HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE 2002

Hot Recruiting Information available for previous months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002

Sunday, June 30, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Gonzaga has landed 6'0 Jr Derek Ravio from Vancouver (Mountain View) WA.  Talk about a perfect fit!  If you will recall, Ravio almost singlehandedly lead the Portland Legends into the round of 16 in the 17-Under Division at the Houston Kingwood Classic in April and he reminds us of Dan Dickau in may ways.  Not only is Ravio a tough hardnosed competitor who handles, passes, shoots, and makes his teammates better, but just like Dickau at the same stage, Ravio is a borderline top 100 player nationally and he always gets the most of out his ability.  In other words, he's exactly what Zags head coach Mark Few needs to perpetuate Gonzaga's incredible run well into the future.  This brings the number of commitments by players ranked among our top 100 nationally in the Class of 2003 to 29, which is almost identical to the number of players who had made early commitments in the Class of 2002 at this time a year ago.  It also brings the number of commitments by players ranked among our top 280 nationally in the junior class to 49.  To take a close looker, click on Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2003.  Speaking of the top players in each class, tomorrow, July 1st, is the day we officially move each class up by a year and, as a result, juniors become seniors, sophomores become juniors, freshmen become sophomores, etc.  Johnson also tells us that 6'8 Jr Ivan Harris from Springfield (South) OH, who is ranked #2 in the Class of 2003 on his Ohio Report, appears to be on the verge of transferring to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA. However, it hasn't happened yet.  Apparently some of our competition has jumped the gun and reported that it's already done.  As a matter of fact, Harris' father told Johnson earlier today that nothing will be etched in stone until after the Harris family visits Oak Hill Academy on Tuesday, July 2nd.  Getting back to Johnson's Ohio Report,, we published it earlier tonight and it includes his rankings of the top 123 seniors, 119 juniors, 75 sophomores, 34 freshmen, and 19 8th graders.  That means we are finished with the five State-by-State and Area Reports that we'd planned to publish in June and that brings us to our final "Question of the Day" until August 1st.  Which one of the five reports -  Georgia, New York City, Ohio, Philadelphia; Eastern Pennsylvania; South Jersey, or Tennessee - did you like best?  Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com tells us that 6'10 Larry Turner from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME has made it official for Oklahoma.  Turner, who is ranked #18 nationally among 5th year players by the HOOP SCOOP, picks the Sooners over Connecticut, Indiana, and Mississippi State.  He needs to get tougher and more aggressive inside, but he is an excellent athlete who can block shots and score inside.  In other words, he was one of the best big men still available.  And Turner will count in Oklahoma's current recruiting class, which moves up to #32 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  If you will recall, Turner signed this spring with the University of Georgia, but was denied admission into school and, as a result, is free to sign with any other school that will accept him academically.  However, we don't count transfers, so Rashaad Carruth, who transferred from Kentucky to Oklahoma this spring, doesn't count with the Sooners current recruiting class.  But if Curruth did, Oklahoma's class would move all the way up to #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.

Saturday, June 29, 2002

Yesterday we told you that we had published our best Tennessee Report ever and it looks like we've accomplished the same result today with our Georgia Report, which includes Linzy Davis' ranking of the top 100 seniors, 66 juniors, 37 sophomores, 24 freshmen, 29 8th graders, 14 7th graders, one 6th grader, one 5th grader, one 4th grader, three 3rd graders, and nine 2nd graders.  The key was being able to balance all the different political considerations and give everybody their accolades.  Remember, the Atlanta Celtics, Georgia Elite, and Georgia Stars all rank among the top club team programs in the nation and they are rivals not just on the court, but in terms of competing for players throughout the state at all different age groups.   The fact that HOOP SCOOP Georgia Editor Linzy Davis also is the director of the Georgia Elite AAU program, complicates things even further.   Fortunately I've always had a good relationship with Wallace Prather and I have a great deal of respect for the job the Georgia Stars have done over the years.   So I'm pleased that in this report we've have something for almost everybody.   The Atlanta Celtics, which feature the top four sophomores in the state in 6'10 Soph Dwight Howard from Atlanta (SW Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Soph Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'6 Soph Dwayne Day from Vidalla (H.S.) GA, and 6'6 Soph Josh Smith from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA, get their just due.  So does the Georgia Stars and Team Georgia, both of which finished in the final four of the 15-Under Division at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.  We also have some nice things to say about 6'1 Soph Toney Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA.  Remember, Douglas' father is Georgia Prep Basketball Report Editor and Publisher Harry Douglas.  We also pointed out that the University of Georgia signed the top two graduating seniors in the state and we even touched on 6'10 Soph Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who plays for Davis' Georgia Elite AAU team.  And, last, but not least, we talked about 4'4 Drew Davis from McDonough, GA, who will be the #1-ranked player in the nation in the Class of 2012 next time we update our national rankings. 

Friday, June 28, 2002

These things always take longer than expected, so it comes as no surprise that we're still working the Georgia Report, which hopefully will be finished sometime tomorrow.  However, the Tennessee Report is done and it is the best ever thanks to the help of Andre Whitehead, who our new Tennessee Correspondent.  This addition is especially important, because, while our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman has always been second to none in terms of covering Memphis and Western Tennessee, he has never been particular confortable covering the rest of the state.  Remember, Tennessee is over 400 miles long East-to-West and, as a result, it's not always easy for somebody in Memphis to get a good handle on all the best players East of Nashville, unless they are seen in the state tournament in Murfreesboro, TN or they come to Memphis to play in an AAU Tournament.  That's where Whitehead comes in, because he follows high school in Eastern Tennessee about as well as anybody, expect maybe Charlie Benson, who runs the Tennessee Travelers AAU program.  So now it looks like Rothman and Whitehead have formed what not only is an unbeatable combination, but perhaps the only combination when it comes to thoroughly covering the top high school basketball in the state (to our knowledge nobody else does a good job of covering the entire state).   The other reason why our Tennessee Report is the best ever is the depth that Rothman and Whitehead have gone into when ranking the top players in each class.  We've talking about the top 73 seniors, top 45 juniors, top 40 sophomores, and top 19 freshmen.  For all practial purposes the senior is done; the junior class, which features only two players - 6'3 Jr Lee Humphrey from Maryville (H.S.) TN and 6'4 Jr Dane Bradshaw from Memphis (White Station) TN - who are guaranteed to play at the high Division I level, is mediocre at best; and the sophomore class, which features 5'10 Soph Andre Allen from Memphis (Booker T. Washington) TN, 6'7 Soph Shaune Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 6'8 Soph Jerrell Houston from Memphis (East) TN, and 6'2 Soph Justin Hare from Athens (Bradley Central) TN, all of whom have already drawn big-time attention, hasn't quite lived up to expectations.  So it easy to start looking ahead to the Class of 2005, which features 6'6 Frosh Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, who is ranked #9 nationally in the Class of 2005 by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'4 Frosh Jamont Gordon from Nashville (Glencliff) TN, who is ranked #35 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Smith and Gordon also head what is the deepest list of freshmen we've ever published from the state of Tennessee.  This is especially important, because this list will give college coaches a jump in the future in terms of names and tracking where hese players are ranked.  Now the new challenge will be to get Rothman interested in finding out about the top 7th and 8th graders.  As a matter of fact, I hear there is a great 7th grader in Memphis and I've already told Rothman that I expect to come up with his before he does.

We have confirmed that 6'8 J.C. Mathis is transferring from Virginia to Michigan and 6'7 Odartey Blankson is transferring from Marquette to UNLV.  Blankson picking the Runnin' Rebels makes perfect sense, because he was on the Illinois Warriors team when UNLV assistant coach Derek Thomas was recruiting Darius Miles for Saint Louis.  If you will recall, Thomas had done such a great job recruiting Miles that it was pretty much a done deal, if Charlie Spoonhour hadn't decided to retire as head coach of the Billikens after the 1998-99 season.  Blankson will have to sit out next year, but the following year he is expected to step in and do exactly what he did for the Golden Eagles last season.  Remember, Blankson was one of the unsung heroes on a Marquette team that turned out to be one of the biggest surprises in college basketball season last season.  Mathis wasn't good enough to be the answer at Virginia and we predict he also won't be good enough to be the answer inside at Michigan.  But he is a step in the right direction, because he has the size, talent, athleticism, and skills to be successful in the Big-10.  Instead,  we question where he has toughness and aggressiveness necessary to get after it inside.  In other words, we see Mathis as an excellent role player, but not somebody who is good enough to scare off 6'10 Jr Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI and 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA, both of whom are prime targets for the Wolverines..  We still think California is the team you have to beat for Powe, but the fact that Michigan assistant coach Charles Ramsey got an early jump recruiting Powe when he was an assistant coach at California should not be discounted.   Stanford, Ohio State, and Michigan State appear to be the leaders over Michigan, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest, but when it is all said and done, we'd be very surprised if Naymick leaves the state.  Add into the equation the fact Michigan State landed three quality big guys in the current recruiting class in 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, and 6'10 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia and the fact that Michigan still needs immediate help inside and it is easy to see why we think Naymick will end up Michigan.  Illinois, Cincinnati, and Michigan State appear to be the leaders over UNLV, Iowa, Kansas, Notre Dame, and DePaul for 6'4 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL.   Speaking of the Blue Demons, it's not beyond the realm of possibility for head coach Dave Leitao and his new staff to pull this one off.  And, if they do, DePaul could be back in hurry.  Not only would this give the Blue Demons   the marquee player around which you can build a program, but he also would attract other players, including his high school teammate - 5'10 Jr Charlie Richardson from Maywood (Proviso East) IL.  We also are hearing that Oregon State is the leader over schools like Connecticut, Georgetown, and Florida State, for 6'8 Jr Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, who has emerged as the #1-ranked player in his class in Georgia, as well as the #54-ranked junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   And don't be too surprised if the Beavers also get a verbal commitment in the not-to-distant future from 6'3 Jr John Winston from Richmond (Salesian) CA.  Currently we have Winston ranked #128 nationally, but this strong athletic point guard could move a lot higher, if he adds a 3-point shot to his repertoire.  

