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THE HOOPSCOOP Online

One of the things that separates the HOOP SCOOP apart from other publications and web sites is the depth we go into when wrapping up recruiting. Last week we published our ranking of the Top 160 Recruiting Classes, based on who signed the most good players, and now we are on the verge of finalizing our Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes By Conference from the Spring Signing Period. For the second consecutive year the Southeastern Conference is the big winner with 294 points and a talent rating average of 4.9 for each player signed. The Big East is a distant second with 258 points, followed by the Big 12 with 212 points, the Western Athletic with 211 points, Conference USA with 207 points, the Big 10 with 186 points, the Atlantic Coast with 180 points, the Pacific 10 with 145 points, the Ohio Valley with 131 points, and the Atlantic 10 with 104 points. The second 10 in order currently includes Mid-American , Missouri Valley,  Sun Belt, Metro Atlantic, Colonial , Southern, Mid-Continent, American East, Big West, and Midwestern Collegiate, but it is still subject to change, because we are still working on the Trans American, Southwestern Athletic, Northeast, Big South and Southland Conferences. However, we will show you what we've completed so far. You can get there by clicking Recruiting By Conference.

Tuesday, June 29, 1999

The president at Fordham University, Joseph O'Hare, has returned from a trip abroad, so we look for the school to fill their head coaching vacany fairly soon. If you will recall, Hofstra head coach Jay Wright was offered the job several weeks ago, but turned it down. However, O'Hare still wants to hire somebody with proven head coaching experience and right now the leading candidate for the job appears to be Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff. But we've also have heard Georgia Tech Bobby Cremins name mentioned in connection with the job several times within the last several days. At first we thought there was no way. But the more we think about it, the more we think Cremins might be the perfect candidate for the job. Not only is he originally from New York, but he also has that same knack for getting the superstar that former Marquette head coach Al McGuire did in the 1970's. Plus Cremins has fallen on tough times at Georgia Tech.  Not only have they struggled the last several years, but the word we're getting is that the president of the school and Cremins do not get along at all. Apparently the president wants to bring in his own man and it may be only a matter of time before Cremins follows same path as two of his former assistants - Dereck Whittenburg and Kevin Cantwell. If you will recall, in early March we reported that both were on the way out and since then we've been proven correct, as Whittenburg got the head coaching job at Wagner and we still hear rumors that Cantwell may move into an administrative job. If Cremins did take the job, he would be able to recruit like crazy in New York and, as a result, he might be one of the few coaches who could likely turn Fordham into a national power, just like he did for Georgia Tech in the mid-'80s. And if Cremins were to take the Fordham job, who would be the perfect candidate for Georgia Tech?  How about Miami-FL head coach Leonard Hamilton! Wouldn't he be the perfect fit in Atlanta? And if Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker doesn't get the Minnesota job, Miami-FL would be a perfect place for Amaker. Remember, many think that it's only a matter of time before the Hurricanes end up in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Speaking of the Minnesota job, we're told there is no way that Bernie Bickerstaff will get the job, despite the fact that the players have let it be known that he's the guy they want. We continue to hear Amaker, Siena head coach Paul Hewitt, Xavier head coach Skip Prosser, Utah head coach Rick Majerus, Delware head coach Mike Brey, former Minnesota play Jim Brewer, who is now an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers, and former Iowa head coach Tom Davis all mentioned for the Minnesota job, but whoever they decide to hire, they had better do it soon. July 8th, which is one of the most important dates of the year, because that's when the summer evaluation period for college coaches begins, is just around the corner.

We got a list of schools from a number of the players who played in the Pro Am Tournament in Washington, DC on Sunday. It is early to start thinking about recruiting for 6'4 Soph Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who scored 37 points against the Tim Thomas Playaz in the 3rd place game, but he likes Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Ohio State, and Syracuse. New Mexico, Arizona, Georgetown, Temple, Cincinnati, and Villanova were all listed by 6'6 Jr Bernard Robinson from Washington (Dunbar) DC. One of the fastest rising players in the nation - 6'6 Jr Willie Shaw from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY - tells us he's getting interest from Miami-FL, Xavier, Boston College, Massachusetts, Georgia, Drexel, Seton Hall, Villanova, and USC. The list for 6'6 Jr Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY is similar, as Florida State, Miami-FL, Xavier, Rutgers, N.C. State, and South Carolina all showing interest. Florida State, Massachusetts, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Hofstra, Stanford, Iona, and Wake Forest are involved with 6'2 Jr Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY. Boynton's high school teammate, 6'3 Jr Terrance Watkins, likes Clemson, Georgia Tech, Massachusetts, St. John's Providence, Villanova, Syracuse, and Texas. Junior college and/or prep school may be in his future first, but 6'5 Jr David Holmes from Washington (Coolidge) DC mentions Southern Cal, Villanova, Rutgers, Connecticut, and Nebraska. UNLV, Siena, Western Kentucky, Georgetown, George Mason, Michigan State, Virginia Commonwealth, Miami-FL, Villanova, and UNC-Charlotte all have shown interest in 6'8 Jr Maurice Branwell from Burtonsville (Paint Branch) MD.

Monday, June 28, 1999

It was no surprise that New York Riverside Church coasted to a 77-65 victory over DC Assault in the championship game at the Pro Am Tournament in Washington, DC yesterday afternoon, but the other big story of the day was a bit of a shock. Write it down! Done deal! Remember where you heard it first! It hasn't been officially announced yet, but we have to very good sources who tell us that the legendary Stu Vetter has accepted the job and will be named as the new head coach at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD. Not only is Vetter recognized as one of the top high school coaches in the United States, but he also is the only coach we know of who has won one the national championship at two different high schools - Falls Church (Flint Hill) VA and Frederick (St. John's at Prospect Hall) MD. Vetter replaces Kevin Sutton, who has left to take an assistant coaching position at the Old Dominion. Among the players Vetter will inherit is 6'11 Mohammed Diakito, who already is considered a near lock for St. John's, but he's just the tip of the iceberg, because it shouldn't take Vetter very long to turn Montrose Christian into a national power. Getting back to the championship game, 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY scored 15 points, but even more important, dominated the game from the point guard position, as he made his teammates better, showed confidence with his outside shot, and did a great job defensively, as he did a number on 6'2 Jr Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA. As a result, he exposed Hawkins weaknesses, as he got him in foul trouble and forced a number of bad shots. As a result, we take back all the great things we said about Hawkins two days ago, but this is a great example of why is important to see the best players against the best players. As a result, Hawkins remains where we originally had him - someplace in the 50-100 range nationally. Cook, on the other hand, was the named the tournament MVP, as he made a strong case for being ranked as the #1 point guard in New York City ahead 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY and 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY. Currrently we have all three tied for the top spot in the city, as well as ranked among our top 10 nationally. Complementing Cook and helping shut down DC Assault defensively for Riverside Church were 6'2 Jr Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY and 6'3 Jr Terrance Watkins from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY with 11 and 13 points apiece. Inside 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY impressed us with his ability to hit the mid-range shot, but it was 6'6 Jr Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY who did the most damage, as he tied Cook for high scoring honors with 15 points. The leading scorer for DC Assault was 6'5 Jr David Holmes from Washington (Coolidge) DC with 19 points, but even that is deceiving, because he didn't dominate seemingly at will the way he usually does inside. 6'6 Jr Bernard Robinson from Washington (Dunbar) DC chipped in 13 points, but perhaps even more important for our purposes, he confirmed that he will likely be heading to prep school at either Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA or Winchendon (School) MA. Speaking of players transferring, Holmes told us that there is still is a possibility that he could transfer from Coolidge to Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, although it might be too late, because he needs to pass some classes in summer school in order to become eligible and summer school has already began. Also 6'8 Jr Maurice Branwell from Burtonsville (Paint Branch) MD, who was solid inside with six points, confirmed that he will likely transfer to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this fall.

Sunday, June 27, 1999

I don't know which is harder to believe? That a team with 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'9 Soph Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, 6'11 Soph Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, and 6'8 Soph Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL could go winless in the regular season or that a winless team could win the camp championship in playoffs. But's exactly what happened at the NBA Players Association Camp yesterday in Princeton, NJ. As a matter of fact, the Jazz, which were the lowest seed team in the playoffs at #8, beat the 76ers, which were the #5 seed, 105-94, in the championship game. It proved to be a great test for underclassmen, as Wagner and 6'2 Soph Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX both stepped up and took over the game for their respective teams in the championship game, which took three overtimes to be decided. Hurt was the leading scorer with 27 points. 6'4 Soph Rashard Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who was named MVP for the week, not only chipped in with 17 points, but also impressed us with several moves off the dribble. Remember, the knock in the past is that he couldn't create his own shot. Whaley had 20 points, but most of the scouts were in agreement that Curry, who also had 12 rebounds in the title game, was better. However, the best player in camp for our money was 6'9 Jr Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who may be on the verge of becoming one of the best high school players we're ever seen, as well as one of the most talented. We still continue to list him as a center, because he's such a great passer and shot blocker and that's where he plays defensively. However, if you list him as a point guard, I wouldn't argue, because he can defend that position and he's a great passer. He truly can play any position on the court. One of the players who helped himself the most in camp was 6'9 Jr Corey Seals from Tampa (Robinson) FL, who uses his big body to be a force inside. His skills are also pretty good too. The most improved player of the day yesterday was 6'11 Jr J.T. Ivie from Mt. Airy (Habersham Central) GA. Ivie is big and slow, but he's got an excellent drop step, great passing skills, and a great work ethic. As a result, it should be only a matter of time before he cracks our top 100 nationally. Others who impressed us and need to be mentioned include 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'7 Jr Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, 6'7 Jr Derrick Obasoham from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'10 Soph David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Jr T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'0 Jr Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'2 Keith Jenifer from Towson (Catholic) MD, 5'9 Jr Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA, 6'8 Jr Chris Wilcox from Whiteville (H.S.) NC, 6'7 Jr Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS and 6'4 Jr Billy Richmond from Memphis (Hamilton) TN.

One of the great things about the NBA Players Association Camp yesterday in Princeton, NJ were the kids. They were an excellent group as people and we can say that first hand, because our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin and I talked to over half of them. Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, N.C. State, Dayton, South Carolina, Florida State, and South Florida are among those showing the most interest in 6'9 Jr Corey Seals from Tampa (Robinson) FL. James Thomas, the good little 5'9 point guard from Jackson (Lanier) MS, likes Texas Christian, Georgia, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Mississippi. Wisconsin-Green Bay, Florida State, Texas A&M, Utah, George Mason, Marquette, Furman, and UTEP are among those who know about a sleeper from St. Paul (Hill Murray) MN - 6'9 Jr Brian Rowan. Another player we didn't know about before yesterday was 6'5 Erroyl Bing from Largo (H.S.) FL. His list includes Florida State, Clemson, Stanford, Colorado State, Vanderbilt, Penn State, and Rutgers. Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Duke, Wake Forest, Tennessee, and Michigan were all listed by 6'8 Jr Chris Wilcox from Whiteville (H.S.) NC. 6'8 Jr Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS tells us he is not a lock for Mississippi, but the Rebels were still the first school he mentioned, followed by Florida, Miami-FL, Texas, Tennessee State, Auburn, and Tennessee. Clemson, College of Charleston, Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, and Alabama are all looking at 6'6 Jr Halston Lane from Oak Ridge (H.S.) TN. 6'9 David Anderson, who is returning for a 5th year of high school at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, likes Texas, UCLA, Seton Hall, Arkansas, Georgetown, and Memphis. We talked with the father of 6'6 Jr Srederick Powe from Brandon (H.S.) FL and he provided us with the correct spelling of his son's first name, as well as a list that includes Miami-FL, Florida, Florida State, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Alabama, Rutgers, Georgetown, Syracuse, Seton Hall, and Temple.

