HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION FOR NOVEMBER 2002

Thursday, November 28, 2002, Friday, November 29, 2002, and, Saturday, November 30, 2002

We have updated our calender of events and most of the top events for the upcoming basketball season are included.  You can access this by clicking on Dates/Future Events.  Unfortunately we don't have the time or the resources to necessary to gather all pertinent information about each event, but Eddie Oliver of Hoops USA has done all this in his 2002-2003 High School Basketball Tournament and Events Report.  And it is a must for anybody who wants who wants to know who is going to be in the field for the 116 events and tournaments that he covers in this year's addition.  You can get Oliver's report by writing HOOPSUSA at P.O. Box 15403, Surfside Beach, SC  29587, calling 1-(843) 650-5422, or emailing hoopsusa@scrr.com.   Oliver has a fan edition, which can be purchased for $30, and a college coaches edition, which includes contact information, including the name, phone number, fax number, and email address for the tournament director of each event, and is printed in color, that can be purchased for $100.  Obviously this was a very valuable resource when compiling our list of events, but were able to find a few events that Oliver doesn't include in his report like the Rocket City Sports Medicine Classic this weekend in Huntsville, AL; the Panther Classic at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville,KY, December 7th; Monsignor King Christmas Tournament at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Brooklyn, NY, December 26th-30th; the NIKE Martin Luther King Peace Classic in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, January 17th-18th; the South Florida Jam Fest at Northwestern High School in Miami, FL, January 18th-20th; and the National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI, February 7th-9th.  We already have some of the dates for the numerous state tournaments in March, but we are in the process of gathering the rest.  If you see something we're missing and/or already have dates for an event for this spring and/or summer that you want us to put up early, feel free to call me at (502) 500-4667 or email me hoopscooponline@mns.com. 

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

There is no question that the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament last weekend in Milford, DE was too early in the season, but, for our purposes, being there was still very important for several reasons.  First, it will give us something to compare to when we see many of these players again at Mike Procopio's National Prep School Invitational Tournament when they are in mid-season form in early February in Kingston, RI.  Second, it gives us the insight we need to update our rankings of the top 5th players in the nation.  As a matter of fact, I've spent a good part of the afternoon doing exactly that and, as a result, our list of the top 5th year players now goes 100 deep.  And it is available by clicking on 5th Year & Prep School Player Rankings.  Obviously this list is important for the college recruiter who is loooking for somebody who is ready to step in and make an immediate impact at the Division I level a year from now.  However, the pickings are slim, especially at the top, as only three of our top 25-ranked 5th year players - 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Chrisitan) AL, 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, and 6'8 Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT - are still available.   Digging a little deeper we find that 14 of the players - Gordon Klaiber from Troy (Redemption) NY, 6'8 Nick Stafford from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'8 Blake Schilb from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'4 Michael Cook from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'5 Zakee Boyd from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'6 Maurice Maxwell from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'8 Donte Minter from Fork Union (Military) VA, 6'7 Ryan Lambert from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'10 Oluwafemi Ibikunte from New Hampton (Prep) NH, 6'6 Daliek Powell from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'7 Marcus Sykes from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, 6'7 Patrick Ewing Jr from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'0 David Gale from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH - who are ranked in the 26-50 range are also still available.  And the pickings are just as slim at the top of the high school level, as only four players - 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'2 Milton Collins from New Orleans (O.P. Walker) LA - who are ranked among our top 75 nationally in the senior class are still available.  And, just like with the 5th year players, it opens up from there, as 21 players - 6'2 Jai Miller from Selma (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacret Heart) CT, 6'9 Nick Stigger from Van Nuys (Montclair Prep) CA, 6'0 Maureece Rice from Philadelphia (Strawberry Mansion) PA, 6'5 Jesus Verdejo from Miami (Christian) FL, 6'1 Anthony Harris from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 6'2 Robert McIver from New Haven (Hillhouse) CT, 6'8 Anthony King from Durham (Southern Durham) NC, 6'0 Rayshawn Reed from Inglewood (H.S.) CA, 6'8 Warren Scott from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'3 Ramel Bradley from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Byron Joynes from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'1 T.J. Bannister from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'2 Marcus Hammond from Memphis (East) TN, 5'11 Japhet McNeil from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY, 6'2 Byron Davis from Detroit (Rogers) MI, 6'6 Florentino Valencia from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'6 David Cornwell from Louisville (Eastern) KY, 6'7 Antonio Porch from Denver (East) CO, 6'2 Jay Jackson from Monroe (Ouchita Parish) LA, and 6'0 Jessie Burton from Minneapolis (South) MN - ranked in the 76-175 range are still on the board.  And will probably find that several of these players have signed before we finalize our Rankings of the Top Recruiting Class from the Fall Signing Period in early December.  We also find that 21 of the top 50 junior college players, as ranked by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, are also already gone.  And the number of players remaining is even less, if you look only at the top two players at each position, as only three players - 6'3 Travis DeGroot from New Mexico Military (JC) MN, 5'10 Jerel Blassingame from L.A. City (JC) CA, and 6'10 Darrius Manciel from Arkansas-Ft. Smith (H.S.) AR - have yet to sign with a four-year school  And, if you look only at the power forward and center spots, only seven of the 20 players are still on the available, as, to our knowledge, Manciel, 6'10 Justin Williams from Kankakee (JC) IL, 6'9 Marques Lewis from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, 6'8 Kitus Witherspoon from Seminole (JC) FL, 6'9 Oswaldo Gonzales from Jacksonville (J.C) TX, 6'7 Yakhouba Diawara from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, and 6'7 Chris Williams from Hill (J.C.) TX - are still on the board. 

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

The engine in my car died yesterday while I was driving back from the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament in Milford, DE and, as a result, only now am I catching up on what's happened in terms of recruiting during the last several days.  And right at the top of the list is the early verbal commitment that 6'7 Jr Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #47 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made to the University of Texas last night.  Dowell is a world-class athlete who can beat you outside with his excellent 3-point shooting and inside with his quickness, rebounding and ability to score around the basket.  In other words, he's the ultimate combo forward and he's probably better than where we have him ranked nationally, because we didn't get a chance to see him last summer.  Remember,  out-of-sight out of mind.  However, we actually discovered Dowell at the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX when he was just a 9th grader a year-and-a-half ago.  As a matter of fact, we liked Dowell so much at the time that we made a special trip to go back and watch him play again the next day.  And this is important for several reasons.  First, it more than makes up for the fact that University of Texas hasn't landed anybody from within the state in this year's senior class.  Second, Dowell 's the first junior nationally to have made a verbal commitment to anybody in the Big-12 Conference.  Third, this moves the Longhorns recruiting class into a tie at #12, along with Arizona and USC, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  Fourth, it gives the Longhorns a great head start on next year's recruiting class, which promises to be an important class, because when they have start replacing the five juniors and four sophomores that currently are in the program.  And right at the top of their list are 6'1 Jr Jason Horton from Cedar Hill (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #12 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have confirmed via Andre Whitehead, who is our correspondent for Eastern Tennessee, that 6'2 Brian Fish from Newbern (Dyer County) TN has signed with David Lipsomb and 6'8 Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA has made it official for Middle Tennessee State.  The signing of Weeks is huge, because he not only is ranked #54 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he moves the Blue Raiders recruiting class into a tie at #30, along with Houston, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Middle Tennessee also landed 6'2 Montrell Crittendon from Newbern (Dyer County) TN, 6'7 Kenyona Swader from Smyrna (H.S.) TN, 5'11 Bryan Smithson from Kennesaw (North Cobb) GA, and 6'4 Ben Britt from Chattanooga (Red Bank) TN.   If Middle Tennessee State was going to successfully steal this one, they had to do it during the early signing period, because the word was already out about Weeks being one the top unsigned seniors still available.  As a matter of fact, only two players - 6'8 Brandon Bass from New Orleans (Capital) LA and 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD - who ranked among our top 50 seniors nationally are still available and only five players - 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Milton Collins from New Orleans (O.P. Walker) LA, 6'3 Jai Miller from Selma (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT, and 6'9 Nick Stigger from Van Nuys (H.S.) CA - who ranked in the 51-100 range are still available.  This also isn't the first time that Middle Tennesse State assistant coach Donnie Tyndall's name has been attached to a recruiting class that is ranked disproportionately high when compared to other school at the level at which his team competes.  If you will recall, a year ago Tyndall was at the University of Idaho and was largely responsible for landing a recruiting class that finished ranked #15 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2002 behind Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan State, Iowa State, Maryland, Villanova, Illinois, Arizona, Kansas State, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisville, and Cincinnati and ahead of Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Iowa, Purdue, Connecticut, Syracuse, USC, Indiana, Wake Forest, LSU, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Nebraska.  Obviously recruiting is team effort, but this should be enough to move Tyndell's name up even further on our list of the Top Assistant Coaches at the Lower Division I Level.  If you will recall, he was ranked #9 on that list when it came out last February. 

We have confirmed that 5'11 Mike Woodard from Fairburn (Creekside) GA has signed with Youngstown State and it appears the Penguins also are the favorite for 6'7 Tynell Dunkley from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  We also understand that 6'7 Kshaua Daley from Marietta (H.S.) GA has signed with Howard University.  Not only is this a great catch for the Bisons, but when the Howard coaching staff found out that they could get this power forward who scores and rebounds on the block, they decided to not pass him up, despite the fact they've primarily been targeting perimeter players.  In other words, Daley is that good!  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Romeo Travis from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH has signed with Akron, which comes as no surprise, because his old high school coach Keith Dombrot is now an assistant coach at Akron.  Several that have slipped past us include 6'9 Mike Travis from San Francisco (JC) CA to Texas Tech, 6'8 Jesus Urbina from Amelia (Academy) VA, and 6'3 Ray George from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA to Georgia State.  George, who has nice size, good ball handling skills, and rebounds well for a point guard, joins 6'4 Kevin Thomas from Owens Tech (JC) OH and 6'9 Lance Hood from Southeast Nebraska (JC) NE to give Lefty Driesell a recruiting class that is tied at #69, along with College of Charleston, Hofstra, Butler, SMU, Oregon State, Hampton, Drexel, and Lamar, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Urbina is decent athlete with good skills, a big body, and a competitive nature.  He also can score on the block, which means Urbina promises to be an excellent replacement for inside for 6'10 Jesse Young, who will graduate after this season.  Travis joins 6'8 DeVonne Giles from Seward County (JC) KS and 6'4 Drew Coffman from Midland (Lee) TX to give Texas Tech a recruiting class that is tied at #32, along with San Francisco and Alabama, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And if Travis turns out to be as good as the last player Bob Knight got from San Francisco (JC) CA, he'll be in great shape.  If you will recall, 6'10 Dean Garrett from San Francisco (JC) CA was the center on Knight's last NCAA Championship team at Indiana in 1987.  It also appears that Texas Christian's recruiting class has moved into a tie at #28, along with Iowa, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, because first-year Baylor head coach Neil Dougherty has added 6'8 Art Pierce from Tyler (Grace) TX and 6'1 Neil Dougherty from Ft. Worth, TX to class that already included 6'4 Aaron Curtis from Lon Morris (JC) TX and 6'5 Blake Adams from Aldine (Nimitz) TX.   Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin reports that Siena 6'8 has signed 6'8 Tecmar Caldwell from Morristown (H.S.) NJ.  Rubin also tells us that the favorites for 6'10 Mbainai Narmbaye from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is one of the top unsigned big men still available in the senior class nationally, are Rutgers, Colorado, La Salle, St. Joseph's, and Massachusetts.  Did you know that 6'4 LaKeith Blanks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC had signed with Texas A&M, 6'9 Asrangue Souleymane from Laurinburg (Institute) NC had signed with American University, 6'1 Van Crafton from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT had signed with Quinnipiac, 6'7 Sam Kaplan from Worcester (Academy) MA is going to Yale, and 7'2 Lulcasz Obrzut from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME has verbally committed to Fordham?  Neither did we until we got to the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament in Milford, DE.  Blanks is a steal for Texas A&M, because, if he was a senior, instead of a 5th year player, he would be ranked among  our top 75 nationally.  Blanks joins 6'8 Marlon Pompey from Winchendon (School) MA to move the Aggies recruiting class into a tie at #86 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Blanks is best described as an athletic 2-guard who can beat you with his outside shooting and ability to slash to the basket and, as a result, should provide Aggies head coach Melvin Watkins with one of the better pair of wing players in the tough Big-12 Conference a year from now.  Remember, 6'7 Antonie Wright from Groton (Lawrence Academy) MA promises to be one of the top freshmen in the Big-12 Conference this season. Souleymane is a project, but we like his size, athleticism and potential, especially for a school in the Patriot League like American University.  Crafton is the crafty point guard who gets the ball to 6'3 Quincy Douby and makes the St. Thomas More team go.  And he'll do the same thing next year for head coach Joe DeSantis at Quinnipaic.  Kaplan has improved dramatically since we saw him a year ago and, as a result, is the ideal blue collar player for Worcester (Academy) MA.  However, he probably will turn out to be more than just a good role player for Yale.  Obrzut verbally committed to Fordham recently, but hasn't signed, because he wants to leave himself an out in case the Fordham coaching staff isn't able to turn things around this season and gets fired next spring.  

