HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR MARCH 2004

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

It's official!  With the appearances by 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA in the McDonald's All-American Game earlier tonight, they both now have to by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA Draft.  Remember, NCAA rules prohibit a player who plays in more than two all-stars from retaining his college eligibility and last week Howard and Smith both played in the EA Sports Roundball Classic and adidas-EA Sports Superstar Game. It also appears that Indiana already has a replacement for Smith, because our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'9 Julius Ashby from Marshalltown (JC) IA has made a verbal commitment to the Hoosiers.   And the trade-offs are interesting.  Smith is a world-class athlete and an amazing talent, but he projects as a wing foward down the road.  In contrast, Ashby may be more ideally suited to step in at Indiana next year and provide the inside presence that the Hoosiers need, as well as the perfect complement to 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, who is tied at #10 on our list of the Top Players in the Senior Class Nationally.  The loss of Smith and the addition of Ashby, who averaged 14.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 2.4 bpg and averaged 64.7% from the field, means that Indiana's recruiting class drops from being tied at #1, along with Texas and Louisville, into the #4 spot, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, when it's all said and done, the Hoosiers could still finish with the #1-ranked recruiting class, ahead of Texas, Louisville, and Arkansas, because 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TN, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS also are expected to enter the NBA Draft this spring.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Jesus Verdejo from Winchendon (School) MA has verbally committed to Arizona and this too appears to be an excellent catch, because he should fit in perfectly with all the great athletes that Arizona will have on the perimeter next year.  Verdejo is ranked #23 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, but he's the equivalent of a top 100 senior and is a prolific scorer who is capable of beating both going the hole and from beyond the arc.  The addition of Verdejo moves the Wildcats recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Jawann McClelland from Houston (Milby) TX, 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'3 Daniel Dillon from London (North Laurel) KY, up to #18 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, even more important, the addition of Verdejo means that Arizona already is one step closer to already replacing 6'4 Soph Hassan Adams and 6'6 Soph Andre Iguodala, both of whom will gradute after year after next.  Remember, McClelland is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and the Wildcats are going to be tough to beat for 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, who is ranked #1 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Ryan Wiersma from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is ranked #105 on our 5th Year List, has verbally committed to Eastern Kentucky and it appears that the final five for 7'0 Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN are Stanford, Notre Dame, Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois.  In other words, schools like Louisville, Indiana, Iowa, and Kentucky no longer appear to be in the hunt.  We also hear that the leaders for 6'3 Jr Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL are Stanford, Notre Dame, and Marquette, although DePaul, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, and Northwestern also must be mentioned.  Getting back to the McDonald's All-American the only major revelation last night was that the announcers doing the game know absolutely nothing about high school basketball and the players in the game, plus they did a lousy job in terms of preparation and research.  In other words, it was painful for people like myself, who actually are familar with the players, to listen to announcers who pretend to be (i.e Sebastian Telfair is from Brooklyn, not the Bronx).  The two best players in the game were 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA with 19 points and 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ with 25 points and 5-11 3-pointers.  They were complemented by 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who finished with only two points, but had 11 assists, as the East Squad coasted to a 126-96 victory.  Also chipping in for East were 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with 14 points, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD with 10 points, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL with nine points, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA with eight points, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL with eight points, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with seven points, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL with seven points, and 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN with only one point.  The best player for the West Squad was 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, but, after scoring all of his 10 points early, he was shut down the rest of the game.  The leading scorer for the West Squad was Duke-bound 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA with 22 points.  Also chipping in for the West Squad were 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI with 11 points, 6'8 Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA with nine points, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX with eight points, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA with six points, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TN with five points, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA with three points, 6'5 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA with three points, 6'5 Jawann McClelland from Houston (Milby) TX with three points, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL with only one point.

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

We are getting reports that 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI has narrowed his list of schools to UCLA and Kansas, but just today the Detroit Free-Press published an article by Mick McCabe that says Hairston still officially has five schools (Ohio State, UCLA, Kansas, Michigan, and Oklahoma) on his list.  We have confirmed that 6'4 Jesus Verdejo from Winchendon (School) MA is making an official visit to Arizona and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA wants out of his National Letter-of-Intent with Miami-FL.  However, the word we're getting is that the Hurricanes won't release him, which means Giles will have to sit out two years, instead of just one, if he decides not enroll at Miami-FL next fall and attend another school.  Remember, it clearly states on the National Letter-of-Intent that the student-athlete is signing with the member institution and not the coach and, as a result, the rule is specificially for the purpose of preventing a player from changing his mind if the coach leaves for whatever reason.  Speaking of Miami-FL, we mentioned yesterday that former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis may have priced him out of the running for the job over the weekend for the Miami-FL job, but we didn't tell you that Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez now appears to be the leading candidate for that job.  However, the reports that Gonzalez has been offered the job and/or even interviewd for the Miami-FL job are untrue.  We also wouldn't be surprised if St. John's drops the bomb and hires Providence head coach Tim Welsh later this week.  And, if this happens, don't be surprised if Gonzalez or Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo becomes the next head coach of the Friars.  Remember, DeMeo has paid his dues, has all the right connections, and played an instrumental role in building this into one of the best teams in the Big East this past season.  We also continue to hear speculation that Ohio State head coach Jim O'Brien may retire this spring and that Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight and Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins would be candidates for the Ohio State job.  However, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson would be extremely surprised if that happened.  We've also heard Huggins named mentioned with the Miami-FL job and a week ago we told you that "Eastern Washington head coach Ray Giacoletti may be emerging is the person to beat for the Utah job."  Well, you can write it down!   It happened earlier today.  And that opens the door for somebody like Washington State assistant coach Mike Burns or Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice to take over at Eastern Washington.  Also earlier today the Marist job opened, which opens the door for somebody like Seton Hall assistant coach Brian Nash, Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, Angelo State head coach Joe Esposito, Matt Brady, who is the top assistant at St. Joseph's, to move up the ladder.  Hill, Richmond assistant coach Gary DeCesare, Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo, Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts, Seton Hall assistant coach Brian Nash, and former New Mexico head coach Fran Fraschilla all have been mentioned as possible candidates for the Manhattan job, if Gonzalez does move onto Miami-FL or another big time job.  We also have heard DeMeo's named mentioned as a possibility as for the head coaching job at Loyola-Maryland.   Maurice Hicks, who is the head coach at New York (Rice) NY, Clemson assistant coach Kevin Nickleberry, and West Virginia assistant coach Jeff Neubauer have all interviewed for the Loyola-Maryland job. We also understand that Maryland assistant coach Jimmy Patsos will likely get the Loyola-Maryland job tomorrow DeCesare also could move onto Villanova as the top assistant coach, if Hill find the right head coaching job this spring.  We also are impressed with the fact that two of Billy Gillispie's assistants at UTEP have moved into head coaching jobs, as Doc Sadler has replaced his former boss as the head coach of the Miners and Sergio Rouco has taken over as the head coach at Florida International.  And, by our count, this brings the number of head coaching jobs that have already opened this spring to 21 (St. John's, Miami-FL, Georgetown, Auburn, Texas A&M, Utah, UNLV, Houston, SMU, James Madison, UTEP, Southern Miss, San Francisco, Florida International, Loyola-Illinois, Loyola-Maryland, Maryland-Baltimore County, Marist, Akron, Dartmouth, and Navy).  And 11 of those jobs have already been filled, as former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lon Kruger has taken over at UNLV, Gillispie has taken over Texas A&M, Giacoletti has taken over at Utah, Sadler moved up to become the head coach of the Miners, Rouco returned to become the head coach of the Golden Panthers (he previously was an assistant at Florida International), Akron assistant coach Keith Dambrot quickly became the head coach of the Zips, Maryland-Baltimore County assistant coach Randy Monroe moved up to became the head coach of the Retrievers, Villanova Coordinator of Basketball Operations Billy Lange has gotten the head coaching job at Navy, Oklahoma assistant coach Jimmy Tubbs has gotten the SMU job, former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy has taken over at Southern Mississippi, and former George Washington head coach Tom Penders is now at Houston.  So this means there are only 10 jobs (St.John's, Miami-FL, Georgetown, Auburn, James Madison, San Francisco, Dartmouth, Marist, Loyola-Maryland, and Loyola-Illinois) that are currently open, as I get ready to head to San Antonio, TX tomorrow for what will be my 32nd consecutive NCAA Final Four.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'6 Jr J.P. Prince from Memphis (White Station) TN has Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Memphis, Tennessee, and Mississippi are the top six schools on his list and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has been busy talking to players recently in his area.  The list for 6'9 Jr Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA includes Villanova, Clemson, Ohio State, St.John's, La Salle, Temple, Wisconsin, and Rutgers.  Rutgers, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Maryland, St. Joseph's, Massachusetts, and Georgia are all in the hunt for 6'2 Jr Anthony Farmer from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  Among those showing the most interest in 6'5 Jr Jaron Griffin from Manchester (H.S.) NJ are St. Joseph's, Wake Forest, Rutgers, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Rhode Island, Penn State, Ohio State, George Mason, and Appalachian State.  6'5 Marc Edgerson from Newark (Glascow) DE, who was the Delaware State Player-of-the-Year each of the last two years, has Florida, Temple, St. Joseph's, Georgetown, and La Salle on his list, but will first go to prep school for a year, most likely at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA or Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  6'6 Will Harris from Troy (Redemption) NY, who also will go the prep school route next year, likes Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Kent State, Rhode Island, Providence, Richmond, Rider, New Hampshire, and Hofstra.  The list for 5'11 Jr Paul Gause from Pittsgrove (Arthur P. Schalick) NJ includes Syracuse, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Connecticut, Maryland, and Florida.  The leaders for 6'11 Jr Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Josephs) NJ are Connecticut, North Carolina, Rutgers, Clemson, and Louisville.  Marquette, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Holy Cross, and Texas Tech make up an interesting list for 6'0 Jr Marquis Jones from South Plainfield (H.S.) NJ.  Rubin also talked to Darryl Schofield, who is the head coach at Philadelphia (Luthern) PA and he gave Rubin the scoop on 6'0 Maureece Rice, 6'1 Marvin Kilgore, 6'10 Jr Vernon Goodrich, 6'4 Paul Graham, 6'4 Stephon Jackson, 6'9 Ihsam Phillips, and 6'8 Jr Khalil Hartwell.   Rice likes George Washington, St. Bonaventure, St. Bonaventure, and UNLV.   Kilgore's list includes Kansas State, Kansas, Miami-FL, UNC-Greensboro, UNLV, and Siena.  The list for Goodrich includes Louisville, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Villanova, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Iowa State, Georgetown, Florida State, Miami-FL and Seton Hall.  Graham likes Coppin State, East Tennessee State, and Norfolk State.   Among those in the hunt for Jackson are Penn State, La Salle, Louisville, Western Carolina, Southern Illinois, and Iowa State.  Phillips has an interesting list, which includes Texas A&M, Illinois State, Hofstra, Hartford, Southern Illinois, and Chicago State.  The favorites for Hartwell are Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Siena, Duquesne, La Salle, and Southern Illinois.

Monday, March 29, 2004

We have yet to hear any official word about whether Virginia head coach Pete Gillen will be get another year, but we do know continue to hear names like South Carolina head coach Dave Odom, George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga, former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis, Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker, and Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey being mentioned, if the Virginia job does open.  Those last two names are especially interesting for several of reasons.  First, the potential rivalry that could develop between Brey or Amaker and their former boss Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski could turn out to be very intense in the already  tough Atlantic Coast Conference.  Second, either or both would have the opportunity to return to the Washington, DC area.  If you will recall, Amaker played high school basketball at Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) VA, and Brey played and coached at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD.  Also remember, that we've also already thrown out Brey and Amaker's name for the Georgetown job.  As a matter of fact, we hear that Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins may not be the lock that a lot of people think he is for that job and that Brey and Amaker are a lot more serious candidates for the Georgetown than most people realize.  We also hear that Jarvis may have priced himself out of the Miami-FL job, which is why we continue to think he's got some other aces up his sleeve, like Georgetown and perhaps even Virginia.  And, if Brey and/or Amaker return home, that would mean both the Michigan and Notre Dame jobs would be open and in both cases Gillen would a perfect fit.  Not only has been extremely successful at Xavier and Providence, but he's also has the Virginia program perfectly positioned for next year with four returning starters back from a team that upset three top 20 ranked team in the last two weeks of the season and the addition of 6'0 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, who is expected to step in and immediately become one of the top point guards in the league next year.  Gillen also has done an excellent job of developing assistants coaches, as is evident by the fact that Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr, and College of Charleston head coach Tommy Herrion all worked once worked for Gillen.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Gillen also was an assistant coach at Notre Dame from 1980 to 1985 and, as a result, a lot of people once thought he would be the guy who would take over for Digger Phelps at Notre Dame.  Another great name for the Notre Dame job, if it opens, would be Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor, who not only is one of the hottest young head coaches in the business and a former Irish player, but he also was the team captain when he played for Phelps at Notre Dame in the early 90's.  We also have confirmed a number of important verbal commitments today, including 6'2 Tyrone Jackson from Fresno City (JC) CA to Arizona State, 6'2 Marcus Perry from Southern Union (JC) AL to Nebraska, 6'6 Fred Kuonkorgo from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to Hartford, 5'9 Kashif Payne from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA to Toledo, and 6'3 Kevin Oleksiak from Abington (H.S.) PA to UNC-Greensboro.  The commitments by Jackson and Perry are especially important, because they're two of the top junior college players in the nation and they fill an important need for each program.  As a matter of fact, Jackson was arguably the best junior college player in the state this past season and, as a result, should help the Sun Devils make one of the biggest transitions in college basketball next season.  Remember, everybody, except Jamal Hill and Justin Allen, will back next year, plus they add a strong physical athletic combo guard and a pair of wings who can help contribute immediate.  Remember, last week the Sun Devils also landed 6'6 Bryson Krueger from Yavapai (JC) AZ and last fall they landed 6'7 Tim Pierce from Oakland (Hercules) CA.  They also landed 6'8 Craig Austin from El Camino (H.S.) CA last fall, which means the Sun Devils now have a total of four players in the fold in this recruiting class, which is now tied at #10, along with Memphis, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Perry can flat out score, as is evident by the fact that he was the 4th leading scorer (25.4 ppg) in the junior college ranks this past season.  So he promises to give Cornhuskers head coach Barry Collier the ideal replacement at the shooting guards spot for the graduating Nate Johnson, as well as an excellent complement to the three players - 7'0 Alexis Maric from Australia, 6'5 Joe McCray from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'7 Dillion Sneed from Colby (JC) KS - that Nebraska landed last fall.  The addition of Perry also moves Nebraska's recruiting class into a tie at #21, along with Mississippi State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, even more important, this gives the Cornhuskers what should potentially be their best recruiting class since Barry Collier arrived in Lincoln, NE four years ago.  It also gives Collier and his staff a strong nucleus upon which to build upon in the future, as Scott Spinelli, who is the one of the fastest rising assistant coaches in the business, and Reggie Rankin, who got this one done thanks to his strong contacts in the Deep South, continue to build upon this year's 18-13 overall record and 6-10 record in the tough Big-12 Conference.  Hartford beat Toledo, as well as just about everybody in the American East Conference, for Kounkorgo.  We're talking about an undersized inside guy whose forte is rebounding, blocking shots, and running the floor.  Payne is an athletic point guard who creates havoc on defense and thrives in an uptempo setting.  But he needs to improve his decision making.

Saturday, March 27, 2004, & Sunday, March 28, 2004

Our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton, Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, and Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead all of whom are were in attendance on Friday night, tell us that the two big stories at the adidas-EA Sports Superstar Game in Knoxville, TN involve 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL. "Howard scored, rebounded, blocked shots, ran the break, handled the ball, and totally dominated in the game in every aspect," says Clifton. "You couldn't stop in him athletic inside, he was perfect from the field (9-9 field goals), he ran the break like a 6'0 point guard, and his 10 assists weren't the typical assists of a big man.  Instead, most of his assists came in transition or as part of the offense."  In other words, Howard, who also finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, simply picked up where he left Wednesday night in the 4th Quarter of the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL and, as a result, solidified his spot as the #1 pick in the NBA Draft this spring.  He also probably convinced most of those who still had doubts that he's one of the three best players in high school basketball in the last 10 years, along with Kevin Garnett and LeBron James.  Darius Washington, who was the MVP for the T-Mac Superstars, which lost to the KG Superstars, 149-127, also was almost unstoppable as he finished with 30 points (12-22 field goals and 4-10 3-pointers), eight rebounds, and six assists.  In other words, he did every things but sell tickets and, as a result, he'll probably catch the bug with regards to entering his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  The third best player in the game, according to Clifton, was 6'0 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, who finished with 24 points, 11-19 field goals, and nine rebounds, showed why many think he'll make the same type of impact next year at Virginia that Raymond Felton made a year ago at North Carolina and Chris Paul made this year at Wake Forest.  Also playing extremely well in the adidas-EA Sports Superstar Game were 6'3 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, who finished with 20 points, 7-18 field goals, six rebounds, and four assists; 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, who had 15 points; and 6'7 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, who had 17 points, 8-17 field goals, and seven rebounds.  And this comes on the heels of Brown's terrific performance earlier in the week at the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL, which means he suddenly has to be one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally.  Currently Brown is ranked #40 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Also playing well enough to get mentioned were 6'5 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA with 15 points, 6'2 Toney Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA with 14 points, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA with 14 points, 6'7 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA with 14 points, 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX with nine points, and 6'9 Mohamad Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC with seven points.  Tangara, who did a lot of the dirty work inside, and Dowell, who was as good as anybody in the game athletically and in the open court, also deserve special mention, because they did a lot of the little things that don't always show up in the box score.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the game was 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who finished with 13 points, but didn't rise to the level that we'd expect from the #2-ranked senior in the nation.  And this is very important to point out, because Smith, who, along with Howard, is scheduled to play in his third all-star game on Wednesday, March 31st, in the McDonald's All-American game.  Remember, NCAA rules prohibit players from attending four-year Division I schools, if they appear in more than two post season all-star games and, as a result, we'll know for sure that Howard and Smith are destined to go straight to "The League" three days from now.  It also is important, because, unless something unforeseen happens, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL will be ranked as the #2 senior in the nation ahead of Smith when our Final Rankings of the Class of 2004 come out later this spring.  In other words, this is not a good time for the value of Smith's stock to be dropping. 

