HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2002

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 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002

Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Two days ago we told you the rumors were not true that 6'9 Brent Petway from Griffin (H.S.) GA having verbally committed to the University of Michigan.  But we also added that the Wolverines were the leader over schools like Syracuse, Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown, and Virginia and we even mentioned the fact Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker was at his game on Monday morning at the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball Junior National Championship in Orlando, FL.  However, we didn't tell you that Michigan assistant coach Charles Ramsey had been recruiting Petway for two years and, as a result, was in a perfect position to get one of the fastest rising seniors nationally when he exploded at this tournament.  Prior to the summer Petway was ranked #15 in the class of 2003 in Georgia by the HOOP SCOOP, but he was instrumental in the Georgia Stars advancement into the final four yesterday at the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball Junior National Championship in Orlando, FL.  We're talking about an incredible athlete, excellent shot blocker, and terrific rebounder who is still just like a deer learning to run.  In other words, Petway has an enormous upside and he's also pretty good right now.  As a matter of fact, we'll probably rank him among the top 50 nationally when we update our rankings in August.  Petway also promises to be one of inside players that Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker must sign in order to take the program to the highest level.  He also more than makes up for the loss of 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI, who picked the Spartans over the Wolverines a week ago.  Currently Nauymick is ranked #48 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the potential to move even higher.   But when it's all said and done, Petway has even more potential, plus just like Naymick, he's a great kid and he hasn't been corrupted by too much attention too early.  And similar to the situation with Petway two days ago, we're hearing that 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who is ranked #60 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Villanova.  However, our sources tell us that it's not done yet.  But it doesn't mean it's not going to happen as soon as tonight or tomorrow.  If he had to lay odds, we'd say it's about 99%, but it's always nice to let the kid make the announcement.  Nardi should provide the perfect complement to the two guards that Villanova landed a year ago in Allan Ray and Randy Foye and, if the Wildcats can also get 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends) PA, then Villanova head coach Jay Wright would not only have one of the best, but also one of the deepest, backcourts in college basketball.  Villanova also could once again have one of the best recruiting classes, if Shakur, 6'10 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, and any one of the numerous other players they've involved with picks the Wildcats.   Also playing extremely well and, as a result, moving way up in our rankings at the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball Junior National Championship was 6'8 Reyshawn Terry from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC.  Not only did he score 18 points in the championship game, but Terry and 6'1 Chris Paul from Clemmons (North Forsyth) NC were the two players largely responsible for the Kappa Magic's, 78-68, upset victory against All-Ohio Red in the title game.  After the game Terry told us that his final three schools were North Carolina, N.C. State, and Maryland and that also appears to be the order.  Our guess is that he will go to N.C. State.  Obviously the fact that Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek, assistant coach Larry Harris, and assistant coach Mark Phillips were all sitting in the first row watching Terry's every move was to their advantage, but we still think he's the Tar Heels'to lose.  And they just might do that, because North Carolina only has three more scholarships available in the Class of 2003 and Class of 2004 and they have to sign several big men, plus they appear to be interested in landing another point guard, as they are involved with most of the top point guards in the senior class nationally.   Terry has the athleticism, outside shooting, ball handling skills, and size to be a prototypical 3-man at both the college level and someday in the NBA, but he does need to get bigger and stronger and develop a better feel for the game in order to get ranked higher than the 30-50 range nationally, which is where we plan to rank him in our rankings in August.  Getting back to Paul, he was the easy choice for tournament MVP honors, as he led the Kappa Magic with 30 points in the championship game, including 16 points in the 4th quarter, and he scored 16 of his 18 points in the semi-finals last night, as the Kappa Magic beat BABC in overtime, 59-54.  Paul didn't play well when we saw at the NIKE All-American Camp in early July, at least in part, because he was playing out of position, but he more than justified his top 10 national ranking in this tournament.   Not only does Paul have a great feel for the game, but he has excellent ball handhing and passing skills, the quickness and athleticism necessary to get it done in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, and a deadly 3-point shot.  While this lose may have cost All-Ohio Red our prestigious Team-of-the-Summer Award, it won't cost 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH our HOOP SCOOP Player-of-the-Summer Award.  Lavender came up big the previous night with 27 points, including 14 points in the 4th quarter, against the Georgia Stars and tried to do it again in the championship game, he scored 16 of his 21 points, including three treys, in the second half.  Also chipping in with 16 points was 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH.  Also surprising a lot of people in the semi-finals last night were 5'11 Matt Causey from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, who scored 14 of his team's first 27 points en route to a 23-point effort, and 6'7 Charles Burch from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, who is terrific on the boards and extremely effective offensively around the basket. 

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

The last few days in July truly are the dog-days of summer for high school basketball players, college coaches, and recruiting and, as a result, we try not penalize anybody who is tired,  runs out of gas, or obviously just wants to go home.   Thus, was the case last night with 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who was mediocre at best, as the Tallahassee Wildcats lost 81-77 to BABC in the quarterfinals of the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball Junior National Championship in Orlando, FL.  Also last night Kappa Magic beat the Spiece Gym Rats, 70-51, to set up tonight's 8:30 PM semi-finals game against BABC.  The other semi-finals game will be played at 7:00 PM between the All-Ohio Red, which beat Louisiana Select, 63-56, and the Georgia Stars, which beat the Arkansas Hawks, 59-52, in the quarterfinals last night.  Our guess is that it will be All-Ohio Red and the Kappa Magic in the championship game, which will tip-off at 1:00 PM tomorrow afternoon and, if that happens, we could see one of the best match-ups of the entire summer, as two of the top point guards in the nation will square off.  We're talking about 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who is one of the leading candidates for HOOP SCOOP Player-of-the Summer honors, against 6'0 Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, who is a not too poor man's version of 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, as well as the #10-ranked senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  We're still waiting for Lavender to have an incredible game like he did several times in both the NIKE Peach Jam and the AAU Super Showcase, but Paul was tremendous both times we saw him yesterday.  As a matter of fact, Paul has played so well that Brick Oettinger of the Recruiter's Handbook, and PrepStars.com now is telling everybody that he's the best point guard in the nation.   Instead of Lavender, the player who really stepped up from All-Ohio Red last night was 6'0 Jr Denzel Lyles from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, as he hit all the big shots down the stretch.  Lyles has always been excellent in transition, but last night he also impressed everybody with his 3-point shooting.  Another player who has played extremely well in this tournament is 6'9 Brent Petway from Griffin (H.S.) GA, who has emerged into one of the fastest rising big men in the senior class and, as a result, is now on the bubble for our top 100 nationally.  He also provides the perfect complement on the Georgia Stars to 6'3 Tim Morris from Smyrna (Whitfield) GA, 6'5 Almond Morris from Marietta (McEachern) GA, and 5'11 Matt Causey from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, who provide the outside firepower.   Another player who really impressed us today was 6'9 Vincent Hunter from Little Rock (Fair) AR.  We're talking about a long-lanky athlete with an incredible wing span, a soft shooting touch, and the ability to run the court like a deer.   He's also every bit as good as big guys like 6'10 Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL and 6'10 Tyrone Nelson from Hempstead (H.S.) TX, but right now he doesn't have the name recognition and, as a result, is currently a major sleeper nationally.  Several other big kids we didn't know about until today, but who played well were 7'1 Bryce Husak from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) IA, 6'10 Joshua Boone from Sykesville (South Carroll) MD, and 6'8 Jr Rudy Gay from Baltimore (Eastern Tech) MD.  Husak is intriguing right off the bat, because he's 7'1 and fairly mobile and coordinated for a big white kid his size.  However, he's also got some skills, as well as a nice touch and good hands around the basket.   Boone is the best of the three right now, because he's strong, athletic, and aggressive inside.  He also is very active, as he makes things happen at both ends of the court.  We've been told that Georgetown has encouraged Boone to attend prep school, despite the fact he currently is academically qualified, but he didn't mention the Hoyas when we got a list of schools today.  Instead, he mentioned Rutgers, St. Joseph's, Connecticut, and West Virginia.  Gay is just a rising junior, but he's got tremendous natural talent, a soft touch, and big time athleticism, which translates in a big time player.  In other words, this is one to keep track of for the future. 

Believe it or not, verbal commitments continue to flow in, despite the fact the entire month of July is dead for contact between college coaches and players and their club team coaches at camps and AAU-like events.  As a matter of fact, the only contact colleges can have with recruit is by phone when the player is at home, which often is rare this time of year.  The latest two commitments are from 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame Prep) MA to Mississippi State and 6'10 Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL to Alabama.  Ervin's commitment may seen like a surprise, because kids from the Northeast don't usually sign with schools in the Deep South.   However, this isn't the first players Bulldogs head coach Rick Stansbury, who still recruits like he's an assistant and, as a result, it second to none in the business when it comes to focusing in on a player and getting his man, has gone into somebody else's backyard and stolen.  Remember, Stansbury landed 6'8 Robert Jackson from Milwaukee (Washington) WI in 1998 and three years ago he beat Alabama for Mario Austin.  This also doesn't come as much of a surprise, because we knew that Mississippi State had shown a lot of interest in Ervin last spring.  However, our guess is that Stansbury didn't pull the trigger at the time, because he knew Ervin would need a year of prep school.  Ervin is a tough hardnosed prolific scorer who thrives in transition and his uptempo style should be perfect in the Southeastern Conference.  He also has shown this summer that he has the talent to play in what arguably is the toughest conference in college basketball and further evidence of that comes from our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio, who had Ervin ranked #2 among graduating seniors in New York City in June.  Ervin also was ranked #52 nationally in our Final Rankings from the Class of 2002, but now he will be ranked separately on our 5th year list, because this fall he will start his 9th semester of high school.  Adkins' commitment also shouldn't come as a surprise.  As a matter of fact, we reported two weeks ago when we were at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA that the Crimson Tide was the heavy favorite and that a comment would likely be forthcoming in early August.  Currently Adkins is ranked #27 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but previously that was based primarily on potential.  However, this summer Adkins has taken his game to another level, as his skills continue to get better and better and he's playing with a lot more confidence and aggressiveness.  And Adkins isn't the only big man Alabama is pursuing, as 6'10 Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX, 6'11 Shawn Taylor from Vienna (Dooley County) GA, and 6'10 Tyrone Nelson from Hempstead (H.S.) TX are also still high on the Crimson Tide's recruiting list.   We also have checked out the rumors about 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #43 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, making a verbal commitment to the University of Connecticut.  While we suspect it is true that Williams has told the Connecticut coaching staff that he plans to become a Huskie, it is still contingent upon his not changing his mind when he makes an official visit to Storrs, CT in early August.  Assuming that all goes well on the visit, then Williams will probably make an official announcement and the race will be declared official.  But until then, any reports about Williams making it official for the Huskies are premature.  It also appears that our speculation about 5'11 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX is wrong.  Apparently the Huskies backed off Minor before they found out they were probably going to get Williams, plus it still appears that the University of Cincinnati is still in the hunt for Minor, despite the fact some people think he is the Mike Tyson of the AAU circuit.  Not only does Minor not know when to keep his mouth shut, but his inability to get his teammates involved no-doubt was one of the reason why the Houston Hoops failed to win a tournament all summer, despite the fact this team was absolutely loaded.  Remember, 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'3 Jr Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX is ranked #8 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'8 Justin Benson from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX emerged as one of the biggest sleepers of the summer, and Darryl Sheppard and Hal Pastner are two of the best coaches in the country on the AAU circuit.  However, Bearcats head coach Bobby Huggins apparently is intrigued by the fact that Minor is a smart kid, as is evident by the fact that he has an 1100 on the SAT, plus Huggins has had more success than most dealing with difficuult kids in the past (i.e. Dontonio Wingfield, Art Long, and Donald Little).

