HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR JULY 2003

Thursday, July 31, 2003

The second semi-finals game last night in the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL between Sports Academy (LA) and Memphis YOMCA was not only was a 76-73 overtime thriller, but it was one of the best games we've seen all summer.  Memphis YOMCA couldn't shut down 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA and 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who combined for 52 points and  30 rebounds, and Sports Academy couldn't shut down the outside shooting and transition game in which 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN and 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN both thrive.  The star of the game was Williams, who missed three 3-pointers early in the game, but hit 11-20 field goals, five 3-pointers, and made clutch play after clutch play down the stretch as he finished with 29 points.  Brewer had 17 points and 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN had 13 points, three turnovers, and five turnovers for Memphis YOMCA, but the big difference in the game was occurred when Mitchell fouled out in the first overtime and Davis fouled out in the second overtime.   The other semi-finals game between Martin Brothers and Team Richmond was anticlimactic, as Martin Brothers executed to perfection and controlled the tempo en route to 61-54 victory.  The leading scorers for Martin Brothers were 6'7 Jimmie Binnie from Johnston (H.S.) IA with 13 points and 6'2 Trent Meacham from Champaign (Centennial) IL and  6'8 Alex Thompson from Ames (H.S.) IA with 10 points apiece and Team Richmond was led by 6'2 Andre Ingram from Highland Springs (H.S.) VA and 6'2 Tyree Evans from Richmond (George Wythe) VA, who combined for 43 of their team's 54 points.  In other games that have already been played earlier today at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, Cecil-Kirk beat the Illinois Wolves to determine 6th Place and 10th Place, Philadelphia MJC beat the St. Louis Eagles, 64-57, to determine 5th Place and 9th Place, the New York Pride beat RBS All-Stars, 80-72, to win the Division II Championship, and Sports Academy (LA) beat Team Richmond, 88-62, to determine 3rd Place and 4th Place.  The leading scorers for Sports Academy were 6'6 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA with 19 points, 6'2 Shawn Bridgewater from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA with 16 points, and 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA with 12 points.  Pacing the losing Team Richmond team were 6'2 Tyree Evans from Richmond (George Wythe) VA, who had 21 points, and 6'2 Andre Ingram from Highland Springs (H.S.) VA, who had 18 points, but shot only 8-22 from the field.  Martin Brothers and Memphis YOMCA will meet in the championship game, which will begin in just a few minutes at 4:45 PM.  On paper Memphis YOMCA should win by as many as they want, but the scenario is similiar to N.C. State's incredible last second upset against Houston in the NCAA Championship Game in Albuquerque, NM in 1983.  In other words, Martin Brothers won't beat themselves and there is the distinct possibility that Memhis YOMCA will experience a let down after such an emotional semi-finals win last night.  Martin Brothers jumped out to a 14-6 lead , but Memphis YOMCA went on an 11-2 run to make it 17-16 late in the first quarter.  By half-time Martin Brothers was back up by two and they led by as many as six in the third quarter.  However, midway through the 4th quarter Memphis went on a 6-0 run and never looked back as they won 62-56.   The leading scorer once again was Williams, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, with 21 points.  Brewer chipped in with 16 points and 6'8 Frank Holmes from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN and 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN added 11 and seven apiece.  Binnie, who hit three 3-pointers and played the best we've ever seen him play, once again led Martin Brothers in scoring with 16 points.  Meachem had 14 points and Thompson scored 10 points.  

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS has verbally committed to the University of Mississippi and we suspect that the Rebels will also get 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS, although this one will probably drag on for a long time.  As a matter of fact, when we talked to Thomas at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, SC, he told us that the top four schools on his list are Oklahoma, Florida State, Connecticut, and Kentucky.  However, when it is all said and done, Thomas is expected to be borderline academically and, as a result, this should provide Ole Miss with the perfect opportunity to sneak into the back door and get this one done.  The Rebels also have hung in there with 6'2 Mario Jointer, who they originally signed two years ago when he was a high school senior at Jackson (Jim Hill) MS and again this past year as a junior college player at Northeast Mississippi (JC MS.  However, the Southeastern Conference has a rule that prohibits schools in the league from signing a junior college player who hasn't attended the same junior college for at least three consecutive semesters and, as a result, Jointer will have to remain where he is for another year before finally enrolling at Ole Miss a year from now.   But together Clark and Jointer are enough to get Mississippi's recruiting class ranked #29 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and, as things stand now, if they also get Thomas, their recruiting class would move up to #18 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  The latest list for 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) IN includes LSU, Indiana, Oklahoma, Michigan State, North Carolina, Georgia and Miami-FL, although when it is all said and done, we'd be very surprised, if Davis, who is almost unstoppable when he gets the ball down low, doesn't sign with LSU.  We also believe that it's only a matter of time before 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'6 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, and 6'8 Tyrus Thomas from Baton Rouge (McKinley) LA all verbally commit to the Tigers.   Did you know that Davis goes to the same school as the kids of LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre, Pierre is Mitchell's Godfather, Temple's older brother  and father both played basketball at LSU, and Ethan Martin, who many believe is the best point guard in LSU school history, is Thomas' high school coach.  In other words, you can can't get any better connections that Pierre has right in his own backyard.  This also means that the Tigers not only are the verge of becoming one of the powerhouse teams in college basketball, after landing a recruiting class, which included 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, 6'8 Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, and 6'7 Darrell Lazare from Baton Rouge (Woodlawn) LA, that finished ranked #6 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.   We also understand that Minnesota could be on the verge of getting a verbal commitment from 6'0 Enrico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA and, if htis happens, it would be the third players the Golden Gophers have landed from California in the last year.  If you will recall, 6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'7 Kerry Woolridge from San Leandro (H.S.) CA both signed with Minnesota last fall. 

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

The earlier today Martin Brothers Select beat the St. Louis Eagles, Team Richmond upset the Georgia Stars, Sports Academy (LA) beat the DC Blue Devils, and Memphis YOMCA beat Philly M.J.C. to set up the final four, which will feature Martin Brothers Select versus Team Richmond at 8:00 PM and Sports Academy (LA) versus Memphis YOMCA at 10:00 PM tonight, at the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship in Orlando, FL.  And our guess is that whoever wins tonight's second semi-finals game between the Sports Academy and Memphis YOMCA will win the championship, which will be be determined tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 PM.  Memphis YOMCA features 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN, 6'7 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'8 Frank Holmes from Somerville Fayette-Ware) TN, and 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN and the Sports Academy features 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'6 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, and 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, who had 20 points and held 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA to only four points and one rebound, as the Sports Academy jumped out early and never looked back against Team Richmond in this afternoon's quarterfinals.  And this might provide the perfect illustration why North Carolina head coach Roy Williams is on the West Coast watching 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA and why the word on the street is that Morris, not Johnson, is now the Tar Heels #1 inside recruiting priority.  Until now Georgia Tech was thought to be a near lock for Morris, but everybody knows that Williams and Tar Heels are potentially an almost unbeatable combination when they really want a player.  Obviously this has to be a major cause for concern for Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, who could be on the verge of losing all three of the incredible big men on the Atlanta Celtics that we originally thought were a near lock for the Yellowjackets.  Remember, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has already verbally committed to Indiana and 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA appears to be a near lock to by-pass college and go straight into the NBA Draft next spring.  However, if North Carolina makes a strong push for Johnson, it probably would be good news for the University of Louisville, because the Cardinals are second on Johnson's list behind Florida, Michigan State, Alabama, and Notre Dame.  If you will recall, North Carolina was believed to be near lock for Johnson when Williams got the job in April, but a scholarship offer wasn't forthcoming prior to the summer evaluation period and, as a result, Johnson appears to be more open than ever, although, until now, we thought the Tar Heels would still make a comeback and get this one done in the end.  However, the big story at the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship has to be the surprising number of sleepers and players who have not been that highly touted previously that made name's for themselves in the tournament.  And right at the top of the list are 6'6 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'2 Andre Ingram from Highland Springs (H.S.) VA, 6'8 Tyrus Thomas from Baton Rouge (McKinley) LA, 6'2 Ralph Mims from Brunswick (H.S.) ME, 6'6 Sam Perry from Woodmont (H.S.) SC, 6'1 Darrelle Revis from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, and 6'8 Ryan Amoroso from Burnsville (H.S.) MN.  Temple plays the point and runs the show for the Sports Academy team that is in the final four, but it's his tremendous upside that gets us excited.  We talking about somebody with a silky-smooth demeanor, an incredible wing span, excellent athleticism, and good ball handling and passing skills for somebody his size.  The fact that Temple has a 3.8 gpa and 24 ACT academically and two years more years of high school to develop physically are just the icing on the cake.  Right now Temple's list includes Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Miami-FL, Florida State, Rice, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina, but, after his senior year next season, he is planning on attending prep school, most likely Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, for a year.  Then, don't be surprised if he follows in the footsteps of his older brother, Colin Temple, to LSU.  Ingram apparently is young for his class, because he has already signed with American University, but that didn't stop him from shooting the lights out in this tournament and, as a result, he, along with 6'2 Tyree Evans Richmond (Wythe) VA, was largely responsible for Team Richmond's advancement to the final four and surprising upsets against Cecil-Kirk with 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD in the round of 16 and the Georgia Stars with 6'4 Channing Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA and 6'6 Wynton Witherspoon from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA in the quarterfinals.  Thomas is a thoroughbred who plays above the rim, dunks in your face, blocks shots, doesn't take any prisoneers, and is getting extremely underrecruited, as LSU, Western Kentucky, Tulane, New Orleans, Virginia Tech, North Texas, Memphis, Oral Roberts, South Alabama, McNeese State, Southern University, and Southeastern Louisiana are the schools that have shown the most interest.  However, we may be talking about a legitimate top 100 player nationally and, if he gets stronger physically, we could be talking about somebody out of the Kenyon Martin mold, because he has that type of demeanor on the court.  Mims was one of the best 3-point shooters in the entire tournament and, as a result, Florida State may pull the trigger.  Perry has big hands, an incredible wing span, a toughness on the boards, and big time athleticism, which made it possible for him to take it to 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD in his team's near upset against North Greenville in the 6th Place quarterfinals.  However, what intrigued big time programs like Clemson and Syracuse were Perry's ability to handle out on the perimeter and even hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch.  In other words, schools like College of Charleston, Appalachian State, Duquesne, Furman, East Tennessee State, UT-Chattanooga, The Citadel, Withrop, Western Kentucky, and Charleston Southern are hoping the cat isn't out of the bag.  Revis is a good ball handler and passer who runs the show, makes good decisions, and plays good defense.  In other words, he'd be a steal for either Akron or Duquesne, which currently are the two schools showing the most interest.  What Amoroso lacks in speed, quickness, and athleticism, he more than makes up for with his high degree of skill level, toughness, and work ethic, which is why schools like Florida and Iowa State are more than just a little intrigued.  

The HOOP SCOOP has learned that 6'6 Rahshon Clarke from from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME has verbally committed to Iowa State and that 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY is on the verge of making a verbal commitment to the University of Louisville.  When Telfair does decide publicly announce for the Cardinals, which could be at any time, Louisville's recruiting class would move up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 behind Texas and Indiana.  Remember, Louisville also already has verbal commitments from 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'10 Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY.  And when the verbal commitment by Telfair is forthcoming, it would not be the first time we've been way out in front of the competition with regards to this great point guard from Brooklyn, NY.  If you will recall, the first place anybody ever heard about Telfair was when we ranked him as the #1 4th grader in the nation seven years ago.  We also were the first one to tell you that the University of Louisville would be the team to beat on Telfair two years ago right after he played so in well in the Underclassmen All-Star Game as a rising sophomore at the adidas ABCD Camp.  Telfair picking the Cardinals will be Rick Pitino's biggest recruit since he landed Jamal Mashburn in the fall of 1989 during his first season at the University of Kentucky.  And just like Mashburn during Pitino's days at Kentucky, getting Telfair will provide the Louisville coaching staff with the star player they need to help them close the deal on several of the top big men in the Class of 2004.  We're talking about 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 Tai Gray from Redland (JC) OK, 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA and, if the Cardinals got any two of these five players, it would put move their recruiting class up to #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Right now Louisville only has one more scholarship available, but our guess is they will take two big men, if they can get them and worry about what to do with them later.  One of potential option would be for Farley, who is expected to red-shirt as a freshman next year anyway, to go to prep school.  There also is the possibility that Telfair could by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.  The same possibility also exists with Smith and there are questions about whether Wade will make it academically even after a year of prep school.  We also have confirmed that former UNLV All-American Reggie Theus will be named as the new assistant coach at Louisville to fill the spot vacated when Mick Cronin became the head coach Murray State in April and the word is that it will happen tomorrow.   Apparently Pitino was sold by Theus's presence, people skills, and basketball background.  Did you know that Oscar Robertson is the only player in the history of the NBA to score more points and have more assists than Theus?  The commitment by Clarke once again shows that new Iowa State head coach Wayne Morgan can go back to his old stamping grounds and get the top players out of New York City.  And Clarke is a pretty good one to get.  Sure, he was only ranked #9 in New York City and #157 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2003, but, after deciding to go to prep school this fall, the value of Clarke's stock exploded this summer.  Not only does his perimeter skills and outside shooting continue to get better and better, but he got it done against the top competition in the nation, as is evident by the fact that he finished ranked #10 among wing forwards by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas ABCD Camp earlier this month.  In other words, we're talking about an athletic combo forward who would be ranked among the top 100 seniors nationally, if we included him with high school seniors, instead of on our 5th year list.

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'7 Dorell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA will play in a game at 2:30 PM this afternoon at Lynwood High School in Lynwood, CA and immediately following the game there will be a press conference and he will announce his verbal commitment to DePaul.  If you will recall, on the weekend of April 26th-28th, we told you that "DePaul may have the inside track (to get Wright), because Erik Harden, who is Wright's mentor and AAU coach when he plays for the Los Angeles Paladins, not only is close friend of Blue Demons assistant coach Josh Oppeinheimer, but they also coached together when Oppeinheimer was getting his start in coaching with the L.A. Rockfish club team.  And you can bet that Oppenheimer is trying to sell Wright on the fact that if he comes to DePaul, he could follow in the same footsteps of Quentin Richardson, who was named both the Frosh-of-the-Year and the Player-of-the-Year in Conference USA in his first season with the Blue Demons.  But, as things stand now, Wright will need at least one year of prep school, because it appears he's that far behind academically.  And, as a result, most people will reclassify him as a junior.  However, for our purposes, we'll continue to include Wright with the Class of 2003 and then make him our #1-ranked 5th year player next year.  Wright can shoot the lights out from downtown, is explosive to the basket, is a great passer, is a surprisingly good rebounder for his lack of size, and has a flare for the spectacular.  He also has incredible athleticism, always seem to make something positive happen, and has no idea just how good he is."  It's kind of amazing that we we wrote that three months ago, because it all still applies today, as Wright plans to attend prep school at South Kent (Prep) CT next year, where he hopes to make up enough ground academically to be eligible to enroll a year from now at DePaul and be eligible to play as a college freshmen during the 2004-05 season.  Not only does this move DePaul's recruiting class into a tie at #8, along with UCLA, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but it also gives the Blue Demons two great players in this year's recruiting class.   Remember, last winter the Blue Demons got a verbal commitment from 5'11 Aking Elting from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, who is expected to be one of the top five junior college players in the nation next season.  DePaul also landed two good guards - 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY and 6'2 Tyler Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA - and a perimeter player - 6'7 Marcus Heard from Springfield (Southeast) IL - in last year's recruiting class, so if they can also add somebody like, 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'7 Tim Pierce from Hercules (H.S.) CA, and 6'4 Brian Lainge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, all of whom have the Blue Demons high on their list, then they would be stockpiled on the perimeter for years to come.  And with the addition of Wright, they also have the Tracy McGrady-like superstar, who has the potential to do for DePaul what Dwayne Wade did for Marquette, around which to build the program.  Or maybe Blue Demons head coach Dave Leitao will hit the jackpot and land a quality inside player, like 6'10 Justin Williams from Colby (JC) KS or 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, who would be the third and final player in this year's recruiting class. 

Monday, July 28, 2003

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that USC has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'5 Nick Young from Reseda (Cleveland) CA, who was ranked no higher than #37 in the state in the Class of 2003 by the HOOP SCOOP, but this still is a nice catch, because Young, who will attend a year of prep school beginning this fall, is a big time athlete with a huge upside.  And he is pretty good right now, as is evident by the fact that he was such an important role player for the Pump N Run All Stars at the adidas Big Time Tournament that he was named to the 72-player all tournament team and there are those out there who think he is such a phenomenal athlete that he'll play in the NBA someday.  In other words, USC head coach Henry Bibby may have found somebody who could develop into the next Jeff Trepagnier.  The verbal commitment by Young moves USC's recruiting class, which also includes 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA and 6'3 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA up to #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, Young may be the only one of the three who actually becomes a Trojan a year from now, because Swift is expected to entire his name into the NBA Draft next spring and Pruitt is not expected to make it academically, which means he will probably have to go the junior college route.  We also have confirmed that Connecticut is the leader for 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, but he tells us that Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Syracuse, Kansas, and Kentucky are also on his list.  The top six schools for 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN are Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Indiana, and Notre Dame.  The latest list for 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoore) IL includes Kansas, Duke, Illinois, and Kentucky.  The list for 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT includes Arizona, Boston College, Mississippi State, Syracuse, Virginia, DePaul, and Georgia Tech.  6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ is still waiting for North Carolina to offer, but, if the Tar Heels don't, he says that Connecticut is the favorite over Kansas, N.C. State, and Pittsburgh.  Ohio State, Seton Hall, Virginia, Marquette, Wisconsin, and Purdue are still in the hunt for 5'11 Dupree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  Cincinnati, Houston, Arkansas, Memphis, Indiana, Connecticut, and Tennessee were mentioned by 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN.   Florida and Florida State both appear to be out of the running for 6'11 Alexander Kahn from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL and, as a result, the final three appear to be Duke, Michigan State, and Kansas.   We do expect Florida State to get a verbal commitment from 6'6 Cornelius Ingram from Hawthorne (H.S.) FL and we expect it to happen fairly soon.  However, Ingram will probably have to wait until next February to sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent, because football is expected to be the sport he plays in college, although right now he's talking about playing both basketball and football at the next level.  Kentucky, Indiana, Connecticut, USC, Indiana, Georgia Tech, and Kansas were mentioned by 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL.  We also continue to hear that 6'3 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC may rescind his verbal commitment to North Carolina via mutual agreement and, if this does happen, maybe he would be the player to be named later in the Daniel Gibson deal.  Remember, this 6'3 point guard from Houston (Jones) TX still maintains that he is verbally committed to the University of Texas, but if Roy Williams, who has always been his favorite coach, suddenly finds that he has another scholarship available, Gibson probably would have to take a serious look at North Carolina, which has always been his favorite school.  We also continue to be intrigued by the situation involving the verbal commitment that 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN made recently to Memphis.  It appears that Williams' AAU Coach, whose step-son is fomer Arkanas All-American Todd Day, is still trying to push him to the Razorbacks and, as a result, Cincinnati and Tennessee are waiting around to see what happens.  St. John's and Louisville now appear to be the leader for 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, but this one should have some interesting twists and turns once he returns to the United States this fall.   Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington, New Mexico, and Providence now appear to be the favorites for 6'8 Lorenzo Mata from South Gate (H.S.) CA.   The list for 6'8 Frank Holmes from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN includes Mississippi, Mississippi State, Penn State, Colorado, Alabama, South Florida, and Tennessee, but don't be surprised if Murray State and Austin Peay try and slip in the back door. 