Monday, November 25, 2002

The final day of the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament in Milford, DE was much better than the first two days for several reasons.  First, a number of the top players in the tournament stepped up and turned in stellar performances, unlike the previous two days when most everybody just seemed to be going through the motions.  Second, the eight team's that hadn't played a game prior to participating in this tournament now had a game under their belt.  Third, the games got better, because the better teams and the worse teams were matched up against one another.  However, picking the best player in the tournament was still not an easy task, because it was a very close call among 6'7 Loul Deng from Blairstown (Academy) NJ, 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Academy) NJ, 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St. Thomas) CT.  We give the edge to Douby, who led St. Thomas More to a pair of victories against Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and Milford (Academy) CT.  Douby scored 19 points and hit 3-6 3-pointers in his team's 69-43 victory over Hargrave Military on Saturday.  And that was good enough to get him ranked #3 among all players after the first two days of action.  However, it was his 29 points, including 5-8 3-pointers, and five assists against Milford Academy, as he led his team to a 83-54 victory, that gives him the edge over Deng, Villanueva, and Ervin.  Douby does need to get bigger and stronger in order to be successful at the college level, but we're talking about an excellent athlete with excellent skills and the ability to score from just about anywhere.  As a matter of fact, Douby is one of the best 3-point shooters we've seen in a long time.  He also might be the most important player Rutgers head coach Gary Waters will ever sign, because now Waters has a potential great one to build his program around.  However, Douby still wasn't the most important person for St. Thomas More.  That honor has to go head coach Jere Quinn, who is one of the best teachers in the game today at any level and, as a result, his players run his system to perfection and pick you apart in process.  Remember, St. Thomas More didn't just beat Hargrave Military and Milford Academy, they murdered them to the tune of 26 and 29 points and they only one big time player (Douby) on the team.  So it should come as no surprise that our choice Tournament MVP (Most Value Person) goes to Quinn.  Ervin gets our choice for second best player in the tournament, despite the fact tht he shot a mediocre 5-14 and 5-13 in his first two games, because he does such a great job of controlling the game and getting his teammates involved.  Which means Mississppi State head coach Rick Stansbury, who signed Ervin this fall, will have a great point guard to go to war with in the Southeastern Conference for the next four years.  In other words, it now looks like he was right on the money when our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio was complaining last spring about the fact that Douby and Ervin didn't even get a snife for the McDonald's All-American Team and nobody, including me believed him.  As a matter of fact, if either or both are on this year's ballot, they will get my vote, because they both are that good!  Deng was sensational the first night, as he finished with 25 points, 23 rebounds, five assists, and four steals, but he was slowed down by an injury as he had only 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists in the game on Saturday.  Villaneuva also didn't quite equal his 19-point and 10-rebound effort on the first night, as he finished with 16 points and five rebounds against Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, but his nine blocked shots and four steals in this game was extremely impressive.  We also were very impressed with 6'9 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'5 Dwight Brewington from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'4 LaKeith Blanks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'1 Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'8 Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'6 Oumar Sylla from from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'4 Gerald Brown from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'7 Norm Plummer from Brewster (Academy) NH, 6'8 Amaud Dahi from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, and 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD on the final day.  We'll start with Brewington and Brown, because these two guys promise to be a big reason why the future is so bright for Providence head coach Tim Welsh.  Brewington can't hear (he's legally death), but he has great court awareness, timing, and anticipation, which explains why he always seems to be in the right place at the right time.  Brewington also plays hard, can beat you offensively both inside and outside, is an excellent rebounder for his size, and a good ball handler and passer for his size, as is evident by his statistics against Bridgton Academy, which included 9-13 field goals, 1-2 3-pointers, 4-6 free throws, seven rebounds, 23 points, five assists, two turnovers, and two steals.   Brown, who scored only 3 points and had four turnovers against St. Thomas More on Saturday night, had 29 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals en route to a 90-85 victory over Brewster Academy yesterday.  Brewington and Brown also got a chance to hang out together and become friends over the weekend.  Although both had verbally committed earlier this fall to Providence, they had never met prior to being in Milford, DE for the War on the Shore.  Next we'll talk about Palacios and Sylla, because they led Our Savior New American to a 71-51 victory over Ft Washington (National Christian) MD, which ironically featured the player that University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino had come to see.  If you will recall, Pitino coached the father of 6'7 Patrick Ewing Jr from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD years ago when was an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.   However, Ewing Jr, who had 14 points, five rebounds, and six turnovers, as Pitino looked on, picked up where he left off earlier in the tournament, as he showed why we don't think he's ready yet to be recruited at the high major level.  We say that because Ewing Jr does have a lot of natural talent and the potential to grow four or five more inches, which means he could end up being just as tall as his father.  Thus, explains why we think it would be a great move for Ewing Jr to go the junior college route, even though he's already academically qualified.  Instead, Palacios, who scored 20 points against National Christian, is the player Pitino had to be impressed with and, ironically, Palacios reminds us of former University of Kentucky All-American Jamal Mashburn in many ways.  Remember, Mashburn was the player Pitino build the Wildcats program when he was the head coach at Kentucky.  And just like Masburn, Palacios is deceptively quick and mobile out on the perimeter, where he can beat you with 3-point shooting, but he also is strong enough and skilled enough to be very effective from mid-range and in.   Sylla's outside shot isn't pretty, but it's hard to complain about a guy who hit 9-13 3-pointers in his last two games.  Sylla also impressed with his athleticism and ability to score in transition as he scored 21 points versus National Christian, but his eight assists against National Christian and nine rebounds against Blair Academy provide an excellent indication of his versatility.  It also illustrates just how big a steal Sylla is for Valparaiso.  Speaking of the Crusaders, it is rumored that Valparaiso stashed both Sylla and Palacios at Our Savior New American, but getting Palacios back might not be so easy, because you can bet a lot of big time people, including Pitino, are going to come calling.  Johnson, who is arguably the second best high school and/or prep school player still available behind 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, was good on Saturday, as he scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and connected on 4-5 3-pointers.  But he was even better yesterday, as he scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and did most of his damage inside.  Speaking of Johnson, he confirmed the fact that he is wide open on schools.   If you will recall, he did not re-sign this fall with the Georgia, which was where he originally signed a year ago prior to not making it academically and going the prep school route.  Instead, the first school out of Alexander's mouth was North Carolina, which means it probably was no coincidence that Tar Heels assistant coach Fred Quartlebaum was in the house on Saturday to watch him play.  Johnson also mentioned Alabama, Cincinnati, Duke, and Georgia.  But he also mentioned the fact that the Bulldogs currently don't have a scholarship available.  If you will recall, Georgia's recruiting class, which currently is ranked #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, already includes five players - 6'9 Mohamed Abukar from San Diego (Ranchco Bernardo) CA, 6'8 Marcus Jackson from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'10 Cassiano Matheus from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'8 Corey Gibbs from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'4 Jordan Howell from Madison (Abbeville) AL.  However, when it is all said and done, it's our guess that Georgia head coach Jim Harrick will find a way to make it work, if Alexander once again opts for the Bulldogs.   Blanks, who is an absolute steal for Texas A&M, stepped up to help 6'7 Regis Koundjia, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three steals of his own, lead Laurinburg to a 76-68 overtime victory against Winchendon (School) MA, in what was the most exciting game of the tournament.  And, while Koundjia and Blanks were getting it done out on the perimeter, Coly wasn't taking any prisoners inside, as he finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.  Not only is Coly one of the most improved players in the nation since we first saw him two years ago at Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, but, if he continues to develop at the same pace, he may someday be just as good as Xavier All-American 6-9 David West.  Ironically, Coly, who, according the Chaney, signed with Xavier, last week, has a chance to be West's replacement next year.  Hailey was good on Saturday when he scored 10 points and dished out seven assists, but he was terrific yesterday, as he finished with 25 points and helped Brewington lead Worcester Academy to a 81-66 victory over Bridgton Academy.  In other words, the value of Hailey's stock not only rises dramatically, but Boston College shouldn't miss a beat when 6'1 Sr Troy Bell and 6'2 Jr Ryan Sidney graduate after this year and next year, respectively, because Hailey and 6'2 Lou Hinnant from Brandywine (Gwynn Park) MD, who signed with Eagles and year ago and currently is freshman at Boston College, appear to be the ideal replacements.  Plummer is one of these guys who was a senior a year ago, but who is now trying to pass himself off as a junior, because he plans to be in prep school for two years.  However, for our purposes he's a 5th year player this year and he'll be a 5th year player again next year.  We also question Plummer's outside shooting, but after a 20-point performance on Saturday against Milford (Academy) CT and a 32-point and six-steal performance yesterday against Hargrave Military Academy, there is no doubt in our mind that he was one of the top 10 players here based on performance.   On Saturday we thought Dahi didn't have enough of a shooter's mentality, but 4-7 3-pointers en route to a 28-point performance makes him one of the best unsigned wing players still available in the senior class nationally.  Boone shot a lot better with 14-22 field goals and 14 blocks in his two games Friday and Saturday, but nobody all weekend came close to equaling the 20 rebounds he had on Sunday againg Burlington (Life Center) NJ.  Actually the second leading rebounder all weekend was 6'6 Blake Schilb from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) ME, who finished with 15 rebounds against Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Schilb is an undersized power forward who wants to be 3-man down the road.  However, we think that would be a mistake, because Schilb is a blue collar banger who does all the dirty work inside.  In other words, Schilb would be a steal at the mid-major level.  We also have to once again mention 6'4 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, because he had 10 points and seven assists while playing point guard against Laurinburg (Institute) NC, and 6'4 Michael Cook from New Hampton, who, 6'4, is a physical specimen and versatile enough to play both inside and outside at the mid-to-high major level.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment on Sunday was 6'6 Jr Cheyenne Gibson from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD and his 10 points, 3-15 field goals, 3-9 3-pointers, and seven turnovers tell it all. 

Friday, November 22, 2002, Saturday, November 23, 2002, & Sunday, November 24, 2002

It looks like we were right on the money a month ago when we told you that the War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational Tournament in Milford, DE was being held way too early in the season.   Sure, it is great for us to confirm which players have surfaced at what schools and, just like the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament that Bobby Jacobs puts on every year between Christmas and New Year's in Lewes, DE, this tournament is second to none in terms of hospitality and organization.  However, most of the games have been ugly.  As a matter of fact, the first game in this tournament was the opening game of the season  for eight of the 18 teams in the tournament.  And this is important, because there not only wasn't much continuity and team chemistry, but there weren't very many memorable performances.  And making it even worse for college coaches is the fact that most of the top players in the tournament have already signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent, which means the pickings were pretty slim for the college recruiter looking to steal somebody, especially at the high Division I level.   Of the top 10 performances in the tournament, which included 6'7 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ to Duke, 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ to Illinois, 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St. Thomas) CT to Rutgers, 6'3 Curtis Stinson Winchendon (School) MA to Iowa State, 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to Mississippi State, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC to LSU, 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'1 Jr Jamual Warren from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'6 Jr Cheyenne Gibson from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD to Georgetown, 6'4 Michael Cook from New Hampton (Prep) NH, seven are already either signed or verbally committed.  And among the remaining three, Warren is a repeat junior and Cook is believed to have been stashed at New Hampton by Providence.  In other words, Johnson, who is believed to have reneged on the University of Georgia, is the only recruitable sure fire big time player in the entire tournament.  And our guess is that he will eventually re-sign with Georgia.  If you will recall, history appears to be repeating itself, because Johnson paid lip service to being open a year ago, but, in the end, signed with the Bulldgos anyway.  And digging a little deeper, our list of the second 10 players in at the tournament after the first two days based on the way primarily on performance, includes 6'1 Will Blaylock from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA to Iowa State, 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham Prep) MD to Connecticut, 6'5 Dwight Brewington from Worcester (Academy) MA to Providence, 6'6 Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY to Valparaiso, 6'5 Jr Roosevelt Lee from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'8 Nick Stafford from Worceshter (Academy) MA, 6'8 Amaud Dahi from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'8 Ray George from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA to Georgia State, 6'0 Jr Jon Lyles from Milford (Academy) CT, and 6'5 Joel Smith from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  But Lyles is a junior, Lee is a a repeat junior, and, Smith, who was a senior last year and, as result, will be listed as a 5th year player by us, is listed a junior, because he is expected to be in prep school for two years.   Which means that Stafford, and Dahi George are really the only two players in our second 10  who are recruitable right now.  However, Stafford, who isn't strong enough to play inside and doesn't shoot it well enough to play out on the perimeter, has a position question and he's coming off a mediocre junior season and Dahi has tremendous natural talent and potential, but isn't a dominant force and doesn't look to score enough right now.  Also considered for this list, but not making it because he was mediocre at best in his game on the second day was 6'8 Jr Juan Diego Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY.  But Palacios's 22-point performance ranked him behind Deng, Villanueva, and Ervin among players on the first night.  Also playing well enough to get consideration for our top 20 list in the tournament are 6'6 Raphael DeSilva from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who is a steal for Florida International; 6'5 LaKeith Blanks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who is gone to Texas A&M; 6'7 Karron Clark from Winchendon (School) MA, who is gone to Miami-FL; 6'5 J.R. Pinnock from Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA, who verbally committed to Wichita State, but who has since reneged; 6'5 Zakee Boyd from Philadelphia (Lutheran Christian) PA, who verbally committed to Hartford earlier this fall, but didn't sign a National of Letter-of-Intent during the Fall Signing Period; 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, who signed with Xavier last week; 6'6 Daliek Powell from Philadelphia (Lutheran Christian) PA; 6'7 Norm Plummer from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH; and 6'8 Dennard Abraham from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA. The biggest disappointments in the tournament after two days were 6'7 Patrick Ewing Jr from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD and 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  The value of Pilgrim's stock had shot up dramatically after he played so well last spring at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, but he was no better than the fourth best player on Brewster's team yesterday behind Smith, Plummer, and 6'5 Blake Schilb, as he finished with 11 points and hit only 4-13 field goals.  Ewing's 24 points and 12 rebounds versus Laurinburg (Institute) NC appears to be impressive, but most of that came at garbage time, as his team got blown out 79-54.  Ewing's six points and seven rebounds in the first half against Laurinburg and only 10 points, including 1-6 field goals, against Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA the night before tells the real story.  Ewing does have some natural talent, but he doesn't shoot it well enough and isn't quick enough on the perimeter and he isn't tough enough inside to be ranked any higher than his current #262 national ranking in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, Ewing played great at the Charlie Weber Tournament in September and, as a result, a lot big time schools have been showing interest.  Getting back to the top players in the tournament, it's not close between Deng and Villanueva, as Deng is clearly the better of the two.  As a matter of fact, Deng is so efficient, so skilled, and has such a great feel for the game that he did nothing but reinforce his #2 ranking in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  On the other hand, Villanueva may actually have more natural talent than Deng, but he still has a position question for the highest level and, as a result, needs at least several years of college to continue to develop his perimeter skills.  Douby led St. Thomas More with 19 points to a 69-43 victory over a much more talented Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA team that featured 6'9 Hassan Fofana, 6'9 Ryan Lambert, 6'7 Chaz Crawford, 6'7 Joel Green, 6'4 Gerald Brown, and 5'11 Jason McKinney in the final game of the evening on Saturday night.  As a matter of fact, it was so ugly that not one of these guys scored in double-digits nor were they considered for our top 20 list above.  We also have confirmed via Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT head coach Jere Quinn, who is listed among the top five on our list of the top high school and prep school coaches in the nation, that Douby has signed a National Letter-of-Intent and plans to return it to Rutgers later this week.  One of the most intriguing players in the tournament is 6'9 Oluwafemi Ibikunle from New Hampton (Prep) NH.  His five points and four rebounds versus Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA won't get him ranked among the top players in the tournament and he has a long way to go at the offensive end, but he plays hard, has size and athleticism, and lots of potential. 

Thursday, November 21, 2002

I will be in transit most of the day tomorrow, as I drive to Milford, DE for the inaugural War on the Shore National Prep School Invitational. And I plan to be there when the first game, which features Colora (West Nottingham) MD versus Burlington (Life Center) NJ, tips off at 6:00 PM.  Also tomorrow night we will get a a chance to see Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD at 7:45 PM and Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ versus Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY at 9:30 PM.  The schedule for Saturday, November 24th, begins bright and early with Burlington (Life Center) NJ versus Bridgton (North Bridgton Academy) ME at 8:30 AM, followed by New Hampton (Prep) NH versus Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA at 10:15 PM, Laurinburg (Institute) NC versus Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD at Noon, Milford (Academy) CT versus Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH at 1:45 PM, Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA versus Blair Academy (H.S.) NJ at 3:30 PM, Worcester (Academy) MA versus Colora (West Nottingham) MD at 5:15 PM, Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA versus Philadelphia (Lutheran Christian) PA at 7:00 PM, Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY versus Winchendon (School) MA at 8:45 PM, and Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA versus Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT at 10:00 PM.  The schedule on Sunday, November 25th, will tip-off at 9:00 AM with the loser of New Hampton (Prep) NH-Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA versus the loser of Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA-Philadelphia (Lutheran Christian) PA, followed by the loser of Worcester (Academy) MA-Colora (West Nottingham) MD versus the loser of Burlington (Life Center) NJ- Bridgton (North Bridgton Academy) ME at 10:45 AM, the loser of Chatham (Hargrave Miltary) VA-Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT versus the loser of Milford (Academy) CT-Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH at 12:30 PM, the loser of Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY-Winchendon (School) MA versus the loser of Laurinburg (Institute) NC-Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD at 2:15 PM, the winner of New Hampton (Prep) NH-Virginia Beach (Coastal Christian) VA versus the winner of Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA-Philadelphia (Lutheran Christian) PA at 4:00 PM, the winner of Chatham (Hargrave Miltary) VA-Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT versus the winner of Milford (Academy) CT-Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH at 5:45 PM, the winner of Worcester (Academy) MA-Colora (West Nottingham) MD versus the winner of Burlington (Life Center) NJ-Bridgton (North Bridgton Academy) ME at 7:30 PM, the winner of Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY-Winchendon (School) MA versus the winner of Laurinburg (Institute) NC-Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD at 9:15 PM.  Obviously this promises to be a long weekend, but it should be well worth it because The War on the Shore, will feature some of the top high school players in the nation, including 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Lamont Hamilton from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'5 Dwight Brewington from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'9 Bennett Davis from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'6 Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'7 Arnaud Dahi from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'10 Roman Narmbaye-Mbainas from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'9 Arnaud Moussa Mbaye from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, 6'7 Patrick Ewing Jr from Ft. Washington (National Christian) MD, 6'9 Jr Juan Diego Tellos Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'5 Jr Roosevelt Lee from Milford (Academy) CT, and 6'1 Jr Jamual Warren from Milford (Academy) CT, as well as most of the top 5th year players, including 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 5'11 Gary Ervin from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'9 Ousmane Konate from North Bridgton (North Bridgton) ME, 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, 6'6 Eliiah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'4 Kelvin Nelson from Milford (Academy) CT, 6'7 Mike Pilgram from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, 6'2 Curtis Stinson from Winchendon (School) MA, 6'2 Tyler Smith from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'9 Josh Boone from Colora (West Nottingham) MD, 5'11 Will Blaylock from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Marcus Sykes from Middleburg (Notre Dame) VA, 6'5 Zakee Boyd from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'1 Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'5 LaKeith Blanks from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'3 Andres Sandoval from Winchendon (School) MA, and 6'4 Michael Cook from New Hampton (Prep) NH. 

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that the University of California has landed another junior big man in 6'10 Jr Davis Ellis from Sacramento (Capital Christian) CA and, as a result, the Golden Bears' recruiting class moves up to #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004.  If you will recall, just a couple of days ago we told you that California also had gotten a early commitment from 6'11 Jr Sam Rayburn from Portland (Sunset) OR.  Johnson also informs us that Miami-FL has landed 6'3 Guillermo Diaz from Miami (Christian) FL.  And, if Diaz is half as good as Miami (Christian) FL head coach Art Alvarez thinks he is, this is a major steal!  Diaz appears to be following in the footsteps of 5'11 Jose Juan Barea, who transferred from Puerto Rico to Miami (Christian) FL a year ago and turned out to be one of the biggest sleepers in the senior class nationally, as well as one of the best point guards still available last spring.  However, Diaz is supposed to make Barea, who was ranked #130 nationally in the senior class nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2002, look like just an ordinary player.  Yes, Diaz is supposed to be that good and, as a result, Miami-FL's recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Leonard Harden from Garden City (JC) KS, 6'6 Eliiah Clark from Winchendon (School) MA, 7'0 Yankuba Camera from Moberly (JC) MO, and 6'2 Greg Brown from Indiana Hills (JC) IA, moves up to #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Johnson also has confirmed that 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH did sign and return his National Letter-of-Intent to the University of Cincinnati.  Apparently there were rumors earlier in the week about Pilgrim possibily reneging on the Bearcats, so this is impoortant to clear up.  We also have confirmed that 6'7 James White, who is transferring from the Florida, plans to make an official visit to Cincinnati this weekend.  Missouri, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech also are in the hunt for White's services, but the smart money appears to be on the Bearcats.  We also are still wondering what it going to happen with 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, and 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL.  If Mississippi gets Coly, their recruiting class, which currently is ranked #79 and includes 6'9 Byron Burnett from Southern Union (JC) AL, 6'5 Patrick Fields from San Antonio (John Jay) TX, and 6'4 Jara Doyne from Little Rock (Mills) AR, would move into a tie at #51, along with West Virginia, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If LSU gets Bass, their recruiting class, which currently is ranked #16 and includes 6'7 Regis Koundjia from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 5'10 Taurean Minor from Houston (Washington) TX, 6'8 Ross Neltner from Ft. Thomas (Highlands) KY, and 6'7 Darrell Lazare from Baton Rouge (Woodlawn) LA, would move up to #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, even if LSU gets Bass and Louisville gets Lang, then the Cardinals' recruiting class, which currently is ranked #9 and includes 6'7 Nate Daniels form Broward County (JC) FL, 6'10 Nauha Diakite from Barton County (JC) KS, and 6'4 Brandon Jenkins from Detroit (Southeastern) MI, would move into the #1 spot on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  In other words, there are still some very important things yet to be decided, like who is going to emerge with the #1-ranked recruiting class - Maryland, which currently is ranked #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, Louisville, or LSU?   Stay tuned! 

Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that 6'10 Alexander Johnson from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME has not re-signed a National Letter-of-Intent with the University of Georgia this fall and, as a result, his recruitment has been re-opened.  Obviously schools like Alabama, Auburn, and , which are all located geographically close to Albany, GA, which is where Johnson lived prior to going the prep school route this year, will be in the mix.  Also already showing interest are North Carolina, Charlotte, Memphis, Colorado, Louisville, Kansas, Syracuse, and Miami-FL, but when it's all said and done, Davis still thinks it's going to be tough to beat Georgia for Johnson's services.   In other words, it may turn out to be a replay of a year ago when Johnson claimed he was wide open right up until the day he signed the National Letter-of-Intent with the University of Georgia.  But if that happens, something else unexpected has to happen, because the Georgia already has five players in the fold in 6'9 Mohamed Abukar from San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) CA, 6'8 Marcus Jackson from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'10 Cassiano Matheus from South Plains (JC) TX, 6'8 Corey Gibbs from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'4 Jordan Howell from Madison (Abbeville) AL.  However, if Johnson does reaffirm his commitment to the Bulldogs at some point in the future and they decide to figure out the scholarship situation later, the Bulldogs' recruiting class, which currently checks in at #17 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, would move all the way up to #3 behind Maryland and Illinois and ahead of Oklahoma and Cincinnati.  Another person who no longer has any credibility with us is Wesley Washington's mother.  If you will recall, she repeatedly had told our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis that her son was going to wait until spring before signing National Letter-of-Intent with anybody.  But Trigonis now is telling us that this 6'3 athletic slashing two guard who was the highest ranked wing player still available in the high school ranks today has signed with the Golden Gophers.  We still haven't confirmed this as official, but we'd be surprised if this hasn't happened, because there are quotes in the public domain by Minnesota head coach Dan Monson talking about Washington's game.  Remember, a college coach can't talk about a recruit until after he has the signed National Letter-of-Intent in hand.  So we're declaring the race for Washington official and his commitment to Minnesota moves the Golden Gophers recruiting clas up to #78 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Minnesota also landed 6'7 Kerry Woolridge from San Leandro (H.S.) CA, which means they obviously are taking advantage of Monson's strong West Coast ties, especially since all the top seniors in the state - 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Duke, 6'9 Longar Longar from Rochester (John Marshall) MN to Oklahoma, 6'2 Lawrence Taylor from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN to Oklahoma, 6'1 Kammron Taylor from Minneapolis (North) MN to Wisconsin, 6'8 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN to Boston College, 6'9 Jon Williams from St. Cloud (Apollo) MN to St. John's, 6'8 Dan Fitzgerald from St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN to Tulane - have gotten away.  Obviously NCAA sanctions have hurt the Golden Gophers' this year, especially when recruiting in their backyard, but we don't think this will be a long term trend.  As a matter of fact, they already have early verbal commitments from 6'8 Jr Spencer Tollackson from Chaska (H.S.) MN and 6'4 Jr Miles Webb from Brooklyn (Park -Center) MN, who are widely regarded as the top two juniors in the state.  Speaking of Minnesota's two early commitments, did you know that the Goldden Gophers are tied with Michigan State at #10 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004, which we just added to exclusively to the Members Section today?  However, this still doesn't get Minnesota ranked any higher than tied for 5th with Michigan State in the Big-10, as six of the top 11 recruiting classes are from that conference.  Also well represented is the Atlantic Coast Conference, which accounts for three of top six and four of the top 14 classes on our list of early verbal commitments.  The only other conference with more than one team ranked among the top 15 recruiting classes on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2004 is the Pacific-10 with USC, Arizona, and California.

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that Kansas State has landed 6'8 Jeremiah Massey from Oxnard (JC) CA, who is ranked as the #2 power forward in the junior college ranks by Lindy's Basketball Pre-Season Yearbook and as the #8 power forward in the junior college ranks by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  This is big, because Massey is exactly what the Wildcats will need to replace 6'9 Jr Previs Pasco inside a year from now.  Actually Massey, who both scores and rebounds well around the basket, is better offensively right now than Pasco and, as a result, it continues to look like it's only a matter of time before Kansas State head coach Jim Wooldridge elevates the Wildcats into one of the powerhouse teams in the tough Big-12 Conference.  If you will recall, two years ago Kansas State had the 19th best recruiting class by the HOOP SCOOP and a year ago they followed that up with the 10th best recruiting class, which explains why Kansas State has the 13th highest talent rating in the nation based on our Exclusive HOOP SCOOP Talent Ratings for all Teams in the Top 10 Division I Conferences.   It also explains why we think this may be one of the biggest sleepers in the college basketball this season.  And this year Kansas State appears to be on the verge of its third straight top 20 recruiting class, as they currently have the #11-ranked recruiting class in the nation on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, we've already reported that they had verbal commitments from 5'7 Dez Willingham from De Soto (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX, and 6'4 Lance Harris from Columbia (Hickman) MO, but we also have learned that the Wildcats have landed 6'10 Tyler Hughes from Olathe (North Olathe) KS.  Which means Kansas State should continue to improve a year from now, despite the fact three starters - Pasco, 6'8 Sr Matt Siebrandt, and 6'5 Gilson DeJesus - will graduate after this season.  In addition to Massey, who will step into Pasco's spot, 6'7 Frosh Marques Hayden should be ready to take over for Siebrandt; Martin, Harris, and 6'3 Jr Tim Ellis all will get playing time at both the two and the three spots; and the backcourt should be terrific with 6'2 Jr Frank Richards, who is ranked as the #3 incoming junior college point guard by Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, and 6'4 Jarrett Hart, who is ranked as the #4 incoming junior college shooting guard by Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, and Willingham, who is ranked #37 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  In other words, it should be only a matter of time before everybody else starts jumping on this bandwagon.  Another program that has gotten it done during the last year-and-a-half via the junior college route is Texas Tech.   Remember, Red Raiders head coach Bob Knight's first recruiting class in the spring of 2001 was ranked #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and it included 6'7 Sr Kasib Powell, 6'8 Sr Pawel Storozynski, 5'11 Sr Will Chavis, and 6'6 Sr Nick Valdez, who figure to be four of the five Texas Tech's starters this year, along with 6'5 Jr Andre Emmett, who is expected to be one of the best players.  Last year Texas Tech also landed 6'8 Robert Tomaszek from Eastern Wyoming (JC) WY and in the current recruiting class they have added 6'8 DeVonene Giles from Seward County (JC) KS.  However, just like Oklahoma did a year ago after landing the #2 and #6 ranked recruiting classes by the HOOP SCOOP in 2000 and 2001and Kansas State appears to be doing now, our guess is that Texas Tech will focus more on high school players in the future.  As a matter, our Texas Editor Wes Grandstaff tells us that the Red Raiders already have a verbal commitment from 6'8 Soph Justin Wilkerson from Greenville (H.S.) TX.   Not only has Wilkerson grown four inches in the last year, but he can shoot the lights out and, as a result, Grandstaff is touting him as a top 50 sophomore nationally.    Wilkerson not only is one of the top sophomores in Texas, but he also is the first player that we know of  in the Class of 2005 nationally to have made a verbal commitment this early.  Grandstaff also thinks Wilkerson has surpassed 6'10 Soph Kendrick Johnson from Morton (H.S.) TX, who has an 8th grader was the #1-ranked player in his class, but hasn't developed and progressed as expected.  Johnson still has the size and athleticism to write his own ticket someday, but, like so many players from the Deep South, it appears he's going to need somebody to push him, if he wants to be successful at the next level.  And we all know Bob Knight is tailor made for the job.  However, in light of the fact that Johnson hasn't lived up to all the early hype, it now appears that he may need Knight more than Knight needs him. 

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Last week we told you that 6'8 Ivan Lopez from Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA and 6'7 Keena Young from Beaumont (Ozen) TX both were on the verge of signing with the University of Memphis this fall.  Well, our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman is now telling us to write it down.  Lopez is best described as a blue collar power forward who is good on the boards and effective around the basket.  Young is big time athletic who can beat you with his outside shooting and ability to slash to the basket.  In other words, neither player is the type of player you're going to build your program, but both players, who are consensus 100-200 seniors nationally, should be important pieces to the puzzle, as Tigers head coach John Calipari continues to rebuild the Memphis program into a national power.  They also should provide the perfect complement to two players who are good enough to build your program around.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Memphis also landed 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX and 6'7 Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, both of whom are consensus top 20 seniors nationally and both of whom should be locks for the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game next spring.  This not only moves Memphis' recruiting class moves up to #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, but it also means that Calipari has added the perfect complement to all the good young players - 6'4 Soph Anthony Rice, 6'5 Soph Billy Richmond, 6'8 Soph Arthur Barclay, 6'9 Soph Duane Erwin, 6'3 Frosh Jeremy Hunt, 6'7 Frosh Almamy Thiero, 6'0 Frosh Clyde Wade, and 6'7 Frosh Rodney Carney - that he already has in the program.  This also puts the Memphis coaching staff into a very enviable position, because, by our count, they only have one scholarship left for next year's recruiting class.  However, that's assuming that Wade, who currently is a walk-on, gets a scholarship a year from now (if that doesn't happen, they would have two scholarships available next year).  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Oklahoma State has signed 6'9 Tremaine Fuqua from Skyline (JC) CA, Texas El-Paso has signed 6'2 Sheldon Pace from Chaffey (JC) CA, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee has signed 6'3 Ed McCants from Paris (JC) TX.  And in each case, it's pretty huge.  Did you know that McCants is ranked as the #2 2-guard in the junior college ranks by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, Pace is ranked #4 among junior college point guards by Lindy's Pre-Season Magazine, and Fuqua is the #5-ranked junior college power forward by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook?  McCants also is the second big time junior college player that Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Bruce Pearl has landed in the last week.  Remember, Pearl got an verbal commitment from 6'10 Jr Derrick Ford from Olney Central (JC) IL, who is one of the top freshman big man prospects in the junior college ranks.  Pace is a great first recruit for new UTEP head coach Bill Gillispie, but it's our guess that he will do most of his recruiting damage in the state of Texas.  Remember, nobody has more contacts in the Lone Star state than Gillispie.  Fuqua should provide Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton with the one thing that Cowboys don't have a lot of this year.  Obviously we're talking about size inside, as the Cowboys are expected to start 6'8 Ivan McFarlan, 6'8 Jason Miller, and 6'5 Melvin Sanders up front this season.  Fuqua also promises to be be the perfect complement to Joey Graham and Stephen Graham, who transferred last spring from Central Florida and are sitting out at Oklahoma State this season.  However, the Graham's won't count in the current recruiting class, because we don't count transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  We also are waiting to see if Youngstown State can seal the deal by tomorrow with 5'11 Mike Woodard from Fairburn (Creekside) GA.  If you will recall, tomorrow is the final day a prospective basketball player can sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent with a four-year school.  And, if Youngstown State doesn't get this done immediately, the likelihood that Woodard will go elsewhere in the spring increases dramatically.  If Woodard does sign with Penguins tomorrow, he would join 6'6 John Barber from Detroit (Renaissance) MI, who has already signed with Youngstown State.  However, he won't join 6'2 Curtis Ingram from Youngstown (Cardinal Mooney) OH.  Previously it had been reported that Ingram had elected to stay home and attend Youngstown State.  However, now we've received word that Ingram has signed with Wofford.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that New Hampshire had landed 6'3 Alray Taylor from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME, 6'7 Craig Walls from Kansas City (JC) KS, and 6'8 Damione Lidgel from Kansas City (JC) KS.  We also confirmed several days ago that Morehead State has gotten 6'10 Kevin McDonald from Harrison (H.S.) OH and this is interesting for several reasons.  First, this keeps the Eagles Ohio-connection going.    Remember, 6'4 Jr Ricky Minard and 6'0 Jr Marquis Sykes, who combine to form what many believe is the best backcourt in the Ohio Valley Conference, are both from Mansfield (H.S.) OH; 6'7 Soph Chad McKnight is from Lancaster (H.S.) OH; and 6'0 Josh Reed, who is signed with the Eagles this fall, is from East Liverpool (H.S.) OH.  Second, McDonald, who was ranked #86 in the state in his class by our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, is a good shot blocker and a late developer.  In other words, McDonald has the potential to develop into the replacement for 6'9 Sr Ike Lopez, who will graduate after this season, and the size Eagles head coach Kyle Macy will need inside a year from now to complement Minard, Sykes, and Kyle Hankins out on the perimeter. 

Monday, November 18, 2002

The word on the street is that 6'10 Wayne Marshall from Philadelphia (Martin Luther King) PA is going to sign with Temple tomorrow.  Not only does our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin confirm this, but thinks this is a great get for the Owls, despite the fact that Marshall is ranked no higher than #114 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, Marshall didn't play well when we saw him last summer at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV.  However, Rubin reminds us that Marshall spent most of the summer in summer school and, as a result, doesn't think we saw Marshall at his best.  "Marshall has great hands and feet, good post moves, the abilty to step out and it the 15-foot jumper, and is excellent at blocking shots," says Rubin.  "He's also tough on the boards and is still only 16-years-old.  He won't be 17 until January, which meams his upside unlimited."  Rubin also points out that Marshall's father, Wayne Marshall Sr, was a basketball player in late 1970's at Philadelphia (Germantown) PA and he tells us that Temple head coach John Chaney made Marshall a recruiting priority last winter, as he was seen at several of his games.  However, the guy who did most of the leg work and, as a result, deserves most of the credit is Owls assistant coach Dan Leibovitz, who is quickly establishing himself as one of the top young assistants in the business.  If you will recall, Temple is a tough sell these days, because nobody is sure how much longer Chaney is going to coach.  However, with the addition of Marshall and 6'3 Mario Taybron from Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA, who is ranked #10 on our 5th year list, already in the fold, Temple's recruiting clas moves into a tie at #58, along with Georgia, Utah, and Richmond, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And this comes on the heels of Temple's recruiting class a year ago, which was ranked #57 in our final ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for 2002 and included 6'6 Michael Blackshear from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 7'0 Keith Butler from Philadelphia (Celestial Prep) PA, 6'7 Antywane Robinson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'5 Maurice Collins from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, and 6'1 Chris Gaither from Leitchfield (Grayson County) KY.  Speaking of these freshmen, Blackshear is sitting out as Prop 48 casuality, but Butler, Robinson, and Collins will probably start this season, along with 6'6 Sr Alex Wesby and 6'4 Soph Nile Murray.  In other words, if Chaney can survive the growing pains his extremely young Owls teams is sure to face this season, it wouldn't be a surprise if this Hall of Fame coaches another four or five years.  Rubin also has the scoop on 6'5 Donald Brown from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT and 6'7 John Clark from Tulsa (Cascia Hall) OK, both of whom have signed with Bucknell.   And in both cases, it looks like this Patriot League school has done well.   Clark is a legitimate top 500 senior nationally and Brown plays for one of the premier high school/prep school coaches in the nation in Jere Quinn.  

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that the University of New Orleans has signed 6'10 Ben Elias from Ocala (Christian Shores Academy) FL and 6'8 Nate Parker from Odessa (JC) TX.   Neither player has big name recognition, but they both are exactly what the doctor ordered, because Privateers head coach Monte Towe will need all the help he can get inside afer this season.  Remember, 6'7 Sr Hector Romero, who averaged 20.2 ppg and 10.8 rpg a year ago and is a consensus top five player in the league; 6'10 Sr Nerijus Lisauskas, who started 24 games at center last year; 6'9 Sr Jason Mann, who was the top front-line reserve a year ago; will all graduate after this season.  Actually they are re-signing Elias after stashing him this fall at Christian Shores Academy.  Parker, who red-shirted in junior college a year ago and, as a result, will still have three years of eligibility remaining when he arrives a year from now at New Orleans, is 6'8, 245 lbs., and, just like Elias, is big, physical, and good on the block.  This means that Privateers assistant coaches Patrick Harrington, who is one of the most astute evaluators of talent in the game, and Nikita Johnson, who is one of the best closers in the business, are halfway home in terms of landing the four players New Orleans hopes to sign in this recruiting class.  Our guess is that New Orleans will wait until spring to land yet a third big man, but they may be at the right spot at the right time to get the wing forward of their dreams.  Remember, it was announced over the weekend that 6'5 Dwayne Mitchell from New Orleans (John F. Kennedy) LA, who was ranked #27 in our final rankings of the top seniors nationally in the Class of 2001, has left Auburn and returned home to New Orleans, LA to "attend family matters."   And, if Mitchell were to transfer to New Orleans, he would be the highest ranked player the Privateers have landed since they signed 6'8 Melvin Simon from Marrero (Archbishop Shaw) LA, who was ranked among the top 20 seniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP a dozen years ago.  Mitchell would not count towards the Privateers current recruiting class, because it is our editorial policy not to count transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  However, Mitchell, would be one of the final pieces to the puzzle as Towe and his staff attempt to turn the New Orleans program into one of the perennial powers in the Sun Belt Conference once again, along with Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Lafayette, and New Mexico State, in only a couple of years.  If you will recall, shortly after the current staff got the job a year-and-a-half ago, New Orleans landed a recruiting class that was ranked #21 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and included Romero, Lisauskas, 6'0 Johnell Smith from Santa Fe (JC) FL, 6'10 Andriy Sukhotin from Mississippi Gulf Coast (JC) MS, and 6'8 Victor Brown from Orlando (Edgewater) FL two years ago.  Then they followed that up with another recruiting class that was ranked #39 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and included Smith again, Elias, 6'8 Billy McDade from Largo (H.S.) FL, 6'9 Shawn Molloy from Raeford (Hock County) NC, and 6'7 Tommy Biggans from Vero Beach (H.S.) FL a year ago.  

