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, and 6'8 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  Speaking of Kansas' recruiting class, the addition of Galindo moves the Jawhawks' recruiting class into a tie at #18, along with Kansas, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  But, even more important, this group provides the depth necessary to make Kansas one of the best teams in college basketball next sedason.  Remember, the top four leading scorers - 6'9 Jr Wayne Simien (17.8 ppg), 6'4 Jr Keith Langford (15.5 ppg), 6'5 Frosh J.R. Giddens (11.3 ppg), and 6'1 Jr Aaron Miles (9.1 ppg) - for the Jawhawks all return.  And they may not be done recruiting yet in the Class of 2004, especially if Kansas head coach Bill Self decides to hire former Miami-FL assistant coach Kurtis Townsend to replace Norm Roberts, who got the St. John's a month ago.  Not only will this give Kansas one of the best coaching staffs in the nation (we have Townsend ranked #4 and current Jawhawks assistant coach Joe Dooley ranked #20 on our list of the top assistant coaches), but it also will make them the heavy favorite for 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who recently reneged on Miami-FL after Perry Clark and his staff got fired.  Remember, Townsend has strong connections to the Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA program, as is evident by the fact that he also landed 6'4 Rodrick Stewart and 6'4 Lodrick Stewart a year ago when he was at USC.  So, if Kansas hires Townsend, it stands to reason that they also would be very tough to beat for 6'5 Jr Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who is ranked #38 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best combinations of physical specimen, athlete, and outside shooter in the class nationally.  However, we don't look for this to happen before Kansas gets 6'8 Jr Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA, who has emerged as the #2 player in the state behind 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA and ahead of Terrance Williams and 6'6 Jr Marcus Williams from Seattle (Roosevelt) WA, all of whom are good enough to be ranked among the top 40 in the junior class nationally.  As a matter of fact, our sources tell us that Downs told the Kansas coaching staff over the weekend while on his official visit that he planned to become a Jayhawk and that an official announcement is expected to be forthcoming tonight when he will pick Kansas over Duke and Gonzaga.  And, if that weren't enough, it also appears that Kansas is the co-favorite, along with Arizona, for 6'2 Jr Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, who is ranked #60 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  So, if all this falls into place, we could be taking about a recruiting class that would be tied at #7, along with Indiana, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and a recruiting class that would be ranked #2, behind Notre Dame and ahead of Georgia, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  In other words, it looks like the Jayhawks could be one of the top teams in college basketball for a long time!  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that 5'11 Charlie White from Jackson (Provine) MS has opted for Jackson State.  This was expected (Johnson told us that this would likely happen over a month ago), but it's still huge for the Tigers for a several reasons.  First, White is the prototypical point guard/floor general who is excellent at running the show and has a great feel of the game and knack for always finding a way to win.  So when you combine that with the fact that White is ranked #66 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and originally was committed to Mississippi State, although he never signed a National Letter-of-Intent, it's easy to see why we think he could step in and be the best point guard in the Southwestern Athletic Conference from day one.  Second, it shows that Tevester Anderson, who is beginning his second year as the head coach at Jackson State, hasn't lost his touch as a great recruiter.  Third, the addition of White moves Jackson State's recruiting class up to #1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and into a tie at #79, along with Georgia Southern and Cornell, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  If you will recall, Jackson State already has landed 6'8 Rod Smith from Holmes (JC) MS, 6'6 Chris McGee from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'6 Edwin Jarrow from Savannah (Johnson) GA, and 6'0 Greg Sanders from Savannah (Johnson) GA.  We also have confirmed that Western Illinois has landed 6'4 Troy Okelson from Dodge City (JC) KS and Wagner has signed 6'2 Joe Mundweiler from Olathe (East) KS.  And what Okelson and Mundweiler both do best is shoot the basketball.  Mundweiler also should provide an excellent complement to all of the other slasher/athletes that Wagner head coach Mike Deane already has landed in this year's recruiting class, which currently checks in at #65 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and also includes 6'5 Jamal Smith from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'6 James Ulrich from Camden (Catholic) NJ, 6'6 Justin Drummond from Baltimore (McDonough) MD, 6'2 Mark Porter from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, and 6'6 Jason Rudakas from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT.  Okelson also is a major sleeper, because he red-shirted last year and, as a result, nobody got to see him play.  And that's good news for Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas and his staff, which now have seven players in the fold and, just like Jackson State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Wagner in the Northeaste Conference, appear to be assured of a #1-ranked recruiting class in their league (Mid-Continent Conference).  One that appears to have slipped past us last week, but, still is important, is the early verbal commitment that 6'5 Jr Terry Martin from Metairie (Ridgewood) LA gave to Texas Tech.  We're talking about somebody who can play the one, two, or three, because he's got good handling and passing skills, good skills on the perimeter, and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  We also understand that Martin, who is not currently ranked nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a legitimate sleeper for our top 100 juniors, plus he has gone on record saying that he has always wanted to play for Bob Knight.  Making the story even more intriguing is the fact that this not only gives the Red Raiders four early commitments from Martin, 6'8 Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Kendrick Johnson from Morton (H.S.) TX, and 6'3 Calvin Johnson from Morton (H.S.) TX, but it also bumps their recruiting class up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also think that 6'7 Michael Binns from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH is a great catch for Fordham.  Sure, Binns is a little undersized, but we're talking about tough hardnosed blue collar athlete from Chicago, IL who does all the dirty work inside.   His addition also provides excellent balance and chemistry to this recruiting class, which is now ranked #61 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, because 6'8 Bryant Dunston from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY is capable of playing both power forward and center, 6'8 Sebastian Greene from Lafayette (Central Catholic) IN is actually better out on the perimeter than he is inside, 6'3 Kevin Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA should be a good at the 2-guard spot, and 6'3 Marcus Stout from Detroit (Renaissance) MI is capable of running the show. 

Saturday, May 15, 2004, & Sunday May 16, 2004

It looks like Washington State head coach Dick Bennett and his staff are doing a good job of 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.  If you will recall, their first recruiting class, which was tied at #44, along with Iowa and Wyoming, in our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2003 and was ranked #3 in the league behind California and Arizona State a year ago, included 6'5 Jeff Varem from Vincennes (JC) IN, 7'1 Justin Garcia from San Bernardino (JC) CA, 6'5 Anthony Grant from Eastern Utah (JC) UT, and 6'6 Lance Den Boer from Sunnyside (Christian) WA.  Washington State also signed 6'2 Derrick Low from Honolulu (Iolani School) HI, 6'9 Chris Henry from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'7 Daven Harmeling from Fruita (Monument) CO, and 6'9 Robbie Cowgill from Palestine (Westwood) TX last fall and earlier this week they added 5'11 Josh Akognon from Petaluma (Casa Grande) CA and, as a result, their current recruiting class is ranked #55 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   So with 10 of his own recruits in the program next season, Bennett should have a strong nucleus upon which to build in the future.  As a matter of fact, when you combine this year's and last year's recruiting classes, the Cougars are tied with UCLA with 34 points with the 5th best recruiting class in the league over a two-year period, behind Arizona State with 45 points, USC with 43 points, Oregon with 41 points, and California with 37 points.  So it appears that Washington State has brought in close to comparable talent when compared to most of the other top teams in the league.  And this is important when one remembers that Bennett is ranked #11, behind Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Louisville's Rick Pitino, Kentucky's Tubby Smith, Texas Tech's Bob Knight, Arizona's Lute Olson, North Carolina's Roy Williams, Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins, Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, Maryland's Gary Williams, and Michigan State's Tom Izzo, on our list of the top head coaches in college basketball.  However, even more important, Bennett also already has one NCAA Final Four appearance on his resume' and he accomplished this feat with much less talent than most of the just mentioned coaches had when they got to the NCAA Final Four.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Cornell has landed 6'3 Jason Canady from Millbrook (School) NY and 6'8 Ryan Rourke from Mesa (JC) AZ, Marist has signed 6'4 Kaylen Gregory from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and 6'2 Cedric Smith from Winslow (Township) NJ has decided to attend Palm Beach (JC) FL.  Gregory is an athletic wing player who is a good defender and is good at getting to the hole, which makes him an excellent first recruit for new Marist head coach Matt Brady.   Canady and Rourke join 6'10 Shawn Oliverson from Preston (H.S.) ID, 6'2 Khaliq Gant from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, and 6'4 Will Scott from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ to move Cornell's recruiting class into a tie at #77, along with Wagner and Georgia Southern, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   And this is noteworthy, because these two additions give the Big Red the best recruiting class in the Ivy League, ahead of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Princeton.   Rubin also has some interesting twists and turns on the coaching merry-go-around as Lafayette assistant coach John O'Connor has moved onto become the Director of Basketball Operations at Georgia Tech; La Salle assistant coach John Gallagher, who was the #2 assistant coach for the Explorers, will move into O'Connor's old spot as the #1 assistant coach at Lafayette; Bill Dooley, who was the head coach of the Ireland National Team and previously was the head coach at the University of Richmond, has moved into Gallagher's old spot at La Salle; and Iona assistant coach Tony Chiles will move into Chuckie Martin's old spot at Drexel.  If you will recall, Martin recently moved to a similar position at St. John's.  We also have confirmed that Iona assistant coach Rob O'Driscoll has been hired as the #1 assistant coach at Marist and that Howard assistant coach Julius Allen got the assistant coaching job at South Florida over New York (Rice) NY head coach Maurice Hicks.  And we think this was a great move by Bulls head coach Robert McCullum for several reasons.  First, it will be important for South Florida, which will enter the tough Big East Conference a year from now, to have a coach on the staff with strong New York City ties.  Second, Allen not only knows everybody in New York City, but he also is a pretty good bench coach, as is evident by the fact that he coached the New York Gauchos to championships at the Houston Kingwood Classic and the NIKE Peach Jam and, as a result, his team was the Team-of-the-Summer last summer  Third, the new St. John's coaching staff has not had enough time yet to develop a strong recruiting base in New York City, which means most of the top juniors and sophomores in the city will probably get away.  And how about Colorado assistant coach Terry Dunn getting the head coaching job at Dartmouth?  Obviously this is an excellent hire, but did they really have to take three months to do it?  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that 6'8 Dwayne Brown from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL has signed with Southern Miss, 6'4 Jr Chey Christie has transferred from Clemson to South Alabama, and 6'10 Jacque Pate from Howard (JC) TX has signed with South Alabama.  The addition of Pate is important, because we're talking about somebody who should be able to mix it up inside, block shots, and rebound, as well as complement the other four players - 6'2 Mario Jointer from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'6 Brandon Gordon from Pensacola (JC) FL, 6'9 Daniel Northern from Warner Robins (Houston County) GA, and 6'3 Antonio Odoms from Monroeville (Monroe County) GA - in this recruiting class.  The addition of Pate moves South Alabama's recruiting class into a tie at #55, along with Richmond, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, this only tells half the story, because transfers and red-shirts don't count when we rank recruiting classes.  Did you also know that the Jaguars also had 6'2 Steve Coward, who played a Mississippi State a year ago, sitting out this year?  But, if we did count transfers and red-shirts, South Alabama's class would be ranked #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And they aren't done yet, as it appears to be only a matter of time before South Alabama also gets 6'3 Frosh Demetric Bennett, who is transferring from SMU. 

