HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2001

Hot Recruiting Information available for previous months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001

Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Pool play and the first two rounds of the playoffs at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL are over and, just when all the college coaches are heading home (the summer evalution period ends tonight at midnight), things are about to getting really interesting tomorrow morning, which is when the round of 16 in the winners bracket begins.  The games at 10:00 AM will feature the Tallahassee Wildcats versus the Spiece Pistols on Court #1, Wisconsin All-Stars versus Boo Williams on Court #2, Illinois Wildcats versus North Carolina Gators on Court #3, and the Charlotte Royals versus B.A.B.C. on Court #4.   The games at 11:30 AM will feature Athletes First versus Georgia Jazz on Court #1, Georgia Stars versus Memphis YOMAC on Court #2, Illinois Warriors versus Team Minnesota on Court #3, and the winner of New Hampshire Elevation versus Maryland-Mount Royal versus the winner of Team Illinois Hawks versus Team Hoopnuts, both of which were still in progress when we left the gym at 11:30 PM tonight.  Our gut feeling is that anything can happen, because these are the dog days of summer and everybody is tired and wants to go home.  However, we still like the winner of the B.A.B.C.-Charlotte Royals game to come out of that side of the bracket and Athletes First should be the heavy favorite on their side of the bracket. 

We are all still waiting for 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX to make it official for Indiana and we still think in the end that the Hoosiers will be tough to beat for 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (H.S.) IN.  However, we also know that IU head coach Mike Davis is getting a head start on the future.  As a matter of fact, our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that Davis was in Jackson, MS today for a shootout at Lanier High School and the player he was watching was 6'9 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS.  This is especially important, because Davis, who already is one of the best recruiters in the Deep South, obviously is continuing to build on his already strong recruiting base.  As for May, we talked to his AAU coach Bob Pryor yesterday at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL yesterday and he told us that Louisville, Ohio S tate, Indiana, Notre Dame, and North Carolina are all still on his list.  Speaking of North Carolina, the Tar Heels want to bring in two big men from among a group that includes May, 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, and 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY. Another big man we talked with yesterday was 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, who is one of the most improved players in the nation since we first saw him a year ago.  Lamptey's list includes Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Purdue, Michigan, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Oregon, Georgetown, and Florida.  Connecticut is making a strong push for 6'4 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, but  N.C. State, Florida State, St. John's, Texas, and Miami-FL are also still in the hunt.   Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia, Miami-FL, and UCLA are among those showing the most interest in 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, who is the obvious candidate for Sleeper-of-the-Summer.  However, we have one source who is telling us that his may be over sooner than later for Texas A&M.  We also hear that 6'0 Todd Galloway from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA might be closer than a lot of people think to announcing for Wake Forest.  But what happens if 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA picks the Deamon Deacans first?   Another possibility for Galloway appears to be Xavier, but 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN is also high on the Musketeers list.  We also believe that Xavier is the leader for 6'2 Robert Hite from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, but Cincinnati, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Tennessee, Louisville, and numerous others are showing interest, especially after the way he played yesterday at the 2001 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship.  Also impressing us yesterday from the Queen City Team, which almost pulled off the upset against B.A.B.C. yesterday was 6'6 Brandon Williams from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH.  Williams is an excellent athlete and good rebounder for his size, but he needs to improve his outside shooting and perimeter skills in order to get recruited at the big time level.  As a result, schools like Eastern Kentucky, East Carolina, and Eastern Michigan are hoping to steal him.  The early list for 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Vocational Tech) CA includes Duke, California, Louisville, and North Carolina.   Louisiana-Lafayette has added one of the last pieces to their puzzle by landing 6'11 Chris Cameron from Australia, who will be eligible to play this fall.  St. John's is the leader, according to 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, but he also says he's still considering Georgia Tech, Connecticut, and Boston College.  It appears that Virginia Commonwealth recently got a verbal commitment from 6'8 Jai Lewis from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and Oklahoma State has landed 6'1 Nate Johnson from Penn Valley (JC) MO.  However, the Johnson commitment may not be as firm as it looks.  

Monday, July 30, 2001

There were 63 players named to the all-tournament team last night at the adidas Big Time Tournament (our guess is that anybody who got a vote made the team), but 6'9 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC was not one of them.  And he didn't deserve to be based on his performance in the tournament.  However, that doesn't mean Randolph is not still one of the better players in the class.  Remember, he's been playing hurt all summer and, as a result, we will hedge our bets and still include him among our the top 20 players in the class when we come out with our new national rankings in August.  In sharp contrast to Randolph, who currently lacks both mental and physical toughness, is 6'7 Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who was a big reason why the Tim Thomas Playaz advanced all the way into the championship game last night against the Long Island Panthers.  Here is a guy who played in two games on Saturday, three games on Sunday, including the championship game where he was the best player for his team, and then got a flight to Orlando, FL (he was on our flight) late last night to play in a 10:00 AM game today in the 2001 AAU 17-Under Boys Basketball National Championship.  And he did pretty well, as he finished with 11 points, a number of rebounds, and several assists.  In other words, Boggan has something a lot of the soft spoiled pampered players in the day and age don't have - the heart and desire necessary to become a great player.  Also interesting is that fact that the Long Island Panthers lost several games in pool play at the adidas Big Time Tournament, which meant they were the lower seeded team when they faced the Michigan Hurricane in the round of 32.  Not only did the Panthers win that game by two points in the final seconds, but that was the point in the tournament when they elevated their game to another level.  Not only did 6'9 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY become a lot more focused, but 6'9 Jr Charlie Villaneuva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ also finally became a factor.  Speaking of Villaneuva, he should win the Kwame Brown award as the top stock market player.  Yes, he is that up and down.  However, when he's on like he was in the championship game (he was the leading scorer in the game), he's one of the best juniors in America.  As for the Panthers, head coach Gary Charles told us earlier in the month that one of the things motivating his team this summer was the letter published by the HOOP SCOOP in June by the guy connected with Riverside Church.  Apparently it worked, because the Long Island Panthers, which finished second at the Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC during Memorial Day Weekend, won the Three Stripes Classic two-and-a-half weeks ago in Hempstead, NY, and won the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV last night, almost have to be the HOOP SCOOP's Team-of-the-Summer.  Yes, with their victory in in the championship game the Long Island Panthers have edged out Team Texas, which won the NIKE Peach Jam a week-and-a-half ago in Augusta, GA and the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL two days ago, as Team-of-the-Summer.  However, we still want to find a way to give the Team Texas program the recognition that they deserve and we can do that by naming Team Texas the Program-of-the-Summer.  Did you know that that 6'1 Soph Lendy Holmes from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX hit his third straight game winning shot, this time against Minnesota Magic Gold, in the championship game of the 15-Under BCI National Championship yesterday in Colorado Springs, CO?  And did you know that   Team Texas has done equally extremely well in a number of other age groups as well?.  Their 16-under team won the 16-Under BCI National Championship two weeks ago and advanced to the round of 32 in the adidas Big Time Tournament, where they lost to the Michigan Mustangs, 65-62.  Their 14-Under team finished third in the BCI Nationals and their 13-Under Team finished third in the 13-Under National AAU Tournament and fourth in the BCI Nationals.  Getting back to the adidas Big Time Tournament, going 63 players deep on the all-tournament was a little ridiculous, but, if you do go that deep, a number of other players should have been strongly considered for the all-tournament team, like 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ, 6'6 Kelanna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK, 6'7 Soph Omari Israel from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 5'11 Soph Eric Price from Parkdale (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'4 Tauren Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, 6'2 Jr Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA, 6'5 Soph Dwayne Day from Vidalia (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'11 Jr David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV, 6'2 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'9 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, and 6'8 Soph Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'9 Jr Ekena Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Mike Cuffe from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'5 David Teague from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'9 Ike Diogu from Garland (H.S.) TX, and 6'2 Jamar Nutter from East Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ.  We also really liked 6'8 Dante Milligan and 6'7 Marcel Momphaisir, both of whom played for the Student Athletes Broncos, but who weren't listed on the roster.  So we don't have any information about their class and school.  We didn't see many games outside the Open Division, but we were really impressed by team 7Up, which featured 6'9 Jr Ivan Harris from Springfield (South) OH, 6'6 Doug Scott from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH, 6'1 Jr Nick Dials from Williard (H.S.) OH,   6'9 Jr Mike Newman from Westerville (North) OH, and 6'11 Jr Mike Lefeld from Coldwater (H.S.) OH.  This team finished in the final four of the "A" Division this year and that could be a prelude of things to come next year, because most of these guys are just juniors.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also believes that an early commitment by Harris to Ohio State could be forthcoming very soon.  So could an early commitment by Lefeld, if the Buckeyes decide to offer.  Also impressing us in this division were 6'6 Josh Rhodes from Santa Cruz (H.S.) CA, who has already verbally committed to Iowa, 6'0 Soph Rajon Rondo from Louisville (Eastern) KY, and 6'2 Jonathan McClellan from Dalton (N.W. Whitfield) GA.

