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Tuesday, May 31, 2005

One of the many things that we learned at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC over the weekend was that 6'0 Keilon Fortune from Compton (JC) CA plans to attend New Mexico State next season.  And, while this one has not yet been officially announced, we got this straight from the horse's mouth and, as a result, have added his name to the Aggies list of signings and commitments.  And this comes as no surprise, because new New Mexico State head coach Reggie Theus coached the Southern Cal All-Star prior to moving on to become an assistant coach at Louisville two years ago and Fortune played for Pat Barrett and the Southern Cal All-Star during theTyson Chandler era.  Fortune also has the point guard mentality, maturity, athleticism, and experience necessary to step right in next year and run the show for the Lobos.  So he should be an excellent complement to the other two players - 6'8 Supo Jegede from Northeastern Colorado (JC) CO and 6'8 Kevin Ford from Portland (Jefferson) OR - that the new coaching staff signed earlier this spring and the two players - 6'6 David Fisher from Arkansas-Ft. Smith (JC) AR and 6'9 Chinemelu Elonu from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX - that were signed by the previous regime last fall.  This addition of Fortune moves New Mexico State's recruiting class into a tie at #139, along with William & Mary, Murray State, and San Jose State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  But that only tells part of the story.  Remember, the Aggies also will have four players waiting in the wings next year in 6'5 Soph Justin Hawkins, who has transferred from Utah to New Mexico State, 6'4 Soph Fred Peete, who has transferred from Kansas State to New Mexico State, 7'0 Soph Martin Iti, who has transferred from Charlotte to New Mexico State, and 6'7 Soph Trei Steward, who has transferred from Northern Colorado to New Mexico State.  It is not the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to count transfers when ranking recruiting classes, but, if we did, New Mexico State's recruiting class would be ranked #12 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   In other words, it look like Theus and his staff are already well on their towards resurrecting the Aggies program.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'4 Jr P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palos Verdes) NV has made an early verbal commitment to Iowa State and this too is big for a number of reasons.  First, Stinnett is a big time athlete and prolific scorer.  Second, he is one of the fastest rising players in the junior class nationally and has a tremendous upside.  Third, he gives the Cyclones an important recruiting tie into Las Vegas, NV.  Fourth, he immediately should be an excellent role player and down the road promises to be the heir apparent to 6'2 Soph Curtis Stinson when he either goes pro a year from now or graduates two years from now.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Andre Smith from North Dakota School of Science (JC) ND has signed with St. Bonaventure and 6'2 Jr Sean Cajou from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA has made an early verbal commitment to Mt. St. Mary's.  And this is big for Mountaineers, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #366 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was named Second Team in the tough DC Catholic League.  Cajou also has a great mid-range game, can get into the paint, and create from the 2-guard spot.  At 6'8, 230 lbs., Smith will provide the Bonnies with the killer inside to complement all the other good players that they already have in this year's recruiting class, which currently checks in at #49 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 and already includes 6'5 A.J. Hawkins from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'10 Ivan Kevacevic from Olney Central (JC) IL, 6'10 Dave Fox from Mercyhurst North East (JC) PA, 6'7 Tyler Benson from Woodstock (Mananuetten Military Academy) VA, and 6'0 Terron Diggs from Tallahassee (JC) FL.  It also appears that new IUPU-Ft. Wayne head coach Dane Fife is off to the races after landing 6'9 Armend Ademi from Odessa (JC) TX, 6'11 Mohamed Esseghir from Hillsborough (JC) FL, 6'9 Tyler Best from Paris (JC) TX, and 6'0 Kyle Savely from Corydon (Central) IN this spring and inheriting 6'2 D.J. Poley from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, who signed with Mastodons last fall, from the previous regime.  However, the big prize for IUPUI-Ft. Wayne is 6'4 Soph Demetrius Johnson, who is transferring from Kent State and was ranked #182 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2003 when he was a high school senior at Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH.  We also have confirmed a number of other signings and commitments by junior college players via  Big Apple Sports and they include 7'0 Fernando Bonfim from Western Nebraska (JC) NE to Southern Utah, 6'0 Justin Allen from Saddleback (JC) UT to Southern Utah, 6'3 Brett Ledbetter from Southwestern Illinois (JC) IL to Idaho, 6'3 Kenny Jackson from Des Moines (JC) IA to Iona, 6'3 James Douglas from Schoolcraft (JC) MI to Missouri, 6'7 James Dixon from Brown Mackie (JC) KS to Nicholls State, 6'8 Petroslav Zafirov from Western Wyoming (JC) WY to Tennessee State, 6'6 Damien Hubbard from Frederick (JC) MD to Liberty, 6'2 Naim Benjamin from Des Moines (JC) IA to Long Island, 6'9 Kyle Pattrick from Ellsworth (JC) IA to Loyola-Illinois, 6'7 Harold Crow from Seminole (JC) OK to Jacksonville State, 6'7 Jelani Lawrence from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'4 Marcus Nellems from Marshalltown (JC) IA to Butler, 6'6 Bobby Joshua from Paris (JC) TX to Southern University, 6'1 Parrish Brown from Kennedy-King (JC) IL to Maryland, 6'5 Chris Lang from Northeastern Colorado (JC) CO to Utah Valley State, 6'3 Jeremy Johnson from Northern Oklahoma-Enid (JC) OK to Texas State 6'5 Jushay Rockett from Arizona Western (JC) AZ to Texas State, 6'4 Jerell Allen from Arizona Western (JC) AZ to Florida State, 6'3 Ernest Daney from Neosho (JC) KS to New Orleans (JC) LA, 6'3 Jeremie Davis from Spoon River (JC) MO to New Orleans, 6'4 C.J. Hadley from Three Rivers (JC) NY to Sam Houston State, 5'10 Rashard Turner from Bronx-Monroe (JC) NY to Maine, and 6'7 Melvyn Richardson from Lon Morris (JC) TX to South Florida.  The verbal commitments by Fernando Bonfim and Jerel Allen are especially interesting, because we're talking about the #25 and #42-ranked junior college players in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  And the addition of Allen moves Florida State's recruiting class into a tie at #32, along with Purdue and Arizona State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, as well as #3 in the league behind Duke and North Carolina.  However, even more important, Allen should provide an excellent complement to 5'11 Jr Todd Galloway, 6'3 Frosh Jason Rich, and 6'1 Frosh Isaiah Swann in the backcourt, as the Seminoles attempt to move into the upper half of the league next year.  At 7-feet, 270 lbs, Bonfim, who averaged 14.2 ppg and 11.7 rpg, shot 56% from the field, and led his team to a 28-5 record, will give Southern Utah the dominating inside player that it needs inside.  Missouri getting James Douglas, who originally was committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee prior to the regime change, is also interesting, because NCAA sanctions that prevent the Tigers' coaching staff from leaving campus to recruit apparently haven't slowed them down one bit.  As a matter of fact, Missouri's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Leo Criswell from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, 6'6 Matt Lawrence from Wildwood (Lafayette) MO, 6'4 Keaton Grant from Kissimmee (Gateway) FL, and 6'8 DeAndre Thomas from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, is now tied at #38, along with Nebraska, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And Maryland getting 6'1 Parrish Brown from Kennedy-King (JC) IL is great insurance in case 6'3 Jr Johnny Gilchrist doesn't withdrawal his name from the NBA Draft.  We're talking about somebody who averaged 22.0 ppg, was ranked as one of the top 25 junior college players by several scouting services, and is capable of playing either guard spot.  The addition of Brown also moves the Terrapins' recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Shane Clark from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'7 David Neal from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, up to #54 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, even more important, Brown and Clark, should give Maryland head coach Gary Williams the additional firepower that he needs to challenge Duke for the Atlantic Coast Conference title next season.  We also are impressed with the fact that St. Francis-PA has landed both Jelani Lawrence and 6'0 Leshawn Hammett from Luzerne County (JC) PA, who promise to be the best two players in a recruiting class that also already includes 6'5 Devin Sweetney from Upper Marlboro (Riversdale Baptist) MD, 6'4 Julian Pinkston from Pittsburgh (Baldwin) PA, 6'3 Steve Profecta from Bridgeville (Chartiers Valley) PA, 6'5 Grant Surprenant from Palatine (H.S.) IL, and 5'11 Marquis Ford from St. Petersburg (H.S.) FL.  Not only do these two late additions ensure that the Red Flash has the best recruiting class in the league, but it moves their class into a tie at #78, along with McNeese State and Weber State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.

Monday, May 30, 2005

It was beginning to look like the Spiece Indy Heat, which featured 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence Central) IN, 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'3 Soph Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'9 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, and 6'9 Jr Jamil Tucker from Gary (West Side) IN, would have an easy time repeating as champions in the 17-Under Division at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.  Not only did they blow away all the competition in pool play on Friday and Saturday, but on Saturday evening they were the talk of the tournament after jumping out to 30-1 lead against Blessed IJN team, which featured a trio of towers in 6'11 Phillip Jones from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 7'1 Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL, and 7'0 Kyle Luckett from Ft. Wayne (Southside) IN, as well as 6'6 Jr Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, 6'4 Soph Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (Northside) IN, and 6'9 Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH. So, as the quarterfinals playoff game between Spiece Indy Heat and the H-Squad wore on and every time Spiece tried to make a run and the H-Squad would answer with a big shot, our focus turned away from the game between the Southern Cal All-Stars and the New York Panthers and onto this game.  The H-Squad, which featured 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, and 6'3 Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, all of whom are graduating seniors and, as a result, are expected to go the prep school route next year, led most of the way.  Conley, who finished with 20 points, did make several big 3-point shots down the stretch and Gordon had 18 points and four 3-pointers, but Cook and Oden both laid an egg as they had only nine and six points, respectively.  Oden did effect the game defensively with his shot blocking, rebounding, athleticism, and size, but he also missed an easy shot in the final minute and this allowed H-Squad to pull off what might have been the biggest upset of the entire spring.  The final score was 72-68 and Jefferson and Williams, who combined for 47 points, were both unstoppable.  Then, the H-Squad proceeded to knock off the Playaz, 85-79, in the semi-finals, as Williams and Henry combined for seven 3-pointers and Williams, Jefferson, and Henry had 71 points of their 85 points.  However, in the championship game, the H-Squad didn't have the size and the depth necessary to beat the Southern California All-Stars, which went 10 deep with 6'7 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (LaCosta) CA, 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Tai Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'0 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Jr James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, 6'5 Jr Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'5 Frosh Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'10 Jr Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Jr Matt Shaw from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, and 6'3 Soph Chase Stanback from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA.  The final score was 75-66, and Gibson had 19 points, Budinger had 18 points, and King had 16 points.  Gibson also played a huge role inside, as he was scored around the basket, was active on the boards, and blocked more than his share of shots.  Budinger, who also was named the tournament's MVP, just picked up where he left off when we saw him earlier this spring at Hal Pastner's tournaments in Las Vegas, NV and Houston, TX.  King didn't shoot well and didn't play as well as he did when we saw him earlier this spring, but he did step it up in both the semi-finals and championship and, as a result, they wouldn't have won it without him.  King also finished ranked #16  in the tournament in scoring (this list includes players with a minimum of two games with 10 points or more in the tournament), behind 6'0 Jr Lawrence Westbrook from Chandler (H.S.) AZ with 30.7 ppg, 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA with 28.6 ppg, 6'7 Jr Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC with 27.8 ppg, 6'4 Jr Dante Curry from Kissimmee (Poinciana) FL with 26.0 ppg, 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH with 26.0 ppg, 6'5 Lazar Hayward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA with 25.8 ppg, 6'2 Soph Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA with 24.0 ppg, 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD with 23.0 ppg, 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA with 22.2 ppg, 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA with 22.2 ppg, 6'2 Jr Evan Baker from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC with 22.0 ppg, 6'5 Jr David Jackson from Hermitage (Kennedy Catholic) PA with 22.0 ppg, 6'3 Jr Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX with 21.5 ppg, 6'4 Soph Aaron Gilstrap from Marietta (H.S.) GA with 21.5 ppg, and 6'7 Soph Antoine Wilhite from Cincinnati (Lockland) OH with 21.3 ppg and ahead of 6'7 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (LaCosta) CA with 20.7 ppg, 6'3 Soph Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI with 20.6 ppg, 6'5 Ridge McKeither from Danville (George Washington) VA with 20.5 ppg, 6'9 Soph Braxton Dupree from Towson (Calvert Hall) MD with 20.5 ppg, 6'1 Jr Soloman Bozeman from Oxford (H.S.) MS with 20.3 ppg, 6'7 Soph Harper Kemp from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ with 20.0 ppg, 6'4 Jr Dominique Sutton from Durham (Stephen's Academy) NC with 20.0  ppg, 6'5 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY with 19.8 ppg, 6'6 Jr Joevan Catron from Harvey (Thornton) IL with 19.8 ppg, 6'3 Jr Lance Jeter from Beaver Falls (H.S.) PA with 19.8 ppg, 6'0 Jr Salvador Patricio from Lake Suzy (Florida Prep) FL with 19.7 ppg, 6'0 Jr Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buenta Vista) MI with 19.6 ppg, 5'10 Jr D.J. Moore from Spartanburg (Broome) SC with 19.3 ppg, 6'9 Taj Gibson from Merced (Stoneridge Prep) CA with 19.2 ppg, 6'0 Deonte Vaughn from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH with 19.0 ppg, 6'0 8th Grader Junior Cadougan from Toronto (School of Eastern Commerce) ON with 19.0 ppg, 6'3 Darren Anderson fron Chicago (Carver) IL with 19.0 ppg, 6'2 Jr Jeremiah Bowman from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC with 18.8 ppg, 6'4 Jr Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA with Norcross (H.S.) GA with 18.5 ppg, and 6'8 8th Grader Renardo Sidney from Jackson, MS with 18.5 ppg.  Yes, two 8th Graders finished ranked among the top 40 players in the tournament in scoring and Sidney, who is an incredible athlete, great passer, good ball handler, terrific rebounder, excellent 3-point shooter, unstoppable when he goes to the hole, and multi-dimensional enough to play any position on the court, now is the consensus #1-ranked player in the Class of 2009.  As a matter of fact, Sidney impressed us so much that we have him ranked #6 on our list of the top 60 players in the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions based on performance.  This list, which also was compiled with the help of our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, is as follows:  1) 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 2) 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 3) 6'7 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (LaCosta) CA, 4) 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 5) 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 6) 6'8 8th Grader Renardo Sidney from Jackson, MS, 7) 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 8) 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, 9) 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 10) 6'3 Soph Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 11) 6'9 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 12) 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 13) 6'7 Jr Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 14) 6'9 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 15) 6'2 Soph Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St John Newmann) PA, 16) 6'5 Jr Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 17) 6'6 Soph Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 18) 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 19) 6'3 Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 20) 6'0 8th Grader Junior Cadougan from Toronto (School of Eastern Commerce) ON, 21) 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 22) 6'0 Jr Lawrence Westbrook from Chandler (H.S.) AZ, 23) 6'0 Jr Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI, 24) 6'7 Jr Devan Bawinkel from Winnebago (H.S.) IL, 25) 6'0 Jr Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT, 26) 6'10 Jr Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA, 27) 6'3 Soph Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 28) 6'10 Soph Julian Vaughn from Reston (South Lakes) VA, 29) 6'2 Jr Junior Salters from Spartanburg (Broome) SC, 30) 6'5 Jr DaeQuan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 31) 6'6 Jr Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 32) 6'8 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 33) 6'0 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 34) 6'3 Soph Thomas Manzono from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS, 35) 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 36) 6'5 Lazar Hayward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 37) 6'4 Jr Reggie Redding from Philadelphia (Stephen's Academy) PA, 38) 6'7 Soph Ravene Johnson from Clarksdale (Coahoma County) MS, 39) 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 40) 6'10 Jr Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 41) 6'6 Soph Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 42) 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, 43) 6'0 Jr D.J. Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, 44) 6'4 Jr Dominique Sutton from Durham (Stephen's Academy) NC, 45) 6'8 Jr Joseph Watkins from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, 46) 6'5 Soph Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 47) 6'3 Jr Chris Singletary from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 48) 6'6 Dynero Thomas from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 49) 6'2 Jr Steve Burch from Fayetteville (Westover) NC, 50) 6'6 Jr Joevan Catron from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 51) 6'4 Jr Dante Curry from Kissimmee (Poinciana) FL, 52) 6'5 Jr Jahmar Young from Baltimore (Dubois) MD, 53) 6'7 Soph JeJuan Brown from Biloxi (H.S.) MS, 54) 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 55) 6'5 Soph Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 56) 6'8 Jr Dennis Horner from Absecon (Holy Spirit) NJ, 57) 6'8 Jr James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, 58) 6'3 Jr Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX, 59) 6'3 Jr Patrick Beverly from Chicago (Marshall) IL, and 60) 60 Soph Biko Paris from New Orleans (John Curtis) LA.  We also think it is important to point out that five of the top dozen and eight of the top 60-ranked players in the tournament (Davon Jefferson, Danny Williams, Danny Green, Paul Harris, Taj Gibson, Seketoure Henry, Tyler Smith, Antonio Pena), are already either seniors in high school, are on a 5th Year list, or will be a 5th Year player next year.  In other words, the tournament was dominated by players who have an advantage in age.  However, this was one of the only drawbacks to what to-date has been the best event of the entire year.  We have already mentioned that  6'7 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (LaCosta) CA was named the MVP, but also named to the All-Tournament Team were 6'9 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'0 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA from the Southern California All-Stars; 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, and 6'3 Seketoure Henry from Lynwood (H.S.) CA from the H-Squad; 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'9 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ from the Playaz; 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'6 Soph Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, and 6'0 Deonte Vaughn from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH ; from the DI-Greyhounds; 6'4 Jr Dominique Sutton from Durham (Stephen's Academy) NC, 6'2 Jr Masharee Neely from Greensboro (Page) NC, and 6'5 Soph Ridge McKeither from Danville (George Washington) VA from the North Carolina Gators; 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'7 Jr Antonio Pena from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and 6'8 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ from the New York Panthers; 6'3 Soph Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI and 6'0 Jr Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI from the Michigan Hurricanes; 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN from the Spiece Indy Heat; 6'5 Lazar Hayward from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY from the GC Ballers; 6'1 Jr Willie Walker from Bolingbrook (H.S.) IL and 6'7 Jr Devan Bawinkel from Winnebago (H.S.) IL from the Illinois Wolves; 6'0 Jr D.J. Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA and 6'7 Soph JeJuan Brown from Biloxi (H.S.) MS from the New Orleans Jazz; 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD and 6'10 Soph Julian Vaughn from Reston (South Lakes) VA from DC Assault; 6'8 8th Grader Renardo Sidney from Jackson, MS from Jackson MBA Black; 6'1 Jr Soloman Bozeman from Oxford (H.S.) MS with the Arkansas Hawks; 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN from Southeast Elite; 6'7 Jr Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC from the New England Playaz; 6'2 Soph Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St John Newmann) PA from the Long Island Lightning; 6'4 Jr Reggie Redding from Philadelphia (Stephen's Academy) PA from Philly MJC; 6'0 Jr Lawrence Westbrook from Chandler (H.S.) AZ with the Schneider All-Stars; 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ from New Heights; 6'4 Jr Jimmy Drew from Anna (Anna-Jonesboro) IL from the Illinois Blue Devils; 6'9 Jr DaJuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough) MD from Baltimore-Cecil Kirk; 6'6 Jr Joevan Catron from Harvey (Thornton) IL from Mean Streets; 6'4 Jr Dante Curry from Kissimmee (Poinciana) FL from Team Breakdown; 6'10 Jr Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA from the Louisiana Stars; 6'5 Jr Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA from the Atlanta Celtics; 6'0 Jr Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT from Connecticut Basketball; 6'5 Jr David Jackson from Hermitage (Kennedy Catholic) PA from the Cleveland (Titans) OH; 6'2 Jr Evan Baker from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC with the Maryland Madness; 6'9 Jr Jarvis Varnardo from Brownsville (Haywood County) TN from the Mid-State Ballerz; and 6'8 Jr Dennis Horner from Absecon (Holy Spirit) NJ from South Jersey Select.  Or to put it another way, 40 of our top 60-ranked players in the tournament made the 50-man all-tournament team. 

