HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR JULY 2009

Friday, July 31, 2009

It was great for the game of basketball when former UCLA head coach John Wooden was named as the greatest coach of all time in any sports by a panel of coaches earlier this week in a poll that was conducted by the Sporting News.  After winning 10 NCAA Championships in 12 years, including seven straight from 1967 to 1973, this should have been a no-brainer.  However, if you took a poll of average sports fan under the age of 30, you'd probably be surprised at how many of them have never heard of the Wizard of Westwood nor do they understand just how difficult it is getting to the top, much less staying there.  Recently I had a discussion with one of my competitors who has no idea how much better basketball was back in the day.  There is no question that today's players are bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic.  But they also are less skilled and have less heart and, as a result, it is my contention that teams from 20 or 30 years would mop up teams today.  I also don't buy into the theory that players from 30 or 40 years ago would not be just as good if they were playing today.  And, if we put together a team that featured the best players from the 50's, 60's, and 70's and played a team with the best players since Larry Bird and Magic Johnson graduated for college 30 years ago, there is no question in my mind that former would beat the latter.  The modern team would feature Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Clyde Drexel, Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, John Stockton,  and Kevin Durant.  The pre-Magic and Bird team would have incredible size with players like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Walton at the power forward and center spots.  Or, if you wanted to have more of a true power forward and be quicker and more athletic at the wing forward spot you could go with guys like Moses Malone, Julius Erving, and Elgin Baylor.  And you would have guys like Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Nate Archibald, and Pete Maravich in the backcourt.  And we haven't even mentioned guys like Wes Unseld, Billy Cunningham, Elvin Hayes, Earl Monroe, Rick Barry, and  Walt Frazier yet.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 5'11 Reynaldo Walters from Bayside (Cardozo) NY has verbally committed to Norfolk State and we think this a great catch for the Spartans for a number of reasons.  First, Walters is ranked  #273 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and #18 in New York City's senior class by Naclerio.  Second, Walters is as tough as the come, he's an excellent defender, and he isn't afraid to take the big shot.  Third, the addition of Walters perpetuates what already is a strong existing pipeline into the New York City Metropolitan area.  Did you know that in addition to five players - 6'9 Soph Kyle O'Quinn, 6'1 Jr Aleek Pauline, 6'11 Sr Joseph Dorsett-Jeffrey's, 6'8 Jr Tim Zephyr, and 6'6 Soph Marcus Tamares - from the New York Metropolitan area who are already in the program, they also have 6'4 Rob Hampton, who transferred from Drexel and 6'9 Soph Christian Morris, who transferred from Rutgers, both waiting in the wings?   Other commitments that we have recently confirmed include 6'8 John Gage from Vashon (Vashon Island) WA and 5'11 Aaron Bright from Bellevue (H.S.) WA both to Stanford, 6'7 Zach McCabe from Sioux City (Bishop Heelan) IA to the University of Iowa, 6'7 Chanse Creekmur from Marshalltown (H.S.) IA to Santa Clara, 6'2 Cody Doolin from Austin (Westlake) TX to San Francisco, 6'6 Jr Andrew Nicholas from Wrightsville (Eastern York) PA to Rutgers, 6'6 Jr Tyler Poole from Hickory (H.S.) NC to Mississippi, and 6'10 Moussa Gouye from Lakeland (JC) IL to Valparaiso.  The commitment by Gouye is especially interesting, because he hasn't even enrolled for his freshman year in junior college yet, which means he's making a verbal commitment two years in advance of when he will actually enroll in school and play for the Crusaders.  And, we're willing to bet you that this one holds up due to the fact that Gouye is originally from The Senegal and Valparaiso assistant coach Luke Gore, who has strong international ties, is probably the one that stashed him in junior college in the first place.  We also think Bright and Gage could turn out to be good players for The Cardinal.  If you will recall, Bright, who is ranked #205 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a skilled point guard who makes good decisions, knows how to run a team, and is deceptive athletically.  Gage is extremely thin, but he's got good skills, an incredible wing span, a willingness to compete, a high basketball IQ, and a big upside.  The addition of McCabe moves the Hawkeyes' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'8 Cody Larson from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD, 6'5 Roy Marble from Lathrup Village (Southfield-Lathrup) IL, and 6'2 Ben Brust from Mundelein (H.S.) IL, up to #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  However, even more important, McCabe is an in-state kid with versatility, toughness, a willingness to compete, and the ability to flat out shoot the lights out.  The addition of Creekmur puts Broncos head coach Kerry Keating in the enviable position, whereby, he has no seniors in the program, 11 players returning from a team that finished 16-17 overall and 7-7 in the league, a pair of recruits - Creekmur and 6'8 John McArthur from Concord (De La Salle) CA - who are good enough to step in and make an immediate impact a year from now, and no scholarships currently available until the Class of 2011.  Doolin doesn't have the lateral speed and quickness to project as a big time player, but he's still a great catch for the Dons, because he knows how to run the show, makes his teammates better and can shoot the ball extremely well.  Nichols is a great 3-point shooter, which means the Scarlet Knights have landed the long range bomber that they were looking for in next year's recruiting class.  Poole is not a great player, but he does have a great blue collar work ethic, a 4.0 gpa, and is versatile enough to play both inside and outside. 

Thursday, July 30, 2009

It's all most over!  We're talking about the fact that the second 10-day Summer Evaluation Period for NCAA Division I college coaches ends tomorrow at midnight.  However, while both the college coaches and the players participating coast-to-coast at the 17-Under level will be able to go home after spending most of the month of July on the road, I'm gearing up to watch the younger players at the 14-Under AAU Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, FL during the first six days of August and then head straight to the Junior Phenom Camp in San Diego, CA, where I will get a chance to see an overwhelming number of the top 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders in the nation on August 7th-9th.  But the next thing on my agenda will be to fly to Orlando, FL tomorrow and attend both the semi-finals, which will played tomorrow at 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM, and the championship game, which is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Saturday, August 1st, of the AAU 17-Under Nationals.  And, unless something dramatic happens, I don't think much will change with regards to our updated Ranking of the Top 100 Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Rising Seniors), which was published earlier today exclusively in the Members Section.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX and 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN have both moved into the top five after they both took their game to another level this summer.  Also following along this path are a number of other players like 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, 6'8 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, 5'8 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'5 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Jeremy Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Tony Mitchell from Miami (Choice Academy) FL, 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Cody Larson from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD, 5'10 Bruce Ellington from Monack Center (Berkeley) SC, 6'1 Reggie Smith from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'0 Eric Atkins from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD, 6'4 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN.  We also think it is interesting to point out that 52 of our top 100-ranked seniors are already off the board, as 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH is committed to Ohio State, 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX is committed to Baylor, 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN is committed to Ohio State, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV is committed to Texas, 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD is committed to Memphis, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA is committed to North Carolina, 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Wheeler) GA is committed to N.C. State, 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA is committed to Duke, 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA is committed to Georgetown, 6'8 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL is committed to Florida, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ is committed to Syracuse, 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD is committed to Duke, 6'6 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC is committed to North Carolina, 6'3 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI is committed to Michigan State, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC is committed to Wake Forest, 5'8 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL is committed to Oregon State, 6'4 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA is committed to Tennessee, 6'5 Tyler Lamb from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA is committed to UCLA, 6'7 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA is committed to Wake Forest, 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ is committed to Villanova, 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL is committed to Illinois, 6'5 James Bell from Montverde (Academy) FL is committed to Villanova, 6'7 Tony Mitchell from Miami (Choice Academy) FL is committed to Kansas State, 6'3 Jordan Sibert from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH is committed to Ohio State, 6'7 Jarrell Eddie from Concord (Cannon School) NC is committed to Virginia Tech, 6'8 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL is committed to Florida State, 6'8 Cody Larson from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD is committed to Iowa, 6'7 Dwayne Polee from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA is committed to USC, 6'8 Will Regan from Buffalo (Nichols) NY is committed to Virginia, 6'0 Eric Atkins from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD is committed to Notre Dame, 6'11 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL is committed to Illinois, 6'5 Daniel Bejarano from Phoenix (North) AZ is committed to Texas, 6'0 Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Newmann-Goretti) PA is committed to Wake Forest, 6'3 Crandall Head from Richton Park (Rich South) IL is committed to Illinois, 6'8 Donnie Hale from New Albany (H.S.) IN is committed to Purdue, 6'7 Matt Derenbecker from Metairie (Metairie Park Country Day) LA is committed to LSU, 6'7 Desmond Simmons from Richmond (Salesian) CA is committed to Washington, 6'3 Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA is committed to St. Joseph's, 6'11 Evan Anderson from Eau Claire (North) WI is committed to Wisconsin, 6'6 Terrance Ross from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD is committed to Maryland, 6'2 Noah Cottrill from Beckley (Mountain State University Academy) WV is committed to West Virginia, 6'8 Toby Oyedeji from Houston (Bellaire) TX is committed to Texas A&M, 5'10 Juwan Staten from Dayton (Thurgood Marshall) OH is committed to Dayton, 6'3 Taran Buie from Albany (Bishop Maginn) NY is committed to Penn State, 6'7 Melvin Tabb from Raleigh (Enloe) NC is committed to Wake Forest, 6'2 Royce Woolridge from Phoenix (Sunny Slope) AZ is committed to Kansas, 6'1 Tyler Thornton from Washington (Gonzaga) DC is committed to Duke, 6'5 Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ is committed to Seton Hall, 6'4 Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton Township) IL is committed to Ohio State, 6'4 Anthony Johnson from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL is committed to Purdue, 5'8 Phil Taylor from Marietta (Wheeler) GA is committed to Florida International, and 6'3 Bacari Turner from Plano (West) TX is committed to Baylor.  Also don't forget that 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD recently reneged on Tennessee, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA recently changed his mind about going to USC, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC reneged on N.C. State last spring, 6'2 Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA re-opened his recruitment a year ago after originally committing to Ohio State, and 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA is now back on the board after originally picking Kentucky.  In other words, 57 of the top 100-ranked players in this class have actually made a verbal commitment to a four-year Division I college or university. 

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

We've finally figured out the best way to cover the five events that took place last week in Las Vegas, NV.  First, go to Orlando, FL and cover the AAU Boys’ Basketball 17-Uuder Super Showcase.  This will allow us to avoid the mass confusion and driving all over Las Vegas in an attempt to make heads or tails out of what has turned into the worst week of basketball of the entire year.  Then, we can go to Phoenix, AZ and watch most of the good teams that played last week in Las Vegas this week in the Desert Duel.  And to illustrate our point even further is the fact that the Memphis Magic, which won the championship in the adidas Super 64, Team Detroit, which won the "Open Division" in Reebok Summer Championships, I-5 Elite, which won the championship in the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament, and NIKE Team Florida, which won the championship in the Main Event, were all in Phoenix bright and early on Monday morning (July 27th) for first round action in the 2009 Desert Duel.  And the Memphis Magic with 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'6 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'9 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'8 Jalen Kendrick from College Park (Westlake) TN, and 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN, and Team Detroit with 6'3 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, and 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA both made a fast exit into the losers bracket, as the DC Assault 16-Under Gold team knocked off the former and the Dallas Heroes knocked off the latter.  Other good teams that lost in the first round of the playoffs of the 2009 Desert Duel were Seattle Rotary with 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA and 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA; LBA Seawolves with 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX and 6'3 Jr Toddrick Gotcher from Garland (Lakeview Centennial) TX; Dallas Mustangs with 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX; Drew Gordon Soldiers with 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson from Gilbert (Highland) AZ, 6'9 Jr Kyle Wiltjer from Portland (Jesuit) OR, 6'4 Jr Jabari Brown from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'4 Jr Kori Babineaux from Folsom (H.S.) CA, and 5'9 Soph Dominic Artis from Richmond (Salesian) CA; Arizona Stars with 6'5 Daniel Bejerano from Phoenix (North) AZ; and ICAN All Stars with 6'6 Moses Morgan from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) NV.  But the biggest was surprise of the entire tournament was Petersburg Elite, which beat the Atlanta Celtics in the quarterfinals and Arizona Premier in the semi-finals en route to the championship game, where they lost 64-57 to NIKE Team Florida.  And this comes as no surprise, despite the fact that NIKE Team Florida dropped down and won a cheap claim earlier this week by winning the championship in the Main Event.  Remember, this a well-balanced and extremely well coached team that won the championship of the Wallace Prather Memorial Classic and finished in the final four of both the Rumble in the Bronx and the NIKE Peach Jam.  Also, unlike a lot of the teams that were tried and wanted to go home, this bunch played like they were on a mission and it was a different player every night that stepped up and was the star of the team.  The best player and MVP in the championship game was 6'2 Jr Scottie Wilbekin from Gainesville (The Rock School) FL, who finished with 18 points, controlled the game, and made most of the big plays down the stretch.  Also chipping in with 12 points was 6'3 Dennis Mavin from Gainesville (Eastside) FL and 6'10 Anthony Lee from Eustis (West Oaks) FL made some key shots and finished well around the basket.  However, Kevin Schneider, who is the Vice-Presidents of Big Shots Basketball, one of the bright up-and-coming evaluators of talent in the business, and a contributor to this report, named 5'10 Bruce Ellington from Monack Center (Berkeley) SC the tournament MVP, despite the fact the Trademark Properties team for which Ellington played lost in the second round of the playoffs.  But we still think this is a great call, because nobody separated himself from all of the rest on NIKE Team Florida and the two best players on Petersburg Elite - 6'5 Justin Coleman from Richmond (Henrico) VA and 6'1 Brandon Britt from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA - did not come up big in the championship game.  Instead, it was 6'5 Duvaughn Maxwell from Petersburg (H.S.) VA, who finished with 28 points for Petersburg Elite and was the leading scorer in the Championship Game.  We also once again were very impressed with the play of 6'5 Jackson Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX and we thought 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL played extremely well at times.  And, despite the fact that his team advanced all the way to final eight of the tournament, the biggest disappointment was 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR.  Remember, this was the guy that our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis was touting last week as the one of the top 10 players in the nation.  But now Jones is the poster boy for those who were tired, lazy, and just wanted to go home.  We also were somewhat disappointed in 6'7 Jr Sam Thompson from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who finished with only seven points in the Mac Irvine Fire 16-Under team's lost to Arizona Premier in the quarterfinals.  We like his athleticism, potential, and ability to get his shot off the dribble.  But Thompson needs to improve his handle, if he's going to be a wing forward, needs to grow and bigger and stronger, if he's going to be a power forward, and needs to become more aggressive and dominant, if he's going to be a great player.  Moral to the story, Thompson is a legitimate top 50-100 range player nationally.  But the hype versus the results is a little ridiculous.  Our vote for the biggest sleeper in the tournament goes to 6'1 Jerry Harville from Chandler (Hamilton) AZ.  This crafty point guard not only is great in transition and explosive to the basket, but he also made all of the right decisions on the break when it came time to either find the open man or take it to the hole.  We also want to thank Tammy Crawford, Jeff Schneider, et al. for their incredible hospitality and for making this one of the most user friendly and best run events in the nation. 

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Our Philadelphia/South New Jersey Editor Allen Rubin and Florida Editor Rick Staudt have been at the AAU Boys’ Basketball 17-Uuder Super Showcase at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL and in a nationally televised final on ESPNU, Team Takeover (DC) knocked off Team Stat (FL), 66-57.  This was a case of three being better than one, as the Team Takeover trio of 6’5 Jerian Grant of Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6’3 Victor Oladipo of Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and 6’5 Jr Michael Gbinije from Christchurch (School) VA outgunned 6’3 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (HS) FL and his teammates from Team Stat.  While Rivers may have gone down in the final, he was clearly the best player in the event.  His ability to score both at the rim and from deep was unmatched by anybody and he continually hit big shots.  The first shocker of the event was All-Ohio Red losing their last game in pool play to the New Jersey Celtics, which was essentially the St. Patrick’s high school team playing without Michael Gilchrist.  The number two player in the event, 6’8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, did all he could to keep his team in it.  But it was our #3-ranked player in the event, 6’2 Kyrie Irving of Elizabeth (St. Patrick’s) NJ, who stole the ball and scored the game winning in lay-up.  This led to the second and third shockers of the event when in the first round of playoffs both All-Ohio Red and Team Final lost.  All-Ohio lost a close one to the Rising Stars (IL).  But again, it was the New Jersey Celtics taking down a tournament favorite in Team Final.  The twist is that 6’8 Jr Michael Gilchrist’s high school team beat his loaded travel team without him!  Our ranking of players at the event include 1) 6’3 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (HS) FL (Team Stat), 2) 6’8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH (All-Ohio Red), 3) 6’2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ (New Jersey Celtics), 4) 6’5 Jerian Grant from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD (Team Takeover), 5) 6’8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ (Team Final), 6) 6’2 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ (Team Final), 7) 6’5 Jason Morris from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT ( New York Gauchos), 8) 6’5 Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH (Baltimore Elite), 9) 6’3 Jr Bradley Beal from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO (St. Louis Eagles 16s), 10) 6’6 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (HS) NC (Chris Paul3 All-Stars), 11) 6’7 Jordan Graham from Baltimore (Calvert Hall) MD (Baltimore Elite), 12) 6’2 Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life Academy) LA (Louisiana Select), 13) 6’5 Jr P.J. Hairston from Greensboro (Dudley) NC (Chris Paul3 All-Stars), 14) 6’1 Brandon Peters from Houston (Yates) TX (Houston Hoops), 15) 6’3 Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton Township) IL (Rising Stars), 16) 6’5 Stacey Poole from Jacksonville (Providence) FL (Jacksonville Lee Bulls), 17), 6’8 Jr Rakeem Christmas from New Bryn (Academy of the New Church) PA (Team Final), 18) 6’1 Taran Buie from Albany (Bishop Maginn) NY (Albany City Rocks), 19) 6’2 Jelanie Hewitt from Oakland Park (Northeast) FL (Team Breakdown), 20) 6’4 Gerad Coleman from Tilton (School) NH (BABC), 21) 6’0 Tyreek Dureen from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA (Team Final), 22) 6’1 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH (All-Ohio Red), 23) 6’8 Patrick Young from Jacksonville (Providence) FL (Jacksonville Lee Bulls), 24) 6’7 C.J. Fair from Baltimore (City College School) MD (Baltimore Elite), 25) 6’5 Nemanja Mikic from Charlotte (United Faith) NC (Charlotte Royals), 26) 6’3 Victor Oladipo from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD (Team Takeover), 27) 6’7 Melsahn Besabe from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA (New York Gauchos), 28) 6’1 Soph L.J Rose from Houston (Second Baptist) TX (Houston Hoops), 29) 6’8 Tobi Oyediji from Bellaire (HS) TX  (Houston Hoops), 30) 5’10 Jr Shane Larkin from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL (Showtime Ballers), 31) 6’5 Jamail Jones from Decatur (Green Forest Christian) GA (Hoop Planet), 32) 6’8 Melvin Tabb from Raleigh (Enloe) NC (CP3 All-Stars), 33) 6’9 C.J. Aiken from Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA (Team Philly), 34) 6’10 Baye Moussa Keita from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (Baltimore Elite), 35) 6’4 Markel Brown from Alexandria (Peabody Magnet) LA (Louisiana Select), 36) 6’5 Jr Michael Gbinije from Christchurch (H.S.) VA (Team Takeover), 37) 6’8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollows) NY (Albany City Rocks), 38) 6’3 Brandon Spearman from Chicago (Simeon) IL (Illinois Warriors), 39) 6’6 Chris Griffin from Tallahassee (Leon) FL (Team Breakdown Northwest), 40) 6’2 Ben Brust from Mundelein (Consolidated) IL (Illinois Warriors), 41) 6’5 Aaron Bowen from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL (Jacksonville Lee Bulls), 42) 6’4 Jr Robert Brown from Clermont (East Ridge) FL (Showtime Ballers), 43) 5’9 Kaleb Clyburn from Montverde (Academy) FL (Team Stat), 44) 6’3 Kameron Ritter from Albany (Christian Brothers Academy) NY (Albany City Rocks), 45) 6’9 Dante Williams from Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA (Hoop Planet), 46) 6’3 Charles Hankerson from Miami (Coral Reef) FL (Gold Coast), 47) 6’6 Leek Leek from Greensboro (Veritas) NC (Team Phoenix Elite), 48) 6’6 Khyle Marshall from Ft. Lauderdale (Flanagan) FL (South Florida Elite), 49) 7’1 Stever Nyursak from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC (Charlotte Royals), 50) 6’8 Soph Alex Murphy from Southborough (St. Mark’s) MA (Expressions 2011), 51) 6’6 Matt Derenbecker from Metairie (Metairie Park Country Day School) LA (Louisiana Select), 52) 6’10 Jr Willie Kouassi from Miami (Choice Academy) FL (Team Breakdown), 53) 6’6 J.D. Witherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH (All-Ohio Red), 54) 6’4 Jr Rob Poole from Harbor River (Paul VI) NJ (Jersey Shore Warriors), 55) 6’4 Darrun Hilliard from Bartram (Liberty) PA (Jersey Shore Warriors), 56) 6’1 Corey Holden from Dayton Beach (Seabreeze) FL (Team Stat), 57) 6’4 Trevis Simpson from Douglas (Coffee County) GA (Georgia Hawks), 58) 6’0 Sr Daniel Dauda from Carbondale (Brehm Prep) IL (Illinois Titans), 59) 6’0 Sr Kevin Boyle Jr from Elizabeth (St. Patrick’s) NJ (New Jersey Celtics), and 60) 6’4 Mitch Woods from Naples (Community School) FL (SWFL Select).

