carter from Paulsboro (H.S.) NJ, who is ranked #11 on his list of the top seniors in the area, and is getting the most attention from East Carolina and Pennsylvania, is another player that is getting underrecruited. 

Friday, January 24, 2003

Since before the start of the current basketball season, I've been touting the University of Louisville as the biggest sleeper in college basketball.  However, the Cardinals, which are now ranked #1 in the latest Sagarin Ratings, #9 by the Associated Press, and #14 by the USA Today/ESPN Poll, have exceeded even my own expectations.  If will recall, we had Louisville ranked #10 in our pre-season rankings, #8 based on talent, and even predicted at the start of this month that they would not lose a game in January.  But we didn't know that, except for a lack of rebounding off the bench and questionable depth at the point guard spot, this team would not have any weaknesses.  Not only do they have tremendous depth, play excellent defense, and are capable of shooting the lights out at any time, but they also are lethal in transition, extremely unselfish and move the ball to perfection at the offensive end, and brutal on the boards when Marvin Stone and Ellis Myles are both in the game.  Add the fact that they have near perfect chemistry and have done a great job of buying into Rick Pitino's system and it should not be all that surprising that the Cardinals are tied with Florida with the longest current winning streak (12 wins) in college basketball.  And we expect this trend to continue, even though the Cardinals are about to enter the toughest part of their schedule, which includes Indiana, Cincinnati, Memphis, and Marquette at home and Marquette, Cincinnati, and DePaul on the road in February.  And, if the Cardinals go 5-2 or better during this stretch, don't just pencil them as a legitimate NCAA Final Four team this year, but also make them the favorite, along with Arizona, to win the NCAA Championship in early April.  Not only have we been way ahead of all the competition on this story from the very beginning, but nobody that we know of, except the HOOP SCOOP, the New York Times, and Dick "Hoops" Weiss, who isn't regarded as the #1 basketball writer in America for nothing, had Louisville ranked among the top 30 teams nationally pre-season.  However, if Louisville does return to the NCAA Final Four four the first time in 17 years, it will mean that Pitino will probably be looking for a pair of assistant coaches.  Remember, Mick Cronin, who is the #2-ranked assistant coach in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, and Vince Taylor, who was largely responsible for landing 6'7 Nate Daniels from Broward County (JC) FL and 6'10 Nauha Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS, both will be in line for heading coaching jobs.  Also don't forget that nobody in the business does a better of job of moving his assistants than Pitino, as is evident by the fact that N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek, Florida head coach Billy Donovan, Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard, Boston Celtics head coach Jim O'Brien, NBA executive Stu Jackson, and Boston Celtics director of scouting Leo Papile, all have gone on to bigger and better things.  Cronin has never had any head coaching experience, but his father was a legendary high school coach in Ohio, plus Cronin has worked for two of the best head coaches in the business (Pitino and Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins), and he's wired into just about everybody in the business.  In other words, Cronin would be the perfect guy for a program like Penn State or Virginia Tech, both of which are in big time conferences and both of which are likely to open up at the end of the season, due to a lack of wins and an inability to get the players necessary to compete year-in-and-year-out at the top level.  Taylor also learned more than a few things along the way, as he played at Duke for one Hall of Fame coach (Mike Krzyzewski), was an assistant at Louisville for another Hall of Fame coach (Denny Crum), and now works for a future Hall of Fame coach in Pitino.  So it would be a major surprise if Taylor isn't able to pick and choose from among any Ohio Valley Conference or Sun Belt Conference jobs that become available this spring.  Speaking of the longest winning streaks in college basketball, as well as another Pitino protegee, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez guided the Jaspers to one of the biggest wins of his career last night against Fairfield to give the Jaspers their own 10-game winning streak.  As a matter of fact, this is quickly becoming not only one of the best mid-major rivalries in the nation (Fairfield upset Manhattan in the Metro Atlantic Post Season Conference Tournament last March and, as a result, prevented Manhattan from going to the NCAA Tournament), but also it has a Pitino-Krzyzewski influence.  Remember, Pitino almost hired Gonzalez twice when he was at Kentucky and a year ago at this time Fairfield head coach Tim O'Toole was the only former Krzyzewski assistant coach who hadn't gone on to become successful at the Division I level.  Well, all that has changed now, as O'Toole appears to be perfectly positioned to get the next Atlantic-10 Confernce job that becomes available and both now appear to be ready to move up the coaching ladder in a hurry.  Let's say Pittsburgh head coach Ben Howland, who, along with Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried, appears to be one of the two leading candidates to become the next coach at UCLA, gets that job once the current season is over.  Then, it would make perfect sense for Gonzalez to become one of the leading candidates for the UCLA job.  After all, Pittsburgh is in the Big East, it's half a day's drive from New York City, and it's close enough for Gonzalez to make the same type of impact recruiting in the Big Apple that Villanova's Jay Wright did a year ago.  And, if the dominos fall like we've described, suddenly there would not be just one, but two head coaching jobs open in New York City.  We're talking about Manhattan and Fordham and Richmond assistant coach Gary DeCesare is ideally suited for either job.  Remember, DeCesare was ranked last spring as one of the top 10 high school coaches in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP and he is the man responsible for turning St. Raymond's into one of the premier high school programs in America in recent years.  