TODAY'S HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION

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Saturday, May 29, 2004, Sunday, May 30, 2004, and Monday, May 31, 2004

The Spiece Indy Heat beat the New Orleans Jazz, 67-63, in the championship game in the National (the playoffs for teams that won their pool) and the DI-Greyhounds lost to Meanstreets, 69-46, in the Select Division (the playoffs for second place teams in their pool), but the 2004 Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions was really a prelude to the future, as the Indy Spiece Indy Heat with 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'10 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'1 Soph Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'6 Soph Daequan Cook from  Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'8 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'3 Frosh Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, and 6'2 Soph Devin Williams from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and the DI-Greyhounds with 6'4 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'6 Frosh Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'10 Frosh Keenan Ellis from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN, 6'2 Soph Heath White from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, 5'11 Soph Darryl Roberts from Toledo (St. Francis) OH, 5'9 Soph Ben Haarman from Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) OH, 6'9 Soph Kurtis Huelsman from  St. Henry (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Soph Brant Leitnaker from Lancaster (H.S.) OH are two of the best young teams on the 17-Under club team circuit that we've ever seen.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that both of these teams are made up primarily of players from Ohio and Indiana, which makes this potentially a big rivalry both on the court and in terms of recruiting the top players from both states.  There also is the fact that Oden is the #1-ranked sophomore and Mayo is the #1-ranked freshman in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP and down the road players like Cook, Pogue, Gordon, Walker, and Ellis also will be potential McDonald's All-American's.  However, we'll have to wait until sometime in the future for this potentially huge match-up, because these two teams never met one another in this tournament.  But we did get  to see Conley go head-to-head against one of the top five-ranked sophomores in the nation in the sophomore in 6'1 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Rice) LA, who scored 17 points in the championship game and was one of the big reasons why the New Orleans Jazz did so well in the tournament.  And we also got to see some excellent individual match-ups when Spiece Indy Heat beat Syracuse/Rochester RAP in the semi-finals.  We're talking about Oden versus 6'11 Andre Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, Conley versus 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, and Pogue versus 6'6 Jr James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  Unfortunately Syracuse/Rochester RAP didn't have the depth to keep it close against the Spiece Indy Heat nor did they have an answer for McRoberts, who was really the unsung hero for this team.  The New Orleans Jazz beat the New York Panthers in the other semi-finals game, some players we hadn't seen before, like 6'3 Jr Lewis Clinch from Cordale (Crisp County) GA, 6'1 Jr Tyrese Rice from Richmond (L.C. Byrd) VA, 6'1 Jr Daryl Merthie from Lake Mary (H.S.) FL, 6'5 Jr Alonzo Gee from Palm Beach Gardens (Dwyer) FL, and 6'7 Jr Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA, came out of the woodwork, and some other players, like 6'7 Jr Jerry-Devon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Jr Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'5 Jr Reginald Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'5 Jr Richard Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'0 Jr Booker Woodfox from Lewisville (H.S.) TX, really enhanced national their reputations.  However, for the most part the 17-Under Division of the 2004 Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions was status quo.  As a matter of fact, our ranking of the top 40 players in the tournament based on performance by HOOP SCOOP Editor & Publisher Clark Francis, HOOP SCOOP Ohio Editor Chris Johnson,and HOOP SCOOP Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was not an easy task after we got past the first dozen players, which included 1) 6'4 Jr Monte Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 2) 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 3) 6'10 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 4) 6'11 Andre Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 5) 6'4 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6) 6'3 Jr Bobby Fraser from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 7) 6'1 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, (8) 6'8 Soph Lance Thomas from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, 9) 6'7 Jr Jerry-Devon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 10) 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 11) 6'4 Jr Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, and 12) 6'6 Jr Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA.  The rest of our list of the top 40 players in the tournament includes 13) 6'10 Jr Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, 14) 6'7 Jr Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 15) 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 16) 6'6 Soph Rob Thomas from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 17) 6'4 Jr Ricky Torres from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 18) 6'3 Jr Lewis Clinch from Cordale (Crisp County) GA, 19) 6'7 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 20) 6'3 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (Central) MI, 21) 6'3 Jr Derwin Kitchen from Jacksonville (Raines) FL, 22) 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, 23) 6'5 Jr Reginald Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 24) 5'11 Jr Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 25) 6'8 Jr Lawrence Kinard from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, 26) 6'1 Jr Tyrese Rice from Richmond (L.C. Byrd) VA, 27) 6'1 Jr Daryl Merthie from Lake Mary (H.S.) FL, 28) 6'4 Jr Jerel McNeal from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL, 29) 6'6 Frosh Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 30) 6'8 Jr Gerald Green from Houston (Gulfshore) TX, 31) 6'9 Jr Leo Criswell from Kansas City (Piper) KS, 32) 6'8 Jr Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, 33) 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 34) 6'7 Jr Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA, 35) 6'5 Jr Wesley Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI, 36) 6'5 Jr Richard Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 37) 6'5 Soph Jarvaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 38) 6'0 Jr Korey Spates from Warrensville Heights (H.S.) OH, 39) 6'3 Jr Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, and 40) 6'3 Frosh Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, but really can shake it up any way you want and not be wrong.  Instead, the thing that got us the most excited while covering the 2004 Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions was watching teams like the Illinois Wolves, Michigan Hurricanes, The Playaz, and Arizona Magic in the 16-Under Division.  The Arizona Magic had the most dynamic backcourt that we saw all weekend with 6'3 Soph Christian Polk from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ and 6'2 Frosh Jerrod Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, both of whom are ranked among the top 25 nationally, respectively, in their class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The Michigan Hurricanes featured 5'11 Soph Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI, who is a prolific scoring combo guard who scores just about every way imaginable, and 6'11 Soph Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, who is one of  the best shot blockers and fastest rising players in the sophomore class nationally, as is evident by the fact that he gets better every time we see him.  In other words, we're talking about somebody who is very competitive and, as a result, probably is about 40 pounds away from being a future McDonald's All-American.  The Illinois Wolves 16's, which finished second in the tournament this year, almost followed in the footsteps of their older team.   If you will recall, the Illinois Wolves 16-Under Team, which featured 6'3 Jr Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 6'1 Jr Bryan Mullins from Downers Grove (South) IL, 6'3 Jr Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL, and 6'8 Jr Mike Davis from Chicago (Gordon Tech) IL, won the 16-Under Division at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions a year ago. We were so impressed with 6'6 Soph Devan Bawinkel from Winnebago (H.S.) IL, who, just like Frasor and Mullins, has a 4.0 gpa, and 6'0 Soph Willie Walker from New Lenox (Providence) IL, who is a big time athlete with excellent ball handling and passing skills, good 3-point shooting range, and explosiveness to the basket.  We also think that 6'0 Soph Carliss Henderson from Elgin (H.S.) IL, 6'3 Soph Willie Veasley from Freeport (H.S.) IL, and 6'8 Soph Dan Lawson from Chicago (Leo) IL have the talent and potential to develop into big time players.  The Playaz didn't have their best player 6'4 Soph Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, but that didn't stop them from beating the Illinois Wolves, 64-43, in the championship game of the 16-Under Division.  Instead, it was 6'1 Soph Nick Vier from Bergen (Catholic) NJ and 6'4 Soph Kimanni Barrett from Patesron (Catholic) NJ, who combined for 28 points and took home co-MVP honors in this Division.  We also impressed with 6'9 Soph Kraidon Woods from Mt. Pocono (West) PA, who is a long lean athlete with good hands, excellent shot blocking ability, and a big upside; 6'0 Soph Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, who is a good ball handler, penetrator, shooter, and tough hardnosed competitor; and 6'7 Soph Terrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ and 6'7 Soph Jerrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, both of whom are versatile enough to play inside and outside, due their long lanky frames, excellent outside shooting, and explosive quickness.  As a matter of fact, Tayshaun Prince comparisons may be in order.  In addition to Vier, Walker, Bawinkle, Barrett, Bayless, and Jackson, the 16-Under Division All-Tournament Team also included 6'8 Soph Jamie Skeen from Hunterville (North Mecklenburg) NC, 6'4 Soph Solomon Tat from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, 6'6 Soph Kenneth Belton from Salem (H.S.) VA, 6'7 Soph Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'0 Soph Solomon Bozeman from South Oak (Oxford) MS, 6'4 Soph Reggie Bedding from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA, 6'6 Soph Anjuan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, 6'5 Soph J.D. Christie from Shawnee (Mission East) KS, 6'1 Soph Ricardo Lewis from Bellview (Lake Weir) FL, 6'2 Soph Jordan Root from Bloomington (South) IN, 6'1 Soph London Warren from Jacksonville (Raines) FL, 6'1 Soph Steven Birch from Fayetteville (E.E. Smith) NC, and 6'10 Soph J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI.  The leading scorers in the 16-Under Division were 6'2 Frosh Jerrod Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ with 25.3 ppg, 5'11 Soph Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI with 22.6 ppg, 6'1 Soph Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Newman) PA with 22.5 ppg, 6'2 Soph Jordan Root from Bloomington (South) IN with 21.5 ppg, 6'1 Soph Trevon Hughes from Delafield (St. John's Academy) WI with 20.3 ppg, 6'6 Soph Anjuan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA with 20.0 ppg, 6'1 Soph L.A. Sartor from Spartanburg (Bay) SC with 20.0 ppg, 6'7 Soph Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL with 19.3 ppg, 6'4 Soph Reggie Bedding from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA with 19.3 ppg, 6'2 Frosh Antonio Jardiner from Philadelphia (St. John Newman) PA with 18.7 ppg, 6'10 Soph J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI with 18.0 ppg, 6'1 Soph Ricardo Lewis from Bellview (Lake Weir) FL with 17.3 ppg, 6'8 Soph Jamie Skeen from Hunterville (North Mecklenburg) NC with 17.3 ppg, 6'2 Soph David Kool from Grand Rapids (South Christian) MI with 17.3 ppg, 6'5 Soph J.D. Christie from Shawnee (Mission East) KS with 17.0 ppg, and 6'6 Soph Norristors Gurley from Rock Hill (H.S.) SC with 17.0 ppg.  The MVP in 15-Under Division was 6'4 Frosh Nick Sidorakis from Tulsa (Jenks) OK and the All-Tournament Team included 5'11 Frosh Corey Fisher from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'5 Frosh Darquovis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'5 Frosh Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'3 Frosh Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL, 6'3 Frosh E'twaun Moore from East Chicago (Central) IN, 5'11 Frosh Kelvin Grady from East Grand Rapids (H.S.) MI, 6'8 Frosh Brian Miles from Salisbury (Wicomico) MD, 6'8 Frosh Keaton Nankivil from Madison (James Madison Memorial) WI, 6'7 Frosh Michael Sanchez from Springdale (H.S.) AR, 6'3 Frosh Latrell Smith from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'2 Frosh Chase Elliott from Bristow (H.S.) OK, 6'3 Frosh Chris Turner from Fayetteville (Northern Durham) NC, 6'0 Frosh Ronald Shaw from Tulsa (TSST) OK, 6'7 Frosh Gani Lanal from Riverdale (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Frosh Devin Brennan-McBride from London (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON, 6'2 Frosh Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 5'11 Frosh Jamarco Warren from Gainesville (H.S.) GA, 6'1 Frosh Brandon Davis from Greensboro (Page) NC, 5'9 Frosh Rahman Fletcher from Kansas City (Paseo) MO, and 6'5 Frosh Hugh Martin from Anderson (Hannah) SC.  The leading scorers in the 15-Under Division were 6'3 Frosh Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL with 24.0 ppg, 6'5 Frosh Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI with 22.4 ppg, 6'9 Frosh Devin Brennan-McBride from London (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON with 21.3 ppg, 5'11 Frosh Corey Fisher from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ with 21.0 ppg, 6'4 Frosh Melquan Bolding from Beacon (H.S.) NY with 20.7 ppg, 5'9 Frosh Rahman Fletcher from Kansas City (Paseo) MO with 19.7 ppg, 6'5 Frosh Hugh Martin from Anderson (Hannah) SC with 18.5 ppg, 6'8 Frosh Brian Miles from Salisbury (Wicomico) MD with 185 ppg, 6'5 Frosh Darquovis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI with 17.8 ppg, 6'2 Frosh Terrance Hill from Kansas City (Hogan Prep) MO with 17.3 ppg, 6'7 Frosh Gani Lanal from Riverdale (H.S.) GA with 17.3 ppg, 6'5 Frosh Cory Raji from Westwood (H.S.) NJ with 16.7 ppg, 6'5 Frosh Jamar Abrams from Highland Springs (H.S.) VA with 16.3 ppg, 5'11 Frosh Zamarco Warren from Gainesville (H.S.) GA with 16.3 ppg, 5'11 Frosh Kelvin Grady from East Grand Rapids (H.S.) MI with 16.3 ppg, 6'2 Frosh Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ with 16.3 ppg, and 6'3 Frosh Dominique Nixon from Marietta (Wheeler) GA with 16.3 ppg.  The leading scorers in the 17-Under Division were 6'4 Jr Monte Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS with 34.3 ppg, 6'3 Jr Bobby Fraser from Chicago (Brother Rice) ILwith 30.4 ppg, 6'4 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH with 27.3 ppg, 6'11 Andre Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT with 26.8 ppg, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY with 26.8 ppg, 6'6 Soph Rob Thomas from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT with 26.3 ppg, 6'8 Soph Lance Thomas from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ with 25.3 ppg, 6'7 Jr Jerry-Devon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA with 24.3 ppg, 6'3 Jr Lewis Clinch from Cordale (Crisp County) GA with 24.0 ppg, 6'5 Draelon Burns from Laurinburg (Institute) NC with 23.5 ppg, 6'5 Jr Alonzo Gee from Palm Beach Gardens (Dwyer) FL with 23.5 ppg, 6'5 Jr Donnell Lyons from Harvey (Thornton) IL with 23.0 ppg, 6'4 Jr Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL with 22.6 ppg, 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN with 22.0 ppg, 6'5 Jr Jamal Durham from Winston-Salem (North Davidson) NC with 22.0 ppg, 6'1 Jr Daryl Merthie from Lake Mary (H.S.) FL with 21.7 ppg, 6'8 Jr Mike Schachtner from Somerset (H.S.) WI with 21.7 ppg, 6'7 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA with 21.0 ppg, 6'4 Jr Jarvis Hill from Starkville (H.S.) MS with 21.0 ppg, and 6'1 Jr Jovan Adams from Houston (Gulfshore) TX with 20.8 ppg.  The Most Outstanding Player in the tournament was 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  The Most Outstanding Player in the Select Division, which was the tournament for second place teams in their pool, was 6'5 Jr Donnell Lyons from Harvey (Thornton) IL.  However, he won this by default, because the best player - 6'4 Jr Jerel McNeal from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL - on the team that won the tournament was sidelined with an injury early in the championship game.  Also named to the 43-man 17-Under All-Tournament Team were McNeal, 6'4 Jr Monte Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'10 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN,  6'1 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'4 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'11 Andre Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'3 Jr Bobby Fraser from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 6'8 Soph Lance Thomas from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Jr Jerry-Devon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Jr Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'6 Jr Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Soph Rob Thomas from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'10 Jr Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, 5'11 Jr Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'7 Jr Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'7 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'3 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (Central) MI, 6'3 Jr Derwin Kitchen from Jacksonville (Raines) FL, 6'6 Jr Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, 6'5 Jr Reginald Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'5 Jr Richard Delk from Jackson (Northside) TN, 6'8 Jr Lawrence Kinard from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, 6'1 Jr Tyrese Rice from Richmond (L.C. Byrd) VA, 6'8 Jr Gerald Green from Houston (Gulfshore) TX, 6'9 Jr Leo Criswell from Kansas City (Piper) KS, 6'8 Jr Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'7 Jr Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA, 6'5 Jr Wes Matthews from Madison (Memorial) WI, 6'3 Jr Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'1 Soph Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Jr Bryan Mullins from Downers Grove (South) IL, 6'9 Jeff Green from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'5 Jr Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'8 Jr Brandon Costner from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'4 Jr Jarvis Hill from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 5'11 Jr Sharad Curry from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'8 Jr Evan Neisler from Raleigh (Word of God) NC, 6'8 Jr Mike Schachtner from Somerset (H.S.) TX, and 6'1 Jr Jovan Adams from Houston (Gulfshore) TX.  Also noteworthy is the fact that Conley, Mullins, Jeff Green, Danny Green, Costner, Hill, Curry, Neilser, Schachtner, and Adams were named to the all-tournament team, but didn't make our list of the top 40 players in the tournament.  Instead, it appears that we liked 17) 6'4 Jr Ricky Torres from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 18) 6'3 Jr Lewis Clinch from Cordale (Crisp County) GA, 6'1 Jr Daryl Merthie from Lake Mary (H.S.) FL, 6'6 Frosh Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'5 Soph Jarvaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'0 Jr Korey Spates from Warrensville Heights (H.S.) OH, and 6'3 Frosh Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN better than Bob Gibbons and his staff, who were the ones that picked the all-tournament team.  As a matter of fact, Torres, who we ranked #17 in the tournament, and Clinch, who we ranked #18 in the tournament, appear to be the only two important misses on the 17-Under All-Tournament Team.  In other words, except for some of the young players, this year's Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions really was status quo.

