TODAY'S HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION

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Friday, January 30, 2004 and Saturday, January 31, 2004

Yesterday 6'2 Antonio Kellogg from Oakland (McClymonds) CA verbally committed to the University of Connecticut and this is big for the Huskies, because Kellogg, who currently is ranked #125 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, arguably is best point guard still available in either the high school or prep school ranks.  Kellogg also is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally.  If you will recall, Kellogg was not ranked among the top 225 players in the Class of 2004 prior to the start of the summer, but finished ranked #7 at the point guard position and #41 overall last summer at the NIKE All-American Camp and was the best player on the West Coast who was still available.  Kellogg also appears to be the perfect complement in this recruiting class to 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #13 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is expected to be the heir apparent to Taliek Brown at point guard next year.  As a matter of fact, just like Price, Kellogg is interchangeable at both the one and the two spots.  In other words, we're talking about somebody with the speed and quickness, handling and passing skills, and court savvy necesssary to play point guard and the outside shooting and scorer's mentality necessary to also be very effective at the wing guard spot.  Kellogg also is a terrific athletic, good defender, and has an excellent understanding of the game, plus he's already qualified academically.  The addition of Kellogg moves Connecticut's recruiting class, which also includes Price and 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, up to #16 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, even more important it appears that the Huskies already have a replacement for Brown, who will graduate after this season, and 6'10 Jr Emeka Okafor, 6'2 Jr Ben Gordon, and 6'10 Frosh Charlie Villanueva, all of whom could potentially enter their names into the NBA Draft this spring.  Remember, the Huskies also have 6'8 Ed Nelson, who transferred from Georgia Tech to Connecticut last spring, sitting out this season.  And, if Nelson counted with Connecticut's recruiting class, the Huskies would be ranked #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Connecticut beat schools like Oklahoma, Kansas, St. Joseph's, Washington, and Louisville for Kellogg's services.  And this too is important, because it appears that Louisville is trying to hedge their bets in case 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY enters his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  We also understand that 6'7 Luther Boyd from Iowa Western (JC) IA, who verbally committed yesterday to Lamar, is having second thoughts and, as a result, now has plans to make official visits to Lamar, Loyola-Chicago, and Wisconsin-Green Bay.  And Boyd is not the only player at Iowa Western (JC) IA who is still available.  As a matter of fact, another one of Lamar's prime targets appears to be Boyd's teammate - 6'2 Kris Collins from Iowa Western (JC) IA, who is back in junior college for another year after a brief stint a year ago at Minnesota.  However, the competition for Collins is intense, because he also has schools like St. Bonaventure, New Mexico, Clemson, and Baylor on his list.   Siena, Canisius, and Campbell are in the hunt for 6'3 Wade Dunston from Iowa Western (JC) IA, but he has the talent to get recruited by schools at a higher level.  Valparaiso, North Dakota State, Drake, and Maine are among those involved with 6'8 Matt O'Connor from Iowa Western (JC) IA and 6'7 Chris Temple from Iowa Western (JC) IA is getting the most interest from Missouri-Kansas City and East Tennessee State.

Thursday, January 29, 2004

6'9 Jerome Habel from Washington (Marriott Charter School) DC told us when we saw him at Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE in late December that the three schools showing the most interest in him were Cincinnati, Florida State, and Providence.  So it comes as no surprise that the Seminoles have won the recruiting battle for this athletic power forward who is currently ranked #42 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players and was one of the fastest rising recruitable players in the nation.  Sure, Habel needs to get bigger and stronger physically, but every time we see him play, dating to back to last summer at the NIKE Peach Jam to more recently at Slam Dunk to the Beach, Habel just got better and better.  In other words, we're talking about a warrior inside, plus he also uses his athleticism and skills to beat you from mid-range and on the perimeter.  If Habel were still a high school senior, he wouldn't be ranked among our top 100 nationally right now, but he has an unlimited upside and potential.  So, as things stand now, the addition of Habel moves the Seminoles' recruiting class, which also includes 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, into a tie at #17, along with Marquette, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And, if they also get 6'6 Cornelius Ingram from Hawthorne (H.S.) FL, who is expected to pick either Florida or Florida State and hopes to play both football and basketball in college, then their recruiting class would move up up to #16 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  But the real icing on the cake would be if Leonard Hamilton and his staff could steal another inside player, like 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'11 Sani Ibrahim from Gulf Coast (JC) FL, or 6'10 Aaron Pettway from Hutchinson (JC) KS.  Should this happen, we not only would be talking about back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes, but there would be not doubt about the fact that Florida State has arrived as one of the perennial powers in college basketball.  We also have confirmed that Lamar has landed 6'7 Luther Boyd from Iowa Western (JC) IA and this is the icing on the cake for the Cardinals, because Boyd, who was ranked as an Honorable Mention Junior College All-American last fall by NBADraft.net, is a good old-fashioned 6'7, 240 lbs banger inside. "Boyd has the big body that coaches love for the low post and he has the capability to score and control the backboards," says Hoops Oasis, which is a Illinois and Missouri-based high school and junior college web site.  "He will also step out and shoot the face-up jumper."  Boyd, who played his senior year of high school at Chicago Heights (Bloom) IL, after transferring from Hoffman Estates (Conant) IL, was also recruited by schools like Texas Christian, Houston, Saint Louis, Illinois-Chicago, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Loyola-Illinois, Marshall.  The addition of Boyd moves Lamar's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Thomas Fairley from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'4 Chuck Foster from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, 6'6 Durand Murray from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'2 Jeremy Long from Eastern Arizona (JC) AZ, up to #37 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  We also have confirmed via our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis that 6'3 Wesley Washington, who signed with Minnesota a year ago, but was denied admission into school last spring, has finally surfaced at Yapavai (JC) AZ, where he will practice with the team the remainder of the season and be eligible to play either in junior college or at a four-year Division I school next year, depending upon whether he can get his academic situation in order during the next seven months.  Either way, it appears that he will have three years of eligibility to play at the Division I level, because this year will count as his red-shirt year.  We also still think that 6'5 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is one of the fastest rising players in senior class nationally, will not end up at USC, which is the school that he signed with during the Fall Signing Period.  Instead, we are guessing that Pruitt will not qualify academically and will go the prep school route, which means that, just like Washington, his recruitment may start all over.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'9 Soph Keith Clark, who is ranked #18 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, was dismissed recently from the Midwest City (H.S.) OK team and, as a result, has transferred to Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK.  And this is important, because Putnam City already has the best junior in the state in 6'2 Jr C.J. Henry.  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Soph Chris Roquemore, who is ranked #26 nationally in the sophomore class, has transferred from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX to Alvin (Livingston Christian) TX, and his former teammate 6'7 Jr Rashad Woods from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, who is ranked #78 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, may not be too far behind.

