TODAY'S HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION

Hot Recruiting Information available from previous months June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001

Friday, November, 2, 2001

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

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

Thursday, November 1, 2001

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

One of the things that separates the HOOP SCOOP apart from our competition is our willingness to go the extra mile to provide you with information that you can't get anywhere else.  A good example is our annual Career Coaching Records and Ranking by Number of Wins for All Division I Head Coaches.   At the top of the list is Jim Phelan, but he almost deserves an asterisk, because he's been a head coach for 47 years and has had a total of only won 16 games during the last two years.  Denny Crum, who ranked #6 a year ago with 663 wins, is the most significant coach to have dropped off the list and Bob Knight, who checks in at #2 with 763 wins, and Rick Pitino, who ranks #42 with 352 wins, are the two most important additions from a year ago.   Especially interesting is the close race for #2 on the active win list among Knight, Lefty Driesell (762), and Jerry Tarkanian (759), who are separated by a total of only four wins.  Our guess is that Driesell and Tarkanian will pass Knight this year, but Knight may pass them back down the road, depending upon who retires first and, if, and when, he is able to turn get it down big at Texas Tech.  Also interesting is the battle that is being waged between Jim Boeheim (600) and Jim Calhoun (599).  A year ago Calhoun had an advantage of four wins, but now Boeheim leds by a single win.  Speaking of Boeheim, he's the guy near the top of the list who has the most wins while coaching the fewest number of seasons (25).  Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (606 wins in 26 seasons), the College of Charleston's John Kresse (557 wins in 22 seasons), Arkansas' Nolan Richardson (495 wins in 22 seasons), Purdue's Gene Keady (495 wins in 23 season), Stanford's Mike Montgomery (473 wins in 23 seasons), Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins (469 wins in 20 seasons), Kansas' Roy Williams (355 wins in 13 seasons), Louisville's Rick Pitino (352 wins in 15 seasons) Kentucky's Tubby Smith (234 wins in 10 seasons), Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Bruce Pearl (231 wins in nine seasons), Memphis' John Calipari (214 wins in nine seasons), Michigan State's Tom Izzo (148 wins in six season), UCLA's Steve Lavin (114 wins in five seasons), Gonzaga's Mark Few (52 wins in two seasons), and Xavier's Thad Matta (24 wins in only one season) are also on the fast track in terms of getting to the top of this list. 

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For Hot Recruiting Information from earlier in the month click on October 2001

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