Sunday, July 29, 2001

For the second time in three years the Tim Thomas Playaz have lost in the championship game at the adidas Big Time Tournament.   This time it was to the Long Island Panthers and the final score was 84-73.   Actually the game was never in doubt as the Panthers jumped out to 17-7 lead early and answered every time the Playaz got within striking distance.  The tournament MVP was 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, but the best player in the championship game was 6'3 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, who finished with 18 points and made the big shot to break his opponents back on a number of occasions.  The leading scorer for the Long Island Panthers was 6'9 Jr Charlie Villaneuva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ with 20 points.  Named to the all-tournament team were Darius Washington, Joshua Smith, and Sani Ibrahim from the Atlanta Celtics; Carmelo Anthony, Gary Neal, Kenny Minor, and Todd Galloway from Baltimore Select; Raymond Felton from Beach Ball Select; Trevor Ariza from Belmont Shore; Sean Mallon from Brewster Heights Packing; Antonio Lawrence and Richard Midgley from EBO/EO Sports; Deron Williams from the Fort Worth Lions; Dan Grunfeld from Friends of Hoop Black; Dan Oppland from Gateway Bball Club 14; Marcus Williams from H Squad; David Bell, Mike Cook, and Mustafa Shakar from Hunting Park Warriors; Sean Dockery from Illinois Fire; Delco Rowley from Indy Warriors; Antoine Wright and Lawrence Carrier from Inland I; Chris Rodgers and Curtis Lincoln from Inner City Players; Sebastian Telfair from Juice All-Stars; Daryl Pegram and Donald Wilson from L.A. Rockfish; Curtis Sumpter, Darryl Hill, Jason Fraser, and Taquan Dean from the Long Island Panthers; Anthony Roberson and Olumuyiwa Famutimi from the Michigan Hurriance; Drew Nietzel, Kevin Nelson, and Paul Davis from the Michigan Mustangs; LaBron James from NE Ohio Shooting Stars; Wes Wilkinson from Nebraska Bison-Runsa Red; Curtis Withers from New Orleans Jazz; Allan Ray, Daon Merritt, and Francisco Garcia from the New York Ravens; Leon Powe and Marquis Katley from Oakland Slam N Jam; Maurice Wade from Playground Running Rebels; Lenny Cook from Prep Stars International; Brad Buckman and C.J. Watson from Pump N Run; Matt Walsh and Michael Thompson from Raleigh; Lodrick Stewart and Rodrick Stewart from Seattle Friends of Hoop; Travis Smith from Southern California All-Stars; Devon Smith from Stormin's Classic; Sheldon Franklin from Student Athlete Broncos; Dez Willingham from Team Texas 16's; Daniel Horton from Texas Blue Chip; Elijah Ingram, John Winchester, and Mario Boggan from Tim Thomas Playaz; Sean Phaler from Villa Park Spartans; and Brandon Roy from Yes Red.   We'll have more tomorrow when we get to Orlando, FL, but right now we have to catch a plane.

They could have played the championship game of this year's adidas Big Time Tournament in New York City or North Jersey, because the Long Island Panthers knocked off Baltimore Select, 74-68, in the first semi-finals game and the Tim Thomas Playaz came back to beat the Hunting Park Warriors, 83-80, in overtime in the second semi-finals game earlier this afternoon at Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV.  In the first game 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY only scored seven points, but he did a great job defensively against 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who hit only 9-22 field goals and 1-5 3-pointers en route to a 25-point/15 rebound effort.  And that was one of the two big differences in the game.  The other deciding factor was 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY who had 27 points and 22 rebounds, and, as a result, will likely be the MVP of the Tournament, if the Panthers win, despite the fact he has been up and down in the tournament, as well as much of the summer.  In the other game the Tim Thomas Playaz were down by four points in overtime, but came back thanks primarily to the efforts of 6'7 Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'0 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who combined for over half of Tim Thomas' points.  Boggan, who likely will be the tournament MVP if his team wins, also chipped in with 10 rebounds, including six offensive boards.  However, the game might not have been even close if Ingram hadn't been so quick to pull the trigger (8-27 field goals and 4-12 3-point shooting).  He also was only 1-5 from the foul line and, if this trend continues, the Long Island Panthers will clean their clock in the championship game, which is scheduled to tip-off in about 30 minutes.  Clearly the best player for the Hunting Park Warriors in the semi-finals was 6'4 Michael Cuffee from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but 6'5 David Bell from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and 6'3 Jr Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA both added 13 points apiece.  Later tonight we'll have the highlights from the championship game, as well as the official all-tournament team and any other notes of interest.  So stay tuned!. 

6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI scored 31 points to register his fourth 30-plus game at the adidas Big Time Tournament, but that wasn't enough to get the Michigan Mustangs past Baltimore Select, which won the second quarterfinals game, 76-69.  It also comes as no surprise that the other outstanding performance in the game was turned in by 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with 28 points and seven rebounds.  Anthony reinforced what we've been saying throughout the tournament.  Not only is he the best player in the senior class nationally, but this incredible athlete has no weaknesses in his game. Everybody here seems to want to compare Anthony with Tracy McGrady, but really he's more like George Gervin, because he doesn't start the offense, like McGrady did at this level.  Sure, Anthony is a deadly 3-point shooter and an excellent passer and ball handler on the perimeter, but he also goes strong to the boards and uses his speed and quickness around the basket.  The Atlanta Celtics jumped out early and were up by four at half-time, 39-35, but it was all Tim Thomas in the second half of the third quarterfinals game, as they outscored the Celtics 41-20 in the second half.  The leading scorer for the Tim Thomas Playaz was 6'4 John Winchester from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC with 23 points and 6'7 Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA chipped in with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  But what happened to 6'0 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who finished hit only 4-19 field goals and four turnovers.  The leading scorer for the Atlanta Celtics was 6'0 Soph Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, but he too was error prone, as he finished with five turnovers.  6'11 Sani Ibrahim from Winchendon (School) MA had 10 points and 13 rebounds, but he still doesn't work very hard away from the ball and doesn't appear to be in sync, as he hit only 3-12 field goals.  In the game currently in progess the Hunting Park Warriors are up by six points with two minutes left against the New Orleans Jazz.  Assuming that lead holds up, it will be an all Northeast Final Four at the adidas Big Time Tournament, as the Long Island Panthers are scheduled to meet Baltimore Select in a game that should begin in about 20 minutes and the Tim Thomas Playaz  from North Jersey will face the Philadelphia-based Hunting Park Warriors in about two hours.  We're still working on who we will vote for on our 25-man all tournament team (we're one of six or seven people who have been asked to pick the all-tournament team), but as things stand now we'd go with 6'0 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'7 Mario Boggan from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 John Winchester from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) NY,  6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'9 Jr Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Vocational Tech) CA, 6'7 Curtis Withers from Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC, 6'5 David Bell from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Wesley Wilkinson from Grand Island (H.S.) NC, 6'1 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'1 Daniel Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Soph Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'5 Olumuywa Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'4 Mike Cuffee from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, 6'3 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, and 6'8 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  Especially noteworthy is that nobody from the Atlanta Celtics is listed above, because nobody has really distinguished himself above the rest.  Other big names who purposely purposely have been left off the team, because they didn't live up to their previous hype include 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, and 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.

Saturday, July 28, 2001

We're down to 18 teams in the open Division of the adidas Big Time Tournament and we have seen nothing to change our mind about our comments this morning regarding the Atlanta Celtics.  However, the Celtics will have a tough challenge by the Inland Warriors, which features 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence) MA and 6'8 Jr Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT at 7:40 PM PST tonight at Green Valley High School.  And most of the games in the other seven pools promises to be just as interesting.  In Pool #1 it will be the Long Island Panthers with 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S) NY, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'9 Jr Charlie Villaneuva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ versus the Los Angeles Rockfish with 6'3 Tim Drisdom from Lynnwood (Calvary Christian) CA at 5:00 PM PST at Green Valley High School.  In Pool #2 it will be the New Ravens with 6'2 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Cheshire (Academy) CT versus Donyell Marshall I at 5:00 PM at Durango High School.  In Pool #3 it will be the Raleigh Heat with 6'9 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC versus the Michigan Mustangs with 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI in the battle of the two top rated white big men in the Class of 2002 at 6:20 PM at Green Valley High School.  In Pool #4 it will be the Indy Warriors with 6'8 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN versus Baltimore Select with 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 6:20 PM at Durango High School.  In Pool #6 it will be the Tim Thomas Playaz with 6'0 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and 6'11 Jr Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ versus Oakland Slam N Jam with 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Vocational Tech) CA and 6'5 Soph Tim Pierce from Oakland (Fremont) CA at 7:40 PM at Durango High School.   In Pool #7 it will be the Hunting Park Warriors with 6'7 David Bell from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC versus the winner of H Squad I and the Southern California All-Stars, which is currently in progess, at 9:00 PM at Green Valley High School.  In Pool #8 it will be the Nebraska Bison-Runza Red with 6'9 Wes Wilkinson from Grand Island (H.S.) NE and 6'9 Roy Enright from Omaha (Burke) NE versus the winner of the New Orleans Jazz and Illinois Fire, which currently is progress, at 9:00 PM at Durango High School.  We also have received word that Team Texas has beaten B.A.B.C. for the second time in a week to win the championship of the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL.  The final score was 75-65.

