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Monday, May 31, 1999

Bloomington Red may have had the toughest road of any team in the tournament, but they beat The Family (MI), 57-55, in the quarterfinals, New York Riverside Church, 75-70, in the semi-finals, and the Houston Hoops, 71-55, in the championship to take home the title in the first-ever NIKE Bluegrass Classic earlier today in Lexington, KY. Bloomington was led by 6'10 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN and 6'7 Soph Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN, who combined for 42 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game, but our choice for tournament MVP was 6'1 Soph Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, who scored 44 points and was the main reason why Bloomington upset Riverside Church in the semis. If he doesn't rise to the occasion, Bloomington would not have been playing for the championship. By far and away the best player for Houston was 6'2 Soph Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who 21 points in the championship and once a for all has laid to rest any debate about who is the #1 sophomore in Texas. He seems to make all the big shots, is a great penetrator and passer, and is very explosive off the dribble. He also creates havoc defensively and has excellent moves and outstanding quickness. As a result, we now rank him as one of the top 10 sophomores in America. Hurt also had 21 points in Houston's semi-final win over Coast-to-Coast, while 6'4 Soph Marcus Spears from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA added 18 points. And don't let Spears lack of height deceive you. He's a killer when he goes inside, plus he's great in transition and he can go out and do things on the perimeter, including keep you honest from beyond the arc. Coast-to-Coast was led by 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, who had 27 points and was a big reason why it was a one or two point game most of the way against Houston Hoops in the semi-finals. Starks has been a junior two consecutive years, so he'll be on our 5th year list next season. However, as it stands now right, he's by far and away the best junior in the state of Florida. In the 16-Under Division, Memphis beat the Illinois Warriors, 68-54, thanks to the efforts of a very balanced attack that featured 6'1 Soph Rory Green from Memphis (Oak Haven) TN, 6'4 Soph Ralpheal Golden from Memphis (Trezevant) TN, and 6'2 Soph Earnest Shelton from Memphis (White Station) TN, who combined for 48 points in the championship game. The Illinois Warriors were led by 6'1 Soph Pierre Pierce from Westmont (H.S.) IL, who had 19 points in the championship game. However, they were missing several of their players, including 6'9 Frosh Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence (Catholic) IL, because they had to leave early, so they wouldn't miss school tomorrow.

The Atlanta Celtics won both the 17-Under and 16-Under Divisions at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, but there were a number of other very important stories, like 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY leading the tournament in scoring averaging 24 ppg; 6'7 Jr Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL being seriously considered as the #1 player in the nation by a number of scouts, including the legendary Tom Konchalski of the H.S.B.I. Report; and 6'2 Soph Maurice Williams from Jackson (Murrah) MS going from total obsurity to being ranked among our top 10 juniors nationally. As a matter of fact, Dixie (JC) UT assistant coach Kris Vance thinks Williams is even better than 6'1 Jr Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, who was ranked #12 nationally among juniors by the HOOP SCOOP. He reminds Vance of another great player from Murrah High School - Ronnie Henderson. "Just like Henderson, he's a prolific scorer," says Vance.  "He's a great outside shooter, he's next to impossible to stop in transition, and he can play either guard spot." Some of the other top players the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, according to Vance, were 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, who finished ranked #2 in scoring behind Barrett and ahead of Wallace, Duhon, 6'9 Jr Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, 6'9 Jr Chris Wilcox from Whiteville (H.S.) NC, 6'5 Jr Orien Greene from Gainesville (H.S.) FL, 6'8 Jr Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'9 Jr Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX, 6'9 Soph Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (Catholic) AL, and 6'3 Jr Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Calloway) GA. The MVP in the 16-Under Tournament was 6'5 Greg Tinch from Albany (Westover) GA, who also was mentioned by Vance as one of the best players in the tournament despite the fact he was playing in the younger age group.

Sunday, May 30, 1999

Late tonight the field at the NIKE Bluegrass Classic in Lexington, KY was narrowed to only eight as The Family (MI), Bloomington Red, Howard Pulley-Blue (MN), New York Riverside Church, Houston Hoops, Delaware Valley, Shreveport, and Coast to Coast all advanced. into the quarterfinals, which will be played on four different courts tomorrow morning at 11:00 AM. However, en route to the final eight there were two major upsets when the Tennessee Travlers knocked off the Southern California All-Stars in the first round and Howard Pulley Blue beat the Illinois Warriors in the quarterfinals. And that's the big story of the day. The Warriors may have lost the game, 66-54, but 6'9 Jr Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL took his game to another level with a wide array of dunks and incredible moves to the basket. He's the best player we've seen in high school since the Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Thomas days, which means you have to go back four classes to find somebody as good. Miles is like a highlight film, but what really makes him great are his long arms, incredible quickness, and ability to cover so much ground, especially defensively, very quickly. And the like great ones, he has a great feel for the game. Following up the poor performance of 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ on Saturday, he told us that he had more to do with his poor performance than anything the Bloomington Red Team did, although everybody in the tournament has looked bad so far against what may prove to be Bloomington's best team ever. Evidence of this fact comes with Delaware Valley's surprising upsets against both the Georgia Stars and the Tennessee Travlers. Just like in France a week ago, Wagner started finding 6'4 Jr Rashard Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who was wide open out on the perimeter.

We have talked with a number of players at the NIKE Bluegrass Classic in Lexington, KY, including 6'1 Jr Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY and 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) KY, who are two of the top point guards in the nation. Brown confirmed that St. John's is now the leader, but he also likes UCLA, Massachusetts, Ohio State, Syracuse, North Carolina, and Texas. We also find it extremely interesting that Seton Hall is out, especially since the Pirates appeared to be the leader last winter.  Also Kentucky wasn't mentioned, although the Wildcats may decide to make a serious run, especially since he's played so well in their own backyard. Cook says that North Carolina, Kentucky, and Florida State are at the top of his list, but says he's really not as interested in St. John's and Syracuse as everybody thinks.  He also confirms that he's interested in expanding his list. As a result, it look like he's still very much open.

Saturday, May 29, 1999

As expected, earlier today 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ was the main topic of conversation at the NIKE Bluegrass Classic in Lexington, KY. However, it was not in a positive context. He's now infamous, because every time he touched the ball, he shot it. As a matter of fact, I have never seen a player shoot more and, in the process, totally destroy his team. His shooting percentage was atrocious and his shot selection worse. As a result, his team, Delaware Valley, lost to Bloomington  Red, which is one of the best teams in the tournament, by 30 points. As usual, Bloomington Red impressed us with their coaching, discipline, and execution, but we're still not sure they can beat New York Riverside Church once the playoffs begin later today. Speaking of Riverside Church, tonight 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY more than made up for Wagner's lack of team play, as put on a passing clinic against Alabama select. However, he still may not be the best point guard in the tournament, because 6'1 Jr Taliek Brown was also magnificient earlier in the day. We also were very impressed with 6'8 Soph Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and 6'10 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN.

Among the players we talked with at the NIKE Bluegrass Classic in Lexington, KY was 6'7 Jr Nick Anderson from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, who ranks among our top 25 juniors nationally.  Arizona, Kentucky, Southern University, LSU, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Mississippi State are the schools at the top of his list. Xavier, Alabama, and UAB were the three schools mentioned by 6'6 Jr Emmitt Thomas from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL. Illinois, Indiana, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Penn State, Ohio State, California, Tennesse, Notre Dame, and South Florida are all recruiting 7'1 Jr Nick Smith Bloomingdale (H.S.) FL, but this is one Louisville should get involved with, because the Cardinals will need all the front line players they can find in the next recruiting class and he was born in Louisville and his parents are from Louisville. Among the rumors we heard at the tournament it looks like Adam Harrington, who is transferring from N.C. State, may be close to making a commitment to Iowa. However, that conflicts with another source, who thinks it done for Auburn.  Stay tuned!

Friday, May 28, 1999

Greg Swaim, the Editor and Publisher of Midwest Basketball is reporting that Ryan Humphrey has a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, June 1st, and that he will pick either UCLA or Notre Dame. We also have confirmed that he has not taken his 5th visit to Virginia and we suspect that he isn't at Miami-FL is this weekend either. Swaim also is reporting that 6'11 Ryan Wildenborg from Kirkland (Juanita) WA, who ranks #45 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and signed with Minnesota last fall, wants out of his National Letter-of-Intent, but apparently not bad enough to transfer and sit out a year. We also have confirmed from Mike Waters, a sportswriter for the Syracuse Herald-Journal and Post-Standard, that 6'9 Jeremy McNeil from San Antonio (Sam Houston) TX has not signed a National Letter-of-Intent with the Orangemen. However, no problem is anticipated, unless something unforeseen happens. Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that St. John's is now the leader for 6'1 Jr Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY. Previously we thought Seton Hall was out in front for Brown. Indiana has gotten an early commitment from 6'3 Jr Andre Ownes from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN. We find this extremely interesting, because the list that he gave us at the Spiece Tournament earlier this month included Northwestern, Kentucky, Ohio State, Temple, N.C. State, Maryland, Iowa, Auburn, Cincinnati, Memphis,UCLA, Kansas, and Michigan State, but not Indiana. Did he just not think to mention Indiana or were they not recruiting him at the time? We'll ask him tomorrow at the NIKE Bluegrass Classic in Lexington, KY.

Speaking of the the NIKE Bluegrass Classic, which promises to be one of the premier events of the entire summer, we will be there all day tomorrow and Sunday. And the list of outstanding players is seemingly endless - 6'9 Jr Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 7'0 Soph Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'1 Jr Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, 6'10 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'6 Soph Josh Childers from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 6'9 Frosh Deangelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'10 Soph David Harrison from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Jr Arthur Johnson from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'7 Jr Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Jr Eric King from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'4 Soph Rashard Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Jr Scooter Sherrill from Mount Ulla (West Rowan) NC, 5'11 Soph Charles Fredrick from Boca Raton (Pope John Paul II) FL, 6'8 Jr T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmore) IL, 6'8 Soph Levi Watkins from Laurel (St. Vincent Pallotti) MD, 6'7 Jr Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, 7'0 Jr Andrew Skoglund from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'3 Jr Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'2 Jr Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN, 6'5 Jr Matt Lottich from Winnetka (New Trier) IL, 6'5 Jr Brett Melton from Mahomet (Mahomet-Seymour) IL, 6'5 Jr Gerald Riley from Milledgeville (Baldwin) GA, 5'11 Jr Brody Body from Dugger (Union) IN, 6'4 Jr Andre Owens from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN, 6'2 Soph Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN, 7'1 Soph Craig Forth from Columbia (East Greenbush) NY, 6'2 Jr Maurice Searight from Orchard Lake (St. Mary) MI, 6'7 Jr Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'0 Jr James Theus from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 5'11 Soph Cornelius Mitchell from Augusta (Josey) GA, 6'10 Soph Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'2 Frosh Chad Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, 6'2 Soph Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'7 Jr Nick Anderson from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, 6'2 Soph Salim Stoudamire from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'1 Jr Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'2 Jr Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, 6'5 Jr Scott Hundley from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, 6'5 Soph Dennis Coutee from Jeffersonville (H.S.) IN, and 6'9 8th Grader Grant Billmeir from Pennington (Prep) NJ. We will have some highlights late tomorrow night and a complete wrapup next week exclusively in the Members Section.