We also have heard that 6'9 Soph Robbie Simpson from Louisville (Seneca) KY is on the verge of transferring to Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC and 5'11 Soph Rajon Rando from Louisville (Eastern) KY, who may might be best advised to transfer out-of-state after an altercation in an AAU game earlier this month when he was charged with assaulting an official, may also be looking for another school as well.  How about Ft. Lauderdale (North Broward Prep) FL, which is where former Lexington (Catholic) KY head coach Danny Haney went to this spring after winning the Kentucky State High School Championship in March?  In case you didn't know, Haney is one of the best high school coaches in the nation and he's had a lot of success in terms of dealing with kids, parents, and administrators.  In other words, if Haney can't turn these guys around, nobody can.  And it wouldn't be the first time a high profile high school player from Louisville, KY has gone South in recent years.  That list already includes Brandon Bender, Ronnie Griffin, Jason Osborne, Tony Kimbro, Carlos Hurt, Dwayne Morton, Adam Chiles, and Danyell Macklin, all of whom never lived up to the early expectations.  As a matter of fact, the last player to come out of Louisville, KY who had a big name early and lived up to all the the hype was Allan Houston, who was ranked among the top five high school players in the nation in 1989.  Sure, players like Derek Anderson, who ranked among the top 35 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in 1992; Dujuan Wheat, who was ranked among the top 50 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in 1992; Scott Padgett, who was ranked among the top 75 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in 1994, and Anthony Grundy, who was ranked #2 in the state, but not among our top 100 nationally in 1997; turned out well.   But they weren't ranked high and, as a result, overexposed early in their careers.  Unfortunately, more often than not, the same thing appears to be happening on a national basis.  Two of the most classic examples that come to mind are Korleone Young and JaRon Rush, both of whom were touted as two of the top five players in their class (Class of 1998) dating all they way back to when they were in 8th Grade.  However, both eventually turned out to be a bust and that leads us to a much bigger question, which will we make the "Question of the Day".  Is too much exposure too early for most players....good or bad?   Getting back to Bender and Hurt, it looks like Hurt will attend Wabash Valley (JC) IL next season.  Bender has already enrolled at Vincennes (JC) IN.   So has Chiles and 6'9 Tony Key, who left L.A. City (JC) CA and enrolled at Vincennes (JC) IN last week.

Thursday, June 27, 2002

It's one down and three to go in terms of publishing state-by-state reports from New York City, Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio.  The one down is Ron Naclerio's New York City Report, which includes his ranking in order of the top 400 seniors, top 308 juniors, top 251 sophomores, top 150 freshmen, top 25 8th graders, top 14 7th graders, top three sixth graders, and one 5th grader.  And this comes on the heels of Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which was published on Wednesday, June 12th, and included 2029 names and precedes Linzy Davis' Georgia Report, which currently includes 282 names, and the Tennessee Report by Jim Rothman and Andre Whitehead, which has 179 names, by only a day.  We also are hoping to squeeze in Chris Johnson's Ohio Report, which shouldn't take too much time, because he doesn't change every third player, like Rubin, or start from scratch, like Naclerio did this time.  Getting all this done before July 1st is important, because it is on that date we will officially move up each class by a year (sophomores become juniors, juniors become seniors, etc.).  Also prior to the start of the summer camp season we plan to publish our Final Ranking of the Top 150 Recruiting Classes, Conference-by-Conference Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes, and Different Ways to Look at Recruiting Classes, which includes a list of who had the highest talent rating per recruit, who signed the best two players, who signed the best three players, who signed the best four players over the last two years, and a breakdown of which conferences signed the most top 100 players.  And by the time we finalize our composite list of signings for each Division I team, we're talking about a wrap-up that includes well over 50 pages.  As a matter of fact, we already have all this this archived for each of the last four years in the Members Section and, as a result, the possibilities for comparisons and analysis are endless.  And I have to be done with all this by a-week-from-tomorrow, because that's the date we will head to Indianapolis, IN for the NIKE All-American Camp, where I'll be July 6th-8th, followed by the adidas ABCD Camp, July 9th-11th.  In other words, any plans that I had of going anywhere to cover anything this weekend have been cancelled.  Speaking of the the two superstar oriented camps, once again we will posting our rankings of the top players from both camps after each days action in the middle of the night.  This is must reading for any college coach or fan interested in what happens at these camps.  Helping me cover these two camps will be the usual cast of characters - Chris Johnson, Allen Rubin, Roy Schmidt, Adam Gorney, Mike Giuliani, and Ron Naclerio.   I also will remain in the New York City area on July 12th-14th to cover the Three Stripes Classic at Hofstra University.  That will be followed by three days at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, SC, July 15th-17th; two days at Five-Star Pitt III in Coraopolis, PA, July 18th-19th; a travel day on July 20th, a day to get organized prior to the adidas Big Time Tournament on July 21st, the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, July 22nd-27th; the 17-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL, July 28th-31st; and the 14-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL, August 1st-6th in Orlando, FL.  So when I leave on July 6th, I will be gone for a month.  I also will updating the Members Section religiously every day and, as a result, we once again should be light years ahead of our competition. 

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'1 Jr Lawrence McKenzie from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN,  who is ranked #125 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to the University of Oklahoma, and our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that 6'1 Kevin Kruger from Marietta (Walton) GA, who is ranked #14  in the state of Georgia in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Arizona State.  McKenzie is following the footsteps of his former high school teammate - 6'8 Johnnie Gilbert, who was a senior at Patrick Henry High School when McKenzie was a freshman.   McKenzie is best described as a big time athlete who can get the basket or pull up and beat you outside with his jump shot.  However, he just misses being ranked among our top100 nationally, because he isn't big  enough to be a 2-guard at the big time level and he doesn't make good enough decisions to be a true point guard.  Instead, McKenzie is ideally suited to be a combo guard who gets plenty of playing time at both guard spots throughout his college career.  Kruger lacks strength and athleticism, but he plays like a coach's son, which he is (his father, Lon Kruger, is the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks), plus he is an excellent outside shooter and good at running a team.  In other words, Kruger promises to be an excellent role player and solid back-up at point guard to Jason Braxton for the next three years.  Arizona State also appears to be one of the favorites for 6'8 Jr Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (The Salisbury School) CT, who is ranked #33 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   And, if Carrier does pick the Sun Devils, then he would become the third player that Elveret Perry, who is the director of the Inland AAU program, has coached who has gone to Arizona State in the last two years.  If you will recall, Braxton played for Perry prior to enrolling at Arizona State in the fall of 2001 and 6'3 Jr Tron Smith from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA, who is ranked #69 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was reported to have verbally committed to the Sun Devils earlier this spring.  Speaking of Smith, a number of people including Perry and our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis, tell us that Smith is not a done deal for the Arizona State.  While it looks like we may have jumped the gun on this one, we still stand by our original source.  In other words, the only question on this one is the timing, as apparently Smith wants to receive the attention that goes with continuing to be recruited.  We also are intrigued by something that was reported earlier this week in one of the newspapers in North Jersey.   Apparently Rutgers has a shot at landing five players from the Tim Thomas Playaz.  We're talking about 6'8 Jr Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'11 Jr Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'1 Jr Will Sheridan from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, 6'2 Jr Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, and 6'3 Jr Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  However, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Allen Rubin doesn't think this will happen, because he doesn't think Rutgers has five scholarships to offer in next year's recruiting class.  Rubin also doesn't put much stock in package deals, so when he heard about this last weekend, he sat on it for four days while others in the business scooped us on the story.  Not only do we not dismiss the story, but we're gone so far as to find out that it would rank #7 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2002.  As a matter of fact, if the Rutgers coaching staff can pull this off, they should make sure they have five scholarships or, even six, if they can also convince 6'7 Jr Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ to also sign with the Scarlet Knights next November.  And how about also making Jimmy Salmon, who is the director of the Tim Thomas Playaz program, part of the package?  Remember, Salmon already has college coaching experience dating back to the year he spent at Villanova with Tim Thomas, plus he's since built the Tim Thomas Playaz into one of the premier club team programs in the nation.  Getting back to Banks, he appears to be verge of transferring from Bergen Catholic and the school we're hearing the most is Paterson (Catholic) NJ.   Banks' college choice appear to be a little more up in the air, as he is being recruited by schools like Rutgers, Seton Hall, Maryland, Memphis, Louisville, and Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh also appears to be one of the favorites for 6'9 Jr Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY and 6'4 Jr Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI and, if this happens, they too would be well on their way towards landing one of the top recruiting classes in the Class of 2003.  Remember, the Panthers already have a verbal commitment from Jenkins' high school teammate - 6'9 Jr Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI.  Speaking of Jenkins, we were told last week that a verbal commitment to Louisville was eminent.  However, since that time we've be told that Jenkins has decided to put off making any kind of announcement, because wanted more time to make sure he was making the right decision.  Whether this really means anything is anybody's guess, but the popular consensus among fans seems to be that this is not a good omen for Louisville and, as a result, Pittsburgh may now be the leader for Jenkins.

