THE HOOPSCOOP Online
Published by The HOOP SCOOP, Inc., P.O. Box 37122, Louisville, KY 40233 Editor & Publisher Clark Francis Email Address: clark@hoopscooponline.com Phone (502) 493-0043 Fax (502) 493-0440 All rights reserved - Copyright 1999

HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  
FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 1999

Hot Recruiting Information available for other months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 

Sunday, October 31, 1999

Tomorrow promises to be a very busy day, as three of the top players in the senior class nationally - 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA, and 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC - are all expected to make official announcements on regarding where they intend to go to college.  With Howell, making a prediction is easy.  We think it's South Carolina!  Kentucky was the leader until he made his official visit to Columbia, SC several week ago and at that point everything changed.  Also, remember Howell's older brother (Ivan) is currently a freshman for the Gamecocks and the younger Howell is a must get, especially if South Carolina doesn't make a dramatic improvement upon last year's mediocre record.  Ridnour is tougher to predict.  He's put off making the decision, because he was impressed by all of the schools on his list and apparently is was a very tough decision.  However, we're guessing that it's going to be Gonzaga, because it close to home and Ridnour is a quiet kid who may not be ready for all the pressures and attention that go with playing at Kentucky or Utah.  The fourth school on his list, which is Oregon, might be a good compromise choice, because it's fairly close to home and it's still the Pac-10.  Figuring out where Jeffries is next to impossible.  As a matter of fact, few players in the last 16 years, which is how long I've been covering the recruiting scene, have played it closer to the vest and/or sent out so many mixed signals right up until the final day.  However, the fans that frequent our web site think it's going to be Duke.  As a matter of fact, of the 709 people who responded to our Question of the Day regarding this very issue a week ago, 51% predicted it would be the Blue Devils, while 42% predicted Indiana and 7% predicted Southern California.  Well, we're guessing Indiana and we'll tell you why.  The Hoosiers will have 6'7 Jr Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN on campus tomorrow for an unofficial visit and bringing him on campus at the same time Jeffries commits to Indiana would be a major step in the right direction toward getting Kline to follow suit.  Remember, Jeffries is good friends with Kline.  However, if Jeffries is going to Duke, bringing Kline on campus the same day that Jeffries announces his decision would be a total disaster.  We have to assume that the Indiana coaching staff is smarter than that.  But then again, they may not know.  Apparently the decision has been made, but there are people close the situation who  who think Jeffries could still change his mind at the last minute.  So even if it gets leaked in the final hours, it might not be safe to report it.  Stay tuned!

The University of Rhode Island has gotten a commitment from 6'9 Andre Scott from Limestone (Washington College) TN, who was on campus this weekend making an official visit.  Scott currently doesn't rank among our top 100 nationally, but he has the potential to be ranked among the top 30 or 40.  Remember, he was one of the best players two years ago at the adidas ABCD Camp when he was a rising sophomore, but since fell on tough times at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and transferred to Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD a year ago.  Then, this summer he transferred to Washington College and the word is that he's doing extremely well both on and off the court.  Scott will join his former schoolmate 6'5 Delonte Holland from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, who reportedly committed to the Rams last week.  Holland doesn't have Scott's reputation nationally, but he might be a better player.  He's not only the best player off the dribble in the DC area, but he's similar to 6'3 David Hawkins from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC in many ways.  However, Holland is taller and he jumps better than Hawkins, which is a strong statement, because Hawkins is ranked #67 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Speaking of Hawkins, the rumor that Hawkins committed to Temple while on the visit this weekend are false.  The word is that it's too close to call between the Owls and Tulane.  However, a decision should be forthcoming within the next three or days.

Also making a verbal commitment while on campus for an official visit over the weekend was 6'6 Simeon Naydenov from Bulgaria via  Miami (Berkshire School) FL, who committed to the University of Louisville.  Those who have seen Naydenov think he is a European version of former University of Kentucky All-American Rex Chapman, but getting him is especially important for another reason.  Both Naydenov and 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who also committed to the Cardinals last week, help buck a trend of recent years, whereby, the Cardinals were unable to sign any quality players during the fall signing period.  And with the addition of Whitehead and Naydenov, the Cardinals will be loaded at the perimeter positions for years to come.  Remember, Reece Gaines, Caleb Gervin, and Eric Brown, who transferred to Louisville from Morehead State last spring after being named freshman-of-the-year in the Ohio Valley Conference, all will be in the program for at least three more years, while Marques Maybin and Rashad Brooks both have two years remaining.  While the Cardinals will be absolutely loaded at the one, two, and the three spots, they still need all the help they can get inside.  As a matter of fact, there isn't anybody in the program with any experience 6'7 or bigger who returns after this season.  Our guess is they will take advantage of the connects that first year assistant coach Pat Rafferty, who previously was the head coach at Midland (JC) TX, has in the junior college ranks.  However, we wouldn't be surprised if they continue to take advantage of assistant coach Vince Taylor's foreign contacts as well.

Saturday, October 30, 1999

With the fall signing period, which begins on Wednesday, November 10th, quickly approaching and the college basketball season right around the corner, now is one of the hottest times of the year.  So on Monday, November 1st, and Tuesday, November 2nd, we will make the Members Section of The HOOP SCOOP Online available to everybody and all next week we will be offering a special two-for-one subscription rate to anybody who wants to subscribe or renew their subscription for three months or more and calls us at 1-502-493-0043.  In otherwords, you can subscribe or renew your subscription for six months for $30, instead of the normal three months.  Or you can subscribe for a year for $60, instead of the normal six months.  Or you can subscribe for two years for $100, instead of the normal one-year.  Or you can get a lifetime subscription for yourself for $375 and give somebody else a lifetime subscription for free.  So tells your friends!  There has never been a better time to subscribe to the HOOP SCOOP!  Not only will we be following all the recruiting, as things breaks daily during the next three weeks, but we also will continue update our state-by-state reports and national player list, which when complete alone will be well over 100 pages.  We also will be coming out with our pre-season top college teams and college All-American Teams, rankings of the top college head and assistant coaches in various categories, and the most comprehensive wrapup of recruiting found anywhere.  Remember, you get what you pay for and the HOOP SCOOP is true to its name, as we provide you the scoop as it happens.  But we also provide you with much more, including provocative opinions, analysis, and insight that you can't get anywhere else.  So take advantage of this limited time offer by subscribing or extending your subscription anytime Monday, November 1st, through Friday, November 5th, by calling 1-502-493-0043.  However, you have to call, because you can't take advantage of this incredible offer by subscribing online.

Today is the birthday of first year head coach Quin Snyder and it certainly would be a great birthday present if 5'8 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA, who, despite what a lot of people think, has yet to make an official commitment, and 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, who is making his official visit to Missouri this weekend, both made it official for Missouri today.  But that probably won't happen, because Stokes is taking his time making his decision and Bryant has told everybody that he won't sign until spring.  However, when it is all said and done with think Stokes will still end up at Missouri and, if that happens, that might just be enough to also sway Bryant.  Remember, they are close friends and Bryant especially likes the fact that Stokes does a great job of getting him the ball.  However, right now, we think Kansas is the leader for Bryant, followed in no particular order by Utah, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Apparently several commitments slipped past us earlier this week, so we will give Jerry Gale, the Editor & Publisher of SoCalHoops, an assist on this one.  Pepperdine has gotten 6'8 Robert Turner from Anaheim (Western) CA and 6'7 William Kimble from San Bernardino (Pacific) CA, San Diego State has gotten 6'8 Chris Walton from San Diego (University) CA and 6'7 Aerick Sanders from Gardena (Serra) CA, Washington State has gotten 6'4 Tommy Johnson from Los Angles (Crenshaw) CA, and  Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo has gotten 6'5 Jamal Scott from Phoenix (Shadow Mountain) AZ.  The commitment by Turner is especially big, because he is still one of the biggest sleepers in the nation.  As a matter of fact, most college coaches and scouts, including us, had never even heard of Turner before we saw him at the Rim Rattler Fall Hoops Classic at Long Beach City (JC) CA in September.  Turner is a good shot blocker, excellent rebounder, and big time athlete.  He's also extremely mobile, which means he can defend a smaller player away from the basket, and he can take his man outside, which was especially evident in one game when he had four 3-pointers.  Players like that are few and far between, which explains why we rank him among the top five seniors in Southern California and why he'll be included among our top 100 nationally when we come out with our rankings in late November.  Johnson also really impressed us with his outside shooting and impressive body in September, so he too is getting top 100 national consideration.  Walton and Sanders both going to San Diego State is important, because it establishes that the new regime can get their share of good players from Southern California. Walton, who is Bill Walton's young son, doesn't have the skills to play outside and he's not big enough to battle with the big boys inside, which is somebody like UCLA didn't snatch him up.  However, he's perfect for San Diego State, because he's a terrific blue collar player and tremendous competitor.  And Sanders is the perfect complement to Walton.  He's not there yet, but he's oozing with athleticism and potential, which is why first year Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher is so high on him.   Scott can't shoot, but he's a terrific athlete and he was getting looks from schools like Arizona State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Gonzaga.  So no doubt Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo head coach Jeff Schneider got another good one.

Friday, October 29, 1999

Earlier this week the University of Washington got a verbal commitment from 6'3 C.J. Massengale from Tacoma (Mt. Tahoma) WA and this is important, because it means the Huskies are out with 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA.  It also means that Ridnour has narrowed his list to Oregon, Utah, Kentucky, and Gonzaga.  Right now Ridnour's father says it's too close to call and, as a result, doesn't expect anything to happen until next week.  Marquette, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island are the favorites for 6'6 James Wright from Milford (Academy) CT.   Nebraska, Long Beach State, SMU, Loyola-Chicago, and Miami-OH are now the top schools on the list of 6'7 Ben Jacobsen from Omaha (Central) NE, who is one of our favorite players in the entire class, because he plays so darn hard and he's so good on the boards.  Baylor got a commitment several days ago from 6'2 Matt Sayman from The Colony (H.S.) TX and the Bears also lead for 6'8 Logan Kosmalski from Trinity (Euless) TX.  SMU has gotten a commitment from 6'4 Lavardicus Atkins from Pelham (H.S.) GA and 6'7 Michael Harper from Alpharetta (Chattahoochee) GA is close to making a commitment to UNC-Asheville.  The only two big time schools seriously involved with 6'2 Quentin Hollis from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA are Mississippi State and Miami-FL.  Speaking of Hollis, our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that Hollis is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation, which explains why Davis has him ranked as the #2 senior in the state of Georgia.

Our New England Editor Wayne Simone tells us that Youngstown State got a commitment last night from 6'3 Randy Brooks from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT.  What makes this especially interesting is the fact that Penguins assistant coach Derek Kellogg was once a player for the Connecticut Select AAU program himself, before going onto to have an excellent college career at the University of  Massachusetts.  And Simone tells us that Kellogg worked just as hard recruiting Brooks as he as a college player.  No wonder Youngstown State beat Canisius and American University for Brooks, who is an absolute steal for a school at this level.  "I'm real proud of Kellogg," says Simone.  "He did a heck of a job!  He's got a great future in the business!"

