HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR NOVEMBER 2001

Friday, November 30, 2001

The rest of today will be a travel day, as we hit the road to College Park, MD to attend tomorrow's Morgan Wootten Invitational at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.  This triple-header will tip-off tomorrow 3:30 PM with a game that features two of the top young players - 6'9 Soph Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA and 6'10 Soph Roy Hibbert from Bethesda (Georgetown Preparatory) MD - in the Washington, DC area, as Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA meets Bethesda (Georgetown Preparatory) MD.  The 5:30 PM game features Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD versus Amityville (H.S.) NY.  Yes, that's  versus 6'8 Travis Garrison versus 6'8 Jason Fraser.  At 7:30 PM, it will be Marion (Tabor Academy) MA with 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and this one could be ugly, because Oak Hill is loaded, as is evident by the fact that 6'8 Mario Boggan, 6'2 Chadd Moore, 6'2 Eric Wilkins, 6'1 Justin Gray, 6'5 Richard Joyce, 6'7 Antywane Robinson, and 6'7 Carmelo Anthony, who is the #1 ranked senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, have all signed with high Division I schools and 6'11 Sani Ibrahim will follow in their footsteps, go to prep school, or declare hardship for the NBA Draft in the spring.  Oak Hill also has a chip on their shoulder right now, because they were snubbed in several of the pre-season polls.  Can you believe a team with this kind of talent isn't the #1 ranked team in the nation?  Instead, the USA Today and the National Prep Poll both ranked Los Angeles (Westchester) CA as the best team in the nation in their recent pre-season polls.  We will have all the highlights either late Saturday night or Sunday right here on the web site, but you can also listen to the play-by-play of each game by clicking on http://www.broadcastmonsters.com/ASX/morganwootten.asx.

It looks like Hampton head coach Steve Merfeld continues to stockpile players.  The latest is 6'10 Frank Russell from Fayetteville (Pine Forest) NC.  And this is important, because this mobile athletic big man moves the Pirates recruiting class, which was ranked #35 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date, up to #24 on that list.  And, despite the fact they already have six players in their recruiting class, they still are in the hunt for another player to sign next spring.  If you will recall, 6'11 Bruce Brown from Richmond (Henrico) VA is sitting out this year as a Prop 48 casuality after sitting with Duquesne a year ago.  Also 6'9 Bakary Konate from Cincinnati State (JC) OH and 6'7 Rodney Hughes from Owens (JC) OH both are expected to graduate from junior college this fall and enroll at Hampton second semester.  This is important, because they won't count against the number of scholarships that Hampton has given in this recruiting class.  In other words, the team that upset Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March and beat North Carolina recently is also making extremely good use of their scholarships, as Russell, 6'3 Jeff Granger from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC, and 6'7 Troy Washington from Denmark (Denmark-Olar) SC are the only three players in this recruiting class who will count towards the nine players Hampton can sign this year and next year.  We also have confirmed that Idaho has signed another player in 6'9 Yanifs Ducreay from Homestead (Berkshire) FL. "He's not going to make the immediate improvement, like Otis George did a year ago," says Berkshire head coach Rolando Dela Barraera.  "But Ducreay has only been playing basketball two years and he's 6'9, 270 lbs.  He also has a good build, but right now he's primarily a space-eater and a project.  However, down the road he could develop into a good player."  Obviously this type of size is hard to find, but this also is important, because Ducreay's commitment moves Idaho's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Brian Freeny from Gilbert (Mesquite) AZ, 6'2 Delvin Spruel from Baton Rouge (JC) LA, 6'2 Dwayne Williams from Kennedy-King (JC) IL, 6'8 Dave Radlovic from London (A.B. Lucas) ON, and 6'6 Keith Christmas from Gary (West Side) IN up from #28 up to #21 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Another program that has done well recruiting this fall and, as a result, has moved onto our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date is Marshall, which has signed 6'7 LaVar Carter from Louisville (Male) KY, 6'9 Robert Patton from Cabel Midland (H.S.) WV, 6'9 Renardo Dixon from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'6 Robert Strickland (Chatham Hargrave Military) VA.  If you will recall, Carter is ranked #3 in state of Kentucky by the HOOP SCOOP, Patton is arguably the second best player in West Virginia, and Strickland and Dixon are ranked #32 and #38, respectively, on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players. 

Thursday, November 29, 2001

For the last 18 years I've been perfecting my radio skills as a frequent quest on numerous radio sports talk shows, but thanks to Sean O'Connor, the president of BroadcastMonsters.com, I am now in a position to have my own basketball recruiting show, which can be heard right here on this web site.  The show is called HOOP SCOOP On-Radio and you can hear it live every Monday and Thursday night, beginning on Monday, December 2nd, at 7:00 PM.  I reserve the right to change the format, but the plan is to begin each show discussing the business of the day (i.e. verbal commitments, trends, who's hot and who's not, and anything new that we've added to the web site).  Then, we will bring in several individual guests, take phone calls, and talk about whatever is of current interest in the basketball and recruiting world.  And finally we will conclude the show with a Round Table discussion, as we debate the hot topics of the day with several experts in the field.  If you want to call the show, you obviously will have to be listening to us live, but for your convenience we will archive each show for up to a month's time.  Obviously we want to start off with bang, so make sure you tell your friends to listen.  We also will be looking for advertisers to help sponsor the show and radio stations to pick up the show or either a live or delayed basis.  So if you like what hear, any help along these lines would be greatly appreciated.  Also in the very near future, I will be writing an article and providing player rankings and rankings of the top recruiting classes (similar to what I do for Basketball Times) to FoxSports.com.   However, all this will still be the tip of the iceberg when compared to what we put into the Members Section on a daily basis.

Earlier this week we mentioned that the word on the street is that 6'1 Jr Ayinde Ubaka from Oakland (H.S.) CA has made an early verbal commitment to UCLA.  However, upon further investigation it appears that he is strongly interested, but likely won't have the grades necessary to get into UCLA.  As a result, it looks like our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis was right on the money when he predicted the Bruins will instead offer 6'2 Jr Marcus Williams from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, who was ranked #45 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Speaking of UCLA, it looks like history is repeating itself for the third consecutive season.  Two years ago when the Bruins were struggling early (i.e. loss to Gonzaga, 59-43, on December 11, 1999), the natives were calling for UCLA head coach Steve Lavin's head and were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Rick Majerus as the new head coach in Westwood.  After last year's mediocre start, which included an early season loss to Cal State-Northridge, a similar scenario occurred after UCLA athletic director Peter Dalis initiated talks with Rick Pitino.  And after last week's loss to Ball State and last night's loss to Pepperdine, Missouri head coach Quin Synder is the new name a lot Bruins fans are talking about.  Remember, Synder, who both played and coached under Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, is one of the hottest young head coaches in the nation, as is evident by the fact that Missouri is ranked #3 in this week's Associated Press poll and #5 by the USA Today/ESPN.  However, we don't think Lavin will even have to use his lucky rabbit's foot to make a spectacular turnaround as the season progresses.  Remember, UCLA landed a great recruiting class a year ago and it's only a matter of time before Cedric Bozeman, Dijon Thompson, and Andre Patterson live up to exceptions.  Also, Dalis, who has already announced that he will retire next June, is a lame duck athletic director. 

On Monday we reported that 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, would have a press conference on Tuesday and announce for Villanova.  Well, the press conference was cancelled and rescheduled for this morning.  Apparently Fraser and those around him were pissed off at people like us who got wind of where he was going a day in advance and let the cat of the bag.  Thus, explains the comment he made to Newsday yesterday about Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.  "I started to realize more and more that Pitino can actually take me to the next level more than any other coach," said Fraser.  He also made it public yesterday that he had invited his good friend - 6'6 Tim Doyle from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY, who committed to St. John's last summer - to his 8:00 AM press conference this morning.  Fraser was obviousy trying to add some suspense back into the announcement, but we didn't buy into it.  If you will recall, our Philadelphia/ Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey tipped us off Allen Rubin and I confirmed that Fraser was going to Villanova via a source of my own (where is our New York City editor Ron Naclerio when we need him?).  So I was willing to stand by our original story and ignore the smoke screen that Fraser was putting out yesterday.  This moves Villanova up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, the Wildcats also have landed 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, who is ranked #22 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who is ranked #37 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NJ, who is ranked #49 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and, as a result, appear to be well on their way towards becoming one of the elite teams in college basketball for years to come.  As for Louisville, the Cardinals have struck out on both of their primary recruiting priorities - Fraser and 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN - this fall.  However, their recruiting class is still ranked #12 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date after signing 6'10 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Winchendon (School) MA, and 6'2 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ.  If Pitino had been lucky enough to land Fraser or May, he would have had to find another scholarship (currently the Cardinal have 12 players on scholarship and there are two seniors in the program).  Our guess is that former Louisville player Felton Spencer would have been asked to pay the tuition for his little brother Mac Wilkinson, who is a role player for the Cardinals.  Louisville also only has two juniors in the program, which means they don't have many scholarships to give until the current sophomore class, which has four player, plus Dartez, graduates in two years.   In other words, quality is more than quantity right now for the Cardinals.

Wednesday, November 28, 2001

If we still had a Question of the Day, right at the top of the things I would ask is who you think has the most exciting basketball team in the city of Chicago.  The choices would be A) the Bulls; B) DePaul; C) Northwestern; D) Illinois-Chicago; E) Loyola-Chicago; or F) Maywood (Proviso East) IL.  Actually I think it's no-brainer, because Proviso East has what might be the best backcourt in high school basketball, as well as our choice for Mr. Basketball in the state both this year in 5'11 Dee Brown and next year in 6'4 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL.  Speaking of Shannon Brown, Roy Schmidt, the editor and publisher of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report, really liked where we had Brown, who was ranked #4 nationally, on our list of the Top 125 Players in the Class of 2003, which was published exclusively in the Members Section yesterday. "When you combine Brown's athleticism, explosiveness, upper body strength, skills, competitiveness, and ability to beat you both inside and outside, you have the best 2-guard in the class," says Schmidt.  "And he doesn't appear to be the lock we thought he once was for University of Illinois.  Iowa now appears to be the co-favorite and schools like Michigan State, Louisville, Notre Dame, DePaul, and Marquette are also turning up the heat."  Schmidt also provides us with the latest recruiting scoop on several of the other top juniors in the state, like 6'6 Jr Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) IL, who is ranked #18 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'3 Jr Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who is ranked #44 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Illinois is still the favorite for McBride, but Iowa, Missouri, Louisville, Seton Hall, and Michigan are also in the hunt.  Randle's list includes Illinois, Duke, Notre Dame, Iowa, Michigan State, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky.   Schmidt also tell us that DePaul leads for 6'5 Jr Florentino Valencia from Chicago (Crane) IL, but he may have to go the junior college or prep school route first.  The best kept secret in the state is 6'5 Jr Ben Rand from Rochelle (H.S.) IL, who wants to play in either the Big-10 or the Big East Conference.  Already Rand is drawing interest from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Notre Dame, Boston College, Ball State, and Northern Illinois, but that list will probably get longer before it gets shorter.  Marquette, DePaul, Notre Dame, and Illinois are the top four for 6'3 Jr Colin Falls from Wilmette (Loyola Academy) IL and 6'2 Jr Jimmy Myles from Homewood (Christian) IL is attracting interest from Valparaiso, Southern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana State, and Northern Illinois.

I hate to say I told you so, but one look at the standings and the statisticially leaders in the NBA tells us we were right on the money when we predicted last June that the Elton Brand-Tyson Chandler trade would turn out to be one of the worst trades in the history of the game.  Currently the Chicago Bulls are 1-12, have lost 10 straight, and are well on the way towards achieving a new level of the mediocrity that even the Chicago Cubs have found impossible to achieve over the years.   A quick look at last night's box score shows that Chandler and Eddy Curry, both of whom are drafted among the top four picks in the NBA Draft five months ago, hardly even played (they combined for 1-5 field goals, 3-4 free throws, and five points) in their 100-68 loss to the New Jersey Nets.  Chicago Bulls head coach Tim Floyd says he hasn't thrown these kids to the wolves, because he's trying to win games right now.  Obviously his plan isn't working, as the Bulls are already well on their way towards becoming one of the worst teams in the history of the game.  Instead, if that was their short term goal, they should have kept Brand, who currently is ranked #15 in the NBA in scoring averaging 22.3 ppg and 10th in rebounding averaging 10.4 rpg.  He also has done something that nobody else has seemed to be able to do and that's halp the Clippers win games.  Sure, the Clippers are still last in the Pacific Division of the NBA, but they're almost .500 with a 6-8 record.  Not only does Brand possess the talent, skills, and experience necessary to help you win right now, but he has something that Curry and Chandler don't appear to have.  We talking about that burning desire necessary to become a great player.  As a result, we question whether Curry or Chandler will ever be as good as Brand is right now.  But let's say we're wrong for a minute.  As a coach, Floyd doesn't have several years to wait for these guys (Brand and Chandler) to develop into good players.  Instead, Floyd is on the fast track to get fired and, as a result, hopefully move back to where he belongs (in the college game).   As for Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, it's obvious he doesn't read the HOOP SCOOP.  If he did, he might actually know something about basketball.  

Ro Russell, the co-director of the Grass Roots Canada AAU team, finally has launched his web site and it can be found at http://www.grassroots.fan.ca.   Not only do we expect this to be our primary source for high school basketball in Canada, but it also an important reference for Canadian players who are playing in the United States.  And just like with American players, a lot of the top Canadians have already signed with four-year Division I schools.  To be exact, 11 of the top 23 seniors on Russell's list are gone.  The top five remaining are 6'9 J.R. Bailey from Colora (West Nottingham) MD, 6'5 Kevin Massiah from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, 6'3 Tristin Martin from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'2 Kern Carter from Toronto (Henry Carr) ON, and 6'2 Jermaine Anderson from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON.   Another Canadian player who is still available is 6'2 Jabulah Murray from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON.  Yes, that's the guy who signed with St. Bonaventure a year ago, but didn't make it academically and, as a result, is currently sitting out as a partial qualifier.   That's the bad news.  The good news is that Murray is now academically eligible.  So now he's looking for a four-year school where he can enroll second semester.  The most likely candidate is Virginia Commonwealth.  As a matter of fact, Murray will make an official visit to VCU next week and a verbal commitment could be forthcoming soon after, if all goes well.  Russell also tells us that 6'8 Dave Radlovic from London (A.B. Lucas) ON has picked the University of Idaho over schools like Central Michigan and Western Carolina.   Radlovic is best described as an athletic combo forward, because he can rebound, post-up, and shoot the three.  He also is sleeper, because he didn't start playing for Russell's AAU team until late in the summer.  This is significant, because it moves Idaho's recruiting class into a tie at #26 nationally, along with Dayton.  If you will recall, Idaho got verbal commitments earlier this fall from 6'8 Brian Freeny from Gilbert Mesquite) AZ, 6'2 Delvin Spruel from Baton Rouge (JC) LA, 6'2 Dwayne Williams from Kennedy (JC) IL, and 6'6 Keith Christmas from Gary (West Side) IN. 

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

With only 10 of our top 100 seniors still unsigned and/or uncommitted and the basketball season upon us, now is a great time to start thinking about juniors.  So obviously our Pre-Season Ranking of the Top 125 Players in the Class of 2003 is perfectly timed.   And there are some surprises, like 6'8 Jr Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ and 6'4 Jr Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL,  both of whom are ranked among our top five players nationally in the class.  We also probably have   6'3 Jr Mustafa Shakir from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, who is ranked #15, higher than most everybody else, but the value of his stock has skyrocketed during the last six months.  Others dramatically on the rise include 6'10 Jr Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI at #31, 6'6 Jr David Fisher from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX at #47, 6'3 Jr Calvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT at #48, 6'7 Jr Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD at #65, 6'10 Jr Tyrone Nelson from Hempstead (H.S.) TX at #73, 6'1 Jr J.R. Reynolds from Roanoke (Catholic) VA at #77, 6'8 Jr Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA at #81, and 6'4 Jr Armaud Dahi from Burlington (Life Christian) NJ at #97.  Currently only five players - 6'8 Jr Kenneth Harris from Hammond (Bishop Noll) IN to Valparaiso, 6'10 Jr Stefan Zimmerman from Orem (Mountain View) UT to Utah, 6'9 Jr Darian Townes from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) MD to Georgetown, 6'2 Jr Robert McIver from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) MD to Georgetown, and 6'7 Jr Phil Tomlinson from Burleson (H.S.) TX to Colorado State - ranked among our top 125 juniors nationally have already made early verbal commitments.  The class is top heavy (for a change) with inside players, as 10 of our top 17 juniors - 6'10 Jr Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX, 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'8 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS, 6'10 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'8 Jr Ndubi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 6'8 Jr Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'9 Jr Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'10 Jr Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL, 6'11 Jr Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'8 Jr Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blairstown Academy) NJ - are either power forwards or centers.  And 6'7 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA also could be added to this list, because he is expected to grow several more inches and, as a result, may end playing a lot inside at the next level.  The weakest position at the top of the class is the point guard spot, even though that's the position where we list 6'7 Jr LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH, who is not only the consensus #1 ranked player in the class, but also the best player in the nation regardless of class.  Remember, what James does best is pass the basketball, which is why the Magic Johnson comparisons are in order.  In terms of depth, the deepest position in the class is the wing forward spot, as 30 players are ranked among our top 125 nationally.  Next is the point guard spot with 28 players, followed by the power forward spot with 26 players, the 2-guard spot with 21 players, and the center spot with 20 players.  Despite the fact the center position finished last among the five positions, this is especially noteworthy, because that's still a lot more than in recent years.  Currently the Class of 2002 has 14 centers ranked among our top 100 and the great Class of 2001 had only 16 centers in listed among the top 125.  And that included 6'10 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA, 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'11 Eddy Curry from Thornwood (South Holland) IL, 6'11 DeSagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'10 Tony Key from Compton (Centennial) CA, all of whom by-passed college and enter the NBA Draft last spring. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also has confirmed that 5'9 Armando Surratt from Oakland (Tech) CA has signed with Fresno State.  Surratt has jet-like speed and quickness, which means he should fit in nicely to Jerry Tarkanian's uptempo style of play.  But what makes this even especially interesting is the fact that Surratt is the high school teammate of 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA, who is ranked #6 nationally in the junior clas by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, we're not sure this connection will prove to be as important as the fact that Powe's best friend is 6'6 Marquis Kately from San Francisco (Riordan) CA when it comes time for Powe to make his college decision.  Speaking of Kately, we told you several weeks ago that he was a lock for the University of California, but that an official announcement would not be made until after 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Prichard (Blount) AL had decided one way or another on California or Alabama.  In other words, they didn't want to do anything that might scare off Winston, even though Kately is expected to go the prep school route next year and then enroll at California in the fall of 2003.  Well, Winston signed with the Golden Bears last week, so the fact that Kately has followed suit is no surprise.  Instead, what may surprise you is that California's recruiting class has moved up to #23 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, Winston is ranked #31 nationally, 6'8 David Paris from Modesto (Christian) CA and Kately are both in the 101-150 range with the potential to move a lot higher, and 6'1 Richard Midgley from Modesto (Christian) CA is a legit top 200 senior nationally.  This also makes their recruiting class #1 in the Pacific-10 Conference just ahead of Arizona.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Derek Quinneet from San Jose (Santa Teresa) CA has signed with Idaho State and we are getting reports that 6'1 Jr Ayinde Ubaka from Oakland (H.S.) CA has made an early commitment to UCLA.  However, our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis finds this hard to believe, because it is a well known fact that 6'2 Jr Marcus Williams from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, who is ranked #45 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is already a near lock for the Bruins. 

