HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2002

Hot Recruiting Information available for previous 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 November 1999 December 1999 January 2

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Thursday, October 31, 2002

We talked with Donnie Wilkie, who is the tournament director for the Bank of America City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, today and, as usual, he is our best source on all the major holiday tournaments and events in Florida that are just around the corner.  Let's start with the field for the City of Palms Classic, which will be held December 19th-23rd, and includes three of the top four teams in the nation, according to Street & Smith's Pre-Season Yearbook.  We're talking about Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and New York (Rice) NY, plus the field also will include Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY, which is basically the same team that won the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas last summer; Philadelphia (John Bartram) PA, which is ranked #24 nationally by Street & Smith; Washington (Dunbar) DC, which has a terrific guard trio in 6'0 Soph Eric Price, 6'0 Tre Kelly, and 6'2 Earl Risby; Barrington (St. Andrews) RI, which features 6'7 Demetrius Nichols, 6'3 Abdi Lidonde, 5'11 Jr Emery Outland, 6'6 Jr Lamar Barrett, and 6'3 Jr Nick Mattone and is good enough to deserve top 25 national consideration; Lakeland (Kathleen) FL,which features 6'8 Chris Richard, who is the highest ranked senior in Florida by the HOOP SCOOP; Monroe (Ouachita Parish) LA with 6'2 Jay Jackson; Miami (Northwestern) FL; Pensacola (Woodham) FL; Jacksonville (Jackson) FL; Fairburn (Creekside) GA; Corbin (H.S.) KY; Pahokee (H.S.) FL; Lehigh  Acres (Lehigh) FL; and Ft. Myers (H.S.) FL.  In other words, the only thing missing from the City of Palms Classic are Miami (Christian) FL and Seattle (Rainier Beach) FL, both of which were originally scheduled to be in the field, but later reneged so they could other events.  And going on at the same time, December 19th-23rd, as the City of Palms Classic are the Great Florida Shootout in Kissimmee, FL and the Kreul Classic in Coral Springs, FL.  The field for the Great Florida Shootout also includes two of the top high school teams in the nation in Newark (St. Benedict's) FL and Lexington (Catholic) KY, as well as Montgomery (Carver) AL, Laurinburg (Charter) NC, Lafayette (St. Thomas More) LA, St. Petersburg (Boca Ciega) FL, DeLand (H.S.) FL, Orlando (Dr. Phillips) FL, Plant City (Durant) FL, Haines City (H.S.) FL, St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL, Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, Oviedo (H.S.) FL, Orlando (Pine Castle Christian) FL, and Kissimmee (Osceola) FL.  The field for the Kreul Classic includes Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, Wheaton (Good Counsel) MD, Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, Bronx (All Hallows) NY, Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC, Pharr (Grace Prep) TX, Oyster Bay (St. Dominic) NY, Pompany Beach (Ely) FL, Lauderdale Lakes (Boyd Anderson) FL, Palm Beach Gardens (Dwyer) FL, Miami (Pace) FL, Ft. Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) FL, Coral Springs (H.S.) FL, Kingston (H.S.) NY, Gadsden (Leitchfield) AL, and Madison (Madison-Ridgeland Academy) MS.  After Christmas the two most important places to be in the state of Florida are the Hooters Holiday Shootout in St. Petersburg, FL and the Kingdom of the Sun Holiday Classic in Ocala, FL, both of which will be held December 26th-30th.  The field for the Hooters Holiday Shootout will include Bennettsville (Marlboro County) FL, Louisville (Male) KY, Manchester (Trinity) NH, Columbia (Keenan) SC, Pittsburgh (Central Catholic) PA, Miami (Senior) FL, St. Petersburg (Lakewood) FL, Orlando (Edgewater) FL, Eustis (H.S.) FL, Brandon (H.S.) FL, St. Petersburg (Boca Ciega) FL, Clearwater (Countryside) FL, Hawthorne (H.S.) FL, Pahokee (H.S.) FL, St. Petersburg (H.S.) FL, Palm Harbor (H.S.) FL.   However, the highlight at the Hooters Holiday Shootout should be watching all the good young talent, like 6'0 Jr Darius Washington from Orlando (Edgewater) FL, 6'9 Jr Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC, 6'9 Jr Luke Bonner from Manchester (Trinity) FL, and 6'5 Jr Cornelius Ingram from Hawthorne (H.S.) FL.  The Kingdom of the Sun, whose field includes Bartlett (H.S.) FL, Coppell (H.S.) TX, Cincinnati (La Salle) OH, Atlanta (Southwest Christian) GA, Marion (Tabor Academy) MA, Fresno (Washington Union) CA, Gainesville (Buchholz) FL, Palm Beach Gardens (Dyer) FL, Leesburg (H.S.) FL, Delray Beach (American Heritage) FL, Hialeah (Champagnat) FL, St. Augustine (Nease) FL, Citra (North Marion) FL, and Ocala (Vanguard) FL, also features one of the top juniors in the nation in 6'10 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Christian) GA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  One of the biggest single-day events of the entire year promises to be the Bright Futures Shootout, which will be held Saturday, January 25th, at the Central Florida Arena in Orlando, FL and will include Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL with 5'11 T.J. Bannister, 6'4 Dwan Youmans, and 7'2 Frosh Jason Bennett versus Melbourne (Florida Air Academy) FL with 6'6 Jason Duke and 6'3 Andre Holland; Lakeland (Kathleen) FL with 6'8 Chris Richard versus Eustis (H.S.) FL with 6'9 Wesley Green and 6'4 Jimmy Hudson; and Orlando (Edgewater) FL with 6'0 Jr Darius Washington versus Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY with 5'10 Jr Sebastian Telfair.  Obviously the Washington-Telfair match-up is what has everybody excited, because we're talking about the two best junior guards in the nation going head-to-head.  Wilkie also tells us that he has put together the South Florida Slam Fest, which will be held January 18th and 20th at Northwestern High School in Miami, FL.  And, as of today, the field will feature Washington (Dunbar) DC, as well as all the top teams, except Miami (Christian) FL, in the Miami, FL area, including Miami (Northwestern) FL, Hialeah (Miami Lakes) FL, Miami (South Miami) FL, Homestead (H.S.) FL, Homestead (South Dade) FL, Boynton Beach (H.S.) FL, Miami (Senior) FL, Hialeah (American) FL, Miami (Jackson) FL, Clearwater (Countryside) FL, and Punta Gorda (Charlotte) FL. 

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

Dave Telep of BlueChipHoops.com had the scoop before anybody else last night on 6'5 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   And Famutimi's decision comes somewhat as a surprise.  If you will recall, the popular consensus for the last several days was the Famutimi was going to pick Missouri.  However, in the end first-year Arkansas head coach Stan Heath's strong Michigan contacts helped him get this one done.  If you will recall, prior to getting the Kent State job a year ago, Heath an assistant coach at Michigan State.   We also have to give the entire Arkansas coaching staff a lot of credit, because, when they got the job last spring, they were behind the eight ball.  But now they are on the verge of landing an impressive recruiting class, which already includes 6'10 Vincent Hunter from Little Rock (Fair) AR and 7'0 Julius Lamptey from New Hampton (Prep) NH.  The addition of Famutimi, who is an amazing athlete, tremendous slasher, and excellent outside shooter, moves the Razorbacks recruiting class into a tie at #17, ironically along with Missouri, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if Arkansas also gets 6'5 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, who is ranked #47 nationally in the senior class, their recruiting class would move up to #6 behind Maryland, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Kansas, and Florida State and ahead of Louisville, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, Arizona, Michigan State, Memphis, LSU, and Miami-FL.   Arkansas also already has made up for lost time in terms of getting a head start on the future, as they also appear to be among the early favorites for a number of the top juniors in the nation, including 6'10 Jr LeMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seagoville) TX, 6'3 Jr Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, and 6'11 Steve Hill from Branson (H.S.) MO.  In other words, if you want to beat the Razorbacks, you'd better do it this year, because with talent like this on the horizon, Heath may not be too far away from dublicating that impressive 30-6 season he had a year ago at Kent State.  We also have confirmed that 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, as expected, did verbally commit to Wisconsin this afternoon.  Not only is Butch the highest ranked player in the senior class to have made a verbal commitment, but he is the franchise type player who will keep the Badgers at the top level for years to come.  We say that, because Butch has no business thinking about going hardship to the NBA until he gets bigger and stronger, which is good news for both the Badgers and college basketball fans in general.  Not only is Butch unstoppable at the high school level when he gets the ball around the basket, because he's so skilled, so mobile , and has such good hands, but he also has 3-point shooting range, excellent shot blocking and rebounding ability, and a competitive nature that is hard to find among the elite players in the day and age.  The fact that Butch is a great kid and an excellent student is just the icing the cake!   