Tuesday, June 25, 2002

With the NBA Draft just around the corner (tomorrow) and the Houston Rockets on the verge of picking 7'5 Yao Ming from China, now seems like the perfect time to ask some very important questions.   First, I want to know who was the best player in the history of the NBA over 7'4?   Actually, I can't even think of anybody, except Shawn Bradley and, he doesn't count, because he didn't have the heart necessary to become a great player.   In other words, I believe that, in most cases, you get a diminishing level return in terms of coordination, mobility, agility, and athleticism once you get past a certain height.  Second, I was wondering what the worst move in immediate history might turn out to be?  And to my surprise, when we made that you our "Question of the Day" for Sunday, June 23rd, 44% of the people who responded indictated the biggest mistake would be drafting Ming #1 in the NBA Draft tomorrow.  Next on the list with 33% of the vote was the infamous Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler trade a year ago, followed by the Washington Wizards picking Kwame Brown #1 in the draft a year ago and if Jason Williams is taken over Dajuan Wagner, both of which received only 11% of the vote.  In our opinion, all of these moves, should get you fired, but the NBA people all seem to subscribe to the herd mentality, whereby, if one person is wrong, everybody is wrong.  And that's why I asked today's "Question of the Day."   When talking about the NBA Draft, which do you want?  The party line (what they will do) or critical analysis (what the should do).  I also have come to the conclusion that most of the NBA Draft Reports are geared towards telling you what will happen, instead of what should happen.  And I believe that's one of the reasons why NBA Teams make so many mistakes, which brings us to yesterday's "Question of the Day."  Based on recent NBA Drafts, what kind of collective grade would you give NBA General Managers for their high first round picks?   So far the early returns aren't very good.  Everybody seems to be hung up on size, but in response to our "Question of the Day" from Thursday, May 30th, talent should trump size every time.   That's right!  An overwhelming 94% said more emphasis should be placed on talent versus only 4% on size.  So with that in mind and this year's lousy crop of centers, I would do either one of two things, if were an NBA General Manager and wanted to draft somebody who could be a dominant force inside.  I'd either try and trade the pick for a proven player or I'd take 6'10 Chris Wilcox, who is a physical specimen with lots of athleticism and tremendous potential.  And, to my surprise, 47% of the people responding to our "Question of the Day" from Sunday, June 2nd, agree with me.  However, my opinion does appear to be in the minority when comparing Williams and Wagner.  As a matter of fact, Williams got 70% of the vote versus only 30% for Wagner in our "Question of the Day" from Saturday, June 1st, which asked who would you take first in the NBA Draft if you were a NBA General Manager and you needed a point guard?  I also was fascinated by the fact that 77% of the people voted no responding to our question about whether 6'7 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH will be the next Michael Jordan.  When looking at some of the other responses to our "Question of the Day", I was shocked by the results from our question from Saturday, June 8th.  Who would you eliminate from our list of the top college coaches in the history of the game in order to come up with a top five list?  Obviously 31% of the people responding showed they have no historical perspective or they know nothing about the game.  Or maybe the just got confused by the question and thought they were voting for John Wooden as the top coach in the history of the game.  If you will recall, Wooden's UCLA teams won 10 championships in 12 years and totally dominated the sport from 1964 to 1975.  Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who is arguably the second best coach in the history of the game, got the least amount of votes, but when compared to Wooden, Krzyzewski's nine NCAA Final Four appearances and three NCAA Championships over the last 17 years don't even begin to measure up to what Wooden achieved.  Sure, you can make the argument that it's tougher to get to the NCAA Final Four in this day-and-age, but also remember the only thing that's harder to do than get to the top is stay there.  And that's exactly what Wooden did from 1964 to 1975.  However, I do reserve the right to change my mind, if Duke goes on a run, whereby, they win two or three more consecutive NCAA Championships.   And that's definitely not out the question, especially in light of the way they've been recruiting in recent years.  Our readers also didn't appear to be on top of the game when responding to our "Question of the Day" from Friday, May 24th, which asked which class do you like best?  Clearly the Class of 2004 and Class of 2006 will be special classes, but the Class of 2006 only got 4% of the vote, compared to 29% for the Class of 2004, 19% for the Class of 2003, and 11% for the Class of 2002.  And as long as we're talking about ranking players at a younger age, our "Question of the Day" from Friday, June 14th, addresses this specifically.    On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being very important and one being not very important, how important do you think it is for us to rank players at an early age?  There was no in-between on this one, as 60% of the those responding apparently could care less, as they voted in the 1-3 range, while 38% are very interested, as they voted in the 8-10 range.  I also am extremely intrigued by the fact that 54% of the people responding to our "Question of the Day" from Friday, June 21th, said they like AAU/Club Team basketball better than high school basketball?  Combine that with the fact that 57% of those responding voted no when we asked in our "Question of the Day" from Wednesday, June 19th, whether all the rule changes and the NCAA's attempt to take the power out of the hands of the AAU and club team coach and put it back into the hands of the high school coach was good for the game?  While the NCAA appears to be out to lunch, at least the athletic directors are listening when it comes to who they are hiring as head coaches.   If you will recall, 19 of the 42 head coaches who got hired this spring were assistant coaches at the Division I level and that goes hand-in-hand with our "Question of the Day" from Monday, June 17th.  If you are an athletic director at a mid-major school or one of the bottom programs in a mid-to-high major conference and you want to rebuild the program, who do you hire?  76% of those responding said hire an up-and-coming assistant coach from a school in a big time conference, while 24% said hire somebody with proven head coaching experience.  Speaking of which former assistants are going to do the best in their new jobs, we asked that question on Tuesday, May 14th and the overwhelming winner was Oregon State's Jay John with 29% of the vote, followed by Texas Christian's Neil Dougherty and South Alabama's John Pelphrey with 13% of the vote and Middle Tennessee State's Kermit Davis, DePaul's Dave Leitao, Fresno State's Ray Lopes, and College of Charleston's Tommy Herrion with 9% of the vote.  I was not surprised by that fact that 57% of those responding to our "Question of the Day" from Thursday, May 23rd, said that Arizona should be the pre-season favorite to win the NCAA Championship next season.  However, I was surprised by the fact that Kentucky with 11% and Duke with 9% finished second and third on the list.  That's in direct contrast to our "Question of the Day" from Saturday, June 22nd, which asks who should be the pre-season favorite to win the Southeastern Conference.  Believe it or not, so far Georgia has 30% of the vote, followed by Kentucky with 24%, Florida 18%, and Alabama with 12%.  I especially liked the response from our question from Thursday, May 9th, which was to grade the USA Today on their rankings of the top high school players both this year and over the last 20 years, as 45% gave the USA Today a "D" or an "F."  However, I didn't agree with the reponse from Friday, May 10th, which was regarding whether we should include 5th year players with seniors when doing our rankings.  64% of those responding said we should combine the two groups, while 36% said they like the fact better that we rank 5th year players and seniors separately.  In response to our "Question of the Day" from Saturday, May 11th, it looks like New York Riverside Church, which got 21% of the vote, still has the best AAU/Club team program in the nation.   Next on the list was the Houston Hoops with 19%, followed by the Tim Thomas Playaz with 12% and the Atlanta Celtics and the Long Island Panthers with 11% apiece.  I also was interested to see who would come out on top of "Question of the Day" from Thursday, June 13th.  Who is the best point guard to ever come out of New York City?  The winner with 20% of the vote was Kenny Anderson, followed by Stephon Marbury with 18%, Bob Cousey with 17%, and Nate "Tiny" Archibald and Pearl Washington with 11% of the vote.  Not on that list was 5'11 Soph Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, but, before he's done, he may be #1 on that list.  It's not too late to vote for any of these questions, plus if there is a question that you want us to ask, feel free to call me at (502) 493-0043 or email me at clark@hoopscooponline.com.   However, do so right away, because the "Question of the Day" will be suspended during the entire month of July, so that we can focus all of our attention of the summer evaluation period. 

Saturday, June 22, 2002, Sunday, June 23, 2002, & Monday, June 24, 2002

Believe it or not, we have another early commitment from a player in the Class of 2004.  We're talking about 6'6 Soph Cheyenne Moore from Colora (West Nottingham) MD and he becomes the second player in his class to have verbally committed to Georgetown University within the last week.  If you will recall, last Tuesday the Hoyas landed 7'0 Soph Roy Hibbert from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD.  Hibbert is ranked #81 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, but has the talent, athleticism, and potential to be one of the top players in his class someday.  Moore also has the natural talent and athleticism to develop into a pro someday, but right now he's ranked #175 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Moore averaged 18 ppg, 7 rpg, and 7 apg last season, but he has the ball handling skills necessary to develop into a point guard with size down the road.  Moore won't be at the NIKE All-American or adidas ABCD Camps, this summer, but we will get a chance to see him this winter, along with 6'2 Tyler Smith from Baltimore (Douglas) MD and 6'7 Richard Dorsey from Baltimore (Douglas) MD, both of whom will be 5th year players, because West Nottingham will be playing in the War on the Shore (the Inaugural Natoinal Prep School Invitational Tournament) in Milford, DE, November 22nd -24th and the Flyin' To The Hoop in National Holiday Basketball Tournament at the Butler High School Student Activity Center in Dayton, OH, January 17th-20th.   Moore's commitment also is huge for several other reasons.  First, this should provide Georgetown with the perfect replacement for 6'3 Jr Robert McIver from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who committed to Georgetown a year ago, but who has since had off-the-court problems and, as a result, is available once again.   Second, this shows what a great job Hoyas head coach Craig Esherick and his staff are doing in terms of getting involved with and locking up the players they want early.  Remember, Georgetown got commitments from McIver and 6'9 Soph Darian Townes from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC when they were both sophomores and now Hibbert and Moore are following in their footsteps.  Third, this brings the number of players ranked among our top 255 nationally in the Class of 2004 who are already verbally committed to a dozen.  If you will recall, 6'2 Soph Demarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA to Duke, 6'2 Soph JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC to North Carolina, 6'11 Soph Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI to Wisconsin, 6'5 Soph Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Purdue, 6'2 Soph Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH to Cincinnati, 6'10 Soph Jermaine Bell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA to St. John's, 6'6 Soph J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN to Iowa, 6'6 Soph Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI to Michigan, 6'2 Soph Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI to Wisconsin, 6'2 Soph Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI to Xavier have also already made early commitments.  Whether I''ll get to see Moore play this weekend is questionable, but am planning on attending both the BET Pro Am Tournament at George Washington University and the And1 East Regional at the Run N' Shoot Complex.  The field for the BET Pro Am Tournament will include the Tim Thomas Playaz, DC Assault, Texas Blue Chip, Fairfax Stars, Boo Williams, Richmond Squires, Long Island Panthers, and Baltimore Select, while the top teams in the And1 East Regional will include Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, Severn (Archbishop Spauling) MD, Brandywine (Gwynn Park) MD, and Williamsport (H.S.) PA.  The winner will advance to play in the 2002 And1 High School National Championship at the Palestra in Philadelphia, PA, July 12th-14th, along with Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which won the other East Regional (the Metro Classic) at Seton Hall University; Maywood (Proviso East) IL, which won the Midwest Regional in South Bend, IN; Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, which won the Southeast Regional in Atlanta, GA; and the other five regional winners which will be determined next weekend. 