University of Louisville assistant coach Jerry Eaves has taken announced that he is leaving to take a similar position with the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA. Especially interesting were several of the quotes in today's Louisville Courier-Journal: "Eaves said he thinks UofL is headed 'back to top-five dominance in the country'" and "he isn't leaving behind aspirations to one day succeed coach Denny Crum." We've done it before, but we want to look once again at where the program stands and where it might be heading. Everything should be fine next year, because 6'5 Reece Gaines from Madison (West) WI, who ranks #45 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, promises to solve all of Louisville point guard problems. He's not a great player, but he's a good player. Plus he's exactly what they need. With Nate Johnson, Tobiah Hopper, Deon Edward, and possibly Alex Sanders (if he wins his appeal for another year) all back up front, the Cardinals should finally be in a position to win 20-plus games again. And if they get the two Nigerians - 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - both of whom have committed, but not signed with Louisville, they could make a serious run at the NCAA Final Four next season. However, Johnson, Hopper, Edward, and Sanders are all going to be seniors and if Ndubuisi and Lesage are even eligible, they will likely will be thinking about the NBA in a year. So as it stands now, there is a good possibility that only player in the program over 6'7 after next season might be Hajj Turner, who so far has never played a minute for the Cardinals. So, the next recruiting class becomes just as critical as the last two. Unless Louisville recruits at least two or three front court players who can play, the bottom might just fall out after next season. Although Louisville hasn't signed any McDonald's All American's in recent years, Eaves has done a good job of scrambling around and plugging the holes late in the spring. However, there is no guarantee he'll be able to do it three years in a row. So it looks like he's getting out while the getting is good, instead of leaving Louisville with a team that is heading "back to top-five dominance in the country." As for being the next coach at Louisville, he was perfectly placed to have a shot to get the job when Denny Crum eventually hangs it up. Remember, he's already been an assistant coach in the NBA. Why does he need to go back and do it again?  Instead, the thing he needed was head coaching experience at the lower Division I level. Crum may still push for Eaves to succeed him when the time comes, but it's not Crum's decision. The decision will be made by Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich and remember where you heard it first! If Larry Eustachy does as well at Iowa State the next several years as did previously at Utah State, he will likely be the next coach at Louisville. We've heard that he was Jurich's college roommate and the best man in his wedding, although we haven't confirmed that yet. We have confirmed that he and Jurich are very close friends. Maybe Eaves saw the writing on the wall and got out while the getting was good.

Thursday, May 27, 1999

"They're the best guard combinaton I've ever seen," says Linzy Davis, who was the head coach of the USA Georgia Elite Team in NIKE World Basketball Championship in France last weekend. Davis, who also is the Georgia Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, obviously is talking about 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ and 6'4 Soph Rashard Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who led team their to a 9th Place. However, that's deceptive, because, in a tournament dominated by college freshman and professional players, this team included six sophomores and two juniors, but was only three points away from being in the final four. We're talking about Georgia Elite's, 75-72, loss to Croatia in pool play, but the real story according to Davis was the Wagner-to-Carruth connection. "They complemented each so well that they could eventually become as famous as the greatest double play combination of all time in Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance for the Chicago Cubs from 1906 to 1912," says Davis. "Carruth and Wagner have not only become great friends, but Carruth will likely wait to see what Wagner does before making his college decision. Carruth shot better than Wagner, but he didn't get as many shots as Wagner. Wagner also was the guy responsible for setting up the big guys inside, particularly 6'11 Steve Hunter, with alley-oops dunks, short jumpers, and layups." Davis also reports that Lithonia beat Nigeria , 55-52, in the championship game. The tournament MVP was Lithuania's 6'0 Kristapas Valters, but the players everybody wants to hear about are three Nigerian big guys - 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, 6'11 Muhammed Lesage, and 7'0 Uche Okafor - who have been recruited by American colleges and technically are still available, because none of the three have turned in a binding National Letter-of-Intent. "The best of the three is the one who is supposed to go to Louisville," says Davis. He's talking about Ndubuisi. "He was their second leading scorer behind 6'11 Olumide Oyedeji, who has already declared for the NBA draft and was also their second best player. Ndubuisi has better skills and is better further away the basket, as he showed good form and a 15-shot. But he wasn't as big and strong as Oyedeji. Lesage, who also is going to Louisville, is still an unknown commodity, because they limited his minutes due to politics. However, one guy who has seen him play thinks he's the best of all of them. He's got a good frame, lots of athleticism, and excellent coordination. Okafor, who also can make an immediate at the college level, runs the floor, blocks shots, and scores inside. And he's committed to Miami-FL." Another player that must be mentioned is Lithonia's 6'11 Raitis Grafs, who has signed Valparaiso, which is coup for them.  "He's good enough to be a four year starter at North Carolina," says Davis. If that wasn't enough to whet your appetite, we'll have the all-tournament and more comments about the NIKE World Basketball Championship in another day or so.

Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio is now reporting that New York (Rice) NY head coach Maurice Hicks will turn down the assistant coaching position at Notre Dame. Naclerio also tells us that Stony Brook, which almost hired Davidson head coach Bob McKillop last week, now will likely hire either former St. John's head coach Brian Mahoney or current Hofstra assistant coach Tom Pecora. And regardless of who gets the job, Naclerio thinks that this will be the job that current UNLV assistant Greg Vetrone takes to make his move back to the East Coast. And once this has happened, although it hasn't happened yet, the door will be opened for UNLV head coach Bill Bayno to hire Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME head coach Max Good. Greg Swaim, the Editor & Publisher of Midwest Basketball, is reporting that 6'11 Tyson Johnston is transferring from Utah to Arizona State. Dave Schultz of the HOOP SCOOP tells us that 6'11 Maurice Jackson from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ is going to Tallahassee (JC) FL and 7'0 Josh Moore from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ has passed the SAT, but still needs to pass three classes in summer school. However, that's close enough for Rutgers to pass on 6'3 Jovan Johnson from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, who also is considering Ohio University, Marquette, and South Florida. We also have confirmed 6'6 Marquis Daniels from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC has signed with Auburn and that Manhattan is on the verge of getting 6'2 Justin Jackette, who is tranferring William & Mary. Radford has signed 5'10 Tre Gardner from Cherry Hill (West) NJ and 6'6 Curtis King is transferring from Morgan State to Drexel. Drexel is close to getting 6'5 Andre Williams, who is leaving Monmouth.

Wednesday, May 26, 1999

If you will recall, a week ago we reported that 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage had committed to the University of Louisville. Well, Ron Briscoe is reporting that Lesage signed the letter on May 14th and that Ndubuisi signed on May 15th, but as it stands now we still can not confirm that Louisville has a signed National Letter-of-Intent in hand from either player. Briscoe is also reporting that University of Louisville assistant coach Jerry Eaves will take an assistant coaching position with Charlotte Hornets, but we can't confirm that either. The Louisville Courier-Journal did have an article this morning with a headline "Eaves pondering Hornets' offer." However, it appears to still be in the talking stages, although we do know that Eaves is close friends with Hornets head coach Paul Silas. As a matter of fact, Eaves and Silas were both assistants under Butch Beard in 1994 with the New Jersey Nets. But let's assume that Eaves does take the job. Would this be a good career move?  Not if he wants to become the next coach at Louisville when long time head coach Denny Crum finally hangs it up. Our guess is that he's frustrated, because he and Crum are a lot alike - both have strong personalities and Crum is set in his ways. If you will recall, Eaves did talk Crum into running a lot more last year, which was a big reason why the Cardinals were able to overachieve and win 19 games. As a matter of fact, Eaves is the first strong personality that Crum has had as an assistant coach since Bill Olsen was on the staff in the '70s. The timing of this move also couldn't be worse, because it's late to start looking for an assistant coach and the summer camp season is right around the corner. One possibility would be to put the part-time assistant coach Scotty Davenport on the road, but he has a lot of responsibility running Louisville's camps in the summer. Somebody who won't get the job, but who has been mentioned, is former Louisville All-American Milt Wagner, whose son is 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who is the best sophomore in the nation. Wagner doesn't have his degree, so they only way he's getting a job at Louisville right now is as a student assistant and that is a distinct possibilility. Another interesting twist is how this might effect the recruitment of 6'9 Soph Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, whose father is Eaves' cousin.

The HOOP SCOOP is reporting that University of Virginia head coach Pete Gillen has hired Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA head coach Scott Shepherd and will also likely hire Binghamton University assistant coach Alexis Sherad, who was the administrative assistant for Gillen when he was at Providence. Adam Harrington, who is transferring from N.C. State, is taking his official visit to Auburn University today and when the dust has all cleared, we think he will pick the Tigers over Miami-FL, Iowa, and UCLA. Cedric Patton, who has gotten his release and is transferring from Alabama, is considering Northwestern, Vanderbilt, UT-Chattanooga, and Mississippi. Eric Brown, was the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, has announced that he's transferring from Morehead State.  He is considering Xavier, DePaul Louisville, Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh, and Marshall, but this one could get ugly, because it looks like head coach Kyle Macy isn't going to release him. Victor Williams, who is transferring from Illinois State, has picked Oklahoma State and Oklahoma is getting 6'7 Travis Reed, who is transferring from UCLA. Maybe he's the player to be named later in the Ryan Humphrey trade, although Humphrey sure is taking is time picking a school. Rutgers already has a replacement lined up if 7'1 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT doesn't make it academically. As a matter of fact, the coaching staff at Rutgers is supposed to find out today about Moore's academic standing at St. Thomas More, as a result, will soon make a decision about whether to wait for Moore (he will likely have to go to summer school) or take 6'3 Jovan Johnson from Wabash Valley (JC) IL. Apparently the Scarlet Knights can get Johnson, but they don't have any scholarships available, unless they use Moore's.

Camden High School made their appeal to the New Jersey State High School Athletic Association yesterday regarding their suspension next year, but even more important for our purposes, a family friend who is close to 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner has gone on record saying that both Wagner and his teammate 6'7 Jr Arthur Barclay will be back at Camden regardless next year. If you will recall, Camden was suspended from playing in the state tournament and from playing any regular season games outside of their 17 scheduled conference games for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. Also long time legendary head coach Clarence Turner was suspended for a year (last season). All this was due to a fight that occured in the state tournament in March 1998. We also continue to hear rumors about Turner returning to coach next year, but that seems kind of strange, because his replacement Glen Jackson was one of the people arguing Camden's case yesterday. And part of the argument is that Turner, who is to the NJSAA what Jerry Tarkanian was to the NCAA, is gone. "They were saying the same thing about Wagner and Barclay staying a year ago," says Dave Schultz of the HOOP SCOOP. "But then in October they left school for a week and almost transferred to Camden Catholic. I think we'll continue to hear rumors and there will be a lot of uncertainty about where they'll be until school actually starts."