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'9 Wesley Green from Eustis (H.S.) FL, who is ranked #201 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally commmitted to DePaul, and 6'9 Rashun Bryant from Rome (Coosa) GA, who is ranked #272 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Colorado.  While both players are physical specimens and have a lot of natural talent, we didn't care for Bryant when we saw him during the spring and summer.  As a matter of fact, Bryant was embarrassingly non-productive every time we saw him while playing for the Georgia Stars.  However, if the light ever clicks on or Buffaloes head coach Ricardo Patton is able to push the right bottons, then Bryant's current #272-ranking by the HOOP SCOOP may turn out to be way too low down the road.  Bryant joins 6'6 Kevin Smith from Putnam City (H.S.) OK and 6'1 Marcus Hall from Houston (Jersey Village) TX to move Colorado's recruiting class into a tie at #68 our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And this comes on the heels of last year's recruiting class, which included 6'9 Chris Copeland from Richmond (Hermitage) VA, 6'7 Glenn Eddy from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'8 Lamar Harris from Compton (JC) CA, 6'0 Antoine McGee from Mercersburg (Prep) PA, and 6'4 Jayson Obazuaya from San Jose (Andrew Hill) CA.  So obviously the Buffaloes have used these eight scholarships to reload with a strong nucleus.  Now all they have to do is find somebody to not only replace 7'0 Soph David Harrison, but also build the program around, if he goes hardship early to the NBA or graduates three years from now.   In Green's case, we think time is one his side, because he does have excellent skills, good hands, and a soft touch around the basket.  In other words, Green has a huge upside and is an excellent 5th player in DePaul's recruiting class, which also includes 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY, 6'2 Tyler Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'8 Lorenzo Thompson, from Chicago (Crane) IL, and 6'7 Marcus Heard from Springfield (Southest) IL and is ranked #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Green also gives the Blue Demons a player at every position in this recruiting class, as first-year head coach Dave Leitao and his staff have built a strong foundation.  They also can now turn their focus on getting their share of the top juniors in Illinois, like 6'8 Jr Shawn Pruitt from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'4 Jr Justin Cerasoli from Aurora (West Aurora) IL, 6'5 Jr Frank Clair from Chicago (Leo) IL.  Speaking of the top juniors in the state of Illinois, Roy Schmidt, Editor & Publisher of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report believes that Pruitt is the best junior in the state.  And that will create more than a little controversy, because all the national people, including us, believe that 6'6 Jr Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL is one of the top 10 players in the junior class nationally.  As a matter, the legendary Tom Konchalski of the H.S.B.I. Report, thinks Livingston is the best junior in America.   However, Schmidt, who plans to defend this position on our radio this Sunday, is sticking by guns.  Pruitt recently was the MVP at the High School Elite/ PEP Classic and the Top 50 Junior Showcase, both of which North Park University in Chicago, IL and, yes, Livingston was in attendance at both events.  Pruitt also was the leading scorer and second leading rebounder at the Top 50 Junior Showcase, but Pruitt's offensive versatility, ability to go to war in the paint, and ability to knock down the 3-pointer are what gets Schmidt excited.  "He reminds me of a young Sam Perkins," says Schmidt.  "He's a legitimate top 10 junior nationally, but few people outside of Illinois know that yet.  Pruitt didn't get much national explosive last summer, because he played for the Illinois Warriors 16-Under Team.   But you can bet that will change once he moves up to Larry Butler's 17-Under Team next spring and summer.  And as talented as Livington is, he takes too many plays off."  Obviously with Pruitt and Livingston at the top of the class, the junior class in Illinois is loaded at the top.  However, Schmidt also likes the depth of the class, because Cerasoli, 6'4 Jr DeAaron Williams from Bartonville (Limestone) IL, 6'3 Jr JaMarcus Ellis from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL,  6'6 Jr Ollie Bailey from Chicago (Farragut) IL, and 6'7 Jr Eric Vierniesel from Algonquin (Jacobs) IL, 6'2 Jr Xavier Price from O'Fallon (H.S) IL are all legitimate top 100 juniors nationally.  To see exactly where he has all these guys rank, plus how Schmidt, who is the foremost authority on high school basketball in the state, ranks the top players in each class, make sure you get Schmidt's latest Illinois Bulls-eye Report.  Subscription information can be obtained by calling 1-630-910-1829, writing P.O. Box 488, Downers Grove, IL, 60515, or emailing roy1harv@aol.com.  Schmidt also tells us that Illinois assistant Billy Gillispie is one of the top candidates for the UTEP job, along with Pittsburgh assistant coach Jamie Dixon and former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson.   And, if Gillispie, who recruits the state of Texas about as well as anybody, gets the UTEP job, the leading candidate to replace him appears to be former Bradley head coach and DePaul assistant coach Jim Molinari.  Schmidt also is about the 10th person to tell us that 6'11 Ousmane Barro from Chicago (Julian) IL is now at Seward County (JC) KS, where he hopes to get his GED and become eligible in December.  If you will recall, Barro is currently ranked #93 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was ranked #21 at the NIKE All-American Camp last summer by the HOOP SCOOP.  So obviously this is one to keep track of in the future.

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tells us that 6'0 Mikel Watson from Oceanside (El Camino) CA has verbally committed to Wyoming and, this is important, not just because Watson is one of the best point guards on the West Coast, but also because it marks a trend, whereby, the San Diego area is becoming a fertile recruiting ground for the Cowboys.  If you will recall, earlier this fall, Wymoing also got 6'10 Jarrod Boswell from Lakeside (El Capitan) CA.   Watson, who was a top 25 All-Star at the 5th Annual Full-Court Press All-West Camp, is very athletic, extremely quick with the ball, and excellent in transition.  In other words, Watson appears to be ideally suited to step in next year and grow in the point guard spot, which will be shared this year by 5'10 Sr Chris McMillian and 5'11 Soph Jason Straight.  And, if the Cowboys also get 6'5 Jeff Varem from Vincennes (JC) IN, who is ranked as the #1 wing forward by Lindy's Basketball Magazine and #4 wing forward by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, then their recruiting class would move into a tie at #27, along with UNLV, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, beating Cincinnati and Indiana, who are the other finalists for Varem's services, might not be as easy as it looks.  Trigonis also tells us that 6'7 Todd Martin from Upland (H.S.) CA has verbally committed to Albany, 6'1 Jimmy Goffredo from LaCrescenta (Crescenta Valley) CA has picked Harvard, and 6'7 Ruben Boykin from Los Angeles (University) CA has made it official for Northern Arizona.  Trigonis also thinks the final three for 6'6 Scott Cutley from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA are Portland State, Kent State, and Loyola Marymount.  Trigonis also provides us with the rosters from the 'Cream of the Crop" Top 24 All-Star Game from his 2002 Fullcourt Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp, which was held over the weekend at Downey High School in Downey, CA.  The Grey Squad included 5'6 Frosh A.J. Laguana from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 5'10 Frosh Joseph Johnson from Gardena (Serra) CA, 6'1 Frosh Tim McLauren from Lynwood (H.S.) CA, 6'0 Frosh Todd Lowenthal from San Diego (Torrey Pines) CA, 6'4 Soph Ed White from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'3 Soph Davon Lloyd from Los Angeles (Manuel Arts) CA, 6'5 Frosh Kenny Collins from Moreno Valley (Rancho Verde) CA, 6'4 Frosh Josh Guillory from Long Beach (Poly) CA, 6'6 Soph Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'6 Soph Terry Topercer from San Diego (St. Augustine) CA, and 6'5 Soph Edward Dickerson from Bellflower (H.S) CA.  The Black Squad included 5'7 Soph Michael Gordon from Compton (Centennial) CA, 5'10 Soph Clinton Parks from Riverside (King) CA, 5'10 Soph Bryant Williams from Moreno Valley (Rancho Verde) CA, 6'0 Soph Maurion Henderson from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'2 Frosh Tyree Thompson from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Soph Anthony Goods from Corona (Centennial) CA, 6'2 Frosh Matt Hornbuckle from Westlake Village (Oaks Christian) CA, 6'3 Soph Joe Ford from North Hollywood (Campbell Hall) CA, 6'4 Soph Marcus Carter from Claremont (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Soph Jonathan Aiwazian from Moorpark (H.S.) CA, 6'5 Frosh Jervaughn Johnson from Compton (Centennial) CA, and 6'9 Soph Jordan Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA. 

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

As it stands now, 22 of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 seniors are still available, but within the next 24 hours that number is expected to drop 20, which means 80% of the top 100 players will already be off the board a full two weeks prior to the start of the fall signing period on Wednesday, November 13th.  The press conference for 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com tells us that he plans to broadcast it live on his web site.  Swaim also tells us that he thinks Butch will pick Kansas.  However, Brick Oettinger of the Recruiters Handbook and PrepStars.com, thinks it's going to Wisconsin.  And this comes as no surprise to us.  If you will recall, we told you last spring that Wisconsin was near lock and, as a result, we felt like the Badgers were the team you had to beat all along, despite the fact North Carolina, Kansas, and Arizona, which was a major factor until recently, have made the race extremely interesting.  And assuming that Oettinger is correct, this would move the Badgers recruiting class up to #30 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, earlier this fall, Wisconsin also got a verbal commitment from 6'2 Kammron Taylor from Minneapolis (South) MN, plus they already have early verbal commitments from 6'11 Greg Steimsma from Randolph (H.S.) WI and 6'2 Mitchell Flowers from Madison (LaFollette) WI.  In other words, Bo Ryan and his staff, who are currently in their second year at Wisconsin, have already totally reloaded the program with outstanding young talent.  Remember, 6'8 Mike Wilkinson and 6'3 Devin Harris both started and averaged in double-digits as freshmen a year ago, plus 6'9 Andreas Helmigk redshirted last year and 6'3 Maurice Wade from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'7 Ray Nixon from Milwaukee (Dominican) WI, 6'4 Alando Tucker from Lockport (Township) IL, 6'9 Jason Chappell from Worcester (Academy) MA, and 6'1 Marcetteus McGee from Chicago (Farragut) IL are all good enough to step in and contribute immediately this year as freshmen.  Which means, if the Badgers get Butch tomorrow, they will only have one more available scholarship in the current and next recruiting class.  And they've done it almost exclusively with home grown kids, as there are nine players currently in the program from Wisconsin and all the recruits, except for Taylor, are in-state kids.  We also look for the trend to continue in the future, because there is a lot of great young talent in the state, including 6'2 Frosh Jerry Smith from Wauwatosa (East) WI, who is ranked #8 nationally in the freshman class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, if that weren't enough, Ryan is one of the coaches we mentioned yesterday who is on the fast track in terms of Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches.   We also expect 6'5 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to pick either Arkansas or Missouri any time now.  Arkansas head coach Stan Heath and Chris Grier, who is the head coach of the Michigan Hurricanes AAU program, have been close friends dating back to Heath's days when he was an assistant coach at Michigan State.  However, Missouri assistant coach Tony Harvey is one of the best recruiters in the nation and the area where he's strongest is in the state of Michigan.  So the smart money is on the Tigers and, assuming that we're right, a commitment by Famutimi would move Missouri's recruiting class, which currently is ranked #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, and includes 6'5 Thomas Gardner from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'9 Ousmane Konate from The Senegal, and 6'1 Spencer Laurie from Springfield (Kickapoo) MO, into a tie at #2, along with Oklahoma, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  A commitment by Famutimi would also give Missouri head coach Quin Snyder one of the most lethal wing trios in college basketball for years to come.  If you will recall, the Tigers also landed 6'4 Jimmy McKinney from St. Louis (Vashon) MO a year ago and Gardner and Famutimi are two the most athletic and most talented wing players in the Class of 2003.  And, if Missouri also can steal 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #30 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, then the Tigers recruiting class would move into the #1 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And you have to like Missouri's chances on this one as well, especially when you take into account that Tigers assistant coach Lane Odom has the strong Lithuanian connects necessary to get this one done.