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin is now confirming that Ohio State has a verbal commitment from 7'0 Valimir Radinovic from Toronto (T.A. Blakelock) ON, which is something we've been predicting for some time.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Brandon Mouton from Lafayette (St. Thomas More) LA has verbally committed to the University of Texas.  It has been reported that 6'3 Jason Parker from Tulsa (Memorial) OK has made a commitment to Tulsa, but according to our Oklahoma Editor Bob Grace, Parker is still on the board.  Right now it looks like a two horse race between Tulsa and Kansas State, but he also may wait until spring.  And if that  happens, you can bet that a lot of other schools will try and get involved.

Thursday, October 28, 1999

None of these commitments come as a surprise, but last night we confirmed that 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL did pick DePaul, that 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN announced for North Carolina, and 6'9 Michael Wilkinson from Mazamanie (Wisconsin Heights) WI committed to the Wisconsin.  However, a lot people were probably surprised by the fact that the University of Connecticut backed off of 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT.  And they apparently aren't only one.  We are now getting reports that Fordham may be backing out as well.  Apparently there was something to the rumors that we'd heard earlier this week about a possible problem on the visit to Connecticut a week ago.  Temple will have 6'4 David Hawkins from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC on campus this weekend for an official visit, but right now the leader is Tulane.  That's right!  Green Wave head coach Perry Clark has done a great job recruiting Hawkins, while Temple has taken a more low key approach.  However, we do hear that the Owls are going to push for a commitment while Hawkins there on the visit.  So after this weekend, the longer it goes, the more it favors Tulane.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Notre Dame has gotten a commitment from 7'0 Tom Timmermans from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA.   This is a good get for the Irish, because, although Timmermans lacks athleticism and mobility, he did put up good numbers when we saw him last summer at the adidas ABCA Camp.  As a result, he has to be ranked among our top 150 nationally and he has the potential to move much higher down the road.  This also effects 7'0 Valimir Radinovic from Toronto (T.A. Blakelock) ON, who was supposed to visit this weekend, because that visit has now been cancelled and the Irish are no longer involved.  Instead, we think Radinovic will likely end up at Ohio State, although St. Joseph's and St. Bonaventure shouldn't be counted out just yet.

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that the most improved player in the city this fall is 6'1Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, who is now getting top 100 nation consideration by a lot of publications, including the HOOP SCOOP.  Right now it looks like a three horse race for Boynton among South Carolina, Boston College, and Massachusetts and we think he would be a great get for anyone of the three, because he's a great defender and his point guards skills and offensive game continue to get better.  The early list for 6'9 Marcus Austin from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ includes Massachusetts, Villanova, Seton Hall, and Rutgers.  Virginia, which currently has only more scholarship available this year, will have 6'7 J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY and 6'4 Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) VA, who signed with Cavaliers in June, both on campus this weekend for official visits.  The Cavaliers also continue to get a head start on juniors, because 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport Prep) MD, 6'3 Jr Darius Hargrove from Lawrenceville (Brunswick) VA, and 6'4 Jr Jermaine Harper from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA all will be in Charlottesville, VA making unofficial visits.  And if Florida State wins the football game against Viriginia, you can bet that the Cavaliers coaching staff will use that to their advantage by telling all the recruits that UVA is a basketball school.

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

During the past several years the University of Louisville seemed to have a great deal of difficulty landing anybody during the fall signing period.  As a matter of fact, the only player Louisville had signed at all during the last two fall's was 6'8 Joe Sykes from Radcliff (North Hardin) KY.  And this trend seemed to be continuing, as the Cardinals were recently eliminated with several of this year's prime targets, like 6'7 Ivan McFarlan form Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, who picked Oklahoma State last week, and 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, who is expected to pick DePaul today.  However, all that changed last night when 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, who ranks #31 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, verbally commmitted to Louisville.  How huge is this?  Whitehead is the best player, other than 6'8 Ben Eze Ndubuisi, who is one of the controversial Nigerians who likely will never play college basketball due to the fact that he played professionally in Russia, since they landed Samaki Walker in 1994.  Whitehead needs to improve his outside shooting, but he is a terrific athlete who thrives in transition and should thrive in Louisville uptempo setting.  It also is important, because Whitehead is a great kid, an excellent student, and he comes from a great background.  As a matter of fact, his father, Eddie Whitehead, is a former University of Louisville basketball player who has since gone onto become a successful businessman and a multi-millionaire. Louisville also appears to be close to getting a commitment from 6'6 Simeon Naydenov from Bulgaria, who established his reputation at the NIKE European Camp last summer.  Since that time Naydenov has enrolled in school at Miami (Berkshire School) FL and the word is that he's good enough to step in and make an immediate impact and athletic enough to fit into their system.  Louisville also appears to be recruiting three more Nigerians who have been recently stashed at Newark (East Side) NJ.

The University of Texas has gotten a commitment from  6'1 Freddie Williams from Delta (JC) MS, which now explains why the Longhorns have backed off 6'3 Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Callaway) GA.  Remember, up until recently Texas and Georgia had been the co-favorites for Smith, but now it looks like Georgia is the leader over Alabama and Kentucky.  However, the Wildcats aren't ready to the pull the trigger and offer him a scholarship just yet.  Instead, they want Smith to wait until spring, obviously so they can watch him play during the season and then evaluate their situation.  Speaking of the University of Georgia, Smith would be the last player the Bulldogs sign in this recruiting class.  Remember, a month ago they commitments from 6'7 Chris Daniels from Albany (H.S.) GA and 6'8 Steve Thomas from Carrollton (H.S.) GA and within the last day or so they have added 6'2 Rashad Wright from Statesboro (H.S.) GA.  So, if Georgia gets Smith, as expected, the plan will be to wait until next year and go hard after some of the top juniors in their backyard.  And that brings us to another very interesting subject.  The junior class in the state of Georgia is absolutely loaded!  So obviously I can't wait to get done with Linzy Davis' new Georgia Report, which he emailed to me late last night.

Not much has been happening in the Philadelphia Area at the high major level lately, but our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin has been busy collecting commitments from players heading to schools at the lower Division I levels.   Rubin tells us that Lehigh assistant coach Jeff Wilson has done an outstanding job, because the Mountain Hawks have gotten two excellent commitments within the last 24 hours from 6'10 Will Sherling from Harlington (Marine Military) TX and 6'2 Alex Jensen from  Stonington (H.S.) CT.  Sherling is an excellent catch because of his size, but Jensen is the real steal, because he is such a prolific scorer.  As a matter of fact, Jensen has scored over 2700 points during his first three years of high school, as well as averaging over 27 ppg last season.  Rubin also tells us that Yale has a commitment from 6'4 Matt Minoff from Cherry Hill (East) NJ and New Hampshire has gotten 6'0 Marcus Bullock, also from Cherry Hill (East) NJ.  Monmouth has gotten 6'7 Phil Bonczewski from Plymouth (Wyoming Valley West) PA and 6'2 Ronnie Taylor from Raleigh (Southeast) NC has elected to stay in the area by committing to UNC-Greenboro.

Tuesday, October 26, 1999

For a long time we thought Utah was the leader for 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, but now it looks like Stanford might be the leader.  San Diego State now appears to be the favorite for 6'8 Chris Walton from San Diego (University) CA. Duke, DePaul, and UCLA are the final three for 6'8 T. J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, but we're guessing it's going to be UCLA, especially if the Blue Devils gets 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, and if the Blue Demons get 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL.  Remember Cummings father, Terry Cummings, now plays with the Golden State Warriors and previously played for the Los Angeles Clippers.  Not only did the younger Cummings live in Los Angeles at a younger age, but he also has a lot of friends in Southern California, including current UCLA freshman 6'7 Jason Kapono.  Speaking of players being recruited by UCLA, 7'0 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT isn't at Santa Monica (JC) CA, which has been previously reported.  Instead, Moore is taking classes at Essex County Junior College in Newark, NJ and he will likely transfer to Long Beach City (JC) CA once the current semester has ended.

We are getting unconfirmed reports that 7'0 Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA has already told the UCLA coaching staff that if he goes to college, it will be UCLA.  However, that's a big if in itself, because Chandler will likely go straight to the league after he graduates from high school.  And if that happens, UCLA head coach Steve Lavin won't miss a beat, because there are two other outstanding big men - 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA and  6'11 Jr Chad Bell from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA - in Southern California's loaded junior class who are top priorites for the Bruins.  Let's say, Chandler does go pro, but the Bruins get Sampson, Bell, 6'9 Jr Apolinar Fernandez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, 6'8 Jr Jack Martinez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA, and 6'5 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood ( Mayfair) CA to go along with 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who made an early verbal commitment to UCLA two months ago.  Not only would we all be talking about the "Fab Six," which is how many scholarships UCLA has to offer next year, but we'd be talking about one of the great recruiting classes of all time.  While we think this could happen, we also have to point out that it is far from a lock.  As a matter of fact, we hear that Childress isn't overly sold on UCLA and that he may go somewhere else, like maybe Kansas.  Remember, last summer we we're talking about a Childress, Sampson, Bozeman package to Kansas, instead of UCLA.  However, don't feel too sorry for head coach Roy Williams.  He already has a verbal commitment from the #1 ranked senior in California in 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA and he might also be the coach who eventually gets 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, who ranks #2 in the senior class right behind Stevenson.

We reported on Sunday that we thought that DePaul was the leader for 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL and Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat agrees, because Brown has a press conferenced scheduled for tomorrow and he hasn't taken his official visit to Michigan yet.  So you figure it out!  Jira and our New York Editor Ron Naclerio also still think that 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT could make it official for the University of Connecticut as soon as tomorrow, despite the fact we've heard unconfirmed rumors about a possible problem that may occured on his official visit to Storrs, CT a week and a half ago. This is also not confirmed, but Rhode Island may have a commitment from 6'6 Delonte Holland from Greenbelt (Eleanor Roosevelt) MD, who was the teammate a year ago of 6'9 Andre Scott from Limestone (Washington College) TN.  Speaking of Scott, the Rams are also on his final list of schools, along with Tennessee, Maryland, and Alabama.

We have confirmed that 6'7 Anthony Terrell from Rowlette (H.S.) TX, who might be the best athlete in the entire state of Texas, has verbally committed to UNC-Wilmington.  Terrell doesn't rank among our top 100 nationally, but he's close.  As a a result, he's a major steal for Seahawks head coach Jerry Wainwright, who continues to get it done in a big way at the mid-major level.  We also look for UNC-Wilmington to get 6'9 Brandon Clifford from Greensboro (Page) NC, who at one time was ranked among the top 100 nationally by Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, and 6'6 Ed Williams from Ranger (JC) TX.