Sunday, July 28, 2002, and Monday, July 29, 2002

In a day-and-age when most players are tired from playing an average of two games a day in air-conditioned gyms and all the travel that is now apart of the Summer Evaluation Period during the month of July, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, is one of the few guys we've seen this summer who simply doesn't run out of gas.  We're talking about a guy who single-handedly guided the Florida Hoopsters all the way to the championship game at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, where his team lost by two points to the New York Ravens, on Friday night and then flew to Orlando, FL the next day to participate on the Tallahassee Wildcats, which now have advanced into the quarterfinals, along with All-Ohio Red, Louisiana Select, the Arkansas Hawks, Georgia Stars, North Carolina-Kappa Magic, Spiece Gym Rats, and BABC, of the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball 17-Under National Championship in Orlando, FL.  Washington is an incredible athlete with Allen Iverson-like moves, explosiveness, and ability to create havoc at both ends of the court.  Washington also is an excellent 3-point shooter and when he gets on a role, he not only is a prolific scorer, but he can light up a scoreboard in a hurry.  But what separtes Washington from all the rest is his desire to compete every time he walks onto the court and, as a result, he will be ranked as the #1 junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP when we update our rankings in early August.  And we aren't the only one who thinks Washington deserves all the accolades he can get.  As a matter of fact, Gary DeCesare, who is the general manager of the New York Ravens club team, and Brick Oettinger, who is the recruiting guru for the Recruiter's Handbook, and PrepStars.com, both were on our weekly radio show last night and they agreed that Washington not only deserves to be ranked as the #1 player nationally in the Class of 2004, but, assuming that you exclude 6'6 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who has been sidelined since June, they think Washington is best player in the nation regardless of class.  In other words, Washington is better than all the seniors, except for James, right now!  He also is the leading candidate to be named the HOOP SCOOP's Player-of-the-Summer.  However, we say that with extreme caution, because the only thing that's harder to do than get to the top is stay there.  And a big part of the problem is that, instead of continuing to work on their game, all too often today's players are reading their press clippings and/or think they are already good enough to go straight to the League.   They simply don't understand how important the development process is in all, but a few very extreme case like Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.  But that doesn't appear to be the case with Washington.  At least not yet, as the schools he mentioned were Kentucky, Arizona, Florida, Louisville, N.C. State, Florida State, and Kansas.  We also understand that Indiana and Connecticut are on his list list, but we think the two schools that you're going to have to beat are the Gators and the Seminoles and already it appears that the battle for Washington's services is already getting intense.  It didn't matter whether it was last week at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV or this week at the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball 17-Under National Championship in Orlando, FL.  You could count on Florida head coach Billy Donovan to find a visible position standing behind one the baskets and Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton to be sitting in the second or third row on the side prior to each one of Washington's games.  Ironically, Washington's biggest challenger for HOOP SCOOP Player-of-the-Summer honors is 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, whose All-Ohio Red Team also is still playing at the AAU 17-Under National Championship in Orlando, FL.  If you will recall, Lavender was our choice as the best player on the second day of camp at the NIKE All-American.   He also was the leading scorer and #3 in assists at the NIKE Peach Jam and had several 40-plus point games at the AAU Super Showcase.  And now Lavender has led his team into the final four at the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball 17-Under National Championship, as All-Ohio Red has beaten Louisiana Select in the first of four quarterfinals games that are being played consecutively the rest of the day.  Also up for grabs once again is our Team-of-the-Summer Award, because the Houston Hoops, which had made it to the final four of every tournament they've played in prior to this tournament all summer, were upset last night in the second round by the Spiece Gym Rats.  If All-Ohio Red, which also took home the championship at the NIKE Peach Jam, wins the National 17-Under Tournament two days from now, the decision will be easy.  However, if All-Ohio Red falls short, then it becomes a very difficult decision, because no team has won more than one major tournament this summer.  So if that's the case, the New York Ravens will probably win this prestigious award, because nobody has played harder all summer and they were extremely impressive at the adidas Big Time Tournament en route to the championship. 

The best individual performance we saw earlier today at 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball 17-Under National Championship in the Round of 16 was turned in by 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Pineview (H.S.) LA, who scored 37 points in a losing effort against the Georgia Stars.  Also impressing us in that game was 6'9 Brent Petway from Griffin (H.S.) GA, who appears to be one of the fastest rising big men in the nation.  However, the rumors that Petway has verbally committed to the University of Michigan are not true.  The coach of the Georgia Stars Norman Parker does confirm that the Wolverines are the leader and Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker was seen at his game this morning, but schools like Syracuse, Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown, and Virginia are also still on Petway's list.  Getting back to Wafer, Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana Tech are among those that have shown the most interest.  However, we expect that list to get longer before it gets shorter, because Wafer, who is now a legitimate top 10 or 15 senior nationally, just keeps getting better and better every time we we see him.  Louisiana Tech also is believed to be the favorite over Arizona, LSU, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Tulane for 6'8 Phil Millsap from Grambling (H.S.) LA, who is another one of our favorite players, because this undersized athletic power forward always goes to war inside.  Did you know that Millsap's uncle is an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech?  Speaking of close family connections, did you also know that LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre is the Godfather of 6'6 Soph Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who is ranked as the #1 sophomore in America by the HOOP SCOOP?  Not only did Mitchell confirm that for us several days ago, but he also told us that Pierre helped raise him.  LSU may also be the favorite now for 5'10 Tauren Minor from Houston (Washington) TX.  Further confirmation of this fact comes from the fact that University of Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins was conspicuous by his absence at the 2002 AAU Boys' Basketball 17-Under National Championship and the University of Connecticut appears to be on the verge of getting a verbal commitment from 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  So the Huskies, which were making a strong push, also appear to be bailing out of the Minor sweepstakes.  As a matter of fact, our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis thinks it may already have happened.  Several things that we have confirmed within the last 24 hours are 6'11 Will Bowers from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD to Maryland and 6'7 Jr Marquise Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI to Michigan State.  Bowers, who is ranked #215 in the junor class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is best described as a project, but Maryland head coach Gary Williams has made a living taking guys like this and developing them into good players over the years.  Obviously Bowers knows this as well, because Maryland is already recruiting over him in this recruiting class.  If you will recall, 6'9 Hassan Fofana from Worcester (Holy Name) MA is a top priority for the Terrapins.  Gray, who was ranked #16 in the state in our last report, has grown two inches and dramatically improved during the last six months.  So it should come as no surprise that this incredible athlete is now being talked about as a legitimate top 100 junior nationally by our our Michigan Editor Steve Bell.   Gray becomes the fourth player to make an early verbal commitment to Michigan State this spring.  If you will recall, the Spartans also have gotten commitments from a pair of seniors - 6'0 Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI and 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI - and an early commitment from another junior - 5'10 Jr Drew Neitzel from Wyoming (Wyoming Park) MI.  We also have confirmed via our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson that 6'9 Ousmane Konate from the Senegal has verbally committed to the University of Missouri.  You remember Konate!  He was ranked as the #23 player at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP during the summer of 2001, but returned home to his native country and, as a result, has been out-of-sight and out-of-mind for the last year apparently for everybody except the Missouri coaching staff.   However, Konate will have to wait another year before he becomes a Tiger, because prep school at New Hampton (Prep) NH appears to be first in his future.  We also have learned from Van Coleman of Future Stars that 6'4 Mike Henderson from Waterloo (East) IA has reneged on his verbal commitment to Iowa State. 