Saturday, May 28, 2005, & Sunday, May 29, 2005

With the help of our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, we talked with a number of the top players about their recruiting this weekend at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Chapel Hill, NC.   And, believe it or not, the final four for 6'8 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ are Memphis, Villanova, Virginia, and Louisville.  And, while it came as no surprise that any of these schools were on the list, we were shocked by the fact that he did not mention schools like St. John's, Maryland, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina.  If you will recall, Caracter told us two years ago that his two favorite schools were St. John's and Maryland, but apparently the Terrapins have not taken advantage of the opportunity and a lot of Caracter's interest in the Red Storm had to do with the fact that he really liked former St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis.  Instead, Memphis and Virginia now appear to be the leaders for Caracter.  But if the NBA does not reach a compromise with the NBA Players Union on the age limit in the collective bargaining agreement that will be renegotiated this summer and the NBA does not lock out the players next season, our guess is that Caracter will be one of the many players who makes the jump straight to The League at this time next year.  We also found it extremely interesting that the first school mentioned by both 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'6 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH was the University of Cincinnati.  Just imagine what would happen if they both made early verbal commitments to the Bearcats with the stipulation that they will come to Cincinnati only if Bobby Huggins is going to be their coach.  Remember, it recently was reported that Huggins' contract, which has two years remaining, will not be renewed at this time.  However, the smart money is on Huggins versus the president if it comes down to a power struggle.  As a matter of fact, it's obvious that Cincinnati needs Huggins more than he needs the school.  The rest of Mayo's list included Louisville, Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Florida, Texas A&M, and Ohio State.  Walker also mentioned Louisville, West Virginia, and Connecticut, plus he confirmed that the possibility of a package to the same school does exist.  Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, and Cincinnati are the early favorites for 6'10 Soph Keenan Ellis from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH.  The leader for 6'2 Jr Heath White from Cincinnati (Taft) OH is Xavier, but he also mentioned Louisville and Connecticut.  Texas Tech, Texas, Baylor, LSU, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky were mentioned by 6'10 Jr Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA and 6'4 Soph LaceDarius Dunn from Monroe (Excelsion Christian) LA is already being recruited by Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Colorado.  Georgia Tech, Illinois, Providence, Purdue, Florida, Texas, St. Joseph's, and Western Kentucky are in the hunt for 6'6 Dinero Thomas from Durham (Mt Zion Christian) NC.  North Carolina was right at the top of the list for 6'0 Jr D.J. Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA.  But when they recently got a verbal commitment from 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, the Tar Heels dropped out of the race for Augustine and, as a result, his final three now appear to be Texas, Wake Forest, and LSU.  Rick Issacs, who is the head coach of the H-Squad, tells us that 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA likes UCLA, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, and Louisville and the latest list for 6'3 Danny Williams from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA includes Oklahoma State, USC, Connecticut, and San Diego State.  The list for 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA now includes North Carolina, Georgia, Duke, Villanova, USC, Syracuse, Arizona, Kansas, and, yes, UCLA.  We don't believe 6'7 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA when he tells us that he has no favorite among Arizona, UCLA, and USC, as the word on the street is that the Wildcats are a heavy favorite.  Arizona also is believed to the favorite for 6'8 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and, although he claims to be wide open, those in the know tell us that short list only really includes Arizona, Duke, and Georgia Tech.  And making things even more interesting is the fact that the only two players that Duke is actively still recruiting in the junior class are Thomas and 6'9 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN.  Georgetown now appears to be the favorite over North Carolina and Wake Forest for 6'10 Jr Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and it now is a three-horse race among Florida, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech for 6'5 Jr Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA.  Louisville, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Virginia, Georgia, and Connecticut were mentioned by 6'9 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ.  Florida State, Ohio State, Villanova, Clemson, St. Joseph's, Miami-FL, UTEP, and Seton Hall are in the hunt for 6'3 Jr Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ.  Among those showing the most interest in 5'11 Jr Jawan Carter from Wilmington (Tatnall) DE are St. Joseph's, Connnecticut, Villanova, Clemson, and Wake Forest.  The early list for 6'4 Soph Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ includes Rutgers, Seton Hall, Villanova, Connecticut, Duke, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, and Kansas.  6'1 Soph Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ likes St. John's, Connecticut, Miami-FL, Memphis, Iowa State, and Florida.  The list for 6'2 Soph Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St John Newmann) PA already includes Arizona, N.C. State, Syracuse, Villanova, Temple, La Salle, St. Joseph's, and Connecticut.  The leaders for 6'2 Jr Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Newmann) PA are St. Joseph's, Georgia Tech, Miami-FL, Penn State, La Salle, and Rhode Island.  The list for 6'4 Jr Reggie Redding from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's Prep) PA includes Pittsburgh, Boston College, Villanova, St. Joseph's, Pennsylvania, N.C. State, and Xavier.  Among those showing the most interest in 6'8 Jr Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA are La Salle, Drexel, Rider, South Florida, Tennessee, and West Virginia.  It appears that 6'1 Jr Michael Conley is down to only two schools, as he only mentioned Ohio State and Wake Forest.  Did you know that 6'8 Jr Andre Stephens from Heidelberg (H.S.) MS verbally committed to Mississippi State about a month ago?  Neither did we, but now it appears that Stephens is wide open again, because the Bulldogs have not spoken to him once since he let his decision be known publicly.  Syracuse and Pittsburgh are still the leaders for 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, but prep school at someplace like Laurinburg (Institute) NC may first be in his future.  We also have confirmed that 7'1 Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Harlan) IL will be going the prep school route next year.  And this has to be good news for the University of Louisville, because that will give the Cardinals another scholarship for next year's recruiting class.  Louisville also is believed to have the edge over Wake Forest for 6'2 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, but Wisconsin and Tennessee also are still being mentioned.  Louisville, Purdue, Clemson, Pittsburgh, and Florida State were mentioned by 6'8 Jr Kiwan Smith from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  Michigan leads Florida, Miami-FL, Kansas, Connecticut, and Virginia for 6'0 Jr Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buenta Vista) CA.  The early favorites for 6'5 Soph Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI are Michigan Michigan State, UCLA, Connecticut, Kansas, Duke, and North Carolina.  The four schools mentioned by 6'5 Soph Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI were Connecticut, Duke, North Carolina, and Michigan State.  The list for 7'0 Jr Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI includes Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, and Notre Dame.  Showing interest in both 6'9 Jr Phil Tabet from Birmingham (Detroit County Day) MI and 6'9 Jr Charles Tabet from Birmingham (Detroit County Day) MI are Purdue, Dayton, Wyoming, Central Michigan, Valparaiso, and Penn State.  The list for 6'11 Jr Ray Hall from Denver (Mullen) CO includes UCLA, USC, Georgia Tech, and Illinois.  It should only be a matter of time before Memphis gets 6'9 Jr Travis George from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, but Connecticut, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, and St. John's are also on his list.  Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and San Diego State appear to be the favorites for 6'11 Jr Shawntell Norman from Lakewood (Artesia) CA.  Michigan, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Miami-FL, and Southern Cal were mentioned by 6'8 Jr Matt Shaw from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA. The early list for 6'9 Soph Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH includes Ohio State, Michigan State, Syracuse, North Carolina, and Illinois.  Showing the most interest in 6'1 Jr William Walker from Bolingbrook (H.S.) IL are Ohio State, Miami-FL, N.C. State, and Wake Forest.  Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, and Oklahoma State lead for 6'3 Jr Chris Singletary from Chicago (Farragut) IL.  Georgetown, Duke, North Carolina, and Syracuse are showing interest in 6'3 Soph Nolan Smith from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, but we still think he's a near lock for Louisville.  The leaders for 6'10 Soph Julian Vaughn from Reston (South Lakes) VA, who now appears to be one of the fastest rising players in the nation, are N.C. State, Maryland, and Duke.  However, Vaughn also notes that Miami-FL, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech are on his early list.  The top three for 7'1 Soph Anthony McClain from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD are Georgetown, Kansas, and Virginia Tech.  It's obviously way to early to be talking about schools for 6'8 8th Grader Renardo Sidney from Jackson, MS and 6'4 8th Grader Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (IS 96) NY, both of whom played up in the 17-Under Division, but Sidney told us that he is an Alabama fan and Stephenson says he really likes North Carolina. 

Friday, May 27, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'1 Jr Darrin Govens from Chester (H.S.) PA has decided to stay home and has made an early verbal commitment to St. Joseph's.  Govens, who is ranked #5 in the areas junior class, behind 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA,7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, and 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, does need to get physical stronger.  But he's got everything else, as he was the catalyst for a state championship team this past season, runs the show, plays good defense, shoots the three, penetrates and dishes, and has an excellent feel for the game.  In other words, Govens promises to be the next in a long line of great point guards for the Hawks.  Our Canadian Editor Ro Russell tells us that 6'5 Alex Farrer from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ has signed with LSU and he thinks they have gotten a major sleeper.  Apparently Farrer was unstoppable with his strength, size, outside shooting, and ability to score when Russell's Grassroots Canada club team played against Farrer earlier this spring.  The addition of Farrer moves the Tigers' recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Tasmin Mitchell from Denham Springs (H.S.) LA, 6'9 Kentrell Gransberry from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'11 Magnum Rolle from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'11 Chris Johnson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'1 Ben Voogd from Florence (Siuslaw) OR, up to #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And we would expect nothing less, because LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre is one of the best in the business.  As a matter of fact, this is the second time in three years that Pierre has been primarily responsible for landing a recruiting class that was ranked among the top 10-recruiting classes in the nation.  If you will recall, two years ago LSU signed 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capitol) LA, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, 6'8 Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, and 6'7 Darrell Lazare from Baton Rouge (Woodlawn) LA.  And a year ago they also landed 6'8 Glenn Davis from Baton Rouge (University Lab) LA, which means that Pierre has landed three players (Bass, Davis, and Mitchell) in three years who were ranked among our top top dozen players in their respective class nationally.  We also have confirmed that Southern Cal has gotten an early verbal commitment from 6'5 Jr Andre McFarland from Las Vegas (Durango) NV.  We don't rank this wiry thin slashing athletic wing player in our top 100 right now, but if he continues to shoot like he did this spring, he will be down the road.  And, while this is good news for the Trojans, it's not good news for the schools that were hoping to put together a package that included McFarland, 6'2 Jr P'Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palos Verdes) NV, and 6'0 Jr Marcus Lawrence from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV.  If you will recall, there was talk this past spring about the top three juniors from Las Vegas, NV all going to the same school.  However, the addition of McFarland does give new USC head coach Tim Floyd a great head start on next year, as he and his staff continue to build upon the #8-ranked recruiting class, which includes 6'11 Abdoulaye Ndiayne from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'9 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 5'10 Shaun Davis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'3 Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL, 6'8 Keith Wilkinson from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 6'9 Rousean Cromwell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'0 Ryan Francis from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, and 6'2 Collin Robinson from Diamond Bar (H.S.) CA, that they signed this spring.  We also understand that 6'8 Michael Freeman from Alexandria (Hayfield) VA, who was one of the four players that USC landed last fall, but didn't materialize in their recruiting class this spring, will play for the Baltimore Cecil Kirk Team the rest of the spring and summer and plans to go the prep school route this fall at Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  We also have understand that Eastern Michigan has landed 6'7 Gino Smith from Cincinnati (Christian Center Academy) OH.  Not only are we talking about somebody who averaged 23.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 4.0 apg, is a good defender, and has the versatility to play several different positions, but the Eagles beat schools like Alabama, Seton Hall, Colorado State, and Liberty for his services.  And this gives Eastern Michigan seven players in the fold, as the previous regime landed 6'4 Zane Gay from Olivet (H.S.) MI last fall and earlier this spring new Eagles head coach Charles Ramsey and his staff also signed 6'8 Brandon Wolfe from Detroit (Redford) MI, 6'10 Chris Knaub from Jacksonville (JC) TX, 6'10 Kyle Dodd from Rockwood (Collegiate) ON, 6'0 Carlos Medlock from Detroit (Murray-Wright) MI, and 6'6 William Cooper from Detroit (Pershing) MI.  That's good enough to get this recruiting class tied at #49, along with Southern Miss, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, as well as ranked #2 in the Mid-American Conference behind Marshall.  And the Thundering Herd is leaving the league to join Conference USA, so Eastern Michigan promises to have the best incoming group of players in the conference when the season starts next year.  We also think it is important to point out that Ramsey, who was previously an assistant coach at the University of Michigan, was able to take advantage of his strong in-state ties to get Wolfe, who is ranked #108 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and led his team to the Detroit Public League championship, and Medlock, who is ranked #442 nationally in the senior class, but averaged 20.0 ppg and 5.0 apg and was one of the fastest rising players in the state this past season.  Dodd helped Team Ontario win the 2004 Under-17 Canadian National Championship and put up impressive numbers this past season, as he averaged 23.0 ppg, 18.0 rpg, and 9.0 bpg.  Knaub played out on the perimeter before he hit a growth spurt late in his high school career and, as a result, is versatile enough and skilled enough to  play both inside and outside.  Gay led his team to a 28-0 record and a Class C State Championship and was a First Team All-State Selection in both football and basketball.  Cooper, who is an undersized power forward, averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg this past season. 

Thursday, May 26, 2005

With 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence Central) IN, 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence Central) IN, 6'3 Soph Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, and 6'8 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar OH on the Spiece Indy Heat; 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'5 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'2 Jr Heath White from Cincinnati (Taft) OH, and 6'10 Jr Kurt Huelsman from St. Henry (H.S.) OH on the D-1 Greyhounds; 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'8 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ on the The Playaz; 6'8 Jr Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'7 Antonio Pena from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 Jr Rashard Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'0 Jr Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT, 6'4 8th Grader Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn, NY on the New York Panthers; 6'7 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA, 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'0 Frosh Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Jr James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'9 Jr Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Frosh Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'5 Soph Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA on the Southern California All-Stars; 6'8 Jr An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, 6'5 Jr Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, and 6'6 Jr LaShun Watson from Greenville (H.S.) SC on the Atlanta Celtics; 6'5 Soph Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'5 Soph Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'7 Jr Kelvin Grady from Grand Rapids (East) MI, and 7'0 Jr Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI on the Michigan Hurricanes; 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, 6'3 Soph Nolan Smith from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, and 6'9 Jr Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA on DC Assault;  6'8 Jr Tracy Smith from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'4 Jr Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'6 Jr Antonio Watson from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'3 Devon McClendon from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, and 6'5 Soph Tony Neysmith from Mauldin (H.S.) SC on the Georgia Hurricanes; 6'6 Jr Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, 6'4 Soph Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (Northside) IN, 6'10 Jr Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH, 7'0 Kyle Luckett from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, and 6'10 Phil Jones from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA on Blessed IJN Elite; 6'1 Jr Will Walker from Bolingbrook (H.S.) IL and 6'6 Jr Devan Bawinkel from Winnebago (H.S.) IL on the Illinois Wolves; and 6'7 Soph Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert B. Glenn) NC and 6'6 Soph Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert B. Glenn) NC on D-one Sports; 6'1 Soph Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL and 6'8 Jr Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL on Team Breakdown; 6'3 Jr Chris Singletary from Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'3 Jr Jonathan Peoples from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'6 Marcus Von from Chicago (Curie) IL, and 6'6 Frosh DeAndre Liggins from Chicago (Washington) IL on the Illinois Fire; 6'9 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ on New Heights, and 6'0 Jr Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA on the New Orleans Jazz , it's easy to see why we're so excited about attending the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions this weekend in Chapel Hill, NC.  We're talking about the #1, #3, #6, #9, #12, #13, #18, and #21-ranked juniors nationally on our list that will be published next week in Ellington, Oden, Caracter, Cook, Budinger, Augustine, Thomas, and Henderson; the #1, #2, #3, #6, #8, #9, #13, #18, and #19-ranked sophomores in Mayo, Walker, Beasley, Rios, Smith, King, Wallace, Legion, and Moses; the #5-ranked freshman in Jennings; and the best 8th Grader in the nation in Stephenson; all being in attendance.  And this becomes even more impressive when one remembers that NIKE and adidas both have Memorial Day tournaments of their own that are being held this weekend in New Orleans, LA and College Park, MD.  We'll get to see most of the top teams in the 17-Under Division of the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions at the Dean E. Smith Center on Friday night and all day Saturday in pool play and the 64-team field breaks down as follows:  Pool A has the Spiece Indy Heat, Team Hoop Zone, Maryland Madness, and Middlesex Magic; Pool B has the D-1 Greyhounds, Baltimore Cecil Kirk, South Carolina Celtics, and New York Ravens; Pool C has The Playaz, Houston Swoosh, West Virginia Wildcats, and Inner Strength (GA); Pool D has the New York Panthers, WorldWide Renegades, Houston Select, and Richmond Metro Gold; Pool E has the Southern Cal All-Stars, Georgia Hurricanes, East Coast Scholars, and Alabama Challenge; Pool F has the Atlanta Celtics, Illinois Wolves, Schneider All-Stars, and Garner Road (NC); Pool G has the Michigan Hurricanes, Team Angels, TN, D-one Sports, and BC Next Level; Pool H has the Mid-State Ballers, Houston Elite, RBC West (CA), and North Carolina Bulls; Pool I has DC Assault, H-Squad, Long Island Lightning, and Grassroots Canada; Pool J has Team Breakdown, Southeast Elite, New York Elite, and Northeast Playaz; Pool K has the Illinois Fire, Philly MJC, Arkansas Hawks, and Baltimore Stars; Pool L has the North Carolina Gators, Jackson Panthers, Beach Ball Select, and Wisconsin Playground Warriors; Pool M has the Louisiana Stars, Cleveland Titans, Belmont Shore, and Vic Sims All-Stars; Pool N has the Smyrna Stars, New Orleans Jazz, Connecticut B'Ball, and New Heights; Pool O has the GC Ballers, Mean Streets, Rise & Shine All-Stars (MS), and New Jersey Roadrunners; Pool P has Blessed IJN, South Jersey Select, Jackson MBA (Black), and Pittsburgh Jots.  However, things really won't heat up until the first round of the playoffs begin on Saturday night at 9:50 PM.  And the winners in both the 15-Under Division and the 17-Under National Divisions will advance into the quarterfinals at 9:00 AM on Sunday morning.  This will followed by the 16-Under Division Semi-Finals at 10:30 AM, the 15-Under and 17-Under Division Semi-Finals at Noon, the 15-Under and the 16-Under Championships at 2:30 PM, and the 17-Under Championship at 4:00 PM on Sunday, May 29th.  For the complete schedule and other important information about the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, click onto www.bobgibbons.net.  And to get all of the highlights, as well as a plethora of recruiting information, be sure to check back here late Sunday night or Monday. 

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was at the press conference of 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who in our opinion is the best player in the nation regardless of class, earlier today and he tells us that there were no surprises.  If you will recall, we told you two days that we thought Ellington would pick North Carolina over Villanova and Connecticut and, now that it has happened, the Tar Heels coaching staff can focus on 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who also is believed to be a near lock for the Tar Heels, 6'10 Jr Brandon Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'11 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, as they attempt to put together what potentially could be the best recruiting class in the history of the game.  And, with the addition of Ellington and 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC already in the fold, the Tar Heels clearly have the #1-ranked recruiting class in the nation over Duke, Ohio State, Stanford, Arizona, Oklahoma, Baylor, California, Kansas State, Florida State, Wake Forest, Louisville, Georgetown, Charlotte, UCLA, Hofstra, Northern Iowa, Texas A&M, Maryland, Clemson, Iowa, and Virginia Tech on our list Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  This also comes right on the heels of North Carolina's current recruiting class, which is ranked #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 and includes 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, and 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY.  When one also factors in the fact that 6'8 Soph Reyshawn Terry, and 6'3 Frosh Quentin Thomas  are the only two returning scholarship players who will be in the program after next year, it appears that North Carolina can sign as many as four more players in next year's recruiting class or as many as six more players over the next three years.  All this should not surprise anybody, because North Carolina head coach Roy Williams not only is hot right now after winning the NCAA Championship last month, but he also is one of the hardest working guys in the business, has great assistants, and is a players' coach, which makes getting involved with the top players in the nation even easier.  However, if the NBA does not come to terms with the NBA Players Association and they do not put an age limit into the collective bargaining agreement that will be renegotiated this summer, the Tar Heels should still be pretty good shape, because Hansbrough, Ginyard, Frasor, and Green should all gain valuable experience next year as freshmen.  We also have confirmed that East Carolina has added 6'0 Courtney Captain from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'3 Sam Hinnant from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'8 Quentin Goods from Goldsboro (Charis Prep) NC, and 6'10 Justin Ramsey from Chesapeake (Calvary Christian) VA to a recruiting class that already featured 6'9 Tyrone Beal from Allegany (JC) MD.  Beal is ranked #50 on our List of the Top Junior College Players, Ramsey is a shot blocking center and has a tremendous upside, Goods averaged 18.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg and also has a good upside, Hinnant is ranked #88 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players and was Fork Union's leading scorer this past season, and Captain was the starting point guard on a 29-5 team and is good enough to walk in and start at the point guard spot next year.   Beal and Captain also are good enough to be the equivalent of top 100 seniors nationally and, as a result, it's easy to see why East Carolina's recruiting class is now tied at #62, along with Utah and Illinois-Chicago, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   Beal, Goods, and Ramsey also should help solve the Pirates inside problems, but new South Carolina head coach Ricky Stokes' best additions are his coaching staff.  Did you know that he's hired former UT-Chattanooga head coach Mack McCarthy, former Tennessee assistant coach Chris Ferguson, South Carolina State assistant coach Larry Dixon, and Jeremy Shyatt, who was a volunteer assistant coach at South Carolina the last two years and is the oldest son of Florida assistant coach Larry Shyatt?  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'3 Jr Adrian Oliver from Modesto (Christian) CA has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Washington, 5'11 Mike Woodard from Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA has signed with Auburn, and 6'8 Jr Keith Clark from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK had decided to stay home and attend the University of Oklahoma.  And all three of these commitments are very interesting.  If you will recall, Oliver and 6'4 Jr Michael Porter from Modesto (Christian) CA both made official visits recently to the University of Kentucky and some people thought Oliver might follow in the footstep of Porter, who verbally committed to Kentucky a week ago.  However, it looks like the Huskies got the better end of the deal, as people on the West Coast tell us that Oliver is clearly the better of the two players.  Woodard is a jet-quick athletic point guard who was ranked #144 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2003 and played his freshmen year at Youngstown State prior to going the junior college route this past seasons.  Woodard also was one of the best point junior college guards on the West Coast this past season, so he should be good insurance in case 6'1 Frosh Toney Douglas, who has filed for early entry in the NBA Draft, doesn't return next season.  Woodard also gives the Tigers a little of bit of everything in this recruiting class, which currently is tied at #28, along with Marshall, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 and includes 6'7 Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Joey Cameron from Leeds (H.S.) AL, 6'5 Rasheem Barrett from Atlanta (Marist) GA, 6'7 Josh Dollard from Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC, and 6'3 Jarvis Hill from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  We're not a big fan of Clark, because he's not a tough hardnosed competitor inside (he's rather be a finesse player and play out on the perimeter).  However, Clark is good enough to be ranked #34 nationally in the junior class and, as a result, the Sooners' recruiting class moves up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Remember, they already have early verbal commitments from 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX and 6'0 Jr Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA.  And, if Oklahoma also gets 6'9 Jr Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, then their recruiting class would move ahead of North Carolina and Duke on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also have confirmed that The Citadel has landed 6'1 Vytautas Valiulis from Montverde (Academy) FL and Western Kentucky has signed 6'4 Butch Jointer from St. Catharine (JC) KY.  And Jointer is an important catch of the Hilltoppers, because he shot 40.5% from beyond the arc this past season and should provide an excellent complement to the two point guards - 6'0 Orlando Mendez from Goldsboro (Charis Prep) NC and 6'1 Joemal Campbell from Northwest (JC) MS - that Western Kentucky signed earlier this spring.  Valiulis is the only player that The Citadel has signed this year.  However, he should make an immediate impact next year for the Bulldogs because he has experience playing for the Lithuanian Junior National Team and improved dramatically as this past season wore on.   