We also have confirmed that 6'9 Tyler Lang from Franklin (H.S.) MA has signed with Hartford and 6'10 Derek Ahren from Palm Beach (JC) FL has made it official for Duquesne.  Lang, who is surprisingly athletic for a big white kid his size, has long arms, good skills, and the potential to grow several more inches.  Lang also is an excellent student just like his father, who at 6'11 played center at Harvard.  If Ahren's name is familar, it should be, because he was role player for the legendary Morgan Wootten at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD several years ago.  However, he didn't get recruited at the level he wanted in high school, so he went the junior college route and, as a result, has landed a scholarship in the Atlantic-10.  We also hearing that another former DeMatha player - 7'4 Matt Slaninka - is going to transfer from Maryland, plus it looks like the rumors about 6'4 Maurice Young leaving Virginia are true.  Lamar has added another piece to their puzzle by landing 6'7 Ola Matti from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON.  We're talking about an athletic combo forward who does everything well (shoot, defend, rebound, etc.), but isn't great any particular area.  About 10 days ago we reported that the commitment by 6'7 Antonie Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, who is ranked #16 on the HOOP SCOOP's list of the top seniors nationally, wasn't as firm as we orginally thought to Texas A&M.  However, we have now confirmed that he did indeed sign a National Letter-of-Intent with the Aggies.  So has 6'8 Luis Clemente from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who is ranked #19 on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players. As a result, Texas A&M's recruiting class is now tied for #40, along with Kansas, UNLV, UNC-Charlotte, and Georiga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  We also have confirmed that Miami-FL has landed 6'5 Ismael N'Jaye from Homestead (Berkshire) FL and Southern Utah has signed 6'10 Lubor Olgouski from Homestead (Berkshire) FL.   If you will recall, N'Jaye originally committed to Kansas State, but that fell through when Miami-FL turned up the heat.  N'Jaye is one already one of the best defensive players in the nation, but, if his offensive game ever catches up with his defense, we are talking about somebody with an unlimited upside.  Olgouski is your prototypical European player with good mobility, excellent ball skills, and the ability to shot the three. 

Lavel Johnson, the Mississippi Editor for both the HOOP SCOOP and MidSouth-Hoops.Com, tells us that only three players in his state have signed and returned a National Letter-of-Intent to the school where they intend to enroll next fall.  He's talking about 6'7 Marcus Verner from Columbus (H.S.) MS, who signed with Southeastern Louisiana, 6'2 B.J. Spencer from Starkville (H.S.) MS, who signed with Birmingham Southern, and 6'5 Sammy Richardson from Utica (Hinds County) MS, who signed with Southern Mississippi.  No, that's not a misprint.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Richardson, who is now regarded as the state's best senior, verbally committed to Mississippi State.  However, he obviously has reneged.  Johnson also points out that 6'4 Jason Forte from Bay Springs (H.S.) MS has not yet signed with Boston College and, as a result, Southern Miss may be turning up the heat on this one as well.  Also still available and getting underrecruited (at least until North Carolina started showing recent interest) is 6'9 Byron Sanders from Gulfport (Harrison Central) MS.  Other than the Tar Heels, can you believe that the schools showing the most interest in Sanders are McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana, and South Alabama?  Sure, the value of his stock has slipped dramatically in the last year, because he's soft and hasn't shown much improvement.   But, like they say, you can teach size, plus Sanders also has excellnet grades.   In other words, he's probably one of the better prospects with size still available nationally.  One of the other things we asked Johnson about when we talked with him earlier today was who he likes better 6'9 Jr Travis Outlaw from Starkville (H.S.) MS or 6'10 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS.   Johnson said Outlaw, but not by much.  Thus, explains why Outlaw is ranked #7 and Butler is ranked #8 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Mississippi State, LSU, Iowa State, Memphis, Indiana, Tulane, and Mississippi are among the schools involved with Outlaw.  Florida appears to be the early favorite for Butler, but Mississippi State, Michigan, LSU, Tulane, and Mississippi are also on his early list.  But the best player in the state regardless of class might already be 6'9 Soph Al Jefferson from Prentiss (H.S.) MS, who currently is ranked #4 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Johnson tells us that Jefferson has been putting up ridiculous numbers this year.  As a matter of fact, only once has Jefferson scored fewer than 30 points in a game so far this season.   However, Outlaw, Butler, and Jefferson aren't the only players in the state who will be ranked among the top 10 nationally in their respective classes.  Remember the name - 6'0 Frosh Monta Ellis from Jackson (Lanier) MS.  Already Ellis reminds Johnson of 6'1 Maurice Williams, who is now a freshman at the University of Alabama.  Actually Johnson thinks Ellis is better at the same stage and the fact that he had 20 and 21-point games in the tourmament last weekend in Huntsville, AL supports his belief.

Monday, November 26, 2001

It looks like it's not going to drag out until spring after all for 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  The press conference is scheduled for tomorrow and several sources, including our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, tell us that Fraser is going announce for Villanova.  This doesn't come as any major surprise, because we already thought Fraser would sign with the Wildcats, if a decision was forthcoming this fall.  Obviously this huge, because, if you exclude 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, who is expected to by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring, Fraser is the best unsigned player in the senior class nationally who is still available.  He also is the best rebounder and one of the best shot blockers in the senior class nationally, as well as the second best player in the New York City Metropolitan area behind 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (No. Valley Regional) NJ and ahead of St. John's-bound 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NY.   Speaking of Ray, Sumpter, and Foye, all of whom are ranked in the 21-50 range nationally, they too all have made it official for the Wildcats this fall.  As a result, Fraser's commitment to Villanova will move their recruiting class up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date behind Duke, Florida, and Michigan State.  In other words, Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who was the head coach at Hofstra for the last seven years, still owns New York City.  However, we also have to mention Villanova assistant coach Fred Hill, who was one of the big keys to solidifying Fraser for Villanova.  As a matter of fact, Fraser almost committed to Seton Hall last spring before Tommy Amaker left to take the Michigan job and the main reason why the Pirates were so strong was the strong rapport that Hill had already established with kid and everybody around him dating back to Fraser's sophomore year in high school.  So obviously when Wright, who also has known Fraser for years via his basketball camp, got the head coaching job at Villanova last spring, hired Hill, and retained Joe Jones from the previous staff, he assembled an unbeatable combination.  Obviously this solidifies Hill as one of the best recruiters in the nation.  Remember, Hill also was largely responsible for getting Ray and totally responsible for getting Foye, plus he was instrumental at Seton Hall in landing Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett, Marcus Toney-El, John Allen et al. 

We also have confirmed that 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA has committed to the University of Washington.  Currently Roy, who was hurt when we saw him last summer, is ranked #76 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but that may be way too low, as several college coaches have recently told us that Roy might be the best prospect on the entire West Coast.  This comes on the heels of Washington's #20 ranked recruiting class from a year ago, which included 6'0 Charles Frederick from Boca Raton (Pope John Paul II) FL, 6'8 Mike Jensen from Kent (Kentwood) WA, 6'5 Erroll Knight from Seattle (Chief Sealth) WA, 6'10 Jeffrey Day from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'6 Josh Parnard from Tacoma (JC) WA, and 6'8 Anthony Washington from Seattle (Garfield) WA.  Washington, who didn't make it academically, also has re-signed with the Huskies, which have some of the best young talent in college basketball.  If you will recall, Frederick, who will join the team after the football season is over, was ranked #25 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, Jensen, who was ranked #86 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, Knight was ranked #93 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, plus they also had 6'7 Soph Doug Wrenn, who transferred a year ago from Connecticut, sitting out and 6'0 Soph Curtis Allen was one of the quickest guard in the league last year as a freshman.  In other words, head coach Bob Bender, who was on the bubble a year ago, could be well on his way towards making one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball in another year or two. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson talked with 6'8 Jr Ivan Harris from Springfield (South) OH and his family at the Ohio Roundball Prep Workout in Springboro (H.S.) OH over the weekend and has learned that an early verbal commitment will be forecoming from Harris on Wednesday, November 28th.  Harris' final two schools are Michigan State and Ohio State, but, if he doesn't pick the Buckeyes, we'd be really surprised.  And assuming this happens, Harris would be a perfect complement to all the good young players the Buckeyes already have brought into the program.   Remember, Ohio State had the 10th best recruiting class in the nation a year ago when they landed Brandon Fuss-Cheatham from Beaver Falls (Black Hawk) PA, 6'7 Matt Sylvester from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 6'7 Clark Williams from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, and 6'9 Terrance Dials from Youngstown (Boardman) OH and this year their class, which includes 6'5 JaQuan Hart from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'3 Ricardo Billings from Detroit (Rogers) MI, and 6'9 Charles Bass from Crete (Crete-Monee) IL, is ranked #22 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Getting Harris also means that the Buckeyes won't try and re-sign Williams, who failed to make it academically and, as a result, is now in prep school at Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, because, just like Williams, Harris is versatile enough to play both inside and outside.  Plus, Harris is a better player, as is evident by the fact that he is ranked among our top 40 juniors nationally, as well as #2 in the state by Johnson.  Although Michigan State is expected to miss out on getting Harris, they have gotten a talented, but unheralded guard in 6'2 Rashi Johnson from Mott (JC) MI, who picked the Spartans over Cincinnati and USC.  And Johnson could step right into the point guard spot next year, if Marcus Taylor decides to declare hardship for the NBA Draft after the current season.  However, the Spartans coaching staff is probably telling 6'0 Jr Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, who is a legitimate top 20 junior nationally, as well as the expected heir apparent to Taylor at point guard, that Johnson is a combo guard. 

Saturday, November 24, 2001, and Sunday, November 25, 2001

There are a number of outstanding events that will be held in December in the state of Kentucky, including The Inaugural "Blue Chip" Basketball Shootout at Bellarmine College in Louisville, KY on Friday, December 7th, the Marshall County Hoopfest in Benton, KY on December 7th-8th, the Adolph Rupp Classic in Lexington, KY on December 14th-15th, the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic at Fairdale, KY on December 18th-22nd, and the Kentucky Holiday Classic in Lexington, KY on December 26th-30th.  Let's start with the "Blue Chip" Basketball Shootout, which tips off at 4:30 PM with Louisville (Seneca) KY versus Radcliff (North Hardin) KY.  This is an important game, because North Hardin, which was ranked #3 in the state by the Louisville Courier-Journal in the pre-season basketball issue that was published on Thanksgiving Day and features 5'10 Quinton Smith and 6'6 Jr Andre Woodson, should provide Seneca's 6'8 Soph Robbie Simpson, who is the #2 ranked sophomore in the state by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Larry Williams, who may be be one of the most underrated players in the state, with a tremendous challenge.   The 6:00 PM game will feature Brandenburg (Meade County) KY with 6'4 Jr Blake Powers versus Elizabeth (South Central) IN with 5'11 Craig Schoen and 6'9 Jr Aaron Vaught.  Then at 7:30 PM it will be Glasgow (H.S.) KY with 5'9 Brandon Stockton, who is the consensus #1 ranked senior in the state, as well as the heavy favorite to win Mr. Basketball this year, versus New Albany (H.S.) IN with 5'11 A.J Groves.  The final game of the evening matches up Louisville (Holy Cross) KY, which is coached by the legendary Stan Hardin, versus Russellville (H.S.) KY with 6'2 Maurice Hampton.   The highlight of the Marshall County Hoopfest will be the final game of the evening on Saturday night when Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA with 6'8 Mario Boggan, 6'11 Sani Ibrahim, 6'2 Chadd Moore, 6'2 Eric Wilkins, 6'1 Justin Gray, 6'5 Richard Joyce, 6'7 Antywane Robinson, 6'7 Carmelo Anthony, who is ranked as the #1 senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, meets the pre-season #1 ranked team in state - Louisville (Male) KY, which features 6'3 Michael Bush, who is the best player in the state regardless of class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'7 LaVar Carter.  Oak Hill will also face Chicago (Crane) IL, which features a number of the top juniors in Illinois, including 6'7 Jr Lorenzo Thompson, 6'5 Jr Florentino Valencia, 6'1 Jr Tremel Gilot, 5'7 Jr Carl Marshall, and 5'9 Jr Jamal Tidwell, in the final game of the evening on Friday night.  We also will get to see another good young team - Lexington (Catholic) KY, which was ranked #2 in the state by the Louiville Courier Journal, with 6'3 Soph Demetrius Green, 5'10 Jr Brian Smith, 5'7 Soph Robert White, and 6'4 Soph Harrison Morton versus Dixon (Webster County) KY, Mayfield (Grayson County) KY versus Winchester (Franklin County) TN, and Tamms (Egyptian) TN versus Murray (H.S.) KY on Friday night and Fulton City (H.S.) KY versus Martin (Westview) TN, Troy (Obion County) TN versus Metropolis (Massac County) IL, Benton (Marshall County) KY versus Bartlett (H.S.) TN, Glasgow versus Fulton (South Fulton) KY, and Paducah Tilghman versus Evansville (Mater Dei) IN.  The Adolph Rupp Classic will be held at Lexington Catholic High School on Friday with Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Champlain (St. Lambert) ON with 6'9 Bernard Cote from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU at 2:00 PM, Lexington (Catholic) KY versus Schenectady (H.S.) NY with 6'8 Rashawn Freeman, Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD with 6'8 Travis Garrison versus Georgetown (Scott County) KY at 7:30 PM, and Wabash Valley (JC) KY with 6'6 Antwain Barbour versus St. Catharine (JC) KY.  Then, on Saturday they will switch the site to Memorial Coliseum at the University of Kentucky, because they are expecting a huge crowd to see 5'9 Brandon Stockton from Glasgow (H.S.) KY, Barbour, and Cote, all three of whom signed early with the Wildcats.  The schedule on Saturday starts with Schenectady (H.S.) KY versus Georgetown (Scott County) KY at 3:30 PM, followed by Richmond (Madison Central) KY with 6'4 Soph Shawn Ballard versus Glasgow with Stockton at 5:00 PM, Lexington (Catholic) KY versus Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD at 6:30 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus 6'8 Jr Tyler Ray from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY at 8:00 PM, and Montreal (Champlain St. Lambert) QU versus Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY at 9:30 PM.  The King of Bluegrass features four of the top teams from Louisville in Louisville (Male) KY, Louisville (Ballard) KY, Louisville (Seneca) KY, and Fairdale; eight teams from out in the state in Radcliff (North Hardin) KY, Ashland (Paul Blazer) KY, Paris (Bourbon County) KY, Corbin (H.S.) KY, Nicholasville (Jessamine County) KY, Frankfort (H.S.) KY,  Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY, and Paducah (St. Mary) KY; and four teams from out of state in Knoxville (Austin) TN,   Pensacola (Woodham) FL, Los Angeles (Dorsey) CA, and Barrington (St. Andrews) RI.   Especially noteworthy is the St. Andrews team, which is led by 6'7 Jr Demetrius Nichols and is well stocked with great young talent.  The Kentucky Holiday Classic doesn't have as much of a national flavor as it has had in the past, as only one out of state team - Ft. Lauderdale (Westminster) FL - will be competing in the 16-field.  The in-state teams are Lexington (Catholic) KY, Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY, Louisville (Seneca) KY, Paris (Bourbon County) KY, Danville (Boyle County) KY, Shelbyville (Shelby County) KY, Pineville (Bell County) KY, Lexington (Henry Clay) KY, Harrodsburg (Mercer County) KY, Russell (H.S.) KY, Paducah (St. Mary) KY, Maysville (Mason County) KY, Independence (Simon Kenton) KY, and Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY with 6'8 Jr Ross Neltner, who is the #2 ranked junior in the state by the HOOP SCOOP.

