HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR OCTOBER 2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has confirmed that 6'5 Jr William Buford from Toledo (Libbey) OH has verbally committed to Ohio State and this is big for a number of reasons.  First, Buford not only is ranked #21 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he is a big time athlete, an excellent 3-point shooter, and a total winner, as is evident by the fact that he's played on the team that won the AAU National Championship in the 15-Under age group 15 months ago and the 16-Under and 17-Under age groups this past summer.  Second, Buford, who also finished ranked #11 overall and #2 at the 2-guard position at the Reebok ABCD Camp, becomes the 7th in-state player to have picked the Buckeyes when you combine the players in last year's, this year's, and next year's recruiting classes.  Third, the Buckeyes beat Michigan State, Michigan, Kentucky, Arizona, Cincinnati, and Louisville for his services, which illustrates even further just how tough to beat the Buckeyes are in their own backyard.  Fourth, the addition of Buford opens the gap even further between Ohio State, which already was ranked #1, and Iowa, which is ranked #2, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008.   If you will recall, the Buckeyes also already have early verbal commitments from 6'10 Jr B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest) OH and 6'3 Jr Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN and they are still targeting a point guard, like 6'0 Jr Anthony Crater from Flint (Southwestern) MI, and another inside player, like 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH or 6'9 Jr Yancey Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH,  in the junior class.  And this will come on the heels of last year's recruiting class, which finished ranked #4 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 and included 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, and 6'9 Othello Hunter, from Hillsborough (JC) FL, and this year's recruiting class, which is currently ranked #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and includes 7'1 Kosta Koufas from Canton (Glen Oak) OH, 6'9 Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH, 6'6 Evan Turner from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, and 6'6 Jon Diebler from Upper Sandusky (H.S.) OH.   In other words, the Buckeyes have three consecutive recruiting classes that are ranked among the top 10 nationally and, if by some chance they are able to land both Crater, Roe, and Gates, we could be talking about the #1-ranked recruiting class in the nation when the final tallies are in for the Class of 2008 a-year-and-a-half from now.  However, Johnson would be surprised if that happened, due to the fact the Buckeyes are already well stocked with inside players for years to come.  Johnson also tells us that Roe, who is ranked #4 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has narrowed his list to Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Kansas, but adds that another school could be added if one of those schools lands somebody else before Roe has made his final decision.  The top three schools for Gates, who is ranked #14 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, appear to be Cincinnati, Ohio State, and Xavier, but Michigan, Indiana, and Louisville are also still being mentioned.  It also looks like the Buckeyes aren't done recruiting for this year's recruiting class, as Ohio State appears to be the leader over Louisville and Florida for 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Johnson also tells us that the favorites for 7'1 Jr Kenny Frease from Massillon (Perry) OH, who is ranked #79 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are Xavier, Michigan, and Notre Dame, but also mentions schools like Michigan State, Indiana, and Kentucky.  Johnson also informs us that the University of Toledo got an early verbal commitment a week ago from 6'8 Jr Zac Taylor from Oregon (Clay) OH.  This athletic white kid can run the floor, has good hands, is very effective within 15-feet of the basket, and is a good rebounder.  Taylor averaged 12.5 ppg and 9.1 rpg a year ago, but he did not play any AAU ball this past summer and, as a result, is under most people's radar screen.  So we suspect that the Rocket's coaching staff decided to lock him up early before everybody else found out how good he is.  We also find it interesting that Louisville has once again landed 7'1 Clarence Holloway from Chicago (Boys to Men) IL.  Yes, this is the same guy who originally verbally committed to the Cardinals three years ago as a junior in high school at Chicago (Harlan) IL, but later disappeared from Louisville's recruiting class when he started talked about by-passing college and entering his name into the NBA in the spring of 2005.  And Holloway did eventually declare for the NBA Draft, but also withdrew his name before the deadline in order to retain his amateurism status.  Holloway spent the 2005-2006 season in prep school at Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and now it looks like he has come full circle, as he's back in Chicago for his 6th Year of high school and once again is verbally committed to the Cardinals.  Holloway also has a massive frame and, if he gets into playing shape, has the potentially to truly be a physical specimen inside.  So he obviously is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals, as they are loaded with perimeter players for years to come, but must start thinking about replacing 6'9 Frosh Derrick Caracter, who could decide to go pro after a year or two in college, and 6'8 Jr Juan Diego Palacios, 6'11 Jr David Padgett, and 6'11 Jr Terrance Farley, all of whom will graduate after the 2007-2008 season.  We also have confirmed the East Carolina has landed 6'7 DeQuan Joyner from Goldsboro (H.S.) NC.  We're talking about an athletic combo forward who can play both inside and outside, as is evident by the fact that the two things that he does best are rebound and shoot the three.  Joyner also should be an excellent complement to 5'11 Brock Young from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'6 Jamar Abrams from Highland Springs (H.S.) VA, and 6'3 Jontae Sherrod from Tarboro (H.S.) NC, all of whom are also verbally committed to the Pirates, in a recruiting class that is now ranked #54 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important, East Carolina's recruiting class is now ranked #3, behind SMU and UTEP and Memphis, UAB, Rice, Tulane, and Houston, among schools in Conference USA.  And, when one also remembers that 6'10 Frosh Chad Wynn will red-shirt this season, it's clear that the Pirates are on track to have a little bit of everything in their freshmen class a year from now, as well as have the depth they will need to be very competitive in Conference USA for years to come.  Remember, they also landed five players - 6'1 Frosh Brandon Evans, 6'8 Frosh Gabe Blair, 6'9 Frosh John Fields, 5'11 Jr Darrell Jenkins, and 6'3 Jr Corey Farmer from Tallahassee (JC) FL - in last year's recruiting class who are expected to make an immediate impact this season.  We also have confirmed that 6'3 Jr Ron Waller from O'Fallon (Ft. Zumwalt West) MO has made an early verbal commitment to Western Kentucky and 6'9 Laron Dendy, who originally was at Greer (H.S.) SC and has made stops at Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and Pickens (Prince Avenue Prep) SC, is now at Kings Mountain (Hope Christian) NC.  We also understand that Dendy, who still appears to be verbally committed to Clemson, plans to reclassify as a junior.  However, for our purposes, we'll keep Dendy in our Ranking of the Top 900 Players Nationally in the Senior Class (Class of 2007) due to the fact that it is the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP not to reclassify a player once he begins his senior year of high school.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin was at the Team Philly versus Team Maryland Challenge at Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, MD on Saturday and he tells us that the teams from Maryland won all four games.  And this comes as no surprise for several reason.  First, the people running this event in their infinite wisdom decided to go head-to-head against the 4th Annual Philly versus Jersey Challenge at St. Benedict's Prep school in Newark, NJ and, as a result, only had about half of the top players from the Philadelphia area participated in the event.  Second, the Maryland teams had better players and this was especially evident in the Senior Game, as 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC and 6'8 Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD both were outstanding.  Wright finished with 35 points, made his teammates better, played great defense, and was impressive enough not only to take home game MVP honors, but also for Rubin to be talking about how Wright should be a lock for the McDonald's All-American Game, as well as a legitimate top 15-ranked senior nationally.  In other words, it looks like Wright has fully recovered after suffering from Mononucleosis, which slowed him down during the summer.  And Green simply reinforced his #7 national ranking by the HOOP SCOOP, as he finished with 26 points, scored both inside and outside with several sensational dunks and 3-pointer shots, and was tough on the boards.  The two best players for Team Philly were 6'2 Josh Martin from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA with 26 points and 6'8 Marcus Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA with 18 points.  The second best game of the day was the Freshman Game and one of the big reasons why was the willingness of 6'1 Frosh Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who only took two shots the entire game, to set the table for his teammates with his great passing ability, vision, and court awareness.  The leading scorer for Team Maryland with 20 points was 6'5 Frosh Brian Allen from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and the leading rebounder and shot blocker was 6'6 Frosh Roscoe Smith from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD.  6'1 Frosh Zahir Allen from Cardinal Dougherty) PA, 6'2 Frosh Deon Waiters from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, and 5'8 Frosh Rakim Brookins from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA all scored 21 points apiece for Team Philly and were all instrumental in helping their team come back from a 15-point deficit with four minutes to in the game before finally losing, 93-88, in overtime.  6'4 Jr Sean Mobley from Baltimore (St. Frances) MD, and 6'2 Jr Kedon Moore from Severn (Archbishop Spaulding) MD combined for 26 points, as the Maryland team won the Junior Game, 84-78, in yet another overtime game.  The leading scorers in the Sophomore Game, which was the least interesting of the four games, were 6'7 Soph Andrew Fitzgerald from Towson (Catholic) MD, who finished with 10 points for Team Maryland, and 6'4 Soph Kashief Festus from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA, who had 16 point for Team Philly.  We also have confirmed via our New England editor Adam Finkelstein that 6'10  Papa Dia from South Kent (Prep) CT has verbally committed to SMU and 6'4 Julian Allen from Garden City (JC) KS has verbally committed to Georgia Southern.  Obviously the commitment by Dia is huge for a number of reasons.  First, he ranked #56 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the 10th highest ranked player in the senior class nationally still available, behind 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'3 Rico Pickett from Decatur (H.S.) AL, 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'2 Tyrell Reed from Burlington (H.S.) KS, 6'8 Marcus Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'9 Herb Pope form Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, and 6'6 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA.  Second, SMU head coach Matt Doherty and his staff beat some pretty fast company for Dia's services, as schools like Louisville and Oklahoma both offered scholarships and had Dia on campus for official visits.  And this is important, because it shows the new regime can recruits its share of the top players nationally.  Third, Dia not only is a long big time athlete who can score, rebound, and block shots, but he will be expected to step in and contribute immediately next year, as he promises be the athletic physical presence inside that Doherty can build the rest of the team around.  Fourth, Dia joins 6'5 Ryan Harp from Abilene (Cooper) TX, 6'8 Alex Malone from Mansfield (Timberview) TX, and 6'0 Mike Walker from South Kent (Prep) CT, all of whom also are already apart of SMU's current recruiting class, which is now tied at #25, along with Maryland and Kent State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   Allen, who originally is from Waterbury (Crosby) CT, was the cornerstone of one of the best high school basketball teams to come through the state of Connecticut in recent memory when Crosby dominated the 2005 season and at the time he has interest from some high major programs.  However, Allen was forced to go the junior college route to improve his academic situation and now it appears this lefty shooting guard is a great catch for Georgia Southern.  Our new West Coast editor Alan Utter tells us that the race has not yet been declared official for 6'7 Drew Viney from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, but Viney's mother has told one of his sources that her son does plan to verbally committed to the University of Oregon.  If you will recall, last week we provided you with the scoop with regards to Viney reneging on the verbal commitment that he made several months ago to the University of California and we also told you that he likely will join his close friend 6'3 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA in the Ducks' current recruiting class.  We also suspect that 6'7 Darrington Hobson from Decatur (Christian) IL may be close to making a verbal commitment to Pepperdine.  Apparently he wants to be a big fish in a small pound, as well as have a chance to be one of the leaders in both scoring and assists in college basketball in a couple of years.  Remember, this is a guy who is multi-dimensional, skilled, and athletic enough to play any position from point guard to power forward and, if the Waves are able to pull this off, then the new coaching staff would be well on its way towards rebuilding the program in a hurry.  If you will recall, Pepperdine already has 6'7 Tyrone Shelley from San Diego (Crawford) CA, 6'8 Malcolm Thomas from San Diego (Crawford) CA, and 6'6 Jon Reed from Rolling Hills Estates (Palos Verdes Peninsula) CA all in the fold in a recruiting class that is now tied at #49, along with Wisconsin, Oregon State, and Dayton, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   And, if they also land Hobson, then we will be talking about a top 20-ranked recruiting class.  And that's scary when one remembers that Pepperdine head coach Vance Walberg is an X's and O's genius and has made a living beating teams with superior talent at both the high school and junior college levels. 

Sunday October 29, 2006

We attended the semi-finals and the championship game of the IS8 Fall Tip-off Classic at IS8 Middle School in South Jamaica, NY earlier today and the big story of the day was the incredible effort turned by 6'5 Jr Sylven Landesburg from Flushing (Holy Cross) NY, who scored 34 points in the first half and finished with 47 points in his team's 114-79 loss against the Junior All-Stars in the semi-finals.  Not only did Landesburg impress us with his 3-point shooting, great moves to the basket, and ability to pass out of the double team, but we also liked his silky smooth demeanor, knack for making those around him better, and extremely high basketball IQ.  Right now we have Landesburg ranked #37 nationally in the junior class, but, if he were a stock, now would be a good time to buy, because, based on the way he played today, he is the best player in the New York City Metropolitan area regardless of class.  And the word we're getting is that Landesburg has been playing like this all fall, which made it almost a no-brainer that he would be picked as the tournament's Player-of-the-Year.  In other words, it looks like he has taken his game to another level after a sub par summer and, as a result, is now arguably a top 10 junior nationally.  So it comes as no surprise that schools like Georgia Tech, Louisville, St. John's, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova, Stanford, Florida, Florida State, and Miami-FL are all in hot pursuit and the fact Landesburg also is a great student and a first class person is just another added bonus.  Unfortunately Landesburg didn't have the supporting cast and athleticism to keep pace with a Junior All-Stars team that featured 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Mike Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'8 Justin Burrell from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'0 Jr Josh Spivey from Aston (American Christian) PA, 5'10 Jamie Harris from Bronx (Wings) NY, 6'2 Kidani Brutus from Bronx (Wings) NY, 6'3 Nick Murphy from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, and 6'4 Michael Tuitt from Aston (American Christian) PA.  The Junior All-Stars, which got a 25-point effort from Fisher, a 20-point effort from Burrell, an 18-point effort from Murphy, and a 16-point effort from Glover, also jumped out early in the championship game and never looked back against a Shooting Stars team, which featured 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'2 Jr Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'2 Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, and 6'8 Jr James Southerland from Bayside (Cardozo) NY.  Athletically the Shooting Stars couldn't match up against the Junior All-Stars and this was compounded by the fact that several of the players on the Shooting Stars were like a black hole whenever they touched the ball on offense and refused to get back on defense, which resulted in more preventable fast breaks than in a bad McDonald's All-American Game.  However, we do have to give Strickland, who was arguably the best player, along with Landesburg, that we saw all day, and Samuels credit, because they were the only players on the team who really wenr to war at both end of the court.  Samuels, who finished with 26 points and was simply overpowering inside, was even better than he was when we saw him yesterday at the 4th Annual Philly versus Jersey Challenge at St. Benedict's Prep school in Newark, NJ and Strickland, who had 15 points in the championship game and 17 points in the semi-finals, has a great feel for the game, always plays with a high level of intensity, and has a knack for finding ways to score both inside and outside.  We also found it interesting when Strickland told us that his two favorite schools are Michigan State and Villanova and that Rutgers, UCLA, and Connecticut round out his top five.  Speaking of Strickland, we find it hard to believe that he was left off the three all tournament teams altogether.  Instead, the First Team included 6'8 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'8 Malik Booth from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Mike Glover from Aston (American Christian) PA, and 6'6 Jermaine Peterson from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA; the Second Team included 6'5 Jr Ryan Pearson from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'1 Soph Tamir Jackson from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'4 Nathaniel Lester from Brooklyn (Canarsie) NY, 6'1 Roland Davis from Oyster Bay (St. Dominic's) NY, and 6'6 Jr Patrick Jackson from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY; and the Third Team featured 5'10 Jamie Harris from Bronx (Wings) NY, 5'8 Soph Lamont Jones from New York (Rice) NY, 6'2 Jr Mike Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ, 6'0 Mike Coburn from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, and 6'5 John Holland from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  We also want mention the fact that 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ was named the MVP of the Playoffs; 6'5 Jr Ryan Pearson from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY scored 30 points and had 15 points in the 3rd Quarter when Team Odom went on a 20-8 run and a briefly took a 74-72 lead with two minutes left in the quarter; 6'8 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ has Georgetown, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, and Florida on his list; and 6'8 Justin Burrell from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME hit 11-11 field goals for the Junior All-Stars en route to 16 points versus the Holy Cross Knights in the semi-finals and to 20 points versus the Shooting Stars in the championship game.  Speaking of Samuels, who was tough to stop going the basket and very aggressive on boards, and Burrell, who impressed us with post moves, rebounding, and athleticism, they went head-to-head in one of the best match-up of the entire day in the championship game. 

Saturday October 28, 2006

The Philly All-Stars won the Sophomore Game, 102-97, but the New Jersey All-Stars made it the best-two-out-of-three by winning both the Junior and Senior games earlier day in the 4th Annual Philly versus Jersey Challenge at St. Benedict's Prep school in Newark, NJ.  And the big hero of the day was 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (East Side) NJ, who not only scored 23 of his 29 points in the 4th Quarter of the Senior Game, but also hit the 3-pointer that gave his team its first lead at 76-74, made a pair of big free throws after the Philly Team answered, and then broke loose for a sensational slam dunk to put his team up by four with three minutes left in the game.  In other words, Chandler, who is ranked #55 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has the talent, athleticism, potential, burning desire, and versatility to play either guard spot necessary to become the same type of player for Rutgers that 6'4 Randy Foye, who was drafted #7 in the NBA Draft last spring, ended up being at Villanova.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Rutgers head coach Fred Hill is the guy responsible for landing both players and Foye and Chandler both attended the same high school at Newark (East Side) NJ.  We also were impressed with long range shooting of 6'5 Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and 6'1 Anthony Nelson from Plainfield (H.S.) NJ, who finished with 14 points apiece for the New Jersey Team, and the inside/outside show that 6'9 Rick Jackson from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA and 6'2 Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, who combined for 27 points, put on for the Philly Team.  But we expected these guys to be good.  However, we did not expect 6'6 Terrance Rodrick from Philadelphia (Rise Academy) PA, 7'0 Keenan Ellis from Aston (American Christian) PA, and 6'9 Alex Wangmene from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ to be three of our favorite players in the game.  Wangmene, who scored all of his six points around the basket, is raw offensively, but combines athleticism with size and a willingness to play hard, which makes him a beast inside, a legitimate top 100 senior nationally, and a major steal for the University of Texas.  We've always known that the sky could be the limit for Ellis, but he played harder than we've every seen him play, as he rebounded well and used his soft hands and silky smooth demeanor to score from mid-range.  Roderick, who finished with 13 points, is ranked #17 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players.  But he's arguably better than that, because he knows how to get his shot, has good body control, and excellent ball handling and passing skills for somebody his size.  Obviously this makes Roderick a match-up problem, as well as one of the best point guards still available when you combine players in the high school and prep school ranks.  The best player in the Junior Game was 6'5 Jr Nasir Robinson from Chester (H.S.) PA, who finished with 28 points and was unstoppable with his power and athleticism when he went to the hole.  Robinson also finished with 11 rebounds, but his perimeter skills and outside shooting are more than suspect, which leads us to believe he's an undersized power forward all the way.  MVP honors on the New Jersey team in the Junior Game went to 5'10 Jr Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who finished with 21 points.  But a strong case also was made by 6'8 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds and played with a lot more intensity and confidence that he did when we saw him in the spring and summer.  He also impressed with his aggressive on the boards and ability to score around the basket, but we still question whether he has the mid-range game and potential to grow the several more inches, which will be necessary if he wants to be one of the truly elite players in the junior class nationally.  So we'll probably move Samuels up from #49, which is where we have him ranked right now, into the 20-30 range.  We also aren't buying the Elton Brand comparisons, because Samuels doesn't have the athleticism, coordination, mobility, and killer mentality that Brand had at the same stage in his career.  The only other player who really impressed us in the Junior Game was 5'8 Jr Karon Burton from Chester (H.S.) PA, who finished 17 points, hit four 3-pointers, and made things happen with his speed, quickness, and feel for the game.  The best player in the Sophomore Game was clearly 6'3 Soph Dexter Strickland from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who with 18 points and was one of the more unselfish players on a team that also included 6'5 Soph Dominic Cheek from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'8 Soph Greg Echenique from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'1 Soph Tamir Jackson from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'10 Soph Justin Crosgile from Wayne (DePaul) NJ, 6'6 Soph Paris Bennett from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Soph Khalil Murphy from Cherry Hill (Camden Catholic) NJ, and 6'2 Lance Brown from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  And Jackson and Crosgile deserve special mention, because the former came to at crunch time, as he made two of the best passes of the entire day and hit several clutch 3-pointers, and the latter impressed us with speed and quickness, outside shooting, and knack for always being around the ball and making things happen.  However, the Philly Team more than matched the New Jersey Team point-for-point down the stretch, as 6'2 Soph Oscar Griffin from Aston (American Christian) PA, who finished with 22 points, was unstoppable in transition; 6'4 Soph Dalton Pepper from Fairless Hills (Pennsbury) PA, who finished with 19 points, displayed plenty of savvy and had a great feel for the game; and 6'1 Soph Nurideen Lindsey from Philadelphia (Overbook) PA, who finished with 15 points, also impressed us with his athleticism and ability to get to the basket. 

