HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR MARCH 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

It looks like all hell has broken loose in the breaking world, as we've already tracked 20 verbal commitments so far this week prior to the tip-off of the McDonald's All-American Game and all of the festivities associated with the NCAA Final Four, which will take this place this weekend in Indianapolis, IN.  And right at the top of the list are the verbal commitments made by 6'3 Ayodeji Edbeyemi from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD to Loyola-Marymount and 6'3 Byron Allen from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT to George Mason.  Talking about a guy with great coaching!  Allen started his high school career playing for Mike Jones at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, then spent a couple of years playing for Steve Smith at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and this past season played for Jere Quinn at Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT.  Allen is listed as point guard, but he's really like a jack-of-all-trades as he's a strong physical slashing athlete who rebounds well for his size, is great at getting to the basket, and has good handling skills and a knack for being able to find the open man.  We're also talking about a guy who originally verbally committed to West Virginia and is ranked #141 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  He also promises to be an excellent complement to 6'9 Jonathan Arledge from Washington (Kamit Institute Magnificent Achievers) DC, who is already is apart of the Patriots' current recruiting class, and all of the good young players like 6'6 Soph Ryan Pearson, 5'10 Soph Andre Cornelius, 6'9 Soph Mike Morrison, 6'5 Frosh Luke Hancock, 6'4 Frosh Sherrod Wright, 6'7 Frosh Kevin Foster, 6'8 Frosh Johnny Williams, 6'2 Frosh Rashad Whack, and 6'2 Frosh Vertrail Vaughns who are already in the program.  Edbeyemi is a foreign exchange student who is ranked #225 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the world class athleticism, the ability to lock his man up defensively, and the high energy and intensity necessary to be tailor made to fit into Lions head coach Max Good's up tempo system.  Edbeyemi also promises to be one of the final pieces to the puzzle on a team that was one of the most improved in all of college basketball this past season.  If you will recall, Loyola-Marymount won only three games during the 2008-09 season, but finished with an 18-16 record this past season.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that the Lions did not have a single senior and only three juniors on the roster this past season and the plethora of good players, which includes 6'5 Soph Drew Viney, 6'4 Jr Vernon Teel, 6'7 Soph Jarred DuBois, 6'8 Soph Kevin Young, 6'4 Jr Larry Davis, 6'7 Soph Ashley Hamilton, 6'10 Frosh Edgar Gariby, and 6'3 Frosh Given Kalipinde, will have an added year of experience next time around.  We also are really impressed by a pair of commitments from players in the junior college ranks, as 6'7 Jesse Perry from John A. Logan (JC) IL has picked the University of Arizona and 6'8 Antione Lundy from Neosho County (JC) KS has picked South Alabama.  Lundy is ranked #45 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com and averaged 18.3 ppg and 13.7 rpg this past season.  However, even more impressive is the fact that Lundy turned in 26 double-doubles and was the leading rebounder in the junior college ranks this past season.  Perry is ranked #75 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com and averaged 15.7 ppg and 10.5 rpg is past season.  We're talking about a fierce competitor around the basket who also is a terrific free throw shooter and can step out and more than keep you honest from behind the arc.  Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'3 Meiko Lyles from Nashville (University School of Nashville) TN has verbally committed to Columbia and Bobby Sibley of the Louisiana Basketball Report is reporting that 6'5 Ronald McGhee from Baton Rouge (Istrouma) LA has picked North Texas over schools like Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette, Nichols State, Wright State, Murray State, Western Carolina, Western Illinois, Morehead State, and Texas State.  Sibley also makes note of the fact that UCLA came to watch this long armed athletic wing player once and that McGhee is one of the fastest rising players in the Deep South.  Lyles is ranked #22 in the state's senior class and Whitehead tells us that this skilled 2-guard is a terrific 3-point shooter.  There also are the verbal commitments that 6'9 Jon Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, who is ranked #172 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the same type of athleticism and upside and potential as his older brother, made to the University of Michigan and 6'9 Donte Williams from Lithonia (Miller Grove) GA, who was one of the top big man prospects still available and is ranked #173 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made to the University of Georgia.  It also looks like the University of Portland has added 6'4 Koney Thieleke from Bakersfield (West) CA and 5'10 Tim Douglas from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA to a recruiting class that already included 6'7 Ryan Nicholas from Spokane (Gonzaga Prep) WA, 6'7 John Bailey from Mesa (Dobson) AZ, 6'3 Tanner Riley from Snoqualmie (Mt. Si) WA, 6'10 Riley Barker from Surrey (White Rock Christian Academy) BC, and 6'1 Derrick Rodgers from Citrus (JC) CA.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Charlie Westbrook from Iowa Western (JC) IA has verbally committed to South Dakota, 6'2 Jeff Allgood from Iowa Western Iowa (JC) IA has verbally committed to Eastern Kentucky, 6'3 Jose Rivera from Citrus (JC) CA has verbally committed to Pacific, 6'4 Luke Martinez from Williston State (JC) ND has verbally committed to the University of Wyoming, 6'9 Caleb Dean from Midland (JC) TX has verbally committed to Western Michigan, 7'1 Martins Abele from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has verbally committed to Radford, 6'6 Tre Johnson from Reno (Hug) NV has verbally committed to Montana State, 6'6 Trevor Wiseman from Santa Clarita (Golden Valley) CA has verbally committed to the University of Hawaii, 6'0 Jay Harris from Oswego (H.S.) IL has verbally committed to Valparaiso, and 6'4 Tre Bowan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT has verbally committed to Penn State.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

With the hiring earlier today of Marshall's Donnie Jones at Central Florida and Wisconsin-Green Bay's Tod Kowalczyk at University of Toledo and the firing of Boston College's Al Skinner and Holy Cross' Sean Kearney, there are now 31 head coaching jobs that have opened at the Division I level.  And nine of those jobs have opened since we last updated this list a week-and-a-half ago.  If you will recall, the University of Houston opened when Tom Penders announced his resignation on March 22nd, Manhattan opened when Hofstra hired Tom Pecora on March 24th, UTEP opened when Auburn hired Tony Barbee on March 25th, Siena opened when the University of Iowa hired Fran McCaffery on March 28th, Iona opened when Seton Hall hired Kevin Willard on March 28th and Sam Houston State opened when Louisiana-Lafayette hired Bob Marlin yesterday.  And, as things stand now, 12 of those 31 head coaching jobs have already been filled, as Iowa has hired Siena's Fran McCaffery, Auburn has hired UTEP's Tony Barbee, Seton Hall has hired Iona's Kevin Willard, Hawaii has hired former USC assistant coach Gib Arnold, Fordham has hired Hofstra's Tom Pecora, Central Florida has hired Marshall's Donnie Jones, East Carolina has hired former Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo, Boise State has hired Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice, Toledo has hired Wisconsin-Green Bay's Tod Kowalczyk, Louisiana-Lafayette has hired Sam Houston State's Bob Marlin, University of Pennsylvania has given the head coaching job to interim head coach Jerome Allen, and Central Arkansas has hired Arkansas Baptist head coach Corliss Williamson.  Or to look at this another way, that's eight head coaches who are moving up the ladder, one head coach who got fired and has moved quickly to get a good job at a lower level school, and three assistants who have gotten the break they were hoping for and become a head coach at the Division I level.  Another trend to watch involves former big name Division I head coaches returning to the profession.  The first is current former USC head coach and current New Orleans Hornets assistant coach Tim Floyd, who will be announced as the new head coach at UTEP later today.  The second is former UCLA head coach and current television analyst Steve Lavin, who will introduced as the next head coach at St. John's tomorrow.  And the third could be former Manhattan, St. John's, and New Mexico head coach and current television analyst Fran Franchilla, whose name keeps getting tossed around for both the Hofstra and Iona jobs.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the early list of names for the Boston College job includes Cornell's Steve Donahue, Richmond's Chris Mooney, Northeastern's Bill Coen, and Fairfield's Ed Cooley.  Coen and Cooley both were former assistant coaches at Boston College, they're both excellent recruiters and great evaluators of talent, and they both have turned around their respective programs around in a hurry.  If you will recall, Northeastern finished with a 20-13 overall record and was second in the league with 14-4 record this past season.  Fairfield also finished second in their league with 13-5 record and won a total of 23 games this past season.  Mooney has done the same thing at Richmond, as the Spiders went 26-9 overall and 13-3 in the league and lost to St. Mary's in the first round of this year's NCAA Tournament.  As for Donahue, he guided the Big Red to 29-5 overall record and 13-1 conference record and a pair wins in the NCAA Tournament before finally losing to Kentucky in the regional semi-finals.  We also are intrigued by the list of names, which includes former Virginia head coach Dave Leitao, Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen, Arizona assistant coach Emanuel Richardson, Hofstra assistant coach Van Macon, Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Greg Vetrone, that we're hearing being mentioned as possible assistants at St. John's.  And, if either Rohrssen or Vetrone make the move, then yet another head coaching job in the New York Metropolitan area will open this spring.  Right now that list stands at five, as St. John's, Seton Hall, Fordham, Iona, and Hofstra are all in the process of making coaching changes.   We also think that Lavin could be an excellent hire at St. John's, because he's got the energy and pizzazz necessary to reenergize the Red Storm fan base.  Willard also appears to be a great hire at Seton Hall.  He's a low key guy, but he can flat out coach and we assume that Willard will bring Dan McHale, who is one of the bright up-and-coming guys in the business, and Shaheen Holloway, who played for the Pirates in the late 90's and is the school's all-time assist leader, with him to South Orange, NJ.  We also would be surprised if the University of Oregon is able to lure Tom Izzo away from Michigan State.  He already makes $2.5 million a year and he's totally a Michigan guy, as is evident by the fact that he was born and raised in Iron Mountain, MI, attended college at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI, and has been at Michigan State since 1983 (the first dozen years as an assistant coach to Jud Heathcote and the last 15 years as the head coach).  I know there is talk about NIKE's Phil Knight doubling Izzo's salary, which would make him the highest paid coach in the history of the game.  However, taxes are also higher in Oregon and you can bet that Michigan State, which gets big money from its Big-10 football television contract, will do whatever is necessary to sweeten the pot and keep Izzo in East Lansing, MI.  Instead, it's looks like Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith has emerged as the flavor of the day with regards to becoming the next boss of the Ducks.  And they won't have to wait another three to five days before they can start talking with him.  We also were surprised that earlier today Holy Cross fired Sean Kearney after just one season.  On the other hand, the Crusaders had five of their top six players back from a year ago, plus a transfer in 6'4 Soph Mike Cavataio, who was the team's third leading scorer this year, on a team that finished 9-22 overall and 5-9 in the league.  In contrast, the previous regime under Ralph Willard made four NCAA Tournament appearances in the previous 10 years and his team a year finished 16-13 overall and 11-3 in the league. 

Saturday, March 27, 2010, Sunday, March 28, 2010, & Monday, March 29, 2010

Now that the NCAA Final Four is set it's time to make some predictions, give some awards, and provide you with some analysis.  First are the predictions, which might be dangerous in light of the fact that we had one of the teams (Butler) in this year's NCAA Final Four getting beat in the first round of the tournament and another one of this year's NCAA Final Four teams (Michigan State) getting beat in the second round of the tournament.  On the other hand, we did have one of this year's Final Four teams picked correctly (Duke) and we did have West Virginia advancing all the way to the Elite Eight.  And picking the winner of the Duke-West Virginia game, which is scheduled to tip-off at 8:47 PM on Saturday, April 3rd, is easier said than done, as this promises to be a hard fought defensive battle that will feature the Mountaineers' tough 1-3-1 zone and the Blue Devils good man-to-man defense.  But once again it may come down to whichever team has the hot hand, as it was outside shooting that kept West Virginia in the game in the first half against Kentucky and was the death nail for the Baylor against Duke down the stretch.  However, in the final analysis we have to go with West Virginia, which not only knocked off the #1-seeded team in the tournament to get the Final Four, but also has the length, speed, quickness, athleticism, and interchangeable parts necessary to more than offset Duke's ability to put up prolific numbers and their size and dominance on the boards.  We don't think Michigan State will have much of a problem against Butler in the other semi-finals game, which will tip-off at 6:07 PM.  The Bulldogs have won 24 consecutive games, but they don't have the depth nor the ability to win the battle in the trenches against a team that you know will be on a mission after their miserable showing in last year's National Championship Game.  Another big key will be whether Butler's perimeter defense will be as effective against Michigan State as it was against Syracuse and Kansas State.  Our guess is that it won't, which means that 6'4 Jr Durrell Summers, who already is averaging 22.5 ppg in the tournament, will have a big night.  So make it a 20-point blow-out for Michigan State in the first game and a thrilling right down to the wire two-point win for the Mountaineers over the Blue Devils in the night cap.  We also think the NCAA Championship Game between Michigan State and West Virginia will be too close to call most of the way.  However, in the final minutes Michigan State's depth and a toughness inside will prove to be the difference in the game, as Spartans head coach Tom Izzo wins his second NCAA Championship one decade later in the same city as he won his first.  Make the final score 68-63 and enter Izzo's name onto an elite list of coaches who have won two or more NCAA Championships, which includes John Wooden with 10, Adolph Rupp with four, Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight with three, and Roy Williams, Billy Donovan, Jim Calhoun, Denny Crum, Dean Smith, Henry Iba, Ed Jucker, Branch McCracken, and Phil Woolpert, all of whom have two NCAA Championships apiece.  And even if Michigan State doesn't win it, Izzo already is in pretty fast company, as he's already one of only seven coaches in the history of the game to have guided his team to six or more NCAA Final Four appearances.  Also on this list are John Wooden with 12, Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski with 11, Roy Williams with seven, and Denny Crum and Adolph Rupp with six NCAA Final Four appearances apiece.  We also considered Izzo for National Coach-of-the-Year honors, along with West Virginia's Bobby Huggins, Butler's Brad Stevens, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Kentucky's John Calipari, Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson, Tennessee's Bruce Pearl, Ohio State's Thad Matta, and Kansas State's Frank Martin.  But, if you go back and look at all of the pre-season rankings, all of these teams were supposed to be good.  On the other hand, a quick check of the Athlon Sports College Basketball Yearbook and the Sporting News Yearbook finds that they both had Baylor picked #8 in the league prior to the start of the season.  However, when the dust had cleared the Bears may have been a controversial momentum changing charging foul away yesterday against Duke from going to the NCAA Final Four.  So our choice for National Coach-of-the-Year is Baylor's Scott Drew, who guided his team to a 28-8 overall record, a tie for second in the conference with a 11-5 league record, and an Elite Eight finish in a game that was extremely close until Duke got hot from behind the arc in the final minutes of the game.  Picking the National Player-of-the-Year was a two horse race and it would have been an easy call if the University of Kentucky had beaten West Virginia and gone to the NCAA Final Four.  But it didn't happen and, as a result, this award goes to Ohio State's 6'7 Jr Evan Turner, who averaged 20.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 6.0 apg on a team without a real center and a lot of star power.  Turner not only was the catalyst behind the Buckeyes' strong stretch run (they won 15 of their last 17 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament), but he's dramatically improved every year and is a great role model for the youth in the sport.  As for Kentucky's 6'4 Frosh John Wall, he averaged 16.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 6.5 apg and is our National Freshman-of-the-Year.  We also hope Wall will shock everybody and decide to return for his sophomore season and be the early favorite to win National Player-of-the-Year honors next year.  Joining Turner and Wall on our First Team Post-Season College All-American Team are Kentucky's 6'11 Frosh DeMarcus Cousins, who averaged 15.1 ppg and 9.8 rpg; Syracuse's 6'7 Jr Wes Johnson, who averaged 16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 2.2 apg; and West Virginia's 6'7 Sr Da'Sean Butler, who averaged 17.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 3.2 apg. 