Friday, May 14, 2004

Earlier today the National Basketball Association announced the official list of players who have filed as early entry candidates for the NBA Draft on June 24th, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  That list includes 38 players at four-year colleges, five players at junior colleges, eight high school players, five 5th Year players, and 38 international players.  Players who have applied for early entry have the right to withdrawal their names from consideration for the draft by notifying the NBA of their decision in writing no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday, June 17th.  The high school on the list include 6'11 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 7'0 Robert Rothbart from Cupertino (Monta Vista) CA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and the 5th Year players on the list include 6'10 Jermaine Bell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'10 Jackie Butler from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'9 Maurice Shaw from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, and 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT.  It also should be noted that 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON is on the list, but he also already is the first player to have withdrawn his name from the list.  And making his story even more interesting is the fact that he has already signed with an agent, which means he can't play for Iowa State next year.  Instead, Chiriaev is expected to play professionally in Europe.  As things stand now, all five of our top five-ranked seniors (Howard, Josh Smith, Telfair, Livingston, and Jefferson) are entered into the draft and all four of our top four-ranked 5th Year Players (Wright, Earl Smith, Chiriaev, and Bell) plan to play professionally next year.  The list of college players from four-year colleges who have entered their names into the NBA Draft is as follows:  6'1 Jr Chris Acker from Chaminade, 6'7Frosh Trevor Ariza from UCLA, 6'8 Frosh Brandon Bass from UCLA, 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Robert Morris College, 6'7 Jr Odartey Blankson from UNLV, 6'3 Jr Darren Brooks from Southern Illinois, 6'8 Frosh Evan Burns from San Diego State, 6'8 Jr Josh Childress from Stanford, 6'8 Frosh Cortez Davis from Rutgers (2002-2003), 6'9 Frosh Luol Deng from Duke, 6'9 Jr Deng Gai from Fairfield, 6'7 Jr Ryan Gomes from Providence, 6'2 Jr Ben Gordon from Connecticut, 6'3 Jr Devin Harris from Wisconsin, 7'0 Jr David Harrison from Colorado, 6'6 Jr JaQuan Hart from Eastern Michigan, 5'10 Soph Darryl Hill from St. John's, 6'8 Frosh Kris Humphries from Minnesota, 6'6 Soph Andre Iguodala from Arizona, 7'0 Frosh Martin Iti from Charlotte, 6'7 Jr Marco Killingsworth from Auburn, 6'7 Jr Kevin Martin from Western Carolina, 6'6 Jr Louis McCullough from Francis Marion University, 6'8 Jr Jonathan Moore from North Carolina Central, 6'10 Jr Emeka Okafor from Connecticut, 6'8 Jr Jason Parker from Kentucky (2000-2001), 6'6 Jr Roger Powell from Illinois, 6'9 Jr Lawrence Roberts from Mississippi State, 5'9 Soph Nate Robinson from Washington, 6'2 Jr Imari Sawyer from DePaul (2000-2002), 6'4 Jr Ricky Shields from Rutgers, 6'10 Jr David Simon from IUPU-Ft. Wayne, 6'6 Jr Kirk Snyder from Nevada, 5'11 Jr Jay Straight from Wyoming, 6'8 Jr Harvey Thomas from Baylor, 6'7 Jr Dijon Thompson from UCLA, and 6'4 Jr Delonte West from St. Joseph's.  The list of junior college players on the list includes 6'10 Soph Sani Ibrahim from Gulf Coast (JC) FL 6'10 Soph Randall Orr from Georgia Perimeter (JC) GA, 6'3 Soph Kelvin Pena from Southeastern Iowa (JC) IA, 6'10 Jr Tremayne Singletary from Southwestern (JC) CA, and 6'7 Soph Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL.  The list of international players on the list includes 7'1 Martynas Andriuskevicius from Zalgiris (Lithuania), 6'3 Ender Arslan from Efes Pilsen (Turkey), 6'10 Andris Biedrins from Skonto (Latvia), 6'8 Luka Bogdanovic from Crvena Zvezda-Serbia-Montenegro, 6'5 Gary Chathuant from Brest (France), 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from St. Thomas Aquinas (Canada), 6'10 Murilo da Rosas from Corinthians Mogi (Brazil), 6'9 Marcus de Souza (Marquinhos) from Corinthians Mogi (Brazil), 6'7 Mickael Gëlabale from Cholet Basket (France), 7'0 Marcin Gortat from Cologne (Germany), 7'2 Hamid Haddadi from Peykan (Iran), 7'4 Ha Seung-jin from Yonsei University (South Korea), 6'4 Marcelo Huertas from Paulistano (Brazil), 7'0 Mile Ilic from Reflex (Serbia-Montenegro), 6'10 Arturas Kaubrys from Neptunas (Lithuania), 6'1 Ivan Koljevic from Buducnost (Serbia-Montenegro), 6'10 Erazem Lorbek from Skipper Bologna (Italy), 6'11 Dirk Mädrich from Braunschweig (Germany), 6'9 Miguel Marriaga from Gaiteros (Venezuela), 6'7 Sergei Monya from CSKA Moscow (Russia), 7'0 Pavel Mroz from Slask Wroclaw (Poland), 6'10 Damir Omerhodzic from Cibona Zagreb (Croatia), 6'10 Drago Pasalic from Split (Croatia), 7'1 Kosta Perovic from Partizan (Serbia-Montenegro), 6'11 Johan Petro from Pau Orthez (France), 7'4 Pavel Podkolzine from Varese (Italy), 7'2 Peter Ramos from Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico), 7'4 Jaber Rouzbahani from Zob Ahan (Iran), 6'10 Dusan Sakota from Panathinaikos (Greece), 6'11 Predrag Samardziski from Partizan (Serbia-Montenegro), 6'11 Armands Skele from Slask Wroclaw (Poland), 6'10 Uros Slokar from Benetton Treviso (Italy), 7'5 Jerry Sokoloski from Silverthorn Institute (Canada), 6'11 Tiago Splitter from Tau Ceramica (Spain), 6'7 Marcin Stefanski from Dijon (France), 6'6 Marko Tomas from Zagreb (Croatia), 6'5 Roko Ukic from Split (Croatia), and 6'6 Aleksander Vujacic from Udine (Italy).  Especially noteworthy is the fact that 10 of the international players are 7-feet or taller and 27 of the international players are 6'9 or taller.  While that's a staggering number when one remembers that there were 38 international players who entered their names into this year's draft, it's not surprising, because size is everything in the NBA. 