Friday, May 28, 2004

HOOP SCOOP Editor & Publisher Clark Francis, HOOP SCOOP Ohio Editor Chris Johnson,and HOOP SCOOP Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin were all in attendance tonight at the Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill/Durham/Raleigh, NC and we have some very interesting recruiting items to pace along.  Syracuse and/or the NBA will be tough to beat for 6'11 Andre Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, but he also mentions North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgetown, and Connecticut.  The only two schools mentioned by 6'7 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA were LSU and Kentucky, but unless LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre gets an assistant coaching job with the Wildcats, the smart money is on the Tigers.  The early list for 6'1 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA includes LSU, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Duke.   Oklahoma State is the school you have to beat for 5'11 Jr Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, but he also mentions Louisville, Cincinnati, and Georgia Tech.   Kansas, Arkansas, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas appear to be the favorites for 6'8 Jr Gerald Green from Houston (Gulfshore) TX.    N.C. State, Texas, Georgia Tech, Maryland, LSU, Mississippi, and Mississippi State were all mentioned by 6'7 Jr Courtney Fels from Shannon (H.S.) MS.   The early list for 6'3 Frosh Al Graham from Jackson (Lanier) MS includes Arkansas, Mississippi State, and N.C. State.  Another extremely early list for 6'0 Frosh Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL includes North Carolina, Miami-FL, Louisville, Duke, and Connecticut.  The leaders for 6'5 Jr Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY are N.C. State, Wisconsin, Georgetown, St. John's, Connecticut, and Stanford.  Rutgers, St. John's, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, and Rhode Island are all in the hunt for 6'7 Jr Khaiem Seawright from Uniondale (H.S.) NY.  Marquette is believed to the favorite for 6'5 Jr Antonio Anderson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, but he also likes St. John's, Connecticut, Memphis, and Massachusetts.  6'7 Jr Colin McIntosh from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA is being recruited by Boston University, Siena, St. Joseph's, Boston College, Rutgers, Georgetown, Connecticut, Providence, Stanford, Northwestern, and most of the Ivy League.  It appears to be a two-horse race between Baylor and Texas for 6'1 Jr Henry Dugat from Dayton (H.S.) TX.  Last week 6'8 Soph Lance Thomas from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ gave us a list that includes Duke, Syracuse, Arizona, Georgia Tech, and Maryland, but tonight he also mentioned Kansas, Rutgers, and Seton Hall.  The favorites for 6'9 Jr Quinton Thornton from Orlando (Edgewater) FL are Tennessee, Florida, Purdue, Minnesota, and Florida State.  The list for 6'4 Jr Garfield Blair from Orlando (Boone) FL is extremely interesting, as he mentions Florida State, Clemson, VCU, and Florida A&M.  Oregon State, USC, and Washington are the leaders for 6'5 Soph Justin Hammond from Mount Lake Terrance (H.S.) WA.  Stanford, Oregon, Brown, Harvard, and Navy were mentioned by 6'7 Jr Leigh Swanson from Brier (Mount Lake Terrace) WA.  The favorites for 6'1 Jr Luke Hammond from Brier (Mount Lake Terrance) WA are Lehigh, Oregon State, Navy, Loyola-Marymount, Harvard, and Cornell.  The early list for 6'8 Soph Mike Larson from Riverton (H.S.) UT includes Stanford, Navy, Utah State, Utah, and Brigham Young.  Brigham Young, Utah State, Wyoming, Colgate, Idaho, and Idaho State are in the hunt for 6'8 Jr Nate Bandall from Salt Lake City (Skyline) UT.  Texas A&M, Utah, Kansas State, UT-Arlington, and Lamar are showing the most interest in 6'3 Jr Brandon Lafell from Houston (Lamar) TX.  The top three for 6'2 Jr Aldric Reynolds from Aldine (Nimitz) TX are Texas Christian, Rice, and UT-Arlington.