We also have confirmed that the University of California has gotten an early commitment from 6'11 Jr Sam Rayburn from Portland (Sunset) OR, who is ranked #244 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And, while the top 250 range nationally is probably about right for Rayburn right now, we really liked his upside when we saw him last spring at the Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX while playing on the Portland Legends team, which featured 6'0 Derek Ravio from Vancouver (Mountain View) WA.  Rayburn becomes the 23rd player in the junior class nationally to have made an early verbal commitment, which is just one more illustration of just how much the recruiting process has been speeded up in the last few years.  Reggie Tisdale of Indiana Basketball News tells us that 6'1 Todd Abernathy from Indianapolis (Heritage Christian) IN has not nor is he close to making a verbal commitment to Evansville.  At one time Evansville was believed to be the leader, but more recently the Aces dropped out of the hunt and, instead, it now looks like Wright State is the school you have to beat.  However, according to Tisdale, Abernathy, who is ranked #266 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, plans to wait until spring before making a final decision.  Apparently Abernathy has hopes that a bigger school will come calling.  And the same thing appears to be happening with 5'11 Mike Woodard from Fairburn (Creekside) GA, who, according to our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis, has verbally committed to Youngstown State, but hasn't signed a binding National Letter-of-Intent yet.  In Abernathy's case, Wright State is probably the perfect fit.  Remember, Ed Schilling is one of the bright young head coaches in the game today, he has strong ties to the state of Indiana dating back to his days as a high school coach at Logansport (H.S.) IN, and 6'2 Sr Vernard Hollins will graduate after this season.  And, if that weren't enough, Wright State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Matt Webster from Westfield (H.S.) IN, who was sensational when we saw him last summer at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV and, as a result, now ranks among our top 100 seniors nationally, and 6'6 Vladimiras Severovas from Beverly Hills (Groves) MI, who is a legitimate 100-300 level player nationally, is already tied at #85, along with Clemson, Gonzaga, Purdue, Tennessee, and Kentucky, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   Woodard probably will be able to do better than Youngstown State.  But, then again, he not only would be one of the better players in the Horizon Conference, but he also would be one of the key players that Penguins head coach John Robic builds the program around.  In other words, sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a small pond, instead of being a small fish in a big pond, which might be the case, if Woodard picks a school at too high a level.  Davis also tells us that the National Junior College Athletic Association has ruled Rashaad Carruth ineligible to play this season at Indian Hills (JC) IA.  But Carruth will have three years of college eligibility remaining, if he graduates in time to transfer to a four-year school next fall.  Davis also informs us that 6'5 Jr Dwayne Day has transferred from Vadalia (H.S.) GA to Mt. Vernon (Montgomery County) GA and 6'11 Shawn Taylor has transferred from Vienna (Dooley County) GA to Perry (H.S.) GA.   However, the most interesting transfer news comes from our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, who informs us that 6'9 Soph Joey Cameron has transferred from Calere (H.S.) AL to Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, where he will team with 6'11 James Lang to form an incredible one-two punch inside for this small Christian school in Birmingham, AL.

Saturday, November 16, 2002, and Sunday, November 17, 2002

With five guards (T.J. Ford, Jason Gardner, Brandin Knight, Kirk Hinrich, and Reece Gaines) on our First Team All-American Team and four more guards (Dwayne Wade, Luke Ridnour, Maurice Williams, and Hollis Price) on our Second Team All-American Team, it is easy to conclude this is the "Year-of-the-Guard" in college basketball.  However, with the overwhelming number of college players who have declared hardship for the NBA Draft and the alarming number of high school players who have by-passed college and entered their names into the NBA Draft in recent years, every year might be the "Year of the Guard" in college basketball from here on out.    Remember, there is a tremendous premium on size in the NBA and ready or not most of the top big guys in this day-and-age are going to go prematurely to The League.    However, the opposite appears to be true with the top guards.  Obviously there are a few exceptions, like Dajuan Wagner and Jason Williams, but most of the top guards that have come out early in recent years (i.e. Omar Cook and Marcus Taylor) would have been better served if they had remained in college for at least another year or two.  Which means that one of the biggest trends in college basketball is for great guards to dominate the game and who fits that description better than T.J. Ford, who is one of the few players we've ever seen who is capable of dominating a game without ever scoring a point.    He also has the explosiveness, athleticism, and moves to get to the basket just like Allen Iverson.  But, unlike Iverson, Ford makes his teammates better and never worries much about get his own points and accolades.  Ford also makes great decisions and is big in the clutch, as was evident on Friday night against Georgia in the second game of the Coaches versus Cancer Doubleheader at Madison Square Garden when he iced the game with an incredible drive to the basket.  In other words, despite his lack of size, Ford is the quintessential player necessary to lead a team to the NCAA Final Four and/or National Championship.  And so are an overwhelming number of the other 25 guards who were named to our 10 five-man All-American Teams, which were determined regardless of class and/or position.  We also provide you with three All-Freshmen Teams, a First Team All Junior All-Junior College Transfer Team, and a First Team All-Transfer Team and all this is available by clicking on HOOP SCOOP's 2002-2003 Pre-Season College All-American Teams.  And this wraps up everything that is available in our 2002-2003 College Basketball Section, which includes 2002-2003 Exclusive HOOP SCOOP Talent Ratings for Teams in the Top 10 Division I Conferences, Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches, multiple lists Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches (Both Active and All Time), and NCAA Tournament Information (Past, Present, & Future), in this section and HOOP SCOOP's 2002-2003 Pre-Season Top 30 College Teams, and Pre-Season College Team Ranking Comparisons for the 2002-2003 Season in the Members Section. 

Friday, November 15, 2002

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that he talked with James White, who announced that he will transfer from the University of Florida earlier this week, at the Coaches versus Cancer doubleheader last night at Madison Square Garden and it appears that three schools (Missouri, Cincinnati, and Syracuse) are at the top of White's list.  We also have heard from other sources that Georgia Tech and Indiana are also involved and that his parents and others advising him what White to take his time and explore all of his options.  This is important, because other people seem to think that Cincinnati is the heavy favorite and, as a result, it's only a matter of time before the Bearcats get this one done.  If you will recall, White, who was ranked as the #1 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP two year ago, is a phenomenal athlete who thrives in a uptempo setting, but needs to work on his outside shooting and other perimeter skills.  In other words, White is a stereotypical Bobby Huggins type player.  We also know that Cincinnati has one more scholarship available and they are looking for the best available player to complement their current recruiting class, which is ranked #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and includes 6'10 Robert Whaley from Barton County (JC) KS, 6'4 Nick Williams from Chipola (JC) FL, and 6'8 Mike Pilgrim from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  However, if the Bearcats get White, we would not include him with the Bearcats' current recruiting class.  Remember, it's not our editorial policy to include transfers when ranking recruiting classes.  Speaking of Cincinnati's recruiting class, we think it perfectly illustrates a point that we've been harping on more and more as time goes on.  If you're a school like Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas State, or Texas Tech, which already are top level programs or rapidly moving in that direction, you often aren't going to get the respect that you deserve.  And a big part of the problem is that junior college players don't get the same type of notoriety that the top high school players do, especially if they  are McDonald's All-Americans.  Remember, when Oklahoma advanced to the NCAA Final Four last March, everybody talked about the fact that the Sooners didn't have any McDonald's All-Americans on the roster and, as a result, most people assumed that they didn't have that much talent.  And they still don't have a McDonald's All-American on the roster, but the Sooners do have the 5th highest talent rating in college basketball by the HOOP SCOOP and, despite last night's opening game loss to Alabama, is one of the pre-season favorites to win the National Championship this season.  This also comes into play when everybody ranks their top recruiting classes this time of year and contrasting Arizona's recruiting class with Cincinnati's recruiting class is especially interesting.  Dave Telep of the InsidersHoops.com, who is widely recognized as one of the top people in the business, told me today that the criteria that he used to rank the Wildcats recruiting class #1 in the nation on his web site was the fact that Lute Olson signed the best power forward - 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX - the best point guard - 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA - in the nation.  And, while we agree with Telep on this point, I also think is important to look a little deeper when comparing the two classes.  As a matter of fact, Arizona's third recruit - 6'10 Kirk Walters from Grand Rapids (South Christian) MI - is not ranked among our top 100 senior nationally and, as a result, the Wildcats recruiting class doesn't measure up with the classes that are ranked ahead of it once you go past two players.  In contrast, Cincinnati's recruiting class includes the #1-ranked junior college player in Whaley, a top five junior college player in Williams, and the #6-ranked 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP in Pilgrim.   So, if we break it down on a scale of 1-100, with 100 being the best and one being the worst, I'd make Ebi's worth 95 points, Shakur worth 93 points, and Walters worth 30 points for a total of 218 points.  In contrast, I'd make Whaley worth 92 points, Williams worth 90 points, and Pilgram worth 80 points for a total of 262.  However, to play devils advocate for a second, the word we get from those who have seen Whaley play this fall, he still doesn't play hard all the time and often doesn't use his size to dominant inside the way he should and, as a result, it appears that he still has the same old question marks that haunted him in high school.  So let's assume that we have Whaley ranked too high and drop him to 80 points or even 60 points.  That would mean that Cincinnati still would be ranked 12 to-32 points ahead of Arizona.  In other words, we not only disagree with Telep, but we don't think it's even close.  Part of the problem is that Telep doesn't appear to know how good Pilgrim has gotten since we all saw him last spring at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.  And the same thing often happens with junior college players, because we're often only as good as our sources.  Remember, our beat his watching the top high school players in the nation and we're often dependent upon second hand information when ranking junior college players.  And compounding the problem even further is the status quo mentality that a lot of people in the business seem to have.  Most people seem to think that if you land three or four McDonald's All-American's, you automatically have the best recruiting class.  However, I never know how it's going to turn out until I've assigned every player a rating on a 1-10 scale and add up all the numbers.  Sure, we miss the boat sometimes, but our track record is pretty good.  If you will recall, we were the first one to have 6'7 Carmelo Anthony from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA ranked as the #1 player in the Class of 2002.  Actually we were out there all by ourself on this one for about eight months and, even in the end, not very many people had Anthony ranked as the #1 player nationally in his class.  However, we look pretty good right now, especially after his 27 points last night versus Memphis in the first game of the Coaches versus Cancer doubleheader.  We also had another player - 6'8 Kevin Bookout from Stroud (H.S.) OK - in that doubleheader ranked higher than anybody else in his class in our final rankings.  If you will recall, we had Bookout, who now appears to be one of the leading candidates for Freshman-of-the-Year in college basketball this year, along with Anthony, ranked #10 nationally, but he wasn't named to the McDonald's All-American Team last spring.  And, as long as we're on the topic of Oklahoma, didn't we have the Sooners' recruiting class ranked #2 in the nation in 1999-2000 ago and #6 in 2000-2001?  And didn't everybody miss on the Sooners pre-season a year ago due exactly to the point we are trying to make?  If you will recall, Oklahoma signed 12 players during that two-year period of which nine were junior college players and one was a 5th year player.  Another player we had a lot higher than everybody else in our final rankings last spring was 6'7 Curtis Withers from Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC.  We had Withers ranked #31 in the nation.  In contrast, Bob Gibbons of All-Stars Sports, which is based in North Carolina, had Withers ranked no higher than #157 in his final rankings.  We bring this up, because the word on the street is that Withers has turned out to be a major surprise in practice this fall and, as a result, will likely be one of the leading candidates for Rookie-of-the-Year honors in Conference USA this season.  And these are only a few of the latest examples.  In other words, our rankings of the top recruiting classes and talent ratings have not only withstood the test of time, but the insight we provide you with isn't available anywhere else and our ability to put all the pieces together and analyze whatever information is at hand is second to none. 

Thursday, November 14, 2002

Yesterday we told you that only four of our top 50 and 11 of our top 100 ranked seniors nationally were still still available.   Well, those numbers have been cut to three and 10 today, because 6'8 Paul Millsap from Grambling (H.S.) LA, who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, made it official for Louisiana Tech at 9:00 CST this morning.  Obviously this is an absolute steal for Bulldogs, which already have one of the best programs in the Western Athletic Conference.  However, Louisiana Tech needs to have a big recruiting year this year, because the Bulldogs will lose five senior starters in Zach Johnson, Antonio Meeking,  Darrian Brown, Michael Wilder, and Lavelle Felton.  And Louisiana Tech appears to be well on its way, because they also have landed 6'0 Solomon Brown from Cypress (JC) CA, who was the starting point guard a year ago started at Iona, and re-signed 6'7 Barry Thompson from Odessa (JC) TX, who was ranked as the #8 wing forward in the junior college ranks a year ago by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, but who is sitting out this year, as he attempts to become eligible academically.  Louisiana Tech's recruiting class currently is ranked #23 on our list of the on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  But they also are one of the favorites for 6'3 JueMichael Young from Chipola (JC) FL, who was ranked #6 among 2-guards by Rick Ball in this year's Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  And, if they get Young in the spring, their recruiting class would be tied with Wake Forest at #10 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Getting back to Millsap, he came on like gangbusters this spring, but it wasn't until the NIKE All-American Camp in July, where he finished ranked #7 in camp by the HOOP SCOOP, that he established himself as one of the top inside players in the nation.  He needs to continue to develop his offensive skills, but he's extremely active around the basket, as he blocks shots, rebounds, and doesn't take any prisoners at the defensive end.   

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 7'0 Jack Marlow from Salt Lake City (JC) UT has signed with Fresno State, 6'2 David Truesdale from Dodge City (JC) KS has signed with UNC-Wilmington, and 6'3 Edgar Moreno from Lon Morris (JC) TX.  If you will recall, Marlow originally signed with Oklahoma State two years ago.  And once again, the Cowboys were among the three finalists, along with Utah State and Fresno State, for Marlow.  Truesdale, who was supposed to be one of the biggest sleepers in the junior college ranks, verbally committed earlier this fall to the College of Charleston.  However, he apparently changed his mind when it came time to sign on the dotted line.  And this drops the Cougars' recruiting class, which also includes 5'11 Dontaye Draper from Pawling (Trinity Pawling) NY, 6'9 Jeff Horowitz from Charlotte (North Mecklenburg) MD, and 6'7 Jabyron Wilson from Lake City (H.S.) SC, from #41 into a tie at #68, along with Hofstra, Butler, SMU, Oregon State, Hampton, Drexel, and Lamar, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  It also explains why College of Charleston head coach Tommy Herrion accepted a verbal commitment from Wilson a week ago.  At the time, Wilson's commitment caught our attention, because we knew the Cougars only have three scholarships available in this recruiting class.  But obviously Herrion knew something we didn't.   Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson actually was the one who first told us about Moreno signing with Texas and he suspects that this is insurance in case Terrance Ford goes hardship into the NBA Draft next spring.  Johnson also informs us that the University of Georgia has landed 6'8 Marcus Jackson from South Plains (JC) TX and 6'10 Cassiano Matheus from South Plains (JC) TX.   Apparently when Bulldogs head coach Jim Harrick went to South Plains Junior College this earlier fall to recruit Jackson, who is ranked #5 among power forwards in the junior college ranks in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, he liked Matheus well enough to also start recruiting this sleeper who is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil.  And it's too bad they both can't transfer to Georgia and play this season, because the one thing the Bulldogs don't have right now is size.  Did you know that the tallest players currently in the program are 6'8 Jonas Hayes, 6'7 Chris Daniels, 6'7 Jarvis Haryes, and 6'7 Damien Wilkins?  However, don't feel too bad for Harrick.  Remember, he has all the other ingredients necessary for the Bulldogs to be a legitimate top team college basketball this year and everybody of importance on the roster, except Ezra Williams, is an underclassmen.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Mississippi has landed Jara "Bam" Doyne from Little Rock (Mills) AR and, as a result, Ole Miss' recruiting class moves back onto our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, the Rebels dropped off that list yesterday after 6'9 Emmanuel Willis from Mendenhall (H.S.) MS reneged on his verbal commitment and, instead, signed with Southern Mississippi.  We also need to catch up on some verbal commitments that have slipped past us this fall, like 6'2 Blake Ahearn from St. Louis (De Smet) MO, who is ranked #154 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'5 Sonny Troutman from Indianapolis (Brebuef) IN, who is ranked #161 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'3 Jamon Gordon from Jacksonville (Jackson) FL, who is ranked #203 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; 6'4 Tyler Chaney from Neosho (H.S.) MO, who is ranked #235 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP; and 6'7 Raudal Falker from St. Louis (Gateway) MO, who is ranked #296 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   We reported in August that we thought Ahearn was close to selecting Southwest Missouri State, but never had any official confirmation until today.  Southwest Missouri State also got Chaney.   Ohio University got a steal in Troutman.  Virginia Tech landed Gordon.   Southern Illinois got Falker.  We also believe that 6'1 Todd Abernathy from Indianapolis (Heritage Christian) IN, who is ranked #266 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has committed to Evansville, although we haven't received any official confirmation of this yet.  We also reported several days ago that 6'10 Derrick Ford from Olney Central (JC) IL has verbally committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but we didn't get a chance to tell you until now that this is an early commitment for the Class of 2004.  This is important, because Ford is a tremendous defensive presence and incredible shot blocker and, as a result, is getting all kinds of attention from schools at the high major level.   However, the word we get is that he has no intention of reneging on Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which is where he originally committed prior to going the junior college route.  In other words, the schools that keep calling are wasting their time.   This also means that second-year Panthers head coach Bruce Pearl is well on his way towards turning this program into one of the perennial favorites in the Horizon Conference, along with Butler and Detroit.  And this won't be the first time that Pearl has proven to be one of the bright up-and-coming head coaches in the game.   If you will recall, Pearl went 247-58 in nine years at Southern Indiana, which was one of the top Division II programs in the nation during his tenure.