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'2 Jr Kyle McAlarney from Staten Island (Moore Catholic) NY, who is ranked #340 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is ranked #16 in New York City, has made an early verbal commitment to Notre Dame.   However, don't let those rankings deceive you.  As a matter of fact, Tom Konchalski of the H.S.B.I. Report has put the word out this spring that McAlarney is high major prospect and, as a result, a number of big time schools, like Notre Dame, Stanford, St. John's, Seton Hall, and N.C. State recently jumped into the mix.   We're talking about a smart heady fundamentally sound white kid who can shoot the lights out and play either guard spot.  So it should come as no surprise that we've heard Gerry McNamara comparisons.  McAlarney also is an excellent student, as is evident by the fact that he has 93 grade point average in the classroom, a 1200 on his SAT, and had previously been attracting interest from schools like Yale, Pennsylvania, and Columbia.  Naclerio has only seen McAlarney play once this spring at the IS8 Spring League, so when he ranks McAlarney #6 on his next New York City Report, which he's been promising for months, Naclerio will do so knowing that McAlarney could move up or down depending up how well he plays this summer.  This verbal commitment is also big for several other reasons.  First, the addition to McAlarney to a recruiting class that already is ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 should solidify this as one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, regardless of what happens with everybody else during the next year.  And, as things stand now, Georgia or Duke, which have the second and third best recruiting classes on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, will have to sign the equivalent of a player in the 11-40 range and a top five player nationally, respectively, to move ahead of the Irish's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'11 Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN, 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'7 Zach Hillesland from Toledo (St. John's) OH.  Second, getting an Catholic kid from New York City not only should please the fan base, but also should help re-establish Notre Dame's pipeline into the largest metropolitan area in the nation.  Third, with four players already in the fold in the Class of 2005, the Notre Dame coaching staff should be able to concentrate primarily on sophomores and freshmen this summer, which means they will get a great head start on the future.  It also appears that Oregon State has gotten an early verbally commitment from 6'6 Frosh Emeka Iwecka from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who is ranked #73 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP, and, although this is one of the earliest verbal commitments ever on record, it is not the earliest verbal commitment by a player in this class.  If you will recall, nine months ago 6'6 Frosh Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA picked UCLA.  Obviously this is an important catch, because Iwecka is an excellent athlete, a good rebounder, and a force to be reckoned with inside.  However, Iwecka needs to grow several more inches, if he wants emerge into one of the premier inside players in the Class of 2007.  But, even, if he doesn't grow, this still is an important catch for the Beavers, because the Rainier Beach program is one of the top programs year-in and year-out in high school basketball and, as a result, this could be an entrée for more players in the future.  And, just as important, just like the addition of King at UCLA, the addition of Iwecka should provide Oregon State head coach Jay John and his staff with the momentum they need to sign several big name players in the junior class.  We also have confirmed that Liberty has signed 6'8 Rashad Robinson from San Jacinto (JC) TX, which means that Flames head coach Randy Dunton now has a little bit of everything in this recruiting class.  In other words, Robinson, who is a 6'8, 250 lbs bull, will complement 6'11 Russell Monroe from Alma (H.S.) MI inside, 6'2 Evan Risher from Ft.Worth (North Crowley) TX will step in and run the show at point guard, and 6'6 Rell Porter from Pittsburg (H.S.) TX and 6'5 Joe Fulp from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC will both battle for time on the perimeter.  And how about the early verbal commitment that the University of Richmond has gotten from 6'5 Jr Jose Garcia from Charlottesville (St. Annes-Belfield) VA, who is ranked #124 nationally in the junior class?  Obviously we think this is a perfect fit because Garcia is a strong physical 2-guard who shoots it pretty well and has both an excellent understanding of the game and excellent grades, as is evident by the fact his list included schools, like Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt, and Georgetown, as well as Florida State, Michigan State, and Louisville.  Garcia also could become the first high school player ever to play on the Angola National Team, which has won six out of the last seven African Championships, this summer in the Olympics.  Garcia is one of three players who will attempt to get the last spot on the team.  We also have confirmed that Lamar has beaten out schools like Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Cincinnati, Penn State, Oklahoma, and LSU for the services of 6'4 Matthew Barrow from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, who is ranked #451 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but must move up dramatically after leading his team to a second straight Louisiana Class 1A High School State Championship.  Making the story even more interesting is the fact that Barrow was named the Most Valuable Player on the Class 1A All-State Teams and averaged 22.4 ppg, 8.1 apg, and 7.2 rpg this past season.  In other words, we may be talking about one of the biggest sleepers in the nation, as well as a big time athlete with deep 3-point shooting range and good enough ball handling  and passing skills to also play point guard.  The addition of Barrow moves Lamar's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Alan Daniels from Arkansas-Smith (JC) AR, 6'2 Jeremy Long from Eastern Arizona (JC) AZ, 6'9 Thomas Fairley from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'10 Nashid Beard from L.A. City (JC) CA, 6'4 Chuck Foster from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, 6'6 Durand Murray from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, 6'7 Larry Handy from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, and 6'8 Skip Thomas from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, into a numerical tie with Kentucky at #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  But the Cardinals remain ranked #4 because they've signed nine players and the Wildcats have only signed five.  However, if we wanted to give both Barrow and Handy the benefit of the doubt and ranked them among the top 100 and in the 101-300 range, respectively, Lamar's class would move up to #2, behind Memphis and ahead of Texas and Kentucky, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  And that really would be ironic, because Lamar assistant coach Steve Roccaforte also helped lay the foundation for Memphis' recruiting class a year ago when he still was an assistant coach for the Tigers. We also are impressed with the recruiting class that Georgia Southern has landed, as 6'4 Anthony Marshall from Lake Worth (H.S.) FL, 6'3 Matt Scott from Augusta (Lake Side) GA, and 6'7 Willie Dunn from Compton (JC) CA have been added to a class that already includes 6'8 Louis Graham from Winchendon (School) MA and 5'11 Dwayne Foreman from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.   Marshall is a big time athlete, but needs to improve his skills.  Scott is an excellent 3-point shooter with deep shooting range.  Dunn is a slasher/athlete/rebounder/defender who brings toughness to the table.  These three additions also move Georgia Southern's recruiting class into a tie at #76, along with Washington State and Wagner, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, even more important, the move the Eagles' recruiting class up to #2 in the Southern Conference, behind the College of Charleston. 

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan, and Oklahoma are all out of the running in the sweepstakes for 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI and, as a result, the final two are Oregon and Kansas.  And either way you slice it, that will have a major impact on our Final Rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes in the Class of 2004.   If Hairston picks the Jayhawks, their recruiting class, which currently is ranked #35 and already includes 6'3 Russell Robinson from New York (Rice) NY, 6'11 Alexander Kaun from Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL, and 6'8 Darnell Jackson from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, would move up to #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   And, if Hairston picks the Ducks, their recruiting class, which is tied at #36, along with Missisippi, and already includes 6'4 Bryce Taylor from North Hollywood (Harvard Westlake) CA, 6'8 Maarty Leunen from Redmond (H.S.) OR, 6'5 Chamberlain Oguchi from Houston (George Bush) TX, and 6'2 Kenny Love from Casper (JC) WY, would also move up to #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Getting Hairston also would mean that Oregon will have no scholarships available for next year as we enter into the Summer Evaluation Period and, as a result, they will be in the enviable position of being able to focus primarily on underclassmen.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'8 Brian Beckford from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who is ranked #191 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with UNC-Greensboro, and 6'6 Dexter Gray from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #249 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has has signed with St. John's.  Beckford needs to get bigger and stronger and meaner and tougher, but he does know how to play, has a nice touch out to about 10-feet, and a huge upside, which means he could develop into the perfect complement to 6'6 Kyle Hines from Sicklerville (Timber Creek) NJ, who signed with Spartans last fall and is an undersized warrior inside.  UNC-Greensboro also signed 6'3 Kevin Oleksiak from Abington (H.S.) PA this spring and, as a result, now have a recruiting class that is tied at #126, along with St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Eastern Michigan, Valparaiso, Florida Atlantic, San Diego, Virginia Commonwealth, Fresno State, UC-Santa Barbara, Miami-OH, South Florida, Lehigh, East Carolina, and Tennessee Tech, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Gray going to St. John's not only destroys the theory that the new coaching staff can't recruit in New York City, but he's a very important catch for several reasons.   First, Gray is an undersized inside player with the toughness, athleticism and skills inside that the St. John's program needs right now.  Second, getting Gray provides an entrée for the Red Storm coaching staff into one of the top programs in the city.  So suddenly we like their future chances with players like 6'7 Soph Jon Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #18 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 5'10 Frosh Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #14 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Third, Gray promises to be a great role player, but, at the same time, also isn't somebody who is going to scare off one of the elite inside players in the nation a year or two down the road, which is what St. John's has to get, if Norm Roberts and his staff what to turn this into an upper echelon program in the Big East.  The addition of Gray, who picked the Red Storm over Pittsburgh, Villanova, and Fairfield, also moves the St. John's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Rodney Epperson from Midland (JC) TX, 6'4 Jeramine Maybank from Independence (JC) KS, and 6'2 Cedric Jackson from Columbus (North Burlington) NJ, up to #52 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   We also have heard that St. John's was involved with 6'10 John Oates from Ramsey (Don Bosco) NJ, who is ranked #473 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but Naclerio tells us that Oates, instead, will go the prep school route.  Narclerio also tells us that Maryland, Duke, and Pittsburgh are the favorites for 6'8 Jr Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us 6'8 Trevor Ariza has signed with an agent, which means that anybody who is speculating about the possibility of Ariza taking his name out of the NBA Draft prior to the June 17th deadline and transferring from UCLA to another four-year Division I school is just wasting his time.  Trigonis also tells us that Washington State has landed 5'11 Josh Akognon from Petaluma (Casa Grande) CA, who averaged 30.0 ppg this past season, and Boise State has signed 6'7 Andre Green from Perris (H.S.) CA.  We also understand that 6'4 Anthony Goods from Corona (Centennial) CA, who is one of the best two guards still available, will visit the University of California this weekend and 6'11 Jr Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, who is ranked #5 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will visit the Univerity of Washington during Memorial Day Weekend and will be at Stanford the following weekend.  This one isn't done yet, but it looks like 6'6 Raymond Hicks from Longview (H.S.) TX is going to sign with Miami-FL.  Sure, we're talking about another undersized power forward going to a school at the high Division I level, but that's all that's left.  Besides, the University of Texas did pretty well with a guy a lot like this a year ago in 6'5 Frosh P.J. Tucker.  Speaking of the Longhorns, obviously this is case of new Miami-FL head coach Frank Haith going back and taking advantage of his old ties to get this one done.  It also looks like Murray State head coach Mick Cronin has gone back to take advantage of his old ties in Cincinnati to get 6'5 Justin Orr from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH, who is ranked #511 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but, just like his uncle (Seton Hall head coach Louie Orr) is a versatile athlete with a huge upside.  This moves Murray State's recruiting class back up to #1 in the league, as well as #21 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Remember, the Racers also have already landed 6'6 Issian Redding from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'9 Reggie Jackson from Lamar (JC) CO, 6'5 Shane Dansby from Harpeth (Kingston Springs) TN, 6'7 Mike McCoy from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, and 6'7 Charles Johnson from South Plains (JC) TX.  But even that doesn't tell the story of just how much new talent Cronin will have to work with next season.  If you will recall, 6'10 Pearson Griffin from Murray State (JC) OK, who signed with the Racers a year ago, sat out this past season as a red-shirt and 6'4 Trey Pearson, who started as a freshman at Mississippi during the 2002-2003 season, and 6'3 Keith Jenifer, who was a part-time starter at Virginia during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons, sat out after transferring to Murray State last spring.  It is not the editorial policy to count transfers and/or red-shirts when ranking recruiting classes, but, if we did, Murray State's recruiting class would be ranked #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   And Murray State's isn't done yet, as it looks like they also probably will get either 6'2 Jonathan Wallace from Harvest (Sparkman) AL, who is ranked #217 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, or 6'4 Darnell Hopkins from San Jacinto (JC) TX, who teamed with Carmelo Anthony at Towson (Catholic) MD as a sophomore and junior in high school.   Another program at the low-to-mid Division I level that suddenly appears to be off the chart is High Point's class, which is now ranked at #36 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 and features 5'11 Titus Byrd from Bossier Parish (JC) LA, 6'5 Arizona Reid from Gaffney (H.S.) SC, 6'1 Akeem Scott from Garrett (JC) MD, 5'11 Anthony Harris from Concord (Central Cabarrus) NC, 6'10 Terrance Stokes from Orlando (Evans) FL, 6'7 Jerald Minnis from Miami (Senior) FL, and 6'8 Josh Lamons from Boca Raton (Olympic Heights) FL.   Especially noteworthy are Byrd and Reid.  Did you know that Byrd was the 4th leading scorer in the junior college ranks this past season with 24.2 ppg?  "Titus is a great offensive player," said Jerry Mullens, the editor of Mullens Roundball Review. "He’s an extremely accurate three-point shooter with a tremendous mid-range game and a great competitor.  The bottom line is that this is not just a great get for High Point – it’s a steal.  I absolutely love the kid."  Byrd also averaged 6.3 assists and 2.6 steals per game and made eight or more 3-pointers on five different occasions last season. Reid, who averaged 23.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.3 spg, and 1.9 bpg over the last two years, led his high school team to back-to-back South Carolina Class 4-A State Championships and a 54-2 record, was named the Most Valuable Player in the 2004 South Carolina State Tournament, was the Spartanburg Herald-Journal Player of the Year, and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Beach Ball Classic.  And, this class would be ranked even higher, if we included transfers, because this spring 6'4 Mark Wilson, who promises to be one of the best of the group, has decided to tranfer from North Texas to High Point.  And, if that weren't enough, High Point also already has an early verbal commitment from 6'4 Jr Melvin Crowder from Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC.   Editor's Note:  6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI finally made it official earlier today when he signed with the University of Oregon. 