Saturday, July 27, 2002

The 2002 adidas Big Time All Tournament Team, which includes 65 players was announced immediately following the championship game and that list included 65 players, of which 31 were among those selected by us when we turned in our list yesterday afternoon.  The 31 players we voted for included 6'10 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'2 Jr Jared Haynes from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN, 6'5 Rodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA,  6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, 6'9 Jr Josh Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA, 6'3 Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'7 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA,  6'6 Soph Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 5'8 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'1 Curtis Stinson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Jr Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'3 Jr DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'5 Earl Smith from Lakewood (H.S.) NJ, 6'3 Art Bowers from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'0 Jr Tauren Green from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 5'11 Jr Depree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI,  6'2 Peyton Stovall from Lafayette (Jefferson) IN, 6'5 Dameon Mason from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'8 Jr Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'9 Jr Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA, 6'5 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, and 6'9 Ekene Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA.  The 34 players we didn't vote for, but who made the 65-man all-tournament team included 6'10 Jr LeMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seagoville) TX, 5'11 Brandon Bell from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 6'2 Jr Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH, 6'3 Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Elliah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'2 Drew Coffman from Midland (Lee) TX, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Jr Jared Dudley from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'11 Sr Nick Fazekas from Arvada (Ralston Valley) CO, 6'5 Thomas Gardner from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'8 Lamont Hamilton from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'8 Ivan Harris from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Justin Hawkins from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'2 Tyler James from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'8 Mark Lovein from Yorba Linda (Esperanza) CA, 6'5 Ricky Lucas from Herndon (H.S.) VA, 6'3 Louie McCroskey from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'3 Trey McDowell from Beaumont (West Brook) TX, 6'1 Elvis Medina from Castlewood (H.S.) ID, 5'10 Soph Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA, 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Jr Tim Pierce from Oakland (Fremont) CA, 6'10 Mitch Platt from Henderson (Green Valley) NV, 5'10 Kenji Rockett from San Diego (H.S.) CA, 6'2 Kevin Rogers from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'4 Adam Schafer from Rochester (Adams) MI, 6'8 Warren Scott from New Orleans (Abramson) LA, 6'5 Jr Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'1 Ayinde Ubaka from Oakland (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Omar Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'1 Soph Dwain Williams from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 5'10 James Williams from DeSoto (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Jermyl Wilson from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, and Jajuan Robinson, who played for the Baltimore Bombers, which failed to provide a roster and we didn't get a chance to see play and, as a result, his his height, class, position, and school are unavailable.   Taking a closer look, when the New York Ravens emerged as the champion of the Open Division, it was obvious that they deserved more than two players on the all-tournament team and, as a result, it is easy to see why McCrosky was added to the team.   However, 6'4 Jr Brian Laing from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who played even better than McCrosky in the championship game, also should have been added to the team.   Another good addition to the 65-man team was Jamar Butler, who scored 24 points in the championship game, as he led Team Ohio to the "A" Division Championship.  We still would take 6'7 Jr Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, who played big part in the New Orleans Jazz' quadruple overtime victory against the Illinois Celtics over Vincent Camper, but we can live with Camper being one of of the three players  on the all-tournament team from the New Orleans team, along with Bass and Mitchell.  And the same can be said about Lamont Hamilton being one of the two choices from the Long Island Panthers, along with Villanueva, over  6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY.   However, we have to wonder how 6'5 Lodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA didn't make it.  If you will recall, he had a 41-point game against the Los Angeles Rockfish, which was the second highest single game scoring effort in the entire tournament.  And how did 6'8 Justin Petty from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN not make the 65-man all-tournament?  His performance with all the media watching in the quarterfinals when he hit 10-12 field goals and scored 25 points should have ensured that all by itself.  And 5'11 Dez Willingham from DeSoto (H.S.) TX was brilliant from start-to-finish as the Texas Top Prospects took the Michigan Hurricanes to the wire in the second round.  We're also still trying to figure out why nobody from the Southeast Pump N Run made the all-tournament.  We would have had no problem replacing 6'8 Jr Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL with 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS or 6'4 Jr Glenn Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL, but somebody from that team should have made it.  As a matter of fact, Southeast Pump N Run was the only team that made it as far as the final 16 of the tournament without a single person on the all-tournament team.  We also don't have any problem replacing 6'10 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA with Boubacar Coly, but 6'2 Robert McIver from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC put prolific numbers and 6'1 Derek Ravio from Vancouver (Mountain View) WA was the guy who carried his team into the second round of the playoffs while averaging.   We also think final four teams should have had at least three players each on the all-tournament team, if you're going 65 deep and 6'8 Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) IL representing Ft. Sooy-No Limit accomplishes this criteria.  We also think the 6'6 Sean Banks from Oredell (Bergen Catholic) NJ played well enough for the Tim Thomas Playaz Gold to have been on the all-tournament team and, despite the fact Baltimore Select got beat in the second round of the playoffs by DTA Wisconsin-Gold, they still should have had somebody on the all-tournament team ahead of somebody fro the Baltimore Bombers, which was an "A" Division team.  Our choice from Baltimore Select is still 6'2 Tyler Smith from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD.  Last, but not least among our choices for the all-tournament team, was 6'0 Rayshawn Reed from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, but we understand the politics involved with this one.  Remember, for year's Pat Barrett's program was sponsored by NIKE and, despite its current shoe company independence, we suspect this program gets its financial support from Tyson Chandler.  Other players who played well enough to deserve a mention or made names for themselves when we saw them, but who did not make the all-tournament were 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, 6'6 Jr Churchill Odia from Lagos, Nigeria, 6'8 Will Sheridan from Hockessin (Samford) DE, 6'8 Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI, 6'10 Kyle Visser from Ada (Forest Hills Central) MI, 6'3 Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'0 Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, 6'2 Byron Davis from Detroit (Rogers) MI, 6'10 Walter Waters from Detriot (Southeastern) MI, 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming (Wyoming Park) MI, 6'4 David Hoskins from Plymouth (Salem) MI, 6'9 Gary Ware from Detroit (Finney) MI, and 6'6 Soph Dion Ware from Detroit (Finney) MI, 6'2 Jimmy Miles from Homewood (Christian) IL, 5'10 Carl Marshall from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'8 Lorenzo Thompson from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'6 Florentino Valencia from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'2 Jr Jason Thomas from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'1 Todd Abernathy from Indianapolis (Heritage Christian) IN, 6'6 D'Andre Peyton from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, 6'6 Justin Cage from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'7 Adam Liddell from Waterloo (DeKalb) IN, 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA, 6'0 Brett McDade from Denton (Ryan) TX, 6'9 Christopher Reay from Plano (West) TX, 6'7 Andrew Francis from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'8 Warren Carter from Lake Highlands (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Phil Tomlinson from Burleson (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Parker Pinkalla from Houston (Strake Jesuit) TX, 6'2 Milton Collins from New Orleans (O.P. Walker) LA, 6'4 Albert Weber from New Orleans (Higgins) LA, 6'0 Bolester McCalabb from New Orleans (Abramson) LA,  6'5 Lamar Sanders from Hickory Platt (H.S.) MS, 6'3 Casey Long from Opelousas (71st) LA, 6'11 Soph Luke Bonner from Manchester (Trinity) NH, 62 Soph Chris Brickley from Manchester (Trinity) NH, 6'3 Shelby Jordan from Hillcrest (H.S.) IL, 6'6 Edward Finner from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'8 Michael Rembarto from Chicago (St. Rita) IL, 6'9 Jr Aaron Agnew from Bellaire (H.S.) OH, 6'10 Jr Mark Terwilliger from Troy (H.S.) OH,  6'6 C.J. Anderson from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, 6'8 Derrick Simmons from Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, 6'1 Jr Brandon Johnson from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 Jason Cain from Philadelphia (Bartrum) PA, 6'3 Jr Cherron Fisher from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'5 Michael Cook from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 5'11 Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'3 Tariq Atkins from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Jr Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'10 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'8 Donta Milligan from Pawling (Trinity Pawling) NY, 6'0 Jr Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, 6'8 Jeff Parmer from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Femi Ibikunte from Syracuse (Hampton) NY, 6'8 Marcus Dove from Long Beach (Millikan) CA, 6'8 Blake Schlib from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'5 Rodney Edgerson from Peoria (Woodruff) IL, 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Marcus Slaugher from Mareno Valley (Valley View) CA, 6'11 Aaron Gray from Emmaus (H.S.) PA, 6'7 Mike Tuck from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'6 Eugene Kotorobai from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 5'11 Bashir Mason from Newark (St Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Jr John Lucky from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, 6'3 Kelvin Nelson from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'4 Jai Miller from Selma (H.S.) AL, 6'6 Jr Josh Dollard from Hemingway (H.S.) SC, 6'7 Jr Sam Manhanga from Northfield (Mt. Herman) MA, 6'8 Josh Love from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'6 Jr Douglas McLaughlin-Williams from Reston (South Lakes) VA, 6'3 Jr Lyndale Burleson from Seattle (O'Dea) WA, 6'3 Jr Rodney Stuckey from Kent (Kentwood) WA, 6'11 James Paullin from Battle Ground (H.S.) WA.  The leading scorer in the tournament was 6'2 Kevin Rogers from Corona (Centennial) CA with 27.3 ppg.  The rest of the top 10 in scoring includes 6'5 Rodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA with 26.7 ppg, 5'10 James Williams from De Soto (H.S.) TX with 26.7 ppg, 6'4 Adrian Schaffer from Rochester (Adams) MI with 26.5 ppg, 6'2 Drew Coffman from Midland (Lee) TX  with 26.5 ppg, Jajuan Robinson from the Baltimore Bombers with 26.2 ppg, 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA with 26.0 ppg, 6'1 Elvis Medina from Castleford (H.S.) ID with 25.8 ppg, 6'5 Jr Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN with 25.8 ppg, and 6'8 Mark Lovein from Yorba Linda (Esperanza) CA with 25.5 ppg.  The second 10 includes 6'6 David Pendergraft from Brewster (H.S.) WA with 25.3 ppg, 6'6 Adam Morrison from Spokane (Meade) WA with 24.8 ppg, 6'2 Tim Anderson from El Paso (Franklin) TX with 24.8 ppg, 6'11 Nick Fazekas from Arvada (Ralston Valley) CO with 24.5 ppg, 6'3 Tyrese McDaniel from Fresno (Clovis West) CA with 24.5 ppg, 6'3 Chris Robinson from San Diego, CA with 24.2 ppg,  6'6 Tom Whitehead from Dixie (St. George) UT with 24.0 ppg, 6'4 Patrick Hannaway from Colorado Springs (Doherty) CO with 23.5 ppg, 6'5 Maurice Maxwell from Philadelphia (Luthern) PA with 23.5 ppg, and 6'6 Jr Jared Dudley from San Diego (Horizon) CA with 23.3 ppg.  The third 10 in scoring includes 6'2 Kejuan Johnson from Lakewood (Artesia) CA with 23.0 ppg, 6'1 Derek Ravio from Vancouver (Mountain View) WA with 22.8 ppg, 6'5 Sean Marshall from Rialto (Eisenhower) CA with 22.8 ppg, 6'1 Soph Dwain Williams from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA with 22.7 ppg, 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with 22.5 ppg, 6'3 Buddy Bailey from Anchorage (Christian) AK with 21.8 ppg, 6'3 Jr Jesse Halley from Roselle (H.S.) NJ with 21.8 ppg, 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL with 21.7 ppg, and 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ with 21.6 ppg.  And rounding out the top 40 in scoring are 6'0 Ryan Neve from Salt Lake City (Jordan) UT with 21.5 ppg, 6'2 Robert McIver from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC with 21.3 ppg, 6'5 Blake Harden from Albuquerque (Hope Christian) NM with 21.5 ppg, 6'4 Drew Terry from Irvine (Northwood) CA, 6'0 Jr Brody Angley from Redding (Enterprise) CA with 21.0 ppg, 6'5 Zakee Boyd from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA with 21.0 ppg, 5'11 Jr Depree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI with 20.9 ppg, 6'5 Shaddean Aaron from Claremont (H.S.) CA with 20.8 ppg, 6'6 Bobby Nash from Honolulu (Iolani) HI with 20.8 ppg, 6'2 Brian Leetch from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY with 20.5 ppg, 6'0 Rayshawn Reed from Inglewood (H.S.) CA with 20.5 ppg, 5'8 Jr David Holston from Auburn Hills (Avondale) MI with 20.5 ppg.  The highest single-game scoring performance was turned in by Lovein, who had 44 points against Colorado Chaos 17s Blue.  Lovein also finished tied with Washington, Rogers, Ariza, and 5'10 Kenji Rocket from San Diego (H.S.) CA, all of whom scored 37 points in a game, for the sixth highest single-game scoring performance.  Also joining Lovein with two of the top 40 single-game scoring performances were Washington with 37 points versus the New York Ravens in the championship game and 34 versus the Michigan Hurricanes and 6'3 Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL with 33 points versus Mater Dei and 32 points versus the Hunting Park Warriors.  The other top 10 single-game performances at the adidas Big Time Tournament were turned by 6'5 Lodrick Stewart with 41 points versus the LA Rockfish, Schaffer with 40 points versus the Alley Cats, 6'0 Jr Kevin Ellison from Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) CA with 39 points versus Seattle FOH White, and 6'8 Ryan Coldren from Eugene (Mavist) OR with 38 points versus the Austin Dawgs I. 

