HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR MAY 2007

Thursday, May 31, 2007

A lot of people seem to think that everything will change this summer with regards to the grass roots basketball scene.  However, except for the fact that for the first time 23 years Sonny Vaccaro won't be running a shoe company sponsored basketball camp and some of the locations and names of the top camps and events have been changed, we think it's going to be pretty much business as usual.  As a matter of fact, with no adidas Superstar Camp in Suwanee, GA this summer, our job of trying to cover the shoe company camps should be a lot easier and less hectic.  I plan to start at the Lebron James U.S. Skills Academy, which will be held at the University of Akron in Akron, OH on July 6th-9th.  But it's still not clear whether either the media or college coaches will be allowed to watch games on the Friday, July, 6th.  In other words, they've changed the name and changed the venue, but for all practical purposes this will still be the NIKE All-American Camp, which has run continuously dating all the way back to 1985 when Vaccaro took over the camp from AFBE (Athletes For A Better Education) when it was in Princeton, NJ.  The same holds true for the Rbk U. Camp, which should be pretty much a continuation of the Reebok ABCA Camp with Chris Rivers, instead of Sonny Vaccaro, running the show.  They also have changed the venue from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ to Philadelphia University in Philadelphia, PA in an attempt to help establish a new identity and Friday, July 6th, will be a practice day and Saturday, July 7th, Sunday, July 8th, Monday, July, 9th, and Tuesday, July 10th will be actual playing days at the Rbk U. Camp.  We also really like the fact that both camps are expected to have only 120 of the nation's top players and we think it is interesting that the first 65 spots at the Rbk U. Camp will be filled via the recommendations from a national selection committee and the remaining 50 players will be invited through participation in the Headliner Tryout Camps that are being held in May and June in cities like Sacramento, CA, Los Angeles, CA, San Diego, CA, Dallas, TX, Houston, TX, Jackson MS, Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, Greensboro, NC, Pittsburgh, PA, Washington, DC, Neptune, NJ, New York, NY, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, and Detroit, MI.  To get more information about each one of these Headliner Tryout Camps, you can visit their web site at www.ballercircuit.com.  On the NIKE side of things, the much talked about regional skills academy's that are not open to the public, college coaches, or the media, include the Steve Nash Skills Academy for point guards in Northern New Jersey on June 29th-July 2nd, the Kobe Bryant Skills Academy for 2-guards in Los Angeles, CA on June 25th-28th, the Vince Carter Skills Academy for wing forwards in Orlando, FL, and the Amare Stoudemire Skills Academy for power forward/centers in Phoenix, AZ on June 29th-July 2nd.  It's been widely reported that adidas won't have a camp this summer, but they will running the It Takes Five Classic, which will be an AAU-like event at the Linder Center in Cincinnati, OH on July 6th-8th.  However, like everything else during the first week of the Live Evaluation Period for Division I College Coaches that has gone to head-to-head with the major shoe company camps during the last 24 years, I'll ignore this event as best I can.  But I will also more than make up for it by focusing more on the adidas Super 64 Tournament in Las Vegas, NV on July 22nd-26th than on the Reebok Summer Championship and the Main Event, which also will be held in Las Vegas, NV at the same time.  I also once again plan on being at the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, SC, which will be held July 12th-16th; High Potential Blue Chip Basketball Camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY, which will be held July 22nd-26th; and Double Pump Best of the Summer Tournament in Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, which will he beld on July 27th-31st; during the Summer Evaluation Period and will be at the 14-Under AAU National's in Orlando, FL, which will be held on August 1st-8th; the Junior All-American Camp at the Hoop Magic Sports Academy in Chantilly, VA, which will be held on August 2nd-5th; and the adidas Junior Phenom Camp at Alliant in San Diego, CA, which will be held on August 10th-12th.  And, if that weren't enough, within the next month I also plan to attend the Pangos All-American Camp , which will tip off tomorrow night in Los Angeles, CA; the Rumble in the Bronx in the Bronx, NY, which will be held on June 15th-17th; the NBA Players Association Camp in Charlottesville, VA, which will be held on June 20th-23rd; the adidas Phenom Top 150 Freshman and Sophomore Camp at Alliant University in San Diego, CA, which will be held on June 21st-24th; the High Potential Blue Chip Basketball Camp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, KY, which will be held June 24th-28th; and the Fab Freshman All-American Camp in Chantilly, VA, which will be held on June 30th-July 2nd.  The other big story of the day involves University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan apparently being on the verge of accepting the head coach of the Orlando Magic.  Assuming that this is true, it's a sad day for college basketball, as this is just another example of how the the type of money that the NBA throws around in this day-and-age is corrupting the sport at every level.  We also are very surprised by this development, because you'd think that Donovan would have learned from his former boss and mentor Rick Pitino, who already has made the same mistake twice when he left Providence in 1987 to become the head coach of the New York Knicks and the University of Kentucky in 1997 to become the head coach of the Boston Celtics.  But, then again, it probably shouldn't come as that big of a surprise, because the coaches appear to be just as greedy as the players when it comes to taking the money and running straight to "The League."  It also will be interesting to see if the University of Florida is smart enough to hire Gators assistant coach Larry Shyatt, who played a huge role in terms of the success that they've had the last three years, as Donovan's replacement and whether 6'4 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'8 Alex Tyus from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian)  OH, 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, and 6'6 Adam Allen from Milton (H.S.) FL all will remain apart of the Gators' recruiting class, which is currently ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007. 

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

 I am already on the West Coast and this weekend I will be attending the 2007 Pangos All-American Camp, which will be held at the brand new Galen Center on the campus of USC on Friday, June 1st, Saturday, June 2nd, and Sunday, June 3rd.  And, if most of the players who are on the list of those expected to be in attendance show up, this not only will be the best Pangos All-American Camp ever, but it also should be one of the premier events of the entire spring and summer.  We're talking about 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr J'Covan Brown from Port Arthur (Memorial) TX, 6'7 Jr Troy Gillenwater from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'5 Jr Demar Derozan from Compton (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 6'8 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Galena) NV, 6'9 Jr Chris Singleton from Cherokee (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Steve Tchiengang from Cypress (Community Christian) TX, 6'9 Jr Matt Simpkins from Berkeley (H.S.) CA, 6'11 Jr Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX,7'0 Jr Jeff Withey from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'8 Jr Storm Warren from Monroe (Richwood) LA, 6'7 Jr Clarence Trent from Gig Harbor (H.S.) WA, 6'5 Jr DeQuan Jones from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'7 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA, 6'2 Jr Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'8 Jr Will Brown from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX, 6'9 Jr Terrence Henry from Monroe (Carroll) LA, 6'9 Jr Andre Clark from North Little Rock (H.S.) AR, 6'8 Jr Olek Czyk from Reno (H.S.) NV, 6'7 Tyreese Breshers from Los Angeles (Price) CA, 6'4 Jr D.J. Seeley from Modesto (Christian) CA, 6'6 J.P. Olukemi from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'8 Jr Enoch Andoh from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, 6'9 Jr Edgar Gariby from Compton (H.S.) CA, 6'10 Jr Chris Gabriel from San Juan Capistrano (J. Serra) CA, 6'7 Jr Renaldo Woolridge from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'2 Jr Jason Pruitt from Los Angeles (View Park) CA, 6'4 Jr Brad Tinsley from Oregon City (H.S.) OR, 6'3 Jr Chris Jones from Newark (Memorial) CA, 6'7 Jr James Southerland from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'0 Jr Darian Norris from Las Vegas (Mojave) NV, 6'4 Jr Teondre Williams from Norcross (Meadow Creek) GA, 6'8 Jr Taylor Rohde from Phoenix (Pinnacle) AZ, 6'8 Jr Austin Smith from Tucson (Mountain View) AZ, 6'7 Jr DeShun Freeman from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA, 6'3 Jr Frank Otis from Oakland (McClymonds) CA, 6'3 Jr Verdell Jones from Champaign (Central) IL, 6'5 Jr Brandon Lavender from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, 6'11 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'3 Soph Roberto Nelson from Santa Barbara (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Soph Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'7 Soph Jordan Hamilton from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA, 6'6 Soph Jerry Brown from San Francisco (Sacred Heart) CA, 6'9 Soph Colin Borchert from Glendale (Mountain Ridge) AZ, 6'2 Soph Xavier Thames from Sacramento (Pleasant Valley) CA, 6'9 Soph David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'9 Soph Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'3 Soph Lorenzo Brown from Roswell (Centennial) GA, 6'4 Soph Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Soph Chris Cunningham from Diamond Bar (Diamond Ranch) CA, 6'3 Soph Justin Hawkins from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'7 Soph Quincy Acy from Mesquite (Horne) TX, 6'7 Soph Joe Burton from Hemet (West Valley) CA, 6'7 Soph Richard Howell from Lawrenceville (Central Gwinnett) GA, 6'7 Soph Aaron Moore from Riverside (Poly Technic) CA, 6'1 Soph Teandre Hubbard from San Francisco (Sacred Heart) CA, 6'9 Soph Terrance Shannon from Forsyth (Mary Persons) GA, 6'2 Frosh Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'2 Frosh Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA, and 6'5 Frosh Tyler Lamb from Ontario (Colony) CA.  Dinos Trigonis, who is the brain behind this operation, also tells us that he is hoping that 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA and 6'2 Jr Jerime Anderson from Canyon (Anaheim) CA will be in attendance and it's about 50-50 that 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA and about 75-25 that 6'10 Frosh Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA will decide to play this weekend.  Are you starting to get the idea that this could be a great event?  The camp schedule will begin on Friday with Hotel Check-in at the Radisson Hotel from 2:00 PM-5:00 PM, Dinner at the hotel from 5:00 PM-6:00 PM, Camp Registration and Gear Distribution at the Galen Center from 6:00 PM-6:45 PM, Opening Remarks and Information by Dinos Trigons from 7:00 PM-7:15 PM, Individual Instruction by New Orleans Hornets assistant coach Dave Miller from 7:15 PM-8:30 PM, the first round of camp games from 8:30 PM-10:30 PM, and a late night snack at 11:00 PM.  The schedule on Saturday will kick off with Breakfast at the Hotel from 8:00 AM-9:00 AM, those taking the SAT exam are transported to the USC test center from 8:00 AM-Noon, Joe Abunnassar/Dan Barto (Impact Basketball) and Athletes Performance will run a work-out from 11:00 AM-12:30 PM, Lunch from 12:30 PM-1:30 PM, Guest Speaker from 1:30 PM-2:00 PM, Individual Instruction by New Orleans Hornets assistant coach Dave Miller from 2:00 PM-3:00 PM, 3-on-3 Games from 3:00 PM-3:30 PM, the second round of camp games from 3:30 PM-5:30 PM, Dinner from 5:30 PM-6:30 PM, Recruiting Roundtable (Questions & Answers with national scouts) from 6:30 PM-7:00 PM, the third round of camp games from 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, and pizza from 9:30 PM-10:00 PM.  The final day will begin with breakfast from 8:00 AM-9:00 AM, the fourth round of camp games from 9:00 AM-11:00 AM, Announcement of All-Star Teams and Final Remarks from 11:00 AM-11:30 AM, "Cream of the Crop" Top 40 All-Star Game from 11:30 AM-12:30 PM, "Cream of the Crop" Top 20 All-Star Game from 12:30 AM-1:30 PM, and Campers depart/transport out-of-state campers to the airport from 1:30 PM-2:00 PM. 

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Our Texas Editor Tim Miller was at the NIKE Memorial Day Hoops Classic in Nashville, TN over the weekend and he tells us that the outstanding play of the small quick point guards were the biggest story of the tournament.  The best of the bunch was 5'8 Jr Andre Young from Albany (Deerfield-Windsor) GA, who used his quickness, athleticism, ability to read the court and play excellent defense, and good ball handling and passing skills to lead the Georgia Blazers to a 63-61 win against the New York Gauchos in the championship game.  Young was ranked #464 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP the last time we updated our national rankings, but Miller tells us that Young is now one of the premier point guards in the nation and the fact that he took home tournament MVP honors and scored 15 points in the championship game reinforces this point even further.  Also falling into this category are 6'0 Jr Kemba Walker from New York (Rice) NY, who was the catalyst in the backcourt for the New York Gauchos, and 5'8 Isaiah Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, who led the Friends of Hoop (WA) to a final four finish and, in the process, did a better job than he usually does of making his teammates better and not jacking up every shot.  However, it was the other point guard  in the final four on Athletes First that knocked Miller's socks off.  We're talking about 6'6 Soph Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK and Miller not only ranks him as the second best player in the tournament, but also is now making an argument for Henry being the #1-ranked player in the sophomore class nationally.  And, while we find it hard to believe that Henry is better than 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and 6'10 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, it does reinforce Henry's #5-ranking nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Miller also was singing the praises of 6'3 Soph Willie Warren from Ft Worth (North Crowley) TX, who he ranks as the #1 player in the tournament and, once again, is lobbying us for National Player-of-the-Year honors in the junior class.  Apparently Warren had several 30-plus point games and he put up 26 points in the second half against the South Carolina Ravens.  Warren also had the best dunk that Miller has seen at the high school level in years and he led Team Texas to a final eight finish in the tournament.  Some of the other highlights at the NIKE Memorial Day Hoops Classic included watching Georgia Select knock out The Family in pool play, seeing the big match-up between 6'10 Jr Ed Davis from Richmond (Benedictine) VA and 6'9 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA, and witnessing 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA score 24 points in the first half against the Charlotte Royals.  Miller also tells us that 6'8 Jr JaMychal Green from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL is a beast inside and really liked the savvy and maturity beyond their age that was showed by 6'0 Frosh K.C. Ross Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'2 Frosh Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, and 5'8 Frosh Phil Pressey from Ashburnham (Cushing Academy) MA, who are arguably three of the top point guards in a class that is absolutely loaded with great point guards.  Miller's list of the top players in the tournament is as follows:  1) 6'4 Jr Willie Warren from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 2) 6'6 Soph Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 3) 5'8 Jr Andre Young from Albany (Deerfield-Windsor) GA, 4) 6'8 Jr JaMychal Green from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 5) 5'8 Isaiah Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6) 6'6 Jr Scott Suggs from Washington (H.S.) MO, 7) 6'0 Jr Kemba Walker from New York (Rice) NY, 8) 6'9 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 9) 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 10) 6'4 Jr Sean Mosley from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, 11) 6'6 Jr Renardo Parker from Kent (Kentridge) WA, 12) 6'0 Jr Jordan Theodore from Paterson (Catholic) PA, 13) 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 14) 6'1 Jr Rotnei Clarke from Claremore (Verdigris) OK, 15) 6'10 Jr Ty Walker from Wilmington (New Hanover) NC, 16) 6'5 Jr Leslie McDonald from Eads (Briarcrest Christian) TN, 17) 6'4 Soph Roberto Nelson from Santa Barbara (H.S.) CA,18) 6'4 Soph Terrance Boyd from Norman (H.S.) OK, 19) 5'7 Jr Desmond Wade from Linden (H.S.) NJ, and 20) 6'10 Jr Michael Dunigan from Chicago (Farragut) IL.  Some other players in the tournament that Miller liked well enough to mention include 6'9 Jr Xavier Gibson from Dothan (Northview) AL, 6'4 Jr Nick Williams from Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 6'10 Jr Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX, 6'7 Jr Wesley Witherspoon from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'10 Jr John Brandenburg from St. Louis (DeSmet) MO,  6'8 Jr Jeremy Thompson from Kings Mountain (Hope Christian) NC, 6'4 Soph Keith Spellman from Brooklyn (Jefferson) NY, 6'11 Jr Frank Be Eze from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'2 Jr Julius Mays from Marion (H.S.) IN, 6'0 Jr Darryl Bryant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'7 Jr Murphy Holloway from Irmo (Dutch Fork) SC, 6'0 Jr Sam Grooms from McLeansville (Northeast Guilford) NC, 6'2 Jr Chris Fouch from New York (Rice) NY, 6'11 Jr  Ralph Sampson from Duluth (H.S.) GA, 6'1 Quincy Hawkins from Roosevelt (H.S.) NY, 6'4 Jr Kelvin Martin from Adel (Cook County) GA, 6'7 Jr Ken Gabriel from Kings Mountain (New Hope Christian) NC, 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'10 Soph Demarcus Cousins from Birmingham (Erwin) AL, 6'7 Soph Alex Oriakhi from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Soph Durand Scott from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Soph Jamal Coombs from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 Soph Rodney Williams from Robbinsdale (Cooper) MN, 6'9 Soph Kyle Hardwick from Lawton (Eisenhower) OK, 6'8 Jr Keith Gallon from Houston (Timberwood) TX, 6'5 Soph Marshawn Powell from Newport News (Menchville) VA, 6'7 Soph Aaron Moore from Riverside (Poly Technic) CA, 5'11 Soph Zaccheus Mason from Nashville (Christ Presbyterian) TN, 6'3 Soph John Jenkins from Gallatin (Station Camp) TN, 6'6 Soph Johnny Williams from Eads (Briarcrest Christian) TN, 6'4 Frosh Ralston Turner from Florence (Shoals) AL, 6'10 Frosh Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Frosh Tyler Lamb from Ontario (Colony) CA, 6'5 Frosh Tyler Lamb from Ontario (Colony) CA, 6'4 Frosh Doron Lamb from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, 6'5 Frosh Kony Ealy from Portageville (H.S.) MO, 6'3 Frosh Brandon Spearman from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, and 6'8 Frosh Daniel Broughton from Little Rock, AR.  We also think it is interesting to point out that Miller was not nearly as impressed as our West Coast Editor Alan Utter was weekend before last with 6'10 Frosh Jeremy Tyler from San Diego, CA.  "He's not that tough inside and he got outplayed," says Miller.  And this is important, because Tyler has been the subject of an intense lobbying effort to get him ranked #1 nationally in the Class of 2010.  But we rank players the old-fashioned way, whereby, they have to earn it.  So stay tuned.