UNLV already has seven junior college players in the fold, count them - 6'3 Danny Brotherson from Utah Valley State College, 6'2 Kenny Dye from Connors State (JC) OK, 6'5 Louis Kelly from San Bernadino City (JC) CA, 6'7 Sylvester Dotson from Kilgore (JC) TX, 6'3 Trevor Diggs from Kilgore (JC) TX, 6'1 Mike Garrett from Fresno City (JC) CA, 6'6 Chris Popoola from Long Beach City (JC) CA - as well as 6'9 Dalron Johnson from Los Angeles (Verbum Dei) CA. Dye ranks #6 nationally among junior college players by Phil Henzel. Brotherson ranks #19 on the same list. Kelly is only a freshman in the junior college, but might be better than both of them. Dotson is tough on the boards, Diggs and Popoola are great in transition, and Garrett ranks #65 nationally among junior college players by Henzel. Already we have this class ranked #2 nationally, but we understand the Runnin' Rebels added another guard a week ago in 6'2 Marcus Banks from Las Vegas (Cimarron) NV. He also was recruited by New Mexico, USC, UCLA, Fresno State and Nevada-Reno, but is the cousin of former UNLV All-American Freddie Banks and he's supposed to be a major sleeper. However, Garrett and Banks are both academic question marks, so the Runnin' Rebels still may be short a point guard.

Tuesday, May 25, 1999

We reported a week ago that former University of Virginia head coach Jeff Jones would likely get the assistant coaching position at the University of Rhode Island. It hasn't happened yet, but we understand there is press conference scheduled for tomorrow at which time Jones will be named to the fill the position. And this is a great moved for head coach Jerry Degregorio, because he and Jones should complement one another extremely well. If you will recall, Jones was an excellent bench coach, but didn't recruit well enough to maintain it Virginia. Degregorio, on the other hand, is a great recruiter, but until now has not had any head coaching experience at the Division I level. Speaking of Virginia, we find it ironic that 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI, who ranks #9 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, picked Michigan over the Cavaliers only a few days before the story broke about an alleged gambler's association with seemingly numerous Michigan players during the Steve Fisher days. We have to wonder if the story broke a week earlier, would that have been enough to change Blanchard's mind? If that had happened, we'd be talking about Virginia having the #1 ranked recruiting class, instead of Duke. Remember, Virginia signed three outstanding recruits in 6'7 Travis Watson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'0 Majestic Mapp from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, and 6'5 Roger Mason from Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, as well as 6'8 Stephane Don Don from Collin (JC) TX, who was one of the best junior college power forwards in the nation last year. If they had gotten Blanchard, it would have been the icing on the cake. As for Blanchard, we heard rumblings that he may want to get out of his National Letter-of-Intent with Michigan, but we don't put much stock in it.

Over the weekend Connecticut Select hit a trifecta, as they won the state AAU tournament in 17-Under, 16-Under, and 15-Under age groups. The MVP in both the 17-Under and 16-Under tournaments was 6'0 Soph Mark Jones from Norwich (Free) CT, who has emerged as one of the best sophomores in the nation. "I'm not going to tell you he's as good as Dajuan Wagner, but he was sensational in the AAU's and was also the best player at the Albany City Rocks' tournament at Marist College on Sunday," says Simone. "Better than Eddie Griffin, Marcus Toney-El, Andre Barrett, and James Thomas." That's high praise indeed, because 6'8 Jr Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY both rank among the top juniors nationally and 6'6 Jr Marcus Toney-El from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ ranks among our top 75 juniors nationally and was one of the driving forces behind his team's state championship and national ranking. In the 15-Under Tournament MVP honors went to 6'4 Roosevelt Lee from New Britain, CT. Simone says he might not be the best 8th grader in the nation, but he's definitely the most advanced 8th grader in terms of his maturity and ability. "He was the main reason why we beat the Hartford Heat, 68-49, in the championship," says Simone. "But he also played with our 17-Under team. He has tremendous savvy, shoots the three, and gets to the rack. He's already a great player" And that's why we're going to make him the #1 8th grader in the nation when we adjust our rankings during the next few weeks.

Last night New York Riverside Church beat Brooklyn-Queens Express, 85-70, to win the prestigious IS8 Spring League in Jamaica, NY. Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio was there and he tells us that 6'2 Jr Michael Boynton and 6'3 Jr Terrance Watkins, the outstanding backcourt duo from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, combined for 36 points and 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY chipped in with 15 points in the championship game. Boynton, was named the outstanding player in the title game, but the MVP for the league was Cuffe, who has emerged as the #4 ranked junior in New York City, behind the three great guards - 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'1 Jr Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, and 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY. Speaking of Cook, he did not play well in either the championship, when he only hit 1-10 3-pointers, or the semi-finals against Southside, when he had 11 points and 16 assists, which compensated for his five turnovers and 1-8 shooting from the foul line. However, Cook was named to the first team all-tournament team, along with Cuffe, 6'7 Jr Zach Williams from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'7 Jr Eric King from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and 6'1 Kenny Satterfield from New York (Rice) NY. The second team consisted of Brown, 5'9 Jerome Holman from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'1 Will Pool from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'11 Micah Brand from Milford (Academy) CT, and 6'3 Brian Woodward from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, who was sensational in the semi-finals with 23 points. Named to the third team were 6'7 Rob Lewin from Staten Island (Curtis) NY, 6'7 Jr. J.C. Mathis from Bronx (Kennedy) NY, 6'2 Jason Coleman from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'2 John Jackman from Jamaica (H.S.) NY, and 6'1 Soph Ben Gordon from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY. Winning the sportsmanship award was 6'0 Jave Meade from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who still doesn't have a single Division I scholarship offer, but who is a legitimate mid-to-low major player.

Monday, May 24, 1999

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who ranks among the top 10 juniors nationally, is surprised that he isn't get interest from more schools. Right now he's receiving a lot of attention from St. John's, Syracuse, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida State, but that's pretty much it. Naclerio also tells us that 6'7 Jr Eric King from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY will likely transfer to Cheshire (Academy) CT. "It would make a lot of sense," says Naclerio. "He needs to improve academically and he's already close to being 18 years old, which makes him old for his grade." Now that Chuckie Moore is transferring from Seton Hall, the Pirates are looking for a 2-guard, which explains why they've shown recent interest in 6'4 Royal Ivey from Bayside (Cardozo) NY. Buffalo has beaten Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner for 5'9 Khalid Corsey from Dixie (JC) UT. This is an absolute steal, because Corsey, who led his conference in steals the last two years, is one of the best, if not the quickest point guard still available. Buffalo also has another steal in 6'4 Kerry Hendrickson from College of the Desert (JC) CA and they have two players sitting out in Mike McKie and Clement Smith, both of whom will be eligible next season. As a result, Buffalo, which only won four games last year, should be dramatically improved.

We got a call today from James Taylor, who is the father of 6'3 Jr Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, who currently ranks as the #2 junior in the nation, and he tells us his son as narrowed his list to Michigan State, Kentucky, Michigan, UCLA, and North Carolina. Mr. Taylor confirms that his son will attend the Olympic Festival in late June and the NIKE All-American Camp in early July. If you will recall, Taylor was the #1 ranked player by the HOOP SCOOP ahead of 6'2 Jason Williams from Metuchen (St. Josephs) NJ and 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ at the NIKE Camp last summer. Mr. Taylor also tells us that his son may attend a session of Five-Star, but feels like there are a lot things that his son needs to work on at home to get ready for college. However, academics aren't among them. he's already qualified academically.

Several weeks ago we reported that 6'5 Spencer Gloger from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA was going to pick UCLA. Then, last week we were told that he'd changed his mind and was going to Princeton. However, it appears that he didn't get as much financial aid as he expected, so he's changed his mind again,as the word we're getting is that he's planning to announce for UCLA, although we have not confirmed that he has done so official yet. We also are getting reports that Ryan Humphrey, who is transferring from Oklahoma, was at UCLA over the weekend. He's already been to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Tennessee and he may take a final visit to Virginia, Miami-FL, Florida State, Clemson, and Duquesne.

Sunday, May 23, 1999

Several days ago it appeared to be a done deal, but now our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Davidson head coach Bob McKillop has changed is mind and will not be taking the head coach job at Stony Brook. On the table was a 10-year $3 million offer, but apparently the president of the school changed his mind. We also understand that members of the McKillop family were having second thoughts about his taking the job. Speaking of rumors from the New York Area, the HOOP SCOOP has a very reliable source who is getting this second hand from Shaheen Holloway himself. He's been telling his friends that he's transferring to the University of Kentucky. And if this indeed does come to pass, Holloway will have to sit out a year to sit out, which might be good, because it would give him time to work on his jump shot and, as a result, that might be the difference in whether he eventually makes it in the league or not. However, if you will recall, there have been rumors off and on for several years about Holloway transferring and right now we think this is mostly just Holloway going back to Queens and shooting off his mouth to his friends. As a matter of fact, he told his high school coach Kevin Boyle, last Thursday that he was staying at Seton Hall. And if you're Kentucky, who would you rather have, Holloway for a year or 6'1 Jr Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA and 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who are two of the top junior point guard in the nation, for four years? Still the Holloway situation could be worth keeping an eye on.

We have now confirmed that Chris Burgess, who announced recently that he was transferring from Duke University, has made it official for the University of Utah. This is a great move by Burgess, because if any coach in college basketball can give him the individual instruction that he needs, as well as help him improve his confidence, it's Utes head coach Rich Majerus. Utah also is still recruiting 6'5 Rauol Heinen from the Netherlands, but we think they're a long shot at best, because this spring Utah signed 6'1 Trent Whiting from Snow (JC) UT, who ranks as one of the top five junior college players nationally by Phil Henzel. Heinen, who visited Utah in January, also has official visits lined up at George Mason on June 2nd and 3rd and Clemson on June 4th and 5th. The smart money is on George Mason, because Clemson also recently landed a point guard in 6'1 Edward Scott from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC and the last remaining piece to George Mason's puzzle is a quality point guard. As a matter of fact, if the Patriots get Heinen, along with their only other recruit this year - 6'11 Jesse Young from Petersborough, ON, they could be in a position to pull a major upset or two in the NCAA Tournament next March.  If you will recall, George Mason came out of nowhere last year win their conference and make the NCAA Tournament. And everybody is back! Speaking of Young, our sources tell us that he has been invited to try out for the Canadian National Team. This is huge, because he's the only high school player ever to be invited to try out for the team and he is three years younger than any of the other 36 players who were invited to the tryouts, which will be conducted at the end of this month.

The big story at the Middle Atlantic AAU Tournament this weekend at three sites in suburban Philadelphia was the emergence of 6'4 Soph John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA as one of the top sophomores in the nation, as well as the #2 sophomore in the area behind 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, according to Dave Schultz of the HOOP SCOOP. Last night he was drilling threes, as he led all scorers with 30 points. But today it was almost all inside, as he posted up and murdered opponents on the offensive boards. Not only was he consensus MVP, but he was at least a consolation prize for the scouts. If you will recall, Wagner not there. Instead, he was playing in France this weekend. Speaking of the NIKE World Junior Tournament in France, we haven't heard from Linzy Davis, who is the coach of one of the two American teams, as well as the Georgia Editor for the HOOP SCOOP, since Friday afternoon when called to report that his team had won their first game.