As a matter of fact, DeCesare would probably turn Fordham around quicker than you can think of the last time you can remember seeing current Rams head coach Bob Hill on the recruiting trail.  Another obvious candidate for either job would be Seton Hall assistant coach Fred Hill, who not only is ranked as the #3 assistant coach in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but also played a major role in landing the great recruiting classes at both Villanova a year ago and at Seton Hall during the Tommy Amaker regime.  And how about USC assistant coach Kurtis Townsend for the Tennessee State job?  Did you know that he was one of the leading candidates two years ago when they hired Nolan Richardson, III?  And does anybody even want the Chicago State job, where Bo Ellis has averaged only 4.6 wins per year for the last five years?  It also will be interesting to see whether the trend will be to recycle proven head coaches or to move assistant coaches into head coaching positions.  A year ago the trend was to hire assistant coaches, as 19 of the 42 jobs that were filled went to assistant coaches.  We're talking about former Arizona assistant coach Jay John getting Oregon State, former Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty getting Texas Christian, former Connecticut assistant coach Dave Leitao getting DePaul, former Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey getting South Alabama, former Arkansas assistant coach Mike Anderson getting UAB, former Oklahoma Ray Lopes getting Fresno State, former Virginia assistant coach Tommy Herrion getting the College of Charleston, former LSU assistant coach Kermit Davis getting Middle Tennessee State, former Kentucky assistant coach Mike Sutton getting Tennessee Tech, former Oregon assistant coach Greg Graham getting Boise State, former Marquette assistant coach Tod Kowalczyk getting Wisconsin-Green Bay, former Houston assistant coach Jerry Francis getting Prairie View A&M, former Miami-FL assistant Dwight Freeman becoming the head coach at Norfolk State, former Saint Louis assistant coach Brad Soderberg becoming the head coach of the Billikens, former Valparaiso assistant coach Scott Drew becoming the head coach of the Crusaders, former Radford assistant coach Byron Samuels becoming the head coach of the Highlanders, former Virginia Commonwealth assistant coach Jeff Capel, III  becoming the head coach of the Rams, former Hampton assistant coach Bobby Collins becoming the head coach of the Pirates, former Kent State assistant coach Jim Christian becoming the head coach of the Golden Flashes.  Believe it or not, Leitao, Christian, Lopes, and Anderson are the four guys who appear to have made the transition from being an assistant coach to head coach the easiest, as they clearly are doing the best job to-date.   Currently DePaul has a 10-5 record and is ranked #32 in the Sagarin Ratings.   Kent State has an impressive 11-2 record and is ranked #49 in the Sagarin Ratings.  Fresno State was 13-3 and was ranked #63 in the Sagarin Ratings heading into last night's game at Hawaii.  UAB is 10-4 and ranked #78 in the Sagarin Ratings.  

Thursday, January 23, 2003

In his last two games 5'9 Frosh Mark Meadows appears to have taken his game to another level, as he had 29 points, six assists, and three steals and 17 points, 16 assists, and five steals, respectively, and, as a result, may have to move even higher in our rankings of the top players nationally in the great Class of 2006.  Currently Meadows is ranked #26 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP and this explosive athletic combo guard is already extremely savvy beyond his years, as is evident by the fact that handles, passes, shoots, and defends extremely well for his age.  All Meadows lacks is size and a starting spot on the varsity, although he does get more playing time than any other guard on the team.  And Meadows isn't the only freshman to watch in what appears to be an especially good class in Arizona, as 6'3 Frosh Christian Polk from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ is averaging 14.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, and 2.0 spg and 6'0 Frosh Kal Bay from Tempe (Marcos De Niza) AZ is averaging 9.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, and 2.5 spg while starting on the varsity this season.  Also worth noting are the top seven juniors in the state - 6'7 Jr Ty Morrison from Phoenix (Trevor Browne) AZ, who is an extremely athletic shot blocking dunking machine, as well as the best player in the state regardless of class; 6'5 Jr Debouise Williams from Tempe (Marcos De Niza) AZ, who is a silky-smooth combo guard; 6'6 Jr Xavier Kirby from Phoenix (Desert Vista) AZ; 6'10 Jr Ryan McCurdy from Gilbert (Highland) AZ; 6'7 Jr James Lester from Phoenix (Thunderbird) AZ; 6'5 Jr Gabe Freeman from Tempe (McClintock) AZ; and 5'10 Jr Jermaine Calvin from Tempe (McClintock) AZ - and the top three sophomores in the state - 6'0 Soph Darren Jordan from Phoenix (Trevor Browne) AZ, 6'6 Soph L.J. Jones from Tempe (Marcos De Niza) AZ, and 6'6 Soph Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ.  We also have the latest edition of Richard Flaata's Minnesota Roundball Prep Newsletter and it has just about everything you need to know about high school basketball in the state of Minnesota.  Especially noteworthy are his rankings of the top players in each class, which include 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'10 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, 6'0 Lawrence McKenzie from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, 6'8 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'5 Darren Clarke from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'1 Kammron Taylor from Minneapolis (North) MN, 6'8 Dan Fitzgerald from Mendola Heights (St. Thomas Academy) MN, 6'9 Jon Williams from St. Cloud (Apollo) MN, 6'3 Kevin Henderson from Minneapolis (North) MN, and 6'7 Matt Annen from Elk River (H.S.) MN as the top 10 players ranked in order in the senior class and 6'8 Jr Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN, 6'3 Jr Miles Webb from Brooklyn Park (Park-Center) MN, 6'4 Jr Steven Neal from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, 6'6 Jr Everette Pedeschleaux from Plymouth (Armstrong) MN, 6'10 Jr Patrick O'Bryant from Blaine (H.S.) MN, 7'0 Jr Corey Hanley from Richfield (H.S.) MN, 6'2 Jr Matt Cadwell from St. Paul (Crelin-Denham) MN, 6'8 Jr Ryan Amorso from Burnsville (H.S.) MN, 6'6 Jr Mitch Henke from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, and 6'5 Jr Brett Winkelman from Morris (H.S.) MN as the top 10 players ranked in order in the junior class.  Among the top 10 seniors listed, only player still available is Henderson.  Tollackson and Webb both have already made early verbal commitments to Minnesota, but the other eight player on the junior list are still available.  For the rest of his list of the top seniors, juniors, and sophomores, as well as previews of the top players and teams in each class in each section and other interesting tidbits, you can subscribe to Minnesota Roundball Prep Newsletter by writing 25860 10th Street West, Zimmerman, MN  55398, calling (763) 856-0859, or emailing raflaata@sherbtel.net.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