Monday, May 28, 2007

When we found out that 5'11 Jr Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (St. Pius X) WI would miss the championship game due to the fact that he had to catch a flight and, with 6'1 Jr Anthony Crater from Flint (Southwestern) MI out for the rest of the tournament after diving for loose ball against the Atlanta Celtics in the semi-finals, it was a safe bet that Indiana Elite wouldn't have much trouble against King of the Court in the championship game of the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions yesterday afternoon in Chapel Hill, NC.  Indiana Elite was led by 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH and 7'2 Jr Tyler Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN with 13 points apiece and 6'2 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, who chipped in with 12 points.  But the big story in this game was the fact that 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH finished with 27 points for King of the Court.  And this is important, because it solidified his spot as the top-ranked player in the entire tournament.  And, if it weren't for political correctness, whereby, the MVP has to be on the winning team, Roe would have been the easy choice for tournament MVP honors.  Instead, that honor went to Zeller.  But we didn't agree with that choice either, as Negedu was the dominant force and the go-to guy all weekend for a well coached and well balanced Indiana Elite team, which also featured Zeller, Offutt, 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IN, 6'7 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA, 6'3 Jr Matt Roth from Washington (Community) IL, 6'0 Jr Logan Jones from Madison (H.S.) IN, 6'5 Jr Brayden Hobbs from New Albany (H.S.) IN, and 6'5 Jr Zack Novak from Chesterton (H.S.) IN.  While we want to take nothing away from Zeller, who is one of the most improved players in the junior class nationally and has the size, skills, and potential necessary to develop into one of the premier big men to come down the pike in a long time, he's physically not there yet.  But all this makes perfect sense when one remembers that North Carolina recently offered Zeller a scholarship and the people on the tournament selection committee have a tendency to rank big white guys based on potential a lot higher than we do.  So we suspect it was a political pick.  The other big story at the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions is the fact that 6'9 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA took his game to another level this weekend.  And, if he hadn't suffered leg injury and his team had not lost in the semi-finals to King of the Court, Favors probably would have been ranked as our #1 player in the tournament.  Favors, who has a great combination of athleticism, skills, and court awareness and is extremely unselfish for a big young kid, is a lot more talented than Roe.  But Roe gets the nod in this tournament, because he did all the blue collar stuff and always seems to find a way to beat you.  Speaking of our list of the top-ranked players in the tournament based on performance, HOOP SCOOP Editor and Publisher Clark Francis, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin have put together the following list:  1) 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 2) 6'9 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 3) 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 4) 6'10 Jr Eloy Vargas from Plantation (American Heritage) FL, 5) 5'10 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, 6) 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 7) 6'4 Jr Elliott Williams from Collierville (St George's) TN, 8) 6'5 Jr Ray Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 9) 6'9 Jr Chris Singletary from Canton (Cherokee) GA, 10) 6'3 DeMarquis Bost from Concord (H.S.) NC, 11) 6'2 Jr Mike Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 12) 7'2 Jr Tyler Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, 13) 6'8 Soph Karon Johnson from Durham (Mt Zion Christian) NC, 14) 6'7 Jr Nate Miles from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 15) 6'8 Soph Jordan Hamilton from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA, 16) 5'8 Jr Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (St. Pius X) WI, 17) 6'4 Jr Eshaunte Jones from Ft Wayne (North) IN, 18) 5'8 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 19) 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeanette (H.S.) PA, 20) 6'0 Jr Terrell Holloway from Hempstead (H.S.) NY, 21) 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 22) 6'0 Jr Cashmere Wright from Savannah (Urban Christian) GA, 23) 6'5 Jr Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY, 24) 6'6 Jr Mookie Jones from Peekskill (H.S.) NY, 25) 6'9 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 26) 6'4 Jr Melquan Bolding from White Plains (Archbishop Stepanic) NY, 27) 6'9 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 28) 6'1 Lonnie Hayes from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 29) 6'2 Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, and 30) 6'2 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN.  The fact that Roe,  Favors, and Negedu are ranked among the elite players in the tournament comes as no surprise, but the fact that Vargas checks in a #4 is a major shock.  If you will recall, we didn't like Vargas when we saw last winter at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, because he was fragile and usually got lost out on the perimeter, as all he wanted to do was shoot 3-pointers.  But now he's gotten stronger and more competitive, gets more done inside, and works a lot harder away from the ball.  As a matter of fact, with Vargas' length, versatility, and athleticism, Tayshaun Prince comparisons may be in order.  We also want to remind you that our Alabama Editor Mark Komara was right on the money about 5'10 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL and the fact that his team had a chance to win the tournament.  Fortson is not a better player than 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  But he was a lot better than Jennings was when their teams met on Saturday night in pool play and he made things interesting against Indiana Elite in the first half of the semi-finals by scoring 18 of his team's 30 points.  We're talking about a strong physical tough hardnosed athletic point guard with great moves to the basket and the mentality necessary to develop into an outstanding point guard at the college level.  Southeast Elite also features 6'2 Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, who has been Fortson's teammate dating all the way back to when they were in elementary school together and was one of the best defensive players in the tournament; 6'8 Jr Romeo Osby from Meridian (East Lauderdale) MS and 6'9 Jr Darnell Wilkes from Nashville (Pioneer Christian) TN, both of whom are soft, but very talented out on the perimeter; and 6'6 Jr Cecil Coleman from Nashville (Pioneer) TN, who does most of the dirty work inside.  Getting back to Jennings, he was one of the biggest disappointments of the entire tournament.  Not only did Jennings play absolutely no defense, but he did not do a good job of making his teammates better and the chemistry on the Southern California was as bad as it was good a year ago.  In contrast, we were really impressed with the way that 6'3 DeMarquis Bost from Concord (H.S.) NC ran the show for the Carolina Raptors.  Bost also has the size and outside shooting necessary to play the two, which makes him versatile enough to play either guard spot at the big time college level.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact the Bost was the 3A Player-of-the-Year in both football and basketball this past season and has the athleticism, skills, and savvy necessary to be ranked in the 50-100 range nationally right now.  In other words, Bost, who was ranked #508 by the HOOP SCOOP when we updated our ranking of the top players in the Class of 2007 last fall, is one of the fastest rising players in the nation.  He also was the perfect complement to 6'8 Jr Stedman Short from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC, who is an athletic combo forward that played primarily inside, but really impressed us with his outside shooting and, as a result, should be able to project as a a wing forward at the next level.  Another one of our favorite players in the tournament was 6'9 Jr Chris Singletary from Canton (Cherokee) GA, as he impressed us with his highlight like film dunks, high energy, and versatility.  However, I was somewhat disappointed with the effort put forth by 6'9 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, although he still managed to be the leading scorer on a loaded team that also included Favors, Singletary, 6'7 Soph Noel Johnson from Fayetteville (Fayette County) NC, 6'6 Jr Delwan Graham from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA.   I also think it's worth pointing out that four players - 6'9 Jr Chris Singletary from Canton (Cherokee) GA, 6'8 Soph Karon Johnson from Durham (Mt Zion Christian) NC, 6'0 Jr Terrell Holloway from Hempstead (H.S.) NY and 6'2 Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL - were ranked among our top 30 players in the tournament, but did not make the all tournament team.  However, the all-tournament team did include the other 26 players that we mentioned above, plus 6'5 Jr David Diakite from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, who is a sleeper that led National Christian to the championship in the Select Division, 6'9 Soph Dante Taylor from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, who promises to be the next great player to play for Trevor Brown; 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IN, and 6'3 Jr Matt Roth from Washington (Community) IL, which means that five players were named to the all-tournament team from the championship team; 7'0 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH; 6'8 Jr Romeo Osby from Meridian (East Lauderdale) MS; 5'8 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Jr Jason Clark from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA; 6'8 Jr Stedman Short from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC; 6'9 Soph Milton Jennings from Summerville (Pinewood Prep) SC; 6'0 Jr Kwamain Mitchell from Whitefish Bay (Dominican) WI; 6'2 Soph Malik Wayns from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA; 6'4 Jr David Gibbs from West Simsbury (Masters Prep) CT; 6'10 Jr Henry Sims from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD; 6'4 Jr Verdell Jones from Champaign (Central) IL; and 6'6 Jr Martez Walker from Montverde (Academy) FL.  We also think it's important to point out that 6'8 Soph Jordan Hamilton from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA was the leading scorer with 27.7 ppg in the 17-Under Division, 6'6 Soph Dominic Cheek from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ was the leading scorer with 28.0 ppg and 6'8 Soph David Loubeau from Davie (Westlake Prep) FL was the MVP in the 16-Under Division, and 6'2 Frosh Trae Golden from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA was the leading scorer with 30.0 ppg  and 6'6 Jr Tyler Stone from Memphis (Central Baptist) TN was the MVP in the 15-Under Division.  We also have our list of the top players in the 16-Under Division, which includes 1) 6'2 Frosh Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 2) 6'6 Soph Dominic Cheek from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 3) 5'10 Soph Johnny Lacy from Milwaukee (Bay View) WI, 4) 6'7 Frosh Jereme Richmond from Winnetka (North Shore Country Day) IL, 5) 6'7 Soph Terrell Vinson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6) 6'8 Soph David Loubeau from Davie (Westlake Prep) FL, 7) 6'7 Soph Jamil Wilson from Racine (Horlick) WI, 8) 6'5 Soph D.J. Byrd from Crawfordsville (Bishop Montgomery) IN, 9) 6'9 Soph Kenny Hall from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, 10) 6'2 Soph Dexter Fields from Orlando (Olympia) FL, 11) 6'9 Soph Isaiah Armwood from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 12) 6'6 Soph Brian Oliver from New Castle (William Penn) DE, 13) 6'6 Soph Emari Bailey from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 14) 6'4 Soph Oscar Griffin from Aston (American Christian) PA, 15) 6'4 Soph Adrian Coleman from Stone Mountain (Stephenson) GA, 16) 6'2 Soph Tamir Jackson from Newark (St. Benedict) NJ, 17) 6'8 Soph Wallace Judge from Bladensburg (H.S.) MD, 18) 5'10 Soph Denzel Jones from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 19) 5'9 Soph Carl Jones from Garfield Heights (H.S.) OH, and 20) 6'7 Soph Calvin Leslie from Holly Springs (H.S.) NC.  We didn't see very much of the 15-Under Division, but we do want to mention 6'5 Frosh Fuquan Edwin from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who is a scoring machine, as is evident by the fact that he had 30 points in the 15-Under Select Championship Game, and 6'5 Frosh Chim (T.J.) Kadima from Milwaukee (Lutheran) WI, who is a multi-dimensional athlete that explodes to the basket, knocks down the outside shot, has good ball handling and passing skills, and rebounds extremely well for his size.  Kadima also is a great new name for our List of the Top Players in the Class of 2010, which has been delayed until the middle of this week due to the fact we had to deal with a bunch of verbal commitments by juniors last week and over the weekend had to go to Chapel Hill, NC to cover the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.

Saturday, May 26, 2007, & Sunday, May 27, 2007

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson really got the scoop on our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/Editor Allen Rubin when he asked 6'5 Jr Jarrett Mann from Middletown (H.S.) DE about his recruiting on Friday at the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.  Not only did Mann tell Johnson that he has only one school on his list, but he also said that he planned to make an official announcement, which he did, the next day at the tournament.  Mann, who is ranked #165 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is clearly the best player in the state, becomes only the second player, along with 6'9 Josh Owens from Exeter (Phillips-Exeter Academy) NH, to pick The Cardinal in either this year's or next year's recruiting classes.  However, this comes as no surprise to us for several reasons.  First, Stanford already has an excellent group of good young players in the program, including 7'0 Frosh Brook Lopez, 7'0 Frosh Robin Lopez, 6'8 Soph Lawrence Hill, 6'4 Soph Anthony Goods, 6'5 Frosh Landry Fields, and 6'1 Soph Mitch Johnson.  Second, Mann is more of a slasher than a shooter, but he is an excellent student and a great person, which means he's ideally suited to step in next year and be a good role player.  We also got the scoop first hand from 6'7 Olu Ashaolu from Humble (Christian Life) TX when he made it official for Rutgers on Saturday night.  We're talking about an athletic combo forward who is ranked #37 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but has the natural talent and potential necessary to be ranked a lot higher, if he ever develops a killer mentality and a better outside shot.  Ashaolu also is a physical specimen, an excellent rebounder, and has good skills around the basket, which means he will likely play both the three and four spots at Rutgers.  He also is a great kid and an outstanding student, plus he's been around the block a few times, as he started his playing career in Toronto, ON and also made stops at Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA and Humble (Christian Life) TX.  And this is important, because Ashaolu could prove to be a valuable link for the coaching staff to those areas for future recruiting purposes.  We also have confirmed that Florida State has signed 6'5 Chris Blake from Mobile (LeFlore) AL, who is a guy that is under our radar screen, but played on the team that won the 6A state title this past season.  The addition of Blake moves Florida State's recruiting class into a tie at #36, along with Georgetown, Kentucky, Utah, and UNLV, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  But even more important is the fact that every player in the Seminoles current recruiting class knows what it takes to win, as is evident by the fact that 6'10 Julian Vaughn from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA played on the team that finished ranked #1 in the USA Today's final Super 25 National Ranking, 7'1 Solomon Alabi from Montverde (Academy) FL played on the team that finished ranked #4 in the USA Today's final Super 25 National Ranking, 6'6 Jordan DeMercey from Norcross (H.S.) GA played on the team that finished ranked #12 in the USA Today's final Super 25 National Ranking, and Blake played on the team that finished ranked #14 in the USA Today's final Super 25 National Ranking.  Johnson, Rubin, and myself also talked to a number of players at the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Auburn, Miami-FL, Florida State, South Carolina, and Ohio State are all already in the hunt for 6'9 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, who was arguably one of the two best players in the tournament based on performance.  The list for 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY includes schools like UCLA, Connecticut, Memphis, Arizona, Florida, and Texas, but he adds the North Carolina is still the leader and once again confirms that the Tar Heels have always been his favorite team.  And don't be surprised if North Carolina also lands 6'8 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked currently ranked #22 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, sometime this summer.  And, when this happens, remember where you heard it first!  Pittsburgh, Miami-FL, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Maryland, Clemson, Florida, Wichita State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Minnesota are all involved with 6'10 Jr Eloy Vargas from Plantation (American Heritage) FL.  But those first four are the ones really showing the most interest and right now Vargas says Louisville is the leader.  Miami-FL, Florida, Villanova, Louisville, Florida State, Tennessee, and Ohio State appear to be the ones you have to beat for 6'3 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL.  Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, and North Carolina are all involved with 7'2 Jr Tyler Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN.  Memphis, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Cincinnati, South Carolina, and Kansas were mentioned by 6'6 Jr DeAndre Liggins from Chicago (George Washington) IL, who was in attendance at the tournament, but did not play for Indiana Elite due to an injury.  The early favorites for 6'8 Soph Karon Johnson from Durham (Mt Zion Christian) NC are Virginia, Virginia Tech, Memphis, Maryland, and Georgetown.  Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, and Louisville make up a very interesting list for 6'9 Jr Chris Singletary from Canton (Cherokee) GA.  Ohio State, Louisville, Kentucky, Memphis, Georgia Tech, and Connecticut are showing the most early interest in 6'7 Soph Noel Johnson from  Fayetteville (Fayette County) GA.  North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Memphis, Georgia Tech, and Clemson are recruiting 6'4 Jr Elliott Williams from Collierville (St George's) TN.  The race is on among school like Seton Hall,  St, Joseph's, Fordham, Massachusetts, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh for 6'2 Jr Chris Prescott from West Hartford (Northwest Catholic) CT.  Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Villanova are involved with 6'0 Jr Terrell Holloway from Hempstead (H.S.) NY, but a stop in prep school at either Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA or Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT appears to be first on his agenda.  Kentucky, Alabama, Kansas, Florida State, Tennessee, and Cincinnati are showing the most interest in 5'10 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL.  However, Fortson and his high school and AAU teammate - 6'2 Jr Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL - are both first heading next year to Lenoir (Patterson School) NC.  It also looks like 6'4 Jr Eshaunte Jones from Ft Wayne (North) IN, who is still committed to Indiana, will first end up in prep school next year at either Lenoir (Patterson School) NC or Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Also heading to Hargrave Military Academy next year is 6'3 DeMarquis Bost from Concord (H.S.) NC, who is attracting the most interest from schools like Mississippi State, Miami-FL, Florida State, Illinois, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Cincinnati.  One of the biggest sleepers to emerge at the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions was 6'9 Jr Terrence Henry from Monroe (Carroll) LA and his list list includes Mississippi, LSU, Baylor, Kansas, and Miami-FL.  6'1 Jr Darius Gabriel was at Winchendon (School) MA the last two years, but tells us that he now plans to attend Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA next year and is considering schools like Tennessee, Florida, Kansas, Xavier, Memphis, DePaul, and Minnesota.  DePaul is the heavy favorite for 6'11 Teenk Akol from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, but it appears that he too will need another year in order to become qualified academically for the Division I level.  Wake Forest, N.C. State, Maryland, Clemson, Stanford, Appalachian State, and North Carolina A&T are already showing early interest in 6'6 Soph Kevin Powell from Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC.  Tennessee, Arizona, Memphis, Xavier, and Georgetown were mentioned by 6'1 Jr Miguel Paul from Lakewood (Kathleen) FL.  The list for 6'8 Jr Romero Osby from Meridian (East Lauderdale) MS includes Mississippi, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, North Carolina, N.C. State, Alabama, Tennessee, LSU Arkansas, Florida, UCLA, USC, Minnesota, and Texas.  Among those involved with 6'4 Jr Brian Walsh from Coraopolis (Moon Township) PA are Maryland, Xavier, St. Joseph's, Clemson, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech.  It appears that Akron, Michigan, Bucknell, Lafayette, Vermont, William & Mary, Rider, and Ball State are showing the most interest in 6'5 Jr Mike Shanahan from North Huntingdon (Norwin) PA.  Miami-FL, Kansas State, South Florida, SMU, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Florida Atlantic, Xavier, Penn State, and Appalachian State have all been in contact with 6'6 Jr Dagoberto Pena from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) NC.  Arizona State, Florida State, Cincinnati, UCLA, Texas , and California were all mentioned by 6'6 Jr Martez Walker from Montverde (Academy) FL.  The early list for 6'7 Soph Austin Johnson from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ includes Notre Dame, Kentucky, St. Joseph's, Rutgers, Temple, La Salle, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Seton Hall.  Among the schools mentioned by 6'8 Jr LaRon Dendy from Kings Mountain (Hope Christian Academy) NC were Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Arizona, Memphis, and Clemson.  It appears that North Carolina, Clemson, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia all like 6'9 Soph Milton Jennings from Summerville (Pinewood Prep) SC.

Friday, May 25, 2007

I am already in Raleigh, NC and am getting ready to covering the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, which will tip-off night at 6:30 PM with games at the Dean E. Smith Center and numerous other sites in the Chapel Hill, Durham, & Raleigh areas.  And, as always, our exceptions are extremely high, as the list of players that we expect to be in attendance includes 6'1 Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'7 Jr Troy Gillenwater from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'8 Jr Devin Ebanks from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'8 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'9 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr DeAndre Liggins from Chicago (Washington) IL, 6'4 Jr Melquan Bolding from White Plains (Archbishop Stepanic) NY, 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 5'8 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'7 Jr DeAndre Liggins from Chicago (George Washington) IL, 6'1 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, 6'8 Jr Romero Osby from Meridian (Northeast Lauderdale) MS, 6'7 Jr Kris Joseph from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN, 6'5 Jr Malik Story from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'6 Jr Mookie Jones from Peekskill (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Jr Kevin Jones from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'7 Jr Darnell Wilkes from Nashville (Pioneer Christian) TN, 6'1 Jr Anthony Crater from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 6'6 Jr Olu Ashaolu from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'0 Jr Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'7 Jr Jared Swopshire from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'10 Jr Kenneth Kadji from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'9 Jr Eloy Vargas from Plantation (American Heritage) FL, 6'4 Jr Ray Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 6'0 Jr Miguel Paul from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'2 Jr Michael Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'5 Jr Elliott Williams from Memphis (St. George) TN, 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeannette (H.S.) PA, 7'2 Jr James Tyler from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, 5'9 Jr Lewis Jackson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IL, 5'11 Jr Dwan McMillan from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Jr James Southerland from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'9 Jr Chris Singleton from Cherokee (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Henry Sims from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD, 7'0 Jr Tyler Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, 6'5 Jr Nick Freundt from Batavia (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'3 Soph Kenny Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL, 6'9 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta (South Atlanta) GA, 6'10 Soph DeMarcus Cousins from Birmingham (Erwin) AL, 6'6 Soph Terrell Vinson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Soph Dominique Cheek from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'7 Soph Noel Johnson from Fayetteville (Fayette County) GA, 6'7 Soph Jamil Wilson from Racine (Horlick) WI, 5'10 Soph Johnnie Lacy from Milwaukee (Bay View) WI, 6'8 Soph Christian Watford from Trussville (Hewitt Trussville) AL, 6'4 Soph Demetrius Walker from Fontana (H.S.) CA, 6'7 Soph Karon Johnson from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, 6'0 Soph Junior Cadougan from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 5'10 Soph Lamont Jones from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Soph David Loubeau from Davie (Westlake Prep) FL, 6'8 Soph Donte Taylor from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, 6'2 Frosh Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL, 6'8 Frosh DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'2 Frosh Tony Chenault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 6'1 Frosh Noah Cottrell from Poca (H.S.) WV, 6'2 Frosh Trae Golden from Powder Springs (MacEachern) GA, 6'8 Frosh Dakota Euton from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6'5 Frosh Chad Jackson from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6'7 Frosh Tristan Thompson from Brampton (D'ville) ON, and 6'3 7th Grader Reggie Ragland from Huntsville, AL.  In other words, the depth of talent at this year's Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions is second to none and one of the big stories of this year's tournament should be all the great young players.  The breakdown of teams by pool in the 17-Under Division is a follows:  Pool A has Indiana Elite, CP3 All Stars, Pittsburgh Storm, and United Celtics; Pool B has the Atlanta Celtics, Cutino Mobley (PA), Team Dickerson (GA), and Charlotte Nets; Pool C has King of the Court (OH), Wisconsin Playground, Nashville Celtics, and Charlotte Aces; Pool D has Southeast Elite, Southern Cal All Stars, Midstate Ballerz (TN), and Long Island Lightning; Pool E has DC Assault, World Wide Renegades, Hunting Park, and Connecticut BBall; Pool F has F has Playaz Basketball, North Carolina Gators, Smyrna Stars, and Team Stat; Pool G has Triple Threat, Florida Rams, Jackson Panthers, Ft. Sooy No Limit, Pool H has the New York Panthers, Team Georgia Elite, Michigan Hurricames, and The Ambassadors (FL); Pool I has the Arkansas Hawks, New England Playaz, Hoop Planet (GA), and New York Elite; Pool J has the Westchester Hawks, Lamar Odom I Can (CA), Illinois Bobcats, and Birmingham Raptors; Pool K has the Illinois Wolves, Ohio Basketball Club, Richmond Squires, and Garner Road (NC); Pool L has M33M (TN), Juice All Stars, Queen City Prophets, and Team Jersey Elite; Pool M has Grassroots Canada, Beach Ball Select, Team Philly, and Bethesda Magic; Pool N has the Carolina Raptos, Team Breakdown (FL), Play Hard Play Smart, and the Georgia Ballers; Pool O has Blessed IJN, Baltimore Stars, New Jersey Trailblazers, and Georgia Cavaliers; and Pool P has National Christian, Spiece Indy Heat, Pittsburgh Team Adidas, and Kappa Magic.  And, as usual, we will spend most of our time at the Dean E. Smith Center, where we can watch three different games at once on Court #1, Court #2, and Court #3.  But we also plan to be at Carmichael Auditorium at 6:30 PM on Saturday night to see the big match-up between the Southern Cal All-Stars with 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and the Southeast Elite with 6'1 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL.  Remember, we have Jennings ranked as the #1 junior nationally, but our Alabama Editor Mark Komara tells us that Fortson, who plans to reclassify and go the prep school route next year, is better than Jennings.  And, while we think Komara, who also runs the Southeast Elite club team program, is obviously biased on this one, I still want to see for myself.  Komara also likes his team's chances of winning the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, but that may be easier said than done when one remembers that the tournament also will feature a number of other really good teams, like Indiana Elite, Atlantic Celtics, King of the Court, DC Assault, Playaz Basketball Club, Triple Threat, Westchester Hawks, Illinois Wolves, Juice All-Stars, M33M (TN).  For even more information about the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and the complete schedule of games, click onto BobGibbons.net.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

