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

HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION  

FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2000

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

Monday, January 31, 2000

I have been reminded by a number of Indiana fans that I didn't think the Hoosiers would be very good before the season started.   As a matter of fact, on one occasion I said "a last place finish this season in the Big-10 isn't out of the question." On another occasion, in reference to Indiana getting 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, which was something we did predict accurately, I said "it gives Knight a year of reprieve, because with Indiana's lack of front-court talent available, the only way they will be any good this year is via coaching, hard work, and overachieving."   Well, if you never put it on the line, you're never wrong.  However, I still don't think Indiana has the talent to be ranked among the nation's top 20 teams this year.   As a result, head coach Bob Knight not only has done one of his best coaching jobs ever, but he has to be one of the leading candidates for national coach-of-the-year.  And before I go any further, I want to point out that the standard for a great coach like Knight or Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is another one of the all-time great head coaches in the business, has to be a little bit higher. In otherwords, they don't win ties, because they're already supposed to be among the best.  However, Knight, Krzyzewski, Cincinnati's Bobby Huggins, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, and Tulsa's Bill Self are our early favorites for National College Coach-of-the-Year. And that's our Question of the Day. If you had to vote today, who would be your choice for National Coach-of-the-Year? 

We continue to hear that former University of Massachusetts and New Jersey Nets head coach John Calipari is in line for the Memphis job and it may happen sooner than you think.  Did you know that Calipari was in Memphis last week with his wife looking at houses?  We also hear that Nebraska head coach Danny Nee is in big trouble, so don't be surprised if Tulsa head coach Bill Self doesn't wait for Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton to retire in three of four years.  Instead the smart money says Self will be the next head coach at Nebraska. Tom Asbury may also be in trouble at Kansas State and the time may be near when Kansas head coach Roy Williams has to make a decision about taking the North Carolina job.  We don't think Tar Heels head coach Bill Guthridge will get fired, but he may decide he's had enough after this season.   And if Williams goes back to North Carolina, who would get Kansas?  Former assistant coach Matt Doherty is the first name that comes to mind, but another good choice would be Jayhawks assistant coach Neil Dougherty, who is one of the brightest young assistants in the business.  Or if they wanted to go with a proven head coach, would Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown consider another stint at Kansas or maybe the timing might be right for Rick Pitino to come back to college basketball and, if that happened, certainly Kansas would have to be one of the few jobs he'd consider.  What about Eddie Fogler at South Carolina?  The Gamecocks started strong, but have only won one game to date in the SEC. Would South Carolina consider hiring Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins again?   Remember, Cremins, who appears to be in trouble at Georgia Tech, took the South Carolina job, but then had a change of heart six years ago.   And where will Cremins go, if he doesn't get the South Carolina job?  Our guess is the NBA or the television both, but definitely he'll land on his feet. Remember, Cremins is one of the best people in the business and he's a players coach.  We also hear that Kevin O'Neill's days may be numbered at Northwestern and Eddie Payne will be out at Oregon State one way or another by the end of the year.   Will James "Bruiser" Flint survive at the University of Massachusetts and what about Arizona head coach Lute Olson?   Rumor has it this will be his last year and if that happens word on the street is that Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson is a lock for the job.   There may not be many players left to recruit, but stay tuned, because the coaching job merry-go-round will ensure that it's going to be an interesting spring! 

Saturday, January 29, 2000, and Sunday, January 30, 2000

Will the NCAA eliminate the summer evaluation period during the month of July for college coaches?  That's what the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference Roy Kramer, who is on the Division I working group to study basketball issues, and a number of his colleagues would like to do.  They also are in favor of increasing "from 40 to 70 the number of recruiting days that may be used during the academic-year evaluation period and permit coaching staffs to evaluate only basketball activities" and "events approved, sanctioned, and sponsored or conducted by applicable state high school associations, national federation of state high school associations or national junior college athletic associations."  However, the implementation of such a rule would be a major disaster.  Obviously, it would put even more importance on the legitimate scouting services, which still would cover the summer from start to finish.  That's right!   The NIKE and adidas Camps and numerous other major events will still attract all the top players with or without the college coaches.  Remember, the top high school players all think they're going straight to the league right out of high school and a great performance at one of the top camps (i.e. Tracy McGrady) might be their ticket to bypass the NCAA Clearinghouse, minimum academic standards, going to class, and all the other things that many of the top players would prefer not to have to deal with.  It would also speed the recruiting process.  Forget about whether a player who is about to make one of the most important decisions of his life has enough information to make an intelligent decision.  The top player has recruiting people (i.e. Mike Sullivan of the Insiders Report) calling him every single day trying to get one up on their competition and he (the top player) already has been to a number of colleges on unofficial visits as a sophomore or junior usually with his AAU coach.  And the AAU coach will also have his power enhanced in numerous other ways.  Like, the scouting services that numerous college coaches buy in an effort get an advantage when recruiting the coach's players, will become more valuable than ever.   So will the players that he already is  coaching and recruiting all the way down to the junior high school and grade school levels.  If that weren't enough, eliminating the summer would also place a tremendous amount of emphasis upon recruiting players during their junior year.  Instead of doing the deal with the AAU coach during the summer, most of the deals would be done at high games during the winter. And no, it won't be the high school coach making decision and doing the deal.  It will be the AAU coach sitting in the first row of his star player's high school game right next to the college coach.  And we'll know the deal is done when we see the handshake.    Instead of solving the problem, the NCAA will create even more chaos and make the system work even more inefficiently.  Thus, explains why 65% of the people who responded to Friday's Question of the Day, which was how much confidence do you have in the NCAA to find a positive solution to the current problems involved with recruiting and summer camps, had no confidence or less than no confidence in the NCAA  It's just like Prop 48 and raising academic standards.  It looks good when you have to pass a standardized test and are required to pass 12 hours a semester in college to remain eligible, but it's all window dressing.  It used to be that a player with academic deficiencies could start with the remedial classes that would teach them how to read, write, and do basis math.   But those classes don't count towards graduation anymore and now a player has to pass 12 hours a semester that count towards graduation to remain eligible. So now the player doesn't take the remedial classes that will give him the foundation that he needs to do college work and eventually even graduate.  So obvious question is who how can a player stay eligible, if he can't do the basics?  Well, if you're an athlete and you show up for class on a regular basis and put forth any effort at all, you will get a C in most colleges, at least until you start taking courses in your major.  And by that time it's usually to late, because you're a junior or senior in college and, if you're good enough, you're long gone to the NBA by then.  Which brings us back to the problem at hand.  The power is already in the hands of the AAU coaches.  Sure the high school coach is often more legitimate, but in most cases, high school coaches don't want to put the time in and, as a result, they are perfectly willing to let somebody else deal with summer basketball and the recruiting process.  In most cases, they are teachers first and coaches second.  So what needs to be done?  Two things!   The NBA really doesn't want all these high school and college players at such a young age.  So get the NBA Players Association to pass a rule that says you can not be in their union unless you are 21 years old or graduated from college.   Second, get rid of the amateur status rule and let players get endorsement money from shoe companies et al. while still in college and even in high school.  I don't think players should be paid to play college basketball, but I do think they should be able get outside money in a free market place, which is not controlled by the NCAA.  If these two things were to happen, the NBA draft truly would be interesting again.  Not only would it eliminate any restrictions upon when a player could be drafted, but it would also save a lot of money for the professional teams and solve a lot of economic hardships for a player from a poor socioeconomic background.   Let's say, you're the best high school 8th grader in the nation and you decide to put your name into the draft.  Obviously, the team that picks you would be speculating on your future, so they won't pay you nearly as much as they would if you were one the top seniors in college basketball.  Let's use 5'8 Sebastian Telfair from Brooklyn, NY as an example.   Do you draft now and start paying him $4 or $5 million dollars on a contract that will run through his first five NBA seasons or wait until he is a senior in college?   If he turns out to be the next Stephon Marbury, he'll probably be able to sign for 20 or 30 times that.  But what happens, if he gets hurt, doesn't improve, or doesn't grow.  Then, he would have been smart to take the money and run, which is what most of these high school guys are doing now anyway.  Plus, he could get what market would bare in terms of shoe money and other endorsements, be finincial set for life, and still have time to grow up.  Thus, is the case with the musician or the actor who is invited to perform and is paid to appear to in a concert, a movie, or on television.  Unlike with the NCAA, they can reap the rewards for their talent immediately and they don't have to worry about not getting a scholarship to college or even worse being labelled a dumby in one area, while being extremely gifted or even a genius in their chosen field.  The NCAA's rules for amateurism were passed in the 1950's in an attempt to gain control over athletes in track and field in what was a power game with AAU.  Not only is what they are doing wrong, but it is killing what used to be the best spectator sport in the world - college basketball?  What do you think?  Tell us by clicking on Question of the Day or email clark@hoopscooponline.com.

Friday, January 28, 2000

Several weeks ago we reported that 7'0 Uche Okafor, who originally signed with Miami-FL last spring, had enrolled at Southern Idaho (JC) ID and that he would be eligible right away.  So it comes as no surprise that another one of the three Nigerians from Toronto, ON, who have gotten so much attention in the recruiting world during the last year, has landed at Southern Idaho.  That's right!  Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson, who regularly searches newspapers from around the nation for recruiting information, tells us that 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi has enrolled at Southern Idaho, where he will join Okafor to form what promises to be a lethal combination inside.  Okafor was 0-4 from the field in his first game recently, but he did alter a number of shots and effect the game with his presence inside.  Obviously, it will take a while for Okafor and Ndubuisi to learn the system and develop the right chemistry with their teammates, but with 5'8 Kenneth Brunner running the show, Southern Idaho should become one of the teams to watch in the National Junior College Tournament in March.   Speaking of Brunner, he was recently suspended for two games and, as a result, UNLV has backed off.  Instead, the Runnin' Rebels, which are in need of a point guards, are focusing their attention on 6'1 Maurice Baker from Dixie (JC) UT, 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR, and 6'0 Steve Scoggin from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA.  As for Brunner, San Diego State and Southern California now appear to be the leaders.