Friday, October 27, 2006

Jim Haley, who ran the adidas Rookie Sensations Showcase last weekend at Vanguard High School in Ocala, FL, has sent us a list and some interesting comments about the Top 40 Sophomores who were in attendance at his event.  And right at the top of the list is 6'3 Soph Tony Watson from Palm Beach Gardens (H.S.) FL, who named the Camp MVP and is described as "a very smart combo guard who possesses good court savvy and outstanding ball handling and passing skills, finds the open man in the half court offense, and makes smart decisions in transition.  Sometimes he will turn the ball over because of his flair in passing and will catch his teammate not ready for that type of pass because of his excellent court vision  He has all the tools as he can penetrate, pass, and score both inside and out.  He takes charges.  He was the quarterback of point guards at camp.  He has been a standout in all the camps he's participated in this fall.  Unlimited potential as a college prospect because of his maturity and physical strength.  He is the son of Palm Beach Garden coach Tony Watson."  The Most Outstanding Player was 6'4 Soph Curtis Robinson from Jacksonville (Lee) FL and he is described as a "strong physical inside forward; hustles all over the court; plays with authority and finishes strong inside.  Knows how to use the glass in the low post offense; possesses good body control; offense is ahead of defense at this early stage, but the potential is unlimited and will definitely play somewhere on the next level.  Started varsity as a freshman for the Generals, plus his outstanding AAU play this past summer puts him ahead of schedule.  The Top Sleeper in Camp was 6'5 Soph Altavious Carter from West Palm Beach (Summit Christian) FL and we understand that he "had an awesome camp and was a candidate for MVP.  A forward with back to the basket moves inside.  He can hit the mid-range jumper and post you up big-time inside; loves to block shots and is a rebounder deluxe; possesses outstanding ball handling skills for a big type forward; finds the open man in the half court offense because of his passing skills.  Like the baseline jumper + drive.  Recruiters will be knocking on his door after this varsity season."  The rest of the list of Sweet 16 begins with 6'4 Soph Derrick Brown from Orlando (University) FL, who is described as "a very strong athletic forward; aggressive in all aspects of the game; attacks the glass with reckless abandon; can hit the high jump shot or score at will inside; a quick wing slasher who moves well without the ball; has all the tools to get it done at the next level.  Made a name for himself at this camp."  6'2 Soph Greg Gantt from Gainesville (H.S.) FL is "lefty wing forward; good passer in transition; finds the open man; loves to hustle on defense at all times; penetrator on offense with smooth inside moves and can finish with the best of them; active slasher who also has a solid perimeter game; very athletic type player with good overall skills; will contribute heavily on varsity for the Purple Hurricanes this year."  6'3 Soph Joshua Snodgrass from Gainesville (The Rock) FL is "another outstanding wing out of this talent laden city: won the 3-point shooting contest in triple overtime over the camp MVP.  Loaded with guard skills; possesses a long range 3-pointer off the wing and consistently hit the shot in all three camp games with no signs of fatigue; shows a lot of poise on the perimeter, but will slash to the basket off the weak side if the opportunity is there"  6'2 Soph Sheldon Cooley from Tampa (Plant) is "a player who can produce instant offense when needed; small forward type that can operated along the baseline; will penetrate and take the shot off the dribble; loves to get out in transition because of his athleticism; can block shots and plays aggressive inside; plays hard and aggressive on both sides of the ball.  Not flashy but comes to play with his hard hat on; coaches love this type of player!"  6'4 Soph Terrant Hamilton from Ocala (Vanguard) FL is a "big bodies post player who plays with authority inside; really uses the glass in his post up moves; powerful rebounder; quick feet and defensive end; best at playing back to the basket, but can hit the 15-foot jumper at the high post; if he grows, he will be a force to reckon with; was tough to stop in the paint at camp."  6'4 Soph Brett Roberts from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL is "a slender forward with a long wingspan; possesses outstanding leading abilities; takes it to the basket with authority and loves to crash the offensive glass; can hit the baseline 3-pointer and has a nice combination of both an outside/inside game; good understanding of team defense; defensively he will block shots, deflect passes, and challenges the shooter...one of many talented sophs in the Wolfpack's stable of athlete.  He will play a key back-up role this season on the varsity at four different positions."  6'6 Soph Chris Rozier from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL is "another nice post player out of the River City.  Has a good inside/outside game which works to his advantage versus opposing forwards and centers; crashes the offensive glass and can hit the outside jumper both in the high post and perimeter; thrives even more in transition; challenges shot defensively.  Loads of potential down the road.  A player to watch in this talented basketball city."  5'6 Soph Matt Roy from Orlando (Pine Castle Christian) FL is "a talented small point guard with 3-point range; excellent passer in transition; scraps on defense especially on the ball and directs traffic on offense; good court vision and floor general; led varsity team last year in assists."  5'11 Soph Autis Gibson from Gainesville (P.K. Yonge) FL "loves to  penetrate at the guard position; a solid type defender who will draw the charge; throughout the camp showed all out hustle on both ends of the floor; has some good baseline tools in his arsenal; makes his presence known on both side of the ball; possesses slasher skills and moves well without the ball; will play varsity this season as a key role player for the Blue Waves."  6'8 Soph Matt Snowberger from Keystone Heights (H.S.) FL was the tallest player camp and reportedly he is able to "play low and high adequately; needs to develop his post moves, but has a good touch around the basket and uses the offensive glass to his advantage; can improve immensely with a strength programs; played more aggressively each game at camp; could become a force as footwork and agility improve; boxes out well on rebounds,  Played varsity for the Indians as a freshman."  5'8 Soph Nick Cortez form Lecanto (H.S.) FL is "a super hustler on defense; plays hard on all possessions; surprisingly active on the boards for his size, but plays with a big heart; very quick point guard who can handle the pill, but needs to develop his left hand.  Small package, but strong; finds the open and defends the perimeter.  Will play varsity this season."  5'6 Soph Anthony James from Hawthorne (H.S.) FL is a "jet quick point guard who loves to penetrate and draw fouls; possesses outstanding ball handlings skills; quick first step to the basket off the dribble; forces action somewhat, but needs to get teammates involved; has spin moves in his offensive game and adequate perimeter shooter; will play varsity for the Hornets and is a good fit for their up & down style of play.  Must cut down on turnovers caused by quickness."  5'11 Soph Evan Jones from Orlando (University) FL is a "good ball handling guard who could fill in nicely as a combo; passing is one of his best assets and looks for the open man on the floor; looks to pass first, but will penetrate and finish on his drives to the basket; has a lot of varsity experience as a freshman averaging 9.0 ppg."  Another 24 players worth mentioning from the adidas Rookie Sensations Showcase in no particular order are 5'11 Soph Christian Morford from West Palm Beach (Summit Christian) FL, 6'1 Soph Bobby Horodyski from Gainesville (Buchholz) FL, 6'3 Soph Jonathan Williams from Gainesville (Buchholz) FL, 6'0 Soph Kelvin Harden from Orlando (University) FL, 5'10 Soph Zach Caparaso from Pasco (Comp) FL, 5'11 Soph William Wilson from Sebastian (Sebastian River) FL, 6'3 Soph Kendall O'Neil from Tarpon Springs (East Lake) FL, 6'1 Soph Kevin Burnell from Land O'Lakes (H.S.) FL, 6'2 Soph Adrian Frederick from Tampa (Wharton) FL, 6'3 Soph Mike Cardwell from Land O'Lakes (H.S.) FL, 5'10 Soph Matt Miros from Belleview (H.S.) FL, 5'10 Soph Travis Jones from Leesburg (H.S.) FL, 5'10 Soph Courtney McIntyre from Leesburg (H.S.) FL, 5'9 Soph Taylor Simmons from Gainesville (H.S.) FL, 6'4 Soph Justin Gunsby from Ocala (Vanguard) FL, 6'5 Soph Darrien Mack from Springfield (Rutherford) FL, 5'11 Soph Matt Fletcher from Ocala (Trinity Catholic) FL, 5'9 Soph Jesus Gonzalez from Naples (Barron Collier) FL, 6'1 Soph Zack Litton from Wharton (H.S.) FL, 6'0 Soph Brian Landers from Naples (Barron Collier) FL, 6'3 Soph Caleb Gates from Jacksonville (Mandarin) FL, 6'4 Soph Walter Siplin from Ocala (Vanguard) FL, 6'3 Soph Jonathan Evans from Jacksonville (Mandarin) FL, and 6'5 Soph Jason Humphrey from Naples (Barron Collier) FL.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

It doesn't get much better than this, as our #1-ranked 5th Year Player - 6'6 Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH - made it official for Kansas State today and the second highest ranked high school senior - 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR - still available is expected to pick Duke tomorrow.  At least that's what our new West Coast Editor Alan Utter is telling us, as Singler, who is ranked #5 on our list of the top senior nationally, has a press conference scheduled for 3:00 PST tomorrow afternoon and is expected to pick the Blue Devils over Arizona, UCLA, and Kansas.  This comes as no surprise to us, because Singler's father has been pushing the Blue Devils all along.  And that feeling appears to have mutual, as Singler has been Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's top recruiting priority dating back to last spring when he showed up for all of Singler's games at both the Las Vegas Easter Classic and Houston Kingwood Classic.  Singler is an athletic wing forward who can shoot the lights out on the perimeter, but also is an intense competitor, excellent rebounder and shot blocker, and is capable of dominating a game both inside and outside.  However, what makes Singler truly special is the fact that he's also a great kid and excellent leader, which makes him ideally suited to help any team's chemistry.  So this makes him the last piece to the puzzle, as the Blue Devils' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and 6'3 Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, is expected to move up to #5, behind Syracuse, Indiana, Kansas State, and Arizona, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And this comes on the heels of their last two recruiting classes.  If you will recall, a year ago the Blue Devils landed 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, and 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and two years ago they landed 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, 6'4 Martiynas Pocius from Plymouth (Holderness) NH.  Boateng transferred to Arizona State last spring, but that still doesn't diminish the fact that Krzyzewski and his staff have landed 12 players in their three most recruiting classes who are the equivalent of a top 50-ranked high school player or higher.   And making the story even more interesting is that fact that as things stand now they only have two available scholarships available for players in the Class of 2008 and Class of 2009.  Did you know that the Blue Devils don't currently have a senior in the program and only two juniors in the program in 6'3 Jr DeMarcus Nelson and 6'6 Jr David McClure?  As for Walker, we summed it up pretty well yesterday, but we do want to reinforce the fact that Walker and Beasley will be the perfect complement to one another a year from now, if Walker, who is ineligible to play in the state, because the Ohio High School Athletic Association rule that he was a 5th Year Player in early July, doesn't enter the NBA Draft next spring.  Remember, Beasley combines incredible talent with skills, athleticism, and versatility, while Walker has the world-class athleticism and killer demeanor that new Kansas State head coach Bobby Huggins made a living with during his heyday at the University of Cincinnati.  It also appears that 6'2 Jr Julius Mays from Marion (H.S.) IN, who is ranked #242 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to N.C. State.  And this is interesting, because Rick Bolus of the High Potential Basketball Recruiting Service describes Mays as "a jet quick and past point guard who averaged 17 ppg, 4 rpg, and 3 apg last year for a team that finished 15-6.  Scores via jumper or the drive to the basket and can handle the rock and dish off to his open teammates too.  Possesses good range with his jumper and can play the D.  GPA is 3.4.  Will run the show for at least mid D-I."  In other words, it's awful early for an ACC school to go to the Midwest to take a guard who is not a guaranteed lock to be a high Division I player.  But then again, N.C. State assistant coaches Monte Towe and Larry Harris are two of the most astute evaluators of talent in the business.  So it's our guess that Mays will fill an important need or is a major sleeper who has been flying under the national radar screen.  We also have confirmed via our New England editor Adam Finkelstein that 6'7 Andre Walker from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH has verbally committed to Vanderbilt, 6'8 Greg Loggins from Kent (School) CT has verbally committed to Canisius, and 6'6 Tim Abromaitis from Farmington (H.S.) CT has verbally committed to Notre Dame.  That last one is especially noteworthy, because Abromaitis not only is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, after playing extremely well in the spring and summer, but he can flat out shoot the lights out and he should thrive in Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey's system.  Originally we thought somebody like Yale, William & Mary, Pennsylvania, and Princeton was going to steal him, but, in the end, it looks like Abromaitis, who also is an outstanding student, got the best of both worlds.  Abromaitus also should fit in well with other two players - 6'5 Ty Proffitt from London (South Laurel) KY and 6'9 Tyrone Nash from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA - that the Irish have already landed in a recruiting class that is now tied at #55, along with Iowa and George Mason, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also think Walker, who is described by Fingelstein as a skilled point/forward, is a good catch for the Commodores.  Remember, this is the same guy who teamed with 6'8 Julian Wright two years ago at on the nationally ranked team at Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL.  Our New City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'0 Gerald Colds from Bronx (St. Raymond's') NY has verbally committed to Drexel and this too is interesting, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #217 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has that New York City toughness, and the ability to both get to the basket and hit the 3-point shot, although he is streaky from behind the arc.  We also are getting reports about 6'7 Drew Viney from Villa Park (H.S.) CA reneging on his verbal commitment to the University of California and perhaps becoming part of a package with 6'3 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who earlier this fall committed to the University of Oregon.  However, assuming that Viney does open his recruitment back up, it's not totally a done deal yet for the Ducks, as it also reappears that Arizona State has enough connections to make this one interesting.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'5 Dominique Sutton from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, who is ranked #26 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, has verbally committed to Kansas State, which means that new Wildcats head coach Bobby Huggins and his staff continue to build a strong nucleus.  If you will recall, last spring they landed a recruiting class that includes 6'2 Blake Young from Daytona Beach (JC) FL, 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, and 6'10 Luis Colon from Miami (Dr. Krop) FL and they already have 6'8 Michael Beasley from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'0 Jacob Pullen from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, and 6'2 Fred Brown from West Palm Beach (Dwyer) FL in the fold for this year in a recruiting class that is currently ranked #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   And, if Kansas State also gets 6'6 Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, then suddenly we will be talking about a recruiting class that not only is ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007, but also features potentially one of the best trio of forwards in college basketball a year from now.  However, that's assuming that Walker, who may graduate from high school this fall in time to enroll beginning second semester this year at Kansas State, doesn't only play one semester and then bolt for the NBA Draft next spring.  As for Sutton, he's more of slasher than a shooter, but we like his athleticism, ability to thrive in transition, willingness to play hard, and ability to rebound for his size.  In other words, he'll be like a jack-of-trades and, as a result, should be a stereotypical Bobby Huggins-type player.  Our Middle School Editor Patrick Stanwood, who was at the Elite 75 Junior Showcase at Olympic High School in Charlotte, NC this past weekend, also checks in and tells us that there were at least five players in the 8th Grade Division of this event who will deserve top 25 consideration when we update our ranking of the top players nationally in the Class of 2011 next month. Without question 6'1 8th Grader Quddus Bello from High Point (Jamestown Middle School) NC was the top player in attendance.  "He is extremely thin and needs to improve his handle, but he has high flying jumping ability, effortless alley-oop and tip dunks, and ability to grab rebounds in bunches," says Stanwood.  "Bello also showed some skill from beyond the arc, as he knocked down some 3-point shots, and also impressed me with his mid-range game."  6'0 8th Grader Jacobie Davis from Charlotte (James Martin Middle School) NC improves each time we see him.  "He has a solid handle, nice athleticism, and a quick burst that helped him get to the rack, where he finished with nice consistency," says Stanwood.  If you like ultra quick lead guards, then 5'9 8th Grader Marquis Rankin from Charlotte (Providence Day Middle School) NC is you man.  "Few defenders this past weekend could stay in front of him, he’s a solid shooter, and elite defender," says Stanwood.  6'0 8th Grader Eric Moody from Richmond (Evangel Christian) VA is as pure a point guard as you'll find at the youth level.  "Moody sees the floor extremely well, as he uses the bounce pass to perfection even in the lane, has a nice hesitation move, and at time looked lethal from 3-point range, " says Stanwood.  6'6 8th Grader Jacob Lawson from Reidsville (Dillard Middle School) NC is perhaps the top player in the Class of 2011 in the state of North Carolina.  "Although he does most of his scoring inside and just beyond the paint, he is an amazing talent who can jump out of the gym, says Stanwood.  "Lawson also knocks down outside shots from time to time and can handle in the open floor, so it's our guess that he will continue to develop and eventually make a smooth transition to the wing forward position."  Other players that Stanwood thinks are worth remembering for the future include 6'3 8th Grader Zach Sharp from York (Middle School) SC, 6'3 8th Grader Frankie Smalls from Philadelphia (Pinsulkin Middle School) PA, 5'10 8th Grader Quantrell Williams from Charlotte (Southwest Middle School) NC, 5'11 8th Grader Delanta Bishop Daniels from Raleigh, NC, 5'9 8th Grader Vincent Black from Rolesville (Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School) NC, 5'8 8th Grader Reggie Archeanaux from Concord, NC, 6'5 7th Grader Teandre' Harris from Richmond, VA, 5'5 8th Grader Dewayne Brewer from Baltimore (Lake Clifton) MD, 5'5 8th Grader Ricky Johnson from Akron, OH, 6'6 8th Grader Jayvaughn Pressley from Charlotte (Martin Luther King Middle School) NC, 6'2 8th Grader Ashad Lamont from Mebane (Eastern Alamance Middle School) NC, 6'4 8th Grader Rashad Jones from Rex (Adamson Rex Middle School) GA, 5'7 8th Grader Toran Harris from Virginia Beach (Lackspur Middle School) VA, 6'4 8th Grader Jarvis Anderson from Gastonia, NC, 5'11 8th Grader Tre Davis from Glen Allen (Short Pump Middle School) VA, 6'1 8th Grader Dezmine Wells from Raleigh (Word of God Middle School) NC, 5'10 8th Grader Christopher Richmond from Graham (Broadview Middle School) NC, 6'8 8th Grader Kyle Grisby from Concord (J.N. Fries Middle School) NC, 6'5 8th Grader Bernard Sullivan from Charlotte (Bradley Middle School) NC, 6'4 8th Grader Je'Vante Crump from Winston Salem (Hill Middle School) NC, and 5'7 8th Grader from Dominique McDonald from Raleigh (Word of God Middle School) NC. 