Rob Harrington of PrepStars.com and the Recruiter's Handbook tells us that 6'4 Dwon Youmans from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, who is ranked #85 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Auburn.  However, Youmans will not sign until spring, because he wants to wait and see what happens with the current NCAA investigation of the Tigers program.  Harrington also tells us that Kansas State has added its third recruit in 6'4 Lance Harris from Columbia (Hickman) MO, who is ranked #205 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  This is significant for several reasons, because it appears that Kansas State beat Iowa for Harris' services.   However, Hickman signing with the Wildcats still isn't enough for the Wildcats to pass up the Hawkeyes on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   Right now Iowa's recruiting class, which includes 6'8 Nick DeWitz from Mesa (JC) AZ, 6'6 Ben Rand from Rochelle (H.S.) IL, 6'2 Mike Henderson from Waterloo (East) IA, and 6'10 Erek Hansen from Kirkwood (JC) IA, is ranked #26 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, while Kansas State's recruiting class, which includes 5'7 Dez Willingham from  De Soto (H.S.) TX, 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX, and Harris, is ranked #29.  And this isn't the first time that Kansas State has gone head-to-head with a big time school in that part of the country and come out on top.   If you will recall, just last week they beat Oklahoma State for Martin and they stole Willingham away from a number of Big-12 Conference schools after the University of Tennessee refused to accept his verbal commitment last spring.  This also comes on the heels of Kansas State's #10-ranked recruiting class a year ago, which includes 6'4 Jarrett Hart from Westark (JC) AR, 6'1 Frank Richards from Olney Central (JC) IL, 6'7 Marques Hayden from Oklahoma City (Putnam City) OK, 6'3 Tim Ellis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, and 6'4 Marcus Hayes from Ovieda (H.S.) FL, and #19-ranked recruiting class two years ago, which included 6'6 Janerio Spurlock from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'4 Gilson DeJesus from Trinidad State (JC) CO, 6'4 Nick Williams from Mansfield (H.S.) TX, 6'9 Pervis Pasco from Pensacola (JC) FL, 6'6 Marcello DaBarrosa from Brazil, and 6'9 Travis Canby from Fork Union (Military) VA.   Williams has transferred to a junior college, but everybody else of significance from these two recruiting classes is at Kansas State this season and, as a result, we think the Wildcats could be one of the biggest sleepers in colege baskeball this year.   Even further evidence of just how dangerous a team the Wildcats can be this year can be found by clicking on our Exclusive HOOP SCOOP Talent Ratings for all Teams in the Top 10 Division I Conferences.   Remember, we have them ranked #13 based on talent and #28 in our pre-season national rankings.  But we're the only one that seems to have the insight, foresight, and guts to go out on a limb on this one.  As a matter of fact, the only other place we can find Kansas State ranked nationally is #126 by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  Another school that has moved onto our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 is Georgia Southern, which has signed 6'1 Elton Nesbit from Compton (JC) CA, 6'9 Chris Foster from Compton (JC) CA, and 6'8 Luis Graham from West Palm Beach (JC) FL.  Foster, who scores in the low post and bangs inside, and Graham, who is an excellent rebounder and defender, will give the Eagles an added inside presence, while Nesbit, who is a big time athlete, prolific scorer, and one of the fastest rising junior college players on the West Coast, should give Georgia Southern head coach Jeff Price the perfect replacement for 6'2 Julius Jenkins, as well as the ideal complement to 6'1 Soph Terry Williams and 6'1 Jr Prentice Mobley on the perimeter a year from now.

Wednesday, November 13, 2002

Today is the first day that high school, prep school, and junior college players can sign a binding National Letter-of-Intent to play at a four-year Division I school.  So obviously now is the time when all of the national mainstream media will briefly pay some attention to basketball recruiting.  However, for all practical purposes almost everything important has already been played out, as is evident by the fact that only four players ranked among our top 50 seniors nationally and only 11 players ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally are still available.  As a matter of fact, only one player - 6'4 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR - who is ranked among the top 100 seniors nationally waited until today to make it official.  And it comes as no surprise that Brewer elected to stay home and attend the University of Arkansas.  Not only is Brewer's father one of the legendary three players (Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer, and Marvin Delph) that led Arkansas to the NCAA Final Four in 1978, but Brewer's father works for the university in a fund raising capacity.  As soon as we found that out, we knew this one was a done deal.  Remember, the more successful the basketball team is, the more money his father is going to be able to raise for the school.  This also is important significant, because it promises to be the beginning of a trend, whereby, the new regime at Arkansas keeps most of the top players in its backyard at home.  If you will recall, the state has been down in recent years, but there is a lot of great young talent in the state on the horizon.  Brewer, who is ranked #47 nationally in the senior class, is an athletic 2-guard with good size, explosive speed and quickness, and the moves necessary to beat his man to the hole.  However, he also is a match-up problem waiting to happen, because he has the ball handling and passing skills necessary to play point guard at 6'4.  Landing Brewer not only moves Arkansas' recruiting class up to #9 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, but it also provides first-year Razorbacks head coach Stan Heath with same type of recruiting class that he became accustomed to signing when he was an assistant coach at Michigan State.  If you will recall, earlier this fall Arkansas also got verbal commitments from 6'5 Olu Famutimi from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 7'0 Julius Lamptey from New Hampton (Prep) NH, and 6'10 Vincent Hunter from Little Rock (Fair) AR.  Our Mississippi Editor Lavel Johnson also tells us 6'9 Emmanuel Willis from Mendenhall (H.S.) MS has reneged on his verbal commitment to the University of Mississippi and, instead, plans to attend Southern Mississippi.  Obviously this a big catch for the Golden Eagles, but it also raises an interesting ethical question about whether you should stop recruiting a player once he's verbally committed to another school.  And this isn't the first time that Southern Miss has landed a player who originally intended to go someplace else.  If you will recall, a year ago 6'4 Jason Forte from Bay Springs (H.S.) MS verbally committed to Boston College, but later signed with Southern Miss.  In addition to pissing off big brother (Ole Miss is the state school and belongs to the Southeastern Conference), the change of heart by Willis also drops the Rebels' recruiting class out of our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, that should only be temporary, because Mississippi head coach Rod Barnes and his staff are in great shape on both 6'8 Warren Scott from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  If the Rebels add either Scott or Coly to their recruiting class, which already includes 6'9 Byron Barnett from Southern Union (JC) AL and 6'5 Patrick Fields from San Antonio (Taft) TX, then they would move into a tie at #60, along with Marquette, Hawaii, and Princeton, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And, if Ole Miss gets them both, then their recruiting class would move into a tie at #33, along with Arizona State.  Johnson also thinks Southern Miss is the team to beat for 6'7 Kenny Hooks from Hurley (H.S.) MS and, assuming that he's right, that would move the Golden Eagles class into a tie at #79, along with Wright State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Purdue, Clemson, and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003. 

Our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman has confirmed that 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX and 6'7 Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, both of whom should be locks to play in the McDonald's All-American Game next spring, signed with Memphis today.   Rothman also thinks the Tigers are on the verge of getting two other players - 6'8 Ivan Lopez, who transferred this fall from Miami (Christian) FL to Norfolk (Ryan Academy) VA, and 6'7 Keena Young from Beaumont (Ozen) TX.  And assuming that Rothman is right, the Tigers recruiting class, which recently dropped to #25, because 6'4 Alex Carmona, who verbally committed to the Memphis earlier this fall, is no longer an amateur athlete, would move back up to #11 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, Carmona left Winchendon (School) MA earlier this fall and is reported to be playing professionally in Europe.  Neither Young nor Lopez is ranked among our top 100 nationally, but both are in the 100-200 range and, as a result, are good enough to help build a strong foundation, as well as be quality four-year players.  The same also can be said about 6'10 Marc Gasol from Memphis (Lausanne) TN.   Right now Gasol's top four schools are Connecticut, Mississippi, Illinois, and Memphis and, if the Tigers were to get Young, Lopez, and Gasol, their recruiting class would move up to #6 our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, behind Maryland, Illinois, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, and Kansas and ahead of Mississippi State, Louisville, Arkansas, and Wake Forest.  We also have confirmed that Murray State has 6'10 Pearson Griffin from Murray State (JC) OK, who was ranked #8 in the junior college ranks by Rick Ball in the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook.  No, that's not a typo - Griffin is from Murray State Junior Sollege and he's going to Murray State, the four-year college.  We also understand that Griffin is even better than his ranking, because we're talking about a 6'10, 230 lbs. physical specimen with athleticism, and excellent shot blocking ability.  As a matter of fact, just last night he scored 16 points grabbed 11 rebounds, and blocks seven shots versus Ft. Scott (JC) KS last night.  In other words, Murray State's ace recruiter Jim Hatfield, who for many year's has been one of the most astute people in the business, has gotten the ideal replacement inside for 6'8 James Singletary, who will graduate after this season.  We also might be talking about the best player Racers head coach Tevester Anderson has landed in his four years at Murray State and, as a result, their recruiting class moves into a tie at #60, along with Hawaii, Marquette, and Princeton, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Speaking of the two other players that Murray State has signed, neither 6'3 Terrick Willoughby from Biloxi (H.S.) MS nor 5'11 Dwayne Foreman from Apopka (H.S.) FL has any kind of national reputation, but they are extact what the Racers were looking for - Foreman is a 2-guard with excellent shooting range and Willoughby is a pure point guard who can handle, dish, and beat you with his speed and quickness.

The HOOP SCOOP has also learned that Hoftra has gotten a pair of commitments from 6'2 Loren Stokes from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT and 6'2 Carlos Rivera from North Bridgton (Bridgton Academy) ME.   Obviously this fills the void that was created by 6'3 Quincy Douby from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT, who signed with the Flying Dutchmen last fall, but decided to go the prep school and sign with a bigger school (Rutgers) this fall.  Rivera, who was ranked #184 nationally in our final rankings of the Class of 2002, originally signed with Jacksonville, but this fall he too has gone the prep school route.  Rivera also is fully recovered from an injury that slowed him down a year ago and, as a result, this extremely talented athletic combo guard who can shoot the lights out and/or beat you to the basket, now appears to be the equivalent of a top 100 player.  Stokes, who is the younger brother of Cincinnati's Leonard Stokes, is a lot like his older brother at the same stage.  He needs strength, but Stokes is extremely athletic, quick off the bounce, and good at getting to the rim.  These two commitments move Hofstra's recruiting class into a tie at  into a tie at #79, along with Wright State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Purdue, Clemson, and Gonzaga, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, plus it will give Flying Dutchmen head coach Tom Pecora the strength in the backcourt a year from now that he'll need to complement Kenny Adeleke, Wendell Gibson, and Omar Alston inside.  As for Douby, isn't it ironic how things have turned out?  If you will recall, Douby screwed over Hofstra last spring, but now it looks like Douby's the one who has gotten the shaft.  Did you know that when he verbally committed to Rutgers, they supposedly told him they wouldn't accept another verbal commitment from a player at his position in this recruitng class?  Then they turned around and got 6'3 Marquis Webb from Paterson (Catholic) NJ.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio thinks Douby will sign with Rutgers this week, but he has talked about reneging on his verbal commitment and possibly even going to Hofstra.  However, now that the Flying Dutchmen have Rivera and Stokes, who happens to be Douby's teammates this year at St. Thomas More, we think the chances of that happening are slim and none.  We also understand that Holy Cross had landed 6'7 Joe Young from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #27 in the Washington, DC area on Steve Turner's latest report.  Not only is Young extremely athletic, but he can play either forward spot (excellent slasher from the wing spot and good defensively at the four spot).  Young also has an excellent understanding of game, is extremely well coached, and is a tremendous student, as is evident by the fact that he has a 1400 SAT and is ranked first in his class academically.  This comes on the heels of the commitment the Crusaders got earlier this fall from 6'4 Keith Simmons from Kingston (H.S.) NY and the two players they signed a year ago in 6'4 Kevin Hamilton from Briarwood (Archbishop Molloy) NY and 6'9 Kevin Hyland from White Plains (Stepanic) NY, who were ranked #13 and #14, respectively, in Ron Naclerio's final rankings of the top players in the Class of 2002 in New York City last spring.   However, what makes Holy Cross a team you might not want to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament several years from now is 7'5 Neil Fingleton, who transferred from North Carolina to Holy Cross last spring.  The word is that Fingleton still has a long way to go, but he's getting better every day.  And Holy Cross isn't the only Patriot League school that's done well recruiting this fall.   Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Lehigh, which landed 6'4 Kyle Neptune from Brooklyn (Friends) NY and 6'6 Sheldon Stewart from Orleans (St. Matthews) ON two days ago, has also added 6'10 Jason Mgebroff from Covington (Kentwood) WA to their list of signees.  Iona and Siena are hoping to steal 6'5 Tim Williams from Canaan (Berkshire School) NY, but, if he waits until spring, that might not be so easy.  Not only are we talking about a legitimate sleeper for our top 100 nationally, but this physical specimen is big and strong enough to battle against bigger guys inside, athletic enough to get the hole, and skilled enough on the perimeter to beat you with his outside shooting.  Hampton, Kent State, and Towson are the schools that have shown the most interest in 6'0 Derrick Davis from Hagerstown (St. Maria Goretti) MD, who is ranked #26 in the Washington, DC Area by Turner.   However, sources tell us that Davis is still wide open and, as a result, plans to wait until spring to sign a National Letter-of-Intent.  The early list for 6'8 Jr Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who is ranked #11 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, includes Alabama, Florida, Texas, Kansas, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Louisville.

Tuesday, November 12, 2002

The official announcement originally was scheduled for today, but 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA speeded things up last night when he made it public that he had made the decision to attend UCLA on Saturday.  So that leaves only top level player -  6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA - on the West Coast left on the recruiting board, as the beginning of the fall signing period starts tomorrow.  If you will recall, Washington originally committed to the University of California last spring, but reopened his recruitment this fall when the Golden Bears told him they couldn't guarantee him a scholarship until he met the  academic requirements necessary to be admitted into school and play as a college freshmen.  Even more recently it was reported that Washington had verbally committed to Minnesota, but our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis tell us that Washington's mother will not co-sign a National Letter-of-Intent for her son to attend the University of Minnesota this fall.  In other words, it appears that Washington will likely wait until spring before making a final decision and, as a result, will be one of the highest rated players in the nation who is still available this winter.  Remember, there are only three players in the senior class nationally - 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, 6'8 Paul Millsap from Grambling (H.S.) LA, and 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD - who ranked higher than Washington and who are still available.  This also means that Washington is the highest ranked guard nationally in the senior class who is still board and, as a result, the value of his stock should skyrocket this winter.  We also are waiting to see what happens with 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL, who verbally committed to the University of Louisville earlier this fall.  However, more recently Lang's mother got involved and reopened his recruitment, despite the fact Lang has maintained all along that he wants to play for the Cardinals. 

Our International Editor Chris Johnson has the scoop on a pair of big men from the Senegal who were stashed this fall in at schools in the United States and will sign with Valparaiso and San Diego tomorrow.  We're talking about 6'9 Moussa Mbaye from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, who has verbally committed to the Crusaders, and 6'10 Abdoulayne Ndiayne from Louisville (Moore) KY, who has verbally committed to the Toreros.  Mbaye, who is supposed to be a poor man's DerMarr Johnson, is the better of the two right now, but Ndiayne, who is very raw, but has a lot of potential, could turn out to be the big man that San Diego needs to challenge Gonzaga, Pepperdine, and San Francisco for the top spot in the West Coast Conference several years from now.  Remember, you can't teach size and athleticism, as a result, San Diego assistant coach Steve Flint, who is one of the best assistant coaches in the nation at the mid-major level, has left no stone unturned in his quest to find somebody just like this for the Toreros.  And, ironically, the fact that Flint used to be an assistant coach at Valparaiso, which is second-to-none when it comes to recruiting players internationally, appears to be the connection that helped get this one done.  Not only does Johnson think Mbaye has the potential to be a top 100 senior nationally, but our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin plans to rank Mbaye #7 in the senior class in his area on his next report.  This moves Valparaiso's recruiting class, which also includes 6'9 Kenneth Harris from Hammond (Bishop Noll) IN, 6'2 Jimmy Miles from Homwood (Christian) IL, and 6'6 Oumar Sylla from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, up to #19 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And this isn't the first time in recent years that Valparaiso has recruited like it's a school in the Big-10, instead of the Mid-Continent Conference.  If you will recall, two years ago the Crusaders landed a recruiting class that was ranked #29 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and included 6'4 Antonio Falu from San Jacinto (JC) TX, 6'3 Stalin Ortiz from Twin Rivers (JC) IA, and 6'6 Ali Berdiel from Gary (Andrean) IN.  And even more impressive is the fact that the only class that was ranked ahead of Valparaiso with three or less players two years ago was Michigan State with 6'4 Kelvin Tolbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'8 Alan Anderson from Minneapolis (DeLaSalle) MN, and 6'2 Chris Hill from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN.  A year ago Valparaiso also got 6'8 Dan Oppland from St. Louis (Whitfield) MO, who is best described as a tough hardnosed blue collar player with a knack for finding ways to score inside and a nose for being in the right place in the right time on the boards.  But the icing on the cake will be if first year head coach Scott Drew is able to get 6'9 Jr Juan Diego Tello Palacios from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is ranked #26 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   We can't confirm it, but it's our guess that Drew stashed Palacios at Our Savior New American, along with Sylla.  However, fighting off all the big time schools that are sure to come calling for Palacios will be a lot more difficult than it was this year when everybody tried to get involved with both Sylla and Miles after they played so well at the adidas ABCD Camp last summer.  Speaking of Sylla and Miles, despite rumors to the contrary during the summer and fall, both are expected to honor their commitments and sign with Valparaiso later this week.

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that first-year Lehigh head coach Billy Taylor has landed his first two recruits - 6'4 Kyle Neptune from Brooklyn (Friends) NY and 6'6 Sheldon Stewart from Orleans (St. Matthews) ON - and that 6'2 Grant Gibson from Bloomington (South) IN has verbally committed to Lafayette.  Our Ohio & International Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'0 Josh Reed from East Liverpool (H.S.) OH has picked Morehead State, 6'8 Monty St. Clair from Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) OH has picked Miami-OH, 6'2 Curtis Ingram from Youngstown (Mooney) OH has picked Youngstown State.  Johnson also informs us that 6'6 Bobby Nash from Honolulu (Iolani) HI has decided to stay home and attend the University of Hawaii.  This is important for several reasons.  First, it reverses a trend, whereby, most of the top players in Hawaii in recent years have gone to school on the mainland.  Second, Nash, who is ranked #76 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, might be the best high school player the Rainbows have landed during Riley Wallace's 17-year stint as head coach at Hawaii.  Remember, Wallace has made a living off junior college and foreign players, but, after being so successful the last several years, being able to land some of the better high school players nationally might just become a wave of the future.  Fourth, Nash's commitment moves Hawaii's recruiting class, which also includes 6'8 Jeff Blackett from Salt Lake City (JC) UT, and 6'2 Logan Lee from South Plains (JC) TX, into a tie at #60, along with Marquette and Princeton, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  We also have confirmed The Citadel has landed what could turn out to be Pat Dennis' best recruiting class in 11 years as head coach of the Cadets.  As a matter of fact, this class, which includes 6'9 Aaron Xia from Friendswood (Clear Lake) TX, 6'6 Kelvin Fowler from Garland (Naamon Forest) TX, 6'1 J'mel Everhart from Tyler (John Tyler) TX, 6'1 Anthony Miller from Atlanta (Whitfield) GA, and 6'6 J.T. Thompson from Whiteville (H.S.) NC, is currently ranked #63 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Xia, who is the best of the group, has good skills and is a banger inside.  Fowler is an wing forward who can shoot the three.  Miller is an athletic two-guard who can slash and score.  Everhart is a raw athlete who is good on the offensive glass.  In contrast, Thompson is a skilled power forward who can also step out and keep you honest on the perimeter. 