We'd been hearing that the mother of 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN really liked the Durham-Raleigh-Chapel Hill area and that she liked the idea of following her son there, if he elected to sign with either Duke or North Carolina.  Then, yesterday we heard that Duke was out with Boone, so the reports that we're now getting about Boone verbally committing to North Carolina make perfect sense.  Right now it's still unofficial, but the press conference is scheduled for tomorrow and our sources tell us he's already decided on the Tar Heels.  While Boone isn't 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, we do think one in the hand is worth two in the bush.  Remember, Cook hasn't passed the SAT and we think he's already committed to St. John's.  Plus North Carolina needs a point guard to replace Ed Cota and, other than Cook, what other point guards are they still involved with?  However, others don't necessarily agree.  As a matter of fact, we have a source in North Carolina who thinks Cook committed to the Tar Heels the night before he visited St. John's and that by taking Boone, they are making a major mistake.  All this is important, because the word we're getting is that the Tar Heels are no longer recruiting Cook, whose final two are now St. John's and Miami-FL.

We would be very surprised if it happens, but the rumor is still out there - that the legendary Morgan Wootten, who is the winningest high school coach of all time, will retire.  And it could happen as soon as October 30th, which is Saturday of this week.  Remember, Wootten recently was hospitalized briefly after collapsing at a coaching clinic three weeks ago.  And, if it's going to happen, it had better happen soon, because basketball practice in the parochial schools in the DC area starts on November 8th.  Even, if Wootten coaches for another year or two, this will continue to be the hottest topic of conversation in the DC area.  But let's say he does retire.  Who would the new coach be?  The popular consensus is current assistant coach Neal Murphy, who has been in the program for over a decade and is now the #1 assistant at DeMatha now that Wootten's son (Joey) has become the head coach at Falls Church (Bishop O'Connell) VA.  And this would be the perfect move, similar to Dean Smith, if Wootten wants to pay back the administration for not even considering hiring his son as his successor.  Remember, Wootten is considered by many to be one of the elder statesmen in basketball, but that doesn't mean he can't hold a gudge.  However, if Wootten waits until after the season or even coaches for several more years, he probably would have little or no say in who is successor might be.  What do you think? When will Wootten retire?  That's the Question of the Day.

Monday, October 25, 1999

We have not confirmed whether the University of New Mexico is the actually the leader for 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but we do know that the new staff is off to the races.   Last spring they got 6'10 Atilla Cosby, who transferred from the University of Pittsburgh, in August they landed 6'1Cliff Hawkins from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and in September they got commitments from an excellent pair of junior college players in 6'9 Malcolm Battles from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL and 6'6 Jamal Brown from Seward County (JC) KS.  And now the Lobos have a commitment from 6'9 Patrick Dennehy from Mountain View (St. Francis) CA, who was hurt all summer, but still ranks #69 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Cosby and Brown won't count with this recruiting class.  Cosby is a transfer, so he will have to sit out this year.  Brown is only a freshman in junior college and, as a result, will count with next year's class.  However, getting Hawkins, Battles, and Dennehy is a heck of a start.  If Whitehead follows suit, it would put the Lobos in line for a top five recruiting class this fall.  But we're not ready to write Whitehead down as done for the Lobos just yet, because we have an extremely good source that thinks it's too close to call between New Mexico and Louisville.   They only that appears to be fairly certain is that an official decision will be announced very soon - like later this week.

We have confirmed that 6'11 Jared Reiner from Tripp (Tripp-Delmont) SD did make it official for the University of Iowa today, but we are backing off our prediction that 6'9 Michael Wilkinson from Mazomanie (Wisconsin Heights) WI is also a done deal for the Hawkeyes.  Our sources tells us that Wilkinson wants to play for head coach Steve Alford, but the pressure to stay home is making it very difficult to say no to the University of Wisconsin. One thing is for sure, it will be one of the those two, because Utah is out.  Loyola-Chicago may have stolen one in 6'5 Lewis Smith from Aurora (West) IL, who is a heck of an athlete and an excellent defender.  The Ramblers are also pushing hard on 6'3 Aaron Carr from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL and, if they pull that off, they will center their attention primarily on big men and wait and see what happens with 6'3 Cedric Banks from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL in the spring.  James Madison also has a steal in 6'2 Chris Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and the University of Illinois has landed 7'0 Nick Smith from Valrico (Bloomingdale) FL.  At first, Smith going to Illinois may seem like a surprise, but remember Fighting Illini head coach Lon Kruger was former the head coach at the University of Florida and new about Smith very early.  Smith picks Illinois over Florida State and South Florida.

The University of Kentucky has a commitment from 6'10 Mike Southall from West Salem (H.S.) WI, who ranks #75 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, but is really still a mystery, because he's one of the few top level seniors who I haven't seen play.  However, our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson thinks Southall is a physical specimen with lots of potential.  He's a good off the ball shot blocker and he has a decent shooting tough around the basket.  But he's still raw offensively and needs a lot of work.  However, Southall is attractive for the Wildcats, because he really wants to go to Kentucky, he'll probably be a four-year player, and he was willing to commit right away.  But  we now have to question how this effects their chances with 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC, who ranks #17 nationally in the senior class.  Obviously, the Kentucky coaching staff will tell Howell that he's a power forward, but we think that's being very creative, especially if what you see if what you get.  Right now he's a center all the way!  Also interesting is the fact that South Carolina appears to be a lot stronger with Howell than they were a couple of weeks ago.  So we have to wonder, did Kentucky go ahead and take Southall, because they thought they were losing out on Howell?  We also still think Kentucky has a commitment from 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, Rice is going back to Mississippi State for an unofficial visit on Thursday.  Apparently Rice ispushing Kentucky, but both his mother and his father wants him to stay home and go to Mississippi State.

Towson State has a commitment from 6'3 Tremaine Robinson from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MD and this is especially interesting, because he's better than 6'3 Tamir Goodman from Baltimore, MD, who recently also committed to the Tigers.  However, it looks like Goodman's commitment might not be as firm as we originally thought, because the whole thing is contingent upon whether they can get around playing games on Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath.  All for this for a legitimate mid-major player who was extremely overhyped by non-basketball people very early!  Also interesting is the commitment to Georgetown by 6'3 RaMell Ross from Burke (Lake Braddock) VA, but the word is that he may go to prep school for a year first.  However, we're not sure why, because we didn't think he was good enough in the first place.  We also are hearing that Connecticut might not be as strong with 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT as we originally thought after he returned from his official visit a week ago.  Miami-FL is making a push for 6'3 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ.  Last week 6'5 Brad Boyd from Lafayette (St. Thomas More) LA committed to Louisiana-Lafayette (formerly Southwestern Louisiana), but the father of 6'5 Brandon Mouton from Lafayette (St. Thomas More) LA tells us that will have no barring on his son's decision and offered no hint as to where his son might be leaning.  However, Mr. Mouton did tell us that the final three are Purdue, Texas, and Louisiana-Lafayette, which is pretty huge in itself for the local school.  That's right, head coach Jessie Evans has the Ragin' Caguns mentioned for a player who ranks among our national top 100 and who was recruited by mostly high major schools.  Whatever, Mouton decides we'll know soon enough - the press conference is scheduled for Thursday evening.

Sunday, October 24, 1999

Last week Lance Williams, who was DePaul's starting center last year as a freshman, broke his foot.  He will be out for six to eight weeks.  Normally this might be a major blow for Blue Demons, but the DePaul coaching staff also found out last week that 6'11 Steve Hunter has made it academically and, as a result, will be eligible to play this season.  But the icing on the cake would be if 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL picks DePaul, because that would give the Blue Demons three quality big guys in the program during a time when good big men are few and fair between.  And we think this will happen, despite reports by other web sites that Michigan is the heavy favorite for Brown.  The deciding factor - his mother wants him to stay home!  Another factor may be that Michigan faces the possibility of future NCAA sanctions.  However, if Brown does go to Michigan, he will be able to walk in and start immediately, while at DePaul that may not be the case with Williams and Hunter both back with an added year of experience.

A commitment that slipped past a lot of people, including us, last week was 6'7 Brandon Robinson from Huntsville (Buckhorn) AL, who might be one of the biggest sleepers in the nation.  Right now Robinson doesn't have a position and he's raw, but he's also a tremendous athlete with an incredible upside.  Auburn also got 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS last week and 6'9 Kyle Davis from Blakely (Early) AL a month and half ago.  So three out of five isn't bad, especially at this stage.  Remember, at various times during the last two months we mentioned the fact that Auburn had a great shot to get Robinson, Reed, Davis, 6'9 Abdou Diame from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS.  Well, we think Rice is secretly already verbally committed to Kentucky, but Diame will probably pick Auburn, if he signs early.  Obviously that would be a great start in the Tigers effort to reload.  However, the next two recruiting classes are also equally important.  But they won't have to go any farther to get three of their top priorities than Huntsville, AL.  Remember where you heard it first!  It's going to be very tough to beat Auburn next year for 6'5 Jr Chris White from Huntsville (Grissom) AL and 6'9 Duane Erwin from Huntsville (Lee) AL and the following year for 6'1 Soph Chad Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, who is Erwin's teammate, as well as the #1 ranked sophomore in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.

Word on the street is that 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA has verbally committed to New Mexico, although nothing has been officially announced yet.  It also hasn't been officially announced yet, but we have confirmed that 6'11 Jared Reiner from Tripp (Tripp-Delmont) SD has verbally committed to the University of Iowa.  It probably will be officially announced tomorrow.  Also look for Iowa to get a commitment from 6'9 Michael Wilkinson from Mazomanie (Wisconsin Heights) WI either tomorrow or the next day.  The word we're getting is that 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN had an excellent visit to Indiana yesterday, but it still looks like it's too close to call.  As a matter of fact, a source close to Jeffries tells us that Duke is the leader, but it's only 51 to 49.  However, if it's that close, we think the local pressure will be tough to overcome in the end.  And if that happens, everything else should fall into place.  If Indiana gets Jeffries, they definitely will get 6'4 A.J. Moye from Atlanta (Westlake) GA.  But if Jeffries goes to Duke, Moye may end up at Massachusetts or Georgia.  And if the Hoosiers get Jeffries that should help them also get several of his AAU teammates, 6'1 Jr Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and 6'7 Jr Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN, although Iowa will be tough to beat for Thomas and Notre Dame is very strong with Kline.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'11 Brandon Crump from Houston (Klein) TX, who ranks #56 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, was at Xavier over the weekend.  However, if he wants to sign with the Musketeers, he'd better do it soon, because right now head coach Skip Prosser only has one remaining scholarship available.  Crump, who also is considering Memphis, SMU, and Tennessee, would be their first choice, but Xavier also will have 6'9 Randy Holbrook from Kirkwood (H.S.) MO, who is a major sleeper, and 6'10 Marcus Douthit from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA both on campus next weekend.  Right now Xavier appears to be the leader for Holbrook over Illinois State, Southwest Missouri State, and Arkansas State.  We've been told that Douthit has told the Providence coaching staff that the commitment he made to the Friars is firm, but apparently not firm enough, as Xavier, Villanova, and Syracuse are all still in the hunt.

