Saturday, March 31, 2001

Xavier head coach Skip Prosser didn't tip his hand one way or the other when we asked him if he was going to take the Seton Hall job earlier today at the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis, MN.  However, a lot of other coaches and people in the business believe that it is a very real possibility.   And if does happen, wouldn't Siena head coach Lou Orr be perfect for the Xavier job? Remember, Orr was an assistant at Xavier during the Pete Gillen era.  Another name we're already hearing for Xavier is Cincinnati assistant coach Mick Cronin, but we'd be surprised if he Musketeers hire an assistant from their neighboring rival school.  That would be like the University of Louisville hiring Rick Pitino.  We also believe that Tulsa head coach Buzz Peterson is now the heavy favorite to get the Tennessee job.   As a matter of fact, Peterson was seen sitting next to interim Tennessee head coach Chris Ferguson at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse after the second semi-final game earlier tonight in Minneapolis, MN.  So obviously we believe Peterson will retain Ferguson when he gets the job.  Getting back to the Seton Hall job, if Prosser doesn't become the new head coach of the Pirates, Iona head coach Jeff Ruland appears to be the next one in line.  If you will recall, it was reported several weeks ago that Ruland had gotten a new eight-year contract with Gaels, but the word we're getting now is that he never signed on the dotted line.  Also still being mentioned for Seton Hall is Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, but it appears that he has a much better shot at Rutgers.  Apparently Rutgers athletic director Bob Mulcahy has smarted up and is going after some of the top young go-getters in the game, as Gonzalez, Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski, and Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey are all now being mentioned  We also have heard American University head coach Jeff Jones as a possibility for St. Bonaventure and the three finalists for Duquesne are former Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, Robert Morris head coach Danny Nee, and former Howard University head coach Butch Beard.  And how about Portland Trailblazers head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr, to the University of South Carolina? And that would be a perfect fit, because he's the high profile type guy they Gamecocks are looking for to replace Eddie Fogler, who was forced out two weeks ago, and restore the program to national prominence.

Friday, March 30, 2001

One of the first people we saw when we arrived in Minneapolis, MN two days ago for the NCAA Final Four was CBS Studio host Clark Kellogg.  Among the insight he provided were his thoughts about the Duke-Maryland.  Not only does he think Maryland matches up extremely well against Duke, but actually predicted that the Terrapins would upset the Blue Devils in the second semi-final game on Saturday night.   Normally we would not disagree, but barring a minor miracle, we just don't see it happening in the NCAA Final Four.  Remember, teams that have been here before are at huge advantage, because they know how to handle the insanity and hoopla that goes advancing to one of the biggest media events in all of sports.  However, predicting the other semi-final game between Illinois and Michigan State isn't as easy.   Michigan State returns a lot of experience from a team that has been here each of the last three years.  But on paper we think Arizona has more talent.  Also Arizona head coach Lute Olson is no stranger to the NCAA Final Four. His first NCAA Final Four appearance was in 1980 at Iowa and he's been here four times since in 1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001 with Arizona.  As a matter of fact, in the history of the game only John Wooden (12 times), Dean Smith (11 times), Mike Krzyzewski (nine times), Denny Crum (six times), Adolph Rupp (six times), Bobby Knight (five times), Guy Lewis (five times), and Lute Olson (five times) have made five or more NCAA Final Four appearances.  So in our opinion very little has changed since prior to the season when we ranked Michigan State #1, Arizona #2, Duke #3, and Maryland #6.  We also had Illinois, which knocked off three of the four Final Four teams (Michigan State, Arizona, and Maryland), ranked #4 in our pre-season rankings.  However, I was a little off with regards to Michigan State's freshmen and, as a result, I'm  tired of hearing what a great season Michigan State's Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor both had.  Instead, I thought both were a little disappointing.  That's right!  I find it hard to believe that Randolph only averaged 10.8.ppg and 6.8 rpg and Taylor averaged 7.4 ppg.  In other words, if I'd known they weren't going live up to their high school rankings (Randolph was the HOOP SCOOP's #1 ranked player and Taylor finished ranked among our top five last spring), I might not have ranked the Spartans as our pre-season #1 team.   Speaking of not living up to expectations, Kellogg was another player who didn't live up his incredible potential and expectations.  As a matter of fact, I told Kellogg that I remember seeing him in the 1979 Derby Classic and to this day he is one of the top five high school players I have ever seen.  However, Kellogg, who is one the great ambassadors for the game, did have an excuse.  If you will remember, his career was cut short by injuries. 

Can you believe Richmond head coach John Beilein appears to be on the verge getting the Rutgers job?  Sure, Beilein is a terrific game coach, but we're not sure he has the strong New York City and North Jersey ties necessary to get it done on the recruiting trail.  As a result, if it becomes official, it would be even more important for him to retain current Rutgers assistant Danny Hurley and keep former Rutgers point guard Geoff Billet on board also would be a good idea.  Remember, Billet's younger brother - Todd Billet has continued the family tradition as the current starting point guard at Rutgers and the Billet family is a major part of the basketball community in Central and North Jersey.  Also former N.C. State All-American and current Santa Fe (JC) FL head coach Monte Towe got the head coaching job at New Orleans.  This comes as somewhat of a surprise, because several days ago we were told that LSU assistant coach Kermit Davis was in line for the job.   The latest name we're hearing for the University of Tennessee may also surprise you.  We're talking about Western Kentucky head coach Dennis Felton, who in three short years has totally turned the Hilltoppers program around.  We continue to hear Xavier head coach Skip Prosser's name being mentioned for Seton Hall, but people close to Prosser tell us he's not interested.  Instead, we believe the smart move for the Pirates would be to go after Iona head coach Jeff Ruland.  If you will recall, Ruland recently signed a new long term contract with the Gaels, but Seton Hall can give him double what he's making now and he'd own New York, if he got the job.  Another person who would own New York, if he got the Seton Hall job, is Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, who is widely recognized as the ultimate recruiter.  And doing a good sales job on Seton Hall's current players will be extra important no matter who the next coach is at this small catholic school in South Orange, NJ.  Already we're hearing Pirates point guard Andre Barrett being mentioned as a possible transfer to Michigan. Marcus Toney-El is also being mentioned as possible transfer, Eddie Griffin is almost guaranteed to declare hardship for the NBA draft this spring, and 6'11 Samuel Dalembert is expected to first test the waters in the NBA, but more likely will end up playing professionally next year in France.  In other words, if you think things fell apart last season at Seton Hall, you may not have seen anything yet. 