Monday, July 27, 2009

The HOOP SCOOP's ranking of the top 50 players based on performance at the five events (adidas Super 64, Reebok Summer Championship, StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament, 2009 GBOA Challenge of Champions, & Main Event) that took place last week in Las Vegas, NV are as follows:  1) 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN (Memphis (Magic), 2) 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX (LBA Seawolves), 3) 6'8 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX (Dallas Mustangs Blue), 4) 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA (New England Playaz), 5) 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR (I-5 Elite), 6) 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY (New Heights Blue), 7) 5'8 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL (Mac Irvin Fire), 8) 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA (Atlanta Celtics J-Smoov), 9) 6'2 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI (Michigan Mustangs), 10) 6'9 Jr Quincy Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality of Education Academy) NC (D-One Sports), 11) 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA (Seattle Rotary Select I), 12) 6'6 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN (Memphis (Magic), 13) 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA (California Supreme), 14) 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD (DC Assault Gold), 15) 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT (New York Panthers), 16) 6'7 Tony Mitchell from Miami (Choice Academy) FL (Brandon Bass), 17) 6'6 Casey Prather from Jackson (Northside) TN (Nashville Celtics), 18) 6'5 Jr Damien Leonard from Greenville (J.L. Mann) SC (Florida Rams), 19) 6'9 Cody Larson from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD (Dakota Schoolers), 20) 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI (Team Detroit), 21) 6'6 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA (Atlanta Celtics J-Smoov), 22) 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA (California Supreme), 23) 6'5 Jackson Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX (Dallas Heroes), 24) 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL (Mac Irvin Fire), 25) 5'10 Bruce Ellington from Monack Center (Berkeley) SC (Trademark Properties), 26) 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI (Team Detroit), 27) 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from College Park (Westlake) GA (Memphis (Magic), 28) 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ (New Heights Blue), 29) 6'2 Trea Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA (Atlanta Celtics J-Smoov), 30) 6'7 Carlos Emory from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN (Minnesota Pump N Run), 31) 6'8 DeMarcus Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS (MBA Elite), 32) 6'4 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC (D-One Sports), 33) 6'6 Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ (Playaz Basketball Club Gold), 34) 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV (Grassroots Canada Elite), 35) 6'5 Rion Brown from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA (World Renegades), 36) 6'9 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN (Memphis (Magic), 37) 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS (MBA Elite), 38) 6'1 Jr Myles Davis from Jersey City (St. Peter's) NJ (Playaz Basketball Club), 39) 6'5 Will Watkins from Salt Lake (Olympus) UT (Utah Pump N Run Red), 40) 6'4 Jr Brandon Dawson from Gary (Lew Wallace) IN (SYF Players), 41) 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN (Memphis (Magic), 42) 5'11 Jr Deville Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS (MBA Elite), 43) 6'2 Kameron Cerroni from Sussex (Hamilton) WI (Wisconsin Playground Warriors), 44) 5'9 Brandon Jefferson from Lewisville (H.S.) TX (Dallas Heroes), 45) 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA (Team Detroit), 46) 6'3 Jr Toddrick Gotcher from Garland (Lakeview Centennial) TX (LBA Seawolves), 47) 6'1 Jr Anthony Collins from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX (Houston Swoosh Select Black), 48) 6'6 Kyle Collinsworth from Provo (H.S.) UT (Utah Pump N Run Red), 49) 6'6 Bryce Jones from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA (Compton Magic Black),  and 50) 6'0 Jr Travis Trice from Huber Heights (Wayne) OH (SYF Players).  Especially noteworthy is the fact that not one player from the Main Event is ranked among the top 50 players on our list above.  However, that might not be fair to the players who participated in the event, as we only attended the championship game due to the fact that it was next to impossible to get any information about the event, unless we physically showed up, both in advance and during the course of the event.  As a matter of fact, just how bad most of teams were and how poorly run this event was run was one of the main topics of conversation among all of the media, coaches, and fans alike all last week.  And this is important, because most people think that there probably will only be two tournaments during this same time period next year in Las Vegas, NV, as the adidas Super 64 and the Reebok Summer Championships are expected to merge into one tournament now that Chris Rivers is with adidas and the Main Event will probably cease to exist.  Also noteworthy is the fact that players like 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, and 6'2 Jr Ryan Boatright from Aurora (Aurora East) IL did not make the above list.  With Wroten and Thompson, we're talking about two of the elite players in the nation who simply did not live up their media hype and press clippings this past week.  In the case of Boatright, he scored a lot of points, but also was among the leaders in bad shots and poor decisions. 

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The final four is now set in the adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas, NV after DC Assault beat the Nashville Celtics, 86-58; the Memphis Magic beat the Atlanta Celtics, 89-78 (OT); the New England Playaz beat the Compton Magic, 72-64; and 6'2 Dyami Starks from Duluth (East) MN hit a 3-point shot in overtime to give Minnesota Pump N Run a 77-74 win over New Heights.  The big hero for Minnesota Pump N Run was 6'6 Carlos Emory from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, who not only scored 27 points and impressed us with his ability to post-up, rebound, and hit the mid-range shot, but he also did a great job defensively against 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who finished with only nine points.  However, when you take one thing away, it usually opens something up for somebody else.  And in this case it was 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who finished with 27 points and was the catalyst for New Heights.  The Atlanta Celtics went to war this morning without 6'9 Marquez "Luke" Cothran from Red Springs (Floral McDonald) NC, who was sidelined last night for the rest of the summer with a dislocated knee cap.  But 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 6'6 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, and 6'2 Trea Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA all rose to the occasion, as they combined for 61 of their team's 78 points and kept their team pretty much in control of the game right down to the final minute seconds when 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN hit the game tying shot at the end of regulation.  But then Jackson, who also was fouled on the play, missed the free throw that would have won the game.  However, Jackson was still was the guy who took over the game down the stretch and finished with 32 points in what has be regarded one of the top individual performances of the entire week.  We also know who two of the final four teams are in the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament now that the LBA Seawolves have beaten Basketball British Columbia, 78-36, and the Dallas Heroes have knocked off the Mac Irvin Fire, 75-70.  The big hero for the Dallas Heroes was 6'5 Jackson Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX, who finished with 20 points and totally dominated inside while playing against all the highly touted inside guys on the Mac Irvin Fire.  However, it was the outside shooting and guard play of 5'9 Brandon Jefferson from Lewisville (H.S.) TX, who had 17 points and four 3-pointers, 5'11 Jr Kyan Anderson from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, who had 15 points, and 5'11 Josh Lewis from Garland (Naaman Forest) TX, who had 3 points, that really broke the back of the Mac Irvin Fire.  The only player who played well enough to mention for the Mac Irvin Fire was 5'7 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who finished with 18 points and four 3-pointers.  However, Starks also missed some big shots in the final two minutes of the game that might have made the outcome different if the shots had gone down, instead of bouncing off the rim.  The big story in the other game was the outside shooting of 6'3 Jr Toddrick Gotcher from Garland (Lakeview Centennial) TX, who had 32 points and connected on five 3-pointers.  Also chipping in with 12 points for the L.B.A. Seawolves was 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX.  We also have the results from this morning's four quarterfinals games at the Reebok Summer Championships, which include the Franchise All-Stars over the New York Panthers, 68-66; D-One Sports over Donyell I (PA), 87-76; Team Detroit over MBA Elite, 51-50; and California Supreme over the Northwest Houston Tigers, 67-46.  It also comes as no surprise that NIKE Team Florida has beaten Bay Area Ballers, 55-46, in the championship game at the Main Event.  However, it did come as somewhat of a surprise that the two leading scorers for NIKE Team Florida were 6'2 Keith McDougald from Jacksonville (Bishop Kenny) FL, who finished with 22 points and was equally effective both inside and outside, and 6'10 Anthony Lee from Eustis (West Oaks) FL, who finished with 12 points and is intriguing us with his length, athleticism, and ability to score, rebound, and block shots.  In contrast, the Florida State-bound 6'9 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL finished with only eight points and was mediocre at best in the championship game.  The only player that left a memorable impression on the Bay Area Ballers, which really is the St. Francis High School team from Mountain View, CA, is 5'10 Spencer Britsghchi, who finished with 16 points and four 3-pointers.  The much anticipated championship game between the Joneses at the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament did not materialize due to the fact that the Dallas Heroes beat the LBA Seawolves with a buzzer beater in the semi-finals.  That left the door open for I-5 Elite to coast all the way to championship with a 72-57 win over the Arizona Magic in the semi-finals and with a 73-65 win over the Dallas Heroes in the championship game.  And, according to Brick Oettinger of the PrepStars and the Recruiters Handbook, they won despite, not because of 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who finished with only eight points and appeared to be tired and uninterested in playing in the game.  Instead, the two guys that got I-5 Elite over the hump were 6'6 Stephen Madison from Vancouver (Prairie) OR, who finished with 17 points, and 6'7 Garrett Jackson from Portland (Westview) OR, who finished with 13 points.  Another one of the biggest surprises of the day occurred when Team Detroit knocked off California Supreme, 71-54, in the quarterfinals of the Reebok Summer Championships.  And, believe it or not, D-One Sports is the other team that has advanced into the championship game with an 83-74 win over the Franchize All-Stars in the other semi-finals game that was played earlier this afternoon at Foothill High School.  If you will recall, this was the same team that lost 103-43 against I-5 Elite on the first day of action in the 2009 GBOA (Grassroots Basketball of America) Challenge of Champions.  However, it was too close to call until the final three minutes in the championship game.  That's when Team Detroit went on a 8-0 run to seal the deal.  The final score was 56-48 and we really are amazed that it was as close as it was when due to the fact that D-One Sports hit only 20-56 field goals (35.%) and 3-18 3-pointers (16.7%).   And the main culprit was 6'4 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC, who never saw a shot he did like, as he finished with 10 points and was only 1-13 from the field and 1-9 from beyond the arc.  Instead, the best player for D-I Sports was 6'9 Jr Quincy Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality of Education Academy) NC, who finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots, 7-17 field goals, and 1-5 3-pointers.  We also were impressed with the explosiveness and some of acrobatic moves that 6'3 Jr Quddus Bello from High Point (Westchester Country Day) NC made to the basket, as he finished with 10 points and 5-7 field goals.  Team Detroit was led by 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and 6-17 field goals.  Also chipping in with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and 4-8 field goals in the championship game was 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI.  And 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA must also be mentioned, because he finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, and 5-5 field goals.  The Championship Game of the adidas Super 64 also turned out to be somewhat of a surprise, as the New England Playaz set the tone early and led by as many as 16 points midway through the second half.  However, then they stopped going inside to 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, the momentum totally shifted, and the Memphis Magic went on a 14-1 run.  And that set the stage for 6'4 Chris Crawford from Memphis (Sheffield) TN to hit the game winning shot and the Memphis Magic to emerge with an an incredible 62-60 victory.  The tournament MVP was 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, who also was his team's leading scorer with 19 points.  Lubick led the losers with 19 points. 

Saturday, July 25, 2009

A lot of people were calling it a major upset when New Heights knocked off Grassroots Canada Elite earlier today in the adidas Super 64 Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  However, New Heights is the same team that won the AAU 14-Under Nationals three years ago in Lake Buenta Vista, FL and now it looks like that history has repeated itself after 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who finished with 19 points and is the heart-and-sole of this team, clearly outplayed 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who finished with only nine points and fouled out with a lot time remaining in the game.  If you will recall, Pinkston did the same thing when he was a rising freshman to 6'11 Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA, who at the time was regarded by many to be the best rising freshman in America.  Pinkston has worked hard to change his body and develop perimeter skills, but he is still best in the low post, where he can use his quickness to score, rebound, and terrorize the opposition.  Pinkston was complemented by 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and 6'8 Ashton Pankey from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who combined for 20 points, and 6'3 Brandon Frazier from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY and 6'1 Hakeem Harris from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who hit four straight 3-pointers in the span of about two minutes to put their team up 61-51 with 6:50 in the game.  Grassroots Canada Elite outscored New Heights 19-9 the rest of the way, but t it still wasn't enough, as the only player for Grassroots Canada to live up to expectations was 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who finished with 19 points.  We also want to mention 6'2 Brady Heslip from Burlington (Nelson) ON, because he scored 11 points and capped a 7-0 run with a big 3-pointer to make it 68-67 with 50.1 seconds left in the game.  However, we're still trying to figure out what happened to 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who finished with only four points, all of which came from the free throw line?  The other big story of the day involved the stunning upset that Louisiana Future played off against Seattle Rotary Select in the first round of the playoffs of the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament.  Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter was at the game and he tells us that the coach for Seattle Rotary Select pulled all of his starters, except for 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, with five minutes left in the game.  By the time they returned Seattle Rotary Select had seen a 10-point lead totally evaporate.  And, to make matters even worse, Wroten missed three out of four free throws and turned the ball over under the other team's basket, which resulted in a lay-up, in the final minutes of the game.  We also were shocked by the fact that the Mac Irvin Fire got knocked off by the San Marcos Saints in the Round of 16 in the Main Event.  However, the Mac Irvin Fire also managed to redeem themselves with a 53-51 win against the Milwaukee Spartans when 5'7 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL hit the game winning shot with two seconds left in the game.  And that sets up the final eight tomorrow in the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament, which will feature the LBA Seawolves versus Basketball British Columbia and the Dallas Heroes versus the Mac Irvin Fire at 11:15 AM and the Louisiana Future versus I-5 Elite Black and Arizona Magic versus Moore Management at Spring Valley High School at 12:20 PM.  The winners will play in the semi-finals at 1:25 PM and the Championship Game will be played at 3:00 PM at Spring Valley High School.  The last we heard from the Main Event was that it was The Force 17 Blue versus YBA-Black, the San Marcos Saints versus the Bay Area Ballers, NIKE Team Florida versus Centex Shooters, and Indy Magic versus the Bloomington South Panthers in the four quarterfinals games, which were played earlier this evening.  The semi-finals are scheduled for tomorrow at 9:05 AM and 10:10 AM and the championship game is scheduled to tip-off at 1:25 PM at Canyon Springs High School.  And right now the smart money is on NIKE Team Florida, which also finished in the final four a week ago at the NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC and feature Florida State-bound 6'9 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL.  The final eight in the "Open Division" at the Reebok Summer Championships will tip off tomorrow with the Franchize All-Stars versus the New Panthers at 9:00 AM, Donyell I (PA) versus D-One Sports at 10:15 AM, Team Detroit versus MBA Elite at 11:30 AM, and California Supreme versus Northwest Houston Tigers at 12:45 PM.  The semi-finals will be played 2:00 PM and 3: 15 PM and the championship will tip-off at 6:00 PM at Foothill High School.  The four quarterfinals games at the adidas Super 64 Tournament are also scheduled for tomorrow morning and it will be New Heights versus Minnesota Pump N Run, the New England Playaz versus the Compton Magic, and DC Assault versus the Nashville Celtics at 9:00 AM and the Atlanta Celtics versus the Memphis Magic at 10:20 AM.  The semi-finals will be played at 2:20 PM and 3:40 PM and the championship game will tip-off at 7:40 PM at Rancho High School.  Stay tuned for all of the scores and highlights! 