We are almost finished with our annual college basketball preview section, which contains all kinds of useful information, including things we've already told you about, like our list of Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches, multiple lists Tracking the Top Division I Head Coaches (Both Active and All Time), NCAA Tournament Information (Past, Present, & Future), Exclusive HOOP SCOOP Talent Ratings for all Teams in the Top 10 Division I Conferences, and HOOP SCOOP's 2002-2003 Pre-Season Top 30 College Teams.  And today we added our Pre-Season College Team Ranking Comparisons for the 2002-2003 Season, which includes the pre-season rankings for the HOOP SCOOP, Associated Press, USA Today/ESPN, Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, Basketball Times, Street & Smith's, Lindy Basketball Magazine, Blue Ribbon Yearbook, and Basketball News Pre-Season Yearbook.  Especially noteworthy is the fact that Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kansas are all heavy favorites to return to the NCAA Final Four, while the fourth spot is truly up for grabs, as Michigan State, Texas, Pittsburgh, Alabama, Florida, and Duke all get mentioned as the potential fourth team.  Actually we find it hard to believe that only one other pre-season poll has Michigan State listed among its top 10.  In other words, we think they're all missing the boat, because the Spartans have all the ingredients necessary, except a strong season a year ago, to be a NCAA Final Four team this year.  Other teams that we're a lot higher on than everybody else are Louisville, Connecticut, Virginia, Marquette, Oklahoma State, USC, Kansas State, and Clemson.  We also are on the high end of the spectrum on Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Notre Dame and we are on the low end of the spectrum on Pittsburgh, Xavier, Mississippi State, Maryland, Gonzaga, UCLA.  In addition to the top three teams that nearly everybody seems to agree upon, the other status quo teams appears be Texas, Duke, Florida, Alabama, Western Kentucky, Cincinnati, Tulsa, and Indiana.  We also have provided you with our Pre-Season College Team Ranking Comparison for the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 seasons and, if history repeats itself, Texas could be in big trouble.  If you will recall, we've missed badly the last two years, as we went out on a limb by ranking Utah as our pre-season #5-ranked team in 2000-2001 and Memphis as our pre-season #5-ranked team in 2001-2002.  We also missed last year on Kentucky, Iowa, and St. Joseph's, all of whom were in our pre-season top 10, but so did everybody else.  However, two years ago nobody's pre-season rankings had the five best teams in college basketball at the end of the season ranked any higher than us.  If you will recall, we had Michigan State, Arizona, Duke, and Illinois ranked #1, #2, #3, and #4 and Maryland #6.  Later this week we will also publish our pre-season college All-American Teams and, as always, there will be some surprises. 

Saturday, November 9, 2002, Sunday, November 10, 2002, & Monday, November 11, 2002

One of the many things that separates the HOOP SCOOP from our competitors is our unique perspective and ability to not just tell you what is happening, but why it is happening.  And one of the many ways we to used to be able to do that was via our Exclusive Talent Ratings, which ranked every team in college basketball based on talent.  To do that we assigned every player a ranking on a 1-10 scale, based primarily on where he was ranked coming out of high school, prep school, or junior college, but also factored in are improvement in college, depth (we only included the top 10 players on each team) and experience.  As a matter of fact, every player was awarded an additional one-tenth of a point for experience every year.  In other words, a top five high school player, who was worth 10 points  as a college freshman, was upgraded to an 11 as a sophomore, a 12 as a junior, and a 13 as a senior in college.  The best examples of how this helped us identify teams that were worth keeping an eye on were Providence in 1987 and Seton Hall in 1989.  First, let's look at Providence, which had just had the biggest talent increase in college basketball from 1985-86 to 1986-87.  Add the fact that was the first year of the 3-point shot in college basketball, Billy Donovan and Delray Brooks could shoot the lights out, and Rick Pitino knew how to utilize the 3-point shot and it was easy for us to figure out that the Friars were a dangerous team.  As a matter of fact, I predicted in the HOOP SCOOP in mid-February of 1987 that Providence would be in the NCAA Final Four a-month-and-a-half later.  Not only was I right, but most people will tell you that the Friars advancement to the NCAA Final Four that year was one of the great Cinderella stories of the last 30 years in college basketball.  As for Seton Hall in 1989, no team in college basketball had registered a bigger talent increase during the previous four-year period and, as a result, the Pirates were ranked #10 nationally prior to the start of the 1988-1989 season based on talent.  But all the media could talk about during Seton Hall's run in the NCAA Tournament was how little talent the Pirates had.  Obviously they got confused or didn't know, just like a lot of people do today when they see no McDonald's All-American's on a team's roster, and jumped to the conclusion that the team doesn't have any talent.  So obviously it was especially satisfying to watch Seton Hall play Michigan for the 1989 NCAA Championship.  However, in recent years we've become busier than ever keeping track of high school recruiting and ranking players and, as a result, didn't have the man-power to do the research necessary to rank every college team based on talent.  While that is still the case, I have decided to take the last several weekends and compile the information necessary to publish a talent rating for each team in the top 10 Division I conferences.  And the results are fascinating.  It comes as no surprise that Duke, Arizona, and Michigan State finished 1-2-3 on our list, but would you believe that Virginia, Southern Cal, and Louisville are ranked among our top 10 and that Kansas State checks in at #14?  We also find that the best conference based on talent is the Atlantic Coast Conference, but the Big-12, which includes seven of the top 25 teams with Oklahoma, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas, and Iowa State, and the Southeastern Conference finish a close second and third, well ahead of the Big-10, Pacific-10, Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, Atlantic-10, and Western Athletic in that order.  While where a particular player is ranked is often subject to debate and, as a result, there is often a margin of error of a few points one way or another, over close to a 10-year period, they have stood the test of time.  They also provide great insight, especially when you add how many starters a team has returning from a year ago, last year's records (conference and overall), the Conference each team plays in, and the talent rating for each team ranked in order from 1 to 108.   And you can get all this in the Members Section by clicking on Exclusive HOOP SCOOP Talent Ratings for Teams in the Top 10 Division I Conferences.   Obviously this gives us a tremendous advantage over all the rest of pre-season polls, because we not only have a way to factor how much talent each team has, but our track record also indicates that we are second-to-none when it comes to having a feel for also taking into account things like chemistry, heart, and coaching, which also are very much a part of equation when figuring out who is going to be good and who isn't.   Don't believe it?  Well, a year ago the only other pre-season rankings that Arizona ranked among the pre-season top 20 were Sports Illustrated, which had the Wildcats ranked #19, and the ESPN/Dick Vitale Pre-Season Yearbook, which had the Wildcats at #23.  We had Arizona ranked #18.  If you will recall, Arizona knocked off Maryland, Florida, Texas, and Illinois and lost to Kansas in their first five games last season and, as a result, were ranked among the top 10 most of the season.   Sure, it was a year too early, but we never jumped off Arizona's bandwagon, despite all heavy graduation losses and NBA defections from the previous year's NCAA Runner-up finish.  We also had Cincinnati ranked #12 pre-season a year ago.  The Bearcats also were ranked #11 by Basketball Times, #20 by the Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, and #27 by Sports Illustrated, but the popular consensus was that last year was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Bobby Huggins, who won 31 games last season.  And we were the only one that didn't rank UCLA among the top 10 pre-season teams last year, as the Bruins were ranked #5 by the Associated Press and the ESPN/Dick Vitale Pre-Season Yearbook; #6 by the USA/Today/ESPN Pre-Season Poll, Sporting News Pre-Season Yearbook, Street & Smith's Pre-Season Basketball Magazine, and Sports Illustrated; and #9 by Basketball Times. We had UCLA ranked #11, which was in the right ballpark when one remembers that the Bruins advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 after finishing no higher than #6 in the tough Pacific-10 Conference last season.  Among those we missed on, but wouldn't have, if we'd been using our exclusive talent ratings was Oklahoma, which was not ranked among our pre-season top 30 college teams a year ago.  If you will recall, the Sooners landed the #2-ranked recruiting class in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP in 1999-2000 and followed that up with the #6 ranked recruiting class in 2000-2001.  So pay attention when we tell you that Louisville is the biggest sleeper in college basketball this season.  As a matter of fact, I don't remember one poll that has the Cardinals ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation.  However, after going 19-13 a year ago; with five starters back, plus Marvin Stone, Greg Tinch, and Coric Riggs, all three of whom sat out last season; and with a recruiting class that was ranked #13 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and included 6'10 Kendall Dartez from Vincennes (JC) IN, 6'7 Francisco Garcia from Winchendon (School) Ma, 6'2 Taquan Dean from Neptune (H.S.) NJ, and 6'3 Prileu Davis from Phoenix (JC) AZ; it not difficult to understand how Louisville's talent rating is #8 in the country.  Add that fact that Louisville doesn't play a killer schedule and Rick Pitino's teams always overachieve and it's not unrealistic to think the Cardinals will win 25 games during the regular season.  And, if they do that, they will be a top 10 team by the end of the season.   Thus, explains why we have Louisville ranked #10 in our pre-season rankings, which we published today and you can get by clicking on HOOP SCOOP's 2002-2003 Pre-Season Top 30 College Teams.  Ranked ahead of the Louisville in order are Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan State, Texas, Duke, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia and behind Louisville are in order are Connecticut, Kentucky, Oregon, Missouri, Virginia, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Xavier, USC, Western Kentucky, Cincinnati, Tulsa, Indiana, Maryland, Notre Dame, Kansas State, Gonzaga, Villanova, and Clemson.

It has been widely reported that James White is transferring from the University of Florida and it appears that the deciding factor in his decision is competition for playing time.  Sure, White averaged 20.5 minutes per game last season, but he only averaged 6.1 ppg and played only 11 minutes in Florida's first round loss to Creighton in the NCAA Tournament last March, plus the Gators recruited right over him in July when they landed 6'8 Christian Drejer.  If you will recall, Drejer, who is already enrolled in school and will be eligible this season, was widely regarded as the top non-professional player in Europe, as well as legitimate first round pick in the NBA Draft, if he'd decided to enter his name into the NBA Draft last spring.  In other words, White probably has seen the writing on the wall this fall in practice.   Remember, this is a guy who as a high school senior had delusions of entering his name into the NBA Draft, but, like so many high school players in his situation, wasn't even good enough to start as a freshman for his college team, except in two games last season.  The word on the street is that White is interested in transferring to the University of Cincinnati, which would make perfect sense, because DerMarr Johnson, another former player from the DC Assault club team program, did well while playing for the Bearcats prior to when he went hardship into the NBA Draft two-and-a-half years ago.  However, the person who recruited Johnson to Cincinnati was Mick Cronin, who is now an assistant coach at Louisville.  Both programs have already landed excellent recruiting classes, but are still looking for the best available player.  But as things stand now, this is all speculation, because White hasn't gotten his release yet from the University of Florida and, as a result, can't talk to any other schools at the current time.  However, we expect that to change almost immediately, because White is supposed to be granted his release today.  Or perhaps White will go the junior college route, just like Rashaad Carruth, who recently was kicked off the Oklahoma team due to off-the-court problems, has done.  Speaking of Carruth, we have confirmed that he's supposed to enroll at Indian Hills (JC) IA tomorrow and is expected to play this weekend at a junior college tournament in Las Vegas, NV.   Ironically, Las Vegas is where we first saw Carruth he hit seven consecutive 3-pointers in the first half of a game at the adidas Big Time Tournament when he was only in 8th grade.  And, just like White, if Carruth went the junior college route and graduated next spring or summer, he'd have two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining at a four-year Division I school.  Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis also tells us that he'd like to see Carruth stay close to home, which makes the University of Georgia the odds-on favorite.  Not only does the Bulldogs starting 2-guard Erza Williams graduate after this season, but you can bet that Carruth would like to get back into the SEC.  If you will recall, he also didn't make it a year ago due to off-the-court problems at the University of Kentucky. 

It's not official yet, but we expect 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA to announce for UCLA tomorrow.  While this is great news for the UCLA coaching staff, this is not good news for all the Steve Lavin-bashers who went on record last spring saying that Lavin couldn't recruit in his own backyard anymore.  By our count, UCLA has landed two of the top players from Southern California within the last month.  If you will recall, the HOOP SCOOP has 6'8 Trevor Ariza from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA ranked #15 nationally and Phaler ranked #62 nationally in the senior class.  And some of our competitors even have Phaler ranked higher - i.e. Brick Oettinger of Prep Stars and the Recruiter's Handbook has him ranked #15 and Bob Gibbons of All-Stars Sports has him ranked #57.  This not only gives the Bruins a great 3-pointer shooter to replace Jason Kapono, who will graduate after this season, on the perimeter, but this addition will move UCLA's recruiting class into a tie at #30, along with USC, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Even more impressive is the fact that UCLA is tied for second with USC, behind Duke, on our list of schools that have signed only two players in this recruiting class.  In other words, UCLA, which only had two scholarships to give this year, deserves an "A+ for their efforts, as they've utilized their scholarships to the fullest.  And we expect next year to be a carbon copy of this year, unless something strange happens, like T.J. Cummings goes pro, because the Bruins also currently only have two scholarships available for Class of 2004.   Further evidence of the fact that Phaler is a done deal for UCLA is the verbal commitment that Indiana received over the weekend from 6'9 Jessan Gray from Davenport (Central) IA.  Gray averaged only 7.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg last season, but we was good enough to be the third best player, behind 7'1 Bryce Husak from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) IA and 6'3 Mike Henderson from Waterloo (East) IA, when we saw him on the Martin Brothers 17's at the National 17-Under AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL in late July.  And our guess is that's when Indiana University head coach Mike Davis saw Gray play as well.  Gray is an athletic power forward who is good on the boards, but the fact that he's versatile enough to step out and play some of the perimeter is what makes him intriguing.  Right now Gray should be ranked in the 200-300 range nationally, but he does have a major upside, which is why schools like Creighton, Indiana State, and Nebraska were also showing interest. 

Friday, November 8, 2002

We have yet to hear from our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis about the verbal commitment that 6'9 Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, but the Trenton Times has quotes saying that Schaen has picked Princeton, because he wants to attend "'the best school in the country,' referring to the U.S. News and World Report survey."  Instantly, this moves the Tigers recruiting class, which also includes 6'2 Max Schafer from Wayne (DePaul Catholic) NJ and 6'7 Brian Elbogen from San Ramon (California) CA, into a tie at #59, along with Marquette, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   However, even more important, Schaen promises to be the biggest name player Princeton has landed since Bill Bradley.  If you will recall, Schaen is a ranked #51 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, plus he is a great kid and an excellent student.  But most Pac-10 schools didn't make Schaen one of  their top recruiting priorities because they thought he was soft and overrated due to the fact that he'd been slowed by injuries during his sophomore and junior seasons.  However, we disagree, especially, after watching Schaen last summer at the adidas Big Time Tournament, where played with a lot more confidence and toughness inside.   We also have confirmed that Pepperdine has landed 6'4 Wendell White from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA and, this also comes as no surprise, because Waves assistant coach Jim Nielsen was White's high school coach two years ago.  White is best described as a combo forward, because he's strong enough and athletic enough to get it done inside, plus he handles it and shoots it well enough to also play outside.  However, just like Schaen, White has been slowed by injuries during the last year and, as a result, may turn out to be a lot better than his current ranking by the HOOP SCOOP, which is #120 nationally in the senior class.  What would have been a surprise is if Pepperdine had gotten either 6'8 Justin Benson from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX or 7'3 Shagari Alleyne from New York (Rice) NY, who picked New Mexico and Rutgers, respectively, earlier this fall.  But Pepperdine should still get an "A" for effort, because they were among the finalists for both players.  Instead, Pepperdine's other two recruits are 5'10 Sean Davis from San Diego (Lincoln) CA and 6'9 Jarrad Henry from Kansas City (Bishop Miege) MO and, as a result, their recruiting class is tied with Western Kentucky at #83 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  It also comes as no surprise that Kansas State has gotten 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX.  If you will recall, we've been hearing for the week that it was a two-horse race Kansas State and Oklahoma State for Martin's services.  Martin is currently ranked #89 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but, if his jump shot becomes more consistent, he will move a lot higher.   Remember, Martin is a lights out 3-point shooters when he's on.  But he tends to be very streaky.  Martin joins 5'7 Dez Willingham from De Soto (H.S.) TX, who is ranked #36 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, to move Kansas State's recruiting class into a tie at #41, along with UAB, Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut, Iowa State, and Texas Christian, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.   However, even more interesting is the fact Kansas State appears to be following in the footsteps of the University of Oklahoma.  Don't believe it?  Well, Wildcats head coach Jim Wooldridge has relied heavily on junior college players, as Kansas State landed 6'9 Previs Pasco from Pensacola (JC) FL, 6'6 Janerio Spurlock from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'4 Gilson DeJesus from Trinidad State (JC) CO in a recruiting class that was ranked #19 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP two years ago and 6'4 Jarrett Hart from Westark (JC) AR, 6'1 Frank Richards from Olney Central (JC) IL, and 6'3 Tim Ellis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID in a recruiting class that was ranked #10 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP last spring.  And now, just like Oklahoma has done with their last two recruiting classes, the two recruits in Kansas State's current recruiting class are high school players.  The only difference is that Kansas State finished with a 13-16 record a year ago, while Oklahoma advanced to the NCAA Final Four with a 31-5 record.   However, we think that is about to change.  As a matter of fact, we think Kansas State could be one of the biggest sleepers in college basketball this year and they should be a legitimate top 20 team a year from now.  Sure, Kansas State has its work cut out for itself in the tough Big-12 Conference this year.  But, according to the HOOP SCOOP's Exclusive Talent Ratings, which we're in the process of completing, the Wildcats are ranked #4 in the conference in talent behind Oklahoma, Kansas, and Oklahoma State and ahead of Missouri, Texas, and Iowa State. 

Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that Rashaad Carruth plans to enroll next week at his third college in a little over a year.  If you will recall, Carruth transferred from Kentucky to Oklahoma last spring, but was dismissed from the Sooners team recently due to off-the-court problems.  So Carruth has been looking for a good junior college to attend and it appears he's hit the jackpot, because Indiana Hills (JC) IA is on the quarter system, which means he'll be able to graduate next summer and enroll immediately at a four-year school, where he will have three years to play.  Right now Carruth is wide open in terms of his recruitment for next year, but Davis seems to think that a school that is close to home, like Georgia or Alabama would be a perfect fit for Carruth, who is running out of opportunities.  Remember, Carruth has five years to play four and the clock is running.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that West Virginia has landed 6'7 Jerrah Young from Chicago (St. Rita) IL, who is ranked #18 in the senior class by Roy and Harv Schmidt in the Illinois Bulls-eye Report, and, as a result, the Mountaineers recruiting class moves up to #49 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  If you will recall, West Virginia already has commitments from 6'5 Franklin Young from Tallahassee (Florida) FL, 6'8 Brad Byerson from Chester (Thomas Dale) VA, and 6'0 Tyler Relph from Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY.   While none of these players are ranked among our top 100 nationally, they all are good enough to help first-year Mountaineers head coach John Beilein build a strong foundation, which, by the way, was why he was so successful (100-53 in five seasons) at Richmond.  Rubin also tells us that Boston College has landed 6'6 Devon Evertson from Phoenix (Moon Valley) AZ.  This moves Boston College's recruiting class, which also includes 6'1 Steve Hailey from Worcester (Academy) MA, 6'9 Dan Coleman from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, and 6'5 Sean Marshall from Rialto (Eisenhower) CA, into a tie at #39, along with the College of Charleston, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  And this huge for several reasons.  First, we think Evertson has a major upside and, as a result, when it is all said-and-done, his current ranking at #126 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP may turn out to be way too low.   Second, Eagles head coach Al Skinner wanted to land two wing players in this recruiting class and, with Marshall already in the fold, that mission has been accomplished.  Third, Evertson should be the perfect complement to 6'3 Louis Hinnant from Brandywine (Gwynn Park) MD, who signed with Eagles in last year's recruiting class, and Hailey, who verbally committed to the Eagles earlier this fall.  As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise us if all three of these players (Hinnant, Hailey, and Evertson) turned out to be three of the better players in the league by the time they graduate.   Remember, Skinner has made a living taking guys like this and developing them into great players (i.e. Troy Bell).  One that Rubin doesn't have the scoop on 6'8 Jordan Ingram from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA going to Fairleigh Dickinson.  Instead, we get that tidbit of information from Chris Monter of the Monter Draft News.  Sure, Ingram needs to improve his offensive game, but he's still an excellent athlete who is good on the boards and at the defensive end, which is why he is ranked #237 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, as well as #14 in the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Area by Rubin.  In other words, it appears that Knights head coach Tom Green has landed the inside player he needs to turn the program around.  If you will recall, Fairleigh Dickinson, which was 4-25 a year ago, once again is ranked near the bottom of the Northeast Conference in all the pre-season polls. 

Thursday, November 7, 2002

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'7 Jabyron Wilson from Lake City (H.S.) SC has verbally committed to the College of Charleston, 6'6 Nathan Bilyeu from Ozark (H.S.) MO has verbally committed to Lamar, 6'0 Tony Skinn from Hagerstown (JC) MD has verbally committed to George Mason, and 6'6 Jamal Douglas from Miami (Palmer Trinity) FL has picked Lafayette over Columbia and Monmouth.  But within the last 24 hours, that's it!  And the beginning of the fall signing period is less than a week away.  In other words, this is just further evidence of how much the recruiting process has been speeded up in the last year or two.  Wilson, who is ranked #14 in the senior class on Brian Clifton's recent North Carolina/South Carolina Report, which you can get by clicking on North Carolina/South Carolina Report, is the third best senior in the state behind 6'9 Brandon Wallace from Aiken (Silver Bluff) SC and 6'1 Larry Blair from Camden (Military) SC.  He also is an undersized power forward who was considered for our list of the top unsigned inside guys who are still available that we published several days ago.  However, we decided not to include him on the list, because he didn't have the size that most big time schools covet at this time of the year.  Instead, Wilson is similar to former University of Connecticut power forward Kevin Freeman, because he's a warrior on the boards and is very effective offensively around the basket.  So, instead, he falls into the category of undersized power forwards and/or guys without a true position who are still available, like 6'6 Florentino Valencia from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'6 David Cornwell from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'6 C.J. Anderson from Cincinnati (Winton Woods) OH, 6'6 Jr Jermil Wilson from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'6 Edward Finner from Chicago (Julian) IL, and 6'6 Parnell Smith from Indianapolis (Pike) IN.  Wilson moves College of Charleston's recruiting class, which also includes 6'2 David Truesdale from Dodge City (JC) KS, 5'11 Dontaye Draper from Pawling (Trinity Pawling) NY, and 6'9 Jeff Horowitz from Charlotte (North Mecklenburg) NC, up to #39 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  Wilson also gives the Cougars head coach Tommy Herrion two of the top 20 seniors out of his backyard, as Horowitz checks in two spot behind Wilson on Clifton's list of the top players in North Carolina/South Carolina.  Bilyeu, who is best described as a jack-of-all-trades, becomes Lamar's third recruit and he promises to be the ideal complement to all the other good players that Cardinals head coach Mike Deane has landed in the last several years.  A year ago Bilyeu averaged 14 ppg, nine rebounds, and six assists, but what he does best is get it done on the offensive boards and quarterback the football team.  As a matter of fact, Bilyeu is widely ranked as the #1 quarterback prospect in the state of Missouri.  And the fact that Bilyeu is an excellent student is just another added plus.  Bilyeu's commitment moves Lamar's recruiting class into a tie at #60, along with SMU, Oregon State, Hampton, and Drexel, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and it appears that the Cardinals are finished recruiting in this recruiting class.  However, a scholarship could open up this winters and, if that happens, it wouldn't be a surprise for the Cardinals to jump into the mix on somebody like 6'8 Monty St. Clair from Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) OH.  Remember, Lamar already has a number of players in the program from the Midwest and Northeast, including three players from Canada in Kloostra, 6'9 Jason Grant from Toronto (Francis Liberman) ON and 6'7 Ola Matti from Toronto (Eastern School of Commerce) ON; 6'10 Brian Rowan, who is from St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN; 6'1 Hayes Grooms, who is from Detroit (Brother Rice) MI; 6'6 Krunti Hester, who is from Indianapolis (Brebeuf) IN; and 6'3 Tyler Hackstadt from Okawville (H.S.) IL.  Skinn, who was at Blinn (JC) TX a year ago, doesn't show up on most people's radar screen right now, because he has transfrred to Hagerstown (JC) MD, where he is sitting out this year.  However, we suspect that he will give Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga the depth in the backcourt a year from now that he wishes he had right now.  George Mason's starting line-up should include 6'1 Soph Lamar Butler and 6'5 Jr Raoul Heinen, 6'7 Sr Jon Larranaga, 6'10 Sr Jesse Young, and either 6'5 Jr Mark Davis or 6'7 Frosh Jai Lewis and be second to none in the tough Colonial Athletic Assocation.  However, depth could be a problem.  But once Skinn eligible a year from now, this problem should be solved, at least in the backcourt.

Wednesday, November 6, 2002

It looks like the legendary Morgan Wootten, who is the winningest high school coach of all time, is about to pull a Dean Smith.  As it stands now this is unconfirmed, but we have a source who tells us that Wootten has a press conference scheduled for 3:00 PM today and that he plans to announce his retirement.  Assuming that this is accurate, it comes at a great time, because our Washington, DC Area Steve Turner is done with his rankings of the top players in each class and it is ready for publication.  To access his report, which includes the top 115 seniors, top 68 juniors, top 41 sophomores, top 48 freshmen, top four 8th graders, and top 6th grader, click on Washington, DC Area Report.   We will have more details about Wootten as they become available later in the day.  Well, it looks like our source was as good as gold, because Wootten did announce that he would retire earlier today and that DeMatha assistant coach Mike Jones would be the interim head coach this season.  Obviously, if Jones does well, he will be the leading candidate to get the job on a permanent basis.  However, there also are several other possible scenarios, like Wootten once again trying to use his influence to get his son, Joey Wootten, who is now the head coach at Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, the job or Potomac (Bullis) MD head coach Mike Hibbs, who is a former DeMatha assistant coach and another one of the bright young head coaches in the Washington, DC area, getting the job.  Which brings us back to why we said that Wootten "is about to pull a Dean Smith" when we first broke this story this morning.  If you will recall, Smith retired right before the start of the 1997-98 season, because he didn't want the University of North Carolina to have time to hire anybody, except his close friend and long time assistant coach Bill Guthridge.  And Guthridge turned out to be more than up to the task, as he guided North Carolina to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, TX in his first year as head coach of the Tar Heels.  And the same principle applies here, because the timing of Wootten's retirment (right before the start of the season) makes it extremely difficult for DeMatha High School to try and hire a coach at this time of the year.  It also keeps some other options in play.   Remember, several years ago Wootten wanted his son to be named as his eventually successor, but it wasn't meant to be due to a power struggle that was in play between the head master of the school, John Moylan, who had been at DeMatha just as long as Wootten.  Well, now Moylan has retired and the younger Wootten is quickly establishing himself as one of the bright young coaches in the area, which means a break out year by Bishop O'Connell could make things even more interesting next spring when the permanent head coach is named.  And that's not as farfetched as you might think, because Bishop O'Connell is absolutely loaded.  As a matter of fact, most people think they're the most talented team in town.  So just for speculation sake, we asked several knowledgeable basketball people in the DC area today whether Joey Wootten would bring all of his players at Bishop O'Connell to DeMatha, if he did get the job.  In both cases the response was he'd bring everybody, including the water boy, the trainer, and the managers.  In other words,  DeMatha might be cutting off its nose in order to spite its face, if they don't at least consider Joey Wootten for the job, especially if Bishop O'Connell comes up big this season.

Tuesday, November 5, 2002

Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that 6'8 Troy Williams from Albany (Monroe) GA has verbally committed to Centenary and he thinks this is a major steal, because Williams is big, strong, and tough inside.  Williams, who is ranked #16 in the state of Georgia by the HOOP SCOOP, also is an excellent finisher, very active around the basket, and has a nice touch out to 10-feet.  And the fact that Williams has a 1200 SAT and 3.8 gpa is just an added plus.  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'11 Nick Farekas from Arvada (Ralston Valley) CO, who has been ranked as high as #99 nationally in the senior class by Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, has picked the University of Nevada.  Johnson also tells us that Tulane has landed 6'8 Cory Castine from Marrero (Archbishop Shaw) LA and this too looks like a steal, because, at 6'8, 235 lbs., Castine has been called a poor-man's Lonnie Baxter.  Not only is Castine a physical specimen, but he's got long arms and is a terrific rebounder, despite the fact that he's not real athletic.  This also will have a direct effect on 6'8 Warren Scott from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, because Castine is the Green Wave's 5th and final player in this recruiting class.  If you will recall, Tulane already has verbal commitments from 6'3 Vincent Camper from Oxford (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Dan Fitzgerald from St. Paul (St. Thomas Academy) MN, 6'4 Chris Moore from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME, and 6'0 Troy Aaron from Lake Charles (St. Louis) LA and with the addition of Castine, their recruiting class moves up to #29 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Scott Cutley from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA has verbally committed to Kent State.  Sure, that's a long way to go for a Mid-American Conference school to go to get a player, especially when he's ranked no higher than #252 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, after watching Cutley play in September at the 2002 Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase, there is no doubt that he'll move up at least 100 spots.  But even that doesn't begin to tell the story, because this tough hardnosed competitor who is a force on the boards and excellent in transition also is a much improved outside shooter.  In other words, we think this is huge!  Add Cutley's commitment to 6'4 Demetrius Johnson from Warrenville Heights (H.S.) OH, who verbally committed to Kent State earlier this fall, and it looks like first-year head coach Jim Christian and his staff have landed two players who are good enough to keep Kent State at the level their fans have become accustomed to the last two years.  Remember, a-year-and-a-half ago Kent State upset Indiana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and last year the Golden Flashes were still playing in the round of eight in the NCAA Tournament last March.

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that earlier today 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ did indeed verbal commit to Duke and 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ announced for the University of Illinois.  However, now we are starting to wonder who will be the next big name player to verbally commit?  How about 6'8 Brandon Bass from Baton Rouge (Capital) LA, who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class?  Originally we thought Bass would wait until spring to make his college decision, but now it looks like he might go ahead and get it over with this fall.  Right now that would favor Connecticut, which is where he made an official visit over the weekend, and LSU, which is the favorite.  And, if you exclude  6'7 LeBron James from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, who is expected to by-pass college and become the #1 pick in the NBA Draft next June, and 6'5 Earl Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who was ranked #23 nationally in the senior class in our post-summer rankings, but has since been reclassified as a junior, Bass is the only player ranked among our top 25 nationally in the senior class who is still on the board.  Digging a little deeper, 6'8 Paul Millsap from Grambling (H.S.) La, who is ranked #28 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'8 Linas Kleiza from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #30 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, 6'3 Wesley Washington from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is ranked #41 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'7 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, who is ranked #47 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are also still available.  However, Millsap likely will sign with Louisiana Tech, Kleiza is expected to pick Missouri, Washington is leaning towards Minnesota, and Brewer is almost a done deal for Arkansas.  In other words, five of our top 50 seniors are left, but they all are pretty far along in the recruiting process.  Also still available in the 50-75 range are 6'9 Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'8 Alex Weeks from Lilburn (Berkmar) GA, 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, and 6'11 Darryl Watkins from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'2 Milton Collins from New Orleans (O.P. Walker) LA.  But Schaen also appears to be a near lock for Princeton; Phaler is expected to pick Indiana, Washington, or UCLA; Watkins has it down to Rutgers, Villanova, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh; and Collins is expected to go the junior college route.  Which means that Weeks might be only player ranked among our top 75 nationally who might be receptive to new schools entering the mix.   As a matter fact, Weeks current list of schools, which includes Oregon State, Middle Tennessee State, Colorado, Youngstown State, Furman, and Florida State, is a very interesting mix.  And when you we go 100 deep, we also find that 6'5 Bobby Nash from Honolulu (Iolani) HI, 6'2 Jai Miller from Selma (H.S.) AL, 6'3 Kelvin Davis from Waterbury (Sacret Heart) CT, 6'4 Dwon Youmans from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX, and 6'9 Nick Stigger from Van Nuys (Montclair Prep) CA are still available.  There also isn't much size still available as Weeks and Stigger head the list of inside players with at least some size in the 51-300 range who are still available.  That list also includes 6'10 Wayne Marshall from Philadelphia (Martin Luther King) PA, 6'8 Warren Scott from Mouth of WIlson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'9 Byron Joynes from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'8 Ivan Lopes from Miami (Christian) FL, 6'8 Monty St. Clair from Cincinnati (Roger Bacon) OH, 6'8 Justin Petty from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN, 6'8 Jerome Hable from Bethesda (Walt Whitman) MD, 6'8 Anthony King from Durham (Southern Durham) NC, 6'9 Maurice Shaw from Gilbert (H.S.) AZ, 6'8 Jordan Ingram from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA, 6'9 Femi Ibikunte from Syracuse (Hampton) SC, 6'8 Guy Ngarndi from Louisville (Western) KY, 6'9 Jason Cain from Philadelphia (Bartram) PA, 610 Marc Gasol from Memphis (Lausanne) TN, 6'8 Josh Love from Seattle (Rainier Beach) WA, 6'10 Roman Narmbaye-Mbainas from Burlington (Life Center) NJ, and 6'9 Steve Hoelzel from Kaukauna (H.S.) WI.  We also had 7'0 Bryce Husak from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) IA and 6'11 Nick Fazekas from Arvada (Ralston Valley) CO on this list, but we found out that Husak recently verbally committed to Elon College and Fazekas picked Nevada within the last 24 hours.  And the list of uncommitted 5th players is equally thin as 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL and 6'8 Lawrence Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT are the only two that are ranked among the top 15 who are still available.  Other 5th year players with at least some size who are still on the board include 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'7 Ryan Lambert from Hyattsville (Northwestern) MD, 6'8 Richard Dorsey from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Blake Schlib from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH. 