The selection process for the McDonald's All-American Game, which will be held, Wednesday, March 26th, at Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH, is currently under way and the final results will be released on February 27th on ESPN SportsCenter, 6:00-7:30 PM.  We can't tell you who is on the ballot or who we are voting for, but can tell you who is doing the voting, as the list of people on the selection committee includes Scott Alexander of Fox Sports South; Vince Baldwin of Michigan & Ohio Prep Spotlight; Dave Bones of Cage Scope; Ron Briscoe of Southeast Regional Basketball Report; Frank Burlison of Fox Sports; Joe Butler of Metro Index; Van Coleman of Future Stars Magazine; Bill Cronauer of B/C Scouting Service; Jack Curran, the head coach at Jamaica (Archbishop Molloy) NY; Clark Francis of the HOOP SCOOP; Howard Garfinkel of Five-Star Basketball; Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports; Nate Harris, the head coach at Tulsa (Booker T. Washington) OK; Sonny Hill of Sonny Hill Basketball League; Doug Huff of Student Sports, Inc.; Van Johnson of Game Plan Sports Scouting Service; Andy Katz of ESPN; Kurt Keener, the head coach at Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI; Tom Konchalski of the H.S.B.I. Report; Tim McCormick of EPSN Television; Vito Montelli, the head coach at Trumbull (St. Joseph) CT; Brick Oettinger of Prep Stars/Recruiter's Handbook; Eddie Oliver of HoopsUSA; Kurt O'Neil of Elite Hoops; Joe Petrocelli, the head coach at Kettering (Bishop Alter) OH; Keith Pickett of Shop n Save/KMOX Shootout; Tracy Pierson of Prep WestHoops.com; John Rhodes of the Beach Ball Classic; Don Showalter, the head coach of Wellman (Mid-Prairie) IA; Tim Stevens of the Raleigh News & Observer; Mike Sullivan of RivalsHoops.com; Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.Com; Dave Telep of the InsidersReport.com; Barry Temkin of the Chicago Tribune; and Boo Williams of Boo Williams Summer League.  We also have dates, which can be found on our Dates/Future Events page, for most of the other spring all-star games and major spring and summer events and we'll start by mentioning them according to show company affiliation.  The NIKE events include the Prime Shootout in Trenton, NJ, February 6th-9th; Boo Williams Invitational Tournament in Hampton, VA, April 11th-13th; Jordan Capital Classic in Washington, DC, April 17th; Kentucky Derby Festival All-Stars in Louisville, KY, April 26th; NIKE Memorial Day Classic in Bloomington, IN, May 24th-26th; NIKE Hoop Jamboree in St. Louis, MO, June 18th-22nd; NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN, July 5th-10th; the Kentucky Hoopfest in Louisville, KY, July 10th-12th; and NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC, July 14th-17th.  The adidas events include the Sonny Vaccaro EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL, March 31st; adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ, July 6th-11th; the Derek Smith Shootout in Louisville, KY, July 10th-12th; and the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, July 20th-25th. Dinos Trigonis is expected to launch his inaugural Pangos All-American Camp in Los Angeles, CA, May 30-June 1st and, if you think this is going to be just another "Dinos Event," think again.  Trigonis became a major player in the business, partly due to LeBron James and the success of the Dream Classic earlier this month in Los Angeles, CA and partly due to his involvement with the new shoe company (Pangos).  Other must stops on our annual spring and summer tour will include the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans, April 5th-7th; the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX, April 25th-27th; Spiece Run'N Slam Basketball Tournament at the Spiece of Fitness Center in Ft. Wayne, IN, May 1st-3rd; Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC, May 23rd-25th; AAU 17-Under Super Showcase in Orlando, FL, July 22nd-26th; and the 17-Under National Junior Boys AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL, July 25th-31st.  We also have to mention the dates for the Five-Star Basketball Camp, because this is a must stop for anybody who wants to improve their game.  Five-Star in Hampden-Sidney, VA will be June 14th-18th; Five Star in Honesdale, PA will be June 18th-23rd and August 22nd -27th; and Five-Star in Pittsburgh, PA, July 3rd-8th, July 9th-14th, July 15th-20th, July 21st-26th, and July 27th-August 1st.  For more specialized camps, check out Five-Star's web site at Five-Star Basketball Camp.  Also of major significance is the fact that college coaches will only be allowed to attend events in states, like Texas and Nevada, where the state asscociation has sanctioned the event on Saturday and Sunday and only on days when there is not a national test, like the SAT or ACT, being administered.   Which means that,unlike a year ago, college coaches won't be allowed out on Friday, April, 10th; Saturday, April 11th; Friday, April 17th; and Friday, April 24th.  In other words, the number of days that college coaches will able to watch high school players this spring in an AAU-like setting will be limited to only five days - Sunday, April 13th; Saturday, April 19th; Sunday, April 20th; Saturday, April 26th; and Sunday, April 27th.  And Sunday, April 20th, is Easter Sunday, which will limit things even more for certain players and coaches who opt to be with their families during this important religious holiday.  So obviously everything is falling into place once again for Hal Pastner, who once again is putting together what promises to be one of the best events of the entire year.  