Saturday, July 26, 2003, & Sunday, July 27, 2003

6'0 Michael Redell from Rockford (H.S.) MI and 6'1 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI each hit 3-pointers to make it 6-2 in the championship gme of the Open Division of the adidas Big Time Tournament at Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV, but the Atlanta Celtics scored the next seven points and, like they say, the rest is history.  By half-time the Atlanta Celtics, which were shooting 59.4% compared to 47.8% for the Michigan Mustangs, were up 46-30.  And the shooting percentage for the Atlanta Celtics would have been even higher if the outside shot had been going down for 6'8 Josh Smith, who was 0-3 from beyond the arc in the first half.  However, Smith was a perfect 7-7 from inside the arc, as he had 18 first-half point and was well on his way towards taking home tournament MVP honors.  As a matter of fact, Smith and 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Chrisitan) GA were named co-MVP's of the tournament.  The final score was the Atlanta Celtics 85, the Michigan Mustangs 65.   The leading scorers for the Atlanta Celtics were Smith with 26 points, 6'2 Clifford Clinkscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL with 14 points, 6'3 Jr Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA with 12 points, and Howard with 10 points.  The leading scorer for the Michigan Mustangs was Neitzel with 16 points.   In other games that were played earlier today, the Crusaders beat the Tulsa Jr Hurricanes, 73-58 in the "A" Division Championship Game; the Northwest Ohio Basketball Club beat the Friends of Hoop II in the "B" Division Championship Game; and the Marlins beat the Indy Warriors, 73-66, in the "C" Division Championship Game.  The All-Tournament Team included 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Chrisitan) GA, and  7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'2 Clifford Clinkscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL, and 6'5 Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinette) GA from the Atlanta Celtics; 6'0 Jajuan Robinson from South Kent (Prep) CT from the Baltimore Bombers Sr.; 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT from Baltimore Select; 6'0 Jordan Carter from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN, 6'8 Sebastian Greene from Lafayette (Central Catholic) IN, and 6'6 J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN from Billy Shepherd Sports; 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA and 7'0 Robert Swift from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA from California Team Select; 6'9 Matt Terwilliger from Troy (H.S.) OH from Cleveland Basketball Club; 6'5 Jon Lucky from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT and 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT from Connecticut Select; 6'7 Joe Krabbenhoft from Sioux Falls (Roosevelt) SD from the Dakota Schoolers; 6'10 Jr Andris Biedrins from Rita, Latvia from DC Assault I; 6'2 Chris Lofton from Maysville (Mason County) KY from Derek Smith All-Stars 17's; 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA and 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA from EBO/EA Sports; 6'4 Wes Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI from Friends of Hoop I; 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA from Friends of Hoop Seattle; 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'6 Justin Cerosoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, and 6'1 Brandon Lee from Peoria (Central) IL from Ft. Sooy-No Limit; 6'4 Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA from Gym Rats; 6'1 Derrick Low from Honolulu (Iolani) HI from the Hawaii Raiders; 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX the Houston Hoops; 6'4 Chamberlain Oguchi from Sugarland (Ft. Bend) TX from Houston Select; 6'7 Marshall Brown from Lyndon (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX from the Houston Superstars; 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, 6'3 Myles Guidry from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'0 Charlie Jones from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, and 5'10 Sean Morris from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX from the Houston Westside All Stars; 6'4 Mark Tyndale from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA from Hunting Park Warriors; 6'8 Ollie Bailey from Chicago (Farragut) IL from the Illinois Wolves; 6'11 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, and 6'3 Stanley Burrell from Laurinburg (Institute) NC from Indiana Red; 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY from the Long Island Panthers; 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL from MA Select (FL); 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX and 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC from the Michigan Hurricanes; 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, 6'0 Lorenzo Shine from Detroit (Rogers) MI, and 6'0 Michael Redell from Rockford (H.S.) MI from the Michigan Mustangs I; 6'4 Draelon Burns from Milwaukee (Custer) MI from Milwaukee Running Rebels; 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA with the Mobley Philly Stars; 6'6 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'7 Charles Rhodes from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA from the New Orleans Jazz; 6'6 Brian Laing from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY from the New York Ravens; 6'4 Quentin Thomas from Oakland (Tech) CA from the Oakland Rebels; 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'5 David McClure from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, and 6'8 Taj Finger from Bedford (Fox Lane) NY from the Playaz Gold; 6'9 Maarty Leunen from Redmond (H.S.) OR from the Portland Elite Legends; 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'6 Nick Young from Reseda (Cleveland) CA from the Pump N Run All Stars; 6'2 Sean Ogirri from Denver (East) CO from Pump N Run Colorado; 6'6 Mike Gordy from Denver (North) CO from Red Shield Cohawks White; 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'5 Rodney Stuckey from Kent (Kentwood) WA, 6'10 Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA, and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA from Seattle Rotary Select I; 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL and 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) AL from Southeast Pump N Run; 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA from the Southern Cal All-Stars; 6'3 A.J Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN from the Spiece Blue Demons; and 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX from Texas Team Elite.  Editor's Note:  A special thanks to Larry McKay, Dominic Clark, Travis Gonzalez, and all the other people who do an incredible job at making our job much easier in terms of covering the adidas Big Time Tournament.

In the much anticipated first semi-finals game between the Atlanta Celtics and Seattle Rotary Select in the Open Division of the adidas Big Time Tournament at Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV, the Atlanta Celtics did what they have done throughout most of the tournament, as they jumped out to a 21-10 lead early and led by as much as 22 points late in the first half.  And throughout most of the game 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Chrisitan) GA, and  7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA took turns bringing down the house with electrifying slam dunks.  And while nobody except the Squires Richmond, which almost pulled off the upset in pool play, seemed to able to mount a serious challenge to the Atlanta Celtics throughout the tournament.  As a matter of fact, the Celtics are so strong inside with Howard, who already has drawn Kevin Garnett comparisons from the HOOP SCOOP;  Smith, who is more like Shawn Kemp with his ability to legitimately play out on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers, and Morris, who has the size, athleticism, and skills necessary to be a great player down the road in the NBA his own right, that one person was heard asking which team in Atlanta was better - the Celtics or the Hawks? Another was heard saying that they know the Celtics could beat the Washington Wizards.  If there was any doubt before this game who the tournament MVP should be, Smith eliminated it with an impressive 24-point performance.   Smith also was impressive enough to get some people talking about whether Smith, not Howard, should be the #1-ranked player in the senior class nationally.  Not only did Smith have his share of incredible dunks, but as usual, showed us good perimeter skills and shot the lights out, as he hit five threes from beyond the arc.  Another big difference in the game was the Seattle Rotary Select's inability to compete inside.   Sure, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA did his part, as he put 34 points on Josh Smith, but 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who is always very active, but never seems to get enough done, and 6'9 Josh Heytvelt form Clarkston (H.S.) WA, who played much better yesterday and today than when we saw him early in the tournament, but still has questions about his toughness and willingness to compete, were unable to get it done against Morris and Howard inside, as is evident by the fact that they combined for only nine rebounds.   Heytvelt also finished with only two points, while Giles only hit 4-12 field goals en route to eight points.  Instead, the only player Williams got the support he needed was from 6'5 Rodney Stuckey from Kent (Kentwood) WA, who combined with Williams to score 61 of Seattle Rotary Select's 73 points.  Howard was the leading scorer for the Atlanta Celtics with 28 points.  Morris chipped in 24 points.   The Michigan Mustangs jumped out to a 15-8 lead against the Houston Westside All Stars in the battle of the two Cinderella teams and led throughout, despite a serious challenge down the stretch by the Houston West Side All Stars, which made it a one-point game with three minutes to go in the other semi-finals game in this year's Open Division at the adidas Big Time Tournament.  However, the Michigan Mustangs then went on a 8-0 run and the sealed victory as the Michigan Mustangs ended up winning 63-58.   The leading scorers for the Michigan Mustangs were 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI with 19 points, 6'5 Derek Fracalossi from Davidson (H.S.) MI with 11 points, and 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI with 10 points.  Neitzel also has four assists.  Leading the Houston Westside All Stars were 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX with 19 points, 6'3 Myles Guidry from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX with 15 points, and 5'10 Sean Morris from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX with 10 points.  This sets up the championship game between the Atlanta Celtics and the Michigan Mustangs and it should truly be David versus Goliath.  Not only is 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI one the biggest overachievers in the senior class nationally, but 6'10 Danny Waterstradt from Redford (Catholic Central) MI has been out of the tournament due to injuries for the start and, as a result, the Mustangs should be hard pressed to match-up inside against the Atlanta Celtics' incredible front-line of Smith, Morris, and Howard.  However, as has been the story throughout the entire tournament, it still should be interesting watching the numerous highlight film-like dunks and incredible plays that are sure to be made by this terrific trio for the Atlanta Celtics.

6'3 Kelvin Davis from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT stepped up with 23 points and five rebounds in the first quarterfinals game this morning in the Open Division of the adidas Big Time Tournament at Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV, but he couldn't do it all by himself, as Connecticut Select lacked the fire power to beat the Atlanta Celtics inside, plus 6'5 Jon Lucky from Waterbury (Sacret Heart) CT, who was 0-8 from the field and scored only one point in the game, failed to step up for Connecticut Select.  The Atlanta Celtics had five players - 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Chrisitan) GA, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'2 Clifford Clinkscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL, and 6'3 Jr Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA - who scored in double digits, as they knocked off Connecticut Select, 93-68, in this game which was not as close as the final score indicates.  The next game was extremely close throughout the entire first half, but Seattle Rotary Select opened things up in the second half - thanks to the efforts of 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'9 Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA, and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who combined for 45 points and 27 rebounds - as they coasted to a 88-73 victory over the Ft. Sooy-No Limit in the second quarterfinals game.  Unfortunately this spoiled the potential match-up between the Atlanta Celtic and Ft. Sooy-No Limit that we talked about yesterday, but it may prove to be just as interesting in a different way, because Seattle Rotary Select has the horses necessary to match-up inside against the Atlanta Celtics' incredible front-line of Smith, Howard, and Morris, plus they should have the edge in the backcourt, because 6'3 Lyndale Burleson from Seattle (Franklin) WA,who finished with 10 points and five assists, is better than Clinkscale and 6'5 Rodney Stuckey from Kent (Kentwood) WA, who finished with 18 points, is better than Mercer, but not as good as 6'5 Dwayne Day from Mt. Vernon (Montgomery County) GA.  Ft. Sooy-No Limit was led by Livingston,who finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, and 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, but in the second they simply ran out of gas.  In the third quarterfinals game 6'3 Myles Guidry from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who we had always thought of previously as an undersized inside guy without a true position, stole the show early by hitting three straight 3-pointers and scoring 11 points in the first three minutes of the game, as the Houston Westside All Stars jumped out to a 17-7 lead early against the Pump N Run All Stars.   However, at that point 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA took over as he scored eight straight points and 10 of Pump N Run's next 14 points to tie the game at 19-all.  From that point on it was a dog fight, but the Houston Westside All Stars were able to always stay a couple of points ahead en route to a 80-72 upset.  Guidry, who projects as a mid-to-high major player, if he shoots like he did in this game all the time, but who is only getting recruited by schools like Stephen F. Austin, Southwest Texas State, Montana State, and UT-Arlington, was the leading scorer for the Houston Westside All Stars with 23 points, followed by 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX with 19 points, and 5'10 Sean Morris from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX with 17 points.  Taylor led the losers with 24 points and 6'0 Enrico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA chipped in with 18 points.  The Michigan Mustangs jumped out to a 19-7 lead against the Playaz Gold in the final quarterfinals game of the day.  And it stayed that way as the Michigan Mustangs were up 35-23 late in the first quarter, 40-28 at half-time, 47-35 with 12:00 minutes left in the game, 53-39 with 9:44 left in the game, 65-46 with 5:00 minutes left in the game, and 75-57 at the final buzzer.  And the catalyst behind the Michigan Mustangs was 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI, who not only is one of the most intense competitors in the tournament, but also an explosive point guard with great handling and passing skills, excellent 3-point shooting range, and a knack for making everybody around him better.  In other words, we really might be talking about the next Scott Skiles.  Neitzel finished with 17 points and seven assists, 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI with 14 points, 6'0 Lorenzo Shine from Detroit (Rogers) MI with 11 points, and 6'0 Michael Redell from Rockford (H.S.) MI with 10 points.  Scoring 30 out of the Playaz's 57 points was 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, but nobody else stepped and played well for the Playaz.  Also noteworthy is the fact the Michigan Mustangs did this without 6'10 Danny Waterstradt from Redford (Catholic Central) MI, who got hurt last week at Five-Star's Pitt III session and, as a result, did not play in the tournament.  However, Waterstradt was on the bench and he has verbally committed to Rutgers, which is a scoop in itself.  This sets up the two semi-finals match-ups, which will be between Seattle Rotary Select and the Atlanta Celtics at 2:20 PM and the Houston Westside All Stars and the Michigan Mustangs at 3:40 PM, followed by the championship game at 6:20 PM.  We also have been asked to come up with our list of 30 players who should be on the all-tournament and, as things stand now, we voted for 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Chrisitan) GA, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'6 Jared Dudley from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'1 Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'10 Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA, 6'6 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, 6'3 Myles Guidry from Alief-Elsik (Alief) TX, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) WY, 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'4 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, 6'8 Sebastian Greene from Lafayette (Central Catholic) IN, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'6 Mike Gordy from Denver (North) CO, and 6'0 Jajuan Robinson from South Kent (Prep) CT.  However, as the day goes on we make some minor adjustments, like insert 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI or 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ into the spot that Nelson currently occupies, plus we're still trying to find a way to get 6'1 Jamual Warren from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who averaged 20.2 ppg and played extremely well when we saw him, onto the all-tournament team, even though the Donyell Marshall Foundation didn't go very far in the tournament and we already voted for Bell, who was on the same team.  Speaking of the leading scorers in the tournament, through last night that honor belonged to 6'7 Jr Joseph Darger from Riverton (H.S.) UT with 27.0 ppg, followed by 6'2 Frosh Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL with 26.0 ppg, 6'4 Jr David Baker from Mission Viego (Capistrano Valley) CA with 26.0 ppg, 6'0 Jajuan Robinson from South Kent (Prep) CT with 25.8 ppg, 6'6 Mike Gordy from Denver (North) CO with 25.7 ppg, 6'4 Jr Parker Emerson from Windsor (H.S.) CO 25.0 ppg, 6'7 Danny Cavic from Tustin (H.S.) CA with 24.8 ppg, 6'2 Darren Prentice from Alamogordo (H.S.) NM with 24.6 ppg, 5'7 Jr Ryan Bennett from Ft. Worth (Eastern Hills) TX with 24.6 ppg, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL with 24.6 ppg, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA with 24.5 ppg, 6'8 Dane Watts from Warrensburg (H.S.) MO with 24.4 ppg, 6'6 Jeremis Smith from Ft. Worth (Dunbar) TX with 24.0 ppg, and 6'0 Marcellus Catchings from Stamford (Westhill) CT with 24.0 ppg.  We also understand that the New York Gauchos beat The Family to win the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, FL, which means the Gauchos appear to be well on their way towards being the team of the summer.  If you will recall, the Gauchos also won the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX in April and the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA last week.  6'2 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY and 6'2 Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY combined for 36 points for the Gauchos in the championship game.   The leading scoring for The Family was 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who was a model of consistency, as he scored 26 points in the finals, 26 points in the semi-finals versus the Sports Academy (LA), 26 points in the quarterfinals against Gulf Coast, and 25 points in the second round versus New York Riverside Church.  Also noteworthy is the fact that 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI got hurt in the semi-finals and, as a result, did not play in the championship. 

Friday, July 25, 2003

History appears to have repeated itself.   No, Billy Shepherd Sports did not pull off another stunning upsets against the Atlanta Celtics like they did a year ago, but 6'8 Sebastian Greene from Lafayette (Central Catholic) IN and 6'0 Jordan Carter from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN did the same thing that 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 did in the same game in the same gym at the same time a year ago.  We're talking about establishing their national reputations and proving they can play against anybody while taking their team deep into the playoffs at  adidas Big Time Tournament.  Greene held his own defensively inside against three future NBA players - 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, and 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of WIlson (Oak Hill) VA - and offensively impressed us with his quickness, athleticism, and ability to get his shot out on the perimeter, as he hit four 3-pointers and scored 20 points against the Atlanta Celtics.  Greene, who currently is getting recruited by schools like IUPUI, IUPU-Ft. Wayne, Purdue, Southern Illinois, Austin Peay, Evansville, and Dayton, also handles, passes, and is extremely athletic, which means he's truly a multi-dimensional athlete.  And just like Webster a year ago, he impressed us so much that we have to pause and wonder whether we should rank him among our top 100 seniors nationally.  In other words, we're talking about one of the biggest sleepers in the tournament, as well as the nation.  Greene does need to get bigger and stronger, but we loved the way he competed against the Atlanta Celtics and throughout the entire tournament.  Carter is small, but he too made some big 3-point shots, impressed us with his court savvy, handling, and passing skills, and ability to get to the basket, as he finished with 20 points against the Atlanta Celtics in what was a very respectable 81-69 loss in the round of 16.  Also chipping with 11 points for Billy Shepherd Sports was 6'6 J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN, who finally showed us why the University of Iowa took a very early verbal commitment from him a year-and-a-half ago when he was a sophomore in high school.  As a matter of fact, if Angle's 3-point shot had been going down, the game against the Atlanta Celtics would have made the game a lot closer.  Morris led the Celtics with 23 points, Howard had 20 points, and Smith had 11 points.  In the game immediately following the game between Billy Shepherd Sports and the Atlanta Celtics, Ft. Sooy-No Limit picked up where they left off this morning against the Houston Hoops and beat the Michigan Mustangs, 92-73, to set up what could be one of the classic match-ups in the history of the adidas Big Time Tournament at 2:20 PM tomorrow afternoon in the semi-finals.  We're talking about the team with perhaps the best front line in the history of AAU-like basketball with Howard, Smith, and Morris, against what is emerging into one of the best backcourts we've ever seen at this level, as 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL and 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL have developed an incredible chemistry while playing with one another in this tournament.  We already knew that Livingston was the best point guard in the class, but Cerasoli has taken his game to another level and, as a result, now must be considered one of the top 20 players nationally in the senior class.  He also followed up this morning's 35-point game with 25 points in the round of 16 against the Michigan Hurricanes in a game that finished about an hour ago.  And, if Cerasoli continues to play like he has so far in the tournament, he might be our choice for tournament MVP honors regardless of whether his team wins or loses against the Atlanta Celtics.  Making tomorrow morning's potential match-up even more interesting is the fact that the Atlanta Celtics weakness is Ft. Sooy-No Limit's strength and vice versa.  In other words, it will be very interesting to see how both teams exploit the match-ups.  However, for this to happen, the Atlanta Celtics have to beat Connecticut Select in the first quarterfinals game at 9:00 AM and Ft. Sooy-No Limit would have to beat Seattle Rotary Select in the second quarterfinals game at 10:20 AM.  In the final four games in the round of 16, the Pump N Run All Stars are beating the MA Select (FL), 47-35, early in the second half, the Houston Westside All Stars are playing the Portland Legends in a game that is currently in progress at Durango High School's Main Gym, the Playaz Gold will Southeast Pump N Run at 9:00 PM at Green Valley High School's Main Gym, and the Long Island Panthers will play the Michigan Mustangs at 9:00 PM at Durango High School's Main Gym.  So, unless 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL gets hot for MA Select, the Pump N Run All-Stars, which beat the Atlantic Celtics in the championship game at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions during Memorial Day Weekend in Chapel Hill, NC, could also get a shot at knocking off the Celtics again in the championship game.  We also predict that the Houston Westside All Stars will beat the Portland Legends, the Playaz Gold will beat Southeast Pump N Run, and the Long Island Panthers will beat the Michigan Mustangs to set up tomorrows other semi-finals games.  Then, we look for the Atlanta Celtics to beat Connecticut Select, Ft. Sooy-No Limit to beat Seattle Rotary Select, Pump N Run All Stars to beat the Houston Westside All Stars, and the Long Island Panthers to beat the Playaz Gold in the quarterfinals; the Atlanta Celtics to beat Ft. Sooy-No Limit and Pump N Run All Stars to beat the Long Island Panthers in the semi-finals, and for the Atlanta Celtics to even the score against Pump N Run in the championship game at the adidas Big Time Tournament at 6:20 PM tomorrow night. 