The early verbal commitments by juniors just keep right on coming.  The latest being today's verbal commitment by 6'8 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to the University of Georgia.  And this comes on the heels of the commitment two days ago by 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is the #1-ranked junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, to the University of Arizona, and yesterday's commitment by 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, who is ranked #30 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to the University of North Carolina.  That's three top 30-ranked juniors nationally who have been taken off the board in the last three days and, as a result, over half of our top 30-ranked juniors are no longer available, as 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, is gone to Arizona, 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH is gone to Michigan State, 6'7 Jr Troy Gillenwater from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA is gone to Oklahoma State, 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Galena) NV is gone to Ohio State, 6'8 Jr Drew Gordon from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA is gone to UCLA, 6'9 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH is gone to Cincinnati, 7'0 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (H.S.) OH is gone Ohio State, 6'8 Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to gone to Georgia, 5'11 Jr Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (St. Pius X) WI is gone to Michigan State, 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY is gone to Florida, 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH is gone to Ohio State, 6'4 Jr Malcolm Lee is gone to UCLA, 6'4 Jr Melquan Bolding from White Plains (Archbishop Stepanic) NY is gone to Louisville, 6'11 Jr Beas Hamga from Decatur (Christian) IL is gone to UNLV, 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH to Arizona, and 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA is gone to North Carolina.  And, when we dig a little deeper, we also find that 24 of the top 50-ranked juniors are already off the board, as 6'1 Jr Anthony Crator from Flint (Northwestern) MI is gone to Ohio State, 6'7 Jr Nate Miles from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA is gone to Connecticut, 6'5 Jr Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA is gone to USC, 6'7 Jr Darnell Wilkes from Nashville (Pioneer Christian) TN is gone to Cincinnati, 7'1 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH is gone to Xavier, 6'5 Jr Nasi Robinson from Chester (H.S.) PA is gone to Pittsburgh, 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN is gone to Ohio State, 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD is gone to Georgetown, and 40 of the top 100-ranked juniors are already off the boards, as 6'5 Jr Scotty Hopson form Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY is gone to Mississippi State, 6'4 Jr Nick Williams from Mobile (LeFlore) AL is gone to Marquette, 6'11 Jr Andy Poling from Portland (Westview) OR is gone to Gonzaga, 6'5 Jr Matt Gatens from Iowa City (H.S.) IA is gone to Iowa, 6'2 Jr Michael Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ is gone to Rutgers, 7'2 Jr James Tyler from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC is gone to LSU, 6'8 Jr Will Brown from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX is gone to UTEP, 7'0 Jr Jeff Withey from San Diego (Horizon) CA is gone to Louisville, 6'0 Jr Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ is gone to Pittsburgh, 6'9 Jr Malcolm White from Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS is gone to Mississippi, 6'0 Jr Antoine Young from Bellevue (West) NE is gone to Creighton, 6'11 Jr Phillip Jurrick from Chattanooga (East Ridge) TN is gone to Tennessee, 6'7 Jr James Southerland from Syracuse, 6'2 Jr Jason Clark from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA is gone to Georgetown, 6'7 Jr Kris Joseph from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC is gone to Syracuse, and 6'0 Jr Jeremiah Kelly from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL is gone to DePaul.  Getting back to Thompkins picking the Bulldogs, we think this is the most important player that Georgia head coach Dennis Felton has landed since he arrived in Athens, GA four years ago.  We do think 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, who finished ranked #6 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Players of the Class of 2005, was better as a high school player than Thompkins is right now.  But Williams never showed up at Georgia and the Bulldogs already had some excellent guards, like 6'2 Sr Levi Stukes, 6'4 Jr Channey Toney from Snellville (Brookwood) GA, and 6'1 Jr Sundiati Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY, in the program.  In contrast, Georgia currently only has one really proven inside player in the program in 6'8 Jr Takais Brown and he will be graduated by the time Thompkins arrives on campus year after next.  In other words, Thompkins, who is the athlete/killer insider/rebounder/defense presence that Felton and his staff can build the program around, is exactly what the doctor ordered.  This not only more than makes up for the fact the Bulldogs missed out on landing the two top 20-ranked seniors in the state in 6'9 James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, who signed with N.C. State, and 6'8 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA, who signed with Georgia Tech, but it also gives the Bulldogs the momentum that they will need, as the attempt to get their share of the other top players, including 6'8 Jr Al Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA,  6'9 Soph Derrick Favors from Atlanta South Atlanta) GA, 6'7 Soph Noel Johnson from Fayetteville (Fayette County) GA,6'11 Jr Tony Woods from Rome (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Jr Wesley Witherspoon from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'11 Jr  Ralph Sampson from Duluth (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Chris Singleton from Cherokee (H.S.) GA, in the state to stay at home.  This commitment also is huge, because the Bulldogs beat some pretty fast company, like Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky, for Thompkins' services.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Purdue has landed 6'9 Chris Reid from Butte (JC) CA and this is important for several reasons.  First, Reid is a 6'9, 255-pound rugged post player, which is exactly what the doctored after 6'11 Frosh Jonatha Uchendu and 6'10 Frosh Dan Vandervieren decided to transfer earlier this spring.  Second, Reid should be the perfect complement to all of the other players that the Boilermakers already have in this year's recruiting class, which is now ranked #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and also includes 6'3 E'Twaun Moore from East Chicago (Central) IN, 6'8 Scott Martin from Valparaiso (H.S.) IN, 6'8 Robbie Hummel from Valparaiso (H.S.) IN, 6'10 JaJuan Johnson from Indianapolis (Franklin Central) IN, and 6'2 Greg Hill from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.  It also appears that within the last several days that 6'4 Archie Rose from Lee (JC) TX and 6'2 Michael Loyd from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) NV both were added to Brigham Young's recruiting class, which also already included 5'10 Lamont Morgan from Saddleback (JC) UT, 6'2 Jimmer Fredette from Glen Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Chris Collinsworth from Provo (H.S.) UT, 6'0 Nick Martineau from Katyville (Davis) UT.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Our Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa Editor Antonio Curro, who also is the editor & publisher of the NY2LASports.com web site, tells us that 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA has verbally committed to North Carolina.  And this comes as no surprise to us, as 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA forced his hand by making a verbal commitment yesterday to the University of Arizona.  Obviously this is an excellent catch for the Tar Heels, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #30 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Drew also becomes the first player to pick North Carolina in either the Class of 2007 or the Class of 2008, but this isn't any cause for concern due to the fact North Carolina will return eight of it's top 11 leading scorers next year.  They are 6'9 Soph Tyler Hansbrough (18.4 ppg and 7.9 rpg), 6'4 Frosh Wayne Ellington (11.7 ppg), 6'0 Frosh Tywon Lawson (10.2 ppg and 5.6 apg), 6'5 Soph Danny Green (5.2 ppg), 6'8 Frosh Deon Thompson (4.7 ppg), 6'5 Soph Marcus Ginyard (4.1 ppg), 6'3 Soph Bobby Frasor (2.4 ppg), and 6'9 Frosh Alex Stepheson (2.1 ppg).  And to drive home this point even further, Hansbrough, Ginyard, Frasor, Ellington, and Lawson all have starting experience and Green has been an excellent 6th man each of the last two years.  Drew is a pure point guard with a great feel for the game, excellent ball handling and passing skills, and the ability to both penetrate and dish and keep you honest with his outside shot.  Drew also has a great bloodline, as his father, Larry Drew Sr, was a point guard in the NBA for 10 years with 11.4 ppg and 5.2 apg career averages, while playing for four different teams, and is now an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks.  Curro also has sent me a list of the events that he will be running this summer, which includes the NY2LA Sports Invitational in Milwaukee, WI on June 29th-July 1st, NY2LA Sports Next Level Invitational in Milwaukee, WI on July 5th-8th, and Generation Next All-Star Camp on August 10th-12th in Milwaukee, WI.  The cost of the Generation Next All-Star Camp is only $100 and, just like it did a year ago, will feature some of the top players from across the country in each age group.  We also have confirmed that 6'2 Jr Logan Jones from Madison (H.S.) IN has verbally committed to Valparaiso.  And we think this is a major steal, because we're talking about an athletic white kid who is an excellent 3-point shooter, has good ball handling and passing skills and great hose for the ball, and is ranked #195 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Jones also promises to be the perfect complement to 5'9 Jr Eric Buggs from Memphis (White Station) TN, who has jet-like speed and quickness and also recently verbally committed to Valparaiso, in next year's recruiting class.  Lee Hubbard of NorCalPreps.rivals.com has scoop on 6'4 Cory Higgins from Danville (Monte Vista) CA via Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL picking the University of Colorado.  Higgins is ranked #444 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he exploded in Las Vegas at the Double Pump Spring Classic earlier this spring.  "He scored 18 points, knocking down the perimeter jumper consistently and slashing to the basket for easy scores in the championship game," says Hubbard.  "He was thinking about going to prep school for a year, but after going on an official visit to Colorado, Cory decided to end his recruitment and commit to the Big 12 school."  Higgins had a wide range of schools on his list, including Georgia, UNLV, Fresno State, Wyoming, Nevada, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Vanderbilt, and Washington State, California, and St. Mary's, but he should be a perfect fit for new Buffaloes' head coach Jeff Bzdelik's system.  He's an excellent outside shooter, is coming on like gangbusters, and has a great basketball bloodline, as is evident by the fact that his father, Rod Higgins, is a former NBA player and currently is the General Manager of the Golden State Warriors.  It also appears that Stephen F. Austin has added three more recruits - 5'6 Eric Bell from McLennan (JC) TX, 6'4 Jason Rogers from Frank Phillips (JC) TX, and 6'2 Eddy Williams from Lawton (Eisenhower) OK - this spring to a recruiting class that already included 6'9 Benson Akpan from Howard (JC) TX, 6'3 Dean Pele from Austin (Lake Travis) TX, 6'1 Preston Davis from Mansfield (Summit) TX, 6'7 Jereal Scott from La Porte (H.S.) TX, and 6'6 Nick Shaw from Collin County (JC) KS.  Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter talked with a number of players over the weekend at the Arizona Cactus Classic and the most interesting thing he came up with was a list of schools for 6'6 Jr Demar Derozan from Compton (H.S.) CA, who recently verbally committed to USC.  However, our competition has reported that this is a soft commitment, which is like being a little bit pregnant.  Either you're committed or you're not committed.  And, if Derozan says he has three schools on his list (UCLA, USC, and North Carolina), then he's not committed to the Trojans.  But this one becomes a little more complicated, because, if Derozan is not committed to USC, then 6'0 Jr Percy Miller from Beverly Hills (H.S.) CA probably isn't either.  And Miller wants to go to USC on a basketball scholarship, so suddenly he becomes their best recruiter.  Utter also reaffirms the fact 6'8 Jr Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'8 Soph David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA both want to go the same school and their list still includes UCLA, North Carolina, Arizona, Duke, and Kansas.  The early leaders for 6''8 Soph Jordan Hamilton from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA are USC, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, California, UCLA, and Syracuse.  Baylor leads Texas and Texas A&M for 6'10 Jr Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX.  Georgetown, UCLA, Florida, USC, Stanford, Connecticut, Arizona, and Kansas are being mentioned by 6'6 Jr Hollis Thompson from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA.  The leaders for 6'8 Jr Keith Gallon from Houston (Timberwood) TX are LSU, Georgetown, and Kansas.  The early favorites for 6'2 Soph Elijah Johnson from Las Vegas (Chaparral) NV are Memphis, Texas, Kansas, and UCLA.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

It was supposed have been a nice quiet day where I could work on our List of of the Top Players in the Class of 2010 (Freshmen).  But all that went right out the window when 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is ranked #1 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has the natural talent and potential necessary to become one of the best point guards to ever play the game, verbally committed to play for the University of Arizona earlier today.  Jennings also promises to be the perfect complement in the backcourt at Arizona year after next to 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the prolific scoring combo guards to come down the pike in a long time.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that two years ago Bayless and Jennings both not only told me at the NBA Players Association Camp in Richmond, VA that Arizona was their favorite school, but their eyes lighted up when they started talking about the possibility of playing together in the same backcourt together for Lute Olson at Arizona.  However, before all this finally materialized, Bayless backed out of the original verbal commitment that he made to the Wildcats last spring and Jennings made a verbal commitment to USC last fall.  We also think it's worth pointing out that when both players re-opened their recruitment that the HOOP SCOOP was one that broke the story.  The verbal commitment by Jennings also is huge, because it shows just how effective the Arizona coaching staff has been on the recruiting trail in recent years, as they have landed three great players in the last three recruiting classes in Jennings, Bayless, and 6'7 Frosh Chase Budinger.  This also is important, because a lot of people have tried to use Olson's age and health against the Wildcats.  But it's obvious that this has been a lot of to-do about nothing.  As a matter of fact, the Wildcats currently have the #8-ranked recruiting class with Bayless, 6'7 Jamelle Horne from San Diego (H.S.) CA, 7'1 Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'7 Zane Johnson from Phoenix (Thunderbird) AZ, and 6'3 Laval Lucas-Perry from Flint (Powers) MI on our list of  the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and they now have the #2-ranked recruiting class with Jennings, 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, and 6'5 Jr Brandon Lavender from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008.  But Olson's best recruit might be Kevin O'Neill, who was hired late last month as an assistant coach for the Wildcats and will be the #1-ranked assistant coach in the nation the next time we update our ranking of the top coaches in college basketball.  However, on this one the guy who deserves most of the credit is Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner, who was the point man throughout the entire recruiting process for Jennings.  We also know that Jennings and 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, both of whom played in the Arizona Cactus Classic in Tucson, AZ over the weekend, stuck around for an extra and day made an unofficial visit to the University of Arizona yesterday.  So we suspect that Olson, who is the best there is at closing the deal, told them both that which ever one commits first will get the scholarship and the other guy will be the odd-man-out.  Remember, the Wildcats will be loaded in the backcourt for years to come with all of the good young players, (i.e. Jennings, Bayless, Lucas-Perry, Lavender, and 5'8 Frosh Nic Wise) that they either have already in the program or in this year's and next year's recruiting classes.  And this isn't the first time that Drew probably wishes he'd gone ahead and accepted the offer.  If you will recall, this is the same guy who had a scholarship offer from UCLA last winter.  But that offer no longer appears to be on the table now that the Bruins have 6'4 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA and 6'2 Jr Jerime Anderson from Anaheim (Canyon) CA in the fold and it appears to be only a matter of time before the Bruins also get 6'3 Jr Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA.  Getting to Arizona, now all the Wildcats need to is find one more killer inside to complement 6'8 Frosh Jordan Hill and 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who is ranked #27 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Jr D.J. Seeley from Modesto (Christian) CA, who is another one of those guys that came out of the woodwork this spring while playing for the M33M Magic, has verbally committed to the University of California.  We're talking about a big time athlete and a prolific scorer, which helps make him one of the best 2-guards in the junior class on the West Coast.  And, despite the fact that a lot of big time schools, like Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, Oregon, Illinois, and Villanova, were trying to get involved, the California coaching staff stole Seeley before they ever had a chance.  This also isn't the first time that California assistant coach Joe Pasternack, who is one of the most astute evaluators of talent in the nation, has stolen one.  If you will recall, he also landed 6'9 Frosh Ryan Anderson, who was under most people's radar screen a-year-and-a-half ago, but ended up being California's leading scorer with 16.4 ppg and second leading rebounder (8.1 rpg) this past season.  Seeley also is a great kid and comes from one of the top programs on the West Coast.  Our former Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff has beaten our current Texas Editor Tim Miller to the punch by telling us that 6'4 Jr Willie Warren is transferring from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, where he will join 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 65 Jr Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, and 6'8 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA on what potentially could be one of Steve Smith's best teams ever.  However, Miller makes up for the fact that he knew about the fact that Warren is transferring to Oak Hill last Friday, but forgot to pass it along, by telling us that the University of Oklahoma is now the heavy favorite for Warren's services.  We also understand that 5'11 Dominic Tilford from New Mexico (JC) NM, who is ranked #39 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction.com, has signed with South Alabama and 6'0 Josh Rivers from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, who is a scoring point guard that can score in bunches, has signed with Western Illinois.  Rivers is not a pure point guard and is not a great athlete, but he's quick enough to create his own shot and he appears to be the last piece to the puzzle in a recruiting class that is ranked #45 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and includes 6'5 Nikola Bodic from Salt Lake (JC) UT,  IL, 6'2 David Nurse from Kansas City (JC) KS, 6'2 Larry Dumas from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, 6'2 Ceola Clark from Gurnee (Warren) IL, 6'8 Josh Harrellson from St. Charles (H.S.) MO, 6'6 David Dubois from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'8 Delvon Johnson from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, and 6'11 James Granstra from Okabena (Southwest Star Concept) MN.  In other words, it looks like Leathernecks head coach Derek Thomas and his staff are totally revamping the team after suffering through a injury plagued 7-23 season.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that new Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice has wasted no time landing his first two recruits.  They are 6'3 Gary Wallace from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, who averaged 11.0 ppg and 6.0 ppg this past season and led his team to a 58-4 record as the starting point guard over the last two years, and 6'1 Bateko Francisco from Ft. Scott (JC) KS, who averaged 19.0 ppg and was one of the leading scorers in the tough Jayhawk Conference this past season. 

Monday, May, 21, 2007

Our New England Editor Adam Finkelstein spent the weekend at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Spring Classic in Springfield, MA and tells us that there was quite a bit of talent among the 130 teams in attendance.  Among the top prospects he identified were 6’4 Jr David Gibbs from West Simsbury (Master’s) CT, 6’0 Soph Tyrone Gardner from Hartford (Weaver) CT, 6’4 Soph Steven Samuels from Windsor (High School) CT, 6’4 Soph Mike Marra from Smithfield (High School) RI, 6’0 Jr Mike Culpo from Barrington (St. Andrew’s) RI, 6’5 Soph Kyle Casey from Chestnut Hill (Brimmer & May) MA, and 6’7 Soph Tucker Halpern from Dedham (Noble & Greenough) MA.  "Gibbs, who has already committed to the University of Massachusetts, is a tremendously talented player that has been showing flashes of brilliance throughout the early AAU season," says Finkelstein.  "With an unparalleled first step and a good handle, he was almost impossible to keep out of the lane this weekend.  If he can become more consistent in the next year, then he has an opportunity to be a very special player at for Massachusetts Head Coach Travis Ford.  Gardner is another guard from the Nutmeg state with the talent level to play at virtually any level.  His most impressive performance this weekend came in the second half of his Connecticut Select’s overtime victory over the Albany City Rocks when Gardner scored 15 points, including several contested shots down the stretch to force overtime and ultimately seal the victory.  Samuels’ doesn’t have a game that is quite as polished as Gibbs' or Gardner’s, but that didn’t stop him from scoring 33 points in his team’s first game of the tournament.  With great size for a guard (he’s 6’4 and very long), Samuels is definitely a player who has developed quickly over the last year and someone who college coaches should be monitoring closely.  Marra is headed to Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA next year where he will reclassify to the class of 2009.  Marra is a fantastic long range shooter, as was evident when he knocked down six threes in one game on Sunday.  Equally impressive is his developing athleticism, as he now plays consistently above the rim.  Culpo is a versatile guard who put on quite a show in his team’s second game on Saturday scoring 23 points, while shooting the three, slashing to the basket, and also finding his teammates for some easy baskets.  Casey and Halpern both play for the New England Select team that ran away with the 16-Under title.  The duo are both high academic kids who should be pursued closely by schools in the Ivy League and higher.  Casey brought the crowd to his feet several times this weekend, including one break away dunk when he took off from just inside the free-throw line.  Halpern’s best attribute is his ability to knock down the 3-point shot."  Another player who caught Finkelstein’s attention this weekend was 6’4 Frosh Laruent Rivard, who came with his Cougars St. Bruno team.  Because of the schooling system in Canada, Rivard should be placed in the class of 2010 for our purposes.  And, when compared to some of the best freshmen in the area, he stacks up well as he already has a great body, a consistent 3-point shot, and an ability to attack the rim with one dribble.  The Hall of Fame Tournaments will be returning this summer for their first ever tournament during the NCAA “live” period.  The National Invitational will be held on July 11th-12th and will feature  some of the best competition from the northeast and east coast.  Two days earlier the New England Team Camp will be held on July 9th and will feature 32 of New England's top high school programs in a one day only event that will also be an NCAA sanctioned event.  For more information on the events please with www.NaismithTourney.com or www.NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com.

Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter and our California Editor Bob Jacoby were both at the 2007 Arizona Cactus Classic in Tucson, AZ over the weekend and the biggest story involved Belmont Shore, which not only knocked off a loaded Pump Pump N Run Elite team on Friday night, but also managed to advance all the way into the title game against the New York Gauchos on Sunday afternoon.  However, when one takes a quick look at Utter's and Jacoby's ranking of the top players in the tournament based on performance, which can be found below, the fact that Belmont Shore did so well does not come as much of a surprise due to the fact that Dinos Trigonis added three new players who did not play for his Long Beach-based club team when we saw them early this spring at the Las Vegas Easter Classic in Las Vegas, NV and the Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX.  We're talking about 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 Jr Demar Derozan from Compton (H.S.) CA, and 6'4 Soph Roberto Nelson from Santa Barbara (H.S.) CA, all of whom are good enough to be ranked among the top 20 players nationally in their respective classes.   Jennings, who had 44 points against Inland Reebok I on Saturday night and 36 points against the Bay Area Hoosiers on Sunday morning, once again reinforced our belief that he is the best junior in the nation, as he led the tournament in scoring with 28.4 ppg, was second in rebounding with 5.6 rpg, and was ranked #4 in steals with 1.5 spg.  Derozan, who is ranked #19 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, averaged 19.3 ppg and was one of the best athletes in the tournament.  Nelson, who is arguably the best sophomore on the West Coast and averaged 17.1 ppg, and 5.1 rpg, provided the perfect complement to Jennings, as he was almost unstoppable in transition and getting to the basket.  And to reinforce this even further, Nelson finished ranked second in offensive rebounding in the tournament and hit 38.6% of his 3-point shots.  So, when Belmont Shore squared off against Pump N Run Elite, which featured 6'3 Jr Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood (Campbell) CA, 6'7 Soph Reeves Nelson from Modesto (Christian) CA, 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'8 Soph David Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'8 Soph Travis Wear from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, on Friday night, the stage was set for one of the most heated match-ups of the entire spring.  Remember, Pump N Run Elite and Belmont Shore are two of the premier club teams on the West Coast and Dinos Trigonis and Dana and David Pump are big rivals in the summer camp, tournament, and event business.  It was a fierce hard fought game, but at crunch time Belmont Shore had the blue collar work ethic and toughness necessary to take over the game.  And, to add insult to injury, Pump N Run, which won the 2006 Arizona Cactus Classic and finished second in the Houston Kingwood Classic with pretty much the same group, also got knocked off in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, 85-65, by the eventual champions.  Speaking of the New York Gauchos, they went on to beat California Supreme, 88-76, in the semi-finals and Belmont Shore, 102-96, in the championship game.  The Gauchos also featured a well balanced scoring attack in the championship game, as 5'11 Jr Kemba Walker from New York (Rice) NY finished with 24 points, six rebounds, and four assists; 6'2 Jr Chris Fouch from New York (Rice) NY finished with 21 points; 6'7 Jr Kevin Phillips from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY finished with 19 points; and 6'2 Jr Darryl Bryant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY finished with 15 points.  Roberto Nelson with 27 points, Derozan with 26 points, and Jennings with 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals led the way for Belmont Shore in the championship game.  The other big story of the tournament involved all of the good freshmen on the California Supreme team.  We're talking about 6'11 Frosh Jeremy Tyler from San Diego (H.S.) CA, 6'2 Frosh Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'5 Frosh Tyler Lamb from Ontario (The Colony) CA, all three of whom are legitimate top 20 freshmen nationally.  As a matter of fact, Tyler, who led the tournament in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (1.6 bpg), was so good that Utter ranks him as the second best player in the entire tournament, behind 1) Jennings and ahead of 3) 6'7 Soph Reeves Nelson from Modesto Christian HS CA, 4) 6'4 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 5) 6'6 Jr Demar Derozan from Compton HS CA, 6'1 Jr Kemba Walker from New York (Rice) NY, 7) 6'3 Soph Roberto Nelson from Santa Barbara CA, 8) 6'3 Jr Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, 9) 6'7 Aaron Fuller from Mesa (H.S) AZ, 10) 6'9 Jr Steve Tchiengang from Cypress (Christian) TX, 11) 6'2 Frosh Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 12) 6'8 Soph Davis Wear from Santa (Ana Dei) CA, 13) 6'8 Soph Travis Wear from Santa (Ana Dei) CA, 14) 6'9 Soph Colin Borchert from Glendale (Mountain Ridge) AZ, 15) 6'11 Soph Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX, 16) 6'0 Soph Peyton Silva from Seattle (Franklin) WA, 17) 6'2 Jamelle Bryant from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 18) 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 19) 6'8 Soph Jordan Hamilton from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA, 20) 6'4 Soph Nick Markovich from Basha (H.S.) AZ, 21) 6'5 Soph Michael Snear from Rancho Verde (H.S.) CA, 22) 5'8 Isaiah Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, 23) 6'2 Soph Elijah Johnson from Las Vegas (Chaparral) NV, 24) 7'3 Jr Zhaoux Zhang from China, 25) 6'1 Soph Darius Morris from Los Angeles (Windward) CA, 26) 6'7 Soph Solomon Hill from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 27) 6'9 Soph Keith Gallon from Houston (Timberwood) TX, 28) 6'5 Frosh Tyler Lamb from Ontario (The Colony) CA, 29) 6'4 Jr Brandon Lavender from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, 30) 6'6 Soph Hollis Johnson from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 31) 6'3 Soph Jared Cunningham from San Leandro (H.S.) CA, 32) 6'2 James Rahon from Torrey Pines (H.S.) CA, 33) 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Gelena) NV, 34) 6'1 Jr Chase Tapley from Sacramento (H.S.) CA, 35) 6'7 Soph Eric Williams from Cypress (Springs) TX, 36) 6'3 Jr Quinton Dailey from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 37) 6'8 Jr Banard Kamwa from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 38) 5'9 Jr Chris Iles from Alief (Hastings) TX, 39) 6'2 Darryl Bryant from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 40) 6'5 Jr Elston Turner from Roseville (H.S.) CA.  Utter also thinks that Tyler should be the best freshman in the nation when we publish our updated Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 within the next several days.  "He was scary good when you think of him as a 15-year-old freshman with a size 18-shoe," says Utter.  "And his mother has been told by doctors that he may go to be 7'4.  Offensively he can post up his man and dunk right over him, he can hit mid-range jump shots, and he shot the three extremely well.  Defensively he has long quick arms, plays extremely hard, and is more than willing to take the charge."  Are we talking about the same player that we saw get four points in the quarter finals and two points in the semi-finals of the 14-Under Nationals last summer in Orlando, FL?  If you will recall, HOOP SCOOP Associate Editor Patrick Stanwood and Brian Clifton, who used to be our North Carolina/South Carolina editor, both had touted Tyler as the #1-ranked player in his class nationally prior to the start of that tournament.  However, any way you slice it, Tyler laid an egg at the 14-Under Nationals.  But, then again, I'm not too concerned, because we've still got three years to get it right.  In other words, all this is an evolving process.  Utter and Jacoby also wanted to mention what a great job tournament director Jim Story did running this event, as in only its second years, it has evolved into one of the premier events of the spring. 

Saturday, May 19, 2007, & Sunday, May, 20, 2007

Rick Staudt, Patrick Stanwood, and Chris Johnson, all with the HOOP SCOOP, and Donnie Wilkie, who invites the teams for the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL and is a great source of information for the HOOP SCOOP, all called me this morning to give me the tragic news about 6'4 Jr Dante Anderson was Gainesville (Eastside) FL being killed in car accident late last night.  Anderson is ranked #29 nationally in the junior class and was the best junior in the state.   The last time we saw Anderson on play was in the Underclassmen All-Star Game at the Reebok ABCD Camp, where he not only shot the lights out, but solidified is ranking as the 17th best player in camp and the 6th best underclassman in camp by the HOOP SCOOP.  Wilkie also tells us that he already has the field set for this year's tournament, which will be held December 17th-22nd, and the list includes Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, Lakewood (Artesia) CA, Chester (H.S.) PA, Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, Kinston (H.S.) NC, Bel Air (John Carroll) MD, Gainesville (H.S.) FL, Columbus (New Hope) MS, Plantation (American Heritage) FL, Ft. Myers (Dunbar) FL, and Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL.  Some of the top players that we're looking forward to seeing in this year's City of Palms Classic include 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 6'5 Jr Sylvan Landesberg from Flushing (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Jr Nasir Robinson from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, 6'3 Jr Bud Mackey from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'4 Jr Ray Shipman from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, 6'9 Jr Rashanti Harris from Columbus (New Hope) MS, 5'8 Jr Karon Burton from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'9 Soph Gregory Echenique from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'0 Soph Tamir Jackson from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Soph Justin Hawkins from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, and 6'3 Frosh Josh Selby from Bel Air (John Carroll) MD.  We also think it's interesting to point out that this will be the first appearance by Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ in the City of Palms Classic.  And, if they win it, it really would be ironic in light of the fact Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, which is one of St. Benedict's rivals, has been to Ft. Myers, FL to play in this tournament eight different times, but have never gone home with the championship trophy.  However, Kevin Boyle's team has still set the bar pretty high, as they have finished second in the tournament four times (1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002), third in the tournament twice (1995 and 2005), and won the consolation champion once in 1998.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that several commitments that slipped through the cracks last week included 6'5 Jr Nick Fruendt from Batavia (H.S.) IL and 6'8 Jr John Shurna from Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West) IL both selecting Northwestern and 6'10 Jr Brett Thompson from Vienna (H.S.) IL picking Saint Louis.  Thompson becomes the first recruit for new Billikens head coach Rick Majerus, but the guy who deserves most of the credit for getting this one done is assistant coach Porter Moser.  Fruendt and Shurna are not great athletes, but they both they both have the skills and smarts necessary to thrive in the Wildcats' systems.  Fruendt can also flat out shoot the lights out and he's good enough to be ranked #156 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Shurna has excellent ball skills, is very active around the basket, and is an excellent rebounder, despite his lack of size physically.  Also very important is the fact that these two commitments give the Wildcats an important in with the Illinois Wolves, which are one of the best AAU programs in the state.   It also looks like Clemson may have stolen one a couple of days ago in 7'1 Jr Catalin Baciu from Fletcher (Veritas Academy) NC.  This very fluid and very skilled 7'1 center is supposed to be able run the floor surprisingly well, can step out and shoot the mid-range jump shot, and has the frame necessary to get a lot bigger and stronger.  Baciu established his reputation while playing for the Charlotte Royals club team this spring, but he is expected to return home and play for the Romanian National Team most of the summer.  So making sure that I get my first look at him at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions a week from now in Chapel Hill, NC will be a priority. 

Friday, May 18, 2007

It looks like new Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus hasn't lost his touch as one of the best recruiters in the game today, as the Bearcats have already landed four players this spring in 6'6 Milos Klimovic from Hillsborough (JC) FL, 6'6 Reggie Fuller from Angelina (JC) TX, 6'5 Moussa Camara from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, and 6'4 Devon McBride from Phoenixville (Area) PA.  Klimovic, who originally is from Bosnia and had previously signed with the University of Houston, is the best of bunch.  We're talking about a big time 3-point shooter (he hit 82-195 from beyond the arc for 42% this past season), but this athletic combo forward also is a strong physical player that rebounds well for his size and isn't afraid to mix things up inside.  Fuller, who is ranked #88 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction.com, is a high energy freak-like athlete and has the ability to be like a human highlight film when he goes to the basket.  Camara kind of got lost in the shuffle on a team that featured a number of talented inside guys this past season, but this athletic wing forward is capable of providing instant offense, as he can score off the dribble and can beat you with his 3-point shooting.  McBride is in his 6th Year of high school, but he's a strong physical athletic guard who can get to the basket, has a good mid-range game, and plays good defense.  When you also add 6'2 Chretien Lukusa from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON, who was signed by the previous regime last fall and is an athletic point guard that knows how to run a team, into the equation, it's obvious that the Bearcats have landed everything, but a big dominating center in a recruiting class that is now tied at #74, along with Hampton, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'9 Soph Vernon Goodridge, who recently announced that he is transferring from Mississippi State, is now enrolled at La Salle.  And this is huge for the Explorers, because Goodridge, who was ranked #6 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players two years ago when he was at Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, has the size, athleticism, and potential to step and make an immediate impact year after next.  Rubin also tells us that La Salle has signed 7'3 James Keefe from Troy (H.S.) NY, which means the Explorers also have the big guy they were looking for complement 6'7 Jerrell Williams from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'3 Kyle Griffin from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'7 Terrell Williams from Northfield (Mt. Herman) MA in this year's recruiting class.   However, just like Goodridge, who does not count with this year's recruiting class due to the fact that he's a transfer, Keefe is expected to sit out next year, as he works on his body and improves his ability to get up and down the floor.  In other words, Keefe, who does have soft hands, can score around the basket, and has a huge upside down the road, is really a project right now.  But, then again, you can't teach somebody to be 7-feet and La Salle head coach John Giannini is great at developing talent.  Rubin also tells us that 6'3 Chris Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ has signed with Seton Hall and we think this is important for a number of reasons.  First, Smith is a good athlete and an excellent 3-point shooter, which should make him an excellent role player for the Pirates.  Second, Smith is a local player and he plays for one of the top head coaches in the nation in Danny Hurley.  And this should be important down the road from a recruiting standpoint, because Newark (St. Benedict) NJ promises to be one of the top high school programs in the nation for years to come.  Third, the addition of Smith appears to be the replacement in this year's recruiting class for 6'1 Jamar Green from Baltimore (JC) MD, who committed to Seton Hall earlier this spring, but no longer counts with the Pirates' recruiting class due to the fact that he's not going to make it academically and, as a result, they pulled his scholarship.  Fourth, the addition of Smith moves Seton Hall's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'5 Jeremy Hazel from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, 6'6 Michael Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'9 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'10 Augustine Okosun from Harcum (JC) PA, and 6'9 Mike Davis from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, into a tie at #19, along with New Mexico State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also understand that 6'8 Johann Mpondo from Decatur (Christian) IL has signed with Rhode Island.  And this too is important, because the Rams now have not one, not two, but three physical specimens in this year's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'1 Marquis Jones from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, but does not include 6'8 Frosh Ben Eaves, who is transferring from Connecticut to Rhode Island and will sit out next season.  And, at 6'8, 230 pounds, Mpondo is a good athlete and he sets the table for Rhode Island to get even more players from Cameroon.  Did you know that Rhode Island's 6'2 Jr Parfait Bitee is originally from Yaounde, Cameroon?  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Tirrell Baines from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, who is ranked #16 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players and was the highest ranked 5th Year Player still available, has signed with Marshall.  But this comes as no surprise to us, because new Marshall head coach Donnie Jones is one of the most astute guys and best recruiters in the business.  And to illustrate this point even further is the fact that Jones has hired a terrific staff that now includes former Tulane head coach Shawn Finney, former Florida star Brett Nelson, and Tennessee State assistant coach Darren Tillis and they already have assembled a recruiting class that also includes 6'5 Mookie Pierre from Riverside (JC) CA, 6'6 Emmanuel Jones from Riverside (JC) CA, and 6'4 Matt Walls from Georgetown (Scott County) KY.  We also are impressed with the fact that Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith has added Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Vince Taylor to a coaching staff that already included former Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa and Tennessee Tech assistant coach Saul Smith.  If you will recall, Taylor, who is originally from Lexington, KY, played college basketball at Duke for both Bill Foster and Mike Krzyzewski and was an assistant coach at the University of Louisville for both Denny Crum and Rick Pitino prior to moving onto the NBA two years ago.  And how about Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon hiring former College of Charleston head coach Tommy Herrion, who compiled an 80-38 record at the helm of the Cougars?  Combine that with Dixon, who has a 105-30 four-year record of his own and suddenly the Panthers have two guys on the staff who have an average of 23.5 wins per season as Division I head coaches.  No doubt Herrion will immediately become one of  the top assistant coaches in the nation, along with Arizona's new top assistant coach Kevin O'Neill and Billy Hahn, who is now Bobby Huggins' new right hand man at West Virginia, both of whom have also returned to the college game.  Speaking of Hahn, he joins a long list of current college assistant coaches who previously worked for Rob Kennedy and The Hoop Group as the director the Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp, but have now moved onto the Division I level.  We're talking about Rutgers assistant coach Jimmy Carr; Memphis assistant coach Chuckie Martin; Brian Kennedy, who left to become an assistant coach at DePaul; Jimmy Woods, who left to go to New Hampshire; Joe Burke, who went to Cornell and is now at Navy; Ashley Howard, who left to become an assistant at LaSalle; Dennis Gregory, who moved on and is now the Director of Basketball Operations at Rutgers; Mike Rice, who came from Chicago State and three years later left to go to St Joseph's, then made a brief stop at Pittsburgh, and is now the new head coach at Robert Morris; Andy Toole, who left to go to Lafayette and is now with rice at Robert Morris; Chris Sparks, who left to go to Central Connecticut State and is now at Penn; and Stephen Sauers, who came to The Hoop Group from the Army’s Prep School Women’s program and left a year later to go to Seton Hall.   We also think it's important to point out the list doesn't stop there, as the Hoop Group's Director of Operations Colin Sullivan left to become the Associate Athletic Director at Marist College; former Pocono Invitational directors Pat Price become the Coach of the Year in the Irish Euro Super League, Matt Conway moved onto to become an assistant athletic director at Boston College, and Mike Wolf moved on to become an assistant coach at University of Portland; former Pocono Invitational Assistant Director Bobby Hurley left to become the top assistant coach at Stevens Tech; and Dennis Kazimir, The Hoop Group’s team tournament director, left to become the director of basketball operations at Wright State and is now the top assistant at Tiffin University in Ohio.  All this has happened in just under 10 years and this is really important, because The Hoop Group is dedicated to fulfilling dreams not only for the student athlete, but also for aspiring coaches and athletic administrators.  