Thursday, May 27, 2004

With the addition of 6'7 Benito Flores from Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA, 6'4 Terry Evans from St. Louis (Cardinal Ritter) MO, and 6'9 Tevah Morris from Clinton (H.S.) TN this spring, it might be smart to keep an eye on Wisconsin-Green Bay next year.  Remember, this is a team that went from being 10-20 overall and 4-12 in the league two years ago to 17-11 overall and 11-5 in the league this past season.  It's also a team that returns six of its top eight players, including all five starters.  And Flores, who was the starting power forward on the team that won the National Junior College Championship the last two years and averaged 11.2 ppg and 4.9 rpg last season, and Morris, who is an excellent post player with a great body, good rebounding skills, and the ability to finish around the basket, will provide needed size inside and Evans, who is a big time athlete that has been slowed by injuries the last several years, should challenge for playing time out on the perimeter.  So when you add these three guys to 5'11 Robby Springborn from Fond du Lac (H.S.) WI and 6'3 Jarrod Pelkofer from Whitnall (H.S.) WI , it's easy to see why Wisconsin-Green Bay's recruiting class has moved into a tie at #87 along with Georgia Southern, Cornell, and Jackson State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  It's also easy to see why Wisconsin-Green Bay's recruiting class is now ranked #2 in the Horizon League behind Wright State and just ahead of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  And it appears that Wisconsin-Green Bay also has a great head start on the future, because Tod Kowalczyk and his staff already have an early verbal commitment from 6'5 Jr Cordero Barkley from Racine (St. Catherine) WI, who is ranked #155 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and should provide even more athleticism and talent out on the perimeter a year from now.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'6 Jr Jaron Griffin from Manchester (H.S.) NJ has made an early verbal commitment to Rutgers.  And, in case you've forgotten, this is the guy who impressed us with his big time athleticism, ability to slash to the basket, and huge potential last fall at the Eddie Griffin Challenge at Episcopal Academy in Merion Station, PA.  We also might be talking about a top 100 junior nationally, which makes this a major steal for the Scarlet Knights.  Speaking of Rutgers, we continue to hear that Richmond assistant coach Gary DeCesare is in line to take a similar position with the Scarlet Knights.  And, if this happens, Rutgers would be perfectly positioned to get a lot of the top players in the New York City, because DeCesare previously was the head coach at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY for many years and has all the right contacts in the city.  Rubin also tells us that Harvard has landed 6'8 Brad Unger from Boyerstown (H.S.) PA, Dartmouth has landed 6'5 Doug Hayes from Perkasie (Pennridge) PA, and that Coppin State has signed 5'8 Darryl Roberts from Pennsauken (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Chris Seaborn from Philadelphia (John Bartram) PA, and 6'6 Eddie Millard from Lawndown (Penn Wood) PA.  Actually we're not quite sure what to make of the three players going to Coppin State, because Roberts, Seaborn, and Millard were ranked #71, #80, and #92, respectively, on Rubin's report last fall, but now he's telling us that when his next report comes out Millard will be ranked #21, Roberts will be ranked #25, and Seaborn will be ranked #39.  We also find that Unger is being moved from #135 to #33 and that Hayes is being moved up from #142 to #28, which leads us to believe that if you sign with a Division I school, you're going to move way up in Rubin's rankings.  And making me wonder even more about all this is the fact that we reported that Hayes was going to Dartmouth last fall.  Several other more recent commitments that we have yet to mention include 6'5 David Godbold from Oklahoma City (Douglass) OK signed with Oklahoma and 6'9 Ibrahim Konate from Worcester (Academy) MA making it official for Boston University.   We also have received word that 6'6 Martez Walker from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the Class of 2008 by the HOOP SCOOP, will be transferring to Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, although currently this is still unconfirmed.  We also were very intrigued by the fact that an Associated Press article in the Louisville Courier-Journal and an article by David Dupree both talked about how there was no clear-cut #1 pick in this year's NBA Draft like LeBron James was a year ago.  Who are the kidding?  Based on the fact that the NBA Draft is based primarily upon potential, it's a no-brainer in our mind that you 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA has to be the #1 pick.   But what do I know.  Remember, I'm the guy who wrote in Basketball Times in the spring of 1995 that the Chicago Bulls should trade Scottie Pippen to whichever team has the #1 draft pick.  That way the Bulls would be sure to get Kevin Garnett and, as a result, still have the best player in the league when Michael Jordan retired.  How ironic it is that Garnett was named the Most Valuable Player in the league and he's just entering the prime of his career.  However, a case also can be made that Emeka Okafor should be drafted #1, if your team needs immediate help next year.  We also like Duke's Luol Deng, Connecticut's Ben Gordon, and 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA as the next three picks.  However, after that, we see little difference between the #6 and #20 picks.  So, if you've got the 6th, 7th, or 8th picks and you can find somebody who is as big a sucker as former Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause was when he traded Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler three years ago, then the smart move would be trade the higher pick to a team with two lower first round picks.  In other words, with all the foreign and high school players in the draft and nothing much to speak of left in college basketball's senior class, it's pretty much a crap shoot anyway.  And two picks under these circumstances is always better than one. 

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 7'2 Charles Okwandu from Nigeria has signed with the University of Arizona, which means the Wildcats have not once, but twice signed an international player in this recruiting class that most people have near heard of, much less seen.  If you will recall, Arizona landed 6'3 Daniel Dillon, who is a foreign exchange student from Australia, who played this past season at London (North Laurel) KY, last fall, plus the Wildcats have two other foreign born players in this recruiting class in 6'9 Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who is originally from Mali, and 6'4 Jesus Verdejo from Winchendon (School) MA, who is originally from Puerto Rico.  And when you add 6'5 Jawann McClellan from Houston (Milby) TX, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, it is easy to see why this class not only has an international flavor, but also is tied at #20, along with Iowa, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Okwandu is far from being a finished product and, as a result, it wouldn't surprise us if he red-shirted his first year.  But like they say, you can't teach somebody to be 7-feet tall and the word is that this long lean athletic shot blocker has a huge upside and can run the court with the best of them.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 5'10 Dwayne Johnson from Bayside (Cardozo) NY has signed with UNC-Greensboro and 6'9 Jr Greg Washington from Central Islip (H.S.) NY has made an early verbal commitment to Hofstra.  We're especially intrigued by the commitment by Washington, because he too is an excellent athlete who runs the floor, is active around the basket, and has a huge upside.  But we don't expect Washington to play a lot right away, because he needs to get bigger and stronger physically.  However, he won't have to, because Hofstra already has 6'7 Adrian Uter from Broward (JC) FL and 6'9 Kenny Harris from L.A. City (JC) CA in their current recruiting class and they are expected to seriously challenge 6'7 Jr Wendall Gibson and 6'8 Jr Kenny Adeleke for playing time inside next season.  Johnson picking UNC-Greensboro also is interesting, because he is the fourth player from the Northeast to sign with the Spartans in this recruiting class.  If you will recall, UNC-Greensboro already has landed 6'6 Kyle Hines from Sicklerville (Timber Creek) NJ, 6'8 Brian Beckford from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, and 6'3 Kevin Oleksiak from Abington (H.S.) PA.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor tells us that 6'3 Marvin Kilgore from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who was ranked #20 among point guards by the HOOP SCOOP last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp and is enough to be ranked among our top 250 seniors nationally, if he was a high school senior (currently he's ranked #89 on our 5th Year List), has verbally committed to East Carolina.  And this gives the Pirates a little bit of everything in this recruiting class, as 6'9 Charles Bronson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA and 6'8 Mike Castro from Allegany (JC) MD will provide more size inside, 6'6 Jonathan Hart from Roselle (Catholic) NJ and 6'4 Tom Hammonds from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD will provide athleticism and outside shooting out on the perimeter, and Kilgore will compete for playing time at the point guard spot.  Rubin also has some tragic news to report, as 6'8 Jr Brad Conklin from Binghamton (Seton Catholic) NY was killed in an automobile accident this past Friday.  Conklin lived in upstate Pennsylvania and played AAU Basketball with Hoop City, which is based in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Rubin, who saw Conklin play several times, thought he was a definite Division I prospect and his AAU coach Kyle Goyne called him "a was truly a special person.  Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Brad will never forget him."  This also seems like a good time to remember 6'6 Soph Khelcey Barrs from Lawndale (Leuzinger) CA, who collasped while playing in a pick-up game and died several weeks ago.  I saw Barrs, who was ranked #48 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, play for the Long Island Panthers at the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX a month ago and he impressed me with his big time athleticism, ability to get to the basket, and score inside and outside. 