So much for our final eight predictions from yesterday for the adidas Big Time Tournament, which will conclude tomorrow at Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, NV.  We didn't see either game last night, but the Baltimore Bombers knocked off Friends of Hoop Seattle, 79-70, and Southern California All-Stars beat the Juice All Stars, 65-62, which still was missing 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY (there were rumors that Telfair was going to finally show up yesterday, but it didn't happen).  Instead, the big key to the game apparently was 6'7 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who hit six straight 3-pointers and firmly established himself as the best freshman in the nation ahead of 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH.  So it should come as no big surprise that King already is a top recruiting priority for UCLA and apparently the feeling is mutual.  As a matter of fact, we already think it's a done deal.  In a game we did see last night, Team Texas Elite beat Donyell Marshall Foundation, 69-68, but 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA won the battle of the big men by outplaying 6'11 Lamarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX.  Not only was Bell a lot tougher and more aggressive than Aldridge, but we were very impressed by his arsenal of offensive moves, excellent hands, and explosiveness around the basket.  In other words, it appears that Bell is finally living up to the hype and, as a result, has to be ranked a lot higher than #17 on our updated 5th year list, which we updated a week ago today in this section.  Bell also has to receive serious McDonald's All-American consideration, if he's on the ballot (he may not be because he'll be a 5th year player), plus he will go a long way towards solving the inside needs for St. John's a year from now.  And in a game just about everybody in our business saw this morning, Ft. Sooy-No Limit jumped out to a  23-6 lead against the Houston Hoops and never looked back, as they coasted to a 89-68 win the third round of the playoffs in the Open Division.   The best player in the game was 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, who finished with 35 points and took turns with 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL beat the Houston Hoops in transition and knocked down 3-pointers from beyond the arc.  Livingston, who finished with 18 points, also had a number of incredible assists.  The Houston Hoops were led by 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX and 6'6 Jawaan McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, who combined for 41 points.  The Hunting Park Warriors also lost this morning to Connecticut Select in the third round of the tournament, which means that four of our final eight teams have already gone home.  Right now we're about half way through the round of 32 and, as things stand now, the Atlanta Celtics and Billy Shepherd Sports, which upset the Celtics at the same point in the tournament a year ago, will play at 5:00 PM in the Main Gym at Green Valley High School in the championship of Bracket #1; Indiana Red and Connecticut Select will play at 5:00 PM in the Main Gym at Durango High School in the championship of Bracket #2; the Michigan Hurricanes and Ft. Sooy-No Limit will play at 6:20 PM in the Main Gym at Green Valley High School in the championship of Bracket #3; the New Orleans Jazz and the winner of Houston Select I-Rotary Select I will play at 6:20 PM in the Main Gym at Durango High School in the championship of Bracket #4; Pump N Run All Stars and the winner of MA Select (FL)- Baltimore Select will play at 7:40 PM in the Main Gym at Green Valley High School in the championship of Bracket #5; the Houston West Side All Stars and the winner of Southern California All Stars-Portland Legends will play at 7:40 PM in the Main Gym at Durango High School in the championship of Bracket #6; the winner of Playaz Gold-Team Texas Elite and the winner of Mobley Philly Stars-Southeast Pump N Run will play at 9:00 PM in the Main at Green Valley High School in the championship of Bracket #7; and the winner of DC Assault-Long Island Panthers and the winner of the Arkansas Hawks-Michigan Mustangs I will play at 9:00 PM in the Main Gym at Durango High School in the championship of Bracket #8.  We also have done some more checking with regards to the rumor about 6'7 Charles Rhodes from Jackson (Lanier) MS reneging on Mississippi State and we'd be very surprised if this happens.   We also talked with 6'11 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA earlier today and he tells us that UCLA and Louisville are the leaders over Oregon, Gonzaga, Brigham Young, Utah, Florida, and Indiana.   

Thursday, July 24, 2003

After watching the first two days of pool play and the first round of the playoffs earlier today at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, we think we have stumbled upon the sleeper team in the 128-team Open Division Playoffs.   Friends of Hoop Seattle was not included among the 56 teams, all of whom are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, in the open division of the tournament, but they walked through their pool and then convincingly knocked off the Richmond Squires, 78-60 earlier today.  Sure, the Squires were probably a little fat after losing a heartbreaker to the Atlanta Celtics yesterday, but Friends of Hoop Seattle has one of the best one-two-three punches in the tournament in 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'8 Jr Jon Brockman from Snoheomish (H.S.) WA, and 6'1 Nick Livi from Sammanish (Eastlake) WA.  Webster, who is an incredible physical specimen, a big time athlete, a great outside shooter, and a force to be reckoned with around the basket, was even better than when we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp two weeks ago when we had him ranked #11 overall in camp.  As a matter of fact, Webster was so good today that we're giving him serious consideration for the #1-ranking in the junior class nationally.  Not only does Webster dominate a game both inside and and outside, but we think he will be a prototypical 2-guard someday in the NBA.  Webster tells us that Arizona is the early favorite and this comes as no surprise, because former Wildcats point guard Jason Terry is his cousin.   However, it appears that North Carolina, Missouri, UCLA, and Washington are also on his list.  Brockman is a tough hardnosed white kid who doesn't take any prisoners inside, as he battles for every rebound, scores around the basket, and is surpringly quick to the ball.  Brockman also has excellent skills and great hands, which means he is now a legitimate top 100 junior nationally.  If you will recall, we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp, but we didn't think he was good enough to make our list of the top players at each position in camp.  We also liked Livi, who is the point guard who ran the show, as he handled, passed, and made his teammates better.  Livi also is quick to the hole and excellent in an uptempo setting, which makes us think he's a legitimate sleeper who should be on our list of the top 200 seniors nationally.  The Friends of HoopSeattle also in a bracket they can win, but the first must get past the Pump N Run All Stars in tomorrow morning's 11:40 AM game in the round of 16.  We also are making the Atlanta Celtics, Hunting Park, Houston Hoops, New Orleans Jazz, Juice All Stars, Playaz Gold, and the Long Island Panthers the favorites to win their respective brackets and still be playing in the quarterfinals, which begin at 9:00 AM at Green Valley High School on Saturday, July 26th.  We also continue hear that players, like 6'4 Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA, who was verbally committed to Penn State, 6'4 Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI, who was committed to Xavier, and 6'7 Charles Rhodes from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who verbally committed in June to Mississippi State, are de-committing.  Well, to our knowledge there is no such word as "de-commit" in the English language nor should there be.  Obviously those who use the word are trying to take some of the sting out of what should not be an acceptable practice.  Remember, picking a college often is the most important decision of your life and, as a result, a lot of care and effort should go into it, which means, if you're not sure what you want to do, don't do it.  Rhodes told one of our competitors this morning that his commitment to Mississippi State is firm, but this afternoon he said "I don't want to talk about it right now," which leads us to believe there might be something to it.  We also talked with 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA earlier today and he insists that he plans to go to college next year.  Howard also gave us a list that included Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, and N.C. State.  One of the biggest sleepers to emerge today was 6'4 Wes Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI, who combines big time athleticism, an excellent feel for the game (he actually can play some point guard at 6'4), and a great bloodline (his father is former Wisconsin All-American Wes Matthews).  In other words, we're talking about a legitimate top 150 senior nationally who is being recruited by schools like Colorado State, Marquette, Wisconsin, Princeton, and Bradley.  The two finalists for 6'9 Shaun Pruitt from Aurora (West Aurora) IL appear to be Michigan State and Illinois and the smart money appears to be on the Fighting Illini.  Dayton, Minnesota, Marquette, Vanderbilt, Valparaiso, Purdue, Northwestern, and Loyola-Illinois are recruiting 5'11 Jarryd Lloyd from Skokie (Niles West) IL.  Another top priority for Northwestern appears to be 6'6 Gordon Watt from Evanston (Township) IL and, if the Wildcats can convince both Lloyd and Watt to stay home, this would be a major recruiting coup.  Kansas, Houston, Texas A&M, Michigan State, and North Carolina are the favorites for 6'9 Joseph Jones from Normangee (H.S.) TX.  N.C. State, UCLA, Arizona State, Oregon State, and USC are the leaders for 6'7 Marcel Jones from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  Brian Lainge, the 6'5 combo forward from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY likes Seton Hall, Richmond, Virginia Tech, DePaul, Xavier, Florida State, Miami-FL, Drexel, St. John's, and Kent State.   Pittsburgh, N.C. State, Villanova, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Kentucky, Iowa State, and Georgetown were mentioned by 6'7 Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.   Iona Manhattan, Drexel, Canisius, Siena, and the College of Charleston are in the hunt for 6'9 Frank Elegar from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, but, if he continues to improve at his current pace, we suspect he will start getting a lot of Atlantic-10 interest.  Missouri, Kansas, Arizona State, and Arkansas are the final four for 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX.  The top five schools for 6'7 Tim Pierce from Hercules (H.S.) CA are Arizona State, DePaul, California, USC, and Illinois.  Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, and Kansas State are showing interest in 6'4 Chamberlain Oguchi from Sugarland (Ft. Bend) TX.  The early list for 6'9 Jr Chad Millard from Manchester (Trinity) NH includes Syracuse, Connecticut, Missouri, Boston College, Providence, Purdue, and Louisville.  The single game tournament scoring record was broken today by 6'6 Mike Gordy from Denver (North) CO, who scored 57 points today for the Red Shield Cohawks against the Yerwood Ballers.  The old record was held by Glendon Alexander, who scored 51 points in 1995, and Lance Williams, who scored 51 points in 1997.  We didn't see the game, but Gordy set the record by hitting 23 field goals, 11-12 field goals, and not one 3-pointer.   The only big name player who currently ranks among the top 10 in the tournament in scoring is 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, who had 35 points yesterday versus Billy Shepherd Sports. 

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

It continues to be status quo after the second day at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, but it wouldn't have been if a good Squires Richmond team, which featured 6'5 Joe Posey from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'4 Albert Weber from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'6 Glen Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Bombale Osby from Richmond (Benedictine) VA, 6'9 Jaron Giddens from Blacksburg (H.S.) VA, 6'9 Shawn Taggert from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'2 Brandon Freeman from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, and 6'6 Laimis Kisielius from Charlottesville (The Miller School) NC, hadn't blown numerous free throw opportunities and allowed the Atlanta Celtics to come back and win a 70-69 thriller.  Once again 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA showed why he not only is the best high school player in the nation today, but also may be the best big man to come down the pike since Kevin Garnett.  And just like Garnett when he was in high school, Howard has no weaknesses in his game, he plays with an intensity and consistency that most of the top players don't have in this day-and-age, and has the versatility to beat you both inside and outside, although, at this level he is such a dominant force inside that he's smart enough to do most of his damage around the basket.  However, unlike Garnett, Howard has an incredible supporting cast, which also includes 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA.  In other words, we're talking about three locks for the McDonald's American Team, two potential high first round draft choices in the NBA Draft next spring, and perhaps the best front-line I've seen in the 20-plus years I've been covering high school and AAU-like basketball.  Smith is not as consistent nor is he as skilled as Howard, but he is just as explosive and athletic and he's even better out on the perimeter, which means that when the Atlanta Celtics get their transition game going, which is more often than not, it often turns into a dunkathon.   Morris is not the incredible athlete that Smith and Howard are, but he is extremely skilled and he is 7-feet tall, which means he provides the perfect complement to the other two inside.  Also stepping up and playing well today was 6'6 Dwayne Day from Mt. Vernon (Montgomery County) GA, but the Atlanta Celtics still couldn't shake a stubborn Squires Richmond team that not only wouldn't go away, but also had a chance to put the game on ice when they were three up and shooting free throws with less than a minute left in the game.  The other big story of the day came when we got our first look at 6'10 Jr Andris Biedrins from Rita, Latvia, who expected to surface this fall at Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD.  Like most Eastern European players who are new to playing in this country, Biedrins is somewhat mechanical, but he has excellent skills, great hands, and live feet, which makes him a legitimate top 50-100 range junior nationally.  He also has excellent post moves around the basket, a soft touch, and the potential to grow another inch or two, which means he has a major upside.  However, before we jump off the deep end like some of competitors, it might be smart to give Biedrins, who to our knowledge hasn't been seen by anybody on our business prior to this tournament, more time to develop and become more comfortable with the American game.  Another totally new name is 6'7 Danny Hess from Owosso (Corunna) MI, who apparently was a late addition for the Michigan Hurricanes.   Right now the only two schools that have shown any interst in Hess are Aquinas and Lake Superior State, but he has the skills, athleticism, talent, and toughness inside necessary to play at the Atlantic-10 level and, as a result, it a legitimate top 150 senior nationally, as well as one of the biggest sleepers in the nation.  We also got our first look today at the Ontario Cyclones, which features some good young players like 6'5 Soph Nathan Skinner from Toronto, ON, 6'10 Soph Theo Davis from Brampton, ON, 6'11 Jr Vlad Kuljanin from Toronto, ON, and 7'0 Jr Russell Hicks from Niagara Falls, ON.  Skinner and Davisare both repeat sophomores, but they are potentially two of the best players ever to come out of Canada.  Davis is a raw athlete with an incredible upside who already was regarded as one of the better big men in the Class of 2005 before he reclassified and Skinner is a mult-dimensional athlete who rebound well for his size, scores around the basket, handles, passes, and thrives in transition.  Kulajanin gets the nod over Hicks right now, because he has a better frame and is physically stronger, but they both can score around the basket.   We didn't see it, but Chris Monter of the CollegeBasketballNews.com tells us that 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA may have turned in the top individual performance of the day, as he hit 10 3-pointers and scored 35 points against Billy Shephard Sports.  

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

After watching the first day's action at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, there is no question in our mind which team should be favored to win the tournament.  The Atlanta Celtics are absolutely loaded as they feature 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who were the two best players we saw today, as well as 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'6 Dwayne Day from Mt. Vernon (Montgomery County) GA, 6'7 Jr Michael Walker from Macon (Southwest Macon) GA, 6'5 Jr Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, 6'2 Clifford Clickscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL, 6'5 Soph Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Chrisitan) GA, and 6'5 Soph An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA.  So it should come as no surprise that the Atlanta Celtics jumped out to a 42-16 lead and led 71-29 at half-time against the Los Angeles Paladins.  Other top performances on the first day were turned in by 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Kevyn Green from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'8 Jr Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, 6'2 Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH, 6'0 Jordan Carter from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN, 6'11 Jackie Butler from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'10 Jr Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA in what was a typical status quo first day of the tournament.  We did confirm that 6'7 Norm Plummer from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has verbally committed to Dayton and we got recruiting updates from some of the top players in the tournament.  It still is a four-team race among Duke, Illinois, Arizona, and North Carolina for 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL.  Donell Wright, the 6'7 wing forward who is bound for prep school at South Kent (Prep) CT, mentions DePaul, Connecticut, Florida, USC, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, Marquette, Arizona, Colorado, and Colorado State.  The final five for 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL are Seton Hall, Miami-FL, Kentucky, DePaul, and Boston College.  Arizona and Stanford are the leaders for 6'8 Jr Lawrewnce Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, but he also has USC and Iowa State on his early list.  Mississippi State, LSU, Oklahoma, Southern Miss, UCLA, Marquette, Kansas, Florida, Boston College and Notre Dame are all in the hunt for 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA.  Ohio State, Seton Hall, Memphis, Villanova, Georgia Tech, and Auburn are the favorites for 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL.  The early list for 6'1 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Rice) LA includes North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Syracuse, LSU, Tulane, and New Orleans.  Ohio State, Iowa State, St. Joseph's, Providence, Florida State, Temple, La Salle, Charlotte, Indiana, East Carolina, and Michigan State are the leaders for 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, but we still think it's going to be tough to beat Temple.   Remember, Carr is originally from Philadelphia, PA and Owls head coach John Chaney has made him a recruiting priority, as is evident by the fact that he went to see Carr play in the Three Stripes Classic in Neptune, NJ earlier this month.   Louisville, Indiana, and Georgia were mentioned by 6'2 Rajon Rando from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but, if a scholarship offer from one of the first two schools isn't forthcoming within the next several months, then don't be surprised if USC jumps into the picture.  Cincinnati, Kentucky, Georgia, and Indiana were mentioned by 6'2 Chris Lofton from Maysville (Mason County) KY. 

Monday, July 21, 2003

I am in Las Vegas, NV and already have the media packet for the adidas Big Time Tournament, which begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM local time and promises to be nothing short of spectacular for the next five days, but today I've been working on my final analysis of the adidas ABCD Camp and NIKE All-American Camp.  Sure, we have had the player rankings finished since the final night of each camp, but now I've had some time to put things into perspective, plus I've been able to correct some minor mistakes, like what class certain players are in and what prep schools and/or high schools certain players plan to attend.   Especially interesting are our comments about the use of 5th years, where each camp is coming from, and where it is heading.  Obviously the adidas ABCD Camp is more media friendly and, as a result, the keeping of stats and the playing of an all-star game gives us more to write about.  A special thanks to the people at both camps who made our job easier; Chris Johnson, Allen Rubin, Larry Kihnley, Dale Mabrey, & Michael Giuliani, who helped us cover the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ; and Chris Johnson, Andre Whitehead, and Mel Wulfekamp, who helped us cover the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN.   Also, once again for comparison sake we provide you with our rankings of the top players from the adidas ABCD Camp - 1998, adidas ABCD Camp - 1999, adidas ABCD Camp - 2000, adidas ABCD Camp - 2001, and adidas ABCD Camp - 2002 and NIKE All-American Camp in 1998, NIKE All-American Camp in 1999, NIKE All-American Camp in 2000, NIKE All-American Camp in 2001, and NIKE All-American Camp in 2002.  Chris Johnson also was at Five-Star's Pitt III session over the weekend and the big story was 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI, who was so good that legendary Five-Star Camp director Howard Garfinkel was telling everybody who would listen that Neitzel is a legitimate McDonald's All-American candidate, as well as a top 25 senior nationally.   Neitzel, who reminds us of former Michigan State All-American Scott Skiles with his toughness, skills, and ability to overachieve against top flight competition, took home the Most Outstanding Player for the Week Award and led the White All-Stars to a 128-122 victory over the Orange All-Stars with 23 points, three 3-pointers, nine assists, three steals, and numerous deflections in the all-star game.  Complementing Neitzel on the winning White Team were 6'3 Rashad Bilal from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL with 20 points, 6'7 Gary Springer from Fairburn (Creekside) GA with 18 points, and 6'7 Jr Rob Robinson from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD with 18 points.  Leading the losing Orange All-Stars were 6'2 Lawrence Ross from Battle Creek (Central) MI with 21 points and rapidly rising 6'7 Akida McLain from Pittsburgh (Penn Hills) PA with 19 points.   Springer also was named the Top Rebounder, Robinson was named the Most Outstanding Prospect, and 6'1 Taurean Green from Brandenton (Pendleton School) FL was the Best Playmaker.  The Playoff MVP was 6'6 David Carson from Gary (Adrian) IN, Mr. Stations was 6'1 Corey Jones from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, and Mr. Station 13 was shared by Neitzel, Green, 6'3 Tab McNally from Williamston (Dasville) MI, 6'3 Chase Kosterlitz from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, and 6'1 Brad Powell from Indianapolis (Southport) IN.  The best player in the Developmental League was 6'5 Soph William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, but he broke his wrist early in week, which disappointed North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, who was there to both speak at the camp and watch one of the top young prospects in North Carolina.  Scoring 21 points and leading the Orange All-Stars over the White All-Stars to a 123-99 victory was 6'3 Soph Marcus Johnson Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who earned All-Star Game MVP honors.  The Playoff MVP and Most Outstanding Player for the Week was 6'4 Soph Doneal Mack from Charlotte (Independence) NC.  The Best Playmaker in the Developmental League was 5'11 Soph Cecil Brown from Wyoming (Godwin Heights) MI and the Top Rebounder was 6'5 Soph Kurt Hoffman from Johnstown Greater Johnstown) PA.