We also are waiting to see what will happen with 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Academy) NJ, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, he made an official visit to Duke over theweekend, but Brick Oettinger of the Recruiters Handbook and PrepStars.com tells us that an official decision by Deng is not expected until Thursday, November 5th.   However, at that time Oettinger thinks the Blue Devils will prevail over Indiana, Missouri, and Virginia and, assuming that he's right, Duke's two-man recruiting class, which currently is ranked #48 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and includes 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, would move up to #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Not only would that give the Blue Devils the highest ranked recruiting class with only two players in the class, (remember, Humphries is ranked #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP), but it would come on the heels Duke's #1-ranked recruiting class from a year ago.  If you will recall, a year ago the Blue Devils landed 6'10 Sheldon Williams from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, 6'4 J.J. Redick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'10 Shavlik Randolph from Raleigh (Broughton) NC, 6'2 Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, 6'10 Michael Thompson from New Lenox (Providence) IL, and 6'7 Lee Melchionni from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA.  And when you also add 6'2 DeMarcus Nelson from Vallejo (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #7 nationally in the junior class and is the highest ranked junior nationally to have already verbally committed, it is obvious that there is no end in sight for Duke, which is widely regarded as the quintessential in college basketball today.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio now is telling us that he's 99% sure that 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is the #1-ranked 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP, will pick either Seton Hall or Villanova over Indiana and Illinois. "I just don't see Villanueva going that far from home." says Naclerio.  "His people are going to want to see him play every game and they can't do that if he picks Indiana or Illinois."  We also understand that 6'0 Will Blaylock from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who is ranked #25 on our list of 5th year players has picked Iowa State over Pittsburgh, Miami-FL, DePaul, George Washington, and Hofstra.  And this is big for Cyclones head coach Larry Eustachy, because Blaylock is a tough hardnosed competitor with tremendous natural talent and athleticism, as well as some Allen Iverson-like tendencies.  In other words, Blaylock is not a pure point guard who sets the table, but he does have great lift, as he plays bigger than he is, and is almost unstoppable when he goes to the hole.  He also is the best guard that Leo Papile has had during his 20-plus years coaching the BABC club team program.  At least that's what Papile has been telling this fall.  And that's saying a lot when one remembers that Papile has had a lot of great guards (i.e. Scoonie Penn) over the years.  Blaylock's commitment moves Iowa State's recruiting class up into a tie at #34, along with UAB, Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut, and Texas Christian, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, earlier this fall the Cyclones also landed 6'4 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA and his credentials are also pretty impressive.   Remember, Stinson took home tournament MVP honors as he led the New York Ravens to the championship at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that the College of Charleston has landed 5'11 Dontaye Draper from Pawling (Trinity Pawling) NY and this is big for first-year Cougars head coach Tommy Herrion, because we're talking about a tough hardnosed inner city  kid originally from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD.  As a matter of fact, Draper was the point guard on the Cecil Kirk team this summer and he made a living getting 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD the ball inside.  Draper also is such a great defender that he's been called "a poor man's John Linehan."   If you will recall, Linehan, who graduated from Providence College last spring, was the Defensive Player-of-the-Year in college basketball two years ago and is one of the all-time leaders in steals in NCAA history.  Draper joins 6'2 David Truesdale from Dodge City (JC) KS and 6'9 Jeff Horowitz from Charlotte (North Mecklenburg) NC to give College of Charleston the #52-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And this comes on the heels of the two players that Herrion landed last spring in 6'7 Isaiah "Zeke" Johnson from West Palm Beach (JC) FL, and 6'4 Marcus Johnson from Tallahassee (JC) FL, plus he got 6'4 Robert Swaim, who transferred from Connecticut to the College of the Charleston, in May.  In other words, Herrion has a tough act to follow in John Kresse, who retired with 560-143 record, but he should have the horses necessary to continue on with the winning tradition, as well as guarantee himself a spot on our list of the bright young head coaches in the game today.  One that recently slipped past us was 6'0 Tre Kelly from Washington (Dunbar) DC to South Carolina.  This too is important, because Kelly, who is ranked #135 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, should provide the perfect complement to all the inside and wing players that the Gamecocks already have in the fold or are on the verge of landing.  If you will recall, South Carolina already has added 6'9 Brandon Wallace from Aiken (Silver Bluff) SC and 6'8 Renaldo Balkman from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL and, as a result, the Gamecocks' recruiting class is currently ranked #30 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Plus, they also have 6'9 Jason Parker, who transferred early this fall from Kentucky to South Carolina, and they are the early favorite for 6'9 Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettville (Marlboro County) SC, who is the #3-ranked junior behind 6'6 Jr Roy Bright from Durham (Northern Durham) NC and 6'2 Jr JamesOn Curry from Mebane (East Alamance) NC on Brian Clifton's North Carolina/South Carolina Report, which was published 12 days ago in the Members Section.   South Carolina also is rumored to have a verbal commitment from 6'3 Randy Pulley from Barton County (JC) SC, but, as things stand now, that is unconfirmed.   However, it Pulley does materalize in South Carolina's recruiting class once the fall signing period begins in two weeks, their recruiting class would move up into a tie at #21, along with Iowa, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.

Saturday, October 26, 2002, Sunday, October 27, 2002, & Monday, October 28, 2002

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio has confirmed that 7'3 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY has verbally committed to Rutgers and our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis has finally gotten around to telling us that 6'8 Trevor Ariza has made it official for UCLA.  Apparently Ariza, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made it official for the Bruins on Friday.  Not only does this give UCLA the outstanding wing forward they thought they had gotten a year ago in 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA (Burns was not admitted academically into school this fall), but it also means that UCLA's one-man recruiting class is tied at #60, along with Kansas State, Charlotte, and Ohio State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  The Alleyne commitment to Rutgers is also big, despite the fact he's ranked no higher than #131 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is believed to be a project many.  Alleyne doesn't have quick reflexes, he needs to continue to develop mobility and coordination, and get bigger and stronger physically.  In other words, he reminds us a lot of 7'6 Neil Fingleton at the same stage.   However, you can't teach somebody to be 7-feet, plus Alleyne has good skills, an incredible wing span, and shows flashes of brilliance.  Not only does Alleyne give Rutgers an important in into New York City, but he jjoins 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT and 6'4 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ to give the Scarlet Knights the #30 ranked recruiting class, along with Oregon and Georgetown, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if they also get 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, their recruiting class would move into a tie at #19, along with Florida.  Naclerio also tells us that St. John's has gotten verbal commitment from 6'8 Jonathan Williams from St. Cloud (Apollo) MN, who is ranked #7 in the state, behind 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, 6'9 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, 6'2 Lawrence McKenzie from Minneapolis (North) MN, 6'1 Kammron Taylor form Minneapolis (North) MN, 6'8 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, and 6'8 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, by Richard Flaata in the Minnesota Roundball Prep Newsletter.  Williams becomes the second player from Minnesota to pick St. John's in the last three months.  If you will recall, the Red Storm also landed 6'2 Bruce Price from Minneapolis, MN in August.  However, Price has already enrolled in school and, as a result, counts with last year's recruiting class.  Williams joins 6'7 Anthony Ighadaro from Moberly (JC) MO and 6'9 Lamont Hamilton from Milford (Academy) CT to move the St. John's recruiting class into a tie at #38, along with Georgia, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, the question remains?  Why is the Red Storm going the junior college route and signing players that are not household names from the state of Minnesota when there is so much talent right right in their backyard?  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Drexel has landed 6'8 Chaz Crawford from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and we also have confirmed that Texas has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'5 Anthony Tucker from Raleigh (Enloe) NC.   Tucker is ranked no higher than #139 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, due to his tweener size.  However, he does all the dirty work inside on the boards and, as a result, we think he's the ideal the role player for the high major level.  Crawford needs to improve his offensive skills, but his shot blocking, rebounding, and ability to get it done at the defensive end should enable him to make an immediate impact a year from now for Drexel head coach James "Brusier" Flint.   And the fact that Crawford is originially a Philadelphia kid is just the icing on the cake.  If you will recall, Crawford was ranked #26 in Rubin final rankings from the Philadelphia Area in the Class of 2002.  However, Crawford has grown an inch and gotten a lot better this fall, plus he will have an added year of maturity when he enrolls at Drexel 10 months from now.  Crawford joins 5'11 Bashir Mason from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who is ranked #232 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'7 Matt Stevenson from Towson (Catholic) MD, who is ranked #269 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to give Drexel a recruiting class that is tied for #55, along with Butler, SMU, Oregon State, and Hampton, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003. 