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

It comes as no surprise that we've gotten a lot of feedback with regards to our Rankings of the Top Coaches in the Game Today, which we published two days ago exclusively in the Members Section, and it is very interesting.  Several fans think Washington State's Dick Bennett is ranked too high at #11 on our list of the Top Head Coaches in the Game Today, but his peers will tell us that Bennett is as good as there is in terms of X's and O's and in his first year as head coach of the Cougars, Bennett has already won more games than the previous regime won all last season (currently Washington State is 8-9 and last year they finished only 7-20).  A Kentucky fan accuses us of being anti-Kentucky, because nobody on the Wildcats' coaching staff is ranked among the Top 70 Assistant Coaches.  And, after the Kentucky landed 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is ranked #18 nationally and is the second highest ranked 2-guard nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, yesterday and 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, as well as a legitimate top 30 player in the class, earlier this week, a you can bet that Wildcats assistant coach Scott Rigot will not only make the list, but he will move up dramatically next time we update these rankings.  Remember, Kentucky now has the #9-ranked recruiting class on our list the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and they might not be done yet, as they still appear to be among the leaders for 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA and 68 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  Another Kentucky fan, who apparently agrees with several letters that appeared earlier this week in the Louisville Courier-Journal from overjealous Kentucky fans who want to get rid of Tubby Smith, accuses us of being too pro-Smith and too pro-Kentucky.  However, we have to respectfully disagree.  As a matter of fact, if Kentucky had beaten Louisville this year, Smith would have been ranked #2 on the our ahead of Louisville's Rick Pitino.  Yes, it's that close!  A Florida State fan wants to know why only one of Leonard Hamilton's assistant coaches (Stan Jones) made our list of the Top 70 Assistant Coaches?  And we think he makes a great point.  However, we're not sure who to bump in order to get Mike Jaskulski and Tony Sheals onto the list.  Instead, we suspect that they will just move up dramatically, just like Connecticut's Clive Vaughan and Tom Moore did this year, a year or two from now, as the Seminoles continue to emerge as one of the powerhouse teams in college basketball.  Other astute observers have wanted to know why Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo wasn't ranked any higher than #32 on our list of the Top 70 Assistant Coaches, why Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien has fallen off the list of the Top Head Coaches in the Game Today, and why Nebraska's Scott Spinelli didn't make the list of the Top 70 Assistiant Coaches.  We think Spinelli, who was ranked #12 on the list of Top 40 Assistant Coaches Who Aren't In One of the Top 10 Division I Conferences a year ago when he was at Loyola-Illinois, is one of the rising stars in the business.  But this is only the first year Spinelli has been an assistant coach at the high Division I level and, as a result, thought it would be good to give Spinelli a year or two to pay his dues, while, at the same time,giving some other guys the recognition that they so richly deserve.  There is no doubt that O'Brien is a great coach, but what you've done lately means a lot (currently the Buckeyes are 1-4 in the Big-10 and 9-9 overall this season) when compiling a list of the Top Head Coaches in the Game Today.  However, if the Buckeyes get 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI this spring and turn things around next season, you can bet that O'Brien will be right back up where he belongs in future.  As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise us if O'Brien takes the spot of Rick Majerus, who was hospitalized with heart problems last night and will resign at the end of the current season, when we update this list next season.  DeMeo is the guy who recruited all those guys, like Abdul Mills, Ryan Gomes, Sheiku Kabba, and Donnie McGrath, that most people missed on to Providence.  Speaking of Gomes, it's too bad that Andy Katz of ESPN didn't have a better source on just how good Gomes was in high school.  We're talking about a guy who just missed being ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, but never got the respect he deserved, despite being a 20-point/rebound a game guy, because he was a 6'7 undersized power forward and Wayne Simone, who runs the Connecticut Select AAU program, kept trying to pass Gomes off as being a wing forward.   Somebody else wants to know how I could omit Kevin Keatts from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA from our list of the Top 25 High School/Prep School Coaches?  "He has the #1 ranked team in the country this year and is a proven prep school coach from his time before when he was at Hargrave.  He has six players that have committed early going to:  Florida State, Arkansas, USC, Dayton, Xavier, and Louisville.  His career record at Hargrave, not including this year's 14-1 start, is 47-4.  Not to mention 100% of his kids have qualified."  Do you get the idea that ranking coaches is a lot harder than ranking players?  However, I will stand by our current rankings, especially in light of our track record when it comes to the ranking of the top assistant coaches recent years.  Looking back to to 1999, we had Virginia's Bobby Gonzalez and Duke's Quin Synder ranked as the top two assistant coaches in the game and within a year they had head coaching jobs at Manhattan and Missouri.  Two years ago, three of our top five assistant coaches - Arizona's Jay John, Kansas' Neil Dougherty, and Connecticut's Dave Leitao - got head coaching jobs at Oregon State, Texas Christian, and DePaul, all of which are schools in big-time conference.  And last spring three of our top four-ranked assistant coaches - Ohio State's Paul Biancardi, Louisville's Mick Cronin, and Michigan State's Brian Gregory - got head coaching jobs at Wright State, Murray State, and Dayton, where they each now have their team ranked either first or second in their respective league standings.  But I am interested in what you think.  Who is ranked too high?   Who is ranked too low?  And who are we missing on our different lists of the top coaches in the game?  Please email me at hoopscooponline@msn.com or call me at 1-502-500-4667.

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

After Joe Crawford's father said last week that his son probably not decide between Kentucky and Michigan until the end of the high school season and due to the fact 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA verbally committed to the University of Kentucky over the weekend, it was a major surprise when our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson told us late last night that 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI had also verbally committed to the Wildcats.  In other words, Kentucky has reloaded at both guards positions, as they currently have Patrick Sparks, who transferred from Western Kentucky to Kentucky last spring, sitting out this season and Crawford, Rondo, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV all listed as a part of their current recruiting class.  However, they have yet to shore up their immediate inside needs.  Sure, 6'6 Chuck Hayes, who might just be the best undersized power forward in college basketball, will be back for another season and 7'1 Frosh Lukasz Obrzut is showing signs that he might develop into more than just a role player, but the Wildcats still need another quality inside player, like 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA or 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, in order to avoid being very similar to this season's team, which has dramatically overachieved with an undersized wing forward in Erik Daniels at center, Hayes at power forward, and a bunch of guards in the line-up.  As a matter of fact, University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith once again should be one of the early leading candidates for National Coach-of-the-Year honors, along with St. Joseph's Phil Martelli, Stanford's Mike Montgomery, Air Force's Joe Scott, Texas Tech's Bob Knight, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, Wake Forest's Skip Prosser, Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, and South Carolina's Dave Odom.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that it appears the Wildcats are still in the hunt with Morris and Palacios, which means Kentucky may fill their immediate needs now and sort out the rest later.  Remember, NCAA rules state that a Division I school can only sign eight players over a two-year period (five one-year and three the next).  But as things stand now, Kentucky has nine players - Sparks, Crawford, Bradley, Rondo, Williams, Obrzut, Shagari Alleyne, Sheray Thomas, and Bobby Perry - who are expected to count toward their current two-year scholarship limit.  The most obvious move to get around the five-eight rule would be get Williams to go the prep school route, but there also appears to be a possibility that Sparks might be willing to walk-on next year and, as a result, free up yet another scholarship.  There is always the possibility that for the second time since the five-and-eight rule was implemented in the spring of 2000, the NCAA could give Division I schools an additional scholarship over the current two-year period.  Or they could throw out the five-and-eight rule altogether.  However, even this would not solve Kentucky's 13-player scholarship limit problem.  If you will recall, the Wildcats currently have four seniors in Cliff Hawkins, Gerald Fitch, Antwain Barbour, and Erik Daniels; two juniors in Josh Carrier and Chuck Hayes, three sophomores in Kelenna Azubuike, Bernard Cote, and Brandon Stockton, and four freshmen in Lukasz Obrzut, Shagari Alleyne, Sheray Thomas, and Bobby Perry.  So with 13 players already on scholarship this year, Kentucky was able to finesse the scholarship limit this year by getting Stockton to enroll in school and sit out as a walk-on.  And with Crawford, Bradley, Rondo, and Williams already counting as part of the current recruiting class, Kentucky already appears to have the same problem next year.  So, if they hit the jackpot and get either Morris or Palacios, Kentucky would have to get Sparks to walk-on another year and get Williams to go to prep school.  Usually these things have a way of working out, but signing six players and letting it work itself out later has been known to backfire.  The best example is when UNLV finished with the #5-ranked recruiting class, which included 6'10 Chris Adams from San Francisco (JC) CA, 5'10 Jerel Blassinghame from L.A. City (JC) CA, 6'8 Romel Beck from L.A. City (JC) CA, 6'6 Andy Hannan from Minneapolis Community (JC) MN, 6'3 John Winston from Richmond (Salesian) CA, and 6'2 Michael Umeh from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, last spring.  But when it came time for them to all enroll in school, Adams, who not only was the best player in the class, but also was a consensus top five junior college player a year ago, suddenly became the odd-man-out and, instead, had to go to Fresno State at the last minute.  The problem stemmed from the fact that all six players in the Runnin' Rebels recruiting clas made it academically, but Adams was the last one do so.  And this could actually happen with Kentucky, if the Wildcats get a commitment from Morris or Palacios and Williams doesn't want to walk-on or go to prep school.  Remember, Williams signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent last fall, which means he's guaranteed a scholarship at Kentucky for one-year.  If Kentucky also gets Morris, he and Crawford would ultimiately be the two best players in the program and, as a result, Rondo still could end up being the odd-man-out.  And, if this happens, and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, as expected to, enters his name into the NBA Draft this spring and Louisville once again needs a point guard, maybe the Wildcats would be willing to trade Rondo to the Cardinals for a player to be named later.  However, the smart money is on Williams attending prep school at Fork Union (Military) VA.  Remember, Smith's such good friends with Fork Union head coach Fletcher Arritt that he trusted him to coach his youngest son, Brian Smith, this season.  The only other news that Johnson has to pass along involves 6'6 Keena Young from South Plains (JC) TX, who originally was part of the package with 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX to Memphis.  However, when Perkins entered his name into the NBA Draft last spring, Young decided to go the junior college route for a year and, as a result, still has three years of college eligibility remaining due to the fact that he was academically qualified when he graduated from high school.  This moves Texas Tech's recruiting class into a tie at #69, along with Washington State and Wagner, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And this precedes Texas Tech's great head start on the future.  Remember, the Red Raiders already have early verbal commitments from 6'8 Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Kendrick Johnson from Morton (H.S.) TX, and 6'3 Calvin Johnson from Morton (H.S.) TX, which explains why their recruiting class is ranked #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.