Did you know that 6'8 Stanley Branch from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA and 6'6 Miguel Ayola from Fullerton (JC) CA both recently signed with UTEP?  Neither did we until yesterday.  Obviously this is huge for the Miners, because Branch, who is ranked #18 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, would be the equivalent of a top 50 senior in high school and Ayola, who originally committed to Texas A&M last fall, but appears to be the player to be named later when the Aggies hired former UTEP head coach Billy Gillispie two months ago, was ranked as the #7 Shooting Guard in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  Obviously this more than makes up for the fact that 6'6 Ivan Almonte from Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA, who is expected to sign at any time with Florida International, and 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who recently signed with Kansas, both were released in early April from the National Letters-of-Intent that they signed with UTEP last fall and, as a result, UTEP's recruiting class moves into a tie at #36, along with Nebraska and Iowa State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  If you will recall, last fall the Miners also landed 6'2 Vernon Carr from Detroit (Redford) MI and last week we reported that 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Laurinburg (Institute) NC had signed with the Miners.  And that's a pretty big catch as well, because Davis was ranked among the top 100 seniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP when he was a high school senior at Waterbury (Sacret Heard) CT.  And all this comes on the heels of a recruiting class a year ago that was ranked #21 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2003 and included 6'5 Omar Thomas from Panola (JC) TX, 6'1 Filberto Rivera from Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA, and 6'5 Jason Williams from Kilgore (JC) TX, who were the three leading scorers on one of the most improved teams in college basketball history.  If you will recall, UTEP was 6-24 overall and 3-15 in the league prior to the arrival of Thomas, Rivera, and Williams during the 2002-2003 season, but last year finished with a 24-8 overall record and 13-5 a conference record.  And, assuming that new UTEP head coach Doc Sadler can put the pieces together quickly, it should be safe to assume that the Miners will be just as good next year, because the top four players in the program (Thomas, Rivera, Williams, and 6'8 Soph John Tofi) return, plus Branch, Ayola, and Davis are all good enough to make an immediate impact.  It also looks like Texas A&M could also make a dramatic turnaround next season, because the Aggies now have six new players in the fold in 6'9 Joseph Jones from Normangee (H.S.) TX 6'7 Edjuan Green from Temple (JC) TX, 6'3 Jamarcus Ellis from Chicago (Westinghouse) TX, 6'4 Dominique Kirk from Dallas (Bryan Adams) TX, 6'2 Kenneth White from Dallas (Molina) TX, and 6'9 Slade Weishuhn from Wall (H.S.) TX.  And five of these players are good enough to contribute right away.  Jones is ranked #86 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a physical specimen inside.  Green, who had 17 games with at least 15 rebounds, including five with 20 or more, was named first team all-conference and had 40 career double-doubles as he led his team to a 45-17 record in two seasons.  White, Kirk, and Ellis not only have top 100 potential, but they also should give Texas A&M plenty of fire power at the one, two, and three spots, as Kirk and Ellis are multi-dimensional enough to get playing time at three different positions.  This  moves Texas A&M's recruiting class into a tie at #39, along with Providence, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and we haven't even mentioned Texas A&M's most important addition yet.  We're talking about Colorado State assistant coach Buzz Williams, who is one of the top up-and-coming guys in the business, as well as one of the best recruiters in the state of Texas and especially in the Houston area.  And this is important, because Williams should provide the perfect complement to Texas A&M head coach Billy Gillispie, who is especially strong in the Dallas area, and Texas A&M assistant coach Lance Irvin, who has all the contacts he needs to get the top players out of Chicago, IL.  In other words, Texas A&M suddenly is second to none when it comes to recruiting in three of the most talent rich cities in America.  We also hear that LSU will hire New Orleans assistant coach Nikita Johnson and Indiana assistant coach John Treloar and this is huge for a number of reasons.   First, from an X's and O's standpoint, Treloar is one of the best there is, which means that LSU head coach John Brady has found the ideal replacement for Rickey Broussard, who resigned this spring in order to pursue other endeavors in the LSU athletic department.  Second, Treloar moving to LSU opens the door for Dusty May, whose official position last season was the video/film coordinator, to move into a full-time assistant coaching position at Indiana University.  If you will recall, May played a key role in landing Indiana's current recruiting class, which is currently tied at #15, along with Arizona State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and includes 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN, and 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN.  However, this class would have been ranked #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, if 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who signed with the Hoosier last fall, and 7'1 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, who signed with Indiana this spring, both hadn't entered their names into the NBA Draft this spring.  But, even more important is the fact that May and Indiana assistant coach Thad Fitzpatrick will be very tough to beat on the recruiting trail in the future.  Third, Johnson should give LSU, which already has one of the top assistant coaches in the business in Butch Pierre, as very formidable one-two punch of its own.  Fourth, John Ashaolu, who is the older brother of 6'6 Olu Ashaolu from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, was recruited to New Orleans by Nikita Johnson and, as a result, the Tigers immediately should become one of the early favorites for one of the top five 8th Graders in the nation. 

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

We will be at the Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions this weekend in Chapel Hill, NC, Raleigh, NC, and Durham, NC, but there is an important change to this year's schedule due to the fact that the Dean E. Smith Center will be unavailable for games on Friday night.  So, instead, the place to be appears to be Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, which is where media credentials can be picked up on Friday afternoon beginning at 4:00 PM and three big games will be played as it will be Syracuse/Rochester with 6'11 Andre Blatche from Syracuse (Henninger) NY and 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY versus Team Orlando at 6:30 PM, the New Orleans Jazz with 6'1 Soph Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA and 6'6 Jr Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA versus the North Carolina Gaters Red with 6'7 Jr Kevin Swinton from Greensboro (Dudley) NC at 8:00 PM, and the Spiece Indiana Heat with 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'10 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'5 Soph Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'5 Soph Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, and 6'9 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH versus DC Select at 9:30 PM.  Pool play in the 17-Under, 16-Under, and 15-Under Tournaments will resume on Saturday morning at 8:30 AM and run continuously all day until 9:50 PM when the first round of the playoffs will begin.  The second round of the playoffs, which will feature all the quarterfinals games in both 15-Under Tournament and the 17-Under Tournament (both the National and Select Divisions) will begin at 9:00 AM on Sunday morning; followed by the semi-finals of the 16-Tournament at 10:30 AM; the semi-finals in both the 15-Under Tournament and the 17-Under Tournament (both the National and Select Divisions) at Noon; the championships of the Reebok Shootout (17-Under Division), the 16-Under Tournament, and the 15-Under Tournaments at 2:30 PM, and the championships in the 17-Under Tournament (both the National and Select Divisions) at 4:00 PM.  The breakdown of teams in the 17-Under Tournament by Pools are as follows:  Pool A has Spiece Indiana Heat, Alabama Challenge, Fayetteville Warriors, and DC Select; Pool B has the New Orleans Jazz, Team Breakdown, Baltimore Select, and North Carolina Gators-Red; Pool C has the Playaz, Texas Top Prospects, Grand Rapids Lightning, and Vic Sims All-Stars; Pool D has the Michigan Hurricanes, New Heights Warriors, New England Playaz, and South Carolina Topps; Pool E has the Illinois Fire, United Stars, NC, Jackson Panthers, and the East Coast Scholars; Pool F has Syracuse/Rochester, Cleveland Basketball Club, KC Pump N' Run, and Team Orlando; Pool G has the Illinois Wolves, Delaware Sharpshooters, Colorado Pump N' Run, and Arizona Magic; Pool H has DC Assault, Houston Elite, Pittsburgh Jots, and Charlotte Aces; Pool I has Southeast Elite (AL), Magnolia Stars, Michigan Mustangs, and Salt Lake City Metro; Pool J has the Dallas Mustangs, Milwaukee Running Rebels, New York Ravens, and Team Richmond; Pool K has Southern California All-Stars, D-One Greyhounds, First Baptist Crusaders, Jermaine O'Neal All-Stars; Pool L has Belmont Shore, Philly MJC, Lee Bulls, and Seattle Team Y.E.S.; Pool M has Mean Streets (IL), New York Panthers, Smyrna Stars, and Beach Ball Select; Pool N has the Memphis Bulldogs, Tallahasse Wildcats, Houston Select, and Atlanta Celtics Gold; Pool O has H-Squad, Blessed IJN, Atlanta Celtics Black, and Garner Road (NC); and Pool P has North Carolina Gators Blue, Mid-State Ballerz (TN), Georgia Hawks, and Hoop Session (CA).  The four teams in the 17-Under Reebok Shootout are the New Jersey Shore Shots, Fox Valley Skillz, Mid-State Ballerz (17/16), and Kappa Magic (NC).  Several other must see games on Saturday include the New Jersey Roadrunners 16's versus DC Assault 16's with 6'2 Frosh Nolan Smith from Washington (St. John's) DC, 5'10 Frosh Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, and 6'3 Frosh Adrian Bowie from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD on Court #6 at Duke University Card Gym at 10:00 AM and the Southern California All Stars with 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA versus the D-One Greyhounds 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo and 6'5 Frosh Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH on Court #1 in the Dean E. Smith Center at 7:00 PM.  For more information about the Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and the complete schedule, click onto HoopMasters.com.  To obtain media credentials for the Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, fax your requests to 1-(828)-758-2270. 