For even more information go to his web site, which can be found by clicking on Academy National Invitational & Houston Kingwood Classic. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Over the weekend the Miami-Herald and the Miami Sun-Sentinel both reported that three players - 6'1 Guillermo Diaz, 6'4 Raul Ortz, and 6'5 Carlos Berrcales - from Miami (Christian) FL have been ruled ineligible by the Florida State High School Athletic Association and, as a result, won't be allowed to play the rest of the season.   It also appears that Miami Christian may have to forfeit the first 16 games they've won this season, pay a $2,500 fine, be banned from participating in the state tournament both this year and next year, and not be able to travel outside the state next year.  If you will recall, Miami Christian played in the Iolani Prep Classic in Honolulu, HI right before Christmas, at Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE right after Christmas, and then they flew across the country on consecutive weekends and played against Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA and Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA in early January.  Instead of realizing what a great educational experience traveling all over the country has been for the players in question, the Florida State High School Athletic Association apparently is out to get Miami head coach Art Alvarez for recruiting violations  And,as usual, the big loser not only will be these three players, but also all of the future players that Alvarez and other coaches in Miami potentially could bring to South Florida from Puerto Rico to both play basketball and enrich their lives educationally and socially.  Not only is Alvarez an excellent coach and successful business man, but he also knows where all the good basketball players can be found in Puerto Rico.  As a matter of fact, Alvarez is the coach of the Puerto Rican National Team and, as a result, it has already been rumored that he might quit coaching after this season (his son currently is a senior at Miami Christian) and work exclusively for NIKE, as the conduit for getting players to from Puerto Rico to the United States.  And, if this happens, that would be too bad for high school basketball in Miami, FL, because you can bet that Alvarez won't be placing any more players in the Sunshine State, which means it looks like once again a state association is cutting of its nose in order to spite its face.  Without knowing all the details, we also have to make note of the fact that Alvarez is an extremely smart guy.  In other words, it would be a major surprise, if he hasn't crossed all of his I's and dotted all of his T's when bringing these players from Puerto Rico to Miami, FL.   So it's our guess that Alvarez probably has a pretty good case, if, and when, he decides to challenge this ruling in court.  And, regardless of what happens, we're confident that Alvarez will be just as successful in whatever other endeavors he decides to pursue.  A perfect illustration can already be found by looking at how his team has responded to the loss of three of its best players.  Did you know that Miami (Christian) FL was down by as many as 19 points in the second half to Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL on Saturday, but thanks to a 27-point effort, including 13 points in the 4th quarter, by 6'5 Jesus Verdejo, they more than made it respectable, losing to one of the top teams in the state, 67-59, at home.  And then Miami Christian bounced back and beat Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL yesterday.  Unfortunately, due to the suspensions, we won't get to see whether Diaz is more like the player we saw at Slam Dunk to the Beach, where was absolutely sensational, or the player we saw twice earlier this month in California, where he was very ordinary (at least in terms of our expectations), until April in two of the post-season all-stars games.  Our guess is that Diaz will fall someplace in-between, because he still has a long way to go in terms of developing a feel of the game, point guards skills, and a consistent outside shot.   However, with his incredible leaping ability and Darrell Griffith/David Thompson like showmanship, there is no question in our mind that he not only is the most exciting high school player in the nation today, behind 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, but he also be the player down the road who that gets the entire city of Miami excited about the Hurricanes in basketball.  Speaking of Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, which currently is 10-0 against a national schedule, there is no question as to why they are the #1 high school team in the nation in the latest national high school poll, which was published this morning in the USA Today.   But there should be a lot of debate regarding who is #2.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson thinks that honor should go to Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, whose only loss this season came in overtime against Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH.  Donnie Wilkie, the tournament director of the City of Palms Classic, as well as one of the most knowledgeable people we know when it comes to high school basketball on a national basis, thinks Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ is the second best team in the land, despite the fact Kevin Boyle's team lost again last week and, as a result, has slipped to #10, one behind Columbus (Brookhaven) OH in today's USA Today poll.  Instead, the USA Today has Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA ranked #2.   But having seen all three teams - Fairfax, #5-ranked Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and #11-ranked Los Angeles (Westchester) CA - there is no question that Fairfax is no better than the third best team in California.  The problem is that teams like #5-ranked Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, #8-ranked Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and #10-ranked Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, all of whom should be ranked in the top five, knock each other off in the national holiday tournaments and, as a result, play a tougher schedule, but don't have as good a record as teams, like #2-ranked Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA (16-1), #3-ranked Rochester (McQuaid) NY (15-0), and #4-ranked Indianapolis (Pike) IN, all of whom are ranked ahead of them.