The last several days have been amazing slow, especially when one remembers that the beginning of the fall signing period, which is Wednesday, November 13th, is only two-and-a-half weeks away.  However, that's good for us, because it's given us a chance to update our list that tracks the Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches.   Once again the winningest active Division I head coach is Jim Phelan, who won a grand total of only three last season to give him a 819-508 career record over 48 years.  While Phelan was obviously a good coach in his day, which is evident by the fact that he has averaged 17.06 wins per year, it's too bad he doesn't have the good sense to retire and go out on top.   And if Phelan doesn't make this his last season, Bob Knight (787 wins), who also is well within striking distance of surpassing Dean Smith as the game's all-time winningest coach in four or five years, will pass Phelan sometime during the 2003-2004 season.  And Knight isn't the only one who is on Phelan's heels, as Georgia State's Lefty Driesell has only five wins fewer than Knight and is still going strong after 40 seasons as a head coach at the Division I level.  New Mexico State's Lou Henson (742 wins) and Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton (702 wins) also have over 700 wins, but the real action involves the coaches in the 600-range, because Temple's John Chaney (675 wins) appears to be within a year or two of retirement and Arizona's Lute Olson (663 wins), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (637 wins), Connecticut's Jim Calhoun (626 wins), and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (623 wins) all should quickly pass Chaney once that happens.  Also especially noteworthy is the fact that Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins is now ranked #18 on the active win list with 500 careers wins in only 21 seasons as a head coach.  And after a 31-4 season a year ago, Huggins, who has a .744 winning percentage, also has moved up to second on our list of the Winningest Active Division I Head Coaches by Percentage, which can be found by clicking on Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches (Both Active and All Time).  Huggins trails only Kansas' Roy Williams (.807), who would have moved into the #1 spot on this list even if Fresno State's Jerry Tarkanian (.794) and College of Charleston's John Kresse (.797) hadn't retired at the end of last season.  If you will recall, at year ago at this time Tarkanian ranked #1 with a .802 winning percentage, Kresse ranked #2 with a .801 winning percentage, and Williams was #3 with a .800 winning percentage.  However, the College of Charleston and Fresno State finished with 21-9 and 19-15 records, while Kansas finished with 33-4 record and Williams finally got his third NCAA Final Four appearance.  Obviously that puts Williams in pretty fast company on our list of Active NCAA Final Four Head Coaches, which also can be found by clicking on Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches (Both Active and All Time).  Heading that list is Krzyzewski with nine NCAA Final Four appearances, followed by Knight and Olson with five apiece, Louisville's Rick Pitino with four, and Williams, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, and San Diego State's Steve Fisher with three apiece.  Also available in this section Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches (Both Active and All Time) are our lists of the Winningest All Time Division I Head Coaches, Most All Time NCAA Tournament Appearances, Most All Time NCAA Tournament Wins, Most All Time Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances, Most All Time National Championships, Most All Time Final Four Wins, and All Time Most NCAA Final Four Appearnaces.  Our list of the Winningest All Time Division I Head Coaches shows that Knight needs 93 wins to break Smith's record, but what is especially interesting is the fact that Olson's name can be found on all of these lists, except for Most All Time National Championships and Most All Time Final Four Wins.  And, if Arizona lives up to its consensus pre-season #1 ranking, Olson would join Knight as the only coach to be included on every one of these lists, which is important when you start talking about who are the top coaches in the history of the game, along with John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, and Krzyzewski.  Getting back to our list that tracks Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches, a sure sign that a head coach is on the fast track is when he has a disproportionate number wins versus the number of years he's been coaching.  At the top of this list have to be Krzyzewski with 637 wins in 27 years, Huggins with 500 wins in 21 years, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan with 402 wins in 18 years, Utah's Rick Majerus with 382 wins in 18 years, Kansas' Roy Williams with 388 wins in 14 years, UT-Pan American's Bob Hoffman with 375 wins in 15 years, Louisville's Rick Pitino with 371 wins in 16 years, Birmingham Southern's Duane Reboul with 328 wins in 13 years, Charlotte's Bobby Lutz with 261 wins in 13 years, Kentucky's Tubby Smith with 256 wins in 11 years, Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Bruce Pearl with 247 wins in 10 years, Memphis' John Calipari with 241 wins in 10 years, Wake Forest's Skip Prosser with 186 wins in nine years, Michigan State's Tom Izzo with 167 wins in seven years, Lipscomb's Scott Sanderson with 145 wins in six years, UCLA's Steve Lavin with 135 in six years, Pepperdine's Paul Westphal with 106 wins in five years, Murray State's Tevester Anderson with 86 wins in four years, Mississippi's Rod Barnes with 86 wins in four years, Gonzaga's Mark Few with 81 wins in three years, Xavier's Thad Matta with 50 wins in two years, and Arkansas' Stan Heath with 30 wins in one year, Tulsa's John Phillips with 27 wins in one year, and Butler's Todd Lickliter with 26 wins in one year.

Friday, October 25, 2002

In our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from the Class of 2002, Hampton's recruiting class, which included 6'9 Bakary Konate from Cincinnati State (JC) OH, 6'7 Rodney Hughes from Owens (JC) OH, 6'3 Jeff Granger from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC, 6'2 Dewayne Spencer from Harrisburg (Susquehanna Township) PA, 6'7 Troy Washington from Denmark (Denmark-Olar) SC, 6'11 Bruce Brown from Richmond (Henrico) VA, and 6'10 Frank Russell from Fayetteville (Pine Forest) NC, finished ranked #37 nationally.  However, their current class, which includes 6'5 Francois Pehova from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Brandon Streeter from Jacksonville (White Oak) NC, and 6'2 Ryan Hughes from Alexandria (Mt. Vernon) VA, might turn out to be even better.  It also appears to be much more athletic.  As a matter of fact, Pehova, Streeter, and Hughes promise to be three of the best athletes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference a year from now.  Pehova, who originally is from the African Central Republic, is an explosive two-guard with good ball handling skills and the ability to score both inside and outside.  Streeter is an athletic combo forward who graduated from high school a year ago and already is enrolled at Hampton, where he is sitting out this year.  Next year Streeter, who scored 24 points and had nine rebounds in an all-star game in North Carolina last spring, is expected to step right into the the wing forward spot, which now belongs to 6'7 Devin Green.  If you will recall Green already is one of the top five players in the league, but he will switch to the 2-guard spot next year to make room from Streeter.  Hughes, who is Prop 48 casuality and, as a result, also already is enrolled in school, is a combo guard with Allen Iverson-like quickness, athleticism, and ability to score in the open court.   And, if that weren't enough, Hampton also has 6'11 Andrew Morrison, who is currently paying his own way and sitting out this year.  We're talking about a project, but he's big, strong, and excellent academically.  However, Morrison doesn't count towards Hampton's recruiting class, which currently is tied at #54, along with Butler, SMU, and Oregon State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, because it is our editorial policy not to count transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Marcus Heard from Springfield (Southeast) IL has verbally committed to DePaul. Heard isn't big and strong enough to play inside and he doesn't shoot it well enough to play out on the perimeter at the high Division I level, but he's still talented and athletic enough to be ranked #147 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Heard joins 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY, 6'2 Tyler Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, and 6'8 Lorenzo Thompson from Chicago (Crane) IL to give the Blue Demons a recruiting class that is currently ranked #23 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson tells us that 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) MS, whose final five are Mississippi, SMU, Boston College, Richmond, and Miami-FL, will be at Ole Miss this weekend on an official visit.  Johnson reminds us about one that slip past us recently.  He's talking about 6'3 Terrick Willoughby from Canton (H.S.) MS, who verbally committed to Murray State.  Willoughby, who is ranked #8 in Mississippi by Johnson, needs to improve his handle and getting his shot off the dribble.  "But Willoughy is very athletic, excellent defensively, and pretty good a putting the ball in the basket," says Johnson.  And this isn't the first time that Racers head coach Tevester Anderson has gone to his old stamping grounds to get a player (Anderson is originally from Mississippi), as a year ago Murray State also landed 6'8 Hilton Tompkins from Canton (H.S.) MS.

It really does look like we knew what we were talking about yesterday when we told you that the race for 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH was too close to call.  Not only did Pilgrim change his mind three or four times within the last 24 hours while trying to decide between Seton Hall and Cincinnati, but at one point it appeared that Virginia might turn out to be the compromise choice.  However, in the end Pilgrim picked the Bearcats and, as a result, Cincinnati's recruiting class moves up to #3, behind Maryland and Oklahoma and ahead of Kansas and Florida State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, Cincinnati already has landed two of the top five junior college players in the nation in 6'10 Robert Whaley from Barton County (JC) KS and 6'4 Nick Williams from Chipola (JC) FL.  And now they have one of the fastest rising players in the prep school ranks as well.  As a matter of fact, Pilgrim will likely be ranked #5, behind 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, and 6'11 Martin Iti from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, next time we update our list of the 5th year players.  This also gives the Bearcats the highest talent rating average per recruit (8.7) among all Division I schools, as well as the highest ranked recruiting class in the nation with only three players.  We also are waiting to see what is going to happen with 7'3 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, who was expected to verbally commit to Rutgers or Kentucky today, but who now appears to have put off making a final decision until Monday.  However, our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio does have the scoop on 6'2 Logan Lee from South Plains (JC) TX, who has verbally committed to Hawaii, 6'8 Michael Harper from Tallahassee (JC) FL, who has picked Florida A&M, and 6'6 Donell Taylor from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL and 6'5 Ronell Taylor from Okaloosa-Walton (JC) FL, both of whom are heading to UAB.  When we saw the Taylor twins prior to their senior year in high school while playing for the Challenge Team that also included Ousmane Cisse and Marco Killingsworth, we liked Ronell better than Donell, because, at the time, he had better handling skills and shot the basketball better.  However, as is so often the case with identical twins, it looks like that has changed, because Ronell is ranked as the #1 wing guard in Lindy's Basketball Yearbook, the #6 point guard in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, and on the 5th Team in Street & Smith's Pre-Season Yearbook, while Donell only gets a mention as the #10-ranked wing forward by Lindy's.  Not only do these two additions, move UAB's recruiting class into a tie at #31, along with Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Texas Christian, but it give first-year head coach Mike Anderson a pair of guys in this recruiting class who are just as talented and athletic as 6'6 Demario Eddins from Winchendon (School) MA, who originally signed with Arkansas two years ago, but, then went back to prep school for another year and signed with UAB last spring.  If you will recall, a year ago the Blazers also landed on of the top junior college big men in the nation in 6'9 Gabe Kennedy from Bevil State (JC) AL and, as a result, are only one quality inside player away from having one of the better starting lineups in Conference USA a year from now.  And the missing piece to the puzzle might turn out to be 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who is ranked #3 on our list of the top 5th year players.  If you will recall, Lang verbally committed to Louisville earlier this fall, but his mother re-opened his recruitment and, as a result, UAB, which is the local school, just hangs around, while Louisville, Alabama, and Kentucky take turns blowing each other out of the water.  Another name we've heard the Blazers mentioned with is 6'9 Brandon Bender from Cincinnati State (JC) OH.  However, we're not sure they know what they're getting themselves into on this one.  If you will recall, Bender is lazy and doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, which is why he was such a major headache throughout his high school career while playing for Louisville (Ballard) KY head coach Chris Renner.  It's also is why Bender wasn't able to make it last year playing at Louisville for Rick Pitino and why he lasted less than a week this spring at Vincennes (JC) IN.  Moral to the story, Bender unfortunately appears to be heading the same direction that a number of other highly touted players from Louisville, KY, including Tony Kimbro, Jason Osborne, and Ronnie Griffin, have gone in recent years. 