Saturday, June 26, 1999

More and more I hear 6'8 Jr Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) NJ being compared to Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, but he does everything so effortlessly, you really need to watch Griffin carefully to appreciate just how good he is. A good example was yesterday's performance in the Bet/Pro Am DC Summer Classic in Washington, DC when he had 37 points, 21 rebounds, and eight blocks for the Tim Thomas Playaz in their 89-70 victory over Team Reebok. Another one of the highlights of the day was the performance by 6'2 Jr Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who has elevated himself into a top 30 player nationally. He only had 10 points, but he was the main reason why DC Assault beat Shreveport Bossier, 82-67. And most of that came off transition, where he is a master at finding the open man and making his teammates better. Thus, explains why his three excellent teammates - 6'5 Jr David Holmes from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 6'6 Jr Bernard Robinson from Washington (Dunbar) DC, and 6'5 Jr David Holmes from Washington (Coolidge) DC - scored 20, 19, and 18, respectively. New York Riverside Church also coasted to an easy victory over Baltimore Cecil Kirk, 72-54, but surprisingly the stars for Riverside were 6'8 Jr Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'7 Jr Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'5 Jr Willie Shaw from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, all of whom scored in double figures. As a matter of fact, Riverside Church's two best players - 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY only combined for 10 points. The Michigan Mustangs beat Boo Williams, 93-81, thanks to the efforts of 6'4 Soph Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI and 6'4 Jr Desmond Farmer from Flint (Northwestern) MI. Farmer scored 23 points, but he provides too much flash and showmanship, as everything has to be a spectacular drive to the basket. Too often he makes something easy look hard. Torbert, on the other hand, had a quiet 35 points and was the main reason why the Mustangs will be facing DC Assault in the semi-finals today. That game should be too close to call, but in the other semi-final game, we think Riverside Church will beat the Tim Thomas Playaz, despite the fact that Tim Thomas upset The Church a week ago in a tournament in New York. However, today we have no idea what has happened in those games, because we are at the NBA Players Association Camp in Princeton, NJ and we are already late getting back to the championship game. Later tonight or tomorrow morning we'll give you the highlights from the NBA Players Camp, and then head back down to the Pro Am Tournament in DC, where we'll catch the 5th Place, 3rd Place, and Championship Games.

Friday, June 25, 1999

You win some and you lose some. Yesterday for the first time we brought up the possibility that Minnesota head coach Clem Haskins could be out at Minnesota and that it might happen almost immediately. But we didn't expect to happen quite so quick - apparently the press conference is scheduled of today and Haskins is getting a million dollars to buy out his contract. We also reported that we'd heard rumors about Kentucky's Jamaal Magloire taking his name out of the NBA draft and returning to Kentucky, but upon leaving for the Pro Am Tournament yesterday in Washington, DC, the local media in Louisville was reporting that Magloire was gone. Brooks Downing, the Director Media Relations at Kentucky, was even quoted in the Louisville Courier-Journal to that effect. However, it appears that Magloire changed his mind at the last minute and it was officially announced yesterday afternoon at a 3:00 PM press conference. Obviously this is big news for Kentucky, because the Wildcats will have two big bodies - Magloire and 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL - to go to war with inside next year. They also will have plenty of depth up front with 6'10 Jules Camara, 6'10 Nate Kinght from Utah Valley (JC) UT, 6'9 Marquis Estill, and as many as three three football players, who also are pretty good basketball players, in 6'6 Derek Smith from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, 6'7 Bobby Blizzard, and 6'8 Dennis Johnson. Contrary to what many fans thought, we believed that Kentucky might still be one of the teams next year even without Magloire, but with Magloire back, nobody will have more depth or power up from in college basketball now than Kentucky. And with Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans on the wings, the only question mark is point guard with Saul Smith.

Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio confirms that Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff is the leading candidate for the job.  However, he adds that if that happens, the dominos will continue to fall, because St. John's assistant coach Kevin Clark then would be the leading candidate to replace Wolff at Boston University.  Remember, Clark coached Worcester, which is a Division III school located near Boston, and St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis not is only from Boston, but he began his college coaching career at Boston University. And if Clark goes to Boston University, look for Hofstra assistant coach Tom Pecora to move to St. John's. And if that happens, Wright would be smart to hire another guy, like Pecora, with strong New York ties, perhaps even Naclerio. Naclerio also is reporting that it now looks like 5'10 Soph Tony Tate from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who ranks among the top 20 sophomores nationally, will be transferring to Bayonne (Marist) NJ, Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ or Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ. If you recall, we reported that Tate was out two months ago, but more recently it look like Tate had patched things up with the St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley, Sr. If you will recall, all week we've talking about whether 6'5 Jr Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD would make an early commitment to Virginia. Remember, we had one source who told us it was a done deal and another that was telling us it wouldn't happen anytime soon. Well, write it down!  Young has committed to Virginia!

Thursday, June 24, 1999

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin has the latest list of schools from 6'8 Jr Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who ranks among our top 10 juniors nationally. It includes Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Seton Hall, Syracuse, and Temple. Rubin also hears that Xavier head coach Skip Prosser may be in line for the Minnesota job. Another possible candidate is Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker. Current Golden Gophers head coach Clem Haskins has not been fired yet, but don't be surprised if it happens almost immediately. We understand there are still some loose ends to tie up, but if they do it soon, the school should be able to have a new coach hired by July 8th. Obviously this is a very important date, because that's when the summer evaluation period begins. Speaking of coaching rumors, Boston University head coach Dennis Wolff appears to be the leading candidate for the Fordham job. However, we think they should go after a proven assistant with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and the ability to recruit like crazy. Manhattan recently hired Bobby Gonzalez, so he's out. Instead, we think several of the darkhorse, like Ohio State assistant coach Dave Spiller and Providence assistant coach Steve Demeo, are exactly what Fordham needs to become competitive in the Atlantic-10. Spiller has the Fordham ties and is such an outstanding recruiter that he already has made incredible in-roads in the state of Ohio in the short time he's been at Ohio State. Demeo, who is one of the bright young assistants in the game, has all the contacts he needs to get more than his share of players from New York City.

We have now confirmed that Chuckie Moore, who is transferring from Seton Hall, has picked Vanderbilt, which is no surprise. As long as we're talking about transfers, we are now predicting that Sean Connolly, who is transferring from Providence, will end up at Ohio State, although Michigan State, Wisconsin, Virginia, Princeton, Boston University, and N.C. State are all in the hunt. St. John's has gotten a late commitment from 6'9 John Oliver from New York (Christopher Robin) NY and the hot rumor in Kentucky late last night was that Jamaal Magloire has taken his name out of the NBA draft and will return for his senior season with the Wildcats next year. However, the reports that we're getting are that this is not correct. As a result, Magloire has forfeited his amateur status and will await to see where he is drafted on June 20th in the NBA draft.

Wednesday, June 23, 1999

We continue to get conflicting reports about 6'5 Jr Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, who currently ranks among our top 50 nationally, committing to the University of Virginia. One person in the know thinks Young may commit to the Cavaliers by the end of the week. However, our best source in the DC area stands by what he told us yesterday - that Young will wait until August to make a decision, because he wants to take some visits and get wined and dined. Right now the list for Young includes Virginia, Miami-FL, Villanova, Rutgers, Florida State, and George Washington. George Washington is also right there, along with James Madison, New Mexico, and Cleveland State for 6'4 Jr David Holmes from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who also ranks among the top five players in the DC area by the HOOP SCOOP. However, the big news of the day involves former University of Louisville assistant coach Larry Gay, who will be announced as the new assistant coach at the University of Nebraska tomorrow. Obviously this explains why Nebraska, along with Louisville, is the early leader for 6'5 Erik Brown, who finally has obtained his release from Morehead State after a great deal of difficulty. Also, we are confirming that 6'5 Adam Harrington, who is transferring from N.C. State, has picked Auburn. However, transfers don't count with our rankings of the top recruiting classes, but he is still a tremendous catch for the Tigers. Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Valparaiso has picked up another big man in 6'10 Antti Nikkila from Finland. He picked the Crusaders over Maine, Pittsburgh, and South Carolina.

We finally have completed our list of the top recruiting classes at 160 and already I have received several emails telling me that I'm totally nuts and clueless, but I like the fax I got earlier today the best. "Are you joking," says the letter. "You can't seriously think San Jose State, Arkansas-Little Rock, UT-Pan American, and about 40 other teams had a better recruiting class than Arizona. My reasons and/or points: 1) Jason Gardner was Mr. Basketball in Indiana and on the McDonald's All-American Team; 2) Gilbert Arenas was one of the top guards in Southern California; 3) Robertas Javtokas is a pure raw physical talent; and 4) Luke Recker." First of all, transfers don't count, so Recker doesn't need to be mentioned. Javtokas has a lot of potential, but his game is finesse, not power. I like Arenas, but he's not a top 100 player nor is he as good as a lot of the players signed by schools like Arkansas-Little Rock, UT-Pan American, and San Jose State. Gardner is terrific, but the guy totally forgot to even mention 6'4 Lamont Frazier, who ranks among the top 15 junior college players nationally. When looking this up I noticed that Frazier was not ranked high enough, so I've added two more points and, as a result, moved Arizona from #52 to #45. This is ahead of Arkansas-Little Rock and UT-Pan American, but still well behind San Jose State. And that's what I've been doing most of the day - fine tuning the list and correcting mistakes. However, I stand by our rankings of the top recruiting classes, because they have proved to be a great measuring stick for who is going to be good in college basketball for the last 16 years.  I'm not talking about just the top 10 or 20 classes. Our rating system does reward teams that over recruit, but it has proved to be equally accurate at all of the different levels of Division I. It also has been a great help over the years in determining who will make major noise at the lower Division I levels. It measures who signed the most good players. If you ask the question differently (i.e. which recruiting class you'd rather have, who signed the best two players, the best three players, or who has the best talent rating average per recruit), you can get an infinite number of results. And we will do all this, as well as break the recruiting down team-by-team conference-by-conference, next week after I get back from the NBA Players Association Camp in Princeton, NJ and the Pro Am Tournament in Washington, DC this weekend.