Saturday, May 22, 1999

We got a call last night from Linzy Davis, who is coaching one of the two U.S. team's in the NIKE World Junior Tournament in France this weekend, and he reports that his team beat Dourges, which is the national team from France, 113-78. However, at halftime they were only up 50-44. But then 6'3 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ hit 6’4 Soph Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA for five straight 3-pointers from well beyond the arc and the crowd went nuts. "It was like ping pong," says Davis. "They're a lethal combination." Wagner and Carruth were named co-MVP in their opening round game, as they had 26 points apiece. Also scoring in double digits was 6'8 Rodney Tucker from Stone Mountain (H.S.) GA with 14 points. Davis also tells us that 6’11 Steve Hunter from Maywood (Proviso East) IL and 6’7 Jr Arthur Barkley from Camden (H.S.) NJ did a lot of the dirty work inside and he was very impressed with contributions made by 6’6 Soph Josh Pace from Griffin (H.S.) GA and 6'5 Soph Karl Hollingsworth from Jonesboro (Mt. Zion) GA, both of whom are part of that great sophomore class in Georgia. Not making the trip was 6'2 Jason Williams from Metuchen (St. Josephs) NJ, but Davis doesn't seem to be too concerned, because Wagner and Carruth are lethal enough. Today Davis' team plays the tough Croatian team and if they get past this game, he thinks they'll have a good chance at winning the championship against either Lativa or Nigeria.

One player who still appears to be far away from making up his mind is 6'11 Robertas Javtokas from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH. Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson reports that the two leaders for Javtokas are Arizona and UNC-Charlotte. Apparently he had a great trip recently to Arizona and he really likes head coach Lute Olson. The connection to UNC-Charlotte is assistant coach Lane Odom, whose father is the head coach at Wake Forest. However, much important for our story is their family is held in very high regard in Lithuania, which is where Javtokas is from. Also still on Javtokas' list are Utah, Louisville, and Valparaiso, but lately three heavy hitters have been added to the list. When Ohio State found out that 7'3 Aleksander Radojevic from Barton County (JC) KS was ineligible to play college basketball, because he is technically a professional athlete, the Buckeyes coaching staff immediately started recruiting Javtokas. The same thing happened when Kentucky found out that Mike Bradley was transferring.  The third school is Cincinnati. Javtokas currently ranks among the top 150 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but he has an excellent upside and he would be an excellent late addition for any one of the programs that are mentioned above.

As it stands now we are counting two of Nigerians - 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - with University of Louisville's recruiting class, because Donovan Brown, who is one of the people who is handling their recruiting, says they are going to Louisville. However, Louisville does not have a National Letter-of-Intent in hand, so nothing is binding as of yet. Also, they haven't passed the SAT nor have they been cleared by the NCAA Clearing House yet. Some people like Slavko Duric, who is their legal guardian in Toronto, ON, think their will be no problem getting them eligible to play at a Division I school. However, other people in business think is no way that the Nigerians will be eligible. "Especially with the NCAA's ruling on Ohio State's big man - 7'3 Aleksander Radojevic (which was a question of eligibility), how will these guys be eligible due to their play in Europe and their questionable academic record?" asks one international scout, who would prefer not to go on record. "Remember, Nigeria is ranked #1 in indices concerning corrupt countries. What can you say for a country that has their passports hand written? These kids can play and their are some very nice people in Nigeria. But the fact is the trail becomes very dirty just for a kid to get out of Nigeria. So how in the world is the NCAA going to rule them eligible?"

We still aren't 100% finished with our coverage of the 6th Annual Spiece Run'N-Slam All-Star Classic, which was held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN three weeks ago. However, it's close enough to being completed to establish a link. As a matter of fact, all that is left to do is provide the final results and All-Tournament Teams for the Juniors-To-Be Division and Sophomores-To-Be Division.  However, all the writing is done and hopefully it will give you a pretty good feel for what happened. You can get there by clicking on Spiece.

Friday, May 21, 1999

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio is reporting that Davidson head coach Bob McKillop will be announced as the new head coach at Stony Brook, which is making a major commitment to basketball, as well as going Division next year, on either Monday or Tuesday. At first this may seem like a major surprise, but it's not, because Naclerio reminds us that McKillop is originially from the New York area and he got his coaching start at Brookville (Long Island Lutheran) NY. Naclerio also tells us that McKillop will get a 10 year contract that is very lucrative.

Our International Editor Chris Johnson is reporting that Hofstra head coach Jay Wright may have the final piece to his puzzle, because he now has a commitment from Lars Grubler from Germany. "At 6'11, 235 lbs., Grubler is the second best young big man, behind Dirk Nowitzki, to come out of Germany in recent years," says Johnson. Johnson also is confirming Louisville will get the two Nigerians - 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - and believes that UCLA and Miami-FL are the leaders for the third Nigerian - 7'0 Uche Okafor. All three have been in Nigeria for the last week getting ready to play for the Nigerian Team in the NIKE World Junior Tournament in France this weekend. Included among the teams are two American Teams, one of which is coached by Linzy Davis, the Georgia Editor for the HOOP SCOOP, and former Louisville All-Amerian Milt Wagner. The team includes perhaps the best two guards in America today in 6'3 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ and 6'2 Jason Williams from Metuchen (St. Josephs) NJ, but may not be overpowering enough to get it done inside. Also on the roster are 6'8 Rodney Tucker from Stone Mountain (H.S.) GA, 6’11 Steve Hunter from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'8 Ray Henderson from Charlotte (East Mechlenburg) NC, 6’4 Soph Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6’6 Soph Josh Pace from Griffin (H.S.) GA, 6'4 Soph Anthony Rice from Riverdale (North Clayton) GA, 6'5 Soph Karl Hollingsworth from Jonesboro (Mt. Zion) GA, 6’7 Jr Arthur Barkley from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'9 Soph Josh Powell from Riverdale (H.S.) GA, and 6'6 Soph Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA.

Now that has 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA has picked UCLA, the Bruins don't need to also bring in another 3-point shooter, like 6'5 Spencer Gloger from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, who recently verbally committed to UCLA, but apparently never signed. So now Gloger, who was named the Orange County Player-of-the-Year and ranks #24 in California and #348 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has decided to go to Princeton. We also are getting unconfirmed reports that Uche Okafor from Nigeria via Toronto, ON has committed to UCLA, but our source tell us that this 7'0 shot blocker can't get into UCLA academcially, so he will likely have to go to prep school for a year. Fairfield has also gotten a good one in 6'5 Jeremy Logan from Cheshire (Academy) CT and 6'2 Andrew Wisniewski from Staten Island (St. Peter's) NY has picked St. Peter's. Did you know that 6'6 Jamal Brown from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME committed to Pittsburgh last fall, but never signed a letter-of-intent? That's why he was free to change and his mind and sign with George Washington this spring. Apparently it happened last week, but nobody else has picked up on it.

Bob Domine, the sport anchor for WAVE-TV in Louisville, KY, tells us that Donovan Brown, who is the person in charge of the recruitment of the three Nigerians - 7'0 Uche Okafor, 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - has confirmed that both Lesage and Eze Ndubuisi have committed to the University of Louisville. However, a lot of questions remain, because as it stands now we still have not confirmed whether they have just verbally committed or actually signed National Letters-of-Intent. And even if they do, what does it mean? Remember, Lesage signed two weeks ago with Houston, but apparently it wasn't valid, because his mother didn't co-sign the letter. Brown says that he expects both Eze Ndubuisi and Lesage to get cleared by the NCAA Clearing House, but nothing is ever for sure when you're dealing with the NCAA. However, as it stands now it looks like Lesage has reneged on Houston, which means the Cougars recruiting class drops from #11 into a tie at #24 with North Carolina. It also means that Louisville's recruitng class moves up to #17 behind Clemson and ahead of DePaul. If the Cardinals were to get the third Nigerian (Okafor), their class would move up to #5 behind Michigan and head of Cincinnati. However, we don't look for that to happen, because Brown recently told Gary Fogle, also of WAVE-TV, that Okafor is no longer considering the University of Louisville.

Several of our competitors had been reporting that 6'6 Derek Payne from Washington (Coolidge) DC was on the verge of making a commitment to LSU, but we have now confirmed that he has signed with Southern University. However, we still think he may wind up in prep school or junior college next year, because he is not expected to get teh necessary SAT score. However, he has gone from having passed only one core class at this time a year ago to having the necessary grades to be academically eligible at the Division I level. How can this be?  Easy, if the principal at Coolidge went to all of Payne's teachers and had his grades changed so he will have the core and graduate this year. We don't know whether this is true or not, but we've heard it from too many people in the know to totally disregard it. Earlier this spring 6'7 Omar Weaver from Washington (Coolidge) DC transferred to Compton (H.S.) CA, but now he is back in DC attending night school (Washington (Spingarn) DC. The best player in DC with high school eligibility left is 6'6 Jr Bernard Robinson from Washington (Dunbar) DC, although he will be a fifth year senior next year. Manhattan, New Mexico, and American University expressed interest in 6'2 Greg Lomax from Washington (Dunbar) DC, but it looks like he'll have to attend at least one year of junior college, because the NCAA Clearing House won't give him credit for several classes that he attempted to make up in summer school a year ago. If 6'3 Jr Tamir Goodman from Baltimore (Talmudical) MD attends Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, he would miss at least 10 games due to WCAC games being played on Friday nights. If you were wondering whatever happend to 6'8 Jr Andre Scott, the former DeMatha product has reemerged at Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, the other night he showed all of the potential he has possessed since he was a freshman at DeMatha. He was very active around the basket, showing a nice touch on his jump hooks and other power moves. He outplayed 6'8 Jr Mike Sweetney from Oxon Hill, as his team defeated Jabbo Kenner to reach the finals. Scott will attend Kensington (Newport Prep) MD or maybe Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) MD next year. The best player for Jabbo Kenner was 6'5 Jr Delonte Holland of Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD. Holland did not shoot from the outside, but he was able to consistently slash inside for easy buckets. Also playing well for Kenner was 6'5 Jr Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD and 5'10 Jr Derrick Breland from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD. In the first contest, DC Assault ran away from the PG Jaguars in the fourth quarter for a 100-69 victory. Robinson led the way with an array of impressive dunks. Also helping for the Assault was 6'6 Soph James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD, 6'4 Jr David Hawkins from Washington  (Archbishop Carroll) DC, 6'6 Jr David Holmes from Washington (Coolidge) DC, and 6'8 Jr Mauriceo Branwell from Burtonsville (Paint Branch) MD.