Monday, January 20, 2003

Going into the final day at Flyin' to the Hoop National Holiday Basketball Invitational Tournament in Vandalia, OH our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson thought Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ would beat Centereach (Our Savior Lutheran) NY in the championship game, due to the fact that St. Benedict's has two guards - 6'3 Art Bowers and 6'1 Bashir Mason Centereach (Our Savior Lutheran) NY - who have signed with Massachusetts and Drexel, plus the best player in the entire tournament after the first three days in 6'5 Jr Earl Smith.  However, it didn't turn out that way as Centereach (Our Savior Lutheran) NY, which had already beaten Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ twice earlier this season, got its revenge, 65-45, earlier tonight in the title game.  Our Savior New American was led by 6'8 Jr Juan Diego Tellos Palacios, who scored 24 points on 9-14 field goals, six rebounds, and three assists en route to tournament MVP honors.  Johnson also concurred that Palacios was the best player in the tournament based on his four-day tournament, but he had his most impressive performance in the opener when Our Savior New American pounded Lexington (Catholic) KY, 68-46, and Palacios finished with 27 points on 12-16 from the floor, 12 rebounds, and just missed a triple-double with nine assists.  However, Our Savior New American's semi-finals game was their toughest and Palacios' toughness and inside presence against Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD with 7'0 Will Bowers and 6'7 Jr Rudy Gay was the big difference, as he finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists.  Palacios tells most people he's wide open on schools, but when Johnson asked him if he taken any unofficial visits, Palacios confirmed that he's already been to Valparaiso, N.C. State, and Ohio State.  Palacios is a larger version of Jamal Mashburn, which must be why Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has already been to see him play a number of times this season.   Johnson also tells us that Palacios is a lot lighter on this feet and seemed to have a lot more court awareness than when Johnson saw him last summer.  "Palacios has lost 15 pounds and is a lot more explosive off the floor," says Johnson.  However, the key to Our Savior New American winning the championship so easily was the outstanding play of 6'7 Oumar Sylla, who just got better-and-better in every game throughout the tournament, culminating with an outstanding defense performance on  Smith, who was coming off a brilliant 30-point performance the previous day against 6'4 Vakeaton Wafer from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, in the championship game.  Sylla held Smith to 2-9 shooting from the field and only nine points and no assists.  Sylla also complemented Palacios with 13 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, and three steals.  This is why Sylla is ranked as the 5th best player in the tournament behind Palacios, Smith, Wafer, and 6'7 Jr Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD and ahead of 6'8 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham) MD, 6'1 Kojo Mensah from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 7'0 Jr Seth Gorney from Vandalia (Butler) OH, 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Ivan Harris from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 J.R. Pinnock from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 7'0 Will Bowers from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 Jr Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'5 Negus McKenna from Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) ON, 6'3 Art Bowers from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 7'0 Josh Higgins from Vandalia (Butler) OH, 6'6 Jr Arturas Jomantas from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Sam Pharr from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'9 Jr Aaron Agnew from Bellaire (H.S.) OH, 6'5 Anthony Teague from Cleveland (Shaker Heights) OH, 6'3 Jr Demetrius Green from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'7 Jordan Lear from Zanesville (H.S.) OH, 6'8 Jr Stanley Branch from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, and 6'9 Jr Hatila De Souza from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  The official all-tournament team, as selected by the tournament co-founders Bobby Jacobs and Eric Horstman included Palacios, Smith, Wafer, Gay, Mensah, and Gorney.  Speaking of Gorney, he led the host Vandalia (Butler) OH team, which is currently 15-0 and ranked #2 in the state in Division I behind Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, to a 63-49 victory over Zanesville (H.S.) OH in the championship in the Wright Brothers Bracket.  With Gorney's twin tower (Josh Higgins) in foul trouble and only playing half the game, Gorney played all but the last two minutes and scored a game high 22 points and 13 rebounds.  Gorney also blocked four shots, as Ohio State assistant coach's Paul Biancardi and LaMonta Stone both eagerly looking on.  Speaking of the Buckeyes, they are the favorite for Gorney over schools like Michigan State, Kansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana, and Xavier.  Gorney is similar physically to Syracuse's Craig Forth, but he plays more like former Kentucky/Villanova star Mike Bradley, although Gorney is not quite as explosive nor as athletic as Bradley.  Johnson also wants to talk about Smith, who has a great combination of athleticism, strength, and a quick release on his 3-point shoot.  "That's important," say Johnson.  "Because it doesn't require him to put the ball on the floor like most high school and college players have a tendency to do."  Speaking of college, the only school Smith mentioned was North Carolina.  However, more time to get his academics in order and the Tar Heels lack of scholarships have this one on hold.  Gay reminds Johnson of former Xavier player James Posey, except Gay is a lot bigger and more developed than Posey was at the same stage in high school.  Gay, who is big and strong enough to play inside in high school and college, has tremendous ball skills and a soft shooting touch.  Thus, explains why Johnson not only thinks Gay is ranked too low at #48 nationally on our latest junior class list, but it explains why he thinks Gay has a future at wing forward in the NBA.  As for his more immediate future, Gay told Johnson that Georgetown, Villanova, Connecticut, Syracuse, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia were the top schools on his list.  Johnson also wants to talk some more about the Valparaiso-bound Sylla, who he first saw last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp.  Sylla is one of the best defensive players Johnson has seen in a long time, invoking memories of former Memphis wing Cedric Henderson, who, at his size, was one of the best defensive players Johnson has ever seen.  But Sylla also is an excellent rebounder and great passer, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 7.8 ppg and 5.3 apg in the tournament.  Among the many important basketball people in the stands were Atlanta Celtics program director Wallace Prather and the father of 6'9 Jr Josh Smith from Powder Spring (McEachern) GA, who is ranked #5 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   So naturally Johnson took advantage of the opportunity and got a list of schools from Smith's father, who says that his son is being recruited by Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, LSU, UCLA, Alabama, and Florida State.  Prather also filled Johnson in on where all of his other top juniors are leaning.  The favorites for 6'10 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Atlanta Southwest Christian) GA, who is ranked #11 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, N.C. State, and UCLA.  How can UCLA be listed?  Don't they know that it's already a foregone conclusion that Bruins head coach Steve Lavin will be fired at the end of the season?  Well, if that happens, the Bruins will likely be out, because, just like everybody else in the business, they like Lavin.  Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Auburn, UNLV, and Duke are the favorites for 6'9 Jr Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, who is ranked #25 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has a 3.7 gpa in the classroom.  The list for 6'6 Jr Dwayne Day from Mt. Vernon (Montgomery County) GA includes Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Aubrun, Florida, Mississippi, and Miami-FL.   Georgia, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Mississippi, Florida State, Miami-FL are all showing interest in 6'3 Jr Montavious Waters from Leesburg (Lee County) GA.  For a while Johnson must have thought he was in the Peach State, because he also bumped into Georgia Elite head coach and HOOP SCOOP Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, who was in town to watch Tangara play.  Davis confirms that North Carolina, Memphis, and Michigan are still the schools you have to beat, but Tangara's list also includes Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, Florida State, Cincinnati, Charlotte.  Davis also filled Johnson in on 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME and it appears that Georgia leads Cincinnati for his services.  The biggest surprise of the tournament was 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) MD, who not only came out of the blue, but wasn't even listed on Mt. Zion's roster.  Not only was Carr the X-factor in Mt. Zion's surprising win over Oak Hill, as he finished 12 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, but he was glue that kept a lot of very individually talented players together.  Carr is listed as a junior, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor ranked Carr as the #17 junior in the area a year ago when he was at Philadelphia (University City) PA.  When Johnson gets us his updated rankings of the top players in Ohio later this week, he plans to have 6'10 Jr Matt Terwilliger from Troy (H.S.) OH and 6'9 Jr Aaron Agnew from Bellaire (H.S.) OH ranked #3 and #6, respectively, in the junior class.  Agnew, at 6'9, 350 lbs, needs to drop at least 30 pounds, but that hasn't stopped Xavier from pushing into the lead over Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Purdue.  Terwilliger's list includes Ohio State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Michigan State.   