Friday, July 24, 2009

If Seattle Rotary Select and the Mac Irvin Fire meet once again in the Championship Game of the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament, which will be held at 3:00 PM at Spring Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV, we have to wonder what they will do for an encore after they went to war earlier tonight in what was one of the best games that we've seen in a long time at this level.  And the big reason why Seattle Rotary Select won the game, 73-66, was the dominance inside of 6'9 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, who finished with 21 points and had at least half a dozen rim rattling slam dunks, double digit rebounds, and did a good job of getting the opposing big men into foul trouble.  Smith also looks like he's lost some weight since the start of the summer, as he's quicker and more athletic and playing with a lot more confidence.  So once again the case for being this physical specimen and beast around the basket to be the #2-ranked center in the Class of 2010, behind 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH.  Also chipping in with 11 points and eight points apiece were 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA and 6'2 Jr Gary Bell from Kent (Kentridge) WA.  But the unsung hero in the game for Seattle Rotary Select was 6'2 Andre Winston from Tacoma (Lakes) WA, who finished with 19 points and did a great job of slashing to the basket and making things happen in transition.  The other star of the game was 5'7 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who was sensational with explosiveness in transition, nose for the ball, ability to create his own shot off the dribble, and desire to compete and make things happen for the Mac Irvin Fire.  As a matter of fact, if Starks plays like this all the time, we will have to move him onto our list of  the top point guards in the nation, along with guys like 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) KY, 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX.  The Oregon State-bound Starks finished with 19 points and three 3-pointers and 6'2 Reggie Smith from Harvey (Thornton) IL had 15 points, as he once again reinforced our belief that he too is a top 50 player nationally in the Class of 2010.  Also really helping set the tone early with his energy, athleticism, and baskets in transition was 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, who had 10 points and was more like the player we saw a year ago than the guy we'd been watching struggle earlier this spring and summer.  We also think it's important to point out that 6'4 Jr Tim Hardaway from Miami (Palmetto) FL hit a pair of 3-pointers and 6'9 Phillip Jackson from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL and 6'8 K.T. Nettles from Mobile (LeFlore) AL combined for 12 points, as they more than compensated for the fact that 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL and 7'0 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL both were held scoreless for the night.  Another team that we saw play better today in the Reebok Summer Championships at Foothill High School in Las Vegas, NV than at any time previously this spring or summer was MBA Elite, which beat the New York Panthers, 74-62, in the 5th Place Game of the "Reebok Create-N-Finish Cup."  And the big reason why MBA Elite was able to get over the hump was the dominance inside of 6'8 DeMarco Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS, who finished with 16 points and used his physical presence to do all the dirty work inside.  That also opened things up out on the perimeter for 6'9 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, who had 26 points and played with the most passion that we've seen him play with since getting injured last spring, and 6'0 Jr Marquavius "Deville" Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS, who had 18 points and used his speed and quickness to get the better of 6'0 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ.  Instead, the guy who put up big numbers for the New York Panthers was 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, who finished with 25 points and once again impressed us with his excellent 3-point shooting.  We also liked the 29-point performance by 6'9 Cody Larson from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD, but were disappointed with 6'5 Rion Brown from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, who was one of the top players that our West Coast Editor Alan Utter saw yesterday at the Reebok Summer Championships.  We also got a chance to see 6'2 Kameron Cerroni from Sussex (Hamilton) WI, who is a steal for Wisconsin-Green Bay, knock down five 3-pointers and score 17 points earlier today against the Idaho Select Prospects.  And this comes on the heels of his 31 and 29-point games, which makes Cerroni the leading scorer in the tournament with 25.7 ppg after the first two days of the tournament.  Another highlight of the day came when we saw 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA combine for nine 3-pointers in California Supreme's 97-86 win over the Playaz Basketball Club in the semi-finals for the "Reebok Create-N-Finish Cup."  California Supreme also beat Texas Bluechips Navy, 75-55, in the championship game of the "Reebok Create-N-Finish Cup," thanks primarily to the efforts of 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'5 Tyler Lamb from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who combined for 40 points in the title game.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

We always reserve the right to change our schedule and this was the case last night when we realized that we'd already seen a lot of the teams play yesterday in the 2009 GBOA (Grassroots Basketball of America) Challenge of Champions that will be participating today in the "Reebok Create-N-Finish Cup" in the Reebok Summer Championships at Foothill High School in Las Vegas, NV.  So we've spent the entire day at the adidas Super 64 at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, NV and the highlight of the day was watching the Atlanta Celtics knock off Pump N Run Elite in a 93-92 barnburner.  And, believe it or not, 6'9 Marquez "Luke" Cothran from Red Springs (Floral McDonald) NC finished with 16 points and blocked what would have been the game winning shot with only three seconds left in the game.  However, even more important, Cothran played the best we've ever seen him play, as he provided the Atlanta Celtics with an excellent effort and fit in well with all of the talented guards and wing players that make this one of the teams to beat in this tournament.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that we've been one of Cothran's biggest critics this spring and summer.  But now it looks like the light may have clicked on and Cothran is on his way towards being the player that our Alabama Editor Mark Komara told us he could be all along.  We also thought 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, who finished with 27 points and turned in one of the best individual performances that we've seen all day, took another important step towards solidifying a spot among the premier point guards nation in the senior class, along with 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) KY, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX.  The Atlanta Celtics also got plenty of firepower from 6'6 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA and 6'2 Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA, who combined for 39 points and complemented Harrow with their explosiveness and athleticism out on the perimeter.  Another one of the top individual performances of the day was turned by 6'8 Jr LeByan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who finished with 20 points against Team Philly and 29 points and five 3-pointers against the Michigan Mustangs.  We were especially impressed with Nash's ability to create his own shot, rebound and blocks shots, explosiveness around the basket, and ability to totally dominate the game.  As a matter of fact, we think Nash is playing so well and has taken his game to such another level that he might be the best player playing this week in the four tournaments in Las Vegas, NV.  If you will recall, 6'3 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN are playing for the Spiece Indy Heat in a tournament in Kansas City, MO; 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL is out with an injury; 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA has already shut it down for the summer; and 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4, Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, and 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH are all playing on NIKE-sponsored teams in the NIKE Super Showcase in Orlando, FL.  We also were really impressed with the ??-performance that 6'2 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI turned in for the Michigan Mustangs against the Dallas Mustangs.  He too belongs on our above list of top point guards in the senior class.  And, like most of the other of the guys on this list, Appling is also capable of putting up prolific numbers, as he makes a living exploding to the basket and beating you off the dribble with his excellent 3-point shooting.  The biggest sleeper of the day to emerge today at the adidas Super 64 was 5'10 Bruce Ellington from Moncks Center (Berkeley) SC, who finished with 21 points and made all of the big plays down the stretch in his Trademark Properties' 63-60 win against Net Gain Sports.  Ellington is small, but he's explosive in transition, quick off the dribble, has good ball handling and passing skills, and is big time athlete, as is evident by the fact that he's also a high major football prospect.  On the gridiron Ellington plays quarterback and is being recruited by schools like Georgia Tech, Clemson, South Carolina, Maryland, and Kentucky.  On the hardwood it looks like South Carolina, Clemson, and USC are the favorites.  Ellington also tells us that he's an excellent student and that he prefers to play basketball over football.  And what about the five 3-pointers and 22 points that 6'3 Cole Stefan from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN had for for Net Gain Sports against Trademark Properties and six 3-pointers and 21 points that 6'5 Will Watkins from Salt Lake City (Olympic) UT had for Utah Pump N-Run against the Florida Rams?  Speaking of the Florida Rams, we're still waiting for 6'11 Fabrico DeMelo from Weston (Sagemont) FL to step up and play like he did when we saw him on the first day at the NBA Players Associations Top 100 Camp a month agoin Charlottesville, VA.  DeMelo finished with only two field goals en route to 10 points against Utah Pump N-Run, but even more of a mystery is what happened to 6'5 Jr Damien Leonard from Greenville (J.L. Mann) SC, who finished with 21 points and only three 3-pointers.  Remember, Leonard is one of the best long range bombers in the high school ranks today and anything less than five treys in a game is considered to be a poor shooting night for this guy.  In contrast, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN played well in both of his games today, as he finished with 26 points and five 3-pointers against the New England Playaz and 18 points against the Nashville Celtics.  Also scoring 24 points for the Memphis Magic against the Nashville Celtics was 6'9 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN.  Also putting up big numbers earlier today at the adidas Super 64 were 6'7 Cole Dickerson from Federal Way (H.S.) WA, who had 32 points for Team A.C.C.E.S.S. Black against the Southern California All-Stars Red; 5'10 Jon Loyd from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, who had 24 points for the Las Vegas Prospects against the Indiana Red Elite; 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who had 24 points for New Heights Blue against the Wedman Pumas; and 6'3 Jr Juanya Green from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA, 5'10 Willis Nicholson from Marlton (Cherokee) NJ, and 6'4 Ameen Tanksley from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA, who combined for 64 points for Team Philly against the Dallas Mustangs. 

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

We have good news and bad news to report from the 2009 GBOA (Grassroots Basketball of America) Challenge of Champions, which is taking place at the Henderson International School in Henderson, NV.  The good news is that all of the Division I head coaches in attendance (i.e. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams, Florida's Billy Donovan, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, UCLA's Ben Howland, Villanova's Jay Wright, Indiana's Tom Crean, West Virginia's Bobby Huggins, Georgetown's John Thompson III, George Mason's Jim Larranaga, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, Oklahoma's Jeff Capel,  Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Notre Dame's Mike Brey, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Missouri's Mike Anderson, Arizona State's Herb Sendek, Arkansas' John Pelphrey, Oregon State's Craig Robinson, Purdue's Matt Painter, Marquette's Buzz Williams, South Carolina's Darrin Horn, Miami-FL's Frank Haith,  Providence's Keno Davis, Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, USC's Kevin O'Neill, Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez, Baylor's Scott Drew, St. John's Norm Roberts, Dayton's Brian Gregory, Memphis' Josh Pastner, Florida International's Isaih Thomas, Rice's Ben Braun, Charlotte's Bobby Lutz, Richmond's Chris Mooney, Drexel's James "Brusier" Flint, Hofstra's Tom Pecora, Manhattan's Kevin Willard, Nevada's David Carter, Long Beach State's Dan Monson, Yale's James Jones, Montana's Wayne Tinkle, UC-Davis' Gary Stewart) got a lot of bang for their buck in terms of seeing many of the top players who will showing their wears this week in the four tournaments in Las Vegas, NV.  Van Coleman of HoopMasters.com summed up the bad news best when he called the event an "exhibition."  And this is important, because a lot of the games lacked the competitive nature that comes with playing in a tournament-like setting and, as a result, there have been a lot of lopsided games and blow-outs today.  And great individual performances have been few and far between, as after the first eight games the top players of the day have been 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'3 Jordan Weathers from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'6 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'6 Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis can't stop singing the praises of Jones, who finished with 24 points and 3-pointers and led I-5 Elite to 103-43 win over the D-One Sports.  "Not only is Jones the best player of the day, but he's also one of the top 10 players in the country," says Trigonis.  However, before we jump off the deep end on this one, we'd like to see Jones become more consistent, have more of a motor, and dominant inside, instead of spending so much time out on the perimeter.  Remember, size is at a premium at both the college level and in the NBA and Jones is capable of totally dominating in the low post when he sets his mind to it.  We also were very impressed with Hairston's 27-point performance in his team's 102-94 loss against California Supreme.  As a matter of fact, this was the best we've ever seen this Duke-bound 6'8 combo forward play.  Weathers turned in one of the best shooting performances of the day with 24 points and four treys in his team's 78-77 win against the New York Panthers.  Franklin did his usual thing, as he hit four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points against DC Assault.  Zeigler doesn't do anything pretty, but he just knows how to play and he did a good job slashing to the basket en route to a 17-point performance in his team's 67-44 win against the Michigan Mustangs.  Collier and Pinkston combined for 38 points in New Heights 79-49 win against Texas Bluechips Elite.  Also noteworthy is the fact that new Florida International head coach Isiah Thomas was both the most visible head coach and the best dressed coach of the day, as he sat in the same spot in a coat and tie most of the day.  And right on his heels as the most visible head coach of the day was Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez, who had to be impressed with the way Edwin got it done both inside and outside with 22 points in his team's 78-61 win against Team Odom.  We also have been impressed with the improvement and upside of big men like 6'10 Jr Norvell Pelle from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, and 6'9 Richard Solomon from Los Angeles (Price) CA.  Pelle, who finished with 10 points against the Playaz Basketball Club, has grown three inches in the last year and is playing with a lot more confidence.  Rhoomes, who had eight points against California Supreme Elite, picked up where he left off when he made his national debut a week-and-a-half ago at the Reebok All-American Camp.  Right now schools like Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Temple, Rhode Island, George Mason, La Salle, and Virginia Commonwealth are showing the most interest.  But that list is sure to get longer before it gets shorter, as we're talking about somebody who is young for his class, has a size 17-shoe, and will likely grow several more inches.  Solomon, who had eight points against the SYF Players, has not yet grown into his body, but impressed us with his length, athleticism, and ability to get to the basket.  The ninth game of the day at 2009 (GBOA) Challenge of Champions was on another level, as Seattle Rotary Select featured 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, and 6'2 Jr Gary Bell from Kentridge (Kent) WA and Memphis Magic featured 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from College Park (Westlake) GA, 6'6 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, and 6'6 Ronald Brown from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN.  Seattle Rotary Select won the game, 67-62.  And, in the process, Smith, who fiished with 16 points and totally dominated the paint, won the battle inside against Black and Thomas, who combined for only 10 points for the Memphis Magic.  Instead, it was Jackson with 24 points and Kendrick with 15 points who did most of the damage for the Memphis Magic.  However, that wasn't enough to off-set the outside shooting of Bell, who finished with 13 points and three treys, and Wroten, who had 15 points, for Seattle Rotary Select.  We only caught the first half of the game between Grassroots Canada and Belmont Shore.  However, we did stay long enough to know that 6'2 Brady Heslip from Burlington (Nelson) ON got hot from behind the arc with four 3-pointers en route to 12 points and 6'8 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA was very effective both inside and outside with 15 points and three treys of his own. 