Friday, March 26, 2010

The verbal commitments just keep right on rolling in, as within the last 24 hours we've confirmed that 6'9 Tyler Olander from Storrs (E.O. Smith) CT has picked the University of Connecticut, 6'9 Moses Abraham from Camp Springs (Progressive Christian Academy) MD has made it official for Georgetown, and 6'6 Tyler Neal from Oklahoma City (Putnam City West) OK has decided to stay home and attend the University of Oklahoma.  Olander is a tough hardnosed power forward who scores and rebounds in the low post and is ranked #147 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, it appears he has decided to also move back up to his original class and will enroll at the Big East School this fall.  So appears that he will join 6'8 Roscoe Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6''4 Jeremy Lamb from Norcross (H.S.) GA, and 6'10 Michael Bradley from Chattanooga (Tyner Academy) TN in a recruiting class that is now ranked at #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  And, if the Huskies also get either 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA or 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, then their recruiting class will move up to #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  Abraham is a native of Nigeria and is the shot blocker/defender/intimidator who not only will be the heir apparent to 6'10 Soph Greg Monroe, but also promises to be an excellent complement to 6'8 Nate Lubick from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA, who is a tough hardnosed and very athletic blue collar power forward that is ranked #18 nationally in the senior class and is the marquee player in this year's recruiting class.  Neal is an excellent 3-point shooter and he's got good strength in the paint, which allowed him to averaged 18.6 ppg and 8.3 rpg this past season.  However, even more important, Neal is a quality kid, which should help bring some stability to a program that appears to be in turmoil.  If you will recall, two days ago it was announced that 5'11 Frosh Tommy Mason-Griffin and 6'6 Soph Ray Willis both had decided to transfer and right now the status of 6'4 Soph Willie Warren, who is expected to enter his name into the NBA Draft this spring, and 6'9 Frosh Tiny Gallon, who is now being investigated after receiving cash from his financial adviser a year ago, is not clear.  We also find it interesting that 6'2 Jr Matt Carlino from Bloomington (South) IN, who is ranked #47 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has reneged on his verbal commitment to Indiana University.  Remember, Carlino started his high school career at Gilbert (Highland) AZ.   But his enter family moved to Bloomington, IN after he made an early verbal commitment to the Hoosiers a year-and-a-half ago.  We also think it will be interesting to see if the family moves back to Phoenix, AZ or whether they remain in the Midwest.  Did you know that Carlino's father played college basketball at Arizona State and his mother's brother (Brock Brunkhorst) played point guard at the University of Arizona.  On the other hand, Carlino's mother originally is Milwaukee, WI and on her side of the family there is a strong link to Marquette basketball.  Carlino is a great kid and this hard working and very skilled 2-guard who can beat you with his outside shooting, ability to run the court, and high basketball IQ. 

Thursday, March 25, 2010

With verbal commitment earlier this week by 6'10 Enes Kanter from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA to the University of Kentucky, it looks like the Wildcats are well on their way towards putting together two incredible back-to-back recruiting classes.  If you will recall, a year ago the Kentucky ended up with a recruiting class that included 6'10 DeMarcus Cousins from Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 6'3 John Wall from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'10 Daniel Orton from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuiness) OK, 6'7 Darnell Dodson from Miami-Dade (JC) FL, 6'0 Eric Bledsoe from Birmingham (Parker) AL, and 6'7 Jonathan Hood from Madisonville (North Hopkins) KY.  And, as things stand right now, the Wildcats' current recruiting class, which includes Kanter and 6'5 Stacey Poole from Jacksonville (Providence School) FL, is now ranked #48 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  However, if 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, then we'd talking about a recruiting class that is tied at #10, along with Villanova, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  If the Wildcats also get 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, then Kentucky's recruiting class will move up even higher to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  And, if they really hit the jackpot and get both Knight and Leslie and put together a package that includes 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'6 Terrence Ross from Portland (Jefferson) OR, then we'd be talking about the #1-ranked recruiting class in the nation on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  And, even more amazing, a recruiting class that includes Knight, Jones, Kanter, Leslie, Ross, and Poole would be even better than the one that Kentucky head coach John Calipari landed a year ago and is now the nucleus of a team that currently is only two games away from the NCAA Final Four in this year's NCAA Tournament.  We also think Knight, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the  HOOP SCOOP and is expected to make his decision on Wednesday, March 24, at the McDonald's All-American Game, could end up being every bit as good as John Wall, which is an huge statement when one remembers that Wall is one of the leading candidates for National Player-of-the-Year honors in college basketball and could be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft this spring.  Getting back to Kanter, he is the 6'10 physical specimen who prior to arriving in the United States last summer averaged 18.6 ppg and 16.4 rpg and was the named MVP in the European 18-Under Championships.  He also is ranked #2 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players and has the strength, skills, and power around the basket necessary to be the equivalent of a top 20-ranked senior nationally.  Kanter originally verbally committed to the University of Washington on November 23rd.  However, he re-opened his recruitment on February 9th and was really impressed with the Kentucky program when he made a visit to Lexington, KY a couple of weeks ago.  As for the other three above mentioned prime targets of the Wildcats, we suspect that Leslie will pick either Kentucky of N.C. State; Jones' final five includes Kentucky, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, and Oklahoma; and Ross' list now includes Kentucky, Kansas, Washington, Oregon, and Oklahoma.  It also looks like Western Kentucky got the up tempo point guard that they were looking for a couple of days when they added 6'1 Ken Brown from Cerritos (JC) CA to a recruiting class that is now tied at #73, along with Morehead State, UC-Riverside, Middle Tennessee State, Manhattan, and UTEP, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  We also suspect that the best may be yet to come, as the Hilltoppers also appear to be one of the favorites for 6'4 Kahlil McDonald from Blinn (JC) TX, who is ranked #12 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com.  And, if they pull this off, then Western Kentucky assistant coach Ray Harper should get raise after utilizing his strong contacts in the junior college ranks to land a pair of excellent guards who should fit nicely with 6'2 Brandon Peters from Houston (Yates) TX, 6'8 Stephon Drane from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, and 6'6 Kene Anyigbo from Houston (Bellaire) TX, all of whom also are already apart of this year's recruiting class.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Jr Treg Setty from Maysville (Mason County) KY has made an early verbal commitment to Southern Illinois, 6'5 Dwight Tarwater from Knoxville (Webb School of Knoxville) TN has picked Cornell, and 6'7 Abel Tillman from Highland (JC) IL has made a verbal commitment to SIU-Edwardsville.  Tillman only averaged 9.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg this past season on a team that lost to Kankakee (JC) IL in the Region 4 Championship Game.  However, he is the type of shot blocker that every low major Division I school covets, as is evident by the fact that he had 103 rejects this past season.  Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead tells us that Tarwater is not ready to step in and contribute right away for the Big Red.  But he's a great student, a jack-of-all-trades, and an overachiever who was named Mr. Basketball in the state's Private School Division.  Setty led his team to the semi-finals of the Kentucky State Basketball Tournament last week and has a good combination of size, outside shooting, and ball handling skills.  And, it's a good thing that Salukis head coach Chris Lowery and his staff got this one done early, as schools like Notre Dame, Xavier, Alabama, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth, and Miami-OH were also already showing a lot of interest.  One that slipped through the cracks earlier this month was the verbal commitment that 6'2 Kendall Williams from Rancho Cucamongo (Los Osos) CA made to the University of New Mexico.  Yes, that's the same guy who originally picked UCLA and is currently ranked #115 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  He joins 6'10 Alex Kirk from Los Alamos (H.S.) NM and 6'7 Tony Snell from Phoenix (Westwind Prep) AZ in a recruiting class that is now tied at #49, along with Nebraska, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010. 

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Things are finally starting to get interesting on the coaching carousal, as the hot rumor right now is that UCLA's Ben Howland is in final negotiations with DePaul  University and is expected to become the next head coach of the Blue Demons.  Yes, that's the same guy who led the Bruins to three straight 30-win seasons and three NCAA Final Four appearances in 2006, 2007, and 2008 and is known for rebuilding programs and his team's aggressive man-to-man defense.  But a year ago UCLA had a disappointing 26-9 season and this year the bottom fell out, as the Bruins finished 14-18 overall and tied for fifth in the league with an 8-10 record.  We had heard rumblings that Howland might be interested in making a move this spring.  But he really must want to beat the posse, if he's considering leaving Westwood for the near North Side of Chicago.  DePaul has the potential to be a great job, if you can get the top players out of the Chicago Public League to stay home, you can go deep into the NCAA Tournament, and then keep it going.  However, nobody's been able to do that since Ray Meyer owned the city in the late 70's and early 80's.  And making the story even more interesting is that the word on the street is that Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon could be the next in line to become the next head coach at UCLA.  Not only has Dixon averaged 26.9 wins per season for the seven seasons since he took over for Howland as boss of the Panthers, but he also is originally a West Coast guy who was born in Burbank, CA and has made stops as an assistant coach at L.A. Valley (JC) CA, UC-Santa Barbara, Hawaii twice, and Northern Arizona.  The only thing missing from Dixon's résumé is a NCAA Final Four appearance, as his team's have made one Elite Eight, two Sweet Sixteen, and three second round appearances in seven consecutive trips to the Big Dance.  And, if Dixon decides to head back West, a great name to take over as the head coach of the Panthers is Robert Morris' Mike Rice.  We're talking about one of the hot names in the business after his team has won the back-to-back Northeast Conference regular season championships and they took Villanova right down to the wire in the first round of this year's NCAA Tournament.  Rice, who has a 73-31 three-year record at Robert Morris, also is interviewing today for the Seton Hall job.  However, as things stand now, it looks like Siena's Fran McCaffery is the guy you have to beat to replace Bobby Gonzalez at the helm of the Pirates.  Also still in the hunt for the Seton Hall job are Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley, Iona head coach Kevin Willard, and Richmond head coach Chris Mooney.  We also continue to hear University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino's name being mentioned for both the UCLA and the Oregon jobs.  And there is no question that the Ducks will be able to afford Pitino, if Phil Knight, who is the founder and chairman of the board at NIKE, decides to sweeten the pot.  Also on the list to become the next head coach at Oregon are Dixon, Florida's Billy Donovan, Texas &M's Mark Turgeon, and Gonzaga's Mark Few.  Few is an alumnus of the school and Turgeon used to be an assistant coach at Oregon.  We also have to wonder if the 10-year deal that Northern Iowa gave to Ben Jacobson means anything?  He will begin making $450,000 a year next year, which is chump change if a school like the University of Iowa, which gets Big-10 television conference football money, decides they want to go after the coach who guided his team to one of the most stunning upsets in NCAA basketball history when the Panthers knocked off the University of Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend.  It also looks like Fordham may have hit the jackpot by hiring Tom Pecora, who compiled a 155-126 record in nine years at Hofstra and has made a living keeping the top players in his backyard at home.  It also would be nice to see history repeat itself and the Pride hire Van Macon, who is one of the bright up-and-coming guys in the business, has been on the staff for the last nine year's, and has been Pecora's right hand man for the last three years.  If you will recall, the last time the Hofstra job was open after Jay Wright left to take over at Villanova, the Pride hired his top assistant coach Tom Pecora.  We also think Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt would be exactly what the doctor ordered at St. John's.  However, the Red Storm will really have to ante up to get this one down, as Hewitt has a six-year $1.3 million per year contract that automatically rolls over and a $3.5 million buy-out.  It also looks like University of Colorado head coach Jeff Bzdelik may have stolen one with the hiring day before yesterday of Tom Abatemarco, who for the last six years has been an assistant coach for the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA.  Abatemarco has Division I head coaching experience at both North Texas and Sacramento State.  But he is best known as a top notch recruiter and his biggest prize was Chris Washburn back in the days of Jim Valvano at N.C. State. 