Yesterday in the first round and second round of the playoffs at the adidas Big Time Tournament, the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars with 6'6 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1-ranked player in the nation regardless of class, the Juice All-Stars with 5'11 Soph Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who is the #1-ranked sophomore in the nation, and the Seattle Friends of Hoop with 6'4 Jr Roderick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA and 6'4 Jr Lodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, were eliminated.  So were the loaded Pump N Run team and the Richmond Squires.  Also gone are most of the weaker teams in the tournament.  However, as of yet nobody has emerged as the overwhelming favorite to win the championship, which will be held at 6:20 PM PST tomorrow night.  But we'll go out on a limb and tell you that we think the Atlanic Celtics have a better chance than most people realize to repeat.  We saw the Celtics win big last night against Indy Red, but even more important, their great four sophomores - 6'0 Soph Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 Soph Randolph Morris from Atlanta (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'7 Soph Joshua Smith from Smyrna (Whitfield) GA, and 6'5 Soph Dwayne Day from Vidalia (H.S.) GA - brought them back from an 18-point deficit yesterday afternoon to avoid a first round loss to the Monarchs.   6'11 Sani Ibrahim from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA is also playing better, plus they have 6'9 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'1 Michael Ford from Macon (Northeast) GA, 6'3 Chet Stachitas from Ponte Verde (Allen Nease) FL and a rapidly developing 6'8 Boubacar Coly from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  The only question mark is point guard, but 5'10 Terrence Whiter from Laurinburg (Institute) NC is solid.   In other words, the Celtics go 10 deep, they play extremely hard, and they're tournament tested.  Other teams who are still undefeated in the 344-team tournament heading into this morning were Baltimore Select, Cleveland Bball Club 16's, Hunting Park Warriors, Indy Warriors, Michigan Hurricanes, Nebraska Bison-Runza Red, New York Ravens, Oakland Slam N Jam I, Playground Running Rebels, Raleigh Heat,  Stormin's Classic, Team Reef, Team Texas 16's, Tim Thomas Playaz I, and Yes Red.  However, the Long Island Panther have already upset the Michigan Mustangs in the 9:00 AM game this morning. 

Friday, July 27, 2001

Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff tells us that it will be Team Texas and B.A.B.C (Boston Amateur Basketball Club) in the finals tomorrow at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL.  Team Texas knocked off the Grassroots Team from Canada in their semi-finals match-up and B.A.B.C. survived in overtime against Athletes First, which were the tournament's defending champions.  Our guess is that Team Texas will win their second championship in a week.  If you will recall, Team Texas also beat B.A.B.C. in the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA last Saturday.  And the big reason why we like Team Texas so well are their guards.  6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX has emerged as the leading scorer in the tournament averaging 29.7 ppg and 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX is the third leading scorer in the tournament averaging 26.8 ppg.  In other words, Team Texas' guards are averaging over 55 ppg and really that doesn't begin to tell the story of how dominant they've been, as they easily have been the two best players in the tournament from start to finish.  Assuming that our prediction holds, this would mean that the Team Texas program has finally arrived as one of the premier club team program in the nation.  It also would probably make them the heavy favorite to be named Team-of-the-Summer.  And win or lose, their head coach Rick Williams, who has done a great job with developing the chemistry on this team that also includes 6'5 Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX, who is the unsung hero, as well as the clue that holds the team together, and 6'9 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, who has become a force inside.  That also should get Williams named Coach-of-the-Summer.  Also on the NIKE side of things, it appears that Russell Otis, who is the former head coach at Compton (Dominguez) CA, is in line to bcome the new head coach Lynwood (H.S.) CA and it makes sense that he will like bring most of his former players from Dominguez, including 6'4 Darius Sanders and 6'5 Bobby Jones, with him.  Making the story even more interesting is the fact that the former principal at Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who fired Wayne Merino, also is being hired at Lynwood in an administrative capacity.  In other words, she fired one trouble coach and is arriving at a new school, along with another coach,who has had more than his share of problems during the last year.  Remember, Otis had legal problems that prevented him from coaching last season and, as a result, he was denied the opportunity to coach 7'0 Tyson Chandler during his senior season, as well as having a shot at winning a high school national championship.

It comes as no surprise that 6'8 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has finally made it official for the University of Florida.  If you will recall, Bogan verbally committed to the Gators coaching staff several months ago, but, then people close to him encouraged him to hold off for a while.  However, we had no reason to think this one wasn't done all along.  As a result, Florida's recruiting class, which also includes 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'5 Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'4 Rashid Al-Kaleem from Charlestown (H.S) MA, should  be right up there with Duke in the battle for the top recruiting class.  And the icing the cake will be if Billy Donovan and his staff get 6'9 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, or 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA.  Right now the smart money appears to be on Bosh, but we hear that Michigan and Georgia Tech are also very high on his list.  We have gotten an updated list of schools from Bosh's Team Texas teammate - 6'9 Ike Diogu from Garland (H.S.) TX, as well as 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX and 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI.  Diogu likes Arizona State, Seton Hall, Louisville, Georgetown, Illinois, Arkansas, Texas Tech, and Miami-FL.   We still think Buckman is a near lock for Texas, but he also mentions Missouri, North Carolina, Illinois, and Louisville.  Trannon's list includes Michigan, Michigan State, Florida, Iowa State, and Missouri.  We also find it ironic that when Rick Pitino arrived in Louisville this spring, he was quoted as saying that he didn't plan to recruit players from New York City and New England.   Instead, he thought his recruiting base would be in the South and the Midwest.   However, the Cardinals already have two players from the New York City area in the fold in 6'3 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ and 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Cheshire (Academy) CT and it appears the Cardinals will have a great shot at getting 5'11 Soph Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who is ranked as the #1 sophomore in the nation and was absolutely sensational at the adidasd ABCD Camp earlier this month - in two years.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tell us that 6'5 Kenell Sanchez from Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ has made a verbal commitment to Drexel and a reliable source here at the adidas Big Time Tournanent tells us that 6'4 Gary Neal from Towson (Calvert Hall) MI has picked La Salle.  It also appears that 6'3 Nathan Funk from Sioux City (Heelan) IA has picked Creighton, but our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that this one happened about a week ago.  However, as of yet none of the national media has picked up on it. 

Thursday, July 26, 2001

Well, it looks like 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL and 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA have already caught the disease (planning on going straight from high school into the NBA Draft), as both have elected to stay home and not play this week in either the adidas Big Time Tournament or the AAU Super Showcase.   Apparently they don't want to hurt the value of their stock.  If you will recall Stoudemire was the consensus #1-ranked player at the NIKE All-American Camp.   Collins was ranked #8 at the adidas ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP.   Unfortunately they don't release that showing up and meeting all the challenges night in and night out is something we look at very seriously and, because they are missing in action, we plan to drop both players in our rankings.  At least Stoudemire has a realistic shot at getting drafted high in the NBA Draft.  However, for Collins to think about putting his name into the NBA Draft next spring is about as ridiculous as when 6'9 Tony Key from Compton (Centennial) CA actually did it last spring.  Another similarity is that Collins might have just as much off the court baggage as Key does.  And Collins isn't the only one who is talking about making the biggest mistake of his life.  Apparently the father of 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK thinks his son is ready for the NBA.  But I'm not sure Azubuike will ready for the NBA even after four years of college.  Azubuike is a great athlete, excellent defender, and terrific slasher, but doesn't he have the outside shooting and ball handling skills necessary to play at the highest level?  Nor is he that good a player right now!!  As a matter of fact, he's not any better than the fourth best player in his state behind 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK and 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK has a lot more long range potential.  Remember, only one player smaller than 6'8 was drafted among the top 20 picks in the NBA Draft last spring.  Getting back to Stoudemire, he's not as raw as a lot of people have been led to believe.  Stoudemire has incredible moves and quickness around the basket and he can shoot over you from 15-feet.  Plus, he appears to have the work ethic, heart, and desire necessary to continue to improve his outside shot and post moves.  However, there is another player in the senior class nationally who already is a lot closer to being a finished product than Stoudemire is and he's a lot more versatile.  We're talking about 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who went for 33 points when we watched him lead Baltimore Select past the Southeast Raptors earlier today at the adidas Big Time Tournament.   Not only is Anthony one of the most improved players in the Class of 2002 during the last six months, but he also still has a lot of upside and he's a world-class athlete who reminds us of Tracy McGrady in a lot of ways.  However, he's even more multi-dimensional than McGrady was at the same stage, because he can shoot the lights out from 3-point range and he's better inside.  Also it appears that Anthony hasn't been corrupted by the process yet, which once again brings us back to Stoudemire and the recent public relations nightmare for NIKE.  Unfortunately most of the mainstream media still doesn't get it.   As Dick "Hoops" Weiss pointed out earlier today when I was talking to him at the adidas Big Time Tournament, the problem is not with shoe company war between NIKE and adidas.  Instead, it's all the street agents and shaddy people who are trying to influence these guys to do something that is not in their best interest and get a piece of the pie for themselves. And if something isn't done to stop this trend, it is going to ruin the game at every level. 