Saturday, October 23, 1999

Several college coaches have told us that Wayne Simone is in the process of putting together a series of Friday night college doubleheaders at the new 10,000 seat Mohegan Sun Casino in Norwich, CT beginning in December of 2001.  One of the matchups being talked about would feature two of the hottest programs in college basketball - Seton Hall and Florida.  Other teams that have been mentioned include Virginia, DePaul, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Clemson, Massachusetts, Providence, and St. John's.  Apparently there is also interest from Fox Sports, which makes sense, because they are trying to break ESPN's long time monopoly on college basketball.  However, although our sources are good on this, we have been able to confirm this through Simone as of yet.  Hopefully when we do, we will be able to provide you with even more details.

"Bob Knight will never be able to complain about any of his players' shot selection again!"  That's what our Indiana Editor Jim Kasberg said about Knight's recent hunting accident, which couldn't have come at worse time.  Will 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN pick Indiana or Duke when he announces his official decision on November 1st?  Earlier this week the Louisville Courier-Journal quoted Jeffries saying that Duke was the leader, but that a lot could happen in the next two weeks.  However, we've maintained all along that Jeffries will likely pick Indiana and perhaps the only thing stopping him is Knight himself.  Remember, Jeffries likes everything about Indiana University, except the coach.  While the hunting incident isn't that big a deal, it is still part of a very destructive pattern.  This year alone Knight has had to deal with an assault charge and the loss of 6'11 George Leach from Charlotte (Olympic) NC, which was devastating blow to the program.  Not only could the loss of Leach been prevented, but the Hoosiers don't have a single front line player who is good enough to start for most teams in the Big 10.  Don't believe it?  Do you really think you're going to beat good teams like Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Illinois once, much less twice with Kirk Haston, Larry Richardson, Lynn Washington, Jarrod Odle, and Jeffrey Newton?  Sure, the backcourt is still in good hands with A.J. Guyton,  Dane Fife, Mike Lewis, and Antwaan Randle-El, but this bunch didn't make it very far in the NCAA Tournament in recent years when they did have decent front line players.  The irony might be that Knight may not go out like Woody Hayes afterall, which is what many expect.  Instead, this coaching legend, who was on top for so many years, but more recently has settled into a state of mediocrity, may sink to the bottom.  That's right!  A last place finish this season in the Big 10 isn't out of the question!  And if that happens, it would be payback time!  Remember, Knight has treated the media and the fans alike like shit for almost 30 years. That's why getting Jeffries is so important!  With Jeffries, who is one of the consensus top 10 players in the senior class nationally, as well as the #1 ranked player last summer at the NIKE All-American Camp by the HOOP SCOOP, Knight should have no problem surviving a terrible season, because he will be able to convince most of his critics to give him more time - that help is on the way.  So obviously Jeffries is not only the most important player Knight has ever recruited, but he may ultimately be the deciding factor in how we write the final chapters in Knight's coaching career.  Will Jeffries decide to go to Duke and play for Mike Krzyzewski, who embellishes all of the positives, but none of negatives of Bob Knight?  Or will the pressure to stay home, the desire for his friends and family to see him play, and the knowledge that he is even more important for the IU program than "The General" himself, be enough to save Knight's legacy.  Obviously that should be our Question of the Day, so tell us where you think Jeffries is going - Duke or Indiana?  And stay tuned.  Either way, it's going to be real interesting!

Friday, October 22, 1999

We reported yesterday that 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX and 6'8 David Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA have both committed to Oklahoma State, but we weren't sure whether they'd gotten 6'4 Bernard Kidd from Dallas (Madison) TX, who is the fastest rising player in the state of Texas.  Well, not only is Kidd confirmed, but it also appears that another one slipped past us while we were in Alaska earlier this week.  That's right!  Oklahoma State got a commitment from 6'6 Terrance Crawford from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGinnes) OK on Monday and this is absolutely huge, because it means the Cowboys now have five excellent players in the fold.  Remember, they also got a commitment a year ago from 6'11 Jack Marlow from Tulsa (Union) OK and, if that weren't enough, our Oklahoma Editor Bob Grace tells us that the Cowboys also are the favorite to get 6'4 Willie "Smoosh" Parker  from College of Southern Idaho (JC) ID, who is one of the top wing guards in the junior college ranks.  However, right now this already is not only the best recruiting class that head coach Eddie Sutton has had in his tenure at Oklahoma State, but it currently ranks #4 nationally behind Seton Hall, Connecticut, and Iowa State.

Speaking of Iowa State, this should be one of the fastest rising programs in college basketball during the next few years.  Remember, last spring the Cyclones landed three junior college players - 6'2 Jamaal Tinsley from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'4 Richard Evans from Kilgore (JC) TX, and 6'0 Thomas Watkins from Mesa (JC) AZ - who were ranked among the top 25 nationally by Phil Henzel.  Also last spring they stashed 6'11 Ernest Brown, who is one of the leading candidates for national junior college player-of-the-year honors, at Indian Hills (JC) IA and in the early part of the summer they got a verbal commitment.  Also committing to Iowa State in early July were 7'0 Andrew Skoglund from Hopkins (H.S.) MN and 6'1 Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN.  Skoglund is a project, but like they say, you can't teach 7-feet.  Sullivan is a deadly outside shooter and relentless competitor, which explains why he reminds us so much of former Michigan State star Scott Skiles.  Not only is Sullivan one of the fastest rising players in the nation, but he just might get my vote for the McDonald's All-American Game next March.  He's that good!  More recently Iowa also has picked up a verbal commitment from 6'8 Tyrae Pearson from Kankakee (JC) IL, who, like all the other junior college players the Cyclones have signed, is a JUCO All-American.  All this is important, because the Cyclones appear to be only a year away from being one of the surprise teams in college basketball and the timing for second year head coach Larry Eustachy couldn't be better.  Remember where you heard it first!  University of Louisville head coach Denny Crum will be gone in three years and  Eustachy will be the next coach at Louisville.  That's assuming that current Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich has anything to say about.  As a matter of fact, Jurich has told people that it won't take him any longer to hire the basketball coach than it did the football coach (John L. Smith) a year and a half ago.  Jurich, who has a history of hiring people with whom he's had a previous association, knows Eustachy extremely well.  As a matter of fact, the word we get is that Eustachy was the best man in Jurich's wedding a number of years ago.

Reggie Tisdale, the Editor and Publisher of Indiana Basketball News, tells us that Weber State has beaten schools, like Purdue, Louisville, Notre Dame, Temple, Miami-OH, Illinois State, and Ohio State, for 6'4 John Hamilton from Greenfield (Central) IN, who might just be the best 3-point shooter in the state of Indiana.  At first this may seem like a surprise, but Tisdale tells us that nobody recruits the state of Indiana better than assistant coach Kirk Earlywine, who also happens to be a close personal friend of the Hamilton family.  With the addition of Hamilton next year, some may start calling Weber State "the Indiana of the West", because four Indiana kids - Hamilton, 6'5 Chris Woods, 6'9 Patrick Danley, and 6'3 Jermaine Boyette - will likely be starting for head coach Joe Cravens, who also happens to be originally from the Hoosier state.  Tisdale also tells us that Morehead State has gotten another commitment from 6'8 Corey Seegers from Columbus (North) IN.

We have now confirmed that 6'1Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, who ranks #11 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has committed to Connecticut.  Currently their recruiting class is ranked #2 nationally behind Seton Hall, because the Huskies now have commitments from three outstanding players - Brown, 6'7 Scott Hazelton from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA, 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME.  However, don't be surprised if Butler reneges and goes to UNLV.  As a matter of fact, Butler, who is the #1 ranked 5th year player in America by the HOOP SCOOP, is making an official visit to Las Vegas, NV this weekend, which is no big surprise, because he is very close to UNLV assistant coach Max Good, who was his coach last season at Maine Central Institute.  We reported several days ago that 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL has given the St. John's coaching staff a verbal commitment.  Now we are getting confirmation of this from other sources, plus we're hearing that 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY has committed as well.  However, they haven't announced anything officially, because they still have visits to make, including to North Carolina at the end of the month.

UNLV, Long Beach State, Purdue, St. Louis, Mississippi State, and Minnesota are all involved with 6'1 Maurice Baker from Dixie (JC) UT, who is one of the best point guards in the junior college ranks.  The University of Oklahoma got a pair of commitments this week from two excellent junior college players in 6'6 Darren Selvey from Carl Albert (JC) OK and 6'7 Aaron McGee from Vincennes (JC) IN.  Towson State has a commitment from 6'3 Tamir Goodman from Baltimore, MD, which is a perfect place for him, because he's a local kid and he's more suited for that level than the ACC.  Remember, he originally committed to Maryland as a junior, but recently reneged after he got exposed as a slow white, instead of the "Jewish Jordan." We are getting reports that 6'11 Wesley Wilson won't be eligible this season at Georgetown.  The Hoyas also will be without 6'10 Lee Scruggs from Daytona Beach (JC) FL, who currently isn't even enrolled in school, because he's still in Florida finishing up on his degree from junior college.  The word is that he may be eligible second semester.  We reported several months ago that 6'9 Soph Sheldon Williams had transferred from Midwest City (H.S.) OK  to McKinney (H.S.) TX, but according to our Oklahoma Editor Bob Grace, Williams has returned to Midwest City.  Texas Tech, St. Louis, and Colorado State appear to be the final three for 6'7 Jonathan Sanders from Westminister (Belleview Christian) CO.

Thursday, October 21, 1999

Our Philadelphia Area Allen Rubin tells us that UNLV has picked up a verbal commitment from 6'7 Omari Pearson from York (Crispus Attacks) PA and that Oklahoma State has gotten a pair of commitments from 6'8 David Anderson from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also thinks that Oklahoma State may have a commitment from 6'4 Bernard Kidd from Dallas (Madison) TX, but right now that is still unconfirmed.  Speaking of people jumping the gun, I can't tell you how many people have told me that 5'8 Wesley Stokes from Long Beach (Poly) CA has committed to Missouri.  Well, he has, but he hasn't.  By that, I mean he's told the Missouri coaching staff that he'll sign with the Tigers this fall, but he doesn't plan to announce it publicly until the end of the month.  So just like 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (Lincoln) IL, who has told St. John's he's coming, and 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who has told Kentucky that he's coming, we won't take Stokes off the board until he officially makes the announcement.  After all, it's their decision and in each case they could always change their mind.  We also have confirmed that 7'1 Peter Ritzma from Clarkston (H.S.) MI has verbally committed to the University of Michigan.  Ritzma didn't get much playing time a year ago on the varsity and right now he ranks no higher than top 20 in the state of Michigan by Steve Bell, the Editor & Publisher of The Bank, but he does have an upside.  As a matter of fact, he reminds Bell of Tom Gries, another big white kid who was a project when he was recruited, but who turned into a pretty good player at Villanova while playing for current Cleveland State head coach Rollie Massimino.