We have updated our list of the top 100 seniors nationally and there are several very interesting things that might surprise you.  First, we have 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL ranked now higher than #7 in the class nationally, which is lower than anybody else.  While Wallace is an incredible athlete and has tremendous potential, he needs to develop a better understanding of the game and a more consistent 3-point shot.  Remember, one of the main lessons that we all hopefully took away from the book Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth is that too much to early isn't good.  However, a big part of the problem are people in our business who want to rank players primarily on potential and, as a result, are willing to overlook things right now.  And while   Wallace has been brilliant at time (i.e. the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions last May), he has yet to put all the pieces together on a consistent basis.   So just like 6'9 DerMarr Johnson, who we ranked no higher than #32 at the adidas ABCD Camp several summers ago, we're going to let him earn it.   And if that helps motivate Wallace to prove us wrong, good for him!  So, as it stands now, I don't see how I can rank him over the six players - 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA, 6'3 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY, and 6'10 Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (North) IN, we have ahead of him.   Griffin is one of the most consistent players in the class, Miles is the most naturally gifted, Jeffries is probably the most skilled and versatile, and although very different, Duhon, Taylor, and Barrett are all capable of dominating a game from the point guard spot.  As a result, we may take some heat for our ranking of Wallace, who is definitely the most athletic of the group, but it's not without rhyme or reason.  We also like 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC just a little better than 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, which explains why we have Harper ranked #8 and Stevenson #9.  Remember, we saw them go head-to-head at Slam Dunk to the Beach a month a ago and Harper is a lot more under control and makes his teammates better, while Stevenson just flat out tries to do too much.  Where it got real tough was at #10, where we think you can almost flip a coin or draw straws among 6'1 Taliek Brown from Astoria (St. John's Prep) NY, 6'9 Mario Austin from York (Sumpter County) AL, 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  Cook, who drops to #13, came out on the short end due to his arrogance towards the media.  However, this will probably be good for him, because it will just motivate him to be that much better.  Remember, Cook has that New York City toughness and, as a result, is one of the fiercest competitors in the class.    Next are 6'9 Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN, who will move much higher if he ever gets back into great shape, and 6'9 Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX, who dropped out of our top five of the class after a subpar summer.  Next comes the second major surprise, as 6'3 Cedric Banks from Chicago (Westinghouse) IL checks in at #16 just ahead of several other extremely talented Chicago area players in 6'2 Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL and 6'8 Andre Brown from Chicago (Leo) IL.  Banks is tremendous athlete and has the heart of championship, as is evident by the success his team's have had both last summer when they won the AAU 17-Under National Championship and this winter (Westinghouse has been ranked among the top five nationally in the polls most of the season).  If Banks, develops a consistent outside shot, he'll be a lottery pick in the NBA draft someday!  It will also surprise a lot of people that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'1 Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN being ranked in the 20-30 range, but is a great passer and is so quick and good with the ball that he usually breaks the press by himself  and Sullivan is a lights out 3-point shooter and a tremendous competitor, just like Scott Skiles.    The fastest rising player in the nation is 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, who ranked as a borderline top 100 player before Christmas, but who now ranks #40 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Not only is McFarlan making a surge during his senior season reminiscent of former Maryland All-American Joe Smith, but their games' are similar in many ways.   You can get our list of the top 100 seniors nationally by click on Top100 Players in the Class of 2000.  We also are in the process of finalizing our list of the top 100-plus prep school, 5th year, and foreign players who have signed with or are being recruited by colleges in the United States.  While this list won't be competed until next week, we currently have 90 players ranked in order and you can get it exclusively in the Members Section by clicking on Prep School, 5th Year, and Foreign Players.

Thursday, January 27, 2000

If you will recall, several days ago we reported that University of Cincinnati head coach Bobby Huggins was flying down to see 6'8 Roderick Flowers from Huntsville (Butler) AL.   So it comes as no surprise that Flowers, who is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally, has made a verbal commitment to the Bearcats.  He picked Cincinnati over Louisville, Alabama, N.C. State, Virginia, and Northwestern.   We also reported two days ago that we had unconfirmed reports that 6'4 Donnell Allick from Winchendon (School) MA had verbally committed to Providence.   Well, our New England Editor Wayne Simone has confirmed it.    We also have confirmed that 6'9 Jr Adam Schaper from Wheatfield (Kankakee Valley) IN has made an early committed to Iowa State.  But we're not sure why, because he ranks no higher than #28 in the state by our Indiana Editor Jim Kasberg.  Apparently the connection is that Schaper is a close friend with 6'4 Shane Power from Gary (Andrean) IN, who signed with Iowa State during the fall signing period.  Schaper becomes the second player from whom the Cyclones have received an early commitment.  Remember, 6'5 Soph Adam Haluska from Carroll (Community) IA, who is a legitimate top 50 sophomore nationally, committed to Iowa State last fall. 

Wednesday, January 26, 2000

We are finished with Wayne Simone's updated New England Report and the big story in New England is the great freshman class, which is headed by 6'5 Frosh Roosevelt Lee from New Britain (H.S.) CT and 6'7 Frosh Lawrence Ryan Carrier from Salisbury (School) CT.   Lee, who is an outstanding athlete, is excellent both inside and outside and already is one of the best players for Simone's 16-Under AAU team.  Carrier, who reminds us of a young Glen Rice, is transplanted from Redlands, CA.  He  made a name for himself last summer at the adidas ABCD Camp, where he was ranked as the #22 wing forward in camp, and while playing for the Inlands I AAU team, along with 5'6 Avery Queen, who recently has surfaced at Troy (Redemption) NY.  Click on New England Report for Simone's comments on each class and ranking of the top players regardless of position and class.  Click on Simone Ranks 'Em:   Ranking of the Top Prep Players in New England for his list of the top 88 seniors, 73 juniors, 38 sophomores, and 14 freshmen in New England.

Tuesday, January 25, 2000

Providence has gotten a commitment from 6'2 Shieku Kabba from Bronx (Regional) NY.  You remember him, he's the guy who helped 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL lead the Bronx Gauchos to the championship at the Five-Star Invitational Tournament at Staten Island, NY in September.  He also outplayed 6'1 Omar Cook from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY when the Gauchos upset New York Riverside Church in the semi-finals of that tournament and is both tough enough and skilled enough to step in and help run the show immediately at Providence as a freshman.  Plus, Kabba is like St. John's star point 6'1 Erick Barkley when he came out, because he's several year's older than his class and, as a result, has to pay his dues in order to make is academically.  Thus, he's not eligible to play high school basketball this season, because he's too old, but he's finishing up on his core and it now appears that he will be qualified to play at a four-year school next year.  If that weren't enough, we also are getting unconfirmed reports that Providence also got a commitment earlier today from 6'4 Donnell Allick from Winchendon (School) MA.  Not only  doesn't Allick get the recognition that he deserves, but he has emerged as one of Winchendon's best players this year.   Allick picks the Friars over Rutgers, Villanova, Boston College, and Massachusetts.  Providence's only recruit from the fall signing period 6'10 Marcus Douthit from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA also needs to be mentioned.  Douthit hasn't been getting along with his coach and, as a result, he has been sitting out.  However, it should be stressed that's by his own choice.  He has not been suspended.

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey/Editor Allen Rubin has confirmed that 6'8 Osei Millar has transferred from Boston College to Hofstra and this makes perfect sense, because Millar played in high school at Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  Rubin also tells us that another New York City kid is returning home, as 6'6 Clifford Strong is transferring from Loyola-Maryland from to St. Francis-NY.  SMU got 6'4 Lavardicius Atkins from Pelham (H.S.) GA last fall and now the Mustangs have gotten another sleeper out of the state of Georgia in 6'4 Robert Swain from East Pointe (Tri-Cities) GA.  We also are projecting the University of Cincinnati as the favorite over Alabama and Louisville for 6'8 Roderick Flowers from Huntsville (Butler) AL.  As a matter of fact, Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins is flying down to Huntsville, AL tonight to see him play. 

The story about 6'3 Shea Shannon from Elkton, TN, which is small town about 10 miles from the Alabama state line, is like something out of the movie Hoosiers.  Shannon's mother works at the school and they've settled into a routine.  He comes home, does his homework, eats dinner, and then the both go back to the school.  She catches up on administrative work and he goes to the gym, which is where he can be found sometimes as late as 11:00 PM or even midnight.  William "Wig" Pearson, the head coach of the Alabama Lasers, saw Shannon play last night and he tells us that he scored 40 of his teams 44 points.  "He's a team player, but he just doesn't have a lot of help," Pearson says.  "So he has to do it all by himself.  He reminds me of Larry Bird.  His skills are phenomenal and he has excellent range.  It's not a set-shot either.  He pulls up off the dribble and hits the three about as well as anybody I've ever seen in 8th grade."  That's right!  We talking about an 8th grader from the sticks of Tennessee who Pearson thinks will develop into his next great player in the Alabama Lasers AAU program after 6'1 Soph Chad Moore from Huntsville (Lee) AL, who ranks as the #1 sophomore in America by the HOOP SCOOP, graduates in two years.  And that's saying a lot, because Pearson also has 6'6 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, who is the #1 8th grader in the state of Alabama, as well as a number of the other top players from the state in what is potentially the best class the state has ever produced.  No doubt, Shannon will be ranked as our #1 8th grader in the state of Tennessee, but our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman tells us he may have competition.  Believe it or not, Rothman, who usually doesn't like to talk about players who are in junior high school, already knows about 6'8 Gerald Houston from Memphis (East Junior High School) TN.  