Monday, May 24, 2004

I also attended the Youth Activities Basketball City Classic at Basketball City in New York City over the weekend and, if we're going to knock 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ for his lack of effort at IS8, we also have to give him his props for playing extremely hard in the first half on Saturday night for the New Jersey Panthers against New Heights.  As a matter of fact, if Caracter gave this kind of effort all the time, there is no doubt in our mind that he would be the consensus #1-ranked sophomore in American, ahead of 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  Yes, Caracter was that good, as he scored at will and garned seemingly every rebound inside, displayed an incredible combination of size, power, athleticism, and finesse, and used his great hands, excellent ball handling and passing skills, soft shooting touch, incredible timimg, and terrific feel for the game to be a factor on just about every possession at both ends of the court.  However, Caracter was only able to play at this level of consistency for a half, due to the fact that he's still not in great playing shape and he is in the habit of being able to turn it on and off when he wants to during the course of a game.  We also got to see a number of the other top players from the New York City Metropolitan area like, 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 5'10 Jr Lavance Fields from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'4 Jr Ricky Torres from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'4 Jr Saiquan Stone from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'3 Jr Thomas Nanzano from Brooklyn (Canarsie) NY, 6'0 Jr Chris Martin from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'3 Jr Jesse Sapp from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, 6'5 Jr Chris Bethel from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'10 Soph Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'6 Soph Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Soph Lance Thomas from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ,  6'6 Soph Shamari Spears from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NY, 6'7 Soph Terrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'7 Soph Jerrell Williams from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  Biggs, who is ranked #17 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, simply reinforced what we already thought.  Sure, he's a little undersized to be a power forward in the NBA.  But not for the college level, because he's is a physical specimen with excellent hands, skills, and a willingness to go to war inside, where he is both an offensive threat and excellent rebounder.  And apparently Duke and Maryland agree, because they're the leaders over Virginia, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh.  Pena does a lot of things well, but nothing exceptional at 6'7.  However, his list of schools, which includes DePaul, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Villanova, Georgia, and Miami-FL, St. John's is pretty exceptional.  Fields, who is a strong physical point guard, picked up where he left off where he left off in Houston.  We always knew that Torres could shoot the three, but he surprised us with athleticism and ability to get to the hole, which explains why schools like Pittsburgh, St. John's, Louisville, Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Virginia, N.C. State, Florida, Florida State, Xavier, and Miami-FL are all showing interest.  Stone is a multi-dimensional athlete, but he can't shoot and hasn't developed into the player we thought he would.  Nanzano has been off the radar screen, because he's still trying to find himself academically,  However, we're talking about an unbelievable athlete with long arms, great hands, and the ability to get to the basket.  Martin is a strong physical combo guard who shoots the three, gets to the basket, and plays good defense.  Sapp is a slasher/athlete who promises to be a steal at the mid-major level.  Bethel is an undersized power forward all the way, but he does all the dirty work inside.  Kelly, whose early list of schools includes Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Texas, is one of our favorite players in the sophomore class nationally, because he's very active, very skilled, and very competitive, which makes him a force to be reckoned with, as he scores, rebounds, blocks shots, and doesn't take any prisoners inside.  Mitchell, who scored 33 points in the championship game at IS8 and then raced across town to compete in the championship game in this tournament, is pretty much the same player he was a year ago, because he hasn't grown and hasn't developed a perimeter game.  But that doesn't diminish how good Mitchell is at this level, because he's the ultimate warrior and very difficult to stop around the basket.  Thomas didn't shoot it that well when we saw him on Saturday night, but the word is that's the area of his game that's improved the most.  And that's important, because, if Thomas becomes a great outside shooter, he'll make a lot of money playing the game someday  Not only are we talking about a terrific athlete with long arms, great hands, and a tremendous work ethic, but Thomas also is an excellent student and a great kid, which makes it's easy to see why schools like Duke, Syracuse, Arizona, Georgia Tech, and Maryland are showing a lot of early interest.  Spears is a wide body who more than held his own when he was matched up against Biggs and the Williams twins are both oozing with potential, although they both need to get bigger and stronger.  However, none of the New York area teams were able to beat the Northeast Playaz, which upset the Metro Hawks (formerly New York Riverside Church) in the championship game.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact the Northeast Playaz were coached by former Red Storm assistant coach Mike Jarvis Jr and the Metro Hawks were coached by former Red Storm assistant coach Dermond Player.  But at crunch time it was 6'5 Jr Antonio Anderson from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who scored the game winning lay-up with four second left to make the final 46-45.  Anderson, who finished with nine points, also impressed with his ball handling and passing skills and feel of the game the game, which means he's capable of playing the one, two, and the three spots at 6'5.  He's also has the natural talent and athleticism to be ranked among the top 100 juniors nationally, but, for our purposes, he'll be listed as 5th Year Player next year, because this is his fourth year of high school.  We also were impressed with outside shooting of 6'3 Soph Alexander Zampierce from East Greenbush (Columbia) NY; the athleticism, wing span, and potential of 6'7 Soph Travis Wilcher from Springfield (Central) MA; the versatility of 6'8 Jr Colin McIntosh from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA; and the ability of 6'7 Jr Travis George from Boston (Madison Park) MA to block shots, defend, and rebound; but we expected more from 6'8 Jr Kendrick Price from Cambridge (Buckingham, Browne, & Nichols) MA, who finished with eight points, but was not a factor when the game was on the line.

Saturday, May 22, 2004, and Sunday, May 23, 2004

We told you on Friday that we expected 6'2 Jr Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, who is ranked #60 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to make an early verbal commitment to either Kansas or Arizona and he did indeed pick the Jayhawks late Friday night.  Obviously the Kansas program, which is one of the premier programs in college basketball, and Bill Self, who is one of the premier head coaches and one of the best people in the business, gives the Jayhawks a lot to sell, but this also is a testament to just how good a recruiter Kansas assistant coach Joe Dooley really is.  Remember, this is the fourth player to sign and/or commit to the Jayhawks in the last week.  If you will recall, 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ signed and 6'8 Jr Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA verbally committed to Kansas on Monday and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA made it official for Kansas on Thurday.  And all this happened with a vacancy on the coaching staff (Norm Roberts left Kansas in early April to become the head coach at St. John's and the position has yet to be filled).  We also have confirmed that 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who is ranked #26 on our 5th Year list, has verbally committed to Manhattan.  And this too is huge for a number of reasons.  First, Anderson would be the equivalent of a player in the 41-70 range, if we included him with our rankings of the top seniors nationally.  Second, he's capable of playing four different positions, as he has the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play the point guard spot; the athleticism, ability to slash, and the quickness defensively to play out on the perimeter; and the toughness and the ability to rebound necessary to play inside.  Anderson also has the talent and potential necessary to play in the NBA someday, if he develops a three point shot.  Third, Anderson is potentially the best player that Bobby Gonzalez has signed during his five years at Manhattan.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that Luis Flores and David Holmes were two of the best players in the league, they won 25 games, and knocked off Florida and almost knocked off Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament this past season.  Fourth, getting Anderson provides another important connection to one of the best prep school programs in the nation.  If you will recall, a year ago Manhattan also got 6'6 Christano Johnson from Laurinburg (Charter) NC.  Fifth, getting Anderson means that Manhattan should be able to replace Flores, Holmes, and 6'6 Sr Jason Benton with missing a beat, because Anderson, 6'8 Arturo Dubois from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'7 Frosh Guy Ngarndi, who gained valuable experience as a reserve last year, are good enough to step in a complement 6'5 Jr Peter Mulligan and all the great guards that the Jaspers have returning next year.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that East Carolina has landed 6'4 Tom Hammonds from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #203 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We're talking about an athletic wing player who can shoot the lights out, has a major upside, and a great bloodline (his father is former Georgia Tech All-American Tom Hammonds).  I also made my first ever appearance at the IS8 Spring League in Jamaica, NY for the semi-finals yesterday and the championship earlier today and it certainly lived up to the billing.  Not only is the intensity level incredible, but the talent is second to none, which makes the fact that Mt. Vernon High School, which also won the New York State Championship two months ago, beat the Bingo All-Stars, 76-72, in the semi-finals and the Juice All-Stars, 91-81, in the championship even more incredible.  The Mt. Vernon attack was very balanced in the semi-finals, as 6'6 Soph Jonathan Mitchell finished with 17 points, 6'3 Keith Benjamin had 16 points, including 4-7 3-pointers, 6'6 Dexter Gray had 13 points, 6'0 Jr Chris Lowe had 12 points, and 5'10 Frosh Mike Coburn had eight points, and 6'5 Shanty Robinson had six points and 12 rebounds.  However, the key to the championship was Mitchell, who scored 33 points, controlled the boards, and was the easy choice as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.  The Senior Award went to Gray, who chipped in with 14 points in the championship game, and the Sportsmanship Award, which goes to the best player on the losing team in the championship game, went to 5'11 Frosh Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who finished with 22 points in the semi-finals against the Playaz, 19 points in the championship game, and made big shot after big shot in both games.  As a matter of fact, it was Fisher who turned the game around with a 3-pointer and lay-up, as the Juice All-Stars held onto beat the Playaz, 87-83, in the semi-finals.  And that's saying a lot, because the Playaz featured four guards who have already signed with programs at the Atlantic-10 level or higher in Villanova-bound 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, Virginia-bound 6'0 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, Richmond-bound 6'2 Courtney Nelson from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, and 6'2 Cedric Jackson from Columbus (North Burlington) NJ, who is bound for St. John's.  Fisher not only has deep 3-point shooting range, excellent ball handling and passing skills, and a great feel for the game, but he also has big time athleticism and the poise, savvy, and consistency necessary to be ranked as the #3 freshman in America, behind 6'3 Frosh O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'7 Frosh Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, next time we update our national rankings.  Fisher also was named the Rookie-of-the-Year, which is the award that goes to the best young player in the tournament, and 6'2 A.J. Price from Amityville (H.S.) NY was named the Most Outstanding Player for the League, which includes play in the league during the entire spring.  Price also was the best player we saw the entire weekend based on his performance in the semi-finals, as he finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, seven turnovers, and five steals.  And, if his outside shot (he hit 10-28 field goals and only 2-9 3-pointers) had been going down, the Bingo All-Stars probably would have won the game.  However, Price and 6'8 Arturo Dubois from New York (Rice) NY couldn't do it all by themselves, as 6'9 Soph Derrick Caracter from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, who was the only other big name player on the team, finished with only seven points, nine rebounds, and was in foul trouble and lacked the intensity necessary to get it done in this type of environment.  Thus, probably explains why Caracter was not one of the top players in the league this spring.   Speaking of the three five-man all-tournament teams that were named at IS8 today, the First Team included 6'10 Joakim Noah from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'6 Soph Rob Thomas from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'4 Stephon Jackson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL; the Second Team included 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'6 Dexter Gray from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'4 Brian Lainge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'8 Rob Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, and 6'4 Charron Fisher from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA; and the Third Team included 6'2 Kojo Mensah from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'0 Eugene Lawrence from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'3 Keith Benjamin from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'0 Sean Singletary from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, and 6'5 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY. 