Friday, November 23, 2001

Jon Reidel, a sportwriter for the Albany Herald in Albany, GA, as well as the former editor of Reidel's Roundball Review and an alumnus of the University of Massachusetts, tells us that the Minutemen have landed 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #86 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Freeman is an excellent rebounder, big time athlete, and a physical specimen, but he also showed he can play out on the perimeter last summer at the NIKE All-American Camp, where he finished ranked #35 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP.   He joins 6'0 Mike Lasme from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is ranked #69 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'8 Stephen Briggs from Houston (Westside) TX, and 6'9 Alassane Kouyate from Walsh (Jesuit) OH in a recruiting class that now is tied at #30, along with Vanderbilt, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  This also is significant for the Atlantic-10 Conference, because this is by far and away the league as a whole as done during the fall signing period in recent years.  As a matter of fact, the Atlantic-10 now has four teams ranked among our top 43 recruiting classes, as Xavier checks in at #16, Dayton is #25, Massachusetts is #30, George Washington is #37, and Temple, which landed 7'0 Keith Butler from Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA, 6'6 Michael Blackshear from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, and 6'7 Antywane Robinson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, just misses making the list. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson is reporting that 6'8 Aaron Spears from Chicago (Dunbar) IL, who is a legitimate top 250 senior nationally, has reneged on the Buckeyes.  Certainly that is good news for other schools looking to sign a big man with high major potential next spring.  However, the bad new is that Spears probably won't have grades and, as a result, will likely have to go the prep school or junior college route.  There is also is good news and bad news for the Buckeyes recruiting class.  The good new is their talent rating average per recruit increases from 5.0 points with four players to 5.7 points with three players.  The bad new is their recruiting class drops from #20 to #22 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Spencer Ford from Baton Rouge (Scotlandville) LA, who attended the adidas ABCD Camp last summer and was ranked #8 in Class of 2002 in the Alabama/Mississippi/Louisiana area last spring by the HOOP SCOOP, has signed with Louisiana-Lafayette.   Obviously this is a major steal for head coach Jessie Evans, but that doesn't even begin to come close to the coup that Evans pulled off this fall when 6'10 Mike Southall, who originally signed with Kentucky two years ago and Georgia Tech last fall, enrolled in school.  And it appears that Southall is playing extremely well, as is evident by the fact that he had eight blocked shots in this second game of the season versus Bradley.  Southall will get an even bigger test tomorrow when the Ragin' Cajuns play Mississippi State, but we don't look for all the pieces to fall together until Blane Harmon, who is out with a broken foot, returns, later in the season.  Speaking of this 6'2 senior point guard, he's the only key player who will graduate after this season, so our guess is that Louisiana-Lafayette is really still a year away from being one of the major sleepers in college basketball.

Thursday, November 22, 2001

Already this fall we've published our Iowa/Kansas/Missouri/Nebraska/Oklahoma Report, Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/ South Jersey Report, and Kentucky Report and now our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has put the fininshing touches on his Ohio Report.  Obviously the big story in Ohio this year is 6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH and in his article Johnson goes so far as to say that James is "the best talent I've ever seen in the state of Ohio."  And that's pretty high praise, because Johnson saw Clark Kellogg, who is one of the best high school players I've ever seen, score 51 points in the Division I State Finals in 1979 against Columbus (East) OH.  Johnson also provides us with six five-man all-state teams and his rankings, which can be found by clicking on Johnson Ranks 'Em:  The Top Prep Players In Ohio.  That list includes 122 seniors, 100 juniors, 90 sophomores, and 12 freshmen all ranked by class in numerical order.  We also are in the process of putting the finishing touches on the Florida Report by John Adkins, who is the director of the Tallahassee Wildcats AAU Program, and the Georgia Report by Linzy Davis, who is the director of the Georgia Elite AAU program, and we should be publishing these two reports sometime within the next week.  We also are still waiting on Wayne Simone's New England Report, Wes Grandstaff's Texas Report, Steve Bell's Michigan Report, and Dinos Trigonis' California Report.  However, time is running out, because we have to work on our 50-plus page Recruiting Wrap-up from the Fall Signing Period and start going to high school games, as the holiday tournament season quickly approaches. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

The KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO is always one of the premier events of the early season and this year's 21st Annual Shop 'N Save/KMOX Shootout promises to live up to its reputation.  The day begins with a girls game, followed by Chesterfield (Parkway Central) MO versus Ballwin (Parkway West) MO at 11:30 AM and Freesburg (H.S.) IL versus Creve Coeur (Whitfield) MO at 1:00 PM.  Although the 1:00 PM game isn't a must see from a national perspective, we are looking forward to get  another look at 6'8 Dan Oppland from Creve Coeur (Whitfield) MO, who is a borderline top 100 senior nationally.  If you will recall, Oppland was terrific when we saw him last spring and, as a result, we think this blue collar tough hardnosed kid who puts up prolific numbers from mid-range is an absolute steal for Valparaiso.  The first big game of the day will feature two Chicago area schools, as Gary (West Side) IN with Michigan-signee 6'11 Chris Hunter and 6'2 Brandon Cameron, who is bound for Penn State, meets Maywood (Proviso East) IL with Illinois-bound 5'11 Dee Brown, who is ranked #12 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Jr Shannon Brown, who will be ranked among the top five juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP when we update that list in early December.   The game at 4:15 PM will also be interesting because Chesterfield (Rockwood Marquette) MO features 6'5 Troy Slaten, who is the leading returning scorer in the St. Louis area, and Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK has 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike, who have averaged 38 ppg last season while playing against small classification competition.  If Slaten gets the better of this match-up, maybe Azubuike's father will re-think the plans for his son to by-pass college and go straight into the NBA Draft next spring.  The 5:45 PM will offer Duke-bound 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC a chance to redeem himself after a mediocre summer when they face Springfield (Lanphier) IL with 6'6 Andre Igudodala, who signed with Arkansas, and 6'3 Jr Richard McBride, who is the #3-ranked junior in Illinois behind Brown and 6'7 Jr Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) IL.  The best game of the day should be the 7:15 PM game between Dallas (Lincoln) TX and Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  That's 6'10 Chris Bosh, who is ranked #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, versus 6'9 Sheldon Williams, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, going head-to-head inside, while 6'1 Bryan Hopkins, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, versus 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander, who is ranked #55 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, battling for supremacy on the perimeter.  The final game of the evening at 8:45 PM will feature Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL with 6'9 Amare Stoudemire, who is widely regarded as the #1 senior in the nation, versus Columbia (Hickman) MO, which is one of the top three teams in Missouri. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, who is the #2-ranked senior in the state of Ohio and #79-ranked senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Dayton.  However, Carmona did not sign a National Letter-of-Intent, because the Flyers don't currently have a scholarship available.   With the addition of Carmona, their recruiting class moves up from #42 to #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date. If you will recall, Dayton already has gotten commitments earlier this fall from 6'6 Doug Scott from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH, 6'3 Logan White from Hunting Valley (University) OH, 6'4 Marques Bennett from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN, and 6'10 James Cripe from Cincinnati (Loveland) OH.  Speaking of our list of the top recruiting classes, the big winner this fall appears to be the Big-10 Conference, which has seven teams ranked among our top 20 recruiting classes nationally in #7 ranked Michigan, #9 ranked Michigan State, Illinois and Purdue (tied at #10), Indiana and Iowa (tied at #17), and Ohio State at #20.  In other words, over one-third of the top 20 classes nationally belong to teams in the Big-10.  Also on our list of the top 42 classes from the Big-10 is Wisconsin, which checks in at #34.  However, that's not necessarily good news for the Badgers, which landed two top 100 players in 6'4 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI and 6'7 Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominician) WI and two others - 6'4 Alando Tucker from Lockport (Township) IL, and 6'9 Jason Chappell from Worcester (Academy) MA - in the 101-300 range.  In other words, all the schools, except for Minnesota, that are ranked ahead of Wisconsin did better recruiting this fall than the Badgers.  And Minnesota didn't need to have a huge recruiting class.  Remember, the Golden Gophers finished with the #15 ranked recruiting class last spring when they landed 6'11 Rick Rickert from Duluth (East) MN, 6'10 Jerry Holman from Minneapolis (JC) MN, 6'4 Maurice Hargrow from St. Paul (Highland Park) MN, 5'9 Aaron Robinson from Rockford (Guilford) IL, and 6'8 O'Neal Mims from Austin (Reagan) TX.  They also added two more good players this fall in 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA and 6'7 Stanley Gaines from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL, plus they are the early favorite for 6'8 Jr Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who is one of the juniors in the nation.  Getting back to our list of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, the Southeastern Conference is second with seven schools - Florida at #2, Tennessee at #3, Mississippi State at #22, Kentucky at #26, Vanderbilt at #30, Arkansas at #37, and Georgia at #38 - ranked among our Top 42 Recruiting Classes.  Next are the Atlantic Coast Conference with Duke at #1, North Carolina at #4, Maryland at #7, Georgia Tech at #14, and Wake Forest at #21; Big-12 Conference with Iowa State at #5, Nebraska at #15, Kansas State at #28, Missouri at #33, and Kansas at #38; Conference USA with Memphis at #5, Louisville at #12, Cincinnati at #28, and UNC-Charlotte at #38; Big East Conference with Syracuse at #12, Villanova at #17, Notre Dame at #24, and Connecticut at #32; Atlantic-10 with Xavier at #16, Dayton at #25, and George Washington #35; Pacific-10 with Arizona at #23, Southern California #26, and Oregon #42; Hampton with #31; Idaho #35; and UNLV at #38.  However, all this is still subject to change, because schools still have two weeks to turn in signed National Letters-of-Intent, which are dated no later than today. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2001

The KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO is always one of the premier events of the early season and this year's 21st Annual Shop 'N Save/KMOX Shootout promises to live up to its reputation.  The day begins with a girls game, followed by Chesterfield (Parkway Central) MO versus Ballwin (Parkway West) MO at 11:30 AM and Freesburg (H.S.) IL versus Creve Coeur (Whitfield) MO at 1:00 PM.  Although the 1:00 PM game isn't a must see from a national perspective, we are looking forward to get  another look at 6'8 Dan Oppland from Creve Coeur (Whitfield) MO, who is a borderline top 100 senior nationally.  If you will recall, Oppland was terrific when we saw him last spring and, as a result, we think this blue collar tough hardnosed kid who puts up prolific numbers from mid-range is an absolute steal for Valparaiso.  The first big game of the day will feature two Chicago area schools, as Gary (West Side) IN with Michigan-signee 6'11 Chris Hunter and 6'2 Brandon Cameron, who is bound for Penn State, meets Maywood (Proviso East) IL with Illinois-bound 5'11 Dee Brown, who is ranked #12 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Jr Shannon Brown, who will be ranked among the top five juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP when we update that list in early December.   The game at 4:15 PM will also be interesting because Chesterfield (Rockwood Marquette) MO features 6'5 Troy Slaten, who is the leading returning scorer in the St. Louis area, and Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK has 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike, who have averaged 38 ppg last season while playing against small classification competition.  If Slaten gets the better of this match-up, maybe Azubuike's father will re-think the plans for his son to by-pass college and go straight into the NBA Draft next spring.  The 5:45 PM will offer Duke-bound 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC a chance to redeem himself after a mediocre summer when they face Springfield (Lanphier) IL with 6'6 Andre Igudodala, who signed with Arkansas, and 6'3 Jr Richard McBride, who is the #3-ranked junior in Illinois behind Brown and 6'7 Jr Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) IL.  The best game of the day should be the 7:15 PM game between Dallas (Lincoln) TX and Midwest City (H.S.) OK.  That's 6'10 Chris Bosh, who is ranked #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, versus 6'9 Sheldon Williams, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, going head-to-head inside, while 6'1 Bryan Hopkins, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, versus 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander, who is ranked #55 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, battling for supremacy on the perimeter.  The final game of the evening at 8:45 PM will feature Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL with 6'9 Amare Stoudemire, who is widely regarded as the #1 senior in the nation, versus Columbia (Hickman) MO, which is one of the top three teams in Missouri. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, who is the #2-ranked senior in the state of Ohio and #79-ranked senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Dayton.  However, Carmona did not sign a National Letter-of-Intent, because the Flyers don't currently have a scholarship available.   With the addition of Carmona, their recruiting class moves up from #42 to #25 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date. If you will recall, Dayton already has gotten commitments earlier this fall from 6'6 Doug Scott from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH, 6'3 Logan White from Hunting Valley (University) OH, 6'4 Marques Bennett from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN, and 6'10 James Cripe from Cincinnati (Loveland) OH.  Speaking of our list of the top recruiting classes, the big winner this fall appears to be the Big-10 Conference, which has seven teams ranked among our top 20 recruiting classes nationally in #7 ranked Michigan, #9 ranked Michigan State, Illinois and Purdue (tied at #10), Indiana and Iowa (tied at #17), and Ohio State at #20.  In other words, over one-third of the top 20 classes nationally belong to teams in the Big-10.  Also on our list of the top 42 classes from the Big-10 is Wisconsin, which checks in at #34.  However, that's not necessarily good news for the Badgers, which landed two top 100 players in 6'4 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI and 6'7 Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominician) WI and two others - 6'4 Alando Tucker from Lockport (Township) IL, and 6'9 Jason Chappell from Worcester (Academy) MA - in the 101-300 range.  In other words, all the schools, except for Minnesota, that are ranked ahead of Wisconsin did better recruiting this fall than the Badgers.  And Minnesota didn't need to have a huge recruiting class.  Remember, the Golden Gophers finished with the #15 ranked recruiting class last spring when they landed 6'11 Rick Rickert from Duluth (East) MN, 6'10 Jerry Holman from Minneapolis (JC) MN, 6'4 Maurice Hargrow from St. Paul (Highland Park) MN, 5'9 Aaron Robinson from Rockford (Guilford) IL, and 6'8 O'Neal Mims from Austin (Reagan) TX.  They also added two more good players this fall in 6'10 Alou Kane from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA and 6'7 Stanley Gaines from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL, plus they are the early favorite for 6'8 Jr Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who is one of the juniors in the nation.  Getting back to our list of the Top Recruiting Classes by Conference, the Southeastern Conference is second with seven schools - Florida at #2, Tennessee at #3, Mississippi State at #22, Kentucky at #26, Vanderbilt at #30, Arkansas at #37, and Georgia at #38 - ranked among our Top 42 Recruiting Classes.  Next are the Atlantic Coast Conference with Duke at #1, North Carolina at #4, Maryland at #7, Georgia Tech at #14, and Wake Forest at #21; Big-12 Conference with Iowa State at #5, Nebraska at #15, Kansas State at #28, Missouri at #33, and Kansas at #38; Conference USA with Memphis at #5, Louisville at #12, Cincinnati at #28, and UNC-Charlotte at #38; Big East Conference with Syracuse at #12, Villanova at #17, Notre Dame at #24, and Connecticut at #32; Atlantic-10 with Xavier at #16, Dayton at #25, and George Washington #35; Pacific-10 with Arizona at #23, Southern California #26, and Oregon #42; Hampton with #31; Idaho #35; and UNLV at #38.  However, all this is still subject to change, because schools still have two weeks to turn in signed National Letters-of-Intent, which are dated no later than today. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2001

The HOOP SCOOP has learned that Western Kentucky has gotten an absolute steal in 7'2 Michael Doe from Ft. Walton Beach (Choctawhatchee) FL.  The Doe commitment is especially interesting, because he should be the perfect replacement for Hilltoppers All-American Chris Marcus, who will graduate after this season.  Doe only weighs 185 lbs., so obviously he isn't as big and strong as Marcus, but he may end up making the same type of impact down the road.  Remember, Marcus, who is listed among the top 10 players nationally in our pre-season college rankings, is the big reason why Western Kentucky is one of the teams to watch in college basketball this season.  Getting back to Doe, we liked his mobility, shot blocking, and offensive skills when we saw him at the NBA Players Association Camp last summer in Washington, DC, but he did not rank him among our top 100 nationally.  However, down the road we may wish we had that to do over again, because Doe also has great hands, a nice shooting touch, and unlimited potential.   He also will have a future head coach in Dennis Felton, who already has proven track record when it comes to developing big guys.  Doe joins 6'4 Anthony Winchester from Austin (H.S.) IN and 6'7 Jamaal Brown from Spartanburg (H.S.) SC, both of whom signed with Western Kentucky a week ago, to give the Hilltoppers three excellent players in this recruiting class.  Winchester reminds us of a poor man's Randy Wittman, because he has a great understanding of the game, is an excellent 3-point shooter, and is a good ball handler and passer.  In other words, he can play either guard spot.  However, our guess is that he will play primarily at the 2-spot, where he will provide a great complement to 6'1 Patrick Sparks, who promises to be the next great player at WKU.  Brown is an athletic wing forward with good size and ability to score off the dribble.

It's finally over!  If you will recall, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Prichard (Blount) AL verbally committed to the University of California over a month ago, but changed his mind after Alabama turned up the heat.   However, last night Winston signed with the Golden Bears.  Obviously this is huge, because Winston is ranked #31 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, which means he is the 4th highest ranked player who was still unsigned and/or uncommitted in the senior class nationally.  We're talking about a guy with big time athleticism, the ability to beat you both outside and slashing to the basket, and incredible natural talent.  In other words, we think Winston will provide head coach Ben Braun with be the perfect complement to Julian Sensley and Jamal Sampson to form what should be one of the best young front lines in college basketball a year from now.  It also makes up for the fact they lost out on 6'7 Derek Burditt from Marrero (West Jefferson) LA, who committed to California last spring, but later changed his mind and decided to stay closer to home by signing with Tulane.  But don't feel too bad to the Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried, because it looks like they are in good shape on 6'5 Emmitt Thomas from Bevill State (JC) AL.  Not only is Thomas a great athlete slasher/athlete and an in-state kid, but he used to play for Mark Komara's Alabama Lasers AAU team, which featured Kentucky's Marvin Stone and Alabama's Rod Grizzard, Erwin Dudley, and Terrance Meade.  This is important, because landing Thomas would help re-establish that pipeline.   Remember, Komara, who now runs the Southeast Raptors AAU program, has some of the best young talent in the nation in 6'10 Jr Jackie Butler from McComb (H.S.) MS, 6'9 Soph Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 6'3 Jr Jason Swain from Huntsville (Grissom) AL, 6'4 Soph Glen Miles Birmingham (West West) AL, 6'3 Soph Casey Stafford from Hazel Green (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Soph Shea Shannon from Ardmore (H.S.) AL, and 6'8 Frosh Dusty Moore from Collinsville (H.S.) AL.  Alabama also has re-signed 6'9 Rodney Bias from Shelton State (JC) AL.  If you will recall, Bias signed with the Crimson Tide a year ago, but didn't make it academically and, as a result, is now in the process of finishing in junior college.  Bias is not ranked among Rick Ball's top 10 centers in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, because he's not playing this year.  However, Bias was listed #4 on Ball's list of the top junior college centers from the Class of 2001 who signed with four-year schools.