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Antonio Curro, who is the Editor & Publisher of the NY2LASports.com web site, is really excited about all of the events that he has planned for this spring and summer.  And just around the corner is the Swish N' Dish Spring Warm-up, which will be held in Milwaukee, WI on April 2nd-4th and will feature an impressive list of teams that includes All-Ohio Red, Spiece Indy Heat, Eric Gordon All-Stars, SYF Players, DC Assault, Jackson Tigers, St. Louis Eagles, St. Louis Eagles, Mac Irvin Fire, Playground Elite, Milwaukee Running Rebels, Devin Harris Superstars, Kingdom Hoops, Iowa Barnstormers, Full Package, Illinois Rising Stars, Wisconsin Playground Warriors, Wisconsin Blizzard, Wisconsin Swing, et al..  And the list of top players expected to be in attendance is even more impressive, as it includes the likes of 6'2 Jr Marques Teague from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 6'5 Jr Wayne Blackshear from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, 5'11 Jr Quinn Cook from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'3 Jr Bradley Beal from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO, 6'5 Jr Brandon Dawson from (Gary Wallace) IN, 6'8 Jr Johnny O'Bryant from Cleveland (East Side) MS, 6'9 Jr Tyler Adams from Brandon (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Jr Sam Thompson from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'8 Jr Mike Shaw from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'5 Jr Andre Henley from Carbondale (Brehm Prep) IL, 5'8 Jr Stevie Taylor from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH, 6'8 Mitch McGeary from Chesterton (H.S.) IN, 6'8 Jr Darnell Harris from Milwaukee (Hamilton) WI, 6'5 Jr Elgin Cook from Milwaukee (Hamilton) WI, 6'6 Jr Paul Jesperson from Merrill (H.S.) WI, 6'7 Soph Perry Ellis from Wichita (Heights) WI, 6'6 Soph Ryan Taylor from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'9 Soph Jordan Goodman from Camp Springs (Progressive Christian) MD, 6'6 Frosh Jabari Parker from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'8 Frosh Thomas Hamilton from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'5 Frosh Peter Jok from Des Moines (Roosevelt) IA, 6'6 Frosh Kristopher Jenkins from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, and 6'1 Frosh Duane Wilson from Whitefish Bay (Dominican) WI.  Also on the schedule are the NY2LA.com Invitational, which will be held in Milwaukee, WI on May 21st-23rd; the Generation Next All-Star Camp, which will be held at the M.S.O.E Kern Center in Milwaukee, WI on June 18th-20th; NY2LA.com Futures Camp, which will be held at the M.S.O.E Kern Center in Milwaukee, WI on July 2nd-3rd; the Next Level Invitational, which will be held at Homestead High School in Milwaukee, WI on July 6th-9th; and the NY2LASports.com Summer Jam, which will be held at Homestead High School in Milwaukee, WI on July 12th-15th.  Curro also makes note of the fact that all of the games in the last two aforementioned events will be held at one facility and he expects the NY2LASports.com Summer Jam to be one of the top events of the entire summer.  The Generation Next All-Star Camp will feature many of the top middle school players in the Midwest and, as a result, I plan to be in attendance on the final day.  I also may attend the NY2LA.com Futures Camp, which will feature a lot of the top players in the rising sophomore and junior classes in the Midwest.  Curro also tells us that the hottest prospect in his backyard right now is 6'6 Jr Paul Jesperson from Merrill (H.S.) WI.  "This long wiry sharpshooter is out of the same mold as N.C. State's Scott Wood," says Curro.  "Another player to keep an eye on is Max Biefeldt.  This 6'8 junior power forward is a lot like Notre Dame's Luke Harangody at the same stage." Three of the fastest rising sophomores in the state are 6'3 Soph Zak Showalter from Germantown (H.S.) TN, 6'8 Soph Sam Mader from Appleton (East) WI, and 6'4 Soph Arroyo Edwards from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI.  "Showater is a tough hardnosed blue collar shooting guard with excellent 3-point shooting range," says Curro.  "Mader is a long lanky power forward who can beat you inside with his ability to post up, rebound, and block shots and outside with his ability to step out and drain the three.  He also may grow couple of inches and has the potential to really explode nationally in the next 12 months.  Edwards is a versatile athletic combo guard who is exceptional at getting to the basket and using his long wiry frame to finish at the rim." 

Saturday, March 20, 2010, Sunday, March 21, 2010, & Monday, March 22, 2010

For those of you who were wondering what happened in the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Tournament last week in Hutchinson, KS, Howard (JC) TX came back from a 10-point second-half deficit and beat Three Rivers (JC) MO, 85-80, in Championship Game on Saturday night.  The tournament MVP was 6'0 Soph Josh Watkins from Howard (JC) TX, who finished with 26 points and seven rebounds in title game and averaged 19.8 ppg in the four games in which he played in the tournament.  Also coming up big in the championship game was 6'5 Soph Jae Crowder from Howard (JC) TX, who had 27 points and 12 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team, along with 6'4 Soph Josh Terry from Three Rivers (JC) MO, 6'4 Soph Marquis Carter from Three Rivers (JC) MO, 6'4 Soph Brian Bryant from Northwest Florida (JC) FL, 6'1 Soph L.A. Farmer from Wallace State (JC) AL, 6'2 Soph Matt Pressey from Navarro (JC) TX, 6'3 Soph Darian Thibodeaux from Navarro (JC) TX, 6'6 Frosh Michael Glover from Eastern Utah (JC) UT, 6'6 Frosh Jonathan Mills from Eastern Utah (JC) UT, 6'9 Frosh Carl Hall from Middle Georgia (JC) GA, 6'0 Frosh Deonte Alexander from East Mississippi (JC) MS, and 6'8 Frosh William Kirksey from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL.  The Outstanding Small Player Award went to 6'0 Soph Joe Ragland from North Platte (JC) NE and the Sportsmanship Award went to 6'4 Soph Nick Niemczyk from Three Rivers (JC) MO.  We also think it's important to mention that Lincoln (JC) IL beat Cincinnati State (JC) OH, 71-60, in the Championship Game of the NJCAA Division II Tournament in Danville, IL.  The tournament MVP and the leading scorer in the title game with 21 points was 6'11 Frosh Kiel Turpin from Lincoln (JC) IL.  Also chipping in with 18 points and 11 points apiece respectively for the winning team in the title game were 6'1 Frosh DeMarius Sumrell from Lincoln (JC) IL and 6'0 Frosh Kenyon Smith from Lincoln (JC) IL.  The rest of the all-tournament team included 6'6 Soph Rayshawn Goins from Cincinnati State (JC) OH, 6'2 Soph James Millen from Cincinnati State (JC) OH, 6'3 Soph Jake Stark from St. Clair (JC) MI, 6'5 Soph Jarvis Williams from Kirkwood (JC) IA, 6'7 Soph Rico Pierrevilus from Lewis & Clark (JC) IL, 6'2 Soph Paul Tometich from Kishwaukee (JC) IL, 5'11 Soph Jamier Morris from Pima (JC) AZ, 6'4 Soph Brian Ward from Brown-Mackie (JC) KS, 6'4 Frosh Jeremy Atkinson from Louisburg (JC) NC, and 6'8 Frosh Adam Johnson from Cecil (JC) MD.  The Outstanding Small Player Award went to 6'2 Frosh Harold Washington from Cecil (JC) MD and the Sportsmanship Award went to 6'3 Frosh Louie Schonauer from Lincoln (JC) IL.  And coming right on the heels of being named to the all-tournament is the verbal commitment that 6'2 James Millen from Cincinnati State (JC) OH has made to James Madison.  We're talking about a versatile athletic 2-guard who is ranked #107 in the junior collage ranks by JucoJunction.com, averaged 13.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, and 5.6 apg, and hit 45% (139-316) from the field this past season.  Van Coleman of HoopMasters.com tells us that late last week Iowa State stole one when the Cyclones received a verbal commitment from 6'9 John Wilkins from Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA.  "Wilkins would be one of the top junior college players in the nation, if he'd played this past season," says Coleman.  Wilkins actually has sat out the last two years after originally signing with Bradley and then being declared ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse due to questions about his amateur status.  Apparently Wilkins was moved up from his junior club team in France and played a total of 13 minutes in five games at garbage time in games where professional athletes were in participants.  Iowa State beat schools like Indiana, Providence, Kansas State, Bradley, and Illinois State for Wilkins services and Coleman thinks Wilkins could evolve into the next Craig Brackins once he gets bigger and stronger physically and gets some of the rust off after not playing for the last two years.  Wilkins is a big time athlete and he can step out and beat you with his outside shot.  It also looks like Virginia Commonwealth is continuing to stockpile front court players, the latest being 6'10 Juvonte Reddic from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, who is ranked #234 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a long athletic shot blocking big man with a huge upside.  Reddic joins 6'7 Toby Veal from Northwest Florida (JC) FL, 6'7 Reco McCarter from Goldsboro (Wayne Country Day) NC, 6'3 Rob Brandenberg from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH, 6'11 Darrell Haley from Palmdale (H.S.) CA in a recruiting class that is now ranked #29 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  We also have confirmed that 6'3 Jr Keith Hornsby from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has made an early verbal commitment to UNC-Asheville and 6'5 Jr Ladarius White from McComb (H.S.) MS has made an early verbal commitment to Ole Miss.  That last one is especially significant, because White is versatile enough to play the one, the two, or the three spot and is ranked #5 in the Magnolia State's loaded junior class by our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson.  White also is extremely athletic and is an excellent 3-point shooter, which makes him ideally suited to complement 6'8 DeMarcus Cox from Yazoo City (H.S.) MS and 5'11 Dondrecous Nelson from Jackson (Murrah) MS, both of whom are apart of this year's recruiting class, and 6'7 Jr Tyler Poole from Hickory (H.S.) NC, who has also already made an early verbal commitment to the Rebels.

Friday, March 19, 2010

With the firing earlier today of St. John's head coach Norm Roberts, there are now 21 Division I head coaching jobs that have opened so far this year and, thus far, only one of those jobs has been filled.  Joining Roberts on the former list are Iowa's Todd Lickliter, Oregon's Ernie Kent, Auburn's Jeff Lebo, Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez, DePaul's Jerry Wainwright, Charlotte's Bobby Lutz, Fordham's Dereck Whittenburg, Central Florida's Kirk Speraw, East Carolina's Mack McCarthy, Hawaii's Bob Nash, Boise State's Greg Graham, Louisiana-Lafayette's Robert Lee, UNC-Wilmington's Benny Moss, Toledo's Gene Cross, Pennsylvania's Glen Miller, UC-Irvine's Pat Douglass, Central Arkansas' Rand Chappell, Wagner's Mike Deane, Gardner-Webb's Rick Scruggs, and Dartmouth's Terry Dunn.  Former University of Arkansas All-American and current Arkansas Baptist head coach Corliss Williamson is the one person on the latter list.  As for the St. John's and Seton Hall jobs, what they both lack in terms of on-campus facilities and social life, they more than make up for with their recruiting base in the New York Metropolitan area, television exposure, and strength of schedule while playing against all the top teams in the tough Big East Conference.  Hire the wrong guy and both of these can be terrible jobs.  Hire the right guy and win and the next coach can become the next Lou Carnesseca or the next P.J. Carlesimo, both of whom made NCAA Final Four appearances in the 80s and are legends at their former respective schools.  And, in both cases, it's not exactly like Roberts and Gonzalez left the cupboard bare.  Eight of the top 10 players, including eight juniors (D.J. Kennedy, Dwight Hardy, Paris Horne, Justin Brownlee, Sean Evans, Malik Boothe, Justin Burrell, and Rob Thomas) are expected to return from a 17-16 team at St. John's and eight of the top 11 players, including five players (Jeremy Hazel, Herb Pope, Jeff Robinson, Jordan Theodore, and Keon Lawrence) who started 13 or more games, are expected to be back on a Seton Hall team that finished 19-13 this past season.  However, the overwhelming number of players in both programs who are expected to play major roles next year are juniors and seniors.  So this makes it imperative to get a new head coach in place sooner than later so that he can not fall to far behind recruiting the few high major players that are good enough to step and make an immediate impact who are still available this spring.  The down side to Seton Hall hiring Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley may be that they will have to wait until the Jayhawks, which may be playing for another two-and-half weeks, get beat in this year's NCAA Tournament.  On the other hand, Dooley does already have the necessary contacts to make a late push for 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #13 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and still has schools like Kansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Arizona on his list.  Another one of the first orders of business for the new regimes at both Seton Hall and St. John's will be to attempt make a strong push towards landing 6'8 Kadeem Jack from New York (Rice) NY, who we now deem as one of top 10 unsigned seniors still available, along with 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI, and 6'6 Terrence Ross from Portland (Jefferson) OR.  Another prerequisite for both St. John's and Seton Hall will be to hire somebody with strong ties in the New York City area, which means the Pirates would be smart to retain Dermond Player and the Red Storm would be smart to hire somebody like New York (Rice) NY head coach Maurice Hicks or Bayside (Cardozo) NY head coach Ron Naclerio, both of whom are legendary high school coaches and have the contacts necessary to quickly close the deal on Kadeem Jack. 

Thursday, March 18, 2010

We are ready to publish Ron Naclerio's New York City Report, which can be found exclusively in the Members Section, and it includes his ranking of the top 123 seniors, top 101 juniors, top 75 sophomores, top 50 freshmen, top 12 8th Graders, top 12 7th Graders, top 15 6th Graders, and top eight 5th Graders.  Obviously this provides the perfect complement to Tim Miller's Texas Report, which was published on March 11th, Rick Staudt's Florida Report, which was published on February 17th; Rick Lewis' North Carolina Report, which was published on February 12th; Dinos Trigonis' West Coast Report, which was published on February 4th; Lavel Johnson's Mississippi Report, which was published on January 27th; Andre Whitehead's Tennessee Report, which was published on January 21st; Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which was published on November 8th, and Horace Neysmith's Georgia Report, which was published on September 18th.  However, even more important, it really illustrates just how much the balance of power in the city in recent years has shifted to the suburbs, North Jersey, prep schools, and, in the case, of 6'5 Doron Lamb, who originally was at Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA.  The most telling statistic is that only three of the top 15-ranked players and only nine of the 30-ranked players on our six All Metro New York Teams, which includes all of the top players regardless of class and position, actually playing for high schools within the five boroughs of New York City.  And this is an important distinction, because our All Metro New York Team include all of the top players from the New York Metropolitan area and Naclerio's rankings include only the top players from Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx.  We also think it's important to point out that three of Naclerio's top four-ranked seniors in the city are still available and, in all three cases, it's like night and day when you compare where they are now and where they were a year ago.  In the case, of 6'8 Kadeem Jack from New York (Rice) NY, we're talking about a legitimate top 50-100 ranked senior nationally, which makes him one of the top three big men nationally still on the board.  The team you have to beat is Arizona, thanks to Wildcats assistant coach Emanuel Richardson's strong New York City ties.  But schools like Florida, Louisville, Providence, Arkansas, UCLA, West Virginia, Connecticut, Miami-FL, California, and St. John's are all believed to be in the hunt.  And making Jack's story even more intriguing is the fact that he won't turn 18-years-old until next fall and has grown five inches since he was in 9th Grade.  "He runs the court like a guard, has great timing, and an incredible wing span," says Naclerio.  "And all this is still new to him, as he's only just begun to involve into an elite player in the last year."  One of the biggest sleepers in the entire country right now appears to be 6'4 Jeff Short from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY.  However, Short has the reputation in the city for being a mad boomer.  "He's got a quick release, an uncanny way of stepping back and getting his shot, and NBA-like shooting range," says Naclerio.  "He's also really improved his mid-range game and is very good at getting to the rack." Unfortunately he doesn't have the grades necessary to be eligible next year at a four-year Division I school, which makes him prime junior college and/or prep school material.  There also is 6'8 Ryan Rhoomes from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, who has a size 17-shoe and has been only playing the game a couple of years.  "He too is young for his class," says Naclerio.  "Rhoomes has good hands, is good on the boards, and is probably going to be 6'10 or 6'11 by the time he's done growing.  He's also got an good understanding of the game and doesn't try and do things he can't do.  He'll probably go to prep school next year at someplace like South Kent Prep and then make a decision on a college."  Schools like West Virginia, Louisville, Virginia Tech, St. John's, Providence, Pittsburgh, and Memphis are all showing interest.  But his list should get a lot longer before it gets shorter with an added year of maturity and time to fill out physically.  