Monday, January 26, 2004

The fact that Louisville head coach Rick Pitino announced earlier today that he is taking an indefinite leave of absence for health reasons, does not influence our Rankings of the Top Head Coaches in College Basketball, which was has been published exclusively in the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP.  However, we do find that there were some other changes in our rankings when compared to a year ago, as University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith moves up to #3, behind Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Pitino and ahead of Texas Tech's Bob Knight, Arizona's Lute Olson, North Carolina's Roy Williams, Cincinnati's Bob Huggins, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, Maryland's Gary Williams, and Michigan State's Tom Izzo, all of whom were ranked among the top 10 coaches in college basketball a year ago by the HOOP SCOOP.  The next major changes are the addition to the list of Dick Bennett, who came out of retirement last spring to coach Washington State, at #11 and the dramatic rise of Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, who finally is getting the respect he deserves after winning the NCAA Championship in the spring of 2003, at #12.  Rounding out our List of the Top 35 Head Coaches in the College Game Today in order are Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton, Florida's Billy Donovan, Utah's Rick Majerus, Stanford's Mike Montgomery, Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson, Purdue's Gene Keady, Wake Forest's Skip Prosser, Texas' Rick Barnes, Marquette's Tom Crean, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan, Memphis' John Calipari, Indiana's Mike Davis, N.C. State's Herb Sendek, St. Joseph's Phil Martelli, UCLA's Ben Howland, Holy Cross' Ralph Willard, Creighton Dana Altman, Temple's John Chaney, South Carolina's Dave Odom, California's Ben Braun, and UNLV's Charlie Spoonhour.  And just missing making this list are Notre Dame's Mike Brey and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton, who, instead, head our list of the Top 40 Head Coaches Who are in the Middle of Their Career, but have the Potential to Move Onto Our List of the Top 35 Head Coaches in the Game Today.  We also have a list of the Top 30 Up-And Coming Head Coaches (must have been a head coach five-years or less at the Division I level), which is headed by Manhattan's Bobby Gonzalez, Arkansas' Stan Heath,and Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon; the Top 70 Assistant Coaches, which is headed by Villanova's Fred Hill, Florida's Anthony Grant, and Kansas' Norm Roberts; the Top 40 Assistant Coaches Who Aren't in One of the Top 10 Division I Conferences, which is headed by Lamar's Steve Roccaforte, College of Charleston's Pat Skerry, and Illinois State's Steve Forbes; the Ranking of the Top 20 Top Guys Who Are In an Adminstrative Position, Like Director of Basketball Operations, Administrative Assistant, or Video Coordinator, which is headed by Indiana's Dusty May, St. John's Alex Evans, and Iowa State's Darryl Sharp; the Ranking of the Top Five Coaches Who May Be Back Sooner Than Later, which is headed by former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis former North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty, and former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin; and the Ranking of the Top High School and/or Prep School Coaches Nationally, which is headed by Bob Hurley, Sr of Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, Jere Quinn of Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and Steve Smith of Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Victoria Sun, who is the beat writer who covers the University of Kentucky basketball for the Cincinnati Post, has the scoop on 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who verbally committed to the Wildcats earlier today.  And this is very significant for a number of reasons.  First, Rondo is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, as is evident by the fact that Rondo is currently ranked #102 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but will move up into the 30-40 range nationally next time we up-date our rankings after stepping in and doing a marvelous job of running the show for the #1-ranked high school team in the nation.  As a matter of fact, Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith will tell you that Rondo has been his team's Most Valuable Player, which is saying a lot when one remembers that Oak Hill also has 6'9 Josh Smith, who is projected as a high first round draft pick, if he enters his name into the NBA Draft this spring; 6'9 Brian Johnson, who is ranked #30 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Louisville; 6'7 DayShaun Wright, who is ranked #46 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is bound for Syracuse; and 6'4 Jr.K.C. Rivers, who is ranked #40 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, the verbal commitment by Rondo means that the Wildcats are out of scholarships, according the five-and eight rule, whereby, Division I schools are limited to signing only eight players over a two year period.  If you will recall, the Wildcats signed Shagari Alleyne, Sheray Thomas, Bobby Perry, and Lukasz Obrzut a year ago; added Patrick Sparks, who transferred from Western Kentucky to Kentucky last spring; and signed 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL during the Fall Signing Period.  It is possible that the NCAA may pass legislation this spring that allow Division I schools to sign nine players, instead of eight, over a two-year period and/or Williams might decide to go the prep school route.  So we'd be surprised if the Wildcats don't continue to recruit 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA and 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  Remember, Kentucky needs to sign another inside player and right now Morris' final two schools appear to be Kentucky and Georgia Tech and Palacios' top five are Louisville, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Texas, and Baylor. Third, despite the quotes from 6'3 Joe Crawford's father several days ago saying that Kentucky's recent scholarship offer to Rondo won't have any effect on Crawford's decision, Rondo's verbal commitment to the Wildcats should all but assure that Crawford will go to the University of Michigan.  In other words, we find it hard to believe that Kentucky would take another guard when they already will have three excellent guards (Sparks, Bradley, and Rondo) in the program and need to land another inside player, like Morris or Palacios, who can step in and make an immediate impact next season.  Fourth, Rondo also had been attracting interest from schools like Illinois, Georgia, USC, Florida, Arkansas, and Boston College, but, when it was all said and done, most people thought Rondo would end up at Louisville, if 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY decides to by-pass college and enters his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  At least that was the case until the Wildcats recently jumped into the mix.  And this is important, because it puts Kentucky one up on the scoreboard in terms of keeping up with Louisville and Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino.   Remember, Louisville has beaten Kentucky each of the last two years and currently the Cardinals' recruiting class, which includes Telfair, 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'10 Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, is tied at #1, along with Indiana, Texas, and Arkansas, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Fifth, the verbal commitment by Rondo to the Wildcats moves Kentucky's recruiting class into a tie at #20, along with Arizona, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   And, if Kentucky also lands Palacios or Morris, their recruiting class would move into a tie at #9, along with UCLA, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Not only would this put the Wildcats exactly where they want to be a year from now with respect to remaining near the top of the tough Southeastern Conference for years to come, but it would also make it very difficult for Kentucky fans to make the case that the current regime can't recruit the top players in the nation.   

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Chris Monter of CollegeBasketballNews reported yesterday on his web site that 6'7 Jr Joe Krabbenhoft from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD was supposed to make an early verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin today.  So we assume that this did indeed happen on Krabbenhoft's unofficial visit during the Wisconsin-Illinois game earlier today in Madison, WI.  Monter calls Krabbenhoft "the best player from that state since former NBA Rookie-of-the-Year and University of Florida star Mike Miller."  And after discovering Krabbenhoft last June at the Rumble in the Bronx while playing for the Howard Pulley club team, we rank Krabbenhoft #54 nationally in the junior class.   We're talking about a deceptively athletic tough hardnosed white kid who can beat you with his outside shooting and is big, strong, and tough enough to creat match-up problems for wing players at the next level.  In other words, Krabbenhoft is ideally suited to step in and complement 7'0 Brian Butch, who is red-shirting this year, and 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #50 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, on what promises to be one of the best front-lines in college basketball two years from now.   Krabbenhoft's verbal commitment moves Wisconsin's recruiting class into a tie at #12, along with Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, plus it means that 18 of the top 100-ranked juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP have already made early verbal commitments.  Actually the number of juniors ranked among our top 100 that are already verbally committed drops back down to 17, because it appears that 6'7 Jr Rashad Woods from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, who is ranked #78 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has changed his mind again about attending Baylor.  If you will recall, both Woods and 6'8 Soph Chris Roquemore from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, who is ranked #26 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, made early verbal commitments to Baylor last fall, but then reneged on the Bears in mid-December.  However, less than a week later Woods reaffirmed his commitment to Baylor.  Obviously other schools are using the fact that Baylor may face potential NCAA violations as a means of sabotaging the incredible recruiting job that the Bears coaching staff has done to-date.  Remember, Baylor's current recruiting class, which already includes 6'11 Mamadou Diene from the Senegal, 6'0 Jihad Muhammed from San Jacinto (JC) TX, and 6'2 Aaron Bruce from Horsham, Australia, is ranked #14 on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And, if 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY also picks Baylor in the spring, then their recruiting class would move up to #5, behind Indiana, Texas, Louisville, and Arkansas, all of which are currently tied at #1 on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, even more important, Baylor could have a class that includes the top ranked player at Babacar Sy Basketball Camp in the Senegal in July, the #1-ranked junior college point guard by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, the guy who scored 25 points against the United States team in the World Junior Championship in Greece in July, and the #27-ranked senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, if they get Palacios.  And, if that weren't enough, 6'6 Tim Bush transferred from LSU to Baylor last fall and it sitting out this year.  So our guess is that when the dust has settled Woods will reaffirm his commitment to Baylor.   However, we're not so sure about Roquemore.  As a matter of fact, we've heard rumors that Roquemore transferring to Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA.  And, if that happens, we're not sure that Baylor assistant coach Jerome Tang will have the same influence that he has now.  Remember, Tang previously was the head coach at Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX and, as a result, already has successfully gotten both Roquemore and Woods to attend this private school in Houston, TX.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that North Carolina head coach Roy Williams was in town on Tuesday night to watch 6'3 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS when his team played Jackson (Provine) MS at Jackson State University.  And this is the second time we know of this season that Williams has seen Ellis play (Williams also saw Ellis at the KMOX Shootout in December in St. Louis, MO).  So it would appear that Ellis is a prime recruiting target for the Tar Heels, especially now that 6'2 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinette) GA is already a done deal for the University of Georgia.  But getting Ellis out of Jackson, MS might be easier said than done, because Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi State also have made Ellis a priority.  Our Our Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the University of Washington has landed 6'9 Zach Johnson from Sacramento (Natomas) CA, who was ranked #16 in the senior class in the state by the HOOP SCOOP prior to when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee nine months ago and tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in December.  This 6'9, 250 lbs power forward also is expected to have surgery on both knees within the next four months and, as a result, will likely red-shirt his freshman year a year from now.  However, if Johnson is able to fully recover and stay healthy, he could turn out to be an excellent catch down the road for the Huskies.  Thus, explains why Washington's recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Joel Smith from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, has moved into a tie at #117, along with Kansas State, Illinois State, Fordham, San Francisco, and Hofstra, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004. 