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'7 Desmond Yates from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN, who is ranked #16 in the state and #294 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Middle Tennessee State.  Yes, this is the same guy who verbally committed to Tennessee earlier this month, but then mysteriously failed to sign with the Volunteers.  And this is big for the Blue Raiders, because Yates not only is an in-state player who is capable of playing both forward spots, but his addition moves Middle Tennessee State's recruiting class into a tie at #22, along with Utah State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And making the story even more interesting is that by our count Middle Tennessee State had three seniors, three juniors, five sophomores, and one freshman on scholarship last season and, as a result, now appears to have signed six more players in this recruiting class than they have scholarships available for.  And, if you don't believe it, just take a closer look at their recruiting class which now has 10 players in the fold with Yates, 6'0 Emanuel Howard from Lincoln Trail (JC) Il, 6'5 Adam Vogelsberg from Cloud County (JC) KS, 6'9 Uriah Hethington from Cairo (H.S.) GA, 6'2 Kevin Kanaskie from State College (H.S.) PA, 6'5 Calvin O'Neal from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'4 Marques Dawson from Lincoln Trail (JC) IL, 6'9 Theryn Hudson from Lavergne (H.S.) TN, 6'9 Donaris Hair from Picayune (H.S.) MS, and 6'3 Darren Avery from Corinth (H.S.) MS.  And this isn't the first time that Middle Tennessee State assistant coach Donnie Tyndall, who obviously is one of the best recruiters in the nation, has brought in a truckload of players.  Remember, he was largely responsible for a recruiting class three years ago at Idaho, which was ranked #15 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2002 and included 6'8 Brian Freeny from Gilbert (Mesquite) AZ, 6'2 Delvin Spruel from Baton Rouge (JC) LA, 6'2 Dwayne Williams from Kennedy-King (JC) IL, 6'8 Dave Radlovic from London (A.B. Lucas) ON, 6'8 Jack May from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 5'10 Ronnie Smith from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 John Tinnon from Southeastern (JC) IA, 6'6 Keith Christmas from Gary (West Side) IN, and 6'9 Yanifs Ducreay from Homestead (Berkshire) FL.  And two years ago Tyndall played an important role when it came to Middle Tennessee landing the #24-ranked recruiting class, which included 6'8 Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'2 Montrell Crittendon from Newbern (Dyer County) TN, 6'8 Kenyatta Swader from Smyrna (H.S.) TN, 5'11 Bryan Smithson from Kennesaw (North Cobb) GA 6'4 Ben Britt from Chattanooga (Red Bank) TN, 6'5 Michael Cuffe from Neosho (JC) KS, and 6'6 Gaylon Dorsey from Western Oklahoma (JC) OK.  However, just like with those classes, these things always seems to have a way of working our, as some players don't make it academically and others end up transferring.  Whitehead also tells us that 6'4 Jamont Gordon from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who signed earlier this spring with Mississippi State, has enrolled at Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA and, as a result, there now appears to be speculation about Gordon remaining there next year as a 5th Year Player.  However, sources close to Mississippi State don't think that will happen. We also understand that 6'7 Mike Davis from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, who was the second most improved player in New York City this past season, behind Providence-bound 6'6 Geoff McDermott from New Rochelle (H.S.) NY, has signed with Hofstra.  And this is big for a number of reasons.  First, Davis should provide an excellent complement to all the other good inside players - 6'5 Robert Hines from Arizona Western (JC) AZ, 6'9 Greg Washington from Central Islip (H.S.) NY, 6'8 Chris Gadley from Amherst (Central) NY, 6'9 Arminus Urbutis from Montverde (Academy) FL - that the Pride have this recruiting class.  Second, his addition moves Hofstra's recruiting class, which includes the five players mentioned above and 6'0 Greg Johnson from Plymouth (Holderness) NH, into a tie at #55, along with Bowling Green, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Third, the addition of Davis means the Hofstra has no more scholarships remaining in both this year's and next year's recruiting classes.  If you will recall, the Pride also already have early verbal commitments from 5'11 Jr Vic Morris from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'2 Jr Sal Patricio from Lake Suzy (Florida Prep) FL, and 6'8 Jr Dane Johnson from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY for next year.  Fourth, nearly all of these players are either from or are originally from the New York Metropolitan Area and, as a result, this firmly establishes the fact that Hofstra's coaching staff is second maybe only to Pittsburgh in terms of recruiting the top players in New York City.  And that's saying a lot, because Providence assistant coach Steve DeMeo also does a great job of recruiting in "The City."  Speaking of DeMeo and the Friars, did you know that he will be teaming with George Mason assistant coach Bill Courtney, who has more than his fair share of contacts in the Washington, DC area and finished second behind Michael Adams in the race to replace new Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson at Maryland, to form one of the best one-two recruiting punches in college basketball?  Well, if you didn't know this, don't feel too bad, because the press conference to announce this isn't scheduled until tomorrow.  We also find it interesting that The Citadel has backed out of playing in the William & Mary Tip-off Classic, which will be held in Williamsburg, VA on November 18th-19th and, as a result, this could be the perfect opportunity for a school that wants the chance to win a couple of games early against the likes of William & Mary, Maine, and High Point.  There also is a $10,000 guarantee, so anybody who is interested should contact Tribe assistant coach Dee Vick at 1-(757) 221-3403.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson catches us up on some signings and commitments from his neck of the woods that include 6'2 Jeremy Wise from Jackson (Murrah) MS to Mississippi State, 6'5 Daniel Ward from from Mendenhall (Genisis I) MS to Jackson State, 6'2 Sollie Norwood from Jackson (Jim Hill) MS to Texas Southern, 6'9 Rudy Chestang from Laramie County (JC) WY to Alcorn State, 6'6 Jarvis Williams from Jackson (Provine) MS to Alcorn State, 6'3 Clifton Douglas from Shelton State (JC) AL to Alcorn State, and 6'6 Kendaris Pelton from Chipola (JC) FL to Southern Mississippi.  Wise, Williams, and Norwood are ranked #5, #11, and #17 in the state's senior class by the Johnson, but the most interesting of these signings is Pelton picking the Golden Eagles.  We're talking about somebody who helped his team to a 33-4 record and a 4th Place finish in the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS.  Pelton also averaged 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 1.5 apg and was named First Team All Panhandle Conference and, as a result, Southern Mississippi's recruiting class, which also includes 6'3 Courtney Beasley from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 5'11 Travis Hall from Western Nebraska (JC) NE, 6'3 Kyle LaMonte form Marshalltown (JC) IA, 6'8 David Cornwell from Los Angeles (JC) CA, 6'10 Dontas Visockis from Baltimore (Cardinal Gibbons) MD, and 6'2 Craig Craft from Raleigh (H.S.) MS, moves up to #49 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   In other words, it looks like Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy and his staff are trying to get the quick fix that their program needs by going the junior college route.  If you will recall, a year ago they also signed five junior college players. 

Saturday, May 21, 2005, Sunday, May 22, 2005, & Monday, May 23, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA has a press conference scheduled for 1:00 PM on Wednesday and he is expected to North Carolina over Villanova and Connecticut.  As a matter of fact, most of our competition is already reporting it as done, due to the fact that Ellington appears to have told the North Carolina coaching staff that he plans to become a Tar Heel and he's also told the other schools of his decision.  However, it is not the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to report something that hasn't happened yet and, as a result, we will not add Ellington's name to North Carolina's list of recruits in the junior class until the race has been declared official on Wednesday.  But when it does, North Carolina's recruiting class, which currently is ranked #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and already includes 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, will move into the #1 spot ahead of Duke, Ohio State, and Stanford on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And this is also huge, because Ellington not only can shoot the lights out, has big time speed, quickness, and athleticism, is an excellent defender, and has great court savvy and a tremendous feel for the game, but he also will be ranked as the #1 junior in the nation when we publish our updated Ranking of the Top Juniors Nationally next week.  All this comes as no surprise to us, because Ellington himself told us last fall on our weekly radio show, which you can list to every Sunday night from 10:00 PM until Midnight by clicking onto HOOP SCOOP On-Radio, that his favorite school has always been North Carolina and he might just be the best player that the Tar Heels have landed since Michael Jordan.  The addition of Ellington also will give the Tar Heels the two highest ranked players in the junior class nationally (we will have Ellington ranked #1 and Lawson ranked #7) who have already made early verbal commitments.  And they aren't done yet, as we think it will be only a matter of time before they also get 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who will be ranked #2 nationally in the junior class when we publish our list of the top juniors and has Carmelo Anthony written all over him.  We've said it before, but we will tell you can again that this will be the three best players in the history of the game to sign with the same school in the same recruiting class.  And, yes, I am prepared to back up that statement, because I have the necessary historical prospective.  Remember, I have been publishing the HOOP SCOOP since the summer of 1983 and have personally been to almost half of the 67 NCAA Final Fours played (that's 33 in a row).  Rubin also tells us that Navy has landed 6'9 John Bailey from Blacksburg (H.S.) VA and 6'3 Cliff Colbert from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX and St. Francis-NY has gotten 6'9 Lexington James from San Francisco (JC) CA.  And in both cases we're very impressed.  If you will recall, James, who is originally from Brooklyn, NY, verbally committed to Rhode Island last fall, but apparently never signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent and, as a result, was free to look elsewhere this spring.  We're talking about a 6'9 athlete who can rebound, block shots, and play above the rim.  James also has a nice body at 6'9, 235 lbs, and good moves around the basket, which makes him an absolute, as he becomes the second recruit for new head coach Brian Nash in this year's recruiting class.  If you will recall, earlier this spring  the Terriers also landed 6'6 John Gooden from Washington (Gunnery School) CT.  Bailey, who was named the best post player at one of Five-Star Basketball Camp's Robert Morris sessions last summer, and Colbert, who is ranked #70 in the state's senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are both great additions to Navy's recruiting class that now is ranked in the league and also includes 6'7 Adam Teague from Newton (Fred C. Foard) NC, 6'2 Kaleo Kina from Phoenix (Trevor Browne) AZ, 6'6 Casey Reed from Portland (Candy) OR, and 6'3 Bryce Bingham from Bellevue (Interlake) WA.  We also are very impressed the recruiting class that new Centenary head coach Rob Flaska and his staff have assembled this spring.  It includes 6'3 Eric Holmes from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'1 Xavier Burnette from Cowley County (JC) KS, 6'6 Larry Logan from Owen Tech (JC) KS, 6'7 Chris Watson from Southwest Mississippi (JC) MS, 6'5 Alexander Starr from Paris (JC) TX, 6'1 Brian Bowman from Allen (H.S.) TX, and 6'5 Lonnie Martin from Temple (H.S.) TX and is ranked #56 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Holmes, who averaged 14.0  ppg and shot 47% from 3-point land on a 27-4 team this past season, can really shoot it, but also is an extremely well rebounded player who can rebound, handle, and pass.  Burnette, who averaged 13.0 ppg and 6.0 apg, has a great feel for the game, is an excellent leader, and is like a coach on the floor.  Logan, averaged 24.0 ppg and 11.0 rpg, is a match-up problem waiting to happen, because he can play both the three and the four spots.  Watson is a big time athlete out of the Tracy McGrady-mold and Martin was ranked among the top 50 seniors in the state by one scouting service.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'8 Jr Vince Jacobs from Charlotte (Providence Day School) NC has made an early verbal commitment to Appalachian State and 7'0 Jr Jimmy Saffore from Nashville (Hillwood) TN has made an early verbal commitment to Chattanooga.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Jazz Williams from Missouri City (Ft. Bend Marshall) TX has signed with Southern University; 6'3 Marcus Jones from Missouri City (Ft. Bend Marshall) TX has signed Jackson State; and 6'4 Mike Rose from Naperville (Neuqua Valley) IL, 6'4 Harrison Brown from Colorado Springs (Air Force Academy Prep) CO, 6'6 Greg Redford from Richmond (Hermitage) VA, and 6'6 Jamall Douglas from Nassau, Bahamas have all signed with Eastern Kentucky. 

Friday, May 20, 2005

The Early Entry Candidates for this year's NBA Draft were announced yesterday on the NBA's Official Web Site, which can found at www.nba.com, and, of 108 players on the list, there are 58 college players, three junior college players, eight high school players, four 5th Year players, and 35 international players.  And, after studying the list for a while, we have found a number of very interesting things to pass along.  First, there are 10 seven-footers - 7'5 Alexandr Rindin from Azerbaijan, 7'2 Martynas Andriuskevicius from Lithuania, 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Russia, 7'1 Kosta Perovic from Serbia-Montenergro, 7'1 Tang Zhengdong from China, 7'0 Nemanja Aleksandrov form Serbia-Montenegro, 7'0 Marcin Gortat from Germany, 7'0 Mile Ilic from Serbia-Montenegro, 7'0 Johan Petro from France, and 7'0 Cheick Samb from Spain and eight more players - 6'11 Predrag Samardziski from Serbia-Montenegro, 6'11 Tiago Splitter from Spain, 6'11 Caio Torres from Spain, 6'10 Tomasz Kesicki from Spain, 6'10 Marko Lekic from Serbia-Montenegro, 6'10 Erazem Lorbek from Italy, 6'10 Drago Pasalic from Croatia, 6'10 Dusan Sakota from Greece - that fall into the 6'11 to 6'10 range among the 35 international players found on the list.  In other words, over half of the top players on this list are 6'10 or bigger, which simply reinforces the fact that size is at a premium in the NBA.  The list also includes eight more players - 6'9 Ersan Ilyasova from Turkey, 6'9 Yaroslav Korolev from Russia, 6'9 Ian Mahinmi from France, 6'9 Miguel Marriaga from Venezuela, 6'9 Marcus Vieira de Souza from Italy, 6'8 Luka Bogdanovic from Serbia-Montenegro, 6'8 Paulius Jankunas from Lithuania, and 6'8 Panagiotis Vasilopoulos from Greece - that fall into the 6'8 to 6'9 range, which means that three out of four of the players on the list are at least 6'8.  And 6'7 Carlos Matias from Argentina, 6'6 Viktor Keirou from Russia, 6'6 Thabo Sefolosha from France, 6'6 Marko Thomas from Croatia, and 6'6 Konstantinos Vasileiadis from Greece all fall into the 6'6 to 6'7 range, so the only four international players who have applied for Early Entry into the draft that are 6'5 or smaller are 6'5 Roko Leni Ukic from Croatia, 6'5 Rudy Fernandez from Spain, 6'4 Cenk Akyol from Turkey, and 6'3 Steven Markovic from Australia.  We also find it interesting that Serbia-Montenegro has the most international players on the list with six, followed by Spain with five, Russia, France, Croatia, and Greece with three apiece, Turkey, Lithuania, and Italy with two apiece, and Germany, Australia, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Argentina, and China all with only one apiece.  We fully expected 6'11 Andray Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, and 6'6 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who are ranked #1, #3, and #10 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, to enter the draft prematurely, but we did 6'9 Curtis Brown from Woodstock (Mt. Olive Prep) GA come from?  Actually we'd heard of this guy, because the University of Kentucky had shown some interest, but upon further investigation it was clear that the Wildcats needed better.  We also expected five of the eight high school players - 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'4 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'10 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'11 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph's) NJ, 6'6 C.J. Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX, and 6'7 Martellus Bennett from Alief (Taylor) TX - who filed for Early Entry to put their name in the draft.  And, Bynum entering the draft can be explained due to his incredible size, although we stand by the fact that we have him ranked #41 nationally in the senior class and, as a result, question whether he would be able to step right in and start at Connecticut next year, much less in the NBA.   However, with Miles and Bennett, we have to wonder whether they are putting something in the water in the state of Texas or whether the people advising them were missed when they rounded up all the people in the state suspected of child abuse.  There weren't many surprises on the list of college players, as Utah's 7'0 Soph Andrew Bogut, Wake Forest's 6'0 Soph Chris Paul, North Carolina's 6'1 Jr Raymond Felton, North Carolina's 6'8 Jr Sean May, North Carolina's 6'4 Jr Rashad McCants, North Carolina's 6'9 Frosh Marvin Williams, Illinois' 6'4 Jr Deron Williams, Illinois' 5'11 Jr Dee Brown, Connecticut's 6'10 Soph Charlie Villaneuva, Arizona State's 6'8 Jr Ike Diogu, Alabama's 6'6 Jr Kennedy Winston, Texas A&M's 6'7 Jr Antoine Wright, Indiana's 6'4 Jr Bracey Wright, Florida's 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh, Louisville's 6'7 Jr Francisco Garcia, Notre Dame's 6'9 Jr Torin Francis, Georgia Tech's 6'3 Jr Jarrett Jack, Washington's 5'9 Jr Nate Robinson, LSU's 6'8 Jr Brandon Bass, Florida 6'1 Jr Anthony Roberson, Missouri's 6'8 Soph Linas Kleiza, Wake Forest's 6'8 Jr Eric Williams, Northeastern's 6'0 Jr Jose Juan Barea, Pittsburgh's 6'10 Jr Chris Taft, Pittsburgh's 6'2 Jr Carl Krauser, West Virginia's 6'11 Jr Kevin Pittsnogle, Kentucky's 6'5 Jr Kelenna Azubuike, Cincinnati's 6'7 Jr James White, Kentucky's 6'10 Jr Randolph Morris, Florida State's 6'5 Soph Von Wafer, Duke's 6'10 Jr Shavlik Randolph, Seton Hall's 6'5 Jr J.R. Morris, Stanford's 6'2 Jr Chris Hernandez, Auburn's 6'1 Soph Toney Douglas, San Diego State's 6'8 Soph Marcus Slaughter, Northwestern's 6'0 Jr T.J. Parker, St. Joseph's 6'11 Jr Dwayne Jones, George Washington's 6'8 Jr Mike Hall, George Washington's 6'8 Jr Pops Mensah-Bonsu, La Salle's 6'8 Jr Steve Smith, Pepperdine's 6'5 Jr Alex Acker, and Chicago State's 7'1 Soph Deji Akindele all were on the list we of likely Early Entry Candidates that we compiled a week ago.  As a matter of fact, the only player whose name that we had on our list that didn't show up on the official list was Notre Dame's 6'8 Jr Dennis Latimore.  The names that we didn't have include Arkansas' 6'5 Olu Famutimi, Memphis' 6'8 Soph Sean Banks, Georgetown's 6'8 Jr Brandon Bowman, Maryland's 6'3 Jr Johnny Gilchrist, Alabama's 6'11 Soph Jermareo Davidson, Arizona's 6'4 Jr Chris Rodgers, Iowa's 6'4 Jr Pierre Pierce, Louisiana-Lafayette's 6'6 Jr Tiras Wade, Cincinnati's 6'8 Jr Armein Kirkland, St.-Francis-PA's 6'5 Jr Darshan Luckey, East Tennessee State's 5'9 Jr Tim Smith, Long Beach State's 6'2 Jr Jibril Hodges, Jacksonville State's 6'4 Jr B.J. Spencer, Maryland-Eastern Shore's 6'9 Jr Tim Parham, Olivet Nazarene College's (IL) 6'0 Jr Ray Rose, Vanguard University's (CA) 6'5 Jr Brian Kim.  Most people are probably are that North Carolina had four players who filed for early entry into the draft, but, when you combine current college players and recruits, did you know that Illinois, Louisville, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Washington, Connecticut, Texas A&M, Florida, Pittsburgh, Alabama, and George Washington all lost two players apiece.  And the conference that was hit the hardest by early defections was the Southeastern Conference with 11, followed by Atlantic Coast Conference with 10, the Big East Conference with eight, the Big-10 Conference, Conference USA, Pacific-10 Conference, and Big-12 Conference with five apiece, and Atlantic-10 Conference with four.  It also should be pointed out that the Big-12 Conference only would have had two early entry's, if we only includes current college players and the Big East Conference would have had the most early entries (12), if we'd included the teams joins the league next year.  It's also noteworthy that of the 73 college, high school, and 5th Year Players, that only three of them are 7-foot or taller and only 14 more fall into the 6-10 to 6'11 range.  We also believe there is a direct correlation between players at both the college and high school levels who have played for high profile AAU programs and those who file for early entry into the draft. 