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

It's funny sometimes how things turn out.  And a perfect example is what's happened earlier today with regards to Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez and Rutgers' Fred Hill.  If you will recall, all year everybody has thought that the posse would catch up with Hill at Rutgers at the end the season and that Gonzalez would live to coach at least another year at Seton Hall.  However, exactly the opposite has happened, as it has been announced that Hill will get another year to attempt to turn the program around and Gonzalez has been shown the door.  And the word on the street is that now that St. John's has gotten knocked off by Memphis in the first round of the NIT, Red Storm head coach Norm Roberts will be next.  The early list of candidates for the Seton Hall job includes names like Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley, Hofstra head coach Tom Pecora, Siena head coach Fran McCaffery, Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron, Iona head coach Kevin Willard, Richmond head coach Chris Mooney, Duke assistant coach Chris Collins, and Bobby Hurley, who is the long time head coach at Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and is widely recognized as one of the top high school coaches in the history of the game.  It also will be interesting to see if Seton Hall's Joseph Quinlan is an astute athletic director and already has his ducks in a row or whether he will have to start from scratch in an attempt to hire a new head coach.  On the other hand, if the St. John's job does open, the list of names that have already been tossed around includes television analyst Bob Knight, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, former St. John's All-American and New York Knicks star Mark Jackson, Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg, Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice, Hofstra head coach Tom Pecora, Davidson head coach Bob McKillop, Siena head coach Fran McCaffery, Rhode Island head coach Jim Baron. 

The World Select Team, which will participate against the United States Team in this year's NIKE Hoop Summit on Saturday, April 10th, in Portland, OR, was announced today and it features four players who are currently playing high school basketball in the United States in 6'10 Tristan Thompson from Canada via Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Cory Joseph from from Canada via Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'10 Enes Kanter from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA via Turkey, and 6'8 Duje Dukan from Croatia via Deerfield (H.S.) IL.  The team also features six players who are currently playing internationally in 6'4 Sui Ran from China, 6'0 Jason Cadee from Australia, 6'10 Nikola Mirotic from Spain, 6'6 Mael Lebrun from France, 7'0 Dejan Musli from Serbia, and 7'0 Robert Loe from New Zealand.  They will face 6'8 Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'8 Harrison Barnes from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'3 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hills (Half Hallows Hills West) NY, 6'6 Will Barton from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'7 Reggie Bullock from Kinston (H.S.) NC, and 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who were the nine players listed on the United States team, which was announced two months ago.  We also think it's important to note that the players who participate in this game will be exempt from the two-game all-star game limit that high school players are subject to by NCAA rules. 

The big recruiting news right now involves a pair of early verbal commitments by 6'7 Jr Grady Glaze from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH to UNLV and 6'0 Jr Naadir Tharpe from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH to Providence.  And we think the verbal commitment by Tharpe to the Friars is huge for a number of reasons.  First, he is one of the better point guards in the junior class nationally, as is evident by the fact that he is ranked #53 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, he doesn't put up big numbers, but he's a skilled point guard who knows who to run the show, make his teammates better, and control the tempo of the game.  Third, he is ideally suited to step in year after next and complement 6'3 Gerard Coleman from Tilton (School) NH, 6'2 Joseph Young from Houston (Yates) TX, and 6'7 Ron Giplaye from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, all of whom are apart of Providence's current recruiting class, which is currently tied at #41, along with Louisville, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  Fourth, Tharpe is the next in a long line of players recruited by Providence Pat Skerry, who is second to none when it comes to landing the top players out of the prep schools in New England.  Glaze lacks a true position, but is ranked #48 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is second to none in terms of athleticism and playing with a high level of intensity.  It comes as no surprise that our North Carolina Editor Rick Lewis is telling us that 6'9 Marquez "Luke"Cothron from Red Springs (Flora MacDonald Academy) NC has reneged on the commitment that he made last fall to N.C. State.  However, that could turn out be a blessing in disguise for the Wolfpack, as this clears the deck for 6'9 C.J. Leslie from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, who was recently named to play in the McDonald All-American Game and has incredible length, athleticism, and natural ability, to pick the N.C. State over Kentucky this spring.  It also appears that 5'11 Stevie Rogers from Wallingford (Choate Rosemary Hill) CT has verbally committed to Texas State and 6'6 Antonio DiMaria from Casper (JC) WY has become the University of Utah's fifth recruit.  DiMaria is ranked #63 in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com and this excellent 3-point shooter averaged 16.7 ppg this past season.  What Rogers does best is shoot the basketball.  But he also has good ball handling and passing skills and is a steal for the Bobcats. 

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

By our count the number of Division I head coaching openings this year now stands at 18.  The latest being University of Oregon head coach Ernie Kent, who was fired earlier today after 13 years as boss of the Ducks.  Also on the list of head coaches who are already out the door this year are Iowa's Todd Lickliter, Auburn's Jeff Lebo, DePaul's Jerry Wainwright, Charlotte's Bobby Lutz, Fordham's Dereck Whittenburg, Hawaii's Bob Nash, Central Florida's Kirk Speraw, East Carolina's Mack McCarthy, Louisiana-Lafayette's Robert Lee, UNC-Wilmington's Benny Moss, Toledo's Gene Cross, UC-Irvine's Pat Douglass, Wagner's Mike Deane, Pennsylvania's Glen Miller, Dartmouth's Terry Dunn, Boise State's Greg Graham, and Central Arkansas's Rand Chappel.  But in a lot of cases it appears that the athletic director who pulled the trigger has never heard of the old adage about "timing being everything."  And two excellent examples are University of Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta and University of Charlotte Athletic Director Judy Rose, both of whom fired the head coach at their respective school yesterday, but appear to be a long way away from being ready to name a replacement.  And this is important, because the most important decision that an athletic director makes is who the next basketball coach and the football coach will be at their respective institution.  Any good athletic director should already know well in advance of when the job opens who will be the first choice, second choice, third choice, fourth choice, and fifth choice, as well little things like what kind of initial interest the prospective coach might have if the job does open someday and how much it might cost to get the coach to considering leaving his current job.  That's where Barta comes in, as it appears that he was ready to move quickly to get rid of Lickliter, but now has everything on hold until he can begin talking to Bruce Pearl, which won't be until after the University of Tennessee has lost in the NCAA Tournament.  If Pearl takes the job, everything is fine and dandy.  However, if Pearl doesn't take the job, then it really will be up in the air, as Providence head coach Keno Davis, Baylor head coach Scott Drew, Memphis head coach Josh Pastner, Marquette head coach Buzz Williams, UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett, Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings, Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford, UCLA head coach Ben Howland, television analyst Steve Lavin, and former University of Iowa All-American B.J. Armstrong will be among the names that you will continue to hear mentioned in a very long and drawn out process.  We recommend that Barta move quickly and hire Davis.  Remember, he's already proven that he's one of the bright young guys in the business at Drake and Providence and his father, Dr. Tom Davis, is a legend in Iowa City, IA after posting a 218-158 record during 13 years as the head coach of the Hawkeyes.  In the case of Rose, it appears that she won't be ready to make a decision until after the NCAA Final Four is over.  The fact that Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley appears to be one of the leading candidates for the job and she plans to wait until the Jayhawks get beat in the tournament just makes too much sense.  Instead, the reason this one is going to take so long is that one of the key people in the decision making process will be out of the country for the next 10 days.  Nobody saw this one coming and, as a result, they could have easily waited another week or two before making the move.  Several other names that are being tossed around to become the next boss of the 49ers are Wright State head coach Bobby Bronwell, Kansas State assistant coach Dalonte Hill, Siena head coach Frank McCaffery, and Wofford's Mike Young. But regardless of who becomes Charlotte's next coach, they need to get used to the idea that this likely will become a stepping stone job where they will have to hire a new head coach or fire the existing one, because he wasn't getting it done, every four or five years.  In other words, if you wanted a guy who was going to be there for the rest of his career, Bobby Lutz was the perfect guy.  Not only is he an alumnus of the school, but he helped restore the program to national prominence as an assistant coach during the Melvin Watkins era and compiled a 218-158 record at the helm of the 49ers.  However, before you start to feel too sorry for Lutz, there are some important things to remember.  First, he had four years left on his contract and, as a result, should get a good buy-out.  Second, his wife is independently wealthy, which means he can be even more selective when it comes to taking his next coaching job.  Third, he's a good enough coach that he's already being mentioned as one of the leading candidates for the East Carolina job.  We also think it's important to note just how good a staff that Lutz had, as his top assistant coach Rob Moxley is one of the leading candidates for the Gardner-Webb job, Chris Cheeks is second to none as a recruiter, and Bobby Kummer is one of the top young up-and-coming young guys in the business.  Among the names that we're hearing to replace Ernie Kent at the University of Oregon are Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, New Mexico head coach Steve Alford, Baylor head coach Scott Drew, and Northern Iowa head coach Ben Jacobsen.  We continue to hear that UTEP's Tony Barbee is the leading candidate for the Auburn job and it looks like suddenly Tom Penders is safe at the University of Houston after months of speculation about this being his last year as head coach of the Cougars.  Moral to the story, if you are an athletic director and you know you want to get rid of a coach, don't beat around the bush.  Just fire the guy!  On the other hand, it's always better to keep the lame duck head coach that you just fired around for the rest of season in order to make sure that you don't want to get stuck with an overachieving interim head coach that suddenly you can't get rid of. 

Monday, March 15, 2010

Every year our Exclusive Ranking of the Top Coaches in College Basketball gets a little bit better and little bit more accurate.  And, if you don't believe me, just check out our Ranking of the Top 50 Head Coaches in the College Game Today; our Ranking of the Top 30 Head Coaches who are in the Middle of their Career and have the Potential to Move onto our List of the Top 50 Head Coaches in the Game Today (must have been a head coach more than five years, but not more than 20 years at the Division I level); our Ranking of the Top 30 Up-And Coming Head Coaches in the College Game Today (must have been a head coach five years or less at the Division I level); our Ranking of the Top 100 Assistant Coaches in the College Game Today (must be an assistant coach in one of the top 10 conference at the Division I level); and our Ranking of the Top 50 Assistant Coaches at the Mid-to-Low Division I Level (must be an assistant coach at a school not in one of the top 10 conference at the Division I level); all of which were published earlier today right here exclusively in the Members Section.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that Kentucky's John Calipari and Kansas' Bill Self, who have combined to win only one NCAA Championship and whose teams have made only three NCAA Final Fours appearances, check in at #1 and #2 in our Ranking of the Top 50 Head Coaches in the College Game Today.   In contrast, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who is next on the list, has won three NCAA Championships and guided his teams to 10 NCAA Final Four appearances.  North Carolina's Roy Williams, who is ranked fourth on the list, has won two NCAA Championships and guided his teams to seven NCAA Final Four appearances.  Michigan State's Tom Izzo, who is ranked fifth on the list, has won one NCAA Championship and guided his teams to five NCAA Final Four appearances.  Louisville's Rick Pitino, who is ranked sixth on the list, has won one NCAA Championship and guided his teams to five NCAA Final Four appearances.  Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, who is ranked seventh on the list, has won two NCAA Championships and guided his teams to three NCAA Final Four appearances.  West Virginia's Bobby Huggins, who is ranked eighth on the list, has not won any NCAA Championships, but does have a NCAA Final Four appearance on his résumé'.  Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, who is ranked ninth on the list, has won one NCAA Championship and guided his teams to three NCAA Final Four appearances.  And Florida's Billy Donovan, who is ranked 10th on the list, has won two NCAA Championships and guided his teams to three NCAA Final Four appearances.  That's a grade total of 12 National Championships and 38 NCAA Final Four appearances by the other eight head coaches who ranked among the top 10 on this list.  However, our ranking is not about past accomplishments, as this list changes year-to-year depending upon whose team is hot and whose team is not.  As a matter of fact, when we published this same list at exactly the same time a year ago, Louisville's Rick Pitino was ranked right at the top of the list, ahead of 2) Roy Williams, 3) Mike Krzyzewski, 4) Jim Calhoun, 5) John Calipari, 6) Billy Donovan, 7) Tom Izzo, 8) Ben Howland, 9) Bill Self, 10) Bobby Huggins, 11) Jim Boeheim, et al..  But now John Calipari and Bill Self come out on top for several very important reasons.  First, they are the two hottest coaches in the game as we head into this year's  NCAA Tournament (Kansas is ranked #1 and Kentucky ranked #2 in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls).  Second, and even more important, nobody in college basketball does a better job of reloading quickly and replacing the seemingly never ending flow of players prematurely entering into the NBA Draft on an annual basis than these two guys do.  Remember, Self and Calipari squared off two years ago against one another in the NCAA Championship Game.  Then, a year ago both of their teams advanced into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in what were supposed to have been a rebuilding year.  We compare that to North Carolina, which struggled to beat Murray State in the first round and lost to George Mason in the second round of the NCAA Tournament the year after they won the NCAA Championship in 2005.  And the Tar Heels didn't even make the NCAA Tournament this time around after winning the NCAA Championship a year ago.  Louisville, which was a NIT team in 2006, found itself in a similar boat after advancing to the NCAA Final Four in 2005.  And this time around the Cardinals, which will face the University of California in the first round, could easily be a one-and-done team in the NCAA Tournament.  And where have Billy Donovan's Florida Gators been since they took home back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008?  Connecticut and UCLA are also down and Michigan State is not nearly as good as it was a year ago when the Spartans advanced all the way to the title game.  Duke also has slipped a little bit in recent years, as their last NCAA Final Four appearance in 2004 coincides almost exactly with the arrival of Roy Williams in Chapel Hill, NC in the spring of 2003.  But now Krzyzewski once again edges out Williams for the #3 spot in our list of the Ranking of the Top 50 Head Coaches in the College Game Today for three seasons.  First, he's hot, as is evident by the fact that the Blue Devils are clearly the third best team in the nation as we head into the NCAA Tournament.  Second, the Blue Devils really haven't had a bad year ,as they've finished with 27-6, 32-4, 22-11, 30-7, and 27-5 records and have made three Sweet 16 appearances in the last five years.  Third, Duke continues to recruit as well as anybody in college basketball year in-and-year out.  As for Calipari, the revolving door of great guards that have been one-and-done started with Dajuan Wagner in 2001 and continued with Derrick Rose in 2007, Tyreke Evans in 2008, John Wall a year ago, and most likely with 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, who is expected to pick the Wildcats this spring.  However, except for a year ago when he got the Kentucky job, Calipari already had a good nucleus in place and the super scoring guard was always the last piece to the puzzle on what was already a good team.  And, if all the pieces fall together just right, it's not inconceivable that the Wildcats could end up with an even better recruiting class either this year or next year than they did a year ago when they landed two top five-ranked players (John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins) in the nation.  As for Kansas, the Jayhawks are reaping the benefits of already having a strong nucleus to build around and the #1-ranked recruiting class from the year before last.  And there appears to be no end in sight, as seven of their top eight players are underclassmen and Joe Dooley and Kurtis Townsend, both whom are ranked among the top seven in our Ranking of the Top 100 Assistant Coaches in the College Game Today, are relentlessly pursuing a number of the top unsigned players in the nation, like 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Terrence Jones from Portland (Jefferson) OR, and 6'6 Terrence Ross from Portland (Jefferson) OR.  We also think it's important to point out that Joe Dooley is tied as the #1-ranked as coach in the nation, along with Florida's Larry Shyatt and Louisville's Ralph Willard.  And, when one takes into consideration that neither Shyatt nor Willard is likely to make a move, it's clear that Dooley is the top up-and-coming assistant coach in the business that the astute athletic director with a job opening should be trying to hire this spring. 