Tuesday, June 22, 1999

The word on the street is that 6'5 Jr Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD will not commit to the University of Virginia or anywhere else at least until after the summer evaluation period in July. Sources tells us that Young is still a little slow of foot, but he has developed an excellent inside/outside game and he can now stroke the ball, which is why he is challenging to become the #1 player in the Class of 2000 in the DC area. Speaking of being ranked #1, the best team in the area next year won't be Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD. No one of significance has transferred, but the team does not look that great. 6'9 Soph Jordan Collins has lost weight, but he is still slow too react to the ball. The big kid - 7'3 Jr Matt Slaninka - will never be ready for Maryland. There best player is probably 6'1 Soph Billy Edelin and he is playing a lot at the two guard. 6'8 Frosh Travis Garrison will be a very good player, but he is not ready yet. DeMatha is playing two other guards - 6'1 Soph Warren Williams, who also is very inexperienced, and 6'1 Jr Hekima Jackson, who shoots too much - in their starting lineup right now. Like last year's team, they do not get enough post scoring and they will have trouble with quick athletic teams. Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC will be good with 6'4 Jr David Hawkins, Washington (Gonzaga) DC and Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD are down and Laurel (St. Vincent Pallotti) MD is history. And unless new head Joe Wooten has something up his sleeve, his Falls Church (O'Connell) VA team will be awful. Fairfax (Paul VI) VA should be strong. The public school situation is too muddled to talk about. 6'6 Jr Bernard Robinson from Washington (Dunbar) DC is appealing his eligibility and playing with Dunbar this summer. They will pick up two or three transfers. Washington (Anacostia) DC will be okay since they got Mike Harris. Washington (Spingarn)  will be strong under Doc Robinson with guards Dominic Jones and forward Deon Saunders. Nobody knows about Coolidge. 6'7 Omar Weaver will not be there. 6'4 Jr Mike Stewart supposedly has run out of eligibility. 6'5 Jr David Holmes may end up at Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, but most likely will return to Coolidge.

Monday, June 21, 1999

We have spent the better part of the last day finalizing our list of the top recruiting classes. It is no surprise that Duke is #1, but it may be a surprise that UNLV is such a close second. The Runnin' Rebels signed seven excellent junior college players who should help head coach Bill Bayno turn around his program in a hurry. Next are Virginia and Kentucky, which are helped by the addition of 6'4 Bryson Spinner from Alexandria (Episcopal) VA and 6'6 Derek Smith from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, both of whom are star football players who have been told they can also play basketball. Mississippi State rounds out the top five. Next are Michigan, Providence, Cincinnati, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisville and Tennessee, which means that teams from the Southeastern Conference account for seven of the top 14 recruiting classes. Georgetown is next at #15, followed by, Arkansas, Nebraska, DePaul, Clemson, UNC-Charlotte, Oklahoma, Stanford, San Jose State, Connecticut, N.C. State, Houston, and North Carolina. Tied at #28 are Rutgers and Western Kentucky. Next are Mississippi, Hawaii, Arizona State, Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas, Michigan State, Illinois, Notre Dame, Indiana, Texas A&M, Iowa State, UAB, and Syracuse. Missouri and Baylor are tied at #43, followed by West Virginia, Arkansas-Little Rock, Liberty, UT-Pan American, Arizona, and Seton Hall. That makes 50. The next 25 in order are Pennsylvania, Fresno State, Utah, Northwestern, Eastern Kentucky, Wisconsin, Villanova, George Washington, California, USC, LSU, Minnesota, Boston College, TCU, Miami-FL, Manhattan, Duquesne, Texas, Colorado, Sacramento State, Florida State, Virginia Tech, New Orleans, Rhode Island, and St. Louis. Next comes Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Xavier, San Diego State, Wyoming, Tulsa, College of Charleston, New Mexico, Penn State, and Tennessee Tech.The rest of the list is still being typed in, but should be finished by sometime late tonight or tomorrow. You can access what we currently have finished by clicking on Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Class of '99 (June 1999).

Sunday, June 20, 1999

Our list of signings and commitments is now 26 pages and it is a final list, because if we don't wrap up recruiting now, we never will. In order to make sure that this list is as accurate as possible, I have made numerous phone calls and have done a lot of cross checking. Transfers from other four-year schools don't count, but underclassmen who have made early commitments for next year are included. However, two players who have already committed for next year aren't on the list, because they are in that greyarea, whereby, they are returning to junior college in the fall, but will likely graduate from junior college in December. If that happens as expected, 6'4 Chad Brown from Chaffey (JC) CA and 6'5 LaKeith Henderson from Chaffey (JC) CA, both of whom have committed to Wyoming, would be eligible to play beginning second semester next season. Among the late additions that we have finally confirmed are 6'5 Spencer Gloger from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, who is now officially committed to UCLA, and 7'0 Uche Okafor from Nigeria via Toronto, ON, who is committed to Miami-FL, although they have yet to release it. Speaking of the Nigerians, did you know that there is a 4th Nigerian that UCLA is still recruiting? We're talking about 6'9 Ononiyi Makun, who currently is Toronto, ON with Okafor, 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuis and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage. If you will recall, the latter two recently signed with Louisville, but as of yet no word has been forthcoming on whether any of the Nigerians will be eligible to play college basketball due to questions regarding their amateur status. Getting back to our listing of signings and commitments, you can get the entire list, which is sorted alphabetically, by clicking on signings and commitments.

Saturday, June 19, 1999

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin was at the Youth Interlock Roundball Classic in Chester, PA earlier today and he tells us that the highlight was the performance by 6'5 Soph Tamal Forchion from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who scored 30 points and grabbed 29 rebounds. Rubin also got us a list of schools from 5'8 Jr Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA, who ranks as the #3 junior in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey area by the HOOP SCOOP. It includes Connecticut, Maryland, Wake Forest, Miami-FL, Providence, and Texas. A late commitment that seems to have gone widely unnoticed is 6'7 Ivan Bracic from Split, Croatia to the University of Rhode Island. However, just like Lamar Odom, who now says he will not appeal to the NCAA in an attempt to regain his eligibility, Bracic's college eligibility could be in question. We're still waiting to find out something official on Adam Harrington, who is transferring from N.C. State, and Byron Mouton, who is transferring from Tulane. Harrington is expected to pick Auburn over Iowa and Mouton will likely end up in the ACC after all. Remember, he almost went to N.C. State the first time around and now it looks like he's close to making a commitment to Maryland.

Friday, June 18, 1999

Two days ago we reported that Rhode Island's Lamar Odom could still return to college, because he had not yet signed with an agent. However, now it appears that we were misled by our source in the basketball office at the University of Rhode Island, who did confirm that Odom could come back. We are still checking into this, but as it stands now his former attorney, Jeff Klein, apparently is certified by the NBA. If that's the case, the rule is that Odom can't come back. However, if Klein was just Odom's attorney and isn't sanctioned to negotiate contracts on behalf of players who are signing with teams in the NBA, Odom is fine. In any case, it now looks like Odom wants to pull his name out of the NBA draft. Unfortunately it's a little late for that (the deadline to pull you name is June 23rd and the date of the draft is June 30th). Even if he appeals in what would be near record time, his chances of winning are probably not very good, because it would go against all prior precedent in terms of dealing with amateur status by the NCAA.

It's not done yet, but we're hearing that the University of Virginia is on the verge of getting an early commitment from 6'5 Jr Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, who currently ranks among our top 50 juniors nationally, but who is expected to move into our top 30 once he shows how much he's improved this spring. Young made an unofficial visit to Virginia two days ago and apparently he fell in love with the place. So did his mother. As a matter of fact, our sources tell us that she wanted him to commit on the spot. Also showing a lot of interest in Young are Vanderbilt, Villanova, Miami-FL, N.C. State, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Maryland, Florida State, Syracuse, Stanford, and Duke, but it looks like he may announce for the Cavaliers any day now.

Today we talked with G.J. King, who publishes the Illinois Prep Basketball Web Site, and he tells us that DePaul may be out and Ohio State is in with 6'8 Jr T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL. Apparently Cummings, who has improved dramatically this spring, doesn't want to play in the shadow of his father, Terry Cummings, who was an All-American at DePaul in the early '80s. As a result, Ohio State has made a strong push lately and they have plenty to sell, because they're coming off a NCAA Final Four appearance and need immediate front-line help. King also tells us that Southern Illinois and Indiana State are the early favorites for 6'6 Jr Todd Townsend from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL and 6'5 Jr Andy Baumgarter from Chicago (St. Patrick) IL may be transferring to River Grove (Holy Cross) IL, although that is still unconfirmed.

Today we have to give an assist to Stephen Wacaser, the editor and publisher of Assists, Turnovers, and Loose Balls, for helping us update our list of events that will be taking place this summer, which can be found by clicking on summer camp and tournament dates. For college coaches the recruiting season doesn't begin until July 8th, which is when most of the top players in the nation will be at either the adidas ABCD Camp or the NIKE All-American Camp. However, for me (HOOP SCOOP editor and publisher Clark Francis), the summer camp season begins next weekend when we will be at both the Pro Am Tournament in Washington, DC and the NBA Players' Association Camp in Princeton, NJ. Then we'll head East again on the 4th of July weekend, as we get ready for the adidas ABCD Camp, which will begin on officially on July 6th with an evening scrimmage. I will at the adidas camp on July 7th. Then on July 8th, I have a 6:00 AM flight to Indianapolis, IN, which will also get me there in time to see the first two days of the NIKE All-American Camp. Then on July 10th I will fly back to Newark, NJ to catch the last day of the adidas Camp, which will include several must see all-star games. Truly this is the most important time of the year for you to be a subscriber to the Members Section, because, just like last year, on each of those four days I will post our ranking of the top players in camp and by position from the camp that I happen to be covering that day. As usual, our adidas team promises to be second to none, because Allen Rubin, Dave Schultz, and Ron Naclerio are all long time veterans when it comes to covering superstar oriented camps. Artie McLaughlin and Stephen Bell, both of whom have helped cover the adidas and NIKE Camps for the HOOP SCOOP in recent years, will be joined at NIKE by two of the fastest rising youngsters in the business, Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat and G.J. King of Recruiter Online. If that weren't enough Chris Johnson of the HOOP SCOOP and Mark Karram of Ohio Roundball Prep will start the week at adidas and finish at NIKE. I will remain in New Jersey on Sunday, July 11th, to write about both the adidas and NIKE Camps, because if I don't do it then, it will never get done. Then, on Monday, July 12th, I will fly home to do laundry, change clothes, and sleep in my own bed for the last time in the month of July. Early on Tuesday, July 13th, I will fly to Augusta, GA for the NIKE Peach Jam Classic, where I will remain until Thursday night, July 15th. At that point, I'll get the last flight to Las Vegas, NV, where I will catch the last four days of the adidas Big Time Tournament. Then, it's on to Los Angeles, CA, where we'll spend the next six days going back and forth between the Slam-N-Jam NIT in Long Beach, CA and the Best of the Summer Tournament at Cal State-Dominguez Hills. Next are stops in Colorado Springs, CO for the BCI Tournament and San Diego, CA for the NIKE National Championship, and then we'll wrap up the month of July at the Grand Finale in Las Vegas, NV on July 31st. On top of that, Johnson will cover several sessions of Five-Star in Pittsburgh, including Pitt IV, which is now their best week; Rubin at will be at a lot of events in the East, including all the different sessions of Eastern Invitational, and Jira will provide us with the highlights from the NIKE Super Show Case and the 17 & Under National AAU Tournaments in Orlando, FL. It does look like it's going to be a busy summer! To keep up with it all, you definitely will want to have daily access to our Member Section. Remember, you get what you pay for, which in our case is the best coverage of events and the most accurate recruiting information available anywhere. So click on Subscribe!