Our Philadelphia Area Allen Rubin is reporting that 6'4 Jay Joseph from Lansdale (North Penn) PA, who ranks #9 in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey by the HOOP SCOOP, has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and he will announce for UNC-Greensboro.  "This is a great recruit for new head coach Fran McCaffery," says Rubin.  "Not only is Joseph good enough to walk in and become one of the best players in the league from day one, but this also firmly establishes a strong recruiting tie for UNC-Greensboro into the Philadelphia Area, which has been a fertile recruiting hotbed for assistant coach Ken Dempsey when he was previously at Northeastern and Monmouth."  UNC-Greensboro also is expecting a commitment from 6'3 Ronnie Taylor from Raleigh (Southeast) NC with the next week.  Rubin also tells us that Manhattan has gotten a commitment from 6'6 Jason Benton from New Haven (Wilbur Cross) CT, who had such a great time on his official visit that he got back home Sunday night and cancelled his other official visits and told Jaspers head coach Bobby Gonzalez that he's coming.  However, it wasn't officially announced until last night or today.

We believe that 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY did commit to Connecticut today, but as of yet nobody seems to be able to confirm it.  This also is unconfirmed, but we've gotten a report from a person who is in a position to know that 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi from Nigeria via Toronto, ON, who signed with the University of Louisville last spring, and 6'8 Ominiyi Makum from Nigeria, who was planning on enrolling and being eligible to play at UCLA next semester, both did not pass the SAT on their most recent attempt.  The speculation is that Makum will probably take the test again very soon, but tht Ndubuisi will likely return to Toronto, ON, because the people who were supposed to be taking care of him have apparently have fallen down on the stick and he's unhappy living in Los Angeles.  Also kind of strange is the fact that if anybody was close to making a verbal commitment to Kansas after their visit to Midnight Madness last weekend, it was 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA.  As a matter of fact, Bryant, who flew back to Los Angeles with 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA after the visit, was as surprised as anybody that Stevenson committed to the Jayhawks two days ago.  Making the story even more intriguing is the fact that Kansas was not believed to be one of the leaders before Stevenson made his official visit to Lawrence, KS.  Plus Stevenson announced the story by calling the newspapers in Kansas, but wouldn't talk to anybody the local media.  No wonder we've heard speculation that this one might not be over just yet.  As a matter of fact, we've heard from two different sources that Stevenson announced for Kansas just to get rid of all the pressure that goes along with the recruiting process.  However, right now this just speculation and until we hear something that we think is credible, we are counting Stevenson's committment to Kansas as firm.

Wednesday, October 20, 1999

The word we're getting is that 6'9 Darius Miles from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, who ranks #32 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, all had great visits to St. John's last weekend, so it should come as no surprise that Cuffe verbally committed to the Red Storm last night.  Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio also tells us that Miles has also given the St. John's coaching staff a verbal commitment, although nothing has been publicly announced.  Miles played with the Brooklyn-Queens Express, along with Cook, in the IS8 Tournament on Saturday and he tied the tournament single game scoring record with 35 points.  Apparently Miles has such a good time that he wants to return this weekend, so he can play in the playoffs at IS8.  Another reason why Miles is so interested in St. John's is assistant coach Dermon Player.  Remember, the part-assistant coach can't go out on the road, so Player, who was formerly an assistant coach for New York Riverside Church for many years, has had to develop this close relationship over the phone.   However, we still think when it is all said and done that Miles will go straight out of high school to the NBA.  But that doesn't mean that a verbal commitment by Miles to St. John's wouldn't be very important.  We think getting Miles would likely be enough to push Cook over the edge when it comes time to make a decision.  Remember, all three of Cook's schools - St. John's, North Carolina, and Miami-FL - are also involved with Miles and they've been talking seriously about going together to the same school as a package for some time.

This comes as no surprise, because we've been talking about it happening for a month, but we expect 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, who ranks #11 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, to pick the University of Connecticut tomorrow.  We also wouldn't be surprised to see 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT pick the Huskies in the near future.  As a matter of fact, McMillan told our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio right after he got back from his official visit that he really had a great time at UConn's Midnight Madness.  Right now Fordham, Villanova, and St. John's are also still in the hunt for McMillan, but we look for St. John's to get eliminated now that the Red Storm has a verbal commitment from 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, who made it official last night.  Naclerio also has tells us that 5'10 Jr Tony Tate, who is a legitimate top 30 player nationally in the junior class nationally, did transfer from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ to Bayonne (Marist) NJ.  Remember, we reported that this would likely happen last spring, but we had never heard anything official since.  Speaking of players from Marist High School, Naclerio tells us that the recruitiment of 6'3 Rashid Dunbar is all messed up, especially now that Seton Hall doesn't any longer have scholarship to give him.  Remember, the Pirates gave their one remaining one to 6'7 Damion Frey from Huntington (Walt Whitman) NY on Monday.  Right now Villanova, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse appear to be the leaders for Dunbar, but it looks like this one is far from over.  Naclerio also says that schools like Baylor, Washington State, Texas El Paso, Rider, Marist, Pittsburgh, Providence, and Rutgers are showing varying degrees of interest in 6'4 Royal Ivy from Bayside (Cardozo) NY via prep school at Blair (Blair Academy) NJ.  Also at stashed at Blair Academy is Mike Deng, who is  the younger brother of  the University of Connecticut's Ajou Ajou Deng.   "He a legit 6'8 and he's already really good.  "Remember the name," says Naclerio. "He going to be a great one."

Tuesday, October 19, 1999

We have confirmed that 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, who ranks #5 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and is the #1 ranked #2 guard in the nation, has verbally committed to the University of Kansas.  This comes as a major surprise, because as recently as yesterday we reported that Stevenson wasn't expected to anything until spring.  However, Stevenson had been starting to the feel the pressure of the recruiting process and had been talking about narrowing his list to only three or four schools, according to Washington Union High School Athletic Director Jeff Cardoza.   Cardoza tells us that Stevenson told the Kansas coaching staff last night that he was going to Kansas.  "But we didn't find out until this morning," says Cardoza.  Stevenson, who made his official visit to Kansas over the weekend, apparently wanted to get it over with.  What is ironic is the fact that we're in Alaska at the EBO-Alaska Camp that is being run by Darren Matsubara, who is Stevenson's AAU coach.  Matsubara, who was also in Lawrence, KS, along with Stevenson on the official visit on Friday, but refuses to tell us if he was holding out on us.

Speaking of the EBO-Alaska Camp, the camp, which concluded this morning, was void of any size, but it did feature several players in the 6'3 to 6'5 range, some outstanding guards, and a lot of excellent young players.  The best player in camp was 6'0 Cody Angerman from Wrangell (Wrangell) AK, the best rebounder in camp was 6'3 Jr Jon Chapman from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, the top shooter was 6'0 Clay Brown from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, the best playmaker was 5'3 Jr Courtney Mason from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, Mr. Hustle was 6'4 Jr Mitchell Snyder from Skagway (H.S.) AK, the top defensive player was 5'8 Jr Alan Floresca from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, and the best young player in camp was 5'8 Christopher Bryant from Metlakatla (H.S.) AK, who is only an 8th grader.  Also ranked among the top players were 6'4 Evan Tromble from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, 6 '5 Casey Campbell from Sitka (H.S.) AK, 5'9 Ray Pardee from Haines (H.S.) AK, 6'1 Jr Craig Carter from Craig (H.S.) AK, 6'4 Jr J.J. Sevier from Sitka (Mt. Edgecumbe) AK, 6'3 Soph John Mackie from Metlakatla (H.S.) AK, 5'6 Soph Curtis Lane from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, 5'11 Frosh Joe Ayers from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK, and 6'2 Frosh Bryan Hamey from Juneau (Juneau-Douglas) AK. Also worth mentioning again is 5'3 Charles Boozer from Juneau (Dzanti-L Heeni) AK, who was a sub in the camp championship game, but didn't play earlier in the camp due to an injury.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson continues to tell us that he has been delayed in getting his latest report done, but he does have news about 6'8 Josh Almanson from Bowling Green (H.S.) OH, who will be ranked #6 or #7 in the state of Ohio when does Johnson finish his rankings.  Almanson has elected to stay home and attend Bowling Green. This is huge for head coach Dan Dakich, because, just like when  the University of Michigan got 6'6 LaVell Blanchard from Ann Arbor (Pioneer) MI to stay home last spring, it shows that he can get the top players right in his own backyard.  And Johnson's Blachard comparison is a good one for another reason, because Almanson should have the same kind of impact at Bowling Green next year at the mid-major level that Blanchard should have this year at Michigan at the high major level.

Our Philadelphia Editor Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 5'7 Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA has verbally committed to St. Bonaventure.  This is a steal, because Green, who ranks #85 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, was very underrecruited, because most big time schools were afraid of his lack size.  Rubin also tells us that Seton Hall has a commitment from 6'7 Damion Frey from Huntington (Walt Whitman) NY, who has come on strong during the summer and fall and, as a result, is rated as a 4+ by Tom Konchalski, the Editor & Publisher of the H.S.B.I Report.  This means that 6'3 Rashid Dunbar from Bayonne (Marist) NJ, who committed to Pirates late in the summer, but then changed his mind a month ago, definitely won't be going to Seton Hall now. because head coach Tommy Amaker is out of scholarships.  As a result, we now believe Villanova is the leader for Dunbar.

Monday, October 18, 1999

This comes as no surprise, but we have confirmed 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS, who ranks #57 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Auburn.  But that's it in terms of verbal commitments, except for 6'5 Mark Curry from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, who has verbally committed to Delaware.  However, we do have a list of schools on 6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, who just got back from his visit to Lawrence, KS over the weekend.  Right now it appears to be too close to call among Kansas UCLA, Fresno State, Kentucky, Connecticut, and Georgia, but we'd be very surprised if anything happens before the spring.  New Mexico appears to be making a strong push for 6'5 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, which certainly wouldn't be good news for Louisville, which is believed to be the co-favorite.  Speaking of Louisville, Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports is reporting that the Cardinals aren't out with 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, who ranks #18 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   Remember, two days ago Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat told us exactly the opposite.  We're not sure who Gibbons' source is, but Jira's source is pretty good  (Brown himself).  We also are getting reports that the University of South Carolina may be picking up stem with 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC, so that one is becoming increasingly tough to read.  Remember, Kentucky was thought to be the strong leader.  It appears that Iowa was eliminated from the list of 6'9 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, but we're not sure it matters.  Since Jeffries didn't commit to Duke while on the official visit, the smart money now has to be on Indiana.