Someday I'm going to write a book that will be similar to "A Season Inside." And, just like John Feinstein's book, which began with the closing seconds of the NCAA Championship Game in 1988 when Kansas' Danny Manning had the rebound and the Jayhawks won the NCAA Championship, my book also will begin on the day of the National Championship.  However, instead of going on to recap the season that just concluded, my book, which could be called "A Real Season Inside," will begin the day after the NCAA Championship and deal with the recruiting process, the top high school players in the nation, and all the events that occur during the spring, summer, and fall that will effect things long into the future.  And when people are reading the book two or three years later, they will understand why certain things are happening right before the eyes, as well as have a much better understanding the landscape of college basketball.  I bring this up, because there are a lot of things that relate to the past, present, and future that we need to address now that NCAA Final Four has been set, as Connecticut, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, and Duke all will be playing next weekend in San Antonio, TX.  First, we need to give out several awards, like National College Player-of-the-Year and Coach-of-the-Year.  Picking the Player-of-the-Year have never been easier, as Jameer Nelson led St. Joseph's to a 30-2 season and a Elite Eight finish in the NCAA Tournament.   However, picking the Coach-of-the-Year is next to impossible.  Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton, St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, and Xavier head coach Thad Matta, all of whom guided their team deep into the NCAA Tournament, must get serious consideration for this award.  The same also can be said about Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery, Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon, former UTEP head coach Billy Gillispie, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings, and Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, all of whom did a tremendous job of getting the most out of their teams all season.  Also deserving their share accolades are Nevada head coach Trent Johnson and UAB head coach Mike Anderson, whose teams pulled off not one, but two upsets to get to the Sweet 16, and Alabama's Mark Gottfried, whose team knocked off Stanford in the second round and Syracuse in the Sweet 16.  However, when it's all said and done, Air Force head coach Joe Scott, whose team was one of the biggest surprises in college basketball history, has to get at least a share in this award.  Remember, the Falcons, which were 12-16 overall and 3-11 in the league a year ago, were picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference prior to the start of the season.  They also were ranked #240 among all Division I teams based on talent by the HOOP SCOOP.  But they finished with a 22-7 overall record, won the league by two games with a 12-2 record, and led by North Carolina by five points at half-time before losing to the Tar Heels 63-52 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  A piece of this award also has to go to Eddie Sutton and Paul Hewitt, because their teams are still playing and neither was expected to be ranked among basketball's elite all year prior to the start of the season.  We also think this will solidify Sutton's spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame. We're talking about the 10th winningest coach in the history of the game with 755 wins, plus Sutton also suddenly is in pretty fast company among active head coaches with three or more NCAA Final Four appearances.  Remember, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski will be coaching next week in his 10th NCAA Final Four, Arizona's Lute Olson and Texas Tech's Bob Knight have coached in five NCAA Final Four's, North Carolina's Roy Williams and Louisville's Rick Pitino have coached in four NCAA Final Four's, and Sutton, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, and San Diego State's Steve Fisher have all been there three times apiece.  And Sutton has done it with a lot less talent.  Hewitt not only is one of the rising stars in the business, but the job he's done an incredible job this season.  If you will recall, after losing Chris Bosh, who was the leading scorer (15.6 ppg) and leading rebounder (9.0 rpg) from a team that was 16-15 overall and 7-9 in the league a year ago, Georgia Tech was picked 7th in the league pre-season by the Sporting News Pre-SeasonYearbook.  But now the Yellowjackets are in the NCAA Final Four.  So we're naming Scott, Sutton, and Hewitt as our tri-National Coaches-of-the-Year.  Second, we need to make some predictions.  But before we start, it is important to point out just how important NCAA Final Four experience can be.  And the only team that has any is Duke, which won the NCAA Championship when Chris Duhon was a freshman in 2001.   However, three of the four coaches in this year's NCAA Final Four have been there a combined 14 times and Calhoun, who has only been in the Final Four once before, was one of only seven first-year NCAA Final Four coaches in the last 30 years (since John Wooden retired) to overcome all of the pressure and hype that goes with being there and win the National Championship.  The only others to accomplish this very difficult feat were Jud Heathcote at Michigan State in 1979, Jim Valvano at N.C. State in 1983, Rollie Massamino at Villanova in 1985, Steve Fisher at Michigan in 1989, Jim Harrick at UCLA in 1995, and Tubby Smith at Kentucky in 1998.  And when Connecticut and Duke square off in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon, we think this will be game that decides the NCAA Championship.  These two team teams were the consensus pre-season #1 and #2-ranked teams in the nation; the #1 and #3-ranked teams based on talent by the HOOP SCOOP, and, except for Duke's close encounter with Xavier in the regional semi-finals, the two teams that have been the most dominant throughout the entire tournament.  We also give the Oklahoma State the edge in the other semi-finals game, primarily because Sutton has been there before and it may be tough for the Yellowjackets not to get caught up all the hype.  However, we think both games on Saturday afternoon will be almost too close to call.  In contrast, we look for a Connecticut to win big against Oklahoma State on Monday night.  Make it 83-65 and, if that happens, it also will be the perfect time to starting making the argument that Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun should be in the Basketball Hall of Fame.  Third, we need point out that now is the perfect time to start looking ahead to the spring and it comes as no surprise that we're going to Hal Pastner's three events in April.  We're talking about the Las Vegas Easter Classic in Las Vegas, NV on April 7th-11th; Las Vegas Spring Showcase in Las Vegas, NV on April 16th-18th; and Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX on April 23rd-25th.   Not only does Pastner run his events with the same zest and zeal that we use to do our job, but what he is attempting to pull off this spring is absolutely incredible.   Don't believe it?  Well, the Houston Kingwood Classic promises to be the biggest tournament ever held during a 48-period, the first tournament in Las Vegas, NV promises to be even better than it was a year ago, and the second tournament in Las Vegas, NV also should be outstanding.  Let's first take a closer look at the Las Vegas Easter Classic, which will be open to NCAA Division I college coaches all day on Saturday, April 10th, and Sunday morning, April 11th, with the championship game to be played at 1:00 PM.  The Headquarters will be at UNLV's McDermott Center, Room 304, which is two blocks East of the intersection of Paradise and Harmon Avenue.   College Coaches' Packages will cost $150 and will be available for purchase on Friday night until 11:00 PM, so that coaches can get a head start on Saturday's games.   Among the teams that are scheduled to participate are 1Touch School, 4D, AAC, ABC Classics, Academics First, Agassi Stars, Alaska Eagles, Atla, Alta Hawks, Alta Loma Ranch Cucamonga, Aneesa's Sports, Arizona Cagers, Arizona Rage, Arizona Stars, Basketball Avenue, Bay Area Blue Devils, B-Ball/Inner Cirt Hoops, Belmont Shore, Big Round Orange, Bingham Miners, Blessed IJN, Blue Chips, Blue Streaks, Boomers, Branch West, CABC, California Dragons, California Vipers, CAVC, Chicago Jaguars, Chinese Chickens, Colorado Hawks, Dallas Wildcats, Davis, Dogcatchers, Falcons, Gold Coast, Grizz Kids, Grizzlies Hoops, H Squad, High Desert Ballers, High Desert Shooters, High Five America, Hoop Session Houston Hoops, Huskies, Idaho Falls, Idaho Hoosiers, Inland, Jammers, Las Vegas Clover, Las Vegas Lightning, Las Vegas Magic, Las Vegas Prospects, Las Vegas Rebels, Las Vegas Underdogs, Layton Academy Sports, Legacy Cagers, Los Angeles Paladins, Louisiana Stars, LV Rage, Mad Moves, Moapa Valley Blue Devils, MVP Flight Basketball, New Mexico Huskies, New Jersey Wildcats Black, New Jersey Wildcats Trialblaziers, NorCal All-Stars Ruff Ryders, North County Basketball Academy, Northern Utah Knights, Nuff Sed, Olymus Titans, Outlaws, Parsippany PAL, PCIP Panthers, Poly Nation, Portland Panthers Red, Rising Stars, Salt Lake Metro, Salt Lake Sun Devils, San Antonio Flames, San Diego All-Stars, San Jose Hoosiers, San Diego All-Stars, San Diego Cougars, San Diego Runnin Rebels, Sierra Express, South California Razorbacks, Soldiers, South Florida Chiefs, Southern All-Stars, Southern Nevada All-Stars, Sprint of the North, Stockton Hoyas, Team Inland, Texas Ambassadors, The Hoop, Total Impact, Utah Bruins, Ventura Gold, Wayne PAL Wolfpack, West Coast All-Stars, Wolverines, and Xtreme.  The Las Vegas Spring Showcase will be open to NCAA Division I college coaches all day on Saturday, April 17th, and Sunday until 5:00 PM.  The Headquarters will be at Durango High School at 7100 West Dewey Drive and the price for Coaches' Packages once again will be $150 and they can be gotten beginning on Friday evening until 11:00 PM.  The list of teams includes 1 Tough School of Basketball, 4 Corners, 4D, AAC, AAC Stars 05, ABC, Academics First, Arkansas Angels, Arkansas Wings, Bay Area Blaze, Bay Area Hoosier, B-Ball/Inner City Hoops, Belmore Shore, California Elite, Coast to Coast Basketball Club, Colorado X-Press, Cool Lion, Diamond Bar Bruins, Falcons, H Squad, Houston Hoops, I-Can All Stars, Las Vegas Clovers, Las Vegas Prospects, Los Angeles Paladins, Mad Moves, Milwaukee Spartans, Moreno Valley, No Limits, Nor Cal Elite, Oxnard Aztecs, Polynation, Portland Elite Legends, Portland Panthers Red, Portland Panthers White, RBS All-Stars, Rise & Shine, Rockfish, South Florida Heat, Southern California All-Stars, Southwest Rebels, Skywalkers Basketball, Team Texas, Top Prospects, and Yes Basketball.  And, if that weren't enough to keep us busy all weekend, the adidas Pump N'Run Easter Tournament will also be going on Las Vegas, NV on April 16th-18th (we'll have more on this tournament as the information becomes available).  The Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX will be open to NCAA Division college coaches all day on Saturday, April 24th, and Sunday until 5:00 PM with the conclusion of the championship game.  The Headquarters will be at Westfield High School at 16713 Ella Blvd, there will be nine gyms within walking distance of one another, and Coaches' Packages, which will cost $185, will be available beginning on Friday night until 11:00 PM.   The list of teams includes 1 Tough School AAC Stars, ABC Classics, Academics First, Acadiana Hoops, Agassi Stars, Alamo City Spurs, Albany City Rocks, And 1 ARC, Aneesa's Sports, Arizona Magic, Arizona Rage, Arkansas Kings, Arkansas Wings, Arlington Swoosh, Atlanta All-Stars, Atlanta Celtics, ATX, Austin And 1, Bad Boys, BAM-Murfreesboro, Bay Area Ballers, Bay Area Hoosiers, B-Ball/Inner City Hoops, Beaumont Tarheels, Belmore Shore, Birmingham Raptors, Blazers, Blessed IJN, Boo Williams, Branch West, Breakdownmagazine, California Elite, Capitol City Ballers, Cedar Hill, Central-Texas Shooters, Central Florida PAL, Coast to Coast, Compton Magic, Crosby Magic, D1 Greyhounds, Dallas Elite, Dallas Knights, Dallas Lakers, Dallas Mustangs, Dallas Pacers, Dallas Wildcats, DC Assault, DC Blue Devils, DTA Wisconsin, East Coast Eagles, FIRM, Florida Rays, Force, Fox Valley Skillz, Friends of Hoops, Ft. Worth Wolfpack, Galveston Hornets, Gateway Bball Club, GC Ballers, Georgia Elite, Georgia Stars, Georgia Warriors, GGC of Oregon, Gold Coast, GrandPrairie Wizards, Grand Rapids Lightning, Gulf Coast Dream, H Squad, HCYA Warriors, Houston Ballcats, Houston Bulldogs, Houston Cobras, Houston Cyclones, Houston Defenders, Houston Elite, Houston Flight, Houston Gold, Houston Heat, Houston Hoops Stars, Houston Hoops, Houston Hoops Action, Houston Hornets, Houston Junior, Hardballers, Houston Knights, Houston Lynx, Houston No Limit, Houston Prep Stars, Houston Select, Houston Shocks, Howard Pulley Panthers, I-Can All Stars, Illinois Fire, Illinois Rockers, Illinois Warriors, Illinois Wolves, Indiana Elite, Inland, Jackson Panthers, Jackson Tigers, JacksonvilleLee Bulls, Kansas City Keys, Kansas City Premiere, Katy Warriors, KC Magic, Kentucky Hoopsters, Keystone Gators, Kingwood, Kissimmee Wildcats, Klein Kats, Los Angeles Warriors, Las Vegas Prospects, Lighthouse All-Stars, Long Island Lightning, Long Island Roadrunners, Los Angeles Rockfish, Los Angeles Stars, Louisiana LT Rockets, Louisiana Roundballers, Louisiana Future/Rising, Louisiana Stars, Madison Spartans, Magnolia Stars, Means Streets, Memphis Magic, Miami Tropics, Midstake Ballerz Elite, Midwest Storm, Missouri Texas, Murfreeboro Stars, Nashville Stallions, Nebraska High 5, New England Playaz, New Heights-New York City, New Jersey Cyclones, New Orleans Stallions, New York Gauchos, Nike Team Florida, New Jersey Panthers, New Jersey Wildcats, New Mexico Force All-Stars, North California Elite, North Channel Cyclones, North Texas Rice Owls, Northwest All-Stars, New York Panthers, Old Gold Basketball, Orlando Gold Basketball, Philadelphia Ballhawks, Pittsburgh Jots, Platinum Stars, Playaz Basketball, Port Arthur Spurs, Portland Elite Legends, Portland Panthers, Queen City Prophets, RBS, Rise & Shine, Riverside Church, SA Brahmas, Salt Lake Metro, San Antonio Flames, San Antonio Hoosiers, San Antonio Kings, San Antonio Roadrunners, San Antonio Texas Cobras, SE Texas All-Stars, Senior Hardballers, Silas Texas Skills, Skills, Smyrna Stars, South Carolina Ravens, South Florida Heat, South Texas Roundrunners, South Texas Stallions, Southeast Elite, Southeast Texas Slam, Southern California All-Stars, Southside All-Stars, Southwest Magic, Southwest Rebels, Spiece Central Stars, Spiece Indy Heat, Spiece Select 2005, St. Louis Eagles, Syracuse Rochester RAP, TA Eagles, Tallahassee Wildcats, Tampa Fastbreak, Team Fastbreak, Team Fort Worth, Team Hype, Team Illinois, Team New Mexico, Team Orlando, Team Richmond, Team Tennessee, Team Texas, Team Waco, Tennessee Dreams, Tennessee Travelers, Texas Ambassadors, Texas Bearcats, Team Showtime, Texas State Hoopster, Texas Tar Heels, Texas Terps, Texas Thunder, Texas Wolverines, The Family, Top Prospects, Utah Bruins, Waukegan Traveling, Westfield, Westside All-Stars, Wisconsin Playground Warriors, Woodland Heat, Worldwide Renegades, WVBC Elite, and YOMCA.  In other words, just about everybody in the nation will be at this event and, as a result, Pastner is billing this as the closest thing there is to a national championship. 

Friday, March 26, 2004

The only two players we voted for on our final ballot in the selection process for the McDonald's All-American Game who did not make the team were 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY and 6'1 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY and once again it looks like we were right on the money.  We bring this up because Price not only was the co-MVP in the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL night before last, but he also scored eight points and set a new Roundball Classic record with 15 assists.  In other words, Price, who missed part of the season due to a suspension, suffered from being out-of-sight out-of-mind just like Palacios did when last summer when he was in Columbia.  Palacios, who has played so well this winter that he is now tied at #10 in the HOOP SCOOP's latest rankings of the top seniors nationally, had eight points and four blocks in the Roundball Classic.  And that's good news for college basketball fans, because that's not good enough to increase his value in the eyes of all the NBA scouts who where the attendance and, as a result, Palacios appears to be destined go to college for a year or two.  Instead, the player who helped himself the most in the Roundball Classic was 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, who finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, and dominated inside against 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA.  As a matter of fact, our Alabama Editor Mark Komara thought Swift was the best player in the game, despite the fact 6'5 Earl "J.R." Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who finished with 16 points, five steals, and four assists, was named the MVP for the East Squad MVP and Price and 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, who finished with 12 points and seven assists, were the co-MVP's for the West Squad.  Komara also was extremely impressed with 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, who finished with 15 points and had two of the best dunks of the entire night against 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA.  Howard, who is expected to be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft this spring, finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, but he did most of his damage in the 4th Quarter.  Also offering DePaul fans a sneak preview of what may be in store in the future was 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, who hit 6-10 shots in the first half and finished with 17 points.   Josh Smith chipped in with 15 points, Morris scored 11 points, and 6'6 Roy Bright from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC had nine points and 11 rebounds, but Komara tells us that the unsung hero for the East Squad was 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who scored 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and did all the blue collar stuff inside.  The leading scorer in the game, as well as the ideal complement to Swift and Marvin Williams, was 6'7 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, who finished with 19 points and five rebounds.  Also playing well for the West Squad, which led 66-50 at half-time and won the game 124-110, was 6'8 Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.  We also were right on the money a week ago when we told you that Miami-FL head coach Perry Clark "won't get the ax until next week."  And we also expect to be right on the money with our prediction about former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis being the heavy favorite to become the next head coach of the Hurricanes.  Not only is Jarvis an excellent coach, but he has the right politic connections dating back to when he was the head coach at George Washington and Miami-FL University President Donna Shalala was the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Shalala already has almost hired Jarvis once previously when she was the President at the University of Wisconsin.  We also assume that Jarvis will bring his son, Mike Jarvis Jr, with him, but, even more important, Jarvis will need to hire somebody with strong Florida contacts or retain current Hurricanes assistant coach Kurtis Townsend, who is ranked #4 on our list of the top assistant coaches in the nation and is second to none as a recruiter.  However, if the right deal can't not be struck with Jarvis, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez and Memphis head coach John Calipari also make the short list.  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Robert Dozier from Lithonia (H.S.) GA, who previously committed to Memphis, but did not sign with the Tigers during the fall signing period, has opted to stay home and, as a result, has verbally committed to the University of Georgia.  This moves the Bulldogs' recruiting class, which also includes 6'4 Channing Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA and 6'1 Sundiati Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, into a tie at at #68, along with Colorado and Texas A&M, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  We also have been told that 6'2 Tyrone Jackson from Fresno City (JC) CA will make an official visit to Arizona State this weekend and, if everything goes well on the visit, a verbal commitment could be forthcoming to the Sun Devils almost immediately.  And, assuming that once again we're proven to be correct, the addition of Jackson would move Arizona State's recruiting class, which currently is tied at #42, along with Oregon, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and already includes 6'6 Bryson Krueger from Yavapai (JC) AZ, 6'7 Tim Pierce from Oakland (Hercules) CA, and 6'8 Craig Austin from El Camino (H.S.) CA into a tie at #12, along with USC, Alabama, and Purdue, on this same list.  It also would reinforce why we think Arizona State assistant coach Tony Benford is one of the best recruiters and most astute evaluators of talent in the business.   We also want to point out that last Sunday on our weekly radio show Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report was the first person that we know of who raised the possibility that Boilermakers head coach Gene Keady might leave Purdue in the immediate future.  However, Schmidt didn't tell us the rest of the story, which is that Keady appears to be on the verge of taking the San Francisco job.  And speaking of the San Francisco job, Connecticut assistant coach Clive Vaughan and Arizona assistant coach Rodney Tention have already interviewed and names like former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, and former San Francisco All-American Bill Cartwright also are still being mentioned for the job.  

Thursday, March 25, 2004

Earlier today we published our Ranking of the Top 80 Players in the Class of 2010 (6thGraders) and, as a result, we are finally finished with our updated national player rankings, which include our Ranking of the Top 100+ 5th Year Players (published on November 27th), Ranking of the Top 550 Seniors (published on February 2nd), Ranking of the Top 400 Juniors (published on February 20th), Ranking of the Top 450 Sophomores (published on March 3rd), Ranking of the Top 275 Freshmen (published on March 11th), Ranking of the Top 120 8th Graders (published on February 3rd), Ranking of the Top 100 7th Graders (published on February 3rd), Ranking of the Top 55 5th Graders (published on March 12th), and Ranking of the Top 40 4th Graders (published on March 12th).  That's well over 2000 names and they aren't listed in alphabetical order either.  Instead, we put it on the line where we think each player should be ranked in each class and, as a result, provide you of an excellent snapshot, based on having seen most of the top high school players play on numerous occasions, as well as relying upon our vast network of area editors and correspondents to fill in the gaps and provide the depth necessary to go well beyond anything our competition has attempted to publish.  And while I not seen most of the top middle school and elementary school players, that will change when I attend the adidas Junior Phen Camp on August 6th-8th in San Diego, CA.  Not only will this give us a tremendous head start on the future, but it should eliminate a lot of the debate with regards to where these players should be ranked, because, just like at the NBA Players Association Camp in late June in Richmond, VA, we'll get a chance to see the top players in each class matched up against their peers.  As a matter of fact, Joe Keller, who is the director of the adidas Junior Camp, tells us that this event already is well on its way towards being a smashing success.  Not only does Keller have commitments from most of the top players in each class, but each age group already is almost full (the camp is limited to 80 players in each class).  So, if you know of a player currently in the 6th, 7th, or 8th Grade who you think is good enough to be in this camp, don't procrastinate any longer.  In other words, you need to contact Keller right away via email at adidasjrcamp@aol.com.  I also want to encourage any of our area editors who are planning on getting me an area or state-by-state report anytime soon to not procrastinate any longer, because I'm running out of time, as the NCAA Final Four and the spring recruiting season are almost upon us.   Specifically I'm talking about our New York City and Washington, DC Reports, which I have been promising people for months.  However, I've now turned my focus onto publishing an updated Texas Report by early next week and, thanks to the efforts of our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff, this promises to be one of our best efforts yet.  We also have once again been second to none in terms of talking about coaching rumors this spring, but so far this has not been a good spring for the top up-and-coming coaches who are on the rise in the business, as most of the jobs that have already been filled have been filled by recycled former head coaches who until only now are returning to the college game.  Obviously we're talking about Lon Kruger getting the UNLV job, Larry Eustachy getting the Southern Miss job, and Tom Penders getting the Houston job.  There also is former St.John's head coach Mike Jarvis, North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty, former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins, former New Mexico head coach Fran Fraschilla, and former Clemson head coach Larry Shyatt, all of whom would like to get back into the coaching ranks, if they right situation presented itself.  There also is Purdue head coach Gene Keady, who, instead of retiring at age 67, appears to be line for the San Francisco job.  And, if that happens, the list of candidates is intriguing, as Lavin, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings, Southern Illinois head coach Matt Painter, and Purdue assistant coach Cuonzo Martin all appear to be well positioned to become the next head coach of the Boilermakers.  Or, if you want to go outside of the Purdue family, what about Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight returning to the state of Indiana as the next head coach at Purdue?  Not only would that cause an uproar in the state, but it would also be poetic justice for NCAA President Myles Brand.  Remember, when Brand was the President at Indiana University, he didn't have the guts to fire Knight for cause, but later fired Knight because he violated the school's zero tolerance policy, even though the crime didn't rise to the level of termination.  But it does look like the athletic director at SMU knows that recruiting is the name of the game and, as a result, has the guts to Oklahoma assistant coach Jimmy Tubbs, who is one of the best recruiters in the business.  And hopefully Tubbs' hiring at SMU will mark the reversal of the trend we talked about above and open the flood gates for bright up-and-coming coaches like Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, Nevada head coach Trent Johnson, UAB head coach Mike Anderson, Eastern Washington head coach Ray Giacoletti, Murray State head coach Mick Cronin, Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner, Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins, Cincinnati assistant Andy Kennedy, Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, Richmond assistant coach Gary DeCesare, St. Joseph's assistant coach Matt Brady, Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo, Maryland assistant coach Dave Dickerson, and Maryland assistant coach Jimmy Patsos to achieve upward mobility in the profession this spring.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Lehigh has gotten a verbal commitment from 5'11 Eric Smith from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and we think this is a major steal, because Smith not only is excellent at running the show, but is a terrific 3-point shooter and a good defender.   And the guy who got this done is Lehigh assistant coach Bob Simmons, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the best recruiters in the nation at the low-to-mid major level.  Rubin also has the scoop on Billy Lange, who was the Coordinator of Basketball Operations at Villanova University.  The key word is "was," because Lange has been named the new head coach at the Navy Academy.   And this actually makes a lot of sense when you find out that Lange previously was the head coach at the Merchant Marine Academy, where he compiled a 39-19 record and advanced into the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 during the 2000-01 season. 