Monday, January 24, 2000

We have gone back into our archives and added a page to our web site with links to both the NIKE and adidas Camps from the last two years, as well as the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament that concluded last month. Obviously, all this is good material to have available, especially if you want to know where a player was ranked for future reference. And you can get it by clicking on adidas & NIKE.  Speaking of Slam Dunk to the Beach, the executive director of the tournament, Bobby Jacobs, has been busy recently, as is evident by the number of teams he already has lined up for his tournament.  Remember, his five day basketball extravaganza has an eight team Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament, which features the top eight teams in the tournament, plus he has four other four-team tournaments, including the Mayor's Cup, Governor's Trophy, Tip-off Series, and National Power Series, as well as a number of individual matchups.  While we don't know the exact bracketing yet, we do know that Jacobs already has commitments from are Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Compton (Dominguez) CA, New York (Rice) NY, Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, Albany (Westover) GA, Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, Jackson (Murrah) MS, Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, and Bowling Green (H.S.) KY.   Jacobs also tells us that he's still working on Camden (H.S.) NJ, Louisville (Ballard) KY, Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, Limestone (Washington College) TN, Coatesville (H.S.) PA, and Somerdale (Sterling) NJ and he's also considering taking Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC.  If all this falls into place, Jacobs may have as many McDonald's All-American's as the McDonald's All-American Game. Don't believe it? Well, the list includes 7'1 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, 6'6 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA, 5'11 Jr Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'3 Jr Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, 6'1 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, 6'1 Jr Maurice Jackson from Jackson (Murrah) MS, 6'9 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'8 Jr Levi Watkins from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, 6'5 Jr Greg Tinch from Albany (Westover) GA, 6'5 Jr John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA, 6'3 Jr Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ, and 6'6 Jr Olu Babalola from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, plus all the good young sophomores from Rice and St. Anthony, as well anybody else that Joel Hopkins recruits at Mt. Zion Christian.  If Jacobs pulls this off, he might even have more talent than some of the great fields that were assembled by Eddie Oliver when the Beach Ball Classic year in and year out featured some of the best fields ever assembled.

Saturday, January 22, 2000 and Sunday, January 23, 2000

I just got through reading the new book Sole Influence: Basketball Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of American Youth by Dan Wetzel and Don Yaeger and it is a must read for anybody interested in basketball. It starts off providing the necessary background on the shoe business, the ongoing war between NIKE and adidas, and the never ending search for the next Michael Jordan. And all this is essential to understand where basketball is heading on the high school, college, and professional levels. The two of the most powerful men in the book are Sonny Vaccaro and George Raveling and the book does an excellent job of capturing both men, their long-time fued, and their tremendous influence on grassrouts basketball. The book also serves as an expose' into the street agents, the corruption, and all the problems that have arisen since the NCAA attempted to level the playing field in 1988 by limiting the amount of time college coaches were allowed to evaluate high school players during the winter. "By limiting evaluation during the winter months, but creating an unlimited live July recruiting period, the NCAA made the traveling team coach, unregulated and occasionally unsavory, the star and the gatekeeper of its recruiting process. In doing so, it made the traditional high school coach virtually obsolete. The very people the NCAA despises today are truly of its own creation." And like any good book, Wetzel and Yaeger, try and present each side to the story, but in many way it raises more questions than it answers. It does conclude that in "Corporate America's obscene search for the next Jordan - led by NIKE and adidas - has practically ensured he'll never exist. Their coddling will ruin him before he ever gets a chance." But I disagree and one needs to look no further than James Taylor, who emerges as one of the true heroes in the book. No, his son, Marcus Taylor, who since 8th grade has been touted as one of the top five players in his class nationally, probably won't be the next Jordan. But by not allowing his son to travel all over the world playing AAU ball or accepting all the lavish gear from the shoe companies, his father did provide the direction and support that often is so lacking in parents today.  Instead, except to go the NIKE All-American Camp for a week in July the last three summers, the younger Taylor stayed home and worked on his skills and, as a result, he wasn't corrupted by a system that now gives you too much too early. And what about somebody like Donnell Harvey, who was named the consensus National High School Player-of-the-Year last spring?  He wasn't the biggest or the strongest or the most athletic. But not nobody played harder or was any more humble about it.  In otherwords, he did it the old-fashioned, he earned it.  "Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, the three greatest players of the past two decades, all grew up in basketball obsurity.  All attended their local high school.   None played national AAU basketball.  Each bought their very own pairs of shoes. All held part-time jobs to earn a little spending money. Each developed a hunger to be the best, an obession to a champion. That obession is what made those players great." And while Wetzel and Yaeger are on the right track, you will always find exceptions to any rule and players like Jordan, Bird, and Johnson were exceptions in the first place. Obviously, they combined that obession with tremendous natural talent, a love for the game, and a discipline that would destine them for greatness. So to give up on there being another Jordan is like giving up on a whole group of our society. No, I'm not talking about anything racial, but most of the best basketball players do happen to be black. However, SAT scores and not doing well is really a socioeconomic problem, not a racial problem. Poor white kids who are poorly prepared academically do just as bad as poor black kids on the SAT and black kids who are well prepared academically do just as well in college as white kid from good school systems. The problems are much greater than some multi-national shoe company giving a kid too much gear or too many people telling the next Lamar Odom how good is when he's only 14 or 15 year old. Instead, the problems are with our society as a whole, which is something Wetzel and Yaeger also talk about. "Surely the game is suffering. The quality of play the NBA is putting out each night is not up to the aesthetic levels of the past few decades. The level of boorish player behavior, however, is at a record high. The league's newest generation of players, the ones weaned on a steady diet of free gear and AAU ball, is generally regarded as pushing the game to new depths. The worst are vocal defenders of their individual rights. They are shocked when informed that marijuana is illegal, hustle is demanded, off-season workouts are expected. They talk on their cell phone a lot. They don't dive on the floor very often. Consider some of adidas' signature players. Tim Thomas, traded after two disappointing seasons in Philedelphia; Jermaine O'Neal, struggling to crack the line-up in Portland; Tracy McGrady, playing listless in Toronto; Antonie Walker, one of the most despised athletes in Boston for his hotdogging style, fat contract, and lazy on-court attitude that proud Celtics fans have always despised. We understand these are not the days for individual responsibility. We very much understand that. These are the days of individual rights. The right to do as you please. The right to be a hypocrite. The right to violate any rule you disagree with. The right to take only a cursory interest in academics. The right to employ a former crack dealer to baby-sit kids because he's effective. The right to give six figures a year to a high school coach with a skaky academic problems because he delivers kids. The right to sell out your school because $7.1 million goes a long way in Lexington, Knoxville, or Chapel Hill. These are the days for those rights." It might better be described as the "dumbing down of our society." If you fix the problems in our society, like the disgraceful educational system in the public schools, turn the tide against an overwhelming number of kids growing up in one parent homes, provide a lucrative form of employee in the ghetto other than selling drugs, and get role models who don't assault their coach and are then just picked up by another team, the youth of today might be better able to succeed and, as a result, have a better chance to be more "like Mike." And from a basketball perpective all this becomes important, because once again the NCAA and people who are part of the establishment want to make changes - clean up what has evolved into a big business that is now exploiting teenage athletes. Easier said than done, because the people in power don't understand that the problems of society in general go hand-in-hand with basketball today at every level. How can kids pass a standardized test, which is now necessary to be eligible to play as a freshman at four-year Division I school, if you've been socially promoted all the way through and, as a result, never been taught how to read, write, and do basic math? And vice versa! Maybe if we solve some of the problems that are associated with grassrouts basketball, it can be translated into other walks life. After all, professional, college, and even high school players are role models for the youth of today. While there are no easy solutions, this book does a good job of at least identifying many of the problems, as well as provide tremendous insight into a world that the average basketball fan hardly even knows exists. "While the action on the court is supposed to be the main focus, college basketball is made along the sidelines of the basketball court of the NIKE All-American Camp in Indianapolis, adidas ABCD in Teaneck, and various AAU events around the country, most notably the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NIKE Supershowcase in Orlando, and the Nike Peach Jam in Augusta, Georgia. There in stuffy gyms, with shoe company banners hanging from the walls, college coaches and scouts, AAU coaches, high school coaches and parents, jostle for space to watch the game on the court. In such close proximity to one another, the recruiters and the handlers of the recruited, is where the relationships are formed, hands are shock, and deals gets done. It's a long way from the glamour of the Final Four, where under the bright lights of national television in a sold-out dome stadium, America sees the final product. But without this, could there be that?"