Saturday, March 13, 2010, & Sunday, March 14, 2010

The field is set for this year's NCAA Tournament and we predict that one of the teams will be different, but the coaches will be same as two years ago when Bill Self and John Calipari squared off against one another in the National Championship Game in San Antonio, TX.  If Kansas wins it, then Self will become one of only three coaches to have won the last six NCAA Championships.  If you will recall, North Carolina's Roy Williams won it in 2005, Florida's Billy Donovan won it in 2006 and 2007, Self won it in 2008, and Williams won it again in 2009.  On the other hand, if Calipari wins it, he will follow in the footsteps of Tubby Smith and win the National Championship in his first year at the helm of the Wildcats.  And that's the direction I'm learning, as we provide you with our breakdown of the tournament complete with the seeding of each team, its record to-date, and its Sagarin Ranking, Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ranking, RPI Ranking, and RPI Strength of Schedule Ranking.  The other two teams that I have in this year's NCAA Final Four are Duke and Pittsburgh, which is one of any one of a number of teams that could come of the weak West Regional.  We also find it interesting that Syracuse, which lost its last game of the regular season to Louisville and in the first round of the conference tournament to Georgetown, was rewarded for what it has done all season with the #1-seed in the West.  However, Ohio State, which won 10 of its last 11 games in the regular season, as well as the Big-10 Conference Tournament Championship, was rewarded for what it did late in the season.  The question I have is the emphasis on what you've done the entire year or down the stretch?  I also am still trying to figure how Virginia Tech didn't make the field of 65?  The Hokies won 23 games, finished tied for 3rd in a conference that landed six teams in the tournament, and was ranked #34 in the Sagarin Rankings while playing against the 65th toughest schedule in the nation.  My guess is that the RPI Ratings determined this outcome, as is evident by the fact that the Hokies are ranked #60 and have a strength of schedule that was ranked #133 by this rating system.  That' a huge difference!  In contrast, it looks like the NCAA Selection Committee went with the Sagarin Ratings, instead of the RPI Ratings, with regards to Ohio State, which is ranked #12 in the former and and #26 in the latter.  Once again, which is it?  Some other illustrations of where Sagarin and the RRP Ratings differ dramatically are Butler, which is ranked #11 by the RPI and #22 by Sagarin; New Mexico, which is ranked #12 by the RPI and #23 by Sagarin; Northern Iowa, which is ranked #17 by the RPI and #31 by Sagarin; San Diego State, which is ranked #18 by the RPI and #38 by Sagarin; Richmond, which is ranked #21 by the RPI and #41 by Sagarin; Brigham Young, which is ranked #23 by the RPI and #9 by Sagarin; Old Dominion, which is ranked #27 by the RPI and #43 by Sagarin; Texas, which is ranked #28 by the RPI and #13 by Sagarin; Siena, which is ranked #30 by the RPI and #53 by Sagarin; Rhode Island, which is ranked #40 by the RPI and #58 by Sagarin; Missouri, which is ranked #45 by the RPI and #21 by Sagarin, and Illinois, which is ranked #75 by the RPI and #59 by Sagarin.  That last one is important to mention, because, any way you slice it, the Fighting Illinois were outside the criteria necessary to make the tournament.  It also is obvious that teams outside of the high major conferences are rewarded more by the RPI Ratings than they are in the Sagarin Ratings.  But the NCAA Selection Committee doesn't always seem to pay attention, as Butler had an impressive 18-0 regular season record, won its conference tournament, and is ranked one-spot ahead of New Mexico and has a similar ranked strength of schedule in both ratings   However, New Mexico, which did not win it's conference tournament championship, is a #3-seed and Butler is a #4 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament.  And, if you like the RPI Ratings, then you can probably make a case for the University of Texas being a #8 seed.  The same also can be said about Rhode Island being a team right on the bubble for this year's tournament.  However, the Rams were 10 spots out of the margin or error to make the tournament when looking at the Sagarin Ratings and, quite honestly, I was surprised that Texas was seeded so low, despite the fact that Longhorns have underachieved most of the year.  The one surprise team in the field was the University of Florida, which is ranked one-spot below Mississippi State in the Sagarin Ratings and two spots ahead of the Bulldogs in the RPI.  I guess having a better over record and getting to the championship game of the SEC Tournament and taking Kentucky into overtime didn't count for very much.  Now also is a good time to lobby for the expansion of the NCAA Tournament to at least 96 teams.  I base that on the fact that what makes the tournament so exciting are the upsets in the first and second rounds.  It also would be a good idea to make sure that teams that win their regular season conference title, but get beat in their conference tournament, should not be penalized for the success that they've enjoyed all season.  If that happened this year, that would effect a great total of seven teams.  We're talking about Stony Brook (22-9), Weber State (20-10), Coastal Carolina (28-6) Kent State (23-9), Quinnipiac (23-9), and Jackson State (19-12), and take your pick among Lipscomb, Jackson State, Belmont, or Campbell, all of which finished tied for first in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 14-6 league record.

HOOP SCOOP NCAA TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS

Midwest Regional
First Round                                             Second Round  Regional Semi-Finals         Regional Finals   NCAA Semi-Finals  Final Two  NCAA Champion
(Seed) Team (Record) (Sagarin Ranking) (Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ranking) (RPI Ranking) (RPI Strength of Schedule Ranking)
(1) Kansas (32-2) (1) (18) (1) (5)
                                                                Kansas
(16) Lehigh (22-10) (204) (330) (152) 300)
                                                                                                 Kansas
(8) UNLV (25-8)(44) (91) (49) (90)
                                                                UNLV
(9) Northern Iowa (28-4) (31) (117) (17) (112)   

(5) Michigan State (24-8) (25) (53) (32) (48)
                                                                Michigan State
(12) New Mexico State (22-11) (98) (97) (51) (72)
                                                                                                 Maryland
(4) Maryland (23-8) (15) (28) (24) (21)
                                                                Maryland
(13) Houston (19-15) (100) (109) (110) (106)   

(2) Ohio State (27-7) (12) (60) (26) 70)
                                                               Ohio State
(15) UC-Santa Barbara (20-9) (126) (183) (98) (194)
                                                                                                 Ohio State
(7) Oklahoma State (22-10) (36) (40) (29) (26) 
                                                               Georgia Tech
(10) Georgia Tech (22-12) (32) (12) (33) (17)

(3) Georgetown (23-10) (11) (2) (8) (1)
                                                               Georgetown
(14) Ohio University (21-14) (112) (159) (93) (113)
                                                                                                 Georgetown
(6) Tennessee (235-8) (19) (47) (14) (18)
                                                               Tennessee
(11) San Diego State (25-8) (38) (75) (18) (49)

West Regional
First Round                                             Second Round  Regional Semi-Finals         Regional Finals   NCAA Semi-Finals  Final Two  NCAA Champion
(Seed) Team (Record) (Sagarin Ranking) (Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ranking) (RPI Ranking) (RPI Strength of Schedule Ranking)
(1) Syracuse (28-4) (3) (26) (5) (11)
                                                                Syracuse
(16) Vermont (25-9) (145) (299) (119) (308)
                                                                                                 Florida State
(8) Gonzaga (26-6) (35) (111) (36) (118)
                                                                Florida State
(9) Florida State (22-9) (26) (38) (42) (52)

(5) Butler (28-4) (22) (98) (11) (76)
                                                                UTEP
(12) UTEP (26-6) (33) (133) (39) (111)
                                                                                                Vanderbilt
(4) Vanderbilt (24-8) (27) (45) (25) (25)
                                                                Vanderbilt
(13) Murray State (30-4) (61) (287) (57) (263)

                                                                                                                                                                Pittsburgh

(2) Kansas State (26-7) (6) (3) (6) (2)
                                                               Kansas State
(15) North Texas (24-8) (154) (282) (105) (271)
                                                                                                 Kansas State
(7) Brigham Young (29-5) (9) (108) (23) (116)
                                                               Brigham Young
(10) Florida (21-12) (48) (43) (54) (33)

(3) Pittsburgh (24-8 (20) (31) (16) (10)
                                                               Pittsburgh
(14) Oakland (26-8) (103) (221) (52) 156)
                                                                                                 Pittsburgh
(6) Xavier (24-8) (18) (57) (19) (39)
                                                               Xavier
(11) Minnesota (21-13) (46) (50) (58) (44)

                                                                                                                                                                                       Kentucky

East Regional
First Round                                             Second Round  Regional Semi-Finals         Regional Finals   NCAA Semi-Finals  Final Two  NCAA Champion
(Seed) Team (Record) (Sagarin Ranking) (Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ranking) (RPI Ranking) (RPI Strength of Schedule Ranking)
(1) Kentucky (32-2) (4) (63) (2) (34)
                                                                Kentucky
(16) East Tennessee State (20-14) (156) (214) (121) (169)
                                                                                                 Kentucky
(8) Texas (24-9) (13) (30) (28) (43)
                                                                Texas
(9) Wake Forest (19-10) (45) (22) (37) (29)

(5) Temple (29-5) (16) (67) (9) (58)
                                                                Temple
(12) Cornell (27-4) (52) (230) (48) (205)
                                                                                                 Wisconsin
(4) Wisconsin (23-8) (14) (34) (20) (28)
                                                                Wisconsin
(13) Wofford (26-8) (82) (198) (68) (202)

(2) West Virginia (27-6) (4) (1) (4) (3)
                                                               West Virginia
(15) Morgan State (27-9) (144 (307) (102) 291)
                                                                                                 West Virginia
(7) Clemson (21-10) (28) (35) (34) (24) 
                                                               Missouri
(10) Missouri (22-10) (21) (52) (45) (47)

(3) New Mexico (29-4) (23) (95) (12) (68)
                                                               New Mexico
(14) Montana (22-9) (102) (209) (97) (206)
                                                                                                 Marquette
(6) Marquette (22-11) (24) (19) (50) (40)
                                                               Marquette
(11) Washington (24-9) (42) (71) (41) (59)

South Regional
First Round                                             Second Round  Regional Semi-Finals         Regional Finals   NCAA Semi-Finals  Final Two  NCAA Champion
(Seed) Team (Record) (Sagarin Ranking) (Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ranking) (RPI Ranking) (RPI Strength of Schedule Ranking)
(1) Duke  (29-5) (2) (10) (3) (9)
                                                                Duke
(16) Arkansas-Pine Bluff (17-15) (239) (321) (182) (274)
(16) Winthrop (19-13) (210) (285) (156) 240)
                                                                                                 Duke
(8) California (23-10) (29) (44) (22) (14)
                                                                California
(9) Louisville (20-12) (37) (25) (38) (7)

(5) Texas A&M (23-9) (17) (5) (13) (6)
                                                                Texas A&M
(12) Utah State (24-8) (40) (135) (31) (100)
                                                                                                 Texas A&M
(4) Purdue (27-5) (10) (54) (15) (53)
                                                                Siena
(13) Siena (27-6) (53) (180) (30) (124)

(2) Villanova (24-7) (7) (7) (10) (23)
                                                               Villanova
(15) Robert Morris (23-11) (188) (310) (129) (259)
                                                                                                 Villanova
(7) Richmond (26-8) (41) (69) (21) (71)
                                                               St. Mary's
(10) St. Mary's (26-5) (30) (136) (35) (120)

(3) Baylor (25-7) (8) (15) (7) (13)
                                                               Baylor
(14) Sam Houston State (25-7) (106) (249) (70) (197)
                                                                                                 Baylor
(6) Notre Dame (23-11) (39) (51) (44) (36)
                                                                Old Dominion     
(11) Old Dominion (26-8) (43) (123) (27) (86)