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Whoever coined the saying that "more is not always better," must have been thinking about the next five days in Las Vegas, NV, where most of the grassroots basketball world will be assembled to cover or play in five different events.  And right off the bat we will start at the 2009 (GBOA) Grassroots Basketball of America, which will tip-off tomorrow morning with Chicago Elite/Full Package versus Inland at 9:00 AM, followed by the Playaz versus Team Odom (CA) at 10:15 AM, New York Panthers versus Mac Irvin Fire at 11:30 AM, Team Detroit versus Dallas Mustangs at 12:45 PM, D-I Sports versus I-5 Elite at 2:00 PM, DC Assault versus California Supreme at 3:15 PM, Texas Bluechip versus New Heights at 4:30 PM, Compton Magic versus SYF Players at 5:45 PM, Memphis Magic versus Seattle Rotary at 7:00 PM, Grassroots Canada versus Belmont Shore at 8:15 PM, and Atlanta Celtics versus NIKE Team Florida at 9:30 PM.  This event take place at the Henderson International School, which is located at 1165 Sandy Ridge Avenue in Henderson, NV, and will feature an overwhelming of the top players who will be playing in the other events in town this week, including 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'10 Josh Smith from Covington (Kent) WA, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'4 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 5'11 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 6'5 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'2 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'0 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'5 Tyler Lamb from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'6 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'2 Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA, 6'8 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL, 6'7 Dwayne Polee from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 J.J. Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Dominic Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'10 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'1 Eric Atkins from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD, 6'3 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'9 Darryl Traynham from Upper Marlboro (Wise) MD, 6'2 Tyler Thornton from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'2 Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'5 Dominique Carr from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 6'8 Rod Odom from Concord (Middlesex) MA, 6'9 Richard Solomon from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'9 Godwin Okonji from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominquez) CA, 6'3 Cameron Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'5 Allen Crabbe from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'6 Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'5 Bryce Jones from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'9 Dwight Powell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'2 LaBradford Franklin from Temecula (Great Oak) CA, 6'8 Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'2 Deonte Burton from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'7 Alex Tiffin from Thousand Oaks (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'0 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'7 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'8 Jr Nick Jacobs from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'0 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'0 Jr Cezar Guerrero from City of Industry (Workman) CA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'4 Jr Kevin Ware from Conyers (Rockdale) GA, 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, 6'7 Jr Ramon Eaton from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 6'7 Jr Thomas Gipson from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Jr Quddus Bello from High Point (Westchester) NC, 6'9 Jr Norvell Pelle from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'8 Jr Quincy Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, 6'8 Jr Devonte Abram from Seagoville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Jr Dominique Dunning from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Jr DeLante "Bishop" Daniels from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'6 Jr Keaton Miles from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 5'11 Jr Jahii Carson from Phoenix (Mountain Pointe) AZ, 6'4 Jr Sam Thompson from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, and 6'5 Jr Wesley Saunders from Los Angeles (Windward) CA.  Then, on Thursday, July 23rd, we will turn our focus onto the Reebok Summer Championships, which will be headquartered at Foothill High School and will feature 136 teams from 28 states in 334 games in four days on 12 courts.  And what makes this the place to be the day-after-tomorrow is the "Reebok Create-N-Finish Cup," which is a tournament within the tournament that will be held exclusively at Foothill High School and will feature the top eight teams in the tournament with Texas Blue Chip Navy versus D-One Sports at 12:30 PM, New York Panthers versus Team Detroit at 1:45 PM, California Supreme versus the Dakota Schoolers at 3:00 PM, and MBA Elite versus the Playaz Basketball Club at 4:15 PM.  The Consolation Games for the "Reebok Create-N-Finish Cup" will tip-off at 10:00 AM on Friday, July 24th, followed by the semi-finals at 11:15 AM and 12:30 PM, the 7th Place Game at 4:15 PM, 5th Place Game at 5:30 PM, 3rd Place Game at 6:45 PM, and Championship Game at 8:00 PM.  However, by this time we expect to be at the adidas Super 64, which will headquartered at Rancho High School and promises to be the best of the four tournaments that will be going on simultaneously this week in Las Vegas, NV.  The list of teams that will be participating in this event includes 1 Tough School of Basketball, 2D1 Basketball Academy, 43 Hoops Basketball Club, 43 Hoops Hemmingsen, Abyssinian Crusaders, Arizona Premier, Atlanta Celtics, Atlanta Xpress, Arizona Stars-Team Jefferson, Arizona Stars Garretson, Ballin' Ambassadors, Baltimore Assault, Bay Area Hoosiers Grey, Bay Area Hoosiers Red, Bay Area Wildcats, Belmont Shore, California Supreme, Carolina Cobra Allstars, Chaffey-Washington, Chicago Elite/Full Package Athletics, Colorado Select Blue, Colorado Select White, Compton Magic White, Compton Magic, D1E Derrick Rose All-Stars, D-Harris Superstars, Dallas Mustangs North Dallas Mustangs Blue, Dallas Slam, DC Assault Gold, Derek Smith All-Stars, Derek Smith All-Stars West, Detroit Stars, Double Pump 2011 Elite, East Coast Elite, Eric Gordon All Stars, Florida Rams, Florida Rams Blue, French Hoops 1, Full Package Athletic Elite, Game Time Basketball, Gateway Basketball Club, Golden Gators (Gold), Golden Gators (Black), Grassroots Canada Elite, Gym Rats Black, Gym Rats Gold, High Intensity (San Diego), Houston Gold, Houston Hurricanes, Houston Select Black, IEBP Allstars, IEBP Blue, Indiana Elite Red, Indiana Elite (Fox), Joe Ward Phenom, J-7-0, Kansas City Cowboys, Kansas City Matrix, KC Pump N Run,  Louisiana Stars, Lakeshow 17, Las Vegas Dogcatchers Elite, Las Vegas Prospects, Los Angeles Rage, Los Angeles Rockfish, Los Angeles Rockfish Navy, M33M, Massachusetts Rivals, Memphis Magic Elite,  Michigan Mustangs, Minnesota Comets-Hanson, Minnesota Comets-Seevers, Minnesota Pump N Run, Nashville Celtics, Net Gain Sports, New England Playaz, New Heights NYC-Smith, New Heights NYC, Norcal (Tracy) Outlawz Orange, Norcal Hoopsters, Ohio Basketball Club 17, Old School Cavaliers/Philadelphia, Omaha Alegent Health Crusaders, PAL of DE, Pittsburgh Shockers, Playaz Basketball Club, Portland Hoop Kings, Pump N Run Elite, Regis Raiders, Reno Irish, Rocklin Warriors, Rocklin Warriors Blue, Sam Rines, Sam Rines/Rise, SBA Rebels Inland Empire, San Francisco Rebels, Socal Elite Heat, Southeast L.A. Elite, Southern California All-Stars Black, Southern California All-Stars Red, Southern California All-Stars White, Team A.C.C.E.S.S. (Orange), Team A.C.C.E.S.S. (Black), Team Blue Chip, Team Credo, Team Eleate, Team Intensity Jammers, Team Oregon, Team Philly, Team Superstar "TS", Team Takeover Canada, The Dream Team, TMP (Trademake Properties), Triple Threat, Tru-Playaz Basketball Club, Tucson Pump N Run, Upstate Basketball Club, Urban DFW Elite, Utah Pump-N-Run Red, Utah Pump-N-Run White, Valley Stars Pump N Run, Virginia Assault, Waco Basketball, Wedman Pumas, West Anchorage High School, XAP3 BC Dallas, and Xpress Elite.  We also will probably want to stick around at the adidas Super 64 for at least part of the day on Saturday, July 25th.  That's when things should really get interesting as the second and third round of the playoffs unfold.  The quarterfinals of the adidas Super 64 will be on Sunday, July 26th, at 9:00 AM and 10:20 AM.  And they're really making things easy for us, as the semi-finals will be held later that same day at 2:20 PM and 3:40 PM and the Championship Game will be held at 7:40 PM all in the Main Gym at Rancho High School.  This also works perfectly for us as the Championship Game at Reebok Summer Championships is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 PM on Sunday, July 26th.  It also looks we might want to spend some time at the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament, which will be held at UNLV and Spring Valley High School.  Some of the top teams that we will want to watch include Seattle Rotary Select with 6'4 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, 6'2 Jr Gary Bell from Kent (Kentridge) WA, and 6'8 Jr Christian Behrens from Covington (Tahoma) WA; Mac Irvin Fire with 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'4 Crandall Head from Chicago (Crane) IL, 7'0 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'2 Jr Tracey Abrams from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'2 Reggie Smith from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'8 Jr Michael Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, and 6'4 Jr Tim Hardaway from Miami (Palmetto) FL; LBA Seawolves with 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Bakari Turner from Plano (West) TX, 6'3 Jr Toddrick Gotcher from Garland (Lakeview Centennial) TX, 6'6 Stephon Smith from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX, and 6'1 Avery Redmond from Plano (East ) TX; I-5 Elite Black with 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'7 Garrett Jackson from Portland (Westview) OR; Team Odom with 6'7 Jr Ramon Eaton from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 6'6 Jr Darius Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 5'11 Jr Austin McBroom from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, 6'3 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'10 Jr Norvel Pelle from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'3 8th Grader Isaac Hamilton from Los Angeles, CA; SYF Players with 6'9 Dominique Ferguson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'4 Xavier Jones from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'4 Jr Brandon Dawson from Gary (Lew Wallace) IN, 6'9 Jake Kitchell from Union Mills (South Central) IN, 7'0 Jake Mahlen from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and Arizona Magic with 6'3 Royce Woolridge from Phoenix (Sunnyslope) AZ, 6'9 Jordan Didier from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, and 5'9 Marcel McClain from Tempe (H.S.) AZ.  We also find it interesting that Mac Irvin Fire is entered in the Main Event, which is headquartered Canyon Springs High School at 350 East Alexander Road in North Las Vegas, NV.  And yes, the Mac Irvin Fire not only has a roster in both of the media packets, but it also includes the names of all of the same players.  A pair of championships obviously will more than make up for what so far has been a disappointing summer, but they will likely face a logistical nightmare in the process.  A quick check of the schedule at the Main Event shows that the semi-finals will be played at 9:05 AM and 10:10 AM and the Championship Game will be played at 1:25 PM at Canyon Springs High School on Sunday, July 26th.  And, believe it or not, the Upper Bracket of the Round of 16 in the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament will be played 9:05 AM and 10:10 AM, followed by the Quarterfinals at 11:15 AM and 12:20 PM, the semi-finals at 1:25 PM, and the Championship Game at 3:00 PM at Spring Valley High School also on Sunday, July 26th. 

Monday, July 20, 2009

With the publication of our 2009 Mid-Summer HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams, which features the top players nationally regardless of class and position, it is glaringly obvious that the Class of 2011 may not be as good as we originally thought.  And a big reason for this is the fact that five of our top 12-ranked players in our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2011, which was published on March 19th, have not lived up to expectations so far this spring and summer.  We're talking about 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'3 Jr Trevor Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, and 6'5 Jr Samuel "P.J." Hairston from Greensboro (Dudley) NC.  In the case of Ross, it may be the fact it's taken a long time to get over a severe ankle injury that sidelined him this spring, but a lack of  team chemistry, loss of confidence, and maybe just not being as good as we originally thought may have been contributing factors in some of the other cases.  However, two of the top three players - 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL - and seven our of top 20 ranked players - 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'3 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'0 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Jr James McAdoo from Norfolk (Christian) VA, and 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX - on this list are rising juniors and, as s result, we think the Class of 2011 still has a chance to achieve greatness.  And when we dig a little deeper was also find that 12 of the top 50-ranked players and 30 of our top 100-ranked players on this list are rising juniors.  In contrast to the Class of 2011, which developed early (a year ago we had 10 rising sophomores on our 2008 Mid-Summer HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams), it looks like the Class of 2012 is developing at a much slower pace, as there are only two rising sophomores - 6'4 Soph Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV and 6'7 Soph Kyle Anderson from Paterson (Catholic) NJ -  who make our list of the top 100 players nationally regardless of class and position.  The rest of our list includes 68 rising seniors and zero 5th Year players, as for the first time in years there isn't a plethora of graduating seniors sticking around to compete on the AAU and club team circuit for an extra year due to the fact that they didn't make it academically.  We also think it's important to point out that unlike some of our competitors we're not just looking at size, athleticism, and pro potential when compiling these rankings.  Thus, explains why we have 7'0 Fabricio DeMelo (Fab Melo) from Weston (Sagemont) FL ranked so much lower than most our competition.  DeMelo does have all of the ingredients necessary to develop into a force to be reckoned with inside down the road.  But right now DeMelo is not even the best player on a struggling AAU team and it is our editorial policy to let a player earn it.  As a matter of fact, more players than we care to remember have been ruined by reading their press clippings and, as a result, believing that they are better than they really are.  In contrast, we take into consideration a number of things, like where a player is right now, how much he's already improved, what kind of attitude and work ethic he has, and both college and NBA potential.  And, if you want to be ranked among the truly elite players in the nation, you'd better be pretty darn good right now.  And what about the fact that 44 of the 100 players found on our 2009 Mid-Summer HOOP SCOOP All-American Teams have already made early verbal commitments to four-year Division I college and universities?  And six of the 30 rising juniors are already off the board, as 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL is bound for Florida, 6'0 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ is bound for Texas, 6'7 Jr Aaron Ross from Little Rock (Parkview) AR is bound for Arkansas, 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX is bound for Texas A&M, 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC is bound for Florida International, and 6'6 Jr Chane Behanan from Cincinnati (Aiken) OH is bound for Cincinnati.   It also is worth pointing out that only three of the 44 commitments have been made to schools that are not in one of the six high major conferences (ACC, Big East, Big-10, Big-12, SEC, and Pac-10) in college basketball.  The lone exceptions are 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD to Memphis, which is in Conference USA, but recruits like a high major school; 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC to Florida International, which is in the Sun Belt Conference and is very intriguing to a lot players now that Isiah Thomas is the head coach; and 6'3 Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA to St. Joseph's, which is in the Atlantic-10 Conference and has produced more than its share of great guards over the years.  We also want to remind 6'2 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX, who has already committed to Texas A&M twice and reneged once, that there is still time if he wants to go after Jermaine Bell's record for being the player who has committed to and reneged on the same school the most times.  If you will recall, Bell committed to St. John's one three different occasions, but never ended up playing for Mike Jarvis due to the fact he never made it academically and, as a result, ended up going the junior college route. 

Saturday, July 18, 2009, Sunday, July 19, 2009

I did not arrive back in Louisville, KY on Thursday evening in time to attend the all-star game at Five-Star Basketball Camp's Louisville's session, but Shay Berry has provided us with a list of players who made the Orange-White NBA All-Star Game, as well as the major award winners from the camp.  However, even more important, Berry, who once again is playing a major role running camps and in the development of the international business for Five-Star after an stint as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College, tells us that this camp was a huge success.  "With continued growth it could be something special for year to come," says Berry.  "Most important, it was authentic Five-Star.  The teaching was top notch, competition was fierce, and the talent was solid.  I think some college coaches missed a nice opportunity to see prospects in a teaching/learning environment.  Vince Walden from IMG Academies did a terrific job as the camp's head coach.  He is very talented and in my opinion a rising star in the coaching business.  Harold Johnson was instrumental as the camp's head counselor and did a lot of the leg-work in the preparation of the camp.  The facility, Louisville Hoops, is the premier six-court basketball facility and was a perfect venue for the inaugural  Five-Star Louisville camp.  Lectures by Jerry "Ice" Reynolds (22nd pick in the 1985 NBA Draft) and former NBA/Notre Dame and two-time Five-Star Most Outstanding Player Tim Kempton added to the teaching program."  The Camp Most Outstanding Player was 6'0 Sultan Mohammed from Grand Rapids (Central Catholic) MI.  The two Most Promising Prospects were 6'5 7th Grader from Kejuan Johnson from Atlanta (Sand Town) GA, who is ranked #4 nationally in the Class of 2014 by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'1 Frosh Trevor Tiller from Paintsville (H.S.) KY.  The MVP in the Playoffs was 6'0 Jairen Hunt from  Wyoming (Godwin Heights) MI.  The Orange-White All-Star Game MVP was 6'2 Stuart Washington from Louisville (Beth Haven) KY and the MVP in the Rising Stars All-Star Game was 6'10 Aleks Nikolic from Louisville (Manual) KY, who has a huge upside, excellent size, and Ivy League like grades.   The first name on the roster of the Orange Team in all-star game in the NBA Division is 6'4 Frosh Jordan Swopshire from St. Louis (Fort Zumalt) MO.  Not only is he the younger brother of Louisville's Jared Swopshire, but he has a big time reputation nationally in the Class of 2013.  Also on this team were 6'9 Jr Trey McDonald from Battle Creek (Central) MI, 6'4 Jr Trevan Brown from Florence (Boone County) KY, 6'4 Jr Eric Brown from Winchester (Harvest Prep) OH, 6'1 Corbyn Moye from Shellville (Shiloh) GA, 6'1 Terry Sargent from Indianapolis (Howe) IN, 6'2 Stewart Washington from Louisville (Beth Haven) KY, 6'0 Jr Tate Crenshaw from Louisville (Manual) KY, 5'8 Soph Eco Dunning from Kalamazoo (Central) MI, 6'1 Frosh Trevor Tiller from Paintsville (H.S.) KY, 6'0 Jairen Hunt from Wyoming (Godwin Heights) MI, and 6'5 Jr Geron Tate from Winchester (Harvest Prep) OH.  The White All-Stars roster includes 6'5 Jomari Bradshaw from Louisville (Wagner) KY, 6'7 Soph Devon Rowen from Goshen (H.S.) KY, 5'11 D'Carlo Hayes from Louisville (Male) KY, 6'0 Sean Samsel from Louisville (Manual) KY, 6'2 Deonte Maddox from Louisville (Seneca) KY, 6'0 Cameron Sanchez from Louisville (Eastern) KY, 6'0 Sultan Muhammad from Grand Rapids (H.S.) MI, 5'9 J.Q. Austin from Winchester (Harvest Prep) OH, 6'2 Thomas Blackmore from Louisville (Butler) KY, 5'10 Phillip Bond Jr from Louisville (Manual) KY, and 6'2 Frosh Darryl Hicks from Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY.  Those last two deserve special mention, because Hicks promises to be one of the next great players to hail from the Bluegrass State and Bond, who is the son of former University of Louisville point guard Phillip Bond, is a post graduate that has fallen through the cracks and could be a steal for somebody at the Division II or NAIA level.

Friday, July 17, 2009

After seeing LSU head coach Trent Johnson at all of the games that 6'7 Matt Derenbecker from Metairie (Metairie Park Country Day) LA played in at the NIKE Peach Jam, it came as no surprise yesterday when we found out that this sharp shooting wing forward had verbally committed to the Tigers.  Not only are we taking about one of the best 3-point shooters that we've seen all summer, but he also is surprisingly mobile and athletic, is a tremendous competitor, and is excellent at handling and passing the ball in the open court and out on the perimeter.  And making the story even more intriguing is the fact that Derenbecker also is an outstanding student and appears to be only just beginning to scratch the surface of his upside and potential.  In other words, Derenbecker is a lot better than where we currently have him ranked at #85 nationally in the senior class and it wouldn't surprise us on bit if he ended up making money playing the game someday.  We also are very impressed with how quickly new Florida International head coach Isiah Thomas and his staff are getting it done on the recruiting trail.  If you will recall, the Golden Panthers signed six quality junior college players - 6'7 Eric Frederick from Highland (JC) IL, 6'4 Antoine Watson from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'5 Marvin Roberts from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'3 Stephon Weaver from Connors State (JC) OK, 6'6 Kavon Lytch, 6'6, PF, Midland (JC) TX, and 5'10 Phil Gray from Malcolm X (JC) IL in a recruiting class that finished tied at #33 in our our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2009.  And, with a pair of verbal commitments earlier this week, they now have 5'8 Phil Taylor from Marietta (Wheeler) GA in the fold in this year's recruiting class and 6'10 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC already in the fold in next year's recruiting class.  If you will recall, Coleman is one of the top big man prospects nationally in the Class of 2011 and Taylor is best described as an undersized athletic prolific scoring combo guard who deserves top 100 consideration nationally in the Class of 2010.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'9 Ryan McKeaney from Marlton (Cherokee) NJ has picked the University of Vermont and 6'1 Mike Terry from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA has verbally committed to Boston University.  Obviously this is a case where new Terriers head coach Pat Chambers, who previously was an assistant coach at Villanova for the last five years, is going back to his old stamping grounds to get this athletic 2-guard who gets to the basket, knocks down the outside shot, and is a defensive stopper.  McKeaney is fundamentally sound post in the post and he also can step out to 15-feet, which makes him tailor made for the Catamounts.  Rubin also reminds us that 6'0 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (John Bartram) PA and 6'4 Jr Robert Brown from Clermont (East Ridge) FL have both made it official for Virginia Tech.  Brown is ranked no higher than #414 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but the word on the street is that he's a major sleeper.  Garland is one of Rubin's favorite players and he's really good at using his quickness to get to the basket and play excellent defense.  We also are impressed with the recruiting classes that the University of Dayton is putting together, as the Flyers have added 6'3 Brandon Spearman from Chicago (Simeon) IL and 6'1 Jesse Berry from Lafayette (Jefferson) IN to a recruiting class that already included 5'10 Juwan Staten from Dayton (Thurgood Marshall) OH and 6'6 Ralph Hill from Westerville (North) OH.  That's good enough to get the Dayton's recruiting class ranked #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  However, even more important, Flyers head coach Brian Gregory and his staff continue to stockpile players who will continue to make this one of the teams to beat in the league for years to come.  Remember, Staten is a legitimate top 100-ranked senior nationally, as well as an important part of that great All-Ohio Red team that has won just about everything the last three years.  Hill is like a jack-of-all-trades who can play both inside and outside.  Spearman is a tough hardnosed strong physical athletic 2-guard who is more of a slasher than a shooter.  Berry is a good old-fashioned combo guard who averaged 27.3 ppg this past season and can both run a team and light up a scoreboard.  It also looks like you can chalk up a pair of excellent catches for USC, which a week ago landed 6'9 Curtis Washington from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY and 6'1 Jr Gelaun Wheelwright from Corona (Centennial) CA.  The latter is ranked #58 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is evolving into one of the premier point guard prospects on the West Coast.  The former is a big time sleeper who has grown three or four inches in the last year and is now clearly the best rising senior in the state.  It also looks like the University of Iowa has secured another verbal commitment.  If you will recall, two weeks ago the Hawkeyes landed 6'2 Ben Brust from Mundelein (H.S.) IL and now 6'5 Roy Marble Jr from Southfield (Southfield-Lathrup) MI has decided to follow in his father's footsteps.  If you will recall, Roy Marble Sr played at Iowa from 1986 to 1989 and is the leading scorer in the history of the school with 2,116 points.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 R.J. Slawson from North Charleston (Ft. Dorchester) SC has picked the University of South Carolina, 6'7 Ron Giplaye from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA has picked Providence, 5'11 Preston Guiot from Bolivar (H.S.) MO has picked Utah, 6'5 Tommy Droney from Sewickley (Academy) PA has picked Davidson, and 6'8 Steve Baird from San Antonio (Madison) TX has picked Liberty. 