Friday, January 21, 2000

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'9 Nate Knight, who recently transferred from Kentucky, has, as expected, decided to enroll at Brigham Young.  We also are looking for Brigham Young to get a commitment from 6'8 Garner Meads from Salt Lake City (Brighton) UT, who ranks among our top 25 nationally.  However, unlike most of the top ranked seniors in the nation, Meads is taking his time and, as a result, a decision may not be forthcoming any time soon.  And no, he didn't commit to Stanford, which seems to be the popular consensus among a lot of people in the business.  Stanford is still on his list, but it looks like Meads will likely stay close to home, as BYU leads Utah and Stanford is a distant third.  The best point guard still available is 6'3 Eddie Starks from Northwest (Christian) FL, but prep school may be in his future.   However, Miami-FL, Rutgers, and UNLV are waiting to see if he makes it academically and schools like Arizona and Kentucky have recently made inquiries. 

Boy, did 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH cause a great deal of concern among Ohio State fans when he told us on Saturday that Ohio State wasn't on his list.  Not only is Ohio State still recruiting him, but our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson thinks the Buckeyes are one of the three favorites, along with Cincinnati and Duke.   As a matter of fact, Williams one among the crowd of over 19,000 on hand last night when Ohio State ended Michigan State's 21game Big-10 winning streak.  So were several other recruits, including 6'7 Jr Elgrace Wilborn from Springfield (South) OH, 5'11 Soph Chris Quinn from Dublin (Coffman) OH, and 6'1 Frosh Kevin Anderson from Worthington (Thomas Worthington) OH. 

Thursday, January 20, 2000

Our New England Editor Wayne Simone has the scoop on the top two juniors - 6'1 Jr Mark Jones from Norwich (Free Academy) CT and 6'10 Jr Mark Konecny from Waterbury (Holy Cross) CT - in the state of Connecticut.  Jones early list includes  Connecticut, Massachusetts, Providence, Boston College, Clemson, and Syracuse.  Konecny likes Connecticut, Penn State, Rhode Island, Syracuse, and North Carolina.  Speaking of Simone, has a tripleheader scheduled for Saturday, January 22nd, at at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT.  The Connecticut Select Winter Classic will tipoff at 5:00 PM with Manchester (Cheney Tech) CT versus Brooklyn (Grady) NY, followed by Hartford (Weaver) CT versus Astoria (St. John's Prep) CT at 6:45 PM, and New Haven (Hyde) CT versus Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ at 8:30 PM.

UAB, Southern Cal, Alabama, Samford, and Auburn are the leaders for 6'5 Emmett Thomas from Birmingham (John Carroll) AL, who ranks among the top 100 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.   Cincinnati, Alabama, Louisville, and N.C. State are showing the most interest in 6'8 Rod Flowers from Huntsville (Butler) AL, who appears to be one of the fastest rising players in the nation.  Miami- FL leads for another sleeper - 6'2 Quentin Hollis from Stone Mountain (Redan) GA, but Rutgers, Boston College, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Clemson are all showing interest.  However, the school Hollis likes the most is Florida State, but the Seminoles have yet to show any interest.  SMU and Notre Dame are showing interest in 6'3 Robert Swaim from East Pointe (Tri-Cities) GA. 

Wednesday, January 19, 2000

What a difference a week can make!  Just a week ago UCLA head coach Steve Lavin was on the hot set after the Bruins lost to Southern Cal, 91-79.  However, all that changed when UCLA went to Chapel Hill, NC on Saturday and upset North Carolina.  So wouldn't it be truly ironic if UCLA knocked off an under manned Arizona team, which is currently ranked #2 nationally by all the major polls, tomorrow night at Pauley Pavilion.  Lavin could go from being on the verge of getting fired (at least according to the fans) to getting a raise in only eight days.  And that's not the only place where UCLA and Arizona are in competition, as both  schools are back in the hunt for 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA and 6'9 Andrew Zahn from Redondo Beach (Redondo Union) CA.  Obviously, when Luke Recker and Ruben Douglas both transferred, Arizona suddenly needed to fill several spots.  UCLA could be in the same boat if either Jerome Moiso or Dan Gadzuric turn professional after the current season.  Another potential UCLA recruit is 7'0 Josh Moore, who is not at Santa Monica (JC) CA, as was reported earlier.   Instead, he's at Long Beach City (JC) CA and guess who is the coach at Long Beach City?  That's right!  Gary Anderson, who once was a player for Lute Olson and who also happens to be the father of current Arizona sophomore Ricky Anderson.  Now, we suspect that if UCLA stashed Moore at Long Beach City, they will probably get him back.  However, if by some chance Moore doesn't get the B and C that he needs to get into UCLA, Arizona certainly would be an option, because he has already academically qualified according to NCAA standards.  Just not UCLA standards.

We have heard through the grapevine that the University of Louisville is the early leader for 6'10 Jr Ousmane Cisse from Montgomery (St. Jude) AL, who was ranked as the #2 center and the #12 player overall at the adidas ABCD Camp last summer.  But upon checking further, Cisse's legal guardian, Don Jackson does not confirm that Louisville or anybody else as the leader.  "He's still wide open," says Jackson.  However, Jackson does confirm that Louisville head coach Denny Crum has been down there twice and that he has been very aggressive recruiting his older brother - 6'9 Daouda Cisse, who has followed Ousmane to America from Mali.  No, there is no red tape that colleges will have to worry about, like with the Nigerians that Louisville recruited a year ago.  As a matter of fact, both Daouda and Ousmane are excellent students.  However, last summer Ousmane transferred from Montgomery (Catholic) AL to Montgomery (St. Jude) AL.  So he was to sit out this year in accordance to the Alabama State High School Athletic Association transfer rule.  However, Ousmane will be eligible to play next year as a high school senior.  Right now this phenemenal athlete, excellent shot blocker, and good defender ranks among our top 20 juniors nationally, but it's his upside and work ethic that lead us to believe that his upside is scary.  Once he develops his offensive game, there now telling how good he could become!  While Ousmane's game is entirely inside, Daouda can play the two, three, and four spots and is an excellent shooter out to 20 feet.  How good is Daouda?   We've never seen him play, but Jackson tells us that everybody in the country is trying to get involved.  However, as it stands now Alabama, Michigan, Louisville, Indiana, Cincinnati, Virginia, Baylor, UAB, Alabama State, and Southern University have shown the most interest.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000

When we told you a year ago that Millersburg (Military Academy) KY was going the prep school route we never dreamed they would get so good so fast.  That's right!  Millersburg beat Milford (Academy) CT, 65-60, in the championship game of the North American Prep Tournament in Toronto, ON over the weekend.  Tournament MVP honors went to 6'8 Michael Haynes, who scored 21 points in the championship game and averaged 18.0 ppg for the tournament, but the player who took over the championship game down the stretch was 6'2 Dominique Townes.  We liked Townes when we saw him last summer, but the word we're getting is that he's dramatically improved and, as a result, is now one of the top point guard prosects available.  Right now UNLV, Baylor, and Dayton are the leaders, but we expect that list to get longer before it gets shorters.  Haynes signed early with Fordham and 6'8 Tizzo Johnson was an absolute steal for UNC-Greensboro, but the best player on the team is 6'5 wing forward Jason Conley, who signed early with VMI.  With talent like this it is easy to see why Millersburg is 20-7, including 15-1 against other prep schools.  They are only 5-6 against junior colleges, but don't hold that against them.  As a matter of fact, they recently beat Moberly (JC) MO, which is pretty impressive when you consider that Moberly knocked off Indian Hills (JC) IA earlier this year.  We've already reported that 6'8 Omari Westley from Cleveland (Shaw) OH plans to enroll at Millersburg next fall and 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, who is regarded by many as the best player to come out of Ohio since Samaki Walker, is also strongly considering making the move to Millersburg for his senior year of high school next season.  We also are hearing that 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi, who is the best of the three Nigerians via Toronto, ON, may enroll at Millersburg.   Not only would he be eligible immediately this year, but he would also be eligible next year, if the NCAA doesn't rule him eligible to play at a four-year school.  If you will recall, he signed with the University of Louisville last spring, but he has to get the necessary score and/or be cleared to play by the NCAA.  If that weren't enough, there also appears to be a good possibility that 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC, who ranks among our top 10 nationally, won't make it academically and he too may end up Millersburg, which is only an hour away from the University of Cincinnati.  Remember, he made an early commitment to the Bearcats in July.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that there is a 6'9 Nigerian who is making a name for himself in the Houston area.  His name is Emeka Okafor from Houston (Bellaire) TX and he is a legitimate top 50 junior nationally, as is evident by the numbers he's putting up this season.  Currently he is averaging 20.0 ppg, 16.3 rpg and 5.3 bpg, which ranks him #10 in scoring and #1 in both rebounding and blocked shots in the Houston area ahead of 6'9 Alton Ford from Houston (Milby) TX and 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX.   Okafor is also a great kid and an excellent student with a 4.0 gpa, which is why Stanford and Rice are already in the hunt.  And we expect him to get a lot better, because he plans to play for the Houston Hoops club team this summer.   Speaking of Houston Hoops, a lot of people are assuming that the University of Arizona is the leader for 6'3 Jr Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, because of the Josh Pastner connection.  Remember, Pastner, who is walk-on at Arizona is the head coach of the Houston Hoops.  However, Houston and Louisville are also going to be in the tough to beat.  Houston's connections are obvious, but did you know that Hurt's mother attended Male High School in Louisville, KY during the Darrell Griffith-Bobby Turner era?