Upon arriving this morning at the adidas Big Time Tournamnent this morning we realized that the difference between this tournament and the NIKE Super Showcase was as big as the adidas and NIKE camps earlier this month.  In other words, the adidas Big Time Tournament is absolutely loaded!  And we got to see one of the premier match-ups of the entire tournament right off the bat, as the Northeast Shooting Stars battled Texas Blue Chip I in the 11:40 AM game in the Green Valley Auxillary gym.  We're talking about loaded Texas Blue Chip team, which features 6'10 Chris Bosh from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'3 Daniel Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Ike Diogu from Garland (H.S.) TX, and 6'0 Soph Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, versus 6'6 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the best player in the nation regardless of class, as well as a player who really does have some business thinking about going straight out of high school into the NBA after he graduates from high school two years from now.  James is that good!  Not only is an amazing passer, but he can shoot the three, blocks shots, rebound, and defend.  In other words, he can play any position on the court, just like Magic Johnson.   However, we think James has more potential than Johnson at the same stage, because he shoots it so better than Johnson did.  But let's go one step further and really put the monkey on James' back.  We're talking about one of the best high school players I've eve seen, right up there along with guys like Clark Kellogg, Shawn Kemp, Alonzo Mourning, Lloyd Daniels, Glenn Robinson, Felipe Lopez, Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, and Dajuan Wagner.  And, if 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who went for 33 points when we watched him lead Baltimore Select past the Southeast Raptors earlier today at the adidas Big Time Tournament, and 5'11 Soph Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY both continue to develop at their current pace, they too could get mentioned among that every elite group.  Another big story at the adidas Big Time Tournament was the emergence of several big men we'd never seen before and one them might be one of the biggest sleepers we've seen this summer.  Bob Gibbons does have 6'10 Matt Haryasz from Page (H.S.) AZ ranked among his top 500 nationally in his pre-summer player rankings in All-Star Sports, but most people in our business, including us, had never heard of Haryasz until earlier today when he scored 33 points and dominated the game for the Arizona Heat I against EBO/EO Sports.   Haryasz, who reminds us of Stanford's Curtis Borchardt, is a big white kid with surprising mobility and quickness for a guy his size.  Like most big men in high school, Haryasz needs to get bigger and stronger, but this guy still goes to war on every possession, as he uses his long wing span and quick hands to blocks shots, rebound, and defend.  He also has excellent post moves, good skills, and excellent grades (3.6 gpa and already over 1000 on the SAT).  Arizona, Arizona State, North Arizona, Oregon State, New Mexico, Santa Clara, San Diego, UTEP, Pepperdine, Boise State, Loyola-Marymount, Cal State-Fullerton, Gonzaga, Harvard, and Yale are among the schools that have been showing interest.  However, he says that he's still wide open.   So that list should get longer before it gets shorter.  The big man who came out of the woodwork was 6'11 Martin Iti from Australia.  You, remember him!  He first showed up on the radar screen as a young big man with a lot of potential in Florida three or four years ago, but transferred to Villa Park (H.S.) CA, where he was eventually ruled ineligible due to problems with his transcript.  So he returned home to Australia for a year, but now is back and looking for a prep school or junior college (we've heard it might be Vincennes JC).  Whatever his off-the-court issues might be, Iti is a aggressive shot-blocking athlete who is capable of dominating a game at the high school level.  He also provides the perfect complement on a front-line for the Pump N Run team that includes 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX and 6'11 Jr David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV.   And when you also include 6'6 Nik Caner-Medley from Portland (Deering) ME, 6'4 Jr Omar Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'2 C.J. Watson from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'3 Brandon Rohe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, it is easy to see why a lot of people are making Pump N Run one of the favoirtes to win the adidas Big Time Tournament, which will heat up even more tomorrow morning when the playoffs begin at 9:00 AM.

Wednesday, July 25, 2001

What a difference a year can make.  If you recall, a year ago at this time 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX was a major disappointment, as he'd been slowed injuries and was often wild and out of control.  Well, now he's healthy, he doesn't have to compete with anybody else for playing time at the point guard spot, and he's learned to make better decisions, like getting 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX the ball.   And he was doing that pretty frequently at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL this morning, as Wright hit eight 3-pointers and scored 33 points against the Georgia Stars.  That also opened things up from Hopkins, who scored most of his 31 points going to the hole.  As a matter of fact, Hopkins, who had an electrifying dunk and a incredible block, both of which brought the house down, registered two of the most exciting plays of the entire day in that morning game.  Wright also had 20 points and 6'5 Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX had 18 points in Team Texas' second game of the day, but once again it was Hopkins who stole the show with 27 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.  As a result, Hopkins is finally living up to the reputation that he established for himself at Spiece near the end of his freshman year.  If you recall, Hopkins was being mentioned as the #1 player in his class after he led Team Texas to the championship of the 15-Under Division of that tournament.  Team Texas also has inside presence needed to win the tournament in 6'9 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA.  Sure, Kane is raw, but he's an excellent athlete and he plays extremely hard.  He's also a great kid, which is just an added bonus.  Kane, who is originally from Mauritamia, says he's totally wide open, but did give us a list that includes Clemson, UNC-Charlotte, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Virginia, James Madison, SMU, Kentucky, Michigan, and Mississippi.  So we're looking for Team Texas to be heavily favored to win the AAU Super Showcase.  And their main challenger should be B.A.B.C. (Boston Amateur Basketball Club), which lost to Team Texas in the finals of the NIKE Peach Jam last week.  Not only does B.A.B.C. have excellent guards in 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD, 6'0 Jr Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) MA, and 6'0 Jr Will Blaylock from Boston (East Boston) MA, but they have an excellent inside presence in 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA and 7'0 Keith Butler from Winchendon (School) MA.  We were especially impressed yesterday with Butler, who not only played a lot harder than when we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp two weeks ago, but also showed us he has a great feel for the game and is an outstanding passer.  Speaking of Butler and Francis, they both gave us a list of schools.  Butler says he's still open despite reports that Louisville is the favorite due to Rick Pitino's connections to B.A.B.C. head coach Leo Papile.  His list includes Illinois, Kansas, Wake Forest, Louisville, Cincinnati, Miami-FL, and Seton Hall.   Nothing has changes with Francis, as Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Florida are all in the hunt.   Another team that is absolutely loaded and favored by many to win the tournament is Athletes First, which won this tournament a year ago.  However, we question whether they have good enough point guards to pull off a repeat.  However, Athletes First is absolutely loaded at the other four positions.  Inside they have 6'9 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, and 6'6 Marques Hayden from Putnam City (H.S.) OK and out on the perimeter, 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, and 6'4 Richard Jones from Oklahoma City (Douglass) OK are pretty good as well.  Another team that has the horses, but probably not the right  chemistry to win the championship at the NIKE Peach Jam is Georiga Elite, which features 6'10 Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA, 6'10 Soph Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Almany Thiero from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'3 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA.