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Our Washington, DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall tells us that 6'5 Troy Brewer from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD has signed with Georgia, our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'6 Gabriel McCulley from Memphis (Craigmont) TN has signed with UTEP, and our Texas Editor Tim Miller tells us that 6'5 Josh Simmons from Spring (Westfield) TX has signed with Colorado State.  That last one is especially interesting, because Simmons is the 3-point shooter that new Colorado State head coach Tim Miles was looking for to complement all of the other players - 6'1 Marcus Walker from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'1 Jesse Woodard from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'7 Shane Edwards from Northeast Colorado (JC) CO, 6'0 Willie Gardner from Ohlone (JC) CA, 6'2 Donte Poole from North Las Vegas (Mojave) NV, and 6'6 Stephen Franklin from Aurora (Central) CO - that are already in a recruiting class that is now ranked #50 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   The same also can be said about McCulley picking UTEP, because we're talking about an athletic wing forward who plays excellent defense and has a high basketball IQ and a big upside.  So McCulley should fit in perfectly with all of the other good players, like 6'8 Manuel Cass from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5'10 Randy Culpepper from Memphis (Sheffield) TN, 6'11 Claude Britten from Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS, 6'8 Wayne Portolatin from Lenoir (The Patterson School) NC, and 6'5 Julyan Stone from Goleta (Dos Publes) CA that Miners head coach Tony Barbee and his staff now have in the fold in a recruiting class that is ranked #34 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  This also makes the pipeline that Barbee, who prior to taking over as boss of the Miners last summer spent six years as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis, has established back to his old stamping grounds even stronger, as McCulley joins Culpepper in this year's recruiting class.  Brewer is one of those guys who just got better and better as the year wore on, he plays for the one of the best high school programs in the nation, and he can shoot the lights out, which should make him a great role player for the Bulldogs.  But that's it, as the number of signing and commitments that I've run across today has slowed down considerably due to the fact that the Spring Signing Period technically ended yesterday.  Of course signings and commitments by seniors will continue to get reported for the better part of the next month and we'll stay busy tracking early verbal commitments by juniors for the rest of the spring, summer, and fall.  However, a slow day was exactly what the doctored ordered for us to get ahead of schedule and publish Chris Johnson's Ohio Report.  It features six all-state teams that include the top players in the state on five-man teams regardless of class and position; Johnson's comments about the top players in each class; Johnson's ranking of the top 96 seniors, top 96 juniors, top 76 sophomores, and top 46 freshman; and Rob Taylor's ranking of the top 25 8th Graders and Top 9 Seventh Graders.  If you will recall, Taylor is is the editor & publisher of the BuckeyePrepReport.com and a great friend of the HOOP SCOOP.  Taylor also is one of the foremost authorities on middle school basketball players in the nation and, as a result, is the perfect complement to Johnson, who, like so many people our the business, doesn't spend a lot of time watching players before they enter high school.  We also think it's worth pointing out several interesting trends that Johnson didn't mention in his article.  First, the Buckeye state has an incredible amount of both size and talent, as there are three 7-footers - 7'1 Kosta Koufos from Canton (Glenoak) OH, 7'1 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (H.S.) OH, and 7'0 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH - ranked among the top 10 players in the state and six players - 7'1 Kosta Koufos from Canton (Glenoak) OH, 7'1 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (H.S.) OH, 6'7 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH, 6'8 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, and 6'7 Frosh Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH - who have already made it or should be near locks to be named to McDonald's All-American Game when their time comes.  Second, the in-state schools are keeping nearly all of the top talent at home, as Ohio State has either signed or gotten commitments from six players - 7'1 Kosta Koufos from Canton (Glenoak) OH, 7'1 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (H.S.) OH, 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH, 6'6 Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH, and 6'7 Frosh Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH - who are ranked among the top 20 players in the state; Cincinnati has commitments from two players - 6'8 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH and 6'7 Soph Daniel McElory from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH - who are ranked among the top 25 players in the state; Xavier has either signed or gotten a commitment from two players - 7'0 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH and 6'5 Dante Jackson from Greenfield (McClain) OH - who are ranked among the top 10 players in the state; Dayton has either signed or gotten commitment from two players - 6'7 Chris Wright from Trotwood (Madison) OH and 6'10 Jr Josh Benson from Dayton (Dunbar) OH - who are ranked among the top 15 players in the state; Miami-OH has signed one of the top 15 players in the state in Nick Winbush from Shaker Heights (H.S.) OH; Akron has signed one of the top 20 players in the state in 5'10 Ronnie Steward from Columbus (Eastmoor) OH, and Toledo has signed one of the top 25 players in the state in 6'4 James Davis from Columbus (Linden-McKinley) OH.  Or to look at this another way, nine of the top 10 players and 15 of the top 25 players in the state regardless of class have already elected to stay home.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The first person to tip us off about 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV picking Kentucky was HOOP SCOOP Associate Editor Patrick Stanwood.  Unfortunately he did so only about 20 minutes before Patterson's scheduled press conference occurred, so any chance of having a major scoop for any period of time went right out the window.  Also going right out the window was all the talk for the last three or four months that Patterson and 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX would end up the same school.  If you will recall, Lucas signed with the University of Florida on Monday.  Obviously is one of the biggest coups of the Spring Signing Period, because Patterson, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was the highest ranked senior still available.  But this also is huge for a number of other reasons.  First, Patterson is exactly what the doctored ordered, as new Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie and his staff attempt to replace 6'11 Jr Randolph Morris, who left school and signed with the New York Knicks right after Tubby Smith took the Minnesota in late March.   Second, the addition of Patterson moves Kentucky's recruiting class, which already includes 6'5 Alexander Legion from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, and 7'0 Mike Williams from Alexandria (Bishop Ireton) VA, up from #98 into at tie at #36, along with Georgetown and Utah, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Third, Kentucky beat some pretty fast company in Duke and Florida to get this one done.  And this is important, because it shows that the Wildcats can once again go head-to-head against any school in the nation and win their share of the recruiting battles.  Fourth, the addition of Patterson shows that Gillispie hasn't lost his touch as one of the best recruiters in the nation, as he already has landed three players in less than a month-and-a-half on the job.  If you will recall, the new regime also landed Legion three weeks ago and they got an early verbal commitment from 6'1 Jr G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX right after Gillispie got the head coaching job at Kentucky in early April.  We also think it's important to point out that if you're the Wildcats and you had to choose between Patterson and Lucas, it's a no-brainer.  If you will recall, the Wildcats already have a bunch of guards in the program, including 6'5 Jr Joe Crawford, 6'2 Jr Ramel Bradley, 6'5 Frosh Jodie Meeks, and 6'6 Frosh Derrick Jasper, but were in dire need of a killer inside who they can build the front line around.  Did you know that the only inside players that the Wildcats have returning are 7'2 Jr Jared Carter, who played in only three games due to an injury and red-shirted this past season, and 6'9 Frosh Perry Stevenson, who averaged only 2.9 ppg and 2.2 rpg while playing only 10 minutes per game this past season?  And everybody knew that the two recruits that had been signed by the previous regime (Stewart and Williams) are ready to step in and make an immediate impact next year.  Patterson is not an in-state player, but he is the next best thing, as Huntington, WV is located only about 125 miles from Lexington, KY.  And we suspect that this too was an important factor in his decision.  We also confirmed yesterday that 6'9 Michael Sanchez from Springdale (Har-ber) AR, who is ranked #157 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, signed with the University of Arkansas and our Canadian Editor Ro Russell is telling us that 6'7 D.J. Wright from Toronto (Taps) ON, who is ranked #38 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, has reneged on LSU.  Apparently Wright, who was recruited to LSU by Nikita Johnson, never signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent with the Tigers.  So, when one finds out that Johnson left LSU this spring to become the associate head coach Louisiana Tech, it all makes sense.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that Jackson State has signed 6'7 Jenirro Bush from Crawford (East Oktibbeha) MS, 6'0 Rod Melvin from Brandon (H.S.) MS, 7'0 Brandon Baker from Opelika (H.S.) AL, 6'0 Jerome Davis from Opelika (H.S.) AL, 6'5 Chris Hyche from Jackson (Provine) MS, and 6'4 De'Shun Dixon from Leland (H.S.) MS.  And this is interesting, because this recruiting class moves from not even being on the radar screen to tied at #105, along with Ohio University, Portland, and Bethune-Cookman, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important this the fact that Jackson State clearly has the best recruiting class in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Bush promises to be one of the best players in the league next year.  We're talking about an athletic combo forward who is ranked #165 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, #3 in the state's senior class by Johnson, and originally was committed to the University of Arkansas prior to the coaching change this spring.  Bush also averaged 24 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 7.0 apg, and 3.0 spg on a team that finished with a 33-5 record and won the 1A State championship.  Johnson also tells us that 6'8 Soph Trey Hampton and 6'9 Soph Xavier Hansbro, both of whom were recruited to the University of Mississippi by former Ole Miss head coach Rod Barnes, are both following Barnes to Georgia State.  Hampton played in 16 games and averaged 2.2 ppg and 1.7 pg and Hansbro played in 16 and averaged 2.7 ppg and 1.4 rpg this past season.  Johnson also mentions that 6'8 Frosh Andy Ogide is transferring from Ole Miss to Colorado State and 6'9 Soph Vernon Goodridge has become the fourth Mississippi State player to announce that he plans to transfer since the Bulldogs' season ended after advancing to the NIT semifinals two month ago.  If you will recall, 6'4 Soph Reginald Delk announced several weeks ago that he is transferring to Louisville and 6'4 Soph Richard Delk and 6'8 Soph Bernard Rimmer are both currently in the process of picking another school. 

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

I have good news and I have bad news.  First, the bad news, which is that I have made most of the people who subscribe to our web site change their password (college coaches are except from this if I have a record of their current user name and password).  And this is really bad news for the folks who have given their user name and password to somebody else and that person beat them to the punch in terms of logging onto the web site, changing the password, and not bothering to tell the original person who paid hard cold cash to subscribe that they now have a different password.  If this something that you have done, I suggest that you share all this information with the person who was nice enough to give you their user name and password in the first place and then do what you should have originally done.  And that's subscribe for yourself.  Moral to the story, this will not be the not last time that I will make people changed their passwords and, the more times I have to do this, the more people who call me and can't get their user and password to work are going to fall onto deaf ears.  Second, the good news is that we are ready to publish our Ranking of the Top 400 Players Nationally in the Class of 2011 (8th Graders).  And this really does look like it's going to be a great class, as 6'3 8th Grader Anthony Wroten from Renton, WA, 6'7 8th Grader Ramone Eaton from Sacramento, CA, 6'8 8th Grader LaQuinton Ross from Jackson, MS, 6'6 8th Grader Aaron Ross from Little Rock, AR, and 6'7 8th Grader LaBryan Nash from Dallas, TX make up an incredible top five and the class has a tremendous amount of depth.  And a perfect example of what I'm talking about is the fact that 5'9 8th Grader Deville Smith from Jackson, MS, 6'0 8th Grader Benjamin Dillard from Frisco, TX, 5'10 8th Grader Christopher Martin from Upper Marlboro, MD, 5'4 8th Grader Charlie Bell from Milwaukee, WI, 5'8 8th Grader Anthony Jernigan from East Hartford, CT, 6'0 8th Grader Myck Kabongo from Toronto, ON, 5'8 8th Grader Shaquille Stokes from New York, NY, 6'0 8th Grader Gregory Travis from Chicago, IL, 6'2 8th Grader Austin Rivers from Winter Park, FL, and 6'2 Devin Coleman from Philadelphia, PA all are terrific players, but are all ranked in the 41 to 50 range.  As for Wroten being ranked #1 and Eaton being ranked #2 on our list, some very knowledge people who know this class very well would flip flop these two players.  However, after seeing what Wroten did a couple of months ago at the President's Day All-American Tournament in Beaverton, OR, I not only made the final call, but I'm also willing to go on record saying that Wroten is one of the best middle school players that I've ever seen.  If you will recall, Wroten scored 34 points when his team upset a loaded adidas Team Phenom and then proceeded to guide Seattle Rotary Select Black all the way to the title game at the at the President's Day All-American Tournament.  LaQuinton Ross really played well a month ago in the 17-Under Division at the Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX.  So he's earned the #3 spot!  And our Texas Editor Tim Miller tells us that Aaron Ross more than held his own against 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who is the consensus #1-ranked sophomore in the nation, when they were matched up two-and-a-half weeks ago at the 2007 Nevel Level Ballers National Tournament in Dallas, TX.  But this should come as no surprise when one goes back and reads what HOOP SCOOP Associate Editor Patrick Stanwood said about Ross on Thursday, March 29th, after having watched him at the Arkansas Regional Junior Phenom Camp at McClellen High School in Little Rock, AR..  "We are talking about a kid who can handle the rock end to end," says Stanwood.  Ross also is good enough to get top national consideration, as he scores with nice up and unders time and time again and hits the boards as well as any 2011 kid I've seen.  Ross is a kid who should be mentioned right along with other elite 2011 bigs like LaQuinton Ross, LaBryan Nash,....   He's that good!!!!!!!"   Miller also lobbied hard to get Nash ranked higher than #5 in the class, but I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt after he was no-show in January at Miller's U.S. Elite Basketball Camp in Waco, TX.  And this is important, because familiarity is an important factor when it comes to ranking players and, believe it or not, I have not yet seen Nash play.  Remember, rankings are really nothing more or less than a reflection or what the person or persons doing the rankings have seen and know about.  So obviously this list will continue to grow, as we continue to find out about and see more players who deserve to be on the list.  But having said that, it's incredible how far ahead of the game we are, as one of the Stanwood's primary responsibilities has been to see players and build a relationship with everybody who is anybody at this age level; Miller has been watching and coaching against many of these players play for years; and I've been able to track a lot of these players myself at places like the adidas Junior Phenom Camp, President's Day All-American Tournament, and U.S. Elite Basketball Camp.  When you also add Rob Taylor, who publishes the BuckeyePrepReport.com and is an important source for both middle school players in Ohio and nationally, into the mix, it's easy to see why this list is such a great starting point as all of these guys get ready to enter high school this fall.  As for Nash, don't feel too sorry for him, because we've still got four years to get it right.  Remember, in the grand scheme of things, it's not going to mean a hill of beans where a player is ranked in middle school.  What is important is for him to get a college scholarship and, if he continues to make progress, have a chance to make the McDonald's All-American Team and/or make money playing the game someday.  We also are planning on publishing Chris Johnson's updated Ohio Report within the next several days and our updated Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Freshmen) early next week.  Then it will be off to the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC on Memorial Day Weekend and the Pangos All-American Camp in Los Angeles, CA in June 1st-3rd.  So, as you can see, now really is the perfect time to subscribe or extend your subscription to this web site.   

Saturday, May 12, 2007, Sunday, May 13, 2007, & Monday, May 14, 2007

Our Texas Editor Tim Miller and our Florida Editor Rick Staudt are both telling us that 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX has picked the University of Florida over Kentucky and Oklahoma State and this is huge for a number of reasons.  First, Lucas is ranked #34 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the second highest senior still available.  Second, Lucas not only has the speed, quickness, athleticism, point guard skills, and outside shooting necessary to excel at the big time college level, but he's got a tremendous understanding of the game, an unbelievable work ethic, and is a first-class person.  Third, the decision by Lucas also may be enough to sway 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the highest ranked senior still available, to follow in Lucas' footsteps and also pick the Gators.  Patterson has been quoted saying that "picking a college would be a last minute decision based on a gut feeling." But it's our guess that Patterson was waiting to see what Lucas was going to do.  Fourth, getting Lucas shows just how powerful a name Florida has right now in the recruiting world.  Remember, the Gators are fresh off their second consecutive NCAA Championship, have the hottest head coach in the college game today (Billy Donovan), play in one of the best conferences in college basketball (the Southeastern Conference), and have a warm climate (Florida) and a great college town (Gainesville, FL) to sell to student/athletes.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact the decision by Lucas does not appear have any effect on the early verbal commitment that 5'8 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who is ranked #21 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has already made to the Gators.  This kind of reminds us of what happened seven years ago when Duke already had Jason Williams in the program, but still managed to land another great point guard in Chris Duhon.  Sources close to Walker tell us that his first, second, and third choice was the University of Florida.  They also tells us that Walker isn't afraid of competition, as is evident by the fact that he picked a high school that had another small undersized point guard in the class ahead of him.  And that turned out pretty well for everybody, as 5'8 Malik Booth from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY ended up being the #1-ranked high school senior in New York City by the HOOP SCOOP this year, but was the second best guard on the team, behind Walker.  Fifth, the addition of Lucas moves Florida's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'4 Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'7 Alex Tyus from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, 6'9 Chandler Parsons from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, and 6'6 Adam Allen from Milton (H.S.) FL, up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important, Donovan and his staff now have everything but a dominating force inside in this year's recruiting class.  And, if they get Patterson, then it will be mission accomplished as the Gators will have replaced their enter starting line-up with a recruiting class that will end up being ranked #3, behind Indiana and USC and ahead of Syracuse, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   Reggie Tisdale, who is the editor & publisher of Indiana Basketball News, tells us that 6'11 Beas Hamga from Decatur (Christian) IL, who is ranked #26 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked UNLV over Kentucky, Indiana, and New Mexico.  Tisdale also reports that Hamga's decision was based on a number of factors including the fact that Runnin' Rebels head coach Lon Kruger has a terrific record of building programs and, in light of the fact that he's been a coach there himself, knows what a player has to do development wise to get to the NBA.  The fact that Hamga and UNLV's 6'8 Sr Gaston Essengue are both from Cameroon didn't hurt UNLV's chances either.  In contrast, it looks like the University of Kentucky was knocked out of the water by the several 100 instant messages that were posted by Kentucky fans on his Facebook and MySpace instant message pages.  Apparently this really pissed off Mark Adams, who is Hamga's legal guardian and AAU coach.  Hamga was a reclassified junior, but recently got the necessary score on the ACT to be qualified academically this spring and, as a result, plans to enroll in school this fall.  Moral to the story, he now counts as a senior.  Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter tells us that 6'0 Jr Paul McCoy from Portland (Grant) OR, who is tremendous athlete and a star in three sports (football, basketball, and track), has become Pepperdine's first recruit in the Class of 2008.  But what really makes this intriguing is the fact that McCoy is best friends with 6'3 Jr Brad Tinsley from Oregon City (H.S.) OR, who is one of the best 3-point shooters and most skilled players in the junior class on the West Coast.  As a matter of fact, Utter thinks this puts the Waves in the driver's seat to get Tinsley.  And, if that weren't enough, Utter also tells us that he thinks Pepperdine is in good shape with 6'7 Jr Renaldo Woodridge from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, who is ranked #85 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Our Florida Editor Rick Staudt tells us that 6'8 Isaiah Brown from Miami (South Miami) FL has signed with East Tennessee State and 6'7 Orane Chin from Miramar (H.S.) FL has signed with South Florida.  Currently we have Chin ranked #595 nationally in the senior class, but this versatile athlete, who can play both inside and outside and is capable of putting up prolific numbers, really impressed us at the Las Vegas Easter Classic in Las Vegas, NV and, as a result, will move way up when we publish our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007 next month.  The same also can be said about Brown, who is a high energy athletic power forward that is tough on the boards, explosive to the basket, and has surprisingly good passing skills and a mid-range jump shot.   East Tennessee State also has landed 6'4 Tommy Hubbard from Southborough (St. Marks) MA, who averaged 15.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.6 apg, and 2.1 spg on a team that went 27-0 and won both the ISL and the NESPCA Championships, and 6'7 Greg Hamlin from Mott (JC) MI, who averaged 4.6 ppg and 3.0 rpg on a well balanced the team that won the Division II Junior College National Championship.  And this is important, because there is something to be said about having players in your program who know what it takes to win.  It also looks like Ball State is one of the big winners of the spring signing period, as the Cardinals now have eight players in the fold in a recruiting class that is ranked #35 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and includes 6'8 Kevin Ford from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'0 Laron Frazier from Highland (JC) IL, 5'10 Melvin Goins from Humble (Christian Life) TX, 6'4 Rob Giles from Mott (JC) MI, 6'0 Deontay Twyman from Sandy Spring (Sherwood) MD, 6'7 C.J. Clark from Panola (JC) TX, 6'4 Malik Perry from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, and 6'7 Robert Martina from Deerfield Beach (H.S.) FL.   And Ford, who is ranked #35 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction.com; Frazier, who was a 2nd Team Junior College All-American; Goins, who is ranked #87 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, Giles, who played in an important role on the team that won the Division II Junior College National Championship; and Twyman is the first player in 17 years to be named All-Met in both basketball and football by the Washington Post; all have some pretty impressive credentials.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Sean Evans from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA, who is ranked #273 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with St. John's, and 6'7 Hillary Haley from Marietta (North Atlantic Prep) GA, who is a big time slasher/athlete, has signed with St. Bonaventure.  We also have confirmed that 5'9 Jr Eric Buggs from Memphis (White Station) TN has made an early verbal commitment to Valparaiso.  And this appears to be a great catch, as our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead says Buggs is "the fastest player in the state from end to end and has the basketball savvy to run a ball club." 