Sunday, July 20, 2003

As expected, 6'2 Keith Benjamin from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY verbally commit to Villanova last night and a big reason why the Wildcats were able to get this one done are the strong contacts that Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, who is ranked as the #1 assistant coach in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, made with the Mt. Vernon program dating back to when he recruited Ben Gordon three years ago.  Ironically, it also appears that new Columbia head coach Joe Jones has been able to take advantage of some important contacts that he made when he was an assistant coach at Villanova dating back to the days when he signed Andrew Sullivan from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  This one happened two days ago, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has confirmed that the University of Columbia has landed 6'8 Ben Nwachukwu from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  And this is important for several reasons.  First, Nwachukwu is ranked #9 in the area by Rubin, plus he is a legitimate top 250 senior nationally.  Second, 6'8 athletic physical specimens like this are at a premium in the Ivy League and, as a result, we are talking about somebody who should be one of the top freshmen in the league a year from now.  Third, this gives the new regime the star player around which to build the rest of this year'srecruiting class.  Fourth, this is the first player that the new regime has signed.  If you will recall, we thought Columbia was going to get 6'0 David Gale from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH several months ago, but it didn't happen.  Instead, Gale will enroll this fall at Loyola-Illinois, where we expect him to fit in nicely as the back-up point guard to Terrance Whithers.  Gale also should provide an excellent complement to a recruiting class that already includes 6'5 Majak Kou from Hamilton (Cathedral) ON, 6'8 Blake Schilb from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'2 Andre Knox from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, and 6'11 Tynell Blair from Tallahassee (FSU) FL.  The commitment by Blair also comes in too late to count with the Ramblers' Class of 2003 recruiting class, but, if both Blair and Gale had counted, then Loyola-Illinois' class would into a tie at #83 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2003.  And, even more important is the fact that Ramblers' head coach Larry Farmer has added three impact players in Kou, Schilb, and Knox, an excellent role player in Gale, and big guy in Blair.  Rubin also provides us with a list of schools for 6'9 Andre Blatche from Syracuse (Henninger) NY that includes West Virginia, Providence, Syracuse, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Manhattan, Seton Hall, and Western Kentucky.  The list for 6'2 Cedric Jackson from Burlington (North Burlington) NJ includes Oklahoma, Maryland, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Louisville, Villanova, and Seton Hall.  Jamual Warren, the well traveled 6'1 combo guard who will be a 5th year player at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, likes Seton Hall, Memphis, St. John's, Fordham, and Alabama.  Tennessee, Utah, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Washington, and Washington State were mentioned by 6'3 Lyndale Burleson from Seattle (Franklin) WA.  An extremely early list for 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA includes UCLA, Florida, Texas, Duke, and Arizona.  The leaders for 6'5 Alex Popp from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA are Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Brown, Providence, and Bucknell.  Showing the most interest in 5'11 Pat Doherty from Scranton (Prep) PA are Davidson, Holy Cross, St. Joseph's, Columbia, UT-Chattanooga, Bucknell, and Stanford.  Fresno State, Penn State, San Diego State, Creighton, and Georgia are actively recruiting 6'6 Jared Dudley from South Kent (Prep) CT.  Kent State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Miami-OH have shown the most interest in 6'4 Brian Moten from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI.  The early leaders for 6'9 Jr Theo Davis from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ are Connecticut, Florida, Syracuse, Texas, UCLA, and Pittsburgh.  UNC-Wilmington, Boston College, Florida State, Canisius, and St. Bonaventure are all in the hunt for 7'0 Russell Hicks from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY.  Yale, Davidson, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Ohio University, Princeton, Colgate, Bucknell, and Lehigh were mentioned by 6'2 Jason Richards from Barrington (H.S.) IL.  St. Bonaventure, Massachusetts, Marquette, Princeton, Bowling Green, Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming make up an interesting list for 6'3 Marcus Butler from Mansfield (St. Peter's) OH.  Davidson, Penn State, Auburn, Coastal Carolina, and Lehigh are involved with 6'0 Lukas Varga from Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC.  We supect that 6'5 Cornelius Ingram from Hawthorne (H.S.) FL will go the football route and, as a result, it comes as no surprise that his list includes Florida, Florida State, Miami-FL, Syracuse, Connecticut, and Tennessee.  The early list for 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH includes Arizona, Cincinnati, Louisville, Kentucky, Florida, and Duke.  UCLA, Texas Tech, Providence, Purdue, Washington, Miami-FL, and Pittsburgh were all mentioned by 6'9 Lorenzo Mata from Southgate (H.S.) CA.  Michigan State, Michigan, Kent State, Georgia Tech, Richmond, West Virginia, Wyoming, Marquette, and Nebraska are showing the most interest in 6'10 Goran Sutton from Lansing (Everett) MI.  Central Connecticut State, Columbia, and Brown are recruiting 6'2 P.J. Bernard from Brockton (H.S.) MA.  The list for 6'11 Luke Bonner from Concord (Trinity) NH includes Dayton, Rhode Island, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Richmond, and Rutgers. Virginia is believed to be the leader for 6'10 Jr Cornelio Guibunda from Stamford (King & Low Heywood Thomas) CT, but UCLA, North Carolina, Richmond, and Connecticut are also mentioned.  Utah, Yale, and UC-Santa Barbara are the favorites for 6'4 Matt Sargeant from Huntington Beach (Ocean View) CA.  Florida, Arkansas State, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Illinois, and Georgia were mentioned by 6'6 Brandon Patterson from Altheimer (H.S.) AR.  The list for 6'7 Jeremis Smith from Ft. Worth (Dunbar) TX includes Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Florida, and Kansas.  The schools mentioned by 6'6 Mike Walker from Macon (Southwest) GA are Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tulane, Penn State, and Dayton.  The early favorites for 6'9 Jr Joey Cameron from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL are Oklahoma, Florida, Duke, Texas, and Kansas.  Pittsburgh, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Kent State, Western Kentucky, and Clemson are involved with 6'1 Darnell Harris from Baltimore (S. Francis) MD.  Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Penn, and Oregon State were mentioned by 6'5 Chad Toppert from Albuquerque (Academy) NM.  The list for 6'1 Jerod Haynes from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL includes Dayton, Seton Hall, Illinois, Nerbaska, and Minnesota.  Miami-FL, Baylor, Wyoming, UT-Arlington, and SMU are in the hunt for 6'8 Chris Weddborn from Arlington (Bowie) TX.  The early favorites from 6'5 Soph Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA are Clemson, Duke, Kansas, Villanova, and Virginia Commonwealth.  North Carolina, Florida State, Tennessee, Notre Dame were mentioned by 6'5 Shahee Martin from West Hempstead (H.S.) NY.  The list provided by 6'5 Steve Neal from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN includes Minnesota, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Boston College, and Iowa State.  Clemson, Charlotte, Providence, George Washington, La Salle, and Fresno State appear to be involved with 6'2 Marvin Kilgore from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Yesterday we gave you an updated list of the top players in each class and today we want to follow up on that with a breakdown of the recruiting for each player.  First, let's start with the rising seniors, as half of the top 50 ranked seniors - 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS to Arkansas, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL to Indiana, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX to Texas, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Indiana, 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA to USC, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL to Memphis, 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA to Duke, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL to Texas, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA to North Carolina, 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX to Arizona, 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA to UCLA, 7'0 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX to Texas, 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN to Florida, 6'9 Cedric Simmons from Shallotte (West Brunswick) NC to N.C. State, 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN to Memphis, 6'8 Alex Thompson from Ames (H.S.) IA to Iowa, 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood Central) MO to Missouri, 6'6 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Indiana, 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA to Oregon, 6'5 David Pendergraft from Brewster (H.S.) WA to Gonzaga, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA to UCLA, 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI to Wisconsin, 6'11 Steve Hill from Bronson (H.S.) MO to Missouri, 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL to Alabama, and 6'7 Eric Vierneisel from Algonquin (Jacobs) IL to California. - have already made verbal commitments.  We also think we have a pretty good idea where most of the other half will end up, as the smart money says 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA will by-pass college and go straight to the NBA, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL will pick Duke, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY will pick Louisville, 6'8 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI will pick Ohio State, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop Connell) VA will pick North Carolina, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI will reaffirm is commitment to Michigan, 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD will pick North Carolina, but it won't happen until next spring, 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA will pick LSU, 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY will pick Connecticut, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA will pick Georgia Tech, 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL will pick Ohio State, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA will pick UCLA, 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX will pick Missouri, 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY will pick Georgia Tech, 6'7 Dayshawn Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA will pick Syracuse, 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX will pick Missouri.  We also believe that Florida State will make a strong push for 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, that it's too close to call between Syracuse and Maryland for 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD; 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY will select Connecticut, Kansas, or St. John's; and LSU, Mississippi State, and Tulane will battle it out for 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA.  In other words, only five players ranked among our top 50 nationally are still wide open, as the most recent list for 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY includes Valparaiso, Louisville, St. John's, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Indiana, Illinois, and Marquette; 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA likes Connecticut, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Xavier, and Syracuse, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC mentions Auburn, Georgia Tech, Arizona, St. John's, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson, Connecticut, and Kentucky; 6'11 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL is considering Duke, Florida, Florida State, Miami-FL, Michigan, Michigan State, Georgetown, and Kansas; and 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ likes Seton Hall, Rutgers, N.C. State, Virginia, Connecticut, and Villanova. And when we look at our list of the top 5th year players, we find that 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA has already gone to Virginia, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has already gone to Louisville, 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA has already gone to Notre Dame, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA has already committed to St. John's three times, but reneged twice, and 6'5 Joe McCray from Laurinburg (Institute) NC has already gone to Nebraska.  We also expect 6'2 Vincent Banks from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA to reaffirm his commitment to Miami-FL.  We believe 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ will go to Connecticut, unless North Carolina offers first.  Maryland is the team you have to beat for 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ.  Cincinnati is making the strongest push for 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Seton Hall is close to getting a verbal commitment from 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, Temple is the heavy favorite for 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and Missouri is believed to be a near lock for 6'6 Glen Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  In other words, we also have a pretty good where 12 of our top 30 5th year players will end up.  And when we get back to regular high school seniors and dig a little deeper, we also predict that 6'2 Keith Benjamin from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY will verbally commit to Villanova (we suspect it will happen tomorrow), 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC will pick Memphis, 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS and 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS will both pick Mississippi, 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA will pick UCLA, 6'9 James Mays from Garner (H.S.) NC will pick N.C. State, and 6'4 Brian Laing from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY will follow his former high school coach Gary DeCesare to Richmond. 

Friday, July 18, 2003

The next four days are a dead period for college coaches and, as a result, there is a lull in the action in the summer evaluation period, which means now is the perfect time to make some adjustments to our national player rankings.  First, let's look at the Class of 2004, where 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, who was the #1-ranked player at both the NBA Players Camp and the adidas ABCD Camp, gets the nod as the best player in the nation over 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS and 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL.   Rounding out our mid-summer top five seniors are 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL and 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX.  In other words, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY may be thinking about going to the NBA straight out of high school, but he doesn't even make our top five seniors.  However, Telfair does check it at #6, followed in order by 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'8 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, and 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA.  Next, at #11, is 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, followed in order by 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop Connell) VA, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, and 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA.  Next, at #21, is 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, followed in order by 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 7'0 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN, 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, and 6'9 Cedric Simmons from Shallotte (West Brunswick) NC.   Next, at #31, is 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, followed in order by 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, 6'8 Alex Thompson from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA, 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood Central) MO, 6'6 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA.  Next, at #41, is 6'5 David Pendergraft from Brewster (H.S.) WA, followed in order by 6'7 Dayshawn Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA,6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'11 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL, 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI, 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'11 Steve Hill from Bronson (H.S.) MO,  6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, 6'7 Eric Vierneisel from Algonquin (Jacobs) IL, and 6'9 Andre Blatche from Syracuse (Henninger) NY.   Second, let's look at our 5th Year list for the Class of 2004, which includes in order 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'2 Vincent Banks from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'5 Roosevelt Lee from New Britain (H.S.) CT, 6'3 Robert McIver from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Jared Dudley from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Adrian Joseph from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, 6'8 Babacar Thiam from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'5 Joel Smith from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'0 Jamual Warren from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'7 Norm Plummer from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'10 Sylvester Seay from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 6'6 Rahshon Clark from from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'6 Glen Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'1 Danny Morrissey from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'5 Joe McCray from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'2 Kojo Mensah from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  Third, let's look at the Class of 2005, where 5'10 Jr Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA gets the nod as the #1-ranked player, after his sensational performance at the adidas ABCD Camp, where he finished ranked #4 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP, over 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA and 6'3 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA.  Rounding out our top five juniors are 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN and 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, followed in order by 6'4 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'9 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'3 Jr Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoore) IL, 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'7 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'6 Jr Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'1 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers Academy) NY, 6'0 Jr Eric Price from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'10 Jr Theo Davis from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, and 6'2 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Robeson) IL.  Fourth, let's look at the Class of 2006, where 6'11 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN gets the not over 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ as the #1-ranked sophomore.  Rounding out the top five are 6'8 Soph Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Soph Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA, and 5'11 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA.  The second five in order includes 5'10 Soph Demon Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'9 Soph Durell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 5'9 Soph Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, 6'2 Soph Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, and 6'4 Soph Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and the third five in order includes 6'6 Soph Tracy Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'0 Soph Jawan Carter from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'2 Soph Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 6'9 Soph Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY. 

As predicted, the New York Gauchos beat the Jackson Tigers in the championship game of the NIKE Peach Jam Invitational Tournament in Augusta, SC, but it was a lot closer than we thought it would be, as it was a one or two point game most of the way.  The Tigers were led by 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS with 23 points and 14 rebounds and 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but the big hero in the game almost was 5'11 Charles White from Jackson (Provine) MS.   "Almost" is the key word here, because, after White drove to the basket and hit the game tying basket to make it 50-50 with 17 second left, the Gauchos set up 6'2 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, who hit the game winning shot at the buzzer.  Robinson finished with 16 points, 6'2 Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY had 12 points, and 6'0 Ronald Ramon from Bronx (All Hallows) NY had eight points, but they key to this game was defense and intensity.  In other words, the championship game was a hard fought battle, as well as a fitting end to the NIKE Peach Jam, which had more than its share of close games and an intensity level throughout the tournament that is hard to find in this day-and-age.  No Tournament MVP was named, but, if there had been an MVP, it would have hard not get give it to Robinson after he hit the game winning shot and had at least one 30-plus point game earlier in the tournament.  However, Jefferson clearly was the best player in the tournament and, as a result, would have been our choice for tournament's Most Valuable Player, despite the fact that he was on the losing team.   We also found it interesting to see what college coaches had remained on the final day to watch certain players.  Kentucky assistant coach David Hobbs was busy watching Thomas, Gaines, and Robinson; Georgia Tech assistant coach Cliff Warren was there to see Robinson; St. John's assistant coach Dermond Player was also there for Robinson; and Mississippi assistant coach Wayne Brent was watching Thomas and 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS.   Speaking of Ole Miss, the Rebels were not listed by Thomas when he gave us a list of schools yesterday that included LSU, Oklahoma, Florida State, Kentucky, and Connecticut, but don't be surprised if that's where he ends up, especially if Clark verbally commits to Mississippi in the near future.  As a matter of fact, we think that may happen sooner than later.  We also got an updated list from Robinson, which includes Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Connecticut, Kansas, St. John's, and Florida State; Gaines, which includes Georgia, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Kansas, Seton Hall, and Illinois; and Ramon, which includes Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, Miami-FL, Florida State, and N.C. State, plus we talked with a number of other players in the tournament.  And right at the top of the list is 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY.  The word on the street is that Kansas and Connecticut are the leaders over Syracuse, Florida State, and St. John's, but the list Price gave us in this order included Connecticut, Kansas, St. John's, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Florida State.  However, if Price wants to play for the Huskies, he had better not wait around too long, because it also appears that Connecticut is the favorite for 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY and they may also be the team to beat for 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ now that Louisville is out of the picture and if North Carolina doesn't offer.  Connecticut also is believed to be one of the top three, along with Florida State and Virginia Tech, for 6'3 Marquie Cook from Suffolk (Nanesmond River) VA, but we'd be surprised if he becomes a Huskie, if they get Price or Wright and Smith.  Getting back to the players who we actually talked with at the NIKE Peach Jam, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC said that Auburn, Georgia Tech, Arizona, St. John's, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson, Connecticut, and Kentucky are on his list, but he also surprised us when he told us that the first five schools mentioned were the leaders.  Kansas and Indiana are the leaders for 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, but his AAU coach Tom Topping tells us that Connecticut, Kentucky, Florida State, and Georgia Tech should also be mentioined.  The early list for 6'9 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL includes Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Auburn, and N.C. State.  Dayton, Xavier, Ohio State, Bowling Green, Nebraska, Miami-OH, Georgia, and Pittsburgh are all in the hunt for 6'2 Brian Roberts from Toledo (St. John's) OH.   Southern Illinois appears to have the edge over Saint Louis, Western Illinois, and Eastern Illinois for 6'6 Matt Shaw from Centralia (H.S.) IL.  Charlotte and Virginia Commonwealth have gotten the early jump on 6'9 Jerome Habel from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  We still think North Carolina will get 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, unless Dickey commits to the Tar Heels first, but his list also includes Louisville, Florida, Michigan State, Alabama, and Notre Dame.  The list for 6'0 Artavius Fisher from Kingston (H.S.) NY includes Iona, Western Kentucky, St. Bonaventure, Massachusetts, Wagner, and Wisconsin-Green Bay.  Syracuse is the leader for 6'8 Dayshawn Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but, if he waits too long, the chances of schools like Connecticut, Seton Hall, Marquette, Iowa State, and Georgia are greatly enhanced.  In other words, whether Wright goes to Syracuse will likely be determined by whether he beats 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD to the punch.  In sharp contrast, the longer Gay's recruitment goes, the more likely we think he will stay home.  In other words, it's tough to beat Maryland in their own backyard, unless you can get it done fairly quickly.  We also believe that 6'3 Jr Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY will verbally commit to Syracuse and it will probably happen in August.  The word on the street is that 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN is now saying that he did not verbally commit to the University of Memphis last week.  We have not talked with Williams personally, but we do know that the Memphis coaching staff thinks it's done, plus the Memphis Commerical-Appeal had quotes from Williams talking about his verbal commitment to the Tigers.  So anybody who believes this has to be a complete fool.  In other words, it did happen and, as a result, if Williams is having second thoughts about going to Memphis, he should take a different approach. 

Thursday, July 17, 2003

This afternoon we will be attending the championship game of the NIKE Peach Jam Invitational Tournament in Augusta, SC between the New York Gauchos and the Jackson Tigers and we'd be surprised if the Gauchos don't win easily.  Sure, the Tigers have 6'8 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS and a great supposting cast that includes 5'10 Charles White from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'7 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS, but fatigue never seems to be a factor for the Gauchos and they have great guards, as is evident by the fact that 6'2 Sundiata Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'0 Ronald Ramon from Bronx (All Hallows) NY combined for 48 points in their 70-59 win last night in the semi-finals against the DC Blue Devils.  Really the game wasn't that close as the Gauchos jumped out to a 21-9 lead early and never looked back.  The leading scorer and only player to really step up for the DC Blue Devils was 6'0 Jr Eric Price from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who finished with 22 points.  In other words, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA were not nearly as good as they were at the NIKE All-American Camp, where they both finished ranked among our top five players in camp.  In sharp contrast, 6'6 Jawaan McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, and 6'0 Rodney Foster from Houston (Mayde Creek) TX combined for 52 of the 64 points scored by the Houston Hoops against the Jackson Tigers in the other semi-finals game, which was a one or two point game most of the way.  However, down the stretch the Houston Hoops just wore out, as the Tigers were able to take advantage of Jefferson's physical presence inside, as well as their constant pressure on the perimeter    Jefferson had 25 points and six rebounds and Clark and Thomas both chipped in with 18 points apiece.  Jefferson also gets our vote as the best player in the tournament based on performance over Gibson and 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, but McClellan, Robinson, Gaines, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'0 Zam Fredrick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'9 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'8 Jr Julius Wright from  Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, and 6'6 Jimmie Binnie from Johnston (H.S.) IA were also extremely impressive when we saw them play.  However, the biggest story of the tournament might just be the emergence of 6'10 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who now must be ranked as the #1-sophomore in the nation ahead of 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (JC) NJ, who doesn't appear to want it bad enough, and 6'8 Soph Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (H.S.)VA, who has incredible potential, but doesn't have the confidence and experience yet to dominate at this level.  We also were impressed by all the players who really improved the value of their stock or didn't even know about prior to the NIKE Peach Jam.  We're talking about guys like Foster, 6'9 Jerome Habel from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'4 Channing Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA, 6'6 Wynton Witherspoon from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'4 Clent Stewart from Tulsa (Union) OK, 6'7 Matt Shaw from Centralia (H.S.) IL, 5'9 Marcus Jones from Huntsville (Johnson) AL, 6'6 Demarre Carroll from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, 6'0 Artavius Fisher from Kingston (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Andrew Brackman from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 6'10 Ryan McCurdy from Gilbert (Highland) AZ, 6'6 Jr Quentin Chaney from Tulsa (Booker. T. Washington) OK, 6'8 Soph Keith Clark from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'4 David Jackson from Memphis (Westside) TN, 6'6 Jeff Adrien from Brookline (H.S.) MA, 6'8 Bryan Lee from Antioch (Deer Valley) AZ, and 6'7 Jr Casaan Breedon from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC.  Foster was the perfect complete to 6'6 Jawaan McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX and 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, as they were the three most prolific scorers in the tourmament.   Foster can play either guard spot, because he can shoot, pass, handle, defend, and get to the hole, which was especially evident in the semi-finals when he got the best of 5'11 Charles White from Jackson (Provine) MS.  So it should come as no surprise that we think Foster is a borderline top 100 senior nationally, as well as a major steal for Rice, which is the school he verbally committed to several month ago.  Habel was the biggest surprise of the entire tournament and he probably wouldn't even have gotten the opportunity, if 6'8 James Gist from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, who ususally is the starting power forward for the DC Blue Devils, had made the trip.  Habel will be a 5th year player next season, but he plays above the rim, has live legs, plays extremely hard, blocks shots, rebounds, and scores around the basket.  Habel does need to get bigger and stronger, but he'd be a perfit for somebody like Rhode Island, whose entire staff was at all of his games.  Toney is the son of former Southwestern Louisiana All-American and NBA star Andrew Toney and he reminds us of his father in many ways.  Not only is the younger Toney an explosive athlete and excellent 3-point shooter, but he also has an unlimited upside and is a major sleeper nationally.  Witherspoon is another one of the biggest sleepers in the nation - do you suppose our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis has been too busy pushing his own players to tell us about the anybody in the rival AAU programs in Georgia?  We question Witherspoon's shooting range and he needs to get physically bigger and stronger, but he has long arms, rebounds well, is extremely athletic, and has good handling and passing skills for his size.  In other words, we're talking about a multi-dimensional who reminds us in some ways of a poor man's Tracy McGrady.   Stewart was one of our favorite players in the tournament.  Not only are we talking about a smart quick athletic point guards with size, but he runs the show, makes his teammates better, and plays excellent defense.  Stewart does need to get stronger, but that's why somebody like Tulsa, instead of a Big-12 school, will get a chance to steal him.  Shaw is a tough hardnosed white kid who provides the perfect complement to 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansbourgh from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO on the St. Louis Eagles and he could turn out to be almost as big a steal for Southern Illinois, which currently is the heavy favorite, as Kent Williams was the four years ago for the Salukis.  However, Shaw's game is a lot different Williams' game, because his forte is getting after it on the boards and scoring around the basket, which means he's an undersized power forward, if he attempts to sign with a high major school at the next level.   Jones, who was instrumental in the Alabama Lasers' upset win against New York Riverside Church, is a jet quick point guard with excellent handling and passing skills, which he uses to make his teammates - 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'1 Tanquery Beavers from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'6 Demarre Carroll from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL - better.  Carroll is a long lanky multi-dimensional athlete whose mother is the sister of UAB head coach Mike Anderson.  So, unless Anderson doesn't get along with his sister, it would be safe to say that it's only a matter of time before the Blazers get this one done.  And Carroll should fit in perfectly at UAB, because he thrives in an uptempo setting, as he shoots the three, rebounds, and creates havoc in transition.  Fisher is a small undersized point guard who is capable of dominating a game and lighting up a scoreboard just like Oklahoma-bound 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH and Keydren Clark, who was one of the top freshmen in college basketball last season at St. Peter's College.  Fisher also is a winner, as is evident by the fact that he led the Albany City Rocks to a big win with 6'3 Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY and 6'7 Dayshawn Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA both on the bench against a loaded Indiana Red team that featured 6'11 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'6 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'10 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, and 6'0 Desmond Gadis from Indianapolis (Pike) IN.  Brackman reminds us of New Mexico-bound 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, because he is an excellent 3-point shooter and has the offensive skills necessary to play out on the perimeter, but he also is not real physical and is not quick enough to defend anybody.   Combine that with the fact that Brackman has excellent hands, good shot blocking ability, and good size at 6'8 and it is easy to see why a lot of high major schools are suddenly intrigued.  McCurdy scores around the basket and is good on the boards, as is evident by the 12 points and 10 rebounds he had when we saw him against the New York Gauchos.  However, McCurdy gets mentioned primarily, because he's athletic, you can't teach size, and we like his potential.  Chaney also falls into the that  multi-dimensional athlete group, but he's more of a slasher/scorer than a shooter, plus he rebounds exceptionally well for his size and he's a lot stronger than he looks.  Clark needs strength and experience at this level, but he has great body control, is an excellent rebounder, and has a soft touch from mid-range and around the basket.  In other wrods, we're talking about another legitimate top 30 sophomore nationally in the great Class of 2006.  Jackson is such a sleeper that he didn't even make the list when we published our most recent Tennessee Report three-and-a-half months ago, but this active athletic 2-guard had 18 points and was his team's best player when we saw him against the DC Blue Devils.  And that's saying a lot, because 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN and 6'8 Frank Holmes from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN both are getting recruited at the mid-to-high major level.  Adrien combined with 6'6 Charles Burch from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA to give BABC head coach Leo Papile not one, but two, tough hardnosed undersized inside guys, as they combined for 44 of their team's 68 points when we watched them play against Hampton Roads.  Unfortunately BABC doesn't have the great guard play that it's had in the past and, as a result, didn't get out of pool play.   Lee is a 5th year player and we're still not sure how skilled he is, but he did bring the house down on several occasions with his incredible athleticism, great body control, and flare for the spectacular around the basket.  Breedon also is a raw athlete and he doesn's score much, but we like his rebounding, shot blocking ability, upside and the way he complements Dickey and 6'8 Josh Dillard from Hemingway (H.S.) SC on the South Carolina Ravens. 