Friday, July 26, 2002

The Florida Hoopster lost a heart breaker to the New York Ravens, 71-69, in the championship game at the adidas Big Time Tournament, but it should not have cost 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Washington) FL, who clearly was the best player in the tournament, tournament MVP honors.  Talk about a travesty of justice and/or a need to be politically correct by picking somebody from the winning team.  This was a no-brainer, because Washington, who scored 37 of his team's 69 points, also had 10 rebounds, two steals, and shot 12-20 from the field, 5-8 from beyond the arc, and 8-8 from the free throw line.  This explosive athlete who thrives in transition also singlehandedly kept the Hoopsters in the game, as he scored 23 of his team's first 39 points, plus he was almost impossible to stop whenever he touched the basketball.  And, if that weren't enough, Washington also finished tied for six for the highest single game point total in the tournament with 37 points and his 21.7 ppg scoring average in hte tournament ranked him 28th among all players on all 344 teams.  Instead, tournament MVP honors went to 6'1 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, who scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the championship game.  While Stinson played well all week, he only hit 5-14 field goals and 6-10 free throws in the championship game and, as a result, wasn't even the best player in the championship game for the Ravens.  Instead, our vote our have gone to 6'4 Jr Brian Laing from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, if you had to pick an MVP from the winning team.  But that would never happen, because New York Ravens General Manager Gary DeCesare is the first to admit that he always pushes his seniors.  The Ravens jumped out to an 8-0 lead early and were up by as many as 13 in the first half.  However, the Florida Hoopsters went on a 35-11 run to start the second half and, by the time the Ravens regained any momentum, they were behind, 65-62.  From that point on it really shouldn't have been that close, but the Florida Hoopsters missed opportunity after opportunity and the Ravens missed free throw after free throw.  But in the end, the Ravens had several calls go their way and they did something they couldn't do two years ago in this tournament with Julius Hodge and company - they took home the title.  The only other player to score in double-digits for the Florida Hoopsters was 6'1 Jr Brandon Jenkins from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who finished with 11 points.  In addition to Laing and Stinson, the Ravens got 13 points 6'8 Justin Marshall from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 10 points from 6'3 Tariq Atkins from Bronx (St.  Raymond's) NY.  However, the key the Ravens' success as always was 5'8 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who scored only six points and had six assists and five turnovers in the championship game.  But as it often the case, statistics don't always tell the story and, as Merritt goes, so do the Ravens.  So here's another legitimate candidate for tournament MVP honors, if you are going to give it to somebody on the Ravens.  We'll have more on the tournament, the all-tournament team, and the leading scorers sometime tomorrow, as we travel to Orlando, FL for the National 17-Under AAU Tournament, exclusively in the Members Section.

Earlier today they asked us to pick our all-tournament team for the adidas Big Time Tournament and the 44 players we voted for are as follows:  6'10 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'2 Jr Jared Haynes from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN, 6'5 Rodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'5 Lodrick Stewart from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA,6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, 5'11 Dez Willingham from DeSoto (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Jr Josh Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA, 6'3 Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'7 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, 6'7 Jr Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'6 Soph Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 5'8 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'1 Curtis Stinson from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY, 6'6 Jr Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'8 Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) IL, 6'3 Jr DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'10 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'6 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'6 Sean Banks from Oredell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, 6'5 Earl Smith from Lakewood (H.S.) NJ, 6'3 Art Bowers from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'0 Jr Tauren Green from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 5'11 Jr Depree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'8 Justin Petty from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN, 6'2 Peyton Stovall from Lafayette (Jefferson) IN, 6'2 Robert McIver from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 6'5 Dameon Mason from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'8 Jr Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'8 Jr Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'9 Jr Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA, 6'5 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, 6'2 Tyler Smith from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD, 6'9 Ekene Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA, 6'1 Derek Ravio from Vancouver (Mountain View) WA, and 6'0 Rayshawn Reed from Inglewood (H.S.) CA.

We have another upset, as the Florida Hoopsters have knocked off the New Orleans Jazz, 63-54, in the first semi-finals game.   Once again the leading scorer for the Florida Hoopsters was 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL with 24 points, but the best player for the Hoopster was 6'0 Jr Tauren Green, who plans to transfer from Ft. Lauderdale (Westminster) FL to Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL this fall.  Green not only finished with 17 points, but he led his team in rebounding with 10 boards.  The two players who played the best for the New Orleans Jazz were 6'6 Soph Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA with 16 points and 15 rebounds and 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA with 20 points and 10 rebounds.  The second semi-finals was a total blowout, as the New York Ravens jumped out to a 46-24 lead and never looked by en route to a 75-42 victory to set up the championship game between the Florida Hoopster and the New York Ravens.  The leading scorer for the Ravens was 6'3 Louie McCroskey from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY with 19 points, but 6'1 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Jr Brian Laing from from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'3 Tariq Atkins from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY chipped in with 15, 13, and 12 point apiece and 6'7 Jr Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY tied McCroskey for top rebounding honors in the game with nine boards each.  The only two players in double-digits for Billy Shepherd were 6'7 Pete Campbell from Yorktown (H.S.) IN with 12 points and 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN with 10 points.  Obviously Billy Shepherd Sports just ran out of gas, but  they also had a lot of trouble with the New York Ravens' quickness, athleticism, and pressure.  We also have confirmed that the St. Louis Eagles have beaten the Houston Hoops in the championship game at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL, but the big story in that tournament was the incredible play by 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, who scored 47 points against the Houston Hoops and 40 points against the New Jersey Demons earlier in the week.  And this comes on the heels of Lavender's excellent week at the NIKE All-American Camp, where he was ranked as the #1 player in camp by the HOOP SCOOP after the second day, and the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA, where he led All-Ohio Red to the championship and led the tournament in scoring and finished third in assists.   Getting back to the AAU Super Showcase, the Houston Hoops knocked off All-Ohio Red and St. Louis beat Team Georgia Elite to set up the championship game, which was played earlier today.  The Houston Hoops may have lost the game, but right now they are the heavy favorite to be the HOOP SCOOP's Team of the Summer.  Did you know that they have finished in the final four of every tournament they've played in this year?  If you will recall, they finished in the final four at Boo Williams in early April, they won the Houston Kingwood Classic in late April, they finished in the final four at the NIKE Memorial Day Classic in late May, they finished second at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA last week, they finished second at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL, and they have to be one of the favorites to win the National 17-Under Tournament, which starts today in Orlando, FL.  

Another big difference between the adidas Big Time Tournament and the NCAA Tournament is that Cinderalla teams never seem to make it as far as the NCAA Final Four.  However, that's exactly what has happened today at adidas Big Time Tournament, as Billy Shepherd Sports pulled off another stunning upset against the Ft. Sooy-No Limit in the final quarterfinals game of the day.  And after watching Billy Shepherd Sports, it's easy to see how they also beat the Atlanta Celtics in the round of 16 last night.  They are well coached, fundamentally sound, and extremely skilled, plus they shoot the lights out and are as competitive as any team in the tournament.  In other words, they play just like Gonzaga.  And just like Gonzaga, they have more talent than most people realize, as 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN, 6'8 Justin Petty from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN, and 6'2 Payton Stovall from Lafayette (Jefferson) IN are all good enough to be ranked among our top 200 nationally.   In Wesbter's case, make that top 100 nationally.  Webster is a killer inside, but he also can step outside and shoot the three and/or power his way to the basket and dunk in your face.  Not only does he remind us of former Purdue All-American Brian Cardinal, but we think he has a chance to be just as good at the next level.  Webster tells us that Wright State is the current leader over Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois, but after a 28-point/11-rebound performance that also included 10-13 field goals, 2-3 3-pointers, and 6'9 free throws versus Ft. Sooy-No Limit, there is no question that the word is going to get out that Webster is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation.  And Petty, who isn't as strong inside as Webster, but is just as good on the perimeter, isn't too far behind, as he too had a brilliant performance against Ft. Sooy-No Limit with 25 points, including 10-12 field goals.  Stovall, who says he's been attracting interest from schools like Ball State, Wright State, UNC-Wilmington, Evansville, Wichita State, Kent State, Boston College, and Drake, doesn't put up prolific numbers like Webster and Petty.  Instead, he just quietly runs the show and makes his teammates better.  Stepping up with 27 points, including 6-12 3-pointers, for Ft. Sooy-No Limit was 6'3 Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL.  But it wasn't enough as Billy Shepherd Sports upset Ft. Sooy-No Limit, 96-83, to advance into the semi-finals against the New York Ravens.  Speaking of the Ravens, they knocked off the Long Island Panthers, 78-65, in yet another upset (even though we predicted it) two hours ago.  The Ravens were led by 5'8 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'1 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Jr Brian Laing from from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'3 Louie McCroskey from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who combined for 64 of the Ravens 78 points.  In contrast, only two players - 6'8 Donta Milligan from Pawling (Trinity Pawling) NY with 10 points and 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ with 18 points - scored in double digits for the Panthers.  But 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY did chip in with 10 rebounds and was a major factor at the defensive end.  So that meeans the final four is set with the Florida Hoopsters and the New Orleans Jazz in the first game (currently in progress - a one point game with 8:54 remaining n the second half) and the New York Ravens and the Billy Shepherd Sports coming up next game. 