Friday, May 11, 2007

We already knew that one of DePaul's top recruiting priorities was to land a quality point guard in the Class of 2008 who would be able to step in and complement 6'9 Nayal Koshwal from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL, 6'9 Majita Poscic from Highland (JC) IL, 6'5 Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'7 Mario Stula from Decatur (Christian) IL, and 6'1 Michael Bizoukas from Munster (H.S.) IN, who are the five recruits in the Blue Demons' current recruiting class, which is ranked #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Well, it looks like yesterday DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright and his staff got their man in 6'0 Jr Jeremiah Kelly from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL.  Yes, this is the same guy who was ranked #15 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP after we saw him turn in a brilliant performance a-year-and-a-half ago in the National Prep Tip Off Showcase.  It's also the same guy who left us wondering what happened for the better part of a year, as is evident by the fact that we had Kelly ranked no higher than #157 nationally in his class last fall.  However, Kelly had an excellent junior year this past season and was even better this spring, as he ran the show, made his teammates better, and was like a coach on the floor for the Mac Irvin Illinois Fire team that won the championship in the Gold Division of the Houston Kingwood Classic three weeks ago.  In other words, we're now convinced that Kelly is a legitimate top 50 junior nationally, as well as one of the better point guards in the country in a class that doesn't have a lot of great point guards.  Getting Kelly also is important, because he's a tough hardnosed Chicago kid and now the Blue Demons coaching staff can use the momentum that this verbal commitment will create to focus on landing several inside guys with the three scholarships that they still available for the Class of 2008.  And, once again, at least part of the credit for getting this one done has to go to DePaul associate head coach Gary DeCesare, who quickly has become second-to-none when it comes to recruiting the top players in the Chicagoland area.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the new regime at Bowling Green has added its first recruit in 6'8 Cameron Madlock from Whitefish Bay (Dominican) WI.  We're talking about a mobile athletic 4-man with high energy, a good basketball IQ, and the ability to run the court and block shots.  We also understand that Wagner recently signed 5'11 Jaren Haley from Woodbridge (Freedom) VA and this is an excellent catch for a number of reasons.  First, Haley is the jet-like point guard that Wagner head coach Mike Deane had been looking for to round out a recruiting class that also includes 6'11 Brian Szczepanski from Webster (H.S.) NY, 6'7 Clayfell Harris from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, and 6'7 Cliff Spiller from Abescon (Holy Spirit) NJ.  Second, Haley should be interchangeable in the backcourt with 6'1 Jr Michael Porter, who was the team's leader in scoring (13.8 ppg) and assists (5.2 apg) this past season, because they are both capable of playing either guard spot.  Third, Haley is capable of putting up prolific numbers, as he has the ability to both get into the lane and shoot the lights out from beyond the arc.  Fourth, Haley is both a great kid and a big game player, as is evident the fact that he led his team all the way to the state finals and he put up big numbers in the process.  Fifth, Haley also is an excellent defender and has a big upside.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Deirunas Viscockas from Los Angeles (University) CA has signed with Lafayette and 6'2 Josh Martin from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA has signed with Albany.  That last one is especially noteworthy, because Martin, who is ranked #410 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and #19 in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey area by Rubin, knows what it takes to win.  "He led Prep Charter to the state championship in their classification a year ago and this year led Simon Gratz to the public league title game and to the eastern finals of the state tournament," says Rubin.  "Martin is a good scorer, goes to the basket, shots the three, and is a good defender."  He also qualified late, which allowed Albany to sneak in the back door and steal him from schools like La Salle, Toledo, Wright State, Old Dominion, UNC-Wilmington, South Florida, and Wichita State.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Martin joins a recruiting class, which also includes 6'6 Billy Allen from Hamilton (H.S.) OH, 6'7 Albert Turley from Houston (Westfield) TX, 6'1 Anthony Raffa from Wildwood (Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Robert Moores from Pratt (JC) KS, and 6'5 Jerel Hasting from Lon Morris (JC) TX, that is now tied at #83, along with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Florida A&M, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important, the Great Danes now have the #1-ranked recruiting class in the America East Conference and, as a result, the defending 2006 and 2007 conference tournament champions should not miss a beat in the future, despite the fact that their two best players - 6'1 Sr Jamar Wilson and 6'4 Jason Siggers - both graduate this spring.  Rubin also tells us that that 6'6 D.J Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, who is ranked #121 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the 3rd highest ranked senior still available, has signed with St. John's.  We're talking about an athletic combo forward with great hands, the ability to rebound well for his size, and a knack for slashing to the basket.  Kennedy also should fit in extremely well with all the other players - 6'8 Justin Burrell from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 5'8 Malik Booth from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'10 Ayodele Coker from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 Paris Horne from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, and 6'4 Mike Cavataio from Fresh Meadows (St. Francis Prep) NY - that the Red Storm have in their current recruiting class, which is now tied at #26, along with Cincinnati, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   In other words, Norm Roberts and his staff are bringing in a quality point guard (Booth), two good inside players (Burrell and Coker), two athletic wing players (Kennedy and Horne), and smart heady role player (Cavataio) in this year's recruiting class.

Thursday. May 10, 2007

When 6'7 Frosh Jared Sullinger from Columbus (Northland) OH, who is ranked #17 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP and is clearly the best freshman in the state, recently gave us a list of schools that included Ohio State, Florida, Indiana, Purdue, and Michigan, we knew that it was going to be tough to beat the Buckeyes.  However, we didn't expect it to happen quite so soon.  But, when the Ohio State coaching staff offered him a scholarship yesterday, it only took Sullinger a couple of hours to accept and the rest is history, as he now is following in the footsteps of his oldest brother, J.J. Sullinger, who originally signed with the University of Arkansas, but later transferred home and started 86 of 94 games for the Buckeyes during the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons.  The younger Sullinger not only is an Ohio State fan, but, according to our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, he's attended most of their home games in recent years.  "It was more a question of when than if Sullinger would pick Ohio State," says Johnson.  "He's a beast around the basket, has great hands, loves contact, and likely will grow some more, which means he could end up being one the very elite players in his class."  Sullinger also averaged a double-double and led this team to a sweet 16 finish in the state tournament this past season and was the big reason why his AAU team won the 15-Under Championship at the Pittsburgh Jam Fest several weeks ago.  The addition of Sullinger also reinforces a trend, whereby, the Buckeyes are extremely tough to beat for their share of the top players in their backyard, as five of the 10 players that they've landed in this year's and next year's recruiting classes are from the state of Ohio.  The addition of Sullinger also is the continuation of several other trends.  First, the Ohio State coaching staff has been recruiting like crazy during the last several years.  Remember, the Buckeyes had the #4-ranked recruiting class in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 with 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, and 6'9 Othello Hunter from Hillsborough (JC) FL a year ago; they currently have the #13-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 with 7'1 Kosta Koufas from Canton (Glenoak) OH, 6'9 Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S.) OH, and 6'6 Eric Turner from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL; and they already have the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008 with early verbal commitments from 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH, 6'10 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH, 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Galena) NV, 6'1 Jr Anthony Crater from Flint (Southwestern) MI,  and 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN.  Second, Sullinger becomes the seventh player in the Class of 2010 to have already made an early verbal commitment and, in each case, the player has elected to stay close to home, as 6'0 Frosh Jamison Stern from Waxahachie (H.S.) TX and 6'8 Frosh Perry Jones from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX both are committed to Baylor, 6'6 Frosh Jereme Richmond from Winnetka (North Shore Country Day) IL is committed to Illinois, 6'7 Frosh Dwayne Polee from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA is committed to USC, 6'9 Frosh Jordan Dykstra from Rock Valley (H.S.) IA is committed to Iowa State, and 6'7 Frosh Patrick Simon from Ephrata (H.S.) WA is committed to Washington State.  This same trend also holds true when we look at the nine early verbal commitments that we've tracked among players in the Class of 2009, as 6'8 Soph Alex Oriakhi from Winchendon (School) MA and 6'6 Soph Jamal Coombs from Winchendon (School) MA are both already done for Connecticut, 5'10 Soph Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX is committed to LSU, 6'6 Soph Daniel McElroy from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH is committed to Cincinnati, 6'1 Soph G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX is committed to Kentucky, 6'8 Soph Kyle Hardrick from Lawton (Eisenhower) OK is committed to Oklahoma, 6'8 Soph Devin Booker from Union (H.S.) SC is committed to Clemson, 6'0 Soph Culley Payne from Burlington (Central) IL to committed to DePaul, and 6'8 Soph Brock Osweiller from Kalispell (Flathead) MT is committed to Gonzaga.  In other words, the only player on this list who is not verbally committed to a school either in the state in which he lives or a neighboring state is Vilarino.  And, in his case, the deciding factor was his relationship with new University of Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie, who previously had been recruiting Vilarino when he was at Texas A&M.  We also think it's interesting to point out that 11 of the 37 players ranked among our top 100 juniors nationally who are already verbally committed are not going to schools in their immediate geographic area.  Instead, it appears that the strong ties to the AAU coach helped Oklahoma State get 6'7 Jr Troy Gillenwater from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  Ohio State got 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Nevada) NV thanks to the fact that he has a lot of relatives on both sides on the family that live in Ohio.  Florida sealed the deal with 5'7 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, because he was comfortable with the fact that several undersized point guards have flourished while playing for Billy Donovan in the past and he knows he's going to have the green light from beyond the arc.  Louisville head coach Rick Pitino's strong New York City ties helped him get 6'4 Jr Melquan Bolding from Archbishop Stepanic) NY.  Arizona got 6'7 Jr Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, because they were able to sell him on the fact that he's the killer they need inside.  Cincinnati obviously sold 6'7 Jr Darnell Wilkes from Nashville (Pioneer Christian) TN on the fact that this big time athlete is a stereotypical Bearcats-type player.  The fact that Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury is originally from the Bluegrass State certainly didn't hurt his chances when it came time to beat everybody else to punch for 6'5 Jr Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY.  Marquette head coach Tom Crean is one of the most astute guys in the business and he never leaves a stone unturned, which explains how the Golden Eagles were able to get 6'4 Jr Nick Williams from Mobile (LeFlore) AL.  LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre obviously was able to sell 7'2 Jr James Tyler from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC on the fact that he can follow in the footsteps of Shaquille O'Neal, who played for the Tigers in the early 90's.  Louisville assistant coach Marvin Menzies has taken advantage of his strong West Coast ties to get 7'0 Jr Jeff Withey from San Diego (Horizon) CA.  It also appears that 6'7 Jr Kris Joseph from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who is originally from Montreal, QU, was just returning to someplace closer to his old stamping grounds when he picked Syracuse.   The list of 26 juniors who are already verbally committed and are going to a school close to home includes 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH to Michigan State, 6'8 Jr Drew Gordon from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA to UCLA, 6'9 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH to Cincinnati, 7'0 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH to Ohio State, 5'11 Jr Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI to Michigan State, 6'6 Jr Demar Derozan from Compton (H.S.) CA to USC, 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH to Ohio State, 6'5 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA to UCLA, 6'1 Jr Anthony Crator from Flint (Southwestern) MI to Ohio State, 6'7 Jr Nate Miles from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to Connecticut, 6'5 Jr Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA to USC, 7'1 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH to Xavier, 6'5 Jr Nasir Robinson from Chester (H.S.) PA to Pittsburgh, 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN to Ohio State, 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD to Georgetown, 6'0 Jr Jeremiah Kelly from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL to DePaul, 6'11 Jr Andy Poling from Portland (Westview) OR to Gonzaga, 6'5 Jr Matt Gatens from Iowa City (H.S.) IA to Iowa, 6'2 Jr Michael Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ to Rutgers, 6'8 Jr Will Brown from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX to UTEP, 6'0 Jr Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) N J to Pittsburgh, 6'9 Jr Malcolm White from Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS to Mississippi, 6'0 Jr Antoine Young from Bellevue (West) NE to Creighton, 6'11 Jr Phillip Jurrick from Chattanooga (East Ridge) TN to Tennessee, 6'7 Jr James Southerland from Bayside (Cardozo) NY to Syracuse, and 6'2 Jr Jason Clark from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA to Georgetown.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

One of the new trends that we've seen this spring are players who were supposed to be a year away from enrolling at a four-year Division I college or university trying to speed up the process and, instead, attempting to enroll in school this fall.  First, it was 6'11 Jr Beas Hamga from Decatur (Christian) IL, who is ranked #26 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and he likely will pick either Kentucky or Indiana later this spring.  Then, yesterday it was 5'10 DeAngelo Johnson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, who signed a National Letter-of-Intent with USC.  By doing so, Johnson, who is ranked #8 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, but previously was so far behind academically that he was being projected as a part of the Class of 2008, now officially becomes a member of the Class of 2007.  And this is important, because now with USC's current recruiting class.  It's also huge for a number of reasons.  First, Johnson, is the equivalent of a top 40 high school senior, which means he's good enough to step in next year and solve all of USC's point guard problems.  Second, Johnson has the ball handling and passing skills, decision making, strength, athleticism, explosiveness, and ability to run a team necessary for us to make call him a poor man's version of Tywon Lawson.  And that's saying a lot, because Lawson projects as the best point guard in college basketball next year.  Third, Johnson, is the perfect complement to 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Venice, CA, 6'11 Mamadou Diarra from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'6 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA, and 6'5 Marcus Simmons from Alexandria (Peabody) LA in a recruiting class that suddenly is a lot closer to first than third on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also think think it's interesting to point out that even without Johnson counting towards next year's recruiting class that the Trojans are still tied at #2, along with UCLA, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008.  So despite the fact that UCLA currently has the best player in the fold in the nation in 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) CA, as well as 6'8 Chase Stanback from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, who is ranked #153 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, in their current recruiting class and 6'4 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 6'9 Jr Drew Gordon from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, and 6'2 Jr Jerime Anderson from Anaheim (Canyon) CA already in the fold for next year, it's clear that the Bruins still have a long way to go in terms of keeping up with the Trojans when you combine these two recruiting classes together.  As for Leonard Washington, it's been reported by some of our competition that he no longer is going to USC and, instead, plans to attend prep school at Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  However, we have even better sources who tell us that Washington has not been released from the binding National Letter-of-Intent that he signed last fall with Southern Cal.  So he still counts with USC's recruiting class.  And Washington isn't the only player who this applies to as we also are counting 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN with Indiana's recruiting class due to the fact that he verbally committed to the Hoosiers last fall.  The word we get is that Jones is planning on going to prep school, but it is not the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to reclassify a player once he reaches his senior year of high school.  So Jones is guy who is currently tipping in the Hoosiers' #1-ranked recruiting class over the top, despite the fact that he's never even signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent.  And he will continue to do so unless he officially reneges on his verbal commitment.  And to tie all this up even further, Indiana won't even need Jones to count towards their current recruiting class, if they landed Beas Hamga.  The other big story that we ran across today involves 6'7 Mario Stula from Decatur (Christian) IL signing with DePaul.  We're talking about a lights out 3-point shooter, as is evident by the fact that he shot 47% this past season.  Stula, who is originally from Croatia, played for the Croatian Junior National Team, has excellent skills, and is more athletic than he looks, which means he is ideally suited to step in immediately and get playing time at the wing forward spot next year.  Stula originally committed to Northwestern a year ago, but didn't have the necessary test score to get into school.  Remember, Northwestern's academic standards are a lot higher than NCAA standards, but this is still important, because it shows that Stula is a pretty good student, if he even was thinking about going to Northwestern.  The deciding factor in Stula's decision to pick the Blue Demons appears to have been the fact that DePaul also has 6'9 Majita Poscic from Highland (JC) IL, who is one of the best junior college players in the nation and also is originally Croatia, in the fold in a recruiting class that now has somebody at every position and is ranked #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  If you will recall, 6'9 Nayal Koshwal from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL is ranked #33 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'5 Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI is ranked #47 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'1 Michael Bizoukas from Munster (H.S.) IN is a tough Indiana kid who promises to be an excellent role player.  This also has to be a huge feather in the cap of DePaul associate head coach Gary DeCesare, who already was second to none when it comes to recruiting in both the Northeast and New York City, because he's the recruiting coordinator and all of these guys are from the Midwest.  Speaking of DeCesare, look for him to move way up in our rankings of the top assistant coaches the next time we up-date these rankings, which should be just in time for when he gets a head coaching job next spring.  We also have confirmed that Bethune-Cookman has landed 6'5 John Holmes from Des Moines (JC) IA, 6'6 Kyle Cook from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'6 Gabby Cruz from Highland (JC) IL, 6'5 Dominique Whatley from Panola (JC) TX, 6'7 Gerrell Knightshead from Miami (Calusa Prep) FL, and 6'2 Joey Woods from Naples (Golden Gate) FL and, as a result, the Wildcats now have the third best recruiting class, behind Hampton and Florida A&M, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.  Holmes is a very athletic power forward who plays bigger than his size and has the potential to develop into one of the best players in the league.  Cook, who is ranked #44 in the senior class by Ron Naclerio in New York City, is an undersized 4-man who weighs 260-pounds and did a lot of the dirty work inside on the New York City & State championship team.  Cruz, who was ranked #722 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 and originally signed with Kennesaw State, is a long 3-man who can beat you with both his mid-range game and excellent outside shooting.  Whatley, who originally signed with Georgia State, is another guy who can flat out shoot the lights out.  Knightshead, who is originally from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA, is a skilled 3/4-man with the ability to finish around the basket, good hands, and the ability to run the court very well for somebody his size (240 pounds).  Woods, who also was a mid-major football prospect, is an excellent athlete, tough as nails, and has a very high basketball IQ.  It looks like North Carolina A&T has landed 6'9 Thomas Coleman from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, who is ranked #6 in the senior class in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, but has an incredible upside, if light ever clicks on and he gets meaner and tougher and more consistent inside.  The Aggies beat Morehead State, IUPU-Ft. Wayne, Coppin State, and Georgetown College for Coleman's services and the obvious connection here is former University of Louisville point guard and assistant coach Jerry Eaves, who is now beginning his 5th year as the head coach at North Carolina A&T.  And this isn't the first player that Eaves has stolen this spring, as the Aggies also have signed 6'7 Ed Jones from Butler County (JC) KS, who is ranked #78 in the junior college ranks by  Juco Junction.com.  We also are getting reports that 6'8 Kristof Ongenaet from Cuesta (JC) CA has signed with Syracuse.  And the addition of this 6'8 power forward, who averaged 12.0 ppg and 11.7 rpg and is ranked #112 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction.com, strengthens Syracuse's lock even further on the #3-ranked recruiting class in our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  If you will recall, the Orangemen already had 6'8 Donte Green, 6'8, WF, Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'9 Rick Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'0 Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, and 6'10 Sean Williams from Villa Park (H.S.) CA in the fold. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