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Championship Game of the NIKE Peach Jam, which was played last night in North Augusta, SC, was a tail of two halves, as Team Final jumped out early to 19-13 lead and 6'8 Soph Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, was playing like a man possessed.  However, All-Ohio Red went on a 9-2 run to start the second half and from there it was too close to call until the 7:13 minute mark when Team Final was up by two.  That's when 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH took over the game and All-Ohio went on a 14-4 run put things out of reach.  If we had any doubt before about Sullinger being the best senior in the nation, he put them to rest here by making all of the big baskets and getting all of the big rebounds down the stretch.  The final score was 60-49 and, after already having beaten Team Final, twice already this year, there is no question that All-Ohio Red is well on its way towards being the Team-of-the-Summer.  And making this even more impressive is the fact the All-Ohio Red has done all of this without its second best player - 6'3 Jordan Sibert from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, who broke his leg in the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament and, as a result, has been sidelined for the entire spring and summer.  Sullinger finished with 19 points (15 of which came in the second half), 21 rebounds, and two blocked shots.  Also combing for 26 points and seven 3-pointers were 6'2 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH and 5'11 Kevin Gray from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH.  And that was another big difference in the game, as All-Ohio Red hit 8-20 treys (40.0%) and Team Final was only 1-8 from behind the arc (12.5%).  All-Ohio Red also won the battle of the boards, 32-24.  But Team Final was playing without 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, who played earlier in the tournament, but was missing in action of the championship game (our guess is that he was injured).  However, not having Kennedy probably wouldn't made much of a difference and Sullinger was on a mission as is seemed like every time he got the ball in the low post in the second half he scored and every loose ball and every rebound was his.  We also have to give 6'9 Adrian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH credit for making some big baskets and finishing with eight points and six rebounds in the championship game.  But we were disappointed with the sub par performances that were turned in by 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'5 James Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH, who combined for only seven points in the title game.  Complementing Gilchrist's 19 points and seven rebounds on Team Final were 6'1 Tyreek Duran from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA with 12 points and four rebounds, 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ with nine points and six assists, and 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA with six points.  However, we're still trying to figure out what happened to 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, as he finished with zero points and was a totally none factor in the championship game.   Our ranking of the top players based on performance at the NIKE Peach Jam are as follows:  1) 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH (All-Ohio Red), 2) 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA (Howard Pulley Panthers), 3) 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills) NY (Albany City Rocks), 4) 6'8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ (Team Final), 5) 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD (Baltimore Elite), 6) 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN (Spiece Indy Heat), 7) 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal School of Dallas) TX (Team Texas Elite), 8) 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA (Boo Williams Summer League Team), 9) 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA (California Supreme), 10) 6'4 Jeremy Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA (Georgia Stars), 11) 6'3 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL (Each One Teach One), 12) 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ (Team Final), 13) 6'6 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX (Team Texas Elite), 14) 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR (I-5 Elite), 15) 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA (Boo Williams Summer League Team), 16) 6'7 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA (Boo Williams Summer League Team), 17) 6'3 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (New York Gauchos), 18) 6'0 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (North Central) IN (Spiece Indy Heat), 19) 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE (Team Final), 20) 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL (Mac Irvin Fire), 21) 6'3 Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA (Louisiana Select), 22) 6'9 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL (Team Florida), 23) 6'9 Jr Kyle Wiltjer from Portland (Jesuit) OR (Oakland Soldiers), 24) 6'7 Matt Derenbecker from Metairie (Metairie Park Country Day) LA (Louisiana Select), 25) 6'2 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH (All-Ohio Red), 26) 6'2 Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ (Playaz Basketball Club), 27) 6'5 Jr Tony Wroten from Seattle (Garfield) WA (Seattle Rotary Select), 28) 6'1 Tyreek Duran from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA (Team Final), 29) 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA (Team Final), 30) 6'7 Desmond Simmons from Richmond (Salesian) CA (Oakland Soldiers), 31) 6'2 Jr Derrick Wilson from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT (New York Gauchos), 32) 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA (California Supreme), 33) 5'8 Amad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL (Mac Irvin Fire), 34) 6'5 Jr Michael Gbinije from Christ Church (H.S.) VA (Team Takeover), 35) 6'8 Tobi Oyedeji from Houston (Bellaire) TX (Houston Hoops), 36) 5'10 Andre Stringer from Jackson (Forest Hill) MS (Jackson Tigers), 37) 6'9 Jordan Latham from Baltimore (City College) MD (Baltimore Elite), 38) 6'6 Soph Ricardo Gathers from  La Place (Reserve Christian) LA (Louisiana Select), 39) 6'7 Wilfred Yeguete from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL (Team Florida),40) 6'8 Joshua Smith from Kent (Kentwood) WA (Seattle Rotary Select), 41) 6'4 Jerian Grant from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD (Team Takeover), 42) 6'5 James Bell from Montverde (Academy) FL (Each One Teach One), 43) 6'4 Jr Jabari Brown from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV (Oakland Soldiers), 44) 6'8 Will Regan from Buffalo (Nichols School) NY (Albany City Rocks), 45) 6'1 Soph L.J. Rose from Houston (Second Baptist) TX (Houston Hoops), 46) 6'5 Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ (Playaz Basketball Club), 47) 6'6 Joel Wright from Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY (Playaz Basketball Club), 48) 6'5 Brian Williams from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA (Louisiana Select), 49) 5'11 Kevin Gray from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH (All-Ohio Red), 50) 6'3 Taran Buie from Albany (Bishop Maginn) NY (Albany City Rocks), 51) 6'5 Victor Oladipo from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD (Team Takeover), 52) 6'7 Melsahn Basabe from Glen Cove (St. Marks) NY (New York Gauchos), 53) 6'6 Rashad Perkins from Starkville (H.S.) MS (Jackson Tigers), 54) 6'0 Soph J-Mychal Reese from Bryan (H.S.) TX (Houston Hoops), 55) 6'7 Dwayne Polee from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA (California Supreme), 56) 6'5 Jacob Thomas from Columbia Heights (H.S.) MN (Howard Pulley Panthers), 57) 6'3 Markel Brown from Alexandria (Peabody) LA (Louisiana Select), 58) 6'7 Jr Jaylen Bond from Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA (Playaz Basketball Club), 59) 6'3 Chris Babbitt from Florissant (Hazelwood Central) MO (St. Louis Eagles), 60) 5'11 Keith Shamburger from Gardena (Serra) CA (California Supreme), 61) 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson from Gilbert (Highland) AZ (Oakland Soldiers), 62) 6'2 Jr Gary Bell from Kent (Kentridge) WA (Seattle Rotary Select), 63) 6'2 Dennis Mavin from Gainesville (Eastside) FL (Team Florida), 64) 6'9 Kevin Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA (California Supreme), 65) 6'3 Cameron Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA (Playaz Basketball Club), 66) 6'3 Brandon Young from Randallstown (Friendship Collegiate) MD (Team Takeover), 67) 6'8 Jalen Courtney from Jackson (Provine) MS (Jackson Tigers), 68) 6'2 Jr Scottie Wilbekin from Gainesville (The Rock Academy) FL (Team Florida), 69) 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA (All-Ohio Red), and 70) 6'9 Adrian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH (All-Ohio Red).  Editor's Note:  We did not see 6'3 Jr Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL play before he got hurt on the first of the tournament and, as a result, he is not included in our rankings. 

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

It can't get any better than tonight's Championship Game in the 17-Under Division at the NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC, as it will be All-Ohio Red with 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH versus Team Final with 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  That's the HOOP SCOOP's #1-ranked senior (Sullinger) versus the HOOP SCOOP's #1-ranked player in the nation regardless of class (Gilchrist).  And, if that weren't enough, All-Ohio Red also features the nucleus of a team that also includes 6'5 James Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'0 Juwan Staten from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH, 5'11 Kevin Gray from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Adrian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, and 6'4 Anton Hutchins from Lima (Senior) OH that has only lost nine games in the last three years.  And, after going 69-2 two years ago and 70-1 a year ago, six of those losses have come this year.  The New York Gauchos and Florida Elite have both beaten All-Ohio twice, the Memphis Magic knocked them out at Real Deal in the Rock, and the Shining Stars beat All-Ohio Red in pool play at the NIKE Memorial Day Tournament in Columbus, OH.  However, All-Ohio Red also has won the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament, Billy Hensley Memorial Spiece Run 'N Slam, NY2LA AAU Tournament, All-Ohio Super 16, NIKE Memorial Day Tournament, and the 17-Under Ohio State AAU Tournament and, as a result, the argument can be made that this is one of the great AAU teams of all time.  And the résumé for Team Final is almost as impressive, as Gilchrist, 6'4 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, 6'1 Tyreek Duran from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, and 6'7 George Harper from Phoenixville (Area) PA have been the heart-and-sole of a team that won the Hoop Group Pitt Jam Fest, Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, and Rumble in the Bronx and has lost a grand total of only three games all year.  Those three losses came against All-Ohio Red in the championship game of the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament, in the final eight of the Cecil Kirk Tournament without Gilchrist and Waiters, and in the first round of pool play against the Georgia Stars in the NIKE Peach Jam.  And, if that weren't enough, Gilchrist also led the team he was playing on to the championship of the Hoop Group Providence Jam Fest and the championship at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp, despite the fact that he was slowed by an injury on the final day.  We also think it's important to point out that Gilchrist is still not 100% and that 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL did not come close to duplicating what he did at the LeBron James King City Classic, where he was our #1-ranked player in camp and led his team to the camp championship.  Thus, explains why Gilchrist still gets the nod as the best player in the nation regardless of class and why it will be extremely interesting to see how he does when he goes head-to-head tonight against Sullinger, who was the model of consistency in this tournament while averaging 18.6 ppg and 10.6 rpg and never seems to have a bad game.  To get to this point All-Ohio Red beat Each One Teach One, 56-40, in the first round of the playoffs last night and the Albany City Rock, 59-48, in the semi-finals this morning and Team Final beat California Supreme, 92-77, in the first round of the playoffs last night and Team Florida, 65-53, in the semi-finals this morning.  Team Final also made one of the biggest statements of the entire week when they beat a good Boo Williams Summer League Team, 101-74, in their final game of pool play yesterday morning.  And, as things stand now, Team Final's best player based on performance in the tournament is arguably 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE.  Not only has Cooney been shooting the lights out, but he's been either his team's leading scorer or second leading scorer in each of the last three games, as he had 23 points against Boo Williams, 20 points against California Supreme, and 17 points against Team Florida.  Also surprising us with how well he's been playing has been 6'1 Tyreek Duran from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, who had 29 points against Team Final, 16 points against California Supreme, and 16 points against Team Florida.  As a matter of fact, Duran has played so well that we suspect that this is the guy that La Salle head coach John Giannini stuck around today to watch play on the final day.  And, of course there is 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, who had 13 points and eight rebounds against Boo Williams, 20 points and nine rebounds against California Supreme, and 10 points and three rebounds against Team Florida.  In other words, Team Final has a great supporting caste for Gilchrist, who had 13 points and eight rebounds against Boo Williams, 14 points and 11 rebounds against California Supreme, and 13 points and nine rebounds against Team Florida, and Waiters, who had eight points and four assists against Boo Williams, 12 points and seven assists against California Supreme, and four points and seven assists against Team Florida.  We also want to mention that 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills) NY, who was the third leading scorer with 20.6 ppg and and was tied as the fifth leading rebounder in the tournament at the end of pool play, took his game to another level last night with 27 points and 11 rebounds against Louisiana Select.  And this is important, because suddenly the race is too close to call between Harris and 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD for the #3-ranking in the tournament, behind Sullinger and 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA.  However, before we start doing rankings, we probably should wait until after the championship game, as it wouldn't surprise us one bit if another great performance by Mr. Gilchrist vaults him right to the top of the list.  So stay tuned! 

 Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The final eight is set at the NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC and the four quarterfinals games that are set to tip-off at 6:00 PM will feature All-Ohio Red with 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH versus Each One Teach One with 6'3 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL on Court #1, Team Final with 6'8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ versus California Supreme with 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA on Court #2; Louisiana Select with 6'3 Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA versus the Albany City Rocks with 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills) NY on Court #3; and Team Takeover with 6'5 Jr Michael Gbinije from Christ Church (H.S.) VA versus Team Florida with 6'9 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL on Court #4.  The winners of these four games will advance into the semi-finals tomorrow morning, which are set to tip-off at 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM, and the championship game will be played tomorrow night at 8:00 PM.  And we predict that it will be All-Ohio Red versus Louisiana Select and Team Final versus Team Takeover in the semi-finals and All-Ohio Red versus Team Final in a rematch of the championship game of the Boo Williams Invitational Tournament, which was the tournament that tipped off the summer on Sunday, April 12th.  Now also is a good time to take a quick look at what players are putting up the most impressive numbers and we find that the list of the top 10 scorers in the tournament includes 1) 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA with 25.8 ppg, 2) 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD with 22.4 ppg, 3) 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills) NY with 20.6 ppg, 4) 6'4 Jeremy Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA with 20.2  ppg, 5) 6'6 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX with 19.8 ppg, 6) 5'10 Andre Stringer from Jackson (Forest Hill) MS with 19.4 ppg, 7) 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with 19.0 ppg, 8) 6'3 Jr Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL with 18.5 ppg, 9) 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA with 18.2 ppg, and 9) 6'7 Deshaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN with 18.2 ppg.  The list of the top rebounders in the tournament includes 1) 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH with 11.0 rpg, 2) 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR with 9.4 rpg, 3) 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD with 9.2 rpg, 3) 6'7 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA with 9.2 rpg, 5) 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallow Hills) NY with 8.2 rpg, 5) 6'7 Deshaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN with 8.2 rpg, 7) 6'9 Jordan Latham from Baltimore (City College) MD with 7.6 rpg, 8) 6'3 Langston Galloway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA with 7.2 rpg, 8) 6'8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with 7.2 rpg, and 8) 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominquez) CA with 7.2 rpg.  It also should be noted that four players are totally dominating this tournament statistically, as Barton, Harris, and Thomas are ranked among the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding and Sullinger just misses making this list, as he is averaging 17.6 ppg and is leading the tournament in rebounding.  We also think it is worth pointing out that 5'10 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal) TX, who is averaging 7.4 apg, has edged out 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who is averaging 6'7 apg, for the top spot in the tournament in assists.  And Pressey also is leading the tournament in steals with 2.4 spg.  However, Pressey, who was absolutely sensational last night, was only average this morning, as he finished with seven points, six assists, and eight turnovers against the St. Louis Eagles.  Instead, the big gun for Team Texas Elite was 6'6 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, who finished with 30 points and really impressed us with his ability to create off the dribble and pass the basketball.  Unfortunately he doesn't play like this all time, which is why he belongs in the 40-60 range nationally, instead of as a bubble guy for the McDonald's All-American Team.  We also were impressed with the performance by 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who finished with 30 points and hit four 3-pointers in California Supreme's 98-91 loss this morning against Louisiana Select.  And the player who really broke California Supreme's back was 6'7 Matt Derenbecker from Metairie (Metairie Park Country Day) LA, who is ranked #85 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Not only did Derenbecker hit two big threes down the stretch, but he also is a pure shooter who knocked down six treys and scored 27 points for a team that also featured 6'3 Markell Brown from Alexandria (Peabody) LA and 6'5 Brian Williams from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, both of whom are bound for LSU, and 6'3 Langston Gallaway from Baton Rouge (Christian Life) LA, who was ranked among the top 10 in the tournament in scoring before being held to only five points this morning.  Derenbecker is pure shooter with good ball handling and passing skills for his size, a great motor and willingness to compete, and the frame necessary to get a lot bigger and stronger physically.  If what you see is what you get, Derenbecker promises to be an excellent college face-up four-man.  However, if he grows another couple of inches, we may be talking about a future NBA player.  Even better is the fact that most of our competition had no idea how good Derenbecker was prior to this tournament.  Another player we look really good on is 6'4 Jeremy Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA.  If you will recall, we mentioned yesterday that Lamb was one of the fastest rising players in the tournament.  Well, now it looks like this skinny athlete who college coaches are comparing to Kerry Kittles might also be one of the best players in the tournament after his 20-point/eight-rebound/two-block/two-steal performance earlier today against I-5 Elite.  We also were glad to see 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, who finished with 22 points and four rebounds against Baltimore Elite, finally step up and play well enough to get his over the hump in a close game this morning.  But we're still trying to figure what's happened to 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, who had only two points and three rebounds, and 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, who didn't even play in today's game?  Remember, we're talking about two of the top 10-ranked juniors in the nation.  And even worse than the way the Mac Irvin Fire has been playing lately is the fact that this was the only team in the tournament that didn't have a roster in the book.  This isn't the Chicago Public League, where they don't have programs or rosters.  It's the premier NIKE tournament of the entire year and it's kind of hard for your players to get exposure when nobody can identify them.  We also were somewhat disappointed by the 17 points and 10 rebounds that 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD had against the Mac Irvin Fire.  However, we really liked the rebounding and aggressive that 6'7 Jordan Latham from Baltimore (City College) MD displayed around the basket, as he finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in that same game.  Among the other top noteworthy performances this morning were the 36 points and nine rebounds that 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA had in his team's 101-74 loss against Team Final, the 31 points and four assists that 5'10 Andre Stringer from Jackson (Forest Hill) MS had in his team's 79-71 loss to the Spiece Indy Heat, the 29 points that 6'1 Tyreek Duran from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA had in his team's 101-74 win against the Boo Williams Summer League Team, the 27 points that 6'3 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA had in his team's 72-70 upset win over All-Ohio Red, the 24 points that 6'2 Jr Aaron Craft from Findlay (Liberty-Benton) OH had in his team's 72-70 loss against the New York Gauchos, the 24 points that 6'2 Dennis Mavin from Gainesville (Eastside) FL had in his team's 85-75 win over the Playaz Basketball Club, the 23 points that 6'7 Garrett Jackson from Portland (Westview) OR had in his team's 73-66 loss against the Georgia Stars, the 23 points that 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE had in his team's 101-74 win against the Boo Williams Summer League Team, the 22 points that 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) FL had in his team's 79-71 win against the Jackson Tigers, the 22 points that 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL had in his team's 63-42 win against the Houston Hoops, the 22 points that 6'6 Jr Michael Gbinije from Christ Church (H.S.) VA had in his team's 74-59 win over Howard Pulley, the 22 points that 6'2 Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ had in his team's 85-75 win over Team Florida, and the 22 points that 6'3 Chris Babbitt from Florissant (Hazelwood Central) MO had against Team Texas Elite. 