We heard it was going to happen a week ago, but now our New York Editor Ron Naclerio is now confirming that 6'6 Tim Doyle from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY has verbally committed to St. John's.   Doyle, who was ranked #231 nationally in the Class of 2002 prior to the start of the summer by the HOOP SCOOP, is best described as a point/forward, because he has excellent ball handling and passing skills.  However, he lacks speed and quickness and he doesn't shot it very well.  So he promises to be a good role player for the Red Storm, but he isn't a guy who will make or break their recruiting class.  However, 6'0 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who is ranked #20 nationally in the rising senior class, would be a player who would help make this a great recruiting class, especially St. John's can also land 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, and/or 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ.   Ingram, who might be a lot closer to making a verbal commitment to St. John's than a lot of people realize, also would give head coach Mike Jarvis the point guard he needs to replace Omar Cook, who declared for the NBA Draft last spring.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also has a pair of commitments to pass along, as 6'8 Nicholas Kern from St. Louis (Vashon) MO, who is ranked #92 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made it official for Saint Louis and 6'1 Mike Lesma from Burlington (Life Center) MA, who is ranked #80 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has decided to attend the University of Massachuesetts.  We think Kern is a perfect fit for the Billikins.  Not only does he have a great upside due to his athleticism, ability to rebound and block shots, and toughness inside, but he also has the ability to step out and hit the open three.  However, he likely would have gotten recruited over if he signed with somebody like Missouri or Illinois.  We're not sold on the fact that Lesma can play point guard at the big time college level, but it may not matter, because he's one of the most explosive athletes, as well exciting players, in the class.  We also believe that Wake Forest may be close to getting a verbal commitment from 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who shot the lights out earlier today when we saw him in the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL and Clemson may be on the verge of getting 6'3 Logan White from Cleveland (University) OH, who impressed us with athleticism and outside shooting, as he finished ranked as the #5 2-guard at the NIKE All-American Camp earlier this month.  It also appears to be a done deal for 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX, who is expected to pick Indiana University as soon as Hoosiers head coach Mike Davis is able to meet face-to-face with his mother (this will probably happen next week).  However, Anderson, who finished ranked #2 at the NIKE All-American Camp, would be a pretty good consolation prize for the Longhorns.  It also looks like Texas is in the lead, along with Missouri, for 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, who was both Most Valuable Player in the camp playoffs and the Most Outstanding Player for the Week at Five-Star's loaded Pitt III session last week, and we know that the Longhorns have always been the favorite school of 6'1 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who, along with Wright, was the best player we saw the first day at the AAU Super Showcase.  But Hopkins says he's still open, as Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Okahoma State, Maryland, and Cincinnati are all still on his list.  Speaking of Cincinnati, Bearcats head coach Bobby Huggins was seen watching Hopkins both times he played today in the AAU Super Showcase and, if he can get Hopkins to commit first, he would probably have to pass on 6'2 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, who recently has emerged as Cincinnati's #1 target at point guard.  And if that happens, don't be surprised if Ole Miss emerges as the new leader for Moore.  We also understand that Indiana is still involved with 6'1 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, but the smart money is on Maryland, St. John's, and Georgetown.

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Yesterday we reported that Auburn assistant coach Mike Wilson had accepted an similar position at the University of Cincinnati and the source on that via our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson was the official University of Cincinnati Athletic Department Web Site.  Yes, they actually put out a press release saying that Wilson had taken the job.  However, it looks like Wilson changed his mind at the last minute and has decided to remain at Auburn.  And this isn't the first time we've been through all this.  If you will recall, in early June we were talking about how Wilson turned down head coach Bob Huggins and, as a result, UAB assistant coach Andy Kennedy was the leading candidate for the job.  And that's exactly what happened today.  Kenndy, who was responsible for landing an excellent recruiting class this spring that included 5'10 Eric Bush from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'5 Antonae Robinson from San Jose City (JC) CA, 6'8 Cedric Davis from Sinclair (JC) OH, and 6'4 Jeff Collins from Birmingham (Ramsay) AL and was ranked #33 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is the new assistant coach for the Bearcats.  Kennedy, who is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in the South, leaves the UAB program in the best shape it's been since Murry Bartow replaced his legendary father (Gene Bartow) as the head coach five years ago.  And his first big assignment will be the same one that Wilson would have had if he'd taken the job at Cincinnati.   We're talking about getting 6'2 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, who currently is ranked #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and is the highest ranked point guard still available.  If you will recall, Moore was a near lock for Auburn.  However, that fell through recently and, as a result, Huggins, who needs a good point guard in a big way, was visible in the stands more often than not whenever Moore played during the first evaluation period this summer.   

Over the weekend our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson told us that the University of Michigan has gotten a late commitment from 6'3 Marcus Bennett from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is academically qualified and eligible for the Wolverines this fall.  We bring this up again, because Bennett is the replacement for 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, who is only a partial qualifier and, as a result, ineligible to play for the Wolverines as a freshman next season.  Instead, Hart, who was ranked #31nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2001, appears to have two options:  1) go to prep school; 2) go to a four-year school as a partial qualifier.  Yes, Michigan State and Ohio State, both of which were heavy involved in his recruitment a year ago, can take partial qualifiers.  However, we'd be shocked if the Wolverines released him to another Big-10 school, especially to a school which is one of their biggest rivals.  Johnson also us that another player - 6'8 Kelly Whitney from Chicago (Marshall) IL - in Michigan's recruiting class, which was ranked #24 nationally this spring, hasn't made it academically and, as a result, it bound for prep school.  However, like everybody else right now, Johnson doesn't seem to know at which prep school Whitney plans to enroll.  Johnson also has found several verbal commitments that occured a week ago, but apparently fell through the cracks.  He's talking about 6'6 Terrance Thomas from Lon Morris (JC) TX, who has committed to Baylor, and 6'7 Supo Jegede from Smoky Hill (Aurora) CO, who has committed to Wyoming.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX verbally committed to Colorado State yesterday.  I'm not sure what position Johnson plays?  But I sure like the way he uses his athleticism and great anticipation to get after it defensively and on the boards.  Which brings us to the only real newsworthy recruiting item of the day - 6'3 Tim Drisdom from  Redland (Calvary Chapel) UT to the University of Utah.  Obviously Andre Miller comparisons are in order.  If you will recall, Miller played for the L.A. Rockfish in high school and then took his game to another level while playing for Rick Majerus in the late 90's.  Drisdom, who is ranked #144 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in the Class of 2002, also plays for L.A. Rockfish.   However, we still think Drisdom, who has a tendancy to over handle, has a long way to go to be as good someday as Miller, who now makes money playing the game for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Upon arriving in Orlando, FL this morning we found out that people running the 2001 AAU Super Showcase think the first day of their tournament is a registration and check-in day.  In other words, it was a non-playing day and, as a result, we will only get one day (tomorrow) to cover this tournament.  So we plan to get there at 8:00 PM to see New York Riverside Church versus the C.I. Gibson High School -Rattles and  Coast to Coast versus the St. Louis Eagles.  Then, at 10:00 AM we will plan to focus on the Kentucky Hoop Stars versus Team Jax, but also will have plenty of other options, as it will be Charlotte Aces versus North Carolina Gaters, the DC Blue Devils versus World Wide Renegades, Alabama Select versus Martin Brothers Iowa Select, All-Ohio versus Tamarac Tarheels, and Baltimore Blue verus the Orlando Force.  Next, at 11:30 AM it will be the Tallahassee Wildcats versus YOMCA, the Challenge versus the Gulf Coast Stars II, Tennessee Travelers versus NIKE Team Florida, Colorado X-Press versus the New Jersey Celtics, Illinois Warriors versus Ohio Valley AAU, and the Spiece Pistols versus the Durham Disciples and at 1:00 PM it will be Athletes First versus the New York Jaguars, Arkansas Rockets versus Georgia Jazz, Howard Pulley Panthers versus Team Baltimore, Bloomington Red versus Gulf Coast Stars I, Team Texas versus Georgia Stars, and Team Memphis versus Central Florida PAL.   That will be followed at 2:30 PM by Hampton Roads versus the Georgia Hawks, Albany City Rocks versus Grass Roots Canada, Arkansas Wings versus Magnolia Stars, The Family versus New Jersey Rap, B.A.B.C, versus Shreveport Bossier Select, and Bray Center versus G-Rebs.  The final set of opening round game in pool play will feature the Houston Hoops versus the New Jersey Demons and Georgia Elite versus the SYF Players at 4:00 PM.   Also at 4:00 PM the teams in Pool M (Riverside Church, Coast to Coast, St. Louis Eagles, and C.I. Gibson High School - Rattles) and Pool J (Kentucky Hoop Stars, Charlotte Aces, North Carolina Gaters, and Team Jax) will play their second games of the day.   That will be followed at 5:30 PM by the teams in Pool I (DC Blue Devils, Alabama Select, Martin Brothers Iowa Select, and World Wide Renegades), Pool L (Illinois Warriors, Spiece Pistols, Durham Disciples, and Ohio Valley AAU), and Pool G (Tallahassee Wildcats, Challenge, Gulf Coast Stars II, and YOMCA).  Then, at 7:00 PM it will be the teams in Pool F (All Ohio, Baltimore Blue, Orlando Force, and Tamarac Tarheels), Pool H (Team Texas, Team Memphis, Central Florida PAL, and Georgia Stars), and Pool K (Tennessee Travelers, Colorado X-Press, New Jersey Celtics, and NIKE Team Florida) in their second games of the day.  We also plan to see some of the 8:30 PM games with teams in Pool E (Howard Pulley Panthers, Bloomington Red, Gulf Coast Stars I, and Team Baltimore), Pool A (Athletes First, Arkansas Rockets, Georgia Jazz, and New York City Jaguars), and Pool C (The Family, Arkansas Wings, Magnolia Stars, New Jersey City Rap).  However, we won't get to see any of the 10:00 PM games with teams in Pool B (Hampton Roads, Albany City Rocks, Grass Roots Canada, and the Georgia Hawks) and Pool D (B.A.B.C., Bray Center, G-Rebs, and Shreveport Bossier Select), because we'll already be at the airport getting ready to catch a flight to Las Vegas, NV, where we'll spend the next four days covering the adidas Big Time Tournament.  And after that's over, it will be back to Orlando, FL for the last four days of the 2001 AAU 17-Under Boys Basketball National Championship.  Nobody can provide you with the in-sight we can, but the AAU people will keep you on top of how both 2001 AAU Super Showcase and 2001 AAU 17-Under Boys Basketball National Championship are unfolding, if you click on http://www.aausports.org.