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

We hinted on Saturday that the verbal commitment by 6'8 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK to the University of Kansas may have an effect on 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood (Central) MO and it looks like we were right on the money, because Grimes verbally committed to the University of Missouri last night.  This doesn't come as much of a surprise, because the Tigers were believed to be the co-favorite, along with Illinois, for Grimes until Bill Self took the Kansas job in April.  However, since that time Kansas jumped into the lead and, as a result, it is safe to say that Grimes' commitment to Missouri was an upset.  Grimes is currently ranked #81 nationally in the senior class due to the fact that he's been out of shape and not played very well every time we'd seen him from the beginning of his junior season through the NBA Players Association Camp in Richmond, VA in June.  However, Grimes redeemed himself when we saw him at the NIKE All-American Camp, as was evident by the fact that he played harder, was in better shape, and finished ranked #18 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  And this appears to be just the beginning of what could be a terrific recruiting class, as Missouri also is believed to be the favorite for 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, who was ranked #20 at the adidas ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, who has had a mediocre summer so far, but is still one of the best pure point guards in the senior class, as well as good an on-the-ball defender as there is in the country.  We also know that Ohio State, UCLA, Michigan State, and Kansas are the top four for 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, but when it comes to recruiting in the state of Michigan, you can never count out Tigers assistant coach Tony Harvey, who was ranked as the #6 assistant coach in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP when we updated our rankings last January.  If Missouri also gets Brown, Horton, and Hairston, their class could move up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, behind Texas and ahead of Indiana, Alabama, Memphis, and Arkansas.  And their class could move up to #1, if 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX were to change his mind with regards to going to Univerity of Texas.  We've been hearing rumors about Gibson changing is mind about becoming a Longhorn since this time a week ago at the NIKE All-American Camp, but today told us that his verbal commitment Texas is firm.   However, he also pointed out he is making on of the most important decisions of his life and that under certain circumstances, he might take a look at another school, although he was hesitant go into detail.  Our guess is that school is North Carolina, because Gibson has always been a big fan of both the Tar Heels and new head coach Roy Williams?  So, if another scholarship becomes available (i.e. Damien Grant or Byron Sanders transfer to a school where they will get playing time or Raymond Felton declares hardship for the NBA Draft next spring), then it is conceivable that Gibson could open his recruitment back up and take serious look at the Tar Heels.  Remember, North Carolina already has verbal commitments from 6'8 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA and 6'3 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC and they currently have only one scholarship remaining for another big man - mostly likely 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA or 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC - in this recruiting class.  If North Carolina gets either Johnson or Dickey, their recruiting class, which currently is ranked #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, would move up to #3.  And, if, by some chance Gibson also falls their way, North Carolina's recruiting class would move up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  It also is not inconceivable that their recruiting class could move up to #1, if the Tar Heels landed these four players, plus they add 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #12 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, next spring.  If you will recall, players who play for Stu Vetter almost always sign late, plus the legendary head coach at Montrose Christian has a history of pushing his players to North Carolina.  In other words, just imagine what it would be like if North Carolina lost Felton to the NBA a year from now, but had Gibson, Odia, and Curry in the backcourt to go to war with year after next.  We also have confirmed that, as expected, 6'1 Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ has verbally committed to Richmond, 7'0 Mike Kinsella from Minneapolis Community/Technical (JC) MN has verbally committed to Marquette, and 6'1 Brent Hackett from Ft. Worth (Southwest) TX has verbally comimitted to Texas Christian.   The verbal commitment by Nelson is very significant for several of reasons.  First, getting Nelson will give Spiders head coach Jerry Wainwright not one, but two excellent point guards in the program, as Nelson is following the footsteps of 5'10 Daon Merritt from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who they signed in last year's recruiting class.  Second, getting Nelson could be the start of a great recruiting class.  If you will recall, Richmond is the heavy favorite for 6'5 Brian Lainge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and they are also are believed to be among the leaders for 6'7 Taj Finger from Bedford (Fox Lane) NY, 6'11 Luke Bonner from Concord (Trinity) NH, and 6'9 Jr Jarhon Giddings from Blacksburg (H.S.) VA.  We also know that Richmond is mentioned with players like 6'7 Jr Will Daniels from Poughkeepsie (Roosevelt) NY, 6'10 Jr Cornelio Guibunda from Stamford (King & Low Heywood Thomas) CT, 6'7 Jr Glen Dandridge from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'2 Jr Justin Hare from Cleveland (Bradley) TN, 6'9 Jr Drew Crank from Lynchburg (E.C. Glass) VA, and 6'6 Richard Robey from Groten (Lawrence Academy) MA, which means the possibilities are almost endless.  However, let's say the Spiders land a recruiting class that includes Nelson, Lainge, Finger, Bonner, and Giddings.  Then, we would be talking about what should be the best recruiting class in the Atlantic-10 Conference, as well as the recruiting class that establishes Spiders assistant coach Gary DeCesare as one of the best recruiters in the nation.  Ironically, that would be the last thing that DeCesare needs on his resume' in his quest to become a head coach at the Division I level.  Remember, DeCesare previously was regarded as one of the top high school coaches in the nation when he was the head coach at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

At first it came as somewhat of a surprise that 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV, who is heading to prep school at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, verbally committed to Louisville yesterday.   However, it shouldn't have for a number of reasons.  First, Wade provides insurance at the wing forward spot in case Francisco Garcia has a great sophomore season and declares for the NBA Draft next spring.  Second, Wade also provides insurance at the point guard spot in case Louisville doesn't get 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  Apparently Louisville head coach Rick Pitino thinks Wade handles and passes well enough to get some minutes as a back-up at the point guard spot.  Third, Wade is a big time athlete and a terrific talent, as is evident by the fact that he was ranked #60 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2003.  Fourth, the list of inside options for Louisville appear to dwindling as the names we're hearing the most for the Cardinals are 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 Taj Grey from Redlands (JC) OK, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, 6'10 Sylvester Seay from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, and 6'9 Aaron Agnew from Bellaire (H.S.) OH.  Fifth, getting Wade makes it almost impossible for Louisville to take 6'2 Rajon Rando from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who apparently is close to making a verbal commitment to the Cardinals.  Remember, 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI is expected to start at point guard at Louisville for the next four years, unless they hit the jackpot and get Telfair.  So obviously there is no need to be in a big hurry to land a back-up point guard.  In other words, the smart move is to sign a big man and wait for as long as it takes for Telfair to make a decision.  Getting Wade moves Louisville's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'10 Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY and 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, up to #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, and, if they also get Telfair and Palacios, Morris, or Grey, their recruiting class would move into a tie at #1, along with Texas.  We also have confirmed that Eastern Kentucky has landed 6'11 Alonzo Hird from Santa Fe (JC) FL, who averaged 15 ppg and 8 rpg last year as a freshman in junior college and is widely regarded as one of the top 10 returning junior college centers in the nation.  We're talking about a big time athlete and shot blocker who can score and rebound around the basket, which means he has the necessary size and inside presence to provide the perfect complement to Eastern Kentucky's recruiting class that was ranked #72 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  If you will recall, that class included 6'7 Michael Brock from Independence (Simon Kenton) KY, 6'3 Brandon Moore from Huntington (Spring Valley) WV, 6'4 Mamadou Diakhate from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'6 Terrez DeWalt from St. Catharine (JC) KY, and 6'5 Julian Mascoll from Clearwater (Countryside) FL.  We also continue to hear Eastern Kentucky head coach Travis Ford's name mentioned as a potential replacement for Mick Cronin, who left earlier this spring to become the head coach at Murray State, at Louisville.  However, we'd be surprised if Ford made the move now, because it appears that he already has most of the pieces in the place to transform the Colonels into one of the best teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.  And getting Hird is just the icing on the cake.   Instead, an inside source tell us that the leading candidate for the open Louisville assistant coaching position might be former Clemson head coach Larry Shyatt.  We also expect Keith Jenifer, who transferred from Virginia this spring, to enroll at Murry State this fall.  And, if that happens and we included transfers when ranking recruitng classes, Murray State would have the equivalent of a top 10 recruiting class.  Remember, it is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP not to include transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  If you will recall, the Racers also got Trey Pearson, who transferred from Mississippi, last month, and their recruiting class, which included 6'7 Kelvin Brown from Ft. Scott (JC) KS, 6'7 Guy Ngarndi from Louisville (Western) KY, and 6'1 Adam Chiles from Vincennes (JC) IN, was ranked #32 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  Our editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'5 Joe McCray from Laurinburg (Institute) NC has made a verbal commitment to the University of Nebraska and 6'2 Keith Benjamin from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY tells us that he is close to making a decison and he expects to pick Villanova over Connecticut and Georgia Tech.  The verbal commitment by McCray, who is a 5th year player making the transition from football exclusively to basketball, is important, because he combines athleticism and outside shooting to give the Cornhuskers a player who is the equivalent of a top 150 players nationally.  He also has the talent and potential to move even higher.  We also got updated lists for 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'0 Jr Eric Price from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ early today at the NIKE Peach Jam Invitational Tournament in Augusta, SC.   Swann likes Cincinnati, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech and the early list for Price, who already has verbally committed to and reneged on Memphis, includes, Connecticut, North Carolina, Duke, Missouri, and Kansas. 

Monday, July 14, 2003

They did not get to attend the adidas ABCD Camp last week, because they were in summer school, but 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA and 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA more than made up for it over the weekend as they led Philly MJC to a 75-74 win against the Tim Thomas Playaz in the championship game of the adidas Three Striples Classic at the Rebounds Basketball Complex in Neptune, NJ.  Lowry finished with 17 points and once again impressed us with his strength, toughness, competitiveness, ability to shoot the three, and willingness to get his teammates involved, but the big hero was Clark, who scored 37 points in the championship game and continues to get better and better every time we see him.  Part of Clark's success can be attributed to an increased level of confidence, but we're also impressed with his ability to score from beyond the arc, handle and pass out on the perimeter, and rebound against bigger and stronger guys inside.  In other words, all Clark needs to do is get bigger and stronger in order to be a top priority for most of the top schools in the Big East.  Also chipping in with 10 points was 6'1 Antione Brown from Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA, but the real unsung hero for Philly MJC was 6'9 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, who finished with only seven points, but took care of business on the boards and provided them with the inside presence that Philly MJC has lacked in previous tournaments.  The Tim Thomas Playaz were led by 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who finished with 18 points, impressed us with his outside shooting, and brought the house down with acrobatic moves and incredible dunks.  However, their attack was also very balanced as 6'5 Dave McClure from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT had 16 points, 6'1 Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ had 16 points, 6'8 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ had 10 points, and 6'7 Taj Finger from Bedford (Fox Lane) NY had seven points.  Speaking of Finger, he was sidelined due to a bad back most of the way in the semi-finals game, but he still managed to hit two big baskets in the final minutes of the game to seal the win against the Atlanta Celtics.  We're talking about somebody who all the college coaches were intrigued by, because he does all the little things, is extremely skilled, and has a great feel for the game, plus he has a 3.4 gpa and 1130 SAT, which is why schools like Richmond, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Davidson, Brown, Stanford, and Yale are showing a lot of interest.  We also were once again very impressed by 5'10 Jr Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA and the fact that his team still managed to win, despite the fact that two of his teammates had fouled out and the Inland Empire, which only had five players to begin with, still managed to beat the New York Ravens in pool play.  Also picking up where he left off at the adidas ABCD Camp was 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ and we were especially impressed by his willingness to compete, unselfishness, and endurance (he continued to play hard throughout the entire tournament).  Not playing to due a minor injury in the all-star game at the adidas ABCD Camp was 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Christian) GA, but the Atlanta Celtics, which lost to Philly MJC in the semi-finals, still had plenty of firepower with players like 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Lakemark Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Dwayne Day from Mt. Vernon (Montomgery County) GA, and 6'7 Michael Walker from Macon (Southwest Macklin) GA.  Our guess is that Howard will go straight to the league and Smith has already verbally committed to Indiana, which means that Morris suddenly is the top priority for Georgia Tech.  And Morris confirms that the Yellowjackets are the favorite, but he also said that North Carolina, Georgia, Clemson, Louisville, and Kentucky are still on his list.  Also reaching the semi-finals was the Long Island Panthers, which featured Noah, 6'6 Rahshon Clarke from Rockaway Park (Beach Channel) NY, 6'7 Kiwan Smith from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'8 Jr Antonio Pena from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and 5'8 Kashif Payne from Mt. Herman (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA.  However, the Panthers were missing 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY and, as a result, they didn't have an answer for Kyle Lowry when they met Philly MJC in the semi-finals.  Also picking up where they left off at the adidas ABCD Camp were 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'10 Andre Blatche from Syracuse (Henninger) NY, 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Philadelphia (Luthern) PA, 6'6 Richard Robey from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 6'10 Sylvester Seay from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, and 6'8 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, plus we got a chance to focus more on players like 6'7 Adrian Joseph from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'1 Darnell Harris from Baltimore (St. Francis) MD, 6'10 John Oates from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, 6'3 Jr Harvey Hale from Albuquerque (Rio Grande) NM, 6'5 Jr Shahee Martin from West Hempstead (H.S.) NY, who were at the adidas ABCD Camp, but got lost in the shuffle.  A lot of college coaches were also intrigued by 6'9 Randall Hanke from Pawling (Trinity-Pawling) NY, who is best described as a big white kid with long arms, excellent skills, and the ability to score around the basket.  Hanke, who will be a 5th year player this year, does need to get bigger and stronger, but Virginia, Penn State, Dayton, St. Bonaventure, College of Charleston, Hofstra, George Mason, Ohio University, and Providence are among the school showing interest. 

Sunday, July 13, 2003

The #1-ranked player at the adidas ABCD Camp by the HOOP SCOOP was 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, the leading scorer in camp was 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA with 17.8 ppg, and the best player in the Senior All-Star Game was 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL with six points, five rebounds, and 13 assists, but the biggest story of the week was the emergence of 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ.  We're talking about a player who was not that highly touted prior to when he was ranked #4 in New York City on July 3rd and #67 nationally on July 6th by the HOOP SCOOP in our final rankings of the Class of 2003.  However, Noah used his incredible speed, quickness, athleticism, and agility to not only finished ranked #2 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP, but also finish tied for #9 in scoring with 14.3 ppg, first in rebounding with 10.0 rpg, and first in shot blocking with 3.5 bpg.  And, believe it or not, there are still people out there who simply don't get how good this guy is.  Sure, Noah still needs to get bigger and stronger, meaner and tougher, and improve his mid-range shot, but his upside and potential are unlimited and, unlike so many players in this day and age, he's hasn't been corrupted and spoiled by the process.  At least not yet, which means he's like a breath of fresh air.  In other words, he still has fun playing the game, plays hard all the time, and is a great kid both on and off the court.  Right now Maryland appears to be the leader over schools like N.C. State, Georgia Tech, DePaul, Providence, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Boston College, North Carolina, Indiana, and Seton Hall, but you can bet his list will get longer before it gets shorter.  Also dominating the camp were statistically were 5'10 Jr Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) AZ, who finished as the 5th leading scorer with 15.4 ppg and tied for 7th in steals with 1.3 spg; 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA, who finished tied at #9 in scoring in camp with 14.3 ppg and tied at #9 in rebounding with 6.4 rpg; and 6'6 Jared Dudley from South Kent (Prep) CT, who finished ranked #4 in scoring with 15.6 ppg and first in steals with 2.3 spg.  So it should come as no surprise that McGee and Swift finished ranked #4 and #5 in camp behind Howard, Noah, and Livingston.  It also should come as no surprise that Dudley finished ranked no higher than #24 in camp and #6 at the power forward position.  As a matter of fact, this is perfect illustration of how we use statistics to back up our position when they are useful and to ignore them when the stat sheet is a little misleading.  This also was the case in the Senior All-Star Game, as 6'8 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX and 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA were the leading scorers with 24 and 20 points, respectively, in the game, but the two best players in the game were Livingston and 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Speaking of Smith, he did not play hard enough to have the camp that he had a year ago when he was the #1-ranked player in the camp by the HOOP SCOOP, but he did take home Senior All-Star Game MVP honors.  And you can bet that this was one of the finest moments ever for Atlanta Celtics program director Wallace Prather's.  In addition to having the #1-ranked player in camp for the second consecutive year, the co-MVP in the Senior All-Star Game (Josh Smith) also plays in his program.  Starting off slow, but playing better as the week wore on was 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who led the camp in assists with 4.8 apg and scoring 16 points in Senior All-Star Game.  Also not living up to his reputation during much of the week, but redeeming himself on the last night was 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who moved up from #29 to #16 thanks primarily to his 20-point/12-rebound performance in the Underclassmen All-Star Game.  Speaking of the Underclassmen All-Star Game, this year's game provided the perfect illustration of just how weak the depth of underclassmen was in this year's camp.  As a matter of fact, it was very difficult even coming up with enough players when voting for who should be in the Underclassmen All-Star Game.  And this is in sharp contrast to recent years when the Underclassmen at the adidas ABCD Camp was one of the major strengths of the camp.  This also were a big reason why the adidas ABCD Camp was so much better than the NIKE All-American Camp the last two years.  And, if you don't believe it, feel free to compare for yourself, as we not only provide you with our final ranking from this year's adidas ABCD Camp and NIKE All-American Camp, but also our rankings of the top players from the adidas ABCD Camp - 1998, adidas ABCD Camp - 1999, adidas ABCD Camp - 2000, adidas ABCD Camp - 2001, and adidas ABCD Camp - 2002 and NIKE All-American Camp in 1998, NIKE All-American Camp in 1999, NIKE All-American Camp in 2000, NIKE All-American Camp in 2001, and NIKE All-American Camp in 2002.   In terms of the top players in camp, we once again give the nod this year to adidas, which had seven of our top 10 seniors in camp with Telfair, Howard, Livingston, Smith, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and 6'8 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA.  However, the pendulum is likely to shift in the NIKE' Camp's direction the next two year's, as six of the top 10 juniors - 6'3 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, 6'4 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, 6'7 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'2 Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, and 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN - and nine of the top 10 sophomores - 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'9 Soph Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA, 6'10 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'8 Soph Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 5'8 Soph Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'9 Soph Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 5'9 Soph Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, 6'2 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, and 6'6 Tracy Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI - currently are playing for NIKE club teams.  As for the overall depth of both camps this year, we think the race was too close to call, although the quality of play deteriorated less at the NIKE All-American Camp than it did at the adidas ABCD Camp on the final day. 