In contrast to the NCAA Tournament, where most of the stunning upsets occur early in the tournament, most of the major surprises at the adidas Big Time Tournament have occurred in the later rounds.  As a matter of fact, upsets were the order of the day in half of the eight winners bracket games in the Open Division last night.  And right at the top of the list of upsets was the New York Ravens 29-point win against the Tim Thomas Playaz Gold.  The other upsets occurred when Billy Shepherd Sports beat the Atlanta Celtics, 67-61, the Florida Hoopsters beat Seattle Rotary Select I, 69-66, and DTA Wisconsin Gold beat Southeast Pump N Run, 66-65.  And the four games were also extremely close, as the Michigan Hurricanes had to hold on to beat the Alabama Ice, 81-73, the New Orleans Jazz beat Gary Payton NIKE Select, 80-75, the Long Island Island Panthers survived against the Tim Thomas Playaz Black, 70-65, and Ft. Sooy-No Limit prevailed against the Mississippi Panthers, 86-80.  And the upsets continued this morning as the Florida Hoopsters knocked off the Michigan Hurricane, 73-72, in the first of four quarterfinals games.  The big hero in the game was 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who shot the lights out, hitting 8-11 field goals, 4-5 3-pointers, and 14-16 free throws, en route to 34 points.  The big bum in the game was 5'10 Dewayne Green from Creedmore (Christian Faith) NC, who missed two free throw with one-and-a-half seconds remaining in the game.  The first free throw would have tied it and the second free throw would have won it.  And this isn't the first time Green has chocked at crunch time in this tournament.  Did you know that he missed a pair snowbirds late in the game two years ago when the Michigan Mustangs (now the Hurricanes) lost by one in overtime.  However, Green's biggest claim to fame might be when he was matched up against 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY in the Underclassmen All-Star at the adidas ABCD Camp a year ago.  If you will recall, Telfair scored 20 points against Green in the first half in what turned out to be the best performance of the entire summer.  The second quarterfinals game has just been completed and the New Orleans Jazz  coasting to 30-point victory against an undermanned and overachieving DTA Wisconsin Gold team, which is led by 5'11 Jr Depree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  Fletcher is yet another jet-quick point guard who is an excellent defender, outstanding playmaker, and excellent 3-point shooter.  He also has the heart of a lion and, as a result, schools like Marquette, Boston College, Wisconsin, Xavier, Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State are already showing a lot of early interest.  However, DTA Wisconsin was only going to go as far as Fletcher would take them and he was mediocre at best against the Jazz, as he scored only 15 points and hit only 6-20 field goals.  The Jazz featured a very balanced scoring attack, as five players scored between between 14 and 12 points.  The next quarterfinals game between the New York Ravens and the Long Island Panthers is a rematch of a game a year ago between these two teams in the same round of this tournament.  If you will recall, the Panthers won that game en route to the championship.  However, this time we're picking the Ravens.   We also are picking Ft. Sooy-No Limit to beat Billy Shepherd in the last quarterfinals game of the day.  But we do so with an asterisk, because this Billy Shepherd team is the only team that has gone deep into the playoffs that we haven't seen.   And there was no reason to, because a quick look at their roster tells us that they don't have single player we've ever heard of.  Assuming that our predictions for the next two games are correct, that will set the stage for the final four at the adidas Big Time Tournament, as the Florida Hoopsters will face the New Orleans Jazz at 2:00 PST and the New York Ravens will face Ft. Sooy-No Limit at 3:40 PM PST.  The winners, which we're predicting will be the New Orleans Jazz and Ft. Sooy-No Limit, will square off in the championship game at 6:20 PM at Green Valley High School. 

Thursday, July 25, 2002

The round of 16 at the adidas Big Time Tournament is currently under way and picking a favorite to win the tournament is almost impossible.   Right now the first two spots in the final eight have already been decided, as Florida Superstars knocked off Seattle Rotary Select I and Michigan Hurricanes beat the Alabama Ice.  Southeast Pump N Run is up by one at the half against DTA Wisconsin in the game we're currently watching at Durango High School and it will be the New Orleans Jazz versus Gary Payton NIKE in the other game that is currently under way at Green Valley High School.  Later tonight it will be the New York Ravens versus the Tim Thomas Playaz Gold, the Long Island Panthers versus the Tim Thomas Playaz Black, Atlanta Celtics versus Billy Shepherd Sports IN, and Ft. Sooy- No Limit versus Mississippi Panthers.  We're also talked with some more players and here is what we've found out about their recruiting.  Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Kansas are believed to be the leaders for 6'5 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, but Oklahoma, North Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi also make his list.  Clemson, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Alabama, Arkansas, and Wichita State were the schools mentioned by 6'2 Milton Collins mentions New Orleans (O.P. Walker) LA and 6'8 Warren Scott from New Orleans (Abramson) LA has Arkansas, UAB, Tulane, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Houston, North Carolina, California, LSU, and Memphis on his list.  Seton Hall, Gonzaga, DePaul, Drexel, and Towson were the schools mentioned by 5'11 Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.   Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Michigan, San Diego State, Marquette, Wake Forest, Kansas, and Arizona make up a very interesting list for 6'10 Kyle Visser from Ada (Forest Hills Central) MI.   The early list for 6'9 Jr Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA includes Gonzaga, Washington, Idaho, USC, Florida, Stanford, and Santa Clara. 

Right after we talked about what a great reloading job that the Universtiy of Florida is doing with last year's and their current recruiting class, we got word that the Gators had landed 6'8 Christian Drejer from Denmark.  This is extremely important, because Drejer not only is the best European player currently available, but he also is expected to be the foreign player who makes the biggest impact in college basketball next year.  As a matter of fact, the word we get from coaches who have seen him play is that Drejer is better than former Gators star Mike Miller, who went onto become the NBA Rookie of the Year a year ago, at the same stage.  We also understand that Drejer can play the one, two, and three spots, which means that the University of Florida now appears to be the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference, as well as one of the teams beat in college basketball this year, along with Arizona, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, et al.  This also moves Florida's recruiting class up from #9 to #2 in our Final Ranking of the Top 140 Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2002, which was published earlier this month, but, which was revised today due to this late breaking development.  And that's not the only major commitment we've added to our list today, as 6'8 Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA has finally made it official for the University of California.  Remember, we've been reporting for six months at the Golden Bears were one of the favorites for Powe, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The addition of moves California's recruiting class into the #1 position on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, ahead of Illinois, Florida, Wake Forest, and Valparaiso, all of which also have already landed three players for the Class of 2003.   If you will recall, the earlier this spring Golden Bears also got verbal commitments from 6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'6 Dominic McGuire from San Diego (Lincoln) CA.   We also talked earlier today with 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and he tells us that he has a final six that includes Arizona, Villanova, N.C. State, Syracuse, Connecticut, and North Carolina.  If you will recall, several days ago our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin reported that Shakur had narrowed it to five and the Tar Heels weren't on the list.   Maybe Shakur likes the North Carolina better than his high school coach, because that's where Rubin got his information.  We also hear that 5'10 Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA has already told UCLA head coach Steve Lavin that he will sign with the Bruins in November, but he wants to wait until after the 2002 Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations Men's Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Isla de Margarita, Venezuela to make the official announcement.  However, a source close to the UCLA program with neither comfirm nor deny this rumor.  If you will recall, the smart money was on Brooks going to the University of Oregon.  As a matter of fact, one of the reasons why Oregon backed off 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA was because it appeared that Brooks was a near lock for the Beavers. 