Saturday, January 18, 2003, & Sunday, January 19, 2003

I have been on the disabled list with the flu since Thursday, January 16th, so my plans to attend the Louisville Invitational Tournament on Friday and the Flyin' to the Hoop National Holiday Basketball Invitational Tournament in Vandalia, OH this weekend have gone right out the window.   However, I have talked with several people who attended the Louisville Invitational Tournament and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson was at Flyin' to the Hoop National Holiday Basketball Invitational Tournament in Friday night, all day Saturday and today, and will be back again tomorrow.  The two biggest stories today were the surprising upset by Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, which beat Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 60-47, and the incredible scoring battle between 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX and 6'5 Jr Earl Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who Johnson's opinion are the top two players in the entire tournament.  Wafer won the scoring battle with 31 points versus only 30 points for Smith, but Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ won the game, 85-69, and, as a result, advances into tomorrow's championship game against Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY at 6:00 PM.  In the Mt Zion Christian-Oak Hill game, it wasn't that Mt. Zion Christian was that good, it was that Oak Hill shot the basketball that bad, as they hit only 16-59 field goals and only 3-18 from beyond the arc.  Tied for high scoring honors for Mt. Zion Christian were 6'7 Richard Dorsey with 12 points and 6'3 Tasheed Carr with 12 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.  Also chipping were 6'5 Soph Albert Webber with 11 points and 6'10 Jr Mohamed Tangara with 10 points for Mt. Zion Christian.  The leading scorer for Oak Hill was 6'6 Dion Deacons with 11 points, while 6'8 Ivan Harris and 6'3 J.R. Reynolds added 10 points apiece.  The two biggest stories at the Louisville Invitational Tournament came in Saturday morning's semi-finals game when Louisville (Eastern) KY shocked Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, which currently is the #1 ranked team in the state, 84-74, and 6'0 Jr Rajon Rondo from Louisville (Eastern) KY scored 47 points, which is second highest individual single game scoring performance in LIT history behind Manuel Forrest from Louisville (Moore) KY in 1981.  Rondo's stat line in the semi-finals also included 14-23 field goals, 2-3 3-pointers, 17-21 free throws, 13 rebounds, seven steals, and two assists.  Rondo also came up big in the championship game, as he hit 8-17 field goals and had 27 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, two steals in a 64-58 win over Louisville (Iroquois) KY, which knocked off Louisville (Male) KY, Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY, and Ratcliff (North Hardin) KY en route to the championship game.  Not only was Rondo named turned MVP, but now holds the all-time tournament scoring record with 148 points in five games, as he averaged 29.1 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 5.4 apg, and 5.1 spg.  The previous tournament scoring record was set by, you guessed it, Manual Forrest with 145 points in 1981.  Speaking of Forrest, did you know he was one of the first players I discovered?  As a matter of fact, when Forrest was a freshman in high school in 1977-78, I said that he was the Player-of-the-Future in Kentucky Basketball, which was a one time pre-season publication that gave me my first real start in the business.  Actually, I gave myself my own start, because I was the editor and publisher of that publication, which sold 7,000-8,000 copies on newstands and in stores in Louisville, KY and Lexington, KY.  Former University of Kentucky head coach Joe Hall, Louisville All-American Darrell Griffith, and Ballard High School star Jerry Eaves were the three people on the cover and believe it or not, I have people today who tell me they still have a copy of that publication.  Also interesting is the fact that the next spring, after Kentucky beat Duke for the NCAA Championship, Blue Devils head coach Bill Foster was quoted saying that the only the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook and a high school kid in Louisville, KY had Duke ranked anywhere pre-season that year.  As a matter of fact, we had the four teams in the NCAA Final Four in March of 1978 all ranked among the our top 11 in nationally.   Kentucky was #1, Notre Dame was #4, Duke was #9, and Arkansas was #11.  In other words, I've been ranking both players and teams more accurately than most of the competition for 25 years now and I'm only 43-years-old.  Getting back to the Louisville Invitational Tournament, if you live off the 3-points shot, sometimes you die from 3-point shot.   Thus, was the case with Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, which hit only 29-79 field goals and only 6-22 3-pointers in the semi-finals against Louisville (Eastern) KY.   Pleasure Ridge Park was led by 5'10 Soph Juan Spillman with 14 points and 13 rebounds, 6'1 Carlos Williams with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and 6'5 Donte Sweet with 13 points and nine rebounds.   Louisville (Iroquois) KY, which knocked off Ratcliff (North Hardin) KY in the other semi-finals game, 63-53, featured a very balanced scoring attack, as five players scored between 14 and nine points.  However, the key to the game was the outside shooting provided by 6'0 Derrick Goodloe from Louisville (Iroquois) KY, who hit four big trifectas in the second half.  The leading scorer and best player for North Hardin was 6'5 Jr Demetrius Guions with 24 points and 16 rebounds.  Also chipping with 12 points and 10 rebounds for North Hardin was 6'6 Andre Woodson, who has already verbally committed to play football at the University of Kentucky.  The leading scorer for Iroquois in the championship game once again was Goodloe with 19 points.  The all-tournament team included Rando, Goodloe, Woodson, Guions, Sweet, 6'2 Maurice Blakey from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 5'11 JordanWhitaker from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'0 Pat Kelly from Louisville (St. Xavier) KY, 6'3 Jr Melvin Beasley from Louisville (Iroquois) KY, 6'2 Demetrius Fuqua from Louisville (Iroquois) KY, 6'3 Gerard Garrett from Louisville (Doss) KY, Jermaine Bentley from Louisville (Eastern) KY, and Chris Taylor from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY.