Monday, July 13, 2009

How quickly things can change.  We're talking about the fact that prior to the start of this year's NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC we thought that 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, who was missing in action from the three major shoe company sponsored events that took place last week, would be the player that would step up and challenge 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH for top player honors in the senior class nationally.  However, Knight fractured his foot in a game last night and, as a result, may be out for the remainder for the summer.  Instead, it looks like 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, who a month ago was the consensus #1-ranked player nationally in the class, but finished ranked no higher than #19 overall and #5 at his position at the LeBron James King City Classic, may now be up to the task.  In his first game yesterday morning he had 18 points against Each One Teach One Team Stat, which featured 6'3 Brandon  Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL and 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL.  Then, in the evening session last night Barnes had 28 points and eight rebounds against Spiece Indy Heat, which featured 67 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN; this morning he had 36 points and 10 rebounds against the Houston Hoops; and this evening he had 26 points against the Jackson Tigers.  As for Sullinger, he had only 10 points and four rebounds, but still managed to win the rematch yesterday morning against 6'8 Josh Smith from Covington (Kentwood) WA, who had only eight points and one rebound for Seattle Rotary Select.  Sullinger also had 25 points and four rebounds last night against Team Florida; 19 points and 17 rebounds in today's morning session against the Playaz Basketball Club; and 18 points and 13 rebounds against the Oakland Soldiers today's evening session, which makes him both one of the leading scorers and rebounders in the tournament after a day-and-a-half of action.  And what about 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, who had 20 points and eight rebounds yesterday morning against Team Texas Elite, 47 points and 15 rebounds last night against Louisiana Select, and 22 points, seven rebounds, and four steals this morning against the St. Louis Eagles?  That's 29.7 pg and 10.0 rpg in yet another one of the dominant performances of the tournament.  Another player everybody is talking about is 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hollow Hills) NY, who had 20 points and nine rebounds when we saw him this morning against Team Final and 6'8 Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  Speaking of Gilchrist, he had 13 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks this morning against the Albany City Rocks, but is still not playing to the level that we had come to expect prior to when he got hurt at the NBA Players Association Camp almost a month ago.  You also have to be impressed with the numbers being put by 5'10 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal) TX, as this undersized point guard has had two game where he's had double-digits assists and earlier this evening he had 32 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and five steals against Louisiana Select.  Another one of the top point guards in the tournament is 6'3 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and, although he only had 15 points and four assists against the Houston Hoops, this explosive point guard who is expected to commit to the University of Louisville sooner than later made some incredible passes and was as good as anybody at blowing by defenders.  We also have to mention 5'8 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, because he had 27 points, four assists and two steals against the St. Louis Eagles and is the only guy on the Mac Irvine Fire who is playing well.  One of the fastest rising players in the tournament has to be 6'4 Jeremy Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA.  He didn't start for his high school team this past season, but is expected to grow three or four more inches and is terrific at using his athleticism and moves to get to the basket.  Ironically, when we saw Lamb, he was match-up against 6'5 Brian Richardson from Wilson (Greenfield) NC, who is another rail thin athlete who weighs only 160 pounds, but is really good at getting his shot off the dribble.  Another guy whose confidence level and play has improved dramatically is Texas A&M-bound 6'8 Tobi Oyedeji from Houston (Bellaire) TX.  Not only did Oyedeji have 15 points and four assists against the Spiece Indy Heat, but he also impressed with us with hook shot and offensive moves around the basket.  And, of course, there is 6'9 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who had eight points, nine rebound, and seven blocked shots when we saw him this morning against the Arkansas Wings.  He still tries to do too much away from the basket, but appears to be totally wide open, as is evident by the fact that coaches from schools like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Indiana, Memphis, UCLA, California, Kansas, Georgetown, Maryland, Marquette, Oregon State, Texas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were all at his game. 

Sunday, July 12, 2009

We liked 6'9 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX well enough to have ranked him #19 overall and #5 at the center position at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp and #17 overall and #3 at his position at the LeBron James King City Classic.  But we still were not prepared for how good he was last night and this morning at the Big Shots Tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Not only does Jones blocks shots, rebound, and score with ease around the basket, but he also is long and athletic, has an excellent motor, runs the court and handles the ball extremely well for somebody his size in transition, knows when to be big (i.e. when he uses his size to post-up) and when to be small (i.e. he keeps himself low when he handles the ball in the open court), and is playing with a lot more confidence.   And that's the big key, as it is so often the case after a player has attended one of the big camps and then moves onto the next venue where suddenly he can be the "the man," instead of just another good player.  Prior to the start of this event I would have told you that Perry belonged in the top 25-30 range nationally.  But, after leading his team to the final four of the tournament and getting rave reviews from everybody in attendance, including tournament director Jeff Schneider, who thinks Jones will be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft after being a one-and-done guy at Baylor, there is no question that Jones is a legitimate top 10-ranked player nationally in this class.  And Jones isn't the only player who really impressed us at this tournament.  Physically he's really small and is still two years away from having to make a college decision.  But 5'11 Soph Tyler Lewis from Statesville (Forsyth Country Day) NC is a like a coach on the floor with his incredible basketball IQ, great ball handling and passing skills, and ability to score inside, outside, and from mid-range.  University of Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz was at all of his games and is hoping to steal him.  But he'd better get this one done sooner than later due to the fact that Lewis may grow some more and become a prime recruiting target for somebody like North Carolina, Duke, or Wake Forest.  There also was 6'5 Jr Damien Leonard from Greenville (J.L. Mann) SC, who hit his normal five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for the Carolina Cougars against the Carolina Flight.  But Leonard's also never saw a shot he didn't like and most of the shots that he made were falling away with a man in his face.  And this is important, because just think how good Leonard could be if he actually played under control, was open, and took good shots.  We also were impressed with all of the good young players, like 6'6 Jr Kentavious Caldwell from Greenville (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Tim Dixon from Columbus (Kendrick) GA, 6'2 Jr Nick Marshall from Pineview (Wilcox) GA, and 6'7 Jr Kruize Pinkins from Marianna (H.S.) FL, on the Georgia Blazers who were playing up a year in the 17--under Division.  They lost to the Texas Ambassadors in the championship game, but beat the LBA Seawolves in the semi-finals.  Caldwell is a big time athlete and is explosive to the basket, which makes him a great sleeper for the top 100 nationally in his class, especially if he improves his outside shot to go along with his ability to rebound, put the ball on the floor, and get to the basket.  Dixon impressed with his length, athleticism and ability to block shots and rebound  step out and surprised us with several mid-range jump shots.  Marshall, who also is a big time football player, impressed us with his athleticism and ability to both shoot and slash, as he finished with 21 points and had a pair of 3-pointers in the semi-finals.  Pinkins has good hands and always seems to be around the ball.  In addition to Perry, the LBA Seawolves also featured  6'2 Jr Toddrick Gotcher from Garland (Lakeview Centennial) TX, 6'6 Stephon Smith from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX, 6'4 Bakari Turner from Plano (West ) TX, and 6'1 Avery Redmond from Plano (East ) TX.  Kevin Schneider, who runs a scouting service and play a key role helping his Dad run his tournaments, was so impressed with Gotcher that he called him "the best 3-point shooter in the tournament."  Smith is another undersized inside guy who isn't afraid to put a body on you and not take any prisoners around the basket.  Turner is a big time athlete and a jack-of-all-trades who impressed us with ability to slash to the basket.  Redmond is a scoring point guard who had five 3-pointers and 16 points in one of his games.  What the Texas D-I Ambassadors lacked in star power they more than made up for with balance, chemistry, and depth, as this team was two deep at every position with players like 6'8 Daniel Alexander from Drippling Springs (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Cody Doolin from Austin (Westlake) TX, 6'5 Ronald McGee from Bate Rouge (Istrouma) LA, 6'7 Willie Nelson from Opelousas (H.S.) LA, 6'3 Jonathan Perry from Kerrville (H.S.) TX,6'6 Jr Mark Nwakamma from Leander (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Jr Tre Drye from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, 6'5 Brian Williams from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, 6'5 Delanta Stephens from Harker Heights (H.S.) TX, and 6'0 Paul Garnica from San Antonio (Lee) TX.  So it should comes as no surprise that the won the championship.  However, in the process, their two best players (Alexander and Doolin) were average when compared to McGee, who had 17 points and three 3-pointers in the quarterfinals against Raleigh's Finest, and Perry and Garncia, who combined for 39 points in the semi-finals against the N.C. All-Stars.  Speaking of the N.C. Stars, this team featured three mid-to-low major undersized inside players in 6'6 Montel Baines from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'4 Ray Harris from Raleigh (Sanderson) NC, and 6'6 Larry Brown from Red Springs (H.S.) NC and one of the better 3-pointers in the tournament in 6'5 Mark Parker from Benson (West Johnston) NC.  We also want to mention 6'6 P.J. Lockridge from Martinsville (Heat Academy) VA, 6'6 De'Mon Brooks from Charlotte (Hopewill) VA, and all of the athletes on the Petersburg Elite team, including 6'5 Justin Coleman from Richmond (Henrico) VA, 6'0 Brandon Britt from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores Christian) VA, 6'6 DeVaughn Maunell from Petersburg (H.S.) VA, and 6'8 Darnell Turner from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA.  And what about 5'10 Bruce Ellington from Moncks Corner (Berkeley) SC, who played for the TMP 17's in the first Big Shots Tournament on July 9th-10th in Myrtle Beach, SC?  Not only does Jeff Schneider think Ellington is one of the biggest sleeper point guard prospects in the nation, but he also tells us that "Ellington is like Ty Lawson, but with a better jump shot."

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The big story last night in the all-star game at the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia, PA was the emergence of 6'2 Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA into one of the top players in camp.  If you will recall, Chennault was not ranked on our list of the 25 players and was ranked no higher than #10 at his position yesterday when we published our Ranking of the Top Players after the Second Day at the Reebok All-American Camp.  But last night this slashing athletic point guard finished with a game-high 17 points and was clearly the best player in game, which made it easy for us to move him right up to the top of Final Ranking of the Top Players at the Reebok All-American Camp, behind 6'9 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL and 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) NY and ahead of 6'5 J.J. Moore from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'5 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA, 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) PA, and 6'5 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that the value of Chennault's stock had dropped so dramatically during the last year that a lot of people were wondering if Chennault was good enough to even play for Wake Forest, which is the school that he picked almost a year ago.  However, now it looks like Chennault, who was ranked #1 nationally in his class several years ago by the HOOP SCOOP,  is not only good enough, but also is one of three players who are already verbally committed to the Deamon Deacons that exploded this week at one of the shoe company camps.  Remember, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC put on one of the top individual performances of the entire week when he shot the lights out from behind the arc, did a good job running the show, and even impressed with his willingness to take several charges in the morning session on the second day at the LeBron James King City Classic.  And, after continuing to improve as the week wore on and finishing with 13 points in the all-star game, 6'5 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA moves up to #7 on our list of the top players at the Reebok All-American Camp.  And, while we hate to base Chennault's final ranking in camp almost entirely off the all-star game, the players right behind him on our list of the top players in camp were either hurt or did not come up big in the all-star game.  The guy who was hurt and didn't play was 6'5 J.J. Moore from Brentwood (H.S.) NY.  As for 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ and 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, they both did a good job distributing the basketball and making their teammates better.  But they only scored four points between them.  We also thought 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'11 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC really helped themselves on the final day, but were not as impressed with 6'1 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (Bartram) PA as our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, who lobbies for this kid like he's his own son.  Garland finished with only four points when matched up against 5'8 Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ on the final day and Garland's 11 points in the all-star game came almost entirely off lay-ups and transition.  However, Garland is an excellent defender, is capable of playing either guard spot, and was good enough to be ranked #12 in camp.  So he appears be a good catch for Virginia Tech, which is the school that he picked when he announced his college choice on the second day of camp.  We also have to give Rubin credit for touting 6'5 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT, who finished with 14 points and was arguably the best outside shooter in the all-star game.  Getting back to 6'9 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, who finished with nine points and had two of the most spectacular plays in the all-star game, and 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) NY, who had 14 points in the all-star game and must now be touted as one of the premier players in the Class of 2011, they were clearly the top two players in camp.   Nash was better in the all-star game, but Young had the better overall week.  We also want to mention that 6'3 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'8 Jr Sidiki Johnson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Jr Jaylen Bond from Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA, and 6'0 Jr Jabari Hinds from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY were among the players who helped themselves the most on the final day.  As a matter of fact, Rhoomes was probably the most improved player in camp from start to finish, as he finished with 18 points in his final camp game and was solid with two points in the all-star game.  The one glaring omission from the list of players named to play in the all-star game was 6'8 Jr Rodney Hood from Meridian (H.S.) MS, who was the best of a strong contingent of players that also included 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'10 Jr Tyler Adams from Brandon (H.S.) MS, 5'11 Jr Deville Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 6'9 DeMarco Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Rashad Perkins from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Jalen Courtney from Jackson (Provine) MS, at the camp from Mississippi.  We also liked the blue collar work ethic and willingness to bang and not take any prisoners around the basket that we saw from 6'7 Dominic Morris from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA.  But we didn't think he was good enough to have been named to play in the all-star game.  And some even bigger reaches were 6'5 Faquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'4 Jr Kori Babineaux from Folsom (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Tommy Droney from Sewickley (Academy) PA, and 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS.  Speaking of Ross, he failed to score a single point in the all-star game and, as a result, college coaches and scouts are now questioning whether he's even a high Division I player.  That's a far cry from when he had 39 points, five rebounds, six assists, and 10-15 field goals, 6-9 3-pointers, and 14-15 free throws against Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD last December. 

Friday, July 10, 2009

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S) FL gets the nod over 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH in the HOOP SCOOP's Final Ranking of the Top Players at the LeBron James King City Classic, which concluded yesterday in Cleveland, OH.  And the deciding factor was the fact that Rivers led his team, which was the #8-seed team out of eight teams, to a 95-77 victory in the championship game.  However, Johnson doesn't want to slight Sullinger, who he says is the ultimate 20 and 10 guy.  "Sullinger is going to get 20 points and 10 rebounds every time he sets foot on the court," says Johnson.  "You can count on it.  And, after leaving the camp and driving back to Columbus yesterday, instead of sleeping or laying around the house, Sullinger went and played in the Columbus Summer League, where he competed against former pros and college players."  In other words, Sullinger has all the ingredients necessary to become a great player.  We also find it interesting that our #1-ranked player in our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Players after the Second Day at the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia, PA is 6'9 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL.  And we know that University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan must be smiling about that one.  Remember, both Young and Rivers have already made early verbal commitments to the Gators.  We also think it's important to point out that 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'5 J.J. Moore from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, 6'1 Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, and 5'11 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN are all in the running for top player honors heading into the final day of camp.  And our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin thinks 6'1 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (Bartram) PA and 6'5 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT also should both be on this list.  Not only does this explain why these two players check in at #6 and #7 on our list, but it also raises their level of expectation as we enter the final day of camp.  In other word, we suspect that Rubin has an obvious Philadelphia bias (both of these player from the city of brotherly love) and we're not on the same page with these two players (I would have them in the 10-20 range).  We also are still trying to figure out how 6'8 Demarco Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS got ranked #2 in camp after the first day.  He played well when I saw him yesterday and deserves to be ranked among the top 30 players, as well as on our list of the centers in camp, behind 6'9 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence Schoo) FL, 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'10 Jr Tyler Adams from Brandon (H.S.) MS, 6'11 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'9 Ashton Pankey from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and ahead of 6'8 Jr Sidiki Johnson from Bronx (St.  Raymond's) NY, 6'8 Jr Desmond Hubert from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'7 Dominic Morris from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'9 Jr Derrick Randall from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'9 Marquez Cothran from Red Springs (Floral McDonald) NC.  We also find it ironic that similar to the LeBron James King City Classic, the two best positions in this camp are center and point guard, which features 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'1 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (Bartram) PA, 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 5'11 Jr Deville Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 6'2 Jelani Hewitt from Oakland Park (North East) CA, 5'7 Maurice Jones from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'3 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'9 Tyrone Johnson from Lansdowne (Penn Wood) PA, and 6'2 Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA.  And it really is too close to call at the point guard spot.  The popular consensus seems to be that Jackson is the best point guard in camp, but Gibbs won the match-up against Jackson, and Rubin claims that Garland outplayed Gibbs when they went head-to-head.  Getting back to Cothran, he passes the look test, but doesn't even have enough passion and interest to be classified as one of the biggest disappointments in camp.  The same also can be said about 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, who has been living off the injury excuse for months now.  At some point he's going to have to put up or shut up.  One of our favorite players in camp is 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ and, as usual, he makes big shots and has ice in his veins.  Among the candidates for the biggest sleepers in camp are 6'6 Christian Griffin from Tallahassee (Leon) FL, 6'1 Jordan Clarkson from San Antonio (Wagner) TX, 6'6 Rashad Perkins from Starkville (H.S.) MS.  However, Clarkson is ranked #253 and Perkins is ranked #261 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and Griffin is no where to be found on either our national list or Rick Staudt's Florida list, which makes this one a no-brainer.  We also are amused by some of the choices for tonight's the all-star game, which was announced earlier today.  The Gray Team will include 6'9 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, 6'7 Jr LeByran Nash from Dalls (Lincoln) TX, 6'5 J.J. Moore from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, 6'5 Stacey Poole from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL, 6'1 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (Garland) PA, 6'6 Khyle Marshall from Pembroke Pines (Flannigan) FL, 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'4 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 5'11 Jr Deville Smith from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 6'8 Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'6 Joel Wright from Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY, 6'5 Dominique Carr from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 6'0 Soph Deion Jackson-Houston from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ and the White Team will include 6'9 Jr Chris Coleman from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Dominic Morris from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'5 Travis McKie from Richmond (John Marshall) VA, 6'5 Faquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'6 Jr Devonta Abron from Seagoville (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Jarrell Eddie from Concord (Cannon) NC, 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'2 Tony Chennault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'8 Jr Sidiki Johnson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Jr Korie Babineaux from Folsom (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Soph Kyle Anderson from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'6 Tommy Droney from Sewickley (Prep) PA, and 6'3 Lenzelle Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton) IL.  However, it's been reported that over 40 players left the camp early either to go home or attend another event and, as a result, it appears they had to make do with the players who will stick it out until the end of the camp. 