Greg Swaim of Greg Swaim.com tipped us off over the weekend about the possibility of 6'2 Nate Johnson from Penn Wood (JC) MO reneging on his verbal commitment to Oklahoma State.  Well, it looks like Swaim knew what he was talking about, because Herb Welling, who is the Nebraska Editor of the HOOP SCOOP and a long time coach at the Five-Star Basketball Camp, has confirmed that Johnson has signed with the University of Nebraska.  Apparently Johnson wanted to attend the same school as his girlfriend, Keasha Cannon, who plays for the Cornhuskers woman's team.  This is the icing on the cake to what already was a very good recruiting class.  If you will recall, the Cornhuskers got a verbal commitment from 6'9 Roy Enright from Omaha (Burke) NE soon after Barry Collier got the head coaching job a-year-and-a-half ago and last spring they got commitments from 6'9 Wes Wilkinson from Grand Island (H.S.) NE and 6'4 Jason Dourisseau from Omaha (Burke) NE.  So prior to today the Cornhuskers recruiting class was ranked #35 nationally, but now it moves all the way up to #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date with the addition of Johnson, who is ranked by Rick Ball as the #2 Shooting Guard in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  Certainly this is a loss for Oklahoma State, but Swaim reminds us of what happened two years ago when the Cowboys lost out on Immanuel McElroy, who, instead, signed with Cincinnati during the early signing period.  "They just went out and got somebody better," says Swaim.  The player he is talking about is 6'1 Maurice Baker.  Making the story even more nteresting is the fact that Baker totally outplayed McElroy when the Bearcats played the Cowboys last Friday night.  Johnson's commitment also is significant, because it means the Cornhuskers are keeping up with all the other up-and-coming programs, like Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State, Baylor, and Texas Tech, all of whom have recruited extremely well a year ago and/or this fall, that will battle the perennial powers, like Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas, for supremacyfor years to come in what is quickly becoming college basketball's most powerful conference top-to-bottom.  And Texas A&M could also join that group, if 6'7 Antonie Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA solidifies his commitment to the Aggies.  Remember, last week we reported that the verbal commitment that Wright, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, might not be as solid as we originally thought.  

We also have confirmed that 6'1 Raymond Felton from Latta (H.S.) SC signed with North Carolina late last week and that 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN signed with Tar Heels yesterday.  Suddenly this is important, because we've been hearing rumors to the contrary.  And these aren't the only warning signs that the natives are restless in Chapel Hill, NC.   Would you believe that we're hearing that Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown will replace Matt Doherty at North Carolina after the current season is over?  While this is a hell of rumor, we don't put much value into it for a number of reasons.  First, the administration at North Carolina is too conservative to make a coaching change this soon.  Remember, Doherty is only beginning his second season as the head coach of the Tar Heels.  Second, when Brown interviewed for the job a-year-and-a-half ago, they didn't go all out to get him, because they wanted somebody who would be there longer than four or five years.  Remember, Brown already is in his early 60's.  Third, Doherty and his staff have done a great job recruiting.  If you will recall, North Carolina's recruiting class, which features Felton, May, and 6'4 Rashad McCants from New Hampton (Prep) NH is ranked #4 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date and it would move up to #2, if they land somebody like 6'10 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia.  Fourth, the Tar Heels are extremely young and inexperienced in the backcourt and at the wing spots and, as a result, they should get a lot better as the season progresses.  In other words, when we ranked North Carolina #20 pre-season, that was based on where we thought they would be in March and not in the middle of November. 

We still believe the race for 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #19 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is too close to call between Villanova and Louisville and, as a result, it may drag out until spring.  And, if that happens, don't be surprised if  St. John's also makes a late charge.  Our guess is the Red Storm took it for granted that Fraser was a lock, especially if they landed 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, which they did earlier this fall.  However, Fraser's close friendship with 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, his pre-existing relationship with Villanova head coach Jay Wright, and the number of different people close to the kid who are pulling him in different directions have all helped to confuse the issue.  His mother originally was pushing North Carolina, but now the Tar Heels are out, she likes Louisville (she's a big Rick Pitino fan).  Fraser's uncle is also pushing Louisville, but his high school coach wants him to go to St. John's.  We don't know which way Gary Charles, who is Fraser's AAU coach on the Long Island Panthers, is leaning, but we do know that Zendon Hamilton, who played for Charles in the early 90's, went to St. John's.   Obviously that favors St. John's.  But Sumpter has played for Charles, along with Fraser, for the last several years.  Obviously that would favor Villanova.   Charles also is a big adidas guy, so that obviously should help Louisville, which became an adidas school when Pitino became the head coach last spring.  Charles did tell us yesterday that there is no need to be forced into making a decision until Fraser is absolutely sure what he wants to do.  Charles also told us that Illinois, Florida, Syracuse, St. John's, North Carolina, and Seton Hall are the schools showing the most interest in 6'8 Jr Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ.   We also asked Charles about 4'9 Erving Walker from Brooklyn, NY, but, like nearly all of the basketball people from New York that we've talked with recently, he's never heard of him.  However, our we do know one person who has seen Walker, who currently is only in 6th grader, but who is putting up incredible numbers, play and he tells us that Walker is as good as Stephon Marbury and 6'1 Sebastian Telfair at the same stage.  Obviously that's saying an awful lot, not just due to the fact we had both Marbury and Telfair ranked as the #1 player in the nation in their class when they were at the same age, but because we're talking about potentially two of the all time great point guards in the history of the game.

Monday, November 19, 2001

The schedule is set for the Bank of America 2001 City of Palms Classic and Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, which is the pre-season #1-ranked high school team in the nation, according to the National Prep Poll, will be playing in the last game on the first night against St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL at 9:55 PM.   Also tipping off earlier in the day on Tuesday, December 18th will be Marion (Tabor Academy) MA versus New Orleans (Abramson) LA at 4:00 PM, Oakland (Tech) CA versus Lehigh (Lehigh Acres) FL at 5:45 PM and Virginia Beach (Salem) VA versus Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL at 8:10 PM.  In other words, 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'9 Torin Francis from Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, 6'1 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA, 6'7 Jr Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and 6'8 Jr Warren Scott from New Orleans (Abramson) LA, all of whom are ranked among our top 50 nationally in their respective class, will be playing on the first day.  All of the players mentioned above, as well as 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL and 6'9 Jr Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, will also seen action on the second day, Wednesday, December 19th, which begins with a consolation game at 2:00 PM between the loser of game #1 and the loser of game #3.  That will followed by Miami (Christian) FL versus Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY at 3:45 PM, the Los Angeles (Westchester) CA-St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL winner versus the Oakland (Tech) CA versus Lehigh (Lehigh Acres) FL winner at 5: 30 PM, Bronx (All Hallows) NY versus Ft. Myers (Cypress Lake) FL at 7:40 PM, Lakeland (Kathleen) FL versus the Marion (Tabor Academy) MA-New Orleans (Abramson) LA winner at 10:00 PM, and St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC versus Missouri City (Hightower) TX at 11:45 PM.  We plan to arrive on Thursday, December 20th, in time for the 12:30 PM game, which will be the first of three consolation games, featuring the loser of Game #4 versus the loser of Game #6.  That game will be followed by the loser of Game #8 versus the loser of Game #9 at 2:15 PM and the loser of Game #10 versus the loser of Game #9 at 4:00 PM.  If things go as expected, that will be St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL versus Miami (Christian) FL at 12:30 PM,  Ft. Myers (Cypress Creek) FL versus Lakeland (Kathleen) FL at 2:15 PM, and St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC versus Lehigh (Lehigh Acres) FL at 4:00 PM.  Those games will followed by three quarterfinals games and our guess is that it will be Virginia Beach versus Marion (Tabor Academy) MA at 6:00 PM, Bronx (All Hallows) NY versus 6'10 Shavlik Randolph and Raleigh (Broughton) NC, which gets a bye in the first round, at 8:05 PM, and Missouri City (Hightower) TX versus Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY at 10:30 PM.  There also will be six games on Friday, December 21st, and, if things go as expected, the consolation semi-finals match-ups will be St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL versus Miami (Christian) FL at 12:00 PM and St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC versus Lehigh (Lehigh Acres) FL at 1:45 PM, the 5th Place semi-finals match-ups will be Raleigh (Broughton) NC versus Oakland (Tech) CA at 3: 30 PM and Virginia Beach (Salem) VA versus Missouri City (Hightower) TX at 5:15 PM, and the semi-finals match-up will be Marion (Tabor Academy) MA versus Bronx (All Hallows) NY at 7:00 PM and Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY versus Los Angeles (Westchester) CA at 9:15 PM.  On Saturday, December 22nd, if everything goes as expected, it will be Miami (Christian) FL versus New Orleans (Abramson) LA in the Consolation Championship at 3: 45 PM, Oakland (Tech) CA versus Missouri City (Hightower) TX in the Fifth Place Championship at 5:45 PM, Bronx (All Hallows) NY versus Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY in the Third Place Game at 7:30 PM, and Marion (Tabor Academy) MA versus Los Angeles (Westchester) CA in the championship game at 9:15 PM.

We already had a suspicion that Rick Pitino's first season at the University of Louisville would be a lot better than most people expected, but after watching last night's 92-38 opening season win against South Alabama, I don't think there will be any rebuilding years for the Cardinals.    It was 8-0 when South Alabama head coach Bob Weltlich called his first time-out.  It was 12-0 at the first television time-out.  It was 19-3 when South Alabama finally scored with 11:56 left in the first half.  It was 47-15 at half-time and the subs were still playing like it was the last possession of tied overtime game when they were up by 60 points with a minute to play.  They also had 40 deflections at half-time, which, according to Pitino, is a record for a half.  They outscored their opponent by 22 points in the second half and the effort from start-to-finish was nothing short of spectacular.  Instead of comparing this team to Pitino's first team at Kentucky, I think they will end up being more like Pitino's second teams at both Providence and Kentucky.  If you will recall, Pitino took advantage of the implementation of the 3-point shot into college basketball and guided that Friars team, which featured Billy Donovan and Delray Brooks, to the NCAA Final Four in 1987.  Kentucky wasn't eligible to go to the NCAA Tournament due to probation in 1991, but with the addition of Jamal Mashburn, they won the Southeastern Conference Championship with a 14-4 record and were 22-6 overall.    This Louisville team doesn't have as much experience, they aren't as fundementally sound, and they don't shoot the ball as well as those teams, but they do play just as hard and they have more rtalent.  Remember, Reece Gaines and Luke Whitehead were both ranked among our top 50 nationally as seniors in high school.   Ellis Myles was a top 50 junior before he got lazy and out of shape.  Brandon Bender just missed making the McDonald's All-American Team.  Carlos Hurt not only made the McDonald's All-American Team, but was one of the better players in the game, finishing with 12 points and a number of assists.  Larry O'Bannon was ranked #120 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2001 last spring.  Erik Brown was the Freshman-of-the-Year at Morehead State before transferring to Louisville two years ago.  And, if the amount of improvement this team has made since Pitino arrived on campus last March means anything, they will get dramatically better as the season wares on.  In other words, Louisville has a legitimate chance win every    game, including at Kentucky, at Memphis, at Cincinnati, and at Indiana, they play in this season, which means 20 to 25 regular season and National Coach-of-the-Year honors for Pitino are not out of the question.  And unlike recent years (in 1998 Louisville went 12-20 and didn't make the tournament, in 1999 they lost to Creighton in the first round, in 2000 they lost Gonzaga in the first round, and in 2001 they went 12-19 and didn't make the tournament), this is not a team you want to play in the first or second round of the NCAA Tournament.  By now you probably think I'm totally nuts.   After all, South Alabama is a young inexperienced team and you shouldn't jump to conclusions after only one game.  But, then again, after watching Donovan get hot in the Providence-Seton Hall game at Madison Square Garden in early February in 1987, I was the guy telling everybody about the Pitino Factor.  As a matter of fact, I went so far as to predict that Providence would be a NCAA Final Four team in print a month-and-a-half before the fact.  If my crystal ball is right again, this could be the most exciting year ever for Conference USA.  Remember, we've also gone out on a limb and picked Memphis' Dajuan Wagner as our Pre-Season College Player-of-the-Year and you can never count out Cincinnati, especially when they have two incredible competitors like head coach Bobby Huggins and Steve Logan, who will be best player in the league behind Wagner.  

Saturday, November 17, 2001 and Sunday, November 18, 2001

Western Kentucky knocked off the University of Kentucky in Rupp Arena last Thursday night.  Hampton, even without one the their best players (Cleveland Davis), beat North Carolina by eight points at the Dean E. Smith Center on Friday night.  Also on Friday night Eastern Washington upside St. Joseph's.  And Arizona has already knocked off three teams - Maryland, Florida, and Texas - that were ranked ahead of them in the HOOP SCOOP's Pre-Season Top 30.  So what does it all mean?  Obviously different things for different teams.  Western Kentucky and Hampton appear to be ready to pick up where they left off a year ago and this early season success is a likely indication of things to come for Arizona and possibly Eastern Washington.  However, I don't get too excited about good teams losing during the middle of November.  All of the pre-season yearbooks (i.e Dick Vitale's ESPN Yearbook and the Blue Ribbon Yearbook) aren't even out yet, teams have had only about a month to practice, and recruiting isn't even wrapped up yet from the fall signing period, but some teams have already played three or four games, if you include exhibition games.  In other words, a lot of ugly basketball is being played right now and, as a result, I'm doing my best to stay focused on recruiting and get all of our college preview information published as soon as possible.  What ever happened to the good old days when college basketball season started after Thanksgiving?  We're still waiting on the two pre-season yearbooks mentioned above to hit the newstand, but we over the weekend we finished our Pre-season College Team Ranking Comparisons for 2001-2002 and NCAA Tournament Information (Past, Present, & Future) and have added this to the rest of our annual pre-season college basketball section, which also includes Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches, The Top Active and All Time Division I Head Coaches, Pre-Season Top 30 College Rankings, and Pre-Season All-American Teams.  We also aren't the only one to have gone out on a limb regarding Memphis' Dajuan Wagner, as Dick "Hoop" Weiss, who is widely regarded the #1 college basketball writer in American, has made his article about Wagner the complement to his pre-season top 25 rankings.  The article is appropriately called Eye on the Tiger; Expectations high for Memphis' Wagner and you can read it by clicking on College Basketball Preview:  Eye of the Tiger.  Weiss has the advantage of publishing his pre-season rankings 10 days after our rankings, but his are as good as anybody's:  1. Duke, 2. Kentucky, 3. Illinois, 4. UCLA, 5. Maryland, 6. Florida, 7. Arizona, 8. Memphis, Kansas, 10, St. Joseph's, 11. Missouri, 12. Virginia, 13. Iowa, 14. Oklahoma State, 15. Stanford, 16. Georgetown, 17. Alabama, 18. Western Kentucky, 19. Boston College, 20. Indiana, 21. Gonzaga, 22. Michigan State, 23. Cincinnati, 24. Temple, and 25.  Connecticut.  You also can get his expert analysis of each team by clicking on College Basketball Preview:  Dick Weiss' Top 25.

Friday, November 16, 2001

Earlier this week we had heard that 6'7 Antoine Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, may renege on the commitment he had made earlier this fall to Texas A&M.  The word we get is that  Elvert Perry, who is the director of the Inland AAU program for which Wright players, was the one who influenced him to commit to Aggies.  However, it appears that Wright is a lot less sold on the idea of going to Texas A&M and, as a result, wants to look at other schools.  Well, it appears that this was a lot more than just rumor. "Wright is heading home for the Thanksgiving Holiday today," says  Lawrence Academy head coach Kevin Wiercinski.  "He plans to sit down and make a decision one way or another this weekend. So we should know something by the middle of next week."  If this happens, that could have a devastating effect on the rebuilding effort that head coach Melvin Watkins is in the middle of at Texas A&M.  Currently Watkins has a good nucleus of young players in the program to complement Bernard King, but a year from now King and Wright would give Texas A&M one of the best one-two punches at the wing spots in college basketball.  The other big story we're following is the recruitment of 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is the second highest ranked unsigned players still available.  Last night North Carolina was eliminated, so now it is a three horse race and here's how we read it.  If Fraser signs this fall, we predict it be Villanova.   However, if Fraser signs in the spring, it helps St. John's and Louisville.   St. John's has been there the strongest and longest, but we understand that there is some friction between Fraser's mother and Red Storm head coach Mike Jarvis.  So the longer it goes, the more time the St. John's coaching staff has to smooth things out.  Rick Pitino obviously makes Louisville attractive, but the Cardinals were the late entry, so time is on their side.  We also have confirmed that Western Kentucky has signed 6'4 Anthony Winchester from Austin (H.S.) IN and 6'7 Jamaal Brown from Spartanburg (H.S.) SC, neither of whom are ranked among our top 100 nationally, but both of whom are skilled enough and talented enough to step in and make a major impact next year as freshmen.   So Hilltoppers head coach Dennis Felton, whose team pulled off a stunning upset at Rupp Arena last night against the University of Kentucky, has to be on top of the world right now.  

Hampton University has added its fifth recruit in 6'3 Jeff Granger from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC.   We're talking about a great outside shooter who should provide the perfect complement to all the inside players that head coach Steve Merfeld and his staff landed earlier this fall.  If you will recall, the Pirates got commitments from 6'9 Bakary Konate from Cincinnati State (JC) OH, 6'7 Troy Washington from Denmark (Denmark-Olar) SC, and 6'8 Rodney Hughes from Owens (JC) MI, plus they have 6'11 Bruce Brown from Richmond (Henrico) VA, who originally signed with Duquesne at year ago, but who is sitting out as a Prop 48 casualty.  The addition of Granger, who is a 5th year player orginially from Newark, NJ, moves Hampton's recruiting class up to #29 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  In other words, Merfeld has done a great job of building on the success his team had last March.  Remember, Hampton pulled off one of the most stunning upsets ever in the NCAA Tournament eight months ago when the knocked off Iowa State in the first round.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis has confirmed that 6'2 Mike Mehanna from Glendora (H.S.) CA has picked Army over Pennsylvania, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Lehigh.   This is significant, because Mehanna, who plays for the same high school that has produced a long line of great outside shooters, including Casey Jacobsen, Tracy Murray, and Cameron Murray, is another excellent long range bomber.  He also was good enough to play in the Top 22 All-Star Game last summer at the Full Court press All-West Camp and will be ranked among the top 50 in California by Trigonis (he's been promising us an updated report for a month now).   Mehanna scored 1480 on the SAT, has a 4.0 gpa, and plays smart on the court, as is evident by the number of times he gets to the free throw line.  And this isn't the only player from the West Coast who we think may be heading to Army in the near future.   As a matter of fact, second-year Army assistant coach Mark Sembrowich has been recruiting the area harder than a lot of the local schools and, as a result, this could be a program to watch down the road. 