Friday, May 21, 2004

Yesterday 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who is ranked #75 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made it official for Kansas and, as a result, a lot of people in the business will probably assume that former Miami-FL assistant coach Kurtis Townsend won't be too far behind.  If you will recall, Townsend, who recruited Giles to Miami-FL, has a great pipeline to the Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA program, as is evident by the fact that he also signed 6'4 Lodrick Stewart and Rodrick Stewart a year ago when he was at USC.  However, our sources tell us that Kansas head coach Bill Self is in no hurry to name a replacement for Norm Roberts, who left Kansas last month to become the new head coach at St. John's, and, as a result, who the new assistant coach at Kansas will be is still very much up in the air.  And to make this story even more believable is the fact that Giles' father played at Kansas from 1978-80.  The addition of Giles moves Kansas' recruiting class, which also includes 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'11 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL, 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, and 6'8 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, into a tie at #5, along with Florida, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And, if they also get 6'2 Jr Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, who is supposed to pick either Kansas or Arizona later today, then the Jayhawks' will also have a top five recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  If you will recall, earlier this week Kansas also got an early verbal commitment from 6'8 Jr Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA.  In other words, it appears that the Jayhawks have already more than replaced 6'11 Frosh David Padgett, 6'4 Frosh Omar Wilkes, and 6'10 Soph Moulaye Niang, all of whom decided to transfer this spring.  Earlier this week Seton Hall may have stolen one when they landed 6'9 Marcus Cousin from Randallstown (H.S.) MD, who is unranked among our top 550 seniors nationally, but played well enough at the Charlie Weber Tournament in Washington, DC in April to also attract interest from schools like Georgetown, Providence, Maryland, Michgigan State, Nebraska, and Virginia Tech.  Cousin averaged 11 ppg and 7 rpg last season, but he was also slowed by an ankle injury most of the year.  So the sky really could be the limit, as we're talking about an athletic big man with a nice touch around the basket, good shot blocking and rebounding skills, and plenty of room to continue to develop, as he is still only 17-years-old and still growing.  The addition of Cousin also moves Seton Hall's recruiting class into a tie at #59, along with Wisconsin, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, because the Pirates also have 6'5 Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL and 6'5 Brian Lainge from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY in the fold.  And when you also add 6'4 Stanley Gaines, who is transferring from Minnesota to Seton Hall, it is obvious that Seton Hall head coach Louie Orr and his staff have done a good job of replacing 5'10 Sr Andre Barrett, 6'8 Sr Damion Fray, and 6'6 Marcus Toney-El, all of whom will graduate this spring, and 6'9 Soph Eric Davis, who plans to transfer.   They also appear to have every position covered with the new players they are bringing in.  Remember, Cousin can play both power forward and center, Lainge is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, Gaines can play both wing spots, and Cerasoli has the ball handling and passing skills and court vision necessary to play the one and the size, athleticism, and outside shooting necessary to play at the 2-guard spot.  Did you know that 6'6 Charles Burch from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, who is ranked #235 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, had gotten out of the National Letter-of-Intent that he signed with St. Bonaventure last fall and now will likely go to Providence?  Neither did we until we heard that St. Bonaventure had landed 6'8 Michael Lee from West Palm Beach (Cardinal Neuman) FL.  And, just like Cousin, it appears that Lee is an athletic big man who may have slipped through the cracks, as he was ranked no higher than #36 in the state last Florida Report.  However, this long left-handed skilled power forward runs the court and is versatile enough to to play both inside and outside.  He also averaged 22.5 ppg and 13.5 rpg and was attracting interest from schools like Vanderbilt and Miami-FL.  So with the addition of Lee to and the deletion of Burch from St. Bonaventure's recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Willie Morse from State College (H.S.) PA and 6'1 Isaiah Carson from Springfield (South) OH, the Bonnies remain tied at #130, along with Saint Louis, Eastern Michigan, Valparaiso, Florida Atlantic, Viriginia Commonwealth, UNC-Greenboro, Fresno State, UC-Santa Barbara, Miami-OH, South Florida, Lehigh, East Carolina, Tennessee Tech, and Marist, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  But that doesn't begin to tell what a great job the St. Bonaventure coaching staff has done recruiting this year, because they also have added two transfers who don't count in this year's recruiting class, but should make a major impact on the program when they become eligible a year from now.  If you will recall, Tyler Relph is transferring from West Virginia to St. Bonaventure and 6'9 Paul Lee is transferring from Siena to St. Bonaventure and, if we counted these two players with the Bonnies' recruiting class, their class would be tied with Marshall and Missouri-Kansas City at #75 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  This also would rank St. Bonaventure's recruiting class fourth in the league, behind Dayton, Richmond, and Fordham, which is a major jump when one remembers that Anthony Solomon's first team finished 3-13 in the league and 7-21 overall this past season.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Ike Okoegbu from Hill (JC) TX had signed with SMU, which means that new Mustangs head coach Jimmy Tubbs and his staff are off to a great start as they now have four players in the fold in their first recruiting class.  If you will recall, they inherited 6'4 John Killen from Arlington (Martin) TX, 6'7 Paulius Ritter from Tulsa (Holland Hall) OK, and 6'4 Derrick Roberts from Houston (Nimitz) TX, all of whom signed with SMU last fall, from the previous regime.  This moves SMU's recruiting class into a tie at #61, along with San Diego State and Colorado, on our list Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, even more important, Okoegbu, who is extremely talented offensively, averaged 12.8 ppg and 6.3 rpg, and was named the Northern Texas Junior College Freshman-of-the-Year, and Roberts, who was the second leading scorer in the Texas high school ranks last year with 28.0 ppg and is ranked #19 in the state in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, both are expecrted to make an immediate impact.  Another school that is taking advantage of the elimination of the five-eight rule, whereby, you can only sign five players one year and three the next with a maximum of eight over two years, is Missouri-Kansas City, which has added 6'7 Albert Reese from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL to a recruiting class that already includes 5'11 Mose Howard from Iowa Western (JC) IA, 6'8 Brian Gettinger from Overland Park (Shawnee Mission South) KS, 6'9 Jeremiah Hartsock from Bartlesville (H.S.) OK, 6'7 Chris Temple from Iowa Western (JC) IA.  And, when you also count Quentin Day, who transferred from USC to Missouri-Kansas City, and Tim Blackwell, who transferred from Creighton to Missouri-Kansas City, the Kangaroos have added seven new players to a team that returns four starters from a group that won 15 games a year ago.  Reese, who is ranked #44 in the state of Illinois by the HOOP SCOOP and will probably red-shirt next year, is long, skinny, athletic, and has a good upside.  Editor's Note:  The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that Xavier has signed 6'6 Churchill Odia from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to a National Letter-of-Intent.   For more on this story and how this effects their recruiting class, see what we wrote yesterday.