Monday, July 23, 2001

Well, it looks like we knew what we were talking about 10 days ago when we reported that Auburn assistant coach Mike Wilson was still the leading candidate for the top spot at the University of Cincinnati.   That's right!  Ohio Editor Chris Johnson is reporting that Wilson has been hired as Bob Huggins #1 assistant and, as a result, we look for the Bearcats' to continue be among the leaders in our recruiting rankings every year.  If you will recall, Wilson has been an overachiever on the recruiting trail dating all the way back to the days when we first knew him as an aspiring young assistant at Slippery Rock, which was at the Division II level, in the early '90.  Since that time Wilson has made stops at Penn State, McNeese State, UNC-Wilmington, Baylor, Rhode Island, and Auburn and in every case he has left the program in better shape than when he arrived.  What makes Wilson such a great recruiter?  Contacts, attention to detail, and hard work.  Wilson also is the perfect guy to step in at Cincinnati and hit the ground running, as the second live evaluation period in the month of July begins day after tomorrow.  In addition to knowing how to get done on the recruiting trail, Wilson also has been close to Huggins for years, which should help ensure a smooth transition.  And Wilson's #1 target promises to be 6'2 Chadd Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, who was supposed to be a near lock for Auburn until very recently when Tigers head coach Cliff Ellis decided that Moore wasn't the point guard he wanted.  We also understand that the verbal commitment by 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (John Ehret) LA to the University of California isn't going to hold up.  Apparently he has decided that he wants to attend college closer to home.  So make Tulane the favorite and LSU a strong second.  Purdue also got a commitment over the weekend from 6'7 Melvin Buckley from South Holland (Thornwood) IL.  Otherwise it is surprisingly quiet as we get ready to go to Orlando, FL tomorrow morning for two days at the Super Showcase.  Then, it will be on to Las Vegas, NV for the adidas Big-Time Tournament and back to Orlando, FL for the National 17-Under AAU Tournament.

We are finally finished with our write-up in of the NIKE All-American Camp and, despite the fact the camp was down when compared to previous years, we found a number of positive things to write about the camp, like the effort given by a number of the top ranked players in camp, the number of excellent sophomores in camp, and the depth at both forward spots.  When we take an even closer look and compare the top players from the NIKE All-American Camp with the top 50 players from the adidas ABCD Camp, we that it's not as lopsided, at least near the top, as we originally expected.  It comes as no surprise that 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL edges out 6'6 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH as the best player in either both camp.  If you will recall, Stoudemire was a dominant force all week at NIKE, while James was unable to get into the flow of things at adidas until they switched him to point guard mid-way through the week.  However, it may come as a surprise that we gave three other players - 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, and  6'10 Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL - who rank among the top 10 from the NIKE-American Camp the edge over the player ranked in the same position at the adidas ABCD Camp.  Francis gets the nod over 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappin (H.S.) NJ due to consistency during the week.  Remember, Cooke's game fell way off after his match-up against James on the third day at the adidas Camp.  Brown gets the nod over 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, because he did more to get his teammates involved during the camp.  In other words, if you're as selfish as Roberson was at adidas, you aren't going to get any breaks in our rankings.  Thompson, who made a verbal commit to Duke last winter, edges out Dockery, because he really elevated his game the last two days, which is when Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski was in attendance.  NIKE also wins four of the next five spots, as 6'3 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA edges out 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'8 Jr Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX beats out 6'9 Ike Diogu from Garland (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Rashad McCants from Worcester (Academy) MA was better than 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Cheshire (Academy) CT, and 6'2 Marsahll Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD was clearly better than 6'4 Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI.  However, it's all up hill after that, as NIKE wins only 12 of the next 35 spots.  And three of those 12 spots are at #48 with 6'4 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK over 6'10 Jr Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC, #49 with 6'2 Soph JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC over 6'6 Jr Marcus Sikes from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, and #50 with 6'9 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC over 5'11 Soph Eric Price from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD.  And our guess is that it would be even more lopsided in favor of adidas if we went any deeper than #50. 

HOOP SCOOP'S EXCLUSIVE NIKE & adidas Camp Comparison

Rank

Top 50 Players from the adidas ABCD Camp

Winner

Top 50 Players from the NIKE All-American Camp

1.	LeBron James- Jr	NIKE	Amare Stoudemire
2.	Sebastian Telfair-Soph	adidas	Rashad Anderson
3.	Raymond Felton	adidas	Sheldon Williams
4.	Leon Powe-Jr	adidas	Chris Rogers
5.	Kendrick Perkins-Jr	adidas	Greg Brunner
6.	Leonard Cooke	NIKE	Torin Francis
7.	Chris Bosh	adidas	J.J. Redick
8.	DeAngelo Collins	adidas	Kennedy Winston
9.	Anthony Roberson	NIKE	Dee Brown
10.	Sean Dockery	NIKE	Michael Thompson
11.	Matt Trannon	NIKE	Jarrett Jack
12.	Ike Diogu	NIKE	Ndudi Ebi-Jr
13.	Elijah Ingram	adidas	Jimmy McKinney
14.	Francisco Garcia	NIKE	Rashad McCants
15.	Maurice Ager	NIKE	Marshall Strickland
16.	Mike Williams-Soph	adidas	Alou Kane
17.	Gerry McNamara	adidas	Kris Humphries-Jr
18.	Antonie Wright	adidas	Dion Harris-Jr
19.	Allan Ray	adidas	Brian Randle-Jr
20.	Charlie Villanueva-Jr	NIKE	Evan Burns
21.	Antonio Lawrence	adidas	Yusef Baker
22.	Travis Outlaw-Jr	adidas	Logan White
23.	Chadd Moore	NIKE	Ousmane Konate-Jr
24.	Daniel Horton	adidas	Marques Hayden
25.	Travis Garrison	NIKE	Michael Bush-Jr

26.	Charles Davis	adidas	Hassan Adams
27.	Derrick Byars	NIKE	Mario Moore
28.	Darius Washington-Soph	NIKE	Matt Walsh
29.	Jason Fraser	adidas	J.R. Morris
30.	Adam Haluska	adidas	Luol Deng-Jr
31.	Olu Famutini-Jr	NIKE	Julius Lamptey
32.	Trevor Ariza-Jr	adidas	Jeff Horner
33.	Chris Taft-Jr	adidas	Wes Wilkinson
34.	Deron Williams	adidas	Shannon Brown-Jr
35.	Marquis Webb-Jr	NIKE	Rashaun Freeman
36.	Paul Davis	adidas	Brian Johnson-Jr
37.	Maurice Petty	adidas	Devon Evertsen-Jr
38.	Jai Miller-Jr	adidas	Jeremey Ingram-Jr
39.	Omar Wilkes-Jr	adidas	Denham Brown
40.	Curtis Withers	adidas	Kenneth Harris-Jr
41.	Jason Horton-Soph	adidas	Almany Thiero
42.	Joshua Smith-Soph	NIKE	Corey Gibbs-Jr
43.	Darryl Watkins-Jr	adidas	J.R. Reynolds
44.	John Winchester	NIKE	Kelenna Azubuike
45.	Warren Scott-Jr	adidas	Chris Ellis
46.	Joey Cameron-Frosh	adidas	Chris McCray
47.	Brandon Stockton	adidas	Roy Enright
48.	Major Wingate-Jr	NIKE	DeAngelo Alexander
49.	Marcus Sikes-Jr	NIKE	JamesOn Curry-Soph
50	Eric Price-Soph	NIKE	Shavlik Randolph