Thursday, June 17, 1999

We've spent most of the last two days working on Ron Naclerio's latest New York City Prep Report and expect for some minor changes which will be made over the weekend, it is done. However, we don't agree with Naclerio's ranking of 6'4 Brian Woodward from Bayside (Cardozo) NY over 6'2 Majestic Mapp from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY. Currently Naclerio has 6'3 Ken Satterfield from New York (Rice) NY ranked as the #1 player in the city in the senior class, followed in order by Woodward, Mapp, 6'10 Mark McCarroll from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'7 Gregory Morton from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'3 Kevin Bell from New York (Rice) NY, 6'6 Miguel Caballero from New York (La Salle) NY, 6'3 Reggie Brown from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 6'8 Uka Agbai from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 6'2 Luis Flores from New York (Norman Thomas) NY, 6'5 Danny Walker from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, 6'3 Juel Wiggan from Bronx (Columbus) NY, 6'3 Wil Parker from Elmhurst (Newtown) NY, 6'4 Royal Ivey from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, and 6'5 Nick Delfico from New Rochelle (Iona Prep) NY. Naclerio also tells us that Parker, who was being touted a lot higher by others than we have him ranked, is headed to Southern Idaho (JC) ID, where he will hopefully develop better skills to go along with his amazing athleticism and natural talent. In the junior class Naclerio takes the easy out and, perhaps the smart way out as well, by ranking the three great junior guards - 6'1 Jr Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, and 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, in a three way tie for first.  Next is 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, who was the MVP this spring in the tough IS8 Spring League in Queens. Then in order comes 6'7 Jr Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'8 Jr J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, 6'3 Jr Terrance Watkins from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'6 Jr Eric King from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'6 Jr Andre Sweet from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Jr Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'7 Jr Tremayne Singletary from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'4 Jr Ryan Williams from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'5 Jr Willie Shaw from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, 6'1 Jr Darryl Boykins from East Elmhurst (McClancy) NY, and 6'7 Jr Andre Logan from Brooklyn (Poly Prep) NY. A year ago we thought the sophomore class had a lot of promise, but it hasn't developed the way we thought it would. The best player in the class is still 6'1 Soph Ted Mumford from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY. He's followed in order by 6'6 Soph Kenny Adeleke from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, 6'8 SophWendell Gibson from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, 6'3 Soph Andreas Pope from Brooklyn (St. Edmund) NY, and 6'3 Soph Fred Kababusi from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY. Currently the best freshman is 6'5 Frosh Leonard Cook from New York (La Ssalle) NY, the top ranked 8th grader is 5'7 Japhel McNeil from Brooklyn (I.S. #68) NY, and the best 7th grader is the legendary 5'7 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Ann Sullivan) NY, saw for the first time last weekend at the Brooklyn-Philly Challenge.

Wednesday, June 16, 1999

We are now getting reports that 6'9 Jr Sean Sonderleiter from Des Moines (Christian) IA will hold a press conference at 9:30 AM this Thursday and he will make an early commitment for the University of Iowa. This is being confirmed by the Des Moines Register, which has it straight from his mother - Kathy Sonderleiter. Sonderleiter is the third player to make an early commitment to Iowa this spring and another is expected soon. If you will recall, the Hawkeyes got the earliest commitment on record two months ago from 6'3 Frosh Jeff Horner from Mason County (H.S.) IA, ranks among the top 30 freshmen nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and more recently also picked up a commitment from 6'8 Jr Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA, who is a consensus top 20 player in his class nationally. The word we're getting is that 6'1 Jr Brody Boyd from Dugger (Union) IN, who ranks among our top 150 nationally, has told the Iowa coaching staff that he wants to become a Hawkeye. However, as of yet, the Iowa coaching staff hasn't offered Boyd. Not only are there questions about whether he's good enough, but also taking a kid right of Bob Knight's backyard might create a lot of friction between the two schools. However, Iowa has six scholarships available, so that doesn't appear to be a problem. Sonderleiter, who also recently visited Iowa State and Drake, is a project right now, but he's athletic and has shown a lot of improvement this spring. So obviously we like his potential.

Many think that Rhode Island's Lamar Odom is the best available player in the NBA draft, which will be held on June 30th, but we're still not sure that he will even be in the draft. That's right! There is still the possibility that he could take his name out of the draft and return to college for another year, because he still has not signed with an agent. We also have confirmed that he wasn't at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp last week in Chicago, IL, which is where most of the top players complete their physical, even though they don't participate in the camp. However, that really doesn't mean anything, because you can also be given a physical when you come in and do an individual work-out for a team. As for Odom, the Sports Information Office at the University of Rhode Island has issued a press release saying that nothing has been decided about Odom's future. Moral to the story, he'll probably still elect to keep his name in the draft, but don't be too surprised if he comes back for another year. Obviously this would be great for college basketball, but it also would be a step in the right direction for Odom, both as a player and a role model. Instead of taking the money and running, Odom would only enhance his chances of becoming one of the best players in the league in a couple of years. Not only does he have an opportunity to continue to develop mentally and physically, but he also would have more time to continue to develop his already awesome skills. Apparently the rumor about Odom taking his name out of the draft reached such an epidemic proportion today that Rhode Island head coach Jerry DeGregorio came out with a statement late this afternoon stating that Odom will keep his name in the draft. DeGregorio also said that Odom is switching lawyers. This is interesting, because his previous attorney was not certified as an agent by the NBA. As a result, he technically still has the option of returning to college at the current time - at least until he signs with an agent or the deadline, which is June 23rd, for taking your name out of the draft passes.

Last Friday Southern California added its fourth and final recruit in the Class of '99. We're talking about 6'4 Melachi Thurston from Oakland, CA via prep school in Lakeville (Hotchkiss School) CT, but don't try and find him on anybody's list. We've already tried. As a result, we suspect he's not very good. Speaking of Pac-10 schools in Los Angeles, everybody knows that UCLA's prime targets in the junior class are 6'5 Jr DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, who ranks among the top five juniors nationally, and a quality point guard, like 6'2 Jr Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, 6'1 Jr Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 5'5 Avery Queen from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, or 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY. However, the rumor we're hearing is that 6'9 Jr Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA and 5'9 Jr Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA both want to make early verbal commitments to UCLA, but the Bruins are holding them off. We find this a little hard to believe. Although Zahn lacks athleticism, he is a very skilled player and an extremely hard worker. As a result, he would give UCLA exactly what the need - a talented blue collar player inside. Plus with Zahn, they wouldn't have to worry about whether he's going to declare hardship for the NBA draft in a couple of year, which is a major problem with so many of their players right now.  Stokes isn't one of the elite point guards in the junior class nationally, but he is good enough to fill a need, as he ranks among our top 100 juniors in the country. And even if they sign him, but still recruit over him in the same recruiting class, he'll still get plenty of playing time. In otherwords, one in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Tuesday, June 15, 1999

Over the weekend, BABC beat Tim Thomas Playaz yesterday, 86-83, to win the BABC Invitational Shootout, which has replaced the Boston Shootout as the main earlier summer event in New England. According to John Steven Marple of Collegiate Press Box, BABC was led by 6'3 Soph Jermaine Watson from Briantree (Tabor Academy) MA, who knocked home 33 points in the championship game, "Watson told me Ohio State is already unofficially offering him a full-ride," says Marple. His backcourt mate 6'2 Frosh Marshall Strickland from Winchendon) MA had 15 points. Inside 6'10 Jr Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA looked lost the whole weekend, but 6'6 Jr Raheim Lamb from Boston (English) MA was a true "warrior" on the court. "Too bad he's only 6'6," says Marple. "That may relegate him to the A-10, instead of Big East." Eddie Griffin, the 6'8 power forward from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA had good numbers, but apparently the 3-point shot wasn't dropping. "There's no way he's a three at the next level. Just an undersized four. He's a great all-around player, though, very unselfish." But according to Marple, he's not in the class of 6'7 Jr Scott Hazelton from Lawrenceburg (Central Catholic) MA, who played for the Playaz, despite the fact that he's from Massachusetts. Hazelton had 26 the first day and 20 yesterday. "Oh-so-smooth."

We have confirmed that 6'11 Ernest Brown from Mesa (JC) IA, who ranks as the consensus #1 freshman in the junior college ranks, is in Ottumwa, IA and plans to attend Indian Hills (JC) IA. At first this may seem a little strange, but when you find out that Iowa State recently hired Tre Chapman, who was Brown's junior college coach last year, everything falls into place. Apparently Iowa State place Brown there, but it may not be a done deal just yet, because Mesa may not release him. And if Brown doesn't get a release, he won't be able to play next year. Speaking of the top freshmen in the junior college ranks, it now looks like 6'8 DeAndre Hulett from College of the Sequoias (JC) CA, who declared for the NBA draft a month ago, now plans to return to junior college for another year, which brings us to another twist. Apparently somebody with the NCAA has told Chris Greer, who coached Hulett when he played for the Michigan Mustangs, that Hulett also may eligible to play at four year school. If this indeed correct, it would estabe a major precedent, because it is widely assumed that if you aren't already at a school governed by NCAA rules, you can't test the waters in the NBA draft and come back. We continue to hear that Kentucky's 6'10 Jamaal Magloire wants to go in the NBA draft in the worst way, but it's still up in the air about whether he will take his name out of draft, because it doesn't look like he's going to get drafted very high.

We have finally started working on our final rankings of the top recruiting classes for the Class of '99, but we are still waiting to find out about 6'5 Raoul Heinen from The Netherlands. Clemson is still very much a possibility, but we think he will likely pick George Mason and if he does, head coach Jim Larranaga quickly could become one of the hottest coaches in college basketball next season. If you will recall, Larranaga guided the Patriots to the Colonial Conference Championship last season and almost everybody is back. If that weren't enough, also they signed 6'10 Jesse Young from Peterborough (H.S.) ON, who recently was the youngest player ever named to the Canadian national team, last fall.

Monday, June 14, 1999

Last week our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio was at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago, IL, but unlike in past years, everything remained pretty much status quo, as nobody did anything great or unexpected to distinguish themself for the pack. As a matter of fact, most of the elite players flew in for the physical, but weren't willing to put it on the line. However, one player who did make a name for himself was George Washington's 6'8 Yegor Mescheriakov. "Although he may not even be a first round pick, he will play in the league," says Naclerio.  "He has surprising tenacity and toughness. He takes it to the hole extremely well and he doesn't back down from anybody." Others who had their moments were Villanova's 6'4 John Celestand, Kentucky's 6'1 Wayne Turner, Texas Christian's 6'8 Lee Nailon, Texas' 6'4 Chris Clack, Arizona's 6'9 A.J. Bramlett, St. Paul's College 6'6 Antwain Smith, Old Dominion's 6'10 Calvin Bowdler, Fresno State 6'2 Chris Herren, Boise State's 6'5 Roberto Burgersen, Iowa's 6'10 Jr J.R. Koch, and UNC-Charlotte's 6'5 Galen Young. "But overall it was a very uninspiring three and a half days of drills, instruction, and scrimmaging," says Naclerio. "Of the 29 first round NBA picks, I'd be really surprised to see more than three or four of these guys go in the first round." And that really tells you how bad it was, because we're already talking about the worst draft of all time. "What's really discouraging is it may not get any better in the future," says Naclerio. "Instead of coming out one or two years too soon, a lot of these guys aren't even close to being ready for the rigors of the pro game."