We also have confirmed that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Indian Hills (JC) IA has committed to Southern California, although he still has some things to do academically in order to be able to player for the Trojans next year.  This moves USC's recruiting class into a tie at #24, along with Kentucky and Kansas State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com is reporting that 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, as expected, did make it official for Oklahoma earlier today.  Swaim also tells us that 6'4 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH has decided to sign with Memphis (he never officially committed to the Tigers, but he was close to happening two month ago).  Instead, Carmona wants to stay close to home and, as a result, plans to sign with Cincinnati and Dayton.  Our guess is that it will be the Bearcats, if they offer him this weekend.  However, if they don't Dayton get a player who is ranked #79 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, almost by default.  And if this happens, the Flyers recruiting class would move up to #24 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date behind Notre Dame and ahead of Kentucky, Southern California, and Kansas State.   Swaim also tells us that 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK is still technically committed to Oklahoma, but doesn't expect him to ever play there.  Remember, his father thinks he's ready for the NBA right now and, as a result, ready or not, Azubuike will likely enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.   Swaim also tells us that Azubuike's father has called several other schools to see if there was any interest.  However, it looks like the word is out.  The kid has a 4.0 gpa, but the father appears to be a royal pain in the ass.

Thursday, November 15, 2001

I've been debating for the last two weeks whether to pick Memphis' Dajuan Wagner as the HOOP SCOOP's Pre-season College Player-of-the-Year.  But it wasn't until today that I made the final decision.  Actually I've called our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman three times in the last week to specifically ask him whether he thought Tigers head coach John Calipari would turn Wagner loose this season.  Each time Rothman, who by nature tends to be very conservative, warned me off and, as a result, publishing our Pre-Season All-American Teams went on hold.  However, after Wagner went for 32 points last night against Old Dominion in Memphis' second regular season game, I no longer have any doubts.  As a matter of fact, the word out of Memphis is that Wagner hasn't even gotten into his rhythm yet.  How good is Wagner?  He clearly was the best high school player in the nation a year ago, which means he was a lot better than Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, and Eddy Curry, all of whom were drafted among the top picks in the NBA Draft last June.  His speed, quickness, athleticism, explosiveness, and ability to put up prolific numbers reminds us of Allen Iverson, who arguably right now is the most exciting, if not the best player in the professional game today.  But Wagner's court savvy, passing ability, strength, and ability to back you in and score whenever he wants reminds us of Oscar Robertson minus three inches.  We think Wagner could be the best 6'2-and-under player to ever play the game!   But all this is going to be a big surprise for all the so-called pre-season college experts and/or those who are too conservative to ever be on the cutting-edge the way we are.  Maybe they should have been listening a year ago when our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, who also is very conservative by nature, went on record saying that he would take Wagner over Duke's Jason Williams, who was the consensus #1 point guard in college basketball last season, as well as the consensus college player-of-the-year this year, in the NBA Draft.  Maybe they should have paid attention when Wagner scored 100 points in a game and re-wrote all the New Jersey scoring records a year ago.  Maybe they should have taken note when Wagner led Camden to the championship in New Jersey Tournament of Champions in March of 2000 and a top 10 ranking in the USA Today most of last season without a lot of help on his teammates.   Maybe they should have been in attendence at the NIKE All-American Camp when Wagner finished ranked among the top five players in camp by the HOOP SCOOP three consecutive years.  Maybe they should have paid attention when Wagner was the leading scorer with 25 points and a number of assists in the McDonald's All-American Game last March.  Also named to the HOOP SCOOP's First Team Pre-Season All-American Team were Williams, Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince, Missouri's Kareem Rush, and Boston College's Troy Bell.   Also receiving strong consideration for our first team were Illinois' Frank Williams, Stanford's Casey Jacobsen, and Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus.  However, we went with Bell, as our 5th player on the first team, because nobody was more valuable to his team a year ago than this prolific scoring point guard and he must be even better this year, if the Eagles are going to live up to their pre-season expectations.  Wagner also was named to our First Team All-Freshman Team, which also includes Michigan's State's Kelvin Torbert, Texas' Terrance Ford, N.C. State's Julius Hodge, and Florida's David Lee.   In other words, West Virginia's Jonathan Hargett, Seton Hall's John Allen, UCLA's Cedric Bozeman, and Louisville's Carlos Hurt didn't make it, which tells you just how good the freshman class is this year in college basketball.  In addition to our 10 five-man college All-American Teams and three five-man All Freshman Teams, we also provide you with a our First Team All Junior College Transfer Team, which includes Memphis' Chris Massie, UNLV's Marcus Banks, George Mason's Darren Tarver, Kansas State's Pervis Pasco, and Marcus Hatten of St. John's.  You can get all this by clicking on Pre-Season All-American Teams.  You also can get our Pre-Season Top 30 College Rankings, which were published a week ago, as well as our lists that track Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches and The Top Active and All Time Division I Head Coaches.

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is reporting that 6'5 Zach Martin from Medford (Shawnee) NJ has committed to Harvard and 6'6 Mike Blackshear from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA has become Temple's third recruit.  Martin, who is ranked #15 in the area by Rubin, rebounds well for his size, but he can also go out on the perimeter and shoot the three.  So obviously we think he's a major steal of Harvard.  Blackshear, who is ranked #6 in the area by Rubin, is an even bigger steal of the Owls.  He also will be the second person in his family to play for Temple head coach John Chaney (Blackshear's father played for Chaney on his Division II National Championship team at Cheney State).  Blackshear is best described as a player without a position, but it doesn't matter, because he might be the best rebounder in the senior class nationally behind 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY.  He also is a warrior who plays every possession like it might be his last and, as a result, Rubin, who appears to have an obvious bias against undersized power forwards (i.e. 6'5 David Holmes when he was one of the leading scorers and rebounders at the adidas ABCD Camp several years ago, but was unranked at his position when Rubin was in charge of doing the rankings), is one of Blackshear's biggest fans.  As a matter of fact, Rubin thinks Blackshear is a top 100 senior nationally and, as a result, you can bet he'll be listed on our top 100 list next time we update our national rankings.  Blackshear joins 7'0 Keith Butler from Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA, who verbally committed to the Owls last week, and 6'7 Antywane Robinson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who picked the Owls earlier this fall, to give Temple a good three-man recruiting class.  We are still waiting to see what is going to happen with 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Prichard (Blount) AL.  If you will recall, the Birmingham News reported yesterday morning that Winston had committed to Alabama, but nobody has seen or heard from him in the last few days.  Our guess is that this is a similar situation to that of Cedric Henderson in the mid-80s when he verbally committed to Louisville, but then was missing in action for several days and mysteriously ended up signing with Georgia.  If our hunch is right, the big winner would be the University of California, which is the school he originally committed to in the first place early this fall.  Speaking of the Golden Bears, Rob Matera of All Star Sports thinks California also is close to getting 6'6 Marquis Kately from San Francisco (Riordan) CA.   However, they don't want to let the cat of the bag until Winston signs, because they don't want to do anything that might scare Winston off.   However, it shouldn't matter, because Kately is not expected to make it academically and, as a result, prep school is in his future.  Instead, Kately is expected to enroll at the University of California in the fall of 2003 possibly along with one of his best friends - 6'8 Jr Leon Powe from Oakland (Tech) CA.  And if that happens, that would be a major coup because Powe is ranked as a consensus top five junior nationally.  Matera also tells us that 6'3 Scott Rice from Hagerstown (North) MD has committed to Elon College and 6'3 Michael Beers from Broadalbin (Broadalbin-Perth) NY has elected to stay close to home and attend Siena.  We also are still trying to confirm whether 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Indian Hills (JC) IA has or has not verbally committed to Southern California.  We reported it was close to happening two days ago.  Mike Sullivan of RivalsHoops.com reported that it had happened yesterday.  However, now several Southern California web sites are reporting today that it hasn't happened yet.  Stay tuned!

Wednesday, November 14, 2001

Rob Harrington of PrepStars.com was the first person we talked with today who could confirm that 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, who is ranked #27 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made it official for the University of Connecticut.  It also was reported that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Indian Hills (JC) IA has signed with Southern Cal and this morning in the Birmingham News that 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Prichard (Blount) AL has made it official for the University of Alabama.   However, we have not added his name to our list of Early Commitments, because it appears that Winston is hiding out and being pushed by the people with him to sign with the University of California.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Winston verbally committed to the Golden Bears, but then reneged when the Crimson Tide turned up the heat.  We also are waiting to see what's going to happen with 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, and 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK.  So we made a call to Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com.  Alexander committed to Oklahoma earlier this fall, but when he opened things back up the logical assumption was that he wanted the attention that comes when with still being recruited.   However, Swaim assures us that wasn't the case here.  As a matter of fact, Alexander was a done deal for the University of Florida, but then they stopped recruiting him.  Our guess is the Gators coaching staff thought they were going to get Anderson.   So when Florida stopped recruiting Alexander, that opened the door again for the Sooners and Swaim tells us the press conference is scheduled for this Friday at 11:00 AM CST.  Swaim also thinks Oklahoma will probably get Bookout, but he may sign a track scholarship and, as a result, never see a minute of college basketball.  Lamptey, who is still a long way away from making it academically, is not expected to do anything until spring, but he will be at the Oklahoma State-Cincinnati basketball game on Friday night, along with Bookout and 6'4 Jr Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR.   Speaking of Brewer, everybody believes that he's already a lock for Arkansas.   However, Brewer's his father, Ron Brewer, played for Eddie Sutton's NCAA Final Four team in 1978, plus the Razorbacks have landed two extremely talented and athletic wing players in the current recruiting class in 6'6 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL and 6'5 Jonathan Modica from Smackover (H.S.) AR.  In other words, Swaim likes Oklahoma State's chances.   Earlier this fall Oklahoma also received a verbal commitment from 6'6 Kelenna Azubuike from Tulsa (Victory Christian) OK, but Swaim is more convinced than ever that Azubuike will by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.   And if Azubuike does turn pro, our prediction is that's the last we'll ever hear of him (he'll probably end up playing professionally overseas until his career is over).   If that weren't enough, 6'8 Marques Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK appears to be reconsidering the verbal commitment he made to Kansas State last week.  Apparently he wants to give Oklahoma another look before he makes a final decision.

Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis called this morning to tell us that 6'11 Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA had honored the verbal commitment he had made last spring to the University of Georgia after all.  If you will recall, last weekend we reported that Georgia was out and that we thought Johnson was heading to Cincinnati.  However, yesterday we did an about face and said "Johnson may surprise everybody and announce for Georgia tomorrow."  Our guess is that Johnson really did want to go to Cincinnati, but Georgia turned up the heat in the end and kept him home.  This is important for several reasons.  First, it firmly establishes that the current regime can keep the top players in the state at home.  If you will recall, since arriving at Georgia two years ago, head coach Jim Harrick has made a living getting in-state players, including 6'6 Chris Daniels from Albany (Monroe) GA, 6'8 Stephen Thomas from Carrollton (H.S.) GA, 6'2 Rashad Wright from Statesboro (H.S.) GA, 6'10 Larry Turner from Milledgeville (Baldwin) GA, 6'2 Michael Liggons from Rome (Coosa) GA, and 6'4 Wayne Arnold from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA.  Plus, Jarvis Hayes and Jonas Hayes sat out last season after transferring home from Western Carolina and Damien Wilkins is sitting out this year after transferring from N.C. State.  While all these players provide a great nucleus, the very elite players from the state in recent years, like Wilkins, 6'3 Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA to Kentucky and 6'11 Kwame Brown from Brunswick (Glynn Academy) GA to Florida and then the NBA, have gotten away.   But not any more, as this shot blocker/rebounder/scorer has signed a National Letter-of-Intent with the Bulldogs.  Second, Johnson's commitment moves Georgia's recruiting class into a tie with UNC-Charlotte, Kansas, and UNLV at #36 on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, Arnold made a verbal commitment to Georgia earlier this fall.  Third, Turner will have a quality big man to go head-to-head against everyday in practice.  And the University of Georgia coaching staff is hoping this becomes a trio of towering big men next year, as their top priority, according to Davis, in the junior class is 6'11 Jr Shawn Taylor from Vienna (Dooly County) GA.  However, the recruitment for this tremendous shot blocker already is very intense, as Memphis, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Alabnama, Miami-FL, Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Florida, and Florida State are already showing serious interest. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2001

We've been telling you since last summer that Arizona State was the team to beat for 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX.  Well, it looks like it's finally over, because he had made it official for the Sun Devils.  Diagu is ranked #40 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but that doesn't begin to tell how important a commitment this is for Rob Evans and his staff, who are in the process of turning this into one of the best programs on the West Coast.  If you will recall, Arizona State's backcourt is already second to none in the Pacific-10 with 6'2 Curtis Millage from Los Angeles Southwest (JC) CA, who is ranked as the #5 among incoming junior college shooting guards by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, and 6'2 Jason Braxton from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, who was ranked #47 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2002.  They also should be good at both forwards spots with Tanner Shell, Tommy Smith, Chris Osborne, and Donnell Knight.  And Diagu gives them the inside presence who combines athleticism with bulk and toughness.  Diagu also has a tremendous upside.  As a matter of fact, he exploded onto the national scene last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp, where he finished ranked #12 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP, and he continued to get better and better as the summer wore on.  We also expect the Sun Devils to get Diagu's teammate from the Texas Blue Chip AAU program.   We're talking about 6'5 Allen Morrill from Arlington (Sam Houston) TX.  Morrill doesn't have a true position right now, but he is an excellent athlete/slasher/rebounder.  So he promises to be a good role player as a freshman and sophomore and, if he improves his jump shot down the road, could battle for a starting spot at the wing forward position.  Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis believes the University of Arizona could be on the verge of getting another verbal commitment.  If you will recall, earlier this fall the Wildcats landed 6'3 Chris Rodgers from Portland (Wilson) OR, who is ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #36 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and now it appears they are close to getting a commitment from 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA, who is ranked #76 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, we don't expect anything to happen until after Roy makes an official visit to Gonzaga this weekend.  The third school list on Roy's list is the University of Washington, but if he commits to Gonzaga, we'll have to stop referring to head coach Mark Few's team as the perennial sleeper in coach basketball.   Remember, 6'9 Sean Mallon from Spokane (Ferris) WA, who is ranked #81 nationally in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, also has committed to Gonzaga and Zags 6'4 Soph Blake Stepp got top 100 consideration as a high school senior two years ago.  

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is reporting that 6'4 Casey Gibbons from Phillips (Exeter Academy) NH has verbally committed to Cornell and 6'5 Scott Arnel from Toronto (Milliken Mills) ON has picked Boston College. Arnel is a great athlete and an excellent student, but he isn't ready to make as big an impact next year as 6'5 Louis Hinnatt from Brandywine (Gywnn Park) MD, who committed to Boston College a week ago. Gibbons is ranked #63 on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players, so obviously that's an excellent recruit for second year head coach Steve Donahue, who already has some good young players, like Ka'Ron Brown and Steve Cobb, in the program.  Speaking of the Ivy League, it appears that Brown leads Bucknell for 6'5 Saul McDonald from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL.  Obviously this a guy with the right perspective.  "I know I'm not going to the league, so I want to pick the school where I can both play basketball and get the best possible education," says McDonald.  Donnie Wilkie, who is the tournament director for the City of Palms Classic, tells us that 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, who is ranked #27 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and he will announce for Connecticut.  Actually we reported the same thing a month ago, but the press conference was never held due to the fact Billy Donovan and the Florida coaching staff got to Anderson's father just in the nick of time.  If you will recall, Anderson always wanted to go to Florida, but when they tried to convince him to walk-on last spring (they didn't know that Anderson was that good), he looked elsewhere and eventually decided upon the University of Connecticut.  This moves their recruiting class up to #28 nationally in our rankings of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, earlier this fall the Huskies also landed 6'5 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON, who is ranked #60 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   In other words, the Connecticut coaching staff has hit the jackpot at the wing positions, but still is looking for immediate help inside after losing 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX.  However, the same can't be said about former Connecticut assistant coach Karl Hobbs, who appears to be stockpiling talented inside player at George Washington.  George Washington already has gotten verbal commitments from 6'9 Omar Williams, 6'9, PF, Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA, 6'7 Nana Mensah-Bensu from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, and 6'6 Mike Hall from Palos Heights (Shepard) IL and now our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'11 Alex Kireyev from Shreveport (Evangel Christian) LA has picked the Colonials.  As a result, George Washington's recruiting class is ranked #32 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.