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

There is always the possibility that 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Rennaissance) MI, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and currently is the only player ranked among our top 25 seniors nationally who is still available, will once again put off making his decision.  But, as things stand now, he has a press conference scheduled for 4:00 PM tomorrow afternoon and it still wouldn't surprise us if he picked any one of the six schools.  However, if we had to make a prediction, our guess is that he will stand close to home, which means he will pick Michigan or Ohio State.  We also have heard that Oregon and Kansas are in the final three, although sources close to UCLA still think they're in the running and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson still likes Ohio State's chances.  As a matter of fact, when the Hairston family sat down recently and graded each of the teams based on a number of categories, Ohio State came out ahead with 47 points, Kansas and Oregon were tied with 43 points apiece, Oklahoma had 42 points, UCLA had 40 points, and Michigan had 39 points.  However, the intangible that makes this so impossible to call is the fact that Hairston's final decision will be based primarily upon where he wants to go.  Johnson also tells us that 6'6 Jr Ben Raymond from Toledo (St. John's) OH, who is ranked #66 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to Xavier.  And, while this comes as no surprise (the Musketeers have been the leader for Raymond all along), it still is a testament to just how high a level this program has a achieved under the direction of Thad Matta and the current coaching staff.   Remember, this is the team that gave Duke all they wanted in the NCAA Elite Eight just two months ago and the continues to recruit at the high major level.  Sure, they appear to have lost 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who verbally committed to the Musketeers last fall, but now is expected to end up at Louisville.  However, they beat schools like Michigan, Kentucky, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Ohio State, for Raymond; they beat Kentucky for 6'7 Josh Duncan from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH last fall; and they stole players like 6'8 Frosh Justin Doellman, who was Xavier's 5th leading scorer with 7.2 ppg this past season, and 6'9 Frosh Boubacar Coly, who sat out this past season, but has the talent, potential, and athleticism to emerge into another David West.   In other words, this the program that every school outside of the top seven conferences in college basketball (Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Big East, Big-10, Big-12, Pacific-10, and Conference USA) wants to emulate.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Jr C.J. Clark from Cyress Creek (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #28 in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Colorado State.  We're talking about a long rangy athlete with plenty of bounce and upside, which is why we think Rams assistant coach Buzz Peterson has stolen another one out of this state.   If you will recall, two years ago Colorado State landed 6'5 Shelton Johnson from Arlington (Oak Ridge) TX and 6'4 Michael Morris from Katy (Cinco Ranch) TX; last year they got 6'10 Steve Verwers from Weatherford, TX, 6'8 Phil Thomasson from Burleson (H.S.) TX, and 7'0 Stuart Creason from Coppell (H.S.) TX; and in this recruiting class they have 6'0 Charlie Jones from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX and 5'10 Sean Morris from Katy (Cinco Rancho) TX.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'11 Soph Robert Summers is transferring from Penn State to West Virginia and it appears that 5'10 Soph Terrance Whiters is transferring from Loyola-Illinois and has schools like Charlotte, Georgetown, and St. Bonaventure at the top of his list.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson reports that Jackson State already has landed 6'8 Rod Smith from Holmes (JC) MS, 6'6 Chris McGee from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'6 Edwin Jarrow from Savannah (Johnson) GA, and 6'0 Greg Sanders from Savannah (Johnson) GA and, as a result, their recruiting class moves up to #155 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, even more important, Jackson State's recruiting class is now ranked #3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference behind Southern University and Alabama A&M.  And they aren't done yet, as they also are expected to get 6'8 Hilton Thompkins from Holmes (JC) MS, who red-shirted year before last a Murray State and then played last year in junior college (which means he'll have three years to play), and 6'0 Charles White from Jackson Provine) MS, who verbally committed to Mississippi State last fall, but since has re-opened his recruitment.  And, if Jackson State pulls this off, it would be important for several reasons.  First, White is ranked #66 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, if Jackson State gets both White and Thompkins, that would be incredible their recruiting class would move up to #53 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Third, the addition of White and Thompkins will give Tigers two of the better players in the league next year from day one.  We also have confirmed that Radford has added two more recruits to a class that already includes 6'8 Josh Fox from Staunton (Riverheads) VA and 6'8 Colby Trent from Richmond (Henrico) VA.   We're talking about 6'9 Duane Ricks from Norfolk (Collegiate) VA and 6'3 Branden Smith from Winston-Salem (Bishop McGuinness) NC.   Fox will add size and versatility, as is evident by the the fact that he averaged 16.5 ppg, 12.1 rpg, and 1.4 bpg while leading his team to a first ever Virginia A State Championship appearance.  At 6'7, 270 lbs., Trent will provide a big body inside.   Ricks, who averaged 11.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg, and 5.1 bpg, led his team to the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools Championship Game and was named first team all-conference.  In other words, Radford head coach Byron Samuels signed three inside guys who do different things inside and know what it takes to win.  However, the best player in the class is Smith, who has a 40-inch vertical leap, a deadly 3-point shot (46% from beyond the arc), and impressive numbers (21.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 4.4 apg, 4.1 spg).   So it should come as no surprise that Radford's recruiting class now ranks second in the Big South Conference behind Liberty and ahead of Winthrop, which already are the two schools that you have to catch, if you want to win the league. 

Saturday, May 8, 2004, Sunday, May 9, 2004, & Monday May 10, 2004

Everybody is anxiously anticipating the decision that 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is expected to make, but, as of yet, nobody seems to know exactly when Hairston will make his decision or what school he will pick.  So, as things stand now, Hairston's list still includes UCLA, Ohio State, Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Oregon and a decision could be forthcoming at any time.  Or he could continue to delay things indefinitely, which is what he's already been doing.   However, Hairston's not the only player ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally who is still on the board.  Obviously we're talking about 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'11 Andre Blatche from Syracuse (Henninger) NY, 6'7 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'11 Jr Charlie White from Jackson (Provine) MS, and 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA.  The favorites for Giles are Kansas, Washington, and Cincinnati.  White still may end up at Mississippi State, which is where he verbally committed in the fall, but the smart money is on Southern Miss and Jackson State.  Rutgers, Kansas, and Pittsburgh are battling it out for Galindo and Blatche is expected to attend prep school next year, although it would not surprise us if his name showed up on the list of high school players who have applied for early entry into the NBA Draft (the deadline for filing is today and the list will officially be released on Friday, May 14, 2004).  If Odia solves his visa problems, it appears to be a done deal for Louisville.  And, if Odia ends up at Louisville, then the Cardinals' recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'8 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, would move into a tie at #3, along with Kentucky on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  But, if we counted transfers when ranking recruiting classes, Kentucky's recruiting class would be ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Remember, the Wildcats have 6'2 Patrick Sparks, who was the Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Year prior to transferring from Western Kentucky to Kentucky a year ago, to go along with the five players - 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV - in this year's recruiting class.   Morris will provide the Wildcats with the quality big man that they need inside; Crawford is the best 2-guard in the senior class nationally; Rondo is good enough for Steve Smith, who was his coach at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this past season, to mention in the same breath as 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL and 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY when he talks about the top point guards in the nation; and it appears that Bradley routinely gets the best 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL when they have gone head-to-head this spring at Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL.  We also understand that Bradley has put up big numbers when he's shown up this spring at the IS8 Spring League in Jamaica, NY.  However, if Louisville also gets 6'10 David Padgett, who is transferring from Kansas and is considering Stanford, Louisville, and UCLA, and we counted transfers when ranking recruiting classes, then the Cardinals would have an even better recruiting class than Kentucky.  And that's even without 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY and 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, both of whom signed with the Cardinals last fall, but now have decided to by-pass going to a four-year Division I college and, instead, enter the NBA Draft.  It also looks like William & Mary has stolen one.  We're talking about 6'4 Edwin Ofori Attah from Statesville (Christian) NC and he can flat out fill it up, as is evident by the fact that Attah averaged 29.2 ppg, set the North Carolina high school single-game scoring record with 71 points in a game, had a school record with 13 3-pointers en route to a 68-point performance in another game, and scored 760 points last season to lead his team to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association quarterfinals.  Attah, who orginally is from Germany and played his junior season for the legendary Stu Vetter at Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, also put up big numbers against some pretty good competition last season, as he scored 45 points against Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, which was ranked #2 in the nation at the time, and had 54 points in an exhibition game against the Italian Junior National Team.  He also was the leading scorer for the German Junior National Team last summer at the World Championships in Athens, Greece.  Attah also is an explosive athlete with the toughness necessary to make an immediate impact and, as a result, he moves William & Mary's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Laimis Kisielius from Charlotteville (The Miller School) VA, 6'7 Kyle Carrabine from Naperville (Nequa Valley) IL, and 6'2 Nathan Mann from Overland Park (St. Thomas Aquinas) KS, into a tie at #90, along with Washington State, Texas Tech, Utah, and Temple, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   However, even more important, this moves the Tribe's recruiting class up to second in the Colonial Athletic Association behind George Mason and ahead of Hofstra and James Madison.  When you also take into consideration that William & Mary had three players - 6'8 Jack Jenkins, who was named to the all-rookie team year before last; 6'6 Hawley Smith, who transferred from Temple; and 6'0 Adam Dutton from Cuesta (JC) CA - who sat out last season, it easy to see why it looks like William & Mary head coach Tony Shaver is already well on his way towards laying a strong foundation, just like he did at Hampden-Sydney, where he compiled at 358-121 record over 17 seasons. 