Thursday, October 24, 2002

PrepWestHoops.com is reporting that 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA has verbally committed to UCLA.   Well, we think it will happen, but right now it looks like they've jumped the gun, because our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis has talked with Ariza's mother and she does not confirm that they are ready to make an official announcement.  And they won't happen until they've had time to tell the proper people, like other schools that were involved.  Obviously this gives the Bruins the high profile big name player that they needed to get from their backyard and, as result, UCLA head coach Steve Lavin has once again proved his critics to be wrong.   Remember, the Bruins weren't even recruiting Ariza, who is ranked #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, until they found in early September that 6'7 Evan Burns from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA would not be admitted into school.  And Ariza isn't the only local player that UCLA may sign this fall.  Did you know that the Bruins are still among the final three, along with Indiana and Washington, for 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA?  Getting back to PrepWestHoops.com, they also are reporting that 6'6 Chris Devine from Eagle River (Chugiak) AK has verbally committed to UC-Santa Barbara and 6'2 Josh Olson from Sandy (Alta) UT has picked the University of Utah.  Trigonis also tells us that Pepperdine has received a verbal commitment from 6'9 Jarred Henry from Kansas City (Bishop Miege) MO and he thinks Northern Arizona may have landed 6'7 Ruben Boykin from Los Angeles (University) CA. The Henry commitment is especially important, because this also is a clear sign that Waves aren't going to get 7'3 Shargi Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY.  As a matter of fact, Trigonis tells us it's a done deal for Rutgers.  "All we're waiting on now is for the fat lady to start signing," says Trigonis.  Actually the press conference is scheduled for tomorrow and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is a little more cautious, as he tells us it's between Rutgers and Kentucky.   However, lets' assume that Alleyne does indeed pick Rutgers.  This would be a huge get for the Scarlet Knights, because Alleyne does have a lot of potential and it shows that Rutger head coach Gary Waters and his staff not only can get the top players out of North Jersey, but also out of New York City.   It also would moves Rutgers recruiting class into a tie at #28, along with Oregon, Georgetown, and DePaul on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and, if they also by some chance, get 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, their recruiting class would move into a tie at #16, along with Florida.   Obviously getting Alleyne may hurt Rutgers chances with Watkins, but you can bet the Rutgers coaching staff will be talking about using Alleyne and Watkins together as twin towers and, even more important, how much better they both will get going head-to-head against one another everyday in practice.  And we still think this is a definite possibility.  If you will recall, Watkins and 6'4 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who picked Rutgers a month ago, are best friends.  However, Rutgers will have to beat Villanova, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh for Watkins services.  That's right!  The Panthers are still in the hunt for Watkins, despite the fact they already have a stockpile front court players - 6'9 Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, 6'9 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, 6'11 Aaron Gray from Emmaus (H.S.) PA, and 6'8 Dante Milligan from Pawling (Trinity-Pawling) NY - in this recruiting class.  And assuming that Trigonis is correct and Alleyne picks Rutgers, this is a blow to the University of Kentucky, at least in terms of perception, because Alleyne was one of their prime targets.  However, Alleyne still has a long way to go in order to make a major impact at the high Division I level and, as a result, not getting Alleyne may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.  Remember, the Wildcats need immediate help inside, because Marquis Estill and Jules Camara both will graduate after this season.  And Watkins or somebody from junior college or abroad fits that criteria much better than Alleyne. 

Originally we thought 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH was a near lock for the University of Cincinnati.   However, now we're hedging our bets, because it appears that Seton Hall is a lot stronger than we originally thought and, as a result, we're now going on record saying that this race is too close to call, as we await tomorrow's scheduled press conference.   Obviously the fact that Pilgram is a native of Cincinnati and the fact he's a prototypical Bobby Huggins type player weights in the Bearcats advantage.   But Seton Hall also has a few things working in their favor, like the fact Pilgrim is a relative of Pirates head coach Louie Orr, the fact the Pirates currently don't have an athletic combo forward like Pilgrim, the fact the Pirates are in the media biggest media market in the nation, and the fact the Pirates already have two excellent recruits - 6'11 Grant Billmeier from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ and 6'2 Jamar Nutter from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ - in the fold.   And, if the Pirates get Pilgram tomorrow, their recruiting class will move into a tie at #23, along with Alabama, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, even more important, the Pirates will have established a strong recruiting base both in their backyard and in the Midwest.  Remember, a year ago Seton Hall landed 6'6 J.R. Morris from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC, 6'9 Eric Davis from Raleigh (Bonner Academy) NC, 6'8 Kelly Whitney from Creedmore (Faith Christian) NC, and 5'11 Donald Copeland from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ.  Morris and Whitney both attended prep school last year in North Carolina, but originally Morris is from Wisconsin and Whitney is from Michigan, which means, if they get Pilgrim tomorrow, they will have landed three players from the Midwest in the last year.  Davis, Copeland, Billmeier, and Nutter are all from New Jersey, but the later three are from three of the top high school programs in the nation, which means they not only know how what it takes to win, but they've been extremely well coached and are very fundamentally sound.  We also are waiting to see what happens with 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is the #1-ranked 5th Year Player by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is the #2-ranked player nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The word we get is that Deng and Villanueva both had great visits to Indiana last weekend.  As a a matter of fact, if Deng were to verbally commit to Indiana, that would be enough to get Villanueva to become part of the package.   However, Deng is scheduled to take his official visit to Duke this weekend and, as a result, it wouldn't surprise us if a verbal commitment to the Blue Devils isn't forthcoming sometime next week.  But, if nothing happens next week, we think that favors the Hoosiers.  In contrast, we think the longer the Villanueva sweepstakes last, the more it favors Seton Hall and Villanova, because that gives the people around Villanueva the time the need to put the pressure on him to stay close home.  In other words, if it were done today, we think Villanueva would pick Indiana.  We also have confirmed that Miami-FL has gotten 7'0 Yankuba Camara from Moberly (JC) MO.  If you will recall, Camara originially signed with Fordham, but had to go the junior college route.  Camara still needs to develop his offensive skills, but he should provide Hurricanes head coach Perry Clark with shot blocking/rebounding/defensive presence he needs to help round out this recruiting class, which is now ranked #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Remember, the Hurricanes already have verbal commitments from 6'9 Lenard Harden from Garden City (JC) KS, 6'6 Eliiah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA, and 6'2 Greg Brown from Indian Hills (JC) IA.  We also have confirmed that UT-Chattanooga has landed 6'9 Mindagas Katalynas from Eastern Utah (JC) UT, which means first-year Mocs head coach Jeff Lebo currently has the best recruiting class in the Southern Conference.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Chattanooga got a steal in 6'3 Casey Long from Fayetteville (71st) NC and they convinced 6'9 Matt Malone from Greenville (H.S.) TN to stay close to home.  