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

It looks like Minnesota fans finally has something to cheer about after suffering though a 12-18 season, which was one of the worst in school history.  No, Kris Humphries has not announced that he will return next season and Golden Gophers head coach Dan Monson has not been given his pink slip.  However, getting 6'5 Vincent Grier from Dixie (JC) UT, who is ranked as one of the top consensus top 10 junior college players in the nation, as well as the best 2-guard in the senior college ranks, might be the next best thing.  And University of Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi might even be able to justify giving Monson more time to turn the program around, if he can also land 6'9 J.P. Batista from Barton County (JC) KS, who was the #4-ranked junior college center by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook and among the top 15 players in the junior college ranks by the Street & Smith Pre-Season Yearbook; 6'5 J'son Stamper from Independence (JC) KS, who was the #7-ranked wing forward in the junior college ranks by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook; or 6'3 Roderick Trice from Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA,who was the #4-ranked two-guard in the junior college ranks by the Lindy's Basketball Yearbook, all of whom are being recruited by the Golden Gophers.  Minnesota also is involved with 6'4 Terrell Everett form Southwest Missouri State-West Plains (JC) MO and it looks like 6'9 Jonathan Williams from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA wants to return home and, as a result, might be added as a walk-on.  However, as things stand now, Minnesota's recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN, 6'3 Miles Webb from Brooklyn Park (Park-Center) MN, and 6'0 Rico Tucker from San Diego (University) CA, is tied, along with California, at #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And, if they also get Batista, we'd be talking about a recruiting class that would be tied at #10, along with Memphis, on our Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Even more important, Minnesota also would have two quality inside players in Batista and Tollackson to replace Humphries, who is expected to enter his name into the NBA Draft later this spring, a big-time slasher/athlete in Grier, and more depth in the backcourt provided by Webb and Tucker.  We weren't surprised today when former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy got the Southern Miss job and UTEP Billy Gillispie became the new head coach at Texas A&M nor were we surprised two days ago when 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON became the first high school/prep school player to enter his name into the NBA Draft this spring.  Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the Chiriaev story becomes even more interesting when one finds out that he's been acting like Muhammad Ali.  In other words, Chiriaev has been talking trash saying things like "the NBA needs me" and "I'll be the best player in the Hoop Summit Game," which will be played in San Antonio, TX on Sunday, April 4th.  Apparently Chiriaev is great in individual work-outs, but the jury is still out with regards to the level of competition he's played against and, as a result, whether he can successfully by-pass college and jump straight into the NBA.  So our advise would have been to go to Iowa State, which is where Chiriaev said he would have gone, if had opted to go the college route.  Johnson, who also is our Ohio Editor, has also confirmed that 6'3 Jack Leasure from Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY, who is a lights out 3-point shooter, has verbally committed to Coastal Christian.  It appears that our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis was asleep at the switch last week with regards to the verbal commitment made by 6'11 Mohammed Camara from Riverside (JC) CA to San Diego State.  Obviously this is huge for the Aztecs, because the addition of Camara, who originally committed to St. John's last fall, but was free to sign with another school because he never signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent with the Red Storm, gives San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher a pair of twin towers in this recruiting class.  Did you know that last fall San Diego State also signed 6'10 Jabbar Young from San Bernardino (JC) CA?  Neither did we until today.  Do you suppose that Trigonis doesn't get the fact that his primary journalist responsibility is to beat the competition for the story, instead of to just overhype all the players that play in his program?  But, like they say, better late than never and, as a result, San Diego State's recruiting class, which now includes Camara, Young, and 6'2 Lorenzo Keeler from Escondido (H.S.) CA, moves into a tie at #60, along with Vanderbilt, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And, if San Diego State assistant coaches Brian Dutcher and Gregg Gottlieb, who deserve most of the credit for getting Camara, can also get 6'2 Tyrone Jackson from Fresno City (JC) CA, the Aztecs' recruiting class would move into a tie at #17, along with Florida  and Kansas, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Currently Jackson, who was the Central Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year, a consensus top 25 junior college player, and his team's leader in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals, is considering San Diego State, USC, Brigham Young, Arizona State, and Washington.  Another option for San Diego State at point guard is 5'11 Issac Hines from Collin County (JC) TX, who was the #4-ranked junior college point guard by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  However, San Diego State no longer is in the hunt for 6'4 Matt Gibson from Three Rivers (JC) MO, who verbally committed to Hawaii on Saturday.  And Gibson, who is not to be confused with 6'9 Matt Gipson from North Idaho (JC) ID, who signed with Hawaii last fall, is a huge catch for the Rainbows.  Gibson is best described as a prolific scorer, as is evident by the fact that he was the #4-ranked scorer in the junior college ranks this year with 25.8 ppg and was ranked #1 in free throw percentage at 90.2%.  It also appears that Trigonis isn't the only one who was asleep at the switch last week, as the verbal commitment by 6'3 Kevin Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA to Fordham slipped right past our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio.  And this too is important, because the addition of Anderson moves Fordham's recruiting class into a tie at #76, along with Boston College, Mississippi, and New Mexico State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Fordham also appears to be close to getting a verbal commitment from 6'2 Marcus Stout from Detroit (Renaissance) MI and, if they pull this off, their recruiting class would move into a tie at #62, along with Tulane, Liberty, Georgetown, and Brigham Young.  Speaking of Naclerio, he really does not appear to be on top of his game, because he has no idea who is going to get the St. John's job, he has no idea that hiring Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez at St. John's would be a home run, and he still can't give me a date when he will put his updated New York City Report into my hands.  Neither can our Washington, DC area editor Steve Turner, but he at least has an excuse.  Did you know that Washington (Gonzaga) DC head coach Dick Myers retired last week and, as a result, Turner, who is an assisant coach at Gonzaga, is dealing with the fallout that always goes with a coaching change.  And Myers isn't the only legendary high school to have resigned within the last week, as Memphis (White Station) TN head coach Terry Tippett called it quits yesterday.  It also is fitting that Eddie Oliver, who publishes the HoopsUSA.com web site, beat our Tennessee Editor Jim Rothman and Tennessee Correspodent Andre Whitehead by making us aware of this very important item first.  Oliver also has done an excellent job of providing his readers with high school tournament and event results from around the country, so we encourage you to visit his web site. 

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Can you believe that Tom Penders has been named the new head coach at the University of Houston?  Sure, Penders is a good coach and he's been successful everyplace he's coached (Tufts, Columbia, Fordham, Rhode Island, Texas, and George Washington), but Penders is 58-years-old and he's had health problems in the past (Penders had a heart condition that required a pacemaker, but he's been given a clean bill of health).  Houston athletic director Dave Maggard obviously wants to return the program back to the level it attained in the late 60's with Elvin Hayes and the early 80's with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, but it appears that he's opted to go with Penders' exciting fast-paced style over Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner's ability to get the top players in the Houston area to stay at home.   Remember, that's been the Cougar Achilles heel in recent years.  Also remember, that despite Pastner's age (he's only 26-years-old), he coached one of the top club team programs in the nation (the Houston Hoops) prior to becoming a full-time assistant coach at Arizona, where he's quickly established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation, two years ago.  We also continue to hear Indiana head coach Mike Davis' name being mentioned for the Auburn job, but the word we get out of Alabama is that it's UAB head coach Mike Anderson's job to turn down.  So don't look for anything to happen with Auburn as long as UAB keeps playing in the NCAA Tournament.  And, if Anderson does get the Auburn job, don't be surprised if the Blazers turn around and hire UAB assistant coach Scott Edgar, who not only has previous head coaching experience at Murray State and Duquesne, but, just like Anderson, is also a former Nolan Richardson assistant.  We also continue to hear that Cincinnati assistant coach Andy Kennedy is the leading candidate for the Southern Mississippi job, Eastern Washington head coach Ray Giacoletti may be emerging is the person to beat for the Utah job, and Nevada head coach Trent Johnson could be in line for the USC job, if Trojans head coach Henry Bibby doesn't survive.  However, it's our guess that Bibby will get at least another year, because USC athletic director Mike Garrett apparently has given Bibby a vote of confidence.  We also continue to get mixed signals with regards to what is going to happen with the Miami-FL job, but, when it's all said and done, our guess is that former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis will become the next head coach of the Hurricanes.  Most people also assume that Georgetown is Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins' job to turn down.  But, if they don't want to wait that long (Duke is expected to be playing in the NCAA Tournament for another two weeks) and Princeton head coach John Thompson III's interview went well enough yesterday, this might become a done deal quicker than you think.  A move like this also would placate former head coach John Thompson, who apparently was not happy when his long time right hand man Craig Esherick was fired last week.  But that doesn't mean that Thompson III doesn't deserve a shot at the job in his own right.  Remember, the Princeton program hasn't missed a beat since the younger Thompson, who has posted a 68-42 record, took over four years ago when Bill Carmody left for Northwestern.  And, perhaps even more important, Thompson's father built the Georgetown program into one of the premier programs in college basketball in the early 80's and, as a result, the Thompson name is synonymous with Hoyas basketball.  And John Thompson III isn't the only one of John Thompson's sons who could make a major move this spring.  As a matter of fact, right now it looks like Arkansas assistant coach Ronny Thompson is as strong as anybody for the James Madison job.  And that puts him in pretty fast company, because the other leading candidates for the JMU job appear to be former North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty, former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy, Clemson assistant coach Ron Bradley, N.C. State assistant coach Larry Hunter, American University head coach Jeff Jones, Kentucky assistant coach David Hobbs, Georgia Tech assistant coach Dean Keener, and Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall.  The leading candidates for the SMU job have been American University head coach Jeff Jones, Oklahoma State assistant coach James Dickey, Oklahoma assistant coach Jimmy Tubbs, and Texas assistant coach Frank Haith.  However, Haith has taken his name out of the running and, as a result, the question becomes do you hire a proven head coach or somebody who knows the program and the area?  Did you know that Tubbs was the head coach at Dallas (Kimball) TX for eight years and an assistant coach at SMU for four years?   Tubbs also is the guy who landed Bryan Hopkins at SMU a couple of years ago and he's so popular in Dallas, TX that a number of the area high school coaches have gotten together and sent a letter to SMU endorsing him for the job and assuring that administration that he'd get most of the top players from Dallas, TX.  In other words, Tubbs may be to SMU what Pastner could have been for the University of Houston.   We also have heard that former Texas A&M assistant coach Lew Hill could be in line for the UNLV job and, if that happens, the Aggies' best player 6'7 Antoine Wright might follow him to Las Vegas, NV.  However, our guess is that once the Aggies hire UTEP head coach Billy Gillispie, he'll convince Wright that he'll be able turn things around just as quickly as he did at Texas-El Paso this season and, as a result, there is no need for Wright to transfer and sit out a year.   We also have confirmed that Arizona State has landed one of the top wing players in the junior college ranks in 6'6 Bryson Krueger from Yavapai (JC) AZ.   We're talking about a prolific scorer with excellent athleticism and the ability to help transform the Sun Devils from the bottomof the league into one of the better teams in the league next year, especially since 6'8 Ike Diogu recently announced that he won't be entering his name into the NBA Draft this spring and, as a result, promises to be one of the premier players in college basketball next year.  And Krueger isn't he only player that Arizona State will get a major upgrade from at the wing spot in this recruiting class.  If you will recall, last fall the Sun Devils also signed 6'7 Tim Pierce from Oakland (Hercules) CA, who is just oozing with athleticism and potential.  They also signed 6'8 Craig Austin from El Camino (H.S.) CA, but he's not ready to step in and make an immediate impact next year and, as a a result, the Sun Devils are still looking to sign another big man and/or junior college player in this recruiting class.  Our guess is that they will go the junior college route.  This would be especially important to do at the point guard spot, because they don't want to bring in a point guard out of high school in the class of ahead of 5'11 Jr Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA, who is one of Arizona State's prime recruiting targets in the junior class nationally.   Arizona State beat schools like Oklahoma, Miami-FL, Iowa State, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Oregon, and Oregon State for Krueger's services. 

Saturday, March 20, 2004, Sunday, March 21, 2004, & Monday, March 22, 2004

Our New York City City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY will not be participating later this week in the EA Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL on March 24th, and the adidas High School Classic in Knoxville, TN on March 26th.  However, Naclerio also warns us not to be fooled into thinking that Telfair is skipping these two games because he does not want to jeapordize his college playing status.  Remember, NCAA rules prohibit high school players from playing in more than two post-season all-star games, if they want to retain their college eligibility.  Instead, Telfair's decision has to do with the fact that Lincoln High School will be play the winner of the semi-finals game between Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, which will be held on Friday at 6:45 PM, in the New York State Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at 3:45 PM in Glen Falls, NY.  Obviously helping his team win a second straight state championship is Telfair's primary focus.  But, even if he wanted to play in the Roundball Classic and the adidas High School Classic, he is prevented from doing so, because the New York State High School Athletic Association prohibits a player from playing in all-star games before the season over.   So our guess is that Telfair will participate in the McDonald's All-American Game on March 31st, the Hoop Summit in San Antonio, TX on April 4th, which is exempt from the two all-star game limit, and the Jordan Capital Classic in College Park, MD on April 17th.  Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead tells us that Memphis (White Station) TN won the Tennessee AAA State Championship for the third consecutive year with a 82-71 win over Jackson (Northside) TN in Murfreesboro, TN on Saturday night.  The tournament MVP was 5'11 Reilly Ervin, who had 26 points in the championship game and is a prime recruiting target for schools like Harvard, and Columbia, and Tennessee State, but Whitehead tells us that 6'0 Courtney Pigram, 6'5 Jonathan Ball, and 6'6 Jr J.P. Prince, all from Memphis (White Station) TN, also played well enough to get tournament MVP consideration.  So it comes as no surprised that that Ervin, Pigram, Ball, and Prince were named to the all-tournament team, along with 6'3 Jr Alex Perry from Lebanon (Wilson Central) TN, 6'2 Justin Hare from Cleveland (Bradley Central) TN, 6'1 Kellen Pickel from Cleveland (Bradley Central) TN, 6'0 Ramon Williams from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'5 Jr Richard Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, and 6'5 Jr Reginald Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN.  Speaking of the Delks, Whitehead's choice as the best player in the tournament, as well as the fastest rising player in the state is Richard Delk, who now has to be ranked right up there along with his brother among the top five juniors in the state.  They not only remind you of their cousin (former Kentucky All-American Tony Delk) with their long arms, athleticism, and ability to shoot the lights out, but whoever signs them will probably get two for the price of one just like Mike Anderson did a year ago when UAB landed Donell Taylor and Ronell Taylor.  Making the story even more interesting is the fact that Memphis, Mississippi State, Tennessee, UAB, and N.C. State are among the early favorites for both Delks.  And, if Indiana head coach Mike Davis gets the Auburn job, Memphis head coach John Calipari gets the St. John's job, and Anderson gets the Memphis job and then convinces the Delks to stay home, there would be more misdirection involved than with that spectacular play that the Taylor's pulled off yesterday that resulted in an uncontested lay-up in the second half of UAB's stunning upset against Kentucky yesterday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  Getting back to the Tennessee State Tournament, Bolivar (H.S) TN beat Jackson (Southside) TN to take home the AA State Championship, 80-60, and 6'6 Brian Lake from Bolivar (H.S.) TN, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds in title game and a double-double in all three games of the tournament, was the named the MVP.  However, Whitehead was just as impressed with 6'2 Soph Willie Kemp from Bolivar (H.S.) TN, who had 19 points and eight assists in the championship game and was a man-among-boys in terms maturity, savvy, and domination in all three games.   Whitehead also gives special mention to 6'9 Soph Dwayne Chism from Jackson (Southside) TN, who is yet another great sophomore from the Memphis area, which also includes Kemp, 6'9 Soph Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'7 Soph Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, and 6'8 Soph Joseph Watkins from Memphis Hamilton) TN and is the nucleus of the best class the state has seen in 20 years.  We also have confirmed that the College of Charleston has landed 6'7 J.R. Hairston from Fork Union (Military) VA, who is ranked #67 nationally on our list of the Top 5th Year Players and is the equivalent of a top 200 senior nationally.  Hairston needs to get bigger and stronger to play inside and/or extend his shooting range to play on the perimeter, but he's very active, very athletic, and we really like his upside.  Hairston also should provide the perfect complement to the five players - 6'8 Josh Jackson from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'7 Tavon Nelson from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'2 Marcus Hammond from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'8 Jermaine Johnson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'10 Ben Brown from Richmond (Steward School) VA - that the College of Charleston signed last fall and, as a result, their recruiting class moves up to #26 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And this class is also extremely noteworthy for several other reasons.  First, the College of Charleston now has the highest ranked recruiting class in the nation when you exclude teams from the top seven conferences (ACC, Big-10, Big East, Big-12, Conference USA, Pacific-10, and Southeastern Conferences).  Second, this recruiting class reads like a Who's Who of Good 5th Year Players, which should give Cougars Tommy Herrion and his staff a big edge both in terms of maturity and an added year of experience.

Friday, March 19, 2004

We finally caught up with our North Carolina/South Carolina editor Brian Clifton, who ran the D'one Sports Super 60 Showcase, which was held last weekend in Greensboro, NC, and he tells us it was a smashing success.   And it didn't take long for 6'6 Frosh Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Glenn) NC to "separate himself from the rest with a series of high flying dunks, deep jumpers and acrobatic blocks."  Wallace also brought the house down early by "venturing above the square to retrieve the shot of one unsuspecting participant and processed to erase all doubt about whether he is worthy of his top 20 national ranking by the HOOP SCOOP."  So it should come as no surprise that Wallace was named the MVP of the entire showcase.  Also ranked among the top five at the showcase were 6'0 Soph Brandon Evans from Fayetteville (Westover) NC, 6'6 Frosh Marshall Moses from Aiken (H.S.) SC, 6'1 Frosh Dane Williams from Fayetteville (Trinity Academy) NC, and 6'1 Frosh Darien Crawford from Aiken (H.S.) SC.  The second five included 5'11 Tyree Graham from Durham (Southern Durham) NC, 5'11 Frosh Malcolm Pope from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'5 Frosh DaQuan Joyner from Goldsboro (H.S.) NC, 6'5 Frosh Josh Lanham from Greensboro (Day School) NC, 6'5 Frosh Domonique Lacey from Florence (Wilson) SC.  The third five included 5'11 Frosh Keronte Walker from Fayetteville (Westover) NC, 6'1 Frosh Shamar Bowden from Greensboro (Grimsley) NC, 6'6 Frosh Maurice Marley from Durham (Hillside) NC, 6'6 Frosh RaeVonn Banks from Fayetteville (Westover) NC, 5'11 Frosh John Mariano from Naugatuck (H.S.) CT.  The 4th five included 5'9 8th Grader Kevin Dillard from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL, 5'9 Frosh Andre Cornelius from Charlotte (Independence) NC, 5'5 8th Grader DeSean Dockery from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL, 6'3 8th Grader Rayshawn Walker from Fayetteville (Albritton) NC, and 6'4 Frosh Bobby Connelly from Durham (Jordan) NC.  The two players who helped themselves the most last weekend were Lacey and Mariano, both of whom were not previously ranked by the HOOP SCOOP, but left little doubt that they deserve to be ranked among the top 100 freshmen in the nation.   Lacey is "a rangy aggressive wing" and Mariano is "a super skilled dead-eye point guard."  The two biggest surprises in this sophomore and freshman heavy event were the two 8th Graders from Chicago, IL.  Dillard is ranked #49 and Dockery is ranked #62 nationally among 8th Graders by the HOOP SCOOP, but they wasted no time showing the older players that they could play up.  Dockery, who is the cousin of Duke point Sean Dockery, also proved to be a dead-eye 3-point shooter, as he hit three straight treys and almost brought his team back from a 11-point deficit.  At 5'5, one would think that these 3-pointers came as a result of a teammate driving and dishing to a wide open Dockery tucked in the soft spot of a zone.   But Clifton tells us that nothing could be further from the truth. "Twice off of open court steals and once off a long rebound this future big time point guard canned 22-footer jumpers over defenders to singlehandledly bring his team back." 

Thursday, March 18, 2004

We were somewhat surprised earlier today when we heard that Auburn head coach Cliff Ellis had been fired.  Sure, the Tigers were mediocre at best this season with a 14-14 overall record and 5-11 conference record and there is a pending NCAA Investigation against the Auburn program.    However, Ellis also had a 612-349 32-year career record and a 186-125 10-year record at Auburn, he guided the Tigers to a 29-4 record and the Southeastern Conference Championship in 1999, and last year's team advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Syracuse by only one point.  The early favorite for the Auburn job appears to be UAB head coach Mike Anderson, who not only is extremely popular in the state right now, but also already has a 41-22 record in just two years as the head coach of the Blazers.  And his team is still playing (they will face Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 9:30 PM tomorrow night and we pick the Blazers to win that game).  And, if Anderson gets the Auburn job that would make his top assistant coach Scott Edgar, who has previous head coaching experience at Murray State and Duquesne, one of the leading candidates for the job, along with Cincinnati assistant coach Andy Kennedy, who played at UAB for Gene Bartow and served as an assistant coach at UAB during the Murry Bartow era.  However, also don't count out Indiana head coach Mike Davis for the Auburn job and, if that happens, the recruiting battle for the top players in the state between Auburn and Alabama would be even more intense than the game that the Crimson Tide squeaked out earlier today against Southern Illinois.  Remember, Davis is originally from the state of Alabama and, as a result, there is no question in our mind that he'd take the Auburn job in a New York minute, if the money was right.  This also would get the dominos falling even faster (currently there are 18 jobs that have already opened this spring, as St. John's, Georgetown, Texas A&M, Utah, UNLV, Houston, SMU, Southern Miss, James Madison, San Francisco, Florida International, Loyola-Illinois, Maryland-Baltimore County, Loyola-Maryland, Akron, Navy, and Dartmouth have already opened), because, if the Indiana job opens, everybody knows that Steve Alford is the logical choice to become the next head coach of the Hoosiers and Creighton head coach Dana Altman's dream job is the University of Iowa.  We also have heard that Miami-FL head coach Perry Clark won't get the ax until next week and it looks like USC head coach Henry Bibby could be in trouble after two straight disappointing seasons (13-17 a year ago and 13-15 this season).    Also adding to Bibby's predicament is the fact that his ace recruiter Mavin Menzies has accepted a similar position at UNLV, plus 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakerfield (H.S.) CA and 6'5 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, both of whom signed with the Trojans last fall, are expected go pro and to prep school.  We also do not think that today's impressive 15-point win by Manhattan over Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament will have any effect on whether Jaspers head coach Bobby Gonzalez gets the St. John's job.    Remember, despite the fact that St. John's needs to hit a home run with this hire and numerous people in the know, like Reebok's Sonny Vaccaro, ESPN's Dick Vitale and Fran Fraschilla, Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News, Louisville head coach Rick Pitno, Five-Star's Howard Garfinkel, and the HOOP SCOOP, think hiring Gonzalez at Manhattan is a no-brainer, the powers-that-be at St. John's still appear to have no idea what they're doing, even though the job as been open three months now. 