Friday, March 12, 2010

The only new recruiting news right now involves 6'6 Jr Michael Gbinije from Richmond (Benedictine) VA, who has become the first player in Duke's 2011 recruiting class.  We're talking about a big time athletic wing forward who is ranked #26 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is great in the open court and good at attacking the basket.  He also is a tremendous competitor and an excellent defender and his outside shooting and ball handling skills continue to improve, which makes him ideally suited year after next to step in and be the wing forward of the future for the Blue Devils.  Gbinije picked Duke over schools like Maryland, Virginia Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson, West Virginia, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Alabama and he is exactly what the doctored to complement 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Josh Hairston from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'1 Tyler Thornton from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, and 6'6 Carrick Felix from Southern Idaho (JC) ID in a recruiting class that is currently ranked #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  And the best may still be yet to come, as the Blue Devils also are among the early favorites for 6'3 Jr Austin Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, 6'8 Jr Quincy Miller from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC, 5'11 Jr Quinn Cook from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'5 Jr Adonis Thomas from Memphis (Melrose) TN, and 6'10 Jr Marshall Plumlee from Arden (Christ School) NC.  We also are still waiting for the dominos to start falling with regards to all of the highly touted guards who are still on the board in this year's senior class and the first one that we think may fall is 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL. We still think Knight will pick the University of Kentucky, but he confused things a couple of days ago when he subtracted Miami-FL and added Syracuse to a list that already includes Kansas, Connecticut, and Arizona.  Knight also could mess things up for 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, if he were to instead opt for the University of Kansas and make his decision before Selby announces his decision at the Jordan Brand Classic in Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 17th.  And, if that happens, it's anybody's guess what will happen with regards to Selby, who also is still seriously considering schools like Kentucky, Arizona, and Connecticut.  A surprise commitment by Knight or Selby to the University of Connecticut could also have a direct impact on what happens with regards to 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'3 Cory Joseph from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV.  Right now Joseph's final five appears to be Connecticut, Villanova, Texas, Minnesota, and UNLV and Lamb still has Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut, Arizona, and West Virginia on his list.  We think the Huskies will likely get Lamb or Joseph, but not both of them, as they both appear to be interested in going somewhere they are the marquee guard in this year's recruiting class.  Our guess is that if Joseph picks the Huskies, then Lamb may end up at West Virginia, which already has a strong contingent of players that includes 6'9 Soph Devin Ebanks, 6'8 Frosh Kevin Jones, and 6'2 Frosh Darryl Bryant with New York City ties.  However, if Lamb picks the Huskies, then that could open the door for Villanova to win the race for Joseph, whose top three really are Connecticut, Villanova, and Texas.  We also think 6'2 Ray McCallum from Beverly Hills (Detroit Country Day) MI will decide to stay home and play for his Dad at the University of Detroit.  But McCallum also still has Arizona, UCLA, and Florida on his list, which could complicate things even further due to the fact that Knight, Selby, and Lamb are also is still considering the University of Arizona.  The same also can be said about 6'5 Trey Zeigler from Mt. Pleasant (H.S.) MI being likely to stay home and play for his Dad at Central Michigan.  However, Zeigler also has Michigan, Michigan State, Duke, and UCLA on his list and it's not inconceivable that UCLA head coach Ben Howland could put together a backcourt package that includes both McCallum and Zeigler.  Remember, the Bruins still need all of the immediate help the can find in the backcourt and Zeigler's father was an assistant coach at UCLA prior to taking over as boss of the Chippewas four years ago. 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

We are finally ready to publish Tim Miller's Texas Report, which can be found exclusively in the Members Section and includes his ranking of the top 129 seniors, top 88 juniors, top 77 sophomores, top 33 freshmen, top 27 8th Graders, Top 18 7th Graders, and top 21 7th Graders.  And, if that weren't enough, we also have some interesting analysis about each class and the top players in the state by yours truly; six all-state teams, which include the top 30-ranked players in the state regardless of class and position, and our First Team All-Time All-State Team, which includes Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis, Larry Johnson, and T.J. Ford.  Several people have already tried to tell me that we missed the boat by not putting Clyde Drexler on the First Team.  However, Drexler's only claim to fame in high school was a 34-point/27-rebound performance in a 1979 Christmas Tournament.  And, when the University of Houston beat schools like New Mexico State and Texas Tech for his services, the fans were upset, because they didn't think Drexler was good enough to play for the Cougars.  And this is important, because our rankings are based on what the player did in high school and not what he did in college or in the NBA.  The Texas Report  also provides the perfect complement to Rick Staudt's Florida Report, which was published on February 17th; Rick Lewis' North Carolina Report, which was published on February 12th; Dinos Trigonis' West Coast Report, which was published on February 4th; Lavel Johnson's Mississippi Report, which was published on January 27th; Andre Whitehead's Tennessee Report, which was published on January 21st; Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which was published on November 8th, and Horace Neysmith's Georgia Report, which was published on September 18th.  We also plan next week to publish Ron Naclerio's updated New York City Report and our Ranking of the Top Coaches in the Game Today; and later in the month to publish Adam Finkelstein's New England Report, which will include his ranking of the top players by class in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, and Antonio Curro's Upper Midwest Report, which will include his ranking of the top players by class in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.  So stay tuned!  Editor's Note:  Now also is a good time to remind everybody that we will be raising the price of a subscription to the Members Section from $45 to $49 per month a week from today.  Three-month, six-month, and one-year subscription will remain $125, 250, and $499, which gives you an added incentive to subscribe for an extended period of time, instead of just on a month-by-month basis.  We also will include everybody who subscribes or renews their subscription in a drawing where we will give the winners one lifetime subscription, two one-year subscriptions, three six-month subscriptions, four three-month subscriptions, and five one-month subscriptions to the Members Section of this web site.  Division I college coaches are not eligible, but everybody else is.  Everybody who subscribed in the month of February and three first three weeks in March also will be included in this drawing and anybody who buys a three-month subscription will get three shots at winning, instead of just one; anybody who buys a six-month subscription will get six shots a winning, instead of just one; and anybody who buys a one-year subscription will get 12 shots at winning, instead of just one.  And your chances of winning are a lot better than you might think, as this is our slowest time of the year.  The winners will be contacted during the three-day period after the first and-second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and prior to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semi-Finals and Finals.  So obviously now is the perfect time to extend your current subscription, as well as to tell your friends to subscribe to the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

It's kind of like the calm before the storm as people in the know think there could be as many as 20 to 25 head coaching openings at Division I schools within the next week.  This list already includes Dereck Whittenburg, who was fired on December 3rd by Fordham; Glen Miller, who was fired on December 14th by the University of Pennsylvania; Terry Dunn, who resigned on January 8th at Dartmouth; Jerry Wainwright, who was fired on January 11th by DePaul; Bennie Moss, who was fired on January 29th by UNC-Wilmington; Mike Deane, who was fired on March 1st by Wagner; Rick Scruggs, who was fired Monday by Gardner-Webb; Mack McCarthy, who decided yesterday to step down and be reassigned to a different job at East Carolina; Rand Chappel, who was fired yesterday at Central Arkansas; Bob Nash, who was fired yesterday by the University of Hawaii; Robert Lee, who was fired yesterday by Louisiana-Lafayette; and Ernie Kent, whose next loss at the University of Oregon will be his last.  And Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt, Rutgers's Fred Hill, St. John's Norm Roberts, Cincinnati's Mick Cronin, Penn State's Ed DeChellis, Auburn's Jeff Lebo, Iowa's Todd Lickliter, Houston's Tom Penders, Tulane's Dave Dickerson, UNC-Greensboro's Mike Dement, Furman's Jeff Jackson, Maryland-Baltimore County's Randy Monroe, Louisiana-Monroe's Orlando Early, Youngstown State's Jerry Slocum, Loyola-Illinois' Jim Whitesell, Idaho State's Joe O'Brien, Stetson's Derek Waugh, and Presbyterian's Gregg Nibbert are among the Division I head coaches right now who are on the hot seat.  The five names that we're hearing the most to replace Kent at the helm of the Ducks are Minnesota's Tubby Smith, Texas A&M's Mark Turgeon, Gonzaga's Mark Few, New Mexico's Steve Alford, and Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson.  And, if Turgeon were to make the move to Beaverton, OR or, if UTEP's Tony Barbee, who is one of the top up-and-coming young head coaches in the business, makes a move, that would open the door for Billy Gillispie to return to his old stamping grounds at either Texas A&M or UTEP.  It also wouldn't surprise us if Gillispie ended up at either the University of Houston or DePaul.  One person who does not appear to be in line for the DePaul job is Florida International head coach Isiah Thomas.  Our sources tell us that Thomas offered to take the job for free for three years, but the athletic director turned him down.  Other names that are being tossed around for the DePaul job are Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery, UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, Butler head coach Brad Stevens, Dayton head coach Brian Gregory, Ohio University head coach John Groce, Wright State head coach Brad Brownell, Western Kentucky head coach Ken McDonald, Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik, DePaul interim head coach Tracy Webster, and former Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus.  It also will be interesting to see whether Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley returns to the scene of the crime and takes the East Carolina job.  If you will recall, Dooley had a 57-52 record the first time around as boss of the Pirates and they've never been be able to duplicate the success that he had since he was fired at East Carolina 11 years ago.  Speaking of Dooley, he will be tied #1, along with Florida's Larry Shyatt and Louisville's Ralph Willard, on our list of the top assistant coaches in the country when we come out early next week with our annual Ranking of the Top Coaches in the Game Today.  There also is speculation that St. John's head coach Norm Roberts may have bought himself another year with impressive wins late in the season against Louisville, South Florida, and Connecticut and a pair of two-point losses to Marquette.  It also looks like it's 50-50 with regards to whether Lickliter hangs on at the University of Iowa.  A win tomorrow against Michigan will probably solidify things for another year.  However, if the Hawkeyes get beat by the Wolverines in tomorrow's opening round conference tournament game, then you can bet the chorus for Providence's Keno Davis and Tennessee's Bruce Pearl will get a lot louder.  We also continue to hear rumors about Auburn's Jeff Lebo beating the posse and returning home, if the Penn State job opens, and UTEP's Tony Barbee then stepping into the Auburn job.  We also have to wonder how much the University of Cincinnati, which finished the regular season with a 2-7 record, helped it's coach (Mick Cronin) with back-to-back wins over Rutgers and Louisville in the first two round of the Big East Tournament and just how locked in Frank Martin is to staying at Kansas State, if the right school comes calling? 

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The field is almost set for next week's NJCAA National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament, which will be held March 16th-20th in Hutchinson, KS, and the eight first round games in the tournament will feature Northwest Florida (JC) FL versus the winner of tonight's game between Williston State (JC) SD and Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA at 10:00 AM, Monroe (JC) NY versus the winner of tonight's game between Kankakee (JC) IL and Three Rivers (JC) MO at Noon, East Mississippi (JC) MS versus Brunswick (JC) NC at 2:00 PM, Navarro (JC) TX versus Middle Georgia (JC) GA at 4:30 PM, the winner of tonight's game between Sheridan (JC) WY and North Platt (JC) NE at 6:30 PM, and Wallace State (JC) AL versus Butler County (JC) KS at 8:30 PM on Tuesday, March 16th, and Walters State (JC) TN versus Connors State (JC) OK at 11:00 AM and  Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL versus Howard (JC) TX at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, March 17th.  The four quarterfinals winner's bracket games will be held at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM on Wednesday, March 17th, and 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM on Thursday, March 18th.  The two semi-finals games will be held on Friday, March 19th, at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM.  The 5th Place Game will be held at 2:00 PM, the 3rd Place Game will be held at 6:00 PM, and the Championship Game will be held at 8:00 PM on Saturday, March 20th.  However, the real national championship in the junior college ranks might have been played night before last when Howard (JC) TX, which is the #2-ranked junior college team in the nation, knocked off Midland (JC) TX, which is the #1-ranked junior college team in the nation, by a score of 76-66.  And, if Kankakee (JC) IL and North Platte (JC) NE both win tonight, Howard (JC) TX will head a list of 10 nationally ranked teams in this year's national junior college tournament.  A quick check of the National Junior College Web Site, which you can do by clicking onto NJCAA.org, shows that Howard (JC) TX is ranked #2, Conners State (JC) OK is ranked #4, Northwest Florida (JC) FL is ranked #5, Wallace State (JC) AL is ranked #8, Middle Georgia (JC) GA is ranked #9, Kankakee (JC) IL is ranked #10, East Mississippi (JC) MS is ranked #12, Butler County (JC) KS is ranked #15, North Platte (JC) NE is ranked #22, and Eastern Utah (JC) UT in the latest national junior college poll. 

Now also is a good time to catch up on all of the verbal commitments that have happened since we last talked about recruiting a week ago.  And right at the top of the list is the commitment that 6'6 Joel Wright form Somerset (Central Jersey Each One Tech One Academy) NJ made to Manhattan.  We're talking about a tough hardnosed athletic combo forward who is ranked #8 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, which makes him an absolute steal for the Jaspers.  And this isn't the first time that this product of Brooklyn (Thomas Jefferson) NY has elected to stay home.  If you will recall, Wright originally picked Fordham, but later reneged on the Rams right after Dereck Whittenburg got fired on December 3rd.  The addition of Wright moves Manhattan's recruiting class, which also includes 6'2 Mike Alvarado from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, 6'2 Mike Alvarado from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, and 6'1 Kidani Brutus from Carl Albert (JC) OK, into a tie at #71, along with Morehead State, UC-Riverside, Middle Tennessee State, and UTEP, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  However, even more important, Wright is good enough to step in and help 6'4 Jr Rico Pickett, who averaged 17.7 ppg and was one of the top players in the Metro Atlantic Conference this past season, provide the Jaspers with one of the best one-two punches in the league next year.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio also tells us that 6'3 Brandon Frazier from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY has elected to stay home and attend Hofstra University.  Frazier is ranked #431 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but also is one of the top 3-point shooters in New York City, which makes him ideally suited to complement 6'0 Devon McMillan from Uniondale (H.S.) NY and 6'7 Marvin Dominique from Winchendon (School) MA in this year's recruiting class.  Our Florida Editor Rick Staudt tells us that 6'6 Hauker Paulsson from Montverde (Academy) FL has picked the University of Maryland.  Paulsson is #36 in the state's senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and we expect this jack-off-all trades to be a good role player, as well as an important link for the Terrapins into one of the premier high school programs in the nation.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'8 Nemanja Mikic from Charlotte (United Faith Christian) NC has picked George Washington.  We're talking about a 6'8 wing forward who is originally from Serbia and is a lights out 3-point shooter.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 J.R. Cadet from Western Wyoming (JC) WY has verbally committed to Texas Christian, 6'5 Aaron Bowen from Winston-Salem (Quality Education Academy) NC has verbally committed to to Georgetown, and 6'7 Cleveland Melvin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA has reneged on the University of Connecticut.  And in the case of Melvin, it's a good thing, because we didn't think he was good enough for the Huskies.  Cadot is an explosive athletic wing forward who is averaging 16.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 2.4 spg.  Bowen is ranked #223 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and he originally verbally committed to Marquette back when he was a junior at Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL. 