Naclerio also heard a lot of rumors at the camp. Chicago isn't sure about Rhode Island's Lamar Odom and current Bulls star Tony Kukoc plays the same position, so don't be surprised if the Bulls trade down and try and get Duke's Corey Maggette, who enamors everybody with his athleticism, but doesn't have the skills to play in the NBA. So don't be surprised if the Bulls make a trade with somebody like Toronto, which is totally enamored with Maryland's Steve Francis, but isn't sure that he'll be around when they can draft him. Currently Raptors have the #5 and #12 picks. Naclerio also won't be surprised if Wally Szczerbiak's value continues to rise. Many general managers feel he's the safest pick in the draft. He's probably the most polished and fundamentally sound player available.  He also has excellent strength and a tremendous understanding of the game. But it his shooting that separates him from everybody else. He's the only one of the elite players in the draft who really stroke it. Cleveland is hoping to get him a #8, but our guess is he'll long gone by that time. Another player whose value is rising every day is 7'3 Aleksander Radojevic, who recently was forced into the draft, because the NCAA ruled him ineligible to play next year at Ohio State. Radojevic runs court extremely well and has a nice touch for his size, although he still needs to get bigger and stronger. Naclerio, who coached Radojevic in the famous New York Rucker League last summer, knows first hand how much progress Radojevic has made in a year. "Radojevic was considered a project, but he's improved leaps and bounds in the last year, because he works so hard and wants it so bad," says Naclerio. "At 16, he gave up volley ball to just play basketball after a major growth spurt. He's now 22 years old, but that's still misleading, because he's only been playing basketball six years.

Last week we reported that neither Siena head coach Paul Hewitt nor Hofstra head coach Jay Wright were not interested in the Fordham job. However, that is incorrect! It is now obvious that our the information provided by New York City Editor Ron Naclerio was unclear. He still maintains that neither will take the job, but now tells us that both are legitimate candidates. As a matter of fact, we hear from another very reliable source that Wright does want the job and that if he gets hired, he may hire New York (Rice) NY head coach Maurice Hicks and former UNLV assistant coach Greg Vetrone. And if Wright, who is one of the hot young coaches in the business, leaves for Fordham or anywhere else, assistant coach Tom Pecora is in the perfect position to be named as his successor. This will likely happen anyway if he is just patient. However, if he moves too quickly for a head coaching job of his own, it may be tougher to get back to where he wants to be, which is the New York City area. Getting back to Fordham, other likely candidates for the job now appear to be St. John's assistant coach Kevin Clark, Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs,Ohio State assistant coach Dave Spiller, and Maryland-Baltimore County head coach Tom Sullivan. Vanderbilt and Pennsylvania still are the leaders for Chuckie Moore, who is transferring from Seton Hall, but Hofstra is trying to get involved and Drexel is still in the hunt. As long as we're on the subject of transfers, 6'11 Mike Bradley, who is transferring from Kentucky, picked Villanova over Ohio State over the weekend.

Sunday, June 13, 1999

The highlight at War in the Woods '99 Basketball Tournament at the Atlantic Cape Basketball Camp in Williamstown, NJ this weekend was the especially strong group of players in the Class of 2001, which included 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'1 Soph Tony Bethel from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, 6'7 Soph Tyree Spinner from Fairfax (Paul VI), 6'5 Soph Paul Bailey from Washington (Dunbar) DC, 6' 3 Soph Kevin Essix from Arlington (Wakefield) VA, 6'5 Soph Tamal Forchion from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'4 Soph Jeff Farmer from Clinton (Morgan) CT, 6'2 Soph David Williams from Hartford (Watkinson) CT, and 5'8 Soph Scott Greenman from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ. However, our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin thought the best player in the tournament based on performance was 6'5 Jr Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD. Young, who has Massachusetts, Xavier, Virginia, Florida State, Miami-FL, Rutgers,Villanova,and Vanderbilt on his list, now consistently hits the three, handles the ball well enough to play out on the perimeter, and still hasn't forgotten his inside game. As a result, he's now a versatile athlete who can beat you both inside and outside. Getting back to the sophomores, Bender, whose list of colleges includes N.C. State, Florida, Louisville, Michigan, Missouri, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky, had the most talent, because he's 6'9, finished well, and showed that he can step out and hit the mid-range jumper. He also was effective inside as he blocked shots, rebounded well, and was fairly aggressive. However, you'd be down right dominant inside, if you're talking about becoming the first player to ever go the NBA after you junior year in high school, which is exactly what he did last week in an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even the best sophomore the tournament based just on performance. That honor were Bethel, who ran his team to perfection, got everybody involved, made the open shot, and played outstanding defense. Bethel, Spinner, Bailey, and Essix all played for Team Assault, which was would have been one of the favorites to win the tournament. However, we'll never really know, because the tournament, which was held outdoors, was called because of rain.

When you consider all the things that Indiana University head basketball coach Bob Knight has done over the years, why was it any surprise that the response to Christopher Foster, who earlier this week at a resturant in Ellettsville, IN accused Knight of making racist remarks, earlier this week was assault? Knight is the same guy who punched a cop in Puerto Rico in 1979, stuffed a fan in a garbage can in 1981, threw a chair across the court in 1985, refused to let his team finish an exhibition game in 1988, head-butted Sherron Wilkerson in 1994, and was reprimanded and fined for berating an official in 1998. And those are just some of highlights. Everybody knows that Knight is like a bomb waiting to explode. He will either hang on long enough to break Dean Smith's all time college basketball record for wins or go out like former Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes. If you are a reporter and you ask Knight a question at a postgame press conference, you do so at your own risk. If you are a player at IU, you either bark the party line or you are made to be a scapegoat (i.e. Lawrence Funderburke, Sherron Wilkerson, Neil Reed, and Jason Collier in recent years) either before or after you transfer. Knight obviously was provoked and acted accordingly. As a matter of fact, the only surprise is that Knight didn't hurt Foster worse than he did. Imagine if some guy stuck his nose into your business and accused you of being a racist. Whether the accuser was right or wrong/justified or not, what he did is not appropriate behavior. However, it happened to you, unlike Knight, you probably wouldn't assault the guy. Remember there is a different standard for Knight. He often does great things when he feels like it. But at the same time, history proves there is little or no accountability for Knight when he decides to go off the deep end. And that's the problem. There is no question that Knight is a great coach, great teacher, and a positive influence (for the rest of their lives) on those who survive playing for him at Indiana. However, anybody who encounters Knight had better understand what they are dealing with. A good comparison might be if you throw yourself in front of a moving car or truck. Obviosuly the driver would be responsible if he hit you, but anybody who would do something like that needs serious mental and/or phychiatric help. I'm talking about both throwing yourself in front of a car and messing with Knight. It's funny, but I almost see Knight as being the victim here.

Saturday, June 12, 1999

We spent most of the day at the Brooklyn-Philadelphia Hoop Challenge and the big story was the great young talent that Brooklyn USA has on the horizon. Forget about the fact that Philadelphia beat Brooklyn, 68-62, in the Senior Division (Class of '99) and, 56-46, in the Junior Division (Class of 2000). Brooklyn beat Philadelphia, 82-62, in the Sophomore Division (Class of 2001) and in the Freshmen Division (Class of 2002), Brooklyn destroyed Philadelphia, 74-38. However, it was the preliminary 7th and 8th grade games that really showed what the future holds in store for Brooklyn USA and its director, Tom "Ziggy" Sicignano, who has moved back from Atlanta and once again will running the program on a full time basis. His top prospect is 5'7 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Ann Sullivan) NY and he more than lived up to his billing as the #1 7th grader in America. He is a phenomenal passer with great court awareness, vision, savvy, and ball movement. He also showed he can beat you outside, inside, and off the dribble. And just as important, he seems like a nice kid - humble in person and a great demeanor on the court. Our second favorite player of the day was also a 7th grader - 5'11 James Walker from Brooklyn (I.S. 173) NY. Nobody played harder all day than this aggressive rebounder/shot blocker who is versatile enough and athletic enough to play three or four different positions on the court. We also really liked three 8th graders - 5'7 Japhet McNeil from Brooklyn (I.S. 68) NY, 6'2 Quami Moore from Brooklyn (Bay Academy) NY, and 6'5 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (I.S. 280) NY. McNeil, who promises to be the next in a long of outstanding point guards at Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, needs strength and he doesn't always finish, but he's great passer and he uses his super quickness to create havoc at the defensive end. Moore is an excellent athlete with good hands, a nice mid-range shot, and the ability to get it done on the boards inside, despite his skinny frame. Taft isn't there yet, but he's extremely well coordinated for a 6'5 8th grader. He also has long arms, good hands, and lots of athleticism. A 6th grader who has to be mentioned is 6'1 Chris Lowert from Brooklyn (P.S. 256) NY. He was the tallest player in the game and he took care of business inside, but he also helped bring the ball up the court and he's already a big time athlete. With these players coming on the heels of what already appears to be an awesome freshman group, Brooklyn USA not only promises to be one of the best run club teams in America, but also one the powers of the future on the AAU circuit. The only problem with the freshman group is that we're still trying to figure out who is their best player. Their attack was very balanced as 5'10 Frosh Isaiah Davis from Brooklyn (Tech) NY, 5'11 Frosh Shawn Wynn from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 5'10 Frosh Gary Ervin from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, and 5'8 Frosh Bobby Mays from Brooklyn (South Shore) NY all scored eight to 12 points apiece and simply destroyed their opponent with defense and transition. And they were complemented inside by 6'5 Frosh Gary Jones form Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 6'5 Frosh Amadou Fall from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, and 6'5 Frosh Jason Martin from Brooklyn (Automative) NY, all three of whom have great futures if they continue to grow and work hard. The best player for Philadelphia in the freshman age group was 5'8 Frosh Dontay Jones from Philadelphia (University City) PA, although we were also impressed by 6'4 Frosh Evan Pierce from Philadelphia (St. Joseph Prep) PA, and 6'1 Frosh Sharif Bray from Philadelphia (Central) PA. Jones has great quickness, excellent body control, and superb penetrating skills. Pierce, who was a lot stronger than anybody else in the game, is an excellent rebounder, good shot blocker, and surprisingly mobile for his size. Bray is a multi-dimensional athlete with good handling skills, but right now he doesn't appear to have an outside jump shot. In the sophomore game three players - 6'1 Soph Roberto Stukes from (Brooklyn (St. Benedict) NY, 6'4 Soph Tommie Eddie from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, and 6'4 Soph Sutimov Evtimov from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY - did most of the scoring for Brooklyn USA, but we also were impressed with the handling skills, passing ability, and moves to the basket by 6'0 Soph Shaheen McNair from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY. Stukes is an excellent athlete with a great upper body who got most of his 20 points in transition. Eddie, who was the leading scorer in the game with 22 points, is a powerful force inside on the boards, because he's strong, athletic, and has excellent body control. Evtimov is the best outside shooter we saw all day, but he also impressed us with his skills and understanding of the game. The Philadelphia Sophomore Team was led by 6'1 Soph Robert Taylor from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA and 6'4 Soph Demar Jennette from Philadelphia (Overbrook) PA. However, 6'8 Soph Brandon Brigman from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA was a great big bust, as he failed to score a single point. The Philadelphia Junior Team was led by 6'6 Jr Brandon Gary from Lamberton (H.S.) PA with 18 points and 5'8 Jr Cantell Fletcher from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA with 16 points. Brooklyn was led by 6'1 Jr Joel Suarez from Brooklyn (St. Mary's) NY with 18 points, but Sicignano also points out that 6'3 Cliffone Ault from Brooklyn (Erasmus) NY is one of the biggest sleepers in New York City, although he only had seven points against Philly. Brandon, who also played with the seniors, and 6'4 Khalid Bray from Philadelphia (Central) PA were the two best players for Philadelphia in the Senior Division, while 6'11 Syracuse-bound Mark McCarroll from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY was very impressive for Brooklyn USA. We've covered most of the highlights, but for the scoring from each game and other notes from this excellent single day event, click on Brooklyn USA.