Friday, January 17, 2003

It is the editorial position of the HOOP SCOOP that the Ohio State High School Athletic Association should just shut up and cash in on 6'7 LeBron James the same way Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH has done.  If you will recall, St. Vincent-St. Mary's has played all over the nation and met every challenge so far this season with an undefeated record and, as a result, the school stands to make almost as much as a million dollars off James, who not only is the #1 high school player in the nation regardless of class, but also has the same type of drawing power that Michael Jordan has.  Don't believe it?  Well, the starting price for James in the shoe company bidding war between NIKE and adidas is reported to be $20 million and you can bet NBA general managers will be standing in line waiting to see if the team that gets the #1 pick in next spring's NBA Draft might be willing to make a trade after they select James.  However, the Ohio State High School Athletic Association is trying to find something wrong in the fact that James' mother was able to get a loan to buy a $49,000 car.  Obviously James, who barring injury or something totally unforeseen, will be worth 100's of millions of dollars down the road and, as a result, there is no question that James' mother should be able to get a secured loan for a car based on her son's future money making potential.  This would be a very small investment, if James decided to do all of his future banking business with the financial institution that recently lent James' mother the money to buy Hummer.  Remember, the bank does have collateral.  If something unforeseen should happens (i.e. a career ending injury) and, as a result, James isn't able to continue to make the payments, they can always repossess the car.  But in some people eyes there appears to be a different standard for the student-athlete.  Don't you think any bank in the nation would be willing to provide a secured loan to the mother of a boy genius who had just discovered a cure for cancer, but hadn't yet had time cash in on the hundred's of millions that he would be expected to make from drug companies?   Unfortunately the Ohio State High School Athletic Association is trying to make this an issue about amateurism.  But really it's about maintaining institutional control.  In other words, it's just like with the NCAA, whereby, their stupid rules are more important than the student-athlete they're supposed to protect.  However, in this case the Ohio State High School Athletic Association might be biting the hand that feeds it.  Just image how much revenue in ticket sales they would stand to lose if they ruled James ineligible before the Ohio State Tournament, which is about a month-and-a-half away.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also points out something else very interesting about James, who apparently is interested in breaking the record held by Clark Kellogg, who to this day is one of the best high school players this writer has ever seen.  Did you know that Kellogg participated in seven all-star games in 1979 and was either the MVP or the co-MVP in every game?  Normally in this day-and-age that wouldn't be possible, because players who are interested in maintaining their college eligibility can only play in two post-season all-star games.  However, if you're planning on by-passing college and going straight into the NBA Draft in June (as appears to be the case with James), NCAA rules don't apply.  James already is committed to play in the McDonald's All-American Game, Sonny Vaccaro's Roundball Classic, and the Michael Jordan Capital Classic and hopefully will also play in the Derby Classic, but finding eight good games to play in might be tough.  So with this in mind, we wouldn't be surprised if several new all-stars pop up and/or if Dinos Trigonis brought back the Dada Classic and made the "LeBron James goes to Hollywood Story" a sequel.  Remember, everyplace James goes sells out (i.e. the only time Pauley Pavilion has been sold out this year was when James played in the Dream Classic two weeks ago).  Obviously this is a testament to what a tremendous competitor and great player LeBron James really is.  And this wouldn't be the first time that James has run the risk of injury in order to compete and find new challenges.  If you will recall, James wanted to be the first high school player in the history of Ohio to led his team to a state championship in both football and basketball in the same year and, as a result, was one of the top football players in the state, as well as the best basketball player in the state during his season.  That's in sharp contrast to guys like 7'0 Tyson Chandler and 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, both of whom didn't play in any of the post-season all-star games two years ago, because they didn't want to hurt their NBA Draft status.  And things like this are very important to know if you are an NBA General Manager.  Who would you want?   A tremendous competitor who never ducks the competition and gets 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven or eights assists, even on a bad night, or a player who is more concerned about the value of his stock dropping than reaping the rewards of traveling all over the country and competing against the top high school players in the nation several more times?