Thursday, May 19, 2005

It looks like we were right on the money yesterday when we told you that 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ would pick Duke.  As a matter of fact, we've been telling you for months that the Blue Devils were the heavy favorite for Zoubek, 6'5 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'9 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  Well, three out of four isn't bad, although Thomas now appears to have been scared off by the fact that he and Henderson both play a similar position, both need to improve their outside shooting, and both are incredible athletes.  And, even if the Duke coaching staff can convince Thomas, who now appears to be favoring Arizona over Villanova, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Duke, et al., that he'll also be able to play some at the power forward spot, there also will be 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN and 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA in the class ahead of him at the power forward spot.  Getting back to Zoubek, we think this is a great catch.  "Zoubek is an excellent low post player with terrific skills and great intangibles," says our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, who was at Zoubek's press conference earlier today.  "We're talking about somebody who is very physical in the low post, has great good footwork, a nice baby hook, and the ability to kick it out to the open man when he gets double-teamed.  He also is an excellent rebounder, terrific student, and great person,"  In other words, Zoubek is a prototypical Duke type player and comparisons to former Duke All-American 6'11 Mike Gminski are in order, although Gminski, who graduated in 1980, just missed playing for Mike Krzyzewski, who took over for Bill Foster in the spring of 1980.  The addition of Zoubek also moves Duke's recruiting class up to #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and, if things were to fall right for Arizona and the Wildcats get either Thomas or 6'8 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA before some of the other dominos start to fall, then the Wildcats would be a close second behind the Blue Devils.  Rubin also tells us that 6'7 Ryan Washington from Ambler (Wissahicken) PA has verbally committed to Maryland-Baltimore County, 6'8 Darrel Johnson from Atlantic City (H.S.) NJ is going to Fairleigh Dickinson, and 5'10 Paul Gause from Pittsgrove (Arthur P. Schalick) NJ has signed with Seton Hall.  This last one is especially interesting, because nobody had told us that Gause, who originally was supposed to be heading to James Madison, had reneged on the Dukes.  Gause, who is ranked #4 in senior class in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey by Rubin and #181 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a scoring point guard with big time athleticism and a multi-sport resume'.  Rubin also tells us that Washington has committed, but won't sign and won't count with Maryland-Baltimore County's recruiting class until next year, because he plans to enroll at Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA this fall.  Johnson, who is a late developer, hard worker, and a good rebounder, is a steal for Fairleigh Dickinson, because his best days are ahead of him and, as a result, Rubin thinks he has the potential to develop into one of the better players in the league.  It also appears that 6'6 A.D. Vassallo from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is ranked #29 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, has reneged on Richmond and now is heading to Virginia Tech.  And this is just one more feather in the cap of Hokies head coach Seth Greenburg, who also earlier this month landed 6'3 Jr Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and appears to be well on his way towards building this into an upper echelon team in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference.  If you will recall, Munson is ranked #46 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also understand that 6'3 C.J. Henry from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK has verbally committed to Kansas.  However, it's our guess that this commitment won't hold up, because Henry, who is ranked #353 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a terrific baseball player and, as a result, will likely enter his name into the major league baseball draft.  But this might still turn out to be good that the Jayhawks took him, because the word on the street is that Henry's younger brother is potentially the best basketball player in the family.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that Henry's father, Carl Henry, averaged 17.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and 1.8 apg as a player at Kansas during the '83 and '84 seasons.  The addition of Henry also moves Kansas' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, 6'8 Micah Downs from Bothell (H.S.) WA, and 6'2 Mario Chalmers from Anchorage (Bartlett) AK, up to #13 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'8 Keith Wilkinson from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA appears to be heading to USC and this is a very intriguing commitment, because Wilkinson is a skilled face-up four-man with a great bloodline (his father played football for the San Francisco 49ers) and a lot of potential.  The addition of Wilkinson also means that the Trojans have done a great job of reloading.  If you will recall, last fall they had a recruiting class that included 7'0 Julian Lamptey from Garden City (JC) OK, 6'9 Samba Gueye from Senegal, 6'7 Theo White from Tyler (JC) TX, 6'3 Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL, and 6'8 Michael Freeman from Alexandria (Hayfield) VA.  But now Odzic is the only one of their original recruits left in the class, as the Trojans' recruiting class, which is ranked #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, now includes Wilkinson, 6'11 Abdoulaye Ndiayne from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'9 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 5'10 Shaun Davis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'9 Rousean Cromwell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'0 Ryan Francis from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, and 6'2 Collin Robinson from Diamond Bar (H.S.) CA.  This class also includes a little bit of everything, as it features two quality inside guys in Ndiayne and Barr, a jet-quick point guard in Davis, a couple of local players in Wilkinson and Robinson, a great 3-point shooter in Odzic, a major sleeper in Francis, and several guys with major upsides in Cromwell and Wilkinson.  We also have confirmed that Louisiana-Lafayette has added another recruit in 5'11 Maurice Barksdale from Blinn (JC) TX.  We talking about a smart savvy point guard who was named the Baltimore High School Player-of-the-Year two years ago and was one of the better players this past season in the tough junior college ranks.  And this is exactly what the Ragin' Cajuns needed to complement 6'1 Booker Woodfox from Lewisville (H.S.) TX, who is an undersized athletic and very talented combo guard, and 6'8 Ed Turner from Olney Central (JC) IL and 6'8 Valentino Hart from Cowley (JC) KS, both of whom should be able step in and contribute immediately next year.  We also understand that Bethune-Cookman is no longer targeting 6'4 Sean Morrison from St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL.  Instead, they have landed 6'6 Sam Barber from Palm Beach (JC) FL and this appears to be a major coup, because we're talking about somebody who originally was good enough to sign with South Florida when he was a high school senior at Lake Worth (H.S.) FL several years ago.  Our New York City Ron Naclerio tells us that Villanova, Pittsburgh, and N.C. State are the top three for 6'4 Jr Larry Davis from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 6'9 Jr Jabari Henley-Edwards from Brooklyn (Poly Prep) NY has Villanova, Boston College, Hofstra, Maryland, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's, and Pittsburgh at the top of his list. 

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

It couldn't have been choreographed any better!  We're talking about the verbal commitment by 6'5 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL to Duke yesterday, the verbal commitment by 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA to Duke earlier today, and the expected verbal commitment by 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ to Duke tomorrow.  That will be three for the Blue Devils on consecutive days, unless Zoubek pulls a major surprise and picks either Wake Forest or Stanford.  However, our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin doesn't think that will happen, although he adds that Stanford still may have a shot, because Zoubek had a great official visit and really likes the school a lot.  But we'd also be surprised if that happens, becauseThe Cardinal already has 6'11 Jr Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA and 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA both in the fold in this recruiting class.  Speaking of the Lopez twins and Stanford's current recruiting class, right now it's tied with Duke's class at #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, right behind Ohio State and ahead of North Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma, Baylor, California, Kansas State, Florida State, and Wake Forest.  And when Zoubek makes it official later today, it will move into the #1 spot.  However, even more important, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski will should be set at every position when the 2006-2007 season rolls around, because 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN and 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY will have a year of experience under their belt; Zpubek, Henderson, and Scheyer are all good enough to come in start as freshmen; and 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, and 6'4 Martiynas Pocius from Plymouth (Holderness) NH all promise to be great role players.  And making the story even better is the fact that even if they don't put an age limit into the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, which is supposed to be renegotiated this summer, none of these guys are likely to make the jump straight to the NBA after a year or two in college.  It also appears that Kansas State is cleaning up at the wing spots.  If you will recall, the Wildcats landed 6'5 David Hoskins from Schoolcraft (JC) MI last fall; they signed 6'5 Akeem Wright from Neosho County (JC) KS and 6'3 Mario Taybron from Eastern Oklahoma (JC) OK earlier this spring; and now they have 6'5 Deilvez Yearby from Detroit (Central) MI in the fold.  This gives Kansas State three junior college players who are the equivalent of a top 100-ranked high school senior or better and a high school player who appears to be one of the biggest sleepers in the nation.  Sure, Yearby is ranked as the #2-wing guard in the state by Vince Baldwin of Michigan Prep Spotlight and he averaged 21.4 ppg and 12.7 rpg and was named First Team All-Metro Detroit this past season, but it wasn't until his incredible performance this spring at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament in Washington, DC that people in our business started talking about Yearby being ranked as a top 100 senior nationally.  Yearby is more of a slasher than a shooter, but he's a big time athlete and a highlight film-like dunker.  When you also factor in the fact that Kansas State has a pair of big men in 7'1 Sidiki Sidibe from Asnieres, France and 6'10 Darren Kent from Apple Valley (Eastview) MN, it's easy to see why we have this recruiting class ranked #24 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'4 Jr Aaron Holmes from St. Petersburg (Catholic) FL has verbally committed to Florida State, 7'1 Jr Josh Lomers from Boerne (H.S.) TX has verbally committed to Baylor, and 6'4 Jr Michael Porter from Modesto (Christian) CA has verbally committed to Kentucky.  If you're wondering about that last one, you're not the only one.  However, a quick check of our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis' ranking of the top juniors in California reveals that Porter is ranked #239 in the state.  So, it will be especially interesting to see if Trigonis tries to tell us that he missed on this guy and he's really a lot better than he originally thought or whether the Wildcats have made a major recruiting mistake.  We honestly don't know, but Carlos Toomer and Adam Williams are the last two players that we'd never heard prior to when Kentucky pulled the trigger.  And it also should be pointed out that Chuck Hayes, who also added high school at Modesto (Christian) CA and was a major overachiever, was ranked #82 nationally in the Class of 2001 by the HOOP SCOOP.  So anybody who tells us that Hayes was a major sleeper and tries to make that comparison, is barking up the wrong tree.  We also find it interesting that San Jose State was the only other school that had offered Porter and his addition means the Wildcats only have three more scholarships available for the Class of 2006.  They had three to give, but that number became four when 6'11 Frosh Randolph Morris surprised everybody and entered his name into the NBA Draft.  Lomers is ranked #248 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is not ready to step in and make an immediate impact for the Bears.  But, then again, he doesn't have to, because Baylor is already well stocked with quality inside players.  If you will recall, 7'0 Frosh Mamadou Diene from Senegal red-shirted this season and 6'11 Mohamed Kone from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'10 Jari Vanttaja from Oulu, Finland, and 6'8 Kevin Rogers from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX are the primary reasons why Baylor's current recruiting class is ranked #12 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, we do really like Lomers upside and potential.  Holmes verbally committed to N.C. State last fall, but reneged on the Wolfpack this spring and now appears to be just one more example of how Florida State, Florida, and Miami-FL are locking up the top players in the state.  Remember, Florida State also already has 6'8 Ryan Reid from Lauderdale Lakes (Boyd Anderson) FL and 7'1 Jr Jonathan Kreft from Parkland (Marjory Stoneman Douglas) FL, who are our #7-ranked senior and #10-ranked junior in the state, in fold; Miami-FL has 6'6 Adrian Thomas from Pembroke Pines (Flanagan) FL, 6'7 Brian Asbury from Miami (South Miami) FL, 6'1 Denis Clemente from Miami (Calusa Prep) FL, and 6'0 Soph Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL, who are ranked #4, #6, #12, and #1 in their respective classes; and Florida already has 6'4 Derwin Kitchen from Jacksonville (Raines) FL, 6'4 David Huertas from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'9 Jimmie Sutton from Coconut Creek (North Broward Prep) FL, 6'9 Jr Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL, 6'4 Soph Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL, and 6'4 Soph Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who are ranked #2, #8, #13, #44, #2, and #6 in their respective classes.  As a matter of fact, three of the top six sophomores in the state (Rios, Clark, and Calathes) are already off the board and Florida has the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  As for Holmes, who is a big time athlete and one of the best 3-point shooters in the junior class nationally, he's exactly what the doctor ordered for the Seminoles, which have cleaned up with inside players in this year's recruiting class. 

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report was at the press conference earlier today and he confirms that 6'5 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL picked Duke over Illinois.  Obviously this is great news for the Blue Devils, because Scheyer is ranked #15 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the best 3-point shooters and most skilled players in the country.  He also has tremendous court savvy and an extremely high basketball IQ, which makes him a prototypical Duke-like player.  And assuming that 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who is ranked #31 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow to announce his college decision, follows in Scheyer's footsteps tomorrow, the Blue Devils should be as good as anybody in the nation for years to come at the two and the three spots.  Scheyer and Henderson also promise to complement one another perfectly, because Henderson is a world-class athlete who is unstoppable when he slashes to the basket.  However, this is not good news for the Fighting Illini, which had all the right connections to get this one done.  Remember, Illinois is fresh of its first NCAA Final Four appearance in 16 years, Scheyer is an in-state player, and Illinois head coach Bruce Weber's brother is Scheyer's high school coach).  Getting Scheyer also would have gone a long way towards establishing the fact that Weber can get the top players in his backyard to stay home.  If you will recall, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL also picked Duke over Illinois a year ago, but this never materialized due to the fact that Livingston decided to by-pass college and, instead, went straight to The League.  And last fall 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL surprised everybody when he picked Kansas over Illinois, Arizona, and DePaul.  So now the Illinois coaching staff will turn up the heat on 6'0 Jr Sharron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL, who not only is seriously challenging Scheyer for top player honors in the junior class in Illinois, but also is one of the best point guards in the nation, along with 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Jr Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, 6'2 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Jr Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, 5'9 Jr Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 6'0 Jr Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, and 6'3 Jr Trevon Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA.  Illinois also already has a verbal commitment from 6'9 Jr Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH and they are mentioned with players like 6'1 Jr Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, 5'11 Jr Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 7'0 Jr Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington County Day) FL, 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'3 Jr Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'7 Jr DeShawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 5'11 Jr Torey Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI, 7'0 Jr Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, 6'6 Jr Isiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN, 6'9 Jr Brian Carlwell from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'5 Jr Marquis Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, 6'0 Jr Willie Walker from Bolingbrook (H.S.) IL, 6'5 Jr Devan Bawinkle from Winnebago (H.S.) IL, and 6'6 Jr Joevan Catron from Harvey (Thornton) IL.  But the next must recruit for the Fighting Illini is 6'3 Soph Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is ranked #5 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP and is arguably the best player in the state regardless of class.  Getting back to the top juniors and Duke's recruiting, we also believe it's only a matter of time before the Blue Devils get 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ and we suspect that in the end that they will be right there with 6'9 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, although it appears that Thomas' list continues to get longer, as schools like Arizona, Villanova, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Arkansas, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John's, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, Syracuse, Texas, and Wake Forest all are being mentioned.  Georgia Tech, Kansas, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Tennessee are among those being mentioned for 6'10 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, but right now it appears to be too close to call among Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina.  So, if Duke hits the jackpot and gets Scheyer, Henderson, Zoubek, Thomas, and Wright, then the Blue Devils will have landed back-to-back top five-ranked recruiting classes.  As a matter of fact, Duke's current recruiting class, which includes 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, and 6'4 Martiynas Pocius from Plymouth (Holderness) NH, has moved up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, due to the fact 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA has entered his name into the NBA Draft and Louisville's recruiting class has dropped into a tied at #4, along with Marquette.  However, let's say that North Carolina, also hits the jackpot and adds 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Jr Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'11 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA to a recruiting that already has 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC in the fold and is ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We not only would be talking about one of the best recruiting classes ever, but the Tar Heels would have the #1, #2, #7, #8, and #11-ranked players in the class when we update our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2006 later this month.  So similar to Duke, the Tar Heels appear to be one the verge of putting together incredible back-to-back recruiting classes, as their current recruiting class includes 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, and 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY and is ranked #7 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, if all this falls into place, Duke and North Carolina's classes over this two-year period both will include 10 players and they both will be tied with 81 points, based on our 1-10 rating scale, whereby, a top five player nationally is worth 10 points, a top 10 player is worth nine points, a player in the 11-40 range is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range is worth six points, a player in the 71-100 range is worth four points, a player in the 101-300 range is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000 range is worth two points, and a player not in the top 1000 is worth only one point.  We also should point out that Ellington and Durant both get 12 points apiece, because they both now project as NBA All-Stars someday and, as a result, should have an additional value just like players like Kevin Garnett, Dajuan Wagner, LaBron James, and Dwight Howard did when they were seniors in high school.  The same also can be said about 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  And, if Oden and 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, both of whom are expected to pick the Buckeyes over Wake Forest, and 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, who is another prime recruiting target for Ohio State head coach Thad Matta and his staff, then we'd be talking about a recruiting class that would be better than Duke's class, but not as good as North Carolina's class, if everything we've mentioned above falls into place the way we think it might.  And Ohio State also is off to the races in terms of already locking up 6'10 Frosh B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest Christian) OH, who is ranked #15 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP, and they are mentioned with most the other top freshmen in the state, including 6'9 Frosh Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH and 6'6 Frosh Rayshawn Goines from Cleveland (Rhodes) OH.  We also believe that LSU won the race for 6'0 Jr Darryl Augustine from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA, who will be ranked #13 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP when we update our national rankings later this month, by default when 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA picked North Carolina last week.  And now that 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA has reneged on UCLA, we think it's going to be tough for 6'8 Jr Chase Budinger from Carlsbad (La Costa Canyon) CA, who will check in at #12 on our list of the top juniors nationally, to say no to the Bruins.  However, the key might be allowing Budinger, who is regarded as the best volleyball player in the world at his age, to play both basketball and volleyball in college.  Remember, UCLA has one of the best volleyball programs in the nation year-in-and-year-out.  We also think Louisville will get 6'2 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, who is ranked #14 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is scheduled to make an official visit to Louisville, KY this weekend.  And, if this happens the Cardinals will have found the ideal replacements for Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean in Smith and 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, who verbally committed to the Cardinals last week.  Did you know that Dean is Smith's favorite player?  We also think 6'4 Jr Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, who will be ranked #15 nationally when we publish our updated list, will end up Syracuse and 6'9 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, who will be ranked #20 on the new list, will pick Pittsburgh.  Remember, the Orangemen don't lose many of the top players from up-state New York and the Panthers have recruited New York City as well as anybody in recent years.  We also think that it's going to tough for anybody to get 6'8 Jr Pierre Niles from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, who will move up to #16 when we update our new rankings, away from the University of Memphis and Illinois is the team to beat for 6'1 Jr Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, who will be ranked #19 when we publish our new rankings.  And we still think it's only a matter of time before 6'6 Jr Isiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN, who will check in at #24 on the new list, verbally commits to Michigan State.  However, we do think it's too close to call between Oklahoma and Texas for 6'9 Jr Darrell Arthur, who will be ranked #5 on our new list.  We also find it interesting that 11 of our top 40-ranked players have already made their college decisions, as 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has already committed to North Carolina, 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH has already committed to Ohio State, 6'5 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL has already committed to Duke, 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX has already committed to Oklahoma, 6'4 Jr Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL has already committed to Georgetown, 6'11 Jr Brook Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA has already committed to Stanford, 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA has already committed to Stanford, 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA has already committed to Baylor, 5'9 Jr Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX has already committed to Arizona, 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY has already committed to Louisville, and 6'4 Jr David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH has already committed to Ohio State.  Moral to the story, the Summer Evaluation Period is still over a-month-and-a-half away, but we already a pretty good idea where most of the top juniors are heading to college.  

Monday, May 16, 2005

It looks like everybody (including us) who thought that 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD was a done deal for North Carolina totally missed the boat, because our Washington/DC/Maryland Editor Dennis Marshall tells us that this athletic power forward who is ranked #71 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP has picked Florida State over the Tar Heels.  And this is big for the Seminoles, because Echefu is good enough to not only battle for playing time inside, but also is great insurance in case 6'10 Jr Diego Romero, who averaged 3.8 ppg and 2.5 rpg this past season, once again doesn't live up to expectations or something happens to 6'10 Soph Alexander Johnson.   And Echefu isn't the only who is being brought in to fill this role, as 6'8 Jerome Habel from Palm Beach (JC) FL, 6'8 Ryan Reid from Lauderdale Lakes (Boyd Anderson) FL, and 6'8 Cassan Breeden from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC all are listed as power forwards, although Habel and Breeden are also versatile enough and athletic enough to play the wing forward spot.  The addition of Echefu also moves Florida State's recruiting class into a tie at #66, along with Charlotte, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  In other words, Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton not only will have six of his top nine players back, but he also should have the depth that he needs to finish near the top of the league, along with teams like Maryland, Duke, and N.C. State.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'7 Jr Dan Warner from Lincroft (Christian Brothers) NJ has made an early verbal commitment to N.C. State, 6'7 Jr Trevor Booker from Union (H.S.) SC has made an early verbal commitment to Clemson, and 6'6 Nick Aldridge from South Webster (H.S.) OH has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Cincinnati.  This last one is especially interesting, because the Bearcats also have 6'8 Ivan Johnson from Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA, 6'7 Cedric McGowan from Kilgore (JC) TX, 6'3 Tyree Evans from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 5'10 Deven Downey from Chester (H.S.) SC, 6'10 Abdul Herrera from Miami (South Miami) FL, 6'7 DeAndre Coleman from Stone Mountain (Stephenson) GA, and 6'0 Dominic Tilford from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY all in the fold in their current recruiting class, which is ranked #19 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   So, even if the Bearcats don't sign a single player in next year's recruiting class, they should be set for the next two years, which is how long Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins has left on his contract.  Instead, Cincinnati fans should be more concerned about Huggins, who almost single handedly is responsible for building this program into a perennial national power during the last 16 years, leaving to take another head coaching job.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'3 Frosh Cordell Passley from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who is ranked #37 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP, has become the third player in the Class of 2008 to have already made a verbal commitment.  If you will recall, Ohio State already has an early verbal commitment from 6'10 Frosh B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest Christian) OH and Louisville already has an early verbal commitment from 6'6 Frosh Martez Walker from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL.  And Whitehead, who originally is from the state of Indiana and, as a result, knows what it's like beating Indiana and Purdue for the top players in their backyard, thinks the Volunteers timing couldn't be any better.  Remember, the situation at Indiana could be volatile next season, if Mike Davis doesn't put all the pieces together and nobody can be sure what new Purdue head coach Matt Painter is going to do until he coaches some games next season. "So why not take advantage of the opportunity?" asks Whitehead.  "Why give the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers a chance to recruit Passley, when you can get him right now:"  And, of course, there also is the added momentum that getting one of the better freshmen in the nation gives you when it comes to selling the top juniors and sophomores in the nation on the fact that your program in heading in the right direction.  We also are impressed with the fact that the University of Arizona has landed 6'9 Jr Jordan Hill from Kennesaw (Kennesaw Mountain) GA, who came out of the word work and established his national reputation at the Houston Kingwood Classic in late April.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that he plays for the Smyrna Stars, which is same the AAU Team that produced 6'7 Korvotney Barber from Manchester (H.S.) GA, who, just like Hill this year, first made his name a year ago at the same tournament.  And apparently Wildcats assistant coach Josh Pastner, who was the one who recruited 6'9 Mohamed Tangara to Arizona, once again was able to take advantage of his strong connects in Georgia to get this one extremely quick fashion.  If you will recall, Tangara went to high school at Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, but he was brought to the United States by Linzy Davis and played on the Georgia Elite club team.  Hill is long, active, athletic, runs the court, blocks shots, rebounds, scores around the basket, and has an incredible upside.  So, it should come as no surprise when Hill will be ranked among the top 50 juniors nationally when we update our ranking of the top juniors later this month and that Arizona's recruiting class, which also includes 5'9 Jr Nick Wise from Houston (Kingwood) TX, has moved up to #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also have confirmed that Louisiana-Lafayette has added two more players in 6'8 J.P. Fields from Gulf Coast (JC) FL and 6'5 David Deas, who is transferring from Liberty, where he was a First Team All-Conference Selection for this past season.  However, transfers don't count when we ranked recruiting classes.  But, if we did, instead of being tied #110, along with Virginia, Valparaiso, Southeastern Louisiana, Washington State, Nevada, Western Kentucky, and Idaho State, their class would be ranked among the top 70 recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  In other words, it looks like the Rajin Cajuns have done an excellent job of reloading.  We also are impressed with the job that new New Mexico State head coach Reggie Theus has done when it comes to getting transfers.  If you will recall, two weeks ago the Aggies got 6'5 Soph Justin Hawkins, who transferred from Utah to New Mexico State and 6'4 Soph Fred Peete, who has transferred from Kansas State to New Mexico State, and now they also have landed 7'0 Soph Martin Iti, who is transferring from Charlotte to New Mexico State, and 6'7 Soph Trei Steward, who is transferring from Northern Colorado to New Mexico State.  It also appears that Fresno State has signed 6'10 Renato Cesar from Arizona Western (JC) AZ, Florida has landed 6'10 Jr Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL and 6'4 Soph Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL, and Duke could get a pair of early verbal commitments from 6'5 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL and 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA tomorrow and the next day.  And how about the quick start that Matt Doherty and his staff are getting at Florida Atlantic.  They already had landed 6'4 Paul Graham from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA and 5'11 Kevin Green from Santa Fe (JC) FL and now they have 6'3 DeAndre Rice from Frank Phillips (JC) TX and 6'7 Carlos Monroe from Cape Coral (H.S.) FL both in the fold.  Rice, who committed to New Orleans earlier this spring, but later reneged, is a lights out 3-pointer shooter who is capable of playing either guard spot and Monroe, who is ranked #235 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was attracting interest from school like Providence, La Salle, East Carolina, and East Tennessee State. 