Since this is hopefully the calm before the storm in term of verbal commitments, I can't think of a better time to update you on the results of our initial questions in our new Question of the Day section.  It is not only too close to call between Kentucky and Duke for the best program today in college basketball, but if you haven't already voted, your vote may actually make the difference. The same holds true between Mike Krzyzewski and Tubby Smith in the category for the best college basketball coach.  Another race that is too close to call is for the top point guard in the senior class between 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI and 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA.  6'5 Deshawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA is the runaway leader at the wing guard spot and 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL appears to be beating out 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS as the #1 ranked wing forward.  Along with point guard, the best position in the class is power forward, so it makes sense that 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA would not be running away with it.  Right now Griffin has 38% of the vote compared to 29% for 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN and 27% for 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL.  At center it appears to be too close to between 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC and 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN.  Today's question is who is the best junior in the nation?  Right now it's too early to tell who'll come out on top, but my vote went to 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ.  You can only vote for each question once, but if you haven't already voted for each and every  question, you can do so now by clicking on Question of the Day.

Sunday, October 17, 1999

Earlier today we checked with a number of people, including Brick Oettinger of the Recruiter's Handbook and, so far, nobody has heard of any commitments following all the visits to the various Midnight Madnesses across the country over the weekend.  The one we were especially interested in is 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, who, along with 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, were at Duke the last several days.  We thought that if Jeffries was going to commit to Duke, he'd do it on the visit.  However, if Jeffries gets home still uncommitted, we think Duke's chances fade dramatically and Indiana's chances improve with each passing day.  Speaking of Boone, Oettinger tells us that he'll be back again in ACC country on Wednesday when he comes in for his official visit to North Carolina.  However, we still think Boone will go to the University of Minnesota, unless he likes to compete with players who are better than he is for playing time.  If he goes to Duke, he's not going to beat out Jason Williams, Chris Duhon, and Michael Dunleavy and at North Carolina, he and 6'1 Brian Morrison from Kirkland (Lake Washington) WA, who committed to the Tar Heels two weeks ago, have a similar type game.  Oettinger also tells us that 7'6 Neil Fingleton from Worcester (Holy Name) MA, who gets ranked among our top 100 nationally based strictly on potential - like they say, you can't teach 7'6 - will be in Chapel Hill, NC next weekend for his official visit.

While Cincinnati and Xavier had many of the top young players from the state of Ohio in for Midnight Madness on Friday night, the University of Dayton had their full attention yesterday.  Among those the Dayton coaching staff had on campus were 6'4 Jr Keith Jackson from Cincinnati (Purcell Marian) OH, 5'11 Jr Leonard Campbell from Canton (McKinley) OH, 6'8 Jr Adam Waleskowski from Kettering (Alter) OH, 6'8 Jr Elgrace Wilborn from Springfield (South) OH, 6'6 Jr Matt Sylvester from Cincinnati (Moeller) OH, 5'11 Soph Chris Quinn from Dublin (Coffman) OH, 6'4 Soph Alex Carmona from Troy (H.S.) OH, 6'1 Soph Robert Siwo from Xenia (H.S.) OH,  and 6'4 Soph Doug Scott from Reynoldsburg (H.S.) OH.  They also had three excellent freshman on campus in 5'5 Frosh Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'5 Frosh Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, and 6'2 Frosh Kevin Anderson from Worthington (Thomas Worthington) OH, who is the son of former Providence and Ohio State assistant coach Mark Anderson.  In addition, Dayton had 6'3 Marcus Tolliver from Fork Union (Military) VA on campus for an official visit yesterday and next week they except to have 6'10 Brian Carter from Gilbraltor (Carlson) MI, who is ranked  #10 in the senior class in Michigan by our Michigan Editor Steve Bell.

Saturday, October 16, 1999

While a number of players are making the official visits to various schools for Midnight Madness this weekend, I am in Juneau, AK at a camp being run by Darren Matsubara, who is the director of the EBO-Sports AAU program based in Fresno, CA, and Carlos Boozer, Sr.   Sure, we'd like to discover the next Trajan Langdon or the next Carlos Boozer, but realistically that probably won't happen.  However, we do hope to get a handle on some of the top players from Alaska, as well as play a small part in the of talent in the state.  As a matter of fact, Mr. Boozer plans to take some of the best players from the camp and start an Alaskan EBO-Sports team.  That alone should do wonders for basketball in the this part of the country, similar to what's happened in states, like Minnesota, Washington, and Arizona, all of which now have strong AAU ball programs, over the last five or 10 years.   We won't bore you with a lot of details about what happens at the camp, but during the next few days, we will provide you with some highlights and talk about some of the best players, including Charles Boozer, who is the younger brother of Carlos Boozer.  Right now the younger Boozer is only in 6h grade, but the word is that he's terrific.

While traveling all day yesterday, we were able to make a number of phone calls between flights and our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that 6'11 Brandon Crump from Houston (Klein) TX, who ranks #56 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, was scheduled to be in town this weekend for Midnight Madness at the University of Memphis.  Also high on Crump's list are Arkansas, Xavier, and Tennessee, but we think Memphis might be the favorite, because Crump's parents both graduated from high school in Memphis and he has a lot of family there.  We've already mentioned several times that 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN will be at Duke this weekend and a commitment would not come as a surprise to anybody, except maybe the Indiana coaching staff, which thinks it a done deal for them.  But we haven't mentioned that 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN also is at Duke this weekend.  However, in his case, we think a commitment is less likely, because he's not as far along the recruiting process.  But we do think that Duke is the co-leader, along with Minnesota.  Speaking of Minnesota, we think the Golden Gophers are a lot stronger than most people realize with 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who still gets our vote as the most naturally gifted player in the class.  Ohio State has 7'0 Velimir Radinovic from Toronto, ON on campus this weekend and DePaul has 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, and 6'11 Jr Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL all on campus making either an official visit or in Curry's case an unofficial visit.

Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat thinks Connecticut is the leader for 6'11 Jared Reiner from Tripp (Tripp-Delmont) SD, who is at Connecticut this weekend.  This is especially interesting because for a long time we thought Iowa was the team to beat for Reiner.  Jira also tells us something else that is very interesting - it appears that Louisville is out for 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL.  DePaul is still in the hunt for Brown, but Jira thinks Michigan is the leader.  If this is the case, don't be surprised if the Wolverines are one of the teams in college basketball in a couple of years, because they have nearly all of the other pieces to the puzzle.   Jira also tells us that Kentucky is making a serious push for 6'3 Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Callaway) GA and, if that happens, it would be a total insult to the University of Louisville, which is where Smith's uncle, the late Derek Smith was an All-American.  However, when it is all said and done, we still think Smith will wind up at Georgia or Texas.  Jira also thinks 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS hasn't committed to the University of Kentucky and points out that his parents are really pushing him to go to Mississippi State.  However, we stand by our earlier report that Rice has told the Kentucky coaching staff that he's coming.  However, that doesn't mean he doesn't have the right to change is mind.  So stay tuned!

Friday, October 15, 1999

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Jr Samuel Nadeu has surfaced at Burlington (Life Center) NJ.  This important, because Nadeu, who was at Newark (Eastside) NJ last season, but transferred to Lakewood (Artesia) CA before the beginning of the summer, is a phenomenal athlete and terrific talent.  However, he didn't live up to his billing when we saw him during the summer.  Remember, there were those in New Jersey last winter who thought Nadeu was the best sophomore in the state head of 6'2 Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who ranks as the #1 player in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP regardless of class.  So much for their credibility!  Rubin also confirms a rumor we had heard previously about the University of Maryland offering 5'9 Andre Collins from Crisfield (H.S.) MD.  However, it hasn't happened yet, because the offer is contingent upon Collins passing the SAT, which, by the way, he took on Saturday.  While Collins would be a steal at the mid-major level, but we find it ironic that Maryland would take Collins right after they got out of a commitment to a similar caliber of player - 6'2 Tamir Goodman from Baltimore, MD.  Last, but not least, Rubin reports that 6'8 Sean Knitter from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA will visit the University of Delaware this weekend.  Then, he will decide between the Blue Hens and St. Joseph's in the near future.

We mentioned several days ago that 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY will make his official visit to St. John's this weekend, but he's not the only one who will be at their Midnight Madness tonight.  Both 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, will be there on their official visits.  Also planning to attend St. John's Midnight Madness tonight are the best player from each class in Connecticut - 6'7 Ryan Gomes from Waterbuy (Wilby) CT, 6'1 Jr Mark Jones from Norwich (Free Academy) CT, 6'2 Soph Charlie Easterling from Hartford (Bulkeley) CT, and 6'1 Frosh Roosevelt Lee from New Britain (H.S.) CT - all of whom will make unofficiall visits.  As a matter of fact,, Wayne Simone, who runs the Connecticut Select AAU program, is bringing the Connecticut group, which also will include 6'2 Soph Rasheen McClain from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT.  Simone also tells us that another one his players - 6'6 Louis Bosley from New Haven (Wilbur Cross) CT - will be at the University of Hartford this weekend for his official visit.  La Salle, Duquense, Fairfield, and Manhattan are all involved with 6'6 Jason Benton from New Haven (Wilbur Cross) CT and Rhode Island and Siena are the favorites for Gomes, although Providence and Penn State are also showing interest and really anything could happen, because he not expected to make a decision until spring.

Getting back to St. John's, the Red Storm already has commitments from 6'11 Mohammed Diakite from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD and 6'5 Willie Shaw from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY.  So let's say they also get Cook, Miles, and either Cuffe or 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who will make his official next weekend.  That would proabably be the best recruiting class in the nation and it could happen.  When comparing it to Seton Hall's incredible class, remember that Miles clearly outplayed 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, who ranks as the #1 player in the class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, in their head-to-head matchup a month ago at the Five-Star Invitational Tournament in Staten Island, NY.  Picking Cook or 5'8 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY is also almost too close to call, although we have to give the nod to Barrett, because he shoots it better.  In our mind Seton Hall's third recruit - 6'6 Marcus Toney from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ -  is just a shade better than Cuffe.  But after that, St. John's wins by the numbers, because Diakite and Shaw both ranks among our top 50-100 nationally and Seton Hall doesn't have a 4th and 5th recruit.  Another player that St. John's is now showing interest in just in case they don't Cook is 6'1 Sheiku Kabba from Queens (Christopher Robin) NY.  However, Kabba, who was sensational at the Five-Star Tournament, as he shut down Cook and was one of the main reasons why the  Bronx Gauchos won the championship, is already close to 20 years old and, as a result will be ineligible to play high school basketball this year.  But finally Kabba, who was originally from Bronx (Gompers) NY and then Troy (Redemption) NY, may be close to meeting the necessary requirements to play at a four-year college.  As a result, schools like St. John's, Miami-FL, and Syracuse are starting to show a lot more interest.