Sunday, July 22, 2001

Allen Rubin was at Eastern Invitational at the College of New Jersey on Friday for the camp playoffs and all-star games and he tells us that the 6'7 Mani Messy from Winchendon (School) MA, who was ranked #12 at the power forward spot in our final adidas ABCD Camp rankings, continues to make a name for himself this summer.  Not only did he have 27 points in the Top 20 All-Star Game, bu he also was named MVP for week.   However, Messy was not the leading scorer in the Top 20 All-Star Game.   Instead, that honor went to 6'5 J.R. Smith from Lakewood (H.S.) NJ, who shot the lights out, as he eight 3-pointers en route to a 36-point game.  The best playmaker for the week was 5'11 Jr T. J. Banninster from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL and the player most likely to get overlooked is 6'8 Nana Mensah-Bensu from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.   Mensah-Bensu was one of the best players in camp during the week, but he got hurt and, as a result, didn't play in the Top 20 All-Star Game.  Also ranked among the top players in camp were 6'10 Jr Grant Billmeier from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Willie Irick from Teaneck (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Darcy Bonner from Wilmette (Loyola Academy) IL, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, and 6'6 Reshaiwne Bowers from Bowers (Lovett) GA. The MVP in the Top 40 All-Star Game was 6'10 Andrew Morrison from New Haven (Wilbur Cross) CT with eight points, six rebounds, four blocks, and numerous alters and the MVP in the Top 60 All-Star Game was 6'0 Jr Donnell Henley from Hamilton (McCorriston) NJ.  The two best sophomores in camp, according to Rubin, were 6'0 Soph Emery Outland from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI and 6'4 Soph Brett Johnson from Medford (Shawnee) NJ.  However, 5'8 Soph Mai Spann-Wilson from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who finished with 10 points and four assists, was named MVP in the Top 20 Underclassmen All-Star Game, which included 9th and 10th graders exclusively.  The MVP of the Top 40 Underclassmen All-Star Game was 5'8 Soph Darius Lane from Jacksonville (Robert E. Lee) VA.

We stayed at Five-Star yesterday to attend the award ceremony for their loaded Pitt III session and the top player in camp was 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX.  Not only was Buckman named the Most Outstanding Player of the Week and the Most Valuable Player in the NBA Playoffs, but he also was the leading scorer (19 points) for his team in the Orange-White All-Star Game and almost was named MVP in the game, despite the fact he was playing on the losing team.   Also having a big week was 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who was the leading scorer in the NBA averaging 15.6 ppg, MVP in the Orange-White All-Star Classic with 16 points and nine rebounds, and the winner of the Best Rebounder Award in camp.  The winner of the Best Playmaker, as well as the Sportsmanship Award, was 6'3 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA.   The Best Defender Award went to 6'1 Ray Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC.  The Most Promising Prospect is 6'9 Jr Nick Stafford from Worcester (Academy) MA, who is eligible for this award, because he is a repeat junior.   The Mr. Hustle Award went to 6'5 Andre Vanterpool from Manhasset (H.S.) NY, who also was the biggest sleeper in camp.  Vanterpool also was one of three winners of the Mr. Station 13 Award, along with 6'0 Josh Burr from Peachtree City (McIntosh) GA and 6'4 Michael Lang from Chicago (Gordon Tech) IL.  The Role Player of the Week was 6'7 Matt Fannin from Lakewood (H.S.) OH, 6'4 Robby Bostain from Snellville (Brookville) GA was the Most Improved Player for the Week, and Mr. Stations was 6'4 Raheem Moss from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH.  Sixth Man Award went to 6'5 Jr Romeo Travis from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH.  Especially noteworthy was the fact that 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappin (H.S.) NJ and 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, both of whom were among the most talented players in camp, didn't win any awards.  And they didn't deserve to, unless you count Fraser's second half performance in the Orange-White All-Star Game.  Hopefully this will serve as the same time of wake-up call that Sumpter received when he didn't make the Senior All-Star Game a week and a half ago at the adidas ABCD Camp.  The leading scorer in the Developmental League, which featured all the outstanding young players in camp was 6'1 Soph DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA with 24.0 ppg.  That alone is very impressive, because only two players in the history of the camp have scored more points in the Developmental League.  Nelson also hit the trifecta by being named MVP in the Playoffs, Most Outstanding Player for the Week in the Developmental League, and MVP in the All-Star Game with 20 points.  Comparisons to North Carolina's Ronald Curry may also be in order, as Nelson also is a tremendous quarterback on the gridiron.  And North Carolina already is right at the top of his list of favorite schools, along with Arizona, California, Duke, and UCLA.  Other major award winners in the Developmental League were 5'10 Soph Pat  Doherty from Scranton (Prep) PA, who was named Best Defender; 5'9 Soph Justin Dick from Cheshire (Academy) CT, who was named Best Playmaker; 6'0 Soph Brandon Johnson from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who was Mr. Hustle; and 6'4 Frosh Jamelle Cornley from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who the Best Rebounder.  Cornley also was the only freshman named to the player in the Developmental All-Star Game and was one of the better players in the game.  The Role Player of the Week was 6'0 Soph D.J. Fritz from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, Mr. Stations went to 5'8 Soph Jeremy Jones from Galena Park (H.S.) TX, and 6'9 Soph Jeffrey Salovski from Bristol (Central) CT was the Most Improved.  Two other players from the Developmental League who have to be mentioned are 6'9 Soph Peter Prowitt from McLean (Potomac) VA and 6'2 Soph Dwight O'Neil from Fresno (Washington Union) CA.  As a matter of fact, after Nelson we thought Prowitt and O'Neil were the two best players in the league.  Prowitt is a skilled white kid with good hands, surprisingly shot blocking ability, and great post moves for somebody so big and so young.  O'Neil is a big-time athlete who looks and plays a lot like former UCLA player Toby Bailey and current UCLA player Ray Young.  The leading scorer in the NCAA, which the league primarily for juniors, was a tie between 6'5 Mike Duncan from Cleveland (Catholic) OH and 6'1 Jr Joel Whymer from Port Huron (North) MI, both of whom averaged 16.1 ppg.  The MVP in NCAA All-Star Game was 6'3 Ben Rhoda from Centerville (H.S.) OH with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks.   Rhoda also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Week in the NCAA.  The Playoff MVP was 6'5 Jr Luke Owings from Washington (Gonzaga) DC.   The Best Defender was 5'9 Mike Mott from Sto-rox (McKees Rocks) PA, the Best Playmaker was 5'11 Jr Grant Urbanski from Brecksville (H.S.) OH, and the Best Rebounder was 6'4 Jr Eric Hart from Westchester (St. Joseph's) IL.  Mr. Hustle went to 5'10 Jr Kenny Burke from St. Louis (Cardinal Ritter) MO, the Role Player of the Week was 6'1 Jr Eric Earnhart from West Liberty (H.S.) OH, the Most Improved was 6'2 Sean Fine from Milburn (H.S.) NJ, and 5'9 Jr Jim Tucker from Johnstown (Richland) PA took home Mr. Stations. 

Saturday, July 21, 2001

After a last ditch effort failed to lure 6'4 Ricardo Billings from Detroit (Rogers) MI away from Ohio State a week ago, it looks like Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has landed two players that were leaning towards other schools right up until the 11th hour.  If you will recall, early in week 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN picked the Spartans over Ohio State and Iowa.   Then, two days ago 6'4 Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI followed suit.  Ager is an especially important commitment for Michigan State, because his commitment helps stop the flow of Michigan talent to the University of Missouri.  Remember, two years ago the Tigers stole 6'9 Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI and 6'4 Rickey Paulding from Detroit (Renaissance) MI.  Then, a year ago Missouri also landed 6'9 Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI and 6'9 Jeff Ferguson from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI.  Speaking of Whaley, who has had more than his share of off the court problems in the last year, he now appears to be heading to West Virginia.  Two other late additions from the Class of 2002 that our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has made us aware of are 6'2 Marcus Bennett from Detroit (Renaissance) MI to the University of Michigan and 6'9 Thomas Soltau from Denmark to Northwestern.  Bennett promises to be a role player, but Johnson likes Soltau's potential.  "He's the perfect fit for the Northwestern system," says Johnson, who saw Soltau last July at Five-Star.  "He's a 6'9 power forward who can step out and stroke the three."  Johnson also tells us that Penn State has added another commitment from 6'10 Robert Summers from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH and it will be especially interesting to see will be right on this one.   Bob Gibbons of All-Stars Sports has gone on record saying that Summers has Terrence Morris-like skills.  However, Johnson thinks Summers is more of project, who is at least two or three years away from contributing at the Big-10 level.  And apparently a lot of big time schools agree with Johnson, as Robert Morris and Hampton were the only other schools to offers Summers to-date.  Penn State also recently landed 6'1 Brandon Cameron from Gary (West Side) IN about a week ago and, as a result, are believed to be one of the favorites for 6'10 Chris Hunter from Gary (West Side) IN.  We also have confirmed that Marquette has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'9 Steve Novak from Brown Deer (H.S.) WI, who is one of the best 3-point shooters nationally in class and, as a result, a top 100 senior nationally after his performance at the adidas ABCD Camp, and 6'2 Travis Smith from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA has picked the University of San Diego.  We're also still waiting on 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX to make it official for Indiana University.