We had heard on Monday that 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC, who is ranked as one of the top point guards in the junior class nationally, was going to steal a little of the show for himself on Wednesday by making an early verbal commitment to North Carolina earlier in the day in Latta, SC and then traveling to Durham, NC for the McDonald's All American Game.  Unfortunately it got lost in the shuffle (we're at the NCAA Final Four), but Brick Oettinger of the Prep Stars, Recruiter's Handbook, and CNN/SI has confirmed that Felton did indeed make it official for the Tar Heels at a 1:30 PM press conference at Latta High School on Wednesday afternoon.  Felton was also seen sitting in the first row at the McDonald's All American Game on Wednesday night with 6'9 Jr Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC and 6'4 Jr J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA.  This is especially interesting, because Redick committed last fall to Duke, Felton is now verbally committed to the Tar Heels, and Randolph, who is a consenus top five junior nationally and is the highest touted player to come out of North Carolina since Jerry Stackhouse, is the top priority for the both schools.   Felton is exactly what the doctor order for the Tar Heels, because he will solve the North Carolina's point guard question mark a year from now once and for all.   Remember, Ronald Curry's basketball status has been questionable since the day he arrived at North Carolina, due to his role as quarterback on the football team and injuries that have plagued him much of his college career.  And 6'2 Melvin Scott from Baltimore (Southern) MD,  who is a terrific slasher and talented basketball player, but we question whether he's ready to become a pure point guard in the ACC, isn't the ultimate answer for Tar Heels head coach Matt Doherty either.  However, Felton, who is tremendous at controlling the game and running the show, should be ready to immediately step in and lead the Tar Heels back to the NCAA Final Four year after next.  "Felton's ability to run a team and understanding of the game reminds me of Phil Ford," says Oettinger.  "But Felton has a lot better speed, quickness, and leaping ability than Ford and he's much better defender.  Ford didn't have the footspeed to hawk the ball defensively like this Felton does."

We are starting to believe that Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien may be in line for the Cleveland Cavaliers job, if it opens this spring.  And if O'Brien does get the job, this would create great confusion in the NBA, because you would have two coaches in the league with the same name.  Speaking of the other Jim O'Brien, we continue to hear that the interim coach of the Boston Celtics, who has done such a good job replacing Rick Pitino, will get that job on a permanent basis.   We are also hearing Ohio State assistant coach Dave Spiller, who is one of the best recruiters in the business, being mentioned for both Towson State and St. Bonaventure.  Actually we think Spiller is ideally suited for St. Bonaventure, because he's got the ties necessary to get players from both the Midwest and the East Coast.  As expected, Bo Ryan got the head coaching job at the University of Wisconsin two days ago, so now we're watching to see how gets his old job at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Right now the four names we're hearing are Marquette assistant coach Tod Kowalczyk, Hampton head coach Steve Merfeld, former Ohio University head coach Larry Hunter, and former Wisconsin assistant Shawn Hood.  Getting back to the Wisconsin job, we thought Darryl Sharp, who was formerly the administrative assistant at the University of Louisville, would be a natural for one of the assistant coaching positions with the Badgers.  But, instead, we're hearing that Sharp, who is one of the sharp young guys in the business, as well as a great administrator, may be in line for a spot at UNLV with Charlie Spoonhour.

Rick Pitino has only been the head coach at the University of Louisville a week, but already his presence appears to be having a serious impact on the Cardinals' recruiting.  As a matter of fact, 6'5 Antwain Barbour from Barton County (JC) KS, who was the MVP in the National Junior College Tournament a week ago in Hutchinson, KS, has added Louisville to a list that already includes Kentucky, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Villanova, Mississippi State, and Auburn.   However, whoever gets Barbour will have to wait another year, because he only a freshman this year in junior college.  We're also hearing that 6'4 Jr Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL, who ranks among the top 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has a strong interest in playing for Pitino.   So does 6'5 Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY.   However, we have to question where O'Bannon fits into the scheme of things, because Louisville already has signed three perimeter players - 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'5 Dennis Coutee from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, and 6'4 Leroy Davis from Southern Union (JC) AL - in this recruiting class.  Another problem with taking O'Bannon stems from the fact that the NCAA now limits the number of players a school can sign over two years to eight (five players one year and three the next).  As a result, Pitino needs to focus on big men and/or great players who can step in and help turn the program around in a hurry.  We also wouldn't be surprised to see Pitino take several transfers.  Not only would tranfers not count against the restriction on the number of scholarships you can offer over a two-year period, but they also would get a valuable year of experience learning the system.  Plus, they would play that much harder everyday practice to compensate for the fact they can't play in games.  Getting back to Louisville's current recruits, we now believe that Hurt will be eligible next year.  As a matter of fact, we're told that he is only one point shy of the score he needs on the SAT and he plans to work hard this spring in an attempt to raise the score.  We also hear that Coutee's chances of making appear to be slim and none.  However, Pitino can't just give away Coutee's scholarship until he knows for sure he isn't going to make it.  And that might not happen until late summer, which would be too late to bring in somebody in this recruiting class.  The classic example that comes to mind happened when Pitino was at Kentucky.   We're talking about Antonie Walker and Allen Edwards, both of whom were at set to enroll at Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME in July 1994.  However, they both got the necessary score on their last attempt and, as a result, were eligible to play as freshmen at the University of Kentucky.