Our International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the rosters for the 2004 World Select Team, which will play the 2004 USA Men's Junior National Select Team, in San Antonio, TX on Sunday, April 4th, were announced yesterday and a number of these players have some very interesting connections to the United States.  And right at the top of the list is Xavier-bound 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD via Nigeria, who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   There also is 6'10 Woyceck Barycz from Poland, who originally committed to Mississippi State last spring, but then decided to turn professional and play for the Basket Rimini Crabs.  The player who has the most to gain or lose by his performance in the game is 7'1 Ivan Chirieav from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON via Russia.  If you will recall, Chirieav is incredible in individual work-outs, but the competition he's played against in Canada is suspect and, as a result, the value of his stock has recently slipped.  However, regardless of his performance in the Hoop Summit we still expect Chirieav to enter his name into the NBA Draft this spring, because he's missed a lot of school and hardly speaks any English.  In other words, we could be talking about the next Dirk Nowitski or the next Darko Milicic.  There also is 7'1 Yi Jian Lian from China, who was one of the better players when we saw him two year ago at the adidas ABCD Camp when he was a sophomore.  As a matter of fact, at the time we thought he had more potential than Yao Ming.  And we still do.  Lian, who projects as the best player in the game, is still only 17-years-old, so he probably won't enter his name into the NBA Draft for another year.  However, in whatever year he comes out, he'll project as a lottery pick.  There also is 6'10 Andris Biedrins from Latvia, who made his American debut last summer at the adidas Big-Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  Johnson also tells us that NBA scouts are projecting Biedrins as a lottery pick in the NBA Draft.  But, unless Biedrins wants to get some general manager fired, he'd better have dramatically improved since we saw him last summer in Las Vegas, NV.  There also is 6'3 Sergio Rodriguez from Spain, who played in the same tournament as Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA in January in Spain and impressed all of the NIKE people who were in attendance.  Johnson also tells us that 6'9 Marcus Vinicius Vieira De Souza from Brazil is out of the Tayshaun Prince-mold and 6'6 Roko Leni Ukic, who led his team to the European Junior Championship two years ago, is considered by many to be the top point guard in Europe. Which leaves 6'11 Andrea Bargnani from Italy, who likely will be a first round pick in the NBA Draft this year, and 6'11 Luka Bogdanovic from Serbia & Montenergro, who likely will be a first round pick in the NBA Draft in 2005.  The 2004 USA Men's Junior National Select Team, which was announced a while back includes 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  Speaking of Telfair, he led his team to an unprecedented third straight New York City PSAL (Public School Athletic League) Championship last night with a 74-65 win against Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  Telfair, who scored a game high 25 points, including 17 in the second half, also is the leading scorer in New York City high school basketball history with almost 3,000 career points.  And he's not done yet, because, with last night's win, his team advances to the New York State Tournament, where they will attempt to make it a repeat of a year ago.  Telfair also continues to insist that he plans to honor his National Letter-of-Intent with Louisville, but the fact that he's listed on the rosters of five different post-season all-star games (adidas High School Classic, EA Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL, McDonald's All-American Game, McDonald's All-American Game, the Hoop Summit, and Jordan Capital Classic National Game) is probably a clearer indication of his plans.  If you will recall, the NCAA restricts high school players from participating in more than two all-star games, if they want to retain their college eligibility.  However, the Hoop Summit is exempt and, as a result, players participating in this game can play in three all-star games.  We also have confirmed that 7'3 Sam Harris from Australia has verbally committed to Old Dominion, 6'0 Jon Ager from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY has verbally committed to Monmouth, and 6'8 Joey Street from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA plans to walk-on at Arizona State.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis also tells us that 6'1 Josh Akognon from Petaluma (Casa Grande) CA has emerged as the biggest sleeper in the state and, as a result, schools like California and USC have made him a recruiting priority. 

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

You can chalk another one up for the HOOP SCOOP, because for months we've been speculating on whether the Georgetown job would open this spring.  Obviously we never want to see a coach get fired, but when you're as far out on a limb as we were on this one, it's nice to be right.  But some very important questions still remain to be answered.  Like does former Georgetown head coach John Thompson still have enough clout to help his son, Princeton head coach John Thompson III or former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis, who sent him Patrick Ewing when he was the head coach at Cambridge (Rindge & Latin) LA in 1981, get the job?  Our guess is that right now Thompson would have to push Jarvis for the job, but, if Princeton upsets Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which is something we predict will happen (see our speculation on the NCAA Tournament from Sunday), then Thompson's son will get the upper hand.  We also have to wonder if Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins isn't the only person in the Mike Krzyzewski family who might be interested the Georgetown job (the Duke coach will probably have some influence on who gets the job due to the strong ties that Georgetown, John Thompson, and Krzyzewski all have with NIKE).  Remember, Dawkins, who played high school basketball at Washington (Mackin) DC, Michigan head coach Tommy Amaker, who played high school basketball at Fairfax (W.T. Woodson) VA, and Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, who played and coached at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, all are originally from the Washington, DC area and they all worked for Krzyzewski at Duke.  Another great name for the Georgetown job is Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor, who has done an incredible job (36-22) during his two years as head coach of the Mountain Hawks.  In other words, we're talking about a somebody who is extremely well educated, articulate, and black, all of which may be a prerequisite for the Georgetown job.  We also hear that Amaker could be in line for the Virginia job, if Cavaliers head coach Pete Gillen doesn't survive this spring.  However, we think Gillen deserves a vote confidence with a couple of strings attached.  First, if Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage keeps Gillen, there should be no, if's, and's, or but's about next year.  The Cavaliers have to be in the NCAA Tournament next year or else.  Second, Gillen should be given permission to look for another job, if he so chooses, because he's a good coach, a first class person, and, he would be leaving the program in excellent shape, if he opted for a fresh start someplace else.  We also are hearing more and more that Memphis head coach John Calipari and former St. John's All-American Chris Mullin have emerged as the leading candidates for the St. John's job.  And, if Calipari gets St. John's, would that open the door for Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez to get the Memphis job?   And, if Mullin gets the St. John's job, would that open the door for Bayside (Cardozo) NY head coach Ron Naclerio, who also is the New York Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, to become an assistant coach at St. John's?  We hear from sources other than Naclerio, who also tried to deny that last fall that he was getting 6'9 Jr Theo Davis right up until he enrolled into school, that it not only will happen, but that Davis, who is ranked #19 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, may also be apart of the package.  It also looks more and more like North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty is a long shot for the St. John's job, but also is one of the favorites, along with Arkansas assistant coach Ronny Thompson, Northeastern head coach Ronnie Everhart, Georgia Tech assistant coach Dean Keener, Clemson assistant coach Ron Bradley, N.C. State assistant coach Larry Hunter, for the James Madison job.   As a matter of fact, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that he's heard that Doherty may already have been offered the JMU job. 

I first read that 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA was 50-50 in terms of his decision regarding whether he would enter his name into the NBA Draft this spring or honor the National Letter-of-Intent he signed last fall with Indiana this morning in the Louisville Courier-Journal.  Then I saw the same story on ESPN.com.   However, it's no longer even a story in our mind, because Smith, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY are scheduled to appear in at least five all-star games this spring.  One of the games, the Hoop Summit in San Antonio, TX, April 4th, is exempt from the two game all-star limit that the NCAA imposed in the early 1980's, but the fact that Howard, Smith, and Telfair are scheduled to appear in the EA Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL on March 24th, the adidas High School Classic in Knoxville, TN on March 26th, the McDonald's All-American Game in Oklahoma City, OK, on March 31st, and the Jordan Capital Classic National Game in College Park, MD on April 17th is a clear indication of their intent to by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA Draft.  And Smith, Howard, and Telfair aren't the only players who are scheduled to appear in more than two all-star games, as 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, and 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA all are currently on the rosters for three different games.  However, the Hoop Summit is one of the games that Aldridge, Jefferson, Hairston, Gay, Williams, and Farmar are scheduled to appear in and, as a result, Swift and Noah are the only other players who appear to be over the limit.  And it's our guess that Noah will back out of one of three games - Roundball Classic, the adidas High School Classic or the Charm City Challenge, which will be held at Towson University in Towson, MD on April 4th, because he's smart enough to know that he needs at least several years of college to continue to develop before entering his name into the NBA Draft.  So obviously there will be some minor adjustments to the rosters of the games mentioned above, plus the rosters for the Derby Classic, which will be held in Louisville, KY on April 24th, have not been announced yet.  But when they are, we will add the players to our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players and Ranking of the Top Seniors, which are color coordinated symbols to the right of each player's name on these two lists.  The EA Roundball Classic is denoted by the letter "R" and is in gray.  The adidas High School Classic in Knoxville, TN is denoted by the letter "A" and is in green.  The McDonald's All-American Game is denoted by the letter "M" and is in red.  The Hoop Summit is denoted by the letter "H" and is in pink.  The Charm City Challenge is denoted by the letter "T" and is in green.  The Jordan Capital Classic National Game in College Park, MD is denoted by the letter "C" and is in black and the Jordan Capital Classic Regional Game is denoted by the "C" and is in blue.  And keeping track of all this is probably more important than ever, because a great performance in one of these games will probably be enough to tip a player over the top with regards to whether he enters his name into the NBA Draft or not.  We already assume that Howard, Smith, Telfair, Swift, Aldridge, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, and 7'1 Ivan Cheriev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON are already pretty much gone into the NBA Draft, but other possibilities include 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL,6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'8 Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'5 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and 6'10 Jackie Butler from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA.  That's 17 players who could by-pass college and enter the draft and, if most of them go, it would be devastasting for the future college game.  As a matter of fact, just like when Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant started the current trend, whereby, the top several players every year think they are good enough to go straight to "The League," ready or not, from this point forward the top 10 to 15 high school players in the nation every year will probably attempt to make the jump.  Believe it or not, several players have even gone so far as to tell us this winter that it's now every high school player's dream to be good enough to by-pass college and enter the NBA Draft. 

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has confirmed that 6'5 Mark Tyndale from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA has verbally committed to Temple University and Michigan Hurricanes head coach Will Smith tells us that 6'3 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (H.S.) MI, who is ranked #22 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has reneged on his verbal commitment that he made last fall to the Spartans.  Smith also tells us that Florida, Syracuse,Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Michigan State are now the schools on Devendorf's list.  Devendorf also becomes the 4th junior who is ranked among our top100 nationally to have made an early verbal commitment, but later changed his mind.  If you will recall, last spring 6'0 Jr Eric Price from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ verbally committed to Memphis and during the winter 6'9 Jr Joey Cameron from Leeds (H.S.) AL verbally comitted to Clemson and 6'7 Jr Rashad Woods from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX verbally committed to Baylor.  But they all later reneged.  And how about 6'6 Soph Tyrone Armstrong from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA making an early verbal commitment yesterday to Pepperdine?  With schools like Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, and Fresno State also already showing early interest and Armstrong being listed among top 100 sophomores nationally on some lists, it will interesting to see if this one holds up as well.  It also appears that 6'10 Jr Davis Nwankwo from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD can't get into school at Stanford, so his top five schools now are Arizona, UCLA, Northwestern, Princeton, and Gonzaga and Pepperdine.  We also appears that Florida is the early favorite for 6'5 Jr Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI, Ohio State is the leader for 6'5 Jr Jabari Currie from Detroit (Pershing) MI, and Notre Dame will get 6'5 Jr Michael Bramos from Grosse Pointe (North) MI, if they decide to offer.  However, Michigan and Michigan State also are showing interest in Bramos and all of the Mid-American Conference schools and Detroit are hanging in their just in case the top level schools don't offer.  Also noteworthy is the fact that the rosters for the Charm City Classic, which will be held in Towson, MD, on Sunday, April 4th, have been announced and the United States All-Stars include 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 Cheyenne Moore from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'1 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'2 Zam Frederick from St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC, 6'8 James Gist from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 6'8 Adrian Joseph from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'9 Darian Townes from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and the Baltimore All-Stars include 6'8 Jerome Johnson from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL, 6'7 Will Thomas from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD, 6'5 Jamal Smith from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'1 Darnell Harris from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, 6'6 Justin Drummond from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, 5'10 Jerrell Green from Baltimore (Southern) MD, 6'8 Leon Williams from Baltimore (Cardinal Gibbons) MD, 6'7 Branden Albert from Glen Burnie (H.S.) MD, 5'11 Lance Fuller from Baltimore (Woodlawn) MD, 6'5 Jason Goode from Baltimore (Woodlawn) MD, and 5'9 Mitch Guest from Glen Burnie (H.S.) MD.   We also have confirmed the rosters for the adidas High School Classic, which will be held March 26th in Knoxville, TN and there have been some changes since we published the original list on Monday, March 8th.  The two players that have been deleted are 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY and 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT and the five players who have been added are 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'8 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Gavin Grant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA.  Also switched from the original rosters are Howard, Telfair, and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL from the T-Mac Superstars to the KG Superstars and Swift, 6'9 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, and 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA from the KG Superstars to the T-Mac Superstars. 

Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY beat Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 56-42, to win the CHSAA (Catholic High School Athletic Association) Championship on Sunday and Bayside (Cardozo) NY will try and prevent Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY from winning an unprecedented third consecutive PSAL (Public School Athletic League) Championship before what is expected to be the largest high school basketball crowd in New York City history tomorrow night at 7:00 PM Madison Square Garden.  Obviously the big key to this game will be 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who not only is the all-time leading scorer in New York City basketball history, but also is arguably the best point guard ever from a city that is known for producing great point guards.  And Telfair is due for a big game after subpar performances against Brooklyn (Grady) NY in the semi-finals (13 points and 4-11 field goals) and Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY in the quarterfinals (12 points and 3-14 field goals).  Instead, Lincoln's best player in boht games was 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena, who had 20 points in their 66-54 quarterfinals win against Boys & Girls and 18 points in their 73-68 semi-finals win against Grady.  Also coming off the bench to chip in with 16 points for Lincoln against Grady was 6'2 Jr Jamal Jackson.   Lincoln also features 6'0 Eugene Lawrence and 6'5 Jr Nayang Boating, but Cardozo has even more balance as they just miss having six players - 6'9 Theo Davis (15.8 ppg and 12.6 rpg) 5'10 Jr Victor Morris (15.3 ppg), 6'5 Skyler Khaleel (13.0 ppg and 11.3 rpg), 5'9 Mick Flagg (13.4 ppg), 6'5 Jr Drew Gladstone (10.2 ppg), and 5'9 Dwayne Johnson (9.8 ppg and 7.2 apg), who are averaging in double-digits.  And, if they can pull off the upset, this would give Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio his second PSAL Championship (Cardozo also won it in 1999) and it would prevent Lincoln from setting themselves apart from Townsend (Harris) NY in 1907 and 1908, New York (Stuyvesant) NY in 1909 and 1910, and Bronx (Clinton) NY in 1913 and 1914, Bronx (Clinton) NY in 1918 and 1919, New York (Commerce) NY in 1920 and 1921, New York (Commerce) NY in 1923 and 1924, Bronx (Clinton) NY in 1925 and 1926, East Elmhurst (Newtown) NY in 1927 and 1928, New York (Ben Franklin) NY in 1940 and 1941, Brooklyn (Boys High) NY in 1959 and 1960, Brooklyn (Boys High) NY in 1968 and 1969, Bronx (Taft) NY in 1974 and 1975, Bronx (Stevenson) NY in 1988 and 1989, all of whom also have won two consecutive PSAL championships.  Earlier this year Cardozo beat Lincoln, 82-77, on December 28th and Lincoln beat Cardozo, 85-63, on January 16th.  However, in that first meeting Lincoln was without Telfair.  Regardless of what happens tomorrow, this will be the last high school game Telfair will play in New York City.  And, if Lincoln gets upset tomorrow, it also could be the second to last high school game of Telfair's incredible high school career (Telfair has gone on record saying that he may not play in any of the post-season all-star games, except the McDonald's All-American Game).  Cardozo was led by Dwayne Johnson, who scored 13 points in their 52-50 win against Brooklyn (Banneker) NY in the PSAL Quarterfinals and had 18 points and four assists in their 52-45 win against Sheepshead Bay (H.S.) NY in the PSAL Semi-finals.  But the two things Cardozo needs to do against Lincoln are not led Telfair have an incredible game and take advantage of their balance and Theo Davis' presence and size inside.  St. Raymond's was led by 6'7 Gavin Grant, who scored 15 points, grabbed  seven rebounds, and took home tourmanent MVP honors in the CHSAA Championship.  The leading scorers for Xaverian were 6'2 Junior Mitchell with 11 points and 5'10 Vance Fields with eight points, but the big reason why Xaverian has to be the heavy pre-season favorite to win the CHSAA Championship a year from now is the expected return of 6'4 Jr Saiquon Stone, 6'8 Jr Mike Davis, 5'9 Jr Lavance Fields, all three of whom rank among the top juniors in New York City and will likely sign with schools in the Big East this fall (Davis is already verbally committed to Pittsburgh).  St. Raymond's also beat Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 73-69, and Xaverian beat New York (Rice) NY, 59-54, in the CHSAA semi-finals last week.  Especially noteworthy in that second game is the fact that Rice hit only 15-65 field goals and 2-23 3-pointers and 6'3 Russell Robinson hit only 2-17 field goals. 

Monday, March 15, 2004

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 Mark Tyndale from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, who is ranked #119 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and is expected to pick from among Temple, Providence, La Salle, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, and Rhode Island.  Our guess is that it will be Temple and assuming that we're right, he would be the perfect replacement for 6'4 Sr David Hawkins.  And, just like Hawkins, Tyndale is a slasher/athlete, tough hardnosed competitor, excellent defender, good rebounder, and a winner in the true sense of the word.  Tyndale also is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally and, as a result, may have the same type of upside that Hawkins had when he signed with the Owls four years ago after being ranked #72 nationally in the Class of 2000 while at Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC.  And assuming that we're right, it's important because it shows that Temple can still get the top players in their own backyard.  It also shows that Temple assistant coach Bill Ellerbee still has some clout at the school where he established himself as one of the premier high school coaches in the nation.  However, Ellerbee never coached Tyndale, who transferred from Philadelphia (Frankford) PA to Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA two year ago, which was right after Ellerbee moved onto Temple.  Rubin also tells us that 6'2 Cedric Jackson from Columbus (North Burlington) NJ, who is ranked #149 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has Connecticut, West Virginia, Michigan, La Salle, St. Joseph's, and Temple on his list and that Massachusetts head coach Steve Lappas has received a reprieve, despite three straight losing seasons and falling attendance.  And this comes as somewhat of a surprise, because we thought Lappas had the necessary contacts to get the San Francisco job.  We were not surprised earlier today when the official announcement came with regards to Lon Kruger becoming the next head coach at UNLV (yesterday we said it would happen within hours, not days).  No doubt this a great hire, because the basketball community in Las Vegas, NV wants a class act and a proven winner, but, just as important, Kruger will need to hire good assistants who can recruit in Southern California, just like Jerry Tarkanian did in the good old days when the Runnin' Rebels made a living getting players like Reggie Theus, Mark Wade, Stacy Augmon, Eldridge Hudson, Dedan Thomas, J.R. Rider, and Evric Gray. Obviously Theus, who is now an assistant coach at Louisville, not only fills the bill, but he's got the name recognition necessary to get the fans excited about the Runnin' Rebels program again.  But we'd be very surprised if Kruger could steal Theus away from Rick Pitino.  Also right at the top of the list is USC assistant coach Marvin Menzies, who not only has done a great job recruiting for the Trojans during the last year, but also was instrumental in landing players like Evan Burns when he was an assistant coach at San Diego State.  Others who good candidates that Kruger should consider include Miami-FL assistant coach Kurtis Townsend, former USC assistant coach Dave Miller, Wyoming assistant coach Silvey Dominguez, Wyoming assistant LeRoy Washington, Compton (Dominquez) CA head coach Russell Otis, Oregon State assistant coach Brian Loyd, Compton (Centennial) CA head coach Rod Palmer, former UCLA All-American and current Chino (Don Lugo) CA head coach David Greenwood, Army assistant coach Mark Sembrowich, Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA head coach Reggie Morris, West Los Angeles (JC) CA head coach Ernie Carr, Fullerton (JC) CA head coach Dieter Horton, Compton (JC) CA head coach Damaine Powell, and Etop Udo-Ema, who is the head coach of the Compton Magic AAU Team and the co-director of the Full-Court Press All-West Camp, which he runs, along with our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis.  It also appears that former Rhode Island, Texas and George Washington head coach Tom Penders has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the University of Houston job.  However, we still think Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner is a no-brainer for the Cougars.  Remember, Houston's biggest problem has been get the top local players to stay home and, if they want to solve that problem, Pastner is their man.  We also hear that University of Texas assistant coach Frank Haith is one of the leading candidates for the SMU job and, once again, we think this would be an ideal choice, because Haith was the architect of the current recruiting class at Texas, which not only is tied for #1, along with Indiana and Louisville, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but he also got it done so early that nobody else really had a chance.  Our Kentucky Editor Larry Kihnley tells us that Louisville, Western Kentucky, Ohio State, Marquette, and Cincinnati are the leaders for 5'11 Jr JaJuan Spillman from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, who is ranked #62 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has along list for 6'6 Jr Ben Raymond from Toledo (St. John's) OH, who is ranked #66 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which includes Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Connecticut, Boston College, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Xavier, Kentucky, and Toledo.  Johnson also reminds us about the early verbal commitment that Texas Christian received last week from 6'10 Soph Luke Paushes from Ft. Worth (Southwest) TX and he has the list of players, which includes 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'7 DeSean White from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, 6'7 Jr Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'8 Jr Cassan Breeden from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'7 Soph Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'2 Ramon Sessions from Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, 6'10 David Burgess from Irvine (Woodbridge) CA, and 6'5 Freddie Stanback from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who are scheduled to appear in the Albert Schweitzer Games in Mannheim, Germany, April 10th-17th.  Pauches, who is not ranked among the top 450 sophomores nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and among the top 45 sophomores in the state by TexasRoundBall.com, is described as a project right now.  However, who better to take a chance on than somebody who is 6'10, right in your own backyard, and still two years away from being able to enroll in college.  Besides Horned Frogs head coach Neil Dougherty and his staff have a good eye for talent.  They also have had the advantage of being able to watch Pauches play a lot, because his high school teammate - 6'1 Brent Hackett from Ft. Worth (Southwest) TX signed with Texas Christian during the Fall Signing Period. 