We still don't have anything more than a haunch on where 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who ranks #14 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is going to school. Not even the four schools involved - Arizona, Missouri, UCLA and Utah - know what Kapono is going to do when he announces his decision at 5:30 PM Pacific Coast Time. However, we have sources close to Arizona, Missouri, and Utah who independently of one another think that they're not getting Kapono. So by process of elimination, we think Kapono is UCLA bound. However, we don't have any hard information on this. It's only an educated guess. So stay tuned! Also speaking of UCLA, we are now getting unconfirmed reports that 6'5 Jamal Crawford from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, who signed with Michigan last fall, wants out of his National Letter-of-Intent and may instead go to UCLA. And it won't be the first time he's changed his mind. A year ago he signed with Fresno State, but didn't qualify academically, so he was free to repeat his senior year of high school and sign with another school. However, if he does not enroll at Michigan, we would assume that he would have to sit out next year - either as a transfer and or an academic casaulty. And if he doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be eligible at the Division I level, how is he going to get into UCLA, which has much tougher academic requirements? We just talked with Kapono and, as expected, he has picked UCLA.This is big for the Bruins, because Kapono is one of the smartest players in the nation both on and off the court. He's also a great passer and has excellent moves along the baseline and driving to the basket. However, what UCLA needs the most is Kapono's outside shooting. At a younger age he was a deadly 3-point shooter, but when he grew several inches a year ago, he became streaky from beyond the arc. However, this is obviously something that just needs a little work, as was evident when he won the 3-point shooting contest at the McDonald's All American Game.

Wednesday, May 19, 1999

Greg Perry, who runs a scouting service based in Las Vegas, is reporting that UNLV's 1999 recruiting class has swelled to 10 players, giving coach Bill Bayno a big numbers problem. "Danny Brotherson, a 6'3 swingman from Utah Valley State College, has signed to be a Rebel," says Perry. "Brotherson, originally from Virgin Valley High School in tiny Mesquite, NV, is an aggressive slashing scorer with terrific upper-body strength and a hard-nosed attitude. After leading Virgin Valley High School to the Nevada 2A state title in 1995 and winning back to back Nevada 2A Player of the Year awards, Brotherson played two seasons at Utah Valley State with a 2 year Mormon mission in the middle. Brotherson was heavily recruited after leading UVSC (along with Kentucky recruit Nate Knight) to a 24-8 record with his 16.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 46.1 3pt%, 50.1 fg %. He picked UNLV over BYU, Iowa St., UC-Irvine, USC, and Pepperdine." This is huge, because with the late addition of 6'2 Kenny Dye from Connors State (JC) OK, who is one of the best junior college players in the nation, and Brotherson, who is ranks #19 nationally in the junior college ranks by Phil Henzel, UNLV's recruiting class has jumped from #23 nationally two days ago to #2 right behind Duke. Perry mentioned that UNLV had 10 recruits, but by our count they only have eight. If you will recall, 6'9 Oscar Garcia from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, signed in the fall, but isn't currently being listed with the Runnin' Rebels. Apparently they decided he wasn't good enough and let him out of his letter-of-intent. Also transfers don't count with a recruiting class, so even though 6'5 Jason Thomas, who is leaving USC, may play both sports, he's not on our list. That means Bayno has eight new scholarship players who will be added to the five returning - Mark Dickel, Issiah Epps, Kaspars Kambala, Donovan Stewart, and Chris Richardson - and Ra'oof Sadat, a transfer from San Francisco. That puts UNLV only one over the 13 scholarship limit.

The New York Daily News is reporting that new Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty has offered an assistant coaching position to Maurice Hicks, who has recorded an impressive 109-25 record in five years as the head coach at New York (Rice) NY and is recognized by the HOOP SCOOP as one of the top 10 high school coaches in America. According to the article, Hicks will visit South Bend, IN and make up his mind sometime early next month. Obviously this would give Doherty, who is originally from the New York City area himself, a direct pipeline into the city, as well as one of the top programs in the nation. The big prize would be 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett, who currently ranks as the #13 junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but 6'8 Jr Kyle Cuffe and 6'6 Jr Andre Sweet also are good enough to make a major impact at Notre Dame, if Hicks takes the job and they all decide to follow their coach. However, Hicks doesn't need to be in any big hurry to get to the next level, because the freshman class at Rice promises to be his best group ever. And that's a major statement, because he's just won the last two New York State Championships. Plus this year's team finished #2 nationally in the USA Today's final rankings. Speaking of players from Rice, the article also says that 6'3 Kevin Bell is heading to prep school at Milford (Academy) CT and that he also still plans to sign with Villanova next year, if he makes it academically. Bell also is quoted as saying that 5'9 Jerome Holman from Elizabeth (St.Patrick) NJ will be joining him at Milford Academy.  If you will recall, earlier we reported that Holman would likely end up at Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT.

Tuesday, May 18, 1999

We have now confirmed that 6'2 Kenny Dye from Connors State (JC) OK, who is ranked #7 nationally among junior college players by Phil Henzel, is official for UNLV. This is important, because it moves the Runnin' Rebels recruiting class up from #23 nationally into a tie at #8 with Providence. It also is interesting, because Dye is the sixth junior college player that head coach Bill Bayno has signed this spring. If you will recall, UNLV did not make the NCAA Tournament two months ago and the program has been under fire due to possible NCAA violations. Hopefully all the junior college players we give Bayno the quick fix he needs to get his program real good real fast.

Were you wondering what ever happened to 5'9 Kenneth Brunner from Compton (Dominguez) CA? Well, Frank Burlison, in today's Orange County Register, reports that Brunner has signed with College of Southern Idaho (JC) ID. If you will recall, Brunner always got the better of Baron Davis in high school and he had an excellent freshman year at Georgetown. But after transferring to Fresno State, he assaulted a student with a samurai sword and robbed a coach. So his career went South. According to Burlison, Brunner has been "a non-playing student at Santa Monica College this school year." SoCalHoops not only confirms that Brunner is heading to Southern Idaho Junior College, but also is reporting that 6'5 Tito Maddox from Compton (H.S.) CA, who ranks #54 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Fresno State. If you will recall, Maddox originally committed last fall to Arizona State and more recently was supposed to be heading to Marshalltown (JC) IA. Fresno State also appears to have stolen another player who was originally slated to go to Marshalltown Junior College. Last last week the Bulldogs also got a commitment from 6'9 Noel Felix from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, who ranks #222 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.

Now that recruiting seems to have slowed down, the hottest topic of conversation seems to be who will go where in the NBA draft, which will be held on June 30th. Everybody seems to agree that Rhode Island's 6'9 Lamar Odom should be the #1 pick. And it seems to be all but certain that the Los Angeles Clippers will draft UCLA's Baron Davis and the Chicago Bulls will draft Duke's Corey Maggette. However, if we had the #2 pick, we'd pass on both of them. Instead, we think the steal of the draft is Connecticut's Richard Hamilton. Hamilton will be a prototype 2-guard in the NBA and he just keeps getting better and better. The only other player we don't have some major question about is Miami-OH's Wally Szczerbiak. We'd take him third and then we just might shock you again by taking Weber State's Harold Arceneaux fourth. And if we didn't have one of the top four picks and we needed immediate help, we'd be looking to trade, because there isn't anybody else in the entire draft who doesn't have a major question mark. Maryland's Steve Francis is a phenomenal athlete, but does he have the skills to play point guard or the consistent outside shot to be a star in the NBA? Davis is a tremendous talent and showman, but he's also injury prone. Duke's Elton Brand is a bear on the boards and he's got great heart, but he's also undersized and could be the next Corlis Williamson. Utah's Andre Miller is a terrific college point guard, but is he quick enough to as effective in the NBA? UNLV's Shawn Marion can't shoot. Neither can Ron Artest of St. John's, although he does have the body and athleticism to intrigue you in transtion and he's at least started the better part of two seasons. But Maggette hasn't and he can't shoot either. After all this, Georgia's Jumaine Jones is starting to look pretty good, but he didn't have a good season last year. And then there are the two high school players who are hoping to get drafted in the first round. Neither are ready, but 6'10 Leon Smith from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL might the first high shcool player who had any business thinking about going to the league since Kevin Garnett. Not because he's ready, but like Garnett, he had to. And would the real 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS please stand up. We can't help but recall the last two times we've seen Bender. He broke Michael Jordan's scoring record with 31 points in the McDonald's Game in March. However, just as impressed into our mind, we had to suffer through watching Bender lay an egg and get booed at Slam Dunk to the Beach in late December when his team lost for third times in three days and went home. Our feeling is once a dog, always a dog. And we're not comparing him to former Purdue All-American Glen Robinson, who was often referred to as "The Big Dog." Instead, we thought he dogged just like a real dog. And they think this guy is ready for the NBA. Instead, we had him pegged as the next Duane Spencer, who was a great big bust at Georgetown. If Bender's not in the CBA next year, it will really tell you how bad the talent level has gotten in the NBA. Currently, we have Bender ranked #38 nationally and that's based on his reputation, not what he's accomplished the numerous times we've seen him over the last year.

Several days ago we thought 6'10 Ethan Cole, who is transferring from New Hampshire, was going to pick Manhattan. Instead, he's picked Syracuse. Jon Sanders, who is transferring from Ohio State, has picked Ohio University. Miami-OH has gotten a commitment from 6'8 Alex Shorts from San Jacinto (JC) TX. Duquesne has signed 5'11 Devin Montgomery from Mission Hills (Bishop Alemeny) CA and 6'7 Napolean Rhodes from Ocala (Vanguard) FL. Colby (JC) KS of the tough Jayhawk Conference has signed 5'11 Lou Chapman from Milwaukee (Bay View) WI, who ranks #336 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Larry House, also from Milwaukee (Bay View) WI. We also have confirmed that 5'8 David Bailey from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL, who ranks #10 in the state of Illinois and #202 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Loyola-Chicago. This is huge, because Bailey not only has tremendous savvy and talent, but also led Westinghouse to 30 straight wins and was the glue that held Westinghouse's nationally ranked team together. The only thing he lacks is size.

The Iowa City Press Citizen and the Quad City Times are both reporting that 6'8 Jr Glen Worley from Iowa City (West) IA, who ranks #16 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is supposed to announce tomorrow that he is committing to Iowa. This is a huge pickup for Steve Alford, because it not only establishes that he can recruit in his back yard, but it also is a strong indicator that the University of Kansas will no longer be able raid the state for players that Alford really wants. Kansas and Michigan State were also on Worley's list. If you will recall, the Hawkeyes may have gotten the earliest commitment ever recorded a month ago from 6'3 Frosh Jeff Horner from Mason City (H.S.) IA. Also, it looks like Alford will be able to go back to Indiana and steal a few away from his former head coach Bob Knight. The Iowa City Press Citizen is reporting that 5'11 Jr Brody Boyd from Duggers (Union) IN will be visiting Iowa next Tuesday with his dad. And if the Hawkeyes offer, look for another early commitment. Boyd all but told us that at Spiece earlier this month.

Monday, May 17, 1999

We talked with Lakewood (Artesia) CA head coach Wayne Merino this morning and he is still playing it very close to the vest on where his star player 6'8 Jason Kapono, who ranks #14 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is going to school. The final four are Missouri, UCLA, Utah, and Arizona, but now it looks like he'll have to wait until Thursday, May 20th, which is when the press conference is scheduled. Merino also points out that one of the reason Kapono waited so long is because he wanted to make a point about the meaninglessness of the National Letter-of-Intent. If you will recall, the last day a player can sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent was Saturday, May 15th, but they don't have to turn the letter in for several weeks. Speaking of not turning in the letter-of-intent, 7'1 Raynell Brewer from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) CA signed with Fresno State, but didn't return the letter within the two week alloted time. As a result, he's not going to Fresno State and we know that he's not going to Mississippi State....