Friday, May 7, 2004

Suddenly it looks like Murray State isn't the only school in the Ohio Valley Conference that is recruiting like crazy.  The new kid on the block that we're talking about is Jacksonville State, which now has seven players in the fold in 6'7 Brandon Davis from Birmingham (West End) AL, 6'2 Courtney Beasley from Huntsville (Butler) AL, 6'7 Dorian Brown from Mt. Hermon (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, 6'2 Ron Venner from Atlanta Metro (JC) GA, 6'6 Carl Lumpkin from Atlanta Metro (JC) GA, 6'4 B.J. Spencer from Bevill State (JC) AL, and 6'6 John Hanesworth from St. Petersburg (JC) FL.  Davis is ranked #401 and Beasley is ranked #482 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but both of them had excellent seniors seasons, as is evident by the fact that Davis was the #7 ranked senior in the state by the Birmingham News and Beasley was runner-up in the voting for Mr. Basketball to 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, who is ranked #63 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  In other words, both are good enough to be ranked in the 100-300 range nationally, although picking Beasley ahead of 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL and 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, both of whom are tied at #10 in our rankings of the top seniors and both of whom were named to the McDonald's All-American Team, which obviously is what happened, is a little ridiculous.  Brown was the leading scorer, leading rebounder, and leader in field goal percentage at Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA.  Verner was the leading scorer in the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association with 22. ppg.  Lumpkin not only was the leading rebounder with 13.0 rpg in his team's region, but he also had the second highest 3-point shooting percentage.  Spencer, who originally signed with Birmingham Southern two years ago, can also really shoot it, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 23.8 ppg.  Hanesworth, at 6'6, 240 lbs, averaged 15 ppg and 9 rpg, but what he does best is provide an inside presence, as he bangs and rebounds inside.  In other words, all seven of Jacksonville State's recruits are good enough to step in next year and challenge for immediate playing time next season and, as a result, it is easy to see why this recruiting class has moved up to #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  However, even more important, this easily is the best recruiting class in the history of the school, as well as the best recruiting class in the Ohio Valley Conference, ahead of Eastern Kentucky, Murray State, Tennessee Tech, and Austin Peay.  And, if that weren't enough, 6'4 Jr Jeremy Law, who is the best player in the program, red-shirted last season and 6'9 Jr Abdou Diame, who followed head coach Mike LaPlante from Auburn to Jacksonville State two years ago, will be back for his senior year next season.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'1 Kavis Shipman from Tyler (JC) TX has signed with Baylor, which means the Bears are no longer are saving a scholarship for 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  Remember, a week ago Florida State dropped out of the running for Palacios and, as a result, the final two for Palacios came down to Louisville abnd Baylor.  However, two days ago Palacios picked Louisville.  But Shipman is still a pretty good consolation prize, as he was named to the First Team All-Region 14 two month ago.  Shipman also was a teammate of Chris Bosh in high school at Dallas (Lincoln) TX and was recruited by schools like Wisconsin, Southern Miss, Hawaii, and Utah.  The addition of Shipman moves Baylor's recruiting class, which also includes 6'11 Mamadou Diene from the Senegal, 6'2 Aaron Bruce from Horsham, Australia, 6'0 Roscoe Biggers from Globe Tech (JC) NY, 6'5 Patrick Fields from Panola (JC) TX, and 6'5 Richard Hurd from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, up to #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Shipman also give Baylor head coach Scott Drew not one, but two, point guards in this recruiting class to complement Bruce and Hurd who will both battle for time at the 2-guard spot, Fields who should be pretty good at the 3-spot, and Diene, who is expected to provide the shot blocker/defender/rebounder that Baylor needs inside.  Johnson also tells us that 7'0 Luke Nevill from Savannah (Kell) GA, who is ranked no higher than #56 in the state by our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, has signed with the University of Utah.  However, like they say, you can't teach size.  Besides Nevill is originally from Australia, which means that he's following in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Andrew Bogut, who was one of the top freshmen in college basketball last season, to play for the Utes.  Johnson also reminds us that.6'8 Frosh Dwayne Curtis is transferring from Auburn and it appears that he is following Tracy Dildy who just got an assistant coaching position, to Ole Miss.  We also expect Jacksonville State assistant coach Michael White, who had a lot of do with landing the class that we went into detail about above, to fill the other open assistant coaching position for the Rebels next week.  And when that happens, look out, because Didly and White are two of the top up-and-coming guys in the business.  Another guy who you need to watch out for is Bob Cantu, who has served as an basketball administrative assistant at Southern Cal the last three years.  Cantu was not only moved into the assistant coaching position vacated a month ago when USC assistant coach Marvin Menzies left to take a similar position at UNLV, but he also was given the recruiting coordinator responsibilities.  And we expect him to be the next in a long line of outstanding assistant coaches, like Dave Miller, Wyoming assistant coach Silvey Dominguez, and former Miami-FL assistant coach Kurtis Townsend, who have worked for Henry Bibby in recent years.  We also were glad to see that former UCLA assistant coach Jim Saia has been hired by Bibby as an assistant coach at USC.  And how about new St. John's head coach Norm Roberts hiring Iowa State assistant coach Fred Quartlebaum, St. Francis-NY assistant coach Glenn Bracia, and Drexel assistant coach Chuckie Martin as his assistants?  Even more important, does this staff have the necessary ties to land the top juniors in the New York City, like 6'10 Jr Theo Davis from Bayside (Cardozo) NY and 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY.  We also hear that Iona assistant coach Tony Chiles will move into Martin's spot at Drexel and have confirmed that Iowa State head coach Wayne Morgan will move up his entire staff as he attempts to replace Quartlebaum.  Obviously this is the break that Darryl Sharp, who has been the Director of Basketball Operations at Louisville and Iowa State in recent years, has been waiting for and, as a result, we think the Cyclones will continue to recruit like crazy, especially in Minnesota, which is not good news for the Golden Gophers, unless Dan Monson is smart enough to hire San Diego State assistant coach Brian Dutcher.  Not only is Dutcher an old hand at helping run a big time program, dating back to his days at Michigan, but his father, Jim Dutcher, is a former head coach at Minnesota and, as as result, the younger Dutcher knows all the right people to help him keep the top in-state players at home.   Remember, that's something that Minnesota has had a difficult time doing the first time around during the Monson era.  We also have confirmed that the University of Louisville has received a binding National-of-Intent from 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY and we still have no idea what 6'6 Malik Hairston from Detroit (Renaissance) MI is going to do.  As things stand now, his list still includes Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Oregon, but he continues to postpone making a final decision. 

Thursday, May 6, 2004

Yesterday 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY confirmed at a news conference that Louisville is his choice and today he signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent with Cardinals.  However, as things stand now, the University of Louisville does not have a National Letter-of-Intent in hand.  Apparently the hold-up was getting his mother, who lives in Columbia, to co-sign the letter, but now it appears to be official and, as a result, the Cardinals can focus their attention upon signing five more players, like 7'0 Jr Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL, who is ranked #39 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and already is verbally committed to the Cardinals, 6'9 Jr Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 5'10 Jr Andre McGee from Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) CA, 6'8 Jr Chad Millard from Manchester (Trinity) NH, 6'10 Jr Brayden Bell from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, 6'5 Jr Marcus Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'6 Jr Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 5'11 Jr Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'1 Jr Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, and 6'6 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (H.S.) MI, in next year's recruiting class.  They also may take a transfer, like 6'10 David Padgett, who is transferring from Kansas and whose top three schools appear to be Stanford, UCLA, and Louisville.  If you will recall, Padgett was a McDonald's All-American, as well as the #15-ranked player in our final rankings of the Class of 2003.  And, if the Cardinals pull this off, a year from now they could have one of the best one-two-three inside punches in college basketball with Padgett, Palacios, and 6'9 Brian Johnson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Palacios also is capable of getting some minutes at the wing forward spot next year, because he can shoot the three, dribble, pass, and handle it on the perimeter.  In other words, he really is the next Jamal Mashburn and, as a result, it wouldn't surprise us if he emerged as one of Louisville's best players next season.  We also suspect Palacios could be Louisville's best inside player, which is saying a lot, because Ellis Myles, who was Louisville's best inside player on Rick Pitino's first two teams at Louisville, will be back and fully recovered next season.  However, I'm not sure Louisville fans understand just how good Palacios is, because Eric Crawford, who is the beat writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal, insists upon quoting Rivals.com, which has Palacios ranked #30 nationally in the senior class.  Obviously, Rivals.com is out to lunch on this one.  It also probably explains why Palacios didn't make the McDonald's All-American Game.  Remember, Palacios was hurt last summer and, as a result, spent several months in Columbia, which means that he was out-of-sight out-of-mind during the most important time in terms of locking up a spot on the McDonald's All-American Game.  However, when Palacious returned and we saw him last winter at places like the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational, Slam Dunk to the Beach, and Flyin' To the Hoop International Holiday Basketball Invitational, he was so good that he thought there was a possibility that he might attempt to by-pass college and go straight into the NBA Draft.   As a matter of fact, Palacios had 26 points 16 rebounds, and five assists, as he led his team to a 72-55 win against Reserve (Christian) LA in the championship game, and a tournament record 43 points and nine rebounds in a 70-67 overtime win against West Chester (Lakota East) OH in the semi-finals at at Flyin' to the Hoop.  But it's not all good news today for the University of Louisville, because 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, who was the consensus #1-ranked junior college player in the nation this past season, has announced that he plans to enter his name into the NBA Draft and he's also in the process of hiring an agent, which means he will forfeit his remaining college eligibility.  This means that Louisville's recruiting class, which currently 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, drops from #3 into a tie at #, along with UCLA, USC, and Missouri, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   It also means that Louisville's and Kentucky's recruiting class have fipfloped, because Kentucky's recruiting class, which was tied at #8, along with UCLA, and USC, and Missouri, has moved up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   That's right!  It appears that the Wildcats have prevailed in the battle for 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and appears to be the final piece to the puzzle, as suddenly the Wildcats appear to be even better on paper than they have been the last two years when they were the #1-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament.   Remember, last fall the Wildcats landed 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Bradenton (IMG Academy) FL and 6'4 Adam Williams from St. Albans (H.S.) WV and this spring they signed 6'3 Joe Crawford from Detroit (Renaissance) MI and 6'2 Rajon Rondo from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.   They also have 6'2 Patrick Sparks, who was the Sun Belt Player-of-the-Year a year ago prior to transferring from Western Kentucky to Kentucky, waiting in the wings.  So, as things stand now, Kentucky has the four best incoming guards in college basketball next year and Morris, who should be the perfect complement to 6'6 Jr Chuck Hayes and 6'5 Soph Kelenna Azubuike next year.  And having Morris around to go head-to-head against 7'1 Frosh Lukasz Obrzut and 7'3 Frosh Shagari Alleyne also should be a major plus in terms of their development.  And making room for Morris is 6'9 Bernard Cote, who announced yesterday that he plans to transfer to another school.  With the addition of Morris, suddenly the Wildcats have 14  scholarship players.  However, that isn't a problem, because Williams plans to go the prep school route and then re-sign with the Wildcats a year from now.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT has picked the University of Mississippi, but our guess is that he will attend prep school next year.   Swanigan is a wide body with surprising skills and mobility, just like 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL was a year ago.  However, Swanigan dropped off the radar screen when he appeared to be lazy and out-of-shape last summer and then transferred from Lafayette (Jefferson) IN back to Salt Lake City last fall.  But, after watching Swanigan play in the Las Vegas Easter Classic, Houston Kingwood Classic, and the Spiece Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic this spring, there is no doubt in our mind that he is a legitimate top 30 senior nationally.  The addition of Swanigan also moves Mississippi's recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Bobby Clark from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'6 Brandon Patterson from Althemier (Unified) AR, and 6'8 Jeremy Parnell from Blytheville (Gosnell) AR, into a tie at #35, along with California, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'10 Chester Giles from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA has been granted his release from Miami-FL, which means he will have to sit out only one year, instead of two years, unless he can win an appeal, and, as a result, become eligible to transfer to another Division I school right away.  Obviously a lot of schools are trying to involved with Giles, but right now it looks like a three-horse race among Kansas, Washington, and Cincinnati.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Jay Youngblood from Mott (JC) MI has signed with Kent State.  And getting Youngblood is important for Kent State for several reasons.  First, Youngblood was the National Division II Junior College Player-of-the-Year.  Second, Youngblood is a slasher/athlete who is great at getting to the hole, which makes him ideally suited to complement 6'5 Michael Scott from Indianapolis (Northwest) IN, 6'6 Issac Knight from Detroit (Crockett) MI, and 5'10 Marcus Crenshaw from Detroit (MacKenzie) MI, all of whom thrive in the uptempo setting that Kent State head coach Jim Christian likes to employ.  Third, getting Youngblood, who played his high school basketball at Southfield (H.S.) MI, gives Kent State yet another tie to the state of Michigan, which has been a fertile recruiting area for the Golden Flashes in recent years.  Fourth, his addition moves Kent State's recruiting class into a tie at #68, along with New Orleans, South Alabama, Penn State, and Illinois State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   We also have dropped USC's recruiting class, which was tied at #2, along with Texas, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 into a tie at #8, along with Louisville, UCLA, and Missouri, because 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA announced yesteday that he is entering his name into the NBA Draft.   So that means a total of nine players have now decided to by-pass college and enter the draft this spring.  The others that are officially gone are 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, and 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON.  We also have heard that 6'10 Jackie Butler from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA has signed with an agent and will enter his name into the NBA Draft, but, as things stand now, that is unconfirmed.