The playoffs of the adidas Big Time Tournament are just like the NCAA Tournament.  Not only is the format single-elimination, whereby, if you lose, you go home, but the intensity level and level of competition are incredible and tracking the progress of each team in the tournament is almost hypnotic.  And the talent on nearly every team is as good and/sometimes even better than what you will find at the big time college level.  The players just aren't as mature, skilled, and/or well coached.  And just like the NCAA Tournament, two of the top teams in the tournament escaped yesterday in the round of 64, as the Michigan Hurricanes beat the Texas Top Prospects, 88-86, in overtime, and the New Orleans Jazz beat the Illinois Celtics, 113-104, in quadruple overtime.  And that's a great place to start when talking about what we've seen during the last 24 hours, because the Illinois Celtics-New Orleans game was the best game we've ever seen in this tournament.  The Celtics didn't have any big name players, but they had incredible heart and weren't going to go home quietly, as 6'2 Jr Jared Haynes from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'3 Shelby Jordan from Hillcrest (H.S.) IL, 6'8 Michael Remberto from Calumet City (H.S.) IL and 6'6 Edward Finner from Chicago (Julian) IL all stepped up big for this team that appears to be sponsored by Boston Celtics star Antonie Walker, who was one of the coaches of the team.  Haynes, who scored 35 points, was easily their best player.  We're talking about a super quick point guard who has excellent handling and passing skills and a knack for finding ways to scored - in transition he just blows right past you en route to the basket and outside he has plenty of moves to get his shot.  He also is a master at changing speeds and directions and, as a result, he's got a big time future.   All he needs to do now is get bigger and stronger physically.  Jordan complements Haynes perfectly in the backcourt, because he is a jet in transition, plus he defends well and rebounds well for his size.  Finner is an undersized power forward, but he rules the boards and finds ways to score in the low post.  Remberto is an athletic big man with a soft touch and good rebounding skills, but he needs to get tougher, if he wants to be successful inside at the next level.  And ultimately that also was the difference in the game, as 6'7 Jr Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'7 Brandon Bass from New Orleans (Capital) LA, and 6'8 Soph Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, and simply overpowered the Celtics whenever they had the Jazz on the ropes.  Mitchell also showed why we think he's the #1 sophomore in America, as he 31 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and made several big 3-pointers in the overtime.  And that was the difference in the game - the Celtics not only couldn't put the Jazz away, but missed a number of opportunities to win the game during the four overtimes.  In other words, just like the NCAA Tournament, having been their before is often the difference between winning and losing, especially the deeper you go into the tournament.  The Michigan Hurricanes already had plenty of talent to begin with, as their roster already included 6'6 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'10 Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'2 Byron Davis from Detroit (Rogers) MI, and 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming  (Wyoming Park) MI.  But two days ago head coach Chris Grier added 6'3 Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI to the roster and yesterday 6'0 Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI also showed up.  And Grier needed all the help he could get, as the Texas Top Prospects, which were led by 5'11 Dez Willingham from DeSoto (H.S.) TX, 6'0 Brett McDade from Denton (Ryan) TX, and 6'9 Chris Reay from Plano (West) TX almost blew the Hurricanes back to Michigan for the third straight year with an early round upset.  However, the Hurricanes prevailed, despite the fact that Willingham and McDade, both of whom are fierce competitors, made all the big plays down the stretch.  Willingham, who is an absolute steal for Kansas State, not only is he an excellent playmaker, penetrator, and passer, but he's also a terrific 3-point shooter and excellent defender.  So is McDade, who uses his strength, athleticism, and upper body strength to beat you going to hole.  He also shows can hit the 3-point shot, but right now McDade projects as an undersized combo guard and, as a result, he has an interesting list, which includes schools like Tulsa, Houston, Nebraska, St. John's, UNC-Wilmington, and the College of Charleston.  We saw one of the best players in the tournament, as well as in the nation regardless of class, earlier this morning when we watched Seattle Rotary Select I beat the Fairfax County Stars (VA), 80-62.  The player is 6'8 Jr Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA and he simply has picked up where he left off at the adidas ABCD Camp, where he finished among the leaders in both scoring and rebounding.  Williams remind Louis Johnson of the Long Beach Press-Telegram of a young Glenn Robinson, because he is a relentless competitor and incredible athletic with the skills to play both inside and outside.  Williams says he's wide open, but we know that Arizona head coach Lute Olson, who, by the way, is the leading candidate for the HOOP SCOOP's Most Visible Head Coach of the Summer Award, North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty, Oregon assistant coach Scott Duncan, and Washington assistant coach Cameron Dollar were all seen at this game at 9:00 AM this morning.  We mentioned yesterday that 6'8 Trevor Ariza was as good as anybody we saw on the second day of the tournament and he followed that up yesterday with a 37-point performance versus the Palo Verdes Panthers in the first round of the playoffs  That ties Ariza for 5th on the high single-game scoring list with 6'2 Kevin Rogers from Corona (Centennial) CA with 37 points.  The five players head of them are 6'8 Mark Lovein from Yorba Linda (Esperanza) CA with 44 points, 6'4 Adrian Schafer from Rochester (Adams) MI with 40 points, 6'0 Jr Kevin Ellison from Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) CA with 39 points, 6'8 Jr Ryan Coldren from Eugene (Mavist) OR.  And 10th on that list is 6'6 Jr Josh Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA with 34 points against the L.A. Rockfish, but Smith fell off yesterday, because his outside shot wasn't going down the same way he was earlier in the tournament. 

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, who is ranked #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but who will be a 5th year player next year and, as a result, will be listed in the future by the HOOP SCOOP on a separate 5th year list, has narrowed his list to Arizona, N.C. State, Connecticut, Villanova, and Syracuse.  Rubin also tells us that Arizona and N.C. State appear to be the two favorites and, if the Wolfpack can pull this off, N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek could have the best backcourt in college basketball a year-and-a-half from now.  Remember, Julius Hodge was one of the best freshmen in college basketball last year.  Speaking of Shakur, he's been slowed by an injury at the adidas Big Time Tournament, but he still played about half the game yesterday against the H-Squad and we have to give him credit, because, unlike many of the top seniors in the nation, including 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'4 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'10 Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'10 Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC, 6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Will Sheridan from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, and 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, this guy always comes to play.   Speaking of Ariza, after a mediocre performance at the adidas ABCD Camp, where he finished ranked #45 in camp, he has finally turned it up at the adidas Big Time Tournament.   As a matter of fact, he's the best player we saw all day yesterday during the second day of the tournament.  Not only did Ariza get it done inside, as he scored, rebounded, and blocked shots, but he also used his quickness and versatility to impress us out on the perimeter, where he beat his man to get good looks at the basket and handled and passed well enough to finally convince us he can develop into a wing forward down the road.  He also played at a level of intensity that we hadn't seen before and, as a result, has to once again projects as one of the top players in the class.  We also still believe that Florida is the leader for Ariza, despite the reports that he won't leave the West Coast.  Previously we'd heard that Ariza's mother didn't like to fly, so Florida's chances appeared to be greatly diminished.  However, now we're hearing that Ariza's mother plans to move to the city where the university her son signs with is located.  And, if that's the case, we're guessing it will be Florida, because the Gators have been there the longest and the strongest.  Also don't forget Ariza's family lived in Gainesville, FL when Ariza was a kid.  Obviously getting Ariza would be the icing on the cake for Florida head coach Billy Donovan, because the Gators already have 6'8 Chris Richard from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA, and 5'11 Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN in the fold, plus they landed the HOOP SCOOP's #9-ranked recruiting class last year when they signed 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'5 Matt Walsh from Ft. Washington (Germantown (Academy) PA, 6'7 Mario Boggan from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'4 Rashid Al-Kaleen from Charlestown (H.S.) MA.  In other words, it looks like Gators have done a great job of reloading.  As for Appleby, a number of people were disappointed with his performance both at the NIKE All-American Camp and during the first day of the adidas Big Time Tournament, but I thought he played well when we saw him yesterday.  Not only does Appleby have excellent handling and passing skills, but he's also an excellent outside shooter with good athleticism and a flare of the spectacular, which is why he reminds us of Brett Nelson in many ways.  We also were very impressed last night with 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NY, but we really didn't get any new insight into his recruiting, except that Illinois is right there at the top of his list, along with Villanova, Seton Hall, and St. John's.  UCLA is also mentioned for Villanueva, but those in the know tell us the Bruins are a distant 5th.  And playing well this morning was 6'8 Demetris Nichols from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, who scored 30 points versus the Alabama Ice in the first round of the playoffs.  Obviously Nichols, who is bound for Syracuse, had something to prove after not being named to play in the Senior All-Star Game at the adidas ABCD Camp.  We also talked with 6'10 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who is emerging into a one of the top big men in the senior class nationally, this morning and he confirmed that Louisville is the leader over Alabama, UAB, Purdue, Connecticut, New Mexico, and LSU.  However, the rumors about Lang having already made a verbal commitment to the Cardinals appear to be premature.  We've also gotten a list of schools from 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, 6'6 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King) NY, 6'8 Dante Milligan from Pawling (Trinity Pawling) NY, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'3 Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) MS, and 6'8 Jeff Parmer from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY.  Bass says he's still open, despite the fact we think LSU, Mississippi State, and Cincinnati will be tough to beat.  But Bass' list also includes Miami-FL, Missouri, Connecticut, USC, DePaul, UNLV, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida Stat, and Georgetown.  Mejia, who is one of the fastest rising players in the nation, also says he is wide open, as St. John's, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Miami-FL, Connecticut, Louisville, DePaul, Illinois, Florida State, Providence, and South Florida all get mentioned.  Milligan, who is still somewhat of a sleeper nationally, but who has played well every time we've seen him all summer, likes Providence, Florida State, Tulane, DePaul, UAB, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Massachusetts.  Coly has a very impressive list, which includes Mississippi, Wake Forest, Florida State, SMU, Texas, Kansas, and Maryland.  Camper says he likes Fresno State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, UCLA, and Connecticut.  Parmer likes West Virginia, Providence, Marquette, and Providence, but after his performance yesterday, we expect that list to expand.  And Parmer isn't the only big man who impressed us yesterday on the Donyell Marshall I Team.  As a matter of fact, Parmer and 6'9 Femi Ibikunte from Syracuse (Hampton) NY complement each other perfectly with their big time athleticism, toughness on the boards, and aggressiveness to the basket.  We also understand that Maryland is extremely close to getting a verbal commitment from 6'11 Will Bowers from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD.   Sure, Bowers is a project right now, but he has a 3.5 gpa, 1300 SAT, and is a local kid.  It also appears that two other players on Baltimore Select are close to making a college decision, as 6'4 Mike Popoko from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD and 6'5 Josh Johnson from Annapolis (H.S.) MD both are trying to decide between Towson and Wagner.  Also showing up at most of Baltimore Select's game have been Connecticut, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Penn State, and Kentucky, so our guess is that those are the schools that likely will have the most interest in 6'2 Tyler Smith from Colora (West Nottingham) MD.  We also were trying to figure out who the entire TCU coaching staff was watching on the Ft. Worth Lions on the first day of the tournament, but now we now, because we've sense been told that Texas Christian is the heay favorite over SMU for 6'8 Art Pierce from Tyler (Grace) TX. 