We also have confirmed that Connecticut did get 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD and that LSU has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'8 Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY.   And we think this an excellent fit, because Neltner, who is ranked #138 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the leading candidate for Mr. Basketbal in the state of Kentucky, will back up Shawnson Johnson and Jamie Lloreda when he's a freshman and be the heir apparent to one of their starting spots when he's a sophomore.  This moves LSU's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, and 6'7 Darrell Lazare from Baton Rouge (Woodlawn) LA, into a tie at #11, along with Miami-FL, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if the Tigers also get 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, their recruiting class would move up to #2 behind Maryland and ahead of Oklahoma and Kansas.  Speaking of Kansas, Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com is going out on a limb, as he tells us that he thinks Kansas is the team you have to beat for 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI, who is ranked #3 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, at least part of this stems from comments that Butch made on Swaim's radio show several weeks ago.  Butch obviously got Swaim's attention when he talked about how dominant the Jayhawks would be with 6'10 David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV and himself together on the front line.  Should this happen, Kansas, which currently has the #2-ranked recruiting class with Padgett, 6'5 J.R. Giddens from Oklahoma City (John Marshall) OK, 6'3 Omar Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA, and 6'1 Jeremy Case from McAlester (H.S.) OK, would not only have the #1-ranked recruiting class, but they would have three locks for the McDonald's All-American Game in Butch, Padgett, and Giddens.  However, the word on the street is that Butch is leaning toward North Carolina and his mother is pushing Wisconsin, because she doesn't want him to go that far away from home.  Swaim also confirms that 6'7 Marcus Dove from Long Beach (Millikan) CA, who is ranked #191 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, as expected, as verbally committed to Oklahoma State and 6'10 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN, who is ranked #45 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked Oklahoma.  Swaim also tells us that both players verbally committed while on their official visits last weekend, but neither verbal commitment was officically announced until yesterday.  Getting this incredible athlete with tremendous raw talent moves Oklahoma's recruiting class to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, the Sooners already have landed 5'7 Andrew Lavender from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, 6'2 Lawrence McKenzie from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, and 6'7 Brandon Foust from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH in this recruiting class.  It also helps perpetuate several other important trends.   First, Longar is the third player from the state of Minnesota that the Sooners have gotten in the last three years.  If you will, recall 6'8 Johnny Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN was recruited in the Class of 2000 and McKenzie verbally committed to the Sooners in June.  In other words, it's beginning to look like the Sooners recruit in the University of Minnesota's backyard better than the Golden Gophers do.  Second, Oklahoma hasn't landed a junior college player in either their current recruiting class or the previous recruiting class, which included 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK, 6'5 DeAngelo Alexander from Midwest City (H.S.) OK, and 6'10 Larry Turner from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.  This is in sharp contrast to the Class of 2000, which included Gilbert, 6'8 Aaron McGhee from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'6 Daryan Selvy from Carl Albert (JC) OK, 6'6 James Wright from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'9 Ronnie Griffin from Tallahassee (JC) FL, 6'9 Jozsef Szendrel from Northeast Colorado (JC) CO, and 6'0 Blake Johnson from Midland (H.S.) TX, and the Class of 2001, which included 6'5 Ebi Ere from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'5 Jason Detrick from SMS/West Plains (JC) MO, 6'1 Quannas White from Midland (JC) TX, 6'10 Jabarhi Brown from Rose State (JC) OK, and 6'8 Matt Gipson from Burkburnett (H.S.) TX.  Obviously Oklahoma is now in a position to build on the fact that they have arrived as one of the teams in college basketball, instead of running around trying to fill an immediate need via the junior college route.   This also will probably get the USA Today off Oklahoma's back for not graduating any of its players.  Remember, junior college players don't count as part of the criteria for figuring graduation rates.  Also Bookout is a 4.0 student, but, if he gets through college in only three years, like Keith Gregor did at Cincinnati and Jason Williams did at Duke, he wouldn't count towards Oklahoma's graduate rate either.  In other words, their system is seriously flawed, but you won't read about that in the USA Today!

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'11 Aaron Gray from Emmaus (H.S.) PA, who is ranked #209 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP has verbally committed to the University of Pittsburgh.  And, at least according to today's USA Today, so has 6'8 Dante Milligan from Pawling (Trinity-Pawling) NY, who ranked 28 on our 5th year list.  Neither is as good as Pittsburgh's other two recruits - 6'9 Walter Waters from Detroit (Southeastern) MI and 6'9 Chris Taft from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY, but both have the potential to develop into contributors in the Big East Conference.  Gray lacks athleticism, mobility, and quickness, but he does have skills and, like they say, you can't teach size.  Milligan needs to get big stronger in order to play inside and develop better perimeter skills and become a better outside shooter to excel outside.  However, he does have a lot of natural talent, as well as big time athleticism.  These two additions move Pittsburgh's recruiting class up to #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, plus they will give Panthers head coach Ben Howland all the size he needs for years to come.  However, Howland still he needs an athletic wing guard who can shoot the lights out and a great point guard, like 5'10 Jr Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, to reload in the backcourt.  Did you know that Taft and Telfair live in the same housing project in Brooklyn, NY and are extremely close friends?  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Sheray Thomas from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD, who is ranked #129 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has told the University of Kentucky coaching staff that he plans to become a Wildcat.  Thomas combines both athleticism and strength to be a physical presence inside.  However, our Washington, DC Editor Steve Turner tells us that Thomas has the perimeter skills, shooting range, and quickness and mobility to develop into a wing forward down the road.  Turner also thinks Thomas is good enough to be ranked among our top 100 nationally.  And apparently so does Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, who has Thomas ranked #97 nationally in the senior class.  Thomas' commitment moves Kentucky's recruiting class into a tie at #60, along with Clemson, Gonzaga, Wright State, Mississippi, Purdue, and Tennessee, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if the Wildcats also get 7'1 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, their recruiting class would move into a tie at #38, along with Colorado State and Providence, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  While this may not be enough to please many of the Wildcat fans who think the University of Kentucky's recruiting hasn't been as good as it's been in the past, it does provide the nucleus necessary for Smith to start replacing Keith Bogans, Jules Camara, and Marquis Estill in the senior class and Antwain Barbour, Erik Daniels, Gerald Fitch, and Cliff Hawkins in the junior class.  In other words, Kentucky is still only a great point guard and a quality big man away from remaining one of the premier teams in college basketball for years to come.  We also expect commitments today from 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD to Connecticut, 6'10 Longar Longar from Rochester (H.S.) MN to Oklahoma, and 7'0 Yankuba Camara from Moberly (JC) MO to Miami-FL.  The Boone commitment comes as no surprise, especially after we saw somebody from the Connecticut coaching staff at all of his games at the National 17-Under AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL in late July.  And we have to give them (Jim Calhoun, Tom Moore, Clive Vaughn, and George Blaney) a lot of credit, because nobody in the business is better at recruiting a lot of players and being there at the right time, if something happens or a school lands somebody else who provides a domino effect upon a player the Huskies are recruiting.  In this case, North Carolina was the school that might have been tough to beat.   However, now that it looks like the Tar Heels are going to get 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI and, as a result, won't have a scholarship available for Boone, that opened the door for the Huskies to seal the deal.   Connecticut also needs to be added to the list of 18 teams that we mentioned on Sunday and Syracuse, which we mentioned on Monday, that are getting in it done in a major way on the recruiting trail.  However, the Huskies don't always get the notoriety they deserve, because they don't always make a living off McDonald's All-American's or high profile players.  Instead, they get guys like 6'9 Emeke Okafor from Houston (Bellaire) TX.  If you will recall, we ranked #153 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2001, but Okafor developed into one of the top freshman in college basketball last year.  The Huskies also landed the best pair of wing players - 6'5 Rashad Anderson from Lakewood (Kathleen) FL and 6'5 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON in college basketball a year ago, plus 6'8 Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL is just oozing with talent and 6'10 Hilton Armstrong from Peekskill (H.S.) NY has the athleticism and the ability to step in and make the same kind of impact that Okafor did a year ago.  In other words, Calhoun has more young players in the program than he knows what to do with, because Tony Robertson, Ben Gordon, and Scott Hazelton are also just sophomores, plus he'll have Taliek Brown a year from now to provide the leadership and experience at point guard, while 6'2 Marcus Williams from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA is being groomed for that position. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

Last week we told you that 6'8 Mike Pilgram from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH would be making an official visit to the University of Cincinnati over the weekend and now we're telling you that a verbal commitment by Pilgram to the Bearcats could be forthcoming just about any day now.  And this makes perfect since, because Pilgram originally is from Cincinnati (Purcell-Marian) OH and is the prototypical Bobby Huggins-type athlete/slasher/combo forward.  He's also dramatically improved since our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson ranked him #5 in his final rankings in the state for the Class of 2002, plus we understand that Pilgram has grown at least an inch since we saw him during the summer.  Boston College, Seton Hall, Virginia, and Memphis are also still on Pilgram's list, but, assuming that we are proven correct, Pilgram's commitment will move the Bearcats recruiting class up to #2 on our list of the  Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Remember, Cincinnati landed two of the top five junior college players in the nation earlier this fall in 6'10 Robert Whaley from Barton County (JC) KS and 6'4 Nick Williams from Chipola (JC) FL.  We also have confirmed that South Florida has landed 6'10 Konimba Diarra from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  This a major steal, because Diarra, who currrently is ranked #177 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has an incredible upside and is one of the fastest rising players in the nation.  As a matter of fact, nobody improved more from start to finish last summer than Diarra did.  We're also talking about a guy who has only been playing basketball four years, is extremely athletic, excellent on the boards, and good defensively.  In other words, Bulls head coach Seth Greenberg will have to develop Diarra's offensive skills, this gives him players at the two most important positions in this recruiting class.   If you will recall, earlier this fall South Florida also got a verbal commitment from 6'2 Ricardo Freeman from Seward County (JC) FL, who is one of the better point guards in the junior college ranks and, as a result, South Florida recruiting class moves into a tie at #47, along with Rutgers, Notre Dame, and Arkansas, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, one that got away from South Florida is 6'8 Renaldo Balkman from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, who is ranked #23 on our 5th year list, but who has tremendous natural talent and potential.  Instead, this athletic combo forward picked Soth Carolina and it happened today.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Kyle Jeffers from Santa Rosa (Montgomery) CA has finally made it official for Oregon State and 6'5 Fred Washington from Torrrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA has verbally committed to Stanford.  Washington, who was the co-MVP, along with 6'2 Marcus Williams from at the Full-Court Press Summer Shootout, is ranked #93 nationally in the senior class by Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports.   Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis, who was the first person to report this to us, tells us that Washington also is a tremendous competitor, a good athlete, and the type of player who makes things happen.  Trigonis also thinks Washington should be great for The Cardinal's chemistry, because he understands his role and helps provide the glue that makes those around him better.  Holy Cross has landed 6'4 Keith Simmons from Kingston (H.S.) NY and, in case you've fotten, this was the second best player behind 6'8 Gordon Klaiber from Troy (Redemption) NY on the New York Elite team that won the Three Stripes Classic at Hofstra University in early July.  Simmons does need to improve his outside shooting, but we're talking about a terrific athlete/slasher with good ball handling and defensive skills.  Iona also appears to have stolen one in 6'7 Justin Marshall from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  If you will recall, Marshall helped the New York Ravens win the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV in July.   Marshall also is versatile enough to play both inside and outside, because he can block shots, rebound, and score out on the perimeter.  This means Iona is finished recruiting for this year and it give the Gaels two great back-to-back recruiting classes.   If you will recall, earlier this fall Iona also got a verbal commitment from 6'3 Tariq Atkins from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY and a year ago they signed 6'5 Steve Smith from Coffeyville (JC) KS, 6'3 Ricardo Soliver from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, 6'0 Marvin McCullough from Bronx (All Hallows) NY,6'8 Kiril Wachsmann from Bronx (All Hallows) NY, and 6'1 Steve Burtt from New York (Rice) NY.  However, the icing on the cake is the fact that Iona also has 6'3 DeShaun Williams, who averaged 15.9 ppg a year ago at Syracuse, sitting out this year after transferring last spring.  We also are getting reports that 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD and 6'8 Sheray Thomas from Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD are both expected to make verbal commitments within the next day or two.  Boone is expected to pick Connecticut and Thomas is expected to announce for Kentucky. 