Friday, June 21, 2002

We've always maintained that 6'9 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #12 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was a lock for Mississippi State, despite the fact that schools like Memphis, Louisville, and Kentucky have been prominently mentioned in his recruitment.  Well, it looks like we were right, because Outlaw announced for the the Bulldogs this afternoon.  It also wouldn't be that big of a surprise if Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury keeps the other talented big guy in the state at home.  We're talking about 6'11 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #8 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Butler not only was recently at Mississippi State's basketball camp, but he also will be on the same team with Outlaw and 6'8 Soph Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who is ranked #5 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP, next week at the USA Basketball Youth Festival in Colorado Springs, CO.   So obviously Stansbury and the Mississippi State coaching staff won't be the only ones recruiting Butler in the near future.  However, Louisville, Alabama, Mississippi, and LSU promises to make this one a five horse race.  Outlaw still needs to gain strength and maturity, but he has the incredible quickness, athleticism, and size to someday develop into a great player at the highest level.  He also needs to continue to improve his outside shooting in order to develop into a true wing forward.    Right now we see him as a power forward who can step out.  And Outlaw isn't the only great addition that Stansbury has made to his program this spring.  If you will recall, within the last week he also has hired Sam Weaver as an assistant coach, plus he has added 6'5 Shane Power, who recently announced he was transferring to Mississippi State from Iowa State.  Power will have to sit out next year, but he'll be a valuable addition in practice.  Remember, he played 38 minutes per game last year for Larry Eustachy, as he averaged 14 ppg, was the best defender on the team, and led the Cyclones in assists and steals.   In other words, we're talking about a tough hardnose blue collar player who fits the stereotype perfectly of a player originally from the Northwest Region of Indiana.   All Power lacks is speed and quickness.  Weaver, who previously was the head coach at both Alcorn State and Northern Iowa, as well as an assistant at places like Southwest Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Iowa State, will join current Mississippi State assistant coaches Robert Kirby and Phil Cunningham to form one of the best staffs in college basketball.  And with all the other great coaching staffs and incredible amount of talent in the Southeastern Conference, Stansbury will need all the help he can get to maintain the level his team achieved last March when they won the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship.  Speaking of the Southeastern Conference, there is no doubt in our mind that this will be the toughest conference in college basketball next year, but picking a favorite in the league isn't exactly easy.  Who do you think should be the pre-season favorite in the SEC?   Tell us by answering tomorrow's"Question of the Day".  Getting back to Outlaw's verbal commitment to Mississippi State, this brings the number of players in the Class of 2003 who are ranked among the top 100 juniors nationally and who are already verbally committed to 28.   If you will recall, a year ago the number of players who were verbally committed prior to the start of the summer evaluation period for college coaches was 30.  Our guess is that we'll be well past that number by the start of the NIKE All-American and adidas ABCD camps in early July.  Remember, today is the first day college coaches can call prospect recruits in the Class of 2003 and, as a result, you can bet that the heat will be turned up even more than it already is to get some of these guys to get it over with in the immediate future.  Outlaw's decision also brings the number of players who are ranked among our top 280 nationally in the Class of 2003 and already verbally committed to 47.  

Thursday, June 20, 2002

Xavier University, which already has early verbal commitments from 6'7 Jr Justin Doellman from Union (Ryle) KY and 6'5 Jr Rob Barker from Greensburg (H.S.) IN, is already done recruiting players in the junior class and, as a result, their entire focus is now on sophomores (Class of 2004).  So it should come as no surprise that 6'3 Soph Darryl Garrett from Detroit (Denby) MI was on campus yesterday on an unofficial visit and that an early verbal commitment to the Musketeers was forthcoming today.  And, as was the case with both Doellman and Barker, both of whom are currently ranked in the 100-200 range nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but have the potential to move a lot higher, Garrett appears to be a major steal for head coach Thad Matta.  And this isn't the first time Matta and his excellent staff, which includes Sean Miller, John Groce, and Alan Major, have turned heads with their recruiting efforts.  If you will recall, the Muskeeters currently have the #28 ranked recruiting class, which includes 6'9 Randy Holbrook from Odessa (JC) TX, 6'0 Dedrick Finn from Newburgh (Castle) IN, 6'7 Brandon Cole from Richton Park (Rich South) IL, 6'7 Angelo Smith from Indianapolis (North Lawrence) IN, 6'9 Anthony Myles from Olney Central (JC) IL, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Currently Garrett is ranked #11 in state by our Michigan Editor Steve Bell, but he will be at the adidas ABCD Camp this summer and will get a chance to form what promises to be one of the top backcourts in the state, along with 6'1 Soph Rico Harris, who sat along with Garrett last season after following their high school coach Ray Reeves from Detroit (MacKenzie) MI to Detroit (Denby) MI a year ago.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 Harry Parker from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA has signed with Wisconsin-Green Bay and we think this lefty point guard who can either beat you outside with his jump shot or by getting into the lane and scoring off the dribble is an excellent catch for new head coach Tod Kowalczyk.   Our guess is that Kowalczyk will take advantage of his strong Midwest contacts and, as a result, recruit primarily in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan, but in this case it appears that he lucked out.  Remember, Marquette was looking for a point guard earlier this spring and after the Eagles landed 5'11 Karon Bradley from Houston (Cypress Springs) TX, Kowalczyk was able to take advantage of the contacts he made while inquiring about Parker to get this one done. 

It wasn't as good as the Hampden-Sydney session a week ago, but Five-Star Camp directors Howard Garfinkel and Will Klein still have to be pleased with how much talent was on hand at their Honesdale I session, which concluded earlier today.  Stu Lash, who is the recruiting coordinator for Five-Star, as well as an excellent source for the HOOP SCOOP, tells us that 6'8 Jr Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and 6'6 Jr Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH were named co-Most Outstanding Players of the Week.  The High Scorer for the Week was 6'7 Jr Sean Banks from Ordell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, the Best Playmaker was 5'7 Jr Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, the Best Rebounder was 6'10 Jr Mbainai Narmbaye from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, the Best Defender and Playoff MVP was 6'3 Jr Obie Nwadike from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, the Most Promising Prospect was 6'6 Soph David McClure from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, and the Orange-White NBA All-Star Game MVP was 6'1 Jr Mike Baskerville from West Simsbury (Masters School) CT.  Neither McClure nor Baskerville are listed on our New England list by our New England Editor Wayne Simone.  But they will be.   Not only are they both major sleepers who will get recruited at the mid-to-high major level, but they were two of best players camp.  And that's saying a lot, because players like 6'10 Jr Wesley Green from Eustis (H.S.) FL, 6'1 Jr T. J. Banninster from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'2 Jr Antonio Graves from Mansfield (H.S.) OH, 6'5 Jr Jason Dukes from Cocoa (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Jr Brian Roberts from West Simsbury (The Master School) CT, and 6'6 Jr Adolfe Coulibadly from Burlington (Life Center) NJ all had good weeks, but failed to win any of the major awards. 

It looks like the Sports Illustrated jinx is alive and well and 6'7 Jr LaBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is the consensus #1-ranked player in the nation, is the latest illustration.  Since being featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in late February, things have not been going his way.  First, James' team failed to win the Ohio State Championship for the first time in his three-year high school career.   Next, he was a major disappointment at the IS8 Spring League in Jamaica, NY, where he scored only two points in one game and 13 points in another game while in New York, NY to shoot the cover for the next issue of Slam Magazine.  Then, James broke his wrist playing in Mac Irvin's adidas tournament in Chicago, IL two weeks ago and, as a result, is expected to be out six to eight weeks.   In other words, he won't be playing anywhere during the month of July.  And now it appears that his stepfather will be indicted today after a two-year investigation of money laundering and mortgage fraud.  "Basketball star's mentor to be indicted," read the headline of an article by Martin Stolz in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer.  "Eddie G. Jackson, Jr, 35, of Akron, faces 21 counts of tampering with records, 12 counts of forgery, and one count of money laundering, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and criminal forfeiture."  An article in the Akron Beacon Journal by Stephanie Warsmith and Phil Trexler provides even more information.   "Racketeering and money laundering charges are expected against five people today, including a man called the father figure of St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball star LeBron James...Jackson said recently that the case does not involve LeBron, who considers Jackson to be his father.  LeBron has said that his biological father has not been a part of his life.  Jackson has been involved in major decisions made by LeBron and his family...Akron policy began investigating Jackson, a music producer in 1999, before LeBron had attained national stature...In the years after his release from prison for drug trafficking, Jackson's annual income averaged less than $8,000...But last August, an Akron police detective told a judge in a request for a search warrant that Jackson, just after bankruptcy, received mortgage loans, purchased three investment properties and made bank deposits that totaled nearly $435,000 by 2001.  The three homes Jackson bought, all on different streets and from different sellers - sold for an identical amount; $67,000, property records show.  The loan amounts on all three were also identical, at $53,600.  The loans carried interest rates ranging from 11.75% to 12.25%, at a time when national rates were about 7.8%.  The loans came from the now-defunct Alliance Funding Co., part of Superior Federal Bank, a Chicago-area bank seized last year by federal regulators for poor lending practices." 