Saturday, March 13, 2004, & Sunday, March 14, 2004

With the firing of Loyola-Illinois head coach Larry Farmer on Wednesday, the resignation of Texas A&M head coach Melvin Watkins on Wednesday, and the resignation of Maryland-Baltimore County head coach Tom Sullivan on Thursday, the number of Division I head coaching openings so far this spring now stands at 15.  If you will recall, St. John's, Utah, UNLV, Houston, SMU, Southern Miss, James Madison, San Francisco, Florida International, Navy, Dartmouth, and Akron have already opened and the only job that has been filled is Akron, which moved quickly to hire Akron assistant coach Keith Dambrot almost immediately.  And, while I like an athletic director who knows what he wants to do, this was more than a little bit strange.  Remember, one of the primary responsibilities of an assistant coach is to make sure his boss doesn't fired.  So, while Dambrot brings to the table previous head coaching experience within the league dating back to his days at Central Michigan in the early 90's, as well as coaching LaBron James at Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH when he was a freshman and sophomore in high school, he played a key role coaching a that finished 13-15 overall and 7-11 in the league, after being picked to finish second in the league prior to the start of the season.  Now, if the Akron administration had taken some time, looked around, and then decided that Dambrot was the best of the available candidates for the job, that would have been one thing.  But we see this as a direct slap in the face at Dan Hipsher, who was fired and reassigned within the Akron athletic department.  We also think it would be a direct slap in the face of the fans at the Minnesota, Georgetown, and Miami-FL, if these jobs don't open this spring.  The Golden Gophers did manage to win two of their last three games against Penn State in the last game of the regular season and Purdue in the first round of the Big-10 Conference Tournament, but 3-13 and 12-18 on the season is a clear indication that the time has come for a change, especially when your best player (Kris Humphries) is expected to enter his name into the NBA Draft this spring and, as a result, it doesn't promise to get any better next year.  Georgetown finished with a 13-15 overall record and 4-12 record in the league, but losing their last nine games of the season also is a clear indication that it is time to make a change.  However, as also is the case with Minnesota head coach Dan Monson, is appears as things stand now Hoyas head coach Craig Esherick may be safe for another year.  Miami-FL finished with a 14-16 overall record and 4-12 league record, but the Hurricanes lost 11of their last 12 games and it now appears to be more a question of when than if a change will be made this spring.  The two names we're hearing the most for Miami-FL are Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez and former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis, but we think the smart money is Jarvis due to the fact that he has already has a pre-existing relationship with Miami-FL University President Donna Shalala when she was the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  In sharp contrast, we think Virginia head coach Pete Gillen and his staff deserve another year, especially in light of the fact that the Atlantic Coast Conference was as tough as it was this year.  Remember, down the stretch the Cavaliers (17-12) knocked off Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Wake Forest, all of whom at the time we ranked among the top-20, prior to losing to Maryland and Duke, both of which we have picked below as NCAA Final Four teams.  We also hear that Massachusetts head coach Steve Lappas may be in line for the San Francisco job and, he gets it, we hope that three times is a charm.  If you will recall, Lappas did a great job when he was at Manhattan in the late 80's and early 90's, but things have not turned out as well at Villanova and Massachusetts.  And, if Massachusetts does open, everybody seems to think, Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez is a lock for the job.   But if you're Gonzalez, do you wait to see if you can get the St. John's job?   Or, if Providence head coach Tim Welsh were to get the St. John's job (the word is that Welsh is in the mix a lot stronger than most people realize), Gonzalez would be perfect for the Friars.  Remember, Gonzalez was an assistant coach at Providence during the Pete Gillen era and Rick Pitino, who is one of Gonzalez's mentors, still has a lot of influence at Providence.  The names we're hearing the most for James Madison are former North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty, Arkansas assistant coach Ronny Thompson, Georgia Tech assistant coach Dean Keener, Maryland assistant coach Dave Dickerson, and N.C. State assistant coach Larry Hunter.  However, it appears that Thompson may have the inside track and, if he gets the job and is successful, the race could be on to see which one of John Thompson's son's, both of whom have extremely bright futures, become the heir to the throne at Georgetown. This may also explain why the Hoyas aren't in any big hurry to get rid of current Georgetown head coach Craig Esherick.  We also have heard that Seton Hall assistant coach Brian Nash has the inside track for the Marist job and it may be hours, instead of days, before former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lon Kruger becomes the new head coach at UNLV.  Editor's Note: Make that 16 jobs that have already opened, because Loyola-Maryland head coach Scott Hicks has been told that his contract will not be renewed.  

Now that the NCAA Tournament have been announced and we know which teams are in the tournament and who will be potentially playing against who, we've come to the conclusion that this really is the "Year of the Atlantic Coast Conference."  Don't believe it?  Well, a quick look at our NCAA Tournament Predictions (found below) shows that six of our final eight teams in the tournament (Duke, Maryland, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina) and three of the final four teams (Duke, Maryland, and Wake Forest) are from what obviously is college basketball's toughest league.  And the highest ranked team, according to the Sagarin Ratings, that didn't make the Tournament was Florida State, which had a 18-13 record and was ranked #28 by Sagarin while playing against the 12th toughest schedule in the nation. But it's obvious that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee didn't want to take any more than six teams from one league and, as a result, both Florida State and Virginia, which finished with a 17-12 record, was ranked #47 by Sagarin against the 11th toughest schedule, and had victories against Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech and tough losses against Maryland and Duke in the final two weeks of the season, didn't get invited.  Neither did Utah State, which finished with a 24-3 record and was ranked #41 by Sagarin; LSU, which finished 18-10 and was ranked #46 by Sagarin against the 27th toughest schedule; Oklahoma, which finished 19-10 and was ranked #49 by Sagarin; and Colorado, which finished 17-10 and was ranked #50 by Sagarin against the 32nd toughest schedule.  However, whether any of these teams should have made it is open to debate.  In other words, it appears that the NCAA Selection Committee did one of its best jobs ever of actually determining who should be in and not in the field of 65.   Below we have provided the seed, record, Sagarin Ranking, Sagarin Strength of Schedule Ranking, the HOOP SCOOP Talent Ranking, and who we pick to win each game in order to help you when filling out your own NCAA Tournament bracket.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that we have picked eight first round upsets, as we've got #9-seed UAB to beat #8-seed Washington, #11-seed Utah to beat #6-seed Boston College, #12-seed Manhattan to beat #5-seed Florida, #9-seed Arizona to beat #8-seed Seton Hall, #12-seed Murray State to beat #5-seed Illinois, #10-seed Louisville to beat #7-seed Xavier, #14-seed Princeton to beat #14-seed Texas, and #9-seed Southern Illinois to beat #8-seed Alabama.  In three of those upsets we have the #9 beating the #8 seed and in five of the upsets we have a team that lost in its conference championship game either yesterday or today being eliminated in the first round.  We also have Kentucky as our 4th team in the NCAA Final Four and Wisconsin and Kentucky as the other two teams in the final eight.  Also intriguing are several early match-ups, like Murray State versus Cincinnati and DePaul versus Connecticut, where an up-and-coming head coach could go head-to-head against his former boss in the second round.  Some other great second round match-ups includes Duke versus Arizona, Louisville versus Mississippi State, Pittsburgh versus Wisconsin, Maryland versus Syracuse, Gonzaga versus Michigan State, and St. Joseph's versus Texas Tech.   However, we're not willing to go out on a limb and predict any major upsets after the first round. As a matter of fact, we have six teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, two teams each from the Big East, Big-10, Big-12, and Southeastern Conferences, and one each from Conference USA and the Pacific-10 Conference in the final sixteen of the NCAA. 

HOOP SCOOP NCAA TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS

St. Louis 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) (Hoop Scoop Talent Ranking)
(1) Kentucky (26-4) (4) (9) (50)
                                                                Kentucky
(16) Lehigh (20-10) (222) (310) (240)
(16) Florida A&M (14-16) (287) (313) (198)
                                                                                                 Kentucky
(8) Washington (19-11) (52) (34) (65)
                                                                U.A.B.
(9) UAB (20-9) (40) (76) (52)  

                                                                                                                                            Kentucky

(5) Providence (20-8) (22) (17) (42)  
                                                                Providence
(12) Pacific (24-7) (72) (153) (274)  
                                                                                                 Providence
(4) Kansas (21-8) (23) (13) (6)  
                                                                Kansas
(13) Illinois-Chicago (24-7) (80) (202) (117)    

                                                                                                                                                                Kentucky

(2) Gonzaga (27-2) (3) (95) (57)  
                                                               Gonzaga
(15) Valparaiso (18-12) (151) (208) (78)  
                                                                                                 Michigan State
(7) Michigan State (18-11) (44) (19) (2)  
                                                               Michigan State
(10) Nevada (23-8) (26) (62) (177)  

                                                                                                                                         Georgia Tech

(3) Georgia Tech (23-9) (8) (6) (95)  
                                                               Georgia Tech
(14) Northern Iowa (21-9) (84) (126) (110)  
                                                                                                 Georgia Tech
(6) Boston College (23-9) (38) (44) (70)  
                                                               Utah
(11) Utah (24-8) (39) (84) (84)  

                                                                                                                                                                                       Wake Forest

East Rutherford 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) (Hoop Scoop Talent Ranking)
(1) St. Joseph's  (27-1) (2) (58) (68)  
                                                                St. Joseph's
(16) Liberty (18-14) (196) (259) (194)  
                                                                                                 Texas Tech
(8) Texas Tech (22-10) (27) (24) (63)  
                                                                Texas Tech
(9) Charlotte (21-8) (31) (69) (40)  

                                                                                                                                          Wake Forest

(5) Florida (20-10) (19) (22) (11)  
                                                                Manhattan
(12) Manhattan (24-5) (57) (239) (59)  
                                                                                                Wake Forest
(4) Wake Forest (19-9) (11) (4) (27)  
                                                                Wake Forest
(13) Va. Commonwealth (23-7) (79) (199) (149)  

                                                                                                                                                                Wake Forest

(2) Oklahoma State (27-3) (5) (68) (23)  
                                                               Oklahoma State
(15) Eastern Washington (17-12) (127) (154) (227)  
                                                                                                 Oklahoma State
(7) Memphis (21-7) (29) (67) (17)  
                                                               Memphis
(10) South Carolina (23-10) (24) (59) (58)  

                                                                                                                                          Wisconsin

(3) Pittsburgh (29-4) (10) (85) (73)  
                                                               Pittsburgh
(14) Central Florida (25-5) (86) (253) (261)  
                                                                                                 Wisconsin
(6) Wisconsin (24-6) (16) (36) (67)
                                                               Wisconsin
(11) Richmond (20-12) (45) (50) (77)  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Duke

Atlanta 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) (Hoop Scoop Talent Ranking)
(1) Duke  (27-5) (1) (5) (1)  
                                                                 Duke
(16) Alabama State (16-14) (263) (317) (292)  
                                                                                                 Duke
(8) Seton Hall (20-9) (34) (40) (28)  
                                                                Arizona
(9) Arizona (20-9) (32) (42) (34)  

                                                                                                                                               Duke

(5) Illinois (24-6) (18) (55) (32)  
                                                                Murray State
(12) Murray State (28-5) (51) (235) (53)  
                                                                                                 Cincinnati
(4) Cincinnati (24-6) (14) (56) (5)  
                                                                Cincinnati
(13) East Tennessee State (27-5) (74) (219) (145)  

                                                                                                                                                          Duke

(2) Mississippi State (25-3) (9) (33) (22)  
                                                               Mississippi State
(15) Monmouth (21-11) (181) (282) (313)  
                                                                                                 Mississippi State
(7) Xavier (23-10) (37) (71) (64)  
                                                               Louisville
(10) Louisville (20-9) (20) (22) (7)  

                                                                                                                                          North Carolina

(3) Texas (23-7) (15) (23) (37)  
                                                               Princeton
(14) Princeton (20-7) (116) (254) (148)  
                                                                                                 North Carolina
(6) North Carolina (18-10) (13) (1) (20)  
                                                               North Carolina
(11) Air Force (22-6) (43) (175) (240)  

                                                                                                                                                                                         Duke             

Seattle 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) (Hoop Scoop Talent Ranking)
(1) Stanford  (29-1) (6) (93) (45)  
                                                                Stanford
(16) UT-San Antonio (20-12) (233) (292) (147)  
                                                                                                 Stanford
(8) Alabama (17-12) (33) (8) (48)  
                                                                Southern Illinois
(9) Southern Illinois (25-4) (36) (124) (142)  

                                                                                                                                        Maryland

(5) Syracuse (21-7) (35) (48) (13)  
                                                                Syracuse
(12) Brigham Young (21-8) (30) (25) (49)  
                                                                                                 Maryland
(4) Maryland (19-11) (17) (3) (19)  
                                                                Maryland
(13) UTEP (24-7) (42) (117) (66)  

                                                                                                                                                       Maryland

(2) Connecticut (27-6) (7) (47) (3)  
                                                               Connnecticut
(15) Vermont (22-8) (150) (289) (204)  
                                                                                                 Connecticut
(7)  DePaul (21-9) (48) (53) (38)  
                                                               DePaul
(10) Dayton (24-8) (56) (106) (131)  

                                                                                                                                           N.C. State

(3) N.C. State (20-9) (12) (7) (59)  
                                                               N.C. State
(14) Louisiana-Lafayette (20-8) (71) (135) (100)  
                                                                                                 N.C. State
(6) Vanderbilt (21-9) (21) (28) (104)  
                                                                Vanderbilt      
(11) Western Michigan (26-4) (25) (180) (167)  

Friday, March 12, 2004

I will never forget the time when Jim Kasberg, who for many years was the Indiana Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, included a list of the top 25 6th Graders in the state with one of his reports and, as a result, I got a call from an irate parent claiming that his son, who wasn't even on the list, was the best 6th Grader in the state.  And to make his case even stronger, he told me that his 11-year-old son was the MVP in some national tournament and, as a result, Kasberg's list was totally bogus.  While I have never had a lot of patience with fools, idiots, and overzealous parents, I was nice and I was accurate when I told him not to worry about it, because we had to six years to get it right.  I mention this, because today we are publishing our Ranking of the Top 55 5th Graders (Class of 2011) and our Ranking of the Top 40 4th Graders (Class of 2012) and I want everybody to understand these lists are a great starting point, as well as an excellent reflection of what people know who cover this age group.  And to those people who have provided the information for these rankings I want to express my sincerest thanks, because they have given us a tremendous head start in terms of the future, as well as given these players the recognition that they deserve for their hard and dedication at an early age.  Having said that, also remember that so many things can happen between now and when these nine and 10-year-olds get to be juniors and seniors in high school.   There also is a great deal of margin for error and there obviously are a lot of players at this age who have just not shown up on the radar screen yet.  In other words, where a player is ranked at this age will have no baring on whether he gets a college scholarship, is considered for the McDonald's All-American Team, or even has a shot a playing in the NBA someday, but I probably still run the risk of some parent telling me that I ruined their son's career by not ranking him higher or not including him on the list at all.  However, I am interested in your feedback and, as a result, you can contact me by calling me at 1-(502) 500-4667, emailing me at hoopscooponline@msn.com or faxing me at 1-(502) 254-2646.  As for the Class of 2011 and Class of 2012, they both appear to be loaded at the guard spots and both are top heavy with players from Indiana.  As a matter of fact, two of the top 20 players and two of the top 10-ranked teams in AAU from last summer in the Class of 2011 are from Indiana and the two of the top five players in the Class of 2012 and three of the top 10-ranked teams in AAU from last summer are from Indiana.  The Class of 2011 also appears to be extremely strong in the Washington, DC area, which had two teams from Virginia, a team from Washington, DC, and a team from Maryland, and Missouri which had a team from St. Louis and a team from Kansas City, among the top 10-ranked AAU teams from last summer.  The Kansas City Tar Heels, which feature 5'3 Jamal Branch, 5'2 Corey Hillard, and 4'11 Nodie Newton, are the defending national champions in this age group (Class of 2011) and Branch edges out 5'7 Austin Rivers from Orlando, FL, who is the son of Glenn Rivers, and 5'1 Stevie Taylor from Gahanna, OH for top player honors in the class.  The Class of 2012 also is loaded in Texas, as is evident by the fact that two teams from this state were among the top five-ranked AAU teams last summer and the second best player in the class is 5'3 Jaron Reese from Houston, TX.  Also interesting is the fact that 4'10 Kaleb Ferrell from Indianapolis, IN has won the battle over Reese, 4'8 Drew Davis from Stockbridge, GA, and 5'5 Xavier Turner from Indianapolis, IN for top player honors in the Class of 2012, but the Indianapolis Stars, which feature Turner, 5'2 Kevin Jay Sisken, and 5'2 Michael Ramsey, are the defending national champions in this age group. 

Thursday, March 11, 2004

The mainstream media thinks 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH is the best sophomore in the nation (some are even touting Mayo as the next LeBron James), a number of our competitors (who we suspect have copied our rankings) have 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA ranked as the best freshman in the country, and we've gone on record recently saying that we think 6'7 Frosh Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX is the best player in the class.  In other words, a legitimate case can be made for all three, so we've decided to make it a three-way tie for to player honors in the Class of 2007 for now and see who earns it this spring and summer.  And picking a top five in the class isn't exactly easy either, because 6'2 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC and 6'5 Frosh Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, who are our choices, and 6'1 Frosh Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'8 Frosh Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, 6'8 Frosh Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'5 Frosh Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 5'10 Frosh Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'1 Frosh Maurice Miller from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, 5'9 Frosh Jay Dee Luster from San Diego (Hoover) CA, 6'2 Frosh Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 5'10 Frosh Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 6'2 Frosh Senario Hillman from Irwinton (Wilkinson County) GA are all good enough to get top five consideration.  Yes, the Class of 2005 is turning out to be that good, as players continue to come out of the woodwork and the top players just keep getting better and better.  And I can testify to these facts, because I've spent the last several days updating our Ranking of the Top 275 Players in the Class of 2007.  Also noteworthy is the fact that the Class of 2007 is especially loaded in Texas, South Carolina, and the Washington, DC area, as 11 of our top 30-ranked freshmen are from those three places.  In Texas we're talking about Johnson, Singletary, McCarty, and Rusher, all of whom hail from the Houston area, and, 6'6 Frosh Clint Houston from Flower Mound (Marcus) TX, who is from the Dallas area.  And, if we go a little deeper, we find out just how loaded the city of Houston really is, because 6'8 Frosh Albert Turley from Pearland (H.S.) TX, and 5'10 Frosh Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX also are ranked among the top 60 nationally.  South Carolina, which features 6'7 Frosh Mike Holmes from Bishopville (Lee Central) SC, 6'7 Frosh Marshall Moses from Aiken (H.S.) SC, and 6'4 Soph Tony Neysmith from Mauldin (H.S.) SC, hasn't had this much talent in such a short period of time since the days of Kevin Garnett, who played at Mauldin (H.S.) SC before transferring to Chicago (Farragut) IL prior to the start of his senior year in 1994, and Jermaine O'Neal, who graduated from Columbia (Eau Claire) SC in 1996.  If you also combine South Carolina with North Carolina, the number of players ranked among our top 30 freshmen increases to four, because 6'6 Frosh Eric Wallace from Winston-Salem (Glenn) NC checks in at #18, right behind Holmes and just ahead of Moses.  In other words, it really is that close among those three players for bragging rights in the area.  Most people already know that 6'2 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC is going to even better than his late father (former Louisville All-American Derek Smith), but 5'10 Frosh Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC and 6'3 Frosh Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD also established themselves during the season among the top players in the tough WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference).  California with 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 5'9 Frosh Jay Dee Luster from San Diego (Hoover) CA, and 5'11 Frosh Jesse Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA and New York/New Jersey with 5'10 Frosh Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 5'10 Frosh Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 6'4 Frosh Melquan Bolding from Beacon (H.S.) NY also have three players each who are ranked among our top 30 freshmen, but even more noteworthy is the fact that Louisiana, which has two players - 6'4 Frosh Kevin Branch from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA and 6'5 Frosh Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA - is also disproportionately strong.  And, of course, there is Ohio, which features two players ranked among our top 10 freshmen nationally in 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo and 6'5 Frosh Billy Walker, both of whom play for the same team at Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH.  Obviously this list complements our Ranking of the Top 100+ 5th Year Players, which was published on November 27th; our Ranking of the Top 550 Players in the Class of 2004 (Seniors), which was published on February 2nd; our Ranking of the Top 400 Players in the Class of 2005 (Juniors), which was published on February 20th, our Ranking of the Top 450 Players in the Class of 2006 (Sophomores) , which was published on March 3rd; our Ranking of the Top 120 Players in the Class of 2008 (8th Graders), which was published on February 3rd; and our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2009 (7th Graders), which was published on February 4th.  And tomorrow we plan to publish our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2011 (5th Graders) and our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2012 (4th Graders) and right now those lists include 53 and 38 names, respectively, ranked in order.  And that leaves our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2010 (6th Graders), which we should have completed sometime next week.  I also want to thank Patrick Stanwood and Brian Clifton, both of whom have been keeping a close eye on this class for almost a year now, as well as our many state-by-state and area editors and correspondents, who helped make this list of the Class of 2007 second to none.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