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

When 6'5 Jr Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY, who is ranked #58 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made a verbal commitment last night to Mississippi State, it easily was one of the biggest surprises of the entire fall recruiting period.  However, upon further investigation, this really was not as surprising as it originally seemed.  Remember, Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury and his staff are second to none when it comes to targeting a player and then getting it done on the recruiting trail.  And, in this case, the Bulldogs were not only the first school to offer Hopson a scholarship back when he was a freshman in high school, but they also have done the best job of anybody recruiting him all the way through.  We also find it interesting that Hopson is following in the footsteps of 6'4 Soph Reginald Delk, 6'4 Soph Richard Delk, 6'9 Frosh Jarvis Varnado, and 6'3 Frosh Barry Stewart, all of whom also played AAU ball for the the Tennessee Mid-State Ballers club team program in recent years and now are players at Mississippi State.  Did you also know that Stansbury has more than his share of contacts in the Bluegrass State dating back to when he played high school basketball at Brandenburg (Meade County) KY and college basketball at Campbellsville College?  And, if that weren't enough connections, our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson also reminds us of the fact that all of the better players the Starkville Bulldogs club team started playing with the Tennessee Mid-State Ballers team a little over a year ago.  As for Hopson, this obviously is a major catch, because Mississippi State not only walked in and beat both Louisville and Kentucky for a player that they really wanted in their backyard, but also because Hopson is a big time athlete who can really score.  "Hopson can shoot the three, score off the dribble, dunk with ease, and has great footwork," says our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead, who watched him score 33, 32, 31, and 24 points in the four games last weekend at the Tennessee Prep Hoops Showcase in Nashville, TN.  Speaking of the Tennessee Prep Hoops Showcase, Whitehead tells us that Hopson was clearly the best player at his event, which also included players like 6'9 Scott Saunders from Nashville (Battle Ground Academy) TN, 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'2 Gerald Robinson from Nashville (Martin Luther King) TN, 6'2 Jr Tyshawn Edmondson from Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY, 6'9 Jr Drazen Zlovaric from Cleveland (H.S.) TN, 5'10 Soph Taverus Jefferson from Nashville (Ensworth) TN, and 5'11 Frosh Joe Jackson from Memphis (White Station) TN.  Whitehead also makes special mention of Edmondson, who, along with Hopson, should provide their high school team with one of the best one-two scoring punches that the state has seen in a long time for the next two years.  The biggest surprise at the showcase was Zlovaric, who is originally from Serbia.  Not only is he bouncy, athletic, and good in transition, but he's got good skills, can shoot the three, and is your stereotypical European player.  Jackson is one to remember for the future, because he has an incredible basketball IQ, which helps make him one of the best point guards in the state right now.  "He's doing all of these things (gets to the hole at will, can score on anybody, shoots the three, and gets his teammates involved) right now with a middle school body," says Whitehead.  "So just imagine how good Jackson will be once his body catches up physically with his skill level and knowledge of the game."  Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 6'4 DeAndre Bynum from Memphis (White Station) TN, who verbally committed to Georgia State recently, is back on the board and, as a result, schools like UTEP and Wichita State, which also were among the finalists the first time around, now appear to be the favorites.  We also have confirmed that 6'0 Porter Braswell from Lawrenceville (Prep) NJ, 6'9 Garrett Fiddler from Colorado Springs (Doherty) CO, and 6'4 Rafael Mantilla from Mundelein (H.S.) IL have verbally committed to Yale and it appears that 6'5 Ty Proffitt from London (South Laurel) KY and 6'9 Tyrone Nash from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA both verbally committed to Notre Dame over the weekend.  Our New England editor Adam Finkelstein reminds us that Nash was one of the hottest names of the summer, as "he played well enough to get offers from schools like Kentucky and St. John's, but still chose to attend Northfield Mount Hermon for a post-graduate year.  So this lefty is expected to be able to contribute immediately next year for Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, as he has a great combination of strength and agility and is consequently a terrific offensive rebounder and very efficient scorer within 15 feet."  Proffitt is not a great outside shooter, but he's a heady player with the ball handling and passing skills necessary to be a point guard with size and, as a result, we think he could be another excellent piece to the puzzle for the Irish.  We also have confirmed via Danny Hurley, who is the head coach at Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, that 6'10 Jabari Edwards from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #93 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, has verbally committed to George Washington.  Edwards needs to become more aggressive inside and improve his offensive game, but he's a long athletic shot blocker with a huge upside.  And Hurley says Edwards has gotten a lot better, which is half the battle when when it comes to big guys with potential.  So we think this is a good catch of the Colonials, which already have 6'8 Jared Cunningham from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'2 Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ, and 6'5 Xavier Alexander from Oklahoma City (Midwest City) OK in a recruiting class that is now tied at #45, along with Florida Atlantic and Wagner, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   Our California editor Alan Utter tells us that 6'6 Tim Shelton from Fresno (Clovis West) CA, who is ranked #257 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a slasher/athlete/defender that is capable of playing multiple positions, thanks to his ability to rebound well for his size and perimeter skills, has verbally committed to San Diego State.  And this gives the Aztecs not one, but two athletic wing players in this year's recruiting class.  If you will recall, earlier this month 6'8 Billy White from Henderson (Green Valley) NV, who is ranked #145 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made it official for San Diego State and, as a result, the Aztecs should be loaded at the wing forward spot for years to come with players like White, Shelton, and 6'6 Soph Lorenzo Wade, who sat out last year transferring from Louisville.  We also have learned from Ritchie Davis, who runs the Wisconsin-based Fox Valley Skillz club team program, that 6'11 Matt Dorlack from New Berlin (Eisenhower) WI, who is ranked #528 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and averaged 12.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 2.8 bpg a year ago on his high school team, has verbally committed to Eastern Illinois.  Not only does Dorlack promise to be the physical specimen that Panthers head coach Mike Miller needs inside, but he also should be the perfect to complement all of the other good young players, like 5'11 Soph Mike Robinson, 6'3 Frosh Romaine Martin, and 6'8 Frosh Ousmane Cisse, who are already in the program. 

Monday, October 23, 2006

When we got a phone call earlier today from Rico Pickett Sr, it did not come as a major surprise when he told us that his son, 6'3 Rico Pickett from Decatur (H.S.) AL, was re-opening his recruitment.  If you will recall, Pickett, who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, originally verbally committed last spring to the University of Alabama.  But, then on Tuesday, September 26th, we reported that Pickett and 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who committed to Virginia last spring, were both reneging on their verbal commitments and, as a result, were back on the board.  However, several days later we had to retract our report about Pickett due to the fact that his father called us and told us that his verbal commitment was firm to the Crimson Tide.  Apparently at the time Pickett wasn't ready to pull the trigger, but usually where there is smoke there is fire and this became obvious today when his father told us that "his son wants to open things back up and make sure that he is making the right decision."  Mr. Pickett also adds this Alabama is still the team that you have to beat, but his son wants to "look around and go through the recruiting process."  It kind of reminds us of the situation involving 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, it was rumored for several months earlier this year that Bayless was going to renege on the University of Arizona.  Then, when he finally pulled the trigger in early June, Bayless called us first and gave us the scoop.  However, after looking around for a while, Bayless must have figured out that he got it right the first time and reaffirmed his verbal commitment to the Wildcats in August.  As for Pickett, who is ranked #29 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, he suddenly becomes the top-ranked point guard still available in the senior class nationally, as well as the 5th highest ranked senior still available, behind 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (Lake Medford) OR, 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, and 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV and ahead of 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'2 Tyrell Reed from Burlington (H.S.) KS, 6'8 Marcus Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'9 Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, 6'6 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington Marion) LA, 6'10 Papa Dia from South Kent (Prep) CT, 7'1 Boubacar Sylla from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'1 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN, 6'5 Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'11 Teeng Akol from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'10 Ibrahima Thomas from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'6 James Anderson from Junction City (H.S.) AR.  Pickett also is one of the best athletes in the senior class nationally and, at 6'3, he's a pure point guard.  And, if that weren't enough to get every high Division I school in the nation in need of a quality point guard interested, Pickett also is a great kid and is already academically qualified.  Obviously this is not good news for Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried, who will need a point guard after this season, if 6'3 Jr Ronald Steele lives up to expectations and enters his name into the NBA next spring.  We also have received word from our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin that 6'9 Michael Eric from Paoli (Church Farm) PA has picked Temple over St. Joseph's, and George Washington.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Eric is exactly what the doctor ordered, as the Owls were looking for a quality big man who is capable of stepping in and playing right away next year.   We're talking about an athletic big man who runs the court well, is a good rebounder and shot blocker, and can score around the basket.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 5'10 Broderick Gilchrist from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, who is ranked #436 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Middle Tennessee State and our Georgia Editor Horace Neysmith tells us that 6'0 Jr Pierre Jordan from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA has reneged on the early verbal commitment that he previously had made to Clemson.  Neysmith also confirms the reports that we've heard about 6'5 Walter Hill from Gainesville (East Hall) GA, who is ranked #299 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, reneging on the University of Georgia for basketball and then turning around and committing to the Bulldogs for football.  It also appears that the University of Cincinnati picked up its second verbal commitment in this year's recruiting class from 6'5 Rashad Bishop from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #89 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players.  We're talking about an excellent athlete, good rebounder for size, and a jack-of-trades, which makes him ideally suited to be an excellent role player for the Bearcats when he arrives on campus a year from now.  And that's all they need Bishop to be, as new Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin and his staff landed seven junior college transfers - 6'10 Jr Hernol Hall, 6'6 Jr John Williamson, 6'3 Jr Marvin Gentry, 6'2 Jr Tim Crowell, 6'8 Jr Marcus Sikes, 6'2 Jr Jamual Warren, and 6'10 Jr Adam Hrycaniuk - and a 5th Year Player - 6'0 Frosh Deonta Vaughn - in last year's recruiting class.  The Bearcats also have 6'8 Jr Mike Williams, who is a transfer from Texas, sitting out this year, 6'10 Soph Abdul Herrera already in the program, 6'3 Larry Davis from Alief (Hastings) TX already in this year's recruiting class, which means they only have one scholarship remaining for this year and as many as seven scholarships to give out next year.  It also looks like Charlotte recently got a verbal commitment from 6'9 Eric Whitehurst from Blinn (JC) TX.  And they beat Marquette and Texas A&M for this long athletic combo forward who can flat out shoot the lights out.  Whitehurst does need to get bigger and stronger (210 pounds), but he's also a pretty good rebounder for his size and can score around the basket, which means he will have the ability to play both inside and outside at the next level.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Wendell McKines from Richmond (H.S.) CA, who verbally committed to the 49ers well over a year ago and is ranked #102 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is now back on the board.  Apparently McKines, who is really an undersized inside guy due to the fact that he's relentless on the boards, and the school mutually decided that it was better for him to pursue other avenues as he attempts to get his academic situation into order.   And last, but not least, 6'7 Brett Royster from Arlington (Martin) TX has picked Florida Atlantic over Arkansas-Little Rock.  Royster, who is ranked #345 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is still very raw offensively, but is a great shot blocker, excellent rebounder, and good defender.  So obviously he's not only a great catch, but he should fit in well with the other three players - 6'7 Rod Green from Redlands (JC) OK, 6'2 Carderro Nwoji from Redlands (JC) OK, and 6'6 Jamal Owens from Miami (Carol City) FL - who are already in Florida Atlantic's recruiting class, which now is tied at #45, along with Wagner, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007. 

Sunday, October 22, 2006

We have not yet confirmed whether 6'5 Ty Proffitt from London (South Laurel) KY has made verbally committed to Notre Dame, but our Kentucky Editor Larry Kihnley does tells that 6'3 Jr Bud Mackey from Georgetown (Scott County) KY, who is currently ranked #149 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has made an early verbal commitment to Indiana University.  And Kihnley thinks this is an excellent catch, because Mackey is a long athletic point guard with size, the ability to run a team and get to the basket, play excellent defense, and shoot the three.  Mackey also is a winner and he plays for one of the best high school coaches in the state, which should make him ideally suited to step in year after next and complement the two great wing players - 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN and 6'5 Jamarcus Ellis from Chipola (JC) FL - and the two inside players - 6'8 Brandon McGee from Chicago (Crane) IL and 6'10 Eli Holman from Richmond (H.S.) CA - that the Hoosiers already have in their current recruiting class.  And Mackey also is great insurance in case Indiana doesn't get 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who appears to be down to three schools (Indiana, Memphis, and DePaul).  The commitment by Mackey also is interesting, because he is one of the three juniors in the state who will project as a high major player a year from now and, as a result, it's going to be interesting to see what happens with 6'7 Jr Darius Miller from Maysville (Mason County) KY and 6'5 Jr Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY, who are our #1 and #2-ranked juniors in the state.  There is no question in our mind that Miller, who is ranked #39 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will verbally commit to the University of Kentucky the minute the Wildcats offer.  However, they had better not wait too long, because schools like Tennessee and Louisville also are high on his list.  We also suspect it will be a war between the Wildcats and Cardinals for Hopson, who is ranked #58 nationally in the senior class, as is evident by the fact Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was at his high school recently to show interest.  We also have confirmed that Western Kentucky has landed its second player in less than a week, as 6'10 D.J. Magley from Bradenton (Christian) FL has made it official over the weekend for the Hilltoppers.  We're talking about a post player with good passing and rebounding skills who is still growing into his body, but who fell under the radar screen this past summer due to the fact that he did not thrive in an AAU-like setting.  As a matter of fact, Magley's father, who also happens to be his high school coach, has been quoted as saying that he will never let another one of his players play AAU ball.  In contrast, Magley, who at 6'10, 260 pounds, was so impressive in individual work-outs this fall that schools like Western Kentucky, Iowa, Purdue, SMU, Valparaiso, Rhode Island, and Central Florida all offered.  And making the story even more interesting are the reports that Magley has trimmed his body fat from 26% to 10% since the end of his junior season and that he comes from a great basketball family.  "His sister, Jessica, now at Rhode Island, led Bradenton Christian to four consecutive Final Fours and finished her prep career as the third-leading scorer in Florida history (3,514 points)," says Donnie Wilkie in an article in the Sarasota Herld-Tribune.  "Another sister, Jennifer, was a four-time All-American tennis player at the University of Florida and is ranked among the top 40 American players in the world.  (His father) Dave Magley was a second-round draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers but played only 14 games in the 1982-83 NBA season, after averaging 17.3 ppg as a senior at Kansas.  So it looks like Western Kentucky head coach Darrin Horn and his staff have stolen another one, as Magley appears to have the potential to develop become the next Chris Marcus, who was totally unknown as a high school player, but developed into one of the best players in college basketball during the Dennis Felton era.  Our New England editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that 6'8 Manuel Cass from South Kent (Prep) CT has committed to UTEP and a year ago, when Cass originally committed to DePaul, this would have been a major steal.  But, after really improving his perimeter game during his two months at South Kent, this may be one of the biggest catches of the entire fall.  "The lefty now boasts a complete offensive arsenal including a consistent 3-point shot and a good mid-range game," says Fingelstein.  "He was again being recruited at the highest level but ultimately decided to select a program where he could step right in and make an immediate contribution."  Finkelstein also tells us that the University of New Hampshire has received a commitment from 6'2 Tyrone Conley from Burlington (H.S.) VT.  "Conley is a super athletic guard who is a strong defender and can score in bunches," says Finkelstein.  Conley joins 6'2 Sal Abdo from Southborough (St. Mark's) MA in NHU's recruiting class to form what will be the Wildcats' backcourt of the future.  These commitments are important for a few reasons.  First, both players were generating interest from programs in mid-major conferences when they elected to commit to UNH, which shows that the Wildcats are now able to land the type of talent it will take to be a consistent contender in the America East.  Second, both commitments show that New Hampshire head coach Bill Herrion and his staff are now able to recruit in all pockets of New England, including the Boston area and the backyard of one of their biggest rivals (Vermont).  Third, Conley and Abdo are both extremely athletic players who flourish in up tempo systems signifying that Herrion's teams of the future will most likely play at a faster pace than any Wildcats' team in recent memory. 