Saturday, May 14, 2005, & Sunday, May 15, 2005

We continue to update our list of Recent Signings & Commitments and we have stumbled across some interesting things.  Like UTEP signing yet another player who is the equivalent of a top 100 high school senior nationally in 6'3 Kevin Henderson from San Bernardino Valley (JC) CA.  If you will recall, last fall the Miners landed 6'5 Moses Gonzalez from Ventura (JC) CA, who is ranked #31 on our list of the top junior college players, and 6'4 Stephon Jackson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who is ranked #16 our list of the Top 5th Year Players.  And earlier this week they finally sealed the deal with 6'8 Maurice Thomas from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who is ranked #22 on our list of the Top  5th Year Players.  However, Henderson appears to be the most important player out of the group that the Miners have signed.  “The addition of Kevin is a direct result of the success this program has enjoyed over the last two years,” UTEP head coach Doc Sadler said on May 6th in the school's press release . “He led his high school team to the state championship and this year’s team to the California state championship game.  We’ve always felt it was important to have a point guard who has experienced success.  Kevin plays the position that is most important to any basketball team and there was no one in junior college this year that I wanted more than him.  We targeted him as a freshman at Garden City Community College and have followed him throughout his two years of junior college basketball.  I’m excited that he’s now a member of the Miner basketball team.”  The addition of Henderson moves UTEP's recruiting class into a tie at #49, along with St. John's, Indiana, and Wake Forest, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  It also moves their recruiting class up to #3 overall in the league, behind Louisiana Tech and SMU.  However, even more impressive is the fact that this class has a 4.5 talent rating average per recruit, which is the second highest talent rating average per recruit in the league, behind Fresno State.  Like Kansas State signing 6'3 Mario Taybron from Eastern Oklahoma (JC) OK.  Yes, that's the same Mario Taybron, who started six games for Temple two years ago and was ranked #10 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players when he was at Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA in during the 2002-2003 season.  Taybron also was ranked #47 in the junior college ranks by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook and averaged 15.0 ppg and 5.2 apg this past season.  So obviously this is the icing on the cake of a recruiting class that also already includes 6'5 David Hoskins from Schoolcraft (JC) MI, 7'1 Sidiki Sidibe from Asneres, France, 6'5 Akeem Wright from Neosho County (JC) KS, and 6'10 Darren Kent from Apple Valley (Eastview) MN and is tied at #30 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, if that weren't enough, the Wildcats also have two early verbal commitments from 6'4 Jr Carlos Morias from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA and 6'8 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA.  In other words, now all they have to do is get this to translate into wins.  If you will recall, Kansas State also had the #1-ranked recruiting class two years ago when they signed 6'10 Justin Williams from Kankakee (JC) IL, 5'7 Dez Willingham from De Soto (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Jeremiah Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA, 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX, 6'9 Dramane Diarra from Cloud County (JC) KS, 6'4 Lance Harris from Columbia (Hickman) MO, and 6'10 Tyler Hughes from Olathe (North Olathe) KS.  But the Wildcats also have have been slowed by injuries and transfers and, as a result, have not lived top expectations, as they have posted combined 31-26 overall and 12-20 conference records the last two years.  Like Morehead State landing three junior college players in 6'7 Ryan Allen from San Jacinto (JC) CA, 6'6 Antwon Sibert from Gulf Coast (JC) FL, and 6'6 Shaun Williams from Des Moines (JC) IA.  And when you add this to the three recruits - 6'3 Cordaryl Ballard from Columbus (Mifflin) OH, 6'4 Tristian Rogers from Kokomo (H.S,) IN, 6'6 Stan Januska from Weston (Cypress Bay) FL, and 6'2 Tyke Cockerham from Indianapolis (Cathedral) IN - that the Eagles already have in the fold, it comes as no surprise that their recruiting class is tied at #93, along with UT-San Antonio, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And with this quick fix, which also ranks Morehead State's recruiting class second in the league, right behind Southeast Missouri State and ahead of Murray State, it also wouldn't surprise us if the Eagles were the surprise team in the league next year.  Did you know that Morehead State will have six of their top eight players back next year and that Eagles head coach Kyle Macy is second to none as a basketball coach?  Like Utah State signing 6'2 Everett Morgan from Los Angeles City (JC) CA.  And this is significant, because, with 6'3 Michael Daniels from Grayson (JC) UT, 6'4 Tyler Newbold from Payson (H.S.) UT, 6'10 Steve Cobbley from North Idaho (JC) ID, 6'0 Mikel Watson from Oceanside (El Camino) CA, 6'11 Arvydas Vaitiekus from Marshalltown (JC) IA, 6'8 Nate Bendall from Salt Lake City (Skyline) UT, 6'3 Durrall Peterson from Hutchinson (JC) KS, and 6'6 Chris Session from Grayson County (JC) TX also already in this recruiting class, the Aggies now edge out Middle Tennessee, which has nine players, and Missisippi, Arkansas-Little Rock, and Dartmouth, which all have eight players in the fold, for the school with the most players in their current recruiting class.  And making this story even more interesting is the fact that Utah State had six seniors, five juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman on its roster last year and four of the top five players are supposed to be back next year.  Obviously the Utah State coaching staff knows something that we don't, because, as things stand now, the numbers just don't add up.  However, when Utah State enters the Western Athletic Conference next year, it looks like they will be ready, because this recruiting class is ranked #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Like UT-Pan American landing 6'7 Hrvoje Pervan from Eastern Arizona (JC) AZ.  Not only are we talking about a highly-skilled and extremely versatile player who averaged 10.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg and shot 55% from the field and 38% from 3-point land, but Pervan, who is originally from Rijeka, Croatia, also had a 3.8 gpa and played on one of the top junior college teams in the nation last year.  Like 5'11 Tony Hooper from Houston (Aldine) TX signed with Louisiana-Monroe.  Hooper becomes the sixth players in the Indians' recruiting class, which is ranked #92 our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 and also includes 6'7 David Garrison from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS, 6'3 James Perkins from St. Catharine (JC) KY, 6'6 Wesley Johnson from Corsicana (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Brandon Roberts from Van (H.S.) TX, and 6'1 Drew Meyerchick from Varnado (H.S.) LA.  Hooper also is the third player that the new regime has landed since Orlando Early took over as head coach at Louisiana-Monroe earlier this spring and he is arguably their best recruit.  Not only does Hooper have the jet-like speed and quickness and ball handling skills and passing skills necessary to play the one and he's also a terrific 3-point shooter.   

Friday, May 13, 2005

We originally thought that the University of Louisville getting 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY also might help the Cardinals get Sosa's high school teammate - 6'8 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, who is ranked #20 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, this does not appear to be the case, as our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Kelly's final six appear to be Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Connecticut, Texas, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina.  Naclerio also tells us that Pittsburgh and West Virginia are the leaders for 6'3 Jr Kashif Pratt from New York (Rice) NY and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'2 Louis Williams from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA, 6'6 Brandon Rush from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, and 6'11 Andrew Bynum from Metuchen (St. Joseph) NJ are the latest high school/prep school players to who have signed up for early entry into the NBA Draft.  They join 6'5 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'8 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'11 Andray Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'6 C.J. Miles from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, and 6'8 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX  and we probably aren't done yet, as the deadline to file for early entry into the NBA Draft is tomorrow.  And, if 6'10 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA enters his name, then every player that we thought would go straight out of high school/prep school will have gone.  However, if any of these players do not sign with an agent, they will have until a week before the draft on June 21st to withdraw their name and still retain their amateur status, which is necessary in order to be eligible to play next year at the collegiate level.   And the same holds true for anybody on the list of college players who have already applied for early entry into the NBA Draft.  At last count, that list included Utah's 7'0 Soph Andrew Bogut, Wake Forest's 6'0 Soph Chris Paul, North Carolina's 6'0 Jr Raymond Felton, North Carolina's 6'8 Jr Sean May, North Carolina's 6'3 Jr Rashad McCants, North Carolina's 6'9 Frosh Marvin Williams, Illinois' 6'3 Jr Deron Williams, Illinois' 5'10 Jr Dee Brown, Connecticut's 6'11 Soph Charlie Villaneuva, Arizona State's 6'8 Jr Ike Diogu, Alabama's 6'6 Jr Kennedy Winston, Texas A&M's 6'7 Jr Antoine Wright, Indiana's 6'3 Jr Bracey Wright, Florida's 6'6 Jr Matt Walsh, Louisville's 6'7 Jr Francisco Garcia, Georgia Tech's 6'3 Jr Jarrett Jack, Washington's 5'9 Jr Nate Robinson, LSU's 6'8 Jr Brandon Bass, Florida 6'1 Jr Anthony Roberson, Missouri's 6'8 Soph Linas Kleiza, Wake Forest's 6'8 Jr Eric Williams, Notre Dame's 6'9 Jr Torin Francis, Northeastern's 6'0 Jr Jose Juan Barea, Pittsburgh's 6'10 Jr Chris Taft, Pittsburgh's 6'2 Jr Carl Krauser, West Virginia's 6'11 Jr Kevin Pittsnogle, Kentucky's 6'5 Jr Kelenna Azubuike, Cincinnati's 6'7 Jr James White, Kentucky's 6'11 Jr Randolph Morris, Notre Dame's 6'8 Jr Dennis Latimore, Florida State's 6'5 Soph Von Wafer, Duke's 6'10 Jr Shavlik Randolph, Seton Hall's 6'5 Jr J.R. Morris, Stanford's 6'2 Jr Chris Hernandez, Auburn's 6'1 Soph Toney Douglas, San Diego State's 6'8 Soph Marcus Slaughter, Northwestern's 6'0 Jr T.J. Parker, St. Joseph's 6'11 Jr Dwayne Jones, George Washington's 6'8 Jr Mike Hall, George Washington's 6'8 Jr Pops Mensah-Bonsu, La Salle's 6'8 Jr Steve Smith, Pepperdine's 6'5 Jr Alex Acker, and Chicago State's 7'1 Soph Deji Akindele.  And, in addition to the 10 high school/prep school players and the 43 college players listed above, we also count 17 foreign players - 6'10 Nemanja Aleksandrov from Serbia, 7'3 Martynas Andriuskevicius from Lithonia, 7'1 Ivan Chiriaev from Russia, 6'5 Rudy Fernandez from Spain, 6'9 Ersan Ilyasova from Turkey, 6'8 Paulisu Jankunas from Lithuania, 6'9 Yaroslav Korolev from Russia, 6'10 Erazem Lorbek from Slovenia, 6'11 Drago Pasalic from Croatia, 7'0 Johan Petro from France, 7'0 Robert Rothbart from France, 6'11 Dusan Sakota from Greece, 7'0 Predrag Samardziski from Belgrade, 6'11 Tiago Splitter from Brazil, 6'8 Mark Tomas from Croatia, 6'5 Roko Ukic from Croatia, and 6'9 Marcus Vinicus from Brazil - who have already applied for early entry into the NBA.  In other words, we already know about 70 players who will be coming out early and, ironically, there are only 60 spots available in the first and second rounds of the draft.  This also brings us to another interesting dilemma that a lot of college coaching staffs find themselves in when a current player or a recruit decides to test the waters.  Do you just sit back and hope the player comes back?  Or do you go out and find the best player available to replace him so you don't get stuck at the end?  But often this easier said than done, because these decisions are all being made at the worst possible time of the year and, in most cases, even if a coach wanted to go ahead and use the scholarship, there aren't very many quality players left in the late May and early June.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Eric Van Vliet from Santa Cruz (H.S.) CA, who recently reneged on Fresno State, has now signed with Montana.  And so has 5'10 Bryan Ellis from Salt Lake (JC) UT.   Not only is Ellis an excellent floor general, but also used his speed and quickness to lead the Scenic Western Athletic Conference in steals with 3.1 spg and ball handling and passing skills to finish second in assists with 5.2 apg and assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.83.   At 6'10, 250 lbs., Van Vliet is an excellent rebounder and a tremendous competitor, which means he should be able step in and contribute inside immediately next year.  One of the key's to getting Van Vliet appears to be that 6'4 Austin Swift from Santa Cruz (H.S.) CA, who is his high school teammate, signed with Montana last fall.  The Grizzles also already have 6'2 Ryan Staudacher from Kirkland (Lake Washington) WA and 6'7 Kyle Sharp from Hollister (San Benito) CA in the fold and, as a result, their recruiting class is tied at #129, along with Pennsylvania, Rider, Columbia, Oakland, and American University, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, of course, there is 6'7 Tony Jones from Hill (JC) TX, who originally committed to Baylor last fall, but now has signed with Idaho State.  We're talking about somebody who will have three year's of eligibility, is versatile enough to play three different positions, and is athletic enough to create match-up problems out on the perimeter.  Idaho State also has signed 6'4 Jamal Holden from San Francisco City (JC) CA, who sat out this past season, but averaged 16.0, 5.0 rpg, and 3.0 apg and was named First Team All-Conference during the 2003-2004 season.  And, when you also remember that earlier this spring the Bengels signed 6'0 Akbar Abdul-Ahad, who originally signed with Miami-OH and emerged as the starting point guard this past season at Indian Hills (JC) IA, it's obvious that Idaho State head coach Doug Oliver not only has landed perimeter players who should make an immediate impact next year, but he also has done a great job of replacing his three best perimeter players - 6'2 Sr Jeff Gardner, 6'5 Sr Doug D'Amore, and 6'2 Sr Arzelle Lewis, all of whom will graduate this spring.

 Thursday, May 12, 2005

Did you know that Iowa State has landed not one, but two of the top junior college players in the nation?  Well, I didn't either until I was crossing-checking our list of Recent Commitments against the list of junior college signings and commitments, which can be found on Big Apple Sports.  That's when I stumbled upon the fact that the Cyclones had signed 6'10 Jessan Gray from Tyler (JC) TX, who not only is ranked #33 on our list of the top junior college players, but also is capable of playing both inside and outside, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 10.9 ppg and 5.7 rpg, shot 48.8% percent from the field (122-250 FG), and was ranked 28th in Region XIV in scoring and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (40-113 3FG).  And upon further investigation I also found that Iowa State had landed 6'11 Jiri Hubalek from Marshalltown (JC) IA, who was one of only three freshmen named First Team All-Region and finished second in the league in rebounding with 8.6 rpg and fourth in blocked shots with almost one per game.  Hubalek, who redshirted his first season and played only one year in junior college, will have three years of eligibility remaining at Iowa State.  And, just like Gray, he also can step outside and score in the low post.  As a matter of fact, we're talking about somebody who averaged 12.4 ppg and shot 61.4% from the field this past season.  He also was named the MVP in at the 2002 European Holland Nordic Basketball Tournament while playing from the Czech Republic Junior National Team.  We also found out that 6'10 Kellan Lee from Laurinburg (Institute) NC is no longer at part of Iowa State's recruiting class, but, then again, they don't really need him, because they've also got 6'9 Theo Davis from Toronto, ON, 6'11 Shawn Taggart from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 Ross Marsden from Ames (H.S.) IA, 6'3 Farnold Degand from Boston (John Bryant) MA, and 6'8 Mike Evanovich from South Kent (Prep) CT in the fold.  So it should comes as no surprise that we now have Iowa State's recruiting class ranked #6 our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, even more important, it appears that Iowa State head coach Wayne Morgan will now have the horses inside that he needs to complement 6'2 Soph Curtis Stinson, 5'11 Soph Will Blalock, and 6'6 Frosh Rahshon Clark out on the perimeter.  It also looks like it's one down and two to go for North Carolina.  We're talking about the fact that 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who will be ranked #7 nationally in the junior class when we update our rankings later this month, committed to the Tar Heels earlier today and the fact that it probably will be only a matter of time before they also get 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who will be ranked #1 and #2, respectively, in those same rankings.  And, if this happens, Michigan's Fab Five recruiting class in 1991 that included Chris Webber, Juwon Howard, and Jalen Rose, and North Carolina's great recruiting class in 1994 that included Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, and Jeff McGinnis, which are the two best trio of players that anybody has landed since we started keeping track in 1983, both pale in comparison.  In other words, we are sticking by our original statement from a week ago when we said that Ellington, Durant, and Lawson will be the best three players any school has ever signed in one recruiting class.  And Lawson is the ultimate point guard, because he's got jet-like speed and quickness, is a better 3-point shooter than most people give him credit for being, has great ball handling and passing skills, makes great decisions, and has a tremendous understanding of the game.  As a matter of fact, we like Lawson better than any player in the Class of 2005 and, while most people won't agree with that right now, I'll be glad to remind them of it when it becomes more obvious.  Remember, it is the editorial policy to state the obvious before it becomes obvious.  The addition of Lawson moves North Carolina's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if they also get Ellington, Durant, 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, and/or 6'10 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, the race will be one to see who has the #1-ranked recruiting class.  Remember, Ohio State, which also has six available scholarships for the Class of 2006, already has 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH and 6'4 Jr David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH and they appear to be the favorite for 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  Ironically, the commitment by Lawson also should eliminate the Tar Heels from contention for both Conley, whose final five are Ohio State, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan State, and Oden, who still is mentioning Ohio State, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Indiana, and Michigan State.  If you will recall, wherever Conley goes, Oden is likely to follow.  Or, if Wake Forest hits the jackpot and adds Conley and Oden and/or 6'3 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI to a recruiting class that already includes 6'7 Jr Jamie Skeen from Huntersville (North Mecklenburg) NC and 6'5 Jr L.D. Williams from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, then the Demon Deacons and not the Buckeyes would be challenging North Carolina for the top spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And don't forget about Duke, which potentially could end up with the best recruiting class, if they land 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'6 Jr Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 7'0 Jr Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, and 6'10 Jr Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN.  Those first four will not be ranked among our top 10 juniors nationally when we update our rankings later this month, but they all will be ranked among the top 25 juniors nationally and, in each case, we think the Blue Devils are the team to beat.  On the other hand, anything could happen with Wright, as his list includes Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Louisville.  Speaking of Louisville, we have confirmed that 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY has made it official for the Cardinals, which means their recruiting class is now tied at #8, along with Georgetown, Charlotte, Baylor, and UCLA, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also would not be surprised if Louisville gets 6'3 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI.  But, for this to happen, they would have to find another scholarship and time is running out for 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #9 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to meet the May 14th deadline.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that South Carolina has landed 6'9 Ousmane Konate from Redlands (JC) OK and this gives the Gamecocks yet another powerful body in this year's recruiting class, which already includes 6'8 Alassane Savadodo from Gulf Coast (JC) FL, 6'8 Bryce Sheldon from Fullerton (JC) CA, 6'7 Dominique Archie from Augusta (T. W. Josey) GA, and 6'8 Kevin Palacious from Eastern Oklahoma (JC) OK and is tied with Notre Dame at #41 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  At 6'9, 265 lbs., Konate is "a post man with a nice touch" and he averaged 8.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg this past season.  It also has been reported that 6'9 Alex Opacic from Bankstown, Australia has signed with Furman, 6'4 Joseph Harris from Camp Lejuene (Lejuene) NC has signed with Coastal Carolina, and 5'11 Brandon Hollinger from Mobile (LeFlore) AL has signed with Alabama.  This last one is especially interesting for a number of reasons.  First, Hollinger led his team to a 35-1 record and a #2 national ranking before his team got knocked off in the 6A State Championship Game.  Second, Hollinger was named the 6A Player-of-the-Year in Alabama.  Third, Hollinger is a small quick scoring point guards out of the Tyus Edney-mold.  Fourth, Hollinger appears to be a major sleeper.  As a matter of fact, Gottfried was quoted in the press release when Hollinger signed a month ago saying that "we have done well with guys in our state that may not have been ranked by the experts that high but develop into very good SEC players.  He is a very good ball handler and shooter and is extremely quick.  He will add depth to our backcourt and won't back down from anybody.  He reminds me of Tyus Edney, who played for us at UCLA."  Fifth, this moves Alabama's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL,  6'4 Ravone George from Perimeter (JC) GA, 6'6 Alonzo Gee from West Palm Beach (Dwyer) FL, and 6'9 Yamene Coleman from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, up to #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also know that Western Kentucky was in the market for a point guard and it looks like the Hilltoppers got not one but two point guards who are capable of stepping in and filling the shoes of 6'0 Sr Antonio Haynes right away.  We're talking about 6'0 Orlando Mendez from Goldsboro (Charis Prep) NC and 6'1 Joemal Campbell from Northwest (JC) MS.  Mendez has a great feel for the game and he averaged 8.1 apg and shot an incredible 56.9% from beyond the arc, as he led his team to a 29-7 record and a 3rd Place finish in the National Prep Invitational.  Campbell averaged 9.0 ppg, 5.7 apg, 3.1 spg, and 2.9 rpg for a team that finished 30-4 and advanced to the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS.  He also finished ranked 21st in the nation in steals and 24th in the nation in assists per game.  They also should be an excellent complement to the two inside players - 6'8 Daniel Emerson from Norcross (H.S.) GA and 6'8 Sylvania Watkins from Oklaloosa-Walton (JC) FL - that Western Kentucky signed last fall. 