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio is reporting that Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME head coach Max Good has taken an assistant coaching position at UNLV, but Good doesn't confirm this. Naclerio also tells us that Rhode Island is on the verge of hiring former Virginia head coach Jeff Jones. And that makes perfect sense, because Good has confirmed that he is no longer a candidate for assistant coaching position at Rhode Island. The HOOP SCOOP also has now confirmed that George Mason has a commitment from 6'0 Tyrone Tiggs from Malone (H.S.) FL, but that may not have been officially announced, because the Patriots also are still hoping to land 6'5 Rauol Heinen from the Netherlands.

It's been widely reported last night and today that 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS has decided to put his name in the NBA draft, but I'm not sure if most people know that it is official that 6'5 Antonio Jackson from Butler County (JC) KS has signed a Nationally Letter-of-Intent with Mississippi State. So has 6'3 Derrick Zimmerman from Monroe (Gossman) LA. All this is important, because Mississippi State's recruiting class now ranks #3 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and that is without Bender. As a matter of fact, if Bender had stayed, Mississippi State's recruiting class would have been ranked #1 ahead of Duke and Virginia. Also we raised the question on Saturday regarding whether Bender could test the waters in the NBA and return if he doesn't like what he sees and doesn't sign with an agent. Our reasoning was that the National Letter-of-Intent made the player inclusive as part of the organization. However, the official word from the NCAA (we call this morning) is that you have to be enrolled in school before you are governed by NCAA rules. The National Letter-of-Intent is administered by an organization that is affiliated with the Southeastern Conference in Birmingham, AL and, as a result, is a separate body. To our knowledge this is the first time this question has been raised in this context, because in the past nobody has ever first signed a letter-of-intent and then declared for the NBA draft our of high school. If you will recall, Bender signed with Mississippi State last fall and 6'10 Leon Smith from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL signed with Fresno State this spring. But both have recently given up their amateur status by placing their names in the NBA draft.

John Eurey, Editor of the Houston SuperStar Report, tells us that his team won the Louisiana Hoops Tournament over the weekend, 53-47, against Louisiana Hoops I. The MVP of the tournament was 6'7 Jr Corey Valsin from Port (Arthur Lincoln) TX with 17 points and 14 rebounds in the championship game. Eurey also tells us that the leading scorer in the tournament was 6'3 Soph Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX. Valsin, Ewing, and 5'10 Soph Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX were named to the all-tournament team, along with 6'6 Jr Brandon Mouton from Lafayette (St. Thomas More) LA, who was the best player for the Louisiana Hoops I team.

We have spent the better part of last night and today working on recruiting our preliminary ranking of the top recruiting classes and results are as follow: 1) Duke, 2) Virginia, 3) Mississippi State, 4) Michigan, 5) Cincinnati, 6) Florida, 7) Kentucky, 8) Providence, 9) Alabama, 10) Georgia, 11) Houston, 12) South Carolina, 13) Georgetown, 14) Tennessee, 15) Clemson, 16) DePaul, 17) San Jose State, 18) Nebraska, 19) UNC-Charlotte, 20) Stanford, 21) Connecticut, 22) Arkansas, 23) UNLV, 24) North Carolina, 25) Rutgers, 26) Mississippi, 27) Arizona State, 28) Missouri-Kansas City, 29) Kansas, 30) Michigan State, 31) Indiana, and 32) Missouri. Especially interesting is the fact that five of the top 10 recruiting classes belong to the SEC and nine of the top 32 classes. But the top two classes are from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC also features four of the top 32 classes, as do Conference USA and the Big East. Of course all that is subject to minor adjustment and change in the next two weeks as we continue to find out where players have signed. Our final ranking of the top 100-plus recruiting classes, ranking of recruiting classes by conference and different ways to look at recruiting will all be published exclusively in the Members Section in early June. So tell your friends to subscribe, because they won't want to miss it!

Sunday, May 16, 1999

New Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez has finally found his point guard. If you will recall, Gonzalez went hard after 5'11 Kevin Paschel from Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY and even got a verbal commitment, but then lost out to local pressure when Paschel picked Murray State. Then, Gonzalez went after 6'2 Greg Lomax from Washington (Dunbar) DC, who sat out last year, but later backed off, because there are still questions about Lomax's transcript. So now Gonzalez has signed 5'11 Michael Johnson from McCook (JC) NE, who ranks #73 in the junior college ranks by Phil Henzel. Manhattan also has four prep school players in the fold in 6'5 Bruce Seals from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'6 Jared Johnson from Cheshire (Academy) CT, 6'4 Aeaneas Middleton form Worcester (Academy) MA, and 6'2 Gerald Clarke from Solesbury (New Hope) PA. They also are in a war with Syracuse for 6'10 Ethan Cole, who is transferring from New Hampshire. Our prediction is that Manhattan will win, but we can't tell you why until after it happens.

The spring signing ends official this weekend, but commitments will continue to trickle in for the next several weeks, so we won't start working on our final ranking of the top recruiting classes for another week or so. However, we do have a list of the commitments that we have picked up to date. You can get this 20 page list the includes all Division I school alphabetically by clicking on signings and commitments. However, be forewarned. This list is subject to change and revision, especially in terms of the player ratings. Also, underclassmen who have made early commitments are included on this list, so don't be as stupid as one guy was a year ago and copy all the underclassmen and other errors and publish it verbatim someplace else. Certainly our list is a great source of reference and you are welcome to use it as such. However, anybody copying it verbatim and claiming our work as their own will be subject to both civil and criminal prosecution under Federal Copyright laws.

Originally 7'1 Nathan Popp from Lexington (Catholic) KY wanted to go to Kentucky, but when he saw the Wildcats weren't going to offer, he picked Georgia instead. However, when the former regime was fired and Jim Harrick was hired as the new head coach, Popp decided he wanted to go elsewhere. At first might seem like a bit of a surprise that Popp has decided to transfer to UNC-Greensboro, but not when you think about it. Remember, the new head coach at UNC-Greensboro is Fran McCaffery and he recruited Popp hard when he was an assistant coach at Notre Dame. As a matter of fact, McCaffery signed Popp's former high school teammate David Graves the previous year for the Irish. Popp, also considered going to the University of Dayton, which is where former Georgia head coach Ron Jirsa was recently hired as an assistant. Speaking of players who wanted to go to the University of Kentucky, it was always the dream of Ryan Hogan, who was the nephew of former Wildcat All-American Kevin Grevey, to play in Lexington, KY. And he did for two year, but now he is transferring to the University of Iowa.

Last night, as expected, Duke's Corey Maggette became the third Blue Devil to declare prematurely for the NBA draft. We also have confirmed that 6'11 Jonathan Bender will enter his name into the draft and, as a result, forego playing in college.  Apparently merit and paying you dues means nothing anymore. No matter how soft you are or how pathetic your numbers are, you can be a lottery pick if you have enough athleticism and potential. Remember Jared Ward? Bender reminds me a lot of Ward? Speaking of players who have no business thinking about going to the NBA, Dick Vitale has some great comments in the Louisville Courier Journal this morning about Kentucky's Jamaal Magloire putting his name into the draft. "Where does Jamaal Magloire get the audacity to believe he can play at the NBA level?" asks Vitale. "...Magloire couldn't score in double figures in college. How's he going to play in that league? For him to think about the NBA just blows my mind. I can't believe it."

Saturday, May 15, 1999

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio has learned that Rhode Island's Lamar Odom will declare for the NBA draft this weekend and, unlike so many other players who are coming out early, he is ready to go the league. As a matter of fact, he might even be the #1 pick. Naclerio tells us that Odom gave serious consideration to returning to Rhode Island for another year, but several members of his family wanted him to declare hardship for the NBA draft. Apparently that was the deciding factor. Also announcing that he will enter his name into the draft is Georgia Tech's Dion Glover, who has not played in a college game in almost 14 months. The word is that he will not sign with an agent in case he doesn't get the kind of interest he expects. In other words, he leaving his options open. We are still waiting to see if Duke's Corey Maggette and 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS both put their names into the draft, but we suspect they will. Maggette, Glover, et al. can test the waters, because they are already in college and, as a result, are governed by NCAA rules. But can Bender and 6'10 Leon Smith from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, both of whom are still in high school? Based on past history they can't. However, we're not so sure, because both Bender and Smith have signed a National Letter-of-Intent and, as a result, are now governed by NCAA rules. In the past, we can't remember anybody - Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, Al Harrington, Korleone Young, Rashard Lewis, Dirk Nowitzki, et al. - signing a letter-of-intent and then declaring for the draft.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on where 6'8 Donatas Zavackas from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH is going to college and it is a major surprise, because Valparaiso and Clemson had done a great job of recruiting foreign players and, as a result, were thought to be the heavy favorites. Instead, he has signed with the University of Pittsburgh. Johnson also warns us not to look for anything to happen anytime soon with Zavackas' high school teammate 6'10 Robertas Javtokas, who still has Arizona, Valparaiso, UNC-Charlotte, Utah, Tulane, and Louisville all on his list. If that weren't enough, Johnson also has another major surprise that he will spring on us sometime next week. We're talking about an outstanding foreign big guy who is on the verge of signing with a Division I school. Stay tuned!

Dave Schultz of the HOOP SCOOP tells us that Seton Hall fans are a little concerned now because Chuckie Moore is transferring and 6'11 Samuel Dalembert from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ has fallen far short on his most recent attempt to pass the SAT. We also have now confirmed that there is no way that 7'5 Yao Ming from Shanghai, China will play for the University of Houston next year, because he has signed with Evergreen Sports, which is a Cleveland based sports management firm. As a result, Chris Johnson, our Ohio and International Editor, believes Ming is a professional athlete. However, he's not sure whether he will enter his name into the NBA draft or continue to play for his current club team - the Shanghai Sharks.

One of the things we've been doing lately is updating our Illinois Prep Report. Of particular interest are our comments about 6'9 Jr Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who now ranks as the #1 junior nationally, and the junior and sophomore classes, which are both loaded. A special thanks to G.J. King, the editor and publisher of the The Recruiter Online and Illinois Basketball Web Site, for his insight about a number of the top players in the state and help in making this the best Illinois Report we've ever published. You can get our Illinois Prep Report by clicking on Illinois Prep Report and you get our rankings by clicking on The HOOP SCOOP Ranks 'em: Ranking of the Top Players in Illinois.

Friday, May 14, 1999

If will recall, the day that Luke Recker announced that he was leaving Indiana, we told you that the top three schools on his list were Arizona, Florida, and Missouri. Well, today he HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that Recker has made it official for Arizona. This may or may not effect the recruitment of 6'5 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, according to Kapono's high school coach Wayne Merino. Kapono, who was at UCLA on Wednesday and Arizona yesterday, will now get away from it for a few days and then sit down and make a decision. Merino also tells us that Kapono really hasn't had time to think about making a decision until this week, because his grandfather has had health problems and the family has been tied up with that.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Mike Bradley, who recently announced that he is transferring from Kentucky, has scheduled his first official visit. Would you believe he's going to visit is Holy Cross? It makes a little more sense when one realizes that the campus is less than 10 minutes away from where his parents live and that new Crusaders head coach Ralph Willard is a close friend and former assistant coach under Rick Pitino. Also if you will recall, the main reason why Bradley went to Kentucky was because he wanted to play for Pitino. Obviously the Pitino influence is at work. We still think Ohio State is the leader for Bradley, but we also expect Connecticut, Villanova, and possibly Virginia to also get visits.