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Boy, were we shocked last night when we heard that Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery was leaving the college ranks to become the next head coach for the Golden State Warriors.  Obviously this is a huge loss for the college basketball, because we're talking about somebody with a 537-243 26-year head coaching career record, 10 straight 20-win seasons, 16 consecutive post-season tournament appearances, an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1998, and a 30-2 record this past season.  Montgomery also is ranked #16 on our list of the top head coaches in the game and is one of the class people in the business, but we still wonder if this is a good move.  On the positive side, his contract is reported to be the $10 to $12 million range, he won't have to move out of the Bay area, and The Cardinal will lose all five starters (Justin Davis, Matt Lottich, Josh Childress, Chris Hernandez, and 6'10 Rob Little) either this year or next year from a team that was ranked #1 in the nation and was one of the top four-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament.  On the negative side, Montgomery has no NBA coaching experience; college coaches, like Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Leonard Hamilton, Jerry Tarkanian, Lon Kruger, and Tim Floyd, have not had a great deal of success when they have made the jump from college to the NBA in recent years; and The Cardinal already appears to be well on its way towards reloading, as their current recruiting class includes 6'9 Peter Prowitt from Fairfax (Potomac School) VA and 6'8 Taj Finger from Bedford (Fox Lane) NY and they are among the leaders for a number of excellent players, like 6'10 David Padgett, who is transferring from Kansas, 6'4 Anthony Goods from Corono (Centennial) CA, 6'11 Jr Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, 6'2 Jr Bobby Fraser from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 6'8 Jr Lawrence Hill from Glendale (Deer Valley) AZ, and 6'3 Jr Wes Matthews from Madison Memorial) WI.  As a matter of fact, Goods, Fraser, and Hill are supposed to be on campus this weekend and, as a result, we think that the powers-that-be at Stanford would be smart to move quickly and hire Tony Fuller, who has previous head coaching experience at Pepperdine and has been Montgomery's right hand man for the last five year's.  Another logical choice would be Nevada head coach Trent Johnson, who guided his team to a Sweet16 NCAA Tournament appearance two months ago and previously worked for Montgomery an assistant coach at Stanford.  So did Rice head coach Willis Wilson and, of course, any top level job that is open on the West Coast is going to have Gonzaga head coach Mark Few's name being tossed around as a candidate.  And what about former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis?  Not only would this be a great fit, but he also is available.  We also have confirmed that 6'3 William Graham from Lexington (Catholic) KY has signed with Wright State, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Laurinburg (Institute) NC has signed with UTEP, 6'2 Carlos Taylor from Memphis (Lausanne) TN has signed with Florida International, 5'8 Cantrell Fletcher from Cecil (JC) MD has signed with Towson, and 6'3 Jamarcus Ellis from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL has signed with Texas A&M.  The verbal commitment by Ellis is especially noteworthy for a number of reasons.  First, Ellis is one of the best players still available.  Second, Ellis is from Chicago, IL, which is a sure sign that this Aggies head coach Billy Gillispie, who previously was an assistant coach at Illinois, and Aggies assistant coach Lance Irvin, who previously was an assistant coach at DePaul and whose father (Mac Irvin) runs the Illinois Fire AAU program, will continue to go back to their old stamping grounds to get players.  Third, Ellis is versatile enough and athletic enough to play three different positions, because he got good ball handling and passing skills, excellent 3-point range, and good rebounding skills for his size.  In other words, we're talking about a big time player and all he needs to do to be ranked higher than #134 nationally in the senior class, which is where we have him right now, is to become more consistent.  Fourth, the addition Ellis moves Texas A&M's recruiting class into a tie at #68, along with Charlotte and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   It also gives Gillispie four players in this recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Joseph Jones from Normangee (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Miguel Ayala from Fullerton (JC) CA, and 6'2 Kenneth White from Dallas (Molina) TX, who are good enough to step in and contribute right away.  Fletcher, who was one of our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin's favorite players in the Class of 2000 when he was senior at Philadelphia (Neumann) PA, is new Towson head coach Pat Kennedy's first recruit and he promises to be the point guard around which Kennedy can start to build the program.  The addition of Taylor, who is an excellent outside shooter, moves Florida International's recruiting class, into a tie at #151, along with Bradley, Northern Iowa, SMU, Austin Peay, UNC-Wilmington, Western Michigan, Canisiua, Creighton, and Stony Brook, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Davis isn't as good as 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who originally signed with UTEP, but re-opened his recruitment when Billy Gillispie left to take the Texas A&M job and earlier this week signed with Kansas.  However, Davis, who is an excellent athlete and good scorer, is a pretty good consolation prize.  Graham was projected as a big time player when he was a freshman, but he never has grown and, as a result, has fallen into the tweener trap.  But he's still a darn good 7th recruit for Wright State, whose recruiting class moves into a tie at #29, along with Jacksonville State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 5'10 Derrick Tipler from Three Rivers (JC) MO has made it official for Arkansas State and it appears that Western Illinois has landed another one in 6'8 Eliz Cepeda from Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA.  And think this is a major steal not just because Cepeda was the 6th man on a team that won the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS again this year, but also because he's long, athletic, skilled, an excellent shot blocker, and he has plenty of upside.

The word on the street is that 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD has finally signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Xavier.  While this is still unconfirmed, it is absolutely huge for the Musketeers, if it is true, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the top unsigned senior still available.  Odia also is one of only three players ranked among our top 100 nationally who is still available and he's capable of playing either guard position, because he's got an excellent feel for the game, good ball handling and passing skills, excellent shooting range, and big time athleticism.  In other words, we're talking about the best player on the continent of Africa in his age group.  And, assuming that this is true, it would move the Musketeers' recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Josh Duncan from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH and 6'2 Stan Burrell from Indianapolis (Ben Davis) IN, up almost a 100 spots into a tie at #71, along with Charlotte and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, even more important, the addition of Odia would go along way towards helping Xavier head coach Thad Matta and his staff replace the heart and sole of a team that featured three outstanding seniors in 6'5 Romain Sato, 6'0 Lionel Chalmers, and 6'9 Anthony Myles and beat Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament en route to an Elite Eight finish.  We mention this because Odia signing with Xavier means that the Musketeers once again have beaten the Cardinals (this time in the recruiting process).  If you will recall, Odia re-opened his recruitment this spring and at one point recently it appeared Louisville was a near lock, despite the fact that Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD head coach Stu Vetter and others around Odia wanted him to honor the verbal commitment that he made last fall to Xavier.  And while this is a huge catch for the Musketeers, it also is a big loss for the Cardinals, because once again they will have to go to war next year with major questions at the point guard spot.  If you will recall, 6'3 Frosh Brandon Jenkins was not ready to step into the position last year as a freshman and 6'2 Taquan Dean is much better suited to play the 2-spot.  Not getting Odia also would prevent Louisville's recruiting class, which currently is tied at #10, along with USC, UCLA, and Missouri, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and also includes 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'10 Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, from moving into a tie at #2, along with Kentucky, on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   That's the bad news.  The good news is that these things usually happen in threes and already this spring the Cardinals have lost out on 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, both of whom signed with the Louisville last fall, but entered their names into the NBA Draft this spring.  And this is important, because the Cardinals also appear to be among the final three for 6'10 David Padgett, who is transferring from Kansas and is expected to decide among Louisville, Stanford, and UCLA.  Speaking of UCLA, did you know that Bruins have landed a walk-on in 6'4 DeAndre Robinson from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA?  While we don't expect him to seriously challenge either 6'4 Arron Afflalo from Compton (Dominguez) CA or 6'5 Josh Shipp from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA for playing time in the future, Robinson does promise to be an excellent role player, because he's a long rangy versatile athlete who can beat you both outside and in transition.  The fact that Robinson had the grades to attract interest from Yale and the game to get looks from schools like Wyoming, Baylor, Santa Clara, UC-Irvine, and UC-Santa Barbara is just an added bonus.  The addition of Robinson also moves UCLA's recruiting class up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, but it does not give the Bruins what they need most.  And that's a big man like Dave Padgett, who would have to sit out next year, but would fit in perfectly the following year, along with 6'9 Lorenzo Mata from Southgate (H.S.) CA inside, while Afflalo and Shipp keep opponents honest out on the perimeter and 6'2 Jordan Farmar from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA runs the show.  We also have confirmed that DePaul has landed 6'9 Jamal Nichols from Globe Tech (JC) NY, who was one of the top junior college power forwards in the nation last season.  If you will recall, Nichols, who originally is from Philadelphia (Ben Franklin) PA, signed with St. Joseph's, where he red-shirted as a freshman prior to going the junior college route two years ago.  Nichols, who is a big time scorer inside, picked DePaul over St. John's and Seton Hall.  This moves DePaul's recruiting class, which also includes 5'11 Aking Elting from Southern Idaho (JC) ID and 6'1 Cliff Clinkscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL, into a tie at #46, along with Virginia and N.C. State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, that only tells half of the story, because we don't count transfers when ranking recruiting classes and 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT may surprise us and take his name out of the NBA Draft.  If we did count transfers, 6'6 Frosh Karron Clarke, who recently decided to transfer from Miami-FL to DePaul, would move the Blue Demons' recruiting class into a tie at #22, along with Florida State.  And, if we counted Clarke and Wright comes back, then we would be talking about the #4-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   But this comes as no surprise, because DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is one of the top up-and-coming head coaches in the business and assistant coaches Josh Oppenheimer and Gene Cross are second to none as recruiters.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, which is updated on an on-going basis in the Members Section of our web site, has changed dramatically this spring, thanks primarily to the fact that 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, both of whom signed with Louisville last fall; 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who signed with Indiana last fall; 7'0 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, who signed with Indiana this spring; 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, who signed with Duke last fall; 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, who signed with Arkansas last fall; 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, who signed with USC last fall; 6'11 Lamarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, who signed with Texas last fall; 6'10 Jackie Butler from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, who signed with Tennessee last fall; 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who signed with North Carolina last fall; and 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, who signed with DePaul last fall; have all decided to by-pass college and enter their names into the NBA Draft.  They do have until June 17th, unless they have signed with an agent, to change their mind, but as things stand now, we have totally revised our rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004. And of course there is 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON, who, on the same day that he verbally committed to Iowa State, announced his plans to enter the NBA Draft.  However, despite the fact that Chiriaev has since withdrawn his name from the NBA Draft, he still will have to play professionally abroad, because he's already signed with an agent.  If all these players had gone to college, Louisville would have the #1-ranked recruiting class with Telfair, Donta Smith, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Lorenzo Wade from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'10 Terrance Farley from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY; Indiana would have the #2-ranked recruiting class with Josh Smith, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'5 Robert Vaden from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'7 James Hardy from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN, and 6'3 A.J. Ratliff from Indianapolis (North Central) IN; Memphis would have the #3-ranked recruiting class with 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'8 Shane Williams from Laurinburg (Charter) NC, 6'9 Waki Williams from Mt. San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'7 Richard Dorsey from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Andre Allen from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 7'0 Kareem Cooper from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'1 Tanqueray Beavers from Athens (H.S.) AL; and Texas with Aldridge, 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, and 6'10 Connor Atchley from Clear Lake (H.S.) TX and USC with Swift, 6'1 Dwayne Shackleford from Allegany (JC) MD, 6'3 Gabriel Pruitt from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'5 Nick Young from Reseda (Cleveland) CA, and 6'8 Emmanuel Willis from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, would be tied with the #4-ranked recruiting class. In other words, four of the top five recruiting classes prior to players entering the draft have dropped, as Texas' class is now ranked #7, USC's and Louisville's classes are tied at #9, and Indiana's class is now ranked #14.  But even that doesn't fully illustrate how devastating the effect of the NBA continuing to rob-the-cradle is on college basketball.  So to drive the point home, if Duke had not lost Livingston and 6'8 Frosh Luol Deng, North Carolina had not lost J.R. Smith; and Louisville, had not lost Telfair and Donta Smith; then the choice as the pre-season #1 ranked team for the 2004-2005 season would have been very difficult indeed.  Instead, now we're leaning more towards somebody like Wake Forest, which returns all five starters.  And, of course there is DePaul, whose class is ranked #90 with 5'11 Aking Elting from Southern Idaho (JC) ID and 6'1Cliff Clinkscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL.  However, DePaul's class would be ranked #22 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 with Dorell Wright, who is good enough to make the same type of impact that Mark Aquire did as a college freshman when he led the Blue Demons to the NCAA Final Four in 1979.  And complicating things even more is the fact that 6'8 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Charter) NC may not make it academically and, as result, have to go the prep school route for a year.  But that won't be determined until probably July or August, so Memphis will probably get the nod over Kentucky in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes for 2004, which will be published exclusively in the Members Section of hoopscooponline.com in late June or early July.  We also don't count transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  But, if you take into account which school has the best group of incoming players, 6'2 Patrick Sparks, who sat out last season after transferring from Western Kentucky to Kentucky, would be enough to throw the Wildcats over the top.   Kentucky also will be right up at the top of the list when we look at Who Signed The Best Three Players and near the top of the list when we look at Who Signed The Best Four Players.  And that important, because there are a lot of different ways to look at recruiting.  However, before we can look at recruiting all the different ways for which the HOOP SCOOP is famous, we have to come up with a traditional list, which takes both quality and quantity into account and shows which schools signed the most good players.  And, our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 does this through Wednesday, May 19th. 