Friday, January 23, 2004

One of the many areas where the HOOP SCOOP is way ahead of its competition is knowing about and ranking players in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades.  And, if you don't believe it, just check out our rankings of the top players in the Class of 2008, Class of 2009, Class of 2010, and Class of 2011.  All this important, because we'll get a chance to see many of these players competiting against one another at the adidas Junior Phenom Camp, which will be held August 6th-8th at Alliant University in San Diego, CA.  Not only will this "invitation only camp" be the first camp of its kind for this age group, but it will include the top 80 junior high school players in each class and will be modeled after the prestigious Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck NJ, NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN, the adidas All-American Camp in Atlanta, GA.  Obviously the carrot that camp director Joe Keller will use to get the elite players to attend will be opportunity to test their game against other top players in their age group throughout the weekend.  However, the camp will also offer a variety of mandatory classes on academics and life skills which will better prepare each player for success in high school, college, and life.  And passing on these words of wisdom will be some of the top coaches in the game and elite skills instructors.  The facilities are second to none, as Alliant University has six new wood floors under one roof, and the camp will culminate with championship and All-Star Games on the final day.  If you would like to nominate a player, you can email adidasjrcamp@aol.com (include your phone number for easy follow-up).  Other events that we've added to our list of Dates/Future Events, include the Ohio State Finals and Michigan State Finals, both of which will be held March 25th-27th at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI and the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH; the adidas All-American Camp in Atlanta, GA, July 7th-11th; the USA Basketball Youth Developmental Festival in Colorado Springs, CO, June 23rd-27th; and the FIBA Americas World Championship (19-Under) Qualifty Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 28th-August 1st.  Twice we've already mentioned the new adidas All-American Camp, which will be going head-to-head this summer against both the NIKE All-American Camp and the Reebok ABCD Camp.  And while this good news for adidas, it is too bad for people in our business, because suddenly providing accurate coverage of the superstars oriented camps not only became that much more difficult, but it also means that all three camps will be that much more watered down in terms of showcasing the top talent in the nation.  And this comes right on the heels of adidas' plans to also have an AAU-like tournament in San Diego, CA, which will be held directly opposite of the Reebok Big Time Tournament and The Main Event, both of which will be held in Las Vegas, NV, July 22nd-26th.  All this has come about due to the fact that Sonny Vaccaro has left adidas to run the grass roots basketball program at Reebok and adidas has retained a lot of Vaccaro's old people in an attempt to keep a major piece of the pie.  In other words, the shoe company war just became that more intense and, thus explains why it is more important than ever for these three shoe companies to get an early start on identifying and recruiting the top young players in the nation into their programs.  During the last several years it appeared that NIKE was the big winner in terms of landing the top players in the Class of 2005 and Class of 2006, thanks primarily to the efforts of George Raveling and Don Crenshaw, who did a tremendous job of getting most of the top players in these two classes into NIKE programs at an early age.  However, with the inaugural adidas Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA scheduled for early August, the balance of power at the middle school level will likely tip into adidas' favor. 

Thursday, January 22, 2004

The Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, NJ is one of the premier events of the entire year, but once again I feel like I can do more damage if I attend in the National Prep School Invitational, which will be held at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI on the weekend of February 6th-8th, because many of the top 5th Year and Prep School Players in the nation will be in attendance, including 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'10 Longar Longar from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'2 Vincent Banks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 8th Grader Michael Beasley from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'6 Rahshon Clark from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'4 Jesus Verdejo from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'9 Cornelio Guibunda from Stanford (King & Low-Heywood Thomas) CT, 6'7 Soph Rob Thomas from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'5 Joel Smith from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'5 Joe McCray from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'2 Khalif Ford from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'2 Robert McKiver from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'2 Danny Morrissey from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'7 Stuard Baldonado from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'9 Jr Vernon Goodridge from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'1 Jamuel Warren from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'7 Tavon Nelson from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'7 Michael Binns from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 Jr Khalil Hartwell from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'3 Rashad Bilal from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'6 Will Harris from Troy (Redemption) NY, 6'2 Marcus Hammond from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 Mantas Griskenas from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'11 Kellen Lee from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'2 Kojo Mensah from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 5'11 Joe Miles from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'9 Maurice Shaw from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'9 Josh Jackson from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'8 Frantz Dorsainvil from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'8 Sam Dolan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'1 Jack McClinton from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'0 Cedrick Middleton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'5 Ben Farmer from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'8 Louis Graham from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'10 Cassin Diggs from North Bridgton (Academy) MD, 6'4 Donovan Morris from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'7 Chad Ferguson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Marcus Green from Philadelphia (Christian) PA, 6'9 Shawn James from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'3 Marvin Kilgore from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'3 Paul Cumnins from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 Chris Fuller from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'0 Cameron Tyler from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'1 Deion James from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'3 Jay Hight from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) NH, 6'6 Lamar Barrett from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'3 Jamal Dart from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'3 Michael Kach from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'8 Omar Johnson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'9 Charles Bronson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'3 Kris Clark from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Jermaine Johnson from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'11 Dominique White from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'10 Eric Howard from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'4 Stephon Jackson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'4 Nick Mattone from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'7 Doug McLaughlin-Williams from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'9 Quincy Marshall from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and 7'3 Jermaine Middleton from South Kent (Prep) CT.  The first game will tip-off on Friday, February 6th, with Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA versus Philadelphia (Christian) PA at 1:30 PM, followed by Bradenton (IMG Academy-A) FL versus Laurinburg (Prep) NC at 3:00 PM, Bradenton (IMG Academy-B) FL versus Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH at 4:45 PM, South Kent (Prep) CT versus Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA at 6:30 PM, North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME versus Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA at 6:30 PM, and Philadelphia (Christian) PA versus Troy (Redemption) NY at 9:45 PM.  Saturday's action will begin with Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA versus Troy (Redemption) NY at 9:00 AM, followed by Bradenton (IMG Academy-A) FL versus North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME at 10:45 AM, Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH versus Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT at 12:30 PM, Winchendon (School) MA versus Bradenton (IMG Academy-B) FL at 2:15 PM, Barrington (St. Andrews) RI versus Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA at 3:45 PM, Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME versus Laurinburg (Institute) NC at 5:30 PM, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus South Kent (Prep) CT at 7:15 PM, and Pawtuckett (Saint Raphael) RI versus New Bedford (H.S.) MA at 8:45 PM.  Then, on Sunday, February 8th, it will be Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME versus Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA at 9:00 AM, Bradenton (IMG Academy-A) FL versus Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT at 10:45 AM, Barrington (St. Andrews) RI versus Stanford (King & Low-Heywood Thomas) CT at 12:15 PM, Winchendon (School) MA versus Laurinburg (Prep) NC at 1:45 PM, Bradenton (IMG Academy-B) FL versus Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA at 3:30 PM, and South Kent (Prep) CT versus Troy (Redemption) NY at 5:00 PM.  However, this does not mean that will plan to forget about the Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, NJ, because our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin will be there to cover it from start-to-finish.  Speaking of the Prime Time Shootout, we previewed this event in this section on Tuesday, January 13th, but it appears there have been a number of changes to the schedule on Saturday, February 8th.  First, Burlington (City) NJ will replace Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) NJ in the first game of the day against Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY at 10:00 AM.  Second, Amityville (H.S.) NY will replace Mt. Vernon in the third game of the day against Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY at 1:00 PM.  Third, the game with Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA has been moved to 4:30 PM and the game with Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD versus Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, which is taking the place of Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, has been moved to 2:30 PM.  Fourth, Mt. Vernon will be taking the place of Prentiss (H.S.) MS and New York (Rice) NY has been flip-flopped with Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY in order to get at New York (Rice) NY versus Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY match-up at 6:00 PM and the big match-up with Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair versus Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'11 Dwight Howard at 8:00 PM.  