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson and yours truly, HOOP SCOOP Editor & Publisher Clark Francis, were both at the LeBron James King City Classic yesterday in Cleveland, OH and the race is on for top players honors in camp between 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S) FL and 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH.  My choice is Rivers, who played so well in the even session last night that I think a strong argument can be made for ranking him as the #1 player in the nation in his class at the end of the summer.   And that's saying a lot, because we've been saying for the better part of the last year that 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ was the best player in the nation regardless of class.  However, not in this camp.  Maybe Gilchrist was a little bit rusty or even not fully recovered after being injured several weeks ago at the NBA Players Association Camp in Charlottesville, VA.  But regardless of the reason, you're only as good as your last game and, based on yesterday, Gilchrist did not play stellar enough to get ranked any higher than where we have him at #16 in camp.  As for Rivers, his combination of explosiveness and athleticism, basketball skills and IQ, ability to put prolific numbers, and competitiveness are truly amazing.  As a matter of fact, Rivers was so good yesterday that we think he will ultimately end up being the best player that University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan has ever coached.  Johnson's choice was Sullinger, who totally dominated at both ends of the court, as he teamed with 6'2 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to form the best one-two punch in camp.  And, with 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL and 6'9 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV both missing in action at the three major shoe company events that started the Live Evaluation Period for NCAA Division I college coaches earlier this week, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA not stepping up the way he did on a number of occasions earlier this spring, and 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN and 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ once again not playing well enough to even be in the equation when we're talking about who the top player is in the Class of 2010, the door is now open for Sullinger to be the clear-cut #1-ranked player in the class.  A quick look at our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Players after the first day at the LeBron James King City Classic also allows us to see where the strengths and weaknesses were in camp.  And, with eight point guards - 6'2 Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'1 Reggie Smith from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'3 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'0 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, and 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ - all ranked among the top 25 players in camp, this clearly was the best position in camp.  And that doesn't even include Rivers, who we put at the 2-guard spot in order to get Teague, who was ranked #3 in camp, ranked higher at the point guard spot.  The center spot only had four players ranked among the top 25 players in camp.  But it was arguably the second deepest position in camp with guys like 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'9 James Johnson from San Diego (Morse) CA, 6'10 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) IL, 7'0 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, 6'9 Alex Kirk from Los Alamitos (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'8 Jr Johnny O'Bryant from Cleveland (East Side) MS, 6'9 Adreian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, 6'8 Kyle Wiltjer from Portland (Jesuit) OR, and 6'8 Soph DaJuan Coleman from Dewitt (Jamesville-Dewitt) NY all playing that position in camp.  The weakest position was clearly the power forward spot, although we don't want to take anything away from  6'8 Tobias Harris from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY and 6'8 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who were two of the better players in camp.  We also have published our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Players after the first day at the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia, PA.  But quiet honestly I'm not sure how accurate these ranking are after arriving earlier today and seeing that the #2-ranked player in camp - 6'8 Demarco Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS - was really no better than the fifth best player on his team, behind 6'8 Jr Rodney Hood from Meridian (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 5'11 Jr Deville Smith from Jackson (Madison) MS, and 6'5 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT.  However, by the end of the day I personally will have seen all 12 teams play and, as a result, I will have a lot more confidence in the rankings that we publish late tonight or first thing in the morning.  Besides, yesterday's list is a great starting point, which means that I will be fine tuning the list, instead of starting totally from scratch. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The early returns are in after the morning and afternoon sessions from the first day at LeBron James King City Classic in Cleveland, OH and our preliminary list of the top players in camp based on performance includes 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC, 6'2 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'5 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'8 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'9 James Johnson from San Diego (Morse) CA, 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA,  6'4 Andre Dawkins from Chesapeake (Atlantic Shores) VA, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from College Park (Westlake) GA, 6'9 Adreian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY.   Conspicuous by their absence are 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, neither of whom have stepped up and played well enough to live up to their reputation as arguably the top two high school players in the nation today.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also was busy talking with some of the players who are still available and he confirms that the final five for 6'2 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN are Louisville, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, and Wake Forest.  The list for 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA includes California, USC, Washington, Stanford, Utah, Baylor, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Florida.  The wide range of schools involved with 6'3 Cameron Wright from Cleveland (Benedictine) OH includes Indiana, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Ohio University, Akron, and Cleveland State.  The early list of schools for 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita ((Wichita Heights) KS includes Memphis, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Kansas State.  The schools mentioned by 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA were Ohio State, Kentucky, Georgetown, Villanova, and Louisville.  The race is already on among schools like Florida State, Mississippi, Memphis, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and LSU for 6'8 Jr Johnny O'Bryant from Cleveland (East Side) MS.  It comes as no surprise that Memphis, Kentucky, Miami-FL, Florida, and Florida State were the schools mentioned by 6'5 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN.  The list for 6'5 Jr Brandon Dawson from Gary (Wallace) IN already includes Purdue, Indiana, Ohio State, Miami-FL, and Marquette.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin also checks in with a list of the top players from the morning and afternoon sessions at the Reekok All-American Camp in Philadelphia, PA and it includes 6'0 Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN, 6'9 DeMarco Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Jesse Morgan from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Patric Young from Jacksonville (Paxon) FL, 6'9 Soph Khem Birch from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'1 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (John Bartram) PA, 5'11 Jr Tyrone Johnson from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 5'8 Jr Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'4 Jordan Clarkson from San Antonio (Wagner) TX, 6'8 Luke Cothran from Red Springs (Flora McDonald) NC, 6'8 Tarik Black from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'4 Lenzell Smith from Zion (Zion-Benton Township) IL, and 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ.  Rubin also has talked with a number of the top players in attendance at the Reekok All-American Camp and he tells us that Gonzaga, Syracuse, Florida, Florid State, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were all mentioned by 6'7 Jr LeBryan Nash from Dallas (Lincoln) TX.  Florida, Clemson, Connecticut, Louisville, Kentucky Indiana, South Carolina, and Miami-FL are among those in the hunt for 6'5 Stacy Poole from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL.  The early list for 6'1 Jr Sterling Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ includes Indiana, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Providence, Penn State, Villanova, and St. John's.  Louisville is believed to be the leader for 6'5 J.J. Moore from Brentwood (H.S.) NY, but Rutgers, Providence, and St. John's also appear to be near the top of his list.  Kansas State, Arkansas, North Carolina, Duke, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were the schools mentioned by 6'8 Luke Cothran from Red Springs (Flora McDonald) NC.  Georgia Tech, Stanford, Ohio State, and Washington are showing the most interest in 6'1 Jr Derrick Wilson from Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT.  Florida, Connecticut, Temple, Kentucky, Cincinnati, La Salle, Kansas, and St. Joseph's are among those in the hunt for 6'4 Jesse Morgan from Philadelphia (Olney) PA.  However, year in prep school at South Kent (Prep) CT appears to be first in Morgan's future.  .St. John's, Villanova, Georgia Tech were the schools mentioned by 6'8 Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  Villanova, St. Joseph's, Temple, Maryland, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown are already involved with 6'3 Jr Juan'ya Green from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA.  Virginia Tech, La Salle, Temple, Nevada, Seton Hall, Marquette, and Nebraska are among those involved with 6'1 Tyrone Garland from Philadelphia (John Bartram) PA.  Wake Forest, LSU, Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Alabama are the early leaders for 6'9 Jr Tyler Adams from Brandon (H.S.) MS.  Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Kansas, USC, New Mexico, Baylor, and Virginia are showing the most interest in 6'9 Michael Cobbins from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX.  Miami-FL, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, Massachusetts, Temple, La Salle, St. Bonaventure, Richmond, and Baylor are involved with 5'11 Tyreek Duran from Philadelphia (Newmann-Goretti) PA.  The early favorites for 6'8 Jr Rodney Hood from Meridian (H.S.) MS are Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Alabama, Duke, Baylor, and Florida.  The list for 6'3 Pe'Shon Howard from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA includes Harvard, Stanford, Rutgers, Arkansas, and Virginia Tech.  It looks like Virginia, Connecticut, Baylor, Arizona, Oakland, and Wisconsin-Green Bay are all showing varying degrees of interest in 5'8 Maurice Jones from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI.  St. John's, Virginia, West Virginia, Syracuse, Memphis, Pittsburgh, and Connecticut are all in the hunt for 6'8 Devon Collier from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  Miami-FL, USC, Connecticut, St. John's, Rice, Penn State, and Providence are involved with 6'8 Ashton Pankey from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  You'll have to beat Virginia, Marquette, Miami-FL, Providence, Miami-FL, Richmond, Temple, La Salle, and St. Joseph's for 6'6 Derrick Williams from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  The wide range of schools mentioned by 6'6 Tommy Droney from Sewickley (Academy) PA includes Notre Dame, Virginia, Harvard, Boston College, Miami-FL, and Davidson.  We also have received a report from Kris Vance, who is the director of the Derek Smith All-Stars club team program, about 6'9 Curtis Washington from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY having made an early verbal commitment to USC.   Yes, that's the same guy who came out of the woodwork a week ago at the High Potential "Blue Chip" Basketball Camp and apparently played well enough the last two days at the adidas It Takes 5 Classic in Cincinnati, OH for new Trojans head coach Kevin O'Neill to move quickly and offer him a scholarship. 

Tuesday. July 7, 2009

What a difference a day can make!  We're talking about the fact that level of play was mediocre at best, many of the match-ups were bad, and  a lot of the players seemed to be awestruck by all of the high major Division I college coaches, like North Carolina's Roy Williams, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Kansas' Bill Self, Florida's Billy Donovan, Louisville's Rick Pitino, Kentucky's John Calipari, Indiana's Tom Crean, UCLA's Ben Howland, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, West Virginia's Bobby Huggins, Gary Williams, Minnesota's Tubby Smith, Georgetown's John Thompson III, Ohio State's Thad Matta, Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, Michigan's John Beilein, Florida State's Leonard Hamilton, Miami-FL's Frank Haith, Missouri's Mike Anderson, LSU's Trent Johnson, Arizona's Sean Miller, USC's Kevin O'Neill, Memphis' Josh Pastner, Boston College's Al Skinner, Oklahoma's Jeff Capel, Oklahoma State's Travis Ford, Marquette's Buzz Williams, Arkansas' John Pelphrey, Nebraska's Doc Sadler, Texas A&M's Mark Turgeon,  Georgia's Mark Fox, Cincinnati's Mick Cronin, Alabama's Anthony Grant, New Mexico's Steve Alford, and Virginia's Tony Bennett, who were attendance on the first day (yesterday) of the adidas It Takes 5 Classic at the Shoemaker Center at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH.  However, once the playoffs began today and most of the bad teams were weeded out, the level of play picked up considerably, the games were good, and there were some excellent individual performances.  We don't know what happened in the games tonight due to the fact that we already were en route to Cleveland, OH to cover the LeBron James King City Classic, which will tip-off at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning at Cleveland State University.  But the best player that we saw earlier today was 6'2 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI and our choice as the team to beat in the tournament is the Michigan Mustangs, which also featured 6'5 Juwan Howard from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'5 Jr LaDonte Henton from Lansing (Eastern) MI, 6'9 Jon Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, 6'9 Alex Gauna from Eaton Rapids (H.S.) MI, and 6'7 Matt Kamieniecki from Clarkston (H.S.) MI.  We also were really impressed with the 20 points and six 3-pointers that 6'5 Jr Damien Leonard from Greenville (J.L. Mann) SC had for the Florida Rams against Derrick Rose All-Stars; the 23-point performance that 6'0 Trevor Releford from Kansas City (Bishop Miege) MO turned in for KC Pump N Run against Pump N Run Elite; and the six 3-pointers that 6'2 Brady Heslip from Burlington (Nelson) ON had for Grassroots Canada Elite, as he single-handedly brought his team back from a 14-point deficit in the last four minutes of the game to beat the Eric Gordon All-Stars.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also makes note of the 25-point performance turned in by 6'6 Allen Payne from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH and there was the 25 points scored by 6'1 Kyle Viniales from Farmington Hills (North Farmington) MI, as he helped set the tone early against a Urban DFW Elite team that featured 6'2 Oliver Wells from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, who finished with 21 points, and 6'9 Keith Davis from De Soto (H.S.) TX, who might be the biggest sleeper in the entire tournament.  Davis is raw offensively, but he's long and athletic, quick to the basket, aggressive on the boards, runs the court, and blocks more than his share of shots.  We also liked the balance and talent displayed by teams like DC Assault, which featured 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) VA, 6'2 Eric Atkins from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD, 6'2 Tyler Thornton from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 5'8 Daryl Traynham from Upper Marlboro (Henry Wise) MD, 6'1 Cedrick Lindsay from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, and 6'8 Maxie Echo from Lee (Academy) ME, and the Illinois Warriors, which featured 6'4 Brandon Spearman from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'5 Dwayne Evans from Naperville (Neuqua Valley) IL, 6'5 Sean Montgomery from Calumet City (Thornton Fractional North) IL, 5'7 Fabyon Harris from Chicago (Hyde Park) IL, 6'8 Delino Dear from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'8 Kyle Cain from Calumet City (Thornton Fractional North) IL, and 6'5 Ben Brackney from Lincoln (H.S.) IL.  And what about the great guard play that the Atlanta Celtics get from 6'0 Ryan Harrow from Marietta (Walton) GA, 6'6 Jordan McRae from 6'6 Jordan McRae from Hinesville (Liberty County) GA and 6'2 Trae Golden from McEachern (Powder Springs) GA?  Also making the list of players who impressed Johnson and/or myself were 6'7 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, 6'8 Jr Julian Royal from Alpharetta (Milton) GA, 6'5 Mychal Parker from Pantego (Terra Ceia Christian) NC, 6'2 Jeremiah Davis from Muncie (Central) IN, 6'4 Jr Tony Kimbro from Louisville (Seneca) KY, 6'9 Kadeem Green from Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC, 6'6 Jr Grandy Glaze from Frederick (St. John's Catholic) MD, 6'7 Raymoan McAfee from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'3 Terrell Stoglin from Tucson (St Rita) AZ, 6'6 Erik Swoope from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'3 Jordin Mayes from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Ricky Kreklow from Columbia (Rockbridge) MO, 6'0 Jr Shaquille Stokes from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'1 Russ Smith from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 James Stukes from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'6 J.D. Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'8 Melvin Tabb from Raleigh (Enloe) NC, 6'5 Casey Prather from Jackson (Northside) TN, 5'7 Maurice Jones from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'3 Ricardo Johnson from Covington (Holmes) KY, 6'6 Jr Chane Behanan from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, 7'0 Jr Marshall Plumlee from Arden (The Christ School) NC, 6'9 Jr Cody Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, and 5'8 Jr Stevie Taylor from Gahanna (Lincoln) NY.  We also want to make note of the fact that 6'8 Jr Michael Chandler from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN not only won the match-up against 6'10 Fabricio DeMelo (Fab Melo) from Weston (Sagemont) FL, but he also outscored him 11 to five.  And, of course, we paid close attention to 5'10 Jr Ryan Boatright from Aurora (H.S.) IL, who had 24 points and four 3-pointers, but also killed his team with horrible decisions and incredibly poor shot selection.

Monday, July 6, 2009

The rosters were released this morning for the Le Bron James Skills Academy, which will be held today and tomorrow in Akron, OH, and the level of talent appears to be off the hook as the list of players includes 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'7 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 DeShaun Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'3 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'6 Will Barton from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'2 Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'3 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL, 6'0 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'3 Dion Waiters from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'3 J.T. Terrell from Burlington (Cummings) NC, 6'4 Andre Dawkins from Cheseapeake (Atlantic Shores) VA, 6'10 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Terrance Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'6 Jelan Kendrick from College Park (Westlake Village) GA, 5'8 Phil Pressey from Dallas (Episcopal Academy) TX, 6'5 Ralston Turner from Muscle Shoals (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Crandall Head from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'5 James Bell from Montverde (Academy) FL, 6'8 Dominique Ferguson from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, 6'8 Markus Kennedy from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'2 Taran Buie from Albany (Bishop Magin) NY, 7'0 Meyers Leonard from Robinson (H.S.) IL, 6'3 Daniel Bejarano from Phoenix (North) AZ, 6'1 Reggie Smith from Thornton (Harvey) IL, 6'9 Evan Smotrycz from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'7 Bakari Turner from Plano (West) TX, 6'8 Okaro White from Clearwater (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Jason Morris from Lakeville (Hotchkiss) CT, 5'10 Juwan Staten from Dayton (Thurgood Marshall) OH, 6'5 Moses Morgan from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) CA, 6'9 James Johnson from San Diego (Morse) CA, 6'7 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Adreian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, 6'7 Tony Mitchell from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, 6'2 Isaiah Epps from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 C.J. Fair from Baltimore (City College) MD, 6'5 Gerard Coleman from Tilton (School) NH, 6'8 Daniel Alexander from Dripping Springs (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Alex Kirk from Los Alamos (H.S.) NM,6'5 Frank Williams from Raytown (H.S.) MO, 6'6 Cameron Clark from Sherman (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Russell Byrd from Ft. Worth (Blackhawk Christian) IN, 6'5 Keala King from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 5'9 Andre Stringer from Jackson (H.S.) MS, 5'6 Ahmad Starks from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'6 Jamail Jones from Decatur (Stone Mountain) GA, 6'10 Dwight Powell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'3 Cameron Wright from Cleveland (Benedictine) OH, 6'9 Travis Carroll from Danville (H.S.) IN, 6'3 Aluin Guo from Liaoning, China, 6'8 Jr Michael Gilchrist from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL,  6'2 Jr Trevor Lacey from Huntsville (Butler) AL, 6'2 Jr Marquis Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 6'2 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'5 Jr Jamal Branch from Atascocita (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (De La Salle) IL, 6'9 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, 6'5 Trey Ziegler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Jr Kevin Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'5 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, 6'4 Jr Trevor Cooney from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, 6'6 Jr Michael Gbinije from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Jr Johnny Bryant from Cleveland (East Side) TN, 6'8 Jr Kyle Wiltjer from Portland (Jesuit) OR, 6'3 Jr Nick Johnson from Gilbert (Highland) AZ, 6'11 Jr Malcolm Gilbert from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA, 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita (Wichita Heights) KY, 6'4 Soph Justin Anderson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and 6'8 Soph DaJuan Coleman from Syracuse (Jamesville-DeWitt) NY.  Unfortunately things won't heat up at this NIKE Sponsored event until day after tomorrow when it changes its name to the LeBron James King City Classic, adds 10 new players from the NIKE Hoop Jamboree, and moves to Cleveland, OH.  And we'll provide you with all the highlights and player rankings from both the LeBron James King City Classic in Cleveland, OH on Wednesday, July 8th, and Thursday, July 9th, and the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday, July 8th, Thursday, July 9th, and Friday, July 10th.  So stay tuned!  In the meantime, after watching drills and station work (but no games) last night and this morning at the LeBron James Skills Academy, we've changed venues to to the adidas It Takes 5 Classic in Cincinnati, OH, where we've been watching games this afternoon and evening and plan to publish highlights from the tournament as time permits tomorrow. 