Saturday, July 12, 2003

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman has confirmed that 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN has verbally committed to the University of Memphis, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'8 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK has verbally committed to Kansas, and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin believes that 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL will verbally commit to Seton Hall, 6'1 Abdulai Jalloh from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD will verbally commit to St. Joseph's, and 6'1 Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ will verbally commit to Richmond, all within the next week.  The commitment by Williams was expected.  As a matter of fact, we told you two days ago that Williams wanted to stay home and, as a result, a verbal commitment by Williams to Memphis in the near future was eminent.  This comes on the heels of the commitment that 6'9 Robert Dozier from Lithonia (H.S.) GA made earlier this week to the Tigers and, as a result, Memphis' recruiting class, which also includes 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, moves up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Washington's days at Memphis may be numbered (there is already talk about Washington by-passing college altogether and entering his name into the NBA Draft next spring) and Dozier isn't ready to step into college and make major impact as a freshman (Dozier is a man without a position, because he's a four who wants to be a three), so it's obvious this is the player Memphis fans should become the most excited about.  Not only is Williams very skilled, but he can play both inside and outside, is an intense competitor, an excellent athlete, wants to stay home, and, at #36 nationally in the senior class, is probably underrataed.  And another verbal commitment to the Tigers may not be too far behind.  Did you now that the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported earlier this week that Memphis is the leader for 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.   And, if this happens, their recruiting class would move up to #3 behind Texas and Indiana and ahead of Alabama.  And based on his performance at the NIKE All-American Camp, where he was ranked #40 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP, we also may have Jackson ranked too low at #112 nationally.  Jackson doesn't do anything flashy, but he's a blue collar guy who scores, rebounds, and does all the dirty work around the basket.   He's also ideally suited to step in immediately a-year-and-a-half from now and provide depth behind 6'9 Wayne Simien and 6'10 David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV.  It also will be interesting to see how this effects the Jayhawks' recruitment of 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood (Central) MO.  If you will recall, Kansas is believed to be the favorite over Missouri and Illinois for Grimes' services, but there are a lot of similiarities between Jackson and Grimes and, as a result, their roles may be similar and they may be competing for the same playing time. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also talked with a number of players at the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapollis, IN earlier this week and what follows is just some of the information that he obtained.  Maryland, Syracuse, Villanova, Indiana, St. John's, Connecticut, Virginia, and N.C. State are all in the hunt for 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, who finished ranked as the #1 player in camp by the HOOP SCOOP.   The early favorites for 6'3 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, who might just be our #1-ranked junior when we update our list of the top juniors in August, are Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  Florida, Connecticut, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, USC, and Georgia Tech were mentioned by 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL.  We still think North Carolina will be tough to beat for 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, but he also mentions Louisville, Arizona, Florida, and Notre Dame.  Arizona leads North Carolina and Missouri for 6'7 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA.   Nothing has changed for 6'10 Chris Miles from Provo (Timpview) UT, as his list includes Brigham Young, Gonzaga, UCLA, Utah, and Utah State.  St. John's, Kansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech are the leaders for 6'1 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY.  The early favorites for 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO are Arizona, Michigan State, Illinois, Missouri, Florida, Indiana, Arkansas, and North Carolina.  We think Washington is the favorite for 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA but Stanford, Washington, USC, Louisville, Arizona State, Oregon, and DePaul also get a mention.  Connecticut, Kansas, Marquette, Iona, Xavier, Purdue, Memphis, N.C. State, and Notre Dame are showing interest in 6'2 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, but it's our guess that Indiana will be tough to beat, if, and when, they turn up the heat.  The favorites for 6'1 Ronald Ramone from Bronx (All Hallows) NY are Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, and Providence.  The list for 6'2 Trent Meacham from Champaign (Centennial) IL includes Marquette, Purdue, Ohio State, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Dayton, Northern Illinois, Butler, Indiana State, Illinois State, Western Kentucky, and Wichita State.  It already appears to be a three-horse race among Florida, Florida State, and Arizona for 6'9 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL.  Notre Dame and Duke are the two schools you have to beat for 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, but he also mentioned Syracuse, North Carolina, and Xavier.  Indiana, Illinois, Xavier, Purdue, Butler, and Ball State are all showing interest in 6'2 Jr Dominic James from Richmond (H.S.) IN.  Iowa is the favorite for 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, but Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, and N.C. State also get a mention.  The early list for 6'8 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL includes Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Kansas, Arizona, Duke, and Texas.  The dream school for 6'7 Ollie Bailey from Chicago (Farragut) IL is Florida State, but Connecticut, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Purdue, and Marquette are the schools that are knocking on his door.  Dayton, Xavier, Pittsburgh, and Ohio State are leaders for 6'2 Brian Roberts from Toledo (St. John's) OH.  The early list for 5'11 Jr Paul Gause from Pittsgrove (Arthur P. Schalick) PA includes Notre Dame, Maryland, Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Clemson.  The early favorite for 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, who is the consensus #1-ranked freshman in the nation, is St. John's, but, when the time comes in three years, we'd be surprised if he doesn't by-pass college and go straight to The League.  Florida Florida State, and Duke make up the early list for 7'0 Soph Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL and 6'9 Soph Darell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX already is mentioning Texas, Kansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma.  One of the biggest sleepers to emerge at the NIKE Camp was 6'7 Akida McLain from Pittsburgh (Penn Hills) PA, but West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Duquesne were already ahead of the game.  Iowa, Wisconsin, Marquette, N.C. State, Notre Dame are all showing interest in 6'7 Jimmy Binnie from Johnston (H.S.) IA, but right now the only offers he has on the table are from Wyoming, Drake, and Northern Illinois.  The top two for 6'5 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL are DePaul and Wiscosnin.  The schools mentioned by 6'9 Jerome Habel from Bethesda (Walt Whitman) MD were Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, Syracuse, Duke, and North Carolina, but prep school at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA or Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA appears to be first in his future.  Robert Rothbart, the 7'1 center from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, likes Missouri, Indiana, Stanford, and California.  The leaders for 6'8 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS are Oklahoma, Florida State, Connecticut, and Kentucky.  We thought it was more a question of when than if for Providence with 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Potomac (The Bullis School) MD, but Penn State and Northeastern also are still being mentioned.  Florida State, Clemson, Arkansas, Ohio State, Dayton, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Penn State, and N.C. State are in the hunt for 6'3 Danny Morrissey from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL.  Michigan State, UCLA, Xavier, Detroit, Dayton, Michigan, and Ohio State are already showing interest in 6'4   Jr Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI.  Drake, Northern Iowa, New Mexico, and Nebraska lead for 6'6 Brandon Myers from Prairie City (Prairie City-Monroe) IA.  Houston, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Penn State were mentioned by 6'8 Frank Holmes from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN.  The early favorites for 6'8 Soph Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN are Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, and Michigan State. 

Friday, July 11, 2003

The final rankings are complete from the NIKE All-American Camp and the easy winner as the #1-ranked player in camp was 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spaulding) MD, who did everything but sell tickets on the final evening.   Not only is Gay a big time athlete with a killer mentality inside, but he also plays every minute like it will be his last, can step out and hit the mid-range jumper, and is terrific in transition.  And, when many of the other top players in camp had either left or wanted leave, Gay just continued to play better.  Another player who didn't suffer from the "fatigue factor" was 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who played for Arizona on Court #3 in the 7:00 PM game and played for Georgia Tech on Court #2 in the 8:00 PM game on the final evening.  Not only is this is important in terms of seeing what players can go the distance, but it almost is like getting extra credit in school and, as a result, Swann wins a close call for #5 in camp over 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN and 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ.  Also noteworthy is the fact 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL was ranked as the #1 player in camp after the first day, but was sidelined with a fractured hand the rest of the week and, as a result, is nothing more than a footnote to our rankings.  Players, like 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, and 5'9 Soph Nic Wise from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX, also were sidelined with injuries later in the week and, as a result, would have been ranked higher, if they had been able to play on the last day of camp.  We also told you on the first of camp that the point guard position was mediocre at best and our final rankings provide an excellent illustration of what we were talking about, as only two of the top 20 players in camp were point guards.  In contrast, five centers, four power forwards, five wing forwards, and four 2-guards were represented among the top 20 players in camp.  There also were six underclassmen - 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'7 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'8 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, and 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN - ranked among our top 20 players in camp, but 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, who finished as the highest ranked underclassmen a year ago when he was ranked #5 by the HOOP SCOOP as a rising freshman, checks ranked no higher than #31 this time around.  Speaking of the NIKE All-American Camp from past years, we also have made available our rankings of the top players for the NIKE All-American Camp in 1998, NIKE All-American Camp in 1999, NIKE All-American Camp in 2000, NIKE All-American Camp in 2001, and NIKE All-American Camp in 2002.   I also am already on the first flight back to the cover the final day of the adidas ABCD Camp and the biggest surprise at the camp appears to be the emergence of 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, who is now ranked #2 in camp behind 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and ahead of 5'11 Jr Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA.  If you will recall, we had Noah ranked #67 in our final rankings of the Class of 2003, plus we went out on a limb by ranking Noah #4 in New York City on our senior list ahead of 7'3 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY and predicted that Noah would be one of the biggest surprises of the summer" and that he'd make a lot of money someday playing in the NBA.  However, we never dreamed that he'd be this long lanky 6'10 player who is going to prep school this fall, would be this good this fast.  We also find it interesting that five players from California with McGee, 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA, 6'3 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 6'7 Dorell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA, and 6'5 Aaron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA and  four players from New York/New Jersey with Noah, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, and 6'6 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ account for nine of the HOOP SCOOP's top 14 ranked players at the adidas ABCD Camp.  To get the entire updated list click on adidas ABCD Camp.

Thursday, July 10, 2003

The results are in from the third day at the NIKE All-American Camp and the #1-ranked player in camp - 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD - gets the nod based on consistency.  Did you know that Gay finished ranked #2 in camp on the first day behind 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscalooa (Hillcrest) AL, ranked #2 in camp on the second day behind 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, and ranked #2 in camp on the third day behind 6'8 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S) MS? So, unlike the adidas ABCD Camp, where 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA already appears to be a near lock for camp MVP honors, the #1-ranking at the NIKE All-American Camp is totally up for grabs as we eagerly anticipate the final two sessions of the camp later this afternoon and evening.  Also of major significance last night was the verbal commitment that was reportedly made by 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #8 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, to Indiana University.  Not only does this mean the Hoosiers have more than made up for the fact that they struck out on a number of the top players in the Class of 2003, but this also moves their current recruiting up to #2 behind Texas and ahead of Alabama and Arkansas on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  The other big story at the adidas ABCD Camp involves 5'10 Jr Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, who not only is the leading scorer in camp, but had a 31-point game yesterday afternoon and is now the #2-ranked player in camp behind Howard.  To check out the rest of our rankings of the top players after the first two playing days at the adidas Camp, click on adidas ABCD Camp.   We also have heard that 5'8 Soph Demond Carter from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, who is ranked #3 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, may be a lot closer to making verbal commitment than anybody realizes to the University of Texas.  And, if this happens, it would not only come right on the heels of Texas' current #1-ranked recruiting class, but it also would give the ideal replacement for 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, if and when, he decides to go early into the NBA Draft.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'8 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN wants to stay home, which means that a verbal commitment by Williams to Memphis may be eminent in the near future.  And, if the Tigers don't hurry up and close the deal, Fayetteville, AR isn't too far away and, as a result, the University of Arkansas could prove to be the next best thing.  As a matter of fact, we made note that the Arkansas coaching staff was at all of Williams' game at the NIKE All-American Camp.  It also appears to be a three horse race among Arkansas, Missouri, and Arizona State for 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, although the smart money is still on Missouri.   We also understand that Illinois, Marquette, and Michigan State are the top three for 6'8 Shaun Pruitt from Aurora (West Aurora) IL and the top four for 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI are Ohio State, UCLA, Michigan State, and Kansas. 

Wednesday, July 9, 2003

We have already compiled our rankings of the top players after one day of camp at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ and two days of camp at the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN and you can get those rankings by clicking onto adidas ABCD Camp and NIKE All-American Camp.  And upon further reflection we also find that the adidas ABCD Camp is absolutely loaded at the point guard and center spots, surprisingly weak at the 2-guard and power forward spots, and only average at the wing forward spot.  In contrast, the NIKE All-American Camp appears to be very strong at both inside positions and good at the 2-guard spot, but only average at the wing forward spot and very weak at the point guard spot.  Also noteworthy is the fact that despite the strong groups of young players, the highest ranked underclassmen at the NIKE Camp are 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, and 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL and the highest ranked underclassmen at the adidas Camp are 5'11 Jr Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA, 6'3 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (Central) MI, and 6'3 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Roberson) IL.  In other words, all of the high profile young players, which is one of the major strengths of the NIKE Camp, have yet to live up the hype.  And so has 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who entered the adidas Camp ranked as the #1 player in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but who is ranked no higher than #9 at the point guard spot after the first day.  Instead, the two players who totally dominated the adidas ABCD Camp were 6'11 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL.  Not only did Howard finish tied at #9 in scoring with 15.5 ppg and #1 in rebounding with 12.0 rpg, but he made a strong case for national player-of-the-year honors as he was easily in a class all by himself.  And that's saying a lot especially in light of the fact that Washington clearly outplayed 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, who wasn't quick enough to break down Washington off the dribble and keep up with him defensively.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Washington was also deadly from long range, as he hit a number of impressive 3-pointers, and he made everybody around him better, as led the camp in assists with 9.0 apg.  As a matter of fact, Washington turned in one of the best single-game performance I've seen at either the NIKE Camp or the adidas Camp in years and still isn't ranked in higher than #2 in camp after the first day.  Also dominating the adidas ABCD Camp were McGee, who led the camp in scoring with 19.5 ppg and is ranked #6 in assists with 4.0 apg, and 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA, who finished second in scoring with 18.5 ppg and tied for 7th in rebounding with 7.5 rpg.  And when you add 6'3 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, who finished ranked #3 in camp behind Howard and Washington, the state of California checks in with three of the top seven ranked players in camp.  Also originally from California is 6'6 Richard Roby from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA and last night this multi-dimensional athlete put on one of the best performances we saw all day, as he moved into a tie at #9 in scoring with 15.5 ppg.  So, if we also include Roby, that would mean that four of the top 10 players in camp are from California.  Ironically, Roby is following in the same footsteps of 6'7 Antonie Wright, who also played Elvert Perry's Inland AAU program, but got lost in the shuffle when he went away to prep school only to resurface at the adidas ABCD Camp where he was one of the best players in camp, as well as one of the top player in the Class of 2002 by the HOOP SCOOP two years ago.  Another state that has a disproportate number of players who are doing well at the adidas ABCD Camp is Illinois and this is especially evident at the point guard position, as 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'2 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Robeson) IL, 6'0 Jerod Haynes from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, and 6'0 Jr Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL.  The best player at the NIKE All-American Camp after the first two days was 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, but all that could change if 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, who was sidelined yesterday with a hand injury, returns.  Speaking of White, he had a big first day prior to when the college coaches arrived yesterday at NIKE, as he was our #1-ranked player in camp after Monday's practice session and on the same day announced that he plans to sign with Indiana University a year from now.  We also have understand that 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI has reneged on his verbal commitment to Michigan, which means the #2-ranked 2-guard at the NIKE All-American Camp is suddenly available once again.  Crawford says that Michigan is still a possibility, but he also has Ohio State, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Missouri on his list.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also has confirmed that 6'9 Robert Dozier from Lithonia (H.S.) GA, who is ranked #109 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, did commit to Memphis yesterday and he thinks Arizona may be close to getting an early commitment from 6'7 Martel Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA.  And, if this happens, the Wildcats will have beaten some pretty fast company, as the other top two schools on Webster's list are North Carolina and Missouri.  Johnson also tells us that 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Hazelwood (Florissant Central) MO, who was one of the biggest disappointments in camp two weeks ago at the NBA Players Association Camp in Richmond, VA, but this   week is one of the top players at NIKE, as he checks in at #17 overall and #4 on our list of the top centers in camp, is telling people that Kansas leads Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Georgia Tech.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 John Lucky from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT has verbally committed to Rhode Island, which means that Rams head coach Jim Baron not only have landed a potential McDonald's All-American who currently is ranked #32 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but also a point guard with the size and skills necessary to take the program to much higher level.  The commitment by Lucky also means that 49 of the top 100 seniors by the HOOP SCOOP are already gone.  If you will recall, when we published our Pre-Summer Ranking of the Top 225 Players in the Class of 2004 on Saturday, July 5th, 48 of the top 100 were already off the board.  Then, White picked Indiana, on Monday which made it 49, and Crawford backed out on Michigan on Tuesday, which made the number 48 again. 