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Up until a week ago the University of Kentucky had never shown much interest in 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #102 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but will move up dramatically next time we update our national rankings after stepping in and doing a great job of running the show for the #1-ranked high school team in the nation this winter.  Previously we thought that Rondo would wait to see what is going to happen with 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.   Remember, Rondo wanted to go to Louisville, but took Telfair instead of Rondo last fall.  However, if Telfair decides to by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft this spring, you can bet the Cardinals will make a strong push for Rondo, who also is considering Illinois, Georgia, USC, and Maryland.  But all that could change if a scholarship offer by the Wildcats is forthcoming sometime in the near future.  And that could put the Wildcats coaching staff into an interesting predicament, because Kentucky also is the co-favorite, along with Georgia Tech, for 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and the co-favorite, along with Michigan, for 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is ranked #18 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Also remember that Kentucky needs to sign at least one inside player who can step in and make an immediate impact next year and that the Wildcats only have one or two scholarships available, depending upon whether 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WA is willing to pay his own way or decides to go to prep school next year.  In other words, if the Wildcats got a verbal commitment from Rondo and later also got Crawford, they would have three excellent guards in Rondo, Crawford, and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL and nobody with any size in this recruiting class.  Rondo is the 6th best senior, behind 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, and 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is still available, but it's our guess that the Wildcats would prefer not to have to make a decision regarding whether to take Rondo until they know what Morris and Crawford are going to do.  Remember, they already have Bradley in the fold and Patrick Sparks, who transferred from Western Kentucky last spring and is sitting out this year, is waiting in the wings for next year.  Speaking of transfers, did you know that 6'7 Mario Boggan is transferring from Florida to St. Bonaventure, 6'0 Brandon Cotton is transferring from Michigan State, 6'0 Quinton Day is transferring from Southern Cal to Missouri-Kansas City, and 6'4 Tim Blackwell is transferring from Creighton to Missouri-Kansas City?  And, in each case, we think the new school got a major steal.  If  you will recall, Boggan was an undersized power forward when he was at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, but he played so hard and was such a good blue collar player inside that we ranked him #6 among 5th Year Players in the Class of 2002.  Cotton, who is best described as a scoring point guard, was named to the McDonald's All-American Team and was ranked #20 nationally in the senior class in our Final Rankings of the Top Players in the Class of 2003.  Day and Blackwell also were both ranked in the 200-300 range in our Final Rankings of the Top Players in the Class of 2003, which means they both should be immediate impact players when they become eligible at the semester break a year from now.  We don't count transfers when ranking recruiting class, but, if we did, St. Bonaventure's recruiting class, which also includes 6'6 Charles Burch from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'5 Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA, and 6'1 Isaiah Carson from Springfield (South) OH, would move into a tie at #33, along with Georgia Tech and Iowa, and, Missouri-Kansas City's recruiting class, which also includes 5'11 Mose Howard from Iowa Western (JC) IA, 6'8 Brian Gettinger from Overland Park (Shawnee Mission South) KS, and 6'9 Jeremiah Hartsock from Bartlesville (H.S.) OK, would move into a tie at #40, along with Wright State and College of Charleston, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Detroit only has one player in the fold from the fall signing period in 6'7 Ethan Shaw from Iowa Western (JC) IA, but,if we counted Cotton with Detroit's recruiting class, it would move into a tie at #64, along with Villanova and Tennessee, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, plus the Titans would have a guy who has the potential to be the best player in the Horizon League in a couple of years.

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

For the second year in a row the best player at the Flyin' To the Hoop International Holiday Basketball Invitational in Vandalia, OH was 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who had 26 points 16 rebounds, and five assists, as he led his team to a 72-55 win against Reserve (Christian) LA in the championship game of the Flyin To the Hoop Bracket.  Palacios also had a tournament record 43 points and nine rebounds in a 70-67 overtime win against West Chester (Lakota East) OH in the semi-finals.  Palacios is currently the 5th highest ranked senior in the nation, behind 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, and 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is still available and, as a result, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson got the latest list of schools for Palacios, which includes Kentucky, Baylor, Texas, Louisville, and Pittsburgh.  Palacios also told Johnson that North Carolina and Indiana are trying to get involved and that the NBA also is a possibility.  And Palacios makes no secret of the fact that his goal in college will be to get to the NBA as soon as possible in order to help mother, who still lives in Columbia, find a better life.  In other words, Palacios is looking for the best opportunity to step in and play immediately, which is one of two big reasons why Johnson still thinks Baylor is the team to beat.  Remember, Baylor head coach Scott Drew is the coach who first discovered Palacios, plus he helped open the door for him to come to the United States.  Also putting up big numbers in the championship game of the Flyin To the Hoop Bracket was 5'10 Soph Demond Carter from Reserve (Christian) LA, but it had to take 28 shots for him to score 25 points.  Carter also finished with five assists, but Johnson still thinks Carter is more of 2-guard than a point guard at only 5'10.  But that hasn't stopped schools like Ohio State, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, and Georgia Tech from showing a lot of early interest.  Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH beat Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 61-46, in the Buckeye Bracket, thanks primarily to the efforts of 6'2 Jr Johnny Wolf, who led St. Xavier with 15 points.  The best player and leading scorer with 18 points for St. Edwards was 5'10 Trent Morgan.  Providence-bound 6'0 JuJuan Robinson scored 22 points, as he led Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC to a 61-50 win against Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON in the Top Gun Bracket.  The biggest surprise in the tournament was 6'3 Soph James Dews from West Chester (Lakota East) OH, who had 32 points versus Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY and had 35 points and hit 11-15 field goals and 4-5 3-pointers in a consolation upset against Champlain St. Lambert) QU.  So Johnson talked to Lakota East head coach Wally Vickers after the game and found out that the early favorites for Dews are Ohio State, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Xavier, and Notre Dame.  However, despite Dews' lights out performance, some Cincinnati scouting services still believe that Dews is no better than the third best guard in the class in the Cincinnati area behind 6'2 Soph Keith White from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH and 6'3 Soph Adrian Graves from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH.  In sharp contrast, Johnson has Dews ranked #4 in the state's loaded sophomore class.  The knock on Dews is that he can't create his own shot, but Johnon thinks there are a lot of guys in college who don't can shoot the ball as well as Dews does right now.  And Dews continues to improve his ability to create off the dribble.  Dews also did an excellent job defensively against 6'1 Pierre-Marie Alfidor-Cespedes from Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) ON, who was one of the two major busts of the entire tournament.  The other major bust was UC-Santa Barbara-bound 6'9 Chris Moore from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, who, after scoring 16 points against Zanesville (H.S.) OH in the opening round, was limited to only six points against Cincinnati (St.Xavier) OH, which had nobody taller than 6'6, in the Buckeye Bracket Championship Game.  Two other players that Johnson was especially impressed with were 6'6 Everett Spencer from Richmond (New Creations) IN and 6'5 Justin Orr from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH.  And Johnson thinks Spencer is an absolute steal for Wright State head coach Paul Biancardi.  We're talking about a guy who scored 26.5 ppg and was his team's leading rebounder in two games.  Spencer also has the ability to play the one, two, and three spots, but Johnson thinks he may project as a point guard at Wright State, because he's got the court vision, savvy, and ball handing and passing skills necessary to run the show at the next level.  And the fact that Spencer has grown to 6'6, after being a 5'9 9th grader, has a 7'1 wing span, and an unlimited upside make the story even more intriguing.  Orr, who is the nephew of Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr, had spectacular game, as he hit 10-11field goals and finished with 29 points in a 88-74 win against Reserve (Christian) LA.  Speaking of Orr, did you know that he recently verbally committed to Miami-OH?  Neither did anybody else until Johnson talked with Orr after the game.  And this isn't the only verbal commitment that Johnson found out about over the weekend, as it also appears that 6'1 Drake Aronhalt from Zanesville (H.S.) OH, who is ranked #79 in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, is bound for Navy.  In addition to Palacios, Wolf, and Robinson, who were named the MVP's in the Flyin' to the Hoop, Buckeye, and Top Gun brackets, Dews, Spencer, Orr, Carter, and 6'5 Negus McKenna from Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU were also named to the All-Tournament Team.  Johnson's list of the top 25 players in the tournament based on performance in order are Palacios, Dews, Spencer, Robinson, Orr, McKenna, Carter, 6'11 Aleks Maric from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 7'0 Seth Gorney from Vandalia (Butler) OH, 6'1 Isaiah Carson from Springfield (South) OH, 6'7 Josh Dollard from Pickens (Prince Avenue) SC, 6'3 Jr Marlon Brumfield from Reserve (Christian) LA, 6'0 Jr Ronnie Williams from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON, 6'1 Drake Aronhalt from Zanesville (H.S.) OH, 6'4  Sherman Diaz from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'2 Jr Johnny Wolf from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH, 5'10 Trent Morgan from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'7 Davone Allen from Pickens (Prince Avenue) SC, 6'5 Jr Maurice Joseph from Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU, 6'5 Frosh Billy Allen from Hamilton (H.S.) OH, 6'0 Soph Josh Dow from Fairborn (H.S.) OH, 6'7 Brendan Heaney from Clayton (Northmont) OH, 6'6 8th Grader Martez Walker from Reserve (Christian) LA, 6'6 Brian Busch from Beavercreek (H.S.) OH, 6'4 Eric Pollitz from Ottawa (Ottawa-Glandorf) OH, and 6'5 Tim Pollitz from Ottawa (Ottawa-Glandorf) OH.