Saturday, October 21, 2006

It is not normally the editorial policy of the HOOP SCOOP to talk about events that are a week old, but, since things are slow in terms of recruiting, now seems like a great time to catch you up on the 5th Annual Breakdown Battle for the Rankings, which was held on Orlando, FL on Saturday, October 14th, and Sunday, October 15th, and was covered by our Florida Editors Rick Staudt and Jim Clark.  This event, which is sponsored by Breakdownmagazine.com, attracts the best players from all over the state to compete against one other another and it continues to grow, as is evident by the fact that this year there were nearly 400 attendees.  As usual, the best rise above the rest, but there were some players that certainly fall into the sleeper category and will be a good pick up for schools that didn’t get their first choice in the early signing period.  In the Class of 2007, Florida commitments 6'5 Nick Calathes and 6'8 Chandler Parsons both of Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, were the best performers, followed by Virginia Commonwealth-bound 6'0 Joey Rodriguez, also of Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, and Florida Atlantic-bound 6'5 Jamal Owens of Miami (Carol City) FL.  Solid performances by uncommitted seniors were turned in by Alvin Mitchell, a 6’5 perimeter player from Ft. Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons) FL who can play the one through the three equally well, has a strong body, and scores well off the bounce; 6’4 WG Gary Clark of Montverde (Academy) FL, who played under control, got to the basket, and knocked down open three pointers; 6'9 Jean Michael Yotio from Montverde (Academy) FL, who pretty much had his way inside with his strong body and solid athleticism;  Chris Warren, an explosive 6’0 combo guard from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL that has outstanding range on his shot and finishes over bigger players in traffic; Ed Nixon, a 6’4 2-guard from St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL with reliable 3-point range on his shot and the athleticism to finish at the basket; and Jermol Paul, a 6’5 wing forward from Palm Beach Gardens (Dwyer) FL who has a quick first step, gets out fast on the break, and is a very active offensive rebounder.  Players that fall into the sleeper category for this class include Orlando (Christian Prep) FL 6’1 combo guard Daniel Oliver, a lefty that can penetrate and finish or knock down contested 3-pointers with great success; Carlos Figueroa, a 6’5 wing forward from Tampa (Chamberlain) FL, who is a high energy guy that excels on the boards and on the break; Eric Valentine, a 5’6 point guard from Orlando (Christian Prep) FL, who despite his size, makes good things happen every time he steps on the court, as he is a remarkable penetrator and passer; 6’7 power forward Justin Cecil of Lakeland (Christian) FL, who had his coming out party as he ran the floor well, is reasonably athletic, hits the boards, and shoots well out to 18 feet; Jared Mabray of Tallahassee (Lincoln) FL, who is a 6’1 point guard that is quick with the ball, shoots threes well off the bounce, and is a good passer; 6’4 Justin Morin of Clearwater (HS) FL, who proved to be more than just a 3-point shooter, as he continually got to the basket and finished against bigger players; Troy Fulford, a 6’3 2-guard from Tallahassee (Pope John Paul II) FL who moves well without the ball, knocks down open shots and gets the ball were it needs to go; and Brandon Caputo, a 6’4 wing guard from New Smyrna (HS) FL who has a good mid-range game and uses his strong body to muscle inside for points.  The Class of 2008 also had its share of stars and sleepers in attendance.  Leading the way for this class was 6’9 Jr Eloy Vargas of Plantation (American Heritage) FL, who dominated the glass, blocked shots, and scored at will inside; Dante Anderson, a 6’3 2-guard from Gainesville (Eastside) FL who uses his quick first step and jaw-dropping leaping ability to finish high above the rim; 6’4 combo guard Luke Loucks from Clearwater (HS) FL, who has great court vision and shoots well from deep; Gabi Belardo, a 6’2 combo guard from Montverde (Academy) FL who shot the ball very well this weekend, stayed under control, and made good decisions with the basketball; 6’0 Jr Dashon Harris, also of Montverde (Academy) FL, who is a tremendous athlete, knows how to run the team, and is dynamic in transition; Adam Pegg, a 6’9 C from Palm Harbor (University) FL, who has a wide solid body with good back-to-the-basket post moves; 6’0 Jr Zack Bailey from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, who is an Iverson play-alike with speed, athleticism, and acrobatic finishes at the basket; Shaquille Johnson, a 6’2 point guard from Jacksonville (Lee) FL who that makes good decisions with the ball, strokes it from deep, and is a tenacious defender; and 6’7 Jr Bo Reliford of Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, who is very effective at the big forward spot, but has the athleticism and growing skills to move to the wing.  There were several sleepers in the class including Lazarious Johnson, a 6’2 combo guard with a beautiful stroke that plays under control; 6’4 Jr Ray Willis from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, who is a long skinny athlete that is quick to the ball and has a beautiful stroke out to the arc; 6’6 Jr Afemi Akimpentide of Montverde (Academy) FL, who is undersized in the post, but has long arms, quick, explosive post moves, and is the ultimate competitor on the boards; Mike Morrison, a 6’7 power forward from St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL who doesn’t have the elite athleticism of his older brothers, but is an effective rebounder and shot-blocker; 6’5 Jr Alex Petitfre of Orlando (Edgewater) FL, who has great athleticism and can play both inside and outside; Mike Gordy, a 6’2 2-guard from Davenport (Ridge Community) FL, who scores well off the dribble and lays it all on the line defensively; 6’8 Jr Paul Cooper from Auburndale (HS) FL, who has plenty of size and strength with his defense being ahead of his offense right now; Anthony Salter, a 6’0 point guard from Tallahassee (Rickards) FL, who has a quick crossover and range from deep; 6’4 Jr Rashad McGill from Tallahassee (East Gadsden) FL who is a long rangy athlete that thrives in transition and is effective on the offensive glass; Sam McClurin, a 6’8 center also of Tallahassee (East Gadsden) FL,, who runs pretty well for his size, has pretty good athleticism, and a boatload of potential; 6’9 Jr Paul Gaynor of Mandarin (HS) FL, who is athletic, active inside, and plays hard every possession; and Jared Riener, a 6’2 point guard from Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley) FL, who makes good decisions with the ball, pushes the pace, and knocks down open shots out to the arc.  The Class of 2009 made quite an impression this weekend as well.  Leading the way was 6’2 Soph Kenny Boynton of Pompano Beach (Ely) FL.  He continues to be one of the more explosive scoring guards in the country, regardless of class.  Also playing well was Tony Watson II, a 6’1 point guard from Palm Beach Gardens (HS) FL who takes control of his team, gets people and the ball in the right spots, and can stroke it when left open; 6’6 Soph William Green from Orlando (Olympia) FL, who is long, thin, explosive off the floor, and blocks shots in bunches; Shamon Cox, a 6’2 2-guard from St. Petersburgh (HS) FL who has a solid body and very good one-on-one skills; Ray Taylor, a 5’6 point guard from Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL who, despite his size, has all the skills and abilities you want in a player; 6’4 Soph Jeron Granberry from Miami (Coral Reef) FL, who has a wide frame that he uses to maximize scoring opportunities inside; 6'2 Soph Mike Highsmith from Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley) FL, who that doesn’t do any one thing great but does everything well; 6’7 Soph Darius Morales from Orlando (Timber Creek) FL, who has a good sized frame, long arms, and a basic understanding of post play; Demetrius McCray, a 6’0 combo guard from Wildwood (HS) FL who is fast and strong with the ball and knocks down the open three; Keith Clanton, a 6’7 power forward from Orlando (Christian Prep) FL who has a good touch around the basket and passes well from the post; and 6'2 Soph Chris Perez, from Tampa (Oldsmar Christian) FL, who has a nice stroke from deep and scores well in transition.  The Class of 2010 had several players in attendance, but a technical glitch kept us from getting the names of those players.  The Most Outstanding Player for that class for the weekend was 6’4 Frosh James Bell of Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL.  He attacks the rim with a vengeance and has athleticism to spare.

Friday, October 20, 2006

It has been brought to my attention recently that the number of people trying to use the HOOP SCOOP's good name for the purpose of recruiting players to events has reached an epidemic proportion and, as a result, it now appears to be time to set the record straight.  First, if I am going to attend an event, I will make this fact crystal clear right here in the Hot Recruiting Information section.  Second, people planning on using the HOOP SCOOP's name in the future are best advised to check with me before they do so.  Not only will this save some people a lot of embarrassment, but it also will prevent me from cutting all ties with those people who come into question.  Third, my primary focus is covering the top high school basketball players in the nation and recruiting, which means that evaluating and ranking players at younger age groups is just an added bonus.  And this is important, because the only useful purpose for following 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Graders is to get a head start on the future, as well as to have a point of reference from which to work from, if a player turns out to be special down the road.  In other words, the younger you go the bigger margin for error there is and the less relevant it is in the grand scheme of things.  Fourth, the proliferation of events this time of year serves no useful purpose, except maybe for the person running the event to make some money.  And, this too is important, because this is a time of year when players should be getting ready for the basketball season and I am home catching up on player rankings and keeping track of recruiting.  Fifth, rankings are a reflection of what we know at the time, but more often than not will change as time goes on.  Moral to the story, if we don't know about some middle school player or have him ranked too high or too low, we have four or five years to get it right.  Sixth, I don't appreciate the intense lobbying effort that goes on to get players ranked in the HOOP SCOOP.  More often than not, it only works against a player, because suddenly the player has a target on his back and often unrealistic expectations.  Remember, I spend a lot of time watching players at all age groups during the course of the year and we have a great network of people who help me put all of the pieces together.  Or to put it another way, if you're that good, we probably already know about you.  Seventh, I have purposely decided to stay out of the event/camp/tournament business, because I think it is a conflict of interest to run events, have club teams, and be the media all at the same time.  So obviously I am more comfortable with people who don't go down this path and, as a result, don't be surprised if some people on our staff have to make some important choices in the near future.  Now also seems like a good time to provide you with a sneak preview of the only events that I plan on attending in the next month-and-a-half.  The first stop will be a next weekend when I attend the Coaches versus Cancer Les Kaune Memorial Basketball Junkie Dinner in Philadelphia, PA a week from tonight; the PhillyvsJerseyChallenge, which will be held  at St. Benedict's High School in Newark, NJ a week from tomorrow (Saturday, October 28th); and the semi-finals and championship of the IS8 Fall League, which will be held at IS8 Middle School in South Jamaica, NY on Sunday, October 29th.  Then, I will home for another two weeks before I make stops at the National Prep Showcase, which will be held at Assumption College in Worcester, MA on November 17th-19th; the Tournament of Champions, which will held in Peoria, IL on November 24th-25th; and the Marshall County Hoop Fest, which will be held at Marshall County High School in Draffenville, KY on November 30th-December 2nd.  Speaking of the Marshall County Hoop Fest, tournament director Steve Woodward recently sent us the schedule for this year's event and it begins on Thursday, November 30th, with two girls games at 5:30 PM and 10:00 PM and two boys games with Benton (Marshall County) KY versus Vienna (H.S.) IL at 7:00 PM and Mayfield (Graves County) KY versus West Paducah (Heath) KY at 8:30 PM.  Then, there will be another girls game at 5:30 PM on Friday, December, followed by three boys games with Paducah (Tilghman) KY versus Shelbyville (H.S.) TN at 7:00 PM, Benton (Marshall County) KY versus Cadiz (Trigg County) KY at 8:30 PM, and Chicago (Simeon) IL versus Champaign (Central) IL at 10:00 PM.  And Saturday will be an all day affair with Paducah (St. Mary) KY versus Massac County) IL at 8:00 AM, girls games at 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM, Murfreesboro (Riverdale) TN versus Wildwood (Lafayette) MO at 12:30 PM, Carbondale (H.S.) IL versus Webster Groves (H.S.) MO at 2:00 PM, Alton (H.S.) IL versus Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN at 4:30 PM, Lexington (Catholic) KY versus Pinckneyville (H.S.) IL at 6:00 PM, Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA versus Jackson (Provine) MS at 7:30 PM, Peoria (Richwoods) IL versus Gulfport (H.S.) MS at 9:00 PM, and Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL versus Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY at 10:30 PM.  Some of the top players who will be attendance include 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'3 Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Jr Howard Thompkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Alexander Legion from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Julian Vaughn from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'5 Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'11 Teeng Akol from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'9 Billy Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'8 Soph Tyler Griffey from Wildwood (Lafayette) MO, 6'5 Jr Jelani Poston from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'6 Kevin Johnson from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'2 Enrique Cova-Benitez from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'4 Jr Donald Stewart from Champaign (Central) IL, 6'1 Justin Dehm from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, 6'4 Soph Emari Bailey from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 7'2 Marial David Dhal from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'3 Jr Scott Haralson from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'5 Jr Taylor Stewart from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 6'5 Jr Nathan Novosal from Lexington (Catholic) KY, 7'0 Steve Yien from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'3 Devon Lamb from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'2 Demorris Summers from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'3 Jewon Long from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'6 Soph Emery Kelly from Jackson (Provine) MS, 6'6 Josh Sain from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'5 Devon Jones from Jackson (Liberty Tech) TN, 6'0 Gabriel Charlie from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 5'9 Justin Ray from Gulfport (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Frosh James Bell from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'0 Jr Travis Spiceland from Benton (Marshall County) KY, 5'7 Rodney Davis from Cadiz (Trigg County) KY, 6'4 David Jones from Paducah (Tilgham) KY, 6'2 Jonathan Roof from Paducah (St. Mary) KY, 6'5 Jr Isaac McClure from Paducah (Tilghman) KY, 6'3 Matt Kimbler from Mayfield (Graves County) KY, and 6'2 Gabriel Shaw from Paducah (St Mary) KY.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia editor Dennis Marshall tells us that the race has been declared official for 6'2 Jr Jason Clark from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who is ranked #100 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, Marshall predicted on Monday that Clark would pick the Hoyas later this week and, as a result, the Georgetown coaching staff not only has the best two players in the senior class in the Washington, DC area in the fold with 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC and 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, but they also have the top two-ranked juniors in the area with Clark and 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who picked the Hoyas earlier this week.  And, if that weren't enough, our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'6 Omar Wattad from Johnson City (Science Hill) TN also picked the Hoyas several days ago.  Wattad is ranked #309 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but Whitehead is still excited about this one, because Wattad promises to be the ultimate role player.  "Not only is he a winner and team player, but he also has a good mid-range game and is an excellent defender, thanks to the fact that he has great length and the heart and desire necessary to shut down his man.  Whitehead also tells us that 6'4 DeAndre Bynum from Memphis (White Station) TN, who is quick off the dribble and is a good shooter, has verbally committed to Georgia State and 6'9 Scott Saunders from Nashville (Battle Ground Academy) TN, who has good hands, a high basketball IQ, and is a good finisher around the basket, has verbally committed to Rice.  We also understand that the University of Nebraska now has four players in the fold in 5'11 Steve Harley from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'9 Shang Ping from Illinois Central (JC) IL, 6'10 Alex Chapman from Sheridan (JC) WY, and 6'8 Alonzo Edwards from Houston (Klein Forest) TX and, as a result, the Cornhuskers' recruiting class is now ranked #16 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Obviously getting Harley, who is ranked #4 by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook and as a Second Team Junior College All-American by Tony Jimenez in the Street & Smith Pre-Season Basketball Yearbook, is a major coup.  We're talking about an undersized 2-guard, but he can score from anywhere and is great in transition, which makes Harley ideally suited to step in and complement 6'3 Soph Jamel White, 6'3 Frosh Seketoure Henry, and 6'4 Frosh Ryan Anderson out on the perimeter a year from now.  Ping, who is originally from China, is versatile enough to play the three, four, and the five spots, plus he's got a great face-up game and is a tremendous competitor.  As a matter of fact, we read recently that his junior college coach (Tony Wysinger) called Ping the meanest player he's ever had.  "He doesn't back down from anything.  And if there are any skirmishes, he's going to be right in the middle of it."  Chapman is the older brother of 6'11 Clint Chapman from Canby (H.S.) OR, who recently verbally committed to the University of Texas and is ranked #69 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, the older Chapman is more perimeter oriented than his younger brother, who is best known for his shot blocking, rebounding, and scoring ability around the basket.  In other words, Alex Chapman is more like an international player, because he is really skilled and can really shoot it.  Edwards is a guy who is somewhat under the radar screen, but he's very athletic, is an excellent finisher, and can score in a variety of ways.  So obviously new Cornhuskers head coach Doc Sadler and his staff, which includes former San Francisco head coach Phil Matthews, who has more than his share of junior college ties, and Tony Benford, who has established himself as one of the best recruiters in the nation during the last 14 years as an assistant coach at Arizona State and New Mexico, haven't wasted any time finding the players they need to turn the program around in a hurry.  And they aren't done yet, as they are still looking for a point guard who can step in a year from now and take over for 5'9 Sr Charles Richardson, who is the only real point guard that they currently have in the program.  Our Kentucky editor Larry Kihnley tells us that 6'5 Ty Profitt from London (South Laurel) KY plans to make a verbal commitment to Notre Dame this weekend and our a number of people are telling us that 6'9 Chris Barnes from Riverdale (H.S.) GA, who is ranked #189 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to the University of Georgia.  Barnes is a physical specimen inside and is a local kid, so this is an important catch for the Bulldogs, especially in light of the fact that 6'9 James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, who picked N.C. State, and 6'8 Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA, who picked Georgia Tech, got away and 6'8 Montavious Adams from Irwinton (Wilkinson County) GA, who originally had picked the Bulldogs, reneged on his commitment to Georgia last spring.  And so did 6'1 Keegan Bell from Hazel Green (H.S.) AL, who recently picked Vanderbilt, which means the Bulldogs now only have three players in this year's recruiting class with Barnes, 6'9 Jeremy Price from Decatur (Columbia) GA, and 6'5 Walter Hill from Gainesville (East Hall) GA.  Our Ohio editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'4 James Davis from Columbus (Linden-McKinley) OH has verbally committed to Toledo, 6'3 Troy Tabler from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH has verbally committed to Wright State, 6'5 Lucca Staiger from Decatur (Christian) IL has verbally committed to Iowa State, and 6'9 Nemanjc Calasan from Midland (JC) TX has verbally committed to Utah.  Davis is ranked #226 and Tabler is #328 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and Staiger, who originally is from Germany, played well enough to be ranked as the #10 2-guard at the adidas Superstar Camp this past summer.  But the real eye-opener here is the fact that Calasan was the #10-ranked player in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