The first of the fall signing period always falls on the second Wednesday in November and that's tomorrow.  However, we're not anticipating a lot of excitement, becausse most of the top players have already made up their mind.  Let's take a closer look.  Gone are 22 of our top 25 seniors.   And if you exclude 6'10 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #7, but who likely will enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring, the next highest ranked uncommitted player is 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who checks in at #19.  And that one appears to be so close among Villanova, St. John's, Louisville, and North Carolina that Fraser's AAU Coach Gary Charles believes it could drag out to spring.  Also still available and ranked among our top 25 nationally is 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, but we believe it's only a matter of time before he picks Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. There are five more players - 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Mobil (Blount) AL, 6'10 Sani Ibrahim from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Antonio Lawrence from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, and 6'10 Alexander Johnson from Albany (Doughterty) GA - who are still available in the 26-50 range.  But Anderson is supposed to make it official for Connecticut tomorrow and Johnson may surprise everybody and announce for Georgia tomorrow.  If you will recall, last weekend we reported that we thought Georgia was out and Cincinnati was in, but now we're not so sure, as it appears that Johnson is one of these guys who tells everybody something different.  Alabama and California are still fighting it out over Winston and our guess is that both Ibrahim and Lawrence will wait until spring.   The only players still available in the 51-75 range are 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from Oklahoma City (Northeast) OK, 6'1 Greg Brown from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI.  Alexander committed to Oklahoma earlier this fall, but more recently reneged.  So a lot of schools are trying to get involved.  Lamptey will likely pick Oklahoma State and, if he doesn't make academically, our guess is they will prop him.  Currently Brown's recruitment is a mystery.  However, few players from his high school make it academically, so it wouldn't surprise us if he goes the prep school or junior college.  Six players - 6'6 Brandon Roy from Seattle (Garfield) WA, 6'5 Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Elliott Poole form Chicago (Farragut) IL, 6'8 Rashawn Freeman from Schenectady (H.S.) NY, 6'5 Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC, and 6'6 Bobby Jones from Long Beach (Poly) CA - are also still available in the 76-100 range.   However, we think Roy will pick Arizona over Gonzaga, Carmona is believed to be a near lock for Memphis, and Jones will likely make it official for Pepperdine or New Mexico.  That leaves Poole and Freeman, both of whom will likely need a year of prep school or two years of junior college, and 6'5 Maurice Petty from Shelby (Crest) NC.  In other words, only 17 of the top 100 seniors are still on the board.   Also gone are eight of the top 10 players on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players and you're probably wasting your time if you're involved with the two who are left - 6'6 Leonard Cooke from Old Tappan (North Valley Regional) NJ and 6'11 Martin Iti from Winchendon (School) MA.  Cooke is expected to enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring, but, if he doesn't, you can almost write this one down for St. Johns'.  Iti will likely return to prep school next year for another year.  Digging a little deeper, the next 5th year players who are still available are 6'7 David Bell from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'7 Clark Williams from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, and 6'11 Dakin Braddick from North Charleston (H.S.) NC, who check in at #12,  #13, and #14, respectively.  And it's almost as bad in the junior college ranks, as the #1-ranked player at every position by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook is already committed.  So are eight of the top 10 centers and five of the top 10 power forwards.  So let's take a closer look at who is left.  Among centers only 6'10 John Toombs from Lincoln Trail (JC) IL and 6'9 Gabe Kennedy from Bevill State (JC) AL are still available.  We also haven't tracked commitments from the following power forwards:  6'9 Fred Adjiwanou from Foothill (JC) CA, 6'9 Jamar Smith from Allegany (JC) MD, 6'10 Seth Scott from Utah Valley State (JC) UT, 6'7 Cameron Echols from Kennedy-King (JC) IL, and 6'7 O.J. Sumpter from Palm Beach (JC) FL.  It's a little better among wing players, as six of Ball's top 10 Shooting Guards - 6'2 Les Norman from Long Beach City (JC) CA, 6'5 Jerome Harper from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'4 Tony Bobbitt from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'2 Junior Matias from Southeastern (JC) IA, 6'1 Chris Young from Daytona Beach (JC) FL and 6'5 Brandon Sims from Johnson County (JC) KS and six of Ball's top 10 Small Forwards - 6'4 Roy Smiley from Southeastern (JC) IA, 6'5 Derrick Stewart from Columbia (JC) CA, 6'5 John Thomas from Daytona Beach (JC) FL, 6'5 Jamal Hill from San Jose City (JC) CA, 6'5 Eli Warren from Pensacola (JC) FL, and 6'5 Rodney Blacktone from Howard (JC) TX - are still available.  Also still available are eight of Ball's top 10 point guards in 6'2 Janovey Weatherspoon from Odessa (JC) TX, 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Indian Hills (JC) IA, 6'1 Chris Craig from Arizona Western (JC) AZ, 6'1 Danny Allen from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 5'11 Ricky Clemons from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 5'10 Antonio Rambo from SW Illinois (JC) IL, 6'1 Bryan Turner from Mineral Area (JC) MO, and 5'7 Ade Edwards from Bronx Monroe (JC) NY.

Monday, November 12, 2001

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is reporting that 6'10 Dave Mallon from East Aurora (H.S.) NY has verbally committed to St. Joseph's and this time it looks like they have legitimate sleeper on their hands.  As a matter of fact, I'd never even heard of Mallon before Rubin brought his name to my attention last night.  Rubin hasn't seen Mallon play either, but has several sources who think Mallon could be the perfect replacement for St. Joseph's center 6'10 Bill Phillips, who is scheduled to graduate after this season.  Rubin has heard that Mallon is more athletic than Phillips, but they're similar in many ways, as they both can beat you inside on the boards and with their ability to post-up and outside with their passing and 3-point shooting ability.  Rubin also points out that this appears to be the continuation of a trend.  "A lot of coaching staffs work hard, but nobody works as smart as the St. Joseph's coaching staff," says Rubin. "They are the best at finding guys with high major talent and potential, but who are not getting heavily recruited by schools at the high major level (i.e. Jameer Nelson two year ago, Delonte West last year, and now Mallon)."  In other words, St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli may have a hard time remembering where his guys were ranked when they were in high school, but he is guy everybody wants to emulate, as he has transformed St. Joseph's into one of the powers in college basketball (St. Joseph's  is ranked #10 nationally in our Pre-Season Top 30 College Rankings).  We also understand that Auburn may be the leader for 6'3 Antonio Lawrence from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who is ranked #38 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but UCLA and Connecticut are also both very much in the hunt. 

The word on the street is that USC has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Indian Hills (JC) IA, who is ranked #3 among point guards in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  And, if this is true, USC head coach Henry Bibby needs to give Curtis Townsend a raise, because Brooks is the perfect replacement at point guard for 5'9 Brandon Granville, who will graduate after this season.  Brooks has jet-like speed and quickness, is an excellent defender, and a terrific ball handler and passer and, as a result, should fit in perfectly with Desmon Farmer and Carven twins to give the Trojans one of the best backcourts in college basketball during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons.   If you will recall, Brooks, who was ranked #25 nationally in the Class of 2000 by the HOOP SCOOP, originally signed with Arizona State, but then had to go the junior college route a-year-and-a-half ago.  Earlier this fall USC also landed 6'10 Jack Wolfinger from Ventura (JC) CA and 6'11 Jonathan Oliver from Ventura (JC) CA, but the Trojans still need more help inside.  The perfect solution would be 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, but getting Collins is a long shot at best.  Instead, we think Collins will either by-pass college and go straight to the NBA Draft next spring or sign with Fresno State.  And Collins isn't the only highly touted big man who may be forced to go straight to the NBA due to poor academics and other off-the-court problems.  Among those we had in mind are 6'9 Amare Stoudemire from Orlando (Cypress Creek) FL, 6'9 Kei Madison from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, and 6'10 Sani Ibrahim from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Like Collins, we suspect that Stoudemire will be a mid-to-high first round pick next spring.  However, the chances of Madison and Ibrahim getting drafted in the first round aren't nearly as good, so they've attracted a lot more interest from college recruiters just in case they do make it academically.  If you will recall, Madison verbally committed to Mississippi State earlier this fall, but there are still questions about whether he will be able to transfer to a SEC school and be eligible to play next season.  So would you believe that Indiana is involved once again with Madison?  Remember, that's where he signed in the first place due to his close relationship with IU head coach Mike Davis.  It also appears that Indiana is a lot stronger than a lot of people realize with Ibrahim.  Not only is Davis a great recruiter who has more than his share contacts in the deep south, but there are people who want to see him do well and, as a result, they appear to be pushing Ibrahim in Davis' direction.  Apparently Bob Knight didn't win a lot of friends, especially with IU fans who put the school above their former coach and in the black community, when he used his influence to push 6'8 Sean May from Bloomington (North) IN away from IU.   Instead, May recently surprised everybody when he picked North Carolina.

Sunday, November 11, 2001

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli was on local television last week and one of the things he was talking about was how nobody in our business had 6'0 Jameer Nelson ranked among the top 100 nationally as a high school senior.  Well, obviously Martelli has forgotten that the HOOP SCOOP had Nelson ranked #60 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2000.  And Martelli isn't the only person who hasn't given the HOOP SCOOP (in this case most of the credit should go to Rubin) the full credit that we deserve.  As a matter of fact, back when La Salle head coach Billy Hahn was still an assistant coach at Maryland, he told me on more than one occasion the same thing about current Terrapins star Juan Dixon.  However, a quick look at our final top 100 list from the Class of 1997 reveals that Dixon was listed on our Eighteenth Team, which means we had him ranked among our top 85 nationally.  And going back even further, a quick look at the Class of 1995 shows that we had Kentucky's Nazr Mohammed ranked #100 nationally.  I also took some grief last week for ranking Arizona #18 nationally in our Pre-Season Top 30 College Rankings, which we published last Thursday morning.  If you will recall, the Wildcats beat both Maryland and Florida in the Coaches versus Cancer Classic Thursday and Friday nights at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  As a matter of fact, I have yet to see a pre-season top 25 or 30 ranking (other than my own) that has the Wildcats ranked anywhere.  However, it wasn't all that hard to figure out.  Remember, Ricky Anderson and Andrew Zahn both red-shirted last year, plus Jason Gardner and Luke Walton both were key parts to the puzzle the last two years.  Combine that with an excellent recruiting class, which was ranked #12 nationally last spring and included 6'8 Dennis Latimore from Halstead (H.S.) KS, 6'2 Salim Stoudamire from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'0 Will Bynum from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'9 Isaiah Fox from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, and 6'10 Channing Frye from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, and all Wildcats head coach Lute Olson had to do was put all the pieces together and find the right chemistry.  Speaking of Olson, we're talking about a coach who is ranked #8 among all active head coaches with 641 career wins on our list of Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches. Olson also only needs six more wins tie Gene Bartow at #20 on the list of the Winningest All Time Division I Head Coaches.  Plus, Olson is tied for tied for second with Bob Knight among active coaches with five NCAA Final Four appearances and has the 7th best winning percentage among active head coaches with .738 winning percentage.  If that weren't enough, Olson also ranks 4th in terms of all time NCAA Tournament appearances with 22, 7th in terms of all time NCAA Tournament wins with 37, and 2nd in terms of Most All Time Consecutive NCAA Appearances with 17, and tied for 6th for the all time most NCAA Tournament Final Four Appearances with five.  In other words, we aren't talking about some rookie.  However, we are probably talking about a head coach who already deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves.  For a closer look at where Olson stands on all of these lists, click on Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches.

Saturday, November 10, 2001

A month and a half ago we reported that the 6'10 Alexander Johnson was on the verge of reneging on the commitment he made to the University of Georgia last spring.  Well, it not only has happened, but the word we're getting now is the Bulldogs are no longer even in the hunt.  Instead, his list includes schools like Cincinnati, Louisville, Alabama, North Carolina, Memphis, and Miami-FL.  Johnson says he's still wide open, but we find that hard to believe.   At first we thought Louisville might have the inside track, because Johnson's best friend is Greg Tinch.  If you will recall, Tinch is the 6'5 forward from Albany (Westover) GA, who signed with last winter Louisville, because he wanted to play both football and basketball.  However, he didn't make it academically and, as a result, is currently sitting out this season as a partial qualifier.  We also had heard that Alabama was making a strong push for Johnson, but when you find out that Johnson is talking about signing next week (the first day high school players can sign a National Letter-of-Intent is Wednesday, November 14th), it almost has to be Cincinnati for a number of reasons.  First, he recently made an official visit to Cincinnati.   Second, Cincinnati is only school he's made an official or unofficial visit to this fall.  Third, Bearcats assistant coach Keith LeGree has all the right contacts to get this done.  You probably remember that LeGree played his high school basketball at Statesboro (H.S.) GA, but you probably don't know that LeGree's former high school coach Lee Hill and Johnson's former high school coach Charlie Givens are extremely close friends.  This is very important, because even though Givens is no longer coaching for personal reasons, he still is believed to be the person with the most influence over Johnson.  This also makes perfect sense, because Johnson's favorite school growing up was Cincinnati and his favorite player was Kenyon Martin.  Remember, the Bearcats have had strong ties in Albany, GA dating back to the days of Dontonio Wingfield.  It also is a perfect fit, because Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins needs a quality big man to complement 6'8 Jason Maxiell, who signed with the Bearcats a year ago, and 6'6 Eric Hicks from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, who picked the Bearcats several weeks ago, inside.  Johnson also would elevate Cincinnati's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Armein Kirkland from Tyler (Lee) TX and 6'2 Chadd Moore from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, into a tie at #10 with Illinois and Purdue on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.

Friday, November 9, 2001

Brian Gates of Power Cat Illustrated provides us with the scoop on 6'7 Marques Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, who has verbally committed either yesterday or the night before to Kansas State.  This is huge for several reasons.  First, Hayden is ranked #56 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, Hayden joins 6'1 Frank Richards from Olney Central (JC) IL, who is ranked as the 4th best point guard in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting New Pre-Season Yearbook, and 6'8 Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, who has top 100 potential, to give the Wildcats a recruiting class that is ranked #24 on out list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Third, all this comes on the heels of last year's recruiting class, which included 6'6 Janerio Spurlock from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'4 Gilson DeJesus from  Trinidad State (JC) CO, 6'4 Nick Williams from Mansfield (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Pervis Pasco from Pensacola (JC) FL, 6'6 Marcello DaBarrosa from Brazil, 6'9 Travis Canby from Fork Union (Military) VA, and 6'0 Marcus Hayes from Ovieda (H.S.) FL, which was ranked #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   However, looking back on it, that was way too low, because we didn't know how good Pasco is.  As a matter of fact, Ball has him ranked as the #1 power forward among junior college players who have arrived at four-year schools this fall.  Ball also has Pasco listed as the Best NBA Prospect among junior college transfers still in college.  If we had known this last spring, Kansas State's recruiting class would have been ranked #6 nationally behind Memphis, Louisville, Auburn, Missouri, and Alabama and ahead of Oklahoma, Kansas, LSU, and Virginia.  Ball also has Spurlock ranked #7 at the wing forward spot and DeJesus ranked #6 at the shooting guard spot among junior college players who have landed at four-year schools this fall.  In other words, second year Kansas State head coach Jim Wooldridge is turning this program around in a hurry!  And he doesn't appear to be done yet, because the Wildcats also are still in the hunt for 6'5 Saun Witherspoon from Oviedo (H.S.) FL.  This too is interesting, because Witherspoon is the former high school teammate of Hayes, who is a walk-on this year at Kansas State, but who is expected to get a  scholarship next year.  This would put Kansas State one over in terms of the number players they can sign in this recruiting class.  It also means that 6'5 Ismael N'Jaye from Homestead (Berkshire) FL will not be signing with Kansas State this fall.  If you will recall, N'Jaye committed to Kansas State earlier this fall.  However, he has since opened his recruitment back up and our guess is that he will sign with Miami-FL. Getting back to Hayden, he is an absolute steal for the Wildcats.   Not only is this athletic power forward a killer on the boards, but he also is shedding his tweener tag, as he's developing perimeter skills and a 3-point shot.  In other words, Pasco isn't the only player with NBA potential that the Kansas State coaching staff has landed in their short year-and-a-half tenture. 

Any time a school in the Big West Conference lands a player who is ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, it's noteworthy.  However, 6'8 Brian Freeny from Gilbert (Mesquite) AZ, who is ranked #89 nationally among seniors by the HOOP SCOOP, isn't the only outstanding player that second-year head coach Leonard Perry has stolen this fall.  The other big prize is 6'2 Delvin Spruel, who was the leading scorer (18 ppg), as well as a first team all region selection, last year at Lee (JC) TX on team that also included 6'9 Shawnson Johnson, who is now at LSU; Louisville-bound 6'10 Kendall Dartez, who is now at Vincennes (JC) IN; and Oregon-bound 6'3 Andre Joseph, who is still at Lee Junior College.  You won't find Spruel's name on any of the junior college lists this fall, because he is currently sitting out and working on his academics at Baton Rouge (JC) LA. The plan appears to be for him to graduate in December and then enroll second semester at the University of Idaho.  We also understand that Idaho has gotten verbal commitments from 6'6 Keith Christmas from Gary (West Side) IN and 6'2 Dwayne Williams from Kennedy-King (JC) IL.  Christmas isn't a great talent, but he is a tremendous competitor, which makes him valuable as an undersized power forward.  Williams is good enough to get immediate playing time next year the two-guard spot, but, even more important, he may be enough to turn the tide on 6'7 Cameron Echols from Kennedy-King (JC) IL, who is ranked as the #6 power forward by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  Right now Ball State appears to be the leader for Echols, but you can bet that associate head coach Donnie Tyndall, who is one of the best recruiters in the business, is trying to sell Echols on going west next year to go to school with his teammate.  And if that happens, Idaho's recruting class, which currently is ranked #31 nationally, would move into a tie at #20, along with Wake Forest, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.

Several people in the Northeast recently us that 6'2 John Blackgrove from Winchendon (School) MA was wide-open.   Well, he isn't wide-open anymore, because last night he verbally committed to Fordham.  Blackgrove is ranked #57 on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players, which means he would rank among our top 250 nationally, if he was still a high school senior.  However, he is exactly what the doctor ordered, because he is outside shooter the Rams need to complement their already strong contingent of guards and wing players in Adrian Walton, Smush Parker, Mark Jarrell-Wright, and Michael Haynes.   Blackgrove originally committed to the previous regime at Seton Hall when he was high school senior at Hillsdale (Pascack) NJ, but when that Tommy Amaker left for Michigan last spring and Blackgrove had to go the prep school route, he re-opened his recruitment.  Fordham also is hoping to sign 6'7 Emmanuel Massey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #27 nationally on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players.  And, if that happens, the Rams could be in a position to be one of the surprise teams in college basketball a year from now.  Not only are all the top players in the program freshmen and sophomores, but Jeff McMillan is well on his towards being one of the better players in the Atlantic-10 Conference, plus they also have 6'11 Glenn Batemon waiting in the wings.  If Fordham can land Massey, the final piece to the puzzle would be another big man (probably from the junior college ranks) who can go head-to-head against Batemon and make him better everyday in practice.