Saturday, January 17, 2004, Sunday, January 18, 2004, & Monday, January 19, 2004

Originally it appeared that Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt would not be a candidate for the St. John's job, but now we're starting to hear that his staying put may not be as etched in stone as most people originally thought.  Remember, there is more margin for error at St. John's than there is at Georgia Tech in the short term and in the long term it really doesn't matter, because Hewitt is one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the business.  However, if Hewitt were to leave, Indiana University head coach Mike Davis would be a natural candidate for the job.  Sure, Davis has a great recruiting class at Indiana with 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN, and 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN all already in the fold, but there is no guarantee that Smith will be there (most people think he will enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring) plus Davis has had a rough 8-6 start this season and he already is able to recruit like crazy in the Deep South.  And obviously, if Davis to be some chance succeed Hewitt at Georgia Tech, that would open the door for Iowa head coach Steve Alford to return to Indiana and for Creighton head coach Dana Altman to go to Iowa, all of which also would be natural fits.  Or how about Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez to Georgia Tech?  Remember, Manhattan, which is now 11-3 on the season and has six consecutive wins, is once again one of the hottest mid-major programs in the nation.  Or things could fall right and Gonzalez could get the St. John's job or the Massachusetts job, if Steve Lappas, who is currently 5-10 overall and 0-4 in the Atlantic-10, doesn't survive as the head coach of the Minutemen.  Memphis assistant coaches Derek Kellogg and Tony Barbee both also have been mentioned as potential candidates for the Massachusetts job, due to the fact that the Massachusetts fan base yearns for a return to the John Calipari days when the program not only achieved national prominence, but advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1996.  And, if either Kellogg or Barbee gets the job, don't be surprised if right off the bat 6'1 Jamual Warren from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and 6'11 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburgh (Notre Dame) MA both commit to the Minutemen.  Otherwise, our guess is that Warren will either end up at Fordham or at Cincinnati as part of a potential package, along with Bell.  We also would not be surprised if former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis was in line for the Massachusetts job (Jarvis is originally from Boston, MA), but the perfect fit for Jarvis would be Georgetown, if Hoyas head coach Craig Esherick, who currently is 10-3 on the season, but only 1-3 in the Big East, get the ax.    Remember, Jarvis'  Northeast elitist attitude didn't work very well at St. John's, but should be tailor made for Washington, DC, which is a political town, plus Jarvis has plenty of connections to former Georgetown head coach John Thompson, including the fact that Jarvis was Patrick Ewing's high school coach.  Or do you think Thompson's son, John Thompson III, who is the head coach at Princeton, is ready for the Georgetown job?  We also have heard Jarvis' name mentioned as a possible replacement for Perry Clark at Miami-FL, but currently the Hurricanes are 12-5 overall  and 2-1 in the Big East, so Clark appears to be safe right now.  And so does Virginia head coach Pete Gillen, who got a big win yesterday against Florida State to hault a 0-3 start against N.C. State, Duke, and Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  However, Gillen is not out of the woods yet, because the word on the street is that he could be in trouble, if he doesn't make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years and, despite a 11-4 record, Virginia still has to play North Carolina, Wake Forest, Maryland, and Clemson twice, plus the Cavaliers will have to face N.C. State and Georgia Tech at home and Duke and Florida State on the road.  And, if Virginia were to have a coaching change at the end of the season, it would not be a surprise to see South Carolina head coach Dave Odom, who is now 16-2 on the season, or George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga, whose team was the pre-season favorite and currently is battling UNC-Wilmington,Virginia Commonwealth, and Old Dominion for the first in the Colonial Athletic Association, be in line for the job.  Ohio State put another nail into the coffin of Minnesota head caoch Dan Monson over the weekend and, as a result, it appears to be only a matter of time before the Golden Gophers exercise the $1.2 million buy-out.  Other programs where the head coach appears to be in trouble include Texas A&M (7-6), Siena (5-10); Dartmouth (3-10), Loyola-Maryland (1-15), and Southern Miss (9-6), although the heat may be off of James Green, at least for a while, because the Golden Eagles recently upset both Marquette and Memphis.  

Friday, January 16, 2004

Up until now the recruiting job that first year Georgia head coach Dennis Felton and his staff has done has been solid at best.  If you will recall, their first recruiting class last spring, which was tied at #126, along with Ball State, Northern Iowa, Pennsylvania, and North Texas, in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2003 included 6'8 Corey Gibbs form Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, 6'2 Levi Stukes from Randalllstown (H.S.) MD, 6'8 Marcus Sikes from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, and 6'8 Steve Newton from Orlando (The First) FL.  And now their current class, which includes 6'3 Channing Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA, and 6'1 Sundiati Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, both of whom are ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, is tied at #99, along with Northeastern and Miami-FL, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, now it looks like the Bulldogs have hit a homerun.  No, they did not come out of nowhere and beat Georgia Tech and Kentucky for 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA.  But getting a pair of early verbal commitments from 6'2 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA and 6'4 Jr Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA is just as huge.  Remember, Williams, who is ranked #3 nationally in the junior by the HOOP SCOOP and is as naturally talented as any junior in the nation, is capable of putting up incredible numbers and has a prototypical NBA-like game.  Mercer, who is ranked #99 nationally in the junior class, also was terrific when we saw him in December at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL and, as a result, has to move up dramatically in our rankings.  Mercer isn't a pure point guard yet, but he has really improved his ball handling and passing skills dramatically, plus he's a big time athlete, excellent outside shooter, and good rebounder for his size.  In other words, we're talking about a legitimate top 40 junior nationally and, as a result, it should come as no surprise that suddenly Georgia's recruiting class has jumped into the lead, ahead of Duke, Clemson, and Wake Forest, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  The early verbal commitment by Williams also is very significant for a number of other reasons.  First, Williams is the superstar around which Felton can build the program.  Second, getting Williams firmly establishes that Felton and his staff can get the great ones in their own backyard.  Third, the Bulldogs beat some heavy hitters, like North Carolina, Memphis, Tennessee, and Wake Forest.  Fourth, Williams is the highest ranked player nationally, as well as the only junior ranked among our top 10 nationally to have already made an early verbal commitment.  Previously Syracuse-bound 6'2 Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #14 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was the highest ranked junior nationally to have made an early verbal commitment.  Other top 25 juniors who have already made verbal commitments include 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN to Duke, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY to Duke, 6'5 Jr Marcus Ginyward from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA to North Carolina, 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC to Wake Forest, and 6'3 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (H.S.) MI.  And when we dig a little deeper, we also find 7'0 Jr Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL to Louisville, 6'8 Jr Julius Powell from Newton (Conover) NC to Clemson, 6'8 Jr Mike Davis from Brooklyn (Xavier) NY to Pittsburgh, 6'9 Jr Joey Cameron from Lees (H.S.) AL to Clemson, 6'2 Jr Jarrett Smith from Westland (John Glenn) MI to Michigan, 5'10 Jr A.J. Abrams from Austin (McNeil) TX to Texas, 6'8 Jr Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX to Texas Tech, and 6'7 Jr Rashad Woods from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX to Baylor, which means that 17 of our top 100 ranked juniors nationally have already made early verbal commitments.  And our guess is that a number of others won't be too far behind.  So let's start at the top.  Arizona is believed to be the early favorite for 6'6 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, because former Wildcats point guard Jason Terry is his cousin.  But UCLA, North Carolina, and Oklahoma also appear to be high on Webster's list.  The official party line is that 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA is not the lock that a lot of people think he is for LSU, but anybody who believes that also may want to buy some swamp land from Tigers assistant coach Butch Pierre.  Remember, Pierre is Mitchell's Godfather and, as a result, it's more of a question of when than if Mitchell will pick LSU.  However, schools like Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville, UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wake Forest do still get mentioned by Mitchell.  Iowa was once believed to be a near lock for 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, but now he appears to be wide open, as schools like Purdue, Kansas, Illinois, Marquette, N.C. State, Michigan, Missouri, Stanford, Notre Dame, Xavier, Butler, and Michigan State also are in the hunt.  The list for 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL includes Illinois, DePaul, Arizona, Wisconsin, Duke, Purdue, and N.C. State.  When Florida State got 6'2 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL last fall, that put the Seminoles in the driver's seat to beat schools like Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Auburn, and Indiana for 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL.  St. John's was originally thought to be the team to beat for 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, but Kansas, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Villanova, Ga Tech, Maryland, Ohio State, Georgetown, and Virginia promise to make this one interesting. Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi State and Arkansas should all be mentioned for 6'3 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS and we suspect it's only a matter of time before 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL picks Alabama.   Missouri is still the team you have to beat for 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, but Duke, Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, Arkansas, and North Carolina also must be mentioned.  Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, North Carolina, Louisville, Memphis, UCLA, Michigan, and Kansas are all in the hunt for 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN.  Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Southern Cal are the leaders for 6'6 Jr Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  The list for 5'10 Jr Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA includes Arizona State, Maryland, Notre Dame, Kansas, North Carolina, and Florida.  Kentucky is the heavy favorite for Harvey due to the Tayshaun Prince-connection to Compton (Dominguez) CA, but USC, Miami-FL, Kansas, Louisville, and Washington also are showing a lot of interest.  The latest list for 6'9 Jr Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY includes Connecticut, Syracuse, Texas, Louisville, Arizona, UCLA, Pittsburgh Seton Hall, Duke, Florida, Memphis, St. John's, and Georgetown.  Showing the most interest in 6'7 Jr Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA are Georgia Tech, Louisville, Arizona, Pepperdine, UCLA, USC, and Duke.  The list for 6'8 Jr Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ includes Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgia Tech, Connnecticut, Kanas, Florida, UCLA, North Carolina, Marquette, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, and Georgetown have all been mentioned.  The leaders for 6'11 Jr Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE are Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, N.C. State, UCLA, Villanova, Wake Forest, Georgetown, and Boston College. 