Thursday, March 29, 2001

The West Squad overcame a 15-point half-time deficit to win the the Annual McDonald's All American Game, 131-125, last night at Camden Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC.  However, the big story of the game was the play of 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, who finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots.  Nobody in the senior class nationally has more potential than Curry due to his incredible size and skill level, but throughout most of his high school career he has been lazy, overweight, and often disinterested in paying the price necessary to become a great player.  But not last night, as was unstoppable when he got the ball in the low post.  You couldn't miss this fact when he brought the house down with one of his earthshattering slam dunks, but he also has excellent skills, good post moves and, and an excellent shot touch out to 15-feet, plus he is surprising agile and mobile for somebody his size.  As a result, Curry was the big difference in the game, as he took home game MVP honors and made a number of key plays when the West turned the game around the third quarter.  Another big difference in the game was the 3-point shooting.  Like they say, "if you live by the sword, you die by the sword," and that's extactly what happened as the East Squad hit only 8-36 3-pointers.  The West didn't shoot well either, as they hit only 3-13 from 3-pointer range, but they did a much better job of getting the ball inside and taking advantage of their big guys, like Curry and 6'8 David Lee from St. Louis (Chaminade) MO, who hit 9-13 field goals and scored 21 points.  Also scoring 21 points for the West was 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, but the unsung hero was 5'10 Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, who used his Allen Iverson-like speed and quickness, incredible ball handling and passing skills (seven assists), and great passing skills to get his teammates a surprising number of open looks, and 6'5 Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who also made some spectacular passes and made an incredible shot when he bank it off the shot clock.     As a matter of fact, this was the best McDonald's All American Game we've seen in years.  Even some defense was played and 42 assists (18 by the West and 24 by the East) is a lot of assists for an all-star game.  Wrapping up the rest of the of the scoring for the West, Ford and 6'9 Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH both finished with 11 points apiece, 6'3 Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX had 10 points, 6'11 Rick Rickert from Duluth (East) MN had nine points, Bozeman and 6'6 Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA both had eight points apiece, and 6'1 Aaron Miles had four points.  The leading scorer for the East Squad was 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who finished with 25 points, but he too really impressed us with some great passes.  Wagner also was the only player for the East to shoot well from beyond the arc, as he hit 4-9 3-pointers.  Complementing Wagner on the East were 6'7 James White from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA with 19 points and 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunwick (Glynn Academy) GA with 17 points apiece.  Also key for the East, especially in the first half when they were 15 points ahead, was 6'1 Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to make a number of key plays.  However, Thomas didn't get nearly as much playing time in the second half and that might have been one of the differences in the game.  Also playing well for the East was 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY, who finished with 12 points.  6'9 Anthony Richardson from Raleigh (Leesville) NC, who reminds us of a poor man's DerMarr Johnson with his multi-dimensional skills, showed some flashes, but also was inconsistent.  6'3 Rashaad Carruth doesn't play well when he doesn't shoot well and last night his shot wasn't going down, as he finished only 3-12 from the field en route to only seven points.  Also, with seven points for the East was 6'1 Maurice Williams from Jackson (Murrah) MS.   The only player who failed to score from either team was 6'11 David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN.  However, Harrison had an excuse, because he got into early foul trouble while trying to guard Curry and, as a result, didn't play very much.  Also, interesting is the fact that Harrison, who appears to have narrowed his list to Vanderbilt, Colorado, and North Carolina, may be the #1 big man still available this spring, assuming that Curry, Brown, 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'11  6'9 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 7'0 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA all by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA draft this spring.  Getting back to Thomas, we still think he was the least talented player in the game, which just goes to show how competitive all the players were top-to-bottom in the game.  Sure, they were several players, like 6'0 Jonathan Hargett from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD and 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, who were left of the off the team, but overall, every player in the game was good enough to make an impact and, as a result, it was very enjoyable to watch.  Also, worth mentioning is the fact that three players - Cisse, Diop, and 6'8 Wayne Simien from Leavenworth (H.S.) KS - were hurt and didn't play.  Also, Chandler, who has already announced that he will make the jump to the NBA, was not even in attendance.  However, this too may have made the game better, because the 20 players in the game got a lot more playing time and, as a result, were able to get more into the flow of the game. 

It's really too bad that the administration at UNLV was too stupid to figure out what they had in Max Good, but it looks like they may have lucked out and gotten what might be the next best thing.  That's right!  After getting rejected by what seemed like nearly every big name coach you can think of, former Southwest Missouri State and St. Louis head coach Charlie Spoonhour was named the new head coach at UNLV today.  Actually we think getting Spoonhour could be a great fit.  Spoonhour, who has a reputation for being one of the best people in the game, has a laid back attitude off the court that should fit in perfectly with the lifestyle in Las Vegas, NV.  And on court there is no doubt that he is total a genius, as well as a major overachiever every place he's been.  He's also smart enough to likely retain Good as his top assistant and, as a result, all the players - 6'1 Marcus Banks from Dixie (JC) UT, 6'2 Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, and 6'11 Simplece N'Joya from Dobbs Ferry (The Masters) NY - in the current recruiting class will likely honor their commitments to the Runnin' Rebels.  Remember, Banks and Turner specifically signed with UNLV last fall, because they wanted to play for Max Good.  We also have confirmed that Boston College assistant coach Tim O'Shea has gotten a seven-year deal at Ohio University and we think that too is a perfect fit.  Remember, O'Shea made a living as an assistant at both Rhode Island and Boston College identifying the players who were getting overlooked.  We also are hearing that new Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker will bring most of his staff from Seton Hall, including Fred Hill and Rob Jackson, both of whom deserve a lot of credit for helping land the Pirates great recruiting class a year ago that featured Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett, and Marcus Toney-El.  We also hear that Amaker will likely retain current Michigan assistant coach Terence Greene.  This is very important, because Green will be their Flint, MI connection.  As a result, 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, who signed with Wolverines last fall, will be expected to honor his commitment.  Also, Michigan immediately would become one of the prime contenders for 6'2 Jr Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, who is ranked among the top five juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Roberson isn't from Flint, MI, but his best friend is 6'4 Kelvin Tobert from Flint (Northeastern) MI.  If you will recall, Roberson and Tolbert played together in recent years on the Michigan Mustangs AAU.  So Roberson is like a Flint kid.  Also don't bet against Amaker when it comes to providing Michigan State with the ultimate challenge for the top players in the state from here on out.   And if you have any doubt, just look what he did at Seton Hall the last few years.   In addition to Griffin, Barrett, and Toney-El from a year ago, he also has a legitimate top 10 senior in 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) NJ already signed, sealed, and delivered in the current recruiting class 

We continue to hear that Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins will be in line for the Cleveland Cavaliers job, if it opens this spring.  However, Huggins has told us repeatedly in recent years that he is happy in Cincinnati and, as a result, he plans to remain the head coach of the Bearcats for the foreseeable future.  And part of the reason behind his strong desire to stay put is  an annuity worth over a million dollars that he'll get if he remains at Cincinnati through the end of next season.   His contract already was extended six years ago through June 30, 2005, but he wants another extension.  Apparently Huggins feels like this is something that is very important when talking to recruits.  Remember, for years Huggins has been rumored to be heading to the NBA, but has always stayed put.  Bill Hensley, who runs the Spiece AAU program and all of the Spiece Tournaments in Indiana, tells us that Purdue head coach Gene Keady also signed a five-year contract extension yesterday.  This is important, because it ensures that Keady will be the head coach of the Boilermakers until he's 70 years old.  It also means he is expected to be the head coach at Purdue until 6'4 Frosh Robert Vaden from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN and 5'10 Frosh Desmond Gadis from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN are both sophomores in college.  If you will recall, Vaden and Gadis made the two earliest commitments ever on record to Purdue right before the start of the basketball season last fall.  In other words, they both made it official for Purdue before they ever played a high school game. This move also is expected to make Purdue a near lock for 6'8 Jr Matt Keifer from Evansville (Mater Dei) IN, who is ranked #3 in the state's excellent junior class by Jim Kasberg, as well as among the top 100 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  As a matter of fact, it might already be done, expect his mother is still holding out because she wants him to stay closer to home.  Hensley also believes that Indiana made the right move extending Indiana University head coach Mike Davis' contract.  "Not only should he be rewarded for doing an excellent job under very difficult circumtances, but he already has a number of the top juniors in the state almost locked up," says Hensley.  And right at the top of the list is 6'8 Jr Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN, who is ranked among the 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Also likely to stick around for a while is new University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.  Believe it or not, he will get a five million dollar bonus, if he remains at the school for at least six years.   Pitino also announced that Scott Davenport will get the adminstrative assistant position and that Vince Taylor will be retained in one of the two recruiting positions.  We also have confirmed once again that Kevin Willard will be hired as the third assistant, who doesn't go on the road.   However, that will change in a year, because Pitino plans to rotate his staff.   As for the final assistant coach spot, we don't think Pitino has a clue what he's going to do with it.  So stay tuned!