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

We will be out of the loop for an extended period later today, so I am forced to do something that I don't like to do (report that something has happened that hasn't happened yet).  Remember, everybody thought Ralph Sampson was going to Kentucky, but when he got to the podium, he said Virginia and everybody thought Shareef Abdur-Rahim was going to Georgia Tech, but he instead picked California.  In this case we're talking about the expected signing of a National Letter-of-Intent by 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY for the University of Louisville at a scheduled press conference at 3:45 PM this afternoon.  Landing Palacios is huge for the Cardinals not just because he's tied at #10, along with 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, on our list of the top seniors nationally, but also because he promises to be the next Jamal Mashburn for Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino.  As a matter of fact, Palacios is the closest thing to Mashburn that we've seen since Mashburn played at the University of Kentucky in the early 90's.  And he's almost as good.  The addition of Palacios moves Louisville's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Donta Smith from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL, 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, back up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   But he's not the key as to whether the Cardinals will be one of the top five teams in college basketball next season.  Instead, that depends upon whether Louisville also gets 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the best player in his age group on the continent of Africa prior to coming to the United States two years ago.  However, even more important, Odia is ideally suited to fill the point guard spot that was vacated when 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, who was the highest ranked player that Pitino has signed since arriving at Louisville three years ago, made his entry into the NBA Draft official yesterday.  We're talking about a 6'6 athlete with an excellent feel for the game, good ball handling and passing skills, and the ability to the shoot the lights out.   We also have confirmed that 6'2 JamesOn Curry from Mebane (Eastern Alamance) NC will sign today with Oklahoma State and this is huge for several reasons.   First, Curry is ranked #54 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Second, the addition of Curry moves Oklahoma State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'10 Aaron Pettway from Hutchinson (JC) KS, 6'0 Jamal Brown from Dixie (JC) UT, and 7'0 Julius Lamptery from Stillwater, OK, up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Third, getting Curry shows that the Cowboys will remain at that elite level, not just because they will have most of their players back next year, but also because they can recruit in all parts of the country.  Fourth, Curry will fill the void created by Brown, who signed a National-of-Intent with the Cowboys last fall and, as a result, counts with Oklahoma State's recruiting class even though he is expected to attend junior college for another year at Southern Idaho (JC) ID.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'4 Matthew Thomas from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA has signed with San Diego State and this too is huge, because we're talking about one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally after playing a key role for Belmont Shore in their strong finish at both the Las Vegas Easter Classic and the Las Vegas Spring Showcase earlier this spring.   The addition of Thomas, who is capable of playing either guard spot, moves San Diego State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'11 Mohamed Camara from Riverside (JC) CA, 6'2 Lorenzo Keeler from Escondido (H.S.) CA, and 6'10 Jabbar Young from San Bernardino (JC) CA, into a tie at #51, along with Colorado, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   In other words, it looks like all the hard work that San Diego State assistant coaches Brian Dutcher and Greg Gottlieb have put in this winter has paid of, because the Aztecs have a pair of twin towers in Camara and Young, an great outside shooter in Keeler, and one of the best slashers in the senior class nationally in Thomas in the fold.  We also have confirmed that Western Illinois landed 6'5 Allen McFarland from Las Vegas (Durango) NV last Friday and 6'0 Nathan Kester from Illinois Central (JC) IL yesterday.   Obviously with McFarland, who is best described as a shooter/slasher/athlete, this was a case where Western Illinois head coach Derek Thomas was able to take advantage of his ties dating back to when he was an assistant coach for two years at UNLV during the Charlie Spoonhour era.  Kester is an excellent outside shooter, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 29 ppg as a high school senior at Lewiston (H.S.) IL.  Kester, who originally signed with Evansville, red-shirted his freshman year and then went the junior college route when Jim Crews left Evansville to become the head coach at Army two years ago. These two additions move Western Illinois' recruiting class into a tie at #37, along with Wright State and the College of Charleston, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Speaking of the College of Charleston, they've also added a transfer in Phil MCandies, who is leaving Virginia Tech after starting 13 games and averaging 5.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg as a sophomore next year.  Unfortunately for the College of Charleston, transfers don't count when ranking recruiting class, but, if McCandies did count, that would move their recruiting class up to #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Temple has landed 5'7 Chris Clark from Philadelphia (St. Josephs Prep) PA, Maine has landed 6'5 Jr Tyson Hartnett from Medford (Shawnee) NJ and 6'5 Juan Federico Sanchez from Argentina, Colgate had landed 6'5 Tim Pounds from Princeton (The Hun School) PA, and Notre Dame has landed 6'6 Jr Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA.   That last one is huge, because the addition of Ayers moves the Irish's recruiting class up to #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   If you will recall, a last week Notre Dame also got an early verbal commitment from 6'11 Jr Luke Zeller from Washington (H.S.) IN and during the winter they got an early verbal commitment from 6'7 Zach Hillesland from Toledo (St. John's) OH.  The early commitment by Hartnett also is interesting, because he appears to be the main reason why they were able to steal Sanchez, who was very impressive at the Charlie Weber Invitational.  Sanchez, who is the younger brother of Pepe Sanchez, passes, shoots, and has a great feel for the game.  Apparently Sanchez is now living with the Hartnett family and they have become best friends. 