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has confirmed that 6'9 Kent Tribbett from Chester (H.S.) PA has picked Drexel over George Washington, Navy, and Providence.  And this is huge because Tribbett is ranked #92 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the fourth highest player in the senior class nationally who was still available.  He also is an excellent rebounder and shot blocker and is good offensively around the basket.  However, what has to make this one so sweet for James "Bruiser" Flint and his staff is the fact that they were able to get a quality inside player right in their own backyard to stay home.  In other words, we talking about the best player and the most important player that Flint has landed in his four years at the helm of the Dragons.  And the other two players that Drexel has in this recruiting class are pretty good as well, as is evident by the fact that 6'0 Tremaine Hawthorne from Steelton (Steelton-Highsphire) PA and 6'3 Scott Rodgers from Philadelphia (Central) PA are ranked in #10 and #13, respectively, in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area.  And when one remembers that Rubin has Tribbett ranked #2, behind 6'6 Ryan Ayers from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA in the area's senior class, it's pretty clear that nobody is recruiting this area any better than the Dragons are right now.  And, if they keep winning (they were 17-12 overall and 12-6 in the league this past season), it's easy to see why a lot of people think Flint could be the heir apparent to Temple head coach John Chaney.  And, if this does happen, don't be surprised if Drexel assistant coach Geoff Arnold, who is has also been instrumental in building the program and is one of the top assistant coaches in the nation at the mid-major level, inherits the throne.  Rubin also tells us that, as expected, 6'2 Kyree Brown from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA has signed with Eastern Illinois and our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'9 Kurt Huelsman from St. Henry (H.S.) OH has made an early verbal committed to the University of Dayton.  And this too is big, because Huelsman is ranked #164 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and, although he needs to get bigger and stronger and is still a long way away from being a finished product, has a tremendous upside.  And getting Huelsman also could pay big dividends in the Flyers' quest to get 6'2 Jr Heath White from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, who is ranked #7 in the state's junior class and also is one of Dayton's top priorities.  Remember, White and Huelsman both are teammates, along with 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'6 Soph Bill Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, on the D-1 Greyhounds, which is one of the top club teams in the nation.  Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio, who has been telling us for a week now that 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY is a done deal for Louisville, now informs us there has been a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and it would be a major surprise, if Sosa picked either N.C. State or Wake Forest, over the Cardinals.  Sosa, who is a tough hardnosed competitor, as well as one of the fastest rising players in the junior class nationally, is a legitimate top 40 junior nationally.  However, he needs to continue to develop his ball handling and passing skills and decision-making in order to become a pure point guard and develop more of shooter's mentality, if he wants to play the 2-guard spot.  And he may end up playing a lot more at that spot than most people think, because Louisville also is still very much in the hunt for 6'3 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class and right now appears to be Louisville's top recruiting priority.  Naclerio also tells us that 6'8 Jr Qu'rraann Calhoun from Hazlet (Rariton) NJ has made an early verbal commitment to St. John's.  And, while Calhoun already is a 4th Year junior, it appears that he will need two more years of high school and, as a result, we will include him with the Class of 2007.  Calhoun also appears to be a nice catch for the Red Storm, because he's a blue collar athletic power forward who is excellent on the boards.  Our Mid-South Editor Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 6'10 Hashim Bailey from Wayne (Passaic County Tech) NJ has signed with Memphis and, as a result, we have to assume that this was the best the Tigers could find when they found out that 6'8 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC would become the next in a long line of Memphis players to by-pass college and enter the NBA Draft.  However, in the case of Williams, we're not surprised.  As a matter of fact, we've always liked Williams better than 6'8 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, who, just like Williams, is an incredible athlete and an excellent outside shooter, but also is like the stock market in that his game is very up and down.  We also understand that Saint Louis has added a pair of commitments.  They have signed 6'9 Obi Ikeakor from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who is ranked #202 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but has the size and the potential to move a lot higher once he fully recovers from a knee injury that sidelined him this past season.  Ikeakor joins 6'5 Tommie Liddell from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'1 Kevin Lisch from Belleville (Atlthoff) IL to give the Billikens three players who should be able to step in and make and immediate impact next year in a recruiting class that is tied at #135, along with Xavier, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Saint Louis also should benefit greatly by moving from Conference USA into the Atlantic-10 next year.  As things stand now in Conference USA, Saint Louis' recruiting class is be ranked 12th in the league, behind Louisville, Marquette, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati, South Florida, DePaul, Charlotte, Texas Christian, UAB, and Southern Miss and ahead of Tulane, and East Carolina.  However, when you include their recruiting class among the teams that will be in next year's Atlantic-10, their recruiting class is tied at #5, along with Xavier, behind Charlotte, St. Bonaventure, Massachusetts, and Richmond and ahead of Rhode Island, George Washington, St. Joseph's, Temple, Fordham, Duquesne, Dayton, and La Salle.  The Billikens also have an early verbal commitment from 6'5 Jr Dustin Maguire from Bethalto (Civic Memorial) IL, who put up big numbers and was named the MVP in the 16-Under Tournament at the 12th Annual Spiece Run'N Slam All Star Classic in Ft. Wayne, IN several weeks ago.  And UAB, which has already been one of the better teams in the Conference USA the last several years, has landed 6'2 Maurice Gibbs from Moberly (JC) MO, who averaged 14.0 ppg and shot 40% from 3-point range on a team that advanced all the way to the title game in the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS, and 6'6 Roderick Ollie from Indianola (Gentry) MS, who was recently scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and was named the MVP in the Mississippi-Alabama All Star Game.  These two additions move UAB's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'7 Lawrence Kinnard from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, into a tie at #118, along Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, even more important, this gives the Blazers three excellent players, as UAB's recruiting class checks in at #7, behind Houston, Memphis, Marshall, SMU, UTEP, and Tulsa and ahead of Southern Miss, Tulane, Central Florida, East Carolina, and Rice, among teams that will be in next year's Conference USA. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio continues to tells us that 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY will verbally commit to the University of Louisville sometime in the very near future.  However, before we etch this one into stone, one has to remember that the Cardinals also are one of the favorites, along with Wake Forest and Wisconsin, for 6'2 Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, who is expected to make an official visit to Louisville, KY in 10 days.  In other words, if Sosa takes his sweet time and Smith beats him to the bunch, there may not be a scholarship available for Sosa.  However, if Sosa commits first, we don't think it will have much bearing on Smith, who not only is a much better player, but also projects as the next Taquan Dean and shoots it better and is more of a pure point guard than Sosa.  It also looks like Patrick Stanwood was right on the money when he told us late last week that Georgetown was the favorite over Notre Dame for 6'4 Jr Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL.  As a matter of fact, Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that it's now a done deal.  And this is big for the Hoyas for a number of reasons.  First, Rivers, who is ranked #25 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a the best player that John Thompson III and his staff have landed to-date in the little more than a year they've been on the job.  Second, Rivers can play either guard spot, which means he should be interchangeable at both guard spots with 6'1 Josh Thornton from Wyoming Park (Caesar Rodney) DE and 6'3 Jessie Sapp from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, who are the two guards that Georgetown landed in this year's recruiting class, for years to come.  Third, getting a verbal commitment from Rivers gives the Hoyas an important recruiting link into the state of Florida, which in recent years has been producing more than its fair share of players.  Fourth, Rivers not only is an excellent basketball player, but he's also a great kid and the son of Boston Celtics head coach Glenn Rivers.  Speaking of Rivers being the head coach of the Boston Celtics, it appears that the fact that Boston-to-Washington is a direct flight was an important factor in the decision, as naturally Rivers will want to see his son play as often as possible.  Johnson also tells us that 6'5 Jr L.D. Williams from Brandenton (Pendleton School) FL has verbally committed to Wake Forest, 6'2 Jr Jason Bohannon from Linn-Mar (H.S.) IA has verbally committed to Wisconsin, and 6'7 Jr Avery Jukes from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA has verbally committed to Alabama.  We also don't think Williams' commitment to the Demon Deacons and Bohannon's commitment to the Badgers will have any influence on the decision of Jerry Smith, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class because he is just flat out a lot better.  It also shouldn't influence Smith's decision because Williams is a 2-guard all the way and Wake Forest is recruiting Smith to replace 6'0 Soph Chris Paul, who has foregone the rest of his college eligibility and entered the NBA Draft this spring.  Williams also is the type of guy that Wake Forest has made a living with in recent years.  Not only are we talking about a big time athlete with a huge upside, but he still is in the developing process and, as a result, hasn't cracked our ranking of the top 100 juniors nationally yet.   The addition of Williams also moves Wake Forest's recruiting class, which already includes 6'7 Jamie Skeen from Huntersville (North Mecklenburg) NC, up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Bohannon, who is a big time 3-point shooter, an outstanding student, and is capable of playing either guard spot, was also being recruited by schools like Stanford, Vanderbilt, N.C. State, and Northern Iowa.  And this moves Wisconsin's recruiting class into a tie at #18, along with Alabama, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.   If you will recall, the Badgers also already have an early commitment from 6'10 Jr J.P. Gavinski from Wisconsin Dells (H.S.) WI.  However, if the Badgers also get Smith, who they think will be the next Devin Harris, then their recruiting class would move up to #3, behind Ohio State and Stanford and ahead of Oklahoma, Kansas State, California, and Wake Forest, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Jukes picking the Crimson Tide is also interesting because he should fill the same inside role at Alabama that he has filled for the Georgia Stars AAU team and the South Gwinnett High School team during the last several year.  However, he will need to get meaner, tougher, and more consistent in order to do this at the college level.  Johnson also tells us that 6'5 Jerome Tillman from Beavercreek (H.S.) OH, who is ranked #467 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Ohio University and 6'9 Obi Ikeakor from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who is ranked #202 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Saint Louis and that 6'7 Chris Knight from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, who is ranked #139 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, plans to enroll in prep school this fall at Laurinburg (Institute) NC and 6'7 Matt Pilgrim from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, who is ranked #316 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, plans to enroll in prep school this fall at Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  Knight and Pilgrim also will be back on the circuit this summer playing for Mike Duncan on the Cleveland Basketball Club, which means their recruitment will start all over again.  We also have confirmed that McNeese State has signed four more players this spring in 6'7 Quentin Gonzalez from Iowa Western (JC) IA, 6'7 Chris Prince from Southwest Tennessee (JC) TN, 6'8 Jarvis Bradley from Jacksonville (JC) TX, and 6'9 Ronald Douglas from Baton Rouge (Northeast) LA.  So, when you add this to the three players - 6'3 Kevis Anderson from New Orleans (De La Salle) LA, 6'7 Eric West from Memphis (Manassas) TN, and 6'5 John Pichon from Slidell (H.S.) LA - that they signed last fall, it's easy to see why we have their recruiting class ranked #64 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   And, if that weren't enough, McNeese State also has 6'0 Dwight Boatner, who transferred from Colorado State and will be eligible second semester in 2006, sitting out.  Bethune-Cookman signed three players last fall, but 6'5 Calvin O'Neil from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA reneged on the Wildcats and, instead, signed with Middle Tennessee State this spring, and 6'6 Travis Ivey from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, who is a 280 lbs defensive tackle, decided to sign to play football at the University of Maryland.  So the only player they have left to join the three new players - 6'10 Steve Elluett from St. Petersburg (JC) FL, 6'4 Kevan Creppy from Silver Springs (Blake) MD, and 6'4 Kris Kuhn from Pensacola (JC) FL - they signed this spring is 6'9 Ron Mitchell from Hillsborough (JC) FL.  So, as things stand now, Bethune-Cookman's recruiting class now includes a pair of big men in Elluett and Mitchell, a big-time athlete in Creppy, and a guy who already has Division I college experience in Kuhn, who started out at Robert Morris prior to going the junior college route.  However, the best may be yet to come, because Bethune-Cookman also leads for 6'4 Sean Morrison from St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL, who is ranked #27 in the state by our Florida Editor Rick Staudt.  And, if this happens, it would move Bethune-Cookman's recruiting class, which currently is tied at #156, along with Navy, Princeton, Howard, UT-San Antonio, Montana State, Portland, Harvard, and Wofford, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, into a tie at #116, along with Pennsylvania, Rider, Columbia, Oakland, and American University.  Now that doesn't sound all that great, but it sounds a lot better when we also mention the fact that this would move Bethune-Cookman ahead of Florida A&M with the best recruiting class in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. 

Monday, May 9, 2005

Well, it looks like all of those sloppy journalists out there who previously had reported that 6'10 Jr Vernon Macklin from Portsmouth (Norcom) VA was a done deal to attend Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA really have egg on their face now, because Macklin and 6'2 Jr Stefan Welsh from Newport News (Woodside) VA both have instead decided to attend Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  And this is huge, because it not only will give this basketball factory in Virginia a pair of players who are ranked #7 and #82 nationally in the junior class, but it also provides an important link into the Boo Williams AAU program, which is one of the best club team programs in the nation.  And, at least with Macklin, this may turn out to be an extremely smart move, because the potential is there for him to be able to attend the same school for two years and then enter his name into the NBA Draft two years from now, if they make the age limit only 19-years-old when they renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement this summer.  And, believe it or not, Cincinnati has signed 6'0 Dominic Tilford from Jeffersontown (H.S.) KY, who had a great senior year, but projects no higher than as a mid-major player.  Tilford is quick, athletic, and can score both inside and outside, but, even if we're wrong and he is able to play at this level, he's still never going to be anything more than a solid back-up.  Remember, the Bearcats already have a terrific point guard in this recruiting class in 5'10 Deven Downey from Chester (H.S.) SC.  However, this does move Cincinnati's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Ivan Johnson from Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA, 6'7 Cedric McGowan from Kilgore (JC) TX, 6'3 Tyree Evans from Chatham (Military) VA, 6'10 Abdul Herrera from Miami (South Miami) FL, and 6'7 DeAndre Coleman from Stone Mountain (Stephenson) GA, up to #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And this is interesting, because suddenly the three best recruiting classes among teams that will be in next year's Big East Conference belong to Louisville, Marquette, and Cincinnati, all of which were in Conference USA this past season.  Also, as things stand now, five of the top 20-ranked recruiting classes belong to teams that were in Conference USA this past season.  Obviously we're talking about Louisville, Marquette, Houston, Cincinnati, and Memphis, but the point of the story is that this would have turned out to be heck of a league in the future if Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, DePaul, and South Florida hadn't all bolted for the Big East.  Our Washington, DC/ Maryland/Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall thinks it's just a matter of time before 6'8 Uche Echefu from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD signs with North Carolina and, when this happens, the Tar Heels' recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, and 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, will move up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, with North Carolina's seven leading scorers - Sean May (17.5 pgg), Rashad McCants (16.0 ppg), Jawad Williams (13.1 ppg), Raymond Felton (12.9 ppg), Marvin Williams (11.3 ppg), Jackie Manuel (5.5 ppg), and Melvin Scott (5.1 ppg), all either graduating or bolting early to the NBA, it's not inconceivable that Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams could end up starting all five of the players mentioned above when they are freshmen next season.  Did you know that North Carolina's only returning scholarship players next year will be 6'6 Jr David Noel, 6'9 Jr Byron Sanders, 6'11 Jr Damion Grant, 6'8 Soph Reyshawn Terry, and 6'3 Frosh Quentin Thomas?  So this means that the Tar Heels will be able to sign seven players in the Class of 2006.  Obviously one of those will be 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who is ranked #47 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and verbally committed to the Tar Heels last fall.  The Tar Heels also are the favorite for 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who will be ranked #1, #2, and #7, respectively, when we update our national rankings of the top juniors later this month, and they are near the top of the list for guys like 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'10 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, and 6'11 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, all of whom will be ranked among our top dozen juniors nationally.  So let's say the Tar Heels hit the jackpot and gets Ellington, Durant, Lawson, either Young or Wright, and either Macklin or Hawes to go along ith Graves.  Not only would we be talking about potentially the best recruiting class since we started keeping track in 1984, but it's also not inconceivable that the five players who may start next year as freshman could all get beaten out as sophomores.  Moral to the story, North Carolina may get five juniors who are as good as any player in the senior class nationally and, as a result, the only thing that might prevent somebody like Hansbrough or Ginyard from getting beat out when they are sophomores will be their year of experience and tremendous work ethic.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that he talked to Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA head coach Daryl Schofield earlier today and he tells us that 6'8 Maurice Thomas from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA has signed a National Letter-of-Intent with UTEP and it will be sent Federal Express to the Miners by the end of the day.  And this will be the 4th time that we've reported that Thomas was off the board.  If you will recall, Thomas verbally committed to UTEP last fall and to UNLV and Tennessee earlier this spring.  Thomas joins 6'4 Stephon Jackson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who also committed to and signed with the Miners last fall, and 6'5 Moses Gonalez from Ventura (JC) CA, who is ranked #31 on our list of the top junior college players nationally.  Add the fact that Jackson is ranked #16 and Thomas is ranked #22 on our list of the top 5th year players and suddenly it looks like the Miners have three players who are the equivalent of a top 100 senior or better nationally in the fold.  We also confirmed that High Point has landed two more players in 5'11 Mike Jefferson from Redlands (JC) OK and 6'3 Justin Dunn from LaGrange (North Lenior) NC.  And, in both cases it appears they have stolen one.  Jefferson, who originally signed with Western Michigan, not only was ranked #7 among junior college point guards by the Lindy's Pre-Season Basketball Yearbook, but he teamed with 6'0 Sylvester Mays in the backcourt and led the team this past season in both steals and assists.  Dunn was sidelined last summer with a broken foot and, as a result, was under the radar screen.  However, he was named the Eastern North Carolina Player-of-the-Year this past season.  And, when you add these two new additions to the other five players - 6'4 Melvin Crowder from Pickens (Prince Avenue) SC, 6'4 Troy Bowen from Nashua (North) NH; 6'9 Monquel Pegues from Wilson (Fike) NC, 6'11 Cruz Daniels from Clearwater (H.S.) FL, and 6'7 Matt Boswell from Piedmont (Wrenn) SC - that High Point already has in the fold, it's easy to see why their recruiting class now checks in at #55 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   And this comes on the heels of High Point's recruiting class a year ago, which was ranked #50 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2004 and included 5'11 Titus Byrd from Bossier Parish (JC) LA, 6'1 Akeem Scott form Garrett (JC) MD, 6'5 Arizona Reid from Gaffney (H.S.) SC, 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 Baco Raton (Olympic Heights) FL.  Yes, that's 14 players that the Panthers have landed in this year's and last year's recruiting classes.  We also told you last week that Louisiana-Monroe will probably get 6'3 James Perkins from St. Catharine (JC) KY.  Well, it's now official and, as a result, their recruiting class, which also already includes 6'7 David Garrison from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS, 6'6 Wesley Johnson from Corcicana (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Brandon Roberts from Van (H.S.) TX, and Drew Meyerchick from Varnado (H.S.) LA, moves up to #130 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.

Saturday, May 7, 2005, & Sunday, May 8, 2005

It looks like people at Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA didn't like what we wrote on Friday about the University of Tennessee becoming the third school that 6'8 Maurice Thomas to has committed to this spring only to have it soon after fall through.  As a matter of fact, I received an email from Rahim Thompson, who is the Operations/Assistant coach for the Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Academy Basketball Program and it says "contrary to what was reported on hoopscooponline.com, Maurice Thomas in not a bad kid and there is not dirt in his background.  He backed out of his commitment due to the fact that he wanted to explore all his options before making a decision and, with the UNLV situation, they just over recruited at his position and he was also uncomfortable with the coaching staff.  Maurice committed to the Vols and his mother was in North Carolina dealing with a family emergency and was unable to attend the university to co-sign the National Letter-of-Intent during Maurice's visit.  For the record, head coach Daryl Schofield and myself told the Vols coaching to Federal Express the Letter-of-Intent and she would sign them as soon as she returned on Tuesday.  But they were not able to do this for unsure reasons.  Bruce Pearl and Tony Jones did an excellent job of recruiting Maurice, but it just happened to be an inconvenient time for his mother to attend the university and sign the papers.  Thank you and have a great evening."  However, I will stand by what I previously wrote, because somebody connected with one of the three schools that Thomas committed to told me that there was something in Thomas's background, which prevented them from taking him.  Maybe it was just an academic issue or maybe he's a great kid who just made mistake someplace along the way.  But either way, it wouldn't as wishy-washy as what's written above.  I also hope he doesn't make one of the other most important decisions of his life the same way, because, if he does, he'll be divorced five or six times before he's through.  Having said all this, it's also important to point out that Thomas has always been one of our favorite players on the court, because he's a blue collar athlete who knows how to care of business inside.  In other words, there is nothing wishy-washy about his game and, as a result, he is one of the best players still available.  We also hope he gets it right on his fourth try when it comes to making a commitment to a school.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'6 John Gooden from Washington (Gunnery School) CT is going to St. Francis- NY, 6'9 Jason Hartford from Cheneketa (JC) OR is going Cornell, 6'2 Calvin Cannon from New Hope (Solebury School) PA is going to Delaware, 6'4 Paul Graham from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA to Florida Atlantic, 6'2 Melvin Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA is going to Delaware State, 6'3 Calvin Gunning is going to Delaware State, and 6'5 Akeem Wright from Neosho County (JC) KS is going to Kansas State.  Rubin especially likes this last one, because Wright, who has really improved since his days at Philadelphia (Martin Luther King) PA, is a good all around player who can shoot, handle, pass, and has a good feel for the game.  In other words, it looks like the Wildcats have found an excellent complement to 6'5 David Hoskins from Schoolcraft (JC) MI and 7'1 Sidiki Sidibe from Asnieres, France, both of whom signed with Kansas State last fall, as their recruiting class moves into a tie at #79, along with Kentucky, South Carolina, and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also are impressed by how quickly the new regime at Florida Atlantic has moved to land both Graham and 5'11 Kevin Green from Santa Fe (JC) FL.  Graham is a skilled player who can shoot, pass, and defend, plus he's a tough hardnosed competitor, which makes him a major steal at this level.  Green hasn't signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent with the Owls, but this smart savvy high energy point guard has given South Florida a verbal commitment.  So, unless we tell you otherwise, consider this one to be done as well.  We also have confirmed that Wisconsin-Green Bay has added a pair of junior college players in 5'11 Ontario McKee from Southwest Missouri-West Plains (JC) MO and 6'5 Aswan Minatee from Trinity Valley (JC) TX and last fall 6'1 Alvin Lewis from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Herman) MA and 6'1 Mike Green from Cuesta (JC) CA both signed with UC-Irvine.  However, up until now this one had slipped through the cracks.  But it's still important, because Lewis, who averaged 32.0 ppg and 8.0 apg a year ago as a high school senior at Boston (Madison Park) MA, is excellent in transition, physically mature, and very court savvy and Green is a prolific scoring combo guard who earned First Team All-Western State Conference honors a year ago, but sat out his past season to get academics in order.  Minatee, who, at 6'5, 230 lbs., is really an undersized inside guy, but he played high school basketball for Danny Hurley at Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and averaged 14.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg and shot 61.2% from the field this past season in junior college.  He also can score inside, is a tough hardnosed competitor, and an excellent leader, which means he should be an excellent complement to 6'8 Mike Schachtner from Somerset (H.S.) WI and 6'9 Randy Berry from Almond (Almond Bancroft) WI, who are the other inside players that Wisconsin-Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk has in this year's recruiting class.  And McKee, who is a 5'11 combo guard that can play either guard spot, is extremely quick, has good handling skills, plays excellent defense, and can score in a number of different ways.  So he should fit in perfectly with all of the other good perimeter players, including 6'7 Ryan Tillema from Randolph (H.S.) WI, 6'5 Cordero Barkley from Racine (St. Catherine) WI, and 6'3 Simon Farine form Toronto (Northern Secondary) ON, that The Phoenix have in the fold.  Speaking of this seven-man recruiting class, which is currently tied at #36, along with Georgia State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005, it would not surprise us if two or three of these recruits (Minatee, McKee, Tillema, and/or Barkley) started right off the bat, as three of Wisconsin-Green Bay's top six players are scheduled to graduate this spring.  It also appears that Pepperdine has added another player to its recruiting class, which already includes 6'7 Willie Galick from Nanaimo (Cedar Community) BC, 6'4 Tomas Prancijauskas from Vilaius, Lithuania, 6'0 Mike Gerrity from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, and 6'9 Christopher Oakes from Oakland (Castlemont) CA.  We're talking about 6'3 Gregg Barlow from Mt. Hood (JC) OR, who averaged 19.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, and 2.0 spg and was the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Southern Region Most Valuable Player.  We also really like Gerrity, who has been like a coach on the floor for one of the top high school programs in the nation for the last four years; Prancijauskas, who was a member of the Lithuania Junior National Team and attended the NIKE All-American Camp last summer; and Oakes, who has been ranked among the top 10 centers on the West Coast.  However, our spies tell us that Gallick is the best of the group.  As a matter of fact, some people in Canada think Gilick is better than 6'9 Ryan Wright from Mississauga (Loyola Catholic) ON, who is ranked #36 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Galick puts up prolific numbers and is an excellent rebounder, but we do have to wonder about the level competition that he's face in Western Canada and, as a result, don't rank him any higher than the equivalent of a top 100 senior nationally.  And this isn't the first player that Pepperdine assistant coach Jim Nielsen, who is one of the best assistant coaches in the nation at the mid-major level, has stolen out of the Canada.  Remember, Nielsen started the pipeline a year ago when he landed 5'7 Kingsley Contain from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON and 7'0 Russell Hicks from Niagara Falls (Westlane) ON, and 6'5 Oliver Prince from Toronto (Jean-Vanier) ON.