Yesterday we were told that 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS was leaning towards going to Mississippi State for a year or two, but now we have an unconfirmed about Bender getting a six million dollar contract with adidas. If this is true, we think he would be nuts to go to college, because we're not sure he'll ever be as good again as he was in the McDonald's All American Game when he broke Michael Jordan's scoring record with 31 points. Bender is a great athlete and a tremendous talent, but he's soft and he doesn't like to go inside, rebound, and score in the low post. Not only do we also question his heart and consistency at the high school and AAU level, but we aren't sure that he's even ready for prime time at the big college level, much less play in the NBA.

Yesterday we mentioned that University of Louisville head coach Denny Crum thinks that the Cardinals are the leader for all three of the Nigerians - 7'0 Uche Okafor, 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - who are currently residing in Canada. But apparently that is incorrect. According to Gary Fogle of WAVE-TV in Louisville, KY, Okafor is not even considering Louisville anymore. Lesage committed to the University of Houston last week, but we still don't think he'll be eligible to play for any four year Division I school next year, because his high school burned down and, as a result, there is no record of his transcript. With that in mind, what do think the chances of the NCAA Clearing House making him eligible me be? Louisville might actually be the leader for Eze Ndubuisi, but there are still questions about whether he and his buddies have played professionally in Russia. They have yet to pass the SAT, there are questions about their transcripts, and everybody in the business thinks their entire recruitment stinks to high heaven. So if Louisville doesn't get any of the three, it might just turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Remember, the Cardinals have Deon Edward, Tobiah Hopper, Nate Johnson, and possibly even Alex Sanders, who may appeal for an extra year of eligibility, all back for one more year. With the addition of 6'5 Reece Gaines from Madison (West) WI, Louisville should be in a position to win 20-plus games next year. However, after that the bottom could fall out, unless they sign three or four inside guys. And if Eze Ndubuisi and Lesage both sign with the Cardinals, how do you think that will effect Louisville's recruiting in the immediate future? If they sign and never get eligible, it could dramatically hurt their chances of attracting interest from big guys this summer and fall. And even worse, if they sign, get eligible, play a year, and ready or not, likely declare hardship for the NBA draft next spring.

Thursday, May 13, 1999

It comes as no surprise that 6'8 Marcus Haislip from Lewisburg (Marshall County) TN, who just misses being ranked among our top 100 nationally, has picked Tennessee over Alabama and Kentucky. That happened this morning. We also now have word that 6'5 Antonio Jackson from Butler County (JC) KS, who ranks as one of the top five junior college players, is on the verge of committing to Mississippi State, but it appears they don't want to announce it yet, because they are also a close to getting 6'2 Derrick Zimmerman from Monroe (Gossman) LA. We also hear that 6'5 Adam Harrington, who is transferring from N.C. State, may pick Auburn over Miami-FL, Iowa, and UCLA. However, if Luke Recker picks Iowa tomorrow (the press conference is scheduled for 2:00 PM), the Hawkeyes would be out with Harrington. Recker 's final four are Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona. We are still waiting on 6'10 Jeremy McNeil from San Antonio (Sam Houston) TX to make it official for Syracuse, but Mitch Malone, the Editor & Publisher of the Texas Blue Chip Report, assures us that it is done, except for completing the paperwork. Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that Southeast Missouri has a steal in 6'6 DeMarcus Hence from Memphis (Fairley) TN. Rothman also thinks 6'2 Jared Bledsoe from Memphis (Hamilton) TN is a good get for UT-Martin. Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Lafayette has landed 6'5 Winston Davis from Tampa (Prep) FL and 6'8 Scott Gorhart from Worcester (Academy) MA.

Eddie Ford has been running camps and tournaments for years, including the Kentucky Prep Festival and the Orlando Super Showcase, and he has it down to a science. That's why we're so excited about the NIKE Bluegrass Classic, which will be held on Memorial Day Weekend in Lexington, KY and promises to be his best event ever. Ford tells us that he has 40 teams lined up for this three day event, which will begin at 8:30 AM each and run through 11:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday and 8:00 PM on Monday. Among the elite players who are expected to be in attendance are 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who ranks as the #1 junior in nationally by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who ranks as our #1sophomore in the nationally; 7'0 Soph Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, who ranks as our #3 sophomore nationally; 6'9 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN; 6'1 Jr Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, and 6'1 Jr Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.

This first person to tell us about 6'8 Soph Dennis Latimore from Mesa (Mountain View) AZ, who now ranks among the top 10 sophomores nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, was G.J. King, who publishes the Illinois Prep Basketball and The Recruiter Online web sites. That was last spring. So we find it kind of ironic that King, who roomed with Latimore last summer at the Phenom Camp in East Lansing, MI last August, once again has the scoop on Latimore. Did you know that Latimore has transferred back to Halstead, KS and will attend Halstead (H.S.) KS next season?

We continue to get feedback with regards to the recruitment of the three Nigerians - 7'0 Uche Okafor, 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, and 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - and the situation involving Lesage is especially interesting. Apparently he signed a National Letter-Of-Intent with the University of Houston last week, but it is not binding, because his mother has not co-signed the letter. As a result, a lot of people think that it was a clear violation of NCAA rules when Houston head coach Clyde Drexler went on record talking about Lesage in the local media. Although this is not a major violation, it may be enough to prevent Lesage from going to Houston. As a matter of fact, Louisville head coach Denny Crum has told people that there is no way that Lesage will not end up Houston and that he believes Louisville is the leader for all three. If this happens, Louisville's recruiting class would be ranked among the top five nationally, behind Duke, Michigan, Florida and tied with Cincinnati, Alabama, and Providence, and they would likely be one of the teams to beat in college basketball next year. However, that's a big if, because getting the three Nigerians eligible to play at any Division I will be very complicated at best. If Louisville doesn't get the three Nigerians, their recruiting class, which includes 6'5 Reese Gaines from Madison (West) WI, 6'2 Rashad Brooks from Cecil (JC) MD, 6'7 Mickeal Hadiri from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL, and 6'8 Joe Sykes from Radcliffe (North Hardin) KY, would be hard pressed to crack the top 40 recruiting classes.

Wednesday, May 12, 1999

Yesterday we reported that two of the three Nigerians were in Los Angeles, CA visiting UCLA. That was correct, but we made a logical assumption that the two players in question were 7'0 Uche Okafor  and 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, because the other Nigerian - 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - signed with Houston last week.  However, we now stand corrected, because Ndubuisi wasn't there (he's back in Nigeria). Instead, the other player making an unofficial visit to UCLA was Lesage. We still not sure whether our International Editor Chris Johnson was right about Lesage not signing the National Letter-of-Intent or for some unexplained reason it is not binding with the University of Houston, because this is an unofficial visit and, as a result, UCLA isn't paying his way. However, Johnson was right with his original comment about the three Nigerians ever becoming eligible at a Division I school being more complicated than either Watergate or all the Bill Clinton scandals. As long as we're talking about UCLA's recruiting, 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA is on campus at UCLA today making an unofficial visit. He also will be at Arizona tomorrow and then he will likely pick from among Missouri, Utah, UCLA, and Arizona before the signing period ends this weekend. UCLA also is suddenly in need of another point guard, because Baron Davis announced that he has declared hardship for the NBA draft. One name we've already heard is 6'0 Victor Williams, who is transferring from Illinois State, but we think they will more than likely focus most of their attention on juniors like 6'1 Jr Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 6'1 Jr Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, and 5'9 Jr Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY.

Chris Johnson of the HOOP SCOOP is reporting that three - 6'7 Frosh Michael Jackson, 6'6 Marcus Golson, and 6'4 Matt Suther - players from Butler County (JC) KS are already signed, sealed, and delivered for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He also believes that Butler County head coach Steve Eck will be part of the package, as he predicts that Eck will be named the associate head coach in the near future. This also should greatly enhance the possibility that 6'5 Antonio Jackson, also from Butler County (JC) KS, will pick the University of Missouri-Kansas City. although that would be over the strong objection of Jackson's father. However, the word we get is that Jackson is easily influenced, so whoever is around Jackson last will likely have the greatest influence over who he picks - Alabama, Mississippi State, Louisville, or Missouri-Kansas City. But let's say that Missouri-Kansas City doesn't get Jackson. Instead, 6'0 Victor Williams, who is transferring from Illinois State would be a pretty good consolation prize. Remember, he's originally from Kansas City, MO, but some heavy hitters, like Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and UCLA, are also involved.

For a long time we've heard that Western Kentucky would likely get two Bulgarians, but it wasn't until today that we found out who there are and where Hilltoppers head coach Dennis Felton had them stashed. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal 6'4 Filip Videnov and 6'8 Todor Pandov, both from Limestone (Washington College Academy) TN, which finished ranekd among the top five nationally by Scholastic Sports Magazine, have made it official for Western Kentucky. Videnov averaged 18 ppg, 5 rpg and shot 44% from 3-point land. Pandov averaged 12 ppg, six rebounds, and was named the MVP in the Hardee's Tip-Off Classic in Jonesboro, TN.

You can never underestimate the value of getting players from good programs who already know how to win and that was one of the things that the University of Texas-Pan American has done with the addition of five junior college players, including 6'6 Gabe Rhodes from Snow (JC) UT and 6'11 Reggie Kuzet from Bossier Parrish (JC) LA, both of whom played for teams that finished ranked among the national top 10 junior college teams in the nation. Also already in the fold are 6'8 Gary Booker from Southwest Community (JC) CA, 6'4 Rashawn Williams from Northeastern Colorado (JC) CO, and 6'0 Kwasinda Curtis from Northeastern (JC) CO and we also expect head coach Delray Brooks to land 6'8 Oded Wolfson from Israel and 6'4 Carlos Haywood from Garden City (JC) KS before the spring signing period is over this weekend. Rhodes was slowed by an injury last year, but he reminds you of Rex Chapman, because he's very athletic and has deep shooting range. Kuzet needs to become physical inside, but he can really shoot it and he's already 21 years old, which gives him a big advantage in terms of maturity. Booker is a great rebounder, Williams is an incredible athlete, and Curtis is a steady point guard. Wolfson is also 21 years old and is an outstanding 3-point shooter. Haywood is a great athlete and excellent defender who helped his team win 20-plus games in the tough Jayhawk Conference.this past season. So, as you can see, Brooks' assistants - George Morgan and Patrick Harrington - got him a little bit of everything. Last year the Broncos only won five games, but they were in nearly every game, including a one point loss to Gonzaga. With their top five scorers back next year, including Kirby Lemons, who finished #14 in the nation in scoring last year as a freshman, and a wide assortment of junior college players, Texas-Pan American should be one of the most improved teams in college basketball next year. Just remember where you heard it first!