Thursday, January 16, 2003

Louisville (Iroquois) KY beat Louisville (Male) KY in double overtime, 70-68; Louisville (Eastern) KY beat Louisville (Trinity) KY, 66-46; Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY beat Louisville (Doss) KY, 74-52; and Louisville (Ballard) KY beat Louisville (St. Xavier) KY, 65-62; in the second round of the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Louisville Invitational Tournament yesterday at Louisville Gardens in Louisville, KY.  This sets up tomorrow's quarterfinals games, which will feature Louisville (Ballard) KY versus Radcliff (North Hardin) KY at 4:00 PM, followed by Louisville (Iroquois) KY versus Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY at 5:30 PM, Louisville (Eastern) KY versus Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY at 7:00 PM, and Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY versus Owensboro (Daviess County) KY at 8:30 PM.  Some of the top performances yesterday were turned by 5'11 Jr Rajon Rondo from Louisville (Eastern) KY with 27 points; 6'3 Michael Bush from Louisville (Male) KY with 22 points; 6'10 Jr Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocked shots; 6'2 Maurice Blakey from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY with 14 points; 5'11 JordanWhitaker from Louisville (Ballard) KY with 23 points; and 6'0 Derrick Goodloe from Louisville (Iroquois) KY with 20 points.  However, the most interesting part of the evening was talking with Louisville (Manual) KY head coach Dave Zuberer.   First, Zuberer provided us with a list of some of the top 8th graders in Louisville, KY.  That list includes 6'1 Antwain Beckman from Louisville (Highland Middle School) KY, 6'2 Devin Anderson from Louisville (Kammener Middle School) KY, 5'9 Doug Beaumont from Louisville (Barrett Middle) KY, 6'0 Cameron ???????? from Louisville (Highland Middle School) KY, and 6'4 Brandon Young from Louisville (Moore Middle School) KY.  Louisville (Seneca) KY, Louisville (Moore) KY and Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY are the leaders for Beckman.  Anderson will probably go to high school at Louisville (Ballard) KY, Beaumont appears to be bound for Louisville (Male) KY, and Young is expected to enroll Louisville (Moore) KY.  Nobody has a last night for Cameron, but we do know that his top two schools are Louisville (Ballard) KY and Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY.  Zuberer also provides us with the name of one super seven grader - 6'4 Allen Murphy from Louisville (Farnsley Middle School) KY.  He tells us that Murphy's father is an assistant coach at Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, which means it would be a major surprise if Murphy isn't already bound for this basketball factory in the Louisville's South End.  Second, Zuberer denies the rumor about 6'1 Nolan Smith from Forestville, MD, who is the #2-ranked 8th grader nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, moving to Louisville, KY and enrolling at Louisville (Manual) KY.   However, this is not as far-fetched as one might think, because Smith is the son of former Louisville star Derek Smith.  As a matter of fact, Smith played briefly last spring with the Derek Smith All-Stars and, as a result, we suspect Smith will play some in the future for the club team for which his late father is named.  However, unless Smith moves to Louisville, KY, it is our guess that he will play for DC Assault during the July Evaluation Period.  Remember, the NCAA implemented a rule a year ago that prohibits college coaches from going to events where the participating teams have players who live further than 100 miles away from where the team is based.  But, if by some chance, Smith does move to Louisville, KY, then the top two 8th graders in the nation would both go to school in the Bluegrass State.   Remember, the consensus #1-ranked 8th grader is 6'3 O.J. Mayo from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY.

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Last night Louisville (Eastern) KY beat Louisville (Moore) KY, 47-36; Louisville (Iroquois) KY beat Fern Creek (H.S.) KY, 54-52; Louisville (St. Xavier) KY beat Louisville (Butler) KY, 66-50; and Louisville (Doss) KY beat Louisville (DeSales) KY, 58-49; in the opening round of the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Louisville Invitational Tournament at Louisville Gardens in Louisville, KY.  That set's up today's schedule, which will feature Louisville (Male) KY versus Louisville (Fern Creek) KY at 3:00 PM, Louisville (Eastern) KY versus Louisville (Trinity) KY at 4:30 PM, Louisville (Doss) KY versus Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY at 6:00 PM, and Louisville (Ballard) KY versus Louisville (St. Xavier) KY at 7:30 PM.  Tomorrow will be off-day, so it will be the winner of Louisville (Ballard) KY-Louisville (St. Xavier) KY versus Radcliff (North Hardin) KY on Friday at 4:00 PM, followed by the winner of Louisville (Male) KY-Louisville (Iroquois) KY versus Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY at 5:30 PM, the winner of Louisville (Eastern) KY-Louisville (Trinity) KY versus Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY at 7:00 PM, and the winner of Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY-Louisville (Doss) KY versus Owensboro (Daviess County) KY at 8:30 PM.  The semi-finals will be on Saturday, January 18th, at 10:30 AM and Noon and the championship will be at 7:30 PM that same night.  The top players will include 6'3 Michael Bush from Louisville (Male) KY, 5'11 Jr Rajon Rando from Louisville (Eastern) KY, 6'10 Jr Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'2 Sean Booker from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'3 Soph Ravon Lee from Louisville (Ballard) KY,  6'6 Andre Woodson from Ratcliff (North Hardin) KY, 6'2 Maurice Blakey from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'5 Torey Meagher from Louisville (St. Xavier) KY, 5'10 Soph Juan Spillman from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'6 Jr Mario Urruito from Fern Creek (H.S.) KY, 6'8 Jr Kyle Martin from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, and 6'8 Jr Matt Marcesa from Bowling Green (Warren Central) KY.   Obviously high school basketball in the state of Kentucky is down this year, but there are some good  teams and players from around in the state that are worth seeing, like Lexington (Catholic) KY with 6'2 Jr William Graham, 6'4 Jr Harrison Morton, 6'3 Jr Demetrius Green, and 5'11 Jr Brian Smith; Ashland (Rose Hill) KY with 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo; Maysville (Mason County) with 6'1 Jr Chris Lofton; Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY with 6'8 Ross Neltner; Union (Ryle) KY with 6'7 Justin Doellman; Independence (Simon Kenton) KY with 6'8 Michael Brock; and Bowling Green (H.S.) KY with 6'8 Tyler Ray.  Unfortunately none of these teams and players are participating in this year's L.I.T. and, as a result, it's very difficult to get excited about this year's tournament.  Still, there maybe be a few sleepers who come out of the woodwork, as well as a few interesting stories, for us to write about later in the week.  So stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Allen Rubin tells us that 6'1 Jr Jamual Warren, 6'5 Jr Roosevelt Lee, and 6'10 Soph Vernon Goodrich, all three of whom were at Milford (Academy) CT, which recently closed, have now surfaced at Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  For our purposes Warren and Lee are both listed as seniors, but technically they have been reclassified as juniors.  Goodrich also has been reclassified as a sophomore.  Rubin also reports that 5'10 Marcus Harley from Rosemont (Harriton) PA, who is ranked #30 in the area by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Lafayette and that 6'6 Mark Zollar from Philadelphia (St. Joseph Prep) PA, who is ranked #22 in the area by the HOOP SCOOP, has Cornell, Columbia, Colgate, La Salle, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Monmouth, Lehig