Today also wasn't a good day for Ernie Lorch, the former director of the Riverside Church basketball program who already had been accused of sexually abusing Robert Holmes, a former Riverside Church player who received $2 million from Lorch between 1997 and 2000.   "Lorch claimed he gave Holmes the money as capital for several businss ventures, but Holmes and his attorney, Paul Brenner, say it was hush money, paid to keep him silent about sexual abuse that occurred two decades ago."  Today's article by Teri Thompson and Michael O'Keefe in the New York Daily News with the  headline Stolen Youth:  Second ex-plauer accuses Riverside's Lorch of sexual abuse, has quotes from Louis Garcia, who told the Daily News in a series of interviews that "he had been struck with a paddle and abused by Lorch, the multimillionaire lawyer who helped create a basketball program that groomed more than 60 NBA players."  After all this started to come to light in early May, a sex-abuse hotline was set up by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and, according to today's Daily News article, they have received several credible complaints and the investigation is continuing.  "Lorch resigned from the Riverside program in late April amid the allegations.  Holmes, who is serving an eight-year sentence in federal prison on gun charges, filed an affidavit April 30 as part of an ineffective assistance of counsel motion that says Lorch sexually abused him from ages 12 to 15, when he was a player for the Riverside Hawks in the early 1980s."   Now it appears that Garcia is adding fuel to the fire.  The article says that Garcia has not seen Lorch since he played for Riverside Church as a sophomore in high school.  "Garcia, a promising, talented ballplayer who had won numerous trophies as a youngster, dropped out of school and drifted to the streets.  He was arrested twice on drug charges and once for robbery in 1991-92.  He got married, and his wife gave birth to their oldest son in 1991. He worked for 10 years as a porter in several Broadway theaters until recently. These days he collects unemployment and stays home with his two kids.  When the newspapers started running daily stories about the Catholic Church sex scandal a few months ago, Garcia's wife, Elizabeth, reminded him that he had attended Catholic schools and teasingly asked if a priest had ever done anything inappropriate to him.  She was shocked when he told her that he had been molested not by a priest, but by the most powerful man in New York basketball.  Two weeks later, Lorch's picture was on the front page of the Daily News. 'HOOPS COACH IN KID SEX PROBE,' the headline read."  The article also quotes George Bynoe, a longtime Riverside parishioner whose church council term expired last month.  "'What I have seen of Ernie Lorch in 20 years is that he takes black, white and Latino young men, some with no reading skills, no support at home, no nothing going on in their lives, and he has turned them into men.  He must have given away $20 million in support of young people over the last 40 years.'  Bynone believes Lorch is innocent of the sex-abuse allegations, but he blasts the church leadership because officials failed to oversee the basketball program, and because they did not inform the church council and congregation about the district attorney's investigation.   'I should not have to read this in the paper,'" Bynoe says.

Wednesday, June 19, 2002

It looks like Rob Kennedy, Dennis Gregory, and the people at Eastern Invitational have created a monster.   No, they haven't done anything like the NCAA, which has passed one bad rule after another in recent years.  Instead, they have gotten together with And1 and have done something good for the game, as they have put together eight regional tournaments around the nation, including the East Regional at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ; Southeast Regional in Atlanta, GA; and Midwest Regional at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, IN this weekend and the East Regional in Washington, DC; Southeast Regional in Charlotte, NC; and the Midwest Regional in Overland, KS, the West Regional in Seattle, WA, and the West Regional in Los Angeles, CA the weekend of June 29th-30th, with the eight winners advancing to play in the 2002 And1 High School National Championship at the Palestra in Philadelphia, PA, July 12th-14th.  The concept has grown out of the Metro Classic, which has been held at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ each of the last nine years.  Did you know that the winner of the Metro Classic has gone onto win either the New York  City or the New Jersey State Championship every year and the potential is there for the same thing to happen here on a much bigger scale.  There are too many state associations and teams operating on different playing fields for there to be a true in-season high school basketball national championship.  However, the 2002 And1 High School National Championship provides the perfect opportunity for there to be an-out of season high school basketball national championship.  Obviously it will take a few years build and get all the of national basketball powers, like Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, which isn't in session during the summer, but it looks like the inaugural 2002 And1 High School National Championship will feature a number of the top teams in the nation, including Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, New York (Rice) NY, Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, Miami (Christian) FL, Atlanta (Pace) GA, Charlestown (H.S.) MA, St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL, Maywood (Proviso East) IL, Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, St. Louis (Vashon) MO, Harrisburg (H.S.) PA, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Portland (Jefferson) OR, Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD, Severn (Archbishop Spauding) MD, Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, Gary (West Side) IN, Mercer Island (H.S.) WA, Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, Los Angeles (Verbum Dei) CA, Springfield (Paseo Academy) MO, Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA, Lynwood (H.S.) CA, Chicago (Julian) IL, Kalamazoo (Central) MI, Milwaukee (Custer) WI, Long Beach (Poly) CA, Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, Lawrence (Free State) MO, Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, Kansas City (Paseo Academy) MO, Albany (Monroe) GA, Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, Lakewod (Artesia) CA, Atlanta (Douglass) GA, Plantation (American Heritage) FL, Rockford (Jefferson) IL, Chicago (Hubbard) IL, Williamsport (H.S.) PA, and Brandywine (Gywnn Park) MD.  Not only does this give And1 the perfect opportunity to compete with NIKE and adidas, which have owned the grassroots basketball shoe market in recent years, but it could give Eastern Invitational a leg up in the future in terms of competing with AAU-like club teams.  Remember, the NCAA is attempting to put the summer traveling teams out of business and, as a result, hopes to put more emphasis back into the hands of the high school coach.  Obviously that's been a topic of great debate since Dan Wetzel and Don Yeager published their book, Sole Influence: Basketball Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of American Youth, two-and-a-half years ago and we want to know what you think.  Are all the rule changes and the NCAA's attempt to take the power out of the hands of the AAU and club team coach and put it back into the hands of the high school coach good for the game?  Tell us by answering today's "Question of the Day".  For more information about the 2002 And1 High School National Championship, click on the Hoop Group.

Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Previously we had led you to believe that Louisville was the leader for 6'11 Jr James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who is ranked #52 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, that's not really accurate.  Instead, we think Lang is a done deal for the University of Alabama and, as long as some an increasing number of sophomores also are making early verbal commitments, you might as well write down 6'4 Soph Glen Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL, who is ranked #11 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, for the Crimson Tide as well.  As a matter of fact, both Lang and Miles are at Alabama's team camp this week, along with 6'8 Soph Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who is ranked #5 nationally in the sophomore class and is another top recruiting priority for Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried.   So is 6'11 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, who is ranked #9 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, the competition for both Williams and Butler is intense.  Louisville appears to be the co-favorite, along with Alabama, for Butler, but Mississippi, Mississippi State, and LSU promise to make this one extremely interesting.  Florida is the early favorite for Williams over schools like Alabama, Louisville, and Duke.  Another top priority for the Gators is 6'0 Soph Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who is ranked #9 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Matt Ramker, who is the selection chairman for the Hooters Holiday Shooutout in St. Petersburg, FL, and a coach of the Tallahassee Wildcats AAU team, tells us that Washington is wide open and his list of schools, which includes Florida, Florida State, Miami-FL, Kentucky, Arizona, UNLV, N.C. State, Iowa State, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, UCLA, South Florida, and Auburn, illustrates that point perfectly.  Ramker also tells us that Washington and 6'8 Jr Renaldo Balkman from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL were largely responsible for the Tallahassee Wildcats final four finish at the Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY over the weekend.  Ironically two teams from New York (Riverside Church and the Long Island Panthers) and two teams from Florida (Team Breakdown and the Tallahassee Wildcats) advanced to the final four at the Rumble in the Bronx, but the player who impressed everybody we've talked with (i.e. Norm Eavenson of All-Star Sports and Wes Grandstaff of Team Texas) the most was 5'11 Soph Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who has been the #1-ranked player in his class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP since he was in 4th grade.  Apparently it was pretty ugly when Telfair went head-to-head against 6'1 Frosh Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, who is the #4-ranked freshman nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Riverside Church beat Team Breakdown, 78-57, in the championship game.  No All-Tournament Team was named, but 5'10 Gary Ervin from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY should have been in the MVP and Telfair, Washington, 6'6 Jr Gary Forbes from Brooklyn (Banneker) NY, 6'3 Jr Dwon Youmans from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, and 6'3 Lou Rodriguez from Shores Christian Academy, made up the all-tournament team, according to Keith Mason, who publishes The Apple's Best Ballaz.   You can get his complete report by clicking on Rumble summary page.