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson also tells us that the Buckeye Sports Bulletin, which is a weekly newspaper that covers Ohio State Athletics, has an article written by Jeff Rapp that is in direct contrast with what 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH told us on Saturday at the National Hoops Classic in Columbus, OH.   In the January 22nd issue, which came out today, Rapp, who talked with Williams on Sunday, says that Ohio State and Cincinnati are the leaders.  He also said that Maryland, St. John's, Duke, N.C. State, Connecticut, Clemson, and Kentucky were also on his list.  The list that Williams gave me on Saturday, which we reported yesterday, was exactly the same, except he didn't list St. John's and Ohio State.  When specifically asked about Ohio State, he said no.   Maybe he was playing up to the Ohio State audience!  Maybe he changed is mind from one day to the next!  Maybe he is one of these guys who tells everybody something different.  Whatever the case might be, don't worry about it.  It's early!  A good example of this is 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, who told one recruiting publication that he has already committed to the University of Arizona.  Well, he may think he's committed, but Arizona has not offered him.  As a matter of fact, they haven't even seen him play.   Which leads us to one of the big problems on the internet right now.  Most of the top seniors have already committed or are waiting until spring to sign, which means there isn't much to talk about if one's bread and butter is to call up players and get a list of schools.  One of the alternatives is to focus on juniors, but often it doesn't mean much.  A good example is Hargett, who gave us a list on Saturday that included Arizona, Ohio State, and Michigan.  How did Ohio State make the list?   Well, he was in Columbus, OH, he had been on the Buckeyes campus earlier in the day, and he had to mention somebody.

Monday, January 17, 2000

We talked with a number of the top underclassmen in attendance at the National Hoops Classic in Columbus, OH and got some early recruiting information.  Nothing has changed with 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, as North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, and Kentucky are the top four schools on his list.  Connecticut, Florida, Seton Hall, Maryland, UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Cincinnati are all in the hunt for 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD.  The top three for 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC are Arizona, Ohio State, and Michigan.  Duke, Cincinnati, Maryland, Clemson, N.C. State, Kentucky, and Connecticut are all in the hunt for 6'9 Jr Jawad Williams from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH.  And, yes, we did ask him about Ohio State, but Williams nodded his head no.  Obviously, something major has happened to turn him off the Buckeyes, because last fall they were one of the leaders.  Something else to watch is the possibility that Williams may end up in prep school next year and don't be surprised if it's Millersburg (Military Academy) KY.  Remember, his buddy 6'7 Omari Westley from Cleveland (Shaw) OH has already decided to attend a year of prep school at Millersburg (Military Academy) KY.  Maryland, Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Auburn, Florida, and Louisville are all showing early interest in 6'11 Jr DeSanaga Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC says he likes Cincinnati, Kentucky, Ohio State, Rutgers, and Duke.  Speaking of Thomas, he was listed last summer as a sophomore at the adidas ABCD Camp, but as a junior in the program at the National Hoops Classic.  So naturally we checked with both his high school coach Joel Hopkins and Thomas himself.  As it turns out, the program was right - he is a junior. 

Saturday, January 15, 2000 and Sunday, January 16, 2000

A lot of people think that Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, whose top four players are all underclassmen, might be the best high school team in the nation next year.  However, they sure didn't impress anybody at Saturday at National Hoops Classic on Saturday in Columbus, OH, as they lost in overtime to Westerville (North) OH, 73-65.  The best prospect in the game was Whitney Young's 6'7 Soph Marcus White, who had 13 points and six rebounds.  However, most of that came before half-time.     Instead the player who stepped up at crunch time for Whitney Young was 6'5 Jr Ronald Howard, who scored most of his 18 points down the stretch and really impressed us with his mid-range game.  Howard can beat you either by getting his shot off the dribble or going to the hole, but he needs to extend his range out beyond the arc, if he wants to become a top priority for schools at the high major level.  We als have to mention.  6'7 Jr Najeeb Echols and 6'1 Jr Chris Hill.   Hill, who has 11 points and five assits, impressed us with his ability to penetrate and dish, hit the open 3-point shot, and rebound for somebody his size.  However, he still needs to work on his decision making.  Echols had 13 points, but wasn't very productive, especially inside, as was evident by his lack of intensity inside (only three rebounds).  The best player and leading scorer in the game was 6'5 Bobby Smith from Westerville (North) OH, who finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.  We also really liked the long range potential of 6'11 Clay McGowen from Westerville (North) OH, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.  As a matter of fact, McGowen is a steal for Old Dominion, which is where he signed during the early signing period.  He's got soft hands, good mobility, an incredible wing span, good post moves inside, and he's not afraid to compete.  However, the big guy will be how he develops phyiscally, as he needs to get a lot bigger and stronger.  Robbie Owens, the 6'7 wing forward from Columbus (Brookhaven) OH, impressed us with his outside shooting early, but he disappeared as the game wore on, as Mt. Zion outscored Brookhaven, 40-24 in the second half en route to a 75-52 victory.  As always, 6'4 Antonio Hargrove who was named the MVP for Mt Zion, was terrific in transition and on the boards with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  He's a legitimate top 70 senior in the nation and a total steal for Virginia Commonwealth, which is where committed to in July.  But he could be a pro, if he ever develops a 3-point mentality to go with his incredible athleticism and moves to the basket.  However, it was 6'1 Jr Johnathan Hargett, who kept putting the nails into the Brookhaven's coffin with his long range bombs and explosive speed and quickness, which he used to  beat Brookhaven's guards off the dribble or go to the hole.  He's also a great passer an excellent upper body and tremendous natural talent.   We also were impressed by the upside of  6'9 Jr Harvey Thomas, who had 12 points and seven rebounds.  Right now he makes a living off dunk and rebounds, but what an athlete!  If he bulks up physically and develops some post moves, the sky's the limit.  If that weren't enough, Hopkins also has three other outstanding underclassmen who need to be mentioned in 6'7 Jr Tyrone Salley, 6'3 Jr Jarrett Jack, and 6'9 Soph Amir Stoudamire.   It came as no surprise that Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA only beat a good Canton (McKinley) OH team, 78-68, but were a little surprise at how much 6'11 Jr DeSanaga Diop has improved. We saw Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at the KMOX Shootout in St. Louis, MO, but at that point Diop saw only limited action.  Now he's emerged as his team's leading rebounder and shot blocker with 11 boards and four rejects.  He's also got great instincts and already has developed some moves to the basket.  However, he tries to beat you more with finesse than power.  Part of that is becoming more fimilar with the American game, but once he develops that killer mentality, he will be a force to be reckoned with at the highest level.  Which is why we will rank him among our top 10 juniors nationally.  The leading scorer for Oak Hill was 6'3 Jr Rashaad Carruth, who hit his first four 3-pointers en route to 22 points.  No surprise here, because Carruth is one of the best 3-point shooters in the class.  However, he couldn't get the easy one's to fall, as three or four layups rolled in and out, as he ended up 8-13 from the field, including 5-8 from beyond the arc.  Also chipping in with 12 points was 6'6 Luke Whitehead and 19 points was 6'5 David Holmes, although he has been beaten out of the starting lineup by Diop.  The best player for Canton (McKinley) OH, as well as the best player we saw from the state of Ohio all day, was 6'4 Dwayne Broyles, who has already signed with James Madison.  He not only shot the lights out, as he hit 5-7 3-pointers en route to 27 points, but he also was excellent slashing to the hole and was his team's leading rebounder with seven boards.   Right now our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson has Broyles ranked #17 in the state, but he's a lot better than most of the players we're seen in the state who are ahead of him.  So look for Broyles to move way up in the future.   In the final game of the day Zanesville (H.S.) OH jumped out to a 17-10 lead against Kensington (Newport School) MD, but after that it was the White and Goodrich show, as 6'7 Jr James White and 5'10 Jr Gil Goodrich combined for 47 points.  White had 24 points and nine rebounds and he impressed the crowd with his usual number of highlight film-like athletic moves and dunks, but game MVP honors went to Goodrich.  And that was the correct choice, because Goodrich was the heart and sole of the team, as he made all the big long range shots, as the Newport School took home a 89-71 victory.  Goodrich also made some phenomenal passes in transition, but he's too small to play the 2-spot in college and we're not sure he has the mentality to be a point guard in a half court setting at the next level.  So another year at the Newport School could go a long way towards helping him get recruited at the highest level.   That's why he's listed as a junior a second consecutive season, but for our purposed, he'll be on our 5th year list next year.  The best player for Zanesville was 5'10 Andre Hodge, who impressed us with 21 points and four assists.  He's quick the dribble, makes good decisions, and plays good defense, which is why we think he has a mid-to-low Division I future.  Another surprise Saturday at the National Hoops Classic, especially in light of what we'd written on Friday, is the fact that Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report, was in the house.  As a result, we can now confirm that Sullivan does exist.   Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction toward establishing his credibility.  Next time he shows up at tournament we suggest that he seek out the other scouts who are in attendance and introduce himself. 