The first person to tip us off about 6'9 Jr Drew Gordon from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA being on the verge of making a verbal commitment to UCLA was Lee Hubbard of NorCalPreps.rivals.com.  And he was right on the money, because Gordon, who is ranked #13 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, did indeed pick the Bruins over schools like Washington, Arizona, California, and North Carolina last night.  Gordon, who has been ranked among the top players in the class dating back to when HOOP SCOOP Associate Editor Patrick Stanwood and I both saw him at the 14-Under AAU Nationals three years ago, needs to continue to work on his offensive skills.  But in terms of athleticism, shot blocking, rebounding, natural talent, and potential, this 6'9, 240-pound power forward is the next in a long line of excellent players to have cast his lot with the Bruins during the Ben Howland era.  "Drew Gordon will be a great replacement for Kevin Love or an excellent complement to Love, if he stays at UCLA for more than one year," says our West Coast Editor Alan Utter.  "And, if Love does stick around for several years, just think how much better Gordon will get by going up against one of the best big men to come down the pick in a long time in practice every day."  And just think how good UCLA's recruiting class will be next year, if they also land 6'3 Jr Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood (Campbell) CA, who is currently ranked #7 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and now appears to be the Burins' prime recruiting target in the junior class.  Currently we have UCLA's recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA and 6'2 Jr Jerime Anderson from Anaheim (Canyon) CA ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008.  And, with Holiday, it would move up to #2.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Lindsey Robinson from Irving (God's Academy) TX has signed with Southern Miss and this is a great catch for the Golden Eagles for a number of reasons.  First, Robinson has good offensive skills, which makes him the equivalent of a top 100-ranked senior nationally.  Second, Robinson is originally from Brooklyn, NY, which is important, because this addition helps maintain the strong pipeline that Southern Miss established when they hired Billy Reid as the Director of Basketball Operations a year ago.  If you will recall, right after Reid was hired they landed 6'6 Frosh Sai'quon Stone, who also is a Brooklyn native and was their second leading scorer this past season, and 5'11 Frosh Wayne Turner, who sat out this past season as a non-qualifier and originally is from Brooklyn (Grady) NY.  Third, Robinson should be able to step in right away and make an immediate impact, as he can also block shots, rebound, and defend.  Fourth, Robinson should be an excellent complement to all of the other players that Southern Miss already has in their current recruiting class, which is now tied at #50, along with New Orleans and Central Michigan, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  If you will recall, 7'1 Gustavo Lino from Sao Paulo, Brazil and 6'9 Maurice Bolden from Jackson (Wingfield) MS both signed with the Golden Eagles last fall and already this spring they had signed 6'8 Brandon Crooks from Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS, 6'5 Kevin Branch from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA, and 6'0 R.L. Horton from Jackson (Lanier) MS, all of whom are good enough to be ranked in the 100-250 range nationally.  In other words, more help is on the way, as Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy and his staff have another excellent recruiting class to add to a group of primarily freshmen and sophomores who went 20-11 this past season.  We also have confirmed that the University of Mississippi has landed 6'5 Terrence Watson from Mott (JC) MS, who is ranked #30 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction.com and was one of the top junior college players still available.  Watson also was Ole Miss' prime recruiting target this spring, as he's versatile enough to play any position, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 13.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 5.5 apg, 4.0 bpg, and 3.0 spg on a team that won the Division II Junior College National Championship two months ago.  We're talking about a big time athlete out of the same mold as former Cincinnati power forward Eric Hicks.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Rebels head coach Andy Kennedy was the one who recruited Hicks when he was an assistant coach at Cincinnati.  The addition of Watson also moves Ole Miss' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'6 Zachary Graham from Lawrenceville (Peachtree) GA, 6'5 Wesley Jones from Pearl River (JC) MS, 6'9 Kevin Cantinol from Clearwater (JC) FL, 6'0 Chris Warren from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, and 6'2 Trevor Gaskins from Alpharetta (Chattahoochie) GA, into a tie at #26, along with Cincinnati, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   Reggie Tisdale, who is the editor & publisher of Indiana Basketball News, tells us that IUPUI continues to recruit the state of Indiana as well as any mid-major program in the nation, as their latest two additions include the signing of 6'5 John Freeman from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN and an early verbal commitment from 5'8 Jr Larry Stone from Indianapolis (Howe) IN.  "Stone is small, but he's the best combo guard in the state," says Tisdale.  "He's a scoring machine (28.0 ppg), has jet like speed and quickness, is an excellent defender, and has the ability to make those around him better (8.0 apg).  Freeman is the without question the most versatile player in the state in the Class of 2007.  He can slash to the basket, shoot threes, and defend multiple positions."  Tisdale also reminds us that one of the big reasons why IUPUI has been so successful recruiting in their backyard is that Jaguars assistant coach Todd Howard is one of the best recruiters in the business.  However, this is hardly news to us, as we've been touting Howard as one of the top up-and-coming guys in the business for a number of years now.  It also appears that 5'10 Omar Leary from Northeastern Colorado (JC) OK has been released from the National Letter-of-Intent that he signed last fall with Colorado State and now is heading to the University of Oklahoma.  And this is a major coup for the Sooners, because Leary was a First Team National Junior College All-American this past season on a team that finished ranked 4th in the final junior college rankings.  Leary, who averaged 14.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 6.3 apg, and 1.8 spg, is both an excellent floor general and a very good shooter, as is evident by the fact that he hit 48.2% of his field goals, 43.9% of his 3-pointers, and 79.6% of his free throws.  We also like the fact that Leary is a winner and kid with great character, which means that Sooners head coach Jeff Capel has the point guard that he needs to step in and run the show next year, as well as complement 6'8 Blake Griffin from Edmund (Oklahoma Christian) OK, 6'5 Tony Neysmith from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Chris Early from Huntington (H.S.) WV, and 6'5 Cade Davis from Elk City (H.S.) OK in a recruiting class that is tied at #16, along with Purdue, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter also tells us that 6'8 Brandon Sampay from Howard (JC) TX has reneged on the verbal commitment that he made to Wichita State before the coaching change and now has signed with Illinois State.  Sampay, who is ranked #15 in the junior college ranks by Juco Junction.com, is a physical specimen in the paint and a force to be reckoned with on the boards.  And the deciding factor in Sampay's decision appears to have been that we wanted to sign with a school that already has a good center in the program and 6'11 Jr Levi Dyer, who averaged 12.1 ppg and 3.3 rpg this past season for the Redbirds, fits that description perfectly.  We also have confirmed that Western Illinois has added four new players - 6'2 David Nurse from Kansas City (JC) KS, 6'6 David Dubois from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'11 James Granstra from Okabena (Southwest Star Concept) OK, and 6'8 Delvon Johnson from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL - to a recruiting class that already includes 6'5 Nikola Bodic from Salt Lake (JC) UT, 6'2 Larry Dumas from Chicago Heights (Bloom Township) IL, 6'2 Ceola Clark from Gurnee Warren) IL, and 6'8 Josh Harrellson from St. Charles (H.S.) MO.  Nurse, who is a great 3-point shooter, not only is the best of the bunch, but he is expected to step and start immediately in the 2-guard spot, which will be vacated by the graduating 6'4 Sr Troy Okeson.  Dubois combines versatility and skills with a knack for doing things that don't always show up into the box score.  Johnson is a terrific athlete and Granstra is space-eater. 

Saturday, May 5, 207, Sunday, May 6, 2007, & Monday, May 7, 2007

We already knew that 6'4 Jr Iman Shumpert from Oak Park (River Forest) IL was one of the biggest sleepers nationally to emerge this spring, but it wasn't until this weekend at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run'N Slam at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Ft. Wayne, IN that we realized that this athletic 2-guard is now officially one of the best players in the country.  We're talking about one of the most prolific scorers in the junior class nationally, as is evident by the fact that he scored 29 points and hit six 3-pointers when his team won a close game against the Michigan Mustangs in the third round of the playoffs in the Silver Division.  We also were impressive with Shumpert's explosive athleticism, super quick hands, great anticipation, tremendous understanding of the game, and the ability to beat his man off the dribble going in either direction.  He also has good ball handling and passing skills, makes excellent decisions, and is the guy who you want with the ball in his hands under pressure, which means he has what it takes to project as a point guard someday in the NBA.  Yes, Shumpert is that good!  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that he's a great kid, has a 3.4 gpa, and still appears to be wide open in terms of his recruitment.  Right now his list includes schools like Marquette, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Bradley, Illinois, Minnesota, Clemson, Tennessee, Miami-FL, and Wisconsin, but that list could change dramatically now that big time college coaches are aware of the fact that Shumpert will be ranked among our top 10 juniors nationally, along with 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'9 Jr Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 6'4 Jr Willie Warren from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 6'3 Jr Jrue Holiday from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, 6'7 Jr Troy Gillenwater from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, and 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH, when we update this list later this month.  Speaking of Buford, he too was one of the top five players, along Shumpert, Roe, 5'10 Soph Johnnie Lacy from Milwaukee (Bay View) WI, and  6'1 Frosh Noah Cottrill from Poca (H.S.) WV, that we saw over the weekend at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run'N Slam.  Buford also was the best player on the loaded Team Reebok Select Team, which also featured 6'7 Jr Darius Miller from Maysville (Mason County) KY, 6'11 Jr Jamisen Morgan from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 7'0 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH, 6'5 Jr Malcom Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 5'8 Isaiah Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'4 Jr Dante Anderson from Gainesville (Eastside) FL, 6'8 Frosh Quincy Acy from Mesquite (Horne) TX, 6'11 Jr Phillip Jurrick from Chattanooga (East Ridge) TN, and 6'7 Jr Eric Frederick from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, but was upset by The Family in the quarterfinals of the playoffs in the Gold Division.  In other words, Buford, who impressed us with ability to make shots both from beyond the arc and in transition, was the player that our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson had been telling us about all spring, instead of the player that remember from last summer when he was a like a fish out of water on the D-I Greyhounds' 17-Under team at the Reebok Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  Roe, who played for the D. Harris Superstars DTA, which also featured his Michigan State-bound teammate 5'11 Jr Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (St. Pius X) WI, was easily the most dominant inside player in the tournament and he got most of the key rebounds and made most of the big shots when the D. Harris Superstars DTA knocked off the Spiece Select 2008 team in the Round of 16 of the Gold Division.  Lacy played in the Juniors-To-Be Division, but he still makes our list of the top five players, because he was the driving force behind the Wisconsin Playground Warriors beating Mean Streets, 81-73, in the championship in their age group, as he scored 25 points and hit four 3-pointers in the title game.  And, even more impressive was Lacy's 30 points and seven 3-pointers in the quarterfinals against the Illinois Wolves.  Lacy, who named the co-MVP in the Juniors-To-Be Division, along with his teammate - 6'7 Soph Jamil Wilson from Racine (Horlick) WI, also is super quick, knows how to run a team, and plays with a tremendous amount of intensity.  As a matter of fact, we liked Lacy, who already is being recruited by schools like Purdue, Tennessee, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, so well that we think he's arguably one of the best point guards in the sophomore class nationally.  The same also can be said about Cottrill, who didn't put up quite the numbers that Lacy did, but led his team to the title game in the Sophomores-To-Be Division against All-Ohio Red.  Cottrell is a savvy point guard who is like a coach on the floor and has a knack for making everybody around better.  And, in the process, Cottrell, who already is being recruited by schools like West Virginia, Florida, Michigan, UCLA, Wake Forest, Minnesota, Kentucky, Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth, clearly was the best player on a good team, which also featured 6'8 Frosh Dakota Euton from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6'5 Frosh Chad Jackson from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6'6 Frosh Josh Sewell from Louisville (Trinity) KY, and 6'3 Frosh Chris Richards from Louisville (Southern) KY.  However, the Ohio Basketball Club didn't seem to have an answer for 6'5 Frosh J.D. Weatherspoon from Columbus (Northland) OH, who scored all 16 of his points in the second half, and 6'7 Frosh Adrian Payne from Dayton (Jefferson) OH, who also did most of his damage in the second half, as All-Ohio opened up a 72-62 led with 5:14 left in the game and from there coasted to a 96-73 win the championship game.  The leading scorer and MVP in the Sophomores-To-Be Division was 5'11 Frosh Kevin Gray, who finished with 20 points in the title game.  But the best player for All Ohio Red throughout the tournament was 5'9 Frosh Juwan Staten from Dayton (Colonel White) OH, who went head-to-head against Cottrell and matched him point-for-point (both players finished with 17 points) in the championship game.  Getting back to the Seniors-To-Be Division, Mean Streets beat The Family, 61-38, in the championship game of the Gold Division and, ironically, 6'0 Jr Kevin Dillard from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL took home tournament MVP honors in this age group.  However, after watching Dillard all weekend, we have decided that he definitely deserves to be in the 100-200 range nationally, but doesn't make good enough decisions, forces too many shots, and isn't big and strong enough physically to project as more than a role player at the high major level.  And, while Dillard only had seven points in the championship game, he was Mean Streets' most consistent player throughout the tournament.  The best player for Mean Streets when they pulled off the upset in the first game of pool play against Team Reebok Select on Friday night was 6'6 Jr Matt Humphrey from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL.  But the big reason why Means Streets jumped out early and never looked back in the title game against The Family was the inside play by 6'8 Jr Josh Crittle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL and 6'10 Michael Dunigan from Chicago (Farragut) IL, who combined for 25 points in the title game.  Crittle also got in done in the semi-finals and Dunigan came up big against Team Reebok Select on the first night, but more often than not they reverted back to their lacksidacial ways throughout much of the tournament.  So it should come as no surprise that while Crittle and Dunigan won the inside battle in the championship game, one of the biggest revelations of the weekend was 6'7 Jr Draymond Green from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, who we currently have ranked #71 nationally in the junior class, but, with his surprising quickness and mobility for his size, convinced us that he is one of the better power forwards in the junior class nationally.  We're talking about a beast around the basket, thanks to his good post moves, excellent rebounding and passing skills, and high level of intensity.  Also very impressive for The Family were 6'4 Jr Paul Williams from Detroit (Northwestern) MI and 5'10 Jr Eric Evans from Detroit (Northwestern) MI.  But what makes this a dangerous team is its depth, as players like 6'7 Jr Flenard Whitfield from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'7 Jr Austin Calhoun from Southfield (H.S.) MI, 6'5 Jr Lawrence Bridges from Detroit (Henry Ford) MI, and 6'0 Jr Devon Braswell from Detroit (Communication Media Arts) MI are under the radar screen nationally, but all have Division I futures at various levels.  Also advancing to the final four in the 17-Under Division at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run'N Slam was Blessed IJN Elite, but a 28-point effort, which included six 3-pointers, by prep school bound 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN in the semi-finals was not enough to knock off The Family.  A well balanced Spiece Indy Heat team, which featured 6'0 Jr Justin Bond from Indianapolis (Lawrence Central) IN, 6'3 Jr Cordell Passley from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and 6'8 Soph Edward Hazlett from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, also advanced to the final four and, in the process, we liked Bond better than Passley and were intrigued by Hazlett's size and potential, although he doesn't get very much done at the offensive end.  Team Texas' 6'4 Jr Willie Warren from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX and 6'1 Jr Roteni Clarke from Claremore (Verdigris) OK both put on their usual shooting clinic in pool play, but once again didn't have what it took to come back when they got down in the second half against the Spiece Indy Heat in the Round of 16 of the playoffs in the Gold Division.  We also were impressed with 6'3 Jr Stacy Waters from Detroit (Renaissance) MI and 6'0 Jr Brad Redford from Frankenmuth (H.S.) MI, who teamed on the Michigan Mustangs to form one of the better backcourts in Seniors-To-Be Division.  However, we wonder what all the hype is about with regards to their teammate - 6'10 Jr Jason Washburn from Battle Creek (Central) MI?  Some sleepers who caught our eye over the weekend and, as a result, are worth keeping an eye on include 6'9 Soph Anthony Borden from West Memphis (H.S.) AR, 6'7 Soph Reginald Brice from Macon (Westside) GA, 6'7 Jr Julian Mavunga from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN, 6'5 Jr Terrance Edwards from Milwaukee (North) WI. 

Friday, May 4, 2007

It looks like Southern Illinois has a major steal on its hands with today's verbal commitment from 6'0 Jr Kevin Dillard from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL.  Not only was Dillard one of the biggest surprises of the entire tournament when we saw him two weeks ago in the Houston Kingwood Classic, but we thought he had the athleticism, decision making, ball handling and passing skills, and outside shot necessary to attract some high major looks.  As a matter of fact, we liked Dillard so well that we have considered sneaking him in the bottom of the top 100 when we update our ranking of the top juniors nationally later this spring.  So naturally one of the first things we're going to check out tonight at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run'N Slam All-Star Classic at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Ft. Wayne, IN will be the 10:30 PM game between Team Reebok Select and Means Streets, which features Dillard as the starting point guard.  Dillard joins 6'2 Torres Roundtree from Florissant (McCluer North) MO, 6'8 Anthony Booker from Florissant (McCluer North) MO, and 6'3 Chris Parrish from Riverside (Brookfield) IL, all of whom also are apart of Southern Illinois' recruiting class, which is now ranked #12 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008.  And this comes right on the heels of their current recruiting class, which includes 6'8 Carlton Fay from Granville (Putnam County) IL, 6'11 Nick Evans from Carbondale (H.S.) IL, 6'3 Brandon Woods from Kokomo (H.S.) IN, and 6'4 Justin Bocot from Bloomington (H.S.) IL.  So, with four players (Fay, Evans, Dillard, and Roundtree) who are ranked in the 100-200 range nationally and five in-state players (Fay, Evans, Bocot, Dillard, and Parrish) now in the fold, it's easy to see why Salukis head coach Chris Lowery took his name out of the running for several big time head coaching jobs this spring and decided to stay at Southern Illinois, where he is now earning $750,000 per year after signing a contract extension this spring.  We also understand that 6'5 Brendan Lavender from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ has verbally committed to the University of Arizona and we think this is a good catch for several reasons.  First, Lavender has made no bones about the fact that he wants to play for the Wildcats.  Second, he's an in-state kid.  Third, he can play either guard spot, thanks to his skills, unselfishness, passing ability, and outside shooting.  Fourth, he has a lot of potential, which means he could become more than just a good role player down the road once he gets bigger and stronger.  Fifth, he's good enough to initially be a solid back-up, but Lavender is not good enough to scare off somebody like 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is Arizona's top recruiting priority.  Lavender also becomes the second player to have verbally committed to the Arizona this spring.  Remember, they also landed 6'7 Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH a week ago and now they can turn they focus onto getting Jennings and 6'9 Drew Gordon from San Jose (Archbishop Mitty) CA, who list also still includes North Carolina, Washington, UCLA, and California.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Manhattan has stolen another one in 6'4 Rashad Green from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME and 7'0 Jonathan Huffman, who is transferring from Louisville, is following former Louisville assistant coach Kevin Willard to Iona.  Naclerio also tells us that he's heard rumors about the possibility of Willard hiring Maurice Hicks, who is the head coach of New York (Rice) NY.  And this makes perfect sense when remembers that 6'4 Kashif Pratt, who recently decided to  transfer from Seton Hall to Iona, and Louisville's 6'3 Frosh Edgar Sosa both played for Hicks at Rice and we believe it's only a matter of time before 5'11 Soph Lamont Jones from New York (Rice) NY verbally commits to the Cardinals.  And Hicks isn't the only guy on our List of the Top High School Coaches in the Nation who may be on the verge of moving onto the college ranks, as Danny Hurley, who is the head coach Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, has interviewed for the open position at Pittsburgh that was created when Mike Rice left to become the head coach at Robert Morris.  Our New England Editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that 6'3 Robbie Hanzlik from New Hampton (Prep) NH has signed Maine and 6'5 Mike Moore from New Haven (Hillhouse) CT has signed with Fordham.  That last one is especially noteworthy, because Moore, who was the top unsigned senior in New England, is very skilled, has a great feel for the game, and has high major talent, although his body hasn't quite caught up yet.  Dinos Trigonis, who is the editor of FullCourtPress.com, tells us that 6'5 Julyan Stone from Goleta (Dos Pueblos) CA has signed with UTEP.  And this should just be the icing on the cake for a recruiting class that also already includes 6'8 Manuel Cass from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5'10 Randy Culpepper from Memphis (Sheffield) TN, 6'11 Claude Britten from Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS, and 6'8 Wayne Portolatin from Lenoir (The Patterson School) NC, because Stone is a point guard with size and he is ranked #200 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP. 