The job rumor mill for coaching positions is full force here at the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis, MN, but apparently some people are pissed off, because they feel like black coaches aren't getting mentioned as prominently as they should be for many of the heading positions that are now available.  However, after doing some research, we don't think anybody is getting snubbed for racial reasons.  At least we hope not!  Instead, we think the problem stems from the fact that there aren't that many  black head coaches who are really hot right now.  Also adding to the problem even further is the fact that most schools don't seem to want to take a chance on hiring an assistant coach (regardless of race, creed, or color) who lacks head coaching experience.  The exceptions are Boston College head coach Al Skinner, Mississippi head coach Rob Barnes, USC head coach Henry Bibby, and Kent State head coach Gary Waters, all of whom should be among the leading candidates for National Coach-of-the-Year.  But, after that, who are the obvious choices, except for new Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker, who had a very disappointing season this year.  Instead, Amaker is moving up based on his tremendous potential as a coach, his great personality and people skills, what he did a year ago in terms of recruiting and coaching at Seton Hall, and his former Duke ties.  However, that doesn't mean that things won't trickle down in a major way later this spring and a year from now.  In other words, there is a large number of young black assistant coaches who are ready to move into the numerous mid-major head coaching jobs that soon will become available.  Let's start with Connecticut's two outstanding assistants - Dave Leitao and Karl Hobbs.    Both are already to become head coaches (Leitao actually was previously the head coach at Northeastern), but neither appears to be willing to move until the right situation comes along.  And from there the list is almost endless.  In no particular order we're talking about Kansas' Neil Dougherty, Michigan State's Stan Heath, Maryland's Dave Dickerson, Florida's Anthony Grant, Duke's Johnny Dawkins, Penn State's Mike Boyd, Texas's Rob Lanier, UCLA's Michael Holton, Alabama's Johnny Jones, Ohio State's Dave Spiller, Arkansas' Mike Anderson, DePaul's Tracy Dildy, Illinois' Norman Roberts, West Virginia's Chris Cheeks, Louisville's Vince Taylor, Villanova's Joe Jones, Memphis' Tony Barbee, Miami-FL's Dwight Freeman, N.C. State's Larry Harris, LSU's Butch Pierre, Georgia's Michael Hunt, Virginia's Walt Fuller, Missour's Tony Harvey, St. Louis' Cameron Dollar, UNC-Charlotte's Orlando Early, Stanford's Tony Fuller, California's Charles Ramsey, George Mason' Bill Courtney, and Kevin Clarke and Mark Jarvis, Jr, both of whom are at St. John's.  I'm sure I'm missing some more, so feel free to email me at clark@hoopscooponline.com with your suggestions.  And how about Derek Thomas, who is currently an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks?  He'll be back when the right job opens.  Also, worthy of mention is Silvy Dominguez.  He's not black, but he's still a minority with a good story.  Actually when Dominguez came to this country as a kid, he couldn't even speak English.  But now he's one of the sharpest evaluators of talent in the business. 

Wednesday, March 28, 2001

It is official for Tom Pecora, who has been Jay Wright's right hand man the last seven years at Hofstra.  Pecora was named the new head coach of the Flying Dutchmen at 1:00 PM this afternoon.  We also expect Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Bo Ryan to be named the new head coach at Wisconsin later today or tomorrow.  This will be Ryan's second stop at Wisconsin - he was an assistant coach for the Badgers before moving onto become the head coach at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he won four Division III Championships.  And once this happens, it will even more important for the Panthers to make another good hire, like current Tod Kowalczyk, who is not only an outstanding recruiter, but also a native of the area.  Not only is he now an assistant coach at Marquette after moving from Rutgers last fall, but he grew up in Green Bay, WI and attended college at the University of Minnesota at Duluth.  We expect Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker to get the Michigan job.  As a matter of fact, ESPN's Dick Vitale reported earlier today that Amaker is going to be announced as the new head coach of the Wolverines this Friday at the NCAA Final Four.  However, now we're getting reports about Amaker possibly having second thoughts about leaving Seton Hall.  Apparently he's having a tough time telling all the kids he's recruited during his four year reign at Seton Hall that he won't be back.  But let's say Amaker does leave.  Xavier head coach Skip Prosser, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, and Siena Louie Orr all are logicial candidates for the job.  Did you know that Seton Hall athletic director Jeff Fogelson hired Prosser at Xavier and Gonzalez and Orr were assistants under Pete Gillen when Fogelson was the athletic director at Xavier?  Gonzalez also appears to be a prime candidate, along with Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard and N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek, if Providence opens.  But right now it looks like Friars head coach Tim Welsh will stay put.  Instead, we are hear that St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli is the leading candidate for Rutgers.  However, that's not what our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is telling us.  Rubin has maintained all along that Martelli, who is a Philly guy, will stay put.  Instead, maybe Rutgers should go after an aggressive young go-getter who has strong recruiting ties in New York City, like Gonzalez.  However, if they wait too long, maybe Seton Hall will hire him first and it will be like Jay Wright all over again.  Remember, a week ago at this time Wright was a near lock for the Scarlet Knights, but then they screwed around and allowed Villanova to sneak in the back door and steal their #1 priority.