Tuesday, May 4, 2004

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is tied at #10 in our rankings of the top seniors nationally, will have a press conference tomorrow and he plans to sign with Louisville.  However, based Palacios' apparent indecision and numerous delays during the last two weeks, we aren't going to etch this one into stone until he signs a binding National Letter-of-Intent and the University of Louisville has it in hand.  We have confirmed that 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY has announced that he plans to enter his name into the NBA Draft and, as a result, Louisville's recruiting class, which was tied at #2, along with Texas and USC, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, temporarily drops into a tie at #11, along with Arizona State.  However, assuming that Palacios does sign with the Cardinals tomorrow, their recruiting class will move right back up into the #4 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, behind Memphis, Texas, and USC.  And, if they also get on 6'6 Churchill Odia from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, which we also expect to happen, later this spring, Louisville's recruiting class would move into the #1 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  We also have adjusted for the other players who were committed to four-year Division I schools that recently have decided to enter the NBA Draft and, as a result, Arkansas' class, which is without 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, but still includes 6'5 Dontell Jefferson from Atlanta Metro (JC) GA, 6'11 Steve Hill from Bronson (H.S.) MO; 6'7Charles Thomas from Jackson (Callaway) MS, 6'10 Darian Townes from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'7 Marcus Monk from Lapento (East Poinsette) AR, drops to #13 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004; Duke's class, which is without 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL, but still includes 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Sacramento (Sheldon) CA and 6'5 Dave McClure from Stamford (Trinity Catholic) CT, drops into a tie at #54, along with Syracuse, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004; North Carolina's class, which is without 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, but still includes 6'9 Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA and 6'3 Quentin Thomas from Oakland (Tech) CA, drops to #63 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004; and DePaul's class, which is without 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, but still includes 5'11 Aking Elting from Southern Idaho (JC) ID and 6'1 Cliff Clinkscale from Ocala (Shores Christian) FL, drops into a tie at #82, along with Villanova, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  We also have confirmed that Michigan State has landed 6'10 Idongesit Ibok from Montverde (Academy) FL, but we suspect this a case of the Spartans taking a chance on the best big man that they could get involved with who was still available.  We also have learned that 6'6 Jr Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, who is ranked #40 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and he will pick Notre Dame, Virginia, Villanova, Maryland, or North Carolina.  Actually the smart money is on the Irish and the Cavaliers, but, as things stand now, we think that race is too close to call.   We also still believe that the race for 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, who is expected to make an annoucement on Thursday, May, 6th, is too close to call between Kentucky and Georgia Tech, although we wouldn't be surprised if he changes his mind and announces that he will by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'4 Jr Ed White from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA has picked Yale over Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, Stanford, California, Rice, Vanderbilt, Pacific, and San Diego and we think this is an perfect fit, because he'll get both a great education and and have an excellent college playing career.  Remember, we're talking about one of the best 3-point shooters in the junior class nationally.  And how about Lamar getting two more verbal commitments?  If you will recall, Lamar already has six players in the fold in 6'7 Alan Daniels from Arkansas-Smith (JC) AR, 6'2 Jeremy Long from Eastern Arizona (JC) AZ, 6'9 Thomas Fairley from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'4 Chuck Foster from Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, 6'6 Durand Murray from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'7 Larry Handy from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX and had a recruiting class that was ranked #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  But with 6'10 Nashid Beard from L.A. City (JC) CA, who is an excellent rebounder/shot blocker/defender, as well as one of the top 100 junior college players in the nation, and 6'8 Skip Thomas form Austin (Lyndon B. Johnson) TX, who promises to be a good role player, Lamar's recruiting class now has moved up to #4 on our of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  It also appears that Kansas will have 6'5 Alex Galindo from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #55 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the 6th highest ranked senior still available, and 6'9 Jr Tyler Hansborough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, who is ranked #9 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, both on campus this weekend and 6'2 Jr Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, who is ranked #60 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'6 Jr Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA, who is ranked #154 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, both on campus the following weekend.  Speaking of Downs, who we did not get a chance to see him at the Pump "N" Run Spring Tournament, but the word on the street is that he has emerged into the second best player in the state behind 6'6 Jr Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, who is ranked as the #1 junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   And that's saying a lot, because 6'6 Jr Marcus Williams from Seattle (Roosevelt) WA and  6'5 Jr Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA are both good enough to be ranked in the 15-30 range nationally.  In other words, the junior class in Washington is nothing short of spectacular! 

Saturday, May 1, 2004, Sunday, May 2, & Monday May 3, 2004

It had all the makings of a great championship game in the Seniors-To-Be Division at the 11th Annual Spiece Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Ft. Wayne, IN.  The Illinois Fire had just upset the Spiece Indy Heat in one semi-finals game, thanks to the fact that 6'2 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Robeson) IL had just found 6'1 Jr Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL wide open in the corner and Freeman hit the game winning shot with four seconds left in the game.  The other semi-finals game between the Seattle Rotary Select I and the Illinois Warriors was in overtime and win or lose, Seattle Rotary Select I had a plane to catch and, as a result, it appeared that it would be battle between two of the rivals on the AAU circuit - the adidas sponsored Illinois Fire and the NIKE sponsored Illinois Warriors - for all the marbles.   However, it appears that Larry Butler, who runs the Illinois Warriors club team program, had other ideas, as he forfeited the championship game in both the Seniors-To-Be Division and the Juniors-To-Be Division (the Illinois Warriors beat Ferrari Basketball in the semi-finals, but Ferrari Basketball played the King James Shooting Stars for the championship in the Juniors-To-Be Division) and went home.  Not only do we think this was very unfair to Bill Hensley, who is the tournament director, and all the people who work so hard to put on a great tournament, but it also sends a terrible message to the players.  Still, the fact that Butler chickened out and didn't let his team play in the championship still does not diminish that fact his players showed tremendous heart along the way, as they knocked off Billy Shepard Sports in the round of 16 and the Michigan Hurricanes Blue in the quarterfinals.   Their best players were 6'8 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, who played as well as we've ever seen him play, as he took care of business inside and hit shots from out of the perimeter, and 6'5 Jr Josh Tabb from Ullin (Century) IL, who was unstoppable going to the hole with his incredible athleticism.  But the unsung hero for this team was 6'3 Jr Philip Perry from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who not only stepped up and made every big shot, but also had people wondering if he might be the next Dwayne Wade.  Remember, Wade showed that he had a tremendous amount of potential while playing for the Illinois Warriors prior to his senior year in high school, but it wasn't until he got to college that he blossomed into one of the best players in the game.  The Illinois Warriors, which were missing 6'4 Soph Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL and 6'0 Jr Angel Santiago from Chicago (Van Stueben) IL, also had good efforts from 6'3 Jr Jamar Smith from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'6 Jr Kenyadle Evans from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, and 6'9 Jr Jimmy Covington from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, but they still didn't have enough to overcome 6'6 Jr Marcus Williams from Seattle (Roosevelt) WA and  6'5 Jr Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who combined for 50 points in their semi-finals win over the Illinois Warriors.  Marcus Williams not only is one of the best 3-point shooters in the junior class nationally, but he's also a tremendous competitor, a big time athlete, and a jack-of-all-trades, as he rebounds well for his size, is tough to stop when he decides to go the hole, and has the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play out on the perimeter.  In other words, he can beat you in some many ways and, as a result, has to be ranked among our top 20 juniors nationally.  And Terrance Williams is an even better athlete, plus he's got the body to match.  However, Terrance doesn't have as good an understanding of the game and his outside shooting is not as consistent as Marcus'.  Getting back to the Illinois Fire, which won the championship by default, they also got great efforts from 6'3 Jr Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL and 6'8 Jr DeAndre Thomas from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL.  Minnoy was unstoppable inside, because he's got a great body, tremendous moves, and the heart of a lion, but the question remains - how does this translate to the next level?  Minnoy does shoot the three well enough to play out on the perimeter, but he's not quick enough to guard anybody on the perimeter and is not tall enough to get it done at the bg time college inside.  But, then again, there are exceptions to every rule and just might be the exception.  And, if you don't believe me, just ask 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'8 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, who found it impossible to stop Minnoy inside.  Thomas also defies belief, because he's deceptively mobile and agile for somebody his size, plus he also has great hands, excellent timing, and the skills necessary to not only score around the basket, but also to step out to 12 feet and keep you honest with his jump shot.  The Spiece Indy Heat didn't have 6'9 Jr Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, but they did get good efforts from 6'5 Soph Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, who beats you with his athleticism and outside shooting on the perimeter, and 6'1 Soph Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who also has a knack for running the show and making those around him better.  We also were impressed by 6'7 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, who, despite his lack of size physically, was one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the tournament, which made him the ideal complement to 6'9 Jr Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA inside.  And Clark also wasn't bashful about going out and shooting 3-pointers, which also made him a good complement to 6'3 Jr Devon McLendon from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'3  Jr Noel Wilmore from Chester (H.S.) PA, and 6'5 Bilal Benn from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA out on the perimeter.   However, this Philly MJC was missing a great point guard, like 5'11 Kyle Lowry from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougerty) PA, who was the catalyst behind this team winning the championship in this tournament a year ago.  Also advancing into the final eight of the tournament were the Michigan Hurricanes with 6'4 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (Central) MI, who is a tough hardnosed competitor, great outside shooter, and force to be reckoned with in transition; the Friends of Hoop-Wisconsin with 6'8 Jr James Johnson from Milwaukee (Messmer) WI, who is active inside with his athleticism and ability to score, block shots, rebound, and dunk in your face; and Martin Brothers, which didn't have any great players, but played well together as a team.  We also were impressed once again with all the talent on the Blessed IJN team, which got beat in a close game in the second round of the tournament by Billy Shepherd Sports.  We're talking about 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT, 6'9 Soph Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH, 6'8 Jr Chad Millard from Manchester (Trinity) NH, 6'5 Soph Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, and 6'3 Jr Chris Lutz from Manchester (Trinity) NH.  Swanigan, who appears to be in better shape now, stepped up and was their best player, as he used his size and skills to dominate inside.  But he also impressed us with his soft touch, surprising mobility for somebody his size, and ability to knock down the outside shot.  Semrau is an active athletic white kid with tremendous skills, excellent mobility, and a great nose for the ball.  Also add an increased confidence level and we're talking potentially about one of the top 10 players in the sophomore class nationally, as well as one of the fastest rising sophomores in the nation.  Millard needs to get bigger and stronger physically, but he's gives you size on the perimeter and can shoot the lights out.  So can Lutz, who is expected to transfer, along with Millard, from Manchester (Trinity) NH to Wolfeboro (Brewester Academy) NH this fall.  Johnson has the athleticism, ball handling ability, and the knack for being able to find the open man, which makes him one of the top point guards in the Class of 2006.  Another team that got beat early in the playoffs, but had a lot of talent was the SYF Players, which featured 6'9 Soph Jamil Tucker from Gary (West Side) IN, 6'11 Frosh Evan Schmidt from Chesterton (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Jr Marcus Rhodes from Gary (Lew Wallace) IN, 6'4 Jr T. Appleton-Miller from Gary (Roosevelt) IN, and 6'8 Soph Luke Haranfody from Gary (Andrean) IN.  Tucker is a multi-dimensional time athlete with a soft shooting touch and the versatility necessary to play both inside.  Schmidt is a big white kid with a blue collar work ethic and a competitive nature.  Combine that with the fact that Schmidt also has excellent post moves, is surpringly mobile, and handles and passes extremely well for somebody so big and so young and it's not hard to see why we think Schmidt has the potential to play in the NBA someday.  Appleton-Miller is an athletic 2-guard who makes a living getting to the hole, Rhodes can both shoot the three and slash to the basket, and Haranfody is another tough white kid inside.  The Billy Shephard Sports Team featured 6'0 Jr Deonta Vaughn from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, who is a strong physical athletic point guard who gets to the hole and makes good decisions, but we also liked 6'2 Jr Daniel Cox from New Castle (H.S.) IN, 6'6 Jr Jordan Brewer from Clinton (Prairie) IN, 6'9 Jr Aaron Gardner from Frankton (H.S.) IN, 6'3 Jr Darnell Lindsay from Indianapolis (Northwest) IN.  Cox is your stereotypical Indiana-type player who gets the most out of his talent, as he beats you with his outside shooting, defense, nose for the ball, and willingness to compete.  Brewer is an excellent 3-point shooter.   Gardner does the dirty work inside.  Lindsay provides the athleticism and does an excellent job defensively.  We also liked 5'11 Jr Dominic James from Richmond (H.S.) IN, who was as good as anybody in the tournament the first night, and 6'7 Soph Jarell Smith from Lake Oswego (Lakeridge) OR, who impressed us with his athleticism, ability to score, rebound, and blocks shots inside and shot the three out on the perimeter.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Jarell Smith and his brother, 6'3 Jr Jimmy Smith from Lake Oswego (Lakeridge) OR, who also was one of the better players on the Inner City Players Portland team, both are moving to Los Angeles, CA this summer and will play at Los Angeles (Birmingham) CA next fall.  The top players in the Seniors-To-Be Division at the Spiece Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic based primarily on performance were: 1) 6'6 Jr Marcus Williams from Seattle (Roosevelt) WA, 2) 7'0 Soph Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 3) 6'8 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 4) 6'3 Jr Philip Perry from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 5) 6'3 Jr Nate Minnoy from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6)  6'4 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (H.S.) MI, 7) 6'6 Jr Shane Clark from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 8) 6'5 Jr Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 9) 5'11 Jr Dominic James from Richmond (H.S.) IN, 10) 6'8 Jr DeAndre Thomas from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, 11) 6'1 Jr Tony Freeman from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 12) 6'5 Soph Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 13) 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT, 14) 6'0 Jr Deonta Vaughn from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, 15) 6'9 Soph Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH, 16) 6'5 Jr Josh Tabb from Ullin (Century) IL, 17) 6'7 Soph Jerrell Smith from Lake Oswego (Lakeridge) OR, 18) 6'1 Soph Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 19) 6'5 Jr Jabari Currie from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 20) 6'6 Jr Wilson Chandler from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, 21) 6'7 Jr Shaun Green from Salt Lake City (Olympus) UT, 22) 6'8 Jr Chad Millard from Manchester (Trinity) NH, 23) 6'5 Bilal Benn from Philadelphia (Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 24) 6'11 Jr Mitchell Carter from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 25) 6'3 Jr Jamar Smith from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 26) 6'8 Jr James Johnson (Milwaukee (Messmer) WI, 27) 6'5 Soph Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, 28) 6'9 Soph Jamil Tucker from Gary (West Side) IN, 29) 5'10 Soph Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI, 30) 6'2 Jr Jeremy Pargo from Chicago (Robeson) IL, 31) 6'0 Jr Carlos Medlock from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI, 32) 6'7 Jr Ryan Tillema from Randolph (H.S.) WI, 33) 6'5 Jamelle Cornely from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 34) 6'7 Michael Smith from Jacksonville (H.S.) AR, and 35) 6'8 Jr John Workman from Lakeland (H.S.) IN.  The Sophomores-To-Be Division.  The top players in the Juniors-To-Be and the Sophomores To-Be Divisions at the Spiece Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic based on both performance and potential were:  1) 6'8 Soph Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH, 2) 6'3 Frosh Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 3) 6'5 Frosh Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 4) 6'5 Frosh Darquavius Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 5) 6'3 Soph Marcus Johnson from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH; 6) 6'6 Soph Jeff Ryan from Glenview (Glenbrook South) IL, 7) 6'2 Frosh Demetic McCamey from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 8) 6'1 Soph Trevon Hughes from Delafield (St. John) WI, 9) 6'5 Soph Mario Little from Chicago (Washington) IL, 10) 6'2 Soph David Kool from Grand Rapids (South Christian) MI, 11) 6'10 Soph J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI, 12) 5'9 8th Grader Korie Lucious from Whitefish Bay (Middle) WI, 13) 6'4 Soph Adrian Graves from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, 14) 6'7 Soph Daron Hood from Bigelow (H.S.) AR, 15) 6'6 Frosh Leon Powell from St. Louis (Vashon) MO, 16) 6'6 Soph Morgan Grim from Riverton (H.S.) UT, 17) 6'8 Soph Blake Mishler from Metamora (H.S.) IL, 18) 6'4 Soph Nate Black from Terre Haute (North) IN, 19) 6'11 Jr Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, 20) 6'0 Frosh Kelvin Grady from East Grand Rapids (H.S.) MI, 21) 6'2 Soph Jason Bohannon from Marion (Linn Mar) IA, 22) 6'6 Frosh Jon Diebler from Fostoria (H.S.) OH, 23) 6'7 Soph Tim Johnson from Little Rock (Central) AR, 24) 6'7 Soph Josh Chichester from West Chester (Lakota West) OH, and 25) 6'9 Soph Devin Brennan-McBride from London (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON. 