Saturday, November 2, 2002, Sunday, November 3, 2002, & Monday, November 4, 2002

The word on the street is that 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is the #1-ranked 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP, will verbally commit tomorrow to the University of Illinois.  However, the only person thus far in our business who seems to know for sure is Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com.  And according to Swaim, his source is impeccable.  Swaim also is willing to put his reputation on the line, as he predicts that 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Academy) NJ, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will make it official for Duke tomorrow.  Deng picking the Blue Devils comes as no surprise, assuming that Swaim is correct about Villanueva, because it is common knowledge that if Deng was going to Indiana, Villanueva would also be a part of the package.  However, Villanueva picking the Fighting Illini comes as a major surprise, at least to people like our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio, who went on record a week ago saying that he was 99% sure that Villanueva would pick either Seton Hall or Villanova, mainly because he couldn't see Villanueva going that far from home.  You can find out for sure tomorrow at 3:00 PM by listening to the press conference, which will be carried live on Swaim's website at GregSwaim.com.  And, assuming that Swaim is correct, this would be the supreme coup for the University of Illinois.  If you will recall, Fighting Illini had the #8-ranked recruiting class a year ago when they 5'11 Dee Brown from Maywood (Proviso East) IL, 6'2 Deron Williams from The Colony (H.S.) IL, 6'9 Aaron Spears from Chicago (Dunbar) IL, 6'10 James Augustine from New Lenox (Lincoln Way) IL, and 6'8 Kyle Wilson from Dallas (Jesuit) TX and their current recruiting class, which includes 6'3 Richard McBride from Springfield (Lanphier) IL, 6'7 Brian Randle from Peoria (Notre Dame) IL, and 6'8 Warren Carter from Dallas (Lake Highlands) TX, is ranked #21 nationally on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  However, with the expected addition of Villanueva tomorrow, Illinois' recruiting class would move up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, right behind Maryland and just ahead of Oklahoma.  But other questions do remain, like will Villanueva ever see a day of college?  Remember, a lot of people think that Villanueva will by-pass college and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring.  As a matter of fact, despite strong denials from people close to Villanueva, like his mentor and close friend Nate Blue and his club team coach Gary Charles, a lot of people still believe Villanueva already has an agent and, as a result, it's only a matter of time before his hand is forced.  If you will recall, once a player signs with an agent, he gives up his amateur status.  There are also questions about whether Villanueva is a wing forward or a power forward.  Right now he's neither, because he's not big and strong enough nor does he have the killer mentality necessary to dominant force inside and he doesn't have the consistency on his outside jumper and the perimeter skills necessary to be regarded as a prototypical wing forward.  But Villanueva does have tremendous natural talent, as well as the potential for greatness, so you can bet that Illinois head coach Bill Self will find him more than enough minutes to keep him happy, assuming that Villanueva shows up in Champaign, IL next year.  Speaking of this mid-sized town in the heart of the Midwest, how does the Fighting Illini convince a New York City kid to not stay closer to home.  Apparently at least part of the reason is Illinois assistant coach Norm Roberts, who was born, raised, and went to college in Queens, NY.  Remember, Roberts was ranked #14 on our list of the top assistant coaches, which came out last February, and you can bet he will into the top 10, especially now that it looks like Villanueva will be in the fold tomorrow.  Speaking of Illinois assistant coaches, it looks like Roy Schmidt, the Editor & Publisher of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report, knew what he was talking about when he told us that Billy Gillispie was one of the leading candidates for the Texas-El Paso job.  If you will recall, Gillispie was named as the new head coach at UTEP over the weekend.  However, we're still waiting to see whether Schmidt is correct about former Bradley head coach Jim Molinari being Gillispie's replacement.  But hiring Molinari would be the smart move, because he knows both the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago like the back of his hand.  Remember, prior to getting the job at Bradley, Molinari was an assistant coach at DePaul.  Getting back to Deng picking Duke, if that occurs, as expected tomorrow, then the Blue Devils will have gotten not one, but two top five players in this recruiting class.  If you will recall, last spring also landed 6'8 Kris Humphries from Minnetonka (Hopkins) MN, who is ranked #5 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and a result, their recruiting class moves up to #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  It also is the highest ranked recruiting class in the nation among schools that have landed fewer than three players and this comes on the heels of last year's #1-ranked recruiting class, which included 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 the current Duke coaching staff, which includes Mike Krzyzewski, Steve Wojciechowski, Chris Collins, and Johnny Dawkins, has never been more on top of its game in terms of landing the top high school players in the nation.  As a matter of fact, the only thing missing is 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, who is ranked #4 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, Ebi picked Arizona over the Blue Devils earlier this fall.  However, that one went right down to the wire as well.

It looks like Loyola-Illinois has stolen another one.   Remember, a year ago the Ramblers signed 5'10 Terrance Whithers from Laurinburg (Institute) NC and now they have found the perfect complement to go with Whithers in the backcourt for years to come.  We're talking about 6'5 Majak Kou from Hamilton (Cathedral) ON and it appears that comparisons to 6'5 Denham Brown from Toronto (Westhill) ON, who was ranked #18 nationally in our final rankings for the Class of 2003, a may be in order.  If you will recall, Brown has tremendous natural talent, incredible athleticism, and a knack for posting prolific numbers.  That's also the description we'd use for Kou, who not only is extremely gifted in terms of getting and creating his own shot, but also shoots a high percentage (60% from the field a year ago) and has an incredible upside.  As a matter of fact, those who have seen him think Kou is good enough to be ranked among the top 100 seniors in the United States.  They also think he will emerge as the best senior in Canada this year.  So now the Loyola-Illinois coaching staff can start focusing on getting some needed size, like 6'9 Steve Hoelzel from Kaukuna (H.S.) WI, who is ranked #299 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  However, that might be easier said than done, because Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Central Michigan, Ball State, Northern Iowa, North Carolina-Wilmington, Western Kentucky also are in the hunt for Hoelzel.  We also believe that Arkansas is the leader for 6'4 Ronnie Brewer from Fayetteville (H.S.) AR, but Greg Swaim of GregSwaim.com thinks it's too close to call right now for 6'8 Cartier Martin from Aldine (Nimitz) TX, who is ranked #89 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Currently it's a four-horse race for Martin among Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Kentucky, but Swaim thinks the first two are the ones you have beat.  We also understand that Milford (Academy) CT will be a lot stronger than we originally anticipated, because this basketball factory in Connecticut has picked up a pair of transfers in 6'5 Roosevelt Lee from New Britian (H.S.) CT and 6'1 Jamual Warren from Holyoke (H.S.) MA via Paterson (Catholic) NJ, both within the last month.  We already new that Warren was going to be reclassified as a junior, but now it looks like Lee will join him.  In other words, a year from now both Lee and Warren will be ranked among the top 5th year players. We've been hearing for some time that 6'4 Alex Carmona from Winchendon (School) MA is no longer at Winchendon (School) MA.  However, we're now getting reports that Carmona is playing professionally in Spain and, this is important, because that means Carmona won't count with Memphis' Recruiting Class, which currently is ranked #10 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003 and also includes 6'10 Kendrick Perkins from Beaumont (Ozen) TX and 6'7 Sean Banks from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ.  However, that shouldn't be too much of a problem for John Calipari and his coaching staff, because they are the best there is at identifying who they can get involved with and closing the deal. 

A lot of people are probably wondering what Indiana will do now that they have struck out with all their prime targets this recruiting class.   Well, there actually are still a couple left in 6'9 Sean Phaler from Villa Park (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #62 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'5 Jeff Varem from Vincennes (JC) IN, who is ranked as high as top 10 in the junior college ranks by Street and Smith's Pre-Season Yearbook.  Right now it looks like a three-horse race among Wyoming, Cincinnati, and Indiana for Varem.  Indiana and Washington are the favorites for Phaler, but don't be surprised if, in the end, UCLA ends up being the compromise choice.  However, neither Phaler nor Varem is the inside player the Hoosiers need.  But 6'8 Jr D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, who is ranked #15 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, sure is.  And we think White is a near lock for the Hoosiers.  Did you know that White's high school coach Thad Fitzpatrick is not only a close friend of Indiana head coach Mike Davis, but they were both on the same staff together at Alabama?  Did you also know that Fitzpatrick got fired when he was an assistant coach at Alabama and, as a result, the chances of the Crimson Tide pulling this one off are believed to be slim and none.  But don't feel to bad for Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried.  If you will recall, Alabama already has landed three big guys - 6'10 Akini Adkins from Tallahassee (Leon) FL, 6'9 Jemario Davidson from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, and 6'10 Shawn Taylor from Vienna (Dooley County) GA in the current recruiting class, plus they are still in hunt for 6'11 James Lang from Birmingham (Central Park Christian) AL and they are the odds-on-favorite to get 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, who is a consensus top 10 junior nationally.  Also coming up empty in terms of big men in this recruiting is the University of North Carolina, which just missed on several of their prime targets, like 6'10 David Padgett from Reno (H.S.) NV and 7'0 Brian Butch from Appleton (West) WI.   However, we don't think the same thing will happen when it comes to the top ranked players the Tar Heels are recruiting in the Class of 2004.   Remember, they are already believed to be a near lock for 6'9 Jr Brian Johnson from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, plus they are the co-favorite, along with South Carolina, for 6'9 Jr Ra'Sean Dickey from Bennettsville (Marlboro County) SC and they are among the favorites, along with Michigan, Memphis, Duke, Arizona, Charlotte, Indiana, Tennessee, and Georgetown, for 6'10 Jr Mohamed Tangara from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  And, if Tangara wants to go to North Carolina, he'd better not wait too long.  If you will recall, the Tar Heels only have two scholarships available in this and the next recruiting classes and they are involved with a number of the other top juniors in the nation, including 6'8 Jr Marvin Williams from Bremerton (H.S.) WA, 6'9 Jr Joshua Smith from Powder Springs (McEachern) GA, 6'10 Jr LeMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seagoville) TX, and 6'5 Jr Earl Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  Roy Schmidt, the Editor & Publisher of the Illinois Bulls-eye Report also tells us that the Tar Heels are involved with 6'6 Jr Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL and they need to be involved with 6'8 Jr Shawn Pruitt from Aurora (West) IL, who, according to Schmidt, is the #1-ranked player in the state of Illinois.  Also on Livingston's list are Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Iowa, Duke, Arizona, and Michigan State.  Pruitt's early list includes Illinois, Marquette, Arizona, Michigan State, DePaul, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Kansas.  North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Houston Duke, and Arizona are the early favorites for 6'3 Jr Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX. 

Eddie Oliver of Hoops USA was nice enough to send me his 2002-2003 High School Basketball Tournament and Events Report and his report is better than ever, as it lists nearly all of the major events and tournaments this winter and is jam-packed with information about the top players and teams in each event.  Not only is the 2002-2003 High School Basketball Tournament and Events Report a must for all basketball fans and college coaches who want to be in the know, but it is obtainable by writing HOOPSUSA at P.O. Box 15403, Surfside Beach, SC  29587, calling 1-(843) 650-5422, or emailing hoopsusa@scrr.com.   Oliver has a fan edition, which can be purchased for $30, and a college coaches edition, which includes contact information, including the name, phone number, fax number, and email address for the tournament director of each event, and is printed in color, that can be purchased for $100.  Obviously this is a very valuable resource as I attempt to put together my winter schedule.  Like, everybody else, I will start off at the War on the Shore in Milford, DE, November 22nd-24th, but won't cover another event until the Marshall County Hoopfest in Benton, KY, December 5th-7th.  Remember, I will need time to get the fall recruiting period wrapped up, plus all my editors and correspondents seem to think they can wait until mid-to-late November to get me their state-by-state reports.  Next on the agenda will be the KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO on Thursday, December 12th. Then, the next day, which is Friday, December 13th, I will return to Louisville, KY in time to attend the Blue Chip Basketball Shootout at Bellarmine College.  I also will be at the King of the Bluegrass at Fairdale High School in Fairdale, KY on Tuesday, December 17th and Wednesday, December 18th and at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, December 19th-23rd.  After Christmas, I will likely once again start off at the Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE on Thursday, December 26th, go to the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX, on Friday and Saturday, December 27th-28th, and return to Slam Dunk to the Beach, on Sunday and Monday, December 29th-30th.  Next, it's off to the West Coast to attend the Dream Classic in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, January 4th and I will hang around for a week to also once again cover the NIKE Extravaganza in Long Beach, CA on Saturday, January 11th.  Then, it will be Flyin To the Hoop in Vandalia, OH on January 17th-20th, and the National Prep School Invitational at the University of Rhode Island in Kinston, RI, February 7th-9th.  Speaking of the National Prep School Invitational, this event is not included in Oliver's report, but it should be a great follow-up to the War on the Shore with regards to seeing most of the top 5th year and prep school players.  In other words, once again, it promises to be a busy winter and we especially appreciate Oliver's report, because it helps us make sure we'll be utilizing our time to the fullest. 

Friday, November 1, 2002

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'7 Ryan Pettinella from Rochester (McQuaid Jesuit) NY and 6'8 Steve Danley from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD both have verbally committed to the University of Pennsylvania.  The commitment by Danley, who is  ranked #230 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, despite the fact that he lacks quickness and athleticism, is important for a number of reasons.  First, Danley plays for the legendary Morgan Wootten at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD and, as a result, just like most DeMatha playes has excellent skills.   Second, he also has a great work ethic and blue collar type player around the basket.  Third, he is a tremendous student, as is evident by the fact he had a near perfect score on the SAT.  Fourth, he's a pretty good consolation prize, if you're not going to get 6'9 Harrison Schaen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is ranked #51 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  If you will recall, the final two for Schaen for at least a-month-and-a-half have been Pennsylvania and Princeton.  However, we also have thought all along that Princeton was the school you had to beat.  So obviously getting Danley and Pettinella is like getting two for the price of one.  Rubin also told us earlier this week that 6'9 Dane Williams from Columbus (H.S.) GA verbally committed to Cornell, which provides another interesting twist to the story.  Apparently Pettinella was also one of Cornell's prime targets, until recently when they turned the heat up on Williams, who was 9th man, behind 6'9 Jr Josh Smith from Powder Springs (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Jr Dwight Howard from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, 6'10 Jr Randolph Morris from Fairburn (Landmark Christian) GA, 6'4 Jr Dwayne Day from Vidalia (H.S.) GA, 6'9 Boubacar Coly from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'3 Jr Montavious Waters from Leesburg (Lee County) GA, 6'7 Jr Michael Walker from Macon (Southwest) GA, and 5'11 Jr Perrick Robinson from Smyrna (Campbell) GA, on that loaded Atlanta Celtics team that we saw in the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV in July.  So obviously the connection is Wallace Prather, who runs the Atlanta Celtics club team program.  If you will recall, Prather's son was the starting point guard at Cornell for four years.  Rubin also has the latest recruiting information on 6'9 Jason Cain from Philadelphia (Bartram) PA, 6'5 Troy Roundtree from Philadelphia (Northeast) PA, and 6'1 Soph Anthony Farmer from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  Cain is still open, but Penn State, Cleveland State, Western Kentucky, UNC-Greensboro, and Drexel have shown the most interest.  Roundtrees like Maine, Towson, Rider, New Hampshire, and Youngstown State.  The early list for Farmer includes Villanova, Michigan, North Carolina, St. Joseph's, Temple, Syracuse, Maryland, La Salle, and Virginia Tech. 

Did you know that 6'9 Julian Sensley from L.A. City (JC) CA, who is ranked among the top 10 junior college players by Street & Smith Pre-Season Yearbook, has made a verbal commitmnt to the University of San Francisco?  And Sensley, who originally signed with the University of California, but didn't meet their admissions standards academically, isn't the only player the Dons have landed in their current recruiting class.   If you will recall, we already have reported that San Francisco had a verbal commitment this fall from 6'7 Alan Wiggins from San Diego (Horizon) CA, but we haven't told you that the Dons have also landed 6'2 Brett Rubin from Mission (H.S.) CA and 6'8 Rekalin Simms from Concord (DeLaSalle) CA via Pittsfield (Maine Central (Institute) ME has reaffirmed the commitment he made to the Dons last spring.  Also included with San Francisco's recruiting class last spring were 6'3 Javon Harris from Contra Costa (JC) CA, 6'8 Mamadou Cisse from John Wood (JC) IL, and 6'8 Brandon Queen from Northeast Oklahoma (JC) OK, plus they also had Alvin Broussard, who transferred from New Mexico, and James Davis, who transferred from Nevada, both sitting out last year.  Not only do the current four additions move San Francisco's recruiting class up to #26 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003, but Sensley promises to give Dons head coach Phil Mathews the go-to-guy necessary to compete with Gonzaga and Pepperdine for the league title a year from now.  Sensley also promises to the heir apparent to 6'9 Darrell Tucker, who is a big reason why San Francisco currently is picked #3 in the league this year behind the Bulldogs and the Waves.  Obviously it's not too hard to sell the city of San Francisco, but another big reason for the recruiting success of the Dons is assistant coach Billy Reid, who was hired by Mathews last spring and is quickly establishing a reputation as one of the best recruiters on the West Coast.  We also are eagerly anticipating the announcements by 6'8 Luol Deng from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is ranked #2 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'9 Charlie Villanueva from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is the #1-ranked 5th year player by the HOOP SCOOP, on Tuesday, November 5th.  A lot of people think that the fact that Deng and Villanueva are announcing their decisions together at a join press conference is a clear indication that they are both going to verbal commit to Indiana.  However, we don't think it means much one way or another.   We do think if Deng goes to Indiana, Villanueva will too.  But the smart money still says that Deng will pick Duke, which appears to be the only other serious contender, as Missouri and Virginia now appear to be long shots at best.  And, if Deng does pick the Blue Devils, we think that greatly enhances the chances of both Villanova and Seton Hall in the Villanueva sweepstakes.  Remember, our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio has gone on record saying he would be shocked if Villanueva doesn't stay close to home.  However, we think it's a tough call and the deciding factor will likely turn out to be if the Hoosiers are able to sell Deng and Villanueva on the idea of playing together.   And, if they do, Indiana's recruiting class would move up to #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2003.  It also would rank the Hoosiers right up there along with Arizona with 6'10 Ndudi Ebi from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX and 6'3 Mustafa Shakur from Wynnewood (Friends Central) PA and Cincinnati with 6'10 Robert Whaley from Barton County (JC) KS and 6'4 Nick Williams from Chipola (JC) FL for the best pair of players signed in this recruiting class.  And, even more important, it would make Indiana one of the teams to beat in college basketball a year from now.   Remember, Indiana head coach Mike Davis signed an incredible backcourt duo a year ago in 6'3 Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX and 6'2 Marshall Strickland from Sykesville (South Carroll) MD and 6'11 Jr George Leach will have another year under his belt at center.   

For Hot Recruiting Information from earlier in the month click on November 2002