Saturday, March 6, 2010, Sunday, March 7, 2010, & Monday, March 8, 2010

With NCAA Selection Sunday less than a week away and Conference Tournament Week already under way, now is a great time to take a look and see how things stand in terms of who will make the NCAA's field of 65, if the tournament were selected to day.  East Tennessee State (20-14) from the Atlantic Sun Conference, Winthrop (19-13) from the Big South Conference, Cornell (27-4) from the Ivy League, Northern Iowa (28-4) from the Missouri Valley Conference, and Murray State (30-4) from the Ohio Valley Conference have already won their conference tournaments and, as a result, already have secured automatic bids to this year's tournament.  And, as things stand right now, Vermont (22-9) in the America East Conference, Northern Colorado (24-6) in the Big Sky Conference, Pacific (20-10) in the Big West Conference, Old Dominion (25-8) in the Colonial Athletic Association, UTEP (24-5) in Conference USA, Butler (27-4) in the Horizon League, Siena (26-6) in the Metro Atlantic Conference, Kent State (23-8) in the Mid-American Conference, Morgan State (24-9) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Quinnipiac (23-8) in the Northeast Conference, Lehigh (21-10) in the Patriot League, Wofford (25-8) in the Southern Conference, Sam Houston State (22-7) in the Southland Conference, Jackson State (19-11) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Oakland (24-8) in the Summit League, Western Kentucky (19-11) in the Sun Belt Conference, and Utah State (25-6) in the Western Athletic Conference should be the sole representative from their respective leagues.  We also believe that the Mountain West Conference with New Mexico (28-3) and Brigham Young (28-4) and West Coast Conference with Gonzaga (26-5) and St. Mary's (25-5) should have two teams; the Atlantic-10 Conference with Temple (26-5), Richmond (24-7), and Xavier (23-7) and the Pacific-10 Conference with Arizona State (22-9), California (21-9), and Washington (21-9) should have three teams; the Big-10 Conference with Ohio Conference with Purdue (26-4), Ohio State (24-7), Michigan State (24-7), and Wisconsin (23-7) should have four teams; the Southeastern Conference with Kentucky (29-2), Tennessee (23-7), Vanderbilt (23-7), Mississippi (21-9), and Florida (20-11) should have five teams; the Big-12 Conference with Kansas (29-2), Kansas State (24-6), Baylor (24-6), Texas (23-8), Texas A&M (22-8), Missouri (22-9), and Oklahoma State (21-9) and the Atlantic Coast Conference with Duke (26-5), Maryland (23-7), Virginia Tech (23-7), Florida State (22-8), Clemson (21-9), Wake Forest (19-9), and Georgia Tech (19-11) should have seven teams; and the Big East Conference with Syracuse (28-3), West Virginia (24-6), Villanova (24-6), Pittsburgh (24-7), Notre Dame (21-10), Georgetown (20-9), Marquette (20-10), and Louisville (20-11) should have eight teams in this year's NCAA field of 65.  So we have 63 teams listed above, which leaves two spots remaining for teams like UNLV (23-7), Seton Hall (18-11), Memphis (23-8), and Mississippi State (21-10) that are right on the bubble or somebody that pulls off a major upset in their conference tournament (i.e. if Wright State knocks off Butler in tomorrow night's Horizon League Championship Game and/or later this week Memphis wins the Conference USA Tournament Championship).  Right now we think the 64th team is the Runnin' Rebels, which are ranked #41 in the Sagarin Ratings and have a 2-3 record against top 25-ranked teams and a 4-4 record against top 50-ranked teams.  However, UNLV's strength of schedule, which is ranked #103 by Sagarin is suspect at best.  We also give the edge to Seton Hall over Connecticut, Cincinnati, and South Florida as the next team from the Big East Conference.  The Sagarin Ratings currently have Seton Hall ranked #48, Connecticut ranked #50, Cincinnati ranked #58, and South Florida ranked #63.  However, Seton Hall is only 1-7 against a top 25-ranked team and only 3-10 against top 50-ranked teams.  In contrast, Connecticut is 3-5 against top 25-ranked teams and 5-9 against top 50-ranked teams, Cincinnati is 1-6 against top 25-ranked teams and 5-11 against top 50-ranked teams, and South Florida is 2-3 against 25-ranked teams and 4-7 against top 50-ranked teams.  Cincinnati also wins the strength of schedule comparison with the 4th toughest schedule in the nation.  Connecticut checks in with the 6th toughest schedule, while Seton Hall faced the 28th toughest schedule and South Florida played against the 42nd toughest schedule.  Moral to the story, if any of these teams gets hot and wins three or four games in the Big East Conference Tournament, then it will be tough to keep them out of the NCAA Tournament.  Memphis' strength of schedule, which is ranked #141 by Sagarin, is not on the Tigers side.  However, five of the Tigers' eight losses have come against NCAA-bound teams and this is a team that has won seven of its last eight games.  Mississippi State, which currently is ranked #55 by Sagarin could sink or swim real fast depending upon what happens when the Bulldogs face the Florida/Auburn winner in the first round and the Vanderbilt/Arkansas/Georgia winner in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.  The same also can be said about Minnesota (18-12), if the Golden Gophers can knock off Penn State in the first round and Michigan State in the second round, and/or Illinois (18-13), if the Fighting Illini can knock off Wisconsin in the second round and the Ohio State/Michigan/Iowa winner in the semi-finals of the Big-10 Conference Tournament. 

Friday, March 5, 2010

Five-Star Basketball Camp is celebrating its 45th year and this spring and summer the camp "where the teaching never stops" will feature 96 sessions on five continents around the world.  And, while the emphasis at Five-Star has always been on teaching and getting better, it still has more than its share of good players, as is evident by the fact that 11 players who are alumni of the camp were named to play in this year's prestigious McDonald's All-American Game.  This list includes 6'3 Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'2 Kyrie Irving from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'2 Josh Selby from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'7 DeShawn Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'8 Tobias Harris from Dix Hill (Half Hallow Hills West) NY, 6'5 Doron Lamb from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Perry Jones from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Keith Appling from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'5 Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'7 Jereme Richmond from Waukegan (H.S.) IL.  A good way to break things down is by region and Metro NYC includes all of the sessions in New York City, New Jersey, and Northeast Pennsylvania; New England includes all of the sessions in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts; Midwest includes all of the sessions in Pittsburgh, PA, Slippery Rock, PA, Louisville, KY, and Missouri; Chicago includes all of the sessions at Romeoville, IL; South includes all of the sessions in Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina; Florida includes of the sessions in Orlando, FL; West Coast includes the two sessions in San Diego, CA; and Texas includes all the sessions in Waco, TX.  The camp also will have sessions in five international locations (China, Canada, Turkey, Serbia, and the United Kingdom).  The face of Five-Star will always be the legendary Howard Garfinkel, who, along with Will Klein and Roy Rubin, was one of the founders of the camp.  Will Klein and his son Leigh Klein are the current owners of the camp.  The younger Klein also is the President of the Camp, Tony Bergeron is the Program Director/Recruiting Coordinator, Shay Berry is the Executive Vice President, and Adam Parmenter is the Director of Development.  This year's schedule tips off this weekend and next weekend with the Five-Star/Blue Streak Basketball Academy in Chelsea Piers, NY.  There also will be an Offensive Skills Clinic in Island Garden, NY on April 1st and a Development Camp at Central High School in Louisville, KY on April 10th.  And the list of camps that are currently on the schedule for this summer include Five-Star South I at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, VA on June 11th-14th; Five-Star South II at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, VA on June 14th-17th; Five-Star NYC Metro I at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY on June 20th-23rd; Five-Star NYC Metro II at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ on June 24th-27th; Five Star-NYC Metro III at East Stroudsburg University in Stroudsburg, PA on June 27th-30th; Five Star West I at Alliant University in San Diego, CA on June 28th-July 1st; Five Star-Chicago I at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL on June 30th-July 3rd; Five Star-Texas I at Baylor University in Waco, TX on July 2nd-5th; Five-Star-Texas II in Waco, TX on July July 5th-8th; Five-Star Chicago II at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL on July 5th-8th; Five-Star-New England I at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI on July 5th-8th; Five Star South III at Carolina Courts in Indian Trails, NC on July 6th-9th; Five-Star Midwest I at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, PA on July 7th-10th; Five-Star New England II at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI on July 8th-11th; Five-Star Midwest II at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, PA on July 10th-13th; Five-Star Midwest III at Louisville, KY on July 12th-15th; Five-Star New England III at Franklin-Pierce University in Rindge, NH on July 13th-16th; Five-Star Midwest IV at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock PA on July 20th-23rd; Five-Star Florida I at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL on July 22nd-25th; Five-Star Midwest V at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, PA on July 24th-27th; Five-Star Florida II at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL on July 25th-28th; Five-Star New England IV at Franklin-Pierce University in Rindge, NH on July 23rd-26th; Five-Star NYC-Metro IV in East Stroudsburg University in Stroudsburg, PA on July 25th-28th; Five-Star Midwest VI at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, PA on July 27th-30th; Five-Star Florida Super Session at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL on July 28th-31st; Five Star-Chicago III at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL on July 28th-31st; Five-Star South IV at Reinhardt College in Waleska, GA on July 28th-31st; Five-Star NYC Metro V at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ on July 30th-August 2nd; Five-Star New England V at Springfield College in Springfield, MA on August 1st-4th; Five-Star Midwest VII at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO on August 4th-7th; Five-Star NYC-Metro VI at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA on August 5th-8th; Five Star West II at Alliant University in San Diego, CA on August 9th-12th; Five-Star United Kingdom at Leeds Metropolitan University in Carnegie Village, England on August 9th-13th; Five-Star Super Session in Chicago, IL on August 13th-15th; Five-Star Brewster Day Camp in Brewster, NY on August 16th-20th; Five-Star NYC-Metro VII at the Sixers Camp Facility in Stroudsburg, PA on August 22nd-25th; Five-Star NYC-Metro VIII at the Sixers Camp Facility in Stroudsburg, PA on August 25th-28th; Five-Star NYC-Metro IX at the Frenchwoods Facility in Hancock, NY on August 29th-September 1st; and the Five Star East Coast Super Session at a site and date yet to be determined.  That last session is always Five-Star's best session, as it historically features the top players from New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC and from around the nation.  However, the sessions at Hampden-Syndey and in Louisville, KY and the Super Sessions in Florida and Chicago, IL also promise to feature high level talent and, as a result, promise to be very good.  For even more information about Five-Star or to enroll in a session of camp we encourage you to go to their web site at Five-Star Basketball Camp.  You can also call 1-(914) 964-6540, fax 1-866-508-5369, email info@five-starbasketball.com, or write 555 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY  10510. 