Thursday, October 14, 1999

We have confirmed that at 2:30 PM today 6'8 Herve Lamizana from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ did make it official for Rutgers.  This is important for several reasons.  First, it is big for Scarlet Knights to continue to get the top players in North Jersey.  Second, it establishes that they can get players from Patrick High School, which is a program that has traditionally sent its best players to Seton Hall (i.e Shaheem Holloway and Samuel Dalembert).  Third, Lamizana isn't a finished product by any means, but he is one of the best athletes in the class and, as a result, he has a lot of natural talent and potential.  Plus he's a great kid!  Rutgers also is one of a number of schools that has jumped into the mix with  6'4 Greg Taylor from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC, who came out of the woodwork at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament three weeks ago.  Taylor made an official visit to Minnesota last weekend, he will be at Auburn this weekend, and he will make an official visit to South Carolina on October 23rd.  Others fighting for the last two visits, along with Rutgers, are Villanova, Alabama, and Clemson.  Yes, that's right, according to Taylor's father, Clemson is still interested, despite the fact the Tigers got 6'2 Tony Stockman from Medina (H.S.) OH earlier this week and right now out of scholarships. We also have confirmed that Holy Cross has a commitment from 6'5 John Bucaro from South Huntington (St. Anthony's) NY.

We've heard from several sources that 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, will be back in Lexington, KY this weekend to make an unofficial visit during  Midnight Madness.  However, there is no truth to this rumor.  Obviously, since Rice recently cancelled his scheduled official visit to Auburn and won't take his official visit to Arkansas for another week, it would make perfect sense for him to come back and get caught up in all the hoopla.  Remember, we've been reporting since last weekend that we believe Rice has already verbally committed to the Kentucky coaching staff, although nothing has been officially announced yet.  In the past, getting recruits on campus for Midnight Madness at Kentucky has always been a major advantage, but it won't be this year, because nobody is scheduled to make an official visit.  However, there are some good underclassmen who plan to be in town, including 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY,who ranks #36 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP in the junior class.  One of Kentucky's other prime targets 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC, who ranks #17 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, will make his official visit to the University of  South Carolina this weekend.

Wednesday, October 13, 1999

It looks like Clemson, which got commitments from 6'8 Chris Hobbs from Chapel Hill (East Chapel Hill) NC, 6'5 Dwon Clifton from High Point (Westchester) NC, and 6'8 Dion Dixon from  Fayetteville (71st) NC a month ago, is now done recruiting, because they now have a verbal commitment from 6'2 Tony Stockman from Medina (H.S.) OH.  Obviously this is good news for head coach Larry Shyatt, who was able to take advantage of his Ohio background (Shyatt is originally from Cleveland), but bad news for 6'4 Greg Taylor from Simpsonville (Hillcrest) SC, if he wanted to go to Clemson.  Remember, Taylor emerged at the Charlie Weber Invitational Tournament three weeks ago and at the time Clemson was the only big-time school that had been recruiting him.  Stockman doesn't rank among our top 100 nationally, but  he prpbably should after the way he at Five Star's Pitt III and Pitt IV sessions in late July.   Also making a commitment today was 6'5 Michael Bennett from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN, who picked Ball State.  Bennett, who can play the one, two, or the three spot, was only ranked #29 on Jim Kasberg's latest list of the top seniors in Indiana and was a little used sub for Bob Pryor's Bloomington Red AAU team this summer.  However, this commitment becomes interesting when one finds out Bennett is a great student and he has a little brother - 6'2 Soph Marques Bennett, also from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN - who is a greyhound.

We knew that 6'5 Eddie Baker from Jacksonville (Ribault) FL was going to pick the University of Nebraska, but we hadn't confirmed it as done until today.  Speaking of Nebraska, remember the Cornhuskers got two excellent junior college players from Compton (JC) CA a year ago in 6'6 Steffon Bradford and 6'1 Danny Walker.   Well, it looks like the connection is still in place, because they're now among the leaders for 6'9 Steve Bynes and 6'5 Anthony Reason, both of whom are currently at Compton (JC) CA.  This weekend 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY will make his official visit to St. John's, but we still think Virginia is the leader.  We're still not sold on 6'7 J.C. Mathis from Bronx (John F. Kennedy) NY, but his list, which includes Providence, Florida, Virginia, Fordham, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Syracuse, is pretty impressive.

Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, and Tulsa are the leaders for 6'6 Terrance Crawford from Oklahoma City (McGuiness) OK.  Southwest Missouri State is making a late push, but 6'3 Jason Parker from Tulsa (Memorial) OK will be visiting Kansas State this weekend and Tulsa has the strong local ties.  Creighton, Wichita State, and Oral Roberts are all high on the list of 6'11 Matthew Gastel from Jenks (H.S.) OK.  As long as we're talking about where the top players in Oklahoma are going to school, now would be the perfect time to tell you that with the help of Bob Grace, who is the Oklahoma editor for Midwest Basketball, as well as the new Oklahoma editor for the HOOP SCOOP,  we have updated our rankings of the top players in Oklahoma by class.  You can get this report, which includes a short article, along with all-state teams and rankings of the players in each class by clicking on Oklahoma Report.

Tuesday, October 12, 1999

We have added a new page to our web site called Question of the Day and the purpose is allow to you let us know how you feel about the important questions of the day.  To start off, we've put up two questions of broad appeal:  1) You is the best coach in college basketball today? and 2) Which school has the best college basketball program today?  You can vote only once per question, but you can also track the results and we will leave the questions up for a while.  However, the questions will become more oriented towards player rankings and recruiting very quickly.  As a matter of fact, beginning tomorrow, for the next five days we will provide you with the names of the players we think are the top five seniors nationally at each position and you'll get to vote.  Then we'll take the top vote getter at each position and let you vote for national player of the year.  Should be interesting!

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us that the University of Memphis may be close to getting a commitment from Dimitri Khorokhorine from Jacksonville (JC) TX.  This 7'0 Russian, who was on campus over the weekend, fits the foreign European player stereotype, because he has a nice shooting touch and excellent skills, but also tends to be mechanical and not very physical.  Memphis and Georgia Tech are still the leaders for 6'5 Lou Wright from Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN, who is the younger brother of former Memphis star Lorenzen Wright.   Wright now plays professionally for the Atlanta Hawks, so obviously that's the Georgia Tech connection.  Remember, the younger Wright and his father moved to Los Angeles when Lorenzen played with Los Angeles Clippers, but moved back to Memphis when he got traded earlier this year to the Hawks.  If that weren't enough connections, Wright's cousin and current high school teammate at Memphis (Raleigh-Egypt) TN is 6'3 Scooter McFadgen, who recently made a verbal commitment to the University of Memphis.  While Rothman thinks it will be tough for anybody to beat Memphis and Georgia Tech for Wright, he doesn't look for anything to happen until spring.

Our New York Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that St. John's is back in the hunt for 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who is one of the top prep school players in the nation, although this one still appears to be far from done, as Fordham, Ohio State, Maryland,  Villanova, Connecticut, and California are all still on his list.  G.J. King, the Editor and Publisher of Illinois Prep Basketball and the Recruiter Online, thinks Ball State is making a strong push for 6'2 Aaron Carr from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL.  Indiana State has a commitment from 6'2 Marcus Howard from Elgin (H.S.) IL.  Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Bradley appear to be the final four on 6'5 Marcus Smallwood from Elgin (H.S.) IL.  We mentioned that it was possible week ago, but now it looks like it has happened - 7'0 Josh Moore from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT will enroll at Santa Monica (JC) CA, where he will work on his grades and then try to get into UCLA next year.

It is no surprise, but that fact that Southern California has gotten 6'4 Desmon Farmer from Flint (Northwestern) MI is big, because Farmer is a heck of an athlete and a prolific scorer.  As a matter of fact, he is one of the best slashers in the class, but he can also beat you outside, because he's an excellent 3-point shooter.  Fortunately for USC, Farmer missed most the summer due to an injury and, as a result, many of the big time programs apparently forgot about him.  However, that wasn't the case with the Trojans who recruit everybody, which how they were able to sneak in the backdoor and beat Marquette for a very underrated player.

Arguably the greatest player to ever play the game, except for Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain died today of an apparent heart-attack at the age of 63 in Bel-Air, CA. Chamberlain was the only player in the history of the game to average over 50 ppg during a single season.  He also scored 100 points in a professional game and was the second leading scorer and leading rebounder in the history of the game, plus one season he led the league in assists.  Chamberlain, who was an All-American at Kansas, led the Jayhawks  to a runnerup finish in 1957.  He also led the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966-67 and Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72 to NBA championships.

Eastern Kentucky has a commitment from another player from the state of Michigan in 6'8 Robert Brooks from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, who ranks #18 in the state by Steve Bell, Editor & Publisher of the The Bank and the Michigan editor of the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, Eastern Kentucky head coach Scott Perry was formerly and assistant coach at the University of Michigan and he has already been very successful using his ties to get players out of his old stamping grounds.  Last year he got the Detroit Public League small Division Player-of-the-Year in 6'6 Ricardo Thomas from Detroit (CMA) MI; two years ago he landed 5'10 Whitney Robinson from Harper Woods (Notre Dame) MI and 6'8 Sam Hoskin from Redford (Bishop Borgess) MI; and immediately after got the job three years ago, he signed 6'2 Darius Acuff from Detroit (Pershing) MI.

We have confirmed through two other sources who are close to the University of Kentucky program that 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has told the Wildcats coaching staff that he plans to sign with Kentucky this fall.  However, nothing has been publicly announced as of yet, because his parents want him to take the rest of his visits.  Remember, we originally reported this story on Saturday, but backed off it after we talked to Rice himself on Sunday night.  However, after following up even further, there is no longer any doubt in our mind that the Kentucky coaching staff thinks this commitment is solid.  But that doesn't mean that he still might not change his mind.  Remember, Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury doesn't lose many in his backyard and Rice still has to make a visit to the University of Arkansas.  Speaking of unsuccessfully trying to keep a verbal commitment quiet, don't be surprised if the same thing happens this weekend when 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN takes his official visit to Duke.  Jeffries isn't supposed to make an official decision until November 1st, but if he gets caught up in the hoopla of Midnight Madness in Durham, NC and tells a few people that he's coming, you can bet that the word will get out real fast.  Remember what happened when 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA committed to Duke several week ago.

Monday, October 11, 1999

Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat has important news about 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, who ranks #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Jira thinks it is a foregone conclusion that Brown will pick the University of Connecticut, which is where he will make an official visit this weekend.  The only other school left on Brown's list is Massachusetts, but as of now, no official visit has been scheduled.  Jira has learned that Brown will make his decision on October 21st, so put two and two together and it has to be Connecticut.  This also reinforces other things we're hearing, like his uncle, Dave Brown, as well as others who are close to Brown, are pushing Connecticut.  And remember what Brown told us three weeks ago - he will commit in the fall, but probably won't sign until the spring.  Obviously, this would be the smart move.  Remember, a lot of experts thought that Huskies star  point guard Khalid El-Amin would declare hardship for the NBA draft after last season, but he surprised everybody once by returning.  And it's always possible that he could do it again.  Speaking of Jira, he has made a number of changes to his web site, including the address, which can now be found at www.therecruitingbeat.com.