Friday, June 11, 1999

At the NIKE Bluegrass Classic two weeks ago, I had several people tell me they thought 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY wasn't as good as his ranking. Currently we have him ranked #11 in the class of 2001, but a lot of that is based on potential. And if Bender doesn't learn to play harder and with more consistency, he may follow in the footsteps of Tony Kimbo, Jason Osborne, and Ronnie Griffin. All three were highly touted as high school underclassmen in the city of Louisville, but none of them ever lived up to the all hype and, in the process, all made bad career decisions along the way. But at least none of them insulted our intelligence by telling us that he was thinking about becoming the first player ever to skip his senior year of high school and declare for the NBA draft. Hello! Brandon. It appears to be time for a reality check. The only thing more ridiculous might be if I announced that I was going to put my name into the NBA Draft. I'm 39 years-old, I stand only 5'6, and I've got white man's disease. However, this was the major story on the front page of the Louisville Courier-Journal sports page this morning. It got almost as much space as the story about Indiana head coach Bob Knight's last incident and the University of Louisville hiring Pat Rafferty as an assistant coach, both of which are important stories in the area. I especially enjoyed the article by columnist Pat Forde titled Tell us you're joking Brandon. "So tell me this is a joke," writes Forde. "Tell me your biggest worry is getting a date. At the very least, tell me Mr Basketball comes before pro basketball. But if you mean it, remember this:  Those guys popping plastic into their mouths before playing? Thore are mouthpieces, not pacifiers." So where did Bender get the idea? Apparently from his second cousin 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS, who decided to skip college and put his name into the NBA draft this spring. As a matter of fact, he was quoted in the article by Jody Demling saying, "I'll look at what Jonathan Bender and Leon Smith (another player by-passing college) do. If they do it, then I'm sure I can do it." I'm sure some NBA general manager will take a chance on both Bender and Smith later this month, but don't judge it based on where they get drafted. NBA general managers are notorious for making bad decisions. For every one they get right, it seems like they miss on two or three. I would wait and see how much playing time they get next season and then decide. Remember, Smith was great last summer until he met 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA in the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas. Bender may have broken Michael Jordan's McDonald's All American Game scoring record this spring, but he also holds the record for the most boos at Slam Dunk to the Beach in Delaware, where his team lost three and went home, and he is usually more interested in shooting 3-pointers than getting rebounds or beating anybody inside. Moral to the story, if these guys don't even always dominate against good high school competition, what makes you think they're going to make in the NBA, unless we're talking about the Newark Basketball Association.

Upon their return from meetings regarding reforms and rules changes in college basketball, several college coaches told me at the NCAA Final Four that there was no way freshman would be made ineligible, despite the fact that I had written about the possibility in early March. So it was a bit of a surprise several days ago when the USA Today ran an article stating that the NCAA is looking into doing exactly that. How stupid can they be? I'll tell you! The college presidents and others governing the NCAA haven't passed a good rule in 15 or 20 years. All making freshmen ineligible to play college basketball will do is turn the current exodus of the top high school players into the pros into a tidal wave. And instead of penalizing the student who needs help academically, you'd be making the good student who can graduate in four years go five. Do you really want to implement some good rules. Eliminate Prop 48 guidelines as a means of admission into a four-year college. Instead, raise the standard even higher and use that for determining whether a player should play as a freshman. But that won't solve the problem of players leaving early or skipping college to go to straight to the NBA. Two things will. Get the NBA Players Association to set an age requirement - 22 years old or be graduated from college - to be in the union. That way almost every player would go to college for four year, which is especially important for anybody who wants to be successful in our society today. Even if you don't graduate, you are better off for the experience and disciplines that can be learned. Just ask Lamar Odom, who is much better off both on and off the court thanks to the two years he spent at the University of Rhode Island. Also get the NCAA to get rid of all the amateur status bullshit. Not only would this solve the problem of paying players, but it would also make it so the player is no longer exploited and, as a result, finally will get his fair market worth. Imagine a high school player being able to get money from NIKE or adidas, sign with NBA team, and still be allowed to participate all four years in college. Obviously the longer a player waits to sign a pro contract, the less speculation will be involved and the more money he will make. You're 15 years-old and you're great! Do you want contract for $100,000 a year for 10 years with the Lakers or the Knicks right now or are willing to wait four or five years and get maybe get seemingly countless millions because you are a proven commodity?

Thursday, June 10, 1999

It looks like all the speculation about who the new assistant coach at Louisville has been put to rest, because the University of Louisville made it official today at noon by hiring Midland Junior College head coach Pat Rafferty. On the surface it looks like Louisville hired an outsider, but that isn't necessarily true, because Rafferty was the head coach at Northern Arizona in 1988-90, which was the same time that current Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich was the athletic director at Northern Azizona. Rafferty,who is recognized as one of the best junior college coaches in the nation, has had players like Weber State's Harold Arceneaux and Cincinnati D'Juan Baker in recent years. He's also known Louisville head coach Denny Crum for about 20 years and he likely will provide the Cardinals with a major connection into the junior college ranks. As a result, it looks like a good hire.

We reported a month ago that 6'10 Marcus Daughit from Oakdale (St. Thomas  More) CT had committed to the University of Rhode Island, but sources close to Rhode Island tells us that it hasn't happened yet. As a matter of fact, Daughit is listed a junior and will return to St. Thomas More for another year of prep school. Rhode Island is recruiting him, but we're not sure how getting 6'10 Joe Kasper from Johnson County (JC) KS, who just announced his commitment within the last several days for Rhode Island will effect the recruitment of Daughit. The both play the same position.

We are now getting reports that 6'11 Samuel Dalembert from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ was not at the school's graduation ceremonies last week and, as a result, the speculation has already begun about his not graduating from high school. Perhaps he still can make up what he needs in summer school, but even that has to be enough to make Seton Hall fans nervous. We also are getting reports that the St. Patrick Church in Elizabeth, NJ has closed, so it may only be a matter of time before the school closes as well. The church was one of the major sources of funding for the school. Making the story even more interesting is the fact that 6'10 Grant Billmeier from Pennington, NJ, who is one of the top 8th graders in the nation, has been telling people that he might enroll at St. Patrick High School in the fall. If the school closes, obviously that can't happen. But if the school does open in the fall as usual and Billmeier does indeed enroll at this small catholic school in the inner city, it will be interesting to see how he fits in - he comes from a very upscale background. We also are hearing that 7'0 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT got into an argument with the head master during the school's graduation ceremonies recently and, as a result, his transcripts might be withheld. Although this is currently unconfirmed, this also could be a cause for concern for Rutgers fans who are worried about whether Moore will be able to play next year as a freshman for the Scarlet Knights. We finally got a hold of Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ head coach Kevin Boyle and he tells us that Dalembert was not at the school's graduation ceremonies last Saturday, but it wasn't what we originally thought. He missed the graduation ceremonies, because he was taking the SAT test. Boyle also confirms that St. Patrick Church has closed, but doesn't think it will effect the school, because the enroll at St. Patrick's is at its highest level in 10 years. He also tells us that unlike many archdiocese, the church was not helping fund the school. As for Billmeier, Boyle would love to have him, but right now he doesn't expect to get him.

We are hearing that there is a ground sweeling of support for Camden High School to rehire former head coach Clarence Turner, but at a school board meeting on Monday the issue was not discussed. If you will recall, Turner was suspended for a year and the NJSHAA barred Camden from participating in the state tournament and from playing in all but 17 conference game for two years after a fight in the 1998 state championship game. Camden, which replaced Turner with Glenn Jackson last fall, appealed the second year of the suspension recently and currently is waiting on a decision which is expected by the end of the month. If the decision is favorable for Camden, we think 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner, 6'7 Jr Arthur Barclay, and possibly even 6'4 Soph Rashard Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who been staying with Wagner in New Jersey for the last several weeks, will all be at Camden next year. However, if the state association rules against Camden, all bets are off and anything could happen, including Wagner and Barclay going to Oak Hill with Carruth or possibly even still moving to Louisville and going to Ballard High School, which had been mentioned previously, but which looks a lot less likely today. Getting back to the original point, an anonymous source in the know at the NJHSAA says that there is no way that Camden will win its appeal, if they hire Turner back as the head coach. If this is true and can be proven, Turner might have a legitimate lawsuit agains the state high school association.

Wednesday, June 9, 1999

Yesterday we reported that St. John's head coach Kevin Clark was the leading candidate for the Fordham job, but according to an article today by Sean Brennan in New York Daily News, some heavy hitter, including Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, and Bobby Cremins have been made calls to the athletic director, Frank McLaughlin, on behalf of certain candidates. Brennan speculates that they are calling on behalf of Georgia Tech assistant Kevin Cantwell, because he has New York roots. However, we're also hearing other names like Ohio State assistant coach Dave Spiller, former St. John's head coach Brian Mahoney, and Layette College head coach Fran O'Hanlon. The latest name to take his name out of the running for Fordham is Delaware head coach Mike Brey, who feels he's in a better position where he is.

Dave Schultz of the HOOP SCOOP tells us that the recruitment of 6'6 Spencer Gloger from Rancho Santa Margaraita (Santa Margarita) CA still isn't done yet. If you recall, Gloger committed to Princeton last fall, but later reneged and announced for UCLA. Then it was Princeton again and then at last report we thought he'd finally made up mind once and for all for the Bruins. However, now his father is saying that things could still change, despite the fact that it's his life long dream to play at UCLA. Both his father and his high school coach have pointed out that nothing is binding with UCLA, because made up his mind after the signing period was over. Apparently several Pacific 10 schools, including Oregon, are still recruiting him and this really pisses off Princeton head Bill Carmody, who had some great quotes in an article yesterday by Harvey Yavener in the Trenton Times ."'We honor the National Letter-of-Intent, although we don't have to,' says Carmody. 'When Todd Billett said he was going to Rutgers after we recruited him as hard as we could, we accepted that and didn't pursue it further, although legally we could. It seems to me the only proper thing would be for other schools to honor the Ivy League's early admissions program. Maybe we're shooting too high. Losing Gloger to UCLA, Billet to Rutgers, and Will Johnson to North Carolina. Those major confrerence, those full rides to the big time, they're hard to go up against.'"