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin believes that University of Pittsburgh head coach Ben Howland is now the leading candidate for the UNLV job.  And he was probably right until today when Howland added his name to a long list of coaches who have already turned down the job.  As a result, it looks more and more like the UNLV will end up with the guy they should have hired in the first place - Max Good.  Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that the four leading candidates for Tennessee are Tulsa head coach Buzz Peterson, Tennessee Tech head coach Jeff Lebo, Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall, and Providence head coach Tim Welsh.  However, the smart money is Peterson, who has a clause in his contract, which allows him to walk away from Tulsa, if he can go to Tennessee.  Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio believes that St. John's head coach Kevin Clarke may now be the leader for La Salle, but Rubin believes the Explorers have upped the ante and, as a result, now are starting to attract serious interest from Pennsylvania head coach Fran Dunphy, who really was their #1 choice all along.  Also still on the list for La Salle are Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlan and Maine head coach John Giannini.  However, UNC-Greensboro head coach Fran McCaffery is no longer a candidate for La Salle.  Speaking of UNC-Greensboro, Rubin tells us the Spartans have gotten a commitment from 6'7 Ronnie Burrell from Montclair (H.S.) NJ.  Rubin also has the latest list for Drexel, which includes Giannini, former Massachusetts head coach James "Brusier" Flint, Missouri-Kansas City head coach Dean Demopoulos, Virginia assistant coach Walt Fuller, and St. Joseph's assistant coach Matt Brady.  John Munson, who is the father of 6'5 John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, talked with Rubin earlier today and he pretty much confirms what we all suspect will happen later this week - that Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker is bound for Michigan.  We're also hearing that Flint has the inside track for Duquesne, although Robert Morris head coach Danny Nee also is on the Dukes short list.  It also appears that LSU assistant coach Kermit Davis is about to return to the head coaching ranks.  And the former head coach at Idaho won't have to move to far down the road, because the job he's probably going to land is New Orleans. 

We arrived earlier today for the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis, MN and almost as much fun as the games themselves is the speculation that goes along with all the coaching changes at the Division I level.  The latest count shows that 34 jobs have already opened, but only 10 have officially been filled.  That list includes Louisville where Rick Pitino replaced Denny Crum, Texas Tech where Bob Knight replaced James Dickey, Villanova where Jay Wright replaced Steve Lappas, Massachusetts where Steve Lappas replaced James "Bruiser" Flint, Hofstra where Tom Pecora replaced Jay Wright,  Rhode Island where Jim Baron replaced Jerry DeGregorio, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo where Kevin Bromley replaced Jeff Schneider, Idaho where Leonard Perry replaced David Farrar, Northern Illinois where Rob Judson replaced Brian Hammel, Stetson where Derek Waugh replaced Murray Arnold.   Other job that are expected to be filled soon are Michigan where Tommy Amaker will replace Brian Ellerbe, Wisconsin where Bo Ryan will replace Brad Soderberg, New Orleans where Kermit Davis will replace Joey Stiebing, and St. Bonaventure where Joe Lombardi will Jim Baron.  And there are two other jobs that may or may not be filled by the interim coach - UNLV where Max Good took over for Bill Bayno and Texas Southern where Byron Smith took over for Robert Moreland.   That leaves 18 jobs - Denver, Drexel, Duquesne, Florida A&M, La Salle, Morgan State, North Texas, Northeastern, Northern Iowa, Ohio University, Old Dominion, Portland, Rutgers, St. Mary's, South Carolina, Southern, Tennessee, and Towson - that are still in the process of being filled.  And the domino effect hasn't even taken effect yet.  So stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 27, 2001

This comes as no surprise, but 6'1 Adam Chiles from Louisville (Ballard) KY, who is ranked #74 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made a verbal commitment to the University of Kentucky yesterday.  Chiles also is the 6th best high school player in the senior class nationally still available, but there are still questions about whether he can make the conversion to point guard at the next level and/or whether he will develop into a good enough 3-point shooter at the 2-spot.  We also wonder where Chiles expects to play next year at Kentucky.  Right now we project him #5 on the depth chart at the 2-guard spot behind Keith Bogans, 6'3 Rashard Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Gerald Fitch, and 6'5 Josh Carrier from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY and he has to figure in behind Cliff Hawkins, J.P. Blevins, and Fitch at the point guard spot.  However, Chiles says he's been a Wildcats fan all his life, so it's hard to turn down an in-state kid who is so naturally talented.   Chiles is best described as a great competitor and an incredible athlete who lives above the rim and locks you up defensively.  His team also usually wins, which not only was evident this winter at Ballard, where his team went 32-2 and was ranked among the top five teams nationally most the season, but also last summer while playing for the Derek Smith All-Stars.  Remember, he took home tournament MVP honors at the adidas Big Time Tournament last summer in Las Vegas, NV.  Chiles, who was the Seventh Region Player of the Year, picked the Cats over Maryland and Cincinnati.  He averaged 16.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, and 3.1 spg in 23 minutes.  Another Ballard player who has not yet made a verbal commitment is 6'9 Brandon Bender, who is ranked #22 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, our sources tell us that it's just a matter of time before he makes it official for Louisville.  And, if Bender does opt to play for new Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino, it could be the perfect marriage, because Bender needs a head coach who will push him to the limit and make him play hard and Pitino needs the defensive presence, shot blocking ability, and rebound skills that Bender possesses. 

It looks like Manhattan College has stolen another one.  You can write it down!  6'6 Kareem Grant from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT has given the Jaspers a verbal commitment.  Grant still needs to develop upper body strength, but he really impressed us with outside shooting when saw him a month-and-a-half ago at the 2001 National Prep School Invitational in Worcester, MA.  We also like his ability to slash to the basket and go to the boards.  Plus, he's got that extra maturity and great coaching after having been at St. Thomas More the last two years.  Manhattan beat out Marist, Rider, UNC-Greensboro, Hartford, and La Salle, but Providence, which also has a commitment from 6'7 Rob Sanders from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, also has been showing recent interest in Grant.  And, if, by some long shot, Grant ends up at Providence with Sanders, just remember where you heard it first.  However, for this to happen, Providence head coach Tim Welsh would have to get the Rutgers job and Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez would have to get the Friars job.  However, in Welsh's case, we have reason to believe that he is now the leading candidate to take over the Scarlet Knights.  And Gonzalez would be the perfect fit for Providence.  Remember, he was an assistant with the Friars during the Pete Gillen days and Rick Pitino is extremely tight with the athletic director at Providence.  Also extremely tight with the athletic director at Providence is N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek, but we like the rumor about Sendek getting the Michigan job much better.  And if that happens, you can bet he'll hire Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare and DeCesare will bring his star player 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who committed, but didn't sign with the Wolfpack last fall, with him.  Sendek, who is one of the brightest head coaches in the game today, would be a natural at Michigan, but he's probably not hot enough right now.  But neither is Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker.  And he's gets mentioned for Michigan ever time you turn around.  We've also heard Amaker's name mentioned with South Carolina, but how about several others guys with Duke connections?  No, we're not talking about Missouri head coach Quin Snyder.  Instead, we're talking about Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins and Kansas assistant coach Neil Dougherty.  If you will recall, Dougherty was an assistant under Eddie Fogler at both Vanderbilt and South Carolina, before moving onto work for Roy Williams at Kansas.  However, even more important, Dougherty played for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski at Army.  Apparently the connection for all these Duke guys is athletic director Mike McGee, who played football in college for the Blue Devils.  However, we still think McGee wants to hire a big name head coach and right now there aren't many candidates available.  That's why Eddie Oliver, the editor and publisher of HoopsUSA.com, still believes that McGee will have to take another serious look at former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins.  "McGee may not want to hire Cremins based on what happened the last time he was offered Cremins the job," says Oliver.   "But in the end, he may not have any choice.  Cremins has the big name recognition and the great personality that South Carolina needs."