Friday, July 3, 2009, Saturday, July 4, 2009, & Sunday, July 5, 2009

Nobody provides the in-depth analysis and covers basketball recruiting like the HOOP SCOOP does.  And, if you don't believe it, just check out our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2009, which was published on Friday, July 3rd; our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference for the Class of 2009, which was publish on yesterday; and Different Ways to Look at Recruiting for the Class of 2009, which was published earlier today.  This includes our ranking of the top 330 recruiting classes and is based on our point system, whereby, a top five-ranked player nationally is worth 10 points, a top 10-ranked player nationally is worth nine points, a player in the 11-40 range nationally is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range nationally is worth six points, a player in the 71-100 range nationally is worth four points, a player in the 101-300 range nationally is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000 range nationally is worth two points, and a high school player not ranked in the top 1000 in our Final Ranking of the Top 1,000 Players in the Class of 2009 is worth only one point.  Junior college, prep school, and foreign players who have signed with a Division I college or university are factored in as if they were the equivalent of a high school senior and our rankings have stood the test of time, as is show in our archives, which can be found by clicking onto Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from Past Years.  A quick look at our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference for the Class of 2009 leads us to believe that the Big-12 Conference, which has seven of the top 25-ranked recruiting classes in the nation (Oklahoma State is ranked #4, Baylor and Texas Tech are tied at #11, Texas is ranked #14, Oklahoma is ranked #17, Kansas is ranked #21, and Kansas State is ranked #24) is the big winner.  However, when we dig a little deeper we find that the Big East has eight of the top 40-ranked recruiting classes, as Marquette is ranked #1, Villanova is ranked #5, St. John's, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh are tied at #26, Louisville is ranked #29, Connecticut is ranked #31, and Providence is ranked #35.  We also find that the Big East Conference is clearly #1 in our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference for the Class of 2009.  But this also is somewhat misleading when one remembers that the Big East Conference has 16 teams, which gives it a clear advantage when we add up the numbers and come up with a cumulative total for each team.  And in our Different Ways to Look at Recruiting for the Class of 2009 section we find that the Atlantic Coast is the big winner, as the league finished with 212 points, 42 recruits, and a 5.048 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit.  In other words, a lot of this is subject to interpretation and that's exactly why we look at recruiting in a number of different ways.  If you look at who signed the best two players and the best three players, the clear winner is the University of Kentucky, which has two top five-ranked players - 6'10 DeMarcus Cousins from Mobile (LeFlore) AL and 6'3 John Wall from Raleigh (Word of God) NC - and a player in the 11-40 range - 6'10 Daniel Orton from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuinnes) OK - in the fold.  On the other hand, the school with the highest talent rating average per recruit is the University of Florida.  But the Gators only have two players - 6'2 Kenny Boynton from Plantation (American Heritage) FL and 6'10 Erik Murphy from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA - in the fold.  We also are impressed by the fact that the Sun Belt Conference has three schools (Western Kentucky at #20, Florida International at #33, Arkansas-Little Rock at #38) that are ranked among the top 40 recruiting classes.  They join San Diego State at #17, Memphis at #30, Texas Southern at #33, and Houston at #35 as the only seven schools that check in with top 40-ranked recruiting classes that are not in one of the six high major conferences (Big East, Big-10, Big-12, ACC, SEC, and Pacific-10) in college basketball.  And Hilltoppers head coach Ken McDonald and the Golden Panthers head coach Isiah Thomas are both reloading in a hurry.  Not only has the new regime at Florid International landed six quality junior college players in 6'7 Eric Frederick from Highland (JC) IL, 6'4 Antoine Watson from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'5 Marvin Roberts from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'3 Stephon Weaver from Connors State (JC) OK, 6'6 Kavon Lytch from Midland (JC) TX, and 5'10 Phil Gray from Malcolm X (JC) IL, but there also suddenly is talk about Thomas being the perfect guy to step in and turn things around at DePaul the next time that job opens.  And making this even more amazing is the fact that Thomas has yet to coach his first college game.  McDonald, who was an assistant coach at the University of Texas prior to taking over at WKU a year ago, continues to recruit like he did when he was with the Longhorns, as the Hilltoppers have 6'10 Cliff Dixon from Hutchinson (JC) KS, 6'5 Terrence Boyd from San Diego (H.S.) CA, 6'6 William Green from Orlando (Olympia) FL, 6'8 Edward Hazlett from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'6 Jordan Swing from Vestavia Hills (H.S.) AL, 6'4 Caden Dickerson from Argyle (H.S.) TX, and 6'8 David Laury from Newark (Alif Muhammad's Nia School) NJ all in the fold.  Speaking of the University of Texas, the Longhorns clearly have the best head start on the future, as they are the only school with a top five ranked recruiting class each of the next two years when we look at our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010 and Beyond.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Now that 6'6 Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK and his older brother, 6'4 C.J. Henry, have both decided to remain at the University of Kansas (earlier this week it was reported that they were considering reneging on Kansas, and, instead, might enroll this fall at the University of Kentucky), it's pretty clear that the Jawhawks will be the team to beat next year in college basketball.  Remember, just about everybody, including all five starters - 5'11 Sr Sherron Collins, 6'11 Jr Cole Alrich, 6'3 Soph Tyshawn Taylor, 6'8 Soph Marcus Morris, and 6'3 Jr Brady Morningstar - will return from a team that was 27-8 overall and 14-2 in the league this past season.  However, we also want to warn you not to sleep on the University of Texas, which will have its front-line back intact with the return of 6'7 Sr Damion James, 6'10 Sr Dexter Pittman, and 6'6 Jr Gary Johnson; has pair of outstanding point guards waiting in the wings in 6'3 Frosh J'covan Brown, who sat out last year after not making it academically, and 5'8 Soph Jai Lucas, who started at Florida as freshman before deciding to transfer to Texas a year ago; and has a recruiting class that is headed by 6'2 Avery Bradley from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, who is the #1-ranked player in the nation in our Final Ranking of the Top 1,000 Players in the Class of 2009, and also includes 6'7 Jordan Hamilton from Compton (Dominguez) CA and 6'7 Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX.  And there appears to be no end in sight, as the Longhorns also have 6'8 Tristan Thompson from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV and 6'5 Daniel Bejarano from Phoenix (North) AZ in the fold in a recruiting class that is ranked #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010 and 6'1 Jr Myck Kabongo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Jr Sheldon McClellan, 6'4, WF, Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'5 Jr Julien Lewis from Galveston (La Marque) TX, and 6'7 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA in the fold in a recruiting class that is ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2011.  And that last one happened earlier today.  Daniels, who finished with seven points and four rebounds in the Cream of the Crop Top 25 All-Star Game at the Pangos All-American Camp a month ago in Long Beach, CA, impressed us enough with his skills, athleticism, and versatility to finish ranked #22 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP and to be regarded as one of the top rising juniors on the West Coast.  And Daniels is not the only verbal commitment that has occurred within the last several days, as 6'8 John McArthur from Concord (De La Salle) CA has picked Santa Clara, 6'2 Ben Brust from Mundelein (H.S.) IL has cast his lot with the University of Iowa, and 6'4 Keegan Clark from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN has decided to attend Wright State.  McArthur is ranked #162 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and he should be a perfect fit for Broncos, because he's so skilled, smart, and active inside.  Brust is ideally suited to fit into Hawkeyes head coach Todd Lickliter's system, thanks to the fact that he's like a coach on the floor with his excellent ball handling passing skills, understanding of when to speed the game up or slow it down, excellent shooting range, and willingness to compete. Clark, who averaged 12.0 ppg and 7.0 ppg this past season, picked the Raiders over schools like Eastern Illinois, IUPUI, and Miami-OH.  It also looks like we were right on the money three weeks ago when we told you that Notre Dame assistant coach Sean Kearney, who was named the new head coach at Holy Cross earlier today, would be the heir apparent to Ralph Willard, if he left Holy Cross to go to the University of Louisville. 

We took a break last night between publishing our Final Ranking of the Top 1,000 Players in the Class of 2009 and gearing up to publish our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2009, our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, and Different Way to Look at Recruiting and attended the Top 30 All-Star Game at the High Potential "Blue Chip" Basketball Camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY.  Clearly the best prospect and Most Outstanding Player in camp was 6'9 Curtis Washington from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY.  Not only did Washington finish with 24 points, but he blocked shots, ran the court, and showed a soft touch from the top of key in the all-star game.  Washington does need to get physically bigger and stronger and finish better when he doesn't have a dunk, but he is just oozing with potential, which makes him the best prospect in the state in the Class of 2010, ahead of players like 6'4 Ricardo Johnson from Covington (Holmes) KY, 6'6 Elijah Pittman from Covington (Holmes) KY, 6'2 Aaron Cosby from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, 6'4 Chad Jackson from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'2 Ga'Lawn Guyn from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'8 Dakota Euton from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, and 6'4 Josh Sewell from Louisville (Trinity) KY.  And the fact that Washington was no where to found on anybody's radar screen until recently should get Division I college coaches looking to steal somebody with big time size and athleticism even more excited.  We also were impressed with a number of other players in the Top 30 All-Star Game including 6'3 Wayne Simon from Westchester (St. Joseph's) IL, 6'0 Sean Samsel from Louisville (Manual) KY, 6'6 Phil Barner from Maysville (Mason County) KY, 6'2 Tristin Hicks from Louisville (Brown) KY, 6'5 Jamari Bradshaw from  Louisville (Waggener) KY, 6'7 Jr Andrew Smith from Pompano Beach (Highlands Christian) FL, 6'4 Jr Adonis Burbage from Orlando (Timber Creek) FL, 6'0 Jr Jonathan Black from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'2 David Gethers from Orlando (Timber Creek) FL, 5'11 Jr Jalen Hunt from Wyoming (Godwin Heights) MI, 6'9 Kevin Kidd from St. Leon (East Central) IN, and 6'3 Soph B.J. Combs from Hazard (H.S.) KY.  Simon finished with 23 points and was our choice for all-star game MVP honors as he did a good job of both creating for his teammates and scoring points.  The outside shot wasn't falling for Samsel like it was earlier in the week when he had several 50 points games, but we were very impressed with his passing and ability to create his own shot, which makes him a very intriguing player for somebody at the lower Division I level.  Barner is good old-fashioned blue collar athlete with a great nose for the ball and the willingness to do all the dirty work around the basket, which earned him MVP honors for his efforts on the losing team.  Hicks, who finished with 25 points and was named the game MVP from the winning team, has incredible athleticism and a flare for the spectacular, which he used to throw the ball off the backcourt, catch it, and dunk it to end the game.  Unfortunately Hicks also is much more of a raw talent than a finished product, as he was wild and out-of-control and had more than his share of turnovers in the all-star game.  We also liked the size and athleticism of Bradshaw, but he spends too much time out on the perimeter and bringing the ball up the court, instead of using his size to dominate around the basket.  In contrast, we liked the way Smith held his own inside against Washington early in the game, but later was able to play out on the perimeter and knock down several open 3-point shots.  Burbage only scored six points, but this athletic combo forward really impressed us with his explosiveness, ability to handle the ball in transition, and quick hands, which he used to rebound, block shots, and deflect passes.   Black and Gethers also fall into the multi-dimensional athletic wing category and Hunt and Kidd impressed with their quickness off the dribble and ability to make things happen in the backcourt.  Combs gets mentioned because he was one of the best 3-point shooters in the game and we liked the way he competed against all the players who were one and two years older in the game.  We also think it's interesting to point out that 6'8 Colt Barnhill from Grayson (East Carter) KY was named the Camp Runner-up MVP and 6'1 Frosh Jordan Brewer from Hodgenville (La Rue County) KY was named the top sleeper in the camp.  However, neither player played in the Top 30 All-Star Game and, as a result, we assume that they were both injured.  The Top Underclassman was 5'11 Jr Jaiven Hunt from Wyming (Godwin Heights) MI, the Best Shooter was 6'0 Sean Samsel from Louisville (Manual) KY, the Slam Dunk Champ was 6'7 Jr Andrew Smith from Pompano Beach (Highlands Christian) FL, the Best Rebounder was 6'6 Jr Dylan Basham from Madisonville (North Hopkins) KY, the Top Ballhander was 5'11 Derek Domino from Ft. Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) FL, the Best Defender was 5'8 Jr Jordan Rice from Horse Cave (Caverna) KY, the Top Passer was 5'10 Jr Jesse Anderson from Mayfield (Grave County) KY, the Top Station Worker was 6'2 Soph Tim Ansett from Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) IL, the player with the Best Attitude was 6'3 Landon Hunley from Kingsport (Farragut) TN, the 110% Award went to 5'10 Jr Dillon Vaughn from Leitchfield (Grayson County) KY, and the Most Improved was 5'9 Frosh Mike Smith from Lexington (Sayre) KY.  We also think it's interesting that 6'5 Jr Dan Ratterman from Louisville (St. Xavier) KY hit the trifecta as the inside player who was the Free-Throw Shooting Champ, the Hot-Shot Champ, and the 3-Point Shooting Champ.  The Backcourt Free-Throw Shooting Champ was 5'8 Jr Edmond Shinevarre from Monroe (St. Mary's Catholic Central) MI, the Backcourt Hot-Shot Champ was 5'4 Jr Jordan Ellerhorst from Amelia (H.S.) OH, and the 3-Point Shooting Champ was 6'1 Frosh Nick Trisko from Lexington (Lafayette) KY.  And to give you a head start on the future 5'10 8th Grader Erick Locke from Chicago (Brooks) IL was named the MVP  in the Junior Division and 6'1 8th Grader Lanham Crabtree from Fairdale (H.S.) KY was named the Runner-up MVP in the Junior Division. 

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

There is nothing like waiting to the last minute.  We're talking about the fact that 6'5 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY made his college decision (he signed financial aid papers with the University of Cincinnati yesterday) just in time to have it included in the HOOP SCOOP's Final Ranking of the Top 1,000 Players in the Class of 2009, which was published earlier today exclusive in the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP, and in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2009, our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, and Different Way to Look at Recruiting sections, all of which will be published by the time I head to the Akron, OH for the first day of the LeBron James Skills Academy on Sunday, July 5th.  In other words, a lot of things are coming together at once this week, including the fact that today (July 1st) is always the day that we officially move every high school player up in class a year (unless otherwise denoted), as well as say goodbye to all of the graduating seniors.  And for this class it's not a minute too soon.  Not only was this most entitled class that I've seen in the 26 years that I've been following high school basketball and recruiting, but it also turned out to be a major bust, as it lacked both quality size and depth and a lot of the top players did not turn out to be nearly as good as they should have been.  As a matter of fact, we seriously thought about ranking as many as six or seven of the top 10-ranked players in the class all #2, because, unlike a year ago with 6'2 Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson) VA, two years ago with 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, three years ago with 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, four years ago with 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, five years ago with 6'11 Dwight Howard, six years ago with 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH, seven years ago with 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, eight years ago with 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, and nine years ago with 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, none of the obvious candidates have stepped up and proven that he is a cut above all of the rest.  But in the final analysis we decided to pick 6'2 Avery Bradley from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV for much the same reason (he may not be the best prospect, but he's the best player right now) that we picked 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA as the #1-ranked player in the Class of 1999.  Bradley is a 6'2 2-guard who is the best on the ball defender in the high school ranks today, he never takes a game off, he continues to just keep getting better and better, he is a great kid, and his team usually wins, as is evident by the fact that he led his high school team to the national championship this past season.  The only other serious candidate for the #1-ranking was 6'9 Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, who was the MVP in both the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.  But Favors has not yet proven that he has the motor necessary to achieve greatness and more often that not he always leaves us wanting more out of his game.  However, if this ranking was just based on pro potential, we would definitely have to go with this athletic post player who also is a quality individual and the next in a long line of great players to play for the Atlanta Celtics.  The most naturally gifted player in the class might just be 6'10 DeMarcus Cousins from Mobile (LeFlore) AL.  However, similar to guys is like 6'5 Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'9 Renardo Sidney from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, there also is a lot of insanity surrounding this kid and, as a result, it will be interesting to see how new Kentucky head coach John Calipari deals with Cousins next season.   Stevenson, Sidney, and 6'6 Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK also have lost a lot of their explosiveness and athleticism during the last year and a big key to how successful each of them will be in the future is whether they can get it back.  One our favorite players in the class has always been 6'2 Kenny Boynton from Plantation (American Heritage) FL.  But, as a 6'2 2-guard, Boynton has a position question for the highest level, he's very streaky, and he can shoot you in or out a game depending upon whether his outside shot is hitting or missing.  We also really like the upside and potential of 6'10 John Henson from Tampa (Sickles) FL.  But he needs to get bigger and stronger before we think it's time for him to be ranked among the top five players nationally in his class.  We also can't forget about 6'3 John Wall from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who is our #1-ranked 5th Year Player and would check in at #5 in the HOOP SCOOP's Final Ranking of the Top 1,000 Players in the Class of 2009, behind Bradley, Favors, Cousins, and Stephenson and ahead of Boyton, Henry, Henson, 6'3 Abdul Gaddy from Tacoma (Bellarmine) WA, and 6'9 Renardo Sidney from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, if we included him with the graduating seniors.  Wall is an incredible athlete, but he can't shoot, doesn't play hard, and doesn't make good enough decisions to be classified as a pure point guard.  However, Wall made the perfect college choice, as he promises to be the next great point guard to thrive in Calipari's dribble-drive offense.  As for Sidney, we tried to piss him off when we dropped him to #39 when we came out with our rankings last fall.  However, if anybody can get the most out of him, it's Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury.  So now were hedging our bets and have moved him back into the #10 on our list just in case the light clicks on and he gets the burning desire necessary to achieve greatness. 

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