A month ago we were laughing at the fact that everybody was jumping on the bandwagon of Duke's Corey Maggette. Since that time, one of Maggette's former teammates at Duke has been telling people that Maggette still can't go left at all and he still struggles to make a jump shot. The former Duke player even goes so far as to say that it's a good thing Maggette hasn't been doing individual workouts with NBA teams. If he had, he would have gotten embarrassed by his inability to excel in shooting drills, which is mandatory any time an NBA team brings in a wing player for a workout. Apparently Skip Bayless of the Chicago Tribune agrees. "First things First, Dominate at Duke" read the article on May 13th. "Let's get real. Let's hit Maggette between the wide eyes with the truth. If he believes he's the 'truth,' as they say on the asphalt courts, he will have the guts to turn in the Lexus GS400 he's test driving and return to school. If has no doubt he'll be an NBA All-Star - if his goal is to dominate pro basketball the way his idol Michael Jordan did, he will cut off all communication with agents and potential "posse" parasites and vow to dominate college basketball for a year. Maggette is mostly a creation and potentially a victim of the great American Sports Media Machine. In our crazily competitive haste to find the next Jordan, we have made a stunned national figure out of a kid from Bellwood who has dominated no more than an occasional Duke practice...No one really has any real idea how good Maggette will be as a pro. He wasn't nearly as dominant in high school as Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, or even Leon Smith. At Duke, playing in high energy, low-pressure spurts for a team regarded as all time great before it's NCAA Final loss, Maggette didn't log enough game-on-the-line minutes to give scouts a true read on his overall game." However, most pro scouts think Maggette will be one of the top picks in the NBA draft and many had previously predicted that the Chicago Bulls would make him their prime target. But nobody expected the Bulls to get the #1 pick, which puts general manager Jerry Krause in a very tough spot. Apparently even Krause is smart enough to figure out that you can't gamble on something that appears to be less than a sure thing, if you have the #1 pick. Which brings us to another great column in the Chicago Tribune dated May 9th by Bernie Lincicome. "Having seen William Avery play basketball, I offer this advice: Buy a money converter from lire or pasetas to dollars and wire the money home. Don't trust foreign mail. As for Brand, this is a guy who is going to play for half a dozen teams in the NBA, disappointing the first three and being tolerated by the rest. Some look at Brand and see Larry Johnson. I look at Brand and see Armon Gilliam. These two guys were starters for Duke. Mainstays. Trusted. Maggette was an alternate, a bench player and a bit of a showoff, almost the anti-Duke and I might add, a complete bust in the biggest opportunity of his life, the championship game against Connecticut. Somehow Maggette has been convinced that he is ready to play in the NBA.  I think he read it in this newspaper. Here's what he should believe; he is not ready. Maggette might look in the mirror and see Jordan.  I look at Maggette and see Harold Minor." Minor collects a big salary, but is no longer playing basketball. Also like Minor, Maggette is going to make a lot of money whether he is ready or not. Our prediction is that the CBA is going to be real good in a few years, but Maggette had better develop some skills or he may not even playing in what is regarded as pro basketball's minor league. At least Maggette is smart enough not to get exposed until after the draft, which will be held on June 30th. He is not participating in the NBA Pre-Draft Camp that is being held in Chicago this week nor is he is doing any individual workouts. Why? A lot of NBA scouts and general managers are concerned about not passing on somebody who is potentially the next Jordan. Instead, they should be more concerned about not falling in love with this athleticism, which eventually could get you fired.

Tuesday, June 8, 1999

We have confirmed that Fordham head coach Nick Macarchuk has taken the Stony Brook job and once again the domino effect takes place. Already Siena head coach Paul Hewitt and Hofstra head coach Jay Wright have publicly said they aren't interested, so it looks like St. John's assistant coach Kevin Clark is the heavy favorite to replace Macarchuk at Fordham. And if that happens, look for Hofstra assistant coach Tom Pencora to get Clark's job at St. John's. We also are hearing that Providence head coach Tim Welsh was in Italy working a camp, but flew home over the weekend to attempt to persuade Sean Connolly not to transfer. However, it appears that he wasn't successful. The early favorites are likely Ohio State and Virginia. If you will recall, Connolly originally committed to Boston College before everything blew up and Jim O'Brien left for Ohio State and later he signed with Providence when current Virginia head coach Pete Gillen was still at the helm of the Friars.

Everybody thinks that early June is a dead time, but this weekend there are three tournaments in the East - the Boston Shootout, War in the Woods at Williamstown, NJ, and the Brooklyn-Philly Hoop Challenge - that the HOOP SCOOP will be covering. Our New England Editor Wayne Simone has one of the favorites in the Boston Shootout with his Connecticut Select Team. Also included in the tournament are B.A.B.C., Tim Thomas Playaz, Brooklyn USA, Albany City Rocks, DC Hoops, Maine Hoops, and Sam Rines. Allen Rubin will be at War in the Woods, which promises to be especially important for watching players from the Middle Atlantic States. And I will be at the Brooklyn-Philly Hoop Challenge at Long Island University-Brooklyn and it should offer me a chance to see a number of the top players from both Philadelphia, PA and Brooklyn, NY. The freshmen game (Class of 2002) will begin at 12:00 PM, followed by the sophomores (Class of 2001) at 1:30 PM, the juniors (Class of 2000) at 3:00 PM, and the seniors (Class of 1999) at 4:30 PM. Rosters for all four age groups can be obtained by going to the Brooklyn USA web site and clicking on news and notes.

Greg Swaim of Midwest Basketball thinks the favorites for 6'1 Jr Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA are Kentucky, Duke, and Texas, although UCLA, North Carolina, and LSU are also still on his list. Swaim also tells us that Kansas, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Tulsa are all being mentioned for 6'6 Jr Terrance Crawford from Oklahoma City (McGinnis) OK, who ranks as the #1 junior in Oklahoma by Swaim, as well as among the top 60 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP. Brigham Young, Iowa, Kentucky, Arizona, USC, and Connecticut are among those showing interest in 6'10 Jr Derrick Dawes from Salt Lake City (Cottonwood) UT. Jason Parker, a 6'3 junior sleeper from Tulsa (Memorial) OK is only being recruited by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa, but Swaim thinks that will change this summer once he gets national exposure on the summer camp trail. Another player that Swaim thinks has top 100 potential, but who is being underrecruited is 6'8 Jr Matt Freji from Shawnee Mission (West) KS, although Kansas State, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Missouri-Kansas City, and Iowa have all shown early interest.

Monday, June 7, 1999

We have heard from several sources today that it's just about a done deal for Fordham head coach Nick Macarchuk, who is expected to be named as the new head coach at Stony Brook, which is moving to the Division I level next year. Apparently Macarchuk, who has one year left on his contract at Fordham, is looking for job security and asked his athletic director about getting a long term contract at Fordham. Instead, the Fordham athletic director, who only has two years remaining on his contract, told Macarchuk that he'd be better off taking the Stony Brook job. However, before we etch it in stone, remember that Davidson head coach Bob McKillop had the Stony Brook job, but then the president of the school reneged on the original $3 million 10-year deal. But let's assume that Macarchuk does get that the job. The early list of candidates to replace him at Fordham job are Siena head coach Paul Hewitt, Hofstra head coach Jay Wright, Ohio State assistant coach Paul Biancardi, and St. John's assistant coach Kevin Clark. Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin also tells us that the hard working assistant at La Salle, Bill Lange also may be on the move. It appears that he's the leading candidate for the head coaching position at The United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Late last Thursday we reported that 6'10 Robertas Javtokas from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH had committed to the University of Arizona, but added that it was still unconfirmed. Well, it is now official, because on Friday Javtokas signed the financial aid agreement, which binds him to the University of Arizona (it is too late to sign a National Letter-of-Intent), and on Saturday he returned to his home in Lithuania. Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that Tennessee is the heavy favorite over Memphis, Georgetown, Mississippi, and Ohio State for 6'4 Jr Scooter McFadgon from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, who ranks among the top 65 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP. Tonight our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin talked with Chuckie Moore, who is transferring from Seton Hall, and he told Rubin that he really likes Vanderbilt and new head coach Kevin Stallings. However, it isn't a done deal for Moore just yet, because if Pennsylvania comes up with the right financial aid package, they could be tough to turn down. Drexel also is still on Moore's list, but we think they're a long shot. Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio says thinks 6'4 Royal Ivy from Bayside (Cardozo) NY has gotten underrecruited, so he's going to prep school for a year at Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ. "Ivy has the necessary score," says Naclerio. "But he also has size 16 sneaker, he just turned 17, and nobody in New York has come further in a shorter period of time, except for maybe Luis Flores and he's got a scholarship to Rutgers." Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson is reporting that 6'4 Anthony Jones from Garden City (JC) KS has signed with Ohio University and Butler County (JC) KS head coach Steve Eck has now officially been hired by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. This comes as no surprise, because three of his top four players recently signed with the Kangaroos.