Yesterday we reported that new Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was going to hire Kevin Willard in the #3 spot on the staff and retain Vince Taylor in his current position and move Scott Davenport into the other recruiting spot.  Although we were on the right track, that's not totally correct.  Instead, we have now confirmed that Willard, who is the son of Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard, will move into the administrative assistant position, Davenport will remain the assistant who can't go out on the road, and Taylor will also retain his current position.  In other words, Pitino still has one spot left to fill and the word is that it won't happen for a while.  We can tell you that it won't be Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, former Massachusetts head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, or N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek.  Not surprisingly all three are more interested in pursuing their head coaching careers.  We also understand that Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare is no longer on the list, despite an intense lobbying effort last week by a number of powerful people, including adidas' Sonny Vaccaro, to get him the job.  Another name we continue to hear is Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA head coach Steve Smith.   And that would make sense because Smith is originally from the state of Kentucky and Pitino recruited Ron Mercer to the University of Kentucky when he played for Smith at Oak Hill.  We also said we thought Steve Masiello would move into the graduate assistant spot at Louisville, but we have now confirmed that Masiello will remain at Tulane.  We also have confirmed that Villanova head coach Jay Wright has taken the head coach job at Villanova, but we're still waiting to see what happens at Wisconsin.  Utah head coach Rick Majerus has taken his name out of the running for the Badgers job and we suspect that California head coach Ben Braun, who got a contract extension from the Golden Bears that will take him through the end of  2009 season, is also out of the running.  So that makes Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Bo Ryan the obvious candidate.  But how about Hampton head coach Steve Merfeld, who not only is a Midwest guy, but also is one of the hottest coaches in the business after his team's stunning upset against Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournanent almost weeks ago?  Former Wisconsin head coach Brad Soderberg and former Ohio University head coach Larry Hunter appear to be the leading candidates for the Northern Iowa job.  Southern Cal head coach Henry Bibby appears to be the flavor of the day for UNLV, but our guess is that he'll stay at USC, especially if they move a little faster towards getting the Trojans a new arena.  However, one guy who wants Bibby out of town is UCLA head coach Steve Lavin.  Remember, any time USC goes further in the NCAA Tournament than UCLA, those impossible to please Bruins fans become just that much worse. 

Monday, March 26, 2001

Earlier today our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin called to tell us that St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Baron was going to get the Rhode Island job later today.  Rubin also tells us that St. Bonaventure assistant coach Joe Lombardi will likely get the head coaching job and former Villanova head coach Steve Lappas has landed the head coaching job at the University of Massachusetts.  If you will recall, it has been widely reported that Lappas resigned his position at Villanova, but we hear he was forced out after his superiors got wind that he had made inquiries about the Massachusetts job.  We also understand that he met deaf ears early last week when he tried to get a contract extension from Villanova.  Instead, they only promised him one more year.  So it probably turned out best for everybody.  Lappas gets a fresh start at Massachusetts and Villanova will likely get Hofstra head coach Jay Wright, who currently is one of the hottest young coaches in the business.  The other big news of the day involves Rick Pitino's coaching staff at the University of Louisville.   The word we're getting is that Pitino plans to hire Kevin Willard, who currently still with the Boston Celtics, in the third assistant position, and he will retain both Vince Taylor and Scott Davenport from the previous regime. This is especially important for Davenport, because he's totally a local guy - he's spent his entire coaching as a successful high school coach at Louisville (Ballard) KY and as Denny Crum's right hand man at the University of Louisville - and he's never been on the road recruiting before.  But he does have more than his share of contacts, is extremely organized, and has a great understanding of the game.  We also continue to hear that Tulane graduate assistant coach Steve Masiello is in line for the graduate assistant coaching position at the University of Louisville.  This pretty much eliminates any chances that Louisville had of getting 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who is ranked as the #3 senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, we thought Pitino might hire Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare in the spot that is now earmarked for Willard.  However, that doesn't mean Hodge is a lock to attend N.C. State, if TCU head coach Billy Tubbs leaves for UNLV and Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek takes the Texas Christian job.   As a matter of fact, Rubin told us this morning that DeCesare, who has enough pull with Hodge to bring him to any school that hires him, will likely go to Villanova with Wright, if, as expected, he gets Wildcats job.  Also expected to remain at Villanova is current assistant Joe Jones, who also was previously with Wright at Hofstra and is regarded as one of the bright young guys in the business.  Getting back to Sendek, we're also still hearing Texas head coach Rick Barnes being mentioned for N.C. State, if Sendek does decide to leave.  But let's assume that Sendek stays at N.C. State.  Then, our guess is that Hodge commitment will hold up and, if he does, the Wolfpack will be loaded at the one, two, and three spots.   However, they will have to throw their other three recruits - 6'10 Jordan Collins from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'8 Levi Watkins from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, and 6'9 Josh Powell from Riverdale (H.S.) GA - to the wolves in the always tough ACC as freshmen next year.  As a result, now appears to be the perfect time for Sendek, who we still regard as one of the best coaches in the game, despite the fact that he hasn't won big yet N.C. State, to move onto greener pastures while he still can. 

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that, as predicted, Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY won the New York State Championship beating Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY, 62-59, in the semi-finals on Friday and Schenectady (H.S.) NY, 62-49, in the championship game on Saturday.  The Tournament MVP was 6'4 Chris McRae and Mr. Basketball in the state was 6'6 Julius Hodge, but the player who came up big in the championship game with 24 points was 6'2 Jr Alan Ray, who already is well on his way towards becoming head coach Gary DeCesare's next star.  Ray also is expected to emerge into one of the top point guards in the nation this summer, but we're being a little conservative on this one, because he's been hurt every time we've seen Ray play in the last year and, as a result, we still don't have a real good feel for his game.  Speaking of DeCesare, this not only gives him a second state championship at St. Raymond's, but it also firmly establishes him as the hottest high school coach in the East. 