Friday, May 6, 2005

Things are getting stranger and stranger when it comes to Tennessee's recruiting class.  Not only did the Volunteers not signed 6'7 Desmond Yates from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN, but, contrary to what had been previously reported, they also have not signed 6'8 Maurice Thomas from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  And it appears they won't be signing Thomas, which leads us to believe there must be something bad in his background.  If you will recall, Thomas verbally committed to UTEP last fall and UNLV this spring, but in both cases the school mysteriously rescinded the scholarship offer shortly after the commitment was made.  And the story gets even more interesting, as our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that Tennessee already has found another power forward to fill the void.  And Whitehead guarantees us this time that 6'7 Ryan Childress from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, who is ranked #433 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and originally was recruited by Bruce Pearl and his staff to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he signed last fall, has signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent with the Volunteers.  However, his addition doesn't prevent Tennessee's recruiting class from dropping from #38 into a tie at #62, along with Georgia Tech, Rutgers, and Georgetown, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, if you don't include 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN, who plans to go to prep school next year, but is not being granted a release from his National Letter-of-Intent, their recruiting class, which then only would include Childress, 6'10 Damion Harris from Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC, and 6'8 Matthew Dotson from Centerville (Hickman County) TN, would drop all the way down to #156, where it would be tied with Northern Iowa, Monmouth, Miami-OH, New Mexico State, Bethune-Cookman, Wagner, Duquesne, Creighton, and Gardner-Webb, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Whitehead also tells us that 6'1 Joseph Bailey from Byrdstown (Pickett County) TN, who is ranked #31 in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked UT-Martin and, as a result, their recruiting class moves up to #3 in the league, behind Murray State and Morehead State.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Paris Carter from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA has signed with Hartford and 6'7 Fabrice Tafo from Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA has verbally committed to Hartford and is expected to seal the deal with a signed National Letter-of-Intent shortly.  And in both cases it looks like Hawks head coach Larry Harrison has found several important more pieces to the puzzle.  If you will recall, he already has 6'8 Kenny Adeleke, who transferred from Hofstra to Hartford last fall and is expected to be the best player in the league next year, sitting out this year.  He also already has landed an excellent 3-point shooter in 6'4 Adam Parzych from Lindenhurst (H.S.) NY and a good point guard in 6'0 Chris Cole from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD in this recruiting class.  So Carter, who is a strong/tough/slashing/athletic wing forward with an added year of experience in prep school after graduating from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD a year ago, should provide additional toughness and athleticism, and Tafo, who is originally from Cameroon and has a huge upside, should provide additional rebounding and a defensive presence.  Patrick Stanwood tells us that 6'4 Jr Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, who is ranked #25 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has eliminated Georgia Tech and Kansas and that his final two are Georgetown and Notre Dame.  And right now the smart money appears to be the Hoyas.  We also would not be surprised if the University of Louisville gets an early verbal commitment from 6'3 Jr Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, who will be ranked among our top 40 juniors nationally when we update our rankings later this month and is one of the fastest rising players in the class nationally, in the near future.  And this makes perfect sense when one remembers that new Louisville assistant coach Steve Masiello recruited players like Jason Wingate and Arturo Dubois, both of whom are from New York (Rice) NY, in recent years to Manhattan.  This also would have to make the Cardinals one of the favorites for 6'10 Jr Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, who is ranked #20 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, for this to happen, somebody will have to go pro, transfer, or flunk out of school, as the Cardinals currently only have one scholarship available for next year.  And that's with Francisco Garcia leaving early for the NBA this spring and 6'5 Lorrenzo Wade transferring.  And complicating the situation even further is the fact that Louisville also is one of the favorites, along with Wake Forest and Wisconsin, for 6'2 Jr Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Smith made an official visit to Wake Forest two weeks ago, he's making an official visit to Wisconsin this weekend, and he's scheduled to make an official visit to Louisville two weeks from now.  In other words, it may come down to which one (Smith of Sosa) verbally commits to the Cardinals first.  And, if that weren't enough, Louisville also is among the leaders for 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ, 6'9 Jr Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'3 Soph Nolan Smith from Uppers Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD,  and 6'8 Davon Jefferson from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, who signed with UNLV last fall, but now appears to be bound for prep school at South Kent (Prep) CT.  So, with all this in mind, we'd be shocked if 6'5 Dameon Mason, who is transferring from Marquette, ended up at Louisville.  But that's the rumor we keep hearing from people from Chicago, IL.  In addition to being not good enough to ever be more than just a role player for the Cardinals and Louisville having a very limited number of scholarships available, we'd also be surprised if the Golden Eagles would release a player who wanted to transfer to another school in the Big  East Conference.  We also thought 6'7 Jr Isaiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN was close to pulling the trigger for Michigan State several weeks ago, but now it looks like a three-horse race with Michigan State still being the leader over Illinois and Iowa.  Marquette, Boston College, Arizona, Kansas, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Minnesota are all still being mentioned with 6'10 Jr Bryce Webster from St. Paul (St. Thomas) MN and 6'7 Jr Corey Johnson from Duluth (East) MN still has Iowa State, Minnesota, Marquette, Saint Louis, and Wisconsin on his list.  Georgia Tech, Arkansas, and Georgetown are the leaders for 6'5 Jr Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, but Illinois, Seton Hall, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan State, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Oklahoma, and Tennessee also showing a lot of interest.  Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Ohio State, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest are all in the hunt for 5'11 Jr Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL and the three schools you have to beat for 6'0 Jr Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL are Illinois, Iowa, and Georgia Tech.  The leaders for 6'7 Jr Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY are Florida, Kentucky, Marquette, Connecticut, and Kansas.  We also hear that Michigan State leads Syracuse and Oregon for 6'7 Jr Deshawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI and Rutgers, Oregon, Marquette, Dayton, Detroit, Penn State, and Western Michigan make up a very interesting list for 5'9 Jr Tajuan Porter from Detroit (Renaissance) MI.  And, believe it or not, five of our top 30-ranked juniors, 10 of our top 50-ranked juniors, and 14 of our top 100-ranked juniors nationally are already off the board, as 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH is already gone to Ohio State, 6'8 Jr Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX is already gone to Oklahoma, 6'9 Jr James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA is already gone to UCLA, 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA is already gone to Stanford, 6'11 Jr Robin Lopez from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA is already gone to Stanford, 6'4 Jr Dave Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH is already gone to Ohio State, 6'9 Jr Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH has already gone to Illinois, 5'10 Jr Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA has already gone to Baylor, 6'3 Jr Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has already gone to Virginia Tech, 6'6 Jr William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC has already gone to North Carolina, 6'7 Jr Jamie Skeen from Huntersville (North Mecklenburg) NC has already gone to Wake Forest, 6'3 Jr Patrick Christopher from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA has already gone to California, 5'8 Jr Nic Wise from Houston (Kingwood) KY has already gone to Arizona, and 6'0 Jr Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA has already gone to Oklahoma.  And 6'9 Jr Chris Roquemore from Houston, TX has already committed to and reneged on Baylor and 6'4 Jr Aaron Holmes from St. Petersburg (Catholic) FL has already committed to and reneged on N.C. State.   We also continue to believe that North Carolina is the leader for 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and, if they get all three, I challenge you to name a recruiting class that has ever had three better players.  And when we start talking about who has ever signed two better players than Ellington and Durant in the same recruiting class, the only two that I can come up with are UCLA in 1965 with Lew Alcindor and Lucious Allen and UCLA in 1971 with Bill Walton and Keith Wilkes.  Are you starting to get an idea of just how good I think Ellington, Durant, and Lawson really are?  As a matter of fact, we've already made some Michael Jordan comparison with regards to Ellington's athleticism, 3-point shooting, defense, court savvy, and understanding of the game, Durant promises to be the next Carmelo Anthony, and Lawson not only is the best point guard in the junior class, but also is arguably better than any player in the senior class nationally. 

Thursday, May 5, 2005

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH all will be making official visits this weekend to Ohio State.  And this is important, because there had been talk about them playing in the Midwest Super Eight Showcase in Columbus, OH (NCAA rules prohibit recruits from playing in a high school tournament and making an official visit during the same weekend).  Johnson also tells us that it is unclear whether 6'4 Jr David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, who verbally committed to the Buckeyes a week ago, will also make an official visit to Columbus, OH this weekend, but our guess is that the Ohio State coaching staff will do everything they can to wrap up this potential package that would include Oden, Conley, and Cook.  If you will recall, ever since Cook made an early verbal commitment to the Buckeyes a month ago, the smart money has been on Conley and Oden, who are both close friends with Cook, following in his footsteps.  So don't be surprised if verbal commitments by Oden and Conley aren't forthcoming in the near future.  And, if this happens, it will be interesting to see what Ohio State does with their other two remaining scholarships for the Class of 2006.  Remember, they also are one of the leaders for 6'8 Jr Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, they are one of the top four, along with Iowa, Purdue, and Northwestern, for 6'8 Jr Luke Harangody from Gary (Andrean) IN, they are the leader for 6'1 Jr Willie Walker from Bolingbrook (H.S.) IL, and they are the co-favorite, along with Michigan State, for 6'7 Jr Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'7 Desmond Yates from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN, who is ranked #294 nationally in the senior class, signed with the University of Tennessee, which gives the Volunteers yet another big body inside in this year's recruiting class.  If you will recall, the Volunteers already have 6'8 Maurice Thomas from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'10 Damion Harris from Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC, and 6'8 Matthew Dotson from Centerville (Hickman County) TN, all of whom are inside players, in the fold and 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN also still counts with this recruiting, because, as things stand now, Tennessee is not going to let him get out of his National Letter-of-Intent.  It also looks like 6'6 Jr Dwight Lewis from Metairie (Archbishop Rummel) LA, who is ranked #125 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is back on the board for the University of Kansas.  Two weeks ago we reported that Lewis had made an early verbal commitment to the Jayhawks, but then a week ago he took it back.  And, if this trend continues, he could go after the record that is currently held by 6'11 Jermaine Bell from Rochester, NY, who verbally committed and reneged on the same school (St. John's) three different times several years ago.  We also have received word about 6'7 Tyler Benson from Woodstock (Massanutten Military Academy) VA and 6'0 Terron Diggs from Tallahassee (JC) FL signing with St. Bonaventure.  Benson is a big-time 3-point shooter and Diggs is a good ball handler and passer and excellent leader, which means they should fit in perfectly with the three other players - 6'5 A.J. Hawkins from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'11 David Fox from Mercyhurst North East (JC) PA, and 6'10 Ivan Kovacevic from Olney Central (JC) IL - that the Bonnies already have in this recruiting class and two transfers - 6'0 Soph Tyler Relph and 6'10 Paul Willams - that they have sitting out.  It also looks like new Louisiana-Monroe head coach Orlando Early has already landed his first recruit in 6'7 David Garrison from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS.  We're talking about a guy who can do a little bit of everything, including play defend positions, slash to the basket, and rebound.  Garrison joins 6'6 Wesley Johnson from Corsicana (H.S.) TX, 5'11 Brandon Roberts from Van (H.S.) TX, and 6'1 Drew Meyerchick from Varnado (H.S.) LA in a recruiting class that is currently ranked #166 our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  However, if they also get 6'3 James Perkins from St. Catharine (JC) KY, which we expect to happen at any time, Louisiana-Monroe's class would move ahead of UT-San Antonio's, which currently is the best in the league.  We also have confirmed that Murray State has added three more players - 6'9 Rob Kennedy from Mineral Area (JC) MO, 6'6 Marqise Wright from Gainesville (Johnson) GA, and 6'9 Tony Easley from Auburn (H.S.) AL - to a recruiting class that already has 6'0 Tyler Holloway from Decatur (Austin) AL.  And they all appear to be important pieces to the puzzle, as Kennedy is a great finisher who can score both inside and outside; Wright was the leading scorer and one of the leading rebounders in the state (Georgia) this past season, as he averaged 31.8 ppg, 15.1 rpg, and 6.0 apg; and Easley is an excellent shot blocker (3.8 bpg) who led his team to the Alabama 6A State Championship.  And, just like Murray State, Wofford signed one player during the Fall Signing Period in 6'3 Matt Estep from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and added three more this spring with 6'9 Tyler Whatley from Winder (Apalachee) GA, 6'8 Matt O'Connor from Western Iowa (JC) IA, and 6'8 Ralph Hegamin from Virginia Beach (Kellam) VA.  However, the Terriers best new face next year will be 6'0 Shane Nichols, who was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Freshman-of-the-Year during the 2003-2004 season while averaging 10.6 ppg and connecting on 68 3-pointers.  Nichols also averaged 18.8 ppg at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA during the 2002-2003 season and prior to going to prep school scored over 1,800 points at Radford (H.S.) VA.  In other words, we're talking about somebody who should be able to step in immediately and become one of the best players in the Southern Conference next season.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Dustin Maguire from Bethalto (H.S.) IL has signed with Saint Louis and 5'11 Trae Clark from Newark (Memorial) CA has signed with Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and it looks like 6'8 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY will be going to Fresno State after all.  This moves the Bulldogs' recruiting class into a tie #73, along with Oregon State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And they don't appear to be done yet, because 5'9 Dekyron Nicks from Temple (JC) TX, who as a Third Team Junior College All-American, visited Fresno State earlier this week and is expected to sign with the Bulldogs next week and 6'9 Renato Cesar from Western Arizona (JC) AZ and 6'5 Demario Butler from Western Arizona (JC) AZ both plan to visit Fresno State in the near future.  Editor's Note:  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead appears to have jumped the gun, because he is now telling us that 6'7 Desmond Yates from Somerville (Fayette-Ware) TN won't sign with the University of Tennessee until tomorrow.  However, in an attempt to save time, we won't change the changes that we've already made in our  Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005,  Recent Commitments, and Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005 sections, unless Yates surprises everybody and does not pull the trigger tomorrow for the Volunteers. 

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

With the May 14th deadline to enter the NBA Draft quickly approaching, there are six high school/prep school players who have already announced their plans to enter into the NBA Draft, although most of them have yet to sign with an agent and, as a result, will be free to take their name out of the draft prior to June 21st if they don't like their potential draft status.  The list now includes 6'6 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'5 Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS, 6'11 Andray Blatche from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Shawne Williams from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Gerald Green from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, and 6'6 C.J. Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX.  The two most recent to announce their intention to enter the NBA Draft are Webster and Williams, which means that the University of Washington's recruiting class drops from #4 into a tie at #12, along with Georgia, and Memphis's recruiting class drops from #8 to #19 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  We also are waiting to see what's going to happen with 6'9 Amir Johnson from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and 6'2 Louis Williams from South Gwinnett) GA.  If Johnson enters his name into the NBA Draft, then Louisville's recruiting class, which is currently tied at #1, along with Oklahoma State, would drop into a tie #5, along with Marquette.  And, if Williams decides to go, then Georgia's recruiting class would drop from being tied at #12, along with Washington, all the way down to #46, where they would be tied with SMU and Western Illinois.  Our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall tells us that 6'3 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD has verbally committed Virginia Tech and this is important for several reasons.  First, Munson is a pure point guard, which means he will be ideally suited to step in and complement 6'2 Soph Zabian Dowdell and 6'3 Soph Jamon Gordon, neither of whom is a pure point guard, but both of whom played important roles this past season when the Hokies went 16-14 overall and 8-8 in the tough Atlantic Coast Conferences, year after next.  Second, getting Munson fulfills another important goal for Seth Greenberg and his staff, which is being able to successfully recruit in the Washington, DC area.  And, by getting Munson, they also have an important link to one of the premier high school programs in both the area and the nation.  Third, Munson is an excellent player, as is evident by the fact that he ranked #46 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  He's also an excellent floor general, a good 3-point shooter, and is more than athletic enough to match-up against all the great point guards that he'll face in future years in the ACC.  In other words, this is the type of guy you can build your program around!  Our Tennessee Editor Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'8 Maurice Thomas from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, who is ranked #22 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, has signed with the University of Tennessee.  Not only does this give the Volunteers the tough hardnosed blue collar inside player that they will need to go to war with next year in the Southeastern Conference, but the addition of Thomas moves Tennessee's recruiting class into a tie at #41, along with St. John's, Marshall, Indiana, and Wake Forest, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And, yes we're still counting 6'6 Tyler Smith from Pulaski (Giles County) TN with this class, despite the fact that he plans to go to prep school.  Remember, Smith did sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent with Tennessee last fall and the new regime has refused to release him from his Letter-of-Intent, which means he won't be eligible to play at another Division I school for two years.  So, with all this in mind, it's clear that he is still apart of the Volunteers recruiting class whether he likes it or not.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'3 Chris Walker from San Joaquin Delta (JC) CA has signed with Oklahoma and 6'2 Roderick Earls from Paris (JC) TX has signed with Tulsa.  And both of these appear to be important signings, because Earls was the MVP in the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS and Walker was the Northern California Junior College Player-of-the-Year.  Walker also is the insurance that the Sooners need in case 5'7 Soph Andrew Lavender, who has been talking about transferring for three weeks now, does decide to pull the trigger.  Walker also should be an excellent complement to the other three players - 6'4 Michael Neal from Lon Morris (JC) TX, who was arguably the best 2-guard in the junior college ranks this past season; 6'2 Austin Johnson from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, who is an intangibles guy with big time athleticism and a knack for making things happen; and 6'6 Taylor Griffin from Edmond (Christian) OK, who was the best player in the senior class in Oklahoma this past season - who are currently in Oklahoma's recruiting class, which now is tied at #38, along with Florida, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'6 Jr Jonathan Cruz from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA has made an early verbal commitment to Rhode Island and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 5'8 Omar Johnson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA has signed with Chattanooga, 6'5 Calvin O'Neal from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA has signed with Middle Tennessee State, 5'11 Kevin Green from Santa Fe (JC) FL has signed with Florida Atlantic, and 6'7 Aaron Jackson, who was the leading rebounder in the Big-10 Conference last year at Penn State, is transferring to New Mexico.  Rubin also tells us that 6'4 Jr Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA made his official visit last weekend to Villanova, he will visit North Carolina the weekend of May 21st, and he may also may make an visit to the University of Connecticut.  However, this appears to be the final three.  Also visiting Villanova last weekend was 6'5 Jr Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA and, if the Wildcats, can put together a package that includes both Ellington and Henderson, it would be the supreme coup for Villanova head coach Jay Wright.  But this may be easily said than done, because Henderson has already taken his official visit to Duke and North Carolina still appears to be favorite for Ellington. 