It looks like the University of Louisville has beaten schools like Arizona and Kansas for the services of 7'0 Jr Jeff Withey from San Diego (Horizon) CA, who is ranked #66 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We're talking about an extremely long thin shot blocking 7-footer with a soft touch out to about 15-feet and a huge upside due to the fact that he already has a high skill level, a nice frame, good hands and feet, and a willingness to compete.  And you can bet that the Louisville coaching staff used Rick Pitino's strong NBA ties and history of developing players to get this one, as the obvious connection here was Cardinals assistant coach Marvin Menzies, who not only is one of the best recruiters on the West Coast, but also used to be an assistant coach at San Diego State, which is right in Withey's backyard.  The addition of Withey also is important, because this not only gives the Cardinals the #3-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008, but it also puts them way ahead of the curve with regards to getting a head start on the future.  Remember, they also already have a verbal commitment from 6'7 Jr Martez Walker from Montverde (Academy) FL, who is ranked #70 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and our sources continue to tell us that 5'9 Soph Lamont Jones from New York (Rice) NY, who is ranked #40 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP, also is already verbally committed to the Cardinals.  So obviously all of these players will be an excellent complement to all of the good players - 6'9 Frosh Derrick Caracter, 6'2 Frosh Edgar Sosa from New York (Rice) NY, 6'3 Frosh Jerry Smith, and 6'8 Frosh Earl Clark - that they landed in last year's recruiting class and 6'9 George Goode from Raytown (South) MO, who is ranked #118 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the one player already in the fold in their current recruiting class.  Speaking of Louisville's recruiting, we're also hearing the Cardinals being mentioned with players like 6'10 Papa Dia from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'8 Tracy Smith from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 Jason Henry from Decatur (Light of the World) GA, and 6'10 Keenan Ellis from Aston (American Christian) PA in this year's recruiting class and they are in the hunt for a number of the top juniors nationally, including 6'4 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'8 Jr Devin Ebanks from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'0 Jr Larry Drew from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'9 Jr Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Jr Darius Miller from Maysville (Mason County) KY, 6'5 Jr Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville (University Heights) KY, and 6'7 Jr Clarence Trent from Gig Harbor (H.S.) WA.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Guy Alang-Ntang from New Hampton (Prep) NH has verbally committed to Wichita State, which means the Shockers now have four players in the fold in this years recruiting class, as 6'2 Evan Baker from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and 6'9 Denzel Bowles from Virginia Beach (Kempsville) VA both also recently picked Wichita State and 6'5 Graham Hatch, who originally signed with Wichita State two years ago when was a high school senior at Mesa (H.S.) AZ, will return from a Morman mission and will count towards this year's recruiting class.  Our New England editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that Alang-Ntang is a huge catch for the Shockers, because this native of Cameroon is an explosive athlete, can really shoot the three, and is talented enough to have been attracting interest from big time schools (i.e. Providence).  Baker is a prolific scoring combo guard who also was attracting some high major interest and knows how to use his athleticism to get to the basket and finish.  Baker, who originally is from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, also has a good understanding of the game and a long wing span, which means he can also play point guard and is an excellent defender.  Bowles is a very skilled four-man who won't turn 18-years-old until May, which is important, because right now he's just beginning to scratch the surface.  Hatch has a high basketball IQ and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  We also think it's worth pointing out that Wichita State assistant coach Scott Spinelli's strong prep school contacts played a major part in helping the Shockers get both Alang-Ntang and Baker and that Wichita State's recruiting class is now ranked #39 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important, Wichita State's recruiting class is now ranked #1 among schools in the Missouri Valley Conference and they should not miss a beat when 6'8 Sr Kyle Wilson, 6'4 Jr P.J. Couisnard, 6'2 Jr Sean Ogirri, and 5'11 Jr Matt Braeuer, who are the four returning starters from last year's 26-9 team that lost George Mason in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, graduate after this season and next season.  Or to look at it another way, it's clear that Shockers head coach Mark Turgeon is well on his way towards turning Wichita State into the Gonzaga of the Midwest and Spinelli, who is the heavy favorite to be ranked as our #1 assistant coach at the mid-major level the next time we update our rankings, hasn't lost his touch as a recruiter.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'4 Nathan Lester from Brooklyn (Canarsie) NY, who is ranked #190 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Hofstra.  And this is an important catch for several reasons.  First, the Pride once again have shown that they are able to keep their share of the top players from the city at home.  Second, Lester has one of the best mid-range games that Naclerio has seen in a long time.  As a matter of fact, unlike most players in this day-and-age, Lester doesn't take everything to the basket, because he has so much confidence in his ability to pull-up and hit the mid-range jumper.  Our Texas editor Tim Miller tells us that 6'3 Brockeith Pane from Dallas (Carter) TX, who is ranked #161 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and athletically is ideally suited to play in Cougars head coach Tom Pender's up tempo game, has picked the University of Houston.  Our New England editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that 6'6 Andre Hardy from New Hampton (Prep) NH has verbally committed to San Francisco and it will be interesting to see how San Francisco head coach Jessie Evans uses him when he enrolls in school a year from now.  Remember, what Hardy does best is use his toughness and athleticism to rebound and score inside.  However, a lot of people want to list him as a wing forward due to his tweener forward size.  We also understand from our Alabama editor Mark Komara that 6'3 Travis Cohn from Decatur (Austin) AL, who is ranked #202 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Jacksonville.  We're talking about a big time athlete with the ability to slash, defend, play either guard spot, and sacrifice his game for the good of the team, as was evident this past summer when he was the first guard off the bench on the Southeast Elite Team, which featured 6'3 Rico Pickett from Decatur (H.S.) AL, 6'0 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, and 6'2 Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that USC has gotten an early verbal commitment from 6'7 Frosh Dwayne Polee from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA and this is huge for a number of reasons.  First, Polee was ranked #49 nationally in the freshman class in our rankings that were published two days ago, which means he's a pretty good player right now.  However, it's his upside that really gets people excited.  As a matter of fact, Westchester high school coach Ed Azzam thinks Polee has as much potential as any player he's ever coached.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that Azzam has had players like Hassan Adams, Trevor Ariza, Amir Johnson, Marcus Johnson, Brandon Bowman, Ashanta Cook, and Brandon Heath in his program in recent years.  Second, this is the first verbal commitment that we've tracked in the Class of 2010, as well as one of the earliest ever on record, which means that the Trojans coaching staff not only can get their share of top player in their backyard, but they also can get them early.  And this looks more like a trend than a one-time incident, as is evident by the fact that they also got early verbal commitments at this time a year ago from 6'5 Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA and 6'5 Jr Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, who, at the time, were a junior and sophomore, respectively.  Third, Polee not only has the potential to grow several more inches, which would make him a true 6'9 or 6'10 wing player, but he also has a great bloodline, as his father (Dwayne Polee Sr) played in high school for Los Angeles (Manual Arts) CA, in college for Pepperdine, and in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers.  Fourth, the USC's coaching staff continues to recruit like crazy, as is evident by the fact that they ended up with 6'5 Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA, 6'8 Taj Gibson from San Fernando (Calvary Baptist) CA, 6'7 Kevin Galloway from Sacramento (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Kasey Cunningham from Albuquerque (Cibola) NM, 6'6 Dwight Lewis from Katy (Taylor) TX, and 6'7 Kyle Austin from Pasadena (H.S.) CA in last year's recruiting class, they already have verbal commitment from 6'1 Venoy Overton from Seattle (Franklin) WA and 6'5 Jr Malik Story from Lakewood (Artesia) CA in this year's and next year's recruiting classes and they are going to tough to beat for players like 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'10 Mamadou Diarra from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Jr Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA, and 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA.  We've already told you that it looks like a two-horse race between Connecticut and USC for Jennings.  But did you also know that USC head coach Tim Floyd has all the right connections to make the Trojans one of the top three, along with Duke and LSU, for Monroe's services and that it will probably come down to UCLA and USC when it comes time for Sidney to make his college decision?  Our Florida Editor Rick Staudt tells us that it looks like 6'4 Gary Clark from Montverde (Academy) FL, who originally had verbally committed to the University of Florida, is now back on the board.  We're talking about an athletic 2-guard who is good at shooting off the catch and is such a good student that schools like Stanford, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Georgia Tech will probably come calling.  In other words, Clark, who is ranked #154 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is looking for the best combination of athletics and academics that he can find.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Valeriu "Vali" Lazarescu from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU has picked William & Mary, 6'4 Ibrahim Appaih from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU has picked High Point, and 6'3 Etoile Imama form Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU has picked Old Dominion.  That last one is especially interesting, because Imama, who is ranked #320 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a pure point guard who averaged 11.0 ppg, 6.5 apg, and 4.0 apg and he is exactly what doctored ordered as the Monarchs must replace their starting point guard - 6'0 Sr Drew Williamson - after this season.  Imama, who played for the Canadian 19-Under Team this past summer, also appears to be the next in a line of good guards that have been produced by one of the premier basketball programs in Canadian in recent years.  If you will recall, Michigan State's 6'4 Soph Maurice Joseph and Gonzaga's 6'0 Jr Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes also played high school basketball at Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU.  We also think Imama will be an excellent complement to 6'5 Kent Bazemore from Windsor (Bertie) NC, who picked the Monarchs in July, and possibly 6'0 Chris Warren from Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, who made an official visit to Old Dominion this past weekend.  Appaih is a good catch for the Panthers, because he is an athletic/slasher/scorer.  Lazarescu is a high flying athlete and terrific dunker, as is evident by the fact that he has won several slam dunk contests in the last year.  So Lazarescu should be an excellent complement to 6'2 David Schneider from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, 6'1 Matt McFadden from Medford (Shawnee) NJ, 6'7 Danny Sumner from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA, and 6'10 Stephen Hess from Charlotte (Gaston Day School) NC, all of whom were apart of last year's recruiting class, and 6'8 Marcus Kitts from Apex (Middle Creek) NC, who also is already in the fold for this year.  It also looks like Ole Miss may have stolen one in 6'9 Kevin Cantinol from Clearwater (H.S.) FL.  We're talking about a potential guy, but, at 6'9, 235-pounds, he's got a great frame, excellent hands, an incredible wing span, and surprising mobility for somebody his size.  It's probably not fair to compare Cantinol to Florida's Joakim Noah, but those who have seen play tell us that there are a lot of similarities.  And the fact that he's a good student, has an excellent work ethic, and will likely end up at 6'10, 250 pounds makes this one all the more intriguing.  We also have been informed by Lee Hubbard of NorCalPreps.com that 6'8 Kyle Thomas from Folsom (H.S.) CA has picked Loyola-Illinois over UC-Davis, Portland State, Arkansas Little-Rock, Portland, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Bucknell, St. Mary's, Montana, and Pacific.  "This athletic 6'8 combo forward is a national sleeper prospect," says Hubbard.  "He is versatile with a game that can attack from the perimeter or down low in the block for tough points in the paint.  Thomas, who has a game similar to Keith Van Horn, was a mismatch night for coaches on the club circuit."  Our New England editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that Central Connecticut State has landed 6'3 Alan Branch from Lee (Academy) ME and he thinks he will fit perfectly into their system.  "He is a strong tough hard working guard who can really make shots," says Finkelstein.

Monday, October 16, 2006

It came as no surprise to us that 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who was in Lexington, KY, along with 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV and 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX over the weekend for Midnight Madness, verbally committed to the University of Kentucky earlier today.  If you will recall, we told you last Thursday that this was a done deal and the word that we get is that the deciding factor in his decision was the great experience that he had playing in the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Benton, KY each of the last two years.  In case you are unaware, they draw tremendous crowds every year for this tournament and, as a result, Stewart could only imagine what it is like playing for the Wildcats in Rupp Arena, where they seat 24,000.  Stewart is ranked #122 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he has the talent, potential, and athleticism to be ranked a lot higher, if he gets meaner and tougher inside and/or continues to develop his perimeter skills.  In other words, Stewart promises to be an excellent piece to the puzzle, especially if the Wildcats' coaching staff can persuade both Patterson and Lucas to follow suit.  Remember, the Wildcats already have a verbal commitment from 7'0 Mike Williams from Alexandria (Bishop Ireton) MD, who is best described as a project right now, but has the potential to become a physical specimen inside and already has dramatically improved since arriving from England several years ago.  Currently Patterson's final five are Kentucky, Duke, Florida, Wake Forest, and West Virginia and Lucas still has Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State on his list.  However, when it's all said and done, we think the Wildcats are the team to beat for both players.  And, if they pull this off, then Kentucky's recruiting class, which is currently tied at #68, along with New Mexico State, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Bucknell, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Louisiana-Monroe, UTEP, SMU, Vermont, UAB, Hampton, and La Salle, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007, would move into a tie at #9, along with Purdue and Texas A&M, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  But, even more important, Wildcats head coach Tubby Smith will have a great point guard in Lucas to complement 6'6 Frosh Derrick Jasper and 6'5 Frosh Jodie Meeks in the backcourt for years to come.  Not only are we talking about one of the hardest working, absolutely dedicated, and most driven players that we've seen in a long time, but Lucas also is a great kid, has a great attitude, and always has a smile on his face off the court and knows how to be serious when it comes time to take care of business and win the game on the court.  And to illustrate this point even further, Hal Pastner, who runs the Houston Hoops AAU team for which Lucas plays, tells us that Lucas is the only player that he has in his program who religiously shows up at all of his father's (former NBA star John Lucas) work-outs in the morning, afternoon, and evening often on the same day.  And NIKE's George Raveling, who is one of the top authorities on the game today, once told Pastner that Lucas is the type of point guard who you can build your team around, because he knows how to win and is such a smart player.  Moral to the story, if they get Lucas, the Wildcats' team chemistry in the future could be as good as it was bad a year ago when they had Rajon Rondo running the show.  Lucas also tells us that he had a great visit to Kentucky over the weekend, but he says he's still a long way away from making a decision, as he still has to make official visits to Maryland, where his father was an All-American in the 70's, and Oklahoma, where Jeff Capel and his new staff already have 6'8 Blake Griffin from Edmund (Oklahoma Christian) OK, 6'5 Tony Neysmith from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Chris Early from Huntington (H.S.) WV, and 6'5 Cade Davis from Elk City (H.S.) OK all in the fold in a recruiting class that is ranked #16 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And, of course, there is Oklahoma State, which is where Lucas' older brother (John Lucas) was the starting point guard on the Cowboys' 2004 NCAA Final Four team.  If the Wildcats get Patterson, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, then they would have the perfect complement to 7'2 Soph Jared Carter, who already appears to be well on his way towards being one of the most improved players from start to finish in Kentucky basketball history.  In the case of Patterson, we think that the close driving distance between Huntington, WV and Lexington, KY will be an important factor decision and we can't overemphasis how important it is for the Wildcats that some time has already passed since Patterson took his official visits to Duke and Florida.  The point being, the longer this one goes, the more it favors the Wildcats.  We also have confirmed via our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia editor Dennis Marshall that 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who is ranked #19 nationally in the junior class, has verbally committed to Georgetown.  "Braswell is a skilled inside player who can score with either hand, has excellent footwork, is a good shot blocker and rebounder, can step out and hit the 15-foot jump shot, and has good athleticism," says Marshall.   And later this week the Hoyas may get another one in 6'2 Jr Jason Clark from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, who is ranked #100 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  "Clark is best described as a combo guard who does everything well," says Marshall.  "He can shoot, slash, handle, and rebound extremely well for his size."  Not only does this mean that Clark is ideally suited to step in and complement 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC and 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD in the backcourt, but already the Hoyas have landed the two best seniors (Wright and Freeman) and suddenly they now are on the verge of landing the two best juniors (Braswell and Clark) in the Washington, DC area.  We also have confirmed that 6'10 Cassin Diggs from Cloud County (JC) KS has verbally committed to Pittsburgh, 6'6 B.J. Frazier from Stone Mountain (Stephenson) GA has verbally committed to Western Kentucky, 6'7 Fred Ellis from Sacramento (H.S.) CA has verbally to Baylor, 6'8 Jeff Ryan from Newburgh (Free Academy) NY has verbally committed to Longwood, and 6'3 G.W. Boone from Harvest (Sparkman) AL has verbally committed to Bucknell.  The verbal commitment by Boone is big, because he's ranked #372 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and, as a result, should be an excellent complement to the other two players - 6'10 Todd O'Brien from New Holland (Garden Spot) PA and 6'0 Darryl Spazier from Newport News (Menchville) VA - who are already in Bucknell's recruiting class.  Ryan is a talented 6'8, 190-pound four-man who was named to play in the Top 20 All-Star Game at the first session of Eastern Invitational this past summer, which means it's two down and two to go as Longwood head coach Mike Gillian attempts to land the best recruiting class in the history of the school.  Remember, the Lancers also received a verbal commitment recently from 6'2 Ryan Bogan from Harcum (JC) PA.  Ellis is a big time athlete who gets to the rim, is a solid 3-point shooter, and has what we've been told is an incredible upside.  But what makes this really interesting is the fact that Ellis is a true sleeper, as he was not included recently in our Ranking of the Top 900 Players Nationally in the Senior Class (Class of 2007).  Frazier, who is ranked #230 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, can put the ball on the floor, shoot the three, and has the athleticism necessary to have been the third best player this past summer on a World Wide Renegades team that featured 6'9 James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA and 6'5 Chris Allen from Lawrenceville Meadowcreek) GA.  Diggs is one of the top three big men in the junior college ranks according to the Street & Smith Pre-Season College Basketball Yearbook.  So suddenly the Panthers have the #5-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007, as well as three quality inside players - 6'10 Cassin Diggs from Cloud County (JC) KS, 6'7 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, and 6'9 Gary McGhee from Anderson (Highland) IN - in the fold in this year's recruiting class.  The Panthers also have verbal commitments from 6'7 Darnell Dobson from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD and 6'3 Bradley Wanamaker from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, which means the Panthers have a little bit of everything, except a point guard, in this year's recruiting class.  But, then again, they don't need a point guard right now, because 6'1 Jr Ronald Ramon and 5'10 Soph LeVance Fields should be able to handle that position for the next several years. 

Sunday, October 15, 2006

We're finally finished with our Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Freshmen Class (Class of 2010) and it comes as no surprise that we have 6'2 Frosh Brandon Knight from Ft. Lauderdale (Pine Crest) FL ranked as the #1 player in the class.  After all, this is the guy with world-class athleticism who had a 37-point game and averaged close to 30 points a game at the 14-Under Nationals and is one of the few elite players in the freshman class nationally that is actually the right age.  "Yes, Knight is still only 14-years old," says our Middle School Editor Patrick Stanwood.  "And he's also a great role model.  Not only does Knight attend a private school that ranks as the second toughest school academically in one of the largest states in the country, but he also is a good enough student to have a shot to go to the Ivy League route with or without basketball.  Did you know that his mother told me that the most disappointing thing that happened to Knight during the last year was that her son came home with a "B" on his report card?"  In other words, Knight is a winner both on and off the court and he gets the nod as the best player in the class that old-fashioned way.  He earned it!.  In contrast, 6'9 Frosh Jeremy Tyler from Chula Vista (Eastlake) CA has the size, athleticism, skills, and potential to be ranked as one of the very elite players in the class.  However, Stanwood, who thinks Tyler should be ranked as one of the top four players in the class, along with Knight, 6'6 Frosh Jayvaughn Pinkston from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and 6'6 Frosh DeShaun Thomas from Ft. Wayne (Bishop Luers) IN, and I will have to agree to disagree on this one.  Remember, Tyler didn't get it done when I saw him in the quarterfinals (only four points against the Orlando Dream Team) and in the semi-finals (only two points against the S.Carter) at the 14-Under Nationals and, as a result, he is ranked no higher than #16 in our Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Freshmen Class (Class of 2010).  And this isn't the first time I've gone against the norm.  If you will recall, we didn't rank 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN as the #1 player in the Class of 2006 until he earned it a year ago last summer.  It also should be pointed out that Stanwood and I also disagree with regards to who the better player is between Pinkston and Thomas.  As a matter fact, Stanwood still thinks Thomas might be the best prospect in the class.  And all this is important, because it really is that close among the top players in the Class of 2010, which to-date does not have that superstar-like player that the Class of 2006 had with 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD; the Class of 2007 has with 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, and 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN; the Class of 2008 has with 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'5 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA; the Class of 2009 has with 6'9 Soph Renardo Sidney from Lakewood (Artesia) CA and 6'5 Soph Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY; and the Class of 2011 has with 6'7 8th Grader LaQuinton Ross from Jackson, MS and 6'2 8th Grader Davontay Grace from Brooklyn, NY; and the Class of 2012 has with 5'10 7th Grader J-Mychael Reese from Bryan, TX and 6'4 7th Grader Reggie Ragland from Huntsville, AL.  But that doesn't mean that all of the time effort that Stanwood, who also is largely responsible for coming up with the high schools for most of the players on this list, put into helping gather the majority of the names on this list was not worth its weight in gold.  And so was all of the input we received from our area and state-by-state editors, correspondents, and other contributors.  We also think it's important to point out that the class is point guard heavy, as five of the top 10 players - 6'0 Frosh K.C. Ross-Miller from Irving (God's Academy) TX, 6'2 Frosh Gary Franklin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'2 Frosh Tony Chenault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, 5'8 Frosh Daryl Trayham from Upper Marlboro (Wise) MD, and 6'1 Frosh Kendall Marshall from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA - play that position.  A lot of people also will be surprised by the fact that 6'6 Frosh Trevor Clemmings from Paramus (Catholic) NJ is ranked among our top 10 players in the class and 6'4 Frosh Travis Robinson from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA is not ranked among the top 10 players in the class.  A lot of people, including our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin, who listed Robinson third in his area behind 6'2 Frosh Tony Chenault from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA and 6'2 Frosh Dion Waiters from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA, seem to think Robinson isn't going to grown anymore and, as a result, has peaked early.  So, the people around Robinson are trying to make a wing forward out of him, instead of allowing to do what he does best, which is score, rebound, block shots, and terrorize opponents inside.  As for Clemmings, after watching him score 10 points in the Developmental League All-Star Game and be named the Best Rebounder for the week while playing against players a year older at the Five-Star Basketball Camp a-month-and-a-half ago, there is no doubt in our mind that this aggressive athletic physical specimen is the best kept secret in the class.  Several other players that are ranked extremely high on this list that most people who follow this age group don't know about are 6'7 Frosh Myron Respress from Niagara Falls (H.S.) CA and 6'3 Frosh Jesse Borrn from McDonough (New Creations) GA.   