Sunday, June 6, 1999

Our Philadelphia/South Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania Editor Allen Rubin has a report that ready to be published, but it has been put on hold due to the overload of things we're trying to get done. So we'll give you his top list of the top players in each class. There are no changes in the senior class, as Notre Dame bound 6'6 Matt Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA heads the list. He is followed by Villanova signee 6'8 Andrew Sullivan from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, Colorado signee 6'8 Stephane Pelle from Mercersburg (Academy) PA, Penn State signee 6'2 Jon Crispin from Pitman (H.S.) NJ, San Francisco signee 6'4 John Cox from Philadelphia (Eng. & Science) PA, Rutgers signee 6'9 Kareem Wright from Mercersburg (Academy) PA, and 6'7 Jeff Randozzo from Springfield (Cardinal O'Hara) PA, who signed a baseball scholarship with Tennessee. Next are 6'1 Jermaine Robinson from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, who is expected to go to prep school (perhaps Philadelphia Christian), 6'3 Mike Williams, who is supposed to go to Champlain (JC) VT, and Lanier Bradshaw, the 6'5 wing forward from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, who needs at least another year of high school. Rounding out the top dozen seniors are Cleveland State signee 6'8 Tahric Gosley from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA and Boston College signee 6'11 Andrew Dudley from Burlington (Life) NJ. It comes no surprise that the best junior is 6'9 Jr Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA. He's followed by 6'8 Jr Jamar Smith from Pine Hill (Overbrook Regional) NJ, 5'7 Jr Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA, 5'10 Jr Jameer Nelson from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'7 Jr Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 6'7 Jr Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'3 Jr Torrian Jones from Fairless Hills (Pennsbury) PA, 6'8 Jr Taurance Johnson from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 6'4 Jr Jay Joseph from Lansdale (North Penn) PA, 6'4 Jr Chas Bailey from Philadelphia (Neumann) PA, 6'11 Jr Yankuba Camara from Chester (H.S.) PA, and 6'9 Jr Jabbar Williams from West Chester (East) PA. The Sophomore Class is headed by 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who still ranks as the #1 sophomore in America by the HOOP SCOOP, despite is subpar performance a week ago in Lexington, KY.  Rubin also still has 6'2 Soph Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ ranked #2 ahead of 6'5 Soph John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) NJ, followed by 6'7 Soph Brandon Brigman from Philadelphia (Neumann) PA, 5'10 Soph Andre Henry from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Soph Pat Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, 6'10 Soph Marcus Gantt from Camden (Wilson) NJ, 6'2 Soph Dominic Jackson from Concordville (Glen Mills) PA, 6'5 Soph Tamal Forchion from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, and 6'5 Soph Danny Hinds from Allentown (Central Catholic) PA. The top freshmen in order are 6'10 Frosh Ted Skuchus from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'0 Frosh Gerry McNamara from Scranton (Bishop Hannan) PA, 6'4 Frosh Mike Cook from from Wynewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'5 Frosh Zack Martin from Medford (Shawnee) NJ, 6'4 Frosh Kennell Sanchez from Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) PA, 6'6 Frosh Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, 6'0 Frosh Dominic Mejia from Vorhees (Eastern) NJ, 6'5 Frosh Mike Blackshear from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'6 Frosh Aaron Estrada from Woodbury (H.S.) NJ, and 6'2 Frosh Adam Payton from Burlington (Township) NJ. The top five 8th graders are 5'9 Maurice Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, 6'5 Stanley Branch from Atlantic City (Middle School) NJ, 6'3 Nick Cangelofi from Hadden Heights (St. Rose) NJ, 6'5 Jordan Ingram from Philadelphia (Beever) PA, and 6'2 Eric Cangelofi from Haddon Heights (St. Rose) NJ.

Saturday, June 5, 1999

One of the only hot topics of conversation these days is who will replace Jerry Eaves as the top assistant coach at the University of Louisville. The name I hear the most is Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA head coach Steve Smith, but we have it from pretty good sources that he's not interested in the job. Other candidates mentioned include Randy Ayers, Roger Burkman, Jim Price, Larry Finch, Todd Howard, Delray Brooks, Gary Tull, and Tony Branch. Ayers is the former head coach of Ohio State, but even more important, when he was an assistant for the Buckeyes under Gary Williams, he was recognized as one of the best assistant coaches in the game. However, he has no connections to the program. Burkman does have the connections dating back to when he played on Louisville's 1980 NCAA Championship team, but he has no Division I coaching experience. Price, who is an assistant coach at Butler University, does have Division I experience and he might be the best pure point guard to ever play at Louisville, but some think he's too quiet and unassuming for such a high profile position. Finch is the former head coach at Memphis and he always seemed to have Denny Crum's number, but he didn't do a good enough job recruiting to keep his job at Memphis. Howard, who is the son of former guard Terry Howard, is recognized as one of the bright young assistants in the game, but he might not be ready yet. Brooks, who was an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky and is now the head coach at UT-Pan American, only won five games last season, but his team was in nearly every game, including a one point loss to Gonzaga. Plus, they've recruited extremely well the last two years, so UT-Pan American will likely be one of the most improved teams in college basketball this year and, if they are, Brooks will likely be moving up the ladder as a head coach . Tull, who is the head coach Augusta State (Division II), was the sport information director at Louisville in the 1970's, but he's never coached at the Division I level and he's been gone from Louisville for nearly 20 years. Branch, played at Louisville, but even more important, worked with two of the best recruiters in the business in Tom Abatemarco at Lamar and Kevin O'Neill at Tulsa and was the head coach at Lamar in the early '90s. However, he didn't even get an interview when Louisville hired Jerry Eaves three years ago. So who knows who Louisville is going to hire. And Crum may not either. As a matter of fact, he's been in Los Angeles the last few days at a UCLA reunion and the word we're getting is that he's not been involved much up to this point. And this makes sense, because a year ago Eaves was the one who hired his long time buddy Vince Taylor and three years ago it took them six months, which might be a record, to hire Eaves. Another theory is that they will just wait until August or September to hire somebody and, in the meantime, put the part-time assistant Scotty Davenport on the road this summer.

Friday, June 4, 1999

One of the hot rumors at the Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions last weekend was that 6'5 Jr Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, who ranks among our top five juniors nationally, will be transferring to that basketball factory in Virginia - Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA. Although it hasn't happened yet, our sources tell us that you can pretty much write it down. We also are hearing that head coach Steve Smith will likely get another player from the Senegel next year and the word is he's better than either Jules Camara, who is now at the University of Kentucky, or 6'8 Jr Abdou Diame, who currently ranks among our top 25 juniors nationally. All we have is a first initial and a last name, but when he enrolls at Oak Hill next fall, 6'10 S. Diop will have two years of high school eligibility left, which means he's currently a sophomore in high school. Hopefully, we'll get a first name for you before we see him action, which may be this summer. The word is that Diop will be at the adidas ABCD Camp in early July.

We have now confirmed that Manhattan College has a commitment from Justin Jackette, who is transferring back to New York from William & Mary. This is a big get for new head coach Bobby Gonzalez, because Manhattan has landed three prep school players in 6'5 Bruce Seals from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 Jared Johnson from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'4 Aeaneas Middleton form Worcester (Academy) MA, a junior college player in 5'11 Michael Johnson from McCook (JC) NE, and a transfer (Jackette). That's pretty fast work, because the new staff has only been on the job two and a half months. They also inherited a fourth prep school player - 6'2 Gerald Clarke from Solesbury (New Hope) PA. Speaking of transfers, St. John's has gotten 6'5 Alpha Bangura, who is transferring from Monmouth after being named the freshman of the year in the Northeast Conference. This shouldn't surprise anybody, because Bangura originally committed to George Washington, but then changed his mind when head coach Mike Jarvis left for St. John's. It's not done yet, but we continue to hear that 6'11 Jr Mohamed Diakite from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD is also a lock for St. John's. We also have confirmed that 6'5 Anton James from Philadelphia (Christian) PA has committed to Florida A&M and it looks we were right yesterday about 6'10 Robertas Javtokas from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH going to Arizona, although we still have seen nothing from him official yet.

Thursday, June 3, 1999

We have not confirmed this, but our Ohio Editor Editor Chris Johnson has a source who tells us that 6'10 Robertas Javtokas from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH has committed to the University of Arizona. This does make a lot of sense, because we've known for quite a while that Javtokas really likes Wildcats head coach Lute Olson. Assuming that this does indeed happen, Arizona will be in a great position to make another run at the NCAA title each of the next two years, because they don't have a senior on the roster who plays and they have already added three excellent recruits - 5'10 Jason Gardner from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'3 Lamont Frazier from Lon Morris (JC) TX, and 6'3 Gilbert Arenas from Van Nuys (Grant) CA - to the six players who were freshman last season, plus 7'0 Loren Woods, who sat out last year after transferring from Wake Forest a year ago. If that weren't enough, Luke Recker, who recently transferred from Indiana, becomes eligible in a year.

Due to an error on my part, the University of Louisville was left off the list of 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, which we published several days ago. However, before anybody starts accusing me of being anti-Louisville (the Louisville fans are paranoid to the point of being obnoxious), remember it has always been the editorial feeling of the HOOP SCOOP that if Wagner goes to college, he will go to Louisville. On Sunday, he told me that his top four schools are Louisville, Kentucky, Connecticut, and North Carolina. Also last week, Linzy Davis, a coach who was with him for four or five days in France the week before told me that he got the feeling that wherever Wagner's teammate - 6'6 Jr Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ goes to college Barclay will follow the next year. So we also got a list from Barclay, which included Virginia, Miami-FL, Kentucky, Temple, LaSalle, Rutgers, Michigan, Michigan State, DePaul, and Georgia Tech. The one common school on both lists was Kentucky. Getting back to how I could leave Louisville off Wagner's list. Easy, because most of the time I don't even know which was is up, because I am constantly overwhelmed by phone calls, deadlines, and things pressing for my time every day. As a result, I am up to three years behind on some state-by-state reports and it looks like I won't even begin to write about the NIKE Bluegrass Classic in Lexington or write articles that are currently due for Basketball Times or the USA Today web site until this weekend. Also I want to apologize to our New York Editor Ron Naclerio for putting his rankings on hold, because I have been trying to get his New York Report finished for two weeks and can't seem to find the time to finish it. However, I'm not complaining, because we have successfully added new information to our web site every day (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Fourth of July included) for a year and a half and it means a lot when people tell us that we have the best recruiting web site in the business (and that's no small accomplishment when you throw in travel, covering events, health problems, lack of sleep, etc.). And we will continue to do so, but we need your help. More subscriptions mean more revenue, which means I can hire more people, and, as a result, put even more back into providing you with better coverage, as well as getting and staying caught up. So tell your friends to subscribe to the Members Section. They will be glad they did, because the best time of the year is just around the corner and our coverage will be even better than it was a year ago. Plus we have some major surprises, that we will announce later this month, that will only enhance our coverage of the summer camps this summer and recruiting in the fall.

While we were in Lexington, KY covering the NIKE Bluegrass Classic, Mark Karram of Ohio Roundball Prep and the HOOP SCOOP was in Columbus, OH covering the 10th Annual NIKE Future Stars Shootout and Showdown Tournament. The SYF Players beat All-Ohio Red, 74-57, in the championship game, 5'11 Jr Steve Drabyn from LaPorte (H.S.) IN was named the tournament MVP and was perhaps the best shooter in the entire tournament, and yes, believe it or not, tournament director Jerry Watson did have rosters. The all tournament team also included Purdue bound 6'8 Jr Brett Buscher from Chesterfield (H.S.) IN, 5'10 Soph Leonard Campbell from Canton (McKinley) OH, 6'8 Jr Josh Almonson from Bowling Green (H.S.) OH, 6'2 Jr Corey Stokes from East Chicago (Central) IN, and 6'8 Jr Doug Dybzinski from Valparaiso (Boone Grove) IN. Also really impressing Karram was 6'7 Jr Jason Benton from New Haven (Wilbur Cross) CT. "He's a lefty who can score inside," says Karram. "He has powerful moves to the basket, is strong, athletic, and runs the court extremely well."  Karram also was really impressed by 6'6 Soph Daniel Horace from Cincinnati (Western Hills) OH, 6'5 Soph Keith Jackson from Cincinnati (Purcell Marian) OH, 6'8 Jr Michael Haynes from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, and 6'7 Jr Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA. All Ohio Red also finished second in the 16-Under Tournament losing to the Cleveland Top Propsects, 59-49, in the championship game. MVP honors went to 6'5 Soph Pierre Woods from Cleveland (Glenville) OH. The Newark Rams beat New York Riverside Church, 58-42, for the championship in the 15-Under Tournament and 6'5 Frosh Zackee Boyd from East Orange (Essex Catholic) NJ. Karram also was impressed by 6'5 Frosh Jakeel Gary from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ. Boyd is a slasher who gets to the hole quick and makes a living