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Remember the name 6'6 Jr Calvin "C.J." Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX.  Currently he is unranked on our list of the top 240 juniors nationally, but he will be, because we're probably talking about the fastest rising junior in the nation.  Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff also think Miles, who is the leading scorer in the Dallas area with 30.1 ppg, is a legitimate top 15 junior nationally, as well as somebody who should be a lock for the McDonald's All-American team a year from now.  "We're talking about somebody who can play the one, two, three, and four spots," says Grandstaff.  "Miles is incredibly long and extremely athletic, which explains why he's averaging a double-double in terms of points and rebounds.  But he also is a great outside shooter and terrific passer (6.0 apg), so he'll probably play a lot at the two and the one for me on Team Texas next summer."  In other words, Grandstaff thinks that Miles is right up there with all the other great players he's had in his program in recent years, like LSU's Bracey Wright, SMU's Bryan Hopkins, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, and 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, but Miles' versatility, understanding of the game, incredible upside, and ability to play both inside and outside make him more comparable to Larry Johnson.   As a matter of fact, Miles, who already is getting a lot of interet from schools like Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Arizona, and Baylor, promises to be the best player Dallas (Skyline) TX has produced since Johnson and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he someday could be as good.  And that's a pretty strong statement when one remembers that Johnson was the only player in history to take home high school, junior college, and college player-of-the-year honors.  Grandstaff also tells us that Baylor appears to be the team to beat for 6'6 Rell Porter from Pittsburg (H.S.) TX, who made an early verbal commitment to Stephen F. Austin, but later changed his mind and, as a result, is now back on the board.  However, it appears the Bears have Porter on hold until they see what happens with 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is currently being recruited by schools like Louisville, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Texas, Florida State, and Baylor, and 6'0 Brandon Cotton, who is transferring from Michigan State.  Currently Detroit, Clemson, and Baylor appear to be the favorites for Cotton, but St. Joseph's also is making a push.  If Baylor gets Cotton as a transfer, he wouldn't count with the Bears' current recruiting class, which already is ranked #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and includes 6'11 Mamadou Diene from Senegal, 6'0 Jihad Muhammed from San Jacinto (JC) TX, and 6'2 Aaron Bruce from Horsham, Australia.   Remember, it is the editorial policy not to include transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  However, if Baylor hits the jackpot and adds Palacios to the current group, then their recruiting class would move up to #5, behind Indiana, Texas, Louisville, and Arkansas, all of which are currently tied at #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, if Baylor, instead, gets Porter, their class would move up to #10 behind UCLA and ahead of Duke on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Grandstaff also tells us that early favorites for 6'9 Soph Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, who is ranked #10 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP and is expected to provide Team Texas with one of the best one-two punches, along with Miles, on the NIKE circuit next summer, are Arizona, Georgia Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma.  Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report still thinks Kansas is the heavy favorite for 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, who is ranked #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he also notes that Illinois, DePaul, Arizona, Wisconsin, Duke, Purdue, and N.C. State are high on his list.  Schmidt also tells us that Stanford's #1 recruiting priority for 6'3 Jr Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, who is ranked #38 nationally in the junior class and was the best player on that great Illinois Wolves 16-Under team.  However, Marquette, Notre Dame, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Illinois, N.C. State, and Northwestern also must be mentioned for Frasor.  Schmidt also believes that the early favorites for 6'5 Soph Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, who, according to Schmidt, has emerged as one of the top three players this winter in the state regardless of class, along with Wright and 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, are Illinois, California, Marquette, Duke, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan State.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio provides us with a long list of schools for 6'9 Jr Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, which includes Connecticut, Syracuse, Texas, Louisville, Arizona, UCLA, Pittsburgh Seton Hall, Duke, Florida, Memphis, St. John's, and Georgetown.  Naclerio also has an early list for 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, which includes Pittsburgh, Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, N.C. State, North Carolina, Arizona, and Georgetown, and he tells us that 6'3 Jr Nayang Boateng from Brookyn (Lincoln) NY is being recruited for basketball by Memphis, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and West Virginia.  However, Boateng is not only a great wide receiver on the gridiron, but some people are starting to talk about this guy being the best football player ever to come out of New York City.  So, despite the fact, Boateng wants to play basketball, his future obviously is in football.   Naclerio also tells us that Sam Albano of Redmen.com will be launching the Tom Crotty Memorial Hope Through Hoops High School Extravaganza, which will be held on Saturday, January 31st, at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY.  Crotty, who played at Marist College, was the only four-year Division I basketball player who was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.  The first game will tip-off with Flushing (Holy Cross) NY versus Brooklyn (Bishop Ford) NY at Noon, followed by Middle Village (Christ the King) NY versus Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY at 1:45 PM, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ versus Monmouth (Regional) NJ at 3:30 PM, Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY versus Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ at 5:45 PM, Amityville (H.S.) NY versus New York (Rice) Ny at 7:00 PM, and Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY versus Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY at 8:45 PM. 