Saturday, October 14, 2006

It looks like LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre is more than making up for the fact that LSU didn't land a single player in last year's recruiting class, as the Tigers have yet another player in the fold this fall.  This time we're talking about 7'2 Jr James Tyler from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, who is ranked #23 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was ranked #57 overall and #11 at the center position by the HOOP SCOOP at the Reebok ABCD Camp.  Tyler is a physical specimen with soft hands, excellent skills, a good hook shot, and surprising mobility for somebody who is 330 pounds.  So it's fitting that this guy who they call "Baby Shaq" would want to follow in the footsteps and attend that the same school that the original Shaq attended from 1989 to 1991.  And, if Tyler keeps working on his mobility, agility, and coordination and continues to improve his conditioning, he could have the same type of potential as Shaquille O'Neal.  Remember, big men develop late and this is especially good news for LSU head coach John Brady, who already has lost one big man (Tyrus Thomas) early to the NBA Draft and probably will lose another one (Glen Davis) next spring.  Tyler also should be a great complement to all of the other players in LSU's current recruit class, which is tied at #10, along with Texas Tech and Alabama, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and includes 6'9 Desmond Hendrix from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, 6'10 Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX, 6'7 D.J. Wright from Toronto (Tapps) ON, and 6'9 Garrett Green from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA.  And, if that weren't enough, LSU also already has an early verbal commitment from 5'10 Soph Tommy Mason-Griffin from Houston (Madison) TX.  In other words, it looks like Brady and his staff have already landed three guys who can flat out fill it up (Randolph, Wright, and Green), a quality big man in both this year's (Hendrix) and next year's (Tyler) recruiting classes, and a great point guard in the recruiting class the year after next.  Remember, Hendrix is one of the top junior college players in the nation Randolph is a multi-dimensional 6'10 athlete who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and Mason-Griffin checks in at #26 on our list of the top sophomores nationally.  Our New England editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that the University of Massachusetts has received a verbal commitment from 6'4 Jr David Gibbs from West Simsbury (Masters School) CT.  Gibbs and his long-time AAU coach Pat Sullivan both credit UMass Coach Travis Ford and his staff, along with the team's high tempo style of play, as the main reasons for the commitment.  "Their coaches were always real with me," said Gibbs.  "And I really like their style of play."  And Sullivan agrees.  "Travis Ford was a great guard as a player and now he is a great coach.  So, with their style of play, I think it was a no brainer for David."  We also think this is a significant commitment for the Minutemen for two reasons.  First, Gibbs is a high-major talent who was also being pursued by schools in the Big East, ACC, and Big Ten and he has great skills and athleticism and should be able to make an immediate impact for the Minutemen when he arrives in school two years from now.  Second,  this commitment is clear proof that Ford and his staff are determined to keep the best players in New England at home.  While, Gibbs was exploding onto the scene this summer and generating interest from those high-major programs, the UMass staff had already done their homework and could be seen just about everywhere he played during the entire month of July.  It also looks like 6'1 Biko Paris from Cypress (Community Christian) TX, who is ranked #95 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and reneged on his verbal commitment to USC earlier this week, has wasted no time making it official for Boston College.  And this comes as no surprise to us, as our California editor Alan Utter told us that the Eagles were the team to beat when this occurred several days ago.  The addition of Paris moves Boston College's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'6 Rakim Sanders from Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, 6'6 Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, 6'10 Josh Southern from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, and 6'8 Courtney Dunn from Dallas (Lake Highland) TX, up to #16 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  But, even more important, is looks like Boston College hasn't missed a beat on the recruiting trail, despite the fact that long time assistant coaches Bill Coen, who is now the head coach at Northeastern, and Ed Cooley, who is now the head coach at Fairfield, are no longer the guys bringing in the players.  Instead, the credit now has to go to assistant coaches Mo Cassara and Bonzie Colson, both of whom are in their first year on the job, and Pat Duquette, who is now in his 6th year with the Eagles.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'4 Nick Hendria from New York (Xavier) NY has verbally committed to American University, 6'5 Jason Leiberman from Roslyn (H.S.) NY has verbally committed to Pennsylvania, and 6'2 T. Carey from Oyster Bay (St. Dominics) NY has verbally committed to Harvard.  Hendria, who is ranked #496 nationally in the senior class, not only was named to play in the Orange-White All-Star Game at Five-Star Basketball Camp's loaded Honesdale session, but this athletic white kid with an excellent outside shot also was one of the legendary Howard Garfinkel's favorite players in camp.  Lieberman was Nassau's leading scorer in both the Long Island and Nassau County All-Star Games.  Carey is a 6'2 combo guard who is a good 3-shooter and is ultimate team player, which makes him a great get for The Crimson.  It also looks like Santa Clara has gotten a pair of inside players in 6'10 Scott Thompson from Meridian (Mountain View) ID and 6'9 Andrew Zimmerman from Oostburg (H.S.) WI, East Carolina has added 6'6 Jamar Abrams from Highland Springs (H.S.) VA, and Binghamton has landed 6'2 Chretien Lukusa from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON. 

Friday, October 13, 2006

N.C. State lost out in the race for 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC earlier this week, but it still looks like they've hit the jackpot, thanks to the verbal commitment that they received last night from 6'9 James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA.  Not only is Hickson ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he also finished ranked #7 overall and #2 at the center position at the Reebok ABCD Camp in early July.  In other words, we're talking about somebody who is extremely active and athlete inside, as he is one of the best shot blockers, rebounders, and finishers in the class.  The addition of Hickson also is huge for the Wolfpack, because he not only is good enough to go head-to-head against all of the top big men in the league, but he also gives the new coaching staff the big man around which they can build the rest of the program.  Hickson does need to become more consistent and obviously is not as good a player, but he reminds us of Dwight Howard in many ways.  And, just like Howard at this stage in his career, Hickson's best days are still ahead of him due to the fact that he has a huge upside.  Our Georgia Editor Horace Neysmith also tells us that 6'7 Terrell Bell from Stone Mountain (H.S.) GA, who is ranked #106 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was ranked #11 overall and #2 at the wing forward position at the adidas Superstar Camp, verbally committed to Virginia Tech several months ago.  And it's too bad that we're only finding out about this today, because we could have included this when we talked about Virginia Tech's recruiting class two days ago right after the Hokies landed 6'5 Dorenzo Hudson from Marshville (Forest Hill) NC.  And, if that wasn't bad enough, on the same day in the same article we mentioned that Bell was one of 19 players still available in the senior class nationally who are ranked in the 101-150 range.  As for Bell, he should be the perfect complement to Hudson is this year's recruiting class, because they're both extremely athletic and Hudson is an excellent 3-point shooter and has better ball handling and passing skills, while Bell is more of a slasher than a shooter and rebounds very well for his size.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that the addition of Bell moves Virginia Tech's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'7 Jeff Allen from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Augustus Gilchrist from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD, and 6'3 Malcolm Delaney from Towson (Catholic) MD, up to #13 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important, the addition of Bell moves Virginia Tech's recruiting class up to #1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, ahead Florida State, Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Miami-FL, which means that Hokies head coach Seth Greenberg and his staff are well on their way towards building the strong foundation that they will need to compete in one of college basketball's toughest leagues for years to come.  We also are extremely impressed with the fact that Indiana University has finally landed 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the HOOP SCOOP's Player-of-the Summer after being ranked as the best player at the adidas Superstar Camp and leading his team to the championship of the NIKE Peach Jam and a runner-up finish at the Reebok Big Tournament.  Obviously this will be one of the biggest verbal commitments of the entire fall recruiting period, but it also could change the balance of power in the Big-10 for years to come, as this is a clear indication that the new regime at Indiana will be able to keep the top players in their backyard at home.  Remember, Gordon is the guy who originally verbally committed to Illinois, but officially reneged on the Fighting Illini when he started taking unofficial visits to Bloomington, IN this fall.  And the Hoosiers were able to pull this off, despite the fact that new Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson is banned from calling recruits or making off-campus visits until next May due to excessive phone calls to recruits dating back to his days at Oklahoma between 2000 and 2004.  So, as things now, Indiana's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'5 Jamarcus Ellis from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'8 Brandon McGee from Chicago Crane) IL, and 6'10 Eli Holman from Richmond (H.S.) CA, is ranked #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, if they also are able to get 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the teammate of Gordon on the Mean Streets Express Team that did so well in July, then their recruiting class would move up to #1, ahead of Syracuse, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And, if that happens, Sampson should got to bat to get his assistant coaches (Ray McCallum, Jeff Meyer, and Rob Senderoff), who already help make up one of the best coaches staffs in college basketball today, big fat raises.  As for the University of Illinois, don't worry about Fighting Illini head coach Bruce Weber.  Not only is Weber one of the best head coaches in the game today, but he still has a recruiting class that is tied at #37, along with Miami-FL, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and includes 6'3 Demetri McCamey from Westchester (St. Joseph) IL, 6'9 Billy Cole from Peoria (Richwoods) IL, and 6'10 Mike Tisdale from Riverton (H.S.) IL and they are involved with a number of the top juniors nationally, including 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Jr Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, 6'8 Jr Luke Babbitt from Reno (Galena) NV, 5'6 Jr Erving Walker from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'6 Jr DeAndre Liggins from Chicago (Washington) IL, 6'1 Jr Anthony Crater from Flint (Southwestern) MI, 6'7 Jr Darius Miller from Maysville (Mason County) KY, 6'4 Jr Matt Humphrey from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL, 6'9 Jr Michael Dunigan from Chicago (Farragut) IL, and 6'9 Jr Josh Crittle from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL.  Moral to the story, the Illinois coaching staff may not be able to recruit as well as they would like to in the city of Chicago or the state of Indiana, but they more than making up for it nationally, as they are taking advantage of the incredible amount of exposure and notoriety that went along with going to the NCAA Final Four and playing for the National Championship a-year-and-a-half ago. 

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Our Washington, DC/Maryland/Northern Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall tells us that 6'10 Vald Moldoveanu from Washington (St. John's) DC, who is ranked #196 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and #10 in the area by Marshall, has verbally committed to George Mason.  However, these rankings don't even come close to illustrating just how big a catch this is for the Patriots.  We're not only talking about somebody who can shoot the lights out, but also was the MVP in the 18-Under European Championship this past summer and currently is ranked as the best player in Europe in his age group.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that George Mason beat West Virginia for Moldoveanu's services.  As a matter of fact, the Patriots appear to have lucked out, because Mountaineers head coach John Beilein was prepared to pull the trigger on Moldoveanu, because he only has one scholarship available and he has wait to see what 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV is going to do.  If you will recall, the Mountaineers are one of the top schools on Patterson's list, along with Kentucky, Duke, Florida, Wake Forest, and Virginia.  The verbal commitment by Moldoveanu also is huge, because he is just one more example of just how strong the Patriots are in terms of recruiting in their own backyard.  Remember, they already have 6'4 Isaiah Tate from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and 6'2 Cameron Long from Woodbridge (Freedom) VA, in their current recruiting class, which is tied at #49, along with Iowa and Florida Atlantic, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007; they landed 6'6 Louis Birdsong from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD and 6'7 Darryl Monroe from Central Florida (JC) FL, who originally is from Virginia Beach (Colonial) VA, a year ago; they landed 6'8 Chris Fleming from Osborne Park (H.S.) VA two years ago; and they signed 6'7 Will Thomas from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph's) MD, 6'5 John Vaughn from Laurel (H.S.) MD, and 6'4 Folarin Campbell from Silver Springs (Springbrook) MD three years ago.  It also looks like 6'1 Biko Paris from Cypress (Community Christian) TX, who is ranked #95 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is back on the board.  At least that's what our California editor Alan Utter is telling us and, as a result, Southern Cal's recruiting class drops into a tie at #63, along with Penn State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Utter also tells us that Boston College now appears to be the school to beat for Paris' services, but, in the case of USC, this is not as devastating as it would have been if the Trojans also hadn't recently received a verbal commitment from 6'1 Venoy Overton from Seattle (Franklin) WA, who is ranked #71 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, Overton not only is ranked higher than Paris, but he also is more of a pure point guard.  And, if the Trojans also end up beating schools like Connecticut and Arizona for 6'1 Jr Brandon Jennings from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who is the #1-ranked junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, then this may end up being a blessing in disguise, as there will be less of a chance of somebody transferring down the road.  We also understand via our New England Editor Adam Finkelstein that 6'5 Andre McFarland from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH has verbally committed to the University of Idaho.  And yes, he too originally made a verbal commitment to USC, but soon after it fell through.  In other words, McFarland, who is ranked #38 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, probably wasn't quite good enough for the Trojans, but is a very good catch for the  Vandals.   Not only is McFarland a good 3-point shooter, but his ball handling and passing skills are getting better, he's a good defender, and he's not afraid to compete.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Uriah Hethington from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL has verbally committed to Middle Tennessee State and this too is a steal, as is evident by the fact that Hethington is one of the top junior college players in the nation.  And, if you don't believe it, just check out Rick Ball's ranking of the top junior college players in the nation in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  Not only is Hethington ranked #23 on the list, but he is a big time athlete who is both strong and explosive around the basket.  He also has a nice jumper out to about 15-feet and almost averaged a double-double a year ago with 12.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 2.1 bpg.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Middle Tennessee State beat schools like Clemson, Nebraska, and Wake Forest, thanks primarily to the efforts of Blue Raiders head coach Kermit Davis and his staff, who simply outworked everybody else.  We also are intrigued by the fact that Hethington must of gotten it right the first time around, because he originally signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Middle Tennessee State in November of 2004, but did not qualify academically.  It also looks like Kent State is done recruiting, as they recently have added 6'6 Rashad Woods from Lee (JC) TX, 6'0 Korey Spates from Schoolcraft (JC) MI, and 7'0 Gabe Garcia from Schoolcraft (JC) MI to a recruiting class that already included 6'6 Antonio Dimaria from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC.  Obviously Woods, who was ranked #41 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 two years ago when he was originally signed at DePaul by current Kent State Associate Head coach Josh Oppenheimer, is the prize of the class.  However, Spates, who at the same time was ranked #190 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP when he was a high school senior at Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH, was good enough to be inked by Purdue, and Garcia, who originally is from Brazil, is 7-feet tall.  So it should be easy to see why we have the Golden Flashes' recruiting class tied at #24, along with Maryland and Boston College, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also have an excellent source who tells us that 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL has decided to attend the University of Kentucky, although an official announcement won't be made until he gets onto campus this weekend for the Wildcats' version of Midnight Madness.  Stewart, who is ranked #122 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a big time athlete with a huge upside, excellent rebounding skills, and a good mid-range game.  The other school still on his list is the University of Illinois and he visited Champaign, IL last weekend. 