It came as no surprise this morning when our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin told us that Temple had beaten Cincinnati, Illinois, North Carolina, and Miami-FL for the services of 7'0 Keith Butler from Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) MA.  Obviously Temple got the inside track when Butler transferred from Winchendon (School) MA this fall to Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA, but we also have to give Owls assistant coach Dan Leibovitz a lot of credit for getting this one done.  As a matter of fact, since replacing Dean Demopoulos, who left to take the head coaching job at Missouri-Kansas City a year and a half ago, Leibovitz has turned into the point man for Temple's recruiting.  A year ago he landed 6'4 Nile Murry from Houston (Klein Forest) TX, 6'8 Nehemiah Ingram from Milledgeville (Baldwin) GA, and 6'9 Glen Elliot from Jacksonville (Bolles) FL and earlier this fall he landed 6'7 Antywane Robinson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  However, getting Butler was the supreme coup.  Currently we have Butler ranked #26 nationally our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players, but the upside and potential are unlimited for this long lanky shot blocker, if he has the right coach to motivate him.   And that's what Owls head coach John Chaney does best.   Chaney also has a history of taking kids with tough academic histories, (i.e. Mark Karcher, Kevin Lyde) and getting them to be successful both on and off the court.  Not only will this likely be the case with Butler, but it's probably one of the reasons why Temple was able to beat everybody else for his services (if Butler turns out to be a partial or non-qualifier, Temple would still be able to get him into school).

Thursday, November 8, 2001

College basketball season officially begins today (Maryland versus Arizona and Florida versus Temple in the Coaches versus Cancer Classic tonight at Madison Square Garden), so our timing couldn't be any better with regards to publishing our Pre-Season Top 30 College Rankings, which include the number of starters returning for each team, each team's 2000-2001 conference and overall records, the conference in each team participartes, and a quick comment about each team.  Picking Duke #1 and Kentucky #2 was easy, but picking Maryland #3 over Illinois was tough.  We decided to give the Terrapins the nod due to their NCAA Final Four experience and the fact they have four starters back.  Memphis, which checks in at #5, is ranked higher here than anywhere else, because we think DaJuan Wagner and Chris Massie will make the same type of impact Larry Johnson made for UNLV during the 1989-90 season.  If you will recall, we were the only publication to have Johnson as the pre-season college Player-of-the-Year prior to having ever played a game for the Runnin' Rebels.  And we're thinking about doing the same with Wagner (we'll definitely have him ranked on our first team, which will be published later this week).  We also had to think long and hard about our second 10, but, in the end, Kansas edged out Florida, Iowa, Missouri, and St. Joseph's, because we really like Jayhawks' chemistry and combination of youth and experience.  UCLA also deserves top 10 consideraton, but we're usually conservative when a team has a freshman point guard (Cedric Bozeman).  So we made the Bruins #11, followed in order by Cincinnati, Texas, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Michigan State, Alabama, Arizona, Virginia, and North Carolina, Utah, Boston College, Temple, Western Kentucky, Gonzaga, Fresno State, Georgetown, Indiana, Southern Cal, and Louisville.

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us Brown University has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'0 Adam Braun from Greenwich (H.S.) CT and Siena has landed its fourth recruit in 6'7 David Ryan from Eastchester (H.S.) NY.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tell us that 6'8 Mark Surgalski from Ashland (Paul Blazer) KY, who is the #2-ranked senior in Kentucky by the HOOP SCOOP, has made it official for Wright State.  This is a great get for Raiders head coach Ed Schilling, who is regarded by the HOOP SCOOP has one of the bright young head coaches in the business.  Surgalski doesn't have a lot of athleticism, but he more than makes up for it with his aggressiveness inside.  We're talking about a big body who likes to bang on the boards and score around the basket.  Surglaski joins 6'0 Dontae Patterson from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH and 6'5 Andrew Burelson from Wheelersburg (H.S.) OH, who are ranked #15 and #18, respectively, in the state of Ohio by Johnson, in what is shaping up to one of the top recruiting classes in the Horizon Conference.  We also understand that UCLA has accepted a 6'8 Matt McKinney from Santa Yrez (H.S.) CA a basketball scholarship.  "All I'll say is that's a reach," says our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis.   If you will recall, we previously reported that UCLA head coach Steve Lavin was getting pressure to offer McKinney, who is widely regarded as the #1 volleyball player in the nation.   However, we didn't think he was good enough.  Well, apparently the extra scholarship that Division I schools have gotten as a result of the recent rule change has changed things and, as a result, the UCLA now has two verbal commitments.  The Bruins also landed 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, who is ranked #11 in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, earlier this fall and they are in two-horse race, along with North Carolina, for 6'10 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia, who plans to sign in the spring.  That means UCLA still has one available scholarship, which they will likely use to sign the best available player (preferably another inside player).  We also have confirmed that New Orleans has beaten schools like South Florida, Richmond, Appalachian State, Winthrop, Stetson, and American University for 6'8 Billy McDade from Largo (H.S.) FL.  You won't find McDade ranked on any of the national lists, but he's grown three inches in the last year and has exploded so this fall.  As a matter of fact, he may be one of the biggest sleepers in the nation.  McDade has played inside most of his career, but he can shoot the lights out and has big time athleticism. 

Wednesday, November 7, 2001

A number of people, including our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis, have finally confirmed that 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #36 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Arizona.  We knew it was supposed to happen on Sunday, but during the last two days nobody we'd talked with could confirm it as official.  So we held off on reporting it such until now.   Actually this happens a lot more than most people realize.  The best example is Ralph Sampson, who was all set to sign with Kentucky during the spring in 1979.  However, when Sampson got to the podium he changed his mind and announced for Virginia.  Another classic example came in 1995 when Shareef Adbur-Rahim, who was believed to be a lock for Georgia Tech, committed to California.  This was such a shock that more than one reporter who was at the press conference dropped his pen in surprise.  More recently a high school player, who we will not identify, was supposed to have had a press conference to announce that he would by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft.  One of competitors not only reported that it had happened, but even had quotes from the press conference.  The only problem was that the press conference was cancelled, so not only was the story wrong, but it was obvious that the quotes were fabricated.  Obviously this was poor journalism, but it's easy to assume that a player did what everybody expects him to do.  Remember, on Saturday we were the first to report that a commitment by Adams to Arizona was eminent.  But there is a big difference between reporting something as fact and reporting that something is likely or probable.  So we do our best to always get confirmation, even if it means we're not the first to say it's a done deal.   Obviously this is what happened in the case of Adams, but that doesn't diminish the significance of the commitment.  As a matter of fact, Adams' commitment moves Arizona's recruiting class up to #22 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  It also gives Arizona the highest ranked recruiting class with two or less players in the class.  If you will, the Wildcats also got a commitment from 6'3 Chris Rodgers from Portland (Wilson) OR, who is ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Trigonis also has the scoop on 6'2 Kenton Paulino from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, who has picked Texas over schools like San Diego State, Providence, Seton Hall, DePaul, and San Diego.  This too comes as no surprise.  If you will recall, we recently reported that Texas had stashed 6'4 Stanley Asumnu at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, but they passed on him this fall, because they thought they could get Paulino.  Currently we have Paulino is ranked #35 nationally on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players, but Trigonis tells us that Paulino has dramatically improved and, as a result, is a major steal for the Longhorns.  And Trigonis should now, because Paulino played his high school basketball at Los Angeles (Fremont) CA.

Tuesday, November 6, 2001

It looks like Marshall has stolen another one out of the state of Kentucky by landing 6'7 LaVar Carter from Louisville (Male) KY.  If you will recall, the Thundering Herd walked in the backdoor and got 6'9J.R. Van Hoose from Paintsville (H.S.) KY when the Univerity of Kentucky passed on Van Hoose four years ago.  They landed 6'2 Ronny Dawn from Newport (Central Catholic) KY, who was one of the best 3-pointer shooters in the state, last fall.  If that weren't enough, Marshall also had 6'5 Ronald Blackshear, who transferred from Temple, sitting out a year ago and they have added two other excellent recruits earlier this fall in 6'6 Robert Strickland from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is ranked #35 on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players, and 6'9 Mark Patton from Ona (Cabell-Midland) WV, who is the second best player in West Virginia this year behind 6'10 Kevin Pittsnogle from Martinsburg (H.S.) WV.  In other words, Marshall head coach Greg White is in the process of assembling a great young group that should keep his team near the top of the Mid-American Conference standings for years to come.   Our Alabama Editor Mark Komara has confirmed that 6'8 Chuck Davis from Selma (Southside) AL, who is ranked #70 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, did indeed make it official for the Crimson Tide (we reported that he thought this had happened yesterday, but at the time it was unconfirmed).  This is a great catch for the head coach Mark Gottried, because Davis is a good rebounder and an excellent scorer  inside, plus he's a great kid and outstanding student.  However, may be too nice a kid, because he also needs to learn to play harder and become more consistent.  Alabama was always the heavy favorite for Davis, but in the end they had to hold off schools like LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi, Auburn, and UAB.  Another must get for the Crimson Tide is 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Prichard (H.S.) AL, but that one is still a two-horse race.  If you will recall, Winston committed to the University of California a month ago, but then he reneged when Alabama turned the heat up. 

Yesterday Texas Christian head coach Billy Tubbs announced that he will retire at the end of the current season and already the speculation has began regarding who his replacement will be.  Right at the top of the list is N.C. State head coach Herb Sendek.   Sure, Sendek will be on the hot seat at N.C. State this year if the Wolfpack don't make the NCAA Tournament and/or improve dramatically upon last year's 13-16 record, despite the fact that he will be going to war in the tough ACC with a very inexperienced front-line, which includes 6'8 Soph Marcus Melvin, 6'7 Frosh Levi Watkins, 6'10 Frosh Josh Powell, 6'10 Frosh Jordan Collins, 6'9 Red-Shirt Freshman Michael Bell.   But Sendek is still one of the brightest and hardest working young head coaches in college basketball, plus the athletic director at who hired him at Miami-OH eight years ago is now the athletic director at TCU.  We also haven't confirmed that 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA has committed to the University of Arizona, but we were the first to tell you that we thought a commitment by Adams to the Wildcats was eminent.  However, we have confirmed that 6'3 Louis Hinnant from Brandywine (Gywnn Park) MD has verbally committed to Boston College.  Hinnant doesn't have the high profile name, like a lot of the wing players Boston College has recruited this fall, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin thinks this athletic 2-guard has a major upside.  "He's a major sleeper!" says Rubin.  "He's very athletic, has quick hands, and has gotten a lot better since we first saw him at the NBA Players Association Camp in June."  Hinnant joins 6'4 Jason Forte from Bay Springs (H.S.) MS, who committed a month ago to Boston College, to give the Eagles two players in the fold. 

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin reported to us yesterday that nine teams that were originally scheduled to participate at Slam Dunk to the Beach have been bumped from the field by the executive director of the tournament Bobby Jacobs due to cost-cutting measures that have resulted from a downturn in the economy and decreased advertising support.  The teams are Newtown (Council Rock) PA, Absecon (Holy Spirit) NJ, Cape May Court House (Middle Township) NJ, Potomac (The Bullis School) MD, Atlantic City (H.S.) NJ, Washington (Spingarn) DC, Charlotte (Latin) NC,  Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA, and Camp Hill (Trinity) PA.  "Most of these teams would probably even pay their own way to come to the tournament," says Rubin.  However, according to a National High School Association Rule that was implemented several years ago, you have to treat each team in the same and, as a result, Jacobs is locked into paying for the transition of every team.  In other words, just like with the NCAA, the National High School Association rules are more important than the teams and players that they are supposed to govern.  And the irony of it all is that the rule was put into place to keep the less talented teams from getting discriminated against.  Obviously in this case it didn't work, because Slam Dunk to the Beach is still the place to be right after Christmas.  Let's take a closer look.  Assuming that Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL wins it's court case tomorrow, this powerhouse team from Florida is scheduled to square off in the Slam Dunk to the Beach bracket against Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX and that should be one of the premier match-ups of the entire tournament, because 6'3 Daniel Horton and 6'0 Soph Jason Horton will go head-to-head against 5'10 Jr T.J. Bannister and 6'4 Jr Dwan Youmans.  Other games in the main bracket will include Ft. Washington (Germantown (Academy) PA with 6'6 Matt Walsh, 6'7 Lee Melchionni, and 6'11 Ted Skuchas versus Memphis (East) TN with 6'8 Soph Jerrell Houston; Inglewood (H.S.) CA with 6'9 DeAngelo Collins versus Seattle Rainier Beach) WA with 6'5 Jr Lodrick Stewart and 6'5 Rodrick Stewart; and Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA with 6'7 Adam Zahn and 6'5 Jr Wendall White versus Bronx (All Hallows) NY with 6'3 Ricardo Soliver, 5'10 Marvin McCullough, and 5'10 Soph Ron Ramone.  And the match-ups and talent in the National Power Series and the Tip-Off Classic should be equally good.  We're talking about Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ with 6'3 Jr Art Bowers, 6'7 Emmanuel Massey, 6'8 Soph Stanley Branch and 6'7 Soph Keving Palacios versus Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH with 6'6 Jr LeBron James, who is the best high school player in the nation regardless of class and Amityville (H.S.) NY with 6'8 Jason Fraser versus Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY with 6'6 Curtis Sumpter in the opening round of the National Power Series.  The field for the Tip-Off Classic includes Dublin (Coffman) OH with 6'1 Chris Quinn; Virginia Beach (Salem) VA with 6'1 Johnny Gilchrist; Charlestown (H.S.) MA with 6'4 Rashid Al-Kaleem and 6'0 Antonio Chatman; and Sanford (Hockessin) DE with 6'8 Jr Will Sheridan.  Also participating in numerous individual match-ups during the week will be Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC with 6'9 Jr Darren Townes, who according to Jacobs has transferred from Alexandria (T.C. Williams) VA, 6'2 Jr Alfred Walsh and 6'2 Jr Robert McIver; Marion (Tabor Academy) MA with 6'9 Torin Francis; Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH with 6'5 DeForrest Riley and 6'2 Robert Hite; Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA with 6'4 J.J. Redick; Stroud (H.S.) OK with 6'8 Kevin Bookout; Troy (H.S.) OH with 6'5 Alex Carmona; Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA with 6'7 Jr Jordan Ingram and 6'8 Frosh Kent Tribbett; Richland (St. Augustine) NJ with 6'7 Mike Haddix and 6'2 Frosh Anthony Farmer; Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) OH with 6'5 Josh Hausfield; Towson (Catholic) MD with 6'4 Darnell Hopkins and 6'8 Jr Byron Joynes; Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD with 6'4 Jr Chris Williams; Middle Village (Christ the King) NY with 6'3 Kelvin Nelson, Severn (Archbishop Spaulding) MD, and Milford (H.S.) DE.  If that weren't enough, the field for the Mayor's Cup will include Lewes Cape Henelopen) DE, Wilmington (St. Elizabeth) DE, Newark (Hodgson Voc Tech) DE, and Wilmington (Brandywine) DE.  Jacobs also appears to have a great head start on getting things ready for 2002, as he's already got signed contracts or verbal commitments from Oakland (Vocational Tech) CA with 6'8 Jr Leon Powe; Reno (H.S.) NV with 6'9 Jr David Padget; Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN with 6'7 Jr Kris Humphries; Starkville (H.S.) MS with 6'8 Jr Travis Outlaw; Prentiss (H.S.) MS with 6'9 Soph Al Jefferson; Camden (Wilcox Central) AL with 6'8 Soph Mike Williams; Calera (H.S.) AL with 6'8 Soph Joey Cameron; Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA with 6'9 Soph Randolph Morris; Barrington (St. Andrews) RI with 6'7 Jr Demetris Nichols and 6'1 Soph Emery Outland; Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA with 6'7 Jr Jordan Ingram and 6'8 Frosh Kent Tribbett; Paterson (Catholic) NJ with 6'11 Jr Darryl Watkins; Orlando (Edgewater) FL with 511 Soph Darius Washington; Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC with 6'9 Jr Darren Townes, 6'2 Jr Alfred Walsh and 6'2 Jr Robert McIver; and Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY.  Jacobs also is hoping to get a return visit from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH and is attempting to line up Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  And those are just the ones he'll let us mention.  In other words, Jacobs, who is the P.T. Barnum of the holiday tournament business, hasn't lost his touch.  Neither has Donnie Wilkie, who is the tournament director for the Bank of America City of Palms Classic.  As a matter of fact, yesterday Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA head coach Bill Ellerbee officially told Wilkie something we'd warned him three weeks ago - Philadelphia Public League schools can't travel further 50 miles to play this season.  One option for Wilkie might be to take Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, if they win their court case tomorrow.  Another possibility is St. Matthews (Calhoun County) SC with 6'2 Soph Zam Frederick, but Wilkie says he will consider any good team that can fly out of Philadelphia, PA on Monday, December 17th or a team from the Southeast that can drive and is closer than 774 miles to  Ft. Myers, FL.

Monday, November 5, 2001

Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report has the scoop on 6'7 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who has made it official for the University of Arkansas.   Igoudala, who is ranked #73 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, is a big time athlete and, as a result, should fit in nicely with the Razorbacks version of 40-minutes of hell.  But for Igoudala to reach the highest level, he needs to improve his outside jumper and become more consistent overall.  Remember, Igoudala was so ordinary that Illinois Warriors head coach Larry Butler didn't even play him when the game was on the line in the National 17-Under AAU quarterfinals in Orlando, FL.  However, the next day Igoudala hit the game winning shot in the semi-finals and stepped up with 22 points in the championship game en route to tournament MVP honors.  Igoudala joins 6'5 Jonathan Modica from Smackover (H.S.) AR, who is borderline top 100 senior nationally, 6'7 Brandon Tobias from Ft. Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, and 6'8 Rashard Sullivan from Miami (Norland Senior) FL to give the Razorbacks a four-man recruiting class.  But, even with four players, this recruiting class is not good enough to crack our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date, which goes 33 deep.  Modica is a big time athlete who makes a living going to the hole, but we question whether he has a shooters' mentality.  Tobias and Sullivan are good solid players for the high Division I level, but neither is ranked any higher than #14 in the state by Tallahassee Wildcats head coach John Adkins, who has provided us with his ranking of the top 50 seniors in the state (Adkins' list will be published later this week exclusively in the Members Section of the HOOP SCOOP).  