Tuesday, July 23, 2002

One of the biggest stories at the adidas Big Time Tournament after a-day-and-a-half of action involves 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who currently is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, Butch was missing in action at the adidas ABCD Camp due to a leg injury and back spasms.  However, yesterday afternoon he picked up right where he left off when we saw him two months ago at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, as once again he was unstoppable when he got the ball in scoring position.  Not only does he have terrific offensive moves, but he showed us he also has 3-point range, excellent passing skills and court vision.  In other words, he has a great feel for the game and is surpringly agile and coordinated for somebody his size.  Butch is also a great competitor and he was quickly establishing himself as one the best players in the entire tournament when he experienced a reoccurrence of his injury late in the first half yesterday against the Ft. Worth Lions.    Obviously this was a major disappointment, especially for the head coaches like North Carolina's Matt Doherty and Arizona's Lute Olson, both of whom are recruiting Butch, but had to watch Butch sit on the bench in street clothes last night's 10:20 PM game between the New York Ravens and the Fox Valley Skillz Black.  Some of the other top performances on the first day of the adidas Big Time Tournament were turned in by 6'6 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'6 Earl Smith from Lakewood (H.S.) NJ, 6'10 Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'9 Jr Joshua Smith from Marietta (McEachern) GA, and 5'11 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  Telfair still tried to beat his man one-on-one too much, but he also did a much better job of getting his teammates involved and hitting the open man than he did at at the adidas ABCD Camp two weeks ago.  Speaking of Telfair and the Juice team for which Telfair plays, did you know that his teammate - 6'6 Elliah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA - verbally committed to Miami-FL yesterday?     Outlaw was sensational from out on the perimeter, plus he brought the house down with a number of earth-shattering dunk and he played a lot harder than he did at the adidas ABCD Camp.  Earl Smith, who has to be the leading candidate for the HOOP SCOOP's Sleeper of the Summer, never seems to have a bad game, as he consistently beats you both inside and outside with his quickness, athleticism, and ability to score.   North Carolina currently appears to be the school you have to beat, but Earl Smith also told us he likes Villanova, Seton Hall, Maryland, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers, and Miami-FL.  Famutimi was as good as anybody we saw all day yesterday and the reason why we know feel like he's a serious candidate for our top five nationally is his ability to score from just about anywhere.  In other words, the one big question we previously had with regards to Famutimi was his outside shooting has been answered, as he consistently has nailed the 3-point shot both here and at the adidas ABCD Camp.  If Josh Smith, who was the #1-ranked player at the adidas ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, continues to play like he did yesterday, there is no doubt in our mind that he will make a serious challenge to Telfair and 6'9 Jr Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS for top player honors in the Class of 2004.  Yes, Josh Smith is that good!   Not only is he incredibly quick and aggressive on the boards and blocking shots, but he also amazed us on several occasions with his ability to get and make 3-point shots.   He also is extremely versatile and multi-dimensional and, just like 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who established himself as the best player in Class of 2003 at this tournament a year ago, the sky appears to be the limit for Josh Smith.  So it should come as no surprise that Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt was watching his every move yesterday.  As a matter of fact, Hewitt was also closely observing 6'9 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'10 Jr Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark) GA, and 6'4 Jr Dwayne Day from Vidalia (H.S.) GA, all of whom play for the Atlanta Celtics and all of whom are top priorites for Georgia Tech.  So is getting Telfair and, if Hewitt pulls this off, we could be talking about one of the great recruting classes of all time!  However, it probably won't be that easy, because looks like it's going to be an all-out war between Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia for all of Wallace Prather's players.  Smith tells us that the early favorites are Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Alabama, N.C. State, and LSU.   Prather, who the head coach of the Atlanta Celtics, tells us that Georgia Tech, Georgia, Florida, and N.C. State are at the top of Howard's list.  Prather also tells us that Morris likes Georgia Tech, Georgia, UNLV, Seton Hall, Michigan, and Notre Dame and that Day has the most interest in Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, and Alabama.  We also were impressed yesterday with 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, who finally has lived up to all the hype.  If you will recall, Jenkins was mediocre when we saw him at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in the spring and only average at the adidas ABCD Camp.   However, yesterday he made some terrific passes and impressed with his handling skills, defense, ability to make things happen in transition, and get to the basket.   

Monday, July 22, 2002

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Seton Hall has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'11 Grant Billmeier from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and Dave Telep of TheInsidersHoops.com is reporting that the University of Florida has gotten verbal commitments from 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA and 6'2 Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN.  These commitments come right on the heels of commitments by 6'3 Colin Falls from Wilmette (Loyola Academy) IL to Notre Dame, 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI to Michigan State, 6'9 Jemario Davidson from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA to Alabama  6'5 Justin Cage from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Xavier, and 6'3 Jeremy Ingram from Kinston (H.S.) NC to Wake Forest, all of which have occured within the last several days.  Why are players making commitments so fast and furiously?  Well, college coaches and most of the top players in the country have been off the road for the last four days and it appears that these guys knew what they wanted to do and, as a result, wanted to get it over with prior to the start of the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV and the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL, both of which begin tomorrow.  This brings the number of top 50 players in the Class of 2003 who have already verbally committed to 18.  And digging a little deeper, 37 of our top 100-ranked seniors are already off the board and  67 of our top 280-ranked seniors are gone.  Getting back to the latest three verbal commitments, none of which, by the way, are a surprise, Billmeier going to Seton Hall is important, because this establishes that the current regime can get Kevin Boyle's players.  Remember, Boyle, who is the head coach at St. Patrick, always has players and, with that in mind, maybe the Pirates can also convince 6'1 Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to stay home and become part of the package.  We also find it interesting that Rubin doesn't think the Pirates are in the market for another point guard and, as a result, aren't in the hunt for Nardi.  But if that's the case, why is Seton Hall one of the favorites for 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH?  And getting Billmeier won't hurt their chances of getting 6'10 Frosh Derrick Caracter, who is now at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, if by some change he doesn't go pro right out high school.  As for Apple and Humphrey, we've been talking about the possibility of both players going to Florida for several month.  We've also pointed out that the Gators won't take three point and/or combo guards and, as a result, you can scratch 6'1 T.J. Bannister from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL from Florida's recruiting list.  Moral to the story, if Bannister, who has always listed Florida at the top of his list, really wanted to play for the Gators, he shouldn't have waited this long. 

Sunday, July 21, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'3 Colin Falls from Wilmette (Loyola Academy) IL, who is ranked #158 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best 3-point shooters in the senior class nationally, has verbally committed to Notre Dame.  Our Michigan Editor Steve Bell has tipped us off about 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI, who is ranked #48 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, picking Michigan State.  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Jemario Davidson from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA has decided to attend the University of Alabama and that 6'5 Justin Cage from Indianapolis (Pike) IN has committed to Xavier.  The commitment by Falls is important, because it helps perpetuate the strong pipeline that Irish head coach Mike Brey and his staff are building in the state of Illinois.  If you will recall, Notre Dame landed 6'8 Ricky Cornett from Homewood (Christian) IL a year ago and they are also in the hunt for 6'3 Shannon Brown from Homewood (Christian) IL.  The commitment by Naymick is even bigger for the Spartans.   Everybody figured Naymick was going to stay home, but the Spartans gain turns out to be University of Michigan's loss.  Remember, Naymick was exactly what the doctor order as Wolverines head coach Tommy Amaker attempts to restore the Michigan program back to national promience.  Instead, Naymick appears the final piece to the puzzle for Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, who already has the Spartans well on their way towards becoming what could prove be the next dynasty in college basketball.  Still don't believe that Michigan State has the best program in college basketball today head of both Duke and Arizona?  Well, do you know what team has been to the NCAA Final Four the most times in the last four years?  And, if Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson hadn't declared hardship for the NBA Draft a year ago, Michigan State might have made it four-for-four a year ago.  And there may be no end in site.  In addition to landing the #2-ranked recruiting class, which included 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'4 Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI, 6'10 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia, 6'2 Rashi Johnson from Mott (JC) MI, and 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN - in our final rankings from the Class of 2003, the Spartans already have an early jump on the future.  With Naymick and 6'0 Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, who is ranked #24 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, also already in the fold, Michigan State's class move up right behind Illinois, Wake Forest, and Valparaiso on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and it beats everybody when one looks at what program has signed the two best players in the class.   And if that weren't enough, the Spartans also has an early commitment from 5'11 Jr Drew Neitzel from Wyoming (Wyoming Park) MI, who draws a lot of comparisons at the same stage to former Ohio State All-American Jay Burson.  Davidson, who is ranked #142 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was one of the best players on the first practice day at the NIKE All-American Camp for about 10 minutes, but then was sidelined for the rest of the week with an injury.  He also was slowed at Five-Star's Pitt III Session enough to keep him out of the NBA Orange-White All-Star Classic and make some people question how badly he really wants it.  In other words, based on talent, skills, and athleticism, Davidson is probably better than where he have him ranked, but he's going to have to earn it before we move him into our top 100 nationally.  We also believe that the Crimson Tide will get a verbal commitment from 6'10 Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL, who is ranked #27 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, we don't look for that to happen until the Summer Evaluation Period is over, which means a commitment should be forthcoming to the Crimson Tide in early August.  Alabama also is still right there with 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who is ranked #52 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but who will move up dramatically after being ranked #15 overall by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas ABCD Camp.   However, if we had guess right now on Lang, it looks like the Crimson Tide are going to finish a close second behind Louisville.  The Cage story is also interesting, because Xavier currently has no more scholarships available for the Class of 2003 and, as a result, he may have to go the prep school route.  If you will recall, Xavier already has two commitments in next year's recruiting class from 6'7 Justin Doellman from Union (Ryle) KY and 6'6 Robert Barker from Greensburg (H.S.) IN, plus they also recently got an early commitment for the Class of 2004 from 6'3 Jr Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI.  In other words, Musketeers continue to get further and further ahead of the game.  Getting back to Gage, then again, he may not have to go to prep school, if David Young and/or Lionel Chalmers decide to not to accept the extra year of eligibility each has been granted. 