Chris Monter of www.collegebasketballnews.com and www.monterdraftenws.com was in Hutchinson, Kansas for the National Junior College Tournament and he tells us that Wabash Valley (JC) IL beat Allegany (JC) MD, 89-83, in the championship game on Saturday night.  The leading scorer in the championship game was George Mason-bound 6'2 Darren Tarver with 23 points, but tournament MVP honors went to 6'4 Frosh Antwain Barbour, who finished with 21 points, including 5-6 3-pointers, and was the third leading scorer in the tournament averaging 23.0 ppg for 92 points in four games.  6'7 Frosh Omari Westley also chipped in with 18 points for Wabash Valley.  Leading a very balanced scoring attack for Allegany, which had five players in double-digits in the championship game, was Maryland-Baltimore County-bound 6'2 Malik Wallace, who finished with 15 points.   However, 6'9 Ryan Randall, who signed with Maryland last fall, wasn't one of them, as he finished with only nine points and six rebounds and was somewhat of a disappointment throughout the tournament.  We've already mentioned that Barbour was the MVP, but other awards were collected by 6'2 Marcus Banks from Dixie (JC) UT, who was named the best small player in the tournament, Jay Spoonhour, who was named Coach-of-the-Tournament, and 6'4 Ebi Ere from Barton County (JC) KS, who got the Sportsmanship Award.  Ere also was the leading scorer in the tournament with 129 points in four games.  That included 52 points his third game and 40 points in 7th place.  In addition to Barbour, Ere, and Banks, the all-tournament included Terrell Taylor from Allegany (JC) MD, 6'7 Kedrick Brown from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL,  6'5 Antonio Falu from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'8 Sam Hoskins from Schoolcraft (JC) MI, 6'9 Frosh Jaime Lloreda from Dixie (JC) UT, Jason Logan from Northwest Mississippi (JC) MS, and Chris Sandy from Westark (JC) AR.  Dixie (JC) UT, which came into the tournament ranked #1 nationally in the final junior college poll, beat Indian Hills (JC) IA in the 3rd Place Game.  Westark (JC) AR took home 5th place and Barton County (JC) KS finished in 7th place. 

We finally caught up with Roy Schmidt, who is the editor and publisher of the Illinois Prep Bulls-eye Report, as well as correspondent for All-Star Sports, and he has several interesting things to tell us about high school basketball in the state of Illinois.  First, he provides us with news of a verbal commitment from 6'6 Todd Townsend from New Hampton (Prep) NH,  who made it official today for Marquette.  Townsend needs to work on his outside shooting and perimeter skills, but we still think he is an excellent catch for the Golden Eagles.   This blue collar athlete excels at the defensive end, rebounds well for his size, and he's from the Chicago area - Marquette can never have too many players from the Windy City.  Schmidt also tells us that Marquette and Iowa are the two heavy favorites for 6'7 Ricky Cornette from Homewood (H.S.) IL and he believes the chances of 6'11 Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL playing for DePaul are about as good as the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in baseball next fall.  In other words, there is no way it's going to happen.  As a matter of fact, Schmidt says DePaul never received a signed National Letter-of-Intent from Curry, so technically he still could pick another college.  However, that won't happen either.  Instead, Curry is believed to be a lock for the NBA and, believe it or not, there are still some folks out there who rank Curry as one of the top two or three players in the senior class nationally.  I guess merit and a geat work ethic (Curry has neither) just don't mean much to some folks.  But maybe that's why the NBA has gotten to be so bad in recent years.

Saturday, March 24, 2001, and Sunday, March 25, 2001

One of the things that separates the HOOP SCOOP from much of the rest of our competition is our 18-year history in the business and, as a  result, we have a tremendous amount of perspective and information which to draw upon.  A good example is our final rankings of the top 100 seniors nationally each class.  Previously we posted exclusively in the Members Section our rankings of the top 100 players from the Class of 2001, Class of 2000, Class of 1999, Class of 1998, Class of 1997, Class of 1996, and Class of 1994 and over the weekend added the Class of 1995, Class of 1993, and Class of 1992.   So let's take a closer look and see what our track record is in terms of ranking the top players from each class.  In 1992 the five players we had ranked on the first team were 6'9 Othello Harrington from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'6 Corliss Williamson from Russellville (H.S.) AR, 6'5 Rodrick Rhodes from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'5 Danta Bright from Baltimore (Dunbar) MD, and 6'3 Jason Kidd from Alameda (St. Joseph) CA.  In 1993 the first team included 6'11 Rasheed Wallace from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'8 Dontonio Wingfield from Albany (Westover) GA, 6'6 Jerry Stackhouse from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Ronnie Henderson from Jackson (Murrah) MS, and 6'4 Randy Livingston from New Orleans (Newmann) LA.  In 1994 the first team included 6'10 Zendon Hamilton from Floral Park (Sewanhaka) NY, 6'9 Jerod Ward from Clinton (H.S.) MS, 6'9 Antoine Walker from Chicago (Mt. Carmel) IL, 6'5 Felipe Lopez from New York (Rice) NY, and 5'8 Kareem Reed from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.  In 1995 the top five players ranked in order were 6'10 Kevin Garnett from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'2 Stephon Marbury from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Ron Mercer from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Robert Traylor from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI, and 6'9 Shareef Adbur-Rahim from Marietta (H.S.) GA.    In 1996 the first team included 6'10 Tim Thomas from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'10 Jermaine O'Neal from Columbus (Eau Claire) SC, 6'9 Charles Hathaway from Nashville (Hillcrest) TN, 6'8 Lester Earl from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, and 6'6 Kobe Bryant from Admore (Lower Merion) PA.  In 1997 the first team included 6'10 Chris Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, 6'9 Lamar Odom from Troy (Redemption) NY, 6'8 Tracy McGrady from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NY, 6'3 Anthony Perry from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and 6'2 Baron Davis from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA.  In 1998 the top five players ranked in order were 6'8 Al Harrington from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'7 Korleone Young from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'10 Rashard Lewis from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'5 Quentin Richardson from Chicago (Whitney Young, and 6'11 Dan Gadzuric from Byfield (Governor Dummer Academy) MA.   In 1999 the top five players ranked in order were 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA, 6'4 Keith Bogans from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'3 Ken Satterfield from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Jason Williams from Metuchen (St. Josephs) NJ, and 6'10 Marvin Stone from Huntsville (Grissom) AL.  In 2000 the top five players ranked in order were 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, and 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA. This year's senior class is still subject to change, but the top five players in order currently are 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, and 6'8 Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL.  Looking back over this 10-year period there is no question that the best class was the Class of 1995, which was so good that 6'5 Vince Carter from Daytona Beach (Mainland) FL, who has emerged into one of the young superstars in the NBA, was ranked no higher than #8 in the class.  This is important to mention, because this was class most responsible for opening the floodgate of players, often right out of high school, going early into the NBA draft.  It's always fun to look back and see who turned out the best.  Our picks from the above list are Garnett, Marbury, Bryant, McGrady, and, so far, Wagner.  Also interesting are the five biggest busts from among the players on the above list.  Our choices include Wingfield, Hamilton, Hathaway, Burgess, and, at this point, Stone.  However, we've only just begun to scratch the surface of all the interesting comparisons we can make.  So to make your own comparisons and to see where we were right and see where we were wrong, click on HOOP SCOOP's National High School Rankings.