These things seem to happen in threes.  If you will recall, yesterday we mentioned two players from Israel  - 6'5 Ori Ichaki, who has signed with Clemson, and 6'8 Yaniv Green, who is expected to sign with UCLA, Connecticut, or California or remain in Europe and turn pro.  Well, today Fordham also signed a player from Israel.  We're talking about 6'8 Mushon Ya'akosi and, just like Ichaki and Green, he played on the Israeli National team, has served in the Israeli military, and is 21-years-old.   While Ya'akosi isn't rated as high as Ichaki or Green, he is exactly what the doctor order for Fordham.  As a matter of fact, he's been called "the Jewish Dennis Rodman."  Not only is Ya'akosi your prototypical power forward who does all the dirty work inside (screens, passes, blocks shots, and rebounds), but he is expeced to provide valuable leadership, toughness, and experience.  Ya'akosi joins 6'8 Emmanuel Messy from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Jermaine Anderson from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON, 6'4, Drew Williamson from Australia, and 6'2 John Blackgrove from Hillside (Pasacack) NJ in a recruiting class that is now tied with Temple, George Washington, Iona, and Fordham at #46 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  And the Rams coaching staff may not be done yet, if Messy doesn't qualify academically to play next year as a college freshman next season.  In other words, it is possible they could sign another inside guy to go with their already long list of foreign younge players.  We doubt whether this recruiting class will be enough to make Fordham, which was 8-20 lost on the season and lost it's last 10 game of the year last season, one of the surprise teams in college basketball next year.  But we do think the chemistry will be much better and, as a result, they will be much improved.  And, assuming that happens, a year from we will jump on the bandwagon.  Remember, the Rams won't have a senior on the roster next season and, unlike the three players (Smoosh Parker, Adrian Walton, and Jeff McMillan) who have either transferred or gone pro, Glen Batemon, Michael Haynes, and Mark Jarrell-Wright all the work ethic and talent necessary to build a program around.   The other big news of the day involves 7'0 Soph Roy Hibbert from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, who made it official for Georgetown today.  This comes as no surprise!  As a matter of fact, last fall we told you that we thought Georgetown University had stashed Hibbert at Georgetown Prep, plus we'd heard that former Hoyas center Dikembe Mutombo, who now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers was paying his tuiton.  Currently we have Hibbert ranked #81 nationally in the sophomore class, but he has the talent, potential, and skills to be one the best big men in his class.  This is especially evident when one looks at the Recruiter's Handbook and sees that Brick Oettinger has Hibbert ranked #4 in the class.  Obviously this is based primarily on Hibbert's vast upside, because right now Hibbert, who needs to get a lot stronger physically and develop more consistency in order to justify that ranking, wasn't even the best player on his high school team last season.  Instead, that honor goes to 6'8 Soph Davis Nwankwo from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, who is ranked #112 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  In other words, Oettinger and I have a difference in philosophy when ranking players.  Oettinger ranks players primarily on potential, but you've got to be pretty good right now to get mentioned among the top players in the class by us.  And that is especially true in this class.   Remember, the Class of 2004 is absolutely loaded!  Hibbert's commitment means that nine of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 ranked sophomores are already verbally committed.  Remember, 6'2 Soph Demarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA committed to Duke several weeks ago, 6'2 Soph JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC picked North Carolina over the weekend, 6'11 Soph Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI is already done for Wisconsin, 6'5 Soph Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN is done for Purdue, 6'2 Soph Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH is done for Cincinnati, 6'10 Soph Jermaine Bell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA is done for St. John's, 6'6 Soph J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN is done for Iowa, and 6'6 Soph Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI is done for Michigan.  And that brings us to our "Question of the Day".  Is the fact that the recruiting process has been speeded up dramatically in recent years good or bad for the game?

Did you know that Miami-FL assistant coach Dwight Freeman had recently been named the head coach at Norfolk State?  Neither did we until yesterday.  Then we found out that Freeman is going to hire Darryl Sharp, who previously was an administrative assistant at the University of Louisville, as an assistant coach and we immediately knew that Norfolk State has the potential to develop into the next Hampton University.  Remember, that's the team that has dominated the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference the last two years and knocked off Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in what was one of the biggest upsets in college basketball in recent years.  Sharp has all the contacts he needs to land one or two players a year from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and/or Kentucky and Freeman has all the contact he needs with Boo Williams to get more than his share of players right out of his own backyard.  Freeman getting the Norfolk State job also is significant, because he becomes the 19th former assistant coach to move into a head coaching position this year.   If you will recall, Arizona's Jay John got the Oregon State job, Kansas' Neil Dougherty got the Texas Christian job, Connecticut's Dave Leitao got the DePaul job, Florida's John Pelphrey got the South Alabama job, Arkansas' Mike Anderson got the UAB job, Oklahoma's Ray Lopes got the Fresno State job, Virginia's Tommy Herrion got the College of Charleston job, LSU's Kermit Davis got the Middle Tennessee State job, Kentucky's Mike Sutton got the Tennessee Tech job, Oregon's Greg Graham got the Boise State job, Marquette's Tod Kowalczyk got the Wisconsin-Green Bay job, Houston's Jerry Francis got the Prairie View A&M job, Saint Louis' Brad Soderberg replaces Lorenzo Romar as the head coach of the Billikens, Valparaiso's Scott Drew replaces his father as the head coach of the Crusaders,  Radford's Byron Samuels replaces Ron Bradley as the head coach of the Highlanders, Virginia Commonwealth's Jeff Capel, III replaces Mike McCarthy as the head coach of the Rams, Hampton's Bobby Collins fills Steve Merfeld's head coaching spot, and Kent State's Jim Christian also has big shoes to fill as he replaces Stan Heath.   In other words, almost half of the 42 head coaching jobs that have been filled so far this year have been done so by assistant coaches and our guess is that's a record.   Obviously this helps explain why what started out as potentially one of the most voliate years ever in terms of movement in the coaching world plateaued right after the NCAA Final Four.  Remember, you don't get the ripple effect that so often occurs with the hiring of a head coach when a school hires an assistant.  However, it is our editorial opinion that this is great for the game. Isn't always important to bring in new people and get new ideas?  Usually in the business world companies that don't get passed up their competition.  What do you think?  You can tell us via our "Question of the Day" from yesterday, which puts you in the shoes on being an athletic director at the mid-major level or at one of the bottom programs at the mid-to-high major level.  Would you attempt to rebuild your program with somebody with proven head coaching experience or would you hire an up-and-coming assistant coach from a school in a big-time conference?

Monday, June 17, 2002

Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Clemson has landed its 5th and final recruit in the Class of 2002 in 6'5 Ori Ichaki from Israel.  Ichaki, who is 21-years-old and previously was in the Israeli Army, has played on the Israeli National Team in his age group since 1997.  So it shouldn't come as any surprise that he figures to make an impact next year for the Tigers.  In addition to the toughness necessary to survive in that part of the world these days, Ichaki also brings to the tough ACC next year things things like defense, good ball handling and passing skills, and the ability to score off the drive and hit the long range jumper.  He also should give Tigers head coach Larry Shyatt a lot of size and versatility in the backcourt.  If Shyatt decides he wants to go big in at both guards spots, he can do so, because 6'4 Chey Christie and the other two guards he signed in this recruiting class - 6'5 Julian Betko from Sharon (H.S.) PA and 6'3 Shawan Robinson from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC - all have size, talent, and versatility.  And when Shyatt feels like he needs experience, he can go smaller with last year's team MVP, 6'0 Edward Scott, who will be back for his senior year after averaging 11.9 and 7.9 apg and being named third team All-ACC a year ago.  Shyatt also has a pair of starters back inside in 6'8 Ray Henderson and 6'7 Chris Hobbs, plus 6'9 Sharrod Ford, 6'10 Steve Allen, 6'8 Tomas Nagys, and 6'7 Olu Babalola all have an additional year of experience and 6'9 Akin Akingbala and 6'7 Lamar Rice from Mott (JC) MI, both of whom are in the current recuriting class, provide even more size and depth.  In other words, we not only look for Clemson to dramatically improve upon last year's 13-17 record, but we expect the Tigers to make the same kind of impact in the ACC that N.C. State did this past season.  Remember, the league should be wide open next year!  The addition of Ichaki moves Clemson's recruiting class up from #50 to #40 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date, but it also means the Tigers can be very selective in terms of who they recruit in the future.  Did you know the Tigers now only  have five scholarships available in the next two recruiting classes, despite the fact Tony Stockton and Dwon Clifton both transferred this spring?  And Clemson isn't the only team that we think can sneak up on people next season.  If you will recall, the University of San Francisco will return three starters, including 6'9 Darrell Tucker, who averaged a double-double (18.9 ppg and 10.1 rpg) and was arguably the second best player in the league behind Dan Dickau last year.  However, what makes us think the Dons can dramatically improve upon their 25-31 record over the last two seasons and perhaps even give Gonzaga and Pepperdine a serious challenge in the West Coast Conference are the six new players that head coach Philip Mathews will have as a supporting cast.  We're talking about 6'7 James Bayless, who transferred to San Francisco a year ago from Nevada, 6'6 Alvin Broussard, who transferred to San Francisco a year ago from New Mexico, and 6'1 Javon Harris, who has been sitting out two years after transferring to San Francisco from St. Mary's, 6'8 Brandon Queen from Northeast (JC) OK, 6'8 Mamdou Cisse from John Woods (JC) IL via the Senegal, and 6'8 Rakalen Simms from Concord (DeLaSalle) CA.

Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'5 Ori Ichaki from Israel, who has signed with Clemson, isn't the only Israeli player who may be signing with a big time Division I school this spring.  As a matter of fact, the word on the street is that sometime within the next month 6'8 Yaniv Green from Israel will either sign with UCLA, California, or Connecticut or turn professsional and play in Europe.  However, the biggest news of the day involves 6'5 Antonio Lawrence from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who as the #1 freshman in high school was ranked as the #1 player nationally in his class, but who now checks in no higher than #54 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2002.  Believe it or not, Lawrence has signed with San Jose State and that's still a pretty impressive first signee for head coach Phil Johnson, who has returned this spring for a second stint as head coach of the Spartans (Johnson was the head of coach at San Jose State during the 1998-99 season).   Lawrence is the highest ranked player still available in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, expect for 6'9 Sani Ibrahim from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who expected to go the junior college route - perhaps Indian Hills (JC) IA.  Lawrence is also one of only three players ranked among our top 100 nationally who is still available.  The other is 6'8 Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who is ranked #82 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, White has been trying to get out the National Letter-of-Intent he signed last fall with DePaul.  However, unless he wins an appeal, he will have to sit out a year.  The leaders right now for White appear to be Seton Hall, Miami-FL, Connecticut, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.  We also are waiting to see what is going to happen with 6'10 Larry Turner from Bridgton (North Bridgton) ME, who signed with the University of Georgia, but who has been denied admission into school.  We also suspect that Turner has been denied admission into school at the University of Alabama, which is where he visited over the weekend.  Why else would the Crimson Tide bring Turner in for an official visit and then drop out of the hunt immediately after he left town?  Instead, the schools that are currently expressing the most interest in Turner are Oklahoma, Connecticut, and Ohio State.  

Saturday, June 15, 2002, & Sunday, June 16, 2002

Almost a month ago we told you that we thought 6'2 Soph JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC was a lock for North Carolina, so the verbal commitment he gave the Tar Heels while on an unofficial visit to Chapel Hill, NC this weekend is not much of a surprise.  However, Curry, who is ranked #6 nationally in the Class of 2004 by the HOOP SCOOP, is not the highest ranked sophomore to have already made an early verbal commitment.  If you will recall, several weeks ago 6'2 Soph DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #4 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, verbally committed to Duke.   So obviously the trend, whereby, high school players are committing earlier and earlier, continues and, as a result, the recruiting process continues to be speeded up.  Get players within driving distance on campus for unofficial visits while they are freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, because it gives you a huge early recruiting advantage!  Fortunately nobody making an early commitment is locked into signing a National Letter-of-Intent until November of their senior year, but, even then, anybody who transfers, red-shirts, or is a partial qualifier is five-and-a-half years away from graduating from college.  This is important, because the single most important reason why most players pick a school in the first place is the head coach.  And based on the overwhelming number of coaching changes every year, statistically the coach who recruits a player won't still be at the school when he graduates more than 70% of the time.  So, if a player signs a National Letter-of-Intent during the fall of his senior year and the coach leaves, the school goes on probation, they recruit somebody else at his position between November and April, or he just changes his mind, the players is usually out of luck.  While the National Letter-of-Intent is good for the school, it is obviously not in the best interest of the student athlete and, as a result, I would never recommend signing a National Letter-of-Intent, especially in the fall.  A good solution would be to get rid of the Fall Signing Period altogether, as well as anything else that speeds up the recruiting process.  However, the NCAA isn't interested in what's best for the student-athlete.  Instead, the NCAA is in business to perpetuate itself and govern its member institutions.  And that's why there are so many bad rules and one of the many ramifications are the increasing number of transfers in this day and age.  Many of these transfers are the result of all the limitations and restrictions placed on what coaches can and can't do by the NCAA.  The student-athlete is making one of the most important decisions of his life and the college and/or university is about to make a huge financial investment in the player they're recruiting, but, more often than not, neither the player nor the school has enough information to make the best decision.  Getting back to Curry, he fits into the trend, whereby, most players who make an early commitment  pick a school close to home or because there is so kind of strong connection. This trend didn't hold true with Nelson, but geography was a factor with most of the other sophomores - 6'11 Soph Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI to Wisconsin, 6'5 Soph Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, to Purdue, 6'2 Soph Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH to Cincinnati, 6'6 Soph Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI to Michigan, 6'2 Soph Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI to Wisconsin, and 6'0 Soph Desmond Gadis from Indianapolis (Pike) IN - who have already made early verbal commitments.  The exceptions are 6'10 Soph Jermaine Bell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA to St. John's and 6'6 Soph J.R. Angle from Trafalgar (Indian Creek) IN.  However, Bell, who previously attended Rochester (Franklin) NY, is originally from upstate New York and Angle is just one of a number of players that former Indiana legend Steve Alford is going to go back to recruit in his old stamping grounds.  When taking a closer look at the Class of 2003, Duke once again appears to be the exception with 6'8 Jr Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN.  Also not picking a school either right in their own backyard or in a neighboring state were 6'7 Jr Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to LSU, 6'9 Jr Mohamed Abukar from San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) CA to Georgia, 6'7 Jr Bobby Perry from Durham (Hillside) NC to Kentucky, 6'6 Jr Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY to Valparaiso, 6'9 Jr Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Boston College, 6'5 Jr Tim Morris from Smyrna (Whitfield) GA to Stanford, 6'8 Jr Warren Carter from Dallas (Lake Highlands) TX to Illinois, 5'11 Jr Matt Causey from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA to Georgetown.  However, LSU stashed Koundjia at Laurinburg Institute and Valparaiso stashed Sylla at Our Savior New American, so they're just getting those players back.   Boston College already had a pipeline into Minnesota (i.e. Troy Bell), so when the Eagles got Coleman that too was no surprise.  The same can be said about Carter and Abukar, because Illinois assistant coach Billy Gillispie has always recruited Texas like it's his own backyard and Geogia head coach Jim Harrick has plenty of West Coast contacts dating back to his days at UCLA and Pepperdine.  In other words, only four out of the 46 players ranked among our top 280 nationally in the Class of 2003 who have already verbally committed went outside their area and/or didn't have some kind of connection in place to help make it happen.  Which brings us to another very interesting statistic, whereby, nearly 18% of the top 280 juniors (rising seniors) are already off the board.  And when looking at the top players in the class that number is even higher as 11 of the top 50 and 27 of the top 100 juniors have already verbally committed.  We also look for that number to increase even further before the start of the summer evaluation period for college coaches, which begins on July 8th.  Let's start with 6'3 Jr Ryan Appleby from Stanwood (H.S.) WA, who was clear across the country this weekend on an unofficial visit to Gainesville, FL, along with his parents.  Our guess is that if the Gators offer, a verbal commitment by Appleby to the University of Florida could be forthcoming almost immediately.  And that presents us with a very interesting question.  If you were University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan, would you take Appleby, who is ranked #68 nationally in the junior class nationally; would you wait and, instead, attempt to get 6'1 Jr T.J. Bannister from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who is ranked #38 nationally in the junior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP; or would you try and get them both?  Remember, Appleby has been called "a more toned-down and under control version of Brett Nelson," but Bannister is more of pure point, he's right in their backyard, and he's rated higher.  And of course, the Gators already have 6'2 Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, who plays both guard spot, but who is best with the ball in his hands, in the class ahead of them.  Tell us what you think by answering Saturday's "Question of the Day."  We also are anticipating several verbal commitments to the University of Louisville in the immediate future.  As a matter of fact, without naming names Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino was quoted saying a much this morning in the Louisville Courier-Journal.  The most likely candidates appear to be 7'3 Jr Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, 6'4 Jr Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, and 6'9 Jr James Lang from Birmingham (Parkway Christian) AL, all three of whom have been on Louisville's campus during the last week making unofficial visits.  The Cardinals are also among the favorites for 6'10 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'11 Martin Iti from Winchendon (School) MA, and 6'5 Jr Olu Famaitini from Flint (Northwestern) MI, all three of whom are ranked higher, but not as close to making a decision.  So obviously that makes for another very interesting "Question of the Day."   If you were Pitino and you had scholarships available for two big men, a wing player, and a point guard, would you take Alleyne and Lang now or would you wait for Butler and Iti? 

Everybody has always assumed that South Carolina would be the favorite for 6'10 Jr Major Wingate from Florence (Wilson) SC, but he told a source close to the HOOP SCOOP last week that Alabama is the favorite.   We've already told you that the University of Oregon is the heavy favorite for 5'10 Jr Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA, but don't be surprised if the also Ducks land 6'10 Jr David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV.  As a matter of fact, we believe that Oregon and Stanford are now the co-favorites for Padgett.  It also appears to be a two-horse race for 6'1 Jr Michael Nardi from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and George Washington is the team to beat for 6'6 Jr LaKeith Blanks from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD.  Speaking of National Christian, we're still not sure whether Blanks will be back at National Christian or whether he will be transferring to Laurinburg (Institute) NC this fall.  However, we have confirmed via Brian Merritt of the Elite Scouting Service that 6'2 Jr Earl Rigsby has transferred from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD to Washington (Dunbar) MD.  Merritt also tells us that 6'8 Travis Garrison from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has qualified academically and, as a result, will be eligible to fill an important role next year as a freshman at the University of Maryland.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'9 Greg Johnson from Chattahochee Valley (JC) AL, who originally signed with Auburn a year ago and Mississippi last fall, is now heading to Southern Miss.  Johnson can't attend Ole Miss due to a Southern Conference rule that requires a player to attend the same junior college for three consecutive semesters prior to transferring into the SEC.  If you will recall, Johnson previously attended Southern Union (JC) AL, but spent his last semester at Chattachohee Valley Junior College, which is located in his hometown.  And Johnson isn't the only player who making a late switch. Greg Swaim of www.gregswaim.com informs us that 6'10 Larry Turner from Bridgton (North Bridgton) ME has been denied admission by the University of Georgia and, instead, may be on the verge of going to the University of Oklahoma.  If  that happens, the Sooners recruiting class would move up from #43 to #33 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  And, if Oklahoma should by some chance also get 6'8 Jr Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, who is trying to get out of his National Letter-of-Intent with DePaul, Oklahoma's recruiting class would move up to #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that North Carolina is the early favorite for 6'10 Soph Mohamed Tamgara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who is currently ranked #27 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that Marquette is the leader for 6'7 Jr Marcus Dove from Long Beach (Millikan) CA, but Washington, Cincinnati, USC, Wyoming, UNLV, Arizona State, and Wake Forest are also showing interest. 