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio provides us with a game-by-game recap beginning with the quarterfinals from the IS8 playoffs in Jamaica, NY last week.  New York Riverside Chuch beat Huntington, 74-51, in the first quarterfinals game, thanks primarily to the efforts of 6'5 Gary Forbes from Brooklyn (Banneker) NY, who was the leading scorer with 20 points.  Chipping in with 18 points for the losers was 6'0 Courtney Johnson from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY.  The Long Islsand Panthers beat the loaded Tim Thomas Playaz, 95-81, in the second quarterfinals game.  The Panthers were led by 5'10 Daon Merritt from Bronn (St. Raymond's) NY with 29 points, 6'0 Cameron Tyler from Bayside (Cardozo) NY with 19 points, and 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ with 16 points and 12 rebounds.   The Tim Thomas Playaz were led by 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who finished with 20 points and blocked everything in sight, and 6'5 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who finished with 19 points.  As a matter of fact, Naclerio, who previously had criticized Watkins for his lack of effort this fall at IS8, tells us that he's never seen Watkins play any better than in this losing effort to the Panthers.  Future Stars, which is Riverside Church's younger team, beat Mt. Vernon at the buzzer, 64-62, the third quarterfinals game.  The leading scorer with 16 points and the guy who tapped the ball in at the buzzer to win the game was 6'6 Jr Arturo Dubios from New York (Rice) NY.  He was complemented by 5'7 Kevin Johnson, who played at Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY a year ago, with 11 points, 6'3 Louis McCroskey from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY with 10 points, 6'5 Allan Shepperd from Randolph (H.S.) NY with 10 points, and 6'9 Frosh Derrick Caracter from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ with four points.   Speaking of Caracter, did you know that he had a film crew from 60-Minutes following him around all weekend?   Remember, Caracter has been ranked as the #1 player in his class since he was in 7th grade and obviously this award winning investigative news show is once again looking into the problems associated with college basketball and the pressure that is associated with being a high profile student-athlete at an early age.  Mt. Vernon was led by 6'5 Frosh John Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, who already is being touted by Naclerio as the second best freshman in the New York City area, as well as a legitimate top five or 10 freshman in the nation.  "If he played for me at Cardozo, Mitchell would be my best player right now," says Naclerio.  "This lefty already has the complete back and he's still only 14-years-old."  Mitchell, who was named the Rookie-of-the-Year, which is the award given the top new player at IS8, finished with 21 points, while 6'7 Jr Dexter Gray from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY had 12 points, and 6'2 Jr Keith Benjamin from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY had nine points.  Bedford YMCA beat S.O.N.D.A.Y. Express, 88-80, in the final quarterfinals game.  Leading the winners were 6'5 Jerome Richardson, who is a 5th year player from Brooklyn (Grady) NY, with 24 points and 6'3 Benny Utley,   who is a 5th year player from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, with 19 points.   Leading the losers were 6'7 Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ with 19 points, 6'2 Jr Sundiati Gaines from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY with 19 points, 5'11 Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY with 12 points and seven assists, and 6'3 Tarik Atkins from Bronx (St. Raymond's) NY with 11 points.  The Long Island Panthers beat New York Riverside Church, 94-81, in the first semi-finals game and, once again, the big hero for the Panthers was Merritt, who scored 27 points, hit 3-5 3-pointers, and had two assists.  Also scoring in double-digits for the Panthers were Tyler with 21 points, 6'7 Rashon Clark from Rockaway Park (Beach Channel) NY with 16 points, 6'7 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY with 14 points, and 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC with 12 points.  The leading scorers for Riverside were 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA with 26 points, 6'2 Kelvin Nelson from Milford (Academy) NY with 17 points, and Forbes with 13 points.  However, Ervin, who hit only 10-32 field goals and 4-12 3-pointers, and Forbes, who hit oly 4-17 field goals, both shot miserably, thanks, at least in part, to the great defensive effort turned in by Clark.  Future Stars jumped out to a 15-0 lead against Bedford YMCA in the other semi-finals game and that proved to be the difference, as they coasted to a 97-85 victory.   Leading the Future Stars were Shepperd with 21 points, McCroskey with 20 points, and 6'10 John Kelly from Wayne (DePaul) NJ with 14 points and 14 rebounds.  Once again Richardson and Utley led Bedford YMCA, as they combined for 69 of their teams 85 points.  The Long Island Panthers made it look easy, as they were up 55-39 at half-time and coasted to a 86-68 victory in the championship game against the Future Stars.   Tyler was the leading scorer for the Panthers with 25 points, while Villanueva, Merritt, and Bradley chipped in with 21, 13, and 11 points apiece.   Johnson with 15 points, Shepperd with 13 points, and Caracter with 11 points ere the leading scorers for the Future Stars.  The MVP in the playoffs was Villanueva, despite the fact he missed the semi-finals game on Saturday, because he was taking an official visit to Indiana University.  Speaking of that visit, Naclerio tells us that he talked with Villanueva when he got back on Sunday and apparently Villanueva had such a great visit that he almost verbally committed to the Hoosiers on the sport. "He fell in love with the place," says Naclerio.  "But I still think in the end the distance factor is going to be tough to overcome."  Shepperd got the Sportsmanship Award, which usually is given to the best player on the losing team in the championship game, and Tyler got the Special Award, which is a 30-inch color television.   The Most Outstanding Player for the entire regular season and playoffs, which included 34 teams and spanned two months was Merritt.  Speaking of Merritt, this is the guy who also led the adidas ABCD Camp in assists, led his team to the championship at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, and was Most Outstanding Player at Five-Star's Honesdale II session.  In other words, based on merit and what he has accomplished during the summer and fall, an argument can be made that Merritt is ranked too low at #42 on our list of the top seniors nationally.   The First-Team All-Tournament Team included Villanueva, Forbes, Benjamin, Richardson, and 6'3 Antoine Aguidio from Huntington (Walt Whitman) NY.   The Second-Team All-Tournament Team included Clark, Sheppard, Utley, Banks, and 6'0 Marlon Smith from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY.  The Third-Team All-Tournament Team included Gaines, 6'5 Jr Earl Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'9 Soph Eugene Harvey from Brooklyn (Boys & Girls) NY, 6'3 Zarrett Rogers from Montville (H.S.) NJ, 6'2 Donnell Cummings from Queens (August Martin) NY.

Monday, October 21, 2002

Our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton has confirmed that 6'6 Jr Cameron Stanley from Raleigh (Millbrook) NC has verbally committed to Wake Forest.  And this is huge, because it shows the Demon Deacons can compete with Duke, North Carolina, and N.C. State for the top players in their backyard, but they also can get them early.  Stanley currently is ranked #105 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but this big time athlete has the talent and potential to be ranked a lot higher, especially if he develops more consistency on his jump shot.  Stanley's commitment also put Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser into the enviable position of being able to focus almost exclusively on the Class of 2005.  If you will recall, the Demon Deacons already have eight freshmen and sophomores in the program in 6'9 Jamal Levy from Homestead (Berkshire) FL, 6'7 Vytas Danelius from Indianapolis (Park-Tudor) IN, 6'1 Taron Downey from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'9 Eric Williams from Wake Forest (Rolesville) NC, 6'1 Justin Gray from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Trent Strickland from East Flat Rock (East Henderson) NC, 6'8 Chris Ellis from Marietta (H.S.) GA, and 6'5 Richard Joyce from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Add the current recruiting class, which is ranked #6 and includes 6'0 Chris Paul from Clemmons (West Forsyth) NC, 6'3 Jeremy Ingram from Kinston (H.S.) NC, 6'9 Todd Hendley from Sanford (Lee County) NC, and 6'11 Kyle Visser from Grand Rapids (Forest Hills Central) MI, and the Demon Deacons only had one scholarship left for the Class of 2004.  We also have confirmed that SMU has landed 6'4 Demetric Bennett from Albany (H.S.) GA and 6'7 Devon Pearson from Miami (Northwestern) FL.  Bennett, who is ranked #147 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is an athletic 2-guard who should provide the perfect complement in the backcourt to the extremely talented and very athletic 6'0 Bryan Hopkins.  Pearson, who is ranked #194 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is a strong athletic power forward, but he also has the potential to develop into a wing forward down the road.  Bennett and Peason join 6'9 Christopher Reay from Plano (West) TX, who is ranked #181 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to give the Mustangs three players in this recruiting class who are ranked in the 101-200 range nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  So it should come as no surprise that SMU's recruiting class is now tied with Butler at #50 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003. 