Friday, January 14, 2000

We got our ballot for the McDonald's All American Game earlier this week and, as always it is an honor to provide my input, because it has been the most prestigious high school all-star game in the nation for many years.  It is the dream of every high school basketball player in America to be named to the team and the executive director of the game, Bob Geoghan, who is one of the best people in the business, has always tried to do a first class job running the game in every way.  So has Dan O'Neal, who for years served as Geoghan's assistant and did most of the detail work involved with running the game.   While O'Neal has gone onto bigger and better things working with the NBA, it was still a major surprise and disappointment when I got this year's ballot.  It is obvious that whoever was responsible for putting it together had absolutely no clue of what he was doing.  Some of the most extreme examples are 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA being listed as a 2-guard, not a power forward; 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS listed as power forward, instead of wing forward, 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA listed as wing forward, instead of a power forward; 6'7 Justin Reed from Jackson (Provine) MS listed as a power forward, instead of wing forward; 6'8 Ivan McFarlan from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX listed as a cetner, instead of power forward or even a wing forward; 6'6 Cedric Knight from Louisville (Ballard) KY listed as wing foward, instead of a power forward; 6'11 Brandon Crump from Houston (Klein Forest) TX listed as a wing forward, instead of a power forward or a center; 6'6 Teyo Johnson from San Diego (Mira Mesa) CA listed as a 2-guard, instead of a power forward or possibly a wing forward; 6'5 Raheim Lamb from Boston (English) MA listed as a wing forward, instead of a power forward.  Even worse, two of the best players in the nation were left off the ballot - 6'6 Caron Butler from Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME and 6'9 Jason Parker from Fork Union (Military) VA.  The only explanation for this oversite might be that 5th year players aren't eligible.  However, that can't be right, because 6'2 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'6 Bernard Robinson from New Hampton (Prep) NH, and 6'8 Jeff McMillan from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT are all 5th year players.  The voting is also skewed so that players at certain positions have a much better change of making the team, as there are 22 centers, 36 power forwards, 16 wing forwards, 27 shooting guards, and 24 points guards on the ballot.  A good example is 6'6 Terrance Crawford from Oklahoma City (Bishop McGuinnes) OK,  who ranks among the top 70 seniors in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but has no business being one of the top six wing forwards, which is the number of players that we were asked to vote on at each position.  However, according to my rankings Crawford is the 6th best wing forward at what is an extremely weak position, based on who is on the ballot at that position.  All this might make sense if Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report, who is the now the star for Rivals.com based on the number of hits his web site is getting, had something to do with it.  However, we think of him more as a fraud!  Remember, 59% of the people who responded to our  on January 1st either thought he didn't exist or weren't sure.  I guess he can fool the other 41% of the people, because few if any have ever seen him.   Not only does Sullivan rarely go to games, but he hasn't seen most of the players he will be voting for.  That's right!  He is now a member of the McDonald's Selection Committee.  A great example came recently when Sullivan called a high school coach on the West Coast whose son has a legitimate shot at making the team.   You see, Sullivan hasn't seen his son play, so he wanted a tape so he could determine whether to vote for him for McDonald's.  Just imagine the insult the father must have felt, especially when one finds out the father spent thousands of dollars and devoted the entire month of July each of the last three years coaching the AAU team that his son played on.  Obviously, he wanted to get his son, as well as other players in the area, exposure to college coaches and scouts (i.e. Sullivan).  As a result, the entire McDonald's All American selection process has a major credibility problem.  Actually the person who is in charge of putting together the McDonald's Team now that O'Neal is gone is Steve Beck and this is not the first time that he's been totally out to lunch.  A year and a half ago in Fast Break, which is a recruiting publication for which Beck is the editor, ran a list of all the players who had signed through about the middle of April.  Upon looking at the list, it quickly became evident that I had run across a flagrant case of plagiarism.  Not only had Fast Break stolen my list, but they hadn't even bothered to correct the mistakes, the football players that I had included with certain recruiting classes, and juniors who are automatically included with our list of signings, but had no business being listed with the seniors who had just signed.  I called Beck and chewed him a new you know what and told him that either he would correct the problem or I would.   However, as far as I can tell, Beck did to absolutely nothing to address the matter, except maybe make Sullivan or whoever else who he might have working for him who is that totally incompetent, not to do it anymore.  However, does appear that Beck has blackballed me, as Rival Net has either approached and/or bought out just about everybody else in the business.  Well, Beck and his bunch have successfully created what appears to be the National Inquirer of Basketball.  Their numbers (hits to their web site) may be great, but they apparently have forgotten about things like facts, ethics, journalist integrity, truth, honesty, and hard work.  I don't have any idea who has the best web site out there, because I'm too busy trying to take care of my own business and, as a result, rarely see what anybody else does.  However, an overwhelming number of people tell us that we are second to none in terms of both volume of information and content.  Not only do I appreciate the encouragement and support, but I will continue to make our web site even better in the future.   However, I refuse to sit back and let people (Sullivan and Beck) who I am now competitive with in the market place perpetrate what  is obviously a fraud.  I suspect that I will no longer be voting for the McDonald's All-American Team, but I will be able to sleep well tonight.  Not only have I have stood up for myself and my business, but also  many of my associates and competitors, like Bob Gibbons, Brick Oettinger, Tom Konchalski, Greg Swaim, Van Coleman, Dave Benezra, Patrick Jira, Dan Wetzel, Vince Baldwin, et al, all of whom have done it the right way over a period of time.  If Sullivan wants to join this group, he should go to games.  If Beck wants to join this group, a retraction from a year and a half ago would be a good start and paying attention to accuracy and detail would also be a step in the right direction. 

Thursday, January 13, 2000

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin has the scoop on 6'9 Carlton Carter, who is transferring from Colorado to Virginia Tech.  He made the decision late last night and is an excellent addition for the Hokies, which will become the 14 team in the Big East Conference next year.  Carter, who ranks among the top 250 nationally in high school and played well at the adidas ABCD Camp two years ago, is good around the basket, he can step out and make the mid-major shot, and defensively is a good shot blocker.  Patrick Jira of the Recruiting Beat tells us that University of Michigan signee 5'6 Avery Queen, who has been at four different schools in four different states in the last two years, is one of the most traveled players in the nation.   He was at Moreno Valley (H.S.) CA two years ago, at Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME last year, Winchendon (School) MA earlier this year, and now he is at Troy (Redemption) NY.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 7'0 Uche Okafor, who signed with Miami-FL last spring, but has yet to be cleared to play by the NCAA, has enrolled at the College of Southern Idaho and will be eligible right away.  Obviously this is a great move for Okafor, because he will have a great point guard in 5'8 Kenneth Brunner, who will get him the ball inside and, as a result, provide him with plenty of scoring opportunities.  If you will recall, Okafor is one of the three Nigerians via Toronto, ON, all of whom have been placed on hold until their eligibility status can be ruled upon by the NCAA.  As for the other two, we're not sure if 6'8 Benjamin Eze Ndubuisi is currently in Toronto, ON or still in California, but we do know that he was unsuccessful on several attempts to get the necessary that he'll need to be eligible to participate at four-year Division I school. There are all kinds of rumors about the status of 6'11 Muhammed Lesage, who is currently in school at Louisville, but nobody in the know seems to know anything concrete.   

Wednesday, January 12, 2000

We continue to hear that former University of Massachusetts head coach John Calipari is the leading candidate for the Memphis job.   If you will recall, Memphis head coach Tic Price resigned before the season and one of his assistants, Johnny Jones, was named interim head coach.  According to a column yesterday by Rick Bozich in the Louisville Courier-Journal, Calipari has until February 1st to accept an offer from Memphis that is in the neighborhood of $900,000 per year.  There is no question that Calipari would turn the program around in a hurry.  Not only is he one of the best recruiters in the business, but he has the personality and energy necessary to take the program to a level that it hasn't seen since the days of Dana Kirk in the early 80's.   But there is a drawback, because Calipari would probably be using the job as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. In otherwords, I just don't see Calipari retiring at Memphis in 20 years.  Speaking of pro coaches returning to college basketball, Calipari isn't the only one that might be available.  Remember, P.J. Carlesimo is out at Golden State and Tim Floyd can't continue to win only 15.6% of his games with the Bulls (currently he's 5-27) forever.   And I still think Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino will be back in college basketball next year.  I'm not sure where, but I still don't rule out the possibility that he will return to Kentucky.  However, for that to happen, Tubby Smith would have to take a pro job.  While Smith is under a lot less heat now that he's 6-1 in his last seven games and 10-5 on the season, I still think that is a definite possibility.  Remember, Smith is a players' coach.  He isn't as demanding as a Pitino or Larry Brown, who seem to quickly ware out their welcome with the pampered superstars who are in the NBA today.  He also relates to both the black and white players equally well, he has a NCAA Championship on his resume', and he is regarded as one of the top college coaches in the nation, at least according to our Question of the Day from early October.  However, if an NBA team comes calling and offers Smith two or three million dollars a year for five to seven years, he'd have to listen.   Add the fact he wouldn't have to listen to people bitch about his son's playing time at Kentucky next year and our quess is that he'd be gone in a New York minute.   We've already heard Smith's name mentioned with Atlanta Hawks, if head coach Lenny Wilkins retires.  And if Smith leaves Kentucky, you can bet Pitino's name will be right at the top of the list for three reasons.  Pitino is very frustrated these days with Celtics, athletic director C.M Newton is retiring in June and likely won't make the hire, and if Pitino returns to college basketball, any other program would be a step down after coaching at Kentucky.  But let's say Smith leaves and Pitino doesn't take the job.  The two most mentioned candidates are Florida head coach Billy Donovan and Dan Issel of the Denver Nuggets.   Of course all this is speculation, but it's really just like recruiting.  If this happens, this, this, and this could happen.  And if by some chance Smith ends up in the NBA and/or Pitino ends up back at Kentucky, remember where you heard it first!