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the dates have been set for the NBA Players Association Camp, which will be held June18th-23rd, in Richmond, VA and once again we expect this to be one of the premier events of the entire year for several reasons.  First, this camp does not go head-to-head with either the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN or the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ and, as a result, an overwhelming numebr of the top players in the nation are expected to be in attendance.  Second, Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports once again will be inviting the players and he did an outstanding job of getting an overabundance of talent to attend this event a year ago.  Third, the camp is limited to about 110 players, which means that most of the players in camp can play (in recent years about half of the players at both the NIKE Camp and the ABCD Camp weren't good enough to legitimately be invited to a superstar oriented camp).  Johnson also catches us up on several verbal commitments that happened recently, as 6'8 Cyrus Tate from Floosmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL has committed to Northern Illinois, 6'8 Landon Adler from Monroe (Adams Central) IN has committed to Army, and 6'7 Jamal Anderson from Little Rock (Parkview) AR has decided to attend Arkansas to play football.  However, Anderson, who is ranked #366 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is also good enough to be a solid role player in basketball and, if he were to count towards the Razorbacks' recruiting class in basketball, he would move their recruiting class into sole possession of the #1 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Currently we have Arkansas' recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Dontell Jefferson from Atlanta Metro (JC) GA, 6'11 Steve Hill from Bronson (H.S.) MO, 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 6'10 Darian Townes from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'7  Marcus Monk from Lapento (East Poinsette) AR, who also is verbally committed for football, but plans to play both sports, tied for #1, along with Indiana, Texas, and Louisville in race that is too close to call on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Adler, who had 41 points and hit 4-6 3-pointers in a game recently, appears to be a major steal for the Cadets, because he's grown eight inches in the last three years and, as result, is a true perimeter player, despite his 6'8 size.  Tate teams with 6'8 Jr Julius Wright, who is the #1-ranked junior in the state of Illinois, to form one of the best one-two punches in the state.  And while Wright does most of his damage on the perimeter for both Homewood-Flossmoor and the Illinois Warriors, Tate, who is a lefty-post player, takes care of business inside.  Tate, who is ranked #284 nationally in the senior class, also provides the perfect complement to 6'6 Frank Claire from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'4 Zach Pancratz from Schaumburg (H.S.) IL, and 6'8 Craig Reichel from Schaumburg (H.S.) IL, all of whom signed with the Huskies during the Fall Signing Period, and, as a result, their recruiting class moves into a tie, along with Rice, at #73 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Johnson also tells us that he doesn't believe the rumor about UCLA suddenly becoming one of the favorites again for 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI.   "I'm not even sure they're the flavor of the day," says Johnson, who mentions that Oklahoma also has recently been added to a list that now also includes Ohio State, Michigan, and Kansas. "When it is all said and done, I think Hairston will stay close to home.  So the smart money is on the Buckeyes and the Wolverines."   Johnson also does not confirm the recently theory about why 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI put his decision on hold during the Fall Signing Period and waited to sign in the spring.  Apparently there are those who think that Crawford is waiting to see if Michigan's Daniel Horton enters his name into the NBA Draft in the spring before making a final decision.  If Horton goes pro, then Crawford goes to Michigan.  If Horton doesn't go pro, then Crawford goes to Kentucky.  But, as Johnson sees it, there are several problems with this theory.  First, Crawford isn't ready to even think about going pro.  Second, if Horton were to leave, Crawford, who is a terrific 2-guard, isn't ready to step in and run the show next year for the Wolverines, even though they are probably telling Crawford that they'll let him develop into a point guard down the road in order to help his chances of making in the NBA someday.  Third, Johnson thinks that both Hairston and Crawford still genuinely don't know what they want to and, as result, anybody who is predicting whether Crawford will pick Kentucky or Michigan and which one of the above mentioned schools that Hairston will pick is simply guessing.  One thing does appear to be likely and that is that Crawford and Hairston won't go to the same school, even though they kids close friends and talk every day  (their parents don't get along).   So, if Hairston opts for Michigan, then that would tip the balance into Kentucky's favor for Crawford.  We also talked with our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin earlier today and he has an early list of schools for 6'5 Soph Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Soph Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'7 Soph Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA.  Henderson likes Virginia, Villanova, North Carolina, Duke, La Salle, and Virginia Commonwealth, which is where his father, former Philadelphia 76ers star Gerald Henderson, Sr, attended college.  Ellington's early list includes Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Villanova, St. Joseph's, Temple, Pennsylvania, La Salle, Arizona, and Notre Dame.  Geriot mentioned Villanova, Temple, La Salle, St. Joseph's, Pennsylvania, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Florida, and Notre Dame.  Rubin did not talk with 7'0 Soph Brian Zoubeck from Haddonfield (H.S.) NJ, but it is widely believed that Duke is the team to beat.  And making the story even more intereting is the fact that the Blue Devils already have an early verbal commitment from 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, who is similar to Zoubeck in a lot of ways and is in the class ahead of him.  However, that hasn't stopped the Blue Devils from getting pretty much anybody they've wanted in recent years. 

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Once again the Prime Time Shootout, which will be held in Trenton, NJ, February 5th-8th, promises to be one of the premier events of the entire winter, as this year's field features six teams - #1-ranked Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, #2-ranked Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, #7-ranked Mount Vernon (H.S.) NY, #15-ranked Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, #18-ranked New York (Rice) NY, and #19-ranked Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA - that were ranked among the top 25 by Chris Lawlor in today's USA Today Super 25 Rankings.  It also features two other teams - Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA and Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY - that were ranked among the top 10 teams in the East, plus the field should have 22 potential future McDonald's All-American's in 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Jr Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'5 Jr Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Soph Jonathan Mitchell from Mount Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Soph Curtis Kelley from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Soph Tracy Smith from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 5'10 Frosh Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ, and 6'1 Frosh Mike Colburn from Mount Vernon (H.S.) NY.  However, we may need to adjust that 21, if Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY doesn't participate due to the serious car accident the team was involved in on Wednesday, December 31st.  Other top players that those in attendance should expect to see include 6'6 Roy Bright, from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'3 Keith Benjamin from Mount Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Mohammed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'4 Albert Weber from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'6 Glen Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 DeSean White from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'0 Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'2 Cedric Jackson from Columbus (North Burlington) NJ, 6'11 Tunju Soreye from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'1 Albert Fisher from Pennsauken (H.S.) NJ, 6'8 Ben Nwachukwu from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'6 Dexter Gray from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Arturo Dubois from New York (Rice) NY, 6'5 Charles Burch from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'4 Fred Stanback from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'8 Robbie Simpson from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 Shawn Taggart from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'2 Da'Shawn Dwight from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'4 Bilai Benn from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'4 Will Scott from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'2 Marcus Williams from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'2 Lamar Alston from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'2 Otis Campbell from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'0 Shawn McCurdy from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'6 Brian Beckford from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'1 Eugene Lawrence from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Chris Alvarez from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'0 Tristan Blackwood from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON, 6'3 Khalif Gant from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'5 Jr Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'9 Jr Frank Tchuisi from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'2 Jr Anthony Farmer from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'4 Jr Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Jr Brian Grimes from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'10 Jr Franklin Jones from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Uche Uchefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'2 Jr K.J. Matsui from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 5'10 Jr Robert Garrison from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 5'8 Jr Derrick Mercer from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'4 Soph Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 5'11 Soph Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'3 Soph Christian Thompson from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 5'10 Soph Taishi Ito from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'7 Soph Jerrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Soph Terrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'4 Soph Kimanni Barrett from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  The first day of action will tip-off on Thursday, February 5th, at South Brunswick High School in South Brunswick, NJ with South Brunswick (H.S.) NJ versus Bulington (City) NJ at 4:30 PM, followed by Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ versus Paterson (Catholic) NJ at 6:00 PM, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Cranford (H.S.) NJ at 7:30 PM, and Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ versus Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON at 9:00 PM.  Then, the venue will switch to the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ on Friday, February 6th, with Princeton (The Hun School) NJ versus Willington (H.S.) NJ at 4:30 PM, a Girls Game at 6:00 PM, Camden (H.S.) NJ versus Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ at 7:30 PM, and Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA at 9:00 PM.  On Saturday, February 7th, it will be Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA versus Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY at 10:00 AM, followed by Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY versus Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC at Noon, Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY versus Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY at 1:30 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA at 3:00 PM, Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD versus Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA at 4:30 PM, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY versus Prentiss (H.S.) MS at 6:00 PM, and Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA versus New York (Rice) NY at 7:30 PM.  On Sunday, February 8th, it will be New Brunswick (St. Peter's) NJ versus Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ at 10:00 AM, Richland (St. Augustine) NJ versus Middle Village (Christ the King) NY at 11:30 AM, Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA versus Marion (Tabor Academy) MA at 1:00 PM, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA at 2:30 PM, Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY versus Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ at 4:00 PM, Camden (H.S.) NJ versus Bloomfield (Tech) NJ at 5:30 PM, at Girls Game at 7:00 PM, and Columbus (North Burlington) NJ versus Pennsauken (H.S.) NJ at 8:30 PM.

Monday, January 12, 2004

Originally we thought 6'10 Soph Michael Thompson, who is transferring from Duke, would return home and enroll at DePaul.  Instead, schools like Notre Dame, Texas, and UCLA emerged as the favorites.  But now things have changed again and it looks like we were at least half right the first time, as the word we're getting is that Thompson is going to transfer to Northwestern.  And, assuming that our source on this is correct, this would be huge for the Wildcats, because we're talking about an 6'10 athletic shot blocking center who was ranked #55 nationally in our final rankings of Class of 2002 and will have two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining beginning next December.  We also had heard that Thompson wanted to go someplace where he could step in and make an immediate impact and, at Northwestern, he not only will be able to do that, but he also promises to be the franchise player upon which they can build the program around.  As a matter of fact, Thompson picking the Wildcats is so huge that it should be enough to ensure Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody's job for another four or five years.  Remember, Carmody is second to none as a coach, but has yet to sign a player of Thompson's caliber in almost four years at the helm of the Wildcats.  Getting a player like Thompson should give the Wildcats something big to sell, as they go after all of those good juniors in Chicago, IL, like 6'0 Jr Bryan Mullins from   Downers Grove (South) IL, 6'3 Jr Bobby Fraser from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 6'7 Mike Davis from Chicago (Gordon Tech) IL, and 6'3 Jr Sean Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL.  We also understand that 6'8 Soph Nick DeWitz is going to transfer from Iowa and, he too, will have two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining.  And the smart money might be on Florida State, because the Seminoles finished second the first time around and Leonard Hamilton is second to none as a recruiter.  Speaking of Florida State, we also have confirmed that 6'10 Diego Romero, who already has missed 15 games this year due to a question about his amateurism, has had his eligibility restored.  However, it's our guess that he will red-shirt the rest of the this season and, as a result, have two years to play beginning next year.  Obviously this big, because Romero was one of the top junior college centers in the nation a year ago and is a very important piece to the puzzle, as Hamilton and his staff get ready to mount a serious challenge to Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Maryland as one of the powerhouse teams in the always tough Atlantic Coast Conference a year from now.  Remember, Florida State had the #2-ranked recruiting class in the nati