We heard that La Salle got an early commitment from 6'3 Rasheed Quadri from England via Boston (English) MA last spring, but at the time it didn't hold up.  However, now our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin is telling us that now it's a done deal.  Rubin also tells us that Quadri is not only a good player, but he may be able to provide an immediate impact at the 2-gaurd spot as a freshman next year, which is exactly what the Explorers need, because Donnie Carr is now a senior.  La Salle also recently got a commitment from 6'0 Sean Mulholland from Pennsauken (Bishop Eustace) NJ, so now their efforts are exclusively turned towards signing an inside player, like 6'6 Arthur Barclay from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Chevy Troutman from Williamsport (H.S.) PA, and 6'9 Robbie Thompson from Hallertown (Saucon) PA.  Rubin also tells us that 6'10 Kevin Garrity from Trenton (The Hun School) NJ has committed again to Purdue.  However, he's another guy who can't seem to make up his mind.  Remember, earlier this fall Garrity committed to Purdue, but almost immediately backed out.  Then, later he committed to Monmouth.  But again Garrity had second thoughts and backed out, so now we're wondering if this will hold up long enough to even put it on our list of recent signings.  Another player who committed earlier to Providence, but then backed out is 6'10 Marcus Douthit from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  However, now it looks like that commitment is pretty firm again, although nothing officially has been announced.  North Carolina, Boston College, and Connecticut are the top three for Neil Fingleton from Worcester (Holy Name) MA, who ranks #86 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, based primarily on the fact that he's 7'6.  However, if what you see is what you get, he's vastly overrated.  Moral to the story, he's a project!

They say lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, but our Ohio editor Chris Johnson tells us that the current regime at the University of Texas may have found the second coming of current University of Texas star center Chris Mim, who committed to the Longhorns, along with former teammate Luke Axtell, during the fall of his junior year in 1995.  At the time, nobody had a clue how good Mim was, but everybody found out the next summer when Mim surfaced as one of the premier centers in the class nationally.  And with his early verbal commitment to Texas several days ago, we hear the same thing could happen with 6'10 Jr Chris Wright from Redwater (H.S.) TX, which located in deep Northeast Texas near the Arkansas and Louisiana border.  There are several other reasons why nobody knows about Wright.  First he has grown from 6'6 to 6'10 in the last year and a half and that trend will likely continue - his paternal great grandfather was 7'1.  Second, Wright attended Texarkanna (Liberty-Eylau) TX as a freshman, but then transferred and, as a result, was ineligible to play on the varsity at Redwater High School last year.  Third, during the summer he played a little AAU ball locally, but the main  place where schools, like Baylor, Texas, Iowa State, Texas A&M, and Tulsa, found about him was at the Baylor basketball camp.

Sunday, October 10, 1999

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported today that the University of Louisville was seriously involved with five players - 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, 6'6 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Houston (Boys & Girls) TX, 6'10 Jagdar Karimov from Winchendon (School) MA, and 6'3 Demetrius Smith from Hogansville (Callaway) GA.  But the newspaper failed to mention several other players who we know that the Cardinals are involved with, like 6'10 Modibo Diarra from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'8 Kyle Cuffe from New York (Rice) NY, 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, and 6'3 John Hamilton from Greenfield (Central) IN.   Of the nine players just mentioned, Louisville's best shot appears to be with Brown, who ranks #18 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and who is the top center prospect still available in the senior class, and Whitehead, who ranks #32 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Right now it's a three horse race for Brown among DePaul, Louisville, and Michigan.  However, we wouldn't be surprised if DePaul gets him this week.  Whitehead's top two are New Mexico and Louisville, but Southern California is making a strong push.  But don't be surprised if Whitehead waits until spring and, if that happens, all bets are off.  McFarlan grew up living in Louisville, but right now Oklahoma State is the heavy favorite over Louisville, Texas Tech, Arkansas, and Memphis.  We don't have a list for Karimov, but he apparently is pretty good, because he played on the Russian Junior National Team.  We also suspect that Karimov was one of the Russians that Rhode Island assistant coach Mike Wilson was recruiting last winter when he was at Baylor.  If that's the case, Rhode Island will be tough to beat.  Smith is the nephew of former Louisville All-American Derek Smith, but the favorites are Georgia and Texas.  Diarra is being recruited by Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Clemson, Providence, Massachusetts, Louisville, Kansas, and Oklahoma.  Cuffe will likely pick either St. John's or Virginia, but Villanova also must be mentioned as a strong third.  Louisville is also a longshot with Bryant, whose official list still includes UCLA, California, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Utah, Louisville, Cincinnati, Oregon State, and South Florida.  Hamilton, whose forte is outside shooting, will wait until spring to decide, but he'll go to Purdue if they want him.  Louisville also is recruiting a host of junior college players and we suspect that's the route they'll end up going, because right now they aren't the leader on anybody, except maybe Whitehead.  And the Cardinals will need all the help they can get, because everybody with any experience up front graduates after this season.

Miami-FL is out with 6'4 David Hawkins from Washington (Archbishop Carroll) DC, who ranks #67 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, which means he's Temple's to lose.  And that's possible, because the Owls only appear to be lukewarm.  As a result, the door has been opened for Tulane head coach Perry Clark to make a strong charge.  New Mexico and George Washington also should be mentioned, but he Lobos appear to be more interested in 6'5 Luke Whitehead from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA or going the junior college and the Colonials are hanging in there mainly, because they're the local school.  We'd heard and are now confirming via SoCalHoops that 6'6 Nick Booker from La Jolla (The Bishop's School) CA, who ranks #11 among seniors in Southern California by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Davidson, which is where he made an official visit last weekend.  This makes even more sense when one knows that Booker's former AAU teammate on the San Diego Future Stars, Wayne Bernard, signed with Davidson a year ago.

Tonight we talked with 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and he does not confirm the rumor that he has verbally committed to the University of Kentucky.  But he did confirm that he had a great visit to Lexington, KY a week ago and that he will likely make a decision among Kentucky, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Miami-FL after his official visit to Arkansas week after next.  However, that doesn't mean that he hasn't privately verbally committed and/or made a decision. Remember, the situation involving 6'8 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, who decided on Michigan State, but denied it publicly for several weeks, because he didn't want to be rushed into making the announcement.  We honestly don't know whether this is or isn't the case.  We can only report what Rice told us and we've done that.  We also talked with Rob Ridnour, who is the father of 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA, and he tells us that his son just got back from his visit to the University of Oregon and that he had a great visit.  He also tells us that at one time Utah was the favorite, but his son's visits to Kentucky and Washington also went exceptionally well and, as a result, it's too close to call.  However, it shouldn't take too long, because Luke will visit Gonzaga on October 14th-15th, Utah on October 17th and 18th, and then make a decision later that week.

Saturday, October 9, 1999

Right now this is totally unconfirmed, but our source on this is usually right now the money.  So even if it is true that 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, who ranks #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and is a 4.0 student in the classroom, has verbally committed to the University of Kentucky, we don't expect an official announcement for some time.  However, this would make perfect sense, because we understand that Rice had a terrific visit to Lexington, KY a week ago.  Kentucky also may be close to getting a commitment from 6'9 Rolando Howell from Hopkins (Lower Richland) SC and they appear to be in good shape with 6'2 Luke Ridnour from Blaine (H.S.) WA, who also made an official visit to the University of Kentucky a week ago.  As a matter of fact, if Kentucky were going to get three players this fall, those are the three I'd bet one.  However, that doesn't mean the Wildcats are aren't still involved with more than their share of excellent players, like 6'2 Adam Boone from Minnentoka (H.S.) MN, 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'8 Trevon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL, and 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin tells us that the final three for 6'4 Jay Joseph from Lansdale (North Penn) PA are Virginia Tech, UNC-Greensboro, and Pittsburgh.  Maryland, Notre Dame, Pennsylvania, and James Madison are showing the most interest in 6'4 Torrian Jones from Fairless Hills (Pennsbury) PA, but Boston College, Providence, and Stanford are also sniffing around.  Now that Hofstra has landed 6'0 Joel Suarez from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, the only two schools left on the list of 5'7 Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA are UNC-Greensboro and St. Bonaventure.  Obviously, Green's lack of size has scared off a lot of college recruiters, but Green, who currently ranks #4 in the Philadelphia /Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area by Rubin, has jet-like speed and quickness and enough talent to rank among our top 100 talent nationally.  And Green  may move up to #3 in the area behind 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA and 6'8 Jamar Smith from Pine Hill (Overbrook Regional) NJ , because 6'9 Taurence Johnson , who currently ranks #2 in the area is now looking for a school.  Apparently is has off the court problems and, as a result, has been expelled from Williamsport (H.S.) PA.  Rubin tells us he hears that Johnson could end up at Grove City (George Jr. Republic) PA.  However, as of now, nothing is definite.

Friday, October 8, 1999

We have confirmed that 6'2 Brian Morrison from Kirkland (Lake Washington) WA, who ranks #26 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, did indeed pick the University of North Carolina last night, as expected.  However, that might not have been the case if Syracuse, which was actually the favorite until last weekend, hadn't taken 6'0 James Thues from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI.  And this may turn out to be a mistake, because Thues would have been a lot easier to beat out for minutes than 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY will be, if he picks the Tar Heels, which could happen in November.  Remember, Cook ranks #12 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, while Thues is only ranked #8 in the state of Michigan by Steve Bell, the Editor & Publisher of The Bank.  Speaking of Bell, he is reporting that 6'6 Rawle Marshall from Detroit (MacKenzie) MI has committed to Ball State.  Bell ranks Marshall #22 in Michigan, but tells us that this is a really good get get for the Cardinals, because he was one of the state's most improved during the summer.  Bell also tells us that 6'6 Eugene Seals from Saginaw (H.S.) MI is getting underrecruited, as Miami-OH now appear to be the leaders over Eastern Michigan and Toledo.

Our Philadelphia Area Editor Allen Rubin is now confirming that 6'0 Joel Suarez from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY has indeed made a  verbal commitment to Hofstra, which means that the Flying Dutchmen will stop recruiting 6'2 Michael Boynton from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY and 5'7 Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA.  The top three for 6'8 T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL are DePaul, UCLA, and Duke, but we think his list could change dramatically again if Duke gets 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN on Novemeber 1st and DePaul gets 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL.  Remember, Ohio State was the favorite for a long time, but right now it appears questionable whether he'll make an official visit to Columbus, OH.  We have now confirmed that 6'11 John Grove from Grove City (George Jr. Republic) PA has been cleared by the NCAA Clearing House and, as a result, will be eligible to play this season for the Bearcats, along with 6'9