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

With the verbal commitment yesterday by 6'5 Dorenzo Hudson from Marshville (Forest Hill) NC to Virginia Tech, there are now only 20 players who are still available that ranked among our top 100 nationally in the senior class.  They are 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'9 James Hickson from Marietta (Wheeler) GA, 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV, 5'8 Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'2 Tyrell Reed from Burlington (H.S.) KS, 6'8 Marcus Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'9 Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, 6'6 Leonard Washington from Lake Charles (Washington (Marion) LA, 6'10 Papa Dia from South Kent (Prep) CT, 7'1 Boubacar Sylla from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'1 Courtney Fortson from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, 6'4 Eshaunte Jones from Ft. Wayne (North Side) IN, 6'5 Tim Flowers from Chicago (Simeon) IL, 6'11 Teeng Akol from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'6 Eric Wallace from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, and 6'6 James Anderson from Junction City (H.S.) AR.  And, when we dig a little deeper ,we find that there are 19 more players - 6'5 Wendell McKines from Richmond (H.S.) CA, 6'10 Scott Thompson from Meridian (Mountain View) ID, 6'7 Terrell Bell from Stone Mountain (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'8 Darnell Gant from Los Angeles (Crenshaw) CA, 6'8 Markeiff Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'5 Alvin Mitchell from Ft. Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons) FL, 6'5 D.J. Kennedy from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA, 6'9 A.J. Stewart from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'8 Montavious Adams from Irwinton (Wilkinson County) GA, 6'9 Lavoy Allen from Philadelphia (Pennsbury) PA, 6'5 Cliff Tucker from El Paso (Chapin) TX, 6'4 Mustapha Farrakhan from Harvey (Thornton) IL, 6'2 Varez Ward from Montgomery (Jefferson Davis) AL, 6'11 Keenan Ellis from Aston (American Christian) PA, 6'8 A.J. Hardeman from Austin (Deville) TX, 6'5 Marcus Simmons from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, and 6'5 Dantae Jackson from Greenfield (McClain) OH - ranked in the 101-150 range nationally who are still available.  We not only find this amazing, but we're starting to wonder what we're going to write about during the next month, as the beginning of the Fall Signing Period is exactly four weeks from today on Wednesday, November 8th.  As for Hudson, he is ranked #85 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and he impressed us enough with his athleticism, ability to get to the basket, and outside shooting to be ranked #36 overall and #7 at the NIKE All-American Camp in July.  The verbal commitment by Hudson moves Hokies' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'7 Jeff Allen from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 Augustus Gilchrist from Ft. Washington (Friendly) MD, and 6'3 Malcolm Delaney from Towson (Catholic) MD, into a tie at #18, along with Pittsburgh and Clemson, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also think it's interesting to point out that Virginia Tech's recruiting class is tied at #3, along with Clemson, among schools in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, behind Florida State and Duke and ahead of Georgia Tech, Maryland, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Miami-FL.  However, even more important, is that fact that Allen, Hudson, and 6'0 Frosh Nigel Munson, who is already in the program, should make the Hokies pretty good at the one, two, and three spots for years to come.  We also are impressed with the fact that San Diego State had landed 6'8 Billy White from Henderson (Green Valley) NV, who is ranked #145 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  White does need to develop more consistency and needs to continue to work on his 3-point shooting, but his athleticism is second to none and he's extremely versatile, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 13.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, and 4.7 apg.  The Aztecs beat schools like Washington, Memphis, and Kentucky for White's services and, as a result, he is the next in a long line of players that Steve Fisher and his staff have landed who are good enough to play at the high major level.  And, if you don't believe me, just look at their roster, which includes 6'10 Sr Mohamed Abukar, 6'4 Sr Brandon Heath, 6'5 Soph Kyle Spain, and 5'9 Soph Richie Williams, all of whom were starters a year ago; 6'10 Jr Jerome Habel, 6'6 Frosh Jervaughn Johnson, 6'3 Frosh Kashif Watson, and 6'9 Frosh Jon Pastorek, all of whom were apart of last year's recruiting class; and 6'6 Lorenzo Wade, who sat out last year after transferring from Louisville.   No wonder the Aztecs are picked once again to win the league, despite the fact their best player (Marcus Slaughter) for a year ago left school early and entered the NBA Draft last spring.   We also have been informed by our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia editor Dennis Marshall that 6'0 Jeff Peterson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who is ranked 326 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Princeton.  Not only are the Tigers getting a player from one of the top programs in the nation, but he knows how to run a team, distributes the ball, and can hit the open jump shot.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Hartford has landed 5'9 Andres Torres from Puerto Rico, who was the starting point guard on the 18-Under Puerto Rican National Team, and 6'5 Anthony Minor from Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA, who is ranked #71 in the senior class in the area by Rubin; Pennsylvania has landed 6'1 Harrison Gaines from Phelan (Serrano) CA, who is ranked #759 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'6 Tyler Bernardini from San Diego (Parker) CA, who is ranked one of the best 3-point shooters in the class and is ranked #428 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'3 Kyle Griffin from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, who is ranked #77 on our 5th Year List, is expected to pick La Salle over Bucknell and Siena tomorrow.  It also appears that 6'8 Josh Owens from Exeter (Phillip Exeter) NH is close to picking Stanford over schools like Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Pennsylvania.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Michael Moore, who runs the Team Next club team program and helps Ron Naclerio cover the New York City area for the HOOP SCOOP, was the first person to call and tell us that 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC has made it official for Georgetown.  And this is huge for the Hoyas for a number of reasons.  First, Wright is the great point guard, as is evident by the fact that he is ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, that the Hoyas need to complement all of other good young players that Georgetown has landed during the last year.  If you will recall, their recruiting class, which included 6'9 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'9 DaJuan Summers from Owings Mills (McDonough School) MD, and 6'4 Jeremiah Rivers from Winter Park (H.S.) FL, was ranked #37 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 and they already have 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who is ranked #16 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, in this year's recruiting class.  Second, the addition of Wright means that Georgetown not only has landed the top two-ranked seniors this year in the Washington, DC area, but they also should be the driver's seat to get the pick of the litter among the top players in their backyard in the future.  And right at the top of their list is 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, who currently is ranked #19 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and whose older brother, Kevin Braswell, played for Georgetown from 1998 until 2002.  Third, the addition of Wright also potentially should give the Hoyas the best backcourt in the tough Big East Conference for years to come with Wright and Freeman in the starting line-up and a plethora of other good guards, like Rivers, 6'3 Soph Jessie Sapp, and 6'2 Soph Josh Thornton, battling for playing time.  Fourth, the addition of Wright means that Georgetown's recruiting class moves into a tie at #16, along with Duke, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  However, even more important, Georgetown is also tied with Duke with the Highest Talent Rating Average Per Recruit among schools that have signed more than one player.  And all of this didn't just happen, as John Thompson III has been one of the hardest working and Most Visible Head Coaches on the recruiting trail the last two summers.  They also obviously have done a great job of taking advantage of Georgetown assistant coach Kevin Broadus' strong DC area ties and the legendary status of the first John Thompson, who guided the Hoyas to the NCAA Final Four three times during the Patrick Ewing days in the early 80's.  We also have received word from our New England Editor Adam Finkelstein about 6'10 Ayodele Coker from South Kent (Prep) CT picking St. John's.  "Coker is a great rebounder and shot blocker, dunks everything, has incredible athleticism, and his upside and potential are off the chart," says Finkelstein.  Currently the HOOP SCOOP has Coker ranked #111 nationally in the senior class, but Finkelstein thinks Coker should be a lot higher.  And this is especially good news for Red Storm head coach Norm Roberts, who landed a plethora of excellent wing players in last year's recruiting class that included 6'6 Rob Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, 6'3 Derwin Kitchen from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, 6'4 Avery Patterson from Iowa Western (JC) IA, 6'8 Q'aarron Calhoun from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'8 Justin Burrell from Bronx (Our Savior Lutheran) NY, and 6'2 Larry Wright from Saginaw (H.S.) MI and was ranked #6 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 and they already have a verbal commitment from the point guard that they need in this year's recruiting class in 5'8 Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, who is ranked #59 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  So the last pieces to the puzzle obviously are a couple of more inside players to complement Calhoun, who is capable of playing both inside and outside; Burrell, who is in prep school this year at North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, but has already re-affirmed his commitment to the Red Storm and, as a result, once again counts with this year's recruiting class; and Coker, who is the second player from South Kent (Prep) CT to cast his lot with St. John's in the last year.  And this connection is important, because South Kent head coach Rapheal Chillious has built this into one of the premier prep school programs in the nation in recent years and they always seem to have more than their fair share of great players.  It also looks like 6'7 Noah Dahlman from Braham (Area) MN, who is ranked #673 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and the younger brother of Michigan State freshman Isaiah Dahlman, has verbally committed to Wofford and Delaware has landed 6'5 Edwin Santiago from Hockessin (Sanford) DE.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Allen Rubin is especially impressed with that second verbal commitment, because Santiago is an athletic 2-guard who gets to the rim, has a good mid-range game, and is a good defender.  He also is arguably the best senior in the state, as well as the second in-state player that the new regime has landed this fall.  The other is 6'3 D.J. Boney from Wilmington (Tatnall) DE and, when you also factor in 6'7 Ryan Bacon from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who verbally committed to the Blue Hens last week, suddenly Delaware's recruiting class is tied at #58, along with Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also have received word from our Texas Editor Tim Miller that 6'5 Jr Rodney McCauley from Irving (God's Academy) TX has verbally committed to Texas Christian.  And Miller thinks this is a major steal, because McCauley is good enough to deserve top 100 consideration nationally in his class.  "He's a super athlete who can handle, score, and is fundamentally sound," says Miller.  "He does everything well, including defend.  But McCauley doesn't do anything great, which makes him an excellent utility player, as well as a great catch for TCU."  Speaking of Texas Christian, it looks like God's Academy is becoming the farm system for the Horned Frogs, as 6'9 Linzy Robinson from Irving (God's Academy) TX and 6'8 Daquon Montreal from Irving (God's Academy) TX also have recently made verbal commitments to TCU.  Robinson is a shot blocking/rebounding athlete with good post moves around the basket and Montreal is a like a poor man's Gary Johnson.  And, if that weren't enough, Texas Christian also recently got a verbal commitment from 6'9 Russ Permenter from Temple (H.S.) TX, who is a good old-fashioned banger inside.  In other words, it looks like TCU head coach Neil Dougherty and his staff are loading up on inside players in the senior class and have an early head start on one of the biggest sleepers in the junior class nationally, as believe it or not, McCauley is not listed among the top 600 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Miller also appears to have been a asleep at the switch with regards to another one of his players - 6'4 Dewan Kornegay from Irving (God's Academy) TX - having verbally committed to Liberty, as our competitors got the scoop before we did.  Kornegay is an excellent athlete and good 3-point shooter who is ranked #228 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which makes this a great catch for the Flames, as well as the heir apparent in the backcourt to 6'1 Sr Larry Blair, who has been one of the best players in the league for the last three years. 

Saturday, October 7, 2006, Sunday, October 8, 2006, & Monday, October 9, 2006

It looks like we were right on the money about 6'10 Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX picking LSU, as he himself announced this morning that he plans to become a Tiger.  If you will recall, we reported on Wednesday, October 4th, that it was a done deal.  But then we retracted it the next day, because Randolph was quoted saying that he had not made a final decision and that two schools (Texas and LSU) were still on his list.  However, we were so sure that it was only a matter of time before Randolph picked the Tigers that we never dropped LSU's recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Desmond Hendrix from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, 6'7 D.J. Wright from Toronto (Tapps) ON, and 6'9 Garrett Green from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, out of the #9 position on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also think it's important to point out that these things usually happen in threes and, as a result, it may be only a matter of time before LSU also gets 6'10 Greg Monroe from Gretna (Helen Cox) LA.  And, if the Tigers pull this off, they will likely have a line-up a year from now that includes Monroe, who is the #3 ranked junior nationally by the HOOP SCOOP; Hendrix, who is arguably the best junior college player in the nation this year; 6'7 Soph Tasmin Mitchell, who was a consensus top five-ranked high school player two years ago and averaged 11.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg a year ago on LSU's NCAA Final Four team; Randolph, who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 5'11 Jr Tack Minor, who red-shirted last season due to an injury, but started all 30 games for LSU and averaged 10.8 ppg and 4.6 apg two years ago.  In other words, 6'9 Jr Glen Davis will probably forego his final year of eligibility and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring, but the Tigers could potentially even better when the 2007-2008 season begins.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Soph Daniel McElroy from Cincinnati (La Salle) OH, who is ranked #46 nationally in the sophomore class by the HOOP SCOOP has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Cincinnati.  McElroy is the stereotypical undersized inside guy that the Bearcats have made a living with in recent years and he played well enough this past summer to have been ranked #29 overall and #8 at power forward spot by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas Superstar Camp.  McElroy, who also was the #12-ranked underclassmen and the #2-ranked sophomore at that camp, blocks shots, rebounds, scores inside, and established his reputation a year ago while starting as a freshmen on a team in the toughest league in the state.  So obviously this is a huge catch for the Bearcats, as new Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin establishes that he get the top players in his backyard.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that both Cronin's father and brother both are on the coaching staff at La Salle High School.  Moral to the story, we'd be shocked if this one doesn't hold up.  It also will be interesting to see if Cronin and his staff can land 6'9 Jr Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Withrow) OH, who is ranked #14 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have confirmed via our Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia Editor Dennis Marshall that 6'11 Zack Cremmins from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA has verbally committed to Columbia and we think he has the potential to become the best player that Joe Jones has landed during his three-and-a-half years at the helm of the Lions.  We're talking about a 7-footer who has only been playing basketball two-and-a-half years, but has already made so much progress that he's ranked #376 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and #22 in the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia area by Marshall.  Cremmins also has a good jump hook, knocks down the mid-range jumper, and has soft hands, which allows him to finish around the basket.  Marshall also thinks it's too close to call with regards to where 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, who has a press conference scheduled for 3:30 PM tomorrow to announce his college decision, is going to school.  The final three are N.C. State, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh, but, as things stand now, the Panthers are a long shot.  Instead, half of the people Marshall talks to who are in the know think Wright's heading to Georgetown and the other half thinks he's heading to N.C. State.  Wright is currently ranked #21 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but we suspect this prolific scoring combo guard who can play either guard spot is better than that due to the fact he was slowed by injuries and mononucleosis this spring and summer.  And, if that weren't enough, Wright also is a tremendous competitor and an explosive athlete on the court and a good student and a terrific kid off the court.  Marshall also tells us that he's added some new things to his web site, which you can see by clicking on DCMetroHoops.net, including an updated list of schools for 6'8 Jr Chris Braswell from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD that includes Georgetown, Maryland, Villanova, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Texas.  We also find it interesting that 6'9 Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA, who is ranked #52 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, now has a final five that includes Maryland, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, and New Mexico State.  We also are impressed with the fact that 6'2 Ryan Bogan from Harcum (JC) PA has verbally committed to Longwood.  Not only is Bogan a multi-dimensional 2-guard who is like a jack-of-all-trades, but he's a winner and he's the best player on a powerhouse junior college team that features seven or eight players with Division I talent and potential.  And the best may be yet to come, as it appears that Lancers head coach Mike Gillian could be on the verge of stealing several other players who are a lot better than the schools that his team competes against as an Independent at the low Division I level.  It also appears that Nevada has kept 6'4 Armon Johnson from Reno (Hug) NV, who is ranked #339 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, at home and Weber State has landed 6'7 Kyle Bullinger from Mountain View (H.S.) WY and 6'9 Trevor Morris from Nampa (H.S.) ID.

Friday, October 6, 2006

The University of Pittsburgh landed 6'7 DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh (Schenley) PA at 5:00 PM this afternoon and this is an important catch for a number of reasons.  First, Blair is a little bit undersized, but he's good enough to be ranked #60 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has a blue collar work ethic, is a tremendous competitor, and has a knack for getting things done around the basket.  Second, Blair is a local kid, which means that the Panthers are developing what appears to be a strong recruiting base in their backyard.  And hopefully Blair will be a man of his word.  If you will recall, Pittsburgh also received verbal commitments from 6'9 Herb Pope from Aliquippa (H.S.) PA and 6'6 Jr Terrelle Pryor from Jeannette (H.S.) PA only to have them later renege on their commitments and re-open their recruiting.  Speaking of Pope and Pryor, both of whom are just oozing with natural talent, potential, and athleticism, thus far they have been underachievers.  In contrast, Blair is an overachiever,  which means he's the stereotypical type player that Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon and his staff have made a living with in recent years.  Third, Pittsburgh beat some pretty fast company to get Blair, as schools like Kansas State, Tennessee, and Indiana were being mentioned right up until the bitter end.  Fourth, Blair should complement the other three players - 6'3 Bradley Wanamaker from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'9 Gary McGhee from Anderson (Highland) IN, 6'7 Darnell Dobson from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD - that the Panthers already have in a recruiting class that is now tied at #18, along with Clemson, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And, if by some chance, Pittsburgh also gets 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, whose list includes schools like N.C. State, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown, then their recruiting class would move up to #4, behind Syracuse, Arizona, and Florida and ahead of Ohio State, DePaul, Michigan State, Purdue, Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama, Texas Tech, Indiana, Maryland, Florida State, Oklahoma, Duke, and Michigan, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  It also looks like Louisiana-Monroe has hit the jackpot by landing a pair of players in their backyard.  The first commitment occurred two weeks ago when they beat schools like Alabama, Northwestern, Louisiana Tech, and Southern Illinois for the services of 6'9 Raphelle Turner from Alexandria (Peabody) LA, who is ranked #303 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but has the size and potential to turn into a monster inside down the road.  Turner also was pretty good when we saw him last winter in the 7th Place Game in the National Division at the Academy National Invitational when he finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocked shots.  The second commitment, which happened last night, is from 6'7 Mitchell Hampton from Monroe (Ouachita) LA, who is ranked #198 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is a skilled four-man with a good face-up game.  Hampton, who also has good enough ball handling skills and the quickness and athleticism necessary to play out on the perimeter, picked Louisiana-Monroe over schools like Mississippi, Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, and UT-Chattanooga.  In other words, it looks like Louisiana-Monroe head coach Orlando Early has found the size that he's going to need as his team makes the jump into the Sun Belt Conference this year, as well as an excellent complement to all of the good players - 6'5 Gerard Johnson from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'8 Nathaniel Roche from Harvey (West Jefferson) LA, 6'3 Jonas Brown from Angelina (JC) TX, 6'3 Jordan Payne from Meridian (JC) MS, and 6'0 Brandon Roberts from Van (H.S.) TX - that the Warhawks landed a year ago.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Antiquan Beckham from Louisville (Ballard) KY and 6'5 Leroy Nobles from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH have both verbally committed to IUPUI.  Obviously the connection with Beckham is the fact that IUPUI assistant coach Todd Howard is an alumnus of Ballard High School, where Howard teamed with Allan Houston on the 1989 state championship team.  And we think this is an excellent catch, because Beckham, who is ranked #430 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a lefty point guard with excellent size, athleticism, and plenty of upside.  Nobles, who is originally from Louisville (Central) KY, is a strong athletic slashing wing player and he played extremely well last spring in the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game last spring.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Beckham and Nobles are best friends, which means they should have great chemistry on the court.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Marist also has landed a pair of verbal commitments.  They are 6'1 Jeremiah Bowman from Hyattsville (Progressive Christian) MD, who does not make the list of the top seniors in the Washington, DC area by DCMetroHoops.net, but who is supposed to be a jump shot away from being a high major player, and 6'2 Jayde Gavin from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, who is ranked #395 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is both a good defender and excellent scorer. 