6'7 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH and 6'10 Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL both failed to show up at Five Star Pitt III this week, but thanks to a lot of hard work put in by Stu Lash, who is the marketing and recruiting director for the Five-Star Basketball Camp, during the last year, this session turned out to be the most talented Pittsburgh-session since the mid-90's.   The two biggest names in camp were 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC and 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, but both were slowed by injuries in the Orange-White All-Star Game last night.  Instead, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Brad Buckman from Austin (Westlake) TX, and 6'9 Jr Nick Stafford from Worcester (Academy) MA were last night's heroes.  Sumpter, who has played extremely well since the adidas ABCD Camp, where was played so poorly that he wasn't named to play in the Senior All-Star Game, was named the MVP in the Orange-White Classic last night.   However, he was not the leading scorer or the best player in the game for our money.  Instead, Stafford was the high scorer with 20 points and Buckman was the best player.  However, Buckman, who brought the house down with earthshattering dunk after earthshattering dunk, played on the losing team.  Buckman didn't play well earlier in the summer at the adidas ABCD Camp, but he convinced us last night that he's a legitimate top 100 senior nationally.  He also reminds our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson of Troy Murphy, although Buckman doesn't have the outside shooting touch that Murphy possesses.  Fraser didn't do much earlier in the week or in the first half of the game last night, but after he got dunked on by Buckman a number times, he apparently woke up and scored all but four of his 17 points in the second half.  Fraser also had nine rebounds and four blocked shots.  Speaking of rebounding, the leading rebounder in the game was 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH.  However, Carmona, who is best described as a great athlete and relentless warrior, grabbed most of his 11 boards and scored most of his 11 points early in game.  The biggest sleeper in game was 6'5 Andre Vanterpool from Manhasset (H.S.) NY, who prior to coming to camp had only on serious scholarship offer from St. Francis-NY.  Vanterpool is an incredible athlete, tenacious defender, and terrific slasher.  This was especially evident in the all-star when he executed a dazzling 360-degree dunk in the all-star, which brought the house down.  Vanterpool also is an incredible shot blocker for his size and is extremely active inside.   However, his lack of size, strength, and outside shooting are question marks.   Also showing improvement during the week were 6'7 Jr Omari Israel from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD and 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH.  The impressive thing about Lavender, besides being an excellent ball handler, was that all week his team increased its lead whenever he entered the game and decreased it when he was on the bench.  Israel, who had 14 points and nine rebounds in the Orange-White All-Star Game, finally is starting to become more aggressive and comfortable playing inside.  The biggest disappointment in the All-Star Game was 6'3 Jarrett Jack from Worcester (Academy) MA, who had 11 points, four assists, and nine turnovers.  Enough said!

Wednesday, July 18, 2001, Thursday, July 19, 2001, and Friday, July 20, 2001

I was just about finished with our write-up on the NIKE All-American Camp on Wednesday afternoon and looking forward to making my appearance at Eastern Invitational at the College of New Jersey.   I was right down to the last line of the last paragraph when my computer screen went blank.  The same thing had happened two days earlier, but it appeared to be only a temporary problem after taking it to Best Buy on Monday evening.  However, this time the computer technican informed me that my computer was dead.  Fortunately the computer still had 11 months remaining on a three-year warranty, but unfortunately to fix it they would have to send it back to the company that made the computer.  In other words, they were going to hold my computer hostage for three weeks while it was being repaired.  Obviously this was totally unacceptable.  It also was becoming obviously that it was time to buy a new computer.  And since nothing I have ever done in terms of setting up computers has been easy, I purchased the new labtop in New Jersey on Thursday morning and, then, made an 11-hour drive home.  The plan was to give the new labtop to Dennis Branson, who is the person who had set up everything on my last computer and, as a result, speed up the process.  By noon today we were up, operational, and heading to Five-Star's loaded Pitt III session.  All this important to tell you, because we now have a 3-1/2 year history of providing updating our web site on a daily basis.  As a matter of fact, this is only the third time we've experience computer problems that have caused us to be down for more than a day.   And hopefully the potential for this happening in the future will be reduced even further once we get my old labtop, which will serve as a very reliable back-up, back in early August.  Obviously we won't count the three days we've been down towards the time on your subscription.  We also will have to wait until August to get basic things like email operational.  Speaking of email, I am not the greatest at looking at email.  Eventually I see most of it, but if you need to get ahold of me and it is important, don't send me an email.  Instead, call me at 1-502-493-0043.  My calls are usually always forwarded when I'm on the road to my digit phone, so I'm usually never out of the loop, unless I'm totally occupied with a computer disaster, like the one we experienced the last three days.  Thanks for you patience and understanding with regards to this matter.  Normal operations will begin again tomorrow, which is when we provide you with highlights from the Five-Star Basketball Camp, as well as catch-up on any signings and commitments that have occured within the last several days.   We also will have the highlights from Eastern Invitational, which is being covered by our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, and re-write our NIKE All-American Camp Report this weekend.  So stay tuned! 

Tuesday, July 17, 2001

Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff wanted to make sure I knew that Team Texas had won the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA and right now he looks like a genius, because he's the guy who told us last winter how strong the Dallas, TX area was in the Class of 2002.  If you will recall, the Texas Blue Chip All-Stars also finished second over the weekend in the Three Stripes Classic at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.  In other words, two teams for Dallas, TX were playing for the champion in two of the premier tournaments of the summer over the weekend.   And two other Dallas-area teams - the Ft. Worth Lions and the Team Texas Select - were also in the final four of the Great American Shootout.  Getting back to the NIKE Peach Jam, apparently 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX was as good in Augusta, GA as he was bad a week earlier at the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN.  Not only did Wright take home tournament honors, but he scored 17 points in the championship game, as Team Texas knocked off B.A.B.C.(Boston Amateur Basketball Club) in the championship game.  Ironically these two teams featured two players who likely will be teammates next year at Indiana University.  If you will recall, 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykes (South Carroll) MD, who was ranked #15 by the HOOP SCOOP at the NIKE All-American Camp, committed to Indiana on the final day of camp last week.  And Wright is expected to make it official for the Hoosiers any day now.  Getting back to Team Texas' impressive 57-55 victory in the championship at the NIKE Peach Jam, the other big hero was 5'11 Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who played great defense, run the show and dished the ball, and shot the heck out of it.  As a matter of fact, he hit six 3-pointers in one game.  As a result, his list, which currently has Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, and Texas being mentioned as the leader, promises to get longer before it gets shorter.  Also playing extremely well for Team Texas were 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) TX, 6'5 Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX, and 6'4 Josh Washington from Lubbuck (Monterey) TX.   Right now Texas Tech appears to be the leader for Washington, but this athletic wing forward still appears to be wide open, as a lot of other schools making a strong push.  Johnson, who does all the dirty work inside, but down the road should be able to develop into a wing forward, has Tulsa, SMU, New Mexico, Boston College, and Colorado all high on his list.  Kane, who finished ranked #4 among centers at the NIKE All-American Camp, is getting the most interest from schools like Clemson, Boston College, and SMU. 

It looks like Ohio State and Michigan State are both 1-1 for players they were recruiting who made verbal commitments yesterday.  It comes as no surprise that 6'4 Ricardo Billings from Detroit (Rogers) MI, who is ranked #57 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked Ohio State over Michgian State.  Not only have the Buckeyes been there the longest, but sources close to Billings tell us that this one has been done for some time.  Reggie Tisdale, the editor and publisher of Indiana Basketball News, informs us that 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, who is ranked #99 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked Michigan State over Iowa and Ohio State.   Rowley is a physical specimen and a good athlete for his size. But he's no Zach Randolph.  Not only does he not have the offensive skills and agility around the basket that Randolph showed in high school, but he also is not as tough as Randolph.   And that's the key for Rowley.  If the light ever clicks on and he ever takes his game to a higher intensity level, the