Friday, March 23, 2001

Two days ago we thought N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek might be a lock for the Texas Christian job, if Billy Tubbs moved onto UNLV, but now we're hearing that Sendek may become the #1 assistant coach at Louisville for Rick Pitino.  And if that happens, the likelihood that 6'6 Julius Hodge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY will renege on his commitment to N.C. State increases dramatically.  Remember, Hodge signed financial aid papers after making a verabl commitment to the Wolfpack last fall, but he never signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent.  In other words, he's free to change mind and go to any other school without sitting a year.  We also believe that Pitino may hire Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY head coach Gary DeCesare, who not only is one of the top high school coaches in the nation, but who also has a great deal of influence over where his players go to college.  So if Pitino hires both Sendek and DeCesare, it would be a good bet that Hodge won't be too far behind.  How good is Hodge?  We rank Hodge as the #3 high school senior in the nation and believe he has as much upside as anybody in the class, except for 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.   If you will recall, Hodge just turned 17-years-old in November.  So he's really young for his grade.  Hodge also is an outstanding person and excellent student, plus he has the great work ethic and self-motivation necessary to become a great player.  Last summer Hodge was the HOOP SCOOP's runner-up MVP at the adidas ACBD Camp behind 6'6 Jr Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (H.S.) NJ, the runner-up MVP at the adidas Big Tournament behind 6'0 Jonathan Hargett from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, and Player-of-the-Summer by the HOOP SCOOP.  Hodge isn't as explosive and physically he's not even close to being as strong as Tracy McGrady at the same stage.  But that's who he reminds us of, because he has the uncanny ability to find a way to score and beat you going to the basket, from downtown, or from mid-range.  Hodge needs to get bigger and stronger, but he rebounds extremely well for somebody his size and he also has the ball handling and passing skills to play point guard at 6'6.  In other words, if Pitino pulls this off, he will have the marquee player he needs to build his program around, just like he did a dozen years ago when he signed Jamal Mashburn at the University of Kentucky.  We also think Louisville is positioned extremely well to get 6'9 Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, but with the five and three rule, whereby, a school can only sign eight players over a 2-year period, Pitino is not in a position where he can afford to waste scholarships.  Louisville already has three players in the fold for next year in 6'2 Carlos Hurt from Louisville (Moore) KY, 6'5 Dennis Coutee from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, and 6'5 LeRoy Davis from Southern Union (JC) AL, but, as of yet, Hurt and Coutee haven't made it academically.  Louisville also has a free player in 6'5 Greg Tinch from Albany (Westover) GA, who signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play football for the Cardinals two months ago.  Tinch is a legitiamate top 100 senior nationally in basketball and he should fit in perfectly to Pitino's uptempo running and pressing style of play.  Not only is Tinch a world-class athlete, but he is a tremendous competitor and easily the best defensive player in the senior class nationally.   However, Tinch is also a very mediocre outside shooter, which is why his future professionally will likely be on the gridiron, instead of the hardwood. 

It comes as no surprise that Bob Knight has become the new head basketball coach Texas Tech, but we were very surprised when Sam Albano of Redmen.com called to tell us that Villanova head coach Steve Lappas has been fired.  Obviously this puts Hofstra head coach Jay Wright into a very enviable position, because two of the four jobs (St. John's, Villanova, Rutgers, and Seton Hall) that he really wanted are now open.  Three days ago when Rutgers head coach Kevin Bannon got fired, we thought Wright was a near lock to take over for the Scarlet Knights.  However, contrary to other reports, Albano tells us that Wright and Rutgers have yet to talk about the job and the longer it goes the less chance Rutgers appears to have for Wright.  Instead, Albano thinks Wright will return home to Villanova.   Remember, he's a Philly guy and he coached at Villanova during the Rollie Massimino days.  Albano also tells us that Wright is no longer interested in the Massachusetts job, but we're independently hearing rumors about Wright possibly being a candidate for the Tennessee job, along with Tulsa head coach Buzz Peterson and Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard.  So now that it looks like Rutgers is fading fast for Wright, the latest list for Rutgers is growing daily.   Several days ago we mentioned for former Seton Hall head coach P.J. Carlesimo as a possibility, yesterday we threw St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli's name into the mix, and now we're hearing Marquette head coach Tom Crean, Kent State head coach Gary Waters, Providence head coach Tim Welsh, New Jersey Nets assistant coach Eddie Jordan, and George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga all being mentioned as candidates for the Rutgers job.  Speaking of Larranaga, we've also confirmed that he's involved with Massachusetts job. 

Every once in a while we blow it and that appears to be case two days ago when we reported that Tom Penders could be in trouble at George Washington.   Sure, the Colonials were only 14-18 this year, but they lost five overtime games and a total of eight games by five points or less with a team that will return everybody next season, except for 6'4 Mike King.  In other words, George Washington not only should be a lot better next year, but they may be perfectly situated to make some noise next year in the NCAA Tournament similar to St. Joseph's a week ago.   Penders also has four years remaining on his current contract and he's extremely close friends with the athletic director at George Washington.  As a matter of fact, they grew up together in Connecticut and, as a result, have been close most of their lives.  Penders is still being mentioned for Rhode Island, but our sources tell us that it isn't going to happen.  Also out of the picture for Rhode Island are Iona head coach Jeff Ruland, who recently got a contract extension, and Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard, whose athletic director won't release him to talk with Massachusetts or Rhode Island.  However, the athletic director at Holy Cross will release Willard to talk with somebody bigger, like Tennessee.  So we really have no idea who is actually going to surface at Rhode Island, but inside sources tell us that NcNeese State head coach Ronnie Everhart and Brown head coach Glen Miller now the leading candidates for Northeastern.  Also on the Northeastern list is Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs, who is another one of the hottest assistants in the business, but our guess is that he's going after something bigger.  As a matter of fact, he interviewed for the New Orleans job today.   And how about N.C. State assistant coach Sean Miller getting the Duquesne job?  Remember, he's a Pittsburgh guy and he's more than ready to become a head coach.  A year ago Catholic University head coach Mike Lonergan was involved with the Howard and American University jobs.   However, now he has a Division III National Championship to add to his resume'.   So  it makes sense that Lonergan may be in line for Towson State.  Former Texas Tech head coach James Dickey seems like a natural for North Texas, but we've also heard Arizona graduate assistant coach Josh Pastner's named in the mix.  And Pastner would actually be a great hire, because he's been the head coach of the Houston Hoops AAU program the last five years and he's absorbed a great deal under Lute Olson's tutorage as both a player and a coach at Arizona.   

Thursday, March 22, 2001