Eddie Oliver has sent us his latest list of the Consensus Top 50 High School Teams and it is even more impressive than ever, because he has added Doug Huff's Fox Sports Poll.  And just to avoid confusion, Huff previously did the National Prep Poll, but he recently retired from the Wheeling West Virginia Intelligenzer, and is now doing the poll for both Fox Sports and the Student Sports web site.  So Jamie DeMoney has taken his place doing the National Prep Poll.   Dave Krider does the poll for USA Today and Eddie Oliver does the poll for HOOPS USA.  And Oliver has taken it one step further with his Consensus Top 50 Poll.  The number of points for each team in his consensus poll was determined by the ratings in all four polls (or the number available), giving 25 points for first place, down to one point for a #25 rating. When there is a tie in total points, the highest rating for the consensus report is given to the team that received the highest rating (s) in any of the four polls. When teams tied with the same number of points and received an identical highest rating (s), the best rating is given to the team with the highest winning percentage.  However, there is one problem and that has to do with Oliver's refusal to rank boarding schools like Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA in his poll.   Instead, he has a separate poll for schools, like Oak Hill, Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, et al., that fall into this category.   Therefore, Oak Hill is not included among the Consensus Top 10 Teams listed below, even though Steve Smith's club is listed #1 in every ranking, including Oliver's separate list for boarding schools.  To confuse things even more, losses by regular high schools to teams in the Boarding School category do not affect their rating in the HOOPSUSA Poll.  However, Oliver's poll is still one of the best things going.  Anybody interested in getting Oliver's Top 50 Consensus Poll via weekly email for only $25 per year should call him at (H) 843-650-7222 or (W) 843-280-5605, fax him at 843-650-7222, or email him at ozone@sccoast.net.  And if you subscribe for $25 right now, Oliver will give you the rest of the season, as well as all of next year for the normal subscription price.

Tuesday, January 11, 2000

If you're looking for major upset, don't surprised if Canton (McKinley) OH team, which is 8-0 and ranked #1 in the Division I in Ohio, makes things extremely interesting against Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill)VA in the 7:00 PM matchup on Saturday, January 15th, at the 2000 National Hoops Classic.   Not only is McKinley well coached, extremely hardnosed, and not likely to be intimidated, but they may have their floor general and second best player - 5'9 Jr Leonard Campbell - back from foot injury that has sidelined him all season.  Oak Hill will come in ranked #1 in the nation in the USA Today by Dave Krider, but don't expect Steve Smith's crew to be razor sharp, because they haven't played and have only practiced a few times since winning the Beach Ball Classic on the December 30th.  Oak hill will feature six players who will play at the high Division I level in 6'4 Jr Rashaad Carruth, 6'9 Abdou Diame (signed with Auburn), 6'6 Luke Whitehead (signed with Louisville), 6'2 Cliff Hawkins (signed with Kentucky), 6'5 David Holmes (signed with Manhattan), and 6'11Jr Desagana Diop from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  McKinley will have to get a big effort from 6'4 Dwayne Broyles, who signed early with James Madison.  The other big story at the 2000 National Hoops Classic will be the number of good young players who will be in attendance, including 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD, 6'7 Jr Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL,6'9 Soph Harvey Thomas from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC, 6'1 Jr Jonathan Hargett from Mt. Zion Christian) NC 6'6 Soph Marcus White from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, 5'11 Jr Chris Hill from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, and 6'4 Jr Ronald Howard from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL.  The schedule on Saturday will include Berlin (Hiland) OH versus Palmyra (Palymyra-Macedon) NY at 10:00 AM, Wellston (H.S.) OH versus Wheeling (Park) WV at 12:00 Noon, Westerville (North) OH versus Chicago (Whitney Young) IL at 2:00 PM, Columbus (Brookhaven) OH versus Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC 5:00 PM, Canton (McKinley) OH versus Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA at 7:00 PM, Zanesville (H.S.) OH versus Kensington (Newport Academy) MD at 9:00 PM.   Then, on Sunday it will be Columbus (St Charles) OH versus Palmyra (Palmyra-Macedon) NY at 12:00 Noon, Chesapeake (H.S.) OH versus Georgetown (Scott County) KY at 1:45 PM, Bedford (Chanel) OH at 3:30 PM, Grove City (H.S.) OH versus Kensington (Newport School) MD at 5:15 PM.

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that Marshall has an early commitment from 5'10 Jr Kris Wilson from Huntington (Spring Valley) WV, who is averaging 26.5 ppg and 44% from beyond the arc.   Apparently Wilson, who reminds you of Florida point guard Teddy Dupay, also had been getting early interest from Notre Dame, Texas, USC, West Virginia, and South Carolina.  Johnson also tells us that Temple may be the leader for 6'7 Erik Daniel from Cincinnati (Princeton) OH, but he's also being recruited by Marquette, Dayton, Ohio State, Miami-FL, and Tennessee.  If you will recall, Nate Knight is transferring from the University of Kentucky, but so far we have yet to hear anything about where he might end up, although Johnson is guessing it will be Brigham Young.

Now that all the holiday tournaments are over and we've had some time reflect, we've decided to shock a lot of people by ranking 5'8 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY among our top five seniors nationally.  Right now 6'9 Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'9 Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, 6'4 Marcus Taylor from Lansing (Waverly) MI, and 6'1 Chris Duhon from Slidell (Salmen) LA are all locks for the top five.  However, the 5th is still up for grabs and after watching the three obvious candidates - 6'7 Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL, 6'5 DeShawn Stevenson from Fresno (Washington Union) WA, and 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC - during the last month, we're still not confortable with any one of the three.  So Barrett, who is the best player at his size that we've ever seen at the high school level, is a great compromise choice.  And like 6'7 Donnell Harvey from Cuthbert (Randolph-Clay) GA, who ended up being the consensus #1 player in the nation a  year ago, Barrett has done it the old-fashioned way - he's earned it.  Wallace is the best athlete, Stevenson is the best physical specimen, and Harper is the most versatile, but none of the three dominates a game and carries his team like Barrett does.  What do you think?  As a matter of fact, that's our Question of the Day. Who should be the 5th player in our top five - Barrett, Wallace, Stevenson, or Harper?

Monday, January 10, 2000

Patrick Jira of The Recruiting Beat has found that a number of players, including 6'3 Eddie Starks from Miami (Northwest Christian) FL, 6'7 Ellis Myles from Compton (Centennial) CA, 6'9 Darius Rice from Jackson (Lanier) MS, and 6'8 Travon Bryant from Long Beach (Jordan) CA, have recently added schools to their lists.  Starks, who was the MVP at the Nations Bank City of Palms Classic, is now considering Clemson and UNLV, along with Miami-FL, Rutgers, and Connecticut.  Myles has added UCLA and Connecticut to a list that already included Wyoming, San Diego State, New Mexico, and Oregon State.  Jira also tells us that Texas and Memphis have gotten involved with Rice, but we also know that Cincinnati is making a late push for his final on-campus visit.  Remember, Rice visited Arkansas, Miami-FL, Mississippi State, and Kentucky last fall, so he only has one official visit left.  However, if Jira were guessing today, he thinks Kentucky is Rice's favorite school.  Bryant visited Kansas, Missouri, California, and Kentucky last fall, but Jira tells us that Michigan is the latest entry.   Duke, Connnecticut, and Arizona also have jumped into the Bryant sweepstakes, but our guess is that this one is still a long way from being done.

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that he's come up with a pair of transfers to report.  Leaving the University of Colorado is 6'9 Carlton Carter, who is originally from New Hope (Solebury Prep) PA.  He's at Vriginia Tech right now on an official visit, but La Salle, St. Joseph's, Rider, UNC-Greensboro, Iona, and Maryland-Eastern Shore are also on his list.  Look for a decision by the end of the week.  Transferring from Boston College is 6'8 Osei Millar, who is originally from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY.  So it comes as no surprise that he wants to return to the New York City area, as he will likely pick from among Hofstra, Iona, and Stony Brook.  Rubin also is reporting that Yale has a commitment from 6'7 Josh Hill from Hockessin (Sanford) DE, who was very impressive when we saw him at Slam Dunk to the Beach.

After his team's mediocre performance Friday night at the Louisville Invitational Tournament (L.I.T.), 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender from Louisville (Ballard) KY told us that the big problem was too much substitution.  "We played 11 different players in the first quarter alone," said Bender.  I told him that he won't have that problem if I was the coach, because if I had somebody on my team with his attitude, they wouldn't play at all.   Apparently University of Louisville head coach Denny Crum, who attended all four games of the L.I.T. on Friday night, agrees.  As a matter of fact, several sources tell us that Crum doesn't plan to recruit Bender, because he's the type of player who can get you fired.  And assuming this is true, good for Crum.   Bender may be an excellent talent and have a lot of potential, but Crum is doing just fine this year without the primadonna superstar.  That doesn't mean that he shouldn't recruit the top level player, but he can afford to be selective, especially when he's getting out and seeing players early.  Among the other players Crum was taking an early look at in the L.I.T. were 6'1 Jr Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, 6'5 Jr Josh Carrier from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, 6'5 Jr Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY, and 6'3 Frosh Michael Bush from Louisville (Male) KY.