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson was at the adidas May Classic in Bloomington, IN over the weekend and the big story was 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who already is the consensus #1 sophomore in the nation and the likely #1-pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.  Odom used his incredible athleticism and timing to block shots, rebound, and shut everything done defensively inside.  He also scored at will and was very impressive with his ability to find the open and pass out of the double team.  As a matter of fact, Johnson goes to far as to stay that Oden would be his pick, if he was a NBA General Manager and he had the #1 pick and was drafting primarily on potential.  And that's a heck of statement, because think Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, and 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA are clearly the three best high school players in the last 10 years.  However, Johnson made the same statement about James three years ago after the conclusion of his sophomore year and there is no question that Johnson was right on the money.  This point was illustrated even further in the big semi-finals match-up between the Illinois Warriors and the Indy Spiece when Oden took over the game early in the second quarter, after 6'8 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL blocked two of Oden's shots.  Oden brought the house down with a Shaquille O'Neil-like thunderous dunk that changed the entire momentum of the game and, as  a result, Spiece took a 41-38 half-time lead and coasted to a  81-65 final victory.  Oden, who finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and eight blocks, was complemented by 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts with 21 points and 6'1 Soph Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN with 13 points.  Wright, who was shut defensively inside by Oden, finished with only six points.  Instead, the guy who put on a dazzling performance in the semi-finals was 6'1 Justin Dentmen from Carbondale (H.S.) IL, who scored 36 points and now is the #3-ranked senior in the state by Roy and Harv Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report.  In other words, Dentmen is now arguably a top 100 senior nationally and, as a result, there are now rumors that he may not honor his commitment to Illinois State and will likely end up in prep school next year at Winchendon (School) MA.  Indy Spiece Heat also beat the Mean Streets, 61-57, in the championship game and once again the best player in the game was Oden, who finished 24 points and forced Mean Streets, which normally makes a living off transition, to shoot 3-pointers and become a perimeter oriented team.  Mean Streets was led by 6'2 Jr Jerel McNeal from Hillcrest (Country Club Hills) IL, who had 15 points and impressed us with big time athleticism, leaping ability, and ability to lock up his man defensively.  In other words, Dwayne Wade comparisons may be in order, because McNeal also plays bigger than his size, has long arms, and is a pretty good outside shooter.  Other players who played well and/or impressed Johnson at adidas May Classic include 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'2 Frosh Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 5'11 Jr JaJuan Spillman from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, 6'6 Soph Joevan Catron from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'5 Soph Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'3 Jr Jamar Smith from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'4 Soph Adrian Graves from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, 6'6 Jr Chris Knight from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'6 Jr Matt Pilgrim from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'4 Jr Nate Miller from Springfield (South) OH, 6'3 Jr Dwayne Jackson from Cuyahoga Falls (Walsh Jesuit) OH, 6'6 Jr Octavius Spann from Lilburn (Banneker) GA, 6'7 Jr Rashard Chase from Atlanta (Mays) GA, 6'5 Soph Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'2 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Robeson) IL, 6'1 Jr Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'2 Jr Johnny Wolf from Cincinnati (St. Xavier) OH, 6'6 Jr Nate Linhart from Gahanna (Lincoln) OH, 6'8 Soph Daniel Deane from Salt Lake City (Judge) UT, 6'5 Jr Matt Mortonsen from Provo (Timpview) UT, 6'8 Jr Darin Mohoney from Heber City (Wasatch) UT, 6'5 LaQuavious Marbury from Lanett (H.S.) AL, 6'8 Jr Chad Millard from Manchester (Trinity) NH, 6'5 Soph Marques Johnson from Ft.Wayne (Snider) IN, 6'9 Soph Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH, 6'6 Jr Chris Douglas-Roberts from Detroit (Cass Tech) MI, 5'7 Soph Tajuan Porter from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, and 6'7 Soph De Shawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI, who now may be the second best sophomore in Michigan.  We also have the results for the Five-Star Hoop Classic, which was held over the weekend in Springfield, MA, and BABC defeated the Heights Warriors, SRAP defeated Cecil Kirk, the Fairfield Stars defeated Juice 1, and the Gauchos 1 defeated Stamford Express in the quarterfinals; BABC defeated the Gauchos 1and SRAP defeated the Fairfield Stars in the semi-finals; and SRAP defeated BABC, 68-65, in the championship.  The MVP Award went to 6'2 Jr Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY.  Also named to the all-tournament team were 6'11 Andre Blatche from Syracuse (Henningers) NY, 6'7 Soph Lance Thomas from Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Jeff Adrien from Brookline (H.S.) MA, 6'6 Colby Santos from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, and 6'6 Sam Young from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD.   Other players who played well and need to be mentioned from the Five-Star Hoop Classic include 6'8 Frosh Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'0 Eugene Lawrence from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'6 Will Harris from Troy (Redemption) NY, 6'1 Soph Malcolm Grant from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, 6'2 Jamal White from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, 5'10 Frosh Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St.Patrick) NJ,6'4 Jr Tyrese Gibbs from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA, 6'1 Jr Farnold Degand from Boston (O'Bryant) MA, 6'3 Soph Anthony Gurley from Newtonville (Newton North) MA, 6'8 Jr Kendrick Price from Cambridge (Buckingham, Browne & Nichols) MA, 6'2 Soph Alexander Zampier from East Greenbush (Columbia) NY, 6'7 Jr Colin MacIntosh from Dorchester (Boston College) MA, 6'1 Jr Alvin Lewis from Boston (Madison Park) MA, 6'5 Jr Chris Bethel from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 5'11 Jr Greg Johnson from Plymouth (Holderness) NH, and 6'1 Elvis Lora from Bronx (Columbus) NY, 6'1 Mike Trimboli from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, 6'5 Jr Rob Sisca from Weston (H.S.) CT, 6'4 Jr Andrew Patterson from West Simsbury (The Masters School) CT, 6'4 Jr Damien Davis from West Simsbury (The Masters School) CT, 6'1 Charles Burgess from Troy (Redemption) NY, 6'4 Jr Gerald Carter from Plymouth (Holderness) NH, 6'2 Jr Tiki Mayben from Troy (H.S.) NY, 6'4 Jr Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Soph Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 5'9 Jr Lavance Fields from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'2 Soph Terrell McKenzie from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'7 Jr Travis George from Boston (Madison Park) MA, 6'5 Antonio Anderson from Lynn (Tech) MA, 6'10 Sylvester Seay from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, 6'4 Maciej Szlachtowicz from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 Mantas Griskenas from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'5 Soph Greg Page from Montreal (Lindsay Place) QU, 6'9 Jr Colin Page from Montreal (John Rinnie) QU, 6'4 Paris Carter from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 6'10 Jr Franklin Jones from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 5'11 Soph Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'8 Frosh Jabari Edwards from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'11 Job Casimir from Norwalk (H.S.) CT, 6'2 Jr Craig Austrie from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, 6'4 Jr Benoit Bekono from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'5 Jr James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 5'11 Jr Taskico Brown from New York (Rice) NY, 6'0 Jr Davon Baker from New York (Rice) NY, and 5'9 Soph John Garcia from New York (Art & Design) NY.

Monday, May 17, 2004

It's official!  6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #55 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked Kansas over Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Georgetown and, as a result, the second highest ranked player who was still available is now off the board.  And this is actually the second time we've taken Galindo's name off the board, because last fall he signed with UTEP, but later decided to re-open his recruitment when the coaching change occurred for the Miners.  The addition of Galindo, who is an excellent outside shooter, big time athlete, and has an excellent feel for the game, is the perfect complement to the other players already in Kansas' recruiting class, which also includes 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'1 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL, a