Thursday, March 4, 2010

At 80-years-old and, after spending 42-years of his life as co-owner and Program Director of the famed Five-Star Basketball Camp, the legendary Howard Ginfinkel appears to be ready to start out on a new endeavor by starting Garf's Coaching Stars, Inc.  And we think this could be an excellent niche for the guy who also started the H.S.B.I Report in 1966, is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, was a Recipient of the 2006 Anaconda Life Achievement Award, is a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee and the Naismith College Player of the Year Selection Committee, and edited Five-Star Basketball Drills, which was the largest selling drill book for any sport at any time in America.  And the list of coaches who have come up through the ranks lecturing and teaching at Five-Star is like a Who's Who in Basketball.  It includes Hubie Brown, Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Larry Brown, Chuck Daley, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Mike Fratello, Jack Ramsey, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Dunleavey, Billy Donovan, Roy Williams, Dick Vitale, George Raveling, Richie Adubato, Lute Olson, Tubby Smith, Gary Williams, Dave Odom, Kevin O'Neill, Bob McKillop, Skip Prosser, Herb Sendek, Seth Greenberg, Tommy Amaker, Pete Gillen, Bobby Gonzalez, Mike Jarvis, Todd Lickliter, Charlie Coles, James Flint, Jerry Wainwright, Kerry Keating, Ed Schilling, Al Rhodes, et al.  There also have been over 300 Five-Star counselors and/or high school and AAU coaches that have worked Five-Star and have gone on to coach at the collegiate level.  And 35 of those have ended up in the NBA.  Along the way Garfinkel has also played an active role helping the majority of these guys get their first coaching job and later move up the coaching ladder.  So it makes perfect sense that Garfinkel is starting his own search firm.  And, in a day and age where an overwhelming number of athletic directors have no clue and more often than not hire the wrong guy, there is definitely a need for somebody on the inside who knows all the people and what it takes to be a successful coach at every level of the basketball spectrum.  Garfinkel also has a very impressive list of testimonials and they begin with one of the best coaches in the history of the game.  "I've known Howard for almost four decades and he's as good a basketball person as I've ever met," says Duke's Mike Krzyzewski.  "His knowledge of the game and the coaches in it is remarkable."  Next, one of the top athletic directors in the game addresses what somebody like Howard Garfinkel and Garf's Coaching Stars, Inc. means to him.  "Garf's network of contacts is second to none when it comes to college basketball," says St. Joseph's University Athletic Director Don Di Julia.  "He has the unique ability to understand your needs and make the proper recommendation to fit your school."  The winningest Division I head coach in the history of the game also provides some high praise.  "Garf has done more for coaches and kids than anyone I know," says Bob Knight.  "His opinion on who can coach and play...or who can't ...is impeccable.  I endorse his services highly."  The best basketball mind and game tactician in the history of the game also weighs in.  "He's the finest evaluator of coaching and playing talent in the last 50 years!" says television analyst Hubie Brown.  "At the Five-Star Camp nearly 300 high school coaches or college players moved into the college coaching ranks, 35 of those to the NBA.  We all are indebted to Garf for opening the doors to success."  And the voice of college basketball for nearly three decades provides his own endorsement.  "I have known and admired "Super Garf" for over 40 years and his knowledge of hoop coaches and players is Awesome Baby with a Capital A!" says ESPN television analyst Dick Vitale.  "He has great feel for people and owns superior honesty and awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the talent he's evaluating.  I strongly recommend "Garf's Coaching Stars" for your coaching search."  For more information you can contact Mr. Garfinkel in a number of different ways.  The first is via home phone at 1-(212) 246-3063 or cell phone at 1-(646) 275-9818.  The second is email to info@garfscoachingstars.com.  The third is via the U.S. Mail.  Inquires should be send to Howard Garfinkel, 65 West 55th Street, New York, NY  10019. 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that it's funny sometimes how things turn out and he cites 6'10 Jr Rakeem Christmas from Bryn Athyn (Academy of the New Church) PA as a classic example.  If you will recall, we alluded to the fact a couple of months ago that 6'8 Jr LaQuinton Ross, who at the time was on the verge of transferring from Jackson (Murrah) MS to Burlington (Life Center) NJ, would step in immediately and become the best junior in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey area.  But since that time Christmas has taken his game to another level and, as a result, there is now little doubt that Christmas is still the best junior in the area.  And, of course, there is 6'4 D.J. Newbill from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, who was touted by Rubin as the best unsigned senior in the area prior to making a verbal commitment to the Marquette University on the very next day.  Rubin also tells us that 6'4 Anthony Myles from Camden (Poly Tech) DE has verbally committed to Rider.  And this is huge, because this slashing athletic 2-guard is terrific at getting to the basket, plays great defense, and is ranked #171 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Rubin also tells us that the word on the street is that 6'9 Jamir Hanner from Newark (Alif Muhammad Nia Prep) NJ has verbally committed to Seton Hall.  Yes, that's the same guy who a month ago we saw finish with 20 points, 17 rebounds, 10-20 field goals, and three steals against Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH in the 2010 National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI.  He's definitely what the doctor ordered for the Pirates, but we were under the impression that they had this one on hold due to the fact that Hanner is still a long way away from qualifying academically.  It also looks like the University of Nebraska has a major steal in 6'4 Caleb Walker from Butler County (JC) KS, who is not ranked among the top 150 players in the junior college ranks by JucoJunction.com, but is the Jayhawk West Conference Player-of-the-Year.  He is best described as a strong tough slashing athletic wing forward with the experience and leadership skills necessary to step in and start immediately next season.  Walker also appears to be exactly what the doctor ordered for Cornhuskers' head coach Doc Sadler, because he's a very good defender and isn't afraid to go to war on the boards and match up against bigger and just as athletic wing forwards.  We also are intrigued by the verbal commitment that 6'11 Darrell Haley from Palmdale (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #289 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made to Virginia Commonwealth.  Haley isn't very skilled and doesn't get a lot done.  But he has an incredible wing span, can run the court like a deer, and is just oozing with potential and athleticism.  He also should be an excellent complement to 6'7 Toby Veal from Northwest Florida (JC) FL, 6'7 Reco McCarter from Goldsboro (Wayne Country Day) NC, and 6'3 Rob Brandenberg from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH in a recruiting class that is now tied at #42, along with Maryland and Idaho, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010.  There also are the two early verbal commitments made by 6'8 Soph Jordan Goodman from Upper Marlboro (Progressive Christian) MD to Georgetown and 6'2 Soph Larry Lewis from Scottsdale (Arcadia) AZ to USC.  Lewis was ranked #37 in the sophomore class by Dinos Trigonis when we published his West Coast Report a month ago and Lewis averaged 24.0 ppg this past season.  He also isn't done growing yet, has a big upside, and should fit in perfectly with all of the other good players that Kevin O'Neill and his staff already have in this year's and next year's recruiting classes.  If you will recall, the Trojans also already have 6'5 Bryce Jones from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'9 Curtis Washington from Elizabethtown (H.S.) KY, 6'7 Garrett Jackson from Portland (Westview) OR, and 5'7 Maurice Jones from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI in a recruiting class that is tied at #48, along with Xavier, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2010 and 7'0 Jr DeWayne Dedmon from Antelope Valley (JC) CA, 6'1 Jr Gelaun Wheelwright from Corona (Centennial) CA, and 6'5 Jr Byron Wesley from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA in a recruiting class that is ranked #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2011.  In other words, O'Neill is more than living up to his reputation as a masterful recruiter and he ought to make sure that Gib Arnold and Bob Cantu, who are two of the most astute and hardest working assistant coaches in the business, both get big fat raises.  Goodman is ranked #102 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but now it appears that he's been reclassified sophomore.  Goodman is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, but eventually will likely project as a wing forward due to the fact that he's an excellent 3-point shooter and his other perimeter skills continue to improve. 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis looks pretty good right now with regards to 6'8 Sr Jamal Boykin, who is averaging 11.6 ppg and 6.7 rpg, has already recorded six double-doubles this season, and was named the conference's Player-of-the-Week after leading the Golden Bears to a least a share of the Pac-10 title for the first time since the 1959-60 season.  If you will recall, the same so-called experts who more recently tried to sell everybody on the fact that Jerime Anderson would be the next great point guard at UCLA tried passed Boykin off as being not big enough nor athletic enough when he was in high school to play in the Pacific-10 Conference.  However, Boykin signed with Duke and, after being a journeyman for the Blue Devils for a year, has been a three-year starter on a team that has gone 59-35 and is well on its way towards advancing into the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.  Trigonis also points out that Boykin is the overachieving blue collar type of player that is the ideal role model in a day-and-age where entitlement and an over sense of self-worth is the order of the day.  "It's guys like that with a chip on their shoulder who have made the HOOP SCOOP look good over the years," says Trigonis.  "He's not the sexist player, but he has that blue collar work ethic, is a tremendous competitor, and is one of the nicest kids you'll ever meet.  So I'm thrilled the way things have turned out for this tough hardnosed power forward who has played a key role in the Golden Bears' success this season."  We also look pretty good on this one, because we had Boykin ranked #30 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2005.  And just to keep Trigonis honest, I also want to remind him that I always thought Boykin was a power forward and would never project as wing forward at the big time college level.  And Boykin's 0-2 3-point shooting and the fact that he's had eight double-digit rebounding games this year reinforces this position even further.  Moral to the story, figure out what you do best and let it take you as far as it can take you.  In this case, Boykin probably won't make it in the NBA, but he'll probably have a great nest egg when he retires from playing pro basketball overseas in 10 or 15 years.  Trigonis also wants me to take a minute and mention the 2nd Annual Fullcourt Press Easter Classic will be held on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, April 9th-11th at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV and surrounding area gyms.  The tournament will consist of 40 elite clubs and 16 teams in the 16-Under, 15-Under, and 14-Under age groups.  The top elite teams scheduled to participate include California Supreme, which won the tournament in 2009, Belmont Shore, Compton Magic, Dream Vision, Team Odom, Stoneridge Prep, Las Vegas Prospects, Inland, San Francisco Rebels, Branch West, Arizona Dream Team, Arizona Rebels, Danny Granger Hurricanes, San Diego All-Stars, A-Train, Belmont Shore Gold, Salt Lake Select, Organized Chaos, Las Vegas, Dogcatchers, 94 Feet, NorCal Supreme, Channing Frye Elite, San Diego Magic, Gamepoint, Golden Gators, and the Las Vegas Vegas Rebels.  The 14-Under Division will include California Supreme, Team Jennings, Pump-n-Run, Las Vegas Prospects, Danny Granger Hurricanes, and Arizona Stars.  The list of the top prospects expected to be in attendance includes 6'10 Enes Kanter from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'9 Tshilidzi Nephawe from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'7 Clint Bozner from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Steven Thornton from Simi Valley )Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'8 Reggie Murphy from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'5 Dominique Carr from Riverside (North) CA, 6'9 Parker Dalrymple from Sierra Vista (Buena) AZ, 6'1 Maverick Ahmanesi from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'8 Jr DeAndre Daniels from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'9 Jr Norvel Pelle from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'0 Jr Cezar Guerrero from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'9 Jr Kevin Johnson from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 5'10 Jr Jahii Carson from Phoenix (Mountain Pointe) AZ, 6'5 Jr Byron Wesley from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Jr Wesley Saunders from Los Angeles (Windward) CA, 6'7 Jr Damien Cain from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'6 Jr Amir Garrett from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA, 6'7 Jr Ramon Eaton from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 6'5 Jr Darius Nelson from Sheldon (Sacramento) CA, 6'4 Jr Dominique Dunning from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'8 Jr Ronnie Stevens from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'2 Jr Michael Thompson from Las Vegas (Canyon Springs) NV, 6'0 Jr C.J. Cooper from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'2 Jr Norman Powell from San Diego (Lincoln) CA, 6'0 Jr Tyrell Corbin from Salt Lake City (West) UT, 6'1 Jr Alexis Moore from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 6'4 Jr Ryan Oliver from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'1 Soph Bruce English from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'5 Jr Christian Garrett from Westlake Village (Oaks Christian) CA, 6'8 Jr Phil Smith from Reno (McQueen) NV, 6'2 Jr Martyre DeMarco from Phoenix (Shadow Mountain) AZ, 6'4 Jr Cory Alford from Albuquerque (La Cueva) NM, 6'7 Jr Xavier Jones from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'5 Soph Shabazz Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'7 Soph Winston Shepard from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'8 Soph Grant Jerrett from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'11 Soph Isaiah Austin from Arlington (Grace Prep) TX, 6'2 Soph Gabe York from Orange (Lutheran) CA, 6'7 Soph Rosco Allen from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'7 Soph David Andoh from San Jose (St. Teresa) CA, 6'7 Soph Grant Verhoeven from Visalia (Central Valley) CA, 5'10 Soph Chass Bryant from Westlake Village (Oaks Christian) CA, 6'1 Soph Demetrius Balark from Glendale (Kellis) AZ, 6'4 Soph Riley Bradshaw from Corvallis (H.S.) MT, 5'11 Soph Khalid Banks from Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV, 6'7 Soph Justin Griego from Albuquerque (La Cueva) NM, 6'2 Frosh Nigel Williams-Goss from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV, 6'3 Frosh Tyree Robinson from San Diego (Lincoln) CA, 6'3 Frosh Tyrel Robinson from San Diego (Lincoln) CA, 6'2 Frosh Eric Cooper from La Verne (Lutheran) CA, 6'5 Frosh Roschon Prince from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 6'4 Frosh Rashad Muhammad from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'2 Frosh Cullen Neal from Albuquerque (Eldardo) NM, 6'2 Frosh Bryce Alford from Albuquerque (Cueva) NM, 5'6 Frosh Silas Gaines from Rancho Cucamonga (Los Osos) CA, and 6'4 Frosh Nick Colletta from La Verne (Lutheran) CA.  For even more information about this and all of other events that Trigonis will be running this spring, summer, and fall, you can call him 1-(562) 248-2448, email him at trigonis30@aol.com, or go to his web site at fullctpress.net.

Monday, March 1, 2010

I've gotten a number of calls within the last week from compliance officers at NCAA Division I college and universities about the recent NCAA legislation regarding recruiting and scouting services and, as a result, I have decided to address each of the seven items that are in NCAA Bylaw 13.14.3, which are in blue.  My responses are in black.  1)  Your service is made available to all institutions desiring to subscribe and at the same fee rate for all subscribers?  Invoices are sent to Division I college coaches wishing to subscribe on an annual basis and it is their choice whether they subscribe online or via a check through the mail.  The HOOP SCOOP's subscription prices are available to all at $499 per year, $250 for six months, $125 for three months, and $45 for one-month ($49 per month after Wednesday, March 17th).  2)   You publicly identify all applicable rates?  The HOOP SCOOP's subscription rates are applicable to all and can be found by going to the HOOP SCOOP's home page and clicking onto subscribe.  3)   You disseminate information (e.g., reports, profiles) about prospective student-athletes at least four times per calendar year?  We publish enough information to fulfill this requirement on a weekly basis.  4)   You provide information via your website (e.g., do not send out hard copy and/or e-mail reports) please note this.  All of our information is disseminated via our web site, which can be found at http://www.hoopscooponline.com.  5)   You publicly identify the geographical scope of your service (e.g., local, regional, national) and it reflects broad-based coverage of the geographical area in the information you provide/ disseminate?  The HOOP SCOOP began as a publication that would cover college and high school basketball in Kentucky & Indiana in 1983, but quickly become national in scope.  And now we spell this fact out on our homepage.  6)   You provide analysis in the information you post/disseminate beyond demographic information or rankings of prospective student-athletes?  The HOOP SCOOP provides a plethora of information, which includes national player rankings; state-by-state and regional reports; coverage of camps, tournaments, and events; rankings of the top recruiting classes; and analysis of recruits, where they fall on the spectrum, and how they will fit in once they have picked a Division I college or university.  7)   You provide access to samples or previews of the information you post/disseminate prior to purchase of a subscription and/or subscribing?  If you provide video is restricted to regularly scheduled (regular season) high school, preparatory school or two-year college contests and for which a university made no prior arrangements for recording?  (Note:  This provision is applicable only if the subscription includes video services.)  The visitors section of this web site has our Ranking of the Top 20 Recruiting Classes from the Conclusion of the Fall Signing Period; our up-to-date ranking of the top 10 players nationally in each class ranging from 5th Year Players to 6th Graders; and, at least once a week, we publish something in the visitors section in an attempt to entice people to want more and eventually subscribe to the Members Section.  And to go one step even further, ESPN's Dana O'Neil mentioned us in a favorable light in her article on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 when she talked about "cleaning up college basketball from within" and wrote about proposed NCAA legislation under the heading "Payments to recruiting services run by people associated with prospects."  She said "these aren't to be confused with the legit services run by people like Dave Telep, Tom Konchalski, and Clark Francis, who work independently of any team."  And, in addition to having been the Editor & Publisher of the HOOP SCOOP since 1983, I also get a vote for the prestigious McDonald's All-American Team, have been recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the top people in our field, and have stood the test of time.

I also have several commitments to pass along, including 6'0 Danny Lawhorn from South Kent (Prep) CT, who picked Fordham on Saturday, and 6'8 Brian Gibson from Delgado (JC) LA, who picked the University of Wyoming over the weekend.  The commitment by Gibson is interesting, because this 6'8, 235-pound freshman is currently the leading rebounder in the nation in the junior college ranks with 14.5 rpg.  He also is averaging 12.1 ppg and 2.2 bpg and will have three years to play due to the fact that he sat out a year ago after being injured in a car accident.  He also is 25-years-old, which means he has a lot more maturity than the stereotypical junior college player.  The commitment by Lawhorn is big for several reasons.  First, this unselfish point guard with good ball handling and passing skills and excellent court vision is ideally suited to step in and complement 6'7 Frosh Chris Gaston, who is currently averaging 18.0 ppg and 11.1 rpg and is the one bright spot on a 2-24 team, and 6'6 Jayon James from Paterson (Catholic) NJ and 6'3 Sean Armand from Somerset (Central Jersey Each One Teach One Academy) NJ, who are already apart of Fordham's current recruiting class.  Second, with a lightning quick point guard (Lawhorn), an excellent scoring 2-guard (Armand), and a strong physical athletic combo forward (James) all having made verbal commitments to the Rams since Dereck Whittenburg got fired on December 3rd, it stands to reason that Fordham interim head coach Jared Grasso may know something that we don't.  And we hope that 2+2 does equal four, because Grasso is one of the bright young coaches in the business.  He also has all the necessary contacts for the purposes of recruiting, as is evident by the fact that he's established himself as an assistant coach with stops at Fordham, Quinnipiac, and Hartford and was a star basketball player in college at Quinnipiac and in high school at Huntington (St. Anthony) NJ.