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

The flood of verbal commitments and signings just keep pouring in and right at the top of our list are 6'0 Soph Edwin Rios from Miami (Senior) FL to Miami-FL, 6'9 Jr Richard Semrau from Rocky River (Lutheran West) OH to Illinois, 6'9 Jr Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA to California, 6'3 Eddie Smith from Moberly (JC) MO to Texas A&M, 6'8 Ivan Johnson from Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA to Cincinnati, and 6'10 Ranard Robinson from Fullerton (JC) CA to Georgia State.  This last one is especially interesting, because Robinson originally committed to USC, but then reneged on the Trojans and committed to South Carolina last fall.  However, the Gamecocks refused to sign Robinson during the Fall Signing Period due to the fact that he fallen into the bad graces of his junior college coach.  So that opened the door for Georgia State to walk in this spring and steal this strong physical shot blocking athlete who has a tremendous amount of talent and potential.  The addition of Robinson moves Georgia State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Rashad Chase from Atlanta (Mays) GA, 6'8 Larry Williams from Chattanooga State (JC) TN, 6'7 Jonathan Bohanna from Southwestern Illinois (JC) IL, 6'10 Chad Wynn from Marietta (H.S.) GA, 6'6 Paris Kirk from East Pointe (Tri-Cities) GA, and 6'3 Jacoby Stockdale from Southern Union (JC) AL, up to #36 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  And Robinson; Chase, who is ranked #103 nationally in the senior class; and Williams, who has grown three inches and dramatically improved since his days at Louisville (Seneca) KY, are all good enough to walk in and immediately replace 6'4 Sr Kevin Thomas, 6'7 Sr Marcus Brown, and 6'9 Jr Sylvester Morgan, all of whom will graduate this spring, at the three, four, and the five spots.  And Georgia State also almost got 6'7 Quinton Hosley, who was one of the top junior college players in the nation a year ago when he was at Lamar (JC) CO.  If you will recall, Hosley, who averaged 20.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, and 2.1 spg and shot over 80% from the four line, signed with Providence a year ago, but failed to make it academically and, as a result, sat out this past season out while getting his grades in order.  However, Hosley, who has is a multi-dimensional athlete who can shoot, handle the ball, and has a good inside game, instead signed with Fresno State.  So this means the Bulldogs have found the ideal replacement to fill the void created when 6'8 Diamon Simpson from Hayward (H.S.) CA and 6'7 James Tchana from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY both opted out of their commitments to Fresno State.  Getting back to Georgia State, the Panthers not only easily have the best recruiting class in the Atlantic Sun Conference, but it appears that Georgia State assistant coaches Chris Cheeks and Drew Catlett are recruiting just as well as they did back in their days at West Virginia.  As a matter of fact, Cheeks might be the ideal candidate to fill the open assistant coaching position at Georgia Tech, which was recently created when Cliff Warren got the head coaching job at Jacksonville.  And, he wouldn't even have to move, because Cheeks already lives in Atlanta, GA.   Johnson is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Bearcats, which will have only two inside players - 6'7 Jr Eric Hicks and 6'8 Frosh Asrangue Souleymane - returning in the program next year.  And Souleymane averaged 1.2 per minutes of playing time in only 17 games this past year.  However, even more important, Johnson should be an excellent complement to Hicks inside, because he's an outstanding rebounder, as is evident by the fact that he was the leading rebounder with 12.2 rpg in the South Coast Conference in the California Junior College ranks this past season.  Johnson also averaged 22.3 ppg and took home First Team All-South Coast Conference honors in the South Division, which means he should be able to step in immediately and battle both Hicks and 6'7 Cedric McGowan from Kilgore (JC) TX for playing time next year.  The addition of Johnson moves Cincinnati's recruiting class, which also includes McGowan, 6'3 Tyree Evans from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 5'10 Deven Downey from Chester (H.S.) SC, 6'10 Abdul Herrera from Miami (South Miami) FL, and 6'7 DeAndre Coleman from Stone Mountain (Stephenson) GA, up to #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   However, even more important, the addition of Johnson moves the Bearcats' recruiting class up to #5, behind Louisville, Marquette, and Pittsburgh, and head of Connecticut, Syracuse, Notre Dame, South Florida, St. John's, Providence, DePaul, Villanova, Rutgers, Georgetown, West Virginia, and Seton Hall, among teams that will be in the Big East Conference next season.  Smith picking Texas A&M is absolutely huge!  Not only was he the best point guard at the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS a-month-and-a-half ago, but he also is ranked #12 nationally on our list of the top junior college players.  “Eddie is a fierce competitor, whether he’s playing a coach one-on-one or playing in the national championship game,” Moberly coach Mark Bernsen said. “He plays to win every possession and is a hard match-up because of his quickness and basketball IQ.  He’s one of the few guys I’ve ever coached who can change a game at both ends of the court.” And, if that weren't enough, the Aggies also have landed a 6'10 center from Barton County (JC) KS who averaged 17.6 ppg and 10.0 rpg, shot 59% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point land, and was named First Team All-Jayhawk West in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.  We're talking about Antanas Kavaliausas, who is physical inside, but also is versatile enough to step out and keep you honest with his jump shot.  So, when you add this to the three players - 5'11 David Devezin from Missouri City (Ft. Bend Marshall) TX, 6'6 Jamar Finley from Panola (JC) TX, and 6'6 Josh Carter from Lake Highlands (H.S.) TX, that Texas A&M landed last fall and 6'7 Martellus Bennett from Alief (Taylor) TX, who signed with Aggies in January to play football and is arguably the best player in the state in both football and basketball, it's easy to see Billy Gillispie suddenly finds himself with the #13-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  He also should have one of the best point guards in the league, as well as one of the most formidable front lines with 6'9 Frosh Joseph Jones, who averaged 12.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg this past season; Bennett, who is a killer around the basket; and Kavaliausas all battling for playing time at the power forward and center spots.  And, if that weren't enough, the Aggies also already have a great head start on next year, as 6'6 Jr Joseph Fulce from Plano (H.S.) TX and 6'7 Jr Jerrod Johnson from Humble (H.S.) TX have both already made early verbal commitments.  The early verbal commitment by Harrison to the University of California is extremely interesting.  If you will recall, on February 22nd we reported that our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis had told us that 6'10 Jr Taylor Harrison from San Clemente (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #21 in the junior class in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to the University of California. "We're talking about a 6'9 blue collar white kid who is a banger/rebounder/defender and, as a result, he should be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Golden Bears.  Remember, 6'11 Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, who has a tremendous amount of potential, but is not a killer inside, is California's only recruit in the current recruiting class.  So it stands to reason that they would be looking for additional help inside to complement Wilkes, 6'10 Frosh Devon Hardin, and 6'8 Soph Dominic McGuire year after next."  Well, it looks like Trigonis only jumped the gun this time by two-and-a-half months.  If Trigonis had said that it was going to happen, he would have been correct.  But no matter how often I try and explain it, Trigonis refuses to get the fact that you will have egg on your face when you report that something has already happened when the press conference is scheduled for the next day.  Harrison also is the same guy that we were so impressed with several weeks ago when we saw him at the Las Vegas Easter Classic.  Not only do we plan to rank him among our top 100 juniors nationally the next time we update our rankings, but, with added strength and maturity, it's very likely that he will end up playing in the NBA someday.  When we first saw Semrau a year ago, we thought the sky was the limit, because this 6'9 mobile athletic white kid had tremendous skills and was just oozing with natural talent and potential.  However, the more we watched him and the better the competition, the more questions arose about his toughness and how bad he wants it came into play.  Thus, explains why the Fighting Illini were able to get him almost by default.  Apparently Wake Forest pulled their scholarship offer recently and a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky, which has always been his favorite school, has never been forthcoming.  So apparently Semrau, who took an official visit to Illinois this past weekend, got scared and committed on the visit.  But still think this is a great catch.  As a matter of fact, Semrau reminds us a lot of the Fighting Illini's 6'10 Jr James Augustine when Augustine was a senior in high school.  Sure, Semrau will have to get meaner and tougher in order to survive in the Big-10, but we think he's worth the gamble, especially in light of the fact that different players hit different peaks and valleys at different times and Illinois has plenty of margin for error, as they will have seven scholarship available during the next two years.  Rios picking Miami-FL comes as no surprise for several reasons.  First, he comes from an extremely close family and, as a result, it was going to be very difficult for him to go to school very far away from home.  Second, Rios is ideally suited to step in and provide one of the last pieces to the puzzle for Hurricanes head coach Frank Haith two-and-a-half years from now, because he's got great court savvy, is an excellent ball handler and passer, and is a tremendous 3-point shooter.  Third, the Hurricanes recruited 5'11 Jr Josue Soto from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, but have not offered him a scholarship due to the fact that they didn't want to do anything that was going to scare of Rios, who is ranked #6 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Rios also becomes the third player who ranked among our top 10 sophomores nationally to have made an early verbal commitment.  The other two were 6'7 Soph Michael Beasley from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, who picked Charlotte last fall, and 6'7 Soph Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who picked the UCLA prior to the start of his freshman year.  However, King reneged on that verbal commitment two weeks ago and, as a result, only two of our top 10-ranked sophomores are currently off the board.  It also appears that the University of Texas added a fourth signee to its recruiting class several weeks ago, but this one slipped through the cracks.  We're talking about 6'2 J.D. Lewis from Midland (JC) TX, who not only was one of the best 3-point shooters (44.9% on 110-245 3-pointers), but also is an extremely hard worker and a winner, as is evident by the fact that he was the best player and leader on a team that advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Tournament in Hutchinson, KS.  Lewis joins 5'10 A.J. Abrams from Austin (McNeil) TX and 6'2 Craig Winder from Cecil (JC) TX in a recruiting class that is now tied at #56, along with Oklahoma, N.C. State, Wisconsin, and Clemson, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  But this does make up for the fact that 6'6 C.J. Miles from Dallas (Skyline) TX, who is ranked #20 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has entered his name into the NBA Draft and 6'9 Theo Davis from Toronto, ON, who verbally committed to the Longhorns last summer, later reneged and is now heading to Iowa State.  We also have confirmed that Colorado State has landed two more recruits in 6'3 Kyle Victoria from Elton (H.S.) LA, who is an excellent athlete with good ball skills, and 6'0 Chris Harris from Meridian (H.S.) LA, who has jet-like speed and quickness and has an incredible assist-to-turnover ratio.  This brings the total number of recruits in this recruiting class to seven and, when one remembers that 6'10 Michael Harrison from Northeastern Colorado (JC) CO was one of the best big men in the junior college ranks this past season, it should come as no surprise that this recruiting class has moved all the way up to #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  If you will recall, the Rams also landed 6'0 Corey Lewis from Dodge City (JC) KS, 6'8 C.J. Clark from Cypress Creek (H.S.) TX, 6'2 Stephan Gilling from Chino Hills (Ayala) CA last fall and they added 6'10 Ronnie Aguilar from Los Angeles (Marshall) CA earlier this spring.  And, believe it or not, it looks like 6'6 Will Harris from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME has reneged on the University of Nebraska now plans to go to prep school.  However, we're not sure he will do any better the next time around.  Remember, the Cornhuskers have an excellent recruiting class, which still includes 6'9 B.J. Walker from Garden City (JC) KS, 6'0 Marcus Walker from Kansas City (O'Hara) MO, and 6'3 Jamel White from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Chris Bahlam from Shawnee Mission (West) KS, and 6'7 Kyle Marks from West Palm Beach (Dwyer) FL, and Harris was ideally suited to step right in and start at the wing forward spot.  We also have received word via Patrick Stanwood that 6'5 Soph Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) KS has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Florida.  When we saw Calathes earlier this spring playing on NIKE Team Florida's 17-Under Team at Boo Williams, we weren't overly impressed.  But Tom Topping, who is the coach of the NIKE Team Florida program, tells us that Calathes has been spectacular at times this spring while playing for his 16-Under Team.  So Stanwood may not be too far off when he tells us that Calathes should be ranked in the 50-100 range nationally in the Class of 2007.  Our Washington/DC/Maryland Editor Dennis Marshall told us a month ago that 6'7 Kenyon Churchwell from Washington (Gonzaga) DC had been accepted to Harvard, so it comes as no surprise that he has picked The Crimson.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that Portland has landed 6'7 Jamie Jones from El Segundo (H.S.) CA and 5'10 Brian McTear from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA.  And in both cases this appears to be an excellent catch for Pilots head coach Michael Holton, who used to be a player and an assistant coach at UCLA and continues to take advantage of his strong Southern California ties.  If you will recall, Portland signed 6'4 Marcus Carter from Etiwanda (H.S.) CA during the Fall Signing Period and they also signed 6'8 Marcus Lewis from Long Beach (Poly) CA a year ago and 6'4 Donald Wilson from Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA three years ago.  Trigonis also tells us that USC has landed 6'11 Abdoulaye Ndiayne from Southern Idaho (JC) ID and 6'0 Ryan Francis from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA.  If you will recall, Francis is the guy who originally verbally committed to Louisiana-Lafayette, but never signed a National Letter-of-Intent with the Ragin' Cajuns and, as a result, was free to change his mind.  Ndiayne not only is part of the package that also included Southern Idaho (JC) ID head coach Gib Arnold and 5'10 Shaun Davis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, but he is the big prize in this recruiting class, because he is ranked as one of the top five junior college players in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  And his addition moves the Trojans' class, which also includes Davis, Francis, 6'9 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'3 Sean Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL, 6'9 Rousean Cromwell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, and 6'2 Colin Robinson from Diamond Bar (H.S.) CA up to #18 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Oakland, which already has 5'9 Clyde McKinney from Lansing (Everett) MI, 6'3 Eric Kangas from DeWitt (H.S.) MI, 6'10 Aaron Gardner from Frankton (H.S.) IN, and 6'1 Keith MacKenzie from Warren (DeLaSalle) MI in the fold, has added another one.  He's talking about 6'5 Derrick Nelson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME and this moves their recruiting class into a tie at #104, along with Pennsylvania, Rider, Columbia, Oakland, High Point, and American University, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005.   Johnson also tells us that 6'2 Shamaine Dukes from Cuthbert (Randolph Clay) GA has signed with Wake Forest and he thinks this might be just one sign that 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who at one time was believed to be a near lock for the Demon Deacons, is heading to Ohio State.  We also understand that 6'5 Soph Justin Hawkins has transferred from Utah to New Mexico State and that 6'4 Soph Fred Peete has transferred from Kansas State to New Mexico State.  And the Aggies may not be done yet taking transfers, because 6'6 Lorrenzo Wade, who is transferring from Louisville, will be at New Mexico State on an official visit sometime this week. 

Sunday, May 1, 2005, & Monday, May 2, 2005

Just as we predicted, it was the Spiece Indy Heat with 7'0 Jr Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'5 Jr Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'1 Jr Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'3 Soph Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, and 6'8 Soph Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar OH versus the D-1 Greyhounds with 6'5 Soph O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH and 6'5 Soph Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH in the championship game at the 12th Annual Spiece Run'N Slam All Star Classic.  And our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, who stayed around until the bitter end, tells us that there was even more talent in this game than there was in this year's NCAA Final Four, which featured five players who likely will be first round picks in next month's NBA Draft.  The Championship Game at Spiece was too close to call early as the Spiece Indy Heat led 15-13 at the end of the First Quarter.  However, three things happened in the second quarter that dramatically altered the outcome of the game.  First, Walker had what would have been a spectacular dunk blocked by Oden.  Not only was this the incredible type of thing that you see over and over again on ESPN Sports Center, but it changed the entire momentum of the game in favor of the Spiece Indy Heat.  Second, Walker, who scored seven points in the first quarter, picked up his second foul at the defensive end immediately after he got his dunk blocked.  And this was even more important, because it effectively took Walker right out the game, as is evident by the fact that he finished with only 12 points for the entire game.  Third, Gordon, who had been scoreless in the first quarter, scored 10 of his 16 points in the second quarter and was largely responsible for the fact that his team was up 34-26 at the end of the first half.  And from there the Spiece Indy Heat coasted to a 77-58 win and, despite scoring just six points in the championship game, Conley took home tournament MVP honors.  Sure, some politics may have been involved in this pick (Conley's father is the coach of the team), but Cook didn't play in the tournament on Saturday due to the fact that was attending his junior prom and Oden was his lacsidasical self throughout most of the tournament.  As a matter of fact, when it came time to watch the quarterfinals, instead of watching the guy who a lot of people would argue is the #1 player in the nation regardless of class, the big crowds were at Court #2, where Mayo and Walker easily handling Blessed IJN Elite with 6'5 Jr Marques Johnson from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN, 6'4 Jr Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (Northside) IN, and 6'9 Phil Jones from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, and Court #3, where the Illinois Fire was in the process of upsetting the Michigan Hurricanes, which were arguably as good as any team in the tournament.  And, just like when we saw the Spiece Indy Heat and the D-1 Greyhounds a year ago at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, the Michigan Hurricanes gave us a great sneak preview of the future, as three of their best players - 6'5 Soph Alexander Legion from Birmingham (Detroit Country Day) MI, 6'5 Soph Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, and 6'0 Soph Kelvin Grady from East Grand Rapids (H.S.) MI - are underclassmen.  Legion is the most skilled, Tucker is the most athletic and he finishes everything, and Grady, who has jet-like speed and quickness and excels in transition, is an excellent complement to 5'11 Jr Tory Jackson from Saginaw (Buena Vista) MI, who is really an undersized, but very talented scoring combo guard.   And a rapidly improving 7'0 Jr Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, who blocks shots, rebounds, and scores in the paint, provided them with an intimidating presence in the middle.  However, even with all this talent, the Michigan Hurricanes didn't have an answer for the Illinois Fire's 6'6 Marcus Von from Chicago (Curie) IL, who not only owned the boards against the Michigan Hurricanes, but later blocked Oden's shot not once, but twice, on the same possession, when the Illinois Fire faced the Spiece Indy Heat in the semi-finals.  Von, who is undersized power forward and killer on the boards, will be a 5th Year Player next, but he was able to play in this tournament due to the fact that he plans to attend prep school next year at someplace like Winchendon (School) MA, Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, Laurinburg (Institute) NC, or Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  And the same can be said about 6'10 Jonathan Uchendu from Little Rock (Pulaski Robinson) AR, who was the best player we've seen this spring that we didn't previously know about.  And apparently most Division I schools are in the same boat.  As a matter of fact, Clemson and Florida State are the only schools that have shown any interest at all.  We're talking about a long lanky athletic shot blocking center with great hands, a soft touch around the basket, the ability to run the court like a deer, and an aggressive nature, which will make him a force to be reckoned with when he gets bigger and stronger down the road.  And Uchendu more than held is own when he was matched up against Oden, although Oden's lack of effort may have had more to do with this than anything Uchendu did.  However, we're still talking about somebody who is good enough to step in and contribute next year at the big time college level and will likely make money playing the game someday.  In other words, this guy is a major sleeper!  We also thought 7'0 Kyle Luckett from Ft. Wayne (South Side) IN, who also is a senior and, as a result, will have to go the prep school or junior college route next year, played a lot better than he did when we saw him a week ago at Houston Kingwood Classic.  But we still don't like the Dirk Nowitski comparisons.  Luckett does have the skills and 3-point shot necessary to play out on the perimeter, but, unlike Nowitski, he's not very tough and he's not going to get you a lot rebounds when he goes inside.  Instead, the key here is Luckett's potential. We also got our first look at 6'10 Jr Albert Jackson from Hopkinsville (Hopkins Central) KY, who is the best junior in the state and is already verbally committed to the University of Georgia.  We liked his athleticism and rebounding, but offensively he didn't touch the ball a lot partly because he doesn't work very hard to get open and partly because the offense of the Kentucky Hoop Stars Elite Blue was geared more around 6'7 Jr Daniel Ard from Benton (Marshall County) KY and 6'2 Jr Matt Fraliex from Princeton (Caldwell County) KY.  One of the best shooters/scorers in the tournament was 6'1 Jr Willie Walker from Bolingbrook (H.S.) IL, but we still wonder whether he'll grow enough to be a 2-guard or develop the point guard mentality necessary to be more than just a great high school player.  We also were very impressed with 6'3 Soph Demitri McCamey from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, who led the Illinois Wolves to a 76-64 win over the Arkansas Hawks in the Championship Game in the Juniors-To-Be Division.  Not only is McCamey a physical specimen, but he handles the ball well enough to play point guard and already has the strength and athleticism necessary to get to the hole whenever he wants to at this level.  McCamey, who was named the tournament MVP in this age group, also was the leading scorer with 18 points in the championship game on a well-balanced team that also included 6'5 Soph Evan Turner from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'8 Soph Isiah Martin from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, and 6'0 Soph Jon Rice from Naperville (Neuqua Valley) IL.  We also were very impressed once again by 6'7 Frosh Bryan Brown from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, who is a good old-fashioned warrior/physical specimen/athlete on the boards, and 6'1 Soph Dwight Buycks from Bay View (H.S.) WI, who can beat you with his 3-point shooting and his ability to go to the hole.  However, 5'11 Soph Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, who is the #2-ranked freshman nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, was never able to get on track in their game 8:00 AM Game on Sunday morning against Mean Streets and, as a result, the best team in the Juniors-To-Be Division went down in flames in the in the Round of 16.  Several other players who really impressed us in the Juniors-To-Be Division were 6'8 Soph Angel Garcia from Puerto Rico and 6'10 Soph Kosta Koufas from Canton (Glen Oak) OH.  Koufas is a big white kid who reminds us of West Virginia's Kevin Pittsnogle, although he doesn't shoot the 3-point shot like Pittsnogle does.  Garcia, who is expected to enroll at Munster (H.S.) IN next fall, not only is long, athletic, and skilled, but he also handles and passes extremely well for somebody his size and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  There also were some loaded teams in the Sophomores-To-Be Division, like the Cleveland Basketball Club with 6'9 Frosh Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, 6'3 Frosh Rashawn Goins from Cleveland (Rhodes) OH, 6'1 Anthony McBride from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, 6'1 Frosh Devon Moore from Columbus (Northland) OH; Team Indiana with 6'7 Frosh Emmanuel Negedu from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'7 Frosh Tim Toler from Indianapolis (Ben Davis) IN, 6'11 Frosh Beas Hagma from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, and 6'7 Frosh Muhammed Contish from Bloomington (South) IN; Team Next with 5'5 Frosh Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Frosh Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'6 Frosh David Imes from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'6 Frosh Marquis Grant from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'4 Frosh Brandon Romain from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, and 6'3 Frosh Leonard McNeil from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY.  However, at the end of the day, Indiana Elite Garden beat the Kentucky Hoop Stars, 57-43, to win the championship in the Sophomores-To-Be Division.  The leading scorer with 11 points in the championship game for the Indiana Elite Gardens was 5'11 Frosh Josh Maggard from Kokomo (Northwestern) IN, but we thought their best player was 6'1 Frosh Justin Bond from Indianapolis (Lawrence Central) IN.  The Kentucky Hoop Stars featured a well-balanced attack that included 6'4 Frosh Taylor Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'3 8th Grader Josh Crawford from Corbin (H.S.) KY, 6'4 Frosh Nathan Novosel from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'5 Frosh Seth Perry from Greenup (County) KY, 6'4 Frosh Jordan Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY.  Novosel was their leading scorer with 18 points in the championship game, but, when we saw him, it was his rebounding and willingness to get after inside that made us take notice.  We also were very impressed by the decision-making, ball handling and passing, ability to get to the basket, and the outside shooting displayed by Erving Walker, who still has to be one of the top two or three players in the freshman class, unless you're part of the crowd who thinks a 5'5 point guard can't be one of the top players nationally in the freshman class regardless of who good he is.  We also have to give Yancy Gates a special mention, because he's a monster inside with his athleticism, ability to score on the blocks, rebound, and block shots, as well as somebody who is versatile enough to go out on the perimeter and beat you with his outside shooting.  And how can you not like Emmanuel Negedu, who is one of the most aggressive raw athletes that we've seen in a long time.  As a matter of fact, comparisons to Arizona's Mohamed Tangara may be in order.  We also really liked Tim Toler, who reminds us of Pittsburgh-bound 6'8 Tyrell Biggs from Ramsey (Don Bosco Prep) NJ, although Toler, who made a number of threes, shoots it better out on the perimeter than Biggs does.  We also have to mention 6'2 Frosh Tyler Thompson from Ft. Wayne (Elmhurst) IN, who hit four 3-pointers and impressed us with his athleticism, long arms, good hands, and versatility in the first half against Team Next.