As things stand now, nine of the HOOP SCOOP's top 30 juniors have already made a early verbal commitments, as 6'2 Jr Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA is verbally committed to Georgia, 6'4 Jr Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS has verbally committed to Mississippi State, 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA has verbally committed to Villanova, 6'2 Jr Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY has verbally committed to Syracuse, 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN has verbally committed to Duke, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY has verbally committed to Duke, 6'3 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (H.S.) MI has verbally committed to Michigan State, 6'5 Jr Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA has verbally committed to North Carolina, and 6'4 Jr Michael Mercer from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA has verbally committed to Georgia.  However, even that doesn't illustrate how far along many of the top juniors already are in the recruiting process.  So let's take a closer look at who's left and even make some predictions.  Arizona, Washington, UCLA, and Oklahoma are the favorites for 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, but when it's all said and done you can write this one down for the Wildcats.  Remember, Webster is former Arizona point guard Jason Terry's cousin and is ideally suited to provide the perfect complement to current Wildcats recruit 6'5 Jawann McClellan, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and combines excellent skills with incredible athleticism.   And the same is true with 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, who is ranked #2 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre is Mitchell's godfather and, as a result, it's more a question of when Mitchell will commit to the Tigers than whether he will commit to the Tigers.  The list is long for 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, but Reggie Tisdale, the Editor & Publisher of Indiana Basketball News, thinks Butler might actually be the team to beat. "Did you know that one of Zeller's best friend's is a walk-on at Butler?" asks Tisdale.  Butler also has landed 6'1 A.J. Graves from Switz City (White River Valley) IN in the current recruiting class and that might also be important, because Graves and Zeller are both from small towns in Southern Indiana and, as a result, the case can be made that Zeller might fit in better at Butler than at a bigger school.  However, Indiana, Purdue, Louisville, Kansas, North Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Stanford, Xavier, and Marquette are all still in the hunt for Zeller's services.  Stanford is believed to be the favorite for 6'10 Jr Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, but Arizona, Washington, USC, Gonzaga, UCLA, and California also have to be mentioned.  We still think Kansas is the school you have to beat for 6'6 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) CA, but Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report reminds us not to overlook DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan State, and Texas.   And unless something unforeseen happens, we think 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO is a lock for Missouri, 6'8 Jr Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL will end up at Florida State, and 6'8 Jr Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL will follow in the footsteps of a number of family members and attend the University of Alabama.  Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, and UCLA are all showing interest in 6'6 Jr Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, but we'd be surprised if he doesn't by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft a year from now.  The list for 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN includes Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, Georgetown, UCLA, and Mississippi State.  The favorites for 6'7 Jr C.J. Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX are Georgia Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, North Carolina, Connecticut, and Illinois, and Baylor, but our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff thinks his list will get longer before it gets shorter.  Remember, Grandstaff is touting Miles as one of the biggest sleepers in the nation and, as a result, he is currently ranked #16 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Maryland appears to be the favorite for 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ and 5'10 Andre McGee from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA has Arizona State, Kansas, Purdue, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Colorado on his list.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'10 Jr Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY is getting the most attention from Syracuse, Louisville, Arizona, UCLA, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Maryland, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Texas.  Georgia Tech, Arizona, and Louisville appear to be the top three for 6'7 Jr Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA.  Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, Villanova, North Carolina, N.C. State, Indiana, Michigan, Kansas, and Florida are all involved with 6'9 Jr Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead thinks 6'4 Jr Jamont Gordon is a near lock for the University of Tennessee and it appears that Stanford is the strong favorite for 6'3 Jr Wes Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI.  However, when it is all said and done, Wisconsin may be tough to beat, because Matthews' father (Wes Matthews Sr) played  for the Badgers in the late 1970's.  We also just happen to have the latest recruiting information on the next two highest ranked juniors and the top three ranked sophomores in Wisconsin.  Purdue, Wisconsin, and Marquette are the leaders for 6'7 Jr Marcus Landry from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, who is ranked #74 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and Iowa, Purdue, and Wisconsin-Green Bay are showing the most interest in 6'8 Jr Ryan Tillema from Randolph (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #132 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The early list for 6'2 Soph Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, who is ranked 23 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, includes Marquette, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois, Arizona, Duke, Stanford, Connecticut, and N.C. State.  If you North Carolina or Maryland offered, 6'1 Trevon Hughes from Delafield (St. John's NW Academy) WI, who is ranked #50 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, would probably accept on the spot.  Apparently Hughes has allows liked Roy Williams and the Tar Heels's style of play and he's also always followed the Terrapins closely because his grandparents live in Maryland.  However, Hughes also has schools like Georgia Tech, Marquette, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, and Kansas on his list.  Marquette is the early favorite over Wisconsin and Iowa for 6'10 Soph J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #131 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have updated lists for most of the other top juniors in the state of Illinois from Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report and it appears that Illinois, DePaul, Marquette, Michigan State, Kentucky, Indiana, and Northwestern are the favorites for 6'2 Jr Jerel McNeal from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL.  The list for 6'3 Jr Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL includes Stanford, Georgia Tech, DePaul, Marquette, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and N.C. State.  Among those showing the most interest in 6'3 Jr Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL are DePaul, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Wisconsin, Valparaiso, Dayton, and Minnesota.  The race for 6'0 Jr Bryan Mullins from Downers Grove (South) IL appears to be wide open as Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Illinois State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Ball State, Bowling Green, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and Western Illinois all get a mention.  Illinois, Kansas, Southern Illinois, Missouri, Saint Louis, and Marquette involved with 6'2 Jr Josh Tabb from Ullin (Century) IL and 6'1 Jr Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL is attracting the most interest from Wake Forest, Clemson, DePaul, Baylor, Texas, Ohio State, and Indiana.  The favorites for 6'2 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Robeson) IL are Cincinnati, Ohio State, Arkansas, DePaul, and Marquette.  The list for 6'7 Jr Jeremiah Bryant from Chicago (Harlen) IL includes Louisville, Purdue, Auburn, Ball State, DePaul.  The Schmidt's also have an early list of potential candidates to replace Larry Farmer, who was fired earlier today, at Loyola-Illinois.  It includes former DePaul head coach Joey Meyer, current DePaul women's coach Doug Bruno, current DePaul assistant coaches Josh Oppenheimer and Gene Cross, former Bradley head coach Jim Molinari, and former Illinois State coach Tom Richardson.

Tuesday, March 9, 2004

The rosters for the 31st Anniversary Jordan Capital Classic, which will be held at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland on Saturday, April 17th, were announced earlier today and both games are a must see for basketball fans in the DC area.  The Jordan Capital Classic Regional Game will have a the Home Team (Red Jerseys), which features 7'2 Roy Hibbert from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, 6'8 Jeff Green from Hyattsville (Northwestern) MD, 6'5 Dwayne Anderson from Washington (St. John's) DC, 6'10 Davis Nwankwo from North Bethesda (Georgetown Prep) MD, 6'1 Abdulai Jalloh from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, 6'1 Manny Quezada from Washington (St. Albans) DC, 6'5 Randy Hampton from Washington (Dunbar) DC, 5'10 Erik Smith from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 5'9 Brandon Giles from Rockville (Magruder) MD, 6'5 Charles Richardson from Suitland (H.S.) MD, 6'2 Bobby Maze from Suitland (H.S.) MD, and 6'3 Jason Flagler from Potomac (H.S.) VA, and an Away Team (Blue Jerseys), which features 6'8 James Gist from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 6'11 Tunji Soroye from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'10 Peter Prowitt from McLean (Potomac School) VA, 6'4 Folarin Campbell from Silver Spring (Springbrook) MD, 6'4 John Vaughn from Laurel (H.S.) MD, 6'9 Jared Gaither from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosvelt) MD, 6'2 Stanley Hodge from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 6'3 Chris Howard from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD, 6'4 Brad Farrell from Herndon (H.S.) VA, 6'6 Sam Young from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD, 6'5 Terrance Carter from Largo (H.S.) MD, and 6'6 Louis Brookins from Silver Spring (Springbrook) MD.  The Jordan Capital Classic National Game will have a Home Team (White Jerseys), which features on the National Capital  Home Team (White Jerseys), which features 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'7 Corey Brewer from Portland (H.S.) TN, 6'2 Rajon Rando from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, and 6'10 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL, and an Away Team (Black Jerseys), which features 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'2 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill)VA, 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC. Also recently announced was the USA Team, which will face the World Select Team at Hoop Summit on Sunday, April 4th in San Antonio, TX and the players on the 2004 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team are as follows:  6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA.  It also is important to note this game is exempt from the NCAA's two all-star game limit, so keep that in mind when we show you which all-star games the top players in the nation are currently scheduled to appear in this spring.  You can do this by clicking on our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players and Ranking of the Top Seniors and see our color coordinated symbols to the right of each player's name on these two lists.  The EA Roundball Classic in Chicago, IL on March 24th is denoted by the letter "R" and is in gray.  The adidas High School Classic in Knoxville, TN on March 26th is denoted by the letter "A" and is in green.  The McDonald's All-American Game in Oklahoma City, OK, on March 31 is denoted by the letter "M" and is in red.  The Hoop Summit in San Antonio, TX on April 5th is denoted by the letter "H" and is in pink.   The Jordan Capital Classic National Game in College Park, MD on April 17th is denoted by the letter "C" and is in black and the Jordan Capital Classic Regional Game in College Park, MD on April 17th is denoted by the "C" and is in blue.  We also find it interesting that 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY are scheduled to appear in all five of the above listed all-star games, which is a clear sign regarding their intentions with regards to by-passing college and entering their names into the NBA Draft this spring.  Also scheduled to appear in three different all-star games this spring are 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA.  But the only one who is not exempt because he's not appearing in the Hoop Summit Game is Swift, whose three games are the McDonald's All-American Game, the EA Sports Roundball Classic, and the adidas High School Classic.  Also interesting is the fact that 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, 6'5 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'1 Josh Wright from Utica (Proctor) NY, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'3 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, all of whom are ranked among our top 30 seniors nationally or the equivalent of that on our 5th Year List, are only scheduled to play in one of the above mentioned all-star games.  And 6'8 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'7 Dayshawn Wright from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'1 Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, 6'1 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI, 6'5 DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL, 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'5 David Pendergraft from Brewster (H.S.) WA, 6'7 DeSean White from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'6 Shane Foster from Kenner (Bonnabel) LA, and 6'8 Kalen Grimes from Florissant (Hazelwood Central) MO, all of whom are ranked among our top 50 seniors nationally aren't scheduled to play in any of the above mentioned games.  However, Shawne Williams and Odia are believed to be still injured.  Hopefully most of the rest of these players will be listed on the rosters for Charm City Challenge, which will be held at Towson University in Towson, MD on April 4th, and the Derby Classic, which will be held in Louisville, KY on April 24th, when they are announced in the near future.  

With the resignation of James Madison head coach Sherman Dillard on Sunday and the reassignment of Houston head coach Ray McCallum to a fund-raising position within the athletic department, two more head coaching jobs are now vacant.  If you will recall, Southern Miss and Florida International both opened late last week and St. John's, Utah, UNLV, SMU, Navy, and Dartmouth were already open.  The James Madison job is one of the premier mid-major coaching jobs in the nation and, as a result, would be the perfect stepping stone job for any one of a number of very qualified assistant coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference like Maryland's Dave Dickerson, Duke's Steve Wojciechowski, North Carolina's Steve Robinson, Maryland's Jimmy Patsos, Clemson's Ron Bradley, Wake Forest's Dino Gaudio, N.C. State's Larry Harris, and Wake Forest assistant coach Jeff Battle.  However, a number other very qualified candidates, like American University head coach Jeff Jones, Winthrop head coach Gregg Marshall, St. Joseph's assistant coach Matt Brady, Michigan State assistant coach Doug Wojcik, Arkansas assistant coach Ronny Thompson, also have been mentioned as possibilities for the JMU job.  Some of the names that are already being tossed around for the Houston job include former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach and Houston Rockets star John Lucas, former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy, UTEP head coach Billy Gillispie, and Brigham Young assistant coach Dave Rose, But in our mind this one is a no-brainer.  As a matter of fact, hiring Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner at Houston would be almost as big a home run as it would be if St. John's hired Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez or Georgetown hired former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis.  Not only is Pastner one of the best recruiters in the nation, but he has all the local ties necessary to keep the top players at home.  Remember, Pastner's father Hal Pastner runs the Houston Hoops club team program and the younger Pastner already has plenty of head coaching experience dating back to when he coached a team four summers ago that included Connecticut's Emeka Okafor, Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts, and Carlos Hurt, who originally signed with Louisville, but is now at Robert Morris, which is a NAIA school in Chicago, IL.  Sure, Pastner has is only 26-years-old, but you don't get to be an assistant coach at Arizona and the HOOP SCOOP's #5-ranked assistant coach in the nation, unless you've got a lot on the ball.   In other words, Pastner is one of the hardest working assistants in the business, as well as second to none in terms of intelligence, cultivating contacts, and projecting the image and enthusiasm that is not only necessary to recruit, but also revitalize the fan base (the Cougars averaged less than 3000 fans this years) at the University of Houston.  You can also be sure that if Pastner got the job, immediately the Cougars will become the earlier favorites for 6'7 Frosh Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, and 6'6 Frosh Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, both of whom will be ranked among the top five freshmen in the nation when we publish our updated rankings for the Class of 2007 later this week.  We also wouldn't be surprised if 5'8 Soph Nic Wise from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, who is ranked #16 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP and already is verbally committed to Arizona, changed his mind about playing for the Wildcats and, instead, decided to stay home to the University of Houston.  Speaking of Wise, it looks like this undersized point guard is back after being sidelined all last summer with an injury and in the fall due to mononucleosis.  Not only did Wise score 22 points in the semi-finals and 16 points in the finals of the Class 5A Regional III Tournament in Houston over the weekend, but he took both games over down the stretch.  And making the story even more impressive is the fact that Wise accounted for his team's first five points in overtime, as Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX knocked off Houston (Kingwood) TX, 76-69, in the semi-finals, and scored 12 of his 16 points in the 4th quarter in the finals against Houston (Milby) TX.  However, that still wasn't enough as Milby, which is currently 37-0 and ranked #4 in the latest USA Today Super 25 Poll, kept its undefeated record intact and emerged with a 70-62 win to advance to the state tournament, which will played this weekend in Austin, TX.  Ironically, Milby's best player and leading scorer with 20 points against Hightower also is bound for the University of Arizona.  We're talking about 6'5 Jawann McClellan, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best athletes in the senior class nationally.  And once again, the big reason why the Wildcats got this one done is Josh Pastner.  But, if the powers-that-be at the University of Houston decide they need to go with a bigger name or somebody with head coaching experience at the college or professional level, then maybe SMU or UTEP will suddenly become the program in the state to beat for the top players in the Houston area.   Remember, SMU is already open and the smart money says that UTEP head coach Billy Gillispie, who is one of the leading candidates for National Coach-of-the-Year honors, will take the Texas A&M job, which could open at any time, over the Houston job, if given that choice.  Make that 12 jobs that are open, because Akron head coach Dan Hipsher and San Francisco head coach Phil Mathews have both just been fired.  The perfect choice for the Akron job is Texas Tech assistant coach Pat Knight, who has learned a lot as his father's top assistant coach during the last three years at Texas Tech.  Knight also already has an excellent understanding of the Akron program, because he spent a year while his father was out of coaching as an assistant coach for the Zips between his stints at Indiana and Texas Tech.  The race to see who gets the San Francisco job  is a little more interesting as the early favorites include former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, Arizona assistant coach Rodney Tention, and DePaul assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer.  The Lavin connection is obvious, because he's from the Bay Area and his father, Cap Lavin, who is an inductee into both the San Francisco Prep Basketball Hall of Fame and the University of San Francisco Hall of Fame, played at San Francisco in the early 1950's.  Tention not only played at San Francisco, but he's he's got head coaching experience dating back to his days at the College of Notre Dame, which is a Division II school in Belmont, CA, where he spent six years (three as an assistant and three as the head coach).  Oppenheimer is originally from Los Angeles, CA and he developed numerous contacts both in his backyard and around the nation while coaching the Rockfish club team program for 10 years.  Thus, explains why Oppenheimer was able to sign 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, who is the #1-ranked 5th Year Player in the nation, according to the HOOP SCOOP, and potentially the best player to ever play at DePaul.  

Monday, March 8, 2004

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin covered the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association District XII (Philadelphia Public League) Finals yesterday at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and the big story was the way 6'5 Mark Tyndale from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA took over the game in the second half, as he scored 23 of his 27 points in the final two quarters.  Tyndale, who made a living slashing to the basket, was tough on the boards, and dominant at the defensive end, also had plenty of help from 6'1 Tyrone Smith, who ran the show to perfection, played outstanding defense, and added 15-points and five assists; 6'4 Jason Higgenbottom, who had with 12 points and eight rebounds; and 6'3 Malcolm Wells, who added 11 points and played very good defense.  And that (defense) was the big reason why Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA beat Philadelphia (Frankford) PA, 71-53, to win the Philadelphia Public League Championship.  The best player and leading scorer for Frankford was 6'1 Maurice Miller, who finished with 21 points and made 4-6 3-pointers.  Rubin also got a list of schools from Tyndale, who is the fastest rising senior in the area, and Smith, who is the most underrated rated senior point guard in the state.  Tyndale mentioned Providence, Ohio State, La Salle, Temple, Rhode Island, and Pittsburgh, but a final decision probably won't be coming until after the beginning of the Spring Signing Period.  Smith likes Drexel, Binghamton, Temple, and Sacred Heart.  Rubin also covered the PCL (Philadelphia Catholic League) Championship last night and it was a repeat of 2003, as Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA defeated Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 84-61.  Cardinal Dougherty had the three best players on the court in 5'11 Kyle Lowry, 6'7 Jr Shane Clark, and 6'8 DeSean White, but, thanks to the outstanding coaching of former La Salle University head coach Speedy Morris, St. Joseph's Prep executed its offensive to perfection, as they shot 61% from the field and totally took Cardinal Dougherty out of their game.  St. Joseph's Prep was led by its stellar backcourt of 6'2 John Griffin and 5'8 Chris Clark, who finished with 27 points and 25 points, respectively.  Also adding 16 points and seven rebounds for St. Joseph's Prep was 6'3 Soph Reggie Reading, who is one of the top 10 sophomores in the Philadelphia area.  Cardinal Dougherty was led by 6'0 Tim Smith with 16 points.  White and Clark both added 14 points apiece and Lowry chipped in with nine points and three assists.  Also noteworthy is the fact that this was Morris' eight PCL Championship (two at St. Joseph's Prep and six at Roman Catholic).  Rubin also tells us that 6'6 Shawn Sabb from Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA has verbally committed to West Palm Beach (JC) FL and his teammate - 6'2 Antoine Brown from Philadelphia (South Philadelphia) PA - may follow suit, if he doesn't decide to go the prep school route.  Hartford has offered 5'8 Chris Clark from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's) PA and 6'5 Marshall Taylor from Philadelphia (West Catholic) PA is attracting a lot interest from schools like East Carolina, Siena, and La Salle.  Rubin still has no idea where 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA will end up next year, but he suspects that 6'6 Kevin Thomas from Chester (H.S.) PA will go to junior college and thinks Villanova is the early favorite for 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA.  Rubin also provides us with an updated list of the top freshmen in his area, which is important, because later this week we will be publishing our new rankings of the top players nationally in the Class of 2007.  The top 20 players on his list ranked in order are as follows:  6'1 Frosh Antoine Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 5'10 Frosh Sam Zeglinski from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'2 Frosh Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Bonner) PA, 6'7 Frosh Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Frosh Ricardo Brown from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA, 5'8 Frosh Derrick Price from Burlington (City) NJ, 5'10 Frosh Lance Wilson from Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA, 6'0 Frosh Durann Neil from Pleasantville (Egg Harbor Township) NJ, 6'3 Frosh Brad Samuels from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 5'10 Frosh Josh Martin from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'6 Frosh Nate Craig from Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ, 6'7 Frosh Andrew Pomager from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, 6'1 Frosh Daniel Anderson from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'2 Frosh John White from Richaland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'0 Frosh Alphonso Dawson from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA, 6'0 Frosh Jordan Stasyszyn from Carlisle (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Frosh Jason Brogsdale from Haddonfield (Paul VI) NJ, 6'3 Frosh Coleman Gregory from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, 6'2 Frosh Brian Samuels from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, and 6'0 Frosh Leron Williams from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA.  