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson confirms that 6'11 Alexander Johnson from Albany (Dougherty) GA visited the University of Cincinnati over the weekend and that he will likely visit the University of Louisville in the near future.   Remember, we told you over a month ago that Johnson's commitment to the University of Georgia, which he made last spring, wasn't as firm as it looks.  Cincinnati has several connections that might help get this done, including Bearcats assistant coach Keith Legree, who originally is from Statesboro (H.S.) GA and former Bearcats player Dontonio Wingfield, who played in high school for the legendary Willie Boston at Albany (Westover) GA.  Louisville is hoping to take advantage of strength coach Wiley Brown's strong Georgia ties, as well as the Greg Tinch-connection (Tinch also is an alumnus of Westover High School).  Johnson and Mark Komara, who is the head coach of the Southeast Raptors and the Alabama Editor of the HOOP SCOOP, both are telling us that it is being reported that 6'8 Charles Davis from Selma (Southside) AL has committed to the University of Alabama.  However, we have yet to officially confirm it, so we are waiting Davis to our list of early commitments.  We also haven't confirmed whether 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA has made it official for Arizona, but we understand too is a done deal.  Another one we're watching carefully is 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX.  Our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff tells us that Illinois is out of the Diagu-sweepstakes, which means it's now a two-horse race between Arizona State and Connecticut.  Diagu likes the Sun Devils, but his father is pushing the Huskies.  If Diagu and 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakeland (Kathleen) FL both pick Connecticut, then their recruiting class will move into a tie at #12, along with Louisville and Syracuse, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, the Huskies coaching staff got off to a good start earlier this fall when they landed 6'6 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON.  Grandstaff also tells us that Oklahoma State has gotten a free player in 6'1 Ross Derogatis from Mansfield (H.S.) TX.  In case you didn't know or had forgotten, Derogatis is the guy who hit the game winning shot in the championship game for Team Texas in the NIKE Peach Jam in Augusta, GA last July.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Allen Rubin tells us that the new coaching staff at Siena is working overtime in his area.  Earlier this fall they picked up commitments from 6'7 Michael Haddix from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ and 6'9 Paul Williams from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and now 6'4 Antoine Jordan from Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA has made it official for the Saints.  

Sunday, November 4, 2001

One things we annually do this time of year is update our list Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches, which includes lists of Active NCAA Final Four Head Coaches, Winningest Active Division I Head Coaches By Percentage, Winningest All Time Divison I Head Coaches, All Time Most NCAA Tournament Appearances, All Time Most NCAA Tournament Wins, All Time Most Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances, All Time Most National Championships, All Time Most Final Four Wins, and All Time Most NCAA Final Four Appearances.  Especially interesting is tracking where the top active coaches stand on the all time win list.  Duke is the heavy favorite to repeat as NCAA Championship, but Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who currently has 606 career wins, will need at least another year before he cracks the list of the top 20 all time winningest head coaches (Gene Bartow now ranks #20 with 647 career wins).  However, Arizona's Lute Olson, who has 639 career wins, will likely pass Bartow, Marv Harshman (654), and Ralph Miller (657) and Temple's John Chaney should pass Miller (657), John Wooden (664), and Denny Crum (676) on all time career win list this season.  Speaking of Olson, he also moved into a tie for second with Bob Knight on our list of Active NCAA Final Four Head Coaches and into a tie for 5th with Knight and Guy Lewis on our list of All Time Most NCAA Final Four Appearances.  Obviously John Wooden heads this list with 12, followed by Dean Smith with 11, Krzyzewski with nine, and Crum and Adolph Rupp with six NCAA Final Four Appearances apiece.   Another coach who is knocking on the door of joining this elite group is new Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.  If Pitino wins the NCAA Championship at Louisville, he will have as many NCAA Final Four appearances as Knight (five)and as many NCAA Championships (2) as the coach he replaced (Crum).  Knight will have his work cut out for him if he is going to get Texas Tech to the NCAA Final Four and/or win another NCAA Championship, but their no question that he will make a serious run at becoming college basketball's all-time winningest head coach.  Currently Knight has 763 wins, so at just over 20 wins per year, he should be able to catch Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp in about five years.  Three more NCAA Tournament Appearances also would put Knight into a tie with Smith for first on that list as well.  The fastest rising head coach is Michigan's State Tom Izzo, who needs only one more NCAA Final Four appearance to join Krzyzewski (9), Knight (5), Olson (5), Pitino (4), and Tarkanian (4) on our list of the Active NCAA Final Four Head Coaches list.  Izzo (.736) also has the 8th best winning percentage among active head coaches behind Tarkanian (.802), College of Charleston's John Kresse (.801), Kansas' Roy Williams (.800), Utah's Rick Majerus (.743), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (.743), Pitino (.739), and Olson (.738) and he needs only more NCAA Championship to join a very elite group of coaches, which includes Wooden (10), Rupp (4), Knight (3), Krzyzweski (3), Crum (2), Smith (2), Henry Iba (2), Ed Jucker (2), Branch McCracken (2), and Phil Woolpert (2), who have won more than one NCAA Championship.  

Saturday, November 3, 2001

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis thinks 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, who is ranked #36 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and #3 in the senior class in Southern California behind 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA and 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, will commit to the University of Arizona and it will happen sooner than later.  Did you know that Adams will be taking an unofficial to Tucson, AZ tomorrow to attend Arizona's exhibition?   Trigonis' source believes Adams plans to commit on the visit.  If this does happen, it will move Arizona's recruiting class up to #21 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, they got also got a commitment last spring from 6'3 Chris Rodgers from Portland (Wilson) OR, who is ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and they are also one of the finalists for 6'7 Andre Igoudala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, who is ranked #73 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   If Wildcats head coach Lute Olson pulls of this trifecta, Arizona's class would move even higher (into a tie at #16 with Indiana, Villanova, and Iowa) on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  But, even more important, this would totally fill the current void that Arizona currently has out on the perimeter, plus it is the perfect complement to the recruiting class that Arizona signed a year ago.  If you will recall, that class, which included 6'8 Dennis Latimore from Halstead (H.S.) KS, 6'2 Salim Stoudamire from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'0 Will Bynum from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'9 Isaiah Fox from Santa Monica (Crossroads) CA, 6'10 Channing Frye from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, was ranked #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  In other words, the Wildcats are rebuilding, but it looks like they will be one of the elite teams in college basketball again in a hurry.  Trigonis also tells us that 6'3 Brandon Rohe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA has verbally committed to Santa Clara and Montana State has landed 6'3 Martrel Johnson from Las Vegas (Durango) NV and 6'0 Frank Brown from Las Vegas (Durango) NV.   Especially interesting was the debate Trigonis and I had regarding whether Johnson should be listed as a three or a four.  I maintain that Johnson is a four all the way.  As a matter of fact, that's why he's going to Montana State, instead of to a higher level.  However, Trigonis thinks he should be listed as wing forward, because that's the position Johnson needs to play down the road in order to reach the highest level of successful at the college level.  Regardless, we think this is a great catch for the Bobcats.  Johnson has excellent athleticism, great rebounding ability, and a killer instinct, which means he should project as one of the better players in the Big Sky Conference down the road.  Trigonis also confirms what Eric Prisbell of the Fresno Bee told us last week with regards to Fresno State also being on the verge of getting 6'1 Les Norman from Long Beach City (JC) CA, who is the #3 ranked shooting guard in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  If you will recall, several weeks ago we reported that the Bulldogs also had gotten a commitment from 6'7 Omar Weaver from Riverside (JC) CA and they are in a lot better shape than most people realize for 6'9 DeAngelo Collins from Inglewood (H.S.) CA.  Well, if all these pieces fall together, Fresno State Jerry Tarkanian would definitely have the talent necessary to take his program to another level and, as a result, will be back in all probably.  However, he also may have too many high maintenance players, as Norman, Collins, and Weaver all have had troubled pasts (remember what happened during the Rafer Alston-Chris Herrion days).

Friday, November, 2, 2001

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'2 Kenton Paulino from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME is being recruited by Providence, Seton Hall, George Mason, San Diego, and Texas.  Speaking of the Lornhorns, Paulino has an official visit scheduled to Austin, TX for the weekend of November 9th-11th.  When Johnson told us this, a red flag went up.  We haven't previously reported this, but have been told that the Texas coaching stashed 6'4 Stanley Asumnu from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX at Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  However, they backed off on Asumnu this fall and we suspect the reason is they may have found somebody they like better.  Obviously that opened the door for Tennessee to steal Asumnu, but we've been trying to figure out for weeks who the two-guard is the Longhorns are trying to keep under wraps.  We're guessing it's Paulino and he's probably a lot better than his ranking (#35 nationally on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players), especially if Texas passed on Asumnu to wait on him (Paulino).  Johnson also is tells us that 6'9 Jason Chappell from Worcester (Academy) MA, who is ranked #55 on our list of the Top 5th Year & Prep School Players, has decided to return home and play for the University of Wisconsin.  This moves the Badgers recruiting class, which also includes 6'3 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'7 Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominican) WI, and 6'4 Alando Tucker from Lockport (Township) IL, up to #27 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.   Louisiana Tech has gotten a commitment from 6'7 Barry Thompson from Odessa (JC) TX and New Orleans has landed 6'8 Maurice Jackson from Odessa (JC) TX.  You remember Thompson!  He was the player from Winchendon (School) MA who impressed us so much when we saw him two years ago in the National Prep School Invitational two years ago.  Currently he is ranked #8 among wing forwards by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, but our guess is that he's better than that.  Jackson is also a name from out of the past.  If you will recall, he played for both Bob Hurley, Sr at Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ and Kevin Boyle at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, but never lived up to the early hype he received when he was a freshman in high school.  However, Jackson is still another important piece to the puzzle for Privaters head coach Monte Towe.   If you will recall, soon after Towe got the head coaching job at New Orleans last spring, he landed a recruiting class, which included 6'0 Johnell Smith from Santa Fe (JC) FL, 6'6 Hector Romero from Independence (JC) KS, 6'10 Nerijus Lisaskas from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS, 6'10 Andriy Sukhotin from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS, and 6'8 Victor Brown from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, that was ranked #21 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   Johnson also tells us that LSU has gotten a pair of commitments from 6'6 Tim Bush from Marrero (Shaw) LA and 6'7 Mildon Ambres from Opelousas (H.S.) LA and Long Beach State has gotten a commitment from 6'8 Antoine Jackson from South Plains (JC) TX. 

Brian Merritt of the Elite Scouting Service in Baltimore, MD was the first of many people tell us that 6'9 Jr Darren Townes from Alexandria (T.C. Williams) VA is transferring to Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC.  However, it's not official yet, because there may be a problem getting Townes into school.  But let's assume that he does get admitted into Archbishop Carroll.  He would join 6'2 Jr Alfred Walsh and 6'2 Jr Robert McIver, who transferred to Archbishop Carroll from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA this fall, to  form one of the most talented trios in the strong DC Catholic League for the next two years.  If Townes, doesn't end up at Archbishop Carroll, then it is anybody's guess where he will land.  However, one thing is for sure - he won't be back T.C. Williams High School.  We also have heard that 6'8 Julian Terrell from Antioch (Ezell Harding Christian) TN has verbally committed to Vanderbilt.  This is important, because Terrell is an athletic power forward who is expected to provide the perfect inside complement to 6'11 Ted Skuchas from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, who also picked the Commodores a month ago.  And just like Skuchas, Terrell just keeps getting better and better.  Add 6'6 Bryan Kruger from Gilbert (Mesquite) AZ, who committed to the Commodores earlier this fall, and 5'11 Mario Moore from Antioch (H.S.) TN, who picked the Commodores when he was a junior, to Vanderbilt's recruiting and it is easy to see why they are ranked #25 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  This also puts Vanderbilt's recruiting class #5 in the Southeastern Conference behind Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Kentucky.  But, even more important, this class has the kind of talent and potential that head coach Kevin Stallings needs to battle the elite teams in the league in a couple of years.  Remember, Moore is ranked among #50 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and Terrell, Skuchas, and Kruger all have the potential to be just as good down the road. 

We are still waiting to hear something official with regards to 6'9 Ike Diagu from Garland (H.S.) TX and 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) TX, but we have confirmed that 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI has made it official for Michigan State.  This is huge for a number of reasons.  First, it keeps the Flint connection intact.  If you will recall, Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has made a living off the top players from this blue collar town in recent years (i.e. Antonio Smith, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell, and Kelvin Torbert).   Second, it means Michigan State's recruiting class has moved from #21 into a tie at #7 with Maryland on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Remember, the Spartans also have already landed 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI, 6'4 Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI, and 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN in this recruiting class.  Third, Trannon is a free player for the basketball team, because he also is a tremendous football player and, as a result, will sign a National Letter-of-Intent to play football.   Fourth, Trannon will provide the perfect complement to Davis inside.   Remember, Davis isn't a killer on the boards, but Trannon, who also is a phenomenal athletic, is.  Trannon, who is ranked #25 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, originally was thought to be an undersized power forward.  However, after the way he played last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp (he did everything , including hit 3-pointers, and finished ranked #11 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP) we are convinced that he also will be able to develop into a wing forward down the road.  And if that happens, he's projects as a pro in both basketball and football.  Fifth, his commitment to Michigan State keeps the Spartans arch rival (the University of Michigan) from getting him.  Remember, it's only a matter of time before first year head coach Tommy Amaker restores the Wolverines to national prominence.  Also recall that several years ago we told you that the next dynasty in college basketball would be Michigan State.  Well, they have been to the NCAA Final Four three consecutive years now and Izzo already has one NCAA Championship on his resume.  This year is a rebuilding year, because Zach Randolph went hardship into the NBA Draft last spring, but they still have Marcus Taylor and Kelvin Torbert in the backcourt and are ranked among a lot of people's pre-season top 20 college teams.   And just think how good they will down the road when those two have an added year of experience and they get Davis, who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and Trannon inside.  Getting back to Foye and Diagu.  Foye was supposed to have made it official for Villanova today and Diagu wants to get it over with and commit to Arizona State.  However, Diagu's father is complicating matters and, as a result, appears to be holding up the decision.   Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Foye did not hold a press conference today, but that doesn't effect Foye's decision in any way.  As a result, we are now counting him with Villanova's recruiting class. 

Thursday, November 1, 2001

It's not done yet, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'3 Randy Foye from Newark (East Side) NJ, has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and that he will pick Villanova.  When this happens, it will move the Wildcats recruiting class, which also includes 6'1 Allan Ray from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and 6'6 Curtis Sumpter from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY from #22 to #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date.  Foye is an athletic combo guard with good ball handling and passing skills, excellent moves to the basket, and the ability to thrive in an uptempo setting.  He also should be the perfect complement to Ray, who also  falls into that combo guard category, as he too is a prolific scorer and a tremendous natural talent.  This also is significant, because it means that first-year head coach Jay Wright, who is widely regarded as one of the rising stars in the business, will have landed three players who are ranked among the top 50 seniors nationally (Ray is ranked #22, Sumpter is ranked #37, and Foye is ranked #49 nationally) by the HOOP SCOOP, as well as three of the top five seniors from the New York Metropolitan area.  The other two are 6'1 Elijah Ingram from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who picked St. John's earlier this fall, and 6'8 Jason Fraser from Amityville (H.S.) NY, who is still considering Villanova, St. John's, Louisville, and North Carolina.  If Fraser, who is ranked #19 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, picks Villanova, their recruiting class would move up to #2 nationally behind Duke and ahead of Florida.  It also would send a strong signal that New York City is still the backyard for Wright, who made a living getting many of the better players in the city during the last seven years to stay home and attend Hofstra (i.e. Speedy Claxton).  Right now we think Villanova is the leader for Fraser, but this is a must recruit for St. John's head coach Mike Jarvis.  As a matter of fact, Fraser might be the most important player Jarvis has ever recruited.  Remember, Fraser is the 6'8 shot blocker/rebounder/defender who is exactly what the doctor ordered to solved the Red Storm's inside deficiencies. 

One of the things that separates the HOOP SCOOP apart from our competition is our willingness to go the extra mile to provide you with information that you can't get anywhere else.  A good example is our annual Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches.   At the top of the list is Jim Phelan, but he almost deserves an asterisk, because he's been a head coach for 47 years and has had a total of only won 16 games during the last two years.  Denny Crum, who ranked #6 a year ago with 663 wins, is the most significant coach to have dropped off the list and Bob Knight, who checks in at #2 with 764 wins, and Rick Pitino, who ranks #42 with 352 wins, are the two most important additions from a year ago.   Especially interesting is the close race for #2 on the active win list among Knight, Lefty Driesell (762), and Jerry Tarkanian (759), who are separated by a total of only four wins.  Our guess is that Driesell and Tarkanian will pass Knight this year, but Knight may pass them back down the road, depending upon who retires first and, if, and when, he is able to turn get it down big at Texas Tech.  Also interesting is the battle that is being waged between Jim Boeheim (600) and Jim Calhoun (599).  A year ago Calhoun had an advantage of four wins, but now Boeheim leds by a single win.  Speaking of Boeheim, he's the guy near the top of the list who has the most wins while coaching the fewest number of seasons (25).  Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (606 wins in 26 seasons), the College of Charleston's John Kresse (557 wins in 22 seasons), Arkansas' Nolan Richardson (495 wins in 22 seasons), Purdue's Gene Keady (495 wins in 23 season), Stanford's Mike Montgomery (473 wins in 23 seasons), Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins (469 wins in 20 seasons), Kansas' Roy Williams (355 wins in 13 seasons), Louisville's Rick Pitino (352 wins in 15 seasons) Kentucky's Tubby Smith (234 wins in 10 seasons), Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Bruce Pearl (231 wins in nine seasons), Memphis' John Calipari (214 wins in nine seasons), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (148 wins in six season), UCLA's Steve Lavin (114 wins in five seasons), Gonzaga's Mark Few (52 wins in two seasons), and Xavier's Thad Matta (24 wins in only one season) are also on the fast track in terms of getting to the top of this list. 

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