Tuesday, July 8, 2003

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has talked with over 100 players at the adidas ABCD Camp during the last two days and here is some of the information we've already compiled.  Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia were the seven mentioned for 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA.  The favorites for 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA are Georgia Tech, Georgia, Kentucky, UCLA, Michigan, and North Carolina.  The early list for 6'4 Soph Javaris Crittendon from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA includes Georgia State, Florida, Louisville, and Kentucky.   Now that Louisville is out of the picture for 6'5 Earl J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, it appears to be a five team race among North Carolina, N.C. State, Kansas, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh.   Seton Hall, Rutgers, N.C. State, Virginia, Connecticut, and Villanova were among those mentioned by 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  Duke, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Villanova, and Connecticut are already making things interesting for 5'11 Soph Jawan Carter from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  The four finalists for 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL are Illinois, Duke, Arizona, and North Carolina.  The leaders for 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL are Ohio State, Connecticut, Memphis, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Georgia Tech.   USC, DePaul, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan State, Marquette, Iowa, and Iowa State continue to show the most interest in 6'7 Dorell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA.  LSU, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, and UCLA continue to be mentioned by 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA.  Kansas, Marquette, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Boston College, Notre Dame, DePaul, Illinois, and Vanderbilt are all in the hunt for 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA.  The early favorites for 5'11 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Rice) LA are Marquette, Florida State, Duke, LSU, and North Carolina.  The list for 6'9 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NY includes Maryland, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Arizona, and Pittsburgh.  Don't bet against Richmond in the sweepstakes for 6'4 Brian Laing from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, but he's says Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Miami-FL, St. John's, DePaul, Drexel, and Xavier are also on his list.  Syracuse, Pittsburgh, N.C. State, Villanova, Kentucky, Louisville, Georgetown, and Connecticut are all involved with 6'7 Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.   The top three for 6'6 Jr Brandon Rush from Kansas City (Westport) MO are USC, Missouri, and Oklahoma.  Ohio State, Florida State, Memphis, and Seton Hall are now the favorites for 6'0 Dupree Fletcher from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  The early list for 6'2 Soph Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI includes Wisconsin, Marquette, Arizona, and Iowa.  The schools mentioned by 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA were Louisville, Indiana, N.C. State, Georgia, and Ohio State and 6'2 Chris Lofton from Maysville (Mason County) KY likes Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Georgia, and Alabama.   N.C. State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and Connecticut lead for 6'8 James Mays from Garner (H.S.) NC.  Purdue, Louisville, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, and Oklahoma are being mentioned by 6'11 Jr Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Fenger) IL.  The favorites for 6'6 Rahshon Clarke from Rockaway Park (Beach Channel) NY are Iowa State, Kent State, Seton Hall, Hofstra, Mississippi State, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Boston College.  The top five for 5'9 Kashif Payne from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA are Dayton, St. Bonaventure, La Salle, Virginia Tech, and Siena.  Kojo Mensah, the 6'2 point guard who plans to attend prep school at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA this fall, likes Providence, Seton Hall, Massachusetts, and Xavier.  The top four schools for 6'9 Joseph Jones from Normandee (H.S.) TX are North Carolina, Arizona, Kansas, and Arkansas.  Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Iowa State are the favorites for 6'6 Joe Posey from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA.  Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisville, Seton Hall, and Ohio State were mentioned by 6'1 Montez Smith from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  The leaders for 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC are Connecticut, Tennessee, DePaul, Clemson, Alabama, Charlotte, N.C. State, Wisconsin.  Missouri is believed to be leader for 6'7 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, but Oklahoma, Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Kentucky are also on his list.   Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Mississippi State have already shown early interest in 6'2 Jr Jarvis Hill from Starkville (H.S.) MS and 6'4 Henry Salter from Gulfport (H.S.) MS likes Kentucky, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Mississippi, and Louisville.  The schools mentioned by 6'4 Dominique Kirk from Dallas (Bryan Adams) TX were Oregon, Baylor, SMU, and UT-Arlington.  Among those showing the most early interest in 6'3 Jr Harvey Hale from Albuquerque (Rio Grande) NM are Arizona State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Louisville, Stanford, Connecticut, New Mexico, Colorado, New Mexico State, and UTEP.  The early list for 6'8 Jr Kendric Price from Cambridge (Buckingham Browne & Nichols) MA includes Ohio State, Memphis, Connecticut, Boston College, and Rutgers.  The leaders for 5'8 Justin Wilson from Dickinson (H.S.) TX are Texas Christian, UT-Arlington, and Wichita State, and Texas.  We still think Arkansas is the school you have to beat for 6'6 Marcus Monk from LaPanto (East Poinsett County) AR, but Stanford, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Connecticut, and UCLA are also on his list.   Miami-FL, Colorado, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Richmond, and Oregon make up the short list for 6'6 Richard Robey from Groten (Lawrence Academy) MA.   Showing the most interest in 6'10 Sylvester Seay from Groten (Lawrence Academy) MA are Miami-FL, Texas A&M, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona State.   The early favorites for 5'11 Jr Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA are North Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, and Colorado.  Kansas, California, UCLA, Oregon, and Miami-FL were mentioned by 6'3 Quentin Thomas from Oakland (Tech) CA.  LSU, Georgia, Stanford, Kentucky, Florida, Rice, Miami-Fl, and Virginia are all in the hunt for 6'5 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA.  We still think you have to beat LSU for 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, but Miami-FL, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Kentucky are also on his list.  New Mexico, Tennessee, IUPUI, and Oregon were mentioned by 6'1 George Hill from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN.  Miami-FL, Clemson, N.C. State, and LSU are in the hunt for 6'7 Diego Belazario from Laurinburg (Institute) NC and Marquette, Miami-FL, Duke, and North Carolina are among those involved with 6'9 Renato Souza from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  Boston College, Boston University, Connecticut, Massachusetts, St. John's, Dayton, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and Pennsylvania are all in the hunt for 6'10 John Oates from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ.

Monday, July 7, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has checked in after the conclusion of the second practice day at the NIKE All-American Camp and with the help of Illinois Warriors assistant coach Mel Wulfekamp and our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead, they already are able to provide us with a ranking of the top 10 players at each position in camp.  The top 10 centers are 1) 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 2) 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 3) 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, 4) 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood Central) MO, 5) 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, 6) 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 7) 6'11 Steve Hill from Bronson (H.S.) MO, 8) 6'10 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 9) 6'10 Jr Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, and 10) 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC. The top 10 power forwards in camp are 1) 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 2) 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 3) 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 4) 6'7 Eric Vierneisel from Algonquin (Jacobs) IL, 5) 6'8 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6) 6'9 Matt Terwilliger from Troy (H.S.) OH, 7) 6'8 Soph Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 8) 6'8 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland, FL, 9) 6'8 Jr Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff, MO, and 10) 6'8 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  The top 10 wing forwards in camp were 1) 6'7 Shawne Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 2) 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 3) 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN, 4) 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 5) 6'7 Jimmie Binnie from Johnston (H.S.) IA, 6) 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN, 7) 6'7 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 8) 6'5 David Pendergraft from Brewster (H.S.) WA, 9) 6'6 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL, and 10) 6'9 Robert Dozier from Lithonia (H.S.) GA.  Speaking of Dozier, our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, who also is Dozier's AAU coach, was missing in action most of the day, including at the HOOP SCOOP staff meeting tonight, and our guess is that he's making the necessary preperations for Dozier to make an official announcement tomorrow for the University of Memphis.  As a matter of fact, we talked with Davis late tonight and he told us to write it down.  Getting back to our rankings, the top 10 second guards in camp were 1) 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, 2) 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 3) 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 4) 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, 5) 6'3 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA, 6) 6'5 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 7) 6'4 Jr Casey Rivers from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 8) 6'4 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 9) 6'2 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC, and 10) 6'4 Jr David Gardner from Birmingham (Homewood) AL.  The top 10 point guards in camp were 1) 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 2) 6'2 Jr Greg Paulas from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 3) 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 4) 6'0 Ronald Ramone from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, 5) 6'1 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI, 6) 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, 7) 5'9 Dwayne Polk from St. Louis (Vashon) MO, 8) 6'1 Jr Josh Thornton from Camden Wyoming (Caesar Rodney) DE, 9) 6'2 Darius Nichols from Radford (H.S.) VA, and 10) 5'10 Chris Gaynor from Winston-Salem, NC. Johnson also tells us that his vote for the #1 player in the camp after the first two practice days is 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, who also is riding high after making his college decision earlier today.  If you will recall, White verbally committed to Indiana. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson and our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead will provide us with their rankings of the top players by position from the NIKE All-American Camp later tonight, but already the big story from the NIKE All-American is the verbal commitment that 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL made earlier today to Indiana University.  This moves Indiana's recruiting class, which already includes 6'5 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN, up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but getting White is huge for a number of other reasons.  First, White is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and, due to his incredible athleticism and ability to score just about any time he wants from 15-feet and in, has an unlimited upside.  Second, White is the talented inside player and missing piece to the puzzle that Indiana coach Mike Davis needs in order to make a repeat appearance in the NCAA Final Four two years from now.  Third, it appears to be only a matter of time before Davis lands another very important recruit.  Obviously we're talking about White's high school coach Thad Fitzpatrick, who was one of the most astute assistant coaches in the college basketball when he was at places like Alabama, Wyoming, and Miami-FL. Fourth, getting White gives Indiana the inside presence necessary to help seal the deal with 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Speaking of the rumor that Smith was going to announce for Indiana today at the adidas ABCD Camp, it didn't happen, but Wallace Prather, who runs the Atlanta Celtics club team program, didn't tell us to back of it either.  So our guess is that it won't happen until Davis shows up at the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ on Thursday.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Sam McMahon from Jefferson City (H.S.) MO, who is 215 lbs. wing player who knows how to score, has made it official for Delaware.  However, the Fightin' Blue Hens will have wait another year in order to get McMahon into school, because he is expected to go either the prep school route or enroll into school and take some classes next year as a part time student.  And making the story even more intriguing the fact that this was the only scholarship that Delaware had available for the Class of 2005, which means they are in the enviable position, whereby, they can concentrate exclusively on the Class of 2005 during the Summer Evaluation Period this summer.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has the scoop on Temple's 6th and final recruit for the Class of 2003, as the Owls have landed 6'5 Tyreek Byard from Philadelphia (Franklin Learning Center) PA.  Unfortunately this commitment comes in to late too be added to Temple's recruiting class, which is ranked #35 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  However, with 6'3 Mario Taybron from Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA, 6'10 Wayne Marshall from Philadelphia (Martin Luther King) PA, 6'5 Jesus Verdejo from Miami (Christian) FL, 6'6 Dion Deacons from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'3 Dustin Salisbury from Lancaster (McCaskey) PA already in the fold, Byard provides insurance in case several of the just mentioned players don't make it academcially.  As a matter of fact, Marshall already is being earmarked as a Prop 48 casuality, which means he will enroll in school this fall, but not count towards Temple's five scholarship limit in this recruiting class.  Byard, who was ranked #36 on Rubin's latest Philly Area Report, is best described as a slasher/athlete and Rubin tells us that he was the most improved player in the city this past season. 

Within the last week we've already published Ron Naclerio's updated New York City Report, our list of National Commitments, ranking of the Top 200 Recruiting Classes from 2003, Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the Class of 2003, report which provides you with Different Ways to Look at Recruiting from the Class of 2003, and our Pre-Summer Ranking of the Top 225 Players in the Class of 2004.  In other words, the only thing left on our agenda before the Summer Evaluation Period official kicks officially tomorrow was to put the finishing touches on our Final Ranking of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Player Rankings and our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2003, both of which were completed today.  Remember, it is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to rank players who have reached their 9th semester and/or 5th year of high school separate from high school seniors due to the fact that 5th year players usually have an advantage in terms of both age and maturity.  And this becomes especially obvious when 30 of our top 100 5th year players are ranked as the equivalent of a top 100 senior nationally when we rank recruiting classes.  Taking a closer look, 6'3 Mustaka Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA is the equivalent of a top five senior; 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL and 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ are the equivalent of top 10 seniors; 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St Thomas More) CT, 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'4 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'11 Martin Iti from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'8 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham) MD would be in the 11-40 range, 6'3 Mario Taybron from Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA, 6'1 Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) MA, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'6 Karron Clarke from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King) NY, 6'0 Will Blaylock from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'8 Renaldo Balkman from Laurinburg (Institute) NC would be in the 41-70 range; and 6'5 Marquis Kately from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'4 Michael Cook from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'8 Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT, 6'11 Hassan Fofona from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'5 LaKeith Blanks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'2 Tyler Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'5 Zakee Boyd from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'4 Andres Sandoval from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'10 Ben Elias from Ocala (Christian Shores Academy) FL, 6'8 Donte Minter from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'3 Carl Elliott from Worcester (Academy) MA, and 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC would be in the 71-100 range.  And, unlike some of our competitors, once a player is a senior in high school, we do not reclassify him as a junior once we suspect he may go the prep school route and, as a result, players like 6'7 Dorell Wright from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA, 6'0 Sylvester Mays from Ft. Wayne (Wayne) IN, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV, 6'10 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, 6'2 Vincent Banks from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, 6'9 Joakim Noah from Brooklyn (Poly Prep) NY, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, 6'3 Tasheed Carr from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'2 Robert McIver from New Haven (Hillhouse) CT, 6'6 Rahshon Clarke from Rockaway Park (Beach Channel) NY, 5'8 Kashif Payne from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'2 Kojo Mensah from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'7 Barbarcar Thiem from Washington (Spingarn) DC, 5'11 Cameron Tyler from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'6 Jermil Wilson from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'6 Jared Dudley from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'9 Maurice Shaw from Gilbert (H.S.) AZ, and 6'0 Khalif Ford from Diamond Bar (H.S.) CA will probably be among the elite names on next year's 5th year list.  And, of course, there are guys like 6'6 Norm Plummer from Wolfeboro (Brewster) NH, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'5 Joel Smith from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who are already in the 10th semester of high school, but who are attempting to pass themselves off as juniors, as they plan to return to prep school for another year.  And, last, but not least, is 6'9 Shawn James from Brooklyn (Redirection) NY, who is now supposed to be heading Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, as he attempts to get out of high school before he's the age that most kids are when they graduate from college.  In other words, the prep school ranks should once again be loaded next year! 

Sunday, July 6, 2003

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson and our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead were at the NIKE All-American Camp today and, after watching this evening's practice games, they tell us that 6'8 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Baltimore County, MD, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florrisant (Hazelwood Central) FL, 6'5 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL, 6'8 Soph Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'10 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis, IN, 6'8 Charles Thomas from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI were among those who impressed them the most and/or played the best.  The biggest sleeper to emerge on the first day was 6'1 Jr Josh Thornton from Camden Wyoming (Caesar Rodney) DE and the biggest disappointments and/or those not living up to their reputations were 6'3 Adam Williams from St. Albans, WV, 7'0 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, 6'1 Rico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA, 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN, 6'11 Todd Follmer from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, and 6'9 Soph Vernon Macklin from Portmouth (Norcom) VA.  Apparently while making his NIKE Camp debute, Macklin forgot why he's ranked as the #2 sophomore nationally and, instead, spent most of his time launching 3-pointers.  Obviously there will be some minor changes, as they attempt to balance the teams during the next several days, but listed below, along with the height and hometown for each player, are the rosters for the NIKE All-American Camp.   Duke has 6'7 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Nanuet, NY, 6'9 Charles Bronson from Philadelphia, PA, 5'10 Jr Paul Gause from Pittsgrove, NJ, 6'7 Frank Holmes from Somerville, TN, 6'7 Wesley Jones from Beatrice, AL, 5'7 Ryan Lamb from Hiram, GA, 6'5 Jawan McClellan from Houston, TX, 6'2 Branden Smith from Chesapeake, VA, 5'11 Enrico Tucker from Le Mesa, CA, and 6'4 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville, IL.  Florida State has 6'10 Connor Atchley from Seabrook, TX, 6'5 Jimmy Binnie from Urbandale, IA, 6'7 Marquise Gray from Flint, MI, 5'11 Taurean Gray from Bradenton, FL, 6'3 Kenneth Harris from Cherryville, NC, 6'7 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens, AL, 6'1 Maurice Hooper from Reidsville, NC, 6'3 Ty Rogers from Eddyville, KY, 6'9 Spencer Tollackson from Chaska, MN, and 6'7 Shawne Williams from Memphis, TN.  Georgia Tech has 6'5 J.R. Angle from Franklin, IN, 6'6 Ollie Bailey from Chicago, IL, 6'2 Matt Barrow from Baton Rouge, LA, 7'1 Soph Jason Bennett from Jacksonville, FL, 6'7 Kalen Grimes from Florissant, MO, 6'0 Ronald Ramon from Bronx, NY, 6'0 Nolan Richardson from Antioch, TN, 6'1 Chris Shovlin from Wilkes-Barre, PA, 6'3, Clent Stewart from Broken Arrow, OK, and 6'6 Eric Vierneisel from Algonquin, IL.  Maryland has 6'5 Marc Egerson from Wilmington, DE, 6'11 Todd Follmer from Coto De Caza, CA, 5'9 Chris Gaynor from Winston-Salem, NC, 6'8 Al Horford from Lansing, MI, 6'9 Jr Amir Johnson from Los Angeles, CA, 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Huntington, WV, 6'3 Danny Morrissey from Pepper Pike, OH, 5'8 Dwayne Polk from St. Louis, MO, 7'0 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino, CA, and 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles, CA.  North Carolina has 5'9 Soph A.J. Abrams from Austin, TX, 6'5 Jr Robert Clark from Jackson, MS, 6'7 Arturo Dubois from New York, NY, 6'6 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne, IN, 6'9 Soph Vernon Macklin from Portmouth, VA, 6'0 Darris Nichols form Radford, VA, 6'9 Peter Prowitt from Arlington , VA, 6'6 Shaun Pruitt from Aurora, IL, 6'2 Carlton Reed from Waterloo, IA, and 6'3 Channing Toney from Snellville, GA.  Wake Forest has 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland, TX, 6'3 Draelon Burns from Milwaukee, WI, 6'5 Ron Coleman from Romulus, MI, 6'3 Tyler Crawford from Stuarts Draft, VA, 5'10 Alex Gordon from Pensacola, FL, 6'1 Derrick Low from Honolulu, HI, 6'9 Chris Miles form Provo, UT, 6'9 Davis Nwankwo from College, MD, Magnum Rollie from Freeport, GB, and 5'8 Soph Nick Wise from Katy, TX.  Illinois has 6'0 Soph Mike Conley from Indianapolis, IN, 6'5 Josh Dollard from Hemingway, SC, 6'11 Steven Hill from Branson, MO, 6'9 Rob Kurz from Lower Gwynedd, PA, 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel, IN, 6'6 Anthony Morrow from Charlotte, NC, 6'10 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis, IN, 6'0 A.J. Price from Massapequa, NY, 6'1 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis, IN, and 6'2 Jason Rich from Orlando, FL.  Indiana has 6'9 Soph Durell Arthur from Dallas, TX, 6'8 Jr Yamene Coleman from Boykin, Al, 6'5 Jr Jamelle Cornley from Columbus, OH, 6'6 Jerome Johnson from Baltimore, MD, 6'2 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles, CA, 6'3 Jr K.C. Rivers from Charlotte, NC, 6'1 Brian Roberts from Toledo, OH, 6'7 Matt Salley from Charlotte, NC, 6'7 William Thomas from Baltimore, MD, and 6'1 Blake Young from Orlando, FL. Iowa has 6'10 Jr Eric Boateng from London, England, 5'9 Soph Demond Carter from LaPlace, LA, 6'6 Will Daniels from Hyde Park, NY, 6'2 Trent Meacham from Champaign, IL, Mike Pagan from Los Angeles, CA, 6'5 David Pendergraft from Brewster, WA, 6'8 Charles Rhodes from Jackson, MS, 6'9 Alex Thompson from Ames, IA, 6'5 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis, IN, and 6'7 D.J. White from Moundville, AL.  Michigan has 6'7 Brian Beckford from Brooklyn, NY, 6'5 Gerry Corcoran from Norwell, MA, 6'2 Collin Dennis from North Richland Hills, TX, 6'8 Chris Henry from Irvine, CA, 6'8 Brian Johnson from Glenarden, MD, 6'6 Jr Joe Krabbenhoft from Sioux Falls, SD, 6'4 Harvey Perry from Henderson, NV, 6'3 Xavier Price from O'Fallon, IL, 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham, AL, and 6'2 Ronald White from Taylors, SC.  Michigan State has 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas, TX, 6'8 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland, FL, 6'2 JamesOn Curry from Burlington, NC, 6'5 Dion Dowell from Texas City, TX, 6'9 Jerome Habel from Silver Spring, MD, 6'3 Jr David Huertas from Miami, FL, Pierre Niles from Memphis, TN, 5'9 Gary Patterson from East Chicago, IL, 5'11 Jr Charles White from Jackson, MS, and 6'7 Soph Brandan Wright from Nashville, TN.  Ohio State has Jr Jon Brockman from Seattle, WA, 6'4 Jr Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit, MI, 6'2 Charron Fisher from Pennsauken, NJ, 6'8 Al Jefferson from Prentiss, MS, Brandon Johnson from Orlando, FL, 6'5 Jr Marcus Johnson from Westchester, CA, 6'8 Christian Marshall from Jackson, MS, 6'0 Drew Neitzel from Grand Rapids, MI, 6'1 Russell Robinson from Bronx, NY, and 6'8 Jr Anthony Spears from Detroit, MI.  Arizona has 6'8 Rousean Cromwell from Memphis, TN, 6'2 Paul Delaney from Decatur, GA, 6'3 David Garner from Birmingham, AL, 6'7 Rudy Gay from Baltimore County, MD, 6'2 Daniel Gibson from Houston, TX, 6'9 Soph Curtis Kelly from New York, NY, 6'1 Antonio Kellogg from Oakland, CA, 6'8 Curtis Muse from St. Louis, MO, 6'6 Matt Shaw from Centralia, IL, 6'1 Isaiah Swann from Gaithersburg, MD, and 6'3 Adam Williams from St. Albans, WV.  California has 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Clio (H.S.) SC, 5'11 Jr Albert Fisher from Pennsauken, NJ, 6'0 Zam Fredrick from St. Matthews, SC, 6'7 Jr Mike Freeman from Alexandria, VA, 6'0 Jr Mike Gerrity from Yorba Linda, CA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit, MI, 6'0 Mitchell Johnson from Seattle, WA, 6'8 Maarty Leunen from Redmond, OR, 6'5 Brandon Myers from Prairie City, IA, Logan Whitman from Brazil, and 6'6 Dayshawn Wright from Syracuse, NY. Oregon has 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis, TN, 6'3 Marquie Cook from Suffolk, VA, 6'4 Michael Ellis from Statesville, NC, 6'6 Chuck Flynn from Indianapolis, IN, 6'7 Akida McLain from Pittsburgh, PA, 6'4 Derrick Simmons from Lake Wales, FL, 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro, NC, 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from McDonough, GA, 6'8 Charles Thomas from Jackson, MS, 6'5 Jason Thompson from Sanford, DE, and 6'10 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington, IN.  Oregon State has 6'5 Jr Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles, CA, 6'7 Jr Rashad Chase from Atlanta, GA, 6'3 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson, MS, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Van Nuys, CA, 6'10 Ibok Idongesit from Legos, Nigeria, 6'7 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'5 Randall Magwood from Johns Island, SC, 6'7 Jr David Palmer from Nashville, TN, 6'0 Jr Josh Thornton from Dover, DE, 6'2 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville, GA, and 6'7 Jr Julian Wright from Chicago, IL.  Stanford has 6'8 Soph Derrick Caracter from Fanwood, NJ, 6'3 Jr Paris Carter from Baltimore, MD, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit, MI, 6'8 Robert Dozier from Lithonia, GA, 6'2 Justin Hare from Cleveland, TN, 6'1 Henry Harris from Nashville, TN, 7'1 Roy Hibbert from Alephi, MD, 6'1 Jr Grg Paulus from Manlius, NY, 6'1 Lawrence Ross from Battle Creek, MI, and 6'9 Matt Terwilliger from Troy, OH.  USC has 6'0 Tanqueray Beavers from Athens, AL, 6'1 Sundiata Gaines from Queens, NY, 6'8 Jr Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff, MO, Jr Dominic James from Richmond, VA, 6'6 Robinson Louisme from Ft. Myers, FL, 6'10 Peter Minchella from West Lafayette, IN, 6'6 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 5'11 Soph Josue Soto from Miami, FL, 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Edmonds, WA, and 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Cherry Hill, NJ.  Johnson also tells us that 6'8 Robert Dozier from Lithonia (H.S.) GA is expected to verbally commit to Memphis tomorrow and he may have the scoop on our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, who got a list of schools from 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA that includes Georgia, Indiana, Florida, Duke, and LSU.   Johnson has heard that Smith is supposed to verbally commit to Indiana tomorrow.   However, at this point, that is not confirmed.   