Yesterday afternoon we attended the awards ceremony for Five-Star's Pitt III Session and the Most Outstanding Player for the Week in the NBA was 6'6 Romeo Travis from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, despite the fact he was very average in the Orange-White All-State Game.  Last night Travis seemed to be more concerned about shooting 3-pointers than taking care of business inside, which is what he did the rest of the week, as is evident by the fact he was also named the Best Rebounder in the NBA.  Also taking home several awards from the NBA Division were 6'4 Mamadou Diakhate from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY and 6'6 Jr Churchill Odia from Lagos, Nigeria.  In addition to being named MVP in the Orange-White All-Star Game, Diakhate got the Mr. Hustle and Sportsmanship Awards.  Odia was named the Most Promising Prospect, which is the award given to the top underclassmen in camp, and Best Defender, plus he proved to be one of the most potent offensive threats in the all-star game with three treys and 14 points.  The MVP in the camp playoffs was 6'1 Jr TaQuan Evans from Troy (La Salle Institute) NY, the Best Playmaker was 5'11 Jr Drew Neitzel from Wyoming (Wyoming Park) MI, and the high scorer for the week with 11.2 ppg was 6'1 Lorenzo Shine from Detroit (Rogers) MI.  Shine also was received the 6th Man Award, because he played on the second unit, which plays in the first and third quarters.  Making Shine's story even more interesting is the fact that this is only the second time in the 38-year history of the camp that a player who played in the first and third quarters was the leading scorer in camp.  The Role Player of the Week was 5'10 Ed Berrios from Bronx (Roosevelt) NY, the Foul Shooting Champ hitting 47-50 three throws was 6'0 Jr Corey Jones from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, the Mr. Stations Winner was 6'5 Craig Hazel from Miami (Pace) FL, and sharing the Mr. Stations 13 Award were 6'2 Pat Coyle from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, 6'7 Douglas McLaughlin-Williams from Reston (South Lakes) VA, 6'1 Jose Olivero from Fairfax (Woodson) VA, 6'5 Luke Owings from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, and 6'0 Jake Rauchbach from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL.  The Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Division, which was primarily made up of juniors, was 6'4 Jr Mark Gant from Oswego (H.S.) IL.  The MVP in the all-star game last night was 5'11 Jr Cameron Dantley from Washington (St. Albans) DC.  And, yes, he is the son of Adrian Dantley.  The MVP in the NCAA Playoffs and the Best Playmaker for the week was 6'0 Jr Ryne Liggins from Pittsburgh (Penn Hills) PA.  The Best Rebounder was 6'5 Jr Sheldon Stewart from Orleans (St. Matthews) ON, the Best Defender was 6'6 Ogbarra Kuduz from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, and the leading scorer for the week was 6'6 Jr Jack Berry from Ft. Lauderdale (Westminister) FL.  The Most Improved Player in the NCAA was 6'0 Jr Chris Jula from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, Mr. Hustle Award went to 6'1 Jr Mark Patterson from Kenmore (St. Josephs) NY, and the Role Player for the Week was 6'1 Jr Nick Barardini from Lake Forest (H.S.) IL.  The Mr. Stations Winner was 6'2 Jr Alvah Floyd from Norfolk (Lake Taylor) VA and the Free Throw Shooting Champ hitting an incredible 86-90 on an outdoor court was 5'10 Jr Ben Falkenberg from Wadworth (H.S.) OH.  The  Most Outstanding Player and the Best Playmaker in Five-Star's loaded Developmental League was 5'11 Soph Tyrese Rice from Chesterfield (Bird) VA.  The leading scorer with a 17.3 ppg average for the week was 6'4 Soph Greg Orton from Huber Heights (Wayne) OH.  The Best Defender was 6'6 Soph Mike Davis from Chicago (Gordon Tech) IL, the Best Defender was 5'11 Soph Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, the MVP of the Playoffs was 6'0 Soph Jason Snow from Canton (McKinley) OH, the Mr. Hustle Award went to 5'8 Soph Jacob Fanning from Danbury (Marblehead) OH, the Mr. Stations Award went to 6'3 Soph Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, the Foul Shooting Champ was 6'0 Soph Bill Leising from Bluffton (H.S.) IN, Role Player of the Week was 6'3 Soph Robert Jones from Ft. Pierce (H.S.) FL, and the Most Improved Player for the Week was 6'1 Soph Daniel Cox from New Castle (H.S.) IN. 

We finally have caught up with our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis and he tells us his 5th Annual Full-Court Press All-West Camp, which was held July 12th-14th, was better than ever.  What made the camp so good was the overall depth of athleticism and parity of the camp, as well as the emergence of some major sleepers, like 6'3 Leon Jacobs from Los Angeles (Manual Arts) CA, 6'7 Dorrell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA, 6'7 Alan Wiggins from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'2 Larry Cunningham from Downey (H.S.) CA, and 6'8 Marcus Slaughter from Riverdale (J.W. North) CA.  Trigonis also tries to put 6'7 Ruben Boykin from Los Angeles (University) CA, into the sleeper category, but, based on the fact he scored 18 points and had eights and was the MVP in the the Top 25 All-Star Game for his team, Boykin probably should be in the dramatically improved category.  If you will recall, the last time we saw Boykin, he was average at best and, as a result, we thought he'd been overhyped.  The MVP for the other team in the Top 25 All-Star game was 6'1 Rayshawn Reed from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, who finished with 19 points and four assists.  Speaking of the Top 25 All-Star Game, not only was this the highlight of the camp, but Trigonis couldn't stop telling us that it was the best all-star game he has ever seen.  He's talking about a one-point game at half-time that eventually was decided in sudden death overtime by 6'5 Jr Rocky Hinds from Playa del Rey (St. Bernard) CA, who hit the game winning free throw.  Other top players in camp included 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Soph Ruben Boykin from Los Angeles (University) CA, 6'9 Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'2 Jr Gabriel Pruitt from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'4 Jr Curtis Allen from Palos Verdes (Rolling Hills) CA,  5'10 Kevin Bell from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'4 Jr Arron Aflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'7 Marcus Dove from Long Beach (Millikan) CA, 6'6 Soph Titus Shelton from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, 5'11 Soph Brian McTear from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'1 Mike Watson from Oceanside (El Camino) CA, 7'0 Jarrod Boswell from Lakeside (El Capitan) CA, 5'11 Rico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA, 6'3 Benas Veikalas from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'2 Jr Lorenzo Keeler from Escondido (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Travon Free from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Jr Ralph Miley from Downey (Calvary Chapel) CA, 6'3 Jr Thomas Woods from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'3 Jr Matt Sargeant from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA, 6'3 Will Mrz from Wheat Ridge (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Rodrick Craig from San Jose (Valley Christian) CA, 6'7 Zach Ryan from Garces (Bakersfield) CA, 6'6 Chris Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 5'10 Ron Howard from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 6'0 Jonathan Moore from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Chris Hemphill from Gardena (Serra) CA, 5'11 Soph Dwain Williams from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'4 Josh Flynn-Brown from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'8 Jr Zachariah Johnson from Sacramento (Grant) CA, 6'6 Perrin Johnson from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Soph Brian Harvey from Carson (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Derrick Williams from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'1 Drew Gibson from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA, 6'0 Jon Sharper from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'5 Jared Dudley from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'4 Drew Terry from Irvine (Northwood) CA, 6'2 Sinqua Walls from El Segundo) CA, 6'2 Antoine King from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'6 Keith Spencer from Chula Vista (Eastlake) CA, 6'5 Richard Moss from La Jolla (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Mark Lovein from Anaheim (Esperanza) CA, 6'1 Kevin Rogers from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'5 Jushay Rockett from Long Beach (Cabrillo) CA, 6'7 Kevin Lewis from Los Angeles (Locke) CA, 6'8 Derek Risper from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA, and 5'6 JayDee Luster from San Diego (Waggenheim) CA, who is ranked as the #13 8th grader nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.

Saturday, July 20, 2002

A year ago 6'3 Jr DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA, who is currently ranked as the #4 junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and already is verbally committed to Duke, was named the Most Outstanding Player for the Week in Five-Star's Pitt III Developmental League.  Two years ago this prestigious honor went to 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who has been the consensus #1-ranked player in the nation regardless of class for over a year now.  Notre Dame's Chris Thomas won the award in the summer of 1999, former Michigan State point guard Marcus Taylor and Louisville's Luke Whitehead shared the award in 1998, and Arizona's Jason Gardner took home Most Outstanding Player honors in the Developmental League in 1997.  Who will be next?  Well, we made a stop at Five Star's Pitt III session the last days just to find out.  And last night we got a good look at all the candidates, including 6'3 Soph Charles Belton from Tyrone (Sandy Creek) GA, 6'6 Soph Mike Davis from Chicago (Gordon Tech) IL, 5'11 Soph Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'6 Soph Cassan Breedan from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'1 Soph Marcus Walker from Kansas City (Bishop O'Hale) MO, 6'0 Soph Sean McCurdy from Trumbell (St. Joseph) CT, 6'3 Soph Josiah Thunshell from Bismark (H.S.) ND, 6'4 Soph Greg Orton from Huber Heights (Wayne) OH, 6'3 Soph Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'4 Soph Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'5 Soph Jererd Moret from West Hollywood (Pacific Hills) CA, 6'0 Aaron Caruthers from Tyrone (Sandy Creek) GA, 6'3 Soph Travis Walton from Lima (H.S.) OH, and 6'4 Jr Dan Fountain from Woodbridge (H.S.) VA, in the Developemental All-Star Game and there is no clear-cut choice.  Belton got it done both inside and outside, as he finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, and game MVP honors.  Davis only four points in the all-star game, but this active athlete with long arms, explosive quickness, and good fundamentals, gets the nod as the most talented player in the game over Walker, Freeman, and Breedan.   Walker had seven points in the all-star game, but he played better when we saw in the camp playoffs and at the NIKE All-American Camp, where he impressed with his outside shooting, passing, and athleticism.  Freeman impressed us with his ball handling and passing skills, quickness off the dribble, and his ability to make his teammates better.  Breedan has grown six inches in the last two years and, as a result, is like a deer just learning to run when he plays inside.  However, he's knows how to play away from the basket and has incredible athleticism, great timing, excellent hands, and an aggressive nature on the boards.  McCurdy has deceptive speed and quickness, good handling skills, court savvy, and a soft shooting touch.   Thunshell, who also hit a pair of treys and proved to be quick enough to defend out on the perimeter, is versatile enough to play both inside and outside.  However, to play inside at a higher level, Thunshell will have to get bigger and stronger.  So does Orton, who also finished with 12 points.  But unlike Thunshell, all of his points came inside, which is a concern down the road, because this wiry thin athlete projects right now as a tweener.  Ayers is similar to Davis, but he's not as big, explosive, or athletic, but he does have the frame and bloodline (his father is former Ohio State head coach Randy Ayers, who was a first team all-stater in Ohio in 1975).  Green falls in-between Davis and Ayers at 6'4, plus he knows how to use the glass, rebounds well, and is active inside.  Caruthers is like a jack-o