The official rosters for the adidas High School Classic, which will be held March 26th in Knoxville, TN, have not been announced, but our Ohio/International Editor Chris Johnson has the inside scoop as the T-Mac Superstars are expected to include 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'1 Tony Douglas from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA, 6'6 Garrett Temple from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'10 Damien Harris from Hampton (Wade Hampton) SC, and 7'2 Peter John Ramos from Puerto Rico and the KG Superstars are expected to include 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA, 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, 6'0 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'5 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'6 Marshall Brown from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, 6'8 Al Horford from Grand Ledge (H.S.) MI, 6'10 Jackie Butler from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'2 Jamar Butler from Lima (Shawnee) OH, 6'10 Lorenzo Mata from Southgate (H.S.) CA, and 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA.  It also is interesting to note that Washington and Nelson were originally scheduled to play in Sonny Vaccaro's EA Sports Roundball Classic, but apparently now are supposed to play in the adidas High School Classic.  And taking their place in the Roundball Classic are 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #19 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was one of two players that we voted for on the final ballot to play in the McDonald's All-American Game that didn't make the team, and 6'6 Calvin Brock from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is ranked #481 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but, according Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report, is the fastest rising senior in the state.  Johnson also makes note of the fact that Howard, Smith, Telfair, and Swift are all scheduled to play in the McDonald's All-American Game, adidas High School Classic, and EA Sports Roundball Classic, which means, if they play in all three games, they will automatically forego their college eligiblity and, as a result, have to by-pass college and enter the NBA Draft this spring.  But based on Telfair's track record (he was on numerous rosters last spring and summer, but most of the time failed to show) and the word we're getting out of New York City is that he may not play in any all-star games this spring.  And this is easily explained by the fact that he's scared he'll hurt his the value of his stock and draft status (i.e. Tyson Chandler, who didn't play in any of the spring all-star games in 2001).  We also will be interested to see if any more players are slated to be in more than two all-star games when the official rosters for the Jordan Capital Classic are announced tomorrow.  Johnson also tells us that 6'3 Montavious Waters from Albany (Westover) GA, who is ranked #316 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to South Florida and 6'1 Jr Curtis Jerrells from Del Valle (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #296 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to Baylor.  However, the big news involving Baylor is the fact 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is tied #10 nationally our list of the top seniors nationally, visited Waco, TX over the weekend and, as a result, it appears that Baylor is a lot stronger for Palacios than most people thought several months ago when the schools being mentioned the most were Louisville, Pittsburgh, Texas, and Kentucky.  Now it appears that Pittsburgh is out and Indiana is in.  Palacious also made an official visit to Florida State a week ago and is expected to visit Louisvile and Indiana later this spring, which leads us to believe it's a four-horse race among the Seminoles, Bears, Cardinals, and Hoosiers.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'8 Tony Dandridge from San Bernardino (Cajon) CA has verbally committed to New Mexico and our New England Editor Wayne Simone tells us that 6'5 Brandon Odom from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA has verbally committed to New Hampshire.  The verbal commitment by Odom is significant for several reasons.  First, he is a tough hardnosed undersize power forward who uses his quickness and size to finish inside.  Second, he's athletic enough to defend on the perimeter and slash to the basket.  Third, he's an excellent complement to the three other players - 6'10 Ryan Gargaro from Maplewood (Murray-Hill) MN, 6'7 Mike Christensen from Oakton (Flint Hill) VA, and 5'10 Chris Vetrano from Andover (H.S.) MA - that New Hampshire has in this recruiting class and, as a result, we're now talking about the best recruiting class in the America East Conference.  We're also talking about a recruiting class that is now tied at #75, along with Rice and Northern Illinois, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.

Saturday, March 6, 2004, & Sunday, March 7, 2004

It came as no surprise to us on Friday when James Green resigned after eight seasons as head coach at Southern Mississippi.  Not only are the Golden Eagles 13-14 overall and 6-10 in the league, but they only had been drawing 3,300 fans per game this season, which is not a good sign when you are in the fourth-year of a four-year contract.  Southern Miss did beat Marquette and Memphis in early January, but since that time they have gone 4-8 and, despite the fact that the administration offered Green one more year on his contract, he apparently was smart enough to see the handwriting on the wall.  While this is not one of the better jobs in Conference USA, it is a great stepping-stone job for somebody like Cincinnati assistant coach Andy Kennedy, Mississippi State assistant coach Robert Kirby, LSU assistant coach Rickey Broussard, LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre, or Middle Tennessee State head coach Kermit Davis and a great job for somebody like former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy to use to re-enter the business.  The key to whether Eustachy can get the job is his relationship with New Orleans Hornets head coach Tim Floyd, whose father, Lee Floyd, was the head coach at Southern Miss for 14 years and was the guy who recommended Green for the Golden  Eagles job eight years ago.  Did you also know that Eustachy has not only been close friends with Floyd for years, but he also worked for Floyd at Idaho as an assistant coach during the 1986-87 season and via his relationship with then general manager Jerry Krause, Euctachy helped Floyd get the Chicago Bulls job in 1998?  Ironically, Floyd also hired Green as a part-time assistant coach at Idaho right before he left to take the job at the University of New Orleans prior to the 1988-89 season and Kermit Davis, who then was named as the new head coach at Idaho, retained Green.  Green also followed Davis to Texas A&M in 1990 and later worked for Floyd at Iowa State from 1994-96.  And Davis was an assistant coach at LSU during the first five years of the John Brady era, prior getting the head coaching job at Middle Tennessee State two years ago.  Brady and Eustachy also were both on Bob Boyd's staff back in the mid-80's at Mississippi State and when Brady left Mississippi State in 1990, he went to work for Floyd at New Orleans for two years, prior to moving onto become the head coach at Samford in 1992.  Making the story even more interesting is the fact that Brady coached Butch Pierre when he was a player at Mississippi State in the early 80's and current Bulldogs head coach Rick Stansbury is the guy who replaced Brady on Richard Williams' staff at Mississippi State in the 1990.  In other words, the connections are seemingly endless, which explains why Eustachy, Davis, Pierre, Broussard, and Kirby all have to be mentioned for the Southern Miss job.  And, if the Golden Eagles decide to go with somebody outside of the Tim Floyd-family tree, you have to like the chances of Andy Kennedy, who not only has spent most his coaching career in Conference USA (five years at UAB and three years at Cincinnati), but also is native of Louisville (H.S.) MS, where he was ranked among the top 50 high school players in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP in 1986, is ranked #22 nationally on our list of top assistant coaches, and is widely recognized as one of the bright up-and-coming guys in the business.  Also fired last week was Florida International head coach Donnie Marsh, who suffered through a 5-22 season, which was the worst season in school history and we already have some very interesting names for the job, like UTEP assistant coach Sergio Rouco; who previously was the head coach at Miami (Norland) FL; Northeastern assistant coach Frank Martin, who previously was the head coach Miami (Senior) FL; former Miami (Christian) FL head coach Art Alvarez, who now runs the Florida Tropics club team program and procures talent out of Puerto Rico for NIKE; and former Miami (Senior) FL head coach Shaky Rodriguez, who recently has expressed an interest into getting back into college coaching.  However, the chances of Rodriquez, who was fired as the head coach at Florida International five years ago, returning are slim and none and they may not want to hire one of Rodriquez's former assistants (Frank Martin) from Miami (Senior) FL either.  So we think the obvious candidate for the job is our good friend Art Alvarez, who has demonstrated that he is the best recruiter in the state in recent years.  And, if they hire Alvarez, you can bet that Florida International will be true to its name with all the good foreign players that Alvarez is sure sign.  The openings at Southern Mississippi and Florida International bring the number of head coaching jobs that are already open this spring to eight, as SMU, Dartmouth, Navy, Utah, St. John's, and UNLV are also current vacant.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that American University head coach Jeff Jones may have the inside track at SMU, because Jones is tight with the athletic director.  But our advise for SMU is to be to beat UTEP and Houston, in case either or both come open, to the bunch by hiring Arizona assistant Josh Pastner, who not only is ranked #5 our list of the top assistant coaches, but also has more contacts in the state of Texas than anybody, thanks to the fact that his father Hal Pastner runs the Houston Hoops club team program and the younger Pastner used to be his father's head coach.  Speaking of UTEP, we continue to hear that Miners head coach Billy Gillispie, who has taken a program that went 6-24 a year ago and was picked 9th pre-season and gone 22-6 this year, is the heavy favorite to get the Texas A&M job once it opens this spring.  We also continue to hear that it's only a matter of time before former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lon Kruger gets the UNLV job, we think Pennsylvania assistant coach Dave Duke is the leading candidate for the Dartmouth job, and it appears that Notre Dame assistant coach Sean Kearney is in line for the Navy job.  One guy we hope does not get fired is Virginia head coach Pete Gillen, because, despite the Cavaliers' loss earlier tonight to Maryland, they have done a great job down the stretch.  If you will recall, the Cavaliers had lost five in a row to North Carolina, Wake Forest, Maryland, N.C. State, and Duke in late January and early February, but appeared to have turned things around with big wins recently against Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Wake Forest, all three of whom at the time were ranked among the top 20.  Right now the Cavaliers only have a 16-11 overall record and 6-10 league record, but they have played against the 12th toughest schedule in the nation, according to the Sagarin Ratings, and they appeear have found the right chemistry now that Jason Clark, who missed the first 11 games of the year with an injury, has returned and is now close to 100%.  But now it looks like they will have to win the tough Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament next week in order to make the NCAA Tournament.  Which means Gillen and his staff are right back on the hot seat.  However, we have to give them credit for running a first class operation and laying a great foundation for the future.  Remember, Gillen and his staff are second to none as both people and coaches and the Cavaliers have an excellent recruiting class, which includes 6'0 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'8 Adrian Joseph from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and 6'11 Tunji Soroye from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD and is ranked #26 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.

Friday, March 5, 2004

Our Canadian Editor Ro Russell tells us that he is planning to give us a complete list of the top players in each class from his country in the near future, but right now he has provided us with a sneak preview of the top 10 players in each class.  And right at the top of the list is 7'1 Ivan Cheriev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON, who is ranked #3 on our list of the Ranking of the Top 100+ 5th Year Players and, according to several college coaches who have seen him, is incredible in practice and individual work-outs.  However, Russell warns us that the jury is still out, because nobody has seen him against top flight competition and, as a result, Cheriev could turn out to be just like 6'10 Darko Milicic from Serbia and Montenegro.  If you will recall, Milicic was drafted #2 in the NBA Draft last spring by the Detroit Pistons, but so far has turned out to be a major bust.  Next on Russell's list that combines the top 5th Year Players and High School Seniors is 6'1 Shane Morrison from Toronto (Academy) ON, who appears to be on the verge of transferring to Laurinburg (Institute) NC, where he will either return and play next season next year or sign with a Division I school this spring, depending upon how well he does academically the rest of this year.  Russell also tells us that Morrison, who currently is ranked #74 on our 5th Year List, needs to move up 30 to 40 spots, which means he'd be the equivalent of a top 150 senior nationally, if we included him with seniors.  The rest of his list of 5th Year Players/Seniors ranked order includes UNC-Wilmington-bound 6'10 Vlad Kuljanin from Toronto (Forest Hill) ON, Gonzaga-bound 6'1 Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes from Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU, 6'1 Paulo Santana from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON, Massachusetts-bound 6'8 Olivier Lamoreaux from Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU, 6'11 Russell Hicks from Niagara Falls (Westlane) ON, 6'5 Kaylan Anderson from Scarborough (West Hill) ON, Pepperdine-bound 6'5 Oliver Prince from Scarborough (Vanier) ON, Western Carolina-bound 6'5 Negus McKenna from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) ON, and Central Connecticut State-bound 6'1 Tristan Blackwood from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON.  Russell also reminds us 6'10 Steve McLean from Barrie (Central) ON signed with Canisius and 6'10 Colin Laforme from Toronto (Westdale) ON signed with Youngstown State during the Fall Signing Period, more recently 6'7 Greg Surmac from Petersborough (CVI) ON verbally committed to East Tennessee State, and 6'5 Anthony Gibson from Bradford (H.S.) ON is almost a done deal for Columbia.  Russell also tells us to take 5'8 Kingley Constain from Champlain (Lennoxville) ON off our 5th Year List, becuase he enrolled at Pepperdine at the beginning of the second semester and is now playing for the Waves.  Russell also thinks we should move 6'10 Jr Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, who is currently ranked #19 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, up into the 12-15 range, and thinks 6'0 Jr Kerchel Carter from Etobicoke (Henry Carr) ON and 6'5 Jr Jevohn Sheppard from Scarborough (West Hill) ON both are the equivalent of top 30 juniors in the United States.  However, he is not sure that the Denham Brown comparisions are fair, because, while Sheppard has Brown's athleticism, he's not as far along at the same stage in terms of skills and understanding of the game.  Russell also tells us that 6'5 Jr Nate Skinner has transferred from Etobicoke (Father Redmond) ON to Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, where he is sitting out this year.  There also appear to be questions about how bad Skinner, who was ranked as one of  the top players in his class in Canada when he was a freshman and sophomore, wants it, as is evident by the fact that he has slipped to #7 on Russell's list of the top juniors, behind Davis, Carter, Sheppard, 6'6 Jr Kamar Burke from Mississauga (T.L. Kennedy) ON, 6'5 Jr Maurice Joseph from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU, and 6'8 Jr Ryan Wright frorm Mississauga (Loyola) ON and ahead of 6'1 Jr Tyrone Mattison from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON, 6'9 Jr Colin Page from Montreal (Vanier) QU, 6'6 Jr Tyrell Mara from Vancouver (Whiterock) BC, and 6'4 Jr Matthew Powell from North York (Jeffrey's) ON.  Russells's list of the top 10 sophomores ranked in order includes 6'6 Soph Kris Douse from North York (Emery) ON, 6'2 Soph Rod Murray from North York (Downsview) ON, 6'5 Soph Pappa Oppong from Scarborough (Mother Teresa) ON, 6'5 Soph Greg Page form Montreal (Lindsay Place) QU, 6'0 Soph Justin Dennis from Scarborough (Mother Teresa) ON, 6'10 Soph Dob Mavrak from Toronto (Forest Hill) ON, 6'5 Soph R.J. Wells from Windsor (Herman) ON, 6'5 Soph Ryan Roper from Winnipeg (Oak Park) Manitoba, 6'2 Soph Davio Rodney from Brampton (Notre Dame) ON, and 6'5 Soph Dwayne Johnson from Ottawa (Woodrofe) ON and his list of the top 10 freshmen in order includes 6'4 Frosh Javari Williams from Mississauga (Rick Hanson) ON, 6'5 Frosh Jordan Henry from Mississauga (Mt. Carmel) ON, 5'7 Frosh Tyrone Bramble from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, 6'1 Frosh Kimarley Daley from Etibicoke (Henry Carr) ON, 6'2 Frosh Jordan Taylor from North York (Downsview) ON, 6'10 Frosh Robert Sacre from Vancouver (Handsworth) BD, 6'0 Frosh Jamie Glasgow from Malton (Ascension) ON, 5'8 Frosh July Ashley from Toronto (Vaughan RD) ON, and 6'10 Frosh James Broomfield from Brampton (Chingacousy) ON, and 6'0 Frosh Freddie Appiah from Malton (Ascension) ON.  The list of freshmen is particularly significant, because Russell thinks this could be the class Canada has ever produced.  As a matter of fact, he thinks Williams, Henry, and Bramble are all good enough to be ranked among our top 40 nationally; that Daley, Taylor, Sacre, and Glasgow are in the 50-100 range; and that July and Broomfield have top 100 potential.  However, the best prospect from Canada is 6'6 8th Grader Olu Ashaolu from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA.   And, if you don't believe me, just ask the players on Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who Ashaolu lit up for 22 points and 14 rebounds.  Editor's Note: Ro Russell is the editor and publisher of the Double Exposure Scouting Service and is the foremost authority on high school basketball players in Canada.  You can contact him via email at rorussell@hotmail.com or by phone at 1-(416)-398-1355.

Thursday, March 4, 2004

Since adidas has decided to go head-to-head against the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN and the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ with their adidas Superstar All-American Camp in Suwanee, GA from July 6th-11th and against the Main Event and Reebok Big Time Tournament with their adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas, NV from July 22nd-26th, they have single-handledly ensured that the Kingwood Classic, which will be in Houston, TX on April 23rd-25th and the NBA Players Assocation Camp, which will be in Richmond, VA on June 18th-22nd, will be the two best events of the entire spring and summer.  Not only are both of these events being run independent of the three major shoe companies, but they also don't have much competition in terms of other events being run at the same time, which is very important when it comes to siphoning off the top players and teams.  Speaking of the 10th Annual Houston Kingwood Classic, tournament director Hal Pastner is already touting this as the "largest weekend tournament ever" and that's saying a lot when one remembers that over a 1000 games were played within a 48-hour period in last year's tournament.  This year's field already is expected to include the New York Gauchos, New York Riverside Church, Playaz Basketball Club, Memphis YOMCA, The Family, Michigan Hurricanes, Houston Hoops, Team Texas, Dallas Mustangs, Belmont Shore, Southern California All-Stars, Team California, Albany City Rocks, Friends of Hoop-Seattle, Miami-Tropics, DC Blue Devils, Tallahassee Wildcats, Spiece Select, Blessed INJ Indiana, Howard Pulley Panthers, Illinois Wolves, Illinois Warriors, Atlanta Celtics, Georgia Stars, Georgia Elite, Wisconsin Playground Warriors, DTA Wisconsin, Fox Valley Skills, Team Inland, Los Angeles Rockfish, Arkansas Wings, Team NIKE Florida, Louisiana Select, Coast to Coast, Gold Coast Florida, Jackson Panthers, Jackson Tigers, Rise & Shine, Houston Gold, Team Ft. Worth, Top Prospects, Kentucky Hoopsters, Long Island Roadrunners, Minnesota Magic, Queen City Prophets, Oakland Rebels, Arizona Stars, Arizona Rage, Syracuse Rochester Rap, Team Orlando, World Wide Renegades, ABC Hoops, Branch West, Mean Streets, Jacksonville Lee Bulls, Old Gold Basketball, North Texas Owls, Illinois Rockers, Team Illinois Hawks, Keystone Gators, South Texas Stallions, Smyrna Stars, GC Ballers, Las Vegas Prophets, ACC Stars (Las Vegas), Breakdownmagazine.com, South Florida Heat, Aneesa's Sports (Brooklyn, NY), Academic First California, and Team New Mexico.  The Houston Kingwood Classic also is very user friendly, because it not only is sanctioned by the NCAA and will be live for Division I college coaches, but the tournament headquarters, which will be Westfield High School is located near the Bush Intercontinental Airport and there are seven gyms located within walking distance and a total of 11 gyms located within a mile of the headquarters.  So it should come as no surprise that Pastner expects somebody from every Division I college team, every NBA team, and every major scouting service in the nation to be attendance.  And this isn't the only event that Pastner will be running this spring and summer.  As a matter of fact, the Las Vegas Easter Classic, which will be held April 7th-10th, and the Las Vegas Spring Showcase, which will be held April 16th-18th, promise to be two of the other top events of the entire spring and The Main Event, which will be held July 22nd-25th in Las Vegas, NV is expected to be one of the best events of the summer.  The fact the Pump N' Run Easter Tournament also will be held in Las Vegas, NV on April 16th-18th makes this the place to be for us both the second and third weekends in April, followed by the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX the fourth weekend in April and the Spiece Run'N Slam Classic in Ft. Wayne, IN on April 30th-May 2nd.  We also plan to cover the IS8 Playoffs in Jamaica, NY (if they are held at their usual time - the third weekend in May); the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC on May 28th-30th; the Pangos All-American Camp in Cypress, CA on June 4th-6th; the Rumble in the Bronx in Fordham, NY on June 11th-13th; and the NBA Players Assocation Camp in Richmond, VA on June 18th-22nd.  But I have not made a final decision with regards to how I will cover the three big camps in early July, although right now I learning towards starting on at the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, IN on July 6th-8th, going to adidas Superstar All-American Camp in Suwanee, GA on July 9th, and then ending up at the Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, NJ on July 10th-11th.  I also know that I will attend the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, SC and the adidas Superstar All-American Camp at the Suwanne Sports Complex in Suwanee, GA on July 14-17th and the three big tournaments in Las Vegas, NV on July 22nd-26th.   However, I haven't decided what I am going to the rest of July.  We also need to mention that adidas National Invitational Tournament, which will be held this weekend in Houston, TX and will feature many of the top 8th Graders in the nation, and the D'one Sports Super 60 Showcase, which will be held March 12th-13th in Greensboro, NC and will feature many of the top freshmen and sophomores in that part of the country.  For a list of the top tournaments and events this spring and summer, click on Dates/Future Events.