Saturday, January 8, 2000 and Sunday, January 9, 2000

Louisville (Pleasure Ridge Park) KY knocked off Louisville (Ballard) KY, 73-68, in overtime in the semi-finals of the Louisville Invitational Tournament (L.I.T.), Saturday morning, but this was no upset.  As a matter of fact, Ballard, which was lucky to escape on Friday night with a three point win over Ashland (Boyd County) KY, has not played well since losing to Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX in the opening round at Slam Dunk to the Beach in Lewes, DE on December 28th.  And adding even more fuel to the fire is that fact that 6'9 Jr Brandon Bender is thinking about going the prep school route next year.  No school was mentioned by Bender's father, who confirmed the rumor, but it would seem only natural that Bender might end up Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA.  Remember, Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith is from the Bluegrass state and both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have done well recruiting his players in recent years.  Getting back to the L.I.T., Pleasure Ridge Park, which also knocked off Ballard in the championship game a year ago, 77-58, captured their second consecutive title by beating Fairdale, 71-56, Saturday night.  Pleasure Ridge Park has an extremely well rounded team, but the players who impressed us the most were 6'1 Jr Steve Koger, who led the Panthers in scoring in the final three games of the tournament averaging 15.0 ppg, and 5'8 Kenyon Tutt, who was named the tournament MVP.  Also impressing us was 6'3 Jr Larry O'Bannon from Louisville (Male) KY.  O'Bannon was almost unstoppable inside as he scored 26 points versus Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, but he needs to continue to improve his perimeter skills if he wants to get recruited at the high Division I level.  The leading scorer on Friday night was 6'5 Jr Josh Carrier from Bowling Green (H.S.) KY, who had 32 points against Fairdale (H.S.) KY.  However, if his outside shot had been falling his team probably wouldn't have gone down to defeat, 53-52.  Carrier says he's getting looks from Louisville, Kentucky, Alabama, and Vanderbilt, but he needs to get bigger, stronger, and quicker to play be successful at that level.  He may lack Carrier's size and he doesn't normally shoot it as well as Carrier, but 6'1 Jr Patrick Sparks from Greenville (Muhlenberg North) KY, who had 13 points, is a lot quicker and tougher. He also has the savvy and ballhandling skills to play point guard at the next level, but we're still not sold that he's a high major player.  Neither is 6'4 Tyler Zornes from Ashland (Boyd County) KY.  He's got a good feel for the game, plays hard, and is an excellent 3-pointer shooter, but he's doesn't have much foot speed and quickness, which means he may be hardpressed to even play in the OVC. 

UCLA beat Washington State 86-64 yesterday, but that may not be enough to get Bruins fans off the back of head coach Steve Lavin, who has been taking a lot of heat recently from the always tough L.A. media.  And it make be effecting recruiting, because right now it looks like several of their prime targets in the junior class - 6'6 Jr Josh Childress from Lakewood (Mayfair) CA and 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA - may be looking elsewhere.  That's right!  North Carolina is now the leader for Sampson and Childress has Kansas and Arizona at the top of his list, followed by Stanford and then UCLA.  We still think that 7'1 Jr Tyson Chandler from Compton (Dominguez) CA is a lock for the Bruins, but we think he is even more of a lock to go straight to the NBA after his senior year of high school.  Everybody talks about how Lakewood (Artesia) CA head coach Wayne Merino is anti-UCLA, but all of his top players (the O'Bannon's and Jason Kapono) have ended up playing for the Bruins.  So it should come as no big surprise that UCLA is the heavy favorite for 6'9 Jr Apolinar Fernandez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA and also right at the top of a list that also includes Arizona, St. John's, Connecticut, Cincinnati, and North Carolina for 6'8 Jr Jack Martinez from Lakewood (Artesia) CA.  UCLA does already have an early commitment from 6'5 Jr Cedric Bozeman from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, but after watching him at the Nation's Bank City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL, we are still far from convinced that he's the answer for Lavin at point guard after Earl Watson graduates.   Which might explain why UCLA is suddenly looking at point guards again.  One name to remember is 6'1 Jr Chris Hernandez from Fresno (Clovis West) CA.   While Hernandez is a tough hardnosed kid, as well as a coach's son, he's not the answer either.  Neither is 6'6 Teyo Johnson from San Diego (Mira Mesa) CA, who is a much better football player than a basketball player.  However, the word on the street is that this combo forward plans to sign with UCLA to play basketball.  We also have confirmed that 7'0 Josh Moore has enrolled at Santa Monica (JC) CA, where he must get a B and a C in English and Math in order to get into UCLA next summer.

Friday, January 7, 2000

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin is in the process of revising his rankings and will give us an updated list of the top players in the area sometime later this month or in February. So it is only natural that he would want to give us a sneak preview of the top players in the junior class, which promises to be the next great class from this area.   At the top of the list is 6'2 Jr Dajuan Wagner from Camden (H.S.) NJ, who also gets our vote as the best player in the nation.  It's a close for second, but 6'2 Jr Ernest Turner from Somerdale (Sterling) NJ edges out 6'5 Jr John Allen from Coatesville (H.S.) PA.  Both Allen and Turner rank among our top 20 nationally.  Fourth is 6'6 Jr Samuel Nadeau from Burlington (Life Center) NJ.  If you will recall, Nadeau transferred from Newark (East Side) NJ to Lakewood (Artesia) CA last summer, but that didn't work and, as a result, he's back and Rubin has added to his list.  Fifth, thanks at least in part to a brilliant performance at Slam Dunk to the Beach, is 6'7 Jr Olu Bobalua from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ.  Next, is 5'11 Jr Andre Henry from Harrisburg (H.S.) PA, who was named the MVP at the Keystone Roundball Classic in Lebanon, PA and was the Most Outstanding Player in Red Cross Roundball Classic in the Charleston, SC.  After that it's open for debate.   Rubin likes 6'5 Jr Pat Carroll from Horsham (Hatboro-Horsham) PA and 6'6 Jr Danny Hinds from Allentown (Central Catholic) PA, but I like 5'8 Jr Cantrell Fletcher from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.   Remember, I saw Fletcher almost singlehandedly take over the game, which is why his team won in overtime, against Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD at Slam Dunk to the Beach.  Also, Rubin doesn't like small guards, unless they shoot it from outside, like 5'9 Andre Barrett from New York (Rice) NY or 5'7 Marques Green from Norristown (H.S.) PA.  So Rubin has Carroll ranked #7, Hinds #8, Fletcher #9, and 6'7 Jr Brandon Brigman from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA number #10.  And I don't agree with that one either.  Brigman is bigger and has more potential, so Rubin's reasoning is that he'll get recruited higher than 6'6 Jr Tamal Forchion from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA.   But right now Forchion produces more - he's just a better player.  Also, I'm getting tired of waiting on Brigman to live up to his potential and I question how much heart he has.  In otherwords, merit has to mean something in my book.  Which brings us to our Question of the Day.  What do you think should be given more weight when ranking players - college potential or current ability? Remember, not everybody reaches their potential.  A good example is Aminu Timberlake, who was a terrific athlete and very skilled when he was a freshman and sophomore in high school.  However, he never got any better and, as a result, was total bust when he signed with Kentucky and played for Rick Pitino.  On the other hand, somebody like Travis Ford was a great high school players, but based on his lack of size, he had no business playing at Kentucky's level, unless you measure his heart and work ethic, which allowed him to get the most out of his ability.

One of a lot of people's favorite things to speculate on is when the legendary head coach at Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD - Morgan Wootten, who is the all-time winningest coach in high school basketball - will retire.  If you will recall, in early October we asked that very question in our Question of the Day section in early October.   Amazingly, 25% of those who responded said before the start of the current season.   Well, that didn't happen, but nearly half of those who responded thought that the 1999-2000 season would be his last.  Another 15% said he'll finish both this year and next year, while 18% thought Wootten would continue coaching past the 2000-2001 season.   Our guess is that Wootten will coach at least another year.  At least that's what he's telling holiday tournament directors who want DeMatha in their field next December.  And this makes a lot of sense, especially when we tell you that the long-time principal at DeMatha is expected to retire at the end of the current school year.  Remember, he's the one who wouldn't hire Wootten's son, Joey Wootten, because the younger Wootten didn't have any head coaching experience.  Well, now Joey is the head coach at Falls Church (Bishop O'Connell) VA, so that should not longer be a problem.  So, if the senior Wootten's health holds out, the timing couldn't be any better than at the end of the 2000-2001 season.  He'll have waited out the principal, his son will have the experience he needs, and he can go out a winner.  And that's extremely important, because last year the Stags were very disappointing with Keith Bogans and Joe Forte.  This year DeMatha is good, but next Wootten will once again have one of the best teams in the nation....  Remember, all this speculation right now, but I'd still be interested in your thoughts.  What do you think?  Feel free to email me at clark@hoopscooponline.com.

Thursday, January 6, 2000

Anybody who doubts that the University of Virginia, which off to a 9-4 start, is one of the fastest rising programs in college basketball, needs to look no further than last night.  In case you hadn't heard, the Cavaliers took Duke to overtime, before losing to the Blue Devils 109-100.  If that's not evidence enough, two of Virginia's big guns last night were freshman - 6'7 Travis Watson had 17 points and 6'5 Roger Mason came off the bench to score 22 points.  Virginia only signed one player last fall - 6'5 Maurice Young from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD, but they've done a great job of getting in involved with sophomores and juniors, as has been evident by the number of players they've had on campus this fall and winter for unofficial visits.  As a matter of fact, Young was there last night, along with 6'4 Soph J.J. Riddick from Roanoke (Cave Spring) VA, 6'7 Jr James White from Kensington (Newport School) MD, 6'3 Jr Jermaine Harper from Dyke (Blue Ridge School) VA, and 6'1 Jr Tony Bethel from Forestville (Bishop McNamara) MD.   Virginia also is believed to be one of the early favorites for 6'7 Jr Elton Brown from Newport News (Warwick) VA, as well as a number of the other good young players who play for Boo Williams on his Hampton Roads club team.  And it has been well documented that former UVA All-American Ralph Sampson is the uncle of 6'11 Jr Jamal Sampson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who ranks among the top 10 juniors nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  And if that wasn't enough of a connection, when Virginia head coach Pete Gillen was an assistant almost 20 years ago at Notre Dame, he helped Gary McKnight get the head coaching job at Mater Dei.  So it should come as no sur