Bill Hensley, who was the driving force behind the Spiece Run-N-Slam and all of the other Spiece related basketball events, died on Monday, March 19th, at the age of 57 while jogging near his home in Wabash, IN.  So it is only fitting that the Spiece Run-N-Slam, which will tip-off tomorrow night at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Ft. Wayne, IN, has been renamed the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-N Slam.  Not only was Hensley, who was co-founder and former CEO of Next Marketing Inc, an icon in the local business community, but he also was one of the great people associated with game.  And, thanks to the grass roots AAU program that Hensley helped build over the years, he deserves a lot of the credit for high school basketball in the state being where it is today.  As for this year's tournament, it will give us a chance to see many of the top players from places like Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Iowa that we have yet to see this spring.  It also promises to have more than it's share of the top players from around the nation, as the list of players who we expect to be in attendance includes 6'7 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'4 Jr Willie Warren from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH, 6'4 Jr Malcolm Lee from Riverside (J.W. North) CA, 6'7 Jr Darius Miller from Maysville (Mason County) KY, 6'1 Jr Anthony Crator from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 5'11 Jr Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Pius X) WI, 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN, 6'6 Jr Matt Humphrey from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 7'0 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) TN, 6'2 Jr Jeremiah Kelly from Chicago (Boys toMen) IL, 6'2 Jr Paul Williams from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'1 Jr Roteni Clarke from Claremore (Verdigris) OK, 6'5 Jr Matt Gatens from Iowa City (H.S.) IA, 6'9 Jr Stanley Simpson from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'0 Jr Kevin Dillard from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'9 Jr Angel Garcia from East Chicago (Central) IN, 6'7 Jr Draymond Green from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'11 Jr Phillip Jurrick from Chattanooga (East Ridge) TN, 6'10 Jr Michael Dunigan from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'8 Jr Josh Crittle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'4 Iman Shumpert from Oak Park (River Forest) IL, 6'10 Jr Jason Washburn from Battle Creek (Central) MI, 6'4 Jr Steve Coleman from Eau Galle (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Jr Chris Stephenson from Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL, 6'6 Jr Mark St. Fort from Wauchula (Hardee County) FL, 5'9 Jr Stefan Carson from Decatur (McArthur) IL, 6'10 Jr Josh Benson from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'7 Jr Jeremy Robinson from Decatur (Eisenhower) IL, 6'0 Jr Brad Redford from Frankenmuth (H.S.) MI, 5'9 Jr Eric Evans from Detroit (Northwestern) MI, 6'3 Jr Faisal Aden from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'3 Jr Jeremy Montgomery from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, 6'5 Jr Chris Johnson from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'6 Jr Tyler Storm from Geneso (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Jr Taylor Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'7 Jr L.A. Pomlee from Davenport (Central) IL, 6'7 Jr Julian Mavunga from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN, 6'9 Jr Robert Goff from Indianapolis (Broad Ripple) IN, 6'6 Soph Daniel McElroy from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH, 6'11 Soph Deshonte Riley from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'9 Soph James Still from Detroit (Community) MI, 6'7 Soph Donovan Kirk from Pontiac (Notre Dame) MI, 6'1 Soph Kimani Boynton from Detroit (University Prep) MI, 6'7 Soph Jamil Wilson from Racine (Horlick) WI, 5'10 Soph Johnnie Lacy from Milwaukee (Bay View) WI, 6'5 Soph Bill Edwards from Middletown (H.S.) OH, 5'9 Soph Carl Jones from Garfield Heights (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Soph Doug Anderson from Kalamazoo (Central) MI, 6'7 Soph Mario Hines from Garfield Heights (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Soph Edward Hazlett from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, 6'8 Frosh DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, 6'3 Frosh Nick Kellogg from Columbus (DeSales) OH, 6'0 Frosh K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'1 Frosh Noah Cottrill from Poca (H.S.) WV, 6'8 Frosh Dakota Euton from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6'3 Frosh Chad Jackson from Ashland (Rose Hill) KY, 6'3 Frosh Shaquille Wilson from Hopkinsvile (Christian County) KY, 6'9 Frosh Jordan Dykstra from Rock Valley (H.S.) IA, and 6'8 8th Grader Matt Shaw from Chicago, IL.  There will be two games in the Juniors-To-Be  Division at 5:45 PM, but things will really get going at 7:30 PM tomorrow night with games on 30 different courts and at 11 different sites.  Games in pool play will run into Saturday afternoon and then things should really get interesting, as the playoffs in the Seniors-To-Be Division will begin at 3:30 PM and will run into Sunday afternoon with the championship game in the Gold Division scheduled to tip-off at 3:30 PM.  The breakdown of teams in pool play is as follows:  Pool #1 has the L.A. Rockfish, Ohio Gators, Team Reebok Select, and Mean Street; Pool #2 has NW Ohio Basketball, West Michigan Lakers, Martin Brothers Select, and Illinois Warriors; Pool #3 has Tiffany's, The Family, Mac Irvin Fire, and Florida Elite; Pool #4 has Randolph Boys Club Blue, Grand Rapids Storm, Iowa Barnstormers, and Kentucky Hoop Stars; Pool #5 has Cincinnati AAU Royals-Red, Spiece Select 2008, Salt Lake Metro, and Dayton Metro; Pool #6 has Spiece Northeast, Cincinnati Royals Crawford, D. Harris Superstars-DTA, and Houston Elite; Pool #7 has Ferrari, Cincinnati AAU Royals, Spiece Indy Heat-MG, and Wisconsin Force; Pool #8 has the Illinois Wolves, Blessed IJN Elite, Team Texas Elite, and Team Dickerson; Pool #9 has the Michigan Mustangs, Team CBIZ, Illinois Bobcats, and Friends of Hoop; Pool #10 has Evansville Basketball Club, NW Ohio Basketball Navy, Shining Stars Sports - Carey, and Nashville Celtics; Pool #11 has North Stars, Cincinnati Tigers, Milwaukee Association, and Waterloo Wildhawks; Pool #12 has Cincinnati AAU Royals Back, All Iowa Attack, Full Package Athletics Select, and Indiana Sharks; Pool #13 has the Spiece Indy Trojans, Cincinnati Saints, Camp Darryl 2008, and Team NLP; Pool #14 has Indiana Select 2008, Michigan Hurricanes, All Ohio Red, and Running Rebels; Pool #15 has Shining Star Sports - Ponzar, Roadrunners, SYF Players, and Chicago Canes; and Pool #16 has Randolph Boys Club White, Illinois Team Elite, Central Ohio AAU, and CAPS All Stars. 

The most interesting recruiting item that we've run across during the last several days involves a story by Brett Dawson that ran in the Louisville Courier-Journal this morning about 6'11 Jr Beas Hamga from Decatur (Christian) IL, who is ranked #26 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  "The University of Kentucky's hunt for the best high school basketball players might be expanding into the junior class," writes Dawson.  "Beas Hamga, a 7-foot center at Decatur (Ill.) Christian School, hopes to reclassify from the Class of 2008 to the Class of 2007, and he has the Wildcats on a short list of suitors."  And the reason this is possible is the fact that Hamga recently got a qualifying score on the ACT and, as a result, is now waiting to see if the NCAA Clearinghouse will clear him to move into the Class of 2007.   Hamga originally verbally committed to the University of Iowa, but re-opened his recruitment when Steve Alford left Iowa to take the New Mexico job early this spring.  Currently Hamga's list includes schools like Kentucky, Indiana, UNLV, New Mexico, and Tennessee and, if by some chance he does pick the Wildcats this spring and is able to enroll in school this fall, then this would be huge for several reasons.  First, Hamga is good enough to step in next year and provide the new regime with the inside presence that they need to complement the plethora of good guards, like 6'5 Jr Joe Crawford, 6'2 Jr Ramel Bradley, 6'6 Frosh Derrick Jasper, 6'5 Frosh Jodie Meeks, and 6'4 Jr Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, who will be in the program.  Second, the addition of Hamga would move Kentucky's recruiting class into a tie at #32, along with Georgetown and Utah, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  If you will recall, Kentucky also landed Legion last week and last fall they signed 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL and 7'0 Mike Williams from Alexandria (Bishop Ireton) VA and, as a result, their recruiting class is now tied at #92, along with UNLV, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also think Kentucky is the favorite to get 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV and 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX.  And, if they pull this off and Hamga indeed does become apart of the Class of 2007, then new Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie and his staff will have landed the four highest ranked seniors who were still available at any time this spring.  They also will have the #2-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007, if 6'6 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA re-opens his recruitment and goes to Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  At least that's the word on the street on the West Coast.  However, we suspect all this is premature due to the fact that Washington opening things back up would be contingent upon whether he makes it academically and, even if he isn't qualified right now, there is still plenty of time for him to do so.  Utter also tells us that 6'3 Stephen Sauls from Colorado Springs (Air Force Prep) TX has signed with Washington State, 6'10 Brian Freeman from Clackamas (JC) OR has signed with Long Beach State, 5'11 Ja'Shon Hampton from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA has signed with Cal State-Dominguez Hills, and 6'0 Mickey McConnell from Mesa (Dobson) AZ has signed with St. Mary's.  And to do so, McConnell got out of the National Letter-of-Intent that he signed last fall with New Mexico.  We also are impressed with the fact that Central Michigan has added 6'7 Marcus Van from Wabash Valley (JC) IL to a recruiting class that already includes 6'3 Nate Minnoy from Schoolcraft (JC) MI, 6'5 Chase Simon from Detroit (Community) MI, 6'2 Jeremy Allen from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI, 6'2 Jon Yaezel from Schoolcraft (JC) MI, and 5'11 William Eddie from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI and is now tied at #47, along with New Orleans, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  In other words, it looks like Central Michigan head coach Ernie Zeigler is cleaning up with players junior college players and player in his backyard.  Did you also know that Minnoy, who was ranked #60 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 and originally signed with Purdue when he was a high school senior at Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, and Van, who was an undersized power forward with the ability to dominate around the basket when was a high school senior at Chicago (Curie) IL, both played together on the Illinois Fire club team two years ago?  We also have been told by our Our Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa Editor Antonio Curro, who is the editor & publisher of the NY2LASports.com web site, that 6'10 Montell Clarke from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI has decided to go the junior college route.  And, we think this is a great move, because Clark has the size and potential necessary to develop into a big time player.  It also looks like the University of Idaho has cleaned up, despite the fact that 6'5 Andre McFarland from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH was released from the National Letter-of-Intent that he signed with the Vandals last fall.  Idaho also signed 6'6 Demetrius Crowell from Mesa (JC) AZ and 6'8 Luis Augusto from Western Oklahoma (JC) OK during the Fall Signing Period and this spring they have added four excellent junior college players - 6'2 Brandon Brown from West Hills (JC) CA, 6'0 Mike Hall from Cincinnati State (JC) OH, 6'3 Jordan Brooks from Midland (JC) TX, and 6'3 Terrence Simmons from Connors State (JC) OK - and a good high school player - 6'8 Phillip Thomas from San Leandro (H.S.) CA - to a recruiting class that is now ranked #37 our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And, if we included transfers when ranking recruiting classes, the Vandals' recruiting class would be ranked even higher due to the fact that 6'4 Frosh Harvey Perry and 6'2 Soph Mac Hopson have transferred from Washington and Washington State respectively to Idaho this spring.   In other words, it looks like Idaho assistant coach Leroy Washington, who has more than his share of junior college contacts and is second to none when it comes to recruiting on the West Coast, deserves a big fat raise, as the Vandals, which had a 4-27 record this past season, should be one of the most improved teams in college basketball next year.  Our Washington, DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall tells us that Georgetown has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'9 Jr Henry Sims from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD, who is ranked #126 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And this is important, because it is the continuation of a trend, whereby, the Hoyas get more than their share of the top players in their backyard.  If you will recall, the two stars - 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC - in this year's recruiting class are both local kids and next year's recruiting class, which is ranked #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008, also already includes 6'9 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and 6'2 Jason Clark from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA. 

Our West Coast Editor Alan Utter was at Las Vegas Spring Showcase in Las Vegas, NV over the weekend and he was really impressed with the California Hoops team, which beat Utah Pump-N-Run, 59-52, in the championship game of the Platinum Division.  However, the big story of the tournament was that 6'4 Soph Roberto Nelson from Santa Barbara (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, firmly established himself as the second best player in the sophomore class on the West Coast.  Nelson had 24 points in the championship game, but what makes him so good is his ability to run the show at 6'4, play stellar defense, and use his outstanding athletic ability to both get to the basket and knock down the open jumper.  "Nelson makes good decisions, plays under control, makes those around him better, and can score in a variety of ways," says Utter.  "And he firmly established himself as one of the very elite players in the sophomore class nationally.  As a matter of fact, Nelson is as good right now as James Harden was when Artesia knocked off Mater Dei twice during the regular season and went on to win the state championship.  Yes, Nelson is that good."  California Hoops also featured 6'10 Tom Granado from Whittier (Christian) CA, 6'3 Jr Chris Jones from Newark (Memorial) CA, 6'7 Soph Aaron Moore from Riverside (Poly) CA, 5'10 Jr Casper Ware from Cerritos (Gahr) CA, and 6'7 Jr Dominick Brumfield from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, but without Nelson this would have been just an ordinary team.  Utter also really liked two other players - 6'9 Jr Ed Davis from Richmond (Benedictine) VA, who was a dominant force for the Boo Williams Summer League Team, and 6'9 Jr Keith Gallon from Houston (Timberwood) TX, who was the best player on the Houston Hoops.  Ironically, Davis is a skinny shot blocking athlete with long arms, incredible hops, and a great understanding of the game, while Gallon is a physical specimen inside with great pair hands and deceptive mobility and quick moves.  "Gallon is like a 6'9 Charles Barkley, who get up and down the court and jump over people," says Utter.  Gallon is already mentioning schools like LSU, Kansas, and Georgetown, but this list surely will get longer before it gets shorter.  Also playing well for the Houston Hoops were 6'2 Soph Elijah Johnson from Las Vegas (Chaparral) NV and 5'9 Jr Chris Iles from Alief (Hastings) TX.  Johnson is a super athlete and he got more under control as the tournament wore on.  Iles ran the show, showed an excellent 3-point shot, and beat everybody off the dribble with his speed and quickness.  Other players in the Las Vegas Spring Showcase that Utter liked were 6'5 Jr Corey Law from Chesapeake (Deep Creek) VA, 6'9 Jr Edgar Garibay from Compton (H.S) CA, 6'5 Julyan Stone from Goleta (Pos Pueblos) CA, 6'8 Soph Andy Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'6 Jr Justin Haynes from Palmdale (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Larry Anderson from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'4 Jr Blake Harrison from Eugene (Churchill) OR, 6'0 Jr Holton Hansaker from Woods Cross (H.S.) UT, 6'8 Jr Nick Thompson from Clearfield (H.S.) UT, 6'4 Charles Abouo from Logan (H.S.) UT, 6'3 Jr Michael Harthun from Medford (South Medford) OR, 5'9 Jr Antonio Biglow from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 6'6 Soph Tony Freeland from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, and 6'2 Soph Ryan Sypkens from El Grove (Franklin) CA.

Our Texas Editor Tim Miller was at the 2007 Nevel Level Ballers National Tournament in Dallas, TX over the weekend and he tells us that the three big stories of the tournament were how well the players heading to prep school did, the overwhelming number of great sophomores, and the strong number of Texas Teams that advanced deep into the tournament (10 of the final 16 teams in the 17-Under Division were from the Lone Star State).  And that last point is important, because it really illustrates just how far high school basketball has come in recent years in the state, thanks, at least in part, to the strong club team and AAU programs, like Team Texas, Texas Blue Chips Elite, Dallas Mustangs, Houston Hoops, Houston Elite, Houston Select, Houston Superstars, T-Mac, and TG Express.  And reinforcing this fact even further is the fact that five of the final eight teams (Texas Blue Chips Elite, Urban DFW Elite, Houston Swoosh, Texas Texas, and Dallas Showtime Elite) are from Texas and four of those teams are from the Dallas area.  The fact that Texas Blue Chips Elite won the championship and the excellent play of the graduating seniors was one of the major stories of the tournament are intertwined, as the tournament champions were led by Mitch Malone's usual collection of reclassified players from a wide area that includes Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and wide variety of prep schools.  And making this story even more interesting is the fact that Miller thinks the best player in the entire tournament was 6'1 Jeremy Johnson from Metairie (East Jefferson) LA.  We're talking about somebody who is totally under the radar in the senior class nationally, but promises to be one of the best 5th Year Players in the nation next year due to the fact Johnson is an all around complete combo guard with excellent speed and quickness, the ability to either penetrate or beat you with his jump shot, and he has that toughness that comes from having survived the circumstances associated with being from New Orleans, LA.  This team also featured 6'7 Jr Eric Frederick from San Antonio (Cornerstone Christian) TX, who is really a reclassified junior from Oklahoma City (John Marshall) OK; 6'1 Jr Ronnie Moss from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, who is being listed as a junior, but already is in his 5th Year of high school; 6'9 Jr Brandon Moore from New Orleans (Holy Cross) LA, who is ranked #110 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and an excellent collection of role players.  However, even more important, Malone did a great job of getting everybody to accept their roles and putting together the right chemistry.  Urban DFW, which also advanced to the final four in the Gold Division, was led by a reclassified junior in 6'5 Jr Rodney McCauley from Irving (God's Academy) TX and 6'4 Jr Bryon Brown from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, who will have to go to prep school this fall, because he'll too old to play high school basketball in the state next year.  6'9 Jr Kevin Anderson from Irving (God's Academy) TX, who is another reclassified junior, played on the loaded Texas Select team that also featured 6'6 Soph Shawn Williams from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Soph Roger Franklin from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'1 Soph G.J. Vilarino from McKinney (H.S.) TX.  Williams also was one of the great sophomores in the tournament that Miller keeps raving the about.  Also on this list are 6'9 Soph Renaldo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'6 Jr Xavier Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'5 Soph Leslie McDonald from Memphis (Briarcrest) TN, 6'6 Soph Nolan Dennis from North Richland Hills (Richland) TX, 6'9 Soph Daniel Orton from Oklahoma City (McGuiness) OK, 6'0 Soph Reger Dowell from Dallas (North Dallas) TX, and 6'8 Soph John Henson from Round Rock (H.S.) TX.  "Sidney is in great shape and he played the best I've ever seen play," says Miller, who echoes what everybody else says about Sidney being the best sophomore in the land.  Henry was the catalyst and Orton was the inside presence for the Athletes First Team.  McDonald, who had 20 points in YOMCA's final four loss to the Texas Blue Chips, has excellent skills, as he attacks the basket extremely well, can shoot the three, and plays like he still has something to prove.  Dennis, who is now Miller's #1-ranked sophomore in the state, also plays hard and is excellent when it comes to handling, shooting, and defending.  Dowell is the sleeper of the bunch, but he impressed Miller with his handling skills, ability to get to the basket, and excellent mid-range game.  Henson is another sleeper who is similar to 6'10 Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX in that the two things he does best are block shots and play out on the perimeter.  Miller also was impressed with a number of juniors, including 6'3 Jr Willie Warren from Ft. Worth (North Crowley) TX, 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 6'8 Jr JaMychal Green from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 6'3 Jr Travis Releford from Shawnee (Bishop Miege) KS, 6'1 Jr Roteni Clarke from Claremore (Verdigris) OK, 6'5 Jr Nick Williams from Mobile (LeFlore) AL, 6'6 Jr Phillip McDonald from Cypress Springs (H.S.) TX, 6'11 Jr Anthony Jones from Houston (Yates) TX, 6'2 Jr Marcus Denmon from Kansas City (Hogan) MO, and 6'11 Jr Jamisen Morgan from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX.  Speaking of Morgan who is ranked #79 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, Miller tells us that he outplayed 6'0 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA in their head-to-head match-up, which simply reinforces even further our belief that Monroe should not be the #1-ranked player in the junior class nationally.  Some freshmen who deserve to be mentioned include 6'0 Frosh K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'5 Frosh Jackson Jeffcoat from Plano (West) TX, 6'5 Frosh Randy Collins from LaPorte (H.S.) TX, 6'4 Frosh Ralston Turner from Florence (Shoals) AL, and 5'11 Frosh Darius Hollis from Ft. Worth (Eastern Hills) TX and one to remember for the future is 6'6 8th Grader Aaron Ross from Little Rock, AR, who played for the Arkansas Wings and more than held his own when matched up against 6'9 Soph Renaldo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA.  Among the top players that Miller saw in the 14-Under Division of the 2007 Nevel Level Ballers National Tournament were 6'7 8th Grader LaBryan Nash from Dallas, TX, 6'5 8th Grader Chandler Thomas from Indianapolis, IN, 5'5 8th Grader Alvin "P.J." Bloutt from Indianapolis, IN, 6'0 8th Grader Marquis Teague from Indianapolis, IN, 6'0 8th Grader Ben Dillard from Frisco, TX, 5'6 8th Grader Dion Houston from Grand Prairie, TX, 5'5 8th Grader Keyan Anderson from Ft. Worth, TX, 6'2 8th Grader Marc Brown from Mansfield, TX, 6'3 8th Grader Jamar Goodwin from Dallas, TX, 6'10 8th Grader Isaiah Hill from Indianapolis, IN, 6'3 8th Grader Devonte Thompson from Dallas, TX, 5'9 8th Grader Thomas Gibson from Dallas, TX, 6'2 8th Grader Sammy Flowers from Austin TX, 5'8 8th Grader Jordan Williams from Dallas, TX, 5'9 8th Grader LaDarion Williams from Austin, TX, 6'5 8th Grader Keyou Bolton from Houston, TX, and 5'8 8th Grader Carlton Mills from Houston, TX and in 13-Under Division of the 2007 Nevel Level Ballers National Tournament were 6'2 7th Grader Dontay Payne from Queens, NY, 5'10 7th Grader LaBrent Walker from Queens, NY, 5'8 7th Grader DeShawn Suber from Spring Valley, NY, 5'6 7th Grader Ricky Roberts from Arlington, TX, 5'11 7th Grader B.J. Jenkins from Grand Prairie, TX, 6'1 7th Grader from Clint McCullough from Stilwell, KS, 5'5 7th Grader Phil Forte from Flower Mound, TX, 5'9 7th Grader Marcus Smart from Lancaster, TX, 6'7 7th Grader Ryan Bowie from Southlake, TX, 6'0 7th Grader Raymond Dorsey from Lewisville, TX, 5'11 7th Grader Xavier Harbert from Plano, TX, 5'6 7th Grader Julian Parker from Ft. Worth, TX, 5'7 7th Grader Buddy Parker from Kansas City, KS.