Friday, June 14, 2002

It looks like the University of Hartford has stolen one in 6'5 Ulrich Kossepta from Washington (St. Johns) DC, who is ranked #148 nationally on our revised final ranking of the top seniors nationally.  Not only does Kossepta have the talent and athleticism to step in and immediately compete for freshman-of-the-year honors next season, but he also will help provide the Hawks with what promises to be the best trio of wing players in the league.  Remember, Hartford returns 6'7 Deon Saunders, who is potentially one of the best players in the American East Conference, and they had 6'2 Jarrell Parker, who transferred to Hartford from Loyola-Illinois last spring, waiting in the wings last season.  We also have confirmed that 6'3 Soph Willie Morris from State College (H.S.) PA has made an early committed to Penn State and 6'2 Soph Michael Flowers from Madison (La Follette) WI, who is one of the top point guards in the state, has become the second in-state sophomore to make an verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin.   If you will recall, earlier this spring 6'11 Soph Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #17 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, also made it official for the Badgers.  And, if that weren't enough, we also believe that Wisconsin is the heavy favorite for 7'0 Jr Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who is ranked #6 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, sources in Wisconsin, including Butch himself and Ritchie Davis, who is the head coach of the Fox Valley Skillz 17 AAU team for which Butch plays, as well as the director of Wisconsin-based scouting service, tell us that Butch's recruitment is still wide open.  If you will recall, Butch gave us a list of schools that included Wisconsin, Marquette, Tennessee, Stanford, Kansas, North Carolina, Iowa, and Arizona at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions three weeks ago.  But after doing some checking, we stand by our original source who thinks Butch is almost a total lock for the Badgers.  As a matter of fact, our source is so confident that he's willing to put his money where his mouth is (he wanted to bet $100 against my $10 that Butch ends up at Wisconsin).  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'7 Jr Eric Van Buskirk from Loveland (H.S.) OH has verbally committed to Miami-OH and 5'11 Jr Dez Willingham from De Soto (H.S.) TX has verbally committed to Kansas State.  Willingham, who is ranked #65 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will come in next year on the heels of a recruiting class that currently is tied at #14 nationally, along with Louisville, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  If you will recall, that class included 6'7 Marques Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'4 Jarrett Hart from Westark (JC) AR, 6'3 Tim Ellis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, and 6'1 Frank Richards from Olney Central (JC) IL, who was the #4 ranked point guard in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  In other words, Willingham will enter the program a year from now as the understudy to Richards for a year.  However, it's our guess that Wildcats head coach Jim Wooldridge will play Richards and Willingham a lot together during Willingham's freshman season, not just so he can get his best players on the floor at the same time, but also to take advantage of their speed and quickness. Willingham's verbal commitment also is important because he brings the number of juniors ranked among our top 100 nationally who have already made verbal commitments to 27.  At the top of the list is 6'8 Jr Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Duke, followed by   6'0 Jr Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC to Wake Forest, 6'8 Jr Kenneth Harris from Hammond (Bishop Noll) IN to Valparaiso, 6'0 Jr Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI to Michigan, 6'4 Jr Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL to Illinois, 6'5 Jr J.R. Giddens from Oklahoma City (John Marshall) OK to Kansas, 6'10 Jr Stefan Zimmerman from Orem (Mountain View) UT to Utah, 6'4 Jr Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI to Michigan, 6'3 Jr Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA to California, 6'3 Jr J.R. Reynolds from Roanoke (Catholic) VA to Virginia, 6'7 Jr Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to LSU, 6'9 Jr Mohamed Abukar from San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) CA to Georgia, 6'9 Jr Darian Townes from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC to Georgetown, 5'11 Jr Dez Willingham from De Soto (H.S.) TX to Kansas State, 6'3 Jr Tron Smith from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) AZ to Arizona State, 6'9 Jr Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI to Pittsburgh, 6'8 Jr Ivan Harris from Springfield (South) OH to Ohio State, 6'7 Jr Bobby Perry from Durham (Hillside) NC to Kentucky, 6'8 Jr Lamont Hamilton from Milford (Academy) CT to St. John's, 6'6 Jr Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY to Valparaiso, 6'7 Jr Demetrius Nichols from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI to Syracuse, 6'2 Jr Jimmy Miles from Homewood (Christian) IL to Valparaiso, 6'9 Jr Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Boston College, 6'0 Jr Ben Luber from Newtown (Council Rock North) PA to Penn State, 6'5 Jr Tim Morris from Smyrna (Whitfield) GA to Stanford, 6'7 Jr Ije Nwankwo from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI to Purdue, and 6'7 Jr Phil Tomlinson from Burleson (H.S.) TX to Colorado State.  Not only does Duke have the highest ranked junior to have committed to-date in Humphries, but the Blue Devils also have the best sophomore to have committed to-date in 6'2 Soph DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA.  Speaking of the top players in the Class of 2004, two other players - 6'11 Soph Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI to Wisconsin and 6'5 Soph Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Pike) IN to Purdue - who ranked among our top 25 sophomores nationally have already made  early verbal commitments.  That's almost as many as the junior class, which currently has four commitment from players ranked among our top 25 nationally in Humphries, Paul, Harris, and Cotton.  And the list doesn't stop there as four other sophomores - 6'2 Soph Jamar Butler from Lima (Senior) OH to Cincinnati, 6'10 Soph Jermaine Bell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA to St. John's, 6'6 Soph J.R. Angle from Trefalgar (Indian Creek) IN to Iowa, 6'6 Soph Ronald Coleman from Romulus (H.S.) MI - who are ranked among our top 100 nationally have also already made very early verbal commitments.

From this point forward on a monthly basis we will be updating our rankings of the top players nationally in each class in the Members Section.    This month we made some minor adjustments to our 5th Year Rankings, like moving 6'11 Martin Iti from Winchendon (School) MA back up from #8 to #3, droping 6'6 Sam Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY from #5 to #10, and adding 6'6 LaKeith Blanks from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD to our list.  If you will recall, we got to see Iti and Mejia both at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions three weeks ago and Iti was one of the best players in the entire tournanent, while Mejia was a major disappointment.  Blanks fell through the cracks a month ago, because he's listed as a junior in high school, but is really already a 5th year player.  Speaking of Blanks, the word on the street is that he may return next year to National Christian or enroll at Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  We also added a few more names, like 6'2 Tyler Smith from Baltimore (Douglas) MD, 6'7 Richard Dorsey from Baltimore (Douglas) MD, and 6'2 Mario Taybron from Dyke (Blue Ridge Schoo) VA, and 6'8 Ryan Lambert from Germantown (Northwest) MD, that we didn't know about to our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2002.  Brian Merritt of the Elite Scouting Service tells us that Smith and Dorsey both will enroll in prep school at Corona (West Nottingham Prep) MD this fall, Taybron is expected to return to the Blue Ridge School, and Lambert plans to attend Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT.  The big changes start with our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2003.  Two of the players who have risen the most are 6'0 Jr Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, who totally dominated Five-Star's Hampden-Syndey Session earlier this week, and 5'10 Jr Aaron Brooks from Seattle (Franklin) WA, who was recently named to participate at the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team Training Camp in Miami, FL in July.  Picking the top four players - 6'7 Jr LaBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH, 6'10 Jr Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'7 Jr Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, and 6'4 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL - in the class #1, #2, #3, and #4 was easy!  However, picking 6'3 Jr Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA over 7'0 Jr Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI and 5'11 Jr Tauren Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, all of whom are also on the rise, to round out our top five was extremely tough.  Among those who were disappointing when we saw them during Memorial Day Weekend at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and the NIKE Memorial Classic and, as a result, have dropped in our rankings are 6'10 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Jr Dion Harris from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'5 Jr Olu Famitimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, and 6'10 Jr Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL.  Our new Ranking of the top Players in the Class of 2004 is less volatile, but 6'6 Soph Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL and 6'2 Soph DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA do jump into the top five and 6'1 Soph Jason Horton from The Colony (H.S.) TX and 6'10 Soph Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA jump into the top 10.  The only new name in the top five of our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 is 6'2 Frosh Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnette) GA.  However, the order is totally different now, as 6'7 Frosh Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA edges out 6'1 Frosh Eric Price from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'2 Frosh Monte Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'1 Frosh Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, and Williams.  Other than to add a few new names here and there in our Ranking of the top Players in the Class of 2006, Ranking of the top Players in the Class of 2007, Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008, and Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2009 everything has remained pretty much status quo. 

Thursday, June 13, 2002

It's one down and two to go for the University of Illinois, which would love to hit the trifecta in terms of landing the top three juniors - 6'4 Jr Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 64 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, and 6'8 Jr Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) - in the state of Illinois.  The one who has already made a verbal commitment is McBride.  He is ranked #26 on our list of the top juniors nationally, but he's potentially even better than that when he's getting his teammates involved, which he does on his high school team, and not trying to do too much, which he often does on his AAU team.  McBride is a big time athlete, excellent 3-point shooter, and physically overpowering for his size.  Obviously for Illinois head coach Bill Self and his staff to have the kind of recruiting bonanza we have in mind, several things would have to happen.  First, they would have to overcome the question of whether Brown, McBride, and Randle can all get enough playing time at the wing spots.  But that's exactly what they did a year ago when they landed 6'0 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) TX, and 6'3 Luther Head from Chicago (Manley) IL.   Second, the Fighting Illini only has one scholarship left in next year's recruiting class, unless somebody transfers, and, as a result, Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report thinks Randle is the most likely candidate to sign with Illinois, assuming they can only take on player.  Remember,  Illinois needs another wing forward more than they need a 2-guard.  Illinois also has several other advantages, like McBride and Randle both play on the same A