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

When they announced the McDonald's All-American Team two weeks ago, one of the questions they asked ESPN's Jay Bilas was about whether you can compare one class to another class?   However, instead of hitting this soft ball question out of the ball park, Bilas not only struck out, but when the catcher dropped the ball, he got tagged out, because he was too lazy to run to first base.  In other words, Bilas gave a weak answer.  Just for the record the best class of all time is the great Class of 1979, which featured Ralph Sampson, Clark Kellogg, Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Sam Bowie, Steve Stipanovich, Dominique Wilkins, Antoine Carr, Sidney Green, Melvin Turpin, Dirk Minniefield, Terry Cummings, Rodney McCray, Tony Bruin, Michael Holton, Rod Foster, Raymond McCoy, John Paxson, Dale Ellis, La Salle Thompson, Ricky Ross, Darren Daye, Sidney Lowe, Charles Hurt, et al.  And in our opinion the Class of 1988, which featured Alonzo Mourning, Shawn Kemp, Billy Owens, Chris Jackson, Christian Laettner, Don MacLain, Stanley Roberts, LaPhonso Ellis, et al.; the Class of 1995, which featured Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Ron Mercer, Robert Traylor, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Antwan Jamison, et al.; and the Class of 2004, which features 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'8 Rudy Gay from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, 6'8 Glen Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, et al; are the best three classes since that great Class of 1979.  The Class of 2006, which features 6'11 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'9 Soph Derrick Carcater from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, 6'9 Soph Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 5'11 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, 6'2 Soph Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'11 Soph Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, 6'8 Soph Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'4 Soph Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'9 Soph Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Soph Damien James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 5'10 Soph Demond Carter from Laplace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'9 Soph Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA, 6'9 Soph Keith Clark from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'0 Soph Tywon Lawson from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, 6'5 Soph Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 5'9 Soph Nick Wise from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'0 Soph Jawan Carter from Wilmington (Tatnall) DE, 6'7 Soph Jon Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 5'11 Soph Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Soph Solomon Tat from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, 6'5 Soph Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'7 Soph Pierre Niles from Memphis (Treadwell) TN, 6'2 Soph Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, 6'4 Soph Christian Polk from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, et al, promises to the next great class in high school basketball.  But we also thought the Class of 1999, which featured Donnell Harvey, Marvin Stone, Keith Bogans, Caron Butler, Casey Jacobsen, Jason Parker, Ken Satterfield, Carlos Boozer, LaVell Blanchard, Kevin Gaines, Brett Nelson, Joe Forte, Leon Smith, Jason Kapono, Jason Gardner, and Jason Richardson, and the Class of  2001, which featured Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Dajuan Wagner, Terrance Ford, Julius Hodge, Carlos Hurt, Kelvin Torbert, Carlos Hurt, Ousmane Cisse, Jonathan Hargett, David Lee, John Allen, Josh Childress, Cedric Bozeman, Rick Rickert, Maurice Williams, Aaron Miles, DeSagana Diop, Rashaad Carruth, David Harrison, Jawad Williams, Brandon Bender, Dommanic Ingerson, Jason Maxiell, and Jamal Levy, would both turn out a lot better than they did, thanks at least in part to the corrupting influence of all the money that the NBA has used to lure high school players to by-pass college and go straight to "The League" in recent years.  However, that's a story for another time.  Instead, the key point we want to make now is that the Class of 2006 is a lot better than the Class of 2005 and, as a result, it comes as no surprise that once again we have 50 more sophomores than juniors listed in our latest rankings.  As a matter of fact, we expect the top players in the sophomore class to surpass the top players in the junior class this summer.   Don't believe it?  Well, take a look for yourself by clicking on our Ranking of the Top 400 Players in the Class of 2005 (Juniors), which was published exclusively in the Members Section on February 20th, and our Ranking of the 450 Top Players in the Class of 2006 (Sophomores) , which was published exclusively in the Members Section earlier today.  This complements our Ranking of the Top 100+ 5th Year Players, which was published on November 27th; our Ranking of the Top 550 Players in the Class of 2004 (Seniors), which was published on February 2nd; our Ranking of the Top 120 Players in the Class of 2008 (8th Graders), which was published on February 3rd; and our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2009 (7th Graders), which was published on February 4th.  And we're not done yet, because next on our agenda is the publication of our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007 (Freshmen), Class of 2010 (6th Graders), Class of 2011 (5th Graders), and Class of 2012 (4th Graders).

It looks like Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton has done it again.  We're talking about slipping in under the radar screen, just like he did a year ago the Seminoles signed Von Wafer and this year when they landed 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, and 6'9 Jerome Habel from Washington (Marriott Charter) DC.  This time we're talking about 6'11 Magnum Rolle from Freeport, Bahamas, who, according to his high school coach Darrell Sears, verbally committed to Florida State earlier today.  However, it appears that Florida State will have to wait another year before they get him, because Rolle, who has been reclassified as a junior, is already slated to attend prep school next year at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Rolle was unranked and considered to be a project by the HOOP SCOOP last summer at the NIKE All-American Camp.  But this skinny shot blocking athlete with excellent lateral quickness and agility has developed into one of the best big men available this winter and, as a result, schools like Arkansas, Memphis, North Carolina, Miami-FL, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, and Arizona have all been recruiting him.  Obviously a lot of this is based on Rolle's tremendous potential (he's just 17-years old and only beginning to scratch the surface in terms of developing his skills and learning how to play the game), but Rivals.com already has him ranked #44 nationally in the junior class.  While we're not willing to go that far yet (we rank players the old-fashioned way, we let them earn it), this will give the Seminoles a great head start on the next year's recruiting class and it should provide them some insurance in case they don't get 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is ranked #10 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, this spring.  Remember, Louisville, Kentucky, Texas, Baylor, and Indiana are the schools that have been mentioned the most recently for Palacios.  However, once again Florida State has been flying just below the radar screen.  But not any more, because Palacios was at Florida State on an official visit Sunday and, our guess is that suddenly the Seminoles have to be one of the favorites.   And, if Florida State does get Palacios, it's not inconceivable that Florida State could wind up with the best recruiting class in the nation, if all the top players in the nation who expected to by-pass college and enter the NBA Draft do exactly that.  For this to happen, Indiana would have to lose 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Texas would have to lose 6'11 Lamarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, Louisville would have to lose 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and Arkansas would have to lose 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS.  But we think the odds are well over 50-50 that this will happen.  And, if it does, this would go right on the heels of Florida State's recruiting class a year ago that was ranked #2 in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes.  We also think that there is a good chance that Palacios will join the herd of high school players who will go straight to NBA this spring and, as a result, the door also could be open for UCLA to have the #1-ranked recruiting class, if they get 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Ohio State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, and North Carolina have all been mentioned for Hairston's services, but UCLA appears to have made the strongest push lately.  As a matter of fact, a number of people on the West Coast are talking like UCLA might get this one done as soon as the end month.  And, if they are correct, this would give Bruins head coach Ben Howland three McDonald's All-American's in this recruiting class.  We're talking about Hairston, 6'5 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, plus they also have 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, who is ranked #44 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'9 Lorenzo Mata from Southgate (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #97 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South JerseyEditor Allen Rubin tells us that Lafayette has landed 6'5 Bilah Abdullah from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA and he thinks this is an excellent catch for the Leopards for several reasons.  First, Abdullah is a slasher/athlete with good passing skills, the ability to defend, and an excellent feel for the game.  Second, Abdullah should provide an excellent complement to 6'4 Paul Cummins from South Kent (Prep) CT and 6'8 Everest Schmid from Hoopa (Hoopa Valley) CA, both of whom signed with Lafayette last fall.  Third, the commitment by Abdullah gives Lafayette the best recruiting class to-date in the league.  It also moves Lafayette's class into a tie at #129, along with Bradley, Northern Iowa, SMU, Austin Peay, UNC-Wilmington, Western Michigan, Canisius, Akron, Creighton, and Stony Brook, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004. 

Tuesday, March 2, 2004

The CHSAA (Catholic High School Athletic Association) and the PSAL (Public School Athletic League) Playoffs are under way in New York City and our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio checks in with all the details.  First, we look at the CHSAA, where they already have it down to eight teams after Bronx (All Hallows) NY beat Flushing Holy Corss, 81-80, in double overtime; Fresh Meadows (St. Francis Prep) NY beat Staten Island (Monsignor Farrell) NY, 74-62; and Middle Village (Christ the King) NY beat East Elmhurst (Monsignor McClancy) NY, 70-61, on Sunday.  And that sets up the four semi-finals games with the three winners mentioned above against the five teams that got a bye into the CHSAA Intersectional Quarterfinals.  These games will be held on Thursday, March 4th, at Christ the King High School with New York (Rice) NY versus Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY at 6:00 PM and Fresh Meadows (St. Francis Prep) NY versus Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY at 7:30 PM and on Friday, March 5th, at St. Francis Prep High School with Bronx (All Hallows) NY versus Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY at 6:00 PM and Middle Village (Christ the King) NY versus Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY at 7:30 PM.  The semi-finals are scheduled for Wednesday, March 10th, at Fordham University and the championship will be Sunday, March 14th, also at Fordham University.  Naclerio thinks the two teams to beat once again will be Rice, which features 6'3 Russell Robinson, 6'7 Arturo Dubois, 6'8 Soph Curtis Kelley, 6'0 Soph Edgar Sosa, and 6'2 Soph Kashif Payne, and St. Raymond's, which features 6'5 Brian Lainge, 6'7 Gavin Grant, 6'7 Frank Elegor, 6'4 Jr Ricky Torres, and 6'5 Jr Chris Bethel.  However, Christ the King with 6'8 Brian Beckford, 5'11 Jr Chris Martin, 6'3 Jr Akeem Gooding, 6'2 Soph Larry Davis, and 6'2 Soph Rob Hampton and Xaverian with 6'4 Jr Saiquon Stone, 6'8 Jr Mike Davis, 5'9 Jr Lavance Fields, 5'11 Soph Brian McMichael, and 6'1 Soph Brian McKenzie are both also absolutely loaded and Archbishop Molloy has 6'1 Sundiati Gaines and 6'2 Soph Milan Prodonovic; Bishop Loughlin has 6'7 Kiwan Smith, 6'1 Jr Herb Allen, 5'11 Soph Wesner Frederique; All Hallows has 6'1 Ronald Ramon; and St. Francis Prep has 5'10 Bryan Geffen.  Originally the PSAL Playoffs were scheduled to be held at Lehman College on Sunday, March 7th, but with the notoriety and fan interest that 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who may be the best point guard to ever from New York City, has attracted, they are in the process of moving it to a bigger venue (either Hunter College on Sunday or St. John's University on Saturday).  The games are scheduled to begin at 12:00 Noon with the #4-seed Bronx (Columbus) NY, which features 6'0 Elvis Lora, who is the Public League version of Ronald Ramon, versus the #5-seed Sheepshead Bay (H.S.) NY, which features 6'3 Steve Jackson, who is a solid low Division I prospect, and bunch of good role players.  Then, at 2:00 PM it will be the #3-seed Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with Telfair, 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena, 6'3 Jr Nayang Boateng, and 6'1 Eugene Lawrence versus the #6-seed Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY with 5'9 Tyrell Cruz, who is an excellent junior college prospect.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Boys and Girls beat Lincoln in the Brooklyn Burrough Semi-Finals, 75-72, a month ago.  Next, at 4:00 PM it will be the #23-seed Brooklyn (Tilden) NY versus the #2 seed Brooklyn (Grady) NY, which features 6'4 Basil Leslie, who is averaging 24 ppg, and 6'2 Jamal White, who has been ineligible most of the season, but has played in the last two games (White was ranked #16 in Naclerio's last New York City Report, which was published on July 2, 2003, and, if he had played all year, he would have been a first team all city player).   Last, but not least, at 6:00 PM it will be the #1-seed Bayside (Cardozo) NY versus the #9-seed Brooklyn (Banneker) NY, which also benefits from the return of a player who has been ineligible most of the season.  We're talking about 6'1 Soph Anthony Stukes, who last season as a freshmen helped Gary Forbes, who is now at Virginia, lead Banneker all the way to the city championship game against Lincoln.  However, our guess is that it will be Cardozo, which features a well balanced attack, as five players - 6'9 Theo Davis (16.2 ppg and 12.8 rpg,) 5'10 Jr Victor Morris (16.1 ppg), 6'5 Skyler Khaleel (13.8 ppg and 11.9 rpg), 5'9 Mick Flagg (13.8 ppg), and 6'5 Jr Drew Gladstone (10.8 ppg) - are averaging in number digits and 5'9 Dwayne Johnson (9.6 ppg and 7.2 apg) does a great job of running the show, versus Lincoln in the championship game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, March 17th.   However, to get there they will have to win in the semi-finals, which will be held at St. John's University on Saturday, March 13th at 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM.   Unfortunately Arnie "Hersh" Herkowitz, who is one of the long time legendary chararcters associated with New York City High School Basketball, won't get to attend this year's playoffs.  Herkowitz, who just turned 60-years-old six days ago, died of a heart attack yesterday afternoon.  Obviously this is a major shock to the numerous players, like Todd Myles (Mississippi State), Jamal Faulkner (Arizona State), Rafer Alston (Fresno State), Wilfred Kirkaldy (West Virginia), Ben Davis (Kansas), and Lawrence Pollard (West Virginia), and late Conrad McRae (Syracuse), who Hersh was like a surrogate father to over the years.  Herkowitz graduated from Western Kentucky University, taught physical education at Brooklyn (Westinghouse) NY for many years, and more recently was a substitute teacher at Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY.   As a matter of fact, Hersh substituted at Paul Robeson High School on the very day he died.  Hersh also was a long time friend of numerous college and high school coaches, including former Brooklyn (Grady) NY head coach Jack Ringel and Bayside (Cardozo) NY head coach Ron Naclerio.  Speaking of Naclerio and Hersh, I'll never forget watching them coach all the players mentioned above back in the late 80's and early 90's in the Rucker League. 

Monday, March 1, 2004

Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff tells us that Liberty has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'6 Rell Porter from Pittsburg (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #171 nationally in the senior classby the HOOP SCOOP, and, as a result, it appears that Flames are on the verge of becoming the dominant team in the Big South Conference for years to come.  Don't believe it?   Well, let's look at the facts.  After going 25-32 during his first two years as the head coach at Liberty, Randy Dunton has his team tied for first in the league, along with Birmingham Southern, with a 12-4 record, and two of their top three players were apart of last year's recruiting class, which finished tied for #59, along with San Jose State, in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2003.  We're talking about 6'1 Larry Blair from Camden (Military) SC, who finished ranked #185 in our final rankings of the top players in the Class of 2003 and is the leading candidate for Freshman-of-the-Year honors in the league, and 6'3 David Dees from Dayton (Christian) OH.  And coming right on the heels of this class is recruiting class that is tied at #61, along with Tulane, Georgetown, Brigham Young, and Tennessee, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  This class features Porter, but also includes 6'2 Evan Risher from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, who is ranked #182 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'11 Russell Monroe from Alma (H.S.) MI, who is ranked #291 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the best kept secret in the state of Michigan, and 6'5 Joe Fulp from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC, who is ranked #389 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   In other words, Dunton and his staff not only can flat out coach, but they are recruiting like they're in the Atlantic-10, not the Big South.  As for Porter, we're talking about an athletic combo forward with an incredible wing span, the ability to shut you down defensively, and a tremendous upside. "We always put Rell on our opponent's most best offensive player and the only one who really got the best of him was Joe Crawford," says Grandstaff, who also runs the Team Texas club team program.  "Porter also should blossom at the college level once he gets into a weight training program and gets the strength and conditioning that he didn't get in high school.  Did you know that when the high school season is over, they lock up the gym all spring, summer, and fall and, as a result, everything Porter has done has been on his own or with us?"  I also talked with 6'6 Jr Joe Drager from Riverton (H.S.) UT, who is ranked #76 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, earlier today and his early list of schools includes Utah, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Gonzaga, USC, Washington, and Stanford.  Indiana, UCLA, and Arizona are the top three for 7'0 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, who is ranked #243 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and the latest list for 6'2 Chris Lofton from Maysville (Mason County) KY, who is ranked #319 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, includes Louisville, Notre Dame, N.C. State, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.  However, we're still not sure whether any of those schools have offered.  We've also heard the rumors about Omar Wilkes transferring from Kansas to Stanford or California and, if this does indeed happen, it would give The Cardinal or the Golden Bears a huge advantage in the race for Wilkes' younger brother - 6'10 Jr Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, who is ranked #5 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And this brings up a very interesting question.  Why is UCLA recruiting Rothbart and not turning up the heat on Wilkes?  Remember, the UCLA coaching staff ran off 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, who ended up going to New Mexico, when they first got the job a year ago, because they didn't think he had the toughness necessary to play in Ben Howland's system.  Sure, Wilkes needs to get bigger, stronger, and tougher too, but adjustments can be made for players who are this good, especially when they are in your backyard and you father (Jamal Wilkes) was a star at UCLA during the glory years.  We also continue to hear that former Atlanta Hawks head coach Lon Kruger is a near lock for the UNLV job and we're wondering if SMU is smart enough to hire somebody like Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner, Texas assistant Frank Haith, or Oklahoma assistant coach Jimmy Tubbs?  Not only are these three of the best recruiters in the business, but they all have the strong in-state ties necessary to get it done in recruiting, they're all extremely bright, and they all have learned how to run a program from one of the best in the business.  In other words, in our opinion it's just a question of which one do you hire? 

Our Washington, DC area editor Steve Turner tells us that cream rose to the top over the weekend in the WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) playoffs, as the two top seeded teams played for the championship and every top seeded team except for one advanced in the playoffs.  Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA beat Washington (Gonzaga) DC, 61-51, in the title game, but the game was a lot closer than that, as Bishop Connell led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter, 26-24 at halftime, and 39-35 at the end of the third quarter and 6'6 Jr Paul Johnson from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, who was the leading scorer in the game with 20 points, clearly outplayed the only player in the area in the junior class who is ranked higher than he is.  Obviously we're talking about 6'4 Jr Marcus Ginyard, who finished with 13 points, is ranked #23 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and already is verbally committed to North Carolina.  Instead, the big key to O'Connell's victory was the strong leadership provided by 6'4 Ernie Lomax, who established himself in paint with eight points, all of which came in the first half; 6'5 Freddie Stanback from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who finished with only six points, but had an important put-back and hit some big free throws down the stretch, and 5'10 Eric Smith from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who knocked down three 3-pointers and hit some clutch free throws en route to a team high 16 points.  This also gets the monkey off the back of Bishop O'Connell head coach Joey Wootten, because this is his first WCAC Championship.  If you will recall, Wootten has had the best talent in the city each of the last three years, plus he is living in the shadow of  his legendary father, Morgan Wootten, who won the WCAC title 33 times, five national championships, and was the winningest high school coach of all time when he retired two years ago (1274-192).  The only lower seeded team to win a game was Washington (St. John's) DC, which knocked off Fairfax (Paul VI) VA, 49-48, in the quarterfinals.  Also in the quarterfinals Washington (Gonzaga) DC beat Alexandria (Bishop Ireton) VA, 74-53; Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA beat Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 61-46; Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD beat Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, 59-40.  And that set up the two semi-finals games, which both more than lived up to their billing.   Gonzaga came back from a 20-8 deficit to knock off St. John's, 50-48, for the third time this year and O'Connell beat DeMatha, 57-54, in a game that was almost reminiscent of last year's early exit by a loaded O'Connell team, which was led by 6'9 Brian Johnson, who is now at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  O'Connell was led by Stanback with 13 points and 6'6 Jr Dave Neal, who had 12 points.  DeMatha, which was down by 10 early, came back and tied it at 51-all, but then ran of gas.  DeMatha was led by 6'9 Jr Desmon Adedeji from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and 6'3 Frosh Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD.   In other semi-finals game Paul Johnson had 15 points for Gonzaga, but, even more important, he took a charge with nine seconds left and made the two free throws to win the game.  St. John's was led by 6'5 Dwayne Anderson with 20 points and 6'3 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC with 10 points.   No all tournament was named, but, if Turner were to pick one, he'd name O'Connell's Stanback and Smith the co-MVP's, plus he'd include Lomax, Ginyard, and Neal from the winning team; Johnson, Hodge, and 6'3 Antwan Harrison from Washington (Gonzaga) DC; Adedeji and Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD; Anderson from Washington (St. John's) DC, 6'8 James Gist from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, 6'3 Ryan Williams from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA, 5'11 Soph Twyon Lawson from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, and 5'11 Jr Chad Wilson from Alexandria (Bishop Ireton) VA.  The victory by Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA sets up the city title championship against Washington (Cardozo) DC on March 13th and there is no doubt that Bishop O'Connell will be the heavy favorite.  Bishop O'Connell's victory yesterday also assures them a spot in the Alhambra Invitational Touranment in Cumberland, MD, March 18th-20th, which will also include Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, Philadelphia (St. Josephs) PA, Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, Cumberland (Bishop Walsh) MD, and Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD.  The last two spots in the Alhambra Touranmenta have yet to be determined, but the smart money is on Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD, which features the top senior in the area in 6'8 Rudy Gay, and either Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD or Washington (Gonzaga) DC.  Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead also checks in with a report from the Mast Store Champions Classic at Appalachian State in Boone, NC and this is significant because this was the final game of the season for Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, which finished 38-0 and was crowned as the mythical National Champion.  Oak Hill beat Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 62-37, in the championship game, but it really wasn't that close early.  Apparently Oak Hill was rattled after 6'9 Brian Johnson tweaked his knee in the dunk contest prior to the start of the championship game and, as a result, the game was tied at 13-all at the end of the first quarter.  Then, Oak Hill went on a 18-4 run in the second quarter and never looked back.  Oak Hill was led by 6'2 Rajon Rondo with 16 points, 6'9 Josh Smith with 15 points, and 6'3 Aaron Scott with 10 points.  Also injured in practice prior to the start of the tournament was 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  However, the fact that he only had one good hand didn't stop Palacios from being the leading scorer and leading rebounder with 13 points and nine rebounds for his team in the 3rd Place Game.  Unfortunately Palacios was the forgotten man when they named the all-tournament, just like he was when they named the McDonald's All-American Team a-week-and-a-half ago.  Instead, 6'4 Cesar Chavez was named to the all-tournament team from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  The rest of the team included Rondo, who was named the Most Outstanding Player, Smith, who was named the Most Valuable Player, Johnson, and 6'7 Dayshawn Wright, all from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'7 Diego Belizario from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'3 Jr Marcus Sugars from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA.  Also noteworthy is the fact that Indiana University head coach Mike Davis was in the house both Friday and Saturday night.  And you can bet he wasn't wasting his time trying to get Josh Smith, who is expected to by-pass college this spring and enter his name into the NBA Draft, to honor his commitment to Indiana.   Instead, it appears that Davis was concentrating his efforts on Palacios, who appears to be the Hoosiers top recruiting priority this winter.  Speaking of Palacios, he made an official visit to Florida State on Sunday and he also still has schools like Louisville, Kentucky, Baylor, and Texas on his list.  However, when it is all said and done, don't be surprised if Palacios is part of the mass exodus of high school players to the NBA this spring.  As a matter, Palacios has let it be known that he wants to pro as fast as possible, because he wants to get his mother out of the drug-cartel town where they're from in Columbia.