Saturday, July 5, 2003

During the last several years we thought that the number was extremely high when roughly 30 of the top 100 rising seniors had early made early verbal commitments before the beginning of the Summer Evaluation Period, which begins on July 8th with the official start of both the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN and the adidas ACBD Camp in Teaneck, NJ.  But now it looks like recruiting process has been speeded up even more, as six of the top 13 rising seniors in 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS to Arkansas, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL to Memphis, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL to Texas, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA to North Carolina, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX to Texas, and 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI to Michigan; 13 of the top 30 rising seniors in Jefferson, Washington, Williams, Williams, Gibson, Crawford, 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA to Duke, 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX to Arizona, 6'10 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seagoville) TX to Texas, 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA to UCLA, 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (Highland) CA to Southern Cal, 6'5 Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Indiana, and 6'9 Cedric Simmons from Shallotte (West Brunswick) NC to N.C. State; 23 of the top 50 rising seniors in Jefferson, Washington, Williams, Williams, Gibson, Crawford, Nelson, McClellan, Aldridge, Afflalo, Swift, Vaden, Simmons, 6'2 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC to North Carolina, 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA to Oregon, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA to UCLA, 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI to Wisconsin, 5'11 Sean Singletary from Philadelpia (Penn Charter) PA to Virginia, 6'11 Steve Hill from Branson (H.S.) AR to Arkansas, 6'4 Glenn Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL to Alabama, 6'7 Marquis Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI to Michigan State, 6'3 Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH to Cincinnati, and 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX to Texas; and 48 of the top 100 rising seniors in Jefferson, Washington, Williams, Williams, Gibson, Crawford, Nelson, McClellan, Aldridge, Afflalo, Swift, Vaden, Simmons, Curry, Taylor, Farmar, Steimsma, Singletary, Hill, Miles, Gray, Butler, Dowell, 6'8 Alex Thompson from Ames (H.S.) IA to Iowa, 6'5 David McClure from Stanford (Trinity Catholic) CT to Duke, 6'5 David Pendergraft from Brewster (H.S.) WA to Gonzaga, 6'0 Taurean Green from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL to Florida, 5'11 Charlie White from Jackson (Provine) MS to Mississippi State, 6'9 Devon Hardin from Newark (Memorial) CA to California, 6'8 James Gist from Wheaton (Good Cousel) MD to Maryland, 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL to Alabama, 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN to Florida, 6'8 Charles Rhodes from Jackson (Lanier) MS to Mississippi State, 6'2 Toney Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA to Auburn, 6'6 Ron Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI to Michigan, 6'1 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI to Michigan State, 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN to Indiana, 6'3 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA to Southern Cal, 7'0 Roy Hibbert from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD to Georgetown, 6'6 J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN to Iowa, 6'8 Josh Heytvelt from Clarkston (H.S.) WA to Gonzaga, 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to St. John's, 6'9 Matt Terwilliger from Troy (H.S.) OH to Ohio State, 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA to Notre Dame, 6'7 Eric Vierneisel from Algonquin (Jacobs) IL to California, 6'4 Xavier Price from O'Fallan (H.S.) IL to Purdue, 6'4 Albert Weber from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC to Alabama, and 6'10 Damien Harris from Hampton (Wade Hampton) SC to Tennessee; have already made early verbal commitments.  In other words, any way you slice it, almost half of the top 100 rising seniors are already off the board.  And even more verbal commitments are expected in the immediate future.  As a matter of fact, we expect 6'9 D.J. White fromTuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL to make it official for Indiana next week at the NIKE All-American Camp and 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS is expected to make it official for the University of Mississippi in the near future.  And digging even deeper we also find that 20 more players - 6'2 Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI to Wisconsin, 6'9 Jerrell Houston from Memphis (East) TN to Mississippi State, 6'7 Cameron Stanley from Raleigh (Millbrook) NC to Wake Forest, 6'2 Darius Nichols from Radford (H.S.) VA to West Virginia, 6'9 Peter Prowitt from Fairfax (The Potomac School) VA to Virginia, 7'0 Seth Gorney from Vandalia (Butler) OH to Iowa, 6'6 Issac Knight from Detroit (Crockett) MI to Kent State, 6'10 Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY to Louisville, 6'0 Rodney Foster from Houston (Mayde Creek) TX to Rice, 6'9 Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN to Minnesota, 5'9 Dwayne Polk from St. Louis (Vashon) MO to Saint Louis, 6'3 Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI to Xavier, 6'2 Ty Rogers from Eddyville (Lyon County) KY to Western Kentucky, 6'3 Miles Webb from Brooklyn Park (Park-Center) MN to Minnesota, 6'0 Charlie Jones from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX to Colorado State, 6'11 Sam Rayburn from Portland (Sunset) OR to California, 6'9 Conner Atchley from Clear Lake (H.S.) TX to Texas, 6'8 Jeremy Parnell from Blytheville (Gosnell) AR to Arkansas, 6'1 A.J. Graves from Switz City (White River Valley) IN to Butler, and 6'11 Russell Monroe from Alma, MI to Liberty - who ranked in the 101-225 range have also already made early verbal commitments.  All this can be found on updated list that was published earlier today exclusively in the Members Section and is available by clicking on Pre-Summer Ranking of the Top 225 Players in the Class of 2004. 

Thursday, July 3, 2003, & Friday, July 4, 2003

Due to the fact that both the adidas ABCD Camp and NIKE All-American Camp are only a few days away and, as a result, we're almost out of time as we attempt to wrap-up the Class of 2003, we have been working overtime to finalize our report that provides you with Different Ways to Look at Recruiting from the Class of 2003.   It includes a talent rating average per recruit for each conference, a talent rating per recruit for the 55 teams with highest talent rating, the 33 teams that signed the two best players, the 45 teams that signed the best three players, the 38 teams that signed the best four players in the Class of 2002 and Class of 2003, and our list of players who are the equivalent of a top 100 senior nationally by conference.  Especially noteworthy is the list of the best four players from the last two recruiting classes, because it reads like a Who's Who of the Top Programs the Nation.  And right at the top of the list is Duke, followed in order by Michigan State, Oklahoma, Arizona, Cincinnati, Connecticut, LSU, Florida State, Syracuse, Missouri, Louisville, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Kansas, Villanova, Kansas State, Illinois, UNLV, Virginia, USC, North Carolina, Michigan, Iowa, Arkansas, Miam-FL, Charlotte, Arizona State, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Purdue, Louisiana Tech, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Tennessee.  We also find it interesting that Duke's talent rating average per recruit in the current recruiting class is a perfect 10 and that Texas' recruiting class did not make the list.  However, this should not come as a major surprise, because Longhorns already have receieved five early verbal commitment and easily have the #1-ranked class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   It also isn't much of a surprise to find that Atlantic Coast Conference once again appears to be the big winner in terms of the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit, as Duke and Florida State check in at #1 and #2 on our list, while Maryland, Virginia, and Wake Forest are all ranked among the top 40 teams on the list.  We also are very intrigued by the fact that Florida State, LSU, Connecticut, Louisville, and Michigan State are the top five teams on our Highest Talent Rating for the Top Three Recruits.  Remember, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton is turning the Seminoles program in near record time, LSU may the perfect combination of youth and experience necessary to make a strong run at the Southeastern Conference championship next season, Connecticut is the team to beat in college basketball next season, and Louisville could be right there with the Huskies in 2004-2005, if the Cardinals continue to build on their current recruiting class.  And don't forget about Michigan State, which very well may have had the next dynasty in college basketball, if guys like Zach Randolph, Marcus Taylor, and Jason Richardson hadn't gone hardship to the NBA in recent years.  If the Spartans hadn't also lost Erazem Lorbek, who decided to withdraw from school and return to Europe this spring, the would have edged out Connecticut as our pre-season #1-ranked team this fall.  However, it appears that Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has already reloaded as his team is tied #1, along with Cincinnati, on our list of the teams with the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit.  And this isn't the only warning sign that Bearcats are about to rebound after a mediocre finish a year ago, as they also are tied at #14 on Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit by Team, tied at  #9 on our High Talent Rating for the Top Three Recruits, and and tied at #3 on list of the Highest Talent Rating for the Top Four Recruits From This and Last Year Combined.  So with today's publication of this 16-page report, we are officially finished with our recruiting wrap-up for the Class of 2003, which includes our 29-page list of National Commitments, our 14-page list of the Top 200 Recruiting Classes from 2003, and our 22-page Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the Class of 2003, which is a total of 81 pages filled with information that you can't find anywhere else.   And if you want to dig even deeper, we have the same of information available for the past six years in our section on Top Recruiting Classes, although Different Ways to Look at Recruiting for the Class of 1999 and Class of 2002 and the Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference from the Class of 2002 were never completed because we simply ran out of time. 

Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN made his decision to attend the University of Florida public this morning and our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis has confirmed that 6'8 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA has picked the University of North Carolina.   And the commitment by Williams to the Tar Heels is huge for several reasons.   First, we're talking about a player who is ranked #7 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, Williams reminds us in many ways of Glenn Robinson and, as a result, should give the Tar Heels a powerful/athletic inside/outside presence.  Third, this is the first player that Roy Williams has landed since taking over as head coach of the Tar Heels almost three months ago.   Ironically, this probably would have been a done deal several months ago, if Roy Williams had stayed at Kansas.  Apparently Williams liked the small town atmosphere that he found in Lawrence, KS, but it appears that, as so often is the case, the head coach was the deciding factor.  The verbal commitment by Williams moves North Carolina's recruiting class, which also features, 6'2 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC, up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And, if the Tar Heels also land somebody like 6'9 Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, their recruiting class would move up to #3, behind Texas and Alabama.   If you will recall, at one time Johnson was thought to be a near lock for the Tar Heels and, as a result, it's hard to imagine that the current regime won't be able close the deal on a player that the previous regime already had pretty much wrapped up.   However, right now it looks like Johnson wants to go through the recruiting process, as the most recent list he gave us includes North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Maryland, and Florida.  But even more important, it looks like the Tar Heels are already half way home, as they attempt to solve their inside problems and, if they also get Johnson, who is ranked #14 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP, that just would be the icing on the cake.  The commitment by Brewer was expected!  As a matter of fact, Whitehead went out on a limb several days ago and told us that this is what he thought would happen.  This moves Florida's recruiting class into a tie at #13, along with Gonzaga, Michigan State, and Auburn, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but even more it will give Billy Donovan a stockpile of young guards in the program.  If you will recall, Anthony Roberson and Rashid Al-Kaleem were freshmen for the Gators this past season; 6'3 Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA and 6'2 Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN are part of their current recruiting class; and they already have an early commitment for next year from 6'0 Taurean Green from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL.  And just like Donovan when he was a player, every one of these guys can shoot the lights out.  They also are all probably four-year college players, except for Roberson, which give the program a lot of stability.  It also will probably make the Gators one of the teams to beat in college basketball for a long time, because Donovan also added 6'8 Chris Richard from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL and 6'9 Mohamed Abukar from San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) CA, plus he already has a number of other good young players in the program, like 6'8 David Lee, 6'6 Matt Walsh, 6'8 Christian Drejer, 6'6 Mario Boggan.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Cornell also already has a pair of commitments for next year in 6'4 Will Scott from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ and 6'10 Shawn Oliverson from Preston (H.S.) ID.  And in both cases, Rubin thinks Cornell head coach Steve Donohue has a steal on his hands, because Scott is an excellent outsider and Oliverson has the size that schools at this level just can't find.

Wednesday, July 2, 2003

It finally happened!  If you will recall, we've been telling you for months that 6'4 Glenn Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL was a done deal for the University of Alabama and he finally went ahead and made it official today.  Miles is a big time athlete, an excellent outside shooter, and a tough hardnosed competitor, which makes hin ideally suited to provide immediate help to the Crimson Tide program next year, but this is big for several other reasons.  First, keeping the top players at home is always important.  Second, Miles is ranked among the top 30 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Third, the addition of Miles means the Alabama will be well stocked with talented wing players on the perimter for years to come.  Remember, Alabama also has verbal commitments from 6'7 John Felix from Bevill State (JC) AL and 6'4 Albert Weber from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, plus they have a verbal commitment from 6'2 Ron Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, who promises to be the heir apparent to Maurice Williams at point guard, and, as a result, their recruiting class moves up to #2 behind Texas and ahead of Arkansas on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  This also gives Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried the perfect complement to the three inside players 6'10 Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL, 6'9 Jamario Davidson from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'10 Shawn Taylor from Perry (H.S.) GA that they landed in the current recruiting class, plus it gives them the supporting cast upon which to build around a star player, like 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, who is ranked #8 nationally in the Class of 2005 by the HOOP SCOOP, or 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, who is ranked #6 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP.  We've been telling you for months that White is a done deal for Indiana, but that doesn't mean that Gottfried and his staff won't try and change his mind right up until when White commits to the Hoosiers next week at the NIKE All-American Camp. We also think Hendrix is a done deal for Alabama, but they they will have to wait several more years before he enrolls into school, because he's just finishing his sophomore year of high school.  Instead, we suspect that Alabama will edge out Auburn, Florida, and UAB of the services of 6'9 Walter Sharpe from Birmingham (Parker) AL, but they actually can sign two more players in this recruiting class due to the fact that Williams entered his name into this year's NBA Draft and was a solid second round pick.  We also have confirmed that Tennessee has landed 6'10 Damien Harris from Greenville (Hampton) SC and this is an important catch, despite the fact that Harris is not ranked among our top 100 juniors nationally.   Remember, this guy is a physical specimen and guys this big are hard to find.   He's also a lot meaner and tougher inside than 6'10 Major Wingate from Suwanee (Gwinnette) GA, who was the one inside addition that the Volunteers made with their current recruiting class.  This leaves Tennessee with one available scholarship and it could go to 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN, who is supposed to pick either Tennessee or Florida, as soon as this Friday.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson announced today that he is hiring Martin-Methodist head coach Chuck Benson to replace Kerry Keating, who recently left Tennessee to take a similar position at UCLA.  This is important, because Benson's father is Charlie Benson, who runs the Tennessee Travelers AAU program for which Brewer is a player.  However, our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead still thinks it's going to be Florida.  "The longer it goes, the more it favors Tennessee," says Whitehead.  "If Brewer's doing it this quickly, it almost has to be the Gators."  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA has verbally committed to New Mexico.  However, we found this out too late to add to our 14-page Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  However, if we had known about this two days ago, we would have moved the Lobos' recruiting class up from #157 to #96.  We also have finished with Ron Naclerio's New York City Report, which has taken longer to publish than any other report in the 20-year history of the HOOP SCOOP.  All winter I told Naclerio that he needed to get me his report into my hands sometime in January, February, or March, because that's when I would have the most time to work on it.  However, Naclerio didn't get it into to me until the NCAA Final Four, plus the number of changes he made was mind-boggling and I've been so slammed with verbal commitments and covering events the last several months that it's been impossible to even make a dent in it until recently.  So with all this in mind, it should come as no surprise that his report still includes Naclerio's ranking of the top seniors in New York City, despite the fact it is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to move every player in each class up by a year on July 1st.  

Tuesday, July 1, 2003

I have already received several faxes and phones calls today from people attempting to inform me that about this player or that player who is missing from our 29-page list of National Commitments.  Well, yesterday at this time I was very interested.  As a matter of fact, I spent the better part of the last week doing nothing but gathering names and cross checking the names of players that I thought had gone to this school or that school.  However, now I must draw the line, as tonight I put the finishing touches on Ron Naclerio's New York City Report; tomorrow and Thursday I will be finalizing our Different Ways to Look at Recruiting Report; from Friday until Monday I will be updating our rankings of the top players nationally in the Class of 2003, Class of 2004, and Class of 2005; a week from today I will be covering the adidas ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ; next Wednesday and Thursday I will be in Indianapolis, IN doing the same thing at the NIKE All-American Camp; and a week from Friday I will be back at the adidas ABCD Camp.  And the rest of July promises to be just as hectic.  We also must find time to catch up on the business of the day, which believe it or not, still includes some coaching rumors and includes several verbal commitments like 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA picking the University of Oregon, 6'11 Russell Monroe from Alma, MI making a verbal commitment to Liberty, and 6'8 Jeremy Parnell from Blytheville (Gosnell) AR making it official for Ole Miss.  Obviously the connection here stems from the fact that Parnell hails from the same small town in Northeast Arkansas as Joe Harvell, who is the second leading scorer in the history of the school.  And our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson thinks this is a pretty good catch, because we're talking about a strong/athletic/blue collar/inside player, which is extactly what the Rebels need.   We'd never heard of Monroe until yesterday, but that is easy to understand when you find out that he's a home school kid and doesn't play any on the AAU circuit.   However, those who have seen Monroe play think he's one of the best kept secrets in his class nationally and, if Liberty head coach Randy Dunton and his staff can keep Monroe hidden until he signs with the Flames in the fall, it would be the third time they have pulled off a major coup in the last year.  The first came last fall when they landed 6'1 Larry Blair from Camden (Military) SC, who is ranked #183 nationally in the Class of 2003 by the HOOP SCOOP, and the second came this spring when their recruiting class finished tied at #59 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2003.  The commitment by Taylor was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but it's still huge for the Dukes, because they will have one of the best backcourts in the Pacific-10 Conference for years to come, as 5'10 Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA is the heir apparent to Luke Ridnour, who entered his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  Remember, Brooks is great at running the show and Taylor is a tremendous scorer.  We also won't be surprised if Oregon got a verbal commitment from 6'7 Marty Leunen from Redmond (H.S.) OR in the near future.  As a matter of fact, we know that Taylor and Leunen both made their official visits to Oregon at the same time and you can bet that the Ducks coaching staff will be trying to use that do their advantage.  The icing on the cake would be if Oregon could also sneak back into the hunt for 6'8 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) OR, who is ranked #7 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP, but the word on the word on the street is that a verbal commitment could be forthcoming by Williams to North Carolina by the end of the week.  However, we're not so sure, because Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar and his staff have been making a strong push and should be very difficult to beat in their own backyard and Arizona assistant coaches Rodney Tention and Josh Pastner are two of the hardest working guys in the business and they have a lot to sell in Lute Olson and the current status of  the program.  We also continue to hear Charlotte assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry's name in connection with both the Georgetown and Clemson jobs.   Our guess is that Nickelberry will opt for Tigers, where he would join Frank Smith, who moved with Oliver Purnell this spring from Dayton to Clemson, and Ron Bradley, who, as expected, left James Madison two weeks ago to join the staff at Clemson, to form one of the best staffs in college basketball.   Speaking of assembling a great coaching staff, did you know that Wayne Morgan has done exactly that at Iowa State, as he's retained Bob Sundvold, hired former North Carolina assistant coach Fred Quartlebaum and USC assistant coach Damon Archibald as assistant coaches and Norfolk State assistant coach Darryl Sharp as the Director of Basketball Operations?