Also remember where you this first, because we think it is going to happen! We have a very good source who tells us that 6'3 Tamir Goodman from Baltimore (Talmudical) MD is transferring to Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD. Not only is this like jumping from rookie ball to the majors, but it also might just explain why the legendary Morgan Wootten has decided to remain for at least one more season. If you recall, many knowledgable basketball people in the Washington, DC area were telling us that they thought Wootten would retire and help his son coach, Joe Wootten, get his heading coaching career off on the right foot at Falls Church (Bishop O'Connell) VA. Also, if you will recall, Goodman was hyped as the Jewish Jordan and compared to Pete Maravich after putting up incredible number while playing for a small private school. However, his lack of athleticism, quickness and foot speed got exposed when he started playing against better competition this spring. Maybe Wootten, who is the winningest high school coach ever, sees this as his last great challenge.

Tuesday, May 11, 1999

"The NCAA ruled yesterday that 7'3 center Aleksander Radojevic, rated as the #1 junior college plyayer in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, cannot play for Ohio State, with whom he had signed with in November or any other member institution,"says Chris Johnson, who is the perfect person to talk about this because he is both our International and Ohio Editor. "Radojevic's crime is that he received payments for playing in four games and a total of 19 minutes for the year on a Yugoslavian Club team when he was 18 years-old. Ohio State had recommended a 10 game penalty during its appeal to the NCAA a month ago, following allegations made in January about Radojevic's amateur status. In every case I've seen in the past 10 years dealing with whether foreign prospects or current NCAA players regarding their amateur status, if the NCAA finds payments or compensation, player had been required to sit out anywhere from one to 18 games. This is a strange and an unusual judgment by the NCAA and very hypocritical because Radojevic wanted to go to Ohio State so he could play with his two boyhood friends and had promised his father, who passed away in December, that he would graduate from college. You would think with numerous star college players leaving after their freshman and sophomores years, that the NCAA would accomodate someone who actually wanted to learn more than just basketball in college. Maybe international scout Rob Meurs was right when he said in a recent newsletter that the NCAAA was going on witch hunt on foreign players regarding amateur status. If I was a college coach and I had foreigners on my roster, I might not sleeper well this week. You never know when a fax or letter might arrive, claiming John Doe or Ivan Renko was paid for his services when he was 16-years-old."

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that the two remaining Nigerians from Canada - 7'0 Uche Okafor  and/or 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi - are both at UCLA today on an official visit. If you will recall, it was reported by the Houston Chronicle last week that the other Nigerian - 6'11 Muhammed Lesage - signed with Houston, but our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson continues to question whether he did indeed sign a national letter-of-intent. Getting back to UCLA, the Bruins did sign 6'6 Spencer Gloger from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA, who ranks #339 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and was the Orange County Player of the Year, and we continue to hear that UCLA is a lot stronger with 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who ranks #14 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, than most people realize. UCLA also will have Ryan Humphrey, who is transferring from Oklahoma, on campus this weekend and Chris Burgess, who is transferring from Duke is expected to be on campus in the immediate future. However, despite the fact that Burgess' best friend is a student basketball manager at UCLA and his girl friend goes to school at UCLA, it's a done deal for Utah. As a matter of fact, we've been sitting on this one for over a month, but at the time it was off the record. However, now the cat's out of the bag and everybody pretty much knows Utah is the leader.

Texas has beaten Massachusetts, Rutgers, and American University for 6'3 Darren Kelly from Brown-Mackie (JC) KS. Northeastern has gotten 5'11 John Alexander from Woodbridge (Paul VI) VA and 6'5 Toby Brittain from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA. Coppin State has signed 6'7 Marcus Rosser from Philadelphia ((University City) PA. Akron has won out for 6'1 Johnny Carson from Barton County (JC) KS and IUPUI has stolen 6'9 Walter Moore from McLennan (JC) TX. USC has been looking high and low for a point guard who can in and back up Brandon Granville and finally they have found their man in 6'1 Rashad Jones from San Jose City (JC) CA. We still haven't officially confirmed that 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS will by pass going to college and go directly to the NBA, but Mississippi State continues to recruit 6'5 Antonio Jackson from Butler County (JC) KS and 6'2 Derrick Zimmerman from Monroe (Gossman) LA. So it makes sense the Bulldogs coaching staff may have another scholarship to give. This is also unconfirmed, but we have received a report about 5'9 Dominick Taylor from Allegany (JC) MD transferring to St. Catharine (JC) KY and that would make perfect sense, because it's close to home. Also, interesting is the rumor that Kentucky has been showing a lot interest in Taylor. That also would make sense, because they need to sign a good point guard next year.

A week ago we reported birth of Gary Michael Decesare and Thomas John Decesare, but apparently we've fallen down in our quest to provide you with the most comprehensive recruiting information available, because it wasn't until today that we got an early list of their schools. Their father and likely future high school coach, Gary Decesare, tells us that Seton Hall, Manhattan, and Cincinnati are right at the top of the list. Seton Hall has already sent Decesare a national letter-of-intent with their names on it, Decesare is tight with new Manhattan head coach Bobby Gonzalez, and Decesare thinks they'd fit in well at Cincinnati, because Huggins, is just like him. They both like to yell a lot. So they'd be used to it . However, the obvious choice might be Massachusetts, because three of Decesare's former players - Dana Dingle, Carlton Clarke, and Kitwana Rhymer - all went to UMass. Also, the Minutemen have an opening on their staff now that John Robic has taken the head coaching position at Youngstown State. And that's the point to all this - don't be surprised if Decesare becomes one the leading candidates for the open postion at UMass.

Lakewood (Artesia) CA head coach Wayne Merino hasn't been able to beat Pat Barrett for the top good young in kids in Southern California in recent years, but that hasn't stopped him from bringing in some great young talent from abroad. For the last two years he's had the two foreign exchange students from the Dominican Republic - 6'8 Soph Jack Martinez and 6'9 Soph Apolinar Fernandez, both of whom rank among the top 10 sophomores nationally - and now he's gotten a transfer in 6'7 Soph Samuel Nadeau from France via Newark (East Side) NJ. How good is Nadeau?  Some people who had followed him New Jersey thought he was the best sophomore in the state ahead of 6'2 Soph Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ. Although we aren't willing to go quite that far, Nadeau does rank among our top 20 sophomores nationally and he may move higher once he starts playing for Merino on a consistent basis. Another interesting twist to the story is that Merino also almost got 6'11 Samuel Dalembert, who instead ended up at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ several years ago. Maybe Nadeau is the player to be named later in that deal.

Monday, May 10, 1999

LaVell Blanchard, Sr called our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin this afternoon to make sure that we knew that his son, 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI, who ranks as the #9 senior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, had signed with the University of Michigan. This is absolutely huge for the Wolverines, because Blanchard was one of four outstanding players in the state, along with 6'5 Jason Richardson from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'1 Brent Darby from River Rouge (H.S.) MI, 6'7 Aloyius Anagonye from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI. Richarson and Anagonye both signed with Michigan State and Darby went to Ohio State, so getting Blanchard, who ranks as the #1 senior in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, is a very important step in terms of reestablishing their ability to get the top players in their backyard. This is also very important, because with this signing, Michigan's recruiting class now moves into the #2 position nationally just ahead Florida and behind Duke.  It also puts Michigan in a position where they can concentrate solely on going after inside players, because 6'4 Kevin Gaines from Las Vegas (Clark) NV and 6'5 Jamal Crawford from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA are interchangable at the one and the two spots and Blanchard should great at the wing forward position. Michigan also landed two great role players last fall in 6'8 Leland Anderson from North Attleboro, who can play either forward spot, and 6'5 Gavin Groninger from Plainfield (H.S.) IN, who can shoot the lights out, plays with reckless abandon, and can play either wing spot.

With today's commitment by 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI to Michigan, almost all of the top players nationally in the senior class are gone. As a matter of fact, the major only players we're still waiting on are 6'8 Jason Kapono from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who ranks #14 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'5 Antonio Jackson from Butler County (JC) KS, and 6'2 Kenny Dye from Connors State (JC) KS. Kapono will likely pick Missouri, but Utah and Arizona are also still possibilities. Mississippi State and Alabama are believed to be the leaders for Jackson, but nothing would surprise us. Dye is expected to sign with UNLV. Getting back to the top high school players who are left, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who is ranked #6 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, will return to prep school next year. 6'7 Omar Weaver from Washington (Coolidge) DC, who ranks #30 nationally, has been reclassified as a junior, but will be in his 5th year of high school next year, so he'll listed listed accordingly. Weaver's high school teammate 6'6 Derek Payne, who ranks #43 nationally, is also looking for a prep school. 5'11 Jason Carter from Gary (Mann) IN, who ranks #87 nationally, will likely be reclassified and, as a result, will get another year of high school eligibility, but for our purposed will be listed as 5th year player next year. If 6'6 Miguel Caballero from New York (LaSalle) NY, who ranks #90 nationally, passed the SAT, he will likely go the prep school route. If he doesn't, junior college will probably be in his future. That leaves Kapono and 6'3 Derrick Zimmerman from Monroe (Gossman) LA, who ranks #96 nationally, as the only two players who rank among our top 100 nationally who are still available.

Sunday, May 9, 1999

An official announcement for 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI, who ranks #9 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, was scheduled for today, but as of late tonight, we have no news on whether he picked Michigan or Virginia or went with the long shot (California). Last week 6'10 Leon Smith from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL signed with Fresno State, but it's been all over the Chicago newspapers this weekend that he intends to declare for the NBA draft. He has to because he hasn't taken the SAT and is family situation is so bad. If you recall, Smith is an orphan and he feels like he has to make some immediate money to help his brothers and sisters. Speaking of Fresno State, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 7'1 Raynell Brewer from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS has signed with Bulldogs. This comes as a major surprise, because we thought we has already signed, sealed, and delivered for Mississippi State. As a matter of fact, Mitch Malone, the Editor & Publisher of the Texas Blue Chip Report, and I didn't see eye to eye at the NCAA Final Four regarding Brewer's recruitment.  If you will recall, Malone maintained all along that Brewer would not go to Mississippi State. I told Malone at the Final Four that Brewer appeared to be a lock for Mississippi State, but if he went elsewhere I would apologize to him. So I called him tonight to do just that. Not only was he happy, but he also told me that 6'10 Jeremy McNeil from San Antonio (Sam Houston) TX is much better than anybody is giving him credit for being. "Offensively he's the best post player in the nation," says Malone. It's not done yet and Malone won't confirm it, but we think McNeil is a done deal for Syracuse.  And look for it to happen within the next several days!

The big story at the Coaches for Cancer City/Suburban All-Star Game Friday night in Consochocken, PA was the emergence of 5'7 Jr Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA, who, after scoring 25 points, including hitting five 3-pointers, dishing out 12 assists, and coming up with five steals, now ranks as #3 in junior in Philadelphia/South Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania Area by Allen Rubin. "He's now a legit top 60 junior nationally," says Rubin. "He might be the fastest point guard I've ever seen. You can't guard him off the dribble. He's not pressable, as he often beats dou