When 6'0 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY announces tomorrow at his 3:00 PM press conference that he will enter his name into the NBA Draft, it will mean that all five of the top HOOP SCOOP's top five-ranked seniors will have opted to by-pass college and enter the NBA Draft.   If you will recall, 6'11 Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA and 6'9 Josh Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA forced the issue when they played in the EA Sports Roundball Classic, adidas-EA Sports Superstar Game, and the McDonald's All-American Game (NCAA rules prohibit a player from retaining his college eligiblity, if he plays in more than two post-season all-stars, excluding the NIKE Hoop Summit, which is exempt from the rule) and earlier today 6'9 Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS and 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL both announced that they have entered the NBA Draft, which will be held on Thursday, June 24th.  Our NewYork  Editor Ron Naclerio and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also have confirmed that 6'5 J.R. Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ announced earlier today that he is entering the NBA Draft and 6'7 Dorell Wright from South Kent (Prep) CT, 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Oakville (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON, and 6'10 Jackie Butler from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA also have already done so.  Which means as the deadline for entry into the NBA Draft quickly approaches, it appears that at least nine players will enter the draft, although they do have the option of being able to withdrawal their name up until June 17th.  We also are waiting to see whether 7'0 Robert Swift from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, 7'0 Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'0 Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, and somebody we don't expect, decide to make the jump.  Remember, a parent of one of the above players told a source close to the HOOP SCOOP two month ago that it's now the dream of every high school player to by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft.  Obviously that's in sharp contrast to 10 or 15 years ago when every high school player's team was to play in the NCAA Final Four and win a National Championship.  We also have confirmed via a source close to 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY that Florida State has dropped out of the race and, as a result, the final two schools for Palacios appear to be Louisville and Baylor.  Our guess is that Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton just got tired fo Palacios stringing everybody along and, instead decided to go in another direction.  As a matter of fact, we have reason to believe that Florida State already has landed somebody else, but hasn't released it yet.  And we're not talking about 6'3 Ralph Mims from Brunswick (H.S.) ME, who signed with the Seminoles late last week.  Speaking of Mims, who is ranked #166 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, it's kind of ironic that we mentioned on July 30th last summer that Mims was one of the top players to emerge at the 2003 AAU Junior Boys' Basketball National Championship and pointed out that Mims was one of the best 3-point shooters in the entire tournament and, as a result, Florida State may pull the trigger.  So now that it's finally happened, the Seminoles' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'3 Isaiah Swann from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'3 Jason Rich from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, and 6'9 Jerome Habel from Washington (Marriott Charter) MD, has moved up to #19 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.   And, if the Seminoles also have landed the player we suspect they've landed (we can't tell you who it is yet, because it would burn our source), then their recruiting class would move up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, behind Memphis, Texas, Louisville, USC, and Arkansas.  Not only would this potentially give the Seminoles back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes, but, even more important, it also means that the Florida State program has arrived as one of the powerhouse teams in college basketball for years to come.  We also compiled some interesting recruiting information when we were at the Spiece Run 'N Slam All-Star Classic over the weekend in Ft. Wayne, IN and right at the top of the list is what we found out from 6'9 Soph Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH, who prior to earlier April was totally unknown nationally, but is skilled and athletic enough and has so much potentially that we will rank him among the top 10 or 15 sophomores nationally next time we update our national rankings for the Class of 2006.  Semrau's list of schools now includes Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Louisville, Wake Forest, Michigan, and Michigan State, but, even more important, is the fact that Semrau's high school coach, Phil Argenta, played for the Wildcats during the Dan Issel era in the late 60's.  Semrau also confirms that University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith was in a week ago to watch him work-out and that he's been a Kentucky fan all his life.  Kansas, Illinois, Arizona, DePaul, Arizona, and Duke were all on the list provided to us by 6'8 Jr Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL.   Florida, Texas, Connecticut, Kansas, N.C. State, and Arizona appear to be the leaders for 6'6 Jr Marcus Williams from Seattle (Roosevelt) WA and the list provided by 6'5 Jr Terrance Williams from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA includes Arizona, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Kansas, Indiana, and Washington.   Louisville Mississippi, and Xavier are the leaders for 6'10 Carl Swanigan from Salt Lake City (Hunter) UT, but he also mentioned Penn State, Notre Dame, Utah, Utah State, Providence, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Iowa State, Illinois, and California.  We also confirmed that Louisville is the leader for both 6'8 Jr Chad Millard from Manchester (Trinity) NH and 6'5 Soph Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN and Purdue, Wisconsin, and DePaul are the favorites for 6'3 Jr Philip Perry from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, who, in our mind, was one of the biggest sleepers to emerge in the tournament.  Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, and West Virginia were mentioned by 6'5 Jr Jabari Currie from Detroit (Pershing) MI.  The early favorites 6'5 Soph Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH are Ohio State, Cincinnati, Michigan, Florida State, and North Carolina and showing the most early interest for 6'8 Soph Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH are Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, and N.C. State.    The leaders for 5'11 Jr Dominic James from Richmond (H.S.) IN are Michigan State, Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, Kansas, and Florida.  Michigan, Michigan State, Florida, Syracuse, North Carolina, N.C. State, and Wake Forest were the schools mentioned by 6'4 Jr Eric Devendorf from Bay City (H.S.) MI.