Our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis has confirmed that 6'6 Shawn Hawkins from Columbus State (JC) OH, who is the grandson of Connie Hawkins, has verbally committed to Long Beach State, and 5'10 Kevin Bell from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, who is ranked #200 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP has verbally committed to Louisiana-Lafayette.  As a matter of fact, Rajin' Cajuns head coach Jessie Evans did such a great job recruiting Bell that he found it almost impossible to say no.  Bell joins 6'9 Adam James from Lafayette (St. Thomas More) LA, who verbally committed to Louisiana-Lafayette last week, but that still isn't enough for the Rajin' Cajuns to be ranked among the top 65 recruiting classes on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, if you also included 6'4 Orien Greene, who transferred from Florida to Louisiana-Lafayette during the off-season and is sitting out this year, then we'd be talking about a top 30-ranked recruiting class.  If you will recall, Greene was ranked #33 in our final rankings of the Class of 2000 when he was a high school senior at Gainesville (H.S.) FL.  And Greene isn't the only big name player that Evans has stolen in the last year.  Remember, 6'11 Mike Southall arrived at Louisiana-Lafayette a year and was named the Freshman-of-the-Year in the Sun Belt Conference last season.  In other words, Evans now has the ideal guy in Bell to step, run the show, and make everybody better.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Douglass McLaughlin-Williams from Reston (South Lakes) VA has verbally committed to Boston College and 5'11 Bashir Mason from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ has picked Drexel over George Mason, Wyoming, and Virginia Commonwealth.  Mason, who is ranked #232 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, joins 6'7 Matt Stevenson from Towson (Catholic) MD, who is ranked #269 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to give the Dragons two players ranked in the 201-300 range.  However, even more important is the fact that Mason has the quickness, athleticism, and ball handling and passing skills necessary to develop into one of the best players in the Colonial Athletic Association down the road.  Mason also is the second New York City player to commit to the Dragons since James "Bruiser" Flint became the head coach at Drexel a-year-and-a-half ago.  However, he probably won't be the last.  Remember, Drexel assistant coach Chuckie Martin has more than his share of contacts in New York City.  McLaughlin-Williams joins 6'2 Patrick Martin from Springfield (Cathedral) MA to also give Boston University two players in the fold.  We're talking about a 6'7 wing forward with excellent skills and good 3-point shooting range.  Actually McLaughlin-Williams does a little big of everything, including play inside, because he is the tallest player on his high school team.  McLaughlin-Williams picked the Terriers over Holy Cross and Davidson.   

Saturday, October 19, 2002, & Sunday, October 20, 2002

Syracuse has been the favorite for 6'8 Terrance Roberts from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who is ranked #35 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, for the last eight months.  However, when Maryland landed 6'8 Ekene Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA a week ago, we knew it was only a matter of time before the Orangeman wrapped this one up.  And they did exactly that five days after Ibekwe made it official for the Terrapins.   Both players can play either inside or outside, but we actually like Roberts better because he's stronger on the boards and he does the blue collar work inside.  But Ibekwe, who is ranked #37 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, probably has more natural talent and potential.  The verbal commitment by Roberts moves Syracuse's recruiting class into a tie at #12, along with Michigan, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Roberts' commitment also makes us reconsider our decision to leave Syracuse off our list of the teams found below that are stockpiling talent in college basketball.  Remember, a year ago Syracuse landed a recruiting class, which featured 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'2 Gerry McNamara from Scranton (Bishop Hannan) PA, and 6'10 Matt Gorman from Watertown (H.S.) NY, that was ranked #22 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2002 and two years ago they landed a recruited class, which featured 6'3 Billy Edelin from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 7'1 Craig Forth from East Greenbush (Columbia) NY, 6'8 Hakim Warrick from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA, 6'6 Josh Pace from Griffin (H.S.) GA, and 6'10 Mark Konecny from Waterbury (Holy Cross) CT, that was ranked #21 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2001.  We also have confirmed that DePaul has received a verbal commitment from 6'8 Lorenzo Thompson from Chicago (Crane) IL, who is ranked #163 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Sure, Thompson needs to work harder and become more of a killer inside, but he has the athleticism, size, and skills to develop into an excellent power forward at the college level, if Blue Demons head coach Dave Leitao can push the right bottons.  Thompson joins 6'5 Sammy Mejia from Cornwall on the Hudson (Storm King Prep) NY and 6'2 Tyler Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA to move DePaul's recruiting class up to #28 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if the Blue Demons also get 6'8 Marcus Heard from Springfield (Southeast) IL, who is ranked #142 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'9 Wesley Green from Eustis (H.S.) FL who is ranked #201nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, then their recruiting class would move up to #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  We believe it's only a matter of time before Heard says yes to the Blue Demons.  DePaul also now appears to be the leader over Marquette, Indiana, DePaul, and South Florida for Green's services.

It's just like a good horse race!  We're talking about understanding what is going on with our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, which a month ago had Louisville ranked #1 and California ranked #2.  However, we are no longer counting 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL with the Cardinals' recruiting class or 6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA with the Golden Bears' recruiting class.  Actually Lang still says he's verbally committed to Louisville, but his mother says otherwise.  And she appears to be the one controlling the recruiting process, because Lang is still being recruited by Alabama, UAB, Georgetown, and Kentucky.  As a matter of fact, Lang recently took on unofficial visit to the University of Kentucky for their Midnight Madness.  In other words, you can' t be committed if schools are coming into your home and you are taking visits.  This means Louisville's recruiting class drops into a tie #4, along with Mississippi State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  But the Louisville's recruiting class would move back into the #1 spot, if Lang signs with the Cardinals during the fall signing period, which begins on Wednesday, November 13th.   Washington, on the other hand, apparently was happy with his commitment to California.  However, when they told him they couldn't guarantee him a scholarship until he qualified academically, he opened things back up and, as a result, the Golden Bears' class has dropped to  #11 on out list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Instead, Maryland and Kansas now have the top two recruiting classes.  A month ago Maryland had a recruiting class, which included 6'4 Michael Jones from Braintree (Thayer Academy) MA and 6'11 Will Bowers from Severn (Archbishop Spalding) MA, that was tied at #22 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, with the recent additions of 6'8 Ekene Ibekwe from Carson (H.S.) CA, 6'11 Hassan Fofona from Worcester (Holy Name) MA, and 6'4 D.J. Strawberry from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, it is easy to see how the Terrapins have jumped into the #1 spot.  In other words, the defending NCAA Champions have landed a top 20 player in Jones, two top 40 players in Ibekwe and Fofana, a top 150 player with a major upside in Bowers, and a great role player in Strawberry.  And this comes on the heels of last year's recruiting class, which was ranked #6 and included 6'8 Travis Garrison from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'4 Chris McCray from Capital Heights (Fairmont Heights) MD, 6'9 Jamar Smith from Allegany (JC) MD, 6'2 Johnny Gilchrist from Virginia Beach (Salem) VA, and 6'7 Nik Caner-Medley from Portland (Deering) ME.  Kansas' recruiting class, which previously included 6'5 J.R. Gidden from Oklahoma City (John Marshall) OK and 6'1 Jeremy Case from McAlsester (H.S.) OK, was tied at #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 a month ago, but jumped up to #2 with the recent additions of 6'3 Omar Wilkes from Los Angeles (Loyola) CA and 6'10 David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV.  And the Jayhawks class would jump up to #1, if they also pull off the upset and get 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI.  However, don't expect that to happen, because Wisconsin and North Carolina appear to be way out in front.  Two other recruiting classes that have jumped into our top 10 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 belong to Florida State and Arizona.  And in both cases, this may come as a surprise, because most people didn't think Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton would be able to get it done this fast and few people expected the Wildcats to pull of what appeared to be a major upset over Duke and Texas in the race for 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX.  However, Florida State, which is now ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, has gotten commitments within the last month from 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'10 Diego Romero from Lon Morris (JC) TX, who is a top five junior college player according Street & Smith Pre-Season Yearbook; and 6'7 Antonio Griffin from Scottsdale (JC) AZ, who is a consensus top 30-ranked junior college player.  Joining Ebi in Arizona's #7-ranked recruiting class also are 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and 6'10 Kirk Walters from Grand Rapids (South Christian) MI, plus the Wildcats brought in three outstanding perimeter players a year ago in 6'3 Chris Rodgers from Portland (Wilson) OR, 6'4 Hassan Adams from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, and 6'5 Andre Igoulala from Springfield (Lanphier) IL.  We've already mentioned Maryland, Kansas, Florida State, Louisville, and Arizona, but Mississippi State, Wake Forest, Michigan State, Memphis, and Oklahoma also have recruiting classes that are ranked among our top 10 nationally.  And that brings us to two very important trends.  First, the high profiles schools in the big-name conferences have a huge advantage, as is evident by the fact that 19 of the top 20 recruiting classes on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, are from the top seven conferences - Big-10 (4), Atlantic Coast (3), Big-12 (3), Conference USA (3), Southeastern (3) Pacific-10 (2), and the Big East (1) - and the 20th school on the list, which is Valparaiso, recruits like it's a high major school.  Second, Duke is going to have it's hands full if it wants to be the modern-day version of UCLA, because Maryland (2), Kansas (3), Arizona (3), Michigan State (3), and Oklahoma (1) have already collectively accounted for a dozen NCAA Final Four appearances in the last dozen years and there appears to be no end in sight.  Remember, Michigan State's recruiting class, which included 6'10 Paul Davis from Rochester (H.S.) MI, 6'7 Matt Trannon from Flint (Northern) MI, 6'4 Maurice Ager from Detroit (Crockett) MI, 6'10 Erazem Lorbeck from Slovenia, 6'2 Rashi Johnson from Mott (JC) MI, and 6'7 Delco Rowley from Indianapolis (Arlington) IN, a year ago was ranked #4 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes from 2002 and the Spartans landed three terrific wing players two years ago in 6'4 Kelvin Torbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'6 Alan Anderson from Minneapolis (DeLaSalle) MN, and 6'2 Chris Hill from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  Add that to Michigan State's recruiting current class, which is ranked #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and includes 6'4 Shannon Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'0 Brandon Cotton from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, 6'10 Drew Naymick from North Muskegon (H.S.) MI, and the two players - 6'7 Marquis Gray from Flint (Beecher) MI and 5'9 Drew Neitzel from Wyoming Park (H.S.) MI - in the Class of 2004 who have already made early commitments to the Spartans and it's scary how good this team could be several years from now.  Obviously Trannon doesn't count, because his scholarship is in football and Johnson will be gone by the time the Class of 2004 arrives.  But that still only leaves the Spartans with one available scholarship for the Class of 2004.  Oklahoma had the #2-ranked recruiting class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP three years ago with 6'8 Aaron McGhee from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'6 Daryan Selvy from Carl Albert (