Thursday, October 5, 2006

It looks like we jumped the gun with regards to 6'10 Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX having verbally committed to LSU.  As a matter of fact, Randolph himself has gone on record saying that it hasn't happened yet.  Apparently it's down to two schools (Texas and LSU) and a verbal commitment is expected to be forthcoming in the immediate future.  Our guess is that it was done, but now the Longhorns are turning up the heat and Randolph is having second thoughts.  Another possible scenario is that Randolph is not the one who is making the final decision and he hasn't been told yet that it's already a done deal.  In other words, we know more than we can tell you and, as a result, still think it's more a question of when than whether Randolph will make it official for LSU.  However, if we turn out to be wrong, then this would be an incredible recruiting coup for the Longhorns, because then once again the Texas will have landed two of the top four-ranked players in the state in Randolph and 6'7 Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX.  And, if that weren't enough, Texas also already has two other inside players in the fold in this year's recruiting in 6'10 Clint Chapman from Camby (H.S.) OR and 6'8 Alexis Wangmene from San Antonio (Central Catholic) TX and a stockpile of excellent freshmen in the program, including 6'10 Kevin Durant from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'10 Dexter Pittman from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, 6'2 Justin Mason from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'10 Matt Hill from Lincoln (Southeast) NE - from a recruiting class a year ago that finished ranked #3 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006.  So, if Randolph picks the Longhorns, instead of the Tigers, Texas should be done recruiting, as they will have seven sophomores and four freshmen in the program to go with the two juniors (J.D. Lewis and Connor Atchley) and one senior (J.D. Lewis) a year from now.  But, of course, Durant will probably only stick around for one year, which means that the Longhorns will be right at the 13 scholarship limit at this time next year.  The addition of Randolph would also mean they currently only have three more scholarships to give during the next two years.  And that will great news for all of the other teams at the high Division I level that recruit in the Lone Star State, as nobody has done a better job of getting the top players out of their own backyard during the last year-and-a-half than Rick Barnes and his staff.  We also think it's interesting to note that if Randolph picks Texas, instead of LSU, the Longhorns' recruiting class will move into a tie #4, along with Ohio State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007 and the Tigers' recruiting class will drop into a tie at #28, along with California and Rutgers, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  We also understand that 6'7 Josh Jones from Ocala (Trinity Catholic) PA has verbally committed to Holy Cross.  We're talking about a guy who have been flying under the radar screen, but runs the floor extremely well for somebody his size, has a nice shooting touch, good anticipation and shot blocking skills, a 4.2 gpa in the classroom, and is young for his grade.  Jones should also be an excellent complement to 6'2 Andrew Beinert from Mineola (Chaminade) NY, who picked the Crusaders two weeks ago and is ranked #229 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and, as a result, Holy Cross' recruiting class moves up to #2 in the league, right behind Bucknell and just ahead of Lehigh.  But, then again, none of this comes as a surprise, because those have been the three best teams in the league in recent years and Holy Cross has one of the best coaches and most astute evaluators of talent in the business at any level in Ralph Willard.  We also have confirmed via our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin that 6'3 Ben Wheeler from Chantilly (H.S.) VA.  Wheeler is ranked #892 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he still is a good catch for the Leopards, because he is a good outside shooter, is a good passer, and has a high basketball IQ.  Our California Editor Alan Utter tells us that 6'3 Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA has verbally committed to the University of Oregon and 6'8 Kenton Walker from San Diego (Scripps Ranch) CA has verbally committed to Creighton.  That second one is huge for several reasons.  Walker is currently ranked #169 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a big time athlete, and has huge upside, especially if he gets bigger and stronger and becomes meaner and tougher inside.  Second, Walker is the second best post player, behind 7'1 Boubacar Sylla from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, in Southern California, which means that Creighton assistant coach Brian Fish, who used to be an assistant coach at the University of San Diego, still has more than his share of contacts on the West Coast.  Third, Walker should be the perfect replacement for 6'9 Sr Anthony Tolliver, who averaged 13.2 ppg and 6.7 rpg and was one of the best big men in the tough Missouri Valley Conference last season.  Fourth, the addition of Walker means that Creighton should have a great nucleus around which to build for years, as the Bluejays also already have an early verbal commitment from 6'0 Antoine Young from Bellevue (West) NE, who is ranked #85 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Brown is ranked #240 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP primarily due to the fact that he's so inconsistent and he hasn't proven yet he can get it done against top notch competition.  However, we do like his upside, physical tools, ability to play either guard spot, and the fact the plays in a great program.

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

We have confirmed via numerous sources that 6'10 Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Woodrow Wilson) TX has verbally committed to LSU and this is huge for the Tigers, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #17 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And Randolph, could be ranked a lot higher than that if he becomes more consistent and meaner and tougher inside.  Or to put it another way, the two things that Randolph does best are block shots and shoot 3-pointers.  In other words, Randolph is your stereotypical athletic big guy who spends too much time out on the perimeter, instead of utilizing his size and taking care of business inside.  However. Randolph is still an amazing talent and he has incredible athleticism, which means the sky's the limit, if he works hard and doesn't spend too much time reading his press clippings.  This is important, because the addition of Randolph gives LSU head coach John Brady a terrific inside/outside duo for the future.  If you will recall, the Tigers also recently landed 6'9 Desmond Hendrix from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, who is being touted by people we trust as the best junior college player in the nation.  And, if that weren't enough, LSU also has a pair of verbal commitments from 6'7 D.J. Wright from Toronto (Tapps) ON, who is exactly what the doctor ordered, because he's one of the best 3-point shooters in the class, and 6'9 Garrett Green from Woodland Hills (Taft) CA, who is an athletic power forward that also can step out and hit the three.  So it should come as no surprise that LSU's recruiting class is now tied at #9, along with Alabama and Texas Tech, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  The addition of Randolph also helps make up for the fact that LSU missed out on all the big fish, like 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX to Texas, 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX to Kansas, and 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA to Villanova, that they went after a year ago.  So obviously LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre, who is ranked by the HOOP SCOOP as one of the top 10 assistant coaches in the nation, hasn't lost his touch.  But some of the credit also has to go to Brady, who was named as the Most Visible Head Coach of the Summer by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have been informed that 6'0 Jacob Pullen from Maywood (Proviso East) IL recently made it official for Kansas State and this point guard with jet-like speed and quickness is ideally suited to step in and complement all the great players that new Wildcats head coach Bobby Huggins has already landed or is in the process of landing.  Remember, this is the guy who was ranked #14 overall and #4 at the point guard position by the HOOP SCOOP at the NIKE All-American Camp.  Pullen also has the court savvy, leadership qualities, and ball handling and passing skills necessary to step in and run a team, which explains why he is ranked #101 in our Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Senior Class.  And, once he fills out physically, Pullen will probably end up being a lot better than that, especially since he should fit in perfectly to Huggins up tempo style of play.  The addition of Pullen moves Kansas State's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'8 Michael Beasley from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and 6'2 Fred Brown from West Palm Beach (Dwyer) FL, into a tie at #19, along with Georgia Tech, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that we also continue to hear that Kansas State is the heavy favorite for 6'6 Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, who is expected to complete the courses that he needs to graduate from high school in December and then enroll at Kansas State when the second semester begins in early January.  If this happens, Walker would count with Kansas State's recruiting class, which would be ranked #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007, if this happened today, in the fall, but not in the spring.  This also would leave the door open for Walker play second semester this season, but then enter the NBA Draft next June.  If you will recall, Walker's currently is in his 5th Year of high school and, as a result, might be the first person to test the rule that says a player must be 19-years-old and one year removed from when his class graduates from high school to be eligible for the draft.  However, if Walker decides to stick around for at least one more year of college, he would give Huggins what might turn out to be the best pair of forwards in college basketball when the 2007-08 season begins.  Remember, Walker, who is our #1-ranked 5th Year Player, would be a top 10-ranked player, if we included him in our ranking of the top seniors nationally and Beasley is ranked #6 in our Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Senior Class.  We also think it's important to point out that with 6'2 Blake Young from Daytona Beach (JC) FL, 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, and 6'10 Luis Colon from Miami (Dr. Krop) FL, all of whom signed with Kansas State after Huggins got the job last spring, already in the program, it's easy to see how important it was for the Wildcats coaching staff to land a quality point guard (like Pullen) who can step in and run the show.  It also looks like Ball State has stolen one in 5'10 Melvin Goins from Humble (Christian Life) TX.  For our purposes Goins is a 5th Year Player, but he is ranked #15 in the state by TexasHoops.com and is a strong athletic point guard who gets to the basket and thrives in transition.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also tells us that Mark-David Vil from Laval (Montmorency) QU and 6'7 George Valentine from Fayetteville (Seventy-First) NC has both verbally committed to Winthrop, 6'9 Camden Miller from Wheelersburg (H.S.) OH has verbally committed to Western Carolina, and 6'5 Brett McKnight from Lancaster (H.S.) OH and 5'10 Ronnie Steward from Columbus (Eastmoor) OH have both verbally committed to Akron.  That last one is especially noteworthy, because Steward, who finished ranked #13 at the point guards spot at the NIKE All-American Camp, is a smart heady floor general who knows how to run a team.  We also have confirmed that 5'10 Randy Culpepper from Memphis (Sheffield) TN and 6'8 Malcolm Kirkland from Madison (Central) MS have both verbally committed to UTEP.  And, in both cases, this obviously is a case where new Miners head coach Tony Barbee, who for the last six years has been an assistant coach at Memphis, has gone back to his old stamping grounds to steal a pair of players who both were being under recruited.   Culpepper, who is ranked 181 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a pesky defender, but he's best described as an undersized two-guard, as is evident by the fact that he was the leading scorer in the city last year with a 31.3 ppg scoring average.  Kirkland did not have a good summer, which explains why he is currently ranked #306 nationally in the senior class.  However, our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson expects the value of Kirkland's stock to go pack up this winter, because he always seems to play well on his high school team.  "Mississippi and Alabama both offered and Mississippi State was also showing a lot interest last spring," says Johnson.  "Kirkland is a strong on the block and is an excellent low post scorer.  He also has a good frame, which will allow him to get bigger and stronger, and he's a good rebounder."  So Barbee, who is a tireless recruiter and astute evaluator of talent, was obviously able to swoop in and get Kirkland at the right time.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'0 Chris De La Rosa from Bronx (All Hallows) NY has verbally committed to Siena and, after watching De La Rosa at Five-Star's loaded Honesdale session a month ago, we're convinced that the only thing hold him back is his lack of size.  Not only is De La Rosa, who is ranked #243 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, a tough New York City kid, but he has good enough ball handling and passing skills necessary to play point guard and the 3-point shot necessary to be a 2-guard.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'6 Brandan Brown from Brentwood (Academy) TN and 6'5 Brian Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN both have verbally committed to Lipscomb.  If you will recall, Wright, who is the younger brother of North Carolina freshman Brandan Wright, and Brown both were great role players on a team that won the City of Palms Classic, which was the best holiday tournament in the nation a year ago.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Delaware has landed 6'7 Ryan Bacon from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  Quite honestly we know nothing about this guy, but Bacon does play for one of the best high school coaches in the nation in one of the best programs in the nation and the Blue Hens' coaching staff is extremely sharp.  So that alone is enough to make us think that Bacon will turn out to be somebody who was flying under the radar screen. 

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Originally we had first planned to publish our updated Ranking of the Top Players Nationally in the Class of 2010 (Freshmen).  But upon the completion of our Ranking of the Top 500 Sophomores Nationally (Class of 2009), which was published on September 13th, our Middle School Editor Patrick Stanwood, who is the foremost authority in the nation with regards to the Class of 2010, made a request for more time with regards to putting together the initial list.  So instead, I started working on our Ranking of the Top 900 Players Nationally in the Senior Class (Class of 2007) and, after three weeks, we're talking about a list of 900 names ranked in order.  And, before we go any further, there are several things that I want to point out.  First, players like 6'6 Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'8 Alex Tyus from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, 6'8 Tracy Smith from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 Mamadou Diarra from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'7 Jeff Allen from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'6 Jermaine Peterson from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'5 Zach Payton from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'1 Malcolm Grant from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'7 Darrington Hobson from Decatur (Christian) IL, and 6'4 P. Allen Stinnett from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, are not included on the list, because they are in their 9th Semester or more of high school and, as a result, are listed separately in our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2007.  Second, picking 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR #1 in the class was easy, but there is not a lot of difference between our #2 through #8 ranked players, as the top of the Class of 2007 appears to be extremely strong.  However, for now 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV still gets the nod for the #2 spot over 6'3 Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN,  6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 6'8 Michael Beasley from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'8 Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, and 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL.  Third, Beasley not only is not a 5th Year Player, but he actually is only in his third year of high school due to the fact that he was an 8th Grader twice and then skipped back up to his original class two years ago and became a sophomore.  Fourth, with the publication of our Ranking of the Top  900 Players Nationally in the Senior Class (Class of 2007), we now have the perfect complement to our Ranking of the Top 5th Year Players for the Class of 2007, which was published on September 6th and now stands at 101 names; our Ranking of the Top 600 Juniors Nationally (Class of 2008), which was published on September 1st; and Ranking of the Top 500 Sophomores Nationally (Class of 2009), which was published on September 13th.  And all this is important, because, when I start working on Stanwood's list of the top freshmen within the next several days, we'll be about a week away from providing you with the most comprehensive and most accurate collection of lists ever published.  In other words, we're getting better at this all the time and, when we're finished, we very well could be talking about a total of 2500 names.  And, if that weren't enough, we also plan to publish our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2011 (8th Graders) later this month, Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2012 (7th Graders) in November, and Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2013 (6th Graders) in December.  Fifth, the senior class nationally lacks depth and it's not a great year in a lot of the traditional hotbeds, like the New York Metropolitan area, Illinois, Texas, and California.  And, if you don't believe it, just check out the fact that the two highest ranked players - 6'0 Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY and 6'0 Talor Battle from Albany (Bishop Maginn) NY - on our list from New York are both from upstate and only one player - 5'8 Malik Boothe from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY - who is ranked among our top 100 nationally is actually from the city.  We also think it's interesting that Illinois with 6'3 Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL and Texas with 6'10 Anthony Randolph from Dallas (Skyline) TX only have one player each ranked among our top 20 seniors and that the two highest ranked players - 6'4 James Harden from Lakewood (Artesia) CA and 6'7 Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA - from California check in at #19 and #20.  The same can not be said about the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia area, which features five legitimate McDonad's All-American candidates in 6'8 Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'3 Nolan Smith from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, and 6'0 Chris Wright from Washington (St. John's) DC, and the Pacific Northwest, which has six players - 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, 5'8 Isaiah Thomas from Tacoma (Curtis) WA, 6'3 Jamelle McMillan from Seattle (O'Dea) WA, 6'11 Clinton Chapman from Canby (H.S.) OR, and 6'1 Venoy Overton from Seattle (Franklin) WA - who are  ranked among our top 100 nationally.  And when was the last time that Oregon, which has 6'9 Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR and 6'9 Kyle Singler from Medford (South Medford) OR, and West Virginia, which has 6'5 O.J. Mayo from Huntington (H.S.) WV and 6'8 Patrick Patterson from Huntington (H.S.) WV, both had two players apiece who were ranked among our top 20 seniors nationally?  Illustrating our point even further about how diverse the talent is nationally in this class, Arizona with 6'3 Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ, Minnesota with 7'0 Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, and Oklahoma with 6'8 Blake Griffin from Edmund (Oklahoma Christian) OK also all have one player ranked among our top 15 seniors nationally, which means that almost half of the top 15-ranked players in the class are from non-traditional basketball hotbeds or areas that are not densely populated. 

Sunday, October 1, 2006, & Monday, October 2, 2006

A lot of people seem to think that Texas Tech head coach Bob Knight, who needs only 11 wins to surpass former North Carolina head coach Dean Smith as the winningest coach in the history of the game, will retire at the end of the upcoming season.  However, with players from a recruiting class a year ago that was ranked #9 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2006 and included players like 6'1 Jr Charlie Burgess from Howard (JC) TX, 7'0 Jr Esmir Rizvic from Gulf Coast (JC) FL, 6'6 Soph Rodgrick Craig from San Jose (JC) CA, 6'8 Soph Jay Mitchell from Gulf Coast (JC) FL, 6'7 Frosh Decensae White from San Mateo (Serra) CA, and 5'7 Soph B.J. Valentine from Howard (JC) TX already in the program and a recruiting class that is currently tied at #9, along with Alabama, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007, it's easy to see why think Knight might stick around for at least another year.  The latest addition in this year's recruiting class, which already included 5'11 John Roberson from Plano (H.S.) TX, 6'8 D'walyn Roberts from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, and 6'5 Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, is 6'10 Ricardo De Bem from Western Nebraska (JC) NE, who picked the Red Raiders late last week.  We're talking about a 6'10, 240-pound physical specimen with excellent post moves, the ability to step out an hit the mid-range jump shot, and a killer mentality on the boards.  In other words, De Bem should be great in Knight's motion offense and he's good enough for those who have seen him play to tell us that De Bem will play in the NBA someday.  So, while it stands to reason that the Red Raiders will be dramatically improved from the 15-17 season that they suffered through a year ago, they're probably going to have their best team when the 2007-08 season rolls around.  And even beyond that the future also is extremely bright, because Roberson, Roberts, and Singletary are three of the top 10-ranked seniors in the state, which means they should be around for four-years and that suddenly the Red Raiders are getting their share of the top players in the state, along with schools like Texas, Texas A&M, and Baylor.  And De Bem isn't the only player at Western Nebraska (JC) NE who is getting recruited by schools at the Division I level.  The one who is flying under the radar screen is 6'9 Matt Akins, who originally signed with Nebraska two years ago and transferred to Western Nebraska (JC) NE after playing at Iowa Western (JC) IA a year ago.  Right now schools like Arkansas-Little Rock, Bradley, Denver, Cal State-Fullerton are showing the most interest, but we suspect the recruitment of this left-handed power forward will pick up dramatically once the season starts.  Did you know that this is the same guy who was the MVP in the Battle of the Border All-Star Game two years ago when he was a high school senior at Jennings (H.S.) MO?  5'11 Eric Smith, who originally signed with Lehigh a year ago and is the floor general at Western Nebraska (JC) NE, is being recruited by Weber State and Utah State; 6'5 C.J. Hampton, who originally was a Prop 48 casualty at Chicago State and is a scoring wing forward at Western Nebraska (JC) NE, is drawing the most attention from Southern Mississippi; and 6'2 Carl Buck, who is an athletic combo guard and defensive stopper for Western Nebraska (JC) NE, has UC-Santa Barbara and Eastern Illinois at the top of his list.  Our Texas Editor Tim Miller also catches us up on a number of other verbal commitments that have occurred recently in the state, including 6'3 Kris Richard from Beaumont (Ozen) TX to Tulane, 6'4 Ryan Harp from Abilene (Cooper) TX and 6'8 Alex Malone from Mansfield (Timberview) TX to SMU, 6'5 LaMarcus Reed from Dallas (Skyline) TX to UT-Arlington, 6'2 Rodney Meadows from Crowley (H.S.) TX to Prairie View A&M, and 6'3 Dean Pele from Austin (Lake Travis) TX to Stephen F. Austin.  We also have received word via our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis that Utah has beaten Marquette and Nebraska for 6'4 Carlon Brown from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA.  And Trigonis thinks this is an excellent catch, because Brown is a scoring combo guard who can shoot the three, knows how to use his body to get to the basket, and has a chance to develop into a pure point guard down the road.  Our New England Editor Adam Finkelstein tells us that 6'2 Saul Abdo from Southborough (St. Marks) MA has verbally committed to New Hampshire and this is especially noteworthy, because Abdo is a Boston kid and in recent years New Hampshire has not had much success recruiting in the Boston area.  Abdo is not a great player, but he is long, athletic, and solid enough to step in and provide depth in the back court as a freshman and then be the heir apparent to 5'9 Jr Jude Roybal at point guard when he graduates in two years.   Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'6 Kashief Edwards from Philadelphia (Imhotep Charter) PA has verbally committed to Niagara and 6'7 Jerrell Williams from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA has verbally committed to La Salle.  Yes, it looks like Williams is following in the footsteps of his brother, 6'7 Terrell Williams from Northfield (Northfield-Mt. Hermon) MA, who verbally committed to the Explorers a week ago.  Jarrell is a better defender and gets to the basket better than Terrell, but the real reason Jerrell's stock is slightly higher is the fact that Jerrell was out on the circuit during the summer, while Terrell spent most of his time in summer school.  Edwards is an athletic undersized four-man who rebounds, blocks shots, runs the court, and is a good defender.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'7 Patrick Hazel from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is a 5th Year Player that has been flying under the radar screen, has picked Marquette over Massachusetts, Hofstra, La Salle, and Drexel.   Hazel is best described as an "undersized athletic shot blocking inside player" and, as a result, we assume that he will be an excellent role player for the Golden Eagles.